Demon Wars [FINISHED]

Chapter 24

-Hunter's POV-

It was getting late, around 11pm, and Hunter hadn't seen Ailith for half an hour.

He looked around, asking people if they'd seen her.

Feeling frustration build at their blank looks, he checked in their bedroom suite, which was empty.

She didn't answer his phone calls or reply to his telepathy.

Panic started to replace frustration after he asked the Oracle, who said that she didn't sense Ailith's presence anywhere in the Wood.

Once the ball had ended at 12:30am, having achieved nothing whatsoever, Hunter had packed his and Ailith's bags and traveled to the demon realm.

He called his father and all the captains of the guard for an emergency meeting.

"Ailith's gone missing," he told them. "I want one group searching the realms for her. And I want the rest to heighten security, add extra hours of training and drills. Rotate between shifts. We can expect attacks soon."

"Son," said the King, extending an arm to Hunter's shoulder. "Don't you th-"

"Don't tell me that I'm being unreasonable," Hunter snarled back, jerking away from him. "I'm in charge of the military, I'll do what I see fit."

"I'm in charge of the Kingdom-"

"Don't give me that bullshit."

The King, looking disgusted, turned away from Hunter and stalked out of the dark conference room.

"Now," said Hunter, spreading open a map of the Kingdom onto a table. "I want the stronger ranks protecting the civilians."

One of the captains looked like he wanted to say something, but Hunter glared at him.

"Nobles have their own security, don't they? I want as many soldiers are possible placed around the Kingdom."

"What about the Palace, sire?" piped up another captain.

"The Palace has its own defensive measures. I'll only need a few dozen soldiers to keep watch and to activate the mechanisms."

Hunter continued to organise troops. He went on for another half an hour before he was asked another question.

"How many casualties will there be, Your Majesty?"

A steely fire burned in Hunter's eyes. "There is nothing casual about a death," he snapped. "But yes, deaths will be inevitable. Try to keep them at a minimal."

"Shall we place a curfew, sire? Most murders occur at night."

Hunter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "A curfew limits freedom, doesn't it? That will create more riots."

He returned to his formal posture again before continuing. "We'll need medics, here, here and here," he said, pointing to different spots on the map.

"Other than that, how many troops do we have currently under training?"

"Twelve thousand," answered a captain.

"How long are they from completing?"

"The graduation class for this year has four thousand troops that will complete their training in two weeks time."

Hunter furrowed his brow. "Speed up their training. We may need to call them in-"

An distant explosion roared.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" growled Hunter, as the ground beneath his feet shook.

The prince ran out of the room, unsheathing his sword that hung at his belt.