Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

to throw back the encroaching night. Rupert shuddered uncontrollably, but it had little to do with the bitter cold that was already seeping into his bones. It was one thing to fight his way through the Darkwood as part of a quest, or because it stood between him and the High Warlock, but it had no right to be here, threatening his home. The Darkwood had always been something that happened somewhere else, somewhere comfortably far away. Until now, he'd never believed that the Castle that had served the Forest Kings for thirteen generations could ever fall to the darkness. It was impossible, it couldn't be happening . . . Rupert fought hard against his rising hysteria, and slowly brought himself back under control. His mind turned frantically this way and that, searching for an answer, any answer, as to what had gone wrong. How could the Darkwood have spread so fast? And then, finally, Rupert looked up.
    Directly above him, floating on a starless night that went on for ever, hung the Full Moon. Its colour was that of tainted cheese or leprous flesh, the only colour the eye can see at dead of night. The Blue Moon had risen.
    Time moves differently in the Darkwood.
    Rupert turned slowly to stare at the High Warlock. 'What have you done?' demanded the Prince, his voice little more than a whisper. 'Damn you, what have you done?'
    The Warlock looked at him, and swallowed dryly. His face was blank with shock. 'I don't know,' he said finally. 'Something must have interfered with my teleport spell. This is the right place, but the wrong time. I can't understand it . . .'
    'We can discuss this later, Sire.' The Champion's voice was calm and even, but his knuckles showed white where they gripped the long shaft of his double-headed war axe. 'There are demons all around us.
    Our arrival seems to have startled them almost as much as it did us, but they won't stay startled much longer. We'd do well to get out of here while we still can.'
    Rupert glanced briefly at his guardsmen, already set up in a tight defensive circle of drawn swords and glowing lanterns, and nodded slowly. Their quiet competence steadied him, and he ruthlessly suppressed the vestiges of fear and panic that still moved deep within him.
    'You're right, sir Champion, let's get the men moving. You and I will take the lead, the High Warlock will guard the rear with his magic. You can do that much, can't you, sir Warlock?'
    The High Warlock flinched, and then nodded stiffly. Rupert drew his sword, hefted the familiar comforting weight, and turned to his guards.
    'Stay close together, watch your backs, and once we've started don't stop for anything. It can't be more than five hundred yards to the Castle, and after all we've been through, it's going to take more than a few damn demons to stop us going home! All right, let's go. Last man in pays for the beer.'
    It wasn't much of a pep talk, and Rupert knew it, but the guards raised a ragged cheer anyway. Rupert grinned savagely back, fiercely proud of all of them, and then turned away so they wouldn't see the tears that stung his eyes. He took a firm hold of the unicorn's reins and started forward; not hurrying, but not dawdling either. If the demons thought the party was running from them, they'd attack. A show of confidence might just hold the creatures off while the party gained some precious yards. At this stage, every little helped. Rupert glanced surreptitiously about him. The Champion strode at his side, hefting his massive war axe as though it were weightless. The guards and the Warlock padded quietly along behind them in a tight bunch, alert and ready for any sudden sound or movement in the surrounding dark. The Warlock made more noise than all the guards put together.
    Rupert couldn't hear the demons that moved along with the party, but every now and again there was a sudden gleam of watching blood-red eyes, glaring in the dark like angry coals, or a fleeting glimpse of silent misshapen figures as they darted from shadow to shadow before and behind the party.
    Rupert scowled, and tried to shrug his cloak more comfortably around him. The bitter cold grated painfully in his bones, and he couldn't seem to stop shivering. It had been a long time since he'd known anything but the snow and sleet and freezing air of the winter come early. He was beginning to forget what it was like to feel warm. A sudden movement caught the corner of his eye, and he glared helplessly
    into the darkness. The Castle was drawing steadily