Josh did not know what to say, and so he looped a comforting arm around Leila’s shoulders. He glanced cautiously at the boat minder. It appeared as though the potion he’d taken had worked. It did not change his appearance, but caused him to emit the same pheromone as succubae and incubi. His chiseled jaw line and musculature made him a passable incubus, and the tight silken clothing he’d purchased in Fallien completed the disguise.

They reached the far shore and made their way through a series of burnt out and broken down buildings. Most were small stone houses, roofless and yawning in the fetid wind. Demons of all spawns lurked here and there, but none approached Breaker and Leila as they made their way to the walls of the main city. The gates stood open, if guarded, but the armed and armored demons there paid them no more mind than any of the others.

Inside the city some of the buildings were intact, and the stench a littles less pervasive. Hawkers sold all manner of wares and foods, and doxies lingered in doorways, eyeing any passerby who appeared to have coin.

Josh and Leila navigated the cracked cobblestone streets to the palace, where Leila took the lead. They slipped in an unguarded side door and crept through a maze of passages, down stone staircases, and up to a guarded section of the castle.

“This is the special prisoners’ chambers,” Leila whispered as they lingered in a shadowy alcove, “my mother will be in there somewhere. The door will be guarded.”

“Not to worry,” Josh smiled, and slipped away like a specter. He slid silently down the hallway, his boots suddenly frictionless, and came at the guard out of the darkness like a serpent striking from its lair. The demon fell without a sound, and Josh dragged its body back to the alcove. “Stay close,” he uttered as he slipped a keyring from the guard’s belt.

They crept back to the heavy ironbound door, and Josh sorted through they keys until he found the one that fit. The door opened inward with a heavy groan, revealing two long, dark passageways. Josh looked at Leila.

“Which way?” He asked.