The guards wore demonic armor with masked helms, the visages twisted in silent screams as they bore down on Breaker and Simone. Josh called after Leila as he rushed in front of her mother and intercepted the towering guards. Their halberds thrust glistening spear-points at him but he flowed aside like water over smooth stones, a single kick shattering both staff-weapons. He spun and kicked again, flooring the first demon. The second charged in its wake, a snarl echoing from beneath the twisted mask. Breaker dented the mask with a punch that would have shattered a glacier, and moments later both guards lay still.

“Impressive work, prizefighter.” Simone said, stepping daintily over the fallen demons. “Follow me. There will be more coming; we must escape.”

“We must go after Leila!” Josh amended, grabbing her elbow to pull her in the opposite direction, the way Ranja had gone.

“He will be in the most protected section of the palace by now!” Simone exclaimed. “She is my daughter, Breaker, but we must leave and return for her.”

“But the child…” Josh protested, but he allowed himself to be pulled as Simone grabbed his arm in turn and tugged him away.

They raced through the bowels of the palace, past cracked hearths and between crooked pillars, finally finding a long forgotten stairwell meant for servants. They climbed the cobweb strewn steps cheek-to-shoulder as Breaker worried over Leila and their child. At last they burst through a set of wooden double doors, finding their way into sunlight. Breaker blinked in the sudden brilliance, barely getting his vision back in time to see Simone collapse. He caught her before she could hit the ground, cradling her in his arms as Ranja had done with Leila.

“That run took… the last bit of my energy.” She said before passing out.

Breaker carried her quickly towards the outer wall, finding an unguarded gate and slipping outside. He raced prudently across wind-blasted terrain until he found shelter in a rocky outcropping and lay the succubus gently on the ground. He summoned a few droplets of water from thin air and splashed them across her smooth brow. With a soft gasp the woman awoke, gazing up at him tiredly.

“I’m afraid I won’t be much help, in this condition.” She said weakly.

“Take some of my energy,” he offered, “I’ve enough to go around.”

Simone let out a soft chuckle and then reached up and placed a single finger on his forehead. Josh felt a wave of weakness wash over him as the succubus drained a fraction of his nearly endless energy.

“Thank you,” Simone said. Some color entered her cheeks as she sat up against one of the boulders. “We should move again soon. Ranja will send search parties. But first, we must plan how we will rescue my daughter… and the fragments of her soul.”