Behind the woman, there was another person who was equally worried but for different reasons. Kayla couldn't help but wonder if something went wrong with her plan. Clancy should have had enough time to escape before the Devourer arrived. She pondered whether or not to delay her departure but then decided against it. This was her last chance to escape. And she would take this chance with or without an Edge(Get it?)

"Maddy, what's going on?" Earl asked as he made his way to the front. Madison glanced at him before replying. "Something went wrong with the ritual. We'll have to wait until morning to go there." Earl uneasily looked sideways before his eyes fell on Kayla. Then he asked. "What will we do if the worst come to pa.s.s?" Madison glanced at Kayla before whispering. "Well we still have our "contingency plan"."

Unknown to them however, Kayla managed to hear their conversation. She struggled to keep a straight face as she knew what the "contingency plan" was. But she couldn't afford be rash. There were too many cultists here. She would slip away at the first light of dawn just as planned. She would have no more chances.

...

Meanwhile,

Edge listened for the creature who was still in a rampage. It had now. moved into the ritual room he. was previously trapped in. He quietly climbed out of the. dumbwaiter before limping towards the exit. However, midway through it, he thought of something. He limped back into the kitchen and turned o. the gas the stove before hastily limping away. At one point however, He knocked down a gla.s.s grabbing the attention of the creature. The creature clambered up the stairs to see Edge exit the cabin. It tried to follow suit when it felt an impending sense of doom.

It was at this moment the gas got ignited by the candles scattered around the cabin. It then caused a chain reaction causing a explosion that sent the monster flying out of the cabin. Edge did not look back as he limped away putting as much distance as he could from the cabin.

....

Madison watched the cabin burn from the distance. It was now clear that something had gone terribly wrong. Her thoughts were now filled with what they should do now. Inferus wanted his soul tonight, so now she had no choice but to offer him Kayla as collateral, this would buy them time to hunt down Edge.

Madison frantically looked around for the young girl. Seeing neither hair nor hide of her, she began to panic. "Kayla!" She called out which caught the attention of the other cultists. They themselves looked around for the girl when they felt a deathly chill.

Madison as well as the other cultists were frozen in fear as they felt the presence come closer. Then she felt it. Someone's breath fell on her neck. And she heard low growls. She slowly turned around to see the horrific monster behind her. The monster had a bony skull like head that looked human aside from the razor sharp teeth on its mouth. It had extremely long slender arms and legs with sharp claws at the end. It's torso comprised of black tendrils that were crawling around his body like worms. This creature was one of Inferus's acolytes. A wendigo which was given the blessing of Inferus. It is known amongst the cultists by the name of Nigrum Pallidi, the Black Ghoul.

The ghoul's lifeless pitch black eyes bore into Madison's as the rest of the cultists scrambled to keep as much of a distance as they could. The creature let out a breath filled with black miasma which dissipated in mere moments. It then spoke in a dreadful voice. "It seems that the lord's followers are becoming careless. The last vessel managed to escape his bonds and managed to injure the Devourer. 'He' is very disappointed in you."

Madison stammered as she respectfully lowered her gaze. "Apologies milord. This humble servant had prepared a suitable sacrifice as compensation." She then looked at the crowd, trying to find Kayla. Seeing this, the Black Ghoul let out a hoa.r.s.e laugh. "You are blind child. Do you know not realise what that girl had done? Do you think that the boy could have escaped on his own?"

Madison could only glare hatefully at the ground as she processed his words. She should have kept a better eye on Kayla. She really was being careless. She was about to speak when suddenly, the Black Ghoul suddenly turned his head towards the town. It then growled. "We have intruders." Madison opened her mouth to ask him to clarify when another cultist came up from the direction of the town. He was heaving as he came up to Madison.

"The town is being attacked. We have already lost several blocks." He said mid heave.

"Who dares attack us?" Madison howled in anger.

"Soldiers. They came in full force. The 3 Apprentices are trying to push them back but they need help."

"Soldiers? Is it the military?"

"No they are some one else. They have mages amongst them."

Madison rubbed her head in distress. Things have gone from bad to worse. If the enemy had mages, they were no normal group. She then turned to Earl. "Earl, you go ahead and a.s.sist our men in the town. Roger, I want you to find the boy or Kayla. Either one is fine with me. I'll go to the hidden city to ask the elders for support. The rest of you, a.s.sist Earl." She then turned to walk away when suddenly, she heard the wendigo chuckle. She turned and looked at him only to see him looking intently at her.

" The intruders are the least of your worries. "He" has decided that you must be punished. You have until the sun goes down tommorow . If you are unable to fend off these attackers, we are to invoke the Song of the Dead.

Madison's face paled upon his words. She had only heard rumour about this ritual. Nonetheless she knew enough that it will not end well for anyone if it is invoked. She opened her mouth to say something but the wendigo left leaving behind a group of fear stricken cultists.

Madison's hands clenched and her face was filled with rage as she looked at Earl and Roger. "I want you two to find Kayla and the boy. Bring them to me.... alive." Earl looked at her and asked. "What about you? I will take care of our guests. We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Now go!!" She yelled before walking away. The rest of the cultists except for Earl and Roger followed behind her.

"Let's go. I'll take the girl. You take the boy." Roger said before walking into the forest.

"I hope it was worth it Kayla." Earl said to himself as he started to walk into the forest himself.

.......

*Back in the cabin*

The corpse of the lay on the ground as the cabin caught fire. As it lay there a certain wendigo suddenly stopped next to it." Pathetic. All that power and you lost to a human." The wendigo said as he noticed a slight movement from the body. He suddenly shot forward and grabbed the devourer's head. Several red eyes looked at the wendigo in fear as its mouth opened and bit into the devourer. The devourer tried to fight back but the fire had severely damaged him. It could only watch as the wendigo consumed it bit by bit.