Three elf soldiers drew their swords and lunged at the Demon. They were cut down the instant they came within its reach.
"Back! Fall back!" shouted Finrod, trying to organize his soldiers before the bloodshed could go on unabated. With surprising speed the creature lunged for the shadows and vanished. But they could hear it as it moved through the shadows, seemingly inside the very walls. It was rising, circling around. Nervous glances were cast about at the ceiling.
"Ward!" shouted Finrod, "it is going to strike again!"
Once again there was a sound as of bats' wings, and their fluttering sounded very close, but began by degrees to recede into the distance.
Lowering his sword, Brogan was about to breathe a sigh of relief and say something, when without warning the Demon burst from the shadows of the ceiling, plunging like an avatar of death straight at Lily.
There was a blinding flash and a noise like the screaming of damned souls that caused all but the most battle-hardened to cover their ears. As they stood about blinking off the effects of the flash-blindness, they saw that the air was full of fine ash, and that the Demon was gone. Belloc stood erect amongst them, the Vhurd-aq still blazing. The air was tinged with acrid smoke that haloed every source of light, as though nothing were entirely real, or that what one beheld had become momentarily untrustworthy. All eyes were drawn to Belloc, seeking reassurance. In response, he said, "It is quite dead, I can assure you."