Page 17 of Firefly

The voice cut like a knife, scraping at Simon’s insides. He released Rebecca’s hands, getting to his feet and between Rebecca and the man he had never been able to protect her from.

Alexander chuckled, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “You should be gone by now, Simon. Do you need encouragement to complete my tasks these days?” Simon squared his shoulders as Alexander approached. “Simon, move out of my way.”

At his command, Simon’s legs bent of their own accord, marching him to the left even as he fought the order.

“Rebecca, the babe is howling for you. Get inside and deal with it. I can’t do any work with all that noise.”

Rebecca jumped to her feet, racing past her father. She spared a look at Simon, mouthing, “I’m sorry,” before she jogged toward the house.

When she was gone, Alexander faced him. “I thought I made it clear there would be consequences for your disobedience?”

Simon said nothing, his stiff legs rooting him to the spot.

“I have appealed to your soft nature, threatened you with her life, but nothing seems to work. If you want to spend time with my daughter, you will do so on your own time. To ensure fetching demons is your top priority, from now on, you have until one o’clock each night to bring me a body. Be it human or otherwise.

“If you fail to return within my set time, I will take what I need from Rebecca.”

“You’re killing her already. Why would I help you grow stronger?”

Alexander’s eyes lit with amusement. “I see.” He gave Simon a once over. “She’ll die anyway. The doctors say it won’t be long now.”

Simon pulled uselessly against Alexander’s restraint.

“Very well. A new deal, then. I won’t touch her as long as you follow my orders to the letter.”

Simon didn’t believe him—not even for a moment, but he would be forced to do Alexander’s bidding regardless of any deals they made. If this bought her time to recover and for him to form a plan, he would play along.

“The demon population wanes. Give me leave to travel farther, and I will devise a plan to bring back more at once.”

Alexander rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You will have until dawn, but if you bring back less than two demons, our deal is broken.”

Simon nodded once, praying he hadn’t made a fool’s bargain.

“Go then. Bring me back at least two demons each night. If you fail, you know the consequences.”

The spell released him, and he ran, not looking back, not pausing for even a moment.

The night had gone so much better than he could have hoped. In one evening, his faith that Rebecca might accept a creature like him was restored, and his bargain would give her a little more time.

Chapter 13

Rebecca

Rebecca stretched her arms overhead, relieved that the tug from her stitches was gone. The doctor had come after explicit instructions from her father to lie, saying she’d fallen in the woods and cut her arm on a branch.

When the doctor had inspected the perfect incision, she could tell he hadn’t bought her story, but he said nothing, telling her he would return in two weeks to see if they were ready to come out.

To his surprise, the wound had healed remarkably quickly. When he tugged out the stitches, they marveled together at the thin white line where an angry red wound had been.

“You have some immune system, young lady,” the doctor had said, scratching his head as he snapped his bag closed. “If only that immune system would fight this illness sapping your strength.”

“I’ve been feeling much better,” Rebecca said.

In fact, she did feel better. Not recovered, but not as weak as she once was. Since the night her father had taken so much blood, he hadn’t called her back down to the dark room below their home, and it was doing wonders for her health.

On nights like tonight, when she could move about the room with ease, a trickle of hope seeped in. Doing her best to tamp it down, she crossed the room, humming as she folded her multicolored throw and laid it at the bed's end.

Sarah stood up in her crib, holding out her hands.

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