Page 28 of Demon Bound

He changed his skin to the same sandy color as hers, and his hair remained black. She was relieved when his horns disappeared. She’d been afraid the illusion wouldn’t cover them. It wasn’t the strongest glamour she’d ever seen, but for the work of a mediocre non-mage enchanter, she thought it wasn’t bad.

“Your eyes,” she reminded him.

Pupils and irises and whites appeared. Brown eyes, like hers. He looked down at her. It was unnerving to suddenly be able to track his gaze so precisely, for some reason. His eyes felt more intense when she could see them looking directly into hers.

She looked him over. Disguised as a human, she found that he was very conventionally attractive, which almost made her laugh. It wasn’t enough that he was a seven foot tall, bare-chested man with a body that looked to have been sculpted by the gods—no, he had to have a pretty face, too. It was almost too ridiculous to be believable.

He was going to attract attention no matter how much they changed him, but at least he wasn’t blue. “It’s a shame it can’t make you look any smaller,” she said. “If people ask, tell them you’re half giant. We need clothes for you, too.”

“I do not need protection from the elements.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Have you seen anyone else here walking around topless?”

“Topless?”

“Without a top. A shirt.”

He thought about it. “No,” he realized. “It looks suspicious?”

“You could say that.” She pulled her blanket from her bag and held it out to him. He fastened it around his shoulders, then bent down so she could pin it into place. The fabric wasn’t thick, but there was a lot of it, and it covered most of his upper body, draping over him like a shawl.

She stood back to check their work. “You could almost pass for a native Uulantaavan,” she said. “As long as you don’t bite anyone.”

He lifted his makeshift cloak so that both his arms were free. The strange glow of his phantom limb was gone, and it had the appearance of real flesh. He gave it a lingering look, turning his hand over and back.

“What now?” he asked.

She paused, surprised again to be the one making decisions. “There are no other scholars in Frosthaven who could help with your binding, let alone enchanters. We’ll need to go farther afield to find the information we’re looking for.” And she was eager to put more distance between her and Nirlan.

“How much farther?”

She grimaced. It was probably best to be honest. “I’m not sure. We should head for Ontag-ul for now. It’s the next town down the road.” And it was still many miles away, especially since Azreth had brought them west instead of south along the north-south road when he’d wandered away from the castle. It would take days to get there.

“And if we don’t find answers there?”

“Then we will have to keep searching.”

He nodded. “I will follow.” The statement was oddly comforting.

Chapter 10

“We are being followed,” Azreth said.

Raiya looked up at him. They’d been walking for several hours and had made it to the road south of Frosthaven. The sun had risen high and started to fall again, its light gray and cold.

She glanced over her shoulder, and sure enough, there was a figure in the distance, jutting up from the horizon between grassy hills. A rider.

“It could be just another traveler,” Raiya said.

Azreth jerked his chin to point at something on their right.

In the fields off the side of the road, there were two more figures. When Raiya looked around, she found yet another flanking them on the other side. They were very far away, trying not to be seen before they’d had time to surround her and Azreth. They’d succeeded.

“Ash,”Raiya cursed. They couldn’t outrun mounted pursuers.

The riders came closer, slowly but surely. They were being cautious. They rode behelgi—Uulantaavan giant elk. Raiya spotted silver armor and red cloaks.

“Paladins,” she said. “Followers of the god of justice, Paladius. They hunt demons, among other things.”

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