Page 53 of Demon Bound

Raiya wasn’t particularly good at lying. She told as much of the truth as she could. “I had an awakening about a week ago. I suppose I had reached rock bottom. But now I’ve found a way out.”

Gereg nodded sagely. “The dark goddess often seeks us out when we are at our weakest, when we are most open to her wisdom. The assurance of death comforts you, does it not?”

Raiya stared at the old woman, trying to work out whether she expected an answer in the affirmative. Then again, this was the goddess of death they were talking about. “Oh, yes. Definitely.”

Gereg smiled wanly. She took a breath, moving on to a new topic. “I have received another message from the dark goddess.”

“Another dream?” Raiya asked, barely hiding her skepticism.

“Indeed.” Gereg raised her hands as if making a grand pronouncement. “In my dream, the demon announced his purpose on our plane.”

“His purpose?”

“Yes. He is here for a reason. Haven’t you guessed?”

“I guess not.”

“You will see.” With that cryptic statement, she folded her hands behind her and walked smugly out of the room.

Madira frowned after her, fidgeting with the pommel of his sword. “That woman is creepy as all hells.”

“On that, we can agree.”

He looked her up and down as if reassessing her. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “The cultists are not as harmless as they seem.”

“I appreciate the warning, but I can take care of myself.”

“Whatever you say.” He took a step back, and then his entire body faded until it was almost gone. He was still there in front of her, but he’d turned into a shadow, barely visible. It was the magical camouflaging all night elves were born with. She’d heard of it, but never seen it before now. “Give my regards to your monster.”

“He’s not a monster.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

When Raiya wentto find Azreth later that day, she had a harder time locating him than she expected. None of the cultists seemed to know where he’d gone. It wasn’t until she went to the attic and craned her head out the window that her search came to an end.

Her demon was sitting on the roof in the shadows beneath the chimney, surveying the city. His knees were tucked up against his chest as if to make himself smaller. Somehow, it seemed to have worked. He’d avoided the attention of the townspeople below, and he observed them unnoticed. The sunwas bright that day, and it was almost warm. If she’d been in a better mood, she’d have been tempted to join him. But when Azreth’s eyes slid in her direction, she felt a flicker of irritation and apprehension that made her want to turn around and leave.

“I’m ready to try a counter-enchantment,” she said instead. She still intended to free him, after all. Even if he was a bastard, it was the right thing to do. And besides that, she had started to think of it as a puzzle, and she would be annoyed if she left it unsolved.

He raised his head in interest. Then he unfolded his large body and followed her into the attic, squeezing through the broken window frame. Raiya set her satchel on the floor and turned to him. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

“You’ll have to provide magic for it,” she said. “We should get that out of the way, first.”

She had managed to get one of the mages at the temple to recharge her baton rather than going to Azreth for help. His artificial arm hadn’t returned, presumably because he didn’t have enough magic to summon it. He was going hungry, but he hadn’t spoken to her since their argument.

She waited, hoping he would take the lead. It would be easier if he would just do it quickly without her having to think about it too much. That was her strategy for dealing with Nirlan’s hunger, too. Sometimes, there was some comfort in being able to lie back and just let things take their course. She could close her eyes and pretend she was elsewhere.

“How shall I feed?” he asked.

“However you want to.”

He seemed unenthused by that answer, which surprised her, considering how insistent he’d been that he would use her even if she tried to deny him. But after a long moment, he closed the gap between them. Despite herself, a little flush of attraction went through her.

He crouched so that he was not looming over her, and his hand went to the back of her thigh, pulling her closer. Raiya’s eyes drifted shut as his hand slid further up her thigh and snaked between her legs. Instead of being quick like she’d hoped, his movements were soft and unhurried.

“It is more difficult without magic,” he said, almost apologetically. He shrugged what remained of his scarred shoulder. “Without my hands.”

“It’s all right,” she said compulsively, forgetting her anger for a moment. “It won’t be a problem. We’ve never had a problem before.”

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