Page 32 of A Soul to Guide

With what could only be a singular forearm smack, her barrier shattered. Since the component she’d used wasn’t alive and tied to the soil, which made it brittle, he barrelled his way through with ease.

Raewyn fell back on her arse and hands, and she scooted backwards until her back met the wall. She curled her hands against her chest, as though she wanted to protect it.

She perceived him crouching over her by the sharpness of his scent and the warmth that radiated from him. She considered kicking him between his squatting legs, but decided against it. She didn’t want his retaliation.

“I’m a Duskwalker.” When she shook her head, he made a thoughtful hum. “A Mavka, then?”

Raewyn shook her head again. “I’ve never heard of that before. We didn’t know that anything other than Demons were here.”

“Fine. It’s better if I show you then.”

Raewyn flinched when he slowly curled hisclawedfingers around her wrists, practically swallowing them in his palms. She uselessly pulled on her arms. She fought, afraid of what he was about to do to her, squirming to get free.

Her fingertips touched bone, and Raewyn paused.

He’s making me touch his face?

The texture that greeted her palms was smooth, cool, and it didn’t take her long to gather the courage to explore. She needed to know what he looked like, to know what was currently towering over her like a massive ball of menace.

His bony snout wasn’t particularly long, but it wasn’t short either.

“A skull?” she asked, before her fingers halted at a distinct cut over the top of the snout.

“A bear skull, to be exact.”

She tried to remember if she’d ever read about a creature such as him as she brushed her thumb over that cut.

“Careful with playing with any scarring on my face. It’s sensitive.”

She moved up and gingerly touched at the eye sockets, noticing they were... empty? There were claw marks going down the right one.

“How do you see?”

“My sight is made of two orbs that float within my eye sockets. They are predominantly red, but they will change colour depending on my mood.”

Is that why I saw red sparks before?She saw nothing now, but when he’d been fighting off the first Demon and her blindfold had dislodged, she’d noticed two glowing red lights in the dark of her vision.

“How were you able to walk around Clawhaven with a face like this?” Or rather... lack thereof.

“I wear an amulet that creates a human glamour.” He pushed her hands higher so she could feel it across his brow. The metal chain links were cold against her fingertips, as was the crystal that sat in the middle and tapped against his skull when she fingered it. “It has a twin, which protects the wearer from Demons touching them.”

“So that’s why I thought you were human.”

She’d thought it was her lack of sight, but it wouldn’t have mattered at all. Everyone thought he was human. It was relieving to know she hadn’t been the ultimate fool in this scenario.

When she palmed higher, she frowned at the two large protrusions she felt sticking out from his skull. If she remembered correctly, she thought Earth bears didn’t have horns.

Nyl’therian cervaursa were similar bear creatures, but they had deer antlers. If any of them were still alive, of course.

She noticed his horns were somewhat wide, pointed upward and forward, with a slight curve on the top.

“Bull horns,” he informed her. “I am made up of many creatures, although these are two out of three of my most distinct.”

When her hands came back down, fear was replaced by awe. The scientist within her desired to know every part of him, to know how a creature could live without skin upon its face.

He was an anomaly, one that made her wish to discover more of him. Oh, how she would love to dissect him and find out how he ticked!

Her fingers hesitated when she touched sharp fangs. Any movement he’d given before, the slightest muscle twitch or sway from breaths, halted completely. His steadiness gave her the impression he was being still for her sake rather than out of aversion to her touch.

---