Page 10 of The Demon's Delight
Absently, I scrubbed the heel of my palm against the dull, hot ache in my chest that had cropped up at some point after I arrived earth-side. A possible side effect of being summoned and banished again I guessed, as portals never had that effect. Perhaps the food was to blame.
I wanted to see what she had brought but didn’t want to overstep, so I left her bag alone. I’d scavenged enough from the cabin that we had food for a couple of days’ hard travel if necessary, but I could also hunt and had some money besides. There was one good change of clothing for me, and hopefully we could find something better suited for her at the next town. We were both identifiable enough in appearance that we’d have to be somewhat careful, but if Rylan and Vassago could do it, surely I could as well. That meant being mindful of my tail and not showing my sense of humor quite as enthusiastically as I normally would, but I could manage.
I was moving around the table and chairs so I could make up a place for myself to sleep in front of the hearth when the bathroom door clicked open. Glancing up, I caught her wide-eyed expression as she emerged, the filthy old shift in her fingers and her wet hair soaking through the oversize linen tunic I’d found for her.
Which she was wearing as a nightgown. With nothing else.
I inhaled, the mild floral scent of the soap filling my lungs.
“That was more needed than you know, thank you.” Her eyes dipped to the floor, then to the fire. “Can I…?”
I was frozen, unsure exactly what she was asking me. Without waiting for a response, she stepped in front of thefireplace and tossed the tattered garment into the flames, one long leg close enough for me to touch.
The split in the side of the shirt revealed a swath of marked skin. There were bruises and cuts all up and down the strong thigh, and deep red and purple marks splashed across the ankle. Her knee was skinned from how she’d fallen earlier. My fingers twitched, but I kept them at my side, my teeth clenched together at the sight. Anger surged through me, the desire to kill those men all over again rising up. The kind of behavior she’d endured at their hands was completely unacceptable.
“Sorry,” she apologized. “The pants fit okay, but they aren’t very comfortable. I figured if we were just going to sleep…” Foolishly, I could only stare back, grappling between rage and attraction, which made her turn a fascinating shade of pink from her chest up. “The bathwater is cold and filthy, but I didn’t want to drain it after you went to all that effort.”
I cleared my throat and made myself look away from her. “I’ll take care of it. Is there anything in your bag I should include in my count?”
She stared at me, eyes blank as she considered, then gave a short nod. She sank to her knees and dipped her hands into the pack she’d filled at the terrible house. No fewer than three small knives got piled off to the side, including one with a flat end designed to be held between her fingers when she made a fist. The last was a particularly wicked-looking dagger with a blade made from obsidian and finely crafted grip. Pride flared that she’d thought to grab such things in her hurry, followed by excitement to see her use them.
Several tins of food came out next, then an assortment of silver and gold items. She separated the silver utensils from a set of candlesticks, counting the spoons under her breath and frowning as though she would be held accountable for the number. Next was a thin leather belt with an unusual goldbuckle that looked far too expensive to belong to any of the men I’d encountered.
The wooden lockbox from the study came out as well. She set it and its key to the side as she sorted through the handfuls of coins and jewelry she’d taken off the men’s bodies.
“Damn,” she swore, finally turning to the box. There was a solid click when she turned the key in the lock, and the lid creaked on its hinges as she opened it. She riffled through the paperwork inside. Reviewing it would surely be a worthwhile endeavor at some point, but she was in no state of mind for that. “I thought there would be more.” There was some paper money mixed in with what looked like receipts of some kind, but not much.
Her hand closed around a carved wooden horse with gold-tipped ears and hooves. She squeezed her eyes closed and clutched the carving to her chest.
“Money isn’t a problem,” I assured her, though my ability to find it like I normally did was in question if I couldn’t access my magic. Regardless, between what I already had when I arrived and what she’d taken, there was coin enough for now and there were items that could be traded.
She handed me a selection of the coins and put the rest back in the box along with the jewelry and weapons. The little horse remained in her hand.
“Here. This is yours too.” I pulled the little spell book I’d taken from her floor out of my pocket and put it in the box. She stared at me.
“You don’t want to keep it?”
I shrugged. “I flipped through it while you were sleeping, but there’s nothing in there that I didn’t already know. Whomever it belongs to has some very eclectic knowledge.”
“Such as?” She picked it up and thumbed through it, brow furrowed. “I read through it several times, but most things I couldn’t make heads or tails of.”
“That is where you learned how to draw a circle, yes?” She nodded. “Well, that’s a good example. The sigil collection is incomplete, and many are drawn wrong. The one for me was close enough it worked, but most would not.”
“Oh.”
“We can go through it more thoroughly if you like. When you feel up to it.”
“Okay.” She seemed skeptical of my offer but put the book in the box.
After packing her bag back up, she crossed to the bed and climbed under the sheet, a fierce yawn making her jaw crack as she leaned her back against the headboard. “I shouldn’t still be tired.”
I chuffed, stuffing my spare change of clothing into the bag of supplies and tying it off. “When was the last time you got any kind of decent rest?” She only blinked. “That’s what I thought, Derne.”
“Hailon.”
Her chin was propped up on her knees, which she’d pulled to her chest. “What?”
“Derne is my family name. If we’re going to be traveling together, you can call me Hailon.”
