Page 6 of The Demon's Delight
“Thank you.” I marveled at what she’d done, and it only made my rage deepen. A person with such a gift should not be treated so callously.
Her eyes landed on the dead men, then she stood and turned toward the three shifting restlessly in the corner.
“We never meant any harm, Jane,” one of them offered, hands up in surrender. He was missing the tip of one of his fingers. I got the odd notion she was responsible for that somehow.
“My name isnot fuckingJane,” she hissed. “It never was. I’ve told you that a hundred times, you prick. And you can all go straight to Hell.”
My blood rose, responding to her anger. “Yes,” I agreed, bouncing a bit on my toes. “They are welcome there. I know several of my kind who will be more than happy to think up new and exciting punishments for them.” I didn’t move except to prepare to block their escape, should they attempt to run.
The woman snatched the dagger right out of my hand and made short, painful work of the men. Even in her weakened state, her aim was true as she plunged the blade through their necks, into their chests, and across their bellies, severing arteries, spilling organs. Impressed didn’t quite convey how I felt as she very efficiently allowed the light to dim from their eyes, their efforts to fight back useless.
It was glorious to watch, as were the sounds of their screams.
Her breath came short and labored when it was done, her face spattered with gore as she handed me back my blade. I marveled at her, stunned even at myself for not having reacted when she’d taken it in the first place. Nobody touched my blades but me. Until her.
She was by far the most stunning creature I’d ever laid eyes on.
I reached out and touched her face, my fingers cupping her jaw as I brushed some of the spatter from her cheek with my thumb. She startled but relaxed when she realized what I was doing, her fascinating eyes staring directly into mine.
She nodded, watching me in a detached kind of way as I wiped my blade on the tunic of the nearest body.
“What do we do now?” she asked, arms limp at her sides.
“We leave,” I said simply, unable to stop smiling at her. My heart felt strange in my chest, too big, too… active. I tried to recall if I’d ever seen a human—man or woman—behave as she had. “Is there anything of value to you here?”
She started to shake her head but changed her mind mid motion. Without a word, she wiped her hands across her shift to clean them and went around the room collecting money and jewelry from the bodies. She also retrieved a medium-sized lockbox from a compartment hidden behind some liquor bottles on a shelf. Her hand hovered for a moment, then she snatched up one of the bottles, too, taking a deep drink before slamming it to the floor. It shattered, splashing potent grain alcohol across the room.
While she worked, I pulled one of the logs from the fireplace and tossed it directly onto the messy huddled bodies of the three men. Then another onto the cloth, and another between the other two. She stepped carefully toward the doorway as the flames caught, vanishing down the hall like a specter. I continued until the fireplace was all but empty and the room was filling with sour smoke. When I got to the entryway, she was just returning from what I guessed was the kitchen with a worn shoulder pack in her arms.
I reached for it, and after a moment’s hesitation she surrendered it. Intending to sift us across town, I curled my arm around her shoulders. “Allow me.” I reached for the place in my mind my power resided but found it empty.
“That’s odd.” I didn’t want to alarm her, but I’d never not been able to find my magic, especially not twice in one day. Panic raced through me as I searched again and found the same void where it usually resided.
She pulled open the front door and walked without hesitation.
Perplexed by what was happening with my abilities, I followed her, jogging to catch up as she rounded the corner of the building. I was glad for the empty street and no onlookers considering the state of us, not to mention the flames becoming a warm glow through the main floor windows. Her feet were bare, and she staggered several times before going to her knees.
“Thank you for helping me get out of there, I’ll be okay from here. I just need to…” Her words slurred, and she blinked heavily, sitting back on her heels as her whole body trembled. She looked equally angry and confused by her weakness; the burst of energy she’d gotten from the adrenaline rush now fully depleted.
I rearranged the packs. “I’m going to pick you up, okay?” She scowled at me but reluctantly allowed me to put her arms around my neck so I could scoop her up. Her grip loosened almost immediately as she slumped over, unconscious. For extra security, I wrapped my tail around her waist and tightened my arms around her thin frame.
Then I released my wings and… stumbled.
Horrified that my body had failed me, I tried again. And again. Each time, my bat-like wings deployed, but I simply could not rise from the ground.
I stared down at the woman in my arms and started walking, all the questions I had about her compounding as I carried us into the dense forest.
Chapter 3
Hailon
The skin on the back of my neck and shoulders prickled and ached, like it was pulled too tight. Everything felt dense, like I was breathing through a cloud. I was stuck somewhere between asleep and awake, the warmth around me soft and comforting. Unfortunately, now that I was even partially conscious, my body was letting me know it had complaints.
Many, many complaints.
My hand slid along the covers and paused, finding fabric far more luxurious than anything I’d been allowed to use since being taken from the forest near my home.
Forcing my heavy eyes to open, I grunted as my muscles protested me attempting to sit up. I was in some kind of cabin, a fire burning away in the hearth and a pile of assorted supplies set off to one corner of the single room.
