Page 12 of The Demon's Delight
“Oh good, I was starting to worry you might be dead,” he teased, his tail efficiently removing the topmost pieces and setting them in the fire. It was fascinating to watch.
“Not yet,” I replied, sitting back in my chair. “You didn’t check on me?”
As he transferred the wood—now with his tail and hands—to the metal holder next to the hearth, he glanced over at me with a grin. He’d braided thin sections of hair on either side of his face and joined them behind his head with a strip of leather, showcasing his high cheekbones and the freckles sprinkled over them. His shirt was unbuttoned partway, and he had the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, giving me a good look at the greenishrunes tattooed across his chest just below his collarbones and down his breastbone.
“Of course I did,” he said, straightening up, dusting his hands together. “You were breathing just fine. And see? I was right. You needed the rest.”
I rose to wash my plate, face burning with embarrassment. I’d been staring again. I was sure of it. And he’d seen me doing it. But there was no way to stop myself; he was ridiculously pretty.
“Point taken. But tomorrow, please wake me. I really would like to get on the road.” My chest squeezed tight, worry that I had already been gone too long pressing in. My cursed gift had been part of me as long as I could remember and was needed by those closest to me for the same reasons I was taken and exploited for it. I had to get back to Sal.
Seir retrieved the pot of hot water and walked with it into the bathroom, filling the tub again. For himself, I presumed, since I’d done nothing more strenuous than sleep and he’d been busy with laborious things like chopping wood and foraging for food.
“No promises, but I think tomorrow is probably reasonable.” He carried the pot outside, filled it with water from the pump and rehung it over the flames. The stray drops on the outside of the massive iron kettle hissed and popped as they burned away. “I know you just ate, but are you up to preparing supper while I bathe? Better chance of getting an early start if we’re not tying up all the loose ends too late into evening.”
“I’m not much of a cook,” I admitted.
“Nothing complicated required, I was going to use up as many of the odds and ends as I could in a stew so they aren’t wasted. A little chopping, some water, and let it sit on the heat.” He smiled. “I do love food this side of the gates. Much more variety.”
I nodded, thoughts scrambled by his statement, not to mention his half-dressed close proximity. I kept forgetting hewas a creature of Hell until reminded. That was concerning, honestly, especially considering I’d just been marveling at the utility of histail.
Seir showed me the small pile of oddly sized root vegetables and a freshly cleaned fowl he’d brought in while I was sleeping. He smelled like pine resin and sulfur as he leaned over me to pull down a heavy cooking pot from the shelf.
“Knife,” he said, standing basically over the top of me as he pulled open a drawer.
I reached inside and picked up the well-used blade, weighing it in my hand. Seir’s eyes flashed, somehow red in what had to be a trick of the light. “I’m sure you know how to handle yourself with that, so I’ll go get cleaned up.”
I stood in the tiny kitchen for far longer than I wanted to admit, staring after him with my heart thudding behind my ribs and his smirk burned into my thoughts.
True to his word,Seir had us both up and ready to go before sunrise the next morning.
“How have you got everything packed up already?” I asked, coming out of the bathroom to find him serving up some porridge with berries for breakfast, our bags waiting by the door, and the cabin restored to a perfectly tidy condition.
My stew had come out better than I’d expected the previous evening, and between us, we’d eaten the whole pot. I was pretty sure the amount of food I was taking in was ridiculous, but Seir mostly seemed amused by it, continually asking if I needed more. Climbing into that warm, comfortable bed with a full stomach had been one of the loveliest experiences of my life. I remained torn between my need to get back to Aunt Sal and thedesire to stay in this little cabin and have more time to enjoy such indulgences.
“I don’t sleep much,” Seir answered quietly, almost as though he didn’t want to disturb the peace of the morning quite yet.
As I sat to eat, he washed and dried the pot, spread out all the fire embers to cool and walked through the cabin as though looking for something.
“Are you going to eat?”
Satisfied with what he found, he huffed out a shy breath and smiled, sitting down in the chair opposite mine.
It was quiet for several minutes as we ate, the hot grains cereal never having been one of my favorite things but certainly something that would be good for a long day of traveling.
He shifted, brows drawn together in a pensive frown. “This morning, I went back to the portal I used when I first arrived. It wouldn’t activate, which is disappointing, but in line with what’s been happening with my other abilities.” He stared off blankly for a moment, then shook his head. “No matter. It didn’t work, but I did happen to find a map in the cabinet.” He reached into his pocket, producing a little rolled piece of parchment. “Hopefully it’s a decent rendering.” The small map was perhaps the size of Seir’s palm; we both had to lean close to make things out as he smoothed it flat on the table.
“This route will take us through or near Revalia.” He grinned broadly as he traced a path that crossed a river and went wide, toward the western coast of Cyntere. “I have people there. But this”—he traced a route that ran from town to town, across the expanse of the realm, all the way to Ravenglen—“is probably the way they brought you.”
I looked at the little triangles indicating mountains,t’s for forests, and illustrations of serpentine waterways. “What are these?” The markings looked like the letterxbut with an oddflourish at the top. Some were grouped together in a way that made them look like skulls.
“I believe those indicate ruins.”
I stiffened. “We should avoid that area.”
“Why?”
“Do your kind not avoid haunted places?” I asked.
