Page 14 of The Demon's Delight
“What is your home like?” I asked.
“Not much different from Olinbourg, I suppose. Colder, though. Ravenglen is right next to the northern mountains, and there’s snow on the peaks there all year.” I waited several beats for her to elaborate further, but she did not.
She glanced over, found me staring and asked, “Is it true that Hell is dark nearly all the time?”
I nodded. “Yes. It’s not true dark, though. There’s a brightness to the false sky like daylight, but it’s always some shade of gray instead of blue like here.”
“Are you always stuck there?” she asked, kicking at a pebble on the road.
“I wouldn’t say stuck. I travel to other realms often, though my job is in Hell.” My apartment, too, such as it was. It was a consistent place to return in order to rest, but I held no true attachment to it.
“I would miss the sunshine. Ihavemissed the sunshine. I didn’t get to go outside at all while I was at that house. I sometimes got to open the window though. Not enough to climb out, but enough to get some fresh air and a breeze. I missed the whole summer.” Hailon turned around and bathed her face in the light, walking backwards with her eyes closed for several paces. A small smile ticked at her lips, and as I grinned in response to the pleasant sight, I found my heartburn flaring. Whatever the cause was, I was rather irritated by the gnawing sensation.
“Every realm is lovely in its own way. Hell is home, has been for a very, very long time. I don’t mind it. But I do love visiting other places, and I do find I miss many things about this world when I am elsewhere.”
“Every realm?” she asked, fidgeting with her tunic. “You’ve been beyond Cyntere?”
I chuckled. “Yes, many times. The world is very big, and there are doorways to places not shown on any map if you know where to find them.”
She digested this quietly. To my dismay, the conversation never picked back up. Hailon had gone pensive and introspective, and I worried something I’d said was the cause of her withdrawal.
It wasn’t until we stopped for a rest at midday that part of the reason my companion had grown so quiet was revealed.
Hailon stripped off the boots we’d found for her in the way-house the minute we were seated on some fallen trees in the shade of a stand of pines. She dug through her pack, bringing out the healing ointment and an extra pair of socks. I heard her mumble several colorful curses under her breath.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, startled by her sudden intake of breath.
“Blisters,” she said simply. “The boots are a little big.”
My heart thumped rapidly behind my ribs, panic settling into my chest at the thought that she’d been quietly suffering the whole day.
I apologized, digging out some food to keep my hands occupied while she applied the salve to her heels and toes. She put her socks back on, hesitated, then layered on the last pair for good measure.
“It’s alright. This should help.”
I handed her one of the water skins and she took it eagerly, downing several gulps. I frowned harder. “You do not need to be thirsty or endure physical discomfort. Just say if you need something, Hailon. I could always carry you?—”
“You willnotbe carrying me,” she said firmly, shaking her head for emphasis.
“Then you must speak more freely about your needs. I’ve spent most of my time around demons and fae, I’m clearly not good at reading humans just yet. I just thought you weren’t interested in talking, but if you were in pain…” I couldn’t piece together the words I needed to express my concern. Her eyes drifted to my tail, which was twitching irritably behind me in the grass. “I need to know. You musttellme. Okay?”
“I’ll do my best to let you know if I need something going forward,” she said before tearing into an apple with a noticeably aggressive bite. It was such a silly thing, and probably meant to deter me, expressing her displeasure as she was, but I adored her fire.
“Thank you. That’s all I ask.” I couldn’t restrain my good mood as we ate, her eyes anywhere but on me and mine nowhere but on her.
With a rueful sigh, she pulled the boots back on once she’d tossed aside the apple core. “Bastard,” she muttered. I couldn’t help grinning. For all I knew, she was referring to me, though I assumed she meant the blisters.
“Your healing ability doesn’t healyourbody?” I asked as I shifted around the contents of the packs so they were more evenly distributed. “You healed my arm, and you mentioned that ability was being sold by your captor. The injuries from the day we met, the blisters. Your gift won’t take care of them?”
Hailon shook her head, dusting her hands on her thighs as she stood. “No. It has only ever worked on others.”
“That’s quite unfair.”
Her mouth twitched and she chuffed a harsh laugh. “Tell me about it.”
“Are your bruises and cuts alright? Perhaps we should find somewhere to camp?—”
“I’m fine.”
