Page 5 of The Demon's Delight
Rage filled me as I met her eye. She was in pain. There was no reason for her to be held down by so many men. Five to one was an incredibly unbalanced ratio. Even if she was dangerous, this was a disproportionate response to say the least.
I could also feel the faint pulse of magic nearby, though I couldn’t see the source. Based on the awkward cloths covering the floor, I guessed there was a circle somewhere underneath.
“Is that him?” one of the men asked, glancing from me to his companions. “Did it work? Why did he come in through the door, aren’t they supposed to appear from within the circle?”
The man with the tiny knife approached me, taking in my tail and horns with his eyebrows raised in curiosity. “Hello, demon. What’s your name?”
I frowned at him, not wanting to give it, but knowing there wasn’t much he could do with it anyway. “I’m Seir.” I looked past him to the woman again, then stepped to the side so I could see what was happening behind her back. She was too close to the fire, to start. She was dripping sweat, and her skin was turning an intense shade of pink. One of her wrists had been sliced, and blood dripped down her bound hands into a small puddle on the floor.
There was no explanation for the situation that would have satisfied me. Whether she was my summoner or just a woman I happened to stumble across, my response would have been the same.
This waswrong. I needed to help her.
I met her gaze again, fascinated by the colors of her eyes. Both were divided nearly in half, though neither perfectly down the center. The left was a deep brown on one side and a light jade on the other, the right bright blue and opaque yellow.
“Release her.”
One of the larger men chuckled. “She’s irrelevant. We summoned you, demon. You’re under our charge now.”
Amusement flooded in on top of the anger. My blood roiled under my skin, ready for the fight I knew was coming. “You didn’t summon me.”
“Of course we did! If we hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here.” This man was seated on the floor, holding her ankle so hard against the edge of the stool it was blanched white. He seemed to realize as the words came out that perhaps that wasn’t true and frowned.
I kicked at the edges of the cloths, turning them up. As I expected, there was a roughly drawn summoning gate on the floorboards, several very important lines blurred or missing altogether. Whatever they were trying to bring across wouldn’t hear their request no matter how much of her blood was spilled.
Her eyes met mine again, a spark of hope in them. She was tired, I could see that much, but she shifted her weight as though she were ready to battle, if only she could get out from under her captors. I respected her grit.
The surly larger man seemed offended that I wasn’t bowing to him immediately. “We drew the circle, we spoke the words, we made the sacrifice. Youwilldo our bidding!”
I laughed then, long and loud. How foolish these humans were.
“You didn’t draw agoodcircle. It isn’t even complete, and your sigil is smudged. I can’t think of a single demon who would respond to such disrespect. Never minding all that,she’sthe one bleeding for it, not you.” I walked around, meeting each of their eyes. I loved the way their arrogance slowly faded the longer I held eye contact. “Shesummoned me. I accepted the offering made ofherblood. I’mhersto command.” I leaned forward, intentionally antagonizing him. “To be abundantly clear, I. Belong. To.Her.” I pointed my finger and the tip of my tail toward the woman. Something warm rattled under my ribs as I said the words.
“I didn’t do all this work for nothing,” the largest of them growled, advancing on me. “Damned witch is just the offering. The preparations were ours!”
I stepped into his path, dagger drawn before he fully registered what had happened. My tail wound around his throat, tight enough to make him wheeze. “Untie her hands. Now,” I ordered, all levity gone from my tone.
The glass dome on the lamp nearby rattled as my command echoed through the room, and to my regret, the fire briefly surged in intensity. The man on the floor rushed to comply, but one of the others stopped him. I loved nothing more than to play this kind of game, but these men had tested my patience already.
I looked to her again, limbs trembling under the weight of her bodyguard’s pressure. “You asked me for help, yes?” She nodded. “Do you wish to be left here, with these men?” She shook her head fervently, giving a muffled answer over the horrible leather strap. “Shall I kill them all for performing such terrible acts?” Her eyes widened, pupils dilating. I smiled, seeing a reflection of myself in her. “As their offense has been against you, would you like to help?” All sound vanished from the room;all attention directed to her. She nodded slowly. Excitement bubbled through me, and my smile stretched wide.
“Let’s be reasonable about this,” the man with the tiny blade said. “We’re men of science is all, searching for answers a new way! There’s no need for violence.”
“I disagree. And did you not start with violence yourselves? Against her?”
He tried to protest, but I was done being patient. I dispatched the burly man I was holding, dragging my dagger across his throat then hurling him to the floor. Before anyone could so much as blink, I’d pulled my sword free of its sheath.
The science man rushed me, getting in a good swipe with his tiny blade. My forearm had a nice gash in it, the cut burning as it started to bleed. I tilted my head, making eye contact with him before I ran him through. He fell to the floor, choking on his own blood, face frozen in a mask of shock.
“In case it was unclear, I wasn’t asking. Free her hands. And get that disgusting contraption out of her mouth.”
“Yes sir, of course.” The man on the floor scrambled to do so, then cowered in the corner with his two remaining friends. As she rubbed feeling back into her fingers, I pulled a small handkerchief from my pocket and folded it diagonally. I tied it tightly around her wrist, stanching the remaining slow flow of blood.
“What about you?” She gestured to the cut on my arm, which was freely dripping.
“It’s nothing.”
“Here.” Her hand was warm as she covered the injury, and her eyes slipped closed for several seconds. When she opened them, the bleeding had stopped, and the wound looked well sealed.
