Page 59 of The Book Reader
“Daemons bring nightmares?”
He grins again, and power radiates off him. “I’m a daemon, Ari. I bring nightmares, dreams in the form of manipulation and contempt. I’m evil by blood, just one of the lesser kinds of evil,” he says while watching me, waiting for me to run. He’s different here. The darkness is creeping into him slowly, like this place isfeeding it. I know not all daemons are evil, just as I know not all angels are good.
I turn to face the castle and smile. “Please tell me you sleep in one of those towers?”
He laughs. “We only sleep up there sometimes.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean by ‘sometimes’?”
“Later, Ari, let’s get you settled and meet my family.”
He helps me into the boat, and I sit on a cushioned chair. Gaelan sits opposite me, and the ship begins to move, making me giggle. “Does it move on its own?”
“Unfortunately, not. Reveal yourself, Gurt,” Gaelan commands, and a huge looking man appears, he has black and white markings that twist together like roped knots all over his body, his muscles are thick and hard looking. He looks like one of those guys from that Mr. World muscle contest Mekhi is always watching; his eyes are black, framed with long white eyelashes.
He waves and chuckles darkly, his voice a loud boom when he speaks, “My lord. My lady.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard a voice so deep in all my life. He sounds as if he could snap your neck with a click of his fingers, and he would love every second of doing it.
“Gurt is the guard of this river; you only cross if he allows you to. He’s also the only one, besides me, that can swim in it.”
Gurt gives me a sly look before vanishing again.
“What would happen ifIever fell in? Would I never wake up?”
“We’ve never tested that out, Ari, and we never will,” he says with a pointed look.
I nod at his words. Considering that a small vial will last a daemon forever, I’d hate to think what a teaspoonful would do. I find myself curling in slightly, a new fear of falling into a river rushing through me.
Gaelan leans forward and takes my hand. “You will be fine, Ari. Gurt is always present, and those under my protection are safe. No one will ever be forced to cross this river without a boat. Those who are not welcome here and try will meet an awful death.”
“I know. I just don’t understand how something so calm can be so deadly.”
“There are many things like this in our worlds,” Gaelan replies, the hint of danger in his eyes making me shiver with pleasure.
The boat comes to a stop, and I look up at the large castle, feeling nervous yet excited to see where Gaelan lives. To see what his life is like. The anxious part is because I feel like I’ve been here before.
Gaelan reaches and helps me out of the boat and onto a small wooden dock; it’s not a huge one, and I can imagine only a few people get to step foot onto it. I was expecting the pedalboat to sway with us moving, but it sits perfectly still. Gurt reappears and grins at me, showing a complete set of razor-sharp teeth. He bows slightly and then dives off the boat and into the deadly river. I watch as the water ripples, with no sight of Gurt, only for him to reappear a few feet away.
Laughing, I say, “You weren’t kidding when you said he’s a guard. Does he always swim in it?”
“He does. Even if it annoys me, Gurt does as he pleases.” Gaelan sounds slightly pissed, which makes me laugh harder. Gurt seems to be a much closer friend than Gaelan is letting on.
Gaelan pulls me along a sandy path, and the softest of grains shift under my feet. I look down and laugh in amazement. The sand is made up of a mixture of blue and silver. I take another step and watch as it moves with me, shifting with each step I take, like some kind of magic.
I look to where Gaelan is leading me. There’s a massive gate up ahead with two dragons made of stone on either side. Just above the gate is a vast, blue stone that almost resembles a moon. As we approach, the gates begin to open, revealing a vast, square-shaped courtyard.
Walking through, I notice stables of some kind; there are five of them, each with a different colored door. There’s a gold door in the middle that shakes violently as if there is a beast on the other side that will burst through at any moment. I walk toward it, curious to see what is inside. My steps stop when Gaelan pulls on my hand.
“Tomorrow, my Rose. I’ll give you the full tour,” Gaelan says, guiding me to walk up the steps and through a large wooden door. Once through, I gasp, the place is enormous! This must be the main entrance, because there is currently a line of people bowing their heads.
Gaelan squeezes my hand before he speaks, “Arianna, meet my extended family.” Everyone lifts their heads and smiles toward me; I can see the happiness on their faces. That feeling that I have been here before hits me again, almost taking my breath away.
Gaelan walks me closer, and a woman who looks to be close to my age, maybe a little older, comes rushing forward, her arms outstretched, as she wraps me up in them, hugging me tightly.
“Welcome, Ari. I’m Sammy.” She pulls back, and her blue eyes lock with mine. “Anything you need, I can help you.”
“Thank you.”
“You are beautiful,” she says before moving back and letting the others greet me. I watch as their faces light up as each of them tells me what they do. The chef, Loui, will make anything I want, and the maids, butler, and gardener all make a point ofletting me know that I just need to call them, and they’ll assist me.
