Page 5 of Snowed in with the Demon Lord
A look of pain flickered over his face so fast I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. A momentary crack in his impassive expression. “What I want is my business, mortal. From you, however, I want nothing. Stay until the storm has passed, then leave.”
Foggy memories of my car skidding, tumbling, and crashing surfaced, and I winced. “Um. Imighthave totaled my car, and hiking out of here doesn’t exactly sound safe. I think there’s something out in the woods, a dangerous animal?”
Abaddon pursed his lips. “I thought you might be the one who hit Belial.”
The giant dog looked up at the name. His eyes blazed with infernal flame, his mouth gaped wide to show off rending fangs, and smoke poured from him throat. I stared at the hellhound, frozen, as he got up and stretched.
Then he looked at me, cocked his head to one side, and saidwuff.His tongue lolled out of his mouth, instantly undermining the terror he’d inspired in me.
“Aren’t you a cutie?” I said, leaning forward to offer him my hand. The monstrous hound sniffed it, licked it tentatively, turned to Abaddon and said, again,wuff.
The demon grumbled. “What a terrifying guardian you are, Belial. She doesn’t have any treats for you.”
Belial didn’t acknowledge that, he just curled up next to me.
“Despite driving into him, Belial appears to have forgiven you. Nowhe’llbe annoyed if I let any harm come to you, so I offer you this deal.
“I will make sure you reach safety. Either to your car, if it still functions, or to your cabin, or to a human settlement. In returnfor that favor, you will agree not to reveal my existence to other mortals.”
That raised more questions. Did specifying a human settlement imply the existence of other,inhumansettlements in the area? When he said mortals, did that mean he was immortal? I put them aside. Those questions were important, but not as important as getting safely home.
“Deal,” I said, wanting that deal arranged before anything else.
“A bargain struck.” His words were formal, hard, and frightening. With one finger, he sketched a sigil in the air, leaving a trail of sparks. It flashed when completed, then vanished. “A bargain bound.”
I stared, wondering if I’d imagined that. After all, I’d hit my head hard enough to pass out. I’d be lucky if I got away with a few hallucinations rather than something more serious. On the other hand, Abaddon had horns, a tail, and red skin. Why balk at the idea of his conjuring flames and binding contracts?
I pushed away from the table, unable to take it all in. My instinct was to ask questions, which wouldn’t help me absorb anything, and Abaddon’s patience must have limits. It seemed unwise to pester him for details he didn’t want to share.
Instead, I looked around the cabin. There wasn’t much to see. The living area took up most of the space, with a kitchen set up in one corner. Heating came from radiators as well as the fireplace, keeping it warmer than I’d expect. Abaddon had to be spending a fortune on gas for heating.
One door led to a tiny bathroom, and the image of Abaddon squeezing into that shower made me laugh. Then my cheeks burned, and I got out of there quickly. Imagining the demon naked was distracting, confusing, and left me short of breath.
I shook it off as best I could and turned my attention to the building again. There was one more room, a bedroom, and Iclosed that door as soon as I’d looked inside. There were several reasons I didn’t want to invade his privacy.
The cabin was strange, too normal to be a demon lord’s lair. The carpentry was simple but of good quality, with no drafts getting in. All the furniture looked homemade, crude but solid. I wondered how much of it was Abaddon’s work. Did a demon build his own cabin, or had he bought it?
Some additions were his handiwork, I was pretty sure. Runes carved into the wood marked several surfaces, looking innocuous at first glance. A closer look revealed a faint blue light glowing in each.
Abaddon let me explore, staying at the table and focusing on the papers in front of him. Or rather, pretending to focus on them while watching me. The intensity of his burning gaze drilled into me no matter how much I tried to ignore it, and I wanted to hide myself.
I also wanted to let him stare as long as he liked. The fire, the passion in his gaze was overwhelming, and to have it directed at me was something I’d never experienced.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand the silence anymore, and the questions wouldn’t go away. I had to understand.
“What do you mean when you say you’re a demon?”
He tilted his head to the side, paused deliberately, then sighed. “You will not understand it, mortal. Few can.”
That’s the anger back again.“Try me.”
“Demons, as you call us, are inhabitants of another dimension. Long ago, we mastered the technologies that you think of as ‘magic.’ It is hard work for a demon to exist in your world, and I have been stuck here for longer than you have lived. This is my home, where Ishouldbe safe from intrusions.”
He fell silent. I put my hands on my hips and glowered in his direction. “That’s it? That’s your secret I ‘will not understand?’ I’m kind of insulted.”
“I gave you the easy version. Simple enough for a human.”
“Now you’re trying to be insulting.”
