I put a hand down to the ground. The snow isn’t cold either. This definitely isn’t snow.
“That’s not possible…” I move to stand but that’s when I get tripped up. The ropes around my ankles, loose as they are, are still there. “Mulberries,” I curse and lean forward to try and untie them but I don’t get to because someone else beats me to it.
“That’s a new one. I’ve never heard that mortal curse before.” The voice is warm and low, but sweet in a way. I freeze and look up from my shoes to see a man crouching in front of me. He’s beautiful. The most gorgeous man that I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s muscular, defined in a way that reminds me of strength and beauty all wrapped up together, like the sculptures in the art books that I’ve gotten into at the library. He looks like a work of art crafted to suit my tastes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man more perfect than him.
Long dark brown hair flows in the wind when he turns his head to twist his perfect features into a scowl at me. I can’t tell the color of his eyes in the dark, but I hope they’re brown, like chestnuts and amber. I start to lean forward to get a better look at him but I freeze when I realize what the actual fuck I’m doing.What the hell are you thinking, Meadow? I slap myself mentally and start to scoot away from the man. It’s not easy going since I’m still tied up but that doesn’t stop me on account of me being insane for thinking about what color eyes the naked man in front of me has when I was sacrificed to a demon.
Wait a minute…sacrificed….
I look around the clearing for the dance happy mages but they’re nowhere to be seen. The clearing is cold and dark, silent. Miraculously, I see the familiar shape of the backpack I brought with me a few feet away.
“Where are they? The mages. Where did they go?” I push to my feet and try to get to the bag. I bet Charlie’s book is in there. What if this gorgeous man is after that book? I can’t let him get to it. I heave myself forward, my legs still bound together and so are my hands. I make it a solid two inches forward. I look like a drunk worm. I’m about as good at getting away as one too. I’ve barely managed to get half a foot of distance between us when he reaches out and grabs the rope knotted around my ankles and pulls me back to him.
“Exploded.”
“Who are you?” I ask, trying not to get warm and tingly over the ease this man just moved me with. It’s like I don’t weigh anything at all. Nothing at all like the way Charlie nearly threw his back out trying to yank me back behind the rock.
The man doesn’t answer, just lowers his head and works on the knot. His hair slides forward, hiding his face. When he speaks, the moonlight breaks from behind the clouds and shines down on him.
“You know who I am, witchling. Think.”
Witchling.
He looks up at me and the cold pale moonlight makes him even more beautiful. Even more terrible because I know who he is now.
“There’s nothing to think about.” I shake my head. “You’re a demon, that’s all I know.”
He smiles. “Not a demon, I’mThe Demon.” I swallow hard. The rope falls away from my ankles and a second later, I feel hisfingers brush across my ankle. “Where’s your friend?” he asks and looks around. “I don’t see the mad gamemaster anywhere.”
“He’s not mad.”
“Not yet but he is losing his mind, witchling.”
“The mages summoned you, didn’t they?”
“They did.”
“A-and you exploded them?”
“Exactly that.” He rises up to his feet and makes a flicking motion with his fingers. “Poof.”
“Poof?” I squeak.
“Yes, poof. What do you think this is?” He gestures around himself with a finger as he leans and pulls the rope off my hands with a jerk of his. He offers me a hand up. Somehow, my night goes from crazy to a fever dream and I take his hand because I don’t know what else to do. I look away from the demon and to the fat snowflakes drifting past me.
“You mean…that’s not snow? That’s the-the…” my voice trails off into silence because I can’t say it. He pulls me to my feet and I almost fall right back down to the ground. I’m so freaked out I don’t even notice that he moves to put an arm around my waist to hold me up. There’s no way what I’m thinking is real, but I know it is even before the demon answers me.
“The mages, yes.” He sniffs and looks around him like he’s been inconvenienced. “I quite thought they’d be settled by now. I wonder how much longer they’ll be about.”
Oh my gods. It’s not snow. It’s not freaking snow.
IT’S. THE. MAGES.
It’s their ashes.
“Oh my gods! Gross!” I shriek and try to run away but there’s nowhere to go with the demon holding on to me. The effect is me practically clotheslining myself with his arm. I run straight into the demon’s arm and he pulls me back, picks me up in fact by the way my feet are kicking air in a desperate bid to run. Run where?I have no idea but anywhere that doesn’t have dusted mage in the air is high up on my list of destinations.
“You exploded the mages!” I accuse the demon.
