Page 60 of The Demon's Pet

One minotaur was down, a headless torso facing blankly up at the sky as blood flowed from all four severed stubs where arms and legs had been.

His limbs, and those of his friends, floated slowly down the stream as the water ran even redder.

Two minotaurs were still fighting, and Sam moved between them, so fast it was hard to watch. He slashed off one’s remaining arm, then crippled it by taking its legs, then took the head off the last and fourth one.

Soon, all of them lay still in the stream, in various pieces, and Sam stood among them, wings pulled in, bloody swords in both hands.

I almost wished I’d been closer to watch it.

Griffin slowly flew down with Os next to him, and when we reached the ground, I quickly slid off. Griffin turned back into his human form just in time to fall on his knees and loudly vomit.

Sam’s wings disappeared as he turned to face us, bending to dip both his swords in the water. He cleaned them with a cloth he took from his pocket and then slid them into their sheaths. Then the sheaths disappeared.

Most of the minotaur bodies and limbs had flowed downstream and past us, but Sam grabbed a remaining leg and held it up with the hoof pointing at the sky.

“Steak, anyone?” he asked, grinning, his entire body splattered with blood, golden-blond hair matted with it.

His muscles were straining beneath the tee, his chest heaving with exertion, and despite his bravado, I knew the fight had taken more from him than he was letting on.

As Os gagged at the steak suggestion, Sam just shook his head at us and tossed the leg aside, pulled his shirt off over his head, then stepped out of his pants and moved upstream where there was a deeper spot in the water.

He submerged himself and came up cleaner, splashing water over his face.

I was just trying not to look at him in tight black boxer briefs.

As he cleaned himself, moving water over his huge biceps and rippling chest and abs, I had to work hard not to drool, despite all the violence that had just happened.

I was attracted to this angel. I had been since I’d met him. He knew it, and I knew it.

And by the way he met my eyes and smirked, he could tell exactly what I was thinking right now.

I hated how well he could read me.

And he’d been right. Before, when I’d claimed not to want him, I’d been lying.

I guess I was just one of the many who’d found him sexy, as Os had said.

Since we were all fine, and Sam was still smirking at me as his hand moved over his perfect abdomen, I whirled and stomped away from him over by the campfire to check on Griffin.

Griffin wiped his mouth, still looking horrified by what had happened. “So much blood. That angel really is a demon. It was like feeding them into a woodchipper.”

I walked over and brushed his hair back, trying to soothe him as he bent forward and gagged again.

Os walked out to meet Sam, probably to get their stories straight for when they were questioned about this.

I looked at the bloody stream, where some minotaur parts were still bleeding, caught on rocks, staining the beautiful plants on the banks.

I hated that this had to happen.

But seeing Sam in motion… that had been amazing.

I kind of wondered what was wrong with me that I’d found it thrilling rather than repulsive or nauseating.

I didn’t want any creature to have to die… but since they would have killed us…

Looking over at Sam, who was rolling his eyes at something Os was saying, I could only feel grateful toward him.

Not that I was going to say as much, since he’d only throw it in my face.

---