Page 101 of Emma & Edmund

"What do you want, brat?" Dripping from the rain into existence before the small home, Molek floated just above the ground, smoke billowing under his feet. He was putting on quite the show, one Emma rolled her eyes to.

She could feel the shock, and then glee, rolling off of the woman next to her. Without even needing to look, Emma knew Annie was practically out of her skin, taking in the thing before them as if it was the best sight she had ever seen.

Satisfaction filled Emma, hoping her gift, however easy for her to give, was enough to stand as her apology.

"Stop showing off and get over here!" Emma beckoned the hovering hellion, rolling her eyes as he floated closer before turning to her hostess. "Annie, thank you for a lovely evening. However, I have no desire to be anywhere near the conversations the two of your kind can have, so how about you visit his altar while I go to sleep?"

"You well know what a visit to an altar entails," Molek mumbled in her ear. The sly look on his face did not say he was opposed, leaving Emma desperately shoving down any images that unwillingly came to mind.

"Lord Molek," finally able to say a word, Annie stood in her doorway on wobbly legs with the glittering eyes of a child, despite her less-than-childlike age, "It is such an honor to see you."

Any potential protest was put to rest with the simplest of praises she bestowed, turning to his worshipper with a coy, sickeningly wide grin. "The pleasure is all mine."

As he leaned in to kiss Annie's hand, she practically melted. It only further bolstered the demon.

"Shall we go then?" Annie giggled at his offered arm like a girl, taking her lord's elbow by the hand. She beamed as if all of her wildest dreams had come true.

While Emma was happy for Annie and proud to be able to give her a proper apology gift, she couldn't stop the queasiness that came from watching the two of them trot off into the woods to perform acts no creature should lay witness to.

Chapter 30

"Emma, wake up."

For the second time in a row, Emma was shaken awake. The bright light of the fresh morning sun beamed in through the windows, showing off the years the cottage held much more fully. In the daylight, it was now clear how severely leaning the whole place was, no doubt held up by the huge tree nearly poking into the window above Annie's bed.

"Finally," Molek whispered, standing straight. "How can you sleep so soundly in someone else's home? Hurry up, we need to get going."

Free of any urgency, deeply comfortable in Annie's well-used sofa, Emma took her time to sit up and stretch her arms over her head. Almost the same moment she did so, though, her wrist was captured, and she was hauled from her makeshift bed.

"What is your hurry?" Emma grumbled, straightening her skirts. With a glance, she saw Annie sleeping soundly in her cot, breathing heavily. It didn't appear she would wake any time soon.

"We only have a small break in the weather. The sooner I get you on the road, the sooner you get to Edmund. If we go now, it'll be by this afternoon."

She couldn't deny the way her heart soared at the thought, having no idea they were close enough for such a claim.

"Are you certain you're not just hurrying me to escape whatever shame you feel from last night?"

"We can be hurrying for two things."

Even though they had begun to talk at normal volumes, Annie still didn't stir. "Is she all right?"

Not for the first time, she resisted smacking off the grin that formed on Molek's face. "The best she'll ever be."

Emma suppressed a shiver, gathering up her ruined clothes, and padded to the door, Molek already waiting for her on the lawn.

Turning in the threshold to look back at the modest, sparse place that had been her home for a night, Emma whispered, "Thank you, Annie."

???

Molek, although being right the storm would begin again soon, had not yet learned one thing about safely driving a coach.

At this point, with the way he urged the poor horses on, who seemed to be loaded with extra energy, Emma wouldn't doubt if he was just doing it for the fun of it. Each time he took a curve too sharply or stopped too suddenly, Emma went flying within the cabin.

As much as she wanted to stick her head out the window and yell at him to drive properly, the rain began to fall again with such ferocity. Emma had no desire to relive the chill that had seeped into her very essence the night before.

But after a particularly wild turn, where Emma could feel the wheels lifting and crashing back to the ground, she couldn't hold in her displeasure anymore.

"Stop! Enough of this!"

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