Demon Girl (4 page)

“Stop hiding from me and I’ll go,” I said.
“You want me to trust you and I can manage some trust since you
haven’t killed me. But you have to trust me back. You say you’re a
demon, well then what kind? Show me your true form.”

“I don’t have the time for this.”

“Come on, it can’t take that long. Show me
then you can run off and do whatever you were doing before you just
had
to help me.”

He made a noise of frustration and pointed
again. “Will you at least move in the right direction as we
talk?”

I nodded curtly. I was persistent not stupid.
If he was this antsy something bad must be coming this way.

“If we run I can get you back and maybe catch
it up. Follow me,” he said.

And then he was gone. One moment he’s
walking, and the next he’s a silver blur zipping through the trees
ahead of me.

It was odd, because I knew it was demon fast,
but I could track his movement with my gaze. Was it crazy that I
wanted to follow him? Grudgingly, I admitted to myself I’d never
wanted to follow someone so badly, and I was never one to shy away
from a physical challenge. I’d run blindingly fast from the hounds,
and the only difference between now and then was that I was scared.
Huh, piece of cake. I had loads of scared stored up around the
solar plexus area. Tapping into the well of energy inside me was
too easy, and I burst forward.

Everything was so bright and lively, and it
was nothing for me to flow across the land at a velocity strange,
yet comforting. Breandan took a sharp turn and I was pleased to see
I was gaining, gliding across the ground at his side. A chuckle
caught my ear. I had made him laugh, and a silly tide of happiness
blazed through me. I grinned, and laughed, and sped up to leave
him
trailing behind. The floor yielded to every pound of my
foot. Not a single branch snagged my hair or cut my skin because I
didn’t let it. I zipped and dodged, jumped and spun a trail in the
undergrowth. I didn’t know where I was running to, but it felt good
to be in motion.

The air was heavy with a piquant scent that
fizzed on my tongue. The silhouette of trees taller than any I’d
seen rose high in the sky, and a few stars already winked down at
me. I’m not a botanist, so all I can say is that there were plants.
A big orgy of red, blues and purples scattered everywhere. The
breeze was crisp and made everything sway in orderly chaos. The
buzzing of insect and restless whining of beast punctured the dawn
in harmonic beat.

I knew the moment Breandan’s hand reached for
mine. My skin tingled and like a magnet seeking its opposite, my
hand moved to meet his. A light tug slowed me to a stop. I plucked
a leaf from my hair and brushed a lick of dirt off my cheek. I
could have continued this grooming session for a while since I felt
twigs and thorns caught in my clothes and hair, but I was
distracted.

Breandan stood still and let me roam my eyes
over him. His profile was sharper somehow, and I pushed the hair
out of my eyes to drink the strong column of throat that flowed
into solid chest. His ears held my attention for a long while,
couldn’t say why, before my gaze slid over the straightness of his
nose, and the strong planes of his cheek and forehead.

“Let’s keep moving,” he said. I stood still
and he had to either tug me again or let go of my hand. He let go
and sighed dramatically. “Stop being difficult. If you’re not back
at Temple soon, they’ll be suspicious of you and it won’t be safe
there anymore.”

He walked off and took no more than five
steps before I felt an insistent tug, a niggling urge pushing me
toward him. I suspected it had something to do with that painful
heat I’d felt when he’d touched me skin to skin for the first time.
He had a lot of explaining to do. Gritting my teeth, I started
after him and reached out the same moment as he did to clasp hands.
We trod a path of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. The breeze
was sweetly fragrant and smelled of green things. It was quiet now
apart from the sound of small furry things going about their
business in the understory.

“Speak then,” I said. “Don’t go all shy on
me.”

“I’m a fairy.”

I blinked and froze. The wind stirred fallen
leaves and wrapped his words around me. A few words truly can take
your breath away, or make you doubt your own mind. I walked on, not
seeing, hearing or feeling.

I managed a sharp noise. “You must think I’m
stupid or something. You want me to believe that you are one of the
rarest species on the planet?”

He bit back a smile. “You believed I was a
demon easily enough.”

“Well, we are in demon territory. You hid
from Clerics and only demons do that.”

“You ran from Clerics.”

He had me there. “Uh, we’re not talking about
me,” I said hotly. “I’m not the smartest girl, but I’m not stupid
either. I’ll be just as impressed if you tell me you’re a shifter
or witch.”

“What about me don’t you believe?” he asked
after a small pause.

I was on a sarcasm-high now. “Yeah, sure. I
believe you. Lucky Rae see’s two fairies, the
one
kind of
demon that is nearly extinct. And she sees them within minutes of
each other. Even though the odds of that are–”

“What did the other look like?”

“Uh, green skin and all this long fiery
hair.”

He made a clucking noise meant to sound
cross, but he smiled radiantly, silver eyes faraway. “I told her to
hide her true form.”

The direction of my thoughts became hideously
plain, and icy horror froze the blood in my veins.

“I’m guessing you know her?” I tried to keep
the question casual but my voice sounded shrill.

“The fairy you saw is called Maeve. She’s my
little sister.”

I stared at him, my lips becoming numb.
“Sister,” I whispered. “How can you know that? Aren’t all of your
females green with red hair?”

“Do all human females have light hair, eyes
and skin? No, all fairies are unique, though, there are typical
things like our pointed ears and sharp teeth.” He must have figured
I was having a simple moment. I didn’t back chat like I usually
would. “Don’t worry,” his voice was gentle. “Maeve is a force of
good. She’s been looking for you too, and she wouldn’t hurt you.
She’s young and stealth is not her gift. She has skills with a
blade not even Conall can match.” There was a deep affection in his
voice as he spoke of her.

I felt dirty for not saying something sooner
and opened my mouth to speak. Those curls of fear sprung up in my
belly, and lashed at my insides to silence me. I locked my jaw. No
words seemed adequate enough to explain what had happened. Before I
had been sad about what had happened to the fairy, even guilty. Who
knows what would have happened if I hadn’t spooked the Clerics.
They might have let her go. If I told him what happened, how I’d
disturbed them and gotten his sister killed, what would he do to
me?

Oh gods, I felt queasy. The stress was eating
away at me, and I was wound up tight right down to my baby
toes.

Then the outline of something big prowled
past, ghosting through the trees. I forgot about Breandan, I forgot
I’d seen his sister take a bullet to the chest, and forgot I was
lost in demon territory as my entire body locked down. Blood rushed
in my ears as the shadow trod a path parallel to where we stood.
Breandan was calm and unmoved so I toughed it out, and stayed
put.

It emerged from behind a tree a few paces
away to cross our path. Black and freckled with flaxen rosettes,
the big cat’s emerald eyes with slitted black pupils, swept over
us. The powerful build and handsome face were too brawny to be
anything but male. Slinking to a stop, his ears pricked up and he
looked me right in the eye. A wave of consciousness flashed across
my skin, and for a beat I couldn’t breathe.

He padded over, thick claws glinting and
pressed into my legs. A soft growl rumbled in his throat and his
whole body vibrated. I tensed then flexed my hand and let it drift
down. As he pushed his wet nose into my palm the growl became a
satisfied purr. The cat was warm and smelt musky. My fingers rubbed
up the coarse hair behind his ears then smoothed it down. He nipped
at my finger and I yelped. He twitched at the sound, and the long
whiskers on his upper lip whistled as they cut through the air.
Nudging the back of my knee he made a contented noise, tinged with
almost an apology for startling me. His eyes lingered on mine,
blinked at me then he sniffed the air and gathered his front and
back paws together. Ears flat against his head, he paced forward
and slinked lower.

I gasped, spotting a sable colored deer
grazing within my line of sight, half hidden by a few dogwood
trees. The cat’s muscles bunched tightly before he sprung forward
and bounded away. I didn’t watch what happened to the deer after
that.

Breandan watched me, head cocked
thoughtfully.

I marveled at the short ebony hairs stuck on
my fingertips. Evidence my encounter had been real. I trembled.

“Did that mean something to you?” I asked
quietly.

“Oh yes,” he replied and took hold of my
hand, and started to walk again. “Nothing out here will harm you
unless you pick a fight first.” He paused. “Usually shifters are
not that sociable. Rarely do they interact with those outside their
pack, even when they leave Pride territory. Do not make a habit of
petting them. Despite your
difficult
personality, I will
protect you until death, but would prefer not to have to deal with
such dire circumstances unless necessary.” Jerking to a stop he
yanked gently on the ends of my hair to pull my head back.
“Alright?” His teeth nipped my neck then his lips pressed a kiss to
my pulse point. There he stood amongst the trees, smiling down on
me and waiting for my answer.

All the while, for all that I’d just
experienced and all he’d told me, all I could think was,
he
kissed my neck
.

“Believe it or not I don’t skip around
looking for trouble. I only come out here for some space to think
and run. And I can take care of myself.”

After a beat of silence he chuckled and
walked on, continuing to tow me along side.

A shifter. I had stroked a were-cat, one of
the most feral demons in existence. Only Breandan’s firm grip and
steady steps forward kept me moving.

“I never realized the different demon kinds
lived so close together,” I said.

“Our territories are vast. Right now we are
in his back garden. The Pride encompasses the entire human prison.
That is why we showed respect and stayed still. If he had taken
issue with us here, he would have let me know. But then he has
probably scented the vampire too, and is happy to have the extra
help in hunting it down.”

“Prison,” I echoed, startled. “Vampire?”

Saying the name made my toes scrunch together
in my boots and my stomach pitch dangerously. The dead ones were
not demons people dressed up to make scarier than they actually
were. Vampires were the creatures you made nicer in stories so that
you didn’t pass out when reports one had breached the Wall, and
eaten a few homeless people came your way.

“Is that not what it is? A prison the humans
have locked themselves inside?”

There was too much behind that simple
statement I could not begin to get into.

“So, you can go wherever you like? To hunt
vampires, I mean. It doesn’t matter you’re not his kind?” I was
fascinated. I had learned more about demonkind in one hour than
years of training.

“Why would I not be able to go where I liked?
There has not been a war between demonkind and we respect each
other enough not impose foolish rules of ownership. Though most of
us do avoid venturing into vampire cities. Shifters are bestial
under a full moon, but sensible for the most part. The alpha-male
keeps them in good order. As for the vampire, he’ll be dealt with
soon enough. He’s only on our radar because he’s been round for so
long, nearly a month now. It’s unusual for one to stay so long from
the safety of a nest. Unusual and worrying considering the
timing.”

The Wall stretched out for miles and miles.
If the shifters Pride surrounded the entire human region…

“How big is fairy territory?”

“Not as big as you may think. We are solitary
by nature and usually travel in mated pairs. Small families.”

“There’s nowhere you all get together?”

“I know what you mean. We have two wylds, the
Orchard and the Grove.” He paused, slanted a look my way. “You’re
asking a lot of questions. You believe me now? That I am fairy,
that you are fairy.”

“No,” I blurted. “I’m not… I’m not.”

“You never thought it odd you are able to
push your body beyond the normal boundaries of a girl your
age?”

I ignored the fact he’d called me a girl, and
batted his words away with my hand.

“I’m stronger, yes. And I’m fast, but I
always have been.” I was stretching the truth. I hadn’t always been
fast, but crazy fast.

“And that’s all?”

My pace slowed to a dazed meander, an aimless
weave through the mossy trunks. Swallowing hard, I bit my lip and
tasted blood. My hand strayed to where the wound from a bullet
graze should mark me and felt nothing. I had always been a quick
healer. Not that quick, but quicker than most. I was not like other
people because I didn’t think or feel the same. I didn’t eat right,
or feel right when people touched me. I got urges, strange urges
to… I blinked away the sting in my eyes. My mind took a frightening
and obvious leap of intuition. I stopped. Everything in my world
vibrated and slid to a canted angle then jerked straight, becoming
new and balancing to the truth. I gave myself time for the largest
wave of emotion to subside.

“I am a demon,” I said slowly, testing the
words. “I am fairy.”