Promise Me Anthology (31 page)

Kyle looked up, his brown eyes terrified.

Colin gestured. The glistening raindrops
plummeted to earth, the world in motion again. Kyle leapt up and
ran, his remaining friend following. They started the car, then
drove it off squealing.

Colin came to Balt’s side and knelt. He
picked his brother up, and began carrying him to his car. Terian
watched, then reluctantly followed.

Hours later, Terian stood with Colin near a
freshly covered grave. Colin was using the tip of one newly taloned
hand to carve the stone. The etching noise was grating on Terian’s
nerves, though he said nothing.

Colin finished the stone, then set it in
place. Carefully, he broke a piece of rosebush off a wild white
rose, and pushed it into the earth. With a few words, the demon
cast a spell of growth, the branch putting down roots and flowering
to a wide mat of white flowers covering the fresh earth.

“It looks nice,” Terian offered.

“I know you don’t know what to say,” Colin
remarked, his eyes averted. “I don’t either.”

“What will you do now?” Terian asked.

“Try to find a lenient master who will let me
pursue Kyle in my spare time,” Colin said. “I got assurances that
would be allowed, but we’ll see.” He turned to Terian. “What will
you do?”

It was time to stop running. “I’m going back
to face what I left back east.”

“You can feel love,” Colin said, regarding
Terian will his red eyes. “I feel the same as I did when I was a
faerie half breed. I’m wondering now if I ever knew anything about
demons, or only thought I did.”

“Can I borrow your fourth volume,” Terian
asked. “To take with me?”

“You can have my books, all of them,” Colin
answered absently. “I always thought I’d find an answer in magic,
but I never did. And I don’t think I’ll have a home of my own in my
new life.” He smiled. “And yes, the spell for hellfire is in there,
if you look for it.”

“I’m sorry it had to be this way,” Terian
made himself utter. “That sounds lame, but I can’t help it,
Colin.”

“I understand,” Colin said, a genuine smile
gracing his features. “I didn’t either. But what being ever gets
what he wants, really? I wanted to save my brother.” He laughed
bitterly. “I couldn’t even save myself.”

Balt was saved. He stopped me from killing
Kyle. He died without becoming a full demon.
Terian held back
the words, knowing hearing them would be worse for Colin than not
knowing. For if Balt had let Terian kill Kyle, Colin wouldn’t have
gotten shot...or become demon in a last dying wish for revenge.

Rain began to fall again, dampening their
clothes. “It’s good we had the rain, or the entire adult part of
the strip might have gone up,” Colin said jokingly. “What a loss
for the bachelors of this town.”

“And the library at the end of the street,”
Terian added. “Not to mention the suburbs beyond.”

“I can’t think now why I cared about them,”
Colin said disdainfully. “I spent so many nights holding whores’
hands, and listening to married men tell me how they just couldn’t
love their wives. What a waste of time—”

The bullet hit Colin in his throat, severing
his last words. Another hit Terian in the leg, knocking him
sprawling. Kyle came charging out from behind a tree, a swing from
his machete decapitating Colin.

Terian staggered to his feet, then paused.
Two men held a gun on him, with three more assisting Kyle. They
began anointing him with holy water, the liquid scalding the flesh
of the headless body as it twitched.

“Stop it!” Terian yelled. “Stop hurting
him.”

“We’re trying to save him,” Kyle said
tiredly. He holstered his gun, then came over to Terian. “I didn’t
have a beef with Colin. He was a good friend.” He looked up at
Terian, his brown eyes red rimmed. “I never caught your name.”

“Terian.”

“Good to meet you.” Kyle looked back at his
men. They’d erected a small altar and lit candles near it. One
opened a bible and began to pray, immediately giving Terian the
beginnings of a migraine.

“Walk with me,” Kyle said to Terian.

“Why?” Terian challenged.

“Because seeing this is going to hurt me as
much as hearing it hurts you now,” Kyle said sadly. “Come on.”

Terian let out a long breath, then followed.
They walked in silence for a while through the trees, then into a
clearing with a small stream.

“Can you save him?” Terian asked. “Take back
what he became?”

“Probably not,” Kyle said, skipping a stone
into the water. “But we have to try.”

“Balt wasn’t a demon when he died,” Terian
said. “He stopped me from killing you.”

Kyle turned to look at Terian, then resumed
skipping rocks. “I’m glad of that,” he said softly.

“I thought you hated him,” Terian said. “I
thought you hated people like me.”

“I hate demons,” Kyle admitted. “I hate how
they destroy lives. I never hate half-breeds. They can’t help their
dual nature, or that the demon side is usually stronger.” He
dropped his rock. “But I can’t afford to have mercy, not when it
might mean some innocent person’s life. Do you understand
that?”

“Yes,” Terian said slowly. “I understand
that.”

“Good,” Kyle said, heading past Terian.
“Let’s go back. They should be done.”

The small clearing was empty when they
returned, except for the priest standing before the grave. He was
just finishing consecrating the ground. He turned as Kyle and
Terian strode up. “We sent him to Hell,” he said apologetically.
“There was nothing we could do. We scattered the ashes near his
brother’s grave.”

Kyle closed his eyes and sighed. “Get
everyone ready to go. We’ve got to head out of town.”

The priest nodded, then with a smile at
Terian, walked away.

Terian turned to Kyle. “I can feel it, you
know,” he murmured. “Colin put something on you. There is something
inside you that calls to me. It’s why I followed you to the stream,
even when I didn’t want to.”

“I know,” Kyle said darkly. “I’m going to
have a lot of offline followers very shortly, I think, none of them
with my best interests at heart.”

Terian managed a smile, then stuck out his
hand. “Good luck.”

Kyle shook it, his expression incredulous.
“You’re wishing me luck? After everything?”

“You don’t compromise or give up,” Terian
said. “That’s something I admire, Kyle.” His expression darkened.
“But if you come for me like you did for Bart, I’ll try to kill
you.”

Kyle smiled. “Fair enough. I hope I never
have to, if that counts for anything.”

Terian nodded. “It does.”

Kyle let go of his hand, then moved off
through the trees.

Terian stood before the grave for a while,
reflecting.

I will not give into my demon side. I’m not
going to become a monster.

He would go tonight and pack up Colin’s
books, everything. By tonight he’d be heading back East, back to
Sundown if she would have him, back to Sar’s friendship if she
wouldn’t. It was time to stop running, time for his life to be more
than just honorable vows he hoped one day to fulfill, or
relationships he yearned to have someday. Balt was right. There was
only so much time. Terian was not going to waste one moment
more.

Terian’s hand rested briefly on the cold
stone, then he turned and purposefully walked away through the
trees.

Heart’s Solace

(previously published in Wild at Heart Vol. II Charity
anthology 10-2012)

Natasha looked down at the pitiful creature
in the small cage. The feline was a large cat, but not like the big
cats her father usually kept as pets. This one wasn’t a tiger, a
leopard, or a lion. He looked kind of like a lion without a mane.
She’d have suspected the animal to be a female lion, if she hadn’t
seen the contrary proof herself.

“You don’t belong in a cage,” she whispered.
“You should be out in your own land, running free. Beneath a wide
sky on a grassland, not here in this world of ice and snow.”

The battered cat raised its head, its yellow
eyes staring into hers. The feline looked almost as if it
understood her. Then it put down its head, and gave a long
sigh.

Natasha wrapped her long wool coat over her
small frame, and then walked quickly on the snowy path into the
nearby stable.

Alexey was there, currying her horse,
Sasha.

“The new lion,” Natasha said. “What kind is
he?”

“An American Cougar, otherwise known as a
mountain lion,” Alexey responded. He gave Sasha a final pat then
put away the currycomb. “Your father saved his life, outbidding the
taxidermist at the auction. He thinks the beast can be
rehabilitated. He’s calling him Nadezda.”

The Russian word for hope. “But you don’t
think so?”

“He’s damaged goods, Tasha,” Alexey said
with a frown. “The lion’s back legs had both been badly broken in
several places, and one of his front legs is also maimed. He may
never walk again. Stay away from him. If he doesn’t try to attack
us, I’ll be very surprised.”

* * * *

Tasha made sure she was on hand the next day
to watch as Alexey put food in the new lion’s cage. The creature
didn’t stir, or even move.

“You have to eat, Nadezda.” Alexey said with
a shake of his head. “You’ll die if you don’t. You ate nothing
yesterday—”

“Let me try,” Tasha offered, coming over.
“I’ll sit and talk to him.”

“Talk to him all you want, but don’t open the
cage door, or put your fingers inside,” Alexey warned. “Your father
would fire me if you got so much as a scratch.” He headed into the
stable.

Tasha sat on some bales of hay near the cage.
“My name is Tasha,” she began haltingly. “Really, it’s Natasha, but
everyone calls me Tasha. You’re in Russia, if you didn’t know. It’s
close to the end of winter, but we may have some good snows
yet—”

Tasha craned her head. The lion’s ears had
moved slightly. Was he listening?

“—
I know people were bad to you. But
you’re safe now. No one will hurt you here. My father loves his
cats. There are two more here, a panther and a bobcat. Both are
rescues, like the ones before them. My father has a soft spot for
animals, especially lions—”

She couldn’t tell if the cat was listening or
sleeping, or even if her voice was helping it at all. But she
stayed there for an hour talking aloud, just in case.

* * * *

“You’re helping Nazdeha,” Alexey told Tasha
one afternoon. “He’s eating better that he was. He’ll put back on
the weight he needs in no time.”

“Will he recover?” Tasha asked, casting a
worried glance at the cat. “I’ve seen the extent of his injuries.
He looks crippled to me, Alexey. He crawls like the slightest
movement hurts.”

“Because it does,” Alexey said angrily. “But
be encouraged. He is healing far faster than he should be.” He
offered her a smile. “He’ll live for certain. But whether he’ll
walk again, I’m not sure.”

“He will,” Tasha stated. “I’ll help you
however I can.”

“Keep talking to him,” Alexey replied. “That
and time is what he needs most.” He paused. “How were your lessons
today?”

“Interminable.” Tasha drew out the word with
deliberate exaggeration, then gave Alexey a wide smile. “I’ve
already completed my high school studies, and am now merely doing
advance work in preparation for college. If my father will ever let
me attend university. He doesn’t want to let me, I think. We spoke
on the phone last night for our weekly discussion. This is the
second week he hasn’t mentioned it—”

“Your father will come around, in time. He is
well?”

Tasha nodded, forcing a smile. “His business
dealings keep him travelling to Europe, or in Moscow. He sends his
love, and hopes to be back for my birthday in September.”

“He does love you best of his children,”
Alexey replied. “I’m sure he will return.”

Tasha forced a smile, but didn’t respond.
What should she say? Her father was a stranger to her, really. She
appreciated him very much, but they had never been close. He had
never acted like he wanted or needed her affection...

That didn’t matter anymore, she told herself.
She had someone who badly needed her: Nazdeha.

* * * *

The months passed slowly, and spring became
summer, then late summer. Each day, Tasha made sure to be there
when Nazdeha was fed, and spent at least an hour talking to him.
The mountain lion became a sleek shape as he filled out, and his
broken limbs healed. Hesitantly, he began to take hobbling steps
about his enclosure. Soon, he was walking with only a slight hitch.
But scars still ran over most of his body, crisscrossing the tawny
fur.

Tasha had long ago lost her fear of the
cougar. Her familiarity was such that one day while putting food
inside, she forgot to lock the cage afterwards. After saying
goodbye to Nazdeha, she walked up the wide path to her family’s
mansion.

When the butler opened the front door to
admit Tasha, he let out a scream.

A loud snarl sounded from behind her.

With a gasp, Tasha whirled.

Nazdeha was barely a foot away, watching her
with intent yellow eyes.

“Don’t hurt me,” she whispered, her stomach
tight with anxiety.

Nazdeha nodded once, and then lay down on the
cold stone, rolling onto his back with all four feet in the air. He
looked at her, tail twitching slightly.

Tasha blinked at him, amazed. He had nodded
before acting submissive. He had understood her. The animal before
her was no mere cat. It possessed human intelligence.

“Will you obey me, and not hurt anyone, if I
let you inside?” She felt foolish asking that, yet also prayed she
hadn’t imagined the nod.

Nazdeha rolled to his feet then looked at
her. Deliberately, he nodded once more.