Girl in the Bearskin

by C. L. Stone

  “Under the bearskin, I should be fine.” I took another sip of water and then coughed shortly once. “Wilhelm…I meant to talk to you. But I didn’t want to do so with Klaus around.”

  “Go on.”

  I felt the bottom edge of the cup, sliding my thumb across it absently. “The demon…the one that put the curse on me.”

  “Yes?” he said, leaning forward. “Is he here now?”

  I didn’t actually know where he was. I assumed he got away when he could when Wilhelm was close. “He sits with the driver when we’re on the road.”

  “Isn’t that good?” he asked. “Further away would be better. Does he have to follow you everywhere?”

  I put the cup down in my lap. “He’s part of me, you know. And he possibly will be forever. I know it’s hard to understand, but…to be with me, it means being around him, too.”

  Wilhelm inhaled slowly, holding it for a few seconds before letting it out in a burst. “Do you want him to be?”

  I just looked at him. It was crazy. Perhaps no one else could understand this. “I’m not trying to send you off,” I said. “But you need to know what you’re in for if you stay with me.”

  “He hasn’t gotten in our way before, so I guess as long as he’s not hurting you, or me.” He put a finger to his lips, considering. “Yes. If this is what you want. Maybe I don’t understand why you like him. But should I make judgements if I don’t know anything about him? I’m just worried, though. What if it’s all a trick? He wants your soul, after all.”

  “Not all demons are the same,” I said. “Was yours like mine? Protective? Always wanting to be around you?”

  “I wouldn’t want to be around him,” he said. “He was ugly. And far more devious. But…he wasn’t as interested in souls. He liked human parts. Like my eye. He didn’t care for a soul.” He nodded at this. “So maybe you are right. Not all demons are the same. Since they aren’t common here, I don’t know what to expect.”

  I stretched my legs. The movement of my shifting body rocked the carriage a bit. “Perhaps then you’ll trust me when I say, I think he’s different.”

  He nodded slowly. “What’s his name?”

  “He calls himself Shaytan.”

  “It’s an unusual name.” He sat forward, leaning on his knees with his elbows. “But if you trust him, I’ll have to learn to do so as well. It’ll be hard to do if I can’t see or hear him.”

  “This is why I needed to talk to you,” I said. I put the cup aside to sit on the seat and leaned closer to him.

  His eyes widened and he sat on the edge of his seat.

  I continued. “He can’t be around you because of your…” It was on the tip of my tongue to say curse, but I didn’t want to explain it that way. “The deal you had made. Something your demon did now makes it hard for other demons to be around you. Not just never influence you.”

  He nodded slowly. “Oh. I see. Is that why he won’t show himself to me?”

  “He doesn’t show himself to other people, but for you in particular, it might be part of the reason. He might not be able to. But to be near me, it’s hard. It hurts him when you’re around.”

  “Mmm,” he said. He sat back, putting a palm to his cheek. “Yes. I see the problem.” He paused. “And to be honest, I’m not sorry about it yet. But…if you’re sure you want him to be around…”

  I nodded. “I think so. His deal with me was very passive, without any pressure. Maybe he would have tried again if I hadn’t accepted.” I put my hand over my heart. “I’ve grown accustomed to him. I feel like he’s sincere when he says he’d protect me and wishes to stay with me. He said he was willing to do the same for you. To watch out for you. Only he can’t.”

  “Hm. A demon to protect us from most anything, not just other evil creatures... I have to say, I might like that idea better.”

  “But to do it, we may need to break the deal you had with your demon. Could we find him? Perhaps get your eye back?”

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t know where to start looking.” He blinked at me and sat forward, taking my hand in his and seemed excited again. “Are you sure I couldn’t make a deal with him to get this bearskin off of you? We don’t need the money.”

  I shook my head slowly. “I’ll finish it out,” I said. “It might be much more dangerous to try to break it. And we’ll need the money to help Klaus and his family. And…what’s better than a demon to protect us? Like you said, this might be the better option.”

  He lifted my hand, squeezing it gently. “Then you’re right. The only solution might be to find my demon and get my sight back.”

  “What was his name? Did he tell you?”

  “He called himself Benzo.” He shivered visibly and released my hand. “I didn’t want to have to come across him again. It might be difficult if you’re with me.”

  I saw the problem there. His curse was to ward off all demons, including this Benzo. So it’d be difficult to track him down. “Let’s settle this thing with Klaus,” I said. “We’ll work on that next.”

  He nodded and then went to the door of the carriage. “I’ll be in the inn. Perhaps your demon will keep you safe? Or do you prefer if I’m here?”

  “Keep an eye on Klaus,” I said. “If you don’t mind.” I did worry about him being on the road with us. Would he be able to handle things if we needed to go on foot? He may not be as gullible as his father, but he was green to most of the world.

  He opened the door to the carriage. “I thought you might say—” he paused and glanced out into the darkness, and then toward the door of the inn. He squinted. “Did you hear something?”

  We both fell quiet, but outside of our breathing, it was just the horses near the stables I was hearing. “Is something out there?”

  He shook his head slowly and shrugged. “Perhaps not. Maybe I’m paranoid.”

  He left, and I watched from the window as he made his way back inside the inn.

  When he was gone, I turned in the seat, finding Shaytan beside me.

  He was smiling broadly. His hands were in his lap and he was sitting up. “You get right to business, don’t you?”

  “I thought you wanted the curse lifted.”

  “I didn’t think you’d actually tell him about it. And he’d agree to it… He must be crazy about you to want to lift such a curse.”

  “You will look out for him once it’s gone?”

  “The best I can,” he said. “As long as he stays near you.”

  I moved the cup to drink the rest and then put it on the floor. I laid down as best as I could in the seat.

  I sensed Shaytan hovering over me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “He offered to make a deal to get you out of your deal. You said no. Why?”

  I flipped over. He was floating over me, with the firefly glow rather bright around him. I was getting used to the glow, showing his interest or excitement in a moment. I smirked up at him. “You’re not annoyed he suggested it?”

  “I’m not surprised in the least. All humans would weasel out of a deal if they thought it suited them. Your answer is what surprised me.” He leaned down, his sharp nose touching mine as he spoke. “You’ve been through all this, and there are years left of it. You’re sleeping in a carriage, knowing you’d be possibly cast out into the street if you tried to go into the inn. He gave you a chance to say you’d like to get out of it. Yet you said no. Why?”

  “Maybe I want the money.” It’s what I’d told Wilhelm, and he accepted it. But I knew it wasn’t true. It was the last thing we really needed, especially if I could bathe and be free of the cloak.

  He reeled his head back and laughed. He got up and sat in the seat across from me, laying down and looking up at the roof of the carriage. “Adelina, you’re developing a sense of humor. I think I like it.”

  He stayed in the carriage with me while I slept, keeping the space warm for me during the cold nights.

  With the weather being clear and few people on the road, w
e reached a port town to the south within a couple of weeks.

  I was grateful when it was over. The motion of the coach made me ill, or perhaps it was the combination of it and my own smell coming from my body in the enclosed space.

  Neither Klaus nor Wilhelm seemed to like it either, possibly for the same reason.

  The port town was bustling, and the coach had stopped in front of a house, not an inn.

  “Does your father own this?” I asked Klaus as I leaned out the window, looking out at the estate. It was smaller than their home near the capital, but just as opulent with many rooms and a sizable garden. I was starting to feel I’d just helped a spoiled man and his sons to continue to be spoiled.

  “We are just borrowing it from friends, renting it for our stay,” he said. “My father’s one good trait is that he can make friends anywhere. It gets him opportunities others might not be able to get for themselves. It’s such a thing my brothers have yet to learn.”

  We got out of the coach, and I stood on the steps of the house, looking up at it.

  This is what I could afford for myself if I wanted, given the coin in my pocket.

  I hadn’t thought of what money could do for me beyond survival, and tried not to use a lot of it. This, however, seemed so extravagant. Possibilities of what I could do for the right amount of coin seeped into my head.

  And it took Heinrich to show me what could be done. Maybe I should be grateful.

  The house itself had two stories, with bedrooms on the second floor and kitchen and living quarters and a servant’s hall on the first. The neighbors were close, but there was a wall between the grounds, so I could actually, comfortably, be out in the gardens and not get gawked at.

  I could get comfortable here, yet I’d promised Shaytan I wouldn’t settle just yet. Not until the bet was over.

  A few more years, and I could have such a house. I didn’t want to get too lazy to stay in the same place, but I considered the option of buying a coach instead and renting estates along the countryside when possible.

  “We should get right to business while we’re here,” I said to them on the first evening. We sat at a dining table. While Klaus insisted I sit at the head, I refused and had him do so. Wilhelm sat opposite of me. We’d eaten our fill and we sipped wine, sweeter than to my liking.

  Shaytan, always by my side, stood behind me and said things to me, and I was sure the others couldn’t hear it, and he only every directed comments to me. “I’d send the boy out first. Let him ask questions. It’ll save us some trouble.”

  “Could you two go look for them?” I asked. “Can you do so without approaching anyone?”

  Wilhelm and Klaus looked at each other and shrugged. “The both of us?”

  “Maybe it’s better I go instead of Wilhelm,” Shaytan said. “He won’t notice I’m there, and I want to see these humans myself. I should be able to recognize a few swindlers and I can protect Klaus if Wilhelm isn’t around. And then if you and Wilhelm need to approach, you’ll be fresh faces.”

  He was right. Klaus would be more useful making sure to find the people. Then Wilhelm and myself could approach them when we’ve confirmed their thievery. I reconsidered my position. “Right, maybe…Wilhelm stays with me. Klaus, you might be able to do this alone?”

  “I think so. I can go directly to the docks,” Klaus said. “I’ve the names. If they’re still around, someone there might know where they are.”

  “We’ll be lucky if they are still here,” Wilhelm said. “If suspicions are right…”

  I nudged Wilhelm underneath the table with a toe. “Let’s not talk about it yet,” I said. “I don’t want to throw accusations unwarranted.” Even as I said it, however, I knew what we were all thinking.

  It was Shaytan who said it, though. “You know it was a scam. Real investors don’t demand you take out additional loans and bet your house on one single thing. Unless he was just really, very stupid…”

  “Still,” Klaus said, “even if we did approach them, I’m not sure how we’d get them to return the money. It’s not likely they’ll hand it over.”

  “Let me handle it,” I said. “We’ll worry about that next step once we find them.” I didn’t imagine it would be too difficult. Once the thieves were caught, I could deal with them, by blade tip or by turning them in to authorities.

  “And what should you do in the meantime?” Wilhelm asked.

  I tapped my long nails on the table, and the action hurt a bit as they were cracked and uncomfortable. “I suppose I should look into investments that Heinrich won’t be able to muddle up. That seems like the best thing.”

  “You need contacts to do that,” Klaus said. “Pardon me saying so, but no one knows your name.”

  “I’m a partner with Roth, aren’t I?” I asked. “Shouldn’t that get me places?”

  “You need formal introductions.” He looked over at Wilhelm. “And no offense, but you’ll need to dress for the occasion.”

  “He’s probably right,” Wilhelm said. He rose from the table. “I got a couple of things while we were at the capital but it was late and we’ve been traveling since. I could do more here and start the process by alerting people an investor of the Roth family is in town. Let’s do that while he’s out looking for answers.”

  I agreed to it. It meant I might be stuck in the house idle waiting for word from them, but if it was the only way, then it had to be done.

  * * *

  Klaus

  * * *

  We left the dining table for our own rooms. The room I picked for myself in the house was one of the smallest. Although free of dust, all of the furniture was covered in white sheets still as the house had been unoccupied. It was perfect. I didn’t remove any of the sheeting, and any servant would just remove and the sheets after we’d gone. We’d pay for new sheets to replace them.

  Shaytan and I were discussing how to deal with the supposed scammers when there was a knock at the door.

  I answered it, finding Klaus out in the hall, holding up a lit candle placed in a silver candlestick. The hall behind him was dark, all the other lightning having been put out at the late hour.

  “I hope you weren’t in bed yet,” he said. “I don’t mean to bother you.”

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “No, I just wanted to talk to you alone. If that’s okay.”

  I let him in, shutting the door behind him. The room had a sitting area, with chairs covered in the sheets. We sat across from each other. Shaytan jumped onto the bed, laying on his back and pretending to sleep in my view, but I knew he was listening.

  Klaus’s blue eyes were startling in the candlelight. While his brothers had particularly manly faces and frames, Klaus was immensely more refined in his looks. He matched the wealth his father desired.

  He put the candlestick on a side table and looked at it as he spoke to me. “Can you tell me why you’d help my family…particularly my father out?” he asked. “I can’t help but feel you’re getting nothing out of it, so there has to be another reason.”

  I hesitated. “I don’t know. Your father asked me to keep it secret.”

  “Please,” he said. “I’ve a suspicion I know, but I just want confirmation. He was pretty distraught when he came home the other night, and then suddenly he came back happier than I’d seen him in years. He never took on a business partner before, so you must have impressed him. Yet…if you don’t mind me saying…it doesn’t appear to me you do any business dealings. He claims you to be wealthy, yet you’ve no home or carriage of your own. I’ve no idea why Wilhelm works for you.”

  Anyone in their right mind would have asked the same. Even his father had questioned where I got the money, and as far as Klaus was concerned, I had none, or looked like I had none.

  I slipped my fingertips over the linen on the arm of the chair, noting the streak of dirt across it and worried suddenly I might have cleaned myself without intention. Yet Shaytan didn’t move or acknowledge it, so I just stopped doi
ng so. “Your father…he…was very distraught when I found him. With a pistol…”

  I didn’t say any further but I looked up at Klaus’s serious expression.

  He nodded slowly. “I was worried about this. He takes great pride in what he’s built for us, but I always felt him to be gullible as well. But how were you able to afford to invest with him? Are you…a demon?”

  I laughed, for the first time in a very long time. And when Shaytan didn’t say anything like not to tell him so, which surprised me, it actually had me hesitating. I didn’t know Klaus enough for him not to go and tell his father, and he may try to seek out Shaytan and make a similar deal, or worse, some other demon who would do far more damage. I felt he’d do anything for the idea of limitless money, for different reasons than I’d had.

  “I came across…” I started making up a lie, like finding buried treasure.

  Shaytan suddenly picked himself up off the bed, to sit up and look at me. He shuddered visibly. “Don’t lie. A lie you tell now will make me ill. And you’ll have to continue it for weeks.”

  I paused, sitting back, considering my options. “I don’t know if I should tell you.” I said this to Klaus but also implying to Shaytan I didn’t know if I could tell Klaus at all.

  “You can trust me,” Klaus said. His eyes widened. “Please. I want to trust you as well. I don’t want what happened to him to happen again. You’ll forgive me if I’m hesitant to trust. But I understand if you’re the same.”

  Shaytan spoke. “If you want to test his loyalty, get him to do something in exchange. Make him prove he can keep your secrets.”

  That seemed better. We were already asking him to go find the thieves who had robbed his father. But what loyalty did he have to me at all outside of his father’s word?

  “What could I ask of you to do for me? To help this bond of trust?” I asked.

  Klaus considered this. “We’ve nothing to offer. Obviously. My father gave up our money and that’s why we’re here. So I’ve none to offer…”

  “You think this is about money?” I asked, an eyebrow cocked. I found myself smirking at him. I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees. I lowered the bearskin’s hood slowly, revealing the full of the dirt and grime and the wax flaking in my hair and the patches of red where I often scratched because my skin itched.