Demon’s Bargain

by Amanda Steiger

  Vaz went limp, panting. Once he’d caught his breath, he pulled out of her. Then, without a word, he undid her restraints, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her tight against his chest.

  “Vaz…” She gazed up at him. In the dim light, her eyes were pools of shadow. “That was…”

  “Shh.” Vaz smoothed her hair. “Sleep.” He reinforced the command with a gentle push at her mind.

  She tried to resist, but she was no match for his magic. Her eyelids sank shut.

  Vaz watched her sleep. With the backs of his fingers, he stroked one smooth, soft cheek. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her breasts. With the all-consuming flame of his lust sated, his rage calmed, he realized what he’d done. Shame tore through his heart and burned in his throat, a hard, bitter lump.

  This girl was an innocent. She’d done nothing to deserve his anger. Yet when he’d first seen her, so pure and clean, he had burned to defile her with every wicked, carnal act he knew. He’d used her as his vessel of revenge, but he hadn’t thought about the repercussions for her. Human men expected their brides to be virgins. Now, she would be unacceptable in their eyes.

  All he had thought about was his revenge, his pain. Vaz averted his gaze, too ashamed to even look at her another moment. More bitter than his shame was the knowledge that the villagers had been right about him, after all.

  He was a monster.

  Chapter Five

  Ella woke, and for a moment she wondered why she wasn’t in her own bed, then the memories returned with a jolt. The red silk sheets were rumpled beneath her. Her lower body ached.

  I slept with a demon last night. Heat rushed to her cheeks at the memory of what he’d done to her. What she’d let him do.

  She sat up and looked around, but Vaz was nowhere to be seen. “Vaz?”

  Ella swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Beside the bed stood a chair, and on it, folded clothes: A tunic, a pair of trousers, and a set of tall boots. Travel clothes. She dressed quickly, pulled on the pair of sturdy leather boots, and laced them up, then tried the door. It was unlocked.

  Ella walked down the torch-lit corridor, then down the stairs, to the entrance hall. Vaz stood in front of the blazing hearth, dressed in a simple, doeskin tunic and trousers, a sword buckled to his hip. His long, pale golden hair spilled down his back, shining in the firelight. He looked up, and his face was expressionless, his eyes empty.

  “Good morning.” Ella bit her lower lip. “You weren’t there when I woke.”

  “I thought you would be eager to return home, so I made myself ready. We can leave immediately, if you wish.”

  “I…” She fell silent and looked away. She felt an odd reluctance to leave, but she knew she should get back to her village as soon as possible. Her family would be worried about her. “Yes, you’re right. We should leave now.”

  He nodded, turned, and strode toward the main doors. Ella followed him outside, to the rocky shore. The waves crashed, and clouds of glittering spray burst through the air. The lonely cry of a seagull rang out.

  Vaz stood motionless, facing the west. Ella waited, puzzled. Then she heard hoof beats on the sand. Shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand, she peered into the distance and saw a black horse galloping toward them. It slowed to a trot and halted at Vaz’s side.

  “Oh,” whispered Ella, “what a beautiful horse.”

  The mare was huge, with muscles rippling beneath her glossy, ebony coat. The mare’s eyes were a strange, pale shade of silver-gray, alert and intelligent. She had never seen a horse with such eyes.

  Vaz slipped a simple bridle over the mare’s head.

  “She’s yours?”

  He nodded.

  “You just let her run free?”

  “I have no need to keep her penned in a stall. She knows when I need her,” he said, and in one swift movement, he mounted. He looked down at Ella and offered a hand. She took it, and he pulled her onto the mare’s broad back.

  Ella had ridden bareback before a few times, though only in the quiet, soft hours before sunrise, when the rest of her family was asleep and only the faintest, peach-gold light touched the eastern sky. Maidens were expected to ride sidesaddle, to protect their virginity, which was dangerous at anything faster than a gentle trot. But Ella loved the thrill of sitting atop a galloping horse, feeling the surge of powerful muscles beneath her, her own body moving in rhythm, as if she and the horse were one creature. She’d ridden astride before, when no one was watching.

  She had never ridden behind a man, however. “How am I supposed to hold on?”

  “Wrap your arms around my waist.”

  She hesitated, then slipped her arms around his narrow, firm waist.

  With the lightest tap of Vaz’s heel, the mare tossed her head and broke into a canter. Ella gasped at the sudden, lurching movement and tightened her grip. Heat flooded her cheeks. Her breasts were squashed against Vaz’s broad back, but there was nothing much she could do about that. If she loosened her grip, she’d slide off.

  The mare cantered along the shore for awhile, then veered away from the coastline, up the gentle slope of a hill and into the forest. Ella clung tight to Vaz’s huge body. She could feel the steady thump of his heart, the rhythm of his breathing, the shift of iron-hard muscles in his back.

  They rode in silence for nearly an hour. At last, they reached the top of a hill. The village lay below, a scattering of houses and shops, tiny as toys from this distance. Ella stared at the familiar thatched roofs, the stone chimneys, the wisps of gray smoke rising into the sky. A herd of fat sheep grazed in a nearby pasture. Several of the houses, she saw, had been destroyed, the roofs ripped off, the stones burnt and blackened. Ella’s chest tightened. The dragon had returned while she was gone.

  “Perhaps you had better dismount here and return on foot.” Vaz’s voice was cool, unreadable. “It would not do if your parents saw you riding with a demon.”

  “But… you said you would stay and help us. That was our bargain.”

  “I will. I will remain here and watch the village until the dragon returns. When it does, I will kill it. You have my word. Now, go. Your people are no doubt wondering where you have been.”

  Ella dismounted. She looked up at Vaz’s impassive, mask-like face, so still his features may as well have been carved from stone. His eyes -- those solid, ruby disks, so deep yet so inscrutable -- stared down at her.

  Ella wanted to say something to him, anything, but the words would not come. “Goodbye, Vaz,” she said at last.

  He nodded.

  Ella turned and walked down the hill, toward the village.

  * * *

  A group of men milled around one of the burned houses, carrying bundles of fresh rushes in from the fields to replace the demolished roof. Ella spotted her father among them. “Father!” she called.

  He turned and ran toward her, pulled her into a fierce hug, then held her at arm’s length and shook her so hard her teeth clattered together. “Ella, by the gods, girl! I thought we’d lost you! How dare you go running off without a word to your mother and I!”

  Other villagers approached.

  “Is that Ella Miller?” someone called.

  “It is Ella!”

  “She’s returned!”

  “Everyone here has been worried sick about you,” said her father. “Where have you been?”

  “I have been to see the demon, Vaz.”

  Gasps arose from the villagers.

  Her father’s face darkened. “You what?”

  “Please, Father, just listen to me. He’s going to help us! He promised to kill the dragon.”

  Her father shook his head, astonishment in his eyes. “How in bloody blazes did you get him to agree to that?”

  A flush rose into her cheeks. “I… I talked to him. That’s all. I reasoned with him.”

  He studied her face, frowning. “Do you expect me to believe that?” He gripped her shoulders. “Ella, what did you give him? What did you promis
e him?”

  “Nothing. I swear.”

  “You’re lying to me, and I’ll have the truth out of you one way or another. But for now, we’d best let your mother know you’re alive and well.”

  The tension eased out of Ella’s shoulders. “Yes, Father.”

  Chapter Six

  Ella’s mother ladled a thick, rabbit stew into her daughter’s bowl. “Tell us again what happened,” she said.

  Ella lifted a spoonful of stew to her lips and blew away the steam. “I walked to the castle where Vaz lives and begged him to come and help our people.”

  Her father frowned. “And he said yes. Just like that.”

  “Is that really so hard to believe? Maybe he’s hoping to show the people of our village that demons aren’t so bad, after all.”

  Her father’s frown deepened. “No. If he really is planning to help us, he must have some other purpose, something he expects to gain.”

  Ella looked from her father to her mother, confused and hurt. Her parents had been relieved to see her alive, but still, since she’d returned, they had treated her with a strange, cold suspicion. Did they suspect? What would they do if they learned the truth?

  “Ella,” her mother said quietly, “what aren’t you telling us?”

  Ella stared down at her stew, her hands trembling. “Why does everyone assume the worst about him? What has he done, that everyone hates him so much?”

  “He killed his own mother.”

  Ella tensed. “He had a mother? But I thought demons --”

  “He was only half-demon,” said her mother. “His father was a true demon, an immortal. His mother was human. When he was first born, many of the villagers wanted to kill him or leave him in the forest. We all knew, being half-demon, he had evil in his blood. But his mother pleaded for him, said she would raise him to be good… so the villagers agreed to let him live. When he was thirteen, he killed her, and he was driven out. That was how he repaid her for all her kindness to him.”

  Ella’s mind whirled. “Are you sure? Are you sure it was Vaz who killed her?”

  “Of course we were sure,” snapped her father. “He was found standing over the body, his hands covered in her blood.”

  “No,” whispered Ella.

  “What’s wrong, child?” said her mother. “You’re pale.”

  “I just… I don’t believe…” She trailed off. It couldn’t be true. Or could it? What did she know about Vaz, really?

  “Enough,” said her father. He stood and planted his hands on the table. “I think it’s time you told us what went on between you and that creature.”

  “I…” Ella stopped. “What’s that sound?”

  “What sound?”

  She looked out the window, into the dark. In the distance, she heard a heavy crunch, then another, and another, each one closer than the last. “It’s coming from the forest. It sounds like…”

  Her father listened, brow furrowed. Then his eyes widened. “By the gods,” he muttered, “not again. Not so soon.”

  Ella gasped as realization sank in. The dragon had returned.

  “Everyone out of the house, to the Lodge,” said her father, hurrying them toward the door.

  “But --”

  “No arguments!” He pulled them outside. “We’ll be safer there. The walls are thick and the roof is solid oak. That beast could rip off our roof like paper, or haven’t you seen what it did to the Tanners’ home?”

  Ella looked around and saw other villagers hurrying from their houses in small clusters, whispering together, eyes wide with fear. Someone climbed onto the platform in the village square and struck the alarm bell. The sound rang out through the night, and still more people burst from their houses, flocking toward the huge, stone building known as the Lodge.

  Two men flung the door open and the villagers crowded inside. They pressed close together, silent, their eyes huge. Ella’s heart pounded as she stood between her parents, staring through a narrow window.

  A tall, broad-shouldered form stepped out of the darkness, and she gasped. It was Vaz. There was no mistaking the gleam of moonlight on his white-blond hair.

  “Look!” someone shouted. “That demon! What is he doing here?”

  “Maybe the dragon will kill him,” said a man.

  “Or maybe he’ll kill the dragon.”

  “Either way, we’ll be rid of one of them. Good riddance!”

  Rumbles of agreement rose from the crowd.

  Ella’s hands tightened into fists. How could they be so cold, so cruel? She heard heavy footsteps outside, moving closer. A deep, rumbling growl echoed through the silence. Then an enormous, dark shape emerged from behind the inn. Thick scales, like dull, black metal, armored its body. Sharp, hooked claws equipped each massive foot and a long tail lashed behind its body. A white goat thrashed in its jaws, bawling. The dragon’s teeth crunched down. Blood dripped from its mouth, and the goat went limp. The dragon’s massive head flicked to one side, tossing the goat into the air. It struck the side of a house and slid down, leaving a bloody smear on the wall.

  Ella felt sick. The monster killed for fun. She knew it could crush a man between its jaws just as easily. She looked at Vaz, who stood calm and motionless, and fear squeezed her heart. Had she been fooling herself, to think he had a chance?

  The dragon was as tall as a small house, muscular and stocky, its back lined with sharp spikes, from the base of its skull to its tail-tip. The dragon’s eyes burned like red embers, its foaming, blood-crusted mouth open to reveal teeth as large as daggers. Hot breath gusted out, steaming in the cool air. A long, red tongue licked blood from its lips, and a low growl trickled between its yellowed fangs. The dragon took a step toward Vaz. One foot came down on a picket fence, and wood crunched beneath its blood-caked claws.

  Vaz faced the dragon, hands on his hips, face impassive. “I will give you one warning. Leave this village now, and never return.”

  The glowing eyes narrowed. “Why do you help these mortals?” Its voice was deep, rumbling, like thunder. “Humans are our enemy.”

  “My reasons are none of your concern. This is your last warning. Leave now or die.”

  The dragon tossed back its head and laughed. Then it looked down at Vaz, its mouth gaped, and a stream of fire shot out. Vaz leapt to one side and landed in a crouch. The gush of fire struck the spot he’d been standing an instant ago, blackening the ground.

  The dragon growled and swung a clawed forefoot at him, batting at him like a cat at a toy. Vaz leapt aside again, then sprang toward the dragon’s face. The great mouth opened, and fire glowed in the dark, red throat, but before it could belch out another stream of fire, Vaz landed on its face and wrapped his legs tight around the dragon’s jaws, locking them shut. The red eyes bulged with surprise as Vaz drew his sword and plunged it deep into one glowing eye.

  The dragon reared as its head flicked back and forth, trying to dislodge him, but he clung tight. Vaz’s blade pushed deeper into the eye, into the brain beneath. He ripped the blade out, and the eye with it. Blood poured from the dark socket. The huge body slumped to the ground, and the glow faded from its remaining eye. Vaz stood and walked away from the corpse.

  Huddled in the Lodge, the villagers were silent. Then they burst into cheers. The doors opened, and they poured out, shouting thanks, but Vaz took no notice. He didn’t even look at them as he walked away, toward the eastern border of the village. His dark form faded into the night.

  Ella pushed her way through the crowd, toward the door.

  Her father grabbed her arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Ella yanked her arm free and ran outside. “Vaz!” she called. “Vaz, wait!” She heard hoof beats retreating into the night, and caught a glimpse of Vaz on horseback, galloping toward the edge of the village.

  Ella ran to the small stable beside her house. Hastily, she slipped a bridle onto Maggie, her little dappled mare, led her outside, and mounted without bothering to saddle her first. She kicked Maggie
twice, and the mare broke into a canter.

  Ella leaned forward, peering into the darkness. She could still see Vaz’s shape, retreating into the distance, and she felt a pang of despair. He was riding too fast. She would never catch him. She wondered for a moment why she wanted to so desperately, but there was no time to think. She gave Maggie another kick. “Vaz!” she cried out. “Vaz, stop!”

  Vaz reached the top of the hill, slowed the horse to a halt, and turned to face her. Ella rode to the hilltop, halted Maggie beside him, and looked straight into Vaz’s eyes. His face was impassive as ever. “Don’t go yet, please. You didn’t even give me the chance to thank you.”

  “I do not need any thanks. I am fulfilling my half of our bargain.”

  “Still… I wanted to thank you.”

  “Very well. Is that all?”

  She paused. “Did you kill your mother?”

  His eyes narrowed slightly.

  “I’m sorry. But I need to know the truth.”

  “Do you think I killed her?” he asked, his voice cold.

  Ella hesitated. “I don’t know. I just know what they told me. But I… I don’t want to believe that you did it.”

  He looked away. For a long moment, he said nothing. “My mother was the only person I ever loved. The only one who was ever kind to me. I would have protected her with my last breath, had I been there… but I was not. I do not know who killed her. It could have been anyone. We were hated, both of us, me because of what I was, and she because she had given birth to me, as if she were somehow tainted by association.” His hands tightened on the reins. “When they found me weeping over the body, they accused me and drove me out. I do not think most of them really believed I had done it. It was just an excuse.”