“Make sure you lock the door next time.” Stopping for a moment as she worked the first boot off, she looked at him, but met the gruesome view of his back. “We’re in a brothel. The type of men who stay here would gladly take advantage of any woman laid out on a bed alone. Next time, lock the door, pet.”
“I’m sorry. I thought you were right behind me and then I must have fallen asleep.” She jerked her other foot free of its boot, feeling agitated that he was lecturing her. “I’ve never been in a place like this.”
“I know.” He threw the blood stained cloth into the basin, marching over to the bags on the floor and he jerked something from them. “Never go anywhere without this again, you understand? You should have had it on you when you met the chimeras.”
He dropped one of her daggers in her hand. A wave of something she hadn’t felt from him before came across and she couldn’t stop herself from shivering as goose bumps danced across her skin. Her eyes grew wide as she looked the handle of the dagger over. At some point, it had been replaced with the tip of one of the chimera’s horns and the ridged texture made it grip easier in her hand. Pulling the blade from its new snakeskin sheath, she swallowed. The black spatter on its blade kept it from reflecting any light, telling her exactly which of her daggers he had upgraded; this was the blade she had found left on the rock. The dagger that Wylleam and she had decided not to acknowledge to Cedric that she had found and knowingly knew he had stabbed himself with. Her hair stood on end as she looked up at Cedric, lost for words or explanations. Instead of the sharp gaze, she was looking into one that seemed dulled and another wave of the strange sensation hit her again. She could not identify the feeling she was receiving from him.
“It was stupid of me to leave the damn thing on the rock, but perhaps my blood on the blade will give enough scent to discourage an attack.” His jaw was tight as he stood there, his eyes demanding she acknowledge he was not oblivious to her secrets. “I knew you had it this whole time, so don’t look so perplexed. I broke the handle when I used it last so I had the local smith fix it as part of my trade. Chimera horns are worth a fortune and it was no trouble to get them to fix it. They paid for the room, supplies we will be getting by morning and more. Only the best demon hunters have weapons fashioned with chimera horn grips and hilts.”
Speechless, she sheathed the blade and sat there staring down at it. He had acted so strangely on that day she had found the blood covered rock. She never understood why he felt the need to use it on himself. Perhaps it was all Lillith’s doing before they had come across her in their travels but his behavior had been animalistic in nature. Collapsing onto the bed behind her, Cedric drifted asleep with his back to her. For the life of her, she couldn’t recall when he had taken the dagger from her or found it in her pack. Glancing over she cringed; his wounds looked grisly and were festering. Her thoughts were reeling as she continued to register everything, confused about how she could fix this. Cedric wasn’t going to get better at this rate.
It was awkward to think that this would be the first time they would be sleeping next to one another, despite everything they had done together. Laying on the very edge, she hugged the dagger close to her chest, curling herself in a ball. He shifted and she felt startled for a moment, her nerves still on high from realizing he had known about the dagger. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to slow down the waterfall of emotions and thoughts, whatever it took to not to cry again. It was too much pull on her to continue to fall apart like this with so much danger in her life. Her focus needed to be on resting, on healing, and preparing for the next battle that was inevitably coming. There could be no more crying. There was no more room for the naïve Angeline in this new world of darkness.
#
Gasping as she sat up from her sleep, she found herself shivering, the room dark. Cedric wasn’t lying next to her on the bed any longer, but the room was too black to tell if he was still there, possibly tending his wounds again. Light splattered across the rutted floor as drunken laughter and slurs echoed on the other side of the door. Music was blasting from downstairs, doors slamming, and a new sound she had not been in the presence of before.
This was the sound of a girl screaming and moaning, the neighboring bedposts knocking on the other side of the far wall. Hugging her knees, she could not help but play through her own lustful moments with Cedric. In her mind, she questioned on how she must have sounded in those moments that he had overwhelmed her.
A shiver snaked up her spine and she stumbled to her feet, looking for the packs at the foot of the bed. As she bent down to pull free her blanket, an icy hand gripped the back of her neck, holding her firm in the awkward position. If it wasn’t for the wave of arousal he had given her at that moment, she would have panicked. Her breath unsteady as she waited to see what Cedric was intending to do with her.
“No crying? No screaming?” His voice was cold as he released her and sat back on the bed. “Were you not afraid?”
“Why would I?” Pulling the blanket free she went back to her side of the bed, laying with her back to him. “It was only you. What was the point of spooking me like that?”
“I was curious to see how you would react.” The bed shifted and creaked as Cedric moved closer to her. “Did you not just feel aroused? Were you not just thinking about all the times that I have sent you to Heaven?”
“You call that Heaven.” The brothel girl’s screams became wilder for a moment before turning into laughter, mocking Angeline as she hugged her covers to her chest. “Yes, I was thinking about those times. Aren’t you the one who was aroused first?”
“Perhaps.” A wave of excitement vibrated through her, and she shut her eyes, attempting to ignore it. “Does that really matter?”
“We need to rest. Don’t we have to look for Badbh?” Scooting over more, she realized she was at the very edge of the bed.
A tight grip on her arm rolled her on her back. Cedric straddled her, his weight crushing as she yelped in surprise. He leaned in but was stopped before he could go any further. In her distress, she had managed to unsheathe the dagger. Hilt against the center of her chest, the tip dug into the center of his chest. They lay frozen, his eyes glowing green with their catlike pupils as she stared up at him with confusion and fear. Something warm trickled across her fingers and began pooling on her chest from where the handle pressed hard into her sternum. Laughing started coming from his chest before it made it out of his mouth. He looked wild and untamed to her. In the dark, he looked like the animal that she had seen on the rock, his fangs glinting.
“You have it in you after all.” Letting her go, he flopped on his back. “I was starting to worry you had lost your stubborn side after that fight.”
“Don’t touch me.” It took all her focus to keep calm and to slow her breathing. “Don’t ever touch me like that again.”
“Just remember to pull that dagger like that and there won’t be a next time.” Smacking her in the thigh, he rolled over. “I just needed to know you had it in you to protect yourself, pet.”
#
The ride was silent as they rode down the heavily weathered road. They had been given directions to where a recent battle was going on and they hoped they would see Badbh there. Cedric noted that Angeline was struggling to keep herself from being so close to him on Barushka. A grin crawled across his face; it seemed childish to act that way. Nothing had happened, nor was anything going to happen last night. A chance to pick on her and test that she could protect herself was all that was in it for him. Wylleam gave her the dagger, he knew when they arrived at the cottage, and he caught scent of it. The glance he shot the old Shaman could have killed a man, and the flattened ears told him enough. He had decided it was fine for her to keep it, but had no need to fix its hilt until now. Her fight against the chimeras had exceeded his expectations about her, again. The way she handled the situation was beyond impressive, besides her panicking in the tree when she hurt her hand. The Rangers would have had her in their top r
anks with that much growth with little training. Angeline was a natural, if only she realized it.
The sound of crows and ravens screeching in the distance were getting louder, and the smell of dirt and iron began to overcome everything else. The battle was close. Barushka shuddered as he fussed at the muddy pathway, broken down from the hordes of horses and soldiers that had travelled down it. His large heavy hooves sunk into the mud making each step troublesome for him. As they rounded the nearby hill, it became clear that the battle had ended and the victors were long gone. Cedric encouraged Barushka through the bodies and debris. Looking about for signs of anything that could tell him if Badbh had been there, they went deeper into the frightful scene. They passed fallen men who were screaming or moaning as they lay in the filth of the battlegrounds. Their wounds fatal, there was no way of helping them. Angeline had given up on keeping her distance from Cedric and pushed her face into his back, covering her ears from the pleas of help. It sounded like the cries of tortured souls trapped in hell as they worked their way to the heavier section of the battlefield where the fight had peaked.
“Looking for me?” It was a deep toned woman’s voice that broke through the chaos of birds and the dying, sending them all into a moment of complete silence. “I figured I would wait for you before I moved on. I heard you were searching for me.”
“Badbh,” Barushka halted as Cedric turned him about to a rather large raven on top of a pole arm that was stuck into the ground. “You are not the waiting sort I thought?”
“For this, I am more curious to hear your side of the story. I heard from my sisters of the ruckus you caused them.” The bird chuckled before it flew off and to the ground. “I admire the tenacity of your efforts. You’re a hell of a fighter and more importantly, one lucky bastard.”
“Not that I had much choice of who I fought against lately. I would have preferred not running into Nemaine like that or Lillith shortly after.” The bird grew in size, flapping its wings, feathers flying about as a masked warrior appeared. “I was hoping I could ask you a question on how to kill someone. My research has given me nothing on the matter.”
“Ah, I thought that was going to be the case. Let me guess, after Lillith, you realized there was more to killing pureblood succubus and incubus, neh?” Badbh’s tanned skin was covered in pink and purple scars of all sorts of shapes and sizes. “To be honest, the only information I have is that it has something dealing with their offspring. My studies have shown that purebloods have been killed by halflings and other purebloods. You may have a shot, especially after handling Lillith so well. Being the offspring of the strongest of that sort of demon may have given you the edge you needed for the task you are setting out to do.”
“Lillith was pure luck.” Shifting his back and shoulders, he shook Angeline out of the center of his back. “I had to bind myself to a witch at the worst possible time. I had no other chance to dodging becoming her next playmate.”
“That’s right; you’re Ranger in training over there is a witch’s descendant. There’s much gossiping on that matter as well.” Hidden by a birdlike mask of silver and brass, her face was impossible to see and her skirt of raven feathers flickered in the wind as she made small talk with them. Angeline marveled over the rigid look of her muscular arms and abdomen that could rival most men’s physique. “Well, she may want to keep that dagger with the black blade close. Not sure how you managed to enchant it, but it is one of a kind. I could not make an enchantment that could match it. As for battling Lillith or Boto, you have a better chance than myself at winning a fight with one of them. There is nothing more I can do for you, Cedric. You know how to be tactful, and you have been around long enough to gain a solid line of experience to call on. Training and building your power to match Boto’s should get you closer to Morrighan and defeating them.”
“Enchanted?” Angeline felt a wave of emotion from him, and his muscles on his back twitched under her hands. “Did you enchant the dagger, Cedric?”
“I am sure Wylleam had something to do with that. Badbh, do you not want to keep me from killing your sister? Nemaine may not say it, but she would not have attempted to kill me in our last meeting.” Cedric spat at the ground as he changed subjects. “Or does the Battle Goddess have other plans?”
“Look, unless you can find some way to pull the demonic possession from Morrighan’s body and mind, she is dead to me. She was never right in the head, but after it took hold, her ways went too far into the dark arts. As for my plans, I am following this so-called Crusade heading south. King Frederick has received yet another promotion among the human politics and now thinks he can lead these fools to battle in the name of their God. I am intrigued to see what battles develop from this.” The wind kicked up, and in the ruffle of raven feathers from her skirt, she had transformed back into the large Raven again. “If you figure out a way to set Morrighan free, I would owe you for the rest of my life. Oh, and you, witch?”
“Ye-yes?” Angeline swallowed back her unsteadiness the best she could. “What do you want with me?”
“You are his bounded mate and you need to start listening to those instincts. They are there to inform you of how you best suit his needs, and he does the same as it calls of him. You are responsible for fixing his wounds. That is your place.” A large caw rung out as Badbh flew off to the south.
“My blood.” The memory of the glowing bottle in Wylleam’s hands shot through her mind and she remembered why it had to be hers. “That’s right, I can fix this.”
“That’s the last thing I want.” Cedric jerked at the reigns and Barushka startled into a light gallop heading back towards the town. “I don’t need your blood. I’m fine.”
“But, Wylleam had to use my-” A wave of anger shot out of him, knocking the air from her lungs.
“I don’t need it.” Once more, he shook her off his back.
#
Nodding at the barkeep, they went back to their room. His body was still growing colder, and the wounds ached with every motion he made. Cedric’s focus was to start cleaning the gashes keeping them from infection. Angeline slammed and locked the door behind him, but he paid her no attention. Running the water across his shoulder stung, but the dried blood that painted his arm needed to be scrubbed clean. Warm hands touched his back and he paused as he felt the waves of emotion Angeline was giving off. The sensations they shared were hard to control and breathtaking when they were touching. She took the cloth from him and began cleaning his back, and he could feel the mixture of sorrow and guilt she held as she tended to the ravaged scene that lay across it. Sighing he closed his eyes, enjoying the affectionate gesture. The cloth hit the floor and she threw her arms around him, gripping him tight as warm tears ran down his back.
“I should have never stopped shooting.” She shook as her hands clung to his chest and stomach. “Your back would have been fine, but I screwed up.”
“Angeline, it’s not the wounds.” Looking down, he stared at her discolored hand and its crooked finger. “I let Morrighan rile me up, and my greed got the best of me. I would be healed by now if I hadn’t drained the chimeras and consumed her magic. She knew I would, and she made sure I would be punished for taking it in.”
“I can fix it.” She was pressing her face harder into his back as she shivered. “I think I understand now. Without me, you have no true way to heal…”
“Don’t.” He turned, pushing her back as he gripped her shoulders, demanding eye contact. “I don’t want blood. Not from you.”
Jerking away from him, she worked her sleeve up, exposing the arm with the scars, holding it up to him. Wide eyed he stared at the slash and the ravaged bite mark that made its home across her soft skin. She was biting her bottom lip, tears rolling in her eyes as her face blotched. Compassion was flowing out of her, but it did not change how he felt on the matter. It was hard for him to decipher which side wanted her blood more, the incubus or the moroi. Before, it had been clear that it was the Incubine blood that cried out
for the virgin’s blood, but now, it was replaced with a hunger that he hadn’t known before. This new want had started shortly after Morrighan’s magic began wreaking havoc on his system. She shoved her arm closer to him and he pushed it away. The thirst choking him, and her emotions making it harder for him to bury and push the new urge down, it was exhausting. There was no way for him to know what his new need was intending to do.
“Stop it.” His eyes were sharp as he snarled at her. “I definitely have no desire to ravage your arm again, and especially with you making that sort of face, pet.”
“Wylleam explained it to me. You don’t understand.” Desperately she wiped the tears from her face while he pushed past her. “Magic in my blood can undo hers. That’s how we got your bloodlines to go back last time. My magic can replace the broken parts.”
“Do you not get that I know that?” He jerked up a shirt and started for the door.
“Stop!” Again, her hands wrapped around his waist. “You can’t.”
“Let go.” Growling he sent a wave of anger through her, but all he got in return was the immediate pulse of arousal. “This is not the time for this.”
“Does it matter?” Another wave, now she was doing it on purpose. “Does it matter who starts first?”
“Angeline, you are treading in the unknown.” His incubine blood was stirring as she continued using their new ability to share emotions. “You know I can’t promise.”
Cedric the Demonic Knight Page 14
