by Nora Ash
“Selma?”
“Hmm?” Sleep was already sneaking up on her. When she had been alone, it had been hard to relax enough to fall asleep. Apparently, her own instincts were only too happy to trust in her male companion to keep her safe during the night, no matter how much her rational side muttered about him being a stranger.
“Tomorrow, we will arrive at the city where my contact is located. It is a place with many demons, and they may notice me—and you, by extension. If we are approached, you will have to act as my mate.”
The thought of clinging to the demon's arm and fawning like a lovesick school girl made her giggle, halfway gone on sleep as she was. “Mhm.”
“If we are not approached … There are laws for Lords passing through another's territory, such as first presenting oneself to the local ruler before going about business in his Area. We do not have that option, because any Lord will know that you are not my mate, as they have never attended your auction. If we are not approached, there is every chance we are instead being observed, which can result in an attack. I want you to understand how dangerous this is before you agree to it.”
Selma knew she probably should ask him questions, but she was so tired, and deep in her core she knew the man whose subtle scent had her head spinning pleasantly while she drifted off would protect her from anything and everyone. There was no true danger while he was present.
“Mmh.”
* * *
The woman next to him seemed surprisingly relaxed, considering the dangerous situation they were on their way into. Kain himself felt every nerve stand at attention, his senses hyper alert as he watched for other demons while he maneuvered the car through the busy city.
Selma … he gave the contentedly humming girl a bitter glance. Selma had been calm ever since he woke her up, all traces of fear and anxiety gone from both her scent and face for reasons unbeknownst to him.
Perhaps it was just the result of a good night's sleep, because while he had sat awake, staring at her passed out form and struggled with the onslaught of mixed emotions her presence brought up in him, she had been fast asleep, as if she didn't have a care in the world.
And through it all, his instincts were practically purring with contentment that the Breeder in his care finally trusted him to protect her. It was maddening.
“Are we close?” She looked out of the passenger side window, as if searching for what she could no longer see while he pulled into a parking lot. “And is it demon free?”
“Yes and yes, as far as I can tell.” Kain turned off the engine and looked over at her. “Listen, if things go wrong, I want you to stay calm and close, okay? I will talk us out of any trouble if I can, and if not, I will fight. Most likely, things will run smoothly. Just be prepared.”
She nodded obediently and slid out of the car.
* * *
It was the first time she could ever remember being in a crowd without feeling a shred of anxiety. For most of her life the knowledge that at any moment a monster could pop into her vicinity had had her on edge whenever she was around other people,. After she escaped Ravenswood House, the fact that she now couldn't see the beings chasing her had meant crowds were a source of pure terror.
This time, though Kain quietly pointed out a couple of demons looking in their direction, she felt … safe. There was no other word for the calm sensation inside her chest as she walked next to the big man with his strong arm wrapped securely around her shoulders. She was faintly aware that her hormones were still messing with her mind, making her trust in the male's strength and power despite her underlying mistrust of his kind, but the blissful experience was enough to make her ignore that. At least for a little while.
With a happy hum she pressed her nose against the soft leather of his jacket. When he stopped in front of a small corner shop she inhaled deeply. He smelled good; like warmth and safety and man, and it amplified the pleasurable feeling in her chest, made it spread out through her entire body.
“Selma!”
The angry hiss made her look up. Kain was glaring down at her from his impressive height, an unmistakable kind of heat burning behind the annoyance. “Stop that! I need my head clear.”
Oh. Oh.
Blushing profusely, Selma pulled her head back, suddenly shamefully aware of why her body was humming pleasantly. When she lowered her gaze to avoid the embarrassment of eye contact, she noticed a distinctive—and intimidatingly large—bulge at the front of his jeans.
“Sorry,” she muttered, trying to look anywhere but below his waist as her own body responded to his obvious excitement by dampening her panties.
Kain breathed deeply next to her, undoubtedly in order to get his body back under control, and she distinctly heard him grumble “fucking Breeders” under his breath.
“Well, 'fucking demons' right back,” she snapped, insulted at his annoyance. It wasn't like she had chosen for her hormones to get all screwy around him!
He barked a hoarse laugh, and his arm constricted tighter around her for the briefest moment.
“All right, little smart-mouth, this is the place.” Kain gave her an amused look before pulling her with him through the front door, which gave a merry little jingle at their entrance.
It was a small and dingy shop, and currently empty of customers.
Kain pushed straight for the counter, where a slender man with bad skin was too busy fiddling with a magazine to look up at them. Selma found herself kept firmly behind his broad back, shielding her from the clerk.
“Fred.”
The man gave an odd sort of jolt at the demon's near-growled greeting, his head bobbing up with a snap.
“Oh god, you!” Instinctively, he flinched backwards as if searching for an exit, but only managed to hit the back wall, knocking off a couple of bags of candy in the process.
“Yes, indeed.” Kain stopped in front of the counter, but placed both his massive hands on it so he could lean in. “I'm pleased you remember me. That should save us the trouble of you pretending like you can't answer my questions, shouldn't it?”
The man, now sickly pale behind his adult acne, nodded stiffly. “Wha-what do you want?”
“Precise directions to the place I asked you about last time.”
Fred swallowed nervously. “Man, you know I can't.”
Kain's growl made Selma shake as hard as it did the slender man; it vibrated through flesh and bone, sowing terror in her gut with its unsubtle threat of violence.
“It's a spell! I can't!”
Fred seemed close to hysteria, not that Selma could blame him. The sudden switch in the demon's attitude had her insides clench in fear, even though it wasn't directed at her. It reminded her of how Marathín had changed from lover to ruthless killer in seconds.
The demon scoffed.“Oh, really? I suppose we'll just have to see if a little of my magic will help, then.”
“No! Please, no!” Fred huddled in on himself as darkness suddenly filled the room, solidifying in tendrils that snaked towards the quivering man.
“Kain!” Selma stared at the evolving scene in horror, the flashback to Marie's murder pressing in on her mind too strongly to ignore. She'd put her trust in this man because she had to, but the gentleness he'd shown her, his self-restraint, had made her believe that he was different from the procurer. That he wasn't evil.
As he stood in front of her, looming over the whimpering clerk with dark shadows enveloping his massive form, it was impossible to maintain that impression.
Unthinkingly, her only urge being to stop the attack on Fred, she pulled her hand back, formed it into a fist and rammed it as hard as she could square into his back. “Stop it!”
Marathín had easily brushed her off when she was swinging at him to make him stop the violence, and she half expected to be shoved to the floor the second her fist connected with Kain's hard flesh, and realization of what she was doing set in.
However, the dark shadows immediately began retreating as Kain snapped his head arou
nd, frowning down at her. “What?”
“What do you mean, 'what'?” she stuttered, entirely taken aback by his casual annoyance. “Stop attacking the poor guy! You can't just … bully someone like that!”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I gave him ample opportunity to speak of his own accord. He chose not to.”
Selma blinked. “He said it was a spell. Now, I'm not entirely sure how magic works for you all, but that doesn't sound like he could just choose to tell you. How about you ask the man?”
“What, ask him nicely and see if he'll comply?” The demon scoffed. “Look, I know you're a Breeder and therefore predisposed to being overly kind, but that's just not how the world works, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? Not only did the pet name give her more uncomfortable flashbacks to Marathín—it was also infuriatingly patronizing. Selma’s fear dimmed and was swiftly replaced by anger, but before she could lay into the big brute, the clerk interrupted them.
“If the girl is a Breeder, I can tell her,” he croaked, slowly straightened behind the counter now that the immediate threat was withdrawing.
Kain's black gaze snapped back to Fred, pinning him in place. “Explain.”
He gulped, eyes flickering to her. “Well … the spell ensures we only tell Breeders of the location. If she is a Breeder, I will be able to tell her. Though … you should leave the room while we ….”
Kain's raised eyebrows made Fred falter.
“Uh, but I suppose we can ignore that.” He fidgeted nervously. “She'll have to ask me directly.”
Selma glanced up at Kain, to ensure that he was once again safe to be around, before she walked closer to the counter so the man could look at her without also getting an eyeful of the threatening demon. “Where is the place that demons can't go?”
Fred exhaled deeply, undoubtedly from relief. “Colorado, in the mountains. Here, let me show you on a map.”
While he bent to fish the map out from under the counter Selma gave her companion a sarcastic side-glance. “Yes, I see how much easier threatening people is. Why does anyone waste their time talking?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, but a glimmer of amusement flickered in them. “Smart-mouthed little witch.”
She refrained from making further comments when Fred's head reappeared and he slapped a map of Colorado in front of them. Though Kain seemed to take her cheek in good spirit, there was undoubtedly a limit to how much of it he would tolerate in front of others.
“Here it is, just west of Routt National Forest, off Route 40.” He pointed at the map. “But if you bring him, he won't be able to take you closer than five miles.”
“What's there?” She eyed the area that looked to be just a stretch of mountain area. “Why can't demons enter?”
Fred's fingers twitched around the edge of the map. “I … I'm not sure.” He quickly glanced at Kain. “B-but it's a sanctuary. They take in Breeders who find their way there. The ones who can't accept their lot in life.”
Behind her, Kain sighed. “Fred … Don't make me do unpleasant things to you in front of the lady. She doesn't want to see that.”
The clerk swallowed nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing in the process. “Right, it's just … I really, really shouldn't, and … this will not make you any less pissed off, and I can't afford to have you trash my store, okay?”
Selma frowned in confusion. “So it isn't a sanctuary?”
“Yeah, yeah it is.” He had started sweating from his temples, the glances he kept casting at Kain resembling a nervous twitch more and more.
“He won't harm you, or your shop,” she said, casting a stern look at the demon while hoping he would honor her request. “I promise.”
“It's protected by a goddess.” It was barely more than a whisper, but Kain's deep snarl indicated that he, too, heard it just fine.
Without turning her attention from Fred, Selma reached back to place a calming hand on her companion. “A … a goddess? But why?”
“I don't know, honestly. I swear. I just know that she is the only one who will protect you from the demons, and I'm one of her Secret Keepers. My only job is to tell Breeders about this place, if they find me. And keep it safe from them.” He made a vague gesture towards Kain.
“So you're a supernatural being too?” Selma stared at him, trying to guess if he would have looked otherworldly to her without her mark.
“Nah man, I just owed her a debt. Fell in with the wrong crowd, was about to lose my goddamn soul, and she got me out of the pinch after I swore an oath to do this gig for her.”
“Lose … your soul?” She wasn't entirely sure she had much of her previous worldview left to cling on to after her experiences at Ravenswood House, but this?
“Made a deal with a demon.” Fred shook his head. “I was young and stupid and wanted a new car.”
From behind her, Kain put his hand on her shoulder. “That's fascinating. Selma, we need to get moving before Lord Harisham shows up. The demons who spotted us before have had ample opportunity to let him know I'm hanging around in his territory by now, if they so choose.”
Selma jolted at the reminder. “Yes, right. Thank you, Fred.”
The clerk nodded and gave her a half-wave. “Good luck.”
The moment they exited the shop, door bell jingling merrily, Kain growled low in his throat and sent a scowl across the busy road.
“What is it?”
“We're being watched.”
She blinked and squinted across the road. In the shadows by a greengrocer two men in honest-to-god trench coats and hats stood looking at them.
“Demons?”
“Yeah. And they're not acknowledging me. Come, little one. We need to get you out of here—now.” He practically crushed her against his side before turning away from the road and stalking towards the parked car so fast she practically had to run next to him not to get dragged along.
“You think they're his employees? Lord Haris … something?”
“I'm not sure.” They made it to the car where he opened the passenger side door and practically shoved her in.
“What do you mean you're not sure?”
The second he'd slammed his own door he started the engine and reversed so fast the tires squeaked. “I mean that they looked more professional than the average lackeys. They could be Lord Harisham's, or they could be this Marathín's contacts.”
An uncomfortable flutter made her stomach clench. “But it could just be the Lord's men?”
“Yes, little one, but that's not much better. Not until we are well out of the city, at least.”
The drive out of the city was agonizing. Every time they had to slow down or stop for traffic, Selma felt her pulse pick up speed, every sound and movement outside the car making her jump. Finally, Kain placed his hand on her knee and kept it there, only letting go to change gears. It allowed for a little of her previous calm to return, her instincts mumbling at her to trust that he could get her safely out.
Only when they got out of the city, the ride turning smoother as the high-rises disappeared in the rear view mirror, did she relax back in her seat, letting her instincts lull her fully.
“So … the whole 'selling your soul to a demon' is a real thing?” Selma looked over at the man whose hands were still gripped tightly around the wheel.
“Yes.”
“Uhm … have you ever … taken someone's soul?” She wasn't entirely certain why she was asking, apart from morbid curiosity.
“I'm not that kind of demon.”
Something eased inside of her. “Oh. So what do you do? Just fight the female demons?”
He snorted, returning her gaze for a short moment—long enough that she caught the sarcastic glimmer in his black eyes. “You mean, am I the good kind of demon?”
A hot blush crept over her face. That’s exactly what she had meant.
“There’s no such thing, little one, and anyone who tries to tell you differently is attempting to deceive you for their own means. I rule the
underworld in my territory—I destroy lives on a regular basis.”
Oh. Right. She bit her lip and looked away again. He certainly looked the part of a bad boy, though she wasn't keen on knowing the exact details of what he meant by destroying lives.
“So why are you helping me? I know you said my scent makes you a bit crazy, but … that back there seemed a lot more personal.”
Kain didn't answer, and she turned back around to him. His decadent lips were pinched and his eyes stared unblinkingly at the road.
“You said you knew of Fred because of your mother's journal. Did she go to this place?”
“My mother is dead. She killed herself because she couldn't escape my father. As well as my brother and I. When I was seventeen I went to that shop, because I wanted to see if she truly could have lived somewhere in safety—happiness—had she gotten away.”
Though his voice was detached, distant, the words hit her like a punch to the gut. Before she realized she'd moved, her hand pressed against his arm in an instinctive attempt at alleviating whatever pain festered inside of him.
“I'm... I'm so sorry, that's horrible. Why was she so unhappy? I thought… I thought most Breeders came to terms with it.”
“She had a family, before she was captured. A human husband and son. She never stopped loving them—or resenting us for taking her away from them. Most Breeders do not have a violent entry into our society—she did. As did you.”
So that explained why a Lord Protector would try to save a stranger. He was trying to right the horrors of his past.
She felt tears sting her eyes and closed them. “Kain…” There was nothing else to say. She didn't know him well enough to cross the barriers of indifference he had put up around himself, however much the part of her that couldn't bear to see someone suffer screamed for her to do just that.
Silently, she placed her lips against the leather of his jacket, just above where her hand rested, offering her sympathy and gratitude where words would not be welcome.
