by Ruby Duvall
Not looking down at the path, she accidentally slipped and turned her ankle too far in the wrong direction, forcing a pained cry from her lips as she landed hard on her hip. However, after a few tears of pain she stood up and kept going, furiously wiping away the moisture on her cheeks as she half-limped, half-ran the rest of the distance.
It seemed to be forever before she reached her destination and she broke out into the clearing at a staggering sprint, coming to a gasping halt as she tried to gather a breath. A strong wind, a gale compared to the gentle breeze she had felt in the village, swept into the clearing from behind her, as if it had been chasing her the entire way, and her hair was whipped into her face.
She couldn’t let them find him. They would kill him or…he would kill them. Either way, someone would die, and she didn’t want that to happen if she could stop it.
“Vallen! Vallen, I need you!” she screamed, turning in all directions as she called his name. Some birds were scared into flight by her screams, but she paid them no heed. For several minutes, she called his name, hoping that he could hear her, but the minutes passed, and she didn’t see him.
Time was running out. The nearest pair of men would be drawing near soon, and she couldn’t run the risk of them hearing her shouts. Her voice was beginning to get hoarse, but she still called for him, holding her hands cupped around her mouth to make her shouts louder.
He wasn’t there. She couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him coming. She tried screaming at her loudest, calling his name over and over again, but her throat began to burn as she reached the point of overexerting herself. She swiftly turned in a full circle, seeing nothing but trees and grass and screamed his name one last time, hoping that he could hear her. Then she finally stopped, her eyes looking at the empty forest path from which she had come.
He couldn’t get caught, couldn’t die…he had to become human again.
Human like her.
“Vallen!” she called again, but her voice cracked as the shouting took its toll on her vocal cords. She gulped around the scratchiness in her throat, pressing a hand to her stomach where her magic sat fluttering in sympathy to her distress. She felt a hot sting in her eyes and shut them quickly, willing the tears to go away. She wouldn’t cry, not for him. Who was he that she should cry for him? Who was he that she should feel any need at all to protect him?
He was the man she loved.
That was it. That was the restless longing building up inside. She wanted to be with him because of love. She loved him, may the Divine One help her.
A twig snapped behind her, and she cried out in surprise, jerking around to look at what had made the noise. From the edge of the clearing, a white-haired demon pushed a low branch out of his way, stepping into the open grass and looking quite breathless. His sky blue eyes, clear and bright, looked to her face with obvious concern and as she took in his healthy appearance, she felt a single tear escape her eyes, sliding wetly down her cheek.
His dark green shirt, emblazoned with bright gold thread, boasted an intricately embroidered tree, the leaves seeming to shiver in the breeze, though it was surely just a trick of the light. His dark brown pants and soft leather boots completed the outfit, but all she had been checking for were any obvious wounds.
He was perfectly fine.
“You screamed?” he called, his mouth turned up in a slight smile as he completed his own survey of her health.
“Vallen,” she whispered. Her feet moved of their own volition and she felt herself being propelled toward him. He came a few more steps into the clearing, his eyes narrowing a bit as he took in her lopsided jog, but she quickly closed the distance between them and couldn’t stop herself from throwing her arms around his neck, pressing herself flush against him.
“You’re safe,” she sighed, snuggling her face against the bend of his neck and shoulder. His warm, musky scent, mixed with his spicy soap, filled her nostrils and assured her that he was really there. His arms came around her, holding her close, and she felt his lips brush her temple.
“What’s wrong? You nearly scared the life out of me,” he muttered, tightening his arms. “And you’re limping…did someone hurt you?”
“They’re coming. They know about you,” she whispered, ignoring his last question and clutching him closer. His eyebrows slanted down in confusion.
“Who’s coming? The villagers?” he guessed. His body tensed and he began to get the impression that their secret had been outed.
“Yes, there are about fifteen men. They’re searching for a girl that went missing. Everyone says a sex demon did it.” His eyebrows slanted down even more. Now he was more confused.
“Shumei, calm down.” He rubbed one hand in small circles in the middle of her back, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Explain this to me.” She swallowed heavily, bringing her head up and he was moved to see the worry in her expression.
“There’s not much time. A pair of men will be through here in a matter of minutes. The miller’s daughter is gone, and they’re looking for her, or for her body. I was told that everyone said a sex demon had stolen her.” His face was suddenly incredulous, and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but she surged ahead.
“But I know you wouldn’t do that. I know,” she nodded, a second tear sliding down her other cheek. “And what’s more is that I saw this girl leaving the witch’s hut last week. As far as I know, I am the only person who ever visits her, so she must think that no one knows about her relationship with the girl.” His mouth slowly parted as her tale sank in and he brought his hand up to brush away the two tears glittering on her cheeks. “Whether she knows you are real or not, Majo is using my questions to her as inspiration for some story to cover up what she did. She’s framing you!”
Her hands fisted in the fine material of his tree-embroidered shirt and she pulled herself close again, curling against his body. Vallen let his arms engulf her in a comforting hug and he felt his heart swell almost painfully.
She was worried about him.
He’d had his suspicions when he found her screaming her heart out in their meeting place. Judging by the tear on her cheek and by the relief in her face when she saw him, he had guessed that the inevitable had happened. She would ask him to take her and her brother somewhere safe, for either she had been banished for consorting with a demon and for practicing magic, or she was being hunted down for a quick execution. She would beg him for his protection.
Instead, she was there to warn him.
To protect him.
On top of it all, she had never believed the rumor. She had never doubted that he was the innocent one.
“Shumei,” he uttered roughly, gently rolling his shoulder to bring her face up. Two trails of dried tears were stained on her cheeks, her eyelashes spiky with the remaining moisture. Her earthy brown eyes were glassy with unshed tears, only slightly tinged with the redness of weeping. He looked down at her puffy, pink lips, which were swollen from the worried bites she had given them. Her heartbeat fluttered against his chest, and he felt something inside him gently tearing, falling apart, crumbling…
He pressed his lips to hers, willing her to leave behind that hopeless look on her face. He should be the hopeless one, not her.
She was already soft for him, her lips parting and her jaw opening as his tongue emerged from his mouth to play with hers. He felt her arms stretch up to encircle his neck and he leaned down a bit farther, deepening the kiss, trying to comfort her with his body. His fingers slowly and lightly passed over her sides, her stomach, her bottom, her back, her arms …his mouth moved deep and slow, staying tender. Finally wrapping his arms around her slim torso and pulling her up against him, he concentrated on their kiss for another long, steamy minute, enjoying the fresh taste of her mouth before disengaging the slow wrestle of their tongues to brush his lips against hers.
“I’m safe,” he softly said against her mouth. “I’m safe, Shumei.”
“Thank the gods,” she whimpered, pressing her mouth
against his to get another kiss, which he eagerly gave her.
“I want you,” he gruffly said, boldly squeezing the softness of her backside. “I want to wrap your legs around my waist and take you right here, standing up, my cock buried inside you,” he vividly described in a whisper. He felt her shudder against him. She curved closer to him, but he heard a sigh of disappointment.
“I…I want you too but the men will be through here soon and I told Oka I would be back within the hour,” she explained, her voice a little scratchy. That was an understatement. She was so relieved after finding him unharmed and she wanted him terribly. He was a drug and she was thoroughly addicted to him. The wetness between her thighs was not only due to the effects of the Binding.
“I see,” he said simply, his words coming out on a sigh. His loins ached in disappointment, but knowing that she had wanted the same was enough to make his heart clench. His arms loosened, and soon they stood only clasping one hand.
“Be careful,” she quietly said, licking her lips to savor the taste of his mouth.
“You too. I’ll see you here in two days,” he said, smiling at her. She felt a smile pull at her lips, but something inside her wouldn’t let it come out. The best she could give him was a softening of her expression, covering up the concern still making her stomach roll uneasily.
Their hands pulled apart as she took another step back and she missed the contact immediately, but she forced herself to continue walking away. Then, with the wave of her hand, she turned and began to jog back the way she had come, managing to hide her limp so that he wouldn’t remember to ask her about it.
Chapter Eighteen
When she returned home, she pushed aside the reed door to enter and was immediately engulfed in a hug. She made a surprised noise, looking down as her brother pressed his face into her stomach. She could hear the soft sounds of crying and placed her hands on his shoulders.
“Don’t do that again, sister,” he sobbingly whispered. “Everyone is talking of demons and death today…and then you suddenly leave me here. Don’t do it again, please.”
“What do you mean ‘everyone’?” she asked, petting the back of his head out of habit. The reed door still swung a bit behind her, steadily tapping the edge of the door, though it was slowing down.
“Ikuro came by, wanting to know if we had any plant that she could hang from her door to drive away demons. She said that there’ve been massacres in some cities in the Plentiful Plains. Demons have suddenly started penetrating the barrier charms and no one knows how,” he explained, though his voice was muffled against her abdomen.
She gasped in shock, whispering the name of the Divine One.
“How did she hear this?” she asked him, wondering if it was perhaps another rumor started by Majo. She didn’t want this to be true.
“The merchants who came in this morning brought the news,” he sniffed, holding her tighter. She felt her jaw drop.
Majo hadn’t started this rumor. It had to be real.
“May the Divine One protect us,” she whispered. Ever since she could remember, her life had been relatively untouched by the dangers that demons presented, at least up until now. She had been told that once, as a child, one had nearly gotten her, though she had no conscious memory of it and perhaps twice had another villager seen one from within the safety of the village when walking around at night, but never had the demons hurt anyone she knew.
Sure, there had been many stories, passed down from the older village members who had heard stories from their elders and from others who passed through their tiny village, but never had any of them feared that the prayers protecting them from harm would fail.
She gasped again, a horrible thought coming to the front of her mind.
“What is it, sister?” Oka said, bringing his head up to look at her. She looked down at him, forcing the shock from her face and blinking a bit to hide her expression.
“I-I’m just a bit worried,” she shushed, squeezing his shoulders. A look of mild disbelief passed over her brother’s face, but he said nothing. She didn’t want to hide things from him like this, especially since he probably knew she was hiding something, but to tell him the naked truth would scare him even more. She would rather have his resentment than see him afraid.
“You know that you can talk to me…don’t you, Shumei?” he said, his voice still young and high. His words sounded strange when spoken with that voice, and she knew he was being serious when he used her name. She swallowed, feeling profound guilt within her chest—guilt not only for the choices she had made over the past two months but also for the mistakes she had made. She realized, looking back, that she had been and probably still was incredibly naïve, just as Vallen had said.
She had never needed to enter a deal with the sex demon. Now that she knew him better, she realized that he wouldn’t have carried out his threats, and out of all the women he had lain with to stay alive, he had wanted her again. He had wanted her badly enough to manipulate her with well-worded bluffs.
Thinking of her feelings for him now and of the way he used to be…she wondered if she was delusional, but something about him made her want to protect him, and at the same time be protected by him. Something inside him called to her. They had met under such hostile circumstances, but what they found together in the privacy of a tent or the cool water of a shallow river…that was magic.
Many times, she wondered if the Binding had done this to her, but she knew it hadn’t, the same way she could feel her magic lolling about inside her stomach. Her love was real. Unexplainable, but real.
If only there was a chance that he returned her feelings…
Other things were more important now though, and she knew she should mull over her love life at a later time. Pressing her lips together, she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, loosening her hold on her brother’s shoulders. He took the hint and stood back as well, regarding her silently.
“Let’s have a seat,” she said softly.
Chapter Nineteen
Resentfully standing at the front door of the village leader’s home, Shumei exacted a bit of revenge by using the knocker this time. She wouldn’t abuse her knuckles anymore for them. Kimen had placed an order for some Numbing Kava Kava, greatly rousing her suspicions since it was the most commonly ordered medicine on the second day of the Burning.
She wasn’t surprised when Kimen opened the door, trying to be quiet. His wife was notably absent. He was actually a bit cleaner that morning, his hair combed properly, his clothing set straight, but his face and body were still as unattractive as ever. His smile was closer to a leer and he backed up a considerable distance, gesturing for her to come inside.
“Let’s not waste any time. How much is the medicine?” he asked, his voice mild, unlike his expression. Surprise filled her as she realized that Akki was most likely sick.
“Only one kol, Leader Kimen.” she answered softly. Then, holding out a bag of crushed Numbing Kava Kava, she listed off instructions on how to take the medicine. Kimen took the bag, pressing a single kol coin into her palm as if he didn’t want to touch her, didn’t care for her at all—not even in the usual dirty way.
She was incredibly grateful.
“May I ask, sir, if the stories about the villages in the plains are true?” she ventured, her voice hushed. She hadn’t thought that she would have an opportunity to ask such a question of the leader, but he knew the most about the surrounding area since many news reports came directly to him. He would know the truth, or at least be the best person to ask for a guess. If he shared any of the news, though, it was his own decision to make.
He frowned at her, his jaw working as if he were grinding his teeth, but his face held indecision and perhaps uneasiness rather than anger.
“Yes, it’s true. We are lucky every morning that we wake up untouched, girl. I’ve heard that those fleeing the plains will be through our area soon, seeking a safe place to hide. Thousands have died already,” he muttered with a
cracked voice, looking as scared as she felt.
“By the gods,” she breathed. “Why now? Why all of a sudden?”
“That I do not know. Stop asking me questions, blackie. Go on about your business and leave me to my own,” he grumbled, stepping back on the raised wooden floor, having shucked his shoes. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she heard the soft moaning of his wife from the back of the house and Kimen disappeared down the hall, not even bothering to wait until she had left.
She was completely shaken by his answers to her questions. She hadn’t expected the truth, and she hadn’t expected the truth to be so ugly. Her hands shook as she brought her medicine bag to her chest.
May the Divine One be merciful. It was only a matter of time, if everyone was to be believed. Their village would be under attack soon and her thoughts were wild and confused as she tried to think of how she could protect her brother. She couldn’t protect an entire village, but him…she could possibly save him. She only hoped that she could save herself as well. Leaving Oka alone with no family was not something she wanted to force onto him.
There was only one person she could think of who could protect both of them, but she needed to do something first. Turning, she reached for the handle of the door, her mind working overtime as a plan formed inside her mind. It was risky…very risky. She had to proceed cautiously, or else everything could fall apart. As she briskly walked to her next delivery, her mind buzzed with scenarios—things to say, things not to say…plus a list of things to do.
It was going to be a long day.
Chapter Twenty
Standing just outside the range of the alarm spell, she stood before the witch’s home, holding her bag of medicines and plants.
She didn’t want to go any closer though.
Something about the hut had radically changed, or rather, the power emanating from it was different. Before, she had only felt Majo’s magical powers in a vague sense, like feeling a breeze pass by your window, but now it was a creeping, slimy feeling, like blood dripping down your neck and under your shirt.
