9. Time to go home
“That’s it?” Metice stood in front of us, jaw tight and tone tense as I tried to keep the expression of orgasm hidden. “Is it done?”
“Would you like more? Will a blood sacrifice do?” Likosa ran her fingers down my arm, and I pulled away from her touch.
“Nope! Absolutely not.” I walked over to Metice, who handed me my clothes and a towel to dry off with. “I’ll get dressed, and we’ll be right on our way. I’m not sacrificing any of my blood.”
While I dressed, the two of them spoke in whispers. I tried to hear what they were saying, but I couldn’t. Blame it on my human ears, but whatever they said to each other, they didn’t want me to know about. If they did, they wouldn’t have been whispering. So instead of trying to eavesdrop, I quickly put my clothes on and headed for the exit, where I waited for him to meet me.
“Does she stay like that all the time?” Likosa returned to her clawfoot throne and watched closely as Metice guided me out of her home.
“How would I possibly know that?” Metice sounded irritated.
How the hell can he be mad at me? He’s the one who brought me to her knowing full well what kind of magic she does.
“You sound like you were friends.” I gave him a hard side eye. “When we first got here, it looked like the two of you were very familiar with each other.”
“Not as familiar as the two of you,” he grunted and led the way back to the carriage, walking twice as fast as usual.
“Are you kidding me right now?” I couldn’t believe it, but it looked like he was jealous as he marched ahead of me. I was damn near running to keep up with him. “You’re the one who brought me here. You already said you knew this was a possibility. It’s not my fault you thought she would use you instead of me.”
He said nothing else until we made it to the carriage, and then he opened the door and stood back. “Get in.”
“Are you seriously going to stay mad at me?” I threw my hands on my hip and refused to get in until he gave me a direct answer.
“Who said I was mad?” He looked down at me.
“So is it jealousy?” What else could it be?
“Why would I be jealous?” He pointed to the open door. “Get in.”
“Fine, you’re not mad or jealous. Maybe your stomach hurts. Maybe you just need to poop.” I hopped in the ride and greeted my new pet, who jumped into my lap. “Did you miss me, boy?”
“Here.” I looked back at Metice, who handed me a small gray piece of fabric.
“What’s that for?”
“I told you I wasn’t cleaning that up” he pointed to the colorful mess still on the floor of the carriage.
“Oh.” I took the cloth from him and scooped up the poop then handed it back to him.
He stepped aside and pointed to the ground. “I’m not touching that.”
I dumped the mess and looked at him, waving the cloth in his face. “You want your hanky back?”
“Just toss it.” He stepped further back.
“That’s littering.” I didn’t know if there were waste management laws, but I wasn’t about to risk being trapped in hell because someone caught me tossing trash on the ground.
“It’s compostable. This isn’t Earth. There’s no such thing as littering here.”
“Hmm, good to know.” I dropped the cloth, and he closed the door.
“We’re pulling it close.” He looked out the window at the rising moon as the hell horses raced us back to his home.
“Do you think something’s gonna get us?” I leaned forward to look out the window. “Are we in trouble?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out.” He lowered the curtain.
“Are you serious?” I shifted in my seat to look at him. “Can these things move any faster? What happens if we get caught out here?”
I shouldn’t have asked that damn question, because as soon as I did, the terrifying screech of a monster rang out through the night. I had no idea what it was, but it was close, and my gut said it was coming straight for us—the one time I needed my gut to be wrong. I looked at Metice and saw the same worry and tension on his face. We were in trouble.
“What is that?” I moved to open the window curtain to look out of it, but he gripped my wrist and pulled me back.
“Don’t move,” he said firmly.
“What’s going on?” I asked, but he said nothing. “You’re scaring me, Metice.”
“Don’t worry, just please. Be still.”
The carriage slammed to a halt, and the horses screamed, frightened by something. Another screech rang out and this time, it was echoed by at least five others. The carriage shook as a series of heavy beings dropped to the ground surrounding us. I gripped his arm as shadows were cast across the windows, accompanied by hissing and rattling.
“Meti,” a deep voice called out. “I know you’re in there. Come out and talk to me.”
“I’m going to get out of the carriage,” Metice whispered, and I dug my fingers into his arm, afraid to voice my concern because I didn’t want whatever was waiting outside to hear me. “You’re going to stay inside. Do you understand me? This is not a moment for you to debate me or to go against what I’m telling you. If you come out there, I cannot promise I’ll be able to protect you. Please, right now. Stay inside.”
The door shut behind him, and it took everything in me not to reach for him and pull him back inside. Sensing my discomfort, Piko jumped into my lap and nuzzled me. His soft whimpers echoed the way I felt inside. Something was out there, something that worried Metice so much, he feared I wouldn’t make it out of the interaction alive.
And there was nothing I could do but sit and wait.
Voices spoke in a mixture of languages. Some words I understood, some I didn’t. What I did get was that whoever was out there wanted Metice to return to work. What work was he supposed to be doing?
“I’m not doing this with you,” Metice said. “I told you I’m not coming back.”
The thing responded in a series of clicks and curling letters before it said, “Only so much time.”
Metice said something else I didn’t understand, and then it started: fighting. Blow after bone crunching blow landed, and something large slammed against the side of the carriage. The damn thing tipped, but luckily, it didn’t fall over. I pulled Piko to me and held him tight, hoping it would end soon, and my demon protector would survive whatever was happening outside.
After the fighting stopped, the screeches sounded once again, followed by the batting sounds of heavy wings. And then, there was nothing. The silence lasted too long for comfort. Had they killed him? Just as I worked up the nerve to open the door, it swung open, and a bloodied Metice climbed inside.
“What just happened? Who did this to you?” I questioned him and placed my hands on either side of his face. This was the second time he’d returned to me beaten up. “What did this to you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He grabbed my wrist, and those dark eyes met mine with heart-crushing sadness. “It’s okay.”
“Metice, you need to tell me what’s going on. What keeps doing this to you? These are the same marks you have the other night.”
“I told you I had a life before you.” The horses started running again, and we jerked back against the forced motion. “One that brought me a lot of trouble, one that I’m trying not to get wrapped up in again.”
“And because of me, it’s coming back.” That was my understanding. His life was fine until I arrived. “Is this because of me?”
“It’s not because of you. It’s been happening. But now there are people who know about you, and they want to use you against me. If they knew you were here, in this carriage, if they had seen you…” His dark eyes locked onto mine. “I don’t think I could have protected you. Not now, not like this.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what’s really going on?” I asked. “This isn’t okay. You can’t survive like this for much longer.”
“There’s no need for that. Soon, you’ll be home, protected by Likosa’s magic, and my problems won’t be yours.” He wiped the blood from his lip. “We just need to get you home safely. That’s all that matters.”
“Are you sure this spell is going to work?” The damn things had found us. What was to say they wouldn’t be able to do the same when I was back in my world without him?
“Fortunately, we have proof now that it will. If it didn’t, they would have known you were here.” He shifted his weight and groaned. “They wouldn’t have let you live if they realized you were with me.”
“We need to clean up your wounds.” I looked at the flesh through his torn shirt. This was worse than the first time. “You’re already starting to bruise.”
“I’ll heal.” His head dropped back on the head of the seat, and he pulled me to his side. “Just relax. It’s a long ride back to the house.”
Metice slept, but I couldn’t. I watched him, and yes, his wounds were healing, but it was much slower than the first time. The demon was weakening. What did that mean? Would that thing come back and kill him?
“Get your things,” Metice said as we entered his home. “I’ll take you home now.”
“No,” I denied his request as he headed for my room.
“What?” He turned to look at me. “What do you mean, no? We need to get you out of here.”
“You’re hurt. You need to rest. I can go home tomorrow.” I stood firm in my choice.
“Rayna.” Metice rubbed his hand over his coarse hair, and I could see the tips of his horns emerge, retract, and emerge again.
“You already said the spell worked,” I reminded him as I walked over to him and placed my hand on his chest. The budding horns retreated, and I felt the tension melting away from his body. “That means I’ll be safe here one more night. I doubt they will come banging on your door to fight again. Looking at you now, that would kill you. They want you alive. Am I right?”
“Yes, you’re right.” His eyes slowly slid closed as I moved my hand to his cheek.
Face cradled in my palm, he looked different to me. Sweeter, gentler than before. Something was changing about this man the longer we were together. Yes, he kept that hard exterior, but there were moments when he showed me who he truly was. He leaned into my touch, and his chest rose with a deep breath. He might debate me, but I could tell he was relieved to have me stay with him.
“Then it’s settled.” I picked up Piko, who sat by my feet. “Rest. I’ll pack my things, and you can take me home tomorrow.”
“Okay, whatever you want.” Metice gave up the debate. We both knew he’d be lying if he continued to fight me about my decision.
“Do you need help cleaning up?” I looked at his exposed skin. The lacerations had already closed, but the bruises and stains of blood were still there.
“No, I’ll be okay.” He shook his head and looked at his bathroom door. “I’ll clean up.”
“Good.” I put Piko down and headed for the steps. “Let me know if you need me.”
Bags packed and fresh out of the shower, I stood at the bookcase and sighed. There was something devastating about not being able to read them, or at least take them with me. I looked at my bags and wondered how many I could fit in them. Maybe he would be able to transport the books with me. Would that be too much?
The knock at the door interrupted my useless calculations. I already had most of the books at home, and with my luck, there would be no time to read them any time soon.
“Yes?” I opened the door to find Metice standing there in grey pajama pants and a matching open robe. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” He stood outside the door. “The shower helped.”
“What’s wrong?” I looked around him. The room behind him was lit with the light of the moon. The light bounced off the floor and cast a soft glow that outlined his body.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said simply and then just stood there, awkwardly looking at me. It was like he had a deep dark secret and had found out I knew.
“So why are you here?” Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. Why is he looking at me like that?
“You said to let you know if I needed you.” Metice entered the room and headed for my bed. He pulled the covers back and sat.
“What’s going on?” I slowly crossed the room. “Are you okay?”
“I”m okay. This may feel off putting and I’ll understand if you say no. Rayna, after today, I want nothing but the comfort of your presence. Just lay with me, please.” There was something vulnerable in his tone, something I never expected from him.
“Okay.” I joined him in the bed.
There was nothing to say. I had no witty comebacks or comments about him wanting to be in my bed. Metice’s body healed, but I could feel it: something inside him was hurting. If being with me could help, I would give him that.
Metice pulled the covers over us, and we lay together in silence. There was nothing to talk about. He pulled me into his side and rubbed my shoulder before nuzzling his head against the top of my bonnet-covered hair. It didn’t take long until he was softly snoring. Piko sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, also snoring. Between the two of them, it wasn’t long before I was knocked out as well.
I woke alone in my bed, the aroma of fresh food filling the air. Metice sat at the table outside my room.
“I repaired the table,” he announced as I exited the room. “I thought it would be nice to have one more meal together before you go.”
“Thank you.” I joined him at the table. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Better than I have in years, yes.” He sipped from a cup of what looked like tea and smelled like honey. “Thank you for allowing me to sleep in your bed.”
“Oh, um…” I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like I was going to kick him out. “No problem. I’m glad you were able to rest.”
“I thought you might want to try another local meal.” He pointed to the food on the table. “All safe for human consumption. Fruits and a treat we call sinulo.”
“Sinulo?” I looked at the plate of what looked like soupy scrambled eggs with swirls of brown, green, and purple.
“It’s like a sweet egg. It’s delicious, trust me.” He pointed to the plate with pride, and I wondered if he’d made the meal himself.
I sat down and took a spoon full of the colorful substance. Looking at him first, I popped the bite into my mouth, and I might not have gagged on his dick, but there was no way I was keeping that shit down. The sour taste hit the back of my throat, and I spit it right back out and into his face.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” I smacked my hand over my mouth.
“I take it you don’t like it?” He picked up a napkin and wiped the food from his face.
“I’m sorry, but no. That tastes…” I paused. “Actually, let me keep my thoughts to myself.”
“Well, I tried.” he shrugged. “Ready to go home?”
“Actually, yes I am.” I placed the plate on the floor, and Piko ran to it and cleared it in seconds. At least it wouldn’t be wasted. “I mean, thank you for taking care of me, but I miss my things, and I’m sure work is piling up. That’s if I haven’t been fired from my contracts. I’ve been here for a week now, right? By your math, that means nearly two months away from home. No way I’m going to be able to excuse that sort of absence easily.”
“You’re worried about work?” Metice frowned, as if the concept was foreign to him.
“I’m human. I have bills to pay.” I reminded him that I didn’t belong in his world. At home, my bills were on autopay, but there was still so much I needed to handle. I also worried about my friends. Keri must have been losing her shit.
“Right.” He stood. “Let’s get you home.”
Bags in hand, Metice did his thing. The room tensed with energy, and my vision faded. Gone was the mountainside home in hell. When my sight returned, I was standing in the moonlight space in my bedroom.
“Oh God, what is that smell?” I gagged and ran to the window to open it. As the fresh air poured in, I scanned the room and found the half-eaten bowl of broccoli cheddar soup on the table. “Dammit! It’s going to take forever to get that smell out of here.”
“I bet sinolu tastes a whole lot better than whatever that is,” Metice joked. “Why does it smell so bad?”
“How long have I been gone?” I looked at him as I found a plastic bag and dropped the fuzz-covered dish inside. “In Earth terms?”
“You were right before. It’s been just under two months since I took you away,” Metice confirmed, and a little part of me died inside. I’d hoped he’d say I overestimated my timeline, but two months had gone by. A quick look out the window showed the changing season. The canopy of trees in my backyard had begun their colorful shift as summer gave way to the cooler autumn days.
“Exactly. Well, that explains this. It’s fine; a few bottles of room spray, and it should be okay.” I paused and considered the landmine that must have been waiting for me in my refrigerator. All those poor leftovers.
I tossed the bag aside and went on the hunt for the spray. Of course, because I hadn’t been in my own room in weeks, that damn ugly ass table got in my way. I slammed my foot against it and went flying. Metice caught me, but we both fell on the bed. I face planted into his chest and knocked the wind out of him.
“Maybe it’s just on Earth where you’re this clumsy. Is it the added gravity?” He wrapped his arm around my waist as the laughter shook his body.
“Shut up.” I slapped his chest and then realized we were in my bed. “Um.”
“Don’t worry. The next time I have you, you won’t be able to claim it was a dream or blame it on intoxication.” He laughed at my expression and rolled me off his chest and onto the bed before standing. “I’ll get going now. I’ll keep an eye on you for a few days, make sure the spell really worked and you’re okay.”
“Thank you.” I stood from the bed, straightening myself and headed for the cabinet, remembering that was the last place I had the spray. “Wait, what about Piko?”
“What about it?” he asked.
“Him!” I corrected Metice as I retrieved the spray and popped the cap open. “He’ll miss me. You have to take care of him.”
“You can’t be serious.” He folded his arms over his chest. “What do you expect me to do about that?”
“Metice,” I mimicked him and crossed my arms over my chest. There was no way he could toss that little guy out. “He saved my life. He deserves to be cared for. If I could bring him here, I would.”
“Okay, I’ll bring him to you.” He looked around the room. “Maybe he can eat your disgusting leftovers for you.”
“That’s not funny.” I gave him my best ‘I’m so disappointed in you’ glare.
“Fine.” he grumbled. “I’ll make sure the little nuisance survives. Enjoy your life demon free.”
“Don’t pretend you aren’t happy,” I teased him. “Now you’ll have a friend in hell, someone to keep you company now that I’m gone.”
“Yeah, right.” Metice walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He gently pushed me and followed each of my steps with his own until my back was pressed against the wall. The joking was long over.
“What are you doing?” I pressed my hand against his chest. “Whatever you’re thinking is going to happen here isn’t. Not with my room smelling like ass.”
“I’m not seducing you. I’m giving you a warning.” He lowered his face to mine. “Rayna, stay out of trouble.”
“What?” I laughed nervously. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’ll be watching you.” His hand slipped around my waist. He pulled me to him, crushing my hand between our bodies as his heart raced beneath my palm. Those dark eyes grew darker, and his voice dropped at least two octaves when he spoke again. “Keep yourself safe, or I’ll take you back to hell. I can’t promise that I’ll let you come back next time.”
“Let me?” His words did two things to me. They terrified me… and they turned me on. Dammit girl, get it together.
“You heard me.” He kissed me, and that talented tongue of his danced in my mouth and made my head swim in a cloud of arousal. Then, mid-kiss, he vanished.
“Right, definitely not trying to seduce me.” I fanned myself then gagged at from the fresh wave of spoiled broccoli air.
Four months later, winter had rolled into my city, and I was on another date. It took a while for me to get there though, and still I sat across the table from a man who should have been able to hold my undivided attention and I couldn’t have cared less. He was great on paper, but my brain worked overtime comparing him to a horny demon with his rotating team member.
For the first month, I waited for Metice to return. He didn’t. I buried myself in my work. It took a lot to repair the broken relationships and a couple of my clients never called me back. I couldn’t blame them. I also had to explain myself to Keri.
“Where the hell have you been? You call me one night talking about being in hell, then completely ghost me?” Keri burst into my house two days after I returned home.
“I’m sorry.” What else could I say? It wasn’t like she would believe the truth.
“Where did you go?” She frowned at the lingering smell of broccoli. Why did it take so long for that stank to go away?
“I needed to get away, Keri,” I explained as best as I could without bringing up demons again. “I felt like I was losing my mind, seeing demons and shit and clearly, I needed help with that. So, I found it.”
“You could have told me.” She smacked my arm. “You had me ready to round up the girls. I put in a police report and everything!”
“You did what?”
“Girl what did you expect? I called your mom, your dad, hell, I even found that crazy aunt of yours on Facebook. She preached to me for two hours about how your soul was where it was supposed to be!”
“She said what?” I couldn’t help wondering if my aunt knew more than we gave her credit for but refused to go down that rabbit hole. “Keri, I’m okay. I’m sorry I ghosted out. I won’t do that again.”
“You better not.” She hugged me. “Rayna, you’re my sister. You can’t do that to me.”
Keri refused to leave my side for two days after that. When she was forced to go back to work, she called me in between meetings and video chatted with me on her drives home. I appreciated her, not only because it made me feel loved, but also because whenever I wasn’t buried in work or trying to repair the relationships I’d shattered with my absence, my thoughts returned to him.
I started to question myself. Maybe I had made it all up. Maybe Keri was right to be worried about my sanity. I spent night after night waiting for a demon to appear in my bedroom. I worried if he was hurt, if the unseen monster who’d beat him up had finally finished the job. I couldn’t get him out of my mind, and it was so bad that eventually, even work couldn’t keep my thoughts from him.
The second month, I returned to therapy. For reasons I hadn’t unpacked yet, I didn’t give my therapist all the details. I told her I had a mental break, but that was all. Things got tough, and I just needed a reset. She could tell I was holding back, but the thing about a good therapist was that they let you get to the truth on your own time.
Two months later, and I was sitting across the table from my fifth date in two weeks, feeling hopeless. This guy, like the two before him, seemed really nice, but my gut told me not to get my hopes up. The two previous, though we connected on many levels, completely ghosted me. I wondered if it was my fault. Sure, a demon preoccupied my thoughts, but I still managed to appear mostly normal on the dates.
With both, the first date went great. I waited for a call, a text, a damn carrier pigeon, anything to let me know they were interested. It never came.
The last guy, a doctor named Dennis, I’d actually run into after our date. Walking through the pharmacy, hands full of overnight pads because they were on sale, and I run into the man who ghosted me! I might have tried to say something witty, spark up a conversation to find out what went wrong, but he didn’t give me the chance. The man ran away! He bolted like he’d just seen a damn ghost.
The date ended, and Chris, a radio personality with an upcoming deal for his own television show, sounded excited about the future.
“I had a great time with you.” We were standing outside the restaurant when he pulled my hand into his. “It was great meeting you in person finally.”
“You too.” I smiled. “Get home safely.”
The valet pulled up with my car. Chris paid for me and tipped the driver before putting me in the car. I was three blocks away when I realized I had left my scarf in the restaurant and chose to double back. That would have been the third one lost since the temperature dropped. Christmas music played over the radio and just as the singer proclaimed she wanted “you” for the holiday, I pulled up to see Chris looking terrified as a tall, dark figure spoke to him.
“What the hell?” I gripped the steering wheel and squinted to make sure I was seeing things clearly.
Chris stepped away, face pale, and I squinted, trying to see who the guy was. What the hell was this man wrapped up in? I couldn’t get involved with someone who had thugs chasing him down. I waited at the end of the street to see if I could catch a look at him.
He turned around, and when I saw his face, my mind raced to put the pieces of the puzzle together as the doctor’s frightened expression flashed in my mind. Purplish black skin, horns retracted. Metice. No fucking wonder none of my dates were calling me again. How many times had he done this?
I pulled the car forward and stopped next to him. Rolling down the window, I called out, “Get in.”
“Rayna?” He clearly hadn’t expected to see me. This time, it was Metice who looked like he’d seen the walking dead.
“I don’t want to hear it. Get in!” I hit the button on the door handle, and the click of the locks disengaging sounded.