Chapter Eighteen
I cannot help but wonder if Blake realizes how often he voices his thoughts out loud.
I struggle to understand if his statement was meant to be sarcastic or not. Sometimes his humor confuses me. Although I can’t say that chewing on roots or burning the dead is something we have done frequently, so maybe it was meant as sarcasm?
My curiosity is cut short as the fire hits the leaves and the creature’s blood on the ground, the body having mostly burnt up at this point. The smell is horrendous. No wonder Blake was so nauseated.
I breathe through my mouth and thank the Gods that the head incinerated so quickly.
I move away from Blake and the burning bits to check on our mate.
I truly hate to wake her, but we need to take care of Orobas’s body and get somewhere that we can properly rest.
Since I was the last one to scout ahead a little ways when we were hunting, I know that there is a human village nearby with a place for travelers to stay the night.
Blake joins me and a quick glance shows that all that is left of the Creatori is an oddly shaped space of darkened dirt.
Good. One less thing for our mate to deal with.
“Do you have human currency?”
“Yeah… why?” Blake answers as he turns to face me. His forehead pinched in confusion.
“There is a village no more than five miles east. It has a Mot–El. We should procure a room so that we can clean up and rest.”
Blake scrunches his face and tilts his head to the side. “What the fuck is a Mot-El?”
“Those long buildings with rooms that are available for sleeping. Although I think some humans just rent them for sexual activities, which seems odd.” At some point in my talking, Blake began to stifle his laughter.
“Dude, it’s called a motel not a Mot-El.”
“Right, motel. Like the sound a bovine makes.” However I seem to miss the mark which causes Blake to fall deeper into his subdued laughter.
“No, not moo-tel. It’s motel. Like a long ‘o’ sound. Don’t worry. We’ll work on your English.”
“Thank you. Can you get us a room?” I am grateful for his offer, but I am beyond ready to get this cleaning and resting underway.
He finally nods in understanding. “I will handle that, if you can handle this?” He gestures to our mate and the corpse of her father.
I know he was there for her when her familiar died, so I do not begrudge him his hesitations regarding handling the death of yet another one of Forsythia’s loved ones. Besides, he is better with the humans than I am.
He leans down and gently presses his lips to Forsythia’s forehead. When he stands, I give him a nod, which he returns before setting off in the direction I had indicated.
I take a deep breath, settling my nerves, before bending down to touch Orobas’s body. It’s becoming stiff and I do not think that trying to move the body will be wise. Thanks to that monster, the ground around his body is devoid of any plant life.
I grab a log that I fear may be too close, and it crumbles in my hands.
Of course, nothing can be simple.
I gently pick up the small pieces and place them against the sides of the body. This way the pieces will burn quickly without leaving hot embers laying around for too long.
With that task complete, I move to Forsythia’s side.
Instead of scooping her up and taking her away from here, I decide to sit on the ground just behind her prone form. She will want to handle this. I can’t take that from her. But I will be the gentle giant she sees in me.
I carefully lean over her and gently detach her hand from her father’s, and slowly lift her torso into my lap, making sure that the first thing she sees when she opens her beautiful eyes is me.
I lean forward to place a small kiss to her cheek, but she startles me with a rather loud snore.
Barely containing my amusement, I allow myself a moment to control my features. The last thing she will want to wake up to is my ridiculous smile, with her father’s corpse only feet away from us.
Brushing a hair from her face, I lean down as close as I can to her ear.
“Forsythia. You need to wake up, Animus Meus .”
Her eyes flutter open, and I catch sight of a brief smile, before it is replaced by the one thing I wish I would never have to see again.
Her pain .