Chapter 12
Twelve
I paced back and forth, the inn’s wooden floorboards squeaking beneath my feet with every pass. He was gone, and the anxiety in my stomach wouldn’t leave.
His words had been the same promise my mother had given on the day she disappeared. The same firm tone, the same expression that had been in her eyes.
Gods, I was useless to Vaelor. Why would he stay with me? What had I done for him besides give him a busted wing he had to live with for hours? If I were him, I’d probably have behaved as he had. Take the helpless human to an inn, leave her there, and continue my task on my own.
I ran my hands over my face. What a strange change only a few hours had wrought in me. The last time Lord Vaelor left me alone, I’d searched for any possible way of escape. Now dread consumed me that he’d never return.
I took a slow breath and forced myself to stop.
I needed something that would take my mind off my worries.
Stepping over to the pack, I lifted the books out and examined each one.
They were my sole source of distraction and calm in my chaotic existence.
Many nights I had remained awake, perusing and learning from my mother’s volumes to quell anxieties regarding how I’d look after and feed Gerand.
I selected the book about hedge witch spells, took it over to the bed, and crawled onto its soft covers. Leaning against the massive headboard, I opened the book, letting the smell of old parchment soothe me. Running my hands over the leather binding, I settled down to read.
The second section of the book focused on the uses of specific plants.
Learning the properties of those plants would be far more useful—assuming their applications weren't limited to magic alone.
Before I opened to that section, I turned a few pages into the first part on defensive and nature spells out of curiosity.
I paused when I reached page ten. It bore the name Blood of Fire, and at the top it read: Danger: Spell will kill you if not performed properly.
I glanced at the picture near the bottom, and nausea gripped me.
They showed images of humans and demons with blood everywhere.
I swallowed and quickly turned past page ten.
Flipping a few more pages, I again stopped when I came to a spell called The Enemy's Curse. The blood of one’s enemy was required to cast this spell. I read over the page, and although the passage insisted it was a curse, it wasn’t clear what the curse would actually do.
I read the words of the enchantment. “Curse my enemy. Curse my enemy. Curse him by name. Curse him until he shall do my bidding, and all shall be free.”
My brow drew together at the familiarity of it.
This was a poem which my mother had passed down to me, complete with hand signs.
How did she know a hedge-witch spell? Was it a coincidence?
There was more to it. Symbols that needed to be drawn in the earth.
I sat back and made my hand signs and then checked the book.
Gods, if I carved signs into the dirt, it would make the exact same images from the book.
I flipped to the next page, afraid that it might show another thing that my mother had shown me, but no, the following spell wasn’t familiar. With shaking hands, I skipped past that section.
I turned the pages in the plant section, searching for foliage I didn’t recognize.
A knock came. “I have food for you, miss.”
I slid the book aside and walked up to the door. “You can leave it outside,” I called.
“As you like.”
I waited for a full minute after I heard his feet scurrying away, and then opened the door and grabbed the plate of food and drink. Setting the provisions on the floor of my room, I quickly shut and locked the door.
I carried my plate and a small glass of water to the table.
The cuisine featured animal flesh, with a significant portion being insufficiently cooked.
Blood oozed from some poor dead creature that had been served to me.
As if to redeem itself, someone threw on a few steamed vegetables as an afterthought.
But I couldn’t eat. Reading had calmed me some, but my stomach remained a mass of nerves from Vaelor leaving.
I walked back and settled onto the bed, picking up my book again. After a brief hesitation, I curiously flipped to the third section of the book. If I remembered correctly, this section contained spells that lead to a demon’s destruction. What kind of tools did a hedge witch use to defeat a demon?
I flipped the page.
A drawing caught my attention… and I stared.
The depiction showed a tall, horned demon, likely an Inferna imp. His body intertwined with a human woman. The pair was unclothed. And the looks on their faces, gods, it looked as though they were enjoying it. Sigils and plants encircled them. The title on this page read Spell of His Enhancement.
Beneath the image, a picture of the identical male stood with a rather small appendage. To the right of that one, another drawing of the same male appeared, possessing a rather lengthy cock.
I blinked several times as if the picture might change. This was strange.
I turned the page.
The next one proved equally salacious. It was a circular image with runes carved into the dirt.
An abaddon demon that appeared a little too much like Vaelor lay in the center, wings splayed flat behind him, with red runes painted all over his body.
His arms and legs were tied to four different trees, and a human woman sat upon him.
Red runes also adorned her naked form, her head tipped to the sky, pure ecstasy on her expression.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the drawing. What in the hell? I flipped to the beginning of the section and double-checked the title.
Spells to Unravel a Demon.
I turned back to the sexual pictures. Heat filled my face, making my cheeks flush red. These were not spells to defeat a demon, as I had assumed. I turned the page only to find another sexual coupling. This spell had something to do with curses. But the positions… Gods, gods .
I snapped the book shut and set it aside. The hedge witch book contained a wider variety of spells than I had first assumed.
Perhaps it was time to read something else.
“Denara.”
My eyes snapped open. I’d fallen asleep while reading.
Something warm clung to my legs. That was right; I wore pants.
Morning light seeped in through the window, and a low mist clung to the floor.
Vaelor stood over me, watching me with his glowing gaze.
He still wore the same shirt and trousers from the day before.
Warmth flooded my chest. “You came back.”
“I told you I’d return. You didn’t believe me?”
“I wasn’t certain,” I said softly.
His lips pressed together, and he scowled. “You didn’t eat.” He motioned toward the untouched food on the table.
I sat up. “I wasn’t in the mood to eat.”
His scowl deepened. “Go get food from the bag. I’m not getting more for you again until you prove to me you’ll consume something.”
Rising, I proceeded to the bag, retrieving a large roll. I returned to the table and nibbled on the stale, day-old bread and sipped from the glass of water. “Where are we going today?”
“Nowhere.”
“We are wasting an entire day?”
“I need to find the ideal body, and when I require you, I will come for you.”
I grew quiet. With everything else going on, I hadn’t fully processed the actual task I’d be forced to do. “Are you going to make me do the killing?”
“Don’t worry about what I make you do. Whatever you do won’t be on you, but on me.”
I huffed. That made me feel better. “What do we plan to do today, then?”
He pointed toward the books. “I thought we might read. You must turn the pages.”
I raised an eyebrow.
The corners of his mouth tugged downward in annoyance. “Is there another activity you’d prefer?”
I shook my head. I kept forgetting that Vaelor, a demon, enjoyed reading. Hurrying to the bed, I slid the hedge witch book to the lowest position on the stack and picked up the one about Spiritu Malignos. I returned to the table. “Will this do?” I asked, showing him the book.
He nodded. “Yes.”
I cracked it open. “What chapter are you on?”
“Chapter six.”
I opened it to the right spot. Vaelor towered over me.
“Do you want to sit?”
“I’d prefer to stand. As a spirit, I rarely tire.”
I began reading. This chapter was fascinating.
It described how, long ago, some of the most powerful Spiritu Malignos demons could accomplish a feat thought to be nearly impossible.
After bonding their spirits to their chosen body, they sometimes managed to separate from that body and return to their spirit form while maintaining the bond.
Even more astonishing, they possessed the ability to control both forms, acting through two bodies at once.
And yet, that power seemed to have been lost with time. I wondered why that was.
As I neared the bottom of the page, Vaelor poked me in the arm with his long-nailed finger. Ignoring it, I turned the page and kept reading. When I approached the end, he poked me again.
“Ouch!” I rubbed my forearm and glared at him.
“Is something wrong?”
“You tell me. You keep poking me.”
“I’m trying to signal when to turn the pages.”
“Well, poking me isn’t working.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Is there another way you’d prefer I signal you?”
“You could just say to turn the page.”
He frowned. “I didn’t want to speak and disturb your reading.”
I laughed in disbelief. “So you decided stabbing me over and over with claws sharp enough to tear me apart was the better option?”
His hand settled on my shoulder. “I could squeeze your shoulder instead,” he offered. His nails pressed through my shirt, and heat scorched through me at his touch. I shook my head.
“I could tug your hair.” He gave a light pull for emphasis.
My pulse stumbled. Fuck, now he was definitely toying with me. I brushed his hand away. “Stop.”