Chapter 6 #2
Elsie frowned. He’d hit too close to her own thoughts on the matter.
“You sound like my mother. She doesn’t like the hunters either,” she said, as much to herself as to him. “You’re starting to make me think I’ve been here too long. That I’m forgetting who I’m supposed to be.”
“What is it about my face that makes you think I’m interested in listening to your problems? Is it my expression? Please tell me it is, because that’s something I can fix.”
“Sorry.” She rolled onto her side, her back to the demon. If she was going to convince him to trust her, she had to take the first step. “Let’s rest for a couple of hours, okay? I haven’t slept in a few days, and I’m sure that stall wasn’t comfortable.”
He didn’t answer, but once their talk died away, the only sound was his soft, even breathing.
It was comforting, in a strange sort of way.
He wouldn’t harm her, yet. He’d try it eventually, but for now, she was safe with him.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, the demon was closer to her people than the hunters would ever be.
The sharp sting of a slap on the back of her hand jolted her out of her daydreams. “Elspeth, you must pay attention,” Stolas demanded.
“Sorry, Stolas.” Elsie rubbed her knuckles.
“You aren’t sorry, you can’t lie to me, girl.
” The raven prince tilted his head, peering at her with his too-keen eyes.
“You’ll do lines after we’re finished. Write out the names of the fae kings and their queens along with their court affiliations a hundred times each in the ancient language. I’m not raising a simpleton.”
“A hundred times each?!” Elsie whined, then gasped and pressed her lips closed, eyes wide. Stolas raised a single brow at her, but he let it slide. Sometimes he added further punishment if she complained. She rubbed her hand again as he continued the lesson.
He could hurt her for real if he wanted, but he never did.
She’d seen him pull the entrails out of a demon’s stomach and eat them whole.
A slap on the hand was the worst Stolas ever did physically, though she’d rather endure another slap than deal with writing lines.
Her fear of the demon was never about anything he’d done.
It was the knowledge of who and what he was that kept her in line.
“As I was saying, even the smallest creature has earned its place in each world. Everything has evolved with its own purpose. Some of the most magnificent floral species wouldn’t exist without the homeliest of insects or rodents.”
“Like the dryads on Earth?” she piped up. He shook his head and ‘tsked’ at her.
“Dryads are vastly more powerful than most people will ever comprehend. Many species are underestimated, much to the regret of those who cross them. Even a mouse can bite. Never underestimate a demon or spirit, Elspeth, no matter how great or small, they all deserve your respect. It will be your job to judge them with purity and a balanced heart.”
“I have to see everything from all sides,” Elsie recited. She’d heard it a hundred times already. A reaper couldn’t condemn a creature to die without looking into their memories and souls, knowing in her heart that they deserved it. “I’m not a reaper yet, Stolas.”
“No, but you will be. You must strive to be the best. Your home world depends on it.”
Elsie groaned. He and her mother always said things like that, but they never explained what they meant. They made it seem as if they expected her to save the world.
She didn’t understand how one reaper was any better or more qualified than another. They all did the same job of sending evil souls to a hell dimension for punishment. She hadn’t yet learned where the souls of good people went.
Santa Muerte taught her children to accept all with kindness and meet souls at the end of their lives to carry them on to their next destination. They judged a person on who they were in their heart, not who they might become. The Goddess never reincarnated anyone, without a single exception.
Stolas’ reminder to see a person from all angles echoed through her head. She needed to treat others with compassion in order to get it right. Without discernment, her own biased point of view would skew the truth.
“Captain!” a voice called out, and she jerked awake with a snort, looking around in confusion. She hadn’t dreamed of Stolas in years, and never had the meaning behind it been this clear.
“Captain Elsie!” A knock came at the door, and she watched the hound creep toward it, crouching as he moved closer. He gripped one of her daggers in his hand. Whoever was on the other side of that door had no idea they were being stalked.
“Stop that, you can’t attack people here,” Elsie hissed at him. “And don’t steal my weapons. Put that back where you found it!”
She wiped the sleep from her eyes and stumbled to the door without caring that she probably looked like shit. Two members of her squad, Perrie and Morgan, waited in the hallway, Perrie with her hands on her hips.
She was a petite little witch who had joined the hunters from an outside coven that held no contractual obligations with the colonies.
She’d come by choice, which meant she was among the rare few free to leave whenever she wanted.
The witches knew pretty much all the hunters’ secrets anyway, since they were there from the breeding program’s inception.
Morgan was one of the squad’s warriors, and he specialized as a sniper. He hit every target no matter the conditions with scary accuracy. He’d been one of the first people Elsie had poached from other teams, and in the five years they’d worked together, she’d never seen him miss.
“Rosco said you haven’t checked in yet, and it’s almost lunchtime!” Perrie peered over Elsie’s shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she rolled onto her heels in surprise when she saw the man behind her. Not even captains were allowed to have bed partners. A hunter’s loyalty must be to the cause.
Elsie realized that’s what this must look like to them. A secret tryst. She rubbed a hand over her face and groaned. She was way too tired for this crap.
“He’s the demon they forced on me. I’m asking Roz if he can have his own room. If not, I’m stuck with him. Say hello, demon.”
The demon stared wordlessly at the people invading his space.
“That’s not a gift, it’s an assassination attempt. Is he feral?” Perrie stage whispered, and Elsie groaned, retreating back into her room to fetch a brush to fix the mess that her hair had become.
“You’re right about the assassination attempt, but he’s not feral,” she said.
Perrie was a full witch, and unlike Elsie, she didn’t wear gloves.
Already in her mid-twenties, she wanted to find her mate.
Or mates, whatever the case may be. Apparently her parents were disappointed that she hadn’t found one already.
“He’d pass as a human!” Perrie rose up on tiptoe to see him better. Her excitement and desire to study him more closely were practically measurable. “Since you don’t want him, can I have him? Some witches have demons as their familiars. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Elsie snorted, almost told her to go ahead and take him, but something stopped her.
She didn’t want to give the demon to Perrie, and if the witch bonded to him, she’d have no other choice but to let her take him, though it would spell an end to Perrie’s career.
Not even a full witch would find leniency after bonding to a demon within these walls.
They’d be ostracized, their existence deleted from all records.
“He’s not human, and I’m keeping him,” Elsie said firmly.
The demon shot her a thunderous look, but he didn’t say anything to contradict her.
“He’s still learning to respect other people’s personal space,” she added, trying to recover from the fact that she’d given up an opportunity to give the demon away.
“You won’t get any personal space at all with him staying here.” Morgan’s forehead scrunched up with concern. He was the oldest in their squad, and he tended to watch out for them, like a surrogate older brother.
“Morgan’s right. How can you teach him to respect your space when there is none?
They should have given you a bigger room if they were going to force a pet demon on you.
What an inconvenience. Is he housebroken?
” Perrie stared at him, and Elsie fought the urge to push the witch and sniper out the door.
The demon remained silent, but the icy look on his face wasn’t reassuring.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, not mentioning that they’d supplied the demon with a stall. “We’ll get used to it.”
Perrie snorted. “Right. Because you’ve always been so open to sharing your quiet time with anyone, you’ll be begging Mordane to take him back by this time next week. Wait…are you taking him on missions with us? How’s that going to work?”
Elsie worked her hair into a braid, stealing a glance at the demon who stared studiously at a spot he’d picked on the wall. “Yes, and I don’t know. I’ll introduce him to everyone, and we’ll train together until everyone’s comfortable.”
“Careful with that optimism, Captain. Some of us will never be comfortable with him,” Perrie spoke frankly.
“It’ll take time, but it’s not like he’ll be hunting with us.”
That got a reaction. The demon’s eyes found hers, exuding a quiet, angry opposition that he threw her way.
He had no intention of spending time with her squad, but she was optimistic that in time, he’d realize they were good people.
Some among them were personable, and maybe he’d form friendships. Even a demon would protect his friends.
“He has an ornery look about him.” Perrie puffed out her cheeks. Elsie grinned. She couldn’t disagree with that.
“He’s not feral,” she repeated. “Clairemont had him, but he has no idea what he’s doing. That wasn’t real training. He treated him like a dog.”