Chapter 11 #2
“Wait, you were aware of everything the whole time?” I demand and I give him a sharp shove, toppling the unsuspecting demon over and directly onto his ass in the snow.
Snow kicks up as he hits it, but it is the surprised look on his face as he stares at me with his eyes wide and his mouth gaping that makes me lose my composure as a giggle escapes me, and then another until I am shaking with laughter rising from my belly.
“You are such an ass,” I scold as I offer my hand to help him up.
The smile he gives me in return is one of mild embarrassment, and despite his strength, I am shocked at how light he is.
I have no problem helping him to his feet, and I begin brushing the snow off him as he resumes brushing the powder off me.
I know he doesn’t feel the cold the way I do, but it just feels a bit absurd for him to brush snow off all my layers when he is out here in nothing more than a pair of trousers and boots.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I continue with my complaint, but I glance around, suddenly uneasy. “If that was just you fucking around then what do you mean by it is dangerous?”
He shrugs gamely enough, but his smile fades, his expression growing solemn. “This place is not a normal forest. It is a liminal place that is connected across realms. Anything can enter, and it is far too easy to lose your way and end up someplace else unexpectedly.”
“Like dropping me by my car?” I playfully challenge, my eyebrows rising tauntingly. But he does not smile like I expect him to.
“Like in the territory of a far less friendly demon,” he gravely replies.
Okay. Memo me, don’t come out in the woods alone. Let’s avoid actually getting eaten by a demon with a taste for actual human flesh and not just excess energies of merriment. I squint at him, trying to gage just how much he is fucking with me. “Is that why you turned up the killer demon persona?”
A hint of a smile returns as his lips twitch, but he shakes his head as his attention returns to brushing the snow off me.
“Although I did not intend to frighten you, and never would have hurt you, when I am in the grip of my magic it does present something of an... unfiltered... view of my nature,” he admits.
“I did not even realize that you interpreted this part of me as an actual threat to be afraid of, rather than the playfulness I was feeling at that moment, until I was crouched over you.” He meets my eyes remorsefully. “I apologize, Shawna.”
Okay then. I nod in acknowledgment as my gaze shifts away from him toward the heavily frosted trees.
They are painted with such dazzling patterns, far more intricate than anything I have seen on a tree in my own world.
And yet it gives the forest a supernatural character that makes my blood cool considerably with my unease.
“This is all very beautiful, Jak,” I murmur.
He reluctantly tears his gaze from me to follow the direction of my gaze and nods.
Lifting his hand, he stirs his claws in weaving patterns in the air between us, and my breath catches as I watch the magic draw together and weave into intricate form.
I watch in awed silence as it spins and condenses, curling around itself and slowly growing larger with every new, intricate layer.
Although it is no bigger than a marble, it is glorious.
The sunlight catches within the tiny structures, refracting in numerous prisms, as he finishes weaving a perfect sphere of delicately carved and patterned ice floating in the air inches from his cupped palm.
It glows with pale pinks, blues, and lavenders, the lights dancing and twisting hypnotically.
His eyes lift to meet mine, and he smiles.
Taking my hand in his free one, he passes the sphere to me, and I gape at it in wonder.
It doesn’t even feel cold. No colder than a gemstone, anyway.
“Jak, it’s beautiful,” I murmur.
“It is yours,” he quietly replies. “Keep it. The magic is self-sustaining. It will never melt no matter how heated it gets. It will be the perfect piece of me and my magic to keep with you always.”
Okay, that’s one hell of an apology. I nod and close my fingers around it, and the musical hum of its magic fills me, brightening my spirit without even trying.
“Do you forgive me?” he murmurs, his head angling playfully to look me in the eyes.
I blink at him but merely smile as I tuck the sphere into my coat pocket and walk away. Let him sweat a little with the unknown. What’s good for the goose and all that.
“Where are you going?” he calls.
“Back out of these woods,” I holler over my shoulder. “I may be many things, but stupid isn’t one of them. I’m not going to take any risks.”
Jak’s laughter rings through the woods, and he quickly catches up with me to fall into step at my side, looping our arms together so that I cannot help but smile in return.
“The woods are dangerous for a human alone, but with me, it is a paradise that awaits. Come and examine some of my work,” he sweetly persuades.
My lips tip in response and I dip my head in agreement as I allow myself to be steered back into the woods, the demon at my side morphing into an enthusiastic artist. It brings to mind the ice sculpture contests of the winters of my youth, yet a thousand times more magical.
And just like back then, I find that I never want this moment to end as we walk among the ice-painted trees.
I want more of that primal magic and beauty that is uniquely Jaks.
And somehow, the simple joys and promises of the “real world” are a bit duller in comparison to it.
Fuck, Jak. You’re right, this is dangerous, but for far different reasons. Don’t make me fall in love with a demon.