33. Locke
Locke
“ I don’t trust the demon. He moaned the whole way here. And not in a way that suggested he was in physical pain.” Roan had at least waited until Fare had gone to bed before he started his bitching. I grunted at him as I kept my gaze on the fire.
I ran most of the day to put distance between us and where the demon had found us. Unfortunately, these mountains weren’t as spacious as I had hoped and we had a difficult time finding a new campsite.
Eventually, we landed at a tiny cabin that at least looked to be well-maintained. When I entered what probably was considered the front yard, the demon on my back started to intentionally slam his chin into my side. I slowed to a stop and he stopped. So I swung my head around and locked eyes with him as he gestured his chin towards the cabin.
I cocked a brow and he nodded. Not fully trusting him, I cautiously made my way to the cabin and was surprised to find a barrier I had to push through.
Everything looked the same on the inside of the barrier but I felt something soothing about just being in the yard. Slowly, I lowered to my stomach and may have accidentally, on purpose, rolled a bit onto my side that would force the demon to eat dirt. Since it wasn’t terribly uncommon for me to roll like this when I was tired, neither of my riders said a word.
Fare was the first to dismount and I carefully watched as she stretched the muscles in her back as she looked around the small glen. She gasped in what I would guess as delight as she took in the small cabin and I couldn’t stop my grin.
Roan slid off next and let out a low whistle as he looked at the building. He lifted a questioning brow at me as I stood to shift back. As my load landed in a heap behind me, I smirked and stepped out of the tangle of ropes they’d used to tie everything down. The demon grunted as he was buried alive under the packs.
“The demon seemed insistent that we stop here. I figure either he’s good on his word or I know what will serve as the protein for supper tonight,” I raised my voice just a hair at the end to make sure he knew I was talking about him. “Come on, we might as well check this out before we decide for sure if we are going to stay or keep moving.”
I bounded up the couple of stairs that led to a small porch before I ducked into the cabin.
It was a one-room affair. A small couch was placed so it would look out a window, and a small, old-fashioned wood-burning stove sat in a far corner from the door with a table in the middle of the room. In the last corner, since the door took one for itself, was a neatly made bed. Fare sat on the couch and watched as I took in the room.
“I wonder who lives here?” she asked. “There’s not a speck of dust, so I doubt it’s abandoned.”
“Since your little demon friend was the one who insisted I stop here, I would gander a guess that he knows the owner. Perhaps we should ask him?” I answered as I looked at her and saw dark circles under her eyes.
Ever since we’d joined up we had been in constant motion, not staying anywhere for more than a day or two. I saw her glance at the bed longingly and I was willing to bet she missed not sleeping on the hard ground every night.
“Come along, my love. Let’s get a game plan figured out with Roan. The sooner that’s done, the sooner you can get some rest,” I offered as I held a hand out for her.
She took it, and I guided her outside and down the stairs first. After she passed, I hooked a hand on the back of a rocking chair sitting on the porch and placed it beside the unlit fire ring.
I didn’t have to say anything to Fare as she lowered herself into the rocker. Roan had been busy while I was in the cabin with Fare. He had gotten most of our gear pulled off the demon and loosely sorted based on where he thought it would go.
The demon had rolled himself into a seated position and watched the camp with weary eyes. When Fare was seated in the chair, he nodded to himself and relaxed some. Fare must have caught his minute movements from the corner of her eye, for she turned to face him and whispered a spell under her breath.
I heard the moment the gag was removed as the demon released a loud sigh of relief.
“Did you have to do that, love?” Roan asked, and I silently agreed with him.
The demon for his part, shockingly just sat there and flexed his jaw to regain feeling in it. But other than that, he didn’t make a sound. Roan looked behind Fare’s back at me and I felt him asking if I thought we were safe there. Honestly, I didn’t know and I was debating my odds of getting any real answers from our ‘guest’ if I asked him.
“Do you mind answering some questions for us?” Fare asked before I could gather enough of my thoughts to form words.
“Happily. But wouldn’t it be easier for us to talk if we were all facing each other?” the demon grinned at us, but I couldn’t entirely fault his reply. Fare’s chair wasn’t placed to give her the easiest view of the bound demon.
I walked over and moved the demon so he was placed across the fire pit from us and we would be able to easily see him.
“Whose cabin is this?” I asked as I returned to my spot on her left.
“Mine. I offer it in thanks to the Goddess Fare for sparing me,” he answered while trying to bow. The bindings clearly made it difficult for him, but a quick glance at Roan said that neither of us were in a hurry to help him. “It’s the least I can offer for my erroneous attack upon you and your guards.”
I subtly spared a peek at Fare and saw her face was starting to flush.