Beauty and the Beast (Demon Tales 1) (5 page)

The human sat in his bed, and that
all-consuming feeling of rightness filled his chest again. It
didn’t matter that he didn’t have a plan, it just mattered that he
had found her before Helki had squeezed the life out of her. His
heart gave an involuntary throb as his mind played back the fear in
her beautiful eyes. Brigg was glad that he had saved her. Maybe all
of his humanity was not lost.

She stared back at him, wide eyes filled
with shock, her hand resting on her throat. She swallowed and
spoke.

“Thank you.”

Cally stared out of the cabin window. Night
had fallen totally, coating the trees and floor with its black
mist. Everything looked sinister and cold. Eyes stared back at her
where the moon filtered through swaying gaps in the dense trees.
Voices whispered as the leaves tickled each other, and her ears
strained to hear their words. The cabin was cozy and warm, heated
by the roaring flames currently licking the inside of the inglenook
fireplace, and Cally couldn’t have felt more refreshed after the
hot shower. Tugging gently at the oversized shirt, courtesy of
Brigg, Cally also felt clean and comfortable—a luxury she hadn’t
thought to feel again.

“Here, eat this.” The deep, clipped
vibrating voice startled her from her thoughts, making her jump a
little. Cally’s eyes dropped to the bowl the demon held out on
offer, his large hands dwarfing the pottery.

“What is it?” she asked, lifting her face as
she spoke. His whole head was covered in dark fur that hid his
features. The shiny, silky-looking coat that begged to be touched
was all over him, blending into the slightly shorter fur on his
face as it swept over his ears and neck. The demon growled, his
eyes narrowed a little. Cally cringed back, wondering what she had
done to make him make that noise. She was learning that he had a
hair trigger, and she seemed to be tripping it with the slightest
mistake.

“What do you mean, what is it?” He growled
again, his grip closed on the bowl tightly. “Its meat stew, woman!”
He thrust the bowl into her arms, Cally grabbed at the hot pottery
and winced as the boiling liquid sloshed onto her arm. He pivoted
around and spoke over his shoulder at her. “What do you think? That
I would poison you? I have easier ways to kill a worthless human
like you.” He strode into the kitchen at the far end of the room
and slammed the door.

Cally stood holding the hot bowl of stew,
shaking from the force of his aggression and stung by the venom in
his words. But as she tried to understand where she had gone wrong,
she began to feel more than just fear for making him angry.

Had she thought he was going to feed her
poison?...Maybe.

But after all he’d done to save her?

And that made her feel heavy with guilt for
mistrusting the demon who had come to her aid. He hadn’t needed to
save her, to place himself in the line of fire for her. In fact, it
was the first time she could ever remember that anyone had.

Cally placed the bowl down on the little
table under the window, and took slow, shaky steps towards the
kitchen. She put her hand on the rusty handle and pushed it down.
She inhaled a deep breath and pushed the door open. For some reason
it didn’t sit well with her that she had insulted the demon. Brigg
stood at the far side, his hands flat on the counter top, his head
bowed. Cally stopped in her tracks, unsure of what to say or do
now.

His shoulders went tense, his head lifted
and before Cally could decided whether to run or roll into a
protective ball, Brigg pinned her with his deep brown eyes and she
could do nothing but stare.

“We have to go.” His deep voice rumbled
through her body right to her bones. He shifted and stood tall and
crossed his massive arms over his chest. “I will take you
home.”

His tone brooked no argument and Cally found
herself nodding mutely, even when the voice inside her head shouted
No!
Brigg watched her for a moment, and then pushed off from
the side, As he walked past her, Cally finally found her voice.

“No. I don’t…”
What did she want?
She
knew that she didn’t want to be forced into a marriage with that
human Prince, that was for sure. The idea sent a cold slosh of fear
deep within her. But what choice did she have? She clearly couldn’t
survive in the ’real world’, having been kidnapped, kept a prisoner
and then rescued by a… demon.

Brigg frowned and flared his nostrils as he
stared down at her. He stood so close to Cally and she
registered—with some confusion—that he smelled clean and fresh,
nothing like the demon who had kept her prisoner, nothing at
all.

She shook her head to dislodge the wayward
musing and began her protest again.

“I don’t want to go home.” She spoke on a
small voice, her tone stifled by the warring thoughts inside her
head.

“Well, where do you want to go?”

Cally looked up and found herself trapped
again by his stare—a butterfly pinned on a collectors’ board. Cally
shrugged, even though her mind filled with desperate reasons why
she never wanted to go back—one big reason being her probable
death.

Brigg gave a huff of irritation and pivoted,
“Don’t waste my time human. I will take you home where you belong,
with the rest of the humans.”

Venom dripped from his tone as he spat
‘human’. His words cut like a blade through her heart. …
Where
you belong…
No, she didn’t belong there. In fact, she didn’t
belong anywhere.

“No—I—” Realising that she was speaking to
the demon’s rather large back, Cally swallowed her words. Familiar
feelings of being invisible and inconsequential flooded her mind
and body, making her hands shake and her head spin. Closing her
mouth, Cally understood that he wasn’t listening. No one ever
did.

Cally followed Brigg into the small but cozy
living room. He had a backpack clenched tightly in one fist, and
was jamming items like jumpers, blankets and torches into it with
the other. He jerked around the room, picking up items as he went,
opening and slamming cupboards in haste. She watched with bated
breath, wondering why he was even bothering to help her. He
obviously didn’t want to. Irritation and anger was in his every
move, from the taught muscles that were prominent even through his
shirt and fur, to the deep frown that bracketed his eyes.

“You don’t have to…” She began to tell him
that he didn’t need to go to any trouble, but was hastily cut off
when he reeled around and stopped her words with a growl so primal
that she felt her breath stall painfully in her chest.

“Be quiet!” he hissed, his voice just above
a whisper, his eyes suddenly wide—alert. Brigg tilted his head in a
very non-human move, making him look predatory, lethal.

She was just about to speak again when he
jammed his hot, strong hand across her mouth. Cally drew in a
breath to scream, stopping instantly when a loud bang-bang sound
filled the room. She flicked her frightened gaze up to Brigg. He
put a finger to his mouth, asking her to be quiet. She nodded her
head in silent agreement and drew in a shaky breath as he dropped
his hand. Dark eyes watched her for a long moment. Then he turned
and tugged Cally over to the fireplace. He reached over the flames
and pulled open a hidden door.

Cally marvelled at the hidden opening that
was carved into the stone fireplace. She would never have guessed
it was there. The handle was made to look like one of the chimney
studs. The door had been truly invisible.

Another loud thud snatched her attention and
squeezed her heart. Outside the door she could hear deep rumbles of
more than one male, the words were hard to understand, but she
could tell they were not happy.

“Get in,” Brigg growled, his firm hand on
her lower back urging her forward through the door.

“What about the flames?” she hissed, as fear
paralyzed her.

“They won’t touch you.” Brigg snapped. He
pushed her none to gently, even as his head spun to watch the
timber front door. Cally jammed her feet into the ground, and
pushed back against his forceful hand.

“For fuck’s sake woman!” Brigg’ voice hissed
warning through gritted teeth, a warning which Cally couldn’t
ignore. She stepped closer to the fire and bent her head. The
fireplace was tall—easily five feet—but she still had to tilt her
head to fit under the mantel. The warm lick of the flames made her
heart leap into her mouth, the smell of the softly crackling wood
filled her nostrils making her imagine just how her skin would
smell when it burned to a crisp.

Cally felt a hard grip close over the top of
her arm, She looked up and was shocked by Brigg’s foul curse as he
tugged her backwards roughly.

“Not
that
way! There!” Brigg pointed
to the left side of the inglenook fireplace where a small path lead
around the fire pit and to the back. The front door of the cabin
flexed under a fresh attack from the demons outside, drawing
Cally’s and Brigg’s eyes. The terrible sounds of crunching wood and
splintering hinges filled her ears before she sprung back into
action. On shaky legs Cally stumbled around the searing fire and
moved into the dark tunnel.

She watched Brigg climb through the door
with much more grace than she did. She barely noticed her
surroundings, her attention tied to the demon and the violent
sounds of breaking and entering coming from the cabin door. Brigg
turned and threw the heavy rucksack her way, and Cally caught it.
She held her breath and watched as he closed the heavy stone door.
The sounds of cracking wood and angry shouts were suddenly muted as
the door closed over the gap.

Darkness filled the small damp space, its
black blanket covering everything so totally that Cally was sure
that she had lost her sight. She closed her eyes against the horror
of sensory deprivation, and concentrated on breathing without
passing out. Clutching the bag with tense fists, she startled when
Brigg’s deep voice rumbled through her body like thunder.

“You have the bag, Cally—which means, you
have the torches.”

His rich voice held a slight mocking tone
that rankled, but not as much as the knowledge that she had held
the torch and suffered for no reason. She found the zip and dug
hastily into the bag, drew out the electric torch and turned it on.
Brigg was standing right in front of her, amusement twinkling in
his dark eyes as he stared back at her. His bulky arms crossed over
his chest. He shook his head and began to walk down the long
corridor leading away from the cabin.

She followed him in silence and let her eyes
wander over the contours of his back. She had to admit, she was
intrigued by the big demon, not only for the fact that he had
stepped in and helped her when many wouldn’t—and hadn’t. But for
some reason she felt hot and intimidated by him. He made her feel
flustered and for some reason she couldn’t name, she liked him.

“You know, you don’t have to help me,” she
said conversationally, more to break the silence than anything
else. She had always hated silence. The thoughts inside her mind
were dark and lonely.

Brigg stopped mid–stride, and Cally bumped
into him, He pivoted and stared down at her, the amusement he had
shown just moments before no longer apparent in his stare.

“No and I wish I hadn’t.” Cally saw his lip
curl and his response felt like a kick in the gut. Why it should
hurt her she didn’t know, but it had stung. Anger swelled and her
temper flared like a freshly lit flame. Cally had had enough of
people talking down to her, treating her like the world’s worst
type of annoyance.

She was a person, dammit!

“What does that mean?” she snapped, gripping
the large torch in her fist. “I didn’t ask you for help.” She
swayed the torch as she fumed, creating a dizzying swirl of light,
highlighting Brigg’s face and deeply staring eyes. Anger throbbed
in her chest, and Cally let it all out.

“Didn’t ask?” Brigg roared, his eyes
narrowed as he took a step closer to Cally, bringing his chest up
against her own. He dropped his head so that she could see nothing
but his dark eyes. He spoke in a quiet, but no less deadly tone,
“You looked at me, with those blue sapphire eyes and said ‘help’.”
His nostrils flared and his stare took on a lethal, hard appearance
that chilled her. Brigg’s angry gaze was like a hot poker close to
her face. His cold words were a bolt of pain through her chest. But
yet, something made her heat up inside.

“I was strangling…” She replied weakly,
knowing full well that she had asked him to help, therefore drawing
him into this mess—her mess. “What else was I supposed to do?” She
looked down, hurt by the fact that he regretted helping her. She
was embarrassed by her own life and what it had come to. She was
ashamed by the knowledge that no one else in her life would save
her. No one had ever stood up for her like this Demon had, but even
he regretted it.

Was she that unlovable?

A solid silence followed her words. Cally
kept her head down under the weight of her own misery. When Brigg
turned to walk again Cally followed with heavy footsteps, mentally
going over all of the times her mother had berated her for even
being born
. ‘You worthless mongrel’
she had howled many a
time after Cally had done something to displease her mother.
“Look at you—who could love this?”
she had taunted, when she
had found Cally hidden with romance stories and fairy-tales under
her sheets in the dead of the night.
“You’re nothing but an
accident”
had been spat at her every day. But Cally had never
believed it, sure that when she had gotten out of her mother’s
grasp she would find someone to love her, someone who could treat
her kindly.

How stupid she had been. Not even a beast
that lived in a cabin alone could find her bearable.