Demon Day (17 page)

Awkward.

Breandan did not say a word, and
neither did I.

“
I had more than enough
problems yesterday,” I said, strained. “I think if anything else
had happened I would have gone crazy.” Yes, I had completely
ignored his question about Tomas, but really, how would I explain
it?

Breandan snorted. “Pure blooded
fairies do not go ‘crazy’.”

“
One word;
Devlin.”

“
He is evil not
insane.”

“
Say-so,” I mumbled. “Black
magic and human sacrifice seems pretty crazy to me.”

His ears twitched and he rubbed a
small circle into my palm with his thumb. “Not everything is as
black and white as it seems.”

“
I second that,” Alec added
before turning his attention to the path ahead of us. Though it was
dark, I saw many figures moving about. The shifters were awake to
greet the dawn.

Conall appeared and stood in front of
us, his eyes flicked between Breandan and me curiously. After a
moments inspection he seemed satisfied and his scowl smoothed when
he noted the circlet on my brow.

Breandan said, “Today we discuss how
to help Byron.”

My brother crossed his arms over his
chest and tilted his chin up. “Agreed.”

I looked between them eyeing each
other up and down. Okay…. Why were they acting so twitchy around
each other? Bloody melodramatic fairies. “I’m going with Alec.” I
took off when Breandan opened his mouth to object.

Brawling tiger cubs bumbled past me,
growling at each other, and a few shifter-kids in human form darted
past; heckling wildly and egging them on. A petite lynx the colour
of honey darted between my legs, and I tripped, trying not to step
on any tails including my own. I clutched it in my palm and trod
lightly, keeping my wings tight to my back.

“
Watch out,” Alec warned
from behind me and yanked on the end of my hair to pull me out the
way when two much older tigers lunged past; half a deer carcass
clamped in their jaws as they swiped at each other with paws the
circumference of my face.

Bewildered, I looked up at him with
wide eyes. “Can I hang with you today?” I asked and pointed over my
shoulder in the direction I knew Breandan was in. “They’re acting
weird and I’m not into it.” I scratched my knee where the hem of my
skirt rested. “And if you could show me where I could bargain for
some decent clothes I’d owe you big time.”

“
Bargain?”

“
Well I don’t have any
coin; it doesn’t work like that at Temple. Everything I needed was
provided for me by the Sect. I have no idea if Conall has
any.”

I rubbed my nose, self-conscious about
the sudden realization I had no way to feed or clothe myself. Where
would I sleep? When I was at the fairy Wyld everything had been
done for me, but I’d been so out of it I hadn’t thought to ask if
anything belonged to me. Where did Breandan sleep when he was
there? After all, it was his home.

“
I guess it would be Conall
I asked since he’s the head of my family,” I said slowly. “But like
I said he’s acting weird, and I’ve had enough of the intense
conversations he loves dragging me into. For now.”

Alec laughed. “I can get you some new
clothes. We don’t use coin here either so do not worry about that.
It’s community labor we value, and I’ll pick up your tab.” I made
to protest, but he shook his head with finality. “I’ve got to make
sure none of the women need anything and run the territory, but you
can tag along if you like and help. That would be payment enough.”
He jerked his head toward the clothes stalls and I fell into step
beside him, walking down the gentle slope. “To be honest I’m
surprised you guys are willing to wait around here for so long.
When you first arrived it seemed like you were in a
rush.”

My attention was rapt on the community
around me. Shifters prowled past, and I roughly pegged the Pride
population at no more than two hundred. It was amazing how much
bustle such a small number of people could make. The smell of
cooking meat had my stomach rolling dangerously. Did they eat
nothing else?

“
We decided to stay for a
while,” I replied, pressed a hand to my stomach and praying I did
not start to retch. “Breandan wants time to plan the rescue of
Byron’s daughters, and well, I just want sometime to breathe.
Things have been crazy these past two days, and a few more to get
things straight would do me the world of good.”

“
You’re not doing badly.
When I shifted for the first time I thought I’d lost my mind.
Didn’t take me long to figure out what I was.” Alec became
reflective, stopping us in front of a stall piled high with
leathers and fabrics. “Only the gods know what would have happened
to me if Byron hadn’t taken me in. Between the Clerics, fairies,
and vampires I wouldn’t have lasted long.” He shook himself up,
head to toe like a cat coming out of the rain. His dark hair
flapped about a bit and he scrubbed his hands through it
agitatedly, sending me a rueful look. “Morbid, yeah I know. So, you
are staying on Pride land? It’s not like fairies to spend so much
time in the presence of other demons.”

He pointed to a pair of plain russet
leather pants and I nodded, rummaging through the piles to find a
size that would fit me. Picking up a pair and pulling on them to
make sure they were tough enough, Alec plucked them from my hands
and motioned to the tunics.

“
No?” I asked, feigning
nonchalance, not seeing any of the tops that took my fancy. Sigh. I
missed my tee shirts and jeans, but I had to get out of this dress.
It was disgusting, crumpled and covered in mud, blood and sweat.
Not a good look for me.

“
By nature fairykind are
secretive and proud. Well, most of you are. I’ve never met any like
you before.”

Though my hands were on the scratchy
fabric of the tunics, my eye had snagged on something else. I shot
Alec a quick grin. “And you never will again.”

I wasn’t much into clothes, as a
Disciple I was given tokens that allowed me to collect what I
needed, the basics, once every six months or so from the
seamstress. Unlike the other girls, I had never altered my
wardrobe, slashing the tops and jeans to show more skin. I just did
not care how I looked. But since I’d met Breandan… Not looking a
complete mess had become something of a priority.

The tops I could not stop staring at
were no more than bras with all kinds of buckles and leather straps
hanging off them. Alec caught my preoccupation and I hastily turned
my attention to the sensible tunics on display, finding the beige
and gray shades less than delightful. Alec took the scandalous top
down and waggled it on the tip of his finger. It looked like a
scrap of spare material in his big hands. He nodded his head toward
the lace up boots, looking at my dirty bare feet
pointedly.

Refusing to be distracted, I shook my
head and leaned in closer. “I can’t wear that.” I made to snatch it
from him, but he bunched it up with the trousers under one armpit,
and snagged my elbow to push me in front of the boot
selection.

“
It’ll look good on you.
Now how big are your feet?” He ducked down to catch my ankle and
pull my foot up. Head swinging from side to side he selected a pair
of soft-sole boots.

Picking the shoes up and hugging them
to my chest, I glowered at him. “I’m not wearing it.” I spun on my
heel to go look at the belts.

Jogging up beside me, he laughed.
“Don’t you want to look pretty?”

“
That’s not the point. You
do not need to show the whole world your entire hide to be pretty.
I don’t need to prance around half naked for people to notice me….
Not that I want them to … in fact, the less people notice me the
better.”

“
Then why didn’t you pick
up a tunic?”

I stopped and cursed, ready to go
back. He grabbed my hand and pulled me on. Fumbling to keep hold of
the boots with one hand, grumbling to myself, I followed
him.

His hut was small and a bloody mess.
The walls were covered in scratch marks and the bedding looked like
it had been attacked by a pack of, well, cats.

Alec dropped all my clothes on the
floor and winked, stepping outside to give me privacy.

I ripped a hole in the trousers above
the seat; they were pocket-less, which made things easier. I
sighed; it was a shame to vandalize such good workmanship but a
necessity.

I dressed quickly my eyes taking in
the wooden beams, rumpled sheets and, mish mash of personal
belongings. It was simple, but homely too. Shiny rocks and dried
leaves were scattered everywhere, on the windowsill, propped up
against the wall. Each was so lovingly displayed it was clear Alec
had chosen them for a reason.

Finished, I clutched the dress loosely
in my hands. With a quick thought, it went up in flames, and turned
to ash. I dusted my hands off.

In honesty my new outfit was the most
comfortable I had ever worn. My wings were free to move without
restraint or the irritation of fabric rubbing at the base of my
pinions. The air on my back, stomach, and shoulders was
delightfully refreshing, I’d always run hot, a fairy trait it
seemed. The leather trousers molded to my curves like a second skin
and hugged my ankles, tucked into the soft-soled boots that felt
like they were made for me, strapped up to the middle of my calf.
The waist of the trousers rode my hips dangerously low and though I
tried to yank them up the problem was a lack of material rather
than the fit. Even the leather straps on the top were practical,
criss crossing over my front with a sheath for a dagger. Taking a
deep breath, rubbing my circlet anxiously, I looked down. Skin,
lots, and lots of skin. Heat climbed up my neck and I scratched my
throat like I was breaking out in a rash. I was embarrassed because
I was surprised and proud that my body made such an impressive
showing in the revealing outfit.

“
I can’t wear this,” I
muttered and yanked on the boning that nestled above the centre of
my ribcage.

The door swung open making me whirl in
fright, letting in a gust of grass-scented air, and slammed into
the wall. Alec – fingers still splayed on the door – blinked at me
owlishly.

He groaned. “If I were a lesser
animal….” He leaned forward to grab my hand and pull me out the hut
before I could voice my numerous protests.

As we stalked across the Pride, I felt
the heated eyes on me, human and cat. Slowly, I straightened my
back, under the influence of a fierce surge of female pride. Hell,
my hips swayed, and my tail waved from side to side with flirty
flicks. Allowing a smile to brighten my face, I paid attention to
where Alec was headed.

I dug my heels into the
earth.

“
Uh, what are you doing?”
He kept going and I scrapped two divots in the floor. Not wanting
to ruin my new boots, I let up and stumbled forward. “I’m only
letting you pull me because I don’t want to show you up in front of
your Pack Brothers, but by the gods, Alec,” my voice lowered to a
furious hiss, “if you take me over there dressed like this I will
not forgive you.” He smirked and kept walking, keeping me with him.
I tried to distract him. “You seem interested in
fairies.”

He slid a considering look at me.
“It’s my job. As the packs protector I have to be aware of
danger.”

I stopped. My booted foot burrowed
into the hard packed dirt floor again. This time for entirely
non-selfish reasons. “Things are changing, Alec.” Gathering some
confidence I looked him in the eye. “You don’t have to be afraid to
go into the forest anymore or worry about what a fairy might do
should they find you. And us being here isn’t some undercover
attempt to learn your weaknesses. Okay?”

He smiled. “You’re something special,
y’know. But you can’t divert me.”

I scrunched my face up and whacked his
shoulder. “You’re embarrassing us both.” Determined he walked on
and stayed quiet. I tried again. “Um, so … why do shifter packs
segregate like you do? I mean, are were were-wolves, were-bears,
were-birds, but you live separately. Why is there no
mix?”

He shrugged. “We’ve heard of mixed
packs, but I can’t see how they could possibly live together
without the constant threat of the stronger killing the
weaker.”

“
You have no control of
your animal nature?”

“
Yes, but it’s easy to be
overcome by instinct.”

A woman holding a weave basket to her
hip swayed past, her slinky movement screaming of effortless feline
sexuality. Seeing the sensual way she moved, I was conscious of my
own somewhat heavy stomp. It also reminded me of the dance the
night before.

“
Uh, so, the females are
protected from the males by Byron?” Alec cocked an eyebrow in
question. I cleared my throat and felt heat crawl up my neck to
spill onto my cheeks. “Last night with the dancing … he was nodding
at the couples….”

“
Oh. The Alpha always
agrees to the mating. It is tradition. I find it a bit of a passion
killer, but most are too … involved to mind they’re basically
asking permission to go screw each other’s brains out.” My mouth
dropped open. Alec seemed perturbed by my reaction. He watched me
carefully and his eyes flicked over to where Breandan and Conall
sat in their council. His eyes came back to me. “His scent is all
over you, but you and your fairy have not–”