Demon Girl (18 page)

I had my own suspicions as to where an amulet
piece was, but if Lochlann had left his entire rebel force to go
find it, surely I was wrong.

Breandan shrugged, not bothering to deny it.
“He would not leave us for such a long time if it wasn’t
important.”

“You should have told me all this.” My hand
dropped as my face became as mad as my voice. “I’ve been fumbling
around in the dark.” I pressed a hand to the space beneath my
collarbones where the amulet piece lay. “I’ve been a target this
whole time and you didn’t warn me.”

“I’m protecting you. We didn’t want you
worrying about your birthright. Concentrate on getting used to your
true form.”

“Gods, Breandan, enough already. Be plain,
what is my birthright?”

“If I knew you would not overreact I would.
As it stands, you had better ask Conall the next time you see
him.”

Resting my forehead on his chest, I smelt the
woods he liked to run in. Head butting it hard, I placed my hands
on his sides.

“You can’t protect me from everything. I need
to know these things sooner rather than later. You put me in more
danger by keeping me in the dark.”

“Yes I can,’ he said matter of fact. “I may
have failed my brother and my sister, but I will not fail you.”

At the mention of Maeve, I froze. My heart
sunk to somewhere below the soles of my feet.

“Why do you think you have failed your
sister?”

“Maeve has not returned. When one of us goes
missing for so long–” He sighed. “No. It does me no good to think
such thoughts.”

Leaning away I saw the pain in his eyes.
Clasping my hands around him I pressed my eyes closed, and listened
to the truth I desperately wanted to say crawling around my head.
He needed to know what had happened to her, but he was already so
upset about losing the amulet piece entrusted to him, which in a
way was my fault too. If he hadn’t been so distracted by me
crashing around in the woods, lost, he would have been more on
guard to defend against the thief.

“I’m trouble,” I said. “One day you will hate
me for it.”

Breandan pulled me away to kiss my eyelids,
forehead and cheeks. “You’re mine,” he said. “The one thing I want
for myself, and I could never hate you.” A gush of warm air down my
throat made me smile. He stroked the bridge of my nose and followed
his finger with kisses. “There is danger for you everywhere. Devlin
is convinced you are key to the future. And you are right. He knows
you have an amulet, but he cannot just take it. It must be given
freely. The Tribe will try to take you from me, but together we are
safe.”

His words made me feel ill. I was lying to
him, and all he wanted was for me to feel safe. I didn’t deserve
his trust. After all, I hadn’t given him all of mine. Before he
could kiss my lips, I darted away.

Soon, I heard the tinkling of water, and came
to a small stream. It was lovely, the craggy rocks and clear, crisp
water. I drank until I was satisfied, and wiped my mouth on the
back of my hand.

Something bright and golden caught my gaze in
the glassy waters reflection.

My skin glowed. Ear tips slender, and
elongated to points peeked through my wild halo of hair. I took out
the twig holding it up, and it cascaded down, the inky tips resting
slickly across my back. My tail snaked through the air over my
shoulder, and my wings rustled. They were gold. Not a light brown
or pretty hazel but dark, powerful gold that matched my eyes and
wrapped around my shapely body. My mouth opened to gasp and I saw
the brilliance of my teeth, sharp and fang like. The small whimper
of sound that escaped sounded like chinking crystal. My eyes,
sparkling pools of light, widened. I hesitantly ran a finger over
my shapely jaw, and tilted my head slightly to the side. My profile
was sleeker, yet softer and more regal. I looked beautiful and I
took my own breath away. I was scary, a demon.

“Rae.” Breandan’s voice was smooth and warm.
He waited for me a few paces away.

It was this moment I realized how much I
needed him safe. He was in danger, because Devlin wanted him dead.
There had to be something, some way to keep him safe. The thought
sent an icy chill down my spine. It was the first time in my life I
had ever thought of someone else’s wellbeing before my own, and how
was I supposed to protect him from forces I barely understood?

He jumped over the pool and landed on the
other side, dislodging a few pebbles that rolled down and plopped
into the water. The ripples that fanned out distorted my
reflection.

Breandan’s face was lit up, glowing with
excitement. “Enough doom, follow me,” he said.

I lost myself. We raced the thunder to where
the lightening had struck. It was Breandan’s favorite game. We
pushed each other about playfully, and played a demented game of
hide and seek. Demented, because we could
sense
each other.
There was nowhere to hide. I came to a stop, my chest heaving and
breath coming hard. I pressed my front against a tree and waited.
Strong arms enveloped me from behind, and I forgot I was in the
embrace of a powerful demon as the storm raged around us. I pushed
Breandan away and twirled. Hands spread, head flung back, I giggled
as I tripped over my own foot. He caught me before I fell, and
chuckled, cradling me in his arms.

Was being a demon meant to be fun? I still
felt like me, like the Rae I always had been, just with a few
extras.

“Thank you for explaining,” I said, genuinely
grateful. I gripped his shoulder to beam into his luminous face.
For the first time that day, everything didn’t look so dark.

“I know you wish to be normal, human, but
soon you will see there is nothing better than what you are.” He
set me on my feet and scrubbed a hand over his head. “When Lochlann
returns we will be able to spend more time together, having fun.”
His eyebrows pulled together and his face became thoughtful. “I
worry I’m not doing this thing properly. I’ve never been bound to
another before.”

Biting back a smile, on an impulse I pressed
my fingers to his face. He lifted my other hand to press it to his
heart.

“It’s not bad,” I admitted. “I thought it
would be, but the more I think about it, the less scary being tied
to you seems.”

The, thing between us was complicated and
tricky. I still hadn’t told him about Maeve or the vampire-boy in
my wardrobe. The thought distracted me, and tugged me from the
dreamlike state I was in. I needed to get back to Temple. Tomas was
probably beyond pissed off right now and pacing my room like a
caged predator.

Breandan smiled wickedly, clearly delighted.
He stole a kiss and jogged backward. His face filled with
mischief.

“A race,” he suggested and crooked his finger
at me playfully.

I grinned; skipped to join him then ran,
hearing his laughter behind me. I noticed my sense of direction
since I had become a demon was stellar. My centre of gravity was
rooted to everything around me. I moved and it shifted in relation
to the direction of north. I knew how far I was from water, a deep
cave or from a high place.

I got back first and wondered if he had let
me win. Stomping my boots, mirroring the pound of my heartbeat, I
did more happy spins, waiting to get dizzy and for Breandan to come
catch me. Round and round I spun.

A figure, darker than the coming night
stepped from the gloom and motioned to me.

I stopped dead.

Head spinning, a cry of panic was already
bubbling in my throat. I drew in a deep breath, and reached to the
Source. Not the best of ideas since I was hardly proficient, having
only used it a few times before, but I was facing evil and it was
no time to be scared of what I was, or what I could do.

A warm hand closed around my waist and pulled
me back, shielded me.

My lungs collapsed, and a squawk of alarm was
replaced with knee watering relief. I released my hold on the
energy I’d gathered, felt it flow in a warm stream of power from my
fingertips.

Breandan, eyes flashing blue fire stepped
forward.

Devlin’s laughter made my skin scrawl.
“Breandan, you always were overprotective of your toys.” He eased
into a comfortable stance. He moved closer then I could see his
face better. The sparkle in his eye seemed devilish now and the
curve of his lips sinister.

“It is not overprotective to defend what is
yours,” Breandan replied and glanced over his shoulder.

I tried to do him proud and look less
terrified. Yeah right. I was shaking like a leaf. Devlin had worked
magic on me a few hours ago, and it had worked. I remembered the
mumbling, quivering mess I had been and felt sick. If Breandan and
Conall hadn’t come along, I would have probably given him my amulet
and agreed to go wherever it was he was trying to lure me to.

Losing his patience, Breandan shifted, easing
his feet apart and asked, “What do you want?”

Devlin pointed to me. “She has spoken to the
most powerful Seer of our time, the white witch. She is a fairy
born of this region and by rights part of my Tribe unless she
swears fealty to a usurper. I have a right to know what her future
holds.”

“Touch her and I kill you.”

“By doing this, denying me the right to see
her, you are naming her a prisoner or of your faction. If she
swears fealty to Lochlann she will be named a rebel. She already
has had a hard life at the hands of her mother. Will you truly
subject her to a lifetime of being shunned by the majority of her
true kind too?”

Breandan’s face was ashen. He swallowed hard
and looked at me over his shoulder, expression torn. I understood
what Devlin was saying. Because I hadn’t chosen a side I was
automatically a Tribal fairy, but since Breandan had claimed me as
his own he’d sentenced me to a life filled with death and
destruction. I would have to always be cautious, always have to
hide the amulet and myself. I was beginning to think even if I lost
my piece I would still be tied to it. It would explain why Devlin
did not grab the thing a month ago and take off.

Like Breandan said, there were rules to this
thing. I just had to learn them.

In that moment I also realized it didn’t
matter what Breandan wanted or what Devlin wanted, but what
I
wanted. My moral compass was crooked at best, but I would
never choose to be evil. But nor was I so saint like, that I wanted
to be part of a fairy revolution. I cared deeply for Breandan,
maybe it was impossible for me not too, and so I stepped closer to
him. If he let his nature rule him, Devlin could over power him
easily. He needed to keep a level head, for what I had planned. I
placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up into his face, my eyes
pleading for him to calm down.

“Know you have forced my hand, cousin.”
Devlin’s voice twanged with power and I turned in time to see his
glamour drop.

His hair ignited, blazing with white light.
His ears were elongated and had the point of fairy I found
fascinating, but his face was so sharp, pristine in its formation
my eyes found it hard to settle on one feature. His eyes were
aflame, cold green flames. His hands and feet were clawed, wickedly
spiky. I saw clearly now the difference between him and Breandan in
their true forms. Devlin was a leader, powerful in his righteous
hate for the rebels who threatened his authority. Breandan had his
own power, but it was not born of dominance.

I caught the glint at Devlin’s chest as he
shifted to set his feet apart, and my suspicion was confirmed. The
colour and shape of it was too distinctive to be anything else
other than an amulet piece.

Blinded by the urge to take it from him, I
lurched forward. Breandan, confused by my behavior, pulled me back
and tucked me under his arm.

Emerging from the shadows behind Devlin,
fairies unsheathed their weapons. His eyes narrowed and skipped
around the trees.

“Tron and Loki are dead,” said the willowy
male to his immediate left. Lanky, his grey hair flowed on and on
until it hit his knees. With pinched eyes and scraggly grey beard,
his wrinkled face reminded me of the crushed velvet I had once seen
decorating a Temple Priests robes. Clutched in his hand was a
halberd. He jabbed it toward Breandan. “He caught their scent.”

That explained why Breandan had been delayed
in racing me. I felt a surge of pride.

“No matter,” Devlin grated, a trace of
irritation flickering across his expression. “Lochlann was always
the better fighter. Four against two is more than enough. Wasp, my
love?”

The wraithlike fairy-girls face blazed
adoration and lunacy as she turned to him. Her long hair was a
tangle of claret dreadlocks that seemed alive, like snakes writhing
around her face. Wide eyes glassy, her pouty green lips parted,
waiting.

“Would you do the honor of taking Rae? Be
careful not to break her, she can be quite temperamental.”

Mouth curling sadistically, she licked the
edge of her blade. A flash of memory showed Ana pulling up her top
to expose the scars carved into her flesh by this very demon. My
stomach heaved and my lungs sucked air in heaving gulps.

Another male fairy slid closer, eager. An
acre of green chest bared his copper Mohawk stood high from his
head in stiff spikes. His almond eyes focused on Breandan, and his
pierced tongue flicked out in anticipation.

They feinted around us in a loose circle and
tightened inch by inch. I twisted my head round to watch Breandan’s
back, and wished I had a weapon. Anything, a big stick, would do.
Failing sunlight highlighted the last leaves of autumn. They
twisted into grotesque and beautiful shapes in the air as they
twirled down. And then I was frightened. Knee trembling and
suffocating on my own air, petrified that Breandan would die here,
defending me and I would end up with these psychopaths for the rest
of my life. Trapped, forever.