Page 22 of Drawn to the Demon Duke
Wait—
Fire.
He’s a shadow creature who lives in the dark. And while there’s plenty of ash in here, the ashbalm flower is the only fire I’ve seen in the shadows. The bear’s eyes are also much wider than the other shadow beasties. What if… what if he’s not fond of fire?
Only one way to find out.
It stinks that I’ll probably end up sacrificing my flower to save the demon, but… hey. It’s not like I really wanted to break this bond with Haures anyway. And if I can save a life, it’s worth it.
Hoping like heck that it’ll work, I grab the ashy stem with my thumb and pointer finger on my right hand. I daringly take three quick steps closer, still keeping enough distance that I’ll at least have a heads up to my imminent demise if the bear thing targets me next.
Oh, Su. You didn’t really think this through, did you?
Ah, well. Here we go.
Hoping that I won’t just blow out the flickering flame, I start wafting it, moving my arm quickly, feeding it some oxygen. If I can breathe here—even if it’s so hot, that’s a struggle—then there’s oxygen, and when you use oxygen to feed a fire, it grows.
Just like this one does.
Within seconds, the petals become a fireball. The bear is mesmerized by it, so captivated, it momentarily forgets thedemon under its grip. As I shout again, I see him wiggle himself out as the monster loses its focus.
He’s still too close. If the creature decides to ignore the fire and go for the demon again, it’ll be able to do so easily.
So, knowing that I’m probably kissing this flower goodbye, I use the element of surprise to dash forward with the flames, then fling the fireball at the shadowy bear.
The fire hits it in the chest area. I don’t know if it hurts so much as surprises the beast, but it falls back on its rump before hurriedly righting itself on all fours, lumbering off into the woods.
I turn toward the demon in time to see him gingerly climbing to his feet. He twists his head to the side, cracking his neck. He shakes out both arms. He tests his weight, and once he pronounces himself whole, he peers at me with blazing red eyes.
I swallow roughly. “Hey,” I ask in Sombran, my voice thrumming with the unfamiliar language. “You alright?”
His gaze takes me in, top to bottom. And then, in a gravely voice, he says, “Who are you?”
Not a thank you, but what did I really expect? To this demon, I’m probably as much of a monster as that?—
Arkoda.
I shake my head. I don’t know where that word came from. The magic seems to have made it so that I understand Sombran, but it’s like I know even more than that. Through this bond between Haures and me, I’m kind of able to pick up on things that the duke would know.
Like how the grizzly bear-looking shadow demon is a fierce predator—and known demon-killer—called the arkoda.
And red eyes on a demon male? This guy is a hunter who would’ve been in the shadows to find small prey beasts to hunt and cook for dinner, like the ungez Haures’s cooks kept trying to feed me during my stay in the dungeon.
But while I know more about Sombra, this demon is acting like he’s never seen anyone like me before—which he wouldn’t have, would he?
Who are you?
I know it’s not what he means, but I try anyway. “Um. I’m Susanna.”
“You are… you’re not a demoness.”
What was his first clue? “I’m not.”
He continue to peer at me, his eyes a pair of stop lights as he frowns.
“Why are your ears round? And your teeth… they are small and flat. How can you eat meat?” He snorts. “Your eyes are dead. You have no light, or horns to protect your brow. Is that how your sort of feeble demoness exists? Or have the shadows overtaken you already the way I’ve heard that they can?”
How nice. I save a demon, and how does he repay me? He insults me. No ‘thanks’, not even a flippant ‘I could’ve handled that’, but nitpicking my very normal human features?
