Page 50 of Song of the Dawn
Along the bank was yellow-green grass, some almost as high as my waist. Slick gray boulders poked up, covered in furry moss. Two yew trees graced the pool, boughs hanging down like maidens washing their hair in a river. Near the waterfall was a gaping hollow, the black opening of a cave.
This was a secret place, a sacred place, and suddenly I believed the old legends held truth. During the turn of the seasons, perhaps the gods appeared and played their music for all to hear. Perhaps they were demented beings, shadow creatures that dwelled in the cave, lured out to hunt for flesh and blood. It all was true and would continue to be true as long as this island was left in peace. A knowing gripped me so strongly I felt compelled to turn around and leave, but I hadn’t seen what I’d come to see.
Heart in my throat, I took another step forward, careful not to make a sound. My eyes darted around the clearing to catch sight of the violinist. At last, I found him standing under a yew tree, facing the water and playing slowly, carefully.
My heart stilled as I stared at his profile, watching the way his golden hair caught in the low light. His muscular arms were bare and moved up and down, lovingly stroking the bow over the strings. The tune he played was heartbreaking, and tears sprung to my eyes. I’d know that golden hair anywhere, and the lines of his muscles. It was Ezra. My sun god. And he played the violin.
My heart sank to the bottom of my toes as emotions crashed and collided. The music Ezra played was beautiful, enchanting, a gift. He was the master of the violin, more skilled than any musician I’d ever heard. Yet he’d invited me to the Dawn to play music and told me no one could teach me how to improve my rudimentary skills. Why had he lied to me?
Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as I stared in disbelief, aware my lover had hidden an important piece of himself. Never had he hinted at this secret, and I wanted to step out, confront him, wail, and rage. Yet he played with such intensity I was afraid of disturbing him. Closing my eyes, I let my tears bleed over while the music bloomed. It filled every pore, making me ache and yearn and long to wield a powerful magic the way he wielded his song. Those rich tones were deep and heavy, the sounds emotions would make if only if they could be heard.
A splash made me open my eyes. Sniffing, I wiped salty tears off my cheeks and blinked until my vision cleared. The waters were bubbling. A lump swelled in my throat. Was the bubbling because of the music? Taking a step closer, I watched as the surface rippled, turning black, as if someone had poured poison into those beautiful waters. A violent spray of water shot up, and throughout it, Ezra continued to play, as if he did not see or care what was happening in the water. Something dome-shaped emerged out of the blackness, slowly but surely, as if drawn by the music, summoned by it. The notes of the violin became harsher, longer, if possible, and my stomach knotted with dread.
The thing in the water kept rising, and my heart kicked as the beast revealed itself. It was a being shrouded in a blackness so deep and intense it was hard to make out its features. Its back was to me, and as it turned, bile burned the back of my throat. The only thing human about it was its form, a body, two arms and legs. The rest was pure evil. Black horns poked out of its head, and its skin was stretched tight over rippled muscle. A scream welled in my throat as dead eyes, hollow, lifeless, and red as blood stared, not at me, but directly at Ezra. When the thing opened its mouth, wolfish teeth appeared, and two fangs jutted over its lip.
It held out clawed hands and then hunched, crawling out of the water toward Ezra. He kept playing, but now the song was different, faster, more urgent, intense. The air shuddered and pulsed. Flickers of violet light gathered, motes drifting together like pinpricks of starlight.
I stared at the demon, and Ezra playing, and horror upon horror consumed me. Knowledge slammed into my mind so hard I raised a hand to my cheek as if I’d been slapped, but the pain was much worse. Once again, I remembered the dark shape I’d seen, the hulking creature, the slurping sound, the red eyes, and now. This. Ezra hadn’t told me about his gift because he was the one who summoned demons with his music.
I should have run. Instead, I screamed.
Ezra and the demon turned, notes jarred as Ezra’s gaze met mine, his eyes blazes of horror and anger and fear.
I vomited, a slew of water and bile leaving my body. Bent over, I continued to heave. One thought screamed in my mind: Ezra had summoned a demon with his violin. Who was he? More importantly,whatwas he that he had such power? Such magic?
Ezra’s playing had screeched to a halt, turning into a collection of sour notes, and the demon lunged at him.
“Ezra!” I shrieked.
He ducked from the blow of swiping claws and lashed out with the only thing he had, the bow of his violin. A sickening crack rang out as the wood connected with the demon’s body, and it howled. Ezra struck again, this time with the violin itself. The magnificent instrument shattered under the onslaught of the assault, but Ezra did not stop. He brought it up again, using the broken bow as a weapon, and drove back the demon. It howled, a sound so inhuman my bones hurt. I was barely aware of the tears spilling down my face as I stood stock still, watching the fight. Ezra gave one last feral shove, and the demon fell into the water. Dropping his broken instrument, Ezra yanked a long knife from his belt, his face murderous. Before he struck, he cocked his head back at me, eyes flashing. “Mila. Run!”
The command was deep and guttural, as if it came from the core of his being. It sounded wrong, deathly, demonic. I didn’t wait to see if he could kill the demon with the knife. I spun and ran.
Tears blinded me, so when my foot hit a rock, I wasn’t ready. I stumbled, twisting my ankle and ripping my trousers. My ankle throbbed when I put weight on it, but behind me were rustlings in the wood and hoarse cries. If the demon escaped, it would come after me next. Pulse racing, I forced myself up, gritting my teeth against the pain, and ran on as a rumble of thunder shook the air.
A drop of rain stung my face. Rain. There hadn’t been signs of a storm before, but now it descended in a torrent, wind whirling, rain lashing at the trees like the whip of a slave master beating its servants into submission.
Water mixed with my tears, and a numbness came over me as I ran on, slipping in mud, stumbling toward the trees. At one point, I fell again, my breath ragged. I cut my hand on a rock, and the pain seemed so real and raw, the only thing that felt true. Blood slithered down my palm, and tears shook my body as the truth sunk in. The man I’d fallen in love with was a monster.
Mila
Imust have passed out, for the next thing I knew, I woke to warmth. My first hope was that it had been a bad dream, but my hand was bandaged and my ankle throbbed. Sitting up, I realized I was in his bed. A place once so familiar and cozy was now frightening. He’d dressed me in one of his robes, and I imagined my muddy clothes were elsewhere. I scanned the dark room, my breath catching as he opened the door. Snatching the covers around me, I scooted to the edge of the bed, a cry on my lips. “Don’t come near me.”
Every muscle in his body went rigid, but he came no further. When he spoke, a strange note quavered in his voice. “It’s still me, Mila. I’m still the Ezra you know. What happened back there I can explain.”
“Explain?” I cried, my fear getting the best of me. Despite my attempt to be brave, tears threatened to rise again. “Ezra, first you lied to me about the violin, and then I saw you summon a demon. How can you explain that?”
He raised his hands, showing me they were empty, but he did not approach. The dimness in the room kept his face cast in shadows, allowing me to sense more than see his uncanny calmness. “Yes, that is what you saw. I don’t have a choice. My life is not my own, not yet, not until I give the sorceress what she wants.”
I opened my mouth to retort, but my tears choked me. “A sorceress? Why didn’t you tell me?”
The moment those words left my tongue, I remembered. He’d told me about a queen, a broken vow, and later, a banishment that came with stipulations. He’d hinted at things, darker, frightening, yet in all our vague conversations about his past, I’d never dreamed, never imagined…this.
“I told you part of the truth, to protect you.” His tone was hollow, with an edge to it that led me to believe he was on the verge of begging. “I never wanted you to find out, not this way, not until it was all over. Will you let me explain? Will you let me tell you the whole truth?”
Tears flowed, making me gasp between words. “Only if you promise to let me go when you finish, without harming me. You have to let me go…”
He was quiet for a long time. Slowly his hands came down, hanging slack at his sides like a man defeated. Except I was sure he was no man. “I promise.”
