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Moxie sat on the hood of the car longer than necessary before getting behind the wheel and turning it around. She should have been thinking over Silas’ words, but she wasn’t. What kept playing through her head was Rada saying she still hadn’t learned her lesson.
What lesson was that? She knew the answer, but she ducked and dodged like a boxer who didn’t want to take a punch but didn’t want to give one either. It was a nasty game of pretend that started when she was a teen and still had hold of her.
The answer: you can’t run from evil. It will come at you in whatever form or shape it takes in your life. There are times when others can help you, but you must be willing to stand up for yourself if nothing more than showing up at the trial to tell the court your story. Or going to the principal's office to keep others from being bullied or their lunch money stolen.
In her case, she needed to stop running from the ones who wanted her dead, and much like Custer, she needed a last stand. Who would be victorious? It was anyone’s game, but it was the only way she stood a chance.
When she got back to the house, there wasn’t a welcome wagon waiting. She climbed out, picked up her gear, and walked inside. The foyer was empty, so she walked up the steps and into the room that Rada gave her. She found him sitting at the table, long legs stretched out before him.
“You came back.”
“You waited.”
“I did.”
The air between them, the mood, it changed. She had a feeling he never waited for anyone. She wanted to ask him why but wouldn’t. Asking him a question like that seemed personal, intimate. It would also lead her to ask such questions of herself, and she didn’t want that. Running was hard enough without bringing feelings into it.
“I met Silas.”
“Aw, our mage. Cocky bastard, isn’t he?”
She wouldn’t have put it that way, but now that she was thinking about it. “Yeah, he is.”
Rada’s grin broke the tension between them. She opened the closet intending to put her things away later. Wow, this was a dream closet.
“You guys do things big around here.” She shut the door and turned to look at him. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought there was something you wanted to tell me earlier.”
He walked over to the couch, taking his time to get comfortable, and waited for her to follow him.
“You know I’m not human. I won’t hide that from you. Very few people here are human. There are Rose and Malik. Rose’s friend, but technically they are not here. Ellie used to be human, but no longer is.”
“Is Silas human?”
“Only your God knows the answer to that.”
She laughed again. She didn’t mean to, but she felt every word he said. There was power in Silas. It was understated, but she felt it humming along the lines of his body. It made her nervous but also gave a feeling of safety. He was too different for her to understand.
“If you’re not human, what are you?”
“A hell beast.”
“You know hell is not real, and you shouldn’t call yourself an animal.”
“I come from a different plane, and I am an animal. You shouldn’t call me a man, but I am male.”
“You don’t have to tell me what you are. I’ve seen the beasts, and they’re not human or even human-like. They do come from a different plane; I can’t imagine anything like that evolving here. They will kill you without thought, tear you apart and go to the next victim.” Rada might be rude, but he was growing on her, and he wasn’t an indeterminant killer.
“I am, or I was, I’m not clear on that part yet, everything you said.”
He didn’t have to tell her what he was. Why had she expected the truth from him? It wasn’t like they were friends; they hardly knew each other. Yet, she felt like they already experienced the highs and the lows of being in each other’s company. To her, it meant something which made her stupid.
He stood and stepped away from her, going to the door.
“I don’t want to frighten you.” In a blink of an eye, he went from being a humanoid male to a beast.
The scream was lodged in Moxie’s throat, choking off her oxygen. Her hands went around her throat before she finally threw herself against the floor hard enough to take a breath. Where could she hide? If he hasn’t killed you already, you’re probably safe. That was her snarky side coming to her rescue. She did have to say if he wanted her dead, she’d already be dead.
“I’m going to come closer; please don’t bite and or kill me.” Common sense told her to stay away, but his fur made her need to get closer. It was the same black with icy tips that she saw outside on the statue that moved when it shouldn’t be able to. His icy green eyes looked at her. The ones she saw on the statue and imagined she’d seen on the male.
How was this possible? She didn’t believe in... Oh, who was she kidding? She believed in God. There was no way there was this much evil in the world without someone who was the opposite of it. In her world, that someone was God. Still, how was this a possibility? She’d seen things that were called hell beasts; they lived to kill.
“How are you lying here, docile?” Docile, she cracked herself up. That was the last word she would apply to him even if he weren’t killing her. “I’ve seen others kill the moment they got a whiff of human.”
Her hands went to his fur like they were being drawn there. She never thought of herself as totally stable. No one who lived in the world populated with real evil was. This was more than she expected. Her hand slid into his fur, and it comforted her. She almost felt like she was his reason for being and vice versa. That was strange, right?
“I like your fur.” It was a little on the coarse side, but the texture against her hand felt good. “I want to apologize in advance if I freak out.”
When she realized he wasn’t going to move, she sat beside him. Her morning breakfast and then flight, along with the talk with Silas, then Rada turning into a beast, caught up with her. Before she knew it, her eyes were closing, and she was lying against the most frightening thing she ever encountered.
_____
Showing the human... He stopped himself to reconsider his prose. Showing Moxie his true form was not something he planned to do. Lael did it with Rose, but his younger brother always had a soft spot. He didn’t have one. They made him to kill, and he did the job with rabid joy. At least he had done it that way before he and his brothers were cursed. Before they killed his oldest brother. Back then, in the before time, life was glorious. He could kill anything that moved, and he had. He may have spared women and children. Children were dead before the fun began. Who needed that? And women were chewy and didn’t fight back, and they screamed, ‘please don’t kill my child and me.’ He didn’t have time for that, so he killed the men because they liked to fight.
He could kill women and children; he reassured himself. He simply wanted more fight in his victims.
None of which explained why he was lying on the floor, allowing a human to wallow on his fur. The human smelled good. Not that it mattered, but he was sensitive to smells, and her scent was pleasant. He opened his eyes to look at the mark that labeled her as belonging to evil.
She wouldn’t be able to see the mark. It was one that maybe he might have missed if not for the fact that Rose had one too. They learned from being around her what that mark meant. It took a little research that Silas spearheaded to find out it was the mark of Kilryn. He was a demon that concentrated on pleasures of the flesh and death. They seemed to go hand in hand with this demon. He had other side projects, but they hadn’t learned about those yet.
He marked every soul he planned to devour. It was also proof to any who could see the mark that she still retained possession of her soul. Why was she here? Was she another link to help them fight the evil after them? Was the evil Kilryn, or was he just a warrior in the army of evil?
He shifted, wanting her scent on his fur. He watched her, making sure she was asleep before lifting a heavy paw to place it gently, possessively over her abdomen. He was not his brother. He didn’t want a female or a mate. He wanted to kill something, preferably a male. His claws, those retractable bastards wanted blood. Now he could see them as he protected the female.
He did not protect females. Asa or Lael would have to guard this one; he was done. A soft howl went through him at the thought of turning her over to another male. He trusted both his brothers. What did trust have to do with this? She wasn’t his female. He didn’t care what happened to her.
He brought her food. He was saving Silas or Lael the trip upstairs. Anyone would have done that, right? He sighed, confusion taking over. He was a killer, always was a killer, would always be a killer.
“Then kill her.” He heard the sly voice as it slipped around his head. It couldn’t get through the wards, not physically, but its voice, its spirit found its way in. “Kill her. I want to see blood, guts and see her eyes when they realize you are not a man, and not a good male. You warned her; you’re a killer. Kill her.”
His paw lifted and his deadly claws came out. He watched as she woke up. Her eyes widened as she saw the threat. He waited for her to run, to scream. To proclaim to the world and his household that he was what he always had been. He waited, and finally, his patience was rewarded when she moved... She got in a more comfortable position.
Running wouldn’t save her, and she knew it. He felt the surety of that in the emotions coming from her. Instead, the foolish woman was putting her trust in him. He lowered his paw retracting his claws.
He looked around; the evil was still there. He could scent its stench and hear his shrill voice yelling angry words.
“Feed me.” It demanded.
Rada moved, bringing Moxie closer to protect her. He knew this demon. He was locked in a cave on the edge of their land; they would have to take care of him soon. He was getting stronger proven by the fact that he could manifest his essence and voice in the room.
He didn’t understand what was happening or why the human stirred his protective instincts, but he was all in. Moxie had just become his number one priority. He almost felt sorry for her.