The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher (each kindness read aloud TXT) 📕

The numbness was back, a light, seeping sensation that flowed steadily over me.

“I would rather face the sun then watch what is about to happen, but I cannot leave.”

My mouth dried up. Sweat beaded my brow and ran down my temples. “What shouldn’t he see?” I asked Conall in a small voice.

“Are you sure you wish for me to do this?” he asked the fairy-man, ignoring me.

He sniffed and crossed his arms across his bared chest. The muscles in his arms rippled. “You are better at healing than I. I want him whole so I can tear him apart myself.”

Conall fell silent, the corner of his mouth curving up. Kneeling between Breandan and I, holding a hand over each our brows and chanted something rhythmic and urgent. The life in the forest was suspended. I sensed it was going to happen, that big pain that made you sick just to think of it. I was feeling everything Breandan felt. I’d bound my body to him and now I was dying alongside him. They were going to pull the iron pole out of Breandan and it was going to hurt. A lot. He was unconscious. I was not.

“Don’t let them,” I whispered.

Tomas could hear me, of course, but he was focused hard on the middle distance. I tried to yank on his arm but my fingers merely brushed his skin.

He looked down at me. His eyes burned against his stark white skin. “It’ll only hurt for a little while,” he said.

I stared at him. He was not going to help me.

“Take your hands off me. Let me go right now.” I wiggled with renewed vigor fed by fear, and all I could do is kick the air. “Please don’t hurt me anymore.”

Tomas’s heavy hands held my shoulders down.

The fairy-man gripped the iron pole. My stomach dropped and my heart leaped into my throat. I felt the blood drain from my head.

I screamed, “Don’t!”

He cried out something harshly as he yanked the iron from Breandan’s chest. My torso jerked violently. My eyes bulged and tried to escape their sockets. Stomach squeezing into nothing every muscle in my body clenched. My insides wrenched, and my heart just - stopped. Tomas held my thrashing body by the shoulders, pushing me down onto the damp, mossy floor. Conall spun round, took Breandan’s head in both hands and roared. The sound was deep, vex and violent. Breandan’s back contorted, arced off the floor. Writhing in agony a silent screech of pain deformed his expression. He convulsed then became languid.

Conall slumped, pressing his head on the ground.

The pain released me, and the absence of hurt was stark. I curled into a ball. Peering into Tomas’s face, remarkably, my thoughts were clear and focused. I had survived the ordeal and it had felt like the end. What would have happened to Breandan?

“The next words coming out of your mouth need to be telling me he’s okay,” I said.

He glanced over her shoulder. There was a beat where he stilled and everything around me disintegrated but then, he breathed out and nodded. “He lives,” he said and slid back.

I craned my neck to see around him, and for a moment all I could see was the broad back of the fairy-man, huddled over and blocking Breandan from my sight. Hissing in anger, I surged onto all fours. And then he shifted to the side, holding Breandan by the arm. He said something close to Breandan’s ear, and my fairy-boy started, looked around wildly before our gazes locked.

I crawled forward, the effort sweetly painful. The closer I got the brighter his skin glowed. I sprung up, stumbled, and slid on a branch. Legs wobbling my tail twitched madly. The glow of Breandan’s skin increased. He sat on his knees swaying; opening out his arms his face brimmed with emotion as I fell into them. The moment he clutched me I pressed my eyes closed at the brilliant light that blasted from our joined bodies, and the power that flowed through me was hot and eager. It flared, rubbing at my nature until I found myself digging my fingers into Breandan’s back for fear it would sweep me away.

A startled yell echoed into the trees, and a flock of nesting birds took off into the sky. The energy drained, the light cut off and it was dark. I opened my eyes, and as my vision corrected itself I blinked to help it along.

My gaze travelled down to see someone sprawled on the floor. Tomas, whorls of sweet smelling smoke emanated rising from his body, was face up and motionless. I jerked from Breandan’s grip and crawled toward him. Opening his eyes he groaned. I stopped, wary. Lightening patches on his ivory skin healed as he jumped up and wobbled unsteadily. He scowled, plainly troubled at his own lack of dexterity. He saw me, half reaching out to him and half holding back.

“I’ll need to feed again,” he said quietly.

My heart back flipped in my chest. I had a flash of memory, his fangs sinking into my flesh and shivered.

“Then do not let us keep you,” said the fairy-man before I could answer.

Tomas’s gaze twitched from mine, and he bowed his head in a show of respect. “The girl and I have personal business to attend to,” he said with more than a hint of ownership in his voice. “I cannot leave.”

The fairy-man returned the gesture though his mouth pressed into a thin line and a vein in his neck bulged. “Whatever debt she owes you for your help will be paid. You have my word, but you cannot come where we are to go.”

I studied his face and wondered who he was. Clearly he was an oath-sworn rebel, to have come with Conall. He couldn’t be older than his mid twenties in human years, making him ancient as a fairy. He felt dangerous, vicious. In comparison Conall’s presence was timid.

“You know boy-vampire,” he continued. “When a fairy speaks it can only speak the truth.”

I blinked at that. I’d lied out of my ass a thousand times before.

“Yes, I know this. Just as I know Rae will do her best to return to me.”

I felt my face flush and my heart thump too hard. He was standing up for me, and I liked that he had such a high opinion.

Breandan tipped my face to his and peered at me. I avoided his eyes.

“Let’s go,” he said. He released me and stood, slowly, nodding his head at Conall to say thank you. The fairies drifted a few paces away then waited for me.

Tomas and I stared at each other. We had been through so much together in so short a time. To be parted from him would hurt me, I was sure of it.

He saw my confusion. “Go with your kind,” he said.

I stood, and rubbed my hands on my thighs. I avoided looking at him. “Where will you go?”

“Back to my nest.”

“Uh, you’ll be okay? I mean, you’ll make it back there with no problems? I’d hate for anything toit’s just I don’t like the idea of ” Gods, it was pathetic. Why could I not just spit it out?

He stepped closer. “You owe me,” he said in a low voice.

“I’ll see you again, and pay my debt. I promise.” A bird screeched nearby and I looked to the east. I frowned, worried. The sky was getting much lighter. “You’ll need to find a dark place.”

He reached for my hand. “A safe place.”

“Rae,” Breandan called. “Come now.”

Tomas stopped reaching for my hand, and instead leaned forward to whisper into my ear, “I’ll find you.”

He blended into the shadows and was gone. There was a peculiar feeling on my mouth. I pressed my hand to my lips and they were cold, plumping back up as if they had given under pressure.

When I turned round, Conall beckoned to me with a grin, and took off behind the fairy-man. Breandan waited for me then we ran too. My thoughts lingered on Tomas. Our goodbye had felt wrong. Incomplete.

Breandan ran for a long time without saying a word and that was fine by me. He kept sneaking looks my way. Opening then closing his mouth. Sighing. He said, “Will you explain why I feel a connection between you and the vampire?”

“No,” I said simply. “It’s separate, from us and not something I can discuss with you.”

He didn’t like that. He darted in front of me and pushed me back by the shoulder. It was not meant to hurt me, or knock me down, but in his anger he went to far. I tried to swing the force from falling to my advantage, and roll back up, but I was not nearly skilled enough. I hit the floor face first, and spat a leaf out of my mouth. Huh. Looked like we were going to have it out right there and then. I had wanted to give him some time, since he’d only just been brought back from the brink of death, but clearly he had something to get off his chest. Getting annoyed at his high-handedness would get me nowhere. We’d been here before too, him pulling and chucking me around like I was unbreakable.

I stood up and faced him. “What do you remember?” I asked shortly. “After the explosion what do you remember?”

He paused, eyes far away. A spasm rippled across his features as his eyes flicked to me. “There was pain in my stomach and my strength was gone. The pain was from iron.” He shuddered. “I heard you call to me but I could not answer then there was darkness.”

“That’s it?”

“Then, there was more pain. Mine and yours.” His eyes sparked anger. “You shared all you are to keep me alive. Do not do it again.”

“No,” I said and looked him in the eye. “I know my own mind, I can-”

“-take care of myself,” he finished. He sighed and looked away, eyes becoming unfocused. His brows mashed together. I didn’t like how it scrunched his eyes and smoothed out the furrows. “Conall healed me,” he continued. “It was unpleasant. Then there was only you. You glowed like the sun.” His face had taken on a look of awe.

I shook my head; worried he got it wrong. “Not me,” I corrected. “You glowed, not me.”

His eyes softened. “Trust me, your light is like no other. I woke to find you whole. Close to me.”

He smiled and I blinked. His teeth were sharper than normal teeth, fang-like. Even shown in a smile they were scary. I ran my tongue around my mouth and corrected myself. Our teeth were fang-like.

“You want me to fill in the blanks?” He nodded. I thought about how best to break everything to him. “You want the good or the bad first?”

“I am aware the vampire has fed from you.” His jaw was tight with distaste. “He attacked you?”

My anger had cooled down some, and I hesitated. I took my worry out on my bottom lip. “Tomas saved me,” I said slowly, knowing his pride was going to swell and shatter the peace. “He saved you.

He stiffened. “No.”

“You owe him your life.”

“I owe that scavenger nothing.”

“You’re not thinking clearly. You’re seeing things warped by jealousy.”

“Jealousy.” His face was incredulous. “I am not jealous of that-”

I put my hands over my ears. “Don’t.”

His body quaked with repressed anger as he struggled to contain his reaction. “You and I are bonded. Do you understand what that means?” Teeth clamped together his words sounded short and punchy.

“Yes, and I accept it.”

“Then how could