“Stay with me, do as I command, and I will grant your every wish.”
“And my family? Will I see them?”
He growled fiercely, giving me the answer I’d already known.
“I cannot accept your offer.” A cough ripped from me, and I struggled to catch my breath. “But I don’t think I can leave yet, either. May I stay in the servant’s quarters until the rain stops?”
The mist swirled around me, blocking all light from the fires. His hand brushed my brow lightly, the touch brief. Suddenly, he bumped into me, knocking me into his arms.
“You may stay until you are well.”
With him carrying me, we flew through the halls to the kitchen. He gently set me on one of the bare mattresses and left in a whirl. I shivered in the cool room, coughing so hard my stomach hurt. He returned with a thick comforter and covered me gently. I closed my eyes and asked for one more thing.
“Please send word to my father. I don’t want him to worry.”
Heat burned through me, and a crow cawed loudly. Wind roared through the room, making the beds shake. From the shadows a demon rose. Black with glowing red eyes, it opened its massive maw and bit down into my chest, opening me wide and tearing me apart with each cough. I faded.
“Help her!”
The roar filled the room, a distraction from the painful cough consuming me.
“Are you willing to pay the price?” a voice demanded sharply, sounding vaguely familiar.
“Wretched woman, haven’t I given you enough? What more would you take from me?”
“Secrecy. Before she leaves, you must reveal yourself,” the voice said in an angry, spiteful tone. “No mist to hide you. You deserve no respite. You’ve learned nothing.”
A moment of silence reigned while the demon continued to devour me.
“Yes, I will pay the price and wish you to hell,” he said raggedly.
“Here, give her one dose of this each day until she is well. Now, don’t bother me again unless it’s to give me what I want.”
A cold wind rushed through the room, then a large hand burrowed under my head to lift me slightly. A cup pressed to my lips and liquid touched them. I swallowed convulsively three times before the hand lowered me to the mattress again. The liquid flowed down, burning through the wounds the demon had chewed, until I cried and begged for help.
The beast whispered promises in my ear. He asked me to give him my obedience, and he would stop the demon’s feasting. I thought of my father and, hoping he didn’t suffer the same fate, shook my head to deny the beast. The bed trembled with his anger.
The demon left at some point during the night, but the wounds he’d caused remained to fester and boil. Again, the beast lifted my head and forced me to drink the vile draught of water and medicine. It didn’t burn as much when I coughed afterward.
He continued to whisper in my ear as I drifted in and out of sleep, making outrageous promises in return for my word to remain with him forever. His insistency didn’t make any sense to me, and I shook my head to deny him each time.
When I opened my eyes the following morning, I groaned at the sunlight streaming through the single window and wished I hadn’t cleaned the glass so well. I coughed lightly and remembered the dreams I had of a creature ravaging my chest. Licking my dry lips, I turned my head to look around the room and found that I was alone and the door to the room closed.
I struggled upright and managed to bring myself to a sitting position. My bladder needed relief, and a chamber pot sat in the corner. The cold floor abraded my suddenly sensitive feet as I shuffled toward the pot. The shirt that I’d worn made it easier to do what needed to be done and get back into bed.
As soon as I pulled the cover over me again, the door crashed open and the dark mist rolled into the room.
“How long have I been ill?” I asked, not caring about courtesy.
“This is the second day,” he said, sliding a hand under my head and forcing me to drain a cup of plain water. It sat cold and heavy in my stomach in a good way.
I felt sleep pulling at me.
“Did you send word to my father?” I asked.
“Yes. He knows you are safe and being cared for.” His fingers touched my hair, and my eyes fluttered closed.
I slept several hours before waking again. The light through the window didn’t shine as brightly. A chair near the bed held a cup filled with water. I reached for it eagerly and drained it before making another visit to the chamber pot.
My limbs shook less, but sleep still pulled at me. Again, when I returned to the bed, the beast reappeared in his masking mist.
“Are you feeling well enough to leave?” he asked angrily.
The thought of trudging home made me wince.