Just as she was about to take a closer look, something glinting in her peripheral from the other side of the table caught her attention. Reia leaned over, having to partially jump to reach the centre of the table, and grabbed a hold of something cold.
A dagger. And she could see there was more than one. He left me alone with weapons? That was rather foolish of him.
The handle was a swirl shape with black leather rope in the indents for comfort as she curled her fist around it tightly. She tapped her forefinger of her other hand on the tapered point, finding the double-edged blade was sharp, but she made sure not to prick her finger.
A large, clawed hand covered in a black glove wrapping around her hand holding the handle made her yelp in surprise.
She’d been so engrossed in the weapon, in the possibility of perhaps using it to free herself, that she hadn’t heard him come back inside and walk up behind her.
She could feel the warmth of his body pressing against her back as he leaned over her while eerily bringing his snout down next to her head.
“Unless you know the one place to stab on my body and strike deep enough, I should forewarn you that if you fail, it will result in your unfortunate death.”
She attempted to pull out of his grasp, but he refused to release her and forced her to remain gripping the dagger.
“I wasn’t thinking that.”
A complete lie.
“Understand that many offerings have said those words to me before they tried. I do not like pain, and it is certain to invoke an uncontrollable rage in me – as you have already seen.”
“Okay, yes. I got it,” she muttered sharply as she yanked her hand harder. “Now let me go.”
He released her, and her hand stabbed into the air before she tossed the dagger onto the table. It clanked as it bounced over the surface of it. Reia swiftly turned around and faced him with a glare, but he’d already begun to walk away from her.
He reached up and undid the tie of his cloak from his neck before he pulled it forward to slip his horns through the holes to remove it. He placed it over the backrest of the chair at the dining table, and she sucked her lips into her mouth to bite them closed.
The cloak had done much to hide the bulkiness of his body. Although he was rather slim, she could see that strong muscles were pressing against his clothing, as biceps and thighs could be seen flexing as he moved around the room.
She also finally saw his head completely as a whole. Although the front of his bony face was wolfish with sharp looking fangs, the back appeared more deer-like as it supported those heavy looking horns that spun and twirled up and back from his skull.
“I will light the rest of the house, then you must take a warm bath to remove your human scent from your skin,” he told her when he picked up the candle he’d used earlier to light the living area. “We must do it before it seeps through the walls and alerts the Demons close by that I have brought another human here. If you are hungry, I will give you food after unless you wish to rest first.”
A relaxing bath, food, and then sleep, sounded exactly what she needed. They’d been travelling for days, and Reia was exhausted. She could figure out plans and ideas later once she was more familiar with her environment.
A nice, warm, relaxing bath had not been in Reia’s future.
She’d watched with awe after he led her into the furthest room in the house. He made his way to the wooden tub, then sliced at his wrist with his thumb claw to produce a few drops of blood. With a small incantation, the few drops of purple began to glow before turning clear, filling the tub with steaming water!
The washroom was small, only allowing for the tub and a waste bucket with a lid that didn’t appear to have ever been used by him. The wooden tub was big enough that she thought he’d be able to fit inside it with a generous amount of room to move.
Herbs were burning, creating an inviting air, as candles highlighted not only the many plants that surrounded the walls, but large crystals as well. Some of those purple crystals even came to her hip height.
When she’d asked why the room was styled this way, the Duskwalker informed her that he’d attempted to create a relaxing environment for the humans he brought here.
Well, bang up job, buddy.
It was definitely bewitching and calming.
She hadn’t realized it was done on purpose to elude the horrible truth!
She had thought all would be well when he stepped out after the tub was filled, giving her privacy so she could strip and hop inside it. However, he’d returned shortly after she’d begun to go limp in the heated water carrying something in his large hand.