into something similar. Not really the sort of thing that I ever thought that I would be looking into.
How the world changed in a few minutes. And I knew how to do my research. Most of my time as a journalist had been spent researching and fact-checking, making sure that nothing we sent to print was ever the sort of thing that we would have to retract or get sued for libel over. And truth be told, I enjoyed it. Research was the sort of skill that everyone needed to pick up on in practically every single line of work.
The fact that I was good at it was only half of the story, though. There needed to be something to research, and there were almost no mentions of demons even being interested in taking on marriages with anyone, much less humans. That they were able to take on what resembled human form was a relatively recent discovery on its own.
At this point, so little time had gone into actually studying demons aside from summoning them and sending them back to where they came from that we still had no idea where they were being summoned from.
A worrying thought. For me especially, considering that I was trying to find my way through my accidental marriage to one of them.
I felt like I had been studying for days, but truth be told, it was probably a few hours as I looked out the window of Moira's room and saw that the sun was still travelling up in the sky of a new day.
"Seriously, did people back then have anything else to do but write up murder and porn fantasies about demons?" I whispered.
"In fairness, they didn't have the Internet back then," Rog said from the door. "And the church was somewhat controlling over what fantasies people could indulge in, leaving only the realm of fiction for people to peer into their deepest and darkest fantasies."
I scowled at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of looking surprised that he had been standing there this whole time. And I certainly wasn't going to start talking to him about deep, dark fantasies.
"You're no goddamn help," I growled, collecting a couple of the books. "And you have way too much work to be doing for you to just stand around trying to distract me with my research. Remember that the vineyard needs to be tilled before we start fertilizing it.
I moved past him, trying not to let his scent distract me as I slipped the books into my backpack and started heading out. Maybe once I'd scanned through the books, I would be able to cross-reference them with the database that my university held, look into all possible connections to demonic marriages.
"See?" I asked as I stepped outside. "Not even out of the house and you're already cleaning the cobwebs out of your brain, getting some good ideas."
Despite the fact that I’d set out with no clear destination in mind, there was no real surprise when I found myself heading back into the village. As far as I knew, it was the only place inside the realm of where I could wander without being dragged back by my invisible leash.
Bram was already there, with Dracul lying out in the warm sun while the man was setting his produce out for sale.
"Nilsa!" he called when he saw me. "I am starting to think that you are no longer a tourist here!"
"I've found someplace to spend my time, and I think I'll be staying for a short while," I answered, taking a seat in the shade next to his stall. "This village is the only place where I can go that has a semblance of civilization that lets me get out of the house."
"Lucky me," he answered, placing a couple of sandwiches on the stall next to me. "I thought you would be coming by, and I made something to eat while we had our daily tea. Can I interest you in cheese sandwiches? I made the bread myself."
I raised an eyebrow. "That sounds lovely. Isn't it a little early for tea, though?"
He shook his head. "Never too early for tea. You never did tell me what you are doing in our little slice of the world."
"Nothing really important," I answered as he poured tea into the Styrofoam mugs and handed me one. "I'm stuck doing some research in the area, and I've hit something of a wall."
"A... real wall?"
"Metaphorical. Staying in the house isn't doing