swooped lower still, over the sounds of his monstrous pets baying—in welcome?—toward a large, dark structure squatting in the middle of the landscape still shrouded in gloom. I could barely make out details of the building, only that it loomed in the darkness like a fortress of epic proportions. Few lights illuminated the walls, flames flickering over what might be stone.
The demon began his landing maneuver, and I curled my fingers harder into his collar. Again, he managed a touchdown far more graceful than I’d anticipated, folding his wings neatly behind his back as he strode forward. No stopping this time, no letting me go to stumble to the ground.
Now closer to the fortress, I could make out more details. We’d landed on a small platform that jutted out from the wall, like a large balcony without a railing. From what I could tell, we were still high up, several stories above the ground level. The wall had a door and two windows—with what looked like iron bars attached to them. Fire burned in sconces next to the wall.
The demon swiftly walked up to the door and loosened the arm that supported my shoulders. I had to scramble to reinforce my grip on his neck and collar so I wouldn’t just slip and dangle with my upper body. Thanks for the warning, jerk.
As with the gate in the park, he drew signs in the air, each lighting up for a second before fading again. The door opened with a hiss, and he pushed through, letting it fall shut again behind us. His wings disappeared with a sound of susurration. I stared at the spots on his back where just a second ago his mighty wings had sprouted. There weren’t even slits left over in his fighting gear. It was as if he’d never even had them to begin with.
He strode on without pause, through a semi-dark room that appeared to feature a huge bed and a seating area. I only had a few seconds of trying to take in the surroundings before he’d reached the next door and marched into another room, some sort of sitting room judging by the sofas.
And on he went. Through another door, into a hallway lit by flickering sconces, the walls dark stone, painted in shadows. All the way, he carried me without a sign of letting up.
Under any other circumstances, with a different man, this might have been deemed romantic, but instinctively, I knew better. Something in the way he held me and walked spoke of necessity rather than affection. His face was all hard angles and inscrutable beauty, not a hint of softness or benevolence. He was as detached as if carrying a package.
It shouldn’t have rankled, but it did.
Here and there I saw movement in the periphery of my vision, shadows scattering or something slithering toward the ceiling. We encountered a group of small creatures, three feet tall at the most and looking disturbingly like a mix between a house-elf from Harry Potter and the yucky thing cuddling up to Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
As one, the group threw itself on the floor, heads bowed, as the demon walked by. I peeked over his shoulder once we’d passed and watched them scramble back up to a stand after a moment, chattering and busying themselves with what looked like cleaning. House-elves indeed. Not as cute as Dobby, though.
After what seemed like an eternity of traversing hallway after hallway, winding staircases and maze-like turns and bends, the demon finally stopped in front of a door. He let go, and I slid-hopped down his front and managed to stand without falling over, which I was quite proud of, given the fact I was rather stiff from being carried in the same position for possibly hours.
He swung open the door and waved me inside.
Gingerly, I entered, expecting the worst.
What greeted me was far from that.
A spacious room, the stone walls whitewashed and reflecting the firelight from the sconces scattered around. Rugs on the floor, tapestries on the walls, comfy furniture to lounge on, decorative tables with books on them. For all intents and purposes, this was a beautifully appointed living room with a medieval flair.
Two more doors in the left- and right-hand walls stood open, and I walked over to peer through them. Door number one led to a room that was mostly empty except for some more rugs on the floor and...a treadmill? I blinked, shook my head and backed