Victoria's Demon Lover - By Alia Bess Page 0,10
the urge to close her eyes. She quickly rolled down her side window and stuck her head out to get some fresh air. She was no longer on a street. The little car was parked in the center of a green field of blowing grass. In the distance a low tree-line suggested summertime in the South. Victoria blinked, then rubbed her eyes to be sure. She didn’t want to be rear-ended at a street light.
“You won’t.” She looked at him.
The yellow eyes were soft.
Chapter Five
She thought he might be taking her to Hell. She had been prepared to see visions of fire and the stinking smoke of brimstone. She expected to see a landscape like the Dore engravings from art class in college. She did not expect to see a medieval village complete with stone houses and high thatched roofs.
“Hell looks like medieval France?” she asked him.
“Not France. Even I will not go there. This is Shrewsbury.”
She held his hand tighter. “Shrewsbury.”
“England. Do you remember?” He looked down at her and his yellow eyes were hopeful.
She frowned at the thatched cottages and the stone walls that separated the fields. There were no people around. The sun was low on the horizon. It appeared to be early summer as the trees in the distant forest were all freshly green. She did not remember. She felt his intense disappointment as a sharp pain in her heart. She looked up at the yellow eyes. “How can I remember? I have never been to England.”
His cheek twitched. He took a huge breath and led her toward the nearest cottage. He lifted her up with his strong arms and sat her on top of a barrel so she could see inside the window.
It was dim inside. There was the low glow from the fireplace and two oil lamps that hung suspended from the rafters on thin chains. A thick candle illuminated a heavy wood table near the window, but it was the low rope bed that caught her attention.
On the bed two people were engaged in a familiar activity on a thin straw mattress. Victoria made to back away and jump down from the window, but she felt her demon put his hand on the small of her back and press her hard against the sill. “No,” he said, “We are going to watch.”
She made a face. Watching was never exciting to her. She remembered herself at a bachelorette party, tipsy with wine and margaritas, and weaving through the apartment of a girlfriend. The others had gathered around the television. One of them slid a disc into the machine and they all giggled. Porn. That time they had found some gay porn and enjoyed watching two men enjoy themselves...over and over. Victoria had only been embarrassed. She felt naughty watching. She thought about how it would feel to have someone watching her. Not exciting. Even when she masturbated alone in her house she would lock her bedroom door and pull down the shades. Even though her bedroom was on the second floor. She winced.
The demon insisted. “Open your eyes. Watch them.”
She did. She felt him move closer to her. His warmth was disconcerting. It felt almost human. Almost comforting. He put his arm around her waist and held her close to his side.
The two people inside would have been able to see a demon and a woman looking through their window. Or not. She turned to the demon. “Can they see us?” she asked him, nervous.
He shook his head. “They cannot. Nor can they hear us.”
That made her feel a little better. She was uncomfortable sharing the intimacy of this couple who appeared to be deeply in love. The window was close enough to the bed to read their expressions. The woman was young, barely out of her teens. They might be newlyweds. She looked around the inside of the cottage. Yes. There was evidence that they had just moved in. Possessions were piled against the walls. Some things were in wood crates. There was a trunk by the door. Perhaps they had arrived just today and could not wait to get to the bed. Yes, that was it.
The man was tall and strong. His well-muscled arms and shoulders suggested an occupation of hard labor. She turned her head and looked at the yard around the cottage, searching for a hint of his work. A covered area between the barn and the house contained a forge. She nodded. Blacksmith. She looked back inside the cottage.