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I needed to get out of here. Now.
“Demos! Phobius! Take me out… Now, hurry, it—”
That sound… I was fighting, scrambling, a tangle of limbs in the snow…
“Sierra, it’s over now, you are safe.” Demos’ arms were around me. I was heaving in fear, panic pumping like blood in my veins. “Shh. It is all right, Melos. You are safe.”
“No it’s not all right! Oh gods…. That sound…” Now I was crying in earnest, speaking gibberish. Phobius was trying to talk over me, but Demos only growled.
“She needs a minute!” Demos shouted. Then a beautiful sound I hadn't heard in weeks greeted my ears. A purr. Deep and soothing.
“We don’t have even a second, Demos.” Phobius pulled me out of Demos’ arms and turned me around to face him, clutching me. It was such a shocking move that I immediately stopped crying. “Was there anyone there with you?”
“Leave her alone, Phobius.”
I put out my hand, still listening to that purr. As Jon had said long ago, the sound was meant for healing, and it lifted me out of my panic. “It’s okay, Demos. I’m okay.”
Phobius released me but took my face in his hand, his beautiful eyes boring into mine. “Answer me, Sierra.”
“No. I saw no one. Just—just her. In ice. No one else”
“And was there anything around her, anything that looked out of place?”
I tried to think past that horrible sound. “Snow. Trees. Cold air and wind and her crying. Nothing. And then…”
“And then, what? What, Sierra?” His voice was surprisingly gentle, as was his touch still on my chin.
“A man’s voice. Dark and—and… and velvet. Powerful. Everything.”
Phobius swallowed, then whispered his next words, “And what did that voice say?”
“He said ‘I see you. Do you—do you see me.’” Just saying the words had me quivering like a leaf in the wake of a storm. And with an oomph of surprise, Phobius held onto me as I threw myself into his arms.
Now two purrs joined in.
Chapter Seventeen
Demos
He heard Phobius giggle behind him, and Demos dropped the scope and started running. This time he wouldn’t let his brother catch him so that they’d be together when the game ended. Demos wanted to be the one to find their father. All by himself. Father. Demos still couldn’t believe the news. They had a father! A strong, handsome, brave father who loved them.
Had it only been a month ago when the visitor came to them and his aunt Dover? One day the world was one thing. The next it had expanded. Meeting his father had painted the world with new colors, and each morning, Demos couldn’t wait to feast his eyes upon what the day would bring.
He picked up his little legs and pumped his arms, gaining speed, zigzagging his way to where he just knew his father was hiding. He loved this game, and today he would be the one to win.
Demos slowed as he neared the rock wall. Where was he? Had he run too fast, too far?
“I see you,” his father sang playfully. “Do you see me?”
Grinning, Demos spun around, looking up, searching the branches. A hint of black rustled in the thick leaves the color of spring moss. A pair of eyes like ice chips winked. Of course his father would hide up high.
“Found you!” Finally, Demos had won the game, all on his own. He felt like a real man. Even though his small boy body was nowhere near the size of his father, at least in this he’d grown. One day he’d be just as big and just as wise. There was no one on Titus like Father.
The raven flew high into the sky, then circled around and landed at Demos’ booted feet. When the bird whose feathers never seemed to make up their mind, morphing from blue to purple to black, transformed into a tall man, Demos smiled.
His father patted him on the head. “Well done, son. Well done.”
Demos shook away the memory. Once, it had been a happy one to treasure, but a handful of years later, all the happiness from those childhood days were tainted with hurt, betrayal, disgust.
