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He lifted his head upon hearing her, and his lips peeled back in a snarl. “You. Now what do you want? Go away, girl!”
“I—um—I’m sorry. But I couldn’t—” She put out her hand and lowered it. “I just came to talk.”
“I have had enough of listening to you yammer for a lifetime. I have nothing to say to you. I will do you the dignity of letting you live—now leave me be.” He stood, shaking himself off like Eod might, the ash from his coat raining down to the rock beneath him. He prowled over to her. The air around him was even hotter.
“Please. I just want to—” She knew that if she wasn’t a witchy-elemental-thingy-whatever, she’d probably be burning. Or unable to breathe. It was kind of painful even so. She winced and took a step back.
“I know what you want. It’s obvious. You want me to declare peeeeaacccee—” He put his voice up an octave for that last word as he gestured in the air aimlessly before snorting in laughter. “Don’t be a fool. Even if I were to accept such a ridiculous notion, do you honestly believe anyone here would let me live?” He sneered. “That bastard boyfriend of yours is already likely on his way here, hoping to lure me out, isn’t he?”
“Um—” She panicked. “Uh—um—no. N—no, he isn’t.” She paused. “How did you know?”
“I didn’t. But thank you for confirming my theory.” He rolled his one good eye and turned around to walk away from her. “Go away, Gwendolyn. You have no business being in the middle of any of this. Be glad I do not kill you right here and now.”
“But—” She really should have come up with an argument while she was traveling to the caves. Nothing had come to mind then, however, and nothing was coming to mind now.
Grinn sat back down on his rock. “It doesn’t matter either way. Whether or not he’s here, or hiding in his keep, him and this entire island is done for.”
Maybe she could poke holes in his plan. Show him that he couldn’t stand against Mordred, his iron army, and all the elementals. “What do you think will happen to the island if you succeed? That Avalon won’t collect more people eventually, like it did before? Or do you want to be the only one on this island, with nobody else around?”
“Yes. I do.” He laughed. In that dark, horrible way that told her that Grinn had a plan for that. And it wasn’t going to be a plan she liked. He gestured a claw at the walls around him. “And if the powers that control this island are foolish enough to drag more victims here, I will simply murder them before their boats land on shore.”
She cringed. Great, well, that was lovely. She looked over at the terrible writing on the walls. “You’re using your demonic magic to reignite the volcano.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“But…this island has other fire elementals. And lava elementals. It won’t do anything to them.”
“Don’t you fret, I’ve thought of that.” The demon’s smile was toothy and decidedly violent, clearly seeing the recognition on her face of what was coming. “The magic of my people will run deep in this place, making the explosion something that only a demon could survive. A shame there is only just the one of me, no?” The bastard had the balls to look gleeful as he finished his explanation. “And all of Avalon, and everyone on it—including you, and that iron bastard of yours—will be reduced to cinders and ash.”
“But you can’t.” Gwen knew it was a stupid thing to say, but what the fuck else was she supposed to do when a demon threatened to destroy an entire island via a corrupted volcano? She wasn’t even concerned for herself—not really. She didn’t want to die, but if everybody else was dead too, she certainly wouldn’t want to hang around with Grinn as her only company.
“Believe me, I very much can.” Grinn yawned as if the conversation were boring to him. “Soon, this whole island will erupt in hellfire. So, congratulations on becoming a witch, or whatever it is this island turned you into. For as long as it lasts.” He snorted and laid his head down on his folded paws. “Now, go away.”
“But—” She shut her eyes. “I won’t let you.”
“And are you going to stop me? Precisely how? Are you planning on fighting me? Standing alongside Mordred?” He huffed. “Please. I’ve seen you fight. I am from the realm of Astaroth, the Archduke of Wrath. I have been in more battles than you’ve had seconds of life. Don’t make me laugh.”
No, she wasn’t going to fight him. He was right, it was pointless. He’d mop the floor with her, and she’d just end up with her head ripped off for her trouble. “I don’t want anybody to get hurt. That includes you.”
“How sweet.”
The sarcasm made her want to throw a rock at his head. She clenched her fists. “Why? Why do you have to do this?”
“Because I watched my family die, you fool.” He lifted his head to glower at her. “Because I have been hated and despised for centuries. Because, for the simple fact that I am a demon, they hunt me.”
“Right. And the fact that you’re a genocidal maniac has nothing to do with it.” It was her turn to snort in laughter. “You’re totally above reproach in all of this. There is no way that’s really what you believe. Don’t lie to me.”
“I do not care what you think, girl, first of all. Second of all—do not forget I have been on this isle, away from my family, for nearly fifteen hundred years. I began my time here attempting to find a way to coexist. I have long since given up.”
“Away from—I thought they were dead?” She blinked.
“Demon souls return to hell to be reborn when we die.” He laid his head down on his paws again. “My wife and my children live—and have spent countless years—without me.” The weight of the words took the usual sarcasm out of his voice.
She blinked. “So…if you die, you’ll just go home?”
“No. I have been too corrupted by Avalon’s magic.” He sneered, but turned his head away from her, again miming like he was going to just curl up and go to sleep. “My soul is too perverted by the elemental power. Avalon keeps what it takes. It wouldn’t ever let me go. I will never see my family again. They are as good as dead to me.”
Gwen stood there in silence for a long moment and didn’t know what to say. Or do. But her anger and annoyance at him faltered and failed in the face of his tragedy. “I’m so sorry.”
