“I never want to come face to face with one of those andoh my gods what is that?!” I scream and throw myself back into Jaak’s arms. Ten feet away there’s a massive head. It has to be taller than me and just as wide as it is tall. At least, I think it’s a head? It has to be from the row of sharp teeth I see coming out of the biggest hole in its face. Oh my gods, if it’s not a mouth, what is it? It’s white and furry, or some of it is. Blood stains the white fur, making the thing shine in the moonlight. There’s onepointed ear with a few gold hoops in it and they sway in the wind, pinging lightly when they hit each other.
“You were holding that,” I say, pointing a shaking finger at the head.
Jaak steps in front of me and turns me away from the thing. “I was. I did not mean to bring it with us, but there was no time. A most inopportune chain of events.”
“What do you mean you didn’t mean to bring it with us? Where did you even get it? I might have had my eyes closed but nobody was passing out free monster heads in there, Jaak.”
“The Auger pushed its luck. It thought to make an easy meal of you and for that I blame myself. It should have never been able to get that close to you. I’ll not let it happen again. That I swear to you.”
They flit from world to world in search of their next meal. They feast upon the fears of weaker beings until they’ve claimed their souls.
“It wanted to eat me because I was scared, didn’t it?” I ask.
“Fear is natural. A completely normal emotion to experience.”
“Are you ever afraid?”
“No.”
I cross my arms. “So it was me. Of course it was me. I probably smelled like a five course spread to that thing. An all you can eat buffet of fear.” I laugh, but the sound is wrong. It’s hollow and bitter. Tears prick my eyes at once again being made vulnerable through my fear. I wish I wasn’t so afraid all the time.
“I am out of practice. Had I been more prepared the Auger wouldn’t have dared to consider attacking you. Next time will be better. You will see.”
I nod numbly while Jaak hustles me forward as he talks about the pros and cons of teleporting and it’s only when my foot hits a porch step that I realize where we are.
The safe house.
I look up the steps to see a wrap around porch with a porch swing. There’s leaves all over it, most of them have blown together to make a pile in a corner by the door, there’s a few scattered papers that look weathered and old too. No one has lived here in a long time. I look around me and see weeds in the yard and there’s a flower bed the weeds have overtaken to the left of us. The house itself is big, two stories and pretty in the kind of way that I used to imagine fairytale cottages, though I never imagined one this size. I can’t make out the colors in the dark but I can tell it’s made out of stone. Big windows shine in the moonlight on the second floor and I wonder what room they belong to. The roof looks tiled, or at least it does until I look closer and see what looks like grass swaying in the wind.
Okay, make that someone hasn’t lived here in avery, very, long time.
“The safe house is cute,” I tell Jaak when he takes my hand and leads up the stairs.
“It will do for now until our mission is carried out and we can leave this place and you can tell me exactly what kind of home you wish for. I’ll ensure that it’s made perfectly to your specifications.” He waves a hand over the door and the lock clicks open.
“You’re going to build me a house?” I ask him.
Jaak turns to give me a look. “Of course, I am going to build you a home. That is the custom when taking a bride. I am ashamed this home is not truly meant for you, but no matter, we will make do,” he says and then holds his arms out to me.
I’m still stunned by the fact that my new demon husband wants to build me a home, so I don’t process what he wants from me when he motions for me to come closer.
“What’s going on here?”
“For a human that has been a sacrificial bride twice you do not know much of marriage customs, do you?” Jaak picks me up with one arm and opens the door with the other and it finally dawns on me what he’s doing.
I laugh. “Are you carrying me over the threshold?”
“If you know of a better way to protect you from evil spirits in this home, I’d like to know it.”
“Is that why brides get carried over the threshold?” I loop an arm around Jaak’s neck and lean into him. The big monster head doesn’t seem so scary now that there’s some distance between us.
“Yes, it’s a human custom. One of the oldest, and a very potent protective measure when bringing your bride into a new home. You never know when a cursed threshold or spirit is laying in wait.’
“You’re right,” I tell him because he is. “Wait, what do you mean cursed threshold? That can happen to a door?”
“Yes, it’s far more common than you might believe,” he tells me as he walks into the house and closes the door behind us. This house might not be the place we’ll live, not the custom built house Jaak is talking about making me but there’s something official about seeing the door close after he carries me in.
I give the door a sympathetic pat. “Who would curse a door though?”
