Page 49 of Escaping Monsters

Chad grunted.

“Which brings us to our most important question, how is the memory eater eating…? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“He’s eating memories?” Declan asked, sounding unsure.

Ace shook his head. “No. Demons can only eat emotions.”

“Is it possible that he’s not a demon?” I asked.

Ace pointed at me and his eyes lit up with more excitement than I’d ever seen in him. “You’re a fucking genius.”

“I am?” I asked, taken a little aback.

“The memory eater isn’t a demon.”

All around the room, the men glanced at each other.

“Please explain your thinking to me,” Jasper said. “I was under the impression that they only let demons into the fairgrounds.”

Ace rubbed his temples. “Could everyone just give me a moment to think. I’m right there.”

“I know of one other living thing that’s in the demon compound,” Lucas said as he worked his fingers between my toes. “They have pets—I’ve treated a couple.”

“I’ve caught some strange creatures in the woods—foxes with three tails, this miniature fire breathing lion with a goat head coming from its back and a head that tried to bite me. I always just release them back into the woods around the town.”

“That is a chimera,” Lucas said. “I pulled rotten teeth from a chimera’s goat mouth for a demon about two years ago, if I recall correctly.”

Declan nodded. “And, that’s about the time I caught it.”

“Of course,” Ace said. “I’m not thinking straight. I’ve heard demons talk about their hell hounds before. Almost all humanoid creatures keep some sort of pet.”

“We don’t,” Jasper said.

“Sure we do…” Declan said as he reached out and rubbed Chad’s head, “We have our pet wolf Chad over here—” Declan cut off in a laugh as Chad nipped his hand.

It was a quick bite that didn’t break the skin, not a challenge, but a less dominant wolf telling his superior to fuck off.

Ace covered his mouth and chuckled into his hand, which made Chad glower across the bed. “Honestly, that opens up a whole list of possibilities—I have to do some more research.”

Without saying another word, Ace rushed from the room. The other men all stayed, clearly deep in thought.

“You’re the local expert on magical animals, Lucas,” Jasper said as he leaned back against the wall. “How likely is it that Teagan can reason with one?”

Lucas sighed and set down my foot. “I hate to say this, but, unlikely. Magical animals are, in essence, animals with magical abilities. From what I’ve seen, domesticated animals can learn to follow commands, but that’s usually the limitation of communication. Even with feral wolves, whom we can communicate with in a base way, it would be difficult to communicate such a nuanced message.”

I nodded. “And, if I summoned the memory eater while I was with Oliver, and the memory eater wiped my mind, I’d be at Oliver’s mercy.”

“It was a good idea. We just need to come up with more of them,” Jasper said, and he sounded like he truly meant it rather than he was patronizing me. It didn’t stop the bitter edge of disappointment slicing through my hope.

With a sigh, Jasper kicked off the wall. “Alright, food is ready—it’s been an hour, so it should be. Hopefully, I didn’t burn the thing.”

Chad hopped up and dashed over Declan and me, racing for the kitchen.

“That’s two of you,” Jasper growled. “Deck, Lucas, get out of here. If you wouldn’t mind setting the table, it would be appreciated.”

Declan squeezed me tight, kissed my hair, and set me down on the mattress, and Lucas gave me a reassuring smile as they headed for the door.

“I guess a magical memory eater was too easy.” Feeling a little self-conscious, I crawled to the edge of the bed and crossed the room to Jasper. “Did you want to talk to me?”