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An hour ago, maybe not. Hell, even in this very moment, I didn’t particularly care that Mrak was some shadow demon that at least this cop and some random guys last night seemed to hate. Mrak had saved me, and the only times he’d left my side in one year hadn’t been under his control. It had been attacks from outsiders with wards that’d—somehow—managed to keep Mrak away.
“No,” I finally said as I thought all of this over. “But you need to stop keeping secrets from me, Mrak. I know you’re powerful and ancient. The magic like what was in the book I used to summon you doesn’t exist anymore. Hell, Iguessedat the pronunciations.”
“You guessed well.”
My eyebrow raised. That was all he had to say about that? “I don’t know the full extent of our pact, Mrak. I had to find out from apolice officerwhat you really are. So you need to tell me if there’s anything else I’m missing right now, and if I’m in any danger because of you.”
Mrak’s claws retreated some.“Aisling, I’m sworn to protect you. No harm will come to you.”
“Except it already has!” I argued. “I was attacked just last night. Youcan’talways be there. And the fact that nowthreepeople have had a ward that can stop your presence in this world is not a coincidence. So what the fuck is going on? What are you, really?”
Way too long a silence encompassed us as I stood there in that alley, drawing more attention from passersby as the seconds passed. To them, I probably looked like I was talking to myself or having a hell of a conversation with an unseen Bluetooth headset. Not arguing with an entity who had a specific kind of access to my body and mind. Who, without that access, might not even exist on this world at all, even in shadows.
All I knew for certain was this: I had accidentally summoned Mrak, which had resulted in our pact and him saving my life. Leif had a ward that kept Mrak’s presence at bay. So did others. And Leif had wanted me to commission a sword with other dangerous shadow-eating runes on it. And then there was at least one other group of people with knowledge of Leif’s plans and Mrak’s existence.
All of that put me squarely in the middle. A place I did not want to be in.
When Mrak said nothing, though I continued to feel his presence, I chuckled darkly. “Well, if I’m just a pact, a duty, to you, I suppose you don’t need to answer. If I’m just an anchor, I guess I’m not that deserving of the truth. But it’s clear from what you told me and from what I’ve inferred that Leif is out to kill you. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a key piece in keeping you on this plane of existence.”
Or maybe I wasn’t. Maybe it wasn’t as simple as that—and me not as important. Maybe I’d been a fool all along.
Mrak’s claws slid around me again. I stepped forward, as if that would allow me to not be touched by him. That wasn’t how it worked, but Mrak retracted his claws anyway.“Aisling—”
“No.” I swiped my hand through the air. “Tell me, Mrak. If not to save my life, then to give me the ability to help you save yours. If I die because Leif decides to hunt me next, you won’t be here on this plane of existence anymore. You’ll go back to wherever it is you’re from.”
Silence again, but for a shorter period of time. I wished I could see him right now. His monstrous form. Then at least I’d have something physical to fit my ire onto.
“Hell,”Mrak said.“That’s where I’m from.”
“TheHell?”
Leif had said Mrak was a demon. But I was beginning to learn that word didn’t always have religious connotations. Mrak had also called that word too primitive for what he was.
“A hell,”Mrak continued.“Another world, more dangerous and lethal than here. I won’t pretend I’m not a monster. That I’m not evil. I am. And I was banished to this limbo for it.”
The admission should have chilled me. To realize I had a murderous demon stuck to me. But it didn’t because I’d already sort of assumed this all to be true. “And you want to come back here to this world, right?”
“Only for long enough to gather what’s needed to make my return home. To reclaim my throne. I cannot open a portal without being physically present somewhere. This plane of existence is where my exiled book rests.”
It was the most honest thing he’d said in a while. At least about something other than the pact we’d made. “You have a throne?”
Mrak’s ethereal claws cautiously drew over my body again, like he was slowly trying to hug me once more. I let him, relaxing into his hold as Mrak finally gave me information to go on.
“I am King—or, I was—of Kithonia. A kingdom full of monsters who would make the supernaturals in this world look like domesticated pets. My rule was harsh to my enemies, bloody and lethal to those who challenged me. It was interpreted as cruel by some of my people. But I ruled fairly, and my people, even if they hated me, lived good, long lives under my protection.”
I didn’t know what to say. Monster demon king hadn’t exactly been on my list of ideas as to what or who Mrak really was. And after talking to Leif, I hadn’t expected such a human answer about a creature he’d called a shadow demon.
“Can I see it?” I asked. “Kithonia? Is there a way to look into it from here?”
“No, but I so very much wish it were possible.”
My gut twisted—for little reason, I freely admitted. But a king usually had a queen or consorts, and my mind couldn’t shake the idea that maybe he wanted to see his kingdom so badly because there was someone waiting for him back there. “Is there anyone you’re missing?”
“Family,”Mrak said, but then he must have caught my meaning because his ethereal arms wrapped tighter around me, holding me firm to his chest, which I now felt, too, even though I couldn’t see his body. I felt lips press to my forehead.“You are the only one for me, Aisling. I admit I initially saw our pact as a means to an end. But I hadn’t expected to care for you as I do now.”
So I’d been a convenience. At first, at least. And then… Warmth flushed my cheeks. Mrak cared for me now. Of course he did—that wasn’t really a surprise. But hearing someone admit it after so many years of being captive and used was… nice, really. But one large question remained.
“What happens when you find a way back to Kithonia?” I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. Because as frustrating as Mrak could be sometimes, I wasn’t ready for life without him.
