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“Go where?” Abaddon demands. “Where did you come from?”
“Away from here!” she shouts at him, her hand reaching down to her thighs. When she realizes her blades are no longer there, frustration flashes across her face. “And give me my weapons back.”
To my shock, Abaddon says, “Of course you are free to go. I will show you to the door.”
“You can’t let my consort go!” Remus objects, stepping out of the shadows. “She is fated for me.”
“You don’t believe in fate,” I growl. “Now get out of the way. As our eldest brother said, she is free to go.”
“Oh, so now that you agree with him, it’s eldest brother says so?” Remus mocks. “Five minutes ago, you were ready to tear his head off.”
I advance on my childish, selfish brother, and his tail raises behind him, wings flaring out as if he is readying for a fight.
“Stop it, all of you,” Abaddon shouts. “Female human, follow me. I’ll show you the way out.”
She nods hurriedly, glancing between Remus and me, then moving quickly after Abaddon as he gestures to the door that leads towards the exit.
I follow them to ensure Abaddon leads her to the true door instead of the dungeon for interrogation and to protect her flank from Remus. It is always a mistake to underestimate Remus. And considering Abaddon’s sudden willingness to let her go, I cannot say I trust either of my brother’s motives.
Why I suddenly feel so protective of this small human, I cannot say. But I will not see any more harm come to her.
As we near the door, I become alarmed as another thought strikes me. “She does not have enough coverings.”
Since Hannah-consort gave birth to her daughter, she has become susceptible to the cold again. The temperatures here are quite uncomfortable—even deadly—for weak human bodies. She was only given brief immunity to the cold because of the pregnancy and the hybrid baby inside her.
“I’m sure wherever she is going is close enough,” Abaddon says in the low, dangerous tone he sometimes adopts, “that it will not be a problem. She arrived here in perfect condition, after all.”
Understanding dawns. He is not setting her free out of the goodness of his heart. Which, if he has any, is quite limited, and generally only extends to his wife and baby daughter.
No, he intends to track this woman back to where she came from. Of course. He believes our angel adversary is involved in her sudden appearance.
It might not be a bad plan. If one is strictly mercenary and also doesn’t care if she freezes to death.
Because if the angel is watching, as Romulus’s scryings continue to show, will they be so easily fooled? I doubt it. They will see us coming if we try to follow her back to their nest.
Easier to let the bait freeze to death. If indeed she is some sort of bait and not just a very, very lost traveler.
“Go get one of Hannah-consort’s thickest coats,” I rumble, stepping between him and the woman. “Hand-coverings too. Or she does not go. She will not be safe in the cold.”
The sideways slits of Abaddon’s lion’s eyes narrow, but he must sense my stubbornness on the subject because he huffs in annoyance, then turns to search for the objects I’ve demanded.
I shake my head in frustration at this farce that we are letting her go. What my foolish brother does not want to admit is that while this castle has been frozen in time, the world has moved on. Sped up.
From what Romulus told me when he traveled with Hannah-consort to a modern city, the humans have become quite ingenious during our two-hundred years locked in the dungeon.
My brothers and the birds are no longer the only creatures that can fly. The humans have found other ways. Curious, I had Romulus bring me back books on the subject. He is the one of us who can move most seamlessly in their world by covering his brother’s face with a wig and wearing a large trench coat to hide his wings and tail. I’ve been shy of trying shadow-walking in that modern world, and considering the ease with which that female saw me today in the woods, I’m glad I haven’t. Am I simply out of practice?
Romulus has been getting us the human groceries Hannah-consort so treasures, along with other modern amenities to update the castle. For me, he brings back books. I have learned much these past nine months since I was freed from captivity.
So yes. I know the world has become both much, much larger and also, paradoxically, far smaller. This woman could have easily flown nearby in a small plane or helicopter. No angel involvement required.
I watch her out of my peripheral vision as she stands stoically still, back to the exit, eyes scanning the room.
