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She blinked her eyes open again and turned her attention to Eod. “He did?” It was hard to believe that this doofus watching her with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth had ripped out a man’s throat.
“You think Mordred keeps dogs for fun or companionship? They’re hunters, bred to kill.” Grinn leaned back in the chair he was sitting on in front of the fire. “And think what I like, he’s bonded to you.”
She didn’t like the idea of the man dying. “And then what?”
“After I made sure the bastard was good and dead, I murdered the old woman. We’re in their house for the night. Seemed a waste of decent shelter and food. We’ll burn this place down once we leave.”
“Why did you kill her? She wasn’t the one who shot me.” Gwen frowned. She didn’t like that either of them was dead. Eod going attack dog was one thing—the old woman had been killed in cold blood.
“And let her run off and warn everyone else about us? Use your head, girl.” Grinn got up from the chair and went to a shelf, rustling about in baskets. Eod’s ears perked up, sensing the opportunity for food, and he ran up to the demon to sit by his side, waiting for whatever scraps Grinn felt like offering up.
Which, apparently, was a collection of cured sausages and cheese. Grinn threw some into a basket and brought it over to her. Without asking, he grabbed her by the shoulders and hefted her up to sitting.
“Ow!”She cringed as her side lit up in pain. “Wait a second, you—”
“Eat.” Grinn dropped the basket into her lap. “Then sleep.”
She would almost thank him again for taking care of her, except that it was clearly for his own ends. Eod was now sitting beside her again, his head on her lap, looking up at her with soulful, begging doggy eyes. Tearing off some cheese, she fed it to the dog.
“Where’re their bodies now? Don’t tell me you ate them.” Gwen figured she’d probably end up eating half of what he gave her, and the other half would go to Eod.
“Humans taste disgusting.” Grinn wrinkled his nose. “No. They have enough stores that I didn’t resort to that. They’re behind the house. We’ll drag them inside and burn them with the building in the morning. Make it look like an accident.”
“I…am really disturbed that you know what humans taste like.” The sausages were good at least. Not too salty.
“Demon,” he reminded her. Like he had to.
They ate in silence for a while. “Will I have a scar?” She peered under the wrapping around her stomach. The wound was red, raw, and angry. But it looked like it had already stopped bleeding.
“Probably.”
“Not exactly the souvenir I’d ask for, but at least if I go home, I’ll have some proof this wasn’t all just a weird fever dream.” She leaned her head back against the wall, shutting her eyes. She felt kind of woozy. But the food was helping settle her stomach.
Eod dropped a paw in her lap, reminding her that there was still food and it was not currently in his face. Smiling, she patted him on the head and fed him a bit of bread.
Avalon was magical. But it was violent. She supposed the scar would be a fitting reminder. She wanted to ask why Grinn thought the man had tried to kill her, but she already knew the answer.
Elemental.
It was hard to wrap her head around being hated so much for no reason. After finishing her food, she patted Eod on the head. “All gone, good boy.”
Eod lay down on the floor beside the cot, clearly not wanting to leave her side. She smiled. Dogs really did make everything better. Even if he had gone Cujo on that guy. She was glad she hadn’t seen it. Shuffling back down to horizontal, she did her best to fluff up the hard lump of a pillow, and tried not to think about the fact that it was supposed to be owned by an old married couple who were now a pair of corpses rotting behind the house.
She wanted an adventure, didn’t she?
This is what real adventures were apparently like.
Death, and pain, and violence.
Grinn was back in the shape of a black cat, curled up on the chair by the fire. She tried to let the crackle of the logs and the warmth of the room comfort her. Keyword there was try. She was also trying very hard not to cry.
Don’t cry in front of the asshole cat-demon.
Don’t cry in front of the asshole cat-demon.
Don’t cry in front of the asshole cat-demon.
Unfortunately, the more she tried not to, the more inevitable it became. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Eod picked his head up and licked at her cheek again before climbing up on the cot and curling up next to her. She hugged him and buried her face into his fur.
