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He came to a clearing with a small crystal-clear pond in the middle of it. A rock jutted up from the water in the center. And sitting atop it was the lady in question. She was singing to herself, brushing out her long, pure midnight hair that seemed to shimmer and glint like the stars at night. It flowed about her as if caught adrift in water, as did the sheer dress that she wore. The layers did little to hide her, and seemed to only accentuate what was poorly hidden beneath.
She was, quite simply, astonishing.
“Come closer, knight.” Her voice was melodic and soft. But Lancelot knew the truth—she was just as dangerous as any other. Her threat may not come with sword and shield. But Lancelot knew many men had drowned themselves in that pond after one look upon her.
He was not surprised that she had sensed his approach. “I come in peace, my lady.”
She laughed quietly. “Do you, now?” She turned to him, her eyes shining like purple gems. Some part of Lancelot had always been jealous of Galahad having won the Gossamer Lady’s heart. But Galahad was a good friend and honorable knight. Lancelot would not meddle.
He bowed in greeting. “I am no longer a slave to the Prince in Iron’s magic.”
“So I see.” She pondered him for a moment. “I do not smell the stink of it upon you.”
Lancelot frowned. “Galahad has not forgotten you. Nor your vows.”
She shut her eyes for a moment. “Why have you come, Silver Knight?”
He straightened his posture and placed his hand upon the hilt of his sword. “I seek to build an army.”
“Whatever for?” She ran the brush through her hair again. The tendrils of it curled and swayed around her, caught in that invisible drift. It was hypnotic.
Tightening his grip on his blade, he felt as though he were upon a precipice. With each action, his course was becoming more and more irreversible. But for some reason, this felt more serious than before, though he could not say why. “I seek to destroy the Prince in Iron. And I need your help.”
SEVEN
Gwen was fairly convinced she was going to throw up or pass out as she climbed onto Sunshine’s back and into the saddle. She broke out in a cold sweat as pain arced through her, making her head spin. She had to double over and focus all her effort on breathing as she clung to the mare’s mane. It was a struggle to keep herself upright.
Grinn, in human form, had been doing all the heavy lifting that morning. Literally and figuratively. He had packed up everything that was salvageable for supplies from the old couple’s home.
She was still processing the fact that the guy she had been traveling with, and herstupid asshole cat,was actually Grinn, the world-ending demon bent on destroying the world. His current task—dealing with the corpses—seemed perfect for him, all things considered.
She had tried not to watch as he dragged the couple’s bodies into the small house. Tried, and failed. They were dead largely because of her. The least she could do for them was to see the result of her simply passing by their house.
Grinn took his demonic form once he’d finished and shuddered as if being stuck in human shape was disgusting to him. It probably was. “Burn it down, Gwendolyn.”
She wasn’t in the mood to argue. And he was right anyway. With a sigh, she did her best to sit up straight. It hurt. A lot. And riding was going to hurt even worse, she knew. But they couldn’t stay here. Lifting up a hand, she snapped her fingers, lighting them on fire. It was still such a cool trick.
It’d be a shame when it was gone. Throwing a fireball into the open door of the home, she watched as it easily set the structure ablaze. It was basically held together with straw and hope, so it didn’t take long before the thatched roof was smoking.
“We should go before the neighbors come to investigate.” Grinn was already walking down the road ahead of her. Sunshine followed him reflexively. “Or worse, the knights.”
Gwen groaned in pain and once more tried not to retch. She held her hand to her side and tried to keep pressure on the wound—if only because it helped distract her from the agony—and just did her best to stay conscious. “This sucks.”
“Try not to get shot next time then.” The demon glanced at her over his shoulder. “If you’d just killed them when I told you to, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Letting out a ragged sigh, she shut her eyes. “Whatever.”
“You know I’m right.”
“You’re technically right. But I’m not going to go around slaughtering people just because theymighthurt me.” Trying to straighten up, she grunted in pain before finding a position that didn’t hurt so much. It was better than walking, she supposed. But barely. “Because that’s how you get into this situation in the first place where everybody is trying to kill everybody else. Somebody has to break the pattern.”
“It isn’t going to be you.”
“No, you’re right. It probably isn’t. But I have to try. Because otherwise, I become a rampaging, bitchy, cruel, friendless demagogue bent on world destruction for no other reason thanwaaah, nobody likes me.”
“And here I thought you liked Mordred.” Grinn huffed.
“I wasn’t talking about—” She sighed. “Never mind.” They proceeded along in silence for a long time. Grinn was back in his demon form, apparently deciding it was more comfortable to travel that way than as a human. She couldn’t help but stare at the enormous, twelve-foot-tall, cat-gorilla-demon walking along next to her. He had claws the size of her forearms, many of them broken and jagged. She could see one fang sticking out of his maw, the other missing. He was a demon—an actualfuckingdemon.
