And then, reaching beneath his shirt, he pulled out a small amulet made of a shimmering silver metal that fairly glowed in the moonlight. Distrustful and curious, she stayed where she was but tensed her muscles, ready to dart to safety should it be a trick.
Magic intrigued her. All forms of it. Mostly because of her own, paltry though it was. But Father had drilled into her from an early age that she was never, ever to use it. Aside from the shifting every wolf possessed, there was nothing more reviled among her people than for a wolf to possess magic.
Any other creature and no one batted an eyelash, but for a wolf to own it was grounds for being cast out from among her people. Which she found to be a stupid and archaic rule, but what she thought was of no consequence to her kind. Anything different must be hidden or else suffer the wrath of the elders’ justice.
The amulet no longer simply shimmered, it rippled like a heat wave and within its glow the face of Rumpel manifested.
The impossible, devilish beauty of the man had always made her heart beat just a little faster.
She smirked when the mirage of Rumpel’s eyes turned to her. “Ah, demon king, and to what do I owe the honor?”
Rumpel’s chuckle was like an aged malted whiskey, rich and smooth. She remembered even at thirteen when she’d first met him she’d been horribly infatuated by the Dark Prince. “Giles, you’ll have so much fun with this little bitch.”
She hissed when Giles simply inclined his head as if in agreement. Not that being called a bitch amongst her kind was an insult, but for anyone outside her species to use it usually meant they were insulting her, and that had always irked her.
“Whatever.” She crossed her arms. “Who is this man?” She pointed. “He says I’m to go with him on a trek.” She finger-quoted the last bit.
Rumpel nodded. “Aye. I’ve called your vow due. Journey with my man to reclaim the chalice of hope. Once done, you’ll be free of me.”
Lilith growled. “That chalice is buried within the heart of Fyre Mountain.”
“Yes.” He nodded.
She tossed up her hands. “That is an impossible quest for an army, but a death sentence for just two.”
His grin stretched across his smug face. “My dear Lilith, this is your quest. Do it or not. But if you don’t, your life is forfeit. You know how these things work.”
Glowering at the silent Giles, she snarled. “I thought you’d married, grown a conscience. Your bride would be asha—”
Rumpel’s face distorted and for a brief moment those golden eyes of his burned with fire. “My bride owns my dark heart, true enough, and for her I would raze an entire kingdom. But you are not she, I owe you nothing, and you owe me everything. So choose quickly.”
“I hate you,” she spat.
Laughing once more, Rumpel turned to Giles. “Goddess speed, and return as soon as can be.”
“Sir.” Giles tipped his head and then the light pouring off the amulet vanished.
“You are an automaton.” She crossed her arms. “Have you no emotion, no feeling other than to follow that man blindly? You do understand that the death sentence isn’t simply for me, aye?”
He lifted a brow as if to say, If you say so.
Furious, she stomped her foot and glanced over shoulder. She was bound by pain of death to complete this mission. “I cannot leave without saying goodbye to my family.”
“We must make haste. But,” he continued when she opened her mouth to plead her case, “there is always time to say goodbye.”
Disgusted, even though he was being unbelievably kind, she marched for home. Never glancing back to see if he’d follow or not.
What was she going to say to Mother and Father? They knew about her deal with Rumpel, but, Gods, she’d hoped all she’d have to do was a little job, nothing harder than breaking and entering and her terms would be satisfied. Journeying into Fyre Mountain, it wasn’t so much the mountain that would make the task impossible. Though that would be difficult enough, but rather it was everything that came before it that would be the really tricky part of their trek.
“I can keep you safe, shifter.” Softly spoken words cut through her muddled thoughts.
Growling, she twirled on him. “Knight, I’m no maiden in distress, and if you offer to protect me one more time I should cut your balls off.”
His lips twitched ever so slightly. “Indeed.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m just…” She stepped lightly over a damp boulder in a creek bed. “I’m trying to devise a way to let my parents know not only must I travel unchaperoned with a male not of our clan, but also with one that looks like a devil incarnate. You are rather disturbing looking, knight.”
He chuckled. “You would not be the first to say so. Though I am no devil—I do not have the horns or the forked tail.”
She glanced down at his booted feet. “You sure you’re not hiding any cloven hooves there?”
“I should hope not. It would make our journey in these boots quite impossible.”