Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I sigh happily as I allow the runes to fade when I’m amidst the crowded, busy streets. I hate to leave her at the castle alone for long, so I pop in quickly to La Tour d’Argent to pick up the food I ordered earlier. They always say to plan for success, so I ordered ahead. It turns out some of these new toys the humans have thought up during my long confinement—phones especially—have their uses.
Once I have the food, I’m in the air again and on my way back to my prize.
I’m eager to see her.
And to see how she did with my little test.
Yes, I am confident in my obvious perfection, apart from the little issue of my parasite, and she did volunteer as all Earth females ought to when presented with the opportunity to be consort to a god. Yet I have been acquainted with these foolish mortals enough to know that when they meet a Horseman of the Apocalypse, as they have so adoringly named us, they also have a tendency to flee. Or wet their pants in fright. It really varies on the day.
So, I thought I’d give my sweet pudding cup a little test. To hear Abaddon tell it, his Hannah-wife fled him the second he let her out of his sight. Not that she got very far.
My motivation has made my flight short, and soon, I’m opening the runes back to the castle and walking through the door to the dining room. The table my brothers and I made sits long and proud in the center of the room, already set for a dinner I don’t expect to be having any time soon.
I’ve been through enough skirmishes to expect when setting the test how it will go.
Needless to say, I am not surprised to see that my Lo-Ren is not seated obediently waiting for me. But perhaps I am a twinge disappointed, which does surprise me.
However, in the next moment, I’m grinning. Because there’s nothing I love more than a chase. Perhaps it was unkind not to warn her that there’s one rule of monsters: if you run, we chase. Then again, I intentionally showed her the moving mural upstairs.
I figured I might as well paint us first as angels rather than give away my true nature right off the bat.
But if chase I must. . . My grin stretches. I rub my hands together and feel my tail rise excitedly in the air behind me as I drop the large bag of food on the table.
Just then, the furthest door leading to the bathing room opens, and Lo-Ren steps out. “Oh!” Her features brighten. “You’re back already!”
I freeze and blink, trying to dampen my grin. She. . . didn’t run? Didn’t even try to escape? Even after seeing Romulus? My heart thumps a little oddly in my chest as she walks toward me, looking completely calm.
“What’d you get? Please tell me it’s not sushi.” She makes a face. “I would have told you if you’d given me half a second before taking off like that. I’ve tried to get into the whole raw fish thing but just can’t make myself like it.”
I blink some more. I am rarely the one taken off guard.
Finally, I manage to blurt a word. “Duck.” And then a string of words follow. “From one of the finest Parisian restaurants, famous for the dish. I’ve been going there for. . . many years.” Centuries. At least some establishments among these mortals have staying power. “With olive tapenade, a cheese plate, and the finest Beaujolais.”
She just continues staring at me pleasantly, our eyes making contact in a way that continues to unsettle me. I look away first, breathing out heavily as I begin to pull the food from the bag. The wine is nicely chilled.
Lo-Ren comes near. Closer to me than people usually like to stand.
“Wow. It all smells delicious. This is actually really nice. And I love wine and cheese.” She sneaks out a hand and grabs a slice of cheese, popping it in her mouth as I pour wine into the goblets at the table.
I want to ask her why she didn’t run. Or at least try. I know it would have been futile, but humans have never been known for their excellent logic skills. Their instincts are barely above that of animals. Freeze, fight, or flight. I’ve seen it a million times in battle. When faced with fear, those are their three instincts.
But then another thought stalls me. Is she truly not afraid of me?
Who is this creature?
Is she somehow as mad as me?
“Why are you grinning at me like that?” she asks, pausing with another piece of cheese halfway to her mouth.
“No reason,” I say and pull out the last entrée. Using utensils on the table, I transfer everything from cardboard boxes to the elegant tableware Abaddon told Kharon to buy for his bride.