Running with the Demon - Terry Brooks [187]
But there were so many. Too many! Too many!
She clasped her head between her arms and closed her eyes, screaming defiantly.
Then suddenly the feeders were gone back into the night, and she was alone again. She lifted her head and found the demon watching her, amusement reflected in his pale eyes.
He started toward her again, a slow advance through the empty gloom and soft rain.
“Wraith!” she cried out desperately.
Abruptly, the big ghost wolf appeared. He emerged from the trees behind the demon and stalked into the ravaged clearing with his massive head lowered and his hackles raised. Nest felt her heart leap as her giant protector advanced on the demon.
The demon stopped and looked casually over his shoulder. Wraith stopped as well.
The demon turned back to Nest, smiling. “I have a confession to make,” he said. “I have been keeping something from you. Would you like to know what it is? It’s rather important.” Nest said nothing, suddenly terrified. He was enjoying the moment. “It’s about this creature. Your protector. It’s an elemental, a thing created of magic and the elements, a sort of familiar. You probably think your grandmother made it; maybe she even told you she did, But she didn’t. I did.”
His words spun through the silence like chips of jagged metal, cutting apart what remained of Nest’s courage and resolve. She stared at him in disbelief. “You’re lying.”
He shook his head. “Think about it. I left you behind after you were born. Why would I do that if I thought any harm would come to you? You were my child; quite possibly you would have magic at your command. The feeders would be drawn to you. At times, you would be in danger.” He shrugged. “So I created a protector to watch over you, to keep you from harm.”
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t believe you.”
“No?” He laughed softly. “Watch.”
He turned back to Wraith and made a quick gesture. Wraith sat back on his haunches obediently. The demon smiled at Nest. He made another gesture, and Wraith lay down and put his head between his paws, docile and responsive.
The demon faced Nest once more. “See?” He gave her a wink.
Nest felt the last of her hope fade, watched her last chance for survival drift off into the night. Use your magic. Trust Wraith. But Wraith was his creature. His. The truth burned in her throat and left her dizzy and sick inside.
Oh, my God, my God! What am I supposed to do now?
The demon spread his arms in a gesture intended to convey his sympathy. “You’re all alone, Nest. There isn’t anyone left for you to turn to except me. But maybe that isn’t as bad as you think. Let me take your hands in mine. Just for a few moments. Let me touch you. I can make you see things in different ways. I can give you an understanding of who you really are. What harm can come from that? If you don’t like what you see, I’ll leave.”
But he wouldn’t, she knew. He would never leave. And if she let him touch her as he wanted, she would be destroyed forever. She would be subverted in ways she could not begin to imagine. Her father was anathema to her. To any human. He was a demon, and there was nothing good that could come from embracing any part of what he offered.
“Stay away from me,” she told him for the second time that night.
But he came toward her anyway, certain of himself now, confident that he held her fate in his hands, that there was nothing she could do to stop him. Nest was shaking with fear and helpless anger, but she stood her ground. There