Page 70 of Demon Bound

“We must find shelter for you,” Azreth said.

Shelter,he said, as if he was accustomed to living in the rough. She wondered if he was imagining a lean-to or a cave somewhere. “We need to go back to civilization. I can’t just wander the wilderness.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t. Nobody does that.”

He frowned. “There are too many people in the cities. Here, away from others, we are safe.”

She actually considered it. In a way, being alone with him, far away from cultists or Paladins or any of Nirlan’s minions, was tempting.

“I’ve lived shut away in a castle for the better part of a year. I want to be a part of society. I want to see other people. I left Nirlan so that I could grow, not so I could go back to the same miserable life I had.”

Azreth conspicuously said nothing. She realized that she’d forgotten something obvious: he was thinking of himself, too, not just her. He was destined for a life of isolation if he remained on the mortal plane. She might be able to return to civilization, but he never could.

“Do you still have your glamour?” she asked.

He held up his hand. The bracelet was on his wrist, its tiny runes glowing faintly. The glamour would allow him to change his appearance as much as he wished, as long as he had the magic to power the enchantment. It would protect him well.

“I’m not going to ask you to return to the hells,” she said, “and I’m not going to leave you. But things aren’t going to be easy for you here, no matter how many enchantments we have.”

Something passed behind his eyes as he looked at her. He nodded solemnly. “I understand.”

He reached behind him to pick up her baton, which must have fallen from her belt at some point during the night. “Makeit stronger,” he said. “Make a weapon worthy of your hand. I will provide however much power it requires.”

Raiya took the baton from him. The greatest limitation on enchantments was the amount of magic energy required to power them. But with the amount of magic a demon could generate… there were few boundaries on what she could create.

“Before we do anything else, you must arm yourself properly,” he said. “Finish your weapon, and then we will do as you wish and—” he frowned with distaste, “—go back to civilization.”

She clutched the baton to her chest, already smiling as she thought about how she would modify it. “Thank you.”

“We are allies,” he said simply.

“No,” she said, and he looked up at her suspiciously. “Allies are merely people with a common goal. You are a friend to me, not just an ally.”

She hoped he would voice his agreement, but he just frowned, contemplative.

She got up to put her back to the smoldering embers, studying him. “You know, there was… one other thing I was curious about,” she said awkwardly. “About last night.”

“Yes?”

“You… finished inside me. But I didn’t notice any… ah… remnants, afterward.”

He tried to parse that for a moment, then said bluntly, “What?”

Raiya pursed her lips. “You know that in order for mortals to procreate, a man must… plant his seed in a woman.”

To her astonishment, Azreth still showed no recognition whatsoever. She hadn’t thought she’d ever end up giving a sex education lesson to a demon, but life was full of unexpected turns, wasn’t it?

“It’s… sort of a fluid?” she said. “When a mortal male climaxes, his body releases his seed into the woman’s womb.”

“Oh.” He arched an eyebrow. “No. I don’t have that.”

“Strange.”

He seemed faintly amused. “I’m strange? I would argue that your ‘seed fluid’ is strange.”

“Fair enough.”