Angie Fox - ADS 03 - A Tale of Two Demon Slayers

“No, they told me because it’s the truth. You and I both know there’s something more at work than griffin magic. They don’t want to risk any more of their people and I understood. They even wanted to keep Amara back in Rhodes.”

“But you persuaded her otherwise?”

“She chose to come back. And not just for her cat. She’s loyal to a fault.” He gave me a sheepish grin, reminding me of the words I’d used to describe him. “It’s a griffin trait.”

“Yes, an annoying one.”

He seemed to think that was funny. Sometimes, I had a hard time understanding the man.

“Well you’re out of luck if you’re depending on me,” I told him. “I’m not what you’d call on top of the situation.”

“That’s just the thing, Lizzie. You know so much more than you realize.”

“If I had a nickel, or in today’s economy, a dime—”

“I talked to Zebediah Rachmort,” he said.

“Behind my back?”

“Yes.” He didn’t bother sugarcoating it. “He said you need to think more.”

“He would say that.”

“Lizzie…” He faced me, his hands on my shoulders. “I love you, but I’ll tell you right now, you stink when it comes to understanding the facts.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Had he seen my grades as a kid?

He stared me down. “You were going to break up with me last night.”

I opened my mouth, and shut it quickly. “Tonight too,” I admitted, dreading his reaction. “Let me at least tell you why.”

“No. I don’t want to know why. It’s merely a symptom of a bigger problem.”

Oh lordy. We didn’t need our problems to grow any more immense. “What now?”

“You’re so busy looking at me and yourself and everybody else and judging what they should be. Well guess what? Things aren’t ever going to work out how they should . You have to take people and events—me and you—you have to take things as they are instead of how you wish them to be.”

“You’re crazy,” I said, even as the realization crept over me.

I did like to have things a certain way, but darn it, that had always worked for me in the past. I had a plan. I had backup. I knew what I needed to do.

Dimitri leaned close. “Pay attention and be thankful for the people in your life. Take us as we are.”

Did he realize what he was asking?

There would always be things I wanted to change about myself, about our life.

For the last two months, I’d been so shocked at my new powers and my new world that I hardly had time to focus on Dimitri. I’d taken him and his love for granted in the worst possible way. If I wanted to look at the facts—and I couldn’t resist—there was no way he should put up with me.

“Hey,” he said, his lips brushing mine, sending curls of warmth down my spine. “I love you for who you are.”

I found myself trembling.

“Can you accept that?” he whispered against my lips.

“Yes,” I said.

“Then you need to accept yourself as well.”

He made it sound so easy, but the reality of it was a different matter. When we lost the fireflies and the warmth of each other’s touch, when the world was stark and cold and I faced evil creatures I wouldn’t wish upon my worst nightmare, would I remember the lessons I’d learned in the moonlight?

“Too bad this isn’t part of Rachmort’s training. The old man taught me how to levitate.” Of course, learning how to truly believe in myself would be infinitely harder.

“It’s not part of Rachmort’s training,” Dimitri said, determination rolling off him. “It’s part of mine.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes. You need to learn how to lay bare your feelings, go with your instincts.”

“And you’re the man to show me how?” I asked, a shiver racing down my spine at the thought. The man didn’t look ready to teach me. He looked ready to eat me alive.

A slow grin tickled his lips. “Your lesson begins now.”

I thought he was going to kiss me. Right there, in front of the house, with a warm eve ning breeze caressing my cheek and the fireflies dancing around us. No such luck. Instead, he led me out to the woods beyond the front lawn.

A shudder rippled through me as we passed the path to the Callidora. “You know this is where I almost got a switch star to the head.”

“We’re at least a half mile east of that spot,” he said in true Dimitri fashion, choosing to focus on geography instead of fear.

I snuck a glance at the blackness behind us as we skirted the narrow ribbon of land between the forest and the edge of the gardens. “I don’t like being out here.” My demon slayer danger radar wasn’t going off, but still…“It feels like something or some one is watching us.”

“I’m taking you somewhere private, Lizzie,” he said, his voice sliding over me in the dark. “Trust me.”

I did. Dimitri had been my first teacher. He’d been raised with supernatural abilities. I didn’t always agree with his He-Man philosophy on changing the world. My most heroic moments tended to come when I was backed into a corner. But when we came right down to it, I wanted to believe in the world as he saw it. I wanted to think I could change the way things worked. that someday I’d know what to do and have the courage and the ability to take on the powers that be and create something new, something better.

Dimitri took my hand as we stepped around a leaning olive tree. “Try not to set foot in the garden,” he warned.

I swatted a few dozen gnats away from my face. “I don’t understand. Why are we sneaking around? You own the place, right?” I said it only half-jokingly because frankly, I’d had enough surprises lately. It paid to be prepared.

“Look up,” he said.

Dental floss hung like shadowy tinsel from the trees.

“The Red Skulls have spotted pixies in the garden.”

Yikes. Pixies acted as scouts for the imps. We knew they were planning something big. This just confirmed it.

“The Red Skulls will know if we break their barrier,” Dimitri said. “I’d rather not have anyone else following us.

“Else?” I turned my head and saw Zebediah’s spindly little tree nymphs on our tail.

So much for being alone.

Dimitri dug in the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out several coins and jangled them in his palm. “You want this?” he asked the nymphs.

They chattered and leapt up and down like howler monkeys. Dimitri tossed the euros into the garden and the nymphs scrambled after them. “It’ll take them hours to hide them all,” he said as we began walking again.

“As long as there’s nothing more sinister following us.”

“That’s the trick these days,” Dimitri murmured.

Yes, it was. I didn’t want to run into any pixies or cursed imps or—while we were at it—the black-haired woman.

We reached the edge of a steep hill, which looked more like a mountain at that point. Vineyards lined the base of the hill. Above them, vibrant greenery tangled down the slopes and jutted from the rocks.

“You can’t possibly think…” I trailed off as Dimitri began the precipitous climb.

“I’m taking you somewhere special,” he said, navigating the hill with the grace of a mountain climber. “No one knows about this place except for members of my clan.” He turned back to me, the moonlight playing off his wide back and solid arms. “It’s the only truly private place on the island.”

“Wow,” I said, because, well, I couldn’t think of anything else. The trust he placed in me amazed me every time.

After a glance backward to make sure we weren’t being followed, I began my trek up the small mountain.

We quickly made it through the vineyard. Then the climb grew more treacherous. I focused on Dimitri’s solid form ahead, struggling to keep my footing on plants that barely covered the limestone.