“Can I stay here? I’m too tired to move.”

Deep blue filled his vision as he backed up so that he could draw the furs over her to keep her warm, and her eyes drifted shut before he even finished. He hesitated before he leaned down and nuzzled the end of his snout against her temple.

“Sleep well.”

She was gone, his words unheard as her breathing deepened.

The sounds of Demons scuttling around his home drew his attention away from her, and he left his room to go fix everything to make sure she was safe. However, he looked over his shoulder at the doorway and felt a sense of satisfaction to have Reia asleep in his bed.

She looked so small and helpless in the sheer size of it as it dwarfed her. She barely even took up a quarter of it.

Warmth spread at the sight, wishing he could stay there and take in the image for eternity.

Reluctantly pulling away, he went to the cooking area and reached into one of the cabinets to grab his ceramic jar of salt and the digging spike next to it.

The moment he stepped outside, most of the Demons scattered.

“It’s the Mavka, run!”

It always brought him joy to know how terrified they were of him. He’d killed many of them in his eons, and they knew he was one of their biggest predators.

One caught his attention as it ran past the porch.

He could smell the tiniest hint of Reia’s scent coming from its dog-shaped body. He placed the items he’d brought outside on the railing of the porch and immediately sprinted after it with a growl.

Even though it ran on four limbs, Orpheus swiftly caught up to it. Diving, he grabbed it by its leg and yanked it beneath him before it could leave his salt circle, trying to follow the others that went through the gap.

The stupid Demons headbutted the invisible wall over and over, not understanding how to leave even though there was a small stampede of about four who showed the way.

He paid little mind to them since he would eventually usher them out so he could seal them away. He turned his gaze down to the one writhing beneath him, yelping and barking. It had eaten many humans, but it couldn’t speak.

Orpheus grabbed one of its wrists and brought its claws to his snout. A snarl tore through his throat as he opened his

mouth to bare his fangs. The dried scent of Reia’s blood stained it.

“You’re the one that hurt her.”

He would get to fulfill his desire to maim in vengeance after all.

It whined and wailed as he pulled on its wrist, slowly, oh so very, very slowly, tearing its arm from its shoulder.

Delight soared through him as the sounds of skin-tearing, muscles-ripping, and bone-dislodging played in his ears like a wonderful song. Its horrified, pain-filled cries sent a shiver down his spine, ruffling all the inhuman parts of him that flared without cloth to keep it down.

Demon blood, being so foul, rarely stirred hunger in him.

He threw the severed limb to the side before he moved to the other hand, sniffing it to check that it had also harmed her. It had. He did the same, his tongue darting out to slip over the bony edges of his snout, as blood burst from its shoulder when it too was removed.

It gargled, trying to form a word. Perhaps stop or please.

This was a medium Demon, strong for a human to fight, but weak to Orpheus. Grabbing all its parts, its armless body thrashing in pain and fear – the scent wafting from it – he dragged it out of the salt circle.

It cried, knowing exactly what he was about to do next.

He threw it through the opening. Patiently, he waited, watching as it tried to crawl away with its back legs and torso.

The other Demons fell upon it, called by its blood, its fear.

The ones that had been inside, unsure of how to get out, raced for it. It was eaten by multiple mouths, yelping as it was consumed before it was silenced when it became nothing more than a corpse to be fed upon.

He turned to collect his items to fix the salt circle.

Once he was done, he made four trinkets to protect the house, seeing that Reia had replaced the two over the porch which was the only thing that kept them at bay. The Demons

had been trying to scratch their way through the other side of the house, a small hole had been dug where he’d boarded up the window in her room.

She was lucky and smart. He’d woken in time to prevent them from getting inside and he thought by dawn – since it was night-time – they would have made their way inside.

Then Orpheus left his home to make his way to where she’d dropped the amulet. The dagger was gone, but the circlet tiara remained undisturbed. He bent over and picked it up, placing it in his pocket before returning home.

He checked the garden to find it was trampled, but mostly intact.

There was one last task he needed to complete, one that required he go to the stream to fetch more water. He was uncertain about leaving her, worried she’d run, but she’d promised him she wouldn’t.

He thought she might be asleep the whole time regardless.

There was blood all the through the house, his blood streaking across the ground. He would spend the rest of his time cleaning so that Reia could wake to a clean and tidy home.

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It was only when Orpheus was done bathing in the tub, removing the remaining grime from his body, did he discover Reia had awoken. He’d been walking past the door to head toward the living area and poked his head inside to check on her, as he’d done often over the many hours she’d been asleep, to see her sitting upright in his bed.

If the sight of her as she sat with her knees up, arms folded and head buried against them hadn’t already unsettled him, the sound of a sob would have.

He tentatively entered the room, unsure if she would want him near her right now. In the past, the humans always preferred it when he was as far away from them as possible when they cried.

“Why are you crying?” he asked softly, tilting his head to the side.

“I miss my family.” She held her legs tighter. “I’ve missed them for so long.”

He slowly crouched down on knee next to the bed, lowering himself so he wasn’t a looming figure over her.

“What happened to them?”

He didn’t know if she’d tell him. She’d refused to before.

“I killed them,” she cried, her back heaving as her breaths shuddered. “They’re dead because of me.”