Xander glances briefly at my limbs. ‘You’re okay. I’m glad.’
I breathe out a laugh. A pained noise draws our attention back to Hex. He pulls up his long robe’s sleeve revealing the deep bite marks embedded in his skin.
‘The little shit caught me off guard,’ he snaps, a face full of disgust. Hex turns to face the ice demon as he approaches. ‘You should really discipline your pets or they’re going to get put down.’
‘Why are you here, Hex?’ The ice demon’s voice is surprisingly impatient. ‘How did you find this world? I don’t remember ever sharing the coordinates of my home with you.’
A snicker grows from Hex’s grin. He pulls the sleeve back down. ‘I tell you this as a gesture of goodwill, my friend. There’s a lot of information going around about you. Whispers between closed doors – where you live, your name, William.’ The ice demon’s fingers twitch ever so slightly. ‘They say you’re weak now.’
‘You should be more concerned about yourself.’ William reaches his hand to the ground, a small flurry of snow rising to form a long sharp weapon. The ice spear, almost as tall as the demon, stands by his side. Crafted elegantly, the weapon glints in the light, showing off its sharp ice blade. Hex’s eyes narrow at the sight. Around me, all eyes take on a murderous shade of red.
‘Is that a threat?’
A sinister smirk reappears on Hex’s face. William’s cold demeanour remains unmoving.
‘Oh dear, it seems we have irreconcilable differences. I might have to re-evaluate our friendship,’ Hex sneers, swirling his hands together. The same purple mist exudes from his body and with it, the dark disfigured wolves reappear. They yip and snap at each other menacingly. Xander stands frozen, the same stricken look appearing on his face. The creatures race for the ice demon, bypassing us completely. A sense of relief breathes through Xander, followed by a look of arrogant triumph as we watch William cut through them easily. A seemingly pointless execution of his canine companions. Did he really think that would work?
No, he didn’t. It was a distraction.
Xander notices it before I do. A distorted wave of air rushes towards me, iridescent. William’s protest falls on deaf ears as Xander pushes me out of the way, taking the full brunt of the hit. I tumble to the side and manage to find my feet. It takes a few seconds before Xander’s body starts to convulse. William turns to Hex sharply.
‘He’s just a kid,’ the ice demon growls.
‘He’s just a kid that bit me. Quite frankly, he deserves worse.’
I run over and crouch down beside Xander, trying to find some way to calm him. He squirms violently before quieting, small whimpers escaping. Completely lost for words and clueless on what to do, I turn to William for answers. The ice demon walks over, keeping his spear pointed at Hex who smiles down, pleased at his handiwork.
‘Take him back to the cottage.’
‘But Hex will see…’
I pause. A cold glaze shifts over the demon’s red eyes, his hand gripping fiercely on the spear, twitching in anticipation. It won’t matter. It no longer matters if he sees.
Nodding silently, I pick up the boy as best I can, holding him close. Children are heavier than you expect. Movies always make them seem easy to carry. I trudge through the snow back to the cottage, my mind the most silent and clear it has been since I got here. Hex’s maniacal laughter echoes after me. Until suddenly it doesn’t.
I hear the front door creak open, a winter breeze rushing through the hallway. Xander lies whimpering on the couch, lost in a fitful sleep.
‘What’s happening to him?’ I murmur. I can feel the ice demon’s presence next to me but I keep my eyes locked on the boy. ‘He’s in pain. Isn’t there anything you can do?’ Expecting a response, I look up but William’s already moved. Through the archway I can see him scrubbing his hands at the kitchen sink. Voicing an irritated sound, I stride over and find myself quickly falling silent. Dark liquid has been splattered across his torso and arms. He washes the stains from his hands feverishly, scrubbing over and over and over.
‘Is that…’
William stops, briefly making eye contact.
‘If what Hex said is the truth, there will be more demons coming,’ he says, turning his attention to Xander briefly.
‘What are we going to do?’
‘We? You’re not going to do anything,’ he retorts. Xander releases an anguished cry from the other room, causing us both to look over. I go back and crouch beside him, moving green hair away from his fluttering eyelashes. The blanket that was once gifted to me bunches crumpled at the end of the couch. I grab it and slide it over him, though I’m not even sure it will help.
William turns away. ‘You’ve done enough already.’
7
The novel slides back into the bookshelf with a small thud. I let out a warm breath and it travels as a cloud into the cold air. It’s getting dark, and with the dark comes the cold. I look over to Xander sleeping soundly, the froggy blanket wrapped around his body like a cocoon.
I pull another book from the shelf, The Great Impersonation. I’ve seen this one before, I’m sure. I flick through it; a new book smell wafts from its pristine pages. It doesn’t even look like it’s been read. A loud rattle causes the book to dance between my fingers before falling to the floor. The windows rattle again, this time louder and for longer. Irritated and cold, I place the book back and walk to the large windows, peering through them into the night. It’s become so dark now I can barely see a thing, and even if I could, from the sound of this wind there’s a snow storm brewing. My hands rub against my arms in an attempt to keep myself warm. Maybe I should take that blanket off Xander; it’s not like he really needs it.
I stop. The more I look around the more confused I become. ‘Xander?’
The soft wails from the wind outside ring through the empty cottage. The blanket is now a bundled heap of fabric on the floor. Where did he go? Darkness creeps in as clouds move over the moon, blocking out its light.
‘Xander?’ I call, feeling my way through the dark cottage. ‘You there?’ I’m never going to hear the end of this from William. The cottage creaks in the darkness and though my mind very well knows that Hex is gone, my imagination can’t help but wonder what other creatures could be roaming the wasteland outside in this storm. At some point I stop calling his name, afraid that something else might answer. As a child I was scared of the dark. It’s now clear my childish fears never really left; instead, they were placated by rational thinking. Here though, whatever rational thoughts I could tell myself, are redundant and moot, as there very well could be a monster around the next corner, or a figure hiding in the shadows. I’m not home. And I’m almost definitely not safe.
My hand hits the corner of a door frame. This is the hallway I presume. I feel my way to the front door. My fingers take grasp of the metal door handle just as moonlight returns to the cottage. Childish relief washes over me briefly before a deeper fear paralyses me, halting my breath in place. In the reflection of the glass, situated above my shoulder, is a pair of glowing red eyes, a dark figure at the far end of the hallway behind me. The shadow is unmoving and fixated on me. The handle in my grasp begins to turn but not by my own doing. I stumble back as the door opens wide in front of me, a cold wind flying in.
‘William!’ I almost shriek, never so happy to see this demon more in my life.
The ice demon’s eyes stare right through me. ‘Xander.’
Oh no, he’s asking where he is. I open my mouth to start my ill-fated excuse. William steps forward. ‘How are you feeling?’
I pause, confused.
‘Master, I’m feeling a lot better now.’
Xander’s voice causes me to startle. I look back at the boy now by my side. That figure before… was that Xander? The ice demon pushes past us, entering into the cottage with a stride. ‘Good. I’ll be requiring your assistance.’ Xander trails after him while I stand frozen in the doorway, my gaze lingering just long enough to see William pause, frown, and then rearrange a book in the bookshelf before continuing through the house. If I had even blinked, I’d have missed it. Closing the door, I follow the heated murmurs to the next room.
