Chapter 12

After the archery lesson, Jared left her alone to get settled in her room. Harper spent the time exploring the terrain, trying to find a way out.

She walked down the hallway, but after several turns, realized she could barely find her way back to her bedroom. A GPS might have helped in this enormous structure.

Harper returned to the room, loathe to try further and end up in some hallway, or locked in a room and unable to free herself.

In the bedroom, she examined the furniture and looked for a secret entranceway. Didn't old castles have secret passages? Well, if they did, one didn't exist in this room.

She still couldn't reconcile to the fact she was here, with a sexy incubus demon, and held powers of her own. Harper went outside to the terrace and peered down. Dizzying. Sucking down a breath, she flung out her hands and willed the coldfire to come forth.

Like a sputtering torch, it rippled from her fingers. Not as brilliant nor as fiery as before.

After, she felt drained. Jared was right. Having not eaten enough breakfast, Harper felt weary.

She did need refueling. Maybe being this so-called coldfire pyrokinetic required more calories. Einstein said it best – E = mc2. When the energy of a body changes, the mass of the body will change as well.

I don't know about my mass, but my energy is definitely kaput and needs recharging.

A note slid under the door and floated in the air over to her. Lunch is served.

A map accompanied the note. Guess I won't need a GPS after all.

Jared served lunch on a covered balcony with a splendid view of the white-capped mountaintops. Far below, she could see glimpses of rooftops through the scudding cloud bank.

With a courtly gesture, he pulled out a heavy chair for her. White linen covered the table. The table was set with elegant bone china plates, heavy silverware and a crystal vase of white and pink peonies.

Her favorites.

"I thought you might like to get outside. The castle can be imposing."

"Thanks. The flowers are gorgeous. I adore peonies. Where did you get them?"

He gave her a steady look while filling her glass with sparkling water. "I have my ways. I wanted to make you comfortable."

Flushed with pleasure at his thoughtfulness, she sipped the water. He removed the lid of a silver salver.

"Voila. Luncheon of the most elegant fare is served."

Harper laughed. Upon the tray sat an assortment of sandwiches, with condiments.

Jared pointed to the food. "Turkey, tuna, ham, I have a selection of several. You need to eat meat to regain your strength."

"I guess my vegetarian diet is on hold. And here I thought you were going to serve foie gras or some other such delicacy that would turn my stomach."

Jared grinned. "Duck liver is not to your liking, I am certain. This is lunch, and sandwiches are typical American fare. More nutritious than the quick-served hamburger. Or to use your vernacular, fast food."

Vernacular. A memory flickered. Darkwing1790 had used the same word. Odd choice of vocabulary, old-fashioned… it couldn't be…

Glancing up at him, she dismissed the thought.

Harper helped herself to a turkey sandwich, slathered more mayonnaise on it and began to eat. She was famished.

He sat back in his chair, watching her eat. Dressed in his typical black, he seemed to study her like she'd studied rock specimens beneath a microscope. The scrutiny didn't make her uneasy, for some odd reason.

He looks like a devil in disguise. A handsome devil. A dangerous one. But still…

"A sandwich a day keeps the demons away?" she asked, unsure why she'd mentioned demons.

Jared raised black eyebrows. "Perhaps the right kind of demons it deters, if you fuel your magick enough. You're living in a different reality now, Harper."

She waved a hand. "Demons never scared me. Not the fairy-tale demons told in stories. Well, except for one."

Jared leaned forward. "Do tell."

She finished half the sandwich and set the other half down.

"I guess every kid has these secret fears that gnaw at them when the lights go out. You pull the blanket up to your chin, make sure the closet door is shut tight, and your feet never dangle over the bed's edge. I never worried about the monster hiding in the closet or under the bed. Not even when my classmates would tell spooky stories at Halloween. But my one classmate was military and had moved from Germany and told us about the Krampus parade…"

"Krampus parade?" Jared looked odd.

"It's a cultural event, a parade at Christmastime, Dec. 5, that replays the folk stores of Krampus. I guess the parade is to keep the demons away."

He studied the mountains. "I suppose it works. I've never visited Germany, not at Christmastime."

Odd remark. "Anyway, Krampus is this creature with dark hair and pointed ears, fangs, and horns and carries a batch of sticks to beat children with. He's half-demon, half-goat with big, sharp teeth and a forked tongue, and a forked tail. My friend showed me a photo of the costumes in the parade. Wicked scary."

"I've heard of him," he said in a dry voice. "How did this…Krampus legend scare you?"

Harper felt her stomach pitch. "It happened, when I was a little girl. Maybe around seven years old, I don't remember. But I'll never forget the terror."

Her throat went dry, and she sipped water. "Then I made the mistake of telling my parents about Krampus. I guess I thought they would sympathize."

A short laugh. She'd been so wrong about that. Even at the tender age of seven, she realized they didn't care.

"Tell me," he urged.

Bitterness simmered as she remembered the incident. All she'd wanted to do was attend a Christmas party hosted by a classmate who had previously ignored her. All those months of desperately wanting to make friends with this girl and she'd finally been invited to her house for their annual Christmas party for all the children.

She explained this to Jared.

Harper smoothed out the linen napkin on her lap. "At home, I talked nonstop about the party, and I kept bouncing around with excitement. Usually I was quiet, because you never knew when my father's temper would erupt, but this was special. My mother, for once, tried to take my side when my father ordered me to stop talking about it. Did no good. Finally, my father dragged me outside and told me if I didn't shut up about the damn party, Krampus would get me. Come and take me away and then eat me alive with his big, sharp teeth because that's what Krampus did to naughty little girls."

Jared went still. A shadow touched his face. "What happened?"

The next part still dredged up fear, as if she were that long-ago little girl, fearing every shadow that moved. The excellent sandwich congealed in her stomach, leaving only hot, greasy terror.

"He left me outside and told me to think about how naughty I was being. Locked me out."

"Oh," she added as anger furrowed his brow, "it was Florida, so it wasn't cold. But it was dark in the backyard, no lights. So dark. And you know, when you're a kid, the dark holds all kinds of nasty monsters. I sat on the steps, trying to be brave, and then I saw a shadow move, and heard this laugh…"

Harper ducked her head and drank more water, chasing away the vision in her mind, the fangs ready to cut and pierce, the birch stick bundle Krampus carried descending on the bare skin below her shorts, his horrifying chuckle as he whisked her away to eat her alive…

"Anyway, eventually I screamed and banged on the door, promising to be good, and my mom let me inside. My dad laughed and said it hadn't taken long for me to come to my senses."

Jared's mouth compressed and his gaze darkened. "Bastard. Did you go to the party?"

"No. It… no longer held the appeal."

Harper brushed away a crumb as if brushing away cobwebs of memories. "It's okay. I got over it, like I did a lot of things. As most kids do."

"Most children aren't locked outside their homes with threats of a demon eating them alive."

His voice was gentle, almost compassionate. She didn't want his pity.

"It doesn't matter. It's in the past. I'm all about the future." She lifted her head and locked a defiant gaze at him. "My future and getting out of here."

Jared hadn't touched any of the sandwiches, only pausing now and then to sip the water. He drummed his long, elegant fingers on the tablecloth.

"You cannot leave. You need to test out your powers to defend yourself against the formidable demons of this world."

"There are no such creatures." Even as she uttered the words, Harper knew she didn't believe her own words. It was simply making a bold statement like a child declaring the dark held no monsters.

Because if you did admit they existed, that's when they would sneak out of the closet or from under the bed and grab you…

"There are demons who make Krampus look as benevolent as Santa Claus, my dear. Terrors you cannot imagine, not even in your darkest nightmares."

Jared studied her with his dark gaze. "Do you know how your parents died?"

"My birth parents? No. There was a letter… and some guy named Caderyn who claims he is a wizard told me the answers lay inside the volcano. Stupid answer… and he told me to search my memories. But all I remember are the people who I called my parents my whole life!"

Miserable, she hugged herself. "Why doesn't anyone tell me the truth?"

"The truth can hurt us sometimes." Jared rubbed his beard. "Are you prepared for answers? You may not like what I have to say."

"Yes. If you know, tell me, please! I'm floundering here in the dark, and in the space of one day I went from Harper the scientist fascinated with volcanoes to some kind of magick being whose real parents died. I have no history, and no sense of the past."

Jared's voice went cold. "They were powerful Others. A demon named SaqraYazez killed them. He sought their powers and will seek yours. You cannot fight him alone. Not until you're better prepared."

Ice settled into her insides. "How… did he kill them?"

"It is not pleasant." Jared's expression turned almost sympathetic. "But you deserve to know the truth, because this demon is dangerous, and you cannot underestimate him."

"Enough! How did they die?!"

His eyes flared crimson, like hellfire. "Saqra Yazez waited for the right moment when they were distracted… and he struck. He pierced their bodies over and over with his fangs and then when they were weakened and in tremendous pain, sucked out all their powers, leaving nothing but dry husks of their bodies."

Her mouth went dry. "No, oh dear heavens, how could they get distracted if they were these powerful beings? It makes no sense!"

Her heart hammered inside her chest as acid churned in her stomach. Somehow, she knew the answer before Jared told her.

"You, my dear Harper. You are the reason they were distracted. The reason why they perished."