Demons' Home Ch. 29-32

Chapter 29

So intense was my stare at the flames that I never would have heard Taurin enter had the wind not accompanied him. I inhaled deeply through my nose and forced my tense shoulders down as I turned to look over his blanket I wrapped myself in. It was Taurin. I could tell by the nonchalance of his stance and the look in his eyes. He was the image of the demon I spent my days with only he was in his demon mode, blue mica flakes covering his skin, which I guess was really his mother's DNA and nothing to do with being a demon at all. I took another inhale and turned back to the fire, relieved.

"Dove." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried across the room.

"How long have I been with Ezra?" I asked.

"Two, three days. Barely any time at all. I didn't expect you so soon."

"Neither did I," I paused. "I suppose when a goddess is ready to talk she wastes no time in getting her way."

Taurin stopped next to me and plopped his body down on the fur rug. I could feel his disbelieving stare boring into me. "You talked to a goddess?!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes up to look at the ceiling.

"Dove!"

I finally looked at him again, my eyes roaming over that whitish hair and graceful arm draped over his raised knee. "What?"

His hands moved in agitation, "Tell me what happened?! Tell me where Ezra is?"

"Wellll," I drawled out. "Ezra is in Sanctuary and, if I understand correctly, I would have been imprisoned there with him because we now hold direct communication with the Dragons' creator, the Eternal She. If Nazar had not agreed to fly me to you Ezra would have been a teensy bit angry and Oldavai would be doing everything in his power to... ah... screw with me." I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head in disbelief.

Taurin stared at me and attempted to speak. I don't think he could formulate a coherent question though as I peeked at him and watched his gaping mouth. Then I smiled an arrogant smile and looked at him from the tops of my eyes. "Annnddd... I know the truth about the creation of demons."

Oh, that did it. His blue, blue eyes widened and his mouth shut with a hard click. He finally got some words out, "The Fuck you say!"

I rose my eyebrows at him and teased, "I do believe I heard a swear word come out of that very delectable mouth."

"Dove! Are you for real? You must tell me everything."

"No. Not everything. You don't need to know everything. I will tell you a revised edition." I told him about the consort, I told him there was a fight, but not why, I told him about the Goddess' mischievous brother, and I told him that I knew this because their Eternal She spoke directly to me. I continued the tale with the marks within Ezra and I, the honor and ramifications it bestowed on us, and that I had no idea how long he would be there. Then I mentioned a very delicate subject for the three of us.

"Don't ask how, only know that Oldavai is looking for me and knows I was with the dragons."

Taurin wrinkled up his face and frowned, "Many are aware that incubi use each other to assist them with finding and bringing in their prey. Although why there would be an incubi with dragons..." He trailed off and looked inquiring at me.

I just gave him with a tight lipped smile. "Tell me what you've been doing?" I asked sweetly.

His face relaxed and he looked up and away from me, "I wasn't received with open arms if that's what you're asking."

I shrugged, "No. Although, I don't see how that would surprise or concern you."

He looked at me with a grin, "True."

"And your other form?"

"I am First Protector of the Sikushe clan and at times the entire race. The other protectors defer to me when I am here. The entity of the ice chooses us at birth and no smart Icelander will gainsay its wisdom."

"That's the monster I see swimming in your glacier eyes."

He cocked his head in recognition. "Yes, IshaDove. It is more of a force to reckon within me even though all Icelanders have it in them. I never thought of it as a monster though."

I shrugged, he wasn't the one who had to look into his eyes. I continued, "Ice is water, so, technically wouldn't it be in water too?"

"Think of it as something that lives in ice then."

"Oh. Like an ice worm?" I said innocently.

"HaHa. Couldn't resist, could you?" Taurin said dead-pan.

"You can be a bit wormy at times." I furrowed my forehead, "Is it like a parasite?" I worked hard to suppress my grin.

He turned his head away to clear his throat. When he looked at me again he was stone faced. "How would I have ever survived if you were gone from my side for more than a month?"

"I know! Right! You would have turned into ice man, all serious, and 'I must rescue maidens from fire breathing dragons'. You know, strong, silent type with no sense of humor or blackmailing skills." I blinked as I said it and gave him a bland face.

Taurin yelled with laughter and pounced heavily on me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him as we toppled backwards onto the rug. He was warm and laughing and best of all, he still smelled like the cold scent of winter. I couldn't describe it if I wanted to and that didn't matter a fig to me.

When we had settled down our giggles, he fed me some stew he had simmering in a pot on the wood stove. Afterwards, we sprawled next to each other on the rug staring into the fire. I noticed a heavier silence just before Taurin turned to me with a serious gaze.

"We can't leave."

"No. I'm not ready to leave without Ezra yet. I'm not ready to go back to Shorn and Ila and the A.O. I just don't have any answers right now."

"There's more to come here."

"I know. The Eternal She told Ezra I had more to do." His face took on a look of surprise and I shrugged. "But, where do we go from here?"

He propped his chin on his palm and lazily dabbled his fingers across his lips in contemplation. "I suppose we stay here until I figure out what to do. Or you do."

"Who are you when you are covered in ice?"

He gave me a grim smile, "I am not the Taurin you know."

"I'm aware of that."

"I'm still myself, just more."

I stopped myself from making a silly remark since I really needed to know what and who I was living with. "Go on," I encouraged.

Taurin reached over and twined his fingers with mine, pushing them in and out of their valleys in a gentle stroke. "I'm Taurin. A First Protector and a bit more Elemental than most. More focused on violence. Blunt force to get what I want as soon as I want it. You," he nodded in my direction, "took me off guard. Not the best frame of mind to be when staring down a dragon on our lake. Also," here he stopped and leaned forward with an intense stare, "I was still a little off balance from the power sharing you did recently."

I blushed at his knowing stare. Then started when he laughed uproariously.

"Oh! Ezra got me good though! I was in the middle of a conversation with the mother of my wife about my return when I experienced it. He'll enjoy that tidbit if you tell him." He smiled at me and raised his hand to stall me when I opened my mouth to talk. "Listen. I didn't expect you so soon. I expected Ezra when the time came. The ice reader warned me that a dragon was coming, a mammoth of blazing orange. I knew that wasn't Ezra, he's red."

I chuckled slightly at his misinformation, "Actually, he's more black."

"Really? That's not keeping with the color scheme of fire breathers."

"Yeah, but he can tell you about it if he wants to. Please, continue. I believe you said wife." I stared down at our clasped hands and then back up into his eyes.

"Yes. First though, I wanted you. I wanted you to forget Ezra. I wanted to turn you into ice with me. That's why the ice started to crawl over you. It was a yearning so deep it made my heart ache. The Elemental inside me never wanted Soschen, even after we bound ourselves in the same manner that I have you now. Maybe because it knew she never had the power to be such or maybe it never liked her." He gave me a weak smile.

"Or, maybe because she didn't have a goddess in her," I said with seriousness.

Taurin opened his mouth and then closed it. I could tell the thought never occurred to him and it stunned him to admit that I could have a point. "You're right. Oh. That's interesting."

"Taurin, is Soschen who you want me to save?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Is she why you weren't received with open arms?" I asked, trying to get to the core of the matter that he was always so reluctant to elaborate on.

His voice was soft, but fierce, "Yes."

"Tell me."

"I can't. I really can't. I don't know what happened to her or why. I can only speculate. The First Protector took over when she got out of control and became a hazard to the village. It was a time when I was connected to everyone here. I was part of ice and snow and my reach extended beyond and I knew all Icelanders. And they knew me. To stop her I had to become more of what you call the monster under the ice. And I did what was needed even though I knew I would never be forgiven for it."

"Then just tell me what you know. Simple words."

Taurin untangled our hands and scooted himself to sit up against the chair that faced the fireplace. He said nothing for the longest time and then put his hands up to rub his eyes. "Sosch, Sosch." He shook his head as if he was consigned to the outcome of her fate regardless that he asked me to help. "We always loved each other. I had to win her back when it became news that I was a demon. It took a long time, but I did it. We married, she wore my mark proudly on her neck, like any Icelander would do. And I wore hers." He tapped the top of his left hand, but the skin was bare. "It's gone now. The Elemental took them both."

He stretched his arms above his head. "We had a child, Maureen. She's the ice reader." His nose crinkled, "She hates me because everything changed when I wanted Soschen to be as much a part my being as I was hers..."

"You claimed her. The same as we have." I said the words as compassionately as I could, almost an apology, but I wasn't sure for what.

"Yes. I convinced her and something changed in her."

"Unfortunately, you put sentient demon magic in her. What did she do?"

"She put part of her own Elemental in me. I already had it in heavy doses, though. I thought that was all it would be for her. Something that wouldn't effect her much." He shook his head again. "It wasn't. I didn't know what it was."

"No, you wouldn't. None of you do and all I know is it's the Eternal She, or maybe just the Consort. When he created... he had to be full of anger, maybe despair. And I can guarantee you that neither are anything like your Ice Elemental."

Taurin gave me a nod of agreement, "Well, she didn't take it in stride and started to go irrational a little bit each year. She triggered the First Protector in me almost continually during that last year. Maureen did everything she could think of, everything she could study. In retrospect, this tragedy made her the most powerful ice reader the Icelanders have had in centuries. Pilgrimages are made to her." He beamed with pride about his daughter who detested him. "Well, to sum up, Soschen threatened the entire Risen Oorts and it was my fault. Not many knew how dangerous she was becoming when I encased her in ice in our place of dreaming."

"She's still alive?"

"Very much so Dove, I would know if she died. Just like I would know if you died." He pinned a laser stare on me, "Which was a very close thing recently."

"You can blame the Eternal She for that one. So, you want me to bring her out of the ice and heal her? In a place of dreaming that you and Ezra once told me no one outside of Icelanders should go," I said incredulously.

"If it's not too much to ask," he replied guilelessly.

"Mmm Hmm. A place that drove Keish into an insane Lucifer so I had to kill him."

I grimaced at his very hopeful smile and frowned more. "Where am I sleeping?"

He took the change of subject in stride and pointed to the ladder going up, "One bed."

"You stay down here and leave me alone for awhile." I stood up and went to climb the ladder. When I reached the top and saw the cozy bed waiting with furs and tons of pillows I peeked my head down, "And please find me some suitable clothes for the weather."

Taurin looked up at me with a sly look and I threw a pillow on his head before ducking back into the loft. His soft chuckle made me smile as I snuggled into the blankets.

Chapter 30

He got me the clothes I asked for and they were the warmest I had ever been in. Snugly soft and waterproof. So amazing in fact, that I used it as an excuse to push my head back into the darkness of the hood when he casually introduced me to the Icelanders walking around the village.

"Where are we going?"

He strode ahead of me with a purposeful force. "I need to scout the borders of the village. The Hun Wolves have been attacking Icelanders lately and I need you to be with someone I trust."

"I didn't realize there was anyone here who qualified," I said mystified.

"There is. My wife's mother."

I stopped in my tracks and he didn't. "I'm sorry. EXCUSE ME?!"

He paused and turned. The wind swished around our feet, picking up drifts of snow as I looked into the eyes that weren't Taurin's. Not entirely. Or at least not the Taurin I was comfortable with. As I watched more of him subtly changed. Just a feeling, but I knew, it, the Ice, was looking at me, wanting something inside of me. My breath came out looking like a thick fog.

"Don't stand here too long. The cold will take you," was all he said, almost threateningly, as he turned again.

I hustled to move up to pace with him when he turned abruptly and banged on a solid looking wooden door.

The door opened a crack, then wider when the Icelander inside got a look at Taurin. Words came out and the woman did a head bob to him that seemed in acknowledgement of his position. Taurin spoke back to her and made a small gesture to me with his hand. She nodded ascent and stepped away from the door with a come in gesture. Taurin grunted and turned to me.

His eyes were ice caverns looking into me. I stood paralyzed looking at him and my breath stuttered out of my chest. He jerked his head towards the cabin. My eyes moved from him to the entranceway. Fuck it. I swallowed and determinedly brushed past his now hulking figure. His right arm rose to my shoulder, but instead of touching it his fist clenched and he stomped away. I turned and watched the swirling snow swallow him completely.

I stretched my tense neck, squared my shoulders and entered, softly closing the door. The elderly woman came behind me and picked at my coat, indicating for me to take it off. Considering I was already starting to sweat in the overheated room I rapidly complied. I watched her move slowly and deliberately around the room. She tended the fire on both sides of the room and a big pot of savory smelling soup over one of them. I time travelled back into Viking world. I must have. I twisted my lips in ironic humor. I never was into Viking romance books. Too much master, slave going on there. I shook my head trying to clear the thought of Taurin as the Ice Elemental master to my slave. Fuck that. He'd turn me to ice, literally.

I noticed a glistening on the logs of the structure and reached out to touch them. They weeped water, but there was no rot or even its smell. My fingertips drifted over them feeling the wet, smooth layer and it felt as hard as the stone in Ezra's mountains. I felt her staring at me and I turned to give her my attention. She had a generous expression on her blueish face and a slight smile on her wide pale lips. My own soft one formed in response as I watched her push gray wisps of hair behind her ear. Taurin's language came out of her mouth in much the way he walked, very deliberate and unquestioning. I couldn't understand a word of it.

"She's telling you Ice blesses our house because of the warriors we welcome into our lineage."

The voice paused and I did a cautious circle to find the source. I watched a willowy woman appear from a camouflaged entrance that looked like a solid wall. Taurin's mother-in-law continued talking, speaking familiar names that I heard from Taurin's lips. I cringed inwardly as I surveyed this tall, younger looking female. It had to be Taurin's daughter, Maureen.

"She says that Taurin was a blessed addition because of her granddaughter, the ice reader." She looked at the elder with a slight tightening around her eyes, "My grandmother speaks too much."

She walked towards me and I stared, speechless for seconds. This wasn't a delicate dancer's walk, it was a warrior's stride. Her fur covered boots stopped at the bottom of her knees and her hair swayed just a level above it. The color of her tunic and pants were muted in grays and dull blues, but it didn't matter because of her hair. That straight hair swayed all the way down to her thighs and it's color shone like sun on snow, sparking as it moved in a wind all her own. Her features were long and prominent and she stood so unapologetically assertive that I couldn't be surprised when she turned a challenging stare at me. And instead of iris and pupil I saw a reflection of Taurin's winter complete with that monstrous hidden undulating.

"I don't know why he brought you here."

Humming punctuated our conversation in the background as I nodded my head in acknowledgement and spoke, "He didn't."

"Then how did you find us?"

"I didn't. The dragon did."

"That was you I saw in the ice. Your dragon caused quite a stir."

"Not my dragon and they are hard to miss."

"True," she said deadpan, "and now what?"

I took a deep breath and said looking directly at her, "Taurin wants me to cure Soschen."

The humming turned into quiet chanting at my words. Taurin's daughter turned stoic as she said something to her grandmother, never taking her eyes off of me.

"How kind of him," she commented.

I rubbed my hands across the grains of the table that I walked next to. Her words didn't sound thankful at all.

Her grandmother spoke up harshly in admonishing tones. The granddaughter spit back words as she approached closer to the workbench she was kneading dough on. The kneading stopped and the elder crossed her muscular arms with a glare at the younger woman. Her angry words stopped abruptly and she sharply turned, that majestic hair of hers floating around her in a a way I've never seen hair do. I watched entranced as I followed sparks jump and travel through the strands.

We made eye contact and she opened her mouth to say something, probably not nice, but not before her grandmother thumped her in the back of the head. I hid my amusement quickly by looking down at the floor. It didn't take me long to become composed due to the seriousness of the subject matter.

I spoke quietly, "Truce?"

"When I was eight the joining wind blessed the union of our family. It blessed us. We were suppose to be blessed." She shook her head in denial. "We weren't blessed. It was a demon lie. My mother tried to kill him several times. Ice Hoth was her favorite," she laughed wickedly.

I knew the outcome of that. It didn't work. Taurin used it in a moment of not quite self pity, or maybe it was. It worked in his system like a drug, not death.

The elder woman spoke again and gestured at me repeatedly. Maureen pursed her lips and nodded aggressively. "She wants you to know that she believes in Taurin so, therefore, she believes in you." She sighed, "We don't know what will happen if you succeed. The demon magic in her is too strong. Or she's too weak. We don't know. What will you do if you wake her and she is still a threat?"

The question seemed rhetorical to me and I didn't have an answer for her anyway. It's what Taurin wanted me to do. I just didn't know if it was the right thing to do either. I sat down and realized that this would be exactly like the rest of my life, on the fly. Maureen sat opposite of me.