Bear & Donkey
Devil’s light connected withthe side of the bear’s face. The massive beast swung its head around, spotted him, and dug its claws into the earth. But the momentum of its great body still carried it directly toward Will, who flattened himself against a tree trunk and closed his eyes, turning his head away. I watched, half-horrified and half-entranced, as the bear’s form began to change. It was a shimmer, a ripple of light, but then the powerful legs contorted and the snout shrank back, the fur fell away and the creature ran on two legs. It came to a halt so close to Will that it had to throw out its arms and brace against the tree to avoid slamming into him.
But the bear was a man now—the most muscular, wildest-looking man I’d ever seen. He stood tall and pale, with brown hair falling in ragged mats past his shoulders, and a beard long enough to brush the hair covering his chest. He was also completely naked. When Will opened his eyes and took in the sight, his face turned a furious shade of red.
“Am I to be denied such a mouthwatering meal?” the bear-man asked in a deep, rumbling voice, looking to Devil with a feral grin.
Devil just shrugged, also smiling. “It cannot be helped, my friend. At least, not today.” He moved closer and the naked man stepped away from Will to clap him on the back as they both laughed. Frantically, I extricated myself from the blueberry bush, and my grunts of frustration seemed to snap Will out of his terrified daze.
“May!” he croaked, pulling away from the tree and stumbling toward me. “You’re alright! Oh,thank the Father!” I sank into the feeling of his arms around me and the erratic sound of his breath. Once I’d come to grips with the fact thathe was real, that he was solid and alive and standing in front of me, however, I let go and brought both my fists down hard on his chest.
“What thefuckare you doing here?!” I cried.
“May!” Will grabbed my wrists, looking startled, but I could hear Devil and the bear-man, Jon, snickering away behind me. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Why are you here, idiot?” I railed, yanking my balled fists away from him. “You refused to run with me, refused to do a single gods-damned thing I asked! I begged you, Will! I gave you every chance to choose me and you didn’t, so why the fuck are you here now?!”
“I-I came to find you! After the tournament…I couldn’t remember…everything was so distant and dark, but they said I got into some sort of fight…” He put a hand to the wound on his cheek. “Afterwards, I found Tuck, and he hadn’t seen you, so I went to the courtyard. Your bag was there, with all your things, and then…I found that coin in the fountain. It was blank, and I knewhemust’ve come for you. I couldn’t stand it, May…” He put his fingers up to my face, running them along my cheek, but I smacked them away and pulled him in to examine the wound on on his face.
More snickers from Devil, and I shot him a look. “This is your fault! You said your magyk would change their memories!”
“Ah, yes, I did say that,” Devil chuckled, “but you ruined all my plans when you told dear Will here everything about our bargain. He knew I had called in your debt, and he knew where I would take you. My magyk could not alter that.”
“I’ve come to take her home,” Will said to Devil, his eyes hard and hateful. “May, you must come back, please. Tuck and Sissi and everyone at Locksley…they’re all worried sick. They think you ran away, because…because of Helena…” He looked as though he hadn’t slept in quite some time, and I saw with some shock that he was still wearing the same clothes from the tournament—the shirt and jerkin caked in dirt, and his own blood.
“What is there for me to come home to, Will?” I asked softly.
He didn’t reply, but Devil did, his voice nearly a snarl. “Nothing, that’s what! And she isn’t going anywhere until she’s paid her debt to me, so scamper off, you jackass.”
“Then I’m not leaving either,” Will said firmly. “Not until she does.”
Devil just folded his arms and sneered, “How touching, but you are not welcome here, Will Scarlett. Not by me, and certainly not by anyone else.”
“Oh, I dunno,” said Jon, folding his arms and looking at Will as if reconsidering gnawing on his bones, “he seems harmless enough, Rob. Not even the guts toshoot me.” Will’s body tensed under my touch, and I put my fingers around his wrist, a silent plea for him to keep his mouth shut.
“You promised I’d have answers about my debt at the revelry tonight,” I said to Devil.
“Yes.”
“Then let him stay in the Hollow, only for one night. That way…at least he knows…”
“Whether you intend to stay here?” Devil asked, a muscle working furiously in his jaw.
“Stay?” Will hissed. “What’s he talking about?”
“Hush!” I snapped. “Devil, you said you were at my command, and since you cannot lie, I am forced to assume it was the truth. Let him stay one night, unharmed. Please.” Devil’s eyes locked onto mine and I tried to maintain my passivity. If he saw how badly I wanted this, he might try to deny me out of pure spite.
“Onenight,” he said at last, and Jon looked at him with no small amount of surprise. “He does not wander away from the Hollow, he stays under guard, and…” A nefarious smile flickered over his features. “He goes back with us…blind.”
“Blind?” Will balked as Devil walked toward him, light gathering at his fingertips, but I held onto his arm tightly.
“It’s alright. He won’t hurt you.” Just to be sure, I gave Devil a glare. “Youwon’thurt him.”
“I’ll make no promises,” Devil said. “Magyk is not an animal, trained to do my bidding.”
“May, what—” Will began, but then Devil’s fireflies swarmed him and I had to grab his other wrist to prevent him from batting them away.
“What are you doing?” I snapped. “This is not how you blindfolded me at Arachne’s!”
