Demon Lost by Connie Suttle Page A

be hung there—dressing and undressing occurred on the bench or flagstone floor surrounding the rectangular pool. No other rooms occupied the building—the pool took up most of the space. Undressing hurriedly anyway, I hung up my clothing and slipped into the hot water with a grateful sigh of pleasure.
    "Little cook, I haven't seen you here before," Delvin's hop into the water woke me from a light doze. I'd fallen asleep while sitting on the stone bench built along the inside of the pool.
    "And you shouldn't come in alone if there's a chance you might fall asleep," he warned with a grin. I knew the dangers of that—I just hadn't realized how tired I was. Deliberately not looking down into the clear water as Delvin sat two armlengths away, I nervously agreed with his statement.
    "Don't worry, nobody is going to bother you here, just enjoy the bath," Delvin looked away. I remembered that he was probably a wizard, just as Bel was. I had only seen the other Rangers in passing and didn't know any names. I barely knew most of the kitchen staff now—I'd always been terrible with names. Perhaps it was self-protection. If I didn't know them, they couldn't hurt me as badly. I hadn't gotten close to anyone during my military training or as cook for the Governor of the Realm—my last official assignment for the Alliance had certainly turned out badly.
    "I heard you saw the dusting the other day," Delvin went on.
    "I did," I lifted my hands from the water—my fingers were quite wrinkled. How long had I dozed off?
    "I've only seen it a time or two in daylight," Delvin admitted. "Not much fun if you're close enough to get hit with the particles."
    "I was inside the kitchen," I admitted. "Close enough to see but the walls kept me from getting hit."
    "I didn't sleep much after I saw it the first time," Delvin said.
    "I kept wondering about the man he'd been before," I muttered.
    "I agree. Demons don't turn anything else, you know," Delvin told me conversationally. "If they're hungry and there's no humanoid available, they'll eat animals. Otherwise, they leave them alone. They prefer tender flesh—women and children—when they feed. They generally choose to turn the males and devour the others."
    That was information I had no desire to hear. No wonder Commander Aris worried about the women at the outpost. "Are there other posts nearby?" I should have kept that question to myself—my curiosity could reveal my ignorance and give my alien status away. Delvin didn't seem surprised at the question, causing me to relax a little.
    "Two more—twenty trids in both directions," he pointed to the east and west. Trids were old measurements—one could walk a trid in half a click. That meant a ten-click trek in either direction, unless one had transport. A full click might get you there in that fashion.
    "Look who's here," Bel walked in with the Commander and one of the other Rangers. It made sense—they were served before the troops. I'd most likely invaded their time in the baths.
    "I'll go," I said, blushing. I was about to get out with four sets of male eyes on me.
    "No, stay a while," Delvin grinned. My chin came to the top of the water, whereas his shoulders were above the surface of the steaming pool. I stayed—Delvin didn't seem to think it was a bad thing that I was there.
    "Get out of the kitchens early?" Bel dropped into the water on my other side. I was looking straight ahead so as not to embarrass myself. None of the others were embarrassed in the slightest. Commander Aris slipped in beside Bel, with the Ranger I didn't know next to him. I turned to look into Bel's eyes.
    "Widnal and I had the breakfast schedule so we could work with the two new cooks," I replied honestly.
    "When can we get more of the toasted roundbread with bacon, egg and sauce?" The last Ranger leaned forward to ask. "I'm Hish, by the way."
    Hish had blue eyes and straight, close-cropped brown hair. His face was weathered, just as the other Rangers' were. "I need