The Demon Creed (A Demon Outlaws Novel) (Entangled Edge) by Paula Altenburg Page A

provide him with satisfactory answers .
    How pitiful she was that she could be swayed from her purpose, even for a moment, by such a small gesture that was undoubtedly empty.
    She crept through the great room and into the hall leading to the bedrooms, making her way by memory and the moonlight dappling the floors. She stepped around the loose board in front of Bear’s door that had a tendency to creak. The long, low, familiar rumble of his snores followed by the heaving of bedsprings told her he slept soundly.
    She reached her own door and slipped inside.
    The room was plain, with its chipped furnishings that had seen better days, but clean and private. Next to the tall window a low commode held a neat runner, a wash basin and pitcher, a warped mirror, and her hairbrush. Along the back ran a rack for her drying cloth. Inside the commode’s cupboard was a chamber pot. Three drawers housed her intimates—undergarments, clean washcloths, and other personal items. A wardrobe held three dresses, a plain, raw-cotton blouse, and a pair of trousers. On a stand beside her narrow bed was a stub of a candle. Her night gown hung over the back of a hand-strung chair.
    All traces of Ash had been removed, and she could not say when or how.
    She curled her feet under her skirt as she sat on the floor beneath her window, her arms on the ledge, her chin on her arms, and stared at the stable. She had to be stronger than this. She had no tears left in her anyway.
    As her terror and self-loathing eased, she pulled her thoughts into order. The demon posing as a Godseeker assassin had said something else that was of importance to her. I know nothing of your son or what may have happened to him .
    If he was to be believed, that meant she had no one to turn to but Bear. She stared pensively into the night. Whether or not she believed him, she would not get any answers from him. Demons took. They did not give.
    She wanted her son back. But how was she to tell Bear what she had discovered and be certain he would fulfill his promise to her? Would he tell her the truth about Ash if she gave him the information about Creed that he wanted?
    Would he really let her go so she could find her son?
    She went to bed, although she did not sleep well.
    …
    The next morning brought her no closer to answers. Dawn stole over the mountains to settle in the foothills and around the ranch.
    She lifted her head from her pillow, blinking awake with eyes scratchy from poor sleep and spent tears. She swung her feet to the floor and gripped the edge of her bed. She had not taken the time to undress, which was just as well. Bear would be up early and expecting his breakfast on the table.
    No allowances would be made for the whoring he had also expected of her.
    She smoothed her clothing as best she could. She had no urge to face Creed again. If she was lucky, he would be long gone. She could then tell Bear that yes, she had discovered something about the assassin he could use, and force him to tell her about Ash before revealing anything to him. Let him try to beat it from her again. He had not succeeded in doing so last night.
    Bracing herself, she reached for the door. She had also resisted the lure of a demon, and should take pride in that, too. She was not as weak as she had thought.
    Bear was seated at the table when she entered the kitchen.
    Instinctive, ingrained fear leaped in her chest despite her determination to contain it, leaving her dizzy, but then she saw he did not seem bothered by her late appearance. She moved to the stove.
    “I’ll have your breakfast ready in a few moments,” she said.
    “Leave it.” He splayed a giant, work-worn palm on the table. As his fingers flexed a splash of sunlight caught the fine, graying hairs on his knuckles, transfixing her attention so that she could not seem to look away. “What did you learn?”
    Now that the moment of her rebellion had arrived, Nieve discovered she was not as brave as she’d thought. Then Ash’s