Free Black Widow Demon by Paula Altenburg Page A

spoke of?
    The swirls of color around the boy deepened, sharpened. Then long, orange maggots crawled out of the setting sun, and Raven drew in a harsh breath as they came for her.
    She was not ready. She could not do this alone again. It was Blade and his dark, steady strength she wanted beside her now, when the colors and demon darkness threatened, and not this boy who readily acknowledged he had less to offer her by way of protection.
    Although in truth, no one could save her. She knew what her demon father’s deepest desire had become, and not even her mother’s amulet could stop him from pursuing it. When darkness descended, demons would come for her.
    Little demon
, he had called her.
    It was what Justice called her, too, but for very different reasons.
    The boy’s lips moved, but Raven, caught in the beginnings of another hallucination, had trouble understanding him. She thought he said, “I have a message for you.” Then he half rose, turning his head as he did so. His next words were clear and unmistakable. “Someone’s coming.”
    Hope flared, then as quickly died. If it was Blade, he was too late to help. The orange maggots had already reached her, swarming over her lower body, crawling under the coat that covered her and up her bare legs.
    She writhed in pain, shrieking as the oily acid residue from their bodies burned into her skin. “Get them off me! Get them off me! Get them off me!”
    The boy froze in mid-crouch, alarm and confusion as to what he should do transparent on his face. He stared stupidly at the gag grasped in one of his hands. His battle with indecision ended abruptly, and he vanished, the strip of cloth fluttering to the ground in his wake.
    …
    Blade would bet money that the man waiting for him in front of the rooming house was the Godseeker, Justice.
    He estimated the remaining fingers of time until sunset, debated changing his course, then discarded the thought. He had no wish to speak with the Godseeker but could hardly avoid him without raising suspicion, and the fact that Justice was waiting for him meant he was suspicious of something already.
    The older man was heavier set than Blade, although not as tall, but the bulk of his weight appeared to be muscle. The potential for cruelty creased his eyes and the corners of his mouth, unpleasantly reminiscent of Blade’s dead uncle. As a young boy he had not been able to defend himself. He remembered well the impotence of his situation.
    A boy, however, eventually grew into a man. For a woman, there would be no hope of escape.
    “Good afternoon,” the Godseeker said to him as Blade limped closer to the steps.
    Blade saw the man’s glance flicker to his leg, then away, but not before he had registered the Godseeker’s contempt. He did not take offense from it. When Blade had first been crippled, he’d wished for death. He had resented the similar looks he’d received from men who dismissed him as having no real value because of his handicap. In truth, he had valued himself even less than they did. Long before his leg was healed, however, he had learned that the measure of a man was not based on the length of his stride.
    He nodded to the Godseeker but did not stop as he passed him. He placed one foot on the bottom step and reached for the railing to help drag him upward.
    “A moment, friend.”
    Blade froze, turned, and met the man’s eyes.
I am not your friend
.
    The unspoken correction hung in the air between them. Surprise punctured the Godseeker’s arrogance, and he reassessed his approach. A new look entered his eyes, as if he thought he should know Blade but could not quite place his face.
    Blade’s infamy in this part of the world had once been legendary, but more than ten years had passed. He had changed.
    He waited for the older man to speak again.
    “What brings you to Goldrush?” the Godseeker asked.
    Blade shrugged. “It was in my path.”
    Justice folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a post as if