Free Demons End (Tremble Island) by Lynn Ray Lewis Page B

advantage of her weakened state, even if his intention was to feed her the energy she needed.
    “I am a Demon Prince. That is the reason you cannot end my life by drawing the energy that you need from me to feed your banshee. Has no one spoken to you of this before? Your mother perhaps? To give you the truth, a demon is most likely the only being on Echo that you will not harm from feeding the Hag. You are safe with me. You should know the Demon Leroi who resides at our journey’s end is also immune to your gift of death.”
    Again he found himself flying through the air, this time he landed with a thud in the dirt by the pathway. What did he say to piss her off? He looked to where she had been and no sign of her remained. When he walked to the spot, he saw the prints of a hunting cat. It seemed that he guessed correctly, his intended was indeed a pussycat. He smiled to himself as he walked along the worn path, following the group from Tremble.
    Wensel caught up to the party as they broke the journey for the night. She took Aria to the small pond and let the little one dive and play in the water while she bathed the evidence of her time with Koler away.
    He asked about her mother, but she had known the female only a short time before she was found with her head severed from her body while in human form. If she had been using her banshee form at the time, no one would have been able to gain access to her, at least not close enough to sever her head and live to tell the tale. Her half brother was the only family that she knew of. Her father was dead. He had sacrificed his last breath as he gave his seed over to the needs of the female absorbing the last of his energy. Until today, she believed the only way to gain a child was to hold back her nature until the male let his seed go, then use his aura, leaving him a husk, dead, but happily oblivious to the fact.
    The entire scene with the demon disturbed her. She knew he watched her, but when he pulled her into the grassy bed and lain her down upon it, she was too surprised to stop him. She had been so weary from worrying about Aria, and that female, Alura, not to mention coming back to Morlien Hall, that her defenses were down. She was careful at Tremble Castle not to suck in the energy that surrounded the beings there. She had no wish to harm those who sought to help her. So she only breathed in surface emotions while there. It left her weak, but she did not frighten or kill anyone while a guest there either.
    As they gathered for the evening meal, Koler stayed close to her and Aria. It seemed that everytime she looked up, he was there, not speaking, just there. It gave her a warm feeling to know he was watching over them. Why, she had no idea, and fell asleep remembering how perfectly his body fit into hers, and the fire in his purple eyes as he looked at her in passion. Was it possible to feel affection for such a being? He was certainly handsome enough to turn any female’s head toward romantic dreams. His arrogance and insults took a great deal of his attraction away. She fell to sleep with the picture of his curved horns gripped in her hands.
    *****
    Within moments of jumping from her mate’s back, Rane ran to the water’s edge and dove in as soon as the water was deep enough. She had to cool her desires before she disgraced herself by throwing off her clothing, and ordering Lion to shift so he could take care of her needs. She heard a splash behind her but ignored it. Half of the creatures in the force from Tremble had gathered at the small pond, and there was no sharp bends to hope for privacy anywhere along the shoreline. The opposite shoreline was forested, but there was too much for Lion to tend to back at the camp, to take time away long enough to satisfy her needs. Nord was nowhere to be seen by the time they stopped for the night.
    She was about to reluctantly turn back to camp when thick arms surrounded her body. Her squeak was from being startled, not fright.