I never thought that my life would be in the hands of a demon. We were taught since birth that they were dangerous and evil.

Beware their words, they’re binding

Beware their eyes, they’re beguiling

Beware their song, it’s frightening

Beware their grip, it’s crushing

Beware, beware they’re deadly.

We were taught this poem lest we encounter one and forget. I had wondered if this was just a scary story to keep children in line, at least until I met Sol.

When she pulled me off the cliff near Wallow, I was sure that she meant to kill me. Even when I had survived the fall and was kept prisoner, I was certain. Then she stood up for me in front of her own people and offered to die for me.

I thought she was joking, that it was some elaborate trick devised by her and her lord to get me to let my guard down. I had already told her my name, but maybe all they lacked was my trust. Maybe they had plans for me to betray my people.

Sol’s kindness in comparison to my guards’ brutality made me certain that was the case, but for a brief moment, when she opened her robe and threatened my guards, I thought she was beautiful. Her confidence in front of those men made my heart skip and my face heat despite better judgement.

I cursed myself over and over in my head; I couldn’t let my guard down. I had Claire waiting at home for me, but the chances of us ever seeing each other again seemed slim.

It wasn’t until Sol appeared before me in the middle of the night, her face flushed and her robes in disarray, that I felt my heart soften toward her. She smiled at me and I couldn’t help but return it. I was resigned to my fate, I was sure that I was to die soon. Even the cold water of the sea had convinced me this was to be true and yet I clung to her warm body and breathed in the scent of almonds from her curly hair.

Hope kept me from attacking her even as we had reached the shore. I wanted to kiss her in thanks, but hid my elation with my suspicion. Beware, beware they’re deadly, echoed in my mind. Even so, I wanted to thank her for my freedom. I opened my mouth to say the words as she was leaving, but fate decided to punish her at that moment.

A patrol had discovered us on the beach; they thought they were rescuing me from a demon. They were the men from Wallow, men that had accompanied me in our hunt for the demon, men who had thought me dead.

They dragged Sol’s unconscious body from the sea and onto the beach. One man crouched over her and raised his knife.

“Don’t kill her!” I shouted from the cave. They looked at me in surprise.

“Ryaa? How?” my friend William said. “I didn’t recognize you!”

I ran my hand over my beard. Was I really that unrecognizable? Well it was night and their torches and lanterns barely illuminated the beach around us.

William seized me in a bear hug and lifted me off my feet. “Ryaa! I thought you were dead! Your father will be relieved.”

I gritted my teeth. “So he will…” I said. William set me down on my feet and walked beside me as I approached the demon. “Who’s in charge?” I asked the men.

“That’d be me,” a gray-haired man said. “You’re Ryaa, Aaron Kane’s son?” I nodded. “We thought you were dead, heard that a demon pulled you off a cliff.”

I smiled. “Well, it’s true that a demon pulled me off a cliff, but I survived.” I moved closer to Sol and crouched next to her still form. I placed two fingers against her throat and felt the strong pulse in her veins. “Good,” I whispered under my breath. “What were your plans for the demon?”

“Well, we were just going to kill this one, no point in leaving such a dangerous thing alive.”

“Let me take her, Shephard Stone in Naomi has been looking for some demon specimens,” I replied.

“That so? I recall some Naomi men came by about a week ago talking about that.”

“So, will you let me?”

The man rubbed his chin. “Seeing as she’s already subdued and not threatening anyone… I’ll allow it.”

“Thanks, are any of the Naomi men still about?”

“Yes, at the tavern,” William said. “I’ll take you.”

I removed the net from Sol’s body and lifted her off the sand. I was surprised by how light she was compared to the strength that she possessed. Her head lolled to the side and I could see her face illuminated by the torchlight. Despite the bruise forming on her forehead she looked cute. My heart skipped in my chest and I felt my face heat in embarrassment

She’s still a demon, I thought to myself. They’re dangerous.

The men stepped back warily as I carried Sol’s limp body up the beach. William fell in beside me with a lantern. “Are you sure you just want to carry her like that? What if she wakes up and escapes?”

“Here, hold her,” I said and placed her body in his arms. He stiffened immediately and air escaped his lips in a hiss. I ignored it and pulled my shirt off and tore it into strips. I then proceeded to secure Sol’s wrists. Until her tail dried I would it would be difficult to secure her lower half as well. Finishing my chore I took her back into my arms.

“So,” William said as we began to walk again. “Where were you all this time?”

“I had been captured by the demons, but managed to escape.”

“Captured? They didn’t kill you? Did they torture you?”

“Obviously if they killed me I wouldn’t be here. Actually this one saved my life and released me.”

“Huh.” William looked at me sideways. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “You managed to charm a demon? He didn’t touch you did he?”

“What? No! And he’s a she.”

“She…really?”

“See for yourself.” I pulled aside Sol’s robes to reveal the mounds of flesh hidden by them.

“Holy… wait until I tell the lads. No wonder the tales speak of sirens.”

We reached the tavern in silence after traveling along the road for half an hour. My arms ached from the exertion, but I didn’t want William to carry her. What if he hurt her?

As soon as we entered the tavern the conversation softened then died when they saw Sol in my arms. Though her tail had disappeared, the strange sheen of her black hair still marked her as a demon. The stares instantly grew hostile as the bar tender came around the counter. “Why are you bringing such filth into my tavern Kane?”

“I’m looking for my men. We were sent to capture one alive.”

“In the back,” the bar tender said jerking his thumb toward a door to his left. “If that thing wakes up and makes a mess you’ll be paying for the damages.”

“Yes, Sir, I understand.”

William pushed the door into the back room open. The room was usually reserved for private games and meetings. Tonight it seemed that they had reserved it for the former. I immediately recognized the five men that I had traveled with from Naomi.

They looked up from their cards and stared at me as if they had seen a ghost. “Ryaa?” my friend Locke said as he rose slowly from his chair. Cards fell onto the table from his limp fingers.

I lifted Sol higher in my arms. “I caught her,” I said.

The room erupted in cheers and I was slapped on the back by several hands, but for some reason I didn’t feel like celebrating. When Sol had taken me prisoner she had never cheered or seemed gleeful that she had taken away my freedom. Instead she made it a point to treat me kindly until her ultimate decision to free me. Even the other demons below had not cheered at my presence. They feared me; they hated me, but were never glad to keep me chained.

“I thought for sure that we had lost you out on the cliffs. Where were you all this time?”

“I was held captive by the demons until this one decided to let me go.”

“What?”

“Lucky bastard!”

“Gods bless.”

I was slapped on the back a few more times. “Well now, let me take a look at what you caught,” said Brant, the leader of the Naomi group. I laid Sol out on the table among the cards and mugs. Brant poked her cheeks, inspected her teeth and eyes and lifted her arms and legs. The bleeding of her wounds had stopped, but her clothing and skin was caked in drying blood and sand. I felt my face flush in annoyance. “If it wasn’t for her hair I would think she was one of us,” he said, his inspection over.

I immediately picked Sol up and cradled her gently in my arms. If she had been one of us Brant would not have looked her over like prized game. I looked at her still sleeping form, grateful that she hadn’t been awake for what was done to her.

“W-where are we going to put her?” I stuttered. I knew my face must still look flushed by the cautious stare Brant gave me.

“We can put her in the cage we brought for now. In the morning you and Locke can take her back to Naomi while the rest of us finish our tasks,” Brant said. “It’s good to have you back, son.”

“Yeah, hurry up and lock that thing up before having a drink with us!”

“Well done lad.”

I nodded in acknowledgement. “Are you still at the inn down the road?”

“Yes, Locke give him the keys… better yet just go with him.”

“Yes, Sir.”

William and I followed Locke out of the tavern a little ways down the road to the small inn called Seaside. In the hind part of the inn was a small stable where the men had left their carts, horses, and hounds. The dogs immediately began to bark as we approached the carts. For a moment I feared that the noise would wake Sol, but her breath remained deep and even.

Locke jumped into the back of the cart and unlocked a cage big enough to fit a man while on his knees. “Here, pass it up,” Locke said motioning with his hands. I hesitated a moment before kicking myself mentally. She would be safer in the cage then by my side, especially because the villagers were scared of demons.

After passing her up I climbed into the cart after them and watched as my friend set her down in the cage and secured the padlock. Laying there she looked small and fragile. I felt horrible leaving her there after she had freed me. I wondered if she would hate me now.

I crouched and touched the back of her hand. “Good night, Sol,” I whispered.