Page 4 of A Demon King Called Kerak
Stories passed down through the families of the first settlers spoke of vampires and werewolves moving in the darkest parts of the forest. There were other creatures mentioned, too.Some that walked among humans, not always recognizable as anything other than ordinary.
Reid knew it to be true.
He was certain the man walking a step ahead of him, the man whose company he’d come to crave, was something completelyother.
Kerak moved over the steep, rocky path with inhuman grace, never missing a step and often turning to help Reid navigate the more difficult areas. He’d asked Reid to join him on a stroll after church. Once they’d set out, Kerak said what he really wanted was to show Reid his claim.
Reid probably should have been nervous. The midday sun beat down on them, making sweat dampen every part of Reid’s body. Not to mention the sheer exertion of the climb. Meanwhile, Kerak looked as cool and composed as ever.
When they reached a flatter section of trail, Kerak stopped.
“Let’s rest here a moment.”
Reid knew it was for his benefit, but he didn’t argue. Finding a patch of shade beneath a nearby tree, Reid sat down and rested his back against the trunk, thankful to be out of the sun. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing back to normal.
“Here,” Kerak said, closer than he’d been a moment ago.
Reid’s eyes popped open, finding Kerak kneeling beside him with a canteen in his outstretched hand. He must’ve had it in the bag he’d been carrying strapped to his back. Reid took it gratefully and sighed as the cool water coated his throat.
“Thank you.” Reid offered the canteen back. Kerak lifted it to his own mouth, taking a slow drink, gaze never leaving Reid’s.
“We’re close now, but the worst of the trail is up ahead.”
Reid looked off toward the way they were headed. “It getsworsethan this?”
Kerak chuckled. “It does. But…there’s an easier way if you’re willing.”
Reid narrowed his eyes. Kerak was so close he could smell the spicy scent of whatever cologne the other man wore. “What way is that?”
Kerak stood and removed the backpack. “First, stand up please.”
Doing as Kerak asked, Reid pushed himself back to his feet.
“Put this on.”
“This is supposed to make it easier?” Taking the straps of the pack from Kerak, Reid threaded his arms through them, settling the pack on his own back.
“Yes.” Kerak turned, giving Reid his back, and lowered into a half-squat. “Jump on.”
“W-what?” Reid took an involuntary step back. Not only was the suggestion highly unusual, but it was also ridiculous. Kerak obviously hadn’t been struggling with the terrain as much as Reid was, but he surely would with someone else on his back. “Are you serious? There’s no way you cancarryme up the rest!”
Instead of answering, Kerak turned his head until Reid could see one dark eye and the quirked eyebrow above it. It was a dare. A taunt.
Huffing, Reid stepped forward. “You’re crazy.” He rested his hands on Kerak’s shoulders and hopped onto the man’s back. Kerak didn’t stumble. Didn’t rock forward. He only stood up and used his strong hands on Reid’s thighs to get him situated.
“Hang on.”
That’s all the warning Reid got before Kerak was moving forward at a clip that was utterly impossible for a normal person, even without the added weight of a full-grown man on their back. And Reid was…in awe. Instead of bouncing around like riding a horse over rough terrain, Kerak’s movement was somehow smooth, almost graceful. If Reid couldn’t actually see Kerak’s feet, he wouldn’t have believed he was touching the ground. It honestly felt like flying.
Reid wrapped his arms tighter around Kerak’s shoulders and shut his eyes against the feel of the wind rushing over his face. If he’d had doubts about Kerak being something more than human, they were gone now. His heart raced in his chest, exhilaration pounding through him. He wondered if Kerak could feel it where his chest was pressed so tightly against the muscled expanse of Kerak’s back.
He should be afraid. He knew that. But the fear wouldn’t come. Kerak had been visiting the saloon for weeks, had walked Reid home, and could’ve killed him a hundred times over.
But he hadn’t, and Reid was choosing to trust what he’d been shown. Now, he was showing Reid this. Sharing more of himself without saying a word.
Kerak carried them up the final steep incline of the hill without missing a step and slowed as they reached the top. The landflattened out, giving way to a clearing leading right up to the edge of a cliff with a backdrop of trees on the other side.
“Oh wow,” Reid said, sliding down from Kerak’s back. He walked closer to the edge. It felt like the whole world stretched out before them in green and gold and blue.
