Ruby Shadows by Evangeline Anderson

“Here, give him
this.”
    Reaching into the
air, I pulled out an apple—a rather large one as the steed was
built to carry a twelve foot demon.
    Reluctantly,
Gwendolyn took the apple from my hand. “Really? You want me to feed
him?”
    “ Really.” I nodded at the horse. “Go on—give it to
him.”
    I watched with
interest as the horse lipped the apple from her palm and crunched
it messily. Such animals were usually fed on living flesh—which I
did not tell Gwendolyn—but this one seemed to have retained enough
of its mortal ancestry to enjoy other things as well.
    Gwendolyn asked for
another apple, which I obligingly produced. As the horse ate it
from her palm, she tentatively reached up and stroked its glossy
black neck. She had to stand on her tiptoes since the animal was so
massive but she did it without fear.
    “ Good boy,” I heard her mu rmur. “Are you a good boy?”
    The horse snorted and nudged her again with its huge
head—clearly Yerx’s massive Demon-steed was taken with my little
witch.
    I
must confess I was impressed—not just by Gwendolyn’s mastery of her
fear but by the fact that the horse came so quickly under her sway.
It was the second animal from my realm which had shown itself
partial to her. Cerberus, of course, was not to be trusted but
he had surprised me in his
attentions to the little witch. Could it be she had some power over
the denizens of Hell? Or were they simply unable to resist her
innate goodness, much as I was unable to resist myself?
    Gwendolyn fed the
horse several more apples and then I decided it was time to send
him on his way back.
    “ Enough,” I told her, taking her by the arm to lead her a
little ways away. “I must send him back to the Great Barrier now.
Back to where he belongs.”
    “ What, so he can carry that nasty big demon around all day?”
she protested. “No offense to your ‘friend’ but he must weigh a
ton—literally! That can’t be good for the poor horse’s
back!”
    “ I
thought you didn’t like him,” I said dryly, eyeing the horse which
was sidling up to us, trying to get close to Gwendolyn
again.
    “ Well maybe I changed my mind,” she said defensively. “He’s
not so bad once you get to know him and it would be a lot easier
riding him than trudging through Hell on foot.”
    “ He’s a very noticeable steed,” I objected. “Riding him would
draw unwanted attention and make it much easier for the Hellspawn
to track us.”
    “ But that thing is already on my trail,” she objected. “And if
we’re mounted on the horse when it finds us, I’m sure he could
outrun it. We’ll actually have a better chance of getting away and staying safe if we keep
him.”
    I saw that she
really wanted to keep the horse. Despite myself, I was charmed all
over again by her courage. She loved and befriended even the most
fearsome creatures—it made me hope, deep inside, that maybe she
might find love in her heart for a monster like me as well. I could
deny her nothing—still, I pretended to deliberate.
    “ Well…” I murmured, crossing my arms over my chest.
    “ Please, Laish?” She put a hand on my arm which I liked a
lot—she hardly ever touched me voluntarily and I badly wanted her
to.
    “ All right,” I said at last, taking her hand in mine. “If it
means so much to you.”
    “ It does.” She squeezed my hand. “I don’t know why, but it
does. Thank you, Laish.”
    “ You are welcome,” I said simply. “And now, if you can tear
your attention away from your new pet long enough, I believe the
ferry has arrived.”
    Gwendolyn pulled her
hand from mine and turned quickly, scanning the sluggish waters of
the Styx.
    Sure enough, a long, flat barge appeared out of the mist,
coming slowly toward us. It was captained by a tall figure shrouded
in tattered black rags. His face was hidden by a black hood but I had
traversed the Styx often enough to know what he looked like beneath
that ragged veil.
    “ Charon,” Gwendolyn breathed as