Demon Bound: The Camelot Archive - Book One, R Nicole [top romance novels .TXT] 📗

He’d wedged himself between the rocks like a wounded animal, waiting for help or death, whichever came first.

“Elijah?”

The sound of my voice roused him and his head jerked towards me. Sensing his Darkness rising, I jumped down beside him and grasped his face.

“It’s me,” I murmured. “Madeleine.”

That was when I realised he was covered in blood. It was smeared across his face and his T-shirt was tacky to the touch.

His power began to subside as his eyes focused on me. “Madeleine?”

“What happened to you?” I checked his pupils before I dragged his shirt up, looking for the source of the blood.

“Can’t wait to get my clothes off, huh?” he rasped, swatting at my hands.

“Stay still.” I shook my head and lifted the material away from his chest.

I swallowed my shock when I saw what the darkness was concealing. Three long gouges tore through his flesh, blood seeping from each one. It was difficult to tell how deep they were in the dark, but I didn’t have to get out a ruler to understand how bad it was—or what had put them there.

“Elijah…”

“That bad, huh?” He coughed and grimaced as the movement pulled at his wounds.

“I have to get you back to Camelot.”

“No,” he rasped, “I can’t go there.”

“I can’t leave you out in the open like this,” I told him. “If a patrol finds you lying here, they’ll drag you in for questioning. If I’m with you, at least they’ll give you a chance.”

He grabbed the lapels of my jacket and jerked me close. “I won’t go there.” His eyes flashed silver, his demonic side struggling against his humanity.

“Elijah, we don’t have a choice.”

“If I’m going to die, then I’m going to die free.”

I hissed and helped him sit. “Why are men so stubborn?”

“I have a place,” he told me, grasping at his chest.

I doubted his ‘place’ wasn’t hospital-grade, but if he wouldn’t let me take him back to base camp, then it was better than out in the open. “Is it safe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out.” I sighed and threaded my arm underneath his and around his back. I heaved, using my Light to help get his bulk upright.

He grimaced and his knees buckled. If it wasn’t for me, he would’ve collapsed, and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back up.

“Did I call you?” he asked absently.

“Yeah,” I replied, covering my concern, “you called me.”

* * *

Elijah guided me away from Camelot to a part of the hills I hadn’t seen before. Well outside the limits of Camelot’s illusions, we found ourselves back in human territory.

It was slow going, but we staggered out of the hills and into a valley dotted with the beginnings of a forest.

We limped down a lane and around a bend before Elijah told me to stop by a copse of trees. “There.”

I eased him against the stacked stone fence beside the lane. “I’m going to check inside.”

He nodded, unable to help me even if he wanted.

Walking through the opening in the fence, I sent out a soft pulse of Light to scan my surroundings. The wave brushed up against some wards, and I stepped through to reveal Elijah’s refuge.

It was an old crofter’s cottage. The small, dark stone building had once belonged to a farmer who’d tended a field or two in centuries past. From the outside, it looked abandoned. Ivy tangled around the single chimney and one side of the house, giving it a haunted feel.

I walked up the uneven path. Nothing stirred other than the reverberations of the wards. Whatever he’d used to cloak this place, it wasn’t Natural or demonic. It was a power I hadn’t felt before and my suspicions began to grow.

The front door was unlocked. Easing it open, I stepped into the shadows.

To my surprise, the cottage was rather modern inside. Someone had updated the interior to include a simple kitchenette with a refrigerator and a functioning bathroom. The bed was in the living area as there wasn’t a separate bedroom anywhere.

I ran my fingers over an empty shelf and frowned. There was nothing here that could give me a glimpse at Elijah’s true identity. Every wall and surface were bare of personal effects. If he had a home, this certainly wasn’t it.

I returned to Elijah once I was satisfied there was no threat waiting for us.

“It hasn’t been touched,” I told him. “Let’s get you inside.”

We made it up the uneven path and into the cottage, hidden away from the outside world. For the moment, we were safe from both the Light and the Dark.

I helped Elijah onto the bed and eased his jacket off his shoulders. His face contorted in pain, but he didn’t make a sound. Next came his T-shirt.

There was a stack of candles on the bedside table that had dripped wax all over the place. I lit them with my Light, and a little warmth fell over the bed.

In the flickering candlelight, I could see his wounds. Three deep rents had opened him up from one side to the other, exposing muscle underneath. Nothing vital seemed to be punctured, but he’d lost a great deal of blood. He might be half-demon with his own brand of Darkness, but it wouldn’t save his human body from infection.

I wondered how he’d stood, let alone made it all the way here without blacking out. If I didn’t know he was half-demon, I’d be wondering why he wasn’t dead already.

“Don’t give me that look,” he muttered, his gaze on the floor.

“Lie back, okay? I’m going to clean you up.”

I found some washcloths in the bathroom and a bowl in the kitchen. I filled the latter with water and returned to Elijah’s bedside. Soaking the cloth, I wrung it out and began to clear the blood from his chest.

Once I could see what I was doing, I began to manipulate my Light around the torn flesh. It must have been painful, but he didn’t move, his eyes