CHAPTER#35

The hedges had no discernible logic, but Beth was content to drift between them. After all, she would probably wake up the moment she reached the center, no matter when that happened. She greeted more of the statues, which had become larger and more intricate. An elephant used its trunk to tip its hat to her before resuming its gentle spray of water on the foliage.

Beneath the gazebo, a picnic style lunch had been spread out on a soft, red blanket. Wines, cheeses, and a tray of meats awaited her. Soft red cushions surrounded the picnic, and Beth sat down on one of them. Grabbing a bottle of wine, she poured herself a drink.

"I see that someone has joined me." His voice was thick with an accent very similar to Russian. Taking the cushion opposite her, he lifted the tails of his jacket before sitting. He wore a bright white button down with a purple coat and a matching top hat. His skin was dusky with hints of red in the shadows of his eye sockets, and when he removed his hat a tangle of black and red hair spilled around his shoulders. Two large horns protruded from the upper part of his forehead, and his toothy grin was full of daggers. His bright yellow eyes glowed in the shadows of the gazebo. "I am always in the mood for some good company."

"Ah shit." Beth set a piece of cheese back down on the blanket. "That's just fucking great. Now I can't eat any of this."

"Why not? I assure you that the food here is very good." To demonstrate, he popped a piece of cheese in his mouth. "Delicious."

"Oh, I'm sure it's delicious, but not immortal soul delicious." Beth crossed her arms. "'I'm guessing that if I eat the food, I get stuck here. Simple as that."

Her host never broke stride, his smile fixed. "Come now, why would I want to trap you here?"

"Duh." Beth held up a finger on each hand and stuck them to her forehead. "Demon."

The demon laughed. "Come now, you really must try this food, I picked it out just for you."

"Well, maybe just a bite." Beth lifted the glass in a mock salute. "After all, it isn't every day that a demon makes you a meal. What's the occasion?"

"Oh, I wish I could tell you," the demon replied. "Frankly, I am a little surprised to see you down here. Generally I am informed of my guests prior to meeting them. Your arrival was a bit of a shock."

"I see. Yet you have quite the spread." Beth spilled a bit of wine on the back of her hand. She wiped it off on her gown, licking her thumb clean. "Doesn't strike me as uninvited company."

"It does take you roughly half an hour to fall through the portal," the demon said. "That gives me some leeway."

"So why a garden?" Beth asked. "This place seems like it was ripped straight from Victorian England or something. Hello, the 1800s called, they want their garden back." Here, in this strange place, she was finally feeling like herself again. She lifted the wine glass to her lips.

"Oh, it was. I was trapped here some time ago by a very powerful man, but I managed to bring some real estate with me." The demon leaned forward, suddenly vanishing and appearing at Beth's side. He placed a hand on her wrist, stopping her before she could drink. "I'm afraid I avoided your question earlier. You definitely don't want to drink that, otherwise your soul becomes trapped here."

"Oh." Beth set the glass down. "Does this have to do with the man who sent me here?"

"That would be Master Sebastien. I'm afraid that per terms of my imprisonment, I often must do things I do not particularly find pleasant, such as trapping humans in this place."

"And eating would trap me here?"

The demon nodded. "It would."

"I don't see anybody else here," Beth noted.

"Oh, that's because most people don't last very long here." The demon frowned, taking Beth's glass from her hands. He sipped gently at the wine, his thick lips spread thin on the crystal glass.

"You kill them."

The demon nodded. "Usually. Or I wait until they throw themselves off the island. Whatever I find more entertaining."

"But why not me?" Beth asked. "Isn't it your job?"

"Not technically. The exact language involving my imprisonment here dictates that I must answer my master or his associates any three questions once every lunar cycle. Naturally, I try and get out of it if I can. I only have to answer yes or no. However, Sebastien has been gracious enough to provide me visitors on occasion, and I keep them alive as long as they interest me."

"So you can answer three questions? Any three questions?"

"Well, I can answer any question actually, without limitation. I could give the Society all the details they want, but someone forgot to put that in the language of the spell that bound me here."

"So I could ask any question and you could answer it?"

"Only if it pleases me." The demon grinned. "Go ahead. Try."

"Who was my first kiss?" Beth asked.

"Human or non-human? Family, non-family?"

"Are you stalling?" Beth leaned back on her cushion, her breasts pushing up against the fabric of her nightgown. She saw the demon's eyes flick down at her figure and then back.

"Hardly. Your mother was your first kiss. When you were three days old, she kissed you on the mouth. Out of reflex, you tried to suck her lips. It counts. Non-family and human was Victor beneath the bleachers in the seventh grade. You did it on a dare. Non-human was Mr. Beary, the teddy bear. You kissed him several times as a child, but when you were eleven, you planted a kiss on that bear in the hopes that he would turn into a prince. You even tried to use tongue, because you saw it in a movie once."