Devil's Mountain Read Online Free

least they’d gotten a chance to dance in New York. To dance with my son and my sweet, sweet Paul. My Paul, and only mine. Nothing He did to me tonight could take that away. Nothing.
    The bed my grandfather had made for my grandmother as a wedding gift beckoned me. I suddenly felt tired. And old. No matter what He and the magic had done to my face, to the outside of my body, these sixty year old bones get tired. I slipped under my mother’s eiderdown and released myself to the sweet oblivion of sleep.

    * * * *
    I pulled the long red cape close to me. Its ancient wool protected me from the strong damp wind that whipped along the fields. My mother’s shoes pinched as I made my way along the pitted lane. In the distance I could hear the mournful lowing of Seamus’s brown heifers. A black rook flew before me, beckoning me along the lonesome lane.
    I turned right into the copse of trees and followed the narrow path. The thicket blocked all but a trickle of light. The dark woods that had frightened me as a young girl enveloped me, embraced me now in its cold arms.
    In the clearing before the foot of His cave was a fire and beside it, a carved table. On the table was a roast pig and two goblets filled with an amber liquid. Behind me a rush of wind lifted my cloak.
    “My love.”
    I turned around. Slanaitheoir took my hand in His strong one. The blood roared in my ears. This apparition, Slanaitheoir’s most beautiful, most cruel. He stood over six feet, His broad shoulders draped in a golden silk tunic. His bright green eyes danced with desire and malice.
    Despite myself, my cheeks burned. I lowered my eyes, suddenly shy, unable to face Him.
    “My lord.”
    “Come, my love. See what I have prepared for you.”
    He led me to the fire and removed the cloak from my shoulders. I covered my chest, aware that my thin silk sheath offered little protection from His probing gaze. He laughed.
    “You hide yourself from me? My sweet child. Please, sit down. Eat. I know you haven’t feasted in many days.”
    How? How did He know my every move? With my stomach in knots since I’d left for New York, I hadn’t eaten more than tea and toast for days. Suddenly ravenous, I devoured the meal before me.
    The meat, succulent and unlike anything to be found in Dorothy Collins’s butcher shop, almost called to me. Its sweet juices ran down my chin, and I, like an animal, tore the pig’s flesh.
    His lordship joined me as we cleared the table of meat and mead.
    When we were sated, He led me to the fire. We sat on the finest furs. “My love, I’ve missed you. Tell me, tell me about your trip.” His eyes, soft now and tender, glowed in the firelight. His fingers burned my skin as He stroked my hand.
    And I told Him. Everything. How Nellie called me a witch, how my sweet Paul held me in his arms and cried. The beautiful creature before me entranced me, bewitched me, and I burned with love for Him. With desire.
    He laughed softly. “My love, why do you leave, when you know the world will only cause you pain? I am all you need.”
    The buzzing in my ears grew louder, and all I could think about was His strong arms. His musky scent--old, as old as the earth. Why do I leave Him? Why do I fight Him? I fell into His eyes and could see our past, the past of all the Devlin women. My skin was on fire and I didn’t stop Him when he ripped the thin sheath from me, scattering the pearl buttons on the ground. He parted my lips and I yielded. I closed my eyes. I loved Him. Oh, God forgive me, how I loved Him.
    He pulled my hair and His lips left mine. I heard before I felt the tearing of my cheek’s tender flesh. I opened my eyes and could see His hand was now a claw. Warm blood fell onto my breast.
    He dragged me to the entrance of the cave. He smiled. “It is time, my love.”
    * * * *
    Seamus’s cat licked my face. I tried to open my eyes, but they were slits. I didn’t need to see where I was. I knew He had left me under the hawthorn tree. Every