22
PISS AND ASH
ENZO
T he light catches Adriana’s back and her skin glows as she basks in the sunrise as it creeps through the windows. Her hair’s a mess, but it’s never been so beautiful, glittering in the pinks and oranges of the morning as if it contains ethereal magic.
She’s fucking stunning.
And she’s mine.
All of her .
I’ve fucked every hole she has and my girl responded as I’d hoped last night. Right now, she’s the picture of innocence, but she was a dirty fucking whore for me yesterday. She fucking loved it when my cock stretched her tight ass and I’m going to make sure she’s trained to take me whenever I feel like it.
I’ll make sure she’s submissive enough to let me bend her over and fuck her whenever I damn well want. In whichever hole I want. Without giving her a choice.
But Adriana responds better when she thinks she has a choice, when she believes I’m being considerate. It’s not that I’m being inconsiderate, it’s just that my reasons for taking her feelings into account aren’t as wholesome as she imagines.
My girl thinks I’m holding back to give her time.
In reality, I’m doing it because it’ll get me what I want faster.
I care about her feelings, just not enough to put them ahead of what I want.
Adriana is growing into the perfect submissive I crave and she’s come a long way in a short time. Admittedly, she’s also come a lot and the knowledge that I’m an outstanding lover fills me with pride. She’s still got a lot to learn and an eternity of fucking her senseless provides both of us with the opportunity to experience the pleasure of agony and ecstasy.
She stretches and her long legs wrap around mine, clinging to me like her body knows who owns it. I stroke her hair, playing with it as it cascades down her back, and decide she merits a reward.
One I’ll enjoy immensely.
It’s about time I gave my girl the attention she deserves and after last night, I’m certain she’s earned it. It won’t take me long to arrange and the detour to collect the item I require will be a pleasant distraction from everything else I have to do. I’d planned on making a trip to Hell anyway, and this will give me the perfect excuse.
“It’s time to rise, baby. We don’t want you to be late for work.”
Adriana groans, stretches, and staggers to the bathroom. I made damn sure she was clean after last night, so she wouldn’t be upset or confused this morning. I don’t need the hassle of her anger and the fussing is more than I can bear today—or most other days.
I dress and she emerges, still slightly dazed. I watch her sexy little ass as she staggers across my room, heading for her closet. I’m tempted to insist she wears a plug today, but it’ll distract me and I need to focus on other matters.
Especially when I’m visiting Hell.
It’s been a while and my domain should be secure, but demons are devious fuckers and at least one is screwing with me. I’ve survived this long by being prepared, vicious and extremely thorough—and old habits die hard, more so when they serve me well.
My girl emerges in tailored trousers and a thin blouse, letting me glimpse her lace bra. Adriana looks hot and I’m torn between shredding her top and fucking her for wearing such a revealing outfit and letting her go out, showing everyone her pert assets that belong to me.
“Did you decide on that book?” I ask, buying myself time to contemplate my dilemma and stare at her hardening nipples.
“Anna’s one?”
“No, the other one?”
Adriana’s tits are spectacular, and they’re a fucking distraction. My cock responds, hardening as I recall the way they move when I’m plowing her into the mattress.
“I’m still not sure.”
“Take it. I’ll make sure it works out for you. You deserve this, baby. Let me make you happy.”
She fucking beams at me like I’ve said something adorable and I like the feeling. It’s sickly, warm and fuzzy, entirely undemonic, but I want more of it. If it had a color, it’d be blush pink, matching the hue creeping up Adriana’s neck and spreading over her face.
I’m obsessed with this girl.
Hopelessly, entirely infatuated.
Not just her body, either. I want her little smiles and sighs of contentment. I want her hair to curl around her finger as she reads. I want her eyes to flick to mine with that fucking glint in them. Because all of them tell me how her mind works.
I’m lovesick and I don’t even want to fight it.
I escort her to the car, glaring at her driver to remind him not to put one fucking foot an inch out of line. He’s vicious and he knows his place, and I’ve found an occasional reminder helps keep things running smoothly.
I message Byron and there’s some news, but it isn’t as much as I’d hoped for. He’s also beginning to question whether Eva is telling us everything she knows and now I’ve piqued his curiosity, he’ll pursue her until he gets whatever answers he needs.
My coffee tastes bitter and I allow myself a second cup. It’s strong, invigorating, and the triple espressos give me a kick that helps me prepare for what’s ahead.
Hell is, quite frankly, hellish.
I love it as much as I loathe it. I revel in its torture and mourn the heat from its pits of despair. I adore the sounds of souls screaming and detest the pleas for mercy.
It’s everything I was born for and the fires that burn in its deepest circles birthed me. It’s home and the comfort I take from the distress I find there is soothing. It appeases the cravings raging inside me. It alleviates my anger while stoking my rage and making me hungry for more of everything that Hell has to offer.
The shadows shroud me in darkness and I summon their obsidian, weaving hate and envy around me as I allow myself to fall. Descending into Hell is never comfortable, but the thrill is worth the vexation. The shades darken and I pull them closed, wrapping them around me as my muscles ripple and flex, tensing in anticipation.
Reality strips itself bare and the divide between this plane and the others exposes itself. I weave through the layers forming the fabric of life and drop into death, sinking further into depravity. My form plunges lower still and I cross the threshold of Hell, stooping to the base level of the underworld.
I close my eyes, inhale sulfur and phosphorus, and burn.
Fire licks my skin and rages through my entrails, consuming me inside and out. The inferno is hotter than any fire known to man, and its agony is exquisite. I roar to release the heat inflaming me and announce my return: the lord has returned.
My footsteps echo through the barren landscape. Its red baked clay cracks open as I stride toward the talisman waiting on the other side of the desert. I deviate from the path, ignoring the lost souls traveling it as they head to their eternal doom — for I know these lands and they are mine to command and manipulate.
The journey is not long.
The rocks that form the circle around the talisman are haggard, windswept by the acidic gales breezing through Hell. Their forms are scathing and their shapes terrifying, cutting into the orange sky with a vicious sharpness that tears through Hell and obliterates any remaining hope. Souls weep as they approach and the demon who guards the portal’s key is far from kind, relishing in their suffering.
As we all do.
“Amaymon.” The keeper of the portal bows, following high protocol, guarding the entrance to Hell while paying an appropriate amount of respect to his superior. “To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?”
“I came to retrieve an item, Egin.”
The tip of my head and wave of my wrist return the greeting, completing our ritual.
“Lord, if I can be of assistance…”
His eyes flicker with ambition as he postures, drawing himself up and showing me his full prowess. Egin is massive, a hulking demon with muscles stacked on muscles and wings that are as sharp as scythes. His horns twist as they divide and his sharp teeth make him more loathsome.
Egin is a force to be reckoned with, and his mind is cunning, too. I’d do well to bring him under my control, but I doubt he’d want to stay there. The fucker is greedy and he’ll try to usurp me, seeking to rise at my expense.
“Your offer is appreciated, but I prefer to do this task myself. I’ve missed the glories and debaucheries in Hell, and a brief trip will refresh me. The sulfur is as invigorating as their screams.”
He laughs and stands aside, revealing the blue orb glowing in a landscape painted with shades of amber, rust and burnt orange. The rays that spread from its center flicker as magic disperses into Hell, pouring a little light into a place filled with darkness.
I step over the runes that mark the entrance to the portal and extend my hand, letting my clawed fingers bask in the cool blue rays. It’s a moment of relief that hurts when it passes, the returning agony a thousand times worse than it was before.
My lips curl into a wicked smile, amused by the thought it’s crueler to be kind.
Egin shifts his weight, and I won’t allow him a second opportunity. I grasp the talisman, enduring its pain as the oranges fade and I move through the circles of Hell.
I emerge in my halls, staring at the torches trying to light their gloriously ostentatious arches and walls. The gold I’ve spent years acquiring to adorn my chambers should be glistening in the firelight and instead, it’s dull. It’s tarnished. It’s almost drab. My domain is not burning as brightly as it should and someone will pay for this insult.
Perhaps more than one, depending on how grave an insult this is.
My temper is flaring and I need to control it. I need to find out what the fuck is going on and the best way to do that is not to raise Hell. It’s to move through the halls of my palace undetected, spying on the demons and underlings sworn to serve me. They’re derelict in their duties, and their blood will pour through my halls just as soon as I discover the reason for their betrayal.
I move with the stealth of a panther, gliding through the shadows as I pass through the grand halls and into the inner domain. My private rooms still show all my prestige and power, my wealth on display for anyone who dares to question my position.
A familiar scurries across the floor, freezing as it catches sight of me. The small, goblin-like creature crouches, flinching as my fury bears down on it.
“Master.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Master, we serve only you.”
It trembles, certain its time has come. The ashen beige pales to a grim shade of grey and it crawls towards me, begging for mercy when it knows there is none.
“My halls have been abandoned. My fires allowed to dim. Tell me what is going on and I’ll consider sparing you, you disgusting, unworthy piece of filth.”
“Master, we have tried. Your power is not…” It grimaces and a trickle of urine leaks down its leg. “Forgive me, Master, but your power is not as strong as it once was. It fades and we have tried to keep it burning. Sacrifices were made. Rites performed. Incantations…”
I cut the familiar off with a flick of my wrist and its control breaks, resulting in a puddle underneath it.
“Why wasn’t I informed?”
“We did, Master,” it says, pleading as it struggles to form words because of the fear overcoming it. “We told our superiors and they informed your lieutenant. We were assured it would be taken care of. We were not…”
The begging grates, and my patience expires. I clench my fist and a fire lights around the familiar, consuming it in an inferno that will give it an eternity of pain.
It’s fucking joyful and its screams ring through my being, silent to everyone except me.
The damn thing was too terrified to lie, and I’d know if it tried to deceive me. My rage boils into something more vicious as I stare at the pile of piss-soaked dirt at my feet, certain that someone is siphoning my power. I’m not weaker, but my presence is being drained as something tries to weaken my grip on the masses orbiting me.
And at least one of my lieutenants knows. Either Eva is even more cunning than I’d imagined or Byron has played me for a fool. My teeth grind and before I snarl, exposing their sharpness to anyone stupid enough to hang around and stare, aware that they could be working together.
This isn’t why I came here, and I’ve still got work to do—but I’ll be damned if I let anyone wrench the power from my claws. I’ve worked too damn hard for too damn long to let someone snatch what is mine from me. This is mine, and it’s mine by absolute decree.
I will not bow. I will not retreat.
I’m going to fucking obliterate the cocksuckers who dare to consider challenging me for my domain. I’ll reduce them to nothing, make them as insignificant as the familiar I just doomed to oblivion and I’ll take pleasure in turning them into piles of piss and ash.