25. Never Piss off a Demon
Never Piss off a Demon
LUKE
A s soon as Tog took Matteo away, Luke could draw in a full, deep breath. He was nervous about his new boyfriend being left alone with the demon, but he was better off with Tog than he was in this cold, filthy warehouse.
“Are you sure you’re feeling better? I’ve healed you properly?” Azroth asked, sounding so unsure, which was strange. For as long as he’d known him, the demon had appeared confident in everything he said and did.
“I’m fine. Really. Nothing hurts. I’m not even cold anymore. Thank you,” Luke reassured him, but Azroth shook his head, as if brushing aside his gratitude. His wings shivered and resettled about his shoulders as if he were uneasy.
“This should never have happened. When you asked us to leave, I should have rousted the crows. Ordered them to keep an eye on you and your new mate. If I hadn’t allowed myself to be distracted by the promise of your new relationship, I would have been more attentive to your needs, to the surrounding threats. ”
Luke reached out but stopped suddenly. He wasn’t quite sure what he should grab on the demon, so he allowed his hands to fall back to his sides.
“No. There’s no way you could have known that those assholes were stalking us.
They mentioned the crows and other birds were still harassing them.
I didn’t know. If I had, I would have called Atticus and the others off. ”
“I thought the crows would keep those bastards away from you. I should have killed them and been done with it months ago,” Azroth snarled.
Luke bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure how much he could argue with the demon. The frat bros might not have deserved a demon-related death months ago, but they’d hurt Matteo. Luke felt far less forgiving now.
“Where are they? What have Ogos and the others done to them?”
Azroth’s evil grin returned, and he wrapped one wing back around Luke while motioning to the right with the other.
He guided Luke through the random debris and chaos of the warehouse.
The glowing red orb he’d conjured up earlier preceded them through the large room, casting everything in an eerie, bloody light.
Shadows jumped and lurched as they approached, making the building seem even more like something out of a horror movie, and yet, Luke had never felt so safe in all his life.
But then, not everyone had a demon escorting them through the darkness. How could anything touch him?
A rusted and dented metal door screeched open at a wave of Azroth’s hand, and they stepped into the next room, where several orbs of fire flickered in the air, illuminating everything. All the refuse, boxes, and broken machinery were piled against the sides of the room so that the center was open.
There, four naked young men hung upside down, their heads more than four feet above the floor. But as far as Luke could see, no ropes or chains held them suspended. It was all done by magic.
The only injuries Luke could see were hundreds of tiny shallow cuts all over their bodies, as if they’d run naked through a paper storm.
Thin streaks of blood and cold sweat covered their flesh, but the wounds had closed before the blood could travel more than a couple of inches.
They were shivering and trembling, whimpering and shouting to be let go.
Luke recognized three of them from that horrible day in the quad.
The fourth hadn’t been there, but Luke had seen him at other times with this trio.
Any mercy he might have felt dried up when he remembered that this man had helped to tie Matteo up and kidnap him.
He’d added to Matteo’s pain and fear. As far as he was concerned, he was as culpable as the others.
Around the quartet of college students, the demons danced, howled, and laughed.
All of them were in their true, frightening form.
It was easy to see why Tog was so reluctant to leave; they appeared to be having so much fun.
Underneath the four college students, Ogos had spread himself out like a gooey puddle of toxic gel, catching all their sweat, tears, and blood.
Every once in a while, he’d let out a bubble as if he were a bit of toxic waste or a pool of acid that would dissolve them in a second.
Of course, Luke had also watched Ogos consume an entire roasted chicken—bones and all. It was…disturbing. Dissolving a frat bro should be simple work.
Azroth touched Luke’s arm, pulling his gaze away from his attackers back to the demon at his side.
“We didn’t know if you wanted to watch as we destroyed your enemies.
If you don’t wish to be here, you can leave it to us.
We will happily take care of everything.
I will send you straight home where you can cuddle with your boyfriend. ”
“D-Destroy? What do you mean by destroy?” Luke stammered.
The demon’s smile turned utterly bloodthirsty and as icy cold as the concrete under Luke’s feet. “We’re going to kill them. But don’t worry; we promise to make it as agonizing as possible. And as they die, we will?—”
“Devour their souls!” Annod shouted as the skeleton with straw-like hair danced about the room, his bones clattering loudly. The other demons took up the chant, dancing with Annod.
Azroth placed a claw under Luke’s chin, turning his head to him. “After their souls are devoured, they’ll go straight to Hell. You don’t need to worry. They will spend an eternity paying for all the harm they have caused.”
Dead?
They were going to kill them.
Luke jerked away from Azroth, the room seeming to spin as he staggered a couple steps to his left. “Wait!” He panted, and his heart raced as a chill spread through him, pushing aside all the warmth Azroth had gifted him.
He wanted them to pay for what they’d done to him, for what they’d done to Matteo. His only crime had been daring to associate with Luke. But to go to the extreme of killing them? It felt like it was too much.
“You don’t want us to kill them?” Mullmag’s soft question made Luke aware that the room had become suffocatingly quiet. Even the quartet had stopped whimpering and shouting. All the demons stared at him in different degrees of shock and disbelief. The future of these men hung on Luke’s next words.
But if he didn’t agree with the demons, would they turn on him?
“I just…” He whispered and swallowed hard. “I’m not sure…”
Azroth cocked his head to the side, watching him in such a way that it reminded him of Atticus and the other crows. In the blink of an eye, Azroth shifted into his human form, dressed in a neat, dark suit. Handsome as always and very pulled together. Yet, it felt so wrong in these surroundings.
“I understand your hesitation,” Azroth crooned, his voice so soothing.
“You have a gentle, kind heart. You’re always so quick to forgive, but these vermin aren’t worthy of your forgiveness.
Do you not understand that when I found you, they’d already broken two of your ribs and one of your lungs had collapsed?
You had a concussion that could harm your precious brain.
Their intent was to hurt you until you died . And what about Matteo?”
“Stop!” Luke snapped. “Change back into your true form. Don’t hide who you are. And don’t think you can manipulate me with a pretty human face.”
Azroth’s expression twisted into something sour for a second. “You know, there are times your precious brain is quite annoying.”
“And I’m not one of your everyday stupid humans.”
To his surprise, a small, proud smile tweaked Azroth’s thin lips before he shifted into his demon form. He shook out his wings and resumed his attempts to coerce Luke.
“Regardless of which face I wear, my words are true. They were willing to kill you for embarrassing them. Is that fair? Your life in exchange for minor discomfort? They saw you as nothing but a worm. And what about Matteo? Do you think they’d allow him to live after he witnessed your murder?”
These bastards were going to kill Matteo too?
Even knowing that Azroth was trying to tempt him toward murder by cloaking in the guise of justice, he didn’t think Azroth was lying.
It only made sense. Would they let Matteo go after witnessing such a beating?
Especially given there was at least a slight chance he could identify them? Not a fucking chance.
“Matteo’s right arm was broken. He also had a concussion,” Azroth whispered.
Luke’s heart squeezed and his gut churned until he thought he was going to be sick.
He was almost willing to brush aside what was done to him, but he couldn’t do the same for Matteo.
The man was completely innocent. He was the sweetest, most wonderful person in the world. No one should ever harm him.
Bath’tuk stepped close and pinched the sleeve of Luke’s coat, giving it a tiny tug.
“Don’t you understand? You belong to us.
We have to protect you. They have to pay for harming even one hair on your head.
” The cyclops demon stuck out one finger and lightly touched a lock of filthy hair hanging in front of Luke’s eyes.
“You are precious to us. Matteo is precious to us because he belongs to you and is precious to you. They need to pay.”
It was sweet and kind of hard to argue with that, but the idea of his attackers being killed felt a step too far for him.
“Do you think you’re the first one they’ve bullied and harassed?” Azroth inquired.
Luke spun to Azroth, his eyes wide. “What? Have they killed other people? Who? How many?”
The demon deflated. “Killed? No.” He turned his red-eyed stare back to the quartet, who cried and begged.
“But they have spent most of their lives bullying and harassing others. Taunting and tormenting them until their targets had no choice but to change schools and seek counseling. Their lives were miserable. Many contemplated suicide.”
“No! Please! We’ll change! We promise! No more bullying. We won’t bully anyone else. No matter what!”