15. Level Two- Lustful Delights
CHAPTER 15
Level Two- Lustful Delights
Rez
‘ R ezzi-bear. Shield. Use your shield, damn it!’
It’s not until heat sears into my leg that the words actually sink in, and I throw up my shield against the invisible threat. I trust Lynx with my life, and when he tells me to do something, I do it. So, not really thinking of how big or far, I throw my shield up around me and cast one further out to protect my family.
BAM!
I feel the shield around me vibrate as something hits it, but I find myself unharmed. Feeling a little queasy, I sit down on a step and find Reaper beside me, ever-playing my vigilant protector as I take a moment to clear my sight.
‘You okay, Rezzi?’ Lynx asks, coming into my view as I blink away the haze I found myself in.
‘Yeah. What the fuck happened?’ I ask, looking around to see everyone staring between me and someone down the stairs.
Lynx blocks my vision as he presses his big ass paws on my knees and gets in my face. ‘If it wasn’t for Reaper heating you up, I was gonna have to go for my old faithful and piss on you.’
I narrow my eyes and grab his face. ‘If you ever piss on me, it will be the last time you use your dick. Got it?’
His eyes go wide before narrowing slightly. ‘Well, you’re no fun now, are you? Just remember that when you need a fire put out,’ he says before crawling off of my lap.
“The only one that will be on fire is you,” I comment and slowly stand up. I take in everyone but quickly realize I’m missing Ry.
“Where’s Ryker?” I ask in general, and everyone’s eyes look down the stairs where there’s a body laid out on one of the steps.
Shit! Please tell me I didn’t hurt him.
“Ry!” I yell and grit my teeth in frustration that no one has rushed to help him as I quickly move down the steps to his prone body. I’m scared that I either hurt him or he’s dead. Instead, I find him with a goofy smile on his face.
“What the fuck, Ry!” I say, lightly hitting his shoulder. Or at least trying to, but my shield isn’t allowing me to do so.
“That was the best foreplay ever!” he laughs as he sits up, but quickly his smile falls. “We were going to be in serious trouble if it wasn’t for you,” he says.
Huh? I’m so lost. He gets up and immediately picks up Reaper and squeezes him.
“You’re the best little hellhound in the world, aren’t you, boy! You saved Mommy and me, didn’t you?” Ryker praises Reaper, and of course, my boy eats it up, giving kisses to Ryker in response.
“Am I the only one that’s lost here?” Moni asks as she sips her coffee as if she’s been watching a play.
“Apparently, I was part of it, and I’m as lost as you. So don’t feel sorry,” I say, still giving Ryker a bewildered look.
“Sorry,” he says, finally putting down Reaper and facing us. “But I think we found our game plan.”
“When I asked what our game plan was, I didn’t mean I wanted it to be solely on me,” I call out as we weave through the thick garden before us and pause. “Shit. Is someone keeping track of the time?” I ask, trying to take my mind off how this is all on me.
“I’ve been keeping track, and I suggest we keep moving,” Levi states, pulling back the leather cuff of his jacket to show us a watch.
“How much time have we taken up?” JP asks, moving a luscious green leaf out of his way before continuing ahead of us.
Once we hit the bottom of the steps and onto Lust’s level, the world changed. Gone were Hell’s dark roads and atmosphere. In its place was a Sultan’s dream.
Tall buildings with silk dangling over their openings, inviting us to walk in and out of the sun. Cool breezes continue to blow just enough lust on us that I have had to enforce everyone’s shield multiple times. The beautiful gardens and luxury pools alone tempt me to stay, but it’s not so bad. Our path has been mostly clear, as long as we don’t get tempted to step into the buildings.
The natural beauty isn’t the only thing that is trying to tempt us. In the level of Illusions, we were the only things alive in that land that we knew of, of course. Here, there is no question if we’re alone. There are all sorts of creatures here. Thankfully, they are too absorbed in their own pleasure to notice us.
It’s hard not to gawk as we walk and see everyone, like the couple fucking against a tree. A threesome of male demons is taking place in one of the fountains next to us as we walk past, where I’m tempted to take notes. Shit, I wish I could bend that way.
“It’s easier if you don’t look,” Knox whispers as he passes me.
True. I nod and tear my eyes away to continue on, wishing time would pass faster.
As we exit one of the gardens, we find ourselves on a blocked path. Earlier, we decided that if we stayed outside the buildings and traveled down the slope, we should find the next stairs. But it looks like the exit to the outside has been blocked.
“What do we do?” Moni asks, her bark looking pale white. Chester reaches down and grabs her hand, pulling her close.
“I got ya. I won’t let anything happen to you. Just get on my back and close your eyes. Rez, put a double shield around us,” he says, giving me a pointed look.
Okay then. Chester’s calling the shots. I like how he’s taking responsibility for Moni’s well-being and making sure she’s okay. It’s only because he’s making her feel better that I allow him to boss me around. He’s lucky she’s a walking mood ring and that I can see she’s back to her usual green. Otherwise, I would ensure he couldn’t reproduce that attitude to his offspring.
Chester shifts into his Lemur, wanting to wait until the last minute, and Moni shrinks down to her preferred size and lands on his back. Once he’s double-shielded, he crawls on top of Lynx.
‘How ya doing, Taxi?’ I snicker.
Lynx growls and puts a little hop in his step as he walks in front of me.
‘That’s such a cute little butt. Next time, I’ll use a toy on it,’ I tease and watch Lynx miss a step, jarring Chester and Moni. Moni squeals and yells at Lynx.
“Watch it, Lynx, or else I’m giving this escort a bad rating on Help!”
“It’s Yelp!, Moni,” JP says, following them.
“Why would I yelp? He’s supposed to be helping me,” she shoots back. I fight the urge to smack myself in the face but just shake my head as I watch for the others to see who’s going to make the next decision.
It’s awkward silence for a moment until I speak up. “Okay, so obviously, we can’t go this way. What are our options?” I start the discussion.
“From what I can remember from the vantage point of the stairs, we can go through this building to the right and cut through, or backtrack and weave through the east garden and cut back over to the west,” Ryker explains as he runs his fingers through his hair.
“How far would you say we still have to go?” Levi asks, pulling back his leather cuff and glancing at his watch.
“We’re at least midway. That maze”—Ryker points back to the maze in the background that we passed a few minutes ago—“was at the halfway mark.”
“Shit,” Levi murmurs under his breath. “No.” He immediately shakes his head. “We don’t have the time to double back. We’ll have to cut through,” he admits with a pinched expression.
“Well then, I guess we have no time to lose.” I reinforce everyone’s shield before taking a step toward the building, but it’s blocked by a shadow. Following the dark shadow up, I’m met with muscle, crossed arms over a broad chest, wide shoulders, shoulder-length hair, and dark brown eyes.
Knots.
I motion for Knots to move, but he just stares at me. “No,” he demands. It’s the first time we’ve purposely interacted since we left Lynx’s parents—if you don’t consider the lame thank you for the hair tie, which I don’t. But his demand that I don’t go first is not something I’d consider talking. This overall approach, I find, is quite annoying, to be honest, and all it makes me want to do is smack him one. But now is not the time nor place, so I arch an eyebrow and nimbly step in front of him and into the building.
The first thing I notice is the setting. I blink my eyes a few times to adjust to the dim lighting, my body slightly shivering as it adapts to the significant change of temperature from outside. The fresh air and sweet floral scents are gone, and the smell of alcohol, sweat, and sex is pungent.
We must be walking into the place from one of the back hallways because it feels and sounds like a club, but the sounds are muffled as if there’s a dampening spell. The hypnotic beat bounces around the small space as I twist my body between stacked unopened boxes with Asmodeus’ seal. I briefly contemplate what’s in the boxes and wonder about prying one open to peek, but soon find myself bobbing along with the music.
We walk into a massive area at least three stories high from where we stand on the outskirts. The place is like a warehouse, with open balconies and levels where people are doing far more than dancing in hanging cages. Shit, I like some porno stars. I honestly could learn a few things from this level.
There’s a bar on our left, booths, and a dance floor to our right, and I pray the exit is straight ahead. But getting there won’t be as easy as walking. I really wish I was a shifter, one that could either fly or crawl on the walls right now, which is exactly what Chester does.
He jumps from Lynx’s back and runs across the bar with Moni on his back, making a bounding leap into the air and gliding across all the gyrating bodies in front of us. JP soon turns to me and has to yell for me to hear that Moni and Chester have made it safe outside.
Relief hits me that at least there’s an outside on the other side of this sex mosh pit and that they are safe. I glance at Knox in his Gryphon form and wonder if he’s rethinking of switching to Slayer. If he has his whips, he could swing out of here already. When we started our journey through Lust, he thought stuffy old Baron would be the best bet to ward off any sexual tension, and even though he was right, Baron wasn’t happy with the parallel.
We are sitting ducks as we watch demons fuck and suck each other around us. Reaper starts to hump the air, and I groan. If Lust is affecting him now, I know this is only going to heat up and become more difficult for everyone the longer we’re here.
Speaking of the devils, we’ve already caught the eyes of some of the participants as a few of the demons push up against my men and make passes. Luckily, their shields hold against their influence, but the guys have to push them off of them, and some are not taking the gentle persuasion of no lightly.
‘Baron. I need you to do me a favor, please.’
‘Anything for my wonderful mate.’
‘Remember you just said that because Knox is going to be pissed. How many people can you fit on your back and fly out of here?’ I ask, knowing he can see over the group of demons fucking before us and the door from here.
‘I can safely fit three on my back and two in my claws. And you are right. Knox is screaming at me right now. I do believe he knows what you are planning.’
‘Okay.’ I stop to debate who needs to be on his back, but I’m jostled from behind and from my right. Turning to yell at them for being fucking stupid, I lose my concentration for a second as I feel a sharp burn in my side. Shit, did I pull a muscle? How do you come to an orgy and bump into someone else that’s not participating? Though, as I turn to yell, I stop breathing.
Angel is standing before me, with her pupils blown and a look of pure bliss on her face.
“Wanna join, Rez? You know, you really do need to loosen up.” She sneers but abruptly moans as a hand reaches around her, plucking at one of her nipples.
“Angel?” I ask, completely lost that Asmodeus’ daughter is here on the Trail of Worth trying to convince me to join in on her orgy. The guys are all busy dealing with their own drama llamas trying to get in their pants, so they don’t notice the Red-Heel Barbie joining in the fun.
“Surprised to see me?” She smiles wickedly before slowly lifting a small knife up between us that has the tip covered in something dark. “You shouldn’t be. By the way, my father sends his regards. I wonder what this knife was laced with.” She laughs before licking the blood from the blade and looking thoughtful. “Oh,” she mocks, smacking her lips as she tastes it. “That’s a good one.” She chuckles as the demon behind her pushes Angel down slightly, kicking her legs wider and taking her from behind.
I back up until I hit the bar, hitting my tender side and causing it to pulsate with pain. Heat starts rushing down my right side as Angel laughs.
“Aww, you’re no fun. Don’t you want to join in with me? You don’t know what you’re missing,” she says, the last part in a sing-song tone.
“What did you do to me?” I hiss out with venom as I reach over to feel something wet at the area of pain, only for my hand to come away with a small amount of darkness. Probably blood, but thankfully, it’s not enough to pull away anyone’s focus from our main objective of getting out of here.
“I didn’t do anything but give you a present, that’s all,” she says with a dopey smile, pulling my attention back to her.
I turn to leave, thinking she’s just a distraction to keep us here when she calls out.
“Fine, I’ll just take one of your men to play with since you’re such a prude.” She pulls her knife along her neck, leaving a shallow cut that allows blood to start dribbling down her throat in thick ribbons.
Fuck, that will get someone’s attention for sure.
My heart stops as I see Zeke in front of me, and he turns at the smell of her blood. My knees go weak as I grab hold of the bar behind me. No! I can’t lose Zeke! Even with my shield around him, the smell of blood, along with the lust, will be too much for him.
Damn fucking Angel.
‘Knots, JP! Help Zeke!’ I scream through my mental link. ‘Please get him onto Baron’s back. Angel is bleeding, and Baron can take him out along with a few others. Please protect him.’ I turn and find Reaper.
But before I can move to grab him, I catch a glint from the corner of my eye. I bring up a quick shield in time for Angel’s knife to hit it before dropping to the ground. Considering a way to help, I gather my strength to push a shield into Angel to fling her and her fucking demon back, giving us space for Zeke, but my jaw drops when nothing happens.
Angel takes in my expression and starts cackling like a demented hyena. “Yes! Yes! Perfect!” she yells, and I don’t know if she’s commenting on my wonky powers or the fact the fucker finally hit the right spot. Either way, I don’t have time to worry about it. I reach down and grab Reaper as best I can before turning to my shifter.
‘Baron, catch!’ I yell, lobbing Reaper in the air and hoping Baron grabs him so I didn’t just throw my dog to the wolves in this mess.
I turn towards Lynx and find him baring his teeth at me. ‘Rezzi-Bear, don’t even think about it.’
‘Don’t argue with me, Lynx. Go to Baron and get a ride out of here. I’ll be right behind you,’ I say, knowing full well I haven’t thought of a plan for me right now. But I’m relieved as Lynx heads toward Baron’s empty claw. My first priority is making sure Zeke and the shifters get out of here. If Reaper is starting to be affected by the lust even with my shield, then who knows what their animal instincts will do when they are completely overtaken.
Knots and JP struggle, but they pull Zeke with his fangs snapping to Baron. Knots is the first to climb up with Zeke held tight, but as he tries to reposition himself, Zeke breaks his hold and zeros in on Angel once again. In a split second, he blinks out of sight, and my heart drops, knowing we can’t keep up with his vampire speed. But instead of hearing Angel’s cries of triumph, it’s cussing and Lynx’s laughter.
“Well, that’s one way to catch a Vamp,” Lynx chuckles in his human form as he climbs up on Baron. Trying to catch up on what’s going on, Lynx points to the claw that he was supposed to be riding in, but instead, there’s an angry and cursing Zeke in the stone grip. JP quickly climbs onto Baron’s back when a few of the patrons follow and try to get on as well.
“Get off,” Lynx yells and kicks one of them free.
I don’t know where Levi and Ryker are, but I need to get the others out of here while they still have a chance.
‘My dear,’ Baron’s smooth voice gently pushes into my head. ‘What would you like me to do?’
He bristles and kicks a rowdy demon that attempts to use his tail as a rope to pull himself up, and turns his head to look at me. ‘ Will you be okay if I get them out of here?’ Baron asks, looking quite torn as to what to do. I quickly scan the room once again, try to find Ryker and Levi before sagging in relief when I spot them a few feet down the bar. But it’s short-lived when I see a woman walk straight up to Levi and blow dust into his face, and he freezes in place, motionless.
Fuck!
Needing to get to Levi, I turn to Baron and nod. ‘Yeah, I’ll be good and right behind you,’ I reassure him with a smile, knowing full well that Knox knows I’m lying and is probably picking up on my anxiety about Levi. But I would be worrying about the others, too. At least this way, I know they will be safe.
Baron dips his head before releasing his wings, knocking most of the patrons back, giving him room to jump into the air. I take the opportunity to move while the sex-crazed maniacs aren’t fucking in my way—and I mean that literally—to move down the bar. Cries ring out, pulling my attention back to Baron as he swoops close to the hanging cages, knocking them and their occupants around before diving down and out through the door.
I turn to let out a breath of relief, but that is immediately cut off, and I almost cry. Now that I’m closer and there are not as many people to block my view, I have a clearer view of the woman who blew dust in Levi’s face. First, she’s no woman. Try a female demon with wicked horns, a tail, and a bifurcated tongue. Second, her tits have to be fake to be able to pull off the Jessica Rabbit look and not wear a bra. How do I know she’s not wearing one, you ask? Because her naked chest is rubbing up against my man, or they would be if my shield wasn’t protecting him from actual contact.
Well, I set out thinking everyone on this level was innocent, but I might just have to kill a bitch.
Stepping closer, I catch sight of Levi’s eyes and notice that his pupils are completely blown. His jaw is clenched, and the muscles in his neck are throbbing like he’s fighting whatever the dust has done to him. Ryker is nowhere to be seen, and I just sent out my fucking backup. Great, well, first thing is first, save my man, kill the bitch touching him if she doesn’t back off, and then find my sex demon.
I step in front of Levi and push the bitch off of him. Her eyes widen as she focuses on me and snarls. Most of the people here who have been under the influence, I would say, have all had one thing in common: they have all been swaying or moving to the beat of the music. Either fucking, sucking, dancing, or swaying along with the beat, they all go along with it. This lady is standing right here, same as me, which leads me to believe she’s either immune or not entranced somehow. Now, the question is why?
“He’s mine,” she growls out and slashes toward me with her claws. I block her throw and kick, pushing her back into the fray of demons gyrating to the music on the dance floor. Or at least I think they are dancing. For all I know, they’re fucking to the rhythm and beats.
“Leviathan, aren’t you supposed to be marrying my cousin,” Angel says, walking up to him and trying to touch him, only to yelp in pain and grip her hand to her body. “What have you done to him?” she yells, accusing me.
I pull my scythes free and step in between Levi and Angel. “No. What are you trying to do with him?” I counter.
She looks at me and laughs. “Do you even know how to use those?” she taunts. “You might be able to dress the part, but we both know you’re nothing but a waste of space,” she says. She snaps her fingers, transforming her outfit to look similar to mine. Instead of scythes, though, she’s holding broad swords.
“Are you sure you can hold those,” I taunt back. “Here I thought you were too dumb to be left alone with scissors.”
She purses her lips and twirls her swords in an intricate pattern but pauses as I feel Levi move behind me.
“Rez, will you stop fucking around. We need to get out of here,” Ryker calls, and I turn just enough to see him and Levi behind the bar now.
Oh shit! When did he unfreeze?
I quickly attach my scythes just as I hear Angel scream and charge the bar. I crawl up and drop hard, wincing at my wound as her swords come through the other side, inches away from my face.
“As much as I enjoy you on your knees, now is not the time,” Ryker says, helping me to my feet and dragging me toward the end of the bar. Levi leads us down the bar and pulls up the bar door as we slip through. We say fuck it while stepping over the last couple fucking in the doorway only to scramble out to find that not only are our friends safe and sound, but a few look extremely pissed.
Knots is pacing back and forth, and Baron is gone. Instead, Slayer keeps pace with Knots, his tentacles blocking his path back to the building.
“There you are!” he yells.
“Keep it to yourself,” Levi tells him. “We have less than an hour to get to our safe house. Did anyone see which way to go when you flew out of the building?” He turns to Knots, JP, Lynx back in his animal form, and Zeke. Thankfully, the latter looks better.
Ryker grabs my arm, getting my attention while showing me his right hand. The hand that was wrapped around my waist a moment ago. There’s blood covering his fingers. “Mind telling me where this came from?” he demands in a low voice.
My jaw drops as the words escape me for what to say to get out of this quickly, but thankfully, JP saves the day, pulling our attention to him.
“Yeah, I could see the next level to the left, and I think I saw parts of the stairs that way,” JP calls out, pointing off to the right.
“Goddess, this isn’t over,” Ryker growls as we take off running.
Fuck. I was hoping this could go unnoticed, but since Ryker obviously has, it’s not something I can brush under the rug.
As we run, I check everyone’s shield, and thankfully, I’m able to reinforce them while we go. I don’t know what happened to my power in the building when trying to blast Angel, but at least I can still use my shield. As it turns out, we don’t have to run into any more buildings, but a few Demons and other creatures do try to approach us. For once, I don’t even have time to react, and it’s Moni who plays the hero and booms them away with her small sonic booms. It turns out our time with L.A.M.B. was beneficial to all of us.
“There!” JP calls out just as we make out the stairs heading down. As quickly and safely as we can manage, we make it down the stairs and stop at the building before us.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lynx says, shifting back into his human form.
“Whoever’s idea it was to have us run from lust and find sanctuary in a church is my type of people.” JP chuckles.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Knox says, back in his human body and opening the door for us to walk through.
“Why do you say that?” JP asks.
“Remember what’s on level three. Rage, Prince Azazel,” Knox answers.
“Oh yeah. That’s probably not good,” Moni says, walking in and disappearing with Chester by her side.
Everyone walks through but Knots and I. I’m about to follow when he holds out his hand, barring the door from opening further. “We need to talk,” he tells me, his warning clear, but I roll my eyes anyway before looking at him.
“That’s great and all. If you want to stay barred to Hell, be my guest and stay out here. But I’m not going to stay with you out here and jeopardize my life for simply a talk,” I snap, yanking the door back and ducking under his arm.
I can hear his growl as he follows me into the church, and all I can think is, here it comes .