Chapter 20 Luciu #3
“Sounds to me like the one in the living room is going to the house and these two to your new office. You attached to these mint boxes over here?”
He points at the tins I dug out of a drawer the other day but haven’t been able to part with. Witches and warlocks alike can’t part with a good container. Never know what you might need to store in it. And these mint tins are a great size.
“Huh? Oh, no.”
“Splendid. We’ll put each rig into a different box. How’s that sound?”
I pause and just look at him while my mind catches up.
It’s all coming together. This disastrous, terrible mess that is my life isn’t all that wrecked.
“That sounds great, actually.”
The awkwardness quickly evaporates as I unplug and unhook things so Vyslan can shrink them down and pack them up. The process is lightning-fast.
“Mate, I can practically hear you thinking. Want to let some of that out before you strain a brain cell?” the demon asks after a stretch of silence.
I glance at him from where I’m sitting on the ground winding Ethernet cords.
It’s easy to forget that he isn’t some sort of martial demon, what with his size.
He’s actually intuitive, thoughtful, and sensitive.
For a moment, I consider brushing off the question or redirecting him.
But that isn’t fair. Vyslan has welcomed me into the fold and extended a helping hand more than once.
Just because he scares the shit out of me doesn’t mean he isn’t on my side.
That’s my issue to work out, and I think I’ve almost gotten to the bottom of it.
“I’m just curious… What’s your deal? I know how the others wound up here. But how’d you get here?” I ask.
“Ah! Well, you see, there’s this yappy fellow named Russ.”
“Wait. Russ-the-witch, Russ? Shit, what’s his full name?”
Vyslan snaps his fingers, and his face brightens. “You know the shit-smear then?”
“If we’re talking about the same guy, then that’s an accurate description. Yeah, I know of him. Not a fan.”
“Well, he tried to summon a demon thinking one of my kind could make this human heiress fall in love with him and sign over all her money. They just so happened to do that in the basement at Gracie’s house.
The girls didn’t like that, so we kicked their asses.
Gracie was… She was a delight to watch. I liked what I saw and decided to stick around. ”
It’s my turn to narrow my gaze at him. “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to that story?”
He merely grins. “There is, but it isn’t important.”
“Then, you don’t intend to leave and go back to your world anytime soon?”
“Nope. There will likely come a time when I have to go back, but I might also try to take all of you with me.” He winks at me and grins, displaying all his pointy teeth. “So be warned.”
I shudder and can’t help the instinctual fear the idea of being surrounded by demons inspires in me.
“So. Luciu. Tell—me—about—you!”
“Uh, me? I’ve mostly told you everything…”
“Yeah. Yeah. You’ve said some pretty great stuff, but I can sense your feelings. You’re a ball of anxiety in there, mate. What’s going on? And we’ve got to do something about the way your asshole puckers every time you look at me. Is it this look? Do I need to change it up some?”
“No, sorry.” I sigh and rub my face. Might as well get this over with. “There was this half-demon-half-witch at my boarding school. He had this chip on his shoulder and was basically a bully for three semesters before he got himself kicked out of school.”
“Damn. What a little prick. Any idea what kind of demon they were?”
“Uh… There are kinds?”
“Of course, mate! I’m an incubus, for starters.
We’re the hippies of demons. Very looked down on.
But there are many, many more kinds. Depending on what the demonic half was, they could have been struggling against their nature.
It’s not an excuse. Let me be clear. In the last few hundred—thousand?
—years demons have developed this idea that because our culture centers around power you have to want to get more.
That could be very difficult for a half-demon to navigate seeing as they’ve got that handicap of only being a half demon.
Depending on how much exposure they have to other demons, they could simply be treating their classmates the way they’ve been treated. ”
“Huh… That… Actually helps me understand some things. So, you being an incubus means you don’t do that?”
“Oh, no. I did. A very long time ago. I wound up in some tricky situations that were essentially kill-or-be-killed and I did the killing. Which means I also absorbed those I killed. Killed some because I felt like it or thought it would be better if I did. Which resulted in me amassing a fair amount of power. I’m not without fault.
There was a time when I was hungry for it.
I’m not proud of it. But having power has given me the ability to breathe and realize I don’t actually want it.
It does make me something of a target in my world, and that’s incredibly ostracizing.
I shut myself away for so long I think I was slowly killing myself until Russ-the-yappy-fuck summoned me here and I met Gracie.
” Vyslan smiles at me and it’s kind of dreamy-like.
“I’m only now realizing how much they saved me… ”
I won’t pretend that I understand or get even a shred of demonic culture. But I know what it’s like to feel alone.
“Enough about me.” Vyslan knocks his knuckles on the desk. “We’re talking about you. You like making out with Gracie. And you were really into it the other morning.”
Fucking hell.
I push my glasses up and rub the bridge of my nose and eyes. I’ve been trying to not think about those moments before we charged into the vampire’s den.
Vyslan leans over the desk, his grin practically splitting his face. “You totally jerked off thinking about that, didn’t you?”
I heave a sigh. “You know I did.”
“That’s the spirit.” He holds out his hand and I’m not sure what he wants me to do other than smack it. So that’s what I do. A little, weird, sideways high-five. “So, how you feeling about Gracie and being her witchy husband?”
“I, uh… Um….” I slide my glasses back on.
I’m not good enough with words to dance around this.
“It’s still surreal. I applied to the coven for associate membership because I was desperate.
I didn’t actually want to be part of the coven and get roped into their bullshit.
I wanted a love match. But, I wasn’t willing to move away from Mom, either. ”
“You a mama’s boy?”
“No. I just… She doesn’t have a big circle.
She was a great mother. I grew up in an unconventional setting, but she always made things normal for me.
I can’t leave and shrink her circle anymore.
For the most part, we call every other day or so and see each other once a week. Nothing crazy. I just… I love my mom.”
“That’s sweet. I never had parents. Just popped out of the void as I am. Always thought the idea of a mom and dad was nice. What does she think of all this?”
“She, uh, doesn’t know yet…”
“She—what? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. It hit me earlier. She’s going to scream.”
“You still think she’ll get along with Gracie?”
“Oh, I think Mom’ll love Gracie. I know it. I’m equally excited for them to meet and dreading it. That’s how well I think they’ll get on.”
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You said you wanted a love match. What about now? Think you can turn that lust into love?”
I open and close my mouth a few times. How is it that he sees me so clearly? It’s unnerving.
Vyslan keeps talking, his easy, energetic cadence somehow lulling me into a calmer state.
“Gracie has had to be strong and go through a lot on her own. I don’t know the full story behind her stepmother, but it’s clear to me that she’s got some baggage.
She doesn’t like to lean on people. Thinks she’s a burden.
So, it’s up to us to show her she is no burden.
Did you know that she found Ezra after he was bitten? ”
“Uh, no. But that doesn’t surprise me.”
“Yeah. She found him mid-transition. She treated him. Helped get him set up as a vampire. And she took care of him for a fucking year before he made any sort of move to change things. And she did it because she’s a good person.
The way I see it, you have a choice to make.
You can either let her settle into her caretaker role, making sure you’re always accommodated and considered.
Or, you can show her that you want to be an active part in her life. A partner. And maybe fall in love.”
I blink at him a few times as I muddle through his words. “Why would you encourage me? I’m weak compared to everyone else.”
Vyslan shrugs. “You seem like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.
You don’t get rattled easily. You might be intimidated by the rest of us, but you also haven’t let that hold you back.
I also see how you look at Gracie. This stuff with Ezra and Puck isn’t going to sort itself out quickly.
I’d like it if one of us was tuned into her at all times.
I might have to step in between those two, and if I do that—who is with Gracie?
Darius will have to talk some sense into Puck.
I think he’s the only one that fae fuck will listen to.
And I’m that person for Ezra. What I’m saying is, I want what’s best for Gracie.
And I think the way you look at her like your personal goddess is a good thing. ”
“Oh…”
The big demon chuckles and shakes his head. “Oh, he says.”
I hand the Ethernet cables over and gather the last few cords for easy winding. “I already feel like I’m punching above my weight. Like she’s too good for me.”
“Then be better. Be someone she deserves. You’re the only one who knows yourself, Luc. But I like what I see. I’d even be willing to share my vampire with you if you like. I see the way you look at him, too.”
My face heats, but there’s no denying that point. “Can you blame me?”
“Fuck no, mate. He’s built like a god. I’d be questioning your taste if you weren’t into him.”
“Is Puck…?”
Vyslan shakes his head. “Nah, he’s only got eyes for Gracie. Now, back to you and Ezra…”
I finish with the cords, hand them to the demon, and move on to the sandbox rig.
“You’ve got a chub just thinking about him, don’t you?”
“Do you have to announce it like that?” I yank the HDMI cords out a little harder than necessary.
“My feelings are hurt you aren’t into me.”
I glance over my shoulder at Vyslan as he snaps the tin shut. “What?”
He merely grins and shrugs.
It isn’t that Vyslan isn’t attractive. There’s this charismatic pull, like a magnet, that draws you in. “You’re intimidating as fuck, man.”
“Is it a me thing? Or is it about the half-demon?”
“I… I don’t know.” I finish unhooking the monitors, pull them off the riser, and set them aside where Vyslan can get his hands on them. “You’re just… A lot to adjust to. Not in a bad way. And you are attractive. You’re just… Overwhelming.”
“I can respect that.” He comes over, sets his hands on the monitors, and down they shrink. “Does this mean if you and Ezra fuck I can’t watch?”
“Oh my goddess…” I squeeze my eyes shut. “Are you always like this?”
“More or less, yes.” He perches his hip on the desk, grinning at me with all his pointy teeth.
He’s intimidating in an I-can-snap-you-in-half sort of way.
But there’s also something alluring about him.
A dark, deadly sensuality that has my mind screaming, run!
Yet I just look at him while heat crawls up my neck and my mouth goes dry.
He isn’t tamed. We got a glimpse of what the other part of him can be like storming Treznor’s stronghold.
I think Vyslan is a complicated being that I want to know better, even if I feel like Icarus getting too close to the sun doing so.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll enjoy a little burning wax.