22. Let Me See Your War Face
Let Me See Your War Face
“Hustler!” the grubby, overweight biker screamed accusingly, spittle flying in wild arcs from his lips.
His face was so red, Malachi wondered if the man was having a stroke.
“She’s a hustler and cheater. You all saw!
” he insisted, stabbing a thick, dirty finger in Luna’s direction while she stood by, innocently re-chalking the tip of her billiard’s cue.
Her tiny bow of a mouth was quirked in a sweet smile, her eyes wide and unblinking, a slight shimmer of angelic grace flitting through her gaze.
It gave her an otherworldly appearance that the grungy man should have heeded.
Jaxon leaped from his chair and moved in front of Luna without hesitation as he glared at the man whose stomach was quickly exceeding the weight limit of his leather belt.
He glanced disdainfully at the man’s leather vest, noting the name on the patch haphazardly affixed over his chest. “Look, Jeff,” he sneered.
“We all know you got outplayed by a slip of a girl. I get it. That’s enough to make any man’s balls shrivel.
But do you know what happens to sore losers, guys who put their hands on women without invitation?
” He grinned, the smile malicious and calculating as he cracked his knuckles.
Malachi bounced on his toes, Reena back at his feet, and Flick at his side.
They were riveted, watching the mayhem unfolding before them.
He quietly pushed some madness into the bikers seated at the grimy bar, so they rose as one and surrounded the group, arms crossed over broad chests. The escape route was now blocked.
Flick was rocking side to side, soaking in the energy, gaze flitting from person to person as he added his influence to Malachi’s. A slight keening was pulsing from his throat in his excitement to have the bar erupt into chaos. There was nothing demons loved more than bloodshed and fuckery.
A sharp bark from Reena turned all attention to her, and the tense air in the bar thinned as soft smiles crossed everyone’s faces. She lifted her nose and bobbed it toward the angry biker. A snuffling wheeze was followed by a whimper, and she turned her liquid eyes at him, ears quivering.
Everyone’s eyes returned to Jeff to see what he would do.
Aware of the stares glued to his portly frame, the man scraped filthy nails over his chin as he thought.
The rasp of his bristly cheeks blended into the scratchy crackle from the speakers.
His gaze locked onto Jaxon as he took him in, weighing his odds.
Decision made, he grinned. “Seems you might just be a little outnumbered here… boy. You, the cheating bitch, your other two buddies, and that sissy-ass little dog.”
“What… did you just call my dog?” Malachi declared with a low growl, his eyes briefly flashing in the dimly lit area.
Hitching his thumbs in his belt, Jeff bowed out his chest and huffed in phlegmy laughter before spitting at Malachi’s feet.
“You heard me. A sissy-ass little dog. I’m surprised you don’t have that rat shoved in some tiny purse at your side.
Do you take it into the salon when you get your hair done?
” He slapped his thigh, guffawing with a breath laced with stale beer and bad decisions.
His laughter slowly trailed off and died with a gurgle as he realized Malachi was grinning at him.
Trying to recover his bravado, he sneered.
“Aw, did that hurt your precious feelings… freak?”
“Lunado,” Malachi called sweetly in a calm, deceptive tone. “Have you decided which side of the Bible you’re on?”
Luna grinned back. “I think I like the demon side. Less rules!” She bounced on her toes and moved to his side as he waved her over.
Picking Reena up so she didn’t get stepped on in the melee, she gently stroked the small dog’s head and whispered reassurances to her.
“Don’t worry, baby; Uncle Mal is going to avenge you. ”
Cracking his neck with an echoing snap, he stretched his fingers like a cage fighter about to enter a ring.
Malachi glanced at Jaxon, who was pleading with his gaze for them to let it go.
Seeing it had no effect, the officer frowned and stared thoughtfully as he began slowly backing away, tugging Luna with him.
Turning back to the waiting bikers, Malachi grinned again, this time letting Hellfire blaze brightly in his eyes.
The rich crimson glow brightened even more as Flick’s eyes also lit up.
“I’m going to make something clear to you…
gentlemen,” he delivered in a low, steady voice, with no hint of the violence that was about to be unleashed.
“That dog”—he pointed at Reena— “is more important than all of you assholes combined. Don’t fuck with my Chuglet.
” Turning to her and tickling her under the chin, he said, “Let me see your war face, Re-Re.”
Reena wheezed in agreement before snarling at Jeff. Her upper lip lifted as she escalated into her angry chihuahua face, then released her crazed howl crafted to summon the escaped asylum clowns.
Malachi grinned like a madman as the other bikers wisely stepped back except for Jeff, who crossed his arms over his chest and snorted.
“Or else what?” Jeff taunted. “You going to cry? Your rat gonna bite me and give me rabies?” He laughed again then glanced around, belatedly realizing his friends weren’t cackling with him.
Confusion clouded his expression, just as he turned back to find Malachi was two inches from his face.
He hadn’t heard or seen him move. The music, if it could really be called that, faded until the bar was silent except for the humming buzz from the neon signs.
Deadly fangs slipped from Malachi’s lips as his skin turned the deep gray of gathering storm clouds.
His limbs lengthened, and his body grew taller until the tips of the horns that sprouted from his skull scraped the ceiling.
He kept his Hellish gaze trained on Jeff as the man violently shook in front of him.
“Oh, Jeff,” he growled, chuckling evilly at the terrified waste of carbon before him.
“I’m ever so glad you decided to be difficult.
It’s been so long since I was last able to torment a soul.
They’re so delightfully delicious. But see, it’s like this.
My girlfriend, well, she’s part angel. Which means I have to be “good” around her.
” His talons emphasized his air quotes with their deadly scythe-like shapes, neon glinting from their ebony surfaces.
“You understand my problem, right?” He clapped a large hand heavily on Jeff’s shoulders, nearly dropping the man to his knees before shaking him slightly in feigned companionship.
“What the fuck are you?” Jeff whispered, fear forcing his voice to tremble as violently as his body. The man shook like a leaf in a hurricane, desperately trying to cling to any lifeline while his beer-pickled brain processed the nightmare looming over him.
Leaning down, relishing his opportunity to express his naturally damned flair for the dramatic, Malachi dropped his head until he was eye to eye with Jeff, then sniffed him hard, sighing in satisfaction.
He smirked and tapped Jeff on the forehead with one claw.
“I’m the storm that’s going to devour your soul,” he announced, followed by a rapid snap of his wings.
The ebony feathers spread behind his back, casting him and his captive into further shadow.
Their pitch-black surface absorbed the light and blocked Jeff’s view of everything around him.
A whimper slipped from Jeff’s throat as the man collapsed to the floor, uncaring now about seeming brave as his legs gave out. His eyes darted to Malachi’s left side as another creature came to stand beside the dark menace crouched before him.
Flick in full demon form was nearly as tall as Malachi.
His coppery skin gleamed with a metallic shimmer that should have been beautiful, but instead radiated sheer malice.
His fangs nearly reached the bottom of his chin, and his horns were straight spears with wickedly sharp tips.
His bat-like wings also flared out with a booming snap that made the others in the bar take a healthy step back. Then another.
He clapped his claws on his cousin’s shoulder, chortling again in manic glee, a talent he had honed inside the brimstone pits of their youth due to their incredible acoustic qualities.
“Oh, this is going to be an epic blood bath! Where do we start? Do we rip his limbs off and beat him with them? Or maybe twist his junk off, and shove it up his—”
“None of it!” Jaxon’s booming shout interrupted Flick.
The officer appeared in front of the two demons and glared, his fingers moving between the pair, having finally reached his breaking point.
“I said no fucking riots, and I meant it. No blood bath, no eating anyone, no death. I’m not risking my life or my career for you two assholes.
And you are not going to corrupt this poor girl anymore.
” He moved next to Luna, before pulling her behind his body once more.
“Come on,” Malachi groaned and slapped his taloned hands on his hips as he stood.
He stared down at Jaxon with disdain while he tapped his foot impatiently.
“You’re almost as bad as Chuck at raining on my parade.
Except I listen to her. Don’t make me shadow gag you; I promise I will enjoy it way more than you will, darling. ”
“I want to play with the pretty man, too,” Flick added, pursing his lips at the officer. “He’s got incredible muscle tone. Those biceps…mmm.”
“No!” Jaxon repeated, crossing his arms over his chest and firming his stance.
“You know damned good and well”—he frowned, ignoring Flick’s laughter at his unintended innuendo—“that Chuck will be pissed if she finds out about this. And she will. I’ll make sure of it.
” He nodded, arms still firmly folded, lifting his chin in a defiant pose.
Malachi squinted and nodded back. Shrinking back to human form, he grinned and clapped Jaxon on the shoulder. “Alright, sure Jaxalicious.”
A stunned expression wrenched Jaxon’s features into a comical twist. “What… you… alright?” he finally spat out. “What the actual fuck, you guys?”
Flick also shimmered back to human, although his skin still had a slightly eerie metallic sheen to it. “Yeah, alright. We’re open to reason. We’re not complete heathens, you know. I swear the stereotypes are alive and well with you. Disappointing.”
Jaxon glanced between the two of them, clearly not convinced and waiting for the punchline.
When none was immediately forthcoming, he spun to face Jeff.
“You! Asshole! Apologize to her, now!” he barked, pointing emphatically at Luna.
She poked her head out from behind Jaxon’s shoulder and waved cheekily before holding Reena aloft like a lion cub.
Sputtering, Jeff quickly gained his feet and apologized profusely to both Luna and Reena, bowing as far as his oversized waist would allow. The little dog wheezed happily and gave a piggy-snort of approval at the man’s offering, deigning to wag her curly tail a tiny bit before yawning hard.
Chuckling, Malachi stroked her forehead as she lounged in Luna’s arms. “I know, Princess, past your bedtime. Let’s go!” He turned to Sherry and waved her over.
The previously friendly waitress now crept toward him warily, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Y-Y-You want another round? Or your tab?”
“No worries, we’re leaving, but this should cover it.
Apologies for the disruption to your night.
You have been a most charming host. I’ve added extra for the inconvenience.
” He slipped a few hundred-dollar bills onto her tray and placed a quick peck on her temple.
“Call my cousin, alright? You won’t regret it! ”
She blinked rapidly, then whooped in laughter. “Are you kidding? Most fun I’ve had in a while. You come back any time, sugar, you hear?” She winked at Flick and motioned that she would call him, smiling when he blew her a kiss. Turning, she sauntered back to the bar, still laughing to herself.
Turning his gaze to Jeff, Malachi leaned forward and whispered, “Boo!” A deep booming laugh escaped his throat as the man fell on his ass and whimpered again.
Squatting, Malachi placed one finger on the man’s forehead and pursed his lips.
He inhaled hard, smiling serenely as a silvery whisp floated from the man’s mouth into his.
Flick leaned down as well and copied the motion, taking his own sip of the soul.
Licking his lips, Malachi groaned. “Delicious. Unholy Satan, I miss eating souls.” He sighed and glanced around the bar at the stunned faces of those observing him.
“That was only a taste. But let that be a warning. My friends and I are very… hungry.” His gaze fell back on Jeff.
“So don’t follow us, or we might just feast on you all.
” Glancing at the ceiling, Malachi snapped his fingers, and the music flared back to life.
The static-filled sound startled those still standing in shock, observing their group in trepidation.
Standing, he took Reena from Luna and strolled from the bar without a backward glance. Jaxon, Flick, and Luna followed quietly on his heels.