Burn

CHAPTER 23

They fixed the room as best they could, sweeping away the broken vase and upturning the mint chair from where it'd been thrown across the room.

It wasn't perfect; some of the stuffing had been ripped from Gloria's pillow, and the curtains hung crookedly on their fixtures. But the mortals, Ryu assured Carter, would never know.

The ride back from the hospital was tense. Carter had been reluctant to leave Gloria, and terror still gripped him in the aftermath of the attack. Margo drove, fingers tapping a nervous rhythm against the steering wheel. She kept stealing glances at Carter and Ryu in the backseat, noting, no doubt, the thick tension between them.

After three quarters of the drive spent in terrible silence, Ryu finally sighed.

"Carter," he began, "you have to understand-"

"Look, can we not have this conversation," Carter pleaded, with a vehement shake of his head. "I'm just as scared as you, but-this isn't even an option."

"Of course it's an option," Ryu fumed. "It's the only option-"

"What's going on?" Margo asked warily.

"Go on," Carter said wearily, meeting Ryu's gaze with a scowl. "Go on and tell her what you suggested."

Ryu scowled back. "All I said," Ryu explained, turning to Margo, "was that my presence is clearly attracting demons, and it'd be much safer for everyone involved if we found a way to end the bargain early."

Carter gave another sigh, but when Margo didn't reply for a several minutes, his stomach dropped and ice filled his veins.

"He's right, Carter," Margo said finally. Her lips were pursed, tension in every line of her face. "It's the safe thing to do."

Carter gaped at her in horror.

"But the salt-"

"Didn't work." Margo sighed, lines marring her forehead as she frowned. "I don't why, but...I think the safest thing to do right now is to send Ryu home."

"You can't be surprised, Carter," Ryu added, now faintly self-deprecating, "She's made it clear she doesn't trust me. I don't blame her for wanting me gone. Neither should you."

Carter stared between them in sheer disbelief; there was a ringing in his ears, and the vague sensation of being somewhere else entirely, as though he were merely watching the entire conversation unfold through a strangers eyes.

And it was only when Margo cut off the engine that he realised they'd arrived at his house.

"I thought there wasn't a way," Carter said finally into the solemn silence. "I thought you couldn't exorcise a demon if you entered into a bargain with them."

"We'll find one," Ryu said quietly. "We'll search every book until we do."

He cast a glance at Margo, who nodded.

Carter gripped his seatbelt so firmly his knuckles turned white.

"So you're suddenly okay with this, are you?" He demanded, anger filling him. "You put in all this effort for my soul and now you're just gonna fuck off?"

He knew he was being unfair, could hear the petulance in his voice, but he was furious at himself for the whirl of emotions ravaging his mind. He was terrified for his mother, for Margo, for anyone who he might inadvertently come to care for. And after everything...He should be glad to be rid of Ryu-should be counting down the seconds.

But the thought of no longer having the demon by his side...

Carter wrenched open the car door and stomped out into a late drizzle, trainers slapping the wet pavement as he went.

Ryu found him sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

"You shouldn't have those little spats," the demon remarked, surveying him with a raised brow. "I have to follow you around, and then it's just awkward for both us."

"Yeah, well, soon that won't be a problem for you," Carter muttered into his hands.

Ryu sighed and sat heavily beside him.

"Don't you see I don't want to do this?" He asked after a few beats. Those taloned hands carved through his hair, flipping the inky curls between his horns. "I'm used to being selfish, Carter. It's one of the perks of being a demon. No one expects you to be a moral adversary. But now..."

He huffed a long-suffering sigh.

"Now, I just can't condone that."

"Why not?" Carter demanded, snapping his head up. Ryu's face was impassive, and wasn't that just infuriating. "Why can't you?"

"You know why," Ryu replied simply. His gaze had darkened, and a shiver ran down Carter's spine.

He'd said the same thing that night.

You know why.

"Don't give me that shit," Carter hissed, turning away. "Don't act all cryptic like I can read your spooky mind."

Ryu huffed a laugh, but broke off at Carter's glare.

"I'm too dangerous to you," he murmured suddenly, brow creased in thought. Those eyes darkened further, and then he propped himself up onto the balls of his feet and slung a leg over Carter's lap, straddling him.

Carter froze as the demon settled over him, dark curls falling into his face.

"I don't want your soul," Ryu continued, gripping Carter's face in his steadily heating palms. "I want all of you." He began peppering kisses along Carter's jawline, feather-soft and slightly painful.

"I want your heart." Kiss. "Your mind." Kiss. "Your blood." Kiss. "I want every thought you think to be only of me, for you to only look at me, see only me. I want you to breathe me and live me and feel me, everywhere, all the time. I want you to be mine, Carter. Completely and utterly mine."

He rocked his hips for emphasis, and Carter let out a keening gasp. His hands found Ryu's hips and bunched in the black material of his shirt.

"Isn't that insane?" Ryu whispered against his ear. His voice was so gentle, so poetic, as though he were merely reciting a love song. "Aren't I just batshit crazy?"

Carter surged up and bit down on Ryu's bottom lip, tugging. When he withdrew, he could feel the black tar of Ryu's blood on his tongue.

"Yes," he rasped. "Yes you are." His fingers found their way under Ryu's shirt and skated lightly over his stomach. The demon sighed. "And you don't get that. You don't get all of me." He bit down on Ryu's pointed ear, hard. "You get what I give you. You get only what I choose to give. And nothing more."

Ryu threw back his head, exposing a column of long red skin, and Carter ran his tongue up and then down the length of it. "And right now, I want you to have this." There were tears in his voice. He always seemed to be crying these days. "I want you to have this, with me. This moment."

Ryu withdrew, eyes narrow and searching, though his hands remained where they'd buried themselves in Carter's hair. "You agree, then," he said finally. "You agree it's the right thing to do."

Carter's grip tightened on Ryu's hips, then relaxed. "Yeah," he whispered, rubbing soothing little circles with his thumb. "I do."

He'd known what he was going to agree immediately, as soon as those damned words had left Ryu's mouth. There was just simply no way he could risk his mother's life like that, or anyone's. Even if...

"I don't have to like it, though," Carter said against his skin, burying his face in Ryu's neck. Heat wafted across his cheek, singing him. Those cursed tears kept falling. "Because I don't."

Ryu chuckled, though the sound lacked any real mirth. His hand slid to the back of Carter's head, cradling it. "That's okay," he breathed, voice wispy and feather-soft. "That's okay."

A/N: Please feel free leave a comment and/or vote if you enjoyed!