When Asmodeus goes missing, Hell falls into chaos. His demons are uncontrollable. Inconsolable.
Three weeks after he goes missing, I'm called to retrieve a soul. I'm not sure what I'm walking into since I'm never the one called upon to take a soul;...
Asmodeus groaned, his scarred, bloody hands slapping to the white tile beneath him. His head hung low, his long, dark hair a curtain around his face, stopping me from seeing him.
"Your demons were meant to be mine," Leviathan snarled. He gripped Asmodeus's hair and yanked his head back, pulling his neck taut. Crouching in front of the prince, he bared his teeth, hatred gleaming in his eyes. "I will get what has always been rightfully mine, little prince. And I can't wait to watch the horror pass through your eyes as I rip your demons limb from limb and recreate them in my image."
"Fuck... you," Asmodeus growled.
Leviathan snarled and smashed Asmodeus's face into the tile, shattering the porcelain. Bones crunched in the prince's face, and blood smeared across the floor. Yanking his head back up, Leviathan grinned at him. "I'm coming for you, Asmodeus. This is not over. Death will never save you."
Fuck, this wasn't just a flashback. Leviathan was reaching Asmodeus through his memories.
I roared and solidified myself in the flashback, my reaper form coming forth. Black, feathered wings sprouted from my back, and my skin turned deathly pale, blue veins standing starkly against my skin. My forked tongue flicked out over my sharp teeth. Leviathan jerked back from Asmodeus as if he'd been burned and I straddled Asmodeus's bare, beaten form with my feet before wrapping my massive wings around him.
"I'm coming for you," I promised Leviathan. "And when I do, I'm going to rip your fucking wings from your back and then tear you apart," I promised. "Mark my fucking words."
"I'm not afraid of you, Death," he growled.
Quicker than lighting, I shot my hand out and wrapped it around his throat, my talons digging into the soft flesh of his neck. He choked, his eyes bugging out of his head. Blood spilled between my fingertips, bleeding into his pristine, white shirt. I cocked my head to the side, a menacing grin tilting my lips. "No?" I calmly asked him. His fear was so potent, I could taste it. "Turns out, you don't know how to protect yourself in a dream, dear brother." I dug my talons in more. The copper stench of his blood filled the room. I licked my lips. "Asmodeus is mine. Touching him is the end of your life."
Leviathan suddenly disappeared from in front of me. The only sign he'd been in Asmodeus's dream was his blood on my hand and pieces of his skin under my talons. I shook my hand out, letting his skin fall to the floor before I crouched in front of the prince. Cradling his face in my hands, I dragged my talons along his ears, being careful not to hurt him. His face had taken the brief reprieve from Leviathan's distraction to heal, but his blood still coated his face.
"You came," he rasped, sounding as if he'd been chewing on gravel.
My reaper smiled, softening for him. "We came, my boy," I murmured.
Tears welled in Asmodeus's eyes. "Why does he hate me so much?" he croaked. "I didn't ask for this."
I wanted to hunt Leviathan down and slaughter him for Asmodeus's tears. Once one of the most feared men within hell, the prince had been broken. Shattered. And it was going to take a long while for him to heal from what he'd gone through.
"I know you didn't, baby," I murmured. I eased my reaper form back. My talons retracted back into my fingertips, and I slid my hand over his blood-soaked hair. "Can you wake up for me? I can't leave until you let me."
He frowned. "I don't understand."
I trailed the backs of my fingers down his bloody cheek. "You called for me, little prince. My reaper answers to you."
He smiled a little and shut his eyes. The room we were in slowly faded to black.
I sucked in a sharp breath of air. A crick had formed in my neck, and shit, it hurt. Groaning, I gently rolled my neck around before moving one of my wings and looking down at Asmodeus. He was staring back at me, his dark eyes full of pain, but warmth also lingered there. A sort of worship for me that had my reaper purring in contentment.
His bottom lip began to tremble. Tears welled in his eyes. "My demons?" he croaked.
I leaned down and cupped his cheeks in my hands. "I'll keep them safe," I promised.
Hot tears streaked down his cheeks. I circled my arms around his head and pulled him close, letting my wing wrap back around him.
You'll pay for this, I silently swore to Leviathan.
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