~~Young~~

Chapter Fifteen

   Waking up naked on Lucifer’s throne room floor wasn’t never much fun even in the best of times.

   Oh who was Gage kidding, it was never fun.

   Add in that his insides were still leaking all over the floor and you had a party. Blood of any kind drew a crowd in hell. Blood meant suffering and most demons fed on suffering. Including the bastard that was about to have his misshapen testicles hanging out of his leather breeches ripped off if he so much as took one more step closer to Gage.

   “I swear Bane, aim your dick somewhere else because if it touches any part of me it won’t be good for stabbing anything but your pride anymore.”

   “And who’s gonna stop me, you?” he let out a chuckle that bellowed through the room, “Looks like you’re in too rough of shape to put up any sort of fight.”

   “Wanna bet?” Gage sneered.

   Like so many other creatures currently haunting the shadows of the room Bane was…let’s say excited to see Gage. But knowing his reputation as such an efficient killer, Bane was the only who had the balls- for now at least- to approach Gage.

   They were circling each other currently, which was only a step up from the glaring they had done thus far. For all his talk Bane knew he had to be cautious. In any other chamber-minus the ones holding the frozen lakes- Bane would have the advantage simply because he was better at the ground fight, but here, in the grand chamber Gage had more than enough room to take flight. But what Bane didn’t know, and was very much to Gage’s benefit, was that he so did not have the strength in him to take off.

   Not with his side blown wide open. That shit hurt like hell even without his muscles tugging on it as he flapped. He tried his best to close it up before he got here, letting unconsciousness take hold once he knew Death had found Sera’s soul to give him some chance to let the healing slumber do its thing. But he guessed he had cut it a little too close because one second he was sprawled wings out awkwardly in a bath tub, and the next his ass was landing on the frozen floors of hell.

   Not exactly the graceful entrance Gage would have rather gone for.

   The sharp jolt of his tail bone jamming into his spine was for the better though, because even if Gage didn’t know it was time to go home Bane did, and was waiting for him. Seemed he hadn’t forgotten about the Riley thing and wanted a chance at Gage before Lucifer made his own grand entrance.

   Cocking his head to the side Gage could still hear the pleas for mercy coming from Lucifer’s personal chamber, so then they still had time. Surprisingly enough they sounded female, though that did remind him…

   “So Bane, how’s your ass?” Gage grinned, “Bet it got a good workout while I was gone didn’t it?”

   Bane’s cocky expression vanished as a growl rumbled through the room. At least from Bane it did, the rest of the crowd was a mix of gasps and chuckles. Guess Bane had managed to thus far keep his punishment to himself.

   Aww, too bad.

   It gave Gage an extra spring in his step to know he had just humiliated Bane in front of their peers, oh how he loved that.

   Oh no, there were no lowly souls here, or lesser demons used for couriering messages, it was the best of the best in attendance right now. Gathered simply to see if Gage had at last failed, he hadn’t yet. And for every successful mission Gage completed the others grew more desperate for him to fall. They all had at some point or another, either by man or another god’s interference, but not Gage…Pestilence and Famine were standing side by side just behind Bane, War to Gage’s left whispering to Fury who was nodding along. Plague was standing with his arms crossed in the main archway. Vengeance was clapping her taloned hands for more…the list went on.