His Emerald Eyes

A Demon's Punishment

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Recap

Mistress Naanah stares down at both Malchom and Tom with a blank expression. Each second that ticks by feels like an eternity. Suddenly Mistress Naanah's face softens. "Well seeing as it was because of my anniversary party that separated you and Clauneck. Then it is only fair that I help you reunite with him."

Human and demon both feel the tension and stress seep out of them at her words. Emerald and amber eyes lock together as a silent message pass between them.

'We did it!'

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~1 human year ago, a month in the Netherworld~

Clauneck lays pathetically on the ground where he was thrown, staring blankly at the door where King Lucifer exited with Tom dragging limply behind him. He stays there for a while longer before forcing his shaking limbs under him. With a grunt of pain Clauneck pushes himself up from the floor. Once standing he makes his own way to the exit, when he is far enough from the house he shifts into his true form and takes off. The journey to his house seems to take an eternity, especially since every movement sends tidal waves of pain emanating from his throat to the very tip of his tail. In a twisted way, Clauneck is thankful for the pain, he gives him something to focus on. All too soon Clauneck arrives home. Diving down to his lawn Clauneck spreads his wings out to slow his descent. Unfortunately, this motion results in a particularly agonizing wave of pain to shoot through his body, causing Clauneck's entire body to seize. The crash that follows is not the worse Clauneck has suffered from but even still it results in many bruises. Once again Clauneck stays on the ground where he landed, waiting for the raging rivers of pain to subside to more tolerable levels. Eleven minutes later Clauneck once again gathers his limbs under him to drag himself out of the crater he created with his crash landing. Shifting when he is closer to the house Clauneck limps up the porch steps and through the front door. Dragging his throbbing body a few feet into his home Clauneck stops before turning around to face the door. As slowly and carefully as possible the demon lord bends down until he is on his knees with his head bowed. There he waits, waits for what he knows will come. His king's words echo in his head.

"I will deal with you later."

A dark chill travels down his spine at the remembrance of the dark promise. Still, he waits for his king to arrive to deliver his punishment. The thought of running or hiding doesn't even cross his mind. He knows that either of those options will only prolong the inevitable as well as make the punishment even worse than before. So, he waits in silence for his king's judgment.

The slowly dulling pain fades to the back of his mind as the silence of the house screams at him. With nothing to distract him Clauneck's mind wanders. Tom's terrified emerald eyes flash before him as a cold heavy ache explodes in this chest, an ache that has nothing to do with any physical injury.

'I am such an idiot! What was I thinking when I decided to keep Tom here? I should have returned him the second I found him in my treasury.' Clauneck berates himself. 'Instead, like an idiot, I broke the law and kept him. I could have been smart about keeping him and formed a contract with him so he could stay with me legally, but like a moron, I never even thought about that solution.' Clauneck sighs as he lies to himself. 'No, forming a contract with Tom had crossed my mind but I dismissed the thought before it could fully form.' Clauneck thinks back to the five months he shared with Tom, how scared he was of Clauneck, how he used to cry himself to sleep at night, how for a whole two weeks after Clauneck whipped him he would flinch and cower if Clauneck makes any type of sudden moment. 'I knew that if Tom ever found out that he had the option to return to the human world or stay with me he would jump at the chance to return. No way would he want to stay with the monster that whipped him and treats him like a pet.' Clauneck thinks, the ache in his chest like a cold knife being slowly twisted.