Chapter Seven
Andre
I looked around the dim club full of demons and gullible humans, and I was instantly thankful that I could teleport. Had I drove, I wouldn’t have been able to guarantee my car would still be there when I got done doing what I had to do. I mean, there were two cars a few blocks down that had been set on fire and were just burning away. The fire department would probably never get to them because they were putting out bigger fires elsewhere. Even before the bullshit with Katashniel went down, this section of the city was rough around all the edges. Now, so many businesses were boarded up or under repair because they’d been set on fire a few months back when the riots had broken out. I would never understand why people resorted to base, animalistic nature, destroying their own neighborhoods when they were angry or in some other state of disarray. What fucking good did it do? After the melee died down, what happened then? Now, you couldn’t go to the grocery store around the corner because it was burned down.
Anyway, I was tasked with finding Katashniel’s knights and didn’t really know where to look. I knew about this demon dive, I had gone there one time when I was on a case. So, maybe I’d be able to apply some pressure on demons to get some answers. It required stealth and a lot of lying on our part to get them to confess and expose themselves. That trick wasn’t going to work on more powerful demons, which was why tracking down Katashniel’s knights and the one Lord who betrayed Adriel was proving to be a pain in the ass.
Speaking of ass, I wasn’t too keen on having Brian paired up with Lord Dakkar. Maybe because I liked having Brian to myself… or at least to ourselves, since I shared him with Raphael. Not sure how I felt about Adriel giving Dakkar permission to fuck Raphael and me, either. I could honestly say, a threesome was the most I’d ever done. Was there such a thing as too many dicks in the bed? Could that be a problem? I guessed I’d be finding out.
“Can I get you anything?” the bartender asked, catching my attention.
I turned around to face him. He was a demon, green aura, so that meant he was a pure demon. He didn’t have the sensation buzzing around him that would make him one of Adriel’s demons, so I decided to put him on my list to be watchful of. You would have thought it would make things easier, but it didn’t. Apparently, all demons from Eighth-hell had a familiar aura about them. So, I couldn’t tell a loyal demon from a disloyal one. But demons from other hell levels didn’t have that aura. But these days, they still had to pledge an allegiance to our king.
Adriel was cleaning house, and since most demonic royalty were still residing in their own levels of hell, all the demons had to be on his side or get sent back to the hell they came from. I knew of only one queen that was on this plane, and even she had to agree to the alliance. Because she was able to make that bond with Adriel, her demons did have a hint of that buzz I got when I was around one of my own. All the other demons, we just had to take their word for it, which sucked. I did know, when it came to proving loyalty to Adriel, if they didn’t step up, they’d get stepped on.
I sighed. “Do you have any information of where I can find any of Katashniel’s knights?” I asked, knowing he’d say no.
The demon snorted and shook his head as he wiped down the bar top. “If I knew that, I’d have told King Adriel that information, if only to be in his good graces. It’s not like those guys come here bragging about who they are.”
“Surely, you hear things?”
He shook his head. “I have the level of hearing that humans have. Nothing super about me except my strength. You might want to talk to that Todakai over there. He comes here every night, orders the same drink, and plays cards until I close the place down.”
I turned to see who he was talking about and set my sights on a demon with a purple aura who was sitting at a round table with four other demons and one human. He’d taken the body of an average-looking human. Caucasian, brown hair, brown eyes, about six feet and on the lanky side. At first look, you probably wouldn’t think he was a threat and I figured that was what he was going for.
“Why should I talk to him?”
The bartender gave me a weird look like I should know better than to ask that question. “Because he’s a fucking Todakai. If you’re looking for something hard to find, they come in handy.”
“Thanks for the advice,” I said. I had to go into my mental rolodex about demon types. A Todakai was one I wasn’t too familiar with. Guess I was about to learn about a new demon. I walked over to the table and the demons at the table all looked up at me.
“Can we help you, buddy?” one asked, then laughed. Two of the other demons joined in the chuckle.
“Just wanted to ask a few questions,” I said.
“Look, we’re just trying to have a nice game here. Don’t want to be bothered,” another demon said.
“Can any of you tell me any information about Katashniel or his army?” I asked, ignoring the demon’s comment.
“No, we don’t know anything,” another demon said.
“Do you speak for everyone?”
“He speaks for me. Why don’t you get the fuck out of here with all that shit,” said the Todakai I came over to speak with.
It was moments like this when I enjoyed being a demon. At least, one that was damned near indestructible. I placed my hand over the table and sent my fire to it, setting it ablaze.
“Oh shit!” two of the demons exclaimed as they scooted back from the flames. The others made their comments, but all were finally giving me their undivided attention. Good.
“The next motherfucker that thinks it’s his time to shine will catch some flames. Am I clear?”
They all nodded, including the human who was trembling. That was another thing I didn’t get. If you were afraid of what demons were capable of, why the fuck would you hang out at a demon bar, dumb shit? Anyway, at least they knew I wasn’t playing around with their asses.
“Now, let’s start again. Can any of you motherfuckers tell me about Katashniel’s army, or do I lose my temper?” I asked.
“Look, I swear, we don’t know anything,” one of them said.
I looked at the Todakai, and he looked away with shifty eyes.
“They don’t come here… too many loyal to Adriel,” he said.
“How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “I just do. It’d be too risky.”
“Not if they are lying,” the human said.
I turned to him, because he was speaking for the first time. “What do you know?”
He shook his head. “Not a damn thing.”
“Why are you even here?”
“Because I want to believe that demons and humans can live together. If we don’t try, then how will we know?”
Well, shit… that just took a big ass dump on what I thought about people like him. I couldn’t argue with that logic. He was right and I was wrong. Well, kind of wrong. This still seemed like a bad place to want to test those waters. Of course, if I was honest, the only ruckus started tonight was by me. You know what? I didn’t have time to be worried about all that. Had some investigating to do.
I placed my hand on the Todakai and teleported us out of that place and into an alley a few blocks away. The streets were pretty crowded with demons and some humans, though most seemed to be minding their own business, if not boisterously. Some were just gathered together, talking shit, I supposed. There was a couple fucking against a car; demon female, human male. A small audience was gathered, watching and apparently enjoying the show by the smiles on their faces. It looked consensual, so I didn’t bother to interrupt. I learned long ago how to pick my battles.
I looked at my new demon friend. “Now we can talk in private.”
“I don’t know what you want with me,” he said, adjusting his clothes.
“First off, what’s your name?”
He swallowed hard. “Tyson.”
I raised both brows. “Last name?”
“Tyson Barnes. And you? Since you want to know so much about me.”
“Andre Jackson.”
“That lawyer guy?”
“I’m the district attorney.”
“Yeah, a lawyer with a fancy title.”
“Whatever, motherfucker. Next, what kind of demon are you?”
“A weak one, bottom of the totem pole. I can’t even teleport and I eat animals to survive, mainly rabbits.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question, and you know it.”
He signed. “I’m a Todakai.”
“What are your abilities?”
Tyson raised both arms out in an elaborate shrug, then lowered them, slapping his thighs. “I’ve got super-heightened senses.”
“Explain. Even I have heightened senses.”
“What are you?”
“An Agoto.”
His eyes widened and he bowed his head. “My apologies, sir. If I had known beforehand, I wouldn’t have been so rude.”
“I ain’t worried about all that, just answer the question.”
“I can hear what is now being discussed back at the bar.”
Okay, that was impressive as fuck, because I couldn’t. “How?”
“I can leave a little piece of me in the form of a drop of blood or cum, and it’s like I’m still there. Blood is easier to leave, though.”
“I can imagine. Well, shit, that would make you one hell of a spy.”
He smirked. “It does. That’s how I know none of them ever go there. It’s been recently warded off to demons disloyal to King Adriel. You didn’t notice, because you are loyal. But someone who isn’t… they wouldn’t be able to get in.”
“For how long?” I didn’t remember the bar being warded off before.
“About a month ago.”
In a way, this was bad news for me. I needed to run into someone shady so I could get answers. I needed to hit up bars that didn’t have that loyalty ward.
“You knew that the bartender told me about you, you had to have heard our conversation.”
He nodded. “I did. It’s not the first time he’s pointed someone in my direction who needed my services. I’ve made some good money doing my ‘surveillance’ for both humans and demons.”
Well, I could see how. I was sure about to put his ass to work. “Can you put your blood or whatever on someone and be like a listening device?”
“As long as they don’t wash up or change clothes, yeah. But with demons, it’s difficult. Most, like you, sir, have senses that can detect that sort of intrusion on their person. It’s easier to do locations, especially these days when finding demon blood in public is kind of common, less suspicious.”
“Well, I see where you’re coming from now. But I can also see that you can help me out.”
“How? I’m not from Adriel’s army.”
“Where do you come from?”
“First-hell.”
“Well, if you want to continue living, it’s best you work with me. My king isn’t taking too kindly to demons from other hells at the moment.”
“Well, I don’t want to die, so tell me what you want.”
“I need you to be my eyes and ears in places demons don’t think anyone is listening,” I said.
“Will it earn me favor with King Adriel?”
“It won’t hurt.”
He nodded. “Do I get to be a knight like you?”
I scoffed. “Don’t push it. At the most, you’re my sidekick, buddy.”
I saw his shoulders slouch just a little. “I’ll help however I can.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, sir.”
“If you can do that kind of trick, why haven’t you done so already?”
“Demons like me don’t usually get involved with anything. I’m too lower level, and higher ups would kill me if they suspected.”
“You seem like you have the perfect body. No one would suspect you were a demon. I mean, if they can’t sense it. Not all demons can, you know.”
He shook his head. “I can’t defend myself that well. I don’t know any fighting styles and I’m not strong enough.”
“How strong are you?” I asked. Since I was bringing him with me, I needed to know just what kind of back-up I’d have by my side.
He looked down as if ashamed to answer. “The human body I possess is the limit of my strength.”
I blinked and did a reassessment of the body he was in. If this lanky, spindly-armed form held all the physical strength he possessed, I was wondering why he didn’t bother possessing another human. “Why did you pick such a physically weak human in the first place? And what happened to the human who used to own this body?”
He looked up then, eyes wide and hands out to defend himself “No, no, I swear, I didn’t kill nobody. He was already dead when I found his body. Suicide. He didn’t want it, so I took it.”
Damn, demons could be callous, but then… they were no different than humans in that regard. My short time as one had given me some different perspective. I narrowed my gaze. “So, you were just floating around looking for a body? For how long?”
“About ten minutes. The gate to First-hell is open, but the portals don’t stay open for long when someone makes them. You’ve got about ten seconds to get out or back into hell before those portals close. I just took control of the first body available to me. I’ve only been on this plane for about six months.”
“Fine, then. Keep the low profile.”
I’d never met a demon this weak and pathetic before, but at least he had one hell of a useful ability. In all of my time cracking skulls and eating demon souls since Katashniel broke out, I never came across fortune this good. Tonight was my lucky night. Now, I just needed to take my new friend all over this town and many others and have him drop some blood here and there. Hopefully, I’d learn the location of Katashniel’s knights and could do my job.
“So, where are we going?”
“All over the world, because looking for Katashniel’s knights will be like looking for a few needles in over two-million haystacks.”
He shrugged. “Were you always looking for them, though?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been rather preoccupied with keeping peace and order between humans and demons. Killing demons who were attacking humans. Stopping humans from trying to kill each other over stupid shit. You may have been chilling, taking shit easy for the past three months, playing cards and all that. But just in case you failed to notice, things have been batfuck crazy outside that bar.”
“I noticed… that’s why I stayed in the bar. I was no match for those demons.”
Jesus Christ. I rubbed my temples just a little. I wasn’t getting a headache, those didn’t happen anymore, but it was mainly out of frustration. Why couldn’t this fucking day just end with me blowing my load inside Brian’s tight, sexy ass?
“Well, sunshine, you’re in the fight now. So, tell me, how long does this trick of yours work?”
“Okay, now that’s the issue. If I drop my blood on the floor, on some furniture, or against the wall and it goes undetected, it can last for about a week before the connection starts to fade away. If someone cleans it up, it’s gone instantly.”
“What if they just use a napkin? Like, does it go away if they don’t use any cleaning chemicals to contaminate it?” I asked. I was really trying to figure out how all this shit worked.
He shook his head. “The connection I made is broken once it’s moved. It’s like I place my blood on an object, then it becomes rooted and I am the eyes and ears of that place. But once that connection is broken in any way, even if someone steps on it… it’s gone.”
“So that means you need to place your blood somewhere where there isn’t heavy traffic?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
Something he said dawned on me. “Hey, can you see through your blood?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Just through the link to where I put my blood. Like, say I place it on the wall or on a painting. I can only see through the area in that room. If they leave the room, I won’t be able to hear or see them.”
“Ahhh, I’m starting to understand how you work. That’s pretty fucking helpful, especially in the human world. You may find yourself busy once things settle more. I would suggest you get a job with the Society after this.”
“I thought they only wanted powerful demons.”
“Well, there—”
“Help me!!!” a piercing, feminine scream interrupted our conversation.
“Wait here, don’t move. I fucking mean it,” I warned with a pointed finger.
Tyson held both hands up, surrendering. “Hey, I won’t go nowhere, I promise.”
I didn’t bother to respond before running off to investigate the scream. The couple who’d been fucking on the car earlier was gone, as was the crowd that had gathered to watch. The streets were still busy, but not as active. I listened carefully, trying to hear if the woman was breathing or if she was moaning since the screaming stopped. I concentrated, and that was when I heard some whimpering. I teleported to an abandoned building where one demon was standing next to a couple lying on the ground. I knew what the scene was and I felt my blood boil.
The woman’s mouth was obstructed by her panties and the demon was ravaging her mercilessly while she cried. His companion was cheering him on and waiting his turn. I had seen more than enough. I raised my hand and projected my fire towards his partner, ashing him instantly. He didn’t even have time to scream. Most demons did die by fire, so it was pleasing to my eyes seeing him crumble into a heap of dust. His buddy hadn’t even realized that his friend was dead, too busy violating the woman. I teleported over to him, snatching him off her, to his utter shock.
“What the fuck!” he growled as he turned to look into my eyes. “Get your fucking hands off me.”
I didn’t bother to say anything to him at first. I turned to the woman. “Are you okay?” I asked her.
Tears and snot were running down her face as she pulled her own underwear from her mouth. Her lips were bruised, and one was split and bleeding. Her whole body trembled in fear and she could barely respond, but she shook her head.
“I’m going to take you to the hospital, but first, I’m going to kill this fucking demon,” I said.
It was then that I saw her hatred for her demon attacker come to the surface. Her mouth grew hard and her gaze became heated. “Kill him!” she snarled.
“Gladly,” I said. “But first.” The demon had been struggling in vain in my grip. I could tell that he was powerful and strong, but not stronger than me. He probably would be had I not been fully bonded with my mates. “You might want to look away,” I told her.
She shook her head as she tried to reassemble her torn clothing in an attempt to cover up her private parts. “I want to see him die,” she cried in anger. With each passing second, she seemed to find her strength.
The whole time I spoke to her, the demon was rattling off curses and threats, but none of that shit mattered to me. We both ignored his stupid ass. I could tell he wasn’t from Adriel’s army or Eighth-hell. Didn’t matter to me which hell he crawled out of. This fucker’s soul was about to fuel my body and increase my king’s powerbase.
His cock was still sticking out, albeit soft, and the fucker was covered in vaginal fluid and blood. He deserved what I was about to do to him. I adjusted my grip on his ass, holding him against my chest so he couldn’t get away. Even if he tried to teleport, he’d just take me with him. That was how things worked. And I would just bring him right back here. I reached down, gripping his cock, and I gave it a good tug, ripping that fucker off.
“Ahhhhhhh, fuck, you motherfucker!” the demon screamed, slinging more curses my way. Since coming out as gay and being a black man, I’d been called all kinds of names. I got called more when I became a lawyer, so I was immune to the insults. I tossed his severed cock to the ground with no regard. Blood covered my hand, but I didn’t care.
The woman’s eyes bulged, her mouth dropped open as she watched blood flow in copious amounts down the demon’s leg. I knew the scene had to be shocking to her, but she didn’t look away. The weapon he had used against her was now sitting in his friend’s pile of ash.
“I told you it was going to be tough to watch,” I said.
She swallowed hard and blinked a few times. “But I’m… I’m glad I saw it.”
Well, I liked that in her. It was time to end this now. I turned my back toward her and switched arms, so I was holding him with my bloody hand. I released my cock with my other hand, because I knew by feeding on him, I’d shoot and I didn’t want to mess up my pants. Still had more shit to do tonight. I opened my Agoto up, allowing it to feed. I sucked the demon’s green soul from his body and when it entered mine, it was divine. My body quaked and I came just like I knew I would. My spunk shot all over the demon’s pants and squirted on the floor. I was stuck in the moment until the soul was completely devoured. Ripples of pleasure coursed through me and I trembled in response before dropping the demon to the ground.
“You’re… you’re one of the good ones?” the woman asked.
I opened my eyes and tucked my dick back into my pants. “Yeah. I don’t kill innocent people.” I looked down at the dead demon and gave him the same treatment his friend got, turning him into a pile of ash. I did the same to the drops of my cum that had hit the floor. I didn’t like leaving my DNA at any crime scene.
“How do you all look so human?” she asked.
I sighed and turned toward her. “Watch that documentary that came out two months ago. It will explain a lot. It’s called ‘Demons Among Us’.” I walked over to her, holding out my clean hand. “Let me take you to the hospital.”
Very timidly, she reached out, taking my hand. I leaned down, scooping her up. Once our eyes met, I laid the whammy down. I made her forget about my feeding and what I looked like. All I wanted her to remember was that she was saved by a good demon and her attackers were killed. I teleported her to the hospital, dropping her off at the front door, then I teleported back to Tyson, who jumped when I popped back up next to him.
“Jesus!” He pressed his hand to his chest as he gave me an exasperated expression. “Where’d you go?”
“Had to save a woman who was being raped by a demon. Now, where were we?”
“You say that like it was nothing,” Tyson noted.
I shrugged. “Like I told you, it has been sheer chaos out here. Motherfuckers have been losing their damn minds while you were chilling, taking it easy.”
He looked down then, as if ashamed, but I wasn’t so sure he was. Did he feel guilty for only looking out for number one? Or was this all just show for my benefit? Only time would tell. I was glad to see he hadn’t tried to run, so maybe there was more to him than cowardice. And hell, maybe he wasn’t as much of a coward as he put on. Again, time would tell.
“So, where was I before I was interrupted?” I asked.
“You were telling me that I needed to join the Society, and I was under the impression they only wanted powerful demons,” he reminded me.
“Ahh, yes. There is a push for that, because they are taking on demons who are strong as hell, pun not intended. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for you, trust me. Besides, they have humans working for them as well.”
“I thought they just worked in the offices.”
I shook my head. “A lot of them are field agents, and they are paired with demons.”
“Seems like dangerous work. I’d rather work in the office if I do.”
This cowardly-assed motherfucker. I swore, the shit people said just astounded me sometimes. “I will recommend to King Adriel that you do join the Society. You can be very useful.” I said, letting him know I wasn’t giving his ass a choice. I didn’t want people to die. I didn’t want decent demons to die. It was odd to think that demons could be decent, but Brian, Raphael, Mr. Cassian, myself, and many others I’d met proved that they could be. I wanted this world to find its footing again and things to go back to normal where eventually, my co-workers weren’t afraid of me. I missed the days when they didn’t look at me in fear.
“Listen, you can be so much more than just some bum in a bar. Help us make this world a better place,” I said, wanting to appeal to what I suspected was a good conscious.
He pursed his lips. “I do miss the way things were when I first got here. Sex is amazing, and I haven’t been getting it much these days.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “How much were you getting before?”
“Hey, don’t knock me because of my looks. I’m quite the charmer.”
“Yeah, okay. So, will you be something more?”
He sighed and nodded. “I guess I owe the humans for agreeing to keep the gate to hell open. So, yeah… if you think I can help, I’ll join the Society.”
“Good. For now, I have a place in mind where we can plant your blood.”
“Where?”
“A bar full of assholes, human and demon. It might get bloody in there, which will be perfect for you to plant your blood.”
He held up a hand. “Hold on, will I have to fight?”
I nodded. “Just go in there, order a beer, and find a place to take in the atmosphere. I’ll come in a little later and start some shit with you. All you have to do is go down with one punch. That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I really don’t like pain.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold back. Just sell the shit. Can you do that?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that I can do.”
“Perfect. I’ll teleport us to a location and we’ll go from there.”
“Okay, let’s do this.”
I was happy he was agreeable to my plan. Perhaps, this was part of his charm. I just hoped he didn’t try to pull any stunts and escape because I really needed his help. I had to remember to give that bartender a fruit basket or something for pointing me in this Todakai’s direction. For now, I had a bar full of assholes to confront. This night might be picking up.