by Indra Frost
The guys had been asking almost nonstop questions after I had woken from a healing sleep. My wings were sore, but I didn’t want to let them out again. I had irrationally thought that if I didn’t remind the guys they were there, they would forget.
Since Reed hadn’t stopped hinting about them, I highly doubted that was true. But I would continue to pretend until he gave up his inquisition about how I had the wings of an angel and not a demon.
How I had wings at all would have been a better question. Low level demons didn’t have wings, and angels weren’t supposed to be able to breed with demons at all.
I was clearly demonic, the red eyes gave it away, but I had more angelic qualities that I tried to keep hidden as well. My mom's long dark hair was part of that, thought if you hadn't known her you may not make the connection.
Half-Demon and Half-Angel, I was an impossibility that shouldn’t have survived birth, let allow living in hell.
I was something that wasn’t supposed to exist. Like most half-breeds I had a mix of powers, but while most others had a diluted form of both sets of magic, I didn’t. I seemed to have most of the benefits without the weaknesses, something else I had to keep hidden.
I wasn’t susceptible to any type of fire, at least on the outside, which was an angel and demons’ best weapon against each other. That along with the fact that I could use both angelic and demonic runes was a death sentence.
“You’re not strong enough yet, you shouldn’t be out of bed.” Walker said, coming to stand by Jesse in front of the door.
“You don’t understand,” I started, the rest of the words getting caught in my throat when the brand flared on my shoulder.
The low thrumming pain wasn’t nearly as bad as what I had felt while holding up against Selasi, but it wasn’t a picnic either. My insides still felt raw from the amount of magic I had channeled, some of which wasn’t my own and had rebelled against my use of it.
“Then make us understand.” Reed came up to my side, arms folded over his chest.
I wanted to admire the way his muscles pressed against his t-shirt, but I was too frustrated to do it. Copeland and Blayze were in the kitchen, talking about something important if the serious look on their faces was to be believed.
I groaned, aggravated with them. I couldn’t tell them anything, not without causing myself more pain that was necessary. I thought they would have figured that out by now.
“You should be there too, you know. If you want to fight in the ring tomorrow.” I pointed out, the pain flaring before it faded to a manageable level.
The brand wasn’t quite sure how to take it when I said things like that. It wasn’t technically against the agreement to try and get someone into the fights. As long as I thought of what they were planning as something separate to that, it seemed to help confuse the magic more.
That seemed to make Reed pause, an internal fight playing through his eyes. He knew that he had to get into the fights, but he wanted me to rest. It was an odd thing to watch someone struggle over my health. I wasn't used to it, and wasn't sure how to take it. I didn’t want to tell him I was guaranteed to be in trouble when Greg did come back. Hairy was bound to have told him that I hadn’t shown up at all this week.
Greg would want to know what I had been doing, and I couldn’t tell him the truth. Another thing to think about was Selasi. If him and Greg were somehow in contact, he would tell him about what I had done, and who I was with. That would be bad for all of us.
I was almost completely healed, physically that is, but it wouldn’t matter as soon as the fights started up again. I was bound to be a punching bag no matter what, so there wasn’t a use in waiting to go until I was fully healed.
Finally seeming to come to a decision he sighed and bowed his head, pinch the top of his nose. I knew I had won before he looked up, his annoyance at what he would have to do clear on his face.
“Fine, we’ll both head back tonight, but if he doesn’t come back tonight, you’re going to come back here and rest.”
I was already shaking my head before he could finish talking. “ No can do, I'll have to wait until he comes back, whether it’s tonight or tomorrow morning. Once I’m in the gym I can’t leave until tomorrow night.”
I didn’t go into more detail, even though I could see he wanted to ask.
“It’s the agreement.” Blayze’s voice came from the doorway to the kitchen.
Him and Copeland walked out to join us in the living area next to the door. I nodded, ignoring the flare of pain at agreeing that it was the agreement.
I looked them all over, sad that this would be the last time I got to be around all this man candy. I had no doubt that Greg would find a way to finish me off after this. He may even bring the agreement out into the open to gain more control.
My gaze paused on the hellhound, surprised at the way he looked. He didn’t look different per se, still the same dark hair and red orange eyes, but he almost seemed to look healthier, lighter. I’m not sure what happened while I was resting, but it seemed to do him good.
“Right, the agreement.” Reed nodded, looking between us. “And what exactly does that mean?”
Blayze looked to me like I should explain, and I raised my brow at him. The duh, clear to see on my face. If I can’t talk about the agreement, I wasn’t going to try and explain what it meant. Even if I was able to talk about it, I wouldn’t want them to know what it actually meant for me.
“An agreement is made between a demon and another creature, in this case it was another demon. They agree to certain terms between them in return for money or favors. The thing about agreements, is that they usually include a gag order. If you can’t tell someone about an agreement, you can’t tell on the demon who will undoubtedly try to stab you in the back.” Blayze started.
“She can’t tell us about the agreement, to do so would mean pain. And when she actively goes against Greg, it means more pain. Once the agreement is broken, or Greg dies she should be free from the agreement.” He concluded.
I had to bite my tongue to stop from making a face that would give me away.
In most cases I guess what he said was true. Most demons didn’t put in clauses that guarantee death if you break your agreement. The hope was that they could somehow convince you to do it again. But my agreement wasn’t a normal one, it was a guaranteed death sentence no matter which way it ended.
I hadn't set it up, that was between my father and Greg, but my blood had been used so it was just as binding as if I had done it to myself.
If I went against Greg, then I would feel extreme amounts of pain before I died. Then he would get my soul. If I killed Greg I died, and my soul was still his to do what he wanted with in hell, where I would be trapped with him for eternity. If someone else killed him, I would die. Unless it was a demon, at which point my contract would be transferred over to the demon who killed him. If I died at the same time however, the contract wouldn’t transfer, and Greg would still hold sway over my soul.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Literally.
Jesse was giving me a funny look and I had to look away, knowing that if any of them were observant enough to see through my bluff, it would be him.
He was always watching, figuring things out. His issue was communicating, not seeing. I’ve watched him struggle to find ways to say something, but it wasn’t because he didn’t know what he was talking about.
"How is that different from what happened to you?" Reed asked Blayze, trying to understand that Hierarchy of Hell.
"Hellhounds don't enter into agreements. There was a spell placed on my kind by the king of hell himself that was done before we became a sentient species that could shift." He looked disgusted, and I couldn't disagree with him.
It was a sick and horrible thing to do to any creature. But to refuse to revoke the spell once you knew that they had developed enough to know better was a dick move.
"Hellhounds are bound to a master through a ceremony when they are born. Unless another d
emon saves their life, that agreement will stay with them until they die." His eyes flicked over to me before looking away.
A sudden soul shaking fear filled me at that. Was he suggesting that I owned his soul? That I know held his life in my hands?
"Me?" My voice was a strangled whisper.
He started to shake his head, "No, you don't control my soul."
It felt like he was leaving something off there, but when I saw the clock, I realized I didn't have the time to deal with it.
“I’m leaving.” I spoke up before anyone else could say something to stop me; not that they could.
I walked toward the door, either planning to shove Jesse and Walker out of the way, or they were coming with me. I didn’t care, but I wasn’t going to get in more trouble that I was already in. Not when it was something as simple as showing up when Greg was expecting me to be at the gym.
When I got within touching distance. Walker stepped out the way. But Jesse remained in place, standing sentinel until I had to try and walk around him. He raised his arm to block my way when I tried to shift to the side, not touching me, but not letting me pass.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Jesse's voice was soft enough, I wasn’t sure if anyone else had heard it.
Though I still looked around at them to make sure. It was also an excuse not to meet his eyes. I didn't want to look into his handsome face, not right now.
I wasn’t sure what to say. I couldn’t lie to him, not when it was his truths that allowed me to trust these guys in the first place. But I didn’t want to tell him the truth either. Couldn't with the agreement, which I had never before been happy about.
He may not be able to express his thoughts and feelings in a normal way, but I wouldn’t hurt him by telling him a falsehood. I should have ditched them when I had the chance. It would have been better to spare them any chance of growing attached, or of me doing the same, while knowing I would die.
I didn’t think it was conceited to hope that they would grow to like me, it was hopeful. I couldn’t say for sure that they did like me, but their actions indicated that it was likely there was some feeling of warmth towards me. I know I had been forced to acknowledge my feelings towards them, by Selasi's confrontation. That didn’t mean they cared for me as more than an acquaintance.
“I won’t lie to you Jesse, so please don’t ask me.” My voice was soft, but the pain of even thinking of lying to this man was too much.
My emotions came as a surprise, I was raised around demons, after all. Taught to lie, cheat, and steal before I was a teen. But his brutal honesty and unfailing trust in what the guys told him was endearing. It was a trust that he built with people he knew wouldn’t lie, and it made me feel sick to even think of telling him an untruth.
He watched my face for a moment, and I waited to see what he would do. I wouldn’t be able to lie to him. No matter how badly the brand made me hurt, I would tell him if he asked. But I knew the consequences of doing so would be painful, and it wasn’t the physical pain I was worried about.
I wasn't sure what they would do if they knew I was bound to die with Greg, but with what I have seen of them so far, I bet they would try to stop me. Protect me, even.
The fight with Selasi, if nothing else, had shown me how much caring about someone can change you; cost you. I wouldn’t take back what I had done, even knowing Selasi and these guys knew some of my secrets. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried about how that new information would be used against me.
Finally, he stepped back, not looking too happy, but willing to let me off the hook; for now. I didn’t think he would drop it for long, but I had a feeling things with Greg were going to escalate faster than they anticipated.
“Thank you.” I whispered.
Standing on my tiptoes, impulsively I leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. I blushed with embarrassed horror right after and practically ran out the door. Not wanting to wait around for his reaction.
“What did you say to get that reaction?” I heard Walker ask him before I ran out of hearing range.
I could have sworn there was a hint of jealousy in his voice, but that couldn’t be right. I picked up my speed, tapping into my abilities and causing the hollow well inside me to burn.
The need to get out of there as fast as I could was a burning in my chest. It was much fiercer than the backlash of over use from magic, so I used the physical pain to avoid the mental pain. Something I was rather good at after all this time.
I’m not sure how long it took them to realize I hadn’t waited around, but I do know that by the time I was out of their line of sight, no one had followed me. And as much as it hurt, it was for the best.
No matter what my heart thought.
I made it to the gym without incident but paused in front of the back door, hesitating with the key held in my hand. Something warned me that bad things were heading my way. But that didn’t matter; it couldn’t. I couldn’t avoid going in, no matter how much I may have wanted to. The brand would pull me back using pain and magic if I tried.
The contract's strength usually depended on the holder, the more powerful the demon, the more power it held. But the contract had been made by my father, the most powerful demon aside from the prince of hell himself, and it had used my blood. There would be no escape for me.
Gathering my courage, I finally opened the back door, stepping inside and shutting it behind me. The quiet seemed to ring out around me, the silence tearing at my ears as my unease built. It was pretty late, but the gym should have been open; there should have been people working out. The sound of heavy bags, and grunts should have reached me, even back here. Tension made breathing hard as fear put pressure on my chest and I felt the chains that bound me tighten. I was choking on air as the feeling of hands closed over my throat.
Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Forcing myself to walk forward was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I peered into the empty, dark gym. It was odd that no one was here during work hours, but I should have been able to breathe a sigh of relief. If Greg wasn't here, then he would never have to know that I hadn't been either.
Despite not seeing anyone, the feeling of impending doom didn’t go away.
Instead, it got worse.
I kept an eye out, even though I didn't sense anything as I slunk along the wall towards the office stairs, hoping I could at least do something useful for the guys before he got back. I could use this opportunity to my advantage.
My hand landed on the cold, metal railing as I turned to go up. I looked to the top of the stairs and my blood ran cold. My breaths came in pants as fear rode me hard.
Greg was standing at the top of the stairs leading to his office. Greg who was back early. His dark eyes stared at me with an expression of cold fury. His horns gleamed as his aura raged, dark and angry. His quiet fury was far worse than if he had started screaming at me.
The urge to run was almost overwhelming. I didn’t know what he had planned for me, but I was still hurting, and that caused my fight or flight response to land on flight. That wasn’t an option though, which is why I was stuck in an internal battle. I couldn’t run, but I wanted so desperately to get away.
He took slow, measured steps down the stairs, getting closer as my fear grew until it smothered everything else. Terror ran through my body, triggering the urge to run once again. But I couldn't do it. I physically couldn't make myself move. The brand burned at the thought of trying to leave and Greg came up to my side and gestured me forward.
His hand lifted and my eyes widened when I saw my contract held loosely in his hand.
I didn't know what he was doing, why he had my agreement out, but my heart was racing as different scenarios ran through my mind. He couldn't kill me, the contract prevented that, but he could hurt me. Maybe that was what he wanted, to hurt me.
But then why wasn't he doing it? Why was he dragging this out?
Greg stared at me, and his gaze was intense as he seeme
d to look through me, but he still didn’t speak. The hair on the back of my neck rose. A quiet Greg was an evil and vindictive one, and I didn’t doubt he had something nasty planned for me. If he was back early, then he likely had heard about my time away from this place. Whether he heard any of the truth didn’t matter; he would punish me all the same.
He flipped his hand to gesture me forward as my heart pounded. I walked beside him stiffly, my stomach filling with dread. I was almost too scared to think as I moved on autopilot. If he knew what I had been doing, then he would have said something, right?
I watched as he unlocked the door to the basement, eyes glued to the hand that held my contract before he gestured me forward. If the silence was meant to freak me out, then it was working; I couldn't calm myself down no matter how hard I tried.
The door shut and he stood above me, his form imposing in a way that his height should have never allowed as he waited for me to continue down the steps. His eyes burned into the back of my neck and I forced my feet into action. Each step was a stab to my chest, every stair severing me from anyone who could help me. I was helpless. Alone. And he was leading me down to the place where there was nothing aside from pain and humiliation.
There were no fights scheduled, there never were on the nights he got back, but I felt like this would be a punishment all the same. He would find a way to cause me pain, to make me regret not being here when he got back. I had never seen him like this before, so angry. The quiet was unnerving and it made my own imagination run wild, thinking of all the horrible things this demon would do to me.
I was terrified. Usually, I could handle the punishments he wanted to dole out. But tonight was different; there was a feeling in the air that was different to any time before. A feeling of a coming death, and only time would tell if it would be mine.
I squeezed my hand, digging my nails into my palm. I tried to use the pain to get myself under control, but even that wasn’t working.
The sound of his steps behind me were like claws against my instincts. They were screaming at me to get out, to run while I could, but the brand burned, telling me that wasn’t going to be possible. I wanted to, I wanted to run as hard and fast as I could away from whatever torture awaited me at Greg’s hand. I didn’t know why he needed my contract, what the point of having it with him was. There were only a few reasons that came to mind, and none of them were good.
