Page 9 of A Cursed Heart

Malacoda

Content that Ryan would return thanks to his unwillingly agreed upon deal with Scythe and the subtle lure I’d cast, I focused on my most urgent task: staying out of Salvatore’s hands.

Growing increasingly impatient over the heart ruby, Salvatore used whatever power he could muster in his attempts to unlock the power of the gem over the hours after his meeting with Ryan. In between spells, he received a series of calls, growing more agitated with each one.

Though it took a significant amount of my power, I did everything I could to thwart his spells.

From obscuring words, damaging tools like crystals, pretty much anything that I could think of with the limited reach I had.

I couldn’t let Salvatore see what I was doing, either.

He wasn’t aware that someone lived inside the gem.

Or at least, I didn’t believe he knew. It had been so long since I had been outside of my prison, I truly believed no one had that knowledge.

Each time Salvatore failed, I could feel his rage growing. His desperation for the magic I held also increased with each failure.

Soon, it became clear to me why this was so important to him.

I overheard something he was keeping hidden from even his most trusted companions.

Unknown to most, especially those who held territory under him, Scythe was losing control of the city.

Even his legitimate side was in danger. Salvatore had agencies investigating his business.

They were in danger of being taken from him.

There was a mole in his organization. His house of cards was in danger of toppling at any moment.

To hold on to all he had built, he needed an influx of power and influence.

Even if I couldn’t get into Ryan’s hands, if I stayed out of Salvatore’s reach for long enough, the outsiders coming for him might end his reign.

Though there was always the possibility someone just as evil as Scythe could get their hands on me.

No, there was a reason no one had toppled him so far.

No one could be worse than Scythe. All I had to do was buy myself some time.

Ryan, though, had another plan. Only a few hours after being called to Salvatore’s office, he enacted it.

The young man stole into the office just an hour after Salvatore left. I was unsure what he did, but it appeared he had tampered with the computer. While I understood what things were and the purpose they had, I did not understand how they worked.

It looked as if Ryan knew computers well.

His posture was confident while he worked.

He typed swiftly on the keyboard with agile fingers.

His movements were precise with no sign of hesitation.

Was this the hacking thing Salvatore mentioned?

He suggested Ryan had a gift with computers, which was useful to him.

From my prison, I studied the man I’d chosen to be my master.

Yes, chosen. Whatever my brother had done to me in those last moments had given me a modicum of control of my gem.

I had claimed it as mine because our fates were tightly interwoven.

Deep in my soul, I believed that if I were to ever gain my freedom, something I had long since given up hope of, then the gem would cease to be powerful.

All the remaining magic it held would vanish without me there to power it.

Dagda’s last breaths loosened the chains surrounding me, and over time I learned it was more than that.

I could influence others around me. Urge them to pick up the gem.

Some came into contact with me and then showed they were too weak of mind or spirit to hold such magic.

I could rebuff the weaker minds. Unfortunately, Salvatore was not such a man.

He held a strong will and sense of purpose. His soul was tainted beyond redemption.

Ryan, though, well I believed he would prove to be a worthy master.

He was a dedicated father. I did not care that he had apparently killed his ex-wife.

I was sure he had sound reasons for taking such a step.

Besides, she was no loss. Addicted to drugs?

While sharing custody of their child? Hmm, what would have happened if their child had tried the drugs?

I would not pass judgment on a person selling themselves for money.

Plenty of people did it, they always had.

As long as both partners were consenting, it did not matter.

Done with the computer, Ryan went still. He got up from the desk and moved the ornate rug, which covered Salvatore’s pentagram. Ryan’s face went through a myriad of emotions: fear, interest, confusion, anxiety, before he pulled the rug back into place.

I took my chance to catch his attention when he returned to the desk by making the gem shine once more. A silly parlor trick, something low in effort, for I was aware my powers were on the wane from overuse.

My gambit worked, because eventually, Ryan gave in to his instinct to touch the gem.

Yet, as soon as he touched it, an alarm sounded.

How had I forgotten the security? When Salvatore was in his office, it was turned off.

He set it when he left out of habit. The man was paranoid and protective of his things.

Strangely, Ryan took other items from the shelf. What was he doing with those powerless trinkets? None of them mattered. The entire time, as guards rushed to our position, he did not let go of my gem, holding it tightly in his fist.

I pricked his finger, using his blood to bind us together. He was mine now. Ryan would be my master until he either died, I was taken from him, or I was free.

To buy us a few moments by confusing the guards with a potential false alarm, I set off the fire alarm and set a protection around him. The guards were almost at the door. If we were to escape, we had to do it then.

Emerging from the gem for the first time in decades, I encircled his waist. “Hello, Ryan,” I murmured in his ear. Then I vanished us from this place.

We didn’t go far, just outside of the protection spells surrounding the property.

What was left of my magic was barely a trickle.

I could glamour myself and perhaps vanish us a little further away, but without a destination in mind, it could get us into more hot water. It would also leave us vulnerable.

Ryan was a deadweight in my arms. The effects of a vanishing could be quite traumatic at first. He would gradually learn to appreciate how useful the skill was, especially being a target of the most dangerous man in the city.

As it was, it took him a few moments to regain consciousness.

In that time, I studied my new owner and our surroundings.

We were in an alleyway, tucked out of sight from the street.

Thankfully, the area was clean and well maintained.

I could smell the greasy scent of fried food and the acrid tang of cleaning solutions.

He came to while still in the circle of my arms. Ryan had a medium build with some muscle definition underneath the slim-fitting shirt he wore, though with my demon strength, it was easy for me to carry him.

Ryan jerked away from me almost as soon as he opened his eyes.

There was a second when his sleepy, pretty brown eyes met mine and everything around us slowed.

“What?” He almost launched himself through a doorway. Only my tug on his arm with my tail prevented him from crashing into the door.

“Hello, Ryan. I’m Malacoda. You may call me Mal.” I kept my greeting short, yet sweet.

“Am I dead? Am I dreaming? What the fuck?” His voice rose in volume. He kept scanning the area, avoiding looking directly at me.

“Shh,” I urged in an undertone. “Unless you plan to draw attention to us.” I took a step closer, finally getting his attention on me.

“What the fuck?” he repeated, this time at a lower volume. His gaze was heavy as he inspected my body.

I was impressive, so I could hardly blame him for the attention he paid to my fine black horns, which jutted so perfectly from my long scarlet hair.

Of my siblings, I was the only one to have such a vibrant color.

I wore it long, almost to my ass. It was my pride and joy, and I spent many hours making it shine with health.

My tail, too, was a wonder. I knew humans did not have tails like mine.

It must have been jealousy keeping his eyes on it, not fear.

Under his watch, my tail flicked back and forth, the red and black scales catching the low light of the streetlight.

“What are you?” he finally whispered, his eyes round with shock.

“I am a… demon, I suppose you would say.” He was so tempting. I wanted to cup his face and taste his lips.

“Am I dead? Am I in hell? I swear I didn’t mean—”

His clear panic raised an urge in me to soothe him. Not usually a thought I cared to have. “You are not dead, Ryan. At least not yet.” Alas, it wasn’t something I was particularly good at.

“What do you mean, not yet? What the fuck? Are you going to kill me?”

I winced. “No, but the guards from Salvatore’s building might if they discover us, and you are being rather loud.”

“Where are we?” Ryan spun around, dislodging my hand on his sleeve. He relaxed, likely when he realized where we were. “Did you get us out of there?”

“I did.” My smile did not appear to ease him at all.

“Okay, well, thanks, I guess.” He paused. “How?”

“How what?” I cocked my head. Did he not understand magic? Were humans so ignorant of everything else in the world?

“How did you get us out of there? Did you like, teleport us or something? Use some secret tech?”

Ah, so ignorant. “My magic moved us from there to here. I can go further when I know where I am supposed to go and if I have more magic. We call it a vanishing.”

“Right. Okay, thanks for that, I guess.” He rubbed a hand over his face, stress twisting his features.

He was still attractive to me. I wondered how long it would take him to give in to my allure.

Not that I could use my magic against him like that.

Part of the curse that bound me to the heart ruby also prevented me from using magical influence on Ryan.

He was also safe from me causing him physical harm, though usually there were ways around that.

“You’re welcome, Ryan.”

We stared at each other for a minute. Under the low lights, I was relieved to see his color had returned to his cheeks. The deathly pale was a poor look on him. I wondered vaguely what he would look like all flushed and on the brink of orgasm.

“Um, well, my car is just over there, so thanks, I think.”

Ryan took a few steps around me, as if readying to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?” How dare he try to leave me behind!

His footsteps paused. “Home. Well, after I get my car.”

“You have a vehicle?”

He frowned. “Yes.”

“Good. That will make things easier.” I took a few steps towards him.

“You can’t come with me!”

“Why not?”

With a wave of a hand, he gestured to me. “You kinda stand out. It’s a cool costume an’ all, but it’s not exactly low key.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You think this is a costume? When my tail can do this?” I moved it back and forth, then reached for him. The tip curled around his wrist, squeezed, and released him.

“There’s some pretty cool robotic shit these days,” he said with a nonchalant shrug.

Summoning some of my remaining magic, I pushed my demonic attributes aside, taking a human guise.

Gone were my vibrant green eyes, now a deep brown, they were almost black.

My pointed ears rounded and were hidden under my hair, the only thing that remained the same.

The horns, tail and claws I was so proud of vanished into the ether.

My body shrank in size, so that my height matched Ryan’s, my build only slightly more muscular.

Making myself any smaller and thinner would be uncomfortable.

Even my skin tone was different. I’d taken a paler hue.

Gone was the golden sheen to my demon skin, which looked otherworldly.

In place was pale flesh, ensuring I could blend in more easily with the humans.

Even my markings were subdued. The stripes on my face were gone since I knew it was uncommon for humans to have facial tattoos.

“Better?”

Ryan’s jaw fell open. “Fucking hell!” He stepped back, almost colliding with the building at his back. “You weren’t joking! You’re really a demon! Shit, I’m cooked. Fuck, what about Freya? Jesus, what the hell, man? What—?”

I assumed my touch would not be welcome. Instead, I tried to soothe him once more, this time with a modicum of success because he just stared at me again. “I cannot harm you, Ryan. You are safe with me. I am here to protect you.”

“Protect me?”

“Yes, thanks to that gem you are still holding,” his fingers tightened once more around it, “we are bound together. Your blood on it allowed me to escape from the ruby to serve you.”

“What the fuck?” I feared charming Ryan was going to take a lot more effort than I usually went to. Still, I had been bored for centuries, he would be something different.

“I fear we have lingered too long here. Do I look sufficiently human to blend in?”

“Blend in!” he scoffed. “Shirtless in the middle of March…?” He sighed and reached into his backpack. He tossed an item of clothing at me. “Here. Put my hoodie on.”

The material was soft in my hands and shared the same scent as Ryan. Clumsily, I put the garment on, covering myself.

“Follow me. You can explain what you mean on the way.”