Page 29

He frantically looked at the Hellguards closing in on them, then at Zeev, who stood still with one hand holding a flame and the other clasped behind his back.

At last, he sneered at Xen. “If you don’t move your ass, I’m gonna leave you here!”

Xen chuckled softly, probably because no matter how threatening, Evan’s words lacked conviction. But also because he knew Evan wouldn’t leave him behind. He hadn’t left him back at the Old Temple while facing Zeev’s demon form.

He’d only fled after finding out Xen was an Eternal, proving that the only thing that could make Evan Blackwood flee was embarrassment.

After several failed attempts, Evan stopped trying to drag Xen and grabbed the front of his robe. “If you don’t want to run, then do something!”

Xen stared at him for a moment, still vaguely amused. Then his eyes flickered to Zeev and hardened.

Without a word, Zeev released the flame to hover near the couple, pressed a palm against his chest, and bowed his head.

Like lightning, he flashed out of the cave, towards his fellow Hellguards. Midway to the giants, a flare of light and dust burst from his scrawny body, and he transformed into his Hellguard form, crashing headfirst into the demon at the front.

Zeev was not bulky like them, but he was taller, so the impact was similar to a rod ramming into a rock.

The first demon tumbled back into the second, who in turn crashed over the next, and in a domino effect, the five Hellguards crashed to the ground with an exploding roar.

Evan gasped as the earth thundered under his feet, eyes still glued to the other demons who were already standing back up, swinging whatever they could get in their hands at Zeev.

“Will he be able to fight them?” Evan’s chest labored, pulse pounding in his ears as he watched the demons fight. “Tell me he’s going to last.”

“Barely,” Xen eyed Evan with an indiscernible look. “I drained most of his demonic energy while breaking his curse, and he hasn’t had time to rejuvenate. At best, he can hold them back for about three minutes.”

“This is the part where you go and help him.”

“Why?”

Evan hadn’t known Zeev for long, and disagreed with his strange, callous logic sometimes. But that didn’t mean he wanted him getting crushed by Hellguards while trying to save him and his heartless master.

With his hands still clasping Xen’s robe, Evan yanked his face closer. “You listen to me and listen well. You’re not going to simply let him get pummeled by those demons. He protected your precious relic for three hundred years! Three fucking centuries! And even after being released from the curse, he blindly followed you again. There’s your ‘why’. So, help him. Have some humanity, you inhuman piece of—”

Xen cupped Evan’s face, brushing a speck of dust from his cheek with his thumb. “Alright. I’ll help him.”

“Then go—”

“On one condition.”

Evan pursed his lips, barely suppressing the urge to punch that handsome face. But then his eyes flickered over Xen’s shoulder to the two giant hands trying to rip Zeev’s head off. A sharp exhale left him. “What condition?”

“One kiss.”

Evan’s frown tumbled from his face like a five-pound weight. His lashes quivered furiously before rearing back, but Xen had already wound one arm around his middle, holding him still.

There was a literal battle shaking the earth behind him, but he gently cradled Evan in his arm like he was a girl who’d received the first flower of her life. Like a man who’d found his long-lost lover.

After a moment of dumbfounded staring, Evan pushed at Xen’s chest with a renewed vigor, trying to suppress the conflicted feelings flooding his head. “You fucking—how can you think from your dick while your friend is dying?!”

“He is not my friend,” Xen cocked a brow. “Besides, if I was thinking from my dick, a kiss would be the least of your concerns, Little Storm.”

Blood drained from Evan’s face, then pumped straight down his body with double intensity, setting his skin on fire. Hearing Xen say the word ‘dick’ was sexier than anything Evan had ever heard from anyone.

But kissing a Demon King? This particular one?

Xen yanked Evan closer, staring down at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “One kiss.”

“No way.”

“Just one.”

“Fuck, I said—”

“Please,” Xen’s gaze dropped to Evan’s mouth, those soft-looking lips parting unconsciously. “I’ve waited so long. I’ve been so good. I’ll do anything, Evan. Anything, just…” he drew closer, “…let me taste you.”

Evan swallowed, fists clenching between their chests.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t fall for it. Don’t fall for it.

Xen’s dark brows scrunched in a look of forced restraint, like he was physically holding himself back from claiming Evan’s lips. Another rush of heat shot right down to Evan’s crotch, desire mingling with frustration until…

Fuck it.

Evan grabbed Xen’s face. Jerked him down.

And their mouths collided. Roughly. All too eagerly.

Heat exploded. Spiritual and demonic energy crackling in the air. It was as if the fire kindling inside Xen had erupted into a volcano. His body went rigid at first, skin blazing hot against Evan’s palms. Their eyes were still open, staring into each other; Xen’s dazed, the other annoyed to the point of insanity.

Then, with a rumbling growl, Xen took Evan’s mouth like it belonged to him. Claiming. Demanding.

With one hand around his middle, Xen crushed Evan against the hard ridges of his body, his other hand tangling in Evan’s soft hair and angling his head to devour him through.

Only after being wrapped so thoroughly in Xen did Evan realize how small he was in comparison. How, with a bit more force, Xen could easily break him apart if he so wished. How, even with Evan pressed into him completely, Xen tried to pull him closer still, trying to merge their bodies into one.

Wave after wave of unbearable heat radiated from Xen’s body and coursed through Evan’s. Bearing the sweet torment with a frown, his hands that were clutching Xen’s robe slid around his nape, pulling him closer. His body arched into his, coming together to fit perfectly, like a puzzle.

Xen made a sound of approval low in his throat when Evan’s erection ground against his own.

Of all the ways Evan had thought about breaking his long-lasting chastity, this was not one of them. But God help him, it was better than anything he could’ve expected.

Xen’s tongue darted out and tangled with Evan’s almost desperately, squeezing him into his body until Evan couldn’t breathe and had to pull away.

“E-Enough…” Gasping for air, Evan rasped out, “There… That’s one kiss…” He swallowed. “Now go…”

Xen’s brows drew together again, and he dropped his forehead against Evan’s shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. Then chuckled. “If I ask for more—”

“I’ll knee you in the balls.”

With another muffled laugh, Xen pulled away from Evan.

As his head rose, his scarlet eyes came into view, burning bright in the dark, the golden glow of the flame making his face seem more ethereal.

But there was something else there, something deeper and thoroughly concealed that had momentarily surfaced in those eyes.

Something like sorrow, like deep-seated longing.

“Stay here. This won’t take long,” his thumb brushed across Evan’s lower lip, then he stepped back. Away and away, his smile fading from his lips until he blended into the shadows. He turned and leisurely strolled towards the six gigantic rock figures.

The tension in his shoulders, present while kissing Evan, vanished the moment he turned to face the demons. He even slipped his hands into his pocket, like nothing in the world could faze him.

Like he’d just held his entire world in his arms, and knew nothing could take it away.

The Shadow Hand trembled on Evan’s shoulder. Not from fright, he could tell. It was more like a flustered fidgeting, an aftermath of that kiss. If he’d been in his whole form, Evan imagined he’d see two faint red puffs of blush under those glowing crimson eyes.

Evan cleared his throat awkwardly.

When Xen stepped into the battleground the demons had claimed for themselves, a faint red glow pulsed from his relaxed form. The pressure of that flicker of demonic energy was strong enough that Evan felt it in his bones. So did the demons.

The Hellguards froze mid-brawl, their sightless heads turning in Xen’s direction. He didn’t need to raise his voice to induce authority and muttered, “Kneel.”

And the six demons soundlessly dropped to their knees before him.

A jumble of expressions crossed Evan’s face: surprise, approval, confusion, and finally an irritated scowl.

If Xen could’ve stopped the fight that easily, why did he ask Evan for a kiss as if he’d never come back?

Tsk, I fell for a demon’s trick.

As the Hellguards kneeled, heads bowed, their rock bodies trembled and shook as if in fear. But one closer look at their clenched fists digging into the earth said otherwise.

They hadn’t knelt to Xen because they were pledging loyalty to him or begging for his mercy. Xen’s command had forced them to their knees, against their will.

Could Eternals command other lower demons into submission? Now that was something notable as a demon royalty.

Zeev rose with his mighty body before transforming back to his human form with a blast of light and dust. He took his place behind Xen, that ghostly mask back in place.

“I was growing tired of hunting for energy supplies,” Xen tilted his head, eyes as frosty as his tone, in stark contrast with the heat he was radiating near Evan moments ago. “You’ve come to me on your own accord. Good. Very good.”

Evan quickly realized what he was going to do.

Xen was going to absorb the demonic energy from all five Hellguards like he’d done with Zeev. But this time, it didn’t seem like he intended on stopping until the demons were reduced to their human forms. He would probably drain them dry and leave nothing behind.

Energy supplies, indeed.

Evan’s heart skipped a beat as Xen raised his hand and the Hellguards started trembling anew, in pure, unadulterated terror. The odor of their dread wafted off their forms and churned in Evan’s nostrils.

But as he started, Xen paused, eyes sweeping over the five rock figures. He hummed softly, as if he’d caught notice of something interesting.

Light blasted into the night sky as zaps of lightning burst forth from the cores of the Hellguards at various points on their bodies and launched into Xen’s open palms. Other than a slight twitch in his lips, Xen didn’t show much reaction as the demonic energy from five bulky Hellguards gushed into his body.

Maybe it was because these demons didn’t have three centuries worth of energy circulating in their cores like Zeev had, but this time Xen’s robe didn’t catch fire. Evan almost frowned at that before shaking his head.

Of course he didn’t actually want to see Xen’s naked torso.

When Xen was done, four of the Hellguards crumbled, rocks and all, turning to dust before dissipating into nothing. One, however, returned to his human form, albeit too frail.

Evan stepped out of the busted cave and moved a few steps closer to take a look at the individual.

The naked demon sat slumped on the forest floor, blood spurting from his nose and mouth. His shoulders were broad and heavy, legs long and muscular. When he lifted his head, bloodshot eyes locked onto Xen, full of contempt. He spat a mouthful of blood and jabbed a finger at him. “You fucking Eternal! Why are you back? How are you back? And you start thrashing your own kind again after coming back? How fucking mighty of you.”

Evan cocked a brow, listening from a distance as the naked demon spouted curses at Xen, then pointed at Zeev.

“And you ! Fucking dusty doormat slash ass-wipe that cleans the shit your master leaves behind, why the fuck are you here too? You’re ganging up on your own people; have you no shame?”

Zeev grunted and stepped forward, but Xen held a hand up, stopping him.

Xen prowled over to the naked demon and crouched before him. Even though they were almost similar in build, there was an air of poise and authority about Xen that the other fellow clearly lacked. “Long time no see, Gruu. I see you’re still chasing the wrong tail.”

Gruu spat up blood again, laughing through bloody teeth that glinted in the dark as he sneered. “What? You want me to chase yours instead? Tsk, tsk, tsk ... What a disappointment, bearing the title of a King. You have to beg demons to follow you now? What happened to all that glory? That army that submitted to your whims, huh?”

“Shut your mouth!” Zeev growled, remnants of his original form in his tone. “I will rip your filthy tongue out.”

“You rat bastard! Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?” Gruu bared his fangs at Zeev, then glared at Xen, who seemed unperturbed, almost bored. “And who the fuck are you to tell me which tail to chase? I’ll follow whoever the fuck I want! I’m not bound to your royal ass like this fucker Zeev.”

Evan’s eyebrow twitched.

Not only was it the first time he’d encountered a character that cursed more than him, it was also the first time he had seen someone curse at Xen. Even Zeev had broken character and snapped at him.

But the more Gruu spouted profanity at Xen, the more the twitch in Evan’s eyebrow grew. His fists clenched at his side, jaws tightening, and before he could realize the rise in his temper, he pocketed his hands and strolled over to the trio.

No one sensed him sneaking up in the dark other than Xen.

“My, my, did a dog run rabid around here?” Evan stopped beside Zeev, staring down at Gruu with a disgusted look. “I heard something barking.”

Gruu sneered at him, squinting slightly in the dark. But when his eyes adjusted and saw Evan’s face, the curses rising in his throat died down. The demon looked like he’d seen a ghost.

His bloody mouth hung open. “Car—”

Wham!

Evan flinched as Xen abruptly stood up, jamming his knee squarely in Gruu’s mouth.

With a resounding crack , Gruu toppled back, howling as he held onto his mouth, fresh blood oozing from between his fingers. He growled like a wildcat, pointing at Xen with a trembling finger. “You… you…”

Xen only slightly narrowed his eyes, and Gruu closed his bleeding mouth, cursing under his breath.

“Interesting,” Evan tilted his head at Gruu’s sprawled form. “Do you guys know this creature?”

Xen walked over to Evan, robes fluttering. A fine layer of just-absorbed demonic energy thrummed over his body like a second skin. “Unfortunately.”

Evan hummed, glancing back at Gruu. “Say, is he perhaps your illegitimate son?”

Xen blinked at the abrupt, bizarre question. Some color that had been washed to his skin after smacking mouths with Evan faded as he stared at him. “…No.”

“Oh,” Evan pulled the most fake smile he could muster. “If he’s not your illegitimate son, then why the fuck did you stand there and let him curse you out like that?”

Only I can do that… The thought rose in Evan’s head, but he didn’t voice it, and in his moment of shock, Xen failed to hear it either.

“It’s a waste of breath.”

Evan glared at Gruu. “I have plenty of breath to waste on little bitches who don’t know when to shut the hole in their face.”

Xen dismissed Evan’s threat with a shake of his head. “He’s just an embarrassing acquaintance. Harmless as long as you ignore him.”

Evan continued to shoot daggers at Gruu as he sat up slowly, still holding onto his bleeding mouth. He looked up, as if wanting to curse at Xen again, but then caught Evan’s eyes and ducked his head.

Huh? Do I look that intimidating?

“Don’t,” Zeev muttered in Gruu’s direction.

But as if the only goal in his life was to defy every word anyone ever said to him, Gruu’s eyes snapped up. “Or what, huh? You gonna headbutt me again, you damn doormat?”

Evan was confused for a moment but then realized he was talking about their brawl earlier. The Hellguard at the front whom Zeev had headbutted—that was Gruu.

Suddenly, he pointed at Evan—but didn’t look at him—and started raging at Zeev. “Or are you getting pumped because he showed up? You fucking coward, come at me if you want. I can still take you down bare-fisted!”

Evan frowned, confused.

Was he perhaps such a formidable exorcist that even the demon race felt threatened by his presence? Gruu didn’t seem smart enough to figure out Evan was an exorcist with just one glance. He was the kind of creature with the stature of a grown man but the logic of a newborn. He probably felt it was unfair because three people were ganged up against him.

Evan scoffed but ignored him like Xen had advised.

Xen turned around, and Gruu flinched, holding up his hands in a cross in front of his face, braced for another kick. But it never came. Xen simply crouched in front of him again, grabbed Gruu’s short curly hair in his fist, and yanked his head back.

“Listen well, I don’t like repeating myself…”

Then he whispered something in Gruu’s ear that made his eyes bulge in his sockets. His body went completely still.

When Xen let go of his hair and stood up, he dusted his hand on his robes thoroughly before catching Evan’s wrist in a gentle but firm grip. He turned back towards the cave. “Come, we need to find your people before someone dies.”

Your people .

The words sounded strange to Evan’s ears.

For years now, he’d had no one in his life to call his own. His mother passed away, his father abandoned his family, and his sister distanced herself until she was more foreign than an acquaintance in his life. Throughout his childhood and teenage years, he was taunted, outcasted, exploited, and abused by people for being different, for debt money, and sometimes for their personal pleasure.

Some good people did come into his life, but the ever-prickling scars left behind by his past were not something their company could completely erase.

At one point, he became glad to realize he was as alone in this world as he could be. No family. No lover. If he did, then they’d eventually come to see him for what he truly was.

A failure.

And then probably abandon him like everyone else.

With a backward glance at Gruu, who still seemed shaken by whatever Xen had said, Evan followed Xen into the cave.

“What did you whisper to him?”

Xen cracked a smirk but otherwise remained silent.

Zeev lingered near Gruu for a moment too long before joining the other two.

Once inside the cave, the trio turned to the only opening near the busted wall. It was a little small for three grown men to enter.

Stepping forward, Zeev grazed his palm across the stone wall as if caressing a pet. Pliantly, the opening of the entrance widened, stretching to over three meters wide and tall like a beast yawning.

So, manipulation of rocks was one of a Hellguard’s powers.

Zeev patted the stone as if praising it, then they set out inside.

The route was steeping downward, their pace increasing slightly as they went deeper. After walking for a while, the air grew stuffy and cold, although only for Evan.

They were definitely heading underground now.

The stone walls widened whenever the path became too narrow for the three of them, Zeev’s hand tracing the walls as they went, instructing the stone when to give way. His other hand held a flame that lit their path.

At the end of the stone cave, underground rocks came together and started rolling forward, parting the raw earth for them, their speed measured and energetic. It seemed like they were ecstatic that someone had roused them from their stationary positions in the ground and put them to work.

Coughing a little from the dust, Evan asked, “How much longer do we have to walk? I don’t think I even ran this far when I was escaping the Nightshade freaks, and I’m sure the Tomb of Ascension was nearby.”

If they had traced the same path that Evan and Delos had taken while fleeing, they should have approached the Tomb of Ascension a while ago.

“This burrow won’t lead us straight to the Tomb of Ascension, sir. There are some thick, tangled roots of ancient trees in the way. We must go around them,” Zeev explained. “Also, just to make sure no other Hellguard senses the earth shifting underneath, we have to avoid making a straight burrow.”

Right. There could be other Hellguards out there who possessed the same abilities as Zeev. And if they decided to crash the earth above them, they’d be buried alive before they could blink.

Evan glanced at Xen, who was back to his silent, impassive demeanor. One of his hands was pocketed, the other grasping Evan’s hand firmly.

The memory of his warm mouth invaded Evan’s mind before he shoved it away, adjusting his pants discreetly.

After giving it some thought, Evan decided to let him hold his hand. “The Covenant of the Nightshade worships something called a Dark Spirit. I think that’s what’s possessed Aaron’s mind and is waiting to manifest into a physical form through the ritual. What I don’t understand is what kind of creature it is. Another demon or something human-ish?”

“Something that is neither. It’s merely a conscience,” Xen replied, voice monotonous. “A creature born from Hellfire and awakened with human blood is something that doesn’t belong to any realm. That’s why it must be stopped.”

If it was neither human nor demon, then what could it possibly be? A mixture of both? Or a creature that lacked the qualities of either?

Why the hell was that freak cult worshipping something like that? And calling it Dark Spirit, as if it had a spirit at all.

But it certainly had a mind, even before taking a form. And it was using that mind to control Aaron.

At that thought, something occurred to Evan. “It has Reth. Will it use the relic to become more powerful?”

Zeev spoke up at that. “Reth cannot be used by anyone but his Lord. It’s his and his alone.”

“Then why did that thing make Aaron steal it?” Evan’s eyes travelled to Xen, the only person who could be blackmailed using Reth.

Did the Dark Spirit have personal business with Xen?

After contemplating for a moment, Evan cautiously broached the topic. “Do you somehow happen to know this Dark Spirit thing?”

Xen’s eyes shifted to him, not a sign of his earlier playfulness remaining. “Yes.”

But how could he know the creature before it was born?

Then it dawned on Evan.

The Great Sacrifice had almost awakened that thing in the past. And apparently, it had happened a “long time” ago. If Xen was around that time, perhaps he’d come across that thing before whatever had disrupted the ritual and sent it back into the depths of its origin.

Evan wanted to pry, but that familiar frigid look on Xen’s face made him drop the topic for now. The priority was saving Celie’s friends and the rest of the kidnapped individuals. He could deal with Aaron afterwards and retrieve Reth. He’d knock him unconscious if he had to.

“Just a few more meters,” Zeev urged the rocks to work harder, digging through the earth and paving the way for them.

Yet, unexpectedly, Zeev came to an abrupt halt ahead of them. So did Xen, his grip on Evan’s hand making him stumble to a stop too.

“What? What happened?” Evan looked between them.

A faint reverberation shook the earth all around them, and the rolling rocks froze, trembling with the vibrations.

Xen and Zeev looked up at the earth ceiling together, ears twitching. Then Xen grabbed Evan’s hand and spun around, heading back the way they’d come—

Clang!

Something shot forth from the earthen ceiling. Swift like lightning, a flare blinded the underground burrow and drove deep into the hard floor, blocking their way back. When the dust from the sudden crack in the earth settled, Evan’s eyes widened as he took in the thing that had penetrated the ground above them.

A long, golden spear shone in the light shedding from the flame in Zeev’s palm. Small, coarse threads wrapped around the shaft, tightly knitted knots undoubtedly cast with spells. An all too familiar scent wafted from the knots, gentle and soothing amidst the dust and heavy murderous intent hanging in the air.

Evan instantly recognized that smell.

The water of sacred Del.

Xen pushed Evan behind him, his eyes trained on the spear that still trembled from the force of the strike.

It only took Evan a moment to realize that the saturated, murderous aura wasn’t seeping from the weapon.

It was coming from Xen.

Before he could reach up and place a hand over his tensed shoulder, something shuffled overhead. Following the sound, Evan turned around, only to be met with Zeev’s ghastly white masked face, shining ever more eerily in the light of the flame. He was so unnaturally still that—if not for the faint sound of his heartbeat—Evan would’ve feared he was not there at all.

But that heartbeat didn’t last long.

Another golden shaft crashed through the ceiling, the forked ends running right through Zeev’s body. One dug into his right shoulder, the other his left. The aim of the hit was so precise that for a moment, even Zeev didn’t realize he was stabbed. He only slightly gasped when the fork was yanked out of the earth, taking him along with it.

Rubble rained down on the place where Zeev once stood, now lit only with the moonlight streaming in through the hole above. With no flame to light the burrow, darkness descended, stifling and heavy. Evan spun around, his heart in his mouth. He clutched Xen’s arm, who hadn’t even turned when Zeev was skewered out like barbecue. “Xe—”

“Run…”

Evan stilled. A wave of dread washed over him anew. Because that word had not come from his lips this time.

In the dark, Xen’s silhouette shifted, thrumming with barely restrained killing intent. A red glare of demonic energy enveloped his silhouette as two glowing scarlet eyes turned to Evan.

He growled, “Run!”