Page 21 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires (Diabolic Romance #3)

Wally

We lay together on the floor. Bez teased me with his tails, fingertips tickling my skin, and his mouth kissing and licking and tasting. There was nothing more satisfying than getting fucked by a big bad demon who loved you. But damn, I was tired. I had no energy for his attempt at coaxing me into another round. My throat was sore, too sore to talk to Bez or make snippy comments. My ass was tired, too tired to buck against his hardening dick that he already positioned like a fucking torpedo—quite literally, it seemed. My every muscle was spent to its limit, my essence circulating to compensate for the exhaustion.

So, I ignored Bez’s intentionally provocative gestures, forcing him to cuddle.

“How’s the search for the flame key copy coming along?” he asked.

“Eh.” I shrugged, scooching closer against him in the process.

Bez tiptoed his claws against my tender flesh, then traced his fingertips along the sculpted parts of my muscles. “I can help if you like.”

“Feels like a pointless endeavor.”

“Oh.” His hand stopped, and he retreated a bit, so I turned over and scooted in close again, wrapping my leg over his and coiling my tail from his ankles to thighs, which pretty much kept him snuggly stuck beside me.

I went to kiss him, to tease him, to cuddle him into submission or surrender, but Bez’s crimson eyes had turned glossy.

It hurt him. Not the stranglehold on his legs, but my comment, my casual disregard for his help, help he wanted to offer for a problem he blamed himself for. He held onto this like it was his fault.

He didn’t make Lilith an enemy. He didn’t provoke the witches. He didn’t develop the idea of copying the key to begin with. All he did was panic when an enemy unveiled a weapon that could trap him like it had once before. A modified weapon, in fact, one which would extract essence. One which claimed to be powerful enough to contain an actual devil. One that…

“Wait a damned second!”

“I wasn’t doing anything.” Bez adjusted his dick, which was hard again, and slapped against mine, using the greased lube to begin rubbing them together. “That’s just physics, Walter.”

“What? No. Not you.” I side-eyed him. “Although, you’re not fucking me right now. You’re not fucking me for a good minute or seven hundred minutes, in fact.”

He crinkled his forehead, mouthing the math as he counted on his fingers.

“It’s like half a day,” I answered. “A full day being 1440 minutes, just a fun fact. But also, a full day in the Diabolic Oasis is actually only 1402 minutes, so that’s an interesting extrapolation to account for when traveling between worlds.”

Bez blinked several times slowly, utterly confused.

“I had an epiphany. Such an overused phrase, but also, I did reach actual clarity when it comes to our problem.”

“Yes?”

“We’re focused on the key, the idea that it might be a way for Lilith to escape into our world.”

Bez cast his gaze downward like a sad puppy.

“We’re under the assumption that the key copy works,” I continued. “And under the assumption that Corson found and removed the other copies.”

“Unlikely, he’s a damn moron,” Bez said with an arrogant attitude true to form and giving me the gift of my charmingly hostile boyfriend back.

“Exactly,” I said. “We should focus less on ensuring Lilith can’t find a way into our world and more on how to deal with her if she finds her way into our world.”

“Dying seems the most obvious thing to plan for.”

“Okay, that’s an outcome, not a plan. You don’t plan for death.” I grimaced. “Well, I suppose you do if you’re given a head’s up. Which we’ve technically been given, but not really because we know it’ll happen. Just not when it’ll happen. Which sort of ties into what everyone knows about death. Everyone’s aware it’ll happen one day, someday, yet everyone’s baffled when it strikes. That opens a whole can of existential proverbial worms, which isn’t really what I was talking about, but it’s also an important—”

“Walter.” Bez snapped his fingers close to my face like pulling me from a daze. “You’re rambling. You had an epiphany. Now, deep breath, and exhale all the tangents before sharing your idea.”

“Right.” I followed his advice and let all the tiny thoughts brewing in my brain fizzle away so I could focus. “We’ve been focusing on trying to stop Lilith from entering our world. I mean, we’ve been hoping she’s dead but also paranoid she’s got some escape plan at the ready. We can’t prevent what we’re unaware of. However, we can plan for her arrival.”

“And how exactly do we do that?”

“We just need the Diabolic orb that can contain a devil.”

“First of all, I destroyed those orbs.”

“You broke it.” I shoulder-bumped him. “Broken things can be restored.”

“You are an expert at fixing broken things.”

“I can’t tell if that’s a jab and me or you.”

“Six of one, half a dozen of the other.”

“Anyway—”

“Second of all”—Bez dramatically cleared his throat—“we have no idea if such a device exists.”

“Yes, we do. The witches told us.”

“Just because some witch told us doesn’t make it true.”

“Why would he lie?” I asked. “He planned on using the flame key right then and there to bring in Lilith.”

“A fallacy and a lie are not one and the same, Walter.”

I huffed. Damn, that was somewhat valid.

“There are people who profess the devil is an angel who reigns over Hell—one singular location, such nonsense—and this devil man assigns demons to torment mortals for all eternity, poking them with pitchforks for being naughty on earth.” Bez twisted his face into a sour, judgy expression where he pouted his lips and scrunched his forehead. “People say lots of absurd things they believe to be truth.”

“Maybe we just need a little faith.”

“Did you hit your head?” Bez asked. “Are you practicing life as a jester?”

“I just don’t want to be idle, not when I could do something.”

“Okay. What’s your plan then?”

“I think we should start by asking the expert in question.”

“Expert?”

I grinned, a little giddy at the idea. “The coven leader who made these modified Diabolic orbs in the first place.”

“The one I murdered?” Bez nodded affirmingly. “That may pose to be a problem.”

“Not with a little dark magic and a doggo pup specifically bred to contain the souls of the dead and damned.”

I expected to be more hands-on during this part. Especially since the whole plan hinged on my idea. Mora brought Weather, who spent the whole time seeking approval from Bez, so when I instructed his placement, the pup ignored me until Bez snapped his fingers, prompting Weather’s obedience. All the while, Kell turned me into an errand boy, sending me from the stockroom to the front displays to the boxed-up goods we hadn’t even accounted for yet. Always sending me to grab just one more thing while she set up a ritualized summoning circle meant to bring forth the souls of the dead.

“You know, I’ve actually done a lot of research on necromancy,” I said. “I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be inverting those symbols.”

“They do a lot of soul raising in the Collective?”

“No, but I’m telling you based on—”

“Since only one of us has actually raised the dead, maybe you follow my directive.”

“Okay. I see you’re skipping around the steps,” I said, not-so-quietly judging the messy spell work.

Casting a quality spell was like baking. It needed to be properly measured and accounted for. She hadn’t even gotten to Weather’s role yet.

I had actually dug up my old essays on forbidden magics when we got Weather. It turned out I had a lot of solid notes on the Mythic species, which I’d hoped would help in properly raising him. But that was useless since he only ever listened to Bez, anyway.

Tony skittered through my hair, nestling again. A gentle reminder that I didn’t need Weather, the beast my familiar merely tolerated. Tony was my companion while Weather was Bez’s pet.

“Bet you haven’t done this with the assistance of a Cerberus.” I folded my arms, ready and waiting for her to ask about Weather’s role.

“Oh, sweet Wally. I don’t need a Cerberus. Just an ingredient or two.” Kell raised a hand toward Weather. “Come.”

“You want my dog to cum?” Bez cocked his head. “Pervert.”

“Shut up.” She scoffed, then snapped her fingers until Sunny led the way forward, sniffing her hand.

Kell pet each of Weather’s heads, giving Sunny lots of pats, giving Cloudy head scrunchies, and delicately avoiding heavy affection when stroking Stormy’s chin. In the process, Kell pulled off a thread of fire from each of their manes. Magically, she weaved the red, blue, and purple flames together and placed them in a jar.

“It’s not my first dance with the dead.” Kell smiled, smug and so annoyingly versed in all the spells I’d only ever considered hypothetical.

“Are you sure about this, sweetie?” Mora asked, eyes fixated on the flicker of the flame jar in front of Kell. “Didn’t Maurice’s ex nearly set you on fire the last time you did this?”

“Why are you always getting set on fire?” I snorted. “Maybe I really should be the one casting this spell.”

“She said almost .” Kell rolled her eyes. “Thank you very much.”

“Just making an observation since you’re quite combustible,” I teased.

“He makes a valid point, hun.” Mora nodded toward me.

“It’s irrelevant.” Kell waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve got an actual Cerberus, so if the flames act up, this good boy right here will keep me safe.”

Sunny barked in agreement, tail wagging faster.

“That’s right,” Kell said with a baby voice. “Who’s a good boy? Yes, you’re a good boy. Such a good boy. The best boy, huh?”

“Don’t deceive him,” Bez said, adjusting the sleeve of his dress shirt. “He’s an adequate boy most days.”

Sunny grumbled and lowered his head with disappointment.

“Wait, which ex?” Bez asked, a hand pressed under his chin to appear musing while he used his tails to pet and soothe Weather. “Not the one I gutted, right? That guy was a bag of dicks.”

“Who really knows.” Mora shrugged. “That boy’s got a higher body count in the bedroom than victims he drained dry.”

Maurice was one of Mora’s many host bodies that she’d alternate between possessing. An old vampire, in fact. One who Bez apparently had a colorful history with.

Kell finished lining up the last of magical gems and bones necessary around the summoning circle she put together and began her ritual, speaking a mix of ancient languages, both mortal and Mythic, as she evoked the spirits of the other side. It cast shadows across the store, curious lost souls eager to lunge on this summoning, intercept it, and interfere for their own possible gains. But the candles placed around burned brighter until all the wax disappeared, replaced by an aura of vibrant colors dancing around the room. This kept the unwanted away while casting a guiding beacon to the one Kell summoned.

Every word Kell uttered carried a drumbeat that sounded all around us. Weather’s ears perked up, heads turning in every direction as he sniffed the magic in the shop.

The inverted symbols Kell traced on the floor lifted up, forming something tangible. They fluttered around us like fall leaves.

She grabbed the jar, pouring the flames out. Red, blue, and purple fire spilled onto the floor. They splashed embers in every direction. One by one, those sparks clung to the floating symbols, lighting them up and adding a fiery spiral of colors to the vibrant aura already in effect.

Bones rattled, adding to the magical drumbeat. A few exploded to dust, merging with the fiery ashes of the symbols.

Sunny tried to grab a floating femur bone but was halted by Bez, who used his tail as a leash to pull Weather back.

Fire whirled in an inferno, sweltering but contained, shrinking as quickly as it erupted. It formed into a human silhouette, fire swelling in and out like lungs breathing heavily until they poofed into smoke, and the ashes fell around the room like snowfall.

“Welp.” Kell brushed her hands, knocking away soot. “Hope you had a plan B because we won’t be summoning Desmond from the dead.”

“Lemme try,” I insisted.

“Wally, there is no trying. It’s not a competition on which of us is better at casting.” Kell flipped her hair and shot me a cocky smirk. “But to be clear, it’s obvious that I’m the better spellcaster.”

“So you say, I’m telling you if you just follow the directions appropriately then—”

“Nature has claimed him and his coven,” Kell clarified. “She’s got them bound in the deepest trenches of the earth. And if I know anything about the goddess—which I know everything about her—she won’t be sharing the souls of that coven until she feels they’ve learned whatever lessons she deems appropriate.”

“Which would be?”

“Who really knows with her.” Kell tsked. “Fickle bitch.”

“Dammit.” I sighed. “Guess that’s that, then.”

I really thought this might’ve worked, might’ve helped, might’ve taken the weight of the unknown off my shoulders, off Bez’s.

“Maybe we can put the orbs back together ourselves.”

“I do love projects,” Kell said. “Might take a century or two of tinkering, but we’re bound to figure out all that Fae and Diabolic balance and the medley of whatevers Baron Novus used.”

Baron Novus would be the real expert opinion here. But like all things involving the Fae, even their spirits remained elusive and impossible for anyone to track.

“There might be another expert you can summon.”

I quirked a brow. “Who?”

“Asshat Remington,” Bez breathed the name with contempt. “Not sure he’d know how to fix an orb, but he didn’t just keep me on the mantle as a trophy. On occasion, when alone, he’d tinker with the device. I assumed he was ensuring I couldn’t escape the artifact, but knowing Abe, he was probably trying to figure out the Fae magics involved.”

I didn’t know what to say, how to express my apologies for his experience, my thanks for sharing this for the sake of my outlandish idea. Magus Remington trapped Bez and held him locked away inside a Diabolic orb for nearly fifty years. He was responsible for so much pain and isolation in Bez’s life; he fueled Bez’s mistrust of mortals and the mortal world.

But as much as I despised Remington’s betrayal, his actions, that damned orb that held Bez for so long, I couldn’t help but be grateful for it all. That horror put our paths together. The coup that nearly led to my death several times over properly introduced me to Bez.