Page 26 of The Monster of Darkspell Comics

Pashar

A lthough this is my first Halloween in the mall, I can already tell that it’s going to be trouble as the day draws nearer.

It’s bad enough that the situation with the human creeping around the mall is unresolved, but every infernal thing wants to test my patience as the day creeps closer.

A small group of young vampires slinks nearer to my shop with their eyes lit up with mischief.

I assume that they think Fanny and I are easy pickings, but the moment I let out a true growl, they stop warily just outside the entrance of my shop and peer at me uncertainly.

Whatever thoughts of devilry that they have considered carrying out at my expense quickly leaves their minds as they drop back and hurry with preternatural speed from my shop’s entrance.

“You do realize that the whole point of the Trick or Treat Street is that we won’t be scaring the kids, right?” Fanny wryly points out as she pours an obscene number of sugary treats from a bag into an enormous bowl decorated with various smiling ghouls and witches printed around the outside of it.

“I promised nothing.” I reply, making sure to add an extra surly growl to my statement. “Besides a bunch of young, rabble-rousing vampires is the last thing anyone needs cruising through here. You are more the sort of treat that they are looking to nibble on—not what’s in that bowl of yours.”

“You really say the sweetest things, Pashar, but don’t worry, I don’t have eyes for any other creature of the night but you.”

Her giggle fills the shop, and I find my own lips tipping in a begrudging smile in response, my hard heart warming like that foul pumpkin pie she returned with the other day. Soft, warm, probably slimy—and utterly smitten with the little human female.

“Just keep it that way,” I grumble. “A vampire filled with human blood from their recent snack makes an even worse mess to clean up.”

Less paperwork, though, thank the demonic overlords.

She shakes her head at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “You do recall that we do have vampiric patrons of the mall—even a whole shop that caters to them.”

“I’m all in favor of vampire businesses,” I retort. “It makes the food court lines a lot shorter when they can pick off their buffet from the humans wandering the mall before they can congest The Good Char. I hate lines,” I mutter. “Just can’t stand most vampires.”

Fanny rolls her eyes, a soft snicker escaping her as she heads over to tend to Chewy. “I’ll have you know that Velocity and Aniya are not only way cool, but they also treat their employee Amanda well—as in, you know she actually gets paid.”

Leaning back in my chair, my irritation with the bloodsuckers vanishes as I smirk over at her.

“With as much shopping as you do with my coin, I can safely say that you are being more than adequately compensated, thief. Do not worry. I have nothing against bloodsuckers. They provide an essential community service so long as they aren’t looking to nibble off what’s mine. ”

She grins over her shoulder at me, but her face suddenly contorts with surprise and pain as she hisses and snaps the side of her hand up to her lips. “Ouch, shit!”

I stand abruptly, concern rippling through me—and apparently my illusion at the way her eyes suddenly widen at me and then dart to the door. Right. Drawing in a deep breath and expelling it, I wrestle my control back into place as I stomp over to her and tug her hand away from her mouth.

“What happened?” The growl is barely out of my mouth when I see the telltale red barb from Chewy’s vine sticking deep into the side of her palm.

Or what’s left of it. It has already begun deteriorating and finishes the process within a heartbeat, right before my eyes.

There is no maybe about it. It is exactly as I thought.

I rub my finger over the spot and glance up at her. “Does it hurt?”

A look of surprise crosses her face, but it is quickly replaced with a pleased smile as she tucks in closer to my side. “It stung a bit, but it’s not the first time. Sometimes she just gets a little overexcited when I’m misting her.”

“Yeah... right. Chewy has not done that to anyone before,” I bluntly inform her.

As content as she seems to be with me, she has always erroneously believed that her life would eventually go back to normal.

The time for playing games is now done now that reality is laying all the cards on the table.

“I’ve had dozens of human and non-human employees, and the most she’s tried to do is eat them. She likes you,” I emphasize slowly.

Fanny blinks. “Oh. Well, I like her too. She is a pretty wicked little plant.”

“No.” A heavy sigh like the bellows of a demonic forge leaves me. “With demons and entities in our world, it is not so casual. I suspected that this had happened, but I was not sure until now. She is already bonding with you. How many times have you been pricked by her?”

Fanny shrugs. “I don’t know. Once a day since shortly after I started.”

“Yeah, that would about do it,” I mutter. I’m both annoyed at how slick the malcante carried out its intentions and absurdly pleased by it. “So, there’s good news and bad news about that.”

“Oh? Okay, hit me with the good news first,” she replies with a grimace as she turns her hand in mind to inspect the red wound already fading from her hand.

I grin evilly. “Your servitude can now last for centuries.”

She jerks in surprise and laughs. “Okay, exactly how is that good news?”

“Well, it is for me,” I grumble in an attempt to sound annoyed.

“There is plenty more work I can get out of you when I’ve got centuries to space it out.

Besides, you’ve gotten under my scales and skin like a hell-fly maggot chewing its way to feast on my heart and entrails,” I admit in a gruff voice.

A thoughtful look crosses her face, her brows furrowing slightly. “Is that your gnarly demon way of saying that you love me?”

I grunt, exasperated. “It’s what I said, isn’t it?”

The smile that lights her face is like the dawn that steals all dreams. It steals my breath and my heart every time, and this moment especially as she flings her arms around me, nearly tipping us over since I’m still somewhat crouched beside her.

My wings snap and flare wide, and I nearly lose all control over my illusion as her warmth and scent surround me in a wonderful cloud of bliss.

If this is what dreams are, then I guess I can tolerate one—because there is no better dream than Fanny.

Tail slipping up around her waist, I curl my arms and wings around her as my corethi skate gently over her as they descend from my wings.

My arms tighten when she attempts to draw back, my wings rustling in warning so that she laughs and playfully swats at them.

I loosen my grip just enough to peer down at her as one of my corethi slides against her cheek, leaving a smidgeon of dust in its wake.

A hint of my magic, already seeping into her bit by bit with every touch.

“This is absolutely wild, but I have to tell you a secret—” she grins, “I don’t have a clue how I suddenly have centuries just because of Chewy stabbing me. Or what this even means for us.”

“Ah. Right. Details. Chewy has bonded with you. Normally, it’s something malcante plants do when they mate—”

“Oh man, please don’t tell me a plant thinks I’m her mate!” Fanny moans and slumps, her forehead smacking hard against my chest.

I scowl down at my beloved flesh-eating parasite of my heart, somewhat worried by her pained grimace that she might have cracked her skull on the bony plating that runs beneath my skin there.

Lifting her face, I rub a finger over her brow, inspecting it carefully.

Once I’m reassured that everything is intact as it should be, I sigh.

“Of course not. You don’t have the right sort of equipment for her to even want to make the attempt.

But she has made the unusual decision to bond with you for whatever reason.

To be honest, she probably sees you as her offspring that she’s decided to keep within her nest,” I mutter, giving the malcante a suspicious glower.

If that thing even tries to take a bite of me for touching my female, I will pop off every single one of her heads so that she will have to suffer a restrictive diet for months while they slowly grow back again.

Thankfully, Chewy not only seems content but quite pleased with herself as her fronds ruffle and her vines slink around her and us in obvious delight.

Fanny giggles at the display of malcante affection until I touch her chin and turn her head so that she’s once again meeting my eyes.

“This bonding means that she has envenomated you. It connects your life-force to hers more quickly than I ever could,” I concede.

“I can’t magically halt your aging the way her bonding venom does.

As a demon, I can only corrupt your humanity until, after a great many years—decades most likely—you finally transform and shed it completely to be who you are meant to be. ”

She looks up at me, her big, wide-set eyes staring into the dark abyss of my soul. For whatever reason, she finds me pleasing. I cannot complain. I can only hope that she will find the same demonic qualities pleasing in herself as well when the changes come.

“I won’t be human anymore?”

“No,” I rumble in agreement. “It is the price of being with me.” I grit my teeth, hating the fact that she might try to refuse me.

“Object all you want, but even if you don’t mate with me and don’t change, you can’t escape me.

You need Chewy now that you’ve become envenomated.

You need each other, and I have to keep her here under my supervision. You can rail and scream—”

“Pashar, shut up,” Fanny laughs, pressing her finger against my lips.

“I love you too. And what I’m hearing here is that what Chewy did is ultimately a pretty awesome gift.

I’m not going to be a hag when I finally change—which is kind of a relief.

If I have an eternity to spend with anyone, I would much rather be hot when it happens. ”

I snort in amusement. “Most demons would be quite pleased with a hag, but I’m happy enough to take you as you are.

Human beauty norms don’t really mean much to most of us.

” I narrow my eyes at her, though, not quite able to believe how easily she’s accepting everything. “And the change doesn’t scare you?”

She giggles and tucks her sweet little body against mine.

“Please. I get to become some badass demonic creature. That is legit wicked as fuck. Being human is overrated, anyway. I want to explore all possibilities. So long as I can remain hot,” she adds, tilting her head to squint up at me.

“Just to be sure—it’s not just young, I will stay hot, right? ”

Chuckling, I kiss the tip of her adorable little nose. “You will look mostly as you do now, thanks to Chewy... just accentuated with whatever gifts the change gives you.”

“Wicked,” she breathes against my scales. “And how do we get this thing started?”

I peer down at her, a strange ball of emotion squeezing my throat. “When we mate and I introduce my venom into you, it will begin the process.”

Her eyes slit with contentment as a pleased smile spreads across her face. “And can I pick when we mate?”

“I...uh... sure,” I grumble, my own eyes narrowing on her as I lean in close. “What do you have in mind? I give you fair warning that I refuse to wait on that damned human to make his move before we begin our lives together. I can just as easily feed him to a hellhound after we are safely mated.”

Her little pert tongue slips out from between her lips to flick my mouth, and I nearly cum in my pants with the pleasure of it.

“Halloween night. The Witching hour. Let’s get really magical for our first night of forever,” she whispers.

Tomorrow night. I tremble with a disgusting amount of happiness and simultaneously want to vomit, but I opt instead for hugging her close to me.

I was almost afraid that she would demand years from me just to playfully watch me squirm.

It pleases me that my mate is as eager for me as I am for her.

The game of torture, of master and servant, is coming to an end. All the games are done. All except one.

“Now, since there are no secrets between mates, tell me what’s in that infernal bag?” I growl.

She bursts out laughing, and I have a feeling there is one last game still that she is determined to wait to play out.