Page 6 of Unleashing Mayhem (Demon Bound #4)

Matty

M atty had a demon in his living room, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with him.

He’d woken up from what he assumed was a dead faint all tucked into his blankets on the couch. And for one horrifying moment, Matty had thought maybe the entire summoning had been a dream.

Except Matty didn’t have good dreams anymore, and finally gathering the courage to summon a demon protector definitely would have counted as a good dream.

What he’d had in recent months was a dream protector. One who had never once spoken to Matty. He would just appear in all his terrifying glory—the strange white skull and elongated limbs—and keep the other monsters at bay until Matty awoke.

Matty had thought it was something his mind had invented to protect itself. He’d been kind of proud of his brain for its efforts.

But the reality was so. Much. Better.

Because after the shock of waking up on the couch and worrying he’d imagined it all, Matty had finally seen him. The demon Sarkaron, standing stock-still among the shadows in the far corner. Watching Matty.

Had the nightmare demon carried Matty to the couch? Tucked him in with his slender, taloned fingers?

How strange it was that they already knew each other, in a vague, surreal sort of way.

What a cool coincidence.

And now they were kind of just staring at each other, each of them taking the other in.

Matty supposed Sarkaron might be considered kind of scary-looking, even without the skull.

He was almost as tall as Kai in his demon form, some few inches short of seven feet, maybe.

And that wasn’t including the branching black antlers he was rocking.

But unlike Kai’s muscled physique, Sarkaron was slender, with dark-gray skin that blended in with the dark shadows that seemed to twist and wind around him whenever they were given the chance.

His face was severe, with sharp cheekbones and all-white eyes that shifted between flat and glowing. He had long silver-white hair and thin lips covering sharp, jagged teeth.

Matty thought he was beautiful.

A demon. A real demon. And he was Matty’s. At least for now. At least until…

But no, Matty didn’t want to think about the terms of his bargain. What Sarkaron had pushed him into saying out loud. Matty couldn’t believe he’d allowed himself to be so vicious, even verbally. That wasn’t him, that kind of violence. Or he didn’t think it was.

Maybe it was what they’d made him into.

Anyway, they were still having an epic face-off, Matty on the couch and Sarkaron lurking in the corner. The demon seemed to be the naturally quiet type; he hadn’t spoken a word since Matty had woken up. Which was fine because it meant Matty got to look his fill and feel weirdly unembarrassed by it.

Sarkaron’s clothing was black and layered and hard to distinguish as any specific style. Maybe some kind of linen? And he had really long, thin fingers, blackened at the tips and ending in sharp talons. As Matty stared at them, they clenched into fists.

Did that hurt, with the talons?

Oh. Maybe Matty was being rude. Maybe he was making his demon feel unwelcome, studying him like this. He should make conversation like a normal person, instead of creeping like a…creep.

Matty cleared his throat. “Do you—do you have a human form?” he asked.

The other demons he’d met had all had them, but Sarkaron was a different type of demon, he’d said. It wouldn’t do to assume. Maybe that skull face he could summon was his only other form.

“You find this form displeasing?” Sarkaron asked in his low, gravelly rasp.

Matty was distracted for a second, hearing that voice again. He liked it, liked the way it sent a shiver down his spine. It was the voice of a creature lurking in the dark, whispering before it grabbed hold of an ankle and tugged .

Then Matty registered what Sarkaron had asked. His cheeks went hot. Had he really offended the demon after all?

“No.” Matty shook his head frantically. “I find it very, um, pleasing. It might be hard to take you into town though.” He waved a hand, encompassing Sarkaron’s impressive antlers, which would definitely set off some local alarms if seen. “Unless you can turn invisible?”

Sarkaron cocked his head. “Not true invisibility, not as such. But I can blend with the shadows.”

And then he did it.

It was strange to watch. Matty knew the demon was there, and he could just barely make him out, the faint outline of him. But if he hadn’t known…

It was like one of those horror movie things, where someone sees a figure out of the corner of their eye, but when they turn, it’s nothing but the play of light and shadows. A flash of eyes glowing in the dark, maybe real or maybe not.

“That’s very impressive,” Matty told him.

Sarkaron emerged from hiding again, although wisps of his shadows continued to dance around him, obscuring and then revealing his features. “Fearful of so many things, Matteo. But not of me?”

Matty covered his hands with his sleeves, tucking them under the blankets. “I have other things to fear.”

Was the demon going to push Matty again, make him name names and spill truths?

But Sarkaron didn’t ask him any more questions. “You’ve seen my nightmare visage,” he said instead. “The sight has sent some men to madness.”

Ohh yes, the old skull face. That was pretty creepy. Especially in Matty’s dreams, where Sarkaron’s limbs extended into those unnaturally long, thin appendages to go with it.

But Matty had always been glad to see him, grotesque as he might have been.

He was better than the alternative.

Was Sarkaron offended Matty wasn’t more scared of him? If he was a nightmare demon, maybe he prided himself on his ability to terrify.

“I watch a lot of horror movies,” Matty reassured him, tilted his head to the TV.

Those white eyes went from flat to gleaming. “You like monsters, sweet?”

Matty shook his head. “I’ve met real monsters. Zombies and slashers and killer aliens, those are just pretend.”

Sarkaron stepped out of the shadows. Or more like, he stepped out of the corner, and the shadows came with him.

“But I’m not pretend, sweet. I’m very real.”

He approached the couch, not seeming to walk so much as glide. Matty was frozen in place, mesmerized by the way the towering demon moved.

Maybe this was how Sarkaron got his victims. He paralyzed them with the beauty of his unnatural grace.

When he was directly in front of Matty, Sarkaron dropped into a crouch, one arm outstretched. Slowly—so slowly—he splayed those long fingers over Matty’s chest.

Matty jerked at the touch. Not because he was frightened but because while Sarkaron looked like he should be ice-cold, in reality he was warm. So warm .

It had been the same when Sarkaron had bitten Matty, his mouth hot against Matty’s skin, but Matty had thought maybe that was the magic of the summoning circle.

The warmth was nice, as was Sarkaron’s scent. Like smoke-laced fog. Was that a thing? Matty hoped it was.

Sarkaron stared into Matty’s eyes. Waiting for something.

“You’re real,” Matty conceded, his chest rising and falling steadily under Sarkaron’s hand. “And you’re here to keep me safe.”

Sarkaron’s lips tilted up at the corners, and after a moment he treated Matty to a full smile, all sharp teeth. “Yes, sweet. That’s exactly why I’m here.”

It was like the warmth on the surface of Matty’s chest went inward, filling his chest and stomach and sweeping down to his toes. He had no idea why Kai had warned him that this wasn’t a demon Matty would want to keep around after the contract.

Matty thought this demon was lovely .

“I’m not really sure what to do now,” he admitted. It felt safe to do so. Sarkaron wouldn’t scold him for it; Matty was sure of it.

And he didn’t. The demon shook his head slowly, his hand still on Matty’s chest. “There’s nothing for you to do, little human. You’re still weak from the contract taking hold. The body and spirit must adjust to losing a piece of your soul, however small.”

Right. Because Sarkaron had a piece of Matty’s soul now. One he was going to keep.

“Sarkaron.” Matty bit at his lower lip, then winced at the sting. “Does my soul— Is it all right? It’s not… It hasn’t gone bad?”

Matty wasn’t sure why he was asking. He already knew it had. When he pictured his soul, he always imagined it rotten on the inside, pockmarked and riddled with some secret disease.

Sarkaron cocked his head, dark-gray lids lowering over glowing white eyes. “Your soul is as sweet as your scent, Matteo. I would take the whole of it, if I could.”

Oh. Should that be frightening? It sounded…nice.

Matty grinned at his new friend, yet another weight lifting off his shoulders.

He should have summoned a demon ages ago.

He patted the spot on the couch next to him. “Would you like to sit with me? Have you ever watched a scary movie?”

Sarkaron didn’t move. “I’ve seen the shape of them in human dreams.”

“So it would be boring for you?”

Sarkaron stared at Matty for a moment, like he was studying him. His expression was unreadable, particularly with those strange eyes, but Matty didn’t mind. What right did he have to try to guess a demon’s motivations anyway? Sarkaron could be as mysterious as he liked.

“Not boring, no.” Sarkaron rose from his crouch and took the seat next to Matty.

“Okay.”

Matty was still grinning. He couldn’t seem to stop. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so much. It hurt his cheeks, like his facial muscles weren’t used to it.

While Sarkaron sat still as death, Matty worked on getting settled for the movie.

He’d tucked some sour Skittles into the couch cushions earlier, and he dug those out as well as the remote.

He tucked more blankets around himself and then—after a moment of hesitation—draped a blanket over Sarkaron’s lap.

Sarkaron didn’t tuck himself in under it, but he didn’t object or fling it off either, so Matty left it there.

“Are you ready, Sarkaron?” he asked.