Chapter Two

Mayhem

One selfish, cold-blooded, bitter choice changed my entire life. Turned me from a man to a Demon and sent me here. To the depths of darkness and brimstone, fire and rage for all eternity. Each year spent in Hades was another dark mark on my soul. At least whatever is left of my soul.

I forgot what being a man was even like. What being a human can feel like. The wind on my face, the warmth of the sun, the first bite of a sweet strawberry. All things I knew once and took for granted. During my time here, I have forgotten all the good in this world.

It is my doing, my own choices, that landed me here. I was greedy and tried to take something that was not mine. In a rage, I destroyed a woman with a pure soul because she would not love me back, just because I believed I was owed her love, her body, and her very soul.

"I have earned what has become of my soul," I whisper in the darkness of the corner I call my own here in Hades.

It was another time when most men believed women were inferior or owed something to us. I was enchanted by a young woman who was in love with another man. Their love was pure. Something I could not understand.

True love was foreign to me then. I thought gold or power could make someone love me. So convinced she would love me for my wealth, my power in our village, I took his life. I believed I could make her love me even with his blood still on my hands.

"Your misery tastes good, Mayhem," Azazel smirks from his throne atop decades of decay and debauchery.

"Fuck off. I am in no mood for you," I warn.

"Tsk, tsk, handsome," he purrs, reaching his hand out to caress my face. His touch burns, pain blooming from his fingertips out. It sizzles beneath my surface, my fleshless form wavering beneath his touch.

"Fuck. Off. Do you not recall the last time you upset me?"

Glancing at the mangled flesh down one side of his body, I chuckle. I literally tore his head off and shredded it because I could. Because he would not stop calling me his pet. He has a few centuries on me, so he believes he wields power over me.

Ignoring his pouting, I stalk off to find a place where I can be miserable. Being in Hades for a few weeks feels the same as spending a decade on Earth. It is a slow grind of pain, sorrow, and emptiness. All of it was less than I earned.

It was heinous what I did, and I am not sure I will ever atone for it. Not even centuries of death and darkness are punishment enough. Besides taking a life of an innocent man, I broke the heart of the woman I loved. No, it could not have been love. Because how could I have hurt her if I loved her?

I was a young man when she cursed me to rot in hell. I aged quick, almost overnight, in my despair. Unable to work my land, to tend to my livestock, I lost everything. I did not deserve her love, so I did deserve a curse that sent me to Hades to rot for all the pain I brought upon her.

Shifting through darkness, I attempt to recall memories of my time up above. Sometimes I wonder if my faded, flickering memories were real. Are memories of a woman I believed I loved based on someone who never even existed?

"She is out there," a soft voice hums over the roar of screams and cries that echo through all of Hades. "Out there waiting for you. It was never who you thought it would be, Mayhem."

Everything falls quiet at once. What.... what was that? Who was that? That voice? It trickled through the chaos of Hades, hitting me like blows to the chest. I ached with a sudden bloom of need, of hunger, not lust, but something very close to it.

"Who is out there? Who is...she?"

"The one who was meant for you. As you were meant for her. Even in death but also in life," that same soft, silvery voice says.

"No. No one is meant for me. I cannot have her. Not in this world or any other," I argue as desperation swirls inside of me.

"Not this world or any other. Her world . It waits for you."

There is a blinding light that scorches the darkness for a moment, and I gasp. It is beautiful. Unlike anything I have ever seen before. I am entranced. I walk toward the warmth of it, right to the brightest spot.

In the swath of warm light is a figure. Just an outline, no discernible features. I feel it in my soul. Down to the little pieces of my soul that remain. It is her. Whoever this entity said I am meant for. Whoever she is, she is meant for me.

"Need to get to her. Need to get out of here," I exclaim.

With a sense of urgency, I shift through the darkness to locate a portal. Portals can take us to any world we choose. I've not dared go back to earth in a very long time. I long ago stopped going up top just to torture myself with all I had lost.

Finding a portal, I do not even hesitate. Without a glance back, I step through the wavering portal of darkness. For a moment, I wonder if I will wind up on this creature's earth. With a powerful surge, I break through to land on the soft, dark earth. It smells different. Feels different.

Glancing up at the night skies, the darkness different from the empty dark of Hades, I take a moment to adjust. It is cold here, much colder than I recall. It is also so quiet I fear for a moment I wound up in the in-between.

But no, I see Earth's skies, feel its winds, smell its dirt. Lying on the cool ground, I allow myself to take it all in. To drag in a taste of the of unsullied Earth. Pine trees and moss, warm fireplace fires, and something sweet. Oh, something so sweet, my mouth watering. I am drawn to that sweetness.

"That is her," I decide as I stare up at the stars.

Oh, how they shine! I do not remember their beauty, but they are absolutely breathtaking. It has been too long since I came home. Nothing is the same. Everything seems bigger, brighter, and bolder than I remember.

Now that I am here again, memories flicker in my head but never become clear. It is probably for the best—the man I was before died long ago. I do not feel or look like that man now. I am battered, my skin gray, my head tipped with horns, and my eyes black with sin.

"Will my love want me?" I whisper, as if that guiding voice might answer me.

In the following silence, I let out a trembling sigh. Does she prefer a male or a female? Humans love both. Whatever her preference is, I will become that. I will be a strapping man who will protect her, or a sweet woman who caters to her needs. If I can feel love, if I can feel anything at all, I will do whatever it takes.

"For her. Just for her. Anything for her," I proclaim.

Ducking through shadows, I spot a small house set off on its own. It is what I would call... cute. Flowers sprout from colorful boxes on the front porch and puffs of smoke dance from the chimney. That sweetness is delicious, luring me as a moth to a flame.

Going to a window, I peer through sheer curtains that hide nothing. Sitting near a fire, curled up beneath a dark, fluffy blanket, is a woman. No, not just a woman. Not any woman.

Sitting there is my woman. My soul mate.

I may not be deserving of this creature, but I will take her, anyway. I am a Demon, after all. With one look, I am enchanted by her. Sitting near a flickering fire facing me, she is an absolute vision of perfection. Dark hair, glowing skin, shimmering eyes that focus on a book with a monster on the cover.

"Mine. She is mine," I growl as I press a taloned hand against the window, fogging it up with my heavy breathing.

For the first time in over a century, I am all man. Even if I am a Demon, the man in me rises to the surface. A man with base desires. I want to taste her skin, to relish her sweet mouth, and I want to bow before her and devour her womanhood.

My tiny little human sets her book aside, settling back in the large chair with a breathy sigh. She is so beautiful. Her face is what artists strive to create but could never come close. It is as I stand there with lust curling through me I notice.

My little creature is naked beneath that blanket. Not just naked, but as her legs spread wide, she tosses the blanket aside. I growl like the beast I am to track her hand, rubbing at her pretty little pussy. Playing as I watch with rapt fascination.

"Oh, my wicked little creature," I grunt, as I watch her fingers pump inside her cunt.

Without wasting a moment, I palm my quickly growing cock. Dipping my head, I spit on it, wishing it was wet from her mouth or her cum. Thinking about filling her, about chasing the pleasure she would give me, is nearly enough to make me come.

"Oh, oh, yes," she pants as she rubs her palm over her clit, her thighs spread wide, as if she wants to give me a good show.

"That's a good girl," I pant as I step forward. I am done hiding in the shadows now.

Taking a breath, I steel myself for an assault to my senses as I shift through her wall. My little Demon trick. Crossing the room, never taking my eyes off her, I keep stroking, my forked tongue licking my lips because I can taste her. I keep a veil between us, not yet ready to let her see me. Not yet, not before we both get what we need.

Inhaling the air between us, I grunt. I can taste her cum. I can taste it on my tongue, and I lick again, letting her feel me between her thick, spread thighs. Her skin flushes as she cries out, her other hand going to her throat. I growl as she wraps it around her throat, choking herself. Just as I would do if I was buried inside of her.

This is it, she is it, that voice earlier spoke the truth.

This is what feels different, why everything sounds and even smells different. It is because of her . Because this beautiful creature exists, the entire world is different for me. I am still not sure if I am truly on earth and not down in Hades because for a moment it is pure torture, considering she might not want me.

"Do you want me, little flame?" I wonder, stroking myself faster, gritting my teeth as she nods, as if she can hear me.

"Yes, yes, I want.... I am going to come. Yes!"

Roaring, I come along with her, jerking deep purple cum all over the shimmering veil between us. I much rather paint her pretty face or those perfect tits, but another time. I jerk until she stops moaning. Reaching out, I trace her mouth with my sticky fingers, and she gives another moan.

"Yes, I am here, little flame. Right here with you, where I belong. Where I will stay for the rest of days," I rasp.

Head falling back, a little smile tilts her pink lips as she nods. She mumbles something about being alone. No, she no longer has to be alone. No longer must play with her pussy this way, because I will take good care of her. I will eat her or fuck her or shove my tongue inside her anytime she needs to get off.

Staring down at her, I brush a hand over her hair, the veil between us sparking. Her head lifts, as if she can feel me. But that is impossible. The veil is too strong for a human to feel me on the other side of it. It is one way we're able to move unseen among humans and other creatures.

Then her eyes lift and lock on mine. And I know...I feel she can see past it, that she is staring into my eyes. An entire eternity happens in the space of a few seconds. Does she know I am here? Can she feel me beyond the veil?

" How? " I whisper, still unsure if she knows I am here.

An adorable smile tilts her lips. Her eyes flutter before she passes out, hand at her throat, the other between her thighs.

"Ah, my little flame," I whisper gently, dropping the veil as I scoop up her tiny, soft frame, holding it against my rough, ruined one. Her arm lifts to hook over my neck as she burrows against my chest, as if we have done this before.

Finding her room, I settle her in the big, soft bed, leaving her bare. Better to keep her body ready for me. For when I need to see her golden skin or taste her sweet pussy again.

Pressing a gentle kiss to her head, I tuck her in carefully. I do not want to hurt her tender skin. The idea of my marks ruining her for me and me alone makes my dick jerk. My tail sweeps side to side as happiness, true, deep happiness floods me until I am overwhelmed with it.

Lying on the floor beside her, I just watch her for hours. Through dreams where she talks and ones where she moans and reaches out, for me I hope, I watch over her. I cannot take my eyes off her. Not even for a moment. I need nothing else in this world. Just to see her exist. To be close to her this way.

This tiny, soft, sweet little human has made this Demon feel like a man for the first time in a lifetime. I would do anything, give anything, kill or create anything, if she will let me stay at her side, feeling this for the rest of eternity.