Chapter Thirteen

Ididn’t want to leave her. The intense burning sensation in my chest, like a roaring fire, made it painfully clear. It wasn’t the soothing warmth that embraced every fiber of my being, but a scorching ache that consumed me.

It was an ache that told me to return to my domain and watch over her while she rested.

But I had put off for far too long questioning the demon spirit that inhabited a mortal. He was a possessing demon, and a powerful one at that. This demon took over a human’s body, who was stupid enough to believe a powerful witch or warlock that no harm would come to him during a meaningless spell. Or the human was drunk…

It could be either. The human body was flowing with steroids that harmed the body. The original human was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Koozoth even continued to pour alcohol into the body it inhabited. I could smell it in his soul when Juniper slung the sharp mirrored blade into his skin.

Koozoth did not suffer enough. However, the demon had been suffering from his sins at the hands of one of the cruelest gods of them all.

I ventured deep into the heart of the Underworld, where flames roared with infernal fury. The air was thick with the pungent stench of sulfur and coal, mingling together in a suffocating haze. Though devoid of a sense of smell, I could almost perceive the repugnant odor of burning flesh and singed hair, as I pressed on through the treacherous path towards Lucifer’s favored domain, where he delighted in tormenting his chosen playthings.

As my shadows danced and writhed, they whipped violently, enveloping me in their chaotic embrace. The flickering flames below beckoned me as I descended the stairs, each step resonating with the deafening rumble of explosions, billowing steam, and tumbling rocks. The acrid stench of burning filled my nostrils, mingling with the thick, black smoke that obscured my vision. Undeterred, I pressed on, scythe in hand, venturing deeper into the abyss.

Lucifer let out a menacing laugh as he pulled on the whip and it cracked in the air. A scream so loud it would have had me covering my ears if my eardrums were still present in my body.

“I’m sorry, another you say, I couldn’t hear you?” Lucifer’s chuckle was dark, sadistic.

I couldn’t believe that this god was mated to Uriel, the goddess of Innocence.

“Leave me!” the demon bellowed. “I haven’t slept for days,” he uttered in defeat. The demon once inhabiting the overly muscular human male was nothing but a tiny demon named Koozoth. Most possessive demons were small, able to fit in the smallest of bodies, but of course they preferred the larger, able-bodied humans.

Lucifer chuckled, taking his whip full of fire and sharp objects, and let them clang on the floor. “You would like that, wouldn’t you, you tiny piece of arrogant shit? You’re given an inch and you take a mile. Guess what I have planned for you tonight for your ass—”

I cleared my throat, interrupting the God of Destruction. He darted his head toward me, fire in his eyes. His hands covered in black up to his elbows from his rage. “Thanatos,” he growled. “What can I do for you?”

I grasped my scythe and confidently stepped forward onto the platform where the demon was chained. “I’m here to question Koozoth. He is part of the investigation of your mother’s cause.”

Lucifer groaned, his hands returned to their normal color. “Why are you questioning him now? Why didn”t you come immediately when I was entrusted with his soul?” Lucifer kicked the whip away from him.

“I thought you should loosen him up a bit. I know how you like fresh meat.”

I wasn’t about to tell him I’d been tending to my human and wouldn’t leave her. In fact, I was surprised that his mother hadn”t come to check to see if I had allowed Juniper to live. I’m sure it would happen in good time, or perhaps she knew that Juniper lived. She may just not know where she resided.

“He’s tenderized for you,” Lucifer jutted his chin towards Koozoth. “I think my father should have all possessive demons removed from the Underworld, since most stray and cause trouble, but something about giving every soul a chance and giving them agency.” Lucifer sneered and grabbed a towel resting on a table that appeared before him.

I hummed in acknowledgement. “True, but as you know, these possessive demons are also called familiars, and some take the bodies of animals. Many witches take these demons and they become pets and can help witches in their good cause against evil.”

Lucifer rolls his eyes. “And thus why I am not the ruler of the Underworld. Too many things would get fucked up. I’m going to my mate. Throw this piece of shit into the lake of fire when you are done. I’ll fetch him later.”

Lucifer turned, and his black wings widened until he jumped into the red Underworld sky. My body turned to take in the face of Koozoth and find him broken and beaten. There isn”t much left of him. Meat and skin hang from his body, blood dripping relentlessly.

These possessing demons are grey, small ram horns on their head, goat’s hooves for feet. Not to be confused with a faun, because these have nasty teeth and a long slithering snake’s tail.

“Koozoth, we meet again,” I growled. ”I see that you appear beaten beyond recognition.”

He didn’t respond. His right ram horn hung on the side of his head.

“I suggest you cooperate. If you do, I can put in a word with Hades and have his son go easier on you.” I tapped my scythe with my finger.

I have no intention of letting anyone go easier on this piece of shit. Not after what he did to my Juniper. He touched her. That much I know. He damn near killed her.

He heaved in a breath. ”What do you want to know?”

I tilted my head. “Let me come into your mind. Let me see for myself.”

He hissed. “Never.”

This was expected. Delving into the mind of any soul is intrusive. I could do it through force, but as is exhausting, and I preferred not to waste my time and energy on this pathetic soul. Not when I needed all my strength and stamina to tend to my mortal.

I stepped forward, grasping my scythe in both of my hands and trailing it up his thigh and near his dick.

“Fine,” Koozoth hissed, deciding to cooperate. “But know this: it’s not worth your time. You won’t find anything useful in my mind.”

I took a deep breath and willed myself to delve into Koozoth’s consciousness. As I entered his mind, a wave of darkness and chaos washed over me, a testament to the evil that had taken over his being. The images flashed before my eyes, a chaotic jumble of depravity, violence, nudity, women being sexualized against their will.

In the midst of the chaos, I saw fragmented memories of that fateful night when he was going to purchase my Juniper. I saw him touching her, taunting her, wanting to do defiling things against her, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest at the thought.

Fury surged through me, igniting a fiery storm of emotions. My vision blurred with red-hot intensity, my ears pounded with the deafening roar of what should have been my heart. The air thickened with the acrid scent of burning frustration, as my skin prickled with a seething heat.

He touched my Juniper. He touched what was mine.

My heart pounded in my chest, a mix of possessiveness and protectiveness coursing through my veins. Anguish clawed at the edges of my consciousness as I watched the crowd’s ravenous hunger for her. Every gaze, every touch they craved, was a sharp knife piercing my soul.

She moved with a raw sensuality that seemed to transcend the boundaries of the stage. Her body, bathed in the dim lights, was a masterpiece of curves and grace. The way she swayed her hips, the way she arched her back, it was all too much for me to bear. It was as if she possessed a captivating power that could enthrall anyone who dared to look.

But as much as her beauty enchanted others, it was her spirit that ignited a fierce possessiveness within me. The thought of anyone else laying claim to her, of anyone else experiencing the depths of her passion, was unbearable. She was not just an object of desire; she was a person, a soul that I cherished with every fiber of my being.

I ground my teeth in anger, ready to head to earth and find every male that had ever looked upon her in lust. Every single one of them. I would find them and take their souls.

I shook my head. I had a job to do, I must continue.

So I dove deeper into the operations.

Throughout the demon’s mind, I saw his routine; the women working day in and day out. The horrible living conditions, the dancing, the practicing, the private rooms, auctions.

As Koozoth stabbed Juniper, I could feel her pain and terror.

My wings rose behind me, my boned hand reaching out, and I grabbed the demon by the face.

“You piece of shit.” I spat.

My eyes rolled back into my head as I tried to concentrate. There was much more to this story. It wasn’t just Koozoth running the operation. He didn’t have the capability. He was just the follower, most of the possessing demons were. They were the pets, there was no way that this puny demon did all the work.

He was still a powerful, multiplying demon who could create more of himself with the body he inhabited. But nothing more. With his death, the owner had lost all of her guards. So that was something.

I hunted more. I scoured his mind but there was a magic, a command, a power blocking me.

“Who summoned you into the mortal’s body?” I bellowed.

The raging fire that had enveloped us gradually subsided, leaving us cloaked in darkness. Shadows loomed over us, as if they were liquid darkness itself. The crackling lightning illuminated the scene, its blinding flashes searing into our retinas, while its thunderous roar reverberated through the air. With a firm grip, my hand tightened around the demon’s neck, depriving him of breath. As I exerted pressure, more viscous black blood oozed from his wounds, the metallic scent filling the air.

“You said you would give me mercy!” he cried.

The demon’s chained hands to the two poles on either side of his body tightened as he tried to seek relief. “S-Sammael was the warlock who commanded me into the body but gave me to another handler!”

I jerked his neck for him to continue.

“That’s all I remember. I don’t remember their name, I really don’t! I remember following orders at a strip club and killing the ginger and then I ended up here!”

I penetrated his mind further. His soul should have been as open as a tome. There was magic around his soul. It was deep and dark, and I couldn’t even penetrate the part of his soul that hid that part of his mind.

I sneered and pushed him back. He was worthless to me now.

Magic, especially dark magic, evolved every day. Even gods could be blindsided by its power. Many years ago, they were fortunate to eradicate a lot of that dark magic. This was something new. There was a magic bonding around his soul and part of his mind that was hiding who he was working for.

Once in the Underworld, I should be able to see him for who he truly was and all of his sins. They stripped him of his body, and his soul was left bare.

With frustration, my shadows created a windstorm inside the arena. My robes gathered around my body, showing off my boned legs. With my scythe in hand, I wielded the darkness that surrounded me. My eye sockets became the only light, a bright electric blue.

My hood fell back, exposing my head. Koozoth’s eyes widened, even the one that was nearly swollen shut.

“Fuck!”

With a sinister chuckle, I forcefully drove my scythe into the cold stone arena, causing it to shatter. The fragments cascaded downwards, disappearing into the abyss below. As the dust settled, flickering flames illuminated the darkness emanating from the fiery pit that lay beneath. Above the inferno, the demon writhed in agony, dangling helplessly from chains that strained under its weight.

“You hurt what was mine. You choose the wrong handler to follow,” I snarled. “You hurt innocent lives, you had a choice.”

The demon cried out, feeling the flames charring his hooves.

I took my scythe and slung it into the empty air. The demon’s body easily cut in half, even being yards away. He stopped screaming while half his body fell into the fiery flames. The chains let go, and the top half of his body fell into the lake below him.

He would regenerate tomorrow and have to endure being tortured all over again.

I shook my head and let the ground be sewn back together.

My fingers wrapped around the wood of my scythe, and I took the long trek back up the stairs.

My human, my Juniper was in my dwelling and I would no longer stay away from her.

She had endured countless hardships, far more than I can fathom, and I was determined to shield her from any peril in the future. The depth of her suffering, revealed through her resilient smile and infectious laughter, is a testament that surpasses my comprehension.

Now I had to win her over, which will prove difficult.

I took the first step out of the torture pit and looked to the deep red sky above of the Underworld.

Juniper would never leave this place; she was mine and she would know it soon enough.