20

Beelzebub

I brushed away bits of crumbled stone clinging to the clothing and skin of this host, picking at the eggshell-sized rock like some tragic gargoyle waking up. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled the last remnants of the former mage whose body I possessed. He put up less resistance than the previous body I'd seized, grateful for the reprieve of the solitude in stone that filled the last six centuries of monotonous memories. I shuddered, pushing those dull, repetitive recollections summing up his existence away. He had a nice build and a similar facial structure, which helped hasten my composite to look like something resembling myself faster. My mortal aesthetic, at least.

Stretching side to side, I tried to loosen up this stiff shell of flesh and blood and bone and muscle. I didn't have nearly enough essence to feel stuffed inside, but I hated breaking new bodies in. I'd finally gotten everything about the last one just the way I liked it.

Feasting on the stale mana locked inside this mage's body, I replenished my essence a bit and leapt through the golden portal of this storage room, returning to the labyrinth of the villa. I immediately went to work enhancing my senses to search for Wally. I couldn't risk Eligos or the demons he'd swayed to find Wally first. Having lost our bond, I tensed at every trace of Wally in this maze. His scent filled every hall, sweat and blood and lost mana, all in equal measures, each thick and palpable in the air. I swallowed hard. Had he been harmed? Was a demon stalking him down here?

Diabolic essence continued seeping from every pore of the villa, making it impossible to tell if it came from the encased demons powering the dimensional traveling Fae ship or if it belonged to those Eligos had released from their orbs.

I darted through long, stretched halls, barreling ahead until I found a more concrete trace of Wally's presence. I needed to hear his heartbeat, see him take a breath, feel his warm body. He might've fled back into a pocket portal. No. Wally was smarter than that, which was why his scent filled every route down here. Knowing he couldn't hide, he led whoever stalked him down too many false trails to follow.

"Don't you look lovely," Mora said, braced at a corner, one hand balled into a fist and at the ready.

No. Not ready. She trembled, subtle, frightened, but unwilling to show it, to relent to any enemy that might've presented themselves.

Mora dragged a bloody hand along the wall, using it to steady her tattered body. She was riddled with stab wounds that hadn't healed. Her essence served as a thin thread stitched across her flesh, holding the blood and organs from spilling out entirely. Wally said Kell had been set on fire, but Mora didn't have a single scorch mark, which meant she prioritized healing those injuries, likely for Kell's sake more than herself.

I smiled at her. My heartbeat surged, a quick, uncontrollable feeling I almost confused for sentiment. It wasn't. I had a new host body—one with a heart irregularity, practically knocking on death's door before he ended up petrified by gorgon magic. That was the reason behind the excited thump in my chest. The only reason.

Settling these sensations, I curled my lips into a minxy grin and properly addressed Mora. "Dashing as always, which is more than I can say for you."

"I've had better days," she said, her voice gravelly.

"Roadkill's had better days." I pointed to the blood nearly oozing out of her. "Seriously, you look like shit."

"Charming as ever," she groaned. "Now that we're finished with the pleasantries, help me find that damned knight so I can kill him."

"He's not alone," I said. "Also, given your condition, bet you're revisiting the idea of marketing such powerful cloaks to Diabolics."

"On the contrary, it saved me a dance with some feathered fuck skittering about, so I'd say the cloak has potential." She wiggled her fingers, almost casting shadows out of her instinctual need to add panache to her tales.

So the demon that impaled my former body back in the engine room had already made his way into the labyrinth. The endless passages would only keep Wally safe for so long. I had to get to him.

"I have to find Walter."

"He's fine." She waved a dismissive hand.

"How would you know?"

"He's with Kell." Mora pressed her back against the wall, propping herself upright, even though her legs shook, ready to buckle any second. "I told her not to leave the room I'd sealed for her until she'd completely healed and I'd dealt with this demon debacle. But does she listen? I knew she'd wander off, so I've been tracking her."

Tracking her. Of course. That was why Mora looked so rough. Between the injuries she'd sustained and then pouring what little essence she had to offer into Kell, all while maintaining a tight link on their bond, I was surprised she managed to move at all. I ground my teeth. If I were stronger like her, I would've ensured Wally had part of me with him, enough to know he was okay. All I had was Mora's word, and I wanted to trust her.

"The two had a brief scare, but Kell's emotions have settled. Her thoughts express Wally's fine, too." Mora pushed off the wall, ready to collapse two steps in. "I need to change."

"You and me both." I joked, pointing to the outdated commoner rags of my current host.

"I mean bodies."

"Ah, so upstairs then?"

She nodded, dragging herself forward, fumbling. I swooped beside her in a blur. Resting my arm on her back, I cradled her as I lifted her up by her legs and pulled Mora into a tight embrace. She needed to conserve her strength, and we needed to move quickly.

"So chivalrous, Bezzy." She rested her head on my chest.

"No choice. You're moving so slow your age is finally showing itself, you old hag."

She chuckled and closed her eyes, resting.

I didn't want to abandon Wally down here. But he had Kell, his annoying familiar, and a hound literally bred to guard the doors of the afterlife. He'd be fine, and if I intended on ending Eligos and his demon entourage, it would help to have Mora, the craftiest demon ever, at my side.

With all the speed I could muster, I raced out of the labyrinth, upstairs onto the ground floor of the villa, then to the second floor, and into one of the guest rooms Mora had quartered off for her stay.

Breaking free of my grasp, Mora wandered to the middle of the room and stood silently, unmoving, with her eyes closed. The seconds ticked, and my very limited patience gave way.

"What are you doing?"

"Offering Catherine a farewell. Not that she can hear me since that damn knight in shining armor killed her." Mora sighed. "I'd been with her for twelve years. I'll miss our conversations."

"Yes, yes, quite tragic." I rolled my eyes. "But perhaps we can wrap this up and go kill Eligos?"

"Catherine was a beautiful soul, and her art was entrancing. You'd have loved it," Mora continued, practically ready to whip out a eulogy. "Now, I'll never experience her heart put on display again."

"Looks pretty displayed to me." I pointed to the gaping hole in her chest.

"Don't be so cavalier."

Mora had a way with hosts, always finding those desperately disinterested in engaging with the monotony of the world yet eager to indulge in the few loves they had. Mostly creative types, but Mora had found a few warriors tired of battle, philosophers who sought to sink into the deep recesses of their minds to find whatever theory of meaning they believed would change the world, and scientists who delighted at the chance to extend their research over the centuries.

They all remained safely tucked away in her wardrobe, a personal host to fit any occasion when she deemed appropriate. It sounded exhausting and tedious to keep up with their needs.

Once Mora finished her vigil to her lost host body, she strutted over to her luggage and withdrew a wrapped scroll.

"What's that?"

"It's where I keep my spares," she answered, slowly untying the magical strings.

"Guess we're just alerting Eligos of our location." I crossed my arms.

"Let him show up. I'm going to eviscerate him." The lace glimmered around her fingers as she wrapped it like twine. Each thin string radiated with magic, and the single wrapped piece of parchment she unraveled held a potency that screamed Fae magic.

"What's with the Fae pocket portal?"

"Easier than toting about all those coffins."

"Yes, but why not use Diabolic essence, carry them in a void world? That'd be simpler."

"I don't know, on the off chance my essence is shattered by a surprise assault, and I needed to ensure the magical seal didn't become undone, exposing their bodies to harm and leaving me more vulnerable."

"Touché."

She peeled off a single glyph on the parchment etched alongside hundreds of others. The ink fluttered from her finger, falling like a spiraling feather onto the floor, then expanded into a full-sized white coffin.

"It's surprising you found a Fae willing to help you."

"Please." She unlatched the locks and removed a few warded sigils. "How do you think I caught wind of Novus' scheming? I have connections everywhere. Though, I should've vetted the dead baron's affiliation with demons more thoroughly. Alas, live and learn."

Agreed. We would live and learn—right after we slaughtered Eligos and his demons.

Mora sauntered toward me, dug a nail into the back of her neck, and tore into the flesh. "Help a girl out?"

"Can't you just rip through it yourself?"

"I'd like to offer Catherine a modicum of respect." She glared.

"Fine." Channeling essence into my mortal fingertip, I created a sharp claw and dragged it down Mora's back, carving through the layers of flesh so she could hop out and leave the corpse mostly intact. Guess she really had fought hard for her life against Eligos since Mora rarely intertwined so deeply in a host body, such as seeping her essence into them on a cellular level like myself. By maintaining proper balance between her consciousness and a host body, it allowed her to leave without harming them, but also made for a more difficult possession. Her essence consumed Catherine during a collision of consciousnesses where Mora had to ultimately choose herself.

Instinctively, I faced away from her as she escaped and entered the room in her true form. The coffin creaked open, and the host gasped, their voice hoarse from years of sleep.

"Such a gentleman, Bezzy," Mora said with a deep baritone that she added a soft lilt to lighten. Her hand grazed my shoulder blades, indicating she'd possessed the new body seamlessly.

There were few things in the world that bothered Mora, but she preferred not to be seen in her demon form, something she lived with too long on Bael's Court as a reigning king in Hell.

"Whatever." I flexed, shrugging off her hand. "Who'd you pick?"

I turned, and Mora twirled as she adjusted her blazer, smiling with four large, fanged upper eyeteeth.

"Maurice." I nodded approvingly. "I always liked him."

"He's the only one durable enough to handle a few lucky shots from that annoying demon knight." Mora fidgeted in the itchy suit.

I smirked.

Maurice had terrible taste in fabrics and a weird mix of fashion sense, from stuffy and traditional to audacious and conventionally difficult to walk in. Guess it made some sense, given he was a vampire of nearly a thousand years who'd never adapted to the changes in the centuries, refusing to blend even though organizations like the Mythic Council demanded it. He'd agreed to Mora's arrangement with the stipulation that when she wore his flesh, she not put him in what he considered garish attire. He'd tired of life yet feared the unknowingness that came with death. Mora offered him a chance for the solitude of sleep, exploration of the world, and the quiet disconnect that came with observing change without interacting. Not sure why that worked on him—must have been a personality thing—but she always found individuals eager and willing to give themselves to a demon.

"Come along." Mora snapped her fingers. "We have a demon to slaughter."

"Demons," I corrected. "Remember, Eligos is working with others now that he's cracking open those orbs."

"Right." She planted her hands on her hips and pouted. "This is ridiculous. I say we just—"

She froze, eyes wide and panic-stricken. The bright blue of her host's irises turned emerald, and the veins on her face bulged and changed black. Her nose crinkled. There was such an exertion of her essence rising to the surface of her host. She avoided that almost always, given it could lead to a collision of consciousnesses.

"What?"

Coyly smiling, she ran her fingers through her hair, settling the Diabolic features that rooted into the vampire, superseding and deepening the possession in a way Mora never liked.

"It's nothing," she said. "Kell's being approached by a demon. Blah, blah—I know, once again, she's not paying attention to her surroundings."

What? My heart pounded. I grabbed my chest, almost confusing the sensation for Wally's fear, then remembered I had no connection to him. None. He was lost out there, in danger, and I had no clue. "Is Walter okay?"

"I guess." Mora waved a hand. "I don't know. Kell's lost in one of her daydreams, something about rearranging the stonework of the labyrinth to make it more accessible or whatever? Nothing on Wally in her immediate thoughts."

"Where is he?" I bolted in front of her and squeezed her arms. "Tell me."

"He's fine. They're both fine. Aside from the fact neither one of them has any idea a demon is stalking their every step." She flexed her biceps, resisting my grip and doing well to break my hold—another sign my essence was still waning despite the bit I'd replenished. "I've told Kell a thousand times to use the essence to track threats. She never fucking listens."

"I don't have time for your rants or your games. Let's go."

"I guess we're just going with the improvised plan of picking off threats as they come instead of constructing a real course of action."

"Wally. Now." I growled, tails thrashing just enough to slice through her less valuable belongings.

"I'm teasing, relax." She batted her long lashes. "But it is nice to see how close you two have grown."

"Stop talking and fucking move."

"Sheesh. Boys, so emotional." Mora rolled her eyes, then zipped out of the room.

I followed quickly, desperate to find and protect Wally.