This just wasn’t my night.
I looked up and cursed again when I couldn’t see Darkwave anymore. Shit, he could have been anywhere. Not only was the beach less than a mile away, but there were half a dozen bars andclubs on this block, and several winding alleyways he could have wriggled his scaly ass through.
I hadn’t wanted to resort to this, but I was running out of options as the clock ran out on my deal. A group of five merfolk stood on the corner, distracted by their phones as I made my approach. Tendrils of red smoke snaked from my hands, winding their way around them and slithering into their mouths. Their expressions blanked and they stood straight, turning towards me to await their orders.
“Find Arius Darkwave,” I commanded.
Their eyes, now rimmed in yellow, didn’t blink as they nodded, and my vessels disbanded to begin their search.
Separating my soul into so many pieces was dangerous and supposed to be impossible, but I was an exceptionally powerful demon. And since the alternative was death, it was worth the risk.
I breathed easier once they dispersed, cracking my neck and wading through the crowd with a little more finesse, moving with the waves instead of against them while I searched for my prey.
A vampire wrapped her arms around my shoulders and tried to bite me, and I twirled her around and transferred her onto the witch next to me, hearing his hiss of pleasure as she sank her teeth into his neck.
A few steps away, I managed to grab the phone dropped by an elf, high on bruum, smoothly putting it back in his hand as I weaved around him in one fluid motion.
I swept over the crowd, my eyes moving methodically as I tried to zero in on Darkwave’s color combination.
Green… pink… white
Green… pink… white
A seraph reached for my junk, and I swiveled, giving her a wink and blowing a kiss before I got back to work, smirking tomyself at the sound of her disappointed groan and the laughter of her friends.
While the feast in Tideholm was an annual event, the party in my hometown of Ignareth never ended, and I was almost getting nostalgic. The demon city-state was devoted to the pursuit of dark pleasures, and for Magiks from all around Lundaria looking for a place to let loose and have fun, it was the ultimate vacation spot. For the demons who lived there, though… not so much.
No child should be walking by orgies, stepping over pools of blood and Magiks drugged out of their minds on their way to school, but that had been my life. And it had been made especially difficult after my mom died, when my shitty dad refused to shield me from those types of activities. But, eh, what could I do now except continue to ignore his calls and refuse to visit? I hadn’t been back in a decade, and Ravaric willing, I would never have to go there again.
Finally, a garish flash of color crossed my vision, and I spied my bounty ducking into an alleyway. I nodded to two of my vessels, who ran around the block to meet Darkwave at the other end.
Tipping my head back and sighing, I savored the sweet taste of imminent victory. I flicked one of the curling black horns growing from my temple for luck and put my hands in my pockets, whistling as I closed in.
The desperate thief grabbed every doorknob he could find, yanking to see if any of them were unlocked.
“Enough is enough, Darkwave,” I said. He froze, his eyes wide with fear. “You stole over half a million runics from Elyon Damaris. Did you really think he’d just let that slide?”
I quickly shielded my ears just as he opened his mouth, releasing another sonic shriek. When he saw it wasn’t going to work this time, he turned and bolted for the other end of the alley, where my vessels were waiting.
One kneed him in the stomach while the other grabbed his arms, holding him back and presenting him to me with wordless obedience.
“P-please, whatever Damaris is paying you, I’ll double it. Triple it!”
I clicked my tongue in disgust as a wet spot grew from the crotch of his pants and down his leg, his pathetic blubbering grating.
They always begged like this, but they should have known it was pointless.
“I made a deal, Darkwave. No amount of money can break it. Now…” I released another tendril of smoke, possessing the simpering merfolk. “Follow me.”
I discharged my other vessels, withdrawing the controlling power of my demon magic. Their minds reset, erasing the past few minutes from their memory until they forgot all about me, and then they laughed, wandering off to look for their friends.
With one hand firmly on Darkwave’s shoulder, I made my way back to where I’d parked my Hellfire X-666. Her cherry red paint was a welcome beacon in the night, and I smiled every time I saw her. She wasn’t the most inconspicuous vehicle around, but damn, she was sexy.
I was going to put him in the back seat, but he reeked of piss andIwas pissed he’d gotten the slip on me, so I cuffed his hands and shoved him in the trunk instead. He didn’t even blink as I closed it, taking out my phone to call my client.
“Damaris.”
“Hope you like sashimi, because I caught a fresh one for you.”
