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“Black Death?” Knots questions.
“Sounds like a blast,” I murmur as I slide in and start side-stepping along the rough wall behind Zissa.
“Hold me,” Moni whispers, squeezing my neck.
Zissa gawks when a light appears above our heads. “Wow, that’s never happened before,” she says in awe.
Moni and I chuckle at her.
“What?” she snaps.
“Sorry, just never thought you'd be awestruck by something so simple as one of Levi’s light spells,” I say, smiling. “Thank you, honey buns,” I say to Levi in a singsong tone.
Levi reaches out and squeezes my hand.
“Oh. Yeah. I should have figured that out. I guess I’m just nervous,” she admits.
“You? Nervous? You’re like Xena: Warrior Princess, and you’re nervous?” Moni jokes.
“Well, yeah. I’ve heard some stories about you, though, Moni. You have an offense or defense that brings creatures to their knees. You, Rez, have some wild magic. Who knows what you'll be able to do once you’ve gotten control of it. If what Astaroth told me has any truth to it, you’re possibly an Angel, Knots. And the guys, or the so called ‘princes,’ aren’t just normal supernaturals either. And here I am, just a Succubus with some knife skills who’s friends with one of them,” she scoffs. “So, yeah, I’m nervous,” she admits.
“How did you become friends with Ryker?” I ask, since she led me down the hole.
“Well, I did promise to tell you. It was a long time ago. Ryker was going through his change, or getting his Incubus powers. Did you know that as a Sex Demon we can easily drain and kill our partners?” she asks, waiting for me to answer.
“Yeah, I think I read that somewhere,” I respond, not knowing where she’s going with this.
“Well, Lilith brought him to Hell because she thought it best he learned how to feed properly from another Sex Demon. So she brought him to my doorstep. I was his teacher for a time, and he would feed off of me before I would bring in others for him to practice with. Afterward, we just naturally became friends and kept in touch. I turned into more of a mentor if he ever had questions.”
“Oh! So you were his PIMP!” Moni shouts, and her words echo around the passageway.
Zissa laughs but nods as a light starts shining from the other end. “Yeah, after I had him first, I guess I was, in human terms.”
Shit. Zissa was his first? I don’t know how to feel about that.
“I guess I should thank you for teaching him all of his tricks, huh?” I deadpan.
“Oh not at all, Rez. From what Ryker told me, your relationship with him is different from anyone else’s. You guys are mates. No Incubi or Sucubi has ever had one before him. If something were to happen to you, he probably couldn’t feed like he used to. He might survive by living off of the sexual energy around big group outings—like parties where sexual tension is high—but what kind of life is that?” she asks.
Fuck. I never thought of it that way before.
“Not only that. From what he said, you can actually see his tattoos and his so-called ‘tricks’ don’t work on you either. Now that’s something that has never happened before. I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t able to seduce and change for each of my partners.” She looks back over her shoulder at me as we almost come to the end of the tunnel and smiles. “What you guys have is extremely special. It’s unheard of in the Demon world,” she confesses. “Plus, if there’re any feelings between both of you like Ryker has hinted at, then that will play into your physical relationship too.”
Talk about a mental slap. I didn’t realize how important or unique Ryker and I were. Yes, I knew he said I was the only one he functioned around, but… Shit, this is a whole new level. My mind whirls as I think back to how I reacted, walking away because he didn’t use a stupid title to introduce me. A title he wouldn’t be used to using, ever. I sigh and drop my head. It dawns on me how stupid I was to expect him to treat me differently all of a sudden, when he was never raised that way.
Doesn’t that make me a hypocrite? The guys had to ease me into the idea of multiple partners, and here I am, giving Ryker a hard time for something he wasn’t used to. Fuck me… I’m a horrible girlfriend! Shit… I mean mate. Ugh.
When am I going to get this right?
We step out onto a small outcropping of land with planks lying over bubbling black liquid, which we have to cross before continuing. The atmosphere is completely different here. Instead of the noise of creatures trying to sell their items or haggling over prices, it’s quiet. Creatures huddle against walls, alcoves, or around cooking fires. There are no lights along the walls or ceilings, creating an unlively ambience. I definitely see where they came up with the name Black Death.
We carefully make our way over the black sludge and onto the main thoroughfare. Following Zissa, we weave between a few shady characters and into a short but wide alleyway before we come to a stall with crystal vials hanging from the beams.
“Ah, I see you’ve come to the right place. Find something that catches your eye? Or did you come for something darker?” The young Demon with solid black eyes and yellow skin asks Zissa as we approach.
“Yes,” she says, and I place my list in her outstretched hand. “We need four dragon scales, a vial of moon drops, bat flowers, and”—she drops her voice and leans in closer—“Demstones.” The Demon quickly backs up and nods, but not before I catch his sly smile. Hell, down here, it would pass as a sinister one.
“Oh, and can you see if you have Sparks coffee?” Moni asks with hopeful eyes.
