Page 42 of SIN Bone Deep

“I have to go,” I realized. “I have to go.”

“Curfew?” Xander guessed.

“Sort of,” I started for the door, but Mal caught me by the wrist, stalling me.

“Don’t be a fool, Nyx,” he said. “I’ll drive you home, and then come back here for the rest of them.”

“Are you sure?” I asked him. He had been drinking drink for drink with the other three. “If you’ve been drinking, Mal…”

“Nyx,” he ended his eye roll with a raised eyebrow. “Remember who you’re talking to. Come on,” he pulled me out of the bar, and past the smoking bikers, opening the door to his Porsche which was surprisingly intact considering where we were parked… Or perhaps not so surprising, I amended as I sagged into the passenger seat and watched him round to the driver’s side. Mal was, after all, a demon, and if a demon did not possess ways of protecting their property, they wouldn’t be a very good demon.

“I’m very drunk,” I realized. Inside, with all the noise and the game of pool, I hadn’t felt as intoxicated.

“Yes,” he flashed his teeth at me as he put the car into reverse. “I enjoy you drunk. You forget to be wary of people and actually enjoy yourself. When you’re not so afraid, Elenyx, you are very entertaining.”

“Fuck,” I rested the back of my head against the headrest. “What have I done?”

“Recently, or in general?” He speculated.

“You know what I mean,” I rolled my eyes his way. “Complicated things.”

“Well…” He started up the hill. “I have been giving that some thought, Nyx, and there is a very simple way to uncomplicate this situation.”

“Oh, and how is that?” I wondered.

“Invoke me.”

“What?” I looked at him in surprise. It had crossed my mind a time or two, but I had dismissed it as I was almost certain Ender would not approve, but I had not expected him to suggest it outright. “Invoke you?”

“Malachar Veridian,” he prompted as he turned down the driveway. “It’s really very simply done, Elenyx. You just say: ‘With words that bind, and yet set you free, I invoke thee, Malachar Veridian, to come to me. So mote it be.’ Simple.”

“That’s…” I was too drunk, my eyes struggling to focus, for this conversation, I decided wisely. “It’s just not that simple, Mal, and you know that,” I pointed out. “We have to agree to terms.”

“What terms do you want?” He asked me. “Immortality? Done. Power over men? Done. Success in all your endeavours? Done. Wealth beyond your wildest dreams? Done. My eternal devotion and adoration? Done.”

“I…” My eyes searched the gardens as we neared the house, seeking the shadow of Ender within them. “I…” I looked at Mal as he pulled to a stop.

“Think about it,” he leaned over and caught my chin on his fingers lifting my mouth to his so that he could kiss me. “It would uncomplicate things considerably,” he said against my lips and released my seatbelt before getting out to circle the bonnet and open my door.

He offered me his hand and lifted me free, steadying me as my head swam and then settled.

“Don’t be afraid of him, Nyx,” he said quietly meeting my eyes. “He has no hold on you. You did nothing wrong. She’s all yours,” he added louder as he stepped back, sweeping his hand behind me as I staggered towards the porch. “Home again safe and sound.” He laughed as he turned away.

Even without Mal’s words, I knew that Ender stood in the shadows, and he caught me against him, steadying me as I stepped into him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my face into his chest. His fingers threaded into my hair, cradling my skull in one hand, his other hand resting on my back. I heard the Porsche’s engine start, and the crunch of the gravel under the wheels as Mal pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” I held Ender tight and cried my tears into his shirt. “I’m sorry.”

I felt him sigh and lower his face into my hair until his cheek rested on the crown of my head. “Elenyx,” he said softly, and there was a shift of the world around us so that I swayed, dizzy, as suddenly we were in my bedroom rather than standing on the porch. “When the gods play at dice, mortals become the spoils of the divine gamble. Come, you need to sleep,” he began to undress me.

“Life is fleeting and fragile,” he eased the tartan overall skirt down and then lifted my black top, setting my hair into a craze of static. He paused, touching the memento mori that I wore, opening the locket with his thumbnail to look within before closing it. “Make sure that those who you value, know how important they are to you, and don’t waste those precious moments on a demon who is playing a cruel game.”

“Ender…” I swallowed thickly. “I need to brush my teeth and drink some water.”

He smiled. “I will be here when you return.”

I pulled on my robe and padded to the door, looking back over my shoulder. He stood by my desk, looking down at the spell books. I decided that I did not need to warn him to be careful with them and hurried down the hall. I used the bathroom hastily, removing my makeup and brushing my teeth, before tiptoeing down to the kitchen for a glass of water.

The alcohol was beginning to wear off, and as I went back up the stairs, I thought of the conversation coming with dread. He was waiting by the door when I entered, and took the water from my hand, taking a sip before setting it down upon the bedside table. “Things taste so different here,” he commented, and reached for the tie that held my robe closed.

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