Page 103 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

We lay there, silently staring into the fire that slowly consumed the bedroom wall. Each flick of the flames held in the careful control Bez possessed, and I couldn’t wait to fully understand this side of myself. A side I could share and learn from with him. A side that’d be ours and my own all at once. It was a paradox of feelings, feelings I couldn’t wait to discover with Bez.

“I love you, Bez.” The fire ate away the self-portrait of Baron Novus, the one Bez had punched a hole through. “We should probably put out the flames before they reach the closet. Wemight be destroying the villa, but I’d rather not trash everything inside. You know there are thousands of one-of-a-kind artifacts in here, ancient tomes, collectible…”

“Shush.” He hugged me tightly, sweaty and strong. “Let’s just enjoy the bedside fire and the quiet crackle. No need for lectures.”

“I wasn’t lecturing.”

Bez pulled his hips back a smidge, bumping them into me, making our skin slap. “This counts as cock warming, for your information.”

“It does not, and everyone just says FYI. They’ve even got a store.”

“Which flopped, like the malls I told Mora would fail. But does anyone listen to me? No.”

“You’re insufferable.” I stifled a giggle, arching instinctively as Bez pressed himself closer.

“I know.” He lay on top of me, nuzzling my hair. “Sorry.”

“Never be sorry. Be annoying. Talk to me. Talk it out until we figure it out. Annoy me. Did I mention you’re annoying?”

“Dick.”

“You love it,” I said. “And so do I.”

“I love you, Wally.”

30

Beelzebub

I spent the past two weeks really considering Wally’s words, his curiosity, and who I wanted to be seen as moving forward. Thankfully, since setting up Mora’s private city required blowing the villa to hell, I kept busy packing away everything deemed worthy of preserving. According to Walter, that included just about everything he could pry from the walls and floor. It was actually surprising he didn’t attempt taking the walls and floors—especially the ones crafted from golem hides.

Flying outside, I carried a stack of overstuffed boxes bound together by telekinesis and dropped them into a cramped storage unit. A gorgon’s eyes rested on the flick of my tails, slithering through the snow in a similar pattern with theirs. Carefully, I locked my gaze with his, watching his scales shiver at the mere presence of a Diabolic, likely intimidated by my crimson eyes. It could be the cold, yet the incantations thrown about by mages to offer pockets of warmth made me doubt the chill got to the serpent. A pair of harpies whispered to eachother, commenting on the added depth of gray to my contour feathers and at the length of the flight feathers. If they only knew the flight feathers weren’t the largest appendage I had to show off. I winked, showing zero hesitation.

Thanks to Mora’s highly specialized construction team, the Alaskan wilderness now swarmed with Mythics of all kinds and misfit mages looking for reprieves from Collective oversight. She’d assembled quite a mass of willing souls to offer assistance in the creation of this city. All the same, I didn’t want any of them getting ideas over the belongings from the villa. I used a tail to pull down the rolling door, then lay one of Wally’s premade incantations to seal it.

Soon, they’d know the truth of things. My heart thumped and my hands shook. This wasn’t anxiety swallowing me, but elation creating a buzz at all the possible reactions, hopeful for something good and okay if it wasn’t. I was okay because I had Wally for each step, each choice, each new experience in figuring out who I was again. Who I ever was.

Weather trudged through the snow, playing and sniffing everyone who crossed his path all while investigating the trailers set up for lodging. He yapped at the goblins posted by the trucks packed with supplies. Stormy growled at a few werewolves on a smoke break, proudly asserting himself as he should. With Antoninus perched atop Sunny’s head, the young Cerberus wouldn’t have anything to fret. That fiendish familiar had become quite protective—and bossy, using the hound as personal transportation through the snow.

A minotaur took heavy breaths, the fiery coals in his chest burning hot, and turning the snow his hooves stepped through into sloshy muck. He directed golems of stone and steel to lay the foundation for Kell’s contraption, the one which would redirect the villa’s energy. Mages kept our presence glamoured from any passersby, which seemed unnecessary, but apparentlysatellites had become quite popular. Nymphs frolicked through the snow, whispering to the wildlife, encouraging them to explore further out, at least until the cloak was up and the land would return to them as the city remained hidden behind a veil.

Mora snapped her fingers, proudly displaying her Diabolic abilities as she zipped about continuing to issue directives for all those in attendance.

I didn’t know if I wanted to live in a city of magical beings escaping the oversight of the Collective or Mythic Council, but I liked the idea of a private world to share with Wally. One where he could study to his heart’s content, learning anything, meeting anyone, and mastering the essence I’d gifted him without fear of jealous demons, hateful mages, or curious Fae like the dead baron.

These were all thoughts I could contend with another day, for now I’d gladly stay on task. I returned to the villa to gather more boxes.

“Kell, I saw you drop that book into your hat,” Wally said, carrying a box down the stairs.

“Come on, you won’t miss one silly book about plant life, will you?”

“Was it actually about plant life?” Wally raised his brows.

Kell adjusted her witch’s hat. “Would I lie to you?”

Yes. Yes, she would.

“Just make sure to give me the title of your plant book so I can properly log it as borrowed in the inventory list.”

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