Page 58 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

I bit back a roar and turned to look up at Wally. I had to look up to him because with all the essence circulating inside me, there was only enough to fully form me in my natural demon body as a pint-sized version.

“That was unnecessarily vulgar.”

“You’re unnecessary.” I pointed an accusatory clawed finger at him, then huffed, pouting, but releasing my misguided rage because I needed to conserve it, cultivate it, and send it all back at Eligos a hundred-fold. I took a calming breath, brushed my sticky, ratty hair back, and flew up so I met Wally at proper eye level, which meant having him stare up at me.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

“With my host body in shambles, I had to take on my true form.”

“But you’re so small.”

“Yes, well, it’s not like I’m rolling in essence right now.” I ground my teeth, glaring at Wally and resting my gaze on his bleeding stomach. Shallow slices that he made to hack out the essence I’d given him, injuries he inflicted while knowing full well that without my essence, it’d take him much longer to heal. My expression softened. “Thank you. If you hadn’t provided me with essence, it might’ve taken me several days, possibly weeks, for me to fully self-actualize and awaken.”

“It was all I could think to do.” Wally’s shoulders shook as he cried, tears smearing his bloody face. Such a beautiful faceshould only be covered in the blood of foes, never his own. “I’m so sorry. I froze. I froze, and Kell and Mora… They were…they were…killed.”

I amplified my senses, attempting to analyze the various layers throughout the villa, but in my weakened state, it was difficult to make out the subtle distinctions. It was hauntingly silent. However Eligos moved about this place, he knew not to leave a trace of his presence. One thing I did detect was a shroud of essence newly weaved throughout the labyrinth below. Its stink wafting a foul odor of agony.

Mora. What had Eligos done to her? Wally suspected death. Given her struggle to cloak her scent, he might not have been far off, but she dwelled out there somewhere.

“She’s fine,” I said dismissively to Wally’s anguish because I couldn’t allow sadness to overcome me. Mora never died. She’d never die. She was the one constant I had in this long eternity. And I hated it. Hated her and her annoying mischief. I ground my teeth. She’d live to kill another day, I believed… I knew it.

“I saw her impaled.”

“You also saw me decapitated, and I’m right as rain.” More like rain droplets, not the tsunami of strength I usually represented.

“Kell was burned alive,” Walter blurted, clutching his shaky thighs. “If she dies, then Mora, no matter how powerful Diabolics are… She’ll die.”

“Whatever, Kell’s fine. Mora’s essence is still floundering about.” Because she tried to lay claim to my villa. Mine and Walter’s. I’d remember that and deal with it after I dealt with Eligos. “Basically, if Mora’s alive, Kell’s alive. Unless, of course, Mora severed their link to save herself, but considering she finally found someone who can tolerate her obnoxious behavior past the one-year marker, I doubt that.”

“Bez.” Wally crawled toward me, picturesque on his knees and covered in blood while looking up at me, which was unfortunate since we didn’t have time for such fun things. “Kell was set on fire. Actual fire. I mean, Weather ate some of the flames, but there was so much fire. Charred skin. The smell was awful, and she screamed so loud.”

“Wally, she’s a witch.” I grinned. “She’s used to being set on fire. It’s how witches witch it up.”

“How can you make jokes?”

“Would you rather I sat here and cried all day? No. I need to be productive. I need to find a way to amplify the recovery of my essence, restore some of my power, then locate Eligos, murder him—after I torture him—”

“You’re six fucking inches tall,” Wally shouted before covering his mouth to silence an outburst that’d already escaped. Thankfully, Eligos wasn’t lingering nearby. “How are you going to stop him?”

“First of all, I’m seven inches and three-quarters. Let’s just put that on the record.”

Wally laughed, an outlandish, unhinged laughter where he clutched his injured stomach, cradling his ribs as he toppled over, unable to contain himself.

“Is something funny, Walter?”

“No, not at all.” He wheezed, then snapped his fingers, calling the three-headed hound over. While he petted Sunny’s head, Wally buried his face into Weather’s stomach, cackling. Stormy nipped his ankle, forcing Wally to stop with the nonsensical over-affection. Sunny and Cloudy were displeased but hid it when Stormy snapped his powerful jaws at them. Good for Stormy. Fuck all this holly jolly garbage of joy. “It’s just, um, haaa! I’ve never seen you so desperate for precise measurements.”

“Wow.” I landed on the ground, brushing away curdling blood off my chest. “You think now is the best time to joke about my size?”

“No.” His lips tightened as he fought back laughter and forced himself not to smile. “We’re all going to die, and all I can do is make dick jokes?”

His eyes welled up, his smile grew again, then instantly fell into a frown, lips trembling. This was too much for Wally. His chest swelled and deflated, taking rapid, wispy breaths. I’d failed him, dragged him into this situation, left him to fend for his life—our lives, and now I needed to remind him that the devil Beelzebub was a terrifying force no foe could defeat.

I hated seeing him so lost in his frantic mind. I grabbed his clammy, shaky hand, lightly caressing it, which didn’t soothe him. Well, there was only one solution to snap him back to the reality of the situation and think more rationally. I squeezed his palm, spun around, and threw him over my shoulder.

“Gods.” He gasped. The sudden shock of being slammed onto his back reeled some sense into his glossy hazel eyes.

Antoninus clacked his slightly more formidable claws now that I’d lost a bit of my stature, but I snarled to remind the familiar I would crack open that shell and wear it to battle. A battle I needed to contend with soon, given Eligos had the edge after he got the drop on Mora and myself. Mostly Mora. She should’ve predicted this nonsense.

---