Page 26 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

“Never mind.” Darius shook his head. “I will guarantee you that he will not win. That bastard will not ever take control of my dimension. It is mine. I will not—”

“Good boy.” Lord Hypnos cupped Darius’s head in his hands and kissed his forehead. “I bless you in the name of the Elder Gods. I will do my best to protect you in the coming battle. You are one of my children, and I freely accept it.”

Darius wrenched his head away and batted Hypnos’s hands off. “What? No. Take that back. I am not your—just no.”

“No take backs. Sorry. You’re one of mine,” Hypnos teased softly. “Do what you must to win, to remain safe and free. You are my greatest hope.” Lord Hypnos brought Darius in for a hug once more before releasing him.

Darius gasped, sucking in the fresh cold air of winter. He was lying on the ground in the cedar grove with his head on Bale’s lap. Adam and Isaac were pacing frantically, arguing with each other.

“There you are,” Bale whispered as he leaned down and kissed Darius’s forehead. “You nearly stopped my heart. What happened?”

“I met a god.” Darius closed his eyes and groaned. Exhaustion hit with the force of a thousand trucks.

“Dare, Dare, are you okay? Is he okay? God, he’s so pale and cold. What’re we gonna do? I can’t lose him again, Bale.” Isaac’s anxiety battered at Darius, and he wished he had the strength to hug Isaac and reassure him.

“Come, let’s get him home and stuff him to the gills with food. Once he’s warmed up, he can tell us what’s going on.” Bale lifted Darius upward with Adam holding him for balance until Darius was standing on his own.

When they arrived at Darius’s house, smoke could be seen floating out of the chimney, and every light in the downstairs was on. Darius grumbled briefly at the cost but subsided. It wasn’t worth an argument. Trey stood in the doorway with Caspian at his side. As Darius passed through the doorway, the wards snapped into place, and the world became easier. His head was clearer, and his stomach growled loudly.

“Are you finally going to tell us what the fuck is going on?” Trey asked, his arms crossed belligerently as Bale helped Darius to the kitchen table.

“I don’t know, should I?” Darius returned, just as waspishly. He had been trying to get his thoughts together for this reason, but Trey’s attack placed him on the defensive.

“Dammit, Darius. You’ve been holding out on us for a shit long time, and it was cool, supposedly, but not now. I’m getting tired of your secretive bullshit. I’m done.” Trey threw his hands up in the air, and Darius inhaled slowly, not letting Trey get to him.

“Here’s a sandwich. If you eat that, I’ll make you something heartier.” Isaac said, sliding a plate in front of Darius. He clasped his shoulder before returning to the safety of the kitchen. Bale refused to leave Darius’s side, his posture ferociously protective.

Darius bit into the gooey sandwich and groaned at how delicious it was. Now was probably not a good time to goad Trey into a fight, but man, after the day he had, Darius couldn’t stop himself. “Trey, I’ve been trying to work with you, but you’ve been doing fuck all as well.”

“Darius.” Adam’s gently chiding tone slipped under his skin, making him slouch in his chair.

“Fine, however, Trey needs to back the fuck off. He’s the one who got bitten by a fucking vampire.” Darius motioned with grabby hands for more food, and another sandwich was set down in front of him. “We need to get rid of Yellow Dick soon rather than later and preferably before the spring equinox.”

“How did you come across this information?” Trey asked snappishly.

“Does it matter how I got it, because I did. I don’t ask you everything you do.” Hypnos’s revelation about a friend losing trust in him goaded Darius into punishing Trey. Trey had never fully trusted him after his return from the dreamland. His surface friendship was still strong, but their bond had fractured.

“Darius,” Bale thundered.

Darius subsided as he bit into the second sandwich. “Yellow Dick approached me in town.”

“Jesus, Darius. What the fuck?” Adam groaned.

Chaos erupted, and Bale’s presence next to Darius was a life raft in the shouting mess. Darius closed his eyes to block out the chaos. He said he would share what he learned, but this arguing was the reason why he kept things close.

“He’s full-on pissed off and using Elijah as a meat puppet. The poor guy just looks awful. The physical body hasn't adapted to Yellow Dick’s sort of power.” Darius did feel a tiny bit bad for Elijah. They'd been casual friends in high school and acquaintances afterward.

“Is this why Jenkins has been hanging around Elijah so much? Do you think this is all part ofhismaster plan?” Isaac asked quietly. He was sitting across from Darius at the table with Caspian beside him.

“The principal?” Trey let go of his anger for a moment and zeroed in on Isaac.

“He prefers headmaster, Trey. You know that,” Adam corrected him with soft fondness. He kissed Trey gently on the cheek, and Trey blushed sweetly.

“Yeah, well, whatever. He’s the damn principal.” Trey crossed his arms as he leaned on the kitchen island.

“He was the one who was bothering you at the gathering here?” Bale asked, his wings ruffling up.

“Yeah, that guy. Wants me to join the town’s council. That’s a big no.” Everyone shuddered. Local politics was not on anyone’s agenda.

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