Page 36 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

Darius stared at the tomes, and a pink colour filled his cheeks. He furtively pushed two more modern books aside before dipping his head at the bigger ones.

“What’s in those?” Bale asked, curious about the secret Darius tried to hide.

“Nothing you need to see.” Darius passed one volume to Bale before lifting the other and returning to the kitchen. Bale eyed the two books while Darius’s back was turned and snuck one into his waistband. His curiosity was going to get him killed.

Darius was already flipping through the book with Master Cat beside him sniffing each page.

“Is there anything else you need?” Bale asked as he hovered in the space between kitchen and dining room. Darius glanced up from his reading and shook his head. “So, I’ll talk to Lord Typhon? See if he has some thoughts for us?”

“Sure, whatever you think is best for you. Get him to look at your wings,” Darius said as he stroked the soft fur of Master. It was apparent he wanted to dive back into his research.

Bale prepared a thermal mug of tea for Darius and set it beside him before taking a chance and kissing the side of Darius’s head.

Lord Typhon’s cavern was a hellish landscape to anyone unfamiliar with his domain. Once he was past the fallen skeletons of animals and humans, it was a pleasant atmosphere. Bale shed his human skin as best he could as he entered Typhon’s sanctuary.

His legs became long and cloven while his wingspan grew and flared out. Bale’s tail lashed around as he stretched in his demonic body. The pain in his wings still haunted him, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to fly again, not after this past attack.

Typhon danced down from the top of the cavern with his many tentacles feeling their way along the slick rock walls. His goat-like face lit up as he approached, and he held out a hand for Bale to take.

“Balor, what a surprise! You look somewhat well right now,” Typhon exclaimed happily. He leapt from the cavern wall to his altar where he lounged. “Turn around. Let me see your wings. I’d like to see how they’re healing.”

Bale braced himself for Typhon’s reaction when he discovered the extent of damage once more. But the determination in Typhon’s eyes had Bale spinning slowly around. He paused and spread his wings out as far as they could go so Typhon could see it all.

“What happened? The patches the brownies made for you are torn asunder,” Typhon snarled. His tentacles curled and twisted.

“We were attacked this morning. I used my body to protect the guardian from the shadow creatures. I didn’t know how else to save him.” Bale stood stoic under Typhon’s perusal.

“Was there no other way?”

Bale shook his head. “Not with the amount of time we had. They diminished to ash once the sun hit them. But I had to do something to keep Isaac from being abducted. Darius would never have forgiven himself if he allowed that to happen.”

“And how does the warlock feel now?” The title and the question hit Bale hard. He was almost insulted by how easily the term warlock rolled off Typhon’s tongue. It was what Darius was, especially with Hastur’s demonic powers tangling with Darius’s natural abilities. Bale still wished to hurt people when they used it.

“Darius is determined to take everyone down, of course. He’s not happy that someone dared to approach his home the way they did.” Bale explained.

“And the attack on you? How does he feel about that?” Typhon rolled to proper sitting position as he rooted around for Bale’s answer.

“Not sure. He wasn’t happy, of course.”

“Balor, the man—despite his extremely positive outlook on life—wasn’t happy because you, the object of his most prurient fantasies, were getting your ass handed to you by some unknowns. Don’t you think maybe his concern was you?”

As much as Bale wished to deny Typhon’s sarcastic comments, he did remember a moment when Darius refused to leave his side. Any other day, Darius would have berated him and disappeared, letting Bale recover alone.

“Darius has stated time and time again that what happened between us was in the past. There’s no going back to it,” Bale said quietly, and it broke his heart to repeat it. He ached to be a part of Darius’s waking thoughts the way Darius was to him. Obviously, when Bale had left, it cracked the fragile connection they had, and Darius was determined to let it hurt him.

“What did you do that was so heinous?” Typhon pressed his elbows deep into his tentacles, practically salivating for whatever information Bale was going to share. And honestly, as much as it felt gross confessing to Typhon, Bale understood it could be cathartic.

“Hastur had my coin. Therefore, he called the shots. He said jump, I asked how high, yada, yada, yada, except this time, Darius and I were still forming our bond. I didn’t want to leave Darius. And Hastur knew that. He fucking knew that. He used my loyalty to Darius to his advantage. Darius trusted me alone in that whole hellscape. I was worthy of a man’s trust. But Hastur’s request and my compulsion to him ruined everything.”

“Spit it out, man. What did you do?” Typhon asked. His tentacles quivered in anticipation.

“He left me alone,” Darius said loudly from the entranceway, “and Hastur was there. Hastur did things, fucked up my mind, changed my magic. Bale came back at the appointed time to witness everything. He ripped out the barrier between our worlds, and boom, I was home, broken.”

Bale curled inward, still embarrassed and destroyed by his actions. Hastur’s request was to send him off on foolish fetch and carry so he’d leave Darius alone in his cell.

“It was one of the worst moments of my life. I admit it freely. Leaving Darius to Hastur was soul-destroying,” Bale muttered stoically. Darius’s snort could be heard across the cavern, and it pinched a nerve.

“Darius, you do realize that a coin is important to a demon like Balor and his psyche? It guides him and sets the path for him. He absolutely cannot go against the coin or the person who holds it,” Typhon explained as though to a child. Bale blew out air. Darius hated it when people talked down to him, like Typhon seemed to be doing.

---