Page 37 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

“I do. And it’s not something I’m going to discuss with you, Lord Typhon.” Darius came along the narrow bridge and stopped beside Bale. “Did you find answers? Get fixed up? No? Then what the hell are you doing?”

“Darius…” Bale stood as tall as possible and flexed his wings in a show of dramatic force. He groaned in satisfaction as everything moved and cracked.

“Don’t do that! You’ll make the tears worse.” Darius batted the fiery wings, unafraid of getting burned.

Typhon smirked from his spot, and Bale bared his teeth. “He doesn’t care for you, my ass. Anyway, Darius, have you studied the portal you and Balor broke through? Not many people have that sort of power. In fact, I’ve never heard of a human doing that. It might be worth looking into. And Balor? I’ll have the brownies pop by Darius’s home once more. Please, don’t do anything else to wreck your wings. They won’t be happy.”

“Isaac has a Band-Aid sort of covering on the portal. It’s not exactly in the best condition, but it’ll do in a pinch,” Darius said immediately.

“When did you check?” Typhon asked as he leaned back in his throne.

“I always know.” Darius shrugged and dismissed it. Bale eyed Darius with curiosity. He hadn’t known that about Darius.

“Is that so? You should speak with Hakko. He’ll want to ask about this. It seems you have a connection to the land that might be beneficial.” Typhon smiled enigmatically. “We might just get through this.”

Bale studied his friend and mentor with careful eyes, unsure of what Typhon meant. But with Darius tugging on his arm, Bale didn’t have the opportunity to question what he’d discovered.

Leaving Typhon’s domain was a lot better than entering it. And having company helped. Though Darius was ferociously quiet, and it unnerved Bale. Darius was going to erupt at some point, and Bale had to brace himself for the inevitable.

“Did Lord Typhon help your perspective at all?” Darius asked, almost thoughtfully.

“He’s obviously mad that the wings were ruined. The brownies he had enlisted for the patches are going to be pissed at having to do it once more.” Bale gave Darius side-eyed glances, as the lack of bitterness was confusing.

“I thought Hawk’s salve did most of the work.” Darius tugged the zipper up on his jacket, tucking his chin down as though cold.

“It’s the glue, but I’m assuming there were some gaps that needed full-on patches, and they got fucked up.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. You’re not expendable, Bale. You didn’t need to cover Isaac like that,” Darius said quietly. “You must consider yourself at these times. I know you think you’re cannon fodder, but fuck, Bale. You’re growing on me again, and I can’t… I don’t know what I’d do if you… I just don’t know.”

Bale swallowed and nodded, unsure of what to say. Darius’s concern hadn’t ever been vocalized so civilly before. He glanced to the side and discovered that Darius was serious. It made Bale’s heart flip and gave strength to his wings. Maybe Darius wasn’t as unforgiving or callous as he despaired. Maybe he should use his words like he wanted Darius to do as well. “I’ll do my best.”

“Kay, great.”

The conversation stalled, and Bale wasn’t sure where to go from there.

“Are you going to see Hakko like Typhon suggested?” Bale asked as he stepped out into the cold outdoors. Darius shivered beside him as he thought.

“I don’t want to interrupt while he’s preparing for the exhibition. He’s too busy.” Darius bounced a bit, and Bale scowled, unhappy that Darius was cold. He didn’t have the right amount of insulation.

“I’m sure he’ll be ready for a five-minute break. Come on. What’s the worst that could happen?” Bale led Darius to the mid-sized SUV parked in the trail’s small lot. “You’ll be fine.”

ChapterSixteen

Darius didn’t go to the museum that afternoon. He was unnerved by the conversation at Typhon’s altar, and he understood if he tried to talk to Hakko, nothing good would come of it.

He had a lot to think about. Logically, Bale was one of Hastur’s men. This wasn’t news or a shock to anyone. Listening to him speak and admit that he had been ushered out of the space because of his coin made Darius ache. Bale never spoke of his coin, and Darius pretended that it didn’t matter, hoping it would give Bale some peace. But to carry the weight under such misguided belief hurt Darius. He should have been a better person and approached the subject with Bale. Bale was a victim of Hastur’s manipulations like everyone else. And he hadn't had a choice either.

Once at his house, he slipped into the basement with both cats following him. He didn’t invite Bale, and Bale didn’t ask. He remained upstairs with the spell books they had brought up earlier.

The empty notebooks mocked him. The pens in jars tantalized him. God, there was a time when writing was everything he wanted to do. It was a release and a valve. It helped him in getting the emotions out when he suffered from being too much in his own head.

The old leather book Bale had set aside called to him. He remembered when he'd first found it. It had been hidden in a pocket under the basement stairs. It obviously hadn’t been seen in years. But young Darius had discovered it.

Darius carefully undid the leather tie and opened the book up. The leather was supple in an unnatural way. For something so old, there should have been flaking or cracking but not this book. It was different.

Like the paper inside and the words written down.

The subject matter had been shocking when Darius managed to translate the cursive. It was a story of a young man and his love for his best friend. The hatred the author held for his taboo emotions was so visceral and heart-wrenching.

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