Page 81 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

Sawyer shoved himself to his feet before taking off into the woods. Darius didn’t have the energy to be concerned. He’d get Trey or Typhon to take care of it. He’d done his one evil bad guy thing.

Falling to his knees to where Bale lay on the ground, Darius tentatively touched him. He was no longer the fiery furnace Darius loved. “Bale?”

No response. Darius bit his lip as he gingerly rolled Bale over. He braced himself for whatever happened. God, he had to be alive. He wasn’t allowed to be dead. Darius would go to the Underworld and bring him back if that was the case. His hand shook as he touched Bale’s cool cheek. The tentacle strike cut deep in his flesh. The skin oozed from the venom, and Darius’s breath hitched as he shook Bale’s shoulder harder.

“Bale?”

Voices washed over him as people came running. He was moved aside as Caspian and Isaac protected him. Adam hovered over Bale, his hands touching and soothing.

“Is Dare okay? Can someone see if he has injuries? Get Bale inside and fast. Someone call Hakko, have him go to the cottage as quick as he can.”

Rapid-fire words spun over Darius’s head as Caspian with his golden eyes stared into his own.

“Caspian?” Darius tentatively reached up to touch the human cheek of his foxy companion.

“You did it, friend. Not sure how but I’m grateful. Are you hurt?” Caspian held Darius’s hand to his cheek while Isaac did a body check.

“He has blood on his side. He’s cold to the touch as well.”

Things moved fast as Darius was rushed to his cottage. He tried to keep an eye on Bale, but his mind was flayed, and he was so fucking tired. Caspian and Trey all but carried him home.

Once he was in the warmth of the cottage, he perked up somewhat, but people refused to let him move as the cut from Sawyer was bandaged up. Adam or Trey poured doctored tea down his throat, as Hakko worked on Bale.

“Let me see Bale. Is he alive?” Darius asked, desperate to know what was going on with Bale.

“Hakko and Typhon are on it. You stay here. You’re all chaotic and messy. We can’t take a chance that you might accidentally hurt Bale.”

“I’d never—” Darius’s heart broke as Isaac spoke. Was he that bad?

“Darius?” The sound of Bale’s rough voice cracked Darius’s hold on his sanity. He rolled off the table and stumbled into his living room where Hakko and Bale were. He crashed to his knees and held Bale’s hand to his heart. Bale was alive. Tears dripped down his face as the relief rolled over him. Bale was alive. He could live through this. Darius didn’t have to do anything terrible.

“You weren’t supposed to die. Don’t you ever do that to me again.” Darius cried angry tears. His eyes throbbed, but he could see that Bale was okay. A cloth was draped over one half of his face, but everything was fine. Darius swayed as relief swamped him. “I couldn’t—”

“Isaac, grab him before he falls on Bale,” Two hands snagged Darius before he passed out on Bale, ruining Hakko’s hard work.

“I knew you could do it, love. I knew you’d figure out a way” were the last words Darius heard before his world went fuzzy.

Epilogue

Bale hadn’t been allowed to leave the deck or do anything more strenuous than stretch since the night Darius shut everything down. He itched to fly, but Darius’s fear of him disappearing stopped him every time he thought of asking.

Things in town had gotten wonky, according to Caspian and Isaac. No one was sure who was in charge, as part of the town shifted and made space for new infrastructure. Pathways led down mysterious roads to other buildings not set in Granite. As long as the evil demons couldn’t follow the paths, most of the residents were okay with how Granite changed.

Darius was still a bit shell-shocked over the events, and only Bale and Isaac were able to get him to say more than a few words. He hid or locked the door on most anyone else. Bale imagined Darius was watching him from the kitchen window, making sure Bale wasn’t overdoing it. It had been nice being waited on hand and foot, but Darius’s excessive protectiveness was annoying.

“Bale! You’re outside. I’m shocked that the warden allowed that,” Caspian joked as he came around to the side of the cottage. Isaac had likely dipped inside to say hello to Darius.

“He’s letting me out for good behaviour, and I might have threatened to wreck a few of his things if he didn’t get the hovering under control.” Bale gave a wry smile. “The books beat me out by not a small margin.”

“Of course. If I might ask, how are you doing? Hakko wanted to know.” Caspian settled in the chair beside Bale and stretched out his legs.

“Pretty good. My eye still hurts. It stings a bit once in a while. Everything else is hunky-dory,” Bale admitted before bringing a hand to touch the sore socket. Whatever poison oozed from Hastur’s tentacle had permanently damaged Bale’s eye. He’d lost all vision and possibly even the eyeball itself. Hakko wanted the flesh to heal first and the poison to dissipate before he did more investigating. Poe had been invaluable during the past week, distracting Darius whenever Hakko dropped in.

“Man, I wish we could do more. But Hakko said we must exercise patience in all matters relating to His Majesty.” Caspian sniffed in imitation of Hakko before blinking at Bale. “How is he? Isaac’s been pretty tight-lipped about it all.”

“He’s Darius.” Bale shrugged. He wasn’t sure how to explain Darius and his moodiness. He hovered on the edge of hysteria and acceptance. Bale didn’t think anything but time would heal Darius. And possibly talking to someone who understood his concerns. Poe helped when he visited. He kept Darius on an even keel, so it was those nights that Darius managed to get more than a couple of hours sleep, even with Bale in the room. “He just needs space.”

“Has Adam or Trey dropped by since then?” Caspian asked, his lips pressed together and mirth dancing in his eyes.

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