Page 49 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

“Not yet. I’m still plotting out shit,” Darius said as he stared at the frost-covered mounds.

“Want company?”

“I don’t know. I’m just feeling this out right now. Nothing’s going to happen until I figure out how to do anything,” Darius snapped. He rubbed his eyes and groaned before returning to the northern rock. He was drawn to that one the most.

“Talk to me then. Verbalize your thoughts. Don’t get so caught up in your head.” Bale’s advice grated on Darius’s nerves. He rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. Though Bale was probably right.

The snow and frost bothered him. So that would be the first to be removed. Maybe if he could see the granite, see the limestone, things would start working for him. Some of the snow clung to the rocks and had solidified into a solid mass.

Once the rocks were cleaned off, he stood back and shivered. His gloves were soaked, and it felt like the temperature had dropped once more.

Bale came down to the grass with an insulated mug, waiting patiently. Darius took a sip of the hot drink and sighed as the warm liquid thawed his frozen insides.

“I don’t want you to stay outside for so long. You’re too—”

“I’m going to take a break,” Darius rushed before Bale could say anything. “We can go inside, and I’ll warm up.”

Darius peered in while taking off his icy outer gear. The heat of the kitchen and the sudden lack of bitter wind made his skin hurt and he needed a minute to catch his breath. He was slower to move than Bale.

Bale had been busy while Darius was outside. Chocolate cookies were cooling, and it smelled like something else was still baking. Bale had taken over Darius’s kitchen while practicing new skills.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Bale apologized as he stood in the kitchen with a white apron around his waist. He was sweetly domesticated, and it was right. Darius’s heart swelled and melted at the same time.

“I’d never mind. This is so perfect. Do you enjoy baking?” Darius asked as he inspected the cookies. Some were lighter, and some were a bit burnt around the edges.

“Yeah, I really do. I feel adventurous, and the creativity makes me sing. I don’t know how else to explain it.” Bale ducked his head as though caught doing bad things. Darius was thrilled to see another side of him. Bale was making himself at home. Bale wasn’t contemplating leaving.

Darius’s throat closed as he tried to articulate how happy he was. He nodded and found a stepladder. Going to a set of cupboards on the opposite side of the kitchen, he opened the uppers and pulled down a couple of gaily decorated tins. They were his mom’s, and she’d loved to bake as well. Her biggest delight was kicking the Sally Homemakers’ asses at the county fair.

“Dammit, Dare, I could have gotten those for you.” Bale held his legs steady as Darius continued to root around. A lot of his mom’s baking supplies were hidden up there. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you some tins to put the cookies away in.” Darius cautiously came down the step before turning around and facing Bale. For once in his life, he was at eye level with Bale. It was heady, seeing Bale’s fiery eyes.

Darius cupped Bale’s cheek and gazed at Bale, overwhelmed by feelings. The soft pain of remembering his mother but the incandescent joy of Bale being here and settling in. He leaned forward and kissed Bale lightly on the mouth. “Thank you.”

Bale wrapped an arm around Darius’s waist and returned the kiss. He nuzzled Darius’s cheek before taking his mouth more heatedly. Bale tasted of chocolate and sugar as he swept his tongue in, his aggressiveness welcome. Darius held the back of Bale’s head and fought to control the embrace.

The oven beeped once, dispelling the moment. Bale’s grip on Darius’s waist tightened reflexively at the startling noise. Bale kissed the tip of Darius’s nose once before going to the oven.

Darius took his prizes and set them on the kitchen table. Stepping back to see everything set out, his emotions caught him off guard. But in a good way. He was sad and happy to see this. His mom’s stuff was going to be used once more. And it was perfect. Bale was the best alternative to baking on Saturdays with his mom. God, he missed her. Everything about this moment with Bale, the memories of his parents gave him a steady platform. He might actually be able to work on saving the world.

“I can do this now,” Darius said once Bale had set the hot cookie sheet on the stove top. “I have a plan.”

“And it’s a good one?”

“I think so? I mean, it is mine, and Yellow Dick might ruin it like he does everything but—”

“Then go forth and do things. If it is something you believe’ll work, do it. I’m here. I check on in you in a bit. If you’re freezing cold, I’ll be very grumpy.” Bale held out a hand for Darius, and he grabbed on tightly. Knowing Bale was here, working on his own skills, energized Darius to make his magic behave.

Darius went back outside in the driest and warmest of winter clothing. He stood on the outer edge of the ring. Something had changed while he was inside with Bale. His chest throbbed as he studied every rock. Bale stood on the deck, his constant sentry. If anything went to shit, Bale would be there to bail him out. That made his chest warm and his eyes tear up. Someone had his back. No question.

He paused at every stone until he found the one that called to him the loudest. It was the northwest stone, and it was made of a material local to Granite. Darius remembered finding this piece and how it resonated with him then. He hitched himself onto the flat surface and opened his mind’s eye.

Magic of every kind flooded his mind. Everything human about Darius was pushed aside for the magic. The infernal intrusive version that Darius had learned for the sake of not being alone in his head pressed in. It was disappointed that Darius never continued down the path. He had been so close to becoming bigger and better than Aleister Crowley. He only needed that brief connection entwined with a demon lord. Just one key connection. Which Darius never wanted. Ever.

Another voice, more comforting, more familiar, tangled itself along the slimy trail of the dark magic. It recognized grief when it saw it. This magic was as old as the land and understood how people grieved. It had seen some sights throughout the years. It realized that people would do whatever it took to excise the pain and the suffering.

Family. Love. Control. Power. It was natural, and one could have it all as long as there was balance. Darius was on the cusp. He was on the razor’s edge of discovering the path that suited him best. One choice and he’d have the life he always desired.

---