Page 29 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

Wally covered his face; shock and anguish and disgust merged his expression into this scrunched look of sour regret, which only further irritated me. The wry smile he had a moment ago had shattered into a thousand pieces of confusion.

I stood naked and bloody, staring down at the husk of my host body. Correction: former host body since some asinine demon decided to strip me of human form so I could feel Hell. Just as I required a body to indulge in the sensations of the mortal realm, possessing one here in Hell muted most of my senses, making my interactions with the world a mostly numbexperience. Something I was quite comfortable with until Wally got my body shattered with his poorly phrased order.

Wally’s unique physiology as an altered devil made from this unique entwinement of human and Diabolic energies must’ve shielded him from the worst of Hell’s reception. That, and Lilith’s need to bind her realities perception in this space as she feared the hybrid devil’s unquantifiable limits. Even her dimmed dimension vibrated with a potency through my entire being.

Without a host, the dull sensations sprang to life. The touch of Hell’s air lapped at my skin. There was no emptiness in Hell. Devils were born of nothingness, so every piece of space held tangible sensation, meaning the molecules themselves crawled over my flesh with a constant prickling flutter. Now, the taste of essence from a billion demons rested on my tongue, reaching out for acknowledgment. The wails of Diabolics bound beneath the intricate layers of the dimension called out, echoing like a thrum of a pulse against my eardrums. Devils loved to shatter their creations, smear essence along the cracks of their dimension to keep the flow of energy cohesive for every other demon worthy. Equivocally, they were the working-class cogs driven to their deaths to fuel a beast of a machine they’d never reap the rewards of fueling.

“What did you do? What did you do? What did you do?” Wally muttered to himself; his hazel eyes drowned in the black void of his essence. Every cell in his body radiated rage. The emotion hacked into the air, palpable and menacing. Orias and the demon attendant knelt in awe, in obedience. They didn’t react with confusion to Wally’s mixed emotions, for a devil owed no explanation to their mood, merely an outlet to unleash it. Essence bubbled inside Wally, ready to burst, but I caught him soothing himself as he took in the sight of my completely uninjured demon form. “Are you—”

“I am fine.” I took a knee alongside Orias so I wouldn’t be revealed as the devil Walter’s vulnerability. Gods only know how Lilith would exploit my little obsessive boyfriend’s love for me. “Apologies for the outburst. I’d grown attached to that silly little host body.”

“I didn’t realize when I said—”

“Yes,” I interjected, with a very ‘shut the fuck up’ glare because we’d already established his talking would be the end of us if he didn’t obey my discretion. “I suppose this Orias could use some training when it comes to undressing guests from their host bodies.”

“Of course, my lord.” Orias’ tentacles wriggled and went to work retrieving the entrails of my former body. “The layers upon layers upon squishy layers that make up these carbon dwellings are so difficult to interact with. I will do more research on ways to repair this host body.”

He pushed the muck of mushy meat that my hollowed-out former body had transformed into around until it made a neat, goopy pile.

“Pass,” I snarled. “I don’t want that body.”

“Perhaps I can interest you in another.” Orias swung his tentacles and hooked two males by the throat, damaging the bodies he put on display for me. “These are similar to your former vessel.”

“No.” I waved a dismissive hand. Possession was such an intimate process, delicate and patient work. Plus, I doubted any of Lilith’s demons knew how to appreciate a body from one of the lesser worlds they were exclusively told not to venture into. They were sheltered by their own Hell and devil’s authority. It showed in their every action or lack thereof. “I just got that one all cozy. I’ll wait until I return home.”

“What if I repaired this one?” Orias began weaving his essence through the goop. “I’ll stitch it back to perfection.”

“No,” I said with conviction because politeness didn’t go far in Hell. “Provide me and Walter a mirror and the privacy befitting his station for this sacred event.”

“Certainly.” Orias’ eye, embodying the bulk of his being, stopped shaking when he noted the change in pressure from Wally’s essence.

He’d calmed down since my demeanor shifted. I’d have to be less impulsive to avoid the ire of not one but two devils. The wrong reaction on my part could offend Lilith or worry Walter. In either case, the results weren’t something I wanted to see unfold.

“Befitting my station?” Wally asked, his voice light and chipper. “That’s a total Roman empire nod. I see what you did there.”

“What I did was get us some breathing room from these fucking cuck demon lords.” I rolled my eyes. “This way, none will be foolish enough to eavesdrop as we spend a little time cleaning up and playing dress up.”

I gestured to my bloody naked body.

“You look hot.” Wally grimaced, fighting a smile, which only made him extremely kissable in this moment.

We stepped inside the constructed room where Orias had quickly scrambled to teleport the wardrobe he’d had on display onto a neat rack that didn’t seem to fit this ancient Roman theme, but I didn’t know shit about Rome. Other than the fact I’d wasted a few seasons screwing and slaughtering mortals, mages, and Mythics alike while in their city. But that was nearly a century ago, and from Wally’s long-winded explanations, ancient Rome was far older than that. A few thousand years based on his wet dream expression.

“This is the epitome of luxury during the rise of Rome.” Wally gestured to the swimming pool and pointed to the separate tubs,each big enough to hold us and a small group. “Hygiene hadn’t exactly become what it is today, but there was…”

Wally’s worries washed away as random facts for every element of this magically constructed bathhouse replica spilled from his mouth. This continued with every single thing we walked past between the door and the mirror, where I finally examined myself.

I stood hunched since I’d grown used to squeezing into most of my host bodies, finding the more compact ones easiest for composites overall. Still, straightening my posture drew Wally’s gaze. He looked up at me, taking in the difference in our height, awed by the nearly two-foot difference. Or perhaps it was my muscles that shocked him. I’d always maintained a muscular shape in his presence—even when decapitated and a meager pint-sized version of myself. But now, Wally tilted his head, like he was measuring with his eyes how his head compared to my large biceps. Then, his attention fell to my abdomen, studying the added definition created by splattered blood.

My light gray skin appeared even paler in the stark contrast of bloody remains dripping down my body. With a wave of my hand, I channeled telekinesis and pulled the droplets of blood off one by one, pooling them into a large blob. Wally watched with intrigue, studying my actions, noting the ombre effect on my hands extend and reach about halfway down my forearms. Controlling essence without a host body was more physically revealing, the notes of power. Black essence had even coated my feet and lower legs, creating a similar effect as with my arms. That helped keep me grounded in myself, reeling my senses inward toward my core so I could block out the bulk of Hell’s overwhelming sensations.

PLOP.

I dropped the bloody mess into the center of the large pool that filled the bulk of this bathhouse spa, savoring the loudsplash and lovely scarlet stretch throughout the clear water. It held the most beautiful allure as the blood painted beneath the tiny rippling current my disturbance had caused.

“Seriously?” Wally huffed. “So much for going for a swim.”

“Please, makes me wanna take a dive even more now.” I smiled, staring at my watery reflection before turning back to the mirror and taking in my fully nude, natural body. A body created in Hell and formed through the will of my essence and the tutelage of my devil. I ran a clawed hand along my sharp jaw, my throat, and rested it on the center of my chest.

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