Page 55 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

I furrowed my brow. What was she plotting?

“I’d always planned on mating with Walter, securing a piece of his essence through sheer bliss. Mortals enjoy their carnal pleasures. But pain is a swifter method to achieving my goals.”

I snarled.

“Walter, you will hand over your essence. Just a piece. A piece Beelzebub won’t require to be whole again. A piece that will link him to be forever in what your mortal things call a Diabolic bond.”

“What?” The question spilled from my mouth along with exasperated shock.

Lilith intended to bind Beelzebub to her will, forcing him to serve her. And she intended on using the very ritual that’d first brought Wally and I together. A ritual we could no longer use, but I still clung to the sensations that synced between us. The accident that originally connected us, offered us a future, would now be used to divide and destroy us.

“Walter Alden, False Devil with Mortal Stain, you will carve out a piece of your ill-gotten essence and offer it to me.” Lilith moved the floor, pulling me closer to her grasp. “In doing so, I will offer your pet a quick death. With Beelzebub under mythrall, you will have no fears of the devil plucking your demon’s strings and dragging him out of Oblivion.”

I growled, teeth barred, claws drawn, tails switching, and wings raised high as if anything I could do would pale in comparison to a single strike a devil unleashed. All the same, I’d go down swinging before I allowed her to threaten Wally. If I only landed one blow before she killed me, hopefully it’d offer Wally a few seconds to flee.

“Don’t listen to her,” I said, ready to pounce on the devil who’d slaughter me in an instant. “I need you to—”

Purple spikes sprang forward, aimed at my head. Fuck.

Metal clashed, and the spikes shattered.

“Stop it,” Wally spoke with ground teeth, his horns sprouting out and growing atop his head like a gnarled tree.

Thin black wires circled me. Not wires. Essence. His single tail split into a million threads, which stretched long and shielded him from Lilith’s attack.

“You dare.” The devil chuckled. “Oh, simple little thing you are.”

“Awkward times.” Corson stretched his arms wide like some attempt to bid an offish farewell at a party he’d overstayed. “I’ll just see myself out.”

“Oh no,” Lilith said. “You’ll stay.”

“It’s not like you need my help.”

“Help? No, no, no. I plan on slaughtering you alongside this false devil and his phony Beelzebub pet.”

“Why?” Corson’s brows knitted into a scowl. “I’ve done everything you’ve demanded since—”

“You interfered,” Lilith interjected. “You think I didn’t note your essence strike mine when I went to break this little demon trash.”

“Oh, mother, you misunderstand. Deepest sincerities for the confusion.” Corson didn’t even do a remotely decent job fakinghis apology. “I merely meant to detain him on your behalf while brutishly ravishing him in the process. You see, I can be a team player.”

Lilith’s essence moved in a blur, wiping away Corson’s smirk by breaking his jaw in one swift motion. “So pretty to look at, so vexing to listen to.”

Corson gurgled as his tongue spilled out, and his essence healed the shattered lower half of his face.

“Corson’s first words were a lie, and his last have been vulgar and vindictive every time I’ve sent him to Oblivion to learn a bit of respect.” Lilith circled the demon prince. “Perhaps this is the time I leave you there. Focus on future progeny like the splendid spawn Beelzebub will grant me once I make him my true champion. Yes, a being worthy of serving me, unlike the billions of wasted efforts spent on children such as Corson and all the other forgettable demons.”

Corson redirected his essence, transforming his hands into blades while locking eyes with me. It wouldn’t last long, but perhaps our combined efforts would offer Wally an extra step or two while he fled.

“You two wish to attack?” Lilith held her winged arms out invitingly as flames formed around her. “Do your worst.”

“I said stop.” Wally’s threaded tail looped around Corson too, offering us protection from Lilith while his cherub wings sprang out.

They created a gust of black wind, blowing the fire away. A few of Wally’s feathers fell loose, captured in the blaze of wind.

Feathers fluttered, slashing at Lilith and the essence she redirected, nearly striking her as she shuffled away in a blur, dodging the attacks. Of course she would. Wally was a fellow devil, and even if his damage was insignificant, merely a scratch or two, the weakness it’d reveal in her glory would be offense enough.

A feather collided with the threads of Wally’s tail that shielded me from the collision. I understood. He’d guarded us not from Lilith’s attacks but from his own devil essence.

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