Page 14 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

“We can really do that? What about what you said?”

“We’ll keep a lower profile, make it harder for anyone to find us, learn of us. Vanish entirely.” Bez’s eyes were wide and wild. “Living somewhere called the Diabolic Oasis is like having a beacon on us to begin with. We can do better.”

“There’s not really anywhere to hide if Lilith would destroy our whole world.”

“This world,” Bez clarified. “We can find a new one. I can cut through a hundred different dimensions at once and let you have your pick of new, wonderous treasures to explore.”

“What happens here if I just leave?” I asked. “Would Lilith pursue us? Would she retaliate on this dimension? Would she…I don’t even know. No, I can’t abandon an entire world.”

“What’s the world ever done for you, really?”

“Bez, I can’t just let the entire world burn in my place.”

“I could.” Bez turned away and extended his wings, hiding his face behind the large gray feathers. “Even if Lilith doesn’t kill you for one singular misstep in her realm, you’re still a mortal Walter.”

“One who’s apparently quite devilish.” I reached out, delicately running my fingertips along the contour feathers; they were darker and bigger than most others. “I just have to makesure I don’t misstep in Lilith’s Hell. I can behave. I can be proper. I’m an Alden. Formal ceremony is part of the lineage.”

“You don’t understand.” Bez paused, his voice cracking. “Stepping into Hell is irreversible. It could shatter you the second you arrive.”

I quaked, less from the strength of Bez’s words and more from the tremble as he said them.

“Take some time to consider your options, Wally.” Bez flapped his wings, hovering in place. “It’s okay to let the world fall.”

“No, it’s—”

And just like that, Bez soared off into the night sky.

“I wish he would’ve stuck around to talk about this.”

“Oh, Bezzy’s fine.” Mora waved a dismissive hand in the direction Bez flew. “Worried about the world is all.”

“He only seemed worried about me.”

“That’s what I said.” Mora gave me a matter-of-fact look.

I was Bez’s world, and he was mine. But letting the entire dimension be destroyed because of the possibility a devil might kill me… That was a tough choice.

“Do you think stepping into Hell would actually hurt me?”

“Definitely.” Mora grinned. “But I also think it’s impossible for a mortal to live with devil essence. I think it’s pure fiction that Bezzy would be in love. There are a lot of absolutes I would’ve declared before encountering you, Wally.”

“So, you think the essence will protect me?”

“From the effects of Hell itself, perhaps.” Mora rocked her head side-to-side. “From Lilith’s ire when you inevitably wrong her through mere mortal behavior, unlikely. But maybe you’ll get lucky.”

“On both counts.”

“Fleeing isn’t an option, however.” Mora squared my shoulders, tilted my chin, and adjusted my head until our eyeswere locked onto each other. “I’ve known demons who’ve fled from devils after crossing them. They don’t escape. They don’t hide. They merely leave a trail of ruined worlds in their wake as a devil drags out their death.”

“But Bez said—”

“Bez is pulling from his own experience with Beelzebub, the devil he escaped.” Mora’s eyes flickered emerald green for the briefest of seconds before returning to the softer green of her host body. “A very different circumstance.”

Of course. Bez hadn’t been to Hell, to any Hell, since escaping his own ruled over by the cruelest of all devils. He didn’t only flee, though. He took a piece of Beelzebub, the essence now circulating through me, and thus forever locked Beelzebub away in his own dimension. After all, only complete devils can open the doorways to and from Hell realms.

“This is a lot to consider.”

“Take your time. It’s just your life, the world, and a few trillion souls at stake.” Mora sauntered away, lightly laughing. “I’ll let Kell know you ruined her shop. Maybe she can stop by and help clean the place up.”

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