Page 88 of Unbinding the Demon
“As she chanted the incantation to cast me into The Abyss, I gathered all of my strength and lunged at her. I used my claws to rip a chunk of her throat out, just as a blackened mist shrouded my vision. The last thing I saw in this world was her ugly, horrified face as she fell to the floor, desperately grasping at her mutilated throat. A river of blood cascaded down her chest and soaked the front of her lilac dress while I plummeted into darkness. The next thing I knew, ashen abyssal winds were whipping through my hair as I steadily arose, trapped in a world of eternal darkness and inverted life. I seethed as I slowly opened my palm, allowing the large piece of her bloody flesh to drop limply to the foreign, ashy ground below. I then furiously gazed up at the black abyssal sky that I would be stuck beneath for the next five thousand years... and now I’m here with you.” I brought the lock of hair that I had been twiddling with to my lips and kissed it.
“Wow.” Gwendolyn’s wide green eyes stared over at me with an entranced expression. “And here I thought that you were just some weird psychopathic hottie from Finland.”
I let out a quiet chuckle. “Well, now that you’ve heard the story, this weird psychopathic hottie is going to make you fall asleep.” I bopped her on the nose.
“Alright, alright, fair enough.” She yawned. “Well, goodnight, Ashton... I mean, Azathoth.”
A loving smile crossed my face. “Goodnight, Buttercup.” I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Sleep.” Her eyes instantly closed, and her breathing became slow and steady as she fell sound asleep. “Goodnight, my love.”
My eyes glowed and my claws lengthened. I caressed her cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her slightly parted lips. I wanted to stay holding her and never let her go, but I had to finish the important discussion I was having with Belzar earlier. So, I was careful not to wake her while I slipped out of the warm bed and entered the shadow realm, allowing my human illusion to break altogether.
The world became dark and a sweet, metallic smell filled the air as I teleported into the basement. My feet splashed in a puddle of blood that pooled on the dirty stone floor. Mutilated bodies decorated the dilapidated room. Their lacerated, mangled corpses and limbs were all strewn about, hanging from the walls, lying on the tables, and crumpled up on the floor among all the other junk. A few of the ones we held hostage were barely alive, gasping for air and pleading for death. I chuckled at the sight.
Belzar was lying in the corner, gnawing on a femur.“How is she doing?”he asked with concern in his glowing eyes.
“She’s doing freakishly well. Not only did she listen to me, but she was quick to forgive me for killing Elowynn. Then she let me cuddle her and even fell asleep in my arms.” I raised my palms in confusion and flapped my wings once. “Honestly, I suspect something else must have happened that we’re not aware of because her behavior isn’t normal. I mean, the poor girl should be traumatized and having a full-blown psychotic breakdown right about now.” I pointed up at the ceiling in the direction of the bedroom and accidentally poked a hanging corpse.
His head tilted to the side with a sense of curiosity.“That’s good, though. Do you have any idea what might have happened?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’m suspicious that when she briefly passed away, she may have communicated with Elowynn. If so, Elowynn, rest her gracious soul, would have likely advised her to act in our favor.” I clasped my hands behind my back and paced through the bloody puddles.
An intuitive little whine came from him.“Perhaps you should ask her about it. Also, have you decided on the plan?”
Glistening crimson pooled around my claw as I lazily dragged it along the torso of one of the living mages lying on the table, slicing deep into his flesh. I grinned with malice as he writhed in agony. “I’ll ask when the time’s right, but I don’t want to pry or overwhelm her.” I waved my now-bloody hand up in a circle. “And yes, I think we should go through with the plan. There’s no way simply killing that worthless vermin will ever be enough after all he’s done. However, I think I should take Gwendolyn with me.”
Now that Belzar and I possessed the book, we had a way to travel to and from The Abyss without needing my powers. Our original plan was that he would watch over Gwendolyn in the shadows while I went back to collect an enchanted weapon. It was one foraged by demonic gods long ago called the Teloch Axe. Dying by its blade would doom Adelstein's soul to abyssal anguish for all eternity.
Belzar snarled in disagreement, blood dripping from his maw.“But she is a human! The Abyss will terrify her! She should stay here in the shadows with me, as we previously discussed.”
“Think about it though, Belzar. You’re currently too weak to pull her through the realms, and I wouldn’t want her to accidentally stumble upon all this...carnage.” I gestured at all the bloody, disfigured bodies and limbs littered around the room. “Yes, she’ll be frightened if I take her,”and will probably hold on to me for comfort, “but she’ll be safe with me. Besides, you can’t speak to her, and I can. It would be a valuable opportunity to persuade her to unbind my powers and come to Hell with us. Plus, there’s still so much that I haven’t told her yet, like how this poison is literally killing me.” I pointed to the loathsome, blackened veins in my shoulder, my body tense with discomfort.
He looked as though he was considering what I’d said.“I suppose you have a good point. But what about the corrupted vovin?”He was referring to the infamous dragon-like creature known for its fearsome protection of the Teloch Axe. Ages ago, he was an honorable guardian of the weapon, but he became corrupted by dark abyssal essence and was now an insane, hollow shell of who he once was.
“Vovins are creatures of Hell, and I’ve slain plenty of unruly ones before. I’m not too worried about it. Besides, maybe I’ll get lucky and run into Valarendrik. He’s always stalking around that area. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to join me in slaying it.”
“Alright, take her to The Abyss, and say hello to Valarendrik for me if you see him. But you’d better keep her safe. She’s precious to me.”He shot me a hard stare.
“You know I intend to protect her. She’s precious to us both, after all. I’ll be sure to kill anything that dares get near her.”And then perhaps she’ll swoon over me when she sees what a strong, fearsome demon I am.I snickered in delight to myself and lightly flapped my wings. “It’s settled then. She’s coming to The Abyss with me.” I crouched down and stroked him on his furry head. “Rest well and heal up, my dear friend.”
After cleaning all the blood off of myself, I teleported back into the bedroom where Gwendolyn was still sound asleep. I manifested from the shadows, but stayed in my demonic form. My eyes glowed as I stared down at her beautiful face with longing, and my wings twitched with eagerness. The silvery moonlight beamed over her petite body as I ever so slowly removed the heavy blanket from on top of her.
I took a sharp breath of the chilly air, then crawled onto the bed next to her. My heart raced as I did something that I had wanted to do for a while, but I had always been too nervous that she’d wake up and see my true appearance. A low, predatory purr rumbled in my throat as my clawed hands gently grazed over her body and lifted her up. Very carefully, I slid one of my large wings beneath her. I was mindful not to let my spikes shred the flimsy sheets or poke her. I held her slumbering body against me and lovingly wrapped my wings around her like a protective, snug half-chrysalis.
Endearment filled my glowing eyes as I gazed at her and purred in delight. If she woke up, she wouldn’t know just how much of an intimate and loving gesture this was. She would probably freak the fuck out, so I was extra gentle with her. I twiddled her hair in my claws for a moment, then placed my hands on her and tried my hardest to pour all the healing energy I had into her injuries. I would have tried to heal her anyway, but now I needed her to be in the best shape possible.
The Abyss was a dangerous world, after all.
37. The Abyss
“Gwendolyn, please wake up, my love... Dammit, she’s still not waking up... Yes, I’m shaking her! Well, what do you want me to do? Throw her across the room like an angry baboon!? Oh, Buttercup, you need to wake up... Wake up, Buttercup!... Alright, fuck this. I give up. I’m just gonna take her and leave...”
The thick fog in my mind dissipated just enough to register a familiar voice calling out to me from beyond my slumbering trance. But my drowsy eyes refused to open, and my exhausted body wouldn’t budge. I remained in a daze, disregarding both the voice and the warm hands that caressed me and shook my shoulder. While it failed to shake me from my deep slumber, I still sensed powerful arms lifting me. I was held against something warm and firm that smelled like fire and spice. I snuggled in closer, somewhat aware that it was Ashton. Then, complete darkness overtook my senses yet again.
When I finally woke up, I fluttered my sleepy eyes open and found myself cradled in Ashton’s tattooed arms. He was lovingly smiling down at me in all his demonic glory. “Good morning, Buttercup,” he said with a suspicious smirk as he caressed my cheek with his large, clawed hand.
Oh, right? That wasn’t some crazy fucked-up nightmare. Ashton is actually the demon Azathoth. I’m literally dating a maniacal demon.Fuck.
My eyes lingered on his sharp, pearly white fangs as he spoke, then shifted to the sky behind him. We were outside, and it was still dark out, with swirling pitch-black clouds raging above us, threatening to bring one hell of an impending storm. The breeze was strangely balmy for late autumn and smelled of a faint, ashy, rotten, almost metallic odor. But it was nearly impossible to describe because I’d never smelled anything like it before. There was nothing I could compare it to, either.
