Page 112 of Unbinding the Demon
My wary gaze peeked behind me over toward the bed, where I sensed it coming from. I let out a long exasperated sigh, fed up with this paranoiac shit. While pushing the feeling out of my mind, I wrangled with the hoodie, trying to get it over my head, disheveling my bangs in the process. Once I managed to pop my head back out, I jumped in fright. Azathoth was leisurely leaning against one of the bedposts, looking completely human. He wore a dumb, lustful grin while he twirled the Teloch Axe in his hand with ease.
I hadn’t gotten a chance to get a good look at the thing yet. As it glimmered in the light, it reminded me of some sort of diabolical battle axe from medieval times. The razor-sharp double-sided blades elegantly fanned out on either side, ending in narrow curved points. A row of menacing hooked spikes serrated each one. Black enchanted engravings were etched beautifully into the silver metal, turning to silver as they reached the sturdy black handle. The intricate silver design wove and wrapped its way around the long pole with serpentine splendor, once again changing to black as it hit the daunting silver spikes that sinisterly protruded from both ends. It was truly enrapturing to look at.
“Your ass looks fantastic in those pants, Buttercup.” He pointed to my butt with the axe, as his gorgeous golden eyes swept lasciviously up and down my body, lingering on the tight black jeans I was wearing.
With a sly, naughty grin, I returned the favor and ogled him back. “I could say the same to you,” I softly snickered... Then I had a sudden realization.
Wait just a fucking minute...
My eyes narrowed as I glared with suspicion at the smug, overly inflated, lewd face of the potential culprit of my fear. “Is that—Is it you that makes me feel really unsettled every now and then? Like I’m being watched?” I questioned, while pointing back and forth between us. I was secretly hoping he’d say yes, so I didn’t sound like some crazy lady who talks to rocks or something.
He chuckled with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Yes, it is.” He tucked the axe into his belt loop behind him, then made it disappear with a black poof.
“Are you fucking serious!?” My voice was half a huff and half a hiss as I stomped my foot and held my hands up. “This whole time I’ve been questioning my goddamn sanity, and you—”
“Shh...” he shushed. The floorboards creaked and the ceiling light ominously shadowed his face as he stalked toward me. “Well done. You figured it out.” His fingers curled under my chin, and he lifted my face to meet his demonic gaze. “I am and have always been the evil presence you fear in the shadows, watching you with nefarious eyes.” His free arm looped around my waist, pulling me flush against him. “There’s something else I want you to know, as well,” he murmured as he slowly swiped his thumb across my lower lip. “Do you remember the morning after I kidnapped you? When I dropped you off and you were wearing my clothes?”
My stomach squeezed in anticipation at our close contact and the way he practically dripped with carnal masculinity. I stared up at him with wide, intrigued eyes, unsure of where he was going with this. “Um, yes?”
His face leaned down right next to my ear while slowly grinding the hard bulge in his pants against my lower stomach. “I saw you sniff my underwear,” he purred sensually, then snapped his head back to look at me with an amused,gotchasmirk that stretched all the way across his stupid, teasing face.
A look of pure horrified embarrassment contorted my face. “What!?” I hid my blushing face in my hands. “Oh my god!” my muffled voice squeaked as I shook my head in utter mortification. Azathoth doubled over, howling with laughter.
What I wouldn’t give to be nailed into a coffin and then thrown into the nearest active volcano right about now.
Belzar poofed into the room beside us, which thankfully ended my embarrassing moment. Azathoth calmed down and stopped cackling like a hyena. He tapped his chin while staring at Belzar, no doubt listening to some sort of secret telepathic message. “Hmm... Then that’s where we’ll look first. Honestly, I’d be surprised if he were anywhere else,” he told Belzar, while shrugging.
Belzar yipped and let out a small whine. His soft muzzle nudged my hand, prompting me to stroke his head. I obliged, of course. “Aw, Belzar, I missed you, you big ol’ cute fluffy puppy!” I giggled. He bobbed his head with joy while panting, then licked my hand with affection.
“He said that Adelstein’s enchanted gem prevented him from finding the dunderheaded nitwit. But there’s a large number of the corrupted roaming around the church, so we’ll check there first.” He placed a tender kiss on my lips. “Ready?”
I looked down, double-checking to make sure I was wearing my boots, and that I had my cool swords on my hips. “Ready,” I nodded.
A murderous grin stretched across his face as he held me close, and then all three of us teleported in front of the church. Once we reappeared, Azathoth and Belzar were both back in their true, monstrous forms. It was still weird to see Belzar like that. I mean, he was the paragon of what nightmares should be made of, for goodness sake. However, after spending time in The Abyss, I was pretty much unfazed by the whole undead look at this point.
The lambent glimmer of the moon winsomely cascaded upon the old white church, making it appear ghostly and cold. The bell tower stood like a looming silhouette against the midnight sky. Its golden bell shimmered, catching glimmers of pale celestial light. The front doors were left ajar, creating an eerie gateway into the pitch-black abyss inside. Freezing wind blustered by, whispering promises of an impending snowfall as it kissed my face with a frosty bite. The nearby houses were dark and abandoned. Some still had jack-o’-lanterns on display, grinning as they slowly rotted away. Other than the wind and the soughing trees, everything was unnervingly quiet and still.
“I don’t see anyone,” I whispered to Azathoth as he loosened his grip on me.
The moment those words left my mouth, hundreds of snarling corrupted souls shuffled out from their hiding spots all around us. Some crept out from behind the untended gravestones in the church cemetery. Others slinked around the corners of the building and houses, while a few hobbled into view from behind the trees. I took an instinctive step closer to Azathoth, who gently rested his hand on my lower back.
“Don’t be intimidated. Adelstein is just being a dramatic jackass.” He rolled his infernal eyes.
The ends of my lips curled up into a small, confident smile. I wasn’t afraid. Although we were surrounded by darkness and corruption, I had evil on my side.
Both our gazes snapped over to the church as the sound of loud, villainous cackling came from within the open doors. Adelstein emerged from the darkness, shuffling like a crustacean ghoul. My mouth fell agape at the disheveled sight of him. It looked as if he hadn’t cleaned himself up after the scuffle with Azathoth back in the woods. His white cloak was still filthy and tattered. Black cauterized wounds where Azathoth’s claws had slashed him disfigured his face, and his throat was still mutilated from Azathoth’s bite, with black ooze bubbling out of it. What caught my eye the most was the black skeletal limb that had grown in place of the arm Belzar had bitten off. It twitched in a disturbing and creepy way, glistening with black slime in the moonlight. The way it moved sort of reminded me of Valarendrik’s abyssal crown; only this was far more repulsive.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the repugnant beast and his hoochie harlot!” Adelstein sneered. “Took you two long enough.” A sinister grin twisted beneath his white hood.
“Did this fuckwad seriously just call me a hoochie harlot, of all things?” I turned to Azathoth with a baffled expression.
A deep, vicious growl ripped out from Belzar’s throat. Adelstein’s black abyssal eyes fell on him. He lifted a sardonic brow and scoffed. “I thought I had killed that hellhound mongrel. No matter, I’m sure my children will greatly enjoy ripping him to shreds!” He theatrically made a fist with his abyssal arm and shook it over his head, his twisted grin widening.
Azathoth made a dismissive gesture toward the pharisaic nut. “See? He’s just being a dramatic jackass.”
Adelstein’s eyes narrowed with scorn as he noticed Azathoth’s unblemished shoulder. “So...” he drawled. “You actually managed to seduce the little vixen into performing the unbinding spell?” His attention turned to me as he cackled with an unsettling mixture of fury and insanity. “How dare you unleash such an atrocious evil upon God’s good earth! You shameful strumpet of the devil! You’re a disgrace to the Lord your God. Your witch aunt—”
“Silence your burbling voice!” Azathoth bellowed, cutting him off. “I’ve already had enough of your stupid, contemptuous soliloquy. Yes, she unbound me! Nobody fucking cares what a worthless slubberdegullion like you has to say about it!” His arm tightened around me. “I have not come here for a pointless verbal dispute. I’ve come here to kill you. But before I do, know this, she is my beloved inamorata whom I have infernally claimed as my chosen bride, not some strumpet of the devil or hoochie harlot! She willingly unbound me because of our genuine love for one another, not lust or deception!” He growled with animosity. “And who the fuck even calls someone a hoochie harlot? You pathetic cockalorum!” The fiery veins in his wings ignited as he readied himself to attack. I shifted my eyes around, confused by all the old-timey disses they were throwing.
