He had no doubt whatsoever his Minos would come for him, even if he was upstairs. But he was also a very firm believer in the statement that god helps those who help themselves. He had seen Yah, after all, and they looked pretty overworked, so he figured helping himself was probably in everyone’s best interest. He had no desire to be stuck anywhere for any period of time waiting to be rescued. He liked romances, but he wasnota damsel in distress.
So when Bitch Lady turned back toward her minions to apparently confer with them, her hand got looser on his arm, and Adam took the opportunity to shoot out of his seat and out of her grasp, heading along the bar as quickly as he could. Yes, he wasn’t heading toward Minos, but at this point anything away from her was a plus in his book.
One glance back showed them hot on his trail, which is exactly when he started running through the throngs of people surrounding the bar, headed as far away from Bitch Lady as possible. The bar was probably round, right? Or a big square? Eventually he’d get back around to Minos.
At least that’s what Adam hoped, even though a niggling doubt reminded him that he really didn’t understand how Limbo was structured. Oops.
Chapter16
Minos
Zaphrael was yapping away in Minos’ ear. The demon was particularly passionate about one of Adam’s more creative punishments, and he was expounding upon the enthusiasm the demons had for the labyrinth as of late. Minos liked Zaphrael and enjoyed chatting with him—he liked all his demons. However, his Adam and Pandora had disappeared off to the old bar, and he was itching to get over to see them.
The old bar was much more his ambiance, as well. Quieter. Less people. Although still a little too crowded for his grumpy nature. He smirked a little at that thought.
“Exactly my point!” Zaphrael burst out, and Minos gave the demon his full attention. “Sire, you are like the Judge of olden days. It is such a glory to be working with you again. We all want you to know that. Not that it wasn’t always a glory, of course,” the demon quickly added, backpedaling.
Minos merely raised his eyebrows, at which point Zaphrael stuttered a bit before continuing. “We are merely saying that he has been quite the boost for all of us, and it is clear for you in particular. Diasmos was even grumbling about some type of party Adam was planning, and the complaining about it has brought the entire crew closer together. He mentioned ‘demon dodgeball,’ but we all assured him he must have misheard.”
Minos merely chuckled at that, and Zaphrael’s blue skin paled a bit.
“Oh. He wasn’t joking, then?” the demon muttered.
Minos rolled his eyes. “He was not. Yet I have every confidence that my demons will participate, complain endlessly, and that it will be the talk around the labyrinth for years. We will have to make sure to have shifts so everyone is forced to participate.” Minos gleefully chuckled again, and Zaphrael grimaced.
“You are wonderfully devious, sire. The demons do love to have things to complain about, and this will give them endless fodder.”
“They are a miserable bunch,” Minos fondly said. Then, he felt something. A… pull. Like he was shifting forward just the tiniest bit, but not by his own volition.
Zaphrael must have seen or felt something as well, because his face became stricken and panicked. “Sire?” he asked.
“Something…” he started, but then he felt it again. A stronger pull. A tug, like someone was trying to move him through a portal. He let out a breath of air and centered himself, focusing on being here and now.
“Sire, is it a summoning?” Zaphrael asked, panic in his voice. “You cannot be summoned, Sire! Adam needs you here!”
“No,” he stated. He had felt summonings before, and this was not it.
He took a moment to shore up his wards nevertheless. Something was very wrong. He stood, looking over to the old bar, and that was when panic hit.
Neither Pandora nor Adam were there.
They had been there mere moments ago. He had been periodically straining his head up to look over the crowds and make sure they stayed put. He knew he needed to give Adam some autonomy, yet he couldn’t bear to have him too far. Staying here while they danced and then took a break had been his attempt to give his little human some space.
That would not happen again.
They were gone. The pulling sensation was also gone, but a faint taste of panic was on his tongue, and it was flavored of Adam.
Minos rose from his seat, and he unbent his form from its normal state, continuing to rise up until he grew taller than everyone, demon, angel, or human alike. He let himself nearly double in size, anger propelling his growth. His tail grew, lashing out. He let his infernal form loose upon Limbo, caring not of the panic and destruction it could cause.
He let out a low, deep growl that reverberated and echoed back through all of Limbo. People cleared the way with some overly dramatic screaming (and possibly a few bodily fluids), the music stopped, and demons came running toward him en masse.
One did not ignore the call of a king of hell.
“FIND HIM!” he roared, his voice guttural. Demons scattered, and he watched as they went in all directions to comb through Limbo.
He ignored the screaming, intent in his mind’s eye of trying to place where the taste of panic was coming from. Which direction had his Adam gone? Who dared to cause him panic? His eyes glowed and his skin heated, even as he attempted to control the rage.
As he stalked toward the old bar, any stray humans ran screaming. The demons were all running to assist his search, and any angels had made themselves scarce. Then one human stepped in front of him. He almost lashed out, but he pulled himself back in time to realize that it was Pandora. She looked disheveled and panicked.
