A section to comment on all the Demon Bonded books. You may find polls here, secrets answered, character bios–I’m not sure exactly yet. Please, if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
SCENE #The realm within Glover House
Ky returned to the world in a flare of fire and blinding light. Panic slammed in his chest as he spun. Green flames licked at his coat, and he instinctively curled inward and tried to pat them out before they could burn him alive. The bright, green flame evaporated under his touch, leaving his fingers unscathed. Ky stared at his coat, pulling at the edges, but no char or holes were there to find. He lifted his head and grabbed at the links on his collar as his mind ticked.
“Where the hell am I?” Ky muttered, his eyes scanning the cramped, dusty room, counters, shelves and wooden furniture dotting the creaking floorboards. It was empty of life, and Ky’s gaze fixed on a small, square window where daylight streamed in and turned the dusty air into a golden ray of glitter. He took sure steps to the door, his boots clunking loud on the bare boards, and he wrenched the handle open. Hesitating, Ky slowly stepped out onto the porch smelling of fresh paint and stared out into the dazzling morning.
The world outside, if possible, was just as empty and void as the room he arrived in. A field of tall green grass spread out before him, with only a few sparse trees to break up the landscape. A worn, dirt path cut a wandering trail along the landscape, the only thing that passed for a road as far as his eyes could see. Ky pursed his lips as he approached the wooden steps that led down, but the new vantage revealed only more grass, dirt, and clear, unmarred sky—nothing to tell him where the hell he was.
It was disturbingly mundane considering just how he traveled there. With a final, suspicious glare to the picturesque scenery, Ky turned back to the door he passed through and studied it closely. The porch, much like the room inside, was choked with the dust coming off the unpaved road, but also held the clinging odor of barely dried paint. The banister was a deep green, its fresh coat of gloss already marred by the fine cloud of dirt in the air. The boards beneath his feet were a faded white, creating a path leading to the door tinted with the sandy color of the road that had come in with the steps of all who entered. The black door also had a sheen to it, the high gloss looking out of place with the rest of the worn setting. Ky’s eyes narrowed, and he peered closer to read the dull bronze plaque fixed on the wall next to the door.
Glover House
Built in 1814 by the Aeternum Committee, this structure replaces the original standing house built in 1639 by Blackstone Falls founder, Edmund James Glover. It is the oldest standing building in Blackstone Falls, and is home to the Blackstone Falls Historical Society and Museum.
Ky’s mouth gaped open in outrage, and he whirled to glare at the unchanging scenery. “Is this a joke? The Aeternum is the town’s fucking historical society?”
Shaking his head sharply, Ky turned back and pushed the door open wide, truly seeing the inside of the room he landed in. The dim light was mostly from the ambient daylight fighting to be seen through the dust streaked windows. The back wall was lined with stately, floor length curtains, where a long counter stretched the width, and an unoccupied cash register rested to the side. There were glass displays throughout the room filled with random objects and mementos of a time long past in the town. Ky’s teeth grit tight as he stalked the length of the nearest display and took in the yellowed note cards hand penned in neat cursive, arranged to give additional information of the contents within. His anger grew as he glared at the black and white photos on the wall in understated frames, the well preserved writing desk that’s surface held multiple different brochures, the post card display that rotated at his touch, and the plastic key chains with the Blackstone Falls Historical Society emblem emblazoned on each.
He picked up one of the key chains, the metal cold beneath his fingers, and glared at the emblem. “Fuckers,” he snarled under his breath. No magic, no collars, no spells or even that stupid wand museum Moore mentioned. Nothing. There was only dust and the same old historical shit you’d find in any little town not full of slave trading, murderous sorcerers. His dark stare lingering on a stuffed raven with beady glass eyes, Ky shoved the tacky key chain into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to check the time.
Were they fucking with him? Moore handed him a magical card while claiming that they were going to come and drag him out of his house if he doesn’t show for this hearing thing, and this is where it dropped him? Where the fuck was everyone?
Ky’s expression grew grim as another thought struck. What if Stewart Moore just wanted him out of his house at a certain time so he could try to steal the wands?
Ky’s hand patted down to the pocked in his coat, his breath coming out in a rush when he felt Anselm’s wand there. His boot was stiff with Tobias’s wand tucked up against his leg. He might not know how to use them, but he understood the horror that could happen to the relics if he lost them. There was a flash of movement across the room, and Ky fixed on where the curtains behind the counter ruffled slightly from a breeze. His eyes narrowed when he realized there must be a door on the other side. Outside of a bathroom sign and the outer door that led to the empty fields, there was no other exit or entrance into the room.
His patience was wearing thin with his growing anxiety— he was already five minutes late for a hearing so important no one had bothered to actually greet him after all the threats of death and embarrassment. Ky strode toward the glass display case and leaped over the counter in a swift move, his coat snapping around his legs in a rush.
He found the divide in the wall of fabric and brashly pushed the dark curtains wide open, revealing a hidden door. A generic sign said ‘No Admittance. Employees Only.’ A snarl curling his lips, Ky grabbed the door handle, which readily turned at his touch, and pushed it forward.
Ky sensed the change in the air immediately. The doorway was charged with magic, and it felt like he was pushing through more than air as he swung the surprisingly heavy door open and stepped through the entry. It didn’t just feel different; looking around, Ky was certain he had entered into a completely different building.
The color of the air was different, tinted and disorientating in a way he couldn’t explain. Ky’s nostrils flared as he took in the new, foreign scents, something acrid, possibly a cleaner mixed with old dust and a strange, unfamiliar greenery scent that he couldn’t pinpoint. Ky turned to look behind him from where he came and found the entryway tall and arched at the top, although the handle grasped in his tight fingers was still connected to the same ordinary rectangular door with the sign telling him not to enter. The curtains behind him looked as if they were in a fishbowl, miles away even though he knew if he stepped back just a few inches, surely he would touch them. The morning light of the dusty room on the other side of the curtains looked dimmer than it should, as if it were twisting in on itself and filtered through a noxious green sap.
Ky’s stomach clenched as he forced himself into the large, impossible hallway, and his footsteps echoed in distortions of sound all around him. His senses were telling him this was a place he didn’t want to be, a place that wasn’t supposed to exist. He was somewhere that wasn’t real, in something unnaturally made, including the pocket of universe that contained it.
Ky scanned around him warily, his hand resting on Anselm’s wand inside his coat as he stepped. The strange distortion lifted the further he moved into the room, his body and mind starting to adjust enough for him to place the items around him into context with the space.
It was a hotel lobby of some sort, everything about it confusing as much as Ky was confused to be there. The decor was a muddle of modern, contemporary architecture combined with archways from a long past century, and perfectly preserved furniture from different points in time, ranging from a loveseat that looked straight from the Victorian era, a desk that suited more the 1920’s, including a bright red rotary style telephone that he was sure was a knockoff made to look much older than it was. The curtains couldn’t have existed in the current world at all, the fabric free of dyes and processing, and weaved by a machine that had long been replaced with modern textile technology.
The floor was tiled in hard marble, and the chunky heels of his boots clunked with each step. Ky’s eyes were drawn to thin carpets with elaborate designs that looked like they might suck a person into another realm, a place of color and pattern, if they strayed on the wavering threads. Lush, green plants potted in giant kiln glazed pots decorated the arch ways, the gold leaf glinting of wealth and luxury in a space that didn’t quite know what it was. A large wall on the other side of the hallway was split in two, half of the space filled with shelves of books arranged like a piece of artwork, while the other half displayed a clock larger than Ky was tall, surrounded by smaller clocks that each revealed different times.
Ky stopped his cautious steps and glanced behind him, his eyes seeking out the doorway he deliberately left open. The entrance had changed as he moved away from it, and the door now fit in the tall archway that housed it. Ky could see there were two handles, two doors to complete the large entrance, the one he left open looking into a green tinted room that appeared upside down now, like someone had placed a rounded glass between him and the other side.
Ky had never felt more like a small, insignificant bug than in that moment. His breath was stuck in his chest as he looked around the lobby, feeling the weight of magic in the air with every inhale. He wanted to pass it off as wards, but stepping into Tobias’s manor hadn’t felt remotely the same as this, and those wards were powerful enough to keep out the sorcerers he was there to meet. All Ky knew for certain was that he didn’t want to get lost here, and not just in the room. He didn’t want to get lost from where his home was—where Earth was—because the longer he stood in the strange lobby, the more certain he was that he wasn’t in Blackstone Falls anymore.
‘Ky?’
Ky jolted and grabbed his collar, his heart hammering in his chest. His fingertips skimmed over the white-pink jewel that thrummed with familiar power. “Lovely?”
‘Yes, I… I just wanted to make sure you were okay.’ Lovely’s inner voice was like leaves drifting over pavement, barely there and sounding further away than Ky remembered it ever sounding before. ‘You feel odd in my senses,’ Lovely continued anxiously. ‘Like I can’t quite reach you.’
Ky’s lips pursed as he tried to understand what that might mean. He had lost track of all of them when he crossed Tobias’s wards, something in the magic cutting the relics from his senses. Were the wards different here… or was he different now that his relic genes were turned on?
The question was on the tip of his tongue, but Ky stopped himself, his head rising as he searched the lobby to make sure he was alone. He didn’t see anyone, no sign of cameras or ears listening, but he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.
“I’m fine, Lovely. Well, so far,” Ky said grimly. “I passed through some sort of… I dunno.” He faltered for words, his body growing more and more tense when he realized he had no way to explain just where he was and why he was certain Lovely would not be able to reach him if he tried to jump through the bond. “I think it’s warded with some sort of magic,” Ky finally got out, certain at least that was true. “But I can’t talk at the moment. Just promise me you won’t jump here, Lovely. It’s not… It’s not safe.”
That, Ky also knew, was true, even if he couldn’t explain it. The lobby with it’s weird decor and strange distorted door wasn’t anywhere he wanted the relics to be. It felt like a space that wasn’t just a destination, but an entity that twisted magic into it, pulling objects and beings into place and never releasing them from its warped walls.
Ky inhaled sharply and stared out at the walls as dread pricked up his spine.
Lovely sighed in his head, every fear, every anxiety the catboy held swiftly flooding into Ky’s senses. ‘Ky, just remember you have options. Don’t just—’
“Lovely, I need to focus,” Ky said tightly. His relief to know he was still connected to the relics even in this strange place was quickly evaporating as Lovely’s fears bled into him. “I’m late, and I haven’t found anyone yet. You’ll…” Ky growled under his breath and his glare sharpened on a staircase that blended into the wall of books and clocks. “You’ll know if things go wrong. I have to go.”
Lovely’s emotions swirled but soon withdrew, and the silence in Ky’s mind wasn’t interrupted again. Hating that he had to shut the beautiful relic out, Ky forged forward toward his new goal. This was to save them all. He couldn’t let his fear slow him down from the task at hand. They were all relying on him.
Ky passed a lounge area to the right of him, retro 1950’s style chairs in colorful leather spread out among coffee tables and tall fronds of greenery in the elegantly tiled space. It was empty, as was the library area that had seats to read in and a large ledger to keep track of who was borrowing which book.
That he wasn’t attacked immediately once the enchanted card deposited Ky there was small relief as he made his way to the massive staircase. He was being ignored. It felt calculated instead of a mistake or even a cruel slight. They wanted to set him off balance. They wanted to let the fear grow in him as he walked around this fucked up building and his mind was left to wonder on all the ways he might fail today and die at the hands of the Aeternum.
Ky already knew that there would be no winning in a power fight against these sorcerers. The Aeternum had crafted some sort of pocket of reality out of nothing, while he barely understood how to write with a wand.
Ky’s gaze followed the flow of the staircase, and he peered up, scanning for the telltale signs of people on the second floor from his limited vantage. There was a wooden banister that stretched along the second floor’s edge, gleaming in the light from a wide skylight that turned the entire ceiling into a prism of bright daylight. He squared his shoulders, his jaw clenched tight as he moved determinedly up the stairs, his ears picking up the sounds of voices reverberating in the distance. Ky’s eyes refused to stay still, seeking whatever telltale signs of life he could find and the danger it held as he moved and the upper floor came into view.
Glass displays were up here, far more modern and secure than the ones found behind the curtain in the historical society storefront. Ky’s steps slowed as he approached a case a little taller than him. Displayed inside was a faceless mannequin wearing a chain-mailed vest of what looked like blue and gold metal scales, combined with a long coat very similar in style to the one Ky was wearing. He squinted at the plaque attached to the wooden base, and his breath blasted out in a loud hiss when he read the small, engraved text.
Draquer’s Scales
Discovered by Abbott Burr Pemberton. When touched with flame these relic scales repel all heat, magic, and physical attack. When combined with a properly warded cloak, the wearer is rendered invulnerable.
Donated to the Aeternum Coven in 1822 by the Pemberton Estate.
The fuckers had taken the scales off of a relic and used it to make a magic vest. And then displayed it—like it was some fucking awesome thing they did instead of the act of complete barbarism it was.
Rage heated through him in a hot wave, and Ky turned from the display, his eyes moving around the upper floor to truly take in the objects around him. Books lined the back wall, the sunlight from above sparkling off the specks of dust that floated in the air. There were cases in long rows, some broken up by more shelves of books. Ky stepped warily onto the thin carpet, his eyes glued to the glass table tops where beneath the clear crystal surface, pieces of relics were arranged on black velvet. Ky’s vision dimmed dark at the edges as he picked out thin claws, dazzling scales, long, spiraled horns and shorter curled ones, and an array of tails, some so old, it was a wonder they hadn’t disintegrated.
His throat felt tight as he lifted his head toward the glass displays that contained what couldn’t be kept flat. One mannequin was swathed in long, crimson colored locks, but it wasn’t a wig. Someone had scalped a relic for some reason and put it on display. Another large, glass case held a complete relic skeleton, its tail, wings, and horns still attached, bones dark and stained.
Ky kept his lips pursed tight to prevent the snarl pulling at his muscles that would surely reveal the fangs he could feel itching to break free. Most of the other display cases held wings—so many different wings. The summoners must have been obsessed with the feathered type because they were the majority in display, from long, elegant wings that were three times the size of him, to small, feathery puffs that would have fit a child.
They were sick. These fucking people were sick, and no matter what happened, he needed to make sure they never got ahold of his wands. If he had to die to keep these sick freaks away from the relics, then it was a price worth paying.
Resolve formed in him like a hot flame, and Ky swept down the tiled area. The long banister gleamed to his right with the lobby beneath, and the rows of scientific displays to his left as he sought out the sounds of voices. There was a crash of glass up ahead followed by a pained cry, and Ky sneered, his anger moving through his face and breaking the impassive mask he desperately needed to keep intact.
He had to hide his heart. Feral’s warning echoed in his mind even as he stalked toward the sounds of whimpering and glass scraping on tile. These people would find a way to turn his heart against him, the same way Liem did.
Ky fought his emotions back and slowed as he reached the bend where a wall of books divided the next area from sight. As if his dark thoughts summoned him, Ky growled low in his chest when he stepped around the bookcase and found the other occupants of the upper floor, Liem standing among them.
SCENE #Meeting the apprentices
It was a battle to school his expression back to something remotely neutral as Ky took in the scene unfolding yards away, his gaze fixed on the movement of flesh half hidden by the individuals standing. A single display case was shattered, its glass everywhere, including coating the relic who was huddled on the ground. He was holding his bleeding arm tight to his chest, his long, brilliant blue strands of hair hiding his face from view. Ky looked around, trying to see if there was a story to be told in the group of young men standing there in matching uniforms, staring down at the fallen relic with grim expressions on their faces.
Glass cracked under a heavy boot as Stewart Moore came into view from the other side of the relic where the room expanded into a large study area. He was dressed similar to when he broke into Ky’s house, his formal coat and neat hair at odds with the man’s unruly eyebrows and almost comically large beak of a nose. Stewart held his cane up and moved the instrument in a sweeping gesture. Wind swirled up and the glass clinked and sparkled as it was caught up in a wave of magic and brought to settle into the remains of the shattered display case. He failed to get them all, and small, slivered shards glittered from the carpet among the shoes of the motionless apprentices, and the bare legs and feet of the naked relic who was struggling to stand up singlehandedly.
Ky’s blood roared in his ears as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the group. He had no clue if he could run there in time and reach the relic before something horrible happened. Ky might not have seen what had caused the relic to end up smashed through the display case, but even from the distance, Ky could tell his wounds would be fatal if he wasn’t treated immediately. There was too much blood on the floor, too many large pieces of glass in his skin. The relic’s movements looked to be slow, weak, from one who had little energy and was succumbing to shock.
As Ky got closer, his view shifted and he could see one of the apprentices was red faced, pointing at the relic’s location as if in mid yell, but the young man was unnaturally still compared to his peers. Even the dustmotes floating around didn’t move where the red faced apprentice was. Ky realized with a start that the apprentice and everything directly around him had been spelled frozen.
“Mr. Scion, I was expecting you ten minutes ago,” Stewart called gruffly, his eyes fixed on the relic who was frantically sucking on his wounded wrist while pushing unsteadily to his feet.
Ky scowled and didn’t bother to respond. He needed to calm down or he was going to do something stupid, like heal that relic and show that he was the same, all in one go.
He kept his eyes glued to his feet while breathing around the stench of fresh blood and panicked whimpers. Ky’s steps stopped in front of a spray of glass where thin shards were coating a mounted animal that had fallen to the floor, knocked out of the display case when it broke. He peered down at it, his eyes narrowed as he tried to discern just exactly what he was looking at. Not much bigger than a cat, it had a face framed in long fur, obscuring its glass eyes and sharp teeth. It was half skin, its preservation either gone wrong, or the deep wrinkles all along its face and body natural. Four legged, its had fur from the top of its head down to its back haunches, the color a startling, unnatural blue against the more fleshy pinks and dark browns of the skin. Its prehensile tail was twisted around, posed to show its many joints.
Its arms were longer than its back legs, giving the creature a sort of monkey like slope in its death pose. At the end of its fingers, its claws were intact, long giant things that looked like metal. It had too many fingers, and Ky grimaced despite himself when he saw that the front paws were doubled at the wrist, splitting into two extra, clawless hands that had intricate joints very similar to a human’s.
It was completely bizarre, and Ky couldn’t shake the certainty that if the fur wasn’t in the way, the face of the creature might look just like a spider monkey or some other small primate. Except it wouldn’t be a primate from Earth; it would be one that originated on Realm with the relics.
“Please be careful with that. It’s priceless. The only one ever discovered.”
Ky glanced up, his eyebrow raised at Stewart incredulously as he fought the anger he was feeling in his chest. “I’m not the one who threw it on the floor,” he finally grunted.
Ky carefully stepped over the preserved creature and kept his eyes straight ahead on Stewart. It took everything in him not to look at the relic, not to pull him up and away from these crazy fucks, and heal the wounds that were currently gushing blood and dripping on the floor. Ky knew if he looked, there would be no hiding his emotions, no pretending his heart wasn’t breaking to see anyone so hurt and at the same time, so completely disregarded. In that moment, Ky couldn’t promise that his eyes wouldn’t glow blue just like the relic whose genes he was made from.
“Hey!” One of the apprentices cried out the same moment the relic hissed savagely. Ky gritted his teeth, daring a glance to the side, somewhat surprised to find the relic had his claws outstretched in aggression at the wall of apprentices as he backed away. He looked lopsided, Ky’s concern growing when he saw he had only one wing.
He was a catboy like Lovely, but even though he had the telltale black cat ears and slinky tail, that was where the similarities ended. The pale flesh of his form was interrupted by bright blue and black scales that dazzled along one arm, ending in a reptilian like claw with metallic talons that looked to be permanently extended. His other arm and the rest of his limbs lacked any scales at all, and when Ky glanced to his shoulder where his long, neon blue hair was kept to one side, he saw that the cat relic only had a wing connected to his scales, like someone had grafted another relic onto his right shoulder and arm.
He was about the strangest relic Ky had ever seen, his coloring familiar to the mounted animal on the floor, and Ky couldn’t help but seek out the collar on the relic’s throat as he tried to piece together just what the hell was going on. It wasn’t the collar normally seen on relics. No, this one was made of the same metal used for the chains on Magnificent Night that kept his power contained. For whatever reason, they collared this relic but hadn’t bonded him.
The relic hissed again, louder this time as he backed away, his eyes darting from the group of apprentices and then to Stewart. His fangs extended and silver eyes flecked with blue narrowed calculatingly as he suddenly whirled and threw himself across the room. Blood splattered and his bare feet streaked crimson as he escaped out an archway and into another part of the building.
No one followed. The apprentices all gaped at the door as if shocked the relic had fled, but they refused to chase after him.
“He seems to be as happy to be here as I am,” Ky muttered dryly as he stared down at the large puddle of blood the relic left behind.
“Hmm. It’s good you got here when you did,” Stewart said with a sharp tap of his cane. “I was just about to send someone to collect you.”
Ky met his piercing eyes and the disapproval he did nothing to hide. “That the best you got? You threaten my family after breaking into my house, have your stupid card drop me off in a place I’ve never been before without anyone to show me where to go, and you think I’m supposed to give a fuck if I’m late?” Ky shook his head and sighed. “You people are pathetic.”
“And yet, here you are.” Stewart stepped around Ky and stooped down to pick up the fallen mounted animal. Ky glared at his back, holding himself from the angry retort at the tip of his tongue. There wasn’t any point in arguing over something so trivial when had much bigger problems to deal with.
Stewart brushed the glass off the blue furred creature and walked it to the nearest table, careful to arrange its fur back in order. “Thank goodness. For a moment I thought we lost it.”
Ky glared at the apprentices who were silently watching Stewart, then at the sorcerer. “Your relic is bleeding out,” he said tightly.
“He’s a self healer. He’ll be fine,” Stewart said dismissively, his expression grave as he looked at Ky over the blue fur of the mounted animal. “You’re still alive, I see.”
“Trust me, you’re the only one surprised about that,” Ky said flatly. He couldn’t keep his tongue though, not after what he’d seen within moments of finally finding people in the building. “Is there a particular reason that relic is bleeding? Were you trying to take his scales to make another disgusting vest?”
Stewart straightened taller and glared down his nose at Ky. “Draquer’s scales are extremely rare. It is not a magical property that relic possesses.”
“Because you tested him, right?” Ky’s smirk was bitter as he twirled a finger to indicate the room. “And you have him live where there is a butchery of relics on display like some sick fuck slaughterhouse.”
Stewart stiffened at the accusation. “Mr. Scion, everything in this building is for the pursuit of knowledge in relation to demons and summoning them. Nothing is here to torment our links.”
Ky snorted in disbelief. “Are you that dead inside? You hunt these relics down, kill the ones you don’t want, and the ones you do enslave eventually end up in pieces on display. This is a fucking crypt full of pieces of slaves. For all you know, they’re dead relatives to the relics who pass through here.”
Although his expression was impassive, a new anger lit Stewart’s eyes. “Then that would be most unfortunate. Now, unless you have a point, Mr. Scion—”
Ky’s smile felt feral as he stalked over to the red faced apprentice who had failed to move since he got there. “My point is that even though you have a room full of books, and more than enough pieces of dead slaves all over the place to understand their anatomy, you still can’t seem to figure out that a self healing relic can only heal when he has enough energy. Your relic is starved, and his arm was gushing blood when he left. And all you can muster a single thought about is the welfare of a dead animal you didn’t have the decency to bury.”
Ky’s gaze strayed to the side to the painfully silent apprentices who were staring at him like he had three heads. He fixed on Liem, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable. “You do realize how sociopathic you are, right? Like on a scale of sane to fucked in the head, you’re all at the level of sick fuck rapists and slave traders.”
Liem paled under Ky’s unblinking scrutiny, and he turned his head away. Without saying a word, Liem broke away from the group and moved into the large nook created by the tall bookcases, heading to a counter at the back.
Rage felt like a pit in Ky’s chest, tensing all his muscles as he heard Stewart step toward him, his cane tapping on the floor. “Not all our apprentices become demon summoners, Mr. Scion. Some choose to research and expand the knowledge already discovered. Others to focus on magical arts, while others prefer to continue in service to a master sorcerer by keeping up their household and finances.” He turned his assessing gaze on the apprentices. “Not every sorcerer is cut out for the task of summoning and bonding a demon.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” Ky asked coldly, his eyes taking in the half dozen apprentices who were still standing there, still waiting for some sort of command from Stewart to be allowed to speak, or be dismissed, or have a damn thought of their own. “You created an industry off the backs of kidnapped and enslaved beings. Do you really think by only cleaning the bloodstains off the floors, you’re any less of an accomplice?”
Stewart didn’t say anything for a long moment, but Ky wasn’t under the illusion he was actually listening. Even most of the apprentices, with their hard eyes and smug smiles, looked completely apathetic to anything that had to do with acknowledging their very profession was a crime against nature, no matter what planet that nature might have originated on.
“You have some very… different ideas of demon summoning, Mr. Scion. Perhaps you’d be interested in discussing them more with those who are training for the art?” Stewart suggested, sweeping his cane out to indicate the apprentices staring back at them. “As I said on our first meeting, we have a few openings in our mentoring program—”
“Pass.” Ky turned to face the sorcerer, his eyes narrowed on the twin red links glinting on Stewart’s collar a moment. He nodded sideways at the red faced apprentice who hadn’t taken a breath since he’d been spelled. “What did he do? How much did he have to piss you off for you to just take away his control over his body like that?”
Stewart smiled grimly and lifted his cane to rap sharply on the shoulder of the frozen apprentice. “He broke my favorite display, and damn near killed one of the rarest relics I have ever come across in the process. I would say a time out was the least that was due for our esteemed Mr. Glover.”
Ky pursed his lips, not sure he disagreed, given the circumstances. Stewart Moore might not have a heart beating in that chest of his, but he cared about the things he owned enough to punish those who broke them. It was almost something.
Ky glanced sideways when someone stepped close, and he quickly turned fully to meet the curious gaze of a brown haired, green eyed apprentice who was leaning into his space to stare at his collar. “Can I help you?” Ky gritted out.
“Uh, s-sorry.” Blinking rapidly, the apprentice quickly stepped back, his eyes jumping from Ky’s black painted lips, down to his links, then to the side. “You’re uh, you’re jeweled. I’ve never… Two of them.” He held up two fingers, a blush staining his cheeks as he flustered to find the right words.
“He’s dead,” the brown eyed teen next to him said, his voice razor sharp as he stared at Ky. “One shadow link is enough to kill. He’s got five.”
“Funny, cuz I feel fucking fine.” Ky looked the apprentice up and down, taking in his black blazer with red trim and matching buttons. He had an elaborate crest embroidered in red on the front pocket, something that was repeated on the blazers of all the apprentices. His dress shirt was gray, and his silk black tie was patterned with thin, red diagonal stripes. It might have looked rather posh, except for the uniform’s tight, charcoal gray shorts that didn’t reach past mid thigh, and the tall gray socks that stopped just below the knees. Even the wealthy looking, brightly polished black boots couldn’t disguise that the apprentices were wearing a uniform designed for children.
“I can’t help but notice you don’t have any links,” Ky remarked coolly. “You don’t even have a collar. Unless you’re hiding it under the pedo shorts they call a uniform here,” he added with a cruel smirk.
The apprentice scowled, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Ky merely raised an eyebrow when the scowl was mirrored by the other apprentices. “Hey, I didn’t dress you like that.”
“Uniforms keep things even around here,” Stewart spoke up from behind Ky. “Apprentices are less likely to confuse themselves as sorcerers when they’re in the correct uniform. It also makes it much harder to hide weapons or items that shouldn’t be in the possession of someone in training just yet.”
Ky realized he was talking about wands, and his eyebrows raised. None of the apprentices were wearing collars, including Liem. But Liem, unlike the others, had apparently graduated to pants. Ky suspected even if he was told not to, Liem had his wand stashed somewhere. He might have been a total asshole, but he wasn’t stupid.
“We’re not allowed to, uh, that is…” The green eyed apprentice glanced sideways, taking a step away from his scowling peers. “Apprentices can’t have demons. Not until the master mentoring them says they’re allowed. That is, um, the ones who want to have demons, anyways.”
Ky glanced his way briefly, unable to miss the red tie he was wearing that was polka dotted with small black mice. “You planning on having a demon?”
The green eyed apprentice shook his head rapidly. “Uh, no. I have enough magic without needing to… well, you know.” He coughed awkwardly, his eyes downcast to the side.
His face was expressive, and he seemed almost human compared to the others in the room. Ky shook his head in annoyance. “These fuckers are going to eat you alive.”
The apprentice shrugged meekly, his gaze straying back to Ky’s collar. “The jewels… Could you… How does someone get a jewel bond?” he asked in a rush. “Are the relics really rare, or is it something to do with the binding spell?”
Ky inhaled sharply, looking over to see that the other apprentices were just as clueless. His lips pursed in a thin line, Ky stepped forward, bending his head to speak into the curious teen’s ear while fixing his glare on the others. “It’s really fucking simple. When you go to bond, don’t rape your relic.”
Flinching at the venom in his words, the apprentice refused to meet his eyes when Ky stepped back. Ky smiled grimly, fixing on the others who were staring back with expressions of varying levels of tense indifference. “Funny that, huh? How much you wanna bet not a single sorcerer here has a jewel bond?” Bile burned at the back of his throat when Ky turned away, disgusted with it all, including the Aeternum that was creating more monsters to continue the sick practice.
“Are we done here?” Ky asked sharply when he found Stewart meticulously combing fingers through the stuffed creature’s fur, carefully pulling free shards of glass and specks of dirt.
“There’s no need to rush.” Stewart lifted his head to nod at the apprentices behind Ky. “Given your lack of background in demon summoning, I thought it would be good for you to meet the apprentices training to expand their magic. It would give you an opportunity to see the options the Aeternum has to offer—”
“Stop wasting my fucking time!” Ky snarled, his jacket crackling as he whipped his arm out to point to the display cases. “Do you seriously think I want to be here with pieces of thinking, feeling beings out on display as the trophies of serial killers? You people have no fucking clue how sick you are, do you?” he exclaimed when Stewart’s passive expression didn’t change. “You actually think this is normal.”
“Of course it’s normal,” Stewart said stiffly. “Those in pursuit of the answers to the universe must remove their emotions to maintain objectivity—”
“Your relic is bleeding out! He’s going to die unless he gets energy or medical attention, and you’re trying to give me a tour of your mentoring for psychopaths program.” Ky pointed again to the blood on the floor that no one seemed in a rush to clean up. “Where, exactly, is your fucking objectivity in that?”
“Master Moore,” one of the apprentices called. Ky whirled as he recognized the voice and glared at Liem, who had returned carrying a sturdy, black leather physician’s bag.
“If you’ll permit me, I can see to the relic,” Liem said quietly, his head turned deliberately to avoid looking at Ky.
Stewart’s gaze followed to where Ky had pointed, something in his eyes shifting for a moment. “It does seem he’s lost a substantial amount of blood. Alright, Mr. Kane. Remember to use caution; he’s killed before.”
Liem nodded silently and turned away with the bag in hand, walking toward the archway the relic had disappeared through. Ky watched him go as he tried to figure out what Liem’s angle was. He couldn’t believe he cared; Liem had shown time and time again just how little he was capable of caring about anyone but himself.
Ky’s shoulders lost some of their tension once he realized he had won. The relic might be doomed to live among these psychos, but at least it wasn’t going to bleed out just because he’d been unfortunate enough to be injured the same day Ky had a hearing.
“Were there anymore questions for Mr. Scion before he continues on with his business of the day?” Stewart addressed the apprentices as he leaned on his cane with elbows locked. Ky would have protested, except it meant that Stewart was finally ready to leave.
“Yeah,” a new apprentice spoke up, his blond hair in perfect order and dark eyes full of cruel mirth. “Did you write your will? If you care so much for your demons, who do you plan on giving them away to when they kill you?”
Ky glared, a dark smile curling at the edges of his lips as he stared the other down. “Do you think Tobias Godwin wrote a will?” Ky raised his hand to touch the five shadow links, four that connected him to the relics in Tobias’s manor and one to Magnificent Night. “When these relics tore the flesh from Tobias’s bones, hollowed out his ribcage, and ate what they found inside, do you really think he was worried about who was going to inherit them next?”
The apprentice’s jaw clenched defiantly, but his cheeks had paled and uncertainty shadowed his eyes. “Master Godwin got greedy,” he said tightly. “He tried to control too many at once.”
Ky snorted. “If he had a fucking brain in his head, Tobias would have been kind to his relics, and they wouldn’t have turned on him. He got everything he deserved for being a psychopathic monster.”
The apprentice looked like he wanted to say something but held back, his eyes eventually averting under Ky’s unblinking glare.
“Anyone else?” Ky asked sharply. “I’ve got shit to do today, and apparently your master thinks this is it.”
Inhaling sharply, the green eyed apprentice raised his hand hesitantly and dared a step close. “Uh… if, if you’re right and those links aren’t going to, uh, drain you… What are you going to do with it?” he mumbled, his cheeks flushed.
“It?” Ky repeated, having no idea what he was referring to.
“The, uh… the power. All that magic.” The apprentice looked away nervously, only to add in a stronger voice, “That’s the only reason a sorcerer bonds with too many demons. They try to get more power, and end up being drained by the demons they thought they were going to drain.”
Ky’s lips pursed in a thin line and he nodded slightly. “That’s the problem though, isn’t it?” He lifted one of the shadow links, Blood’s energy responding under his fingertips as he studied the apprentice’s face. “You sorcerers only want one thing. When your master bonds a relic, he’s trying to take away their will. The same way that friend of yours got frozen—there was no negotiating, no conversation or compromise. Moore just took what he wanted because that’s what you sorcerers do. Take.”
Ky ran his thumb along the shadow links, feeling the energy shift with each touch. “You don’t understand that just because these links can allow a relic to take my energy, it doesn’t mean they will. The same way I don’t go stealing the magic from the relics I’ve bonded with just because I’m linked. Unless the energy is freely given, I won’t touch it.”
“Oh.” His lower lip caught between his teeth, the apprentice dragged his stare up from Ky’s links as a look of realization flashed across his features. “Wait, so that means you can talk to them?”
Ky’s eyes widened slightly. “Of course I can. What the hell are they teaching you here?”
“Liar!” the brown eyed apprentice of before broke in. “Demons can’t speak.”
“Not the ones you spell silent,” Ky shot back. “Even then, they can speak in your head if you bond correctly. Relics have more languages than we do. Just because you’re too ignorant to understand them doesn’t make it any less true.”
“How do you get them to speak in your head—?”
“Enough,” Stewart ordered sharply, rapping his cane on the floor. The apprentices fell silent, the green eyed one bowing his head even as his gaze flickered to Ky’s jeweled links and his fingers flexed at his sides as he held back his questions.
“Gentlemen, I arranged this meeting for a reason,” Stewart said gravely, his piercing stare moving over each of the apprentices in turn. “As you can see for yourselves, Mr. Scion is a cautionary tale; one that will not end happily, by any means. In a few days time, Mr. Scion’s links will have drained the magic and life out of our untrained friend, leaving him dead and his relics free to wreck havoc on the innocent people out in the world who have no natural defenses against the hunger of a stray demon.”
Ky huffed, his annoyance growing with each pompous word. “You’re so full of shit. I got my first shadow link over a month ago.”
Stewart ignored him and continued on with his lecture for the apprentices. “There are consequences to jumping into summoning without training, and those consequences don’t end with you. If you’re drained by failing to overpower your demon in a bond, it won’t just be you who ends up dead—and it will be you no matter what our foolish Mr. Scion would like to believe,” he added with a pointed stare toward Ky. “It will also be your family members, your loved ones, your neighbors and classmates. Your careless mistake will haunt everyplace you have ever touched, bringing only death and pain. Your best hope if that occurs is that there will be a sorcerer trained and empowered enough to clean up your mess after you’ve died.”
“Hopefully not one who gets his jollies by dressing his apprentices up in hot pants,” Ky said flatly. “Are we done? For someone who made such a big deal about me showing up on time, you sure are interested in making me wait.”
His jaw clenching from Ky’s disrespectful tone, Stewart straightened taller as he turned his stern stare on him. “It was strategic. I wanted the apprentices to see how weak you are from being drained.”
Ky smiled savagely. “That fucking backfired, huh? Would you like to mention how Tobias had three red links—supposedly ‘overpowering his bond’ as you claim is the only safe way to bond—and still managed to end up dead?”
Stewart harrumphed and his eyebrows drew down the center. “It is too unusual to worth mentioning.”
“Fucking shit.” Ky shook his head, his smile bitter. “Tell that to his corpse.”
Moore’s steps cracked with the remains of broken glass as he paused at the apprentice frozen in his spell. “I want this mess cleaned up. Mr. Glover will remain here to think about the rules he’s broken and how his parents are going to take the news that he’s destroyed priceless Aeternum property. Understood?” he demanded, his grave expression once again sweeping over the apprentices.
Silent, the apprentices all nodded, a couple looking at their frozen peer nervously. When Ky looked closely, he could see that the teen’s eyes were moving slightly, suggesting he was completely conscious to what was happening around him. Ky felt no pity; the relic who ended up through that glass display had lost far too much blood for him to care if the apprentice who pushed him into it was suffering.
“Mr. Scion, the Aeternum awaits.” Stewart pointed his cane to the other side of the upper floor where a staircase was shrouded in shadows from the tall bookcases. Without waiting for him to answer, Stewart started long strides across the room.
Ky spared a glance back at the apprentices, many of them glaring at him. As young as they were, every single one of them was there to learn how to enslave relics or help those who already did. Ky frowned, his eyes hard as he left with a parting quip about the uniforms they clearly hated. “Watch your asses, kiddies. These creeps sure are.”
SCENE #A Coven of decadence
***
—Moore sends the apprentices away—they’re not a part of what’s to come—and leads Ky to a formal looking chamber. Ky is expecting a large group of people. Moore had mentioned the might of the Aeternum coven. It’s a shock to see so few waiting to hear his case.
—I want characters, not flat and boring. These are men and women with unquestioned power over the lives of others, and it has to have changed them in ways that normal people aren’t. They keep their relics with them, Ky offended by the fact they’re all nude. Moore notices and explains curtly that it is to prove none of the demons are female. Overseers are too dangerous, and all female demons are destroyed immediately to prevent the possibility of an overseer. There is something else there, not a relic but an animal from Realm. Ky is distracted by the strange beast, intros and tight conversation, until they finally get to the reason he’s there.
—Moore is in charge of the apprentice side of things, but he’s not running the meeting/trial. That’s a sorceress, and she has five demons on her collar. It’s a struggle for many summoners to be able to handle just one demon, and because of her five, it marks her as the most powerful in the room at the moment. Before things get fully underway, Moore asks all the demons to be removed from the room. His time with Liem has led him to believe Ky is dangerous among the relics, linked or not, and he doesn’t want any problems. Ky is relieved. He’s not sure how long he can control his own relic nature, and being revealed would be worse than death around these people.
***
SCENE #A stark revelation
***
—A tense conversation, Ky disgusted by the things stated as if they’re fact, about the ritual overshadowing basic human decency, the structure of the summoner’s league motos, etc. They care nothing of the relics, treat them as subhuman. Some act as if they’re giving them an opportunity to be among a more advanced society instead of the world they came from where they wear rags and know no language. Ky is fighting himself more than anything, trying to strategize around these insane people while feeling out of his depths. He isn’t the type of person he needs to be to win at this game. He’s brash and full of heart and he doesn’t know how to be any other way, just that how he is keeps fucking things over for the relics.
—The Aeternum keeps insisting he’s going to die, that the demons are draining him, etc, until Ky finally breaks away in anger to point out he is very much alive and fine, how else is he there at all? They don’t expect him to be alive much longer. They’re actually surprised he made it this long. Ky’s angered by that as well, frustrated, only to be distracted by a new voice in his head. It’s different, more faded because of the weaker shadow link, but he recognizes Brave. Brave explains that there are sorcerers outside the manor. A large group of them pushing at the wards.
—Ky is furious at the revelation and doesn’t bother to hide the fact he’s communicating with the relics in Tobias’s mansion. The Aeternum is surprised with the ability, but more focused on the cold, hard reality of it all. They will not allow Tobias’s demons to escape and reveal themselves to the humans, possibly go on a murdering spree, etc. No one can predict what the beasts might do. Disgusted, Ky goes to leave, only to find the door is warded and he is trapped inside the room. They’re not going to let him out. They’re going to wait there until he either gives up his relics to the Aeternum, or he dies from being drained through his links.
***
SCENE #Ky plots his options
***
—Ky’s first move is to talk to Lovely. It’s the same there. At least five sorcerers are outside the property boundaries, waiting. Ky wonders if they’re the apprentices, or if they’re the ones who belonged to the empty chairs in the trial room. He had foolishly thought the Aeternum was smaller than it was. Were they as powerful as the lead sorceress, or weaker? Would it matter given the numbers of them? Moore had walked right through his wards and he only had two links. Just what kind of magic did it take to get though his wards?
***
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audiobook: demon bonded ep.3
Now you can take Demon Bonded with you and listen offline. Includes one mp3 file.
Episode #3. When furniture attacks…
Ky’s tumble into the wardrobe leads to a heartbreaking discovery; Lovely either has a boyfriend, or a really possessive demon stalker. Either way, the wardrobe fiend is ready to slash Ky a new one until Lovely gets the brute under control the only way the sexy catboy knows how.
Ky grows more concerned about what’s going on in his new house, from creatures hiding in the dark to the persistent scent of blood and rot. He ends up in the basement again as he tries to feed the murderous monster he’s certain is chained up in the darkness.
Lovely wants Ky to name him with collar in hand, but the magic is far stronger than first thought. Ky hears the truth about what happened to Anselm. If they don’t hurry, no one left in the big mansion is going to survive.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
10,000+ wrds, First Published January 15, 2016.
Heat Level: XX
demon bonded audio book episodes ♥
SCENE #The realm within Glover House
Ky returned to the world in a flare of fire and blinding light. Panic slammed in his chest as he spun. Green flames licked at his coat, and he instinctively curled inward and tried to pat them out before they could burn him alive. The bright, green flame evaporated under his touch, leaving his fingers unscathed. Ky stared at his coat, pulling at the edges, but no char or holes were there to find. He lifted his head and grabbed at the links on his collar as his mind ticked.
“Where the hell am I?” Ky muttered, his eyes scanning the cramped, dusty room, counters, shelves and wooden furniture dotting the creaking floorboards. It was empty of life, and Ky’s gaze fixed on a small, square window where daylight streamed in and turned the dusty air into a golden ray of glitter. He took sure steps to the door, his boots clunking loud on the bare boards, and he wrenched the handle open. Hesitating, Ky slowly stepped out onto the porch smelling of fresh paint and stared out into the dazzling morning.
The world outside, if possible, was just as empty and void as the room he arrived in. A field of tall green grass spread out before him, with only a few sparse trees to break up the landscape. A worn, dirt path cut a wandering trail along the landscape, the only thing that passed for a road as far as his eyes could see. Ky pursed his lips as he approached the wooden steps that led down, but the new vantage revealed only more grass, dirt, and clear, unmarred sky—nothing to tell him where the hell he was.
It was disturbingly mundane considering just how he traveled there. With a final, suspicious glare to the picturesque scenery, Ky turned back to the door he passed through and studied it closely. The porch, much like the room inside, was choked with the dust coming off the unpaved road, but also held the clinging odor of barely dried paint. The banister was a deep green, its fresh coat of gloss already marred by the fine cloud of dirt in the air. The boards beneath his feet were a faded white, creating a path leading to the door tinted with the sandy color of the road that had come in with the steps of all who entered. The black door also had a sheen to it, the high gloss looking out of place with the rest of the worn setting. Ky’s eyes narrowed, and he peered closer to read the dull bronze plaque fixed on the wall next to the door.
Glover House
Built in 1814 by the Aeternum Committee, this structure replaces the original standing house built in 1639 by Blackstone Falls founder, Edmund James Glover. It is the oldest standing building in Blackstone Falls, and is home to the Blackstone Falls Historical Society and Museum.
Ky’s mouth gaped open in outrage, and he whirled to glare at the unchanging scenery. “Is this a joke? The Aeternum is the town’s fucking historical society?”
Shaking his head sharply, Ky turned back and pushed the door open wide, truly seeing the inside of the room he landed in. The dim light was mostly from the ambient daylight fighting to be seen through the dust streaked windows. The back wall was lined with stately, floor length curtains, where a long counter stretched the width, and an unoccupied cash register rested to the side. There were glass displays throughout the room filled with random objects and mementos of a time long past in the town. Ky’s teeth grit tight as he stalked the length of the nearest display and took in the yellowed note cards hand penned in neat cursive, arranged to give additional information of the contents within. His anger grew as he glared at the black and white photos on the wall in understated frames, the well preserved writing desk that’s surface held multiple different brochures, the post card display that rotated at his touch, and the plastic key chains with the Blackstone Falls Historical Society emblem emblazoned on each.
He picked up one of the key chains, the metal cold beneath his fingers, and glared at the emblem. “Fuckers,” he snarled under his breath. No magic, no collars, no spells or even that stupid wand museum Moore mentioned. Nothing. There was only dust and the same old historical shit you’d find in any little town not full of slave trading, murderous sorcerers. His dark stare lingering on a stuffed raven with beady glass eyes, Ky shoved the tacky key chain into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to check the time.
Were they fucking with him? Moore handed him a magical card while claiming that they were going to come and drag him out of his house if he doesn’t show for this hearing thing, and this is where it dropped him? Where the fuck was everyone?
Ky’s expression grew grim as another thought struck. What if Stewart Moore just wanted him out of his house at a certain time so he could try to steal the wands?
Ky’s hand patted down to the pocked in his coat, his breath coming out in a rush when he felt Anselm’s wand there. His boot was stiff with Tobias’s wand tucked up against his leg. He might not know how to use them, but he understood the horror that could happen to the relics if he lost them. There was a flash of movement across the room, and Ky fixed on where the curtains behind the counter ruffled slightly from a breeze. His eyes narrowed when he realized there must be a door on the other side. Outside of a bathroom sign and the outer door that led to the empty fields, there was no other exit or entrance into the room.
His patience was wearing thin with his growing anxiety— he was already five minutes late for a hearing so important no one had bothered to actually greet him after all the threats of death and embarrassment. Ky strode toward the glass display case and leaped over the counter in a swift move, his coat snapping around his legs in a rush.
He found the divide in the wall of fabric and brashly pushed the dark curtains wide open, revealing a hidden door. A generic sign said ‘No Admittance. Employees Only.’ A snarl curling his lips, Ky grabbed the door handle, which readily turned at his touch, and pushed it forward.
Ky sensed the change in the air immediately. The doorway was charged with magic, and it felt like he was pushing through more than air as he swung the surprisingly heavy door open and stepped through the entry. It didn’t just feel different; looking around, Ky was certain he had entered into a completely different building.
The color of the air was different, tinted and disorientating in a way he couldn’t explain. Ky’s nostrils flared as he took in the new, foreign scents, something acrid, possibly a cleaner mixed with old dust and a strange, unfamiliar greenery scent that he couldn’t pinpoint. Ky turned to look behind him from where he came and found the entryway tall and arched at the top, although the handle grasped in his tight fingers was still connected to the same ordinary rectangular door with the sign telling him not to enter. The curtains behind him looked as if they were in a fishbowl, miles away even though he knew if he stepped back just a few inches, surely he would touch them. The morning light of the dusty room on the other side of the curtains looked dimmer than it should, as if it were twisting in on itself and filtered through a noxious green sap.
Ky’s stomach clenched as he forced himself into the large, impossible hallway, and his footsteps echoed in distortions of sound all around him. His senses were telling him this was a place he didn’t want to be, a place that wasn’t supposed to exist. He was somewhere that wasn’t real, in something unnaturally made, including the pocket of universe that contained it.
Ky scanned around him warily, his hand resting on Anselm’s wand inside his coat as he stepped. The strange distortion lifted the further he moved into the room, his body and mind starting to adjust enough for him to place the items around him into context with the space.
It was a hotel lobby of some sort, everything about it confusing as much as Ky was confused to be there. The decor was a muddle of modern, contemporary architecture combined with archways from a long past century, and perfectly preserved furniture from different points in time, ranging from a loveseat that looked straight from the Victorian era, a desk that suited more the 1920’s, including a bright red rotary style telephone that he was sure was a knockoff made to look much older than it was. The curtains couldn’t have existed in the current world at all, the fabric free of dyes and processing, and weaved by a machine that had long been replaced with modern textile technology.
The floor was tiled in hard marble, and the chunky heels of his boots clunked with each step. Ky’s eyes were drawn to thin carpets with elaborate designs that looked like they might suck a person into another realm, a place of color and pattern, if they strayed on the wavering threads. Lush, green plants potted in giant kiln glazed pots decorated the arch ways, the gold leaf glinting of wealth and luxury in a space that didn’t quite know what it was. A large wall on the other side of the hallway was split in two, half of the space filled with shelves of books arranged like a piece of artwork, while the other half displayed a clock larger than Ky was tall, surrounded by smaller clocks that each revealed different times.
Ky stopped his cautious steps and glanced behind him, his eyes seeking out the doorway he deliberately left open. The entrance had changed as he moved away from it, and the door now fit in the tall archway that housed it. Ky could see there were two handles, two doors to complete the large entrance, the one he left open looking into a green tinted room that appeared upside down now, like someone had placed a rounded glass between him and the other side.
Ky had never felt more like a small, insignificant bug than in that moment. His breath was stuck in his chest as he looked around the lobby, feeling the weight of magic in the air with every inhale. He wanted to pass it off as wards, but stepping into Tobias’s manor hadn’t felt remotely the same as this, and those wards were powerful enough to keep out the sorcerers he was there to meet. All Ky knew for certain was that he didn’t want to get lost here, and not just in the room. He didn’t want to get lost from where his home was—where Earth was—because the longer he stood in the strange lobby, the more certain he was that he wasn’t in Blackstone Falls anymore.
‘Ky?’
Ky jolted and grabbed his collar, his heart hammering in his chest. His fingertips skimmed over the white-pink jewel that thrummed with familiar power. “Lovely?”
‘Yes, I… I just wanted to make sure you were okay.’ Lovely’s inner voice was like leaves drifting over pavement, barely there and sounding further away than Ky remembered it ever sounding before. ‘You feel odd in my senses,’ Lovely continued anxiously. ‘Like I can’t quite reach you.’
Ky’s lips pursed as he tried to understand what that might mean. He had lost track of all of them when he crossed Tobias’s wards, something in the magic cutting the relics from his senses. Were the wards different here… or was he different now that his relic genes were turned on?
The question was on the tip of his tongue, but Ky stopped himself, his head rising as he searched the lobby to make sure he was alone. He didn’t see anyone, no sign of cameras or ears listening, but he couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.
“I’m fine, Lovely. Well, so far,” Ky said grimly. “I passed through some sort of… I dunno.” He faltered for words, his body growing more and more tense when he realized he had no way to explain just where he was and why he was certain Lovely would not be able to reach him if he tried to jump through the bond. “I think it’s warded with some sort of magic,” Ky finally got out, certain at least that was true. “But I can’t talk at the moment. Just promise me you won’t jump here, Lovely. It’s not… It’s not safe.”
That, Ky also knew, was true, even if he couldn’t explain it. The lobby with it’s weird decor and strange distorted door wasn’t anywhere he wanted the relics to be. It felt like a space that wasn’t just a destination, but an entity that twisted magic into it, pulling objects and beings into place and never releasing them from its warped walls.
Ky inhaled sharply and stared out at the walls as dread pricked up his spine.
Lovely sighed in his head, every fear, every anxiety the catboy held swiftly flooding into Ky’s senses. ‘Ky, just remember you have options. Don’t just—’
“Lovely, I need to focus,” Ky said tightly. His relief to know he was still connected to the relics even in this strange place was quickly evaporating as Lovely’s fears bled into him. “I’m late, and I haven’t found anyone yet. You’ll…” Ky growled under his breath and his glare sharpened on a staircase that blended into the wall of books and clocks. “You’ll know if things go wrong. I have to go.”
Lovely’s emotions swirled but soon withdrew, and the silence in Ky’s mind wasn’t interrupted again. Hating that he had to shut the beautiful relic out, Ky forged forward toward his new goal. This was to save them all. He couldn’t let his fear slow him down from the task at hand. They were all relying on him.
Ky passed a lounge area to the right of him, retro 1950’s style chairs in colorful leather spread out among coffee tables and tall fronds of greenery in the elegantly tiled space. It was empty, as was the library area that had seats to read in and a large ledger to keep track of who was borrowing which book.
That he wasn’t attacked immediately once the enchanted card deposited Ky there was small relief as he made his way to the massive staircase. He was being ignored. It felt calculated instead of a mistake or even a cruel slight. They wanted to set him off balance. They wanted to let the fear grow in him as he walked around this fucked up building and his mind was left to wonder on all the ways he might fail today and die at the hands of the Aeternum.
Ky already knew that there would be no winning in a power fight against these sorcerers. The Aeternum had crafted some sort of pocket of reality out of nothing, while he barely understood how to write with a wand.
Ky’s gaze followed the flow of the staircase, and he peered up, scanning for the telltale signs of people on the second floor from his limited vantage. There was a wooden banister that stretched along the second floor’s edge, gleaming in the light from a wide skylight that turned the entire ceiling into a prism of bright daylight. He squared his shoulders, his jaw clenched tight as he moved determinedly up the stairs, his ears picking up the sounds of voices reverberating in the distance. Ky’s eyes refused to stay still, seeking whatever telltale signs of life he could find and the danger it held as he moved and the upper floor came into view.
Glass displays were up here, far more modern and secure than the ones found behind the curtain in the historical society storefront. Ky’s steps slowed as he approached a case a little taller than him. Displayed inside was a faceless mannequin wearing a chain-mailed vest of what looked like blue and gold metal scales, combined with a long coat very similar in style to the one Ky was wearing. He squinted at the plaque attached to the wooden base, and his breath blasted out in a loud hiss when he read the small, engraved text.
Draquer’s Scales
Discovered by Abbott Burr Pemberton. When touched with flame these relic scales repel all heat, magic, and physical attack. When combined with a properly warded cloak, the wearer is rendered invulnerable.
Donated to the Aeternum Coven in 1822 by the Pemberton Estate.
The fuckers had taken the scales off of a relic and used it to make a magic vest. And then displayed it—like it was some fucking awesome thing they did instead of the act of complete barbarism it was.
Rage heated through him in a hot wave, and Ky turned from the display, his eyes moving around the upper floor to truly take in the objects around him. Books lined the back wall, the sunlight from above sparkling off the specks of dust that floated in the air. There were cases in long rows, some broken up by more shelves of books. Ky stepped warily onto the thin carpet, his eyes glued to the glass table tops where beneath the clear crystal surface, pieces of relics were arranged on black velvet. Ky’s vision dimmed dark at the edges as he picked out thin claws, dazzling scales, long, spiraled horns and shorter curled ones, and an array of tails, some so old, it was a wonder they hadn’t disintegrated.
His throat felt tight as he lifted his head toward the glass displays that contained what couldn’t be kept flat. One mannequin was swathed in long, crimson colored locks, but it wasn’t a wig. Someone had scalped a relic for some reason and put it on display. Another large, glass case held a complete relic skeleton, its tail, wings, and horns still attached, bones dark and stained.
Ky kept his lips pursed tight to prevent the snarl pulling at his muscles that would surely reveal the fangs he could feel itching to break free. Most of the other display cases held wings—so many different wings. The summoners must have been obsessed with the feathered type because they were the majority in display, from long, elegant wings that were three times the size of him, to small, feathery puffs that would have fit a child.
They were sick. These fucking people were sick, and no matter what happened, he needed to make sure they never got ahold of his wands. If he had to die to keep these sick freaks away from the relics, then it was a price worth paying.
Resolve formed in him like a hot flame, and Ky swept down the tiled area. The long banister gleamed to his right with the lobby beneath, and the rows of scientific displays to his left as he sought out the sounds of voices. There was a crash of glass up ahead followed by a pained cry, and Ky sneered, his anger moving through his face and breaking the impassive mask he desperately needed to keep intact.
He had to hide his heart. Feral’s warning echoed in his mind even as he stalked toward the sounds of whimpering and glass scraping on tile. These people would find a way to turn his heart against him, the same way Liem did.
Ky fought his emotions back and slowed as he reached the bend where a wall of books divided the next area from sight. As if his dark thoughts summoned him, Ky growled low in his chest when he stepped around the bookcase and found the other occupants of the upper floor, Liem standing among them.
SCENE #Meeting the apprentices
It was a battle to school his expression back to something remotely neutral as Ky took in the scene unfolding yards away, his gaze fixed on the movement of flesh half hidden by the individuals standing. A single display case was shattered, its glass everywhere, including coating the relic who was huddled on the ground. He was holding his bleeding arm tight to his chest, his long, brilliant blue strands of hair hiding his face from view. Ky looked around, trying to see if there was a story to be told in the group of young men standing there in matching uniforms, staring down at the fallen relic with grim expressions on their faces.
Glass cracked under a heavy boot as Stewart Moore came into view from the other side of the relic where the room expanded into a large study area. He was dressed similar to when he broke into Ky’s house, his formal coat and neat hair at odds with the man’s unruly eyebrows and almost comically large beak of a nose. Stewart held his cane up and moved the instrument in a sweeping gesture. Wind swirled up and the glass clinked and sparkled as it was caught up in a wave of magic and brought to settle into the remains of the shattered display case. He failed to get them all, and small, slivered shards glittered from the carpet among the shoes of the motionless apprentices, and the bare legs and feet of the naked relic who was struggling to stand up singlehandedly.
Ky’s blood roared in his ears as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the group. He had no clue if he could run there in time and reach the relic before something horrible happened. Ky might not have seen what had caused the relic to end up smashed through the display case, but even from the distance, Ky could tell his wounds would be fatal if he wasn’t treated immediately. There was too much blood on the floor, too many large pieces of glass in his skin. The relic’s movements looked to be slow, weak, from one who had little energy and was succumbing to shock.
As Ky got closer, his view shifted and he could see one of the apprentices was red faced, pointing at the relic’s location as if in mid yell, but the young man was unnaturally still compared to his peers. Even the dustmotes floating around didn’t move where the red faced apprentice was. Ky realized with a start that the apprentice and everything directly around him had been spelled frozen.
“Mr. Scion, I was expecting you ten minutes ago,” Stewart called gruffly, his eyes fixed on the relic who was frantically sucking on his wounded wrist while pushing unsteadily to his feet.
Ky scowled and didn’t bother to respond. He needed to calm down or he was going to do something stupid, like heal that relic and show that he was the same, all in one go.
He kept his eyes glued to his feet while breathing around the stench of fresh blood and panicked whimpers. Ky’s steps stopped in front of a spray of glass where thin shards were coating a mounted animal that had fallen to the floor, knocked out of the display case when it broke. He peered down at it, his eyes narrowed as he tried to discern just exactly what he was looking at. Not much bigger than a cat, it had a face framed in long fur, obscuring its glass eyes and sharp teeth. It was half skin, its preservation either gone wrong, or the deep wrinkles all along its face and body natural. Four legged, its had fur from the top of its head down to its back haunches, the color a startling, unnatural blue against the more fleshy pinks and dark browns of the skin. Its prehensile tail was twisted around, posed to show its many joints.
Its arms were longer than its back legs, giving the creature a sort of monkey like slope in its death pose. At the end of its fingers, its claws were intact, long giant things that looked like metal. It had too many fingers, and Ky grimaced despite himself when he saw that the front paws were doubled at the wrist, splitting into two extra, clawless hands that had intricate joints very similar to a human’s.
It was completely bizarre, and Ky couldn’t shake the certainty that if the fur wasn’t in the way, the face of the creature might look just like a spider monkey or some other small primate. Except it wouldn’t be a primate from Earth; it would be one that originated on Realm with the relics.
“Please be careful with that. It’s priceless. The only one ever discovered.”
Ky glanced up, his eyebrow raised at Stewart incredulously as he fought the anger he was feeling in his chest. “I’m not the one who threw it on the floor,” he finally grunted.
Ky carefully stepped over the preserved creature and kept his eyes straight ahead on Stewart. It took everything in him not to look at the relic, not to pull him up and away from these crazy fucks, and heal the wounds that were currently gushing blood and dripping on the floor. Ky knew if he looked, there would be no hiding his emotions, no pretending his heart wasn’t breaking to see anyone so hurt and at the same time, so completely disregarded. In that moment, Ky couldn’t promise that his eyes wouldn’t glow blue just like the relic whose genes he was made from.
“Hey!” One of the apprentices cried out the same moment the relic hissed savagely. Ky gritted his teeth, daring a glance to the side, somewhat surprised to find the relic had his claws outstretched in aggression at the wall of apprentices as he backed away. He looked lopsided, Ky’s concern growing when he saw he had only one wing.
He was a catboy like Lovely, but even though he had the telltale black cat ears and slinky tail, that was where the similarities ended. The pale flesh of his form was interrupted by bright blue and black scales that dazzled along one arm, ending in a reptilian like claw with metallic talons that looked to be permanently extended. His other arm and the rest of his limbs lacked any scales at all, and when Ky glanced to his shoulder where his long, neon blue hair was kept to one side, he saw that the cat relic only had a wing connected to his scales, like someone had grafted another relic onto his right shoulder and arm.
He was about the strangest relic Ky had ever seen, his coloring familiar to the mounted animal on the floor, and Ky couldn’t help but seek out the collar on the relic’s throat as he tried to piece together just what the hell was going on. It wasn’t the collar normally seen on relics. No, this one was made of the same metal used for the chains on Magnificent Night that kept his power contained. For whatever reason, they collared this relic but hadn’t bonded him.
The relic hissed again, louder this time as he backed away, his eyes darting from the group of apprentices and then to Stewart. His fangs extended and silver eyes flecked with blue narrowed calculatingly as he suddenly whirled and threw himself across the room. Blood splattered and his bare feet streaked crimson as he escaped out an archway and into another part of the building.
No one followed. The apprentices all gaped at the door as if shocked the relic had fled, but they refused to chase after him.
“He seems to be as happy to be here as I am,” Ky muttered dryly as he stared down at the large puddle of blood the relic left behind.
“Hmm. It’s good you got here when you did,” Stewart said with a sharp tap of his cane. “I was just about to send someone to collect you.”
Ky met his piercing eyes and the disapproval he did nothing to hide. “That the best you got? You threaten my family after breaking into my house, have your stupid card drop me off in a place I’ve never been before without anyone to show me where to go, and you think I’m supposed to give a fuck if I’m late?” Ky shook his head and sighed. “You people are pathetic.”
“And yet, here you are.” Stewart stepped around Ky and stooped down to pick up the fallen mounted animal. Ky glared at his back, holding himself from the angry retort at the tip of his tongue. There wasn’t any point in arguing over something so trivial when had much bigger problems to deal with.
Stewart brushed the glass off the blue furred creature and walked it to the nearest table, careful to arrange its fur back in order. “Thank goodness. For a moment I thought we lost it.”
Ky glared at the apprentices who were silently watching Stewart, then at the sorcerer. “Your relic is bleeding out,” he said tightly.
“He’s a self healer. He’ll be fine,” Stewart said dismissively, his expression grave as he looked at Ky over the blue fur of the mounted animal. “You’re still alive, I see.”
“Trust me, you’re the only one surprised about that,” Ky said flatly. He couldn’t keep his tongue though, not after what he’d seen within moments of finally finding people in the building. “Is there a particular reason that relic is bleeding? Were you trying to take his scales to make another disgusting vest?”
Stewart straightened taller and glared down his nose at Ky. “Draquer’s scales are extremely rare. It is not a magical property that relic possesses.”
“Because you tested him, right?” Ky’s smirk was bitter as he twirled a finger to indicate the room. “And you have him live where there is a butchery of relics on display like some sick fuck slaughterhouse.”
Stewart stiffened at the accusation. “Mr. Scion, everything in this building is for the pursuit of knowledge in relation to demons and summoning them. Nothing is here to torment our links.”
Ky snorted in disbelief. “Are you that dead inside? You hunt these relics down, kill the ones you don’t want, and the ones you do enslave eventually end up in pieces on display. This is a fucking crypt full of pieces of slaves. For all you know, they’re dead relatives to the relics who pass through here.”
Although his expression was impassive, a new anger lit Stewart’s eyes. “Then that would be most unfortunate. Now, unless you have a point, Mr. Scion—”
Ky’s smile felt feral as he stalked over to the red faced apprentice who had failed to move since he got there. “My point is that even though you have a room full of books, and more than enough pieces of dead slaves all over the place to understand their anatomy, you still can’t seem to figure out that a self healing relic can only heal when he has enough energy. Your relic is starved, and his arm was gushing blood when he left. And all you can muster a single thought about is the welfare of a dead animal you didn’t have the decency to bury.”
Ky’s gaze strayed to the side to the painfully silent apprentices who were staring at him like he had three heads. He fixed on Liem, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable. “You do realize how sociopathic you are, right? Like on a scale of sane to fucked in the head, you’re all at the level of sick fuck rapists and slave traders.”
Liem paled under Ky’s unblinking scrutiny, and he turned his head away. Without saying a word, Liem broke away from the group and moved into the large nook created by the tall bookcases, heading to a counter at the back.
Rage felt like a pit in Ky’s chest, tensing all his muscles as he heard Stewart step toward him, his cane tapping on the floor. “Not all our apprentices become demon summoners, Mr. Scion. Some choose to research and expand the knowledge already discovered. Others to focus on magical arts, while others prefer to continue in service to a master sorcerer by keeping up their household and finances.” He turned his assessing gaze on the apprentices. “Not every sorcerer is cut out for the task of summoning and bonding a demon.”
“Is that supposed to make it better?” Ky asked coldly, his eyes taking in the half dozen apprentices who were still standing there, still waiting for some sort of command from Stewart to be allowed to speak, or be dismissed, or have a damn thought of their own. “You created an industry off the backs of kidnapped and enslaved beings. Do you really think by only cleaning the bloodstains off the floors, you’re any less of an accomplice?”
Stewart didn’t say anything for a long moment, but Ky wasn’t under the illusion he was actually listening. Even most of the apprentices, with their hard eyes and smug smiles, looked completely apathetic to anything that had to do with acknowledging their very profession was a crime against nature, no matter what planet that nature might have originated on.
“You have some very… different ideas of demon summoning, Mr. Scion. Perhaps you’d be interested in discussing them more with those who are training for the art?” Stewart suggested, sweeping his cane out to indicate the apprentices staring back at them. “As I said on our first meeting, we have a few openings in our mentoring program—”
“Pass.” Ky turned to face the sorcerer, his eyes narrowed on the twin red links glinting on Stewart’s collar a moment. He nodded sideways at the red faced apprentice who hadn’t taken a breath since he’d been spelled. “What did he do? How much did he have to piss you off for you to just take away his control over his body like that?”
Stewart smiled grimly and lifted his cane to rap sharply on the shoulder of the frozen apprentice. “He broke my favorite display, and damn near killed one of the rarest relics I have ever come across in the process. I would say a time out was the least that was due for our esteemed Mr. Glover.”
Ky pursed his lips, not sure he disagreed, given the circumstances. Stewart Moore might not have a heart beating in that chest of his, but he cared about the things he owned enough to punish those who broke them. It was almost something.
Ky glanced sideways when someone stepped close, and he quickly turned fully to meet the curious gaze of a brown haired, green eyed apprentice who was leaning into his space to stare at his collar. “Can I help you?” Ky gritted out.
“Uh, s-sorry.” Blinking rapidly, the apprentice quickly stepped back, his eyes jumping from Ky’s black painted lips, down to his links, then to the side. “You’re uh, you’re jeweled. I’ve never… Two of them.” He held up two fingers, a blush staining his cheeks as he flustered to find the right words.
“He’s dead,” the brown eyed teen next to him said, his voice razor sharp as he stared at Ky. “One shadow link is enough to kill. He’s got five.”
“Funny, cuz I feel fucking fine.” Ky looked the apprentice up and down, taking in his black blazer with red trim and matching buttons. He had an elaborate crest embroidered in red on the front pocket, something that was repeated on the blazers of all the apprentices. His dress shirt was gray, and his silk black tie was patterned with thin, red diagonal stripes. It might have looked rather posh, except for the uniform’s tight, charcoal gray shorts that didn’t reach past mid thigh, and the tall gray socks that stopped just below the knees. Even the wealthy looking, brightly polished black boots couldn’t disguise that the apprentices were wearing a uniform designed for children.
“I can’t help but notice you don’t have any links,” Ky remarked coolly. “You don’t even have a collar. Unless you’re hiding it under the pedo shorts they call a uniform here,” he added with a cruel smirk.
The apprentice scowled, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Ky merely raised an eyebrow when the scowl was mirrored by the other apprentices. “Hey, I didn’t dress you like that.”
“Uniforms keep things even around here,” Stewart spoke up from behind Ky. “Apprentices are less likely to confuse themselves as sorcerers when they’re in the correct uniform. It also makes it much harder to hide weapons or items that shouldn’t be in the possession of someone in training just yet.”
Ky realized he was talking about wands, and his eyebrows raised. None of the apprentices were wearing collars, including Liem. But Liem, unlike the others, had apparently graduated to pants. Ky suspected even if he was told not to, Liem had his wand stashed somewhere. He might have been a total asshole, but he wasn’t stupid.
“We’re not allowed to, uh, that is…” The green eyed apprentice glanced sideways, taking a step away from his scowling peers. “Apprentices can’t have demons. Not until the master mentoring them says they’re allowed. That is, um, the ones who want to have demons, anyways.”
Ky glanced his way briefly, unable to miss the red tie he was wearing that was polka dotted with small black mice. “You planning on having a demon?”
The green eyed apprentice shook his head rapidly. “Uh, no. I have enough magic without needing to… well, you know.” He coughed awkwardly, his eyes downcast to the side.
His face was expressive, and he seemed almost human compared to the others in the room. Ky shook his head in annoyance. “These fuckers are going to eat you alive.”
The apprentice shrugged meekly, his gaze straying back to Ky’s collar. “The jewels… Could you… How does someone get a jewel bond?” he asked in a rush. “Are the relics really rare, or is it something to do with the binding spell?”
Ky inhaled sharply, looking over to see that the other apprentices were just as clueless. His lips pursed in a thin line, Ky stepped forward, bending his head to speak into the curious teen’s ear while fixing his glare on the others. “It’s really fucking simple. When you go to bond, don’t rape your relic.”
Flinching at the venom in his words, the apprentice refused to meet his eyes when Ky stepped back. Ky smiled grimly, fixing on the others who were staring back with expressions of varying levels of tense indifference. “Funny that, huh? How much you wanna bet not a single sorcerer here has a jewel bond?” Bile burned at the back of his throat when Ky turned away, disgusted with it all, including the Aeternum that was creating more monsters to continue the sick practice.
“Are we done here?” Ky asked sharply when he found Stewart meticulously combing fingers through the stuffed creature’s fur, carefully pulling free shards of glass and specks of dirt.
“There’s no need to rush.” Stewart lifted his head to nod at the apprentices behind Ky. “Given your lack of background in demon summoning, I thought it would be good for you to meet the apprentices training to expand their magic. It would give you an opportunity to see the options the Aeternum has to offer—”
“Stop wasting my fucking time!” Ky snarled, his jacket crackling as he whipped his arm out to point to the display cases. “Do you seriously think I want to be here with pieces of thinking, feeling beings out on display as the trophies of serial killers? You people have no fucking clue how sick you are, do you?” he exclaimed when Stewart’s passive expression didn’t change. “You actually think this is normal.”
“Of course it’s normal,” Stewart said stiffly. “Those in pursuit of the answers to the universe must remove their emotions to maintain objectivity—”
“Your relic is bleeding out! He’s going to die unless he gets energy or medical attention, and you’re trying to give me a tour of your mentoring for psychopaths program.” Ky pointed again to the blood on the floor that no one seemed in a rush to clean up. “Where, exactly, is your fucking objectivity in that?”
“Master Moore,” one of the apprentices called. Ky whirled as he recognized the voice and glared at Liem, who had returned carrying a sturdy, black leather physician’s bag.
“If you’ll permit me, I can see to the relic,” Liem said quietly, his head turned deliberately to avoid looking at Ky.
Stewart’s gaze followed to where Ky had pointed, something in his eyes shifting for a moment. “It does seem he’s lost a substantial amount of blood. Alright, Mr. Kane. Remember to use caution; he’s killed before.”
Liem nodded silently and turned away with the bag in hand, walking toward the archway the relic had disappeared through. Ky watched him go as he tried to figure out what Liem’s angle was. He couldn’t believe he cared; Liem had shown time and time again just how little he was capable of caring about anyone but himself.
Ky’s shoulders lost some of their tension once he realized he had won. The relic might be doomed to live among these psychos, but at least it wasn’t going to bleed out just because he’d been unfortunate enough to be injured the same day Ky had a hearing.
“Were there anymore questions for Mr. Scion before he continues on with his business of the day?” Stewart addressed the apprentices as he leaned on his cane with elbows locked. Ky would have protested, except it meant that Stewart was finally ready to leave.
“Yeah,” a new apprentice spoke up, his blond hair in perfect order and dark eyes full of cruel mirth. “Did you write your will? If you care so much for your demons, who do you plan on giving them away to when they kill you?”
Ky glared, a dark smile curling at the edges of his lips as he stared the other down. “Do you think Tobias Godwin wrote a will?” Ky raised his hand to touch the five shadow links, four that connected him to the relics in Tobias’s manor and one to Magnificent Night. “When these relics tore the flesh from Tobias’s bones, hollowed out his ribcage, and ate what they found inside, do you really think he was worried about who was going to inherit them next?”
The apprentice’s jaw clenched defiantly, but his cheeks had paled and uncertainty shadowed his eyes. “Master Godwin got greedy,” he said tightly. “He tried to control too many at once.”
Ky snorted. “If he had a fucking brain in his head, Tobias would have been kind to his relics, and they wouldn’t have turned on him. He got everything he deserved for being a psychopathic monster.”
The apprentice looked like he wanted to say something but held back, his eyes eventually averting under Ky’s unblinking glare.
“Anyone else?” Ky asked sharply. “I’ve got shit to do today, and apparently your master thinks this is it.”
Inhaling sharply, the green eyed apprentice raised his hand hesitantly and dared a step close. “Uh… if, if you’re right and those links aren’t going to, uh, drain you… What are you going to do with it?” he mumbled, his cheeks flushed.
“It?” Ky repeated, having no idea what he was referring to.
“The, uh… the power. All that magic.” The apprentice looked away nervously, only to add in a stronger voice, “That’s the only reason a sorcerer bonds with too many demons. They try to get more power, and end up being drained by the demons they thought they were going to drain.”
Ky’s lips pursed in a thin line and he nodded slightly. “That’s the problem though, isn’t it?” He lifted one of the shadow links, Blood’s energy responding under his fingertips as he studied the apprentice’s face. “You sorcerers only want one thing. When your master bonds a relic, he’s trying to take away their will. The same way that friend of yours got frozen—there was no negotiating, no conversation or compromise. Moore just took what he wanted because that’s what you sorcerers do. Take.”
Ky ran his thumb along the shadow links, feeling the energy shift with each touch. “You don’t understand that just because these links can allow a relic to take my energy, it doesn’t mean they will. The same way I don’t go stealing the magic from the relics I’ve bonded with just because I’m linked. Unless the energy is freely given, I won’t touch it.”
“Oh.” His lower lip caught between his teeth, the apprentice dragged his stare up from Ky’s links as a look of realization flashed across his features. “Wait, so that means you can talk to them?”
Ky’s eyes widened slightly. “Of course I can. What the hell are they teaching you here?”
“Liar!” the brown eyed apprentice of before broke in. “Demons can’t speak.”
“Not the ones you spell silent,” Ky shot back. “Even then, they can speak in your head if you bond correctly. Relics have more languages than we do. Just because you’re too ignorant to understand them doesn’t make it any less true.”
“How do you get them to speak in your head—?”
“Enough,” Stewart ordered sharply, rapping his cane on the floor. The apprentices fell silent, the green eyed one bowing his head even as his gaze flickered to Ky’s jeweled links and his fingers flexed at his sides as he held back his questions.
“Gentlemen, I arranged this meeting for a reason,” Stewart said gravely, his piercing stare moving over each of the apprentices in turn. “As you can see for yourselves, Mr. Scion is a cautionary tale; one that will not end happily, by any means. In a few days time, Mr. Scion’s links will have drained the magic and life out of our untrained friend, leaving him dead and his relics free to wreck havoc on the innocent people out in the world who have no natural defenses against the hunger of a stray demon.”
Ky huffed, his annoyance growing with each pompous word. “You’re so full of shit. I got my first shadow link over a month ago.”
Stewart ignored him and continued on with his lecture for the apprentices. “There are consequences to jumping into summoning without training, and those consequences don’t end with you. If you’re drained by failing to overpower your demon in a bond, it won’t just be you who ends up dead—and it will be you no matter what our foolish Mr. Scion would like to believe,” he added with a pointed stare toward Ky. “It will also be your family members, your loved ones, your neighbors and classmates. Your careless mistake will haunt everyplace you have ever touched, bringing only death and pain. Your best hope if that occurs is that there will be a sorcerer trained and empowered enough to clean up your mess after you’ve died.”
“Hopefully not one who gets his jollies by dressing his apprentices up in hot pants,” Ky said flatly. “Are we done? For someone who made such a big deal about me showing up on time, you sure are interested in making me wait.”
His jaw clenching from Ky’s disrespectful tone, Stewart straightened taller as he turned his stern stare on him. “It was strategic. I wanted the apprentices to see how weak you are from being drained.”
Ky smiled savagely. “That fucking backfired, huh? Would you like to mention how Tobias had three red links—supposedly ‘overpowering his bond’ as you claim is the only safe way to bond—and still managed to end up dead?”
Stewart harrumphed and his eyebrows drew down the center. “It is too unusual to worth mentioning.”
“Fucking shit.” Ky shook his head, his smile bitter. “Tell that to his corpse.”
Moore’s steps cracked with the remains of broken glass as he paused at the apprentice frozen in his spell. “I want this mess cleaned up. Mr. Glover will remain here to think about the rules he’s broken and how his parents are going to take the news that he’s destroyed priceless Aeternum property. Understood?” he demanded, his grave expression once again sweeping over the apprentices.
Silent, the apprentices all nodded, a couple looking at their frozen peer nervously. When Ky looked closely, he could see that the teen’s eyes were moving slightly, suggesting he was completely conscious to what was happening around him. Ky felt no pity; the relic who ended up through that glass display had lost far too much blood for him to care if the apprentice who pushed him into it was suffering.
“Mr. Scion, the Aeternum awaits.” Stewart pointed his cane to the other side of the upper floor where a staircase was shrouded in shadows from the tall bookcases. Without waiting for him to answer, Stewart started long strides across the room.
Ky spared a glance back at the apprentices, many of them glaring at him. As young as they were, every single one of them was there to learn how to enslave relics or help those who already did. Ky frowned, his eyes hard as he left with a parting quip about the uniforms they clearly hated. “Watch your asses, kiddies. These creeps sure are.”
SCENE #A Coven of decadence
***
—Moore sends the apprentices away—they’re not a part of what’s to come—and leads Ky to a formal looking chamber. Ky is expecting a large group of people. Moore had mentioned the might of the Aeternum coven. It’s a shock to see so few waiting to hear his case.
—I want characters, not flat and boring. These are men and women with unquestioned power over the lives of others, and it has to have changed them in ways that normal people aren’t. They keep their relics with them, Ky offended by the fact they’re all nude. Moore notices and explains curtly that it is to prove none of the demons are female. Overseers are too dangerous, and all female demons are destroyed immediately to prevent the possibility of an overseer. There is something else there, not a relic but an animal from Realm. Ky is distracted by the strange beast, intros and tight conversation, until they finally get to the reason he’s there.
—Moore is in charge of the apprentice side of things, but he’s not running the meeting/trial. That’s a sorceress, and she has five demons on her collar. It’s a struggle for many summoners to be able to handle just one demon, and because of her five, it marks her as the most powerful in the room at the moment. Before things get fully underway, Moore asks all the demons to be removed from the room. His time with Liem has led him to believe Ky is dangerous among the relics, linked or not, and he doesn’t want any problems. Ky is relieved. He’s not sure how long he can control his own relic nature, and being revealed would be worse than death around these people.
***
SCENE #A stark revelation
***
—A tense conversation, Ky disgusted by the things stated as if they’re fact, about the ritual overshadowing basic human decency, the structure of the summoner’s league motos, etc. They care nothing of the relics, treat them as subhuman. Some act as if they’re giving them an opportunity to be among a more advanced society instead of the world they came from where they wear rags and know no language. Ky is fighting himself more than anything, trying to strategize around these insane people while feeling out of his depths. He isn’t the type of person he needs to be to win at this game. He’s brash and full of heart and he doesn’t know how to be any other way, just that how he is keeps fucking things over for the relics.
—The Aeternum keeps insisting he’s going to die, that the demons are draining him, etc, until Ky finally breaks away in anger to point out he is very much alive and fine, how else is he there at all? They don’t expect him to be alive much longer. They’re actually surprised he made it this long. Ky’s angered by that as well, frustrated, only to be distracted by a new voice in his head. It’s different, more faded because of the weaker shadow link, but he recognizes Brave. Brave explains that there are sorcerers outside the manor. A large group of them pushing at the wards.
—Ky is furious at the revelation and doesn’t bother to hide the fact he’s communicating with the relics in Tobias’s mansion. The Aeternum is surprised with the ability, but more focused on the cold, hard reality of it all. They will not allow Tobias’s demons to escape and reveal themselves to the humans, possibly go on a murdering spree, etc. No one can predict what the beasts might do. Disgusted, Ky goes to leave, only to find the door is warded and he is trapped inside the room. They’re not going to let him out. They’re going to wait there until he either gives up his relics to the Aeternum, or he dies from being drained through his links.
***
SCENE #Ky plots his options
***
—Ky’s first move is to talk to Lovely. It’s the same there. At least five sorcerers are outside the property boundaries, waiting. Ky wonders if they’re the apprentices, or if they’re the ones who belonged to the empty chairs in the trial room. He had foolishly thought the Aeternum was smaller than it was. Were they as powerful as the lead sorceress, or weaker? Would it matter given the numbers of them? Moore had walked right through his wards and he only had two links. Just what kind of magic did it take to get though his wards?
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Demon Bonded Collection: book 2
Apprentice Saga
$2.99
This book contains episodes #5-9 from Demon Bonded, titled ‘Beneath The Darkness,’ ‘The Twisted Apprentice,’ ‘The Chains That Bind,’ ‘The Demon Trainer,’ and ‘The Fall,’ and includes the bonus episode, ‘The Forging Of An Apprentice.’ Previously published from 2016, these episodes have been reedited and republished.
Apprentice Saga is the second saga in the mm erotic world of Demon Bonded. This serial is a fun, suspenseful play on monster collecting and male harems. Expect demon bonding, master/slave relationships of mild and abusive nature, multiple partners, magical powers, learning how to be a sorcerer, and conflict with crueler demon masters.
Insanity comes in all forms…
Ky’s recovery from the overseer Demencious is short lived. His parents have lost all trust in him, and Ky again has to wonder if he’s losing his mind. That is until he starts his first art class at his new college and meets an actual sorcerer apprentice.
Liem Kane could have been a typical teenager, but there is something terribly wrong beneath his well-groomed exterior. His demon, Fido, is twisted and abused, the wolf Relic tormented daily by his young master.
In his quest to save Fido from certain death, Ky must face Liem’s master. A demon trainer of cruelty that far surpasses his young pupil, Tobias has no qualms in murdering those who disobey. Ky faces off against this monster among men. It’s kill or be killed, and Ky isn’t sure he can live with either option.
68,000+ wrds, First Published January 29, 2017.
Heat level: XX
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT APPRENTICE SAGA
on March 21, 2017
on February 7, 2017
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
Persistent whispers slowly pulled Ky from sleep. Everything was fuzzy. For a long moment, he was certain his mother was talking to him. Except the voices were male, strange, and spoke in a language he didn’t recognize. Somehow, though, he understood. His mind bent around each foreign word and supplied the translation as if he knew it his whole life.
“You need to feed.”
“I’m fine. Just stop rolling me,” Lovely softly groaned. His arm fell over Ky’s chest when he was deposited heavily on the bed.
“Feed, you stubborn thing. I don’t have enough to restore you.” The bed shifted, and Feral bent over Ky to peer into his sleepy face. “Alright there, whelp?”
Ky focused blearily on the coyote demon’s scarred face and intense, golden eyes. Ky’s gaze drifted and he reached his hand toward his bleeding shoulder. Feral’s bronzed flesh was covered in wounds, some so raw and painfully deep, Ky could barely stand to look at them. “Feral, you’re hurt.”
Feral huffed when Ky’s silver eyes filled with tears after taking in his bloodied form. “Don’t start bawling, stupid. Help the feline. He can’t heal without energy, and I don’t have enough.”
“I’m fine,” Lovely mumbled again. Ky’s gaze drifted to his side where the pale cat demon was stretched out beside him, blood dry and caked on his beautiful face.
“Frrrling whelp,” Feral mutter in exasperation when Ky’s tears spilled free. Ky whimpered low in his throat and turned and fretted softly over Lovely’s exhausted body.
He was too tired to grumble much. Feral sank onto the mattress and closed his eyes. They had spent the last day and a half in the wardrobe to avoid Ky’s parents who were constantly running in and out of the room. Livia had sat with her son the entire night before, refusing to leave his side. It was only now the two parents finally left the house together and drove off in one of their vehicles. It was enough for Feral to feel safe to come out and lock the bedroom door.
“Shhh. I swear I’m okay,” Lovely whispered hoarsely. His mismatched eyes of blue and violet peered out from between long strands of white hair. “Go back to sleep. Redeless is overreacting.”
“Chrrrl,” Feral snapped grumpily and burrowed deeper into the bedspread. “You nearly drained me unconscious. Let the kid feed you before you bleed out.”
Ky gently pushed Lovely’s long, white hair from his face and revealed slashes and bruises all over his luminescent flesh. It was strange to see Lovely in the thick black collar with its one crystal stud when everything else was bright and white about the catboy. “What do you need, Lovely? If I can help, I’ll do anything. Just tell me.”
“Sweet boy.” Lovely exhaled heavily. He snagged Ky by the chin and tugged him down until their noses brushed. “I just… just need a taste.” He licked his tongue out and traced over Ky’s lips until he opened with a sigh.
Ky was starting to understand when Lovely kissed him like this, tongue lapped inside his mouth in slow, hungry strokes, it was to get his energy and restore his own. It didn’t mean it stopped feeling amazing, and Ky whimpered and melted into the kiss. Lovely pulled him down and licked away his stray tears before he plunged his tongue back into his mouth.
“Sweet, sweet boy,” Lovely murmured against his lips. He nipped Ky’s red lips swollen and drew spots of blood his tongue quickly stole and healed. “Taste so sweet. So generous, my beautiful master.”
Ky blushed and fought back a moan. Lovely grew stronger with each kiss, his lips persistent and hungry as he pressed him down into the mattress. Ky felt more than a little perverted; Lovely kept saying things about how nice he was when he felt hot, hard and dizzy. “Lovely. Oh, okay,” he mumbled as Lovely pinned him to the bed and licked down his throat. His shirt was pulled off in a quick move he couldn’t follow.
“You’re wonderful.” Lovely nipped into his flat stomach, and Ky gasped and flexed beneath him. “You saved us with your very first spell. You kept us alive when we were starving for so long.” He pulled back and met Ky’s heavy-lidded gaze. “You’re the only one who’s ever shared, sweet boy. You didn’t take, didn’t ask for anything back. You’re so brave. So good.”
Ky couldn’t stop flushing, and he bit his lower lip anxiously. “Lovely, is that all it is? Sharing energy? I like when you kiss me. A lot.”
Lovely smirked and leaned down to lap over Ky’s pout. “I like tasting you, sweetling. I like touching you, making you moan, and beg, and cum.”
Ky sighed and pressed up to kiss him back. “I like that too. I like everything you do to me.” He gave another sigh when firm lips descended on his. He fell back against the mattress as Lovely languidly devoured his mouth.
“I need to heal Redeless.” Lovely broke away and knelt on the bed. “He doesn’t have the same restorative abilities I do.”
Lovely’s skin was already free of his previously blue bruising. The slashes and red scratches were just dried blood now, and his pale flesh whole and intact. Even his head wound was healed. All he needed was a shower to clean the grime of the battle away.
Ky watched as Lovely crawled over to the bronze coyote demon. Feral muttered something under his breath when a tongue moved over the wound on his shoulder. He looked exhausted, his eyes closed and face pinched in pain. Ky still didn’t know Feral much and he really didn’t know where they stood. Feral helped him save Lovely; he helped them all survive the terrible Demencious and kept them from falling into the pit. Ky liked him even if he was mean and surly most of the time.
Decided, Ky shifted down the bed and ducked his head until he was nose to nose with Feral on the mattress. “Did you…? Can I give you some energy, Feral?” Ky felt nervous when Feral opened his eyes. No matter all they went through, Feral’s golden gaze was still as intense and piercing as ever.
Feral didn’t answer right away, and Ky wondered if he was more hurt than first thought. “Are you okay?” He carefully touched one of his ears and watched as the furry triangle pierced with gold twitched under his fingertips.
“That tickles, whelp,” Feral finally muttered and closed his eyes.
“I want to help you,” Ky whispered. He pressed closer until his mouth was right next to Feral’s flushed lips. Feral had beautiful lips; they might even be nicer than Lovely’s since he wasn’t snarling.
“I don’t want help from a sorcerer,” Feral grunted. He gasped and glared to the other side of him when Lovely sank his fangs into his arm in retaliation.
“Oh. I don’t think I’m much of a sorcerer.” Ky’s gaze moved over the cuts revealed on Feral’s jaw. “I mean, I just made a picture. I’m really an artist, right? So… So it should be okay.”
“Taste him, you stubborn thing.” Lovely pushed Feral’s face back toward Ky and held him down. “I took too much from you. You can barely put up a fight.”
Ky wasn’t going to kiss Feral if he insisted against it, even if it would help. Well, maybe just a little. Surely once Feral felt better, he probably wouldn’t be so angry about it. Lovely seemed to think so and held Feral in place while he returned to healing his strong arm with licks of his tongue.
“It’s just a taste, right? To make you feel better.” Ky tilted his head closer, Feral’s annoyed huff hot on his cheek. He licked his tongue out hesitantly. Ky felt more than a little daring to touch Feral’s lips. Hopefully, he wouldn’t bite. “Come on, Feral. Lovely says I taste sweet,” he teased.
“Foolish little whelp,” Feral grumbled. Ky used the opportunity to press his tongue inside his mouth. Feral held still, but Ky was determined and caught him by the side of his face so he could share as much of his fluids as possible.
Feral tasted like copper and something heady. His mouth was hot, and it made Ky dizzy when he ran his tongue over the demon’s in gentle strokes. He knew he was supposed to be helping, but Ky couldn’t stop from feeling crazy hot. His body reacted even when his mind told him he was just sharing energy. He didn’t know how the demons did it all the time.
Ky pulled away with a groan, his lips sore and tongue aching. He wanted more. His body was burning and tense, and he knew if he didn’t stop, he’d upset Feral even more. “Sorry. It’s hard to not get…” He exhaled shakily and flashed Feral a weak smile. “You have a nice mouth.”
Feral growled under his breath. He grabbed Ky by his silky, black hair, and pulled him back forcefully. Ky had a moment to wonder if Lovely would have to heal his face again if Feral started slashing, before his lips were crushed roughly by the demon’s.
“Gentle,” Lovely warned in Feral’s ear as his claws prickled on his neck.
Feral grunted and relaxed the grip on his hair after a moment. He pushed Ky back, crawled up his dazed form and straddled him. Feral’s muscular body pinned his slender form down while Ky stared up with dazed, silver eyes. “Silly little human.” Feral ducked down and drove his tongue into Ky’s gasping mouth; his strong fingers held him by his chin to keep him in place. Slowly, Feral let his hand slide down and caressed his throat and shoulders. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to share your life force with a Relic?”
Ky didn’t have an answer for that. He was too busy whimpering around the tongue pushing into his mouth as Feral tasted him, stole his breath and made him gasp. Large palms ran up his sides and burned against his skin. “Oh. Oh, god,” he moaned. Feral moved down to his pants and shredded them with his claws. Cool air soothed over Ky’s revealed skin.
“Listen to you. You’re always so loud, whelp.” Feral tugged at Ky’s pajama pants. The material ripped away from his legs with a tear. “You beg so nicely when Thornes has you filled. It’s a pleasing sound to wake to, you pretty slut.”
Ky blushed hotly and released another heated moan when his nipple was twisted. Feral lapped his wide tongue down his throat and nipped sharply. Maybe Feral didn’t totally hate him. It was very hard to think as his muscular, bronze body pinned him, and strong hands moved down Ky’s panting form to cup his ass and squeeze roughly.
“Oh, fuck,” Ky whimpered hoarsely. His hips bucked up, and he found Feral just as hard as he was. Okay, it seemed demons had the same problem with energy sharing as he did. Maybe he wasn’t that weird after all. Feral’s hot tongue went lower, moved down his flat stomach and teased toward his dick. Ky trembled and gasped with each touch.
Feral growled sharply when his head was wrenched back. Lovely stared down at him, fingers tight in his hair. “Hands off, Redeless. If you want to play with my master, then you need to bond. Which you’re not going to do, so back off.”
Feral glared up at him and snarled. “Like I want the little whelp? I’d rather be dead than bonded.”
Lovely smirked wickedly and pulled harder on Feral’s gold and purple locks. “By all means, you coyote hellspawn. Now get your paws off my master. He’s too sweet for a coward like you.”
With a loud growl, Feral twisted in Lovely’s hold and grabbed him around the waist. Fluffy white wings fluttered around his face as he wrestled the cat boy down on the bed. He pinned Lovely chest first to the mattress, lips wet as he kissed down his pale, long throat and wrapped around his back. “I know what you’re doing, Thornes, and it’s not going to work. I don’t want a master.”
“You do.” Lovely groaned and pushed back into Feral’s embrace. “You want to be tied to me again. You can’t connect without a master, and you know it.”
“Kitten, I don’t need anything but your tight hole and my knot to tie you.” Feral’s fingers quickly sought out Lovely’s entrance and moved around his tail as it swished.
“Hell. Damn it, Redeless.” Lovely gasped and moaned loudly as two fingers plunged into his entrance, drove into his passage, and stretched deep. “You know it’s not the same.”
Feral growled again and nipped his fangs into Lovely’s neck as he stretched him relentlessly. “Did you miss me, kitten? Did you miss having me in your head? Did you miss knowing when I’m going to hunt you down, fuck you senseless, make you mine?” He thrust a third finger into Lovely’s opening, and the catboy cried out and shuddered. “You’re always going to be mine, Thornes. My noble, pure, total slut of a kitten.”
Lovely arched back and rocked on the fingers pumping into him. He tried to drive them in deeper, harder. Ky found it hard to breathe as he watched; the two were absolutely beautiful, and Feral was shamelessly tormenting Lovely right next to him. He really wanted to see Feral fuck him again. Ky blushed at the realization of just how hot it got him.
Lovely mewled with every deep pump of Feral’s fingers. Ky sat up to watch the two, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Feral was definitely Lovely’s boyfriend. His low growls were full of naughty encouragements that spoke of familiarity directed solely for the catboy.
“Tell me you want me, kitten. Tell me you’re still mine.” Feral sank his teeth into his shoulder and clenched his jaw until Lovely sobbed and gasped for more. “You get so tight for me. You’re so loud and bad, just for me.”
“Redeless, please,” Lovely whimpered. He spread his knees and bent forward on the bed. “Claim me.”
With a growl, Feral pulled his fingers from Lovely’s clenching passage. He licked between his sweet cheeks before he grabbed Lovely by the hips and wrenched him back. He guided his dripping cock between his smooth globes and bent down to nip his furry ear studded in silver. “Thought you were dead, kitten. Thought I lost you.”
“Redeless. Oh, gods,” Lovely cried out as Feral sheathed into him abruptly, held him tight and humped with hard jolts. “Yes. Gods, harder. Need you.”
Feral groaned and began to fuck him with slamming thrusts. He pushed Lovely’s shoulder down on the bed as he took him hard and filled him again and again.
“Deeper, Red.” Lovely reached above and behind to grasp Feral’s thick hair. “Come on, you frrrling coyote. Mate me. Do it.”
Ky bit the side of his thumb and gasped when Feral’s thrusts changed. Lovely’s expression turned to pure ecstasy. It didn’t look much different that Ky could tell, but Lovely was certainly enjoying it. His cries came out broken and aching, and a tear slipped free from his squeezed shut eyes.
“That’s it, kitten. Frrrl, that’s it. Take it all. Take my knot.” Feral held Lovely tight around his chest. His hips rocked much gentler while Lovely moaned in agony. “So tight… so full of me. My kitten.” He buried his face in the waterfall of cool hair at Lovely’s neck and groaned softly as he filled his mate with his seed.
“Yes. So much.” Lovely pushed back as he held his weight on his arms and bucked his hips in an erratic rhythm. He groaned when he got Feral to drive into him even deeper. “Yes.” He came with a moan, his back arched, muscles tight, breath lost.
Ky’s gaze slid down to where Lovely’s cum spilled over the sheets. He slipped his finger into the stream and brought it tentatively to his lips to taste. Ky’s breath came out in a burst and eyes squeezed shut when the cum sparked on his tongue and left him tingling. He took another lick and felt the strange sensation again. Ky lapped away the rest of Lovely’s cum from his fingers with hungry strokes. When his eyes flickered open again, he found Feral staring at him intently.
Ky blushed under the golden gaze. He couldn’t stop from glancing down to see where Feral was buried deep in the catboy’s hole. Lovely moaned softly, his lashes fluttering as he rocked with Feral’s gentle thrusts. Cum dripped from where they were joined, and Ky dizzily wondered just how much seed Feral had.
Ky leaned forward and caught Lovely’s dazed eye after pushing his long hair out of his face. “It’s okay, you know. You two can be together all you like. I know you only bonded with me so I could have magic to cast that spell. I would never keep you from your boyfriend.”
“Frrling… Kitten, stop moving,” Feral grumbled in exasperation. Still, Lovely stretched forward and kissed Ky soundly.
“I trust you, Ky. That’s why I bonded with you.” He kissed Ky’s flushed cheek and teased his tongue between his lips. “There are so many things about you I adore, sweet boy. I want to be connected to you.” Lovely glanced over his shoulder at Feral, who gave a grumpy glare back. “I want to be connected to the two of you, ideally, but that’s Redeless’s choice to make.”
“He doesn’t like me very much,” Ky mumbled. He really couldn’t blame Feral. Anyone who took Lovely’s attention away would probably be the worst ever.
“He’s just afraid.” Lovely kissed Ky again, hard enough to push him flat on the bed. “He was hurt once. It makes it hard for him to trust.”
“I would never hurt…”
“Don’t get the whelp bawling,” Feral grunted. He pulled from Lovely and came up on the other side of Ky to collapse spent on the bed. “He’s all tears, this one.”
“No I’m not,” Ky said with a pout. “I would never hurt you. I couldn’t. Feral, you could literally claw my face off. And, well, I don’t like seeing people hurt. It’s not nice.”
Feral rolled his eyes, unimpressed with Ky’s upstanding morals. “Ignore him, sweetling,” Lovely said as he kissed down Ky’s neck and chest. He moved his hands to caress Ky’s sides as he settled between his spread thighs. “Can you feel how connected we are? The warm, strong flare of power in your stomach?”
Ky wet his lips. He couldn’t feel much beyond the throb in his dick. Lovely’s breath was hot and teasing as he kissed his shaft. “I… Oh, it’s in my chest,” he whispered when he felt the flare of power. “You’re very pink.” Ky’s brows furrowed as he tried to comprehend the feeling. “Healing and power. Oh, you’re strong, Lovely. Like a bright, pure light.”
Feral’s eyes trained on Ky’s face. He slipped a finger under his chin and turned his head toward him. Ky opened his eyes at the touch and wondered again if he said the wrong thing with the prickly coyote demon. Feral continued to stare at him questioningly as if he were trying to read something.
Ky gasped. A low whine escaped him when a hot tongue pressed against his hole. He flushed red, but Feral held his face still and watched his every expression while Lovely teased his tongue into his entrance with tormenting, demanding thrusts. “Oh. Oh, that’s…” His entire body jerked. Lovely grabbed Ky’s raised knees and held him spread open as he continued to lick around his rim and plunge into his entrance with slick strokes.
“Louder, little whelp. Let him know how good he is.” Feral’s tongue lapped out to steal a hot tear from Ky’s cheek.
“Oh, fuck,” Ky moaned. Fingers pushed thick into his hole and replaced Lovely’s tongue. He tried to move his head to see what Lovely was doing to him, but Feral wouldn’t let him go. The demon was determined to steal every ounce of fluid as it dripped from him from his stray tears to streaks of saliva.
“Wait. Oh, god. God, Lovely, that’s…” Ky wasn’t sure just how many long fingers were stretching him wide. Combined with Lovely’s hot mouth sucking his cock down, he could barely keep from thrashing. It was a relief when Feral grabbed his wrists with a growl and pinned him down and still. Feral’s mouth descended on his and muffled his loud cries at every plunging thrust of Lovely’s fingers.
“Pleading little slut.” Feral licked up the side of Ky’s face while he let out another aching cry. “You’re almost as bad as my kitten, and he is a very, very bad slut.”
Ky gasped for air and squeezed his eyes shut. His body was so tight and hot. “Please, I can’t. God, please.”
Lovely trilled happily when Ky came. His lips sealed tight around his jerking dick, and he swallowed with hot suction. He lapped Ky’s sensitive crown a few times to get every last drop of seed before he finally let him go. “Tasty. Sweet, sweet sex.” He licked up Ky’s navel, collected his sweat, and drank it down in long swipes of his tongue.
Ky slumped back on the bed with a moan. His eyes cracked open weakly to find Feral inches from his face with glinting fangs.
“Did you know cum is a delicacy, whelp? It’s a pure energy shot. Not only does it keep a demon fed, but makes him horny as sin.” Feral’s eyes lingered on Ky’s parted lips for a long moment. “You should be careful who you let into your bed in the dark. You could have all kinds of beasts trying to get into your generous pants.”
Ky narrowed sleepily on his golden eyes and gave a huff for a change. “Don’t you ever have anything nice to say?”
Feral licked his teeth wickedly. “No.”
“Ignore him,” Lovely said with a purr. The soothing sound thrummed through the room. “My sweet master has healed me, fed me, and saved all our lives. He needs his rest to regain his strength.”
“Right, only after you got every drop you could get from the whelp,” Feral pointed out flatly. Lovely glared at him while he wrapped around Ky’s yawning form.
“I’d give Lovely everything.” A smile twisted Ky’s lips when Lovely cuddled with him. He sank into the bed with a sigh. He hadn’t realized how fuzzy he felt until that moment. Did sharing energy take energy from him? He didn’t think it did, but now Ky wondered. He remembered how tired he always seemed to be whenever Lovely fed from him.
It wasn’t important, not really. Ky watched blearily as Feral stretched and his strong, tanned arm wrapped over him and Lovely’s tangled forms. Ky couldn’t remember feeling this special before, cherished and protected. Lovely might have felt compelled to bond with him, but it didn’t mean he automatically liked him. Ky could feel the warm energy in his heart full of Lovely and he knew the catboy’s affection was genuine. Even Feral, for all his gruff words and taunts, seemed genuine in his regard as he grumbled and nuzzled his face into Ky’s neck.
Having the two strong demons curled up with him was the most protected Ky had ever felt. It made it easy to close his eyes and slip into sleep. No nightmares of monstrous overseers dared to break through his warm, fluffy winged guardians.
***
Ky was sorting through his wardrobe when his father came home. Not all of his clothes were ruined, but a lot were sporting fresh slashes. One mangled shirt was so destroyed and covered in blood, he couldn’t even use it for a rag.
Ky still felt off, his mind a bit muddled. He didn’t know if it was from using magic for the first time or because he bonded to Lovely. He kept noticing the princely cat even though Lovely was fast asleep. Ky had noticed him when he was in the shower scrubbing sleepily, and also when he dared poke through the darkness in the wardrobe with a flashlight to discover it did indeed lead to the attic. Even now, when faced away and staring at his ruined pants, he noticed the cat demon. It was all very strange and distracting.
The bedroom door rattled. Ky turned with heart stuttering for a moment until he heard his father’s voice.
“Ky? Why is the door locked?”
Not a monster. Not a huge, terrible, person eating monster. “Sorry, Dad, I’m changing,” Ky yelled. He quickly threw on a shirt and shoved his ruined clothes into the bottom of the wardrobe before closing it tight. He hurried across the room and paused in front of the bed. Feral and Lovely were cuddled together, their long limbs entwined. Feral looked bored as he glanced at him. Ky bit his lip and turned to the door.
It was probably time, right? His parents were going to figure it out sooner or later when the two demons started leaving the bedroom.
Marcus’s eyes were sharp behind his glasses when he opened the door. It wasn’t an expression Ky was used to having directed at him from his father, and it gave him pause.
“Why did you lock the door?” Marcus asked, suspicion clear in his voice.
“Uh, I don’t think I did,” Ky mumbled. He wasn’t sure what to say when his father narrowed his eyes. He was in trouble. His dad was angry; it was that weird, quiet, he wasn’t sure what was coming, but it was going to be big angry. He was totally in trouble.
Ky stepped away from the door so Marcus could come in, his lip caught between his teeth. “Dad, I wanted you to…” he trailed off when Marcus stepped into the room and looked around warily. His eyes skipped unseeing over the bed.
Ky turned to the bed as well. Feral glared at his father while he covered Lovely’s sleeping form with his body. Marcus didn’t react, didn’t notice, and Ky’s heart sank at the realization.
“We need to talk.” Marcus pointed to the chair by the unlit fireplace. Ky shuffled over, not sure what to make of anything at the moment. Either he was absolutely insane, or his dad couldn’t see the very solid beings in his room. If his dad couldn’t see the Relics, it was going to be really difficult to explain what happened.
“Is Mom okay?” Ky felt very young under the piercing glare he received for the question.
“Of course your mother is okay. Why wouldn’t she be okay? Ky, what the hell is going on?”
Ky winced and pulled his knees up. The cushy chair dwarfed him as his father paced. A thrum filled the air, and Ky glanced over to where Lovely was now swishing his tail as he stretched. Marcus didn’t notice the purr or Lovely either. He looked at Ky expectantly with a grim frown.
“You didn’t see anything,” Ky finally sighed. There was no point making it a question.
“There was nothing to see,” Marcus snapped back. “Your mother came into the house, and all the lights went out. She stumbled in the dark and thought she heard voices, maybe fighting. For all we know, it was the television. We searched the house top to bottom, and there was nothing. By the way, I don’t understand why you felt the need to destroy the attic, but you will be cleaning that mess.”
“Dad, I didn’t…”
“Are you having blackouts?” Marcus stopped in front of Ky’s chair with a concerned expression. “Do you wake up not remembering things, maybe losing hours? Ky, this isn’t normal behavior.”
Ky clicked his mouth shut. He blinked rapidly as dread began to grow in the pit of his stomach. Lovely’s purr was not helping this one. His dad thought he was crazy. Marcus grew up with Anselm—he had a full grown sorcerer for a father—but he thought he was crazy.
Marcus never figured out Anselm was a sorcerer, did he? He didn’t even known the top floor of his childhood house was filled with chained up demons. Maybe… Maybe only certain people could see the creatures?
“Dad, did Anselm ever tell you about the Relics?” Ky asked quietly.
Marcus stepped back as if struck. He turned abruptly and paced away, only to turn again. “I want you to stay away from my father’s old things. He was crazy, Ky. He kept dangerous things. Possibly poison, maybe hallucinogenics. They’re not toys.”
“Dad! You’d rather believe I’m out of my mind than listen to the truth. You know what a Relic is. It’s a demon!”
“There are no such things as demons,” Marcus gritted out between clenched teeth. “It’s just nonsense from the messed up mind of a very inattentive father. I should never have let you near any of his books. The dark, horrible stuff in those things… You’re too impressionable.”
Ky felt helpless and angry, and he found himself growing louder the more his father refused to listen to him. “You’re the one not seeing things clearly. You’re so afraid of what grandpa was, you’re completely ignoring there was a monster in the house who was going to hurt us. It killed Anselm, and it was going to kill us too!”
“Then where is it, Ky?” Marcus shouted and threw his hands up. His eyes were wild with restrained anger. “Where is this so called demon?”
“I don’t know. Oblivion, I think,” Ky muttered angrily. “I did a spell to send her away. All I know is she’s never coming back.”
“The circle?” Marcus pointed to the doorway where he already returned to wash all remains of the spell away. “Those are just nonsense drawings my father was always doing in his notebooks.”
Ky stumbled to his feet, crossed to the door and pointed to the slashes gouged into the floor from Demencious when she was sucked into the spell. “How would I have done that, huh? My hands can’t make marks like that. I don’t have any tool that can do that. Why would I lie about this, Dad? Why would I choose for you to think I’m a fucking crazy person unless I’m telling you the damn truth!”
Maybe Feral was right; maybe he was all tears. Ky rubbed the back of his wrists against his damp eyes in frustration. “You’ve always told me to tell the truth. It doesn’t matter what kind of trouble I get into just as long as I tell you the truth. Dad, there was a monster in the house and it was going to eat me. It was that Marlene lady, but she wasn’t really a person, she was a demon. An overseer. She was going to eat mom and you too when you got home. She was going to eat Lovely and Feral and… Oh, fuck, Magnificent. Dad, Anselm had, like, thirty different demons in this house. Aunty Charlotte saw Lovely and…”
“Stop,” Marcus cut in, his voice clipped, face hard, and expression closed off. “Just stop it. You will not tell your mother any of this nonsense. Do you understand me? You will not make her afraid of her own house. Do not make her worry her only son is losing his mind.” His voice broke on the last word and Ky flinched from the sorrow in his father’s voice.
“Dad, I’m not…”
“No more playing around with Anselm’s old things. You need to focus on your schoolwork. You’ve missed the first two days of class. You slept through two days, Ky. Your mother wanted to take you to the hospital. Nothing we did could wake you.” Marcus looked away as his expression crumpled. He pointed to the bureau where Ky’s syllabus sat on top. “You have an evening class tonight. One of the art classes. Don’t forget to go. You can take your mother’s car. I… I have work I need to get to. We’ve gotten behind because of all of this.”
Marcus stopped in the doorway and stared down at the gouges in the floor before meeting Ky’s watery gaze. “No more circles.” He left, his footsteps heavy as he walked away.
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Demon Bonded : Episode #9
The Fall
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Episode #9. Wake of the righteous…
With the fall of Tobias, Ky must choose his path. He can be the ruthless sorcerer needed to protect the demons he loves, or he can challenge fate for a scrap of normalcy out of the remains of his tattered life.
Seven lives now weigh on Ky’s collar. Seven demons call him master while he can’t even figure out how to use a wand. The responsibility is daunting.
Ky returns home bitter, lonely, and unsure of who to trust. The Relic in the basement deceived him. Sorcerers aren’t the only ones who can control demons, which Ky experienced first hand. His bond to Magnificent Night has tarnished everything he’s touched and there is no way to be clean.
This book contains the Bonus story, ‘The Forging Of An Apprentice,’ Liem’s personal tale of struggle, sorcery and madness.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
20,000+ wrds, First Published November 11, 2016.
Heat level: X
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEMON BONDED #9
on March 21, 2017
on December 16, 2016
on November 16, 2016
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
“You’re out of your mind.” Liem huffed in exasperation. There was a hunch of defeat in his shoulders as he stepped toward the door.
Ky watched him impassively. Liem paused in the doorway and opened his mouth to try a final time to stop what was about to happen. He remained silent once he looked down at Master Tobias’s crumpled form. Tobias was practically on top of Fido where he fell, the sorcerer’s breath shallow and weak. The wolf demon snarled even though he was too wounded to move.
Fido’s eyes glowed the same otherworldly blue as Ky… No, Brave’s eyes.
Ky owned the wolf demon. He claimed Brave far more completely than Liem or Tobias ever could. He named the demon, and Liem knew without a shadow of a doubt Brave would be glad to have a master like Ky.
“This isn’t right.” Liem didn’t attempt to convince. Tobias proved weak and by some twist of fate, Ky, the idiot he thought would crumble and run at just the threat of Fido’s teeth, was untouchable. Brave didn’t bother looking at him; Liem was as invisible to the demon as the Relics normally were to people.
Ky stared him down and waited until Liem finally left. Once he was out the door, Ky stepped over and listened to Liem’s footsteps fade down the long corridor. He looked out into the warmly lit hallway. Did he want to leave? Did he really want to stay and see what would surely happen next?
Ky thought of Lovely, his cat prince, his beautiful, damn near perfect Relic. His long white hair and pale limbs would have been stained in Tobias’s blood by now. Lovely would have led the charge and knocked the master sorcerer out. He would have sliced his throat with ease instead of leaving things up to a selfish sorcerer apprentice.
Lovely was home, and Ky was beginning to realize how good he was at clinging to the catboy instead of dealing with the things he was supposed to deal with. He came there for Brave, and Tobias tried to kill the Relic right in front of him. He would have if Liem hadn’t acted. Ky froze and just watched the demon trainer attack Brave. Tobias killed Relics before, taught Liem to do the same, and he just stood there and watched. No, Lovely wasn’t there, and Ky had to do what needed to be done.
Ky shut the door and made sure it clicked tight. He turned and met the four sets of eyes glowing the same color of Magnificent Night’s. He could feel their desire like a weight, a demand inside of him. It was stronger than anything Ky could have ever raised on his own. He couldn’t deny the Relics their wish for death and knew he had no right to interfere.
Ky stepped around Tobias’s bleeding form where Nightshade, Brave, and Roar glared down. He kept his gaze fixed on the fox demon who was chained and struggling to get free. Ky pressed a soothing hand to his arm. Blood stilled at his touch and let him unbuckle the leather bracer from his left wrist. The Relic was still too new to know their language, but Ky spoke in hope he would understand through their link. “You won’t be tied like this again. I won’t own you, Blood. No one will hurt you.” He fell silent when the demon’s freed hand cupped his face.
Ky unbuckled Blood’s other arm and held still when the fox demon pulled him close and lips slid hot over his. He let his lashes flutter shut and tried to block out the snap of bone behind him. Loud growls rose up and echoed off the stone walls. Blood kissed him hard and deep to intentionally block Ky’s view of what the others were doing.
“It’s okay.” Ky gently turned his head and broke the kiss. He should look. It wasn’t right to hide from what he was allowing to happen. It was his fault, and he should watch.
*Hush*. Blood pressed his forehead to his, and Ky couldn’t find the will to pull away and look. Instead, he let Blood hold him in place as he flinched with every sound of torn clothing and wet slice of flesh. Ky hissed and his eyes closed tight when he heard a sound so reminiscent of Demencious eating a dog, he could almost feel the wicked creature at his back with sharp talons clicking on the floor. Ky’s jaw felt like it was going to break. His neck and shoulders were tight, and his nerves jolted at each noise that reached his straining ear.
Ky jumped and gasped when a phone rang. Blood reared back to stare down at his pile of clothing on the floor. “It’s okay,” Ky said hoarsely. He stepped over, fished through the clothes, and pulled his cell phone free. It was his father, and after a long second of uncertainty, Ky pressed the accept button.
“What?” Ky’s voice was surprisingly steady, if not a bit rough.
“It’s after midnight.” Marcus was curt, but there was a tiredness to his tone Ky wasn’t expecting.
“The time got away from me.” The lie came out easily, a marked difference from the last time he’d spoken with his parents on the phone. Ky’s gaze slowly strayed from his pile of clothes to where Brave was lying on the floor. The wolf demon was in a new spot and blood coated his clawed hands. Tobias’s master collar sat in a heap of blood on the floor. Nightshade pushed the sorcerer’s ribs apart with an ease of strength that looked beyond the slender cat demon’s capability. It wasn’t. Relics weren’t weak little slaves created to serve even weaker humans. They were warriors who battled every day in a dangerous world to survive. They had families, culture, language, and like anything else that breathed, they didn’t want to be chained.
“If you’re in some sort of trouble… You know you can talk to me, Ky. Whatever it is.” His father’s voice floated to his ear, Marcus hesitant in the silence.
It wasn’t true, was it? His dad wouldn’t even listen to him about simple things when it came to demons. He sure as fuck wouldn’t listen about this.
Ky blinked, and his gaze focused on Roar, who hollowed out Tobias’s torso with quick, efficient tugs. Crimson coated the horned demon’s powerful, scarred forearms and dripped down onto his bare thighs. He pressed a piece of liver to Brave’s bruised lips and urged the injured demon to eat. The fox demon joined them, and Blood did the same of Tobias’s heart. He picked through the sorcerer’s cavity in a fashion nearly ritualistic.
“Ky, what…?”
“I’m fine,” Ky finally spoke, his voice steady as he cut off Marcus’s concern. “I’ll be home when I’m done.”
Marcus waited and silence stretched between them. Ky had no interest in telling his father where he was or why he wasn’t coming home, and he had no guilt left in him to be compelled. “Ky, I just want to…”
“I’m busy, dad. I’ll be home later.” Ky quieted and turned back when he felt Brave’s condition change. The wolf demon could support himself on his forearms now. With trembling, blood-slick hands, Brave reached for the heavy collar around his throat. The magic that kept it bound to him was gone with the death of his master. The leather unwound, and Brave made a noise between a sob and a growl as he threw it across the room and nearly collapsed from the effort.
“I’ll leave the porch light on.” Marcus sounded defiant and defeated all at once when he hung up.
Ky dropped his cell phone on top of his shirt and met Roar’s piercing gaze. The horned demon held up his cupped hand; small, bite-sized pieces of red flesh floated in his large palm. Ky approached and stepped carefully around Brave’s legs and the pool of blood slick on the floor. Spots of crimson stuck to the flat of his bare feet and made each movement tacky.
*Magic is held here.* Roar pointed to each piece of flesh, and finished with his thumb pressed to the morsel of heart. *Magic he stole from us, magic that made him. It should not be wasted. This one will nourish.* He pointed to another piece, a dark organ Ky didn’t recognize when torn to the small size. *This one will poison. Each death must be carried inside.* Roar flicked the poisonous meat aside and held his palm up in offering.
There wasn’t any point trying to explain this to his father. Even if Marcus did come down and see the demons spelled to be visible, what difference would it really make? His father chose to believe he was lying instead of facing the truth. Ky knew now he didn’t need his parents anymore. There was nothing left they could protect him from.
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Demon Bonded : Episode #6
The Twisted Apprentice
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Episode #6. Sorcerers are living and slaving in Blackstone Falls…
Ky faces off against Liem Kane, a young sorcerer apprentice who might just be a sociopath. Liem has no problem slicing up his demon for fun while in the middle of class. When Ky lets his outrage show, Liem finds a new target in the naïve, newly bonded sorcerer.
Ky wants to save the wolf demon Liem is torturing but soon realizes he needs to worry about being able to get out alive. Liem is still a sorcerer, and his bonded demon will protect him with his life. Ky understands how deadly the demons can be. Starved and beaten, Fido is more than capable of eating Ky alive.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
11,000+ wrds, Published March 11, 2016.
Heat level: XX
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEMON BONDED #6
on August 13, 2016
on March 21, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
on January 26, 2017
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
Ky had to be hearing things. Drain him dead? There was no way Magnificent Night would ever hurt him like that. “What?”
“It’s probably not a huge loss. I mean, you seem to be really fucking simple.” The stranger smiled cruelly, his blue eyes narrowed as he glanced up from the black link in his hand. “Did you dress in the dark? I pity the sorcerer who has a mess like you for an apprentice. He must be just as foolish or fucking desperate.”
Ky inhaled sharply. He grabbed the other’s wrist, forcing him to either let go of his link to Magnificent Night or continue the contact. His classmate withdrew as if burned and huffed loudly. “I don’t know what your problem is, kid, but I’m not an idiot, and I don’t like being called one by a total…”
“Mr. Scion, let’s talk about these fascinating pieces you brought in today.” Ky snapped his mouth shut at his teacher’s voice, his gaze fixed on his classmate’s condescending expression. “I’m so glad to meet you. Ever since I saw your portfolio, I’ve been excited to have a conversation about your use of color. Excuse us a moment, Liem.”
His new art teacher, Ms. Mahoney, swooped in and led Ky toward his paintings and away from the silent Liem. Ky felt flushed, angry and confused. He glared over his shoulder at the rude jerk, who smirked superiorly back. What an asshole. He barely said two fucking words to Liem, and the guy just outright insulted him. Who the fuck did that?
Ky tried his best to focus on Ms. Mahoney and her very helpful critique of his work, but he couldn’t get the stupid ass out of his mind. Liem’s words spun in his head again and again. He had to be wrong; Magnificent would never harm him. Never. But… Ky didn’t really understand the link. He didn’t even know how it came to be. He barely knew anything about the Relics besides what Lovely told him, and what he heard the catboy argue with Feral over.
Could Liem be right?
Ky peeked over to where Liem was standing next to the table with a still life set up. Liem was looking down intently, and his lips moved like he was talking to someone. Ky edged sideway and nodded mutely to his teacher while he tried to see exactly what Liem was doing. Ky bit his lip when he caught sight of a pair of ears similar to Feral’s but pure black with silver piercings.
Liem brought a demon to class, very likely the same one who modeled for his paintings. Shaggy black hair covered the Relic’s face, his body pale and long as he hunched forward on the floor with hands braced to keep from falling. Behind him was a curl of a wolf tail, and elegant black, leathery wings instead of feathers sprouted from his back. Ky couldn’t hear what Liem was saying, but the Relic looked sick, exhausted, and barely able to sit upright as he swayed on the floor.
Liem abruptly leaned down and yanked hard on the Relic’s ear. Ky flinched at the pained noise the wolf demon made and quickly looked around to see if anyone else heard. No one even looked Liem’s way. A group chatted obliviously, and Ms. Mahoney pointed out the parts of Ky’s technique she found impressive. Out of the entire class, it seemed only Liem and Ky were able to see and hear the demon.
By the time Ms. Mahoney finished her critique, her main hope being he would try some more structured, realism inspired pieces to broaden his abilities, Ky was ready to find something heavy to beat Liem with. Liem kept pulling on his ears while the demon whimpered in pain and struggled not to fall over. The Relic was clearly starving, the strong, toned muscles on his form doing nothing to hide the ribs peeking through. Ky’s glare grew when Liem glanced his way. The student smiled chillingly right before he deliberately grabbed the demon’s nipple and twisted. The wolf demon arched and howled in pain, the movement finally revealing his face.
The Relic’s eyes were ice blue fringed with heavy dark lashes and filled with a wildness that made Ky uneasy. His fangs were long and sharp like he was waiting for prey. He was handsome under his bruises, his body and face littered in purple and blue welts. Even here, in a classroom of students, he was naked with only a heavy black collar around his neck. It was just as outrageous as how Liem was mistreating him.
Class was almost over. Ky grew more and more unsettled with each whimper of pain the wolf demon released. He had a feeling Liem was doing it just to piss him off; he kept grinning Ky’s way to watch his reaction to every cruelty. Liem was a terror and he couldn’t wait for class to get out so he could tell him as much.
There was a flash of silver, and Ky turned his gaze from the broken demon on the ground to meet Liem’s wicked eyes again. Liem slowly unfolded a pocket knife; his expression made it clear exactly what he intended to do when he reached for the demon’s ear.
Motherfucking psycho creep…
It was the last straw. Ky snarled as he stomped across the room. He grabbed Liem by the wrist hard enough for the knife to fall out of his hand and clatter to the floor. He was seconds away from teaching the stupid little dick what it meant to treat Relics as less than human, no matter how many people in the class thought he was crazy.
A deadly growl filled the air. Ky swallowed hard when the wolf demon unfurled from his crouch and towered over him menacingly. Liem smirked and whispered smugly, “Let me go or my pet is going to kill you.”
“You’re totally fucked in the head,” Ky hissed under his breath. He glared at Liem but all his senses were on the growling demon. Feral could have clawed Ky to shreds, and this wolf demon was much larger than the coyote. Sure, Feral might have seemed crazed when they first met, but the wolf demon was nearly foaming. He was starved, abused and showing signs of animalistic behavior. Whatever Liem did to the Relic, it turned him more berserker animal than anything else.
Ky reluctantly let Liem’s wrist go. He kept his chin raised defiantly and teeth grit in anger. “You have no right to treat a Relic like this. He’s an intelligent person, not some toy you can cut up for sick kicks. I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you should know he’s just as equal as you.”
Liem’s rich, blue eyes widened in surprise before he let out a loud laugh. “Holy fuck, you’re one of those types! What a total retard. You’re jeweled, which means if your demon gets hurt, you’ll get hurt too, and you’ve got a black link that will probably kill you before the week is out.” Liem grabbed the wolf demon by its black, bushy tail, and pulled hard. “Demons aren’t people. That you treat them like people is why they’re going to kill you. You need to show them who’s in charge or they’ll destroy you like the weak, pathetic imbecile you are.”
Ky stood taller, and his anger grew as Liem laughed in his face. He could hear the other students gathering their things. The class let out for the evening, and the teacher encouraged them to leave their portfolios and compare them later to their homework. It barely registered past the red throb in Ky’s head. He couldn’t remember ever being so angry before in his life. Even if the wolf demon was nothing more than an animal, the way Liem was treating him was beyond monstrous. Up close, Ky could see more bruises, a few burns, and long scars where a blade drew deep across the pale flesh. Liem was fucked up, and Ky was determined to find a way to get the wolf Relic away from him.
“You’re wrong,” Ky said once his throat wasn’t so tight with anger, and the sounds of the class leaving died down. “Lovely would never hurt me, and I would never put him in danger whether we were bonded or not. The same with Feral; after talking with him I know he’d never hurt me again. The demon black linked to me? He just needs my help. He’s not going to hurt me either. He’s trapped in chains I can’t open but I don’t mind feeding him so he’ll stay strong, alive. Your Relic is starving. All you’ve done is hurt him the entire time you’ve been here. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Liem huffed and folded his arms over his chest. He glanced disinterestedly at the wolf demon beside him. “What, like I’m supposed to feed him?”
“Yes!” Ky snapped. “You put a fucking collar on him so he can’t do anything for himself. You have to feed him, or he’s going to die!”
Liem looked unimpressed, his eyebrow raised in the face of Ky’s righteous anger. “So? Feeding a demon only makes him disobedient. I don’t want him strong enough to fight back. Eventually, Fido will learn to be meek around me. I might feed him more, then. Maybe. His magic is still strong either way, so what does it matter?”
Ky was starting to really understand how Liem saw the Relic and it was only making him more upset. “And if he’s dead? How’s your stupid magic, then? He’s not a fucking battery; he’s a person!” He turned to the demon and tried not to flinch under the manic, cold glare fixed on him. “You called him a pet. Even a fucking child knows enough to feed their pets. You have to be the shittiest sorcerer ever to fail at something so simple as taking care of the creature who gives you magic.”
Liem was as childish as Ky assumed, and his face twisted in rage from the insult. “I’m a skilled sorcerer. A powerful one!” Liem lifted his chin and pointed to the link on his collar. “I have a red link, unlike you. Fido thought he was a warrior when he got here and now he’s completely dominated by me. What, you think you’re stronger? You don’t even have a wand on you. You didn’t bring any demons to defend you. You’re completely weak and helpless with nothing but a lame, white jewel on your collar that shows just how stupid you really are!”
Ky took a step back when Liem raised his hand, and a wand fell into his fingers from out of his sleeve. How did Liem know he didn’t have Anselm’s wand on him? Ky didn’t know what exactly the wand could do to him, but given Liem’s horrible nature, it probably wouldn’t be good. “You can call me whatever you want, but it doesn’t make what you’re doing right. You don’t deserve to be bonded to a Relic if that’s the way you treat him.”
Liem narrowed his eyes, and a grim smile split his face. “Only weak, pathetic sorcerers would ever bind to a demon the way you did your jeweled one. I know what happens to weak things, they get devoured by the strong. You think Fido is so fucking sweet and should be fed? I’ll show you firsthand what it’s like to die from a demon’s fangs.”
Ky inhaled sharply and turned as the door across the room slammed shut. “Demons don’t kill,” he whispered. Liem lowered his wand as he turned back slowly. Ky flinched when he met Fido’s very crazed, ice-blue eyes. “They feed off of energy. They don’t need to kill to…”
“You keep telling yourself that, dumbass,” Liem said with a snicker. “Fido’s hungry and he’s as mean as they come. I watched him tear apart a cat a month ago. He doesn’t care what you are just as long as he gets some food.”
Dread twisted in Ky’s stomach. He stumbled back when the tall demon lurched forward with a bloodcurdling growl. Fido might have been weak and abused, but he also looked mean as fuck and really, really hungry. Ky knew the demons at his home ate rats. He damn well knew Demencious, the horrible overseer, ate other Relics, human beings, and animals to stay alive. Ky didn’t want to believe it was possible, but he couldn’t dismiss the reality this wolf demon looked like he would be more than happy to kill him if he could finally eat.
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Demon Bonded : Episode #5
Beneath The Darkness
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Episode #5. Licking wounds…
Alive with a few wounds to heal, Ky assumes things will be much easier now the killer, Demencious, has been banished from the Earth. Ky faces a harsh reality when his father demands to know what happened, and magic is not an allowable topic of conversation.
Although he’s bonded to Lovely and just starting to learn about the strange demons, Ky can’t shake the fear he might just be insane when no one else can see his Relic lovers. Worse, the demon in the basement can’t be freed by normal means and is trapped beneath the house.
His first art class should have been a break from all his demon problems, but Ky discovers the unexpected. There are other sorcerers in Blackstone Falls.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
10,000+ wrds, First Published February 5, 2016.
Heat level: XX
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEMON BONDED #5
on February 6, 2016
on March 21, 2017
on January 26, 2017
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
Persistent whispers slowly pulled Ky from sleep. Everything was fuzzy. For a long moment, he was certain his mother was talking to him. Except the voices were male, strange, and spoke in a language he didn’t recognize. Somehow, though, he understood. His mind bent around each foreign word and supplied the translation as if he knew it his whole life.
“You need to feed.”
“I’m fine. Just stop rolling me,” Lovely softly groaned. His arm fell over Ky’s chest when he was deposited heavily on the bed.
“Feed, you stubborn thing. I don’t have enough to restore you.” The bed shifted, and Feral bent over Ky to peer into his sleepy face. “Alright there, whelp?”
Ky focused blearily on the coyote demon’s scarred face and intense, golden eyes. Ky’s gaze drifted and he reached his hand toward his bleeding shoulder. Feral’s bronzed flesh was covered in wounds, some so raw and painfully deep, Ky could barely stand to look at them. “Feral, you’re hurt.”
Feral huffed when Ky’s silver eyes filled with tears after taking in his bloodied form. “Don’t start bawling, stupid. Help the feline. He can’t heal without energy, and I don’t have enough.”
“I’m fine,” Lovely mumbled again. Ky’s gaze drifted to his side where the pale cat demon was stretched out beside him, blood dry and caked on his beautiful face.
“Frrrling whelp,” Feral mutter in exasperation when Ky’s tears spilled free. Ky whimpered low in his throat and turned and fretted softly over Lovely’s exhausted body.
He was too tired to grumble much. Feral sank onto the mattress and closed his eyes. They had spent the last day and a half in the wardrobe to avoid Ky’s parents who were constantly running in and out of the room. Livia had sat with her son the entire night before, refusing to leave his side. It was only now the two parents finally left the house together and drove off in one of their vehicles. It was enough for Feral to feel safe to come out and lock the bedroom door.
“Shhh. I swear I’m okay,” Lovely whispered hoarsely. His mismatched eyes of blue and violet peered out from between long strands of white hair. “Go back to sleep. Redeless is overreacting.”
“Chrrrl,” Feral snapped grumpily and burrowed deeper into the bedspread. “You nearly drained me unconscious. Let the kid feed you before you bleed out.”
Ky gently pushed Lovely’s long, white hair from his face and revealed slashes and bruises all over his luminescent flesh. It was strange to see Lovely in the thick black collar with its one crystal stud when everything else was bright and white about the catboy. “What do you need, Lovely? If I can help, I’ll do anything. Just tell me.”
“Sweet boy.” Lovely exhaled heavily. He snagged Ky by the chin and tugged him down until their noses brushed. “I just… just need a taste.” He licked his tongue out and traced over Ky’s lips until he opened with a sigh.
Ky was starting to understand when Lovely kissed him like this, tongue lapped inside his mouth in slow, hungry strokes, it was to get his energy and restore his own. It didn’t mean it stopped feeling amazing, and Ky whimpered and melted into the kiss. Lovely pulled him down and licked away his stray tears before he plunged his tongue back into his mouth.
“Sweet, sweet boy,” Lovely murmured against his lips. He nipped Ky’s red lips swollen and drew spots of blood his tongue quickly stole and healed. “Taste so sweet. So generous, my beautiful master.”
Ky blushed and fought back a moan. Lovely grew stronger with each kiss, his lips persistent and hungry as he pressed him down into the mattress. Ky felt more than a little perverted; Lovely kept saying things about how nice he was when he felt hot, hard and dizzy. “Lovely. Oh, okay,” he mumbled as Lovely pinned him to the bed and licked down his throat. His shirt was pulled off in a quick move he couldn’t follow.
“You’re wonderful.” Lovely nipped into his flat stomach, and Ky gasped and flexed beneath him. “You saved us with your very first spell. You kept us alive when we were starving for so long.” He pulled back and met Ky’s heavy-lidded gaze. “You’re the only one who’s ever shared, sweet boy. You didn’t take, didn’t ask for anything back. You’re so brave. So good.”
Ky couldn’t stop flushing, and he bit his lower lip anxiously. “Lovely, is that all it is? Sharing energy? I like when you kiss me. A lot.”
Lovely smirked and leaned down to lap over Ky’s pout. “I like tasting you, sweetling. I like touching you, making you moan, and beg, and cum.”
Ky sighed and pressed up to kiss him back. “I like that too. I like everything you do to me.” He gave another sigh when firm lips descended on his. He fell back against the mattress as Lovely languidly devoured his mouth.
“I need to heal Redeless.” Lovely broke away and knelt on the bed. “He doesn’t have the same restorative abilities I do.”
Lovely’s skin was already free of his previously blue bruising. The slashes and red scratches were just dried blood now, and his pale flesh whole and intact. Even his head wound was healed. All he needed was a shower to clean the grime of the battle away.
Ky watched as Lovely crawled over to the bronze coyote demon. Feral muttered something under his breath when a tongue moved over the wound on his shoulder. He looked exhausted, his eyes closed and face pinched in pain. Ky still didn’t know Feral much and he really didn’t know where they stood. Feral helped him save Lovely; he helped them all survive the terrible Demencious and kept them from falling into the pit. Ky liked him even if he was mean and surly most of the time.
Decided, Ky shifted down the bed and ducked his head until he was nose to nose with Feral on the mattress. “Did you…? Can I give you some energy, Feral?” Ky felt nervous when Feral opened his eyes. No matter all they went through, Feral’s golden gaze was still as intense and piercing as ever.
Feral didn’t answer right away, and Ky wondered if he was more hurt than first thought. “Are you okay?” He carefully touched one of his ears and watched as the furry triangle pierced with gold twitched under his fingertips.
“That tickles, whelp,” Feral finally muttered and closed his eyes.
“I want to help you,” Ky whispered. He pressed closer until his mouth was right next to Feral’s flushed lips. Feral had beautiful lips; they might even be nicer than Lovely’s since he wasn’t snarling.
“I don’t want help from a sorcerer,” Feral grunted. He gasped and glared to the other side of him when Lovely sank his fangs into his arm in retaliation.
“Oh. I don’t think I’m much of a sorcerer.” Ky’s gaze moved over the cuts revealed on Feral’s jaw. “I mean, I just made a picture. I’m really an artist, right? So… So it should be okay.”
“Taste him, you stubborn thing.” Lovely pushed Feral’s face back toward Ky and held him down. “I took too much from you. You can barely put up a fight.”
Ky wasn’t going to kiss Feral if he insisted against it, even if it would help. Well, maybe just a little. Surely once Feral felt better, he probably wouldn’t be so angry about it. Lovely seemed to think so and held Feral in place while he returned to healing his strong arm with licks of his tongue.
“It’s just a taste, right? To make you feel better.” Ky tilted his head closer, Feral’s annoyed huff hot on his cheek. He licked his tongue out hesitantly. Ky felt more than a little daring to touch Feral’s lips. Hopefully, he wouldn’t bite. “Come on, Feral. Lovely says I taste sweet,” he teased.
“Foolish little whelp,” Feral grumbled. Ky used the opportunity to press his tongue inside his mouth. Feral held still, but Ky was determined and caught him by the side of his face so he could share as much of his fluids as possible.
Feral tasted like copper and something heady. His mouth was hot, and it made Ky dizzy when he ran his tongue over the demon’s in gentle strokes. He knew he was supposed to be helping, but Ky couldn’t stop from feeling crazy hot. His body reacted even when his mind told him he was just sharing energy. He didn’t know how the demons did it all the time.
Ky pulled away with a groan, his lips sore and tongue aching. He wanted more. His body was burning and tense, and he knew if he didn’t stop, he’d upset Feral even more. “Sorry. It’s hard to not get…” He exhaled shakily and flashed Feral a weak smile. “You have a nice mouth.”
Feral growled under his breath. He grabbed Ky by his silky, black hair, and pulled him back forcefully. Ky had a moment to wonder if Lovely would have to heal his face again if Feral started slashing, before his lips were crushed roughly by the demon’s.
“Gentle,” Lovely warned in Feral’s ear as his claws prickled on his neck.
Feral grunted and relaxed the grip on his hair after a moment. He pushed Ky back, crawled up his dazed form and straddled him. Feral’s muscular body pinned his slender form down while Ky stared up with dazed, silver eyes. “Silly little human.” Feral ducked down and drove his tongue into Ky’s gasping mouth; his strong fingers held him by his chin to keep him in place. Slowly, Feral let his hand slide down and caressed his throat and shoulders. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to share your life force with a Relic?”
Ky didn’t have an answer for that. He was too busy whimpering around the tongue pushing into his mouth as Feral tasted him, stole his breath and made him gasp. Large palms ran up his sides and burned against his skin. “Oh. Oh, god,” he moaned. Feral moved down to his pants and shredded them with his claws. Cool air soothed over Ky’s revealed skin.
“Listen to you. You’re always so loud, whelp.” Feral tugged at Ky’s pajama pants. The material ripped away from his legs with a tear. “You beg so nicely when Thornes has you filled. It’s a pleasing sound to wake to, you pretty slut.”
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Demon Bonded : Episode #4
Magnificent Night
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Episode #4. Death feeds…
Terrified his parents may already be dead, Ky faces the basement a final time and finds something he never would have expected in the dark depths.
Lovely woke magic in Ky when he bonded to his new master. It’s a power that can allow him to banish evil with the right spell. Ky is new to sorcery, and time runs out when Anselm’s killer walks through the front door looking for a feast of demon and human flesh.
Lovely and Feral will fight for as long as they can, but if Lovely dies, Ky will too. It’s going to take all of Ky’s bravery and strong heart to defeat this cannibalistic monster. He might have to sacrifice his parents to do it.
This book contains the Bonus story, ‘Far From Home,’ about how Lovely first met Feral.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
22,000+ wrds, First Published January 15, 2016.
Heat Level: XX
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEMON BONDED #4
on March 20, 2017
on January 26, 2017
on January 21, 2016
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
“Now look; you’ve woken him.” Bare feet padded softly on the floor. Lovely knelt on the bed to bend over Ky and gently trace his features. “Go back to sleep, sweet boy. You need to rest.”
“Lovely. Lovely, the basement,” Ky mumbled as he finally got his eyes to open. “There’s someone trapped down there.”
Lovely shook his head, his brows furrowed. “No, Ky.”
“What does the little whelp want?” Feral grumbled. He glared down from behind Lovely’s shoulder.
“He thinks there’s someone in the basement.” Lovely shrugged dismissively. He combed through Ky’s dark hair while Ky fought to keep his eyes open. “He’s muddled. He needs to rest.”
Ky was certain. He knew when Lovely and Feral were there hiding in the dark even though his rational mind told him otherwise. He knew there was someone in the basement. Under the rot, under the blood, there was someone sad and afraid. “Please. Please, help me up. I need… I need to get to them.”
Feral snarled and his ears flattened back. “Like I’d ever leave this frrrling room? He must think we’re as dumb as he is.”
“Shut up,” Lovely hissed and shoved Feral away. “Ky, no. They’re dead.”
“Thornes, leave the boy. You’re wasting…”
“Thornes?” Ky’s eyelids were heavy as he looked up into Lovely’s mismatched gaze of violet and blue. “Is that your name?”
Feral slipped up and growled down at him. His golden eyes pierced into Ky’s inches away. “Can he understand us? Can this blasted frrling understand us now?”
Lovely grabbed Feral by his thick, golden hair and pulled him away roughly. With a wary look, he bent closer to Ky and spoke slowly but steadily. “Thornes is a nickname of my given name. Where I’m from, our names have three parts to indicate our lineage.”
“Oh.” Ky licked his lips and blinked dazedly. “Where are you from?”
Feral, who was listening, made to grab Lovely, only to have the pale catboy stop him with a glare. “He understands us, Thornes! He’s some sort of… Rrrl! You just bonded to a damn, a damn abomination!”
“So help me, Redeless, you will shut your mouth or I will throw you out that bedroom door and finally be done with you for good!” Lovely promised with a low growl. Feral glared back but closed his mouth. A growl rumbled in his chest defiantly.
“Lovely, don’t fight,” Ky whispered. The darkness stole the energy he was desperately holding onto. “I need to help the other. The one in the basement.”
“He’s dead, kid. They’re all dead. Damn, the boy is frrrling annoying,” Feral snapped.
“No. No, he’s alive. Could hear him move. I’m so tired.” Ky’s eyes closed in a blink which threatened to never end. “Why so tired?”
“Hush.” With a final warning glare at Feral, Lovely leaned down and pushed Ky’s hair from his face with a soft smile. “Your magic is waking, that’s all. You’ve been bonded to a demon, a very strong one. It’s a deep bond and it will tie magic into your flesh in ways most humans don’t get to experience. It will make you tired now, but soon you will feel stronger. Powerful. I would never do anything to hurt you, Ky. I promise.”
Ky nodded. He knew all along; Lovely was wonderful and would never hurt him. “You’re very beautiful for a demon. Very nice. I didn’t know demons were nice.”
“It’s what they call us, sweet boy, the humans and the sorcerers. We can do things they can’t, so they call us demons and monsters.”
“But you’re not,” Ky insisted quietly as his eyes finally opened again.
“No, we’re not. We’re Relics,” Lovely explained with a distant gaze. “We come from a place far away from here. We used to live with our families, with our tribes and clans in our realm. We’re just people who can do things you humans can’t. Some humans figured out how to summon us from our homes. The sorcerers used a spell to tie us to them so they could live long and use magic as we do.”
“Oh.” Ky was extremely tired. He wanted to know everything. He wanted to listen to everything Lovely was saying, but it was just so hard to focus. “Don’t you… Wouldn’t you rather go back home? It’s an okay room, but… but you’ve been here for years. You eat rats. Why don’t you go home, Lovely?”
Lovely smiled wanly, leaned down and gently kissed Ky on the mouth. “You are a very sweet boy, and I’m glad I met you.” He sat back and covered his hand over Ky’s brow. “Close your eyes. I will teach you a spell, a vital one, when you wake up. You’re going to need all your strength, Ky. The new moon is approaching, and I need you strong.”
Ky nodded sleepily. “I’d do anything for you, Lovely. Anything.”
“Then rest. Let your magic grow strong.” Lovely sighed as his fingers moved over the heavy black collar secured around his neck. “I’m a very strong Relic. I was one of the jewels of Anselm’s collection. If… If I bonded with him the way I did you, perhaps he would be here now.”
Something niggled in the back of Ky’s mind and pushed through the sleep pulling him down. “The basement. There’s someone who needs help.”
Lovely shook his head. “They’re all dead. We are the only two left of Anselm’s collection. There was one who held out for the longest time. He was much older and stronger than I, maybe stronger than the demented creature who hunted us down. We were all weakened when our master fell, confused and afraid. She drained him dead last month. His life force is gone.”
“Drained.” Ky knew he was wrong. He just needed to be able to move to prove it. “Are you hungry? I need… I need to feed you so you don’t… don’t eat all the rats.”
Feral snorted behind Lovely, but didn’t comment otherwise. “We don’t need to eat, Ky. Demons feed off of energy. Food tastes fine enough, but it’s the life force of our food that strengthens us. We prefer living food; blood, saliva, semen, sweat. Every time I kiss you, I grow stronger, my sweet. Now please, you must sleep.” A thrumming purr filled the air as Lovely bent down to press lips to Ky’s forehead.
Ky nodded weakly and his body relaxed further into the mattress. “He was scared. So afraid.”
Feral huffed and grumbled under his breath. “Worry about yourself, whelp. The wards in this room have kept the bitch out for years, but there’s no blocking the wardrobe. When she returns, she’s going to kill us all, likely starting with your defenseless parents.”
The words filled the darkness of his mind. Ky was asleep before he could feel them fully, lulled by Lovely’s calming purr.
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Demon Bonded : Episode #3
The Killer Wardrobe
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Episode #3. When furniture attacks…
Ky’s tumble into the wardrobe leads to a heartbreaking discovery; Lovely either has a boyfriend, or a really possessive demon stalker. Either way, the wardrobe fiend is ready to slash Ky a new one until Lovely gets the brute under control the only way the sexy catboy knows how.
Ky grows more concerned about what’s going on in his new house, from creatures hiding in the dark to the persistent scent of blood and rot. He ends up in the basement again as he tries to feed the murderous monster he’s certain is chained up in the darkness.
Lovely wants Ky to name him with collar in hand, but the magic is far stronger than first thought. Ky hears the truth about what happened to Anselm. If they don’t hurry, no one left in the big mansion is going to survive.
Each episode in this sexy, suspenseful gay monster harem serial is over 10,000 words, and should be read in order to be enjoyed fully.
10,000+ wrds, First Published January 15, 2016.
Heat Level: XX
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEMON BONDED #3
on July 3, 2016
on March 20, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
on January 26, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
READ AN EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
Ky, who was supposed to have only stepped into his wardrobe, was naked, lost and surrounded by absolute darkness. His nose filled with dust. He sneezed and immediately smacked his head into his hand. “Ow.” For some reason he was certain he was in the attic. He didn’t have a way to confirm it with everything dark and impossible to see, but something about the smell and dust made him think of the place and the hole where all of Anselm’s sorcery equipment was hidden.
Ky really didn’t have a moment to think. Something soft and fluffy rubbed against his bare leg in the utter darkness. He grabbed for it, careful not to yank when he recognized Lovely’s tail. The catboy gave another angry hiss, and Ky quickly reached out and found a mess of limbs, claws, hot flesh and heaving breath. Without thinking, he grasped tight and pulled.
It really wasn’t the smartest idea. With a crash, Ky fell backward. Two solid, muscular bodies toppled on top of him and they all clattered out of the wardrobe door and onto his bedroom floor with a thud. The light was blinding to Ky’s addled senses as all the air knocked out of him. Red pain throbbed where he slammed against the hardwood and where the other two then crashed into him. He groaned weakly. His face was full of silky white hair, and he was pinned by bare flesh at every angle. Aches and dull throbbing pain ran through his body as he struggled to breathe. Damn, he was seriously starting to hate his wardrobe.
Ky tried to keep the room from spinning as his head gave a stubborn flare of pain where it hit the floor. Lovely continued to struggle with his attacker. His ears were folded back on his head and he hissed loudly as he slashed claws behind him. As he fought, Lovely pushed himself off of Ky to keep from crushing his fallen form.
Ky watched in a haze and wondered just what a concussion felt like. Maybe he fell out of bed and was dreaming the entire thing. Surely it would make more sense than having the pale, beautiful Lovely fight claw to claw with a golden, punkish looking ruffian who was snarling fangs while he pushed the slender catboy down to the ground and kissed him fiercely.
Ky released a weary sigh as his bruised and battered brain clicked something together.
Crap. Lovely had a boyfriend.
A jealous boyfriend who was not happy with him, or, at least, his clothes.
Maybe Lovely had a thing for people in clothing, and the feral, nude thing couldn’t compete? Ky just couldn’t catch a break. Stupid Blackstone Falls didn’t have any goddamn options for gay and gorgeous.
Ky tried to get up only to quickly dismiss the ridiculous notion as the room spun again and pain flared everywhere. No, he needed to fix this. He somehow got in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel. Given the two of them had no problem slashing the hell out of each other, he’d feel really bad if they did something they’d regret.
Ky rolled awkwardly to his side and tried not to groan in pain as he got onto his hands and knees. He was all skinned up; an elbow raw, one of his toes mangled on the lip of the wardrobe, not to mention the bruising everywhere.
“Please, stop fighting,” he croaked out and winced at the sound of his voice. No, he wasn’t doing well at all. “I didn’t know Lovely was spoken for, and, well…”
Wait. Why the hell was he apologizing? It wasn’t like he even had a chance to see Lovely, never mind ask if he was in a committed relationship. If anything, wasn’t Lovely just a really bad boyfriend for sleeping around with people who couldn’t see in the dark?
Ky shook the thought from his head, and grabbed his skull when it throbbed painfully in retaliation. “Hey, stop fighting!” he yelled and slammed his hand down on the floor. He was ignored. Lovely kicked the bronze skinned, muscular young man off him. Ky only had a moment to sit back with a plop as the catboy jumped up and followed after his target.
On Lovely’s back fluttered a pretty set of white wings. They were small, petite and flexed when he grabbed his tall attacker by the hair. Gold glinted from sharp ears reminiscent of a coyote. Ky just caught sight of the piercings right before Lovely twisted the furry triangles vindictively. Wardrobe guy was in serious trouble, and after what Ky went through, he didn’t feel remotely bad for him. Given the punkish hairdo of his golden blond and purple colored messy locks, as well as his eyebrow rings, the long scar which ran down half his face, and permanent snarl, the jerk was probably asking for trouble.
Wardrobe guy’s wings weren’t white like Lovely’s. They were black and feathery and made Ky wonder just what the hell both of the two creatures were. As cat-like as Lovely was, and as coyote-like as this jerk was, the wings just didn’t really make much sense.
Then again, nothing made a lot of sense lately.
What Ky first thought were just growls and snarls started to form a pattern. The two were having quite the argument in their respective language. His suspicions grew when Lovely pointed in his direction, hissed heatedly and wrenched one of the wardrobe guy’s ears. Ky flinched when the other’s gaze met his; his eyes were a startling gold with pinprick pupils full of malice.
Feral. The thing was absolutely feral and totally hated him.
As if to prove his point, the muscular attacker swiftly grabbed Lovely around the waist, pushed him down to the floor and bit him on the back of his neck. Lovely gave a loud cry and tried to push back up, but the other pinned him down with his larger body.
“Leave him alone!” Ky yelped. He stumbled forward on his knees, then stopped short when Feral glared up at him and growled with his teeth still buried in Lovely’s neck. Ky gulped. He hated he was hesitating. He knew the creature could totally tear him to pieces, and given his glare, would be happy to do it.
“Ky,” Lovely gasped out. He reached a clawed hand forward. Long strands of his white hair tangled around his arm.
Ky already had his face nearly slashed off. Not only did he fall into a bottomless pit in his wardrobe, but was crushed by two fighting creatures just after getting out of bed. He’d deal with the beating the fucking wardrobe guy wanted to give him.
“Lovely, I’m right here.” With a defiant glare into Feral’s golden eyes, Ky reached for Lovely’s hand. He gasped loudly when Lovely grasped his fingers and pulled him down roughly to the floor. Ky’s chin burned as it scraped against the hardwood painfully.
“Oww,” he groaned petulantly. No, it was not a good day.
Ky’s eyes cracked open, and he came face to face with Lovely’s mismatched gaze of blue and violet. “Lovely, that totally hurt…” he trailed off when Lovely cupped him by the head to pull his face closer, and his tongue licked out to move over the wound on his chin. Ky released an unsteady breath. His body felt like a hot, melted puddle of goo as Lovely’s tongue teased up and slid over his lips, then slipped between them firmly.
Ky’s eyes fluttered shut and he pressed closer. His mouth opened eagerly as his lips sealed with Lovely’s, who curled fingers into his dark hair and kissed him deeply.
There was a fierce growl and Ky immediately snapped his eyes open. Somehow he managed to forget about Lovely’s very angry boyfriend, who was glaring down at him.
Well, he assumed his boyfriend. They fought like they damn well might be dating, and the kissing could be a sign and all. But maybe the wardrobe guy was just a jerk who thought he should be allowed to kiss Lovely, and not actually his boyfriend?
There was no way Ky could win a fight against this weird, brutish creature for Lovely’s affection. Still, if he waited until Feral went back into the wardrobe, he could get a big padlock and chain and lock the jerk in there. With that thought hot in his mind, Ky dared to meet the golden glare burning into him.
Even though he had a scar running from his eyebrow all the way down to his jaw, Feral was actually really hot. Not in an aristocratic way like Lovely, but more like a model turned street thug with his heavy eyebrows and dangerous sharp eyes. His full red lips would probably look a lot nicer if he wasn’t snarling. What the hell was the guy’s problem, seriously? Was he, like, living in the damn wardrobe?
It was difficult to concentrate no matter how mean Feral’s snarl was. Lovely’s tongue again lapped over Ky’s face and teased against his lips.
“Lovely, uh, I don’t think this is the right time for… Oh. Okay.” There was just something about Lovely and it made him really dizzy. Ky gasped softly as he was pulled closer. Claws tickled the back of his head when Lovely lapped between his lips and stroked his tongue and the roof of his mouth. Ky barely noticed the hand slam down right next to his face. Lovely did. He pulled away to grab the offending wrist, and his otherworldly eyes glowed anger directed solely at Feral.
Ky couldn’t understand the exchange of words. Even though Lovely was shorter and delicate in appearance, he looked like he was more than capable of slashing Feral into ribbons. Ky bit his lower lip as his eyes were drawn to Lovely’s razor sharp fangs and narrowed eyes. Yeah, Lovely was a badass no matter how pretty he was. It sent a flutter through Ky’s stomach; he wasn’t sure if it was a good feeling or bad.
Feral gave another low growl and turned his glare back to Ky, who tried his best not to flinch.
“Stop being so mean,” Ky muttered. His chin pointed out defiantly as he struggled to push up from the ground. “I haven’t done a damn thing to you.” Feral slammed his other hand down and Ky yelped before he could stop from cringing away. “Asshole!”
Lovely hissed again, dragged Feral down, and slammed his head tight against the floor. Ky hesitated from trying to escape, unable to take his eyes off the catboy as he effortlessly pinned Feral. Yeah, Lovely was really hot when angry. Ky bit the side of his thumb as he watched the two growl in their angry language. Lovely was really strong, his muscles long and graceful, and nude body sleek and smooth. Even his strange ears and tail were sexy; claws, fangs, wings and all. Lovely definitely wasn’t human, neither were, but wow, they were seriously sexy.
Ky wasn’t sure what changed exactly since he was unable to understand what either of them were saying. Something in the timbre of Lovely’s voice and the way Feral’s glare turned smoldering made Ky swallow hard and his face heat up. Lovely ran his tongue over Feral’s scar and purred low in his ear. With a growl, Feral twisted and pinned him again. Lovely moaned as he was pushed face first down to the floor while Feral nipped at his shoulders and neck ravenously.
He should probably go. Really. Clearly Lovely wasn’t averse to being kissed by the wardrobe creep as much as he hoped. Ky couldn’t seem to get himself to move. He bit his thumb harder as he watched Lovely gasp and arch his ass up in the air. His elegant tail wrapped around Feral’s thigh and pulled him down on top of him.
Feral had strong looking hands. They were large, rough, and when he ran them over Lovely’s pale skin, part of Ky wanted to know what they felt like. Stupid. Feral slashed his face and was an absolute menace. Just, there was something in the way he was possessive, consuming and rough in his touch that made Ky’s breath grow short and his mouth dry when he thought what it would feel like to have such attention of his own. Lovely was definitely enjoying it. He moaned lowly and kept shifting his hips to ground back against Feral’s hard dick with rocking pushes.