Fear Episode Two Read online

  I laughed. “Is that all you’ve got? Was that your limp-wristed, jerking-off hand that you beat your weak, tiny dick with?” I teased.

  They didn’t bother to try a clever come-back. Instead, his boy with the gruff voice and more teeth in his mouth than his friend had made his move on me. I dodged him and gave him one hell of an uppercut. The blow lifted him off his feet and he crashed to the floor hard enough to make an impact. Three more patrons in the bar rose to their feet, like they were ready for the fight. Others looked on as if waiting to see if they would be needed to take me out. Only one was a demon, which was good. He wasn’t one of Adriel’s, but that didn’t mean he was loyal to my king, either, which meant I had to play this perfectly.

  “Niggers know they’re violent. Little savage-ass monkeys don’t belong in this country,” I heard Tyson said.

  I turned to see him rearing back for a swing and I gave him a quick and well-deserved jab for his efforts. I knew he was going to say something ignorant and racist to me to kick off my plan, but that shit was old-school classic gold and he deserved to bleed for the insult. I watched him stumble away, his bleeding nose providing the blood we needed to be able to spy on this place once I was thoroughly kicked out.

  More and more bar patrons decided to jump in since I was dealing out ass whoopings galore. The demon patron kept to his seat, observing everything. The blond who had attacked me first was trying to prove he could fight, but I was blocking and dodging his pathetic blows and right when he thought he had me, I countered with a kick to his groin area. It sent him to his knees and when I heard him gag, I moved out of the way before he could spew his stomach contents on me. I ducked a swinging blow from one of the brawlers and countered with a right hook, taking him out of the fight. I added some demon umph behind each blow, because I wasn’t trying to fight these assholes longer than I needed to. I was dealing out one-hitter-quitters, because I had other shit to do tonight.

  Boom, roared the sound of what I knew was a twelve-gauge shotgun. We all stopped fighting and every man left standing, which was four—including myself, turned to see the bartender with the weapon in his hand and pointed firmly at me. How predictable.

  “Now, nigger, I told you to leave before, don’t make me shoot your black ass,” the man said.

  A part of me wanted to let my demon out on all these motherfuckers. To just suck up souls left and right. But I didn’t need to make that kind of scene. It would be counterproductive to my plan. Instead, I put my hands up and started walking backwards out of the bar. Goal had been accomplished and as I was stepping out, I took notice that Tyson wasn’t anywhere to be seen. He was a sneaky one, but I guessed that came with the territory of being a spy demon.

  Once out of the bar, I walked back to where I had first teleported to find Tyson waiting on me. “Snuck out during the brawl, I see,” I stated.

  He shrugged. “One punch was enough for me, thank you. I thought you said you were going to take it easy on me.”

  I snorted. “I did.”

  He rolled his eyes and huffed. “Well, anyway, I managed to get blood underneath the bar, so I’ll be able to hear all the conversations. I got blood in the bathroom and on the wall. I’m hoping I’ll be able to see. If they wipe up the blood on the walls, then I’m hoping the blood underneath the bar top will continue to allow me audio. There was a demon in there, so I made it as convincing as I could.”

  I smiled and nodded approvingly. “Well done.”

  “You aren’t pissed about what I said in there, are you?”

  “That was some ruthless shit, but honestly, not the worst people have called me. Or the worst anyone has ever said to me. The joys of being black, educated, gay, and fine as fuck.” I shrugged.

  “Don’t forget to mention humble,” Tyson remarked, and I noted the sarcasm.

  I snorted. “To a point. But I find that living my best life is its own revenge. That, and when necessary, a good swift punch.”

  We both laughed and I pulled out my cell phone, calling the number Raphael had given to me. I had heard about the muse demon, Saleah, before from Brian, but had never met her. She answered right before I was about to hang up.

  “Who in the fuck is this?” she demanded to know in a groggy, yet angry voice. Oddly still, very lady-like regardless of the foul language. Of course, I loved when women cursed as long as they weren’t cussing me out. It was sexy.

  I looked at my watch and saw that I was calling at an ungodly hour of almost four a.m. “I’m sorry to have called you so late, or early. Raphael wanted me to come by to take a dip in your Oasis pool. My name is Andre Jackson, one of his mates,” I said, introducing myself.

  “Ugh, this is in regards to your knight duties. Very well, there is no time limit on my assisting you. Orders from the king. Come now, I will lower my wards,” she said.

  “I will have another demon with me,” I said, then told her his name and what kind of demon he was.

  “He… will need to wait where he’s at. I will not have him spreading his fluids over my property. His kind almost can’t help themselves, so I’d be careful about taking him home if I were you. And I’d leave your clothes that you’re wearing outside as well,” she stated.

  “Thank for the advice,” I said, not willing to argue with her. She was far older than I was and a veteran to this demon world shit, so whatever info she could give me was duly noted and appreciated. “I’m on my way.”

  “Good.” She hung up first and I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

  “Um, Tyson, I have to do this alone. She’s only lowering the wards protecting her home for me. But it shouldn’t take long at all and I’ll come back for you.”

  “Can you at least teleport me someplace where I can actually finish my beer?” he requested.

  “Hey, you were welcomed in that bar.”

  “Not my type of hangout. Notice the bar you found me in… had no problems with black people walking in or demons. Take me back there, it’s open,” he said.

  It was true, for a demon bar in a shady ass part of town, it was pretty welcoming. Man, learning all this was really giving me perspective. Before I became a demon myself, I would have never thought demons could be good. And if they were, it was only to trick someone into selling their soul and that was all from movies and television, because I never thought demons were real. I believed that people who could do unspeakable things to others were the real demons. They still were, but now I knew the truth.

  I decided to do him that solid and teleported him back to the bar I’d found him in, then teleported to Saleah’s home. I knew just how to get there thanks to the very detailed directions Raphael had given me, so I had appeared right at her front door. I felt it was better to ring the doorbell first, rather than just pop in. It didn’t take long before the door was opened and a beautiful woman with fiery red hair, creamy skin, and vibrant green eyes was peering back at me.

  “Let’s make this quick, shall we?” she stated and I nodded as I entered. I kept my eyes on her and watched as she checked me out from head to toe, then smiled. “Well, fate must have a crush on Raphael to have linked him with such gorgeous men.”

  I chuckled under my breath. “Flattered, thank you.”

  “I was a bit cranky at first with having been woken up, but if it means I get to see you naked, well, I can’t complain,” she said, then turned and crooked her finger at me. “Follow me, handsome.”

  I did, and she led me through her beautiful and very lavish home with as many plants and flowers inside as there were in her garden. A lot of these exotic flowers could put some botanical gardens to shame. Once we were inside a large room with a sparkling pool in the center, she began to explain what I needed to do.

  “So, if I don’t see anything, it means the pool accepted me?” I asked for clarification.

  She nodded. “You’ll black out if it does and when you come to, you will be enlightened.”

  “Oookay, but if it doesn’t, then—”

  “You will
be cast out and the pool won’t be gentle,” she stated.

  Truth be told, I wasn’t looking forward to taking a dip in that pool, but I’d been commanded by Raphael, so I knew I didn’t have choice. Besides, if he was making both Brian and me go through with it, then it was important.

  “Chop-chop, now. Show mama that ass I’ve been dying to see,” she said.

  I huffed, then began to take off my jacket. “You aren’t the shy type, I see. Please note, I’m gay. All the way gay, too.”

  She made an off-handed gesture. “That sounds like your human-self speaking. Have you even considered that when you do find the link to your next mate, they might be a female? Meaning, you’ll have to fuck at least once a month.”

  “I have, and when that time comes, I’ll be a gentleman. May have to bring Brian along so I can get it up,” I said. I loved the beauty of women, the power they possessed. But I’d never been into a female sexually. Hell, I tried when I was in high-school, just to see. I dated a girl all of a month and ended it for sure when she was sucking my cock and it stayed flaccid as a wet noodle. I had no doubts at that point that I was strictly dickly.

  “Well, some people are who they are. Some just need to taste the rainbow to realize what they love,” she said.

  “I’ve tasted it, my dear. And nothing turns me on more than a man on his knees begging for my cock,” I said, then winked.

  She laughed. “I enjoy that, too, except it’s my pussy they are begging for. But, I also love women too. Both on their knees, begging. You know, your mates at some point thought they were all the way straight.”

  “Is that so? Are you sure about Raphael?” I asked. I was kind of surprised to hear Raphael was that way. The man ate ass and sucked dick better than I did.

  She nodded. “I’ve known him since he’d first turned demon. Isabella and I are very, very good friends.”

  The way she implied that, I knew she and Isabella—Raphael’s other mate, were more than just friends. “So, when you first met Raphael,” I asked as I removed my shirt.

  “Ooohh, this is nice,” Saleah said and began running her fingers down the length of my torso, making sure to hit every abdominal muscle on the way. “Totally worth getting out of bed for. Sure you don’t want to get in my bed before you go?”

  I chuckled. “Again—gay, but even if I wasn’t, I can’t get intimate with anyone other than my mates,” I told her.

  She removed her hand and pouted. “The king still has you three under that probation? Why? What’s going on in your relationship? Why are you locked down?”

  “That’s kind of personal,” I said, not wanting to get into it, especially not with someone I really didn’t know.

  She shrugged. “I know a lot about you three already, thanks to Raphael. Is it because he doesn’t let you fuck him?”

  “Good god!” I exclaimed. My fingers were on the button of my pants before she said that shit. Just what in the hell did Raphael say about us, geez?

  “Don’t stop, keep going. If I can’t fuck it and suck it, I want to see it.” She pointed at my crotch.

  “No, not shy at all—you,” I grumbled, then undid my pants and pulled them down along with my underwear.

  “You’re not shy either and I like that. Must come from being a Dom,” she said.

  I smiled at that. “That’s just a part of my personality.”

  “Forceful, confident, determined, and in control, right?”

  “That is how I like to roll,” I agreed.

  “Until you met someone more forceful, confident, determined, and who is in control,” she stated.

  “Like I said, I don’t want to get into it. Best I take a dip in the pool and head out.”

  “Don’t you want to know about Raphael’s first time with a guy?” she baited, because she knew I was interested.

  “I’ll ask him. I doubt he was on the bottom, so that much I know,” I said, then began walking toward the pool.

  “Oh, you’re no fun,” she said with a mischievous giggle.

  “I’m plenty fun, just tired. I hope you got a good look at my cock and ass,” I said as I continued to walk toward the center of the pool where she said all the magic happened.

  “Oh, I did and I’m both happy to have seen them and sad that I can’t enjoy them,” she stated. “Just relax.”

  I was at the center now and wondered why she had said that. I was treading water while she began to chant something in our demonic language. Some of the words I was familiar with, but some I wasn’t. The water in the pool began to tickle me and it felt weird as hell. “I’m—” Before I could finish my question about the pool, I was taken under by the water. I felt like I was going into some abyss and before I knew it, everything went black.

  When I came to, I was floating on the surface and the room was spinning. “Ugh, fuck,” I groaned.

  “Get out of my pool if you’re going to puke,” Saleah said. “Come here.”

  I managed to right myself while in the water, and I teleported to her where she’d been waiting with a waste basket. I sat down on my ass and closed my eyes as I waited for the nausea to pass me by. My stomach was rolling and flopping, but after a few minutes, it began to settle and I was extremely grateful that I hadn’t embarrassed myself in front of such a pretty lady.

  “Well, I’m impressed. Most demons who take the plunge always purge afterward,” she said, giving me a compliment.

  “Did Raphael puke?” I asked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  “I would, that’s why I asked,” I said, then looked up at her.

  She laughed. “Full disclosure, I already knew that the king hadn’t released his probation on you three. I just wanted to see what you’d say about it.”

  “We’re back to that?” I grumbled.

  “Yep. So, you like being fucked by him. I can tell. Muse, I get vibes. Since you enjoy it, what’s the problem?” she asked.

  “Being a muse makes you nosey?” I asked.

  “Occupational hazard, I guess. Indulge me, handsome.”

  I pushed the waste basket away and rose to my feet. “Tell me about Raphael’s time in the pool first.”

  “If I do, you can’t teleport out of here without giving me some goodies too.”

  “I’ll tell you and you tell me.”

  “He flailed about like an idiot, even after I told him to remain calm. Then he nearly puked in the sacred pool. Thank god, he teleported to my bathroom just in time. He also made a hissy-fit fuss about the side-effect like a big baby,” she said.

  I laughed—hard—at that knowledge. I was imagining every bit of that scenario and it was a little difficult to see the man who was always on top of his game in that predicament. I took pleasure in it, especially knowing that I’d handled the pool like a champ.

  “Your turn,” she reminded me.

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine. Yes, I love when he fucks me. I haven’t admitted this to anyone, not even Brian. Something about his power, his prowess, turns me on.”

  “I can understand that. And sometimes it’s good to get things off your chest. I’m often the ear a lot of demons speak to, because I can give them peace and insight,” Saleah said.

  “Yeah, I can see that.” Must have been the reason why I’d spilled the truth so easily.

  “So, do you really want to dominate him?” she asked.

  I took a few minutes before I answered that loaded question. I really had to think about it. Finally, I had to shake my head.

  “No?” she asked.

  “No and yes. It’s hard to explain.”

  Saleah chuckled, then patted my cheek gently. “It really isn’t. But I’m sure you boys will work it out. For now, I’m tired and you have demons to hunt and kill.”

  “How will I know if it worked?”

  “Did you black out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then it worked.”

  “If this thing is supposed to help, why am I just now doing it?” I asked.

>   Saleah pursed her lovely lips. “Well, the pool is volatile.”

  “Meaning?” I asked with a curious expression, my eyebrow cocked.

  She shrugged. “Some demons don’t survive if the pool rejects you. And if you’re rejected, but manage to survive, some never recover and remain trapped inside their own minds. Only the rarest of occasions are demons powerful enough to dip inside the pool and be rejected without being killed or comatose.”

  “Holy shit, why didn’t you tell me this shit before I got in that motherfucker?” I asked. My tone was a little harsh knowing just how close I had come to being fucked up forever.

  “I never tell demons the dangers of the pool if they have been commanded to enter it,” she said. “What good would it do you?”

  “Having the choice to live or die would be nice,” I retorted.

  “The king wanted you to do it, both you and Raphael, and if necessary, Brian. Why do you think I allowed you to come to my home at this time? I don’t interrupt my beauty sleep for just anyone, you know.”

  I sighed, because I was now understanding just how much the king had control of me. And I wondered if Raphael knew and was just playing me along the way Saleah had? “So, by not tell me, you made it easier.”

  She nodded. “Exactly. Now go out there and make our king proud.” She turned me around and slapped my bare ass before walking away.

  I couldn’t help but turn back to look at her. Never in a million years would I have taken her for a demon. I knew one thing, I wasn’t ever getting back in that damn pool again. I just needed to make sure I didn’t give Adriel a reason to think I needed to. I got dressed quickly and then teleported back to Alandale to the bar where I’d left Tyson. I walked over to where he’d crashed out, laying face first on the table, snoring and drooling.

  I shook him awake and when he looked up at me, I smirked. “Let’s call it a night. Tomorrow, we’ll start early. Okay?”

  “Sure… hmmm, can you teleport me home, then?” he asked.

  “Where’s that?”

  He told me and I did him another solid. I made sure I removed my clothes before I entered my own home just in case any of Tyson’s blood was on me. I believed I would smell it, but maybe his blood was undetectable. I kind of liked the guy, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure he was being totally honest with me. The way Saleah didn’t want him anywhere near her home let me know there was more than meets the eye with Tyson and his kind. I put my clothes in the dumpster, then teleported to my bedroom. Raphael wasn’t there and Brian was with that Nostera lord and probably fucking like rabbits. I didn’t let those thoughts interfere with the sleep I was dying to get. In the morning, I would be ready to handle my business, for sure. I climbed under the sheets, buck naked, and let Mr. Sandman take me away.