Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Asael watched the doors that the Vampire had disappeared into with flat gray eyes, glancing to the side when the Fiend brought down a heavy fist on the sturdy doors. Each hit was harder than the last, and he knew that if he let it go on, the doors would crumble easily under his strength, and then the inn would be flooded with powerful aphrodisiacs.

He stepped forward and caught the Demon by his overcoat, warping them away from the inn. He let go as soon as his feet touched solid ground, putting distance between them.

He stared at the Fiend, his pupils were fine pinpoints in his searing purple eyes. "You’re angry," He noted blandly.

Wrath and Chaos factions were so finely divided that a Fiend with both blood running through them was a rarity. For a Wrath faction Demon, he had yet to see the Demon truly angry, even when he found out that his father had arranged to have him killed.

He had more of the impulsivity Chaos faction Demons were prone to, but right now, rage was radiating off him like a wall of heat.

"Ridiculous," Kath’tan bit out, "Why would I be angry at the antics of a foolish Vampire?"

Asael gave no answer to that, and that was because he was equally looking for one himself. He had taken them to the outskirts of Ensbury on a whim, it seemed to be proving itself useful. There was nothing but trees for miles around, the festival and lights a far distance away.

"The reason doesn’t matter, but you would be better off expelling some of that anger." He said without interest, glancing down at his hand, which he let his shadows slowly coat.

The baseless accusations did little to cool Kath’tan down, storming over to the nearest tree to kick it down. "What? Am I a brainless brute who simply can’t control his anger?"

Asael didn’t even glance in his direction, ignoring another question directed at him. He pulled the ball of shadows from his hand like it had merely been sticking to his skin, bouncing the roiling ball of darkness in a single hand.

Despite Kath’tan’s claims, two more trees fell, the sturdy trunks snapping under the slightest pressure from him like dry twigs.

Asael glanced over when the Fiend ripped a fourth tree from its roots with a single hand, brandishing the huge tree like a weapon. He couldn’t be more disinterested in a fight. The Fiend was aggravating enough on a fine day, in a rage like this with his strength doubled, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

He caught the ball of shadows, his grip on it punishing. It was an unsatisfying endeavor because the shadows simply wrapped around his fingers and down his wrist, an undeniable part of him even when separated.

A short distance away, he could hear trees crashing to the ground, the Fiend wielding the tree trunk he held like a scythe, felling powerful trees at an astonishing speed.

To keep his thoughts from straying, he watched the Demon go on a rampage. It must be refreshing to be a brainless brute with an endless well of energy to expend on a fruitless task.

His shadows had been absorbed into his body, taking with it the image of the Vampire clinging to it. He had failed his first mission.

He had gotten too entangled with the Vampire. Truthfully, the mission had failed the very moment he was summoned, and every moment he held back from completing his mission only reinforced his failure.

For a moment, he was tempted to join the Fiend in mowing down trees. Roaring into the night and bowling over sturdy trees had to feel cathartic.

Asael found a tree to lean on while he waited for the time to pass. He had failed, but he would lie to himself a little longer. He would lie so he could continue this strange journey for a while longer.

-+-

Ruoxi opened the door cautiously, expecting to walk right into an attack. In truth, while he was imbued with the strength of a Holy Demon, he had no clue how to use it. Cubi weren’t built for violence, their inherent abilities to charm creatures couldn’t be further from that.

He paused when he found the hallway empty, how curious. He was incredibly confident in his ability to read people’s hearts, especially in the matters of the bedroom, and he had been braced for a fight to the death.

But then again, Dulce wouldn’t allow it, perhaps that was why the others had made themselves scarce.

He leaned against the doorway, his dark brown coat slung over a shoulder, a faint smile on his face. He felt more like himself than ever, a strange sensation because he had forgotten what he used to be like. If a simple fight was what was needed to keep this, then the decision was an easy one.

But there was no one waiting for him, so he closed the door and returned to the inn room. It was only temporary, soon, company would be charging through the double doors of the prestigious inn.

The air in the room had cooled down, the scent of lotus flowers faint, mostly lingering on the Vampire fainted dead away on the pale pink sheets.

Ruoxi was in a good mood, languidly pacing the length of the room, his coat still off. He had been taught to loathe this part of him, feeding had been accompanied by pain and disgust for so long that he had forgotten how it was supposed to feel.

He looked Dulce over, the Vampire seemed to be in a deep sleep. He couldn’t say when he would wake, even such a simple method of feeding had completely drained him of energy. Anyone else would either be dead or at death’s door, yet the Vampire was peacefully asleep, completely unharmed, if a little paler.

It made Ruoxi frown, blood would need to be arranged for the Vampire. Thinking about it, the Vampire hadn’t fed since they left the ingratiating Vampire’s manor, too bad his blood would be no help, he would have willingly offered him a drink.