Satan's Sword (Imp Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter 11

W
yatt and I were fairly late getting back from our ride because I’d had to switch horses mid–stream. Well, not literally mid-stream, although I certainly looked like I’d been in one.

On a whim, and against Wyatt’s strongly worded recommendations, I had saddled up Diablo for what was supposed to be a leisurely ride through the fields. I’d been bucked off before we left the pasture. Within half an hour Diablo had bolted twice, bucked me off four times, and reared six. I’d managed to stay on through the rearing incidents, but the subsequent spinning around had me either on the ground or hanging upside down from the horse’s neck. I’d stuck him full of raw energy to try and hold myself on better, but he was quickly able to overcome it and dump me on my rear. I’d been disciplining him with increasing violence and could tell that Wyatt was becoming uneasy. I really needed to force the horse into compliance or he’d become uncontrollable, but I realized the level of injury I’d need to inflict on him was beyond what Wyatt could comfortably witness. Reluctantly, I took the horse back to the stable and saddled up Piper instead.

I tried to enjoy the beautiful fall day, but I kept thinking of how I now needed to spend the afternoon bringing Diablo in line. A lot of hybrids live comfortably as their maternal animal. Maybe they’d be a little temperamental or mean, but they’d still pass. Diablo had so much more to him. He had potential, power, but it was all wasted rattling around unused in a stallion’s body. He needed to learn, to explore what he could do and who he could be. Only then would he really be happy. He wasn’t just a horse, and it wasn’t right to let him go on living a life unrealized. Unfortunately, I’d probably need to wallop the crap out of him to get him on the correct path.

I looked over at Boomer, my hybrid Plott hound, as he trailed after us. He was the same, only he’d been raised since birth with the demons. He’d never experienced living as a dog, confounded by why he was different, trying to appease humans who didn’t understand him. I watched him jog along, covering twice the miles as he traversed back and forth to catch intriguing smells. I’d had to lock him down to life here, so he’d remain undetected. It bothered me. I knew it was risky, but it wasn’t fair to make him live as just a regular dog. I needed to free him. I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

The rain had left the fields soft and muddy and I was covered from my frequent falls from Diablo. I managed to stay on Piper, but the occasions when Wyatt led on Vegas sprayed small bits of mud from the horse’s hooves onto me. We were both speckled with mud by the time we rode back to the stable, but I was far worse.

I heard Diablo squeal as we dismounted and wondered what was going on. He’d be making that noise a lot this afternoon when I got a hold of him, but there wasn’t anything in the barn for him to be fighting with beside the cat. I handed Piper’s reigns to Wyatt, dashed in to see what Diablo was up to and saw Dar.

“Mal, this horse is very rude and needs to be taught a lesson in manners. I can’t believe you tolerate this level of insubordination.”

Dar was in his favorite human guise. I’d seen it before, and he sometimes even assumed it at home. His black hair was silver streaked, and deep blue eyes shone from a tanned face with a sharp nose and full lips. The original human he’d Owned to obtain this form had been portly, but Dar was too vain to walk around with a pot gut and love handles. He did keep some of the weight on the form, though, giving the impression of a powerful man, slightly past his prime and putting on a few extra pounds. Not handsome by conventional standards, but a form that conveyed power. I preferred the young Italian priest he’d picked up in the fifteenth century.

“I just got him Dar. I haven’t had much time to work with him since I’ve been running all over the place on your stupid fucking errands.”

He turned and zapped Diablo again. I let him. It would show weakness to come to my horse’s defense. It would reveal that I cared enough about the horse to protect it and mean the horse could be used as leverage. It would also demean Diablo by implying that he was too weak to withstand the discipline. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Boomer poke his head in. He took one look at Dar and vanished silently. Smart dog.

“Damned animal, I’ll teach you to bare your teeth at me.” He readied another bolt of energy. Diablo snorted and zapped him first.

“What the fuck? You cocksucker. Mal, why didn’t you tell me you had him storing energy? Fucker just shot me.”

I laughed. “Stop messing with him Dar. I’m training him this afternoon and you’re going to get him all fired up.”

Dar walked over and grabbed a chunk of my hair, tugging at it affectionately. I missed him, too. I hadn’t kept in touch with most of my other foster siblings. Dar and I always stuck around though. We kept separate households, but we both relied on each other when the need arose and we enjoyed each other’s company most of the time. I felt a sudden longing to tear into him with claws and teeth, to have very violent sex with him, as my kind does. I missed him, and I missed home.

“Could use some help here, Sam,” Wyatt snapped as he staggered into the stable loaded down with saddles and bridles.

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey.” Out of habit I went to help him and mentally kicked myself as I saw Dar stare in astonishment.

“Mal, you have a
toy
! A human toy, just as disrespectful as that horse. And here you are jumping to his command. What has happened to you?”

I ignored him and gave Wyatt what I hoped was a significant look. “That’s my brother Dar from back home. Just dump the tack here and go on home. I’ll call you later.”

Wyatt frowned at Dar, clearly not getting the message.

“Oooo Mal, he is cute. And feisty, too. I want to play with your toy.” Dar took a few steps toward Wyatt and I moved to stand between them.

Crap. Hospitality with demons demanded sharing, and it was typical to pass around a human to close friends. Sometimes they didn’t come back, but it wasn’t any big deal. There were billions. Easy to replace a broken toy. I’ve never been one to share anything, though. And especially not Wyatt.

“I have every intention of welcoming you personally, as I always do. I would never shuffle that off onto a mere human.”

“But I haven’t had a human in a long time Mal. He looks reasonably sturdy. I would not Own him or kill him. I won’t break him beyond what you can repair. I simply want to enjoy his company for twenty minutes or so. No longer.”

Wyatt, thankfully, was remaining silent.

“No Dar. You know I don’t share, even with you. And you may not break him, but you’ll damage him in ways I cannot fix. I like him how he is. Believe me, you will be more than satisfied with my personal welcome. I haven’t been home in over forty years and I have missed my kind. I have missed you.”

That seemed to have struck a chord with Dar, who was actually rather sentimental about our relationship. He turned from Wyatt and grabbed my hair again with purpose, yanking me to him.

Unfortunately, that action kicked in Wyatt’s knight-in-shining-armor impulse and he reached out to intervene.

“No,” I told him sharply. “This is not what you’re thinking Wyatt. This is part of my culture, and it’s very much a give and take. Go home and I’ll call you later.”

Wyatt hesitated, his jaw set in that stubborn way that foretold an argument.

“He can watch.” Dar’s suggestion was halfhearted. His attention was completely on me at this moment, and I intended to keep it that way.

I didn’t want Wyatt to see this side of me, and I was worried that he might somehow get hurt in the fray. Demon affection was violent and collateral damage was common.

“Go home,” I told Wyatt, trying to put my fledgling suggestion skills into the command. The only thing I’d been practicing was creating intense food cravings, so Wyatt promptly left to go find hot wings. I hoped he had some in his freezer or he’d be driving his rickety old truck all over the countryside to find them.

Dar and I got down to the business of welcoming each other properly with fangs, claws, tongues and bolts of energy. Diablo was a voyeur, watching from his stall, and I hoped the display would make it easier to train him this afternoon. By the time Dar and I were satiated, both of us were torn and dripping blood, saliva, and other bodily fluids. My left shoulder was literally hanging by a tendon and Dar’s ribs glistened white among torn flesh. The pain and the pleasure were equal between us. We’d taken care to make this a peer-to-peer welcoming. Casual acquaintances would not have gone so far or for so long, but Dar and I had history. We both basked in the warmth of a deep friendship avowed and renewed. I felt a twinge of guilt over what I was about to do to him. I wondered how much shit he’d be in with Haagenti over this artifact.

“I take back all the derogatory things I was thinking about you, Mal,” Dar teased. “I do think you’ve changed though. I can’t tell if it’s just the long time you’ve spent here, holding yourself tight into a human form and human behaviors, or if it’s something else. You seem different.”

“Trust me, the moment I’m back home, back in a more traditional form, all this will fall away,” I assured him.

“And when will this homecoming be?” I could tell my extended vacation hadn’t escaped his notice or curiosity.

Before I replied, I fixed myself by whole body conversion. With a crack and a pop, I flew apart all the molecules of my form, holding my personal energy and my store of raw energy close, then collapsed it back using the DNA pattern of Samantha Martin to create a totally uninjured and naked form.

Dar yelled and flung himself across the room panting and looking about wildly.

“What?” I stretched my arms upward to flex the muscles. I was perplexed at his reaction. We did this sort of thing all the time at home and he’d never freaked out before.

“Fucking balls, Mal! You’ll bring every angel within a hundred miles with that kind of display. We’ve got to get out of here right now.” His voice trailed off as he stared at me. Stared at a specific part of me. “What in hell is that on your arm?”

Damn. I’d forgotten about the tattoo. And I’d been so free with my energy usage the last few months that I’d forgotten how impossible that would normally be for a demon over here.

Dar was suddenly before me grabbing my arm and peering at the tattoo. “It’s a brand,” I told him reluctantly.

“I can see that.” His voice rose with a note of panic. “You told me you weren’t bound. Why would you lie about something like that? What bound you? Angels just kill us. Did a sorcerer bind you into service? How long are you to serve him, and what price did he pay? Is Owning him really worth this?”

I relaxed a bit. It would be so much better for Dar to think I’d worked out a deal with a sorcerer then him thinking I was two steps away from enslavement to an angel. I quickly thought about how to work this story, but before I could reply Dar put his finger on the tattoo and pushed his personal energy down into the red purple.

Instantly he was across the room in a heap, smoking slightly. I, on the other hand, was shaking with anger.

“You fucking rude son of a bitch. Don’t you ever assault me in that fashion again or I will kill you outright. I don’t care what our relationship is; you
do not
put yourself inside me. Even if I accept your breeding petition, you will never be allowed that privilege. No one is ever allowed that privilege.” Actually, only the angel had been allowed that privilege to date, and I intended to keep it that way.

Dar scrambled to his feet and had the grace to look somewhat ashamed. “I do apologize Mal. I don’t know what came over me to take such a liberty. I only wanted to examine the brand, not show you disrespect or violate you in any way.” He paused for a moment. “I still sometimes see you as a little sister, unable to take care of herself. You take great pains to mask your ability and level. I know you can take care of yourself, and this deal you’ve made with a sorcerer is none of my business. I’ll send over a member of my household to your Steward for the next five years to compensate you for this affront.”

That was very nice of him, and beyond what would have been expected. I was also glad that I’d managed to avoid the potential inquisition regarding my brand.

“I accept,” I told him. “I’ve got the box you came for in the house. I’ll get you a beer and a shirt to cover your injuries on the return trip, too.”

Dar’s face brightened at the thought of finally getting the artifact and I felt that twinge of guilt again. The feeling was most unpleasant. He drank a cold beer and updated me on the latest gossip while I tried to bandage him up with gauze and tape. He was going to return via the Columbia Mall gate and I doubted he’d be able to make it past mall security let alone the gate guardian ripped to shreds and bleeding all over the place. He’d managed to stop the oozing and begin basic repairs by the time I finished. I’d found duct tape worked better than the medical tape. I warned Dar that it would hurt like a bitch pulling it off, so he might want to just do a full body conversion when he returned. Or he might possibly enjoy that sort of thing.

“Then he said ‘I wonder what this button does?’ and pushed it launching a green fireball across the street into his residence. Blew a hole right in the side of the building and killed a third of his household!” Dar roared with laughter.

I chuckled, but wondered why it wasn’t really funny? I didn’t feel sorry for the dead household. It’s not like I knew any of them, or cared about their lives cut short. Heck, I would have pushed the button, too. That’s what buttons are for. This should have been hilarious. Maybe I was still feeling guilty about Dar’s box. How much trouble would he be in with Haagenti?

Dar then went on to tell me a story about a couple of young who’d gotten caught sneaking around one of the Elven woods by the High Lord’s scouts. They’d been dipped in honey and hung from the trees along the border of our lands. By the time they were found, they were covered in ants and other insects. One was actually being licked by a raccoon. Everyone thought it was so funny that they left them hang there for a few weeks. People took to coming out and picnicking by the spot to enjoy the view as they ate their meals. I laughed so hard at that story that tears came to my eyes. Feeling much better, more like my old self, I went to get Dar his box.