In Flames - 9. Chapter 9

“How the fuck did you do that?” Atoki jumped off his seat with a shout, one hand clutching the side of his skull. Vruuaska snarled, long ears flicked right back over his head, tail snapping like a whip.

“Ah shit.” Zai, the demon who smiled with acid yellow eyes and who looked remarkably similar to Vruuaska in his other shape, except that his horns were smaller and his fur a flatter sort of grey, sighed and stepped forwards, “Calm the fuck down buddy. He’s an empath.”

Atoki felt like someone had rummaged around inside his brain, fingers inside his mind, learning his secrets. It was a cold sort of sensation.

“And what the fuck have I told you about doing that to people without warning?” Kiorl snapped. He was the highest ranking demon in the house, though he didn’t look stronger than the huge snake-man who coiled at the end of the long bar. “Shit Tobias, I’d be surprised if they ever drop their guard around you like that again.”

Tobias, the demon who looked like a nice young man sighed and slung his frying pan into the sink with a crash.

“It’s not my fault, it was all just there. I dunno how the rest of you couldn’t see it.” He gestured to Atoki, “He feels like shit because he just raped the big fluffy thing there,” Vruuaska snarled, “And they’re both in love with each other and have no idea how to… oh fuck, I’m doing it again aren’t I?” This time Kiorl succeeded in clipping the young man around the head, which caused Zai to snarl again.

“Dude,” Sitka was sitting with the pretty pale boy Jahke in his lap, and somehow managed to personify a laid back Australian surfer despite his black skin, muzzle and horns. “Nassau is gonna have to get you some more training. They ain’t gonna speak to you for weeks.”

“I’m sorry.” Tobias shuffled under Zai’s outstretched arm, then bashed the demon when he tried to ruffle his hair, “Really, I just. Sorry. You’re both really easy to read.”

“You’ll have to work on that.” Kiorl scowled at Zai and Tobias, “Fucking empaths. Come on new kids.” The panther with the electric blue Mohawk gestured with his head towards the smaller lounge across the hallway “Come with me.”

The room was like a cross between a perfectly appointed sitting room and a student crash pad, a jumbled collection of bean-bag style things, couches, high backed chairs and soft poufs, all well worn by many years of bums-on-seats. The major demon Kiorl took a seat on one of the antique wing chairs and gestured to the slightly sagging sofa opposite.

“Talk to me.” He fixed Atoki with his hard stare, “You seem to be the lead partner in this, human. Atoki wasn’t it? So talk, explain what happened in there.”

“I don’t wanna get anyone in trouble.” Atoki found his shyness resurfacing a little. Kiorl was strong, powerful and looked like he was quite fond of playing games with people.

“Tobias is good at getting himself in and out of hot water. Being an empath buddy of the Prince’s helps some. Don’t worry about him. Explain to me what he said.”

Atoki rubbed the space between Vruuaska’s horns and sighed softly.

“Can you? Vru, could you be your other shape for a bit?” The demon stood, and then the four pawed beast melted into the bipedal shape that Atoki found even more enticing. He settled on the sofa and Atoki wrapped his arms around the strong, muscled torso straight away. “Thank you.”

“That makes marginally more sense.” Kiorl tapped his claws on the arm of the chair, “So are you his Master or his friend? His lover? Did Tobias read you right, are you two attached like he is to Zai?”

“Is that bad?” Vruuaska’s voice rumbled low and he pulled Atoki further into his lap, “I do not want to be separated from Nami.”

“It’s not bad,” Kiorl reassured the big demon quickly, “Jahke assumed that you were a couple, that’s why we roomed you together,” He turned to Atoki, “If he’s your creature, in that you are his Master, then his wellbeing and the responsibility for his actions lies with you. You can do whatever you like to him and you won’t be questioned. You’ll be under my jurisdiction and he’ll be under yours. If on the other hand you are lovers, then he as a demon is seen as the controlling party, but you are each responsible for your own actions and you will both be answerable to me. Does that make sense?”

“Yes.” Atoki smiled at the demon he had unwittingly called from the flames.

“So which is it?”

Was this love? Atoki’s rational brain, which had taken a bit of a beating lately, shouted that it was way too soon to tell, that even with Aris dead he was obviously a bit unbalanced and that there was no way he could expect Vruuaska to want to stay with him, except that he had just said he would. He touched the side of Vruuaska’s face and stroked his short, soft fur.

“Vru?”

“Well I know I love you. But I’ll do anything you want Nami.”

A flash vision snapped across his eyes, himself on his knees, bruises blossoming on his cheek, begging Aris not to hit him again. Anything, I’ll do anything you want. Please… Atoki shook his head; he couldn’t submit anyone else to that humiliation.

“No. I want to be his lover, not his Master.”

“Very well,” Kiorl sighed and stood, “At some point, the palace will want you, to determine your responsibilities. It is up to the both of you to decide if you want to petition for Lord Nassau Del Rae’s consideration. To become immortal,” He clarified, “I suggest that you eat something, Tobias’s cooking is excellent for all that he’s a whiny bitch, and then take a nice long bath and a conversation together. I will see you at dinner; I need to get to the palace.” Kiorl stood and clicked his fingers, instantly changing his tunic for a kilt and tabard of blue edged in cloth of gold, “Good luck.”

Atoki stared after the feline demon as he exited the room, then turned to Vruuaska.

“I’m sorry.” He laced his fingers with the demon’s own, taking a moment to marvel at the different in size of their hands. “I should’ve stopped when you asked me too and…” he met the fiery gaze, and it was hard to hold it, “I should never have said those things to you.”

Vruuaska nuzzled into his hair in response.

“But you want to be my lover and not my Master?”

“Yes. You’re your own person Vru, I don’t own you. And I care about you, deeply,” He clarified, “We should just get to know each other better.”

The demon made a soft murr of agreement.

“Let’s go and eat then.”

Tobias smiled at them when they came back to the kitchen. The snake-man had gone, and Atoki could hear Jahke and his mate Sitka off in the bigger lounge being giggly. Shindae, the demon with the winding fire, gestured to the seats next to himself.

“It’s nice to have another fire demon in the house,” Only his raised eyebrow showed surprise at Vruuaska’s changed shape, “Since the triplets moved out we’ve been sadly lacking in elemental skills.”

“Were you born in a fire as well?” Vruuaska kept his voice low, the rumble that made Atoki’s stomach start doing flip flops.

“Gosh no, I’m not that lucky. I was made from a volcano, one of the ones down here, and made it to the inner circle by being useful. Now I outrank everyone in the house apart from Kiorl.”

“You hungry?” Tobias smiled at Atoki across the counter, “What would you like?”

“What did everyone else have?” Atoki decided that he didn’t want to be the human who required special food.

“Breakfast bowl. Here.” Tobias pushed over a chunky wooden bowl of what looked a bit like stew and smelt like a fry up, “Try it. It’s basically a full English in a bowl, although a lot of the ingredients are different.”

Atoki took the proffered fork and scooped up some food. He chewed. Tobias was right, it did taste pretty much like bacon, sausage, beans and black pudding. His stomach growled, and Atoki realised that it had been at least twenty four hours since he’d eaten, and he’d thrown up twice since then. He held the bowl possessively with one arm and ate as though someone might take it away from him.

“What about you big guy?” Tobias turned to Vruuaska, who was watching the boy eat with fascination, “What do you fancy for breakfast?”

“Do you have any charcoal?”

Shindae went to fetch Jahke, who grinned in delight and dashed up to ‘his library’ and returned moments later with a book almost bigger than he was. He flicked through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

“Oh here we go! ‘Demons born in flame are built from the materials of their birth.’ So that’s wood and ash and stuff right? That’s why he smokes?” Jahke looked between his lover and Shindae for conformation of this, “A true fire demon does not bleed. They recharge themselves by consuming fuel for their inner fire.’ Well that’s kinda cool…” Jahke turned a page, “Awesome. Hey Vruuaska can you breath fire?”

The big demon answered by puffing smoke.

“Huh?”

“Vru? Maybe it only works the other way?” Atoki began to stroke the demon’s point tipped ear, and the creature melted under him until Vruuaska’s big wedge shaped lion-wolf head was resting in his lap. The beast thrummed against his leg, big fire eyes looking up at him as his stroked the long ears.

“Dude, that’s cool.” Sitka whistled his appreciation for Vruuaska’s shift, “That’s like the neatest change I’ve seen.”

“You wanna try again?”

Vruuaska laid his head on the countertop and exhaled. Orange flames and black smoke spewed from his lips across the kitchen and Tobias leapt back in surprise as the cooker caught fire.

“Oops. Sorry.” Vruuaska yawned, “I guess my diet is kinda different huh?”

Jahke checked back in his book.

“Err… yeah. So because you were made in a human fire, you need ash and wood and charcoal. It says if you’d been made say in a volcano or something then you would need igneous rocks and stuff.” He turned to Tobias, “Looks like we’ll need a wood shop in the kitchen.”

Shindae smiled.

“And maybe I just got a new scavenging partner. We ain’t going to find your foods down here bud, you’ll have to go topside a lot.”

Atoki didn’t like the sound of that so much. He locked his fingers in Vruuaska’s mane and found the beast purring for him almost instantly.

“Come on you.”

“Anything Nami.”

As they reached the stairs, Atoki heard Shindae’s laugh as Zai spoke up.

“Uh oh, looks like we got ourselves another pair of lovebirds. Kiorl’ll be pissed.”