In Flames - 13. Chapter 13

They fucked for days.

Apart from meal times, as reminded by Tobias, or Zai, or Jahke, they never left the room. Except to muck about in the bath, screw under the waterfall-like shower, and lie panting and naked on the tiled floor afterwards. It was exactly as it should have been. Neither Atoki nor Vruuaska could get enough of the other.

They spent the entire time to constant contact, touching, kissing, lying in the big dish shaped bed and stroking each other’s fur and skin in lazy swirling patterns. They slept intermittently, talked about the most silly and unusual things, found pleasure in every way that either of them could think of. Vruuaska turned out to be a considerate and passionate lover, and Atoki adored seeing the demon happy and smiling. The demon shifted forms often, and Atoki was surprised to find that he enjoyed his lover’s feral form almost as much. Snuggling up to sleep in Vruuaska’s thick pelt was the most fantastic thing. The pair tried everything, usually more than once, and wrapped themselves up in their own pleasure and delight.

On what must have been the sixth day by Atoki’s count, Sitka rapped on the door, fully dressed with loin cloth and a selection of armour and gestured for them to come downst airs. Atoki knew that they weren’t going to be coming straight back up again. He dressed, and Vruuaska hindered him by rubbing his big wedge shaped head against his butt as he tried to button his shirt. Kiorl was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs.

“Honeymoon’s over kids.” He beat out a tattoo with his claws against the wall, “Palace wants you.”

“Are we in trouble?” Vruuaska asked, rubbing his length along Atoki’s side, curving his tail around the boy’s forearm in a now familiar gesture.

“No.” Shindae appeared, also fully dressed with his patchwork of armour on, “But its assignment time. I reckon you’re coming up top with us.”

“Cool.” Atoki ruffled the fur between Vruuaska’s horns. “Sounds exciting Vru.” The big feral demon turned back his ears, and Atoki could easily read the look in his narrowed fire eyes; they had much less need to talk now than they had required before, “I’ll still be here when you get back. You can go scavenge your own dinner.”

“I suppose,” Vruuaska shrugged fluidly.

“I’m getting more books for Jahke,” Sitka smiled as his lover passed by with a salacious wink, “You want anything bud?”

“I suppose films are out of the question?” Atoki’s question drew a series of blank looks, “A feather duvet and whatever romantic pulp fiction you can lay your claws on please.”

“Great,” Shindae rolled his eyes, “Another big reader. As though Jahke wasn’t already petitioning us to turn the rec room into a library as it is.” The black demon slapped Vruuaska on the shoulder, “Say goodbye bud, time to get a move on.” The other demons waited by the main door, and Vruuaska turned to Atoki. The boy felt something like he imagined women of old must have felt watching their husbands go off to war. It was not a great feeling.

“Hey, maybe one day I can go up there with you. I’m plenty strong.” Atoki rubbed the thick fur around the base of his feral lover’s horns, “Miss you.”

The big demon pushed up against him, a low rumble like the purr of an avalanche.

“I’ll bring you your duvet, and whatever this pulp fiction stuff is.” Vruuaska nuzzled his hand, “I love you.”

“Love you back.” Atoki pulled Vruuaska’s head down by a horn and kissed his muzzle, “Now git!” Vruuaska snarled, and licked his face, which made Atoki squeal, before taking off with the others. Alone with Kiorl, Atoki made to turn back upstairs.

“Not so fast bud.” The big Black Panther ran a hand through his shock of electric blue Mohawk before returning to pick at his short claws, “Palace wants to see you too.”

“Oh,” Atoki stepped back down, “Sure. Why didn’t we go with them?”

“Different part of the palace,” Kiorl shrugged, “Come on.”

Atoki took in what he could as he followed Kiorl from the house, down the rough slope to the palace, but the panther demon moved fast, and it was much more important to keep up, his thick soled boots scuffing at the floor, and trying not to walk into anyone or trip himself on lose stones and slip in splashes of lava, than it was to look at the scenery. Much of the view seemed to be ash and smoke, stone and fire anyhow.

Kiorl led him in through a smaller door into the palace, and instead of walking through the vaulted, painted and sculpted hallways, Atoki found himself following along a low rough cut passage in the dark stone. When Kiorl stopped for him at a door, half turning to gesture at him to catch up, Atoki saw a flash of… something, in the usually hard and confident eyes. Whatever Kiorl was doing, he wasn’t happy about it. His long, curved claws extended and retracted from his feet, scarring the stone below in little nicks and cuts.

“Kiorl?”

“His Lordship wants to see you.” Kiorl didn’t look at him as he spoke, just pushed open the door and let him walk through first.

“Prince Nassau?” Atoki frowned. He liked the Prince, mostly because he seemed both powerful and fairly normal, but according to Tobias, Nassau and Kiorl were close friends. And that didn’t explain Kiorl’s hesitation, his uncertainty and the flash which Atoki was sure now was either guilt, or fear, or both.

“No.” Kiorl coughed, and then bowed towards the centre of the low ceilinged square room. “His Lordship, and the King of Hell. The Devil, Sathriel.”

In the centre of the room was a single stepped dais, and atop that was a rough-hewn throne, like that of a cave man. The devil all in red with thick black horns and hooves, sat on his throne, his eyes glinting with malice. Atoki knew that look.

Aris had looked at him like that before the first time he’d hurt him. That was the look of evil, that regardless of what Atoki wanted or tried to do, however he tried to plead or beg, he was going to be used and humiliated. Sharp claws rapped against the stone throne and when Sathriel smiled, Atoki knew that his capacity for pain and degradation was infinitely greater than Aris’s had ever been.

“Thank you Kiorl. You may go.”

When the panther turned, clearly miserable, Atoki grabbed him.

“No!” He tightened his grip on Kiorl’s wrist, both hands squeezing, “No.”

From the throne, Sathriel sighed.

“Bring him here.”

Like an automaton, Kiorl turned, placed his other hand on the back of Atoki’s neck and steered him, struggling, towards the dais in the centre of the room.

“Kiorl no! Don’t let him do this to me!” Atoki struggled and fought, but Kiorl was strong. He looked anything other than happy.

“That is not your decision to make human.” Sathriel stood, snatching Atoki away from the panther, tearing away most of his clothes as he did so. Tatters and rags on the floor vanished magically, along with the loin-cloth the devil had been wearing. Atoki tried to twist, to kick him, but the demon merely laughed and shook him like a doll until his brain felt loose in his skull. “Stupid petulant creature.” He snarled, sitting back in his throne, “You think that you can fight me, but you are wrong. By the time this night is over, you will beg to have me again.”

Aris had made him beg. He twisted his actions and his voice until Atoki begged to be raped because it was better than the alternatives. Offering himself to Aris was better than having his throat rubbed raw, better than being beaten and invaded by all manner of obscene toys and objects.

I was stupid to think that I had escaped… Atoki fought back the tears. Sathriel wanted him to cry to whine and moan and beg for forgiveness and mercy. If it killed him, Atoki knew that there was no way he was going to give the devil that satisfaction. He’d either live through this with the smallest amount of self-control and dignity, or his steadfastness would kill him. Sathriel pulled the boy into his lap, spreading him open with his own huge thighs, handling him roughly, as if he were no more than a toy. The force of his movements practically tore Atoki’s hip bones from his sockets, but he gritted his teeth together and shot Kiorl an evil look.

“No!”

Sathriel stopped his imminent invasion of Atoki’s body to stare at the demon.

“What?”

“No.” Kiorl took a step forwards, anger hot as any flame shining in his eyes, “Get a wraith, have one of the boys drug you something pretty from upstairs. Or not drug them. Find something unsuspecting, but do not do this to him.” Kiorl grabbed Atoki’s wrists and tugged him from Sathriel’s lap, “You cannot have him.”

Without warning, Sathriel reached out and backhanded Kiorl, sending them both sprawling across the floor.

“You left me with no choice!” He bellowed, “You thought you could leave and that there would be no consequences!” His rage was palpable, his anger a thing so huge that it was suffocating. Atoki scrambled away across the floor, only to find himself lashed by the devil’s long snake-like tail. “No one leaves me without my permission! I will take from you the things you care about.” The tail wound around Atoki’s ankle and dragged his naked body across the rough floor. “And I will start with this!” The Devil smiled, and it was an evil gesture, “Lucky that I took a fancy to him anyway isn’t it?”

Kiorl snarled, and slashed at the tail as it passed him with his claws.

“All because I gave up being your fuck toy? I’m a major demon Sathriel, I am allowed freedom of my descisions!”

Atoki found himself dropped again as Sathriel rounded on Kiorl. The panther growled again, but was backlashed across the room. Stone dust flew up from the wall where he impacted. The demon struggled, but remained standing. He hissed between his fangs.

“I will not allow you to leave me for my son!”

To Atoki’s surprise, Kiorl laughed.

“And I got sick of being a replacement for him too! I didn’t leave you for anyone Sathriel. I just left you.” He walked over to Atoki and hauled him upright. It was a little rougher than he boy would have liked, but he found himself on his feet, “You are not hurting him. He loves a Son of Ifrit. There are those even you are scared of. Can you imagine what they would do if they found out?”

Sathriel strode forwards, and now Atoki could not mistake the intent to murder, plain and simple in his eyes.

“You will not be alive to pass on that message.” His eyes fell on Atoki, “And I will make you witness the suffering of your friend before I kill you.”

“Father.” The voice was like a cool wind, wet and soft, passing over Atoki’s skin. Standing in another doorway was the Prince Nassau, looking for all the world like an angel, “I will tell them. And you cannot kill me. Let them go.”

There was a moment of hot tension, as though if either of the great demons moved, the world would shatter into pieces. Then Sathriel stomped to his throne and smashed it.

“Come.” Nassau offered his hand across the room and Atoki ran to him, even though it hurt. When the beautiful grey-eyed man touched him, he felt clean, safe, and looked down to find himself dressed in a tunic of silk, belted with a fine knotted leather cord. “Both of you, Come with me.”