Molten skies cast deep, crimson hues over desolate lands. Low sunrises give large, ripping lakes gold reflections surrounded by autumn trees and tall, imposing brick structures. Towers stand guard on hilltops with great pyres adorning them like crowns. None frighten me. I am running as fast as I can past all of them, feeling the wind through my hair and the resistance along my horns. I see castle ruins up ahead of me as I jump through dense forests and easily dodge vine wrapped trees. The bricks are black with moss, threatening a barely stable footing but I am unfazed. My claws grip the rocks with ease, and any brick too weak for me is reduced to powder. I slip maybe once, and in an move of indignation I smash part of the ruins behind me with a powerful swing of my tail.

There is a woman on my back. She screams and hides her face from the debris, burying her nose against my shoulder. Her fear lasts a mere moment before she is laughing and tightening her hold around my neck.

"You are too bold!" My Edeva cries out. "One day you will fall and land on your back, crushing me!"

"I am as graceful as a feline," I assure her. "and will land on my feet if I dare slip. Come, woman, you wanted to ride me and you have. Now I shall take you in to these ruins and ride you in return."

"Brute!" She acts scandalized, but as I slowly revert from my beast form, I can feel her shift her hips and grind herself against my back. Naughty little human.

I find a particularly grassy area to land in, crouching so that Edeva may slide off of me. She takes one of my hands and tugs me towards a corner, before spinning around and pulling two tresses of hair on the sides of my head. I lean down obediently so she may reward my efforts with a kiss.

"You like the spot I have chosen?" I ask. She nods, turning from me to look at the view. This castle once sat on the edge of a great river with a waterfall nearby, and when the sun hits the spray from the falls at just the right angle, a vivid rainbow appears. It does not last very long, but long enough to hold my mate's attention as I sit down and pull her in to my lap. I am content to let her enjoy this one bright moment in such a dark place. The underworld, especially Hell, does not often let secrets like these be known to anyone but the most diligent seekers.

Normally I would have no interest in finding such things, but I want Edeva happy. I will find these moments wherever they may be hiding. She leans back against me as I wind my arms possessively around her, and sighs as I begin to kiss her neck.

"Do you love me, Kazaxon?" She asks softly, turning her head from the rainbow I found for her. Her desire for me outweighs it, but I am not offended. If I am the sight she prefers, so be it.

"Yes." My reply is immediate, without thought. A demon can be as unsure about things as any human or angel, but of this I am absolutely certain.

"I love you, too."

Her smile is dazzling, more beautiful than anything else I have ever seen, nor ever will see. It fills me with intense joy. The wrath in me is all but gone when I gaze upon my mate.

"Kazaxon?"

"What is it, my pet?" She suddenly looks concerned, and I brush the tip of my claw down her cheek.

"Demon? Are you awake?"

"Yes." I raise a brow in confusion.

"Kazaxon the Red!" At the basest distance of my hearing, someone hisses lowly. Edeva is no longer with me. Everywhere is black. Total darkness. Less than such: emptiness. "Wake up, demon."

The voice is unfamiliar, and yet rage inducing at the same time. It seems I was dreaming, and am slowly waking up. Once all of my senses return to me, one by frustrating one, it occurs to me that I am in control of Alekso's body. It is my body right now. Red shapes come in to focus; my hands. Why am I waking up instead of my host?

Then, the cause of our present state comes back to me, as well.

Before my vision fully clears I jump to my feet and thrust myself against the bars. There are bars? I am in some sort of prison? I shake the cobwebs from my mind and slam against the bars again. They should crumble before my strength, yet they do not budge. Instead I am repelled back by some unseen force. The space between each bar glows an unpleasant shade of purple before fading away, and my fingertips tingle. My cock jumps, too. Oh fucking hell, this is lust magic.

The earlier voice is some man in a black cloak; a cultist. He stands in front of the bars with his arms folded and his hood down, staring curiously at me. I regard him coldly, folding my arms the same as his. His eyes are purple, but not like Edeva's. His pulsate with demonic power.

I ask. The man jumps a little at my voice. Ugh. Humans and their weak ears.

He sticks a finger in his ear and glares at me. "Uriel's Chosen imprisons you. I am Matthias, it is a pleasure to meet you."

He jumps again. "I bet you are wondering why you have woken up in a cage that you cannot get out of. I can answer that for you. You see, one of the other diablarists has enchanted the bars with some ice magic mixed with a little bit of lust. So, demon, by all means grab at the bars all you'd like if you are feeling frisky, but you will be tired out before you break them."

"Ah, can you speak a little more quietly?"

"Where is Edeva?" I ask, a little more quietly.

"Brother Jean has hidden her away from you and the king while we decide what to do. You are here because I need to speak with you about her, Kazaxon the Red. Only you, no Alekso."

Wake up, I attempt to call to my host.

I feel Alekso attempt to regain control, my body shrinking very slowly as he comes to, but then Matthias waves his hand hand. From an unseen point where I am standing, a younger man walks in and holds his palm out towards the bars. They glow again. I feel another tingling sensation throughout my body before Alekso gives up.

"Kazaxon, if Alekso attempts to come to the fore again, Braeden here will send so much lust in to your prison that the king's dick will snap off." Matthias warns. "So he should do well to hold off and let me speak with you alone. I am sure he prefers not to be magic-raped."

He jumps, as does the other cultist. I do not feel like being quiet for the sake of their pathetic human ears anymore.

"So I have a question. We know that Queen Edeva is your mate, but is she Alekso's?"

I continue to listen.

"I don't know that much about demon society. Not many diablarists do. That is what makes Alekso and you so special, Kazaxon. You give us insight in to a world we but brush against. You hold so much power, my friend, and you could have more. This world could be yours. With our help, it would be yours."

"We have come to the conclusion that we cannot get rid of her like we want. She is weak, you know. A weak little mortal who will grow old and die within the blink of an eye for you. But the other Chosen finally understand when I tell them that it doesn't matter to you. Your souls are meant to be together. This fact doesn't weaken you, but it does weaken Alekso, who we proudly held aloft as our highest member of the Chosen whether he knew about it or not. That woman has him wrapped around her little finger now. He would do anything for her, even let blasphemers walk free from their years of fighting against him all because she believes in the power of forgiveness or what have you. Don't you find that pathetic?"

"My apologies. But as she continues to turn Alekso away from being the grand, powerful king he was, to the weak king he will be, that does not need to encumber your strength, does it? Alekso is such a powerful mage, and with you he is the most powerful diablarist in the lands. And yet, you could destroy him if you wanted to, couldn't you? You could destroy any of us if I let you out of that cage. But you don't have to. Not me. I want you to be at your strongest, Kazaxon. You should not be wasting your time in the body of someone like Alekso, who lets a woman rule him."

"You would not have to worry about me ever weakening you, Kazaxon. The Chosen think we could be quite a pair, and it also means you could have Edeva all to yourself. I would keep my hands off her if you commanded it. You wouldn't have to share her with Alekso or anyone. Fuck, we could lock her up in a tower for the rest of her life if you prefer that."

"Then I will break my deal with him. I doubt the consequences will diminish the benefits of the power you'd give me."

"There are some in our flock who have not yet made their deals of power, and we can bring them here to see if any suit you." Braeden speaks up. "Or, we could take the mages in Alekso's castle, willingly or unwillingly. His valet Sebastian would be a suitable host. Or what about Kwenthrith Thanet? You could make her and Edeva enjoy each other's company and watch it in a mirror..."

Yes, that definitely made a deal with a demon of Lust. Keep his hands of Edeva, sure. I roll my eyes. Alekso attempts to make contact with me as I unblock him from hearing the talk with Matthias.

He wants to kill me.

Yes, these cultists believe that Edeva makes you weak.

Would you let him?

No. Even if I wanted to, you and I made a deal. I will protect you at all costs. And besides, Edeva is our mate, not just mine.

"Think on it, demon. You tell me what your choice is, and I will tell the Bishop. Edeva could be free any moment, just say the word."

"Are you sure? We would never do anything to harm you, Kazaxon. Your existence in this world is God's will, and we will not go against God. We will simply figure out an alternative deal to make with you. I am going to go fetch the queen, Kazaxon. Maybe having her with you will make your choice a little easier. You can last a long time without food or water in there, but I Edeva can't.

Matthias leaves me with Braeden, heading towards the unseen space I assume is a door. "And tell Alekso to not try anything with his necromancy. If Lambert reports so much as one corpse leaving its tomb, we will turn the proud king in to a begging little mollyboy."

I snarl, and begin to pace the length of the cage.

Let me have control, Kaz.

Absolutely not. Lust magic is extremely powerful.

So I'll aim my cock in that cultist's direction and see if I can get him in the eye.

Shaking my head, I consider how long it would take me to tear these bars off, or what would happen to this magic if I were to melt them. They will not keep me here like an animal.

The Legio could free us all, Kaz. You know it. I will suffer through whatever sick plans they have in store for me until they are dead.

As if sensing our internal conversation, the cultist turns my way and bites his lip a little. "Are you... talking to the king?"

I boom out. He jumps.

"Matthias was not lying. The magic does not work as strong on you as it will on Alekso, and I can destroy his mind from the inside if I have to."

"My magic is residual. You'd never get out of that cage without hurting the king."

My eyes narrow, and my wrath threatens to tear down this entire room. Physically, as long as I am in control, Alekso cannot be hurt by my destruction, but this human can choose whose consciousness to send his dark power to. Lust. What a fucking ridiculous sin to gain power from. Matthias was clearly Pride, and that makes him the most dangerous out of anyone we have met so far. He can bend the body to his will, mentally or physically. Still, none of them will be a match for me when I get out of here.

"Tell me, human," I lower my voice as to not startle him, even if watching these cultists jump amuses me. "What mage strength do you possess on your own? Your 'core abilities', as Alekso calls them?"

The corner of Braeden's lips turn in a slight smile. "Fire. I can manipulate fire. Though, I am still learning how to master such a power. I came in to my magic late, you see."

"I do see."

Alekso, help me charm the cultist.

I can feel the confusion in the back of my mind. Charm him?

Yes. He likes me. He wants me to know more about him.

That does not necessarily mean he likes you, just that he wishes to brag, Kaz.

"You are a wrath demon, are you not? That means you must have command over fire. Perhaps once all of this is settled you may teach me. I would be a loyal follower."

He likes me.

Alekso sighs, and then proceeds to offer me some pleasant things to say. He, being a king of humans, is far better at the art of conversation than I.

"I am sure you would be," My voice remains controlled, deep but not painful to hear. "Braeden, was it?"

"Yes, my lord." He perks up.

"But you are under Bishop Lambert's thumb, so how would you be my loyal follower and his at the same time?"

"Well, Bishop Lambert is just following the will of God."

"God's will is what put you and me in the same room together, is it not? Perhaps God wishes you to realize your own strength, with my aid."

Braeden's smile widens, "Yes... perhaps. Is that what you think?"

"I think if I am to remain trapped in this cage until I choose who to give my power to, I would prefer God lead the way. And here you are."

I snap my fingers, Alekso instructing me to appeal to Braeden's submissive nature. He wants to be lead by someone strong. At the snap of my fingers a small ball of flame appears and hovers over my hand, like a tiny sun. Braeden's eyes light up with excitement. "Hold out your hand. I will bring the fire to you, and then show you how to do it yourself. If you impress me, I might come to a decision in your favor."

The human does so, but as I try to bring the ball of flame towards him, it dissipates in to the magic between the bars of my cage, as I expected. I sigh in feigned frustration, then make another attempt. Again it fizzles in a lavender ripple.

"Wait," Braden says, eagerly standing from his spot and briskly walking over to me. He is smart enough to keep his hands on the other side of the bars, but not smart enough to keep them far away from the bars. As soon as he is within a comfortable distance, I jam my tail through the magical field.

The tingling sensation is almost overwhelming. Almost. I am fast enough that Braeden only realizes too late of my plans. I have him by the wrists, and I pull him them between a bar fast enough to break his nose as his face slams in to it.

He cries out, blood instantly gushing from his nostrils and in to his mouth, framing his teeth. His arms tense up but he cannot reach back to shield him from the bar a second time. I keep my hold on him.

I growl as I feel his magic shredding its way in to my being to get at Alekso. He grunts in discomfort as Braeden attacks him.

I again pull him in to the bar, but not to further damage his nose. This time, I wave my tail in front of his injured face before stabbing my stinger in to his forearm. He gasps from the pain, though it is minimal.

A second or two later, the magic fades, and the bars are made completely harmless. As promised, I let go of the boy, who falls to his knees and hopelessly covers his damaged face. The bars are strong and reinforced; it is possibly more than just lust magic used in their construction, so it takes a little effort for me to pry them open.

Braeden looks up through his watery eyes as I kneel in front of him, snarling. He is just a pawn for the bishop, an old fool who thinks he talks to God, but he is nevertheless a pawn who willingly stood between us and Edeva. Imprisoning me is one thing, but threatening my woman is entirely something else. I reach for him, and he tries to scuttle away.

"Wait!" He pleads. "You said you will not kill me!"

He looks relieved, until he sees my form shrink down to that of a man as Alekso takes over.

"I, however, made no such promise." Alekso grins darkly, and activates the venom.

Then we watch, together, as the poor pawn feels the heat from within his blood and begins to scream.