Risky Business

by J B Trepagnier

  Agares was brought out first, and I knew what he was doing. He came out in his demonic form instead of the face we all knew. His demonic form was a feeble old man riding a crocodile. He wanted us to feel sorry for him, and there was no fucking way that was happening. The kings weren’t stupid. They knew exactly what he was doing too.

  “You know the rules, Agares. No demonic forms allowed in court. Change back right this instant,” Bael barked.

  I’d never seen Bael this angry before, and I’d pissed him off plenty of times. I’d never attempted to overthrow and murder him before, but I got up to some shit in my younger days. The rest of the kings knew better than to try to talk when he was this mad. When Bael was pissed off, it was best not to speak unless he asked you a direct question and permitted you to speak.

  Agares must be extremely stupid because Bael looked like he was ready to explode, and he didn’t immediately drop his demonic form. He prostrated himself across his stupid crocodile and started begging.

  “Please, your most gracious majesty—”

  “Get off the fucking crocodile and change now!”

  “Yes, your majesty, if you would just—”

  “Did I stutter? I swear on my left nut if I am looking at your demonic form when I open my eyes after I blink, you will lose both of yours in the middle of this court.”

  Agares had never been the brightest demon, and Bael wasn’t joking about castrating him. He’d probably cut the balls off the crocodile too if he could find them. That was just Bael when he was mad. Any other demon wouldn’t have been dumb enough to rock out to their trial going full demon, then refused to drop it when Bael commanded them to.

  I wouldn’t mind witnessing a castrating. I was currently covered in blood. At least it wasn’t exploded warlock this time. None of us were given a chance to shower before the trial. My entire group was splashed with blood. Vagolin had never been very clean when it came to killing people. It was starting to dry on my skin and get sticky. I wished Agares would just shut the fuck up and drop his demonic form so we could get on with it. Either that or Bael would just kill him.

  Maybe Agares wasn’t totally stupid. He changed back before Bael lost it. He was small for a demon with white-blonde hair and a weak chest. He decided to prostrate himself again, and he tried the begging route again. Maybe he really was dumber than a rock.

  “I don’t want to hear anything out of your mouth except for a reason why you joined this stupid rebellion.”

  “Solron. Please, sir.”

  Bael had fire dancing in his eyes.

  “You’d better be very careful about what you say next, Agares.”

  “I want her, but she won’t give me the time of day. Zepar said I could have her when we won,” Agares whined.

  Well, that was fucking stupid. I hadn’t known her long, but I already knew she’d kill him as soon as they were alone if someone tried to gift her to him. Solron wasn’t taking that lying down. She stood in the back of the court.

  “You utter shit!”

  Solron must have Bael wrapped around her little finger because he gave her this adoring look.

  “So, all this for a woman. You must be dumber than I thought. You’ll die by her hand. Solron, you have my permission to torture him as long as you like and kill him. Have fun, my love.”

  Solron skated up to the front in a strange pair of skates. They didn’t need to be used on ice, and they weren’t made of bone. They had weird wheels in a straight line on the bottom, and she had a piece of candy on a stick in her mouth. She was still a young demon, and she was wearing her hair in pigtails like a child. Agares was looking at her like a lost puppy dog. If he couldn’t have her, he would take getting killed by her.

  “Let’s go, shit for brains,” she said, yanking him off to a shadow where she could take him to Bael’s dungeon.

  Bael steepled his fingers and sighed.

  “Bring me Saleos.”

  I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. This was something I wanted to hear. Saleos wouldn’t have done this for greed, boredom, or a woman. Something else got him to join this rebellion, and I was dying to know what.

  Saleos must have a death wish too because he came out in his demonic form as well. Like Zepar, he was a soldier. He gave Bael a curt nod, then dropped it. Saleos was a large demon, even without his demonic form. He was much bigger than I was when I wasn’t going full demon. He went down on one knee and bowed his head.

  “Why, Saleos? Out of everyone, it makes no sense with you.”

  Saleos raised his face, and there was pain behind his gray eyes.

  “It makes sense if you think about it.”

  Bael took in a hissing breath.

  “Still?”

  “It’s always been about that.”

  “You realize I can’t let this go. You have to die for this.”

  “I know. I made my point. Now, I expect things to change. If a Duke was willing to die for the smoke and flame demons, then things need to change. They need to be protected. Witches and warlocks shouldn’t be able to summon them. I don’t care what it takes. No one should be able to summon a demon anymore. Stop training them to go out and punish the witches and warlocks after the fact. Stop them from summoning us in the first place.”

  Bael looked sad. I had no idea what happened that Saleos took up the cause of the flame and smoke demons, but I agreed with him. Something needed to be done. But why had it gotten to the point that he felt the need to rebel to make his opinion known?

  “Why didn’t you come to me?” Bael asked.

  “I did—several times. You kept putting forth ideas, but never any solutions. I want you to remember my death. I want it to stop, Bael. Don’t make this rebellion mean nothing. Stop our people from getting hurt.”

  Bael stood.

  “You have my word, Saleos. Your death will have meaning. I will make it quick. I want this over. Solron is having her fun with Agares. Saleos will be executed privately, and then I want us all to put this behind us. We will meet in the morning to discuss measures to put in place so this doesn’t happen again and to keep our demons safe from summoning. It will take time, but this is Saleos’s last wish, and I will honor it.”

  Armed demons came to take Saleos away. I didn’t want to see him executed. I didn’t need to view it. He died because he felt like Bael wasn’t listening to him. He joined this rebellion for what he thought were principled reasons. He knew he would lose, and he knew he would die. He just wanted his moment in front of the court to have his say.

  In a way, I admired him. He died for what he believed in. I decided I would take part in the discussions to keep our demons safe from summoning. It was his last wish. We might not have been close, but I would honor it.

  Bael stood and smoothed his clothes down.

  “I would like Amduscias and his crew at my house for dinner. After they have showered and changed, of course.”

  I knew that was coming. I also hoped to find out more about what caused Saleos to take up this cause. It was common for Bael to call a dinner with Dukes after battle. As much as I wanted this to be over and make Hell home for my friends, we weren’t there yet.

  Chapter 33

  Serafina

  I

  was feeling left out of this little Hell victory celebration. I didn’t get to kill a single bad guy. I only got to give Zepar syphilis before a sniper took him out. I was still mad about that, by the way. I doubted Bael would put me in charge of any more executions, and even if he did, it wouldn’t have the same meaning as Zepar. My heart wouldn’t be as into killing that person as it was for Zepar. It wasn’t like I could just go find another evil person in Hell and kill them to make myself feel better either. I was pretty sure they would look down on that here.

  I stepped through the portal into Amduscias’s bedroom. I had blood spattered all over my face and clothes from when those tree demons ripped those assassins apart. That was pretty gory. The noises it made as their limbs ripped from their bodies w
as something I probably wouldn’t forget for a while. I wanted a shower and a nap, but we still had to do dinner at Bael’s.

  Amduscias growled at me.

  “You and Roman look so sexy with the spoils of battle all over you.”

  “I didn’t even get to punch anyone,” I pouted.

  “Hey, you gave a Duke of Hell syphilis in public. No one else can make that claim. I know you didn’t get to finish, but you still humiliated him before he died.”

  “It would have been better if I got to give him a micro cock first.”

  Fergus pulled me into a bloody hug.

  “She always gets cranky when something final happens to a bad guy, and she didn’t get to do it.”

  “You got to kill a bad guy.”

  “And now I’m glad this is over, and you are safe.”

  “Can we take a shower?” Skoll asked. “This blood is getting gross.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Roman said.

  “Roman, this is like the time those shifters started throwing food all over the cafeteria, and you pitched a fit you got oatmeal all over you for the rest of us,” Skoll said.

  “Oh, come on. It’s so not the same.”

  “You got plastered in our food and didn’t like it. We feel the same about being covered in yours.”

  “I think we can all admit blood is way tastier than that shitty oatmeal.”

  They could sit there and argue this all day. I didn’t want to be covered in lousy oatmeal, and I didn’t want to be covered in blood either.

  “Let’s just get in the shower. Group shower?”

  “We don’t have time for a quickie,” Amduscias said. “Bael will expect us to be back at his place for dinner soon. We can have our post-battle nookie session after dinner.”

  All I had was dream nookie with my dragon. I hadn’t gotten to enjoy him now that he was real. It was sexy as fuck watching him riddle Gusion with arrows, and I didn’t even get a make-out session because Bael was ordering us all through the portal back to his house. Bael might be the supreme king of Hell, but he was turning into a real cockblocker.

  “I’m scrubbing her back and washing her hair,” Fergus said. “All of you have gotten a shower or bath with her. I haven’t.”

  Skoll clapped him on the back.

  “I’m sorry they ruined your big moment, Fergus. It’s nice to meet you in person finally. I just want to get all this blood off of me.”

  Amduscias got his look on his face and started batting his eyelashes.

  “Well, if Fergus is washing Serafina, can Roman and I wash each other?”

  I swear they were trying to kill me. Fergus scrubbing my body while watching Roman and Amduscias soap each other up? And we couldn’t have shower sex? Kill me right now.

  I think everyone wanted the blood off them except Roman, who I believe was getting off on it. We all went to the bathroom silently and started stripping off our clothes. Amduscias had this fantastic bathroom. It was like whoever designed it planned for shower orgies. There was easily enough room for all of us and showerheads all over the place so we could get clean.

  I stepped under the scalding water, and I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to look at. Fergus, Skoll, Roman, or Amduscias. Fergus didn’t leave me much of a choice. He got behind me with a loofah and started scrubbing my back. Skoll was behind me. He liked to sing in the shower, and he had an excellent voice. I had no idea what song it was other than old.

  My eyes were plastered on Roman and Amduscias. They were hot, naked, and covered in soap. Their hands were everywhere, and they were both erect. I knew I would have issues with this. Fergus wasn’t just soaping my back. He was massaging the soap in. I leaned back against him and rested my head against his shoulder. He reached around me and started soaping my breasts. We could have a little quickie, right?

  I mean, Roman and Amduscias were concentrating pretty hard on soaping up each other’s cocks. My mouth was watering. I wanted to touch everyone in this shower so badly. I nearly screamed when Fergus pinched my nipple and removed his hands.

  He started working the shampoo into my hair and scratching my scalp. Roman was stroking Amduscias’s cock with his head thrown back and his mouth forming this big O. God, that was so hot. Skoll was right behind me singing away like there wasn’t a sexy demon and Vampire jerking each other off covered in soap.

  Fergus grabbed the showerhead off the wall and started rinsing my hair. I was dancing on my feet because I was so fucking turned on. I lost it when Roman and Amduscias were soap-free, and Amduscias fell on his knees and started sucking Roman off.

  “Well, shit,” Fergus said as he rinsed the conditioner out of my hair.

  Fergus slammed the showerhead back on the wall and wrapped his arms around my waist. One hand went to my breasts, and the other found my clit. He started nibbling on my neck. My eyes were glued to Amduscias’s head, bobbing on Roman’s cock. Roman’s eyes were glowing red, and he was watching Amduscias too until he realized I was enjoying the show. He started watching Fergus finger me.

  Skoll was oblivious to all of this. I could still hear him singing away behind us. He kept singing even when I let out this huge moan. I was like a live wire. This needed to be a quickie, and we all knew that. Fergus was practically an expert on getting me off by now.

  I grabbed his forearm and dug my nails in. Fergus had this deep, sexy voice, and the Fae accent sounded a lot like an Irish accent. He got right next to my ear.

  “I will ravish you later, my Ena.”

  “Me too,” Roman growled.

  I thought Skoll wasn’t paying attention, but he finally stopped singing briefly.

  “Me three. Don’t think I can’t tell what’s going on over there.”

  I’m sure Amduscias would have said something too, but he was deep throating Roman. This was it. It was almost over. We just had to get through dinner at Bael’s and wrap up a few loose ends. Then, this would all be over, and we would make this our home. I could get to know Charley better and maybe make friends with Solron and the other elementals here.

  First, I had to finish my little shower orgy.

  Chapter 34

  Roman

  I

  was bored with demon plots and Hell revolutions. And prison was fucking boring. Sure, it was exciting at first, but it got old fast. I wanted more shower sex, and Serafina said there were a lot more movies with the little green man that talked funny. I wanted to watch more videos with him in it. I also wanted to just sit down and read. They didn’t even give us a library in Scorchwood.

  That shower sex was fucking hot. And now that I’d had hot showers, I was furious about all the cold showers I had to take in prison. If I had known showers could be hot, maybe I would have gotten up the nerve to invite Amduscias or at least told him how I felt.

  I wanted more sex. I wanted to sink my fangs into Amduscias and Serafina and get blood everywhere while we all fucked. That wasn’t possible. I had to get dressed after my shower and go have dinner with the king of Hell. I was trying not to be a pouty bastard as I stepped through the portal to his sitting room.

  We weren’t alone. Finn was there with Charley. I saw why Bael hadn’t booted him out of Hell after he helped kill Gusion. Finn and Charley were into each other. I squealed like a woman and ran to her. I picked Charley up off the floor and spun her around. Maybe this dinner wasn’t so bad. I set her down to whisper in her ear.

  “I think you like him, Charley.”

  “I do. Don’t embarrass me, Roman. I still have some of that microcock potion.”

  I sat her down and tapped my index finger to my nose. We all followed Bael into the dining room. I hadn’t realized Eiltan and Ior were invited until they popped out of the shadows like some crazy Vampire movie Serafina showed me. I had no idea who Count Dracula was or why they made a movie about him, but we just did not act like that. I wouldn’t mind wearing a cape, though. That part was cool.

  What were we doing about Eiltan? Were we still killing him? It was Warden S
kinner’s fault Scorchwood was so shitty, and her coven was the one who framed all those elementals. What were we doing about that coven too? I had questions. I wanted this to be over, but this was way bigger than I imagined. I think I liked shit better when Eiltan was the only bad guy. Now, I wasn’t even sure if he deserved to die and a Vampire who didn’t know how he felt was just bound to up and kill someone.

  I didn’t know how to feel, and I didn’t know what to do at their appearance, so I did nothing. He wasn’t my father, and this wasn’t up to me. If Serafina wanted him dead, I’d rip his head off for her, but I’d never kill her father without her permission. I’d never try to tell her she needed my permission to murder anyone, but this was her father. She’d probably be furious at me if I just up and killed him right here, and that wasn’t what she wanted.

  He looked like he didn’t know if she still wanted to kill him either. He had this tense look on his face like she would burst into flames, grab the nearest weapon off the wall, cut his heart out, and eat it. That would be fucking hot if she did.

  I think we were all surprised when she smiled at him instead of up and killed him.

  “I’m glad you’re here. How was the battle topside?”

  So, we weren’t killing Eiltan. Duly noted. Unless she was playing with him. Maybe she wanted to eat first, and then we would be murdering Eiltan after dessert?

  “I decided not to kill him, Roman. Are you okay with that?”

  “Yeah, I just needed to know where we stood. No murdering Eiltan at dinner. Got it.”

  I was glad we’d shared so much blood, and she could feel I was so fucking confused right now to reach out to me telepathically. I’m sure I would have said something totally offensive at dinner to one of the different groups here, not knowing what we were doing with this Fae prince. I was chill now. Relaxed. I knew what was going on. We were having dinner with her father, and we weren’t going to murder him at some point.