Part 2 in a series of short stories. Can be read separately.
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There were thirteen dead cultists in the manor hall, but you wouldn't know it from looking around the place. They were mostly soup now. Entrails hung off the banisters like morbid garlands, blood and guts were splattered on the tasteful wallpaper, and most of the candles had been doused in splashes of blood. The gore-drenched grand chandelier was still swinging, casting crimson shadows that licked the abattoir below.
Kai took a step and his hoof slipped on some goop. He was still breathing heavily, his fists balled and his jaw set. The rage was only just simmering down enough for him to fully appreciate the carnage he was capable of when provoked. He loathed those who tried to leash him. And they had tried, these weekend cultists with their incomprehensible sigils and limp-dicked attempts at incantations. It annoyed him that they hadn't even gotten the demon-restraining sigils right. There was no sportsmanship in it.
A chain rattled. Only when Kai turned around did he realize how quiet it had gotten now that the screaming and roaring had stopped. His ears were still ringing and his blood still rushing, but he had heard it loud and clear. In the middle of the hall was an altar. A nice one, he had to admit, black and shiny with very precise sigils carved into the stone. And a boy on top. He was naked as a newborn, his hands cuffed over his head and attached to a ring on the altar, black hair spilling over the edge. Kai hadn't noticed him before. It was strange, but he didn't feel much fear coming off him, let alone the panic that would come from seeing a cult gathering turn into an infernal meat blender. Maybe because he hadn't cracked him yet.
"You must be the sacrifice," Kai said, walking over to the altar to take a closer look.
"Yeah," the boy said, and he seemed more suspicious than scared by the hulking blood-splattered demon towering over him. "Hi."
"What's your name?"
A wet glob of gore dripped from his horn and fell on the boy's chest. He narrowed his eyes.
"Matt."
"No it isn't."
"Phil."
"Come on."
"Well I saw what you did when the other one told you his name."
That was fair. Again Kai felt like something wasn't quite right with that boy. He seemed much to blase for the predicament he was in, although understandably cautious.
"I'm not going to do that to you," he said. "If I wanted to, I'd have done it by now. I don't have a problem with you. Honest."
"Then why do you want to know my name?"
Whatever his name was, he was a bit to clever for his own good. Either way Kai was walking out of there, and soon, but he hated the idea of going through all this mess for nothing. He was hungry and quite upset. There wasn't enough time to find somewhere else to feed and he doubted he'd get another summoning before sunrise. They tended to taper off after midnight.
"Noah."
There had been a fair bit of reluctance in his voice, but Kai knew immediately that he was telling the truth this time. Noah opened up and flowered, but even his emotions were strange, smooth and flavorless, like licking an egg. Kai put his hand on the boy's chest, curious at the complete lack of fear. There was nothing there. He wasn't repulsed at the sight of blood, he wasn't scared of the demon or worried about his situation. He was just there. All Kai felt was a small prickle of curiosity, as if the boy's soul was an ornery cat sniffing his hand.
"Noah," Kai repeated, and for the first time he really looked at the boy. He must have been about twenty, lean and olive-skinned with sleek black hair and narrow eyes. His hands were still cuffed, his wrists bruised, but his legs were free. It made Kai curious.
"What did they tell you would happen?" he asked, and Noah grinned.
"Nothing. But I overheard. They said a demon would come and infest me with infernal seed and rip me apart. Will you?"
"I might," Kai nodded, plucking chucks out of his hair, just to see if he could scare him. It did, but only a little. He hardly got a nervous jolt out of him. Feeding on that boy was like trying to suck a steak through a straw. But the curiosity still simmered below, and something was beginning to dawn on Kai. "You volunteered for this, didn't you?"
Noah nodded, and a note of slight amusement finally made the pieces fall into place.
"Of course you did," he smiled, and the boy mimicked his smile. "Because you were bored."
"I'm always bored."
"I'll bet. Am I amusing you?"
"A little. I liked it when you ripped that guy's spine out through his chest."
And he still enjoyed it, but not much. His smile was plastic, and Kai knew for a fact that Noah was still making an effort to look normal. But he couldn't fool a demon that fed on emotion. Most succubi didn't bother with psychopaths. Cracking that smooth, flavorless shell wasn't worth the effort. But Kai was an exception. Just thinking about the singularly pure emotion that could be spun from that dusty heap of straw made him bite his lip. It was worth it to him. And he so rarely got a chance.
"Would you like to feel something?"
His hand was still resting on Noah's bare chest. Underneath his palm a blossom of excitement flowered, muted but pure. He felt pity for that boy, even if Noah wouldn't appreciate it. Kai spent his eternal life chasing the emotional arousal he could never truly experience for himself. Noah's boredom resonated. It tasted like the ashes on the cold plains of the void.
"I'd like that a lot," he said, and he didn't bother with the plastic smile anymore. He must have realized that Kai wasn't fooled. But when Kai pinched his nipple between his nails Noah spasmed and laughed.
"That doesn't count," he said, squirming on the black altar.
"I haven't started yet."
He grabbed the boy's ankles and plated his feet firmly on the black stone. Without hesitation Noah opened his legs, inviting Kai to come closer. The grin on his lips was back, and this time it was real. It stayed on his pretty face when Kai climbed up the altar and lay down between his legs, his cheek on the boy's chest on top of the bloody hand print he had left. He had a beautiful body, lean and shapely, with soft skin and enticing curves. Kai had barely touched him and already he felt lust pool between his eager legs. Kai's large hand could easily close around Noah's small cock twice over. A flick of his tongue on the boy's nipple made him shiver and pleasure rise.
"You're sweet for a demon," he said, biting his lip and gently rolling his hips. "Is it true what they said?"
"I won't rip you apart. But there might have been truth to the demon seed thing," he said, trying to draw out some fear just to see if he could. A swarm of nerves spread under Noah's skin. Nothing as heavy and unsavory as fear. Just the zest of arousal. "You didn't believe them, did you?" Kai went on, running his fingernails along the boy's sides. "It's true. It will fester inside of you. It will poison your blood. It will change you."
He dug his nails into Noah's skin and felt his body tense and squirm underneath him. A sharp intake of breath followed when Kai dragged his nails down along his chest, leaving thin trails of blood behind.
"How?" Noah asked, and there was breathless excitement in his voice. "How will it change me?"
"Not much at first," he said, the tip of his tongue following the trail of tiny pearls of blood. "You'll feel things you have never felt before. Love. Devotion."
"To you?" he asked, closing his legs around Kai a little tighter.
"And only me. It will feel glorious. Stay with me and you will feel things you can never achieve on your own. It will change your body too. Eventually. It will soak your brain in desire and your skin will feel like a raw nerve. And then it's up to fate. It may take years. But you'll change. The eyes are usually first. If you're lucky you might grow wings and hollow bones. Or you could be covered in sores that never heal. Or both. But you won't care. You'll be lost in bliss. One day I'll put you to sleep and you'll die having known true, deep, delirious pleasure."
Before Noah could speak Kai kissed him. Noah rose to meet him, his back arched, rubbing against Kai's thigh. The more Kai touched him, the more streaks of blood covered his olive skin, like paint on a virgin canvas. Noah liked it. It excited him. His lust rose in such a mannered fashion, steadily swelling and rising and growing in intensity. But slow, purposeful, nothing like the wild lust and chaotic blend of emotions Kai was used to. No jagged peaks and valleys, no erratic shoots of doubt or joy, only glowing lust. It was so pure that every drop of it was bliss.
"What do you want from me?" Noah whispered, breaking the kiss just enough to speak, his lips still close enough to feel his breath. "In return for all that. What do you want?"
"To feed. That's all. You won't even notice. You'll love it. You'll beg for it. The more you feed me, the better I'll make you feel."
Every word he said roused Noah's sleeping soul. Kai could feel it creeping in his veins. It followed his fingers fingers and his tongue when he ran them over Noah's squirming body, around his engorged nipples and into his hard cock. Kai barely had to do anything. As soon as his hand closed around the boy's cock Noah moved with the touch, thrusting into his hand, his eyes closed and his teeth dug into his lip. For the first time in ages, Kai took a moment to enjoy his plaything with every one of his senses. Rather than just feed he watched Noah's muscles tense and release, breathed in his scent and listened to his moans. Noah had forgotten about the carnage around him. His groans sounded in the quiet hall, his hands gripped the side of the altar as his cuffs rattled with every movement. He was startled when Kai kneeled between his legs, but he was ready. Searing hot lust pooled in his loins, he was rock hard and dripping, wordlessly begging to be fucked.
A sharp gasp bounced off the walls when Kai thrust into him. A shock of pleasure surged through the boy, tensing every muscle in his body, making him pull on the cuffs. After the first wave it faded as Kai held still, his hands on the boy's chest to feel his every breath and twinge of satisfaction.
