Comfort Food

Part 4 in a series of short stories. Can be read separately.

The incubus Kai, and his boys Noah and Jamie are being tormented by an angel with a grudge.

-----------------------

Jamie stood naked as a newborn in the fading light of the Arizona desert. It had taken them all day to lay out the rocks in the shape of a complex summoning circle and carve sigils in to the ground. Now the setting sun cast long shadows on the sand and rock and the desert glowed with the gold of the twilight hour. Kai was walking around the circle, checking every last rock and sigil scratched in the sand while Noah reassembled his handgun for the third time that day. He was getting very bored. It was only curiosity that kept him from wandering off, and when Kai announced everything was ready he perked up.

"Are you sure I'll be fine?" Jamie said, standing in the middle of the circle with waves of anxiety rolling off him.

"Pretty sure," Kai nodded, nudging a rock in place with his hoof. "Eventually. Look, it's your own fault. If you hadn't messed with angels we wouldn't have to summon it."

"So do I shoot it or what?" Noah asked, and Kai slapped him upside the head.

"For the last time, no. Only if I tell you to."

Noah rolled his eyes and sat down on a rock outside the circle. But Kai was glad to have him there. His dry boredom provided a welcome counterbalance to Jamie's anxiety and Kai's own doubts. He had never done this before. It was only by chance he had learned the name of the angel that had been tormenting Jamie, and he wouldn't have dreamed of summoning it if things hadn't gotten spectacularly out of hand. He figured the angel had marked Jamie somehow. It was the only thing that made sense. And he'd had quite enough of it.

He lit the small fires on the edge of the circle. A sharp scent of burnt herbs filled the hot, shimmering air, and Kai took his place at the southern point of the circle.

"Ready?" he asked, and Jamie shook his head. "Too bad. Stand still."

Jamie did his best not to shiver in the breeze that rolled over the sand and rocks. Even Noah stopped fiddling with his new toy and looked up when Kai started the summoning chant. Part of him doubted it would even work, and his most cowardly instincts hoped it wouldn't. But when he raised his hands and spread his wings, the rocks started glowing red. He kept chanting the words, over and over. Noah's eyes shone with delight when the first rock burst like a popcorn kernel. Jamie flinched when several more popped in the heat and pelted him with red hot rock shards, but he didn't move from where he stood. The wind picked up, gentle breeze swelling to hot gusts that tore at them in time with the chant. Fire erupted from the glowing rocks, the bonfires swelled and the air was thick with nauseating herbal scents, and the chant crescendoed when Kai called the name of the angel of the Lord.

Puriel.

A sharp gust knocked Jamie off his feet. He screamed, a scream that abruptly cut off when he doubled over. Kai dropped his hands and looked at the boy in the center of the circle. Jamie was breathing heavily, but he didn't stand up again, and he didn't make a sound. Noah had gotten back on his feet, gun at the ready, but nothing happened. The wind died down, sweeping away the last of the heat. Overhead the stars emerged, and still Jamie didn't move. They waited in perfect silence. When Jamie clambered back on his feet and raised his head Kai felt a jolt shoot through Noah.

"Fucking hell," he said, eyes fixed on Jamie's white glowing eyes.

"Still bored?" Kai asked, looking at the body the angel had taken over, and Noah shook his head. "Well at least we managed that. Let me handle this."

He tried to sound confident, but his insides squirmed looking at that creature that wasn't Jamie anymore. The white eyes were a dead giveaway, but the way the angel moved was eerie as hell. It twitched and squirmed as if the body was too small for it, as if the infernal sigils inked into its skin itched him like fresh brands. Its face was folded into a bare-toothed scowl. The fact that it's was Jamie's sweet freckled face made it all the more unsettling.

Kai's stomach lurched when the angel fixed its bright white gaze on him and finally spoke in a voice that was nothing like's Jamie's. Light poured from its mouth when it did.

"I am Puriel, servant of the Lord, arbiter of souls-"

It went on a bit, and Kai waited patiently with his hands on his back. Its voice was gravely and seemed to echo off the air itself.

"And I'm Kai," he said, scratching at his horn. "Uh. Demon of hell, incubus by trade. That one over there is Noah."

The angel looked, and Noah gave him a lazy wave.

"That's Jamie, the one you're... wearing. You two have met."

"The insolent one," the angel's voice growled, and the light in its eyes shone all the fiercer. "Worm of hell's dirt, servant of oblivion, demon's whore who thought to control the majesty of heaven-"

"Yeah, that's him," Kai smiled, a smile that withered quickly when the angel scowled. "And we're so, so sorry about that."

"You are its master?"

"Unfortunately," Kai sighed, and the he shuddered in disgust when he saw the bones in Jamie's body shift under its stretched skin. "Look, we don't want any trouble. He's learned his lesson, I promise you. I know he's a little shit. Trust me, I do. Why don't you just tell me how we can make it up to you and we'll all forget this ever happened?"

Noah And Kai held their breath waiting for the response. None came. The angel was furious, squirming inside a body it hated with all the holy fire of heaven. It didn't seem about to state its terms, at any rate.

Without any other options he could see, Kai stepped into the circle. Even if Puriel was still bound by the sigils on the rock, it probably wasn't the smartest move, but his instinct was always to get close to the person he wanted something from. The deepest part of his psyche was simply curious what an angel felt like. He wanted to touch it, but even when he got close enough he knew better. The angel studied him with fiery eyes, the body hunched and bent at slightly unnatural angles.

"This body is precious to you," it said, and Kai shrugged and scratched his horn.

"I suppose. I've had it for a while. You become attached after a-"

He gasped when the angel snapped its arm back at the elbow and a nauseating snap of bone cracked in the silence.

"Jesus!" he gasped wide-eyed, and he cringed when the angel glared. "Sorry. Please don't break it. Look, I know it's bad form putting you in there, but I didn't have your phone number, did I? Just... root around in there a little. He's a full idiot but he meant no disrespect, you'll see."

"Release me!" Puriel barked, so vicious Kai stumbled backwards in the light that flashed from its mouth.

"Oh, well, yes, obviously we'll do that. Just do me a favor and have a look around in there."

The angel went quiet, and with rising hope Kai realized it was doing just that. He wasn't too sure an angel of the Lord would find any redeeming qualities in a horny murder pixie like Jamie, but there had to be some lenience for absolute cretins.

And in that silence, a curious thing happened. Kai had felt nothing from the hybrid creature in front of him. Not until he sensed a sparkle of something familiar. It was a sensation that was hard to quantify, a sweet taste of bubbling curiosity and prickles of red hot desire, and a flavor that he knew so, so well. It was Jamie. Without thinking his eyes slid down over that twitching body, and he raised an eyebrow when he realized it was fully erect. And when he saw that, the penny dropped.

"You're no angel," he said, and he felt a grin in the corner of his lips. "You tricky bitch, you almost had me."

"What's going on?" Noah asked. Kai looked at him standing outside the circle, gun clenched in both hands and visibly nervous. "I thought you said it was an angel."

"Oh, it was, once," Kai said, turning back to Puriel. "You've fallen, haven't you?"

The searing glare he got for those words all but confirmed it. The bright cocktail of every base emotion roaring inside that thing was enough for him. He was right. But he resisted the urge to gloat. He didn't want that creature snapping more of Jamie's bones.

"It's okay," Kai said, hoping to sound reassuring. "I'm sorry, it must be a lot, falling from heaven and then having to deal with this little shit."

"I fell because of him!" the angel barked, and Kai sucked the air through his teeth.

"Oh. Yeah, he'll do that sort of thing. That dork fucks up in ways you can't even imagine. I've been there. But look, if heaven has abandoned you I'm sure we can help you out."

"How?" Puriel asked, and with a surge of pride Kai realized they were finally negotiating. Fallen or not, Puriel could still make their lives the worst kind of hell if it wanted to. But now he finally had a bargaining chip.

"Get you a body of your own, for one. That's why you fell, isn't it? I know, bodies are so much fun. I'll admit the one you're wearing right now is up there with the best, but I can get you one just as good. Better. With bones that fit properly and enough skin and all that good stuff. You'll like it, I promise. We'll get you settled. It's the least we can do."

Finally he felt safe enough to get close to the creature. It gasped when Kai grabbed its cock. It was still hard from digging into Jamie's nasty psyche. And Kai had to be proud of his apprentice, a boy so thoroughly filthy he could give an angel a boner so massive it launched them out of heaven.

The angel twitched when Kai sank to his knees, but bound by the circle it couldn't have moved away if it wanted to. It could still fight back, but it didn't. And it's consciousness may have been replaced, but that body was still Jamie's. Kai knew it better than he knew his own, every vulnerable spot and cluster of nerves. If he was going to bribe a fallen angel with a body, he'd have to make damn sure the trade seemed worth it. With his hands on the angel's hips he ran his tongue from the tip of its cock down to the smooth balls, popping them into his mouth like candy. The reaction he got was sublime; a burst of energy, a gasp and a shudder so thorough he could see its toes curl.

Puriel didn't struggle when Kai took his wrists and pulled him down. He lay down where Kai put him, on his back on the rocky ground. The sun had set completely now, the only light came from the weakening fires around the circle. The angel refused to look at Kai, but he didn't struggle when the demon lay down between his legs. It squirmed when its cock pushed hard against Kai's thigh.

"Good, isn't it?" he smiled, looking down to see that familiar face glow like the sunset. He stroked him hard, just the way Jamie always liked, and the angel seemed to swell inside its skin. It strained so hard Kai heard a rib pop.

"No, don't break him," he said, worried about how Jamie was doing in there, but the creature didn't listen. It bucked into his hand, it clawed at the rocky dirt so hard it tore its fingernails. Its bones shifted and stretched the skin. Where the skin broke light poured from the wounds like puss. It was delightfully grotesque, and Kai watched it with curious amazement. Still stroking him he put his finger into its gasping mouth. He half expected the thing to bit it clean off, but something of Jamie had to be in there, because he sucked on it like a baby on a tit. Kai slid his wet finger inside him to the sounds of that creature gasping and growling. Her almost felt bad for it. From what he heard, being cut off from heaven was a torture worse than anything he could imagine, but that made him even more determined. Heaven was one hell of a drug, but a good fuck did wonders for sobriety.

When he added a second finger Puriel bucked his hips like a wild thing, scraping its back and the soles of its feet on the rocky ground. Its shoulders rolled as its head lolled back and forth. Kai cringed when an arm popped out of its socket, but he didn't stop. He knew pleasure when he saw it, even if it looked like an unholy horror. He got on his knees, pulled Puriel up with its legs around him and pushed inside him. The angel's loud groan boomed in the desert. Kai didn't bother being careful. He didn't need to. He fucked it hard, taking a moment to push inside him as deep as he could go. He heard more ribs crack like dry twigs as the creature strained and arched. Kai hardly had to move, instead letting it grind and buck against him, delirious with lust the way only an ancient thing feeling pleasure for the first time could. Kai fell forward, his hands on both sides of the angel's borrowed face. It was glowing with sweat, and its teeth had ripped open its lower lip.

"Do you want a body of your own?" he asked, grabbing Puriel's wrist to stop him from clawing his chest to ribbons. "You're not getting this one. You're leaving, soon."

"Yes. I want my own," the creature spit back, seething with resentment.

That was enough. Kai pulled out and stood up, leaving the mangled body squirming on the floor. It was angry, it desperately wanted more, and that was exactly where Kai wanted it.

He turned to Noah and almost laughed. The boy stood wide-eyed outside the circle, his erection straining against the crotch of his jeans, completely bewitched by the carnival of terrors right in front of him.

"Noah, now."

The boy didn't react. He just stood there in gaping horror, staring at the twitching heap of bone and flesh that had been Jamie. It took him a moment before he looked up at Kai, his eyes a little glassy.

"Hm? What?"

"Now," Kai said impatiently, and it took an impatient stomp of his hoof before Noah snapped out of it, remembered he had a gun and shot the angel in the head.

The nearest graveyard was one of those artificially green patches in the desert, a vast irrigated lawn with gravestones poking out of it. They went there as soon as the flesh loom had put Jamie back together from a pile of gore. Dawn was in the air, chilly and sharp, but they had some time before the sun would come up. Kai lay back in the fresh grave dirt, his hands behind his head and Noah riding him like a pony, his pants discarded over the gravestone. Kai felt like a million bucks. Fucking an angel into submission in front of his adoring brood was a real boost to the old ego. It had been ages since he'd felt so much like a raring stallion from hell. Noah thought it was hot, in any case. He couldn't keep his hands of Kai for even a second.

Next to them, inside the open grave, they heard a thunk of metal on wood and Jamie's voice came from the dark pit.

"I got there, master."

"Well open it up then," Kai said, distracted by Noah's sharp fingernails clawing at his chest. The boy was slick with sweat, his shirt soaked, biting his lip as he stroked himself ands rolled his hips.

"Do I have to?" Jamie's voice whined.

"Yes you damn well have to," Kai bit back. "That's how punishment works, moron."

A groaning sigh and a cracking sound came from the grave, but Kai didn't care. He was savoring Noah's moans, drinking in the lust that never seemed to stop gushing from him, until the boy came all over his chest. Seeing it finally sent his own orgasm rushing through him and he came like a fountain, his hoofs planted into the grave dirt.

Noah stayed where he was, Kai still inside him, gasping for breath with the last shivers of his orgasm running through him.

"Goddamn that was good," he sighed, falling on Kai's chest, still squirming a little.

"Still having fun?" Kai asked, playing with Noah's hair, and he nodded. Kai could feel as much, but it was nice to have Noah say it.

"Yeah. Good fun."

"The arm is still good, master," Jamie said, and Kai sighed and cracked his neck. He was glad Jamie was whole and relatively sane after the night's ordeal, but he was whinier than ever.

"Well chop it off then."

With Noah curled up on his chest he listened to the dull thwack of sharp steel on bone, and Jamie throwing up a bit. They'd left quite the mess for whoever would find it, but it couldn't be helped. After a while Jamie clambered out of the grave, sweaty and covered in dirt, clutching a severed arm.

"That'll do," Kai nodded, inspecting the arm and throwing it in the trash bag with the rest of the parts. "Let's go home."

Noah laughed when Kai swept him of his feet and held him in his arms like a baby. Kai had already unfolded his wings when Jamie protested.

"What about me?" he said helplessly, and Kai shrugged.

"Looks like you're walking, aren't you?" he said, twisting the garbage bag around his hand. "Don't get caught in a desecrated grave. I'll be mad if you get caught."

"But master-"

Kai didn't hear more of it. He took off with Noah in his arms and the bag of body parts in his hand. Seconds later they were high above the town, with dawn shimmering on the horizon. Noah shivered when the wind rushed his sweaty skin, so Kai held him closer, Noah's arms tightly around his neck.

"I forgot my pants," he said over the rushing of the wind.

"Good. I'm not done with you."

Kai couldn't help but laugh when he felt the burst of delight from the boy in his arms. It was hard to imagine how dull and flavorless Noah had been now that his boredom was routinely punctured with everything from sheer horror to absolute joy. It made him proud, in a way. Noah didn't have the programming to feel anything, but when he was with Kai, he brimmed with every possible emotion he had thought he could never feel. And Kai was becoming very fond of his little psychopath.

True to his word, as soon as they touched down in front of the gas station he shoved Noah against the wall and tore his shirt off, still riding high on how amazingly studly the night's events had left him feeling. He nuzzled his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelled absolutely intoxicating, like burnt herbs and grave dirt and sweat. He sparkled and burned with lust, and Kai was swept up in the boy's desire. He fondled him with one hand and delighted in the boy's gasps and yelps, running his hand over his chest. And he felt something strange. Just above his hip, there was a rough patch of skin. He tore himself away to look at it. It wasn't rough skin. It was a patch of scales.

For a moment Noah was confused at why Kai has suddenly stopped, until he looked down and saw it too.

"Oh," he said, followed by a moment of quiet to take in what he was seeing. "I'm changing."

"Yeah," Kai sighed, expecting a shock of horror from the boy. It always went that way. In theory they were always fine with those changes, but seeing the reality of it was usually something of a moment for them. But Noah took it with remarkable serenity.

"That's what you talked about, right?" he said, running his fingertips over the scales. "When we first met?"

"Can't be helped," Kai said, and still Noah seemed oddly cool about mutating into something hellish. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine," Noah said, and he meant it. The last thing Kai expected was a little jolt of excitement from the boy, but that was exactly what he got when Noah looked up and grinned.

"Can we go resurrect a frankencorpse now?" he said, and Kai couldn't help but chuckle while he nodded.

"Sure. Let's go meddle in God's domain."

Back in the garage they dumped the body parts in the flesh loom, but not before they'd carved Puriel's name into every one of them. It would make a nice body, Kai thought. He hadn't asked whether the angel wanted a male or female one or something else, but Puriel had seemed pretty pleased with Jamie's. The head had blue eyes and brown curls, the way he thought an angel would want to look like. He dunked his arm in the body part stew and stirred it around a bit.

"This was a lot of fun," Noah said, sitting on the edge of the stone basin, and by his smile Kai could see he meant it.