Homosexual Demons for Dummies Ch. 03

Tim

In the end, I'd called my guild. The Assistant Guild Master, Riley, was relieved to hear from me. Apparently, Sally had gone to my apartment to check on me today, and had sounded the alarm when she was unable to figure out where I was. After they'd discovered I'd been interviewing at a Red Rum front, which was, frankly, news to me, half the guild had turned out to locate me.

My erstwhile demon hunting team had been the first off the boat when my guild got here. Kaylee, crying a bit, ran to hug me, but Sally caught her arm, much to my relief. Martha just nodded. "You seem to be quite unlucky," she said, looking at my bare feet, still speckled with quick drying cement. "What the hell happened that made you rate an execution?"

I grimaced. "I guess my ex-wife's father is part of Red Rum? What's Red Rum, anyways?"

"Criminal guild," Riley told me. He looked around at the bodies. "Which one is your ex-wife's father, or did he get away?"

I pointed out the corpse he'd asked about, or at least the head.

After a quick examination, Riley whistled. "If that's your ex-wife's father... I know of him. He's a Red Rum leader known as John Savage. Quite an impressive bounty." He shook his head. "It's a good thing Red Rum pissed off that sea fae that's sinking all their yachts. Otherwise, I'd be worried about how they'd respond."

He looked at me. "You going to claim the bounties on these guys? I bet they all have them."

I shook my head. "That should probably go to whoever saved me and killed them."

Riley blinked. "You don't know?"

"When I woke up from nearly drowning, I was alone on deck with a bunch of dead bodies," I admitted.

Sally held up a small device attached to a tripod. "Looks like they had a camera. It's not recording now, but perhaps it caught whoever saved you?"

I nodded. "Perhaps."

Sally pressed the replay button. I watched a few seconds of them preparing to dump me, and then looked away, wincing. Finally, I heard the splash as I was thrown overboard and looked back.

Jack Savage looked at the camera. "And that is the end of that, Princess." He signaled the cameraman, and the guy reached in front to press the off button. As he pressed it, something burst out of the water roughly where I'd gone under- and then the screen went black.

I sighed. "Well, it was a good idea."

Sally opened her mouth to speak, but Riley cut her off. "I may examine it in more detail later, but, as far as I'm concerned, these bounties are yours if you want them."

I shrugged morosely. "I guess." I looked down at my very ruined only pair of shoes. "I do need to shop for some stuff."

***

Later, Riley rewatched the video at the guild. When it got to the person bursting from the water, he paused. There was Tim's demon, he mused. It was a rare type, so the odds of it being someone else's were low. And there was Tim, in the demon's arms. No one else.

He looked at Tim's erstwhile demon hunting team. "Did any of you see signs that Tim's contract was illegal?"

Silently, Martha shook her head. Kaylee, face pale, shook hers in turn. Sally, when he turned to her, looked thoughtful but said, "No."

Riley nodded. "The poison preventing Tim from controlling his demon must have worn off just in time, then. He had his demon take him to the surface, and killed the Red Rum members. Then... Maybe the stress got to him, and he had a seizure? We already know he has those, and they can affect short term memory."

"Should we tell him?" asked Kaylee.

The other three shook their heads, and Martha spoke. "Not a good idea. He doesn't need to know he's got a kill count." She looked pensive for a moment. "That sort of thing can change a person."

"He's been through enough," Sally agreed quietly. "Let him keep whatever innocence he's got left."

Riley nodded. "I concur. But I expect the three of you to keep an eye on him for any problems."

Sally nodded, as did Martha and Kaylee. Riley shut his laptop. "Good."

***

H'Zad

That night, as I lay beside Tim, I shifted subtly. Tim continued to sleep unaffected by my movement. I frowned. Were humans this oblivious while sleeping? Perhaps I should check the perimeter. Just in case. After all, I'd just almost lost him. Humans were so fragile...

Silently, slowly, I rose from the bed. Tim continued to sleep, my departure unnoticed. I crept across the floor, quietly heading towards the exit. The door was closed, but it did not open loudly. Silently, I eased it shut. Then I stepped out onto the balcony.

Tim had spent the afternoon planning the garden he would have out here in the spring. I smiled, glad he was doing something to make him so happy. Climbing onto the balcony railing, I took wing into the night, a silent shadow above the buildings.

There was a familiar scent on the air... My eyes narrowed. Another demon. What house? I scented again, and relaxed. Vh'alyir. The twelfth and weakest house. I scented a third time to be sure, and tensed. Zylas. The only twelfth house demon who had ever scared me.

I cast the hiding vish. It burned magic swiftly, so it was risky, but it was necessary when hunting one as slippery as this Vh'alyir demon.

I remembered the first time I'd seen this demon. "Raistilthē nā nulla, ait ah shālin, raistilnā thē." It translated to, "You will never find me, but from the shadows, I will find you." I wondered if he knew some version of the hiding vish unique to my house and the female demons. Unlikely. Possible, but unlikely.

I tracked the young demon swiftly. He was perched on the top of a human building, high above where any human could climb. Good. I dropped the hiding vish. I didn't want to kill the Vh'alyir demon, just show him I could.

Zylas tensed, whirling, and crouched. I hovered, allowing him to catch my scent. I was known to be one who didn't kill his house. He relaxed slightly. "I thought I was the only one in this city not enslaved," he said in the demon tongue. "Since I killed Tahesh."

I landed and spoke in the same language. "You killed Tahesh? I thought some human named Robin did it."

Zylas smirked. "With my help."

I nodded. "Ah."

"Why have I not smelled you before now?" asked Zylas.

I shrugged. "I was enslaved, until last night." I frowned at him. "How are you not under a human's control?" Rumor said the Vh'alyir were responsible for summoning. I had not believed it, but...

"I have a contract," Zylas told me. "But my human was desperate when she made it. She had me promise to protect her, not to be her demon slave."

I nodded. A loose contract. That made sense. "My human died, but I did not take his soul," I told Zylas. No need to reveal I had revived him.

For a second, we were both silent. Then Zylas spoke. "I see no reason we need to fight," he said, eyeing me cautiously.

"I see no reason either," I replied. He was twelfth house, after all. If I was cautious, he was no threat to me or mine. Keeping a wary eye on each other, we went our separate ways.

I flew back to Tim's apartment, a shadow on the wind. My mind was on my hopefully still sleeping Tim. What if he had woken, seen me missing? I shouldn't have gone so far...

I landed on the balcony, and, as I opened the sliding glass door, heard Tim's snoring within. Still asleep. Good. I slipped into his bedroom. Pausing before I slipped back into bed, I looked down at Tim's tiny, fragile form. My hands clenched as I thought of what had almost happened last night, and I silently thanked whatever force had given me the spell to save him.

It might have been my imagination, but as I slipped into bed beside my human, I thought someone else was thinking inside my head. Someone not Tim, but familiar all the same, like a dive into cold, murky water. "You're welcome," said the thought. "Don't screw this up."

Tim

Time passed. I got my apartment furnished and my wardrobe replaced with the bounty money. I set up a website design business, and designed the website for Odin's Eye. The security firm that fronted the guild, not the guild itself. Winter turned to spring, and I got other clients. When I wasn't working, I started my garden under some grow lights.

"I garden because it's soothing," I told my demon. "Also, it allows me to grow food that's hard to get in the grocery store." I shook my head. "No one stocks huckleberries, and it's impossible to find garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are delicious! And who would say no to fresh garlic?"

I shook my head. "It's just a pity that I have so little space. I'd love to grow a tree or two. Maybe some figs?" I wondered if I could bonsai a fig. I was no expert, but I'd had a little juniper bonsai back home that was flourishing. I wished I still had it.

My phone rang. I checked it, and found it was Thomas, my guild master. My eyes widened slightly, and I answered. "Hello?"

"Tim," barked Thomas. "Get to the guild! We're under attack!"

I lived close, but, by the time I got to the guild, the fight was over. Apparently Robin Page and her demon from the Crow and Hammer guild had been there and done some serious damage, along with the Crow and Hammer's bartender, who'd had some mysterious magical artifact everyone was buzzing about. I'd more or less dismissed the Crow and Hammer, a small guild which was fronted by, of all things, a bar, but maybe they were more interesting than I'd thought.

As I watched Robin Page examine her small demon's hand, muttering to herself, Martha and Kaylee arrived on a motorcycle. Martha gave a low whistle. "Damn." She steadied the bike so Kaylee could hop off.

Kaylee immediately hurried over to me. "Are you alright, Tim? What happened?"

"I wasn't here," I told her. "The fight was over pretty quick, thanks to some visitors from the Crow and Hammer."

Her eyebrows rose. "The Crow and Hammer?" Her disbelief was almost palpable.

There was a low laugh behind me. "Do not dismiss the Crow and Hammer, la. They can be quite formidable. Especially that mage trio. You know, Kai, Aaron, and Ezra."

I turned, and saw Izzah. I remembered she was a hydromage, but not much else about her.

Sally laughed. "Aren't you a bit biased, Izzah?"

Izzah looked at her innocently. "I have no idea what you mean, la."

Sally grinned. "I'm talking about a certain electromage."

The two walked off, laughing and chattering. Martha came up to me. "Do you know what happened?" she asked.

I nodded. "In a vague sort of way? A group of golems attacked. The Crow and Hammer mythics were in the right place to do serious damage. Something about a reflector artifact, and some sort of other purple artifact thing?"

Martha nodded. She stood beside me, not saying anything, but not leaving, either. "You should have your demon out. In case there's more."

I nodded and called out my demon. He appeared in a flash of red.

Martha looked at him assessingly, frowning slightly.

I frowned. "What's up?"

She shook her head. "Just wondering if he was hurt."

I shrugged. "I wasn't here for the attack, remember?"

Martha grunted. "Didn't need to happen here."

I looked at her oddly, but accepted her answer.

H'Zad

"Just wondering if he was hurt," the human beside Tim lied.

I froze a tail twitch. What did she know? And how?

Tim

I stood in what remained of our guild, listening to my guildmates discuss the situation.

"Varvara Nikolaev must be stopped!" declared Riley. "She attacked our guild, and she's been attacking others all over the city."

There was a rumble of agreement from the surrounding mythics. I kicked a bit of rubble out of the way, nerves rattling in my chest.

Thomas nodded. "The Crow and Hammer has found her hiding place and is organizing an attack. I expect all combat mythics to join them, under my leadership."

This time the rumble was more of a roar.

Thomas began splitting us into teams. I was with Sally, Kaylee, Martha, Izzah, and another contractor, Mario. My heart pounded. I was officially a combat mythic, but my combat abilities were far from impressive. I wondered if I had the nerve to ask Thomas to remove me from the mission.

***

"So, how's Tim as a contractor, la?" asked Izzah idly as she, Kaylee, Martha and Sally waited for the guys to show.

Martha shrugged. "Solid in training. Never seen him fight for real."

Izzah frowned. "I thought he got kidnapped by Red Rum last year and claimed a bunch of bounties. You weren't there for that?"

Sally sighed. "He was the only one there." She sighed. "And, since he doesn't remember what happened, who exactly is responsible for killing those rogues is up in the air. Honestly, Izzah, I'd take it as a favor if you helped us prevent him from killing anyone today. He's... Unlikely to react well."

Izzah frowned. "We'll be working with Kai's team today. I should probably pass on that Tim's a bit unstable."

Sally frowned back. "I'd say more traumatized than unstable."

Martha grunted. "Ex was a piece of work. Powerful, too."

Kaylee chimed in. "Her Red Rum connections are why he got kidnapped."

Izzah's frown deepened. "I still should tell Kai..." She pulled out her phone. "He won't judge."

H'Zad

When Tim called me out, I instantly knew something was wrong. The place where the rogues were supposed to be was empty, and in the dark... There were golems lurking in the dark. Weren't they supposed to be disabled?

Tense, I followed Tim, careful to act like a stiff demonic puppet, doing nothing I wasn't directed to do. Not that the humans could see well in the dark, I mused. That was part of the problem. The other problem was, they were looking the wrong way.

Our intended ambush was going to be reversed if I didn't do something fast. Thinking quickly, I remembered that there was supposed to be an illegal contractor among the rogues. Perhaps...

When no one was looking, my tail snaked out to trip Kaylee. She tripped and fell as I used my magic to light up one of the golems. Red flared around the quadrupedal metal form. I saw Kaylee's eyes widen as she spotted it.

"Golems!" she shouted. "Ambush!"

Tim

"Golems!" Kaylee shouted. "Ambush!"

I whirled along with the rest of the team. Instantly, the fight was on. I reached out with my mind, fixing it on moving my demon as quickly as possible. He dropped to his knees at my command and clawed the golem's underside. Was it just me, or did he move faster than usual? Was I getting better at this?

H'Zad

Moving at the speed of Tim's slow thoughts was excruciating. I spent the time musing about what I would do if I didn't need to hide. I could do so much more... That golem Kaylee was fighting would have been blown to bits by a spell while I destroyed this one beside me. And maybe I could take out a few rogues by throwing the golem at them. Crushing was always a valid tactic.

As the fight wore on, I grew more and more bored. Soon I was spending the time between actions reviewing spells. Eventually I got to the healing magic I knew, and I was caught up by memory.

Tyran had started to teach me this vish the morning after I first pleasured him. The idea that he knew such rare magic had never occurred to me when I'd seen him break his leg. But, now, the leg was healed, I'd mused as I committed the broken bone healing vish to memory.

Tyran looked up at me slyly. "Do you want to know more?" he asked.

I nodded eagerly. "Yes, if you'll teach me."

Tyran looked up through his lashes. "I will, on one condition."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He smirked. "Let me taste you."

I blinked. "Taste?"

His smirk widened. "You know what I mean. The payashē pleasure each other with their mouths sometimes, when they do not want a male and wish to mate. Let me do the same for you."

I frowned. "But I am not a payashē."

Tyran smiled. "I know."

"Nor are you," I pointed out.

"Let me try," he coaxed. He smirked again. "Besides, don't you want to learn the healing vish?"

I hesitated. This was wrong, so wrong. Two male demons of any house- it was unheard of. But- "Alright," I conceded.

Tyran came forward slowly, as if waiting for me to object, and then slowly went down on his knees. Carefully, he unlaced my tight shorts, letting my erection pop free. Taking it in his mouth, he-

I felt Tim's mind link to me cut off as he fell unconscious. Worry spiked. Was he safe? Scanning the area without moving, I saw Martha was the only one of the team currently with us in this tight alley. Good. When she turned her back to me, desperately trying to keep the rogues off Tim, I used my vish to make her sleep.

Before she'd hit the ground, I'd leapt over her body, slamming into the rogue she'd been combating and flattening him onto the ground. My wings flared, and I looked around at the nine remaining rogues, grinning.

And then none remained at all.