The sound of the last body falling accompanied Denzyl's running footsteps as the demon sprinted through the tower of Viant. The demon's heart raced as the burning on his back intensified, signaling that Devyn was terrified. I have to find him. I should not have let him go alone. I should have known it was a trap.

Denzyl knew that if there was a person who would go to these lengths to get Devyn alone, it would be him.

The demon quickened his pace as Devyn's scent became stronger, leading Denzyl to the door of a private lounge. Denzyl slammed the door open to find it empty with a single glass of whiskey sitting on the table. The demon caught a custodian entering the lounge to take away the cup and bottle of liquor and immediately pinned the man against the wall by the throat. 

"Where is he?!" Denzyl growled as he struggled to keep his eyes from turning red.

"Wh-who?" The custodian threw his hands up in surrender, and he shook in fear.

"The man who was taken by Wil Kossen. Where is he?" Denzyl's eyes narrowed as he interrogated the frightened custodian.

"I-I-I have n-no idea w-what you're talking about," the man responded between terrified breaths.

The man was clearly lying. His heart was pounding, and beads of sweat were forming on his temple. Denzyl released a growl and tightened his hold around the human's throat. "The next time you lie to me, you will die." The man quivered in the demon's grasp as Denzyl leaned close to him and growled, "Where is Devyn Vaumyr?"

"I saw Mr. Kossen t-taking a man to his quarters. I swear that's all I know! Please don't-"

Denzyl cut off the man by rendering him unconscious before quickly exiting the lounge and running to the staircase at the end of the hall. The avex drew upon his demon strength as he dashed up the stairs with inhuman speed. Denzyl become even faster as the mark began to seethe on his back.

The door to the top level of the tower was locked, but it only took Denzyl a few kicks to break it down. The avex sped through the door to find himself standing at the end of a hall containing the private elevator. The demon rushed to stand in front of the elevator with his back to it and found two, wide, ornate doors where screams could be heard on the other side.

"How dare you fall in love with someone else! You whore! You belong to me!! Now stay still while I take it off!"

Hearing the shouts and yells, Denzyl did not waste a second in charging the ornate entrance. The avex bust through the doors to see Wil standing over a nearly unconscious Devyn. Denzyl's blood boiled as he looked at the bloodied form on the ground. Devyn struggled to support himself on his arms when he saw the avex enter the room. Blood coated the human's face and neck while slashes covered his chest and right shoulder where the unbuttoned shirt hung off his arm. Denzyl looked to see Devyn covering the place where the demon's mark was with his left hand, causing the back of his hand and wrist to be slashed in an attempt to protect the mark.

"Denzyl," Devyn's quiet voice whimpered as he looked up at those stormy orbs. The human's heart sighed with relief when Denzyl busted through the door. In one split second, Denzyl took in all the details of the situation, and his eyes turned a flaming red.

Wil turned to face the man who had just entered, his face twisting into a scowl when he saw the CEO's bodyguard. "You." The man's eyes narrowed, and he raised the broken shard of glass in his hand that was used in the attempt to destroy the mark on Devyn's shoulder.

"Close your eyes," Denzyl said to Devyn with a low but soft voice as he bared his claws. The avex did not even try to restrain himself as he charged Devyn's attacker, claws bared and eyes red.

Devyn's arms gave out as his head swooned. The human was weak from lack of blood and the residual effects of the drug. Devyn closed his eyes and fell to the floor as he saw Denzyl charge Wil. The last thing Devyn saw was Wil raising the shard of glass and aiming for the demon's heart.

Denzyl was relieved Devyn was not watching. He did not want Devyn to see him in that state: his dark form. Whispering, wispy shadows glided around the avex, creating a dark aura; the demon's eyes glowed blood red as his pupils became long and narrow like those of a snake. Denzyl's veins turned black beneath his pale skin while his canine teeth turned to fangs and his nails to claws. Denzyl did not have wings as his clans' wings were taken from them when they were banished, but he was just as fast even without the aid of wings.

Within a second of Devyn closing his eyes, Denzyl had Wil pinned against the wall by the neck. Blood trickled down the human's throat as Denzyl's claws dug into the man's skin. Wil's eyes widened as he saw the demon's dark form.

"Wh-what are you?" The man stuttered in terror. His mouth hung open with fright as his mind was filled with screams and shouts of horror as the black wisps shrouding Denzyl invaded his thoughts.

The avex scoffed at the pathetic sight before him. The human's knees trembled as Denzyl towered over him. The demon leaned in toward Wil, placed his lips beside the man's ear, and whispered, "Your worst nightmare."

A horrified scream escaped the human's lips when he heard the demon's answer. Denzyl chuckled at Wil's terrorized face, his grip around the human's throat tightening and making him gasp for air. The demon relished in the man's terror and fear as he continued to slowly cut his life force. Denzyl did not care that he was causing the man to suffer; anyone who treated another person how Wil had treated Devyn deserved much worse than the death Denzyl would give him.

But Devyn's words telling Denzyl to not kill Wil ran through the demon's mind, and Denzyl kept his hold constant. The demon could not bring himself to do anything that could potentially cause the human even one ounce of pain and hardship. So, instead of ending the human's life, Denzyl watched as red and orange particles began to flow from his hand and into Wil's body.

"What are you doing to me?!" Wil cried as he felt the crystalline crypt begin to form around his soul.

"Stopping you from hurting Devyn ever again," Denzyl answered in a low growl as he continued to encrypt the human's soul. Denzyl kept the flow constant until everything except Wil's body had been crypted. His heart and soul were now trapped. Denzyl kept the human's mind free, so he still had all the abilities to function and live, but the thoughts and emotions which were fed and created by the heart and soul were vacant. The crypt which saved Devyn would now trap his tormentor.

"Live as if you were dead. Never know peace and suffer as the impotent man you are," Denzyl cursed the human as he slowly lowered the man. This is much more fitting than death.

Wil slumped to the ground as Denzyl released his hold. He would now be viewed as a madman, not able to form words or speak even though he had every capability to do so. Leaving the pathetic lump on the floor, Denzyl changed back to his common form and hurried to Devyn. Tears filled the avex's eyes as he saw the human unconscious on the ground, blood covering his body. Even though the mark and Denzyl's essence were helping Devyn heal, he would still need medical attention.

Denzyl gingerly scooped Devyn into his arms and hurried out of Wil's private quarters. Would it be faster to call an ambulance or run to the hospital?

As soon as the doors to the elevator opened, Denzyl rushed out into the lobby. There was only one man at the counter as it was late in the night. "Where is the nearest hospital?" Denzyl asked after rushing to the counter. The man looked at the unconscious CEO in the demon's arms before instantly grabbing the counter's phone and calling an ambulance.

"It would be faster for the ambulance to come here. The hospital is quite far. For now, we need to stop the bleeding as much as we can," the man said as he rushed around the counter while tearing his shirt sleeve. Denzyl bent to one knee, sat Devyn on his leg, and held the human's waist as the man pressed the strip of his shirt against one of the wider slashes.

Denzyl took off his tie and wrapped it around the hand Devyn used to protect the mark. The demon's vision became blurry as he looked at the gashes on Devyn's hand. Why did you have to protect the mark and let yourself get hurt?

"Thank you," Denzyl said to the man as he pressed on Devyn's wound.

"Of course. My mother was a doctor, so I took it upon myself to continue her legacy." The man smiled sweetly as he thought of his mother. Denzyl looked at the man's uniform and wondered why he was working at Viant. The man saw the demon's expression and smiled, "Ah, I am currently in medical school. This is the best paying job with a night shift." Denzyl nodded in understanding at the man's words; university was expensive. Both of the men continued to work on stopping the bleeding while they waited for the ambulance.

"They should be here soon," the young man said after a few minutes had passed. The man's gaze lingered on Devyn's face, his eyes widening when he eventually recognized the CEO through the blood. "He's Devyn Vaumyr, isn't he?" The man asked as he looked at Denzyl. "Are you his...bodyguard?"

The avex nodded in confirmation.

"What happened?" The man asked cautiously as his eyes trailed over the numerous wounds on Devyn's body. "He got attacked," Denzyl answered shortly as he continued to place pressure on Devyn's wounds.

"What?! By whom? Who could do this to someone?" The young man's expression turned to shock and horror at the thought of a person causing injury to another.

"Wil Kossen," Denzyl answered truthfully. The demon's eyes slanted as he spit out the human's name.

"Wil...Kossen..." the medical student's eyes widened as he realized who the attacker was. "My boss?! The owner of Viant?"

Denzyl nodded in confirmation.

"It is awful that he could do this to another human, but, honestly, I am not surprised. I always got creepy vibes from him."

Denzyl's ears picked up the sound of the ambulance's sirens as it neared the tower toward the end of the student's sentence. "They're here," Denzyl said as he lifted Devyn in his arms and stood to his feet. The student followed the avex to the lobby's entrance, and the two waited for the ambulance to pull up to the doors. As soon as the ambulance came to a stop, several emergency medical workers exited the craft and rushed inside. One of the medics checked Devyn's vitals as two others placed the CEO on the stretcher.

"The patient has lost a lot of blood. We need to get him a pack ASAP," a medic told her peers.

"His blood type is A," Denzyl informed the medic as he carefully watched every move they made.

"Thank you," the medic thanked the demon hastily as they extended the stretcher and rolled Devyn out of the lobby and into the ambulance.

"Are you his family?" Another medic asked the demon as Denzyl followed the group to the craft.

"Yes," Denzyl answered without hesitation.

"You can ride with him," the medic told the demon as she entered the craft; Denzyl was quick to follow. Even though Denzyl was not Devyn's blood family, he was the closest person Devyn had other than Miren, and Denzyl was not going to leave Devyn alone again. The medic craft was quick to close its door and ascend into the air. The craft flew above the traffic and elevated rails in the zone designated for medical emergency crafts, which was located just below commercial crafts, and headed toward the hospital at an amazing speed. Denzyl hoped it would be a life-saving speed.