Chapter Fifteen

What's the day today?

Was it day or night?

What time was it?

How many minutes has passed? Hours? Days? Weeks?

I couldn't remember or focus on any of it. I tried to remember the important things that had happened before Asmodeus attacked me, but my mind felt like a blank slate. I couldn't find anything and it was almost like he had sucked out all the memories from before.

All I remembered now was pain. Lots and lots of pain. I was pretty sure I had enough bruises to make me look like a smurf. I tasted blood in my mouth, but I just let it trickle down my cheek as I lay on my back on the bed, staring up through the darkness of the room that Asmodeus refused to put light in.

I couldn't sleep because the pain was so bad. I think he broke a couple bones, but I couldn't tell which ones because it hurt so much. I felt as if I'd been dumped through the garbage disposal, then thrown out and doused in salt.

I'd been alone for a while now. Asmodeus left me because he said I didn't deserve attention.

Maybe he was right.

I was rude. I was annoying. My attention span was too short. I couldn't do anything, but make witty comments, which always led me to getting in trouble. No one liked me, obviously. Zeke betrayed me. Dustin betrayed me. Stephen betrayed me. They turned their backs on me, no problem.

My parents had done the same thing.

I was useless to a couple of rich somebodies. They had good paying jobs, talents that they could share with everyone. They had tons of friends and everyone liked them. It wasn't their faults that I was defective. They just had a run of bad luck, so the best choice was to send me away.

Of course.

Why did it matter to me?

I didn't make decisions. It wasn't my choice to do anything. People made the decisions for me. I was too stupid to make them.

I sighed in frustration, squeezing my eyes shut in pain at the throbbing behind my eyes before opening them up slowly again. I managed to lift my hand, brushing it along my torso. My fingertips, nails once again all broken off and bloody, ran across my torso, down, down.

I couldn't go past my belly button, which had stopped bleeding a while ago. Asmodeus had torn my belly button ring out, having used his hand over mine, and forced it down my throat.

It reminded me of a horror movie and just remembering it made my heart start pounding wildly in my chest, as if anticipating it all over again. I squeezed my eyes shut against the memory, trying to block it out, but it was nearly impossible.

I could still hear his voice in my head, spitting and cursing as his hand forcing my finger to loop around the diamond studded snake. I had been so focused on his words and trying to pray at the same time that I hadn't realized what his intentions were until he'd done it.

I almost fainted. The pain was indescribable.

The silver of the belly button ring ripped free from the skin and I felt the blood oozing down on either side of my groin, sliding down my thighs. I was trying to gasp for air at the same time from the ribbon around my throat got tighter, which apparently pissed him off.

So the only way to shut me up was to make me swallow. Of course, I had to have something to swallow, so what was nearest?

I sighed and tried to roll over on my side. My bones creaked and ached, my cuts and bruises stinging as I relaxed on my stomach now, my head tilted to the side. I studied the darkness, trying to find the edge of the bed, but I couldn't even see the pillow against my face. It was just too dark and suffocating in here.

I finally curled up as best I could, wincing and gasping in pain. I settled after a while, not moving, afraid of anymore pain.

I give up. I give up, Michael. If this is going to happen every time I try to fight back, then I give up. I don't want this anymore. If I just lay here in silence and don't do anything, Asmodeus won't bother me anymore... But that's just it. I can't tell what's worse. Laying here all by myself in the dark or him in here hurting me.

Are you even listening to me anymore?

Michael?

Are you there?

Michael?

I give up.

"Wakey wakey." A voice called into the room, followed by the flooding of light from the opening door. I cringed, trying to sit up, but my whole body ached, so I gave up and just laid there. I heard footsteps coming around to the other side of the bed and saw Asmodeus standing there, a smirk on his face and a familiar blood red cloak in his hands.

"Time for you to get up, angelus. We need to make preparations for the ceremony on Friday." He responded, tossing the cloak on me. I didn't move to grab it and Asmodeus raised an eyebrow, as if challenging me to defy him.

I managed to sit myself up, grabbing the cloak and sliding it on. I struggled to get off the bed, almost falling over, but Asmodeus caught me by the back of my bruised neck. He steered me toward the door, my feet aching the whole way as I held my breath, gritting my teeth against the pain.

The humiliation only got worse as we entered the main chamber. Everyone was there, waiting around and paused to look at me. Stephen openly smirked and folded his arms over his chest. Akira, who stood beside Beelzebub in his uniform, stared at me silently. The expression on his face apologized, but I just averted my eyes and saw Zeke standing there stiffly.

His placid expression didn't hide the pain in his icy blue eyes. For a second, I was tempted to just run over there and grab him and never let go, but I suppressed it and just watched him look away as if he were ashamed to look at me. Dustin kept his eyes on the floor, teeth obviously gritted.

"What's the matter, lamia?" Asmodeus asked mockingly. Zeke just closed his eyes and pursed his lips. Asmodeus smirked, then slowly let go of my neck. Were I feeling better, I'd of made a run for the exit, but my legs were wobbling and I could hardly stumble along side Asmodeus as he led the way to the ritual room.

As usual, it was huge and dark with candles placed along the walls to give the room a warm, eerie glow. The inverted pentagram on the floor was now home to the skull of some animal-- I assumed it was a goat skull. A bowl of water sat at one point of pentagram, a bowl of dirt in the other, an incense at another, and a thin taper candle burned at another. The final point was occupied by an empty bowl.

I felt my gut churning as Asmodeus shoved me off to the side. I stood stiffly by the door as everyone filed in, Stephen shutting the door behind us and locking it tightly with a brass key that he held up to me. I glared at him.

"Extra measures so you don't escape." Stephen smiled, then tucked the key in his pocket, flicking his tongue over his lips as he pinched my cheek. I winced and went to slap him, but he caught my wrist and lowered it to his mouth. I froze as his nose brushed the blue-green vein that pulsed under my skin.

"Mmm," Stephen moaned, his lips brushing my skin, "How delicious. Such pure blood, despite Lord Asmodeus' punishment. I'm surprised he hasn't deflowered you." I managed to wrench my wrist away, spitting at him.

"I'm not some girl," I spat hatefully, "Quit treating me like one." Stephen paused, tilting his head thoughtfully as he reached up to wipe my spit off his cheek. Then he smiled, narrowing his eyes at me. I watched as the green I once thought was outlandishly beautiful mold and melt into a bloody red color.

"Of course not. And trust me, Matthew, females are treated far worse than males in Asmodeus' presence. They have no pride when it comes to being taken by a man, or hell, even another woman. They don't fight for honor. They fight for fear. You fight to avoid the humiliation and you've done well so far, but can you keep this up? Can you face Lucifer with those retaliations that you so rudely toss at Asmodeus?" Stephen asked, reaching up to take my chin in his hand.

I narrowed my eyes.

I hated this. I hated him looking down on me. I hated everyone looking down on me. I hated being pushed around and I hated being treated like a pet. I wasn't a dog. I wasn't a cat. I wasn't a slave or a pet or an angelus.

I was a human. A really pissed off human that got sucked into this whole heaven and hell battle. All the thoughts of giving up earlier went right out the window as I smirked in Stephen's face, watching his bloody red eyes grew into angry slits.

"What's so funny?" He demanded, his smirk melting into a scowl. I laughed in a way that actually sounded on the verge of hysterical to me.

"You're talking shit now, but just you wait. Just when you think you'll get away, I'll be right there waiting for you." I responded, voice shaking with laughter. Stephen glared, but he was smirking now anyway.

"The darkness in you is growing, Matthew." He pointed out teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Please. Quit trying to come up with excuses why you're better than me, because we all know you're not. I'm the one Asmodeus likes more than you. Hell," I paused, watching Stephen's eyes sharpen in rage, "He likes Michael more than you and Michael is an archangel."

"You'll regret speaking to me like that," Stephen sneered, tightening his grip on my jaw, making me grimace, "Because once Asmodeus is finished with you, once Lucifer is finished stealing your energy, no one else will want you as much as I do."

"Zeke does." I blurted. Stephen blinked, then caught me off guard with this warm smile as he stopped crushing my chin to stroke my cheek with his knuckles.

"Yes, that's right, he does, doesn't he? I always knew you had a thing for Zeke, even if you never said it and talked about how much you hated gays. No one could possibly stick around him that long without wanting to kill him."

"You're an asshole." I accused. Stephen smirked and went to say something else, but Asmodeus barked our names. We glared at each other for a moment longer before separating and heading to the inverted pentagram.

Asmodeus caught me off guard as he grabbed me by the elbow, jerking me in front of him, his other hand on my shoulder.

"Now," Asmodeus spoke aloud to everyone as they gathered around, "The ceremony is Friday. The full moon will be red. Lucifer will need a lot of things to be able to manifest here and get to heaven, which can only be accessed by the spiritual world. This ritual we'll perform tonight is to seal out intruders because obviously we'll have some unwanted company. This will be the headquarters of our operation and it must be protected. The second ritual tonight will involve combining energy and sending it to Lucifer. He'll need help busting through the gate we've created here in the room."

"What about the energy rip?" Cain spoke up. Asmodeus smirked and I felt him squeeze my shoulder, making me stiff as everyone glanced at me. I had a strong feeling I was involved in that ritual.

"Lucifer will be performing that one with us Friday once he's escaped. Now, if that's all the questions for now, take your places and I will add the final element to Lucifer's domain." He announced, making everyone nod. I glanced up at Asmodeus uneasily.

"What's energy ripping?" I asked. Asmodeus smirked and pinched my cheek, giving it a tug.

"Nothing that you need to worry your little head about, little lamb. Not now anyway. Now, if you'll be so kind as to lift your sleeve." He said, glancing at Beelzebub, who nodded and reached into the pocket of his jeans. I frowned, confused before my eyes widened at the sight of a black dagger.

The blade was curved in a wave before disappearing into an onyx handle before reappearing with a tiny curled blade at the end of the handle.

"W-What're you doing with that?" I asked, starting to take a step back, but Asmodeus caught my wrist and jerked it outwards over the empty bowl on the floor. I gasped and started to struggle, jerking back on his grip.

"Quit moving or I'll cut your artery open." Asmodeus ordered. I bit down on my tongue to keep myself from cursing at him as he lowered the blade to my wrist. Panic was making me pant and writhe against him when I felt Stephen come up behind me. He caught me and held me still. I went to smack Asmodeus' hand away, but Cain caught my other wrist and held me.

The blade bit into my skin and slowly slid down the side of my wrist. Immediately, blood bubbled from the deep cut, dripping at first into the bowl below before beginning a steady stream. I gave a cry of pain and horror as Asmodeus squeezed my wrist.

"Ow! Let go! That hurts!" I protested angrily.

"Good." Asmodeus replied nonchalantly, making me glare at him as Cain and Stephen finally let me go. I felt dizzy, watching my blood pool down into the bowl before Asmodeus pulled back, handing the dagger to Beelzebub. I stumbled back, wanting to wrap my wrist, but Asmodeus kept it out as he licked his lips, then leaned down.

"No!" I cried out, jerking my wrist out of his reach. He scowled, reaching for my wrist again.

"Give it to me or the lamia in this room will devour you and that'll just make all our lives more complicated." He snapped. I hesitated, glancing at Stephen, whose eyes were glowing blood red now, his fangs elongated. My eyes searched out Zeke, seeing him hiding by one of the pillars, gripping the stones tightly.

I slowly held my wrist out, shaking as Asmodeus smirked, then took my wrist and clamped his lips on the wound. I gasped as he sucked harshly on it, making me crumple to my knees and he just followed me to the floor, his tongue dabbing at my cut.

I felt myself trembling, and worst of all, get hard under the cloak. My cock ached and pulsed as his fangs brushed the outer edges of the cut, his tongue dipping in. I whimpered at the burning pain and pleasure that pulsed through me. I slowly felt the cut getting smaller, like Asmodeus' tongue strokes were sewing it up.

I felt my cheeks get hot with embarrassment and I prayed no one could see the erection I was sporting from Asmodeus' tongue and lips. His black eyes seemed to glow as he stared at me intensely before he slowly pulled his mouth away, licking all the blood away so as not to waste it.

I quickly hid my healed wrist in the sleeve of my cloak and held it close to me, struggling to my feet before Asmodeus gestured for me to sit again. I plopped down without a word as Asmodeus turned to the others and gestured for them to sit, which they did.

I watched as they listened to Asmodeus' instructions on the ritual, but I spaced out. I watched each face of the group.

Asmodeus was pretty serious about all of this. As was Beelzebub. Of course they were. Lucifer was their leader. Powerful and wise, merciless. Every dictator's dream come true. I noticed Beelzebub sat right next to Akira, who sat silently with his hands folded in his lap. He wore only the white shirt Beelzebub had given him, unashamed of his nudity-- of course he wouldn't be ashamed with a body like that.

Next was Cain and Abel, named after the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Ironically they were also brothers, but Cain was a little too close to Abel sometimes and it made me scrunch up my nose in disgust as I watched Cain slide an arm around Abel's shoulders, tugging him close and muttering something in his ear before Asmodeus yelled at him to shut up. Cain smirked and shrugged, resuming his attention to the ritual. Abel just sat there stiffly, glaring at the floor, like a sulking two-year-old.

Tobias and Roy sat nearby, hardly paying attention to the ritual. Roy was picking his teeth and studying Cain with narrowed eyes like he wanted to devour him or something. Tobias just sat there quietly, nodding his head in understanding at some voice in his head. Next to him was Daniel, who was watching Zeke from afar before Jason elbowed him sternly in the ribs, gesturing to Asmodeus' lecture. Daniel nodded and looked away, but not before his eyes landed on me with a quick, sharp glare before it vanished.

Stephen was the only truly attentive one. He looked so engrossed in everything Asmodeus was saying and it made me wonder if Stephen preferred Asmodeus over me. I wouldn't be shocked. Asmodeus, despite being an evil son of a bitch who deserved to die, was outrageously handsome and could easily convert a straight guy to a gay guy in two seconds flat.

But his personality was too ugly to love and I'm positive Michael agreed with me.

I saw Dustin out the corner of my eye resisting the urge to look at Akira. He was finding anything to mess with, be it his tie, the buttons on his shirt, or a lock of his hair. So long as he wasn't looking at Akira and I almost felt bad for them both. No, actually, I did.

Akira was gorgeous and sweet, yet, he had no choice, but to let Beelzebub boss him around. He was protecting Dustin, who seemed to understand, but was having a hell of a time accepting it.

My eyes landed on Zeke last as he sat closest to the door, near one of the pillars. One of his knees drawn up with an arm draped over it and the other sticking out along the stone floor; he looked devilishly attractive like that.

To think that once upon a time, I did whatever I could to deny my affections, even if it meant convincing myself that I was straight and hated gays. I couldn't run away from it anymore.

God, I loved Zeke.

So much.

He was handsome and despite taking the wrong path, he was still cool and sweet in his own sort of way. I still felt the stinging pain of his turning me over, but I knew he regretted it. I knew he regretted everything, even the situation with Jeremiah. And having me hate him probably hurt him worse, not that I really hated him, no matter how much I truly wanted to.

It was impossible.

He looked so sad now. Drained, empty, pale, dead. It was like without our every day activities, he was slowly withering away and that terrified me as I nibbled my lower lip. I kept staring at Zeke until he looked up past his black hair, cold blue eyes meeting mine.

We just stared at each other for a while. I flicked my tongue over my lower lip innocently. Zeke's eyes seemed to sharpen with interest as he shifted so he was leaning forward a little bit. I bit my lower lip, then reached up and ran my finger over my lips. Zeke looked like he was having issues containing himself.

He shifted uncomfortably, trying to hide the bulge in his pants, but it was damn near impossible. Zeke had to be huge if I could see that from here. It just made me hard and I quickly blinked, looking away when I realized that this was just bad for the both of us.

I caught Asmodeus' eyes narrowing at me for a split second before he continued. I grimaced.

Shit.

He saw.

He was gonna be so pissed.

That sincerely scared me. If he was pissed, I'd suffer for it. He was going to do all of that over again. He was going to beat me over the head, tie me up, stick things in places where they definitely did not belong, bite me. Oh God. The piercings in my ear. If he pulled those out, I'd faint. I reached up and touched the little silver hoops in the shell of my ear, covering them quickly and cringing as I thought of Asmodeus ripping them out and forcing them down my throat to join the snake.

The rituals finally ended and Asmodeus announced that he had some special little dinner planned for all of us, including me. At the mention of food, my stomach growled hungrily and I pursed my lips in embarrassment as Stephen chuckled, walking out with Jason and Cain behind him.

I glared after him, then waited as everyone began to depart. I paused, glancing over my shoulder at Asmodeus, who was speaking to Beelzebub very quietly. I looked up as Zeke headed for the door and rushed to catch up with him. I was thankful that Asmodeus didn't seem to mind.

"Sorry. About earlier." I managed, embarrassed. Zeke didn't look at me, but nodded, his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"It's fine. Seriously." He added, a smirk crossing his face. I suddenly felt relieved and nostalgic. He was smiling like he used to whenever he teased me. For some reason, it felt absolutely wonderful.

"You're a pervert." I accused. Zeke laughed quietly, watching me now as he smiled crookedly.

"Says the one sitting there playing with his tongue. Were you trying to get me to make a fool of myself in front of all those people? I was about ready to leap across there and..." His voice trailed as if he looked uneasy about it. I cocked a brow.

"Fuck me?" I asked flatly.

"Don't mind if I do." I twitched and glared at Stephen, who was leaning against the doorway to the cafe room. Zeke's expression darkened, a tic forming in his jaw and his glare scary. Stephen ignored him and looked at me hungrily.

"Don't think I didn't see the playing you did with Zeke in there. You ought to give the rest of us that kind of attention. I think I'm jealous." He drawled, faking sadness and reaching out to touch me, but I stepped out of his reach, my face twisting up in disgust.

"Gross. I rather fuck a barbed wire dummy." I spat in repulse. Zeke smirked, amused, and Stephen raised an eyebrow, as if accepting a challenge.

"Now there's an idea. I'll be sure to keep your masochism in mind when I take you into my bed next." He responded cheekily, giving me a smug smile. I scowled, clenching my fists.

"Over my rotting corpse." I snapped back furiously. Stephen grinned.

"Necrophilia. How cute."

"Ugh!" I cried angrily, disgusted that he kept coming up with sick comebacks, then looked at Zeke, who was glaring at Stephen now.

"Move it, asshole. Otherwise Asmodeus will smite you for being troublesome." He ordered, making Stephen lock eyes with him in a glare.

"You know, you should be lucky Matthew's too stupid to focus on your crimes. I'll admit you're attractive, even I wouldn't mind fucking you into the mattress, but your personality is disgusting. Matthew's just too naive and innocent to notice." He explained as if it all made sense. I rolled my eyes as Zeke made a face.

"I think not." He answered stiffly.

"Insulting me isn't going to make me like you." I told Stephen past clenched teeth. He smiled.

"But honesty will and honesty is what I do." He replied.

"Says the third friend of mine who betrayed me and handed me gift-wrapped to a demon." I responded harshly, forgetting Zeke was standing right next to me. I ignored his flinch and watched Stephen laugh.

"I didn't betray you, Matthew. I've given you plenty reason not to trust me. What sort of person smiles this often while holding a dagger behind their back? No, you're just too stupid to notice, but that's fine. I don't want you to be smart. It'll be too hard to get you to spread your legs." Stephen smirked.

I felt like something in me snapped. My blood hit a boiling point and my heart pounding in my ears as I fumed. I didn't waste a second and lunged forward, shoving Stephen so hard he actually fell backwards into the cafe room, making everyone inside jump up in surprise.

Stephen winced, giving me a glare before I was on him, grabbing his tie in my fist and jerking hard, watching him choke and bare his fangs at me threatening. But I wasn't about to back down just because he showed off his pearly whites.

"Fuck you, asshole! At least I have a mind of my own, you fucking drone! You do whatever Asmodeus tells you to do because you're just happy being his bitch! You like it when Asmodeus looks at you, talks to you! You don't give two shits about me! It's Asmodeus you want! If you want him so badly, you can be his sex toy! You can have his disgusting demonic hands all over you!"

"Get off me!" Stephen snarled, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment and rage. I didn't hesitate this time and slammed my fist into his nose, wincing as one of my fingers made an uncomfortable crack sound in the process. Stephen barked out in pain, then swung his hand around, slapping me across the face, which just succeeded in pissing me off more.

"Stop! Fucking stop slapping me, all of you!" I shouted, then brought my hand around for a backslap, listening to the crack it made when my hand struck his cheek. Stephen spat out a glob of blood, then reached up and grabbed a handful of my hair, ripping me down to the floor so he could try and get on top of me, but I shoved my knee into his gut, knocking him back.

I scrambled to my feet, reaching for him, but Zeke caught me under the arms.

"Matty, stop! You're gonna get killed!" Zeke protested.

"Let go of me, I'm going to kill him," I yelled hatefully, glaring at Stephen, who was slowly rising to his feet with his eyes locked on me like a sniper rifle as he wiped the blood from his mouth, "I'm going to rip you to fucking bloody pieces and see how you like it! I'll make you regret the day you ever met me, Stephen Romero! I'll make sure you suffer a thousand times worse than Michael did to Lucifer! I won't just beat you down into the black hole in the ground-- I'll smash you into it and lock you inside forever!"

"I'd like to see you try that," Stephen sneered, his lip curling in an ugly snarl, his fangs glistening, "You worthless little fuck toy. You can't do anything to me while your powers are dormant!"

"Stephen!" Zeke cried as if Stephen had just revealed a big secret. I blinked, staring at Stephen in surprise for a moment before I gritted my teeth and swung my foot out, kicking him hard in the shin. He cursed and grabbed at his leg, lunging for me, but this time, Zeke whipped around and shoved me behind him.

He swung his arm up just as Stephen went to bite, his fangs sinking into Zeke's arm. Zeke barked a curse of pain, then swung Stephen around, slamming him into the wall by the door. He ripped his arm away from Stephen's mouth, then jammed it up against his throat.

"If you lay another finger on him, I'll make you suffer for eternity." Zeke seethed odiously, his blue eyes as red as Stephen's. Stephen snarled and snapped his teeth, going in for a round of insults when the air suddenly turned cold with a familiar power.

"And just what the fuck are you three doing?" Asmodeus demanded as he appeared in the doorway, his black eyes swirling with danger. Behind him, Beelzebub stood with his arms folded over his chest and silver eyes narrowed.

I stepped away from Zeke, who let go of Stephen to stand beside me. Stephen spat blood on the ground, glaring at Zeke and I.

"The angelus needs more training." He muttered bitterly. Asmodeus looked at me and I glared at him defiantly.

"Fuck that, the asshole started it! I don't give a shit what you guys think, I'm not a toy! And whatever Stephen was talking about when he said powers, I'll use them to kill you! Not just kill you, but destroy you and your soul!" I spat, then surprised everyone, including myself, as I shoved past Asmodeus and stormed off to his room.

The door was too heavy for me to shut on my own, so I just went straight to the bed and flopped down, holding the cloak tightly to me as I heard Asmodeus' voice raise.

"You stupid, impudent, blood-sucking leech!" I assumed his insult was directed at Stephen, so I squeezed my eyes shut and smirked.

Good. I hope he's in so much trouble, he burns for it.

Matty, stop! Stop what you're doing. You're letting the darkness Michael talked about consume you. If you don't stop soon, you'll be just like the others. Just like Stephen, just like Cain, just like Asmodeus... Just like Lucifer.

That snapped me out of my giddy rage, my eyes flying open to stare at the darkness of the room with the only light coming from the open door.

That's right.

That's one of the tests.

I took a few deep breathes to calm down, trying to think of something else, anything else.

Michael, I'm sorry. I didn't want that to happen... I'm just so tired of being looked down upon. I'm having trouble... Please come talk to me again. I need your help.