Chapter Fourteen

Bad idea to piss off the guy keeping you captive.

It'd been thirty-two hours, at least, since I'd last eaten, drank water, bathed, or pissed. My stomach ached and wrenched in hunger, my mouth cotton dry as I lay on the bed, my legs sprawled out under the silky blankets. The room was still pitch black as Asmodeus apparently didn't come back to the room, even after I'd fallen asleep.

I lifted my head, frowning through the darkness.

I needed to get to the door. Maybe whoever was guarding it would help. I grasped around on the sheets and blankets, making my way toward the end of the bed. The room was so silent, so dark and my mind started to play tricks on me so I was seeing faces. I took deep breathes, reaching my hand out to catch some of the bed, but it went through mid-air.

I yelped as I fell head first off the bed, slamming into the stone floor, making me gasp in pain. I rolled onto my side, groaning in disgust at myself for not being more careful. I steadily rose to my feet and felt around for the door. My fingers met stone wall before sliding further down. In moments, I reached the metal door and breathed a sigh of relief.

I started smacking my fists against it, wincing as it sent a sharp pain down my back. I took a deep breath and slammed my fists again.

"Hey! Open up! I'm starving to death in here and I have to piss! I'm thirsty! Let me out! Open up!" I shouted angrily, repeatedly banging my fists against the door and ignoring the aches and pains bouncing around in my back. I felt like my muscles were quivering and bunching, my bones cracking, but I kept yelling until my voice was hoarse once again.

I took a couple breaks in between before I fumed again and kept smashing my fists on the door, knowing that they were probably bruised black and purple by now.

"Open up the fucking door! If you're gonna treat me like a dog, take responsibility before I rip up your precious room again! I'll piss on your bed, don't think I won't! Let me out!"

"Ssh." Came a voice from the other side. I frowned curiously, pressing my ear to the door, then pulled back to yell again.

"Let me out and I'll shut up!" I yelled, then fell silent as I heard shuffling on the other side of the door. I pressed my ear to it, then heard the giant locks clicking and grinding. I stepped back, wincing and covering my eyes as light flooded into the room.

On the other side, I was stunned to see Akira standing there. He was only wearing an over-sized white button up shirt and the strange collar on his throat. His hair was disheveled and his eyes tired.

"I thought you were with Beelzebub." I muttered bitterly. Akira stared at me silently for a while, making me frown curiously before he tilted his head, looking away.

"He's out. I'm alone." He responded curtly. I scowled, folding my arms over my chest tightly, envying that Beelzebub at least had the decency to let Akira wear some kind of clothing, while I was stuck for eternity in the nude. Akira gestured for me to follow him and for a moment, I thought he was stupid.

I was usually dragged out or led out physically, never actually gestured or allowed alone. Part of me wanted to just shove past him and run, hoping I got far enough, but another part of me was too curious about Akira. He had something to do with all of this too and who knows? Maybe he'd be on my side after experiencing the same Hell I was in.

I stepped out, shivering at how cold the floor was on my bare feet, but followed Akira as he led me to the bathrooms. I glanced at his placid expression, then at the glowing orb that was embedded into his collar.

"I didn't know you were into chokers." I deadpanned. Akira blinked, then smiled secretly at me.

"I'm not." He responded. I blinked and looked at him, my nose scrunched up in confusion. Akira just kept smiling for a while, then it faded as if he was too tired to keep up his mysterious demeanor. He opened the door to the bathroom, then gestured for me to do my business.

"If you're not into chokers," I said after I was done and washing my hands, "Why are you wearing that? I've never seen you wear it before." Akira shrugged carelessly, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves before brushing his hair off to the side of his face.

"I've always worn it, but I hid it with the collar of my uniform." He answered calmly, then gestured for me to leave the bathroom. He was right on my heels as I emerged into the colder main chamber. I expected him to shove me rudely back into Asmodeus' room, but instead, he led me to the cafe and I heard my stomach growl viciously at the thought of food.

I felt my cheeks get warm, but I relaxed when I heard Akira's stomach give a grunt of agreement. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he avoided my eyes as he opened the door and had me go in first. I was thankful that it was empty. None of the Fallen Ones occupied the tables, nor Asmodeus and Beelzebub.

Akira and I went to the kitchen, collecting food on our plates, then drifting to one of the tables. My eyes kept flicking toward the door, my legs twitching to run for it, but something about Akira made me stay put.

He sat there, daintily eating his food with slow chews as if it hurt him to eat. His hair kept falling over his face, and he kept pushing it back before finally giving up.

"You can try barrettes or a headband for that." I blurted past a mouthful of oatmeal. Akira blinked, then glanced up at me past his hair, giving me a small smile before it faded. His eyes fell on his plate again before closing.

"You are pure. I figured the moment I saw you that you were nothing like Jeremiah. He was far too corrupted and why they even bothered with him was beyond me, but you are different. Your aura is very bright white. It's rare to find someone with such a powerful, clean aura. Most are tainted in other colors." He explained suddenly, making me glance at him curiously.

I waited before speaking, wanting to process exactly what he just told me. One thing about this situation was listen to the information given. It was important.

"Michael says I'm carrying darkness, though." I pointed out. Akira smiled tiredly, putting his silverware down to clasp his hands tightly between his knees.

"Darkness is apart of you, not your aura. Everyone carries darkness within them. You, me, Asmodeus, Michael." He replied softly. I paused, letting that sink in as it did make sense. Akira was pretty intelligent, he always has been. He was always getting the top marks in our classes, both for intellect and stamina.

"Akira, everyone's calling you a kitsune. What's that? Am I even pronouncing it right?" I asked curiously. I waited as Akira studied my face for a moment, as if deciding whether I was worthy of speaking to or trust worthy or one of those. Finally, he spoke.

"Kee-ts-oo-nay."

"Kee-ts-oo-nay?"

"Yes. It's a spiritual entity from Japanese folklore. We are ancient and the older we get, the more knowledge, the more magical abilities we reel in. We also earn ourselves tails for each century we've lived through." He explained simply. I blinked, surprised. I didn't think the Japanese mythology would be sucked into something like this. Either way, I leaned forward in interest, my elbows on the table.

"So, how many tails do you have?" I asked. Akira held up three fingers and I whistled in awe, resting my cheek against my knuckles. Akira didn't look like he was three centuries old. Hell, he looked like he was trapped in the body of a fourteen-year-old.

"What kind of abilities do you have?" I questioned. Akira smiled secretly again, shifting a little as he blew a strand of hair out of his face.

"I cannot tell you that. You may try to find a way around them and the Lords will punish me for it. Sorry, were the situation different, I wouldn't be hesitant as I enjoy your company, Matty." He answered, his eyes practically glowing. I stared at him for a while, tilting my head before my eyes landed on the orb in his collar.

That's what was making his eyes look luminous.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to it. Akira closed his eyes in a smile now that actually looked quite fox-like.

"Hoshi no Tama. Pronounced Ho-shee no tah-mah. Or you could just call it a star ball. It contains fox-fire. In other words, my magical abilities and most importantly, my soul." He reached up and tapped his finger against the surface of the pale blue orb. It gave off a soft little ting sound when tapped with Akira's fingernail.

"So... If someone were to take that away or destroy it..." My voice trailed. Akira smiled even more now, stroking it with the tip of his finger.

"Yes. If this is destroyed or stolen, my soul dies. I neither go on to Heaven or Hell. I merely cease to exist altogether." He answered calmly. I scowled at his placid response. How is that even fair or something to be calm about?

"That's so dumb and unfair." I announced. Akira laughed softly, lowering his hand to pick at a piece of his toast.

"I suppose so, but it makes sense. Technically, I'm a spirit. I've already reached the afterlife." He pointed out with a shrug, like it didn't matter. I wondered if Dustin knew any of this. He probably did. I felt the sudden urge to laugh as a thought crossed my mind. Akira looked at me curiously and I grinned.

"I get it. Like The Fox and the Hound, ya know? Because Dustin's a werewolf and you're a kitsune!" I exclaimed. Akira blinked, then made me smile in relief as he openly laughed.

"Yes. How cute. I wonder if Dustin's thought of that." He admitted, averting his eyes thoughtfully.

"You like him back?" I asked, perplexed. Akira sighed, averting his eyes as his smile slowly vanished into a look of obvious sorrow.

"It doesn't matter. Lord Beelzebub has made his choice. As a servant of Lucifer, I have no choice and must obey the laws of their realm. Dustin also knows this." He responded gently. I scowled, folding my arms over my chest and leaning back in my seat.

"That's stupid. Tell Beelzebub you love Dustin, not him." I retorted. Akira smiled sadly.

"You have no restraints, nothing to risk. I do. I risk Dustin's curse being put into place again, I risk my own existence. I also put distrust in the rest of the Fallen Ones. I cannot do that for selfish reasons." He explained softly. I lowered my arms, looking at Akira in both sympathy and respect.

Akira had always come off as a snotty to me, but talking to him changed all of that. He cared what happened to Dustin and the others, even if what they were doing was wrong, even if it meant his harm and sanity were withering.

"That's pretty decent, Akira." I replied at last. Akira shrugged.

"My kind is commonly misjudged. I'm merely proving it." He answered. I smiled and opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off by the door to the cafe bursting open. Asmodeus came in first, looking pretty peeved and surprised to see me there. Behind him at his heels was Beelzebub with Zeke, Dustin, and Stephen.

"What the hell is he doing in here?" Asmodeus demanded. Akira rose hesitantly on his feet as Asmodeus came over, making me gasp as he grabbed the back of my neck roughly. I clawed at his hand as a response, hissing past clenched teeth in pain.

"He'd been left alone for almost two days, my Lord. He was hungry." Akira responded softly. Asmodeus snorted as if he couldn't possibly give a shit.

"That doesn't matter. I specifically ordered that he not be removed from his room. He's being punished for his impudence." He snapped, making Akira nod his head.

"I apologize." He answered. It was enough for Asmodeus, so he looked at Beelzebub, who smirked. The way he did it, his lip curling and baring one of his fangs made me go rigid. He came forward, grabbing Akira's elbow and jerking him close. Akira didn't even flinch, just looked up with a blank look as Beelzebub smiled falsely.

"It would seem you truly are a kitsune. Mischievous and cunning." He mused. Akira said nothing as a response and looked at the floor with a look that told me he knew what was to follow. Asmodeus squeezed my neck as he ordered Beelzebub to depart with Akira in tow. As soon as he squeezed, however, pains started to course up my back on either side of my spine. I panted hard, my nails digging uselessly into Asmodeus' hands.

"My back hurts!" I protested desperately, cringing.

"Good," Asmodeus responded, squeezing tighter and making me seethe in pain, "You seem to enjoy being a cocky, arrogant brat. You think just because Michael told you some things that you're automatically stronger than I or any of the Fallen. You're sorely mistaken. Keep your mouth open."

"What--" I choked as Asmodeus shoved two of his fingers in my mouth, using his other arm to pin one of my arms at my sides, my back to his chest. I reached up, trying to rip his hand away from my mouth, but it was useless. I choked as he shoved his fingers as far back as he could.

"You will not eat unless given permission. You will not sleep unless given permission. You will not piss unless given permission. It's time you realized you're owned, not borrowed." Asmodeus sneered in my ear as his fingertip brushed the back of my throat, setting off my gag reflex.

I hacked and gagged, feeling all my food come up. Asmodeus quickly moved his hand away and dropped me so I fell on my hands and knees, vomiting heavily on the floor. I choked and gasped, trembling as my stomach clenched in irritation.

I shuddered, spitting as I finished, but Asmodeus didn't want me to wait. He reached down and grabbed my elbow, jerking me to my feet where I wobbled and almost fell. He scooped me up under his arm, making me gasp in pain as I writhed.

"Stephen," Asmodeus began, making the vampire stand to attention, "Obviously you still have some decency, so stay by the door and make sure no idiots let this one out."

"Yes, my Lord." Stephen replied with his sneaky little smile that made me glare at him. Asmodeus glanced at Dustin and Zeke, who were looking anywhere, but at the situation.

"You two, return to the academy. You must keep up appearances. I have this feeling that some of the older Sisters are starting to suspect. Be sure to change that." He commanded sternly.

"Yes, sir." Zeke and Dustin responded in unison, frowning at their order.

"As for myself, I have an angelus to punish." Asmodeus muttered, then shoved past them and started out the door. A flood of panic had me kicking and squirming in Asmodeus' grip, breathing hard.

"Get off! I didn't do anything wrong!" I shouted angrily, digging my nails into Asmodeus' arm. He swiftly ignored me, like he always did, as he used one hand to throw open his heavy bedroom door. This time, he didn't toss me inside and leave.

No.

This time, he carried me in with him and shut the door behind us. He grabbed the sheets off the bed and began to tear them into strips. All of this with one hand and his teeth, his other arm kept me from escaping his grasp. I glared at him uneasily.

"What are you doing?" I demanded suspiciously.

"You talk too much." Asmodeus decided and shoved me down on the bed. I gasped and started to sit up, but he took a strip of the silk red sheets and shoved it across my mouth, pinning me to the bed painfully. I kicked my legs at him, but he slid onto the bed on top of me, straddling me. I tried to shove him back, but my arms were weaker than my legs.

So much for holding buckets of water outside the classroom.

He tied the strip around my head to keep me from yelling at him, although, I did it anyway, only it was muffled now. I reached up to untie it, but he caught both my wrists and flipped me over so my face was pressed against the red sheets. I gasped and writhed as he swung my arms around behind me, tying them tightly with the bed sheet.

I cursed at him past the silk in my mouth, but he just smirked and sat up on his knees. I felt my cheeks burn at the awkward position I was in, humiliation burning me to the core. It looked like I was practically offering my ass up to him and I tried to move my legs out from under me, but my knees were sticking to the silk.

He smacked me hard on one cheek, making me jump and curse at him.

"Now, I will speak to you. You've done enough speaking for, well, eternity. In fact, I prefer you like this. I could've easily used my spells to bind you, but nothing looks better than red on you, angelus. Red like blood." Asmodeus mused aloud, grabbing my hips in his hands. I froze, my cheek pressed against the silk as I tried to look behind me at him.

For a second, I thought the worst was going to happen, but no. He was teasing me, playing with me as he ground his clothed hips against my ass. I gritted my teeth on the silk and glared at him as he smirked.

"Don't fret, angelus. I don't rape. I'm not an animal. My victims are always willing. How could they not be? I'm Asmodeus, King of Demons, King of Sex. Of course, my intention is to punish you, not reward you." He drawled, digging his nails into my hips. I hissed past the cloth and tried to move my leg back to kick him, but he caught my leg and swung me around.

I yelped past the silk as he swung my leg up so I was on my side now, my leg raised so far up, I was shocked my hip didn't break. Of course, it didn't help that Asmodeus had a clear view of everything between my legs. My face flushed as Asmodeus studied my genitals before meeting my eye, smirking.

"What a cute color you have here. I may be tempted to take you, if you respond well to the punishment." He added with a careless shrug, letting go of my leg so I fell on my back uncomfortably, my bound hands digging into my aching back.

"Your punishment will be long. It'll start out with something like this." He paused, then swung his hand around, backhanding me across the face. I gasped, my head snapping to the side before I quickly looked at him to curse, but he swung his hand back around, slapping me again. A headache started to pulse in my temples, my cheeks throbbing in pain as Asmodeus stared down at me now, eyes narrowed.

"It would seem that I'm about to make Michael even more angry. He'll be just heartbroken to know that his blood is about to experience unimaginable pain," He murmured, then a smirk ripped across his face, "Good. Let's see how much praying will help you now."

He backhanded me again and again, my head snapping to the side each time. I felt like my brain was rattling around in my head as I writhed, trying to get out of his reach, but he kept reaching me anyway. I started to sit up and shove him back with my knees, but he grabbed me and swung me around so I was in the same awkward position as before, my face smashed against the sheets and my ass thrust in the air.

I expected him to smack me there, but I heard the bed creaking, making me frown curiously. I tried to push myself up on my knees, but as soon as my chin left the sheets, something red fell across my face and against my throat. One second it was just loose and hanging, the next, the red strip of sheets was jerked tightly against my throat.

I choked, my eyes watering up immediately in pain. The red material bit into my throat and I felt him tying it in a bow. He grabbed me by my hair, jerking me so I was sitting on my knees now. I gasped for air, but only little bits of it managed to get past the red silk around my throat. Asmodeus smirked against my ear, one of his hands trailing down my side to my inner thigh where he started to massage me.

His other hand sailed up to one of my nipples where he pinched it with his fingernails and I cried out past the ribbons. I choked and gasped for air as Asmodeus slid his hand up and pulled the ribbon away from my lips so I was gulping huge amounts of oxygen past the ribbon around my throat.

"Too tight?" Asmodeus asked innocently.

"Uh! O-Off! Take it off!" I managed to gasp, voice hoarse.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you. Come again?" Asmodeus asked. I opened my mouth to protest again, but he plunged a couple fingers into my mouth, cutting me off. I choked further, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.

Michael! Make him stop! This hurts! I can't breath! Everything hurts! He's pissed about what I said before, I know he is. I shouldn't have said it, but he was pissing me off and I'm sorry I did something so stupid. I'm really, really sorry!

Suddenly, the feel of oxygen flooding into my lungs snapped me out of my prayer. I blinked past a cloak of darkness, sucking in deep breathes of oxygen. I coughed and choked it in, breathing heavily as Asmodeus stroked my spine, up along my neck all the way to the crack of my ass.

"Obviously I need to repeat myself," Asmodeus drawled, loosening the ribbon around my throat, "Because I think I mentioned yesterday... That you will not pray when you are in my presence. You will not pray so long as you belong to me. You. Will. Not. Pray."

I gasped as he jerked on the ribbon, choking off my air again. I managed a strangled whimper as he tied it tightly again, then reached for another strip of sheet that he draped over my eyes, so I was plunged into a world of red.

All I saw was the deep red silk of the sheets over my eyes as Asmodeus choked me, then loosened, then choked me all over again. I felt my eyes burning with tears of pain and frustration and it only got worse from here on out.

I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the red, trying to ignore Asmodeus' voice, but it was so hard with his lips against my ear, his deep voice vibrating my aching head.

"You are not free. You have no wings. You are caged. You're trapped, angelus. There will be no more prayer, no more Michael, no more Garden of Eden, no more anything. You will only know pain and pleasure and trust me, little lamb, it'll be the best existence you'll ever have."

Michael.

"Stop praying, little lamb. Focus on me. Focus on my voice, my hands, my breath."

His nails dug into my skin, his voice pierced my concentration, his teeth scraped my throat and his words grew harsher until he was cursing at me.

Help...