Chapter Twelve

Dear Michael, God, or whoever's listening,

It's Matthew again. Hi. Remember me? The guy who's been trapped with a crazed sex demon for the past week or so? So, recently I've made some new discoveries. I've figured out what Asmodeus means when he calls me angelus. It's Latin for angel. I feel sort of stupid for not figuring it out before, but how could that make sense? Why is he calling me an angel? I can't tell what's worse. Being called an angel or being called a lamb. Not that being an angel is bad, it's just... I'm human.

At least, I'm pretty sure I'm human. My mom and dad are human. My grandparents were human before they died. If they were angels, they'd live forever, right? Life doesn't make sense anymore. I can't tell what's reality and what's nightmare, or maybe they're one in the same. I keep hoping I'll wake up and this was all a really sick nightmare, but I always wake up to Asmodeus reminding me that it's real.

Where are you guys?

Why aren't you helping me?

I've been praying every night, even moved to mornings too just to make sure that you can hear me, but I'm not seeing any progress. In fact, ever since Beelzebub has shown up, things have gotten worse.

Dustin is far more bitter-- not that I care, but he's making the rest of us suffer for his misfortune of Beelzebub stealing his apparent crush. Not to mention, Beelzebub and Asmodeus fight like a couple of three-year-olds. They started arguing about who's getting Rome after Lucifer destroyed everything.

To make matters worse, Zeke hates me. At least, I'm pretty sure he hates me now. He won't look at me or acknowledge me at all.

I can't tell if that's good or bad.

Please, Michael. God. Somebody.

Get me out of this mess.

Please.

I really don't know how much more of this insanity I can handle. I don't think I can make it until the next full moon, which is now two weeks, two days, fourteen hours, six minutes, and forty five seconds away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Asmodeus' voice broke through my prayers and I almost leapt through the roof, whirling around on the bed as Asmodeus stood in front of the door to his large and luxurious bedroom.

"Asking for a television since you won't get me one." I answered haughtily. Asmodeus frowned, then cocked a brow.

"Why do you need television when you have me? If you wanted entertainment, you should've just called for me." He crooned with a wicked smirk. I withdrew further on the bed until I was at the headboard, my knees curled up close to my chest.

"I don't want that kind of entertainment; it's not even entertainment to begin with." I spat hatefully, hugging my knees close. Asmodeus narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as he walked over and plopped on the end of the bed before lying down. I studied him closely, suspiciously.

Asmodeus was unpredictable.

Sure, he had this natural aloof, sarcastic, cocky, proud personality that he never failed to uphold, but he also had the tendency to let his temper grab a hold of him. It'd been happening more often since Beelzebub arrived as well.

"I wonder what I'll do with you once I'm done," Asmodeus said aloud, making me frown at him, "Should I do to you what I plan for Michael? Or maybe his brothers? Or I could just hand you over to one of the lapsus. Cain and Stephen seem highly intrigued by you. Or, I could just sell you off to some rich fat old man so he can fuck you all night long, keep that mouth of yours shut."

I felt my stomach sink as I hugged myself tighter, squeezing my eyes shut in disgust at the thought. I didn't want anyone to touch me. Not Asmodeus, not Cain, not Stephen, and certainly not some fat old man; no matter how rich he was.

I felt the bed squeak and move, then peeked my eyes open to see Asmodeus leaning against the headboard beside me, his eyes locked on the ceiling.

"Or I could just let you go." He muttered, staring thoughtfully into space. I blinked and snapped my head to look up at him in surprise.

"I like that idea." I spoke up quietly. Asmodeus smirked, glancing at me, before looking at the ceiling again, ruffling my hair. It'd been done so often that I gave up complaining and just sat there silently as his fingers slid through my hair.

"Of course you do," He mused, then shook his head, "But it would never work. Letting you go would be foolish."

"No, it wouldn't. I'd be out of your hair and no longer a burden." I offered helpfully. Asmodeus laughed for real this time, glancing at me before looking away.

"Verum. True, but sometimes you have to endure the needle before the tattoo is ready." He answered, making me scrunch up my nose.

"You have weird analogies." I commented. Asmodeus shrugged.

"I'm a sex demon, not a literary demon." He snorted, staring at the ceiling again. We sat there in silence for a while, both of drifting into our own little worlds.

His probably consisted of flames, sulfur, and Michael. Mostly Michael. I noticed Asmodeus got a strange twinkle in his eye whenever he mentioned Michael. It made me curious as to what exactly happened between the two of them. Part of me wanted to ask Michael, even though he hadn't returned my last few prayers.

Maybe telling him a creepy sadistic sex demon loved him would make him cringe and fume enough to come down here and save me.

Yeah, right.

Sure, Matthew, you keep telling yourself that.

I sighed miserably, pressing the heels of my palms to my eyes before resting my head on my knees as I stared across the room at the door.

So far, no escape plans.

Asmodeus frequented his room more nowadays, checking on me and personally taking me to eat, shower, and piss. He didn't trust anyone else to do it. They might go soft and let me go, or push me down and take me themselves, or almost let me get away like Zeke did.

"I'm hungry." I said at last. Asmodeus groaned, rolling his eyes.

"You eat more than I do. At least all I devour is energy and blood. You scarf down enough food to end world hunger." He grunted, sliding off the bed and grabbing my wrist. I winced and stumbled after him.

It was then that I noticed the bruises. I blinked in surprise at the ugly purple-green bruises that encircled my wrists and biceps. It made me wonder what the hell my neck looked like. I grimaced at the thought as Asmodeus dragged me from his room to the little cafe.

I wasn't so lucky today that it was empty. It was full of every single cult member, including Beelzebub, who sat with Akira beside him. I hadn't seen Akira since Beelzebub ran off with him and I actually felt sorry for him.

He looked smaller and definitely frail, his eyes dark and tired. He looked drained and sleepy, like he might just fall face first into his oatmeal, but he managed to keep his head up.

Beelzebub, on the other hand, looked positively refreshed and rejuvenated. His hair was slicked back with water from a shower, a black v-neck shirt covering his torso as well as a pair of leather pants with chains linked along the sides.

"Morning, all," Asmodeus greeted cheerily, despite his earlier moping, "It's getting closer and closer."

"Two weeks, two days, thirteen hours, four minutes, and ten seconds away." I blurted bitterly. Asmodeus cocked a brow at me while Beelzebub frowned, looking at Asmodeus as if to ask how he could let me talk like that. In response, Asmodeus shoved me roughly at the food bar where I collected my own food.

Being the sadistic bastard he was, Asmodeus sat me down at the table Zeke and Dustin were sitting at. Zeke moved to get up and leave, but Asmodeus grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down in his seat.

"Stay. It's rude to leave guests." He ordered, the threat in his voice not going unnoticed. Zeke ground his teeth together and obeyed, slowly sitting in his seat while Dustin shifted uncomfortably, irritably. Zeke and I avoided eye contact as I ate and he slurped his smoothie, even after the cup was completely drained.

"This is a boring meal." Beelzebub mused, his eyes glancing at Asmodeus, who met them straight on. They seemed to be having some kind of telepathic conversation before Asmodeus smiled slowly.

"Little lamb, stand." He commanded without looking at me. I blinked and looked at him in disbelief, but one look from him and I had no choice, but to rise to my feet, still feeling mildly uncomfortable with my nudity. He'd taken the red velvet cloak from me, claiming he wanted to save it for our next ceremony.

The ceremony where they would be summoning Lucifer, Lord of Hell.

I had until then to do something.

Unfortunately, Asmodeus didn't care about that.

"Do us a favor and cheer your ex-lover up. I'm sure the lapsus would enjoy your company in his lap." He told me calmly. However, I went into freak out mode and fumed, clenching my fists as my face burned with shame.

"Fuck no! I rather castrate myself with a rusty spoon!" I spat angrily. Zeke flinched, but didn't glare at me and instead glared at Asmodeus, who stared at us sternly.

"I don't think you have much a choice, little lamb, unless you really want me to sell you off." He threatened, his voice taking a cold, biting tone to it. I ground my teeth together, glaring hot daggers at him before I walked around the table and sat right on Zeke's knee stiffly, my fists clenched on my knees.

I felt him stiffen, in more than one place, his breath catching in his throat. His hand brushed my hip, but he didn't dare touch any further.

Whether out of fear or hate, I had no idea.

"Not enough. Face the other way." Asmodeus commanded. I fumed silently, but had no choice and obeyed, feeling my cheeks catch fire when I heard Cain and Roy snicker. Everyone else was silent, watching intently as if waiting for one of us to die or explode.

Or both.

Even so, I didn't mind it too much. Zeke and I hadn't had much contact lately, so this felt more like a relief. Even if it was making my groin ache hotly, making my cheeks burn further at the hard on I was sporting. At least I wasn't alone, half the people in the room were horny.

I held my breath, resting myself against Zeke's thigh, dangerously close to his groin. I rested my hands on my thighs, resisting the urge to rub against him. I held my breath before Asmodeus laughed aloud, making me glance at him over my shoulder and Zeke look up, shamefaced.

"You know, if I cared, you two would be an interesting pair. Like something straight out of a soap opera." He commented, obviously amused by all of this. Beelzebub held quite the poker face as he watched us, hands folded under his chin.

Zeke glanced at me and I met his eyes. For some reason, we just stared at each other for the longest time. I studied the blue of his eyes, the lighter flecks of blue near the center and the deep, dark navy ring that surrounded his irises. The strong shape of his cheekbones, nose, lips.

I held my breath, his nose brushing mine as he tilted his head toward me. Our lips were so close, I could feel his breath on my lips, making me ache to lean forward and touch them.

I hated this.

I wanted to hate Zeke.

I wanted to so badly.

He hurt me.

He betrayed me.

Yet, the only thing I wanted was to kiss him. I wanted him to hold me like he did before. I wanted him to look at me like I was the most important thing in the world to him, like he cared if something happened to me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned in and touched our lips together, watching Zeke's eyes flicker and widen for a moment before he reached up to cup my face, his lips pressing back on mine. I wanted more, I wanted to feel his tongue against mine, but the kiss was short lived because Asmodeus grabbed the back of my neck, making me gasp as he tore me off Zeke's lap.

"That's quite enough," Asmodeus announced, giving Zeke a look that dared him to protest, "Don't you have school work to do? I know the angelus here has some work of his own to attend to." He pinched my neck and I flinched, looking at Zeke for help. He gritted his teeth and surprised me by rising to his feet, glaring at the demon.

"Quit using Matty against me. The more you do it, the sicker you make me. When Lucifer finds out you've been wasting your time with silly games, He'll make sure to punish you for it." He snapped irritably. Asmodeus' eyes narrowed and he clenched his grip so tight on the back of my neck that I pretty much choked, gasping aloud and reaching back to grab at Asmodeus' hand. Zeke ground his teeth together, glaring daggers at Asmodeus, who narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"You don't want to make an enemy of me, lamia. Should you do so, you'll find yourself begging me to fuck your angelus senseless. Unless you want to do the honors and let me strip you of your gifts right here, right now." He switched his grip to my wrists, making me wince as he grabbed them both in one beefy fist, before holding his hand out in front of me.

His right index fingernail cracked and grew sharply, reaching a length of at least two inches with a slightly curved end. It reminded me of a Velociraptor's claw. I froze, my eyes widening in horror at the sight of his new little trick.

"Don't." Zeke seethed past clenched teeth. Asmodeus smiled and pressed his lips to my ear, making squirm. In doing so, his claw cut a hairline into the space in between my ribcage, just above my stomach. I hissed past clenched teeth as bright red blood peeked out from the cut, sliding in a single drop down my stomach.

"Oops." Asmodeus mused, his eyes watching Zeke, who was standing there in utter stiff discomfort. He had the same agonized expression on his face as he did the day I cut my arms open with my own fingernails. He was practically writhing at the sight of the red bead trailing over my lean stomach.

"Can't let it go to waste." Asmodeus decided, then leaned down, still holding my wrists tightly as he came to my side, leaning in and letting his tongue run from just above my groin all the way up to meet the droplet of blood. I shuddered, cursing my body for its stiff reaction to the attention.

Asmodeus hummed, then licked my stomach again, his fangs slowly elongating and brushing my stomach. Zeke growled, low and guttural in his throat, in a way that threatened Asmodeus, who didn't seem pleased with the reaction from the vampire.

Asmodeus easily shoved me back so hard, I stumbled and fell to the floor, wincing in pain and watching as Asmodeus towered over Zeke, who didn't back down.

"You have balls to threaten me. Or you're just stupid." Asmodeus muttered darkly, a threat lingering off the end of his sentence. Zeke didn't say anything, just glared up at him with icy eyes. I saw Asmodeus' hand twitch, like he was getting ready to just ram his claw into Zeke's stomach.

I scrambled to my feet just as Asmodeus pulled his arm back. I stupidly stumbled into him, grabbing onto his arm, then gasping out loud in pain as something sharp pierced my gut. Agony swept through me in one swift, sharp movement.

"No!" Zeke cried out in agony. Asmodeus seethed as if it caused him pain too, his claw twitching inside my stomach. I choked on the pain, my grip on his arm tightening for a moment before I felt my grip slowly loosen.

"Don't let him fall!" Asmodeus barked. Zeke obeyed instantly, catching me before Asmodeus' claw could rip me open. I gasped, feeling sweat form in cold droplets on my temples as Zeke caught me under the arms, gently, carefully pulling me away from Asmodeus' now bloodied claw.

Zeke gently set me on my knees and I slumped against him, breathing hard as I looked down at the blood gushing from the gash in my stomach. I couldn't even cry out in disgust or pain; I just felt dizzy and sick at the sight of the bright red blood oozing down my thighs and smearing on Zeke's uniform.

He didn't care at all; he was just frozen now, staring at the blood pooling out of my stomach. Asmodeus cursed, snapping his head at Beelzebub, who had been on his feet as soon as I had grabbed onto Asmodeus.

"Get him away from the lamias. Now!" Asmodeus ordered. Beelzebub didn't hesitate, rushing over and grabbing me up in his arms. Zeke, however, kept his grip on me, glaring daggers at Beelzebub. I actually felt a sliver of fear shoot through me as I watched Zeke's fangs dig into his lower lip, his icy blue eyes darkening and slowly turn a bloody red color.

"Let go." Beelzebub ordered, his voice hard with authority. Zeke hissed at him, but Cain grabbed him from behind and jerked him back. Zeke snarled at him, clawing at him and trying to grab at me as Beelzebub stood up straight.

I panted hard now, my hands clasping over the wound, blood sputtering past my fingers. I whimpered in pain, squeezing my eyes shut as Beelzebub rushed me for the door. I could still hear Zeke snarling, like some kind of angry monster out of a horror movie.

I felt bolts of fear coursing up my back and into my head as I finally realized it.

That was what Zeke was like when he was around my blood. That's what he'd be like if it weren't for the leash Lucifer had given him, but even then, the leash wasn't strong enough. He looked like he wanted to devour me, like he was starved, hadn't eaten in years-- or centuries.

Beelzebub carried me to Asmodeus' room, laying me out on the bed. He stood over me, eyes narrowed as he grabbed my hands, pulling them away from my stomach so he could stare at the wound. I watched his silver eyes swirl like liquid mercury, his lips parting to reveal a pair of fangs. But they weren't sleek and dainty like Zeke's or Stephen's. They were thick and monstrous. I tried to grab at his hands when he reached for my wound, but he slapped them away harshly, casting me a glare.

"Non movere! Do not move!" He ordered, then waved his hand over me. I felt the same invisible bindings that Asmodeus had used before, only this time, they were strapping me to the bed. My hands were pinned to the bed beside either side of my head, my ankles held down so I was laid out in front of Beelzebub.

I felt my heart hammering in my throat now, the pain in my gut slowly numbing. Beelzebub held his hand over my belly, his fingernails curving like Asmodeus' had.

"W-What're you doing?" I managed to gasp, blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. He didn't answer, just closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. He was muttering something in Latin, something repetitive.

At first, I thought he was just cursing, but then I felt a sharp pain in my stomach that actually made me cry out. I threw my head back on the bed, squeezing my eyes shut and grinding my teeth together until I felt like they might crack.

I felt several sharp pains in my stomach, like someone was repeatedly stabbing me with a needle. I arched my back and tensed every muscle in my body, crying out in pain. Beelzebub still didn't stop his silly chanting and I couldn't stand the pain anymore.

Michael, it hurts! Make it stop! I don't know what's happening! What's he doing to me?! God, help! It hurts so much! I can't think, I can't breath, I can't speak!

I felt a sharp pain shoot up my throat and it seeped past my lips as a scream. I managed to peek my eye open, blinking rapidly against the blinding agony that punctured my stomach repeatedly. I watched Beelzebub stare at my stomach, looking caught off guard as he lowered his hand.

I followed his gaze and only stayed conscious for a few more seconds as I watched my skin whipping in streams over the wound, sewing it up on its own.

N-No fucking way...

I gave up on struggling to stay conscious and fainted, slumping back against the bed.