It was nice to get out of the mansion and far, far away from Kalon. The brute, despite promising to leave me alone had taken every opportunity to flex his muscles and made snide, sexual remarks. Whatever Zendar had done, the man was infatuated. I shuddered. Just thinking about it gave me the ick.

I glanced at Jalin beside me as we sat together in an abandoned apartment, watching the building across from us for demonic activity. This was where one of Geayu's servants had spotted demons coming to and leaving from, it was likely the location of one of the portals. He sent us to get a closer look, since Jalin was combat trained and my magic was back and could protect us.

Jalin's emerald eyes stole a glance at me before turning back to the task at hand. "I don't see how you were ever a general, you're so incompetent." She flipped her rainbow braids over her shoulder before taking out two daggers. "Why don't you save us time and go home, I can scope this out myself."

"Why would I leave when I can bask in the beauty of such a lovely goddess?" I asked as I leaned on the wall in a way I thought attractive. "Missing this opportunity to be in your presence would be blasphemy."

Stiffening, Jalin glowered. "Stop acting like I'm some higher being that you want to step on you, it's creepy." She placed a blade to my throat, pressing it until blood trickled down my neck. "I've casturated men for less. If you intend to have any kind of sex life, you'll leave me alone."

Having her dagger to my throat caused me to lose my breath. She was so strong, so stubborn, it just made me want her more. If I pushed her a little harder, maybe she'd hit me. "You've ascended from the heavens to grace others with your presence, goddess of the sun."

The butt of her dagger connected with my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. "Stop calling me that!"

Footsteps sounded up the stairs, closing in on our location.

I pushed up from my knees and drew my daggers as an army of demons surrounded us. The dust of the abandoned apartment stirred, swirling in clouds in the moons beams. There was more than I was able to count.

"This is your fault you fucken moron," Jalin snarled. "We were supposed to just scout, but no, you had to push my buttons and call the entire demon army on us. I ought to leave you to die."

"The only hands I want to die by are yours around my throat," I said quietly.

The kick to my spine told me that she heard exactly what I had said. Jarring pain threw me forward into the floor, my face slammed into the ground causing blood to spill from my nose. Damn she was strong. I couldn't help but look from her feet up to her fine ass, taking in the exposed, rippling muscle of her legs. I would die happy if I suffocated between her thighs.

The demons rushed forward, not sparing another moment. I sliced the Achilles of the first who tried to assault me with their feet, using their body to slam into another that tried to stab through my chest.

"No! They want him alive!" Another cried. "Don't kill them, either of them."

I leapt to my feet, stabbing into the throat of one demon while slashing the other across the stomach. They kept coming, wave after wave. I didn't have time to see how well Jalin was doing, just the time that it took me to let out a breath almost landed me on the blade of a demon waiting to my right.

I put my hands together, sending out a pulse of my magic that created a space around me and Jalin, giving us a short time to rest.

"When we get out of here, I'm going to bash your skull in on Geayu's dining table," Jalin whispered into my ear, her breath hot on my neck.

Hot.

Fiery pain ripped into my arm as a large hook tore through tendons and muscle down my forearm to my hand. A demon, larger than the rest stood above me with a frown on his face. He had horns that jutted out to the side, sharp and deadly.

I cried out as crimson and black blood splattered on the floor, flowing out of me along with all my magical abilities. He knew that would happen, it was a targeted attack.

Behind me all the other demons went after Jalin, overwhelming her by sheer numbers and disarming her. She continued fighting like a wild beast, lashing out and butting heads with the one nearest to her and kicking behind her.

I tried to pull away from the hook in my arm, a spark of green traveled from the demons hand to the hook and threw my arm, draining me of all energy and bringing me to my knees. A dizziness washed over me, forcing vomit up my throat and only the demons feet.

"Disgusting! I outta squash you like the bug you are," he growled as he put a foot on my chest.

I heard an audible crack sound beneath as it became increasingly painful to breathe. "What do you want?"

"Answers," he stated as he ripped the hook from my arm, separating the flesh from my arm like curtains.

It didn't hurt, in fact, everything went completely numb, I couldn't feel my arm. He probably severed the nerves, which meant he had rendered it completely useless.

I grabbed my knife from the floor and rushed at him, attempting to stab him in the abdomen. The blood loss made me dizzy, causing me to stumble over my own feet and fall to the floor.

He kicked the knife away and stepped aside as a smaller, more regal appearing demon stepped forward. "Ah, just the immortal I had hoped to see. . ." The demon adjusted his glasses and bent down, tilting my chin up to face him. "We know Zendar is planning something and I was hoping you could be so helpful as to enlighten us as to what that demon's plans are?"

I swallowed, so that's what this was about? I couldn't say I knew for sure, but if that was all they wanted then telling them would be a death sentence. The instant I let go of that knowledge, they would no longer have a use for me.

"Very well then," he said, raising a finely trimmed black brow. The demon adjusted his suit, stepped back and snapped his fingers.

The larger demon kicked me in the stomach, jarring my entire body with each impact. Sharp, hot pain traveled through my stomach and chest as blood pooled in my mouth from internal damages.

For a moment, it stopped. I wheezed, curling into a ball as my body trembled from the blood loss and harm. Multiple ribs were broken, I could tell from the constant stab that came with each inhale and exhale.

"I'll ask you again, what is Zendar planning?" His glasses glinted in the moonlight as he adjusted them on his nose. "What I'm asking for is simple. I don't understand your resistance."

"You seem to think I know?" I spit out blood, pushing myself up weakly on my good arm. "That bastard doesn't tell me shit!"

Agony ripped through my leg as a harsh pressure made it crack loudly, echoing through the empty building. I screamed, silenced when the regal demon put a hand to my bloody lips.

"We can't have you running away, now can we?" He cooed, his short, dark hair falling forward in front of his eyes. "You test my patience."

The longer I held out, the better it would be for us. Geayu would send more Demi's, we'd stand a chance at escaping. If I gave in now, we were dead.

The regal demon took out a hammer. "Come now, Falosa. Why would you protect such a vile beast?"

My heart hammered loudly in my ears as he raised it into the air above my hand. I knew it was coming. I knew it would hurt. But I couldn't have prepared for the shock of repeated agony as he shattered my fingers, one, by one. Every time he raised it to strike again, I held bit my tongue. I didn't want to scream. I didn't want him to know it hurt. Every time, I failed.

The sight of my hand shattered and destroyed made my stomach churn, It was no more than flattered, bleeding flesh with juts of bone poking through the skin like broken glass.

I had been interrogated before, my tolerance for pain was high, my training had prepared me for this moment. But as he drew a knife and started carving into the skin of my chest, it ate away at my sanity. What was life outside of agony? Each moment ticked by slower, lasting forever. He'd speak, his words no more than blurred murmurs, I'd stay silent, he'd cut more, deeper, longer.

Then it stopped. I gasped, feeling the breeze sting at each exposed cut. Every breath in was suffering. I looked over at Jalin, her gaze was downward, away from me. Guilt ate away behind her eyes, as if she had failed me in some way.

The regal demon followed my gaze, a smile breaking across his face as he twirled the knife blade in his fingers. "If you don't start talking, I'll cut her next. She doesn't need all those fingers, now does she?"

"Tragore!" I blurted, stopping him in his tracks before he reached the other side of the room. "Zendar's going to kill Tragore." I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to be the reason Jalin suffered. They could do whatever they wanted to me, I didn't care, but I wouldn't let them hurt her.

He laughed, licking the blood from his blade as he eyed me with amusement. "What a fool. No one can kill Tragore. Nothing can touch him."

"Zendar is crazy enough that he'll try anyway."

The demon nodded and patted my head. "See? That wasn't so hard now was it? Imagine if you had talked sooner, you would've still use of your hand."

I groaned as one of the demons picked up my battered body and dragged me down stairs. Geayu would come for us, all we had to do was survive.

Whelp. . . They're quite fucked
And not in a fun way huehuehue
N.G.Brier