Daevas -I- ✔️

Chapter 3: Lessons

Ari rattled each window trying to figure out which ones were locked and which ones were not. The ones that were, were up on the third floor and too high for him to jump from. It was no surprise to him that the demon had thought of this before him. As he said once before, he was well over thousands of years old. His name was ancient in and of itself.

There was one last window left unchecked and Ari walked towards it. He stopped a couple steps away as soon as he noticed Cyrus' presence. Cyrus' green eyes briefly met Ari's before Cyrus shifted his gaze elsewhere, walking towards him. Since arriving, Cyrus had paid him no mind, treating him with the disdain one would reserve for an annoying insect. Ari did not want to be here, and if only Cyrus's eyes did not emanate anger and a hint of murderous intent, he might have sought his help. However, Cyrus's loyalty to Auovin was unwavering.

Cyrus stepped closer, causing Ari to retreat. He closed the distance, pressing his body against Ari's until Ari's back met the wall. Ari's breath hitched as Cyrus leaned down, locking eyes with him. Cyrus towered over him, his long blond hair fell in boundless ribbons on each side of his face. Compared to him, Ari was made to feel smaller and younger than he really was in face of this demon.

Ari flinched when Cyrus' finger touched his chin. "Hold still. Let me have a look at you," Cyrus demanded.

Ari grasped Cyrus' wrist, attempting to pull his hand away, but Cyrus remained unyielding. To them, he was perceived as weak, someone to be toyed with. Ari realized his current vulnerability and resolved to become stronger, hoping they would not underestimate him in the future.

Turning Ari's face, Cyrus scrutinized him closely. "You are very much human," Cyrus muttered, noting his smooth skin and gentle features. "Why is it that you are slaying demons? You seem much more of a house servant or a whore."

Ari took notice of Cyrus's fangs while he spoke, realizing he was the same as Auovin, a Blood Demon. He found no amusement in Cyrus's voice or demeanor—only a chilling malice. Cyrus jerked Ari's head back when he tried to move, causing Ari to yelp. His grip fell from Ari's chin and tightened around his throat, leaving Ari gasping for air once he decided to release him. Cyrus scoffed with disdain, his narrowed eyes reflecting contempt. "Do not believe yourself to be special, human," Cyrus sneered. "When he tires of you, in which he will, I will kill you myself."

Ari wrapped his own hand around his throat and stared back at Cyrus unafraid. Unlike the time before, Cyrus wore a long sleeve shirt and a leather vest hiding his bite marks. Cyrus cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to him causing Ari to reach behind him for anything that could be used as a weapon.

"Cyrus," Auovin's voice rang. Cyrus turned around and lowered his eyes as Auovin approached from the other end of the hallway. "Did you keep him away from the windows as I asked?"

Cyrus nodded as Auovin threaded his fingers through Cyrus' hair and smiled. They kissed and they touched, but their relationship did not seem romantic no matter the many times Ari had seen them together. It struck him as odd. He did not let his mind linger there for long. Instead, he continued to push himself back up. However, he froze when Auovin's gaze fixed on him. His eyes widened momentarily before averting his gaze.

"Ari." The distinctive way Auovin rolled the 'r' in his name bore an accent both unfamiliar and archaic, lending a timeless quality to even the simplest words. Ari could not help but ponder Auovin's age, feeling a festering curiosity that seemed to consume him like a poisonous wound. "Shall I show you something today?"

Ari remained silent, locking eyes with the golden amber eyes that seemed more intense than ever. Auovin's hair cascaded down his shoulders and upper back, unbound and free. Unlike Cyrus, his bare chest and neck bore no scars or bite marks. Auovin took hold of Ari's wrist and urged him down the hall, pushing him towards the stairs. Grinding his teeth, Ari moved to the bottom floor, observing as Auovin approached the front door. Ari stayed still, his eyes narrowed, wary of the demon's penchant for playing deadly games and toying with him.

"Come here," Auovin beckoned, but Ari's gaze remained fixed on the ground. Mocking laughter filled the air. "Afraid, are you? No need to be. After all, I am just a demon. Something that you are quite familiar with, no?"

Auovin was right in that. However, most demons could not speak. Most demons could not laugh and grin and fill him with the chills of uncertainty, curiosity. As always, Ari gave in to him and took a couple steps outside the door. His eyes widened in horror at the sights that laid before him.

Everything was ablaze.

Bodies, lifeless and drenched in blood, lay scattered on the ground—men, women, and children alike. Blinking through the smoke, Ari pressed forward. Ash from the burning buildings clouded the air, obscuring his vision. He covered his mouth, his heart pounding, as he witnessed townspeople, some still clinging to life, being dragged across the cobblestone by unfamiliar demons. Among them, a red-skinned creature with dark bulging eyes and protruding horns shot him a sinister smile, displaying jagged teeth, before continuing on its path as if he were invisible.

He pressed on, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. Unable to bear the gruesome scene any longer, he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, unwilling to witness any more. Auovin seized his shoulder, redirecting his attention, wanting him to see. Ari recoiled at the sight of ceeres emerging from the shadows, pulling lifeless bodies back into the darkness. A shiver ran down his spine as he observed wyhils tearing into the corpses, an unsettling sensation churning in the pit of his stomach.

"Do you not like this surprise?"

Ari looked at Auovin with deadened eyes.

"I had waited two days for this for you. I had expected more of a reaction than this one," the demon noted, a subtle smile forming on his lips.

"How am I to react to this?" Ari cut his eyes away from him, boiling with anger, so much anger and nothing to do with it. He had never once felt so helpless, powerless.

"What are you to do? What are you to do?" Auovin sang, "but watch?"

Ari felt the weight of the demon's gaze, dissecting him as was his habit. Auovin prodded him onward, forcing him to wade deeper into the massacre. Stepping over the lifeless, Ari found himself in a puddle of blood. Auovin, indifferent to the carnage, walked as if on grass, unbothered by the crimson beneath his shoes. Ari clenched his fists, biting down on his lip until it bled.

"Did you think I had forgotten?" The demon's voice whispered in Ari's ear, as if whispering sweet nothings to a lover. " You running away." Ari trembled with revulsion. "You think all demons are the same? We are not." He felt Auovin's smile on the skin of his neck sending chills down his spine. "Because, Little Ari, you will soon come to know I am far much worse. Let this be your first lesson."

A genuine fear took hold of Ari then. 

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[A/N] 

Ari will not be having a fun time with either Cyrus or Auovin. One wants to kill him, the other wants to eat him. D: 

Leave me your thoughts down below!