All Characters and locations borrowed from Stephen King's "It" remain his property.
Helpful Notes:
"Speaking Aloud"
'Speaking Telepathically'
Subconscious Thoughts, not heard by others.
A/N: This story involves VERY mature and sometimes disturbing situations. If you have any triggers I suggest perhaps trying another story.
*~..Lamia Amorist..~*
..Chapter 4..
At that moment time seemed to slow to almost a stand still. One second Duke was walking toward the restroom, the next he spun on his heel toward Ezra and said, "Think fast," and tossed something very quickly at him.
With his guard down, Ezra started reaching his hand out to catch it with his super quick reflexes, but being on her guard already, Nera saw what it was: a cross.
"NO!" screamed Nera, but before she could get to him, Ezra caught it and howled demonically, dropping it to the ground and clutching his burned hand, his teeth clenched and his fangs extending completely.
"Knew it," Duke proceeded to pull out a gun which undoubtedly had special bullets to take out immortals.
In a millionth of a second, Nera imagined Ezra's death. She imagined the bullet piercing his chest and her falling down to her knees next to him, hugging him and begging him not to go.
Pennywise and Santiago would probably kill Duke while she wept for Ezra, watching the light fade from his eyes. Once she processed the fact that he was gone, in a split second moment of overwhelming grief, she might use it to take her own life. Pennywise would then kill everyone else in the room and would unleash his rage upon the sleepy little town of Derry. The balance of good and evil would be ruined again. She would fail her entire mission.
No.
Before Duke could even finish lifting his arm, Nera had him pinned tightly to a wall by his throat. Her expression was murderous, eyes glowing red with fury, fangs extended and the rest of her teeth had now changed into sharp teeth exactly like Pennywise's own. Her talons were unsheathed, long and glassy-black, cutting into his skin as she held him fast. Her wings burst out of her shoulder blades, enormous and black as the darkest night.
She looked like she was ready to go to war, and the truth was that she was. With her other hand she wrenched the gun from his grasp and used her powers to melt it to nothing, the liquid metal sizzling into the hardwood floor.
"Nera, what the hell are you doing?! He's a Demon! What's happening to you?" he choked out as best he could.
"If you want him, you'll have to go through ME!" She screamed fiercely. The sound of Nera's voice was so piercing that Sadie had to cover her ears.
Ezra stood, wincing in pain as the wound began to heal. He looked up at Duke with his eyes black and red, fangs still extended.
Seeing his eyes and realizing Ezra was more than just a low level Demon, Duke began struggling harder, but to no avail. Nera was so angry at him for nearly killing her lover that she was seconds away from snapping his neck.
"You're PROTECTING HIM!?" Duke realized, his voice rising in extreme upset. "Look at him Nera! He's a Demon Lord!" he denounced and gasped for air under Nera's hold. Finally he stopped struggling, just glaring at Ezra who looked arrogantly proud of this moment, his eyes piercing into Duke's with an almost mischievous confidence.
"I am fully aware of what he is!" Nera hissed acidly. She really was livid. All Duke seemed to do was let his emotions fuck things up and now he'd nearly killed her mate simply for being a Demon, without any care as to if he was good or not. In that moment she could have easily killed him. She was ready.
The room fell silent and behind her on the other side of the room Pennywise watched with glowing yellow eyes and a chaotic smile, finally getting to see what he came for and absolutely elated that it was Nera who was taking care of it. Come on baby, kill the worthless human!
Ezra calmly approached Nera from one side and Santiago from the other. They realized they were seeing more of her power than they ever had before, especially Santiago, who had never even seen her Angel form, much less this newer one.
Truth be told, Ezra was shocked. Her energy and power filled the room, her rage making his own blood run hot and ready to kill. It took everything in him to avoid giving in to the urge.
Santiago's eyes were black and his fangs extended. He was ready to attack Duke, but Ezra held out his hand, signaling him to stop.
'Just say the word, Ezra,' Nera urged him telepathically. 'I will kill him for you.'
'My love, you're not thinking clearly. You would never forgive yourself and I cannot have this. It would break your spirit and consume the Angel we all love so much. You must control this darkness in you. Don't let it consume you,' he coaxed her, coming up to her and cupping her cheek in his hand.
Knowing he was right, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly her horns, fangs, and talons retracted. She then made her wings disappear and went back to her normal human self.
'That's my girl.'
"He's calm, you may let him down, Nera. It's alright." Ezra instructed her, clasping his hands behind his back and turning around to head back to the couch.
Nera and Duke stared at each other for a moment. His eyes were full of anger, pain, and confusion. She knew he felt deeply betrayed. In a way, he had been but it hadn't been planned out that way, and he certainly had a hand in how things played out. She had never wanted to hurt him, but nothing would come between her and her mates. She'd kill anyone that stood between them. She slowly lowered him him to his feet.
"Please Duke, come sit. We need to discuss some things," Ezra offered calmly, gesturing toward the couch where they had been sitting earlier.
"No thanks, I'll stand." Duke declined vehemently, glaring at Nera for a moment as he wiped the blood from his neck that her talons had drawn, then shifting his focus back on Ezra. Nera walked over and stood next to Sadie, trying to keep things neutral and avoid further issues.
"That was terrifying Nera." Sadie whispered and Santiago chuckled.
"That was beautiful." Santiago corrected her. Sadie blushed again as her eyes met Santiago's.
"Name yourself Demon." Duke demanded bitterly, attempting to regain his composure as a fierce hunter of the supernatural.
Ezra placed his hands in his pants pockets casually, then responded, "Asmodeus, Demon Lord of Lust." he announced proudly, with an arrogant smile.
Duke sneered in disgust. Of course it would be him, god damn it.
"That actually explains a lot," Sadie whispered and Nera almost laughed out loud.
"Well, the way I hear it you've been M.I.A. for quite some time. Some rumors even stated you were dead. Have you been hiding in Derry the entire time?" Duke asked snidely.
'Come to me, sweetness,' said Pennywise.
Nera looked back at him and he took her hand, pulling her into his lap. She felt his hardness beneath her and realized he was excited. He started kissing her neck and she couldn't help but love it, even if the timing was terrible.
Ezra shook his head, "I've only been in Derry about 30 years. Look Duke," He continued as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I know who and what you are, you're a Hunter... but I am not here on Earth causing destruction or hurting innocent people. Quite the contrary actually. I came to Earth 200 years ago and stayed because I'd fallen in love with a mortal woman. We ended up bonding and she was pregnant with my child. Another Demon killed her and my unborn child out of jealousy because he wanted her for himself and she denied him." His voice got thick when he discussed the death of his ex-love and child, but he managed to remain composed. "After that happened, I went into a rage killing every Demon in my path. I've killed probably close to a thousand of my kind but never a single human. I've just been here, living my life since then, just like the rest of you." Ezra explained calmly.
The sound of a sniffling nose drifted between them then and they turned toward the sound to see Sadie crying. "It's such a sad story!" She wiped her nose and Ezra huffed in mild amusement, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and handing it to Santiago to give to her.
Santiago handed it to her and smiled affectionately at Sadie at the sight of her silly human emotions which he found very innocent and sweet.
"So you expect me to be okay with the fact that the Lord of Lust is sniffing around the woman I love?" he snarled. "Wait, is this why she's protecting you? Because she's under your influence?" He demanded angrily.
"No, I'm not using my power on Nera." Ezra replied firmly, "In fact it's been hundreds of years since I used it on anyone unwilling. I tend to get what I want without it." He explained with a smug smile. Sure, he was leaving out the part where he tried to use it on Nera, but to be fair it hadn't worked on her, so that didn't really count, right?
"Duke." Nera began, getting up from Penny's lap and going around the couch to try to explain this to him as gently as possible. "There's something... you need to know. The truth is that over the past few months, Pennywise was working out his feelings for me and we'd been apart for awhile and it was slowly killing me, literally. A bonded immortal can't be rejected by their mate without consequences. I hid it from everyone, but I'd been in a deep depression because of it. The night that Lucian kidnapped me... " She hesitated to say the this next detail because no one knew it yet. Just gotta get it out. Just say it. "I had gone somewhere to kill myself. He found me...under a guillotine. I was so far gone that I had already pulled the rope. The blade was coming down on my neck and I closed my eyes and welcomed death." She heard Ezra's breath falter and looked into his eyes, seeing despair there.
When she glanced at Pennywise he'd closed his eyes, a grimace of pain across his face. She had never disclosed this detail to anyone before, not even them.
"Lucian only saved me so that he could torture me... but, that's how far gone I was." She explained.
Abruptly, Sadie then broke free from Santiago and ran to Nera, wrapping her arms around her. "Don't you ever think about leaving me again, do you hear me?" She cried. "I've lost you once, I can't bare it again Nera!"
Nera turned toward Sadie and lifted her face to hers. "I wasn't in my right mind then, but I'm okay now." She reassured Sadie and hugged her back.
"Good." Sadie replied with sweet smile and went back to Santiago who took her into his arms and hugged her comfortingly.
"So... That's why you pulled away from me." Duke shot back sourly. "You were sad over a killer clown monster that eats kids not loving you?"
Pennywise growled warning it at that.
"He does love her." Ezra insisted in warning tone, quick to step in and defend his Alpha.
Duke scoffed in disgust.
"I needed an immortal connection to try to stave off the insanity and slow the process of it killing me. Not just that, but a new bond to replace the old if I reached the point of wanting to die which unfortunately I did, when I was alone. To make a long story short-"
Duke's hands dropped to side then and cold, hateful look came over his face as something in his mind clicked. "He's already fucking you isn't he, Nera?" he surmised in disgust, stepping away from her.
A look of empathy came over her face and just like that, he had his answer. "Do you just give it to anyone who shows you a little interest?" he sneered bitterly.
In half a second, Ezra had him held by the neck up in the air. "Let me make myself very clear when I say that the days of anyone mistreating Nera are over. If you ever speak to her that way again or even look at her in a cross fashion, I will turn you inside out while you are still alive and feast upon your flesh while you beg for death, do you understand, human?" Ezra threatened, his eyes changing again and his tone becoming demonic. Ezra was, after all the strongest of the Demon Lords and could easily make good on that promise.
"Hey, hey everyone... lets just all calm down," beseeched Sadie, who stepped forward and came up so she could see Duke better. "Duke, we are literally in a room full of Immortals; ancient beings with complicated lives, painful pasts, and terrible decisions to make sometimes, but they are our friends." She announced with complete honestly. She turned now and addressed the entire room.
"Think about it. We've all lived in this town together for the past year and none of us has been harmed by anyone else in this room." she pointed out, then looked back at Duke."Do you know why? Because of their love for her." she pointed to Nera. "Even before they knew what it was, they loved her. Santiago comforted her and asked for nothing in return the first time they met, Ezra has been nothing but helpful from day one and Pennywise, a primordial evil being who eats fear and flesh literally fights against the very grain of his nature to leave us alone JUST for her. They love her and so do I. No matter what. We're like one big fucked up family and... yeah it's kinda scary sometimes, but I'm proud to be a part of it." she acknowledged, smiling at Nera, then turned back to Duke.
"This may be a crossroads for you. You have to decide what side your on, and if you can't handle it, you need to leave Derry and forget it ever existed. God made Nera and she brought these creatures together, why? Who knows. It's not our place to know, just our place to be by her side through thick and thin and believe in her. I know your upset because it wasn't you that she was destined to be with, but that doesn't mean she can't be in your life still if you can accept things the way they are." Sadie finished, then stopped and realized she'd been rambling.
Nera wiped away a tear when she realized all the good things from the past year that she'd taken for granted that Sadie has just pointed out with such ease.
"Duke." Nera started, their eyes meeting. "Ezra is more than just a lover. He and Pennywise are both my mates. It's a long story but I found out I am to be bonded with them both, it just hasn't happened yet. We are still kinda working out the details on that, but they are my priority. I love my friends, I truly do, but they are my mates. Can you accept this?"
Heartbroken, Duke stared into her beautiful, sad, golden eyes for a long moment. Do I really want to lose her just because she's with them? He looked down at Ezra then.
"I need to speak with her alone," he grunted through the choke hold Ezra had him in.
Ezra put him down, then bowed up to him with his eyes glowing. "If you hurt one hair on her head.."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Duke acknowledged in irritation, putting up his hands in surrender.
Duke took her by the hand and led her up to her bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, he grabbed her and threw her onto the bed where she and Santiago had made love earlier, immediately crawling on top of her.
She started to fight him, but he gently said, "Wait." She froze for a moment, staring up at him in confusion and sadness.
"I know I'm a fuck up. I know that the reason we can't be like we were is mostly my own fault. I get that. I'm possessive. I'm jealous. I'm a drunk. You do deserve better. I just need to know that this wasn't a lie." he explained and showed her the ring, his eyes becoming glassy.
"It wasn't Duke. I will always love you, but things just cannot work with us. That's why it's called star-crossed love." she lamented, her own eyes beginning to sting with tears.
Tears began to run down his cheeks. "Then show me... just one last time."
She watched him as he slowly brought his lips down to hers and she could taste his tears on them. It broke her heart. She tried to resist at first, but a part of her wanted this. Not for pleasure, but because she wanted to show him that what they had shared had been real.
A short while later downstairs, Ezra came to stand behind Pennywise when the thud of a bed hitting the wall upstairs could clearly be heard. He could see the slight irritation in his Alpha's demeanor. He silently chuckled. He couldn't blame Pennywise at all for despising the Human. He felt the same, but she had been through a lot with Duke. She deserved to handle things the way she saw fit.
Ezra leaned on the arm of the chair and surprisingly, Pennywise lifted his arm, giving him a bit more room to sit. He laid his hand behind Ezra, the subtle gesture sending a pleasurable thrill down the Demon Lord's spine as he could feel the Ancient One's hand on his backside. He would have expected him to put his palm down onto the arm of the chair, but he didn't. He turned it toward Ezra's body, resting it against him.
They had very little interaction together so far but there was most definitely desire there, and a connection to one another.
Ezra slowly put his arm behind Pennywise's back, gently running his hand up the back of Penny's hair. The beast purred low in his belly, so Ezra continued caressing him and keeping him calm. He felt Penny's thumb lift up and begin to draw small circles on Ezra's lower back.
Pennywise felt himself relax a bit more with Ezra this close, so he waited calmly for his Angel to come back. He didn't like it when she slept with the human, but if this was the last time, he was more than happy to turn a blind eye. If the human tried anything after today, he would kill him.
Sadie and Santiago sat together on the couch and listened to music while they drank wine, chatting a bit and getting to know each other better. When she heard the bed start hitting the wall, her eyes rounded in surprise. "So... you guys are just okay with this?" She asked with a brow raised.
Ezra shrugged. "It's just closure Sadie. No big deal. When you're Immortal I think you will understand it better. Pleasure is pleasure, love is love, no matter how many are involved. What truly matters is loyalty. No matter who she lays with, if Pennywise tells her to do anything, even to kill that person, she will do it without hesitation, even if it breaks her inside. That is loyalty and that is what matters to an immortal," he explained, his hand sliding down to Penny's jaw and stroking him gently.
Pennywise began growling low in his belly with desire. Ezra smiled, knowing he was slowly turning on his alpha. "Not all immortals take multiple lovers, but some do. It just isn't really a topic of conversation. It's just normal. Like choosing to put creamer in your coffee instead drinking it black. That's how common it is. Besides, you'd better get use to it. If you think for two seconds Santiago won't be inside Nera every single chance he gets your fooling yourself. He's got a real thing for her. Hell, he even beat me to her." Ezra told her with a laugh.
Santiago chuckled proudly at that. "She has my heart, always."
"Oh." She giggled. "I've made my peace with that actually. I knew they had a connection a long time ago." She admitted.
She watched Ezra and Pennywise for a moment, then realized Ezra was touching Pennywise in a rather intimate sort of way and Pennywise was perfectly okay with it, his eyes calm and lazy like a cat having it's head scratched. "Um... Are you guys um... I mean you, I know your both with Nera but your also..?"
Ezra chuckled. "Did you forget who I am, Sadie?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Oh." She laughed nervously. "Right."
"Before my first mate was killed, I was only with her. I've enjoyed many women since then but now that I've found who I'm to be mated with, I'm content. I'll admit I've become very domestic compared to the beast I once was. Falling in love and losing your mate, it has a way of changing you," he admitted, "I never thought I'd have a second chance to feel that again, although to be fair what I feel for Nera, well... everything I felt before her pales in comparison." Ezra explained.
"Wow.. you've all had some really complicated lives." She admitted looking at Santiago. "Hey, speaking of complicated, aren't you married?" She inquired.
He smiled devilishly at her and ran a hand through her hair. "Not after tonight." he hinted with a sparkle in his eye.
"Oh god," she responded nervously and turned red with embarrassment. She'd only been with two men and only a few times. She was still very inexperienced. "So what happens to your wife when she loses the bond with you?"
His smile faltered a bit and his eyes darkened, but he reached up and stroked her cheek. "Don't you worry about that, little Dove. I will take care of it," he promised her, then leaned in and kissed her softly in hopes of getting her mind off it.
He knew that ripping the bond from his wife would drive her mad and he couldn't have her coming after Sadie, so he would have to take care of her before he went to Sadie. It would be painful, killing her before taking a new bond, but it was necessary.
He didn't want Sadie to see what he was going to have to do. He and his wife hadn't enjoyed their bond in a long time. Perhaps Sadie wasn't his first choice but he had a very good feeling they would get along just fine. She was kind and beautiful.
Not to mention Santiago already had other plans for Sadie, plans Nera didn't need to know about. Santiago was a Demon after all and Sadie was this innocent, sweet little thing. He had a group of Demons who would love a piece of her. Of course he'd never allow any of them to hurt her... just to break her from her modest human ways, to loosen her up so Santiago could have his fun with Nera without having to worry about upsetting Sadie. He would teach Sadie to be the kind of immortal woman he could spend the rest of his life with.
"Oh," Sadie's eyes rounded once their kiss ended and she realized what he was probably going to have to do. "Um... I kinda feel bad," she mumbled quietly.
"Oh is that so?" He asked with a sly smile and she nodded. "Don't worry, that won't last long. Once we're bonded you won't care. Our bond will be more important than what it took to achieve it, I can promise you that." He assured her and reached up, stroking her cheek. She looked down and smiled. "You are absolutely adorable, Sadie." he told her, then kissed her cheek.
Finally Nera and Duke came down. Nera went straight to Pennywise and Ezra, sitting down in Penny's lap.
"So, did you two work things out?" Ezra asked with a knowing smile.
Still coming down from his orgasm, Duke lazily dropped onto an armchair and nodded. "We're good."
* Word Count: 4,083 *