Intertwined: love, fire and sacrifice

12. The Messenger

Laius

I was working on the new sentences when Lucius interrupted me.

“What?” I asked, looking up from the pile of paper and motioning to him to enter my office.

“We have a visitor. A Wizard this time, he said that he has a message for you, sent by his Snooty King. I just wanted to let you know before I send him to the 6th Pit.” Lucius said seriously. 

“Not this time, bring him in, show him a bit of Hell’s Hospitality,” I smirked at Lucius.

He made a face of displeasure but nodded. He knew better than questioning me. If it would be up to him, we would send everyone, the souls and even most of the Demons that reside in the Hell Turf, to the 5th or 6th Pit. Even kids.

When I became the King of Hell many centuries ago, I forbade any child to be sent to the worst Pits of Hell. I send most of them to Elysium, in extreme and rare cases to the 2nd Pit for a short time, and then to Elysium. 

Lucius doesn’t understand that Hell is more than torture, Hell is where the real fun happens, the favourite place of Nymphos, Vamps, and retired bus drivers. 

Not that he didn’t have his share of fun, we made Hell our eternal Rave. Once, we replaced the water of the Styx River with the best quality Hell whiskey when we were younger. Then we managed to hail some Demons, Nymphos, Vamps, and even a couple of Pixies and drink it all in the craziest party we have ever hosted, the Styx Bash. The fun chaos was so huge, that the ferryman of the Styx, Charon, had to move his business to the Lethe River. We need a replay! I could bath Sugar in all that whiskey and lick her clean, she will become even more intoxicating.

* ~

I received the Wizard messenger sent by Avalon. As I’ve imagined, Lucius was a good host and asked some Demon Guards to drag the wizard to my office not so gently.

“What do you want, Wizard?” I asked, as my eyes flashed red. Even the thought of Avalon and Elric enraged me. She is mine, she won’t go back. I’ll be enough for my Sugar and make her happy.

“I-I have a message for your Ma-majesty?” The man said or did he ask it?  Stuck up King didn’t even have the courtesy to send someone, who has any guts to my Realm.

The Demon guards laughed at the Wizards’ terror.

The Wizard trembled while he gave me the letter. “Oh, how lovely, your little King has written me a letter.” I mocked.

“Shall we kill him, your Majesty?” one of the guards asked.

“Drag him to the dungeon.” I dismissed them in a bored tone.

The Wizard started to scream. “P-Please no-o-o!!”

Two guards left the office dragging the screaming man.

I opened the letter and read it out loud to Lucius and my guards making a mocking voice: 

“Laius, 

You shall return Livia immediately. Otherwise, I will gather all the Species, get her back by force and destroy your bloody Realm.

The Wizard King.”

I laughed. “So, he thinks he has a chance and can destroy Hell? Stuck up King does have a sense of humour, who could have imagined!?”

The Guards and even Lucius burst into laughter as well.

~ * ~

3rd Person POV

Liv was feeling uneasy, the angst of being away from her mates was growing non-stop.

She was worried about them, worried that they might be feeling like her.

She also feared that they would do something that could put themselves in danger or compromise their realms in order to have her back.

Liv could think a bit clearer in the last couple of days as if part of a heavy fog has been lifted from her mind. Earlier in the day, she tried to reach for Elric and Avalon through their bonds more than once. But her attempts only made her feel a strong migraine and didn’t work. Did they close their side of the bond? Of course, they did, after they heard me coming with Laius. She thought.

“Have you heard anything about Avalon or Elric?” Liv asked trying to hide her distress, but it was obvious, evident.

Liv’s timing was impeccable, maybe she could feel that something was wrong. As a Hybrid, she should have such an enhanced sense. Especially as an Elf hybrid. Elves could be very sensitive to the smallest changes in the air, Laius thought.

He tries to mask his frustration at hearing her question. Laius wasn’t naïve to think she would forget them so fast. But hearing her saying their names brought him a feeling of uneasiness, “What about them, Sweets?”

“It just seems weird that none of them had done anything, tried to contact you or reach for me… it doesn’t make sense.” She muttered, looking contemplative.

Laius exhaled sharply. “Avalon asked me to send you back to his Realm. He doesn’t care about what you want, Sugar.” He said stroking her hair.

Liv looked up at him warily, her breath hitched in her throat. “Did he say anything? Did he make any threat?”

“Nothing serious, you don’t need to worry about it.”

“They are not going to war, right? No one’s life is endangered because of me, right?” Liv asked tensely. She couldn’t let it happen, and she wouldn’t!

“No Sugar, I think they considered it. But decided against, for the sake of their people. You know that I would go to war for you. I would do anything for having you, MY Sweets. But apparently, your other 2 so-called mates wouldn’t.” Laius lied.

Liv sighed in relief. “No Laius, the last thing I want is my mates endangering themselves and their people.”

Laius's eyes fell, for few seconds his mischievously playfulness went away. But soon enough it came back to his face. He hugged his mate in an embrace. He couldn’t lose her, she’s HIS and HIS alone.  Hell would freeze before he let his woman be taken away from him.

 ~* ~

Elric is pacing around his office for a long time now. His facial expression is filled with uneasiness, jaw clenched tight, facial muscles so tense that he looked like made of marble. His always neat hair was messy, a purple shadow surrounded his eyes and all his muscles were taut. But he felt even more edgy than he looked. He felt as if he had fought the longest battle of his life and was losing it.

“I think I’ve rarely seen you that restless, old friend. Maybe I never did.” Maximus utters warily.

Elric huffs and looks at Maximus. “How can you stay one week without your mate?” He asks.

“Our bond was never completed, which makes it much easier. We haven’t ever had a mental connection. She was never inside my mind or could really feel my emotions.”

Maximus marked Mel in an impulse in their first night together, he couldn’t avoid it, his very soul was calling for hers, for completion. But she has never marked him, he never allowed her to. It would only make their situation harder, unbearable.

“Liv closed the bond. It hurts physically. The emptiness in the places of my mind that the bond should occupy only call for despair, it’s getting filled by uneasiness and desolation.... she must be feeling something as well, she must also be in pain.” Elric’s voice is laced with edginess, and Maximus could also hear his worry about Liv in his undertone.

“She has Laius to comfort her.” He says unadvisedly. 

Elric growls out loudly. Maximus glares at him startled. Not even during wars, he has ever heard the Elf King sounding like this.

“I don’t know what to do,” Elric utters frustrated. Maximus can’t take his shocked eyes off Elric. He had never seen his normally calmed and collected King and best friend that defeated and restless.

“I know that you asked me to not intervene, but I’ll mind-link Livia,” he says with resolve and flashes away from his friend’s office, before Elric had the opportunity to oppose him.

Elric knew that Laius didn’t kidnap or forced his mate to go to Hell. However, Laius might be manipulating her to stay there, to cut the communication with Avalon and him. As it’s well known, lies and deception are the Devil’s game.