Lucifer Reborn by Dante King (the reader ebook .TXT) 📗

still trying to figure out what to do with the big guy, Xora came around the corner. The rusalka carried a basket under her arm, filled with potions she’d picked up at stalls while we met with Lilith. Her eyes crinkled in a smile as she saw Mareth, Christina, and I together—then narrowed with curiosity when she saw Oni.

“I trust your meeting with Lilith went well,” Xora said wryly, “since you’re still in one piece. Who’s your friend, and why does he look like someone kicked his puppy?”

As if Xora’s words were the trigger to some hidden signal, Oni snapped out of whatever trance he’d been in. The big demon’s face lit up when he saw me. He charged forward, dropping to his knees before the tent and lowering his face to the stones.

“Master,” Oni said, sounding almost comically relieved. “Finally, I have found you…!”

Heads snapped up and down the market square. This wasn’t something you saw every day—especially not in Pride.

“Get him up, get him up!” Mareth hissed, poking me in the side. “Quick, before someone comes over here, Luke!”

Yeah, I definitely didn’t like this guy bowing to me. “Uh, Oni—stand up, dude,” I commanded, patting his slab-like shoulders. “Try to look a little bit more normal, please.”

“Hmm? Oh yes.” Oni rose to his feet, more tears opening in his already threadbare pants as his leg muscles flexed. “My will is yours to command, Master. I have traveled to the Infernal Academy as you ordered. I await your next request.”

Two demons so close in appearance they could have been twins craned their necks, passing the intersection in front of the tent. “Everything okay here?” one of them asked, looking Oni up and down.

I struggled to find the words. To my surprise, it was Xora who stepped.

“Prank,” the rusalka said, making a ‘jerking-off’ motion with her hand. “They love hazing the new demons, don’t they?”

The two demons snickered and moved on. Almost as soon they’d gone, I relaxed. “Thanks, Xora,” I said, turning back to the rusalka. “I owe you one—”

Xora grabbed the collar of my shirt. “Please tell me,” the rusalka hissed, dropping her voice to an angry whisper, “that this isn’t what it looks like. That it’s anything other than what it looks like.”

The fabric clutched at my throat. “What does it look like?” I asked hoarsely.

She let go of my shirt, turning with an irritated expression to Mareth. “It looks like you’ve bound a demon to you in an extremely illegal act of magical dominance,” the rusalka growled. “Furthermore, from her reaction it looks like your shadow knew about this ever since your arrival, and failed to tell me.”

“It was an accident,” Mareth said, holding up her hands in a placating manner. She’d seen the way Xora grabbed me and didn’t want to be next. “Luke had no idea what he was doing. Oni attacked our car while we were driving through Christina’s neighborhood. He was just trying to protect me and her.”

Xora gave the succubus a skeptical look. “Is this true, Luke?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I stared back. “Look, you’ve seen me do things like three times already without even knowing I could do them,” I said, feeling a little miffed at not being believed. “Clearly my demonic powers work on instinct, at least some of them do. Mareth’s right: Oni was threatening us, and I reacted without thinking.” I turned to the succubus with a glare. “You could have warned me, though. I had no idea what I was doing to Oni was illegal. And I did try to release him from his bond.”

For a moment, Xora’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “I think I’d have liked to see you try that,” she said, looking up at the big demon with a sigh. The whole time we’d talked, he’d just been standing there placidly, waiting for me to give him a new set of commands. “This will certainly make your first semester at the Infernal Academy more interesting. Not to mention more difficult. ”

“I would have warned Luke,” Mareth said, giving Xora a sideways glance. “I didn’t know he was that powerful. I mean, he’s a brand-new student—he’s never even set foot inside a classroom! What kind of novice demon could perform a full-on domination spell?” She shrugged. “I assumed he’d done an ordinary charm: the kind of thing that would wear off in a day or two. If I’d known he was going to steal Oni’s will and bind him for a full-on thirty years, well—shit, I’d have tried to stop him…”

Xora drew up short. “Is that what you think happened?” the rusalka asked sharply.

Mareth realized too late that she’d just walked onto thin ice. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, Xora. Luke’s probably going to need some muscle at the Academy, and Oni’s a prime candidate.”

The rusalka shook her head. “I’m surprised you can’t feel the difference in the magic,” she said, sniffing dismissively. “The binding Luke cast on Oni is much stronger than a thirty-year bond. He’s obligated Oni to serve him in perpetuity.”

I’d never seen Mareth look so shocked. “Oh shit,” the succubus murmured, turning her wide eyes on me. “In that case, I’d definitely have tried to stop him…”

“What...what does that mean?” I asked. “Oni’s my slave forever? Fuck, I didn’t mean to make him do that! There’s got to be some way to reverse this!”

“What’s done is done,” Christina said, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. “Luke did the right thing, and both of you should stop doubting him. Oni seems docile now, but you should have seen him during that accident. He would have torn Mareth and I apart…”

Oni looked hurt. “I would never harm one of Master’s demons,” the hulking brute protested, frowning deeply. “You are his women—I can sense that he has bound you, and the succubus is