Page 68 of Demons & Damnation

When he finished, he stood still, staring into space for several minutes whilst he contemplated what he’d just understood.

“What?” Azazel asked, glancing quickly at his brother before returning his attention to the current book in his hand. When Balthazar didn’t respond, Azazel looked back at him, narrowing his eyes. “Balti? What’s up?”

Balthazar, in a daze, threw the book at his brother, not caring for its fragile state now its contents were lodged in his brain, burning into his consciousness with a frightening scar.

Azazel dropped the chunky yellow hardback book he currently held, letting it drop to the floor with a smack. Catching the little book his brother just threw at him, he pushed it against the middle of his chest. Taking a deep breath, Azazel pressed it into his skin, pushing himself forwards against his own pressure. With a little more force, his skin flexed, then broke.

Corner by corner, his bronzed skin parted as if it were a seam being picked apart. Azazel winced, a stream of curse words leaving his pink lips as his face contorted with the discomfort. Once the corners were fully sunken into his flesh, he stilled for a moment, took another deep breath and held it, then closed his eyes.

Two seconds ticked by before, with one swift move, he clenched his right hand into a fist and bashed the centre of the book, sending the entire thing flying into his body.

A heavy ache settled in his chest, sticking in his throat like a bad case of indigestion. He let out an enormous burp, cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, then flashed his brother a grin.

“Have you quite finished?” Balthazar asked, rolling his eyes. “Why you have to do that is beyond me. There are more painless ways to absorb information.”

“For two reasons, dear brother. Number one,” he said, flicking his left hand up into the air and holding his index finger up. “It’s a challenge and I do love a good challenge. Number two,” he said, putting up his middle finger. “I like the pain. It makes me feel alive. Although it’s barely a tickle it does resemble something.”

“And what exactly have you gained? You know how much it drains your magick and energy to absorb a physical object, let alone the risk of screwing up the fine line between blood and tissue. If you ever get that wrong, Lucifer will flail you with a blunt toothpick.”

Azazel clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his eyes glinting with mischief as a sadistic smile curved over his lips. “Oooo, Balti, stop talking dirty to me. It’s really not an appropriate time.”

Balthazar glared at his brother with a deadpan look that said nothing more than ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’

“Just to ease your worries,” Azazel said. “I haven’t forgotten that our demon blood would incinerate anything we absorbed. I’ve gotten it down to a fine art, we’re all groovy, baby.”

“Can we get back to the matter in hand?”

“Of course,” Azazel said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them with glee. “It seems we have ourselves quite a problem with dear old Mildred, doesn’t it?”

“Do you think the witch is working with her?”

“What makes you think that’s not her?”

“It can’t be. If she had that much power, she wouldn’t still be a ghost, would she?”

Azazel waggled his finger at his brother, a cheeky smile on his face. “Thems the brains. That’s why I’m handsome and you’re clever.”

“Azazel, can you just be serious for two minutes, please?”

For a brief second Azazel debated creating a countdown timer for two minutes but figured that might be a step too far right now. “Ok, fine. So, Mildred is getting help. It can’t be a coincidence that this witch has appeared right as Mildred is getting more powerful. You know I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Any ideas how to find the witch?”

Azazel snorted in disbelief. “Ummm, no. Why would I want to think of a stupidly insane idea that would lead me to the one thing that can whoop my ass?”

“Because you’re a demon, Azazel. And we’re not afraid of anything, are we?”

“Ha. You speak for yourself.” Azazel folded his arms over his chest and said, “I think our history is a clear indicator that we’re both afraid of a lot of things.”

“What?” Balthazar frowned.

“Come on, Balthazar. We’ve lived in this weird relationship of ours for two thousand years. You want out so isn’t it time to get it all out and bury the hatchet so to speak?”

Balthazar nearly rocked back on his heels. “I’m sorry. Did I step into a philosophy lesson by mistake?”

Completely ignoring his brother, Azazel continued on, the words in his brain just needing out. “Look, the way I see it is I was afraid of losing my identity as a man, hence being away from Cassia so much. When you took her from me—”

“Azazel—”

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