He heard Gabe, still muttering, get up and walk toward the house. The kitchen was decorated in a cute farmhouse-style, but the ingredients on the table were… interesting. He saw petrified snowflakes, which were quite exotic, and unless he was mistaken, there were the even rarer finds of angel wing feathers and demon horn shavings.
Grams was obviously quite the impressive spellworker. He looked more closely at some of the labeled bottles. “Tears of broken innocence. Sweat of a virgin being deflowered,” he read off.
“Stop!” Gabe snapped from behind him. “I donotwant to think about Grams collecting sweat off a virgin while they’re being deflowered. Just… ewwww. And I’m suddenly feeling more resentful of her collecting our tears when we were kids.” He sighed, then muttered, “We really thought they grew the flowers in the backyard.”
Az couldn’t help it; he laughed as he turned to face Gabe. “Your grandmother is fantastic. But you haven’t told me if we’ll be living here, or…” he trailed off, waiting to see Gabe sputter and stew again.
He was not disappointed.
“Nope, nope, nope,” Gabe snapped. “You arenotcoming home with me. Absolutely not.”
“Ah, then you’d have me stay here with Grams?” he asked innocently, putting his hand up to his chin and rubbing it. “Hmmm, I wonder if she’ll be affected by my sex energy, as you call it. We could have fun with the big dildo.” Then Az winked, because he just couldn’t help it.
“You’re not staying here!” Gabe sputtered.
“Ah, so you’d set me loose on this lovely little town you live in? I have to stay close to my summoner, after all, so I can’t leave,” Az lied. Technically, he could go back to hell. Technically, he could go wherever he pleased. Gabe seemed to know quite a bit about demons, but Az was betting he didn’t know Kings of the Underworld were bound by none of the same laws as lesser demons.
Although Az had to wonder if that was even the case. Gabe and Grams had already done the impossible with the summoning and the circle, so perhaps hewasbound to stay close to Gabe. He could feel his ability to return to hell, so he knew that wasn’t an issue (perhaps the revocation had allowed that). While topside, however, he couldn’t be totally sure he wasn’t actually bound to Gabe until he fulfilled his role in being summoned. That was how it worked with lesser demons, after all, and this family seemed able to apply rules to him that shouldn’t be applicable.
“Oh dear god, no, you are not running loose in this town. Iworkhere. Teenagers are already sex-minded enough; I cannot have my students any more distracted,” Gabe grumped.
“Ah, a teacher? I bet you’re the grumpy one that everyone loves anyway,” Az mused. “All the girls and half the guys probably lust after you too,” Az added.
“Nope, I do not need that thought in my head. They may be teens, but they arechildren. You will absolutelynotbe putting any lusty thoughts into the heads ofchildren.” Gabe was starting to get worked up, and although Az liked getting under his skin, he could tell the guy was seriously getting pissed off and agitated, which was not the fun kind of grumpy Az was looking for.
“Relax, Gabe. Don’t get what I’m sure are your very sexy panties in a twist. I may be a lust demon, but I’m all about consent. It isn’t lust on both sides if it isn’t consensual, and children are not mature enough to give consent. Besides, teenagers have more than enough lust without me sending any vibes their way. I never interfere with the underaged when it comes to sex.”
Az didn’t add that sometimes his lust did affect kids and teens, but he focused on the nonsexual in those situations. One of his demons had once been summoned, and he’d gone topside instead because he’d wanted a little vacation. He’d seen a very horny thirteen year old upon arrival and immediately turned off the sex vibes and honed in on what else the kid might lust for. Bill had been utterly fascinated by computers, and he’d ended up creating some game while Az was there to amp up his passion. That was maybe fifty years ago or so, and Az idly wondered if the kid had continued with his passion for computers.
Ah well, no matter. Gabe looked slightly mollified but still aggravated. Much better. “So….” Az stared at Gabe, but Gabe just stared grouchily back.
“If you won’t leave me here with Grams, and you don’t want me set loose on your town, and I can’t go back to hell…” Az trailed off, letting Gabe come to the conclusion on his own.
“Fuck,” Gabe muttered. “I guess you are coming home with me. Shit.”
Az laughed. “Oh, we’ll have fun! Do you have a house? An apartment? Ohh, do you have roommates? Roommates could be so much fun!”
Gabe actually growled. Az just smiled more broadly. What a delightful human! He was so used to humans being all lusty and sex-brained around him. It was sort of fun to get someone who was grouchy and didn’t fall into a puddle of horniness and distraction in his presence.
“I live in a converted house with my brother and sister; we each have our own apartments. And so help me god, if you use your sex energy on them, I will dismember you,” Gabe threatened.
Az just laughed again. This guy was so delightful!
Chapter5
Gabriel
Gabe guessed he didn’t have much choice, so it was with more than a little trepidation that he led the demon to his car in order to head home. Once they were in the car, though, he realized he needed to let his brother and sister know who he was bringing home—it was sibling policy after Seraphina had brought home that hellhound—so he went to their group chat. He debated using the chat with Grams but decided not to; they didn’t need the conversation filled up with her craziness. Usually he loved her outlandish behavior, but it was a little different when it was aimed directly at him.
Gabe:I’m giving you both fair warning. Grams tricked me into summoning a lust demon. I can’t send him back to hell, so I’m bringing him home.
Wild, Fun Sibling:Awesome! You gonna jump his bones? Can I jump his bones? Should I invite some guys over and you can have him stop by my apartment?
Stick in the Mud:Ewww Ser. No, you are not using Gabe’s lust demon. And why can’t you send him back to hell? Do you need help getting his true name?
Gabe:No one is jumping anyone’s bones. And I have his true name. Turns out Grams got me to summon a prince or something, and the revocation doesn’t work. And Ser, did you change my contact names again???
Stick in the Mud:Well shit. Grams really did it this time. You have to keep him close. Do NOT let him out of your sight. I cannot be dealing with a loose lust demon in town. I have enough on my plate as it is.
