He had the random thought as they were splattered gently by warm water that he wasreallyglad he had a tankless hot water heater, because he didn’t think he could’ve moved at the moment even if the water was ice cold. His brain was also looping on the fact that sucking Cass off had made Kushiel come.
So. Fucking. Hot.
How was it that Cass was so damn lucky? How did he deserve to have an eternity with Kushiel? He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve it, but he was going to take it.
Kushiel was giving and selfless and generous to a fault, so Cass would be selfish for both of them if he had to be. Kushiel was his, and he wasn’t giving his angel up.
Cassius wasin a black room with a window looking out onto what appeared to be a red waterfall. There were cracks in the wall, and as Cass watched curiously, a few of them seemed to edge backwards and disappear. There was a man in a dark suit standing and looking out the window.
Cass had no idea how he’d gotten here. He thought back. Sex in the bathroom. Sex in the shower. Then he and Kushiel had dried each other, and Cass had led Kushiel to his bed, where they had wrapped around each other and snuggled in. Cass had been exhausted in the best way after two orgasms, and he didn’t remember much before darkness had pulled him into sleep.
“Ah,” Cass murmured, and the figure turned around. It was a demon that Cass had never met before, but in order for an angel or demon to call on his oracle powers, they had to be amazingly high up on the food chain. After all, an oracle was a communicator with the “gods,” so no lesser afterlifer could have called him. He’d only ever had one angel speak to him as an oracle before, and he’d never had a demon call on him.
“Cassius Priam,” the demon smirked. “A pleasure to meet you!”
“I would say the same, but I’m not really sure if it is a pleasure yet,” Cass responded drily.
The man laughed, not at all offended. “Oh, you are a pleasure. Just perfect for our Kushiel.”
“He isn’t ‘our’ anything,” Cass snapped, losing his patience a bit. Why was he here? Was this the demon who was responsible for the lost souls?
The demon sat down, facing him, and smiled indulgently. It kind of pissed Cass off. If this was the one responsible for all that pain Kushiel felt… Well, he was only human, but he’d figure something out to deal with this demon.
“Oh, such lovely murderous thoughts. So protective, too. Quite lovely. No less than Kushiel deserves, of course. And no, he isn’t technically one of mine, but he’s spent so much time here that I think of myself as having joint custody, so to speak,” the demon commented.
“Who are you?” Cass asked suspiciously. It couldn’t be…
“You may call me Luce. I think we’ll be friends, after all,” the man replied, and Cass tried not to show his surprise. Because yes, apparently it could be.
He was serving as an oracle for the devil, and he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
“I am not involved in afterlife politics. I am of the mortal plane, and the only way I can be called by afterlifers is if I am to serve as an oracle,” Cass said slowly. He didn’t know why he was here, but best to set some clear parameters.
“You are correct,” Luce admitted. “And let me tell you, it took some definite bending of the rules to figure out how to get you here, too. Luckily, bending the rules is a specialty of mine.”
Luce winked at him, but Cass only stared back, making Luce laugh.
“You are a delight! I love that backbone—our Kushiel needs someone with grit, and you’ve certainly got that. You have to in order to deal with ghosts though, don’t you?” Luce commented.
Cass sat up straighter. Angels and demons were not supposed to know about ghosts.
Luce just waved his hand in a leisurely manner, though. “I am not simply a demon, as I’m sure you’ve gathered,” he responded.
“You removed the souls from Erebus?” Cass asked. If they were up against the devil himself, he kind of thought he and Kushiel were probably fucked.
Luckily, Luce looked more than a little offended at the suggestion.
“I should say not!” Luce protested. “I would certainly not interfere with the grand design in such a way as to make souls who might find reincarnation into ghosts!”
Cass didn’t think he was lying, but there was something off about his response at the same time. He didn’t trust the devil, which was probably wise.
“You know who did,” Cass guessed.
Luce shrugged a bit at that, turning his chair to face the window again. “I generally love my job,” he commented.
“Okay,” Cass answered, more than a little confused at the change in topic.
“Demons are a good sort overall. Better than angels, I think, but perhaps I’m biased. Even so, every so often, a few millennia pass by, and a demon can go… a little off. Usually it’s easy enough to set them straight again, but sometimes they just veer off the path a little too far. If they’re lesser demons, it’s handled easily enough. But when it’s someone with power, with a following, with legions of lesser demons who support them…” Luce trailed off.
