Page 50 of Hex
It’s a fucking trap. A demon sized one, at that. Which tells me I’m not their end game, I’m their bait.
And because the Moirai apparently have something against us, it doesn’t take a fucking genius to put two and two together and get the sum total of Sage. She’s the target, I can feel it in my bones.
These motherfuckers didn’t do their math right. They may think I’m her protector but Sage can protect and fight for herself. I just don’t like that she has to.
“Who you calling a pussy, you sulfur smelling underdog?” I look up to see the equivalent of a zit-faced teenage wannabe badass, all deep-red skin with hair the color of a blood orange.
I lost my ability to reel myself in just about the second I was ripped away from Sage and this piece of shit is insulting me?
“You think you’re tough? How about you come in here and I use your face as a stress ball?” The kid looks around like he needs guidance but I just keep on goading him. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid of a dirty demon? I mean, this whole place reeks of itherium, how hard can it be to hurt me? Shut me up?” I press my head against the bars and snarl.
“I’m not allowed to talk to you, demon.” I must admit, he tries hard to sound tough but I’m having a difficult time taking him seriously.
“So maybe you should have shut your fucking mouth earlier. Too late now, though. Tell me who’s running this shitshow.” I’m not yelling, but fuck him if he thinks I’m going to be civil.
He shrugs like answering isn’t a big deal.
“A whole bunch of different kyn.”
Well, that tells me exactly nothing.
No matter how hard I try to destroy this prison door, the only thing I’m getting out of it is pain. My palms, my arms, my head, and because I’m once again separated from my chosen, my heart. They’re all in unshakeable pain.
“Fuck, I can’t wait to see you and every fucker here disappear into the nether when your Dei finds out you’ve imprisoned one of the horsemen. Fucking idiots.” I give another tug with every ounce of force I’ve got in my body, which isn’t much thanks to the amount of itherium around here.
The young djinn takes a step back, looking left then right before staring right back at me. “My master scares me more than my Dei.” He whispers this, and I can see the fear on every feature of his face, from the round eyes and tight lips, to the way he keeps looking around like the shadows are about to eat him alive.
“Who’s your master, kid?” I try a more soothing approach. He’s scared enough as it is, maybe a little trust can go a long way.
“I am.” We both turn our heads toward the sound of an old, grainy voice that I will never forget just as she walks out of the shadows like a fucking stage magician, puff of black smoke and all.
Baba fucking Yaga.
“And he’s right, Dei Rafi is a self-absorbed cretin. He won’t do anything to me. Besides, I’m too powerful for the likes of him.”
“Well, well, well, look what the cunt dragged in.” I’m not normally this crude when faced with my elders but this witch lost every ounce of respect I could have had for her when she tried to hurt my chosen. It’s one thing to hate me because I’m a demon, it’s a whole different story to actively try to kill us both when I came to get her back in Alaska all those months ago. Fuck this witch.
“Careful, demon. I could slice off your head with mere whispered words.” Baba Yaga’s threat is real, I know this, but if she wanted me dead, I would be already. The grand prize is Sage, here, I’m sure, but why?
After Baba Yaga’s disappearance, a lot of fucking time passed, not to mention I searched the Earth and beyond for her so I could get some answers and came up empty-handed.
The slow pace of the witch’s walk is only made possible by her cane. It’s insane how, in just the last few months, she’s aged thousands of years.
“Then kill me. Do it. Right now.” My demon form finally turns back to anthros and I realize it’s because with my death, the risk of Sage coming here into this trap, disappears. Her soul is too pure. She’ll want to forgive her birth mother. Well, one of two, which is really fucking weird to say but here we are.
“Demons…you’re all so dramatic.” She pauses then shushes the djinn away with a flick of her wrist, the one not holding her cane. “You do realize I don’t mean any harm to my precious Aiyana?” I don’t respond to her question. Instead, I cross my arms over my chest and try to the put the pieces of this fucked up puzzle together.
“Could’ve fooled me.” Cocking my head to the side, I don’t dare take my eyes off her as she sits where the young djinn had been only minutes ago, on the chair facing my cage.
With anoomph, she rests her tired bones and places both hands on her cane propped between her legs.
“It’s not that hard, you know? Fooling a demon such as yourself. You’re so consumed by your love and your…” She waves a hand around as though trying to fend off a pesky fly. “Feelings.”
“Right. What would you know about feelings? You’d need a heart for that.”
This time she rolls her eyes. Fucking cunt.
“Again with the dramatics.” Taking in a deep breath, Baba Yaga looks to the stone ceiling before fixing me with her deadly stare. “Aiyana was like my child. Shewasmy child, if I’m honest, but her power is too great, too pure. Her mere existence tips thescales of balance in our world. I did our kyn, andyourkyn, a favor. Trust me.”
