“Okay.”
“Okay? David, I’m going to use you as a tool to get at Diogo so me and Daoka can rip out his throat. And he’s probably the strongest devorjin in all of Death’s Grip. If we fuck up at all, I die, Dao dies, and you die.” She sounded like his sister, getting frustrated with him because he wasn’t appreciating the emotional, or ‘real’ aspects of the problem, intellectualizing. “I don’t care about you, okay? Dao might, I don’t. I just need to make sure you’re all-together in the head, because I’ve seen a lot of fresh meat like you break down when they finally accept this shit’s real. I can’t have that happening at the worst time.”
It was partly true. Right now, everything Jeskura said was words without weight. He kept sliding in and out of ‘things are happening, take notes, analyze later’ and ‘oh shit I’m in Hell panic scream cry’.
He looked down and squeezed the edges of the bed. Focus. Pay attention. Think about what you’re actually agreeing to. Think about what happened on the river. You’re going to be surrounded by those sorts of demons, and you’ll have to rely on these two to keep you alive. If they fail, you could end up dead, or worse. Think about all the people you saw die, the screams you heard. That’s your new reality.
He ground his teeth, and let the shit reality in. The flood of misery pulled at his eyes, demanding tears, but he would not cry. Somewhere, Mia was alive, he knew it, and this was his best chance of finding her. Enough crying. He could cry when Mia was safe.
“I have to find my sister. She’s unmarked like me, and if the first thing you guys thought when you saw me was to show me to Diogo, then that’s my best option to find her.”
Jes smiled. “Alright. We’ll do what we can to make sure you’re rewarded for this. If you find your sis, maybe we can drop you off with the Cain cultists?”
Daoka clicked a few times. Not happy clicks, either.
Jes shrugged as she stood up. “Not like we can just drag him around with us, Dao. If we kill Diogo, Zel’s gonna come looking, and I don’t plan to be here when that happens.”
Nodding, Daoka leaned in toward David and rubbed the side of her horns on top of his head, clicking quietly. She was warm.
“He’s not a puppy! If we go to The Black Valley, he’s gonna die in the swamps, or Alessio will find him and do whatever Zel would.”
More clicks.
“Grave Valley won’t be much better, Dao, for us or for him. I’ve never been there, and Azailia isn’t gonna be happy if she learns we fucked with one of Zel’s bailiffs.”
So many names and places. He did his best to absorb them, but he had limits.
Jeskura sighed and shook her head, ignoring some more of Dao’s clicks as she sat beside David, opposite of her.
“We can talk about it later, Dao. For now, the plan. We’re gonna give you to Diogo, David, and he’s probably gonna decide to take you to Zel.”
“You think?”
“Standing orders from Zel are to bring her any angels someone might catch alive, probably so she can eat one. With Zel keeping a close eye on everything, Diogo won’t be stupid enough to try and sneak something like eating an unmarked when everyone will see you. All of Gorzen Eye will know you exist when we show up with you, which means Zel would find out sooner or later.”
He gulped. He had no idea how many demons that was, but it’d be more than two.
“Alright.”
“He’ll head counter-clockwise, to the spire. Zel–”
“Counter-clockwise?”
Jeskura laughed. “You saw Hell on the way down from the portal, right? Big donut shape? We don’t have a North or South down here. No setting sun or North star of any of that shit.”
That, was confusing to think about. They had no way to orient a map. Just clockwise and counter-clockwise.
“Got it.”
“He’ll take a handful of demons with him. A couple devorjins, tregeeras, probably an incubus and succubus, some–”
“Devorjins?”
“Big tall fuckers. No spikes or wings or tails or anything. All muscle. Will rip you apart with their bare hands. Humans call them brutes.”
“Oh.” And if Diogo was the biggest, baddest brute, that was not good. “Tr–”
“Tregeera are almost as big as brutes, but not quite. Big horns, bigger tails. Often walk around on all fours. Big tits.”
Daoka reached around David’s back and shoved Jeskura, hard enough she almost fell off the bed and had to flap her wings to stay sitting. Laughing, Jes reached around David, but instead of shoving, she stuck her head out, and the two demons kissed over top his head.
“He’ll probably have a couple vrats and gorgalas with him. Maybe a couple betrayers if he’s feeling horny.”
“But, if he has a succubus and incubus…”
“Demons usually prefer humans over other demons.” Before Daoka could shove her again, Jeskura jumped off the bed, grinned at her girlfriend, and kissed her again, from the front.
“Really?”
“Really. It’s a big reason lots of demons recruit betrayers. The main reason.”
He blinked at her, and then at the satyr who was grinning at him. Maybe it really was attraction, and not just an owner adoring their new puppy. And that was scary. Not because Dao wasn’t attractive; she was very attractive. But David barely knew how to talk to real women, let alone demon women who were as likely to eat him as help him.
“My point,” Jes said, “is there’s no chance we can win a fight directly, either at Gorzen Eye or the path to the spire. So instead what we do, is set up an ambush. I know the path he’ll take, and I got some ideas for setting up a traps. Boulders rolling down hills, shit like that.”
Daoka clicked a few times.
“Yes I know. It’ll take a few days, and we’ll have to watch out for fucking imps and grems, but I know just the spot.”
More clicks, faster, and excited.
“Right, right. You know the spot.” Nodding, Jeskura stretched out her wings as she walked around and scooped up the pieces of armor. “And you’re gonna help, fresh meat.”
“I am? You mean with Diogo, and–”
“That. But help me set up traps, too.”
Daoka clicked rapid fire as she got up, and grabbed some pieces of armor. Without missing a beat, Jeskura held up her arms, and Daoka strapped on the biggest piece over Jes’s breasts. David watched.
Chuckling, Jes waved her tail in front of him, making him roll back to avoid getting whacked in the face.
“You really do got a pervert’s eyes, you know? Couple pairs of tits out and it’s like your whole world’s turned upside down. Shock of Hell starting to wear off?”
Daoka clicked a few times, hugged Jes’s side with face pointed at David, and grinned. Warning bells went off in his head. That was a dangerous grin.
“I… guess.”
“Well, I know a few succubi who’ll happily fuck the shit out of you, especially once you help take down Diogo. They’ll love that,” Jes said. Doa got her belt, and tied the skull-covered leather around the woman’s waist. “Plus you’re in a great shape for a pipsqueak. Lot of people who come to Hell look like shit, you know?”
He squirmed. Succubi? Into him? He was already having trouble managing the looks these two were giving him. A few succubi flirting with him would probably kill him from the nosebleed, classic anime style.
Nodding, satisfied with the armor, Daoka stepped back and held up her hands. Jeskura returned the favor, strapping on the slabs of black metal on her body, over her breasts and limbs.
“Alright, let’s get to it.”