Engulfed

If there was a place where no one would ever find her, Charlotte wanted to be there. As sudden as her cheeks flushed cherry red, her memories of the past months as Azlynn’s familiar came flooding back. Her unsatisfied desire to kiss, hold, and take her to bed. Every waking moment there was always a stray thought of Azlynn.

The flood of memories soon died down to a trickle and vanished, taking with them the unnatural feelings. Charlotte closed her eyes preparing herself. For months she lived with her unquenchable desires, what was stopping them from returning?

“Charlotte, you okay?” Will asked, concern clearly in his voice, for a few silent seconds Charlotte didn’t respond. She just waited and waited, but the feelings didn’t come back.

The pressure that had been surrounding her for months was lifted. Her heart fluttered, her skin grew warm and tingling, a genuine smile blossomed on her face…she was her own person again.

“Freedom!” She shouted at the top of her lungs; it echoing through the library like an army of Charlotte’s. She jumped up and down, pumping her fists. “Freedom, sweet freedom!” She danced in a big circle around her friends, earning shocked expressions and bellowing laughs.

“Well, geez I know I wasn’t that bad,” Azlynn scoffed with her hands on her hips. Charlotte stopped dancing.

“Your right you weren’t bad…well than I wasn’t around you enough, but the effect of your mark was bad enough. All I could ever think of was getting in your pants.” At that a shutter of disgust wrecked through her body.

“Well you and me both,” Dante said greedily eyeing Azlynn up. Azlynn turned her gaze to Dante.

“Are you saying I’m not putting out for you?” Azlynn challenged. Suddenly the air became charged with energy. The air was so tense that a snake would be put to shame.

Dante rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “Well…yeah.” Everyone stopped breathing. Even Ileus stopped. He had a look of horror etched on his face.

“Well since I now know,” Azlynn sauntered over to Dante swinging her hips beguiling. Charlotte glanced over at Rico to see him grinning like a child on Christmas morning. He fed off of sexually energy; however, it was a little disturbing how excited he got sometimes.

Dante tensed as Azlynn traced her finger up Dante’s chest then grabbed his nose like a sweet old lady does to her grandchildren. “Well why does it always have to be me who puts out?” Suddenly the tense and charged full air dissipated leaving comfortable silence.

Even though Azlynn tried to hide something from them, they had an idea that it had to do with her dark heritage. Because of that it made them a little leery of her. Even Ileus could tell, that was saying something considering he barely saw her.

“Yeah Dante why don’t you be a gentlemen for once and do something for your lady?” Rico teased. Without looking away from Azlynn he flipped Rico off.

“Okay later love birds. So we found out about the Mezzoshere, you fixed Charlotte, now what?” Will asked apparently everybody was thinking the same thing, because as one everybody turned to her in turn Azlynn rolled her eyes.

“Why am I the one everyone looks to?”

“Well you are an angel…and demon. You know a lot more than we do,” Dante said trying not to come off as an asshole, but none the less succeeding to be one.

“Well, I don’t. That’s why we came here. Now I am going to have a look around to find some answers,” She turned and headed to Ileus. She spoke something in angel tongue and he summoned up a trolley. Before she disappeared she turned back to the group, “I suggest you do the same.” Then she was gone.

“Wait what about food?” Dante shouted.



Ileus was kind enough to put together a meal worthy enough for Dante. Charlotte hesitated getting close to the group. She still felt weird about what happened. So Charlotte sat at the edge of the group, eating a bowl of mixed fruits. Blood was her practice, but at times she found she couldn’t look at meat let alone eat it, especially since she was a few of those animals from time to time.

Charlotte looked up when the boys suddenly grew silent. Henry was walking over to the group with his plate and the boys were watching him, waiting for him to do something. Henry’s pace slowed as he realized they were waiting for something. He cautiously went to his seat and looked around, as if he was walking on egg shells. As he sat down Ileus suddenly appeared and slipped a whoopee cushion under his butt.

The replicated farting noise echoed in the open space. A moment of silence then they all broke out laughing. In-spite of feeling left out Charlotte grinned. Henry had been accepted, now the initiation process would begin. Charlotte sighed, knowing that she wasn’t as apart of the group as she was before.

Stuffed to the limit, Charlotte abandoned her bowl and decided to go looking for some answers to questions of her own. Without much thought she headed off into a random direction. Not really sure what she was looking for. The chatter of the boys died down, leaving Charlotte to feel utterly and totally alone.

The lighting, the further she walked away, got dimmer and dimmer as the spines of the books got more and more worn and withered. Without reason she started picking up random books, flipping through them. Finding nothing of interest she put them back, until her finger landed on a thin gray book, it sent a slithering feeling across her skin. A similar feeling to some of the blood books Ted owned the same ones she learned from.

Charlotte pulled away; it was a Blood Book. That wasn’t possible Ileus said they didn’t have much knowledge about demons and the underworld. She glanced at the books around it, to find the book was misplaced if not randomly placed there. Charlotte looked up and down the aisles getting a feeling of being watched, but she was alone.

No longer being able to hold back her curiosity, her thirst of knowledge, she pulled the book out, ignoring the slithering feeling under her skin. She took a breath before opening the cover. She recognized the script as Egaugnal, a script that Ted drilled into her head. She asked of its origins once but he never told her. She had a inking that it was demon script but somehow it seemed older more evil if possible.

“You’re correct.” Charlotte whirled around, her eyes going large. She stumbled back into the bookshelves dropping the book. It scattered across the floor stopping at the polished black shoes standing in front of her and dangerously close. The man bent down elegantly picking up the book. Swaying behind his legs was a black leather tail with a spade tip.

Charlotte’s eyes trailed up the man’s back suit, she started trembling recognizing who the man was and pleading beyond reason it wasn’t who she knew it was. “Surprised my dear.” He clutched the book in slightly clawed fingers. They weren’t grotesques but simply inhuman. He leaned up, standing tall, his tail flickering back and forth. Two shadows hovered over either of his shoulders cloaking him in darkness. Upon his face were two small horns hidden in his hair line.

The assumption that Lucifer was goat like or hideous was incorrect. Even with his inhuman features he was utterly handsome. If Charlotte didn’t know better, she would’ve swooned or done his bidding, however being a blood practitioner and her dealings with Azlynn cancelled out his effect.

“Azlynn,” Charlotte called out knowing that she would hear her and come to her rescue. After a couple of seconds of silence and no change in energy levels, Lucifer chuckled.

Luc smiled his tail whipping back and forth. “Sorry dear, but she’s busy dealing with her own Personal Hell.” He took a step forward. Charlotte jumped from the bookcase to create more distant. “If I wanted to harm you, I would’ve already done so.” He took another step charlotte mimicked. He cocked his head a cruel smiled grew on his lips then he disappeared.

Charlotte went to turn and went rigid. Her heart stopped as his hand settled on her shoulder. Her breathing became ragged. He glided her other arm, opening her palm and settling the book into it. “As much as I would like to shred the skin from your bones and disembowel your friends, I find that by helping you, you can help me.”

Without thinking the words slipped from her mouth. “Why?” Thoughts of her sister impregnated by him, the war between heaven and hell, all the pain and destruction he caused, why did he want their help?

He growled as if he followed her thought process, which only made her jump and try to get from his grasp, but he held tight. He whispered his answer, “Your slut sister betrayed me, Ted betrayed me, Azlynn took my army, and I lost my right hand man to his own need for power. I am in need of a General and a blood practitioner both which Azlynn and you fit.”

Finding her courage Charlotte spoke up. “Why would we help you?” He laughed.

“The enemy of your emery is your friend. We both want the same thing.” His grip faded as did his presence. “Look to the book, to find me. But beware if any angel gazes at it, they become mine as well as your friends. It holds secrets that are to be kept.” With that he faded away.

Charlotte fell to the ground like a rag doll. Not only did the angels want their help, now Lucifer decided to get involved. Then Azlynn came to mind. What did he mean her own Personal Hell? No longer worrying about herself, Charlotte ran looking for Azlynn. An angel couldn’t look at it but Azlynn was half demon. If the blood book was what Charlotte thought it was she needed to share the burden with someone or she may go insane. She just didn’t want anyone getting hurt. But what she really didn’t understand was why Lucifer gave it to her?