Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice (Hell Dimension #4)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

M y victims lay on the ground as my pink magic restrained them like rope. The weaklings didn’t even struggle anymore, and they called themselves Masters. How could they be in the top twenty?

The fuckers ruined all my fun. I hunted them for ten minutes, undetected, before getting bored and attacking. Pitiful, if you asked me.

Oh well, my next targets would be better. These ones needed help, though. I’d pluck out their eyes to see if they could improve without them. Their other senses would ameliorate, giving them a better chance at surviving. It would be a favor really.

“Time to become real demons,” I said and tiptoed to the closest one. He laid on his stomach, so he couldn’t see me. I growled when he didn’t notice my presence. It caused him to jerk away at the sound, curling into a ball.

My hands glowed pink, and my black tipped fingers grew claws with my annoyance. They would be perfect to use. My wind magic flipped him over. His swollen face was wet with tears. It just made me angrier. How pathetic could he be. If he peed his pants, I’d just kill him.

I watched his quivering mouth move to tell me something, but his voice buzzed in my mind like a bug. My demon didn’t think him worthy enough to hear. Honestly, I agreed.

I went after Master demons to have more fun. If I wanted trembling messes, I would have hunted a slave. Maybe, the whole academy needed my help? Once I rebuild them into better demons, I’d have an exquisite army. I didn’t remember why having an army of my own was important, but who cared.

My magic lifted him off the ground, so I had better access to his face.

“Don’t worry. This’ll help your demon—” before I could finish my sentence, someone tackled me from behind. I blacked out as soon as I hit the ground. My last thought was of revenge. Whoever attacked me would be fun to hunt.

My head throbbed as I regained consciousness. Groaning, I blinked open my eyes to see all five of my mates sprawled around me on the double couches in their room.

Kain was leaning back with a smug smirk on his face, his legs wide open. Bones had a more guilty expression, and being the biggest, the way he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as those blue eyes ran over my body made me sweat. My gaze moved before I drooled.

Trigger sat with his ankle resting on his knee and a knife twirling around in his hand, but those hungry eyes were filled with pride. The fucker had got me. Alaric and Dex whispered to each other, but both of their gazes were on me. I felt like a rabbit coming face to face with hungry wolves. That just pissed me off. I was no rabbit.

I moved, but I didn’t go anywhere. Slowly, my mind caught up with the situation. I was upright, my arms and legs tightly bound. So much for leaving. My magic pulsed against the bindings, but they seemed unaffected. Had they figured out how to block my succubus allure? How the hell did they manage that? Were they consulting with Lucifer?

The anger that was boiling inside of me steamed out of my ears—at least that was how it felt. Would they really do that, work with Lucifer? Before the anger could rise any higher the familiar aloofness took away the worry, but fear rose until there was only the numbness. Once it had fully washed away anything, other than a calm sort of joy, I relaxed against my restraints.

Even with the numbness, my demon was primed and ready to take on my mates. I had gotten to torture more prisoners, but soon wanted the thrill of the hunt, and they took that away from me. Even if it was ruined by the crybabies I hunted. I wanted to finish.

My pink demon magic floated around me, a wave of glitter in the light. Still, it kept bouncing off the men. With the numbness coursing through me my Fae side was harder to reach, so I didn’t try to use my elemental powers as it would just exhaust me, and I needed to be ready to punch each of their faces in once I was free.

“You always look so pretty with my ropes wrapped around you, my Queen,” Dex all but purred out. He leaned into me and sniffed my alluring magic. Even though he groaned in pleasure, the magic didn’t affect him. “You smell amazing.”

I growled. “Let me out or your pretty little Queen will rip out your throat.” The edge to my voice made him move his head back away from my sharp fangs. Smart man because I was just about to bite his cheek.

Trigger licked his lips. “I’m loving this blood thirsty side of my Dreamgirl. She would literally try to kill us if we let her out right now. Can we keep her like this?”

Trigger was my most bloodthirsty mate, and I loved it. Especially right now. The others were surrounding me giving me worried eyes or suspicious glares, but not Trigger. His smile was infectious and extremely deviant. Perfect for a prince of Hell.

Kain shook his head. “Let’s begin.”

Bones knelt in front of me, undoing my leather pants. My hips moved, making his large fingers fumble with my buttons. I didn’t hold back my laughter when he slipped and landed face first in my still leather-covered pussy. His teeth nipped at my lower tummy.

“Behave,” he mumbled as he pulled away.

I wanted to kick him in the face to see how much he would bleed, and that thought made me pause. No one was hurting my Bones, not even me. The numbness that I loved dwindled slightly, so I could feel my panic shining through. A wave of it crashed into me. What the fuck was I doing?

I took a deep breath and nodded to tell him that I’d listen now. “Okay, what’s the plan?” I asked with a hint of shame in my tone.

I hoped they didn’t feel how much I wanted to hurt Bones just a second ago. If I was willing to hurt my mates because of the numbness, I didn’t need it. I would deal with the nightmares later.

“We don’t know, but we have to try something before it’s too late. I can see from the worried wrinkles around your eyes that you get it now, don’t you?” Alaric said as he took off my shirt. The blood from my earlier prey made the fabric feel sticky and stiff. The sound was just as repulsive.

“I do. It’s not natural whatever is going on inside of me.” I agreed.

Even with the unsettling dilemma going on, their eyes scanned over my mostly naked body. I only had my red bra and undies on. It had been a while since they saw me in such a way, so I was glad I picked out a sexy pair this morning.

Alaric licked his lips and spoke. “Good. That’s the first step.” He kissed my cheek and stepped closer as Bones stepped away. “Kain and I will tasted your blood to check it."

I barely nodded and Kain's fangs were buried in my the flesh on my cleavage. Trigger winced with me because that fucking hurt. Alaric hurriedly found his bite mark on my neck and bit down. His vampire venom had the pain disappearing. I moaned as the heady sensation fogged my mind.

“Kain did mean to hurt you. I'm not sure you remembers, but his Gluttony Demon feeds off of blood and he's starving,” Trigger explained.

I didn't remember actually. So, he was a vampire?

I must have said it out loud because Kain let go of me and stood. His fangs were thick. They hurt coming out as much as they did going in. This time, the pain mixed with the pleasure of the venom.

"I'm not a vampire. Blood is like a rare dessert, but if I go several weeks without it, I get feral.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I usually would bite you during an orgasm, but my demon took over.”

Alaric moaned as he finished. Then, licked my neck before stepping away. "I tasted something bitter towards the end, but I don't know what it was.”

Everyone glanced Kain's way. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, was too excited to remember to scan her." He coughed in his hand, ignoring the chuckles. "I didn't taste anything bad."

Trigger pushed him out of the way. "Never send Gluttony to do a job. They suck." He cackled at his own joke. When no one laughed, he rolled his eyes. “I’ll use my magic to sense you."

Trigger lifted his hands and began. His power glowed and hummed with massive energy. “It’s like a dark cloud is eating away who she is, if that makes sense. I don’t scan people enough to know what the dark cloud is, but it feels magical. It’s like her demon wants to take over, but different. For lack of a better word, but it feels more sinister.” He hummed louder, the vibrations of his throat and the magic heating my flesh were arousing.

“What does that even mean?” Bones asked.

My body sung with need just from his voice. With the numbness retreating because of their nearness, I felt more human than I had in a while. The hunger for them just kept growing.

“We need to?—”

“Fuck me. That’s what you need to do. I’m starving.” My raspy voice was too deep to be just mine. I hated it when my demon was in my voice. It showed how little control I had, but right now, I didn’t care. It had been too long since I’d fed properly. No more feeding on passing emotions, I needed the real deal.

Dex stepped next to me, giving me a pained moan. Poor guy was just as bad as me. Thank goodness being mated meant he could only feed from me—or my mates—and that we didn’t need to feed as often, or this fight would have caused more issues than I was ready for. Just the thought of him touching someone else made me growl. My thoughts must be leaking through because he kept whispering how there was no one else he wanted to touch but me . It helped. His thrusting hips so near me didn’t.

I could probably still feed off him with the blockade they had on each other, but I didn’t want to risk hurting him. I shut my mouth to be sure not to feed.

Alaric appeared on my other side. “I’d do anything for my mate, but we need to make sure you’re not being harmed or controlled,” Alaric explained.

“So, orgasming her into submission is off the table, huh?” Trigger asked. His tone was extremely mournful.

I laughed.

I seriously wanted that. I was ready to stop fighting. As long as it was an equal submission, I was game.

Bones grunted and stormed over to me. The determination in his gaze made my pulse race. “I’m going to check you. Is that okay?”

The fact that he asked turned my insides to goo. “You could do just about anything to me, mate.”

His rugged face flushed bright red at the word mate. He loved hearing it, and I enjoyed making his insides feel as gooey as mine. Without another word, Bones stepped closer. He ran his nose over my exposed skin, sniffing me. Ugh, I wished I could have showered first.

When he got on his knees and smelled my legs all the way up to my pussy, I groaned. This was torture.

“It’s hard to tell through her strong arousal scent, but I don’t smell magic on her,” Bones said between sniffs.

Trigger scoffed and threw a lighter that he pulled out of his pocket at Bones’ head. Since he had his back to his brother, he didn’t see it coming. The thud of the lighter hitting Bones on the head silenced the room.

“Then, how do you explain the darkness I’m feeling. My witch side has never been connected to someone, it knows Ivy inside and out. It senses darkness eating away at her.” Trigger using my name made the room even more quiet as if all sound was sucked into a black hole.

It gave me time to really listen to Trigger’s words. Images of a black cloud eating away the color in an aura popped into my mind. Where had I seen that?

I was distracted from that thought when Kain moved from his spot on the couch to the bar in the corner. The way he moved like a predator was mouthwatering, and I hoped we could come to some kind of agreement tonight because I missed them. The wet sound of him pouring himself a whisky made my mouth water. I needed one of those.

Their room was as magically expansive as mine—half a football stadium could fit in here. Their three large beds were laid out like a twisted game of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I snickered at the thought, making the guys nearby glance at me in confusion.

The small gym and bar were my favorite part about the room though. Alaric had made our room into a massive library, which I loved, but having all three spoke to my soul like a soothing melody. Now that was just right.

“I don’t know, but the magic isn't on her. It must be in her, somehow.” Bones’ words faded in the background as a memory flashed in my mind again. Cloud eating away at the small color in someone’s aura. Whose was it again?

"But that's impossible. It'd take a long time or a lot of magic. If it was magic, she would remember being attacked,” Trigger explained.

“I haven’t been hit with any strong magic,” I reassured them. As they spoke, my mind whirled.

“Tila…” Her face popped in my mind’s eye as she uncharacteristically helped a fallen girl.

“What?” I didn’t know who asked, but the pulling sensation in my stomach took all my attention. The air hummed with magic that wasn’t my demon’s.

For some reason I knew exactly what to do. I took a deep breath and whispered her name again, “Tila.” Magic zipped around the air, playing with my hair. The sensation was jarring like a cactus gently rubbing against my spine, but I knew I needed to see her. Figures my future was tied with the bitch. I’d put up with her if she gave me answers.

The word ripped through the air as if it was paper. It started as a whisper, morphing into a war that stung my eardrums. It might as well have been a banshee wail. I wouldn’t be surprised if blood leaked from them.

The blonde menace stood before me with trembling knees, panting and moaning once her screams subsided. “Shit! Fuck heaven in the asshole. That hurt.” She tugged at her disheveled hair, causing her oversized white sleeve shirt to ride up her legs. Her confusion quickly turned into anger as she straightened up.

Witnessing her pain gave me a twisted sense of satisfaction. Even though, I didn’t condone assault, my smile stretched until my cheeks ached, threatening to crack.

“What in the Heaven is going on? Ivy?” Her voice trembled as if saying my name stole her anger.

All the guys had moved to grab a weapon, so she just saw me, naked and bound. I expected her to lunge at me, ready to finish the job and get me out of her hair once and for all. To my surprise, she limped over to me with fear darkening her pretty eyes. Her shaky hands pulled at my bound wrists.

“Why is she here?” Trigger gripped Tila by the back of her neck and tossed her away from me.

Her little shriek of surprise that came from her tugged at my heart. Why was this girl that I despised so much getting under my skin all of a sudden?

“Is this your doing?” He growled at her while pointing at me. “If you hurt Ivy, I’ll do more than kill you. I’ll show you every brutal torture I went through as a child.” He got close to her face. His eyes wild and red with his demon. His black horns burst from his head as he continued. “And the rape bit won’t be done by me. I’ll find an ogre or something to tear your insides.”

“Trigger that’s enough. It was me,” I said but neither of them heard me. His hatred for her and her own fear were too consuming.

“I’d never hurt Ivy, now. She’s my fucking Master.” I flinched at that word. Technically, Lilah and Vivian were once my slaves as well, but I hated the thought, so I made sure they knew they were my friends.

That was how Hell functioned—the strong ruled the weak, and the weakest were slaves. They handled the dirty work of Hell. As the revolution progressed, it became clear that slaves wielded true power. They controlled the resources, did the cleaning, the shopping.

Now, I had more slaves. Great. But summoning a slave to you with their human name... unheard of.

“So, what are you doing here, and how did you even get here?” Bones asked, stepping to Trigger and efficiently blocking her path to me. The pleading eyes she directed to my mate had my hackles rising. Every time she used those pathetic puppy dog expressions, she manipulated one of them or at least hoped to.

My blood boiled with jealousy. The numbness slowly crawled forward as if it was some old movie villain who was ready to pounce on me. It knew that I didn’t want to feel the ache in my heart. I bit my tongue and forced it away. My scowl darkened. Stop that shit right now.

Tila’s back went ramrod straight. Her cheeks bloomed into a bright red as she shifted away from my men. Not meeting anyone’s gaze. Interesting. Had I said that out loud?

“All I know is, one minute I was sleeping in my room and the next thing I heard my name and felt the power and the pain. When I arrived here, I thought she was in trouble, so I didn’t even question what was going on until Trigger pulled me away.” She rolled her eyes when Trigger shook his head as if he didn’t believe her. “So, you believe that I teleported into a room where tons of people want to kill me?”

Trigger shrugged. “I believe that you are a master manipulator. Maybe you had someone help you. Ivy has this darkness inside of her all of a sudden, and then you arrive. Did u curse her, so her demon would come out?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. If he wasn’t going to listen to me, I wasn’t gonna waste my breath. Honestly, I didn’t blame him. She’d done some twisted things to the brothers since mating with them, and if they wanted to sort it out on their own, fine by me. She’d better be telling the truth. I was fairly certain it was me, but this woman had a black soul for a reason.

She huffed out an annoyed breath. “All I know is what that fucktwat Lucifer has been taunting me with in my dreams.” A recognition of something made her eyes widen, that and, the glint in her eyes said she held something back.

At the sometime, everyone stiffened at the Devil’s name coming from her mouth. She worshipped Lucifer, and now she was cursing his name. All I could hear was everyone’s breathing as we waited for her to continue. She needed to hurry. My gut was tight with tension.

Her chin lifted as she winced, and the words shot from her mouth. “Lucifer has the ability to bring people’s demon out. Whatever he did to me, he’s probably doing it to Ivy. I only remember what he said because of Ivy’s blockage on me.”

“Blockage?” I repeated.

She shrugged. “I don’t understand it either, but when Lucifer tried to come into my dreams tonight, he growled out that he couldn’t get through the block that you put on me. My soul was already spoken for or some shit. All night I've been having flashes of his previous dream visits, he made me forget things he said or did to me. He was so cruel, and I didn’t even know it. I truly thought that he liked me. Pretty pathetic, huh?”

“Yes,” Trigger said with menace in his tone. I didn’t think he would ever forgive Tila, not after she said that men couldn’t be raped. I only knew a sliver of the torture he endured growing up but being forced to be sexual in front of an audience was a huge trauma from his past. So, again, I didn’t blame him. Tila knew all his past and still wanted to do the same to him.

She snickered. A bitter echo to the sound. “I know.”

Bones broke into laughter. “After all the stories and things we told you, you still believed he had a heart? You’re the stupidest fucking bitch in Hell. Almost as foolish as those Succubi who think they’ll become his Queen.” Tila flinched at the reminder of Lucifer’s harem, who were treated like Queens for a short time before being discarded and used as he saw fit.

I switched on my third eye for a second. As I predicted, her aura was still mostly black, but the color that I saw was no longer being devoured by the darkness. So, she was probably telling the truth. Whatever was going on with Lucifer had something to do with it. Before I could turn it off the black flashed. The black cloud ate away at other colors.

“Yeah, yeah, poor little princes of Hell. Daddy was mean to you. You don’t know anything about being a slave. Before I met you, I may have been under eighteen and unable to leave my fucking Master’s home?—”

“Father.” Kain corrected.

She chuckled, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “You’re delusional if you think that demon was a father. He was my Master and did things to me no one should.”

Kain shook his head. “Why are you lying? You never mentioned any of this. Even when you were kind and loving.”

She froze and flashed him a deadly glare. “It was your lovely father. He took those memories from me to help me be a better toy for you. He was so angry when you guys fell for me. The fucker tortured me.”

The men softened slightly towards her, and my demon flared in anger. All I knew was she better not be trying to get back with my mates. That ship has sailed away.

Her back went straight as she spoke. “Look, none of this is to make you feel bad for me. I chose my path, even if I was manipulated, it was still my choice. But if any of this helps Ivy that is all that matters.”

As she spoke, the pull from Stanine yanked at my insides, twisting my stomach. His desperate call was a siren's lure, tempting me with the promise of freedom from these confining bonds. The idea of teleporting to him was almost irresistible. My demon had a knack for tracking the souls that were partially mine—what a cool ability.

I ignored his call, though. He’d come to me. In fact…

Banging on the door had everyone stiffening. Trigger shifted into his massive black skinned demon with red markings. His knives appeared out of nowhere. Dex’s horns grew larger, Alaric’s fangs popped out, fiercer than I had seen them. Kain’s shadows flowed out of him.

Bones’ skin turned almost rock like… Interesting. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one to have a power boost. Jeez, if we could somehow unlock their magic, they would be unstoppable. The school knew all our full potential, but it would be nice to use it. Maybe the original Lust Demon in the dungeon would know? But I let that thought go to focus on the now.

Smokey came to me and lazily laid at my feet. After he licked my toes, he curled into a ball and closed his eyes. He clearly knew what I knew–that the knocking wasn’t a threat.

“Guys, it’s Stanine and Balthazar.” They deflated slightly, but none of them shifted back. Tila sighed in relief, but when she moved to go to them, Trigger growled at her, so she stayed sitting on the floor.

“Are you sure?” Kain asked, his gaze meeting mine.

“Yes, I can feel them the same way I can feel her.” The answer was the reassurance that they needed because all their defenses vanished.

“I’ll go get the fuckers,” Alaric said, his vampire deepening his voice. “He’s lucky I don’t tear out his throat for adding more stress to my mate.” Dex snickered as Alaric grumbled his way out of the room. Their yelling voices were recognizable with the door opened. “Stop banging on my door!”

Kain turned back to the room. “Cover Ivy.”

Stanine’s voice grew louder. “Is Ivy here? I need her help, Tila was taken!”

I sighed inwardly. Would he always come running to me like this? I wasn’t his damned mother. The numbness that always threatened to overwhelm me reared its head, tempting me to let it take over and end this added complication.

Dex’s grimacing face as he covered up my nudity kept me from taking the easy way. These men deserved for me to fight. They would take on the world for me. I just needed them to understand I’d be at their side to do it. They couldn’t lock me away in a room to keep me safe.

Dex licked his lips as he tucked the sheet around me. Ugh, I’ve missed his mouth. He was magical with his tongue. I moaned as his fingers brushed my abdomen.

“Stop, beautiful, you’re driving Dex mad, and he needs to feed properly. Save the moans for later.” I groaned at Bones’ words, which made him softly chuckle.

I nodded. “Just let me down. My wrist hurts.” Bones and Dex moved to undo my restraints, but Kain was there in an instant with a hand on both their wrists.

“We can’t, my sweet poison. Not until we fix the problem. If you get away, we won’t be able to find you. Your demon will hide you from us.”

At Kain’s words, my demon agreed with him, practically nodding inside of me. I sighed. I’d be lost to them if I escaped. So, I rolled my shoulders, as best as I could, and focused on letting the pain go.

“Understood,” I whispered.

Bones gripped my face, surprising me. “Feed mate, heal yourself.”

His words were like sweet candy to my brain. Our lips locked together in a hungry mesh of lips, tongues, and teeth. I pulled on his sweet nectar. The silky taste of his arousal dissolved on my tongue like cotton candy.

“Oh, thank Nyx, you’re here. I was so worried,” Stanine said, but I ignored everything going on in the room, but Bones’ mouth.

“Fuck, I’ve missed your taste. You could feed on me forever,” Bones said between kisses.

Dex gripped my face when Bones stepped back. I did the same for him, devouring his lips, but letting him feed from me. We were like battery chargers for each other, so if we kept going both of us would be fully satisfied.

“Okay you two that’s enough, or I’m killing these three and starting the fucking for the night.” Trigger’s words were completely serious, but they still made me laugh.

Dex stepped away, wiping my bottom lip with his thumb. “I love you, Succy. Whatever we have to do to get you back I’ll make sure we do it. Please don’t leave me. We’ll make this work.” I nodded at his words, letting him know that I’d truly heard him.

Stanine and Balthazar cradled Tila on the floor when I focused back on my surroundings. Their touches were caring and frantic as if they needed to make sure she was okay. She did the same to them. I didn’t expect to see that much love with those three.

“Does Ivy know? We’re almost done with the curse remedy?” Balthazar asked. The look of utter bliss on his face had me softening towards them slightly. They were all still douche bags, and had done horrible things, but they really cared about each other and that was rare in Hell.

Then his words registered.

“What do you mean?” Kain asked before I could. The growl in his voice practically said, I dare you to lie to me.

Balthazar let go of his mate. His eyebrows rose in confusion. “Tila didn’t tell you? We found an antidote to the curse.”

“Shut up,” Tila hissed out.

“No. Ivy is our damn Master now. Do you really want her turning evil on us? We literally would be screwed. There'd be nothing we could do to stop her.” Tila rolled her eyes but that just made Balthazar lift his upper lip in disgust. “Grow up. This is our life now. We need to get on board. Ivy is one of the best Masters we could have.”

She stood with a huff and stomped her way to the couch where she plopped down, crossing her arms. Lucifer’s blood might have made her bipolar as well because her abrupt shift gave me whiplash.

“Enough, tell me everything,” I demanded. The magic over them was powerful. All three of their backs went unnaturally straight and they all began to speak at once. “Stanine just you tell me,” I changed the order.

The others went quiet instantly. This was creepy as heck but kind of cool. I might have to have fun with this later.

“That's a horrible sensation, being commanded like that, but I suppose you can’t help it. I did some research about this kind of bond before I did it with you. Your voice or thoughts compel us to comply. Even if you don’t mean it. The only thing we can’t do is hurt each other, or you and your mates, since you have a piece of my soul.”

“You're kidding?” Trigger perked up. “So, you guys are like, what, puppets?”

Stanine ground his teeth before responding. “Yes, but she has to protect us as payment.”

“This is Karma’s finest work, period. Dreamgirl make them do something stupid.” Trigger’s enthusiasm was contagious.

I couldn’t resist to see if they were telling the truth. I figured as much but I still wanted to test this bond. “Put your fingers in your nose and hop on one leg.” Then, I thought, the right leg .

This was going to be priceless. If it worked. We had a lot of shit to deal with, but in the mix of all this blood and darkness, a little laughter wouldn’t hurt.