The daily trudge of work was getting on my nerves. Worse, I had Josh's recalcitrance to deal with. He had started bringing in various methods of 'demon expulsion techniques' he liked to try to ambush me with. Today he slapped a piece of paper on my forehead with a complicated symbol on it.
"I command all unholy entities begone!" Josh yelled along with some other ridiculous nonsense and I sighed, swatting his hand from my head and crumpling the paper up.
"I keep telling you Josh, I'm not possessed. And I didn't make a 'deal'. Zeev and I have a different kind of bond that no one
The daily trudge of work was getting on my nerves. Worse, I had Josh's recalcitrance to deal with. He had started bringing in various methods of 'demon expulsion techniques' he liked to try to ambush me with. Today he slapped a piece of paper on my forehead with a complicated symbol on it.
"I command all unholy entities begone!" Josh yelled along with some other ridiculous nonsense and I sighed, swatting his hand from my head and crumpling the paper up.
"I keep telling you Josh, I'm not possessed. And I didn't make a 'deal'. Zeev and I have a different kind of bond that no one knows how to break. I'm stuck with it...and that might be ok with me, now." I said quietly. Zeev appeared behind me, hugging my waist.
"Is the young Mage bothering you, Lady?" Zeev stage whispered. Josh threw holy water at him. I sighed again as Zeev growled.
"Boy, I'm one of the Fallen, your parlor tricks do not work on me." Zeev threatened. I patted his arm.
"Kayla." I said simply and Zeev vanished again, but he was still there, she just couldn't see him.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late! Why's there water on the floor?" She squealed as she nearly slipped. I pointed at Josh and she turned on him. "I'm not cleaning it up this time-you've been acting really weird lately. This time YOU go get the mop and clean this up or I'm reporting you!" Kayla kept screaming at him as he bustled out of the customer service area. I felt Zeev's silent chuckle through our link and I elbowed him gently.
"Well I'm off then." I told Kayla. "It's my break. Be back in fifteen." She waved me off and I fled, Zeev tugging me along, still invisible.
Zeev POV
Harlee's words had made my heart ache, but more than that, the feeling of growing acceptance I was getting through the link made me drag her into the alley behind the store she worked in and back her up against a wall. Eyes wide, she put a hand on my chest.
"What are you doing?" She asked bluntly, but her gaze had settled on my lips and her tongue ran along her own quickly. She knew very well what I was planning to do as I leaned in slowly.
"I intend to kiss you, unless you stop me." I informed her. I watched as she closed her eyes slowly and I took that as my answer and claimed her lips.
Harlee POV
If this was not love, it was a fantastic form of lust. Now I could see why girls swooned over Zeev. Just the feeling of his lips pressed to mine, and then as he moved them to my jaw, my neck, I nearly melted. My whole body sang with electricity when his lips brushed the Mark and I arched into him, holding his shoulders to steady myself.
"Might not be a good idea to get too carried away." I panted. "I've got work to get back to, you know." Zeev placed his forehead against mine.
"What a pity, and things were just getting exciting." He teased.
"Demons." I rolled my eyes. "Will you stay with me anyway?" I asked and his gaze softened abruptly as he jerked me against him. I felt my soul fragment relax slightly and I breathed deeply.
"You still have approximately ten minutes left of your break. What would you like to do?" Zeev asked quietly and I held him tighter.
"Stay-just like this." I whispered.
"Yes, My Lady." Zeev murmured against my ear, cradling my head against his chest in his hand.
When my break was over I asked him to walk me back inside. His eyes lit up and he gripped my hand tightly. I felt the stirrings of a challenge in his thoughts.
"Oh Lord-do you have to be rude to Josh?" I moaned.
"Only if he starts it." Zeev sniffed. We both knew Josh would absolutely start something. Sure enough, Josh's eyes bugged out when he saw us walking in hand-in-hand. He took in my flushed face and disheveled clothes.
"Hi Zeev!" Kayla greeted him happily. Josh looked apoplectic.
"Tell me you didn't-you haven't!" Josh spluttered and Zeev pulled me to him in answer, grinding his hips against me suggestively.
"Was but a taste, but if my Lady asks for it, I intend to pleasure her many times tonight." Zeev smirked evilly. Josh's temper flared. Kayla's face grew red and you could almost see her imagining being intimate with Zeev. I tried to escape his grasp, but his grip tightened. Josh bolted over the counter and grabbed my wrist, slapping a silver bracelet on it with engravings all over it. My chest suddenly exploded in pain and I felt myself collapse in Zeev's arms, gasping for breath. Zeev sunk to the ground, barely holding onto me. He tried to remove the bracelet, but his fingers burned the moment he touched it and he couldn't find purchase. He gripped his shirt and panted.
"Remove it!" He growled at Josh between wheezing breaths.
"I will not." Josh replied smugly. My vision started to get blurry while tears leaked from my eyes.
"You are killing her-us. Remove it!" He demanded, snatching at Josh. I heard Kayla screaming my name dimly in the background.
"No, it protects her soul from you." Josh sneered.
"You fool!" Zeev struggled to his feet and grabbed Josh by his collar. "I have half her soul-you've cut her in half and she's dying because of it! We're dying. If you kill one, you kill both. REMOVE IT or there will be no soul to protect!" Zeev staggered and fell and I saw Josh hesitate. In the next instant, as I reached out for Zeev, my mind couldn't handle the screaming pain in my chest anymore and I just faded away.
Zeev POV
I could hear Harlee's heartbeat stutter as her eyes closed. I stumbled to her side.
"She's dying you absolute imbecile!" I snarled at the young Mage. "You do not have enough training to be meddling in such affairs." I could hear Harlee's friend still screaming in the background. She was calling emergency services, but I couldn't wipe her memory or anything. I was losing consciousness swiftly too, my chest felt like someone had punched a ragged hole in it. What had happened to my own lungs?
"Listen mage-in a few short moments I will fall unconscious myself. A few moments beyond that, Harlee's soul-if it remains cut off from itself as it is, will begin to wither. I cannot sustain both our bodies. She will die first. I will soon follow." I panted.
"Demons lie." The boy said uncertainly.
"Harlee is half my soul, my Mistress, my soulmate, my Heart. I am Bound to her for Eternity. Where her safety is concerned, I would never lie." I gasped. Beyond which..." I looked at her tenderly. "I love her." I could feel myself losing touch with reality. Why was I telling him this again? I felt my body begin to slump.
"Demons can't love." The boy spat.
"I do. I possess half a human soul. Her soul. She has my Heart. It has given.. me.. the capacity..." I fell forward and clutched Harlee's limp body to me. "Do not...let her die." My eyes blazed orange as I collapsed atop her and I heard the boy's shocked gasp.
Harlee POV
I woke up at home. What the actual fuck had happened? I remember the bracelet, my chest hurting... and nothing. Zeev knocked on the bedroom door. Zeev? Knocking?
"Come in Zeev." I sighed.
"It's me." Said Josh. "Can I still come in?" I jerked.
"No." I growled.
"Look, I'm really sorry, about before... I didn't get it, not entirely... I just wanted to make sure you were ok.." Josh mumbled something else.
"Open the god-damn door already." I griped. I heard Zeev chuckle and the door clicked and swung open.
"I'm sorry." Josh wouldn't look me in the eyes. "The Demon said I almost killed you." He muttered.
"You did." I crossed my arms and realized Zeev had changed me into pajamas. Damn him, it ruined my impressive angry look sitting here in a floral pink nightgown.
"I won't do that again." Josh said morosely. "But I still intend to find a way to separate you two." He looked at me with fire burning in his eyes.
"Josh, just stop. Zeev couldn't harm me if he wanted to-you saw that today. Plus he takes good care of me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without him anymore." I waved a hand.
"But he's condemned your soul to Hell!" Josh yelled.
"I don't care-I think I love him!" I shouted back.
knows how to break. I'm stuck with it...and that might be ok with me, now." I said quietly. Zeev appeared behind me, hugging my waist.
"Is the young Mage bothering you, Lady?" Zeev stage whispered. Josh threw holy water at him. I sighed again as Zeev growled.
"Boy, I'm one of the Fallen, your parlor tricks do not work on me." Zeev threatened. I patted his arm.
"Kayla." I said simply and Zeev vanished again, but he was still there, she just couldn't see him.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late! Why's there water on the floor?" She squealed as she nearly slipped. I pointed at Josh and she turned on him. "I'm not cleaning it up this time-you've been acting really weird lately. This time YOU go get the mop and clean this up or I'm reporting you!" Kayla kept screaming at him as he bustled out of the customer service area. I felt Zeev's silent chuckle through our link and I elbowed him gently.
"Well I'm off then." I told Kayla. "It's my break. Be back in fifteen." She waved me off and I fled, Zeev tugging me along, still invisible.
Zeev POV
Harlee's words had made my heart ache, but more than that, the feeling of growing acceptance I was getting through the link made me drag her into the alley behind the store she worked in and back her up against a wall. Eyes wide, she put a hand on my chest.
"What are you doing?" She asked bluntly, but her gaze had settled on my lips and her tongue ran along her own quickly. She knew very well what I was planning to do as I leaned in slowly.
"I intend to kiss you, unless you stop me." I informed her. I watched as she closed her eyes slowly and I took that as my answer and claimed her lips.
Harlee POV
If this was not love, it was a fantastic form of lust. Now I could see why girls swooned over Zeev. Just the feeling of his lips pressed to mine, and then as he moved them to my jaw, my neck, I nearly melted. My whole body sang with electricity when his lips brushed the Mark and I arched into him, holding his shoulders to steady myself.
"Might not be a good idea to get too carried away." I panted. "I've got work to get back to, you know." Zeev placed his forehead against mine.
"What a pity, and things were just getting exciting." He teased.
"Demons." I rolled my eyes. "Will you stay with me anyway?" I asked and his gaze softened abruptly as he jerked me against him. I felt my soul fragment relax slightly and I breathed deeply.
"You still have approximately ten minutes left of your break. What would you like to do?" Zeev asked quietly and I held him tighter.
"Stay-just like this." I whispered.
"Yes, My Lady." Zeev murmured against my ear, cradling my head against his chest in his hand.
When my break was over I asked him to walk me back inside. His eyes lit up and he gripped my hand tightly. I felt the stirrings of a challenge in his thoughts.
"Oh Lord-do you have to be rude to Josh?" I moaned.
"Only if he starts it." Zeev sniffed. We both knew Josh would absolutely start something. Sure enough, Josh's eyes bugged out when he saw us walking in hand-in-hand. He took in my flushed face and disheveled clothes.
"Hi Zeev!" Kayla greeted him happily. Josh looked apoplectic.
"Tell me you didn't-you haven't!" Josh spluttered and Zeev pulled me to him in answer, grinding his hips against me suggestively.
"Was but a taste, but if my Lady asks for it, I intend to pleasure her many times tonight." Zeev smirked evilly. Josh's temper flared. Kayla's face grew red and you could almost see her imagining being intimate with Zeev. I tried to escape his grasp, but his grip tightened. Josh bolted over the counter and grabbed my wrist, slapping a silver bracelet on it with engravings all over it. My chest suddenly exploded in pain and I felt myself collapse in Zeev's arms, gasping for breath. Zeev sunk to the ground, barely holding onto me. He tried to remove the bracelet, but his fingers burned the moment he touched it and couldn't find purchase. He gripped his shirt and panted.
"Remove it!" He growled at Josh between wheezing.
"I will not." Josh replied smugly. My vision started to get blurry while tears leaked from my eyes.
"You are killing her-us. Remove it!" He demanded, snatching at Josh. I heard Kayla screaming my name dimly in the background.
"No, it protects her soul from you." Josh sneered.
"You fool!" Zeev struggled to his feet and grabbed Josh by his collar. "I have half her soul-you've cut her in half and she's dying because of it! We're dying. If you kill one, you kill both. REMOVE IT or there will be no soul to protect!" Zeev staggered and fell and I saw Josh hesitate. In the next instant, as I reached out for Zeev, my mind couldn't handle the screaming pain in my chest anymore and I just faded away.
Zeev POV
I could hear Harlee's heartbeat stutter as her eyes closed. I stumbled to her side.
"She's dying you absolute imbecile!" I snarled at the young Mage. "You do not have enough training to be meddling in such affairs." I could hear Harlee's friend still screaming in the background. She was calling emergency services, but I couldn't wipe her memory or anything. I was losing consciousness swiftly too, my chest felt like someone had punched a ragged hole in it. What had happened to my own lungs?
"Listen mage-in a few short moments I will fall unconscious myself. A few moments beyond that, Harlee's soul-if it remains cut off from itself as it is, will begin to wither. I cannot sustain both our bodies. She will die first. I will soon follow." I panted.
"Demons lie." The boy said uncertainly.
"Harlee is half my soul, my Mistress, my soulmate, my Heart. I am Bound to her for Eternity. Where her safety is concerned, I would never lie." I gasped. Beyond which..." I looked at her tenderly. "I love her." I could feel myself losing touch with reality. Why was I telling him this again? I felt my body begin to slump.
"Demons can't love." The boy spat.
"I do. I possess half a human soul. Her soul. She has my Heart. It has given.. me.. the capacity..." I fell forward and clutched Harlee's limp body to me. "Do not...let her die." My eyes blazed orange as I collapsed atop her and I heard the boy's shocked gasp.
Harlee POV
I woke up at home. What the actual fuck had happened? I remember the bracelet, my chest hurting... and nothing. Zeev knocked on the bedroom door. Zeev? Knocking?
"Come in Zeev." I sighed.
"It's me." Said Josh. "Can I still come in?" I jerked.
"No." I growled.
"Look, I'm really sorry, about before... I didn't get it, not entirely... I just wanted to make sure you were ok.." Josh mumbled something else.
"Open the god-damn door already." I griped. I heard Zeev chuckle and the door clicked and swung open.
"I'm sorry." Josh wouldn't look me in the eyes. "The Demon said I almost killed you." He muttered.
"You did." I crossed my arms and realized Zeev had changed me into pajamas. Damn him, it ruined my impressive angry look sitting here in a floral pink nightgown.
"I won't do that again." Josh said morosely. "But I still intend to find a way to separate you two." He looked at me with fire burning in his eyes.
"Josh, just stop. Zeev couldn't harm me if he wanted to-you saw that today. Plus he takes good care of me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without him anymore." I waved a hand.
"But he's condemned your soul to Hell!" Josh yelled.
"I don't care-I think I love him!" I shouted back.