Zeev POV
"Put me down." Harlee said with another sigh. Ash gripped her tighter.
"She said: put. her. down!" I growled. Ash scoffed.
"Why, so you can have her?" Ash asked.
"Yes." I snarled.
"She's my Mistress too-when are you going to give me time to Bond with her?" Ash hissed. "You've had years!"
"Guys.. People.." Harlee spoke up.
"Year-One year!" I growled back.
"Plus many months beyond that!" Ash spat.
"DEMONS!" Harlee yelled.
"Not as Bonded. We hated each other most of that time!" I roared.
"That is ENOUGH!" Harlee's voice was deadly quiet, she invoked both of our True Names. "Ash, you will put me down NOW! You will both cease arguing immediately. We're going home NOW. That's an order." Her fingertips brushed first the Mark on her collar then the Mark on her jaw. I could see Ash jerk and I felt my own body twitch in answer.
"Yes Mistress." We both replied simultaneously. Ash placed Harlee on her feet and she gripped Ash's hand then reached for my own. As a group, we stepped forward into our home, at which point Harlee promptly collapsed.
"Look what you did you damn bird brain!" Ash hissed.
"Shut up snake." I snapped and scooped Harlee off the floor to carry her to the bedroom.
"Such children." Harlee muttered. I twitched.
Harlee POV
The colors were all wrong and my vision seemed bleary. I moaned and Zeev tightened his grip on me.
"Harlee! Finally!" He exclaimed. Ash burst through the door.
"What's wrong with my eyes?" I asked rubbing them. "They're all fuzzy..."
"Oh, ah-you'll have to retract your nictitating membrane." Zeev explained apologetically.
"My what?" I exclaimed, bolting upright.
"You get it from me!" Ash cried happily bouncing on the bed.
"That's not necessarily true-she has the beginnings of a feline Form, plus eagles also have them, so it could be any of us, SNAKE." Zeev snarled.
"How many times do I have to tell you: Dragon, D.R.A.G.O.N!" Ash yelled. I clutched my head.
"Um, hello... a little help here.." I interrupted.
"Oh-let me show you!" Ash placed a long, cool index finger on my collar atop the Mark. A flurry of... emotions, no more like muscle memories, flowed into me, and I found myself blinking as the membranes retracted across my eyes.
"See-not hard! They can sometimes get a lil' stuck like that if you're sleepy. Best watch out in public." Ash laughed. I cradled my head in my hands again. Yet another small piece of my humanity gone.
"Mistress.." Ash's roast pumpkin smell suddenly enveloped me. "Please don't cry." Cool fingers lifted my face and cool lips met mine. The pumpkin flavor stuck to my tongue and my head began to spin. Zeev yanked me back.
"Go use your incubus skills elsewhere, you fiend." Zeev snarled.
"The Mistress doesn't mind it-look at her." Ash smirked. I was trying to clear my head.
"I.. um.." I looked at Zeev helplessly, who snarled and planted his own lips on mine. I jolted as the cinnamon and spice of his saliva mixed with what was left of Ash's and suddenly I was craving pumpkin pie. I moaned and let my tongue slip into Zeev's mouth. My stomach growled and Zeev released me with a slight grin.
"You've slept for three days. I think we should feed you." Zeev remarked.
"Three days? What the Hell?!" I groaned. "Did you-"
"I told them you were sick at work, and traded shifts off so you didn't miss any days." Ash beamed. "You still have another couple off. I told them it was the flu." A snicker followed this statement. I sighed.
"Well thank you anyway. At least it keeps me out of trouble, I guess." I replied.
"Come on Harlee-time to go eat something." Zeev urged. I heard my stomach grumble again and nodded, but when I turned to slip out of bed, I abruptly found myself on a kitchen stool. I squeaked.
"Um-Ash? Zeev?" I yelled, panicking.
Zeev POV
Harlee vanished in front of us and Ash and I looked at each other in shock for a moment before she yelled to us from the kitchen. We bolted from the bedroom, each trying to beat the other there. Harlee had a grip on the counter top like she was afraid she might blow away. She was panting and as I sent my thoughts out to her, I realized what happened at the same time Ash did.
"Nice! You teleported!" Ash cheered.
"No-not nice!" Harlee yelped. "I'm super dizzy and I feel like I'm having trouble staying in one spot." She looked at me with wild eyes. I reached out for her, but Ash beat me to her, grabbing her in a hug.
"You're right here Mistress-I won't let you go!" Ash purred. Not to be outdone, I grabbed her hands and dropped the barrier between us completely. I could see what she meant, it felt like her mind and body were trying to be in two separate places.
"Harlee look at me. Concentrate on me-feel through our link how steady I am in this space? That's what you need to do. You're the rock, let everything else turn to water and flow around you." I said gently. Harlee squinted. I pulled her mind into mine, it was difficult because she was fearful and unwilling, but I was calm, steady and persistent. Finally, I felt her body relaxing as she looked through my eyes at time and space around us. When she viewed her own body though, she twitched and immediately withdrew from the contact, her eyes running with tears.
"It's already that bad?" She asked me quietly. I grimaced. The second Bond had Corrupted her soul fragment even further, dragging her body along with it. She could see the subtle changed through my eyes-the way her limbs were slightly longer now, her organs slightly different, even her skin had changed. It was all subtle, but I noticed because I was intimately familiar with every bit of her.
"Hey-look at it this way Mistress-it'll be easier for you to conceive a Demon child now!" Ash said happily. Harlee sobbed openly and Ash looked terrified.
Harlee POV
If my stomach would let me get away without eating, I would. I snapped at Ash, who felt compelled by the Bond to try to comfort me once I burst out crying. Zeev simply placed a plate of food in front of me and sat beside me with a warm hand on my thigh as I picked through the pile of french toast.
"These are supposed toe be free range eggs, and the butter is vegetarian as well. I hope you like them." Zeev said softly. I took a bite, and as usual, Zeev's cooking was enough to die for. It was just a shame my appetite had died with more of my humanity. I let my fork clatter to the plate.
"Come on Harlee-don't be like that." Zeev cajoled.
"I just.. need some time to sulk." I snapped, but then ran a hand along his cheek. "Thank you for breakfast though, it was delicious and you're beautiful." I paced to the bedroom and slammed my head against the windowpane. It didn't even hurt, is this how far into Demon territory I was venturing?
"Harlee?" Ash called softly, knocking at the door.
"What?" I spat. I heard the door open and the gentle squeak as Ash sat on the bed.
"You asked me once how I became a Demon." Ash murmured. I could just see Ash's reflection in the window's glass. Ash looked dejected and small. "Not all Contracts are formed for the consumption of human souls. Some are formed for the possession of human souls, to create minions, servants, swell the ranks of Hell, soldiers, you get the idea." There was a brief pause. "Then there are the sadistic Demons who just enjoy twisting and Corrupting other souls."