First Demonic Dragon

“You’ve legitimately gotta be the worst hider I’ve ever met in my entire life.” Audrina jabbed. “You came down from the heavens, and rather than give yourself an entirely new identity, you instead decided to shorten your own name and run around like no one would put it together?”

“In fairness, no one here has figured it out before now.” Xochitl shrugged.

Abaddon wondered how someone as smart as Emmanuel hadn’t managed to deduce the goddess’s identity by now.

“…” Actually, that was a lie. He knew exactly how a goddess like Xochiquetzal was keeping his follower from asking questions.

But that brought up a whole new issue that Abaddon needed to address.

“You need to leave him.” Abaddon said instantly.

“H-Hold on a minute!” Xochitl held up her hands.

“Nothing to hold on for.” Abaddon shook his head. “You had your fun so far, but I won’t allow you to make a fool of Emmanuel any longer. Besides, you need to return to the heavens for your safety.”

“You have no right to tell me what to do.” The goddess hissed back. “Now I may not have started this with the best intentions, but I care for Emmanuel deeply.”

“Enough to tell him that you’re cheating on him?” Bekka suddenly asked.

The all-important bombshell seemed to have finally been dropped.

Xochitl wasn’t just married to another man. She had five husbands in the Aztec pantheon.

Now that Bekka had brought it up, everyone in the room was staring at the goddess while wondering what possible explanation she would give to save herself now.

Xochitl clenched her fists underneath the gaze of the room full of dragons.

An anxious heat arose in her belly that made her feel as if she could puke up a sea of lava.

“…I know what it seems like, but I promise that my intentions are not impure in the slightest. And I’m not cheating. I’m just… keeping a little secret.”

Audrina’s ears twitched uncontrollably. Something that her lovers did not miss.

“Things might have started out a little less than genuine, but he’s honestly won me over, I’ll have you know. He’s a good man. An ambitious and caring mortal. I’ll stay beside him for fifty years or so and then he’ll pass on none the wiser. No one has to get hurt here..”

“You would be content to have the man you claim to love live a lie?” Audrina asked with clear intrigue.

“I-It won’t be a lie!” Xochitl insisted. “I’ll be a perfect, mortal wife. Faithful and everything. It will all be real to him.”

Audrina laughed melodically.

Seras, Erica, and Bekka stared at Audrina knowingly. Izanami remained blissfully unaware as she let the vampire stroke her hair.

“…You knew as well, didn’t you?” Seras accused.

Audrina shrugged helplessly. “Are you forgetting who I am, darling? Secrets above and below are mine to hear and keep.”

As the personification of hiding, Audrina knew every manner of secrets, schemes, and buried pasts.

Though she isn’t exactly the gossiping type, so she doesn’t actually have a use for all of the things that she learns. She keeps them to herself while pondering over the complexities of shame, secrecy, and fear.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to back down on this one, my darling.” Audrina slipped her hand around Abaddon’s arm.

“…And why is that?”

“Our dear Asherah has given little Xochitl here permission to stay already.”

“What??”

Audrina shrugged helplessly. Abaddon knew instantly that she wasn’t lying.

Asherah was many things. Nurturing, warm, and gentle, but also firm and unyielding.

If she had actually allowed Xochequetzal to stay here, then it must’ve been because she saw something in their relationship. Though Abaddon wasn’t sure what.

“That still doesn’t address the fact that you aren’t safe here.” He sighed.

Xochitl nodded. “Look, I heard about the murders, but there haven’t been any more in like three days, right? Don’t you have it handled?”

“I’ve been keeping them all cloaked ever since we found out they were dying.” Audrina said. “But that’s not a permanent fix. We need to figure out who’s hunting them and why.”

“Even then, you have your own worries, Xochie.” Bekka mocked. “Percival is still out there, and he is desperate to add the power of gods to his own.”

Xochitl scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m a simple sex goddess from a pantheon past it’s heyday. Stealing my powers would do what exactly? Other than give him a gorgeous little tan.” She chuckled.

“He would have dominion over your soul and be able to manipulate you on a whim like a puppet.

The lad also seems to be a sadist, so I can’t imagine that being in his company is the greatest place to be for a woman.” Seras yawned.

Now, Xochitl seemed just the tiniest bit anxious, even though she tried hard not to show it. “… You’re just trying to scare me.”

“As if we cared enough about you to waste time on empty words.” Seras said sharply.

Xochitl seemed like she had her own sharp response to unveil when she suddenly glanced at the door behind her.

“S-Shit, read this!” She frantically hurled the folder she’d been carrying at Abaddon.

She changed back into her normal form just as the door opened, and Emmanuel came running in, out of breath.

“Where’s the fire, papi?” Xochitl asked innocently.

Emmanuel blinked a couple of times as he wiped his brow of sweat. “O-Oh, you were just taking so long that I just wanted to come and see what was holding you up.”

Xochitl gestured to the group. “I was just getting to know this bunch, since they’re the only members of your family I’ve never seen before. Why didn’t you tell me Carter here was a youth football coach?”

Abaddon formed a small, innocent smile. Being used in a lie didn’t exactly feel good, but he would make an exception just this one time.

Emmanuel smiled helplessly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, you know me, babe. Always forgetting those little details.”

“Just not in your surgeries, I hope.” Xochitl kissed her husband on the cheek as she waved the group goodbye and wandered out into the hallway.

Emmanuel watched her leave with a lovestruck look on his face that quickly turned into a mild worry.

He shut the door behind him and wandered over to the bed before dropping onto his knees.

“…My Lord, you should know that I have the utmost respect for you and your word.”

“That’s… very kind of you?”

“I also hold an immense fear of you.”

“That’s a given.”

“B-But I say this with a healthy amount of respect and reverence for you and your identity, so… umm… please don’t fuck my wife.”

“….”

“….”

“….”

“….”

In the end, Bekka was the only one to burst out laughing from the shock. Izanami attempted to suffocate her by covering her mouth with a pillow.

“…I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Abaddon finally said.

The weight that was lifted off of Emmanuel’s shoulders was so great that it was almost physical.

–

Abaddon had been going through the folder that Xochitl had given him before her hasty departure.

They were pictures- specifically ones taken of the corpses of his followers.

Those still living had taken these in the hopes that Abaddon could deduce what exactly was hunting them.

The results were… morbid. He could see why all of the funerals so far had been closed casket.

He was surprised to see that the killings looked so ambiguous.

Some looked like they’d had their bodies crushed by frenzied werewolf strength, while others seemed to have their necks almost completely chewed off by rabid vampires.

There were even more questionable wounds that looked like they came from out-of-control creatures.

Whatever group that was trying so hard to cover its tracks couldn’t fake or suppress its inner ferocity.

Abaddon didn’t need to be as smart as Lailah to know that the whole scheme reeked of demon.

Nevertheless, he needed a bit more intel.

“Bekka, my love.”

“Hm?” A large horned hound poked it’s head up from the floor.

“How do you feel about doing a little grave digging?”

The hound narrowed its eyes at him. “Why are you asking me of all people?”

Abaddon couldn’t take his eyes off of her fluffy ears. “…No reason.”

“Stereotypes!” Bekka slammed her paw on the ground.

She used her large snout and flipped her husband out of bed as if he were less than two pounds.

As soon as he hit the floor, she was right on top of him in her human form.

“Not all canines like digging, you know?” She growled.

“Yes, but you like digging.” He reminded.

Bekka seemed genuinely caught off guard, as if she hadn’t taken the time to form that thought. “Oh. Right.”

Abaddon shook his head and pointed towards the door. “So we’re going then?”

“Sure thing!” Bekka glanced towards the bed where the others sat. “What about you three?”

“Napping.” Seras replied with her eyes closed. Judging by the way she held onto Izanami, she wasn’t just going to let her go either. “Call me if you find something to hit.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the two of you from here.” Audrina agreed as she stared into a glass full of red wine.

Abaddon stood up from the floor, and Bekka promptly found a way to climb onto his back.

The two of them kissed the rest of the girls goodbye before heading outside.

To the surprise of neither of them, there was a familiar face standing in the hall seemingly waiting for them to exit.

“Going somewhere, My lord?”

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