He left Liz at the cafe without so much as a second thought. His mind was already three steps ahead of himself. He stopped at the house first, letting his dog out of his bedroom and feeding him while he changed. Liz didn't let Axel roam free in her "museum" of an apartment, as Zander referred to it. Everything you could see in the room was worth a fortune and having a dog anywhere near her stuff was almost blasphemy. The black German Shepherd ate with gusto, tail wagging, oblivious to the work he was going to be doing that night. Zander pulled on jeans and a dark hoodie. He hesitated with his gun before changing his mind and setting it in the drawer of his night stand. He wouldn't need that. He pulled a baseball hat down over his head, hiding his eyes and with a whistle, he and Axel left the apartment.
It was almost two miles to the part of town he had in mind and wasn't disappointed to see the night life had already erupted. It was a shame Mardi Gras was held in this part of the city. Minus the years worth of evidence of a large party, the historic buildings and streets would have been a great tourist destination; not that it wasn't already. But Mardi Gras was almost three months ago and the tourists were already long gone. What was left was the bottom rung of the proverbial ladder that was the status of New Orleans. Prostitutes called out to him from the street corners and Zander wasn't even sure most of them were even women. He caught sight of a small Coven of witches hanging out in an alley beside a voodoo shop, glaring at him as he passed, puffing on something that exhaled purple smoke. From beneath his sweatshirt, he felt his wings itch. For a demon to be in this part of the city meant he was here on some bad business and he planned to use that knowledge to his advantage.
Axel, like the good police dog he was, stuck close to Zander's side, silent and aware. He wouldn't do a thing without his say so but having the dog close was comforting. Even without his demon side taking control, this part of town still made him uncomfortable, with all the fighting between the witches and demons. As long as his true identity wasn't discovered, he'd most likely be undisturbed. Though he had told Liz he hadn't wanted to get involved in the witch/demon turf war, his demon side thought otherwise and he decided to use it to his advantage. The witches, having learned their Magik originally from Demons, were still thoroughly jealous of the demons who were still much stronger then them. All he needed was to ignite a match and watch the whole place go up in flames. He'd deal with the consequences at the department later.
He found where he wanted to be and entered the little shop. A bell above him chimed his appearance and he closed the door behind him, wrinkling his nose to the smell of incense and something... darker. There was a rustling down one of the darkened aisles and a woman appeared, a frown on her face until her eyes fell on him. Immediately, Zander could see the dark green aura of her envy. So she realized he was a demon...
"Well, hello, stranger." she purred, sidling up to him in her array of gypsy skirts and shawls. She wore a massive amount of perfume, probably to mask the smell of decay about her person that normal humans and perhaps witches might not have noticed. She touched his arm and she shuddered. "What is it you're looking for today? Someone the likes of you aren't normally seen in this part of the city." It was a threat layered beneath sweetness.
He smiled down at her as Axel gave a low growl to the woman who blinked down at the dog curiously. "Actually, I'm here for a reason. I was wondering if you could help me. You see, I can't just go to any doctor for this so I thought the best person I could contact is someone who has a bit of our own Magik." Zander could almost see the glee on the woman's face as she went to the front door and flipped her open sign to close and locked the door before taking his arm once more and leading him down the hall towards the back room of the store. "I'm sure I might be able to help." she purred.
The woman's back room reminded Zander of a gypsy caravan complete with smoking incense, beaded doorways and brightly colored throws and pillows. Strange crates were stacked against a wall where bits and pieces of her merchandise stuck out from the cracks. She forced him to sit among the pillows where she quickly took the empty space on his lap, her eyes chaotic. From an outsider's point of view, the woman appeared lustful but someone with a knowledge of the witch and demon feud knew it was all about power. He had no doubt this voodoo witch had plans to steal his Magik for herself, hoping it would make her stronger and he was banking on such a thing.
"So what is it I can help you with?" she asked, nearly breathless as her hands slipped under his sweatshirt and shirt to rest against his bare chest. She was anxious to start her spell but for now, Zander knew she was controlling herself. He smirked.
"It's my wings, you see. They got damaged and I had no one else to go to."
The woman nearly moaned in ecstasy. "Let me see!"
Zander pulled his hoodie and shirt over his head and let his wings unfold to take up the expanse of the room. She reached out and drowned her hands into his feathers. Zander bit his tongue
hard. Touching a demon or an angel's wings produced a sexual pleasure that was beyond anything but Zander had no plans to use this woman for anything except her envy. He needed to keep a level head on his shoulders. "Do you see it? It's a small puncture but it's all the way through. I can't fly like this."
Where the fuck were they? I was stalling just long enough but...
Right on cue, the bell from the front door chimed again and the woman froze, a powerful Magik aura permeating from her. Zander smirked. The footsteps towards the backroom grew louder and the beads in the doorway separated to reveal the prostitutes from the street corner earlier. He'd deliberately walked down the street instead of flew to gain the attentions of other witches. The ones from the alley were only spotters for the real witches; the ones calling him from the street.
"Well, well, November. What do you have there? The Queen won't be happy you stole a demon all for yourself."
The woman on his lap, November, let out a feral hiss and he felt claws dig into his chest. "He's mine! She can't have them all! She promised us power and she's taking it all for herself!" she turned back to Zander, breathless as she ran her hands up and down his chest. "Can't you just feel his power?" She whispered, her body trembling. "He's no ordinary demon." The witches in the doorway hesitated, giving each other looks before turning back to November, eyeing Zander questionably.
Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to grow jealous, not join her.
The witches moved into the room and Zander's heart beat frantically. From the side of the room by the crates, Axel growled threateningly but Zander put up a hand. He wasn't getting Axel involved in this. The dog shivered with the need to leap to his master's rescue but remained sitting. The other witches fanned out around him, hands touching any bare skin he had exposed, their sighs and moans bordering on sounding like a brothel. How far could he let this go? Because his mother was a Demon Lord, Zander could withstand the witches longer than a normal demon but he knew if he had all his magik drained, he'd be turned into an Angel or worse, be dead. November leaned in eagerly towards him, her hands glowing green against his chest and he immediately felt a drain of his energy. "Don't worry. We'll make you feel better. You won't have to worry about flying ever again." she sneered and around him, the other witches's hands glowed and he felt an increase of his power draining.
He laid his head back, heart pounding. Just a little bit longer. Let them believe they had him... But his third plan didn't happen and he found a shot of panic shooting through him. Bloated with power, the witches were letting out noises Zander had a hard time ignoring. He struggled beneath them, only urging the witches on further. He turned to Axel, his last ditch effort. "Help!" he told the dog.
Not waiting to be told twice, the dog leaped at the nearest witch and latched onto her arm with a snarl. Immediately, the witch's hands stopped glowing as she cried out in pain and Zander was able to move his left side again. He grabbed the nearest witch by her throat and threw her off of him. At the same time, the wall to his right exploded inward, showering the witches and Zander with wood and debris. The witches screamed and covered themselves. In the hole in the wall, stood the person Zander had been expecting to show herself. The Voodoo Queen. However, Zander's job here was done. "Axel!" he yelled over the confusion and the dog obediently went to him. As soon as the dog's head met his outstretched hand, he felt his body shift and he was standing on all fours, an identical twin to his dog. As the witches bloated with anger and envy at the Voodoo Queen's power, Zander slipped from the shop with Axel at his side. All around him, the city was coming alive with witches. He smirked. He hoped Liz could feel the enormous amount of envy erupting from this party of the city. This little stunt had done two things; stirred up feelings of envy and also, put a wedge in the bonds of the witches beneath the Voodoo Queen. With a wedge in the ranks, she wouldn't be able to control her witches and it left them vulnerable to the demons who had all intentions of dethroning her.
It wasn't until he was outside the Mardi Gras limits did Zander realize just how much the witches had taken from him and he stopped, throwing himself down on the ground, panting heavily. Axel, used to running by his master as a dog, paused and whined with concern. Zander felt light headed and nauseous. They'd drained too much of his power and if he didn't get somewhere soon, his shifting would wear off.
Luckily, he made it back to the apartment as the sun started to peak over the horizon and he collapsed, naked, on the foyer floor, only managing to close the door before he passed out. It was where he woke in the morning, surprised to find Liz hadn't come home. Had she truly spent the whole night glorifying in the envy he'd reaped? With a grown, he stood, swaying as his head pounded like a massive hang over. He went to the bathroom, showered, pulled on tan cargo pants, a red tee shirt and his ball cap before he text Liz. She told him her whereabouts and he was out the door.
He was quickly seated at Liz's table and he threw himself down into the chair opposite her, looking every part the hang over college student complete with sunglasses and lethargy. "I hope your evening was pleasant..." he grumbled, lifting a glass of water to his lips and draining the whole thing. It would be obvious to Liz what had happened to him with the witches but he wasn't planning on telling her just how much they took. Put simply, he wouldn't even be able to bring his wings out at this moment if he wanted to. She'd probably finish the job if she did find out.
---
Outfit
