Page 34 of Malice in e minor

“Belinda Fox is leaving. I’m pulling rank.”

“Is this about Misha? She⁠—”

“She’s gone,” I snarled.

Faustus immediately shut his mouth. He knew better than to question me. I let myself disappear before I could be yanked back. I hated it, but I needed them to fear me.

I couldn’t let them know I was trapped in a cage in Hell.

Azriel Ivy was kind of goofy for a guy I was scared of ten minutes ago. He kept rubbing his butt on the sexy angel statue I’d been playing in front of and now that he knew the cold could have broken my violin, he was a mess while we walked back to his art studio.

“Do you want my jacket? You can wrap your violin case up like a sexy leather burrito.”

“Won’t you get cold?”

“My nipple rings will keep my nipples warm.”

“Liar. My nipples are pierced, and it’s worse in the cold.”

“Damn. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“Can you even handle my tits?”

“I could make art with those. Have you seen your boobs?”

“I’ve actually touched them, which is more than I can say for you.”

“Dude, harsh. Are you saying never or just yet?”

“I’m saying I’ve met both of your boyfriends. Orion is kind of a jerk, but Misha is really nice and I like him. I’m not doing that to him.”

“Oh, Misha would be invited if you’re down. We don’t have to bring Orion, but he’s like a barnacle. He’s all pointy and rough around the edges, but he grows on you. And you have to swear to never tell him I called him a barnacle or I won’t let you see my studio.”

We were standing outside a door that not only had every keep out and no trespassing sign you could possibly buy on it. He’d also put crime scene tape all over it.

“So, I take it you really don’t want people in your studio. Is the door booby trapped too?”

“Did Misha blab when you were building cat houses? And no, I don’t let anyone in here. Misha and Orion are the only ones allowed. Sometimes, my mouth says things before my brain processes them and it was my mouth’s idea to invite you to my studio to warm up. When my brain caught up, I was okay with it. I’ve got a futon and blankets in here because sometimes I take cat naps so you can warm up.

“And I wasn’t joking about the coffee. I fell in love with Vietnamese coffee on tour and I’ve got a set up in my studio. Misha won’t drink it because he says it makes him jittery in class. Orion only drinks coffee that would make a barista want to punch him in his barnacle face. I also never said that. You in? You have to pinky promise never to tell Orion I called him a barnacle.”

I held out a pinky. Azriel Ivy wasn’t so much scary as he was slightly unhinged. I was a fan of his work and I was getting a chance to see what he was working on. I wasn’t exactly sure why he was letting me see it when no one else here was allowed, but I wasn’t going to question it too much. I’d only seen Immortal Nightmare live once when they were first starting out. After that I just had to see what they posted to their social media, but I could see Azriel’s art at local galleries sometimes.

In addition to the million keep out, no trespassing, and crime scene tape, Azriel had about three deadbolts on the door. I guess he really didn’t want people in here. I was honored, really.

I stepped inside and it wasn’t what I was expecting. He had a futon shoved in the corner and a small side table with some coffee contraption. There was an easel set up in the corner and the other corner had sculpting tools and a sculpture. I narrowed my eyes at the stone.

“Is that a half goat, half penis with the face of Johann Faustus?”

Because it looked like something had gone horribly wrong with a satyr. I had a feeling Azriel was the campus vandal. The lower half was like a satyr or faun and the top half was a giant dick. The dick looked like what Dr. Faustus would look like if someone made a sex doll out of him. His mouth was in that weird blow job position.

Azriel just shrugged innocently.

“Maybe. Maybe the goat man should have expelled that bitch when she harassed Misha.”

“No, I agree with you on that. Why am I here?”

“So, I’m probably going to do this wrong. Just to warn you. We don’t want to be here, but we have to be. Immortal Nightmare collaborates all the time, but it’s not always how we want. If you see us up there with someone famous, it was something we had to do for our contract.