AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1
Zorion
Something smells delicious.
The sweet scent wakes me up from my trance and I look around. I’ve been lost in my thoughts, gliding across the landscape, only to find that I’m now in the middle of an Oregon forest. I can move fast, but being so far from the ocean after leaving the portal just a few minutes ago is jarring, even for me.
So, this is my vacation and I’ve already used up precious time wandering aimlessly. That just won’t do. The vague dissatisfaction I’ve been feeling lately turns to irritation. I rise up, leaving my copperhead form to stretch out my limbs and take in the lush wilderness surrounding me. Hmm, okay, not a bad place to end up, at least.
The canopy of leaves overhead is beginning to change from lush green to orange and red, almost as vibrant as flames. The air is much cooler than what I’m used to, but not yet cold. From my new vantage point, close to seven feet above where I’d just been sliding effortlessly through the undergrowth, I close my eyes and let my senses loose. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, which is good, because in my natural form, I can be a bit alarming to unsuspecting humans.
I breathe in that scent that made me stop my hurried, mindless pace away from the island portal, feeling the crisp air whisper past me and lift my hair from my shoulders. No, not so bad at all.
I need to relax. Ideserveto relax. If I don’t make the most of my leave from the Royal Legion, I’ll be pissed at myself and take it out on my brothers when I get back. Not that they don’t usually deserve it, but I’ve been going a bit harder on them than usual due to the strange mood I haven’t been able to shake.
It’s not that I’m not proud of my years serving in the Legion. I am. It’s just not enough for me anymore. But what does that even mean to the demon of gluttony?Nothingis ever enough for me, so why am I so out of sorts lately?
I stomp through the thick trees toward a patch of sunlight shining down on a clearing some distance away. This is where that delicious smell is coming from. My desire to consume it compels me to check it out.
Normally, I love to come to the human plane to wreak havoc and search for things to add to my collection. I eat their rich foods until I want to burst and consume everything they have to offer. The sights, the sounds, the fragrances. Their vices as well as their virtues. But now, all I want to do is stay hidden away and think.
Something has to fix this strange mood I’ve been in. Somethinghasto give me the thrill I used to feel when fighting alongside my brothers. Tearing our enemies to shreds, pillaging their lands, and filling my coffers with their riches just doesn’t hit the spot anymore.
The truth is, I’m becoming tired of my place in the Legion. It’s probably time to retire, but that requires finding someone to settle down with—my one true mate. The ridiculous thought of being satisfied with someone for the rest of my life makes me laugh out loud, startling a bird high up in one of the trees. I’d have no idea how to even begin to find someone suitable, let alone someone who could keep me happy for the rest of my life.
Oh, I’ve had more than my fair share of females. I’ve always needed more than usual, being the demon of gluttony and all, and Hell doesn’t want for succubae who are just as greedy for pleasure as me. They’re always happy to pass the time in my company, and any one of them would be thrilled to have Lucifer’s favorite son as their lifelong mate, but I can’t just choose anyone, can I? It’s not just me being picky. My mate has to be utter perfection, the only one for me, or else my strength will fade and my life will be shortened. So far, they’ve all come up lacking somehow. The exact same way I feel about my position in the Legion lately.
Like something’s missing.
“Ah, look at this,” I say when I reach the clearing. “If it isn’t my favorite earthly creature.”
I stand back to watch dozens of bees flitting around several wooden boxes, ducking in and out of the manmade hives. I follow one on its way out, flying toward the edge of the clearing and disappearing into the trees in search for its pollen.
My mood lightens a bit as I turn back to the hives and lean against a tree trunk to watch them, admiring their work ethic, their simple knowledge of their place in the world. They seem so content, which is the complete opposite of how I always feel. It’s impossible to understand them, but I’d like to. Perhaps one day.
I turn my wrist to smile at the small bee tattoo there, thinking about the collection of items commemorating them that I’ve picked up on my visits to the human plane. Wooden carvings, stained glass renderings, paintings … and of course every kind of honey, one of my favorite foods. The human realm’s very ecosystem relies on these tiny insects. They’re that important despite their small size.
My brothers can tease me all they want about my tattoo or my collection of human-made things. They tease me plenty about being Father’s favorite and his nickname for me—Beelzebubby, which is what spawned my interest in the hard-working bugs—but I don’t care at all. It’s as good natured as any of us can be, and even our fighting is brotherly in the end.
I don’t want to disturb the bees even though my stomach rumbles and my mouth waters for the golden riches in their hives. It’s enough just to sit and watch them for a while, trying to understand them more. My usual, all-consuming bloodlust is soothed for a while. No need to destroy anything while I gaze at the bees with the sun dappling the grass through the trees. No need to take anything for a while, just watch and try to relax. Maybe figure things out. The whole point of this damn vacation.
If any human came across me, they might not even be frightened of me, stretched out like I am with my ankles crossed and my back against the tree trunk, my usual scowl relaxed without a care in the world. I can’t let my irritation with the Legion spoil my leave; it’s just better to push any thoughts about retiring out of my mind or I’ll get more frustrated than I already am. It’s just not going to happen without a mate.
If I was that determined to find one, I would have stayed in Hell, not come to the human realm. Another thing my brothers tease me about. My strange attraction to this plane. They’re ones to talk, visiting as much as I do.
It’s just in my nature to never be satisfied and I have to accept it. I’m the demon of gluttony after all—there’s no such thing as enough for me. Once again I laugh, but the bees don’t notice me at all, and I start to doze off to the sound of their pleasant buzzing and the soft breeze that wafts through the clearing.
***
I’m awakened by sounds of someone trampling through the trees nearby.
I slip easily into my copperhead form, not wanting to deal with whoever’s passing through getting alarmed by my massive presence. My senses are heightened in this shape, and suddenly I smell something even more intoxicating than the honey as the footsteps get closer to the clearing.
I slide through the grass and fallen leaves to get a look at what smells so sweet when I hear a crash and a very human yelp of pain.
“Damn it,” a voice cries out with a sound of clear distress that makes me slither forward faster. A few more choice curse words follow. I like the sound. It stirs up my desire for mischief and mayhem.
My curiosity is raised, along with the need to get closer to that intriguing scent. There’s no ignoring it, and I’m glad to have something to take my mind off my own futile thoughts of retiring. I’m in the human realm! It’s time to have some fun. It doesn’t matter what kind.
