• • The House of Asmodeus
• February 2, 2021

The House of Asmodeus: A Trial by Fire (Chapter 13)

“It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.” – John Ruskin

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SEVERAL YEARS AGO

Asmodeus does not have a plan when he and Zazriel get back to the palace just before midnight. Asmodeus is thinking about how his whole meltdown must have went over with the others. I’m lucky it was Zazriel who found me at the fight club. She too had once flirted with crossing over the line. The others though may not have been so accepting to have seen me lose my mind. 

Mod may have been too okay with it, the more I think about it.

As they walk towards the entrance a few workers in the palace spot them and quickly go around informing everyone else. Everyone in the palace is informed of the Demon King’s return within minutes. 

As Asmodeus and Zazriel ascends the palace to the same level as his room, Dotor is the first one to show up, right outside the spiral stairwell. The incubus is really out of breath. 

“My liege, oh, my, thankfully Zazriel found you, I was climbing and scouring the palace looking for you.” Dotor has obviously been worried. Asmodeus has been putting him through a lot lately. 

“Thank you, Dotor, for searching. I’m sorry for putting you through that.”

“No thanks have been earned, young liege. I did not find you, but now I will tell you that we must take evasive action regarding this new found information of you having a sister. Secrets we thought safe are now no longer. Follow me, your wife wished to speak to your as soon as you returned, even back from when you were speaking with Michael.”

Noella is certainly going to have words, but for the life me I can’t figure out whether I’d rather calm her down from worry or anger.

Asmodeus tells Dotor, “We should hurry then, and Dotor,” with a hand on the Reaver’s shoulder, “you have failed in nothing.” Dotor most certainly perks up at this assurance.

The three of them hurry down the hall rather to the edge before his room. Asmodeus is nervous to go any further, walking past the door to his study as it still hangs off the hinges. 

“Zazriel and I will guard the door, I’m sure the other Reavers and Lolara will come soon.” Two Reavers were supposed to be guarding the King of Lust at all times. Obviously, recent events have made this difficult.

“Actually Dotor, it is imperative that someone send summons to the other Demon Kings,” Asmodeus tells him. “We must reconvene to discuss what happened as soon as possible, tomorrow is most desirable.”

“Ah, yes, that is necessary isn’t it,” he realizes with a finger to his chin. He nods towards Zazriel and figures that as the most powerful Reaver, she is more than fit enough to protect the King of Lust by herself. “Alright, I’ll have them sent out before dawn, though I doubt any will be here in time.” 

Then he’s off to accomplish his task as quick as possible.

And now the moment of truth, Asmodeus faces the side of his door, and takes a deep breath.

Zazriel reassures him, “Don’t worry, she’s probably just worried about you, I can’t imagine she’ll be that mad honestly.”

“Yeah, but I think seeing and hearing about her being worried is worse than her being angry,” he admits.

“That’s so sweet,” Zazriel beams, “and incredibly naive, go to her.” Zazriel encourages him with a push and a smile.

Asmodeus takes another breath, and walks right in.

Standing at what could be considered the foot of their large circular bed is Noella, standing in a robe with her back to him. All he can see was the pale and flowing hair on her head.

She speaks first. “I had planned a very romantic evening for your return, even set out an outfit I thought you and Azale both would appreciate very much.”

Asmodeus comes up behind her to wrap his arms around her torso and rest his chin in the crook of her neck. She leans her own head against him, not pulling away, but not fully accepting his embrace. 

“We could always have that evening if you want.”

He wonders, As if it could really be so easy.

Then she turns around to face him. Her silver eyes do not meet his, but she does rest her hands on his chest, as if ready to rip his shirt apart.

“Do you really think we just be ourselves in this room, maybe we could,” she tosses up. Maybe it is as easy as he thinks.

“Really?”

Then she meets his eyes and they could have lasered a hole in his head.

“NO NOT REALLY!” 

I knew it couldn’t be this easy, but then I wouldn’t be getting what I deserve. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Noella continues yelling at him. 

Then Noella stops, as Asmodeus finishes stepping back from her. She places her her fingers on her forehead as she tries to calm down. “I get that you’re angry, you realized your sister was alive and captured, I realize that one must need time recuperate one’s mind from such a realization.”

“Wait, hold on,” Asmodeus holds up his hand to ask for a pause, because now he’s confused by her words, “what are you mad about, exactly?”

“HOW THE HELL DO YOU NOT TELL YOUR WIFE THAT YOU HAVE A SISTER?!” she yells in his face, at the top of her lungs. 

For a white daemon, her face is getting pretty red. 

But now Asmodeus understands. To Noella, I’ve been keeping secrets from her since the day they met. She must feel betrayed, or at least not trusted.

“Oh my god, Noella, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret from everyone, I just didn’t want to drag up old memories. Plus, I thought she was dead, what good would it do to just let everyone in on my shitty childhood?”

Noella rolls her eyes, so blatantly annoyed with him. “Oh, yes it would be such a pain to let in the one who love you. Why let them help you with your pain, that’s such a stupid idea, that would surely succeed in nothing at all.”

“You know, just because you and everyone else may be so interested in my past, does not mean that I want to share!” he snaps back at her, no longer being a punching bag for her. “There many things too painful that I go to sleep with so sue me for not wanting to bring it up at the dinner table.”

“Well it’s all nice that you think you have to be all tough and manly in all,” with a trickling gesture of her fingers, “storing away your feelings to your grave, but you forgot one insty-teensy little detail about the King of Lust having a human sister back on some Earth.”

Asmodeus arches his brow, not following where his wife is leading. “What’s wrong if I have a sister back on Earth?”

“Everyone may know that you were raised on Earth, but is it public knowledge that you were born a human? Would such a fact not being pretty easy to find if someone looked you up?”

Now the realization of how he fucked up dawned on him.

“But, but,” he stammers, “Mod made it seem like my life back as a human was covered up as I went along, that way no one could find out about me?”

“That’s true, but anyone can still look up your last name and find a human girl with the same one, from the same town. Now that they know that the Demon King of Lust has a human relative, well what must he have been before that? Oh, he must be a human, who had turned into a black demon?” Her impersonation of regular daemons would have been really funny in another context. “Asmodeus, what do you think would happen among the Seven Circles if regular daemons found out that humans could become black demons, one of the two most powerful types of all? Well, they would probably believe that they could too,” and with a finger tipping over towards him, “and here lies the problem.”

Asmodeus’s face is slowly beginning to fall into his hands as he realizes the risks he made, simply by not informing anyone of his older sister’s mere existence. “Oh my god, not saying anything was so dumb!” 

The Seven Circles would be torn apart in an arms race for more power. Among mortals, the class system is constructed. If you throw two humans in a pit, give them each equal sticks and ask them to kill each other, it doesn’t matter if one was rich and one was poor. They’re chances of winning are both good enough that they should try to win.

That’s not the same of daemons. Throw an untrained black or white daemon into the pit of an untrained mortal daemon, and the upper class will annihilate them. They’re physically different, with vast amounts of dark magic, with black daemons having high dexterity and white daemons having natural affinities for speed. 

Whether it be from despicable eugenics or a cosmic cruelty, if a mortal daemon wants the power of a white and black daemon, they have to train their entire lives, and most don’t get that high. 

Most of such daemon becomes Reavers because of how rare and special they are. If Pride wasn’t such an infectious Sin, more black and white daemons would train to become stronger and would find themselves second only to the Demon Kings in power. 

If mortal daemons thought they could change into black daemons, they’d likely forgo their lives in search of that power, leaving society to ruin. And the worst part of it, is that there likely isn’t a way to turn mortal daemons into black daemons, or turn more mortals into black daemons either. 

And because, Noella rubs salt in the open wound. “Yes, yes it was,” she says, “that’s scary because you’re supposed to be one of the smart ones.” 

Noella has her hands on her hips with the most judgmental face on, but seeing Asmodeus feeling even a twinge of sorrow tugs at her heart strings. She sighs and lets go of her anger for a moment to wrap his arms around him. He quickly accepts her embrace.

“Don’t worry, my beloved, thankfully, there is still time to fix this. I’m sure Mod and Dotor will be able to cover up anything and everything about her, there can’t be much left if she was able to fly under Mod’s nose.” Asmodeus is definitely perking up. “But most importantly we’re going do one more thing,” she says. Asmodeus eyes her suspiciously, trying to guess at what her next few words are going to be.  

“We’re going to rescue my sister-in-law of course!” Asmodeus smiles, her confidence inspiring him, as his wife has always done. 

“Also, it is highly probable that she has a daughter of her own, you’re an aunt too.” Asmodeus thought this would her brighten her day up more, but the huge smile it puts on Noella’s face surprises her. 

“Really, I’m Aunty Noey?” she exclaims, “How do you know this?” Asmodeus fills Noella in on his dream about her and A’rock probably being the man who attacked her.

“A’rock, that’s the name of the scummy daemon who is holding her, right? Well, I promise you, beloved, we’ll get them back.”

“I love you, Noella.”