Chapter 71: Matei

My neck ached. I was sitting in a chair with my hands and feet tied. My neck hung in front of me. My face felt swollen and sore. I opened my eyes slowly. I lifted my head carefully on my aching neck. The bar around me looked familiar but better than the last time I left it. A few men stood around, drinking and whispering.
An orc noticed me and stood. He approached me with heavy footsteps like he was made of two tons of rock. He stopped in front of me, towering over me as he looked down.
"Where is he?"
"I. Don't. Know," I spat each word at him, breaking it down since his simple little mind couldn't seem to understand.
He gripped my chair and rocked me back to see him better. His tusked teeth were so close to my face, I feared they would scrape my cheek. His breath smelled like meat. "You know something? You were the last one to see him alive."
"I told you: I don't know."
His golden eyes stared down at me. "Walk me through it. You summoned a demon, destroyed our bar, riled up one of my boys, then go after him. What happened next?"
I could see sweat forming at his brow. His breath came in rapid shallow draws. There was something wrong with him.
"I went for a nice night out. Had some pasta, had a nice drink, you know, a normal night. I didn't see Matei again."
"And his daughter?"
I shrugged. "She moved out."
The orc let my chair fall back on four legs. It jarred me as it hit the ground, snapping my teeth together painfully. He balled his fists and paced in front of me.
"Why is your boss so important to you? Just get a new one," I said.
He grabbed a barstool and threw it against the wall. The eyes already watching us didn't move from him as the stool flew across the room. They all looked on edge.
He spun around. His face contorted in rage. He let out a blood-curdling scream at the top of his lungs. "I will tear off your limbs one at a time! I know you know something!"
He nodded to his cronies, who jumped from their places to his side. The group of them closed in on me.
"I think we'll tear it out of you." He lowered his face to mine. "And if that doesn't work, at least you'll be in bite-size pieces." He laughed roughly. His cohorts joined in.
A giant reached forward and sliced my wrists. A man or creature took up each of my limbs. I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming in terror. Flashbacks of two orcs trying to pull me apart appeared in my mind. I banished them. They held me above the floor. The main orc walked around them.
He leaned over. "Last chance. Where is Matei?"
"I don't know," I said.
"Boys." He flicked his fingers up.
The vice-like hands gripping my arms and legs pulled at me. I could feel my joints loosen. A scream escaped my lips as my arms and legs stretched to their limit.
"Any last words?"
The word that came to my lips was the same name I always called when I got scared. "Remi," I whispered. "Remi!"
The room darkened. I wasn't sure if that was my loss of consciousness or if my guardian demon was actually here. My heart raced even wilder. My arm relaxed as the giant holding it fell back. I squinted as I tried to lift my head. The creatures around me fell one by one as the shadows zipped around the room. I fell to the floor.
My head smacked hard on the ground. The room spun as my vertigo was knocked loose. I couldn't see the shadow clearly, but it approached me in the chaos. Arms wrapped around me. Everything went cold and dark for a moment.
When the world became solid again, I was on the floor of my apartment. The familiar smell of my room hit my nose. I used a bit of power to stabilize my vertigo. The shadow lifted from my torso. I pushed myself onto my hands as I watched the shadow back away.
"Wait," I said to the retreating form. It wasn't him. The figure was feminine. "Who are you?"
"Your guard-,"
"My guardian demon, yes, I got that, but who are you? What's your name?"
I used a bit of my magic to push the light on in the room. She turned with her head cocked to the side liked she'd never heard that question before. She had a heart-shaped face with long brown hair and dark brown eyes. "You won't remember."
My sigh was long and loud. It made her turn all the way around. "I will. I'm outside of the Veil. I'm mixed up in all this craziness. Don't treat me like your other charges."
Her eyebrows furrowed.
"Why do you think you just got me as a charge? Something happened to my last guardian demon."
"But you're human."
"Not quite. I... actually I don't know what I am. So... your name?"
"Natalia," she said hesitantly.
"And did you just get assigned to me?"
She cocked an eyebrow at me.
"Are you going to feed me the line?" I deepened my voice. "I can't say. I can't interfere."
Her mouth quirked up in a smile. "I like you."
I chuckled. "You'd be the first." I pushed my hands against the floor to sit up further.
Natalia stepped forward and grabbed me by the arm to help me sit up. I sucked in a breath as sharp pain from the torn muscles rippled up my arm. She released me quickly, assessing my reaction, then lifted me from the torso on to the bed.
"Better?" She asked.
I scrunched up my face as I thought. "Maybe? That's two times in two days I've been near death."
"Did your angel save you yesterday?"
I nodded. "He's new." I smile touched my lips as I remembered him. "A good kisser, too."
Natalia frowned.
I waved my hand. "No, no. He was helping me heal. I was testing out my succubus power. I think it worked a little too well."
"Succubus..." She whispered. "What are you?"
I shrugged. "As I said, I'm still figuring that out. I don't have a name either." I could feel myself unraveling a little. Pink sparks flickered at my fingertips, zapping me. I jerked my hand back.
Natalia's eyes flicked down to my hands. "Are you okay?"
I plastered on a smile. I suddenly felt like I had told her too much. "I'm fine. Alright, I'm good. My muscles are a little sore, but I'm alive. Thanks for saving me."
She studied my face for a moment. "Alright." She turned slowly away from the bed. In two steps, her shadow fell apart, and she disappeared.
I sighed and leaned back against the headrest. Those things I had said were true. I didn't know what I was. I had no idea what was wrong with my power. I didn't even have a name. I missed Angandriel and Remi. Even though I felt like a whole person, there were so many more things for me to figure out.
"Reveal," I whispered. I flicked the angel feather up out of my left wrist. I was hoping to find Karma tonight, or at least seeing Angie again would mean something. I knew she was just messing with me. And now these orc bozos were on my tail. I felt even more lost than before.