Rainbows, Butterflies, and Fucking Hell
Episode Eleven
Kel yawned, one hand moving to stifle the noise that escaped them as they watched four figures march their way out of the house. Two more trotted after the first group, hands linked, and probably still half-asleep. In all honesty, Kel found the beach to be somewhat uncomfortable. The ladies and gents and everyone in between were all nice enough to look at, but with the beach came the issue of swimwear. That concern was best left forgotten.
Lynn was ushering three children and two of their companions out into the garden. “C’mon, c’mon, do you want to go or not?” Kel whined, pushing them up onto the granite portal. “You guys got me up at the asscrack of dawn for this.”
“No swearing in front of Isobel!” Lynn hissed, making sure that everyone fit on the circle of stone. The incubus scoffed.
“She hears plenty from Mikhael and his incessant screaming,” they replied testily. Isobel merely nodded with wide, all-knowing eyes. Lynn threw his hands up in the air.
“I had to look some of them up,” she whispered. Lynn’s face transformed from frustrated to horrified.
“I offered to soundproof the room,” Kel replied, watching in amusement as Mikhael and Asha began to turn scarlet despite the chilly morning air. “Of course, they said there was no need.” Lynn wondered if he was going to gag.
“Can we get going?” Jess asked, rubbing at his eyes. “It’s obscenely early and I deserve to get to go to the ocean for this torture.” Kel offered an indulgent smile.
“Of course,” the incubus said. “I think you’ll find I’m better practiced than others.” Jess blinked slowly. His eyes drifted to Shawn as if it was second nature. Perhaps it was. He wasn’t quite sure.
“In my defense, that language is dead,” Shawn said, one eyebrow raised. “I had to look through the entire library to find anything close to a book on it.” Kel rolled their eyes.
“Not my fault you were born in this century. I was impressed though—most people can’t even place it,” they said calmly. “Let me show you how you really speak Nox.”
“It’s called Nox?” Shawn asked. Kel laughed.
“Nah. But you wouldn’t be able to say it even if I taught you.” The siren scowled slightly. Kel began speaking suddenly. Shawn’s attempted at Nox had sounded somewhat elegant, if rough and like the sound of cats screaming. Still, in its horrendous state, the language did maintain some level of dignity, if only barely. Perhaps it was merely the high quality of Shawn’s voice that allowed his attempt at Nox to keep from sounding like nails on a chalkboard.
Kel’s rendition was different. As a native speaker, the coarse and violent-sounding language flowed more easily, less like something dying, and more like a strange promise of violence and lust. Part of that could probably be attributed to Kel’s breed—but most came from practice. Whether Lynn was particularly proud of that practice or not didn’t show on his face. Kel looked a little smug.
The runes all flashed scarlet before the portal floor dropped away. This time, however, the large group all managed to land on their feet. No rude butt-sand introductions—Shawn looked away at Jess’s pointed glance. “Alright, alright, stop showing off,” Lynn said, smacking the incubus none too gently.
Kel sniffed, vaguely offended, before shading their eyes from the sun with one hand. “Anyway, pick somewhere we won’t all be trampled by humans and I can still see which of you is drowning,” they said calmly. Lynn shot his partner a very unimpressed glance.
The beach wasn’t too crowded due to the early hour, but the party’s abrupt entrance had managed to snag the gaze of the beachgoers who had been present. Jess’s gaze narrowed slightly, his fingers looping with Shawn’s. Asha didn’t bother to hide her possessiveness. She plastered herself to Mikhael’s side and glowered at a teen who didn’t bother to hide her appreciation of the cat-boy’s butt. Kel’s smile stretched too wide as they scanned the beach.
“Isobel, Asha, you’re up,” Lynn said, rubbing his eyes. The two girls exchanged glances before racing a short ways toward the soft white sand. The two adults and gaggle of boys behind them marched toward where the two witches had started to lay out massive beach towels.
Asha reached down toward her canvas backpack, spread the opening, and pulled out an oversized umbrella. She then pulled out a large cooler, two beach chairs, and what looked like a deflated hamster ball. To say Mikhael was concerned could possibly have been understatement of the year. Kel and Lynn claimed the beach chairs before anyone else could even open their mouths.
The fire demon grabbed the cooler and sandwiched it between the two chairs, popped open the lid, and began to sort through the assorted drinks and ice. He scowled, shoved his hand all the way to the bottom, and pulled out a can of vanilla Coke. Lynn then turned label away from Kel.
Kel didn’t bother to actually rummage through the cooler. They grabbed the first thing that came to hand. If that so happened to be a juice box, it would suffice. As it turned out, most of the top layer of drinks were juice boxes. Kel was glad they didn’t draw grape juice. They stabbed the small plastic straw into the box and, with as much dignity as possible, began to empty the carton.
In the meantime, Jess and Shawn had already raced into the ocean and out of sight. Asha and Isobel had begun the long and arguably-easy task of bullying Mikhael into inflating the hamsterball.
“Do you think they’ll actually fit?” Kel asked, raising an eyebrow as Isobel began to crawl into a rumpled blob of plastic. Asha watched as Mikhael used an air pump to keep the ball in shape.
“It’s bigger than it looks,” Lynn replied easily. Asha wiped her mouth. Kel snickered—their daughter had probably drooled looking at Mikhael’s arms. The hamsterball was slowly taking shape, filling out at awkward angles—much like a teenage boy. When it finally resembled a ball, and looked fit to burst, Asha disconnected the air pump and placed a plug where it once had been. Isobel bounced around inside.
“At least she won’t drown,” Kel said with a sigh, sipping more juice.
“She could drift out to sea,” the fire demon returned. Kel’s face paled slightly.
“Well there’s always Shawn and Jess,” they said, this time more hesitant.
“Not if they’re doing other things.” Kel turned in time to see Lynn wiggle his eyebrows suggestively.
“The most disturbing part of that scenario—” Kel looked slightly green. “—is that I would sense it.” Lynn looked slightly green as well after that.
The two sat in silence, both mildly disgusted at the possibility of knowing way too much about the children’s lives, before Kel glanced over at Lynn. The demon didn’t look particularly joyous. He just sat there, sipping his Coke, staring at the way Isobel kept slipping inside the hamsterball, and scowling at a few of the nearby humans that strayed too close. His mouth was set in a rather unforgiving line.
That really wouldn’t do—Kel hadn’t labored through the process of waking up before any reasonable hour to get here just to see Lynn look more like a disgruntled cat than anything else. It was cute—but Kel didn’t think it was enough to soothe the pain of having only gotten an hour in sleeping before waking up again.
“You look less than pleased,” Kel said sullenly, a pout forming on their face. Lynn blinked several times before he seemed to register the incubus’s words.
“Hm? I’m just thinking of other things,” he replied, his words coming with practiced ease. Kel spotted the lie easily.
“I know the beach can be less than ideal—” Lynn merely shrugged. “—but Asha, Isobel, and Jess seem to be having fun. Otherwise I wouldn’t have dragged us out here.” Lynn offered no words, simply staring at the waves.
“We could try volleyball if you want. Or laying in the sun. Or building a sand castle.” Kel didn’t see any sign of interest. “We could swim?” Lynn’s fingers twitched. The incubus raised an eyebrow. “Swimming?” Another twitch of the fingers.
Kel yawned and stood, arms stretched overhead, fingertips brushing the smooth material of the umbrella. “Did you even wear something to swim in?” Lynn asked cooly, yanking the material of his shirt up over his head before folding it neatly. Kel watched with silent appreciation.
“Of course I did,” the incubus replied fluidly, half distracted by the quickly warming remainder of their juicebox. Lynn raised an eyebrow.
“You’re literally in shorts and a shirt, neither of which is swimming material,” the fire demon said, reaching out and examining the fabric of Kel’s shirt. “Cotton kills.” Kel raised an eyebrow.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not wearing something underneath,” the incubus returned. Lynn raised an eyebrow. With a sigh, the incubus disrobed to reveal shorter shorts and what might’ve once been a considered a shirt, but now looked more like a tank that had been cut off halfway down the demon’s ribs. Lynn then prodded Kel in stomach.
“So you can swim. Sort of,” Lynn said, rising from his chair. The incubus looked mildly offended, raising one eyebrow before deciding there was nothing to be said. “You’re gonna freeze.”
“That’s why I have you,” Kel returned, pasting a grin onto their face. “I want to see if you can make the ocean a jacuzzi.” Lynn blinked several times, frowned, and wondered if Kel had been dropped repeatedly as a child. He then dismissed the demon’s words. Kel began to walk toward the ocean.
Lynn watched for a few moments, taking in the dark skin and reaching white tattoos. Two bands of runes on each arm, encircling the wrists and biceps, and a flurry of swirling lines and knots connecting the two bands looked crisp and almost surgically-precise against Kel’s skin. There was more, Lynn thought, but found that Kel’s clothing kept it hidden.
The fire demon then brushed imaginary dust from his clothing and stepped leisurely behind the incubus. The water looked nice, if a bit cold, and Isobel still hadn’t drowned or sunk her enormous hamsterball. Asha and Mikhael were building a painstakingly detailed sandcastle using a bit of magic.
The water was warmer than it appeared. It was cold, yes, but not unbearably so. It was actually rather comfortable once the shock of cool waves and slightly slimy seaweed underfoot wore off. Kel paused at waist-height for Lynn to catch up, one eyebrow raised as Lynn took slightly longer than expected. The fire demon was slow-moving in water and was pausing to allow the newly revealed segments of his skin to adjust slightly. “Hurry up, slowpoke!” Kel whined, unblinking even as an unusually large wave crashed into their back. “There’s no way you could possibly adjust any slower!”
Lynn raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever considered that fire and water don’t coexist peacefully?” he asked slowly, as if Kel were a child. The white-haired demon scowled. “You know, since water extinguishes fire and all?”
“Now don’t tell me that the big, bad fire demon is afraid of a little bit of water,” the incubus said teasingly. “I mean, you’ve rushed into battle much faster than you’re getting into this water.” Lynn narrowed his eyes.
“It’s an ocean, and that’s a little bit more than ‘a little bit of water’,” the demon returned. Around Lynn, the water was beginning to steam ever so slightly. Kel hid a smirk.
“Well you can swim, can’t you?” Kel watched intently as the steam intensified slightly. “I mean, you’re a demon after all. I thought a little bit of ocean wouldn’t scare you this much.” Lynn stepped chest-to-chest with the incubus. For a moment, Kel’s eyes widened. The incubus then ducked under a particularly strong wave and allowed it to hit the fire demon in the face. Lynn spluttered indignantly.
The fire demon dove forward, chasing at the retreating form that had allowed him to be brutalized by the wave. His eyes were stinging, his temper was rising just above what he’d have liked, and his hand felt like they were actually aflame although no fire was produced. Kel’s figure stopped suddenly, spun around, and launched itself at Lynn.
“See?” Kel said suddenly, clinging to the red-haired demon as the two bobbed along the surface of the water. “I told you a jacuzzi-ocean was possible.” Lynn blinked and scowled at the bubbling ocean water.
“You tricked me, you—” Kel slapped a hand over Lynn’s mouth and snickered.
“Think of the children!” the incubus said with faux frightened eyes. “Think of the joy this will bring them! And also how none of you can stay if I’m killed!” Lynn scowled more fiercely and shoved the incubus under the surface of the water. A few bubbles arose with violent thrashing. Kel was then gone—and two arms wrapped around the fire demon’s waist and dragged him under the surface as well.
It was a little difficult to see, considering the stinging salt water and its unnaturally warm temperature. Kel’s face was blurry, wavering in and out of focus, but their laughter was clear to see. Lynn chased after them ungracefully.
The two played an odd game of tag, shooting threats back and forth between breathless gasps for air and uncontrollable laughter. Kel barely managed to avoid Lynn’s so-called wrath, able to move slightly more easily due to their lankier nature. Lynn, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly fast, but he was strong, and found that if he slowed just as Kel turned, the incubus wouldn’t be able to avoid him. The game ended in a struggle as Kel attempted to wriggle from Lynn’s grasp and found it to be impossible.
“I give,” Kel gasped, head breaking the surface of the water. “The almighty fire demon has vanquished yet another enemy!” Lynn growled playfully, his hair dripping into his eyes as he tried to keep Kel from rushing out of his grasp.
“Damn right,” he said, dunking Kel under the water for another second. Kel spluttered before drawing another breath of air. Lynn managed to keep the two afloat, his toes barely brushing the sandy bottom beneath the waves. Kel remained somewhat suspended in the warm ocean water.
“Nobody can defeat the mighty Lynn—” Kel paused to allow a wave to pass over the two. “—who will be his next challenger?” When nothing came but the sound of Isobel’s muffled giggles and the screeches of children playing on the beach, Kel offered a grin. “Not a soul is brave enough to test the demon’s strength!” Lynn squeezed Kel and laughed at the incubus’s half-assed thrashing for freedom.
“You’re certainly testing the limits of my ego,” Lynn said, grinning. “Care to keep inflating it?” Kel turned and grinned.
“I’m sure such a reliable paladin has no need for such flattery,” Kel replied, hooking their arms around Lynn’s neck. “Although you did come into the water and abandon your adjustment-practices for me. What a selfless partner you are.” Kel’s voice had softened to a more crooning tone. Lynn’s face reddened.
“What a flatterer you are,” Lynn said, averting his eyes slightly. “Do you whisper words like this to everyone you meet?” Kel leaned forward, grinning slightly.
“Only for you,” they said lowly. “These words are for you alone.”
“I must be special, then,” the demon returned, leaning his forehead against Kel’s. “To have words all my own from one such as you is a privilege.” Kel pressed slightly closer to the fire demon.
“You’re the only one with whom I would ever share eternity,” they replied. The two leaned forward, barely a breath apart.
The taste of vanilla and apple was rudely interrupted by a wave of previously unthinkable size. It tore the two demons from each other, lifted them from the easy reach of the ocean floor, and tossed the two bodies onto earth with spine-jarring force. Lynn coughed up a lungful of water as Kel groaned and rolled over, rubbing their back and tossing a spiteful glare into the water.
It then became evident that not all was as it seemed. Jess and Shawn had been thrown onto dry land, Jess’s tail attracting sand and Shawn’s legs quickly reappearing. Isobel was bounced into place between the two beach chairs the demons had inhabited earlier. Asha and Mikhael had scurried to safety, their sand castle left to face the wrath of yet another wave. Asha looked as if she were in mourning.
“What is that?” Lynn asked, blinking as a dark shape wriggled into focus. Kel didn’t answer, busy attempting to make sure the kids had all escaped unscathed. The incubus catalogued injuries, no matter how small, and felt rage coil in the pit of their stomach. “Kel!” The demon snapped to attention.
The creature itself was many-armed, or perhaps many-legged, with writhing, oily-looking limbs. Two pitch-colored eyes glared daggers at the shoreline, and a maw with rows upon rows of shark-like teeth released a piercing screech. Kel heard the humans of the beach take flight.
“Kel, what is that?” Lynn repeated, scrabbling to his feet. Kel followed more slowly, taking in the creature’s appearance. They then spoke a name Lynn wasn’t able to repeat. The fire demon raised an eyebrow.
“It’s a distant cousin of the kraken,” Kel explained, irritated that nobody understood Nox. “Someone I used to know called upon it frequently.”
“Is this their work?” Lynn asked, moving to stand in front of Kel, as if to shield them from the creature.
“That person is dead,” the incubus answered. “We should kill it.” The two demons watched the kraken-like creature throw water toward the shore like an angry toddler. An enormous, angry toddler. One with pointy teeth and perhaps a few too many limbs.
“It...I-It’s huge,” Isobel said from inside her hamsterball. Her voice echoed slightly within the inflated plastic. Mikhael turned to face the small witch and, sensing that now was perhaps his one and only chance to salvage some dignity from being constantly overheard by the tiny, talkative girl, grinned wolfishly.
“That’s what Asha said,” he stage-whispered, eyes gleaming with unparalleled satisfaction. For a moment, even the sea creature stopped moving. Lynn and Kel spared the time to turn and pin a glare of immeasurable I-will-gut-you-and-use-your-pelt-as-a-rug in his direction. The catboy gulped loudly.
“We will talk of this upon our return,” Kel said icily.
“Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong,” Asha responded, trying to keep her now wide-eyed boyfriend alive for another day. Lynn then turned.
“Kel and I will be placing a number of restrictions upon you both,” Lynn said heatedly. “One of which will be discussing why your sex life has become a recurring theme in our lives.” Asha’s skin wasn’t sure whether to pale or flush. In the end, it did both. Mikhael’s ears flattened against his skull like a disgruntled cat.
The sea creature then emitted an ear-piercing shriek, as if offended by the sex lives of two morally-ambiguous teens. Lynn didn’t blame it. Kel hoped this meant they could soon walk the castle freely. “Now how do we kill this without drowning?” Lynn asked, watching the creature begin to approach the shore. Kel scowled slightly.
“We could always do what we used to,” the incubus replied, rubbing one ring of runes on their arm. Lynn scowled slightly.
“Can you really just bring that back?” the fire demon asked, his hands beginning to produce fire. “After last time, I figured you’d avoid it.” Kel ran a finger over a rune disrupted by scar.
“I don’t see another way. It’s huge and as much as I’d prefer to leave it here, the humans can’t exterminate it quite yet,” they replied with a sigh. “I’d just have to do it later.”
“Wouldn’t we be more prepared—” Kel’s eyes widened momentarily before they launched forward and tackled the fire demon. A ridiculously large, barbed tentacle swung overhead and missed the two by inches.
“I’d say that Mr. Legs here isn’t going to give us enough time to transport out,” Kel hissed, feelings shells cut into their palms. They got up quickly and backed from the shore.
“I’m inclined to agree,” Lynn said, standing and brushing sand from his legs. “Get to work. I’ll keep it busy.” Kel watched in horror as Lynn leaped onto one overly extended tentacle and ran up its length.
“No time like the present!” Kel said unenthusiastically. They checked to make sure the children were sufficiently far back before they began to do their job. Nox began to fill the air, dark and heavy as if the words each held unimaginable weight. A rune shaped much like a star on the inside of each of the incubus’s wrists turned blood red.
Lynn was busy dodging hooked barbs as he raced up the sea monster’s long limbs. He was attempting to get to the monstrosity’s eyes, perhaps blind it if he could. If push came to shove, the fire demon wasn’t above performing a few amputations. Fire was racing up his arms, licking at the air near his ears, flames almost white in their heat. Lynn relished the opportunity to release them.
As he slowly burned his way across one tentacle in order to jump onto another, Lynn kept an eye on his counterpart. If Kel had begun their spell, the incubus would be unable to keep themselves out of harm’s way. It would be even worse of one of the children strayed too close.
Kel’s skin had begun to darken, turning a deep purple near where the red runes looked like they may actually be bleeding. The white tattoos turned whiter as purple leaked from their edges, following Kel’s veins. The dark threads crossed each other, closing in like someone was weaving them together. Kel’s nails extended into blackened claws.
Asha wasn’t sure what was going on—Kel’s hair was darkening from the roots, and the sand around their feet looked like it had been scorched. What was she supposed to do? Was the sand actually burnt, or was it some trick of the light, an unusual shadow? She picked up a stick, shushing Mikhael as he hissed a warning, and used it to touch the blackened circle about Kel’s feet. The stick crumbled, the air felt too thick, and Asha found herself running away from the incubus and their near-glowing tattoos.
Lynn was successful in avoiding the majority of the creature’s barbs and unusually large, shark-like teeth. If Kel had connections to this thing’s owner, Lynn didn’t want to know what had led to it. The white-hot flames in his hands pressed charring black marks into the creature’s skin. So far, it hadn’t made much noise aside from some angry hissing and unusually sharp twists of its head on a nonexistent neck. He was just about to get onto another limb when the creature stilled.
Lynn wondered if the creature was plotting something—until the creature released a scream that sent shudders down the fire demon’s spine. The fire demon turned to see a terrifying grin spread across Kel’s face.
Kel felt like they had no body. The physical world didn’t exist, didn’t matter, would never matter. All that mattered was the light blue sphere that looked so utterly fragile. They held it in cool hands—did they really have hands?—and squeezed. It felt so good, so absolutely wonderful to destroy. How long had it been since Kel had actually killed someone like this? too long too long too long
Lynn flinched at the expression that crossed Kel’s face—something between joy and rage and greed—before placing his burning hands within proximity of the creature’s eyes. One oval-like pupil pinned a heavy glare on the fire demon, shrieks echoing.
The light blue bubble in Kel’s hands wasn’t popping. The incubus felt some level of frustration, scowling as it began to spike out erratically, attempting to force Kel to withdraw. It wasn’t as if this wasn’t familiar—Kel actually found it reminded them of a person a little too close to home and —no, no that wouldn’t do. Kel squeezed harder and found the bubble had a little more give and a little less bite. this was living, this was great, oh, yes, they should do this much more often
The sea creature was thrashing back and forth, nearly tossing Lynn into the ocean as it lost another appendage. Its skin smoked as Lynn pulled his hands away, nose crinkling at what smelled like grilled squid. Maybe it was a squid. It looked more like an octopus than a squid but then again—Lynn dodged a very much attached tentacle that swiped at him.
Kel was laughing—or they thought they were laughing. Maybe it was screaming. Both were pretty fun, but not as fun as destroying the bubble. They watched it flex in and out of shape, starting to melt and lose shape like ice cream in the sun. Two hands—were they hands? were they just figments of Kel’s imagination?—came together and slammed into each other with enough force to smash the bubble. It popped neatly. Kel felt the creature’s mind open up and oh all the possibilities, so much to do, so much to destroy, oh this will be so much fun
Lynn stilled as the monster went momentarily limp. He stepped back, watching the thing’s remaining eye roll back. The eye came forward, pupils blown. Lynn raced for the shore as it began to let out unholy cries of distress, convulsing as if something, someone, had attached puppet strings and was attempting to poorly pilot the shrieking being.
The water was cold, too cold, as Lynn reached the sand, water splashing up to his knees in an effort to try and calm down Kel before they turned on someone they both loved. The dark circle of sand had expanded, stretching several feet in each direction. The creature—Lynn could no longer bear to listen to it—it sounded like it was receiving a punishment no one could possibly deserve—suddenly fell silent. A loud crash sounded. Lynn turned to see its body sink below waves.
Kel remained in the same position, grinned malevolently out at the sea, not quite touching the ground. Lynn watched warily. Perhaps this time Kel would walk out on their own. They could do it this time, right? Kel had some amount of self-control, even if they didn’t often exercise it. The fire demon felt two clammy hands hold his. Asha looked up with enormous brown eyes.
“Why is Kel still like—” the witch pressed her lips together as if to keep the words back. She glanced nervously at Kel, who was now grinning at Lynn, sharp teeth bared as if to threaten him. “It’s dead.”
“That’s not quite...Kel,” Lynn replied, hesitation dragging down the volume of his words. “It’s difficult to explain.” Jess, now on two comparatively stable legs, faced the demon with a pale face.
“I think you’d better explain before we end up like that thing,” he returned, his voice low and nearly hard to hear. Lynn glowered.
“Kel wouldn’t dream of hurting you,” Lynn hissed, his canines flashing. His gaze wandered to Kel’s figure. Kel was busy examining how sharp their claws were.
Kel wasn’t sure where they were. It wasn’t as dark anymore. There were people on the beach—weak people, not a good fight, boring but oh what if they were toys and were they talking? Kel scowled. Those people weren’t paying Kel proper respect—there was only the smallest scent of fear, and Kel still couldn’t see their expressions, but it was still displeasing.
Lynn froze. Kel had moved. Was this a sign that Kel had actually managed to come out themselves, or did it mean that they had lost themselves completely? The incubus took several steps forward, as if testing out their body, before moving with more confidence. Their feet never quite touched the ground, as if the earth repulsed their very nature.
Lynn had fucked up. This wasn’t Kel.