The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

Alex nodded.

Still, she held his arm. “Keep a low profile. Do not mingle with the crowds. They might realise you’re not a real demon.”

“Okay,” Alex said impatiently. “Can you let go of me now please?”

Karen released his arm and pushed open the door. Light shone out and lit the corridor. It was a large room. Lightbulbs hanging from wires dangled down from the ceiling. Most of the windows were boarded with planks of wood crudely hammered into the wall. The room’s interior did not match the grand exterior of the place.

The room was full of demons and humans. At least, they looked like humans. Human faces and skin colours. Most of them were women. They wore high heels and short dresses with plunging necklines. They were dressed to party.

To the right side of the room was a long table laden with food and drink. Together, they walked through the crowds and made for the table. Alex made it half way when a hand grabbed his ass. He turned to see sharp white shark-like teeth manically smiling at him. His heart thumped and he almost reached for his sword.

But the demon girl wasn’t there to attack him. It was a party. And she wanted his ass, apparently. Once you looked past the teeth, she was actually quite pretty. Smiling what he hoped was a polite one, Alex managed to free his ass and make it to the table.

He stood beside Karen and nodded at the dancing women. “They’re humans?”

“Yup,” Karen said. “A lot of rich and powerful demons here tonight.” She nodded subtly at one seated to their right. Two human girls wearing very little clothing sat on his lap. Their large breasts spilled out of their dresses as they leaned inwards. But the demon stared ahead. A drink in hand, he seemed disinterested. “That’s Lorenzo Dematalia.”

“Is the name supposed to mean something to me?” Alex asked.

“He fought in the wars against the angels. I suppose it makes sense for him to be here.”

“Wasn’t that like a million years ago?” Alex asked, incredulously. Sure, the demon did look slightly on the older side. If he had to guess, he would say forty-five. Not four million.

“The more powerful the demon, the longer they can live.”

Alex stared at the demon. He looked normal. For a demon, a least. Dark blue skin and yellow eyes, he had three small blunt horns starting at the centre of his forehead and coming down to the gap between what should have been his eyebrows. But he didn’t have eyebrows. He wore a green suit that looked like it had been made from the skin of a crocodile.

Alex turned his gaze away from Lorenzo. The music blared and the crowds danced. Crowds of humans.

Only the powerful demons were allowed to ignore the rules and fraternise with humans. The room they were in was filled with the strong and powerful amongst the demons. Was that why Satani had sat back and allowed this to happen? Because she was powerless against such opposition?

Alex doubted that.

Satani did not strike him as powerless…

“What happens now?” he asked.

“There’s only one exit so far and that’s the way we came in. The other options are to break through the boarded windows and jump out. If the demons chase-”

“We’re leaving?” Alex asked, eyes wide.

“No. I’m counting our escape options when inevitably, at some point we will start to kill the demons and then make a run for it. There’s far too many for us to take down. We can jump out of the windows, but Chrissy could break her legs.”

It wasn’t just Chrissy. If a fight did begin, and there was a good chance it would, then some of the humans might die as collateral. They could be innocent women duped much like Chrissy had been.

Which made him think, where the hell was Chrissy? Jamie wasn’t in the room either.

It was then did Karen point at the three doors on the wall opposite the one they’d entered through.

“You think she’s in there?” Alex asked.

Karen shrugged. “It’s a big house.”

That much was true. This was one room of many on this floor. Chrissy could be anywhere. Alex stepped towards the doors. Karen grabbed his hand, then warned him to be careful before letting go. He walked along the table of food, staying away from the crowd of humans and demons.

He reached the first door and opened it. It led into a dimly lit living room. It was full of demons. Some sat on sofas, others stood. There were humans too. Human women. Naked. It took a while for him to process what was going on. He stared at the woman with the black hair and purple strips dyed into it. Her hands rested on the coffee table. Her large breasts hanging down, they juggled as the demon standing behind her thumped in and out.

Alex had walked into a demon and human orgy.

He made a swift exit, then turned and leaned against the door with his back to it, suddenly afraid of going into the other rooms. He wondered if he would ever get that image out of his head. He almost saw a demon penis.

Shaking his head, he tried the next door. It was locked. He could kick it open, but doing that in a room full of demons would get him into serious trouble. He moved onto the final door and turned the knob. It was unlocked. The room was dark. Alex closed the door behind him and felt for the switch along the wall. A single bulb hanging from the ceiling came alive.

At the end of the room were six steel cages. Inside each steel cage were naked human women bound with leather in various positions. Not a single one of the women inside the cage reacted