My Dark Knight (Kings of Hell MC 2)

Elliot let out the tiniest whimper as blood dripped into his other eye, coloring his vision red.

Chapter 26

“What was the point of doing this if he’s not a Christian demon?” asked Knight in the end, unable to stand the silence anymore. He and Beast had gone completely quiet and stayed that way since Laurent left to walk the priest back to his car. The attempt at exorcising Fane out of Elliot had been a spectacular failure, and now one of the most senior priests in Brecon thought they were denying someone psychiatric treatment, which could end up with him reaching out to the authorities about it.

Beast took a deep inhale as if just to extend the time before answering. “He’s not a demon, technically. He’s a ghost.”

“Since when can priests fight ghosts? We’ve put Elliot through all this on Laurent’s hunch. We need to think out of the box.” Knight knocked the back of his head against the wall, angry at himself that he hadn’t stopped the whole process much earlier and spared Elliot at least some of it.

“Laurent’s from a different time. He probably assumed a Christian priest can fix anything spiritual. Maybe for now we should keep him in there, since that’s where Fane’s been trapped after he died?”

Anger blasted inside Knight, and he stepped toward Beast, lowering his voice only because he didn’t want Elliot to hear any of this crap. “There’s no way in hell we’re keeping him locked up like a prisoner in this horrible, damp room. Haven’t you seen how this bastard treats him? They can’t be alone together!”

Beast spread his arms with a groan. “They’re alone together now, and it’s fine. Elliot is his host, so Fane won’t hurt him. I’m more worried about what havoc he could wreak if he disappeared from your sight. And you heard him talk about the blood. If Elliot managed as much as to scratch Laurent hard enough to draw blood, Fane could enter Laurent’s body.”

Of course. When it came to Laurent, it was a bigger issue all of a sudden.

“Oh, so Laurent’s untouchable, but if he is tormenting Elliot, then that’s perfectly fine, and all we need to do is to quarantine Elliot. Do you even hear yourself?” hissed Knight.

Beast rubbed his face. “It’s just that Fane’s already inside him. Wait. Maybe we could get your—Elliot’s dad to come over here and stuff Fane into him instead?”

Knight pushed back his hair, increasingly frustrated. “I would have fucking congratulated you on that brilliant idea if my old man weren’t imprisoned. We can hardly bring him over here.” He stepped closer. “I mean, you and Laurent talk to that devil guy from time to time. Maybe he could come up with a solution?”

The tension in the corridor got palpable, as if the devil could hear them and was already present somewhere in the shadows on the walls.

“He’s not here to solve our problems. He will want things in return.”

A tiny scratch resonated from one of the newly discovered rooms, and they both kept quiet, no doubt wondering whether it was just a mouse or a sign of the creature listening to every word uttered in his domain.

Knight shook off the involuntary shudder that trailed up his back. “What kind of things? More parties? Fisting orgies? What else does he like?”

Beast frowned at him. “Are you seriously joking right now? Your… whatever he is to you could die.”

Knight’s chest tightened. “Well, that’s what I’m trying to prevent. This wasn’t a joke. I’m not the one who communicates with this horned shithead, so I’m politely fucking asking what to do.”

“Elliot said it’s the sigil that’s holding souls bound to this place. Maybe we shouldn’t focus on getting Fane out of Elliot, but on taking the devil’s seal off Fane.”

Knight frowned, and his mouth curved into a smile. “Now you’re talking, brother. That is a brilliant idea. Still needs to be talked through with that beast.”

Beast pushed at Knight’s chest. “Don’t call it a ‘beast’, but fine. I will ask. Let’s get Elliot out of there, but maybe cuff him to yourself or something. Just in case.”

Knight patted Beast’s shoulder. “Thank you. This is all fucking confusing, you know.”

“I know. Once this Fane bullshit is over, we will need to focus on understanding what we’re dealing with. Laurent is finding lots of conflicting information in those old books. And then there’s only six of us plus a prospect. That’s hardly good enough to handle all the tasks at hand. Between our actual work with Magpie, the cover-up, and making the demon happy, there’s simply too few of us.” He opened the door and stepped inside.

Elliot was off the mattress, curled up with his back to them on the cold floor, and his shoulders shook as if he were sobbing, but no sound came from his direction.