Chapter 5 - Owen - Purge With My Demons

Finn and I made the trek back to our Brooklyn brownstone. It was only one quick ride on the subway and a short walk, but the 20 minutes were excruciating. If Cora had one of her episodes and Amon called for us, we didn’t have much time for Cora to get her head back on straight.

We rushed to the front door expecting madness, but when we walked in, all was calm. It almost seemed as if no one is home, but I could hear a TV somewhere, just loud enough to be incredibly fucking annoying.

I turned to Finn, but he looked just as confused. “Where the fuck is everyone?”

“Beats me. Maybe the basement?”

“Yeah, good idea,” I agreed. “I’ll check there. You check upstairs.”

Finn nodded in understanding and headed up the stairs in the foyer. I made my way downstairs into the basement, immediately tripping over a yoga mat, stumbling over haphazardly scattered dumbbells, and then finally catching myself on the Smith machine. Groaning loudly, I pushed myself off the equipment and continued my search for any of my friends who should be in this house.

Tristan was where I expected to find him any other time, playing a fucking video game. Lounging in one of the gaming chairs and sitting way too damn close to the 80 inch television. How this fucker hasn’t gone blind, I’d never understand.

I stormed over to him, not even trying to hide my rage. I ripped the lime green headphones off his annoying blonde head. “Where the fuck is she, Tristan?”

“I just started a campaign, Owen. What the fuck?” He hit pause on the controller, then turned to me and asked with a sickeningly sweet smile, all teeth and adorable annoyance, “What was that, my sweet Owen?”

I was going to punch him one day. I took a deep breath because now was not the time to lose my temper. With my eyes closed and fists squeezed tightly at my side, I ask through clenched teeth, “Tristan, my dear, dear friend, where is Cora?” I opened my eyes as I finished my question.

He sat up straight in his chair. “Oh shit, sorry, man. She’s upstairs in the shower, I think. Ash should be with her. She chilled out a few minutes ago.”

Tossing his headphones back at him, I fell into the oversized chair in the corner of the room, letting out a long breath. Needing to ease the tension, I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. It was time to address the other issue Tristan texted about. “When does he need us?”

“Tonight.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? What could be so important that he needs us tonight?” My question was rhetorical. I knew Tristan didn’t have any clue.

“Figured we can just head down when Cora gets out of the shower.”

“Yeah, that works.” Tristan resumed his video game as I stood to go back upstairs. “We’ll come get you when it’s time.” He nodded in understanding.

On the way up to my room, I saw Ashton walking from Cora’s room. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s alright. Taking care of whatever Amon has for us may help distract her. You may want to try and have her talk through it tomorrow, though,” they recommend. We had to get down to the meaning behind Cora’s episodes or whatever the hell they were, so that is exactly what I will be doing tomorrow.

Before I got too far away, Ashton stopped me. “Owen, how’d it go tonight?”

I knew they were asking about the meeting at Purge, but that wasn’t even on my mind right now. “Good. I’ll fill everyone in tomorrow.” I returned to standing directly in front of them, placing my hands on their slim upper arms. “It’s a perfect place, though, Ash, good find. I am curious why you didn’t tell us Giordana was a demon, though?”

“She was cool. I just didn’t think to mention it.” Ash shrugged. They were so trusting, and the majority of the time, their gut was right. So I trusted Ashton with my life. I planted a kiss on their cheek before continuing my climb to the fourth floor.

When we got to New York in the late 1800s, we found this place abandoned. We’ve just managed to fix it up and make it work perfectly for us.

Finn had a bedroom on the same floor as the kitchen, which was exactly what he needed. Tristan had an insane gaming setup for live streaming in his basement bedroom, his wet dream. Ashton and Cora had a floor to themselves that they made into a sanctuary, probably to get away from the three of us. Couldn’t say I blamed them. The entire top floor was the master suite. While it was way too much fucking room for just me, it was the one thing everyone insisted I took. The views were immaculate, and while I loved my band like family, I needed my alone time. I think they knew that.

There was no telling why Amon has called us to Hell tonight. Could have been for a job or just to talk. I desperately hoped it was a job. I changed out of my black chinos and band tee for a more appropriate outfit—black jeans, boots, a black t-shirt, a hoodie, and a beanie. I already knew that everyone else would dress in something similar; black hid blood the easiest.

* * *

After parking Finn’s SUV in a nearby lot, we walked over to the alley where the Gates were located. The streets in Hell’s Kitchen were busy, which wasn’t uncommon for a Friday night. The burger joint right next to our destination was teeming with patrons waiting for tables and enjoying their night, completely unaware they were feet away from possibly their worst nightmare.

When we walked into the alley, The Void was sitting patiently as we approached. Ashton reached out to pet the black dog. “Hi, sweet boy.” The Void relished the attention, his red eyes glowing a bit brighter. That was the thing about The Void, if you weren’t a demon, you didn’t even know he was here because he blended into the darkness so well, and only demons could see his red eyes. He looked intimidating as hell, but he was a huge pushover as long as you didn’t fuck around with him.

Once we all passed through the darkness of the Gates and took on our demon forms, we began the walk down the hallway.

Amon’s office was outfitted with trophies of his past conquests. The head of a horned demon we’ve all forgotten the name of mounted on one wall, a shredded torso of another artfully displayed in a shadow box on another—it wouldn’t be so artful if those who saw it knew how it was acquired, but that wasn't my place. Truthfully, now that I think of it, calling this an office wasn’t right. This room was more a collection of pieces of demons killed in the name of Amon, none that he actually killed himself. Fucking coward.

As we approached his desk, he stood from his leather chair. He made his way around the desk, and I saw that the chair was a new addition to his trophies. I thought he was joking about making that female demon’s pet cow from upstate into a chair, but I was sorely mistaken. I stole a glance at Ashton to see if they noticed the chair as well, seeing that they did. By the look on their face, they were just as shocked as I was. We were the two sent on that mission for Amon, unfortunately, so we were the only ones who heard him say that. I subtly shook the chill off that made its way down my spine.

Amon’s massive form towered over us. He was easily a foot taller than my six foot three, and that wasn’t including the twisted grey horns atop his head. While he was massive in height, Amon was skin and bone. He looked absolutely emaciated. None of us have ever let that little detail fool us, however. He may be a coward who didn’t do his own dirty work, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t or couldn’t rip every single one of us to shreds in seconds if necessary. Every walkway and door frame had to be specially designed to accommodate the demon. With his tattered wings of pale grey skin and whip-like tail tucked closely to his body, he folded his arms across his chest.

His tone was smug and gravelly when Amon finally spoke up. “Ah, the elusive Death’s Nevermind. About time you grace me with your presence.”

Tristan was the first to speak up. “You called for us just over an hour ago. We got here as soon as we could.”

Amon whipped his head to Tristan, and he spoke through clenched, sharp teeth, “And you’ll do better to get here sooner next time.”

I stepped forward before things got ugly between the two of them. Gently, I encouraged Tristan to stand with Ashton, Cora, and Finn. “What can we help you with, Amon?”

The demon directed his attention to me. “Oh, yes. Owen. Thank you, I’d much prefer to speak to the one that I actually have a bargain with, not the trash he pulled into this.”

“We are all equals here, Amon. You’re speaking with me because this is my debt to pay to you, not theirs. I’m going to be the one to deal with your bullshit.”

He stalked slowly toward me, a scowl quickly appearing on his face. “You better watch it, Alastor. I can make your time left with me a lot worse if you want to be a pussy about it,” he remarked before walking back to his desk and sitting in the horrible chair. “How do you all like my new chair? I had it commissioned recently. That bitch demon from upstate had a cow. I knew right away what trophy I’d take from that stupid wretch.”

None of us acknowledged his comments.

“Ugh, very well.” Amon rolled his black eyes. “I got a tip. I need you all to go pick up a few demons. Here’s a list.” Amon flicked his wrist, and a fire erupted mid-air. Finn caught the piece of paper that fell. “All of these idiots are running around saying they have information on the new queen. Get them and bring them down here for Owen to interrogate.”

“When are you going to just give up? Just let Owen go.” It was Cora, and her tone was snarky.

I close my eyes, bracing for impact.

“You are here to do what I ask of you. Not to ask questions. Owen made a deal, and it’s his fault you're wrapped up in it now too. So get over it and get the job done.” Amon’s response was clipped.

I turned and saw Tristan holding Cora back. She was clearly still worked up from whatever happened earlier. I needed to talk to her.

I turned to face my best friends. “I’ll meet you guys outside. Give me a second.” Once they were out of the office, I turned back to the demon behind the desk and lifted up the hood on my cloak. “When do they need to have them ready, and when do you need information from me, Amon?” I asked with as little emotion as possible. I didn’t want him to think that there were any issues. We did have everything under control. I also didn’t want him to know that Cora still had powers developing.

“Time is ticking, Alastor. He doesn’t have much time left, and I need answers. Five days. They need to be collected and interrogated in the next five days.”

“We will get it done.”

* * *

The next morning, I was surprised to feel a warm body beside me in my bed. The only reason I knew it was Cora was because I could smell the citrus soap she religiously uses. She was passed out, snuggled up in the fetal position, and cuddling one of my pillows. Clearly, the episode and chat with Amon did a number on her. It had been forever since she had done this.

A few years ago, Cora and I tried dating. About two weeks in, we realized how very wrong we were romantically. We were far too much alike and much better off as friends. I did love her; love was all over this house. Tristan and Ashton were the only two who have had any luck finding romance that sticks, and even they kept their distance a lot of the time. But I just finally came to terms with the fact that they are the epitome of “perfect for each other”.

I heard Cora snoring lightly and didn't want to disturb her. My hand reached out in the dark and gripped my phone on the nightstand. The too-bright screen illuminated the room. It was almost 2:30am.

Carefully, I slid out of bed and made my way over to the French doors that led out to the balcony. It was chilly out, but I needed the fresh air. Once situated on the giant outdoor lounge chair, I began to search for my soul on social media.

I found the social media pages for Purge and saw Giordana in several posts. Based on her interactions with the dark-eyed beauty, it was easy to assume that she would be on Giordana’s personal social media. Thankfully, Giordana’s personal page was tagged on some posts. Clicking my way around, I began scrolling through pictures. It didn’t take long to spot her. There she was. Those dark, bedroom eyes, long dark hair, and lush pouty lips that were begging for me to sink my teeth into them. By a stroke of luck, I saw someone was tagged. When I clicked the tagged profile, I'm glad for the first time that I let Ashton talk me into getting a social media account.

There she was. Eleanor. She hasn’t shared much on her page, but from what she has posted, I’m able to find that she’s in Brooklyn often. As I continued scrolling, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her. In every way, I needed her. I needed the soul, but I needed her more if that was possible. Her curves were intoxicating. I would dream of fantasizing how they’d melt into me. The longer I looked and thought about all the things I want to do to my beautiful soul, my cock twitched. I shamelessly screenshot some of the images from her page to save to my phone.

It was just after 3:00am now, but I was too amped up to go back to bed. Cora needed to rest and more fresh air sounded fucking fantastic. I stripped out of my pajamas, shifted quickly to my crow form, and launched into the sky. A flight to check on Eleanor sounded better than fantastic, actually.

By the time the sun had fully made its debut for the day, I was back home. Walking down stairs, I could hear conversations happening in the kitchen. Everyone was gathered around the kitchen island, not-so-patiently waiting for Finn to be done cooking our Saturday morning breakfast. Tristan stopped me at the espresso machine.

“Hey, take this. I just made it.” Tristan handed me the mug and gently squeezed my shoulder. “Are you okay, bud? You look exhausted.”

“Oh, wow, thanks,” I responded before sipping the piping hot latte. It was perfectly smooth and sweetened with caramel, just how I liked it. “Finn, what’s for breakfast?”

Smiling ear to ear, he turned to face me. “Bananas Foster French toast, eggs, and bacon.” I had never met someone so thrilled to cook for their friends, but damn, I’d never complain when he made shit like that.

Ashton decided to chime in after my smart retort to Tristan. “No, he’s right Owen. You do look tired. Do you want to do guided meditations for sleeping? We can start that again if you’re having trouble.” They walked over to me and rubbed my biceps in a soothing gesture.

“No, Ash, I’ve been sleeping fine. Last night was a one off. I just got up early and went out.”

Cora swallowed her juice before adding, “Oh, that explains your pajamas on the balcony when I got up this morning.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess that would explain that.” Walking over to where she sat, I leaned into her ear from behind. “Doesn’t explain why I woke up to you in my bed, though.”

“Fuck off, Owen,” she snapped. Everyone else in the room sputtered a laugh.

“Anyway, how much longer until breakfast is done, Finn?”

Over his shoulder, he replied, “Probably about 20 minutes or so.”

I leaned into Cora once more. “Let’s go talk.” I used a tone that didn’t allow for argument. I needed to know what happened last night. Not just with Amon, but with her episode too. In the living room, I pinned her with a fierce glare. “What the fuck was up with that last night?”

“With what, Owen?” she replied, mirroring my fierceness. That’s one thing I would always admire about Cora, she would never relent. And tough love was the way to get her to talk.

“Well, let’s see, do you want to start with the shit in Amon’s office or with your episode? Because we are going to talk about both. We’ve only got 20 minutes, and I’m not letting Tristan eat all the fucking bacon again.”

Cora sat on the couch and dropped her head in her hands. Huffing out a breath, she finally spoke up. “With Amon, I was just fucking frustrated. I’m so aggravated doing shit for him, and you don’t deserve to be treated the way he treats you.You’re his punching bag and it’s gone on for too fucking long. You know I don’t blame you for any of this, but it’s just so hard dealing with him.” She started pulling at her hair. “All that on top of not knowing what is going on with my powers is freaking me out, Owen.”

“Cora, babe, I know this is all a lot and I appreciate that you don’t blame me. I blame myself, but that’s on me.” I sat down next to her and gently placed my hand on her thigh. “Lucifer is losing his power, he’s draining, and Amon just told me tonight that he’s running out of time. He’s rushing us to find whoever the new queen will be.”

She doesn’t say anything, just peers at the floor nodding her head.

“We will get through this together.” I squeezed her thigh in reassurance.

She quietly muttered, “I can’t wait to be done with this. With him. He makes it hard to trust anyone or anything. Let alone other demons with all the shit he makes us do.”

“Trust me, I know. I’m ready to be done too.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into a side hug. “Now, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you have to tell me about your episode. We need to know what’s going on with your powers.”

She quickly stood from the couch and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length black hair. Gripping the strands at the roots, she pulled them in frustration. “I know I do, but that’s the thing. I can’t tell you much. I barely remember anything.”

“Just try, Cora. We have to figure out what’s triggering the visions, episodes, whatever we’re calling them. Or at least what they’re meant to be telling you.”

She sat back down on the couch, and I turned to her expectantly. My forearms on my knees, I leaned forward and just looked at her. I didn’t want to pry anymore. She needed to start telling me what’s going on in her own time. I could see she was still a bit shaken, fidgeting with her hands and picking at the skin on her lips—her tell-tale signs of anxiety.

My hands gripped hers as we locked eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. It's just you and me.”

She pulled her hands from mine and took a deep breath. “You know how lately, when I have one of my episodes? How they’ve been really intense and just, well…intense? I can’t think of a better word to describe it.”

“Yeah, they’ve been giving you horrible migraines and stuff, right?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Right. Well, last night was like that, but worse.”

We didn’t know why things had been bad lately with Cora’s episodes, but they were clearly getting worse. This couldn’t be a good sign.

“I was working out downstairs, pushing myself, when I could feel what I assumed was an episode coming. So I sat down. Luckily, Trist was down there playing his games.” She paused to take a deep breath. “I didn’t see or hear anything. It was all just feelings.”

She stopped once again, taking measured breaths. I could tell whatever happened did have her shaken up. My hands grabbed hers once more. This time, she didn’t pull away. My mouth stayed shut, knowing she needed to process this and let it out.

She started speaking again. “I felt an overwhelming sense of panic. It was a rush that just took over me. It was panic, anger, fear, all balled together, and it just sat in my chest. I couldn't explain to you how it started or why. Then there was so much pain. It came in waves from my feet to my head. All I could do was lie there and let it happen. Tristan and Ash tried to soothe me, but no matter what they did, nothing helped. Finally, it all started to subside, and I relaxed a bit. All I wanted was to shower because I was covered in sweat. I didn’t feel anything afterward, and I don’t feel anything now, but it was intense.”

I could see tears welling in her eyes, and Cora did not cry. That’s how I knew this was serious. I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her, and she melted into my chest for a moment before pushing away. Just like me, Cora wouldn't feed into her emotions. She wiped the tears away before they had time to fall too far down her face.

“Cor, we will figure this out. I wish I knew what that could have been, but I can’t even venture a guess. We will figure it out, okay? But first, let’s go eat some fucking delicious food.” I stand and yank her up off the couch into a big bear hug.

She shoved me off of her, and we both chuckled. I’m glad I could ease her tension a bit. She nodded her head, and the corners of her lips lifted in a half smile. “Let’s go eat, you big grump.”

I chuckled softly. “Yes, ma’am.”

We made it back into the kitchen just in time. Ashton was setting out the food on the island. Tristan was already reaching toward the plate of bacon. “Oh, no you don’t, fucker!” I snatched the plate out of his reach.

Finn opened the microwave and pulled out a second plate with just as much bacon on it and handed it to Tristan.

Taking it from Finn, Tristan exclaimed, “Hell yeah!”

I tossed a glare at Finn and asked, “Seriously?"

Finn replied, “Come on, man, you know we would all have been lucky to end up with one piece by the time he got a hold of that plate.” He points to the heaping pile of bacon I moved.

“Okay, fair enough.”

“Are we going to eat or fight over how much Tristan loves bacon?” Ashton asked. We were clearly all ready to dive in.

Finn threw the towel he was using while cooking onto the counter and sat down. We all finally dug into the delicious breakfast he’d cooked us.

Once we had finished and were all successfully in a French toast induced coma, I decided it was about time to fill everyone in on how it went at Purge. Maybe even tell them all about Eleanor too.

“Now that we are all full and happy, let’s talk Purge.” Right away, that got their attention. All eyes were on me, except for Finn, who stood and began cleaning up the kitchen. We all knew better than to touch any of the kitchen tools. Cora cleaned a pot with the wrong sponge one time, and I thought he was going to implode. “So the manager we are working with is Giordana. Before I say much else, I will go ahead and tell you guys that she is a demon. Since Ashton left that bit of information out for us.”

As Finn continued cleaning in the kitchen, Cora and Tristan snapped in my direction and said at the same time:

“What?!” Tristan tilted his head to the side.

“You’re joking…” Cora’s eyes widened.

“I told you she was cool. She gave off good vibes. I didn’t think it was a big deal, so I just didn’t think to mention it. Relax.” Ashton jumped to their feet, defending themself.

“We were just as shocked, too, trust me. Giordana does seem cool, and I will agree with Ash, I don’t think there is anything for us to be concerned about with her or the other two demons that work there. I think you’ll like her.”

“How did we not know about this place before now if there are demons working there? I mean, I guess it’s nice we know now,” Cora said.

“Yeah, I had the same thought. So weird. But she did say she just moved here like five years ago with a friend from New Orleans. So that could be why. Plus, we haven’t tried to put ourselves out there in the music scene here. It was probably a missed opportunity for a while.” I added the last bit with a shrug. “We will play there in a month, and who knows, maybe we can start playing more shows in other places too eventually.”

I stood to get a glass of water, but first I took an appreciative look at my band, my best friends, and my found family. I would kill and I would die for them. They’re all so thrilled, just like I was. Well, Cora may still take some convincing.

“We can start practicing today and squeeze in practice anytime we can. Ash, want to put a schedule together for us?”

“Hell yes, I do.” They were smiling so fucking wide, and I loved it. They ran off, likely to grab a laptop.

Finn turned around and pinged me with a very serious look. “Are you going to tell them about her?”

I sipped my water and saw that Tristan and Cora had fixed me with expectant looks. Tristan was the one to speak up, of course. “Oh, do please tell us about…her,” he says, using his fingers as quotation marks at the last word.

As soon as Ashton got back to the kitchen, we sat around the island like the weird dysfunctional family we were. I filled them all in on the dark-eyed beauty who had consumed all my thoughts and plagued my every delicious day dream. The woman who would be in my life sooner rather than later. The woman who had my soul. Eleanor.