Thorn let out a sound that was a mixture of disgust and rage. His clothes turned from the navy business suit to bright red armor as his hair seemed to become flames. "I didn't say kill him, dumbass. I said to send him back where he came from."
"That's what I did."
Thorn kicked at the demon's body on the ground and cursed. "No. You killed him."
Obviously, he was missing a major piece of this puzzle because in his universe killing a demon wasn't considered a bad thing. Most days, it was considered a public service. "In my world those two things are synonymous."
Thorn sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth. He held his hands as if he were trying to restrain himself from killing Fang. "You know, it's really not that hard to kill a demon, especially with the brand I gave you. Any half-witted preternatural creature can kill their ass. What I needed you to do was to return him to his realm. That's a little more sophisticated and a hell of a lot harder."
"Then why did you give me a sword?"
"Did you look at it before you used it?"
"Yes."
Thorn gave him a doubting glare. "And I repeat. Did. You. Look. At. It?" He snatched the hilt from Fang's hand and held the sword up for him to see the words inscribed there.
Strike hard. Strike fast. Strike thrice. Avast.
Who knew Thorn was a pirate? Fang squelched that thought. Avast was simply an archaic word that, no offense to the sword-smith, he hadn't used even when it'd been popular vernacular.
But he couldn't cut all sarcasm from his demeanor. "And in your world, Captain Scary, that would mean?"
"You hit him three times and then you stop. It's in English. Hell, it's in your English. You were born then."
Fang gestured toward the demon's now decaying body. "That was my third hit."
Thorn covered his left eye with his right hand as if he had a vicious migraine brewing. "I have a tumor. I know I have a tumor. I just wish I were mortal so that it could kill me."
Frustrated, Fang rolled his eyes at Thorn's anguish. "I still don't understand what's so wrong with what I . . ." His words died under a wave of excruciating pain.
"Wait for it, wolf." Thorn gestured sarcastically at him. "You're about to have enlightenment. It's about to suck to be you, mein freund."
Fang cried out as the most blinding shaft of agony imaginable ripped through his entire body. It felt as if he were being torn in two. He couldn't breathe or move. "What's happening to me?"
"You're absorbing the demon's powers."
"Huh?"
Thorn nodded. "Yeah. And not just the powers. Your soul is merging with the dead demon's essence. All that he was is now intruding onto what you are. Demons are immortal without souls. When they die as it were, their life force jumps to the one who destroyed their body and it will try to take you over from now on."
"So what are you saying? I need an exorcism?"
"No. There's no body for him to return to. You're stuck with him. Mazel tov!" Thorn said in an exaggerated voice of happiness. He sobered as his body returned to normal, except for his eyes. They were red with slitted yellow pupils that reminded Fang of a snake's. "And it's why we try real hard not to kill one. Not a pretty reality."
Fang felt his vision changing. It became sharper. Clearer. The scent of blood permeated his head and he could hear it running not just in his veins, but Thorn's.
"What's happening to me?"
Thorn grabbed him by the shoulder and smiled cruelly. "That is the taste of evil flowing thick through your veins. Seductive and inviting, it will entice you from now on. And now you know why I'm a less than happy camper most days. There's the battle I fight every second of every minute of my life. As I said, it now sucks to be you."
Before Fang could stop himself, he vomited on the sidewalk. Gah, the indignity of that. Not to mention the pain of it as his insides felt alive-like they were writhing.
Thorn didn't flinch in the least as he stepped back to give him space. "Don't worry. Your guts aren't coming out even though it feels like it. Your stomach will settle down eventually. However, that need you have for blood and death that is mounting inside you will never go away."
Grimacing, Fang wrapped his arms around his stomach and leaned back against the wall to catch his breath. He tilted his head to look at Thorn. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Honestly, I didn't think in your current frail condition that you could kill him. I figured three whacks with the sword and you'd either be dead or he'd be banished . . . let me go back to the part where this particular demon had taken out some of my best in the past. I should have evaluated your abilities a little more accurately. My bad."