Spellbound: Halloween Story 2

Posted this one a couple hours early (I usually post at midnight) Cuz I wont have time in the morning. Enjoy :)

P.S. to the person (I believe it was anonymous but I'm not sure) who mentioned that they're annoyed I'm posting new stories instead of my ongoing ones now, suck it up ;) it's Halloween. These aren't multi-chapter stories, so it's just a quick read and then you get back to AH and NT. If I wasn't posting these, you wouldn't have anything at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zelion glared at the pages in the book in front of him, the words blurring together. He had been studying for three hours straight and he needed a large cup of coffee to keep him focused. He sighed and sat up straight.

“Still at it, huh?” Hex walked up to him, sitting at the oak table that stretched across the entire library.

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “But I could use a break. Want to hop over?” he asked, and shut the book.

“Sure,” she smiled. He and Hex had been best friends since they were children. Despite their differences. While Zelion was a struggling Warlock, Hex was a skilled Wizard. Most of the time, the two different classes never mixed. But that never stopped them. They had been friends for almost eighteen years now, despite the red and black robes Zelion wore, and the blue and gold ones Hex wore. “So, what were you reading up on?” she asked, as they headed to the portal between their two dimensions.

“Conjuration. That’s my first test,” he grumbled. Halloween was only a month away, and like every Halloween, the graduating class would perform in front of the council three tests to pass their exams. If they didn’t pass all three, they would be wiped of their memory and their powers forever. The only difference was that this year, Zelion and Hex were the graduating class.

“That should be easy, I mean, I wouldn’t really know,” she laughed. “But I’ve heard other Warlocks say conjuration is the easiest of the tests.” She smiled.

“That’s not helping, Hex. I couldn’t conjure a bunny to save my life, much less a Demon or a few extra limbs,” he grumbled, watching as a Warlock he passed by sprouted four wings, two leathery and bat like, and the ones below it feathered.

“That’s not true, you summoned Chaos,” she pointed to the horse that stood nearby, his eyes, feet, and tail engulfed in green flames.

“I sneezed while trying to pop popcorn with destruction magic,” he glared at her.

“Oh yeah... look, don’t worry about it, Zel. You’ll be fine,” she smiled.

“Right,” he said, bleakly. “What about you, what’s your first test?” he asked. She beamed.

“Polymorphing,” she replied, a happy jump in her voice.

“Oh, your favorite,” he rolled his eyes. “You’re not practicing on me again. Last time you turned me into a goat I kept eating paper.”

“Spoilsport,” she pouted. “I was going to try a crow, actually. They’re always impressed by birds, since you have to hollow out the bones,” she smiled.

“See, you’re going over and above. I’ll be lucky if I can conjure up a noose that I can hang myself with after I fail,” he pouted. He hated tests, he hated failing. But he loved magic. It had always hurt, that he was born a Warlock, his birthday midnight on Halloween like every other warlock, wizard and witch, but was never any good at magic. He read the books, and understood the techniques, he just couldn’t do it.

They stepped through the portal and Zelion felt the familiar tingling as they crossed over into the human realm. They were allowed to cross back and forth between worlds as they pleased, coffee was usually the reason for leaving their own magical realm. But, Halloween was another.

Of course, Halloween was the shared birthday of all creatures of magical decent. Everyone who was born anywhere from midnight to three a.m. on Halloween day was born with their own set of magical abilities. As they aged, these abilities developed into one of the three classes they were sorted into. Wizard, Warlock, or Witch.

Wizards were pure magic, like Hex. They practiced in the arcane arts, making impossible things happen at a flick of their wrist or a twist of their tongue. Witches focused on brews, potions, and some minor incantations. Most of their abilities came from physical things. Something you could drink, eat, or even something like a wand or staff to amplify their poor magical powers. What little power they could build up, was hardly ever good for anything other than dark magic. Witches were few and far between, but there were a handful of them in the school. Warlocks, like Zelion, were somewhere in between the two. They were much better at pure magic, and spells, like Wizards. But most of their focus was on dark magic like witches. Not very handy with a cauldron, broom, or wand, they prefered spell books.

Hex sighed as they sat down. “Nothing to wake you up from those musty old books like a latte.” She smiled and sniffed her steaming cup of coffee.

“Yeah, it is nice...” Zelion let the dull chatter of the cafe float to his ears. “Well, anyways back to work. See ya,” he stood and headed back to the portal that was hidden by a chained off alleyway.

“Wait-wait-wait, what?” Hex stood up. “We just got here!”

“Hex, I have to practice. I’m going to go practice,” he mumbled, grabbing his text books from the freakishly small tables they expect you to sit at, and took off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, here we go,” he murmured, glancing around the summoning room. This specific room in the school was meant for summoning and conjuration. Several large squares were marked on the floor, each it’s own ‘space’ for a summoner. There were several other rooms for the same thing, so Zelion found one that was empty and took it. Halfway through his set up, someone else had wandered in and began setting up their own summoning ritual in the far corner. He supposed that was okay. He held up the piece of paper up again. In old fashioned black ink was a symbol, just underneath it was the name of the Demon he would be conjuring. ‘Debell’

“From War,” he whispered the meaning of the name. He set the paper down on the floor near his knees as he knelt by the flat open space in front of him. He reached into the pouch at his side, a mixture of bone dust, charcoal, powdered sugar, and crush chlorine tablets. He carefully drew out the symbol with the dust mixture. He brushed off his hands on his cloak as he looked at the name one more time. He nibbled his lip nervously. He placed nine black candles around the symbol, lighting them, careful not to get any spark on the flammable powder nearby. He opened his book, and began to chant the spell in latin, before finally switching to english for the last part.

“I call to thee, Debell. Rise from your place in Hell and make yourself seen here in my realm, under my command,” he spoke the words sternly. As he finished his spell, he lit a match on the symbol he had created, setting it ablaze. He licked his lips as it caught fire and burned, creating smoke in it’s wake. The ground vibrated as the summoned Demon growled. Smoke swirled from white, to black, gray, and red. The red and orange glow of a portal in the floor sparked with lightning as a large clawed hand reached into his realm. It gripped the stone floor of the summoning room and pulled itself up.

“I did it...” Zelion felt his heart rate increase. “I did it!” The student on the other side of the room rolled his eyes before picking up his stuff and leaving. The demon roared and growled as it lifted its large body out of the portal. A second pair of hands appeared, behind the Demons shoulders. The large pair of horns curved around his head, his yellow eyes glowing as he looked at Zelion, who quickly stopped dancing with excitement and tried to seem dignified and powerful, he hoped it worked. He had to make the demon respect him.

“Who dares summon me?” the Demon’s booming voice echoed in the concrete room. His hooved feet appeared next, pushing him upright until he stood at nearly eight feet tall. His black teeth showed when he spoke, a stunning contrast to the red lava cracked lines in his black stone skin.

“I do, Warlock Student Zelion Sathrago.” Zelion stood up straight and tall, only reaching the Demons chest.

“Do not bother me, Human.” The Demon laughed, before it turned around and stuck one hoofed foot back into the portal.

“Do not ignore me, Demon!” Zelion realized he was losing his chance. He summoned up the shadows around him, forming them into a whip in his hand. He cracked it on the Demon’s back. It turned and screeched at him, shaking the concrete walls. Zelion cracked the whip, down by his side.

“I said do not ignore me.” Debell growled low in his throat as Zelion gulped back the lump in his. He was anything but an expert summoner, but that’s what he had to make Debell think. The Demon turned it’s head down and put its back to Zelion. A strange sound began to fill the room and Zelion frowned. “Are... are you crying?” he questioned, as the Demon wiped a clawed hand across his face.

“No,” it’s low voice grumbled.

“This is amazing. I have to be the first warlock in history to summon a demon from hell, that cries!” Zelion sighed and turned around to face away from the Demon.

“Well you didn’t have to hit me!” the deep voice sobbed harder. Zelion sighed.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry alright. But I thought you were going to leave,” Zelion said.

“I was! I knew you would make fun of me!” Suddenly Debell changed forms. Instead of the big hulking four-armed monster, now stood a slim back with the same red cracks as his demon form. Sobs still poured from the demon, though now they were higher pitched and more human like. Zelion sighed.

“Look, I’m really sorry... okay?” Zelion rubbed the demons back tentatively. This was a poor excuse for a demon, but he still summoned it, it counts.

“No you’re not,” the Demon sobbed.

“No really, I am. My name’s Zelion. You’re Debell right?” Zelion asked, trying to be nice to the Demon, who only nodded his head silently. “Come on, sit up,” Zelion urged. Debell did as he was told, and Zelion was met with the tear filled yellow eyes of a demon. “There, see, I’m not so bad. You’re the big scary demon, right?” he asked, as if talking to a child.

“No,” he whined. “I have the looks but I can’t fake it.” He sniffed, and wiped at his nose again.

“You were great, you had me fooled!” Zelion sat down on the floor with the smaller man... demon... thing.

“Really?” he sniffed sadly.

“Yeah, really,” Zelion smiled. He couldn’t believe he had to do this for a demon. “Come on, I’ll put you back,” he said.

“Really? Thank you.” The pale skinned boy blushed, the red cracks in his skin glowing.

“No problem. I’ll just,” Zelion stood. “Open the portal, and you jump on through. Easy as Unus, Duos, Trois,” Zelion said, knowing it was a lie. He was lucky to open the portal once, but two times in one day? He didn’t think so.

“You know Latin,” he smiled.

“Kind of a requirement for spells.” Zelion held up the book and flipped it open to the page with the summoning spell. He repeated the process, drawing the symbol, lighting the candles, and the powder. Even after trying three times, the portal wouldn’t open. He sighed and fell on the ground. “Okay, I admit it, you’re not the only one sitting outside the stereotype,” he said. “A warlock who can’t use his powers.” He tossed the book onto the ground and fell onto his back.

“So... what do I do?” Debell mumbled.

“I guess we’re roomies.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Thank god you’re here.” Zelion opened his door a crack, before opening it all the way to let Hex in.

“Yeah yeah, why did you call me at four a.m.?” she asked.

“Because three a.m. is the witching hour, and it takes me an hour to get home.” Zelion locked the door and headed for his bedroom.

“What? Did you practice your summons tonight? How did it go?” she asked.

“See for yourself.” He opened the door, and Hex was greeted by the sight of a pale naked man, with red lava-like cracks all over his body. His eyes were surrounded by completely red skin, and they glowed a bright yellow.

“Hi,” he wiggled his fingers in a poor excuse for a wave.

“Hi... Um, Zel, can I talk to you?” She pulled him aside. “What the fuck is that?” she asked.

“His name’s Debell. He’s the demon I summoned,” he mumbled.

“Maybe you missed how Demon Summoning works. You summon the demon, they do your bidding, you send them back to Hell. Not: You summon the demon, and he moves into your fucking house!” Hex hissed.

“I tried, I couldn’t open the portal again. I had to bring him home!” Zelion whined.

“How did you get him through town without anyone seeing him?” she asked.

“A pair of sunglasses and a jacket...” he mumbled and shrugged.

“You’re insane, if a human had seen him...”

“Then I would have been in deep shit, but they didn’t. So I’m not,” he shrugged.

“What are you going to do with him?” she asked.

“I don’t know!” Zelion shrugged again.

“Jesus, Zel,” Hex sighed. “What kind of demon is he?” she asked. Though she was a Wizard and in no way would ever be caught dead doing demonic magic, she had taken a demonology course for fun.

“Well... he’s a war demon but...” he bit his lip.

“But what?” she pushed. Zelion simply pointed through the doorway, where Debell was playing with a moth on his finger. “Is he playing with a bug?”

“He cries too. I hit him with a shade-whip when he tried to leave and he burst into tears. It took me like twenty minutes to get him to stop. He was sniffling the whole way home,” Zelion crossed his arms and nibbled his lip.

“You got a gay demon, only you!” she laughed. “Even when you do manage to cough up a decent spell it ends up wrong!” She burst into laughter.

“That’s not funny! How am I supposed to get him back? My test is in a couple of days!” he sighed.

“Did you think of asking him? I’m sure he’s been summoned more than once, and might know a thing or two that could help you pass,” She shrugged. Zelion bit his lip harder.

“Debell...” he mumbled, the demon looked up and the moth flew away, leaving him with a big pout on his face. “Do you know anything about summoning or conjuration?” he asked.

“A little...” he said, his voice delicate and high pitched.

“Do you think you could give me some lessons?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hex sighed and bit into her third hot dog. “Guys, we’ve been here for four hours. I’m exhausted.”

“You’re exhausted? All you’ve done is sit there and eat hot dogs!” Zelion said, sweating from the taxing job of trying a spell over and over. Debell was nearby, helping him make another dust symbol.

“Hey, this is taxing stuff,” she mumbled, as a glob of mustard dripped down her chin.

“Classy,” Zelion rolled his eyes. “Lets try again, Debell.”

“You can call me D... if you want to,” Debell blushed and gave a small smile. Zelion groaned.

“‘From war’ my ass,” he murmured. “A hug war maybe,” he added, making Debell bite his lip as his eyes filled with tears. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Zelion soothed.

“I know,” Debell wiped at his tears. “Really I should be used to it by now... demons aren’t exactly accepting when it comes to differences. They think we should all be mean and brutal.” He nibbled his lip, a nervous habit he seemed to have.

“Well, you definitely don’t fit that description,” Zelion chuckled.

“Well I think it’s refreshing,” Hex smiled. “All the demons you warlocks try to summon always try to act all big and bad when they’re just whipped by their silly little summoners in their red robes,” Hex giggled. Zelion and Debell just stared at her. “Sorry,” she mumbled, through a mouthful of hot dog.

“Anywho!” Zelion turned back to his book. He began chanting, and lit the powder at the right time, and prayed for the best. But it simply blew up in his face, and left him coughing and waving his hand to clear the smoke. “Fuck this,” he threw the book down.

“This doesn’t seem to be going very well,” Hex sighed.

“I noticed,” Zelion growled. “I’m going to fail.” He sat on his ass, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his head on them.

“No you won't. Come on, Zel. You can do this. You may not be the most skilled Warlock out there, but you’re a good guy and when you put your mind to something you can do it.” Hex smiled and hugged him.

“Thanks, Hex,” Zel mumbled. “But I doubt being a good guy will help me pass my exams.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“He’s so pale...” Debell nibbled his lip nervously.

“I know... he’s practically sweating through his gloves,” Hex whispered back, staring at the black leather gloves Zel wore. His red and black cloak was sweat stained and his face was as pale as the moon.

“He threw up twice this morning. Why is he so nervous? It’s just a test right?” Debell asked, he wore a dark cloak, one that Zel had let him borrow while he was out watching the rest of the Warlocks test in front of the council and any other magical person who wanted to attend. The cloak smelled like him, Debell couldn’t help but inhale the scent stuck on the collar every couple of minutes. Who knew that a person could smell so good?

“He didn’t tell you? This is a big deal. If he doesn’t pass...” Hex swallowed hard.

“What?” Debell asked, sensing something bad coming.

“If he doesn’t pass... his powers are taken,” Hex said. “He can’t ever do magic again, they turn him into a human,” she said sadly. “It’s the worst thing that could happen to someone with magic powers.” She whispered the part, gripping her blue leather gloves tightly.

“Forever?” Debells jaw dropped.

“Forever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.’ The words repeated themselves in his head over and over as he approached the summoning spot in the middle of the large open space. The multi colored swirls of light and stars that made up the sky of their magic world churned above him. He always loved the sky in this realm, his favorite thing was to watch the black sparkling clouds float by. He shook his daydreams away from his head as he stepped up to the square. He swallowed and looked up at the six council members before him. Two of each class.

“Hello...” his voice cracked and he mentally scolded himself. “My name’s Zelion...” he coughed. “Zelion Sathrago. Uh... I’m a warlock... which I’m sure you could tell by the robes... fuck,” he muttered the last part about his robes.

“What will you be summoning today, Zelion?” the head of the council asked, a Wizard who looked as if he was around to watch the egyptians build the pyramids.

“A demon... Fourth Level of Hell,” he mumbled. Which was true, that was where Debell was from.

“Proceed,” he waved his hand. Zel reached for his bag of summoning powder and frowned. The place it normally was was empty. He swallowed. How the hell could he forget his summoning powder!?!?

“Oh!” A high voice from the crowd perked up and he heard the familiar sound of Hex’s heels. She giggled nervously, “sorry about this... here hun.” She handed him the heavy sack of powder. He didn’t remember it being this heavy. “Good luck,” she whispered, and winked. What was she winking for? They both knew he was going to fail.

“Thanks...” he mumbled. He quickly reached into the pouch and smiled at the council awkwardly. He pulled his fist out, clutching much of the powder and began to draw the symbol for the demon he would summon now. ‘Because that’s all I need, another demon.’ He looked up at Debell, covered in his extra robe. He began to sprinkled the dust into the shape, and frowned. ‘Why is this blue? It should be gray...’ he whispered to himself. It wasn’t bright blue, but there was a small shimmer in the fine gray powder. “...Hex...” he mumbled.

“Excuse me?” the council member upfront said.

“Nothing, sorry.” He finished the symbol quickly and began to chant quietly to himself, before lighting the powder. It burst into flame, and the blue flakes turned red, spouting off gray and red smoke. The wind blew it around the arena quickly, covering the ground. Suddenly, in the middle of the column of smoke, a red portal opened up. As Zelion looked at it, stunned, a large black hoof stepped into the center of it. He looked up at the hulking mass that was Debell. He smiled, revealing thick black tusks that resembled a boar’s. He grunted, a thicker black smoke pouring from his nostrils.

“Thought I would come to help out,” he smiled and kicked the portal below his feet lazily, looking at the ground. The red ‘portal’ was obviously fake, otherwise he would have fallen back into the fourth circle of hell.

“The portal?” he asked.

“Hex said something about a spell she uses to cook hot dogs? I don’t know...” he shrugged innocently. A booming voice carried over the crowd and the smoke began to clear.

“They’re clearing the smoke...” Zelion explained. Without another word, Debell opened his mouth and roared, stomping his hooves and tossing his head. Zelion blinked and conjured a chain and collar made of shadow, solidifying the darkness into a magical metal. “A Demon!” He smiled at the council, whose eyebrows were raised and a few sat with a smile on their faces. Debell continued to roar and stomp and make a fuss. Zelion smiled, he was surprisingly good at acting. A few members of the council muttered something to each other before the one in front smiled.

“Pass. Return next week for exam two... Destruction.” The man stamped a paper, and then passed it around so every council member could stamp it before it was given to Zelion.

“I passed... I passed!” He cheered and clapped, ignoring the comical looks from the council, and the adoring look from the demon he held on a chain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you!” The words spewed out of Zelion’s mouth as he hugged and kissed Hex, and then Debell (now in his ‘human’ form). His eyes fell into Debell’s yellow ones, they smiled at each other for a moment, their cheeks going pink.

“Congrats, hooker.” Hex nudged his shoulder, snapping them out of his trance. He hugged her again.

“You guys are lifesavers. Did I say thank you?” he asked.

“Yes!” they both laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thanks again for helping me, D,” he smiled, as he fell onto his bed.

“No problem.” Debell waved his hand, as he sat down after Zelion patted the spot next to him.

“I know you did it mostly for you but-”

“For me? I-I didn’t do it for... for me... uh...” Debell blushed, running his fingers on the bed.

“You didn’t?” Zelion sat up.

“N-no... I mean... how could I do it for me?” he asked. “There’s nothing in it for me.” He shrugged and laughed uncomfortably.

“Well... I mean, I got the feeling you didn’t really want to go back to hell...” he said.

“Well... no... but what does that have to do with anything?” Debell asked.

“Hex didn’t tell you? If I fail, they erase my memory and my powers,” he said.

“I don’t understand...”

“They take my powers and my memory, and you’re... uh... ’disposed’ of...” he swallowed.

“...D-d-disposed?” Debell choked on the word.

“Uh, yeah... how do I put this gently...” Zel bit his lip.

“They kill me!?” Debell stood up.

“It’s not like that... well... actually it is...” Zelion frowned. “Wow that’s kind of messed up...” he mumbled.

“Ya think?” Debell shouted.

“It’s just that once you fail, they take your powers on the spot. Any of your current spells are...”

“Disposed of?” Debell snapped.

“Well... yeah...” Zelion bit his lip again.

“Can’t someone else just put me back?” he pouted, his bottom lip poking out like a sad kid. It almost made Zelion laugh.

“Well... no. Not exactly. See, we’re bound together. Summoner and Summoney.” Zelion pulled off his glove, revealing red lava-like marks in his hand, following the natural creases in his palms and knuckles. They matched Debells.

“Bound?” Debell stared at his hand.

“Yeah... I’m the only one who can put you back. No one else can. Not even members of the council, and unfortunately for you, I’m probably the worst Warlock on the planet. So there’s that...” he mumbled.

“You’re not the worst Warlock on the planet.” Debell smiled. “I don’t even want to go back to Hell... it’s not exactly easy for someone like me you know,” he mumbled, kicking at the floor.

“Can I ask you something?” Zel asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Debell smiled. His eyes held so much sweetness.

“What did you do to get sent to hell?” he asked.

“Oh no, I was never human,” he shook his head. “I’m one of the Devil’s children. A guard on the fourth circle,” he shrugged.

“Oh...” Zelion nibbled his lip. “What’s it like?”

“It sucks,” he frowned. “I used to be on circle 9-D, that’s where the Devil is, but I kept getting demoted.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Why?” Zelion asked, falling back onto the bed to rest on the pillows.

“Really?” Debell fell back onto the cushiony pillows too, looking at Zel with a raised eyebrow.

“Right...” Zelion laughed. Debell giggled. “Anyways, thank you again for helping me. You put on your grr face really well,” he smiled.

“It’s no problem... and thanks.” Debell yawned and blinked his eyes lazily.

“Now, I just have to pass my other tests,” he frowned, and let his eyes shut.

“Well... I could help you with those, too. They said destruction is next?” he asked.

“Yeah. They have one of the witches on the magic council construct a magical item, usual a book or something, and you have to destroy it,” he mumbled.

“That doesn’t sound so hard. A book?” Debell rolled onto his side so he could look at Zelion better.

“Correction, magical book. Those things are hardy as fuck. If they weren’t, how many times do you think I would have burned up my spell books when trying something?” he laughed sadly.

“We can do it. Hex and I will help you.” Zelion smiled at Debell, as the demon’s eyes began to glaze over with sleep.

“Thank you..” he whispered.

“I told you... it’s no problem.” Before the sentence even left his mouth he was asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Well I’ll be damned. Literally, if I find boys like that in hell...” Hex’s voice woke Zelion from his deep sleep.

“Hm?” He opened his eyes and only saw a blurred patch of red. He blinked a few times and realized he was staring at Debell’s sleeping face. The red skin around his yellow eyes was only slightly darker than the red lava-like cracks in his skin. His breath was washing over Zel in soft waves. He wondered if demons ever got bad breath, Debell’s smelled sweet, almost like honey. He thought that was unusual too.

“You two are cute,” Hex whispered.

“What? We just fell asleep it’s nothing,” Zel said, not looking away from Debells face. His delicate features were so attractive he didn’t want to look away.

“Nothing? I could accept that... except for the fact that you’re holding him like he’s a life jacket and you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean,” she smiled slyly. Zel finally realized that she was right. He was clutching D close to his chest, their noses almost touching. His right hand had snaked it’s way up Debells side, cradling his soft silky black hair. His left hand was pinned under Debells body, resting just above his ass. D’s own left hand was resting on his chest and his right was holding onto the back of Zel’s neck. He sighed and buried his face in the pillow, trying to get comfortable, before grunting angrily and wiggling closer to Zelion, resting his head in the hollow of Zel’s neck. “He is beautiful. I’ll give you that.” Hex smiled.

“It’s more than just his looks... he’s so sweet and...” Zelion sighed, “and he’s an outcast like me,” he whispered.

“You’re not an outcast. You have me,” Hex looked a little hurt.

“Come on, Hex. We both know you’re probably the best Wizard in the school,” Zelion said, looking a little hurt at the truth.

“Not true, there’s... uh...” Hex bit her lip, frantically trying to think of someone. “It doesn’t matter that you’re not some wicked Warlock. You’re a good guy and that’s why we’re friends,” Hex said. “Go back to sleep, hon. I’ll see you guys later.” She smiled, and left. Zelion thought about waking up Debell, but then the small demon yawned and turned his head, pushing a soft and sleepy kiss into his jaw, not even really awake. His heart fluttered, before he shut his eyes and went back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Here, look what I got for you.” Hex set the book down on the pedestal.

“Your polymorphing book? But this is your favorite,” he frowned.

“Well, magic books are expensive, and I passed my test yesterday so. You know, I don’t really need it anymore. I’ll donate it to the cause.” She smiled and winked.

“Congratulations on passing your test, Hex,” Debell chirped up from the back of the room.

“Thanks, D honey,” she smiled and winked at the cute demon.

“Grats, Hex. Sorry I couldn’t make it... I feel bad...” Zelion frowned.

“It’s fine. You need all the practice you can get and I knew I would pass,” she smiled.

“Still... I should have been there.” He smiled sadly at her.

“Oh stop your whining, and get to work.” She patted the book and stood behind the red line that marked the ‘safe’ zone in the Destruction Room. “What spell were you thinking?”

“Rain of fire. It’s easy enough,” he shrugged.

“Okay... go for it sweetums.” She smiled and crossed her arms.

“Okay. I got this,” he whispered to himself, as Hex and Debell rolled their eyes. He focused on the purple book on the pedestal in front of him. His hands itched and glowed red, even the lava marks on his hands glowed brighter. They sparked into flames, but the orange fire didn’t burn him. A dark cloud appeared above the pedestal and the sound of lightning and thunder rolled through the room, though the lightening was red instead of blue. He focused hard, sweat dripping down his face as the clouds opened up, and poured down rain.

“What the fuck?!” he swore, looking at his fiery hands, and black and red smoke. “It’s fire... Warlocks aren’t even good with water!” he shouted, waving his hands at the clouds. “How is it I suck so bad I’m completely out of my school of magic!?” he shouted.

“This is pretty sad...” she whispered to Debell.

“I feel kinda bad for him...” Debell bit his lip.

“Yeah... I once had a puppy who couldn’t go to the bathroom outside. He kept peeing inside the house and I wanted to get mad at him... but he just looked so sorry for himself,” she said sadly.

“What did you do?” he asked.

“Sold the puppy.” She wrinkled her nose as Debell swallowed.

“Fire!” Zelion shouted at the clouds. They continued to chat while he shouted and jumped around the room trying to get it to rain fire, not water.

“So, how have things been at his place?” she asked.

“Pretty much the same. I know it seems like he doesn’t practice, but I swear he does! He tries to use his magic every chance he gets. He tried to get the shadows to sweep the kitchen yesterday,” Debell mumbled.

“Light you stupid piece of shit,” he screamed at the cover of the book, as rain poured down on top of him.

“Well... the floor was clean...” Debell smiled.

“He did it?” she asked,  surprised.

“Well, no not exactly. I mean... he did sweep the floor. But he broke the microwave and a window in the process... the table too,” he whispered as Zelion continued to shout and kick at the pedestal and swear at the clouds.

“I love Zel but... he’s just not very magically-inclined. I heard his birthday was at 3:01, on the night of Halloween... so technically he wasn’t born at the right time. He was a minute late. Maybe it was close enough that he did get some magical powers, but not really?” she frowned. “I met him our freshmen year. No one wanted to hang out with him since he was so...”

“Fuck you, you stupid clouds!” he swore.

“Sad?” Debell wrinkled his nose.

“Yeah...” Hex whispered. “We were friends out of pity at first, but it was so much more than that. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.” Hex smiled at him, as his hands glowed red and he tried the spell again, only succeeding in making it snow.

“How is this even possible?” D asked.

“I honestly have no clue,” she sighed. “Zel... honey... maybe you should try a different-”

“RAIN FIRE YOU PIECE OF-” Before Zel could even finish the swear, a single bolt of fire rained down and landed, right on his coat. The flames spread quickly, lighting the bottom half of his cloak on fire, and began to climb up his legs.

“Oh shit!” Hex swore, and darted forward.

“Zel!” Debell followed her quickly. As Zelion screamed and flailed, trying madly to pull off the burning coat, he missed the three steps that led up to the destruction room’s platform and fell. Hex quickly caught him, and put the fire out with her own cloak.

“Jesus, are you okay?” she asked.

“My ankle... fuck,” he swore and let his head fall back on the hard ground.

“Let me see,” Debell said, and carefully rolled up Zelion’s black pants. The ankle was already red, and looked as if it was beginning to swell. “Does this hurt?” he asked as he poked, prodded, bent, and pushed the ankle around. After Zelion finally told him he was going to murder him if he touched his ankle one more time, Debell decided on a diagnosis.  “I think it’s sprained,” he announced. “We should get you back home.”

“I’ll go get the-” Hex stopped when Debell bent, and shifted into what Zel called his ‘grr face’. He lifted the Warlock effortlessly, and headed for the door, hooves clopping on the stone floor. “Oh, that works too.” She laughed, as Zelion stared into the bright yellow eyes of his Demon friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It huuuuuurts,” Zelion whined again.

“I know, I know. Maybe if you hadn’t set yourself on fire...” Debell chuckled.

“Shut up,” Zelion snapped. Debell smiled and laughed to himself.

“As you wish, Master.” Debell bowed his head and rolled his eyes.

“If only it was bad enough to keep me from my test next week,” he sighed.

“You’ll be fine. Hex and I won't let you fail,” Debell smiled. “I’m not the best caster out there, but I’m sure I can manage a few fire spells. Being a magma-demon and all,” he shrugged.

“I didn’t know there were different types of demons,” Zelion said. Debell smiled up at him.

“You would if you passed with anything higher than a C- in your ‘Demonology and Other Magical Beings’ class.

“They call that class ‘Domb’ for a reason.” Zelion crossed his arms, purposely making the word sound like ‘dumb’.

“Don’t be a little bitch,” Hex slapped the ice pack onto his ankle, making him wince.

“Hey!” he whined.

“Hex,” Debell smiled, but scolded her nonetheless.

“He just needs to grow a pair. I’m sure you can help him with that, D.” She winked and walked back into the kitchen. “Or at least help SOMETHING grow,” she mumbled. Debell blushed and bowed his head. When he finally glanced up at Zelion, he was blushing too.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about...” Zelion laughed nervously.

“Yeah she thinks we’re....?” He gestured between the two, rolling his yellow eyes.

“Ha, yeah like that could ever...” Zelion still laughed nervously.

“Right? Like we could be a thing...” Debell smiled and bit his lip.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t like you!” he laughed harder.

“Yeah you- wait what?” Debell said quickly.

“What?” Zelion blinked innocently.

“You don’t like...”

“Well I mean... not like that...”

“Of course, not like that...” Debell mumbled.

“That would be just...” Zelion grumbled even lower than Debell.

“just weird I mean...”

“Demon...”

“Human...”

“Weird, right?”

“RIght.” They finished talking at the same time, talking over each other awkwardly through the entire conversation. The silence was deafening, the only noise in the room was the clicking of the clock in the small living room.

“I like you.”

“I like you, too,” Debell spouted, hardly giving Zelion time to finish his sentence.

“This is awkward now, isn’t it?” Zel nibbled his lip.

“Oh yeah.” D chuckled awkwardly, biting his lip too.

“You two are going to need plastic surgery if you keep chewing on your lips, Jesus. You’re like that dog I used to have that chewed on everything, had to take him to the vet cuz he kept chewing on his own leg,” she mumbled, as she walked back into the room.

“What is up with her and dogs?” Debell turned to Zelion.

“Don’t let her practice polymorphing on you,” he whispered, before smiling politely at Hex, who handed him a steaming coffee cup.

“Noted,” he whispered.

“Oh come on, I’m better now! My first couple of years weren’t so great. I could change people into something, but not back... hmmm, weird,” she mumbled before sipping her tea.

“She once changed somebody back but she forgot their nose,” he whispered.

“I can hear you,” Hex said. Debell and Zelion giggled, before making eye contact with each other and smiling. “Jesus, I’m going to go. You two need some space to get it on. I would love to watch, boys, but... yeah there really is no ‘but’. Can I stay and watch?” she said, cheerily.

“No,” they both said at once, before blinking and looking at each other. They both turned four shades of red at the same time.

“Ah, so cute!” she chimed, before shutting the door behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This is nice,” Zelion mumbled.

“Yeah it is... is your ankle okay?” Debell looked up at Zelion, his head resting on his chest.

“Yeah, I think the pain meds are kicking in,” he smiled, eyes a little glossy.

“You should get some sleep, I’ll go sleep on the couch...” Debell sat up.

“Don’t you dare...” Zelion pulled him back down, and back close to his chest. “I’m comfy,” he whispered.

“Me too,” Debell smiled softly.

“Hey, D?” Zelion bit his lip, Debell could hear the soft sucking sound next to his ear as Zel chewed on it, it made him shiver.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Have you ever... you know... had sex?” Zelion asked. Debell swallowed.

“No,” he admitted.

“Me either.” Zelion sighed, almost relieved.

“Really?” Debell sat up.

“Yeah. No one really wants to sleep with the class reject,” he chuckled sadly, Debell could see that it obviously hurt him. “Hex always threatened to turn them into a cow if they talked about me, so it was pretty quiet, but I know they did,” he added. “Kind of pathetic right?” he whispered even quieter, his eyes brimming with tears.

“At least you want to. I’ve always... been kind of nervous. I mean, Hell is just like what you would think. Demons date each other even, and have one night stands.... and even... uh... bigger stuff...” His eyes went wide as he pictured the naughty things that went on in the underworld. “But I... I don’t know, I always wanted to find love, and didn’t think I would. Relationships in Hell aren’t exactly about commitment and trust and all that Jazz. More like whips and chains,” he chuckled nervously. “I was never into all of that,” he said. “It didn’t help my social status,” he whispered.

“Why does Hell sound like one giant version of high school?” Zelion laughed.

“Well, everyone says high school was Hell, right? I guess there’s more truth behind that than it seems.” He smiled and laughed softly.

“I like the way you laugh,” Zelion said, suddenly serious.

“Oh... I didn’t realize it was anything special.” He laughed again, but covered his mouth as he blushed.

“It is special, you’re special. Everything about you is...” Zelion realized he was rambling and blushing.

“Special?” Debell asked.

“Yes,” Zelion replied. Though there was no one else in the house, and they weren’t really trying to sleep, they were whispering. Just loud enough for the other to hear.

“I heard...” Debell hesitated.

“What?” Zelion asked.

“I heard Hex say I was beautiful... d-do you think I’m... beautiful?” he asked.

“No,” Zelion whispered. Debells face fell as he turned his head away to hide the tears that began to brim his eyes. “You’re more than beautiful,” he said, so quiet now that Debell could hardly hear him. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened in a silent gasp and Zelion took the chance, pushing his lips to Debells in a soft but passionate kiss. The Demon whimpered in his arms as Zelion pulled him closer. A warm tongue pushed its way into his mouth and danced with his own, causing him to shiver and hold onto Zelion tighter. As they finally pulled away for air, Debell ran his tongue over his kiss-swollen lips, tasting Zelion on them still. He looked up with wide yellow eyes and saw Zelion looking just how he imagined he looked right now. Cheeks red, eyes wide, and mouth still open slightly, savoring their kiss. Even their chests still heaved together as they panted, before smiling at each other. “Good night, D,” Zelion said.

“Night,” Debell whispered. Zelion reached over and turned out the light. Now in the dark, Debell took the chance to run his fingertips over his tingling lips. Who knew a kiss could be so good?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, are you ready?” Hex stepped up beside Debell, wearing the same cloak he wore before.

“Yeah. Did you find me a spot?” he asked.

“Yeah, just over there. You’re in view of Zel, but no one will be able to see you. As long as you chant quietly they shouldn’t hear you either,” she said.

“Okay. Did you replace the book?” he asked.

“Yep, switched it out. I had it enchanted by a witch friend of mine, Bruena. She did me a favor and made it with a pretty weak spellbinding. You should be able to break it with a twig if you hit it hard enough,” she laughed.

“Good. Like I said, I’m not a very good caster.” He nibbled his lip nervously.

“Stop that.” She smacked his shoulder, making him glare at her with an angry pout before releasing his lip from his teeth. “Here he comes, go get ready,” she said.

“Okay, good luck.” Debell smiled, and ran off. As soon as he was out of sight of the other people, he transformed, his large form taking up most of the small space behind the equipment shed. He looked around and saw Hex, perched on the balcony of a nearby building, she probably couldn’t see Zelion, so she would be looking to D to cue her for when she needed to begin the spell to make Zel’s hands glow red. Zelion shifted back and forth on his bad and good ankle, he couldn’t help it, the gaze of the council made him nervous. Thinking about it harder, he supposed he should be nervous. He was cheating after all.

“You may begin, Zelion.”

“Great,” he rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me?” One of the witches in the council frowned.

“I said, ‘great!’” he repeated, with a lot more pep this time. She scowled and sat back in her seat. “Don’t let me down now, guys,” he whispered, and held out his hands, glancing around for either of his friends. He began mumbling the fake chant, careful to slur his words and mumble them lazy enough that he wouldn’t actually cast anything. He didn’t need a repeat of his rain of fire incident. His hands began to glow, and clouds began to form above the book. He pretended to focus, when really he was just scanning the noises of the crowd around him. Waiting for the cry of ‘Look, that Demon is casting for him!’ or ‘That Wizard, what is she doing up there?’ either of those or anything like them would ruin him. But none of that happened. Instead, balls of fire began to rain from the cloud, landing on the ground and on the book hard, enough to scorch the ground and the thick magic bound cover. The seal began to break and crack as fireball after fireball his the book spot on. It glowed bright blue, before one final flaming rock hit it and it shattered. The spell broken, the book now burned brighter than any campfire Zelion had ever seen. In seconds it was only ash. He put his hands down and the fire stopped. The clouds vanished and the crowd seemed to be confused, especially those who knew him as the school failure. Finally, they broke out in cheers as the crowd clapped and the council nodded happily. He had cheated again, but now he had something worth fighting for.

At least, that’s what he thought as he saw Debell return to the crowd, back in his human form.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you ready my sexy bitches?” Hex kicked open the door and strutted into Zelion’s place, as he finished tying his tie.

“Damn, Hex!” Debell sat up from his place on the couch. “You look amazing!” he smiled.

“You look hot,” Zelion laughed.

“Right?” She spun in the black sparkling dress. It was torn at the ends, almost looking like a Halloween costume. The sparkles in the dress were obviously magical, shining even when no light hit them. The purple trim around the dress was bright in contrast to the rest of the dark fabric. Her heels matched the dress, black with purple stripes wrapping around the toe of the heels. “You don’t look so bad yourself, tiger. Look at you, sporting the colors!” she smiled, pulling at his red tie.

“Hey, I just got that straight.” He frowned and turned back at the mirror.

“And you my delicious Demon...D...what’s another word for friend that starts with D?”

“I don’t think there is one...” Debell kicked his feet lazily as he sat on the table.

“Oh... well that’s disappointing. Regardless, please tell me you haven’t gotten dressed yet, I know you’re not going in that,” she frowned.

“What’s wrong with this?” He looked down at the black robe that he had taken to wearing since Zel had given it to him.

“It’s a school uniform, Deb, honey. You may be mocked down in Hell, but that doesn’t mean you have to be mocked up here too. We’re the only ones who know you like to play with butterflies,” she said, sweetly.

“They tickle when they land on your face...” he whispered, but the two other people ignored him.

“Oh come on, Hex. Leave him alone. He can wear it all he wants. But regardless, he can’t go to the dance in human form, he’s not a student. It’s a school rule. All Demons need to be in demon form,” Zelion said. “Sorry, love. It’s the ‘grr face’ for you,” he said, walking up to Debell and stepping between his open legs, leaning in for a kiss while he caressed his face gently.

“Did you two get it on yet?” she asked.

“Hex,” Debell whined and blushed.

“No!” Zelion laughed awkwardly.

“Good, that means there’s still time for me to get front row seats. Let’s go boys, we got shit to dance to and I need my two gorgeous gay boys with me.” She held out her arms and they each took one, before they left the small apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I feel so big,” Debell mumbled over the loud music.

“You’re not that big...” He scanned the crowd. “Look at that guy over there,” he pointed to another Demon. This one looked much different than Debell, instead of fiery red volcanic skin, he had patches of gray and pale flesh sewn together. Two large horns sprouted from his head and he had no mouth, at least not anymore. It looked like it had been sewn shut. He carried a large axe on his back.

“I guess...” he whispered. Zelion looked up at him.

“If you want to go, that's fine with me. I don’t think Hex needs us anymore.” He pointed into the crowd where Hex was dancing with several guys. “I also doubt she will need us to walk her home, they definitely don’t look like they’re grinding with her for the hell of it,” he laughed.

“I never really noticed how pretty she is. They’re all over her,” Debell mumbled.

“She’s pretty, but I’m kind of attached to you now.” He smiled, and leaned into Debell.

“Zel...” He stepped aside and blushed. “I mean... what do people think about Warlocks dating Demons?” he frowned.

“It’s happened before. It’s not common, but are we really common here?” He looked around at the hundreds of students casting spells. Small fireworks shot into the air from the fingertips of Wizards, Witches sat around the table, stirring some mystery liquid into the punch. Two bunnies hopped around, one wearing a bowtie and the other with glitter in its fur. Obviously polymorphed.

“Not really,” he mumbled.

“Hey Zel, how are you doing?” A stranger Debell had never met before walked up.

“What do you want?” Zelion crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Just wondering how you were doing, you must have really been practicing. I can’t believe you summoned a demon all by yourself.” The stranger looked Debell up and down. “Seems a little passive for a demon though...” he squinted his eyes.

“He’s not passive, he’s cruel as fuck damn it,” Zel frowned. When Debell did nothing but stare at the stranger, Zel gave him a nudge with his elbow. Debell coughed nervously.

“Oh... uh... Rawr!” The roar was a weak one.

“Cruel as fuck. Noted,” the stranger laughed, a small group of guys and girls behind him mimicking the annoying sound. Debell didn’t like him already.

“What about you, what did you summon for your test?” He crossed his arms.

“A hellhound,” the stranger smirked.

“A... oh... wow...” Zelion was obviously surprised and impressed. He hid it fast, but not fast enough. He noticed.

“Yeah. I’ve done it twice so far. I’m thinking of keeping them around. They’re pretty sweet,” he smirked. Somehow Debell guessed he didn’t mean the puppies were sweet like he was, more sweet as in ‘murderous’. Hellhounds weren’t known to be loyal or easy to control. They were just what their names described them as. “I already named them, Rageface and Riplimb.” He smiled.

“Catchy,” Zelion wrinkled his nose.

“At least they have more backbone than your glorified candle will ever have,” he smiled.

“Fuck you,” Zelion snapped. As hard as he tried to stop them, tears began welling up in Debell’s eyes.

“Is he... Dude is your Demon crying?” The boy burst out into laughter, waving his friends over, at least those who weren’t already there. Debell wanted to melt into the ground.

“I said, fuck you.” Zelion shoved the other boy, who stopped laughing and frowned. His frown darkened and his hand glowed. He pulled it back, before sending the open palm towards Zelion. The tears cleared from Debells face with a hiss of steam as his skin heated up, the red lines in the black rock-like skin glowing brighter. He sent his hand down in front of Zelion, the fireball connecting and bouncing off his rock hard flesh like a ping pong ball. He took a large step forward, one hoof landing inches away from the other boy. He inhaled deeply, and roared, flame and smoke pouring from his open mouth. The smell of burning hair was obvious as the flames licked the other boys eyebrows. He backed up and fell on his ass when he ran into one of his groupies. Debell shut his mouth and smoke continued to pour from his flared nostrils.

“Glorified candle, hmm?” Debells voice was deep and resonating, practically shaking the walls of the large room where the end of school dance was being held. By now, everyone had turned to face the two men (and one Demon) even the music had stopped.

“Lets go, D,” Zelion said. Debell turned his large body around and followed Zelion out the door.

“What the hell happened?” Hex followed them out.

“He was making fun of Debell,” Zelion scowled.

“He tried to hurt Zelion,” Debell said, at the same time. Hex looked back and forth between them.

“You two are just...” she sighed. “Black sheep got to stick together right? I suppose I wouldn’t understand.” She smiled sadly.

“It’s more than that, Hex.” Zelion turned around. By now Debell had shifted back into his human form, to fit better in the small hallway. “I love you, D. I thought so before but tonight... you went outside your normal personality, for me.” Zelion stepped up to Debell and wrapped his arms around his thin waist. “You protected me, even though you don’t like conflict,” Zel smiled.

“D-do you think it was too much?” Debell looked back at the dance.

“No.” Zelion chuckled and shook his head.

“I’d do anything for you, Z.” Debell blinked back fresh tears.

“My hero.” Zelion smiled, and held Debells face as they kissed passionately.

“Whew, alright, I take it back,” Hex said, as she fanned herself with her purse. Zelion pulled away from Debells lips, but didn’t let go of him.

“What now?” he laughed.

“I thought I wanted to watch you two go at it like rabbits, but if just that little kiss gets me all flustered, I think I’d have a heart attack watching you two sexy mofos do the rumpy pumpy!” She walked off, leaving the two men stuck in a very long giggle fit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“He finally asleep?” Hex asked, as she rubbed her feet. The heels were hot, but they were murder if you wore them for more than five minutes.

“Yeah. He was a little more upset than I thought about the whole no backbone thing.” Zelion sat down.

“I know he’s a super sensitive guy and stuff, but I kind of forget just how much of an outcast he is among Demons. Even up here he’s teased,” she sighed.

“Yeah... I know the feeling.” Zelion leaned back on the couch. They sat there quietly for a moment before Zelion spoke again. “I have to pass my exams, Hex,” he said.

“I know, and you will. We just need a way to fake you through your affliction test. It’s the last one. We can do it,” she smiled.

“No, Hex,” he said seriously. “I need to pass them,” he scowled at the wall. “I can’t lose him. I just can’t. I need him. I don’t care how much of my memory they erase, I’ll always need him. He’s... he’s mine. I can’t live without him. I’m sure it’s the same for him too. I know that I’m his. I don’t know what...” Zelion’s voice cracked. Hex pulled him into a hug and kissed his temple.

“We’ll figure something out, Zel. I promise. I know how much he means to you. This is the first time in a long time I’ve seen you so passionate about something or someone. I don’t want to see that spark in your eyes go away. I’d miss it too much,” she smiled. He took a deep breath.

“I just have this really really bad feeling,” he bit his lip nervously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Where do you get this information from?” the head of the council frowned.

“I just know it. Everyone does. He’s the worst Warlock any of us have ever seen! It took him until his sophomore year to learn how to control a shadow!” The group of students nodded.

“You all agree to this?” a witch in the council asked. A blonde haired girl stepped forward.

“There’s no way he could have summoned a level four Demon. I doubt he would even be able to open a portal for the first circle. He’s a nice guy... he’s just not a good Warlock,” she said.

“Thank you, Sarith, for bringing this to our attention.” The head of the council turned towards the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group of students.

“I just want it all to be fair,” he smiled wickedly.

“You may leave. We will take care of this.” The rest of the council nodded in agreement.

“Thank you.” He bowed, and left.

“I can’t believe we just did that!” one of Sarith’s friends whisper-shouted as they retreated.

“That fucker and his crispy Demon buddy will pay for what happen last night.” Sarith smiled a wicked smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So who was that guy last night?” Debell asked.

“Ugh, Sarith. I don’t know what stick crawled up his ass, but it’s been there since he was born,” Hex wrinkled her nose.

“He’s just some douche who goes here. He’s a Warlock too and it seems like he’s always competing to be the best,” Zel shrugged. “I don’t know why he bothers to compete with me. He would probably get more competition out of a chipmunk.” Zel stared at a wall before shrugging and returning to the book about affliction spells he had been reading.

“He’s a dick.” Debell swung his feet off the side of the table he sat on in the middle of the library. Hex and Zelion looked up at him before chuckling and getting back to work. “Well he is... he made me cry,” he whispered the second part.

“A bunny rabbit with a mean twitch to it’s nose could make you cry, Deb. No offense,” Hex winked. Debell scowled at her, but knew she was right.

“Zelion?” They were interrupted by a stern voice, they looked up and realized who it was. The head of the council and two members (one Warlock and one Witch) stood before them.

“Oh... hello, sir. How can I help you?” Zelion swallowed. DId they know? How could they?

“We’ve heard a rumor...” The Warlock looked at his colleagues before turning back to the students. “That you’ve cheated on your exam,” he spoke. Zelion swallowed. How? How?! He wasn’t touching Debell, but he felt him stiffen next to him, something in the air. Even Hex went a little pale.

“Cheated? Me? I’m an honest student, I’ve never cheated once in my time here... what would lead you to think that?” Zelion said, telling the truth.

“Well, quite honestly that is one part of it. We’re well aware that you never cheat or lie... and you’re grades... stay around the same...” He didn’t mention if they stayed good or bad, but they were all aware of which one it was. “But for the exams, you seem to have remarkably strong magic,” he added. Zelion swallowed again.

“That’s absurd. I’ll admit I didn’t study much during my classes, but now that graduation is so close, I’ve put more effort in,” he lied.

“Of course, we’re not talking about anything drastic here, yet. We just ask that you perform a relatively simple spell, and you’ll be allowed to continue your exams,” he smiled warmly.

“A spell?” Zelion said.

“Yes, is that a problem.” He turned his head.

“Not at all,” he smiled. ‘Of course it’s a fucking problem!’ he wanted to scream. “So... when? I have some time on Thursday if we could-”

“Now,” the council leader interrupted.

“Now?” the three students said at once.

“Now.” He nodded.

“Now... right... right now?” Zelion felt his heart stop.

“Yes. Right here. Right now.” Zelion glanced at Debell out of the corner of his eye. His head was down and there was a dark spot on his robes where tears had hit the fabric.

“W-What do you want me to do?” he asked, turning his eyes away from his crying lover.

“Just conjure us something. Level three or higher please,” he smiled warmly again.

“Level three?” Zelion asked.

“You seem to have a hearing problem, Mr. Sathrago,” the witch to the council leaders left said sternly.

“Too much practicing with Rain of Fire.” He giggled half heartedly, wiggling a finger in his ear as if to hear better.

“Level three shouldn’t be difficult. You have a level four with you right now.” He pointed at Debell, who blinked sadly. They seemed to be ignoring his hopeless expression.

“Level three... uh... you know. I don’t have any spellbooks on me,” he laughed, and then realized his mistake.

“We’re in a library, Mr.Sathrago. I’m sure you can find something,” she nodded sarcastically.

“You also have a conjuration book in front of you,” the Wizard finally spoke.

“Right,” he chuckled harshly. “Of course I do,” he said, through gritted teeth. “Level three, level three. He flipped through the pages, stalling.”

“You passed it,” the Warlock head of the council said, becoming slightly annoyed.

“Silly me...” he mumbled, not even looking up. He simply flipped directly back to the correct page. “I can do this, I can do this,” he whispered, so quietly that only Debell, who sat right next to him, would be able to hear him. He accepted the offered conjuring powder from the Warlock and quickly made the first level 3 symbol he saw. ‘Who am I kidding, this is hopeless,’ he finally admitted to himself. He began to chant, and held the match to the dust. It ignited, and burned with gray smoke, filling the library. But that was it. He felt tears brimming his eyes and spilling over as the three council members stared at him, kneeling on the ground with a tear stained face.

“My...” the council leader sighed. “We will talk about this. Your trial will be tomorrow.” He turned, and all three left. The three students stood there silently.

“What do we do now?” Hex finally broke the silence.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Zelion said, bitterly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Zel?” Debell opened his eyes to see Zelion sitting at the window.

“Go back to sleep, D,” he said, his voice hoarse. He had obviously been crying.

“That’s not how a relationship works.” Debell stood up and walked over to the window. He sat in the window seat and hugged Zel’s back to his chest. “It’s going to be okay,” he soothed.

“Why are you trying to comfort me?” Zelion turned to face him. “I get a new life. I hate magic. I’m no good at it. I don’t give a shit if my powers are taken from me, that’s probably a good thing!” Zel shouted. “But you... you don’t just get sent back to Hell, or a new start, or even just to stay here,” Zelion said, making eye contact with Debell. “You die, Debell,” he said, coldly. “Even Demons won't come back from that.” He turned back around to look out the window again.

“I know that,” Debell whispered. “But I’m not worried about me,” he said. “I’m worried about you. I worry about what will happen to you if I... if they rule against us.” Zel felt his heart ache. The man he fell in love with truly was worried more about him than himself. He didn’t want Zel to hurt. “It’s my job to worry about you,” Debell said. “So let me do my job.” He hugged his chest again. Zel turned around and hugged him back while he cried. He felt his own shoulder grow wet as Debell cried too. Finally Zel pulled away and stared at D. He stroked his hair gently, running his fingers through the shiny black hair.

“What?” Debell asked, as Zel continued to stare at him.

“Nothing. Lets get back to bed.” He stood and pulled Debell back to their bed.

“Okay... but what were you looking at me like that for?” D smiled and followed him to bed.

“I was just thinking how beautiful you are.” He laughed uncomfortably.

“Oh...” Debell smiled shyly. “You know... I was thinking...” he whispered, as they climbed under the blankets.

“Yeah?” Zel asked, already closing his eyes.

“If... if we lose this trial thing... we may never get the chance to...” Debell bit his lip.

“Oh thank god, I so didn’t want you to die a virgin!” Zel climbed onto Debells narrow hips, making the Demon giggle and squeal.

“Oh, you didn’t want ME to die a virgin,” he nodded. “I see.”

“Of course, I was worried,” Zel winked. Just for a moment all of their problems were forgotten. The trial tomorrow was forgotten, the fact that Debell might die was forgotten, the thought that Zelion might have his memories and powers taken away was forgotten. Everything except the two men, the bed, and the thought of what would happen the rest of the night.

Zelion tugged at the robes that clung to Debells body. He peeled them off easily enough, revealing his pale skin, with the red lava marks in it. His chest was covered in the marks too, though (like the rest of his body) they were cool to the touch. He smiled as he ran his hands up and down Debell’s chest, making him squirm underneath him. Debell sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and nibbled at the soft flesh nervously. He reached his hands up and began to take off Zelion’s own set of robes. The fabric clung to his body, making it a challenge to get to the smooth milky skin underneath. But finally he did and he was rewarded with the flawless skin, and cinnamon colored nipples. Almost too eager, he dove forward and licked at the small nubs, giving them a nibble between every lick and dart of his tongue over the sensitive peaks. Zelion moaned and let his head roll back as D played with his chest and neck, all the way up to his jawline. He nibbled the smooth skin and ran his hands up and down Zelions bare back. He let them slide down to the waistband of his pants and he began to tug those off, too.

“Ah ah ah.” Zelion stopped him. “You first.” He smiled evilly and in one quick motion stripped Debell of his pants. He smiled at his reward. The lava marks lessened as they fell down his chest and into the tender and sensitive spots normally hidden by the offensive clothing he wore. Only a few lines of red marked his legs and feet. Zel finally couldn’t take it anymore and moved down to the pale thighs. He nibbled and sucked on the skin, making Debell grip the sheets with pleasure. Zel made him scream when he wrapped his mouth around the hard six inches normally hidden by folds of robes and pants. As the wide head of Debells cock leaked the almost sweet flavored precum into his mouth, he felt his own cock harden completely. He pulled off Debells cock just long enough to help him strip him of his own pants. Now both completely nude, they drank in the sight of each others body, but it didn’t take long for Debell to pull Zelion back to his cock. His eyes rolled back in his head as he threaded his hands through Zel’s thick hair. He moaned and bit his lip harder, toes curling and mouth open in a soft moan.

“Is this okay?” Zel pulled up long enough to take a good breath and ask Debell how he was doing. Instead of responding, D simply pushed him back down. He swallowed his cock again, careful to watch his teeth on the sensitive skin. He moved his hand away from Debell’s thigh just long enough to brush his fingers across his balls, making him shiver and moan louder.

“Oh shit...” Debell grunted. “I don’t think I can last much longer...” His lip was being chewed on hard as he fought to keep control.

“Not yet, love,” Zel said, pulling off his cock for the last time. He moaned as he lost the warmth of Zels mouth, but was ready for more.

“Z...I...” Debell bit his lip harder.

“Keep biting that and I’ll have to bite it for you,” Zel growled seductively.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” Debell blushed. Zel moaned and tackled him back down to the pillows beneath them. He kissed him roughly, holding his hands in his tightly. “I want you inside me,” Debell murmured quietly, but loud enough for Zel to hear.

“God I love you. You couldn’t possibly be any hotter,” Zel whispered, and kissed him one more time before grabbing a tube of lube from his bedside table. Debell eyed him. “Oh... uh... I... this isn’t... Hex she...” Debell rolled his eyes and pulled out an identical tube from his own table. Zel laughed. “Someone needs to teach that girl to mind her own business,” he chuckled.

“I don’t know... I’m kind of thankful.” He smiled, and ran his hands up Zel’s side.

“Turn over, D. Let me get you ready.” He kissed his back. Debell did as he was told and rolled over onto his stomach, pushing his round bubble butt up into the air as Zel requested. Z massaged the round globes and parted them, revealing D’s small entrance. He swallowed and bit his lip. He lubed up a finger, and gently pushed it in, savoring the high pitched moans of pure pleasure from D.

“I thought you said you were new to this... you sure seem like a... pro,” Debell’s sentences were broken up by gasps and grunts as Zel found his prostate. A puddle of precum was forming on the bed now, as Debell’s cock dripped endlessly.

“I am new... but I’ve been alone for awhile. I might have played around a little bit... alone that is.” He blushed and Debell could feel the heat from his body. Z lubed up another finger, and slid it in next to his first one. Debell grunted again, this time a little bit of pain mixed in with the pleasure. As he scissored his fingers in and out of Debells tight ass, he added a third one. Now used to the intruders, Debell moaned and fucked himself back onto Z’s hand. “Look at you...” Zelion whispered huskily. “So hot, my little Demon boy.” He leaned over D’s body and kissed the back of his neck. “Are you ready?” he asked, as he lubed up his own cock.

“Y-yes,.” Debell couldn’t stop his voice from shaking.

“Don’t be scared, lover. If it hurts or you want me to stop, just say so and I promise I will.” He kissed the tender part of Debells neck again.

“O-okay,” he nodded.

“Okay...” Zel repeated, almost reassuring himself more than Debell. With a steady hand, he lined up his cock with Debell’s opening, and pushed. As expected, it was a tight fit, but eventually the thick head of his seven inches pushed into him. Debell moaned in pain and let his head fall to the pillow. “Are you okay, love?” Zel asked, worried.

“Y-yeah... just give me a second,” Debell whimpered. As promised, in a couple of seconds Zel felt him loosen up and began to feed more of his cock to his lovers hungry ass. Soon, he was buried to the hilt and hugged his squirming boyfriend to his chest lovingly. “Z-Zel... oh god it feels so good.” His toes curled and he grabbed the sheets in his fists, knuckles turning white. He was panting hard and his cock was practically a waterfall of cum as it spilled more onto the bed.

“For me too, D. You’re so tight... Jesus,” Zel moaned as Debell gripped his cock even tighter with his ass. “I need to move baby, p-please.” Zel wasn’t above begging. Instead of answering him, Zel began to fuck himself back on his cock, and in no time they had formed a steady rhythm. Zel grabbed Debell’s shoulder, and placed on hand on his ass as he fucked him. Debell moaned and cried into his pillow as he was fucked into oblivion.

“S-stop,” he finally grunted.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Zel asked, worried. Debell nodded.

“I... I want to see you when we... oh...” he moaned as Zel pulled out of him, one step ahead. He turned him over gently and thread a hand underneath him, up his back, and caressed his head. He used his other hand to push his legs up, draping them over his shoulders. Debell smiled and blushed as Zel pushed his cock back in. He almost came right there, just watching the way Debell’s eyes rolled back into his head as he was filled again. He quickly got back to their rhythm, and was approaching his release faster than he wanted. “D... I don’t know how much longer I can last, baby,” he whispered into Debell’s ear as he held him close.

“M-me too... I’m g-gonna cum...” he cried out suddenly, arching his back and spraying his release over their chests. As his ass clamped down on Zel’s cock, he lost control too. He grunted as he filled Debell with his load, enjoying the feeling of being held in Debell’s arms. His cock softened and slipped out of Debells no longer virgin ass. They both panted, and held each other silently, enjoying the contact. Finally, they opened their eyes and looked at each other. Zel smiled at the ‘well fucked’ look that crossed Debell’s face. He was sure he had the same loving, glazed over look on his own face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debell opened his eyes as sunlight poured into their bedroom. His arms and legs were tangled in Zelion’s, his lovers head buried in his neck. His hand was threaded through his hair. The Warlock had collapsed after his release, unable to hold himself up with shaky limbs any longer. Debell definitely didn’t mind.  He smiled and nibbled at Zel’s ear to wake him up.

“Hmm?” he mumbled and sighed, before opening his mouth and yawning.

“Good morning,” Debell whispered. Zel’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Debell, a goofy grin on his face.

“Good morning.” He kissed Debell at least three times, just quick pecks to start the day. “God, last night was amazing!” he stretched and looked around the room.

“Yeah it was... that was easily the best night of my life.” He smiled, and then a frown crossed his face. “My ass hurts, though.” He turned onto his side. Zel poked his lip out.

“I’m sorry, baby. Was I too rough?” he asked, worried.

“No... I kind of like it... it’s a good sore,” he blushed. Zelion smiled and then looked at the clock.

“Our trial is in two hours... we should go get showered and dressed,” he said, and suddenly, the blissful night was broken. Their problems came flooding back and nearly crushed them with the weight. Instead of doing all the things he wanted to do, Debell nodded and followed Zelion to the shower.

Normally he enjoyed showers with Zel. But today was differnet. It’s just how like if you love eating food, you’re not exactly going to ‘enjoy’ your last meal. ‘What if this IS my last meal?’ he asked himself. ‘What if I never get another night with Zel again?’ He held back the tears and rushed to get ready. He stood next to Zel as they brushed their teeth, fighting over who got to spit into the sink first. ‘What if this is the last time I get to brush my teeth with him, right next to me, elbowing me?’ and then the thought that he had been trying to avoid all of this time came flooding into his mind faster than he could process it. ‘What if they wipe his memory, and kill me. He’ll never remember me. He won’t even know that I existed.’ The thought hit him like a tidal wave. He fell to his knees and sobbed. As if expecting this, Zel got down on his knees with him and held him tightly.

“I know... it’s okay. Calm down, D. I need you to be strong today. For me, okay? Because right now I’m hanging on by a thread, and if you start crying then there’s no way I can show up at that trial not in a giant emotional wreck,” he said, tears already filling his vision and dripping down his face.

“I’m sorry...” Debell sobbed, taking in deep breaths, trying to stop the tears. “I just... I... I... I...” he choked on a sob again. Zelion held him close, hugging and kissing him just as much as he had the night before.

“It’s okay,” he whispered again. He kept repeating the words over and over until there was a knock on the door, and Hex smiled sadly at them, ready to walk them to their trial.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Zelion Sathrago, you’re here because you’ve been accused of cheating on your exam. How do you plead?” the council asked.

Zelion looked up. He hadn’t even thought about it. Plea? How did he plead? He knew he was guilty. He knew he loved Debell. He knew he was fucked. Those were all of the things he knew. There wasn’t anything else left in his mind. Debell stood at his side. They weren’t touching, but they were as close as it could get without touching. Zelion wanted nothing more than to pull Debell to him right then and there and hug him until the world ended. But he knew that wasn’t possible. So far Debell had held back the tears, but he didn’t know how much longer his boy could keep his gloves up.

“I... I don’t know,” he answered.

“You don’t know? You have to know, Zelion. It’s either guilty or not guilty,” the council leader said, confused and a little annoyed.

“But I’m neither,” he replied.

“Explain yourself,” the witch from the library spoke up.

“I did cheat, if that’s what you’re asking. But I didn’t just do it to pass. I... I fell in love,” he said, his voice cracking. He didn’t look over at Debell, if he did he would lose it. He would just cave in on himself and die, right there. “If I didn’t pass... I was afraid for what would happen to him.” His eyes were already brimming with tears and he fought so hard to stop them.

“Why would you failing effect him?” the council leader asked, clearly not understanding who Zelion was talking about.

“Because, I fell in love with Debell.” There was a soft murmur from the crowd but most didn’t seem too surprised. They hadn’t exactly been discreet. Zelion knew Debell was staring at him, but he convinced himself not to look into those beautiful yellow eyes.

“I see... if you were stripped of your powers, you understand what would happen to him, yes?” the head of the council asked.

“Yes. That’s why I cheated,” he said, clenching his jaw.

“This is an... interesting turn of events. However. We can’t overlook the fact that you did cheat,” the council member said. “We have no choice but to remove your powers and-”

“No!” Debell shouted suddenly. The room went silent as every eye turned to the large demon in a small body. “You can’t,” his voice cracked. “I love him,” he sobbed. “I don’t care what you do to me but don’t put him through that. Don’t make him-...” His voice cracked too much for him to continued and he began slipping to the floor. A pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him to a firm chest.

“Don’t worry about me, baby. I’ll be okay,” he whispered, so that the council couldn’t hear.

“No...” Debell whispered.

“Please, continue,” Zelion said, though of course he didn’t really want the man to continue.

“We have no choice, Zelion. I’m sorry.” The council leader bowed his head. He jerked his head towards Zelion and two guards marched forward. Debell gripped his arm tightly.

“I said no!” he screamed, and shifted into his demon form. He roared, smoke and fire spewing from his mouth and nostrils. He growled and roared at the guards, stomping his hooves and tossing his head like an angry bull. “I won't let you touch him!” he roared, in a voice deeper than before, now equipped to fit his bigger body. The council leader waved his hands and the guards stopped.

“Give us a moment, please,” he said. The council turned to face away from the crowd and spoke in hushed whispers.

“Debell, look at me,” Zelion said, grabbing his hand. “Debell,” he said, more sternly. The Demon’s yellow eyes were turned down at him now. “Listen,” he pleaded, seeing the Demon swallow back the lump in his throat. “I love you,” he said, trying to keep his voice as stable as possible. “I won't forget you, I promise. Nothing they could do could make me forget you. Not completely. I don’t care how strong their magic is.” He shook his head. “I know that you feel the same way about me, don’t you?” he asked. Debell nodded his head frantically. “Good. Then there’s nothing else to worry about, okay? I love you and you love me. No matter where we are, dead or alive, human or demon, memory or no memory. That won't ever change. I promise,” he said, holding onto the Demon’s black charred hands tightly. “I promise,” he repeated. Debell collapsed back into human form and hugged him. Tears no longer fell from his face, they didn’t kiss, they didn’t beg or sob or grovel or collapse in on themselves. They simply held each other, feeling the other's body heat seep into them and warm them through. They stood there and they hugged and they felt close to somebody, the only somebody they could ever feel close to.

“We’ve made our decision,” the council returned. “You’ll be stripped of your powers, and memories. You will be banned from having any contact with the magical realm, or any magical being. Anyone who seeks you out will be punished the same, abilities and memories removed,” the council said. Debell gripped Zelion’s hand, but remained quiet. “That goes for both of you.”

“What?”

“What?” they asked at the same time, but received no answer before everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The soft and steady beeping continued, was driving him mad. What was that god awful noise? He opened his eyes and looked around. Plain white walls, teal plastic chairs, and a single table were all that occupied the room ‘wait, no,’ he corrected himself. There was one other thing. Another bed, next to him. A man was lying in it but he didn’t move.

“What the hell?” he groaned, his voice thick and heavy. ‘Where am I?’ he asked himself, and frowned. He tried to remember the last thing he could. Tried to remember anything, really. Everything was blank. He scowled as he tried to think hard, something had made him.... sad... as he thought the thought, a sharp pain coursed through his head. He screamed and clutched his skull until the pain went away. A nurse jogged in and smiled.

“You’re awake... are you alright?” she asked.

“Just... just a headache... can I have some water? Where am I? How long have I been here? Who are you?” Thousands of questions popped into his head.

“My name’s Janice, I’m the head nurse. Let me get you something.” She smiled, and returned a few seconds later with a cool paper cup full of water. He chugged it down and thanked her.

“Is this a hospital?” he asked, looking around.

“Yes. You were found three days ago, passed out in an alley. With him,” she pointed to the other bed. “You woke up once but couldn’t remember anything, you passed out and have been out for two days. We were worried.” She smiled sympathetically.

“I can’t... I can’t remember anything,” he said.

“You don’t have any head injuries, we don’t know what’s causing the amnesia, but he’s having the same problem,” she pointed to the bed again. “He woke up an hour earlier, but fell asleep after only being awake ten minutes or so,” she added.

“I don’t understand...” he shook his head.

“You have amnesia. Do you remember anything at all? Name? Age? Home? Family or friends? Anything?” she asked.

“No... it’s all just... dark,” he whispered.

“Unfortunately, amnesia is a tricky thing. There’s really nothing we can do. It’s up to your mind what it’s going to recover. But other than that, you’re perfectly healthy,” she smiled.

“Healthy... right...” he groaned and held his head again. The man next to him stirred and his eyes fluttered open.

“J-Janice?” The man, he looked pretty young, had a delicate voice. His black hair was attractive and his eyes were almost yellow they were such a light amber color.

“Hey, good morning John Doe #2,” she smiled at him.

“I think I remember something,” John Doe #1 mumbled.

“Really? What?” The nurse turned towards him and so did the black haired man.

“I’m gay,” he shrugged, and stared at the black haired man, who blushed softly. The nurse looked back and forth between them and smiled.

“I think you might actually have brain damage, I don’t think you meant to say that out loud,” she giggled.

“No... not really,” he chuckled nervously, realizing what he had said.

“I don’t mind. I think I am too,” the other boy blushed harder, biting his lip.

“You’re really cute when you bite your lip,” he smiled. The man blushed even harder, laughing nervously.

“Thank you... I-I don’t know what else to say,” he chuckled.

“Hi,” John Doe #1 said.

“Hi” John Doe #2 said. They both smiled wide.

“Oh, I almost forgot. There is this,” she held up a burned wallet.

“It isn’t much, part of an I.D. Your name starts with a Z.” She shrugged. “That’s all we got.

“A ‘Z’ huh?” John Doe #2 said.

“I guess I get to pick a new name, since I don’t remember anything?” he asked.

“Well, yeah I guess that’s true,” she nodded.

“What about Zack?” John Doe #2 asked.

“I don’t know, do I look like a Zack?” he asked ,feeling his face.

“I think so.” John Doe #2 smiled. “If you don’t like it... you can pick something else. I think you would look good with any name,” he smiled.

“No, no. I like it. Zack it is. Last name later,” he chuckled. “What about you?”

“Oh I don’t know,” he blushed again.

“Well, pick a letter and I’ll choose something for you?” Zack suggested.

“Oh... okay... that sounds like fun... uh...” he thought hard for a moment.

“What about D?” the nurse offered.

“Yeah, I like that one... it seems... familiar,” he smiled.

“Devin?” Zack offered.

“Donovan?” the nurse smiled.

“Dick?” Zack winked.

“Damien?” she shrugged.

“Dominic?” Zack asked.

“I like Dominic,” he blushed. “Do I look like a Dominic?”

“Why not?” she shrugged. “I need to get back to work, guys. Happy Halloween by the way,” she smiled. “I’ll check on you guys later. Bye Z. Bye D.” She winked and turned to leave.

“Hey, do I know you... you seem so familiar,” Zack looked at the nurse and frowned.

“Me too... I just... ugh it’s giving me a headache,” Dominic moaned and held his skull.

“Don’t think about it too hard guys. But no... we’ve never met,” she smiled and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hex sighed as she shed the faked nurses uniform. She had to make sure they stayed together, and she seemed to have done her job well. She was glad that the council was that understanding. They needed to be together, and they were now. Away from their judgemental worlds that they didn’t fit into. They got a fresh start now. A new identity. That was what Halloween was all about, right? A new identity? If only for a night. But who says it can’t be for more than that?