Chapter 4: New York to New Orleans

The city that never sleeps. The concrete jungle. It had plenty of other names, and this was where Belos brought her. It was his favorite place to be second to being inside of her. He had told her that. She sat inside a cafe on 7th Ave deep into an argument with him.

"You made me touch myself!" Karina's brows furrowed. Belos exuded all the stomach-turning qualities of a Demon but none of a God. From the bits and pieces, Karina had put together over the years he was a fallen God of some sort. Possibly even royalty although his behavior lacked any grace, poise, or dignity.

"Relax. I thought you could use a little bit of a release," Belos answered. "I'm sure your God wouldn't consider that too much of a sin."

"That's fucken rape Belos."

He sighed, "Technically it's not because you did it to yourself."

"Screw you," Karina replied. She regretted her decision to call Belos, but at the time she was desperate. How could a King or Noble conduct themselves this way? Karina had a hard time believing he was anything but a low-level Demon. The scum of the scum. That's why he preferred the shadows under fake names — living from hotel to hotel. Sometimes even motels.

"I wish you could sometimes," he laughed. "I get so fond of your face when you come undone," his tone changed. "And the arousing little sounds you make," he chuckled.

Belos enjoyed tormenting her. Most of the time she did not give in, but today he'd been extremely irritable. "How many times did you make me do it?" Karina demanded. She couldn't even kill her self to escape him or die. He'd given her the gift of life. She would live for as long as he permitted.

"Just four times this week... 200 total this year."

"I touched myself 200 hundred times this year!" Karina yelled. "Great. Thanks for making me an eighty-year-old, possessed woman, who masturbates," Karina shouted. "I can add this to the list of fucked up things you make me do."

"Don't forget crazy too," Belos said. "I gave you control of your body about ten minutes ago."

Karina looked up, to see the people sitting around in the cafe staring. Some gave her a strange look, and some laughed. One guy had his phone out to record her. She glared at them before swearing at him. "Fuck you Belos!" and threw a five dollar bill on the table then stormed out.

Belos laughed inside her head. "Your so sexy when your mad." He moved her arms to signal for a taxi.

It irritated her the most when he played with her like this especially in public. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"New Orleans Sweetheart. I have business there."

"Fifty-six years and you still don't trust me?" Karina switched to a sweet tone. One she knew he enjoyed.

Belos made her touch her face and stroke her cheek. "Ahhhh. My Femme Fatale. Don't forget I can read your mind," he said.

"Stop it. Stop making me touch my face!" Karina hissed at him. "People are looking at me like I'm crazy."

"You are crazy," Belos made her pat her head. "One of these days I'll get to hold you in my arms," he made her cup her cheek this time. "Do you want me to kill them?"

"No!" Karina yelled. " You can't just kill people for staring at you." She had struggled with killing at first. Especially in the beginning but years with Belos had hardened her. He'd honed her skills so perfectly, that she could kill without emotion and a weapon. Just her bare hands. They had slaughtered too many men. More than she could count and only men. Belos hated the men. He called them vermins and rats. She sensed he had some unspoken tragic story behind his hatred. Whenever she thought it about it, he'd get angry. Karina feared his anger the most.

They landed in New Orleans as the sun began its descent, but the heat and humidity still lingered in the air. Almost suffocating her; turning her black ensemble wet. Belos forced her to a clothing store and made her shed the heavy wet clothes for a light mini tee dress made of soft cotton. The v-neck on her white dress scooped courageously low for her taste, but Belos enjoyed it on her. He liked its simplicity and sexiness, in how it clung to her curves and showed off her slender legs but not over the top. Belos had planned for a lot of walking tonight and in his kindness allowed her the comfort of matching low top sneakers.

It would be her first time in New Orleans, but Belos visited many times before. Technically you could say she had too. Karina couldn't remember it though. He usually kept her out when he came through, but this time he allowed her to be present. Belos walked them through the French Quarters and showed her the colorful Spanish buildings with cast iron balconies. They stopped to listened as a burly woman with a shaven head sang the blues and her companion played his saxophone. Karina looked on in awe. Belos frequently showed her beautiful places and things. "Do you find it beautiful, my sweet Mademoiselle?" He asked her.

Karina ignored him and continue to take in the scenery. "I know you're still angry with me about what happened yesterday in the cafe?"

She was always angry with Belos. He made her do terrible things and continue too. Throughout the years Karina had become good at ignoring him and kept walking.

"Fine. Goodnight then." and before she could even protest it was as though someone flicked the light switch off and her mind shut down.

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They lived place to place, under borrowed identities. It was the only way to keep her safe. In this retched world anything was possible when you had money, and he had lots of it. Wealth and his powers the only two things, that bastard brother of his did not take away. Then sent him to this filthy place they called Earth. He the King of Gods - the God of Eternal Life - the Guardian of the Immortal Realms. Discarded to this world, bodiless and made into these creatures the humans called demons. Then hunted like an animal at the persecution of their God. He had to find a way to get his body back. When that day comes, he will lay waste to all those who followed his brother and the vermin's here. For now, he had to use this female body. He adored it more than he liked using it. It took more energy to attack and kill the vermin in this form.

He had to silence her tonight. He wanted to keep her out of it as much as he could. The Demons talked about a Seer down in the French Quarters. She was bounded to this world by the Godly Council. If anyone knew how to get his body back, she would know. The trouble was her pet demons. She hid them in exchange for their protection. The ones she had were the worse kinds. Belos made his way down a street where the tourists stayed away, and jazz music died. Then made his way to a back alley, where four men stood outside.

They were dressed in suits with not even a drop of sweat in this sweltering heat. How obvious Belos snickered.

The biggest man stepped forward. "You lost sweetheart?"

Glad that he had made Karina wear a pair of shorts under her dress. Belos strode ahead. "Don't fuck with me vermin. I'm here to have a few words with the Seer only."

"There's no Seer here Fallen King," he said.

"Oh. You know who I am?"

The four men nodded.

"Then why don't you let me through..." Belos stepped up to the man. "I'm in a terrible mood today. You don't want to fuck with me today."

"Everyone knows about Belos the Fallen King." His voice became a low growl. "Forced to live inside the body of a woman to survive like a parasite." He mocked. "Your brother's the new King now and laughing his ass off in the Immortal Realms."

A squelching sound followed by a snap and the man laid dead on the ground. "I get a little sentimental when people bring up my family drama." Below dropped his body to the ground. "Don't mention that bastard of a usurper in front of me again."

The demon inside the dead man emerged in the a black cloud. Belos grabbed it. With the light that formed in Karina's palm, he smites it with so much force that it dissolved into thin air. "Back to your maker vermin." He smiled. "Who's next?" and chuckled at them.

"Belos. STOP."

He shifted sideways and peered behind the three remaining men. "Move aside you big bone bastards." He shouldn't discriminate a man based on his size, but he couldn't see a thing.

"What do you want Belos?" A woman with caramel skin and braided locks spoke.

He thought she'd be old and ugly or missing an eye, but she was quite beautiful. "You look nothing like how I imagined you to be." Belos smirked.

"Neither do you," she replied. Her eyes brushed over his appearance.

"You know why I'm here Seer. Tell me where I can find my body?" Belos demanded.

"What are you going to give me in return?" Her expression changed. "I don't do things for free." That was how she ended up here in the first place.

"Neither do I. How about a way home," Belos said. He could see the same bitterness, he had for this place on her face.

She paused for a moment. Belos assumed to think it over.

"A mortal gifted with the sixth sense. He can take you to the netherworld and retrieve your body." She turned to leave. "That's all the help I can give you. Remember your words Belos."

"A mortal with a sixth sense?" Belos started his walk back to their hotel room. "Where would he find a mortal with the sixth sense?"