2 The Demon Lord

It had been a long time since Caine had taken the time to indulge himself. The last couple years had been solely focused on preparing his army, the only breaks he had taken from that had been to return to his home world to make certain his businesses were running smoothly. All work and no play really does make life boring.

Caine moved to the bed and knelt down beside Gavin, his hand reaching out to touch the body that was exposed to him. He knew that if he asked the answer would be 'no', who would willingly allow the killer of their friends to be intimate with them, but he also knew that as long as he didn't ask he could do as he pleased. It's a game he's played before, skirting the lines of consent.

Turning his head, he locked eyes with Gavin and moved to cover the other's body with his. He kissed Gavin and immediately asserted his dominance as his tongue pressed against Gavin's lips. Gavin gave in and Caine's tongue slipped into his mouth. Caine moved his legs and forced Gavin to spread his own, leaving him exposed. Caine moved from the kiss to further explore the body beneath him, using lips, teeth and hands. The sounds coming from Gavin was all the motivation Caine needed to continue moving down.

Gavin let out a gasp when Caine took his cock into his mouth. Caine had the urge to laugh out loud when Gavin lost it shortly after he had started. He didn't miss being that young and inexperienced. Caine moved back up to kiss Gavin, sharing the taste that had filled his mouth. He only paused a moment to grab a bottle from the bedside table. A little lube and his fingers moved to prepare Gavin's body. Gavin's eyes widened at the feel of the finger entering him and Caine took possession of his lips before he could say anything.

Caine took his time, inserting first one then two fingers. He made sure to rub the sweet spot and couldn't help but let out a chuckle when Gavin's body reacted, back arching from pleasure. Caine withdrew his fingers and used the lube to ready both of them then paused just before he thrusts.

"You are mine."

Caine whispered, his lips next to Gavin's ear. Gavin let out a sound that was a cross between a groan and a cry a moment before Caine thrust himself deep inside Gavin. Gavin cried out at the invasion, less from pain and more from pleasure. Caine had done his best to make certain both of them enjoyed this moment. Caine held out as long as he could before he found his release and collapsed, both men were covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

All Caine wanted to do now was sleep, but he knew that he needed to clean up before he could rest. He didn't bother trying to get Gavin up to take a bath as he could tell that the other was worn out from the physical exertion and the psychological trauma. Caine got up and went to his bathroom to clean himself off then grabbed a washcloth. He returned to the bedroom and, found that Gavin was already asleep, carefully cleaned Gavin off. He put the cloth with his dirty clothes and climbed back into bed, pulling the blanket over both of them. It didn't take long before sleep claimed him.

*******

Caine lay in bed watching how Gavin's body changed as he woke up. Caine had been awake for a while, his mind busy planning his next move while mentally communicating with Xanthe and his army. The first change he had noticed was the steady breathing that suddenly became erratic. The body somehow seemed heavier and Gavin's eyes moved under his eye lids.

"Good morning."

Caine greeted Gavin when his eyes opened. The red that crept up Gavin's face made Caine chuckle.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

Gavin's face grew redder and he looked away. Waking up with someone was a different experience for Caine as all of his sexual experiences had ended with him leaving before morning. This thing with Gavin was in a whole other category from what he had experienced before. Caine had used sex as one way to tie Gavin to him, only one of many tools he will utilize to do so. Still, it didn't mean that waking up to someone next to him left him out of the loop. Caine was willing to use his own emotional connection as a tool to further pull Gavin in.

"As fun as last night was, waking up with someone next to me was nice. Even the cruelest monster gets lonely."

Caine spoke with the hint of a smile as he got out of bed. He opened a door that revealed a closet filled with nothing but black clothes. He grabbed his clothes and an extra pair of pants that he tossed at Gavin.

"I don't get a shirt?"

Caine laughed, "What's the point of wearing my mark if no one can see it?"

He finished buttoning his pants and pulled his shirt on. Gavin got up and pulled his pants on, frowning. Caine walked over to him and placed his hand over the slave mark, his eyes on Gavin's face.

"You may have been summoned to be Edicia's Hero, but from now on you're my Hero and I plan to flaunt it to everyone."

Gavin let out a snort and shook his head, "The Demon Lord's Hero, huh?"

"You get it."

Caine's face lit up with a grin and he turned away. He left through the door he had entered in the night before and Gavin followed close behind. They walked into what appeared to be a sitting room with a table in the center of the room, two high backed chairs with red cushions were tucked into the table. To the right were three large bookshelves filled with books, to the left was a desk with papers cluttered on it and a sturdy leather covered chair sat behind it. Straight ahead was a door, next to the door were two pairs of boots.

"This is my main living area. It's certainly not as luxurious as most leaders, but it wouldn't be me if it were extravagant and gaudy. Most of the higher demons live in similar quarters."

Caine motioned towards the table where food sat on a tray. It wasn't anything fancy; cheese and several varieties of fruits that were local to the land. It didn't take any convincing for Gavin to take the chair opposite of Caine and help himself to the food. Caine ate his fair share of the food before he was filled. He leaned back in the chair and watched as Gavin did his best to finish the last of the food on the tray.

"Tell me a little about yourself. I know that you have family in the other world, how big is it?"

Gavin was about to take a bite of cheese when Caine asked him about his family. The expression on his face darkened and he sat the slice of cheese down with a sigh.

"I have an older sister, Guinevere, who's like my best friend. Both of our parents are alive and still together."

"Anyone that you liked or were dating?"

Gavin looked up, his head tilted in curiosity, then he looked away. The floor caught his attention for long enough that Caine was certain he wouldn't answer.

"Not really. Most of my time was spent with my family or reading. I didn't really get out enough to make friends, let alone try dating."

"What about here? Did you take the time to meet anyone here?"

"What's the point? It's not like it matters now."

"I'm just curious. I want to know more about you and it's simply another way to do so."

Caine was trying hard to not push, but he had his reasons for wanting to know.

"Prince Riley."

"Huh?"

Gavin looked up, the smile on his lips so slight that Caine almost missed it.

"I liked Prince Riley of Edicia."

"Oh, interesting. Does he know?"

Gavin shook his head, "No, god, no. He's a prince and I'm just some kid from another world, plus he's a year younger than me."

"So, in this world you're considered an adult at thirteen. He's, what, fifteen?"

"He will be sixteen at the end of the year, I'll be seventeen in a month."

Caine leaned forward, his eyes locked on Gavin. "You shouldn't be afraid to seize the things that you want, Gavin. If you had let him know you were interested before now you wouldn't have any regret." Caine held up his hand to silence Gavin's denial. "I can see the regret on your face when you talk about him."

"Why would he be interested in me? I was too weak to even do what I was summoned here for."

"You failed because you weren't properly trained, but you yourself didn't fail. The ones who failed were those who sent you out before you were ready. I know that losing your friends bothers you, but it was their own fault that they're dead, not yours. They were the ones who chose to follow you to fight me. If they weren't strong enough to beat a high demon three to one then their death is on them, not you."

Gavin's eyes became bright with unshed tears. He moved the chair back and stood up, turning away from Caine to look at the bookshelves.

"So, instead of getting angry at me, or Edicia, you're just going to avoid the subject altogether? Did watching your friends die because the lot of you were sent on a suicide mission affect you so little? Or are you just so weak that you're ok staying that way?"

"Fuck you. You're a fucking bastard, you know that? I worked my ass off to get strong enough to fight their damn war. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to get dragged into another world, thrown into someone else's shit and told that I can't return home until I fix their goddamn problems."

Gavin turned around as he spoke, his face red and his eyes narrowed. His body shook with the force of his anger. Caine's response was to smile.

"That's what I wanted to see, the real person hiding away inside you. If you had used even half of that anger when you were summoned they might have sent you back."

Gavin was taken back by Caine's response. No one has ever told him that his anger was a good thing.

"Do you want to get stronger? I can't give you back your old life, but I can give you a new one that makes you strong enough to conquer anything that comes at you. I've already promised you the chance to see your family. I don't make promises that I can't fulfill, so you will have the chance to see them. If you can become strong enough to be considered one of my Generals I will give you the ability to see your family whenever you want to."

Gavin's mind was in turmoil. Caine had gone from asking about his life, to insulting him and calling him weak, to offering to make him stronger. After he had been summoned he had trained every day to try and grow stronger. He was stronger now than he had been six months ago, but it still wasn't strong enough. He had only gotten a few basic lessons on magic and it was a subject that he had wanted to pursue further. No, he had been given a sword and told to practice with it. Then he had been given the heavy armor when the fighting style he had grown up with required that he be unencumbered.

If he actually stopped to think about it he was full of rage over what had been done. They had summoned him to a strange world, told that he had to fight in a war he wasn't a part of and then had been told how he should fight. No one had taken into consideration who he actually was as a person and what he wanted to learn. Before he could give Caine an honest answer he had a question.

"Doesn't this mean that I don't get a choice?" He pointed at the slave mark on his chest.

"That mark means that you belong to me. Yes, it takes away some choices because I will not let you go. It does not mean that you have no choices. You can live your life out as little more than a pet, someone that walks behind me and is there simply to be seen. You can let me make all your choices for you and never have to worry about anything, ever.

"You can also choose to become stronger. You can become one of my Generals and answer to no one but me. That mark is there for my security. I don't trust anyone that doesn't wear my mark, even Xanthe wears my mark. Demons believe in an individual's strength. I earned my title by fighting, and defeating, the strongest demons. If you decide to become stronger you could become strong enough to challenge me and take my title. Wearing my mark will not keep you from that."

"I want to become stronger."

"Good, good, because Xanthe will be here soon to train you."

Caine nearly doubled over laughing when he saw the look on Gavin's face.

"I was hopeful that you would choose that path so I had already planned for you to train under Xanthe."

Gavin shook his head and sat back down at the table. He had a sinking feeling that Caine had been manipulating him this whole time.

"I should warn you that training with her won't be easy. That anger that you showed me a moment ago, you will want to hang onto that because you'll need it. Demons tend to fight to the death and your first fight with Xanthe will be a life or death fight. How you make it through will let her know where your training is lacking, but if you don't put your all into it and go in with the intent to kill you will most likely end up dead."

"How is that going to help me?"

"If you can impress her with your first fight she will make you stronger. Part of your problem during our fight was your lack of killing intent. That's why I will reiterate the fact that you have to go into this fight with Xanthe with the intention to kill her. If you give her any less she will see it as weakness and kill you. So, while you're fighting I want you to think about the family that you haven't seen in six months. I want you to think about the missed opportunity with Prince Riley and the death of your friends. Keep those thoughts close and embrace your anger."

Caine stood and waved his hand over the table. The tray with bits of food still on it disappeared and in its place was two scimitars, a necklace that enhanced one's magical powers and a mage's staff. These were the possessions of his fallen comrades.

"To help you remember I will give you these to use. Xanthe will be able to help you choose the correct weapon for you after you've fought. You'll also learn some actual magic and not that crap you were using during our fight."

Gavin looked at the items on the table and wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or throw something. He hadn't known them long, but they were the closest he had ever come to friends and knowing that he lost them because he was weak hurt. Can I fight with the intent to kill? He's tired of being weak, death would be better than to stay as he is.