#while you wait

“Before we start on anything else, I would like you to meet my two Demon Warlords: Ekkehard and Bellator.  Then, this afternoon, we’ll have a meeting with all of the Demon Overlords who run the torture pits.  I’ll give you an overview of them first, so you will have an idea who is who in that meeting.”  Djall was kind of enjoying the way that Miriana was watching him intently, and he in turn was studying her and her reactions as he was talking.  He could tell from her expression that she was a bit overwhelmed, but she was nodding along. Good…good…she would do nicely for the role he had in mind, maybe more than one.

“I guess Hell doesn't have a training period, huh?” She laughed nervously as she looked up at him.  Overlords and Warlords and demons…oh my!  This was going to be her life now.

“Do you need a little hand-holding, Miriana?” Djall gently took one of her hands in his much larger and battle-scarred one and brought it up to lightly kiss the back. His dark eyes stayed firmly on her lighter ones, a smirk on his lips as well. The way her eyes widened and her lips slightly parted delighted him. He could hear her heart speed and her breath deepen.  Yes, he had a feeling that he'd miss her when she was gone, possibly acutely.

“Well, I..” She swallowed, fighting getting lost in his dark eyes and saying her true thoughts. “Well, you see..” She once more stumbled over her words.  Djall’s power and handsome looks made her stomach do funny things and her heart skip, neither of which she was used to.

As if sent from some deity to save her, a heavy knock sounded at the door. Miriana jumped, emitting a small squeak from being startled.  Djall’s hand tightened briefly on hers, as he chuckled, before he released it and turned towards the door.  “Come in, gentleman.  Miss Miriana is waiting to meet you.” His tone carried his amusement at her reaction and at his anticipation of when he met the two men who were waiting on the other side of the heavy wooden door.

When the door opened, two tall and imposing men entered Djall’s office.  The first was fair-haired with blue eyes that sparkled like finely cut blue topaz, and they were focused keenly on Miriana.  He was tall, broad-shouldered, with short-cropped hair, seemed to fill the whole doorway, and emitted an air that said he would be deadly if provoked.  The male that followed him put him to shame.  His shoulders completely filled the doorway, and while devastatingly handsome, he made Miriana take a step back, which had her back now flush against Djall.  A head taller than Djall, having to duck slightly to come through the door, Bellator’s tanned complexion was the same, his hair just as black, but he somehow beat him on the intimidation factor, which was quite a feat.  His entire presence spoke of him being a Warlord, and the fear that coursed through Miriana had her wanting to run from the room and cower.  However, there was also something about him that had her unable to tear her eyes away from his, that seemed to oscillate between a dark grey and brown, almost swirling.

Djall’s hand landed lightly at first on Miriana’s hip, not wanting to startle or scare her more than she already was, then slid around her waist.  That, at his touch, she leaned back into him, rather than pulling away, delighted him.  For some reason, he was enjoying having this human in his realm more than he would have originally anticipated, and he most definitely found her alluring.  Keeping himself from smudging her further was going to be a true test of his will. As Miriana pressed herself back against him further due to her fear of Bellator, a common reaction, Djall’s hand slid further across her midsection until he had his whole arm around her, holding her securely to him.  A pleased grin firmly in place at this. Yes, this little human was going to be interesting to have around.

“Miriana, these are my two warlords.  Ekkehard, normally known to me as Eike,” he gestured with his free hand, “and Bellator, or Tor,” again he gestured, and felt Miriana once more press back against him as she looked at the larger man.  “You will be working with them to help align their troops to their leadership style, possibly reorganizing their command structure as well..  Djall heard the shakiness of Miriana’s breath, and it caused him to chuckle.  Something about her being comfortable with him and fearing the others pleased him greatly.  He wanted the little human to be his alone while she was in his realm, an unusual bout of possessiveness. It was something he would have to reflect on later.

While Eike was paying little attention to Djall’s newest toy, Bellator was studying her closely.  A human soul, a CLEAN human soul, completely spotless and pure, had landed in their realm.  A fuck up in the algorithm? Or..or..was Djall missing something more important transpiring around them?  Djall assumed that the fuck up in the algorithm was responsible for her being in their realm, since it had sent the soul that was supposed to be in their realm to a paradise. If that had been the case, then the beauty before him should have been able to have where she should have currently easily identified.  The opposite happened, however.  What if, just maybe, she was where she was supposed to be?  Not a soul damned to their hell world, but a bride delivered to her groom?  Warlords and Lords of the Afterlife could only wed pure souls, and here was a pure soul in their realm.  Coincidence?  Maybe...but maybe not.  Djall might overlook it, but Bellator was not so quick to, and he was going to challenge his boss on it later, especially with the way it seemed Djall was already laying claim to the female, a claim he might be ready to challenge.

“Lady Miriana, tis a pleasure to meet you.  I am sorry if I have given you reason to feel intimidated.  I promise you that I mean you no harm, and no harm shall come to you when you are in my presence.  I fear that you have fallen victim to the aura I give off, which does affect many.”  Bellator greeted Miriana, bowing deeply.  His swirling eyes remained focused solely on her as he did, still gauging her reactions and studying her acutely.

“What the asshole next to me is trying to say is that he scares the fuck out of most people, and he’s sorry that you look like you’re about to pass out.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miriana, and we’re both looking forward to working with you. Both of us,” he elbowed Tor, “and our legions will always work to keep you safe from anything that tries to harm you while you are with Djall and us.”  Eike shook his head and rolled his eyes before bowing.  He was far less formal than Bellator, but he had a feeling that the other Warlord was up to something, something he hadn’t caught onto yet.  Yet. 

“Uh...thank you.  It’s a pleasure to meet both of you.  I hope I’m able to help both of you.”  Miriana’s voice was shaky, and her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she was trying.  Djall’s arm around her waist, with his thumb gently caressing her side, did help quell her nerves somewhat.  When did they become so familiar?  She wasn’t sure, but it felt natural somehow, and she wasn’t going to argue with it. No matter what Tor said, he still scared her and she felt the need to run.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine, Mir.” Djall shortened her name without even asking, simply because he wanted to and he liked the sound of it.  It made her his, and he liked making things his. He studied his Warlords before him.  Both were studying Miriana, which he expected.  What he hadn’t expected was the way Bellator was looking at her.  His expression was not one of curiosity regarding someone that would be a coworker, but rather he was looking at her as one might upon first meeting a prospective mate.  Something primal in Djall reacted to this, considering it almost a challenge against him, and a deep seated part of him felt the need to stake his claim on her even though it would permanently smudge her.

“When will we begin to work with Miriana?” Tor could see Djall reacting to him and Eike, the possessive and dominant part of their boss rising.  He had to wonder if their boss even realized what he was doing and the change in his stature since Tor had started studying the svelte female that Djall currently embraced.  Then there was the human, herself, and her reactions to Djall.  It all seemed to indicate that Miss Miriana was not there by accident.  However, that did not mean she was there for Djall. Tor was going to find out who exactly she was there for and if it was for only one of them.  A bride of Baratrum? Bellator was certain she was, but for whom?

Djall was fighting changing his mind about having her work with either Tor or Eike, and he didn’t know what was causing that.  This was, after all, his idea.  She couldn’t just follow him around all day, could she?  Suddenly, that idea appealed to him more than her working with the other men that worked for him. He had always been possessive of things that belonged to him; that had to be the problem. She was just a thing to him.  That was it.

“Djall?”  Miriana asked softly when he didn’t answer Bellator’s question.  Her head tipped to look up at him, her warm breath fanning across the skin of his throat, and the soft curls of her hair cascading across his hand that was holding her waist.  The combination of sensations pulled him reluctantly from his thoughts. “Sorry, I was contemplating how best that would be accomplished.” Djall lied to the three of them.  From the narrowing of Eike’s eyes, it was not a fully believed lie.  “You can begin immediately.  I think getting to know one another-” his hold on Miriana tightened, a wave of possessiveness he wouldn’t have been able to explain if he tried coming over him suddenly, “would probably be best before getting into troop assignments and legion divisions. Miriana is not to leave the mansion compound.  She is not to step foot outside for any reason.  Am. I. Understood?”

Eike’s brows drew together.  He understood but wondered why.  “Do you not trust us with her?   We wouldn’t let anything happen to her, Djall.  If you’re afraid of her running away or a kidnapping, we’d guard her with our lives, you know that.” He was not challenging Djall, but Tor was studying the human a bit too closely, and Djall was acting weird.  He seemed to be the only one not affected by whatever shift in dynamic was going on.

“She is not meant to be here, Eike.  Everything here can smudge her and damn her to our realm eternally.”  Djall sighed.  There were reasons he wouldn’t say, but he’d go with the easiest.  “She already has a smudge from where she got dropped originally before I got to her. I just wish for there not to be an accident that adds to it and for her not to be able to get to where she is supposed to be.” Again, he held her tighter for a moment, he was going to miss her when she was gone. Already, he could tell that allowing her to leave would not be easy and that wherever she went might require visits from him. What was wrong with him?

“You’re sure she is not meant to be here?” Bellator figured he might as well put it out there now.  His chin rose as he spoke; now, the challenge had been made.  He just waited for it to sink into Djall’s brain exactly what he meant by the question.

Djall opened his mouth to reply, then stopped.  At first, he had thought that Bellator meant that Miriana wasn’t pure, but then he realized there had to be more to his Warlord’s statement.  There was something he was missing, and Djall rarely missed anything.  For another moment, he turned over the question in his mind.  What could Tor mean that she was meant to be there?  How could she be meant to be there if she was pure, a virgin even?  Those weren’t sent to hell realm unless………...unless they were a bride for the Lord of the Afterlife or one of their Warlords.  His eyes met Bellator’s and widened. The smirk that Tor gave him meant that was exactly what his Warlord was insinuating.  

“We will talk later about this, Bellator.”  Djall’s voice was strained.  “You will follow my directives or face the consequences.” His eyes became hard.  “Do either of you have an issue with this?” He looked between his two Warlords, expecting an answer.

“No.” They answered in unison.

Djall looked down at Miriana, who was still looking up at him, confused.  His eyes softened significantly.  “You will be kept safe, Mir.  Don’t worry.  They will ensure you are as safe as if you were with me.”  He gave her a soft smile. “And Bellator just looks imposing, he would never hurt you.  Okay?” It was all he could do not to place a kiss on her forehead, a further indication that Tor possibly had a point.

Miriana nodded, knowing that there was something that Djall wasn’t saying.  Something that had to do with whatever Bellator had just said.  It scared her, but she had to trust Djall; he was the one that had saved her in the forest after all, and he had taken care of her so far without hurting her.  If he had meant her harm, he certainly could have done it before now.