A Vampire's Guide To Summoning Demons (BL)

They did make it to the capital before the coachmen stopped for the night, arranging for them lodgings in a decent inn. And they didn’t just make it to the outskirts, they were well into the capital. They had made good time, they seemed to have started out with good fortune.

Just like the last time they spent the night at an inn, Dulce arranged meals to be brought to the others, settling in his room to eat. The capital was lively, outside his inn window, he could see lanterns hung on the streets, people still milling around though it was late.

The night was quiet, but Dulce had begun to relax, trusting that there would be no altercation among the Demons. Asael had completely kept to his words since the day of his summoning, so he could get comfortable on the bed with a book he had found in the inn. It was about the cultural history of Mistfall.

In the dead of night, a loud thump made him jump out of bed and hurry towards the door, already expecting the worst. He threw his door open to find all three on the other side of the door in a strange, tangled state.

They froze when they saw him. There were no weapons in sight, and no one particularly seemed hurt, but it was almost like they had been preventing each other from getting any closer.

"I-Is something the matter?" He asked hesitantly, lingering in his doorway.

He still had no night clothes, so his cravat was undone, and he wore nothing but his silver dress shirt with a few buttons undone, it gave him a ghostly air.

"I couldn’t sleep," Ruoxi said smoothly, trying to straighten up although both his arms were captured by the other two Demons. "So I came to bother you with my presence for a bit."

"You both also couldn’t sleep?" Dulce asked indulgently, believing the Incubus’ words far too easily.

Kath’tan scowled, foolish Vampire. Nothing was about sleep; the slippery Incubus had been about to sneak into his room and had been caught. Although that didn’t quite explain why he had the Shadow Demon in a chokehold, Asael’s crushing grip around his wrist.

"No." Asael said coldly, "You should undo the Incubus’ summons."

Dulce blinked, he had been about to invite all three to his room, although he doubted the bed would fit all three.

"Step carefully, assassin." Ruoxi said with a smile, but his eyes flashed dangerously.

"I... Perhaps you can all try sleeping in my room?" He offered uncertainly, the matter turning out more complicated than he originally thought.

Ruoxi shook off the other two with ease, like their attempt to restrain him had only worked because he allowed it.

Dulce stepped to the side to let them in, Kath’tan immediately going after Ruoxi.

"Shameless." He bit out with barely suppressed anger.

Asael lingered at the door, gray eyes cold. He waited for an answer, staring down at the Vampire expectantly.

"Ruoxi doesn’t seem that bad," Dulce leaned in to say, "I couldn’t bring myself to send him back."

Asael was unamused, "What’s your reasoning now? Do you adopt every stray dog you come across on the street?"

"I heard that," Ruoxi’s voice came from within.

"I-I don’t," Dulce defended weakly. "I did summon a companion, and he agreed to the terms..." He excused, as much trouble as his mistakes had brought him, this was the most pleasant company he had had in a while.

"Keep it down!" A voice yelled from somewhere down the hallway.

In a panic, Dulce grabbed Asael’s wrist to pull him into the inn room. They had been in the hallway this entire time, it was no surprise that there were complaints.

Asael glanced down at where pale skin held his. Wasn’t he doing the same as Dulce and taking on someone else’s troubles as his?

"I don’t think the bed will suffice," Dulce said as he pulled away, troubled about the matter. "How will you all sleep?"

Asael pinched the bridge of his nose, but not once did he consider leaving for his room, instead he took one of the armchairs by the fireplace. "I won’t be sleeping tonight."

"Neither will I," Kath’tan chimed in, proud that he didn’t need to sleep.

Ruoxi perched elegantly on the edge of the bed, "Which means the bed will be a perfect fit for the two of us." He said to Dulce, his voice gentle but rough.

"I changed my mind." Kath’tan charged for the bed, sprawling on it.

Dulce was the only one still standing, he walked over to pick up his discarded book. "Vampires don’t sleep." He said with a straight face, "I’ll stay up as well."

Ruoxi glanced down at the aggravating Fiend who had taken up the place of what should have been a pleasant, delicate Vampire. Burly physiques were completely unappealing. He stood up in plain disgust, no expense had been spared on their rooms, so there was a comfortable sofa in a corner.

He sat on it, his gaze lingering on the bowl of fruits on the low table in front of the sofa before he got as comfortable as he could, closing his eyes.

Although the matter had been everyone’s inability to sleep, no one ended up sleeping, the silence comfortable. In a scant few hours, it was sunrise, and they all returned to their rooms.

Ruoxi lingered behind, stopping outside Dulce’s door to speak to the Vampire. "Will you undo the summons?" He asked with a fragility he couldn’t hide.

"Not unless you want me to," Dulce’s answer came quickly, without hesitation. "But you can’t forget our agreement." He tagged on, knowing that Asael was truly worried about that.

Ruoxi’s appreciation caught in his throat. Perhaps he had grown a bias, but he found himself caring less and less about the dangerous secret the Vampire carried. He said nothing, not the words of appreciation clinging to the back of his throat, nor the admission that he might have to break their agreement.

Instead, he warped to his room, beginning to understand why the others were so convinced of the Vampire’s foolishness.