Silencing The Siren

6. The Man Who Would Be King

(The Point of No Return)

"Stay awake, Calliope. Come on, push yourself up. Stay awake," Wrath encouraged, but Calliope still felt herself slipping away. Her sonic shriek, along with the energy that the lightning took, left her exhausted. She felt helpless, just watching in defeat. She could see Asmodeus standing and casually using a napkin to wipe the blood from his ears.

Wrath spread her giant wings—spanning seven feet from the end of one to the end of the other—in front of Calliope in an attempt to protect her. Her wings ignited, creating a wall of fire between Calliope and Asmodeus.

To Calliope's surprise, however, Asmodeus leaned down in front of her, letting the warmth wash over him, and letting the light dance across his face. Then, he laughed. Calliope snapped out of her trance due to his cruel, mocking tone.

"Really? Did you expect me to be afraid of fire? I'm the Prince of Demons," Asmodeus explained before ranting–half in English, and half in Spanish. "Fire doesn't hurt me," he said. He then disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind Calliope, reaching around to grab her by her throat before she, Thora, or Wrath had time to react.

Asmodeus squeezed Calliope's throat, cutting off her airflow. He then jerked her up so they were face-to-face, levitating.

A show of dominance, maybe? Calliope thought.

The thunderbird, Thora, stepped forward then. The massive 'dinosaur' made a low rumbling sound from her chest, bellowing like an alligator, and tapping one of her long, sharp talons on the ground. Lightning began to dance off her wings as thunder shook the entire nightclub.

Asmodeus jerked when a bolt of lightning hit him, traveling through both him and Calliope, causing her even more discomfort. He threw her into a wall when he teleported, moving away from the next bolt. The lightning barely missed hitting her as she fell to the floor.

Then, he teleported back to her, grabbing her throat once more, and sliding her up against the wall. "The lightning hurts you, too. Call them off," he commanded. She grunted in defiance, but her vision was fading, as she struggled to breathe with his hand wrapped around her throat. "Call them off!" He yelled, pulling her toward him, then slamming her into the wall hard enough that part of it crumbled around her body.

"The lightning... Does not hurt me... I am strong... I can take it..." Calliope said between gasping breaths. Technically, that was a lie, but Asmodeus didn't know that, and she didn't want to let him off easily.

"Call them both off now, or I will kill you," Asmodeus growled. "You say it doesn't hurt, but I have seen it... I will not repeat myself again, puta pequeña... Call. Them. Off. Now."

Calliope was barely conscious, but she was able to clear her thoughts enough for her to speak to her fierce feathered protectors telepathically. Wrath... Thora... Thank you, but you've gotta go... This battle is mine, she thought. Thor warned me that my choices are mine alone and that the consequences would be serious. This must be what he meant. Go now.

Thora looked at Calliope with her head tilted to one side, but her storm died down. Wrath nodded once, allowing her flames to turn to ash. Then, the birds flew out of the building the way that they had come in, leaving Calliope to deal with Asmodeus by herself.

Just as Calliope's vision began to fade completely... Just as true panic set in and her hands flew up to her attacker's wrists—scratching viciously at them as she tried to pry the strong hands away from her throat... Asmodeus dropped her, letting her body crumple in a heap on the floor.

Calliope struggled internally when she looked at Asmodeus, wondering if it was a good time to tell him how attracted to him she still was. Despite him beating the hell out of her, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. That feeling disgusted her, but she wondered if she might also be able to use it to help herself.