The Struggles of Marrying a Demon {Completed}

Goodbyes

Colby brushed sweat off his brow, pausing in his tread to address Mabel, who followed him at a slower pace. "Why the hell are we doing this, and why couldn't you take Zephyrine instead?"

Even through the perspiration stinging her eyes, Mabel shot him an unimpressed look. "And here I thought you would have wanted me to take Thora, so you could keep Zephyrine all to yourself."

She quickly regretted the words when his eyes lit up. Why, oh why, did she always walk into his traps so easily? "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I know she's all mine."

Mabel covered her ears, feeling like a small child who didn't want to listen to orders from a parent. "La, la, la, I'm not listening!"

Colby's shit-eating grin only widened. "Oh, Mabel, you don't need to listen with me. You just need to," he stepped closer, invading her personal space, and whispered in her ear seductively, "feel."

Mabel squealed and leapt back. "Col-by! No! Bad Death!"

"Ah, it's just so easy," Colby chuckled heartily, spinning away and continuing through the barren wasteland that was Hell's clay covered, desert-like landscape. "Seriously though, why did you bring me with you on this ridiculous quest?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance, because he really was perfect for Zephyrine: they were both whiny brats, most of the time. "Because Aleron has Zeph and Thora organizing the 'discarding' of the dead bodies, and he's going over army stuff with Packer, which distracts him and leaves you. Aleron wouldn't let me out of his sight, especially if he knew what I was doing."

"I have to admit, I was hoping you'd be doing me."

Mabel tripped over her own feet at his words, and she sent him a glare from her newfound spot on the hot clay. "Oh, come on, Colby. Really?"

He only laughed again, reaching down a hand and helping her up. "Really. Now, where exactly is this stupid beast supposed to be?"

She huffed once she was stable and thwacked the back of his head. "Don't call him that! Flint is very sweet."

"Oh, sure," he stressed the word. "What could possibly go wrong when we're going on a wild goose chase to find a dragon? Why are we doing this, anyway? I thought he flew off and didn't want to be found."

Resisting the urge to throttle him, Mabel kept her voice patient as she responded. "Not necessarily. No one seems to know what happened to him, and I'm worried. I wouldn't have been able to save everyone if he hadn't helped me." She tacked on the last sentence with purpose, solely because she knew how much it bothered Colby that he hadn't saved Hell.

It had the desired effect, and Colby's eyes lit up with challenge. "Oh, really? And just how many enemies did you kill, Mabel? I was in double—if not triple—digits, by the time the battle ended, I'll have you know."

Mabel sniffed haughtily, turning her nose up at him. "That's just it; I don't need to kill anyone to save the day. I'm talented like that."

He snorted with some mixture of fond annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, alright, hotshot. Let's just get this over with, okay? I have that hot-ass ala back home, and she and I are gonna—" He stopped with a chuckle when Mabel squeaked and shook her head frantically, slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Honestly," her voice was shrill, "now is seriously not the time. Let's find this dragon before Aleron realizes I'm missing."

Colby paused to consider her words for a moment, before he shuddered. "Yeah, good plan. I don't want to be blamed for your choices, anyway." They continued on their way, their eyes peeled as they looked for any sign of Flint.