Lucren Ch. 00

As the elegant carriage pulled up to an enormous Victorian-gothic mansion, a young demon waited impatiently in his room for the gift his father had said he might get for him. Glancing out the window through the rain, he jumped up upon seeing the carriage, out of which stepped his father, two slaves, and another man that his father was pulling along on a lease. The excited youth dashed out of his room, down the hallway, and onto the loft above the entryway to the mansion. His father had been to the forum today to purchase a couple able-bodied half-demon slaves, and he had said that if there were any suitable ones on sale, he would consider purchasing one for his son as well. As the young demon leaned over the banister of the loft looking down at his father and the new slaves as they entered, he was sure that the leashed one was for him, and his chest swelled with glee. Once his father noticed him, he smiled at his son and motioned for him to come down. Grinning, he nearly flew down the elegant, curving staircase, sliding his hand across the dark wood banister as he descended, suddenly remembering to maintain his composure as he reached the bottom.

"Welcome home, father. I assume you had a pleasant day at the forum?" Taking time in the formality was killing him; he wanted to know if he had a new slave, and if so, he wanted it now! But he knew that his father might take it away if he was too childish about it. After all, being able to take care of a half-demon slave was a sign of maturity, and he should receive it with maturity.

The tall, raven-haired demon that was his father nodded and replied, "Yes, Marcus, my day went decidedly well. And how was your day, son?"

Inside, Marcus was screaming in impatient frustration at his father, but he knew that he was testing him, so he evenly put out, "Well, the rain hindered my activities, but I was able to keep myself decently occupied." In an attempt to hurry the conversation along, he added, "And did you find everything you needed?"

The older demon smiled; he knew his son well enough to understand exactly what he was getting at, but he enjoyed toying with him just a little bit. "As a matter of fact, I did. These two," he gestured to the other two slaves, "are my new slaves, and I picked up a few supplies in the market as well. Don't tell your mother, but I found the most exquisite necklace for her..." He rambled on for a few moments, noticing and enjoying how the forced smile his son had plastered on his face was beginning to crack. Alright, he'd been waiting long enough. "Oh, and here, I got you this..." The demon smiled as he handed his son a small but rather heavy black bag, almost laughing out loud at the look of shock and disappointment on his face. "... to go with this." He turned to the slave whose leash he was holding, then turned to Marcus and smiled.

The young demon had almost screamed when his father handed him a heavy black bag, but his elation was apparent when he did indeed include the slave standing beside him in the package. Turning his full attention now to the slave, he realized what an amazing find this must have been in the sale section of the forum. The half-demon was tall, about five foot ten, three inches taller than himself, and appeared to be about his age of seventeen. He had a tanned, lean body covered only by a short white sarong tied around his waste, and he was also bound at the wrists. Where his feet should have been, there were light brown cloven hooves; it was common of half-demons to have physical traits of the demon parent's totem. Looking at his face, Marcus took in the chin-length hair falling in dark brown, almost black curls over two ram's horns protruding from the sides of his forehead and curling down behind his ears, ending just below them. Full lips accented a jaw that was obviously clenched, and his right cheek seemed to be swelling just a bit, but it did little to impair his stunning features. The best part of his face by far, though, was his eyes. Pools of emerald looked back at him, a hardness to them that he didn't usually see in slaves. The slaves he had grown up with usually had a meek and fearful disposition that showed in their eyes, but this one looked hard and edgy, calculating everything he took in like a captured animal.

Realizing that his father was speaking to him again, Marcus tore his attention away to hear his father saying, "...good-looking, but he was on sale because he isn't trained. I figured you might have some fun training him yourself, however. That's what the contents of the bag is for." Hearing his father's words, the young demon grinned. Yes, he would certainly have lots of fun training his new slave; in fact, he wanted to get to it right away, and wished his father would stop rambling and let him go. The older demon must have noticed, for he smiled in understanding and handed him the leash attached to his slave. "Well, I can tell you're impatient, so I'll let you run along. Don't be too rough on him right away..."

Marcus was already halfway up the stairs by now, dragging the slave behind him. "I won't, and thank you father!"