Archer looked over at him, considered. Kev didn’t think Archer much wanted to talk about the deal he’d made, but he had just used Kev to get off, and maybe that would make him more willing to share. Kev was curious. He wanted to know more about Archer. Maybe, once he was dead and in Hell, Archer would be chosen as a candidate for a demon, too. He certainly seemed able to handle the job, and Kev wouldn’t mind meeting up with him again sometime.

“You’d know about it if you hadn’t shown up late,” said Archer. He strode over, grabbed Kev’s chains, and hauled him up.

“Maybe I’d still like to know.”

Archer sighed at that. For a moment, Kev thought he was going to smack him, but instead he pushed Kev along through the other statues and demons enjoying themselves over the smooth obsidian.

“You fucked the demon who made the deal with me, didn’t you?” asked Archer, and Kev knew he was observing the way his shoulders tensed at that. “Uh huh. That’s why you had my hair. You’re lucky. You could’ve summoned my cat instead.”

“Cats don’t make good dates,” said Kev, then, before he lost his nerve, “Did you fuck him, too?”

“No. But damn, did I want to. When he sucked my soul out ...”

“Oh, it feels great,” said Kev, and licked his lips. “And the willfully given blood ... the high from it all, that demon would’ve fucked a wall after he was done with your soul.” He paused. “Your blood tastes so good.”

“Lick it off the back of his throat?” asked Archer, less perturbed about this than Kev was expecting.

“The side of his mouth. My tongue didn’t get that far.”

“So that’s why you were interested in me being your date.”

Kev blinked, suddenly horrified. He stumbled over hot, uneven ground, and though Archer pulled back on the chains, he still hit the packed dirt on his knees.

“No,” he said. “That’s not ...” He didn’t want Archer to think he only liked him for his blood. He needed Archer not to think that. He didn’t know why. “It’s not your blood.”

“You asked for it specifically, before we shook.”

“Yes, but --”

“Get up,” said Archer. He tapped Kev with the end of the whip again.

“Archer ...”

“Whip him,” said a demon a few feet away.

“It’ll get him up or keep him down, either way it’s fun for all of us,” said another.

It was then Kev realized they’d collected a small group of horny demons, all circling, all pinning them in the center of the street. The First Bank of Hell was still a small distance away, and this group looked more aggressive than the other demons they’d crossed paths with. That made sense -- now that Helloween was well underway, alcohol and indulgence boosted confidence. Kev tilted his gaze down, away from leering eyes, and heard Archer snap the whip loudly in the air.

“I’m not the one taking orders here,” said Archer.

“Bet you’ll take them from me,” said a familiar voice, and when Kev looked up, Ira stepped out from the crowd and grinned.