The Demon Dealings

Deals are not made to be broken. Not deals like this. They’re not made to be trifled with. Once they are set, they are set in stone. Almost nothing can stop them. Completing the deal is a completely different situation entirely.

As the dealer, Spiros was the one with the most at stake here. Being a light walker making a deal with a dark walker only made it worse.

Spiros was reluctant to say anything to me at all about it. He didn’t want me involved in that aspect of the deal but he has no choice. I would figure it out with or without him. Of that I was determined.

Matheas did not voice his concern as he walked out to his car. I almost expected a comment from him about something, anything but there was nothing.

Carys watched out the window, a grim look on her face.

Spiros nodded to Matheas as he got into his car. I sat in the passenger’s side of Spiros’ car as we drove in silence. Matheas followed a ways before peeling off to his position as the assistance. The backup plan in case something went wrong.

I had a gut feeling it would.

It was winter now so the sun set sooner than it had been when everything started. The park that Spiros had chosen for the meeting was at one point where he had made many deals. It was dimly lit by aging street lights. I imagined not very many parents took their kids here because of the neighborhood. The toys seemed old, outdated and there were woods on either side of the park making it easy to lose a kid.

It was deserted on that night. The swings creaked eerily in the breeze reminding me of my childhood, of happier, simpler times. It seemed almost abandoned now, without the childish innocence it once held.

I looked away from the playground and focused on following Spiros. He took me to the far end of the park across from the merry-go-round and into the trees. When he stopped I realized that there was something very strange about the scene.

“There is a lot that can go wrong tonight.” Spiros started. “I know that you didn’t want us involved but we are. We care about you as much as you care about us.”

I looked at him blankly.

“I don’t want to end this knowing that I could have saved you…” He trailed off.

“No one can save me.” I muttered. “I don’t want to be saved.”

“Everyone needs to be saved.” He replied. “Even you. I’m doing this for you, I’m doing this because I might not be here after tonight. Sometimes deal don’t go as planned.”

“Nothing goes as planned. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place.” I sighed.

“Lorna will make a deal. Whether she maintains it is questionable. That’s why I’ve done this. I placed these around the park, a way for you to get out should you need it.” He handed me a small black remote.

“You don’t think you’re getting out… do you?” I already knew the answer to my question.

“Don’t worry about me.” He gave me a slight smile. It was fake and did nothing to reassure me.

I hadn’t considered what a morbid idea it was to blow up a playground. A place where children played and made many happy memories. I glanced at the yellow slide, dull with use. It looked innocent, even in the pale light of the street lamps. Somehow I knew that it wouldn’t be the same after that night.

Spiros and I sat on a bench that over looked the playground as we waited in silence for Lorna to show up with Cade. We didn’t say anything, lost in our own thoughts. Somehow it got harder to face her each time, knowing that she was responsible for the death of the people I loved. My parents, my best friend and the pain she caused Carys was a blow that hurt just as bad.

We had all been affected by her. We had all lost someone or felt the sting of her evil as it spread through the supernatural race. No one could be shielded from her mal-intent, not even Matheas who felt my pain simply through our connection as my familiar.

And none of this would end unless I put a stop to it.

You can’t stop us. You can only delay the inevitable. A whisper on the wind, the voice of Lorna entered my mind.

“She’s here.” I told Spiros.

Spiros stood from the bench we were sitting on, his breath coming out in clouds as he turned to face her. His face was cold as stone. Something I had never seen on him before.

“I see you’ve brought the girl.” She smirked at me and slowly stepped around me in looking me up and down. “And you already have a deal on her? Tisk tisk, Spiros. What can you possibly offer me now?”

“We have plenty of things to offer.” I said to her.

She laughed humorlessly. ‘ You forget who you’re dealing with here. I am about to have everything.”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have something we want. We’re willing to make a deal for it.” Spiros interjected.

“I know exactly what you want and there’s nothing you can give me to stop this. The plan is already in motion.” A chill crawled down my spine.

“We want Cade.” I said bluntly. “I propose a trade… Me for Cade.”

Spiros stiffened at my words.

“Honey, we’ve already got you.” Lorna said with a sadistic smile.

I gulped hard. What did she mean that they already had me?

Lorna grabbed me by the arm and started dragging my away from Spiros who paused in shock.

“Spiros?!” I cried.

He sprung into action, lunging for me but was thrown back by Lorna who laughed at his attempts.

“Spiros! I know you have more than that!” She laughed again.

There had to be something I could do. Some way to get myself out of this mess. I looked at Lorna for a spilt second and realized I had to go in. I had to get into her head. But when I tried to make the bond nothing was there to grasp on to.

“That only works on someone with a real soul.” She laughed.

“I can anchor you here.” Spiros said to her as she was shoving me towards the ground. “I can give you something more permanent. Something that doesn’t involve a host.”

She glanced at him suddenly interested in his proposition. But I knew what that meant and it was not something I wanted to live with.

“Spiros… no.” I said softly. But no one acknowledged me.

“Just let her go and give us Cade and I will give you what you want.” Spiros said.

“You make an interesting offer.” She said and I felt the weight of her hand on my arm disappear.

I jogged over to Spiros, sickened by her proximity.

“He’ll be here.” She paused “You have my word.”

“Your word doesn’t mean much to me… Just know if this deal doesn’t go through I will make sure to kill you. I will make sure that you don’t come back this time.” I spat.

“I think we have a deal.” Lorna replied surely.

Spiros paused. Why were we here, making this deal? Why did I want Cade back so badly? I could feel something start to bubble up inside me but I didn’t know what it was or why it was there.

“Where’s Cade?” I asked again. Something was wrong and I had a feeling it had something to do with him but I didn’t want to believe it.

“Do you really want to know the answer to that question girl?”

I paused. Something was very wrong. “Spiros. The deal is off. This was a waste of time… I think we should go.” I told him as I slowly backed away from her.

“You can’t go now. We’re just getting started.” Cade appeared from the trees, as if he had been there all along.

Cade threw a lit match, catching the leaves around us on fire. I quickly jumped out but Spiros was trapped inside a devil’s trap.

“Cade?” I asked slowly. I could feel my heart in my throat.

“Nash.” He said back.

I was dumbfounded. Cade was not who we thought he was. He never was.

“What? You didn’t really think I was interested in you all this time?” He laughed. “We want your powers. Why else would I stick around for so long?”

I should have known better. I should have known that what they say about demons is true. That there is always an ulterior motive. That they always want something and will do whatever they can to get it.

I growled but held back my rising anger, “What are you going to do to him?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“What should have been done a long time ago. We’re sending him back to hell.”

The breeze picked up, blowing the swings back and forth. Lorna began chanting something I didn’t recognize.

“No!” I cried out and jumped forward to put out the fire somewhere in the circle. Anywhere, but ti didn’t work. I was too slow, too late.

The next thing I knew she was on the ground convulsing. Blood was pouring out of her mouth and eyes. She cackled through the pain. I had never seen anything like it. It was frightening. The wind died and everything was still, as if waiting for something to happen.

Spiros swayed back and forth in the circle, weakened from whatever it was that they did to him. I wondered if it worked, if they were finished… if this was the end of Spiros.

Spiros looked me in the eyes, knowing that these were his final moments. You know what you have to do. He said in my mind.

“We’re all going to burn for this.” Spiros growled.

“No, you’re going to burn for this.” Cade looked absolutely sinister as he said it. I could feel my world cracking, never to be the same.

The ground started shaking and I could hear Spiros yelling but I couldn’t quite understand the words. There was an earth shattering crack as it opened up and literally swallowed Spiros whole into its dark fiery depths. He disappeared and everything came back together.

I wanted to fall to my knees, cry out that my hope was dying with every person they took from me. For a second I would do almost anything to get my life back to the way it was. To be normal again and not have the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“I don’t get it. Why would you do this?” I almost whispered.

“You don’t get it?!” He laughed, “You should have put it all together a long time ago.”

I looked at him, my eyes wide with shock. “You’ve been the bad guy this whole time? You’ve gained my trust so you could lead me astray…”

“Natasha, Natasha… I gained you trust because it would be easier to turn you when the time came. And that time is very soon.” He smirked at me.

But I didn’t understand. Why reveal something like this and ruin the plan? I don’t think I really wanted to understand Cade’s motives. There wasn’t anything about this I wanted to understand anymore. I just felt so angry. I felt so betrayed.

“Why now? Why reveal all of this now?” I took a step back from the mother and son.

“We’ve set things into motion that you couldn’t even imagine and now… your little friend will burn.” Lorna stepped in.

I don’t know how or when she got up but the way she looked at me as her own blood dripped down her face was enough to make my blood run cold.

“How did you keep us out of your head? How did you pull this off without a single suspicion?” I’d been in his head before but I hadn’t seen any of it. Why hadn’t I known?

“I’m an incubus. I’m a mind demon, I have been raised to deceive people.” Cade said dimply.

“Oh my god…” I muttered, “How long has she been here? How long have you been doing this?”

“Longer than you have my dear and I have you to thank for that.” Lorna smiled sinisterly at me.

I don’t know when I lost it. But something inside of me snapped. Between my ally backstabbing me and sending Spiros back to hell and his mother killing almost everyone I care about… I snapped.

I couldn’t stop screaming. I was so mad I couldn’t see straight. That was when Cade made one of the worst decisions of his life. The second my eyes locked on to him I could feel myself slipping into his mind without actually feeling it.

He started to squirm. Something was wrong.

Cade’s eyes widened in shock.

“So the puppet master shows her true colors.” Lorna commented, amused at the situation.

Cade moved towards her at breakneck speeds. She merely laughed and disappeared.

I was seeing red. I wanted her dead. The sooner the better but I had lost my shot the second I lost my mind.

I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how I did it or why but Cade was in the air, arms and legs stiff as he rose. His left arm latched on to his right tightly. Cade looked frightened, wondering what I was possibly about to make him do to himself.

He pulled his right arm off in a matter of seconds. His blood sprayed across the ground before it began to dribble down his shoulder. I felt something warm rolling down my face. For a moment I thought it was his blood. Freaked out Cade fell to the ground as I let go of the connection.

Cade’s mother began yelling something I couldn’t hear. She hadn’t disappeared but simply used an illusion on me. Tricked my mind into believing she was gone. She was about to lunge for me but I set off the trap Spiros had left for me, catching her in the face, burning her hair to stubs. Several projectiles hit my body but I couldn’t feel them.

I simply ran.

What had I done?