The Demon Dealings

“I need your help.” I didn’t want to admit it but the words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Hello to you to Natasha.” He smiled at me, turning from his friends to pay attention to me. “What can I do for you?”

“We shouldn’t… talk here.” I glanced at his friends… inquiring minds.

“Yeah, that’s cool.” He nodded over to his friends in a manner that I assumed made then aware that he was leaving.

I made sure that we went somewhere off school grounds and away from mine or Jane’s houses. So I decided on a park near the halfway point because it was a school day I figured the park would be empty and I was mostly right.

We sat down on a hill overlooking the small and in my opinion rather pathetic pond. Ducks quacked about happily, despite the poopy nature of the pond.

“What did you need my help with?” Cade didn’t look at me when he asked.

I took a deep breath. “You’re a supernatural, right?”

“Yeah…” He said slowly.

“So, you know about deals. You know how they work…?” I asked him hesitantly.

Cade turned to look at me quickly suddenly very serious. “You didn’t make a deal did you?”

“No!” I cried, “No… I just… Need to know how they work.”

“Are you thinking of making one?” He looked at me suspiciously. His concern was somewhat bothersome.

“Not really… I’m pretty much only asking you because Spiros made a deal with my father and I’m not sure I can trust him right now.” I let out a breath.

“Spiros is a light walker…” Cade said slowly with an eyebrow raised at me.

“Yeah… I figured as much.” I muttered an picked a pebble off the ground to throw.

“And, light walkers can’t make a deal with a human for their soul. That’s just not how it works.”

“What do they make deals for, then?”

“They make deals for other things. It’s kind of complicated but light walkers never make deals for selfish reason, money, power, or the like. They always make deals for the greater good if you will.” Cade gestured to the park. I threw my pebble towards the pond, missing by a few feet.

“So what do they get out of it? Doesn’t everyone have an agenda?” I didn’t look at him when I asked this; afraid that he might think I had an agenda.

“I guess you could say it’s to keep order. They use deals to keep humans at peace, to keep humans from knowing about the supernaturals. Because once they figure us out it would be all out war, dark walkers would no longer have a reason to hide and therefore have no reason to behave so to speak. So their agenda is to make sure that the dark walkers don’t take over.”

“From that I assume the dark walkers want the exact opposite…” I fiddled with another pebble as I watched the pond as the conversation lulled.

“Let me just start by saying, everything I know about deals stems from what I am. Things would be a little bit different if I was to make a deal.” He paused. “Dark walkers want to collect as may souls as they can. That is why they make deals because the more deals they make the more souls they get and the more souls they get the more power they get.”

“So wait… if you made a deal with a dark walker, they are always taking something from you, something more valuable than what you are getting in return? And that is what makes them powerful…” I furrowed my brows in concentration.

“Yes, that’s how I’ve always understood it.”

“So then, how do deals work with supernaturals?” He tensed slightly at my question.

“That is where things get a little tricky. With light walkers it’s easy. If a supernatural makes a deal it’s like signing a contract for service. You owe whoever you made a deal with. Usually it just means protecting someone or something for a long time. But with dark walkers things are different…”

“Because they’re more tricky and will give you something with a price tag, and you don’t realize what’s on that price tag until it’s too late…”

“Supernaturals, however have less pure souls than humans and some have degraded so far that it is almost impossible to make deals with them. Those kinds of supernaturals almost always become the dealers themselves.” He sighed. “But for others it means a life of eternal damnation… If their souls aren’t accessible in a certain amount of time the dealer will drain their power slowly until they wither away.”

“That sounds lovely…” I replied sarcastically.

“It’s anything but.” He shook his head.

“If, somehow magically, a deal is broken, what happens then?”

“You better hope they don’t find you, or your dealer.” He looked me dead in the eye, warning me.

“I guess I better not make any deals any time soon… I know you’re a supernatural but this seems like an awful lot to know. How do you know so much?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“I am a… incubus. I know a little about dark walkers because that is what traditional incubi are.”

I tried not to flinch and scoot away from him, “Woha… that’s…”

“I’m a light walker. I feed on people’s dreams. That’s pretty much it.” He shrugged.

“That’s interesting…” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“So what is this all about?” He tilted his head sideways to look at me.

“I told you… Spiros made a deal with my father and I wanted to know what it was.”

“It’s more than that. I can tell.”

“Yeah well, I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Lately everything has been so weird… and if I can just put all the pieces together maybe I can get back to normal.” I shook my head and threw another pebble into the pond.

“I don’t think it’s going to end the way you expect.”

I stopped picking at the grass and looked at him, “What makes you say that?”

“You can’t go back to normal. If you did it would mean getting rid of me.” He teased, trying to lighten the mood.

I shoved him lightly, “Yeah well… How terrible would that be?”

“You wound me.” He put his hand over his heart.

“Well, you and your wounded heart can sit there and attempt to recover. I should be headed home.” I stood up, brushing the dirt off my butt.

He laughed, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” I muttered and started the walk home.

My house was quiet when I got there. My mother left a note on the counter informing me dinner was in the fridge so I heated some up and quickly ate. I sat on the couch after to watch TV and decided after a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother that I was too tired to continue.

I made my way to my room and fell asleep shortly after my head hit the pillow.

She looked haggard as she sat on her knees in the sealing circle. I almost felt bad for her. The way she huffed through her teeth, her hands bound tightly behind her back. Then I remember all the awful things she'd done and felt we were giving her more than she deserved.

The elf in charge of dispelling her and sending her from our world began speaking quietly, as if whispering to her but I know the reality was that she was sending her away the same way she brought me through. Gradually her words grew louder and soon, in a blur of light and shadow she was both stripped of her powers and sent away.

I almost wanted to cry. It was finally over. It was time for me to go home.

"The deal is broken..." I whisper.

"No deal is ever truly broken... Unless the soul is fragmented beyond repair." Spiros' word held some regret in them. I knew his past was filled with deals like this one that would probably haunt him until his death.

"But the deal was augmented..." I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, to a degree." He said vaguely.

"Does that someone made a deal to bring me here?" Like they made a deal to get rid of her… I thought.

"And there will be a deal made should you choose to leave." Spiros have me a hard look, something that told me I should think it over. Deals are never to be made lightly. Especially when your soul is involved.

He turned away, leaving me alone to ponder my thoughts. But I already knew what I wanted more than anything. I'd spent so many years invested in a war for a place I never called home. Somehow, I never stopped missing the place if come from, my real home. Whatever the deal was, I was almost certain I was willing to make it.

When the time came those who remained of the twelve, those of us from other worlds, we had a decision to make; to stay in the land we’d fought for or to go home. Everyone before me had chosen to stay but I was more reluctant.

"Natasha." She called me from the waiting room. The time was now.

"We hold your service in high regard. In fact, the king is willing to give you a place as a protector of the realm if you stay. I think you know what this means." She eluded.

"It's one of the most important positions in the realm after the king..." I respond, I shook my head. I didn’t want this.

"If you stay there is a place for you, you’re future here is clear. If you, however, decided to leave there is a catch... I cannot tell you when you will go. It could be days, it could be months... The time is something I do not measure. But I assure you, if you chose this path you will not remain here."

"What about the deal?" I could feel my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"That deal is more complicated. You won't be like you are here but you will find that you return different then when you left."

"I don't know what you mean..."

"If you cannot be a protector in one realm you will be protector in the other. You will not be the same as the humans and not the same as the other. You will be in the middle until the time comes."

"Alright...”I paused even though I had already made up my mind. “I want to go home. Send me home."

"As you wish."

I woke with a start, breathing heavy, not completely understanding what had just happened. I made a deal... Did deals in dreams count? Would I be bound to it? I had almost wished I had waited to have the conversation with Cade. He probably could have given me answers.

“Uhhhh….” I groaned and rolled over to turn on my bedside lamp.

When I rolled back over I noticed someone standing in the corner, “Jesus!... Jane? What are you doing here?”

“I messed up Nash. I must up real bad…” She seemed disheveled and out of sorts. She was pale and a little sweaty. Something was off.

“What happened...?” I noticed her fidgeting with her hands and realized that there was a whole lot more that I was not getting, “is that blood?”

She violently rubbed at her hands for a moment and stopped. “I can’t control it Nash. And I don’t know who else to go to.” She had a wild look in her eye as she spoke.

“Jane… I’m not sure what you’re talking about…” I was cautious about my words.

“I killed him. I killed him because they told me to kill him but I liked it. I don’t know what to do Nash. I’m too far in this I don’t know how to get out.” Her voice was frantic, eyes wild.

I hesitated for a second, “Jane, who are they and who did they ask you to kill?”

“They are everywhere.” Her eyes darted to the window, afraid. “And they’re not who they say they are…” She was still fidgeting almost as if she was a junkie looking for a fix.

“I want to help you Jane but you have to tell me what happened… Why don’t you sit down?” I gestured to the desk chair behind her.

She flinched slightly and slowly sat down, her posture was tense but I knew one way or another I would learn the truth.

“It started when I decided to meet them… I thought that it would be great, I thought that it would make me stand out if I took what they were offering but I should have known that there would be strings attached…” She looked out the window as if to check that no one was outside.

“Who did you meet Jane?” A bad feeling started to collect at the bottom of my stomach. I swallowed the saliva collecting in my mouth to suppress it.

“I guess it’s us now… I went to meet my coven. They made me like them. That’s why I went to meet them.” She trailed off.

“Are you… witches?” I asked slowly.

“Something like that. I thought that was what they would give me in the beginning. I thought that I could be glamorous like in the movies or that I could get people to like me more. But that was not what I got. I got something ugly that only appears beautiful on the outside.” She said with contempt and checked out the window again.

“Is that why you have been gone all this time? Because you’re not… human anymore?” I stared her in the face but she was too fidgety to have the full effect.

“Yes, I have been trying to get a hold of myself. I can’t be around normal people until I’m in control of it. And it hurts Nash; it hurts so bad all the time. I’m always hungry. I don’t know how they do it.”

“How can you be around me?” I could feel the tension rise.

“Because. I have killed. I completed the blood rite.” The way she said it sent chills down my spine.

“Did you … Did you make a deal?” I wince slightly at the word.

She stood abruptly and stepped towards me somewhat threateningly, “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t made a deal!”

“And the blood rite sealed it…” I muttered to myself.

“Yes, it sealed it. He wouldn’t leave if I didn’t seal it.” She took one more step closer so both feet were side by side.

“Is this the… demon you made a deal with?”

“Once he was summoned… once I was changed he followed my every move to make sure that I knew that if I didn’t complete the blood rite that I would be dead by the next new moon.” She spat. “Once a demon is summoned they always make it worth their while. They will get a deal out of you in one way or another.”

“And you had to sacrifice someone… who was it? Who did you have to kill for this?”

“It was Ian. I killed Ian.” She took a deep breath, “and they will never find him.”