‘Uh, no. Definitely not. What a weirdly specific thing to say.’
‘Who do you need to find then? If we do my thing first, maybe I can help you with your thing after. A deal or sorts.’ I’ll feel more confident if there is a mutual agreement, something to fall back on if things get unbalanced. I mean it worked out fine the first time. Kind of.
The demon sighs. ‘If that makes you feel better about it, fine. It doesn’t really matter anyway. You probably won’t remember this.’
I think about the amount I’ve drank tonight. ‘You’re not wrong,’ I groan. The demon responds with a polite but sad smile. I frown. Did I miss something?
‘Siara!’ a voice yells. Xander. Horror fills his expression as he notices the individual next to me. Immediately, the dark-haired demon deflects a blow from the small child.
‘Quick, run!’ Xander yells, ‘I’ll try to hold him off!’
‘What are you doing here?’ the demon says, his brows furrowing. He turns his attention, astonished, towards me. ‘You must be that girl I saw.’ Hatred drips from his voice. ‘You never mentioned you were kidnapped by demons. I feel like that could have been a more pressing issue that I could have helped you with.’
I get to my feet with only a slight wobble. ‘You never asked.’
The demon’s glamour dissipates as his sole attention diverts to Xander. Ashy skin, split pupils and dark long hair reveal themselves before me. This is the same description Xander gave me of Marxel. I shudder at my proximity to danger.
‘This is actually an interesting development,’ Marxel says. Xander rushes forward but is no match for the demon’s strength and with a back-handed smack, he is thrown away like a rag doll. He hits a tree with a muted thud, landing on fallen leaves. The boy stirs but doesn’t get up.
‘Xander!’
Marxel’s expression darkens as he stares at the boy. Surely, he wouldn’t kill him, not when Xander’s defenceless and unconscious. He turns his sights to me. I step back warily.
‘I’m guessing our deal is off then.’ He laughs quietly, drawing a pentagram of fire on the lawn. Symbols scorch themselves into the star’s edges. He walks inside it, giving me a cordial nod. Adrenaline surges through my veins. A portal. ‘Nice to meet you though. I hope you’re able to sort out your situation soon.’ He pauses. ‘Though I would advise against hanging around these ones if you can help it.’ He gestures to Xander, still unconscious on the ground.
‘Wait,’ I say, taking a few steps forward. ‘I’ll come with you.’
He blinks, stunned. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘Our deal.’ I hold his stare, conveying my conviction. Don’t make me go back to that house. Don’t make me go back to my old life.
Marxel’s eyes shine with delighted surprise, a wide grin forming across his face. ‘Well, this night just keeps getting better.’ The fire demon waves his hand, signalling my acceptance into the circle. I walk over but he stops me before I enter.
‘On one condition,’ he says.
‘What?’
‘We do my thing first.’
I nod hesitantly, taking a final glance at Xander. ‘The boy will be fine.’ He pauses. ‘But you do understand what I’m asking, right?’
I nod once more, this time slower, understanding dawning. All I know is that I’ve just made a deal with another demon while being heavily intoxicated, and I hope I live to regret it tomorrow.
‘Alright then,’ Marxel says, a certain sinister giddy rising in his voice. He activates the portal, raising his arm chivalrously to me. ‘Shall we?’
I take it with a smile. Will is going to be so mad when he finds out.
Predictable? I think not.
27
William
My blood runs colder. ‘What was that?’ The ground underneath me feels like it might just give way. Xander looks away submissively, gripping his own sleeves, words fumbling. It takes all of my will not to shake him until he spits out the whole story. It was his job to look after her. Not only did she have the human boy planted at her hip but a demon following her as well. How? How did this happen? I should have been there. If it was me instead of Xander maybe I could have done something.
‘Master, she’s gone. I couldn’t do anything. He was too fast and too strong,’ he whimpers, cowering. Of course he was. Marxel is a challenge for me, let alone Xander. I still don’t understand; we took so many precautions for this exact reason. Heret-Kau warned us. If Marxel brings Siara back over to the other realm while her soul isn’t fully healed, who knows what sorts of beings will gather to try their luck. Like a moth to a flame, they will come. Who knows, what if even Marxel can’t resist the temptation? Two for one. Revenge would never again taste so sweet. Siara would be gone, and it would all be because of her involvement with us, with me.
My teeth grind behind the clenched rigidness of my jaw. ‘How did he find her? How did he know it was her?’
‘I-I don’t know,’ Xander stutters. ‘I went to check on Siara later on in the night, but the human boy said she had wandered off and he couldn’t find her. So I went to look for her.’
Rye. I really should have killed him that day. He couldn’t even do the job he actually wanted to do. Xander paces, his face becoming pale.
‘I found her at the park, sitting with the fire demon. She was also quite intoxicated as well so maybe she let it slip–’
‘Intoxicated? Why was she intoxicated?’ I hiss. Charlotte uncrosses her legs and rises from the nearby arm chair. She has been sitting silently up until this point, listening and watching.
‘I don’t know what you’re making a big fuss about; he’s obviously just baiting you. If you don’t go, then he’ll probably let the human girl go.’
My muscles release their tension. She’s right. Marxel is baiting me with a human. I really shouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I sit with the thought, a nagging anxiety disallowing me to ease completely. ‘And if you’re wrong?’
Charlotte’s mouth twitches. ‘If I’m wrong, then there’s one thing we don’t have to worry about anymore.’ Xander eyes her menacingly, though surprisingly no sharp words follow. He must be too busy wallowing in his own self-pity to spend the energy fighting with Charlotte.
When I fail to respond, she glances over, her face draining of hue. ‘Either way, you know my opinion on the matter,’ she mutters before making herself scarce. Xander takes a few steps back, possibly fearing how angry I might become now that we’re alone. It’s true that I put on better behaviour around Charlotte. A courtesy to our past relationship perhaps.
‘Master, she was at a bar with the human boy.’ Xander’s large eyes reflect back my darkened expression, giving context to Charlotte’s hasty retreat. My voice is low, barely audible in the silent room.
‘She wasn’t supposed to go anywhere, not until she recovered.’ It must be cold as Xander’s shoulders tense and his hands grip his arms for warmth.
