His eyes widen suddenly and he jumps away from the wall, spinning as though looking for someone. “A demon?! Where?!” He exclaims and I belatedly realise that he’s joking. I don’t know what expression I’m currently pulling but it seems to amuse him. Snorting, he leans back against the wall, raising one dark brow. “You summoned me, why are you so surprised that I’m here?”
Summoned… Scrambling to my feet I feel my head shaking rapidly in denial. “I didn’t summon you! I was speaking to the gods!” My voice is high pitched and a little shrieky as I try to defend myself. There is no way I could have done what he’s suggesting.
“No,” he clucks his tongue and rolls his eyes, clearly bored with my reaction. “You were speaking to anyone who could helpyou. The gods have already decided you are beyond helping,” his eyes narrow as he nods toward the black band on my arm.
Slowly, the reality of what he’s saying begins to dawn on me. He is a demon. Somehow, I’ve summoned a gods-damned demon and now he’s staring at me like I am the dumbest creature he’s ever met. I’m beyond helping, that’s what he said. The gods have turned their backs on me and now the only ones to listen to me are… demons. Normal people cannot summon demons, right? That must mean there is something wrong with me. Am I a witch like the guards accused me of being?
Can I even believe anything he’s saying? All of the stories tell of how demons speak only lies, luring the weak into doing what they want. However, he wouldn’t be here unless he was summoned, which must mean he is telling the truth…? My head hurts trying to puzzle it all out, yet there is one thing he said that sticks out to me.
“You want to help me?” I don’t understand why he is here. He’s clearly powerful and I somehow accidentally summoned him here, so I’m sure he could have resisted my call for help. So why?
Examining his nails, he gives off the impression that all of this is below him and not worth his interest. “Sweetheart, I’m a demon. If I decide to help you it is because there is something in it for me.” He lifts his gaze and locks those grey orbs onto mine, and despite his words I hear a hint of a warning. “I heard your plea and I came before something bigger and badder than me took you up on your offer. You really need to be more careful when offering yourself to demons.” His teeth flash as he speaks, showing off his sharp fangs and making me shudder. Not only at his display of threat, but at the idea that anything could have been invited when I was pleading aloud.
“Anyway, let’s get down to business.” Stalking forward, he glances around the cell, curling his lip at the vomit in the corner.“Why am I here? I take it that you are wanting to escape this hell hole?”
Back against the wall, I shuffle slightly to the side to make sure I keep as much distance between us as possible. It’s pointless as he could probably snap me in two before I even formed the thought to scream, but my instincts are screaming at me to be alert. This creature is treacherous and I am playing a very dangerous game here even considering asking him for help.
He thinks he could help me escape, that is what he just implied with his comment. The palace is the most heavily guarded place within the kingdom, if he can get me out without being caught, then he must be powerful enough to do what I need him too. I don’t tell him that the cell is luxury compared to where I usually live, instead gesturing to the pile of useless gems strewn across the floor. “No. I have to put magic into these gems, but they are empty, there’s nothing there.” I have no idea how to explain this to him, how the gems feel as though they are devoid of life, as though they have been drained. I learnt early on the people don’t feel the crystals like I do. With no other way to explain it, I just have to hope that he understands what I mean. “Besides, magic has disappeared from Rune,” I explain, gesturing widely but I let my arms drop quickly at the look he shoots my way. “Are you able to help me?”
He looks at me with a considering look, tilting his head to one side. Silence fills the cell, seeming impossibly loud as I wait for his answer. Why is he watching me so intently and why is he taking so long to decide? If the stories are true, then he’s probably trying to device a devious payment to punish me for ever summoning him, accidental or not.
Crossing the room, he kneels by the spilled pouch of gems, running his hand over them. Lifting a piece of amethyst up to his eye, he stares at it, twisting and turning the stone in the dim light. Humming, he drops it back with the others and meets mygaze once more. “Let me get this straight, you want to me to make these gems magical?”
“Yes. The king says he will free me if I can do this.” The words feel bitter on my tongue.
His brows raise but he doesn’t vocalise his disbelief. “And what would you give me in return?” He asks instead.
This is what I had been dreading. Nothing comes for free, especially with demons. I swallow and try to keep my voice even. “What do you want?”
He grins slowly, causing me to shudder. “That is a dangerous question,” he purrs. “I want you to owe me a favour. One that I can cash in whenever I like, and no questions asked by you.”
He’s right, that was a dangerous question. He has named his price to be claimed at a later time and I walked straight into the trap. He could ask anything of me, and if I agree now, then I won’t be able to refuse when he comes looking for his favour. What could a demon possibly want from me that he can’t get for himself? This agreement might save me now, but will I be able to live with myself later once I complete his mystery task?
My instant reaction is to blurt out my agreement, to take his help, but I need to think over this carefully. I might not be able to refuse once I have agreed, but there is nothing to stop me putting restrictions in place now.
“I won’t kill anyone.” My voice is stronger, steady now that I am ruling out my hard limits.
“Noted,” he purrs, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Are we in agreement?”
I get caught up in his gaze, he really is beautiful. It’s a dangerous beauty, like one of the majestic mountain lions I sometimes see when I collect gems, and everything about him draws me in. He is the ultimate predator. My pulse is speeding again, and this time it has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with being so close to such a handsome male.
“I won’t sleep with you.” I blurt out the words before I have even completed the thought, my cheeks burning brightly. Where did that come from? Out of all of the awful things he could force me to do, having sex with him is the one that was at the forefront of my mind. What is wrong with me?
Slowly, his grin widens. “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t need to bind you in a contract to get you to sleep with me.” His eyes trail the length of my body, pausing on my heated cheeks, his pointed look telling me that he knows the exact reason that thought came to mind. He knows the effect he has on women and expects me to fall at his feet. If anything though, his attitude only serves in making my arousal quickly dissolve.
“Are we in agreement?” I fire back at him, my anger taking over any fear that had previously settled in me. How dare he judge and make assumptions of me? He’s an all-powerful demon, I need to control my temper before I dig myself a hole I cannot get out of. After all, this deal of his is keeping me alive, I simply hope that he doesn’t make me live to regret it.
My display of annoyance doesn’t seem to affect him. If anything, it only serves to amuse him. A pathetic human, that is how he probably views me. “Yes, we have a deal.”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly becomes electric, the fine hairs on my arm standing on end, static prickling at my skin. My emotions have been so chaotic that I almost don’t know how to react as the demon’s body seems to swell. What is happening? Common sense finally kicks in and I back away, my body smacking against the wall and ripping a gasp from my throat.
The lamps on the wall flicker, the flames dancing on a phantom breeze, only heightening my alarm. Why are the guards not rushing to the cell? They must not be able to see or hear the commotion.
The demons body seems to swell in size again, his eyes glowing a purple so vivid I have only ever seen it in a gemstone,and the room is suddenly filled with shadow. My gaze flicks to the lantern but nothing is blocking the light… no, the shadows are comingfromthe demon. That is why he looked like he was getting larger, the shadows were pushing at the edges of his body, begging for release.
A deep, primal fear sparks in me and my eyes can’t comprehend what I’m seeing. No creature should have this level of power, and its terrifying experiencing it for myself. It isn’t even aimed at me, yet I can feel the vast, infinite strength that he can call to himself. What could he possibly need from me that will benefit him in this deal when he is so mighty with his own magic?
Suddenly it feels as though the air has been pulled from the cell, the pressure building around my chest and head as I try to take a breath. Panic grips me like a vice, tight and all consuming. A popping sound resonates in my ears and I can breathe again. The moment can’t have lasted longer than a heartbeat, but as I struggled to pull in air, that secondfeltlike a lifetime.
