I stroke Lex’s back and she makes a pained noise.“Lex?”I say as Lucy sits at the table.
“It’s just… you know the books Lucy stole from the underworld?”Lex sits up and gives Lucy an appreciative smile.
“Yeah?”I say.
“I found out what happened to my sister last night.I couldn’t sleep cause usually I’d hear Bastien’s bloody snoring and it was too quiet, so I took to the books again…”
“You want to talk about it?”Lucy asks.
Lex twiddles with her fingers.“Short story is that I made a stupid mistake.Took a deal with a demon and my sister lost her life over it.”
Lucy glances at the table, suddenly very interested in the marks and grooves.“I’m sorry,” she says.
It must be awkward for her as a demon—or more accurately, ex-demon—to be friends with mortals.
It occurs to me then that I am a demon and perhaps I could make deals.Strange, that actually appeals.The magic inside my chest rumbles at the thought, almost like the sound of an excited cat trilling at birds.I don’t want to contemplate that right now, though.I think I’ve made enough deals for a lifetime.
Lex picks at a fingernail.“The strange thing is, for all my sister knew about demons and the underworld, for all her academic achievements, I don’t believe she took more than the basic contract modules.So I’d never thought to study it much.I was trying to follow her footsteps, you know?Figure out what she knew, and what would have driven her to make that decision.”
“You found the answer in a contract?”
She shakes her head.“No, one of the books Lucy gave me was on contract law.This whole time, I’d been focusing on necro languages hoping I’d be able to speak to her or find something in an ancient demon language.And I was looking in the wrong place.”
She’s clearly lost in her thoughts, so we give her space to let it out.She sighs, nudges the spoon around the bowl and takes a bite, swallows and then continues.“The irony is, I’m not sure she did know.I think all this time I was trying to find an answer that just wasn’t there.I was convinced she must have figured something out to break the contract.But in reality, I think she just loved me enough that she sacrificed herself.”
Lucy sits up.Our eyes dart to her.
“You know, don’t you?”Lex says.
Lucy chews on her lip.“You saidsacrifice?”
Lex nods.
“If another sacrifices themselves and offers themselves up instead of the original contractee, a demon will usually jump at the offer,” Lucy says.
I shift uncomfortably.I’ve sacrificed myself many times, some worth it, some definitely not.
Lex’s eyes are wet as she says, “Apparently, it creates a far greater magic, more powerful than what the original contract produces.”
Lucy grabs Lex’s hand and rubs the back of it with her thumb.“It does and that’s why the demon will always take the sacrifice.”
“Wait, but I—” I start.
Lex and Lucy both shake their heads, cutting me off.
It’s Lucy that answers.“Not at the point of contract creation.”
Lex gives me a weak smile.“Yeah, I already thought of you.I read the book twice to see if I could find a way to get you out of the contract with Ignatius.”
“There wasn’t anything useful?”I ask.
Her lips press thin.I figured as much.
She reaches out to comfort me but before our fingers touch, Lucy gasps and stands up from the table.
“Oh fuck,” she says and slaps her hand over her mouth while dragging her eyes to mine.
“What’s wrong?”I ask.
