Chapter 8 #2
I opened my mouth to object but shut it at the pointed look he gave me.
I had no leverage. If I didn’t agree to his terms, he would tell Death what I was hiding.
I didn’t have the stomach to find out if he was bluffing.
The prospect was enough to make me feel like the walls were closing in.
I was going to have to give him something if I wanted him to fix an end point for the deal.
“What do you want?” I tried not to focus on the hundreds of horrifying possibilities my mind wanted to conjure.
The way he studied me for a moment didn’t help, his expression intense. I had no idea what he was thinking.
I swallowed as he took a step towards me.
“I want you to not reject everything I tell you right away. Keep an open mind.”
“You want to force me to believe everything you say?” My eyes went wide.
“No. I’m not taking your free will. You’ll be able to agree with something I tell you or come to the conclusion that it’s false. I just want you to consider that it might be true before you reject it.” There was something I couldn’t parse in his expression, exasperation or resignation maybe.
His clarification was not reassuring.
“Will the deal force me to fulfill it the same way as the rest?”
“Yes.”
I gritted my teeth, knowing he wouldn’t accept anything else. “I will keep an open mind for the duration of the deal.” At least that way I wouldn’t be in his thrall for any longer than necessary.
“Fine.”
I pressed my hand to my stomach. “The deal ends after six lessons.”
“It ends when you can successfully call on, actively use and release your… curse, and when you’ve gone at least three weeks without it making an uncontrolled appearance.”
“I told you, I’m not using it.”
“You won’t have full control unless you can use it. My offer that it be your decision if and how you use it stands.” He took another step towards me, but I stood my ground.
“Two weeks without an uncontrolled appearance and we have a deal,” I said, determined to wring one concession from him.
“Deal.” Satisfaction rolled off him as he held out his hand for mine.
I eyed it like it might bite me but placed my hand in his, wanting to get this over with. Ignoring the way his skin scraped gently against mine, I met his gaze.
His eyes had turned completely black, and I felt shadows wrapping around our hands and wrists like vines.
“As the Devil, God of the In Between, I offer you this deal.” His voice had a resonance to it that vibrated against my ribs.
“To teach you how to control what you call your curse in exchange for you spying on Death for me, and to not reject everything I tell you outright for the duration of this deal. The decision on when and how to use your curse or not will be yours. I will not force you. The deal will end once you can successfully call on, actively use, and release your power, and when you’ve gone at least two weeks without it making an uncontrolled appearance.
Do you accept and swear to uphold your end of the bargain? ”
I swallowed. I was really making a deal with the Devil. He’d added everything I’d argued for, but I was under no illusion that he was coming out ahead. If there were any other choice—I stopped myself. There wasn’t. I wouldn’t be agreeing otherwise.
“I swear.” My skin prickled as his power rose.
“This will hurt, but only for a moment.”
Before I could ask what he meant, the shadows around my wrist sharpened, slicing into my skin.
A gasp escaped me. My eyes widened as something red and glittering surfaced from the cuts and soaked into the shadows.
As he said, the pain only lasted a few seconds.
Then the shadows loosened, slipping off and snaking back into the Devil’s skin.
I felt him tremble, as if sealing our bargain had shaken him.
The cut on my wrist sealed itself and faded.
His grip on me loosened, and I withdrew my hand, letting it fall to my side.
My shoulders slumped. The deal was struck. I’d bound myself to him. An intense weariness settled over me, and I wished he’d leave so I could lose myself to sleep and forget about everything for a while.
“I’ll be in touch about where and when to meet for our first lesson.”
“It’ll have to be at night, after Death dismisses me. She’s confined my duties to her quarters and given me a babysitter, like she threatened.”
His hands flexed at his side. “That won’t be a problem. Have a good night, Maeve. I’ll see you soon.” With one last lingering glance, he turned and disappeared into the shadows.
I knew as soon as he was gone from the way the room brightened, though I walked into the corner and thrust my hands through the remaining shadows to be sure I was alone. Damn. It looked like the Devil could travel through shadows.
The fire crackled and Star, my salamander friend, poked their head out of the flames.
“Waited ‘til he was gone, did you? Smart choice.” With a sigh, I retrieved the crust of bread from my apron and laid it on the floor by the hearth. Then I retreated to my bed and collapsed, leaning back against the wall.
As soon as I was settled, Star scurried down and examined my offering. I’d never seen them eat it, but Star seemed to appreciate the gesture, always taking it with them.
“Must be nice to be able to have a place to hide where no one can get to you.” I didn’t know where the fire led, but I imagined some sort of salamander-sized network of passages connecting all of the fires here and in the Orders of Death in the World of the Living.
Star cocked their head.
“If I had a place to hide, I wouldn’t be stuck in an arrangement with that manipulative bastard.” I let my head fall back against the wall and closed my eyes. It had been a long day. Had the incident with the tea tray only been this morning?
I felt sleep tugging at me. All I needed was to surrender to it and I could lose myself to oblivion for a while.
I slumped to the side until I was lying down.
My mind wandered, skipping through memories of the day, lingering on the Devil’s face as he sealed our deal.
In response, something twitched in my chest.
In my mind’s eye, a thread appeared. I could feel it, anchored to my heart and stretching into the distance.
Instinctively, I put my hand on my chest, but all I felt was the rough fabric of my dress.
I attributed it to my tired mind conjuring things that weren’t there, until the thread pulled hard enough to make me gasp.
Reaching out a mental finger, I gently plucked it. The vibrations made my whole body hum pleasantly. A feeling of rightness settled in my chest, as if something I hadn’t known I wanted had slotted into place. My muscles relaxed and I melted into the bed.
Right as I began to drift off, a different vibration came down the thread, deeper and more resonant. Masculine.
My eyes flew open, but I could still feel it. It was unmistakably him. The Devil. It felt like his presence: solid, firm and powerful. It had to be the deal we’d struck, a tangible symbol of it. Did that mean that he could feel me through the connection?
Gods.
I looked at Star, who still watched me from the floor. “What have I gotten myself into?”