The Demon's Bargain (A Deal With a Demon #4)
Katee Robert
Chapter 1
Lenora
I can’t believe it’s come to this.
My knees hurt from kneeling on the basement floor as I painstakingly draw the summoning circle. I keep pausing to reference my great-grandmother’s grimoire. I had to sneak it out of the house during the last family dinner; neither of my fathers would be pleased that I’m following in her footsteps.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
If I told them what’d I’d done, that I let my foolish heart lower my defenses with the wrong person and lost the family amulet as a result… They wouldn’t yell at me. They certainly wouldn’t throw things or have a messy reaction. They’d just be disappointed, which is worse in so many ways.
No, I have to do this on my own.
The amulet has some of the most powerful protective spells in existence laced into it. When someone wears it, they can’t be poisoned or attacked by magical means—or at least magical means from this realm.
I’m betting everything that a bargainer demon will have the firepower to retrieve it. If they kill Kristoff in the process? All the better. I don’t think he’s had it long enough to learn it’s secret, but every day that passes raises the risk.
I shudder and quickly finish the runes around the circle. “There.” I stand slowly and check the circle on the ground against the one drawn in the grimoire. According to the book, each bargainer demon has their own calling card, so to speak. This one will call Ramanu, a bargainer demon with gargoyle blood in their lineage. I’m not sure if that makes a difference when it comes to getting what I want, but it was noted here, so maybe it’s worth noting.
Then again, the book also goes into rather explicit detail about the demon. They didn’t fuck my great-grandmother, but based on this, she absolutely would have been down for it. It’s enough to wonder what my father thought when he read through this grimoire. I laugh softly. Ultimately, she didn’t make a deal, though she summoned Ramanu three separate times.
Probably trying to get in their pants.
That’s not on the agenda for me—even if it were, the bargainer demons’ terms are too strict. Seven years’ service for whatever task they agree to. Too long. The cost is too high.
But losing my power…being responsible for my family losing its power?
Yeah, talk about desperate times.
I crouch and stare at the circle. I could try to get the amulet again on my own. I don’t have to track Kristoff across the world. The bastard travels more than a flight attendant but with much less predictability—yet he won’t for the next three days.
It’s Samhain.
He’ll be at the Shadow Market, along with everyone else worth knowing in this realm. Even some from beyond it. Samhain is one of those special times when the veils thin and shit goes a bit weird. Normally, I adore it. I spend the three days at the market visiting with friends, stocking up on magical items that only seem to be available this time of year, and finding a gorgeous partner or four to fuck away the nights with.
Not this time.
I hesitate. If I could do this on my own, I would have managed it by now. Kristoff has had the amulet for two weeks. I haven’t seen my powers dampen yet, but it’s only a matter of time. My fathers live a mostly quiet life, but what if there’s an exception to that rule in the near future and Dad reaches for his magic to protect himself…and nothing answers?
No, I’m out of time and out of options.
With a muttered curse, I grab my dagger and slice along my forearm. Not a deep cut. Just enough to activate the summoning spell written in the grimoire. I speak slowly, carefully, each word layering upon the one before it and making the air in the room spark and sizzle. It’s uncomfortable, and my arm is bleeding too freely, the magic in my blood fueling the spell. The circle closes with a snap that vibrates through the room and sends me tipping back onto my ass.
I curse again. “Godsdamned demons and their godsdamned circles.” Not that I have much experience with summoning circles, but it worked for my great-grandmother three separate times. If Ramanu is still among the living, it will summon them.
The circle flares purple and then red, the center going strangely fluid. It parts like water, four horns appearing, followed by a head and shoulders. They’re exactly as described. One set of horns curls out from their temples and another angles back from their eye sockets, following the curve of their shaved skull.
I can even see what attracted her to them. They’re rather good-looking in a demonic sort of way, with high cheekbones and a sensual mouth that curves as I stare. They heft themself from the magical hole in the floor and place their feet on the now-solid ground. Gods, they’re tall. My basement ceiling is seven feet high, and their horns scrape across the surface as they look around; they don’t have eyes, but they’re obviously using magic to examine the area.
I take the opportunity to study them. No matter what the various churches believe, bargainer demons aren’t scouring the earth in search of human souls. Honestly, I don’t know of a single person who’s actually dealt with them personally. But there are rumors.
There are always rumors.
I’m not sure what I expect, but Ramanu finishes their examination and focuses on me. “Hello, little witch.”