A Devil's Dealings

"Ugh..." My head started throbbing the next day, the lekos' after-effects greeting me first thing in the morning. My entire body was sore like every muscle had gone through a month's work of exercise in a single night. My nerves burned and I nearly cramped my leg just trying to get out of bed. "That was a strong batch," I muttered, walking out of the door and getting myself ready for the day.

"You look like shit." Lucian teased me as I walked into our bathroom, finding him brushing his teeth in front of our mirror. "Was it good?"

"It was amazing, now get out." I smiled as I shoved him out of the room. I freshened up and walked out, finding him working on the same book as yesterday. "When do you think it'll be ready?"

"It'll be ready once it's ready. Relax." He replied, looking at the door. "Dad left again. Hurry up or you'll be late." I gave him a nod, walking out into the streets as the brightly burning fires lit up the world. I wandered aimlessly for a while until I found myself at a park, skipping stones to pass the time.

Something tugged at my foot, dragging me into the lake as my lungs filled with boiling water. "Good luck." Greg's voice pierced my mind as I shut my eyes and let myself drown, the water filling my insides as life left my lips.

"Holy shit, it worked." A surprised voice met me this time, younger than the one yesterday... much younger. I looked down, finding a group of three girls sitting in a circle on the floor of what looked to be a bedroom of a teenager. "You summoned it... what do we do now?" One asked another, the second one staring slackjawed at me.

"What's your name?" She asked me as I lowered myself to one knee to be level with them.

"My name is Lilith. What is it you desire, master?" I asked, grinning. As they stared on at me, I quickly tried to gather my strength for whatever was required, sighing with disappointment. They didn't summon me for a reason, evident by their surprise for earlier, so their emotions weren't as strong as Johnathan's and, in turn, my powers were weaker.

"Hey, what if you..." The third one finally opened her mouth, whispering something into the others' ears as they exchanged looks.

"Umm... Lilith. There's this boy I like." My summoner mumbled, getting red in the face with every word that escaped her lips. Another lonely human looking for love; they were always fun to work with.

"I think I know what you want. So, how do you want to do this? Hypnosis? Blackmail? My personal favorite is chaining him down until you're the only woman he thinks about." I smiled, watching as they turned to me with faces filled with terror.

"No. Actually, can you just watch over me to make sure that nothing goes wrong..." She walked up to me, whispering something in my ear as I cocked my eyebrow up at her. That was it? Well, a job is a job. I offered her my hand, which she took and shook to seal our contract. I stayed in the mortal realm a lot longer for that job, following her around while remaining out of sight until the day arrived.

"Do you think this will work, Ema?" The first girl from that night asked the third.

"I don't know, Julie," Ema replied.

"Of course it will," I said to shut them up. "I'm here, and I never fail a contract." The three of us stood nearby, watching as my summoner approached a boy that seemed around their age. "So, that's the guy." Short brown hair, dark eyes, slightly taller than her.

"Hi, Nat, you're late; the movie's about to start. Let's go inside." The boy said, putting his hands into the pocket of his pants as the two of them entered a cinema. Nat smiled, walking down one of the halls as the three of us followed them.

"Wait, we don't have tickets." Julie murmured as I pulled her and Ema close to me. "Lilith?"

"Stay close to me and nobody will be able to see us," I whispered as I felt myself getting stronger. Nat's heart was beating faster as her emotions got more and more intense with every second she spent with the boy; it still wasn't as strong as my previous job, but it was enough for something minor like this.

We stalked them on their date. First was a movie that had been getting a lot of good press, or so they told me. After that, the two of them went to a nearby arcade to play. But, after a while, he started to look bored; tapping his toe against the ground, taking deep breaths, and occasionally groaning. "Nat, are we done here? I have somewhere to be soon." He said, and I felt a shiver run up my spine as Nat's chest tightened with stress.

"One more place. There's something I want to show you, Dylan." She said, her voice trying to hide her desperation and failing. He looked at her, checking his phone for the time.

"How far is it?" He openly showed his frustration. She took his arm, pulling him off into a nearby park and stopping at a tree that grew near the lake in the center. "Why did you bring me here? Actually, why did you call me out today in the first place?" He asked as she looked up at him while trying to stop herself from crying. I could feel myself getting stronger with each whimper that escaped her lips, yet it felt cold and empty; lost and directionless. "Don't tell me that you were trying to confess to me."

"I..." Her face turned a shade of crimson that reminded me of home, her body locked up. "I've liked you for a while now..." Nat leaned her back against a guardrail near the lake, her legs unable to support her body as words escaped Dylan's mouth.

"I see. I'm sorry..." He said, turning around. "But feelings aren't mutual. I hope we can still be friends, and I hope to see you in class again once school starts up again." With that, he started walking away. Is this what humans call the friend zone? My chest started throbbing as the girls instantly started running toward Nat. Nat looked at us, closing her eyes as she leaned back and tipped her body over the railing and into the lake. That idiot.

It was cold, I could feel it through my contract. I rushed over, leaning over the edge slightly to see if I could spot her; I couldn't, the water was too dark. Well, it didn't matter to me, I'll still get paid for it, but I just couldn't just stand there and watch, could I? I shouldn't, I'm a demon, what would happen to me if I did? I could feel the other two tugging at my arms, begging me to help. "Ugh! Fine!" Julie said, leaping over the railing herself, followed by Ema. I just watched them disappear into the lake for a few seconds before I heard a voice in my head.

"Ema? Julie? No, you can't die..." Nat thought as I felt compelled to jump in after them. Stupid idiot. I steadied myself in the water, using Nat's growing stress as a battery for my body. I saw them slowly drifting down to the bottom, chasing after Nat as she was still, only moved by whatever the water wished her body to do. I raced down after them, seeing them reach far enough to take hold of one of Nat's hands before I managed to grab onto the collars of their clothes.

I swam up, pulling all three of them up onto dry land as people started looking at us. "Idiots! All three of you!" I scolded them as Nat started coughing, spitting out water onto the dirt. "And you! That was uncalled for! I know I'm used to it, but that came out of nowhere! If you wanted to die, you should have told me!"

"I'm sorry."

"Ugh, I guess no harm no foul, for me anyway. Contract complete, I'll be taking my payment." I said, extending my hand.

"What? Nothing went right! She didn't even get to confess properly." Ema argued, looking up at me as she wiped some water away from her eyes.

"The contract was that I watch over her and ensure that nothing went wrong during their date. I hate bringing up the technical stuff, but nothing went wrong. It wasn't meant to happen in the first place, it seems. Even if the date went well, which it did, he would reject her."

"And the drowning?"

"Happened after the date, since he left. Honestly, I shouldn't have even saved you three since my job was done." I grumbled as I clenched my hand, feeling something form between my fingers. "I'm leaving. Good luck girls." I said, jumping into the lake and letting the water fill my lungs. And, as always, I found myself waiting in line at Greg's again.

"No, this has to be a mistake!" A voice caught my attention as I was about to step up to the front. "I can't have..."

"You murdered your wife. And you never repented for your sins." Greg's said coldly, turning around and arranging some files into drawers. "There's no questioning that. Somebody, take him away." He snapped his fingers as multiple hands started coming out of the floor. The man that yelled earlier broke off from the line, sprinting away into the white void that surrounded the reaper's desk. It's been a while since I've seen a runner.

They were always fun to watch as they squirmed to escape, but there was nowhere to escape to. The hands quickly caught up to him, grabbing his limbs and tying him down to the floor before they dragged him to my usual door. It opened as the flames licked his face, the hands chucking him head-first into the inferno. "Hey, I'm done."

"That one took a while. I assume that you have a huge haul for me." Greg turned his attention toward me, pulling out the machine to extract my reward from my contract. I handed him the gem, or gems in this case. Two dozen, small, teardrop-shaped, aquamarines fell from my hand and into the machine, slowly filling up two bottle's worth of lekos. I looked at them and sighed, pocketing them with disappointment plastered all over my face. "Thanks again for your hard work. I hope you enjoy them." Greg smiled as much as he could without any muscles, waving me goodbye as I walked through the door and started heading home.

"Just two this time..." I muttered, entering the house and looking around for Lucian. Even after looking for two or three minutes, I couldn't find him; maybe he went to submit his book. I guess it's just me today. "I wonder how this one will taste." I put one away with my stash as I opened up the other. I took a sip, it was cold and bittersweet, like a bar of chocolate that someone had put into a freezer.

"Lilith, come down, now!" A voice called out to me from the other side of the door. I haven't seen him recently.

I left my room, finding the man in question waiting for me in the kitchen. "Hello, father." I bowed, getting on my knees as I heard him stand up from the chair.

"Have you been well?" His tone was hollow, almost like a machine. I could feel his gaze on the back of my head, burrowing deep into my soul as I saw his boots stop before my head. "How much have you gathered?" He asked as I gulped down a knot in my throat.

"I..." I could feel him bend down as I saw his knees bend forward. "I got paid with four..." I squinted my eyes as I felt his hand grab onto the back of my neck, pulling me up until his eyes met mine.

"That's it!?" He screamed, tossing me into the wall before he watched me fall face down onto the floor. "You useless spawn! You're just like your mother! Give them to me!" I had only barely managed to open my eyes in time to see the tip of his boot rushing for my face. I was sent onto my back before I scrambled into my room. I picked out four of the glass bottles, offering them to him before hiding my face again. "Don't disappoint me next time." He said, popping one open and downing it before smashing the glass onto the back of my head. I didn't move, not until I heard him stomp away and leave through the front door.

I quietly trudged over to my room, shutting the door and sealing it with a minor enchantment. "Damn him..." I sat down on my bed, looking into my mirror as my injuries started healing. "Mom... where are you?" I mumbled, trying to remember something about my mother. I absentmindedly scanned my room, my eyes glossing over the bottle I opened earlier; I downed the rest of it and forced myself to just lay down and trip.

"Nat?" A voice reached my ears; it was familiar, yet different. "It's about time. You're late." I looked around in my vision, it was a cafe of some sort during a quiet summer day.

"Why am I not surprised though, she's always been bad with time." Another person spoke as two people turned their heads toward a woman that was slowly walking up to their table. "But this time, I think we can excuse her."

"Julie, Ema... You two..." Nat mumbled, panting as she pulled up a chair for herself. "Look well..." She added, resting her weary body as Julie handed her the menu. I felt something in my throat and chest, something I didn't like the feeling of. I bit my lip as I watched them, they were in their twenties, maybe thirties, smiling as they talked. I felt a little envious.

"It must be nice to not be alone..." I mumbled as I continued to watch, placing my hand on Nat's belly and feeling something kick against my palm.

"Lilith? Are you awake?" Lucian knocked on my door as the vision faded, my attention heightening with his sudden calling. "Father's gone."

"Did you talk to him?" I asked, opening my door a smidge to look at him. He had a black eye and a bruise on his arm. "Come in." I opened my door a little wider, ushering him in as he looked into my eyes.

"Can I have some?" He asked, gesturing toward the empty bottle as he rubbed his shoulder. I sighed, reaching into my stash and tossing one over to him. "Thanks..." He said, drinking it down quickly as his arm spasmed; this is why I don't let him drink this stuff. "Why do you think he's always so angry with us?"

"Because we're demons," I said, turning to face him as he sat on the edge of my bed. "Of course he'd give us hell."

"Then why..." He paused, looking up at me. "Why are you nice to me, and why am I nice to you?" I shifted my weight and crossed my arms, looking at him curiously. "We're his kids, so we're demons too..."

I didn't know what to say. It was something I haven't thought about before. "I don't know, Lucian," I said with a heavy sigh. "But, as long as I can, I'll stay like this. Now, get the fuck out of my room. I have work tomorrow." I said, digging my knuckles into his head as I kicked him out of my room.

"I hate you." He smiled, walking down the hall toward his room.

"Love you too."