She let her head fall back on the tree and gazed up at the night sky. Crickets chirped somewhere a ways in front of her and a slight breeze rustled through the leaves cooling her overheated small form. She sighed. In reality she shouldn't get too comfortable. If he found the bird before she did he could very well play keep away for a good long time. Haven ran her hand over her hair. Going back and forth whether to keep running or face off with the demon frustrated her. So many things could go wrong. Despite not wanting to see Desiderus again, or her fear he'd actually drag her off to his demon dwelling, she had to get that bird.
Ugh! She'd have to go back for the marshmallows and hope he hadn't taken any of them with him. Perhaps luck would be on her side and he didn't know how much the unnatural liked sweets.
Forcing herself to stand on shaky overworked legs, she used the tree for support and began the trek back. Despite being a human, her heightened sense as a snare always helped her find her way through darkness, light, or any kind of weather, like a gift from the company themselves. Snares were few and far between. Four existed that she knew of and all worked for DAIS. She had been trained to hone her skills for tracking, finding, catching, to best help the company. It paid the bills, plus she enjoyed her job. She couldn't ask for much more than that. Well maybe a guy every now and then. Getting laid seemed harder and harder these days. Hell, she wasn't even sure of the last time she'd had a man between her thighs... had it been so long?
She carefully picked her way around trees blocking her path, rocks waiting to trip her, and holes dug from other animals. Sensing what was in the night, or at least near her in the night, was a gift she didn't want to get rid of anytime soon. She had never feared the dark or what lay waiting in it because she could always sense anything within about ten feet of her, enough room to run if it turned out dangerous. Though the demon proved elusive when near...
Her one major fear... snakes. The slimy, slithering, scaly creatures completely freaked her out. She just knew if one had a hold of her it would sink horrible fangs into her skin, constricting her until she couldn't breathe and she'd die irrationally from poison and the inability to breathe. She might even still be alive when the nasty thing ate her. The memory of the rattlesnake bite flew back to her and her calf ached with the thoughts.
Haven stopped walking to push her senses out. Why had she thought of snakes? It was going to take her twice as long to get back! Her heart thundered in her chest waiting for that slithery feeling she got whenever a snake came in her vicinity. She shook her head as she closed her eyes to concentrate. There was probably nothing there, but she had to check to be sure. The last thing she wanted to do was–– There! Fuck!
Her eyes shot open just as she heard the rattle. The snake snapped at her, inches from her ankle and she bee-lined it as fast as she possibly could. Gooseflesh crawled over her skin and when she breached the clearing she stomped all over around her little campfire, shaking off her limbs, pushing her hair over, shaking it out, and hoping nothing fell in it. She hated when she freaked herself out like that.
Making her body calm down by inhaling deep slow breaths and finding a place to sit, she watched the area around her. As her heart slowed its ravaged beat, she touched the skirts of her vision. The demon was nowhere near that she could sense and no snakes, but her bag of marshmallows still lay in the exact spot she left them. She loved small favors.
After she let go of anything slithery in her thoughts, she reached over for the bag of marshmallows. The white puffs contrasted with the darkness and she slipped another sugary sweetness in her mouth, savoring the gooey mess. She briefly closed her eyes. Just what she needed. Not wanting to carry a whole bag of food with her, Haven didn't bother grabbing the chocolate or the crackers. The only question left was, would she go after the bird tonight or wait until morning?
Her heart beat against her chest in protest with the idea of heading into the forest again after such a close call with the evil coldblooded reptile. Haven shuddered. No, she didn't intend on going back into the trees tonight. One incident with a snake was enough for eternity. Besides, how far could a bird go in one night? It obviously lasted this long in the forest, she was certain another night wouldn't hurt. As long as a demon didn't get it first. Snakes and demons. She'd rather face the demon later than find another snake now, while the dark made everything seem a little more sinister. If Rich called for an update she'd be truthful and say it got away but she was on its track. And she would be. Just not at this very second.
Her best bet would be to use the night to find a witch...someone strong enough to break a contract or bring her brother back from hell. Someone who didn't already hate Jeremy or that Jeremy didn't owe. Warlocks were completely out as Jeremy gambled with them and probably owed more than an eye of newt to the bunch. Magic-wise, she wasn't left with many choices in town. Only one came to mind: Adonia. And Haven wasn't thrilled about using her.
Chapter Five
Adonia Lore. Gold-ranked witch, poor-ranked friend. They grew up together, friends at first, until they had a falling out over Jeremy of all people. Granted, Haven had been a bit over protective, but still, a witch and her brother were not happening. Witches played in all crafts of magic, powers, the darker sides of general magic. Having grown up with her, Haven could tell the difference between a witch and someone who could use magic like her mother. Adonia could cast spells that inflicted damage. She could transform things or people into something new. Of course there was a limit to each witch's power, unique to that witch, but regardless a general magic user couldn't go anywhere near the same places a witch could. Her mother did spell things, but it was cooking related, or fanciful magic related, other than demon summoning, general magic users were pretty normal.
Haven might have honed her skills and was one of the few who could work as a snare, but she wasn't a witch and working for DAIS, the last thing she needed was her brother tied up in witchcraft. Though in hindsight that hadn't really stopped him either. It just turned demonic instead. Adonia and Haven were civil these days, if by civil one means not really speaking. The witch wouldn't be interested in helping her, at least until she found out it was about Jeremy. Adonia's little crush stayed a crush, only it hadn't been so little. Jeremy of course grew out of wanting her and expanded into a darker obsession than women. Haven was curious what Jeremy had made a deal with a demon for, but somewhere deep inside the cockles of her heart she was sure she didn't want to know.
The witch's home also doubled as her shop. A small stony building with a few windows, pointed roof—because what else would a witch have—and a porch. The boards squeaked as Haven stepped on the wood and all the insect sounds stopped, waiting to find out if she was there to harm them. She knocked on the front door and avoided looking at the display signs in the windows. Haven shuffled her feet, pushed her hair back behind her shoulders, and gazed around the porch. How long did it take a witch to answer a door? She tapped her foot and was about to knock again when it swung open and light from inside made Haven squint before her sight readjusted itself.
"Haven." Adonia's pale face came into view. Her tone said what the fuck are you doing here, tacked on with a fake smile. At least she had pretend people skills.
Haven took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes on the lanky blonde before her, and said, "Jeremy's in trouble. Can we talk?" It was best to start with something the witch would have interest in, and to the point always worked.
Adonia's green eyes widened and she opened the door fully to allow Haven inside the spacious living area of the house. A sulfuric odor wafted to her nose and she resolutely decided she wasn't going to ask anything about it, or whatever else she saw in the shop. The walls were lined with all sorts of jars, many in a different language. The ones she managed to read she tried to ignore...rat eyes, snake skin, bone dust...Haven shuddered. She wanted the meeting done and over with and to be out of the house before anyone from DAIS could spot her leaving. DAIS always watched these types of establishments, mainly because it
was the best way to catch humanoid unnaturals. She wasn't afraid DAIS was watching her, but being associated with witches put her job at risk. A little more than a slap on her wrist would come if Rich even knew half of what had gone down in the last day or so. And unless Haven had to spill her guts to her boss, she had no intention of the man finding out.
"What kind of trouble?" Adonia motioned Haven through a black cloth covering. It led to an open den with a love seat, a few chairs, and candles lit randomly around on shelves and tables. A crystal ball sat in the middle of the room. The energy from the ball alone pushed at Haven, knowing she wasn't a friend. Its chilled touch on her senses warned her. She adjusted herself to stand a little taller and pushed back on her senses hoping to spread that her intentions were not to harm, but to seek help. The chill backed off and Haven let out a breath. She didn't want whatever magic entity was helping the witch to attack her in any way. Witches, warlocks, and the like usually had some kind of magic helper to keep them from harm.
Each magic user had their place of course. Witches helped the city by creating spells to keep people safe, among other darker things. One example was the road de-icers. Her parents would be alive if that particular spell had been working. De-icers kept ice off the roads, one of the few spells that actually meant what it was named. Haven had often thought about trying to find out why the spell hadn't worked, since it had worked every night since, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she really didn't want to know...yet anyway. She wasn't ready.
"What do you know about demons and their deals?" Haven slipped around the table and sat on the loveseat. She didn't know what she would do if Adonia didn't know much.
"Enough that I wouldn't go into a deal with one. Is that what my poor Jeremy has done? Do you know which demon? Do you know why?" Adonia invaded her bubble, advancing with words and her body.
"Whoa, slow down." Haven put out a hand. "Look I don't know all the details. I walked in on one taking him away in some kind of smoke cloud. I shot at the demon but I'm pretty sure it wasn't harmed. I was mainly blowing off steam at the damn thing. It shimmered and the bullet hit the back wall in Jeremy's room."
"Of course it wasn't. They are immortal, timeless in their own right and outside the boundaries of normal laws. It sounds like the demon was collecting on a contract."
Haven wasn't sure how much information she should give out so she kept it to Jeremy. "How do we break his deal?" If she knew how to break her brothers, than she could stop hers as well.
"Deals aren't broken, they are skirted, loopholed, like playing cat and mouse. Only the cat really knows where all the holes are for the mouse." Adonia sat next to Haven stretching out her long slender legs. She wore a dark purple dress, which made her skin appear lighter than it actually was. Her bare feet crossed at the ankles. She looked physically relaxed until meeting her bright eyes. Worry shone in them. "Do you know what your brother's deal was?"
Haven shook her head. "Guess I'm going to have to find a way to figure it out huh?"
"I'm surprised you don't already know, Haven, after how you reacted in school with him."
"Don't bring that up. It's past and we are at least on speaking terms for the moment." Haven rubbed her eyes. She didn't want to rehash the past. Haven had enough on her plate as it was.
"Past or not, my future would have been different and now look at my poor Jeremy. He probably wouldn't be in this mess. It's likely your fault." Adonia had pointed a finger at her.
Haven took a deep breath, encouraging herself not to be defensive and just get on with what she needed. Despite how much Haven hated to hear it, she thought Adonia was right. Perhaps if they would have dated maybe things would be different, but she'd be damned if she'd ever mention that to the witch. Haven crossed her arms, there wasn't anything to say to the woman that didn't incriminate Haven somehow and it irritated her more than she wanted to admit. Damn the witch for ever being right, and damn Jeremy for making bad deals. She clenched her teeth against retorting something she would regret later.
Adonia glared. "Find out his deal. Then come back and we can go from there."
Haven stood. "I'll see my way out." She needed sleep before she could deal with the demon and his deals. Besides weren't demons stronger at night? She was pretty sure she'd heard that somewhere.
***
The second time Haven summoned the demon, it would actually work, she hoped. She wasn't ready to deal with the imp again, and they had exchanged names. Though if it did work, she didn't want to become accustomed to summoning... Haven scrunched her nose as she made Ba'al's sigil and called Desiderus to her. The black smoke slid in circles and the demon slowly appeared before her. A little shocked, Haven gasped. It really did work!
His human glamour was gone, which made Haven take a second look at his physique in the light of the sun. As her eyes blazed over his skin, she found his erection. The guy was stark naked. Haven spun around to give him her back as her cheeks flamed. Damnit, how did he manage to do that nearly every time they met up? She groaned inwardly. Why had she summoned him into her room?
"You had better have a hell of a good reason to interrupt me, pet. Do you know what you've done?" His words slid out slow, easy, and so good to her ears. She cursed herself for having any lustful thoughts of the man––demon––and the raging hard on he sported a mere few feet away from her. Her nipples hardened against the cotton fabric of her tank top.
Haven shook her head, unable to actually speak yet.
"Three lovely young blossoming females were giving me their undivided attention. They lay open to me, glistening wet, waiting for me to devour them."
His dirty words sent heat straight to her core and she throbbed at the thought of his long tongue grazing over anything between her thighs. Stop! But the image didn't recede.
"My cock could be balls deep in all three females right now. I hope you have a damn good reason for interrupting a demon's pleasure."
The image of his cock invading a woman made her even wetter. Perhaps summoning him during the day hadn't been her brightest idea, but how was she to know he'd be in the middle of anything sexual?
"Well?"
Haven didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. Her cheeks burned and part of her wanted to let her questions go, make him go away. He'd find her again eventually. The other part of her wanted to climb on and go for a ride, and the last part tried to keep the other two in line and with a cool head. His heated presence slid up her back. He was right behind her...waiting.
"Turn around and look at me. You had the gall to summon me, you should face it." His words were low, threatening.
She licked her lips, resigned to what she knew would be her second mistake today, and turned around. Haven carefully maneuvered her body so she didn't touch his erect shaft and tried not to look down. His chest was what she focused on, unable to look up and meet his gaze. Despite her best efforts, she had a sudden urge to taste him. All she had to do was slip out her tongue and... No! She wouldn't go there. Why did a demon look so tempting? Internally she berated herself. Of course he would, he was sin-fucking-walking. He looked like any normal man, except for his white horns.
The demon put his strong hand under her chin, carefully lifting it. Haven averted her eyes, still not ready to face him. When had she turned into such a prude? She was no virgin, no little woman. Haven was a strong, fierce person, a snare. So why was it so difficult to be that strong person around him? It had to boil down to her lack of a sex life.
"Look at me, Haven."
Grinding her teeth, she glanced up. That was her third mistake of the day. The dark desire she saw in his purple eyes only heated her inside. Demons knew things about their summoners and he was playing it up. He knew things she probably didn't even admit to herself. Haven hated him knowing anything personal at all about her, let alone how to turn her on. She grabbed on to that anger, squeezed it, pulling it into her core, snuffing out the desire to touch the creature. She needed to keep reminding herself he was a
creature, not a human, despite the well-toned chest. Okay, well, he said he was once human, which of course made sense, but he wasn't now so it didn't count. He was demon, and not just any demon. He was powerful enough that Ba'al sent him in place of himself. Which only lead Haven to believe Desiderus would be Ba'al's right hand, acting on his behalf in all things outside of hell. And it would be just her luck to get the one demon she might not be able to outsmart.
"I will ask you one more time." He bent over where his lips were just above hers, their eyes locked in a stare Haven was sure would never end. "Why have you summoned?" His question brushed heatedly across her mouth and she swallowed a sigh that would have melted her into him, begging for the promised kiss he tempted her with.
Her anger slipped and it took her a moment to regain it, reminding herself he was tempting her on purpose. Haven pulled her head back out of his grasp and crossed her arms, hoping the defensive stance would keep him at bay. Not that her body really wanted him to take it seriously, and it reminded her as she took a solid step back and found her panties wet. Haven cleared her throat. "I'm looking for more information on my brother. Is he well?"
"As well as can be expected I suppose."
"You suppose?" Yes, the anger came back full force. "You either know or you don't. Is my brother okay?" She glared at him.
"Yes, pet, he's fine."
"And when will he be set free?"
"I will give the same answer as before, Ba'al has to look him over first."
"I'm to assume his contract is with Ba'al, correct? Or did you take him on some other deal?"
"It is with Ba'al. Is this what you took me away from my pleasure for? To ask me irritating questions about your brother?"
Did he expect her to feel guilty? She didn't. "Serves you right. You take people out of all sorts of experiences. Probably kept many people from their carnal pleasures." She was proud of the snide remark and hoped it hit home.
Impure Bargains (Impure series Book 1) Page 4
