Devil's Deal (Infernal Contracts Book 1)
Page 22
“I don’t think he’s coming back.” Nora’s voice became softer.
“I’d still do it. We’re here for you, Nora. Trust your friends. You’re not alone in this.” Jonathan got to his feet and held out his hand to Nora. She accepted it and got her book and bag to follow him. Coming out of the aisle, she saw her other friends waiting for her.
Felicia hugged her. “Come on, you need a cup cake.”
Nora smiled. “I do.”
Epilogue
It’s been two months since Ben left, and Danny still hadn’t recovered. Matthew, Diana, and Nora watched over him. He was never alone. Matthew had asked Nora to be his assistant so she could earn money for the trip, and she still followed Italian lessons. She even asked her parents to delay her trip to Italy until next year. Matthew would be Danny’s official guardian now.
“We have to call on him.” Matthew was desperate. He had tried everything he could over the past months.
“No, we can’t. He won’t listen to us anyway.” Diana’s monotone voice resonated through the hall.
“It’s the only thing that can help him. He won’t let one of his own die.”
“Fine, go. But I don’t think he’ll answer us.”
Matthew ran downstairs, and the door slammed shut. Diana walked into the room like nothing had happened.
“Y’know, I could hear you guys arguing,” Nora said.
Diana sighed and crossed her arms while looking at Danny.
“Who is he going to see?” Nora asked.
“No one, he’s still downstairs. But he’s in prayer.” Diana rubbed her forehead.
“That actually works?”
“It’s the only way to get a message to the divine city, but there’s no guarantee they’ll do something with it. Especially archangels are known to ignore human prayers.”
“Why don’t you pray with him?”
“I… It’s better if I don’t. I’m not on good terms with them.”
A flash of light swept across the room. The wind picked up and Nora’s hair fell in front of her eyes. She picked a white feather from her bangs.
“What happened?” Nora looked at Diana, but she was focused on something else—someone else.
In the corner of the room stood a dark silhouette with radiant white wings. Dark hair, black shirt, dark jeans, but his eyes caught her attention—still ice blue. Nora’s stomach tightened. She never expected to see him again.
Ben was holding a glowing feather and held it up to Diana. “Raphael sends his regards.”
Thank you for reading
Thank you for reading Devil’s Deal, the first book in the Infernal Contracts series. The second book, Lucifer’s Favour, will be out in a few months!
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Acknowledgements
I wrote the first scenes for Devil’s Deal years ago, slowly adding more scenes, until I finally committed to the project for a NaNoWriMo. It still took me over a year to finish the first draft, since I wanted to finish Tales of Lunis Aquaria first. I never thought I’d finish a full novel. It was harder than I expected, but so worth it.
Devil’s Deal is a personal book, it’s the book I had to write. I wrote it based on my hometown and my memories of high school, and I used the emotions I felt back then. I made the cover myself, and relied on my friends and family to help create the best book possible. Devil’s Deal is about love in all shapes and sizes, and it’s created with love. Hopefully, you felt some of that love reading this book.
My accountability group and the Blaugust discord channel are filled with friends who listened to my complaining way too much, but who stood by me in my dark hours of low self-esteem and pain. Thank you all for the encouraging words, the cheers, the hugs, everything. Thank you for helping me procrastinate.
I want to thank Jeroen, Tamara, and Dan for beta reading Devil’s Deal. Without them, it wouldn’t be as good as it is now. Thank you for the uplifting comments and giving me confidence in my work again.
My husband and Shiro kept me sane while trying my best to get it all finished before the deadline. Without their support, I’d never be able to do all of this.
About the author
Tessa Hastjarjanto is a Dutch/Indonesian writer from the Netherlands. She writes speculative fiction, and blogs at narratess.com about books, fountain pens, and writing.
From a young age, she imitated popular stories and games in creating her own worlds. This love eventually led to a master’s degree in media and game studies at the University of Utrecht. However a mundane desk job was enough to inspire her to follow her creative passion. The first fanfics were written in lunch breaks and soon original fiction followed.
With the support of her husband, she now focuses on her writing career while battling chronic pain. Swiss white shepherd, Shiro, acts as a therapy dog to keep her healthy and reduce stress through extensive cuddle sessions.
You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, and she has a weekly blog on Narratess.com.
Also by Tessa Hastjarjanto
Tales of Lunis Aquaria
Fantasy short stories