by A M Boone
“When we get there, get behind me, and stay behind me. Don’t let me get out of your sight. This should be a quick and easy job, but as I said before, you never know what can happen.”
“All right.” I bit my lip. Okay, self. This wasn’t the time to be a wuss. You’d already gotten your abusive husband got, might as well go for two.
“Who are we even collecting on? You said something about a fairy?”
“Her name is Elery. She came to me about two years ago asking for a twenty-thousand dollar loan. I’m usually quite lenient about my repayment terms, but she was supposed to start paying me back over a year ago. I sent her a few messages, but she’s been ignoring me. Should have taken care of this earlier, to be honest…”
“So we’re collecting.”
He nodded.
Elery’s house was in a rundown dilapidated part of a small town. Supernatural creatures lived here? It was more like a crack den than a fairy house. She definitely lost it all if she was living here. Jeez.
As soon as we got out of his car, he popped the trunk. While half of me was expecting a naked, tied up supernatural in there, it was nearly empty, with only a spare tire, a mason jar, and a large metal briefcase. Unassuming enough, but after the mess I’d gotten myself into, anything could be inside.
He bit the inside of his finger and smeared his blood onto a scanner. The case opened with a quiet click.
Inside were guns. A lot of guns. Figured as much.
He handed me a small pistol. It was light in my hands, and the metal was cool against my skin. So… This was a gun. I’d really only seen them on TV.
“Don’t aim that at your face. I don’t want to have to take you to a necromancer.”
“I’m not that stupid,” I snapped.
He’d do that? Have me resurrected as a drooling zombie?
“All right.” He placed his hands over mine. Even they were oversized now, and his hands nearly swallowed mine up. “Here’s the safety. Don’t take it off unless you’re ready to shoot. You shouldn’t have to, but I have no idea what’s going on in that house.”
He snatched the jar out of his trunk, then slammed it shut. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Four
He knocked on Elery’s door. “All right, Elery, you know who this is. Open the door, and we can re-negotiate our terms. I’m willing to be merciful, but you’re going to have to let me in. If you don’t…”
No response.
“Maybe she left?”
“Shh.” He cop knocked this time. “Look. You and I both know you’re here. Answer the door, and this’ll go by a lot easier.”
I shuffled in place, my palms sweaty. Vincent would never let it go if I dropped his gun.
“I see. We’re doing this the hard way.” He jiggled the doorknob. Locked.
My heart raced, and I nearly dropped the gun.
Vincent eyed me. “At least pretend to not be a coward? Stand back.”
He kicked down the door, and it flew off its hinges with a deafening bang. I clapped my free hand over my ear. He was that strong?
Right. All-powerful demon.
He grabbed my hand and led me inside. The inside of the house was just as damaged as the outside. Cracks went up and down the walls, and overturned furniture was scattered everywhere. None of the lights were on, and I’d be blind if it wasn’t for the dim street lamps outside.
I coughed. Even the smell… It was like a funeral home, chemical-y and overbearing.
“Elery,” he said, his voice a near growl, “I know you’re here. I can sense your magic—fine.” He bit his finger again and drew arcane sigils on the walls.
“What are you doing?”
“A sealing circle. All supernaturals can make them. Now she can’t get out of the house. It’s all about smoking her out now.”
“Right.”
A flash of blue light caught my eye, and I whipped around.
“I think I just saw her.”
“I know. Keep an eye out.”
How were you supposed to catch a fairy anyway? Maybe I should have bought bug spray.
“We just need to keep sealing off rooms. Once we do that, she’ll be trapped and we’ll be able to get her.”
“Then what.”
“We’re collecting, of course.” The way he said it made me nearly leap out of my skin. This night was going to change me forever, just another step down a deep, dark path…
“So the gun’s useless?”
“We’re not the only creatures in here.”
I swallowed. Creatures. Yet another reminder that I wasn’t human.
Another flash, this time from above.
“Just follow me.”
We went into the dining room—or what used to be a dining room—and he drew another symbol on the wall.
The inherent wrongness settled over me like a heavy air. My chest ached, and my skin crawled with every step I took deeper into the house.
A rustling noise. I whipped around again, pointing my gun into the darkness. “W-who’s there?”
Nothing.
“You’re overreacting.”
“I know I heard something.”
“Just follow me.”
I nodded.
The house was twice as big as it was on the outside. The ceiling faded into spiraling darkness, and we’d gone through at least ten more rooms than a one story house in the middle of Podunk, Nowhere should have. Every little sound or flash made me jump. I almost dropped the gun once, and the look Vincent gave me—what little of it was visible in the house—nearly made me piss myself.
“I think we’ve smoked her out. She should be in the next room.”
This room was small, probably just a walk-in closet, and was bathed in a slight blue glow. Probably just Elery’s magic.
A tiny thing pulsed on the floor, occasionally giving off sparks.
“Elery… how pathetic. Let’s discuss the terms of your repayment, and—”
Something grabbed him, and he let out a choked cry.
I fumbled with the gun and clicked off the safety. “Let him go!”
Why couldn’t I have some power like Vincent said I did? Have the power to save him—save myself—and get rid of that thing?
The thing dragged him in the air, and he swore. Whatever the hell that thing was, it wasn’t right wasn’t right wasn’t right—not of this world, needed to be destroyed—
“No!” he screamed. His voice was so far away, nearly drowned out by the blood rushing through my ears. “Don’t shoot! It’s a distraction, I can take care of it!”
The thing let out a deafening gurgle, and deep, squelching noises echoed throughout the entire room.
My hands shook, but my finger found the trigger.
“Don’t shoot!” he screamed again. It was louder than the last one, and I shook my head.
And as if I was in a trance, I snapped back to the here and now. “But—”
“No buts,” he said, his voice low and even. He chucked the jar at me, and I caught it. “Follow my directions exactly. Don’t look at me. Don’t turn back. Elery’s about to run out of magic, just put her in the jar, smear all the circles and get the hell out of this house. Do you understand?”
“Completely.”
“Then do it. Make me proud.”
I couldn’t see him, but I was sure he was smiling.For being grabbed by something otherworldly, he was strangely calm. I would have never stopped screaming.
I scooped Elery into the jar. She was tiny, about the size of the palm of my hand, and was probably in her teens…
“Sorry,” I said quietly, then slammed the lid on and ran for it.
But the house was even bigger than it was before. Where were Vincent’s symbols? Where was the front door?
Anywhere there was blood, I smeared, even though it made my hand tingle.
Demonic laughter—laughter that could have been Vincent’s, or something else’s entirely—echoed throughout the entire house. My ears rang, and my stomach churned.
I was going to die in here.
I stumbled around in the darkness, my heart pounding away in my chest. Sweat streamed down my forehead.
Elery shrieked. I stopped in my tracks.
“Witch!” she screamed. “Witch-woman! Let me go!”
I rolled my eyes, even as my heart still raced. “And have him rip me apart? No thanks.”
She banged on the inside of the jar, and I glanced at her. God, she was so young…
But then again, she was a fairy. She could be two years old, or two million, and I’d never be able to tell.
“He’s going to kill me!”
“He’s just going to collect.”
She finally stopped banging on the jar, and curled into a ball at the bottom, her wings tight against her body. “So. What’s it like being his slave?”
I swallowed and power walked down the hall. “Shut up.”
I had to stay calm. I had to be the bigger person. If I just kept walking towards the street lamps, I’d get out—
A roar echoed from the back of the house, loud enough to break the windows that weren’t already broken. Then wet, slapping noises. Just like the ones from Anthony’s death. I had to get the hell out of this house!
Something caught my eye, and I peered out the broken window. A hooded figure stood outside, staring at me. I blinked a few times, and it vanished. Just fucking great. Now I was hallucinating on top of all of this nonsense.
“You’re not the first person he’s done this to, you know. And you won’t be the last. You’re going to die. Just like he did.”
“Shut. Up.” I jiggled the jar a little, and she went silent again.
Oh, thank god. The doorway. All I needed to do was get to it, and I’d get out, right? Right?
As long as that thing that grabbed Vincent didn’t show up again, I’d be fine.
Another roar shook the entire house, and I forced myself through the doorway. It was over. I’d survived. All I needed to do now was wait for Vincent.
If he got out alive.
Elery perked up as I stumbled to his car.
“What the hell was that… that thing in there?” I choked out.
“My pet.”
That was her pet?! Only a fairy would have some abomination as a pet.
She gave me a smirk, and I jiggled her jar again.
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t even start.”
My heart finally started to slow. It was over.
What if Vincent didn’t make it? I’d be free, right? Free to go back to my normal life without him, without Anthony making me go gray prematurely…
“Witch-woman,” she said, darting around in the jar. “If you let me go, I’ll increase your magic a thousand-fold.”
“Nope.”
“Think about it. You could kill him. Be free. I know that’s what you want. He tricked you.”
I swallowed, my tongue thick and dry. No. I’d made the contract out of my own free will.
Vincent stumbled out of the doorway a few moments later. His clothes were ripped and torn, though slowly mending themselves, and he was dripping with some greenish-black liquid.
“Give me the jar,” he snarled.
I tossed it at him.
He caught it and gave Elery the stink eye. “All right, brat. Where’s my money?”
“That’s none of your business—”
She screamed as he shook the jar.
“This isn’t the time to play around. Where’s. My. Money.”
“I lost it!” she squeaked out, throwing her hands over her head.
His eyes narrowed. “Lost it. Let me guess. Like the rest of your kind, you spent it gambling and getting boozed up in your world.”
“Why are you even here? You said I had ten years!”
“Ten fairy years. One human year.” He turned to me. “Get in the car.”
“R-right.”
I slipped into the passenger’s seat, and Vincent hopped in the car a few moments later.
“So… What are you going to do to her?” I asked.
“I’m collecting,” he said, as if it explained everything. It didn’t.
“Well, no shit. How? Are you gonna eat her?”
She screamed and I clapped my free hand over my ear.
Vincent glanced at me. “New rule. You can’t bring up me eating anything. Ever.”
“Then what are you going to do?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
* * *
The ride to Vincent’s apartment went on in near silence, except for Elery’s screams.
His apartment was in the swankiest, most expensive neighborhood in San Francisco… Because of course it was. He’d been alive for possibly centuries, and been carefully cultivating wealth since he was born. I sighed. Truth be told, I never liked going to the City. I always stuck out.
His apartment was in a high rise that overlooked the entire city and had a view of the ocean. We pulled up to the parking garage, and with a shimmer of light, Vincent turned back into his… well, for lack of a better term, normal form. Something about the way he could go from hulking and demonic to lithe and human in less than a heartbeat made me sweat.
He turned to me, and said, “You really need to think quieter.” But he had his trademark smirk on his face.
He gently helped me out of the car, and then tossed his keys to the valet.
I pulled my suit jacket a little closer around me, goosebumps popping up on my skin. Something about the area made me shiver. Maybe it was just that if I wasn’t with Vincent, security probably would have called the cops on me.
“What about Elery?” I whispered.
“Normal humans can’t see fairies unless they’re trying. She can scream all she wants, but no one’s going to save her.”
Even though he looked almost human, his voice would always give him away.
The elevator attendant gave us a warm smile. “Good evening, Mr. Aldana. And your lady friend?” He swiped a key card, and the elevator doors opened. Didn’t think they had those anymore.
“This is my brand new assistant, Miss Eliana Delacroix.”
I smiled with him. It was nice to be around someone normal. Human.
But did Vincent really need to spread my name around like that? The last thing I needed was for any of my friends or family to find out I was the indentured servant of a demon because my husband was an abusive piece of shit.
He sighed, and the three of us went in. No buttons. He had his own personal elevator? Really?
The elevator ride went on in silence, minus Elery still begging me to release her. Vincent gave her little glares from time to time, while the attendant was oblivious.
It must be nice to be a completely normal human. To not know about the seedy, supernatural underbelly of the world…
Vincent rolled his eyes and pulled me a bit closer.
The elevator opened directly into his foyer, and he shoved a few bills into the attendant’s hand. All he did was swipe a key card and go with us. Was that really worth a twenty dollar tip? But when twenty dollars was ten cents to you…
And as I expected, it was bigger than five of the apartments in my complex combined, with a private pool, a balcony big enough to throw a party on, a full kitchen, and several bedrooms. Probably where he locked up all his wayward debtors.
He rolled his eyes again, then popped open the jar. “All right, Elery. Are you going to pay up or not? We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
She made faces at him and shot a few more beams at the glass. What an idiot. Anyone with half a brain would know not to mess with him.
Then again, she was so tiny… Who knew how her brain worked? In Peter Pan they could only have one emotion at a time since they were so stupid—
He plucked her out of the jar by her wings. “Elery, Elery, Elery… I really did want this to work out. You knew you had one human year to pay me back. It’s nearly been three. If you had just came out and said you didn’t have it, we could have made anothe
r deal.”
She gave me a few pleading looks, but before I could even open my mouth to speak, Vincent shut me up with a glare. I nearly pissed myself.
“Don’t.”
His voice was rougher, his eyes a brighter shade of red. I stared at my hands.
“Witch-woman!” she screeched. “Please, let me go! I can help you—”
He shook her. “Shut up.”
This wasn’t right…
He took a deep breath and scowled. “Tonight, we’re going to learn firsthand why you don’t break the rules.”
He took a seat at his dining room table, and I joined him, still shivering. This was only going to end badly for her.
“Right,” I said.
“As you know, when you make a deal with me, you get three choices. You pay, you work, or…”
You die.
“Elery doesn’t want to pay, so…” He trailed a finger down her body, and she squirmed.
“I’ll… I’ll work…” she said, her voice barely audible.
“About that. Elery’s a fairy. I have more than enough fairy workers at the moment, so…”
Bile crept up my throat, and I balled my hands into the fabric of my pants. “Oh, no…”
“In the Demonic Realms, fairies are a delicacy,” he said, smiling. Drool dripped down his chin, and his smile was feral. More like a beast’s than anything even resembling a human’s. “Did you know that?”
“I’m leaving.” I stood up.
“I don’t think so.” Vincent glanced at me, and I sat back down.
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I really wanted this to work out. I truly did. But you disobeyed me, broke my terms, and when I tried to collect, attempted to murder me with an extra-dimensional beast.” He snapped his fingers, and a barely visible contract mark appeared on the palm of her hand. It was different than mine, a tiny medley of stars and circles.
There was nothing I could do. Even my body wouldn’t move. I just had to sit here and watch her suffer.
He tapped the mark on her hand with his fingertip, and it disappeared in a flash of black light.
“Please!” she screamed. “I’m begging! Let me—”
He tore off one of her wings and her words devolved into incoherent shrieks. She didn’t bleed, but light streamed from the wound as she writhed in his hand.
