Chapter Thirty-Two

 

“So, it wasn’t just…any demon?” I asked. 

“Again. No.”

“What about him being the Devil’s son changes convincing him from a normal demon?” Aura Ray questioned. It was a valid question, but ultimately pointless.

“Does that part have to be explained?” Adriel asked. Tristan looked at the concrete ground before looking up at my group.

“I will attempt to convince Athan to change the conditions of the deal solely to pay the debt I owe to Titon,” Tristan said. “But if he does not budge, there is nothing I can do.”

“Fuck it,” I said, throwing my arms up. “It’s worth a shot.”

“Grab hold of my hand,” Tristan said. I did as instructed and everyone around me--with the exception of Tristan--seemed to be swallowed by a familiar darkness. 

From an even blacker flame, Athan appeared in this dimension where I signed my second life away. 

“Ah. Cousin. To what do I owe the pleasure?” the gray demon asked. Without needing an answer, he darted his eyes at me, then cocked his head to the side and smiled. “You again.”

“We came to negotiate the terms of the agreement you two made,” Tristan told his cousin. “Where is the document?”

“When did you get a degree in demonic law?” Athan questioned, folding his arms. I furrowed my brow. Did demons need a physical contract like Erza Bathory did? Or did mere words set the deal in motion? I never signed a contract with him.

“Athan. The document,” Tristan repeated. Athan rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, bringing up a contract on parchment paper much like Erza. At the bottom was my signature, but I never signed. I attempted to let that be known.

“I never--”

“You mean you don’t remember. A lot can get muddled up in your memory when coming back to life, Amaia,” the Devil’s son said. I refused to believe this.

“The last thing you told me was that my brother was waiting for me in Eternal Rest in the Heaven Dimension. Then I woke up,” I said. “There wasn’t even a discussion of a contract.”

“Just so you know,” Tristan told me. “A contract is not the only way a demon makes deals. Though verbal agreements are not valid, a blood binding works just as fine. Or if you’re trying to summon a demon, a summoning circle will work.” 

“We didn’t do any of that,” I claimed. Athan placed a hand on his chin, still smiling. I couldn’t tell if he was doing it to piss me off or if he was happy I was close to figuring out what he was up to.

“We didn’t, did we?” the gray demon said.

That’s when it popped into my head. He got off on a technicality. We made a discussion about a deal and the terms were discussed, but nothing was set in stone. He gave me more power and brought me back to life, but I wasn’t going to die at the end of the mission. Or, so I believed. He couldn’t kill me, but he was able to give me a power boost, much like the Archs received powers and boosts from the archangels.

“You sneaky fuck,” I said. He laughed. Tristan stayed silent. As hard as he was to read, I just assumed he figured it out too.

“You figured it out. I cheated to bring you back to life and now you have what it takes to avenge your brother and teach those Nobles a lesson,” Athan said. Tristan closed his eyes and lowered his head. I guess it was his tell that he was relieved. “It’s what demons do.”

“Why?” I questioned.

“I despise the Nobles and the hope that they provide. They prance around their city as if they’re invincible. As if no harm could come to them. And among their ranks are the Archs. I…don’t need to explain why I hate the Archs, do I?” Athan explained. I shook my head.

“I couldn’t care less about the history between you and Heaven,” I said. “I’ll just assume because it’s in your nature.”

“Incorrect,” Athan said. “It’s because I used to be one of them. Not like Lucifer. I was born the son of the Devil, but I wasn’t evil enough for him. I was created in the image of the archangels and I ended up being too pure, so the Heaven Dimension accepted me. But those angels couldn’t take having a demon in their ranks. Not after what happened with Lucifer. So they framed me for something that got me cast out.”

I stayed silent. I didn’t need any more motivation to go after the Archs, but there was some more. I considered the possibility of going after the archangels themselves too. But Athan could have also been lying. One of the only things that convinced me he wasn’t was the nature of his wings. They were feathery like one would picture an angel’s wings, but pure black. 

“What do the wings look like on most demons?” I whispered to Tristan. 

“Bat wings. His are some of the only ones that differ,” Tristan told me. 

“So, are we done here? Now you know you won’t be dying at the end of this. Not by me, anyway,” Athan said. 

“How do I know you won’t remove my powers when I need them most?” I asked. 

“Not possible. I just enhanced what was already there from the serums you took,” the gray demon said. “Do what you were resurrected to do, Amaia. I’ll be watching.”

With those last words, he disappeared, the last thing I saw of him being his glowing yellow eyes.

I looked around to find we were back in the basement of the church. I wondered if we ever really left in the first place. Did Tristan teleport us to Hell, or did he bring it here?

“How’d it go?” Aura Ray asked. I smiled slightly.

“There was never a contract in the first place, but he was able to cheat and give me the power boost you’ve seen,” I told everyone. “I won’t be dying at the end of the mission, as long as I can make it to that point.”

“Fuck yeah! Let’s celebrate!” Adriel shouted. I shook my head.

“I need to think. Alone,” I said. 

“Titon, I meant to ask, how did you find me?” Tristan asked. Titon folded his arms.

“Amaia here murdered the one that kicked you out,” he said. Tristan slightly furrowed his brow. I wasn’t aware he could give facial expressions. 

“Felix is dead?”

“They all are. You can go back to your throne, but there won’t be any vampires to rule over,” Titon informed the ex-vampire leader. “Guess you owe her now.”

“Not if I offer my hideout to all of you,” Tristan said. “I’m sure every place you’ve been to has been compromised due to Amaia’s escape.”

I was puzzled as to how he knew about any of what was going on outside. He answered me before I asked.

“I’m not oblivious to current events. As one of Haven City’s…underground…leaders, I have to be in the know,” Tristan continued. He turned to the two vampires at the table. “Let’s go.”

They stood and we all began to leave the room, but Rose stopped me.

“Where are you gonna go?” she asked.

“I need a drink,” I said. 

 

I was six drinks in. They were barely affecting me. I stayed deep in thought about what was to come. The difficult battles that were on the horizon and the possibility of needing to drag the others into some of the battles. The 24/7 bar I was in was pretty close to empty. There was an African American man sitting close to me since there weren’t that many seats at the bar itself and a handful of patrons at tables. 

“Deep in thought, huh?” the African American man asked me. He had smooth, dark skin, bright teeth, and kind, brown eyes. 

“You could say that,” I said, taking another sip of the beer I was nursing. 

“Have another on me. You seem like you need it,” he said. And he signaled the bartender who plopped down another cold drink in front of me. 

“I’m not gonna sleep with you, dude,” I said. He laughed. At first I thought he believed I was joking, but I looked at his left hand’s ring finger: a silver wedding band. “Sorry.”

“No worries. You can make it up to me by telling me what’s on your mind,” he said. 

“I dunno…” I said. Maybe the drinks were affecting me. I knew whenever I drank, I was more inclined to tell strangers information they didn’t need to know. 

“Ah, c’mon. Sometimes it’s good to just let things out. Rant to someone that ain’t gonna judge you,” he pressed.

“I’m just…thinking about the future,” I said. “There are… decisions I have to make that are gonna shape things that happen around me forever.”

“‘Forever’? I’ll assume you aren’t being dramatic,” the man said. I shook my head. “So…you’re worried about the future. Want my advice?”

“Sure. Can’t say I’ll use it, but I’ll take it.”

“You can never live in the future. Yes, the actions you take now will shape the future, but you can only ever be in the now,” he said. “Focus on what’s happening right now in this moment and the future won’t seem so bad. Right now, you’re just havin’ a drink with a stranger. Right now, those future problems don’t exist. Once you’re done with your drink you’ll head outside and head to wherever. And you’ll deal with that as it comes. It’s not a bad thing to plan, but to stress about it is pointless. It’ll come when it does. And when it does, for you it’ll be ‘now’, not the future.”

“I feel like you could have explained that easier to a drunk person,” I said. He chuckled, then said something that caused my heart to drop.

“I’m curious to see what decisions you’ll make, Amaia,” he said.