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Chapter Six
A Really Bad Idea
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‘Austin, I know that this is situation is bad but are sure this is how you want to fix it?’ For such a big man, Exton’s voice really could become amazingly squeaky. It was late afternoon the next day and a weekend. They had to dodge all manner of people out enjoying the last of the mildly pleasant weather.
‘I’m sure,’ Austin said as he power-walked down the sidewalk toward his destination. He had flat out lied to Whitby by telling the old man servant that he’d been called into to work after one of the girls had called in sick. What he really wanted was a clear shot out of the house and away from his mother’s watchful eyes. He had forgone the sleek family car for an uber to downtown and was now striding along, looking up at the building to guide him.
‘Austin, this is a really, really bad idea. I would be a horrible bodyguard and friend if I didn’t warn you,’ Exton whined as he tailed him.
‘And now you have warned me. Good job,’ Austin barked back. He been brainstorming all night about what to do about his new ‘friend.’ The threat that Jedrzej had made was a massive one. If the overlords thought he was a real problem, they might even deal with him. The trick was to make sure the overlords did find out about him. If Austin needed to be stronger to resist this guy and the overlords needed to be told about a new competition, why not kill two birds with one stone?
So that’s where Austin was headed. To an exclusive restaurant and club named the Golden Serpent, owned by none other than the city’s resident overlord, Nathair. Austin had vague memories of meeting the man when he had come to one of fancy galas hosted by Austin’s family. He was old and arrogant and stupidly good looking. In other words, he was like pretty much like every other overlord. They were all incredibly cocky and self-confident to an alarming degree, made so due to the fact that most of them had the muscle or magic to back up their attitudes.
He could absolutely kill Austin on the spot and send his decapitated body back to his mother for kicks. It was Austin’s hope that the man would give him at least a minute to say his bit. Exton was an excellent bodyguard but even a hellhound wouldn’t be a match for an overlord. Austin felt the club before he had rounded the corner. It was a common place for high demon society to hang out. Any place where demons met on mass tended to create ripples in the atmosphere.
Austin looked once over his shoulder, but Exton had already melted off into the shadows like a good hellhound should. He was deeply grateful that the man was letting him operate his way. The truth of the matter was that Austin’s mother was human. She may have lived her life on the forearm of one of the world’s most powerful demons, but Austin’s father hadn’t returned in years. No one knew where the man was or eve if he was still on this plain. For however irritating, overbearing, and stubborn the woman was, she was still Austin’s mother, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her. Especially not because of him.
Austin ignored the line of people waiting outside the eye-wateringly expensive building. It was a bit of an eyesore. It looked like it had been dragged through from another timeline. There were plenty of lovely looking restaurants on this side of the street but none that towered three stories high like this establishment. Oddly carved spiderwebbed marble columns ran around the outside, looking like the femur bones of long dead giants.
Inside was all radiant crystal and light. How the business didn’t get complaints about the sheer brightness, he didn’t know. Hell, maybe they did. It wasn’t as though the man inside cared about fines or public nuisance complaints. The bouncer was very obviously a coal demon, nearly six and half feet tall and all brawn. He was the kind of demon who could burn a human to ash with only a few seconds of skin-to-skin contact. The man eyed Austin with deceptively human looking brown eyes as Austin stood on the sidewalk.
Right. Show time. Calm, tall, unintimidated.
‘My name is Elessarion Austin Arvaris. I am here for my appointment with Nathair.’ The coal demon arched one solid black eyebrow.
‘You are not on my list.’
‘I doubt I am, but you know my name. I can wait fifteen minutes. After that I’m gone. I have other contracts to make,’ Austin said, his voice polite but bland. Make them think his time was valuable. Nathair was just another client. The demon hesitated.
‘Wait here,’ he said finally. Austin shrugged. ‘Naturally.’
Austin watched nervously as the demon spoke into a small speaker clipped to his neat suit jacket. There was quite some back and forth for a few precious minutes before the demon resumed his stern bouncer appearance. Austin tried not to be worried. Just because the man wasn’t looking at Austin didn’t mean there was no one coming. Minutes snailed by. It took every ounce of Adrian’s years of etiquette training in the demon world to stay looking relaxed and politely bored.
He would have to keep his word. Nothing was more important than that, especially for a contact demon. He saw he would wait fifteen minutes so, once fifteen minutes was up, he would have to leave. His stomach churned uncomfortably. He glanced down at his watch. Ten minutes had passed. Sweat collected at the base of his spine despite the chilly evening air. Just as he was beginning to think his plan had failed, a tall thin demon in a white suit stepped out from behind the bouncer.
‘Mr Arvaris, this way please.’ Austin made to take a step forward when the man held up a hand.
‘I’m afraid your hellhound will have to wait outside,’ the man said mildly. Austin didn’t have to look to know that Exton was nowhere to be seen, not to the human naked eye but that hardly mattered. Demon could see more than just what was physically in front of them.
‘That’s fine,’ Austin agreed. Oh, Exton was going to kill him for this.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped after the demon and into the brilliance of the establishment.
The first floor was open with several raised platforms. The smells of the restaurant were so incredible that despite the situation Austin found himself in, even his refine palette began to water as they passed neat golden tables and their patrons. Through the restaurant, and up an elegant flight of marble steps, they passed through a heavy curtain and into what could only really be described as a den. Austin’s skin was tingling all over, no doubt in response to unseen spells guards the various properties of the rooms. He took a deep breath and prepared himself.
Austin had to fight every instinct in his body not to roll his eyes at the sight in front of him.
The overlord was reclined on a massive cream leather couch like a drunk king. The man was tall, his lanky frame easily stretching the entire length of the furniture. His hair was a light gold, streaked through with pale silver. He looked like the kind of flawless that most people could only achieved with excessive use of app filters. His eyes were a new level of creepy, their content a bastardised hybrid between snake and goat.
His species of demon was often mistaken in the past for naga, half snake, half man creatures. From what Austin understood, they had leaned into the idea rather than away from it. The man’s strange eyes travelled up and down, taking Austin in from head to foot.
‘Well, the son of Arvaris family. I will admit I was surprised and intrigued when my man told me you were on my doorstep. To what do I owe this honour?’ the man asked with a wicked smirk.
‘I’m here to offer you a contract,’ Austin said with a calmness that he didn’t feel.
‘Really? Well, that is exciting. And very…. unexpected.’ The man sat up with an almost liquid ease.
‘My sources told me the Arvaris boy wasn’t much interested in embracing his demon inheritance,’ the demon said lazily to a scantily clad woman who stood listening nearby. She flashed him an amused smirk that showed off an unsettlingly wide jawline.
‘It is a relatively new development,’ Austin admitted. The overlord hummed, his eyes still tracing Austin’s outline with insulting thoroughness.
‘I can tell. You still smell… delightfully human.’ Gross. The demon leant forward, his posture equal parts relaxed and predatory.
‘So why the change of heart? It a big leap, to go from no contracts to me?’
Austin steadied himself. ‘I was approached recently by a demon from the Veida Clan. Apparently, he’s managed to claw his way up a ring. To your ring, to be exact.’
Nathair looked vaguely interested. ‘The Veida Clan? They had never been much for rank. Why, it been seven hundred years since I have even met a member of that clan. From what I understood, they were a bunch of savages who nearly killed off their own bloodline from in fighting.’ There were titters of laughing all around them as the other demons giggled and nodded enthusiastically at their overlord.
‘And yet the clan still lives, and this new demon has already proclaimed himself an overlord.’ The laughter died away with a noticeable sharpness.
‘Trying to pit one overlord against another? That’s a very dangerous game.’ Nathair purred, his teeth sharpening inside his mouth as he spoke, listing his words.
‘He’s not an overlord. He just thinks he is. He just jumped up a rank, which apparently gives him the ability to do whatever he likes. I’ve had one conversation with the man and in that one conversation he casually announced he was going to reveal his abilities to the entire city.’ Something dangerous flashed in those cold goat-like eyes.
‘That is a very large claim,’ the overlord said smoothly, his face utterly devoid of emotion.
‘That’s what I said. He wanted to employ me for a contract. I thought it would only be fair to offer you the same service.’ There was a rustling of quiet conversation as onlookers whispered to their neighbours. Nathair seemed to consider Austin for a long time though in reality he was probably only silent for a few seconds.
‘Well. I won’t pretend having a contractor demon in my court isn’t an appealing idea…’
’I’m not joining your court Nathair. I’m an independent contractor, just like my father,” Austin said, pocketing his hands in his jacket so the demon couldn’t see them shaking. The whispers increased until it was a kind to standing outside in an autumn wind.
’That’s Lord Nathair to you pet,’ the snake said casually, ignoring the indignant glares of his other subjects. Austin chose not to respond to the vibe. Honestly, at this point, Austin had at least achieved part of his plan. Jedrzej had wanted a silent take over, with no competitors aware of his existence until he had established himself. Now, at least one other overlord knew that he was here.
‘Are you interested in creating a contract or not?’ Austin asked, not entirely sure he wanted the man to say yes.
‘Oh yes.’ The snake purred. Austin was becoming very aware of the subtle moving of the other demons around them, shifting their bodies in front of the door he had entered through. Yeah, if he got out of this alive, Exton was definitely going to kill him for this stunt.
‘Come here Elessarion.’
’It’s Austin,” said Austin automatically.
The golden man smirked widely. ‘Oh, I think you and I are going to have a lot of fun together.’ He held out a perfectly manicured hand. Austin reached out and took it, hoping that whatever happened next wouldn’t knock him unconscious.
Forming contracts was a complicated process. He knew how to do it in theory, but this was his first time creating one. He knew that he largely had no control over it. If a demon were to make a contract with a human, the power and complexity of the contract is based solely on the power of the demon. However, if the contract formed was between two demons, then the complexity and strength of the contract is decided by the stronger of the two demons. In other words, it didn’t matter that Austin was essentially the same as a human, he was just the conduit, the means to the contract creation and the binder of its rules. It was Nathair that controlled what was happening.
At first, it was a prickle, like a build-up of static. To quickly though, it spread, spangling up his arm until liquid fire flared hot and sharp through his vein. Austin bit down hard on his tongue not to shout in pain, his whole body telling him to let go of the fucking cattle prod that was the overlord’s hand. The man’s grip was like iron as he concentrated.
Austin watched in mute shock as the snake began to weave out the rules. As far as contracts went, it wasn’t particularly overwhelming. The request was for the man’s establishments to become undetectable, an impressive bit of magic that was not normally possible without a scrying demon from the third ring.
‘I thought we would start small, yes? Build up our relationship from there,’ the overlord said lazily. He let go of Austin’s hand and it was all Austin could do not to fall to his knees, his muscles still twitching and aching under his skin. He felt raw, like he was an alien to himself. The magic didn’t fade. It hummed around him with the force of sandfly, vibrating to close in his eardrums to be ignored. A hand took him by the forearm and started walking him primely to the door.
‘Welcome to your true purpose, little baby demon,’ called Nathair and then roared with laughter as Austin was dragged from his den. Austin could barely put one foot in front of the other as he was led back down the arching stairs and out a side passage. The icy night air was both a relief and a horror, the temperature ripping at his already sensitive core. The man rudely shoved Austin out where he fell into Exton’s arms.
‘You do that again and I’ll tear off your hands. I don’t give a fuck who your boss is,’ Exton snarled, his eyes flashing hellfire green. The man servant looked unimpressed as he turned and walked back into the building, the heavy door sliding shut behind him was a smart click.
‘Austin? Austin, are you okay? What happened? What the fuck where you thinking!?’ The hellhound shouted, his voice rising in volume as Austin’s vision winked in and out a focus in an array of pretty coloured spots. His limbs where really struggling with the concept of gravity. He swayed dangerously, propped up only by Exton massive frame.
‘Shit, what did that asshole do to you? Hang on, I’m calling us a car.’ Austin slow blinked stupidly as the nightlife twittered about around them. They could have stood there for an hour and Austin probably wouldn’t have been able to tell. A sleek black car pulled up and Exton bustled Austin inside. It was a little surreal, being picked up and manhandled as though he were as small as a toddler.
‘Don.. Don’t take me home.’
‘You have got to be shitting me!’ Exton howled, making the driver jump violently in his seat and Austin groan in pain.
‘She’ll know… won’t… understand.’
‘Aus, I’m sorry but I’m putting my fucking foot down. You need to go home where its safe.’ Austin wanted to argue his case longer, but the words weren’t making it from his brain to his tongue. As the car rocked about down the road, he slid sideways until he was lying down on the back seat. He closed his eyes and couldn’t have been sure of the moment he passed out.
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‘I understand he wants to go out and spend time with his little friends, but this is unacceptable! Going out to a club and getting drunk. Honestly, what sort of a child have I raised? No thought for his family’s reputation. Probably plenty of photographers there. Could have been kidnapped, hit by a car. Does he care? Of course not. Just interested in chasing a pretty tail. I doubt the girls he ogles are even of the correct pedigree!’
Someone was shouting. No, not someone, his mother.
As Austin cracked open one eye, he could make out her imposing figure striding back and forth outside the door to his bedroom. Exton appeared to be standing there, head down, listening as his mistress let fly the rant all over again in Italian instead of English.
‘And you! Letting him!’ She finished indignantly.
‘With all due respect madam. You instructed me to not get involved in the boy’s life,’ Exton said in his best trained voice.
‘Well perhaps we should change that rule! He’s not a baby anymore, surrounded by his tutors and kept on the property. He’s out in the world! Fraternising with gods know who.’
‘I agree,’ Exton said in a flat voice.
His response made her pause. Austin glared at the hellhound’s profile even though he knew neither could see him in exchange.
‘Well, well then that’s good. Yes, I think it’s about time he made a better presentation of himself. You will go with him everywhere from now on. It’s about time he started taking his life more seriously.’
‘I think he’s starting to realise that himself,’ said Exton grimly.
Austin pretended to be asleep when the door shifted wider. He could almost feel their eyes on him.
‘I suppose we should let him,’ his mother whispered. Her tone was still angry, and Austin was dreading the one-sided conversation he would be having with the woman tomorrow. The door closed softly, and Austin was left in the dark.
Gods, he felt like he had been hit by a truck. He was still pissed with Exton, but he also owed the hellhound a hell of a lot. By the sounds of it, Exton had played the story that Austin had got a bit carried away drinking. Not good but a thousand times better then ‘Sorry ma’am but your son got bitch marked by some demon and decided to fix the problem by forming a contract with the strongest overlord in the city.’
Oh yes.
That conversation would lead Austin to a lifelong imprisonment. If he was lucky. Still, he was mildly surprised that Exton had covered for him. He knew the hellhound must be furious and worried sick about him. The man deserved a pay rise. Maybe he would now get one considering he was expecting to tail Austin literally everywhere. Austin groaned. He groped weakly for his phone and found it plugged in on the side table. The too-bright numbers told him it was a little after one in the morning. So, he hadn’t been passed out for too long.
Gods that had hurt like a bitch. Surely it wouldn’t always hurt the same way. In a practical sense Austin’s tutors had believed he would start with small contracts, contracts with lower-level demons and then maybe a few humans. He was so supposed to start small and then work his way up. You know, like any sane person would when starting any task. But no, no Austin had jumped in both feet and made his first contract with a fucking overlord.
His skin was still tingly. It was an unpleasant, vaguely invaded feeling, like tiny fingers were running up and down the hairs on his body. He shuddered. As he shifted meekly into a more comfortable position, the bright mark on his arm showed itself. Was it his imagination or was the mark even brighter than usual? That… probably wasn’t good. He had no idea just how much of a connection he had with the hunter demon. If the man found out that Austin had gone to Nathair…
Well, shit happens, Austin thought grumpily. He didn’t start this shit but he sure as hell wasn’t just going to tumble along for the ride. He had broken his own ultimate rule, to stay out of anything demon related. This one contract with the overlord might very well be enough to shatter Austin’s ability to ever pass as a regular human again. The door to his bedroom opened again and by the silent tread, Austin knew who it was.
‘Thanks for covering for me,’ Austin said dully. He couldn’t see Exton’s face in the dark, but he would place his money on angry.
‘Aus, that demon could have killed you. He could have snuffed you out before your body even hit the floor,’ Exton rasped.
‘I know.’
‘Then why did you do it? Seven hells, Aus, tell me you didn’t actually make a contract with that man! You did, didn’t you?’ He accused in harsh whisper.
Austin flinched. ‘How can you tell?’
The hellhound snorted. ‘Hard not to! You smell…’
Austin tensed. ‘I smell like what?’
A heavy sigh. ‘You smell like magic and… demon blood.’
Austin buried his face in his hands with a deep groan. ‘Is that it? One contract and I’m no longer human?’ He felt the mattress dip as the hellhound sat on the edge of the bed.
‘No, you’re not a demon yet, it will take more than one contract even if said contract was with a damn overlord. I think you should prepare yourself though,’ Exton murmured.
‘Prepare myself? For what?’
‘This contract has marked your soul. Its kick started your powers and left its scent. Aus, that other demon is going to know you made a new contract.’
‘Wonderful. My life just keeps getting better and better,’ Austin groaned and slumped back in his pillows, wishing the buzzing in his veins would stop.
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END
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