It didn’t take long for Amaris to walk home. Her apartment had it’s curtains and blind drawn, blocking out any sunlight. Anyone who hadn’t eaten their fair share of carrots would struggle to navigate the pce. It was incredibly well-organised. Bookshelves, full to the brim decorated the living room. Each one had been belled.

  FictionMythologyAncient HistoryModern HistoryBlood Magic

  The shelf containing her books on blood magic stood out from the others, for one it was less full but all of the books were bound in leather, some could only be opened with a key.

  She made her way into the bathroom and took the dress off. While standing in the shower, her mind began to wander again. The night’s events, fresh in her mind, repyed over and over again. She couldn’t help but smile. That was until she remembered something else the demon had said:

  There was no cure.

  Her books on blood magic certainly helped her retain parts of her humanity other Vampires would be happy to get rid of entirely, but she’d found nothing on reversing the process.

  She shut her eyes and sighed heavily.

  Across the city, Dimha wore a business bzer and skirt, gsses decorating her face as she marched forwards in a pair of heels. The university stood before her, and with a smirk, she snapped her fingers and was suddenly inside an empty office. Scattered papers covering a fine oak desk, bookshelves on the wall. There was a photo frame, but it was empty.

  The door opened and a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes entered. She was finely dressed, her hair short and nearly combed. “Who the…” “Hello, Margaret.” “How the Hell did you get in here?!”“I have my ways. Now close the door.”“I’m calling secu…”“You’ll do no such thing.”

  The blinds of the office shut, as did the door behind Margaret. Dimha tilted the gsses over her nose, showing Margaret a red glow in her eyes. “Oh…It’s one of you.” She ughed nervously “Look. I…”“You want to end the deal?”“I…Yes.”

  She cleared her throat and a scroll appeared before her, floating in the air.“On the nineteenth of June, two thousand and ten. At four fifteen pm. You summoned a Demon to save the life of your child.” She winced slightly “Leukaemia. Nasty one. The demon in question…Arruz…Oh, know them. Fun at parties.”“Is this going to take long?” Margaret folded her arms

  She rolled the scroll up, and floated towards Margaret.“Maybe. You do realise that if you go back on this deal, your child dies? The leukaemia…I’m sure you’d remember. It was terminal. Doctors couldn’t save her. So we did. Margaret…You’re not going to face eternal damnation for signing this contract.” Her voice was incredibly soft now, her eyes pleading “Why…”“Him.”“I’m sorry?”“My child is a boy.” She scoffed“I think you’re mistaken.” She chuckled “Contract clearly states here that…”“Are you going to end the deal or not?” She spat

  Her eyes went wide for a moment, then narrowed.“Oh…I see how it is.”“Do you?”“Oh, the kid you summoned a Demon for didn’t quite turn out how you wanted, did she?” She unrolled the scroll “Alice is doing quite well for herself. Seems she doesn’t talk to her mother anymore.” She tutted “Hmm. Wonder why that is.”“I signed the deal, I can take it back.”“Oh, that’s not how it works…” She ughed “See, you sold your soul. And we can’t exactly collect Alice’s. Not without her consent, of course.”

  The room turned even darker, and Dimha’s mortal disguise faded away, repced with the red-skinned demon. Margaret backed up against the door, and frantically tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge. She pounded against it with her fists, screaming. “Nobody can hear you.” Dimha’s voice was distorted now, as if multiple voices spoke at once “We’d have treated you fairly. But now…”“I want to speak to Arruz!” She pleaded“They’re on vacation. For the next…Hmm. Three hundred years? Not that they’d have been any kinder.”

  She reached out a hand, tapping Margaret on the forehead.“Alice will continue to live a good life. She’s not meant to die until she’s eighty two. But you won’t be a part of that.”

  Margaret gasped, and the floor of the office opened up. Beneath the two was a swirling mass of fmes, decayed and scorched arms reaching forth. They grabbed a hold of Margret's legs. She screamed as she was dragged below and the wooden floor closed up behind her.

  When the darkness cleared, Margaret’s body y limp at the door and with a look of disgust, Dimha, appearing as human, stepped over it and walked to the window. With the snap of her fingers, she appeared in front of the university once more, and fixing her gsses, made her way towards the halls of residence. The halls were bustling, students rushing back and forth. She turned a corner and noticed two, a man and a woman currently touching tongues. With a smirk, she made her way deeper into the halls and knocked on a door with 11A written on it.

  “Just a minute!” A voice called out

  The door swung open and a young, baby-faced student who was currently putting on a dirty t-shirt greeted her. He had light brown skin, his hair was a curly mess of bck and had wide brown eyes.“Umm…Hi?” His accent pced him as a local. “Peter Jones?”“Ummm…Yeah.”

  She pushed past him into a dorm room that looked as though a bomb had just gone off. The only bit of neatness was a bck candle inside a circle drawn in chalk.

  “Ah. This is your first time.”“Umm…”She tilted her gsses, showing Peter her true eyes.“Oh, fuck.”“Yup. So. You summoned a Demon. What do you want?”

  Peter sat on his bed, moving a pile of books and clothes to one side and rested his head in his hands. “I didn’t know this would work.”“Peter. Did you summon me just for the fun of it?”“N-no! There is something I need.

  She sat on the bed herself, resting a hand on his back. “Take your time.”“I’m worried.” He sighed “My mum, she’s…She just got some really shitty news.”“Hmm.”“Dementia. It’s early, but…”“There’s no cure.” Dimha sighed, stroking his back “Okay. Well, I’ll see what I can do about that. But, Peter. There is a price.”“I know. My soul. Or my firstborn child or…Something like that, right?”“I wouldn’t rob your mother of a grandchild.” She chuckled very lightly “Then my soul, right?”

  She stood up, taking a careful step so as to avoid a pile of clothes. “Not exactly. You’re studying…Neuroscience, right?” “How did you…”“Please. Every mortal has a profile. Dementia runs in the family. It’s just skipped a generation to your poor mum. You’re a smart kid, Peter.”“Heh. Not really.” He rubbed the back of his neck“So. Let’s not take your soul. That doesn’t seem very fair. Your mother wouldn’t want that.”

  She removed her gsses, standing before him.“So. One day. Could be years from now, could be when you’re old and grey and your mother has passed on due to natural causes, we’ll approach you. And you’ll do us a small favour.”“It’s not gonna be anything illegal, right?” He stammered“No. It’ll be using your talents.” She tapped the side of her head “That big brain of yours.”“Oh, okay. That’s it?”“Peter, you’d be a shit demon. You’re way too nice.” She grinned“Oh…” His eyes widened slightly “Well, thank you.” He chuckled nervously “I was expecting to have to give up…”She snapped her fingers, and a scroll appeared, floating in the air. “No. That’s not how we do things.”

  Text appeared on the scroll.“Wait a few days, and ask your mum to visit a doctor for an update. They will find that miraculously, a mistake had been made with one of their machines. There is no dementia, and your mother will go on to live until her early nineties. Her health will be just fine, but you mortals don’t tend to live into your triple digits.” “Wh-what?”“It wouldn’t be fair if you signed a deal and she dies of something other than dementia, now would it?”“T-thank you.”“I’m going to need you to sign this in blood.”

  His eyes went wide again.“Well, some of the cliches are accurate.”

  ****

  Peter hugged her tightly before she left the dorm rooms, and promptly went back to bed. She could hear him crying as the door shut. A clock in the halls read that it was midday. Dimha took her time walking around to the front of the university. As expected, Amaris was a few minutes early. She smiled as their eyes met.

  Amaris was wearing a long leather jacket and a pair of circur sungsses with a purple tint on the shades. Underneath her jacket she had a blouse that left her neck exposed, and had a slight window in her chest area and wore a short skirt. Her pale legs remained exposed.

  “Oh, look at you…” Dimha grinned from ear to ear, wrapping her in a hug and kissing her gently on her left cheek “The rest of my day is wide open. Take me somewhere you like.” She grinned“Depends on what you wanna do first. And, if you’ve got spending money.” She smiled “There’s a really nice shop, and nobody leaves without at least getting something…”“I’ll take you up on that. But coffee first.”“Okie dokie.”

  Dimha took her by the hand and Amaris skipped slightly as she led the demon across The Steel City. Not far from the centre, she led the two down an alley and neatly tucked away, was a coffee shop. It was retively small, yet cosy and a small neon light spelled out the words: The Beehive

  The symbol of a honeybee decorated it’s front window, as well as on the wall behind the counter. A bell jingled as Amaris pushed the door open and stepped inside. The cafe was quiet, with only a few patrons who were keeping to themselves. Behind the counter was a young woman with freckles and curly hair, tied back. Her apron was bck, with a few yellow stripes.

  “Amaris!” She called out with a smile “The usual?”“Um, sure.”“And who’s your friend?”

  Dimha strutted over to the counter with a grin.“Dimha, darling.” She pced her hands on it, leaning over “And I’ll have…Hmm. Something sweet. Salted caramel, maybe?” “Umm. Are you sure you want me to pick something for you?” The barista “I like being surprised.” She maintained her grin “And if Amaris comes here often enough, then. Well, I know she has good taste.”

  The barista ughed nervously “Sure…And still the usual for you, Amaris?” “Yeah, of course. Thanks.”

  Dimha turned back to face her, still wearing the same smile.“The usual?”“I always stop in here on my way to the museum. Other than there, and my apartment, it's the only other pce I can think clearly.”“What about the Hollow?”“That’s different.” She shrugged, taking off her shades and pocketing them.“I understand, dear.”

  The barista returned with two rge cups, filled to the brim with whipped cream, drizzled in honey.“You never told me you had a sweet tooth, dear.”

  She wanted to make a joke about liking spicy things too, but the words never came out.“Two honey sweetened ttes.”Before Amaris could reach for her purse, Dimha had already presented the barista with a card, her eyes still fixed on Amaris.“Thank you.” “Enjoy.”

  The two found a spot in the corner, a long sofa. Amaris sat down first, Dimha plopping down next to her, resting a hand on her knee. She became enveloped in fmes, showing her true form. Her clothing didn’t change. Cracking her neck, she stretched out her wings.“Rex. They can’t see this. Just think it’s fair you see the real me.”“You’re..” She cleared her throat “I prefer you like this.” She smiled lightly “H-how was work?”“Sent someone to Hell.” She shrugged, taking a sip from her cup “Hmm. That is sweet.” “W-hat?”“She had it coming.” She tutted “If it’s any consotion, I helped someone too. What did you get up to?”“It was my day off, so not much. Kinda just went home and read.”“Anything in particur?”

  She moved her hand onto her shoulder “Come on. Making deals, sending assholes to Hell. That’s a normal day for me. It has been for a while.”“I read up on….”

  Dimha threw her head back, ughing slightly.“I’m touched. Find out anything good?”“Nothing factual. That’s the problem. It’s all just folklore.”“Hey, folklore can be fun.”

  She leaned in closer, whispering.“I mean, what they say about you is kinda cute.”“Shhh.” She giggled “Oh please. You’re terrible at hiding it.” She teased “It’s just…Goth.” She rolled her eyes “When the Goth scene became popur, it was ideal for some of us. They’re really into biting. But, I started to like it. Genuinely.”

  She sighed heavily, facing away. She kept her voice low.“It’s like. It helped me. I became a little bit more…Okay. With…Being dead.”“You seem very much alive to me.”“You know what I mean.” “Sorry.” She stroked her back, and kissed her cheek “I forget.”“Undead.” She groaned “I kinda hate that word.”“Then I won’t use it. Simple as.”“Any words I should avoid?” She looked up, brushing hair behind her ear.“Hmm. Just your typical ones. Sorta shit an Angel would throw around. Those guys are so uptight.” She shook her head

  Amaris took a long sip of her coffee, lying back on the sofa while Dimha wrapped an arm around her. “You know, you don’t have to go researching stuff. You can just ask me.”“I…It’s not that. I enjoy the research, that’s all.” She lightly shrugged “But, I did find something that maybe has some truth to it.”“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow“I thought about what you said st night. The kinda deals you make. Found a few stories. A few cancer survivors miraculously getting better, even a man who’d lost the use of his legs after being struck by a wagon being able to walk again.”“Hmm. Some of it might be us.”“I think it’s nice.”“It’s business, not charity, dear.” “Is it?”

  Dimha removed her gsses and stared pinly at her “Don’t get it twisted, dear. I’m still a Demon. Even the nice deals come with a price. Not always the soul, granted. But, we’re not good. We’re not bad. We just are.”“I think you’re nice, Dimha.” She said, lowly“Fttering.” Her smile returned “But my work is still work. It’s nothing other than that.”

  Amaris took a sip of her tte, falling quiet and frowning.“But, other than paperwork I do enjoy it.” She stroked her back “And, nobody I send to Hell doesn’t have it coming.” She sighed lightly, her own smile fading slightly “Would it help at all if I told you why I sent that person to the furnace?”“No, it’s okay.” A light smile grew back on her face “I’m not judging you, don’t worry. It’s just…”“It’s all still a bit new, isn’t it?”“Yeah…”“You'll get used to it.” She took another sip.“Well, I'm good at that.” Amaris sighed with a smile “Computers were…Fun. And the Internet, oh…”“It did make our side of things easier.” Dimha grinned “Summoning demons is a lot easier these days. So, more work.”

  She put the mug down after one final sip.

  “I have a confession to make.”“Oh?”“I was really happy when they invented trains.” She ughed“They've always been a thing for me.” Amaris shrugged “I just think they're adorable. How they compare to you is…Well.” She held her hand, smiling and staring deep into her eyes “That would be telling.”

  She leaned in and lightly kissed her on the cheek.