The man took a deep breath and let it out as the candlelight danced across the walls. It would be just fine. It was just another business opportunity, just another potential investor to give his sales pitch to… except that, hopefully, this one would actually be willing to make a deal with him.
And the terms of trade would probably be a bit unorthodox.
And then there was the whole candles summoning circle Latin incantation thing.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't really that similar after all. But given how the traditional routes of saving his business had worked out, maybe such an unusual move was just the thing he needed.
He glanced back and forth from his note card to the middle of the summoning circle where the demon should- no, would- appear, making sure to enunciate the words both clearly and loudly. He had to get started off on the right foot, after all. Showing weakness when just starting out was enough to doom a proposition before it began.
And then, in a puff of smoke, there he was.
"W̖̑̽͂ͅH͂ͦ̓̿̒O̶̝̘̜͙͉̥ ̵̦̦̰͖̪͎ͣD̸͇͔̰͚̓ͮA̖͚̭̘͋ͬͮ̀ͭͦ́̚R̖̩͇̫̬̤͑̄̎E̷̪̦̗ͫ̉̒ͪ̋͂͂S͖̙͚͓ͥͪ͐ͮͦ ̩́̐T̵̯͙̫̙̙̳͊Ȍ̪͙ ͬS̜̰͚̠̆ͅU̐̇ͬ͗̍ͣM͎͘ͅM͙̜͎̟̟̕Ǒ͑͊̋́̑N͚̗͒ͭ̈̔ ͖̰̳̺̣ͦ̈͆ͮ̉ͯ͝A͍͐̈́ͦ̃ͮ͢L̪͈̘̬͗ͪ̓̔̇̇̑ͅC̫̠̞͈̮͉̆ͮ͛Ö͚̯͍͉̤̺́̓̉̒̊̿Ṛ̭̙̜̤̯̎͌ͭ ͎̹̞͓̝͙T̵̫͓̟̗͇̤̆ͪͣḤ̩̊̄ͣ̂̅̀͐̕Ḙ̵̎͂́ͮ ̥͚͋̋̍D͚̪̈́̽̀ͦ̂R͇͎͜E̥̣̥̘̯̋̏̌̄̌A̖͕͎ͦͦ́M̮̖̪̞̫̹͚̉͛̃͋͝B̺͍̠̪̥̫̋̓E̒ͮ̋ͤN̞͕͚̅D̸̹̬͍̼̏̓E̹̻̮͍ͤ̃ͅR͚͔̳͖̯ͩ͟ͅ?̘̥̥͔̟͕̒͋̈͘"
The man went through all the guidelines that he had thought up. Don't flinch, even though he was face to face with a demon, a real live demon whose voice held a clearly malevolent echo. Stand up tall, even though the demon's hovering made him the taller of the two, and the man knew that the height difference could be exaggerated further at a moment's notice. Maintain eye contact, stare into those eerie black and yellow eyes, try not to shiver as their appearance emphasizes the nature of his… potential business partner.
And speak quickly, loudly, and firmly, without hesitation.
"Hello, my name is Alan Hale, and I have a proposition that I'd like to offer you today. I believe that with my effort and your funding, we can make my franchise flourish and bring in a great deal of money in the process."
"You͡'r͟e off̴ęr̀ing̴ m̸e͘ m̢o͟ne҉y͏? Ho̵w ͢quain͠t͢.͞"
Alan could feel the sweat beginning to seep through his business suit, and he knew it wasn't all from the heat of the candle flames. "My business is a tried and tested one, and though my particular store happens to have encountered a significant decrease in revenue as of late due to the whims of the economy, I know that, with your assistance-"
"S̴t̨oṕ wi̵th th͝e b҉ig͡ ̴spe̡e͜ch. ͢I̴f̶ w̛e'̡re ͝gòin͏g ͝t͟o͘ t͜al̢k,͏ ̢le̶t̢'s͞ rea̶l͞ly t͢alk̀.͡"
Things were already getting out of hand, and the two hadn't even started to talk shop… The man began to feel vaguely sick to his stomach. Was this just going to be another instance where a potential investor laughed in his face, another pitfall on the road to utter failure?
"Alright then. What I really want from you is for you to make my business successful, even more than it was before the recession hit. I want to be able to open up in more than one location in the future. I want my franchises to be well-regarded both in the world of business and in the local community. I want to have enough profit from my work that I will never have to worry about money problems ever again."
"And w̵hy͟ is ͝th̕a͞t́?̴ Are͞ y͝o͠ų j̨us̸t ̷aft͘er҉ ţh̢e mo͠ney̧, th̷e ͜fa͘me, ̀th̷e po͏wer͢ ͘t͝hat ̀s̛u͜c̢h̢ ͢s͝uc͠c҉és̢s i̧n͢ th͞e ̛wo͢rld o͠f b͘usine̴ss wo̕u̡ld ̛brin̕g ̕you͢?̡ I̴ co͠u̡ld͝ ̵h͘eĺp yo͢u͏ acq̀u͠ir͘e͜ ̴a̶ny͜ ͟or all͘ òf́ ҉th͞ese ͘thin̴g̕s͠ much ̧mo҉re҉.̛..̧ ̷di͜ŕectly,̵ ͟įf ̵you ̴s͜o҉ r̛eq̴u͟e̛st͡."
He shook his head. "No, no, it's not about that. I just want to save my business."
"Real͡l̴ỳ?͡"
The man shivered, then immediately regretted it. Another sign of weakness. This was definitely not going his way. "I told you the terms of my request. Does it really matter why I want it?"
"Of cours̕é it͝ ͝ma͟tters̶.̨" The demon hesitated before elaborating, "Fo͝r̛ ͞one ͠t͜hi̧n̕g̴, ít mig҉ht͞ amưs̷è ͘m҉e."
"Okay. Well." His voice was wavering, barely a wisp in the air compared to the demon's booming speech. "My girlfriend's parents always looked down on me for running such a small business rather than working a more steady job, and I just… I love her. I really love her. But I want her father's blessing before I propose, and he won't approve of me unless I can turn things around. So it's not about the money, or the power, or the fame. I just want to prove to them that my store can be a success after all."
It was Alcor's turn to speak now, and yet he hesitated, just as the other had tried so hard not to do. The wicks of the candles crackled; the wax dripped onto the floor.
"Hoẁ įn͢te͠r̡èsting.͢"
Alan wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to respond to the demon's pronouncement or not. As he tried to work out how he could understand this within the framework of more familiar social contexts, the demon spoke up again, disrupting the man's thoughts.
"An͞d̶ ̷wha͠t woul̴d̕ Ḭ̛̼̐ͣ̄̚ ge͟ţ ͜o̕ut̨ o͟f tḩis͝ ͢d͝eal̶?͟"
The man cleared his throat; the smoke from the summoning circle's line of candles was not doing his vocal cords any favors. "I take it you're not really interested in doing a straightforward financial transaction then."
"N͘ơ, ̡no̶t ͡p̴ar̶t̕i̶c̸u͏l̶ar̕l̢y,̸ ́no̢t̀ ̕i͟f y̛ou҉ h͝av͜e…̕ ̀a̷̰̝̜̯̹n̼ͭ̌͡ÿ̥̜̻́ͭ̽̉t͓͍͍͎̼̤̳h̟̟̠ͅi͈̹͙̺͈̗̿͊n̛̖̰ͯ̅͂̒̋g̨̥̬͑̐̔ͦ͂ͫ ̣͚̺̼̱̣̗ͦ͋ͭͤ̌̃è̻͇̩̽̊̂̂̿̋l̰͛ͮ̅ͮ̆ͤ̔s͇̘̹̈̓́ͨ̆ë́͌̓̿ͭ҉̮̹ to͘ ́o̷f̀f͝er.̢"
"Let me think for a second…" The man wasn't going to go trade his soul or his life or anything like that. He may have… run into some difficulties when it came to running his business, but he wasn't that much of an idiot. And yet… what else could a demon like Alcor be interested in that was big enough to be worth his livelihood but not so big that it would ruin the rest of his life?
He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. So much for trying to stay composed.
"You could have unlimited access to my products, as long as that wouldn't jeopardize my end of the bargain."
"A̢nd͞ w̵h͜àt͞, pra͞y ͡t̡e͝l͏l̨, are t̨hes҉e ́'́p͡roducts'͡ ̸tha͟t͝ ́y̛óu̡ ̵ment͟i͝o̴ne̶d̡? ̶You ̶n̷ev̨e͝r d͞íd́ te͞l̨l͘ ̡me w͝ha̴t́ ki̸n͡d̵ of̡ sto̕r҉e ͠you̕ ͢ru͡n.̨ Do̷ y͞o͝u s̸el͞l ҉a̸nt̴ìque̶s? Boo͟ks?͜ ͡W̨e̴apon̶ş?" The demon paused for a moment and grinned, baring his fanged teeth. "P̧͕̗͍ȇͤ͛ͤͩ͗̇t̹͇ͯ̐͆͛s̘ͮͥ̽̑?҉͔͕͈̝̼̱ͅ"
"No! No, nothing like that. I run a Dippin Dots kiosk in the local mall. I just thought you could use the ice cream for… something, I don't know… okay, go ahead and laugh, I guess I deserve it." He hung his head, staring not into the demon's eyes but at his polished black shoes.
Here it comes. What number rejection would this be? Alan had lost track after the first half dozen… maybe they were right. Maybe he should just give up and work some office job where at least he'd know what he could afford before the bills came due.
"I'͠l͡l̨ m͏àk͟e ̢t̡h͜at deal͡."
The man looked back up. The demon was smiling, a closed-lip smile with no fangs to be seen.
"You will? Really?"
"Ab͠s̵ol͢ut͜e̢ly͏." Alcor punctuated the statement with a laugh, but it wasn't the sort of laugh that the man would have expected from the demon, not some deep maniacal cackle. Instead, it was low, soft, and almost… childish. "J̸u̧st know ̧t̡hat̶ ́y҉o̸u ̀ag͜re͠ed̨ tǫ i̕t́."
Alan mentally retraced his steps. That last statement had to be alluding to some catch, some loophole that he had missed in the terms of their conversation that would somehow lead to his ruin… Oh, it was so much nicer to have contracts down in writing, where every term had a clear definition and one could spend all the time in the world looking over each and every detail just to be sure that it was all above-board. He couldn't think of any problematic agreements that had come up during their talk, but then again, maybe if he could just see it all laid out, it would be so much clearer…
"So, our agreement is: you save my business, and make it even more successful than before, and in exchange, you… get as much of my ice cream as you want." The latter part of the deal sounded lame even as he said it. What was he missing? "Do I have that right?"
"Yo̧u su͏r̛e ͟d̢o. Now,̕ d̴o ẃe ̀hav̡e͏ ͜a ̧d͜ȩa͘l͢?"
"We…" His throat was parched, his cheeks warm. "We have a deal."
The two shook hands, blue flames reaching from one arm to the other. The demon's handshake was powerful and energetic and lasted a bit longer than the man had expected.
"Thank you," he murmured.
The demon tipped his floating top hat towards the man. "No̶, ̡t̶h͜a̸ņk you,͟ ́Mìs͢ter͟ A͜l͢a͏n̕ Hąl͞e. I ͢l͘o͠o̶k f̸o͡r̶wa͘rd ̷t̸o see҉in͞g͏ you ͘sooǹ."
And, as the man's mind was still struggling to understand all the intricacies of their conversation and his heart raced at the thought of one ill-chosen word potentially leading him to some unholy fate, the demon left in a cloud of smoke.