† ✞ ✝ PROLOGUE † ✞ ✝

She had heard the myth, everyone had at one point or another. No one was desperate enough to try it, at least not until now.

Elsa quivered when she dropped her campus ID into the box, alongside the cat bone and graveyard dirt, quickly shutting it before she lost her nerve. There was no way it was going to possibly work, she reassured herself firmly, no need to get upset. And yet the only thing she wanted was for it to.

She dropped the tin box into the hole she had made, covering it with the small pile of dirt leftover. Goosebumps rose to the surface of her skin, looking around wildly, hoping, hoping, hoping.

When it was apparent nothing was happening, she felt herself kneel to the ground and tears flow down her cheeks. This had been her last chance, her only chance. And yet it still wasn't enough.

A twig snapped, and her head shot up, looking around for the source of the sound. She stood hastily, wiping off her eyes. A tall man dressed in black stood in the exact place where she had buried the box.

"You rang?"

She opened her mouth. "Who are you?"

A grin spread over his face. "A salesman. Before my crimes I was known as Hans."

Her eyes swept over him. He was dressed in a neatly tailored suit, and had dark auburn hair that was styled neatly. The only thing out of place was the dark green eyes that momentarily flashed red.

"So why'd you call?"

"I need you to save my sister?"

He inspected a fingernail. "Let me guess. You killed her and now realize you can't live without her, even if it means spending eternity in hell?"

She opened her mouth wordlessly, angered. "But you can do it?"

"Yes," He took a step towards her. "I'll return Anna to her pre-death state, and she'll stay that way. In ten years, however, your soul is mine to take."

Her eyes widened. "No, the lore book said-"

"Said what, honey?" He grabbed her chin, thumb digging into the skin. "That you just go to hell when you die? Not everyone gets the same offer, there has to be a price equal to what needs to be done." He released her, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I'll let you think a moment."

"Yes," She replied automatically.

"You sure you don't want another moment? Imagine poor Anna having to live without her sister, no aunt for her children, no maid of honor at her wedding-"

"Yes," She repeated, more firmly.

"Very well then." He pulled her towards him and kissed her.