Chapter One

Strolling through the crowded streets of London, one single god could be found comparing the prices for an ongoing promotion at a fruit stand - buy one pomegranate, get another half off.

"Does this apply to any other fruits?" She asked, holding one in each hand, crouching forward as her head bumped against the ceiling of the fruit stall.

"Nah, just those."

"Alright. Thanks."

Spending a bit of her allowance wouldn't hurt, she thought. She dug deep into the pockets of her overcoat, searching for several copper coins, then placed them in the owner's jar.

Needless to say, Luna's situation wasn't exactly the best; she'd been exiled from Mount Olympus for one hundred years (a fancy way to describe being grounded) for forgetting to drag the moon across the sky with her chariot. Unsurprisingly so, the humans freaked out (since the sun remained in the sky for more than a day), Zeus noticed, and Luna's snobby coworker, Hecate, took over her job.

Fast forward to twenty years later, and there she was in the slums of London after traveling the world for the hundredth time; except in this particular situation, Luna was running out of money quickly. Gods needed to eat, too.

She wasn't happy with the result, but perhaps it was for the best; after all, she'd been doing her job for the last few centuries. Maybe she did need a break. But where in this town could she relax? The large influx of impoverished people made a wave of sympathy crash against her. Small children running around the streets accompanied by rats filled the square. She could feel her heart sink a bit.

"Now that we've done the job, all we have to do…"

Peering around a corner, Luna caught sight of a child walking alongside… no way, she thought, her eyes wide in disbelief.

A demon? Dressed as a servant?

Resting her hand on the base of her sword, she continued far behind them, her thoughts drowned in curiosity. What was a kid doing with a demon? Was he even aware of the true nature of the creature hanging around him?

She couldn't just leave him alone with that thing, she reasoned, hiding behind another wall. It's not like she had anything better to do, anyway.

Even in Greek mythology, demons were the lowest of the low; consistently feeding on the souls of the innocent, engaging in dangerous activities meant to provoke humans, and causing nothing but havoc and harm — deep in her thoughts, Luna determined two possibilities:

One — that child was unaware of the fact that a demon was in his presence, and was in immediate danger, and two (less likely but still possible), the child was in a pact with said demon, which, obviously, was just as dangerous of a situation as the first option.

Therefore, she concluded as she walked far behind the two, she would have to save that kid by any means.

The alley Luna entered reeked of suspicion and held a sinister note in the stagnant air. Drawing her crystalline sword from her belt, she turned her head to survey the area, stopping as she met the demon's gaze.

"Is there something I can help you with?" His voice held a condescending note.

Unfazed, Luna pointed the end of her sword at his face.

"Tell me why you're endangering this kid's life, demon." She couldn't help but keep up the heroic demeanor she donned. What could she say? It was fun and made her look cool. Despite that, he could tell that he was visibly shaken by her advance; the look of surprise in his eyes confirmed it.

"You know," She began flatly. "I have no mercy towards people who hurt children."

"You must have the wrong person, then." He attempted to remain as cool as a cucumber. Luna could easily see through his facade. She came forward slowly; step after step, she backed him into the wall, her gaze shooting the sharpest of daggers. He maintained a cocky smile.

"You're lying…" She glanced around the space, placed her sword back in its sheath, and, in one swift movement, pinned him against the wall, her fist clenched around his throat.

"Aren't you?"

He obviously couldn't respond — yet Luna came close, reveling in the way his face contorted as he struggled to breathe.

"If you don't tell me where you put that kid, I'm going to make sure you'll never be able to speak again."

Clawing at her wrists, he could only grunt and emit growls as her grip gradually tightened. Surveying the faint blue tint that replaced the bright red in his face made her cock her head in slight curiosity. Was she doing this just to show off? Because she was bored?

Tilting her head to the other side, she raised both of her eyebrows. Yeah. She really was bored.

"Let him go! Let him go now!"

A shrill voice cried out from within the darkness of the alley; Luna immediately turned, dragging along the demon with her, the bottoms of his shoes faintly scraping across the ground.

"Release him this instant!"

For the sake of the unknown child, she let go of him, inhaling sharply as she continued towards the voice, walking over the demon who could be found on his knees coughing and hacking away. Ever so slowly, she approached the child, stunned. The eyepatch covering his right eye unraveled, and he stood, his chest puffed out as the radiant glow of his contract seal gleamed within the pitch-black darkness.

"You're… in a contract?" She breathed.

The boy inhaled, then shakily exhaled, placing his shoe upon his butler's back.

"You've got a lot of nerve, laying on the ground like some sort of vermin." His voice trembled as he addressed the demon.

Luna began to pick at one of her old scars, her stomach churning in slight regret.

"Get up. Now. That's an order." He gave his butler a light kick, then turned to Luna, breathing heavily, sweat forming on his brow. Concerned, Luna rested an instinctive hand on the base of her sword and fidgeted quietly.

"Hey. Um. I thought you were in danger." She said, scratching her head. "My bad."

God! Luna silently chastised herself for not showing more empathy towards the demon in front of the boy — but she couldn't help it. How could she feel for something so vile, so… pathetic-looking? She shifted her gaze to the demon who simply wiped his spit from the corners of his mouth with a deathly stare. She immediately looked back at the kid.

"I'm always in danger." He replied in the most grave tone he could give.

Besides, she reasoned. Just what kinds of things would a child need a demon for? Neck-deep in her thoughts, she didn't pay much attention to the gloved hand that tightly grabbed hold of her shoulder. Quick as lightning, she turned around and stood only inches away from his paled face.

"Are you satisfied now?" The demon hissed, his voice hushed and raspy.

"Oh. My. God." She gasped and placed a hand on her chest. "Get that fucking hand off of me."

"Sebastian. Quit that." The boy muttered.

The demon reluctantly released Luna from his grip and took a single step back. Squinting her eyes, she made a fairly unflattering frown and crossed her arms. Sebastian simply looked back at her in immense repulsion.

"How did you do… that?" He leaned against his walking stick.

"Do what?" She blinked.

"You know what I meant. When you strangled him."

"I thought you saw all of that." Her voice was nonchalant.

The boy stamped his boot against the ground in clear frustration.

"That is not what I meant." He spoke through gritted teeth.

She rolled her eyes. "Someone's mad." She muttered.

"I'm asking you this because…" He paused. "I want you to work for me."