Hi guys! Hope this first chapter is alright, it's going to pick up as the story progresses but you'll get a taste of how I'm planning to set this up. Enjoy!
There was a bloody body on the ground, a young blond boy that looked as though he was in unbearable agony. There was a pool of shimmering liquid slowly expanding across the polished marble floor around them, and it was soaking into the knees of her stockings. She dipped a finger into it, which shown like a beacon, brighter than anything else in the room, and brought it to her lips, her tongue darting out to taste. Dark, tangy, a slight bitterness on the finish.
Alois. The word whispered through her mind, but it was nonsensical, meaningless.
She frowned at the unconscious child. He reminded her of something, the memory was tugging at her, but that was overshadowed by the burning sensation that trailed fire up her throat. Apart from the physical, she felt nothing. She was aware of sensation—her blood flowing sluggishly through her veins, the lazy thump of her heart, but otherwise she felt hollow, empty.
"Alois is dying."
She knew that voice too. It was her mates, but still, "Alois" held no significance, except that it belonged to the prone form before her. She gave it a detached, almost predatory look, cocking her head to the side as she assessed it.
"Yes," she agreed, "he's most definitely dying."
"You wanted me to turn you so that you could save him," he informed her.
"Did I?" she asked curiously, crawling closer to the body.
The scorch in her throat intensified, but she ignored it for the moment.
"Yes," he agreed, "you said he reminded you of your brothers. You wanted to save him because he's been stabbed."
"When I was human?" she clarified, staring impassively at the body.
"Yes."
She focused on the face, on the soft blond hair that formed a halo around the child's head. He was in so much pain, but she couldn't remember or understand quite why she was so interested in saving his life—especially when all she wanted to do was soothe the burning in her throat. What to do…
She didn't know why she was courting disaster like this. Hell, she didn't even really believe it would work, but she was desperate. This was her last chance, her last hope. She couldn't keep going like this. Everything and everyone else had failed her, and where else did she have to turn but to this? She was standing in the middle of the forest, only a few moments to midnight, shivering uncontrollably, for something she didn't even think would work. She'd truly reached a new low.
If this succeeded (which she really doubted) she would be doomed to Hell. If it didn't, she'd be right back where she started, which was also hell. Either of the outcomes would not be positive for her and she'd still pinned all her hopes on this—summoning a demon.
She squeezed her eyes shut as she finished the incantation, her voice dying on a whisper. There was no noise, no sound to indicate that it had worked. Nothing changed, and she had to bite back the tears that threatened to spill at her failure. This was it. There was no escape, no freedom from him, from what he did.
"You summoned me all the way up here, and you're not even going to look at me?"
The voice was smooth and soft and there was something about it that was accented oddly—American, but also…not. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped at the darkness that surrounded her. It had been night when she'd set out on this ill-advised venture, but she'd brought light with her so that she could see, at least. Everything around her, though, was nothing but black and mist.
She turned towards the voice, and fell back when she saw the woman standing before her. There was no way she could have been human. Her eyes glowed a fierce reddish color like two beacons, and the shadows seemed to writhe around her like they had lives of their own. Her hair was short, but shaggy, and a rich, glossy brown that shone even without light. She was clothed in a gauzy dress that looked as though it was made of…spider webs. Yes, that was most certainly what it was. Only spider webs had that translucence, and they swathed the woman like fine silk. She wore no shoes and clasped around her neck was a jeweled collar necklace that looked like a spider.
"What is your name?" the demoness asked, amusement flickering across her fair, beautiful features.
"A-Alexandra," she stuttered.
"Alexandra," the demoness repeated, the name rolling off her tongue like the most exotic language, "am I right to assume that you are the one that called me here?"
"Y-yes…I did."
She stepped forward and Lexi dropped back a step, afraid suddenly. It had worked. She'd done it. Against all odds she'd actually managed to summon a demon and now that demon stood patiently before her, dressed in cobwebs and darkness. An actual demon. From Hell.
"Why is it that you have summoned me?" she asked not unkindly.
Not like in mythology, in a big, booming voice, laced with irritation, holding centuries worth of knowledge. This was gentle, curious more than anything. It made it a little easier for Lexi to find her words again.
"I want to make a deal," her voice shook, but she forced the words out anyway.
She'd come so far for this, she was not about to waste the opportunity. The demoness cocked her head, and when she did, her hair shifted, revealing two nasty scars on her face that looked suspiciously like claw marks. Still, she was almost angelic in her beauty.
"A deal?"
"That's-that's what you do, right? You make deals? I sell my soul and you'll do something for me in return."
The demoness's lips quirked up slightly as her head tipped forward in the affirmative.
"Most people that wish to form a contract with me are CEO's and owners of companies, drug lords and crime bosses that stand to lose billions upon billions of dollars. You, however…I would say have already lost something."
Lexi felt a shiver travel up her spine and she almost wished she could spontaneously disappear into nothingness under those eyes. She swallowed and tried to find her nerve. She'd come so far and she was not going to back out now. She needed this.
"Make a deal with me. Please."
The demoness quirked a brow at this.
"You are young to be making deals that determine where you spend the rest of eternity. Not even eighteen yet," the demoness frowned a little, "I would not usually inform you of such beforehand, but you do realize that at the termination of our contract I will consume your soul?"
All of the breath left Lexi at once. She'd thought she was going to Hell. That's what all the lore and stories said. Make a contract with a demon and the soul goes to Hell forever, but it appeared all of that was wrong. The demon ate the soul—which, in a way, made more sense, she supposed.
"It doesn't make a difference," Lexi replied with determination, "I still want to make the contract."
The demoness blinked once, slowly. Something in her face changed, but Lexi couldn't pin down what it was before she approached Lexi less by strides and more by gliding. She halted more than an arm's length away, probably so that Lexi wouldn't frighten again.
"Tell me what you desire."
The words were warm as melted caramel, and Lexi swallowed before she spoke, voice trembling.
"His name is Matthew Holt."
The demoness frowned and it almost seemed like she wanted to groan for a moment.
"If you want me to kill him, Alexandra, you could do that without selling your soul to me."
Lexi felt her temper flare. Honestly, she'd thought she'd lost that spark, thought it had been extinguished forever by Matthew, but apparently, at least in this strange dimension or wherever they were, it still lived.
"I don't want him dead! Not…not yet. I need your help."
The demoness still looked skeptical.
"He…he…" she had to tell her, or the demoness would never agree to make the deal, "he raped me, and his friends helped him. No one believed me when I tried to expose them. His family is rich and powerful—he's untouchable. All of them are."
Something in the fiery depths of the demoness's eyes sparked and her expression changed immediately. Suddenly, she didn't seem so against the idea of Lexi giving up her soul.
"What is it you desire?" the demoness inquired again, and this time it was different.
This time, there was the promise of fulfillment in her voice.
"I want them all to pay for what they've done. I want them all to hurt and suffer like I have. I want them to regret what they've done to their very souls. They need to pay."
Admiration and respect bloomed in the demoness's eyes before she closed the distance between them. Lexi felt a moment of fear rise up within her, but she did not back away this time.
"It will require sacrifice. A mark. The more visible the mark the stronger the bond between demon and master."
Lexi's eyes widened. She was not expecting this, but she really hadn't expected any of this to work out in her favor in the first place.
"Where?"
"Anywhere you wish."
"What about…here," she touched her chest, just over heart, "this is where I want it."
The demoness stared at her a moment longer before she bowed her head and her entire body followed gracefully into a kneeling position. Lexi took a half-step back, startled that a supernatural being would drop at her feet.
"The pact is made. I vow to fulfill your every wish until you have wrought vengeance against Matthew Holt and his comrades, and upon completion of our contract I shall consume your soul," the demoness picked her head up, meeting Lexi's eyes again as she placed her hand over her heart, an intricate symbol on the back beginning to glow, "this mark seals our contract and I am yours to command, Mistress."
Lexi cried out as searing pain erupted in the flesh she'd indicated to the demoness. She clawed her shirt away as an identical sigil burned into her skin, glowing red before fading into black as the pain blessedly dissipated. She looked back at the demoness, whose glowing eyes did not waver from hers and felt an overwhelming sense of both dread and comfort welling up within her to have this powerful being bound to her.
"I don't even know your name," she choked out.
"You may name me, mistress, in whatever way pleases you."
Uneasiness wormed its way into Lexi's belly at those words. How did one go about naming a demon? What would suit a being from Hell? Lexi wasn't familiar enough with scripture to go about giving her any biblical name, and even then, would it be some sort of insult to name her after another demon? What about in public? She couldn't go around calling someone that looked human "Beelzebub" or something like that.
"Please, just pick your own. Something another master or mistress or whatever has called you."
The demoness seemed thoughtful for a moment before she spoke, and when she did, her voice as heavier than before.
"If it pleases you, mistress, I would prefer Alana."
Lexi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alana."
All at once, the scene changed and with an air of finality, the mist began to ebb away, soft golden light slowly beginning to pierce the darkness. The scent of trees and moist Earth invaded Lexi's nose, and the cold began prodding at her through her thin school uniform again. The demoness—Alana—rose, and wrapped something around her shoulders. A blanket, Lexi realized, and dimly was surprised by the kindness in the gesture.
"It is too cold out here for you, my lady. Let us go inside and I will return shortly to clean up the materials from the summoning."
Before Lexi had even taken a step, everything went dark again, and this time, no demon awaited her. Only oblivion.
So, in case it wasn't obvious before, I plan to fill in the blanks between Placid Masks end and Fractured Masks beginning as the story progresses.
On a side note, what do you think of the sequel's title? Good or should I change it?