A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic so there might be some mistakes but don't hesitate to let me know! The first chapter has a lot of background so if you'd like to skip it, you are more than welcome to. Chapter 2 is much more exciting.

Now without ado, here is the first chapter!

Chapter 1: The Last Chase

If you looked at Avery Strand, you might have thought she was one of those little girls who wanted to play cops and robbers.

She was by no means "cute" or timid. Nor was she short or slight. Rather, like the rest of her family, she held her head high in society and her eyes seemed to pierce everyone, even with a slight glance. Her tall stance commanded attention and her words, though phrased like any other young adult, held a strong undertone. Indeed, her persona seemed to clash in every aspect of a "little girl".

After thinking a bit further, what normally ran through people's minds as they passed by her in the streets was, "she is not fit to be part of the police force".

True, growing up, she did not concern herself over financial matters and lived comfortably. Her elegance spoke volumes for her upbringing. Put simply, she was not poor. But now, circumstances have changed.

She is currently a detective, or she would like to think of herself as one. Her present rank was far too low on the police hierarchy scale to be considered a "detective". Yet, she believed herself to be an important part of the police force, often taking matters into her own hands by either investigating suspects or leading a wild chase around London. It was not uncommon for Avery to be called out by her superior for her unruly actions, but after each meeting, she would slowly return to her old ways: she enjoyed the thrill and her determination to solve one particular case pushed her to try to end each case as soon as possible.

At the moment, Avery was trying to capture a pair of murderers who recently took the lives of a high-ranking politician in London. The poor man had been brutally murdered, his bloody body hanging from the steeple of a nearby church. However, this man was only the latest of the murderers' kills. So far, they had taken the lives of at least five other men, all of which were from the upper class. The pair reigned terror over the rich and famous, including her own parents, who had made their fortune on electronics and manufacturing. Once proud and charismatic leaders of the industry, her parents were now reduced to little mice cowering within the secured confines of their multi-million dollar house, refusing to attend any parties or meetings. Rather, they opted to manage their business through video conferencing and phone calls. However, after months and eventually years without journeying outside, small banters turned into raucous arguments and soon, a divorce loomed in the distance. Meanwhile, Avery was forced to watch quietly as her family fell apart little by little. She too was trapped in the house and desperately longed to go outside, even if it was for a little bit. Countless attempts at window climbing, furious dashes through the front door, or roof climbing all ended up in failure by the hands of her parents' security guards. And so, within the terribly quiet walls of the large house, she planned and vowed to catch the murderers who were tearing her family and life apart. While taking online detective classes with the help of her police friend, Sam, she completed the required courses and luckily was accepted by a local station.

So, it was only by pure chance that a cookbook, which had been placed far too close to the stove, caught on fire and pure chance when that cookbook fell onto the wooden floors, torching the rest of the area. It was then, when the firefighters came to the rescue, when Avery slipped out the door, leaving a note on her father's briefcase (one he would never leave without) stating her disappearance to the police station to become a detective and one last desperate plea for their reunion. She was sure that her parents would unite momentarily and come after her but she had plans to become a detective, albeit a lowly sidekick, to the local police department. The police were one of the few places her parents, even with their money and power, would leave untouched. They feared scandal above all and Avery hoped that their belief in the police system would extend towards protecting her.

It had been almost half a year since she joined the force and she was glad that her parents had not shown any sign of taking her away. All was quiet except for an occasional barrage of video calling requests. In the meantime, the pair of murderers' kill count reached twenty. Despite months of false leads and frustration, she had finally found a clue. A bartender had recognized one of the men who had been present at the politician's household the night before the murder. Now, Avery was following that man, her prime suspect, throughout London. Driving slowly, she carefully made sure her car blended with the crowd while she discreetly trailed his car. Soon, after what seemed like hours driving through the woods, she found herself driving up to a large manor, unkempt and dilapidated. With its vast size and grand, lofty towers, there was no doubt in her mind that this once belonged to a nobleman during the Victorian era. She parked her car somewhere among the trees and ran swiftly across the sparsely decorated field before climbing through a broken window. Once inside, she pulls out her gun and after calling backup, ventures further into the manor, passing through many rooms with faded gold trimmings before reaching the doorway of a large library at the end of a hall. Suddenly, a shadow creeps on the floor towards her until she sees a man peering before her. She looked up, alarmed, and pulled out her gun, shakily pointing it at the man's broad chest. He gives her an amused smile, crimson eyes reflecting her own, wide ones.

"Don't move or I'll shoot" she commands steadily. As an experienced detective, Avery's used to these situations and eyes the man carefully, slowly taking in who the mystery man is.

Dressed almost entirely in black except for his white dress shirt, the man looked to be a butler from the Victorian era (thanks to her knowledge from binge watching eight seasons of Downton Abbey). His suit, though crisp and clean, seemed to be very worn. He had absurdly pale skin and his sculpted figure towered at least half a foot above her.

The man looks at her gun amused and pauses his movements. Well, he doesn't seem like those murderers. In fact, he doesn't seem like he's from this century! She thought, ruling out the possibility of his participation in the murders. Maybe he used to serve someone here, a nobleman of sorts? Gathering her courage to ask about the whereabouts of the men she was following, Avery attempts to step through the doorway only to be bounced back by an invisible barrier.

"What is this?" she mutters, rubbing her forehead.

"It's a barrier meant to keep others out and I in." the man replies, seemingly entertained by her discovery.

Temporarily forgetting the thieves which led her into the manor, she leaned forward in interest.

"A barrier? Is this some kind of superpower? Did someone put this here? This is simply impossible!" She remarked as wild thoughts from webtoons and other animes ran circles in her head.

The man chuckled, "I suppose you could call it a 'superpower'. And yes, this was placed by someone else, very cruelly and very suddenly if I do say so myself. It was from my previous contract holder who made a deal with a certain reaper. I have been here ever since. Perhaps it is a sort of 'punishment' he had thought of before his death…" He trailed off, frowning. His dark eyebrows furrowed as if he had remembered something unpleasant.

What a cruel punishment to be locked up in that dingy library! She thought sadly. No sunlight or freedom. And what was this contract? Reaper? Is this some kind of joke? Too many questions circled in her head.

"Wha-" Was all she could manage before she heard footsteps down the hall. A lot of footsteps. More than two people.

"Oh shit, they're here! There's so too many of them! When is backup coming?!" Avery whispered desperately, quickly pulling out her gun and switching off the safety. She clung as close to the wall as she could, taking her shooting stance.

"Let's make a deal. If you help me escape this room, I will eliminate those people." The man offered.

Muffled shouting and heavy footfalls grew louder every second until they almost seemed upon her. She rapidly glanced down the hall, turning away from the man. Her mind was on fire. Was it worth it to let a possible criminal out of this supernatural prison? After all, he must have done something wrong to be stuck there in the first place. But, she thought, I could die from this if someone doesn't save me now. Backup should be coming later anyways and can take this man into questioning afterward.

Her eyes squeezed shut briefly while she hastily made a quick decision and replied, "Alright, what do I need to do?"

The man beckoned her closer, "Form a contract with me."

Must be some sort of promise I would need to make Avery silently thought.

"What sort of contract? What are the terms?" Avery asked, believing she could find loopholes or work something out in the aftermath.

"The details will be smoothed out once I ensure your safety. It is one which deals with your soul in exchange for achieving your greatest desire."

"Uh, what?!"

Just as she was to ask how one could ever deal with a soul, her ears were greeted with the sounds of sirens. A relieved sigh escaped from her lips. The thundering footsteps which were almost at her area stopped shortly before dissipating as the group ran in the opposite direction towards whatever hiding places they had procured in the manor. Carefully, Avery stood up and turned back to the disappointed man.

"I guess that solves that. Thank you anyway for the offer." she acknowledged, holding out her hand to shake hands. Then, realizing the invisible barrier was there, she meekly scratched her head, "Oh sorry I forgot about the barrier."

"Ah, I see. Will I see you again?" he asked slowly, walking as close to the doorway as he could.

Avery hesitated. Would she see this man again? Was it safe too? Perhaps he was in there for a good reason.

"No, I don't believe you will," she decided.

"Well then" He stopped and frowned, "Good day."

With a bow, the man silently walked away from the doorway, shoulders drooping slightly as he disappeared deeper into the room.

She stared after him wondering who exactly he was and what evil deed he did to achieve such a cruel punishment. Outside she heard someone call her name. "Avery! Avery! Where are you?!"

It's Sam! She thought happily. He's come for me! She ran quickly down the hall, forgetting about the questionable man.

Once outside she looked excitedly around for her childhood friend, Sam.

"Over here, Avery! By the trees."

At last, she spotted Sam leaning against a police car, waving her over while surrounded by a couple of her fellow policemen.

"Look who decided to show up. Ms. Loner who doesn't go by the laws and rushes after dangerous thieves alone." Sam joked but his eyes held no mirth. His expression suddenly turned serious. "I always tell you this. Be careful next time Avery, I don't know how long I can make excuses for you."

"C'mon, I was so caught up in the moment! I mean one moment I'm getting coffee and the next, I see the prime suspect driving down the street and I'm in my car chasing their van throughout London." She enthusiastically justified, waving her hands as she actively recalled her latest adventure. "Although I am grateful that you had shown up with back up at the right time! I had such a fright with those thieves up there! They were almost upon me."

For some odd reason, she neglected to tell Sam she had met a strange man in the manor. Something told her that his presence did not need to be known. Thinking back, it seemed that the man was more than he had originally let on. She would have to dig into his background later.

As she finished her story, a burly policeman, Sanders, Avery's superior, strode over to the group, a scowl stretched across his features. "Ah Sourpuss nice to see you here" Avery greeted with forced politeness, her expression immediately changed to a fake smile as he approached.

"Those blasted murderers! They got away again! Escaped through the back door with a car waiting for them! Arghh." He crumpled his policeman cap in his hands with frustration. Then he turned to Avery.

"And YOU!" he pointed his finger at her, "Don't call me that bloody name again. How dare you disobey regulations rush in there by yourself. Last time was your last warning when Sam covered you. But this time, I am taking you up with the chief. You're a nuisance and cause nothing but trouble " He snorted, malice glinting in his eyes, "I wouldn't be surprised if you suspended or better yet, fired!"

"Fired? Sourpuss, you think I am going to be fired? What nonsense!" she giggled nervously, aware of her previous escapades and close calls, most of which ended with backup rescuing her without success in catching the criminal.

"We'll see about that." Sourpuss snickered, sneering at Avery before walking away.

Once he was gone, Avery frowned and turned to Sam. "That sorry excuse of a man! Who does he think he is? Okay, I may be new but I am doing my best to help here, without pay! I also played the main part in catching the Hope diamond thief too! I swear, one day, I'm going to show him that I am the greatest detective in the world!" She laughed maniacally. "Shove that in your pipe and smoke it, Sourpuss!"

Sam sighed, nodding in agreement. He too disliked Sanders, erm Sourpuss, and his tendency to bring things to boil in an instant. It never seemed like he had a filter. Technically Sam had a higher authority than Soupuss but oftentimes, Sourpuss would step over the line with his outright blaming and harsh words.

"Sam, you'll cover for me right," Avery asked him with wide puppy eyes.

"I don't know if it'll count this time Avery since the chief did say it was your last chance, but I'll try"

"Ahhh, you're the best Sam!" Avery cheered, hugging him tightly, "Anyways, I better head back now that my star role is over, call me when the forensics team finishes collecting samples and taping everything off"

"Will do. See you later." Sam replied, backing away from her just in case she threw another surprise hug at him.

Avery quickly walked through the trees, glad she remembered where she parked her car. Stepping into the car and revving up the engine, she ripped down the dirt path with the radio turned up to "Highway to Hell".

Once she drove into the parking lot of a complex, she ran up the stairs to her apartment and crashed onto the bed. Sure, she was dirty but right now, all she wanted was a long nap. All of the excitement left her quite drained and what better than a midday nap to refresh herself?

The sun was already setting when a sudden phone call startled her out of bed. It was the police station. Alright, finally time to get to work! She thought enthusiastically, picking up the phone.

"Avery, how are you feeling?" a voice she recognized to be Sam's.

How are you feeling? She froze. Why was he asking her that? Even in her sleep-boggled mind, she realized something was wrong. After many close incidents, each one ending with Sam asking her how she was feeling, Avery had lectured him to stop asking her that since it was driving her up that wall. After that, he never questioned her state again, though he did look concerned after every event.

But now, he was breaking the unspoken promise. Something really bad must have happened. Something unspeakably terrible that Sam was now suddenly openly caring about her wellbeing. She nervously swallowed, before answering.

"I'm fine. Just woke up from a nap." She willed herself to be calm, trying to convince herself everything was alright. Maybe another person was murdered? Another case? Was she about to die? Her heart beat impossibly fast as her brain churned out possible reasons for this call, each one wilder than the last.

"Avery…" Sam cleared his throat, "Do you remember the murderers you were chasing?"

A chill settled Avery's bones, how could she not remember, she was just chasing them hours ago! What had happened in the last few hours?

"Of course, I was just after them not too ago." She swallowed once more, trying to stay calm,

"Sam, you're scaring me, what's this all about? Is there another case? What's happening? Please, tell me."

By now, her hand was trembling, even though she struggled to keep them still. Her stomach churned. She felt something dreadful had happened. Something that had to do with her.

"Avery I couldn't do anything, I couldn't stop them." Sam begged, reasoning for some strange reason. "I couldn't stop them from taking you off the team."

Avery blew a sigh of relief, that's all it was. She had thought something terrible had happened. Sure, she had just lost her job, but right now that was the least of worries. But then Sam continued talking.

"And…" Sam paused. It was a heavy pause and Avery wanted to scream. "Avery, your parents, they're dead."

What he next heard through the phone startled him, a loud crash boomed to his ears followed by an eerie silence.