Chapter 3: A Wish Upon a Dim Star

"Three wishes, don't go back on your word" Avery stipulated, removing her finger from his lips.

"I would never dream of it."

"Alright so, how does this work, do I just tell you three wishes, say abracadabra, do a little dance and boom chika bang, we have a contract?"

"Yes but your 'abracadabra' and dance is not needed. Shall we begin?" The man inquired, flashing his fake closed eye smile.

"Why do I feel like you're holding something back again," Avery questioned, putting a finger to her chin.

"You need to only ask."

"Yes, he is definitely hiding something from me." she thought with certainty, otherwise he wouldn't be eager to gloss over important details.

"Okay then, what do you gain from this? I remember you had said you needed to make a contract to get out of the barrier but that is not necessarily a benefit from the contract." she reasoned with curious eyes.

The man hesitated, glancing at Avery before letting out a tired sigh. "It's that bad, huh." she thought.

"You are correct, making a contract was simply for breaking the barrier but as for the contract itself," he stopped and she could literally see the gears turning in his head as he carefully selected his next words, "I will consume your soul."

The air grew still. Avery's mouth hung open in shock, not quite sure how to respond to this statement. Her soul? There was such a thing? Did that mean she would die? Did that mean there was a heaven that souls would go to? At this moment, she wished she knew more about religion. Growing up in an atheist household had left her with little to no knowledge of the supernatural and religion. She did not believe in heaven, hell, or anything. Rather, she believed in what her 5th-grade science teacher told her, that in the end, she would turn into worm food and dirt.

"So, uh" she began elegantly, stuttering over her words as she tried to piece together her ideas, "eating my soul, right, yeah about that, WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN" she demanded, only just a bit hysterical.

"Your soul will disappear."

"You mean, I'm going to die."

"If you have to put it that way."

"Well, if I am eventually going down that path, mind as well brace myself." she thought.

"What does it feel like to, uh, have your soul disappear," she asked the man who now appeared darker than normal.

"How would I know, I've never been eaten." he responded smirking at her, "I'm normally the one doing the eating."

"Will my consciousness go to heaven? Like, do I experience anything in the afterlife." choosing to ignore his snide, she continued her barrage of questions.

"No, you will simply fade from the world."

"Sounds like what I was taught in school. At least I don't have to stare at my body rotting and being eaten by worms from someplace." Avery reflected.

"You're taking this rather well" the man expressed, clearly awed by her quick acceptance of her faith.

"Well nothing really bothers me anymore, I mean, I'm the type of person who believes aliens exist, so why not this random dark angel who appears out of nowhere to help me and eat my soul. It sounds perfectly aligned with my understanding if you ask me. And, the idea of my 'soul' disappearing, I already thought that was gonna happen when I die anyway…" she faltered, as she was reminded about her parents' death, "and there's no more reason for me to be in this world anymore."

The man chuckled, somehow finding a part of her rant entertaining. "She thinks I'm an angel," he thought, amused at her stupidity.

But to Avery, he was being ridiculous. She thought he would stop laughing at her after a couple of seconds but he kept on it until she decided to put an end to it.

"Are you quite done?" she snapped. She was not having it after she had spoken her heart out.

"Yes, yes, it's just the irony of it all. I am sorry for the outburst. Now," he clapped his hands together, "that is enough questioning for today, let's get down to business. Tell me what your three desires are but please remember that I will not take any vague requests, including 'until I am satisfied' or 'until I say so'. Additionally, you can not wish for more wishes, you will only get three."

"Darn it" Avery muttered, "Alright here are my three wishes-"

Suddenly, she heard sirens in the distance, blaring their high pitched horns. Based on their faint sounds, she only had ten minutes before they arrived. She gasped, alarmed by the speed at which back up had responded. It's only been twenty minutes since she knocked out the officers!

"You better hurry my lady, it seems they are close." the man smiled condescendingly, undoubtedly enjoying her agitation.

"First, I want you to never lie to me." she glared at him making sure he understood her order, "You're a slimy one and I wouldn't put it past you to deceive me just to make things easier for you."

"That shall be done," he answered, unfazed by the jab. He was, after all, one who embodied evil and he was not bothered by it.

"Second, you are to aid me in capturing and ending those pigs who murdered my parents," she continued, "And by AID, I mean that you will become my strength but I will be the mastermind behind their downfall. I want to end those bastards myself." her hands clenched with anger just thinking about the pair of murderers.

Internally the man rejoiced, oh how he relished a soul tainted with violence and hatred. To charge ignorantly into corruption without a regret, yes, it was the fine seasoning he so craved for after centuries of confinement. A great hunger overtook him as he glanced at the girl's eyes, pleased to find innocence still lingering within them. Delicious.

His voice rumbled as he answered her request, "Of course my lady."

"And third," she paused, choosing her next words carefully, "you are to always protect me." She wanted to make her last wish as vague as possible and 'protecting' was perfect since it encompassed many aspects. The man, however, had caught her trick.

"Protect is a very vague word, you will have to be more specific about it. Am I to protect you from physical harm as well as sicknesses? If so, that will be two wishes and not one." he clarified, sticking two fingers in front of her face to emphasize.

"Well, it's up to you. Do you want me to die before you get compensated? I'm already at death's doorstep as it is since I was planning to take down those murderers even if it requires my life." Now it was her turn to smirk at him. She knew exactly what he wanted and was sure that there was no way he was going to let this deal come to a premature end without his reward. "Where's your answer?" she demanded impatiently as the sirens grew louder. It would only be five minutes now.

"It is done." the man bowed, amazed by her boldness in challenging a demon. She was certainly not afraid to find loopholes in the ancient contract.

The hallway glowed a deep violet as a black Faustian symbol engraved itself into Avery's shoulder blade and the man's hand. She stifled a cry as it burned her back, clutching it while pulling down her shirt partway to see what it looked like.

"You didn't mention anything about this!" she yelled, annoyed by the fact that he had withheld another piece of information from her.

"You didn't ask."

"Asshole," she muttered.

"You do know it is rude to call people names. Especially when I will be your savior in the next minute or so" he smiled daggers at her as he stepped out of the library and peered around.

Avery looked at the man, now that he was out of the gloom. In the light, she could see that his face was sharply sculpted like a Roman statue. He had broad shoulders that contrasted his slim waist and his tall stance cast a dark shadow, even in the light. All in all, he was a handsome fellow and did not look the least bit tired despite being stuck in a room for God knows how long.

"Like what you see?" the man said, amused.

"No, just wondering what you ate to get so absurdly tall." she said.

"I believe you are aware."

"Who knew souls could be so nourishing." she commented randomly. "Anyways, I know this is a bit late considering the conversation we just had. I've been meaning to ask, what should I call you?" Avery inquired, curious as to what a dark angel like himself would be called.

"Whatever you like."

"Don't you have a name?" She was intrigued. How could someone not have a name?

"I will be whomever you would like me to be."

"Well then, what were you called before, in your last... 'contract'?" Naming people was certainly not her specialty and she'd rather save herself from the embarrassment of coming up with one. Her thoughts were interrupted when he responded:

"Sebastian Michaelis."