AN: So...this is the second chapter. Sorry about the shortness of the first one, but the second one is here ASAP (and it's waaay longer)! I'm not one hundred percent sure of the level of romance in this fanfic, but I don't think anything will happen for a while (sorry!) at least not until the story has progressed a little more.

~Fen~

Chapter Two:

Crowley laughed at her. 'And how do you know that?'

'I can feel it.'

Crowley arched an eyebrow sceptically. 'You feel it?'

'Yes. Just like I felt how to make the summoning. I feel a storm's coming. I can feel that you're going to come to great power in the wake of said storm and I can feel that now…you're curious.'

'You think I'm going to come to great power?' Crowley said doubtfully, but something inside him stirred. What if this kid was for real? She was probably playing him, just so he'd make the deal for whatever selfish thing she wanted. He didn't think she was sick anymore. Just determined. She was probably just messing with him, but something told him to hear her out.

'Trust me. Something's going to happen – don't ask me what – but you're going to move up in the world.'

'Right. And I should take your word because you feel it?'

'Yes,' Athaya said without a doubt. 'Now back to my original point: deal making. What exactly…are the terms of the deal?'

'What terms?' Crowley said innocently 'I don't know anything about any terms.' Perhaps if he remained elusive, she'd give up.

'Don't give me that. You're king of the crossroads, remember?'

Damn. She'd paid attention to that. 'Fine. Let's just say theoretically…theoretically if one were to make a deal, the obliging crossroads demon would give the foolish human whatever they wanted.'

'In return for what? You're not telling me that the demons get nothing out of doing this.'

'True. In return for the favour, the human promises their soul to the demon. After a period of time – standard time being ten years – the human's soul is legally a possession of hell and it goes there.'

'To hell?' Athaya asked dubiously.

'Yes, to hell. Most people try to resist and we have to send hellhounds after them to drag their sorry asses downstairs. Everyone seems to think they can outrun them. They never even see them coming. Literally. Hellhounds are invisible to humans.'

'Hellhounds?' The girl said and she wrapped her slender arms around herself, as if to stop herself from blowing away. 'Why would people try to escape their fate? They knew what they were getting into. If they're going to end up dead anyways, why not go the less painful path and just…die? I assume you die when your soul goes to hell, yes?'

'Correct,' Crowley said, but he had only partially paid attention to her last question. It was what she'd said before that… 'You know, Athaya, that's exactly what we all ask ourselves. Why does everybody think they can run? Why do they always think they can cheat the devil?'

She frowned. 'It seems idiotic,' she said quietly. Crowley smiled. He was liking this girl more and more. 'So…how do you die if you don't run?' She asked suddenly. Crowley was caught slightly off-guard by the harshness of her words.

He shrugged, 'I dunno…Nobody's ever really asked that question before. Usually we just agree to come for them in ten years and then we send hellhounds after them.'

'Well…ever thought that perhaps people always run because they're expecting a demon? Not a hellhound? At least with a demon, they know who to expect. I'd rather have a demon kill me than some invisible monster.' The girl swayed slightly in the wind and shifted on her feet slightly, as if embarrassed by the question.

'Huh. Never thought about it like that. Good point. Doesn't mean we'll change.'

Athaya shrugged like it was no big deal. 'I don't expect you to. But…' she looked out across the ocean briefly and the cloud cover broke momentarily, bathing the girl in silver moonlight as her hair blew in the wind. Crowley was struck by how pretty she was. She'd grow up to be beautiful. Her dark russet coloured hair almost looked red where the light shone through it and Crowley noticed that her eyes were a stormy grey. She pulled her loose green cardigan around her tighter and turned to face him. 'I want to know all the specifics.'

Crowley was once again caught off-guard. 'All…of them? There's quite a lot of paperwork involved…'

'And I'm sure you've explained the conditions to countless others, so it shouldn't be a problem for you, should it?' She said boldly.

'Sweetheart, I know every single detail of the deal back-to-front and upside-down. Whether my clients knew about them…well…let's just say they never really want to know the particulars.'

Athaya looked outraged. 'Why not? It's their lives on the line! How could they just ignore the essential facts?'

'Because most people don't want to know what they're getting into. We're demons, darling. It's scary business working with something you don't understand.'

Athaya still looked confused. 'Well then how do you usually make deals?'

'Usually? We just give them what they want, they promise their souls and we kiss to seal the deal.'

'A kiss? Is that a bit romanticised?'

'Not at all. What can we say? We get a kick out of making humans squirm.'

'Delightful.' Athaya stifled a yawn and shook her head to clear any thoughts of sleep away. 'And how many deals do you guys make a day? Worldwide?'

'Darling, I can't give away all our secrets.'

'That few, huh?' Athaya said sadly and shook her head. 'My heart goes out to you. You guys must really have trouble finding people to condemn to hell.'

Crowley bristled at her words. 'One million. One million a day, at least.'

Athaya felt cold spikes travel throughout her body. So many. 'That…' she swallowed, 'That many?'

Crowley smiled coldly. 'It's all part of the business.'

'But that's…that's 365 million people a year! Not forgetting to take into account varying statistics. Natural disasters, economic crises, political catastrophes? With the way our world is going, and all the people who have problems they want fixed, you must be increasing in souls by thousands every year. Probably millions!' Athaya had started pacing now, walking back and forth along the dirt road. It was more like she was talking to herself than to Crowley and he frowned slightly.

'Hey, relax. It's just the way of the world, Athaya. It's like you said: people know what they're getting into.'

She spun to face him, her face stained with tears for people whose souls had been lost. 'Then why do they run?' she asked simply.

Crowley didn't know what to say. He had to admit, when the conversation started, in no way had he seen it coming to this. 'Because they're scared. That's what people do when they're scared. They run.'

Athaya took a deep, shaking breath and let it out. 'Fine,' she said after a while. 'Do I get to choose how I die?'

Crowley blinked in confusion. It was one extreme to the next with this girl. 'Uh…if you were to make a deal, I guess so…'

'Interesting. So…if I – theoretically – wanted to die astride a unicorn, riding off into the sunset when a pterodactyl swoops down and eats me…that could happen? I could choose anything?'

Crowley looked at her strangely. 'Whatever floats your boat, I guess. You're a bit strange. Has anybody every told you that?'

Athaya smiled at him genuinely. 'All the time. What's the point in being normal when you can be different?'

Crowley smiled slightly. 'True, true. But back to your previous point: yes. You can die however you want. It might not literally be on a unicorn, or with a pterodactyl, but it would somehow work out that way.'

'Like…say I was at a museum, and I was walking along and somehow I ended up on the back of a stuffed horse and then there's an earthquake and a piece of glass flies through the air and lands in the horse's forehead…that would make it a unicorn. And then a pterodactyl model falls down from the ceiling and kills me. Something like that, yeah?' She looked slightly breathless after her long speech and her eyes were bright with excitement.

Crowley shook his head in amazement. 'You have the most intriguing imagination.'

'Thank you.' Athaya said, but didn't miss a beat. 'So basically any way I want, I could die? I'm not saying I want to die like that. I wouldn't. That's ridiculous. But any way?'

'Yes, basically…'

'What about the time in between now and then? Would I be safe from harm?'

'What do you mean?' The girl was hopping from subject to subject like a frog. It was almost hard for Crowley to keep up with.

'I mean if I were to get hit by a bus, I wouldn't die, right? I'd survive the ten years in between.

'I should get you on speed dial. You're quite brilliant. I've never met anyone who's ever asked that before.'

'Ever?'

'Ever in my life. And I've been around for a few centuries.'

'Really? You're not looking too bad for it.' Athaya said as she scrutinised him once again. This time, Crowley had grown slightly used to her eccentricity and ignored her gaze.

'Thank you. I'm possessing the body of a writer from New York.'

'With an English accent?'

'I'm Scottish, traditionally.' He paused and then added: 'And you don't think there are English people in New York? Hell, sometimes I think there are more English people in New York than in England.'

Athaya laughed and nodded. 'I suppose so. I guess you're right.'

'Of course I'm right. I'm Crowley.'

'You're who?'

Crowley realised he hadn't actually introduced himself. 'Many apologies. I'm Crowley, king of the crossroads.'

Athaya curtsied slightly and gained another smile from the demon. 'Nice to meet you.'

'The pleasure is all mine.'

'It is, actually. I can tell. You've decided to let me make a deal.'

Crowley froze. 'How did you…?'

'I felt it. Remember?'

'Yeah…you couldn't be normal if you tried, could you?'

Athaya shook her head in mock sadness. 'Nope. Not even a little bit.'

But there was something more to this. She was absolutely spot on. He was going to let her make a deal. For several reasons. How did she know about his decision to let her?

'You said you feel things…what kind of things?'

'Well…anything, really. Humans are creatures of feelings, so there's a lot of things associated with them in life. I know what's right or wrong, morally and literally. I can tell when something good or bad is going to happen…that kind of stuff. My entire life, I feel like I've been tuning into feeling things. And my entire life…well. It doesn't matter.'

'What doesn't matter?'

'I just…I've felt like something bad has been with me my entire life. A shadow of some kind. I don't know what, but I think I'm going to find out very soon.'

'How soon?'

'Before you leave.'

'That's not…normal. You shouldn't be able to sense those kind of things…' Crowley was slightly concerned. The level of this girl's awareness to not only her own, but other peoples' feelings was ridiculous.

'I know. And now you're going to help me find out.'

Was that what the girl wanted? To find out what the darkness was? That didn't seem very fair. To trade her soul only to find out what horrible secret was about to be exposed…But she did say that she'd find out before he left.

'Alright. I'm trying to think. What could cause you to have heightened awareness to feelings?'

'I have no idea. That's why I'm asking you.'

Crowley corrected her, 'But you haven't asked me. I asked me.'

'Same difference. I'm asking you now.'

'That you are. Fine…what could cause that kind of anomaly?' Crowley asked himself and concentrated on going through different possibilities in his mind, sorting them out into different categories. Vampire, werewolf, ghost…No. Seer? Possible. Oracle? Maybe. Some kind of god? Also maybe. Past angel possession? If she'd been possessed she might experience side-effects like this. Demon? No.

Wait.

Crowley felt cold. 'Athaya…I…think I know what it is…'