Aislin rode her bike along the winding dirt road, her mum had been a little apprehensive about letting her go out alone, but dad had argued for her, she was ten now and could go for a ride on her bike on her own. She was going to her favourite place, a little windmill at some crossroads on the outskirts of town, she loved reading there, it was so quiet, and there was a friendly cat that lived there who she brought food to sometimes. She had named the sleek black animal Hamlet, they were reading it at school and he was her favourite character in the play. Her backpack was stocked with a the book she was reading and some tins of cat food, a couple of pieces of bacon she had saved from breakfast and some cat treats that she had bought with her pocket money. Dad was allergic to cats so she couldn't bring the little stray home, but she had made a little bed for Hamlet in the run down windmill out of an old blanket and a box she had found in the garage. As she approached the crossroads, she heard voices and decided to walk the rest of the way, to see who was there. Mum had warned her about strangers, and told her to avoid anyone she saw around this area. She crouched in the long grass, behind a tree and peered out at the crossroads. A young woman and a man stood there; she looked scared, and Aislin strained to listen to the conversation,
"Is this what you want? A cure for your father's cancer?" the man asked and the woman nodded, "So be it, a kiss to seal the deal." The man leant in and kissed her, like Aislin had seen in the movies and among the older kids at her school who were going out. The girl pulled back quickly and he chuckled, "The deal is done, go back to the hospital, you'll find your father cured. Oh, and I'll see you in ten years." A kiss to cure her dad's cancer? Aislin had never heard of anything like that before, the woman got into her car and drove away without even saying goodbye to the man who had apparently cured her dad. "You can come out now, Aislin," her heart thudded with fear and she pulled back and wondered whether running would do her any good, she was one of the fastest runners in her grade, but he was an adult. "I know you're up there, I won't hurt you, I promise." Aislin found herself suddenly believing everything he said and walked around the tree into his line of sight. "There you are, come down here so we can talk." Aislin reluctantly walked down the hill, to the crossroads, "How much did you hear?" he asked and she looked at the ground.
"How did you cure her dad's cancer by kissing her?" she asked, he knew she had been listening, so why pretend otherwise? He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.
"I'm a demon," he said and she frowned,
"Demons aren't real," she said and yelped when his eyes flashed crimson.
"We're very real." He smirked and Aislin started to back away, "I did promise not to hurt you," he reminded her. "The name's Crowley; and to answer your question, I'm a crossroads demon, I grant wishes if you like."
"Anything?" she asked, not quite sure if she believed he was real or not yet, "You can give them anything at all?"
"I can kill someone, bring them back to life, make them fall in love, money, power, talent, I can give it all." Crowley smirked again, "Care to make a deal, Aislin?"
"Do I have to kiss you?" she asked and Crowley shrugged,
"It's traditional and initiates the deal,"
"That's gross," she said and Crowley chuckled, "Do you live in Hell?"
"Nah, nasty place, never did get used to the whole fire and brimstone thing," Aislin smiled, and looked at the windmill, "Or I could cure your darling daddy of those allergies so you can bring your little friend home."
"You'd do that?" she asked, wary, her mother was Christian enough to have warned her in passing about demons, but Crowley seemed nice enough,
"For a price, of course," Crowley explained, "I do something for you, and in ten years, I get your soul."
"If you get my soul in ten years, does that mean I die?" she asked and he shrugged,
"Maybe, maybe not, I do have need of, shall we say, an accomplice, a human that hunters will trust." Crowley said, and Aislin frowned,
"What are hunters?" she asked and he chuckled,
"Sometimes I forget how little you know," he smirked and rubbed his hands together, "I'll tell you everything you need to know, in time. But you get your friend," he gestured to the windmill, "And in return, you belong to me."
"I thought that only happened in ten years," she said and he grinned darkly,
"Come now, I'm doing you a favour here, someday I might even take you to hell, show you around and let you see what you're missing out on." Aislin wrapped her arms around herself, and Crowley stepped closer to her, "Cold?" Aislin nodded and the demon snapped his fingers and the two of them appeared inside a large expensive looking home. Crowley walked to a bar and poured himself a glass of scotch, "Craig," he explained, holding up the bottle, "Don't suppose you want some?"
"I'm ten," she reminded him and he scoffed,
"And how old do I look?" he asked, taking a sip of the liquor,
"Thirty, or so," she answered and he snickered,
"Three hundred years, give or take," Crowley corrected and Aislin gawped at him, "Age is just a number, love, you'll learn that soon enough." He put a glass of Craig in her hand, "Take a sip and try not to gag," Aislin did as he asked and was soon bent double, scratching at her burning throat, "Takes some getting used to, but, then again, I didn't bring you here to throw up my expensive scotch on my equally expensive rugs; so here's the deal," he said as she collapsed into one of the chairs, "I give you kitty and in return you be my little double-agent, you go where I send you and make nice with the people I tell you to; I will protect you, the other demons will know you belong to me, I can't say the same for the monsters, but you'll learn how to fend for yourself."
Aislin gasped, the searing pain in her throat subsiding, "Okay, yeah, I'll do it,"
"Wonderful," Crowley smiled and Aislin cringed slightly as he leant in for the kiss that would initiate their deal.