I had the feeling I was being followed as I walked from my office to my car. But it had been an extremely long day, and I brushed it of as just feeling stressed. Nothing a bottle of wine wouldn't drown out.
It was a Friday night, and to say that I was thankful for the weekend was an understatement. I was definitely looking forward to spending the night on the couch with that bottle of wine and catching up on the shows on my DVR.
But as I turned the key in the lock on my front door, something still didn't feel right. Everything looked perfectly in place. But there was something in my house that was causing me to feel anxious, and I had no idea why.
When I reached my bedroom, the answer literally caught me by the throat.
As I stepped into my closet, halfway through peeling off my clothes, determined to make myself believe that I was just overworked and overtired, a pair of strong hands grabbed me. As they circled around my throat, pulling me closer, I saw a pair of familiar yellow eyes staring back into mine.
"Remember me?" His voice was barely above a hiss as he seethed at me. "Of course you do," he chuckled, reading the panic as affirmation that indeed, I did remember. "I told you that you couldn't run forever."
I gasped for breath as he released his grip on my throat. "What do you want?" I questioned, my voice unable to conceal the fear I felt as the demon from my past stood before me.
"You made a deal, remember?" He growled, grinning at my discomfort. "You may have been young and foolish when you made that pact, but it was still binding, and now I'm here to collect."
My eyes went wide as I stared back at him, speechless. My mind flashed back to the first time I met him. I was a senior in high school. I had bought a book on demonic magic at an old, secondhand bookstore. It was just something I had picked up to read, and maybe partially to play around with to scare my boyfriend. I didn't think that it was real. In fact, I thought that magic in all forms was a hoax.
But, as I hid out in the barn alone on that dark, cold, rainy October night, reading and repeating the words scrawled inside, I found out firsthand that it very much wasn't.
At first, I had thought that it was just an errant breeze blowing through the drafty old grain bin. But as I fumbled with the matches, striking one to relight my candle, the dim light gained by lighting the wick revealed a pair of demonic yellow eyes staring back at me, accompanied by a cruel, merciless smile.
I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't move. I couldn't even scream. The way his hands touched my face made my blood run cold. But there was something in his eyes that intrigued me even though it scared me to death.
"You've gone and done a very foolish thing, child." His voice was deep and cruel as he spoke to me for the first time. "I've half a mind to kill you where you sit." The words fell off his tongue like barbs, easily revealing my fear as it ran unbridled through my mind.
He stood, his tall frame illuminated by the candle. His long, slender horns reflected the light as it shadowed the chiseled outlines of his face. His stature was undoubtedly a testament to his endless cruelty. He studied me with narrowed eyes, surely contemplating the method by which my demise would come.
"Yet," he paused, kneeling down to grab me firmly by the chin, "I may have use of you yet, little one." He smiled wickedly once again, chuckling darkly as he continued. "You obviously are talented enough to invoke my presence, so there must be something worthwhile in that tainted little soul of yours."
He leaned forward, spreading his fingers over my forehead. Pain shot through my entire body, as if I had been shocked. I whimpered in pain as he continued sifting through my mind.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise, and he stopped. I collapsed in pain onto the dusty floor. "Get up!" he snapped, the irritation clear in his voice.
"I will make you this offer once, child." He spoke urgently, watching my eyes react to his words. "The words you uttered were those of a binding pact - one that gives you protection from harm by binding yourself to me. I'll do you one better, for a price."
His eyes flashed dangerously as he smiled at me. "We make this a blood pact, enforce the binding, and I'll watch over you. I'll help rid you of that boneheaded idiot that you're running from." He paused, watching as I smiled at the thought. "In return," his voice dropped to a snarl, snapping me back to the conversation. "You're committing yourself to me, permanently. One day, when you are ready, when I want you, I will return for you. You'll come along, no objections, no questions asked."
In my desperation and fear, I didn't even think of what I was doing. "I'll do it. It's a deal. "The words were out of my mouth before the consequence even entered my mind.
He grinned evilly as he pulled a short, silver blade from his belt. Grabbing me by the wrist, he quickly cut the palm of my hand. I yelped in pain and struggled to get away as he pulled me back toward him. "Enough!" He growled, making a matching cut in his own. As he placed our hands together, sealing the pact, it felt like I was on fire.
