Deal with the Devil

“s**t” I cursed under my breath as I shifted the last oracle into place. I’d really done it now. Jace was truly going to kill me this time. Well, as soon as I brought him back from the dead that is.  I felt the drafty air shift as my binding spell began to form, pulling on strings in my mind and weighing on my shoulders. A cloud of mist seemed to envelop the church and the ring of the bells signaling the late hour only added to the ominous feel. Summoning a higher demon was no easy task, it wasn't just any run-of-the-mill demon that could bring back a life on the brink of death.  I should have seen the ambush coming, I should have been more prepared. I placed my shaky hands, sticky with blood, on Jace’s chest. A single tear betrayed my steely exterior and ran down my cheek as I inspected the wound on my brother's chest. A dagger plunged deep still protruded out, not a fatal wound had it not been soaked in demon blood. The blood had little effect on me, considering my half-demon heritage, but for my half-angel big brother it might as well have been poison. The inky black substances oozing from the wound had me gagging at the sight. The poison was sinking in, I watched the veins in his chest run black as it seeped into his bloodstream. My stomach sank, I was running out of time. I smelt the sulfur in the air before I saw the demon. “Hello child, summoning me on hallowed ground? Whatever is the occasion?” the cloaked creature seethed at me as it rose up from the church alter ahead of me. I looked up at the demon, an impossibly dark presence cloaked to shield it’s faceless eyes.  Long, unnaturally boney, fingers that ended in talons clutched at a staff carved from a bone. I could feel the bounds of my spell tugging as the creature inched closer, I’d have to make this snappy. I didn’t know how long these sorts of black magic spells lasted and I wasn't in the mood to find out. “Save him” I spat at the faceless monster. “Save this half-angel spawn? Whatever for? It seems the demon who did this has done you a great service.” My face twisted at that. I always hated demons. I chanted ancient words that bubbled up dark memories I had suppressed and watched as my binding spell tightened on the demon before me. “Fine. You must know the cost then child?” It clicked its invisible tongue at me. I could feel Jace’s body growing colder by the second. “Whatever the cost, I’ll pay it!” I screamed and felt an icy finger slide down my neck and the hairs raise on my skin at the weight of my decision. I knew I was gonna regret this. “A life, for a life” The demon’s bony fingers taped together in delight. “I will restore this angel boy’s life, in exchange for yours. I will not collect today, but know that when I do return to claim what is mine there will be no escaping your fate.” The ominous warning had little effect on me when I was holding Jace’s lifeless body in my hands. He was good. He deserved to live. He HAD to live. “I accept, now save him demon” I spat with no hesitation. The creature produced a dagger, not unlike the one lodged in Jace’s chest, from his robes and held it out to me. A demon blade was said to be forged in the fires of Hell and held great magic. I snatched the ancient blade from its inhuman hand and raised my palm to slice. The blade burned as I slashed my hand and the demon greedily caught the blood in a vial. I snatched my wounded hand away and threw the wretched dagger as soon as the vial was full. I internally rolled my eyes...demons and their overdramatic blood oaths. I bit my lip at the sudden pain as a searing brand etched itself into my back, proof of my deal with the devil. I fought off unconsciousness as the spell of burnt flesh rose to my nose. I hadn’t remembered THAT being part of this bargain. “I’ll be seeing you, my child” the creature laughed as it pulled the dagger from my brother’s chest and poured a drop of my freshly collected blood on the wound. I felt the weight of the binding spell ease from my mind as the demon slipped back into whatever layer of Hell I summoned it from. I watched in wonder as my blood fizzed and sizzled in the hole the dagger left and slowly the wound stitched itself closed leaving behind a star shaped scar.  The minutes felt like years as I watched life slowly seep back into my brother. I had no idea how long the black magic would take, and when my brother would wake. I glanced around at the abandoned church we had converted into our home and silently cursed Jace for not being awake to help me mop up all his blood off the floor. I dragged his body off the steps and onto the old marble altar with great effort. My body was exhausted from the spell and the subsequent barbeque the demon had made of my back. I waited all night by the altar. Waiting for my brother to stir. It was 5 hours before his amber eyes shot open and he gasped, stirring me from my exhausted stupor.  “Well it's about time you came around, sleeping beauty.” I snorted at him. I winced in pain as I stood to come to his side, limping over as gracefully as possible in my high heeled black leather boots. He snatched my wrist and stared up at me “Wren, I am going to kill you”. I smiled endearingly down at my older brother “Aw Jacey, your first thoughts after resurrection are about me? I knew you loved me.” He swung his long legs over the altar and examined his new scar. “Wren, tell me this isn't what I think it is. Tell me that you did not summon Abaddon”. ''Ah-ha! I knew he had a name, I couldn't remember for the life of me…” I deflected. Leave it to my angel brother to remember the hierarchy of demons and not me. “Wren, this is not a joke. Tell me what the price was. Nothing in the demon realm comes for free. What did you pay to save me?” “Well Abaddon, the filthy bastard, thought I was exceptionally good-looking and gave me a discount.” I winked and shrugged. If he knew what I had done to save him, he would plunge himself into Hell to undo it. He rolled his eyes at my smart ass answer. “This conversation is NOT over.”  He snarled and stalked away from me towards his office. I let out a sigh of relief that my brother was alive and I was off the hook...for now.  I finally made my way to the shower to rinse off the scent of death and demon magic. I stared at myself in the mirror, at the way my long black hair was slick with sweat and blood and a bruise was healing under my right eye from the fight that injured Jace. You would hardly know we were siblings if you looked at us. He was half fae, half angel and I was his mirror opposite half fae, half demon. Our mother had been an exceptionally beautiful and cunning fairy from the Unseelie court, a mischievous fae realm suspended between Heaven and Hell. She had been banished to the human realm for her relationship with Jace's father, a lesser angel. When he died, our mother was grief stricken and abandoned in the human world and a drunken one-night-stand with a demon later, I was born.  Jace was the golden boy, the angelic blood running deep in his veins. My dark hair and unnaturally green fae eyes were stark in comparison to his blonde curls and golden skin. I turned away from the mirror and turned the shower to cold. I debated glancing at the brand left on my back. I could feel it stretch from just above my waistband to the tips of my shoulder blades, but I didn't think I could stomach the sight of it. A not so gentle reminder of my fate. “Come on Wren, we’ve got another job!” Jace yelled from the hallway. I had barely slept four hours. Hardly enough time to recover from the last “job”, nevermind the summoning of a demon and selling of my soul. I groaned away the soreness in my muscles and pulled myself from bed. When you were a bounty hunter for the supernatural, there was hardly time for rest and relaxation. Unruly demons needing to be sent back to Hell, overzealous fairies who conned unsuspecting humans into s*****y in the fae realm, amongst other brands of evil. The Legion was an organization founded by Angels but was now run by a gang of half-breed do-gooders trying to balance the scales of good and evil and keep the human and supernatural worlds at peace. I braided my hair in a long plait that swung around my hips and threw on my leather pants and a black tank top, careful to fully hide my new brand, and headed out to meet Jace. “You just died and came back to life, can’t we take the day off?” I groaned into my black coffee. “First, we swing by headquarters, and grab Winnie. We will need backup. We’ve got a loose lesser demon on the east side who is stirring up trouble.” I smiled at that. Winnie was a half-fae, half-human with unmatched attitude and a troubling knowledge of all things demon. She also happened to be my best friend.