Annoyed that my time is being wasted, I drag myself over to the side of the circle closest to the barrier between us. Unfortunately, it’s on the other side of the room and isn’t made of glass like the rest of the walls.
Straining for a look, I can just make out a mirror within. If she has left through another door, I do not see it. Though I have a feeling that she is still very close by. I can smell her, and though my senses are dimmed, I believe I can also hear her breathing.
She called me here, and I know what my price will be when she ultimately tells me what she wants.Because she will. Why else would a human risk calling upon one of the denizens of Hell if it were not for something they desire more than anything?
And we demons know all about desperation and unrelinquishing want. It is our very nature.
We also know how to manipulate it. The witch has unknowingly given me something to be curious about, and I will have my curiosity satiated before she and I are through. Besides, if she flees, shewillcome back. She will have to.
“Human, I am not one who enjoys waiting,” I say, testing her, calling out to her. When the response is continued silence, I scowl. Humans don’t live for very long, do they? How long could she hold out?
For the first time since appearing here, I look closely at my surroundings.
A large cushioned bed sits to my right, between myself and the room the witch fled to. The floor is white and carpeted, with rugs spread across it. Mediocre pictures of Earth creatures and landscapes decorate the flat surfaces of the sleek dark furniture and hang on the blue walls. On three sides those walls are mostly taken up by glass windows billowing with long white drapes.
What I thought originally was a wet domain of some sort is nothing but a dry human bedroom. There are no creatures swimming through, there are no reefs of dead seaweed, rocky shorelines, or pitch black bottomless depths that go on endlessly, fathomlessly. Everything is bright, glinting, and soft, all of which are aspects of… something other than Hell.
I bite back a growl and instead swoop my long tail toward the front of me.
“Witch,” I call out. “I still need your help. I’m very thirsty.”
Silence.
I say something more, seeing if I can get her to make a noise, but that doesn’t work either.
Aggravated, I decide that when she returns, she will be punished for her audacity and for the mistake of making me wait. Nothing makes me wait, not even a slyly innocent witch.
Leaning up once more to see if I might be missing something in the smaller room, I catch blue glistening in the distance through the windows to my right.
There’s a large blue body of spectacular water.
The color… I have never seen anything of the like. There were no vibrant colors in Hell, only endless shades of black and dull red when there was blood in its water. I have never understood why so many of my kind are obsessed with humans and the world they occupy. To me, they were just creations of a tyrant god, left unmanaged.
But I cannot deny anymore that there are some appealing facets of this offensive summoning. The witch, at least, is alluring. Once I determine what makes her so compelling… then I shall return to my domain.
It won’t be much longer now. I turn my attention to the weak circle keeping me from being free, intent on taking out any barriers between us.
Chapter 4
Demon Merman
Grace
I rouse feeling groggy, but better, and still thirsty as hell. Rubbing my temples, I realize I drifted off briefly. I don’t know how long I was out, but it still must be early afternoon because the sun is shining brightly behind the clouds through the windows.
“Witch, I still need your help. I’m very thirsty.”
I stiffen. The circle… The demon…
My ears prick, listening for more.It’s the first time he’s said anything since I splashed him and ran.Maybe he heard me wake up.
I’d been hoping that breaking free of the circle would have somehow broken the ritual too, and that he would either be unsummoned or he’d just leave. Unfortunately, neither of those things seems to be the case.
He’s still here. He’s waiting for me in the room and unless I want to climb out a second-story window, I’m going to haveto face him and get on with my plan.The problem? I’ve never faced a demon before, let alone anybody of higher authority than me. I avoid confrontation like I avoid cockroaches.
Still feeling damp all over, I rise to my feet, side-eyeing the faucet. I’m desperate for another drink, but if I turn it on, the demon will definitely hear me, and I’m not sure I want that just yet.
Bastard.
