Ch 9: The Demon’s Pact

Astasha had left the King's quarters with her mind going out of control. The only thing she knew about blood magic was what she had read in that book, and now she had little more than a day and a night to learn how to use it to save the Prince.

It had very much been insinuated that should she get caught, there was nothing the King could do, but he had done all he could to help her by informing Errant that Astasha was to be left to recover and a replacement Fire Witch brought in before he would allow the ritual to move forward. While she knew the Grand Sorcerer didn't believe she was too traumatized to participate, he could not go against the King.

Astasha had quickly and quietly made her way to the Magic Study, where every piece of writing about magic was held. She had torn through every possible book and page that could be of help and had found a few things that she felt may shed some light on her predicament.

Back in her room, she poured over the pages, coming to a couple of conclusions. The demon had wanted her to release him, so obviously, that was out of the question. She had found a binding ritual that was usually used to keep herds from wandering too far or loved ones from running away, but had found a way to alter it into a cage of sorts. Then she found a silencing ritual. Between the two, she crafted a spell that would not only trap the demon, but keep it from using whatever power it held. If she could truly subdue it and bind it, that could buy them more time to find a way to destroy it without hurting Calder or anyone else.

Everything she had read about blood magic, however, was clear in one thing; it required a monumental amount of energy to achieve. The full moon would be the best source to pull from but that wasn't for another ten days and she didn't have that kind of time.

The demon's words came to her. "I can show you how to pull power from parts of yourself you've never dreamed of."

She knew it couldn't be trusted, knew that whatever techniques it spoke of were more than likely unsavory and repulsive, but the sun would be up soon and she had limited time to do what she needed to do already without having to spend copious amounts of hours trying to overload herself with energy.

A plan formed in her head and she found herself slipping through the palace heading toward the Prince's quarters. It was a crazy plan, but then again, everything about this was crazy.

Glancing around the corner into the hallway of Calder's room, her fears were confirmed. A slew of guards now stood watch, and Errant had doubled Astasha's enforcement on the door, a force field of energy so powerful no man could enter it. But she had built a raging fire in her hearth and pulled energy from it, its power burning inside her, and so, with a quick mutter of words and wave of her hand, the guards fell one by one into a deep slumber where they stood.

Cloaking herself in a spell that made her invisible to magical barriers, she approached the door and, much to her surprise, stepped through the energy field. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open and slipped inside, closing it behind her.

She sensed him before she saw him. Laying on the bed in naught but a pair of pants, was the Prince, the demon's smirk on his face. "She returns." It said.

Astasha pulled her eyes away from his bare chest and forced herself to look into those cold dead eyes. "I have."

The demon swiftly rose from the bed. "You've been thinking about my proposal then? Or perhaps just thinking about me..." It approached her, a predetory look on its face. She wished she'd gotten further from the door so her back wasn't to it, but it was too late.

She lifted her head high and held her ground. "If I were to release you, what guarantee can you make that Calder will be ok and you will leave us in peace?"

It was in front of her now, making her heart speed with nervousness. It looked at her with its head cocked to one side. "Do you actually desire the word of a demon?" It leaned down so its lips brushed against her ear. "Have you not heard we are not to be trusted?"

She shuddered but remained strong. "Then I cannot release you."

The demon stood up straight, pondering for a moment, not leaving the space directly in front of her, its eyes blazing down at her. "There is one thing I can think of to assure you of your desires, though, if you are trying to trick me, it won’t bode well…”

She didn’t like the sound of that, but what choice did she have? “What it is?”

“A demon's pact. An agreement sealed in the Magic's of old that cannot be broken. You give me something and I give something in return. Should either fail to uphold their end of the bargain, the magic shall take from them that which they bargained against."

"So I would lose the prince and you, your freedom?"

The demon nodded.

She knew it was risky but she had to try. "Very well."

The demon smiled a wide wicked smile and brushed its fingers down her cheek. "Wonderful." Its hand continued down along her neck, her shoulder, running down her arm. It grasped her hands, crossing her arms across her chest, and leaned in, it's nose almost touching her own. "Whisper in my ear our agreement and I shall do the same."

"And then it is done?"

It smirked that aweful twisted smirk and licked its lips. "Then we seal it with a kiss."

She shuddered again but grit her teeth. This was all for him, for the man she loved. "Fine."

She was about to lean forward but the Prince's face contorted, his eyes closing, his breathing ragged. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and Astasha gasped. They were crystal blue and pleading. "Tasha, don't! Don't do this! Please!"

"Cal?" She could have wept. He had clawed his way to the surface to try to stop her.

His hands took her face in them. "Please, I can't let you do this. Let it have me. I love you too much to let you do this You have no idea what its capable of! I can’t loose you!”

Her heart was breaking. Reaching her hand up she brushed his hair away from his face and touched his cheek. "Please Cal, trust me. I won't let anything happen—"

She wanted to tell him she loved him, to tell him what her plan was, to comfort him, to kiss him, but his face contorted again and within a second the cold dead eyes were back and she pulled her hand away from his face. The demon shook off the encounter and chuckled. "Well well, he does truly love you, doesn't he?"

It took a moment for Astasha to register the sudden change, but the fury flamed within her and she steeled her heart. "Enough. Do we have a deal?" Actually hearing Calder for the first time since his return had given her the strength she needed to go through with her plan. She wanted him back, needed him back, and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to accomplish that.

"And I see you truly love him. If you're still willing to make a deal with a demon despite your lover's pleas, you are feistier than I thought." The demon took her hands. "I agree to your terms... Tasha." It said as it pulled her arms across her chest.

The sting of it using her name like that solidified her heart and she leaned into it.

She felt their arms entangled against her chest as its mouth came to her ear. She turned her head to whisper back and felt a warmth spread from their hands, reaching toward her mouth. As she spoke she felt a power roll off her tongue. "I promise to release you from the Prince in exchange for his safety and our peace."

The demon whispered his promise back, to do no harm to them should she release it, and she felt warmth spread from its mouth into her ear, down into the fiber of her being.

She suddenly felt flushed, and a moment later she realized her lips were slamming against the Prince's with a passion and fierceness she hadn't experienced before.

Breaking away, she felt the warmth dissipate, leaving only a slight blush in her cheeks and her breath ragged. There was no turning back now.

**Author's Note:** *I hope you guys are ready! Things are about to heat up! Would you make a demon's pact for the one you love? Make sure to add the book to your library and let me know what you think in the comments! Love and light everyone!*