III. Contracts, Demons, and You

Orville walked through the streets with his arms behind him. There were too many people for his liking and too few important people for him to bother looking at every cart parked in the street. Produce this, clothing that. The mundane wasn’t what he was looking for, and his contact said they would meet at the corner of the street. He was dressed in his brother’s suit with his hair combed the same way just in case anything went wrong- they would be looking for the boy, and he would be home free.

I might as well keep this facade up, Orville thought to himself. Besides, it’s not like he’s in town today. Not like him or his girlfriend can catch me.

He stood at the corner waiting with his hands in his pockets. He checked his watch before shoving it back into his pocket and trying to play it cool. The contractor agreed to be dressed in a tweed suit with glasses and only had a few minutes before he bailed and was onto a better deal. Besides, he said he wanted this thing gone. Orville thought. So he better stick to it.

It was an otherwise unremarkable day. These people came and went and usually wanted a sucker to dump their garbage on before closing up shop. Orville chewed on his lip as time passed, just waiting for someone to approach him fitting the description.

“Hey,” A man said who looked just a tad out of place. “Is it you I’m looking for?”

The question was phrased so strangely Orville’s ears perked up. “Depends on what you’re offering.”

It was the man he was undoubtedly looking for in a tweed suit with glasses that just had to be fake. “Rare books.” He motioned the boy over to an alley with a door propped open. “I’m sure they’ll be to your liking, Mr. Walden.”

He walked into the shop with dark walls and shelves that reached up to the railings of the second floor. The place smelled a bit stale, but that meant he was getting the real deal. He clasped his hands together behind his back and bit his lip for the last time before letting himself relax and follow the man upstairs.

“Now the book you wrote me about is a bit steep- I’ll tell you that off the bat, but it does what you want it to.” The brown haired man said, adjusting his glasses and putting them on top of his head. “Make a contract the night before then write in it the next day to manifest your desires.”

“Very well,” Orville sat down and cracked his knuckles. “Have you tested it?”

The man cleared his throat. “The old owner did.”

“Where is he?”

“Gone.” He looked over his shoulder. “He wrote himself into a different reality.”

“I guess I can take your word for it.”

“I’ll knock the price down to fifteen dollars.” The dealer said with his hands on the table.

“I thought you wanted it gone,” Orville let the words roll off his tongue.

The man’s face turned sour, but he put the glasses back on. “Thirteen.”

“Thirteen and you drop the thing off to the library tomorrow.” Orville leaned over the table. “Deal?”

It was too risky to have the book delivered to their house. He imagined the scenario unfolding with the girl holding it in her lap only to snatch it away before she laid a finger on the blank pages.

“Done and done.” The man stood up with a handshake. “I’ll have one of my men have it over by ten.”

“A deal is a deal,” Gemini shook on it.

“That’s a small price to pay for that kind of power,” The man said with a devilish grin. “Who are you contracting with, Mr. Walden?”

“That’s classified information,” Orville said as he handed over the money. “Thank you.”

Orville did a short bow before crossing his fingers that this person would show up and he wouldn’t have to drag the man to the back alley they entered from and beat him until he had his savings back. I have faith in this one, He thought as he started on his walk back to the countryside. I think this is my ticket out of this hellhole.

He was soon back at the farmhouse to see Azalea sitting on the porch. She ran over for a hug before she pulled away looking just shy enough to blush.

“You look nice today,” She said as she followed him inside. “Did you go to visit someone?”

“Mhm,” He nodded. “You stayed home today?”

“Yeah. Danny said he had some important stuff to do and I couldn’t tag along.”

Like what? He thought as he froze, but he knew she wasn’t that intuitive. “Why don’t we hang out until he gets back then?”

She nodded as she sat on the kitchen table kicking her feet out as he made tea. Her hands were still wrapped in bandages from god knows what the two did together. Orville rolled his eyes at the thought but he wanted to help her just enough so she didn’t think too much. “I’ll make you tea.”

“I’ve been trying to think of a new name for you,” Azalea said. “If I get a new name, you should too.”

“Like?”

“Well…” She put her fingers together. “I was thinking since you were born in June…”

Just say it, he thought to himself as he poured her a cup that he knew she wouldn’t touch for a good ten minutes.

“Gemini.” She half-whispered. “If you don’t like it, that’s okay too.”

Orville kneeled down in front of her to take a look at her wounds. “I do like it,” He said, unwrapping the bandages. “Now how did you get hurt?”

“Oh, it was last night-” Azalea winced. “Danny and I were-”

Making a pact with a demon? His thoughts started to slip. Aliens were only a stone’s throw away from demons.

“We were by the fire outside,” Azalea continued. “I swatted at something and burnt myself.”

Azalea was first and foremost a storyteller and he knew there had to be more to the tale then that. Was it a demon? Were they marrying themselves by moonlight? It was the full moon after all last night- yeah, he might have done that.

The white gauze under the off-white bandages matched the girl’s white dress that was just too nice looking for her to wear around the house. He knew she slept in it and he was already in bed when the two turned in for the night. What demon was it? He started to go through a list in his brain. Alright, now I can’t do the same one they did. But who would he choose? He would choose for her, definitely- he knows about that kind of stuff-

“I’ll be back,” Gemini said, going into the other room to take the suit jacket off. It was getting too hot too fast and now he was really questioning everything. “Just sit tight, Azalea.”

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