He finally noticed my presence and glared down at me with blood red eyes. I gulped, my flight or fight instinct kicking in because this man… No, this demon was dangerous.
I could smell the murderous intent off him. Along with something smoky.
"Were you the witch that summoned me?!" He growled at me with that deep voice of his.
Damn that voice suited him so well. It sent shivers down my body and it wasn't just from fear as much as I didn't want to admit it. Nope, now wasn't the time Luca!
"I think it was an accident." I finally managed to answer, finding my voice. "I was trying to conjure a cat familiar."
As I spoke, I held up the spell book in my hands, showing the demon the spell I was attempting. The demon glanced down at the book, confusion flickering in his eyes.
"Are you stupid?" The demon turned his gaze back to me, his eyes changing to a silver color. "Dark witches can only conjure a demon familiar. Why would you even attempt that spell?"
Now it was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean a dark witch? They don't exist. You only get elemental, divination and healer type witches. I'm an elemental, the most common type."
Was the demon trying to trick me or something? I may not be great at practical magic, but I had studied a lot of theory and history about witches. There was little I didn't know about witch history.
Even the dumbest among our kind knew there were only three types of witches.
"Who in Satan's name has been lying to you?! You're a dark witch. I can practically taste the dark power radiating off you. Only dark witches can summon demons. Don't you-" The demon muttered, suddenly pausing. "Wait, what year is it?"
"Um… 2025." I replied. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"242 years!" The demon laughed maniacally, clutching the side of his head with his hand. "No wonder it was so peaceful! I thought the curse had finally been lifted. And then some witch unknowing forms a bidding contract with me not knowing what he is… Mother Fate is so full of shit!"
"Hold up!" I called out, dread filling me at his words. "What's this bidding contract you're talking about?"
"This pretty boy." The demon pointed at the collar wrapped around his neck. "That ring of yours held a bidding spell. Must've activated when you summoned me."
Blood drained from my face as I gazed at the only ring I wore. The one Mom had given to me on my sixteenth birthday. There was no way it held a bidding spell. It was just a normal ring.
"There's no way…" I murmured. "This is just a normal ring. You're lying."
"I can't lie to you. The bidding contract won't allow me to." The demon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, it seems you really don't know anything. I guess they really wanted to hide everything…. Still we're now stuck in this together whether we like it or not."
"What are you talking about?!" I cried out. "Just tell me how to send you back!"
I couldn't have a demon here. The Witches Division would eventually pick up traces of his existence and I'd be tried for summoning him here. Stripped of my powers or worse executed.
"You can't send me back." The demon snapped, his eyes flickering red for a second. "I'm bound to you until you die. Think of it like a familiar relationship, but you get a demon instead of a cat."
"No no no no no!" I muttered, my grip on the spell book tightening. "This can't be happening. I can't have a demon around. Especially not as a familiar. They're going to strip me of my powers and kill me. This is bad… so bad! I can't... This had to be a lie…"
My chest tightened, panic taking over. This was the worst possible outcome to my spell failing. And I couldn't even correct it before anyone discovered it. I was so screwed.
"Breathe, pretty boy!" The demon suddenly called out, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "I'm not lying and I won't let them kill you."
"How can I know you're telling the truth?!" I spat out. "There's no proof what you're saying is true."
The demon sighed, letting go of me. "You owe me for this… The sky is p-pu-purple."
The moment he said those words, electric sparks appeared around the collar. The black markings around his body glowed and then his body shook, eyes rolling to the back of his head.
The demon dropped to the ground, the scent of burnt flesh filling my nose. I gazed at him in horror as he regained consciousness, glaring back at me.
"F-fuck that hurt." He coughed as he slowly lifted himself off the ground. "The bidding contract punishes me for lying, so I can't without you knowing."
"Fine… so you can't lie to me." I mused, trying to bury the panic threatening to claw its way out. "But you could easily be like the Fae. Lying to yourself so that a lie becomes the truth to you. This could all be a trick. Demons are evil and a danger to the human world."
The demon smirked, crossing his arms. "And who told you that? Those pesky elementals huh. Let me tell you something pretty boy, dark witches are strong, stronger than most witches because their power can be infinite. They can connect to the Infernal Realm and raise an army of demons if they want.
"Demons on the other hand can't enter this realm without the help of dark witches. We must form a bidding contract to stay here. Everything about demons being evil is mostly a lie. We may be cruel, but our traits are more similar to the Fae."
Fae! Of course! Most have been around for centuries. If something like dark witches existed, Eris would definitely know. I couldn't trust this demon's words point blank.
I needed to verify them first. And figure out a way to get rid of this bidding contract. However, Eris would only be coming by tomorrow. That meant I needed a way to hide him and maybe question him some more until then.
"Look, this is all confusing-" I started when something growled. I looked up at him as the growling continued and raised an eyebrow. "Are you hungry?"