Page 2 of January Blues
Unable to lie, I nodded.
“Show me.” Austin demanded.
My eyes met Basil’s, and he nodded. Austin could make me answer questions, but not obey him. Basil, as the mediator of this contract, held the control. I would only take orders from him, though not for too much longer. I thought longingly of the end of our contract, when I could remove this damn metaphorical leash. I hated being tied to Basil.
Slowly, I shrank. In my more human-like guise, I was still tall, at six and a half feet. Wide like a football player. My wings and tail vanished, leaving me with a squished feeling I hated. The ears turned to those of a normal human. My horns still swept up before curling down in a pointed flick, though. I was keeping those out. I got a headache otherwise.
Austin studied me. “Nah, still too scary looking. Basil, can you do anything about that?” I was glad that he hadn’t asked me. Being unable to lie sucked. I could change further. It was just that I didn’t want to.
“Easy,” Basil proclaimed. He presented a cuff and snapped it onto my wrist almost before I realized what he was doing.
A blazing pain rang its way through my body. My horns turned to ash, the remains falling like snow to the floor. I shrank a few inches further, both in height and width, the feeling making me gasp to take in a full breath. My pale purple skin turned to a bronze hue.
“What the fuck?” I couldn’t help but exclaim. Panting for breath, I glared daggers at Basil as I attempted to remove the cuff. It wouldn’t budge.
“Much better!” Austin clapped his hands. He was so dead.
“Take this fucking thing off, Basil!” I roared. “My horns! What have you done with my horns?”
“Relax, you big baby. They’ll grow back. Eventually.”
“Eventually? Fix this now! Put me back!”
“Uh-huh. You look much more handsome and approachable like this.” Basil was enjoying my pain. With each breath I took, it lessened, allowing me to straighten.
“You and I both know I could have changed further.” I reminded him.
“But you and I both know you were going to waste my time because you don’t want to be here. Plus, you need a reminder of who your master is. I own you, Toth.”
“It’s Quezalintoth to you. Always will be. We. Are. Not. Friends.”
“Come now, otherwise the next five years will be painful for the both of us.” Basil chided.
“You’ve crossed a line with this. I’m done. I do this and I want our contract voided.”
“Voided?” Basil spluttered.
“Yes. I mean it, I’m done with you, Basil. This was the final straw. I’m done with these shitty contracts you bring me up here for.”
“This contract isn’t worth losing you early for. You need to sweeten the deal.” Basil bargained. Slippery fucker. “Besides, the horns are still there. It was just a bit of added drama. An incentive to behave.” He waved a hand dismissively, unaware I was plotting how I was going to kill him once I got around the contract’s protections. He was still speaking. I was only half listening. “You are much too valuable to me to give you up five years early.”
“Either do it, or I fuck this up and ruin your reputation.”
Basil laughed. “Take a look around, you dumb fuck! Can you not feel the difference in me? The goddess revoked her blessing. I’m not the High Witch anymore. I have nothing to lose.” He paced as he ranted. “You fuck this up for me and I just go somewhere else and take you along for the ride.” He paused and looked at me, triumph in his eyes. He knew he had me.
My stomach sank. I really didn’t want to leave this area. While I didn’t like the human world, I understood Northarbor from my frequent deals with Basil and his cronies. “You’d leave Northarbor?”
“I’d have no other choice. Contracts like Austin’s here pay my bills, help me hide and stay one step ahead.” For the first time, I feel a tiny tendril of sympathy for Basil take root. A dangerous emotion.
“Why not leave?” Austin piped up, having watched the entire exchange between us. I’d honestly forgotten that the plastic pipsqueak was there.
“Because if I leave, then I’m giving the coven up to my cousin, Poppy.” He spat her name. “My place is to lead. I don’t need the shifter council coming in and controlling how I do my magic! Shifters are below witches.”
Ah, right there. Sympathy plant squashed. Thanks, Basil. No supernatural race was better than the others. No matter what the fae and elves, or Basil, thought.
“Why can’t you do this job yourself? Send me home, Basil.”
“Cody,” Basil glowered, “is a witch. A very low level one. No real active power, but Poppy likes him, so he has the protection of the coven, even if he has no family and few real friends. They’d detect any spells I tried on him. They won’t be looking for demon magic, though. Austin here is paying me well for this. So I can’t let you go, Quezalintoth. I need you to get the money and connections I need to take back the coven. I need a demon in my corner.”
