The King stood at the end of the dinner. His guards stood at attention, awaiting his orders. My family and I stood as well.
"I am afraid it is time for me to go. I have other things I must attend to." He walked out of the dining hall to the foyer with us following him.
Father bowed and kissed the jewel on one of Lin's rings. "Thank you for joining us for dinner; I hope everything was satisfactory?"
Lin smiled and nodded. "Yes, it was. You have a wonderful family, Tavor. Here's a bit of compensation as an apology for scheduling this last minute."
He dropped a small pouch filled with coins in my father's hand. Father bowed once more, muttering countless thanks. Lin shook Zane's hand while the latter bowed for a moment.
"I will recommend you for the Royal Guard Training Program." He promised for a third time. I was beginning to wonder if he was lying.
"Thank you, Your Grace. I am grateful." Zane answered, his lips twitching to keep from smiling.
The King moved to me and Mikayla. He kissed her hand and said something about her beauty once more before turning to me. Like with Mikayla, he took my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles. His lips were warm and dry.
"My dear, it was a privilege to have you seated at my side. I hope to see you soon."
A strained smile crossed my mouth as I curtsied. "It was an honor to sit at the King's side. I live to serve you."
"Such a dear." He cooed. "Tavor, I will see you tomorrow. I bid you all a good night."
With that, he swept out of our house. I breathed easier and slouched, my back aching from keeping it so straight. Father went to me, his face blank.
"It seems the King has taken a liking to you." He said nothing more, moving past me to go to his room.
"Don't know why; he was complimenting my beauty." Mikayla huffed.
I sat to take my shoes off and muttered, "You can have him."
Zane loosened his bow, "That was all very awkward and I hope to Lucifer it doesn't happen again. I'm going to get Malus."
As he went to go outside, I called, "Bring Hound, too. I'll be up in my room."
Mikayla and I went upstairs, not saying a word to each other as we closed our doors. I struggled out of my dress and into comfier clothes. I heard rapid footsteps and opened my door as Hound zipped in, immediately hopping onto my bed.
I gave him a halfhearted glare. "Honestly, Hound, can't you wait until I'm settled first?"
He wagged his stubby tail slightly in response. I rolled my eyes and sat beside him, reaching over to my nightstand to grab my book. Hound curled up beside me, resting his head on my lap. His body was very warm and I could hear his fast heartbeat. His collar, embedded into his neck like it was a part of him, was cool against my hands as I positioned my book on top of his head. His bright eyes were closed and he gave a large sigh of contentment.
I was bothered by Lin's attention on me during dinner. What did it mean? I hoped he wasn't considering me for a bride; Mikayla would be a better option than me. More or less because she was power hungry and I wasn't. I'd rather just float by with what I have than claw my way to the top.
"Rayi, I summon thee to do my bidding!"
I groaned as the chant echoed in my head. The familiar headache formed and I dropped my book. Hound lifted his head from my lap and gave a soft growl.
"Open." I commanded, feeling my bed disappear beneath my body.
It was chilly in the Human World and I rubbed my arms slightly. It was dark out sans the torches stuck in the ground, illuminating the large pentagram I stood on. I turned to look at the Summoner, surprised to see a teenage girl. She smelled of sweat and her dirty dress was torn in some places. She had tears running down her face and I noticed she was sporting some bruises, especially around her eye.
I felt a small wave of concern, which Rayi rolled her eyes at, but kept my face and voice indifferent. "You summoned me?"
"Y-yes, I want you to hunt down the man who raped me. Rip his heart out and bring it to me!" She practically shouted, her face contorting with rage.
I swallowed and wondered if vengeance was really worth the price of summoning a demon. Had it not been me, someone else would have killed her after fulfilling the contract.
"And what will you give me in exchange?" My voice darkened. I couldn't help but feel pity for the girl: she had no idea what she was getting into.
She seemed to falter in her anger and clasped her hands uncertainly in front of her chest. "I-I don't have much."
I reached out, ignoring the way she flinched. I rested my fingers at her forehead. "You can give me your brain," I moved to her eyes, "Your eyes, or your soul. It does not matter to me."
She seemed horrified at the idea of any of that, taking a step back from me. I wasn't sure why I was trying so hard to scare her; maybe I was hoping she would change her mind and send me back.
"C-can't I give you something else?" My Summoner sounded so pathetic I changed my mind.
"You can give me something of less worth than your soul."
"Anything but those things!" She readily agreed, looking at me pleadingly.
I tapped my chin with a finger as I thought. Rayi was seething, irked by the fact she had been refused a soul despite having dined on a couple earlier. "Hmm, what do I want? I've had my fill of baked goods...Oh! I know! A book."
My Summoner looked a confused. "A book?"
I nodded. "Yes, any book. I'm afraid I'm running out of reading material in Hell and I'm sure there have been new books out lately. Now, are we in agreement?"
"I-I...you'll honor your part of the contract?" She looked at me skeptically.
"Yes, yes," I said impatiently, resting my hand over my heart and bowing slightly at the waist, "a demon cannot turn on their Summoner once they agree on the method of payment."
"Okay, I agree! C-can you find him?"
I scared her when I suddenly got close to her and began to sniff her. Aside from her sweat, I could smell Man and something salty and bitter. Not sweat. I pulled back and nodded.
"He's still nearby. I will seek you out once I've completed the contract." I said, turning away from her.
She made a noise of assent and I headed toward the human settlement.
Since it was so late there were few people out aside from drunken stragglers having been kicked out of the local tavern. They were not who I was looking for. A couple of them hooted at me, but I ignored them, turning down street after street until I got to a house on the opposite end of the settlement from where I had been summoned.
There was a single heartbeat, thumping quietly in a corner of the house. The Man's stench was all over the place, mostly matching the one I smelled on the girl. I jiggled the doorknob, finding the door to be locked. I lifted up my left leg and kicked the door.
It flew into the opposite wall. The heartbeat elevated as the human woke, slurring drunkenly in bewilderment. I walked through the doorway and turned my head to look at my prey.
He had lit a gas lamp, and cried out in surprise when he saw my eyes reflecting back at him.
"W-who...what are you?!" He sputtered, sounding more sober.
I walked toward him, dodging the lamp when he threw it at me. It was a foolish thing to do, the lamp shattered and fire sprung from the broken glass. He tried to get up but I pinned him to the bed, my mouth beginning to water.
"I have come for retribution for my Summoner. Your heart for her loss of innocence. A fair deal, don't you think?" I hummed.
He gasped wetly as my hand pierced his chest. I wrapped my fingers around his warm, beating heart and ripped it out of his body. He gurgled before going limp beneath me.
The fire was licking up the walls and bearing down on where the bed was. With a huff I got off the body, still clenching his heart.
"Disgusting human." I spat at him before exiting the house as it went up entirely in flames.
I could still remember the girl's scent, despite the strong iron smell in my nose, and followed it to where she summoned me.
She was sitting with her knees pulled into her chest. She looked up when she heard me approach and got to her feet quickly. I didn't miss the flinch of pain as she did so. I held my hand out to her to show her the heart. For a minute, I thought she was going to be sick, but then she determinately took it from me.
She held the organ in her hand, staring at it with an awed expression. I licked the blood from my hand until it was mostly clean.
"We have agreed on the payment of a book. Did you hold up your end of the bargain?" I queried.
Wordlessly, she gestured to the ground where she had been seated. I looked and saw a blue book. Eagerly, I grabbed it with my clean hand.
"He was my father." She murmured, tears in her eyes.
I stared at her, at a loss on what to say. For Optima it was the norm to have incestuous relationships. Below them it was somewhat frowned upon, but not unusual. The worst that would happen, though, was people talking behind your back; it was more of a folkway. My mother and father were siblings. And, Father talked of marrying Zane to me since I was the oldest daughter. With the King paying attention to me, however, Mikayla was the next candidate.
"Sorry, you probably want to go back, don't you?" She smiled weakly at me. "What do I do for that? The book I read this in didn't specify..."
"Because the demon is supposed to kill the Summoner at the end." I said.
I ignored her question of, "Why didn't you kill me?" I didn't know the answer myself.
"Just say, 'Rayi, I send thee back to the depths of Hell.'"
She obeyed and I was back in my room. Hound was still sitting faithfully on my bed, licking my hand when he smelled the blood.
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