Ким Харрисон - The Good, The Bad, And The Undead

But for the moment I was safe in Algaliarept's circle. What's wrong with this picture?

Forcing my arms down from the tight grip around myself, I glanced at Piscary's fake window, seeing the glint of sun on the highest buildings. Three minutes. I pushed my finger-tips into my forehead. "If I ask you to kill Piscary, will you call us even?" I asked as I looked up.

It struck a sideways pose. "No. Even though killing Ptah Ammon Fineas Horton Madison Parker Piscary is on my to-do list, it is still a request and would cost you, not absolve your debt. Besides, if you send me after him, he will likely summon me again as you did and you'd be right back where you started. The only reason he can't summon me now is because we haven't agreed on anything and we're in summoning limbo, so to speak."

It grinned, and I looked away. Piscary stood and listened, clearly thinking.

"Can you get me out of here?" I asked, thinking of escape.

"Through a ley line, yes. But this time, it will cost you your soul." It licked its lips. "And then, you're mine."

Happy, happy choices. "Can you give me something to protect myself from him?" I pleaded, getting desperate.

"Just as expensive…" It tugged its gloves tighter to its fingers. "And you already have what you need. Tick-tock, Rachel Mariana Morgan. Anything that will save your life will require your soul."

Piscary was grinning, and my stomach turned as he came to a standstill eight feet away. My eyes darted to my bag with the vial Kist had given me. It was out of reach on the wrong side of the barrier. "What should I ask for?" I cried desperately.

"If I answer that, you won't have enough left to pay for it, love," it breathed, bending close and sending my curls drifting. I jerked back as I smelled Brimstone. "And you're a resourceful witch," it added. "Anyone who can ring the city's bells can survive a vampire. Even one as old as Ptah Ammon Fineas Horton Madison Parker Piscary."

"But I'm three stories down!" I protested. "I can't reach a ley line through that."

Leather creaked as it circled me, hands laced behind its back. "What will you do?"

I swore under my breath. Past our circle, Piscary waited. Even if I managed to escape, Piscary would walk. It wasn't as if I could ask Algaliarept to testify.

Eyes widening, I looked up. "Time?" I asked.

The vision of Kist looked at its wrist, and a watch twin to the one I had smashed with my meat tenderizer appeared about it. "One minute, thirty."

My face went cold. "What do you want for you to testify in an I.S. or FIB courtroom that Piscary is the witch serial killer?"

Algaliarept grinned. "I like the way you think, Rachel Mariana Morgan."

"How much?" I shouted, looking at the sun creeping down the side of the buildings.

"My price hasn't changed. I need a new familiar, and it's taking too long to get Nicholas Gregory Sparagmos's soul."

My soul. I couldn't do it, even if it would satisfy Algaliarept and ultimately save Nick from losing his soul and being pulled into the ever-after to be the demon's familiar. My face went slack and I stared at Algaliarept so intently that it blinked in surprise. I had an idea. It was foolish and risky, but maybe it was crazy enough to work.

"I'll voluntarily be your familiar," I whispered, not knowing if I could survive the energy it might pull through me or force me to hold for it. "I'll freely be your familiar, but I get to keep my soul." Maybe if I retained my soul, it couldn't pull me into the ever-after. I could stay on this side of the ley lines. It could use me only when the sun was down. Maybe. The question was, would Algaliarept take the time to think it through? "And I want you to testify before my end of the agreement becomes enforceable," I added in case I managed to survive.

"Voluntarily?" it said, its form blurring at the edges. Even Piscary looked shocked. "That's not how it works. No one has ever willingly been a familiar before. I don't know what that means."

"It means I'm your damn familiar!" I shouted, knowing that if it thought about it, it would realize it was only getting half of me. "You say yes now, or in thirty seconds either I or Piscary is going to be dead, and you will have nothing. Nothing! Do we have a deal or not?"

The vision of Kist leaned forward and I shirked away. It looked at its watch. "Voluntarily?" Its eyes were wide in wonder and avarice.

In a wash of panic, I nodded. I'd worry about it later. If I had a later.

"Done," it said, so quickly I thought for sure I'd made a mistake. Relief filled me, then reality hit with a soul-shaking slap. God help me. I was going to be a demon's familiar.

I jerked back as it reached for my wrist.

"We agreed," it said, snatching my arm with a vamp quickness.

I kicked it square in the stomach. It did nothing, rocking back with the transfer of momentum but otherwise unmoved. A gasp slipped from me as it scratched a line across my demon mark. Blood flowed. I jerked back, and making shushing noises, the demon bent its head over my wrist and blew on it.

I tried to pull away, but it was stronger than me. I was sick of the blood, of everything. It let me go and I fell back, sliding down the arch of its barrier, feeling my back tingle. Immediately I looked at my wrist. There were two lines where one had once been. The new one looked as old as the first. "It didn't hurt this time," I said, too strung-out to be shocked.

"It wouldn't have hurt the first time had you not tried to stitch it up. What you felt was the fiber burning away. I'm a demon, not a sadist."

"Algaliarept!" Piscary shouted as our agreement was sealed.

"Too late," the grinning demon said, and disappeared.

I fell backward as its barrier vanished from behind me, shrieking as Piscary lunged. Bracing myself against the floor, I brought my legs up into him, flipping him over me. I scrambled for my bag and the vial. My hand dove into my bag, and Piscary jerked me back.

"Witch," he hissed, gripping my shoulder. "I'll have what I want. And then you'll die."

"Go to hell, Piscary," I snarled, thumbing the vial open with a soft pop and throwing it into his face.

Crying out, Piscary violently pushed away from me. From the floor, I watched him lurch away, wiping at his face with frantic motions.

Heart in my throat, I waited for him to fall, waited for him to pass out. He did neither.

My gut tightened in fear as Piscary wiped his face, bringing his fingers to his nose. "Kisten," he said, his disgust melting into a weary disappointment. "Oh, Kisten. Not you?"

I swallowed hard. "It's harmless, isn't it."

He met my eyes. "You don't think I survived this long by telling my children what can really kill me, do you?"

I had nothing left. For three heartbeats I stared. His lips curved into an eager smile.

I jerked into motion. Piscary casually reached out and grabbed my ankle as I tried to rise. I fell, kicking out, managing to hit his face twice before he pulled me to him and immobilized me under his weight.

The scar on my neck gave a pulse, and fear surged through it, making a nauseating mix.

"No," Piscary said softly, pinning me to the carpet. "You will be in pain for this."

His fangs were bared. Saliva dripped from them.

I struggled for air, trying to get out from under him. He shifted, holding my left arm over my head. My right arm was free. Teeth gritted, I went for his eyes.

Piscary jerked back. With a vamp strength, he grasped my right arm and snapped it.

My scream echoed against the high ceilings. My back arched and I gasped for air.

Piscary's eyes flashed black. "Tell me if Kalamack has a viable sample," he demanded.

Lungs heaving, I tried to breathe. The wave of misery thrummed from my arm and echoed in my head. "Go to hell…" I rasped.