Chapter 11 The Contract Keeper's Price
Cressida's POV
The church doors slam shut behind me, cutting off Isolde's scream.
I spin around, grabbing the handles. Locked.
"Isolde!" I pound on the wood. "Answer me!"
Silence.
"She's fine," a voice says behind me. "The hunters won't touch her. I made sure of that."
I whirl around, knife ready.
The woman in white robes stands in the center of the church. She's beautiful in a way that hurts to look at. Her skin glows faintly, and her eyes are silver, seeing right through me.
"Who are you?" I demand.
"My name is Mara." She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm a Contract Keeper. I maintain the balance between the supernatural world and yours."
"Great. Open the door so my friend can come in."
"No." Mara walks closer. "This conversation is for you alone. The girl outside is safer where she is."
My hand tightens on the knife. "Sable is out there "
"Will do nothing without my permission. This church is neutral ground." Mara stops a few feet away. "Now, shall we discuss your problem?"
The black veins on my chest pulse. She's right. I don't have time.
"Fine." I lower the knife. "What do you know about my situation?"
"Everything." Mara gestures to a broken pew. "Sit."
I don't want to sit, but the veins have reached my elbows now. I can feel them crawling under my skin.
I sit.
Mara remains standing. "Three nights ago, you made a deal with a Duke of Hell named Azreth. You asked for the power to punish those who hurt innocent people. He gave you exactly what you wanted."
"I didn't know what I was doing."
"Ignorance doesn't void a contract." Mara's voice is cold. "You made your choice. Now you live with the consequences."
"Or die with them."
"Yes." She studies me. "The transformation happens in stages. Stage One: you gain demonic powers but retain your humanity. Stage Two: the demon takes full control. You lose your memories, your soul, everything that makes you you."
My throat goes dry. "How long until Stage Two?"
"Three hours. Maybe less." Mara walks in a slow circle around me. "Once the black veins reach your brain, the transformation completes. You'll become a full demon powerful, immortal, and completely evil."
"There has to be a way to stop it."
"Three trials." She holds up three fingers. "Complete all three, and I break your contract with Azreth. You go back to being human. No powers, no transformation, no demon hunting you forever."
Hope explodes in my chest. "What are the trials?"
"The trials test whether you deserve to be human again. They're difficult. Painful. Most people fail."
"I won't fail."
"The last person who said that died during the second trial." Mara walks to the altar. "Her name was Sarah Chen. She made a deal to save her dying daughter. The demon gave her healing powers, but the price was transformation."
Sarah Chen. Isolde's last name is Chen.
"Did she have a daughter named Isolde?"
Mara's silver eyes gleam. "Fourteen years ago. She completed the first trial. Failed the second. Became a demon and killed six people before the hunters destroyed her. Her daughter was five years old. Watched the whole thing."
Oh god. Isolde watched her mother turn into a monster.
That's why she understood. Why she wasn't scared of the black veins.
"The trials," I say. "Tell me what I have to do."
"First trial: save an innocent life without using any demon powers. No superhuman strength. No shadow claws. No darkness. Only your human abilities."
"That's it?"
"If you refuse, you leave and become a demon in three hours. If you accept and fail, the transformation speeds up. You'll have thirty minutes before Stage Two."
Thirty minutes versus three hours.
"I accept."
"Good." The altar glows, and I see images. A little girl. A dark alley. Three men with guns.
"Her name is Emma," Mara says. "In ten minutes, she'll be kidnapped by traffickers three blocks from here. They'll take her to a warehouse and sell her."
Rage burns through me. "Where?"
"I'll give you the address. But use demon powers even once, and you fail." Mara's eyes bore into mine. "You'll become a demon tonight, and everyone you care about will watch."
I think of Isolde outside. Of Landry in his hospital bed.
"I understand."
Mara waves her hand, and the doors unlock. "Main Street alley. Ten minutes. Choose wisely, Cressida."
I burst through the doors.
Isolde jumps up from the church steps. The hunters and Sable are gone.
"First trial. Save a kid. No powers." I grab her hand. "Come on!"
We run three blocks. My body feels weaker. The veins are draining me.
We round the corner just as a little girl with pigtails walks out of a store, clutching a candy bar.
Emma.
A white van pulls up beside her.
"No!" I sprint forward.
The van door slides open. Two men reach for Emma.
I'm too far. Even with demon speed
No. No powers.
I grab a brick from the sidewalk and throw it with human strength. It hits the first man in the shoulder.
Emma screams and runs.
The second man chases her.
I run faster, my lungs burning. My human body is so slow. The demon powers whisper that I could catch him easily.
But I can't.
The man grabs Emma's arm.
I tackle him. We crash down. He's bigger, stronger, but I fight dirty. Elbow to the throat. Knee to the stomach.
He goes down.
Isolde catches Emma, pulling her to safety.
The van peels away.
I did it.
Then pain explodes through my chest.
The black veins spread faster, racing up my neck. But some are fading, pulling back.
"First trial complete," Mara's voice echoes. "Well done. You've earned two more hours. But the second trial will be much harder."
We walk Emma home. Her father nearly cries with gratitude.
We leave quickly.
Outside, Isolde grabs my shoulders. "Two hours? That's all?"
"Better than thirty minutes."
"Wait." Isolde pulls up her laptop. "I researched Contract Keepers. They're neutral. They don't care if you live or die. And if you complete all three trials, you lose something."
"Lose what?"
"Something important. One person lost their ability to feel love. Another lost all memories of their family."
My blood goes cold. "Mara didn't mention that."
"That's the price. You get your humanity back, but you lose part of what makes you human."
Before I can respond, my phone buzzes.
A text from an unknown number: "Enjoying your trials? Here's some motivation."
An image loads.
Landry's hospital room.
Thaddeus standing next to my brother's bed, holding a pillow over his face.
Another text: "Second trial starts now. Save your brother before the hunter smothers him. You have twenty minutes. Oh, and the hospital is crawling with celestial warriors. Good luck staying human."
A live timer appears: 19:59... 19:58...
Isolde reads over my shoulder. "That's impossible. The hospital is fifteen minutes away even if we run."
I'm already running.
Behind me, Isolde shouts, "Wait! You can't use your powers!"
I know.
But it's Landry.
And I have less than twenty minutes to choose between saving my brother and saving my soul.