Page 113 of The Devil and His Sparrow

It was because of him, because of his hold over my heart, that slicing the cold, sharp knife across my palm became easier. I bit my lip and fought against the tears as red hot blood poured from the wound and fell in fat droplets to the design below.

“I summon thee. Bargainer. Babette.”

The blood began to move, slithering along the floor until it found the closest lines of chalk. Like a sponge, the chalk soaked up the blood until suddenly the entire star began to glow red. I held my breath, and for the first time since I’d made the decision to do this, real fear trickled in.

A head of luscious red hair with black curled horns rose up from the glowing star, rising higher to reveal a face, shoulders, a curvy body wearing a black bra and leather pants. Part of me wanted to scream and run out of pure horror. But this wasn’t the first demon I’d faced, and she’d taken mine from me. So I pulled my shoulders back and steeled myself for whatever challenge I was about to face.

The moment her whole body was through the demonic summoning portal, she chuckled and swept her judging gaze over me. “Well, this is interesting. It’s been awhile since I was summoned like this.”

“I want Zagan back,” I declared as calmly as I could.

She threw her head back and laughed. “Sorry. I own him now. He signed the contract. He has to pay the price—eternity with me in my world.”

Nerves fluttered around my gut like moths taking desperate flight from a pursuing hawk. I had to grip the handle of the knife in order to ground myself and not lose my courage as I demanded, “I challenge you to a game, then. Winner gets Zagan, regardless of the contract he signed.”

She raised a brow and tapped a red-lacquered nail to her full lips. Her eyes narrowed in a devious smirk, and with only a few seconds of consideration, she purred, “I accept.”

She snapped her fingers, and I gasped as my whole body seemed to tug into the space of the pentagram. Everything turned into a blur of moving shades of red until I suddenly jolted back to awareness and landed on my feet. I had to hold my arms out to steady myself and regain my balance, and that was when I noticed that we’d transported.

Zagan’s foyer had disappeared, and I now stood in the center of what looked like an office. A dark and elaborate wooden desk and padded chair stood before me. Shelves lined the wall beyond it, which held nothing but bound golden scrolls.

Babette appeared from behind me then, and she crossed the room with a sway in her hips. She perched on the edge of her desk and flipped her hair over her shoulder, smirking at me as if she found me lacking. She saw no threat in me.

“So,” Babette began, “winner gets Zagan?”

I nodded. “The contract that healed my sister remains, but Zagan is free if I win. That’s the only thing that changes.”

There was no missing the laugh under her breath. She thought I and my request was a joke, which only fueled my need to win even more. I was sick and tired of people looking down on me, because I was worth something, just the way I was. Zagan had helped me to see that.

My chest ached.

Zagan.

I had to save him.

“Fine,” she answered with a shrug. “You won’t win so that’s not a problem. You’ll actually be doing me a favor. The moron got himself bound to you, a little detail he’d failed to mention when I forged a contract with him. I can’t even fuck him like I want. Doing this kills two birds with one stone. You’ll die, giving me your soul to add to my collection, and Zagan’s bond will break with your death.” Her smile turned sultry and venomous as she cupped her breasts and moaned, “I can’t wait to finally taste and feel him.”

I gritted my teeth against the rising outrage inside me. I knew she was baiting me, so instead of giving in, I slowly said, “For the game—”

“Ahh!” She held up a finger to stop me. “You challenged me, and as our rules go in this world, the one who gets challenged gets to pick the game.”

My blood ran cold. Dante hadn’t said anything about that little rule. I briefly wanted to strangle him for keeping that information from me. But even if I’d known that before I’d gotten here, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I couldn’t lose my demon.

I wouldn’t lose him.

“What’s the game?” I asked.

She studied me with her vivid purple eyes. I wasn’t sure what she searched for. Maybe a potential weakness that she could exploit to ensure I lost. Maybe she was judging me some more, wondering how a human like me got Zagan when she clearly couldn’t. All I knew was the longer she watched me, the more my resolve hardened.

This game wasn’t for me or about me. This was to save the man who had become my best friend, my light, my rock, my entire world. I’d fight for him until there was no fight left in me.

“I’m curious,” Babette said. She pushed away from the desk and crossed her arms as she began a slow stride around me. “Why are you even trying? Don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled this is happening, but why give up your soul for him? For a demon?”

She faced me now and waited with a puzzled purse of her lips.

I didn’t even need to think about my answer. It had been there in front of me all along, but I’d realized it too late.

“Because I love him,” I answered.

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