Demon Says
(c) Isabo Kelly

Aidan put her hands on her hips and stared at the demon through eyes that were just brown enough most people could pretend they weren't really red. The demon stared back with its claws on the foggy black mass that passed for its hips. Aidan pursed her lips. The demon scrunched its mouth up in a passable imitation despite not having lips. Aidan clicked her teeth. So did the demon.

This had to be the weirdest hunt she'd ever gone through.

"Do you know what you're doing?" the ratty little man next to her asked. "What's happening?"

"Do you want to take over?"

"No! No."

"Then shut up."

The demon put its hands behind its back and smiled. Aidan smiled too as she put her hands behind her back.

Hunts were never the same. A lot of different things had to be taken into consideration. The type and age of the demon called, the religious background used in the calling, the beliefs of the demon, the beliefs of the one who called the demon, the original deal, the forfeit, the price. Sometimes even the weather and the phase of the moon had to be considered. But really the paraphernalia used in a fight with a demon came down to window dressing.

All a hunter really needed was will. A will stronger than a demons.

The demon moved to the edge of the containment circle. It waited.

Aidan looked right into its big red eyes as she stepped to the edge of her side of the circle.

"Wait! What are you doing? He'll kill you." The ratty man who's life she was saving pulled at her hand where it still rested behind her back.

"Afraid if he kills me, you'll be next?"

"You know what he'll do to me," the man whined. "He promised me all kinds of horrors if I didn't fulfill our second bargain."

"They always do." She had little sympathy for this particular case. The man-Fred-had bargained away his soul for a pittance.

The demon started to move its hands forward, but Aidan shook her head. "Ah, ah. That was three. The smile counted."

A deep growl rose from what was roughly the center of the oil black ooze that made up the demon's body. Aidan met the growl passively. After a minute, the demon bobbed its head.
The fight continued.

Aidan took one step away from the edge of the ring. The demon, after letting loose another growl, took one step backward. Aidan dropped her hands to her sides. Her gaze locked with the demon's as he followed suit. She raised one eyebrow in an expression that would have been amusement on anyone else.

The demon's brows rose over the glowing pits of his eyes.

It smiled.

Aidan smiled. "You lose. I only raised one."

Its brows snapped back down. A keening sound started from the center of the circle. And with a howl of outrage, the demon vanished, leaving behind the scent of sulfur.

THE END