With all the pride of an alpha lion, the demon strode forwards. It picked up the apple with both of its tiny hands and looked it over. Its mouthless head was only about a fourth of the size of the apple it gazed over.
No visible change came over the demon. A low scrape like nails on a chalkboard echoed through the room. It stopped with a crack. A head sized chunk of the apple vanished. The leftover apple tore at the vanished part. Small bits of juice and pulp flew around the room.
Five more of the same bites and the apple was gone, core and all.
The demon glanced up at Juliana.
A wave of pure pleasure hit the blond. It started at the base of her skull and spread through her body. If a brain could get a massage, it would probably feel something like that.
Juliana melted in where she sat. She collapsed against the wall and let the feeling tear through her core. It took several minutes before she even wanted to pull together the effort to tighten her muscles and sit herself up. She stared at the demon.
It just cocked one head to the side.
“Right. Apples huh?” Juliana said once she caught her breath. “I’ll remember that.”
Another burst of pleasure hit her. Not as much as the first time. Just enough to tickle the base of her skull.
“Okay,” Juliana tried to wipe the sweat off her palms. She had to peel back the metal before she could. “I’m going to ask a few questions now.”
Juliana winced, preparing for a flash of pain. The first day, right after it tried to escape from the shackles and presumably tear her apart, all of her questions had been answered with nothing but intense pain.
The next time she managed to make her way to the house, she brought it a notebook and pen. That was where she learned it could eat. If the agony was any indicator, it did not enjoy the notebook or the pen.
If the apple failed, she planned to ask Eva for help. She’d admit she stole the book and would hope nothing too bad would happen.
The apple was a success. Juliana shuddered again as a tickle of pleasure ran down her spine. A smile split across her face.
“Okay,” she said with a deep breath. “You’re Agiel, one of the seven intelligences. Right?”
A pleasure tickle answered her.
Juliana nodded. “That is what the book said.”
The book also said Agiel was benign. If the attempts at tearing down the shackles to get to her and all the pain from the notebook were any indicator, she did not want to meet anything that wasn’t considered benign.
Licking her lips, Juliana opened her mouth to speak. She stopped and paused. It would only answer two more questions and then either offer a contract or leave. The questions had to impress it if she wanted to use its power. The book had a long list of unimpressive questions and no impressive ones.
She already felt like she messed up by asking its name.
“Okay,” she said, “if I can’t secure a contract with you right now, can I summon you again and try more times?”
There was a brief hesitation before another tickle of pleasure hit her spine. This one was accompanied by a buzz of pain. Not a strong sensation, just a light pinch. Of course, it was pinching her brain. Still it was just a pinch.
“So an answer in the affirmative with a tinge of annoyance?” Juliana snapped her mouth shut the second she finished speaking. She thought several curses at herself.
Her spine tingled in pleasure despite her rapidly souring mood.
“I don’t suppose that was enough to earn a contract?”
The little demon’s head tilted to one side. Without warning, it tipped straight backwards. Instead of hitting the floorboards, it fell right through it. A ring of ripples spread outwards.
As the ripples stilled, the slowly rotating wheel ground to a halt. All light from the summoning circle faded as it went inert.
Juliana sighed as she stood up. At least she could try again.
Next time Juliana would be prepared. She’d bring a whole list of questions.
And a whole bag of apples.
Confrontation
“I need a shower.”
“You say that every other session.”
“Every other session is a workout session,” Shelby wiped her forehead on her sleeve. “Look at this. Its gross.”
Jordan brushed her arm off to one side. “If it is so gross, don’t rub it in my face.”
“Don’t be such a baby. It is only sweat.”
“You’re the one who called it gross in the first place.”
Shalise giggled at her friends’ antics. Since Professor Kines’ combative magic club started, the pair had grown closer. Shelby always hung off of Jordan’s arm, but it was stiffer in the past. She was quiet and followed him around like a lost puppy.
Now she still hung off his arm. The quiet girl of the past turned into a smiling loudmouth.
