Juliana rubbed the black band around her finger. Her thumb idled around the skull pattern engraved into the heavy-yet-light metal. The body heat coming off her finger should have kept it at least lukewarm, yet it felt icy to the touch of her thumb.
The only things–demons, at least–that it hadn’t protected her against were the imps in the prison and Zagan himself. Technically Willie, though she had attacked him first, making that one more of her fault than anything.
“I’ll be safe enough,” she said as she stood.
Erich stood the moment she did.
“Will you calm down?” Juliana half-shouted. “I’m just going to my room. I don’t need you babysitting me everywhere I go. Don’t you have a career to get back to?”
“The bank has given me extended leave for a family emergency.”
“Yeah? Well, emergency over. Go back to work,” Juliana said as she stormed out of the room.
In her first year of school, Juliana had been somewhat sad that the school wanted students there for most of the summer. It had taken her away from her parents and thrust her into a world of unfamiliar people.
Now? Juliana
Anything to get a little breathing room from her family.
Juliana hadn’t been lying earlier. She had fully intended to head upstairs and lock herself in her room for a few hours.
A sound in the kitchen put that plan on hold.
Her mother was at the hospital. Her father and brother were in the living room. No one else should be home.
And yet, there was a sound in the kitchen.
Heart beating faster, Juliana channeled magic through her ring foci. Metal plates coating most of her skin turned from solid to liquid. It flowed over her, providing armor to her hands and head. A long blade stretched out from either wrist until they broke off from the main armor to act more like regular swords.
Thoroughly ready, Juliana pressed open the swinging door to the kitchen.
And promptly froze.
The familiar smell of sulfur permeated the room. It was all coming from one man. Dressed in a dark suit, a barrel-chested man with short black hair was rummaging through the refrigerator.
“No Hellfire,” he said with a click of his tongue. With an overly exaggerated sigh, he turned to stare at Juliana with golden eyes.
“P-Professor Zagan,” Juliana squeaked.
This was bad. Or good? Probably bad.
Juliana bit her lip.
Her mind was completely blank.
A pair of footsteps behind signaled the arrival of both Erich and her father. They must have heard her squeak.
Both had foci in hands, aiming at the devil.
Juliana’s hands shot out, grabbing both of their arms and yanking them downwards. She let her helmet melt away back to her chest–it wouldn’t help against Zagan anyway.
“Don’t! That’s my professor.”
There was no chance any of them would survive if he attacked. Juliana had watched first hand what Zagan had done to Willie. And that had been inside of Willie’s domain as well.
Her father glared. “What is
Juliana grimaced. Of course her father would recognize Zagan. There was no chance that he hadn’t looked at a photograph or even seen in person the one who had dropped her into Hell.
“I’ve come to inquire about this,” Zagan said, holding up a folded piece of paper between two fingers. His golden eyes turned from Juliana to her father. “Withdrawing your daughter from Brakket Academy?”
“She’s not going back,” he said with finality. “Juli has already been accepted at–”
“I don’t care.” Zagan waved his hand. The air in the room froze for a split second, cutting off all sound. “I merely came to ascertain whether or not this was legitimate and then claim what we had promised each other.” With that, he turned to regard Juliana.
Juliana blinked. She blinked again. On the third blink, her cheeks burst into flames as she realized just what he was saying.
His contract stipulated that he could not ‘lay hands’ upon students. Likely only Brakket Academy students and not whatever school-castle her father had condemned her to.
She hadn’t even considered that while her father had been making arrangements. Between her mother’s recovery, destroying diablery books with Ylva, news about Brakket City, and dodging her brother’s overbearing protection, she had barely spared a thought for Zagan and their ‘promise.’
Her father started to speak. “What are you–”
“The withdrawal notice was a mistake!” Juliana was in a panic. Their agreement was private. Not to mention embarrassing. Something that she absolutely very definitely did not want her father and brother hearing about.
If her father asked, Zagan would blurt it out. He didn’t care in the slightest about her embarrassment.
