Chapter 5

Anderson reached into his duffle bag once more and pulled out an old rolled up tattered scroll. He smiled wryly to himself as he looked at the scroll in his hands. Thinking to himself what a terrible idea it was, he tossed it to the trapped Suit and watched as it floated a few inches from him. With a snap from Suit, the scroll burst into bluish black flames and was reduced to nothing. Not even ashes.

The scroll was a contract scroll and a high quality one at that. If the poles had done its work and held down whatever demon that showed up, Anderson had intended to use that scroll to forcibly enter a master-slave contract, with said demon, him being the master of course. The contract would have been a battle with his soul as his wager and the demon’s freedom and his/hers. When he won, the demon would forcibly have to reveal his true name in order to sign the contract. That was how the demon would be bound for all eternity to the holder of the contract. But now…

“Great! Now that’s done let me explain the rules of the new game. You are going to tell me a story. All you have to do is survive the story. Simple right?” Of course, it was not as simple. Anderson knew very well that anything concerning a demon would not be as simple. What was worse, this particular demon was very different. So, who knew what twisted game of story telling the demon had in mind? Anderson nodded warily at the demon’s enquiry. Whatever was coming he knew very well the odds would be against him as such he had his guard up. It was funny; He was rather feeling like the trapped one.

Anderson stood there as various thoughts run through his head. Frowning slightly, he asked “What do you get if I lose?” He felt at this point he no longer had control. Suit may be trapped, but he felt he no longer had control. If he wanted back control, then he would have to leave. Leave and completely forget such a place ever existed, but he knew very well that he could not. For her, he could not.

Anderson had come with his soul as the wager, but Suit could change the terms like he did the rules. He needed to cover and confirm every detail before he let himself get trapped in something much worse than he could get himself out off. 

“Why focus so much on you losing, you make it sound like you are determined to lose.” Suit smiled lightly. His golden and red eyes glowing lightly, as if he was enjoying every minute of the situation. Anderson kept silent as he kept staring at the demon that was doing a poor job at trying to change the subject. Seeing that Anderson just stared at his while maintaining his silence, Suit rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and pointed at Anderson. “You.”

‘Me? My soul, of course. In the end no matter how powerful he may be, he is still a demon that feasts on souls.’. Thinking to this point Anderson nodded. He heard Suit chuckle out loud. He looked over to see Suit’s smile slightly wider than before with his hands still behind his back.

“Alright. If I win, the same bargain remains?” Anderson was not going to change his goal even if the rules of the game had changed. Suit nodded in response. Thinking for a bit Anderson continued “How do I know you will keep your end on the deal?” There was no way he was expecting Suit to keep his word he was dealing with this monster by word of mouth.

Suit sighed exaggeratedly at the question. “Oh, dear me. After all we’ve been through. Where’s the trust?” Suit spoke with a hurt expression as he stared at Anderson. Seeing Anderson not reacting in any way, Suit dropped decided to drop the act. “Fine, you’re really no fun at all.” Rolling his eyes, Suit opened his palm and in a burst of blueish black flames an old parchment appeared floating about an inch above his palm. “We rewrite this contract”

Anderson’s eyes went wide a bit. Didn’t the crazy demon destroy the contract? How come he still has it? Letting his thoughts roam a bit he felt he needed to be even more careful with this demon.

He was brought out of thoughts when he heard Suit begin to chant an incantation. He watched the old scroll glow a bit as Suit reworked the contract anew. “In accordance to our agreement, if I @#$%%^ lose then I become the slave of Anderson J. Mayer. My life, my demonhood, my whole self will be at his absolute mercy and his to command, as long as Anderson J. Mayer is able to survive one story. If for some reason he refuses to continue, is in no condition to continue, or dies, then he would have considered to have failed, then I get…him.” Pausing and smiling slightly wider he once again pointed to Anderson. The tattered scroll unfurled and the terms of the simple contract became visible and comprehensible to Anderson. “You see, I even added the specifics of the game to our new contract. Hurts that you don’t trust me.” Suit pouted childishly at Anderson, and continued, “Do we have a deal, Mr. Anderson?”

Anderson stared back and forth between Suit and the scroll. His mind was racing. The contract sounded simple enough. Straightforward, but he did not understand. ‘What did he mean by survive ten stories? Did he not say I was going to tell a story? What does survive the story mean?’ Question after question popped up into his head. He could not help himself. He had no idea exactly what it meant, but one thing was for certain; He would not move forward if he did nothing but constantly question the situation.

Nodding to the demon he pulled out a jackknife and made a small cut, enough to draw blood in his palm. Suit also cut his forefinger with his thumb nail as both beings’ blood flew up to the tattered scroll and merged with it. The previous writings disappeared as new writings of blood began appearing on the scroll. After it was done it furled itself and dropped on the ground. The golden eyed Suit widened his smile even more, almost threatening to split his face, then it turned sinister, then finally into a full-blown maniacal laughter reverberating around the desolate deserted roads.