Chapter Text
Luke felt compelled to go to the very borders of the enchanted forest.
The last time he had felt this presence was when a certain Adam Smith had gotten lost and begged for his help…at a price, of course. That was nearly a year ago.
His patterned robes glinted as he stepped into the sunlight, his transparent wings cast a kaleidoscope of colors onto the ground.
As expected, Luke found a swaddled baby on the wet grass. Small and precious, lying inside a circle of mushrooms—a fairy ring: a naturally-formed gateway to the supernatural.
Curiously, there was also a circle of candles surrounding the mushrooms. Was this Adam's way of summoning him? How strange. He felt the urge to extinguish the flames before they accidentally set fire to the woods.
Luke had just lifted the sleeping child into his arms, gently swaying the bundle in his embrace, when he felt a malicious presence materialize a few feet behind him.
A shiver ran down his spine.
He whirled around, clutching the infant close to his chest. His white robes whipped around in a gust of cold wind.
Dark hair, green eyes.
A perfectly average-looking teenager.
It’s deceptively human.
His instincts immediately had him on high alert.
A lesser creature might have been fooled, but Luke could see him for what he really was. Ugh, when was the last time he had to deal with one of their kind?
Still, he asked, “Hi…sorry, could I have your name?”
The stranger just looked at him. He blinked once, twice, before pointedly raising an eyebrow.
“Uh…no?”
Ah, well. It was worth a shot.
The kid’s voice matched his unassuming appearance but Luke already spotted the horns peeking out of the black curls. While it could have passed as a half-satyr, there was no mistaking those wings and pointed tail.
Demon. Devil. Hellspawn.
Said demon had a look on his face like, did you really think that would work on me?
Luke just shrugged.
As a true-born fae, Luke could ‘steal’ the name off of a person who foolishly offered it, but demons were fiercely protective of their identities. After all, knowing a demon’s True Name gave the summoner total control over them. As such, there have been a handful of incidents wherein a demon found themselves enslaved to mortals.
Nowadays, demons took up various aliases in order to protect their freedom, while also taking up some contracts on the side
Luke cleared his throat. He removed all glamour and magical compulsion from his voice. “Ahem, what is your business here, devil?”
“I’m here for the kid.” said the demon.
The ‘kid’ in question was still sound asleep in Luke's arms.
The temperature of the air went down by several degrees.
“ What .”
“I said–”
“Nonono, I heard you,” Luke struggled to process all of this, “but that doesn’t make any sense. I’m the one taking the kid. It's part of my deal with Adam.”
The demon frowned, brows furrowed in confusion. A mortal might have been intimidated, but all Luke saw was some evil brat trying to swindle him.
“Adam? That child is Eve’s and she made a contract with me .”
“Who the hell is Eve ? And what contract??”
“Evelyn Scotts sold me her future firstborn in exchange for arcane knowledge,” said the demon.
…Luke was stunned into silence.
The kid kept talking. “And as you can see, I am here to collect my end of the bargain. That child is mine .”
Luke briefly closes his eyes, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts. He opened his eyes, looking right at this unfortunate devil before him, and said, “Adam Smith offered me his firstborn for safe passage through the sacred forest.”
The demon stared at him.
Luke did the same.
They both looked at the newborn in Luke's arms.
“This is the same child isn’t it.”
“Yeah, it seems so.”
“Fucking hell .”
“Mhm, those two deserve each other.”