Chapter Text
“You need to take this seriously,” Eden snapped at you, concern written across her face.
“I am, I promise.” You did your best to sit up straight and look serious.
You had been waiting for today for years, you would not mess it up by making her think you didn’t care about it.
You understood why she was high strung, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t too. Summoning a demon was something that was risky even with years of experience, having someone with absolutely no experience join her could potentially put both your lives at risk.
Not that you’d let anything happen. You wouldn’t be doing this if you thought it put Eden in any sort of danger. You’d been preparing for years, you were certain you could manage observing without messing up anything too vital.
This confidence did not stop Eden from going over the rules over and over again. “You will speak to him minimally, you will not approach him, you will not do anything he asks, you will not so much as look at him. You are here to learn, alright? You can watch me and that’s it. Anything else is for me to do, not you.”
You nodded eagerly. “Understood.”
She sighed and her face softened slightly, looking you up and down as you did your best to project confidence and capability. “Seriously. I’m going to be out of it while I’m working on the spell bindings so it’s just going to be you and him, if you really think you’re ready…”
“I am,” you interjected, wincing as you realized that interrupting her probably wouldn’t increase her confidence in you.
You could see her reconsider letting you in, that familiar frustration flitting across her face. “...if you really think you’re ready, I need you to promise me you’ll trust me and just observe, no matter what. If you look at him or talk to him it just gives him more ways to manipulate you and try to gain the upper hand. I know all his tricks, you don’t. I will have things under control as long as you don’t interfere.”
You’d already promised her a million times and you’d promise her a million more if it meant her trusting you with this and you getting to actually learn.
You’d helped her do a few hexes, warded your living space, little things that she felt you were up to the task of doing.
But this wasn’t that. This was the big leagues.
A million more promises proved to be unnecessary as she moved you to a specific spot on the floor. “You stay there until we’re done, okay?”
You nodded, settling onto the ground, and she got right to work, drawing the sigils on the floor and gathering everything she needed. It was kind of incredible, how it was all second nature to her. You were used to having to check your notes every few seconds but she did it all effortlessly. You kept checking your notes as she worked anyways, making sure that everything was alright. You trusted her implicitly but it was better you caught a mistake than a demon did.
Even with your eyes trained steadily on Eden you knew the second he arrived. The air felt heavier. When he spoke, his voice felt like it was coming from inside your head, echoing inside your skull. It wasn’t particularly loud and yet you could feel the vibrations from it in your bones. Any doubts you had about the creature's power disappeared as soon as you heard his voice. Maybe that was the point, maybe that was part of his bag of tricks that Eden had talked about so extensively. “Listen to me, witch, I will make you regret ever so much as thinking my name if you…”
The energy in the room shifted as he trailed off and you kept your eyes pointed at Eden. Even still, you knew that he had noticed you, could feel him sizing you up.
“Who is this?”
“No one you need to worry about,” Eden replied, her expression steady and emotionless. Her discipline was impressive, she could just shut off everything. No one could glean any information from her like this. You had no idea how she did it. No matter how hard you tried to emulate it your emotions always shone through.
“You bringing pets to our sessions now? And I thought you liked my company.”
Eden didn’t defend you. Why would she? Of course the demon was being rude to you, he was a demon. You’d known he was going to try and provoke an outburst from either of you, to throw you off your game. Some irrational part of you still couldn’t help but be a little upset that it hadn’t worked, that Eden hadn’t sprung to your defense and was instead just continuing on with business as usual.
But that was why she was the one summoning demons and you were the one who wasn’t even allowed to look up.
It didn’t take long before Eden entered her trance. You focused on the ground, trying to keep yourself from imagining what the demon next to you must look like while you waited for her to return and do something that you could learn from instead of sitting motionless in front of you.
Surely he would look frightening. From what you knew, demons could choose their forms, of course he’d try and scare you. And even if it was his natural form, he was a demon, you couldn’t imagine that they looked pleasant.
Everyone who had seen one has called them terrifying, imposing creatures. You didn’t know how much of that was true and how much was an exaggeration, something to keep ill-prepared witches from trying their luck to make an ill-advised deal with one of the creatures.
You’d anticipated the fear and the feeling of danger you felt sitting there, nervously running though the rules in your head, but what you hadn’t anticipated as time ticked on was how awkward demon summoning could be.
You felt his eyes on you as you just sat there on the floor, refusing to speak or make eye contact. It felt more rude than scary.
He started to speak, amusement tinging his voice. “And what’s your name, little one?” Some of the power in it was gone, the performance fading away now that Eden couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt. Were you not worthy of trying to terrify?
“I’m not that dumb.”
Shit.
The words came out before you realized you weren’t meant to be speaking at all, even to rebuff insultingly simple questions. You kept your head pointed at the floor, set on following at least one rule.
He chuckled, a noise that was oddly pleasant considering the circumstances. “I had to try. Any chance I’ll be able to convince you to break these bindings?” he asked, and you heard him shuffle around, probably pushing up against the invisible walls set by the summoning circle on the floor.
You shook your head, keeping your mouth firmly shut.
“No? I’m Lucien.”
You nodded. “I know.”
That was one of the only things you did know about the creature. His name, the reason you could summon him and keep him trapped like this. Besides that you were in the dark, you didn’t even know what he looked like.
You knew about demons, of course. You’d done your homework, read all about them, every lesson and warning previous witches had painstakingly written for you to go over again and again. But you’d never actually encountered one before, didn’t really know what to expect other than danger.
Mockery dripped from his words as he spoke. “I know that you know, I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. It’s just rude not to introduce yourself to a new friend.”
His quiet appraisal continued as you kept still, your gaze flicking repeatedly from the floor back to Eden, willing her to return.
“You're very quiet,” he noted, intent on filling the silence. “What has your witch told you about me?”
“Nothing good,” you huffed.
He didn’t need to know that really, she’d told you nothing at all, good or bad. You didn’t even know what she was doing right now, what the trance she was in was accomplishing. Every time you’d tried to push the issue you’d been shut down, told that was a matter for later.
“Did she scare you? I promise I’m not that bad, I don’t bite.” The mocking tone returned and you were reminded that he did not take you seriously.
You didn’t have much to go on but you pulled from the little bit of information you did have and shot back. “She said you're a miserable little creature.”
He laughed, sounding incredulous. “Is that what she said? I didn’t realize we were trading schoolyard insults. Well, at least you're blunt, better than those damn riddles your witch speaks in.”
That was a reminder of why you shouldn’t be talking to the demon. Eden had to choose her words very carefully, make sure that they couldn’t be misinterpreted, and here you were having a conversation without putting any real thought into your words.
You were intent on staying quiet, on at least trying to not mess things up any worse in the last few minutes. Or at least you hoped they were the last few minutes. You were proving to be worse suited to this than you’d hoped you would be.
Lucien’s barrage continued on but you tuned it out, staring Eden down, doing exactly as you were told. It didn’t take long to slip into your head, barely even hearing what the demon had to say any longer.
Eden’s eyes flew open, her gaze flicking upwards to where you assumed the demon stood, towering about you both based on the way she craned her head back.
She wasted no time with pleasantries, ignoring Lucien’s attempt to get her attention in favor of murmuring the hex that would banish him once more.
You hadn't even noticed how heavy and warm the air in the room had become until it suddenly cleared and you could breathe properly again.
You rushed to help her clean up now that the two of you were no longer in imminent danger, putting everything back right where you knew it belonged. This part you’d gotten good at, the cleaning up. It was the only thing Eden ever let you do on your own, harder to mess up than most things.
“Everything go according to plan?” she asked as she handed you some bones. They looked avian at a glance, probably from a vulture if you had to guess.
You nodded and she barely acknowledged your response.
“He’ll be back tomorrow,” she added, scribbling something into the notebook that you were forbidden from looking inside of. “It’ll be the same protocol as today.”
You’d done it, you’d passed her test and you were being allowed to watch her work again. It took all the energy you had not to let out a squeak of excitement, trying to keep your smile to a reasonable level as you responded, “Thank you so much.”
You weren’t sure if it was the excitement or the nervousness that was causing time to move so slowly but whichever it was, you hated it with all your heart. The day seemed to take a lifetime to pass.
Even Eden setting up the spell seemed to take ages. You did your best not to fidget, trying to keep quiet and not bother her. You weren’t even nervous about him showing up, it was the waiting that really got to you.
A sigh of relief escaped you when that sense of dread filled the air and you were left to wait no longer.
This time around he noticed you immediately. “Aw, your lapdog returns. Be careful bringing them around here little witch, I might start ignoring you in favor of easier prey.”
Eden seemed entirely disinterested in what he was saying. “I’m sure I’ll manage.”
That was the most he got out of her. Not that he didn’t keep trying, Eden was just focused on her work. She didn’t have to ignore him for long before she returned to her trance and the two of you were functionally alone again.
You kept your head down, your fidgeting returning in full force now that Eden was no longer conscious enough for you to bother her. It was a good thing to occupy your mind, staring down at your hands as you ignored the demon trying to get your attention.
You could hear him getting more and more frustrated at your seemingly endless fascination with your hands and the floor. “Come on, I’m trapped here by you two, the least you can do is talk to me while you keep me imprisoned.”
“You’re not imprisoned.” It came out faster and more defensive than you’d meant it to. You knew he was trapped, that he couldn’t leave the circle while Eden held him here, but imprisoned had felt so harsh and you couldn’t help but jump to defend your witch.
“What do you mean I’m not imprisoned? What do you think this circle does? Do you know nothing? Why does she even keep you around then?”
He struck a nerve and worse than that, you knew that he could tell. It wasn’t hard to decipher, your shaky inhale at the words giving you away. You didn’t even get the chance to speak before he started to push.
He cooed at you with a faux sympathy. “Oh, that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t even know why she keeps you around. How could you, you’re probably as useless as you seem. Just sitting there, confused. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong when I called you her pet, it seems she’s trained you like one.”
He was getting through to you. Worse than that, he could tell that he was getting through to you.
“Please stop.” Your words were quiet. You knew they wouldn’t work on him, you weren’t foolish enough to not know that much, but you said them anyway. A soft plea made to be ignored.
“She never should have let you be here. Do you think something like this could get through to your witch? You probably had to beg to get to be here and still you’re letting her down. Does she know you’re speaking to me? All you had to do was sit there and you couldn’t even do that, maybe I should tell her what her little waste of space is up to.”
You were drowning. This was why Eden had told you not to speak to him, you knew this was why. He’d found a weakness and he was doing what any decent demon would, he was exploiting it. Everything was spiraling out of control so quickly and you felt as if you’d never be able to find your footing.
In a moment of panic, you did exactly what you’d been warned not to do. You looked up.
In the horror stories you’d read, the scariest part was always the not knowing. When it described the monster too much or showed it to you, it lost most of its power, no longer a strange amalgamation of what you’d least like to see and now just something. Something you can see and touch, the abstract terror gone. You’d been terrified, sure that when you looked up you’d feel dread wash over you. Some deep seeded primal fear of the demon, the creature meant to drag you into unimaginable horrors.
You didn’t. As soon as you looked up all that fear was gone and all you could see was someone. Admittedly, he was imposing. Bigger than any human you’d ever seen with an otherworldly gray skin tone and a twisting set of horns curling around a face that didn’t quite seem right. But he was there, in front of you, a real person. And you weren’t afraid.
He seemed baffled by your reaction. You supposed people typically didn’t visibly relax after seeing him for the first time.
“Hello,” you said, unsure of what else you should be doing. It probably wasn’t greeting him but you didn’t have any better ideas.
For the first time since you’d met, he was the one who seemed to be at a loss for words, taking in your calm face as you looked up at him.
Before he got a chance to figure out how to respond to your greeting or to exploit your discovered weakness any further, Eden snapped out of her trance once more.
Your chest tightened as you dropped your gaze. You wished more than anything you could still see him, that you could try and read his thoughts.
There were so many things he could say right now that would ruin you. You’d gone against everything Eden had said, showed weakness in so many ways.
And then he didn’t and it was almost worse. If he told her, you’d get shouted at, lose some trust. But why was he not saying anything, opting instead to throw insults at her, trying to get a response just as he’d been doing before.
Did he just care about you so little? Or was he saving up ammo, gathering things to hold over your head.
The air shifted to be lighter once more and despite that and the absence of the demon, you couldn’t quite manage to breathe properly.
Eden moved out of her summoning area, completely unaware of your inner turmoil.
As you stood to help her tidy everything up you couldn’t help but ask. “What are you doing with him?”
“What?” Eden seemed taken aback by the question.
“Why are you summoning him? The summonings and the trances must be for something, right?”
“That’s above your paygrade, sorry.” She was still putting away her supplies, barely paying any attention to you.
“Are all demons bad?” you blurted out, not taking the time to consider how it would sound.
The question escaped you before you had any real time to think about it. You were searching for answers, although to what you weren’t entirely certain.
Now you had her attention. She turned abruptly, trying to read you. “What did he say?”
“What?”
“Why are you asking this, what did he say?” Now she sounded protective, that tone you’d been longing to hear when Lucien had been coming at you before.
“I was just thinking.” It was a poor justification but you hoped she'd drop it. You knew she wouldn’t like your answer.
“You were thinking what?” Her words were harsh but you knew she was just worried. She had to be like that, especially when it involved stuff like this. She had to keep you safe.
You decided to let all your thoughts come spilling out. It was easier than coming up with some excuse and accidentally worrying her even more. “I don’t know. Lucifer was an angel and supposedly he wasn’t good so all angels clearly weren’t good, it seems kind of presumptuous to say that all demons are bad. How do we know? We can’t possibly have checked. I don’t even know how we would check. And if we can’t know then we’re what, just guessing who it’s okay to summon because they’re intrinsically evil and who should be left alone?”
“They’re created for evil, by evil, there’s no two ways about it. Leave the ethics to me, okay?”
It certainly wasn’t the answer you were searching for but you knew Eden was done with discussion.
You went to sleep that night with questions circling your head. You wanted to trust Eden, you did trust Eden, but you couldn’t help it. It was always like this, once a question rooted itself in your mind, you never could quite get rid of it.
But there was nothing you could do to answer it. You weren’t sure anyone had the answers you were looking for. Well, not anyone you could just ask. So instead, you tossed and turned with too many thoughts to go to sleep easily, until you were finally, mercifully spared from your busy mind for just a while.
You woke up in the forest, the roots pulsing under your feet and the branches reaching to block out the sky.
Something howled in the distance as the branches blocked out the sun above you. That was how it always started, making sure you couldn’t see anything but the forest around you. You recognized this. You’d been here.
You’d almost been swallowed up by it before, wrapped up in the twisting branches that snaked to block your escape, to isolate you.
You’d had this dream many times before, it had become almost comforting in its repetition. It felt like the forest reaching out for you, like it had staked a claim on your soul and was reminding you of where you would end up someday.
But this time, the dream changed. A familiar voice sounded from behind you, stuck in the same nest of roots and vines that you’d become ensnared in. “I didn’t try to choose a nightmare, funny how that works out.”
You turned to face the demon, his horns butting against the roof of your prison that was trying to close in on you. “This isn’t a nightmare,” you said, watching the branches reach towards you, moving to pull you closer and absorb you into the trees.
If this were anywhere else you’d have been surprised and afraid of the sudden appearance of the demon but not in your dream. Everything couldn’t help but feel natural and normal here.
“Isn’t it?” He cocked his head to the side and one of the branches wound around his horn.
“No,” you said as the roots ensnared your ankle, preventing you from running, even if you’d wanted to.
“What is it then?”
“A reminder.”
“Of?” His follow up questions came just as fast as your answers. You hadn’t meant to be so vague, you just hadn’t expected him to care this much about your inner workings.
“That I’m living on borrowed time.” You clarified, set on giving him a complete answer this time. “I don’t mind them, they make me grateful that my witch saved me. How are you in my dream anyways?”
Normally the trees had swallowed you up by now, but Lucien’s stature was halting their progress. “You’re bad at warding yourself. Your witch never lets me do this.”
Shit. You thought you had the warding down.
It occurred to you, probably later than it should have, that he hadn’t really done much to you other than talk. You knew he couldn’t really hurt you when he was visiting you like this, proper warding or not. The most he could do was fish for information or throw insults but he hadn’t been doing much of either. “And why are you here?”
“I was planning to threaten you but you seem to have distracted me.” He couldn’t counter the trees forever, your dream swallowing him up as a desperate attempt to get at you.
“Better luck next time.”
He phased out of existence before the branches got a chance to tear him apart like they’d done to you so many times and now, there was nothing standing in their way.
You woke with a start. The events of your dream weren’t hazy at all like they usually were. You remembered it all and groaned, getting out of bed in the middle of the night to read up on proper warding.