Darkness spilled across the dimly lit library as ripples of fire engulfed the shelves around them in hellfire. The demoness cackled like a maniac while Everett backed away, turning to run back in the direction of his desk. As if something there would somehow save him.

Panic struck him as he weaved through his familiar, burning shelves just to reach his desk. A skeleton sat in his chair. Behind him, the demoness approached with her loyal little demon dog. Everett clambered behind his desk anyway, rolling the skeleton away as he frantically rummaged through his desk's drawers.

He couldn't be in hell, could he? Everett didn't know what he was looking for. Yet something compelled him to keep searching for anything that might save his soul. When the demoness neared his desk, he mustered up the courage to curse her to death. It drained his energy, yet it deterred her none. Spiderwebs of black spilled across her face, but it did little to fend her off.

Finally, a thick leather spellbook caught his eye. Everett yanked it out, waving his wand over it on the floor. The demoness couldn't see what he was doing. Hell, even Everett didn't know what he was doing. Not until he flipped the page open to reveal an ancient symbol printed on the inside cover of the Acharne vampire family.

Was that Kieran's way of reaching out to him? A part of their soul-bond connection? Everett eagerly pursed the first page on how to form a contract with their vampires and how to summon them at whim. Everett had no time to study it or skim the pages.

Mustering all the magical energy in his body, he mentally prepared himself like he'd summon a spirit. Instead of using Kieran's name or any extra ingredients, he used the air around him to slice a cut through his arm and called out for the vampire's help. Just like he'd done all those years ago when he accidentally summoned a demon to kill those bastard hunters.

Around them, the library dissolved into nothingness. The demon's unearthly wails ripped through his ears as he tried to block them out. Warmth caressed him in the darkness as he let his heartbeat settle into place and soon, he found himself back where he once stood in his own library. Laying on the floor.

Rowena floated above him, wailing Kieran's name. Everett forced himself up with a groan, rubbing at his aching head. When had he fainted? What the hell happened?

"Everett!" Kieran dropped to his side, clenching his hand tightly. "Fuck, I thought she'd taken you."

Everett blinked. "What's going on? Where did the demons go?"

"It was an illusive trap for you." Kieran shook his head. "She pulled you down into her own domain in hell. I heard your pleas for help, but it was difficult to reach you."

"Domain?" Everett frowned.

"A demon's home," he clarified. "I think she planned to take your soul tonight, leaving you here to die. Like she tried with Rowena."

"How do you know that?" Everett shook his head. "Rowena, did you remember how you died?"

A sad smile touched the ghost's lips. "I did. Seeing you faint like that resurfaced those ungodly memories. We summoned the same demon, Everett. My curse prevented her from claiming my soul, but it couldn't save Richard or any of the men who loved me."

"Gods. And she's not going to give up, will she?" Everett asked, trembling.

"Afraid not." Kieran groaned. "But that's why we need to officiate this. To prevent her from pulling such stunts again. Under a vampire's protection, demons can't do anything. Not unless they want to be shredded by an army of vampires."

"At least buy the boy a ring first," Rowena said.

A blush tinted Everett's cheeks. "We have to marry to keep my soul from going to hell?"

Kieran rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, not right away, of course. We can dawdle for years with that, and just pretend... Until there's a way to exercise the bitch."

With Kieran's help, Everett gently rose to his feet and made his way around his desk to sit down. The revelations set in, weighing heavily in his mind. Rowena died because that demon killed her, trying to steal her soul. It took Richard. If Everett couldn't find a way to protect himself, she would claim him next.

"So, how would this work?" Everett asked. "Our bond didn't stop her from trying to murder me just now."

"I'll need to teach you more on how our connection works. I should've been more prepared for something like this, but she caught me off guard. From now on, I'll be more vigilant."

Everett nodded. "But how do we know she'll leave me alone with this bond if made public?"

"She won't be able to when we have our vows spoken. A barrier encased with protective magic will bind our souls together, where I am to serve you until you die. Or until all eternity if you choose to turn into a vampire."

"Vampire, eh?" Everett raised a brow.

"Illegal in Briarwood, of course. Unless we get married."

Everett swiveled in his chair. "Yet that won't protect me now, will it? If I was on the verge of death, it's more likely the demon would snatch my soul before the transformation was completed."

Kieran's expression grimmed. "You're right, yes."

"Well, let's get engaged then." Everett reclined back, arching his back ever slightly. "How does this work? We just tell our friends and family? Gods, they will make me out to be just as wicked as Castor Vale."

"Who?" Kieran frowned.

"A wizard who lives here. Family practices black magic," Everett explained. "Townsfolk here shuns them for it."

"Don't you practice black magic?" Kieran asked.

"Yes, but in secret." Everett folded his arms across his chest, releasing a sigh. "I hope this won't affect my sisters negatively. It is frowned upon for our kind to fraternize with the vampires, you know. Words of engagement and courtship will surely make them want to hex us."

"I'm sorry." Kieran bowed his head, brushing his fingers along Everett's knuckles. "It was the best way of keeping you safe."

"I know, and I appreciate it." A smile ghosted his lips.

"What about me?" Rowena's ghost hovered in front of him. "That frightening demoness could try to steal me away next. Look how easily she swooped in to snatch Everett."

"I've been thinking about that," Everett said. "The demon herself isn't free to roam our grounds. She's confined to her own world still, meaning someone in Briarwood is working alongside her. Someone wants to ensure she gets my soul. She didn't place Richard's dead head in here either."

"But who would do such a thing?" Rowena frowned.

"I think I might know who it is." Everett rubbed his chin. "I'll need to reconstruct our barriers, then we're going to hide out and wait for the culprit to break into the library again."

"How will you know if they're going to intrude?" Rowena asked.

"That damned demon thought she had me. She's going to be determined to try more tricks to keep herself in my library. I'll need to strengthen security measures here, but not yet. I'll haphazardly redo them, making it seem as though I fixed it," Everett schemed.

Kieran nodded. "I'll help you in any way I can."

"Me too." Rowena floated around in a circle around the lobby. "I'll be ready for that wicked demon this time!"

"After reconstructing my barriers, I plan to set up some little hexes as well." Everett smirked. "They won't even see what hit them until it's too late."

Everett just hoped his scheme would work. If not, that demoness might steal his soul and he dreaded imagining his afterlife as that godforsaken bitch's lakey.

🪄

Darkness blanketed the sky that chilly night, devoid of stars. The crescent moon, partly shrouded behind thick black clouds, resembled a crooked fang. Everett hung back in an alleyway across from his library with his cloak wrapped around his shivering body. Bits of honey blond hair peeked from the edges as he checked his pocket watch for the time.

"What if nobody shows up?" Kieran asked from where he crouched down beside him, sipping from a cup of blood that Everett provided him.

"Demons don't like being outwitted. She'll send her goon here again to finish the job," Everett replied. "It took me some time to figure it out. If it weren't for the demoness trapping me in her domain, I'm not sure the pieces would have fallen into place."

"What do you mean?"

"Demons need a host to survive in our world for long periods of time. I kept wondering how the hell the one I summoned all those years ago could do such a thing." Everett shook his head. "With my memories sealed, she couldn't touch my mind. So how would she have known about our visit to Rowena's sister, how she turned me into a pumpkin head?"

Kieran furrowed his brows. "Couldn't she have easily seen them unaware to you?"

"If that's the case, then why did she believe the false memory I gave her?" Everett grinned. "About how we met."

"What did you tell her?"

"You bolted through my doors, soaking wet, thinking I wasn't there."

"And she thought that was true?" Kieran asked.

"While in her domain, I forced myself to think it was. Yet she filled in little gaps as if she witnessed it herself. I don't believe she has that connection with me because of this." Everett held up his amulet. "But I doubt the demon knows that."

"Do you think the amulet Rowena wears also protected her from the demon?"

"Perhaps."

As the minutes melted away, Everett worried that Kieran might be right. Until a hooded figure emerged from down the road. Everett snapped his head back against the brick building, carefully peeking out so he wasn't caught watching.

The figure hurried up the concrete steps, drawing their wand as he felt his barriers shatter from across the street. It sent a jolt through his chest. The amulet pulsed like a second heartbeat around his neck as he peeled himself away from the building and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Kieran came up beside him.

"This could be a trick of the demon's as well," Kieran said. "I'll remain by your side, no matter what happens."

"Aren't you just a sweetheart?" Everett teased. "Come on. Before she escapes the hexes I set up."

A shrill scream penetrated the silent night as the two of them hurried toward the library. Everett yanked the door wide open, revealing a familiar older woman sprawled out in the lobby surrounded by an army of spider-rats. The largest of the pack, resembling the size of a pumpkin, snapped its mandibles at her face. It was trying to tug her hood down.

Finally, the ginormous spider-rat yanked on the fabric enough to tear it, revealing flowing chestnut locks. Fear crossed Angelica's startled face as the ghost of her sister floated over to them, clasping a hand over her mouth in shock.

"It was you," Rowena's voice came out barely above a whisper. "You poisoned me to death!"