Destined

Dimitri

Boston, 1639

I watch the others as they get everything ready for the summoning. "Hugo, don't forget that every point of the pentagram has to look exactly like the next," I say, watching the black-haired guy closely. As the youngest of our group of five, he doesn't have the same experience in the Dark Arts as the rest of us do.

"Remember, once we've summoned Him, we can't leave our posts anymore," Heather reminds us. Her dark-red hair is pulled up into a tightly wound bun on top of her head. It has the same color as the blood in the golden chalice she places on the ground, in the middle of the pentagram.

"I still don't get how you're able to get a virgin's blood that easily," Silvia says, shaking her head. Her dark skin is in stark contrast to her dyed white hair.

"After six years of practice, I can just sense which guys are desperate for their first lay," Heather says casually. For as long as I know her, she's always been quite lax when it comes to sexual intercourse. She never cared for it. At least now, she's using it for a good cause. "Just a sleeping draught and some foreplay are enough to knock them out. They'll wake up with a headache and just a bit of blood missing."

"Are you guys sure we should be doing this?" Grant asks, his baby-blue eyes scanning the room feverishly. "Who even knows what He'll ask in return?"

I groan, rolling my eyes at him. If I could've, I would've just kept him out of this but, unfortunately, we need five people to perform this ritual. "We talked about this, He won't ask for anything we can't handle," I say. I can feel all eyes turning to me. I sigh, getting up from the ornate chair I've been sitting on. "Listen, everyone. I need you all to put on your game face. This deal can give us everything we ever wanted. This deal will give us immortality. Whatever price we have to pay for that will certainly be worth it.

"Just imagine, never having to grow old-" I say, looking at Grant. I then turn towards Heather. "Everlasting health-" Next, I look at Silvia. "No one to control you ever again-" Lastly, I turn to Hugo. "You'll outlive anyone who's ever wronged you. Show them we're better than any of them."

I smirk as I can see the twinkling in their eyes returning at the promise of all those things. "Now, let's make sure everything is ready to receive our guest."

Humming, I sit back down, watching them continue to set everything up. Once everything is where it should be, I get up, going to stand at the top of the pentagram. I motion for the others to find their spots along the other four points of our pentagram. "Now, recite the spell, just like we practiced," I instruct, starting to recite the ancient incantation I found a few weeks ago, the others following my lead as always.

As we chant, the room gradually starts to get colder until the flames of our candles suddenly burst up to the ceiling.

"Stand your ground!" I immediately call out to Hugo and Grant who seem like they can bolt at any moment. "Don't break our circle or He will be able to break free."

I turn to the middle of our pentagram, taking a deep, clearing breath. "We summon thee, Bel'goch, Demon of immortality, to our circle. Accept our offering and show thyself to us!"

As soon as I've stopped speaking, the flames die down once more and from the blood-filled chalice, red smoke arises, filling up the pentagram though it never crosses the edges of it. I watch it rise up to the ceiling before it suddenly comes crashing down like a wave, falling back into the center. As it fades, I see a small figure standing next to the chalice, licking its fingers which are dripping with blood.

I blink a couple of times when I realize what I see. In our circle sits what appears to be a child, a boy to be exact. He can't be older than seven years old. He looks from one person to the next until his eyes land on me. I swallow a lump that's suddenly wedged inside my throat as I look into the black holes where his eyes should be.

The child then decides to open his mouth. "Why did you summon me?" he asks, his deep voice booming around us. It's safe to say that it's not the kind of voice you'd expect a child to have.

"Bel'goch, Demon of immortality, we called you here to make a deal with you," I say, standing up straight. "We want you to make us immortal."

I can see an unnaturally big smile cross the demon boy's face before a thunderous laugh engulfs us. "You mortals always want eternal life, when you hardly know what it's like to truly live. Tell me, what would you give me in return?"

"In return, we will do whatever you have us do," I say, making sure to maintain eye contact with him.

"That's a dangerous deal to make, boy. Are you sure that is what you want to offer? You should be careful what you wish for, you know?"

I huff, not appreciating being called 'boy'. "Yes. We're sure," I say without taking my eyes off of the demon.

The boy-demon nods his head. "Alright then, don't say I didn't warn you." He snaps his fingers and in front of him appears a parchment, every inch of it scribbled full of words. "In return for me turning you five immortal, you will repay me by sacrificing five souls to me every ten years."

The others start to object but Bel'goch shushes them. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking?" he snaps before continuing his explanation. "You can't just sacrifice just anyone. You need to make your sacrifice love you before offering them to me."

"This is crazy," Grant gasps. "We can't just go about killing people!"

Bel'goch shrugs his small shoulders. "That's the prize of immortality, my friend. Someone else has to die for you to stay alive."

"Can we have some time to decide?" Sylvia asks.

Bel'goch growls as he turns to her. "First, you summon me with only a measly amount of blood and now you have the audacity to ask for more of my time," he snaps at her. "I will have your answer now. Either you will agree to my offer and sign the contract or I will leave you and take ten years of your lives as payment for wasting my time."

"Take ten... ten years of our lives?" Heather gasps, her skin looks even paler than usual as she watches the demon closely.

"Indeed, and trust me, my dear, you can't afford that to happen," the demon says, watching her. "I can see the illness resting underneath your fair skin. I'm amazed that you're even still here."

Hearing this, I make the decision for all of us. "We'll sign." As the others look at me, I shake my head. "Either we sign or Heather dies. It's as easy as that."

Bel'goch hums. "Finally someone grew a spine." He holds out the contract along with a knife. "Just a drop of blood to seal the deal."

I nod grimly, pricking my finger with the knife and squeezing out a drop which falls onto the parchment. One by one, the others do the same and once five drops of blood have touched the paper, it vanishes in a puff of smoke which encircles all of us.

"Your first payment will be due in a week," Bel'goch says casually. "I expect you all to be on time." He starts to disappear but stops for a moment. "Before I forget. The only way for you to break the contract is to fall in love yourselves."

And just like that, he's gone.

************************************

Boston, July 2019

I groan as I wake up in my penthouse. Dreaming about that first meeting can only mean one thing, our one week has begun. It's time to gather the group again and go hunting. This year's hunting ground: Paris, France.