Dreaming of ShortS/Tags

The Conjuring Of Choices

Short Story: 

Taking my hand, he pulled me into the woods. I told him I didn't want to go on another one of his "adventures" but his grip was too tight for me to escape, and even if I escaped his hands now, where would I go to in the middle of the woods? It's safer to be with someone than alone and so I continued to run with him until we reached a dry rotten clearing in literarily the middle of nowhere. "Where are we?!" I asked, shading the bright sun rays with my hand. Rolling his brown eyes he replied, "I already told you, I want you to meet someone." "Then where is he or she?!" I asked irritated. Ignoring me, he rolled his eyes, threw a few logs in front of me, lit his cigarette, and puffed out smoke in my face, smirking as I coughed, shooting daggers at him with my eyes. Taking his bottle of liquor out, he poured some over the wood and flicked his cigarette over them, causing a gigantic flame to roar towards the sky. Igniting it that way wasn't a good idea, but it's not like I had a chance to stop him. I folded my arms as I stared right at him, trying to intimidate him with my continuous stare, but he simply ignored me and started chanting the line of words that he'd been repeating all morning.

The flames swayed under his words as it was forged into a demon from my knowledge and experience in conjuring. "His name is Lucifer," he said, dropping my jaw in amazement. "How did you conjure him? The Light Bearer?!" I asked in amusement as he smirked his winning smirk, the smirk that says 'told you I'm a pro'. "So she's the one?" Lucifer asked, his voice not as loud as I imagined. 'The one?' I raised an eyebrow at Andrew as he nodded. "Well then, have a seat," Lucifer said as he pulled the tree's logs down, crushed them together, and constructed a table along with three chairs, all by his hand's swift motions and burning red eyes.

Lucifer then sat and awaited us to be seated in front of him. I've heard that those whom have made deals with him had sometimes won unimaginable riches, but others? Lost their own souls. "Please," Andrew whispered uneasily as I hesitatingly walked towards the earthly brown table. "You know what you're doing right?" asked Lucifer as he eyed me, his eyes lingering on my lips. "No?" I replied folding my arms to try and comfort myself. "You didn't tell her?!" he bellowed at Andrew as he got up and pointed his golden embroidered staff at him. "I'm sorry! I couldn't!" he apologized backing away. Lucifer's eyes turned amber red as he looked at Andrew in anger. "Stop this at once, I thought I'm dealing with the Light Bearer, not a murderer!" I yelled standing up in front of Andrew, but instead of being thanked, Andrew gasped at me as a look of horror and worry crossed his face. The Devil though, gave me none of the reactions I expected. He chuckled, sitting back down and transforming his staff into a packet of cards. He smiled at me as he shuffled the cards back and forth, "Actually, I'm dealing with you brave one."

I bowed a thank you at Lucifer then frowned at Andrew in confusion, why didn't he tell me what he was supposed to? So much of a 'pro' huh? "Choose," Lucifer ordered as he spread the cards around the table in a geometrical order. I stared at the cards, remembering the awful horrors that I'd see if I picked the wrong card and the uncountable riches I'd gain if I picked the right one. Pausing for a while, Lucifer exhaled, "You have eight seconds to choose or the deal is over and your friend will die," he said looking all bored and humanlike. I closed my eyes and hovered my hands over them, finally deciding to lower my fingers onto a card on the left. "Excellent choice," Lucifer said as he flicked my card up, hovering it between his hands and squinting at it as if he was looking into an orb. "So? What does it say?" I asked as I stood and tried to take a sneak peak. "Oh, you can't just read them, give me a lighter," he replied, outstretching his hand to Andrew. He then lit the card and started chanting in a language I've never encountered in all my years of conjuring.

"Thank you," whispered Andrew as he stood and made his way out. "For?" I asked turning around. "Saving my soul," he replied disappearing into the mist. Mist? I turned around to look at Lucifer but found him igniting the surrounding trees with the tips of his fingers and cursing each tree, turning it black in the procedure. Wait... What did Andrew mean when he said, I saved his soul?! "What did I win? A blessing or a curse?!" I asked, rotating to get a good look around me. "You're blessed with a curse, and cursed with a blessing," he replied, his smile stretching wide. "And that means?" I pressed him on nervously. "You're the first to pick this card"-he revealed the horned crown card-"the princess of Hell, mine." 

I turned around, attempting to make a run for it but he grabbed me with his tail and dragged me to the center, "A deal is a deal princess." His fingers clicked and the cursed trees crumbled to the ground, shaking it so hard that a crack was formed. Smirking at my struggling frame, he tapped his foot, splitting the Earth in half, creating an earthquake, and forcefully pulling medown into the flames.