Innocence Lost (Darkiplier x Reader x Antisepticeye)

Three

Several days had passed since your first attempt at summoning a demon. A small part of you was still skeptical, wondering if you had simply been hallucinating the whole thing from that night.

But the very existence of the cinnamon candle proved otherwise, and you knew it.

You had lit the candle every day, letting the sweet scent waft throughout the living room, filling you, strangely, with hope. It had been a gift, after all, from someone who quite possibly wasn't entirely human.

If at all.

Hope... fuck, for the past few days I've been in a good mood. How? Clearly I didn't summon a demon outright,  but I summoned something. Doesn't that count?

The following day brought a new surprise: there, on your bedside table, lay another candle. The smile on your face appeared before you could help it as you sat up in bed, grabbing the thing and taking a deep breath. This one smelled like apples, and you knew that you would light both it and the other one to get your house smelling like apple pie.

The apple candle had another note, but all that was put on the heavy paper was a heart, drawn in red ink. No new clues as to whom the mystery candle-giver was. This made you frown slightly; you had been hoping for another clue, but...

Oh well.

*~♡~*

This went on for a good two weeks. Every few days a new candle would appear, each with a little note attached. You found yourself waking up eagerly every morning, hoping to find a new candle- and with it, a new note.

You had come to liken them as love notes; why else would there be hearts on almost every single one? Four of them had letters, each letter different.

That morning there was another candle waiting for you, but this one was already lit. It smelled like an autumn evening, when the leaves were just beginning to fall from the trees, and the nights were cool and crisp. You blew it out carefully, removing the attached note with a slight frown.

Spell my name and light a candle for me.

Spell their name? Had you been given their name? You hadn't, just a couple of letters, one at a time.

Sliding out of bed you got dressed for the day, thinking over the newest note with a pounding heart. Was this it? If you followed the instructions, would a real demon appear before you? It certainly seemed that way.

You had to root around for a little while before finding all of the notes; they were scattered throughout the house. But after ensuring that you had them all, you pulled out the ones that had letters attached.

There were only four, and there was only one proper word that could have been spelled with the letters given.

Dark.

Wait, shouldn't I be doing this at night? Would a demon even come out during the daytime? I really don't know. Maybe they won't.

I should wait until tonight.

But waiting was agony. It took all of your willpower not to simply "spell their name" and light the candle for them. You wanted to wait until nighttime, when the moon was high. It just felt right that way. Almost... romantic.

Maybe I can find out why the candles were sent with little hearts attached. Is someone in love with me?

This thought made you smile to yourself as you prepared a late dinner. The sun was dipping below the horizon at long last, and your hands shook as you made the valiant attempt to cook a proper meal.

You could hardly stand it. Eating felt like a chore, and you wanted to hurry up and get it over with. But you wanted things to be done properly, and you even did the dishes after the meal.

Then  at long last, you climbed the stairs up to your bedroom. The notes were beside the newest candle, and you grabbed everything and carefully set them up on the floor, where your summoning circle had once been.

The notes were arranged to spell the word "Dark", and so you lit the candle with bated breath. There was tension throughout your body, and your skin felt electrified; any touch to it was magnified by a thousand.

But nothing happened. You waited... and waited... and waited some more. There was no mysterious guest of wind to blow out the flame, or to scatter the notes about the room. Absolutely nothing.

With a frown you blew the candle out again, picking up the little notes and standing up, meaning to throw them into the bedside table drawer to think over later.

"Giving up so soon?"

With a gasp you dropped both the candle and the notes. Hot wax splattered along the hardwood floor, but you could hardly pay attention to it. Your eyes scanned the darkness in desperation, trying to will shapes out of the shadows. When you found nothing, you nonetheless stood still as you could, trying to remember from which direction the voice had come from. It seemed to have come from all sides of you, so you stood stock still. "Are you.... are you Dark?" you asked out loud, feeling only a trifle ridiculous, as though you were talking to nothing but the shadows in the room.

"Clever. I am."

The summoning worked!

There was a chuckle. It was soft and low, in the sort of deep voice that sounded like butter melting under a hot blade. "Indeed, darling, the summoning worked. Did you enjoy my gifts?"

You nodded, then, unsure if he could even see that, replied out loud, "I did, thank you." It was absolutely a male; that sort of voice could not have belonged to anything but.

"I selected those candles specifically for you. I had hoped you would enjoy them."

It brought a smile to your face, but one that was short lived. "Where are you?"

"Hidden away where your mere human eyes cannot see me. Fear not; I am nearer than you think." Then there was a pause. "How fortunate for you that you have summoned me. I am more powerful than you could fathom, darling, and perhaps your request will prove that."

Request? At first you were confused, lulled into some sense of security by the mere sound of his voice. But your eyes lit up as you remembered: the favor! "Y-yes, well, I'm not sure how much power it would take to--"

"First things first," he interrupted. "We must discuss price. What will you offer me in return for a favor?"

An offering? Did the book say anything about an offering? You fumbled over your words. "I d-didn't know... I thought the rabbit was the offering..."

"How quaint. Darling, the rabbit was to get my attention. If you want a favor, offer me something." Then the voice went directly into your ear, seemingly from behind. "The more precious it is, the more I will do for you. So what will it be?"