One day Michael limped over the path through the mountains leading towards the castle, his right thigh hurt and he felt it with every agonizing step. With the empty eyes of one who has seen too much and who has been through too much he looked at the road ahead. They were the eyes of someone ready to give up.
Lately it happened more often that Xantier sent him on some kind of errand, he seemed to enjoy the benefits of having a slave around. It was a break from the pain the demon caused him and Michael welcomed it, although he knew he would be punished if he'd try to escape. So he didn't. He had long given up on the idea of escaping the demon. This was his fate and he had resigned in it, there wasn't anything else he could do.
When he neared the curve in the road from which he would have a clear view at the castle, he stopped. A large boulder had fallen down some time ago and now someone sat on top of it, looking at the castle. Another human, by the looks of it. Some messy and dirty blond hairs peeked from under the edge of a black hat and while the clothes were torn and dirty in some places, they seemed to be in decent shape for this place. Michael could only stare at him. What did another human do here? How could he sit there so calmly? The other human turned his head and looked at Michael with as much surprise in his blue eyes as Michael felt himself. If he had to guess, this guy was around his own age.
"Who are you?" Michael asked
"Benjamin Wilkins," the other introduced himself as he jumped down from the boulder and walked towards him. "Who are you?"
"Michael Bansing."
A friendly smile appeared on Benjamin's face and Michael stared at it. How was it even possible someone could smile like that in a place like this? "I didn't expect to see another living human here," Benjamin said.
"Me neither," Michael whispered. "How did you get here?"
Benjamin started explaining how a portal had opened and arms had come out which pulled him through. On this side of the portal he was faced with a demon, but that demon was attacked by big, black dogs and he could escape. He had learned they were called hellhounds and had stayed with them ever since. They had kept him fed and safe so far and he enjoyed their company.
"Hellhounds?" Michael whispered. "But...but...they are dangerous..." He had seen those hellhounds devour a demon and Xantier had warned him to stay away from those beasts, with the warning that being shred into small pieces was not a pleasant way to die.
"Oh, they are dangerous," Benjamin explained calmly, "but only to demons. I've seen their mutual hate." He put a hand on his hip and tilted his head slightly. "How do you know they are dangerous?"
"Well, I saw them attack and eat a lesser demon. And the demon I was with told me..." His voice trailed off as he realized what had happened there. Of course Xantier would tell him hellhounds were dangerous and that he needed to stay away from them. And he had believed it too.
"Exactly," Benjamin said. "I've discovered that it doesn't matter in what realm you are, a dog is men's best friend." He smiled a bit. "I've always loved dogs and I'm quite fond of these hellhounds too. They're just like oversized dogs with big teeth who can breath fire." Benjamin fell silent for a moment as he examined Michael. "How did you get here?" he asked.
Michael took in a deep breath and told Benjamin about the party, the contract and that he was forced to serve the demon Xantier. When Benjamin asked about how living with this demon was, he began to tell in more detail about his stay with Xantier and what he had done to him. The torture, the raping and the humiliation of being treated as a pet. As he went on with his story a compassionate look came in Benjamin's eyes and Michael's voice faltered. While he didn't know exactly how long he was here, he knew it could be measured in weeks already. All that time he had been alone and without compassion. At the end of his story he looked away, he really didn't want to start crying in front of this guy he barely knew. He felt Benjamin's comforting hand on his shoulder and he closed his eyes as the first sob escaped his throat and the first tears travelled down his cheeks. It was long since he had felt that and he was unable to keep himself from crying.
"That's awful," Benjamin said as he took Michael in an embrace. "When I first saw you I thought you looked terrible. Right now I think you look pretty well after living through all that."
"And there is no way out," Michael whispered between his sobs as he buried his face in Benjamin's shoulder. He held on to him as if he had nothing else left, and he really hadn't. Who or what did he have in this realm? Benjamin was the first living human he had come across and the first one here to offer him kindness and comfort. "I signed the contract and Xantier is stronger than I am and he knows powerful spells." His shoulders jerked and he kept his eyes shut tight, but that didn't stop the tears. "I have to live through his abuse and when I die he'll claim my soul." He couldn't stop crying. He hadn't shed a single tear ever since he got here, but now everything poured out. All his pain and fear and sorrow.
Benjamin held Michael and tried to comfort him as well as he could. "You do know," he began after a moment of silence, a moment in which he had just let Michael cry, "that the contract is just a piece of paper, right? There's no lightning bolt coming from the sky to smite you if you break it."
At first Michael didn't answer, nor did he move. Then he pulled away from the embrace and he stared at Benjamin, his eyes still moist, but the tears had stopped flowing. "W-what?" he began with a croaked voice and he cleared his throat. "What do you mean?" he asked. "A demon's contract..."
"A demon's contract is a piece of paper with words written on them." Benjamin turned around to look at the castle. "As powerful as a demon is, they can't touch a human's soul. They can't pull it from our bodies, nor can they catch it if it moves to the afterlife. That's why they use contracts." He turned to face Michael once more. "Your soul is not bound to Xantier because you scribbled your name on that piece of paper. It's bound to Xantier because you believe it's bound to him. You make it real yourself, you are the one binding yourself to the demon."
Michael couldn't do anything but stare at Benjamin. Was that possible? No, that couldn't be. He had always been thought that demons could claim the souls of humans and they used a contract for that. What Benjamin told him went straight against everything he knew about this subject. And he was a demon hunter! Michael opened his mouth to go against what Benjamin just told him, but he couldn't find the words to begin.
"How often did Xantier tell you your soul belongs to him?" Benjamin asked.
"S-several times a day," Michael stuttered. "And that my... body belongs to him too, since it's the vessel of my soul."
"Well, that's, I mean..." Benjamin went under his hat with a hand to scratch his head. "Truth to be told, you didn't have to allow him to do anything to you just because of the contract. I get that Xantier is strong and can easily make you obey and that you had no choice in going with him, unless you wanted your entire family wiped out, but breaking the contract would make you a liar, not result in instantaneous death or something like that."
"But..." Michael began, "demons always take human souls through a contract..."
Benjamin rubbed his neck as he tried to find a way to explain it. "Can you see them?" he suddenly asked as he pointed to the main tower of the castle.
Michael looked at the tower and shook his head. "What am I supposed to see?"
"Ghosts," Benjamin said. "Spirits. The human souls Xantier has collected." He examined Michael's face, who shook his head again and sighed. "I'm not surprised you don't see them," he said as he turned his attention to the tower again. "I haven't met anyone who can see them like I can, but they are there. They circle around the tower as if they have no other objective in their existence. "
"So he does collect them!" Michael exclaimed. "You can see the proof of that."
"No! They bound themselves to him!" Benjamin started pacing around and Michael followed him with his eyes. "Just like with you," he began as he waved his arms around, "he told them repeatedly their souls belonged to him and that they signed the contract willingly." He pointed to the tower, but looked at Michael who listened in astonishment. "They believed it! They believed it just like you did, and that truth was so ingrained in them that when they died they couldn't do anything but obey. They believed he owned their souls and they acted accordingly. That's why they can't move on to the afterlife and float around in circles all day long!" He walked back to Michael and grabbed both his arms as he looked him straight in the eyes. "Don't you understand?" he asked as Michael hadn't said a single word since he started his explanation. "Ghosts are the spirits of people who linger, maybe because they have unfinished business or they are afraid to move on or they just can't say goodbye to someone or something. Whatever the reason is, something keeps them bound to earth and as time goes on they forget about their life and they start wandering. I've seen that back home. I've seen a ghost who just floats up and down a staircase without looking at anyone or anything, stuck in some kind of loop forever. And that's what happening here. Xantier made them belief he owns them and that they can't move on to the afterlife and when they join the other souls they resign in their fate and as time goes by they even forgot how they got there in the first place and just exist in their never-ending circle. Broken spirits are the saddest thing I've come across in my entire life!" He shook Michael as his grip on the arms became more tight. "Don't let him bind yourself to him. Don't become a wandering ghost like these have. Your soul is yours! He can't claim it. No-one can! Despite what it's written in that contract you signed. Don't you ever forget that!"
"I-I have to go," Michael whispered as he freed himself from Benjamin's grasp. "Xantier is waiting... he'll surely punish me if I take too long." He turned around and walked towards the castle as fast as his aching leg allowed him.
"Wait!" Benjamin called, but Michael ignored it. "Please wait!"
"No! Leave me alone!" Michael stopped and faced Benjamin again. "You're not helping me by telling me all that." He noticed how Benjamin opened his mouth, but he raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Firstly, I think I know demons better than you do. Secondly, even if you're right, it doesn't change anything. I gave in to his demand and signed that contract so my family could live."
"But..."
"No. If I will break the contract nothing will stop Xantier for going after them, just to punish me for not keeping my part of the deal. Even if it's just a piece of paper. He doesn't care about humans, he wants me and if he has to kill every last member of my family to own me, he will." Michael wanted to turn his back at Benjamin, but was stopped by his question.
"Did he ask to sign the contract in return for their lives or give your soul?" he asked.
"It's the same thing!" Michael exclaimed. "The contract said he can claim my soul when I die."
"But he can't! That's why he didn't kill you right there and then. He can't claim a soul, even if it's written down somewhere. You are the one who has to give it."
"And that's what I agreed upon when I signed the contract! It's not that I want to die, give up whatever the afterlife is and live eternally in a demon's shadow, but I have no choice!"
"Why do you think he treats you this badly?"
"Because he's a demon, he finds enjoyment in it," Michael said with a monotonous voice, that had to be one of the stupidest questions Benjamin had asked so far.
"I think he wants to break you, physically, mentally. It will make it easier for you to give in and allow him to ingrain the notion of your soul belonging to him." Since Michael didn't answer that, Benjamin came a step closer to ask another question. "Did you agree to give your soul or that he could try and claim it?"
Michael stared at Benjamin as he thought back about the contract, his voice seemed to indicate it was an important difference. "It said he owns my soul and can claim it when I die," he eventually said.
Benjamin nodded with a sad look in his eyes. "All I'm saying, if you can't get out of the contract, just don't become like them," he said as he pointed to the tower. Michael looked at it, he still couldn't see anything there, but he was willing to belief Xantier's collected souls were there like Benjamin had described. "If he fails to claim it," Benjamin continued. "That's his fault, not yours. Let him try and claim your soul if your contract demands it, but don't just give it to him if you don't have to." A silence fell between them and Benjamin sighed. "I wish I could help you and I wish we could try and escape this land together, but..." he sighed again and shook his head as if he resigned in something. Then he reached out with his hand. "I hope we can see each other again tomorrow. It was nice talking with another human."
"Likewise," Michael muttered as he took Benjamin's hand to shake. "I can't promise anything, but I can try to meet you again tomorrow."
Benjamin slowly let go of Michaels hand and tapped his hat. "I'll... let you go then. I wouldn't want to be responsible for getting you into trouble with Xantier. I, uhm... goodbye, Michael." With that, Benjamin turned around and started walking away.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Michael muttered as he too walked away and went towards Xantier's castle.