A Deal Signed by Blood

Drip, drip drip. 

In the dim candlelight, crimson droplets dripped down from the stone ceiling and along the stone walls to puddle into the carved channels of a rocky floor. Into these channels they ran, going across the floor in all manner of intersecting loops and twirls. In the spaces formed by the bloody rivers lay piles of bones, many bearing the mummified flesh of their previous owners. 

Drip, drip, drip. 

On a stone outcropping a few feet away, a stone altar sat, a dozen candles burning low on its obsidian surface. Within the flickering light a book lay open, twisted shadows dancing across faded, worn leather pages covered in spidery handwriting. 

Drip, drip, drip. 

Curled up beside that altar was a small, dirty, quivering form, their body wracked by convulsing sobs. Their clothes were old and torn, with holes all over their shirt and pants. Their exposed limbs were pale, too pale, and ever thin and gangly. Their fair hair hung down, greasy and unkempt, filled with tangles and snags. A dark substance was smeared all over their body, staining their clothes, skin and hair. Their arms were clasped around their legs as they rocked back and forth. In the darkness, their pastel face was stained by tears as their body shook.

Suddenly, something happened. 

Slowly, sobs turned to giggles, then to outright laughter. The rocking motions ceased as a small form stood up on shaking legs, a malnourished body shaking with insane cackling which echoed loud against the stone walls. As the figure stood they were exposed to the candlelight, revealing scarlet fluids congealing in once wheat colored hair and drying on pale arms and legs, as well as ratty clothes. As the candles burned ever lower, a pair of viridian eyes burned with a crazed gleam. Suddenly, the laughter ceased as the individual pivoted on one heel to meander over to a mangled unmoving figure, a pile of mauled flesh and bone so torn apart you could hardly tell it was once a person. Bending low, the small person reached between what looked like a ribcage to grasp something. With a sharp tug they pulled out a golden necklace with a blood red gem embedded in it. A low chuckle issued from chapped lips as the figure gave a chastised look to the grisly pile. 

“I-I-I’m so sorry milady,” the person stuttered in a false apology, “But I couldn’t resist the chance to tear you apart like you deserved.” The words were accompanied by a deranged smirk and uttered in a bloodthirsty tone. The person turned away and began wandering towards the altar. 

“It’s too bad,” the being continued, ‘If I hadn’t been a little boy, I could have done so much more to you. Oh well,” he shrugged, “That’s life for you.” With a huff and a jump he climbed up onto the altar and grasped the book that dwarfed his hands. A deranged smile crept across his face. 

“But who cares about that? I am going to have a friend!” he said cheerfully. He looked up at the stone ceiling above him, gazing at the starlit sky. He tilted his head as bright moonlight began to fill the camber he was in. The child’s grin never let up. 

“The Full Moon is rising. Good, good. We’re on time then.” he held up the necklace and side eyed it. “Now to wait for the Moon to get into position.” Indeed, bit by bit the moonlight shifted across the bloodstained floor, bearing witness to skeletal corpses torn and strewn apart in piles between the gory lines carved in the floor save for a small circle in the middle of the room, bereft of anything. No marks, no scuffles, no stains. Just stone. Time passed slowly as the Moon continued to rise. Along the way, the boy began to tap his foot impatiently as he crossed his arms. A frustrated pout replaced his deranged smirk. 

“C’mon, c’mon,” he muttered, still staring at the hole in the ceiling that allowed the moonlight to enter. “Hurry up already, I have shit to do.” The room was silent, save for the sound of blood dripping from the walls. 

Drip, drip, drip. 

“Damn it!” The boy cried. He struck a foot out and made a candle go sailing across the room leaving a trail of flame, finally landing against a metal door with a splat! The fire went out from that candle as the melted wax cooled against the door. The child fell onto his knees. 

“I waited too long, too long for me to wait anymore.” Tears grew in his eyes. Memories of pain and horror began playing in the back of his mind. “I want, no, I need a friend, someone I can talk to, someone I can play with, someone who will just listen.” His eyes sharpened as memories of being ignored and neglected ran across his mind. “Someone who won’t betray me and hurt me, and laugh at me, or ever leave me.” Vividly he recalled the feelings of hurt and betrayal echoed across his chest as malicious laughter echoed in his ears. His face and ears heated up as his heart quickened. “Never again,” he whispered. Never once did he cease staring at the rising moon. With unsteady legs he rose again. Without warning a smirk flashed across his lips.

“Oh yeah, game time.” With one last look at the Full Moon, he turned and cast one final look at his handiwork. A deranged look settled onto the face of the deranged lunatic. Taking up the giant tome, he flipped through a couple pages until he came across the one he was looking for. He hummed to himself. 

“Alright, here it goes.” he coughed, and read with narrowed eyes the words on the leather page. 

“The moon is out and rising and silent is this night. Blood, blood, blood, blood, let blood be the foundation of our contract!” The air grew warmer as he read that opening chant. The blood which had begun to congeal in the crevices inscribed on the floor turned liquid and started flowing forward, even as it all took on a ghastly black outline. The words written on that page turned a blood red as the boy continued reading. His words, once the high pitch of a child, gradually took on a rough tone, harsh and guttural. Louder and louder his voice grew, until he was all but shouting out the words of the spell. The necklace that he clutched in one hand took started spinning around in his grip, the ruby gemstones within it glowing an eldritch scarlet. The shadows that lurked on the outskirts of the Moon’s light leapt and danced about, slithering around the edges of the room in circles. The candles atop the altar blazed to new life, turning to scarlet flame and casting grim light around them. The boy kept on reading, the air around him flailing and wailing around him, as if he were the eye of the storm. The ruby in the necklace lit up and burst in a shower of shards, flying out into the corners of the chamber. 

“Bloodborne horror, bloodbound terror, denizen of the Hell of Blood, I demand you, come forth!” With that final scream, he hurled the remains of the necklace into the unmarred circle in the room. The ruby in the necklace lit up and burst in a shower of shards, flying out into the corners of the chamber as it sailed through the air. At once all the shadows in the room flew towards the circle and swirled together as a small tornado. Wind swept through the chamber as the blood that was within the carven sigils in the floor turned to vermillion fire, lighting up the room in a sea of flame and obscuring the pillar of swirling shadow. 

As soon as it came, it was gone, as was the pillar of shadow. In its place, was a small form that stood opposite the boy on the altar. 

Ivory skin glowed in the moonlight as ginger curls fell down in waves. A loose white dress covered a child-like body. As the boy watched, transfixed, a girly face peered out at him from the midst of the circle. 

“What do you think you are doing?” A light voice asked, curiously. The boy cocked his head. 

“What do you mean?” The boy responded. He closed the book and set it down at his feet. 

“I mean why did you summon me?” His guest clarified. Her face perked up. “Oh! I know! You want me to kill someone for you and consume their soul!” She let out a happy smile, revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs. Her Summoner glanced at the bones lying around the room and then to the pile of meat and snorted.

“No, but good guess though.” The girl’s smile was replaced by a confused frown before returning. 

“You want me to curse someone or else haunt them then!” 

“Nope! Try again.” The two of them continued like this for a few more minutes, the girl’s body growing more and more rigid with each failed guess. At length, her lips pulled back into a snarl as crimson eyes glared at the boy. 

“Tell me why you have SUMMONED ME THEN!!!!!” She roared, her voice amplified and distorted with rage. The boy beamed at her. 

“It is quite simple really!” He laughed. He pointed at the person in the circle. “You are going to be my new friend!” The girl raised an eyebrow and looked at the gory messes within the room with an incredulous look. 

“What kind of idiot does all this for a friend?” She wondered aloud. She brought a dainty hand to her mouth to hide her snide snickers. The boy frowned. 

“What’s wrong with wanting a friend?” he demanded. The girl raised an imperious eyebrow and gestured to the gore around them. 

“You committed what looks like a violent murder or two and Summoned a Demon, and all because you can’t find a friend? Pathetic,” she mocked. Abruptly the boy was standing right outside the circle, face to face, with a black look on his face. 

“I Summoned you to be my friend, not to be mean to me.” The Demon looked into her Summoner’s eyes and jerked back at what she saw. She looked around again before looking at the madlad before her. 

“You know what, being in the Hell of Blood is better than being here, find yourself another Demon.” The boy’s eyes widened. 

“What? But you hardly know me!” The Demon nodded. 

“Exactly, and frankly, I don’t want to know you anymore than this, so just send me ba-AAAHHHH!!!!” She shrieked in pain as small jolts of electricity flashed along her body. She fell to her knees and convulsed for a couple moments. As her body shook, the Demon raised her head to find the boy squatting down in front of her. In one hand he held a bloodstained knife, the point resting on the edge of the circle. The boy smirked. 

“Do you actually think you have any option other than being my friend? Try again.” The Demon blinked. Then she leaned her head back and laughed with hints of mockery and scorn.

“You can’t possibly hope to keep a Demon as your captive,” she stood up, scarlet eyes gleaming. Suddenly, she raised a scaled hand bearing knifelike talons and swung at the boy. Just as she was about to make contact her hand smacked into an invisible barrier, the rebound causing her to fall onto her rear end with a cry. The young Summoner beamed at her nonplussed glare. 

“Sure I can! Anything to keep my new friend from hurting me!” The Demon facepalmed. 

“I am not your friend, and I don’t want to be your friend!” The boy’s face fell. 

“Why not? Are you upset that I haven’t given you any sacrifices yet?” The Demon put a finger to her chin with a considering look. Eventually she shrugged. 

“Meh, that's part of it, but it's mostly the fact that there are just some people that Demons are advised never to make any deals or contracts with. You, kid, are a member of that category.” The boy tilted his head at her with a sad look. 

“So you don’t want to be my friend after everything I did to meet you?” The Demon in the body of a little girl shook her head. 

“No.” For a moment, the boy only stared at her, silent as the grave. His sudden smile unnerved his Summon. 

“I reject your rejection!” He informed her. The Demon clasped her hands in front of her and sighed. 

“Clearly you are a rank ameteur in the art of Summoning, as such allow me to educate you on a few things: 

Number one: I am a Demon. As such, Demons are incapable of making friends because we are cursed with the constant desire to betray others. Ergo, I will end up scheming against you as it is in my nature to do so. 

Number two: Summoning Rituals require the combination of time, place, and evocation. As such, the timeframe of when you can perform a Summoning can be rather small. Furthermore, upon Summoning the Being in question, you only have until the window of time closes to establish a contract before the Summons returns to wherever they came from. Building off of that: 

Number three: A Summons-regardless of what they actually are-can only exist in this world while they are under contract. What that means is-” 

“Is that we must establish the reason for why I have Summoned you along with the terms and conditions of our Deal, and any rules, rewards, punishments, etc besides. Upon both sides agreeing to the letter of the deal, both parties will consume the blood of the other to Seal the Deal. I am not a complete novice you know,” the young Summoner interrupted her with a droll look. He fixed the Demon with a gimlet stare. “As to the first point, so long as I cover any and all potential loopholes you could use and abuse, I don’t need to worry about you trying to betray me, that's part of why I wanted to Contract you.” he sighed and rubbed his eyes. 

“Can we please just skip over your refusing and denying and get to the part where we establish our Deal and become friends?” The boy begged. The Demon rolled her eyes and shrugged. 

“Fiiine,” she drawled. The boy wasted no time. 

“Great!” he chirped in a chipper voice. “Here you go!” He reached into his ratty shirt and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. When he unrolled it, the roll was almost as long as the boy was tall. “Just sign here, here, and here!” He pulled out a quill and a miniscule inkpot and gestured to three different places on the parchment. The Demon raised a finger up into the air. 

“Hold up, we haven’t haggled over terms and conditions yet!” She protested. The boy shrugged.

“We don’t need to. In exchange for me providing you with a connection to this world, you will be a good friend to me. Very plain and simple,” he explained. The Demon raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. 

“And if I were to refuse to sign this Contract?” She inquired. The lunatic gave her a deranged grin and locked his emerald eyes with her own ruby orbs. For a moment, neither said anything or blinked. Finally, the Demon looked to the side and rubbed her forehead. 

“Somehow I know that I am going to regret this.” She turned towards him and held out her hands. “Give it over.” The boy grinned as he slid the contract and the writing implements into the circle. With an eye roll the Demon picked them up, dipped the quill into the inkpot, and signed her name onto the parchment with a flourish. She held out a hand, then with the other she made a small cut into her open palm with a knifelike claw. She held out the wounded hand. “Let us complete this transaction then.” The boy took a deep breath, then slowly, he inched forward, as wary as he was insane. Bringing up an arm, he took hold of the Demon’s and brought her hand up to his lips. Without blinking he lapped up the inky blood. The air grew heavier in the room, as if it were filled with lead. Then, releasing her hand and standing back, the Summoner took his own knife and made a small cut on the palm of his hand. Without flinching or breaking eye contact, he held it out to the Demon. With only a small frown on her face, the Demon reached over, took his hand, and brought it to her fanged mouth. The boy never once made any sign of discomfort as she lapped at his blood. Finally, she let him go and stepped back, a ring of red around her lips. Static formed in the air around the two of them, making their hair stand on end. The Demon held out her still bleeding hand. 

“You have Summoned me to do your bidding. In accordance with our Contract, I shall abide. You may call me Goribana.” The boy clasped his bleeding hand to the Demon’s. 

“I have Summoned you to do my bidding, and in accordance with our Contract I shall abide by it. You may call me Gellertsson.” The two then spoke in unison:

“Blood for fire, fire for blood, blood is the foundation of our contract! So shall it be!”

At that the air pressure let up, and the weight that had been hanging down dissipated. The blood that remained in the grooves in the ground glowed one last time before finally disappearing. Goribana sighed. 

“Guess we’re friends then.” Gellertsson smiled. 

“Yes we are.”