How Did We Get Into This Mess - KOTLC Oneshots

The Do-Over Demon | Part 1 | 20 Reading List Additions for Part 2

Of all the days for her sucker punch to break, of course it got busted today. Sophie shook her hand frantically, shards exposing rich crimson blood. Chunks of crystal fell away, dust settling in her wound.

How convenient. 

Cursing under her breath, Sophie wrapped her gash with the sash from her absurdly frilly gown. She never should have let Edaline talk her into it. Guilt trip, more like.

It'll be fun, she said. You're growing up so quickly, she said.

Who's genius idea was it to go on a mission right after the Celestial festival? Hers of course. Nobody to blame but herself. Though it was a nice excuse to leave the smarmy nobles.

For all the rips in her dress there were two in her personal life. Which barely existed. All her duties as the moonlark tinted every aspect of her being. She didn't have anything truly hers. Even trying to find a part of her being the moonlark hadn't touched was an endless maze without an exit. At least she and Keefe were stuck there together.

But she had a job to do.

Biana shimmered in the boughs of a tree, winking as she leapt from branch to branch, thick brown waves streaming behind her. Gold-dusted feathers swung from her ears, plumb pantsuit flashing back out of existence.

Fitz transmit an image of the site, Sophie teleporting with a step. A Neverseen wannabe who clearly didn't make the cut poured fizzleberry wine to paint a pentagram. So now they were handling the drunk dreamers?

In her defense, she didn't expect it to work. They hadn't exactly learned about summoning demons in Foxfire, that's for sure. What did she need? Salt? Baking soda? Was a bottle of youth technically holy water?

Probably.

The demon coughed delicately, patting it's chest until some sort of gem was hacked up. The demon shook off it's gleaming claws, iridescent spit thrown to the ground. It buffed it's curled thorns.

"Whadda ya want," it stated carelessly.

"An army," the hooded person answered. The demon rolled it's sharp amber eyes, cat-eye darker than night.

"Uh, no."  The demon tossed it's shiny locks, black curls in a gentle bob. It raised a tailored eyebrow at Sophie, throwing a look as if to say, do you see this amateur? "I'm a do-over demon. I snack on the reality my summoners trash. Do you or do you not need a do-over?"

Biana jumped down and gagged the hooded figure before they could respond. Sophie opened a portal to the Black Swan underneath the pair, promptly closing it when she saw the demon eyeing it.

"I'm Thorne. Snap the key if you ever need a do-over," Thorne told her, smoothing the lapels of its suit.

What key?

"It's in your pocket." The demon poofed away in a cloud of smoky fog.

Sophie dug her hand, and sure enough, an ornate obsidian key cut into her fingertips. If she did snap the key- which she wouldn't, of course, what would she do? How many could she save? How many disasters could she prevent? Could she keep Keefe safe?

"Sophie, we have to get back to the festival," Fitz informed her.

"I'll be there. I have a change of clothes in the void."

Sophie wasn't lying- she did change. She also fashioned a place for the key. Slowly but surely, she walked away from a saving grace. Making deals with a devil was often warned against, after all.

(If 20 people add this oneshot book to a reading list by next week, I'll post part two, which has a ton of Sokeefe.)