Light in the Darkness - (An Obey Me! Fanfic)

Chapter Nine: Is This Item Eligible for Return?

    "Help..."

    The word came to me, the voice plaintive and soft. I spun around, peering down the long corridor. It looked just like any other in the House of Lamentation, but the hall went on in each direction for what seemed like forever. I couldn't tell, at all, where that sad voice was coming from. 

    "Please..." It implored, again. "Help me..."

    The pure misery in the tone put my heart in a vise. Choosing a random direction, I took off running past door after door. I tried each of them, knocking and jiggling the handle, but none of them would budge. That voice was still calling after me, but it was growing fainter and fainter. It was just barely a whisper when a staircase appeared before me, at the end of the long hallway. 

    At the sight of it, fear shook me down to my core. There was a chill leaking from the stairs and only darkness reigned after just a few steps. I didn't know what or who was hidden within those black depths, but the thought gave me pause just at the base. Instinct was telling me to stay in the flickering light of the sconces. 

    "...elp"

     My heart was now fluttering like a bird locked in a cage. The desire to rush up those steps, to help whoever was in need, warred with the voice in my head warning me to stay where it was safe. As the battle inside me waged, I shut my eyes. 

    And then I felt a tingling warmth on the palm of my right hand. It gathered there and gradually moved up into my forearm. It wasn't unpleasant; I didn't feel any discomfort whatsoever. The sensation actually felt as if someone was standing right there at my side, holding my hand in theirs. 

    Then, a scent wafted about me, so out of place in that dim hallway. It was reminiscent of summer days spent out on the lake; sunshine spilling over skin and lemonade tickling over taste buds. It put me at ease enough that I was able to take a deep breath, exhaling the fear from my nose. Eyes snapping back open, I placed my foot on the first step leading into the blackness. 

    And then I woke up.  

    The first thing I saw were branches stretching above me. I was confused at first - the last thing I remembered was standing in front of Mammon. We had been making our pact. Now, I was lying in bed, still wearing the robe I had thrown on. The lights were out, leaving everything in shadow, and there was no sign to indicate last night's events had ever happened. 

    Shakily, I lifted up my palm - and my eyes immediately widened at the sight. Etched across the surface was a mark that reminded me of a star. The coloring was pale in the darkened room, but the softest golden glow emanated from the strange sigil. I blinked, and in that short amount of time - Mammon's pact mark disappeared. My skin felt warm though, like his hand was still pressed against it. That subtle heat, mild as it was, instantly made all the previous night's thoughts and feelings rush back to me. 

    I had passed out. Even now, the memory of that fiery pain made the breath catch in my throat. I could no longer actually feel it, but my fingers began to tremble as I imagined its ghost. Never in my life had I felt anything so excruciating, though my arrival into the Devildom was a close second. 

    Gripping the blanket in my lap, I tried not to yell out my frustration. What had I done?! This didn't seem like something I could just say "oh well" about and have it removed. In the cold "light" of day, it very much felt like the morning after a one-night stand. Yet, instead of sex, it was making a pact with a demon. 

    A laugh burst from my chest. Yeah, of course I'd have this cherry popped before the sex one! I was barely over a day into my stay and here I was binding myself to a creature who absolutely hated me. And all for what? Forced protection? I didn't know how all this actually worked, or if it even did! I could only go on what Leviathan had mentioned to me, if any of that had been the truth.