Dance with the Devil

•Chapter 8•

Brylee

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

I whipped around, only to see a very angry-looking Luca. Which was saying a lot, because Luca was always angry. Although I was everything but confident at the moment, I painted a brave look on my face and straightened my posture.

"I want your help," I said, surprising myself that I didn't stutter or even waver my voice. Luca narrowed his amber eyes and stood up straighter, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You want my help?" he scoffed, a smirk finding its way onto his face, "What could a little Jesus-loving goody-goody like you want a demon's assistance with?"

I ignored the attempted insult, secretly taking pride in the fact that I immediately gave off a Christian vibe when meeting someone.

"Earlier, when you called me weak," I sighed and looked at my feet, "you were right. I am weak, and it quite frankly disgusts me. I don't think I can live like that, I refuse to."

I stole a glance at the demon that stood in the demon trap, a few feet away from where I stood. He had an eyebrow cocked upward, and from what I could tell looked pretty confused, perhaps a bit curious.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" he asked in a gruff voice, his eyes narrowing.

"I have a proposal for you."

He cocked an eyebrow upwards, "A proposal?"

"Yes, a proposal. I want you to train me. Make me strong," I said, keeping eye contact with him. He looked at me with wide eyes, before breaking down in laughter.

"Y-You wa-want me t-to make you strong?" he asked, continuing to laugh hysterically. I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm serious!" I yelled. After a few more moments of laughter, he calmed down a bit.

"Phew, that's a good one, Signorina Andrews. You really had me there," after a few heartbeats of standing there, me glaring at his smirking self, his eyes widened, "you really are serious."

I groaned and flailed my arms.

"Do you think I'd be here talking to you if I wasn't serious?" I yelled at him. A deep noise rumbled from inside his throat and it took me a moment before I realized he was growling. Before I knew it he was at the edge of the circle and I was on the ground about ten feet behind where I was. Pain spread throughout my entire backside, and I moaned.

Propping myself up on my elbows and staring at him with wide eyes, I watched his shoulders move up and down as he breathed heavily. His golden eyes glowed a good bit brighter than a few moments ago.

"Do not disrespect me, ragazza. I am much older and much more stronger than you, don't forget that" he seethed through gritted teeth. I was frozen still, fear coursed through my body. Luca clenched his eyes shut and attempted to take a few deep breaths before he sighed. Reopening his eyes, his amber gaze met my blue one as I fought to swallow the lump in my throat.

I stood and brushed the dirt off my jeans before looking behind me, making sure I knew which direction to run in if need be. I scanned the trees for a few heartbeats before I heard Luca mumble a deep, "I'll do it."

I whipped my head towards him so fast my neck cracked.

"Really? You will?" I asked incredulously. He lightly sighed.

"Yes. I'll train you as I was trained centuries ago."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to stop me, "But, if we are going to do this, then we have to set some rules. The breaking of these rules will result in death."

I furrowed my brows, "Wait, why is it that if I break the rules I die, but you can go and break the rules and nothing happens?"

He rolled his eyes.

"It's called a blood contract," he said, making a piece of parchment appear in his hands, "we each sign our name in our own blood. If either one of us breaks the contract or violates the terms, then they shall lose their life."

My eyes widened a considerable amount at his words. Gulping, I nodded my head.

"Okay, but what are the terms?" I asked.

"I will put you through the same training that I endured. I may have to make it a bit easier though-"

"No!" I interrupted. Luca cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, 'no'? The training that demons go through is merciless, much too harsh for a young human girl such as yourself."

I narrowed my eyes, "I can handle it. I know I can."

Luca sighed. "Fine, whatever you say. You'll be put through the same exact training I went through, me being your trainer. However, because of the brutality of the drills and discipline, we will work in stages. Stage One will be conditioning and basic sparring."

My eyes widened. Conditioning for basketball was rough, even imagining what demons went through sounds like hell. Haha, get it? because they're demons...

I chuckled a bit at my own joke. Luca narrowed his eyes.

"What's so funny?"

I blushed, "Er, nothing, don't worry about it."

He rolled his eyes.

"Okay," I said, "so when does it start?"

He smirked, "I haven't decided yet. You want to do this though, then this training is your top priority. If it occurs in the middle of the night, you get up. If it happens during school, you ditch your classes. If I say it is to happen and your peers have already made plans with you, then you shall call them and cancel. This is your number one concern, and it shall consume your life and your thoughts."

He took a knife out its holster that rested on Luca's belt and cut his palm, dipping a quill into the dark red liquid. He signed his name on the parchment before wiping the quill off and handing it to me, along with the knife.

"Do we have a deal, Signorina Andrews?"

I quickly re-opened the cut on my palm from the summoning and dipped the quill in my blood, before scribbling my first and last name on the contract. Once I finished, a strange tingling sensation ran throughout my entire body, and a cold breeze starting blowing. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

"Ahem," Luca started, "are you going to release me?"

"Oh! Um, yeah. Luca Demonte, you are free to return to the Devil's pit."

The demon smirked, "It has been a pleasure doing business with you Brylee."

And with that, he was gone.