Soul Fallen

Chapter One - The Art of the Deal

"It's like we talked about?" Allen looked up at Paris with wide eyes. "Fifty years?"

Paris nodded once. His stomach turned with anxiety. "Fifty years for your soul."

He held the pen out for Allen. It had only taken a month for the addiction to turn him into a soul contract. Paris was getting faster at closing. Instead of making him feel confident, it only made him feel like a fraud. It didn't seem fair to Paris, the way the addiction worked against the humans. It wasn't the challenge Paris wanted, or needed, though he did make it work for him. At least there were no rules against it.

Allen reached for the pen with a shaking hand. It was a common reaction to signing away one's soul, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded. Convincing humans of that was always the biggest hurdle Paris faced in closing a new soul. There was too much stigma attached to it. Unfairly, in his opinion.

"Relax," Paris said, flashing Allen a smile he hoped came off as genuine. On the inside, Paris was just as nervous as him. He always was until the pen came off the paper.

Allen paused. He pulled his hand back and Paris's stomach dropped. Would this be the one he couldn't close? It happened to every demon from time to time. Paris knew that, but it didn't help the pit growing in his stomach.

"I see you're hesitating." Paris maintained a cool exterior, not allowing Allen to see the anxiety raging underneath. He was good at making people think he was someone he wasn't. Paris smiled again as Allen looked up at him.

"It's just..." Allen licked his lips, thinking for a moment. "Would it be alright if I read over the contract? I mean, not that I don't trust you, I just—"

"Of course," Paris said, waving his hand in the air. He forced his voice to sound unfazed by the request but on the inside he wanted to scream. "I honestly hoped you would."

Generally speaking, Paris wanted all of his clients to thoroughly read their contracts. He wanted every client he had to be satisfied. After all, his reputation was on the line.

Allen smiled a sheepish, relieved grin and sat down on the edge of a nearby chair. Paris looked around the room as he waited impatiently for Allen to read through their contract. It was a small and nearly unfurnished apartment on the east side of the city. Even though Paris had given him a million dollars for five years of his life in their first contract, he'd blown through that money faster than it took for the addiction to take hold of him. He'd spent it mostly on a loose woman, as Paris understood it. The second contract was for a job. Paris admired him a little for that one. The way Allen saw it, he'd be able to make more money during his lifetime with a high-powered job than by spending his years making deals with a demon for money. He didn't realize that after he'd signed that first contract, it didn't matter. From that point on it was a ticking time bomb until he gave away his soul. Allen's head shot up.

"This isn't what we discussed," Allen said, shaking his head.

A jolt of panic ran through Paris. Had he gotten the details wrong?

"It's exactly what we discussed," Paris said, the bile rising in his throat. He couldn't face Jackson, or any other demon in the Court if he wasn't able to close on this contract. Jackson had been pestering him about it for a week.

Allen jabbed a pudgy finger at the clause on the bottom of the page.

"You didn't say anything about this."

"That's the soul clause." Paris leaned away, relieved. "It's been in every contract we've signed so far. It's in every contract I write."

"It says I have to give you my soul immediately," Allen said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes." Paris forced a smile. "It only applies if you break our terms. If you are found in breach of contract. Otherwise, there isn't anything to worry about."

Paris traced a finger over the line of text that explained that. "See?"

Allen squirmed in his seat as he read over the sentence Paris had pointed out.

"I don't know," he said, chewing on the side of his lip, looking back up at Paris. "I want my fifty years."

"It's a standard contract." Paris tried to sound calm. "As long as you hold up to your end of the bargain, there's no need to worry."

"But why is it even in there if I'm giving you my soul anyway?"

"There are ways to wiggle out of it. That clause ensures you don't."

"But..." Allen looked down at the contract then up at Paris again. "I'm not going to try anything funny. I just want an extra fifty years."

"That clause is there to protect us both, Allen. It goes both ways."

"It does?"

Allen looked back down at the contract and appeared to be reading the soul clause again. Paris clenched his teeth. He couldn't stand this. He needed him to just sign it already.

"If I do anything against our terms, you'd own my soul," Paris said. "Owning a demon's soul would give you an inordinate amount of power, Allen. That should give you some relief."

Allen looked back up at him. "I'm getting fifty extra years, right?"

"Yes."

"And you only get my soul when I die my natural death? Right?"

"Yes. Unless you break our contract."

"I'm not going to break our contract. I'm giving you my soul."

"Don't try to work around that and you'll have nothing to worry about."

Allen looked down at the contract again. He took a heavy breath and lifted the pen to the bottom of the page. He paused again. Prickles of anxiety rushed down Paris's spine.

Paris leaned closer as Allen pressed the pen across the paper. He snatched up the contract and scribbled his own name on the paper. Allen was marked. The deal was done. He was another soul stronger. It didn't make him feel any less of a fraud, but at least it would validate him even further to his peers.

Paris was about to transport to the office and have Jackson file the contract when he felt something that made him pause.

A soul. Unlike any other. The world around him fell away and an invisible force pulled him like a magnet toward that soul. It was powerful. It was intoxicating.

It was close, and Paris had to have it.

**Authors Note: This story is complete, and I will be uploading additional chapters in the near future. If you don't want to wait to read the rest of the story, it is available on Amazon :) Thanks, and Happy Reading!