Chapter 4. Sold Her Soul

The kitchen tiles were cold under Anna’s touch. She was on her knees and groaning in agony as she tried to endure the pain in her wrist.

Her brother rushed to her and asked her worriedly, “What’s going on? Are you okay?! Would you like me to call for help?” He had lost his mom; he was not ready to lose anyone else, too.

Anna lifted her head, and her eyes met Kevin’s small eyes; they were confused and worried. “I-I’m fine,” she managed to say. At the same time, the pain grew, causing her to let out another scream.

It was becoming unbearable.

What did she get herself into? It had not even been an hour since her mom had woken up from death, and now she was paying already for her deal with the devil.

“Anna, I swear if you keep screaming, I’m going to call 911,” her brother said as he rubbed her back with his hand as a way to comfort her.

“Just give me a second,” she begged him, trying to be strong enough to rise from the floor. But when she did, she saw Kevin look at her with a concerned expression on his face.

The pain had now finally subsided, and all she felt at the moment was a dull burn there.

Kevin’s eyes fell on his sister’s wrist, and he studied the symbol. “What’s that on your arm?” He grabbed her arm, and although she tried to yank it from him, he did not budge.

‘Typical Kevin, to be rough with me,’ Anna thought to herself. He always treated her as if she was one of his male friends from school.

“Kevin, let go,” she said tightly, but he did not listen.

He brought her wrist close to his line of view as he examined the symbol that now looked like a tattoo. “You got a tattoo?” His voice was almost parent-like.

Anna rolled her eyes in response as he finally let go of her.

“Kevin, I was just in excruciating pain, and it’s the tattoo on my wrist that you’re concerned about?” She rubbed the symbol as she enjoyed the relief. The pain had now totally stopped.

“The pain you were feeling was coming from the damn tattoo, Anna.” He walked away from her and started to check in the cabinets for something. “The tattoo artist probably messed up, and now it’s infected.”

Kevin took out a bowl and a spoon from the cabinet. He then opened the other cabinet and took out a box of cereal along with a cart of milk.

“It’s not infected,” she argued with him, causing him to laugh.

But maybe it was a good thing. Maybe she should just lead him to believe what he already believed. He should not know about the crazy deal she had to make to bring their mom back from the dead.

“Whatever…” Kevin snickered as he fixed himself a bowl of cereal. “Just don’t have another dramatic episode of you screaming.”

“Oh, what a loving big brother I have,” Anna said sarcastically as she walked to join him. She grabbed a spoon and put some of his cornflakes in her mouth.

Knowing their mom was okay helped her to finally breathe. She could not let their mom just leave them like that.

Their dad would have broken down, and Kevin would have spiraled. Her brother might act like he did not care, but he was the one who cared the most. It was ironic to say that the devil was their saving angel.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Kevin said in a playful tone as he stole the bowl of cereal away and left the kitchen island. “You’re so greedy!” he laughed.

Anna followed him into the living room, and they sat on the couch.

“You really think that mom’s okay?” her brother asked her. “I don’t want to put my hopes up high, you know.”

“I know that she’s okay,” she said confidently.

He scoffed and ran his hand through his hair. He was a bit emotional and hated it. “Anna, I would lose my mind if I lost her,” he told her, and her heart ached. He sounded broken.

Anna shifted her weight closer to him and allowed him to lay his head on her shoulder. “Mom is alive and will be home before you go off to college. I promise you this.”

After a few hours, Anna covered half of her body with her pink duvet as she lay on her soft bed. The lights were off in her room, and the window was barely opened, causing a soft breeze to swirl in the room.

Her head lay on the soft pillow, and she wiggled her toes, feeling very happy and comfortable.

Kevin was in his room, playing music, and their dad was still at the hospital with their mom. He had called back, but only to keep them updated about her.

“Hi, sweetheart,” a voice suddenly startled Anna, and she nearly had a heart attack. She sat upright and clutched onto the duvet in fear.

“Identify yourself, or I swear I will scream,” she tried to sound brave, but her voice came out as a squeak. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and her eyes were darting all over the room, searching for where the voice had come from.

“Right here.” The room suddenly got flooded with light, and her eyes hurt instantly as they tried to get adjusted to the sudden change. “You sure scare easily,” the voice continued, accompanied by laughter.

When her eyes had finally adjusted to the light, she saw the man that she had met today. The one that claimed to be the devil and proved it. He was wearing a smirk and had his strong arms folded on his chest.

“Try not to scream when someone randomly appears in your room at night,” Anna said under her breath as she rolled her eyes, causing the man to laugh. The sound was smooth and manly. “How did you even get in here?” she referred to her room.

“Oh, that was easy. I have certain abilities.” The guy walked toward her and sat on her bed. “I’m guessing that you have already heard about your mother?”

A smile instantly crept onto Anna’s lips at the mention of her mom. “Yes, I’ve heard about her. She’s alive, just like you said she would be,” she explained happily.

The man watched her with contentment. “Good! That’s good, Anna,” he replied to her. “You have anything else to tell me?” His eyes landed on her wrist.

The duvet was still over half of her body, but she was no longer holding it tightly. She almost forgot about the unbearable pain that arrested her in the kitchen earlier.

“You know about that?” Anna glanced at the symbol as she asked him. “I thought I was going to die,” she told him truthfully. She had never experienced that kind of pain before. It was like her wrist was placed in a blender.

“I didn’t think you would experience that yet. It’s quite soon,” the man chuckled the word out.

Anna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t understand. Was experiencing near-death pain part of the contract?” she asked him.

He laughed. “I like how you exaggerate,” he continued to laugh.

Was he being serious? She would have cut her hand off if the pain had lasted longer.

“I’m not one of your little demons. I was not built to endure or enjoy pain,” Anna replied to him, earning a scoff from the guy.

A few knocks suddenly sounded at her room door, interrupting their conversation. “Anna? Who are you talking to in there?” Kevin asked as he tried to open the door, but it did not budge.

She did not remember locking it, but she guessed she would have to thank the devil for that.

“Nobody!” Anna said loudly in response. “I’m just practicing for the drama club!” she lied.

Kevin stopped trying to open the door. “Go to bed, dork. Dad just called, and he wants to see us at the hospital early tomorrow,” she informed her.

“Okay! Goodnight!” Anna replied loudly, and she did not hear him respond.

“Your brother is interesting,” the demon king said with a small smile.

Anna replied, “You wouldn’t believe half of it.”

“I’m sorry about your wrist today. It’s a side effect of you being here,” the guy said.

“I don’t get it. Being at my house?”

“No, being here. Being up here on earth,” he replied calmly. He was still seated on her bed, and she was still partially covered by her duvet.

She laughed in response to what he had just said, and he stared at her blankly, waiting for her to finish.

“Wait, are you serious?” Anna looked at him questioningly. “You’re telling me that I would have to go down to hell to stop having the occasional pain in my wrist?”

“Mmhmm.” The demon king stood up on his feet and paced the room slowly. “When you signed the contract to save your mother’s life, you took her place in death.”

His words caused her eyes to bulge.

What the hell? She knew it wouldn’t have been that easy; that there would be a catch. But…damn.

“So I’m dead….” she laughed humorlessly as she stood to her feet.

“You’re not dead, Anna,” he replied, watching her walk up to him. He stopped pacing and continued, “Your soul just belongs to me now. So if you would like to stop experiencing those episodic pain pangs in your wrist, then I would strongly suggest that you follow me to hell.”