(Leif)

"Hex," I say, and Hex looks at me. "Want to see window just appear, after you do that?"

Hex rotates up and down, nodding. I show him. There were two of them. I can count to two. One, two!

Summon Demon is now Level 2! You may now Contract 1 (one) additional Demon! Warlock is now Level 2! +3 INT! +4 WIS! You may now have up to two Familiars Contracted to you!

"Hello!" A voice say in my head. "Thank you-"

"You're not Steve."

"Nope!" Voice responds. "Steve is currently with another Warlock! My name is-"

"I want talk with Steve."

"I'm the one who answered your call!" Voice responds. "We can all do the summoning contracts, here! My name is-"

"Is it Steve?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then shush. I want talk Steve. Not not-Steve."

"That's not how this works," the voice responds. "I am the one who answered, and so, I am the one you will be dealing with. Steve is currently busy with another Warlock, and could be awhile. If you want to make a new contract, you will need to go through me. You've already spent the Mana for-"

"I'll try again later," I say. "I dunno how to end this. Do it for me."

"Excuse me?" Voice asks. "Just who in the hells do you think you are?"

"I'm Leif," I say. "I no want talk with you. Either let me talk with Steve, or end this. I dunno how. Don't make me get Tiol."

"Are you threatening me?" Voice asks.

"Tiol powerful," I nod. "Definitely a threat. He rip out your throat and eat your eyeballs, then fuck what's left of you. Then, he let me burn you up. We already do that twice. Not Braden and Kyle, though. They fuck me instead."

"Who in the hells do you think you are?"

"Someone who already introduced self," I answer. "I want talk with Steve. You not Steve. Let me talk to Steve, end this communication, or I get Tiol to rip out your throat, eat your eyeballs, fuck what's left of you, then let me burn you up."

"You will not-"

"Sorry about, that Leif," Steve says as other voice stop talking. "Demons aren't used to dealing with people like you. My manager intercepted this contact and took over my case so I could handle you. From now on, you should only have to deal with me, though it might cause a delay in a response."

"That fine," I say. "I only want talk with you, 'specially if all other voices as mean as that one."

"Sorry about her, Leif," Steve says. "Can you forward me your stats? I see your WIS is at 29, based on how much Mana was spent to contact us for the Contract. Pretty nice."

"Okay," I say, then send him my status. "You gained a Level."

"What the-?" He asks. "That's twice in a row you've gotten my stats! I didn't get yours, though, so could you-oh, here they are. That's weird. Both times, there's a delay. Level 2 Warlock, huh? You're restricted to as many Familiars as your Class allows, and hitting Level 2 in Warlock this fast with Haxulmiara? That's impressive. We actually had a running bet on how long it'd take for you to contact us here. Me and some of the guys, that is. And my manager. I won."

"What you win?" I ask.

"A lot of fun," he sounds happy. "Oh! You're speaking much better, now!"

"Thank you!" I say. "Tiol and Braden and Kyle helping me, though it not as easy as they make it seem. They talk loads better than me."

"Well, Tiol is an ancient demon, so that's to be expected," Steve responds. "Oh. Please don't tell him I called him that. I should've used his proper name."

"He no have issue," I say. "I call him Tiol all time. He no care. I want imp Demon. I need go through all questions?"

"You want an imp?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Tiol say they good for sex. I want try get used to Demon-sex so Tiol can do with me. Human sex probably not same. So I want imp. Weak as possible, please. Tiol say if I took weak for them, I no die during sex."

"Are you sure you didn't mean-"

"I mean imp, Steve," I say. "That's what Tiol told me, so that what I want. Tiol lots stronger you. Smarter, too, for sure."

"Very well," Steve sighs for weird reason. "As weak an imp as possible… they're already pretty weak, though… here we go. Contract in. There's already two applicants, one's got a couple of stat points more than the other."

"I said weak as possible."

"The other one's as weak as possible."

"Show me, please."

A Demon Wishes to be Yours! Name: Temriasal Species: Imp Demon Sex: Male Total Level: 0 Age: 2 months Public Title: None Class: None Health: 10/10 STR: 2 AGI: 2 INT: 1 VIT: 1 Mana: 5/5 END: 2 DEX: 1 WIS: 1 LCK: 1 Rating: White CON: 2 FLX: 1 PER: 32td> LIF: 87

"Contract."

The contract completes.

"Thanks, Steve!"

"Uh… you're welcome?"

"Imma summon Tim, now!" I tell him. "Bye!"

"Bye, Leif," Steve says, then leaves me.

"Summon Timraesil!"

A small creature appears in front of me, 'bout four inches tall. It naked and ugly. Grey skin, kind of meaty, two black, stubby little horns atop its squished head, pointy ears, 'beady' black eyes, as Tiol described it, and a slender tail ending with a forkish thingy on the end.

"You really ugly," I say. "Tiol say imps beautiful. You not beautiful."

Tim chatters in some strange language, then attacks me. I hit him with a Fireball.

"Bad Tim!" I say, then read the message. "Oh, he's gone."

I let my Mana restore to full, then summon Tim again.

"Wanna fight again?" I ask. "I kill you again! I boss, here! Not you! Behave!"

"Did you Summon a new Demon?" Tiol enters the room, then stares at Tim. "You did. How in the hells did you get both of those up to Level 2, so you could?"

"Hex very agreeable," I nod. "Tim being bad. Attack me. I kill him. Summon him back. There's a problem, Tiol."

"There are several," he says.

"How he supposed to have sex?"

"What?" Tiol looks confused.

"Tim has no dick or ass hole," I say. "How he supposed to have sex? You say imps good for sex."

"What?" He asks. "No, they're not! Why in the hells were you trying to summon an incubus?"

"Incubus?"

"The male sex Demons!" He groans. "I am so glad you mixed them up with imps! Imps are the mischievous ones that cause problems! No one is stupid enough to summon them!"

"So you say I'm not a person?" I ask. "Or are you say I stupid?"

"Argh!" He smacks his forehead. "Next time, please let me be there when you go for a new Demon."

"I said behave!" I blast Tim with another Fireball. "He dead again."

"Of course you killed him," Tiol snorts. "He probably has less Health than you do, and virtually no resistance to magic at this point. Your Fireballs are pretty strong, compared to him."

"Well, he be bad," I say. "He stay in timeout for bit."

Tiol put Kyle in timeout last week. He wanted kill Kyle. Accidentally took a Health when fucking me. Tiol not happy.

He really wanted to kill Kyle.

I stop him, though, and Kyle still alive.

"So," I stand up and look at Tiol. "What you doing?"

"I was getting ready to go hunting," he says. "Braden is training out in the courtyard, and Kyle's meditating."

"Taking Hex to dungeons," I say. "Time we cleared out rats in them. No clue how long it take me, but I hope I gain Level when done."

"You want some help?" Tiol asks.

"Just food when done," I shake my head. "Should be able kill all the rats, right?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Take a break if you feel you need it."

"Will do."

Tiol leaves, and I go to dungeons with Hex floating beside me. He real nice. Good. Looker 2. Nice Looker.

Not very talkative, though. Make tell me what he sees hard to do. Need get stronger talk telepathically, Tiol told me. Level 5 Warlock, minimum 100 Intellect, Tiol said.

Working on it.

Warlock and Fire Student and Fire Adept all increase INT. Exerciser and Bottom Boy don't. Those be more physical Classes. Good for making body stronger and heal faster. Tiol train me so I get stronger, too. Got some muscle now. Unlike month 'go, when Kyle and Braden show up.

Oh. Forgot tell Tiol got Bottom Boy last night. Not sure what he was doing when I went to bed. Keep forgetting tell him when I see him.

I tell him later, it be good.

Now in Dungeons, I look 'round. Bars and stuff be all rusty, and missing in some spots. Rats not too big, look at me curiously. Probably wondering how I taste.

How do they taste?

Not very good. Maybe I cooked too much with that Fireball?

Nope. Next one less-cooked, still taste bad. Still pinkish meat, though. Maybe not cook enough.

I determine rats don't taste good as food, and so just kill them. It takes me a couple of hours to kill all the rats, but I do it. I'm all sweaty now, though. Need wash off. Don't like being dirty anymore. Being clean is good. It makes skin feel nice and healthy.

Healthy is good, Tiol said. That is good.

After killing all the rats, I go to the bath and heat the water up, then go in it. Hex hover in front of me, staring at me. I stare back. We stare until I blink, then Hex spins in circle before moving to beside me and relaxing there.

Braden joins me in the bath. He's nice. Kyle still not like me much, but Braden does. Braden good. Kyle sometimes bad.

"You seem happy," Braden says.

"Got stare!" I nod. "And when cleaning Dungeons, Fire Student got Level 5! Both good!"

"Stare?" He asks. "Is that why you and Hex stare at each other a lot?"

"Yeah!" I nod. "Stare lets me stare longer without blinking!"

"Most people don't even bother going after such mundane Skills," Braden says. "They usually aren't used for much, and will come naturally, if you're someone who'll end up with it."

"Tiol not like Hex stare him down," I say. "So I want do it, too! We both stare at him, maybe he let us ride on his shoulders!"

"Fuck," a voice says behind us, and I look and see Tiol standing there. "You're still wanting to do that?"

"Yeah!" I nod.

Braden told me 'bout it. Was telling me 'bout parents doing that for their kids. It sounds fun, and I want to do it.

"I'm not letting you ride on my shoulders," Tiol says, and I stare at him. Hex does, too. "That's not going to work on me."

We continue to stare at him, and he fidgets. That good. It mean the stare is working.

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes," Tiol says, then leaves.

I look at Braden.

"He was giving in," I say. "He do it, soon. For sure."

Braden and I get out of bath and dry off. Tiol acquired towels for us to use to dry off. I can use my flames, too, but the towels are soft and fluffy and feel good. Braden dresses. He allowed to wear clothes. Kyle isn't, though. Kyle's bad too much. But Braden is good, and nice, and so Tiol said to let him wear clothes.

Maybe throw Kyle in dungeons, now that they cleaned up. Lots of dead rats everywhere, but they get removed eventually. Maybe make Kyle do it.

"What did you do with the rats?" Braden ask as we walk to the Dining Hall. "From the dungeons, I mean."

"Kill them."

"I meant their corpses."

"They still there," I say. "Maybe ask Kyle remove them, later. He make me mad."

"What did he do?" Braden asks.

"He upset Hex," I tell him. "He stare at Hex this morning. Hex got upset. Didn't like it. He kept staring. Need to ask Tiol if there's a way to remove the ashes and stuff, though. Burned some all the way up. Also tried eating, but rats taste bad. Kyle figure out remove ashes on own. No need ask Tiol."

"Use a broom and dustpan," Braden tells me. "Tiol may have 'acquired' them when he raided that village. I wouldn't put it past him to have them stored here somewhere, so that they could be used when needed."

"Maybe," I say. "Make Kyle ask."

"Tiol doesn't like Kyle."

"Tiol doesn't like you, either," I say, and we enter the Dining Hall. Kyle already here. "You upset Hex. You no get dinner. Go clean out the dungeons."

"There are tons of rats in there!" Kyle protests. "I can't do that!"

"They all dead," I tell him. "Go clean the dungeons. Then maybe you get food. Or you eat rats from Dungeon, though they all dead awhile, and just sitting there. Taste bad when fresh, so not like it's different or anything."

Kyle huffs and remains seated, and Hex and I stare at him. He huffs again, but gets up and leaves. A few minutes later, Tiol starts serving dinner for us. It's some sort of meat cooked with vegetables. He asks where Kyle is.

"Cleaning the dungeons," I tell him. "He make me mad."

"Ah," he says.

We eat dinner, and halfway through, Kyle comes running into the Dining Hall, looking terrified.

"There's an imp in the dungeon!" He yells.

"That's Tim," I nod. "He be bad, so he's in time-out."

"You resummoned him?" Tiol asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "While I killing the rats. I put him in a cell and tell him stay. No allowed hurt or kill self. Make sure he no try get back to Demon Realms, where he lives. Though Hex likes being here, so he live here, now. As long as he stay mine, that is. Or someone kill him. But someone kill him, I just summon him back and kill them."

Except Kyle. Kyle get punishment instead of death.

Tiol nods, and we go back to eating. He cooks good. Braden and Kyle both amazed by it, say he really, really good, and that they were surprised a Demon could cook good food, especially an Archdemon. Tiol got real mad at them for that, and Braden said he just figured that an Archdemon wouldn't have need of cooking, and any cooked foods he had, they would be prepared for someone else.

Kyle just said that he thought Demons just hit it with fire or ate it raw or while still alive. That sound D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G.

Braden's teaching me to spell. He said that's how to spell 'disgusting'. I asked him how to. He didn't want to, but I poke him until he do.

Tiol want to beat Kyle for saying that, so I punished Kyle. Tiol probably kill Kyle, beating him. He need learn restraint. Lots of restraint. Kyle stay. He not good at sex, but not bad either, but he still not-bad at sex, and he good at healing.

Healing real useful when I hurt myself while exercising. Or accidentally burn myself. Tiol said I probably get Fire Resistance soon, though my Classes make me a little resistant to fire already, so it probably take longer because of that.

"What the fuck?" Kyle asks. "You sent me down there to do something so disgusting, and there's a fucking imp down there, too?"

"You no eat," I say. "Until dungeons are all cleaned-up and pretty. As pretty as they can be. Tiol say things can be pretty, too, like people. Make dungeons clean and pretty, and they be good. You no get eat until then. You eat before then, you get punished worse, and get locked in cell. If cells lock. If not, Tiol just make new bars. Then he break them, when it time to let you out, since he not able to make things like locks with his magic. I let him smack you once, but he no allowed smack hard and kill you. You need stay alive to heal me when I get hurt."

Kyle stomps off, and I look at Braden.

"Why he still able to do holy stuff when you can't?"

"His faith hasn't wavered," Braden tells me. "And he prays and meditates daily, in the hopes that we can be rescued from you two, that our patron god will send someone here to free us. He knows it likely won't happen, with an Archdemon present, for a very long time, if ever, but he does it anyway."

"So you pray, you stay holy?"

"Not quite," he says. "I lost my holy powers because my faith in our patron wavered. Right now, my Class is pretty much useless, because I don't have faith in any particular god at the moment. I know they exist, but since we weren't shielded from finding our way here, I can't help but wonder if we meant nothing to our patron."

"There's always the possibility," Tiol says. "That your patron intended for us to meet, even if I'm an Archdemon. I can only stay here for so long. Eventually – though it could be decades – I'll fade away, returning back to the Demon Realms on my own. The more power I use, the faster it'll happen. Yes, I am raising and training Leif so that he could one day summon me on his own, in the hopes that he reaches that point before the power allowing me to remain here expires, but it's also possible I could be gone sooner. If a dragon attacked here, I would, without a doubt, use up all the remaining power to protect Leif. That would leave Leif by himself, and with his somewhat childish mind, he would probably starve to death. It's entirely possible your patron – or another – wanted you here, to watch over Leif. The fact that the six moons are present tells me there are changes coming, and unusual events are bound to happen."

"Six?" I ask, looking at my fingers. "One, two, three, four five. There are five. Tiol – you need learn count."

"There are six," he says. "Itimar is hiding his presence, so while he's there, he'll only be sensed by Demons. There likely aren't many Demons around who remember him. The last time he was around was when someone unlocked… could it be?"

"What?" I ask. "Could what be what?"

"The reason Itimar is overlooking the world himself," Tiol answers. "It's possible it's the same reason as last time. And the time before. And the time before. It's only happened three times in the past."

"Which is what?" Braden asks.

"Not something that will probably be happening," Tiol says. "Though it is the reason I got sealed up – without that dwarf's powers, they wouldn't have been able to seal me. That, and the dragon's attack. Individually, I probably could have handled it, but combined? That was too much for me.

"The only way," Tiol continues talking. "For me to confirm for sure what is going on is to enter the Demon Realms, or if something happens."

"Okay," I say. "So when you going on trip to Demon Realms?"

"I can't," he says. "Only certain types of Demons can move between them freely, and I'm not one of them. I need to be summoned in some form – either as a contract, or through a ritual. It's a rule the gods set into the universe to prevent beings like me from being able to just come out and attack."

"So you go back," I say. "I need summon you? Teach me how?"

"You don't have the Mana capacity to contract me," he says. "Nor to perform the ritual to summon me otherwise. I was summoned as a Familiar last time, which is why I'm still around. The foolish mortal who summoned me could have only sustained me here for about a minute, otherwise."

"Use Kyle," I say. "He got more Mana than me. He contract you, then I kill him, so you keep wandering."

"Won't exactly work that way," Tiol says. "Anyway, you should finish dinner, then take another bath. You got a little messy."

"Yeah!" I nod. "Then Braden and I gonna go bed. Hurry up and finish eating, Braden! We go take 'nother bath!"