Chapter Three

I stared blankly at the man outside my door. I definitely hadn’t ordered food, let alone the massive dog-like creature standing behind the deliveryman.

“Um… Are you sure you have the right house?” I asked weakly.

“My lord insists he must pay his debt.” The deliveryman flashed a smile, his eyes turning pale yellow for a split second. “The food is for sharing yours with him. Mayar here…well, protection and companionship.”

“But what do I feed him? How is he going to get into the house?” I looked up at the giant, intimidating canine. The black, house-sized dog with bright yellow eyes peered back at me and wagged his tail. His features were like that of a German Shepherd. “How has no one noticed him yet?”

“You needn’t worry about that, miss.” The man grinned. “Mayar here will fetch his own food. Specialized diet and all that. He can shape-shift, so if you’ll let him inside your house, he’ll take in a smaller form.”

“Well, of course, I wouldn’t want to leave him out in the rain but—” I squeaked, startled, when Mayar was engulfed in a puff of smoke. Moments later, he barreled into my house at the size of a German Shepherd.

“Only folks with magic affinity, or who’ve experienced the paranormal, can see him. Just act like he’s not there.” The deliveryman shrugged before holding out the packages of food to me. “Do you normally stay outside talking to delivery folk this long? No? Then take my master’s gifts and enjoy, Miss. Wouldn’t want your neighbors growing suspicious.”

“Right… Thank you.” I took the packages and looked at them like they were foreign objects, then headed back inside. Mayar pranced by with his nose to the floor, intent on investigating my small house.

Why was this my life now?

I didn’t know where to begin or what to do. Demons weren’t supposed to be real, yet I had summoned one. Now he was sending me food and a…a hellhound? I glanced at Mayar. He was too cute to be called a hellhound.

The smell of food wafted up from the containers, making my stomach grumble. There was no denying I was starving. Giving the demon…Aloryi man, my sandwich hadn’t gone unpunished. His angry face flicked through my mind and I tightened my grip on the food. He was good-looking, but it was hard not to fear him. He was an unknown and something I thought didn’t exist. Just what other inhuman species existed? Why were they underground?

I shook the thoughts from my head and moved to the kitchen. I fetched a plate before opening the boxes of food. Inside, I found a steak dinner and simply blinked at the food in disbelief for a moment. I had expected something simple, like a sandwich or fast food. Not a fancy meal.

My stomach gurgled. Right. I needed to eat it, not gawk at it.

I sat down at the kitchen table and considered, briefly, fetching my phone. Alas, there was little point. If Andrew was going to hang out with friends, then he wouldn’t be responsive anyway. The girls would all be busy with the baby shower all night.

Besides, it wasn’t like I could tell any of them what had happened. none of them would have believed me. Some of my coworkers might have, but they strongly believed demons were evil. Ugh.

I shoved a forkful of food in my mouth and practically melted on the spot. I wished I could cook like that.

When I was done eating, I went looking for Mayar and found him sniffing one if the chairs in my living room. Given the growling, he didn’t like the scent much.

“That’s Andrew’s chair,” I stated, watching Mayar turn to look at me and tilt his head. “You can understand me?” Mayar promptly barked and wagged his tail. “Andrew is my boyfriend.”

Mayar sniffed the chair again, then snorted in what sounded like disapproval. He trotted past me, sniffing everything as he went. I didn’t know what to make of the creature, so I plopped down on the sofa and sighed.

Summoning a demon via sandwich…yeah. No one was going to believe that.