Sinners' Kingdom #1: The Book of Lust (Complete)

8

I knew what demons were. I even knew a little about their hierarchy, though the exact titles and names were too far back and faded in my memory to ever recall. But never in my life had I ever, ever encountered one before.

Juliet Hatter, however, didn't want to believe that.

"Any dabbling in dark magics will affect your susceptibility to these things. I am not your enemy, and I am not going to report you to some witch council for black magicking like it's the 1600s. I need you to be honest with me and tell me under what circumstances you might have ever established contact."

"Juliet!" I snapped. "I! Did! Not! Summon! Any! Demons!"

"That you know of. Demon summoning can be achieved through a multitude of ways, and some unknowingly. If you've ever experimented with spells you didn't truly understand when you were younger, or if you ever associated even briefly with others who might have been practitioners, that could have exposed you enough to cause this issue. But this is no ordinary demon, either. As I said, it's a Prince of demons, the absolute highest echelon of demonic entities in existence. That means it's all the more critical that you be transparent with me."

"I have been transparent!"

"Have you ever wanted to bargain your soul for something? When you were a child, maybe?"

My jaw dropped. Bargaining my soul — did she think I was an idiot? I couldn't even speak. Shock and outrage suffused my face with cherry-red heat, but before I could lash out at her with a stinging retort, she leaned back in her armchair and breathed a short sigh of relief.

"Never mind. That's answer enough. Then we can rule that possibility out, I guess..."

"You really thought I'm stupid enough to sell my soul to a demon!"

"I'm not insulting your intelligence, believe me. You're obviously sharp and knowledgeable even though it's been a long time since you've been active in the community—"

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"Not at all. For you, the education you received makes it unthinkable to fall to such a low, but not everyone has that luxury. Some are conned into selling their souls for shallow knickknacks and empty rewards because they really don't know any better. They think they can game the system or that it's worth the price. Intelligent people, Sable. They're not stupid, just misinformed. The last year has seen a strong surge in it, so I needed to be sure."

Oh, right. She knew my name now, since the so-called Prince of demons had yodeled it in my dream in front of her. Rest in pieces, Sandalwood pseudonym.

"Well, it's not up for debate," I said sharply. "I don't mess around with soul contracts. I never have and never will. Anyway, I don't have magic, so I can't invoke demons above the tenth class anyway. So it's a non-issue."

"No need to be defensive, I understand... Though you do have magic, it's just not hatched yet. But let's not split hairs. The only way for us to find out what's going on here is to delve into some research, and I'll reach out to some colleagues here while we do that. Are you aware of the Faustian movement happening? I think that'll be a good point to start investigating."

She stood without waiting for an answer, and I jumped to my feet to follow her out of the living room. The crackling of the fireplace faded behind us as we entered a narrow hallway with numerous doors packed close together on either side. It was no surprise when she opened one of them and ushered me into a giant library. The grand ceiling curved with grand wooden arches and a hundred tall shelves full of books, a castle hidden inside the small home. Impressive, but not mind-boggling. My grandmother's house had been a lot like this, and I'd guessed at it when I had first arrived. Witches and spelled houses came as a package deal.