Fear and Delight (Alastor x Reader)

Chapter 4

You waited patiently in the chair. Your cap and gown making you a bit hot as your class sat in the auditorium. You tapped your finger against your knee, tracing small signs into the other as it bounced up and down. The demon was on the stage with the speakers, making a fool out of them without their realizing it. You were trying so hard not to laugh. After the whole time of him tormenting you this is how he congratulates you from school.

You both had claimed the small abandoned house as your little slay shack as you came to call it. The demon hated what you called it but he couldn't do much about it. You slowly walked up to the stage, the demon smiling evilly at you.

We will have a celebration later, my dear. We do need a body first.

You didn't respond, taking the diploma and slowly walking back. The voice wasn't so horrible now that you've gotten used to it. The shadows twitching and the figure that he was didn't terrify you into standing still as much either. What did still terrify you though was the way the demon came and went as he pleased. Every time he showed up, the skies would redden and the streets would twist into what they weren't. The figures you'd see would come back in violent detail and then they'd be gone just as soon as he arrived.

It helped that you didn't talk to as many people as normal; they'd all become tools for the rituals the demon would teach you. At some point, it had egged on pushed for you to kill your parents. It egged it on with claims that the betrayal and pain in their eyes would make you feel more alive than you ever could. You refused repeatedly; they were the only ones that knew you just as intimately as the demon was becoming too.

You couldn't wait to be out of the graduation, walking home hadn't ever felt so good. The demon hung around your shoulder, using its cane to walk as it glanced about the street.

I say, does it ever get any more entertaining around here? It's like you're the only spark to this dreadful place.

"I'm only a spark because you encourage the killings," you muttered. An empty, hollow laugh sounded and you could only imagine what was running through the demon's mind as the shadows seemed to dance in tendrils hugging the sidewalk.

The fear in your eyes is what entertains me most. Especially when we first started on this little venture.

"This little venture wasn't a venture," you groaned. The demon placed its hand on your shoulder, drumming its fingers before pointing with a cane. You stiffened a bit, the child he was pointing at smiling and playing.

That is the next one. The heart will most definitely bring on more power.

"Why do we need it," you asked quietly. A single question that plagued your mind for a long while.

So the door you've given me stays open. I enjoy the walks I can take because of it.

"You take walks," you frowned a bit, mortified of the demon running loose.

Many of them. I abhor the musical choice of modern-day society. What happened to the liveliness of jazz?

"The world outgrew the happy go lucky feel," you shrugged. You watched the kid run a little way and a shiver went down your spine. "I don't want to hurt him."

Well, then what are you going to offer me this time, hm? I've put in my request.

"Can't it be a slightly older kid," you asked. The demon stared a moment, a soft hum coming from the eternal grin before it looked around again.

You can be such a bore some times.

"This isn't hell or wherever you're from," you sighed.

Hell is correct.

You frowned a bit at the blunt answer. That sort of thing brought questions of life after death to your mind and as much as you didn't like the thought, was that the type of place you were going? Of course, you didn't get into this contract on an aware mind but did it mean you couldn't be saved from hell?

Well, how about that woman right there? She doesn't look like she's got any connections and there's a two for one deal!

You looked up as he motioned at a young woman on the corner. Her stomach bulged out slightly and it made your knees go weak. "That's wrong on so many levels," you muttered.

I'll eat the fetus. You just worry about the hearts, my dear.

"That is not the problem," you snapped. You quickly covered your mouth, the hand on your shoulder gripping the back of your neck. You could feel the claws dance over the veins.

That woman is a drug addict. Not the best flavor, my pet, but it's more acceptable for you, is it not?

You felt your hands start to shake. At this point, with the bodies you had acquired with the demon, you couldn't tell if it was guilt, terror, or delight at the mere thought. You stared up at the demon for the first time this whole conversation and gave a small nod.

The blood was beginning to cool and crust from the air. It clung to your fingers as you sat in the middle of the couch. The fire was just now dying, the body before it lay in a circle made from its blood and the demon was hunched over what remained. Symbols decorated the walls, some new and some old but all in the browning of blood. You had gotten used to the smell of the rotting flesh. The demon stood, turning around and grinning at you before taking a deep breath and holding a hand out.

Come to me, my dear.

You stood and took its clawed hand, the demon pulling you in and a manic dance flowing to your feet as you two pranced about the body. The hearts had made you lethargic, whatever hunger the demon had created sated and your body feeling bloated. The demon began to hum, the radio in the room turning to an old station that most likely didn't play anymore. The music made you smile.

This whole situation made you smile in irony.

You seem to have finally accepted your end of the deal, darling.

You stared up at the demon. Its eyes pinched at the end in a bit of inquiry, a joy clear in the rest of him. You nodded a bit, the small smile on your face hurting your cheeks a bit as tears tickled the corner of your eyes. "I hate this," you whispered. "I hate it but I don't."

Why would you hate this, little pet?

The demon dipped you and you clung to it, your eyes widening at the officer standing in the door. You stood up straight, the demon making you continue in your dance. "Stop," you hissed quietly. The demon blinked and there rang a shot. You stiffened, holding your breath as something with a familiar warmth trailed down your abdomen. The demon growled, manifesting itself and turning on the officer as you held the wound.

It burned your insides. When your back started leaking is when you raised your head to watch as the demon tore into the officer. The warmth dispelled itself through your mouth and you felt it go down your back. The air that had been so warm was starting to feel cold. Your knees hit the floor with a thud, the demon was next to you in moments, lifting you and sitting you on the couch quickly as it stared at your face.

Well, it was quite fun while it lasted, little pet.

You stared at it, the smile on its face so very small compared to how it normally looked. You coughed when you tried to speak, the demon forcing your eyes closed with a chuckle.

Don't worry, my dear. We will see each other again. Much, much sooner than you think. After all-

The static rang in your ears as the coldness of the demon chilled your skin.

You are my soul to keep.