I stood outside of Shadows of Salem; the local Witchcraft store. It was typically a place where all the weird Goth kids who scowled at me from their little corners in high school would typically hang out after school. I usually steered clear of the place, it just gave me the creeps. I sighed, pushing the door open.



"Haner?" Came a familiar voice from behind the counter. "Never thought I'd see you in here."

Cassie. She'd been in my class, usually seated in the back corner, her head bowed over her sketchbooks, scribbling crazy images and mumbling to herself. It came as no surprise that this would be where she wound up working when she graduated.



Her formerly all-black hair was now purple on the bottom half, and she was dressed in a white t-shirt with a black camisole layered over the top, black fishnet gloves covered her arms up to her elbows. She'd never kicked the habit of smearing as much black eyeshadow around her eyes as possible, and a metallic blue colour coated her thin lips.

"I'm looking for some black cat bones." I informed her.
"Wow." she raised an eyebrow. "That's quite morbid."
"I figure if there's any place I could find them, it'd be here."
"Pretty heavy stuff, Haner." she smirked. "Black magic."
"Do you have any, or not?" I growled.
"Of course." she knelt down behind the counter, and retrieved a small bag of tiny bones. "What're you up to?" she asked.
"None of your goddamn business."
"Alright." she chuckled. "No need to be so snippy, but this stuff's no joke." her tone grew serious. "Be careful."
"I appreciate your concern." I said, pulling out my wallet. "How much?"
"For you?" she grinned. "I'll go fifteen dollars."
I passed her the money. "Done."
"Be safe!" she called out as I went to leave the store.
"Always am!" I waved her off...

***

Next had been a visit to the graveyard where my Grandfather was buried. I'd gathered up some of the dirt in a tiny glass bottle, sealing it with a cork. I'd made my way back home at sunset, staring out at the open highway as my mind processed what I was planning to do.

I slowed down as I passed a familiar figure on the side of the road. She was of medium height, slender, and chocolate brown hair fell in waves down to her waist. She was dressed in a form-fitting black hooded jacket and blue skinny jeans that were incredibly flattering on her figure.

Michelle...

My High School crush, one half of the Dibenedetto twins. Her blonde sister, Valary, was currently dating Matt. I'd always watched Michelle from a distance, adoring her, but never having the courage to go up and speak to her. Why would she want anything to do with me? I was just scrawny Brian Haner Jnr, nothing special...

***

The sun was setting, casting an orange glow across the desert lands of Nevada. I'd told my father that I'd be staying at Jimmy's overnight, and he'd let me take his car. I always thought my first trip out this way would be to party it up in Vegas, but instead, I was on my way to make probably one of the most foolish decisions of my life.

I found a Motel and booked myself into a room to pass a few hours before Midnight. As I laid back on the cheap bed staring at the roof, my mind raced; What the fuck was I thinking? Messing with the occult? How did I even know that any of this was real? Maybe I should just go home. This was ridiculous.

You've come this far, don't back out now...

Was I really ready to face the Devil? Would I be able to handle gazing upon the very root of all Evil? And if all of this really was some dumb legend, then I would just be some crazy fool who drove out to the middle of the fucking desert at Midnight to bury some junk at a crossroads.

I sighed, rolling over onto my side; Maybe I was being ridiculous. But I'd busted my ass for years trying to get somewhere with music. You'd think I'd have had an easy ride given the success my father had had, but no. He'd refused to pull strings for me, telling me that I would only ever get what I wanted out of life through hard work.

But there was only so much hard work one could do...

***

Midnight. I'd found the crossroads I'd been looking for. Still unsure if this would even work. The Robert Johnson legend spoke of a crossroads in Mississippi, but I wasn't going to drive that far out on a hunch. How much difference could another location make, really? I doubted the Devil, as evil as he may have been, would be petty enough to not show up because it wasn't a specific crossroad. I shook my head.

Stop overthinking this, it's now or never...

I knelt down in the dirt, burying the small silver tin containing the ashes, cat bone and my high school prom photo. I stood up, brushing the dirt off my clothes, and waited... and waited... and waited... Nothing. Maybe this was just a giant waste of my time. Surely it wasn't supposed to take this long.

"Hello there." spoke a British accent.

I turned to face a man with super short, almost fully shaven hair. He was rugged in appearance, with a beard covering most of his face. He looked to be in his late 40's, maybe early 50's, and was wearing a black suit under a bulky black overcoat. His hands were in his pockets.

"Well, you're certainly not what I was expecting..." I commented.
"What were you expecting? Some sexy little blonde in a skimpy black dress?" he snarled.
"You're the Devil?"
"No kid." He snorted. "Luci hasn't made deals for years." he approached me and held out his hand. "Name's Crowley." He blinked, and his eyes turned red. "King of the Crossroads."
"King of the Crossroads?" I raised an eyebrow, shaking his hand. "Don't you think that sounds a little obnoxious?"
"You've got sass, kid." he noted. "I like you."
"I'm not a kid." I scowled.
"Alright, young man, then." he rolled his eyes. "What do you want? Why'd you summon me? What does your little black heart desire so badly, you'd sell your soul?"
"I wanna be a Guitar God." I said. "I want the world to know my name."
"Ahh." he grinned. "Yeah, I've heard this one before." he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "You heard the Robert Johnson legend, and now you wanna be some famous musician, correct?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, not at all, I can make that happen, definitely." he looked me in the eye, smirking. "You sure it's worth eternal damnation? There's a price to pay for the glamourous life of a rock star, mate."
"It's all I've ever wanted." I spoke, standing my ground. "I'll do whatever it takes."
He stared at me for a few moments, surveying me. "Alright." he held up his hand, and snapped his fingers. "It's done."
"I don't feel any different."
"Of course you bloody don't, play something!" he snapped, gesturing to the guitar bag on my back.

I unzipped the bag and removed my guitar from it, messing around for a few moments. My fingers danced over the fretboard with total ease; it was like breathing now. I tried to play Raining Blood again, and it barely required any effort. A huge grin spread across my face. Well I'll be damned; it actually worked.

"Hold on." Crowley said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You still need to seal the deal on your end."
"How?" I asked. "Do we shake, or?"
"No." he sniggered, approaching me.

He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me roughly. I almost gagged, ripping away from him.

"What the fuck?!"
"That's how we seal deals." he chuckled.
"That's twisted." I cringed.
"Oh don't be such a bloody homophobe, it's just a sodding kiss." he hissed, turning his back to me and beginning to walk away. "Oh, but one more thing..." he said, turning on his heel. "Ten years, that's how long this deal lasts for."
"What?!"
"Ten years." he smirked. "And it's too late to turn back now."
"You sneaky little bastard." I growled. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"I'm a bloody Demon." he rolled his eyes. "You think I'm gonna give away the one condition that'll jeopardize the whole deal before it's made? Ten years is a long time, enjoy it while it lasts."
He snapped his fingers, and he was gone.

"Son of a bitch!" I spat, kicking the dirt at my feet...

Notes

Enter Crowley!

I dunno how I feel about this chapter. I feel like my writing just isn't up to scratch with the standard I expect of myself, especially with this kind of genre. But maybe I'm just too critical of myself. I hope you guys are enjoying this so far.

Until next time! xx