Chương 55: [1.55] At a Crossroads (Part 1)

"Cherub, it's fine." Angelica groaned while watching her cat stare warily at the automatic feeder. He was likely put off by the grinding noise it had made when dispensing the food, but he'd learn to love the noise in time. Maybe he just wasn't hungry, since he'd just had his wet food a while ago, but the boy was always hungry.

"I'm not gonna just sit here until you eat, okay?" [Hunger Resistance Lv. 2] [Vigor increased] [Famine Attunement increased] Well, that was weird timing. It definitely wasn't due to staring at the bowl of cat food, just a coincidence! Thinking back, she remembered clearing her stomach during her adventures in babysitting. Angelica hadn't eaten anything since then, lost in her usual day's activities, meaning she'd been running on literal empty for most of a day.

Perhaps being used to eating so little, coupled with her Demon constitution and resistances, made it easy to forget about the basic function. If she ever did get a Satiation Rune, or whatever it was called, there was a good chance she'd stop eating routine meals entirely and just partake when she wanted something for the taste. But for now, dinner for herself, and she also went and grabbed a few freshly purchased treats.

Since she was actually making money, the household expenses would allow for proper kitty treats in the budget, a luxury that the orange tabby had never really known. So she sprinkled a few of the tasty snacks on the food bowl and left him to it. He'd figure it out, since she was planning to head out for more Demon work. Speaking of money, though. Angelica grabbed one of the weird bills off of her desk from the previous night's pay and stuffed it into her mouth once more before changing into her Imp form.

She'd spent a little bit of time researching it, trying to figure out what denomination it was, but never got anywhere. After scrolling through a third page of currencies while making no progress, she gave up in favor of doing anything else. Whatever country it came from was probably a small one. Though it hadn't seemed any less advanced then where she lived. Hell, the neighborhood she'd bounced through was probably nicer than her own, classic suburbia with decently priced houses.

Oh, well, if she really got desperate for money, she could take it to her new bank and let them figure it out. But really, since she was no longer strapped for finances, she'd rather keep it as a memento. Still, hopefully, today's task would pay a little better. And while the greed side of her was definitely hanging heavy, she also wanted to do something a bit… nicer? Gelic could say that she "helped" Wicca by getting her some revenge, but she'd like something a bit more clear-cut on the good side of things.

Alright, Divining Ear. Yesterday you did what I asked, even though I gave you scuff for it. So today, please find me a job that will really help someone out with whom I can negotiate a proper reward. Eh… huh? She suddenly felt a Summons calling, but it was silent, no words, no guidance of any kind about who was summoning her or what they wanted. All Angelica got was a very vague mental image of a… Plus sign? Do you want me to do math? DGS, my Divining Ear is broken! Whatever.

It hadn't led her astray the night before… mostly, so she'd trust it again and see what happened. I accept the call. The air around her shifted, suddenly becoming a lot more hot and dry. And on top of that, the world was a lot brighter, almost blinding. It had been evening at her apartment, and that had been a bit dimly lit, but still very visible. Now the sun was blaring down with scorching light that instantly made her want something cool to drink.

Thank goodness for the Hydration Rune, or she felt like she'd get dehydrated and overheated in minutes. Gelic was standing in the middle of a desert. Which desert? Frits if she knew. There was nothing around that gave her any sort of indication. No landmarks, no buildings, no looming towers in the distance. Well, there was one thing, the only other thing for miles—some schmuck, assumedly her Summoner.

He wasn't completely by himself, either, since his car was a few feet away, a pretty nice one, way too nice to be out in this arid dusty climate; a rental, perhaps. Where there were cars, though, wouldn't there also be roads? She glanced down, examining the pavement she'd overlooked earlier. It was coated lightly in sand, clearly a path not often travelled. And actually, it wasn't just one road, but two, where they met perpendicularly before carrying on their own way. The Demon was at… a crossroads.

Also notably on the ground, or rather, not on the ground, was the absence of a Summoning Circle. There had been no attempt to bind her, either. This was not a traditional Summons, which would likely explain why there was no proper call. I see, so apparently there is some merit to the fairytales about Demons and crossroads.

"Hello, there," she called out to the man. His attention and gaze suddenly snapped to the Puffball, as if he couldn't see her before. Well, if he was going out of his way to use this unstandardized method of summoning, odds were he wasn't a proper Summoner. One of those pretentious pricks wouldn't go through the trouble of coming out to this Vissiem forsaken place.

"A Demon… I think," the man muttered. His face tumbled through a myriad of expressions: terror, confusion, relief, and then confidence.

"Very well. Let's make a deal, Demon. I'll give you my soul if you grant my request!" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Err, uhh, okay, hold up, let's slow down." Gelic waved her arms, attempting to placate the sudden tension.

"First off, what the heck would I want with your soul? We Demons deal in Essence, got it memorized? Well, I also deal in cash, but that's more of an exclusively me thing. As for a soul, yeah, I'll pass. Well, unless there's some way to convert it to Essence, but I don't think I can do that myself. Normally, it's something you humans do. Still, what could you possibly want that'd be worth basically dying for?"

"I want… I want you to save my son's life!" The man took a heavy step forward, filled with such conviction that only a father who'd give everything for their child could have. There was definitely no reason to doubt him.

"He only has a few days left to live if we're lucky, depending how long until his heart gives out for good. There's been quite a few scares already. I… I feel terrible not being there for him right now, but I have to do what I can in my own way. If it's Essence, fine, you can have however much my soul will give."

"Woof, that's heavy." Gelic took a moment to process all that had been spouted at her.

"So your son has a bad heart, and he is likely waiting on some donor list. Needless to say, it's not looking good. Sorry, but it's not as if I can just cure him. I don't have the power to go 'magic, magic, make it better,' and then, bam, he's fine." That immediately made the man's face go sour. His likely last ditch effort quickly was turning into a futile endeavor.

"Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, that doesn't mean I can't help you in some other way. Something tells me that this isn't your first stop on this trip. You don't seem like the kinda guy who'd just drive out to the middle of the desert and bet it all on some mystical creature as a first move. So what else have you done, something that might not have panned out as you'd hoped?" He winced slightly from the comment, a good chance it was only just now dawning on him how insane it was.

"Can't say begging a Demon at a crossroads was ever in my plan. Hell, I wasn't expecting anything to happen—something I'd heard in the wings. This was just… a moment of weakness from frustration. To think that there was some truth to it.

"I was out here for something else. My son and wife aren't even in this country. They're back home, at a hospital. I came here… There was a heart for sale, one that I was promised would work, its compatibility cleared with an associate of mine. So I flew all the way out here, and scuff, it was real. They took it out and showed it to me, perfectly preserved in some fancy container. And then…

they jacked up the price, six times what we initially agreed, saying there was another buyer, and that I only have until tonight to come up with it before they sell it.

"That's well out of my budget, and I don't have the kind of time to even think about how to get that much. Even if I could get them to agree to hold the sale, my son won't last that long, nor would the heart. Even kept in cryo like they have it, from what I understand, since they said they got it two days ago, it only has about three more before it will become completely unusable, less when removed from their high-tech containment. And before you ask, no, I don't know where they got it. I don't wanna know."

By the sounds of it, this certainly wasn't the most legal procurement of organs, but Gelic wasn't going to pry about it, nor would she fault him for turning to such a crowd in desperate times. So they were dealing with criminals. She could work with that.

"How much were you going to pay for the heart?" she inquired"Ten thousand, cash." Holy frits! Gelic wouldn't be surprised if money signs appeared in her eyes.

"Y-yeah, that'll do. Let's make a deal, indeed. For ten thousand, I'll get you that heart, and I'll even help you get it back to the hospital, since I imagine trying to take an organ through customs would bring all sorts of problems. And if you can get me some Essence, sure, I'll take that, too." Really, it was the kind of thing Gelic honestly felt like she should do for free. Saving a kid, giving baddies their comeuppance.

But at the end of the day, she had to eat, too, and this was some sketchy and dangerous stuff, even if it came across as morally okay. Plus, the guy had the money, and was willing to spend it.

"Fine, Demon, if you get me the heart, save my son, I'll give you everything you ask." [Crossroads Contract accepted | Current Contract: Retrieve and deliver a functioning human heart to the designated location | Reward: $10, 000 and as much Essence as reasonably possible] Interesting. The DGS labelled this as a special kind of Contract, and even it didn't know how much Essence this dude could give. Well, they'd figure out the specifics when the job was done.

"Shotgun!" Gelic suddenly called out and hastily hustled her way to the car, hopping into the passenger's seat.

"What are you doing, Demon?" her new master asked when he pulled open the driver's door.

"Waiting for you to take me to the heart people, duh," she scoffed at his ignorance.

"I don't know where they are, what they look like. What if it's a lot of people? How will I know who to rob?" Well, her Order would help a bit, but she'd rather have this man come along regardless, to keep an eye on him, and ensure he didn't do anything else rash like summon more Demons.

"And you can stop calling me Demon. We're partners in this now. I'm Gelic, and you are?" She already knew because of Scrying Eye, but it was still polite to ask." Grahj." He put up no more complaints and slid into the car, starting up the engine. Meanwhile, Gelic felt a little tingle in her earholes, instinctually knowing a very important truth. He was no Summoner indeed, because he had foolishly given out his real name.

She honestly had no idea what she could really do with that information, but understood that she held a lot of power by knowing it at all. Good thing she wasn't the more scheming type.

"Alright, Grahj. Let's go get your son that heart."