"We're tricksters, not monsters" he says as he places a hand gently on my cat. After a moment, he removes it and shakes his head. "Even if I heal him, there's only six months left. He's getting there in age."

"Six months is better than nothing" I plead. "If he's not in pain." The demon nods and chants a spell. Suddenly, my cat is up again, stretching slowly before jumping off the table and onto his chair. I hug the demon. "Thank you!" I exclaim.

"No problem. The spell will keep the cat alive and healthy for as long as the body will support him. In six months, he'll be gone. You should try to prepare." The demon leaves. I turn to my cat. "Well, Tabby, I've got you for another six months..." I pick him up and hold him against my chest. I can hear and feel his purring. I'll miss that... I'll miss you, Tabby...

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Thank you for reading! More stories here!

I did the same thing I did everyday. I woke up, tired and disoriented from another sleepless night. But the sight of sparrow next to me, purring and headbutting me for a pet, was enough to get me going. At least i had her. The rest of the day was auto pilot. A blur that looked like all the days that had come before it. Like clock work at 530, I walked through the door once again. I kicked off my shoes and bent down like I did everyday. But unlike every day, there was no sparrow running into my open arms. Just silence. The panic set in even before I knew what I was panicking about. And it only increased when I found her, curled and shaking underneath my bed. She tried to hide how sick she was, always thinking of me first. She tried to stand and meow but faltered and Colapsed. I couldn't disguise the sob that escaped my lips as she feebly purred and nudged her head in my direction. My baby. My best friend. My lifeline. I couldn't do this with her, I wasn't that strong. She was so good. So pure. I would give anything to take her pain away. Before I could think about it, I said the words I swore I would never say

"On my life, on my blood, I summon you to my aid"

For a moment nothing happened and I closed my eyes in defeat as I pulled sparrow in my lap.

"Please I need you"

The plea escaped in desperation.

"It's nice to see you again my darling"

The voice was low and rough and I felt a hand brush against my hair. Looking up he was exactly as I remember him. Tall and pale and beautiful. A true cliche.

"I know I swore I would never see you again but I need your help. Please"

I didn't look him in the face, I didn't need more pain.

"You can't let her suffer. She's too good for you to do that."

Ari wasted no time bending down and reaching out for sparrow. He picked her up gently, cradling her to his chest.

"I can feel she has a gentle soul, it makes sense that she would attach to you"

He holds her to his chest in a way that speaks of love and respect.

"Hello my sweet. I can see you fighting the pain for your human. Your so strong. Just hold on a moment longer and I promise to set you free."

He layed a single kiss on her head. Then turned to look at me. Out of instinct I went to look away but resistes and looked him in the eye.

"Her body is feeble and old. Even with my power I can't fix that"

His voice was so damn gentle I couldn't help the tears openly falling from my eyes.

"So I lose her"

I hated the way my voice shook.

"There is something I can do but it will come for a price."

He sounded so sad, so defeated, as he comforted sparrow.

"I'll do anything. Please help her"

I did my best to be strong.

"Come back to me. At least talk to me and I'll save her"

I let out a heavy breath. What he offered was a blessing and a curse. But if that was what it took for more time with sparrow I would take it.

"Save her and we can talk"

I rose from my place to lean against his chest. In a way it felt like I had never left his chest at all.

"Then we have a bargain"

he lowers his head to kiss my hair and I sighed. Maybe adding him to mine and sparrows space wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"Close your eyes my heart."

I felt him pull away from me. I heard his footsteps and my window open. I heard him mumble something and a feeble meow followed by a strong one. I heard him singing and felt chills work their way across my body as he released his power. I heard him approach and this time I didn't pull way when he touched me.

"Open your eyes."

When my eyes part the first thing I see is a kitten in aris arms where sparrow had been.

"Her body wouldn't survive but her spirit would so I Gave her a new body"

Ari gave me a soft smile that always broke my heart and handed the small bundle of fur over to me. The moment the big brown eyes looked at me as the little head pushed against my chest I knew my sparrow was back.

"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. I'll let you out of the bargain. You deserve that much. I just miss you"

Ari sounded so defeated that I took a step toward him. I couldn't let him go. For better or for worse he was back and I couldn't help feeling complete as I waked to him and let him wrap me in his arms, hesitantly at first but more confident afterwards. With sparrow between us and my head on his chest, I was ready to face the world.

As you finished chanting the last words needed for the spell to work the room is suddenly filled with light. As the light dimmed you saw someone or something standing in the middle of your makeshift array. You rejoiced the spell had worked maybe a demon can help you save your cat. You were about to tell him your wish when the demon as if seeing something in his peripheral vision abruptly turned around. You saw them screech in delight as they spotted your cat laying across her bed. They were about to pick your cat up when suddenly as if realizing something they stopped. "Why is she so weak?" they asked. Now you finally had time to say something "She's ill I summoned you to help me save her" you replied. The demon began cooing as they gently picked your cat up."Oh sweet little kitty let me help you" they said as they put their right hand in your cat. Their hand begins glowing, as a soft green hue enveloped your cat. When the demon released their hands your cat who seemed so weak just a few second ago was suddenly filled with vitality rubbing the demon's hand. You were filled with joy at the sight. "I thought demons were vile creatures?" you joked,"What who told you that?"they asked as if feeling offended, you laugh "I don't know prejudice I guess" shrugging your shoulder's.

THAT'S ALL THANK YOU IM SORRY FOR MY GRAMMAR ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.☺️☺️☺️

I slowly lit all the candles I had set out. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but I would do anything for my dear dog. Once all the candles were lit, I switched off the lights and closed all the curtains. This wouldn't work if there was any light besides that of the ring of candles. I quietly chanted the phrase that would summon the demon. There was no going back now.

A gust of wind that seemed to come from nowhere blew all the candles out. I couldn't see a thing. I heard a small whine come from my sick dog and when I turned to look at her, there was a creature kneeling in front of her. There seemed to be light emanating from it. It turned towards me and started for a second. The demon looked nothing like how I imagined it would. It looked human, but something within me told me wasn't.

"What's wrong, little dog?" it asked, its voice coming out in a rasp.

"She has cancer. I summoned you here to heal her. I would do anything for-"

It interrupted me. "You need not pay me anything."

This confused me. All my life I had heard stories about people summoning demons and having to give up parts of themselves for their needs to be met. I had expected it would take some of my life away or ask for something that would be difficult for me to live without. This behavior was so unexpected.

The demon began petting Honey and whispering something in a language I had never heard before. When it went quiet, she jumped off the couch and started running around just as she used to as a puppy. I hadn't seen her so excited in weeks. Lately, she had only had enough energy to get up every once in a while to eat or drink.

"Why is there no price?" I asked before it could leave. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"No trick," it replied. "Had you or any other mortal summoned me for anything else, the price would have been extreme. But I just love animals and calling a creature from the depths of hell to save your dog is either the bravest or the stupidest thing I've ever seen any mortal do."

Before I could say anything, the demon disappeared. The lights in the house turned back on of their own accord, and everything looked and felt as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I called Honey over and she ran over and basically jumped into my lap just like she used to do.

“I’ll miss you buddy, this really hurts.” said the concerned Man while looking over at his dog’s lifeless body. He’d thought about this moment several times, and now it seems it finally happened. This dog had seen him grow up, graduate, and succeed. But none of that mattered now, every feeling was overshadowed by extreme guilt and sadness. Salty tears and whispered words was enough to attract Dark Entities who preyed upon desperate humans looking to make deals.

The cold shadow stood over both Man and Dog quietly observing the spectacle that summoned it. At first, it wanted to harshly rip away the dying animal’s soul and harvest the owner’s negative feelings. “No.” exhaled the figureless shadow while closely looming over the sick animal. It realized this Dog was blind and suffering everyday. The only thing keeping it alive was the owner’s love and affection. It was essentially running on sheer will. Very admirable creature who has a Pure Soul that is worth far more than anything the human can offer.

With just a murmur of it’s cold breath, it raises the Canine to it’s feet and then commands it to play dead.

My first story.. hoping it's not too bad.

​

Rather excited, but also a bit scared of what might come next, you said the final words, trying to mimic the sorcerers from the various fantasy movies you've seen. Then, just like in the movies, the candles somehow blew out by themselves, and a reddish smoke filled the room, while you were looking there sitting on the floor, praying and holding your breath in anticipation.

But... you didn't see anything else. The smoke just disappeared, and the candles lighted up once again, all at the same time. You were almost crying, thinking all the effort just went in vain. That is, until you heard the cat purring right behind you -- she hasn't done that in, like, the last week at all, and all of a sudden... You turn around.

"AAA--" you were scared, and screamed after seeing the demon right before your eyes, already having forgotten it was you who summoned them in the first place. But the fear went away rather fast, because they were not actually scary, it's just that.. you didn't really expect them to be here. "didn't I.. fail trying to do the ritual? well, looks like I didn't".

"Yeah, you did not." the demon said continuing to pat your poor cat. "But what's the deal with your cat? She doesn't look too well."

"This.. is the reason why I wanted to summon you in the first place. See, she is, like, terminally ill, the doctor said.. This is the first time I heard her purr in a week." Then, after a moment of silence, you finally asked them: "Can you.. heal her? Even if for some amount of time only... I want her to live, live to the fullest.. without pain", and the demon has seen the tear running down your face while you were saying that.

"Well, we are not exactly specialized in healing, but this poor little thing really looks like she's gone through a lot.. I'll try my best, okay?" The demon looked at you. They looked concerned for her, about to give all they can and even more.. just to let her be free of the pain. You stepped away to give them more space to work and maybe to get a little bit safer if the things go wrong.

The demon said some words in a foreign language not sounding like anything you've ever heard (and you have heard quite a few languages before), and started drawing some sort of picture made of a few glyphs, connected together. "Maybe this is how they do magic", you thought to yourself, coming closer to get a nicer look of the thing. After finishing the art, the demon placed their hand on it and closed their eyes. You were waiting in anticipation, rather excited for the demon to finish whatever they were doing, sitting on the floor looking at them. What felt like an eternity was just a minute that has passed, and then.. Your dear cat got covered in a greenish substance for a moment, just barely enough for you to notice it, and literally once you did it just disappeared. But it had some kind of effect on the cat.. For a moment she looked and felt rather dizzy, but soon after she was what looked like fully healed! She got up from the bed and jumped first to the demon's, and then to your lap, as lively as ever before the illness.

"You're welcome", the demon said while you were speechless. And drew another thing made from those same glyphs you've seen, touched it, and disappeared -- probably, to wherever they were from. You didn't even get a chance to say "thank you"...

[WP] Your dear pet is ill and as a last resort you summon a demon to heal them. What you did not expect was for the demon to be equally concerned for the wellbeing of the animal before any contract was signed.

I looked into the ancient book once again, double-checking my work. All the sigils and seals were in their proper places, all sacrificial items were of the highest quality, fresh, and in one case, alive. It seemed all that I had left to do was recite the words, spill some blood, and the demon would be summoned. I had ringed the area with battery powered LED lamps for illumination. It was dark in the warehouse, after all.

I took a shaky breath. Any mistakes could spell certain doom for me, but most especially for Rocky. I’d long since run out of options to take care of him. None of the doctors could determine why a healthy two-year old mutt would suddenly lose weight and decline the way he did. They all told me to simply prepare for the inevitability of losing him, but I wasn’t ready. He was all I had left of my father after his battle with cancer. Steeling myself, and recalling my pronunciations, I readied the razor-sharp blade that I’d crafted and honed myself out of the requisite materials.

I raised my arms in supplication and spoke. “Magne et potens daemon de regnis imis, coniuro et abiurabo, nunc mihi appare!” The air began to vibrate within the circle. It was working! I took my fear and excitement, and compartmentalized it within. I still had work to do and the hardest part was yet to come. I readied my blade over my forearm, and spoke again, shaving a swath of hair from my arm. “Gusta carnum meam, et cognosce me, o magne et fortis daemon!” I cast it into the circle, where it vanished in a puff of smoke. A glowing, swirling disk of red light appeared at the center of the circle, in the floor, lazily spinning about. I shivered, knowing I had to do two more repetitions, with different items. Clearing my throat, I intoned a second time “Magne et potens daemon de regnis imis, coniuro et abiurabo, nunc mihi appare!” A faint rumbling was heard, and the entirety of the old warehouse I had snuck into began to tremble. The circle rose and fell three times. Each time it did, the outline of…something appeared momentarily, then disk vanished. I drew the razor-sharp blade across the back of my forearm, neatly parting my flesh. I sheathed the blade and, drawing a small, thin-walled vial from within my robes, captured the freely flowing blood. I corked the bottle and cast it into the circle as well, watching as it halted in mid-air, and slowly tumbled about. “Bibe sanguinem meum, et cognosce desideria mea, domine magne et magnanime profunde!” The cork popped free, and the bottle tipped back in a 45 degree angle, and my blood simply…disappeared. I watched, somewhat horrified as the remaining traces of my blood were methodically removed. I swallowed audibly as the glass fell to the floor, shattering. I quickly applied a styptic to my wound, and then wrapped my arm in gauze, not wanting to stain the floor with my blood. Raising my arms a third, and final, time, I spoke the words to conjure the demon again. “Magne et potens daemon de regnis imis, coniuro et abiurabo, nunc mihi appare!” The center of the circle seemed to bend and dip in two places. Cracks could be seen radiating out from the circle, but never touching it. I picked up the piglet I had raised for the past three months, feeling it squirm mightily. I dared not sedate it, as I needed it fully aware and alive for this process. “Accipe hoc sacrificium, et utere coram me appare, potentissime ac benevole domine dominationis vestre.” I took a half-step back, and launched the heavy piglet into the circle, whereupon it halted, as if caught in a spider’s web. I watched, terrified, as the piglet was turned this way and that, squealing in fear. Its cries were cut short, as its head was seemingly, slowly bitten off. The blood of the piglet flowed down the body of the demon, making it partly visible in a terrifyingly slow reveal. The piglet was held aloft, upside down, and gently milked of its life-giving fluid, and then consumed in a macabre spectacle. The blood flowed down the creature’s body, far more than should have been possible, revealing a rather human looking woman, with a large pair of leathery wings at her back that pulsed gently. She had a pair of curled ram’s horns jutting out from the sides of her head. Her body was lithe and fit, her legs appeared to be those of a goat’s from the knee down. She was dressed in a fine leather corset, decorated with some of the most intricate scrollwork I’d ever seen. Her lower body was clad in a thin, short skirt, with a cutout for her long, spade-tipped tail. As I stared, transfixed, the blood began to flopw up towards her mouth, and she swallowed it greedily, like a man lost in the desert. Her eyes opened, the irises a brilliant, almost glowing, shade of violet, and she faced me, gazing at me like a wolf would a lost lamb. I shook my head, trying to steel myself for the final part of the summoning. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I placed my right hand over my heart, and bowed to a thirty degree angle. “Ave, et salvete daemonium potentem!”

I held my position until she spoke. “Rise, mortal. Look upon me, and speak.” I swallowed and rose from my bow, meeting those enchanting eyes. “I bid you Well Come to Earth and the mortal plane, My Lady.”

“Thank you, pet. Now, Why have you disturbed me? I know you seek health and life for one dear to you, but I do not see them in evidence.” I looked around, realizing that Rocky had apparently wandered off.

“Ahh… one moment. He seems to have wandered off. My deepest apologies for this delay. May I go fetch him, My Lady?”

She made a shooing motion and smirked at me, then began examining her long nails. I hurried off, calling my dog’s name. “Rocky? Rocky! Where are you, bud?” I clapped my hands and gave a sharp whistle, which echoed in the empty confines of the warehouse. “He can’t have gone far. I made certain to shut and lock all the doors. Rocky! Where are you?” A soft whine to my left pulled my vision to his sprawled form.

He was laying against an old crate, his tail weakly thumping against the ground. I rushed to his side, hot tears falling onto his prone form. “Hey buddy. You gave me a scare. I thought you’d left me.” I smiled, tears streaming from my eyes as I picked him up, and cradled his large, yet alarmingly light body to my chest, and walked back to the circle, where the Demoness was watching with curious interest.

As I walked into the light cast from the lamps, her eyes went wide, and a smile spread across her face, “PUPPY!” she exclaimed, sounding like nothing more than a ten year old little girl.

“Aww… He’s so cute! I want to pet him. Can I pet him? He looks so soft!” Her rapid questions left me confused, as did her high-pitched squeal that hurt my ears, but made Rocky give a weak howl.

It was at this moment, that the joy faded from her face, to be replaced by worry and…fear? “Oh, no. What’s happening to him? Why does he sound so weak? Let me help him! Please? I want to help him. I’m going to help him.”

“Please, My Lady.” I looked at her then, unashamedly sobbing, “He’s all I have left. I don’t know if I could stand losing him right now. Everyone else has died, and he is the only family, the only one who I can love, that I have left.” I knelt, and laid Rocky into the smaller circle that would allow the Demoness to interact with him.

She took a deep breath and, closing her eyes, she shook her hands as if she were flinging water off them. She spoke softly, as if she were talking to herself. “Okay. I can do this. I can fix this puppy. I can make him better. I have the power and ability. I am strong and powerful…” She faced Rocky, and spread her hands out towards him, and he rose into the air, spinning gently. Her eyes unfocused as if she were gazing at something far into the distance, and she grimaced. “He is very sick. I…I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this before.” A single tear escaped her violet eye, and rolled down her beautiful face. “I’m not giving up. I’m fixing this doggy. Don’t you worry, boy, I’m going to save you.” She took a deep breath and nodded once, “No matter what it takes.”

I sniffled and knelt, watching the spectacle, as this weeping Demoness began to channel what had to be astronomical amounts of raw energy, and performed some sort of what could only be described as magic, and cast narrow beams of green light from her fingers into my dog. “Something is eating him alive from the inside. I’m going to stop it. I’m going to save this little doggy.” She sniffled and pushed harder, and I saw those beams intensify, as her raven hair began to stand out from her head. She started murmuring to herself again, softly “Just a bit more… I can do this. I know I can do this. Come on, Crenirith, you can do this. Just a bit more!” She grunted and began a low growl which crescendoed into a shout, as blinding white light erupted from within her circle, and she collapsed.

Beautiful. For that human there is true love, for their dog a juicy steak that he won't vomit up from chemo, and for me, a demon of the first circle, a human who doesn't know what its negotiating position is. I would have given it away for free. Would have even paid and the interest we collect from the world's greatest tycoons is unbelievable. Would have. And that's the beauty of it, the true beauty of Hell, trading away all you value for no advantage whatsoever. We tell you eventually, and then do it again to show that you can't learn, torment and a proof that you deserve it all wrapped up in one package.

"To save a life, I will need to take a life. Your dog will live a happy life and you will burn in hell for all eternity, is my deal. "

The second sentence didn't say it was the only deal. The first one was irrelevant; the dog was still quite alive, and it was a dog. But it was true, 'save' had two meanings and there was the Afterlife Treaty which kept us from pulling back souls without an equivalent exchange. Heaven was stingy about giving back. But they did respect humans' free will, and that was the only crack in the shield we needed.

"No. You can't expect me to take such an unfair deal. A human life for an animal? And you should phrase your terms better."

I had enough of this. I looked him in the eyes... they were closed. I looked into his mind. It was blank. He was meditating. He was good. But I put my claws on his head anyway, and acted like I had read his mind, while my familiars checked the human Internet for his CV.

"Ah, maybe I can explain. You're a businessman, a person like that is ninety-six percent going to Hell already. You're just trading away a 4% chance."

"Is that statistics on aggregate, or about me? I've donated all the money I don't need."

He was good, and I was tired. There was a girl waiting to sell her soul to curse a bully a mile away, and I wanted to catch her before she realized I would be doing that anyway. Besides, if kept up with this meditation he would summon Vishnu and then it would be a three-way contract with a god. Fuck it. I'll take a few days of torture over that.

"I will heal your dog completely, and take nothing in return"

"You can do better."

I would trade a hundred of my soul credits to attend to him personally after death.

"I will heal your pet and take no action to harm you, your loved ones, or the things you care about that I wasn't going to already before I heard of you. You will also receive one million dollars in your name. Be sure to pay taxes on that so your government can fund some weapons, anima damnata. This is my best offer."

And I raised my hand in the pentagram seal that none can speak falsely in. He closed his eyes for a second and put his hand too.

And I was gone, and his pet was healed.

A small price to pay. He couldn't speak this secret, he couldn't even think it on the mortal plane, but as he was going to the girl he rejoiced. Only God can create, and when the Light-bringer told God that His markets could turn the creation any way He wished, the lunatic created a prison for us. And He traded a prison for a palace. We can't create pain in Hell, our power is over contracts and exchange only, we can only transfer it so it produces the most suffering. And pets are a needed distraction, lest humans put a stop to the large-scale torture of animals on Earth that fuels Hell.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

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