Page 9 of Devils Don’t Deal

I nodded slowly and frowned when I realized I didn’t have my cake box. That is, I had the empty periwinkle one, but not my second-favorite coral one with the strawberry shortcake inside it. “What happened to my cake? Did I leave it by the pool?”

She gave me another dead look. They were quite intimidating, so I held my rabbit close and tried to think happy thoughts. “He took it. You didn’t notice? He always takes something when he makes a deal.”

“But I haven’t signed the contract.”

“It’s collateral for the conversation. You can’t talk to the devil without him getting something out of it.” She gestured at the shelves. “Never anything he particularly wants, but it’s one of his rules. I don’t know if it’s habit or nature.”

“He took my cake? He didn’t say anything! That wasn’t part of the deal!” You didn’t just steal people’s pastries! And it was for Lieutenant Sato, not him. It wouldn’t be right for him. If I were going to bake something for the devil, it needed to be perfect, but he’d stolen someone else’s magic. Was I going to cry over something that stupid? Maybe. My baking was important to me.

She blinked at me. “At least if he eats it, it will make him feel less guarded. He’ll be eating with you every day, like the last person who kept his rabbit. That’s a non-negotiable.”

I swallowed and nodded. I wasn’t going to cry. It was just a strawberry shortcake. “What happened to them?” Dealing with the deal was the most important thing.

She shrugged. “What always happens. She died.”

I stiffened. The rabbit didn’t squeak or make any noise, just stayed a limp lump in my arms. He was warm, though, and soft.

“From old age,” she added with the tiniest of smiles. She’d liked scaring me. “The Master has been waiting ever since. People like you don’t come here often.”

“People like me?” Obviously, fairy-goblins weren’t exactly coming out of the cracks.

“People like you,” she repeated with a nod then headed for the door. “Who cuddle things instead of considering how good they’d be for eating. He was pleased you asked him to take care of all your debts. Then you’re only indebted to him. The better to control you.”

My heart beat faster, but I only shrugged. “I’m fairly easy to control. I just want to get along, pay my bills, and bake. And this rabbit is the softest thing. Does the devil really have a positive-sum rule?” Right. Focus on the positive.

“Curse. Yes. He has a lot of things.”

“Do you think he can really protect me from all the things that want to rip me apart, just by being seen with him?”

“No. But your father will also be your bodyguard. He’s terribly vicious when he isn’t being slain by love. Of course he loves you, but that will make him extra vicious in your protection.”

“How did the devil get the positive-sum curse?”

She was answering more questions than I’d expected even though she clearly wanted to leave. “He traded it for something else. That’s what a devil does. You make deals with him for something, and give him something in exchange, then someone else makes a deal with him, and he can exchange the two. He’ll probably pass on the positive-sum curse one day. Then it’ll be back to business as usual.”

“He can just pass a curse along? Then why hasn’t he done it already?”

“He likes the curse. It makes him seem more trustworthy. He isn’t. But you don’t care. You’ve already accepted your fate. Good. That means less paperwork.” She went out, slamming the door behind her, leaving me alone with the rabbit and the feeling that I was upside down and falling, spinning and spinning and spinning.

I took a deep breath, poured a cup of cocoa into an oversized mug with a chipped rim, and started reading.

Chapter

Four

The contract was long, but less complicated than it could’ve been. By the time my dad came in, wearing his own clothes—gray pants, white shirt—I was resigned to my fate and ready to sign.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed then shot a glare at Rawley as she wiggled her brows then turned and stalked out, leaving us alone.

“Dad!” I threw my arms around him and clung to him while my eyes overflowed and I bawled like I hadn’t cried since Mom died.

It was just that everything was awful! Him being caged and me having to pretend to be okay with the person who’d done that to him because the goblins outside were worse. And he’d stolen my strawberry shortcake! Yes, he’d healed me from my shin to my hand, but that was just to soften me up. And keep his other guests from turning feral.

My dad stiffened like a board, but then he finally held me tight, patting my back while I sobbed. “There, there, fairy princess. What would your mom say if she saw you like this? You need to face the future with a smile. Your life is ahead not behind.”

I pulled back and looked at him with big eyes, my heart in my throat, the rabbit on the table looking wan and pathetic. I felt like that. So much. “I’m making a deal with the devil. That’s my future.” Was it really? It wasn’t a good deal when the rabbit was so clearly close to death, but five years to pay off my mother’s debts and get my dad out of the cage? I had to try.

His eyes burned with emotion, and he bared his pointed teeth at me. “No.” The word was flat, absolutely without emotion, but riddled with resolve.