Page 29 of Reap & Sow

“Forty.” Her heart was pounding now. Eda could not consider what she offered. Not for a moment. She thought of her argument with Ben and Lawrie in the shop, enraged by their willingness to trade their years on her behalf. Thought of Bartholomew. Of all the other marks she’d so despised: pitiful, desperate, weak.

Now she was no better than any of them.

His pupils dilated. “No.”

Eda stepped forward, emboldened. He’s tempted. “I’m begging you. Help me, and I’ll…” She closed her eyes. “Fifty. I’ll give you fifty years.”

Shit. Did she even have that much? If not, her offer would be meaningless, and this demon would surely turn her away.

But when she opened her eyes, he was staring at her with a hungry expression. His mouth moved; whether to berate her or accept, she wasn’t sure.

Then he paused. Cocked his head.

“What is it?”

“Quiet,” he snapped.

Eda was about to protest until she heard it, too. Footsteps on the landing outside. Multiple. Heavy. The grating clank of armor.

Her blood turned to ice.

“Vhesak,” the demon hissed—a word she’d never heard before. “You’ve led them right to my door.”

“No! No one followed me, I swear it.” She faltered. Paled. “Wait. That lady on the floor below. She must have spoken with the doorman, realized I wasn’t…”

He turned to face the corridor, coiled like a serpent. “If I’m to fight my way out of here, it might as well be worth my while.” He flicked his wrist. A long piece of parchment spooled from his hand. The heading gleamed at her in fresh scarlet print. It looked wet to touch.

Binding Pact of Mortal Trade.

Eda’s blood roared so fiercely she could barely think straight.

“Fifty years,” he said, eyes fixed upon the door.

She extended a shaking hand. “I need a knife.”

There was no warning. He raked a nail—a claw—down her palm. She gasped and snatched her hand back, but he was quicker. He grabbed her wrist. “What is your name?”

“E-Eda Shaw.”

Without, a voice called, “Open this door at once! By command of the Order of the Blade!”

The demon’s stare penetrated her with such intensity Eda could hardly stand it. “Do you agree to the terms?”

“Yes.”

He pressed her wound to the bottom of the parchment. He was rough, but she felt no pain. Perhaps she was beyond that.

He let her go. The parchment disappeared into thin air.

I’ve made a Pact.

Was that it? Eda didn’t feel much different. Didn’t feel as if her lifespan had just been slashed to nothing. But it had. They weren’t her years any longer—they were his, like a clutch of coins held ransom. And the moment he fulfilled his end of the bargain, they would be his forever.

Eda held her bleeding hand to her chest. I didn’t even read it properly.

The door shook.

“Get behind me.”