Chapter 1






"This is gonna be great, man! You have to be there!" A college freshman with short blonde hair in jeans and a football jersey begged his friend sitting on the bed of his dorm. "Scarred Surface is supposed to be the most horrific movie of the decade and I snagged first screening tickets, and you're wasting it inside studying!"

A man with black hair at the age of eighteen peered up from his textbook, placed down a mathematical compass, and responded in near-monotone. "Oh no. A mindless sex-and-gore film shall go unwatched until release date. The world is truly ending."

His friend gave him a look that read, Seriously?

The brunette boy continued. "Zach, you have a ticket. Just go watch without me. I'll catch a movie with you some other time."

Zach sat down beside his friend, putting a caring arm around his shoulder. "You used to be more psyched about these kinds of things than me. What happened to you?"

The studious boy rolled his eyes and walked away. "How about I became more responsible? That I actually study my work every now and then?"

The blonde shook his head and followed his friend, circling around him, seemingly depressed. "It's more than that, Austin. You almost never leave your room. When you do, you're distant. You can't seem to focus on anything in real life, man!" His face began to fill with anger. "I don't know how Christina can stand you!"

Zach stormed out the door, looking back with a worried glimmer at his friend who was now back to his studies, blatantly ignoring him, before leaving.

Austin was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black shirt, running fingers through his hair in frustration. In a search for his compass, he looked to the side to be greeted by female legs propped on his desk. A girl his age sat by his work, only smirking at the scene she had been witnessing.

~*~*~

The teacher passed back the midterm exams. Austin's heart held its pulse as his paper came back and was marked as the highest in the classroom. Pride filled his chest as his teacher spouted off a meaningless test-aftermath lecture to his pupils; Austin was barely paying attention.

The midterm was marked one hundred seventy-three out of one hundred seventy-three when there were in fact one hundred eighty-five questions. That could only mean the instructor used his paper as a guideline to curve everyone's scores. The fact remained that he had incorrectly answered twelve responses. That couldn't happen for the final.

Austin fumbled from his final class to for the day and rushed to his room. Many people greeted him, but he had to retain focus. The woman from earlier pulled his collar lightly, causing the boy to spring backwards as the cloth began to slightly rip. The woman remained still as if the ordeal had been a light breeze. She handed him a cup of coffee. "Not that you aren't jittery enough, but you were best in class. You deserve a drink."

As Austin's eyes dashed to the bystanders watching, he quickly got up and took Christina around the waist. She shifted uncomfortably, signaling hatred through her eyes, but settled and tossed the coffee to the side. Austin pulled her away and whispered harshly in her ear, "Normally you're barely around, and now you trip me to the ground?"

She grinned devilishly. "I like to mix things up."

Christina pulled Austin down to a bench, almost having to force him to sit. "Austin Meyers. Born October 3rd, 1992."

He rolled his eyes at her, annoyed. She licked her lips and continued. "You should have died by now, you know. We have a contract, but for what? Is getting into that company really that important to you?" Austin stood and wandered away from her. Christina's smirk disappeared. She circled around him, eyeing her prey. "I doubt you would need my kind of help."

He shook his head solemnly. "Would I sacrifice my soul if I didn't?" He walked her back to his dorm, rushing to reach the medicine cabinet. Two white pills fell from a bottle as he caught them in his hand and swallowed them both dry. "You're mine until the day I get what I want and you devour my soul afterwards, I know the deal!"

His rise in anger excited Christina to where her eyes began to glow an eerie green. :So confident, so vengeful. Humor as well. You will make a fine meal." She began to circle him once again. "You call upon a demon to do your bidding, yet you brand her with the feminine name of Christ."

Austin chuckled. "I need my fun as well." He looked her up and down; his demonic servant was clad in typical gothic attire: a black corset top which flattered her complete with a matching skirt and tight, black boots to extenuate her legs. A pentagram was adorned around her neck, laying simply about her chest; had she disguised her form as anything but this goth girl she would seem out of place given her personality, and Christina adored the irony of no one seeing what she advertised around her neck in full view – her very nature.

Christina laid back in an overstuffed chair across from Austin's bed. He glanced down to her and lowered himself by her ear. "My fun is watching a demon squirm." She nearly shot up, but was blocked by an invasion of personal space. He smiled to her warmly. "I love seeing how uncomfortable you are in this form."

Christina remained speechless, taking a couple of steps back. He continued, "Are you sure you want to continue the girlfriend façade?" Austin's eyes ran to the windows.

"I am bound by contract to serve my master." Her voice began to shake though she stood her ground. "I shall take this role for as long as you command me."

He placed an arm beside her head and leaned in using the wall for support. Something in Christina's stomach upset her, something that created a deep knot, but soon the uncertainty morphed into anger. Her eyes grew that deep, eerie green as shadows and black feathers enveloped the room. The dormitory was no more and the two stood in nothingness. Winds forced into the condemned soul of a boy though he had only taken three steps back. "You are my meal! You do not direct me nor do you address me in that manner!"

Austin swallowed hard but remained calm. He did not say a word. Soon the room returned to normal. Christina still burned with hatred in her eyes but no communication passed her lips. The door swung open and a sickeningly pleasant girl dressed in pink bounded inside. By instinct, Meyers spun Christina and held her in his arms. It was all she could do to remain still. The intruder took two steps in before apologizing. "Oh, am I interrupting?"

Austin let Christina fall onto the couch. She did not attempt to sit. "What is it, Jessica?"

Jessica pulled Christina by the arm, moving her towards the door. The oter girls and I wanted to take her shopping. All she wears is black. It's rather drab."

Austin raised an eyebrow at her. Jessica and her friends were like what cheerleaders were to high school – good for a bang, but snobby and unintelligent. Why would she want to take his servant anywhere? Christina shot them both a warning glance, but it went unnoticed. Her master still seemed confused, but he waved the girls off in any case. The energetic girl squealed and pulled the now-depressed demon with her.

I swear. I will enjoy every moment of your soul within me.