It was a quiet walk back from St. Thomas’. Lumi stayed in her cat form as we traveled side to side with each other. She must have noticed how depressed I was, taking advantage of the green light over the crosswalk to leap right into my arms. She brushed her head along my chin, her gentle purring making my heart swell up as we waited for the signal to change. I had to give it to her, she managed to put a small smile on my face, and I was feeling a little better already.

When we reached my apartment, she waited until I stepped foot into my bedroom to transform back. Once the white transformation light faded, I realized she was butt naked, my oversized sweater nowhere to be seen. I made a comment on it, and she said that it disintegrated during the transforming spell.

“I hope it wasn’t your favorite,” she said cheekily. “I could materialize fur over my tasteful bits, but around you, it’s not necessary.”

I smiled. “I hated that shirt. I never got around to tossing it out. Reminds me of my fatter days.”

“You were fat?”

“The chubbiest kid in school. I only started shedding the weight because I wanted to get laid.”

She giggled, running her soft feet up her leg and she posed for me seductively on the bed. “That won’t be a problem now, would it?”

I chuckled.

“I saw what you did back there, Isaac. Your strength is coming to you, as well as your power.”

“My power?”

“Your fist? Didn’t you feel it heat up? It sure looked like the onset of flames.”

“It wasn’t on purpose. I was just furious. It came naturally, although I felt a part of me maybe tried to suppress it. The last thing I needed was to tamper with powers I have no idea how to control and bring the hospital down. By the way,” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the coin. “I’ve been meaning to ask, does this mean anything to you?”

“Why of course! It’s a pact coin,” she clarified as I took a seat on the desk chair. “You use it to summon a demon. That demon becomes tethered to you once you make a contract with it. Remember the repercussions I was talking about? Well, once you make a deal with a demon, you are allowing the demon access to your spirit. Complete influential domain. A free pass inside means that possession is right around the corner. Unless the demon does what they are supposed to, stand by the sidelines and wait for their contract term to come up. But, most demons are truly malicious and gain pleasure from their humans suffering.”

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“Possession? Is a demon deal the only way a demon could possess a human?”

“Yup! But possession isn’t where it stops. There are other consequences like ancestral curses, opening a door for succubi and incubi to invade your dreams, onset of horrific nightmares, demonic whispers in your ears throughout the day, and even being a target for imps and certain maladies.”

“Hold on, my mother knew about this coin. Could she have known all of this?”

“It could be possible that your mother made a deal with the devil.”

“What?!” I raged. “She’d never!”

“Come on, lighten up. It’s not as uncommon as you think it is.”

“This is my mother we are talking about. I know her, she wouldn’t—”

“How could you be so sure? When people get desperate, they do desperate things. Has there ever been a time when your mother seemed secretive? Like, she was hiding something?”

I looked at her disappointedly, giving her the expression I would have given my mom.

“Making a deal with the devil isn’t something anyone is proud about. She could have been hiding it from you all along.”

I hated to hear it, but Lumi might have been right. It would explain a lot of things, like how dad kept hearing those voices in his head, or how everyone I knew eventually ended up dead...

“If you want to be sure, let’s go to the Carthage campus.”

My eyes jumped. “Carthage? Why there?”

“That’s where the House of Samael is. We meet up in the Paranormal Club, and we live on campus. In your harem, there’s a Seer there—a demon who could read contracts.”

I bolted off my seat. “No way! My harem is in my school?!”

“Your school?!” she chirped. “What a happy coincidence!”

“If you’re attending CU, why haven’t I seen you girls around?”

“Maybe you have, maybe you haven’t. It’s a pretty big campus, Isaac.” She giggled. “It’s funny, I’ve been looking all over for a sign for my master, and he was right under my nose the entire time!”

“You’re enrolled there too, huh?”

“Yup! All of us are.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask how you girls got in. It isn’t easy being admitted.”

She smirked. “Hello? Demons?”

“Heh, like I said, afraid to ask.”

“Come on already! The girls are dying to meet you!”