The Bargain.

It was the late hour of the night when rough hands awoken me from my slumber. “Selena get up!” The male voice urged. Upon further awakening, realization began to sink in that it was my father, Nicolai. “Dad, what’s going on?” Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, the moon shined through the window and landed on his weathered worried face. “Wake up, This is important... I need you to look after the business. The... The man I barrowed money from is calling in his side of the bargain... I don’t know how long I will be gone for but look after your mother and sister.” With that, Nicolai raised off the bed and slowly made his way to the door. Left in his place on the bed, lay the worn leather ledgers for the business and a bronze key to what I could only assume was to the locked door to the cellar.

One last glance behind him, Nicolai closed the door, decending the stairs as they squeek under his weight. Who the hell had he gotten into business with? Tracing the decorative leather cover of one of the ledgers, the sound of a sudden huge gust of wind whistled, followed by snarling from what I could only assume was a pack of hounds or wolves outside. Rushing to the window, I spotted multiple large wolf like shapes surrounding the front door, along with bare chested figures in masks who held their leashes. The wolves weren’t any normal wolf that us humans were used to, instead they looked more like something that was undead, something dreadged up from hell itself. Blackened skin, that looked like it was burnt to a crisp, their ribcage on full display, red, orange and yellow glimmered along the bones and open wounds of their flesh, as if embers of a fire glowed on the inside. Snarling and tugging on the leashes, the eyes glowed like fire against the night. A small turnado appeared before them all and as it began to dissipate a shape appeared. A dark cloaked figure stood before them, clouds of black mist eminatated from underneath the robe.

The hooded figure shifted ever so slightly and looked towards the window, starring down at the figure, a sense of dread and dispair coiled itself in my gut. Before turning for the door, a husky authoritative voice called out from the shadow figure. “Nicolai Henry Hayes, it is time for you to fulfill your contract. Exit the building or you will be forced out.” Shuffling from the main floor, informed me that my father was preparing to leave. Hurriedly, I rushed to open my door, allowing it to slam against the wall, Nicolai had a hand on the door handle. The door diagonally from my room opened, revealing my mother and sister opening their doors farther down the hallway, both of them peering out with eyes still droopy from sleep. “Nicolai, What’s going on?” Mother asked.

Father turned his sorrow filled eyes to us at the top of the stairs, his eyes landing on me before he said. “Goodbye.” Watching as he shut the door behind him, mother began asking her endless questions of where my father was going? What was happening? Who was bothering them at this time of night and why my father was leaving. Ignoring all of their questions and brushing off my mothers touch, my feet raced down the stairs, opening the door and seeing my father slowly make his way to the shadow figure who towered over him.

“Dad.” Racing towards him, my arms wrapped around him tightly. The surrounding men in masks snickered and mocked our affection until the shadow figure held up his hand and they were silenced. “It’s time to leave.” Nicolai parted from me and repeated what he said to me earlier in my room and then turned towards the cloaked being. “See you soon, Selena.” That same voice from before said and then the little turnado appeared, kicking up dust and debris, only to subside and everyone and thing had vanished.

It had been almost a week and my mother was a wreck, staying in her room and sobbing into the long hours of the night, day after day, wailing that were going to be destitute, all the while my sister, loretta, on the other hand continued her life like nothing ever happened.

For days, I had been sitting at my father’s desk, pouring over these ledgers trying to make sense of anything. A grumbling echoed in the empty room, my stomach was trying to tell me to eat something. I hadn’t eaten anything for most of the day, I was just trying to focus on how to keep the family a float. If I didn’t figure out how my father ran his business then what my mother was crying over would surely come true. The pains began to increase and it ended the focus on the ledgers, forcing me into the kitchen for some lunch.

Returning back to the desk, Loretta had just returned from her outing in the city. “Oh Selena, look at what I got! Aren’t they beautiful? I got them for the summer ball next week.” Gazing upon bags and boxes that held a variety of assorted accessories, gowns and shoes, a sinking feeling told me, we were gonna be screwed sooner rather than later. “Loretta, you should be holding off on spending anything until I can make sense of these ledgers.” A scowl on Loretta’s face, told me what I hear on a regular basis. “You are always such a bore! I need to look presentable so I can marry a wealthy man... Obviously you never cared. You’re gonna be a spinster all your life, Selena. I am spending money to get a wealthy man and then all you have to do is fend for yourself. Bring those to my room would you, Alexander.”

A tall boy with dark curly hair and dressed in a plain cream jacket with pants to match collected the boxes and bags, slowly accending the stairs as Loretta makes her way to our mothers room. Spoiled little brat that she is, at this rate the money will be spent and we will be back were we started before our father made some sort of contract with this stranger.

The day of the ball came faster than expected, our mother stayed home but I had to be a chaperone to Loretta. The ball was hosted by the Emersons, a very rich and entitled family. Loretta had eyes on their first born son, Roderick, who in my opinion could use a brain cell or two. Loretta immediantly left my side and ran off to her stuck up friends over in the next room where the food was all being displayed. Making my way into the ball room many couples were paired and dancing to the music, where the string cortet in the corner played.

Happily sitting on the side lines, I watched, wave after wave of people dance, leave the floor and return for more. By the time nine o’clock hit, I was more than ready to return home. Searching for Loretta,room after room, I couldn’t find her anywhere. I figured she would end up on the dance floor with Roderick and then take her home afterwards but she never danced tonight. The heat of the house became stiffling and I escaped to another room, luckily it was the library.

I had always loved books, reading would always let me happily escape this reality and allow me to live a life of adventure through the main character. I knew I probably should be looking for Loretta but the books were like a drug, one I could loose myself in happily. Plucking a book off a shelf, I settled into a nook by the window and began reading.

Loosing myself in the mysteries of a land of dragons and their riders, I completely forgot about the time till I closed the book and set it back on the shelf. About to leave and I noticed a book that was a different color, almost glowing, as if it wanted to be noticed, to be read. The music was slowing which meant that the party was dying it was almost time to leave, but the pull to just touch the book sent my feet in the direction of it and before I knew it, I had cracked it open.

It looked like research notes, on what I didn’t know. Flipping through a few pages, images of what people portray the devil as, adorned them and then some weird writing took up a passage before a translation below it uncovered what it had meant. Further into the book, images of a clocked figure carrying souls across the river styx while other souls in the river screamed for their lives as they reached for help. It was quiet bizarre for really anyone to have this in their collection of books.

I was about to shut it when a map popped up. It was of the world but a small section showed the city and then a close up of a pit in what looked like the cemetary and the outskirts of town near the ocean. The small description below the image said. “The gates to hell.” There were several in some places all over the world. Our little section of it only had two though. Odd. A faint yelling of my name snapped me out of the book. Loretta stood before the opened door, I glanced back down at the book and saw the hooded figure from before with a huge creature that towered over, three heads protruding from the single massive body standing over the figure as if protecting it.

“There you are! I have been looking for you for hours now.” Loretta made her way and snatched the book out of my hands. “What are you doing with this garbage? Seriously, Selena you need to be socializing more. Books aren’t going to save us. Let’s go home!” She snapped it shut and let it thud on the floor, grabbing my wrist she led me away through the library doors.

All night all I could think about was that book, the locations, the hooded figure who took my father from me and looked exactly like the one in the image. It peaked my curiousity, so I grabbed a light jacket and slipped out of the house. Outside was quiet and the lamps slowly going out one by one along the street. Nearly to the cemetary, I heard a group of men hooting and chattering loudly. Hiding behide a bush, a man with nothing but trousers on came into view, as he turned around, the mask on his face stood out like a sore thumb.

It was one of the guys who took my father! A group of the others followed after wards, chattering with one another. They disappeared into the darkness of the cemetary, something told me to follow. Sneaking slowly behind them, I followed them deeper and deeper into the shadows, tripping over freshly turned graves and gravestones as I went. They stopped in front of a rather large looking mausoleum, opened the door and slipped inside.

The cemetary was erily quiet, not even the trees russtled in the light breeze. After a few minutes, the guys never returned and I made my way to the mausoleum. Cracking the door open slightly, not a sound was heard, only the slight russtling of the leaves as they skittered across the marble flooring. Why someone would want marble flooring in this place was beyond me. It looked like a normal structure, graves all lined up along the wall with a places for flowers, but it seemed like this place was well taken care of.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the shirtless naked guys were nowhere to be found. Where did they go? Feeling like this was a lost cause, about to turn around and go home, I spotted a flower hanger that was tilted to the side. Correcting it, it did nothing, but turning back on it’s side, a rumbling, as if an earthquake was riding through the building, forcing the wall to part. A dark hallway that then lead to stairs below ground appeared and a light blazed to life. What the bloody hell?