Page 6 of Knotty Bargain (Monster Holidays #3)
CHAPTER 6
CORDELIA
A towering figure stands in the center of my chalk circle. The electricity dies down until it’s only a buzzing by his feet. He’s very tall , over seven feet tall. Plus, gleaming obsidian horns. His four muscular arms cross over his broad chest. His skin is dark red, his eyes are black. He’s in granite dress pants and a black form-fitting t-shirt. Shaggy black hair frames a chiseled face. My mind reels.
Am I dreaming?
“What in the nine hells?” His deep voice resonates through my bones. He doesn’t seem mad, merely curious as he studies my bedroom.
“I’m dreaming,” I say.
He glances at me with an arched brow. “No, I don’t think you are, Witch.”
“I’m no witch.”
He motions with a massive finger to his feet, where he still stands amid the circle. “This tells me otherwise.”
I shake my head over and over until I’m forced to stop before I hurl at his feet. “No. No, this can’t be happening.” I scoot further away from him in bed. “Who are you?”
His onyx eyes narrow. “I have many names. Usually, the Summoner knows one of them.” He cocks his head, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “Impressive, for a mortal. Summoning me is no small feat. This is actually a first.”
The book. Where is the book?
I find it on my nightstand. I grab the spell book and open it.“No, no, no,” I mutter, frantically flipping through the weathered pages. “This wasn’t a summoning spell. It was supposed to be—” I snap my mouth shut, heat rushing to my cheeks. “This is all wrong.”
He looks down at the circle. “Your rune-writing is atrocious. No wonder the spell went awry.”
I huff, snapping the book shut. “Excuse me, my handwriting is perfectly legible!”
“To a blind man, perhaps. Though I must admit, for the spell to have worked at all, you must have some witch blood running through your veins. What was it for?”
I shiver as his words sink in. “It was just... it was supposed to help me f-find...” My voice trails off as embarrassment constricts my throat. I can’t believe it. There’s no way. Did I really make a spell work, only to get it so wrong that I summoned a literal demon ?
“Love?” He finishes, his lips curling into a mocking grin.
My face goes hot. I flip through the pages again with trembling hands, desperate for a way to undo this cosmic mishap.
“Can you at least tell me your name so I know what’s going on?” I ask without looking at the huge red monster standing in the middle of my bedroom.
I feel his stare for a solid minute before he replies, “Call me Levi.”
I stop and glance up. “Levi? Seriously?”
But he’s not looking at me anymore. He kneels and reaches out, plucking the small stone icon from the edge of the circle. My heart leaps into my throat as I lunge for it, my fingers grazing the cool surface before he lifts it out of reach.
No . There’s no way this can get this much worse!
“Well, well,” he purrs, turning the icon over in his hands. It glistens in the morning light. His nostrils flare. “Aren’t you a naughty little witch?”
Humiliation burns through me as he dangles the evidence of what I’ve done above my head. He’s too damn tall. I won’t jump like a kid. “Give it back,” I plead, my voice barely above a whisper.
He lowers the icon, his eyes glinting with amusement and something else—something darker, more primal. “You know, most people opt for blood when conducting summoning rituals. But this...” He leans in, his hot breath fanning across my face. “This is far better.”
I swallow hard, my pulse pounding in my ears. “I didn’t mean to?—”
“Oh, but you did.” He places the fertility icon in my palm, a grin opening on his weirdly handsome face. “And now, darling, we are bound. Your desires, your deepest longings, have summoned me to your side.”
Panic rises like bile in my throat. “What?”
“That’s right.” He grins. “You just bound yourself to me, Witch.”
Bound? To a literal demon?
No .
I turn around and run out of the house.