red-pen-revolution:

Seven Devils

Chapter 1: The Deal

“Please God, let me live.”

John lies gasping in the sand. His blood is pouring into the sand underneath him.

He can feel his life slipping away from him.

All in all he’s in a pretty desperate way, which is how the devil finds him.

John watches as all around him time comes to a standstill. People freeze in the middle of running, birds up above stop in midflight, and an absolute silence descends upon them all.

John realises he isn’t in any pain any more and sits up. He looks around at everything.

“So this is death,” he murmurs to himself.

“Hardly.” A gasping voice like rocks grating together answers him.

John startles and spins around to face the owner of the voice. He comes face to face with a naked man his height, with completely black eyes, firey red hair, and skin the colour of slate.

John gives a yelp and falls over backwards.

“What are you?!”

“What I am exactly isn’t of any consequence. However, I do have a question for you. What would you give to live?”

John stares up at the man creature suddenly remembering his grandmother.

‘Watch your words Johnny, otherwise you might call the fae. And if you should ever have the misfortune to meet one of their ilk, appeal to their vanity and love of games and, always remember, watch your words.’

“You’re a f-fairy?”

The creature laughs. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard and John’s skin crawls.

“Fae, devil, djinn. It’s all the same.” It leans down into John’s face. “Now tell me what you want.”

“I want to live.”

It smiles with too many teeth. “Excellent and what would you give me if I gave you what you wanted?”

John’s mind is spinning. He’s thinking as quickly as he can. What can he give that won’t cost him anything?

“I would give you a game.”

John’s heart is beating fast. He knows he’s playing with fire, but he has a chance to survive this. Survive being shot.

The creature pulls itself back up to standing and narrows it’s eyes at John.

John gets the feeling he’s being reevaluated. The creature hadn’t expected him to be cunning.

“A game.” It’s head shakes back and forth as if rolling the idea around it’s head. “I accept. Deal.”

“Wait! Deal? We haven’t even discussed what kind of game.” John yells in a panic.

The creature gives it’s eerie laugh again, “Should have stipulated in your offer. But this is the most interesting offer I’ve had in eons. So, I’ll give you a hint.” It leans in close and thrusts it’s hand into John’s chest, not through his flesh, but into the very core of John’s being.

It pulls from John a silvery iridescent geode with a vein of black running through it’s core. It straightens once more and leers down at John before flexing its fingers and shattering the stone into seven pieces.

It throws the shards up into the sky and John watches in horror as they fly off. He knows that whatever the creature has stolen from him, it’s very important.

“The game is hide and seek. Now off you go John Watson. The clock is ticking.”

The creature fades away like a mirage and suddenly the world comes alive again, the sound startling John at the same time as the pain in his shoulder hits him.

He falls onto his back and his vision swims as suddenly his mate Bill Murray appears above him. Bill grabs John and drags him to cover and John hears Bill laugh to himself before he passes out,

“Watson, you lucky son of a gun.”

***********************

Yay! Another new fic. This is an idea I’ve had rattling around my head for 4 or 5 years now. Hope chapter 1 leaves you wanting more! 😉

Also on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14516283

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