her only ally

It wasn't as terrible as she'd anticipated, there were torture instruments that hurt more. But they wouldn't kill her- this wound would. The fear of dying had panicked Bree's mind. The woman could barely think, let a lone cry out in pain. Her vision was blurred around the edges, and her eyes danced wildly above her. A thick shelter of leaves blocked any light that may have fallen upon her.

Her body lay, awkwardly positioned, on the forest floor. She was sprawled amid damp leaves and broken twigs, her shallow, quick breathing ringing in her ears. Dying in the dark.

"H-" she gasped out, her pale hand feebly pressing against the fleshy rip in her abdomen. Her crimson blood blossomed from the wound continuously, staining her alabaster skin. He had shot her.

Bree Archer, the world's best weaponry designer, will die of a single shot wound.

Whimpering helplessly, Bree's hands curled into fists around a bundle of crushed leaves and mud. No one was coming.

No one wanted to.

"Dj-" she began, only for her voice to break. "Djinn?" she breathed, her voice uncertain.

He appeared silently, stepping across the few feet from where he arrived to stand over the woman. His brown-eyed gaze impassively took in her state.

"Bree Archer," Djinn intoned, voice silky... and smug. "My, my, it would appear we have gotten ourselves into a spot of trouble, haven't we?"

The demon crouched down, a smirk pulling at his lips. "I suppose, if I were to hold to the spirit of our deal, I ought to save your life." He gave a cold, cruel smile. "Demons aren't much for spirit.

"I could still use you, however..." Djinn paused, letting a hand hover over her bleeding stomach. "If you were interested in a new deal, I could save your child, as well."

Archer would have breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of the demon- were it not for the agonizing wound that continued to bleed. Her glassy green eyes remained fixed on the man's face, focusing on not looking down at her damaged abdomen.

She gritted her teeth together in both pain and annoyance.

Aren't much for spirit? the woman thought frustratedly. He was practically her only hope for survival, now. Deciding quickly to make a conscious effort to stay on his good side, she smiled back at him tightly.

"Just as a favour, then?" Bree rasped, a ghost of a smirk pulling at her lips.

Bree blinked up at him, at last completely distracted from her pain- it was almost in another world, now. Her what?

She shook her head frantically, almost scared now that the child would survive. She could not be a mother. She would ruin the baby. She would...would...

It'd be a kindness to let it die. A kindness.

"All for a new deal." Bree's eyes scrunched closed in pain. Could this conversation not wait? There was a long pause.

"Let the child die."

Djinn smirked smugly, brown eyes alight with malice. "Did our ignoble wolf fail to inform you why he shooting and leaving you to die?" he asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer. "Seems he didn't want a scandal."

The demon's gaze has gone to the bleeding wound, his hand still hanging in the air.

"Shame. I would have freed you of our previous deal and given the child my personal protection. Are you quite certain?" Djinn's gaze moved back to hers. "I suppose you are. Not much the mothering type, are we?" Despite his words, the demon paused, giving her one last opportunity to change her mind.

Bree's sight blurred around the edges, the dark colours of the forest around them merging into one another, causing a growing shadow to steadily invade her vision. She wasn't entirely sure what was pushing her over the edge- the pain, or the anger. Or were they both the same thing?

Her breaths scratched against her throat, the noise and his voice ringing loudly in her ears.

She had a child.

A real person, and it was with her. It had been with her when she thought no one else was. How could she ever let it die?

She would be a terrible mother. She knew that- and she despised it. But her self-hatred was not as strong as her greed.

"Save him." Archer whimpered, her green eyes cloudy with sudden, overwhelming panic.

Djinn smiled. Then, he was standing. "Kaori," he said. Another appeared, a lovely Japanese woman in a colorful kimono, her eyes deep red pits in her face.

"Sempai," Kaori greeted.

"Bree Archer wishes to forge a new deal," Djinn told her. He met the she-demon's gaze a moment, who then nodded, kneeling down beside the wounded mortal. Bending, she pressed her lips to Bree's, the contact brief, yet firm. When she pulled away, the injury to the woman's abdomen was healed, as though it had never happened at all.

"Congratulations," the she-demon said with a smile. She stood, turning back to Djinn. "Until next time, sempai." With that she vanished.

Djinn gazed down at the woman, far too much malice in his eyes to be benign. "Perhaps, now, I should inform you of our new arrangement," he said.



*Note: Being stripped of Status, Djinn cannot forge deals himself

Bree looked directly above her, her head throbbing and disorientated. Her eyes widened slightly as two dark red orbs advanced closer towards her among the haze that invaded her vision. Something was touching her mouth- it was firm. Her brain scrambled desperately in it's confusion for an explanation- there was...something about deals, and then contact. What was it, again?

And then, a wave of warmth rushed into her. The blur that had before smothered her vision quickly curled away. The pain had vanished.

Not wasting a moment, now that her brain had recovered, the woman sat up right, suddenly conscious of exactly how weak and pathetic she had appeared moments before.

Leaning on her elbows, Bree nodded slowly in response.

Djinn gave a smile that would have been genial on anyone else. "Good," he said.

"Our previous deal is void," the demon declared. "Starting as this moment, you and your child shall have constant protection." As he spoke, a dark shape appeared, an oily cloud that solidified into the form of a dog. It seated itself before the woman, gaze fixed intently upon her.

"This shall continue for ten years from the day your child is born. At that point, you will be free of me," Djinn said, "and your child will be mine.

"Oh. And should anything... unfortunate occur, I shall immediately take your soul, instead."

Bree stood as the demon began to speak, feeling a little disorientated. This had not been on the agenda this morning.

Shaking her hair out with one hand, she watched the cloud form into a dog with a mild sort of surprise.

"A hell hound and a baby- jackpot." she murmured, watching the creature warily.

So, she'd sold her child to a demon. Wasn't that just a peachy start to motherhood? No, she'd given protection to her child, before it was even born. She liked that better.

"Wh-" she began to question, but cut herself off. It would be better to not know what he would do with her child after ten years.

What would he do with her soul?

Archer nodded, brushing a few leaves off of her clothes. "Dog, ten years, taking my soul." she checked off.

"Got it."