EVERYBODY PLAYS A FOOL [crowley]

[ELI CROSS]

WESTON, OHIO

The sun rose above the horizon— pale orange rays of light shining through the treetops—and a fine cloud of mist enveloped the crossroads, dampening the soil. Eli carved a hole into the softened ground, using her own two hands to do so; the shovel lying discarded on the earthen floor. Mud and blood encrusted her fingers, though the adrenaline coursing through her veins numbed the pain. She shoved the ritual offerings into the moist opening, waiting impatiently for the summoning spell to take effect. The hunter detested demons, however desperate times often called for desperate measures, and striking a deal with one of the hellspawn was a last ditch effort to salvage her ailing sister’s life.

She had dealt with crossroads demons occasionally, though Eli exorcised them instead of selling her soul. Once she had looked down upon those who resorted to such an immoral pact between a human and the damned. Now she sought the assistance of a demon—a creature she despised with every fiber of her being—, willingly defying her own set of principles she had strictly adhered to for virtually thirty-two years. Her family would be disappointed that she had chose to sink so low. Neither her father nor her mother would voluntarily sacrifice themselves in such a fashion, even if their life or the lives’ of their children depended on it; they would rather die an honorable death.

In spite of everything she had been taught and everything she knew, Eli was prepared to do the unthinkable. She could not allow Hannah to breathe her last breath—not yet.

[CROWLEY]

Crowley had been feeling a bit bored lately as there had not been much to do in his neck of the woods so to speak. As the other demon underlings were busy with their tasks of trying to free their king out of his little cage. That gave him less to do as in this turn of the century not many humans were willing to sell their souls away by making deals with demons. The very few who did ever now and then were nothing special so he let the other crossroad demons deal with them while he had a little fun.
Which explained why at the moment he was sitting at a rather fancy bar slowly finishing his glass of scotch. It was taking him a while to finish his drink as he had found himself in an amusing deep conversation with the bartender.

"Funny part was the poor bloke never saw it coming." he told the bartender who in turn laughed heartily at Crowley's words. He used that moment to take another quick drink of scotch when in the middle of swallowing he felt a familiar tickle. It was the same feeling he and the other crossroad demons sensed that someone was summoning them for a deal.
Normally he would have ignored it, but there was something about the person who was summoning.

He focused his thoughts on them. A hunter, how fun he thought. As most of the time hunters had encountered demons they tried to exercise them back to hell, or kill them.
It seems that this hunter was particularly desperate for a deal as he could feel the anxiety and desperation from the hunter. It was too good of a chance to pass up. So putting down his scotch glass down on the counter.

"Put it on my tab." he told the bartender with a rather large grin and disappeared from that spot in an instant. Leaving the bartender to stare where he had been a moment ago in utter disbelief.

Without making a noise Crowley appeared at the crossroads taking a moment to notice that the sun was rising from where he was standing. But at the moment he had business to attend to.

"Needed something love?" he asked out loud to the small female hunter hunched on the ground with her back towards him.

[ELI CROSS]

The unfamiliar British lilt managed to draw Eli from her reverie. Rising onto unsteady legs, she faced the demon, scrutinizing him through wary green eyes. The proximity in which they stood unsettled the hunter, causing her heartbeat to accelerate as the adrenaline mingled with the dread coursing through her veins. Generally, the demons associated with the crossroad were female and those that were male possessed alluring vessels—unlike the vessel the demon before her currently occupied; an unusual choice. He resembled an ordinary middle-aged businessman, portly with receding hair and a face visibly lined with age. Despite his appearance, Eli adamantly reminded herself that looks were—more often than not—deceiving, and the creature opposite her could easily overpower her instantaneously at will; not to mention her sister’s life depended on this demon as much as Eli herself.

“To state the obvious: I wish to propose a deal,” she responded, voice unwavering despite the apprehension and uncertainty affecting her already frantic state of mind; vaguely she realized that her body trembled in result of the trepidation. “My soul in return for my sibling’s recovery—curing her should not be difficult, correct?” Eli knew for a fact he could effortlessly relieve Hannah of her illness; she had heard numerous accounts of demons reviving the deceased all in exchange for the individual’s soul. Desperately she hoped that he would accept her proposition. The hunter had exorcised numerous crossroads demons and there was no telling if her prior actions would influence the response of the one she now spoke to.

Waiting for his reply was torture in and of its self. The sun had risen above the horizon, dousing them in golden shafts of light. She noticed how the sunshine accentuated the color of his eyes, which were a rich shade of brown and not black, as she had previously believed them to be—oddly enough, it surprised her.

[CROWLEY]

"You are right about that love, I could easily relieve your precious sister Hannah of her illness." he told her, and purposely threw her sister's name out in the open to see her reaction. It was rather fun to see the way humans reacted when they heard him or any other demon mention personal information about themselves. Most of the time even the tiniest little fact was enough to scare them pretty good.

It was always nice for Crowley to feel a bit of power over the humans who had decided to risk making deals with the crossroad demons. Since the numbers of people willing to do so were always dwindling down he had found it spiced up the job by having a bit of fun terrorizing the mortals in whatever way he could think of.

"And all for the measly little price of your precious soul. So what do you say?" he asked her with a rather smooth tone which usually helped him seal the deal. Especially when it take to talking people into trading over their souls for some of the most materialistic things. But in this case it was a much more emotional reason for the deal, which made it all the more easier for him to work with.

Present then with a quick and easy alternative to saving their loved ones and humans usually jumped at the chance without so much as a second thought about it. It also helped when he reminded them about the pain and suffering their love one would have to endure without his help.