Asa sighed. “He’s not my demon,” he said tiredly.

  “His energy is tied to the contract because your energy is tied to the contract,” Madame Katusha said.

  “Yeah, duh,” the demon said dismissively.

  “But I didn’t sign a contract with him,” Asa protested.

  Madame Katusha projected the holo of the contract on Asa’s stomach and increased the font of the demon dialect that Galatea had used: Kyrtharion. The demonic dialect that Madame Katusha favored for the House was Leviat. Asa frowned.

  “This is Galatea’s hand-writing,” Madame Katusha said, resting her chin on her fist. “You must have met her in another time-line.”

  Asa reluctantly summarized what had happened without mentioning the collar’s memory—it felt like an open wound that he didn’t want anyone to touch. The demon provided unhelpful editorial comments about Asa’s general impoliteness, as well as overall lack of consideration to those around him. Then the demon started sniffing Asa’s pockets for food until Asa was forced to give up all his protein bars.

  “So Galatea was the Madame,” Madame Katusha said thoughtfully. “Perhaps I died in that time-line. Unfortunate.”

  Asa frowned harder. “I’m sure you just retired,” he said because he couldn’t imagine any other possibility than Madame Katusha being alive.

  Madame Katusha waved a hand dismissively. “Irrelevant,” she said. “Do you see this seventh line down on the contract?”

  Asa leaned closer, narrowing his eyes. “My Kyrtharion isn’t that good,” he confessed.

  “You always spent too much time on the Casipho dialect,” Madame Katusha scolded. “You did all those favors for that boy, and what’s he done for you in return?”

  “Madame Katusha, I—“ Asa started to say through stiff lips, absolutely mortified.

  “He’s done nothing,” Madame Katusha said, rapping the wooden desk with her knuckles. “Useless boy.”

  “Rose is not useless,” Asa said hotly.

  “Then why are you still reading contracts for him?” Madame Katusha said, raising her eyebrows. “Hm?”

  Asa crossed his arms, setting his jaw. “Whatever,” he said. “I’ll study Kyrtharion harder, okay? Not that it matters anymore.”

  Madame Katusha scoffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said. Before Asa could argue, Madame Katusha tapped the seventh line again, her finger going through the holo. “That girl is collateral,” she said. “If you don’t complete the terms of the contract, then the House will claim her.”

  Asa scrubbed his hands through his hair. “She didn’t have a third-party demonic notary,” Asa said bitterly.

  “Asa, that’s the first thing I teach the apprentices,” Madame Katusha said severely.

  “I know!” he said. “She didn’t let me have one!”

  “Why were you even in that situation to begin with?” Madame Katusha said. “You should have been in your apartment bunker.”

  “It was an accident,” Asa said. “I didn’t mean to cross time-lines.”

  “You know that’s always a risk if you’re not paying attention,” Madame Katusha lectured. “You’ve always got your head in the clouds.” She narrowed her eyes at the demon, who had hopped off the desk to explore. “I’m sure that’s how you acquired a soul bond with that demon—you weren’t watching where you were going.”

  “My name is Dandelion,” the demon huffed, and then returned to burying himself under one of the sets of drawers. “But yes, I was minding my own business, doing the very important business of coalescing into the human dimensions, when he ruined everything.”

  “Yeah, and then you learned you could get free energy from me,” Asa said dryly. “Is there any way to break the soul bond?”

  “It depends on the strength of the bond,” Madame Katusha said. “But now it’s been complicated by both of your energies being tied together to a third-party contract—I think this contract would have to be fulfilled first.”

  “Fuck,” Asa groaned.

  “Indeed,” Madame Katusha said, not looking too broken up about it. She probably thought he deserved the consequences for being so stupid. She checked her old-fashioned gold and leather watch. “I’ll need more time to examine the contract. I’m afraid I have another appointment—I will escort you out.”

  “But what about my mother?” Asa said, refusing to stand up even as Madame Katusha stood. “I promise I won’t be too long.”

  Madame Katusha sighed. “Asa, I can only imagine this has to do with the Galatea in the other time-line,” she said. “There isn’t time for you to meet with her. Come on. Get your demon, and let’s go.”

  Asa checked his messages, but there were none from his mother. His chest was inflamed with the old hurt of not being able to see his mother, not knowing when he was going to be able to see her next. He breathed in slowly, pressing this pain down inside himself until his chest felt like an unfeeling block of cement. Then he pushed himself up from his chair and walked over to the drawers to kneel down and grab his demon from where he had wedged himself in a corner of the wall. Asa caught a glimpse of an open compartment in the floor before he stood up with the demon in his arms. He looked into the demon’s face, suspicious, but the demon just blinked large eyes at him.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  For the first time, Asa wished their bond was developed enough that he could send thoughts.

  He tucked the demon under his arm like a ball and followed Madame Katusha out of her office to the ground floor of the House. “Think about what I said in regard to the empire,” Madame Katusha said seriously. Then she turned and left him at the side entrance to the House where he had entered. Nova stood at the door, waiting to escort him out.

  “Where’s—“ he started to say.

  “Asa!” Mouse said happily, skidding to a halt on the lacquered wood flooring.

  Asa stopped, turning to look at her. “Where did Jury take you?”

  “I’m an apprentice of the House now,” Mouse said, self-satisfied. “So now you have to let me come with you! I’m important now.”

  “Don’t you dare tell me that you signed a contract to be an apprentice,” Asa said, his voice dipping dangerously. “That was the one thing I told you repeatedly not to do, Mouse.”

  Jury approached, looking unimpressed. “You can’t disappear like that, kid,” she said. “You don’t have the privilege of wandering wherever you please in the House.”

  “For the last time, I’m not a KID,” Mouse said, crossing her arms in what was becoming a terribly familiar habit.

  “Yes, you are!” Asa said, his voice rising without his permission. “You’re just an annoying little kid who doesn’t know when to fucking leave people alone. Gods, what were you thinking? Don’t you have any concept of what signing a contract means?” His voice rose even further, until he was almost yelling. “It means you have to do everything they say no matter what, even when you don’t want to do it, even if it kills you. Are you really that stupid?”

  Asa’s fists clenched at his side, almost panting by the end. Mouse was looking down at her feet, and he couldn’t see her face.

  “Are you even listening to me?” he said, running his hand through his hair.

  “Don’t yell at me just because you can’t yell at your mom,” Mouse said, her voice wobbly. Her small hand came up to rub at her face, which was when Asa realized that she was crying.

  Asa blinked in surprise, his face heating up when he saw that Jury was smirking. When he looked at Mouse, he felt a lowness that made his shoulders curl forward and upward toward his ears. Asa pressed one hand to his burning face. “I don’t want to yell at my mom,” he said, compressing his voice into a calmer tone.

  Mouse scoffed.

  “Relax,” Jury drawled. “The kid didn’t sign a contract. We just did a power test.” She flicked a blank square of white demonic parchment at him. “Congratulations, she failed.”

  Asa grabbed the parchment out of the air. The paper had zero marks on it, which meant Mouse had a low storage of magical power. It was rare since most humans had some level of power—varying in strength and intensity—but it happened. Even more rare, someone would have too much power, which would would short-circuit the power test as well.

  When Asa looked at Mouse and saw she was rubbing at her face with her sleeve, he dug into his pocket and found his last protein bar. “Here,” he said, shoving it into Mouse’s small hands.

  “You were holding back!” the demon cried, betrayed. PQ-9 had the audacity to pet the demon on his back. Asa hoped this wasn’t the sign of a forming alliance.

  Mouse ripped open the protein bar packaging and shoved it in her mouth.

  “She’ll be a nominal apprentice,” Jury said. “Madame Katusha wants to keep an eye on her.”

  “Why?” Asa said.

  Jury shrugged. “How should I know?”

  Asa wondered if Madame Katusha wanted Mouse to stay because of his contract with the other Galatea, or if there was some other reason that she wasn’t telling him. He raised his eyebrows. “How is she going to be an apprentice if she doesn’t even have enough power to seal a contract?” he said.

  Jury threw up her hands. “Why don’t you go find Madame Katusha and ask her?” she said. “Oh wait, you’re not allowed here.” Asa tried not to react at the jab, which irritated the old wound of not being able to visit his home anymore. “It’s time for you to go. See you never, okay?”

  Jury turned and strode in the same direction that Madame Katusha had left, the red ribbons of her Head Apprentice uniform elegantly flowing behind her.

  “Yeah, okay, I got it,” Asa said to Nova before she could say anything. “I’m going.”

  Mouse hadn’t signed a contract, and she had a place to stay—even if Asa was sure there was some unseen cost. But wouldn’t that be the case wherever Mouse went? At least she wasn’t bound to anyone—and couldn’t be bound to anyone. Except if he failed.

  Which he wouldn't.

  Mouse grabbed his hand as he prepared to leave the House. He looked down at her, his brows drawing together. “What have you been touching? Your hand is so sticky.”

  “Nothing,” Mouse protested, which was clearly a lie. “My hands are clean, no washing please.”

  “You’re in for a rude awakening if you think you’re going to be an apprentice with that attitude,” Asa said, reflecting on what Madame Katusha would have said to him when he was a child if he had acted like Mouse. He shuddered just thinking about it.

  “Where are you going?” Mouse demanded.

  “What does it matter to you?” Asa said. The little notif on his holo calendar blinked, a reminder of the meeting invite that had been sent to him. “Aren’t you an apprentice or something of the House now?”

  Mouse frowned, her mouth turning stubborn, and she didn’t let go.

  The demon chose that moment to fully stretch, almost falling off his shoulders. Asa moved reflexively to catch the demon. “Yeah, where are we going, boss?” the demon said. He jumped out of Asa’s arms and onto the ground, performing increasingly complicated stretches while Mouse giggled. “I think I’m all recovered now, you’re welcome.”

  “I think you mean thank you,” Asa said dryly. “As I’m the one who’s been feeding you energy this whole time.”

  “Whatever!” the demon said.

  “Also, aren’t demons supposed to dematerialize?” Asa continued. “Isn’t this embarrassing for you to be seen like this?”

  “I have a right to be where I want,” the demon said, sounding unbothered.

  “Jury’s right,” Nova said as Asa finally walked past her to the outside. “Always a hot mess, huh?”

  Asa flicked her off, swerving around the corner of the House, even as Nova’s laughter followed him. Mouse also turned to make the same hand gesture, and Asa pushed her in front of him. “Don’t do that,” he scolded.

  “But you did it,” Mouse pointed out.

  “I’m an adult,” he said. Before Mouse could contest this, he said, “I’m going to visit Ambrose Thorne.” He checked the time. “And I’m already late.”

  “Oooh,” Mouse said, sounding deeply interested, as she followed alongside him. “Who’s that?”

  “You’re going to get in trouble for leaving the House without permission,” Asa warned.

  Mouse shrugged.

  “Do you have any more human food?” the demon asked Mouse.

  As Asa watched Mouse pass food to the demon—which she had stored in her pockets—Asa realized that he was probably actually doomed.