I’m A Demon Summoner, Damn It!

The garbage bag sailed over my head as I walked down the rain-slicked sidewalk. I rolled my eyes as the bastard I was after ducked around a corner, his spaded tail disappearing behind the brick wall. Footsteps came up behind me until the poor rat got close enough to see the back of my coat. I scoffed as their steps started to fade into the distance. At least they were smart enough to run when they saw a Summoner, unlike some the other morons I dealt with on the daily.

I cracked my neck and started after my target. The clack of my black cane against the concrete reached my ears, reminding me of all the times I've done this same song and dance. I sighed as I rounded the corner he had taken. It led to an alleyway filled with broken beer glasses, pieces of broken windows, and the odd homeless person living out their broken lives. One made a few spastic motions in my direction while spouting nonsensical gibberish at me through cracked, bloody lips. I ignored him and focused on my target ahead.

The demon had run out of places to hide. It scrabbled at the brick wall at the end of the alleyway. Its claws racked the brownish rocks, but couldn’t find purchase on the rain-slicked obstruction. If I wasn’t on the job, I would’ve sat down and laughed at the poor bastard as he slowly realized the futility of his actions. But today I’m on business. And when I was on business, the job came first.

I whistled at the scaly blue bastard who froze when he heard me. I could hear the rusty gears in his head grinding against each other trying to come up with something to say. I rolled my eyes while walking up to him, stopping when he was a good ten feet from me, “Ok, Hufmag. You know how this goes. Make this easy for both of us and...you’re not even listening are you?”

His flinch gave me all the answers I needed. He slowly turned around, revealing his ugly, reptile-like face. The rain made the dirt on his scales cascade off in a droplet of filth. His clawed hands flexed along with his wide, slightly webbed feet. His tail spasmed through the air behind him in obvious panic. When he turned around I found myself once again being thankful demons don’t have anything between their legs. Usually, at least.

“Why, Crowley,” I scoffed as he said my name, “sorry about that back there. You know it’s very difficult to see in this rain.”

“It’s not too bad,” I shrugged while tapping my cane against the ground, “I managed to see your blue ass all through it.” I needed to keep him talking for a bit. One minute would be enough. Luckily, Hufmag loved to talk. Particularly about himself. And I could use that to get a confession out of him, “What are you even doing out here?”

“This and that,” the demon started pacing back and forth while keeping his literal button eyes on me, “you know just stretching my legs for a bit. Nothing worth sending a Summoner after me for."

“Really? Cause I got a report that a Demon Energy Tech was found dead in his office yesterday morning.”

“Don’t see what that has to do with me,” the bastard’s shrug made my blood boil, but I didn’t let it show. He wanted to get a rise out of me, and I wasn’t going to give it to him.

“He was in the same sector of the city you were in, around the same time you were scheduled to power the place.”

“Pure coincidence.”

“He was assigned to watch you, and you were spotted running from the Power Seal Facility right when his body was discovered.”

“I had a prior arrangement that I had to take care of. The facility allows you break time if you ask for it.”

I held up a finger, “If you put in a form for it. You never did. Your story isn’t holding up Hufmag.” His face shifting between fear, anger, surprise, and despair made me chuckle. Demons like him never think their “outings” all the way through. It makes them predictable and easy to catch.

The main issue was how they acted when they had their backs against the wall. I believe an appropriate comparison would be to a cornered wolf. Dangerous and desperate. A deadly combination. I just needed to keep him talking for a few more minutes.

The blue monster tried and failed to hide a sneer behind a thick-skinned claw, “Those things never work. I needed to get out pronto, otherwise, I’d miss....um...my brother’s first summoning! You know how important that is for us Demons!”

I rolled my eyes while leaning on my cane, “Pretty sure you don’t have a brother, and even if you did you could’ve afforded to miss his summoning.” A light blue glow appeared out of the corner of my eye. I smiled at the sight while straightening my posture, “That’s enough stalling, Hufmag. Come quietly and no one gets hurt.”

The demon stopped moving, chest rising as his skin began to glow a dark blue. The light reflected off the puddles of water that formed below his clawed feet. With a deep, threatening chuckle, Hufmag spoke, “Now, Crowley. You know its not right to lie to a demon.”

I tilted my head as the demon got down on its haunches. In my head, I started to count backward from ten. By five he started blowing puffs of smoke from his nostrils. When I got to one he struck the ground with his tail and pounced right at me, his claws lighting up in the dark alleyway. I waited until he hit the apex of his jump, then tapped my cane against the ground twice.

The familiar smell of sulfur made me smile.

Two pairs of chains shot from the ground around me. Steam came from their blue flames as they wrapped themselves around Hufmag. The monster fell, unceremoniously hitting the pavement with a hard crack. I saw a tooth fly from his mouth and land at my feet. I picked it up, turning it over in my hands as my demons crawled their way out of the ever-growing circles at my sides. I heard the various homeless people behind me fleeing from their appearance.

Good. Less chance of them getting in my way.

The demons, Binders, at my sides finished climbing from their summoning circles. They had no heads or arms, instead, flames flew above their necks while their arms were replaced by flaming chains. Their bodies were covered in black straps that kept any hint of skin hidden from view.

I tilted my head at Hufmag, “You didn’t let me finish. No one gets hurt, besides you.”

“That's still a lie, damn it!” Hufmag struggled in his bonds.

“No, it’s a half-truth. There’s a difference. And don’t bother struggling, the chains’ll just get tighter,” as if to prove my words, the chains wrapped around him a second time. He stopped moving after that.

His eyes shot between the two Binders at my sides, “So, this is what you two are doing now huh? Kuggath, Zigin.”

I knew what he was trying to do. Trying to turn my demons against me by drawing upon their familiarity. Bit surprised that he knew these two, but it wasn’t completely out of the ballpark.

I look at both Binders out of the corners of my eyes as I talk, “You’re wasting your time, Hufmag. These two are pretty cold-hearted towards demons when a contract's involved. Isn’t that right?” The two shook their chains which I took to mean yes. I started to walk forward while reaching behind me for the brand, “Now, let’s get you to the Punishment Corp.“

Everything was going just fine for me. I found my target, had him dead to rights and was gonna be able to get home in time to enjoy some much needed R&R.

Which I why I should’ve seen the next thing coming.

I don’t know how I didn’t see it. An empty stray can some poor bastard was probably eating out of, rolling right in front of my path. Maybe the rain clouded my vision, or I was so focused on getting this done and heading home that I stopped paying attention to my surroundings.

What I did wrong didn’t matter.

What did matter was how I stepped on the can with my bad left leg. The lose of balance made me misplace my cane, and I ended up hitting the solid, silvertip on my tender kneecap.

Pain instantly shot through the limb into the rest of my body. I cried out while falling to one knee, cane falling to the wet floor. I closed my eyes while my hands gripped my knee, grunting while trying to let it pass. My entire being was focused on dealing with the pain lancing across my frame.

I would’ve been dead if it hadn’t been for the Binders.

Something small whistled past my ear, making my eyes shoot open. I looked up at Hufmag. His tail was up and its spaded tip was missing. He wasn’t looking at me, but at the Binder to my left who had loosened its grip to throw off the angle of his shot. I reached up and touched my cheek, warm blood flowing across my fingers.

Ignoring my throbbing knee I stood up, grabbing my cane from the ground nearby. I heard Hufmag gulp as I stepped forward. I lifted my cane and placed the end on his forehead. He chuckled nervously as I thumbed a button on the tip.

The smell of brimstone, burning flesh, and the sound of a demon screaming in agony filled the alleyway.

A nice memory that I could sleep on.