Author's Note: I wasn't going to post this for a number of reasons, but the little tickle of an idea has grown so much that I thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone else enjoyed it. The title of this chapter is from the poem "Alone" by Edgar Allen Poe.

I hope you enjoy!

psyche b

1. Demon In My View

Crowley was bored.

It had taken some time and some creativity to return Hell to the delicate balance of chaos and order that seemed to work best. Just because it worked didn't mean the whole thing wasn't bloody dull at times. Torture this lot, execute that lot, listen to some underling explain why production isn't higher, blah, blah, blah. Hardly enough to keep one day from running into the other. True he had time now to indulge his own interests, but all of the usual distractions began to pall too. Here he was, charming, sophisticated, not to mention handsome and the supreme ruler of an expansive dimension with untold resources at his fingertips, and what was he doing? Staring at the 'Now Serving' board and watching the numbers tick over and the lines of the damned shuffle forward.

Then there was the human blood. Although he was loath to admit it, his time of addiction had left its mark. There were moments of yearning for something he couldn't name and a sentimentality that brought a lump to his throat at the strangest times. Sex, in all of its imaginative forms, came close to appeasing the yearning sometimes. Nothing came close to quelling the sentimentality and frankly, it pissed him off. It pissed him off even more that his relationship with Moose and Squirrel was now even more complicated than it had been in the past.

In the back of his mind, he could hear the calls from a thousand crossroads across the world and his eyebrows lifted just a fraction. Before he was the King of Hell, he had been worn another title; King of the Crossroads. Humans had a way of being mildly distracting and sometimes a king just had to make his own fun.

#

This is ridiculous, Sara thought. They should have been back in the dorm, or at least sneaking out to someplace normal. The normal 'sneaking out to party' probably wouldn't make for a very good night out for her either though. Sara had accepted that she and 'normal fun' had never really been comfortable in each other's company.

"Why do you look so worried?" Leah checked her lipstick in the visor mirror. "You know Sister Julia is deaf as a post. If she gets curious, Dani and Becks will cover for us. We're not going to get caught. Besides, even if we do, we're in college now." She tossed her lipstick back into her bag. The gesture conveyed finality.

"You've said that every other day since August." Sara glanced at the ribbon of road on the Garmin. She tried not to think about the fact that the rest of the landscape was uncomfortably blank. "Besides, I'm not worried about getting caught."

Leah groaned. "Oh God, not this again."

"Yes, this again," Sara said.

"It's just fun."

"It's not just fun. You don't know what's going to happen-"

Leah took a tin box out of the back seat. "It's a box of crap, Sara. Not to mention a bunch of mumbo jumbo words that probably don't mean anything anyways. "

"They certainly do mean something."

"Pardon me Miss Always Gets A's in Latin."

"If it's all crap then why do you want to do it so bad? Why did you pick at me until I agreed to drive you all the way out to the armpit of nowhere?" Sara couldn't keep the exasperation out of her voice.

"You could have just let me borrow your car." Leah said.

Sara smiled a little. "Your driving leaves a lot of be desired."

"And without me you'd never have any fun."

"Spells at crossroads aren't on the usual list of fun outings and you never did tell me why you're so set on it." Sara asked.

"Because – Because I didn't have a date."

It was a lie and Sara knew it. Leah was obsessed with the idea of summoning a demon ever since she found that old book in the basement of the library. Sara had tried to talk her out of it for over a month. She had threatened, and cajoled and reasoned and none of it had worked. Up until an hour before she had steadfastly refused to help Leah in any way. When it was obvious that Leah wasn't going to change her mind, Sara couldn't let her best friend do something like this on her own. She tried to keep her voice neutral. "What if nothing happens?"

Leah attempted a casual shrug. "We go back to school."

"And you drop this? Just like that?"

"Course." Another lie.

"What if something does happen? What if it isn't all crap?" Sara asked.

"You have arrived at your destination." The mechanical voice of the Garmin interjected.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sara stared at the run down bar. Well, run down was probably a generous description. Decrepit was more accurate. The place might have been painted at some point, but wind and weather had stripped that off long ago leaving only bare gray boards. A dirty window looked out on a parking lot that was lit only by the red neon sign that read "X-Roads Inn". The sign flickered at irregular intervals dousing the nearly empty dirt lot in unreliable crimson light. Sara was still taking it all in when she heard the car door open and close.

"Come on." Leah started toward the crossroads.

Sara trotted after her and grabbed her arm. "You just want to go and do this?"

"That's why we're here." Leah said.

"You got all dressed up to go bury a box of garbage? Come on. You wouldn't even walk across the lawn in those shoes last week and now you're going to go running off across the gravel?" Sara knew it sounded lame, but she was desperate. She wasn't even sure where all this desperation was coming from. Saints and angels were pretty fiction and demons were ugly fiction, but something about the whole thing felt wrong to her.

Leah smiled. "Like you said, what if something happens? Coming?"

Sara looked at the bar and then at the crossroads bathed in the weak yellow light of a single street light and tried to decide which was the lesser of the two evils. "If I say no, will it make a difference?"

Leah laughed. "Nope. It's all crap, right? Order me something with a little umbrella."

Sara watched Leah mince her way across the rutted parking lot on dangerously high stilettos. She should go with her, but something kept her feet rooted to the spot. Sara turned and walked up the two stairs onto a hollow-sounding porch. Weathered boards shifted under her feet just a little too much for Sara's comfort. The door protested with a loud squeak as she opened it. Inside the bar was just as seedy as the outside. There was a haze of alcohol tinged smoke hanging in the air, though where it had come from was a mystery because the place was empty. Mismatched wooden chairs and tables wore battle scars, so did the bar. The bartender was a mountainous man in a stained undershirt. He might have looked terrifying if it weren't for the expression of utter boredom on his face.

He regarded Sara for a moment, his brown eyes dull. "You wanna sit you buy a drink."

She swallowed hard and glanced behind the bar. Most of the bottles she saw were cheap hard liquor and many were dusty, all except for several bottles of a very fine Scotch. Her eyebrow twitched with curiosity. "Beer." She put her hand into her bag, ready to produce a fake ID and money.

He gave her a warmish bottle of Budweiser and a glass speckled with what might have been water spots. He took the money without glancing at the ID.

She turned to find a seat and that's when she noticed the one other patron in the place, though it was clear from the way that his eyes lingered that he had definitely noticed her. He picked up a heavy, cut crystal glass and took a sip of the dark amber liquid in it. Sara pretended not to notice and chose a seat by the window. She set the beer and the glass aside and watched Leah struggle to scrape a hole deep enough in the gravel of the crossroads to bury the box.

"Waiting your turn?" The man from the other side of the room had appeared at her elbow.

Sara barely suppressed a little jump. "I don't know what you mean." She turned back to the window, hoping the stranger would take the hint.

He sat down across from her. "Come on now, pet. It's nothing to be shy about." His voice put her in mind of roughened velvet. The English accent added to the effect.

"I think you're mistaking me for-"

"I've been at this a long time, darling. Your friend out there is burying a box containing the ingredients of a spell." He looked out the window in time to see Leah manage to get the box covered over. "She'll recite an incantation and a demon will appear to grant her a single wish for a nominal fee."

Sara really looked at him for the first time. He was exquisitely tailored with intense eyes and the kind of stubble that was fashionable. A little smirk was playing around his lips and she was sure that she caught a spark of fire in his hazel eyes. She drew a deep breath. The possibility was too much to think about. She looked out the window to see Leah chatting with a man in a loud green suit. The way Leah touched his arm and the way he nudged her shoulder was familiar and flirtatious. Sara started to get up but her companion grasped her wrist and held it in a surprisingly gentle grip.

"Mustn't interfere." One fingertip stroked the inside of her wrist.

"But she's about to-"

"Exercise her God given free will. A means to desired end." His fingertip circled the prominent nub of bone on her wrist, then took his hand away and lifted his glass. "Crowley. And you?"

Sara was sure she could still feel his touch tingling over her skin. The thought of not answering didn't even occur to her. "Sara." She glanced out the window again. Leah was laughing with the man in the green suit. Sara's eyebrows drew together.

"The way of the world, pet. We trade what we have for what we want." He took a languid swallow of the Scotch. "Surely there must be something you want."

She looked at him, her eyes locked on his. "No."

He smiled. "You haven't even heard what I can offer. A bright girl like you could go a long way with a bit of assistance."

"There's nothing I want from you." Sara said firmly.

The door burst open and Leah came in. She was smiling and her lipstick was smudged. She came over to Sara. "I'm going to be famous!"

"Another satisfied customer." Crowley said. Sara ignored him.

"Famous for what?" Sara asked.

Her eyebrows drew together. "I don't know, but famous is good right? How bad could it be?" She giggled. "Did you meet a guy? You never meet guys! Who's your friend?"

Sara ignore the last two questions. "You didn't even specify what you wanted?"

Leah pulled a compact out of her handbag. "I did. I said famous and he said okay. Why would I say anything else?" She started to fix her lipstick. "Aren't you going to-"

"No." She got up and grasped Leah's wrist. "Come on."

"I haven't even had a drink yet." Leah protested.

Sara held the door open. Leah trotted after her, complaining about wanting a drink. She looked at a staring Crowley. "It was...interesting meeting you." Why Sara had felt so compelled to say it was a mystery to her. She let the door slam shut behind her.

#

Crowley had almost forgotten how predictable most humans were. He was having a drink and considering searching for amusement elsewhere when she walked in. A tiny little thing with soft mahogany curls and a confidence that was far older than her years. She hadn't flinch from his touch and she met his eyes. Not only that, she wasn't tempted. Not even a little bit. Oh he'd seen plenty of refusals. Most were given out of fear or the desire to do the 'right' thing. She'd rejected his offer like he couldn't possibly have anything she'd be interested in.

He took a long swallow of the Scotch and felt the pull of the human blood inside him. He refused to acknowledge it, telling himself that this was why he'd come back to the crossroads. This stubborn, complex soul that only a king could acquire.

A bit of research wouldn't go amiss though.

Crowley disappeared, taking the rest of the Scotch with him.