Jack long and the demons.., p.1
Jack Long and the Demon's Deal, page 1
Table of Contents
A NineStar Press Publication
Jack Long and the Demon's Deal
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
About the Author
Connect with NineStar Press
A NineStar Press Publication
www.ninestarpress.com
Jack Long and the Demon's Deal
ISBN: 978-1-64890-804-0
© 2024 L.J. Hamlin
Cover Art © 2024 Jaycee DeLorenzo
Published in September 2024 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact NineStar Press at Contact@ninestarpress.com.
CONTENT WARNING:
This book contains sexually explicit content, which may only be suitable for mature readers. Depictions of homophobic slurs, references to deceased parents, bullying (recounted), grief, past trauma, and workplace harassment.
Jack Long and the Demon's Deal
L.J. Hamlin
To everyone who has believed in me and encouraged me, especially my wonderful mother. You always had Faith in me. And to the late Rachel Caine, a writer who always had kind words for others and was so kind to me.
Chapter One
THE TWANG OF the guitar marked the end of the set, and Jack had a beer waiting behind the small backwoods Texas bar for his brother Kris.
“Beer?” Kris asked, leaning heavily against the other side of the bar. He looked bone weary, deep lines around his eyes. Jack was worried that working three jobs was going to run his brother into the grave early, something he’d been deathly afraid of happening from the day he was fourteen and their parents had passed away in an accident.
“You seem a little off tonight.” Jack passed over the cold bottle. It was a local brew.
“Show wasn’t good?” Kris asked, worry showing as Jack picked up a glass to clean. The bar was quiet enough that they could talk. Most people were on the main floor and were still dancing, even though the music had switched from the band to a CD.
“No, you sounded great. I just know you, Kris. You were tense.” Jack was pretty close to his older brother, a man who’d been like a father to him. He could read him fairly well, no matter how much Kris tried to hide his worries.
“I might have to give up the band,” Kris blurted out, and Jack was shocked. He hadn’t been expecting that. His brother loved playing with his laid-back country band.
“Why?” Jack asked.
“Cherry is pregnant. We’ll need more money. I need to find one job that pays well enough to support us, even when she can’t work. I just can’t see the band making enough money for me to justify the time for practicing and performing.”
Jack did his best to hide his shock. “Congratulations, but I thought Cherry couldn’t have kids?”
Kris and Cherry were high-school sweethearts and had married a couple years ago. Jack loved his sister-in-law; they were close, and she’d told him herself about her health issues.
“That’s what her old doctor told her, but she’s at three months now. I waited to tell you, but her new doc says she might need bed rest for some of the pregnancy. Her blood pressure is low and a bunch of stuff I don’t understand, but God, Jack, we want this baby. I’ll pay every doctor’s bill it takes to keep my kid and Cherry safe and happy. I’ll find a way. I can’t lose either of them.” Kris looked like the world was weighing on his shoulders yet again. He hadn’t had an easy life. He deserved a break, and Jack wished he could give him one, but he was just a bartender in a shitty bar. He had no money to spare.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked anyway.
“Win the lottery? Don’t stress about it though, kid. It’s not your job to take care of me.” Kris waved away his offer of help.
“You’re my brother. Cherry is like my sister, and that baby she’s carrying is family. If I can help, I will. I’ll get a second job, help you out,” Jack offered, meaning every word.
“I appreciate it, Jack, but you need to take care of you first. Working too much is no good for you. I don’t want you burning out again. Look, we’re due back on. We’ll talk about it more some other time.” Kris took a swallow of his beer, then turned and left before Jack could argue.
Kris got back up on the small stage with the rest of his band. The CD stopped, and Kris strapped his guitar on and took the mic. He was just over six feet tall, with broad shoulders, a slight beer belly, and a handsome sort of face. He kept his blond hair shaved, a habit from his short time in the army. Jack looked a lot like his brother, except he was a good few inches shorter, with a slimmer frame. Where Kris’s hair was cropped close, Jack let his grow long, golden blond down to his shoulders.
Kris looked at home on stage, dancing lightly in time with the music, crooning his own lyrics and a few covers. He was talented, with an excellent voice and good with the guitar, but he’d never had a break. Jack couldn’t imagine ever getting on that stage himself. He would fall apart, he was sure. Though both he and Kris had been diagnosed with PTSD for different reasons, it didn’t affect them in the same way. Kris was far more confident—at least he was when it came to music. He could be useless at small talk.
“Hey, spaceman, you with me?” a voice called, and Jack shook himself out of his hyper focus on his brother and realized he had a friend at the bar.
Kim Joy stood out in a redneck bar, not just because of their mixed heritage, making them the only Asian in a room full of white people. It was their clothes, their long black skirt and corset, the blue streaks in their black hair, the dramatic eye makeup and dark lipstick, the pentagram on a cord around their neck.
Hazelwood Creek didn’t have many half Chinese, goth, nonbinary femme witches. In fact, it only had Kim Joy, and their little shop had caused quite the stir. Jack personally loved them. They were snarky and sweet, whip smart. And he was lucky enough to call them a friend.
“Sorry, Kim. What would you like to drink?” Jack asked.
“Whisky sour, and I may have overheard a little. Congratulations on becoming an uncle.” Kim Joy smiled, their bright-red lipstick shiny even in the dim bar light.
Jack prepared Kim’s drink. “Know any spells to bring in wealth?”
“None that’ll be what you need, but I do have a suggestion. It’s not something to be taken on lightly though.” Kim took their whisky sour and swirled the plastic stirrer through the liquid. They looked very serious and kept their voice low.
“One second.” Jack had to leave to serve someone quickly, but Kim was still waiting for him when he was finished.
“I was never much of a believer, not before I knew you, so shoot. What is it that you think I should try?” Jack trusted them. If anyone was a real mystic, it was Kim Joy.
“Your life needs more balance, right?” Kim asked seriously.
“I guess my family could use a little more light. This baby is the first miracle in a while, but I’m scared giving up music will kill part of Kris,” Jack admitted.
Kim nodded. “You need to summon a balance demon and make a deal.”
“A balance demon?” Jack was a bit in over his head. He’d seen Kim Joy do small things: blessings that charged the air, simple healings. He’d started lighting the candles they suggested and keeping crystals, but demons? He didn’t even know those were real.
“It’s not for the faint of heart. You have to be willing to make whatever deal is offered. I’ve talked with demons before, and word is, balance demons are the least dark, but still far from light. They can be trusted though, not like tricksters. Their word is their bond,” Kim Joy explained in hushed tones.
“How do I summon one?” Jack asked, out of his depth but willing to try just about anything.
“You need to go to a deconsecrated church ground, like the one on Bishops Hill, in the hour before dawn. Knock three times on the door and say ‘I seek balance,’ then light a candle and wait for it to go out. When it does, the demon will appear.” Kim Joy described the process as if it were simple.
“I get off close to dawn. I could go tonight, but I don’t have a candle in my car.” Jack wanted to act soon. If this failed, which he was almost certain it would, he still needed time to find a way to help Kris.
“I have some in my bag. A white candle would be best.” Kim Joy patted their colorful large bag.
“Is this something an amateur should mess with alone?” Jack wanted to be sure. On Kim’s advice, he’d warded his apartment against evil, little things like that, but summoning a demon was leaping forward about a dozen steps in the witch path.
“Most people I would advise against any dealings with demons, but Jack, you have the purest spirit I have ever encountered, and that will work in your favor. And like I have told you before, you could be a very powerful witch with practice.” Kim Joy’s eyes shone in the dim bar light. Anyone else standing before him, apart from maybe Kris and Cherry, he would have assumed they were trying
“Can I borrow a candle, please?” he asked, mind made up.
“Of course. Here, take it now. I’m not staying much longer. One more quick dance and home for me. I need to charge some moon water. You’re lucky it’s a full moon. The veil is thinner tonight,” Kim Joy said brightly as they opened their bag and passed over a large tea light.
“Do you have a ride home?” Jack asked, worried about them getting home safely.
“A circle member is coming to pick me up, a trusted friend. Don’t you worry, Jack Long. Besides, you should know by now a person would be a fool to cross a witch.” Kim Joy flashed him a wicked smile, reading his concern easily, as they always did.
“Just because I know you can defend yourself from a lot doesn’t mean I want you put in a situation where you have to do so,” Jack told them, firmly putting the candle into his loose work pants pocket.
Kim Joy grinned. “You’re a doll, Jack, but I’m fine. Let me know how it goes.”
“I will.” Jack patted his pocket. Kim Joy took their drink to go dance, and Jack focused on the rest of his shift.
Kim Joy left not long after, waving from the doorway before they went out into the night. Kris and his band played a few more songs while Jack restocked and cleaned the bar and served drinks. The band said goodbye to the crowd and got a good cheer. Then they broke down their equipment and loaded it into a van outside. Kris came to say goodnight, and Jack put on a well-practiced mask he hardly ever used with his big brother. He didn’t want Kris knowing he had plans to help him out financially. Kris wouldn’t approve. He wasn’t a big believer in witchcraft and thought the unknown should be left well enough alone.
“Good set.” Jack smiled.
“Yeah. I haven’t told them yet about leaving. Can’t quite find the words,” Kris said sadly.
“It’ll work out. I promise,” Jack assured him.
“You okay to drive home? You look tired. I can come back and get you?” Kris offered.
“I’m cool. Lot of gas left in my tank before I need sleep to refuel.” Jack grinned. He was tired, but he wouldn’t tell that to Kris. Kris worried enough about Jack working late at the bar as it was.
“If you say so. Cherry wants you over for lunch Sunday. Friends welcome, or a date. Her words, not mine. I know how hard it is for you to date in a small town like this,” Kris chuckled.
Cherry always worried about Jack being single, not just because she was a big believer in true love, but because she knew him. He wanted a relationship, but wouldn’t date just to not be alone, and that would be what he would be doing if he dated any of the few gay people he knew of in town. They were mostly good people, but there had been no spark with them, even the two he’d slept with.
Jack groaned. “I’ll be there for lunch, most likely alone. Please tell her no matchmaking this time.” Cherry had a habit of inviting him to events with gay men in hopes he’d find love. It was often awkward, especially in the cases where he’d rejected the person before.
“I promise to try, but she has her own mind. You know that,” Kris pointed out, jingling his keys in his hand in the way he always did when he was ready to leave.
“Yep. See you Sunday, bro, or are you playing tomorrow?” Jack asked.
“Playing tomorrow. Early slot like you. Just found out outside. Someone cancelled. Your boss was not pleased, so watch out. He might still be in a mood. Keep your head if he is. No losing your job,” Kris warned him.
“I know how to deal with him. Go on; get home. You need to sleep too.” Jack waved Kris away. His boss, Greg, could be a little volatile at times. Kind of a shit boss, to be honest, but he was the only person who would offer Jack a job after he’d come out as gay.
“See you tomorrow, kid.” Kris smiled faintly.
“Not a kid, but you will.” Jack had the thought that if he got sucked into a hell dimension trying to summon a balance demon tonight, Kris wouldn’t see him tomorrow, maybe not ever again, but he tried to push away that stomach-churning thought. It sounded like a horrible fate. His big brother had been amazing his whole life.
Kris reached over the bar to clasp Jack’s shoulder. He squeezed once before he stepped away and headed out the door. The tension in his brother’s back as he walked, the slight stoop in his shoulders, made Jack’s throat feel tight. He didn’t want to see Kris miserable. Losing music would do that to him. Even with the joy of a child he’d thought he’d never have, part of him would be missing. But Jack had plans to change that. The candle in his pocket felt heavy against his leg, like a reminder.
Kris left, and Jack rang out last call for drinks. Not many people tried to fit in another drink, and the crowd had thinned out a lot since the band stopped playing. Jack spent most of the end of his shift cleaning. He wasn’t in charge of closing tonight, so when it hit one a.m., he took off his work apron and put it away in the back room.
It’d been a hot August, so he didn’t have a coat with him. He just got his car keys from his battered locker and said goodnight to Greg.
“If you need any extra shifts, one of our waitresses, Amy, has been fired. If you can do her job, it’s yours,” Greg offered.
Jack didn’t ask what Amy had done to cause Greg to get rid of her. He was a bartender, but he’d waited tables before, and more hours meant more money, though he wasn’t sure a second crappy job would be enough to help Kris out with a baby. He knew how expensive kids were. The hospital bills alone would cost a small fortune.
“Can I let you know tomorrow?” he asked, hoping it wouldn’t piss Greg off. If this demon thing worked out, maybe he wouldn’t need the extra shifts.
“Yeah, sure, but I can’t give you longer than that.” Greg sounded grumpy.
“Of course. See you tomorrow, Greg.”
Jack said goodbye, left the bar, and climbed into his old beat-up Ford pickup. He took a minute to check everything was in the right place, turned his engine and lights on, and checked his glove box for cassette tapes. The vehicle was so old it didn’t even have a CD player, let alone a connection for an MP3 player.
Jack set out toward the old church before he could change his mind. It had stopped being a church before he was born. There’d been a murder and a small fire designed to cover it up that had failed. When Jack was in middle school, kids used to say the place was haunted and dare one another to touch the door or camp in the graveyard. Jack himself had been to a party there one night. He didn’t think of himself as tough, but it had never frightened him to be there. He’d spent a lot of time in the town’s newer, more modern graveyard by that age, visiting his parents’ grave. He still went there even now, four times a year, on the anniversary of their deaths, each of their birthdays, and his own birthday. He didn’t think he could manage more frequently than that—he’d just end up depressed, and he knew they wouldn’t want that for him.
He drove to the church with his music and thoughts of graves for company. Maybe he’d never feared ghosts because he’d carried his own with him every day.
Jack parked his car as close as he could and walked the rest of the way. He wasn’t afraid of getting jumped out here, because he knew no one would be around. Parties in the old church were rare now.
The graveyard was quiet, but not silent. Whispers of wind through trees and a few animal noises broke out into the near-dawn dimness. Twigs crunched under his feet as he walked the path to the small church, the noise reminding Jack of the time he’d heard a football player break his leg badly during a game. They made the same dry, crisp snap. Jack took out the candle and placed it on the steps of the church, lit it, then, remembering Kim Joy’s words, knocked on the door three times.
“I seek balance,” Jack said, trying to summon the energy inside him that Kim Joy had assured him was there. He begged whoever might be listening that this would work.
He stepped back from the door, not sure how long it would take. He sat in the grass and waited, watching the candle. It was the hour before dawn, and the day had been scorching hot, a dry heat. It was cooler now, bearable. It was a nice night to be outside. Still, Jack felt odd just sitting in a graveyard on a nice night instead of in Kris’s backyard, drinking a beer. What if the police swung by, looking for errant teenagers?
