Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... and, well, you're gonna have a bad time.

xxx

"Take a step back, please. Thank you. Careful, you don't want to step on those lines."

Sinbad crouched down, eying the thin criss-crossing chalk marks with interest. "You still haven't told me how this is going to work. I mean, I'm flattered. Any kind of help going into this dungeon is fine, but you still haven't told me what you want in return."

The magician straightened, pocking his chalk stub with a sigh. "Well, I don't want anything material, really. I just want to see that dungeon disappear - and, if you do succeed, I'd like to think you'd put it to better use, mm? But a youth like you - no magic, no backup. I think you could use a little help, no offense."

"You could come in yourself."

"No, that isn't really my style. Besides, this is something you have to do yourself, Sinbad!"

"But you just said - "

"Never you mind. Here, catch!" Sinbad reflexively grabbed at the shiny glint tumbling towards him, then opened his fingers to reveal a plain silver ring, devoid of any markings. "Put that on. It doesn't look like much, but I put a tiny piece of your magoi in it. It will help you stay in control, so... it would probably be a good thing if you didn't lose it, yes?"

Sinbad rolled it between a thumb and forefinger. "Alright, but... would you mind getting to the point, please?"

"Of course! Sit, sit - and put that on, please." At this bequest, Sinbad rocked back on his heels and rearranged himself to sit cross-legged as the blond-haired man clapped his hands together. "Excellent! So today, kiddo, we are going to summon a demon!"

Wait. What?

"We are - hey, wai-!" The words spilled out of Sin's mouth, but he clamped his jaw shut as the magician opened his palms, glowing spirals of light spilling out over his fingers and falling in milky wisps to the cool granite floor. The white lines surrounding Sinbad began to glow, red, magenta, navy, indigo, rippling and seeming to lift off the ground, trembling. Sinbad tensed, ready to leap up, but was forestalled as the other began chanting, rolling syllables and staccato vowels much different than any speech pattern Sinbad had ever heard.

The back of his neck crawled.

Then the air in the space between them wavered, bulging back and forth as though some invisible being was caught in a net of wind. Dark cracks appeared, leaking soot, and the chanting increased, faster and faster until -

Until the cracks dissolved from the bottom up, the light fading from the room. All that was left was the pale sunlight filtering through the room's sole window.

Sinbad stood warily, looking around. Across from him, the magician slumped down, hat hiding his features. Concerned, Sin prepared to step forward - then froze as a hand was held up. "Don't move, Sinbad. It will go badly if you step out of that circle before the contract is made."

"You know, it would have been super helpful if you had told me what you were going to do before this. A 'hey, here's what you need to do,' or something. And I sure as hell don't see -"

"That would have spoiled it, now wouldn't it?" He straightened finally, smiling crookedly. "And it is here. I can feel it probing for an escape - not that it will find one. I do like to think I know my stuff. Now, did you put the ring on?"

Sinbad displayed the sole finger he had slipped the ring onto.

"Well, I suppose I deserved that. Now, it is somewhat under your control since I used stray threads of your magoi in summoning it, but it won't listen easily. Very few demons like humans, and this one seems to solely want to return home if it didn't show itself from the beginning or now that I have explained that it is, indeed, here. No doubt it would have attacked you had you stepped out, and your death would have sent it back in an instant."

"... Alright." Privately, Sinbad resigned himself; this wasn't a shenanigan he was likely to get out of anytime soon. "So, what would happen if I took off the ring?"

"Taking it off only lessons the power slightly - you have to put a lot of determination behind your commands, so the ring acts as a failsafe. Breaking your ring - if you do it, it immediately will punt the demon back to the underground." The magician scratched his forehead, still looking much too pleased. "If someone or something else breaks it - then the contract is broken and the demon can return or wreck havoc in the corporeal world. In other words, do try to guard that ring carefully. It's a one-use failsafe if nothing else."

"Why a... demon? Why not - oh, a magical sword, or something like?" Or something less persnickety and likely to kill me, Sinbad added silently.

"I wanted to give you a strong source of power - and if this gambit works, then the power you gain will be much more than anything else I could have given you. But we dawdle!" He pulled himself up, sudden, face hardening into uncharacteristic seriousness. "Sinbad, put forth all of the willpower at your disposal. Call the demon and force it to appear - and you must be the one to do so, if master you will be. If I see the future correctly, then this will be a good test of what is to come. This is all the guidance I will give to you - show me your resolve, dungeon-capturer!"

Not yet, Sinbad thought, but right on the tail he amended, But I will be. That's right - if he was going to capture a dungeon, a death-trap, he had to be resolved. Any hesitation here would leave his bones as another unknown soul in the dusty pages of history - and Sinbad had too much at stake to die here and now.

He cast his eyes around, then exhaled slowly. How do I call a demon? He knew nothing save folk-lore and rumor, and still he sensed nothing - or did he? As he trailed his gaze slowly along the corners of the room, he seemed to catch little eddies, small swirls of dust that were implausible in this closed atmosphere. Slowly, he reached to his belt and unsheathed his sword, lightly planting the point on the floor next to him.

Sinbad ran a tongue over his teeth, then spoke quietly. "Hey. I know you are listening." Something seemed to shiver, like the rasp of scales sliding against parchment. "Will you appear in a form we can see?" No response, and Sin felt his eyes narrow. "Appear, demon!"

Little black dots seemed to starburst in the corner of his eyes, something fluttered above him. Sinbad gazed upwards and beheld a single rosy flower petal, drifting down from the ceiling - but muggily, as though moving through syrup rather than air, slow enough that the dimensions of its curves could be seen. As it moved to eye-level, it seemed to stretch, a flat plane bursting into space, fractals splitting like fine hairs off its surface- so otherworldly it made the air buzz and his teeth ache. It flipped and formed limbs, a spine curving from the center, claws and bones and the impression of skin stretching rubbery over flesh, darkening and curling, and before his eyes a cat appeared.

This wasn't like any cat Sinbad had ever seen, and really, 'cat' was stretching the description. It was feline-formed, but a little too angular, eyes a little too slanted, ears batlike, with short white peach-fuzz fur Sinbad had never seen a cat possess. The - cat? Demon? - floated lazily at torso-height, curling a tail (the point covered with wispy flowing fur, like the tuft of a lion's tail) as it yawned, then (as though a button had been pressed) it dropped to the floor, four feet tucking neatly beneath it. As Sinbad stared, it raised a paw to its face in a leisurely wash, and then -as Sinbad shot a look across the room, it settled back on its haunches, eying him with a malevolent stare.

Sinbad hesitated a moment more - seriously, what the utter hell? - but then he focuses back on the (cat, he guesses that's what he will call it for the moment) and stares back. Thundercloud irises glint at him before the cat tilts its head to the side and lets out a small rowh?

"Are... are you sure you summoned -"

"Yes, yes, that is indeed a demon. Give me some credit, Sinbad!"

Some great mage. Sinbad scowled. "Hey, you - uh - cat. Demon. What is your name?"

The cat, perhaps not surprisingly, did not respond.

I feel like a stupid. "Demon. Tell me your name!"

Then the cat coughed. "Of all the places I could have been sent to. What is up with this dingy, dusty storeroom?" It turned its gaze on the magician, speaking in a low, slightly raspy tenor that Sinbad had not been expecting, because, well, damn. "Shame on you, magi. Send me back. This hatchling doesn't have the slightest whit of sense or... potential, is that what you call it? Send me back. I don't serve weaklings."

"Hey, now!" Grey eyes returned to him, and Sinbad placed a hand on his hips. "That is quite rude to say to the face of someone you just met. Shouldn't you show some respect, demon?"

A sneer looked very strange on a cat. "A fool you are if that is what you wanted. Now, then..." It turned away again. "Now, send me back. You've performed your parlor tricks, but the show is over. I will not be paraded around as a spectacle."

"Turn around."

To Sinbad's surprise, the cat hissed and spun - and glared at him, spine arched and quivering. "I don't take orders from you, hatchling!"

He resisted the urge to step back as a thought poked at the back of his mind. "Unless I was wrong - you just did, did you not?"

A red pulse of fog seemed to emit from the cat, and Sinbad started as it - snapped - forward, expanding faster than his eyes could follow although he could feel it, lengthening and twisting and scaly coils filled the room, whirling and writhing and then a sharp-toothed muzzle was howling at him; the angry face of a silver serpent-bodied dragon filled his vision, hovering a mere foot away. "I did no such thing, stupid hatching! Step back and I will devour your bones and dance on your ashes!"

Sinbad tipped his head back, then shoved his face closer to the quivering beast, smiling toothily with all the nerve he could muster. "Well, well. Maybe the magician was right. You just might come in handy, huh?"

Sparks of electricity rippled off metallic scales like sheets of rain. "Or you could get in my way, and I could chew you up." The pupils inches from his own dilated. "After all, go out into the world as you are now, and that is what will happen. Someday, somewhere, someone is going to sink their teeth into your flesh and rip you inside out. It would be merciful if I did so now, before you have to watch your mistakes pile up." A pair of claws reached for him, grating against the wavering barrier of protection stemming from what Sinbad now realized was a magic circle.

He moved, swinging his sword up to mirror the movement of those talons. "Maybe I will bet against that. I won't fail, and I will drag you along to prove you wrong. I could do it without you, but hell, wouldn't it be a kicker for you, to have to help and watch me rise, contrary to your predictions?"

The room seemed to waver in a heat haze, curling in on itself. "Fuck -" Then Sinbad stepped forward and the dragon reeled back, coiling away from him.

"I am making a contract with you, demon. You're coming with me, and you are going to help me. I am going to change your mind -" he allowed himself a small smile - "And I am going to change your perception of humans. Who knows, you might even get to have fun - and if I falter, then you can kill me."

Sinbad stepped again, fully out of the circle, but the demon was backstepping, ears laid back, teeth bared, but Sin could feel - like an extension of his fingers, like the opening of a third eye - the tensing of hind legs, desperation and confusion melding to rage. Yet these eternity filled seconds of perception did not cow him; he felt revived, like he had gulped a mug poured to the brim with adrenalin, and it expanded into a core of determination in his breast.

The dragon sprung -

- And Sinbad darted forward, shifting his weight heavily back to slide under the lunging torso. He pivoted his weight on his hand and flipped around, sword low to his side, as the dragon followed him and plunged low, tail sweeping around to prevent his escape. Sinbad ran with it, leaping up with a hand planted on a firm back just in time (his hand tingled with heat as it touched moonlight scales) and vaulted onto its back, grabbing at the tangled crest between the base of its shoulders.

The dragon shrieked and bucked, and Sinbad spared a moment to hope that the magician wasn't being crushed before it began to stomp and spin around the room, throwing its weight to and fro. Sin tightened his grip - and after a moment of hesitation he tossed his sword away, letting it clang against the wall. The demon angled its head, and Sin somersaulted forward as teeth snapped inches from his leg.

Hissing, the dragon gathered itself against the farthest wall, preparing another charge, and Sinbad felt his hands bunch into fists, nails digging into skin as he met the force of that gaze with all the fire he could muster, thinking in a mantra, a prayer, you will not kill me, you will change, and if I can do this I can face anyone who ever doubted me.

The dragon hurtled forward, like boulder bouncing free of the mountain's grasp, like a tidal wave, and Sinbad braced himself in a moment's preparation before sprinting forward too.

As the demon's skin seemed to ripple, Sinbad jumped -

- The beast seemed to melt in upon itself, fabric spinning out from scales, neck rearing back as though in shock -

- And in the next moment Sinbad tackled it to the ground, right hand swinging forward in a punch, but he pulled it at the last minute as he saw the demon's new form.

The same thundercloud-sky slit-pupiled eyes of the dragon stared back up at him, but now the demon was... human, white hair framing freckled features. The demon stared up at him, eyes wide in what Sinbad perceived as shock, and as Sinbad lowered his hand slightly (the other one was entangled in the coarse black fabric of the demon's tunic) he felt the resistance leak out of the body pinned beneath his.

"How?" The demon asked, bewilderment condensed into a single word. "How did you impose your - what did you do?"

Sinbad looked down at him for a moment - thin limbs, slightly pointed eyeteeth - then gently rapped his knuckles against the demon's forehead. "I won, that's what. I had already, from the beginning." Then he pushed himself up, now aware of the magician stepping closer (so focused on the demon - Sinbad hadn't even registered him leaving the circle) but ignoring him in favor of studying the demon fully.

It pushed itself up, staring at him. In most ways, it - he? - looked human, with pale features and freckles spilling like scars across its face and neck, clad in a wrap of black fabric around its shoulders and grey, torn trousers. Bare-footed, with the edges of scars wrapping around its legs, it rose to one knee - and the only decidedly non-human aspect now was the silver tail, much like the cat's to the tuft of fur at the end. The magician reached Sinbad's side as it tried to rise and slumped back, hands hitting the ground.

Sin looked to his right. "Yunan, you are an ass. I want a warning next time." Disregarding the magi's shrug, Sinbad looked down at the demon. "Why did you shift? I expected more fight than that."

Hands curled against the dusty floor. "Believe me, another second and I would have..." He glowered. "You forced me to change. Now, let me up."

"What do you -"

"I can't stand because of you!"

"Hm." Without warning, Sinbad stepped forward and crouched down to the demon's eye level, ignoring how it jerked back it surprise. "Does this mean I won? You accept me?'

That tufted tail lashed back and forth, but then the fight seemed to leak out of his body as he lowered his head. "Your will was greater than I expected. For now, I will submit."

Sinbad looked pensively at the bead bowed in submission. If he had put up that great of a fight, then Yunan, for all his scheming, was right - this would be a useful alley. Nonetheless, the small voice in the back of his mind felt awkward, imposing his will on a creature whose first wish was to return home (balanced though it might be by the indignant voice of his ego). The form of the dragon leapt to his mind's eye - elemental and chaotic, but in no way different than any other force of nature. Sinbad rocked back on his heels and stood, then offered his hand out - and watched silver eyes shoot up as Yunan made a soft oh.

"Well, welcome aboard, my first subordinate. My name is Sinbad, son of Badr and Esra of Parthevia." He grinned, feeling the aftermath of battle adrenaline slowly leaving his body. "Come with me, and we'll see who is right about my fate. Will you accept my contract?"

The demon stared up at him, eyes narrowed. Then he reached out a hand (the nails narrowed to sharp, delicate points) and took hold of Sinbad's hand, and Sinbad forced his eyes to stay open as a tingling warmth sliced up his arm. "Very well. But remember, step wrong -" It stood up, rolling a shoulder as tiles of light tilted in his eyes, "And I will kill you without hesitation. Do you think you can handle that?"

Sinbad did not relinquish his grasp, gazing down at the shorter demon. "Gladly. If I back down, I will take your claws without regret. Now, what is your name?"

And for the first time the demon smiled, fierce and knowingly. "My name is Ja'far."