Chapter One

I spooned a dollop of sauce onto several slices of bread and used the back of my spoon to spread it out in the pattern indicated by my cookbook. The spicy sauce was offset by a creamy base and chock-full of fresh herbs. Keeping myself from sticking a finger in the bowl or licking the spoon was a form of torture. When done saucing up the bread, I turned and walked to the kitchen sink to place the spoon among the other waiting dishes.

I ran the water hot, adding some dish soap to the mess, then stopped when I felt a presence behind me. There was a sound like dog claws against the floor, but I didn’t have any pets.

“What trickery is this?” A low male voice rumbled.

I whirled around to see an unfamiliar man, if he could be called that, standing between me and my precious sandwiches. He stood head and shoulders taller than me, with long black hair almost to his knees. Dark horns twisted out from an inch or so above his hairline. Lime green eyes with slit pupils soon settled on me.

A demon. That’s what horns indicated, right? Was my cooking really so bad that it summoned a demon?

“Why did you summon me?” The demon growled, flashing upper and lower fangs—all eight of them.

“I didn’t…” I slowly set aside my hand towel, swallowing hard, while I attempted to process the strange being in front of me. “…do you…do you want a sandwich?”

“Pardon?” The demon gave me an incredulous stare, before reiterating, “I asked you why you summoned me, woman.”

“I didn’t mean to summon you!” I flinched and backed away when he took a step toward me. His expression softened ever-so-slightly, and he stopped moving, but he still looked wary. I pointed past him. “I…I was just making sandwiches to take to a friend’s baby shower. I got a new cookbook and wanted to try the new recipes in it.

“Um… Can I send you back somehow? I really didn’t mean to summon you, and you seem like you’re dressed up, so I’m guessing you were busy. Just tell me—”

“What do you want?” The demon eyed me.

“Huh?” I blinked at him.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “There must be something you want, if you’re willing to release me so easily.”

“No… Yes? I want to right my mistake, whatever it was. Does that count?” I shook my head. “The least I can do is offer you food and a way back to…wherever you came from.”

“You were going to say ‘Hell.’” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I was…but you don’t seem very fire and brimstone-y to me.” I wrung my hands together in front of me. “I really don’t…”

“When must you leave?” He interjected.

His question puzzled me, but I answered all the same, “Half an hour?”

“Then I will have a sandwich, if it will not leave you with too few.” He strode toward the breakfast nook and took a seat gracefully on chair, weaving his, long scaled tail through the rungs behind him. “Show me this book you were using.”

Arguing with a demon didn’t seem like a good idea. I obediently plated one of the sandwiches for him, grabbed the cookbook, and brought both over to him. Once close, I detected the faint scent of sandalwood around him.

“Um… Do you want anything to drink?” I asked, causing the demon’s eyes to flick toward me. “Oh, and my name is Celia, by the way.”

“Do you have wine?” He asked.

“Red, white, or rosé?”

He shooed me off to fetch a bottle of dry white wine. I decided to grab my most expensive bottle, rather than have the demon catch me skimping. When I placed the bottle and a glass on the table for him, he didn’t look up. His attention was fully on the cookbook.

“Hmph, they are bound as well…” he muttered to himself, sliding his finger down one of the recipes. “How did you acquire this book?”

“I work at a local bookstore and have been trying to learn to cook,” I grumbled. “No one wanted to buy it, so the shop owner sold it to me for cheap just to get rid of it.”

He finally looked up, his expression one of doubt. “You chanced upon it? A book where the Aloryi royalty are bound, and you just happened to pick it up? Preposterous.”

“I’m telling you the truth!” I insisted. “…what’s an Aloryi?”

“You don’t even know my kind’s name?” He sighed and gave me a tired look. “I believe humans still call denizens of the Underrealm ‘demons.’ My race is the Aloryi—humans once called us ‘Moon Keepers.’”

“Underrealm?” I gulped when he released another aggravated sigh. “I… Would that be literal, like hollow earth theory, or…”

“Hollow earth? Is that really what humans call it now?” he asked in disbelief. “Furthermore… Theory? It really has been a long time since I was last on the surface.”

“So, about sending you back…” I spoke awkwardly, watching him pour his glass full of wine. “I can undo whatever I did somehow, right?”

“You still mean to free me?” The demon studied me in silence. “Then, burn the book. Destroy it. With it gone, those of us bound to it will be freed.”

“Oh… Can I write down some of the recipes first?” I asked.

“Why are you asking me for permission?” He growled, making me flinch. A sigh escaped him. “I apologize. You needn’t be frightened of me, if you truly mean to do as you say.”

“I-I just didn’t know if the recipes are what bound you and the other Aloryi, or…” I trailed off, wringing my hands. He was beautiful, but terrifying. If he was a demon, and I’d summoned him with magic, then magic was real. He could probably use magic too. That would be bad.

“The recipes themselves are harmless.” He started to hand me the book, then stopped. “I will copy them down. You have some event to prepare for, don’t you?”

“I do, but…” I flinched again when he shot me a sharp glare. “O-okay! I’m going!”

By the time I finished dressing and doing my makeup, I was feeling worse. He said royalty were bound to that book. So, I’d summoned some powerful man away from important business most likely. A demon—no, an Aloryi.

Moon Keeper. I fidgeted with a bracelet. If they were known for being related to the moon somehow…why were they living underground?

“Um, you never told me your name…” I mumbled upon returning to the kitchen.

“Because if I tell you, it will finalize your summoning,” he stated without looking up. “I finished transcribing the recipes for you. Go destroy the book.”

I plucked the cookbook off the table and stared down at the unassuming cover for a moment, my pulse racing in my ears. Shaking my head, I strode into the living room, aware of the Aloryi following me. Once there, I ripped the pages out of the book and threw them into the fire one-by-one. After they seemed sufficiently crispy, I tossed the cover in and grabbed the poker.

“You were serious. Interesting.” The man’s voice was a whisper. “I will keep that in mind.”

When I turned to inquire, he was gone, and my heart sunk. His name, or a thank you, would have been nice. I let my gaze fall to the floor. Who was I kidding? When was the last time anyone thanked me?

I shoved my disappointment away and wandered back into the kitchen. True to his word, there was a stack of neatly-written recipes on the table—a few more than I recalled being in the book.

The alarm on my phone blared, signaling it was time to leave. I hurriedly packed up the remaining sandwiches before carefully stashing the recipes where nothing could get to them.

Then, I left my house with one less sandwich than intended.