The air in my hotel room was stale, warm, and unmoving for the last 12 hours. I flipped on the light and threw my phone on the nearby chair.

"Get some rest," my manager said from behind me. I turned and gave him a weary thumbs up. "Will do," I said. He nodded before disappearing into his room across the hall. He looked as exhausted as I felt. Today was the last day of a music festival I had been performing at for the last four days. Artists from all over the country had come to perform. Recording labels and film companies had come to scope their new talent.

I peeled off my leather jacket and fell backward onto the bed, mattress embracing me. The life was crazy but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The fans, the perks, the deals, it was fantastic.

The lights flipped on in the bathroom. I shot up, heart thumping. "Who's there?" I called.

"You know who it is."

My fingers went icy. I stood and walked to the bathroom, barely realizing what I was doing. She stood at the sink, putting another layer on of her iconic red lipstick. She turned her head and smiled at me, the tube of lipstick vanishing in a swirl of black smoke. "Hello, Vin," she said.

"Hello, Lucie," I said.

She leaned forward and kissed me on my cheek. When she backed away, I saw, in the mirror, the crimson marks start to sizzle and burn my skin. I wiped at it quickly with the back of my hand and it disappeared, as if never there.

"Why are you here?" I said, exiting the bathroom. I heard the click of her heels as she followed me out.

"You're not happy to see me?" she said, a hint of a pout in her voice.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Sitting at the little desk, I opened it and took a long drink. She settled in on the end of the bed, long legs crossed. Her short dress crept up her leg and I cleared my throat.

"You never invited me over, darling, Vin," she said. Her eyebrows inched towards each other as she said, "Or maybe I should call you Jonathon?"

"You never answered my question."

The playfulness melted off her and she frowned at me. "I'm here to remind you," she said.

"Of what?" I rested my right ankle on my left leg and watched her carefully.

"Your contract," she said. She smiled as the blood left my face. "Yes, that little thing." She leaned forward, placing her hand on her fist.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Oh, just a little thing about it coming to an end," she said, waving a hand. "You know all about contracts, with your record labels and movies. Do I need to remind you of what it said?"

"N-" I could barely get a sound out before she pulled the sheet of paper out of the air. A corner was burning and she blew it out gently. "Let's see here... This contract ends when the signatory turns 27."

"I've been 27 for several months now," I said. "What exactly does that mean?"

"All of my help with your," she gestured to me, "Ventures, will come to an end."

"So, thanks for your help," I said. I stood and held a hand out to the door. "You know the way out."

She laughed, throwing the contract into the air. It burst into flames and sizzled away. "That's not exactly what it means. What do you think will happen when I leave you?"

"You leave. That's it. I don't need your help anymore."

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Jonathon, how silly of you."

I sat back at the desk, thumb rubbing the condensation on the bottled water. "I signed that thing when I was, what, 18, 19? I don't exactly remember what everything meant."

"Remember when you had your first big break?" Lucie said.

"Of course. I assumed you helped with that," I said. "Suddenly there was an opening at that signing competition? And there was a record label rep that just happened to be there? I told you, thank you."

"And that was the last time we talked, really talked," she said. "I miss our conversations."

"You left me notes."

"And you didn't send me any."

"Well, I'm sorry I wasn't able to figure out how to communicate with the mistress of Hell," I said in exasperation.

Lucie stood and took my hands, pulling me to my feet. "We can talk all the time now, now that your contract's ended."

Flames swirled around our feet, enveloping us. I hardly got out a scream before the hotel room melted away.