A man named Howard was sitting on the floor of his worn down cabin. Before him was a white cat, dead and pinned to the floor with a dagger. A peculiar circle was painted around it in a specific fashion with lit candles arranged around it. Howard was done struggling to make it through each month, yet nothing he tried work. He remained poor despite his hardest efforts and knew he deserved a better life than the one he'd been dealt. But all of that was about to change. He knew the ritual was risky: pacts like these rarely produced anything good, but Howard was desperate enough to give it a try.

He chanted the strange and unfamiliar words from the book in his lap over and over, but nothing seemed to happen. The man was determined, however and continued chanting. Doubts began to quickly overcome him. He knew this was stupid, that it couldn't possibly work. Had he really just ended the life of an innocent animal for some failed attempt? Mumbling the words one last time, Howard slammed the book shut. He was just about to stand when a draft blew through the open windown. As the curtains swayed, the flames of every candle flickered out. In the pitch black room, Howard could feel that he was no longer alone. A chill ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood tall. His skin was covered in goosebumps as a cold sweat excreted from his skin.

"Wh- ahh...! Oh... oh my.. what have we here?" A woman's voice spoke before him in the darkness.

Howard snatched the lantern beside him, sparking the wheel of the flint to illuminate the room in an orange glow. He was speachless. The cat on the floor had its eyes wide open with its head tilted off the floor to stare at the terrified man. Its tail waved up and down, patting the wooden floor with each descent. Its fur had returned to a pristine white as any damage to it had seemingly vanished, save for the dagger that still pierced its body.

"My my... a human? It's been quite some time since I've been to your world." A voice came from the cat's direction, though its mouth did not move. "Not quite the vessel I'd have chosen, but... I suppose I can make it work." She said, looking across her own body.

Howard continued to look at the creature before him, unable to speak.

"Well then?" The voice spoke once more, impatient in its tone. "You summoned me here, so surely you know the drill? Get on with it!"

The sharp tone of the feline had snapped Howard back to his senses. He came this far, he knew what the result would be. How could he act so dumb now? He needed to act.

"I... I uh..." The man uttered with a trembling lower jaw before swallowing to clear his throat. "I desire wealth beyond imagination. I want to live a life of luxury and never work another day in my life!" He managed to speak more confidently.

"Oh..." The cat spoke, sounding almost disappointed. "The usual, then? You people are always so predictable!" She added in a snarky tone. "It's always wealth with you people. Never anything interesting."

Howard brushed her words aside, wanting to conclude the deal.

"So... what do you ask in return?" He asked the cat.

"My demands? Oh... it's simple really..." She replied. "All I want is your flesh and blood... You mortals are oh so delectable~"

Her words caused Howard to flinch. What good were riches if it cost him his life? He opened his mouth to call off the deal when the cat cut in.

"Oh come on now, don't look so shocked. I'm not going to gobble you down or anything... Just a taste would be enough to satisfy me. Though I'd be happy to eat to my heart's content, you can stop me any time you want..." She informed the man.

Howard took a moment to ponder what he'd just heard. She'd stop eating whenever he told her to? Just a little bite was all it would take. Sure it would hurt, but the pain was more than worth it for what was to come. Howard nodded and pulled up a sleeve, offering his arm to the cat. She merely gazed at his exposed limb before chuckling to herself.

She spoke to Howard. "Now now... as silly as this sounds, I'm rather shy about these kinds of things. I'd prefer it if you didn't see it happen... Maybe when you're asleep? Maybe when you're not looking? We can treat it like a game perhaps? After all, your boon will not be so immediate, so why should the price be treated as such?"

He slowly withdrew his arm from the feline's reach, pulling his sleeve back down. An element of surprise? It didn't seem like that big of a deal to him.

"Have you decided?" The cat asked Howard. "If so, then pull this thing out! It's starting to get really uncomfortable..."

Howard reached forward, gripping the handle of the dagger in his fist.

"We have ourselves a deal..." He said.

It took some effort and some wrenching, but the dagger came out messily. Almost as soon as the blade was pulled from the feline's body, the wound it left behind had quickly sealed shut. Her fur was clean of any blood and the dagger itself vanished in a poof of smoke. The cat stood up for a moment, clawing the floor and stretching her back. She lept up onto the window sill and turned towards Howard.

"Well then... I'll be seeing you around..." She spoke to Howard before jumping out of sight.

Howard had continued to go about his life as he normall had: working hard for his rich boss and seeing little to no results for his effort, though he couldn't hel but feel paranoid about being pounced on by a cat. As the months went by, things continued to be normal and Howard began to wonder if the deal was a fraud, or maybe he had just gone crazy. With work occupying his mind, he eventually had forgotten about the cat and the deal he had made with it. His bland, undesired life was a fate he had finally come to accept until one day he arrived at work to find the establishment closed for the day. His coworkers had gathered in front of the iron gates and were talking amongst themselves.

"What is this? What's going on?" Howard asked the men who all turned towards him.

"It seems the boss passed away early this morning... the old coot's own heart finally did him in." One of the men answered. "The factory is closed for the day, so I guess we all get to kick rocks until the higher ups figure out what to do."

The crowd had cleared from the gates, but Howard remained, staring at the building behind the bars. He began to think about his future. What if the business falls under? As much as he hated his job, it was the only thing keeping him off the streets. He was about to turn away when the door to the building opened. An older man stepped out, approaching the gate and opening it.

"Howard, we think you should come inside. There's something we need to discuss." The older man spoke and Howard followed him in.

It was inside the factory that the higher ups held a meeting with Howard. It turns out they had all been closely in touch with their boss before his death. Having no family, their boss had nobody to put on his will. Having recognized Howard's dedication to the company and his knowledge of the many jobs the factory held, their boss wanted him to inherit his business and wealth. The news was overwhelming for the man, who could barely stand straight after hearing this, but he accepted it without question. His former managers pat him on the back and shook his hand at his answer. Howard's life had finally taken a turn for the better.

It didn't take long for Howard to adjust to his new role. He kept the business up and running, and everything was satisfactory. With his newly acquired wealth he finally relocated from his run down shack to the most beautiful manor he had ever been blessed to inhabit. As the years went by, he had plenty of time to adjust to a more refined lifestyle. His cheap grog he drank himself to sleep with had been replaced with the finest of wine. He never had to prepare his own meals, as he could afford the most savory the town had to offer. His lonely life had been forgotten as he spent much of his free time in the most exclusive club around. It was there that he met the love of his life. The pair shared plenty of dances and soon enough their lives intertwined outside of the club as well. After spending so much of their lives together, Howard and his love finally got married. The two enjoyed their usualy lifestyle for a few years until they decided to have a child of their own. The couple had a daughter and with a comfortable life and a family to share it with, Howard was the happiest he had ever been.

Howard and his wife sat in bed one stormy night, the lamp on their bedsides providing enough light for each to read their own books. Having put their daughter to bed a couple hours ago, the two were nearly ready to doze off themselves. The rain drops assaulted the exterior of the manor and frequent lightning boomed over the noise. The couple had a phonograph  in their room, playing a record to help drown out the noise. Howard closed his book shut, placing it on his night stand before turning to his wife.

"I'm going to go check on Anabelle for a moment before we call it a night." He said to her.

"Alright, dear. I may already be out cold before you return." She replied and the two kissed.

Both of them extinguished their lamps and Howard stood out of bed, guiding himself in the darkness to grab his old lamp off of the dresser. With a flick of the wheel, the oily wick burned to light his way. This house was significantly larger than his old shack. What was once a single room to move about in was now a series of hallways and rooms for all kinds of purposes. His daughter's room sat on the opposite end, so the walk took a bit. With the glow of his lantern, Howard walked down the hallways as the wooden floors creaked beneath ornate rugs. The occasional ligthing strike would fully brighten the home's interior as light flashed through the windows. Finally reaching the hallway connecting to his daughter's bedroom, Howard kept his eyes on the door at the left end of the hall. The air grew colder as stood before the door, and he silently nudged it open with his free hand. The hinges squeked as the door slowly hung open and Howard looked into the nursery within. Its brightly painted walls were a contrast to the more magnificent style the rest of the manor followed. He stared at the wooden cradle that sat in the middle of the room, walking slowly closer.

"Anabelle, sweety... Daddy's come to make sure you're still asleep..." He gently spoke, listening for any kind of response to confirm whether or not the infant within had stirred from her sleep.

He could nearly see within the wooden cradle when he noticed the bedroom window had been left open. Suddenly, a chillingly familiar voice spoke up.

"Well well... it's been awhile hasn't it? You certainly took your time... but it was well worth the wait!" A woman's voice came from behind him.

"Who's there?? Show yourself!" Howard turned around, alarmed.

He held his lantern before him, seeing nobody else in the room. Squinting his eyes and focusing in the darkness beyond the lamp's reach, Howard could make out the silhouette of what appeared to be a cat sitting before the wall. It was then his long forgotten memories returned.

"Y-you...! What are you doing here!?" He questioned the feline, who laughed in response.

"Oh come now, darling... don't tell me you've forgotten about our little deal? I came to collect my debt, and I must say... it was rather scrumptions." The cat sassed at him.

"The deal?" Howard replied, inching closer to the voice. "But you haven't even bit-"

He went silent as soon as he was close enough to clearly see the feline in his lantern's glow. Her white fur was stained nearly all over in red. The fur on her face and paws were still soaked with the crimson fluid that had stained her once pristine coat. He then noticed the set of paw prints trailing to where she sat from the cradle.

"No..." Howard said, feeling more frightened than he ever had in his life.

Though it felt aas his heart had completely stopped, he practically leapt from where he stood to Anabelle's cradle. Looking down into the wooden bed, the crumpled and bloody sheets confirmed his fears. He didn't even need to move them aside to know that the mess beneath them were all that remained of his little Anabelle, nor would he have been able to stomach the sight. His lantern hit the floor with a loud clink. Unable to support himself on his trembling legs, Howard fell to his knees nearly pulling the cradle aside with him.

"How...? How could you do this?" He whimpered in a voice that barely reflected his normal tone. "It was supposed to be MY flesh and blood-"

"And I took just that." The cut cut in, almost as if she expected this question. "You didn't REALLY think I would actually crave your own flesh, did you? Hmph, disgusting!" She said, closing her eyes and turning her head away. "The thought alone makes me want to gag! No, I prefer my meat fresh, and your darling Anabelle was quite a treat prepared finely by you and yours."

The cat eyed the pitiful man in a moment of silence.

"As for how... I must say, it was rather easy. The vessel you've given me made scaling your home quite the simple feat. My fuzzy form made it easy to approach your daughter with zero fuss. And I dare say, your little girl was quite the darling little angel. Quite behaved for one her age, I'm not one to typically play with my food but I just couldn't help but purr and admire as she giggled at the fuzzy little creature in her room."

All Howard could do was listen, weak from his despair.

"Then once I finally decided to sink my teeth in, she made the most wonderful sounds. There's nothing quite like music with a feast. I couldn't help but indulge my claws to prolong her singing." The cat looked up to the cieling, as if to daydream. "That meat was so heavenly... perfectly tender and juicy. And her blood was intoxicating... I've never quite had anything like it." She said, raising a dripping paw to her mouth to lick it.

Howard finally managed to take his eyes off the floor. He turned and looked at the cat as she savored the very blood that gave his daughter life mere hours ago.

"Stop...." He managed to speak, to which the cat obeyed.

Her voice full of amusement, she began to taunt the man. "Oh... so now you want to call me off? Perhaps if you had said so sooner, she wouldn-"

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!" He shouted at the feline.

Something began to boil inside of him. Quickly his sorrow turned into rage as he picked his lantern up and dashed at the cat. Stomping his foot down on her location, he merely stamped on the wooden floor as she leapt gracefully out of the way. Jumping up to the top of a nearby book case, the cat turned towards the man.

"Oh heavens! You're not that uoset are you? Come now, you can just make another one can't you?" She teased.

Howard merely growled at her words and sprinted at the book shelf, throwing it aside easily with adrenaline fueled strength. The cat had no trouble keeping balance as she leapt from the falling shelf, landing softly before the open window. Knowing she had meant to escape, Howard made one final attempt to have his revenge. He hurled his lantern as hard as he could at the feline, but just as swiftly as she dodged him before, she jumped out of its path to sit on the window sill. The lantern shattered and its oil spilled out, igniting in flames that quickly began to spread.

"Well now, I must say... that was rather fun!" The cat spoke from beyond the ever growing wall of flame that licked its way up the curtains. "But I'm a busy lady and must get going. There are other deals to make, after all! Farewell Howard, and thank you for treating me to dinner." She finished before leaping off into the darkness of the storm outside.

Howard was shattered. His rage had burnt away and all he had left was his despair once more. He collapsed on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. He had everything and lost it all in one single night. With no energy left to carry on in life, he merely lay where he did as the fires spread around the room. He closed his eyes and embraced the painful end. It was what he felt he deserved after failing his own daughter. All he could hope for was that his wife would be ok.