Page 6 of The Devil's Dilemma

My second in command, Conrad, walked in. At six feet ten and three hundred pounds, he towered above everyone. No one messed with him.

“Did you see him out?” Why did I care?

“I did, boss, but you need to stop showing them the other side of you. Makes it harder for us to wipe the memory.”

I shrugged. “He deserved it. He didn’t go when I told him to. What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Nothing much other than the usual running of the casino.”

“You mean we don’t need to torture anyone today?”

“Sorry, boss. Just the usual shite.”

“Well, that’s fucking boring. Can’t we smite anyone today?”

Conrad laughed, a booming sound that rattled the windows.

“We could take a trip to purgatory. That’s always fun.”

I blew out a breath. “Not sure I can be arsed.”

I’d never felt so lethargic and, well, pointless. Occasionally, I longed for the old days of death and destruction.

You’d think being the Dark Lord or Prince of Darkness, things would be far more entertaining than they were, but frankly, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“We could always go cause some mayhem somewhere.”

I smiled wickedly. “Let me get dressed.”

We’d arrived at our destination in minutes. Being the devil had its perks, and I could travel to anywhere in the blink of an eye. Any part of the world, above or below.

Dressing for battle, I’d donned my black cargo trousers, black long-sleeved top, and black Doc Martens.

Conrad wore his suit, and while he didn’t possess as much as me in the way of powers or ability, he was a force to be reckoned with any day of the week.

Chaos reigned in the little-known country in Europe, intent on overthrowing its government. We stood for a moment and observed, imperceptible to the masses surrounding us.

“What do you think?” I asked him. Had we arrived a little late to start the war?

“Looks like they started without us.” He sounded disappointed.

“Yeah, fancy that. We could still have a little fun, though. How about we torch the place?” I watched with glee as men and women alike laid into the government soldiers, knocking them to the ground and swarming them. Death and destruction. That was what this called for.

“What? No. We’re not going to do that today.”

“Such a fucking spoilsport. I suppose you want to pick a side.”

Admittedly, we had no interested parties in this conflict, no allegiance with either side. Did we pick the underdog or side with the government?

“Let’s toss for it.” Conrad took a coin out of his pocket, the one we always used when faced with an impossible decision.

I’d had it specially made, horns on one side, a pointed tail on the other.

“Heads for government, tails for the people.”

Still invisible amidst the sea of people, he tossed the coin high into the air and let it land on the floor.

We bent to see the result, our heads bumping.

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