Page 4 of One Hell of a Deal

With a swoosh and a soft pop, I am standing at the familiar spot, facing the center of the intersection. As usual, there is a man cast in soft blue light from the nearby bar, staring at me with a face full of terror and disbelief. He’s holding what looks like a crowbar and has something in his other hand, too, but it’s too dark to make out what it is.

“You have summoned me,” I say for what feels like the millionth time. “That means you’re here to make a deal. What is it that your heart is longing for?”

He shifts slightly. “I am seeking justice for a friend of mine.”

I laugh a deep cackle. “A virtuous man. Haven't had one of those in a while.”

Stepping closer again, his brows dropped into a hard line. “You must not have a good memory, Demon. You had a virtuous young man here just over ten years ago. He was only a boy, and you stole his life from him.”

It all makes sense, and I nod. “I remember a young man who made a deal, knowing full-well the consequences, to betterhis life, if that’s who you mean. If memory serves me, we claimed his contract a few weeks ago.”

“He was manipulated,” he shouts, and annoyance builds within me.

I flood my eyes with black and shout back, wanting to make my power known. “He had a choice. He is the only one to blame. You humans are all the same. Greedy, lust-filled, conniving, lying, scandalous, worthless, slithering, egomaniacs. He was willing to spend eternity in the fires of hell, to stroke his ego and live without normal human struggles. If you want to be pissed, be pissed at him. He was selfish.”

“You're wrong,” he snaps. “It was a mistake. A mistake that a drunk teenager made. He was innocent, and you took advantage of a moment of weakness.”

This guy doesn’t understand the way things work. “You do realize that I am a demon, right? What would you expect me to have done? Sober him up with a coffee and told him to go home? I was only doing my job, you fool.”

“Well, it ends tonight,” he roars and runs at me, throwing a handful of salt in my face, which only stings a little. He is about to crash the crowbar down on my head, so I disappear and reappear with a pop, several feet behind him. I laugh as he spins and runs for me to attempt another blow. And again, I disappear and pop up right beside him.

Only now I’m really fucking angry. “I think you didn’t do enough research.” I reach my hand into his chest and wrap my fingers around his heart, and he drops the crowbar. His eyes are fully open, and his mouth gapes wide in a silent, painful scream.

My mind searches for a plan. I could simply kill him, but I wonder if there is a way I can use this fool to my advantage. “What am I going to do with you?”

I throw him hard into the dirt and watch as he pants, clutching his chest. “I’m going to die now, right?”

“Maybe,” I say, smiling as a plan forms in my mind. “Unless…”

He sits up but keeps his eyes on my feet. “Unless, what?”

“Although you were stupid enough to think you could kill me with a little salt and iron, I think I can allow you to live. But only under one condition.”

“And what is that?”

“You have to make a deal with me.”

He nods silently. “So, instead of killing me, you’ll let me live ten more years, but then I will be dragged to hell? No thanks. Just kill me. At least I will still have my soul.”

“What if I give you twenty years, and you go in your sleep? No hellhounds. Would you do it then?”

I observe him contemplate the offer and think I’ve got him.

He gets to his feet. “Thirty years, or no deal. What are the terms of the contract? It has to be more than just that I get to live. It has to be worth it.”

He is smarter than I realized. “It will be worth it. For me, anyway.”

“Oh man,” he deflates. “Explain.”

“It’s simple. You need to ask for my obligations as a crossroads demon to be completely fulfilled, and that I am to bereleased from hell onto the earth to live a full life as a human until I suffer a natural death.”

“Is that all?” He scoffs and runs a shaky hand through his hair. “I ask for that, and in return, you let me live thirty years and I die peacefully in my sleep?”

“That’s right,” I say, smiling as I remove the black from my eyes. “Do you agree to the terms?”

“Where do I sign?”

I grab his strong jaw and pull his face close to my own. “Oh, you know how we seal this deal.”

---