Page 23 of Devil Bound
I considered whether there was anything I could offer the Devil to take this innocent dog, but I didn’t know what I had that he might want.I couldn’t give him too much, couldn’t give him a magical hold over me.On top of that, I was starting to feel the weight of the day settle into my bones.I needed to get some rest.
Lucy looked at me with this smug expression on his face that made me wish I was a more violent person.Or someone who always had a good comeback at the ready.
Straight-faced, he said, “I will loan you a blade if you don’t want to break the poodle’s neck.”
“Fucking son of a bigot, I’m done with this diarrhetic puke stain of a day.Just do me a fucking favor, stop bitching, and take in the damn poodle, will you?”
The Devil raised his left eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth softened.
“Very well.I will take charge of this small creature.Hand her over.”
I didn’t.I couldn’t.“You’re… I mean, you’re not going to, uh, hurt her?”
He cocked his head.“I will feed her treats.”
“She can stay in your garden, just…make sure she’s inside when it gets too cold, okay?”
“I will care for her as best as I know how, but if you want me to do so, you will have to give her here.Otherwise, perhaps you want to keep her after all?”
I shook my head, giving her scratches one last time.“No.Can’t.No pets.Here.”
The dog let herself be picked up, and seeing that she seemed calm enough in the Devil’s arms, I relaxed a little bit.This was good.This was the right decision.
“Did you want to stay, Nelly?Come inside, and we can—”
“No, thank you.I should go.Take care, bye.”
I turned on my heel and headed toward my car.Behind me, the dog growled.It seemed to be the only thing she could really do.Not that it mattered.She wasn’t my problem anymore.I’d made sure she was safe, that she wouldn’t have to meet an untimely end.
There wasn’t anything else I could do for her, and during the drive back to my place, I told myself over and over that her owner, Liza, was probably happy the dog was safe, even if the drooling canine hadn’t managed to get to the mailman before he’d hurt Liza.
“Wouldn’t she have protected her owner though?Or maybe she saw what the mailman did and wanted revenge.”
I decided it didn’t matter.What mattered was the dog had prevented the worst happening to me, and in turn I had done the same for her.Perhaps, in a way, this day hadn’t been too bad after all.
Really, the day could only be improved if it happened to be the last time the Devil crossed my path.A necromancer could hope.
12
Lionel
Present day.
Ihadbeenintenton indulging in the luxury of sleeping in for once.I’d killed all my alarms so I’d be able to savor waking up in my own time.
When I’d gotten home last night—or this morning, depending on one’s preferred world view—I’d even remembered to pull the curtains closed in front of the tall window which my bed stood under.They weren’t very good curtains, and they didn’t give me a dark room, but it was still better than direct sunlight in my face.It was as close to bliss as I got these days.
But.There had to be abut.
My doorbell rang, and it pulled me out of a pleasant dream I couldn’t hold on to, not with the panic the noise induced.I stumbled out of bed and managed to get myself upright, even though my eyes weren’t having any of this nonsense and decided not to help at all.
The doorbell kept on ringing, and my panic rose.There had to be an emergency after all, and they needed me.They must have sent someone to get me because my phone was on silent.
My black Converse shoes lay where I’d dropped them after the trip to the morgue late last night, and because my eyes were on strike, the shoes almost made me face-plant the floor, but I managed to regain my footing by grabbing one of the four mismatched chairs around my office and dining table.It skidded and screeched a little, but I stayed about ninety percent upright.As elegant as a ballet dancer on excellent drugs.
After some cursing, I made it to the door in one piece and got it open.At that point, my eyes joined the morning party, showing me an all too clear image of the Devil, who stood in my hallway, smug as sin and looking as entitled to be here as a janitor come to fix my pipes.
I cleared my throat.No, the Devil did not make me think about my pipes.I was not to imagine him going near my pipes, ever.It was bad enough he washere.Where my pipes were.
