Deal with the Devil

I thought it was just another boring night. Same old regulars. Same arguments. Same inappropriate comments followed by the same immediate cut-off. I was mentally prepped to hear all the problems of the town drunks.

I was not mentally prepped to have a stranger asking about my problems. He was a handsome stranger, too. Tall, wearing a black silk shirt and tight jeans that didn’t look like they’d ever seen a day of hard work. He definitely didn’t match the standard rural look of the locals.

The college girls behind him definitely noticed. One, already a couple margaritas in on what was sure to be a full night, wolf-whistled as he walked by. He didn’t even look at her. I couldn’t help but smirk.

He slid onto the stool and made direct eye contact. I wasn’t much of a romance reader, but all I could think was that this man was smooth. He looked like the personification of an expensive well-aged whiskey.

“What’ll you have?” I asked him, turning away from the middle-aged drunk already sobbing into his beer about how he had pissed off his wife again.

“Tequila. Top shelf.” He had a slight accent; I couldn’t place it.

I reached for the dusty bottle. It was rare that I got to open the really good stuff that my boss insisted we keep in stock. Maybe I’d sneak a shot towards the end of the night.

I never did take that shot. I don’t remember the entire conversation, which was strange. It was so out of the ordinary that I would have expected to remember every detail, but the next thing i knew it was the end of the night. As I reminded my last customers to finish settling their tabs, the stranger, who had introduced himself as Luc, touched my wrist. His hand was burning. He didn’t look feverish, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt anyone so hot.

“Deeana, If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

I paused. I didn’t have much, but I didn’t know that I really wanted anything for myself. I mean, I did, but I felt like his question went beyond the superficial, beyond basic material (and carnal) desires. The question burrowed into my very heart.

“$20,000.”

He blinked a few times and hmphed. “What would you give for it?”

This time I didn’t have to pause. “Anything.”

By now, the last of my customers had left. The only other person in the building, besides me and Luc, was the fry-cook clanking around in the kitchen.

In auto-pilot, I wiped down my counters. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Luc. I should have been concerned when he reached inside his jacket. But I wasn’t.

He pulled out a thick piece of paper that looked very expensive. There was a lot of writing already on it. At a quick glance, it looked like everything was written in black and red calligraphy. He scrawled a few details down at the bottom and then passed it across the counter to me.

I finally looked away from his face. I didn’t read the rest of the contract. I should have, but I didn’t. All I saw at the bottom was the exchange. My soul for $20,000. He had already signed his name in an elaborate hand. The ink pen somehow wrote in black with red edging. It was gorgeous.

Maybe I was still skeptical. I mean, sure he signed as Lucifer Morningstar, but he couldn’t be the actual devil. He couldn’t actually take my soul. Could he?

I signed. The paper burst into flames that swirled back into Luc’s jacket pocket. Before I could process what had happened, Luc had already left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tried to block out the weird interaction with Luc. I just drove home like it was any other night. Parked my beat-up Ford Fiesta on the street half a block from my attic apartment. Tried to take the fire escape stairs quietly to avoid waking up the elderly couple in the apartment below mine. Once in the drafty studio, I plopped on my bed. My Bible stared at me from the shelf. I felt judged. With a huff, I got up and put it behind a photograph of my brother’s family. I stared at the picture for a few minutes.

“I’m doing this for you, Kyle,” I whispered, blinking back tears. If Luc really was the devil, I didn’t suppose there was any way out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up mid-morning, there was a briefcase on my table. It looked expensive. Real black leather, gold and red filigree around the corners. No lock. I braced myself against my dining room chair and popped the case open.

I’ve never seen that much money in my entire life. I doubt my parents ever had either. I placed the stacks side by side on my tiny table. It was a mix of bills - nothing larger than a twenty. I counted it all out. Twice. Three times. It was exactly $20,000. Did I really expect the devil to be bad at counting?

I picked up my phone and called my brother. It went to voicemail. It usually did; he always put it on Do Not Disturb if he was having family time. He wanted to savor every moment he could with his wife and kids.

“Hey, Kyle. Listen, don’t ask how, but I got the money for your procedure. Make the appointment. I’ll bring you the cash as soon as I can. Don’t worry. You’re gonna be fine. I love you.”

I was halfway through getting myself dressed when my phone rang. It was Kyle.

“What did you do, Dee?”

“I said not to worry about it. I’m on my way over with the cash. Did you make the appointment?”

Kyle sighed. I could almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose, ever exasperated. “Not yet. Just tell me you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Helping my brother is never stupid. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” I hung up and took a deep, shuddering breath. Don’t think about it. Just don’t think about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week later, Kyle had his appointment. The doctors said it was a complete success. He was expected to make a full recovery. I hadn’t seen anything else of Luc. Maybe he would wait a long time to claim my soul. After all, time must seem different to an immortal being than it did to the rest of us and he hadn’t mentioned a timetable.

I was wrong.

He showed up at the bar after we closed, leaning against my car.

Jimmy, the fry cook, glanced at me. “You need some help?” he whispered.

I gave him what I hope was a normal-looking smile and shook my head. “No, it’s cool. I’m fine.”

I got into the driver’s seat without saying a word to Luc. He slid into the passenger seat.

“Not trying to run away, are you?”

“Nope. I’ve read enough stories. I know there’s no way out of a contract with the devil.”

“Is there anything you need to wrap up first?”

“How considerate of you.”

He looked at me expectantly.

“I just want to write some notes for my family. There’s a little black notebook in the glove compartment.”

He opened the compartment and withdrew the notebook.

“Where do you want to do this? Your apartment?”

“How will I die?”

“The coroner will probably say it was a heart attack. Natural causes at least. It will be quick, but then your soul belongs to me. Forever.”

I gulped and gripped the steering wheel tighter. I didn’t take the turn to my apartment. I kept driving for a few minutes in silence, coming to a stop at the entrance to my favorite park. Kyle would probably look for me there.

I marched up to the top of a grassy hill, Luc slinking one step behind me. I settled down on the dew-covered grass and took the notebook from Luc’s outstretched hand.

I wrote notes for Kyle and for my nieces and nephew. They were long, pages and pages each. Every minute I could spend writing would be a minute longer on this earth.

I finished just as the sun peeped over the horizon. I hope they find me before the worms do.

The last thing I felt was Luc’s burning hand on my chest.