thing left to try was his e-mail.
And here, like on MagicMirror, he had put his user ID and password on permanent Remember Me.
And I hit paydirt.
Really, people ought to not leave things like this in their e-mail. But . . . people very rarely do what they ought to do. And I’d already seen Marten’s notions of computer security.
The From line was Mephistopheles’ private e-mail. If I hadn’t known that address I might have passed it by—Meph is careful and keeps his private address known only to his intimates. Which already told me plenty about Marten. The Subject line read “Your Soul.” I had to at least glance at that.
Dear Marten,
You have sent me an intriguing proposition. Let me remind you of our earlier agreement, that you would be provided with funds, a background and status in the place of your choice, and the services of one demon (Level 2, fifteen hours a week) along with vigorous health and youth for the full span of your natural life plus five hundred years. At which time, in payment for the above advantages, your soul and full body of knowledge was forfeit to Satan. I have two copies of the traditional agreement, signed in blood, in our files. The third copy was for your own records.
Now you have proposed that, should you be able to help me in my current difficulties, you be allowed to reclaim your soul without losing your privileges. This is a highly unusual arrangement and I am not certain it is covered in the original contract. There is also, you understand, the matter that the executor of your original contract is Satan Herself. While in this matter you would be helping me personally in my service to Her, you would not be directly in Her chain of command. She may well choose to keep to the original agreement and void any further amendments that I, as Her servant, might make. So I do not have the authority to grant your request immediately.
However, as you have ascertained, this matter is of the utmost importance, not only to me but to Satan and the Hierarchy as a whole. If you are able to render substantial assistance, there is precedent for Satan being willing to grant you a boon. She is most generous and has always honored Her word, especially when acknowledging someone doing Her great and useful service.
If you are quite serious about voiding the terms of your prior agreement, this would be the best way to go about doing so. I will promise nothing, but I do advise you that Satan becomes quite annoyed by humans who renege on the terms of their agreements. If you put Her in the position of offering you a favor, you will have avoided a potentially difficult negotiation, and one that you might not be able to win no matter what your skills and who your allies.
If you choose to continue on this course and offer your assistance on these terms, I will accept most gladly.
Sincerely,
Mephistopheles
So. Now I understood a lot more about Marten. He’d made a bargain with one of the Hierarchy to sell his soul in exchange for a rather hefty set of benefits, and now he wanted his soul back as well. I had to remember not to whistle through my teeth. He had to be a good negotiator to have gotten so many concessions. That, or he was a more powerful magician than I had heard about in a very long time.
I closed out the program and turned the computer off. I’d found enough.
Without the light from the screen the hotel room was covered in layers of shadow. I could easily imagine things lurking in the corners and behind the curtains. I stared into the dark recesses of the room, my mind far away.
On the bed I saw bright gold hair, shimmering in the stray starlight.
Marten was more complex than I had anticipated, even despite his lack of computer security. A strong enough magician to wrest money and power and the services of a demon along with the normal perks of soul selling, he must have caught one of the higher-ups in his salt triangle. Or whatever it is they use these days.
And coming forward
And here, like on MagicMirror, he had put his user ID and password on permanent Remember Me.
And I hit paydirt.
Really, people ought to not leave things like this in their e-mail. But . . . people very rarely do what they ought to do. And I’d already seen Marten’s notions of computer security.
The From line was Mephistopheles’ private e-mail. If I hadn’t known that address I might have passed it by—Meph is careful and keeps his private address known only to his intimates. Which already told me plenty about Marten. The Subject line read “Your Soul.” I had to at least glance at that.
Dear Marten,
You have sent me an intriguing proposition. Let me remind you of our earlier agreement, that you would be provided with funds, a background and status in the place of your choice, and the services of one demon (Level 2, fifteen hours a week) along with vigorous health and youth for the full span of your natural life plus five hundred years. At which time, in payment for the above advantages, your soul and full body of knowledge was forfeit to Satan. I have two copies of the traditional agreement, signed in blood, in our files. The third copy was for your own records.
Now you have proposed that, should you be able to help me in my current difficulties, you be allowed to reclaim your soul without losing your privileges. This is a highly unusual arrangement and I am not certain it is covered in the original contract. There is also, you understand, the matter that the executor of your original contract is Satan Herself. While in this matter you would be helping me personally in my service to Her, you would not be directly in Her chain of command. She may well choose to keep to the original agreement and void any further amendments that I, as Her servant, might make. So I do not have the authority to grant your request immediately.
However, as you have ascertained, this matter is of the utmost importance, not only to me but to Satan and the Hierarchy as a whole. If you are able to render substantial assistance, there is precedent for Satan being willing to grant you a boon. She is most generous and has always honored Her word, especially when acknowledging someone doing Her great and useful service.
If you are quite serious about voiding the terms of your prior agreement, this would be the best way to go about doing so. I will promise nothing, but I do advise you that Satan becomes quite annoyed by humans who renege on the terms of their agreements. If you put Her in the position of offering you a favor, you will have avoided a potentially difficult negotiation, and one that you might not be able to win no matter what your skills and who your allies.
If you choose to continue on this course and offer your assistance on these terms, I will accept most gladly.
Sincerely,
Mephistopheles
So. Now I understood a lot more about Marten. He’d made a bargain with one of the Hierarchy to sell his soul in exchange for a rather hefty set of benefits, and now he wanted his soul back as well. I had to remember not to whistle through my teeth. He had to be a good negotiator to have gotten so many concessions. That, or he was a more powerful magician than I had heard about in a very long time.
I closed out the program and turned the computer off. I’d found enough.
Without the light from the screen the hotel room was covered in layers of shadow. I could easily imagine things lurking in the corners and behind the curtains. I stared into the dark recesses of the room, my mind far away.
On the bed I saw bright gold hair, shimmering in the stray starlight.
Marten was more complex than I had anticipated, even despite his lack of computer security. A strong enough magician to wrest money and power and the services of a demon along with the normal perks of soul selling, he must have caught one of the higher-ups in his salt triangle. Or whatever it is they use these days.
And coming forward
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