The Deal by David Gallie

what
you’re looking for.’ I said, noting that both chains looked pretty
much identical except
for the one I told him to take were slightly thicker.
    I watched as he snatched the chain
from my open palm and stuffed it into the pocket of the white suit he was wearing.
    ‘ Great stuff. The sinners’ heart
will sit nicely in a case next to my throne.’ He said still smiling, and I tried to hide my surprise that he didn’t
even take a moment to inspect the chain he had just taken from me.
‘I find it rather annoying when Humans try to take what doesn’t
belong to them.’
    I looked down at the dead con man known as
Slick and shrugged my shoulders.
    ‘ Well, I’m pretty sure he has a
nice spot in your kingdom now.’ I said, tossing the remaining gold
chain onto the dead man’s body.
    ‘ Oh, I have a very special place just for those who
try to steal from me, Samuel. I can assure you he will
never rest for eternity.’
    ‘ I’ll take your word for it.’ I
said, wishing he would just go away and leave me alone.
    ‘ I’m growing concerned about you.
I feel like there is a distance between us. Like maybe you’ll try
to find a way to get out of our agreement.’
    I could hear the pleasure in his voice as he
spoke. He knew in a way just reminding me of the deal we made was a
form of torture.
    ‘ We’re both sticking to our end of
the deal so there is nothing to be concerned about.’ I said, trying
to find a way to avoid further the conversation, but it seemed he
was in a chatty mood.
    ‘ Come come, Samuel, at least
try and put a bit of energy into your work. You looked like you
thoroughly enjoyed hacking that man to death. In fact, it’s
the first time I’ve seen you that happy since the day you met your
wife Lisa.’
    I closed my eyes and tried my best to contain
the rage that began to well up inside me. I already knew he was
going to bring her up in the conversation but I also he was doing
it to get a reaction out of me.
    ‘ Well, you’ve put her in a place
where she is at least safe from torture. That’s good enough for
me.’ I knew fine well that she may be safe from the Grimoyle’s but
she was not safe from the torture of her own mind, thanks to
Pertilius.
    ‘ Oh Please, Samuel. We both
know that’s not good enough for you. We both know you want her to
be released into Heaven.’ There was a gleeful tone to his voice
that I absolutely despised.
    ‘ Well we also know that you will
never let that happen, so what’s the point of talking about it.’ I
snapped, trying my best to keep my temper under control.
    ‘ Oh, at last, a little passion. That’s what I was
looking for.’ He fell silent for a moment before saying: ‘I tell
you what. I have some business that I really need to take care of.
I’m going to need your help in a few days’ time. If you perform
well enough we’ll talk about setting your wife free.’
    I spun round to face him, all my focus had
been on the dead man on the floor and how the police would describe
his murder.
    ‘ Is this some kind of a trick or
just more mental torture for me?’ This time, my anger was
gone and I could start to feel a fleeting sensation of
hope.
    ‘ No tricks or funny business. But
if I do agree to let her go, Samuel, it will you mean you remain
my servant for the rest of eternity. So have a long hard think
about that before you say anything more. I’ll be in
touch.’
    And with those words he was gone. A cloud of
black smoke drifting upwards in the spot where he had been standing
only seconds ago.
    With my mind reeling from what he had just
said, I decided I needed to get out into the open and as far away
from the abattoir as possible.
     
    The small apartment I rented was ten blocks
away from where I had committed my latest crime, and although I was
tempted to hail a cab, I decided that a walk would probably do me
some good.
    The streets were empty apart
from the occasional car shuttling by, and I felt pretty certain
there was nothing that could