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He stood with his hands folded behind his back, eerily at ease, as if this meeting had been inevitable. There was something almost regal about him, unsettlingly composed.
When he spoke, his voice was smooth, nearly soothing, with an unnatural depth beneath it.
“You called?”
“I—I—” Arthur tried to speak, but the words refused to form.
One pale eyebrow lifted in mild amusement. The velvet bag Arthur had buried moments ago rested in the man’s hand. “I assume this is yours?” the man crooned.
Arthur could only nod.
The man tipped the bag, spilling its contents onto the dirt, surveying the coins, the jewelry, the book with open disdain.
“Pathetic,” he growled.
His gaze snapped back to Arthur, sharp and burning. “What is it you want from me, human?” His tone darkened, impatience threading through each word.
Arthur swallowed hard. The shock was wearing off now, replaced by the terrifying realization that this had worked. That this thing was real.
“Are you the Devil?” he asked, with a trembling voice.
The man laughed, a low, terrible sound filled with far too much pleasure. “No. I am a demon. One of many who can offer you your heart’s desire.”
Arthur straightened despite himself, summoning what little resolve he had left. “I want riches,” he managed through gritted teeth. When the demon did not respond, Arthur hurried on, his voice quieter but steadier than before. “I want a good life. I want to provide for the woman I love. For that, I need money. I need stability.”
The demon studied him, his eyes moving slowly over Arthur as if weighing his worth. “And in return,” he asked calmly, “what will you give me?”
Arthur hesitated for only a moment. “My soul.”
“Hmmm.” The demon hummed a deep guttural sound, still watching him. “A life well lived in exchange for your soul?” he clarified.
“Yes,” Arthur offered quickly, forcing more authority into his voice.
Silence stretched between them.
The demon appeared thoughtful, as though he was considering whether Arthur was worth the effort at all. “I do not have need of your soul.” Arthur opened his mouth to argue, but the demon continued, “Your heart would please me more.”
Arthur’s eyes widened. Panic seized him as images flooded his mind: this towering creature tearing his heart from his chest, his life ending here in the dirt, never seeing the woman he loved again.
The demon tilted his head, as if he could read every thought passing through Arthur’s mind. “Do not fret, human,” he said smoothly. “If you agree to my terms, you will live a long, full life. When the time comes for me to collect, your wife will have already passed. You will meet her again on the other side, your soul intact.”
Arthur’s breath trembled.
“If these terms are acceptable,” the demon continued, “we will seal our agreement in blood and be bound until the contract is fulfilled.”
Arthur considered the offer. This was better than damnation, he thought. He would have everything he wanted: money, stability, a happy life. And at the end of it, he would surrender a heart he no longer needed and pass into the afterlife he hoped he deserved.
He nodded.
Light erupted once again, staining the night sky with streaks of silver and crimson, before vanishing just as quickly.
The night fell silent once more.
A voice echoed softly, coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. “Goodbye, Arthur.”
Alone again, dizzy and shaken, Arthur might have dismissed it as a dream if not for the thin bead of blood sliding down his cheek.
He blinked, unsettled by how effortless it had all been. Climbing back into his beat-up truck, nothing felt different. Nothing looked different.
