2 comments/ 13876 views/ 7 favorites Deal With The Devil By: XStorytellerX I guess it all started about 10 years ago. I was 30-ish, single, considered beautiful by most, and once in awhile enjoyed a drink or even a good smoke. The booze I always got from a local liquor store with a card for 10% off. My smoke on the other hand, was a road trip. I always got from the same person. Dicky Leeds. This guy was like this Vietnam vet or something. An older guy, long hair, kind kooky, but lived deep in the Pine barrens. You literally had to leave your car and walk about a football field length through the woods to find his house. But he had the best weed I ever had. So what if he was a little spooky. One day As I was walking back to my car, I stumbled on a rock half sticking out of the ground. A second look revealed it was carved. I didn't look further, I just threw it in my purse, climbed in my car, and headed home. I got home, turned on the news, poured a drink, and checked out my "stuff." The weed was exquisite, as it always was. I think he grows and cultivates it himself, but I never bother to ask. But the other object I retrieved was shocking. It was indeed made by someone or something. It was a small statuette. Very intricately carved. Seemed made out of stone but it kind of warm to the touch. What was more shocking, was that the tiny figure was a carving of devil. The face as intricate and realistic as the rest of it. The eyes, the toothy smile of a grinning evil unlike anything I have ever seen. The wings outstretched like a gargoyle on patrol. Suddenly everything came together for a moment of complete insanity. Dicky LEEDS? a devil statue? Could this guy be related to the whole Jersey Devil thing I read about in high school? I had to know more. I took pictures of the object, and took them to the library to see what I can drum up. I grabbed every book off the shelf that had anything to do with the words jersey devil pine or barrens to make sure. After sifting through many books, I found it, or what appears to be it. It was a drawing of a man carving a figure who claimed he uses it to control his brother. "I gave him what he needs," it read."Food, shelter, compassion, but I must be harsh to keep the devil in line. I make him work for all of it. Working a mine I had for a time. I'd summon him and give him what he wanted, usually a goat or something, and he worked that mine like 30 men.This is why he has not hurt anyone in 40 years, except for that camper in 74." The man who had this control, and this figurine, was named Richard Leeds. Richard Leeds? Dicky Leeds for short? This report is dated 1735. Could my weed dealer have been around since 1735? Could it also be possible, I have the power to summon the Jersey Devil? I needed a drink, so I checked the book out like it was on fire and rushed home to read more. The tome stated the figurine was able to summon the devil. You must give it what it needs, then take something in return, but it must be equal to what it takes or it can escape your control and you'll never retain it. I smoked another joint to ponder this thought as well as memorize the procedure to summon this devil from the pine barrens. After a quiet dinner, a couple hits from the bong, another trip out for wine, I strip down to a T-shirt and panties, and settle on the bed in my room with my newfound toy, the remote, and glass of red wine. I say a few words in plain English holding the figurine. No big magic words, no prayer to an unholy deity. Just "Brother I call to thee".While holding the statue. I contemplate those words as I study the figure. Its odd, not exactly the worse thing on my knickknack shelf. One more bong hit, I down the entire contents of my fresh glass of wine, close my eyes and say the words aloud. "Brother I call to thee". I wait a moment, and open my eyes. Nothing. No scary demon, no bolt of lightning, flash of lights, no spooky laugh, nothing. I was robbed. The thing is broke. Don't work. So I put the statue on my bedside, set my alarm, and start to watch some TV until nature calls. I went to do my business, and I passed the threshold of the bathroom door when suddenly I am face to face with a 6 ft. tall exact replica of the statue on my bedside table, only this is living flesh. "Why have you summoned me?" a low guttural growling voice uttered. I was frozen. I couldn't move he was tall, muscular,intimidating. It was too dark to make out any other features. "Why have you summoned me?" it repeated. I remembered I have to have some control. I steadied my self as well as my voice and said sternly, "Because I wish it!" Suddenly the creatures demeanor changed, it bowed its head, and backed away as if honoring me in a parade. I felt stronger now, but I knew I had to be careful. This mighty creature acted as though I was in charge and so I shall be, but first, I have to give it what it needs, so I asked. "What do you need Devil?" "You may call me Leeds" Very well Leeds, what do you need?" "I need you." it hisses. "I can arrange that, then you will do my bidding, and not harm anyone, correct?" "Correct." its face grimaces hungrily at me. "And you will NOT kill me, correct?" "Very well. I accept your terms." No sooner do those words leave my lips, Suddenly everything changed, the beast lunged at me, it was big, heavy, I was flat on my back and this thing was on top of me. It roared hot breath in my face as it grabbed my wrists and pinned me to the bed. I gasped, powerless to stop it. As it held my pinned wrists with one hand it lifted up my shirt with the other, I realized this beast intended to rape me. It grabbed at my breast pinching my nipple, I fought but couldn't get a release from the grip of those hands. Suddenly my panties were down, I tried to scream, the devil put its hand over mouth and growled at me as it thrust itself into me. It was big, hot, and deep. I cried out, but powerless to stop what was happening to me. I was being raped by the devil, he pumped himself into me, tearing me in half, He had rhythm. constant, never stopped, never changed just kept filling me with his massive demon rod. My gasps were masked by his animalistic grunting and groaning, the devil had its way with me. Suddenly, he flipped me over and shoved himself back into my tight little pussy. His cock thrusting throbbing inside me. Pulling me to him, I had no choice but to take him. It felt so good I had to give in. I felt that warm rush of orgasm building in my loins already. I knew I couldn't hold back, and a rush of orgasm shuddered through my ravaged body. I was crying out, I was screaming while he relentlessly fucked me. I was being raped by a devil, or demon, or whatever, The Jersey Devil. Suddenly he roared louder, and louder he was just about to scream, when he grabbed his huge member, and placed the head of his cock against my tight asshole. "No, not there!" I protested, but on deaf ears.I tried to crawl away,but he grabbed my cheeks and slowly and steadily moved forward and proceeded to push the head of that massive member into my ass. I lost all the air in my lungs as I let out a wail, I was totally caught off guard but he didn't care. He immediately started fucking me raw in my ass. Growling like a Lion putting fear into its prey. I couldn't move. It was feeling less like rape and more like a sacrifice or something. Like I was sacrificing myself to him, and the more I thought of the implications, the dirtier, hotter and wetter I felt. I felt my orgasm building as he fucked my ass relentlessly. Once again just before I had my next orgasm, something changed, he repositioned himself on top of me, and continued pummeling my ass with his huge throbbing cock. My hands held straight out I felt like I was being crucified, as well as sodomized. I had no control. Suddenly, the tempo changed, the creature breathed harder, louder again, but this time, his cock was noticeably getting even bigger than before. Throbbing inside me, getting harder and fatter, I knew he was going to cum.The pain was gone as I relaxed my body and took his ramming cock, until it exploded inside me. The heat from his cum fills me, making me shudder. I knew he was done.With a final growl, the creature lifts itself off of me. and goes back into a very submissive posture. "What do you need of me?" the creature inquired. I knew it has to be something equal to what was done to me. There was only one answer. "I WANT YOU DEVIL." I exclaimed, mocking the creatures voice the best I could.He raised his eyes and looked at me, trying to burn into my soul, but it was I who was now "On Top!" "I Want You Leeds." I Hissed again as I left his gaze to reach under my bed. I reached on the floor by my bed, picked up my panties, and a realistic looking rubber cock from under my bed which I've used on occasions when a man wasn't sufficient. As he watched, I took scissors and ripped a hole in the front of my panties, and thrust the cock through it, slid them on, with the cock in the front and voila, instant strap on. It was pretty funny seeing the creatures face when he realized what was coming,he looked disgusted but knew it had to obey. "On your knees you piece of shit, kneel in front of me.!" I exclaimed with the tone of a dominatrix. The creature immediately complied even though his growls revealed his discontent. "Go on, Suck my cock!" As the devil put my cock in his mouth, I was delighted, this notorious creature, doing my bidding, bowing before me and my power, sucking my fake cock, for my own amusement. I watched the creature bound by forces and magic beyond my comprehension, to do what its told in order to keep it from killing innocent people. I knew the balance of power had to be right, and I had to do to him what he did to me.I felt good, I felt powerful, and in control. I just sat back and watched him suck for for a good half hour enthralled. Finally, I grabbed him by one of his hideous horns, held his face close to mine, and said, "You raped my ass, and now I'm going rape yours. Get on all fours. "The demon hissed, howled, barked, and raged, but complied all the while. It was bound to. I knelt behind this beast and slowly, but methodically shoved my cock into his ass, it immediately let out a howl as I entered him, but again , this creature had to just take my cock like a good little devil. I began fucking him, painfully slow at first, making sure he felt every inch going in and out.Gaining momentum only when I saw the monster was getting used to my rhythm. Finally I threw him down, moving his leathery wings out of the way, and started relentlessly fucking his ass. my ears filled with the creatures moans and screams of pain and discomfort, but I was actually having fun, taking this thing for my own like this. I felt so powerful. The more I thought about that power, the more flushed I became. The more flushed, the harder I fucked the beast. No reach around.The more I thrust, the more the monster squealed as I raped him. There was no stopping me. I was in control as I shall always be. I raped him doggy style, I made him put his hands against the wall, and fucked him standing up, I bent him over a table, and told him to grab it and not let go as I raped him again. At one point I had to take a break to pee but did that stop my fun? Not even a little bit. I told the devil to come with me to my bathroom, and made him lie down in the shower. I was going to show him who the piece of shit was. As he watched, I squatted down over his chest and took a healthy piss all over him. He never lost eye contact with me the whole time, but I could tell he did not appreciate his treatment, then showered him off, and drug him back to the bedroom where I can replace my newly made strapon and do it all over again.I raped him every way I could think of. After a couple more orgasms, I was done fucking this creature. I told him, "I will hold on to this figurine, you better be good,and no more killing." "As you wish" the creature exclaimed. To this day I still have the figurine, and to this day I get visits by the Jersey Devil, or J.D. as I call him now, when I don't call him "Bitch." Of course it's all about sex, I have a killer job, a new car, house, jewelry, and a trust fund set up for myself, but the sex is still the best.I don't always use the strapon, but its fun to make that devil squeal. Sure I get raped before I get to rape him, but its a small price to pay for saving the lives of innocent people. After all, that's the Deal! THE END Deal with the Devil Victoria Withers was a wealthy heiress. She wanted for nothing -nothing monetary anyway. She seemed to be beautiful, flawless, happy and confident. Yet, she did have a secret addiction. That addiction was to sex. She watched more porn than could be imagined. Now, one may wonder why she didn't just have sex with men. The problem was that she was always afraid something would leak out to the press. Like the men would hide a camera or some sort of audio recording device. Or even just say things to the press that she'd rather them not. In fact, because of this fear, two years had passed since her last sexual encounter. She did pleasure herself however with her hands and sex toys. Yet, she desperately wanted someone to have wild and crazy sex with like in the Pornos. And there was someone who had become well aware of this desperation. He was none other than Satan. Yes, the devil. Always wanting to claim souls he seized the opportunity. One night as she slept she was awakened in the darkness to the feeling of her breasts being rubbed. She realized the blanket was gone but she saw no one. She began to pull the blanket back over her body and she heard a deep raspy voice from the shadows speak to her, "I know the one thing you want. I can give it to you." She was terrified and leaned over to try and turn a light on. But, it would not come on. He chuckled, "You will be unable to turn the light on. Do not be afraid. I am not here to hurt you. I am here with an answer to your desperate need." Victoria was terrified and trembled yet asked, "W-who are you?" He chuckled, "If I told you, you would not believe me. So, for now, I am merely the one with an answer for your need." She asked, "Wh-what need?" Satan exhaled, "Sex like in the Pornos without worrying about things being leaked to the press. You tire of pleasing yourself. You crave the feeling of a well hung stud possessing you sexually. You want someone to make you scream out from the pleasurable pain. You want to feel used and owned. You want to feel like sexual property. Do not deny it; I have heard your thoughts." She sobbed, "Who the hell are you?! How do you know this?! Are you going to rape me?" He chuckled, "Ahh... Hell... It is a very warm home. I know about your need because I have heard your thoughts as I have said. And I will not rape you. Although I do know you have rape fantasies." She gasped, "I do not!" He chuckled, "Liar. I know you have. But, I can arrange that for you if you like. I am here to offer you a deal." The light came on and she could finally see him. He was a red skinned man in a black business suit. He looked very seductive as he strolled over to her bedside. He waved his hand and her body was frozen as if paralyzed. He then slid the blanket down and admired her body. He sat down and began squeezing and rubbing her breasts. He slipped a hand down to her pussy and slipped a finger in to feel her wetness. He chuckled, "Just as I suspected. Down deep you are a slut. Here is the deal. I will provide you someone to give you the fuck of your life every night for the rest of your life. But, when you do die, I get your soul. He will be a Demon. He will bring you pleasures not known to many mere mortals." Satan continued arousing her body. After awhile he snapped his fingers and stripped his clothes away. He then climbed atop her frozen but whimpering body. He then turned into his true form as lust was beginning to take over. Horns came from the sides of his head like a ram. His teeth became pointed and menacing looking. His nose took the shape of a bull and his body became much taller and muscular. And lastly his skin became redder and more leathery. She wanted to scream but could not. Yet, her body seemed highly aroused at this point. He rested his monstrous cock on her body. The base was just below her wet and begging pussy. The enraged looking tip stretched all the way to her chin. The width was unbelievable as well. It had to of been as around as her bicep. Her eyes bulged as they looked cross eyed at it. He chuckled in a demonic voice, "It is big indeed. But, don't worry, I won't put it all in." He then moved back as he rested the tip at her loose pussy. With an exhale he said, "I know you have stretched your pussy well with the dildos you use. Dirty sluts like you like them unusually big." She whimpered loudly now as he began to push the insane thing into her. Her body felt as though it was being broken slowly. Her pussy was stretched beyond what seemed natural and burned. Just when she thought she would tear he slipped into her. He slowly pushed it in until he bottomed out in her womb. Still paralyzed she could not move or speak. But, in her mind she was screaming. It was probably a good thing she was paralyzed. Because, if she was not, she would have assuredly tightened her pussy and caused herself more pain. Once he was all the way in she could feel every vein as he rested inside of her. The throbbing of these veins brought about more pain. This is the moment he decided to remove the paralysis from her. He waved his hand over her and she slowly was able to move. Yet, she didn't move much. It was as if she was afraid too much movement would bring her pussy even more pain. But she did speak, "So y-you are the one you sp-spoke of?" He laughed, "No. There is another. I am simply giving you a taste of what is to come if you agree to the deal." With that he slowly dragged the thing out accept for the tip. He then slowly slid it in until he bottomed out again. There was so much friction and tension against her nerve endings that even though she was in pain, her pussy released a thick flow of cum that coated his monstrous thing. He looked down to hurt, "Never hurt so good, has it?" She exhaled and said, "No." She turned her head to the side disgusted at her won body's reaction. Yet, amazingly the orgasm made the sex begin to feel better. Satan pulled the long thing out of her as her own juices flowed out into a puddle under her ass. He bent down between her legs and stuck his long thick snake like tongue out to taste her juices. As he licked her, her body trembled with anticipation. He then pressed his long tongue deep into her vaginal canal and flicked it around. It took no time for her to reach a second orgasm and she cried, "Oh... yes! Yes!" He then got back on his knees between her legs and aligned his cock up with her absurdly stretch sopping wet pussy. Before she knew what she was saying she cried out, "Please, fuck me!" He chuckled and shoved himself roughly inside of her. He began banging so hard that the bed bounced and banged against the wall. He grunted and growled down to her, "Is this what you want, slut? You liked to be fucked and used like a rag doll?" She screamed out, "Yes! Yes!" She arched her back preparing for her next orgasm. He slapped her face hard enough to show dominance and leave a red mark but not hard enough to cause damage. As he pumped her he asked, "Are you a dirty slut? Let me hear you say it!" She screamed out, "Yes! I am a dirty slut! Please don't stop fucking my slutty pussy! Fuck me!" He then asked, "Do you want this every night when you go to bed to sleep?" She was closes to orgasming and he knew it. So, he slapped the other cheek to cause temporary shock to stave off the orgasm. She screamed out, "Yes! Yes! I do!" He laughed and abruptly pulled himself out of her. This left her screaming and clawing for him, "No! Please! Don't stop now!" Satan snapped his fingers and a document was in his hands with a quill and a small dagger on top. He sat in on a nearby table and said, "Come sign this and I will continue." She gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes at him, "You bastard!" He merely laughed and stroked his cock mockingly at her, "Hurry before I change my mind and leave all together. Sign it. Then draw blood from your right thumb and press it into the document. I need a fingerprint in blood." She grumbled but did as he said. When she was finished she hurried back to the bed. He grabbed her by the waist and dragged her over to the foot of the bed. He pushed her at the waist and commanded, "On your hands and knees like the whore you are. Fucking slut!" When she bent over he slapped her ass hard on both cheeks. He then grabbed her by the hips and shoved himself as deep as her body would allow. She moaned out from the mix of pleasure and pain, "Yes! Yes! Fuck me!" He laughed and plunged in and out of her in a flurry until she orgasmed. Then, he pulled out of her pushed her down flat on her stomach. She was then violently spun over onto her back. He stood over her stroking his ridiculously long and thick cock. With a chuckle he said, "Be prepared for my Minion. You will enjoy each other" He then released gallons of hot thick cum all over her face, neck and chest. She had at least two inches of it on her face. When she wiped the cum away from her eyes she noticed he had disappeared. She staggered to the bathroom on very weak legs supporting herself along the way by holding onto the wall. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned the showed on. She slid down the shower wall and sat in the tub as warm water washed away his seed. The next morning she was so exhausted and tired that she called in sick to work. She slept all day until the sun set. She awoke to the sound of low growling like a lion... Deal with the Devil = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The payment for life is life, but will Estevan give his beloved as payment for his continued existence? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ******************** Normally Estevan loved Halloween. It was his favorite holiday. He had watched it change through the centuries from a yearly cultic purification of hearth and fire as practiced by the Celts; to a harvest festival as practiced by the Romans when they took the festival back to the Mediterranean area; to a children's night of play intended to dispel our basic fear of evil magical creatures; to its current, modern-day excuse for raunchy costumes and alcohol-fueled parties. As he thought about it, he could not help but compare the modern debauchery with the Roman fertility celebrations. The Romans combined the Celtic "dark night" rituals with their own "Feralia" practices, both of whom involved the spirits of the dead. By putting it on November first, however, the Romans removed the"public fasting" required by Feralia. The new date replaced the public fasting of those final, gray days of February with the "public celebration" of harvest time at the end of October. The result was basically a drunken orgy, and the Romans really knew how to throw an orgy - especially if you mixed in religious overtones that made alcohol and sex an acceptable part of the cultic fertility ritual. "Just like old times," he said aloud as he remembered the wild parties he had attended last Halloween with Alicia. But then he glanced down at her picture in his hands and said softly and sadly, "Just like old times." This year was to be a "Kalend of Kalends." Literally that meant a month of months, but it was used by the Romans to refer to a decade. Somewhere in the ancient past it may have originally meant thirty months or perhaps thirty years, but that was before Estevan's time. Not a whole lot was before Estevan's time. Once at a dinner party, when someone had asked him how old he really was, he replied, "I wasn't around to sell the stones to Cheops for his pyramid, but my company poured the concrete for Flavius when he built the Coliseum." Everyone laughed - those who heard it because of how his outlandish answer avoided giving his true age, Estevan, because he was telling the absolute truth. No, Estevan was not immortal. He was an ordinary, mortal man, who one Feralia - before they even called it that - just happened to have struck a deal with the keeper of the dead. Today most people call him The Devil, or Satan, but he truly has no name, just as he has no face, or for that matter just as he has no body. He can assume various forms, from bull to goat to human to god or goddess or strange combinations in between, but all such forms are just illusions. "His promises are also illusions," thought Estevan. "Eternal life.... but at what cost?" Then he spoke aloud to himself "Is it truly living when you know that once every ten years you must betray someone who loves you dearly to buy another ten years of life?" How many had he betrayed over the centuries? How many had gone down into the realm of the keeper of the dead so that he could continue to walk the earth? Would this be the year that, on the festival of the dead, he would refuse, and would himself be embraced by the formless arms of the keeper of the dead? Alicia was different. With his youthful charm and physically pleasing body, it had always been easy to get women to fall in love with him. He enjoyed their charms while it lasted, and they benefitted greatly from his extreme wealth and power. He had always justified things to himself by saying that if they had known what they were doing they would have gladly traded their lives for the ten years of absolute bliss which he bestowed upon them. Women - and men - gave up their lives for much less. "What was it that made Alicia different?" He thought to himself. It wasn't just that she was rich - nowhere near as rich as Estevan, but wealthy enough to be rich even among the rich. And it wasn't just that she was beautiful. He remembered how her naked body had shone in the moonlight on the beach. And, when she paused and looked at Estevan, it was as if a statue from the Temple of Aphrodite had come to life. It was not just her physical appearance that made her special. Her voice was almost musical; she knew her history and the intricacies of the arts and sciences; and she was fluent in as many languages as he was. At least, she could speak and understand all those languages which he currently used. He had never tried to speak with her in ancient Phoenician. There had been others as beautiful. Carla had breasts that were the perfect size and shape, and her sex was perfectly formed, both for beauty and to caress and grip his cock as they thrust together. She had the perfect natural mixture of grip and lubrication so that it was like sliding through honey into that tight shaft. There had been others as rich. Suzanne had been almost richer than he, coming as she did from royal blood in a time when royalty reigned supreme in Europe. She was born to extreme wealth, and had taught him subtleties of using your wealth to exert power over others that he would never have dreamed of on his own. There had been others as intelligent. Veronica was the most intelligent of them all. She actually had surmised his secret, but her love for him kept her from fleeing. When her Kalendra came, she peacefully looked him in the eyes - without fear - and said "I wondered when this day would come. I knew it would. The payment for life is always life. Despite what you must do, I thank you for the nine years of your love that you have given me." Estevan grimaced remembering those words. He had not loved her. She only thought he loved her because he had acted like he loved her. But it was, after all, an act. Love requires that you truly, faithfully and sincerely put the one you love above everything else in your life. As the old joke goes, "Once you can fake that, you have it made." Estevan could fake love very, very well. That is why Alicia was different. This time it wasn't fake. After centuries upon the earth and after countless women chosen, used, and discarded, Estevan had finally, truly and completely fallen in love. The deal with The Devil was that once every ten years on the festival of the dead, he had to betray someone who truly loved him and turn them over to the keeper of the dead. Could he do it this year? Betraying someone who loved you is easy - as long as your love for them is a sham. But could he betray someone whom he truly loved? Could he send Alicia into the arms of the keeper of the dead? The answer would come at midnight on the night of the dead. The exact day for that had varied through the centuries, but in today's world..., in this nation..., in this culture..., that would be at midnight on Halloween. Alicia was rather quiet all day on Halloween. This year, the party would be at their estate. Perhaps she was preoccupied with the details of final planning for the festivities. They had decided on a Greek theme for the decorations. Alicia designed and had supervised the construction of a relatively accurate replica of the temple of Hestia, the Greek goddess of hearth and home. The Romans borrowed many of the cultic practices of the Greeks, including the sacred flame of Hestia, which on the night of the dead was brought to full fire so that people could take glowing embers home to relight their hearths with "purified fire" - of course for a fee. There always had to be an offering of silver to the goddess in return for the sacred fire. Alicia's pseudo-temple was the perfect setting for a large bonfire for the party. "Have all cultures always combined fire... and purity... and death?" thought Estevan when he saw the temple sitting in the garden. It wasn't exactly as he remembered it when he had walked between its pillars in Athens, but the differences were minor. Alicia's design looked almost more primitive... more ancient that the temple he remembered. "This will be perfect." he told Alicia. He then added silently to himself, "Now I don't have to come up with some way to create a bonfire." The secret that Estevan had discovered so many Kalendra ago was that for everything sacred there was also the un-sacred. Perhaps both were sacred, but not on the same end of reality. There was "good" sacred and "bad" sacred. There was the "holy" fire and the "un-holy" fire. The gods came forth from the holy fire. The keeper of the dead came forth from the un-holy fire. It was an accident when it happened.... well, not exactly an accident. Estevan was supposed to kindle the sacred fire for his household, but being a typically rebellious teenaged boy of any culture or century, he intentionally reversed the wording of the ritual. He was alone by the family sacred hearth when he began the task of building a new fire so he was free to mutilate the ritual words. Had his father or mother been there, such disrespect would have brought a severe beating, but he was alone, and so he showed his contempt for what he considered the useless and hollow words of a totally stupid ritual. He reversed all of the words as he labored to create the proper spark to ignite the dried grass and kindling that would begin the flame for the sacred fire. But it wasn't a stupid ritual..., and they were not useless, hollow words. With his reversed ritual, he created an un-sacred fire and when the family gathered, the keeper of the dead came forth from the fire and consumed his father and his mother and all who were gathered around the fire... except Estevan. Then the keeper of the dead offered him eternal life. He could live forever, but that eternal life required a regular payment of life. What would Estevan say when The Devil came forth from the fire this year. Would he say the proper words, "I give you life for life, love for love, that which is not mine for that which is not yours." Or would he say simply, "I withhold life for life and give you my life as your own." There had never been any question about the choice of words in all the hundreds of years of his existence. Why now? Why this time? Why with Alicia? The guests began arriving shortly after sundown. It was a dark night, and the extensive garden was dimly lit with the flickering flame of torches which surrounded the area and lined each of the paths. The torches had been intentionally placed so that there were large, grassy areas of total darkness where people could find privacy in the midst of the gathering. If the party had been inside, several of the bedrooms would have been available, but the dark areas would be almost as private. The invitations had specifically said "Greco-Roman Theme," but had also indicated that "traditional Halloween costumes are also acceptable." So, as the evening began, there were toga and tunic clad men and women standing around drinking with witches, goblins, Star Wars characters, and of course, a plethora of naughty nurses, teachers, cops, robbers, and whatever. By nine o'clock several of the togas and tunics had already been discarded and naked slaves walked among the revelers. Estevan smiled as he watched Dr. Harrison and a naked Nurse Buchanan slip into the darkness. It reminded him of actual naked slaves being led into the darkness at a party in a setting very similar to this a long, long time ago. He wasn't drinking tonight. He wasn't sure if it was because he knew he couldn't get himself drunk enough to do what he had to do, or because he was afraid that if he was drunk enough he would be able to say the words and give Alicia over to the keeper of the dead. Alicia also was not drinking tonight, probably because, as hostess, she needed to keep her mind clear to supervise the party. Midnight was fast approaching. Estevan and Alicia were the only two people there who were not seriously drunk and disheveled. They were also among the few who were still totally clothed. Shortly before midnight, Estevan began maneuvering Alicia to the "dark side" of the fire. At his suggestion, there were no torches on this side of the fire so that just a few feet from the flames, you were in relative darkness. It was the perfect setting to meet the keeper of the dead for the once-a-decade betrayal ritual. And then it was time. Estevan and Alicia were standing in the perfect place. Others could not see them over the flames of fire, and from the sides they were just at the edge of being able to be seen in the fire's glow. At exactly midnight, Estevan faced the fire and watched as a well-dressed man stepped out of the flames and into the soft light of the fire lit the area. He had expected Alicia to be startled, but she stood serenely next to him. The Devil was dressed like a riverboat gambler from the American west. He even had on one of those black, flat-topped western hats preferred by such ne'er-do-wells. He was continually flipping and catching what appeared to be an old-fashioned silver dollar. "I have come for my Kalendra tribute," he said with a smooth, deep voice. Estevan stepped slightly forward. As he spoke the silver dollar spun past The Devil's hand and slowly - very, very slowly - dropped toward the ground. Estevan stepped closer to him and said clearly, "I withhold life for life and give you my life as your own." He was actually surprised to hear himself say those words. He was even more surprised to hear Alicia speak the very same words as she stood alongside him. He quickly turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide with shock, as probably were his own. The keeper of the dead began to laugh. When Estevan turned back to look at him, the silver coin was sitting on the ground at his feet... upright. The Devil continued to laugh. "If you flip a coin often enough, for long enough, eventually it will land on edge." Alicia and Estevan continued to stare at him, and at the coin. He continued. "I never renege on my deals - ever!! But I don't always give out all the details of every deal. Only I know ALL the details of the deal. For this particular deal - which was the same for both of you - each time I come, you have a choice, heads or tails... give me your life or the life of someone who loves you." "Those whom you have given over to my keeping are dead, but they are only dead. I take them to the place of the dead, like all others whom I escort from this realm. But on the day that you give me yourself, you come with me to the depths of what you like to call 'Hell.'" He smiled a very cruel and evil smile. "You return to my home with me, because by willingly giving yourself to me, you have become my eternal slave and plaything." "I make my deals very carefully knowing that eventually, you will fall in love. Eventually, you will find someone whom you cannot betray. And when that happens, you will give your life for theirs and you are mine. It's just a matter of time and the odds as I keep flipping the coin of choice. Sooner or later it comes up tails." He laughed once again. This time it was the sound of true laughter. "But there is always that infinitesimal possibility that the coin will not be heads or tails. Impossible as it seems, a coin can land on edge... and stay there. The chances of that are very, very, very small, but the impossible will happen occasionally when you flip coins through all eternity. Tonight the coin has landed on edge. You have each given your lives for the one whom you love." Looking at both of them, he smiled and continued, "Estevan, because you have given your life for Alicia, I cannot take her. Alicia, because you have given your life for Estevan, I cannot take him. That means that you are now both free from your agreements. The deal is off." He shook his head and smiled a wry smile. His voice took on an unusually soft tone. "You will now age like normal people, and the day will eventually arrive when I will once again come to collect you to the land of the dead, but that is where you will go. You will not accompany me back to Hell... because the coin of choice has laded on edge." He picked up the silver dollar from the ground and tossed it to Estevan. "Keep this as a remembrance that one Halloween, one couple very much in love with each other beat the Devil at his own game." He laughed again and said, "That doesn't happen very often... about as often as a coin landing on edge and staying there." Turning back toward the fire he concluded. "Now I must leave. Even I can suspend time for only a short while and I have many other appointments for tonight. I have deals to make, lives to collect, and maybe even a soul or two to take back with me to the deepest depths." As he disappeared into the fire Alicia turned to Estevan, kissed him and said, "It looks like we have a lot to catch up on about each other's lives." She blushed slightly and added, "I hope you don't mind that I am a little bit older than you." When Estevan looked puzzled, she added, "I didn't sell stones to Cheops either, but I did occasionally watch from beneath a silk canopy as the slaves sweated to push them into place." Estevan took her hand and led her slowly into the darkness away from the temple. Within their clasped hands, still warm to the touch from coming through the fire, they held the coin of choice which this night had determined their fate. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = END OF STORY Please remember to vote by clicking on one of the stars at the end of the story. If you really liked it, click 5. If you really hated it, click 1, but please click something. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =