A Big Deal

The lesser demon curled his tail around his body, trying to keep it from twitching impatiently. “When’s he supposed to get here?” he asked. 

“Soon,” the greater demon answered. 

The lesser demon sighed. It felt like they had been waiting for an eternity. That was the problem with liminal space. There was no sense of time. Perhaps when he was a thousand years old, he would have the glacial patience of his superior. But he was not a thousand years old. He had the patience of an ice tray left out on the counter on a summer day.

The lesser demon’s tail twitched impatiently.

“How soon?”

The greater demon turned towards the lesser demon and regarded him with heavily lidded eyes.  The tentacles crowing his head waved languidly, as though caught in a current. “If you prefer to return to the underworld, I will not stop you.”

Tempting. But no. He would be stupid to miss an opportunity to watch a master at work. The lesser demon had earned decent respect during his apprenticeship under the bed. But that was child’s play. He wanted more. Negotiating for souls, now that was real work.

Too bad it required hanging around liminal space waiting for a summoning.

A point of fire lit in front of them.

“Ahhh,” the greater demon said. “It is time.” He rose, sitting back on his haunches. 

The fire began to move, tracing a flaming circle around them. The lesser demon felt a strange compression, as if the area inside the circle was being pressurized. He squeezed in closer to the greater demon.

A faint pulsing whisper penetrated the eerie silence, pushing on his ears. The lesser demon tried to make out the words, but it wasn’t any language he knew. It felt like a binding though, pulling them into the land of mortals. The volume of the whisper slowly increased as the gray mists of liminal space dissolved away, and the area around the circle resolved into a room.

“Huh,” the lesser demon said in surprise. He knew this room – he had spent all of last month in it. Little Bobby Miller’s bedroom in the squat yellow house on McArthur Street. 

And there was little Bobby, whispering the invocation with his eyes shut tight, a book clasped tightly against his chest.

“I didn’t see that one coming,” the lesser demon muttered to himself.

An assortment of tea lights and jar candles surrounded the demons, flickering in the dim room.  Bobby had mounded his sports gear and dirty clothes in the corners to make enough space for the summoning circle between his bed and dresser. The scent from the purple lavender candle fought with the smell of a seasonal pumpkin spice one. Bobby must have cleaned out his mother’s entire collection. 

“I am Magthar, Lord of the Deep Vale, Master of the Seething Horde.” the greater demon intoned, his voice ringing with power. “Why have you summoned me?”

Little Bobby cringed and opened one eye to peak up at Magthar, whose crown of tentacles brushed the ceiling. He didn’t notice the small red demon crouched behind.

Bobby took a breath and stood up straight. “I want to make a trade.” His voice cracked, not as brave as his stance.

“What do you have to trade?” 

Bobby held out the book – a Sunday School Bible. “I’ll give you this.”

The greater demon looked at it dismissively. “And what do you want in return?”

Bobby took a deep breath. “I need protection. There are these bullies at my school. They keep taking my money and trashing my little sister’s homework.”

The lesser demon hissed, emitting a bit of steam from his nose. He had enjoyed tormenting Bobby. The kid had been a tough nut to crack. He didn’t like that someone else was giving him a hard time. It pissed him off. 

The greater demon shook his head. “A child’s bible is no pay for my services.”

“I have twenty dollars from Christmas.”

Magthar looked down at his claws, clicking them absently. “Money is for mortals.” 

“What would I need to pay?” Bobby asked. 

The greater demon stared at Bobby with unblinking eyes. “Souls. I deal in souls.”

Bobby’s face fell. “I can’t give you my soul. My mom would kill me.”

The greater demon shrugged. “Then we are done here.”

The lesser demon felt a new and strange emotion. Something like disappointment? But it was more than that. He was proud of the kid for choosing to stand up to those jerks. It wasn’t right that Magthar would just dismiss him like that. Indignation. That’s what it was.

“I’ll do it.” The lesser demon said.

Bobby noticed him then, staring wide eyed. “You!”

“Yeah, kid. Me.”

Magthar turned around awkwardly, his massive body squeezed by the invisible force of the summoning circle. “What do you mean you’ll do it? You’re an apprentice, you aren’t cleared to handle a trade.” 

“This isn’t about trading. It’s about scaring school-yard bullies.  If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s scaring kids. Right, Bobby?”

Bobby nodded, adding, “He’s the scariest monster I’ve ever met.”

Magthar sneered at Bobby. “Kindly stay out of this matter, child, or I’ll show you what scary truly means.” Turning his attention back to the lesser demon, he said, “You are not ready to make a trade.  You can’t even be bothered to negotiate a proper payment. You lack the patience necessary to –“

“Patience,” the lesser demon interrupted. “Everyone’s always telling me it’s a virtue.”  He puffed out his chest. “Last I checked, us demons ain’t supposed to be virtuous.”

The greater demon took a deep breath. “Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm. But you can’t offer your services –“

The lesser demon rolled his eyes, “Whatever. I got this.” He slithered across Magthar’s bulk to reach Bobby and stood up to his full height.  “I am Bospul, Lord of Jack-Squat. I don’t need your soul. I’ll take your kiddie bible in return for protection. Deal?” 

The greater demon looked at the lesser demon in alarm. “What are you doing? That’s not how this works!”

A smile cracked Bobby’s face. “Deal!”

The flames around the circle flared. Magthar had one moment to give the lesser demon a bewildered look before he blinked back into liminal space.  And then Bospul was alone in the room with Bobby.

“Just like old times, eh?” he said. He placed his scaly arm around Bobby’s shoulders. “So, tell me about these bullies.”