The Devil Eats Here (Multi-Author Short Story Collection) Read Online Free PDF

touching. Don’t care though.”
    “You will when I reveal the target, Mr. Skyler. It’s Vassos Milagro... the same Grumachian who took your eye.”
    “You’ve got my attention, devil. But riddle me this: I’m a run-of-the-mill evildoer. Hardly much of a catch for the Unmaker’s soul bin. Aren’t you types all about corrupting the virtuous and innocent? Isn’t that your nom de plume?”
    The devil’s eyes clicked shut. A miniscule, indignant puff pushed out his lips. “That’s the wrong expression. A nom de plume is . . . never mind. I grant you, that is normally the way of devils. But there are many factions of the Unmaker: fissures, if you will, of that darkest of the dark faiths. When you marched with demons, you joined the fissure of chaos and destruction. The demonic fissure opposes the more orderly perversion of us devils. And so, your soul is more of a, shall we say a feather in my cap, in terms of advancing up the hierarchy of my own faction.”
    “The pansy-ass, merchant, lawyer faction that talks everybody to death?”
    “The infernal faction. Demons wish to destroy all worlds and creatures, in effect restoring the time before creation. . . but we devils think of the future. Like all deities, the Unmaker requires the faith and participation of mortals, but how many mortals truly want to destroy the world? Most humans that other humans define as “evil” have simpler goals: to dominate their fellow humans, to accumulate leisure and riches and pleasure. And so we prosper.”
    “Most humans worship the sodden Maker, is how I remember it. Don’t His Upright Holiness frown on this sort of thing?”
    “Correct. So there is only one thing, truly worth destroying: the faith that humans place in so-called goodness.”
    Dick scratched his chin. “You mentioned a deal.”
    Reaching into an inside pocket, the devil produced a contract with intricate calligraphy.
    Dick scowled and made an impatient wave. “I can’t read.”
    “You can read this, Mr. Skyler, I assure you.”
    “Hmmm . . . so I can.” Dick’s eyebrows flew up; it wasn’t every day that he found anything to be easier than he expected. “Suppose I kill Vassos. You’re certain sure we’re talking about the same fellow? Guaranteed, the bastard what fucked my eye?”
    “We’re certain of the man’s identity. Yes sir.”
    “’Cause he murdered some good person’s relative?”
    “Something like that. Vassos is in hiding for the moment, beyond the reach of the authorities.”
    “And this . . . good person, you’re speaking of, wants revenge, and maybe doesn’t care about forgiveness and the Maker’s Plan.”
    “Now that you’ve mentioned the Maker’s Plan, Mr. Skyler, I’d like to verify how your previous deaths occurred. You never died before joining Glabzu’s army, did you?”
    “Nope.”
    “And your first death happened during the invasion of Tilverton, a town levelled by that demon?”
    “Right. Joining the horde was an easy choice, once I saw all the mystical goodies being passed out. Some men grew extra arms; others started breathing fire.”
    “And what was your demonic boon, Mr. Skyler?”
    “Didn’t have one really. I just got mean.”
    “Isn’t meanness a requirement for following demons into battle?”
    Dick pointed to his left temple. “I got a headache that never stopped humming. There were colors I couldn’t see, but I knew they were there, laughing at me. Whenever I killed someone? The pain got less. Like you said, first time I ever died was when militia defending Tilverton stuck me full of arrows. So I missed all the fun when the town fell.”
    “And your second death?”
    “Same thing. Only this time, I was killed by the horde. My meanness, it’d got worse. I couldn’t control it so well, so sometimes I’d kill one of the demonic creatures in the horde, or at least a human minion of the demon. This made me unpopular. Some of the warriors surrounded me and beat me to death.”
    “You’d become