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

something of a celebrity by this time, hadn’t you Mr. Skyler?”
    “Glabzu and his priests kept saying I held the essence of the Unmaker, cause I wanted to kill so much. They liked me. But once I became a liability, they got sick of me right enough. Sure didn’t stand up for me when their thugs turned on me.”
    “And your third death?”
    “Morning after, the fall of another town. I’d raised my third Gift back in a town’s temple, cleansed of the Unmaker and all that. Ditched my initiation to the Unmaker, and lost the humming in my head.”
    “So you no longer felt this compulsion to kill?”
    “Nah, but it still beat workin’. I joined the army. We took a town, Mousejacket, in a rebellion. The fight was fierce, so we fixed ’em proper when the walls fell. Hell of a night that was; took a lot of blood showers under the pikes! But we were attacked again, at dawn. By then we were drunk. Enemy army was pretty angry to arrive late, and about the families we burned and cut up. They just up and chopped my head off.”
    “Thank you for clarifying, Mr. Skyler. That would leave you with exactly two Gifts remaining. I trust you’ve had time to read the contract?”
    “Aye. I’m ready to spike the rat who carved my eye out when he ran off with my daughter.”
    “Your daughter, Katrina. That’s right. She is twenty-eight years old now, and in the camp of Vassos Milagro.”
    Dick’s face froze. Then he gave a satisfied smirk. “Let’s talk about my reward.”
    “Besides the chance for revenge against an enemy?”
    “Yeah. My leg’s a little messed up, too. Can you fix that?”
    “I could. That’s expensive, though.”
    “Fine. Just gimme the korba for a ritual of Regrowth, and promise the ritual will work on me without a hitch. That way no one will get suspicious that I’m suddenly nimble again. The law would string me up for making deals with a devil, you know.”
    “Of course. I was about to perform my due diligence by warning you.”
    “I go into this with two good eyes too. How about that. I want to see as sharp as I did at twenty-five. And snooker the ladies like I did then, too.”
    “I promise that as well.” The devil scratched more words on the paper, which Dick was happy to see were instantly legible.
    “And I want to be able to read too. And read everything, not just your devil’s scrawlings.”
    The devil cracked a smile. “Why not.”
    “You know something else I always wanted?” Dick’s head snapped up like a boy told to choose from a line of presents. “To be a Raingun. You know, one of those high-and-mighty cavalry pissants, castin’ spells off their magic horses.”
    “That’s not a simple thing.” The devil’s brow knit, his head sagging as though by the sudden drag of a chain. “Rainguns are a special elite military unit...only deployed by Foverre, your rival to the south. They are completely unknown to the military here in Liebgaard. Rainguns undergo a secret ritual from a cabal of military wizards.”
    “C’mon, wizards are corrupt as everybody else. You must have one or two on your payroll.”
    “Tell you what.” The devil ran a finger under his moustache. “You may invoke the basic Raingun spell of summoning a smokemare. One time! For twenty-four hours only! I strongly suggest you apply this boon right away, to aid you in the task of eliminating your target.”
    “Only once? Hardly worth havin’ at all.”
    “Shall I throw in an extended lifespan?”
    “That’s more like it. So how long’m I gonna live?”
    “I’ll guarantee an extra forty years of lifespan, starting when you sign this contract -  out to the age of one hundred and six. Your appearance will stay as it is, but your eyes, and legs, heart, and... accoutrements will revert to the condition they held on your twenty-fifth birthday. Your body will retain that youthful state and vigor until you turn one hundred and six.”
    “Gimme that pen.”
    The devil held a hand up. “Before you sign, Mr.