Payment Plan

“There.” The parchment burst into flames once the man was done signing it with his own blood. The horned figure in the summoning circle smiled, teeth like needles. “The pact is sealed. Now we may discuss payment.”

The man took a deep breath, dredging up the tears he’d practiced. “I know… I hate myself for it, but I can only offer… My firstborn child!”

The demon blinked. “Oh. No, sorry, we don’t accept those.”

The man paused, crocodile tears on hold. “What?”

“See under payment options we clearly state—” The demon re-summoned the contract in a burst of flame, licked its finger with a forked tongue, and flipped through it. “Valid payment options include ‘your soul, hopes, dreams, skills, body parts—“

“But why wouldn’t you take a child?! Their soul must be far more valuable than mine.”

The demon rolled its yellow eyes in a way that made it seem like it had explained this before. “For the same reason you can’t go to the bank and take out a mortgage in someone else’s name. It’s not yours.”

“Oh,” The man said meekly.

The demon laughed. “Did you think I’d let you weasel out of this that easily?”

“I thought you just cared about souls,” the man defended, sweating from more than hellfire heat.

The creature’s grin deepened impossibly further. “No. Demons care about consequences. And I think it’s time I delivered some unto you.”

Adrienne Rex is a writer, a Texan, and a weirdo. Find her here: https://adrienne-rex-writes.carrd.co/