*

There was a devil there the day I died. He looked like a respectable man wearing his Sunday best and his hand weighed the world on the back of my neck when he pushed my head underwater.

There was something else there too. A tall figure of shadow and horns that only appeared when I was near enough to dead as to make no difference.

The shadow devil got in the way of the human devil’s plans, saved what was left of my life.

Now they’d both gone back to the hell they came from, and I was left with only questions. What deal had I unknowingly made? How much greater would the price be? Why me?

Whatever the answers, they would have to work very hard if they ever wanted to find me. That much, I’d make sure of.