waited.
“As a matter of fact, it hasn’t been all that great.”
“Didn’t make it past librarian’s assistant?” I sneered. Okay, so I wasn’t past being petty.
“Actually, I am head librarian now. Everyone works for me.”
“Congratulations.” Not completely insincere. If he’d attained the post, then he’d obviously worked hard to get it.
“No one ever explained that being the boss came with so many annoyances, though. I can see why Lucifer hates his job.”
“Close to the devil these days, are you?”
“Ever since we made the deal for these.” He waved to his horns.
“What happened to not selling your soul? You were so against it.” I still remembered him telling me that he’d never agree to a deal with Lucifer. One I’d helped broker with the dark lord.
He stared at me as I told him my news. “The Lord of Hell says he can save your library from the coming cataclysm. But it has to be soon.” Everyone was evacuating before the lava could take out the entire city.
“There’s a price,” Shax said. He didn’t look me in the eyes as he spoke. He rarely did. “To save the library, I must let the devil transform me.”
“Into a demi-demon?” The closest he could get to remaining human. “There are so many advantages.”
“Are you here to promote the positive points?” He spoke more harshly than I’d ever heard. “I’ll live longer. Be stronger.”
He made it sound bad. “You will be able to protect the library. Isn’t that what you want?” Whereas I had selfish reasons for wanting him to make the deal. As a powerful sea witch with a deal already in place with Lucifer, I’d be long-lived. As a human, Shax wouldn’t be.
“It requires that I relinquish my soul to him.”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. I’ve already promised my soul to the devil,” I reminded.
“I want to be me,” Shax replied. “Not a demon.”
“Not all demons are bad.”
“But they aren’t human.”
“Neither am I.”
His reply snapped me back to the present. “It occurred to me in those last days that I could either save the library and myself or lose it all. I chose to live.”
“And now you regret it. Typical.” I snorted.
“Actually, being a demi-demon isn’t bad. It has allowed me to achieve every single goal I set for myself. What I didn’t realize was how hollow those would feel.”
“You should count yourself lucky. Lucifer rarely changes humans anymore.” The dark lord had never said why he stopped doing it, but I figured it had to do with giving part of himself to effectuate the change. The demons Lucifer created were stronger than those born.
“At least being a demi-demon is better than living the life of the unliving as a ghoul or vampire. I don’t know if I could handle being trapped on Earth with an allergy to sunlight.”
“Vampires are now considered sexy.”
“You trying to tell me I chose wrong?” He grinned at me.
“You fishing for a compliment?”
He winked.
Shax winked.
Hell must have frozen over again.
“So, you like being a demi-demon and get to be the library’s big boss. Still not seeing how your life sucks.”
“Perhaps sucks isn’t the right word. Empty maybe. Lonely.”
“You should get a dog.”
“Not that kind of lonely.”
“There are dating services these days you can use. And last I heard, you can still rent by the hour.”
His lips curved. “I see you’re sharper than ever. I always liked that about you.”
He did?
“Don’t let the body fool you. It’s only a wrapper.” Inside, I was still in my prime.
“I imagine you can shed it at will, like a chrysalis. It would be interesting to see what shape you took.”
“Still would be the same on the inside.”
“Sugar and spice, naughty and nice.” The grin he offered held a hint of the devil. Perhaps influence of his maker.
He had aptly summed me up, though. I might be a witch, but I wasn’t pure evil. Just like the devil wasn’t all torture and angst. Some kind of balance had to exist. Too far one way, and you got the despots who were kept chained in Hell. Too far the other, and you had those pompous angels with their noses in the air who wouldn’t lift a hand to do anything.
“And how would you describe yourself?” I asked.
“Complex.”
I snorted. “Give me a break. If that’s supposed to make you sound mysterious, then it failed.”
“So, you think you know me?”
“You can’t have changed that much.” I said it, and yet the proof stood before me. He’d changed. A lot!
“Did you come on the cruise alone?”
“If