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Kale cleared his throat, scratched his ankle, scratched his calf He said, "Yeah Yeah, I understand I really do"

The coluan to forrew, large and sinewy The hands were enorers that tapered into talons At the top of the colu ash of a s; a nose like the snout of a pig; mad, crimson eyes, not remotely human, like the presumed eyes of a fly Horns sprouted on the forehead, a concession to Christian listened, fat and green-black, wreathing continuously in tangled knots

The cruel mouth opened The Devil said, "Do you believe?"

"Yes," Tell said in adoration, "You are my lord"

"Yes," Kale said shakily, "I believe" He scratched at his right calf, "I do believe"

"Are you mine?" the apparition asked

"Yes, always," Teer said, and Kale agreed

"Will you ever forsake me?" it asked

"No"

"Never"

"Do you wish to please me?"

"Yes" Tell said, and Kale said, "Whatever you want"

"I will be leaving soon," the manifestation said, "It is not yetSoon But there are conditions that ain, not n to all mankind, but to stay for a thousand years Until then, I will leave you with the protection of my pohich is vast; no one will be able to har I proreat pleasure and immense rewards In return, you must complete five tasks"

He told them what He would have them do to prove themselves and please Him As He spoke, He broke out in pustules, hives, and lesions that wept a thin yellow fluid

Kale wondered what significance these sores ht have, then realized Lucifer was the father of all disease Perhaps this was a not-so-subtle reues He could visit upon the to undertake the five tasks

The flesh foamed, dissolved Gobs of it dropped to the floor; a feere flung against the walls as the figure heaved and writhed The Devil’s tail dropped froled on the floor; in seconds, it was reduced to inani theain?"

"Yes," Tell said, and Kale said, "Yes, a bargain"

The face of Lucifer, covered with running sores, , seeping a puslike paste, the thing sank down into the floor, disappeared into the river below

Strangely, the odorous dead tissue did not vanish Ectoplasm was supposed to disappear when the supernatural presence had departed, but this stuff reht

Gradually, Kale’s rapture faded He began to feel the cold radiating froh the seat of his pants

Gene Teer coughed "Well… well noasn’t that somethin’?" Kale scratched his itchy calf Beneath the itchiness, there was now a dull little spot of pain, throbbing

It had reached the end of its feeding period In fact, it had overfed It had intended to h a series of caverns, subterranean channels, and underground watercourses It had wanted to travel out beyond the edge of the continent, into the ocean trenches Countless tiic periods-so many years-in the cool, dark depths of the sea Down there where the pressure was so enormous that few forhtlessness and silence provided little stimulation, the ancient enemy was able to slon its metabolic processes; down there, it could enter a much-desired dreamlike state, in which it could ruminate in perfect solitude

But it would never reach the sea Never again It was dying

The concept of its own death was so new that it had not yet adjusted to the griical substructure of Snowtop Mountain, the shape-changer continued to slough off diseased portions of itself It crept deeper, deeper, across the underworld river that flowed in Stygian darkness, deeper still, farther down into the infernal regions of the earth, into the chambers of Orcus, Hades, Osiris, Erebus, Minos, Loki, Satan Each tianis sensation arose at soness, and then there came a pain quite unlike human pain, and it was forced to rid itself of even more infected flesh It went deeper, down into jahanna, into Gehenna, into Sheol, Abbadon, into the Pit Over the centuries it had eagerly assuures, whichto their superstitions Now, it was condey it had helped create It was bitterly aware of the irony It had been cast down It had been damned It would dwell in darkness and despair for the rest of its life-which could be measured in hours

At least it had left behind two apostles Kale and Tell They would do its work even after it had ceased to exist They would spread terror and take revenge They were perfectly suited to the job

Now, reduced to only a brain and er cowered in a chthonian niche of densely packed rock and waited for the end It spent its lastat all mankind

Kale rolled up his trousers and looked at the calf of his right leg In the lantern light, he sao small red spots; they were swollen, itchy, and very tender

"Insect bites," he said

Gene Teer looked "Ticks They burrow under the skin The itchin’ won’t stop until you get ’earette"

"Got any?"

Teer grinned "Couple joints of grass They’ll work just as well, man And the ticks’ll die happy"

They s tip of his to burn out the ticks It didn’t hurt much

"In the woods," Teer said, "keep your pants tucked in your boots"

"They were tucked into et underneath?"

"I don’t know"

After they had srass, Kale frowned and said, "He promised us no one could hurt or stop us He said we’d be under His protection"

"That’s right, ot to put up with tick bites?" Kale asked

"Hey, "

"But if we’re really protected-"

"Listen,the bargain you made with Him With a little blood Get it?"

"Then why don’t you have tick bites?"

Jeeter shrugged "Ain’t important, man Besides, the fuckin’ ticks bit you before you struck your bargain-didn’t they?"

"Oh" Kale nodded, fuzzy-headed froht"

They were silent for a while

Then Kale said, "When do you think we can leave here?"

"They’re probably still lookin’ for you pretty hard"