Evenson stared at the elegantly dressed old man.
Seriously?
First the Norse God of Thunder shows up on Earth.
Now one of Hell’s rulers walks out of the desert.
At this rate, am I going to bump into God while grabbing groceries next week?
Without taking his eyes off Mephisto, he spoke quietly to Melinda.
"Whatever happens..."
"Don’t answer him."
"Don’t agree with him."
"Don’t even acknowledge what he says if you can help it."
He lowered his voice further.
"The gods aren’t nearly as holy as the stories claim."
"But devils..."
"They’re even worse than the legends."
Melinda gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
She understood.
The Lords of Hell occupied a prominent place in countless myths and religions. Even before she’d encountered Thor, she’d heard the name Mephisto.
If the Ghost Rider alone had nearly killed Evenson...
Then the being standing before them was on an entirely different level.
Mephisto chuckled.
He sounded genuinely pleased.
To him, "evil" was a compliment.
His gaze shifted toward Johnny Blaze, who had just managed to sit upright.
"You’ve been distracted."
His tone remained calm.
"You should have been focused on the task I assigned you."
The Ghost Rider had never been created to punish criminals or protect the innocent.
Mephisto had forged Johnny into his Rider for a purpose.
Now that purpose had been delayed because Johnny had exhausted his Hellfire fighting someone completely unrelated to the mission.
Johnny looked up at him without the slightest hint of fear.
"You know perfectly well this wasn’t something I could control."
He spat into the sand.
"If you don’t like it..."
"Find someone else."
Evenson blinked.
That’s... unexpectedly bold.
Johnny had just told the Lord of Hell to fire him if he wasn’t satisfied.
Mephisto merely smiled.
"Johnny Blaze."
"Never forget."
"A contract, once signed, cannot be broken."
"I fulfilled my promise."
"Now it’s your turn to fulfill yours."
Melinda quietly rubbed the back of her hand.
"...That sounds strangely familiar."
Evenson sighed.
"That’s because every contract lawyer on Earth wishes they had his collection rate."
After finishing with Johnny, Mephisto turned back toward Evenson.
"I must admit..."
"You defeating my Rider surprised me."
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"And your magic..."
"I don’t recognize it."
"But it carries something..."
He frowned.
"Something familiar."
"The stench of demons."
The hatred between demons and devils was ancient.
Demons viewed devils as conniving cowards obsessed with schemes and loopholes.
Devils regarded demons as mindless engines of destruction that solved every disagreement by setting something on fire.
Neither side had much respect for the other.
Evenson, however, suspected Mephisto’s opinion stemmed from limited exposure.
You’ve clearly never met an eredar... or a dreadlord.
Those bastards could out-scheme most devils before breakfast.
Mephisto continued.
"So."
"Your master is a demon."
"A demon sorcerer."
"A rare profession these days."
From Mephisto’s perspective, serving demons was a terrible career choice.
Demons were volatile.
Violent.
Prone to solving payroll disputes with murder.
Even if you survived the inevitable attention of the white wizards, there was always a decent chance your own patron would decide to eat you after a bad day.
Compared to that...
Devils were civilized.
They honored their contracts.
Usually.
"First," Evenson said evenly, "I’m a warlock."
"Not a demon sorcerer."
"Second..."
He smiled.
"Demons aren’t my masters."
"I’m theirs."
Mephisto laughed softly.
He clearly didn’t believe a word of it.
Humans did not command demons.
And demons certainly didn’t obey humans.
Evenson didn’t bother arguing.
Back home, five summoned demons could happily testify otherwise.
"Very well."
"Warlock."
Mephisto waved the distinction aside.
"My Rider can no longer fight."
"You’ve delayed the completion of my plans."
Evenson immediately objected.
"That’s hardly my fault."
"I spent the entire evening trying not to fight him."
"He’s the one who chased me halfway across the desert."
"If anyone’s responsible, it’s him."
Mephisto tapped the crystal skull atop his cane.
"Because I am stronger than you..."
"...I could simply declare it your fault."
The words weren’t a threat.
They were a statement.
Even limited by his presence on Earth, crushing the exhausted Evenson would require almost no effort.
Then Mephisto smiled.
"But I won’t."
"Forcing obedience through power..."
"...is something demons do."
"I prefer reason."
His smile widened.
"Let’s make a deal."
That...
Was how devils operated.
Power was always available.
It was simply considered inelegant.
Instead of taking what they wanted, they offered contracts.
Victims tended to sign them willingly.
Evenson didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Johnny Blaze.
"What did you get..."
"...for making a deal with him?"
Johnny let out a bitter laugh devoid of humor.
"Heartbreak."
Mephisto spread his hands innocently.
"That wasn’t my doing."
"I fulfilled every word of our agreement."
Years ago, Johnny had discovered that his father was dying of terminal cancer.
Mephisto had appeared with a simple proposal.
Your father’s illness...
In exchange for your soul.
Whether Johnny had been desperate...
Or whether he’d assumed it was some elaborate joke...
He’d accepted almost immediately.
The next morning, his father awoke completely healthy.
Strong as ever.
Later that same day...
He died in a motorcycle stunt accident.
Classic devil’s bargain.
The contract had been honored perfectly.
The disease had been cured.
The outcome had simply been engineered to become the worst possible version of success.
Wish for a mountain of gold...
A devil might happily drop it on your head.
Technically...
You still got exactly what you asked for.
Mephisto met Evenson’s gaze.
"Don’t look at me like that."
"I know what you’re thinking."
"I kept my promise."
"If events unfolded poorly afterward..."
"...that was merely because he failed to consider every possibility."
His smile became almost fatherly.
"But you..."
He studied Evenson with open interest.
"You’re considerably smarter than most."
"I doubt you’d make such a careless mistake."
...
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