Demons are no creatures humans can face. Not alone, at least.

Epos knew this well, hence why she cowered. It towered before her, crimson and growling. It’s horns clawed towards the heavens, petal-like scales covering its eyes. One might call themselves lucky knowing that it was blind, but Epos did not. Demons didn’t need eyes to know where you were, and this demon was no different. Although it carried its tail in its mouth, gnawing on it until the hide rubbed off and revealed flesh that had once been human, she knew it could smell her.

“GRRARROUUU,” the demon roared, mouth twisting open as it lunged at Epos, its immense body moving to cover most of her vision. She bit her lip, and awaited her fate.

“Watch out!” her partner cried out, appearing before her to block the incoming attack. “Just-, stay back will you? Lord above, and you’re supposed to be a Third-Rung.”

Gritting her teeth, Epos rose to her feet on shaking, wobbly legs. She had to get it together, she had to! Now was no time to zone-out and fall to her knees! To say nothing of being a disgrace to her Rung, she was a dishonour to her occupation. The only one she should kneel to is Jesus, and here she was, defeated by a demon. And a weak one, too. Her partner barely had any problems getting rid of it, not hesitating to send a glower her way.

Hardly the first time this happened, and it probably wouldn’t be the last time, either. He requested for a change in partners not soon after, leaving Epos alone. Again.

The man in front of her, having the general form and complexion of a pear, gravely considered the documents in front of him, spread evenly across his burgundy desk. “...You understand what a grave crime this is, don’t you?” Epos silently nodded. Oh, she knew alright. How could she possibly forget what her mother told her after she had to switch out her first partner? “They’re meant to last a lifetime, not two missions.”

“Yes, sir.” Epos didn’t know what to do, save for staring down at her lap. She was still wearing her brown leather cloak, but at least she had time to leave her gear in her locker. That was about the only good thing here.

Regional Master Thurston, as his full title was, sighed deeply. “It’d be fine if you were a novice, but you’re not. And someday, you’ll have to start acting like it.” She quivered under his steady gaze. “Look, Epos-,” he glanced away, “I’m not trying to scare you or anything. I just want you to take this seriously.” A tender, fatherly smile grazed his lips. “You’re a promising Reciter. I’d rather we didn’t lose you.”

She nodded. The words and gestures entered one ear and exited the other. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Eyes down-cast and trembling, she failed to notice how Sir Thurston reached over the desk, stretching out one arm.

His hand fell on her head and she jerked at the touched, looking up at him with wide, scared eyes. He simply smiled back, ruffled her hair, and leaned back out. “Now off with you, kid.” She stared at him. He smiled wryly. “Dismissed.”

She rose from her chair, left, and tried her best to keep a stern face. It wasn’t easy, but she didn’t let a single tear show to her superior.

Couldn’t be weak. Couldn’t show herself for who she was. Couldn’t be a disappointment.

Even when she’d gotten to central park, even when she sat down in her usual spot, hidden from most of the paths and people, her old familiar Bible nestled in her lap, not even then did her thoughts leave her situation. She had to pull it together. She wasn’t enough. At least she’d gotten out of that suffocating cloak. She felt no pride in carrying it. Didn’t deserve the yellow lapel of her Rung.

Glancing down at her book, she found the pages stained with tears. Huh? When did that happen? She hadn’t cried, had she? N-, no, of course not! There was no way-,

But there was. Heavy droplets made the letters in her book swim and swarm.

She buried her face in her hands and let it out. At least here she wouldn’t be seen.

-------

Oho? Could it be?

After a mere half a day of scouting for some breezy human to take advantage of, he finally found one. He wasn’t quite sure what it was doing, head in its hands hunched, over its lap, trembling rather strangely. Not that he knew much about human emotions or body language, but he did know an opening when he saw one.

With all the speed of a swallow, he darted at the form, marvelling unhappily at how comparatively large it was. Damn. Still, it was unimportant! All he had to do was shake its hand, and this would all be over. Probably. Hopefully.

All he had to do was shake its hand.

He approached.

--------

“What’s up, there?” someone asked her.

Red-hot shame washed over her as she realized she couldn’t possibly face this civilian as she was. She couldn’t possibly show that she was crying. So, although it wasn’t very polite, she let her face remain obscured by her hands. Then again, she did have to ask, who was speaking to her? She hadn’t heard anyone approach, and this voice… she couldn’t describe it in the least. “Th-, that’s… I’m okay, y-, you don’t need to-,”

A pause. “Tell me what’s on your mind.” It was authoritative, strong, and something nobody had told her to do before.

“I… I might lose my job, because-, because I’m w-, weak.” She sniffeled. “Weak and pathetic and-,”

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“Hey, hey, cool it!” She glanced up, her vision blurry with tears. Too blurry to see what was enticing her. “Lookie, I’ll help ya! You need to get strong? I can do that. What I need in return is… well, it’s unimportant!” The only thing she could see in her hazy vision was the green park, the blue sky and some blurry red thing. “-Just take my hand. I’ll help ya all you want.”

Take his hand… was it? She could do that. Easy as pie.

She reached out her arm, trembling and uncertain. The hand that gripped hers was anything but.

Strong, assured, and… and tiny?...

Wiping at her eyes, she was given a proper look at what had just taken her hand. It was a little demon. Or… well, it looked like one? About as small as a songbird, bright red in colour, horns, wings, spear-headed tail… If it hadn’t been humanoid, if it hadn’t been grinning like a cheshire-cat, she might have been a bit more scared. Hm. Hold on. Sure, she wasn’t holding it’s tiny hand completely, but this was…

Memories from her time in the Academy flashed through her mind. (“How do demons and humans form contracts?”) Her eyes flared open. Her hand and the demon’s hand suddenly burst into flames and she jerked her hand out of its grip. It didn’t hurt, didn’t even scald, but once the flames went out, she noted despairingly that the back of her right hand now sported a red, demonic brand.

“Gahahahaha!! Awrite!” the little devil cheered happily as it flew through the air, its large, toothy grin on full display. Along with a yellow brand on the back of its hand.

Epos’ heart sank. “You-, I-, what have you done!?!”

“What have I done?” The little devil grinned. “I just fooled you. With my peerless wit! Betcha didn’t expect that, didja!?”

Her teeth gritted together and she stood up, tear-stained book clattering to the ground. “You-, are you an idiot? Is that what you are?!” The little demon stopped in its tracks, hanging in the air for a moment before tilting its horned head. “Don’t you know what I am? I’m an exorcist! I hunt things like you for a living! And you-, you just up and made a contract? With me?!”

“I, uh. Yeah?” The little devil shrugged. “What about it?” It furrowed its brows and frowned. “Wait, what’s an exorcist?”

Her eyes went wide. Maybe it was the stupidity of this creature, maybe it was the fact that it seemed way too human, or maybe… “An exorcist is a practitioner of some religious teaching who works for a living by killing and defeating demons and partially or fully corrupt hu-,” Her mind ground to a halt. “Hold on, I’ve got no reason to tell you that! It’s confidential, too!” She crossed her arms. “Either way, it means I work with killing things like you!”

The demon paused for a moment, clearly in deep thought. “Waitasecond.” It counted something on its fingers. One, two, three, four, five, six… “Hold up. I’m no demon! I’m a devil! Get your names straight, human!” It grinned triumphantly, flying about Epos like a bumblebee around a flower. “See, since I’m not what you excercisers go about killin’, it’s fine, right?”

“No. No, it’s not fine!” Epos cried, feeling tears pooling in her eyes once more. “Demon, devil, there’s no difference!” And even if there was, it’s not as if the Church had any business letting one live and not the other.

The devil scoffed. “Hey, this here is the difference between nobles and beasts! At least, I think so…” It shrugged. “Either way, we’re contracted now! I’ll make sure ya don’t lose your job, I’ll get you strong, and in return…” It grinned maliciously. “You’ll get me to Hell!”

“I’ll-, I’ll what?...”

“You know? Hell?” The little devil made a few ‘don’ca know?’ gestures before giving up. “Y’know. Big red wasteland. Filled with demons and stuff? Considering that we demons know of Earth, shouldn’t you humans know of Hell? Isn’t that the whole point or something?” It tried to settle down on her shoulder, but she flicked it away, watching as it soared and tumbled through the air. “Hey! What’s the big ide-,”

“...I’m going to the temple.”

“You’re going to the what? Hold on, don’t go so fast, I’m not a fast-,” it easily caught up with her, “oh… well, I guess I am a fast flyer! Neat!” Maybe if she ignored it, the delusion would stop. “All I need is to get to Hell. I’ll give you strength in return! Isn’t that just the best? A trade!” She ignored it. At least nobody else in the streets could see it. “I didn’t know nothing about it back in Hell, but now that I’m here and I find out that we can be buddies or whatever, I just think it’s the best! I’m strong, you seem to know this and that, we’ll work together!”

She shook her head and slapped her cheeks as she came to a stop outside of the Temple. ‘Johnson and Johnson Finance’. A bad cover, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

She stared up at it. “Y’know,” the demon began, “if you think demons are so bad, won’t they think it’s sorta weird you made a contract with one?” It was chatty. But it didn’t lie. If she stepped into the temple, brandishing a brand-new jagged demon’s brand, she might as well be asking them to burn her at the stake. Sure, they don’t burn people much these days, but the process was of the same nature. Humans who make contracts with demons don’t live long.

Glancing at the demon floating beside her, she restated her last thought. They don’t live long. Unless the demon was odd.

She spun on her heel, and left the temple. There had to be something better she could do. Someone she could talk to that knew how to dissolve demon contracts without killing the human…

There was always that. She glanced at the demon.

You could always kill the demon. Not an easy feat since demons in the human world weren’t physical, but… it was possible. She could let it possess her right after she chugged a bottle of her strongest holy water, or she could… she could accept the trade. Demons only show to people in need, bringing their own needs as well. Few could say no to a demon. Few could withstand the allure of having a wish granted, no matter the cost.

Her hands balled into fists at her sides. She needed strength. If she lost another partner, she was done for. She’d lose her job, her family, her entire social circle would be cut off from her.

If she took the trade…

N-, no! Impossible! To let her own soul be tainted by the claws of a bloodied demon… it was an unforgivable sin, beyond sacreligious!

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout, buddy?” the demon asked. Were all demons this… human?... According to most of her textbooks, demons lacked any capacity for emotion or empathy. Why did this one care? Then again, it had said it was a devil, not a demon, though she didn’t know what that meant. Maybe the difference lay in emotional capacity? Either that, or this was an extremely clever ruse on its part. “You do know I can’t read minds, right? Or can you humans do that?” It put two fingers to its temples, face tensing. “Myomyomyomyom. I am thinking something. Say it out loud and I know it’s true. Myomyomyom.”

“Pff-,” she choked back a laugh. Lord above. It almost made her laugh. She almost let a devil make her laugh. Was she pathetic or what? “Humans can’t read minds, that’d be absurd.”

“Hah, yeah, right. Buddy, everyone knows humans are absurd creatures with absurd powers. Why do you think demons seldom return from Earth? Or why we need your help in the first case?” As stupid as the question seemed, Epos found herself drawing a blank. Not that she knew beforehand that most demons who went to Earth didn’t return to Hell. It hadn’t even been a question to her. But now that it was…

“Why is that?” she asked turning to look the devil in the eye. Was she surprised that the eye was red and slitted, or that it widened under her gaze?

“Why is-, well, buddy, I have no clue. I just got here the other day. All I know is that if I hold hands with a human and tell them what I want, they’ll help me! That’s what Bowlby told me, at least…” It scratched its chin, squinting in thought. Epos didn’t like the idea of trusting it, but it didn’t seem to be the deceiving sort. Even though it deceived her earlier.

A name popped out to her. “Who’s Bowlby?”

It opened its mouth before closing it again. “Askin’ a whole lotta questions, aren’t you, buddy?”

“My name isn’t Buddy,” she said. “It’s Epos.” The devil froze mid-flight, mouth agape in shock. “Epos von Ascheberg.”

It backed off slowly. “Hey, yo, whoa. Is that your real name? I-,” she nodded, “okay, um. Are we-, no, wait, is this some human thing that I’m not understandin’?” She shrugged. “I’ll assume it is, ‘cuz in Hell, if you go about spouting your true name wherever you go, you’ll get tamed for sure!” It sucked in a deep breath. “Trust me, it ain’t fun.” When it now sunk down on her shoulder, she couldn’t bear flicking it away. “See, if I say my true name, any old sod can just go around commandin’ me here and there, which isn’t anything any true demon would want. We like freedom, and ‘bein’ tamed ain’t freedom!”

It seemed that the little demon had no way of keeping itself concise. “Then, what do I call you? Little Devil?”

It froze. “Don’t you. DARE. Call me that.” Epos trembled, briefly remembering the fact that what she carried on her shoulder wasn’t just a very small person, but a demon. The kind that could kill a human in the blink of an eye and wouldn’t feel a thing about doing it either. The kind of creature that only knew how to fight and kill. In that voice, there was a fatal edge, a threat.

“Th-, then… what do I call you?” she asked, turning a wide eye to the creature.

It paused for a moment before smiling. “Just call me Judas. Everyone else does!”

“...This feels like a jinx.”

“A what?”

“D-, don’t worry about it. Judas.” Something told her it didn’t know anything about its namesake. He? It seemed like a male. She’d call it a he from now on.

From now on…

She didn’t like the sound of that.