Deal With The Devil

I knew a young girl, a long time ago. She had barely passed childhood, perhaps only 17 years of age - an infant, to my eyes - and she was young and hopeful and desperate. Her lover was dying, you see, and she wanted me to save him. It was amusing, the way she was willing to sell her soul in order to save one man, but I refused. I could sense he was on the verge of death, and there would be no bringing him back after that. My power is limitless, but there are still boundaries I cannot cross.

She begged, this girl. She promised her soul - unblemished, young and pure - to me right then and there, if only I would save him. Normally I collect the souls after they die - a small act of mercy, on my part - because they are more interesting, the souls having lived a life (or more, if you believe in that sort of thing). But experience can taint, and her purity was rare - it was tempting, I admit, but I had to refuse. Still, her love for him was admirable - useless, seeing as she would inevitably move on, but admirable nonetheless. And she was pretty, too, with her dark hair and dark eyes. She was one of the rare humans who earned some semblance of respect, so seeing as I was female myself, it only made sense I used her form.

Oh, I changed it - her dark hair became an impossible black, born of the true shadows of my world, and her eyes fathomless (on occasion, I liked to reflect flames just to scare my clients). Her skin became white as death, and - well, I stretched the limits as far as I possibly could, looking human but at the same time, decidedly inhuman. No human would have razor-sharp teeth or lips stained with blood. It was perfection - tainted, but still beautiful (or so I liked to think). No one could keep their eyes off me, and I certainly enjoyed the attention. 

Over the long years, I gained a reputation. I made contracts with people - some might call it a deal with the devil - where I'd do what they want, and when they died, I would take their souls. It didn't matter how long it took - a human lifetime was the blink of an eye, and I always declined those who used words like “forever” or “eternity”. Forever is always a long time, even when you’ve lived as long as I have – and besides, I don’t like to be tied down. 

 Many thought if they lived long enough, I would forget; if they could move far away enough, I would lose them. I never do, because souls are precious things, and besides, they could never run from me. Pesky, but you always get the cowardly ones. There are the ones who willingly accept what they've done, but when you've seen thousands of years of humanity's cruelty and hatred and viciousness, it doesn't make them any better.

I rarely see people like the girl - people who sacrifice themselves for others (not riches or other material possessions, mind you), selfless and brave. There are probably more like her in the world who I don't see, but I've seen the human race at their worst. Nothing will ever change my mind about them.

----

In case you were wondering, the girl's lover died. I killed him myself. But his soul wasn't mine to take, so I left it fo Death. A waste, if you ask me.