the devil and the shoemaker

by colin d fox


seadna grinned as the man opposite him roared his hatred at him from the chair that he presently found himself stuck in. 'an fear gorm' as the irish country people knew him had come to make a bargain and come away with a soul contract but instead had been outfoxed by a crafty local who now stood at a safe distance, nervously grinning. the devil roared and twisted in the seat but he was held fast. take human form and you play by human rules. seadna knew the legends. he knew the risks. and he knew how to best a crafty opponent. he may have been an ill-educated shoemaker, but he knew the business of the dark night bargains that his companion engaged in. the devil's upper torso had started to sweat tiny flames and his eyes glowed brighter yellow. ' unseat me now and i will let you live' . seadna chuckled to himself. the oul fella was well and truly worked up, give him just another ten minutes and he should be ready to bargain.

his face slumped. seadna spoke. the devil listened. ' okay, so i keep the magic lathe and you get your freedom back' the devil nodded blankly. they had a bargain. he stood up in the dark musty little hovel and dusted himself off. smoothing back his hair he left the shoemaker to his own devices.

as the devil emerged into the early night his face broke into a grin. catherine and patricia were waiting for him on the street outside. he bent down as catherine slung the white silk scarf around his neck and patricia helped him into his long black overcoat. they were both beautiful , catherine with long blonde hair to the small of her back and patricia with a short modern unfussy bob. the devil smiled at both of them. ' done deal, boss? ' ' absolutely' he shot back. catherine laughed, a brief tinkling noise in the quiet night. ' they never learn, do they? ' her boss agreed. ' folklore is the weakness of the rural inhabitant. they build themselves up to a point of self-conceived cleverness and then go along with whichever ridiculous scheme they think they've tricked me into. ' the three figures strolled along the strand road out of the village.

' fifty years then?', patricia asked. the man nodded. ' or thereabouts' he answered.