'I don't want a voluptuous succubus. I want Luna.'
'I can provide you the form of Luna,' Satan said. 'Form is the least part of a woman.' He gestured, and the demoness misted and re-formed, turning to face the camera in the exact likeness of Luna. It was eerie, for no detail differed. The hair was just as brown and flowing, the eyes just as gray and deep. If Zane didn't know better…
'But her mind — ' he said doggedly.
Satan frowned. 'There, I confess, is a problem. Intelligent conversation does require a mind. Most men prefer their females without minds of their own.'
'All of which is beside the point,' Zane said, gaining confidence. The Prince of Evil couldn't deceive someone who was alert — he hoped! 'I love Luna for herself, not just her form. She has done some very generous things, very brave things, and is a wonderful person — and she is going to stop you from interfering with the world, twenty years hence. That's why I will not remove her soul from life.' Zane was afraid he was saying too much, but couldn't help himself.
'A commendable attitude,' Satan said mildly. 'One should always promote the welfare of one's situation and one's friends. That's enlightened self-interest.'
Zane was surprised. 'You agree?'
'Of course I agree. Death! I am the Deity of Self-interest, after all. But one does have to be careful how one defines the term.'
'It's not copulating with succubi!' Zane shot back.
'That depends on one's viewpoint. You really should try it before condemning it. Your girlfriend did.'
'That's a lie!' Zane snapped with sudden heat. But he realized as he reacted that he should not; Satan was cleverly pushing his buttons, pushing him around emotionally, getting him off balance. Too much of that, and the Devil would have him reacting exactly as he wanted. Zane reminded himself that the Hot Smoke dragoness would not have started to consume Luna if she had not been physically virginal. He hardly needed to argue the case with the Devil.
'Naturally I am the Father of Lies, a title I carry with pride,' Satan responded equably. 'Truth is only as each person sees it; there is no absolute standard of integrity. That is why I often find it necessary to depend on reason to convince skeptics of the validity of my case. Pay attention to My logic, and you will have no need of further verification.'
'Maybe,' Zane said shortly, distrusting this.
'You choose to interpret Luna's physical virginity as the whole of her purity. Are you sure you are not deceiving yourself thereby?'
What a silver tongue the Devil had! He was personable and agreeable, and presented his case in positive terms.
It was hard to resist his charm. Zane had somehow anticipated a glowering, smoky horror-mask issuing terrible threats. Yet, he reminded himself, the evil was the same, regardless of the image it projected.
'I know she was raped by one of your demons,' Zane said. 'I know that rape was psychic, not physical. I know it imposed a heavy load of sin on her soul. But I also know she did it to try to learn magic to help her father.
On the record she may have much sin, but as a person, she is good.'
'Unquestionably, and very intelligently answered,' Satan said, as if addressing a precocious student. He patted the succubus on her bouncy bare bottom, and she moved off screen. 'There is nothing quite as commendable as the sacrifice of one's soul, one's own immortal soul, for the good of another, however that good may be defined. By that measure, you yourself are a much better man than your record indicates. Luna is certainly a rare creature.'
'Then why are you hounding her?' Zane demanded, though this was mostly rhetoric; he knew the answer and had already charged Satan with it. But he had to say something to help himself resist the tide of gratitude that threatened to undermine his cause. Satan had complimented him, as well as Luna, for a matter that was fundamental to Zane's self-image. Satan had justified Zane's treatment of his mother. How much easier it would have been to fight a ravening monster!
Satan laughed again, sounding like the most pleasant of companions. 'My dear Incarnation, I am not concerned with good. Evil is My bailiwick! It is My Eternal duty to define and chastise the evil in man. Surely you agree this is a necessary chore?'
'Yes, but — '
'There is an enormous amount of evil in the world,' the urbane figure continued persuasively. 'Left to itself, that evil would soon corrupt the entire society, like milk going bad. It has to be disciplined; the evildoers have to be punished, and to know that punishment is inevitable and in strict accordance with their offenses. In fact, the entire society has to be advised of the consequence of evil action. Only that way can man as a species be improved.'
This was a compelling rationale! 'But Luna, you admit, is not fundamentally evil! Why should she be punished?'
'My dear associate,' Satan said with another warm and tolerant smile, as a benign father might address a bright but errant child. 'We agree she is not evil, and of course she is not to be punished! She is to be sent directly to Heaven, where she belongs. Surely you do not object to that!'
'To Heaven?' Zane asked blankly. 'You agree to — ?'
'I only want what is Mine. Luna belongs to God.' Zane scrambled for mental footing. 'But it is not her turn! Why schedule her to die prematurely?' Again he was pushing Satan to confess the truth; would he do it? 'If one must go early in order that a hundred be fairiy treated — would you do right by the one and wrong by the hundred?'
'Well, no, but — '
'Death, I have analyzed the future course of man in some detail. I comprehend trends that might be considered too subtle for mortal minds. Not for your mind, of course; you are a perceptive person. But a detailed narration would become tedious. In essence, I perceive a nexus approximately twenty years hence that is crucial to the fate of the human species. By taking advantage of that particular situation, I can change the course of human history. I will be able to purge an enormous amount of evil with a minimum of disruption. Unfortunately, one well- intentioned but misguided person obstructs that opportunity. It grieves Me to deal firmly with that person, who is perfectly justified in her stand, according to her more limited comprehension; but the justice of the many must take precedence over the justice of the one. The equation may seem cruel in the particular instance, and unfair in the specific case — but in the larger context, the values reverse. This is the reality it is My eternal duty to honor.'
And Luna was that one. Were it not for that, Zane might have found himself persuaded. 'Father of Lies, I don't believe you.'
Still Satan took no offense. 'You are correct to be cautious. I like your independent thinking. I am sure a person of your perspective will come to the appropriate conclusion.'
'I doubt you can convince me to send the woman I love to Eternity before her time.'
Satan shrugged. 'Timing can be a matter of convenience, Death. Do you feel privileged to have had your own situation cynically manipulated by others, including the time and manner of your departure from your original life?'
The Evil One was bearing down harder! 'I'm not really pleased about that,' Zane admitted, knowing that honesty was by far the best course. He could hardly match Satan's proficiency in lying, even if he wanted to. Any lie, even a mild self-deception, would play into Satan's hands. 'But I think that, in this circumstance, it was the necessary — ' He paused, realizing the implication. The welfare of the one, sacrificed for the benefit of the many! He was playing into the Devil's hands anyway!
'Circumstance makes puppets of us all,' Satan said sympathetically. 'You function excellently in your office; I can tell you that sincerely, though perhaps God would not. It has been decades, perhaps centuries, since a Death has placed conscience above convenience, and the role is overdue for reinterpretation.'
Zane tried to resist his pleasure at this flattery, mistrusting its source. 'I dare say it is bringing me rapidly closer to you.'
'Ho! Ho! Ho!' Satan laughed, like a jolly Santa Claus. 'Isn't that the irony! The rules are so fixed that those few who do the right thing must pay for it with their souls! God would jet green flame if He knew! But frankly. He is not paying attention.'
Zane was taken aback by this open denigration of God. But what else should he have expected from God's
