The Devil and I

by Nicholai Conliff

A short story (7k words) by Nicholai Conliff, author of UNBURIED.THE DEVIL AND I examines a brief moment in the immortal life of a multi-named protagonist, regretful of a decision to sell his soul to the scatterbrained Prince of Darkness. Seeing his slave and companion growing at odds with eternity, the Devil offers his friend a chance for if he can remember why he sold his soul--almost 1,700 years prior--then the Devil will release him from the bonds of longevity. A very short, oddly heartwarming tale of compassion and humanity.

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Nicholai Conliff is a fiction author from nowhere in particular. His debut novel, Unburied, was released on March 7th, 2013. He possesses no credentials what-so-ever which would be relevant to an author’s bio!

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down the best short story I've ever read. It avoided the frustration of trying to get to know a character in a short space of time as one of the characters is the already incredibly well known Devil. The other character is somewhat of a mystery to us, but the relationship between him and the devil is both compelling and indeed, heart-warming. The quick scroll through history and the changing faces of religion is well done, and the forms that the devil takes as well as the amusing anecdotes of humans selling their soul to him are highly entertaining. Having said that, as usual with short stories, I wish he'd made this into a full-length novel.