33

The walk back home was even more gruelling than the trip from it. The air was still and excruciatingly hot.

'Doesn't the wind blow around here?' asked Grace, dabbing her forehead with a hankerchief.

'Oh, it does!' said Lucien. 'Sometimes there are terrific, destructive storms, too; they cool things down but they also cause damage, so... mixed blessing.'

'I'd like to see one.'

'Think twice. When you've lived in Hell all your life and you call something destructive, it means it's really a beast...'

'Okay, but some destructive things can be kind of grand...'

'Like the Assistant?'

'Huh? No, I was thinking of lions!'

'Lions?'

'Aren't there any around here?'

'No... now I want to see one.'

'From a distance. Never forget!'

'Hehe...'

'Lucien?' said Grace suddenly. 'Don't you feel like we're being watched?'

'Watched? No, not really...'

'Like someone's got their eyes on us...' Grace looked around uneasily. 'Watching our every move...'

'Tsk. Now you're just being paranoid. Chill.'

'It's too hot to chill!'

'True, but still – oh, that rhymes!'

'Lucien, I'm serious, we're being watched. I can sense it!'

Lucien stopped and looked behind them. 'All I see is that old crow staring at us...' he said with a grin. 'He's probably wondering if we've got a piece of sandwich to give him!'

'Oh, for goodness sake! I say, the crows here are kind of weird, aren't they?'

'They're Hell's crows, after all.'

'Yeah...'

'Speaking of sandwiches,' said Lucien with a sudden realisation. 'You didn't get any bread yesterday, did you?'

'Oh, no, I didn't!' said Grace, stopping short.

'Let's go get some quickly,' said the demon, taking a right abruptly. 'I know a shortcut to the market from here!'

'It's so awfully hot, can't we have something else for dinner instead?' groaned Grace.

'It's not that bad,' said Lucien. 'Or maybe it's just me. You're a human, after all, so you probably feel worse than me. If you like, you can go back home and wait for my return instead.'

'I think I'd like to,' said Grace. 'But then, I don't want to go without you either; either we both go home or we both trudge to the market.'

'Trudge makes it sound worse!' laughed Lucien. 'But I promise, it'll only take five minutes from here to there – or I'd never have suggested it. I'm lazy, remember?'

'Thank goodness for that,' said Grace. 'Come on, let's go as fast as we can!'

'Hey, wanna race me?'

'In this heat? Are you crazy?'

'Oh, someone's scared of losing,' said Lucien with an annoying smirk.

'I'm not scared, it's hot, okay?!' said Grace indignantly.

'Yeah, yeah. You don't stand a chance, anyway, so—'

'Excuse me?!'

'Look, demons and humans have very different strengths—'

'I can defeat you, okay?'

'In your dreams! Haha!'

Grace stopped and looked at him fiercely. 'I dare you to try and race me! I was the fastest runner in my school... in the second grade.'

Lucien's eyes widened in surprise at first, before he broke into a hearty laugh. 'Haha, I dare you, human! Prepare to lose!'

'All right, then!' said Grace, and she forgot all about the heat and had only one thing on her mind: to get that infuriating, cocky grin off his face.

'Let's go! Three, two—' Lucien broke into a run as he called out, 'one! I'm winning already!'

'Hey, that's cheating!' exclaimed Grace, running after him. 'You're not supposed to run before you finish counting!'

Even from a distance, she could see him smirk as he ran with surprising speed. 'You really expect me to follow rules in Hell?! Unbelieveable!'

'You're annoying!'

'Whatever, human!

'You just see!' said Grace, breaking into a sprint and almost catching up.

'Not bad, girlie,' said Lucien, but he managed to overtake her again.

'Ugh!' muttered Grace, panting. 'He's good!'

'Told you so!'

'How did you even hear that?!'

'Demons have sharper senses. Hehe!'

'Whatever!'

'We're at the market. I win! YES! I WON!!!'

'Don't get so pleased; you're not a five year old!'

'Someone's annoyed!'

'I'm not! Congrats! But I'll beat you next time!'

'It's a good thing to dream big – or even impossible.'

'Just you wait, demon.'

'Hehe.'

'Hey, want some water? I'm cooked after that dumb race you made me do!'

'Why not. I'm not immune to the heat, after all.'

Lucien drank from the bottle before returning it to her. 'Gosh, that was refreshing! Almost as much as my victory.'

Grace rolled her eyes. 'Still bragging? Seriously? Go buy some bread.'

'Okay, okay,' grinned the demon.

Grace followed him as he approached Mrs. Sauer's bread stall. Reading the name on the sign made her serious again as she remembered yesterday's incident.

'Hey, Mrs. Sourdough, a loaf of bread, please,' said Lucien.

'You and your dumb nickname!' barked Mrs. Sauer, handing him the bread. 'Here! It's fresh!'

'At least say it nicely!' laughed Lucien. 'You say it's fresh like it's the worst thing that's happened to us!'

'It's freeeesh!?!!' said Mrs. Sauer, apparently attempting to say it nicely – or maybe just mocking the whole concept of 'nice'.

Lucien's eyes widened. 'All right, forget about nice! It's kind of scary. Thanks for the bread! Do you have any of those biscuits you make sometimes?'

'Yes. They're nice and sweet,' said Mrs. Sauer sourly. 'Help yourself!!'

Grace watched her from a few steps away. How could this seemingly sullen woman be so heroic and save someone she hardly knew? She went forward and cleared her throat.

'What do you want?' barked Mrs. Sauer.

'I couldn't thank you very well yesterday,' said Grace in a small voice. 'But I'm really grateful for you going out of the way for me...'

'I was passing by,' said Mrs. Sauer shortly. 'That's all. And it's not like I did it for you specifically.'

'Well, thanks anyway. I think you're a nice lady... deep inside.'

Mrs. Sauer looked at her for a few moments, her face softening ever so slightly. 'You're welcome, I suppose. Here, demon,' she turned to him. 'Take this biscuit too!'

'Thanks!' said Lucien. 'Let's go, Grace!'

They walked back home, the aroma of freshly baked bread and chocolate biscuits wafting around them temptingly.

'Let's grab a biscuit, what do you say?' said Lucien, eyeing the basket greedily.

'No, at home,' said Grace with a grin.

'Ahhhhh, how am I supposed to resist them when they smell so good?!'

'You'll just have to!'

'Now you're being annoying!'

'Serves you right!'

'No, serves me a biscuit!'

'Haha. So clever – not!'

'I say, it's evening already! The day just flew by!'

'You're right! The old crow is gone too!'

Lucien laughed.

'Hey, Lucien?'

'What?'

'We're just minutes away from home now, right?'

'Yeah... what's wrong?'

'Nothing, I just...'

'You seem nervous suddenly.'

'Well, I can't shake off the feeling that someone's watching us!'

Lucien tilted his head back in frustration. 'Oh, not that again! Are you trying to scare me or something? There's nothing here!'

'Okay, sorry! I just felt like—'

'Felt like eating a biscuit!'

'Lucien, show some restraint!' laughed Grace.

'Whyyyyyy,' whined Lucien. 'I want to eat it! And you, too! You've got to want to eat it, come on!'

'I just—'

'Oh, come on,' said a third, velvety voice behind them that made them both stop in their tracks. 'He's asking so nicely. Do give it to him...'

Of course they knew who it was even before they turned around – he was unmistakable; his malignant intentions cut through his words and bled through his suave tone. It was the Devil's Assistant, inches away.