Chapter 32 - To Trick the Devil

Jackson stared out the window of his apartment at the woods behind the structure as he sipped his third cup of coffee. He stood there, one hand in the pocket of his pajama pants—why do pajamas have pockets again?—wishing Halloween was over and Lucifer was out of Black Hollow. Running his tongue over his lips, Jackson sighed. Only one week to go. At least, only one week if whoever Lucifer came for surrendered quietly, not that they ever went quietly. It was Hell after all. Either way, Lucifer would be out of Jackson’s hair for at least another year. Jackson only wished he had a way to keep Lucifer from returning to Black Hollow ever again.

He sipped his coffee again as he watched a hawk drifting through the air over the tops of the giant ash and elm trees behind the apartments. Jackson wanted to be as free as that hawk, but how? Surely, the Devil wouldn’t fall for one of his tricks a third time, not after losing so bad the last time they faced off.