“And a good bargain he made of it, too! No donkey quite so reliable as old Stinky Sally.” The devil gave a dazzling smile.

Nick exhaled noiselessly, running his hands through his hair. It was growing uncomfortably hot in the bathroom.

“So – so what are you going to do to me? Are you going to crash the plane? Am I going to burn to death?”

“Burn you? Burn you, dear boy? Of course not. What good would that do me? No, no – I need your help, Nicholas.”

“Help? From me? But aren’t you the devil? Don’t you have magical devil powers?”

“To tell you the truth,” the devil said, lowering his voice to a confidential tone, “My powers are grossly exaggerated.”