A naked man

In the corner of the basement, chained to the wall, was the most beautiful man Sarah had ever seen. He was ten times more attractive than any model, and a hundred times hotter than Nick. She just stood there, drooling over him, until he cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you could free me?" he asked a little sheepishly, as though it was just a little embarrassing that he was chained up in someone's basement, like he had gotten his clothes snagged on something, and was asking for her hand getting out of it.

She walked forward to free him, not thinking about how he had gotten there, or why his aunt hadn't freed him before she left, if she knew about him, or why he didn't seem shocked, or scared, or anything. She was about five feet from him, when she winced, closing her eyes. It felt as if a waft of smoke had gotten into them, and she felt her eyes watering. She could smell the smoke too, and maybe some sulfur, probably from those stupid candle things on the wall. She blinked her eyes open again, and screamed, falling back away from the naked man.

He was no longer the sexy figure from before, although he would likely still have been quite attractive, if he had been human. But now his skin and eyes were bright red, large horns sprouting from his head, huge bat-like wings from his back, and his feet had been replaced with hooves. When she thought about it, Sarah realized that she couldn't remember quite what he had looked like before, not even the most basic things, like skin color or build.

"My, you look like you've seen something surprising." the demon said, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you?" she asked, trying not to freak out.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Demons don't exist." she said, directing it as much to herself as to him.

"Then how do you explain what you've just seen?"

"It must be a... a trick. Or a hallucination."

"A trick, or a hallucination. Well, in either of those cases, you have no reason not to let me go, do you?" She didn't move. "You don't believe that? Good, nothing is sadder than a fool with talent. Enough talent to see through my glamour, even if it was a simple one, without so much as believing in magic, at that. You know what they say, a witch is a terrible thing to waste. You will make a contract with me."

"I'm not making a contract with a demon! Do I look like an idiot?!"

"You look like a weak girl, not smart enough, pretty enough, or powerful enough to get what she wants. The real question is... what do you want to look like? What do you want to be?"

"Oh, and all it costs is my soul, is that it?"

"The contract binds us, but it does not affect you in any way it doesn't affect me. Your soul will be untouched."

"And what do you get out of it?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd let me go." he said, "but there is more to it. Witches are rare, and to be bound to one would give me great status. And to be able to raise one myself... well, let's just say I could spit on a king and be thanked for my trouble. You do know what a king is, right? I believe they've fallen rather out of fashion recently."

"So I get power, and you get status, and there's no downsides? I'm not sure I believe that."

"Oh, there are downsides, just not for us. I'm sure that the stores you visit will have some money problems after giving away so much for free, and no doubt some of the people you seduce will be married, but you will be able to repair these lives if you wish, or ruin them if you prefer."

"Will I be beautiful?" Sarah wondered, thinking about him talking about seduction.

He frowned. "I think so. You see, I don't understand human conceptions of beauty very well. That's why my glamour affects the mind, rather than the eyes. If you want warts, I'm afraid you're out of luck, that's technically an illness, and the amount of magic we're dealing with should make you immune to such mortal problems. There are ways to alter your shape, but they're a little advanced. I don't think there will be too much change though."

Sarah hesitated, was she really about to make a deal with a demon? Then again, was she really about to go upstairs and pretend none of this ever happened? "Okay, where do I sign?"

"You're not a mortal." the demon scoffed, "You don't sign, this contract is signed with a kiss. Customarily on the hand, although I have heard of one demon who did it on the calf..."