The girls clawed up an ancient lava tube, one of the dozens of hidden exits from the mountain that only Veronica knew about—at least as far as she knew. “I brought your clothes and your bag!” Maeve gasped.

“Tell me you grabbed my phone,” Veronica said, climbing the familiar vertical shaft with more ease.

“Yes! Your phone thing.”

“Maeve, I am going to marry you,” Veronica said, deadpan, “and then leave you at the altar because, you know, sentenced to death and all.”

“Wait, sentenced to what?” Maeve asked in surprise.

Veronica pushed aside the bushes covering the entrance to the shaft, ignoring the younger gargoyle. “We’re out! Thank the stones! Or whatever,” she amended, realizing she no longer had to pretend to be caveish ever again.

Which means now it’s goodbye forever, Maeve. “…Um,” she said.

She took the girl by her hands. “Maeve, thank you for this,” she said seriously. “I just—you can’t—I’m sorry. This is goodbye? I guess?”

“Earth and stones, Veronica, what are you talking about?” Maeve asked, her eyes wide. “I’m coming with you!”

“Sweetie, you can’t!” Veronica said, tears welling. “You don’t know anything about what’s out there. And I can’t—he said that I was—I can’t corrupt you, too. I can’t be the devil!”

“Well, I can’t stay here!” Maeve argued. A thump and a crash echoed from down the shaft, supporting the girl’s point.

Deciding quickly, Veronica seized the girl’s hand, unfurled her wings and leapt into the air. “We can argue about it later! Let’s go!”

Available in print and digital formats at:

Published On: June 14, 2022

I Can’t Be The Devil

Well for starters, Maeve, you're going to start swearing like a normal person instead of saying the names of things around you? And then it's a short slippery slope to writing questionable fan fiction.

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