Part Twenty-Four
THE BIBLE AND BEYOND

No one greeted her when she entered, but Barbara knew there’d been complaints about overcrowding. She hoped a few saints or minor prophets had left, but instead, there was an addition: the little devil figurine she’d placed in the Charms section was now on the floor of the Bible and Beyond section.
“Is he the Traveler I’ve been warned about?” she asked Last-Supper Jesus. “He doesn’t look very wicked.”
Jesus indicated his Bible. “His name is Satan. Or Legion, depending on the translation. Soon he’ll be tempting Judas, who’ll betray me with a kiss, then I’ll be crucified, and . . . .” He sighed. “Didn’t Christ the Redeemer warn you about letting evil in? Shrunken Heads? Devil Masks? Demon Queens? Couldn’t you have been more circumspect?” His voice was getting louder. The disciples on either side nudged him; he softened a little. “Well?”
Barbara looked at Satan, who grinned at her, trying to look innocuous, but she saw now how sharp his teeth were and how unpleasantly his eyes gleamed.
“Was it he who brought in the Skulls at Halloween?” she asked. “But I stopped them before they could do much harm.”
“Lucky you happened to be there. Otherwise—”
“Did he bring in the Calavera and the Poltergeist? And was he responsible for the defiance of the Asians?”
Jesus nodded. “He whispered to them. He does a lot of that.”
“And was it he who put the Atheist together again, and turned the unsophisticated Island Entities into resentful academics?”
Jesus said yes, he’d heard about that, looked at Greenwood’s book still in her hand, and asked if he could borrow it.
“Why?” But his Bible was open at Leviticus with all its tedious laws, and he probably needed some light relief. She handed the book to him.
“And no one’s spoken to me here except you. Why?”
“They’ve turned against you. Satan is starting an Entities Union. The E.U. He’s been whispering. Soon there’ll be riots with everyone demanding extra space.”
“Then I’d better get rid of him. There’s the Rejects Box, but it’s crammed full.”
“Even Purgatory didn’t last forever,” Jesus reminded her. “Let them out.”
Sometimes, when she came down late at night, she’d heard crying from inside the Rejects Box. She was supposed to be a loving god. She hesitated. “But that means the Atheist will be free again. And what about Satan? Shouldn’t I at least return him to the thrift store?”
“Oh, let them both stay,” said Jesus. “They’ll be with us always, but then I will be too, so it sort of evens things out.”