"I know why you're here," the old man says. He is sitting at the back of the club, still wrapped in a shawl despite the roaring fire behind him. He doesn't bother to turn, instead staring into the flickering flames as he sips a glass of brandy.
"I've seen that look before, that hunger. You think you've exhausted every pleasure this world has to offer and you're looking for some new thrill to ease the tedium. Then you heard about them and you wondered if it was possible, without dying and having your soul sucked out that is. Then someone told you about me."
He stops to swirl the liquid in his glass.
"It's true," he continues, "the rumours. I fucked a succubus and lived to tell the tale."
He takes another sip of the brandy.
"Is it? Yes, that's always the first question they ask. You always want to know what it's like before the how. Is it the ultimate sexual pleasure? I can see you thinking that from the hunger in your eyes. It is, or at least I have encountered none better."
The man shivers, despite the heat of the fire and drains the contents of his glass.
"You'll need the Masterton Covenant."
He produces a flask from under his shawl and refills his glass.
"Don't trust them here," he explains, "Too many enemies."
He takes a sip from the refilled glass and continues his story.
"There is a Hell of sorts that occupies a plane of existence adjacent to our own. With the right knowledge a person can cross the barrier between both planes. Some even have the knowledge to make it back. The beings that exist in that plane, the denizens of Hell, or demons if you will, regard us as little more than cattle or playthings. To us they seem as much as gods as a farmer would seem to his livestock.
"It is possible to control them though, the demons. For all their power their existence is constrained by a set of rules and conditions far beyond our understanding. They are compelled to enter into contracts with us and always keep to them. Some have speculated this is because they were once angels created to watch over and serve us. I can't answer whether this is true or not, all I know is that a demon will never ever break a contract with a human.
"So it's easy, I can see you thinking. Perform the right ritual, word your bargain in the correct manner and nothing can go wrong."
The old man chuckles.
"Many thought the same thing. They summoned demons into this plane to serve them or even travelled into the demon's realm and thought themselves safe through the bargains they had created. And in nearly every case they eventually lost both their life and their soul.
"A demon will never break a contract directly, but that doesn't mean there aren't loopholes.
"You can command a demon not to kill you, but it is still free to drive you insane, or imprison you for eternity.
"You might command a succubus not to hurt you, but what use is that. She will kill you and you will be in absolute bliss for the whole time."
The old man shivers again, although it is hard to tell whether this is from fear or some other emotion.
"That was until Clive Masterton. Masterton was a mathematician primarily interested in logic. Rather than use the clever words so favoured by lawyers he looked instead to pure mathematics. His contract was not a piece of English but a complex series of logical equations. It was completely unbreakable. None of the demons Masterton summoned to serve him could ever harm him, his relations or his loved ones. Still, Masterton was cautious enough to never hold them here for too long or ask for too much.
"I can give you the exact text of Masterton's Covenant, but before you continue with your endeavours I would ask you to indulge the wishes of an old man. Hear my tale first and decide for yourself whether the thrill you seek still comes without a price."
The man takes a large gulp of brandy as he readies himself.
"When I was young, like yourself, I too had attained a level of knowledge that made my life very comfortable indeed. However there are only so many girls you can bed before the lack of challenge starts to become tedious. Being able to obtain virtually anything I wanted did nothing to assuage my boredom. I was eager for new thrills.
"While attaining my knowledge I read about succubi. These demons, along with their male counterparts the incubi, are the avatars for the sin of lust. They are said to be the embodiment of sexual perfection. Over the centuries many a man of knowledge has attempted to summon a succubus in order to gratify carnal desires.
"It is a highly dangerous act, for a succubus is also a vampire. She drains her victim, often completely, of their life force during the act of sex. Still, I wanted to experience such an exquisite creature. What greater thrill can there be than risking one's life and soul in pursuit of the ultimate sexual gratification?
"Most contracts are useless with succubi. Once in their arms men will sign over everything -- their life, their soul -- just to prolong the pleasure. Most revoke the very contracts they bargained for their protection.
"The Masterton Covenant cannot be revoked."
