“Apparently not. I thought you were a unicorn for days.”
She laughed, a full-body thing, with her head tipped back. It was a wholly delighted sound, and I found I couldn’t be angry with her.
This was a dream after all. There wasn’t anything she could do to me here, and there wasn’t anything I could do to her. It was the most neutral ground between a human and a demon.
“That was so much fun! The look on Bathin’s face when he first saw me.” She chuckled again and wiped fingertips under her eyes. “I would have paid a much higher price for that alone.”
“What do you want, Xtelle?”
“I’m not here to make things worse.” The laughter was gone and she was as sincere as I’d ever seen her.
“Of course not,” I said.
One eyebrow rose. Apparently my sarcasm had not been missed.
“You asked me why I made the scissors. I didn’t tell you the whole story.”
“What? A demon lying? This is so shocking.”
“Don’t be tedious, Myra. You are the Reed best at finding information and using it. I am bringing you information. Since you are also the Reed who is always in the right place at the right time, then may I suggest you trust your own abilities and believe that being here, in this dream, listening to me give you information that no other creature knows, is in your best interest?”
“Excuse me for not trusting a demon.”
“You’re excused.” She held up one finger. “You understand that when a demon possesses a soul, it is vital we keep that soul.”
“So you can torture and feed off of it.”
“Don’t be ugly, darling. But yes. So we can draw from it that which we desire. Not every soul is the same. Really, no two souls are the same. And some souls will never catch a demon’s interest. Others do.”
“Why?”
She shrugged gracefully. “Which souls we want is a very personal thing for demons. A vulnerable thing. I would no sooner share those details with you than you would explain to me exactly how to best manipulate your sisters. But what I came here to talk to you about is my son.”
“Is he—” I stopped before I asked what I really wanted to know. “Is he behind you being here? Doing this? Talking to me?”
“No. Bathin has no say in what I do or don’t do. You should know that.”
I did know that. So I nodded.
“Is he here?” Demons could take any shape, even in dreams.
She drew her fingers back through her long, luxurious dark hair. “No. I haven’t spoken to him since he used the scissors to free your sister’s soul.”
“You knew about that?”
“I made the scissors. I know if they have been used. Do you know why I made them?”
“So his enemies could cut a soul away from his control.”
“Well, yes, that’s what I told him. But that isn’t the truth.”
I picked up my dream tea and took a dream drink. It was the perfect strength and heat and I savored it.
I sighed. “This is where you tell me you were lying all along and now you’re going to tell me the real truth, honest this time, and I should trust you, right?”
“You don’t have to trust me. I’d be surprised if you did. You aren’t like that, Myra. Your heart is not made so softly. But your mind is logical and clear. Which is why I know you know I’m telling you the truth.
“I made those scissors as a test. A proof. Bathin knew they would do great damage to the one who used them. But the truth is they would not have worked for anyone but him.”
