“The magic will be gone with me,” Grandma says.
I’m in her disgusting death cabin again, right in this moment. It’s enveloped in a purple and gold mist. Particles are dancing in the drafts coming from the shitty windows and under the front door. My grandma is dying and I am stupid.
“You must learn to do it on your own,” she croaks. “You must make your own choices now, Syrsee. I did what I could, but I can’t live your life for you.” And then she nods to the beautiful man I now know as Paul. He’s drinking blood from a child just a few feet away from us. “He will come for you too. He will get you. And he will make you offers, dear heart.” She frowns and smiles at the same time. “These offers will tear at you.”
“What kind of offers?” It doesn’t even sound like me. Back then I was sweet. A Guild librarian. Maybe I wasn’t innocent, but I was… ignorant, I guess. It’s the only word that fits. And while it’s not quite a synonym for ‘innocent,’ it implies a certain amount of blamelessness. If only due to lack of information.
“What?” When Ryet speaks the illusion all around me shimmers. But just for a moment.
“They will tear at you,” Grandma continues. “At your heart, and your soul, and your desires. He will make promises, darling.” She’s cupping my face with her hands. “You need to be ready to hear them. Because they will be magnificent promises.”
“I’m not going to?—”
“Oh, but you will.”
“Grandma, I have the entire Guild of Guardians on my side. They’re not gonna let him?—”
“They don’t get a say, Syrsee. Only you get a say. And you. Will. Say. Yes.”
“But I won’t.”
“You’re not listening.”
And she was right about that. More than any of it. Because I wasn’t listening. At that time, which was only a couple of months ago, I could not imagine giving in to the demon vampire’s whims and desires.
Yet here I am.
“This is done,” Grandma says. “It is known. He is going to promise you something you want very badly.”
“Syrsee.” Again, the gold and purple illusion shimmers when Ryet interrupts.
But once again, I push on. I need to hear this last part. I need to face the truth. “What, though? I don’t need anything.”
“Syrsee.” Ryet’s tone is more insistent.
“No. You don’t,” Grandma says. “But someone you love will. So be very sure about the man you give your heart to, my love. Because he will be your downfall. He willsteal your soul.”
But she was wrong about that part.
Ryet didn’t steal my soul. He didn’t have to. I just… gave it away.
“Syrsee!” He’s raising his voice now. “You need to listen to me. I need you to pay attention. This is important. You need to face the truth.”
Well, he’s not wrong about that.
If Paul were here, I would give him one of those slow, dramatic claps.Well played, vampire. Well played. Because I have done everything according to plan.Hisplan.
My grandmother warned me. And wow, was my inclination to hate her right on point, or what? It’s the only thing I got right, actually. She didn’t save me, she sold me. Well, fine.Soldis a very strong and specific word. It implies a transaction.
There was no transaction. Not only did I never put up a fight, I didn’t even get anything in return. For any of this.
I guess maybe I could put a monetary value on my Guild education. I am not a literal idiot. But they didn’t teach me anything important. They didn’t teach me to suss out liars, or how to protect my eternal soul, or how to come to terms with my pre-planned future.
They just… kept me occupied. Like a… fuckin’… hamster on a wheel.
I’m a hen, I’m a hamster… I’m afool.
I look up at Ryet and find him staring at me. His eyes are glowinggold. His body is black and purple, the color of a bruise. His wings like a bat. His hunger a vibration, a low one right now, but I can still feel it. “Did you hear me?”
