He cranes his head to look up at me.“You scared me.”
“I know, honey, I’m sorry.You’ve seen a lot of scary stuff recently.I didn’t mean to add to that.”
I stroke him under the chin until the trembling turns to purring and he nuzzles into my chest, head butting me.When he’s had enough, he hops out of my grip.
“Why did you do that?”he says.
“I didn’t mean to.And I had my eyes shut so I don’t exactly know what happened.”
“It was like an explosion of light and ribbons of magic.So much power.It just kept coming.”
I glance over at the piles of ash and down at my arms.The runes move and skitter, but if I don’t stare at them too hard, I can make out more of the patterns now.I slump down to the floor.
“What is it?”he says, hopping over and rubbing into me.
“When a contract is made, it releases power to the demon, which helps crystallise their heart.But when a contract is completed and the soul reaped, it releases the soul into the hands of the demon.They own it, and it becomes like a power source battery.Think of it as a magical investment scheme for the demon.”
“Right, we know this.What does th— oh.”His eyes scan me up and down, having the same realisation I am.“You are the contract.”
“Yes, and the deal was made between an angel and a demon, so there was no power exchange, like there would have been between a demon and a human.It was all poured into the contract…me.”
“And now that contract has been completed, the soul reaped… so all that’s left is…”
“Power,” I finish for him.
“Yeaaaah,” he meows.
“Now I know that, I might be able to view these runes in a different light and try to control them.I can’t be exploding all over the place.”
“That still doesn’t answer how we get you back.”
We meander back to Finis Tower.Mortem is going to sneak back into the library and see if he can find any books on soulless entities and Veilwalking.There has to be a way home.I am going to hide while he’s doing it and see if I can work out how to read these damned runes.
I reach for the door handle.“You ready for this?”
“No.I’m shrivelling away in a tortuous form of starvation by neglectful owners,” he meows.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re dramatic?”I say and twist the handle.
But I land flat on my face.The door is yanked from my grip and opened from the inside.
“Lucy,” gasps a feminine voice.
I look up from the ground, my body blazing with light, the runes unsure whether I’m in danger or not.Maybe Mortem was right, I am a liability.
“Lex?”I whisper and then a frown descends over my features.A second head pops into focus.“Bastien?”
If they’re here, then…
“Lucy.”That word.My name on her lips.It undoes me.She shouldn’t be here.I don’t want her here.Not if I am a threat.Not if I could hurt her.
“Midnight,” I say as she leans down and slides her hand into mine to help me up.
Bastien, Lex, Midnight and I all stand staring at each other.Silence wraps around us as thick as the lump in my throat.
What do I say to them?Do they know what I did to Midnight?They probably hate me now.More to the point, they shouldn’t be here.They’re not qualified yet.They shouldn’t have come without a professor, let alone on their own.
“Why?”I whisper.
