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Dr. Harris laughed. "You are truly perfect for my experiment, my dear."
Not what I wanted to hear, but as long as it got him talking, I'd take it. Now that my shock had worn off, I finally remembered Hadrian was due to arrive any moment.
You just have to keep yourself alive until the Man in Black comes, I told myself, and Hadrian's going to kick this cannibal's ass straight to Hell.
"I am what you call an anthropophagus."
I wondered what he had in common with Aloysius Snuffleupagus and a human's esophagus.
"In ancient times, my race lived amongst gods."
Right.
First he talked about spells, now he's talking about gods.
Definitely psycho.
Dr. Harris frowned. "I'm not lying, Ms. Sullivan. Do you not know anything about Greek mythology?"
"I've watched Hercules," I offered.
My boss winced. "Blasphemy."
"Hey!" I felt more than a little offended. "It's a good movie—-"
"Enough." Dr. Harris slowly shook his head. "You think I don't see through you, but I do. You think to delay your death by making me talk—-"
Shit.
"But you see, you have it all wrong."
I did?
"I plan to keep you alive for a long time...if my experiment works."
My heart, which had started to soar earlier with a tiny amount of hope, plummeted back to its death once I heard Dr. Harris mention the E-word.
And when I saw him lick his lips while slowly tracing the length of the IV tube with his well-manicured fingers—-
Shiiiiiit.
The other end was simply capped, and I felt myself pale when I realized what this meant.
Cannibalistic liposuction.
My boss smiled at me. "Bon apetit to me."
I screamed.
"Hadrian!"
Dr. Harris didn't even seem to hear me. After releasing the tube from his hold, he lowered his head, murmuring, "I think I'll just have a little taste..."
"Hadrian, where the fuck—-"
Dr. Harris pricked my finger with a needle, and my words ended with a gasp of pain. I felt his tongue lick the blood off my skin, and tears of revulsion stung my eyes.
This was it then.
But the next thing I knew, Dr. Harris had suddenly started choking, his face turning a sickly color as a series of seizures had him twitching and jerking. He clawed at his throat as he fell off his chair, and by the time his body hit the floor...
He was dead.
Chapter Twelve
I know, I know. Just like before, you probably have lots of questions, but unlike before, I'm not under house arrest. Rather, I'm waiting for an old friend to show up, and we can chat until then.
So...
Let's start with how I lost my memory. It was that day when Hadrian told me he was the Lord of the Underworld, and I was his Lady. We were about to enter his - make that our - kingdom when boom!
A messenger from the Olympian High Court had appeared, golden scroll in hand.
Apparently, only a woman with living flesh had the right to become Lady of the Underworld, and since Hadrian (naturally!) refused to replace me with anyone else, the Moirai offered us a deal.
The Aspirant's Soul shall return to her Original Body.
She is to prove her ability to assume the Noble Tasks of the Lady of the Underworld
without lifting the Veil that separates the living from the dead.
Interference or aid of any kind from the Lord of the Underworld
shall mean forfeiture, and the Aspirant shall forever lose her chance to stand by his side.
But if the Aspirant completes her task in accordance to the decrees of the Moirai,
the gift of ambrosia shall bond with her blood, and she shall reclaim her memories of the Afterlife.
With this, she will be crowned and take the throne as a goddess like no other.
...
...
...
This is me giving you guys time to take it all in.
Pretty heavy stuff, right?
The first time I read those words, I had needed Hadrian to dumb it down for me. Or maybe the better term is to update the Moirai's words with some 21st century plain speak.
And in case you still find some of it confusing, the gist of it was that I had to become human again, "rediscover" my ability to see ghosts, and help them cross over (aka the "Noble" Tasks of the Lady of the Underworld)...all...on...my...own.
Which I did.
Sort of.
Do you remember how I had my doctors puzzled over the abnormal mutation in my blood? That's the ambrosia in my system, which the Moirai gave me permission to partake (their term, not mine), to prevent my accidental death while I went through the Olympians' version of initiation.
And since Dr. Harris hadn't any permission to consume this super rare bit of nectar, diluted as it was with my blood...
Like the wise Justin Timberlake says: bye, bye, bye!
All the same, I couldn't help feeling all shades of stupid for not having suspected him from the start. If I had just been smart enough to see the signs, I could've prevented Melanie from being killed.
