Chapter 38 #2
Jullia doesn’t berate her sister for her blunt question, but I think that has more to do with the glazed look in my best friend’s eye.
“Because that was Sanivin’s name and I hate her. She let her brother be forgotten when she should have been the one to disappear. That’s the only reason some believe the Forgotten God of Blood Moons is a Godskiller.”
Asher lowly clears his throat and quietly says, “Sanivin was a child.”
Frustration grows but I take another slow, deep breath to cool it.
“Nineteen is not a child.”
“It is for humans.”
“And she had eleven hundred years to grow the fuck up!” I snap.
Silence, and I take another deep breath but that apparently isn’t helping. Ricka tilts her head at me but it’s Mila who asks the next question.
“Aren’t you supposed to give grace because in a sense she technically is your granddaughter? Why are you being so harsh.”
“She is not,” Ricka speaks before I can answer. “She is not a god.”
Scorn scoffs and Ricka and Hanna glare at him.
“She isn’t,” Ricka says to him through her teeth. “I invoked the moral of name and soul and she basically rolled her eyes at me. It’s impossible for gods to not answer it.”
“Yeah,” Scorn snarks, “unless you already know their name. Mavyllora Sanivin Tsukkenai.” He’s leaning against our open door way with his wings nonexistent.
His sunset eyes hooded as he stares at me as if this is boring.
“She is a primordial no matter what any of you say or she says. That’s why she won’t let you see her soul. ”
I say nothing and roll my eyes. The room drops a couple degrees and we all turn to Hanna and Jullia, the latter who’s glaring at all of us with her lavender eyes.
“Can we just,” she snaps, “have one fucking night without all the bullshit?”
“We just had two weeks of it,” Mila deadpans and Jullia shoots daggers at her with her eyes.
Groaning, she steps out of Asher’s hold and comes for me.
Not touching me, because my arms are bare in this tiny, sleeveless, black cocktail dress, she thrusts a bottle I have no idea where she procured and says, “I promised an early two thousands club scene. I have yet to see you drunk. Can we all just, for one fucking night, forget about everything? No more talk about prophecies, gods, school, dying, killing, or anything else depressing. Now drink.”
I take the bottle from Jullia and I kid you not, the room literally brightens as she smiles. Like some Disney princess shit where birds sing and flowers grow where you walk. Most of everyone else nods and agrees.
There’s a two second silence and then Runway Walk by Demrick featuring Brevi starts blaring and Jullia cheers. Letting the temperature in the room raise and easing some awkward tension. I raise the bottle to my nose and sniff only to slightly wince.
“Oh,” the demon chuckles, “that’s like a hundred percent straight poison. That’s why little miss over there is already buzzed off her ass. We’ve been each sipping it but she took like, a full chug before realizing.”
Jullia winces. “I had to have Asher repair the inside of my throat with how much – My party chick want Moscato out the bottle, my Mary Jane wanna fly like Lois Lane!” Shouting the lyrics for us all to hear as she sways her hips and slides down Asher’s front.
Asher rolls his eyes at her dramatics. He then widens said eyes as I bring the lip to my mouth and begin chugging the rest of the half-filled bottle.
The burn feeling like it’s going to melt my throat, but I finish the bottle and then sigh as I place the empty bottle on my desk.
“And! Let’s take shots, no chasers, called a memory eraser, play the blame game later,” I sing with Jullia before clapping my hands to the beat.
“Your runway walk,” we both chant. “Na na na na na na.”
I smile big for her and then Ricka, Hanna, and Mila start getting into it. The three of them clearly not knowing the words but vibing with the beat, nonetheless. The boys look at us like we’re all deranged.
Jullia’s right though. We should get to have fun.
When the song ends Britney Spears starts playing and Jullia absolutely loses it.
I take a second to look around my room and find Callahan still near my desk and bed as he watches me.
His expression soft but resigned. He looks perfect in black slacks and a white button up with the sleeves rolled and the first several buttons undone.
The warmth from the alcohol flushed my system for a moment, but now I can feel it dissipating.
A side effect from the blue belladon. No other poisons or venoms can affect me.
That’s why I have a few vials of my special blend I’ll knock back throughout the night.
Five of them I already have in my clutch since I won’t be wearing any of my necklaces with the halter styled top of my dress.
Two vials still sit on my desk waiting for me.
But staring at Callahan dressed like that – which is nothing since that’s practically casual for him – has warmth of a different kind flushing my system.
Maneater comes on next and I wonder if just for a moment –
Godskiller.
My face cools as that damned sun devil whispers to me. I’m sure it looks like I’m closing Callahan off, and his face hardens before nodding his head.
“Have fun tonight, Firecracker.” Then he begins to head out, and no one stops him.
My heart thumps so hard in my chest at its even, controlled beat. 99 Problems by JAY-Z starts and fuck this song. I do have ninety-nine problems, and I might not have a bitch but I am the bitch.
“JOHNNY KAVANAGH!” Jullia screams, “MY LOVE!”
I give Asher a look. “What the fuck is wrong with your girlfriend?”
He glares at me as Hanna grabs her sister and they start belting the words. I have no idea who the fuck Johnny Kavanagh is – probably one of her so-called ‘book boyfriends’ – but I do want one fucking night.
Swiping the two vials, I shoot them both and the burn is instant along with the hit.
Warmth floods and my head goes up in the clouds. I do love this song.
“Why the fuck can’t we have rugby?” Jullia yells as Hanna continues screaming these lyrics.
More drinks get passed around and like this I can barely feel the burn as I brush up against the other girls. When the song is finished the boys collect us to go outside. The demon is going to open a portal for us – I think.
I don’t know.
Not really.
But I feel good and it’s few and far between when I get to feel good.
Hanna complains about the lack of music, Ricka is pressed up against Kyno, Jullia is drooling over some other book guy name that Asher rolls his eyes at again. Mila – I think – is holding hands with the demon and I smile wide at Adam. The poor fella looks so out of place in this fuzzy screen.
Fuck.
I should have paced out those first two shots. One of them is equivalent to like. . . what – IDK actually. Like a really, really drunk person. Like waking up in the morning in Kansas when you live in Nebraska.
Man, I’d kill for some french fries. McDonald’s the OG.
Someone asks if we want a coat or jacket or something like that and I blow raspberries. “Burning is what I do best.” And then I chuckle to myself because of the irony. I can control blue flame and yet I can still be burned.
Fucking fate.
But no! None of that. That’s what Jullia said.
We party. We dance. God, I love dancing.
I drink some more. Maybe I go find Varian so he can chase me around the city instead of the woods this time.
Or Darian and Thorne can come get me. I haven’t done anything with more than one of them and I’m curious.
Have had dreams about that in abundance.
Jullia giggles in my ear as the demon begins doing whatever it is. Somehow we got from my room to outside in like point five seconds. “You smell so good, Mave. I love your scent. Especially now. There’s more florally-ness.”
“Not a word!”
“Fucking buzzkill,” she mutters to whoever said something and I giggle at her. She starts giggling too. “Goddesses, Mavyn, I freakin love you.”
Her nose nuzzles my neck and I wrap my arm around her waist.
“Stop groping my girlfriend.”
We both giggle together as we snuggle closer. Then the portal opens and we huddle closer together ready to enter it.
“What a night to be alive!” one of the girls cheers.
When you do feel most alive?
The perimeter of the portal is around us and the demon does something to make the ground glow. I lower my brows as I fumble with opening my little purse and pull out another vial. I shoot it back and revel in the burn down my throat right as the demon portals us.
There’s a weightless feeling for a moment followed by a rush of air, and then lights like New York appear in front of me.
The voices go quiet as Jullia begins dragging me. My friends surrounding us and I let myself forget.