44. The Slayer
The Slayer
Itoss the satchel at Celeste’s feet.
“Incredibly rude of you,” she chastises as she opens the books, her fingers gliding over the covers like they’re reminiscent of a different time.
“Where’s Iris?” I command.
“She’s somewhere you know all too well,” Celeste says with a smile that doesn’t meet her eyes.
The void. She’s in the fucking void. How? Don’t you have to be dead to be there?
“Don’t worry, she’s alive, for now.”
“I’ll work on your quota,” I tell her, and she gives me a sharp nod.
“Good. I’m going to need a lot of souls for what I need to do next.”
The Slayer next to me stills, but doesn’t make himself too obvious. What does that mean?
“Balam, be a good boy and keep your brother in check,” she says without looking up at us, just waving her hand like we’re her servants and she’s sick of us.
It’s weird to think of the Slayer next to me as Balam. I never knew his name, and he never knew mine. I was too afraid that someone having my name meant they had the ultimate control over me, that they wouldn’t need the book to summon me.
I follow him out of the mayor’s office and watch as he uses his human vessel’s eyes in front of all these mortals. They all call him by his vessel’s name and he acts relatively easy going until we get to the alleyway and he grabs me by the shirt, portaling me to an apartment.
The walls are plastered in stakes, weapons, and medieval memorabilia. The Middle Ages truly were a less complicated time.
“Grab a stake, let’s get to work.”
“Why do you do as she says?” I ask.
I know my motivation. She has my Iris. If she did not, I would do everything in my power to not kill vampires and kill the witch who did this to me. So what exactly is this slayer’s motivation after all of this time?
“It’s complicated.”
“I’m sure it’s not.”
He grabs a few stakes, all of them etched with runes that we learned from early cycles. His back is tense and I wonder what he isn’t telling me.
“There’s another slayer. He’s been in the void for a long time. He displeased her.”
“Okay?”
“And he is important to me.”
“He is your lover?” I question, and the man seems to get more uncomfortable by the second.
“Something like that. If you consider thousands of years of trying to find each other every cycle, broken promises, short lives with nothing to show for it.”
“What exactly did she promise you?”
“To keep him alive in the void. That if I collect enough souls for her, she’ll bring us both back next cycle.”
“You really believe she will do that?”
“No. But at least I know he’s alive, that I get to see him every time a cycle ends. Sometimes I’m able to find him.”
“If you could be with him forever no matter where it was, even if it was in the void, would you do it? I know I would for my Iris.”
“I would,” he says solemnly.
I don’t mention that we only found three additional spell books with the same signature on them. Has Celeste destroyed this other slayer’s spell book? Has someone else figured out a way to eradicate the books?
“Then work with me. Help me take down this witch and spend eternity with the one you love. We both want the same thing.”
“She’s fucking strong. You haven’t seen what she can do, she can’t be destroyed,” he says, clearly a broken slayer if I’ve ever seen one.
“That was before you had me, wolves, vampires, and a coven at your back.”
“Vampires? I’d rather die than work with them,” he says, and I know the instinct. This magic drives us to want to kill them. It’s all at Celeste’s command and that’s all it takes for me to want to push back.
“We have the same enemy. That is all that matters.”
“Where do we start?”
“First, we’re going to kill some vampires,” I say, which confuses him, but he definitely doesn’t have any complaints as we both grab stakes and I teleport us to the first address that the slimy vampire gave me.
Every single drop of anger I have over the situation, I take out on these vampires. It’s cathartic in a way, even though each kill doesn’t fill me with the same joy as it used to.
Now I know that with each plunge of a stake in a vampire’s heart, that energy transfers right to Celeste.
Yet, I continue on with what must be done.
Celeste must believe that we’re compliant and willing to do whatever we need to in order to keep our loved one’s safe. When the opportunity is right, we’re going to take our lives back.
Part of me is worried that killing Celeste means that I’ll perish along with her, but I’ve already come to terms with my own death. What I can’t fathom is Iris no longer walking these mortal lands.
Fuck, I miss her so much. What I wouldn’t do to go back and make better choices? I should have never let her hand go. I know sulking won’t change anything, it’s just impossible to not have regrets.
There aren’t a number of cycles that would ever feel sufficient for us to be together. But she has already given me the best moments of all my existence.
I got to meet her, hold her, love her.
That will have to be enough for me, because Iris is needed here. I’m not.
My stake sinks into this vampire’s chest cavity until I fully puncture their heart and they combust into a pile of goo. I’m covered in gore and I know Iris would hate it, and I’m mad that she isn’t here to tell me off.
I need her back.
Balam is panting next to me. He’s equally covered in blood. This nest of vampires was larger than what was on Warin’s list. Maybe he didn’t want some of these vampires dead, but that’s really not my problem.
“So, what now?” he asks.
“Now we see if the witch holds up her end of the deal.”
It’s not surprising when she doesn’t. She said the quota was for forgiveness and that Iris is safe. That’s all I get. I leave Balam behind so that I can figure out my next move.
The only witch’s home I know of is Violet’s, so I teleport right in front of the purple mansion, ready to beg on my knees for help. I’ve already told them everything I know, including that Iris is apparently trapped in the void.
The yard is rife with people, and it pleases me that so many people also want Iris back safe and sound. So much of my life has been a solitary mission, and it’s comforting to have people on my side for once.
I’ll need every bit of help that I can get.
The amount of witches here is startling, along with wolf shifters. Thankfully, the vampires have found somewhere else to be.
A woman catches my eye. She isn’t looking at anything particular, but her jewelry and the angle of her cheekbones are all too familiar.
I approach her and she leans in my direction.
“You’re my Iris’ slayer?” she says.
“Yes.”
“I can still feel her in the coven. She’s safe.”
I let out a relieved breath, because for all I know Celeste could have been lying to me all this time. Having some true confirmation makes the pain ease in my chest ever so slightly.
There’s a long pause of silence between us and I’m unsure of what to say.
“Tell her we’ll do anything to get Iris back, that we need her,” Adam tells me and I repeat that right to her grandmother.
The woman gives me a firm nod and grabs my forearm.
“You said that she was in the void, the purgatory where you wait for your soul to be summoned?” she asks and I nod, and then realize she can’t see me. Adam curses in my mind before I finally speak.
“Yes.”
The older woman is in deep contemplation and I realize I need to tell her the truth of all of Celeste’s wrongdoings. There’s one thing that didn’t feel right to tell the whole coven, but as I look down at the older woman, I think she needs to know.
Seeing Iris’ face when Celeste mentioned killing another coven member, there’s only one person who could ever be that important.
“There’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“She alluded to being your daughter’s cause of death.”
Her nails dig into my skin as I say the words, and she takes a deep breath as we walk toward the crowd of witches. A woman with white-blonde hair commands the attention of everyone in her coven. Her power is strong, but nowhere near Celeste’s ancient capabilities.
Iris’ grandmother lets go of my arm, going to speak to who I assume is their High Priestess, maybe relaying what I told her. The woman looks somber, and I wonder if she knew Iris’ mother. I would assume they are around the same age.
I feel out of place among these people, but I need them.
Not once in my long lives have I ever asked for help, but I’m asking for it now, and willing to take it from whomever is capable.
Ember and Violet are familiar faces as they approach me, determined looks on their faces.
“We have a plan, but you’re not going to like it,” Ember says.
“Neither of you will,” Violet adds in.
“We’ll do whatever it takes,” I tell the witches, and Adam agrees wholeheartedly.
“Well…the thing is, we kind of need to kill you,” Ember says with a grimace.
“Not permanently.” Violet gives Ember a look for not adding that little quip into the conversation.
“We think we might have a spell for Iris to use to get her soul out of the void and back into her body, and the only way we think we can get that message to her is if we send you there,” Violet explains.
“Tell them we’ll do it,” Adam says.
“What about Adam? What will happen to him?”
Ember gives me a soft smile. “Iris said you’re tied to this vessel until the true death, and that means for good. If you just die for a little bit, we’ll bring you both back.”
“What the fuck does a little bit mean?” Adam says.
“We will do whatever is necessary,” I agree.
“Ember will help you memorize the spell while I prepare for tonight. As soon as the moon is high, we’ll move forward with the ritual.”
“How exactly do you plan on killing me?” I ask. It isn’t as if I haven’t died many times over, but Adam really wants to know, apparently.
“We’ll put your heart in a stasis, hoping that it’s enough time for you to slip into the void and find Iris,” Violet explains and I realize this is faulty.
“I’ve never once encountered anyone in the void. It was always lonely.”
Violet gives me a sad smile. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but it’s all we got. As badly as we want to storm the mayor’s office and take care of that evil witch, we can’t do that until we know Iris is safe.”
“I will be prepared.”
I sit with Ember, struggling to focus even though she reeks of a dead, stinky vampire, but through the suffering I memorize the spell.
When night falls, I follow the witches into the woods and lie on the buggy ground. They form a circle around me, linking hands as torches blaze around us.
“Well, if we don’t make it out of this. You were an alright vessel,” I tell Adam.
“If I don’t make it, make sure you tell Iris that she was the brightest spot in my life.”
A hushed whisper parts over us with those final words, and I just hope that this works. I said I would do whatever it takes to get Iris back, and I mean it.
Even if it means willingly going into the void, the place I loathe more than anything.