We waited. Minutes passed.

To my disappointment, Vincent wasn’t shouting this time. I wished I could hear what they were talking about, but I figured it won’t matter anymore. Judgment had been passed for me.

“Why, Aramis?” Luci suddenly murmured. “Why do you keep hurting Vincent like this?”

Instead of a retort, I gave her a smile. “Would you rather get rid of me after I turn? That would be way more difficult with me fighting back an all. Of course by that time, it wouldn’t make you as guilty, if at all.” Still a retort in the end.

Belial let out another of her pretentious signature sighs. “Actually, ain’t Aramis’ case similar to the experiments you did a couple centuries ago with that boy… What’s his name, Luci?”

With her hands fisted, she threw Belial a glare. Her eyes glowed faintly green, the round pupils lengthening into reptilian slits. Static air filled the hallway, making the hairs on my arms stand and my hearing muted.

Only when the door opened did the air pressure disappeared.

Startled, Luci blinked and her eyes too, were back to normal.

Vincent and Sathariel walked out of the room with bleak facades like the Apocalypse was coming.

“Prepare a tribute, Belial,” said the devil with the all too familiar expression that said I’ll regret this but I’m doing it anyway. “We shall ask Eldest’s permission to crossover”—he gazed at me from the corner of his eyes—“to Halo.”

It was the first time Belial allowed herself some eagerness. She all but rubbed it in Luci and Levi’s faces with that grin.

“I’ve got just the thing.” Then she spun on her heels and trotted away.

Now, with Belial gone, I was left to endure Levi’s impassive glares and Luci’s heartbreaking sad face. Two days ago, those might have worked on me. Now, I just wished I could care. Or grow back a conscience.

Maybe, it was Alessandra’s callousness infecting me. I didn’t try to fight or question it though. It made painful things easier to accept.

So I was losing it. Bite me.

Vincent had grabbed a hold of my hand before I could do something totally uncalled for. With brisk steps, he led me to the orchard.

He looked at me. I looked back at him and our eyes glued for a while. This time, I didn’t feel anything. If he was sending me a secret message, my brain was unattended at the moment.

Only then did I notice the redness around his eyes. Did he just cry in front of Sathariel so he could persuade him to let him go back to Halo and save Vladimir?

Strangely, I found that laughable. Just the idea of it should have brought me to tears. But I felt nothing. I was starting to hate myself and that just made the void inside me larger. I was slowly disappearing, turning into a big black hole.

His brows very much wanted to meet each other. “I won’t be gone long. I’m going to bring Vladimir and the others back.”

“Just you?” I distanced myself from him. I couldn’t focus. “You’re going on your own?”

Hesitation flashed on his eyes. “N-no. Sathariel insists I take a few of his men with me—“

“You’re leaving me here?”

He didn’t answer. Silence means yes.

“You can’t.” My voice was shaking. I shook my head as I thought of ten reasons why he shouldn’t leave. “Y-you haven’t even recovered from the torture. And your leg’s not healed yet.”

“Aramis…” He stepped closer to me. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“You’re perfectly fine…” I glared at the ground, echoing his words in a flat, pensive voice. “You sure about that?”

“Yeah.”

I shifted my weight on my right foot and swung my arm as hard as I could towards his face. He lurched backwards, blinking. I lost my balance and fell on all fours. Water dripped on the back of my hand and it was coming from my eyes. My chest was being twisted. Other than that, all I could feel was the steady throbbing in my knuckles.

Vincent rubbed the tip of his lip. It bled a little.

Before, I thought hitting him would make me feel better. That was supposed to be a payback because he left me before. And now, because he was doing it again. The timing was perfect. He wasn’t injured anymore. He couldn’t unleash his immortal wrath on me. I wouldn’t get Bound. But instead, I was distraught.

“See?” he mumbled. “I’m alright.”

“I don’t care!”

“What now?” he hissed. “You’d practically offer yourself to be killed without batting an eye and now you’re getting so worked up about me going to Halo?”

After hearing that, the stupid choking sounds came out of my mouth without my permission. “You’re so stupid.”

Weakly, he knelt in front of me.

I pushed him away, keeping my face down so he wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing me actually cry like an idiot. When it comes to Vincent, it seemed even Alessandra’s void couldn’t numb me enough. I wished it would.

Gently, Vincent cupped my face with his hands, forcing me to look at him. “I won’t take long. You won’t even notice that I’m gone.”

“No. You don’t understand! I’m not me anymore,” I sobbed uncontrollably, clutching on his arms like they were some form of life support. “You have to do it now while I can still control myself. If I turn, I don’t know what I’ll do! Please, Vincent… I can’t take it anymore.”

“Aramis,” he hushed, pushing away the hair from my eyes and tucking them on my ear. “I promise, I’ll get you help. Okay? We’ll get you fixed. So please… wait for me.”

I kept shaking my head, but he just wrapped his arms around me. He touched his lips on my forehead, on my hair as he whispered soothing words. And for a second there, I believed him.

***

It was still dark. My eyes hurt. I hadn’t said a word after Vincent said his goodbyes.

I just sat on the edge of the steps to the entrance, watching Belial’s cow get towed to the bridge leading to the arena directly below the triangle’s Point Zero. That was the third one in three hours.

They were supposed to be our tribute to Eldest. And if he really liked it, he might grant Vincent and a few more men a two-way crossover to Halo.

Every now and then, I would hear a cow cry from the direction of the arena. I would cover my ears and hug my knees until the crying stopped.

After this, I didn’t think I could eat beef anymore.

During the fourth hour, Luci came with a tray of tea and biscuits. She set it on the table and mustered a small smile that actually looked genuine for the first time. And totally just because she was feeling sorry for me.

“It might take a while,” she said, filling the cups. “You can wait all you want. But there’s no use starving yourself.”

Passively, I kneeled next to her in the table. She passed me the cup and I savored its warmth against my skin before taking a sip.

“It’s peach and ginger root tea,” she noted. “It will help calm you down.”

Nodding, I took another sip. I never had faith in the power of tea, but it did make me feel relaxed even just for a tiny bit.

“Normally, when we pray for say, rain during draught season or for our safety during a storm, it only takes one or two cows,” Luci explained patiently. “But as this is such a great request, I think Belial would lose quite a few from her heard.”

I looked up. The sun was rising, giving the dark skies a splash of indigo and yellow.

“What do you plan to do now, Aramis?” she asked, nibbling on a sugar cookie.

I didn’t answer. There was no need to. The girl could read people.

“Do you want to go after him?” she guessed, although, it wasn’t really a question. “Are you thinking that perhaps, you can just waste away in Halo protecting him? Because you know he can’t bring himself to hurt you, much less kill you. In addition to the fact that no one in this town would dare grant you your death wish?”

Bull’s eye.

She should make a living telling people’s fortune. Or maybe just learn to shut up.

“What I mean is, Vincent already entrusted you to our care. He thinks of you constantly. He asked me to deliver the tea to you, actually. What you fail to realize is that he is willing to do anything to ensure your safety.” She set her teacup on the table. It looked untouched. “So… if you’re thinking of defying his orders, chances are, you can’t.”

I looked at her, then at the tea and back. Luci’s face was getting more and more muddled by the second and it was too late when I figured out why.

Not again.

Before I could call for help, my lids dropped and everything was dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Grim's Familiar