856 C-7, Rain Month 2, Moon 27
It’d been less than an hour since El and Karen had left the student council room, and since then, I’d made decent progress on finalizing her paperwork. For that, I leaned back and stretched my arms, rewarding them for their hard work.
“It’s been some time since our last asylum student; I forgot how much work it involves.” I lightly exhaled as I lowered my arms and stared at the ceiling. “This had better be worth it, otherwise you can look forward to an appropriate punishment.”
If anyone walked in right now, it’d seem as if I was talking to myself, but in fact, I had a conversation partner in the form of a shadow named Natir.
“Whoa, whoa. I’m just the messenger. Kinda unfair to me, isn’t it?” he protested.
“Well then, I’ll gladly punish your employer if you’d kindly set up a face-to-face meeting with him for me.”
“You know the rules, kid. No meetings. All—”
“‘All contact is to be done through you.’ Yes, I’m painfully aware. I don’t need to be reminded for the millionth time. Also, I’m not a ‘kid.’”
“I’ve got a few generations on you. You might as well be in diapers.”
I rolled my eyes. “By the way, you have to tell me what it’s like having your entire existence quite literally living in someone’s shadow.”
“Sure, as long as you tell me how a high and mighty great vampire lord fell under the thumb of one such existence.”
“Strictly speaking, I don’t take commands from you.”
“Does it matter? The commands may not originate from me, but you’re hearing it from my mouth. Same thing, pretty much. Also, who’s to say that I’m not the one giving you the commands? You’ve never met him. Who’s to say this entire time I wasn’t the brains of this operation?”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Oh, no, I’m not laughing at you. This is me laughing at the concept of you possessing a high enough intelligence to lay out plans requiring more steps than whatever scraps you throw together for a meal. But also, I think you’re forgetting your place.” I crossed my legs and sent a piercing glare into my shadow. “You may be the messenger, but you’re much more disposable to this plan than I am. I’m certain he won’t miss you too much. In fact, he could probably find another errand boy before I even finish tearing you to shreds.”
“Don’t push your luck, girlie. I have the key to your cage. Kill me, and you’ll never be free. Next time you threaten me, think about that and about what’ll happen to your clan.”
I frowned at what I perceived to be the shadow smirking at me, confident with his victory.
“I’ll let this one slide ’cause I’m a softy. Plus, the view from down here is breathtaking,” he snickered.
“How comforting it is to know that no matter how many times we meet, you’re just as vile and sickening as when I first had the displeasure of being introduced to you.”
“Heh. It’s been nothin’ but pleasure for me. It’s great how vampires age slowly. You’re in the best years of your life. Gotta savor it while I can.”
I could feel a headache coming on. “How about we get on with today’s meeting so I can be rid of you?”
“Heh heh. Fine by me. I shouldn’t linger too long anyway. We almost had a close call with the dragon, hadn’t we?”
“I’d ask that you refer to us individually rather than as ‘we.’ It makes me want to vomit.”
“I think we got away without her being any the wiser though. We make a good team,” he snickered, willfully ignoring my request.
“The ‘dragon’ has been enrolled as a student, and I’ve recovered the artifact,” I said, forcefully changing the topic. “That should satisfy everything he wanted done.”
“For now. But getting her here was just a part of the plan. Now that she’s a student, the opportunities to enact the other parts will come naturally. Most of the time, all you’ll need to do is just sit back and watch as his masterful plan plays out.”
“And at the end of it—”
“Yes, of course. You and your clan will have a seat. Don’t worry. He’s many things, but he’s not one to go back on his word.”
I fell silent, unsure of what emotion was holding my tongue back. Guilt? Humiliation? Anger? Relief? At the very least, all I wanted right now was for all of this to be over.
“We’ve nothing left to talk about, then. You may go.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll be back in no time.”
“Please feel free to never return.”
“Heh. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t wanna leave you lonely. After all, I’m the only one who knows the real you. I’m essentially your only real friend here. How sad is that?” Perhaps feeling my anger growing, he chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. I’m out of here. Until next time, kid.”
In the next moment, his presence vanished from my shadow. Finally able to breathe an actual sigh of relief, I deeply leaned back into my chair.
Sorry, El, but this story won’t end the way you want it to. But I do truly hope that at the end of it, by some absolute miracle, you survive. Though I knew better than anyone that there was no such thing as a miracle in this world—just the inevitable.