Chapter 330: Chapter 330
“You want to pull the girl’s soul out?” Esmerelda asked, raising an eyebrow.
She and Arwin sat in a pair of rickety wooden chairs within her cluttered shop. Esmerelda had pulled them out the moment he’d walked through her door and let her know that there was something he needed her advice on. Unfortunately, he was having a bit of difficulty actually conveying just what it was that he wanted her to help him with.
“No. Not at all.” Arwin pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers and repressed a sigh. “I want an imprint of her soul.”
“Just use the real thing. Works better.”
“I don’t want the real thing,” Arwin snapped. “I want Reya’s soul to remain in her body, where it belongs. Why would I be looking to rip somebody’s soul out to make them a weapon?”
“Because it’s deeply ironic.”
“I — well, yes. I suppose it would be. But that’s something you do to someone you really fucking hate, not your friend.”
Esmerelda stared at him for several long seconds. Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Never seen a demon worried about friends before. You’re a weird one.”
"I see," Arwin said, rubbing his chin. “That seems like it could work.”
“It might. I don’t know if it would accomplish exactly what you’re looking for, but it’s the closest thing I can think of.”
Arwin was already rising out of his chair. “No. That’s perfect, Esmerelda. Thank you.”
I won’t mention the bit that it took me nearly an hour to get a single useful answer out of you. Curses or not, the poor old lady just wants someone to talk to. She must not get out very much.
“Any time,” Esmerelda said.
Arwin paused before he left the store. He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You know, you can spend more time with the others. There’s no reason to sit cooped up in this dusty old shop. You wanted to join the Menagerie, didn’t you?”
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“Bah. Who would sell items to people if I left?”
“There’s more to life than selling cursed shit. Get dinner with Madiv or something. God knows the vampire needs something to focus on other than following Lillia around asking if she has orders for him.”
“I… suppose I’ll think about it,” Esmerelda said. “Does this mean you’re officially accepting me?”
Arwin grunted. “So long as you don’t go selling cursed items to normal people.”
“What? You expect me to give up my livelihood?”
“How much gold have you made in the last month?”
There was a long pause before Esmerelda answered. She cleared her throat. “Ah… none. I haven’t sold anything.”
“So it’s not a livelihood.”
“A girl has to have hobbies, Arwin.”
“Find a new one — or only sell things to people that actually deserve them. No ruining innocent peoples’ lives. That goes against everything the Menagerie stands for.”
With that, Arwin strode out of the store. Esmerelda stared at where he’d stood for several long seconds. Then she blew out a slow breath, the look on her face growing thoughtful.
“What an odd demon,” Esmerelda mused to herself. She slowly rose to her feet and flicked a hand. Her chairs folded themselves up and ran off into the back of the store with the clatter of wood on wood. “He actually wants a hag like me to help people. He’d really trust my word that I’m only selling to the scum of the city? Just like that? It would be so easy to lie, you fool.”
Arwin wasn’t there to answer her. Esmerelda’s shoulders slumped and she shook her head.
A laugh slipped from Arwin’s lips before he could stop himself. He knew he should have been concentrated on the task at hand, but the delight that gripped him was too strong to suppress.
He could feel it deep in his soul.
This was what they’d been working for.
Your secrets are mine, Twelve.