Chương 32: XXXII. Decision Point

The Cat's Cradle had a throng of people outside the doors preventing easy access to the interior. Inside, they scrambled against the counter where a tray of honey-soaked cakes topped with nuts awaited them. Jasmine sat them down, and Madeleine nicked the shoulder to draw a small amount of blood. It was an inefficient motion as she was just slicing muscle, rather than targeting the vein that brought sanguine humours throughout the body. I approached the door, which drew a sharp look from a woman.

She grabbed her kid and pulled them into her body, all the while stepping defensively towards the door. I returned the stare and walked towards the door, taking the handle and pulling it open.

"Bless your heart, don' ya see tha line behind ya, dear?" She said. There was a certain tone to her voice that was like Melissa's, but Missy and I had history. Her voice was just snotty, and the clothing she wore was… while not unclean, it definitely wasn't handmade nor exquisitely crafted. I didn't know her name. I didn't really care to.

"Be quiet," I said, and her eyes went wide. The child beside her gripped onto her frock, and the mother pulled them in closer.

"Why – " she began. I already pushed past her, into the store itself. The man grumbled and turned around, catching my eyes and then the angry woman behind the door.

"Lass, ya can' be skippin' the queue," he said, getting in my way. He was maybe a few centimetres shorter than me and definitely older. His belly was fat and the rough beard on his face alongside the hundreds of tiny scars suggested a [Labourer].

"Move," I said. He did not. Instead, he raised his hand towards me and was about to grab my shoulder. I tensed up, reaching into my pocket. The cool hilt of the bone dagger graced my fingers.

"Ah, chérie!" Madeleine said, raising her hands up and letting the black-lace shawl she was wearing flutter against her shoulders.

"Ça va bien?" She put her hands on my upper arms and pulled me into her body. Her perfume was Elderflower again, mixed with star anise. She kissed the air around my cheek, but I refused to follow suit. I patted her shoulder blade three times and turned around, staring – and then shaking my head – at the two interlopers. The woman's eyes went wider and she quickly glanced at the floor. The man however crossed his arms and grumbled, muttering something under his breath.

Madeleine's smile twitched for a moment, before dragging me along.

"My dear, you can try to be polite, la?"

"Maddy, I met… Nyla… last night," I said. Her smile dropped, and she glanced at the chair. Jasmine was stroking the boy's blonde hair as his father waited, tapping his foot on the ground. A few silver pieces and two slices of the sweet bread were on a porcelain plate, right beside the other vials of blood. Jasmine turned her body, head cocked and eyes peering. She immediately smiled, rising to her feet and coming over to the pair of us.

"Ashy! Didn' think ya was comin' too town this late. I love the shawl, did Missy make it for ya?"

"Ah, Pipelette. Would you be a dear and mark the line? We must be getting ready for business too," Madeleine said, but didn't turn to face Jasmine. Jasmine's smile faltered, and she dashed through the door. Madeleine crossed her arms underneath her breasts and stared at me, painted lips flat and her eyes either calm or incredibly enraged.

"Come, I still have some work to do. But tell me what you can, for now." I followed Madeleine to the chair where the boy was sitting. Madeleine stroked his cheek before coming down to the exposed arm.

"You've been a good boy pour maman, oui?"

"Yes, maman!" The boy said, leaning into her face. Madeleine giggled, and pulled out a small razor.

"It will only hurt for a moment, my dear. Maman needs a small amount of your blood as always," she said. She brought the razor to his shoulder. The tip was clean, but….

"What are you doing, Maddy?"

"Extracting blood, cherie?" Madeleine said, but didn't turn her head towards me.

"... Do you have a syringe? This is dumb," I said. I came up beside her, and she let out a sigh.

"Oui, why do you want a syringe, chérie?" Her head nodded to the counter, where a typical hypodermic syringe alongside other barber equipment rested on a tin tray. I picked it up and brought the needle parallel to my eye. It was clean, but a simple [Spark] would disinfect it anyway. It held 10cc of fluid, but Madeleine was going to only draw maybe two from a cut? So I pushed her aside, and my hand gripped onto the boy's shoulder. He immediately pulled away, but my fingers clenched in.

His father stepped towards me, but I had done this enough times. I stabbed the needle into the boy's skin until it pierced both flesh and vein. My index and thumb pulled on the plunger back until the barrel was filled.

"Gauze?" I said, extending my hand to Madeleine. She bit her lip, but handed me the gauze. I pulled the needle out, and immediately pressed the gauze in with my opposite finger.

"Hold it for a second," I told the kid, and gave the vial to Madeleine.

"So.. you do know [Medicine], la?" Madeleine said, but bent over towards the boy's head.

"Sorry garçon, La [Docteur] est… not very friendly." She kissed his forehead, and let him off towards the plate of money and cake. For my part, I sterilized the needle. The green flame burned past, and Madeleine waved over the next one. Jasmine ran back in too, informing us there was just twelve more people – two hours of work, she estimated. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Thirty minutes, really," I said, and Madeleine brought the next person in. Neither the mother nor the obnoxious man looked at me as I extracted their children's blood. Each of them had complaints about something called 'bedside manner' but I told them I wasn't at their bed, and I don't care about their manners. Finally the store was empty, and Madeleine officially flipped the sign closed.

"What was that about?" Jasmine said.

"Ya goin' fully into [Medicine] Ashy?"

"Nah, Jazzy. Drawing sanguine samples was basic work at the Academy. I can do it with my eyes closed," I said.

"Pipelette, Demoiselle," Madeleine said.

"La [Docteur] said something about meeting…

'Nyla'?"

"Ashy! Congratulations! Wait, I thought you wasn' chosen by Nyla? Was ya now?!" Jasmine said. Her hands clapped together, and her smile was even warmer.

"This Grand Deceiver business was worryin' my soul, ya hear. But now – ""Pipelette, she met the Grand Deceiver," Madeleine interrupted and Jasmine shut her mouth. Her eyes moved off mine and then back to my shoulders.

"Wait – did ya – Ashy! You have'ta burn that shawl! Ya can' have gifts from The Grand Deceiver! Ya'se remember Persphosone?!"

"... It's Persephone, Jazzy," I corrected.

"And she ate fruits at the domain. This is a tippet, not even a shawl. Though, I guess I did have some stew and tea. I met Ma."

"Ma?" Madeleine said, but Jasmine already pushed past her.

"Ashley." Jasmine's voice was slow and measured.

"Yer mother is dead. Addy burned her body. Buried the ashes at the cemetery. Yer Pa is also burned if she comes off as him too–""She came as your maman, chérie?" Madeleine said, stepping up right beside Jasmine. I forced myself to stare at both of their eyes.

"Yes. And I know, Jazzy. Ma called it my 'visitation'." Jasmine blinked rapidly, but Madeleine gasped. Acknowledgement? Confusion? Hopefully – understanding.

"What did The Grand Deceiver offer, chérie?" Madeleine's voice was curt, losing that flirtatious edge she always had.

"She said I could see Ma and Pa again. Showed me a different life. Asked me to become a…" I swallowed. Jasmine's eyes were watering, but Madeleine's eyes were unblinking. I couldn't keep staring at either of them, and looked down at the floor. It was dusty, dirty – footsteps covering the ground. The average shoe size was – Focus.

"Asked me to become a [Necromancer]."

"Chérie, that is a big as–" Madeleine began. Jasmine slapped my face. Her nails scratched my skin, and I was still reeling from the shock. She then slapped my face again, from the other side.

"OW! What in Torment, Jazzy?!" I shouted, covering my cheeks.

"YA ISN'T JOININ' THE ENEMY, ASHY. YA AIN' GONNA START RAISIN' THE PEOPLE HERE TO GO FIGHT THE PHOENIX QUEEN EITHER! ONE IS BAD ENOUGH," she shouted at my face.

"I WASN'T GONNA!" She slapped me again, but Madeleine grabbed her wrist before she made contact. Jasmine still shouted.

"Ya say that, but The Great Deceiver deceives people! Ya goin' lose your almighty soul from Amaril to be tossed into Torment where they gonna torture ya – ""Actually, she probably will be seen as a [Saint] there, if Rhyvesta actually controls Torment," Madeleine said. I was still rubbing my face, pale skin bruising and welting.

"Ya ain' helpin' Maddy! This is about her immortal soul!" Jazzy said.

"I was fine when she was an [Acolyte], but an Amaril-Forsaken [Necromancer]?"

"My immortal [Animus], actually," I said, and both Madeleine and Jasmine turned towards me. Their eyes focused in, and then their heads moved to the left. Madeleine scanned the air, but Jasmine's lips moved as she started reading quietly to herself.

"Great Protector – It's quotin' the Protector!" Jasmine said.

"Ashy, what is ya doin'?!"

"Following the path, Jazzy. I… wasn' here to talk about that." I said.

"No?" Jasmine said. Madeleine turned her head to the bookshelf, and then crossed her arms again. She squeezed tightly around her waist.

"Master Hawthorne had bought the last corpse, something about wanting it for his Patron in Flowers." Jasmine stopped staring at me and pulled her arm away from Madeleine. Her eyes scrunched in, mouth going agape.

"A… corpse, Ashy?"

"Jazzy, I know ya is just in this for the coin. I'm sorry I hasn' been able to help ya out too much… but I need help on the farm. It's a lot of land."

"... Ashy, I wan' ya to promise me that if I was to die, ya ain' gonna raise me. I wanna stay in The Plains, or in The Great Sky if Amaril blesses me."

"I don't have your [Animus] to raise you," I said, and Jasmine went pale.

"Besides, I wouldn't do that."

"But you'd use the bodies, chérie?" Madeline said.

"Well, the body is separate from the soul, ain' it? I can use a bear or animal soul."

"It don' revive the dead from their eternal rest?" Jasmine pushed up beside me.

"I don' know? I don't know any of this. But I need help with the farm, and If I want to get better, I have to do it." Jasmine grabbed my cheeks again and her nose was right against mine. Her lips were a breath away and she clearly didn't use mint or any form of herbs for her breath. Her blue eyes stared into mine regardless.

"Ashy. Ya swear it's just for ya farm? Ya ain' raisin' an army like the other one?"

"Jazzy, you're my sister. I would appreciate you trusting me a bit," I said, and Jasmine… smiled.

"Good, ya still has yer brain not taken by the Enemy. I… do know where a corpse is, but… ya swear it's just the bones, right? Not the soul?" I nodded, and Jasmine squeezed my arm.

"Then ya gotta come with me."

"One moment, sœurs. Demoiselle, you have not been growing normal carrots, have you?" Madeleine said. I pulled out the blood carrots from my backpack and showed them to her. They were still poor, but Madeleine hummed.

"You should collect 10, 000 unminted coins, demoiselle. Until you're able to make a finished product, I believe that…

'bitch', as pipelette calls her, would immediately question what you are selling."

"... 10, 000?" Jasmine and I said together. Madeleine nodded.

"The 10: 1 ratio. You should use the time given to build up, since there's real taxes on the other end. Pipelette was mentioning her plans for 'The Hart Stop'. And besides…" She stepped towards me.

"After you [Ascend] you will change. Maman has thought of a cover story for you, but I would request you come back before you meet Mistress Hawthorne."

"Orphy?" Jasmine said.

"I haven't heard anyone call her that before. She's usually Lady Hawthorne."

"Well, Chérie would be Mistress Hart herself, as the leader of her…

'business'," Madeleine said.

"But for now, Maman needs to prepare for your ascension. Have fun, don't get killed… or, in your case, demoiselle – don't kill anyone and raise their body."

"Wasn't planning on it," I said, before turning to Jasmine.

"Wait, how do you even know a body?" She swallowed. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine.

"I know where Cynthia Larine is, and Addy's close to finding it too."