"Since when have we checked in on her?" Snake demanded. "That's not part of the rules, Stitches!"
"Everything is different this year," Stitches shrugged and, just for a second, Snake felt a bolt of loathing for his brother. His nonchalance would be their undoing one day. "Anyway, she said she wants to stay. She wants more from us than just two nights a year."
“I’m sorry, what?” Goblin said as both Plague and Neon entered.
“What’s going on?” Neon asked and looked at each of them. “What the fuck did we miss?”
"Petra just announced to Mr. Big Mouth here that she wants to be with us more than just two nights a year," Devil said, looking as stunned as Snake felt.
“That tracks,” Neon said and settled into his own chair as Plague did as well. “When did you see her?”
"On the way down just now," Stitches said, but Snake didn't let him elaborate.
"What do you mean 'that tracks'? Did she say something to you, too?"
“Kinda?” He shrugged. “I mean her mouth was largely occupied when I was with her,” he offered with a smirk to his friends, “but she did say something to that effect.”
“So she’s cognizant and willing this year,” Goblin said. “She was willing with us, and now the well is frothing with power...” He looked to Devil. “You think her acceptance, nay, eagerness, is the reason?”
"Maybe..." Devil was frowning, but he didn't seem averse to the idea, and Snake swallowed the turmoil swarming up his gullet. "We need to discuss this with the Elders," he said before anyone else could pitch in. "It's not our decision to make. We all know the pact is an experiment that no other woman has agreed to before."
“Which is why this is so interesting, though I daresay no other woman has been given the option before us,” Goblin interjected.
"But there must be some precedent," Stitches said. "Some of our mothers stuck around long-term."
“Mine did,” Neon said. So had Plague’s and Devil’s. Ghost’s had died in childbirth, which left him being raised by Stephan alone...which explained a lot about him. “And by all accounts, my dad loved her,” Neon offered. “Do you remember growing up? They were all happy. They were all excelling in what they chose to do.
“If Petra is the reason for the frothing, or at least her acquiescence is, then it stands to reason that she could be that all year. Her willing participation in what we do to her can only please Him.”
"Some of us came from the orphanage," Snake said flatly. "So no, I don't remember a happy childhood." The happiest memory of his childhood was slicing the throats of the foster parents that had been molesting him. The soft squelching sound still made a thrill run down his spine. Even at twelve, he'd been smart enough to cover his tracks. In hindsight, he obviously hadn't been smart enough because someone in The Order had figured it out and recruited him. Or maybe it was the Dark God himself, watching over His newfound son. Maybe it was destiny.
"Anyway, the veil is only thin enough at this time of year to feed the Dark God," Devil reminded them.
"Unless what's coming from her is strong enough to nourish Him even when the veil falls," Stitches suggested. "If the well is frothing now, only one night in, there's nothing to say they can't harness her essence the rest of the year."
“Nothing to saywecan’t harness it through the year,” Goblin said. “Which I’m not averse to.”
Neon nodded. “Could we do that? I mean the seven of us? Share a woman?”
"We haven't had a problem so far," Stitches pointed out. "And it's not like we're all home all the time anyway. At least half of us are away on business any given week."
"I am not okay with this!" Snake was trying not to hyperventilate, but this was a level of intimacy he just wasn't prepared for. "She doesn't get to just spring this on us! What the fuck does she know, anyway? She's been with us for all of six nights and that's enough for her to suddenly want the happy ever after? She's delusional!"
There was a shocked silence as everyone stared at him and then Plague cleared his throat. “This isn't going to be a thing that happens quickly, my brother,” he said softly. "We'll have to ask permission...discuss it at length with the Elders...decide amongst us how we think it might work. We can make as many plans as you need and give you as much time as you need to make you feel comfortable."
"And if it's not your thing, we can plan around that, too," Devil said firmly. "You don't have to do or agree to anything you don't want to do."
But everything would change. Snake knew that, deep in his soul. They were all in, or they were broken. He would break them. "Do you all feel the same?" he asked, hating that his voice broke. "Given the chance, would you keep her all year?"
“I would give my left nut to keep her,” Neon said. “A woman that can handle all seven of us? A woman thatwantsthe things we give her? I’m all fucking in.”
Goblin nodded to them. “I see her more often than you all do. She’s lost all year, until the end of September. Then she starts to come alive. All the rest of the time, she kinda just haunts the world she’s in.”
"I'm in," Stitches said, as though anyone had been in doubt.
"I'm...interested in the idea," Plague said, with an empathetic look toward Snake.
"I'm in, too," Devil said. "I don't think it would give any of us pleasure to kill her if it all goes wrong, but I'm willing to take the risk."