Page 61 of As Many Souls as Stars
Thomas fired the gun.
The bullet embedded itself in Miriam’s chest. She’d never been shot before, and it felt strange—a dull, heavy blow, uncomfortable but not painful. Miriam shifted slightly with the hit, but she made no sound in response, and she remained standing.
The door behind them slammed open. In came Esther, chemise unlaced, feet bare, her eyes wild with fear. As she entered the room, the candles blazed with the strength of her panic, power resonating in the air.
The muzzle of the gun was still smoking. ‘What have you done?’ Esther breathed, looking at Thomas.
Thomas didn’t respond. He was staring at Miriam’s chest, where the bullet had torn a hole through her shirt, creating a neat crater in her skin. She wasn’t bleeding, but shadows were leaking out of the hole and pooling on the floor below. Miriam poked the hole experimentally, then felt something rattle in her lungs. She coughed.
‘He shot you,’ Esther said. ‘Miriam, oh,God.’ She came to her, tugging desperately at her arm to inspect the wound. Miriam coughed again, twice, three times. She felt something cold and small rise into her throat and fill her mouth. She spat it out into the palm of her hand.
It was the bullet. It glittered in the candlelight like a jewel.
‘Monster,’ Thomas hissed, dropping the gun. He raised his hands to his chest.Go on, do it, Miriam thought, and then felt a thrill of satisfaction when he crossed himself. Theyalwaysdid that, eventually.
Miriam grinned and tried to take another step forward. Esther caught her by the sleeve.
‘Don’t,’ Esther said.
Miriam sneered at her. ‘Youaskedme, you know, whether I would kill him—’
‘You didn’t reply!’
‘Was my silence not enough? When you broke that line of salt, you understood what the consequences would be.’
‘The salt,’ Thomas moaned, and he fell to the floor.
‘You care so much for his life?’ Miriam demanded, gesturing to him. ‘This pitiful creature?’
‘I care for mine!’ Esther snarled. ‘I care for my own life, and my mastery of it. This isn’t your concern, Miriam. He ismycousin,myproblem—the consequences ofmycurse. He is no longer a threat to me. And if he dies, it will be my decision, not yours.’
There was a coldness in her eyes, a resentment that Miriam hadn’t seen in centuries. Miriam paused, beating her frustration into submission. The exertions of the evening, the passion and fury that Esther was feeling—this was the sort of strain that could cause old memories to resurface. The balance of Esther’s psyche was tenuous as it was. Miriam couldn’t risk breaking that spider-silk thread.
‘Darling,’ Miriam said, slowly. She reached out and took Esther’s hand, cradling it in her own. ‘Ifyouwish to kill him, then…’
‘I don’t want to kill him, for God’s sake, Miriam.’
‘Forgive me. I only wished to keep you safe.’
Miriam pulled her closer. Esther resisted, just for a moment, but then begrudgingly leaned into the touch, allowing Miriam to hold her in her arms.
‘You said you loved me,’ Esther said, looking up at her. ‘As much as something like you can love.’
‘I did.’
‘Did you mean it?’
‘Yes.’
Her expression was flint, sharp and brittle. ‘Thenlet him go.’
Miriam wavered. She could hear Thomas whimpering on the floor. It would be so easy to end it now; so easy to step forward and snap his neck.
‘Let him go,’ Esther repeated, her face softening now, voice a low murmur, as she looked up at Miriam through her lashes in a transparent attempt at manipulation. Was that not cruel? If Miriam hadn’t seen her as she had only hours ago, squirming on the bed in her ecstasy, it might not have mattered. But she’d seen it now, and she wanted to see it again. Miriam wanted to taste Esther in every way that was possible.
If she killed him, Esther would never forgive her for it. They had barely half a year until the deal was complete, and, at the very least, they could spend that time together—why not? Esther had yet to remember her past life. Perhaps, if Miriam was careful, she never would.
Miriam said, ‘If I allow you this, my dear, I expect to be repaid.’
