Page 95 of To Crave Madly
“Fascinating,” I muttered to myself. The most interesting thing I had read was about the Original Three. There were barely any texts or history on those after about 1100AD. They just seem to disappear, but this diary was a little bit later than that, written around 1430AD. There isn’t much on Selene or Mordecai, but it does go into a bit of detail about Iver. Seems like Iver was Lucifer’s favourite of the three and he stuck around a lot longer than the other two. He was the first creation, Lucifer’s firstborn child in effect, and you can tell from the diary's author that Iver was the one who kept Lucifer level-headed. When Iver wasn’t around, Lucifer tended to lean into those baser instincts to destroy and maim (hence the Dark War).
But the passage that had me most interested in Iver was one about the most mundane thing imaginable. It spoke of a stroll through the Field of Sorrows, an ordinary dinner, and new clothes but that wasn’t the interesting thing. Scrawled on the bottom of a page, almost like a hastily added footnote, were the words:
Upon this day, unto Iver, a child was gifted.
A child so magnificent she will surely rule them All.
None of Iver’s other children were ever mentioned, which made this unusual and important.
Paper. I must have paper. And a pen.
I patted my pockets, but they were empty. Dammit. I looked over my desk and all I could see were books. I really needed to have somewhere to keep my stationary, but I would solve that issue later. Right now, I must have a pen and paper.
I was in the middle of moving the books on my desk when I became aware of being watched. I spun round with my arms full of books and found Lori looking at me with a mix of confusion and worry.
“Paper,” I blurted. Why did I have to be so awkward? “I need paper.”
“Ah,” Lori replied as if that made all the sense in the world. She glanced around the room before walking to my filing cabinet and removing a notebook. There was even a pen tucked into the spiral spine. Jackpot. “Will this do?”
I dropped the books and practically snatched the thing out of her hands. “Yes, thank you.” I jotted the notes down and breathed. I had so much information contained in my mind that sometimes I forgot things because I ran out of room up there. My fear, albeit slightly irrational, was that one day someone would need me to remember something important but all I could spew out were useless facts about useless things and it would be my fault someone died, or the world ended.
“What can I help you with, Lori?”
She was clearly here to ask me something that she didn’t want anyone else to know about. Her fingers were tapping on the side of the desk and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. And she was here alone. A sure sign of asking something secretive.
I moved the books off the other chair and gave it a pat. I liked Lori, and I wanted to help if I could. But I wouldn’t make any promises, and if I thought that whatever she was going to ask me would harm her or someone else, then I would make a point of telling her that she needed to talk to someone about it or I would.
She sat down and took a deep breath. “Do you know anything about bonds of eternal servitude?”
Not quite the question I was expecting. I canted my head as I looked at her, curious to know where this question had come from. She could only be referring to Torsten, but why? What had happened between them that would prompt such a question?
Her gaze stuttered under my scrutiny and she looked away for a moment, allowing me to catch sight of my answer. On her skin, by the crook of her neck, were two silvery, round puncture marks.
A shadow bite.
But you only get one of those when—
“Oh,” I mumbled aloud as my mind caught up with my thoughts.
She frowned at me in bewilderment and I realised I had just been staring at her and not answered her question. I sometimes wished I were able to keep my mind in the room. I seemed to have an uncanny knack of disappearing into a trail of thought at the wrong moment, leading to all sorts of embarrassing situations. There was this one time—
“Levi?”
Shoot. There I went again. Stupid mind. Focus. “Sorry, I was thinking about your question.”
“And?”
Oh, right. Still hadn’t answered it. “I have never heard of one being broken before.” Her shoulders sank and she looked deflated. I hated that she looked so sad. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.”
She perked up at my words and I prayed that I hadn’t just sparked some false hope in her. The last thing she needed adding to her plate was a pile of misery because I couldn’t deliver on my theories.
“Really?” she asked.
“I don’t think it’s ever been done before but… well, I suppose it depends on the wording of the bond. Whether it’s on the soul or name or…”
“Levi?”
“Perhaps it’s a lineage thing, tied to the same blood line. No. Wait. It could be…”
