me. I rolled off the chair and hit the floor, drooling. Shaking.
“If I desire to see you, you will be seen, ” her Glamour’s voice whispered in my ear. “If I desire to hear you, you will speak. If I desire to bleed you, you will bleed . The world will bleed on my command, idimustari . So it has ever been, since I killed my mother in childbirth, since I cast my first mu to choke my father at the dinner table. So it has ever been, so it will ever be .”
Jesus fucking Christ, I managed to think. She must have Bleeders dripping all the time.
“You are known to me now, Vonnegan, and have no marks to bend the Words. If I desire to see you again, do you doubt I will see you? And if I see you again, idimustari, do you doubt I will be the last person to do so? You are dissipated. But tall. You would fuel a handsome moment’s entertainment.”
The pain was as if a larger man had stepped inside me and was splitting me at the seams. A stupid spell. A mu . Imaginary pain, nothing more. But if I’d been able to work my mouth, I would have bitten off my tongue for the relief. Abruptly, it stopped. I buckled on the floor, spasming my legs up to my chest as I called out, sucking in air. The pain was gone. I was soaked in sweat, shivering. But whole. I sat up. The Glamour was gone.
My stomach clenched into a fist, I stood partway and turned to look at the mummy.
It had shut its eyes.
8. I WATCHED THE ATM VESTIBULE from across the street, feeling tired and scratchy. I was worried about the timing, because timing wasn’t Pitr Mags’s strong suit.
It was getting dark, and I was feeling tired and scratchy. I wanted to get this over with while it was still twilight, before interior lights clarified things. I could see Mags through the glass across the street, trying to look busy and struggling not to look back at me every three minutes.
I raked my eyes along Hudson Street, watching the suits coming and going. The wind cut through my jacket and made me shiver; I looked up at the sky for a second and contemplated the winter: It was coming, and we had nowhere to stay, nothing between us and the snow.
When I looked back, someone had joined Mags. Cursing, I ran out into traffic and dodged three cars, leaving a wail of horns behind me. I slowed to a walk just as I pulled open the door and stepped into the vestibule. It was a tiny space, and the three of us were crowded. Mags was pretending to finish up with one of the machines while our mark punched buttons on the other.
He was a doughy-looking guy in a decent suit, briefcase set on the floor next to him. He had a thick head of graying hair and a round pink face with delicate lips. He looked like he’d been tortured by bullies at school and got his revenge on others in little ways every day.
I tried to control my breathing and pretended to fuss with the deposit slips and pens, waiting for the high sign from Mags. When Mags coughed twice, indicating the Mark had inserted his debit card and punched in his PIN, I muttered the spell and sliced open my arm, letting the warm blood run down to my hand.
The pain was sharp and hot, and this was one of those moments I enjoyed it a little, savoring the bright red way it ate into me. Nothing dripped onto the floor; I recited the spell fast enough to burn it off as it flowed out of me, disappearing, swallowed whole by the hungry universe.
My vision swam and I felt dizzy as the spell finished, and I had to lean against the little table for a bit, breathing. I turned towards the Mark, who was staring at the ATM screen in dreamy confusion. I swayed, digging in my pocket for my crusty handkerchief.
“Hey!” I said, feeling light and shivery. “How are you?”
The Mark turned to look at me and smiled. It was a slow smile and looked completely out of place on his face. It twitched and shimmered as if the muscles of his face were not used to holding the expression. “Hello!” he sighed. “How are you? Good to see you.”
He trailed off
“If I desire to see you, you will be seen, ” her Glamour’s voice whispered in my ear. “If I desire to hear you, you will speak. If I desire to bleed you, you will bleed . The world will bleed on my command, idimustari . So it has ever been, since I killed my mother in childbirth, since I cast my first mu to choke my father at the dinner table. So it has ever been, so it will ever be .”
Jesus fucking Christ, I managed to think. She must have Bleeders dripping all the time.
“You are known to me now, Vonnegan, and have no marks to bend the Words. If I desire to see you again, do you doubt I will see you? And if I see you again, idimustari, do you doubt I will be the last person to do so? You are dissipated. But tall. You would fuel a handsome moment’s entertainment.”
The pain was as if a larger man had stepped inside me and was splitting me at the seams. A stupid spell. A mu . Imaginary pain, nothing more. But if I’d been able to work my mouth, I would have bitten off my tongue for the relief. Abruptly, it stopped. I buckled on the floor, spasming my legs up to my chest as I called out, sucking in air. The pain was gone. I was soaked in sweat, shivering. But whole. I sat up. The Glamour was gone.
My stomach clenched into a fist, I stood partway and turned to look at the mummy.
It had shut its eyes.
8. I WATCHED THE ATM VESTIBULE from across the street, feeling tired and scratchy. I was worried about the timing, because timing wasn’t Pitr Mags’s strong suit.
It was getting dark, and I was feeling tired and scratchy. I wanted to get this over with while it was still twilight, before interior lights clarified things. I could see Mags through the glass across the street, trying to look busy and struggling not to look back at me every three minutes.
I raked my eyes along Hudson Street, watching the suits coming and going. The wind cut through my jacket and made me shiver; I looked up at the sky for a second and contemplated the winter: It was coming, and we had nowhere to stay, nothing between us and the snow.
When I looked back, someone had joined Mags. Cursing, I ran out into traffic and dodged three cars, leaving a wail of horns behind me. I slowed to a walk just as I pulled open the door and stepped into the vestibule. It was a tiny space, and the three of us were crowded. Mags was pretending to finish up with one of the machines while our mark punched buttons on the other.
He was a doughy-looking guy in a decent suit, briefcase set on the floor next to him. He had a thick head of graying hair and a round pink face with delicate lips. He looked like he’d been tortured by bullies at school and got his revenge on others in little ways every day.
I tried to control my breathing and pretended to fuss with the deposit slips and pens, waiting for the high sign from Mags. When Mags coughed twice, indicating the Mark had inserted his debit card and punched in his PIN, I muttered the spell and sliced open my arm, letting the warm blood run down to my hand.
The pain was sharp and hot, and this was one of those moments I enjoyed it a little, savoring the bright red way it ate into me. Nothing dripped onto the floor; I recited the spell fast enough to burn it off as it flowed out of me, disappearing, swallowed whole by the hungry universe.
My vision swam and I felt dizzy as the spell finished, and I had to lean against the little table for a bit, breathing. I turned towards the Mark, who was staring at the ATM screen in dreamy confusion. I swayed, digging in my pocket for my crusty handkerchief.
“Hey!” I said, feeling light and shivery. “How are you?”
The Mark turned to look at me and smiled. It was a slow smile and looked completely out of place on his face. It twitched and shimmered as if the muscles of his face were not used to holding the expression. “Hello!” he sighed. “How are you? Good to see you.”
He trailed off
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