Page 83 of The Slayer Seduction

My Slayer tilts his head, confused by what the other man is saying.

“For now, and hopefully forever.”

Jesse scratches his beard, looking contemplative. I think back to his journals. They’re a juxtaposition to how he acted in the alley, but did he really try that hard? Our other encounter was brutal, and near deadly.

“You truly believe you can destroy the books?”

“We think we can, yes,” I chime in and I can tell the Slayer is pissed that I’m talking to his enemy.

“Do you think we will be stuck in the void forever or that it will erase our contract altogether?”

I’m sure the Slayer is going to say something stupid, and knowing concepts of magical deals, my guess was that they were put in the void as a bargaining chip to get them to agree in the first place. So, I tell him what he wants to hear and what I hope is actually true.

“My guess is that they put you in the void as a way to contain you, an in-between from one realm to this one. With no spell book, with no purpose in the mortal lands, you would just no longer exist.”

Jesse takes a deep inhale, pouring what looks to be gin into a glass and drowning it down, then immediately doing the same motion again.

“No one is meant to live this long surrounded by death, loneliness, and hate.”

“She is mine,” my Slayer says sharply.

Jesse laughs, nodding as he takes another sip.

“Yes, brother. She is not mine. I know this. She wants nothing to do with me. I see that now.”

“Then you will help us stop him?”

Jesse shakes his head, taking a deep and heavy sigh. “He is the oldest of all of us. He’s spent the most cycles in this place as well. He won’t give up easily. He’s grown petulant over the years, wondering why he hasn’t been given a prize for his service.”

The Slayer pushes me further behind his back, shielding me from this outsider.

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to take what is yours. In fact, I want to make your life easier.”

I know what’s coming next, but it’s clear that the Slayer doesn’t.

“End it for me. Destroy me and my book,” Jesse says and my Slayer stills.

“What?”

“This life has been too long. I can’t take it anymore. This place,” he says, waving his hand around the small space. “It used to be my sanctuary. Over all the years in the mortal lands, I’ve collected my prized possessions. I’d stay here until the itch to slay rode me too hard that I couldn’t fight it anymore. When I found you and the other brothers, I had hoped that things would be different, but they weren’t.”

“You’re just giving up?” my Slayer questions, like he can’t even fathom the thought of just opting out.

Jesse laughs in a sardonic tone. “Thousands of years of suffering and for what? I just wish it to end. Make it painless?”

“This is a trick.”

Jesse sighs, lounging deeper into his chair. “No trick, brother. An act of mercy, please.”

“Do any others know of Iris, or just the brothers?” the Slayer asks, which is a very important question.

“You know he would never allow more competition. No matter what happens, he was going to kill me and Essam, anyway. This is under my terms. I’m ready. I’ve had far too many cycles as it is.”

My Slayer can’t seem to comprehend what he’s asking, but I do. I got a small glimpse of it in his journals. He’s been suffering for a long time. The promise of me was the one thing that kept him going, but having seen me with the Slayer, he knows it was all a false dream. Years of loneliness, death, and sacrifice, he’s done.

I step around the Slayer and he grabs my arm.

“Quick sleep,” I tell him, holding the bag of pink sand.