Page 42 of Possession

I hear their thoughts. They’re too scared to strike against us, and I haven’t heard any of our other enemies approaching.

A wave of bitterness rushes through me, and I don’t know if it’s the injury or the circumstances or what, but I find myself in a mood to strike out. Are you sure about that?

There’s a pause on his end, and then, like a great owl turning its head, he settles on me. Having Aris’ full attention is like spotting a lion in the wild—interesting to admire from afar, but with its gaze on me and no fence keeping it back, it could easily tear me apart.

Are you accusing me of something?

I take a frustrated breath, and my stomach moves as my lungs expand, making me wince. It’s going to take me some time to learn my injury. So far, any nudging of my core is excruciating. I take an intake of air again, this time much more cautiously, and slowly release my breath to refocus on Aris.

I just think it’s convenient that you didn’t know when they decided to attack me.

He doesn’t respond, and, for the next hour, we sit in relative silence.

I can’t tell if he’s angry or not, but he is at the very least contemplative. I decide to let him stew and try eating the hospital food, but moving my arm reminds me of the IV, which makes my stomach turn. I force myself to look at the sitcom while shoveling Jello in my mouth. Episodes play, the comedy ringing dull, but I can’t change the channel, unable to reach the remote on the table beside me.

My fingers drum on the side of the hospital bed, on edge and fully aware that the mages or cult could be closing in on us. They could take us away any moment now, and I don’t know what would happen next.

I’ve always known that I was weak, but I thought that Aris was so strong that it essentially didn’t matter. Last night proved me wrong. Though I accused him of collusion, it wouldn’t make sense for him to let Dominachion hurt me just to take me to a hospital after. Maybe he really is on my side. The Following of the Forewarned could have a way to combat his mind reading—maybe it was too crowded, or maybe Aris isn’t as aware when I’m in charge. It makes me wonder if Aris is limited in my body… if he will be enough.

Surely, he’s thought about it and wondered if he might have trouble keeping me alive. Surely, he wonders what it would mean to be trapped in this body.

I don’t understand why he took control. He could have let me die and been released, but he took the risk of being instead.

What’s the plan? I ask.

You want to work together. That’s surprising.

If he’s still angry about my former accusation, he is unwilling to say it outright. Is there any other way to work? I ask.

Hm. I suppose not. Well, we have a few options.

Like?

We could return to the Following, explain their wrongdoing, and punish them accordingly. They would grovel, and they still have use. Given their magical knowledge, they would be interested in removing the amulet once and for all, as their original plan to free me is not amenable.

His words remind me of something I’d forgotten to ask in the midst of all of the chaos. Dominachion sort of implied that you gave your followers magic. Is that true?

Aris hesitates, which doesn’t surprise me. I know his personality pretty well; I can guess what he’ll say about certain things, how he would react to this or that, and so on and so forth. That said, I don’t know much about him.

In existential, curious moments, I’ve asked him things that I thought he might know, like how the universe was created, what its purpose was, what happens after death, but he never answers the deep questions. Nothing clearly, anyway. I could ask if there’s an afterlife, and he would say something like: I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for when the time comes. Or maybe: Don’t worry, sweet. I will be there with you, too.

I don’t know where he’s from, why he came here, or why he chose me.

He’s told me about his lives in Babylon and Egypt, but he never mentioned a group of followers. In all of our time with the mages, he didn’t say anything about their magic coming from him. With thousands of years of history, things are bound to get twisted, but Aris didn’t correct Dominachion either.

It’s like I know him and nothing at all simultaneously.

Yes, Aris says finally. I did.

I’m not sure what to think of that. I haven’t been lied to, but it feels that way. I try to push away my disappointment before it can amuse him. Well, if you made magic, doesn’t that make you somewhat of a master at it? Can’t you undo whatever charm is on the amulet?

No.

Why not?

It’s a long story.

I wait, ignoring the droning dialogue from the TV, and I press the heat of my words onto Aris.

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