Page 35 of How to Entice a Fiend

“You just going to take a nap?” Ender asks.

Opening my eyes, I glance over at him, but my throat still isn’t healed enough to talk—the joys of lacking blood.

“The one upside to this is now I don’t have to listen to you spew your council bullshit,” he says as he goes back to trying to hook me with his leg so he can eat me.

I give him a solid kick, and then suddenly, we’re kicking each other. It’s gaining us absolutely nothing but we’re both pissed and there’s no one else to take it out on. By the time we finish our tantrums, my throat has healed enough I can speak.

“I was trying to be reasonable with you,” I say.

“Fucking hell, he can speak again,” Ender complains.

“My voice is beautiful. It’s like angels singing.”

“Thank god I’m headed for hell, then.”

“Let me kick you again.” I try, but when he’s not joining the fight, it’s hard to reach him.

“Let me eat you. I like that you’re finally dropping your ‘I’m so sweet, look at me, I’m the nicest’ bullshit routine. The others might fall for it, but I knew you were a conniving asshole under that act.”

I glower at him. “You just think I’m an asshole because you hate everyone in the council. But I feel like most people would act a wee bit different when they’re hanging from the ceiling half dead with someonewho wants to eat them.”

“I said I wouldn’t eat all of you.”

“Youalsosaid you’d off me! And I don’t have much of me left!” I say.

“Just a sip and I’ll get us out of here.”

“I thought your drinking vampire blood was just… a tale, but you really can use it the same as human blood? Like… the rest of us can’t solely consume it.”

He ignores that question.

“What if we do two truths and a lie? But each time we have to slip something good in? Eh? I’ll start. I taught chemistry at a university, I know how to fly a plane, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to die.”

“You’re quite cocky, and I’m confident you think you’re going to live through this. Honestly, you told me absolutely nothing of value. Like what do I have to gain from any of that?”

“Ha. Wrong. I don’t know how to fly a plane. Your turn.”

“Oh yes, let’s waste my time. Let’s see. The council wasn’t created to eradicate me, the council is filled with lying pieces of shit and seeing as you’re on it, I have to assume you’re the same, and I love unicorns.”

“Oooh, the first one’s definitely the lie, then. You very much look like a unicorn man.”

“See? What exactly did we accomplish besides wasting time? Now get over here so I can eat you.”

“I gave us both time to heal a little,” I say. “You see that light up there?”

“My eyes do work.”

“Can you swing up and kick the light out? If you manage to drag the wiring down, there’s the possibility you could use something to tamper with the locks on these cuffs.”

“That’s your big idea? You’re going to miraculously pull a lockpick out of a ceiling light?”

“If there isn’t anything else, you could use the wires to strangle me.”

“Now we’re talking,” he says as he tries to pull himself up enough, but he’s still so weak he can’t get his legs up to do anything of use.

“Why the fuck did you have enough energy to kick me and no energy for this?” I ask.

“It was worth it,” he mumbles, seeming to have exhausted himself.

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