Page 29 of Devour

And the hunger was only getting worse with each passing day.

When relief wouldn’t come any other way, I decided to visit a certain club dedicated to my favorite pastime. Literally, my equivalent of a buffet. Even though I’d attended before, and even though I’d been a member of clubs like this one for what felt like close to an eternity, I tried not to go too often. Feeding here had about the same thrill as shooting fish in a barrel. I didn’t want to abuse easy access unless I was desperate. And I was desperate.

Also, kinda bored. Like, sure, one could stay alive eating nothing but carrots. And even if one loved carrots enough to consume carrots day in and day out, one would eventually get sick of carrots or die. Literally. Too much of anything can kill a human. I didn’t think carrots would be my demise, but everything else seemed so… blah these days. Nothing satisfied quite like my favorite snack, but I didn’t want to lose my taste for it.

“You’re not normally a voyeur.”

“Hello, Gaia,” I said without turning.

Was that her original name? No, likely not. I’d started going by Rhory only the last hundred years or so. But Gaia? Much older than me. Older than dirt, actually. Her passing name was very humorous among her counterparts.

“What brings you here this time?”

A fair question. Bumping into another one of us happened occasionally, but not as two friends meeting by chance at the grocery store. A significant amount of ground would have to be covered, and even then, chances would be slim to meet another of us at random. Unless we sought each other out, which most of us never did, meetings never happened.

Not at all surprised to see Gaia here. This club functioned like her home base. While I couldn’t guarantee she would be here, I’d assumed she would find me. I caught a whiff of her as soon as I entered the floor to ceiling black room, lit only with neon lighting. Blue and green strips glowed around the perimeter of this room. Purple and pink outlined the stage. Even the mood lighting candles were LED tea lights. Oh, how times had changed.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” I folded my arms across my chest, the black leather of the tufted couch licking my skin when I shifted in my seat.

“All the more reason for me to be surprised.”

Gaia sank into the space beside me and crossed her legs, letting the top one sway while idly observing, as I was. At least the couch was comfortable. This piece of furniture was older than anyone else in this room, but you’d never know by looking at it. A recurring theme, it seemed.

“Secondhand fills the same,” I grumbled.

“You didn’t need to come all the way here for that, either.” Gaia reclined further, stretching her tanned arms before settling more comfortably. You’d think an old biddy like her would have a bad back or arthritis, but she didn’t look a day over thirty, and never would. She made less of an effort to appear modern than I did, but I wasn’t about to criticize her. “So, I’ll ask again. What brings you here this time?”

“Can’t get full.” My admission came with a long sigh.

“You’ve been shitting where you eat.”

“No.” My annoyance didn’t stay in check.

“You dumbfuck.” She laughed. “How’s that working out for you?”

“Fine,” I growled.

“Clearly.” Gaia repositioned once again, leaning closer to the edge of the couch. Talking about food must’ve made her hungry. She always had a voracious appetite compared to me.

“Few more years and I’ll get to eat him. I can hold out that long.”

She hummed with very obvious doubt.

“We have a contract. Married by thirty-five or he’s mine. He can’t get out of it.”

“That sounds extremely easy to get out of.”

“He’s a deacon.” I beamed.

“Deacons can marry.”

“He won’t.” That much, I was sure of.

“Deacons can become priests and priests can forsake marriage.”

“So what if I end up wasting a few years on a dead end? I’ll survive.”

“Will you?”

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