The Ghosts

Chapter Ten

“On?”

“Your design. I think you’ll like it.”

Now I was confused. I unfolded the paper and looked down, my eyes growing wide. Not what I expected. Then again I wasn’t expecting him to hand me a piece of paper either.

“I think it’ll be my best work.”

I felt Jon step up next to me and look at the paper. He nodded his approval.

“I believe you are right.”

“I don’t think…”

“You will,” The Artist said. “That’s why these things must be planned ahead. By the time you finish, it should look like that.”

I looked up at him. “Are you sure? Those are…a lot of marks. I’ve never seen anyone with that many.”

He regarded me with no judgment. “By the time you are done, you’ll have killed more than any Slayer in history. You’ll go in history books for it and other things.” He motioned towards the paper. “If you don’t like it we can change the design but I believe this is how it should look.”

I looked back down at the paper, studying the image he’d created with charcoal pencil. It was a naked back image of me, or at least I thought it was me. Marks covered the back of my neck and extended down my spine in various tendrils. He’d placed them strategically around my scars, making them beautiful instead of permanent reminders of the past.

I nodded and looked up at him. “I think it’s perfect.”

“What of your Vampire? I won’t do it without his consent.”

I looked at Jon, not that it mattered. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an off white envelope, a twin to the one he handed to me when we spoke in Gregori’s office. I still hadn’t opened it yet.

He handed the envelope to The Artist who opened it. He read over the note quickly and nodded.

“Then it’s settled.” He looked at me. “I’ll see you again soon. Keep that.”

He disappeared into the shadows and I looked at Jon.

“You knew.”

He nodded. “It’s one of our laws and your Artist knew that.”

“What’s the law?”

“No need for you to know. Michelangelo has given his blessing, you’ve given yours. It’s beautiful and you should feel honored to one day be able to wear that on your skin.”

“Jon, I never wanted this.” I held up the paper.

“But this is what you have.”

I wanted to stand there and argue with him, about how I was literally pushed here, by Michael, by my parents, by Raphael…by circumstance. But it seemed I wouldn’t have that chance. Instead Gregori walked up, wrapping an arm around my shoulders like a former mentor would.

“Are you ok?”

I looked up at him, hoping he’d figure out I was definitely not ok, and nodded. He hugged me, keeping it completely natural.

“You did everything right yesterday. There wasn’t anything you could’ve done differently.”

I was starting to think he was losing his touch because that wasn’t what was wrong with me. Then he finished.

“The past is the past. This is the present. I know Guild life was never what you wanted but you’ll work it out. You’ll get through it because it’s what you do. Now go back to your room and try to watch something happy. Stay away from the soap operas and imagine what I’m going to do to you tonight.”