When I was told how much it would cost to visit the Satellite, I nearly had a heart attack.
Even worse, I had to pay for Blare to go, too. And she was too old to qualify for a children’s discount.
I really wished she could shapeshift…Knell could have turned into a boot or something, so I’d be able to sneak him aboard. Or he could have at least turned into a child under 5.
“So…is it a no-go?” asked Blare when I ended the call.
“Oh, it’s a go, alright,” I replied. “But it’ll take pretty much every cent I have. It’s a good thing I did all that hunting beforehand, but at the same time, I didn’t do it expecting to blow all that money on one expense. I won’t even be able to buy food for the trip at this rate…”
“You just let me handle that,” said Blare. “I owe you at least that much. Just tell me what you need, and it’s as good as got.”
“Are you offering to steal things for me…?”
“I like to call it “permanent borrowing”~. I could even get actual money for ya, if you want.”
I knew it. I had a feeling Blare would be a thieving type. Her powers were perfect for it, and she had broken into my house when I first met her. But I wasn’t about to endorse that behavior, even if it would be very convenient and helpful and keep me from starving.
“Look,” I said finally. “I…did not hear a word you just said. Whatever you want to do about this situation is totally up to you, and I am not giving you permission to do anything in particular, nor will I be held responsible for the consequences.”
She grinned. “O-kay. I can take a hint, Mr. Sunshine. See ya later.”
“Don’t go overboard,” I called after her as she headed for the door. “Save your energy for the mission. The amount you ate on that hunting trip was supposed to be enough for at least a month of activity, and I want it to stay that way!”
She waved and shut the door behind her.
I sighed and stood up. Knell had been a handful, but Blare was, too, in her own way.
Sometimes I wondered what I had gotten myself into with her. She’d wanted “demon meat” in exchange for helping me rescue Knell, and I had given it to her. But the next time she needed food, what then? It would be difficult, not to mention dangerous, for her to find another demon hunter who wouldn’t call the police or sell her back to the angels at their first opportunity. I could never make her do that; I would feel too guilty. But if I never sent her away…then I would be stuck with her for the rest of my life.
And as happy as Knell would probably be to have a “sister”, I did not particularly feel like raising another child. She was already a hundred times worse than him with the awkward questions. “What does making out feel like” is not a discussion I want to have with anyone. Ever.
Maybe I could teach her to be a demon hunter herself. It was a skill she would need to survive, after all, and I’d managed to teach Knell a thing or two (not that he needed it…). It was worth consideration.
As I pondered, I walked over to Knell’s corner. It had been left untouched, just as he’d asked…even though it was a mess.
Among the drawings scattered on the floor was one that looked a bit like me. I picked it up for a closer look. To my surprise, it was amazingly…remarkably…
Terrible. I’d honestly seen better drawings from children half his age...I didn’t even want to imagine what his handwriting looked like.
There was one impressive thing about the drawing, however: the colors were somehow very lifelike. It was as if someone had taken a photo of me, blurred out all the details, cut it up, glued it back together as well as they could, and then drawn some kind of scribbly humanoid over the result. It was bizarre, yet mesmerizing.
…I missed him already.
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