“I can’t do it myself.” Valen pinched the bridge of her nose, frowning hard. What a blow to her almighty ego it must be to utter the words, I can’t. “If I had that kind of time, I wouldn’t be here looking for your help.”
“You’re asking for my help with teaching her, and I’m willing to try. But I can’t physically protect her from predatory immortals. Are you telling me your people would have no trouble fending off a hungry demon?”
The Reaper didn’t speak, which was answer enough. While July didn’t know the exact logistics of her workforce, she did know that even the best of Valen’s employees had only a fraction of her power. “Okay, look,” Valen said eventually, pushing gloved fingers through her red hair. “I get where you’re coming from. Maybe we can work something else out, but I’m telling you that me staying here in Albany is out of the question.”
“And I’m telling you that that’s the only way I’m going to agree to this,” July countered, keeping her tone even. “I’m not being difficult just to irritate you. I attract enough unwanted attention on my own, and I think two Seers in the same town will only be a more tempting target for the kind of immortals who mean us harm. I don’t want to risk that unless I know we’ll be protected.”
A few seconds passed in silence while Valen considered and July sipped her tea. As much as it must have bothered her, it seemed like Valen couldn’t deny that this was a valid point. Hoping to persuade her, July went on, “It’s not as if you would need to be hovering over our shoulders the entire time. Your presence itself would do a lot of the work for you. Once the word’s been spread that you don’t want other immortals here in Albany, most of them will be smart enough to stay away.”
It was a well-known fact among the immortals of the world that there were few worse places to be than on Valen Desavi’s bad side. This wouldn’t be the first time July had used her influence to escape another dangerous immortal. The threat alone would discourage all but the very confident and the very stupid.
Valen muttered to herself in an unfamiliar language for a few moments, then looked up at her sharply. “Say I did agree to this,” she started cautiously, “how long are we talking?”
“It’s hard to say. There are a few different aspects to consider—”
“Well consider them and give me an answer,” the Reaper insisted. “A year? Two years? Ten? I need a number.”
“Not ten.” Ideally, July would’ve liked them to have Valen’s protection at least until the girl reached adulthood, but she got the feeling that a number too high would render this deal nonviable in Valen’s eyes. “How old is she?”
“Twelve. Nearly thirteen.”
“Then in four years, she’ll be the same age I was when I came into my Sight. With my help, she should be fine on her own at that point.”
Valen let out a miserable groan and shoved to her feet to start pacing back and forth behind the couch. “Four fucking years? Are you kidding me? How much information could you possibly have that it would take that long to share?”
“I’ve spent twice that time learning about immortals,” July pointed out. “Besides, you’ve been around for millennia. Four years is nothing.”
“To me, sure. To my schedule, not so much.” With another glance at her watch, the Reaper concluded, “I’m gonna need you to condense it. Best I can do is two years. It’s June right now, so let’s say two and a half. That gives you until December after next to make sure she’s prepared.”
“But she’ll still be so young,” July argued. “At least give us until she’s sixteen.”
Valen shook her head, totally unsympathetic. “Look, you’re lucky I’m considering this at all. If I’m going to do it, I need it to end as quickly as possible. You’re smart; I’m sure you can make it work in that much time.”
It was difficult to accept that as a compliment under these circumstances. But it sounded like this point was non-negotiable, and it was true that July was asking a lot to begin with. So she conceded, “Fine. But there’s one more issue.”
“Of course there is.”
“If simply saying ‘no’ were enough to stop immortals pursuing us, there would be a lot more adult Seers in the world,” July said, brushing her braids back over her shoulder. “She needs to develop a resistance to magical influence, like I did. Otherwise, she’ll still be every bit as vulnerable after our lessons.”
Valen quickly realized the point she was making and cursed under her breath, “Oxujét. And you get that by—”
“By interacting with immortals. She has to be exposed to magic if she’s going to learn to ignore it.” Over the years, July had given this subject a lot of thought, and she had developed several theories as to how young Seers might be protected and instructed. Of course, she’d never imagined herself as the one enacting those policies, as she wasn’t really the social sort. But an educator? That, she could certainly be. In fact, the opportunity was beginning to seem at least as exciting as it was daunting. “So we’ll need your help with that too.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do about it? First you want me to keep people away from you, and now you’re saying you need them around.” Finally stopping her pacing, the Reaper stood on one hip at the far end of the room, making the moment feel much more like a duel than a negotiation.
“I’m just telling you what needs to happen in order for this deal to have the result you want. It would be best if the girl—what’s her name?”
“Emma Cavanaugh.”
“It would be best if Emma could only be around more trustworthy immortals at first.” As if there is such a thing. “You must know some of those. At least some who won’t be actively hostile.”
“Let me get this straight.” Valen pressed her fingertips into her temples like she was getting a headache. “You want me to stay here in town at your beck and call, play bodyguard whenever you need it, and drag my contacts out here for interviews?”
“And then supervise said interviews, yes,” July agreed pleasantly.
“Fantastic,” the Reaper said flatly. “So what the fuck am I paying you for?”
“My experience. I’ll be able to understand what she’s going through better than just about anyone else you could ask,” July reminded her. “So I can help her deal with it. You’ll only be around on occasion; I’ll be here all the time, explaining everything I can and answering all her questions. By comparison, your role in her education is actually pretty small.”
A few seconds passed in silence as Valen considered the situation and July’s conditions. The tension never left her shoulders, but her frown did ease eventually, if only a little. “Fine. As long as you’re going to take this seriously, I can live with those terms. I’ll get you in touch with the kid’s parents and you can take it from there. Anything else?”
“No. I’m satisfied.”
“For once.” Without ceremony, she left, already pulling her phone from her jacket pocket and starting to tap away at it. July locked the door behind her and refilled her tea cup to sit in silence for a moment. Most of the time, she was adamantly opposed to any sort of deal with an immortal, but this wasn’t the worst one she’d been offered. If her intervention could help a little girl avoid some of the trauma she’d been through, the effort would absolutely be worth it.
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