For several seconds, Emma was silent and very still, staring down at her teacup. When she finally spoke, her voice was weak. “Taste?”
“Yes.” July’s tone was firm and even. Although she didn’t relish talking about this and didn’t want to scare Emma, ignoring the subject certainly wouldn’t do any good. “Many of the immortals who want our souls plan to eat them. Demons especially. Seer souls are more satisfying than those of average mortals—or so I’ve been told.”
“By who?”
“By whom. The first time, it was a demon named Belias, one of the first to approach me repeatedly. I met him while I was in college.” She took another sip of Irish breakfast tea, watching as her student dissolved a second cube of sugar into her own cup. Is she actually planning to drink that, or is she just playing with it? “He was also the first one to try to use my interests as bargaining chips.”
“What do you mean?”
“He realized how much I enjoy literature and tried offering me access to things I wouldn’t be able to get for myself: limited edition texts and restricted access libraries, that sort of thing.”
“A library? For your soul?” Emma asked, eyes narrowed, and July smiled back.
“I’m glad you see how ridiculous that is. He gave up when he realized I was more stubborn than he was.”
“If that’s the kind of stuff they offer, why is everybody so worried? I can just say no to that.”
As quickly as it had appeared, July’s smile faded. “It’s easy to think that, but some of them are cleverer than you might expect. They could offer something you’ve always wanted or something you really need at the moment. If they think you have any weakness, they’ll inevitably use it against you.”
“But still, if I know what they’re asking for—like, I’m not dumb,” Emma insisted. “I can tell that’s not a fair trade.”
“And it’s good for you to be aware of that. But sometimes it isn’t enough simply to be aware. It is important, which is the reason for these lessons, but if you’re dealing with an immortal who has magic that can affect your reasoning, your common sense may not work as well as you think.”
She frowned deeply. “I don’t think I get it.”
“Some immortals can do more than talk to you and make offers. Some of them can use magic to affect your thinking and persuade you to agree with them,” July explained as her cat, Sophi, wandered in from the living room to rub against her legs. Considering this was an important topic, she didn’t look away from Emma as she continued, “That’s why Valen is keeping them away from us for now.”
The poor girl’s green eyes had gone wide and nervous, and she was starting to fidget, tangling her fingers into her own thick curls. “But. What am I supposed to do about that? If they can mess with how I think…”
“You can keep your guard up when they’re around, and you’ll build up a resistance over time. That’s all you need: time and experience. And until you have that, Valen and I are both here to look out for you.” Despite July’s efforts, Emma didn’t seem comforted by her assurance. She drew away from the table and curled up tightly in her chair. The severity of the situation and the danger she was in must not have hit her until this moment. Trying to be as gentle as possible, July leaned down in an effort to catch her eye. “What are you thinking?”
When Emma finally managed, with some difficulty, to speak, her voice was pinched with tears. “I’m scared.”
“I’m sorry. Believe me, I know it’s a terrifying position to be in. But you’re not dealing with it alone. Here.” Hoping to take this conversation in a more proactive direction, July got up to retrieve the guide Emma had left on the counter, then came back to sit next to her at the table. “Let’s talk about how to recognize them so you can tell what you’re dealing with. If you know what to expect, you’ll know how to combat it.” Another few seconds of silence.
“Okay.” Emma nodded, peering over her folded knees while July flipped through to the Introduction to Immortals chapter.
“You already know immortals have auras. You’ll start to recognize other details about them as you refine your Sight, but you can learn a lot just from the color and strength of their auras. Do you remember what your teacher’s looked like?” she asked, and Emma nodded again. “Compare it to Valen’s. Was it anywhere near as bold or defined?”
“No. It was dim at first, but I think that was just because I couldn’t see it very well. It got a little clearer after a couple of weeks, but it definitely wasn’t like hers.”
“Most of them won’t be. She’s pretty high up, as far as they go,” July explained. “It might be difficult to think of her as a god once you know her as a person, but I’ve heard it said enough times that I can't discount the idea.”
Emma blinked. She frowned. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. “I only know about one god,” she mumbled finally, seeming almost embarrassed by the admission.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for. I’ll teach you about all the others in due time, I’m sure.”
“But I thought…” She paused, brows furrowed, somewhere between confusion and frustration. “I thought there only was one.”
July finally realized the issue here and took a slow, deep breath as she decided how to address it. “Well. I’m not sure that’s true.” Sophi sauntered over under the table to climb halfway into July’s lap and swat at her for attention, so July helped her up. “I haven’t met many others personally, but I think it’s safe to say that there’s no one religion that precludes all others.”
“Precludes?” Emma repeated, still frowning.
“Rules them out. I mean that one being true doesn’t make the others false. It very likely is true that there are no other gods exactly like the one you’re familiar with, but that doesn’t mean others of a different sort don’t exist.” Judging by the look on Emma’s face, she wasn’t doing a very good job of explaining.
“But.” She let out an irritated huff, chewing the inside of her cheek as she considered. “How do you know?”
“The thing is: I don’t,” July confessed. “But when it comes to immortals and magic, it’s dangerous to rule out any possibility. I've seen and heard some things that line up with Christianity’s stories—but I’ve also seen and heard things that support other versions. For example, I’ve met Cupid, who was a Greek god, and I’ve met plenty of jinn, who are part of Islamic theology. One being true doesn’t make the other a lie.”
“What’s ‘theology’?” her student asked, distracted.
“In this case, it refers to the theories of a particular religion,” July explained, pleased with the idea that she could include vocabulary lessons in among all the rest of what she had to teach. “All I’m saying is that it’s best to keep an open mind. Since this is about your safety, you need to know about everything that’s out there.”
“Hmm.” Emma finally reached for her teacup and took a sip, setting her feet back down on the floor. She blanched slightly and added a third sugar cube, considering in silence while she stirred it in. Then she took another sip and glanced at July bashfully. “I feel like I’m never gonna catch up to everything you know.”
“You will. We have plenty of time. How about this,” July started, sitting back in her chair and running a hand down Sophi’s back, “you can tell me what kind of immortals you’d like to talk about, and I’ll teach you everything I know about that subject. Then we’ll move on to the next interest you have, and so on, until you know as much as I do.”
“Okay,” her student agreed with a bright smile. “Um, how about Miss Desavi—er, Valen? Since we were talking about her?”
“That’s a good place to start,” July agreed, beckoning her closer to look at the information she’d compiled about her current ‘employer.’
This new plan seemed like a good one, especially if it made Emma more enthusiastic and less afraid. Maybe they could even request particular ‘guests’ from Valen in the future to correspond with their lessons. It was shocking how much she was starting to look forward to the time she would spend working with Emma. But really, it was a relief to finally have someone she could safely share her experiences with.
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