The Parisian Codex

41 - Deva

Romane settled into the circle with her sleeping bag. Zagan claimed that it would conceal her from view until sunset. He and I would stand guard in the main tunnel.

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "You want to talk to me."

"You can't ask her to do that," I said.

"Hum. A bit of context, perhaps?"

"Romane," I said. "She's a vegan."

"I don't know what that means."

"She doesn't eat animals or anything they produce. You can't ask her to slit a puppy's throat."

Zagan frowned. "She's not going to eat it."

"But she'll kill it! She's the type to put spiders outside so as not to crush them, and you ask her to kill a puppy. You saw the state the rooster put her in tonight."

"But she didn't flinch," said the demon. "She knows what's at stake and takes it upon herself to do what needs to be done. You should trust her, and maybe learn from her. In the meantime, can I count on you for an hour or two? I've got some loose ends to tie up with my men."

He started off down the dark corridor, and I sat down on the floor. My arms still tied to my torso, I was growing sick of my useless hands. In the event of an attack, I'd look pretty smart, trusted-up as I was.

I started tearing at the bandages with my teeth when I heard Romane. "Stop fooling around, or you'll hurt yourself again."

She had crawled into the gully as I struggled with my bandages, and I hadn't heard her approach. She held the rifle in one hand and a blood bag in the other. "Let me do it," she said.

She put the rifle and blood bag on the ground and started to work on the knots in my bandages. She freed my right arm, and I winced as the pain returned.

"I'm going to fix you a simple sling. Then you can take it off if you need to."

She did so for my two arms. Then she picked up her rifle and handed me the blood bag.

We sat down on the ground, me drinking, her observing me.

"Where did you learn to shoot?" I asked to break the silence.

"I studied at the University of Nevada."

"Why so far away?"

"I was preparing a dissertation on addictology—the study of addictions."

"I'm familiar with it. And that's why you learned to shoot?"

She laughed. "No. My college roommate used to take me to the shooting range on weekends. She said it relaxed her."

"Weird hobby. But useful, I must admit. And you left it all behind to come back here?"

"My parents had just died," she reminded me.

"You could have sold the building and continued your studies. Or even collected the rent from Nevada, I suppose."

"I did what I had to do. And that's why you don't need to worry about me."

Scraping sounds echoed inside the gully. I freed my arms from my slings and beckoned Romane to step back.

Instead, she leaned towards the opening and called out. "Deva! Come on, girl!"

"Deva?" I asked, wondering what underground god was about to appear.

It was only the puppy.

The animal hesitantly stepped out of the gully, blinking.

"Didn't Zagan put it to sleep?" I asked.

When you're feeling stupid, it's always a good idea to draw attention to someone else's mistake.

Romane picked up the animal and settled it in the crook of her arm. It was a little ball of fur as black as night and as fat as a goose.

"It's a Labrador," she said.

"Does that explain why it woke up?"

She sat down cross-legged and began to cuddle the dog. I settled back against the wall. Romane's smile and affection for the puppy broke my heart.

"You shouldn't get attached," I said.

"Why not?"

I bit my lip.

Romane answered for me. "Because tomorrow I'll have to kill her? That's stupid. Nothing last forever. Just because something's going to end doesn't mean you shouldn't start it. It's as if my parents had decided not to have children because they knew they were mortal. Like they didn't get married so they'd never lose each other. Like you refusing to be around people for fear of hurting them. Stupid."

She scratched the dog behind the ears, on the nose and on its plump belly. The animal squirmed under the petting, then settled into the hollow of Romane's knee.

"To be honest," I said, "I'm also afraid of the harm people can do to me."

"You're a big boy. You can protect yourself."

On Romane's knee, Deva yawned and went back to sleep with no fear for her future.