Queen of the Living

Chapter 3

    “Sup,” Jack greeted Nawal as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen.  He was wearing a very typical pair of flannel pajama pants and a Superman t-shirt.

    “Morning, Jack,” Nawal replied.  “Nice shirt.  The coffee's fresh.  Just got up myself.”  She was seated on a stool at the island in the center of the kitchen, still wearing the clothes she had slept in.

    “Smooth,” Jack said.  He poured himself a cup, some milk and one spoon of sugar, but remained standing between the counter and the island.  “Sleep alright?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Smooth,” Jack said.  He looked like he could've slept another couple of hours.

    “So hey, I should just go ahead and get this out of the way.”  Nawal held her mug with both hands in front of her face.  “It's complicated, but I might as well spill the beans.  Can I have a knife?”

    Jack's face looked like a mix between curiosity and grogginess.  “Um, OK.”  He reached into a drawer behind him and pulled out a butter knife for her.

    “Anything sharper?”

    “Oh, sorry, here.”  He put the butter knife back in the drawer and pulled out a small fruit knife.

    “So, I'm kind of hiding out.”

    “Ex-boyfriend?”

    “Not quite.”

    “Stalker?”

    “Well...”

    “Ex-girlfriend?”  Jack smiled.

    “Ha, you wish, but not that either.”

    “So what is it?”

    Nawal was biting her lip.  This was it.  Just one little prick and Vermilion should appear in all his glory to explain the rest to Jack.  Do I even need to explain? She thought, second guessing her decision to come clean to Jack.  She held the knife in her hand, felt the cold metal of the blade against her skin as she pondered the pain of her future wound.  It was all so morbid to her.

    “You OK?”  Jack asked.

    “Fine, just give me a second.”  One little poke.  Just a touch.  The knife was certainly sharp enough to pierce her skin without too much of an effort.  You can do this.

    Minutes went by in silence as Nawal played with the knife while toying with the idea of self mutilation.  Self mutilation?  It's just a prick!  You can do this.  She had seen people with those diabetes kits do it and not complain, what was her problem?

    Nawal gathered all of her courage, if she could sleep in the same room as a pig and a little red demon thing, she could stab herself too!  She held the knife against her skin and pricked her finger, trying her hardest not to wince, which ended up being futile.  Her face had scrunched up in anticipation long before the tip of the knife even touched her finger.  She talked as she waited for the blood to begin to show.  “I kind of died the other day, and because of some contract one of my really old ancestors had with some demon or monster, I inherited all his powers and enemies.”

    “Oh.”

    “I'm serious.  So they think they might try and kill me again so I needed a place to hide out for a bit.”

    “Wait, what?”

    Nawal held up her finger so Jack could see the single drop of blood on it.  “Vermilion,” she said.