FAUSTIAN BARGAIN
CHAPTER SIX.
FAUSTIAN BARGAIN.
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REBECCA
+412 9824-638This is a really stupid question.
But I need a straight answer.
I won’t be mad. Just tell me the truth.Well this sounds appropriately ominous.
What’s up hon?Did you take a bite out of every apple
I bought at the store yesterday and put
them back in the bowl?Typing…
Did I…what?
What does that even look like??[apples.jpg attached]
???????
I told you, I won’t be mad!
Bec, I can honestly say I didn’t
chew on an entire bowl of fruit and
forget about it until nowWhat the heck is going on?
I have no idea
I just got home from pilates
and it was like thisWell, is Billy home?
He’s been out since this morning
I heard him take the car and
head out before I even got out
of bedMaybe someone’s sleepwalking?
Or possessed.
You honestly think we’ve got a ghoul?
I mean no
But also maybe??
What else am I meant to think?Let’s check the teenage boy going
through another growth spurt
before we get carried away
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KAPFAM CHAT
You, Rebecca Kaplan, Billy KaplanHey kid, forget to mention breakfast this morning?
BK: is typing…
…no?RK: sweetie I’m not mad but should I be worried?
are you not feeling well?BK: wdym? I feel fine, I promise.
Well, there’s only three of us in the house
And I don’t remember having a hankering for apples this morningBK: I’m so confused
RK: [apples.jpg attached]
did they taste funny? Or were you tired?
should we make an appointment with Dr Goldmeyer?BK: is typing…
sorry mom
I must’ve forgotten.What’s going on, Billy?
You’re not one to waste food.BK: I know I just
I guess I mustve been really tired.
probably still asleep
haha
I’ll pick up some more on my way home.When will that be do you think?
BK: Idk
Not for a while, I’m still working on some stuffWhat stuff?
BK: is typing…
stuff. Nothing big.RK: do you think Eddie would want to join us for dinner?
it’s been a while since we’ve had him over.BK: he’s busy.
I have one more case to wrap up
and then I’ll be done for the day
I can pick up more on the wayBK: thanks dad
sorryRK: it’s okay sweetheart. We’re just worried.
BK: I know. Sorry for that too.
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You have one (1) missed call from Boyf.
You have one (1) new voicemail, receive June 27 at 3:54 pm.
“Hey, it’s Billy. Just hang up and text me.”
“Hey, I…I gotta say, man, I’m getting real tired of hearing your answering message. I know there’s stuff going on, I just wish you’d tell me so I can help. Whatever. Can you call me back when you get this?...love you.”
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C:\Users\WKaplan\Desktop\Witch101\Recordings\witch101_june_28.mp3
00:01:05 | 00:25:12
“Veni…eam quod ambulat in spatio inter mundos…er…veni, eam…quae spirat in tenebris…”
“Quit taking my name in vain, pipsqueak.”
“Whoa! Jeez, I didn’t-”
“What? Expect me? You’re the one who cast the summoning spell for Death. So what do you want?”
“Ahem. I, er, thought we should talk.”
“Oh, do you now?”
“Yeah. I mean, a lot’s happened, right? I think we should clear the air.”
“Scarlet-spawn, I am really not in the mood right now. Don’t call me again-”
“IheardyouandAgathafighting.”
“…what?”
“I, er, I heard you guys fighting. About me. Again.”
“You know, gossipers used to be punished with a steel head cage that wedged a piece of iron between the lips so they couldn’t speak a word. A witch’s bridle, they called it.”
“O-oh?”
“Sometimes I miss the old days.”
“Well, that’s…neat. But I think maybe this time you’re gonna wanna hear what I have to say.”
“Go on then. I’m breathless with anticipation.”
“Look, I know you’re not my biggest fan-”
“Understatement. You exist in defiance of everything I serve.”
“-but I also know that you love Agatha. I think you know that this, whatever it is, between us isn’t exactly good for you guys.”
“Agatha and I disagree about more than a pipsqueak monstrosity playing Musical Chairs with corpses.”
“Like Nicholas- WHOA!”
“Careful, pipsqueak. Next time, I’ll aim higher.”
“Okay! Okay, the name is obviously a trigger, I’ll keep that in mind! Just…can we put down the knives please?!”
“No.”
“That figures. Listen, I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I know you think I’m keeping her from…things. But I want you to know that I didn’t know what I was doing when I was doing it. I didn’t understand.”
“You understood just fine when you did it a second time though, didn’t you?”
“I mean, yeah but-”
“It took the love of my existence dying to spare you. And now that you’ve summoned a second aberration walking the mortal plane, you want what? Another free pass? That’s not how this works, pipsqueak.”
“I…I had to. He’s my brother, I- I couldn’t just leave him.”
“You sound so much like Agatha sometimes. She was selfish too.”
“I guess it’s part of being human.”
“Perhaps so.”
“Listen, I want to know what it’s going to take to settle this.”
“You in a grave, preferably.”
“Other than my death. Or Tommy’s.”
“There’s nothing. Mortals obey the rules, witches bend the rules, but you? You and your brother are mistakes. You were never meant to exist beyond the Scarlet Witch’s delusions-”
“But we did. We were alive. We were part of your balance, at some point.”
“Maybe.”
“And we’ll be part of it again. Someday, I mean. Everything ends eventually, right?”
“And in the meantime? What’s to stop you summoning a third monstrosity? Or a fourth? Or an army?”
“I would never-”
“What happens when that boy you love begins to wither away, hmm? You’re a witch now, Billy. You’ll outlive him. Those parents you stole, they’ll perish long before you do. What then?”
“I…”
“Agatha has taught me much about the horrors mortals will commit for love.”
“But Tommy was different! He was…he’s a part of me. I don’t even know if I could do what I did again.”
“That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”
“What risk are you willing to take?”
“I don’t gamble with my job, pipsqueak.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said, bullshit. Life’s nothing but a gamble! People die and survive every day, completely at random.”
“Fun as it is debating existentialism with you kid, even if that were true, you’ve rigged the deck. You cheated me first, out of two bodies.”
“One body. Agatha sacrificed herself for me, she’d be the first one to tell you I owe you one body, not two.”
“Fine, you’re in the red for one body. So?”
“So, what if we balance the odds?”
“Oh?”
“Give me a year. If I find Tommy, we’re square. If I don’t, you can…you can take us both.”
“You want to make a bet with me for your brother’s soul?”
“For our souls. We’re a package deal: you want one, you get both. But I find him first, I get to keep him.”
“Or I wait until you find him and reap his soul right then and there.”
“I’m willing to bet the rules still apply. He has to come willingly, right? So if you think about it, this is the only chance you’ll get. And if I’m gone, that’s all the more reason for Agatha to cross over right?”
“I don’t know what game you think you’re playing here, kid but I’m not one to screw around with.”
“No, you’re not. But you do appreciate a good deal. The Greeks used to pay you with coins, right? To cross the River Styx? The Norse myths say you promised to release Baldur back to life if all the things in creation wept a tear for him. And there’s that painting of you playing chess with the Swedish dude in that church!”
“There’s a fifteenth century fresco of the Swedish king losing chess to me in the parish church of Täby. What’s your point?”
“The point is, you couldn’t serve the balance of the universe if you didn’t believe in giving chances. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“You cheated me twice and now you ask for fairness. Agatha’s arrogance has rubbed off on you, hasn’t it?”
“Please. All I need is a chance.”
“…you can have the end of the summer.”
“Wait, what?”
“You heard me.”
“But that’s- it’s nearly July!? That gives me, like, two months!”
“Plenty of time to find your wayward brother. A chance is a chance, Billy Maximoff. Take it or leave it.”
“…fine.”
“Swear it.”
“I..I swear it. Ow!”
“Then so it is sealed.
“Was the stabbing really necessary? This is gonna get infected- wait, Rio? Are you…? Great. Okay, two months. Plenty of time. Probably.”