FIFTY: Delicious

Alden had asked about the demons because he’d been wondering if the big one that had made the trails in the grass, or others like it, might work differently than the bug-types. The grasshopper demons didn’t respond to stimuli and they didn’t seem to eat. If other types were attracted to loud noises or they were more intelligent and capable of seeking prey, that was something Alden needed to know for Plans 2 and 3.

Plan 1 had just become Plan 1 thanks to Kibby’s explanation of chaos potential. Alden had maybe possessed high potential as a child, according to Hannah’s theory about why her bubble spell wouldn’t work quite right on him. Apparently he no longer did, according to Kibby’s assurance that high chaos individuals would demonize very quickly when they encountered corruption.

Thanks, System. But also—and maybe moreso—thanks, Gorgon. Being double stabilized was even better than he’d thought on that first day, while he was dodging around the bugs.

Plan 1 now seemed a little more viable than the other options.

“Alden, why are you cooking all my favorite foods?”

Kibby sat at the kitchen table, completely bundled up in the lab coat with the deep hood pulled so low over her face that he couldn’t see anything but her chin.

“Because we’re going to be spending every single minute we can in the vault from now on, and we won’t have the kitchen anymore.” Alden smashed a bean burger into a pan full of oil with the back of a wooden spatula.

That was about ten percent of the reason. They’d already been eating mostly from the stores in the vault. Alden was just scared that one or both of them were about to die way faster than they otherwise would, and cooking a last meal seemed like the thing you were supposed to do in that situation.

“I have a secret,” he said, pressing the button on the blender box to puree a bunch of Thunder Lettuce. “It’s a secret nobody knows about except for me and one other friend.”

And the System. But the System wasn’t really somebody.

“Are you going to tell it to me?” Kibby asked.

“I am.”

She hopped out of the chair. “I’ll get the ink,” she said eagerly.

Alden rolled his eyes. “No. No contract tattoos.”

The day after she’d first spotted his, she had disappeared into Joe’s old rooms and reappeared shortly afterward with magic ink and brushes. Periodically, she still tried to come up with reasons for them to use it on each other. Alden understood she wanted to look like a Real Wizard, but he was too much of a human to go along with it.

“But it’s the best way to keep an important secret!” she protested. “Nobody will be able to take it from me even under torture.”

The coat was so long on her that it was puddling on the floor. Melty mini reaper, thought Alden. One who needs to watch happier television.

“Listen,” he said, pouring the puree into a bowl, “if someone threatens to torture you, you should absolutely tell them my secret. You should tell them anything and everything they want to know about me. You should even lie to them and tell them I’m a horrible human who forced you to teach him magic against your will…that might be something you would get in trouble for. I don’t really know how people will feel about it.”

“Never.”

“I doubt it’s going to come up. Since nobody knows my secret, they don’t even know to ask you about it. As long as you don’t bring it up yourself, it’ll be fine.”

She didn’t move to sit back down.

He sighed. “Fine. I promise when you’re older and you want to make your first contract, you can summon me, and we can get tattoos together.”

“Really?”

“I swear.”

“On our faces,” she said immediately.

“If it’s going on our faces then I get to pick the entire design. And the size.”

“Yes.” She trotted back over to her chair.

“My secret is that I’m a little different from other human Avowed.”

“Because you can feel your authority,” said Kibby. “Because I am your Instructor.”

Alden dumped some of the canned meat she liked onto a plate.

“That too.” I really am stacking up the abnormalities, aren’t I? “But even before I met you, I was different. I have a friend who gave me something. I don’t know what to call it. It’s a magic thing, and I think it makes me…there’s a way for authority to be more stable and tougher, right? Without necessarily being larger in amount? And maybe that’s part of what gives a person lower potential for chaos?”

“There is higher quality authority. There is also higher attachment and higher control over it,” said Kibby, shoving back her hood to look at Alden with interest. “Most people get better in that way when they practice a lot. But some people start out better than others. I thought you were like that?”

“I don’t think so.” He set their small feast on the table and sat down across from her.

“Your friend gave you a good gift.”

“Yes. I’m going to try to share it with you, but don’t get excited. It might not work. I don’t know how my friend did it, so I don’t know if I even can.”

She looked very excited.

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“You’re going to want to eat all of your meat,” Alden said. “Eat until you’re full. And then we’ll try it.”

She started shoveling food into her mouth.

“I’m going to eat my own meal at a normal speed,” Alden told her dryly. “So there’s no point in you racing through yours.”

Kibby swallowed. “Do you have to do a hard spell on me? Is that how it works?”

“No. It’s a little…” Alden tried to think of a way to tell her without it sounding disturbing, but there just wasn’t one. “I’m going to drink some of your blood. If you don’t mind.”