“Oh?” Charmwill still stared out the window.
“This girl, Lucy Rumpelstein, who hired me to kill the vampire, had someone from her town call me in the middle of the hunt and offer me a full year of schooling, free of charge if I kill a hundred year old vampire in their town.”
“Go on,” Charmwill puffed more smoke. It smelled really good, but Loki never dared ask what it was. “Sounds like a good job offer.”
“The thing is the vampire is a—“Loki said, “a girl.”
Pickwick flew away from Loki’s shoulder to Charmwill’s, as if it sensed Loki’s weakness.
“I just saved you from a demon girl,” Charmwill said. “She’s been sitting in class next to you for a week. She’s been playing games with you, and you couldn’t figure out that she was a vampire. You wasted a good opportunity to kill another vampire, and when she tempted you, you gave in and were about to get killed,” Charmwill spoke slowly, sounding considerate more than disappointed. Loki wanted to tell him that the kiss was really good, that he was only fifteen and shouldn’t have to be killing vampires, that he should have be having fun, but he worried Charmwill would come unglued and turn him into another Pickwick. “After all that I’ve mentioned, please explain to me how you’re considering killing another vampire girl?”
“You’re right,” Loki clasped his hands behind his back, wishing he could scream and express that he couldn’t take it anymore. “It was silly. It seems I was banned for a good reason. I do have a weakness toward demon girls—”
“—and squirrels,” Charmwill added.
“Yes, demon girls and squirrels, sir,” Loki quietly questioned how in the world liking both of those creatures could be considered a bad thing. “I just thought I’d tell you about the incident because the man also claimed the vampire’s name is…well…Snow White,” Loki rolled his eyes.
Charmwill turned to face Loki, and Pickwick’s eyes widened. “What did you just say?” Charmwill asked. “Snow White?”
“Yes. Can you believe that? He even said she was the real Snow White,” Loki tried to sound casual.
“What did the man say the town’s name was?”
“I am a little confused about that,” Loki waved a hand. “The man said the town’s name is Hell. Then Lucy gave me a card that said its name is Sorrow. I guess Sorrow is a smaller town in Hell or something. I know it all sounds ridiculous.”
Charmwill didn’t find any of this funny. Loki hadn’t seen him look so serious before, brushing his beard again and looking a bit dazed.
“Sit down, Loki,” Charmwill said firmly. “It’s time I tell you about something.”
“OK?” Loki sat down reluctantly. He hated when people made introductions to their speeches. It usually meant bad news.
“You know it’s your sixteenth birthday next week, and you’ve only killed thirty six vampires so far, right?” Charmwill placed his hands over the desk and leaned forward.
“Thirty seven, sir,” Loki corrected him.
“No. The one in Forks, Seattle, was resurrected. Someone dug him up from his grave, and pulled the stake out of his chest.”
Loki gritted his teeth. How was he supposed to kill vampires that were so easily resurrected? You just pull the stake out, and they came back.
“At this point, it would be foolish to pretend that you’ll kill ninety-nine vampires before next week,” Charmwill followed. “You have to know that when I unshadowed you, I only told you about the rules because the Council of Heaven wouldn’t release you unless I did.”
“I will always be grateful, sir,” Loki felt obliged to say.
“The truth is that I didn’t really care if the Council of Heaven forgave you,” Charmwill said. “I really cared about you for reasons I wish not to discuss now,” he avoided Loki’s eyes, saying the last sentence, and then looked back. “And part of my caring was that you get a second chance in life, whether here in the Ordinary World or back home. Frankly, I was hoping you’d like it here in the Ordinary World, and maybe spend the rest of your life here.”
“But, sir, I hate it here,” Loki gripped the edge of the desk. “People are mean to me, and to animals. I have a hard time making friends, and I think Minikins are—“
“Stupid, I know.”
“Besides, why would I want to be mortal when I could live forever?” Loki wondered, and Pickwick nodded for it seemed a plausible argument.
“I can understand your reasoning, Loki,” Charmwill said. “On the contrary, I like those Minikins. I find them amusing. I like their mortality, occasional stupidity, and flaws.”
”But I don’t, sir,” Loki said. “I want to go back home. I know they don’t like me there because I made a mistake that I don’t remember, but I’ll do anything to get them to forgive me.”