“You’re going to have to tell me about your research if you want me to participate in it,” I pointed out. “I’m not going to let you strip me down and poke me with a stick without an explanation.”
“That will not be necessary. I’m trying to discover the basis of life,” Nightfall answered me evenly. “And before you say anything; no, it’s not necromantic magic. I’m not looking to reanimate or raise the dead. But I was made from something and for some purpose. I want to know what that was. It’s a secret that has eluded me my whole life, the mystery of my birth. My existence.”
“And you think I can help with that?”
“Succubi are sympathetic to life magic. Your race was also used as research specimens by the necromancers. I have a suspicion… I have a suspicion that perhaps your race had something to do with the creation of mine.”
“I see.” It was possible, but it was also possible this was just another giant plot hole James had neglected to think about and there would be no satisfactory answer, no matter how long Nightfall tried to find it.
“I will begin my research again when we have finished our studies. I am hopeful I will get further than I previously managed… with you,” he gave me an appraising look. “Tell me, what is your association with Bruiser?”
“We’re together,” I said. “Why?”
“Ah,” Nightfall rubbed his chin. “Bonaparte did not mention that. I thought perhaps you were one of the pathetic wretches he has picked up out of the gutter.”
“He picks up pathetic wretches?” I laughed, ignoring the slight. “Like who?”
“Like Bonaparte and Kira,” he said, then sat heavily down on the end of his bed. “And like me.”
“You don’t look particularly wretched,” I mused. “Mind, you don’t look particularly happy either.”
“Happiness,” Nightfall raised his eyes to the ceiling. “I don’t know if I have ever felt it. Such an elusive, confusing emotion. I’ve felt rushes of adrenaline, satisfaction at success, desire, and occasionally lust, but happiness? I don’t know what it is. If the books are to be believed, I may not be biologically capable of emotions like happiness or love. I hold out hope in the knowledge that books are notoriously unreliable. I may yet discover I have more capacity than the current body of knowledge allows for.”
“I’m glad you don’t believe that,” I said, feeling moved for him. “I think I understand you a little better now. You want freedom. Self-determination.”
“Yes.” The longing in his eyes was tangible, and it sent a shiver down her spine. “So much of my life has been out of my hands. Bruiser gave me hope, but it has been a constant struggle, fighting against my class. Since childhood I have been a rogue, when I feel in my bones that I should have been a mage.”
“What happened with you and Bruiser?”
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He dipped his chin and his long hair caused shadows to fall over his features like a curtain. At first, I didn’t know if he was even going to answer me, but when he finally spoke, I realised he had just been searching for the right words.
“During the Necromancer Wars, most of my people were slaughtered. I was only a small child at the time, so I cannot remember much. Somehow, I came to Isekai. I have high dexterity stats and the ability to fade out of sight. I joined a gang of street kids, and we stole what we needed to survive. Kira and I often teamed up together. One day I made the mistake of trying to pickpocket Bruiser. He caught my hand before I could camouflage myself. I thought he was going to kill me. I was used to being detested for what I was… But instead, he bought me a meal and offered me an opportunity for a different life. An adventurer instead of a common thief. I’ve been trying to improve myself ever since."
My affection for Bruiser ignited as Nightfall told his story. I could picture him so clearly; small and alone and trying to get by. It didn’t surprise me that Bruiser would step in. He had a heart for all living things no matter their race or species.
“I’m glad he found you,” I said warmly.
“Now you know why I was willing to help you,” Nightfall said. “I owe Bruiser a debt I can never repay. There are not many things he could ask me that I would not do.”
“You’re very loyal. I can see why you all make such a good team. Although… I can’t figure Jackal out yet. He’s not what I expected.”
Nightfall scoffed. “He fits into our band of miscreants more than you might think. He is an outsider as much as any of us. He may look human but looks are deceiving.”
“What do you mean?”
“He is a half-breed. A child of a minotaur and a mermaid but inheriting the half of each that has a human appearance.”
“Huh,” I blinked. “Well, that’s probably fortunate, isn’t it? I can’t imagine a person with a fish tail and the head of a bull would work very well.”
“It is not fortunate. He had been cursed to inherit his minotaur father’s stupidity and strength combined with his mermaid mother’s destructive song. Neither parent was capable of raising him, as his father was too violent and his mother too… aquatic. So, he was raised as a changeling until one day he screamed with rage and brought the house down on his adoptive family, killing everyone except for himself,” Nightfall’s expression darkened. “I do not particularly like him, but he is not unlike myself. An unwanted abomination. At least I do not have such loose control of my destructive powers.”
I chewed my lip. There was so much pain and suffering in this world, and a lot of it condensed into the elf standing before me.
“Nightfall, I don’t believe you are an abomination.”
The corners of his mouth curled up very slightly and he gave me a rare smile that made my knees go weak. “You are one of very few. You’re special, Emma. And as I seek to unravel my own mystery, I wonder if perhaps I will begin to unravel you as well.”
My heart skipped a beat, but his smile slipped back into his usual thoughtful expression and the mood shifted again, but I couldn’t get rid of the mental image of him unravelling me in another sense.
“Well, I should be getting back to The Postman’s Keg. If I can even find it,” I said nervously. Despite the fact I liked him, I didn’t want to come on to him if he wasn’t interested. Or if I just needed to go and let off some steam.
Nightfall seemed like the kind of guy to not take relationships lightly, and even if I had prior approval from Brick and Bruiser, I felt that intimacy with this elf was something that would take more consideration than a momentary attraction.
“The university gates will be locked now,” Nightfall said. “I thought you knew. You need to be out by dusk or you’re in for the night.”
“Oh,” I deflated. So much for my idea of running back to safety in Brick and Bruiser’s arms.
“You will have a room assigned to you. Bruiser will be able to live without you for a night.”
I nodded, not looking forward to sleeping in an empty bed.
“Come, I’ll assist you in finding your room. We will talk more in the morning."