Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

“Your boat was never there to begin.” “I do not understand your words, boy.” “You and your men … arrived with the priests … days ago.”

I had no choice other than to accept that I’d imagined them. Trauma could do shitty things to a person’s head, after all.

“Manners is a foreign language to assholes,”

“Little Lily cat,” he said, ignoring my question. “You’re not so little anymore, are you, kitten?” “Don’t call me that.”

“Memento mori,” he read from the tattoo on my forearm. “You’re one of those dark bitches who fantasizes about death all the time, is that it?”

Life had shackled me the moment she’d gotten sick, and somehow, I just couldn’t break from those chains.

“I said, the organism described in your paper is not fictional. It exists.” It exists. Real.

The news was somehow both validating and terrifying at the same time.

Outside of the cathedral walls, we were a rumor. A myth. A secret whispered amongst the student body. Fodder for conspiracies. Never seen. Never heard.

“What you say is simple. Repeat after me: I, Lilia Vespertine.” Brow winged up, she paused, waiting on me. “I, Lilia Vespertine.” “Am going to fucking Dracadia University.” I released a tearful chuckle. “Am going to fucking Dracadia University.”

Hunting the inebriated was horribly anticlimactic.

It was sickening, the way the mind could eventually grow numb to the parasitic needs of the flesh.

Heroics were boring.

“What separates monsters from good men is only a matter of perspective. In your eyes, I’m a sick fuck for what I’ve done to you. But I, on the other hand, see you as a parasite.”

Leave it to me to get lost in a perfect square.

“Because no one gives a shit about the actual history. You have to scrape past all the lies to get to the truth. In their minds, he’s some kind of savior for having killed off a bunch of deranged patients and savages,”

“I didn’t mean to hurt my son.” His words shook out of him on a defensive snarl, and his eyes shone in the light of the naked bulb overhead. “It was an accident.” “I don’t mean to kill you, either. It’s just a consequence.”

“Only good men save lives, Devryck. Father isn’t a good man.”

“If it’s the dead that fascinates you, then you will sleep with them tonight.”

“This is fucked, you know? The way I am … the way I feel. I could really turn shit around. Do better with my life.” “Yes, I suppose in some alternate universe you could’ve. Unfortunately for you, I found you first.”

“I’m going to eat in the courtyard.” Primped brows winged up as she offered a fake smile. “How very boho of you.”

Just as I was on the verge of unzipping my skin and crawling away, a figure strode into the room.

I know you said you’re all about giving people the benefit of the doubt, but some people are just assholes.” Muscles sagging on a sigh of relief, I turned back to him. “Are you?” “An asshole? I thought we already established that I was.”

“Pretty sure I fell asleep on the first day of her class.” “She’s a smart woman, no doubt, but robots have more personality when they speak.”

“It’s what we call the Midnight Lab. A play on Noctisoma.” “Ah. Right. So why midnight?” “That’s when the parasites are most active.”

No one touched what belonged to me without repercussions. My class. My requirements. My student.

Without a doubt, Lilia Vespertine was going to be a massive headache. But she was my headache.

“Oh, my, you look like someone I once knew.” “I do?” “Yes. Did you by chance happen to know a Vanessa Corbin?” “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Curiosity often leads us down a precarious path.” “You say that as if you’ve walked it yourself.”

“Impervious,” he whispered again. Impervious? Had I heard him right?

“I guess I shouldn’t have bothered to stick around, then.” “I guess you shouldn’t have.” Assholeprickbastard! “Forgive me for being a decent human being.” “A decent human being would’ve given a man some dignity by leaving when she was excused.”

“That night would be one of many. My father had effectively found a means to scare the shit out of me, and he used that power every chance he got. Until I eventually became as dead inside as those corpses.”

“You may have rued watching me take my first breath, Father. But know that I will rejoice in watching you take your last.”

“For one who seems to have a good handle on neuroparasitology, perhaps you find the class a bore,” he suggested. “Absolutely not. I find your lectures riveting.”

“I want to know the truth.” “The truth is an intangible luxury of the powerful.”

“You are inarguably brilliant, so quit acting foolish. Leave this alone.”

Just like that, Lilia Vespertine had become more than a student. She was a serious problem.

“The fight response is an ancient part of our defense mechanism that has allowed us to adapt, defend. Survive. I’m certain it’s served you well.” “You’re speaking science again.”

“Wait … um. Can I ask you a question without you getting mad?” “Probably not. But go on with your question.”

You’re skirting the flame again, Miss Vespertine.” “Behavioral fevering. I’m merely trying to rid myself of the endless questions plaguing my head.”

After all, the objective was to flirt, not piss him off.

“Stay out of trouble, Curious Moth,” he said, as he strode for the door. Curious Moth. A nickname. A fitting one, too, given the fact that I had no intentions of avoiding the flame.

“That is the tragedy of women, isn’t it? We deny ourselves beauty for the sake of misleading men.”

“A pissing match for the wealthy, mostly. Pardon my French.” “I prefer your French. It makes me feel less … posh.”

“The wealthy possess an insatiable appetite for the rare and priceless. They stare because you’re the only thing worth staring at.”

Perhaps I was dying. Perhaps I would die by the end of the night. Death felt like a warm blanket.

“My, you are a wicked little moth.”

“Look at you. Such a bold moth. Far bolder than I gave you credit for.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Miss Vespertine. You want to play hardball? Know that mine are made of steel.” “That sounds painful.”

The girl was a problem. An incredibly beautiful, but annoying, problem.