Book Six, Chapter 25: The Paycheck
As the storyline ended, Silas, the Mechanical Showman, appeared amongst the rubble of the burnt restaurant.
"Congratulations, you've won a ticket," he said in his cheerful yet worn-out tone.
We knew the drill. I walked over and slapped the red button before he could even finish his little greeting.
I got no stat tickets. I was over ten levels above this storyline by my estimate. I couldn't really complain. My only concern was whether or not my teammates got rewarded well, which depended on whether or not I had managed to stay a minor character.
I was satisfied that I had.
We all got to split the money from the vault. That meant we were eating at the restaurant soon.
Somehow, I managed to get a rescue trope. Not to mention an enemy collector ticket for none other than Verity Pryce. That made sense on some level. I had beaten her. My team versus hers, we came out on top.
| Verity Pryce Trickster Demon
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| There is no bargain at the beginning. Only a string of bad luck. A missed payment. A closed door. Customers who won’t show. Business deals that fall through for reasons unknown. But if you trace it back far enough, you’ll find her there. Verity Pryce. Ink-stained fingers. Smile like a knife behind glass. She does not ask what you want. She already knows. She does not twist your arm. She waits for you to twist it yourself. She is the author of overdue notices and layoff slips. The sudden illness. The too-late phone call that might have changed things. Every small misfortune folding in on itself until you are desperate enough to say yes. And when the offer comes scrawled in fine print, tucked into a whisper, you sign without reading. You always do. Her joy is not in owning you. It is in watching you hand yourself over as if you had no choice. She wanted your soul, and she didn’t want to take it fairly. She strives to commit such treachery that her creator might cast a glance her way and realize the true price of his abandonment. He won’t. She’ll always be working on that next deal, never realizing that the trick was always on her.
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