Episode 2.03 – Debt – Ileana’s Journals
Jean is the most reckless, pig-headed man I have ever met. He’s decided to take it on himself to start patrolling at night. Now, I have every confidence in his abilities to combat vampires. I’m not concerned on that at all, but Willy called, and she sounded scared… like there was something else involved. When I found him, he was sitting in a graveyard reading a piece of paper he’d scribbled on over and over. That was fine enough, and it turned out to be a passage from El Codice de la Cruz Herida which is even better, but the man has to learn not to split his attention. If he’s going to study, he should study. If he’s going to fight, he should fight. He absolutely drives me crazy. He doesn’t pay any attention what so ever.
So when he didn’t see three vampires about to jump him, I had to warn him. Let him hate me I suppose. As long as he’s alive… At least he has good military training. Shout for him to watch his six, and he’s ready for action immediately. It’s really kind of… Anyway, suppressing the demon inside is harder than I care for. I’m just too weak. I can’t help them without her power. Maybe I shouldn’t be helping them at all.
Luc and Willy had come to find him to tell him that one of Charles’s friends had been decapitated by a grim reaper. We got back to Willy’s room to plan what we were going to do. For Jean, that meant taking Charles to get drunk. For James and Stephanie, it was checking out Ronnie’s (the boy who lost his head) room. For the rest of us, research.
It didn’t take long to find the information we needed. Grim reapers aren’t demons, they’re entities that are summoned to collect on a soul contract. Case closed. Ronnie shouldn’t have made a deal with a demon. Of course, that also meant that Jean would be upset he didn’t have something to kill. On the note of killing, it was hard to resist the temptation to rip out Luc’s throat! I don’t know how a boy could be so intelligent and so daft at the same time. What Willy sees in him, I don’t know.
Luc was nervous his family had sold their souls, so he reluctantly called his mother to warn her. I can’t believe how awkward he was on the phone with her! I know that Jean has some issues with her, but she’s still their mother. They should really be ashamed.
Luc called Jean after that and tried to explain things, but he was too drunk. We went to pick him and Charles up, and that was all we could do for the evening. As far as I was concerned, the matter was closed. I walked Willy home so I could talk to her—again Luc was acting like an ass. I could see how nervous he was about letting us go off alone together. He doesn’t trust me anymore… if he ever did.
I told Willy about my plan for the Three of Cups, and she almost exploded from excitement. Apparently business is her minor, so she was more than happy to take on the task of paperwork and legalities. After that, we went our separate ways. She was going to meet me after class the next night, but instead decided to show up before class. She was completely done with the business plan and paperwork already. WEIRD would have to incorporate into a fraternity basically, but I didn’t see a reason for that to stop us. As far as I know, none of the kids are in another one right now anyway. Fraternities generally have more responsibilities on campus though, so that may be problematic, but I suspect it will work out.
Jeff ended up having to take my class once more because Jean, the magnificent fool that he is, sold his soul for a tv. Well, he did it trying to learn more, but still… I can’t believe he would do something like that! He of all people knows a soul is too important to risk even in the slightest! He did at least accomplish his goal though. The bank was responsible—which meant that Willy and Charles had sold theirs as well when they got financial aid.
I called James to pick us up, and Willy got her carbons before we all went to the hotel room Jean and Luc are staying at. When I saw Jean there sitting on the couch… I wanted to just… so I slapped him instead. Willy’s contract made it very clear that we couldn’t kill the demon lender without killing everyone who’d signed a contract, so I suggested we break into the bank and steal the contracts to destroy them. I was hardly surprised to find that the bank was open when we arrived at half past seven.
So, I signed in to see a banker, and we waited. Willy and I went in to sit with him with the business plan for the Three of Cups. She was fairly nervous, but the lender didn’t seem to notice or mind. He was about to deny the loan when the phone rang. It was the bank president. He said that I was a vampire with a soul, so approve the loan. The lender hung up and happily approved me, and I proceeded to make him nervous by asking too many questions—mainly about how my soul would be harvested.
He pointed me to the president’s office, and that’s when Jean lost his patience. He saw 6 security guards coming, and he pulled out his axe. Three went to attack him, and three went to grab me to take me to the president—which was what I had in mind. If I could at least see who was summoning the reaper, I might be able to figure out how to deal with him. Unfortunately, I was at a loss when I did see him, and Jean was just about panicked that I was going with them.
The president, on the other hand, was actually almost pleasant. He wanted to “sweeten the pot” to get me to sign the contract. I brushed him off completely until he told me he could make me mortal for a full year before he collected. That caught my attention, but as I pointed out, I was rather fond of my current condition of not being dead. He was about to propose more when Jean burst into the room, followed closely by Luc and the others. They quickly dispatched the three security guards—which were all vampires mind you—and I went back to business with the demon.
In the end, we just had to leave. There was nothing that any of us could offer save our souls, so I went to the only place I knew that could save them—Mireille Rousseau. She actually seemed genuinely pleased to see her boys, not that they could tell, I’m sure. I asked to speak with her privately. Once again, Jean got mad at me. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.
I showed her Willy’s proposal, and she was fairly impressed. No bank would ever agree to what I was proposing, but she was no bank—she was a mother. She handed me a check and sent me to the banker with a message. I knew the Rousseau’s were powerful, but I had no idea…
The ferak demon wasn’t pleased. He took his money, vowed to get my soul, then disappeared, along with the bank. I call a WEIRD meeting and tell the kids tomorrow. We should get started quickly. We’ll need to take stock of what’s in the store, and get started cleaning it up. Jean may be her son, but I want to be certain she’s paid back. I don’t think Jean could be happy if he didn’t.
That demon gave me one thing I didn’t pay for though. He told me he could make me mortal again, which means it’s possible. I was so depressed when I was turned, I barely looked… but now… if it’s possible, I know someone who can do it. All I have to do is find the right spell and not die in the meantime.