Hailey's eyes brighten as the old woman pulls the black book out from its secret hide away. clever old bat... She thinks, her hand moving outwards toward the book until... "collateral" she recoils away as the woman drops the word on her like piano from a wench like an old cartoon. Just like Wile Coyote she freezes, contemplating her last thoughts as it falls. what on Earth could I possibly have that she wants? I'm still borrowing money from Mom for fuck's sake.... it's just a book though...
"Uh," her brain snaps back on after the crash, "yeah, collateral, no problem. What kind?"
Hailey sighs and puts her hand on her hip in thought.
"Well... I don't really have anything with monetary worth but I do have a prized possession," she says before reaching into her bra and grabbing at something beneath her shirt.
What she pulls out is the charm end of a necklace she is wearing. It was a small pewter fairy that had it wings wrapped around a glass bottle. Hailey constantly changed the bottle it held. Sometimes it held a bit of perfume she made, or glitter to represent fairy dust, or dried herbs, but this time there was a fine line of dark crimson liquid in the bottle.
"It's blood. One of my best friends and I exchanged blood vials in an attempt to be 'blood sisters'. Kinda childish I know but, it weird, I saw her in Sacramento recently - even though we're from Washington! So I decided to wear it."
Hailey takes a more serious tone with the woman now that her ramble about childhood had ended, "I'd be risking a lot giving you this. I've heard of ways the blood could be used against my friend... And the charm is my dosing rod of sorts - it has a strong connection to me....So, what do you think?"
The old woman's eyes light up at the sight of the blood. It's a hungry look.
Her hand reaches out with speed that would seem unlikely for such an old woman, snatching the vial as soon as Hailey produces it.
"The deal is made," she says - handing over the book. "In one month you must return what you have borrowed, and I will return what you have offered. Break our pact and you will have to deal with the consequences."
Hailey frowns as the vial is snatched from her hands before the book was passed her way.
"This better be good," she says, giving the woman a suspicious glare as she took to book from her gnarled hands.
"So, if I need to contact you do I just call the store?" Hailey asks, her eyes on the book in her hands - everything in her body aching to open it to the first page.
Hailey just shakes her head, her curly black locks bouncing a long with the movement, "no, no, definitely not. I think I've paid enough for one day. Thank you, see you in a month." Then she moves for the door, eager to go to her apartment and see if her sacrifice paid off.
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