Page 41 of Villain
And to whose benefit?
“This,” Nix said then, calming himself some since losing it wouldn’t get him anywhere, “is a smokescreen. What are you trying to get at, Lake?”
“Most of the students who download the app remain on the first two tiers their entire time using it.” Lake opened the file he’d brought over as he spoke, flipping through the pages that were attached to it. “For them, it’s a hookup app. A way to blow off some steam and mess around between classes. The Favors are in place to weed people like that out. You don’t know since you didn’t experience it yourself, but Favors can be anywhere from tame to diabolical.”
“Give me an example,” Nix hated that his curiosity was piqued, but it was.
“West once ordered a Knight to seduce the headmaster’s son and publicly dump him afterward.”
Nix made a face. “What? That’s so childish.”
“Yejun ordered two Bishops who both wanted to rise to Rook to fuck in the middle of the field during our waif home game last year.”
“…Did they?”
“Yes. If you know where to look, you can still find the footage online.”
“And they just….were allowed to do that?”
“Oh, of course not. The school has a reputation to uphold outside of Enigma. They were both expelled.”
Nix stared at him for a moment and then accused, “Yejun knew that’s what would happen, didn’t he.”
“No one held blasters to their heads, Songbird. They made their choice.”
“They were pressured into it.”
He shrugged. “That’s not my problem.”
“So,” he caught on, “what you’re saying is you’ll have no problem pressuring me into things too.”
“I thought my actions thus far had already proven that to you, but if I was mistaken, allow me to clarify.” Lake held up the pen and only then did Nix notice the tip of it wasn’t normal. “Yejun may not have forced those Bishops, but I won’t hesitate to use force against you if I must.”
Nix stared at the end of the pen—which wasn’t a pen really, since the tip was a tiny curved blade of sorts. The object itself was opaque, made of blown glass at first glance. It’d be pretty if it didn’t look so deadly.
He almost laughed at that thought, because the same could be said about the man holding it.
“Should I prick your finger,” Lake asked when Nix made no moves to take the pen from him. “Or will you behave and do it yourself?”
“You want me to cut myself for you?”
“Songbird, I want you to do a lot more than just bleed for me. And you will. But first,” he waved the pen, “we get the paperwork out of the way.”
“You want me to sign something before you’ve even fully explained the terms to me?” He shook his head. “Not a chance in hell.”
“I can easily make this hell for you, Phoenix. Don’t push me.”
“My name is Nix,” he corrected tersely, still eyeing the pen. “And I’m not signing it to something without reading the fine print first.”
Lake sighed as if he were dealing with a small child and not a totally appropriate response to a ridiculous ask. “Students who manage to make it into the top two tiers of the app are considered for membership in Club Essential. Not many make it, mostly because not many bother.”
“Since they’re asked to do things that can result in their expulsion,” Nix stated, “that makes sense.”
“Exactly,” he agreed crisply. “That’s the whole point. The club is already extensive, we don’t need new members. The reason for recruitment is simple. It’s not out of necessity for numbers, it’s necessary to maintain power.”
Nix wasn’t following, though he hated to admit that.
He didn’t have to. Lake saw right through him.