if there’s one thing to be said of a charlatan like ulysse, it was that he was a genuine, real charlatan, a fraud who truly believed in his own product, in the promises he sold with the wine-sweet lilt of his voice, the kind winding talk of life after death - if he didn’t believe in his spirituality, what would he even be? criminal, in his mind. a villain. an actor fed his lines.
his acolytes’ thanked him in frenzied whispers and he bowed his head, his signature smile pulling at his lips with an almost enigmatic twist. ( the first thing he’d learned as a young man selling his image in the countryside was the appearance of humility. the second, touchless seduction - in word and sentiment. ) fire shadows danced in his followers’ absence, dancing atop the gifts they left before him on the table when he refused payment. rare fruits. heavy gold cufflinks. a woman had left her panties beneath it all when he’d looked the other way. satin pink bow.
but then, a new body filled the void left behind, and the air bespoke the presence of a predator, dark and dangerous and ever lying in wait. he’d seen monsieur seo in passing once or twice in the moulin rouge, but they’d both been after their own pursuits, too busy to spare more than a curious glance. now, the man’s unholy energy struck him full force, as if any moment a storm of locusts would hail through moulin’s doors. when the flame of the candle went out, ulysse smiled wide.
“must be exemplary tea, no? and how do you make it right? a courtesan serving it to you with the full moon within arm’s reach?” he was teasing, far more practical than he was romantic. he leaned back against his seat, gaze steady as he peered over his spoils.
“monsieur seo! how blasphemous! of course i can call for demons; i’ve one sitting right before me, no?” he clicked his tongue, winked. “for all the libertines in this city, the devil and his friends are not quite so high in demand as you would think. everyone searches for an angel, in the smoke, in the courtesans. does that disappoint you?”
the other is a curious thing, lysander thinks. fitting for a man who deals in curiosities, women with their hands to their chests at voices they suddenly hear, men with their smiles faltering at how the lights flicker. it is only rightful that the man matches what he sells; words of charm like ghost-lover’s touch on jawlines, gracious nods like the forgiveness of a god. it is easy, then, for intrigued customers to forget what they come for. to find it in a man and not a ghost, never realizing the difference.
(man. ghost. god. lysander is all too familiar with such methods of business. it is not the drug that has one addicted, not the flickering candles that has one believe. there is a silent respect between the two in this understanding. twist the words enough and one could say they both sold different types of dreams)
“and what kind of gentleman would i be to request my company to make my own tea for me?” he tuts softly, a tease of his own to match ulysse’s. “you need only the sands from the silk road and the rain from the american side of the seas. depends on the season. though i’ve been told that it helps with soothing the mind or invigorating the soul - quite like your own services, no?”
he is not blind to the trove of treasures the man receives for his work, scattered across the table and under the seats, sacrificials to the voice of a god through crude things and material offerings. he raises an amused eyebrow to ulysse’s hoard, a flutter of lips but no comment, remembering that all gods have their differing altars.
“hardly. some devils prefer to seek than to be sought. to reap rather than wait.” a crooked grin, a sharp thing twisted onto lips. “though it is easy to forget that if one is seeking an angel on earth, the only one that has fallen as far as man has would be lucifer. the city calls for libertine things without even knowing it.” he toys with the cooling wax from the candle, the last wisps of smoke on his fingers.
“and you, mr. chapelain? why have you called for a demon tonight when so often you are asked for angels instead?”
