I could just hug her. Ineedto physically express how excited I am at all this, at how real it all is now, but all I can do is tense my fingers and tightenmy arms. “Thanks, Mistress.”
“Be up by six tomorrow. I’ll open the parlour late while taking you to a tailor. Is that all fine?”
“Yes! And… I’m not sure if it’s early to ask: when do I start learning magic?”
“I’ll work on finding you some patrons to choose from at the end of the week. For now, read these books.” She grabs one of the pens laid out on the table and writes down three book titles on a sticky note. “Basic introductions to arcane theory. They’re short enough for you to read them before then; I expect you to.”
She’s giving it all to me. Where do I even begin?
“Thank you.”
“Just keep working.” She spins her head around the parlour. “Piero left, didn’t he?”
“About five hours ago.”
“Then the place really is empty. There’s no need for after-hours work down here; you only stay past if we’re doing rituals. Go to bed. I’ll close.”
“Thanks aga—I’m not tired. What do I do now?”
Her face drops; I didn’t even know it was ever up. “You have your pick of the library oryourchoice of friends. Don’t make your own hobbies my burden.”
Chapter 4
Normal
It was supposed to take a week for this to feel normal, at least.
But this room has already become my home. Reading for eight hours straight to resolve boredom and pacing for minutes on end each time the text got a little interesting may have forcibly made me more familiar with it. And the bed is amazing; my neck’s barely sore.
Two hundred crescents… I could hang up a painting! Maybe a poster. Maybe even buy a radio?
It’s easier that I don’t need to pay for my own clothes. Mine have gone a bit ragged as I have no actual clue where I’m supposed to wash or hang them—Maybe the dresses need dry cleaning so she hasn’t bothered?
Either way, I can hear Mistress Vincenza moving through the halls outside, so I assume it’s morning. Time to put on these rags, one last… I didn’t notice that there was a paper note in my pocket.
‘Heeeeey Cattieeeee!!! You fell asleep, and Decz couldn’t figure out how to wake you up. Anywaaaaay, ghoul hunting in the trenches is in a couple weeks! You’re coming, right? One of my consorts couldn’t make it, so I’ll fuck you in his stead if you come.’ A smiley face is crudely drawn between the sentences. ‘Also, Decz trying to make it a threesome.‘
“Wow.” All of that but the last part is making my heart race.
“I heard you in there.” Mistress Vincenza taps against my door. “We leave in twenty minutes.”
“Got it, Mistress.” I stuff my note and heart away.
Mistress Vincenza seats me beside her in an old fashioned steam car.
The stitching has been redone many times where it isn’t outright ripped. The engine hums with an aggression that shouldn’t be possible for an object. And I think I saw her hitting something under the bonnet with a rock when I came out of the parlour.
“Pick a channel,” she offers while grabbing the radio dials.
“I like jazz.”
“Thirty-two point seven then.” While the memory of distant musicians fill the cabin with their echo, she turns up the throttle. “This thing doesn’t have good breaks, so don’t distract me.”
“Ye—“ I shut up before I distract her.
“Good sense,” she praises.
Praises.
