“Thank you, Cassidy.” Milo gave her a half-hug, holding the embrace longer than she was comfortable with.
Still, her thoughts contended to accept the hug, understanding Milo was a softie.
“I have resources your Global Guild doesn’t,” Cassidy continued, finally freeing herself from Milo. “They wouldn’t wanna get their hands dirty.”
“And you do?” I asked.
“I get the best manicures in town,” Cassidy said with a smile. “I don’t mind breaking a nail from time to time.”
“I will consider your offer,” Milo said.
“You do that, darling.” With that, Cassidy turned on her heel, escorted by an entourage of security.
As Cassidy left, the crowd thinned, and I followed Milo back to the parking lot.
Milo leaned against my shoulder, pressing his head against mine. “Thank you.”
I didn’t reply, merely slowed my pace so Milo could rest against me.
“It means a lot you were here,” he whispered. “That you’re always here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I turned, facing toward him as we approached the car. “I promise you.”
“I love you.” Milo leaned in, kissing me gently.
“I love you, too.” I kissed him back, pouring my heart into his mind, letting the rhythmic beat fill our thoughts as our lips smacked.
I flippedthrough the channels, looking for Beverly Cleverly Live, America’s number one talk show based in New York. Anyone who was anyone hoped to land a seat on Ms. Cleverly’s couch.
“But now the Global Guild—”
I paused, having flicked right pastthatchannel. You know the channel. The one with news anchors who have the intellectual nuance of a fucking thimble. The station with reporters who praise the hate of the world and claim victimhood every single time their audience wasn’t centered on all matters.
What I needed to do was continue channel surfing until I landed on Beverly Cleverly Live. I actually wanted to watch that show, I mean, not regularly, but this particular show was important. Plus, I promised to tune in. What I ended up doing was flipping back to the news report by a bunch of bigots with fake smiles because I was clearly masochistic.
“Look, the Global Guild rankings used to mean something…” one of the reporters said, explaining it poorly to his audience, with so-called bullshit facts about policies that never once existed, but no one watching this show with intent would botherfact-checking anything that didn’t match their perception.
He acted as if the shakeup in the rankings had less to do with talent and everything to do with performative promotions. And honestly, most of this industry was based on popularity over skill, but the Global Guild didn’t play. In order to be among their best, their witches had to possess talent and fame.
“You know, Chris, I get Enchanter Stone stepping down,” Reporter Johnson said. The same prick from the press conference Gladiatrix held a few months back. The guy who had the audacity to question Gladiatrix’s choices, the merit of her interns, and blatantly spoke with prejudice. “The guy’s old and has been hanging onto that number two ranking for years.”
After the top ten Global Guild members were possessed and transformed into devils, it caused quite a stir. Some members faced long-standing physical side effects from the possession, like Enchanter Stone. While Gladiatrix was able to properly exorcise the vampire inside the man, his age made it difficult for him to fully recover.
The same could be said for Wadsworth, but since that old bastard walked around in constant chronic pain, I doubted anything truly fazed him anymore. Still, both men stepped down from their positions in the top ten of the Global Guild.
Chances were, Wadsworth would use the newfound freedom to move more freely in his pursuit of The True Witch and her Celestial Coven. As for Enchanter Stone, I had no idea. He’d probably spend his retirement serving as a spokesperson for some vile oil corporation while claiming fracking was somehow good for the environment, and as a witch who controlled plants, idiots would buy into the bullshit.
“What I don’t understand,” Reporter Johnson continued, “is Enchanter Kingston stepping down?”
That was huge news. Epic. The man who held the number one rank in the Global Guild for more than a decade had decided to step away from enchanter work and reflect on the events that led to his possession. He was a powerful man, possibly the most powerful man, but his confidence had been shaken, rattled, and he needed time to heal from the emotional devastation that came with possession.
Flashes of Jamie Novak hit me. The young teen possessed by a wicked chimera left hollowed out and emotionally distraught from the events. While the top ten didn’t suffer a long possession dragged out over months like Jamie had, I was certain they each held similar scars to the boy I failed to save.
“He’s stepping down because he’s a coward,” Reporter Chris blurted, holding up a picture of Enchanter Kingston before ripping it in half. Quite the declaration, considering Kingston had a worldwide audience. And I hoped those obsessed fans ruined this reporter’s whole fucking month. “Wah, I got possessed, and now I need to take a break from guild work. Talk about pathetic.”
“It does raise a lot of questions,” Reporter Johnson said. “I mean, how can anyone call themselves a top-ranked enchanter if they got possessed in the first place? Everyone knows only a weak mind succumbs to possession.”
Lies. Utterly unfact-checked garbage spouted as truth. Possession couldn’t be prevented. The only way to stop a demon from forcing its way inside your body would be to successfully banish it before the assault began. But many demons ambush their prey, their victims, offering them little to no opportunity to resist.
