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Growing restless, I decided I needed fresh air, going to the small-paned windows stuck up so high in the wall I needed a footstool to reach. In a former life, they had been defensive embrasures that had been widened to add windows sometime in the last century.
Popping the aged iron latch on the window, I pushed it open, resting my forearms on the old embrasure walls. The afternoon was growing to an end, darkness descending from the heavens much as a shadow snuffs out a flame. The orange and gold of the afternoon light faded to the tranquility of a warm summer evening, but I couldn’t help shuddering, knowing what nightmares the brightness of the night would have in store for me when the witching hour took hold.
I rested my head on my forearms, enjoying the tranquility of the rustling leaves and cawing of distant crows. An abnormal warmth crept along the breeze, carrying the earth tones of sandalwood and cinnamon to mix with the pines around me. I relaxed into my arms, breathing deeply, wanting to coat my lungs in the glorious nectar carried on the breeze. With the scents came a feeling of protection, as though I were cocooned within the warm embrace of a mother I had never known.
I should begin to get ready for the evening’s festivities, but I couldn’t find a way to pull myself from my perch, taking in the last rays of bright sunlight that clung to the sky before slipping beneath the snow-tipped Rocky Mountains in the background.
The breeze picked up again, tugging strands of my hair to float around my head like a crown. With it came a single word given in dark tones cut from harshness by the reverence tinged within it, and I could swear I felt copper eyes settling on me.
Gorgeous.
Ness had returned to our apartment a few minutes later, the excited flush and beaming smile on her lips telling me all I needed to know. She didn’t even seem to mind that I hadn’t bothered to do anything to prepare myself as she rushed across the room to throw herself into my arms.
“Went alright then?” I asked with a laugh, her death grip still clutched around my throat. I made a choking sound, and she wacked my shoulder playfully before pulling away, prancing to her closet door to rummage through the selection of dresses she had acquired for this week’s entertainment.
“Oooooooooh ya.” she crooned, reminding me of the Kool-Aid man. “Xynin, Boralis, Kelloric, and Helorac.”
No wonder she was so excited: these were the big four guilds when it came to Guild Enforcers, the role Ness desperately wanted to play. Every Sentori in the history of casters had come from these four guilds.
“I can’t believe it.” she continued, as she pulled out a deep black taffeta ball gown with a matching wide cinched belt and low v-neck covered in sheer crystal encrusted floral lace that dipped to follow the low cut back of the dress. While we had found it at an off-the-rack formal wear shop on a rare trip to West Edmonton Mall, it had fit her to perfection, the shine of the crystals nearly matching the glow in her bright green eyes. And the best feature?Pockets!
“This is it girlie. After tomorrow, I’m in. I know it. I’m in!”
Ness squealed and hugged the dress to her, spinning and curtseying to me. She then dropped her dress on my bed to remove her slip.
At that moment, she paused as if realizing that I hadn’t mentioned anything about my time on stage while I was sharing her joy. She arched a brow, and I knew exactly what she was trying to say, her lips pursing into a nosy expression.
“All seven,” I muttered.
She dropped her slip as her eyes went wide. “All seven guilds?” she sounded incredulous. “Even Sarnas?”
“Yup.” I let the p pop at the end of my words.
“But Sarnas has never submitted interest in anyone at Red Pines before. Hell, they rarely even attend.”
“I know.”
“What the fuck did you do - flash them your tits? I mean, I know they’re hot as hell and worth flaunting, but bitch, that’s cheating!” From anyone else, I would have thought this was a joke, but knowing Ness, she was legitimately asking.
“Uhm, not quite?”
She dropped her chin and raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean ‘not quite’?”
“I may have very nearly...almost...rather accidentally...flashed them my lady bits.”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as if praying for patience. “So...nearly or did? And are we talking full vag here or just a little peak at the tooshie?”
“Nearly, and full vag. I tripped on the top step and…was saved by my hem.”
Ness groaned. “Seriously, chick, only you. This is why I say you have to wear leather. It’s hard to flash anyone in leather.”
Clasping her hands, truly praying for patience (from whom I wasn’t sure), she chose to let it go. “Well, the good news is we have four of the same interview contenders. Now we have to make sure we give them extra attention tonight.” Ness raised an eyebrow expectedly over the hands still clasped in the prayer position, “Unless you’re secretly planning not to go to the same guild as me as we’d always planned since we were babies in a cradle, yeah?”
“Of course,” I replied flippantly. She knew of my backup plan to try to escape during the selections if things weren’t looking good, but she chose to ignore it. Ness always had a propensity to ignore things that inconvenienced her, whether it be a test, a teacher, a boy, or a price tag – as was evident by the growing collection of jewelry she had stashed in different alcoves around the room—none of which she’d paid for.
“Then let’s get you ready. You won’t be allowed to flash anyone tonight to earn their bid.”
We arrived late to the formal hall for the first real meet and greet dinner, having completely “beautified” ourselves after the earlier runway walk. Tonight’s theme for dinner was pride, the other side of the figurative coin that contained humility. While no casters had an affinity for Lucifer’s prized essence, rumored to have been banned from Earth, tonight’s dinner was still dedicated to him, a thank-you for the Cardinal sins upon which many of us relied.
