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Mizuki clapped her hands. “Where should we start?”
I glanced down at myself, my clothes grimy from my stint in the subway. “I don’t suppose a shower is possible? And maybe some clean garments.” Which led to me asking, “What should I do about my stuff in my apartment? Can I go pack it up? How much can I bring?” It should be noted, I wasn’t attached to any of my furniture, but I would like my clothes and some of my personal mementos.
“Not to worry. You’ll either be granted an escort to handle your affairs or we can send a team to do it for you.” She set off at an easy pace that I followed.
Have a stranger go through my underwear drawer and come across my vibrator? “I’d rather handle it myself.”
“No problem. Give us a day or two to make arrangements with the reapers to have someone go with you.” She opened a heavy wooden door, and we went through a hallway with slit-sized window slots that ended in another door.
“Can’t I just ask Cain?”
The query quirked Mizuki’s lips. “He usually doesn’t offer his services for these kinds of utilitarian trips, but who knows. Maybe he’ll make an exception for you.” She heaved open the door at the far end of the hall and announced, “Welcome to the Sisterhood’s side of the guild.” We entered a reception-type area with a few couches and chairs, all empty. Mizuki headed for a staircase.
“How many people live here?” I asked, trying to take it all in. The paintings proved especially interesting, as they were of women in clothing from past eras, severe of expression, at odds with the dancing motes of light dabbed around them on the canvas.
“Currently, there are thirteen of us in residence, fourteen with you.”
“So few?”
Mizuki paused on the first step. “You expected more?”
“Yeah. I mean, the way Cain spoke, it’s reapers and witches against all the demons in the world.”
“It is, but witches have a harder go of it because our magic attracts the monsters. Unless we’re discovered young or figure out how to protect ourselves, most die before ever making it to the guild.”
My mouth rounded. “That’s horrible.”
“It is. The reapers have it easier because they can see the demons at least, and even if they can’t fight, they can run away. Us witches never even see them coming.” Her lips turned down. “Thankfully Cain found you.”
“No shit,” I muttered, only to apologize, “Sorry. Potty mouth.”
Mizuki laughed. “You’ll hear much worse here. Although I do most of my swearing in Japanese. Drives Barron nuts because he never knows if I’m cussing him out or not. Now, which room to put you…” she mused aloud as we hit the first floor and a long hall with a series of doors. She tapped her chin. “Morning person or night?”
“Uh, morning?” I’d long ago stopped sleeping in late. Blame my job or old age. I couldn’t remain slumbering past seven.
“Then you’ll want a room that gets eastern exposure. Bright dawns to make you rise with a smile.” She clapped her hands. “I’ll give you the room next to mine.” A verdict that had us climbing more stairs.
“Uh, thanks?” My uncertainty came from her instant decision to befriend me. It didn’t bother me. I just found it odd. I had at least a decade on her, and for all she knew, I could be a bitch. I wasn’t, but mostly because I couldn’t be bothered.
“Our floor is the top one, which means lots of stairs,” Mizuki grimaced, “but it’s quieter than the lower levels with the younger witches.”
“How young?”
“The youngest would be Yara at thirteen. She hit puberty and her magic early. Almost lost her to a demon attack. Luckily, Nova had a premonition and saved her.”
“What do her parents think of her living here and learning to be a witch?”
Mizuki’s lips turned down. “They didn’t survive. The demon got into Yara’s house and went through her mom and dad before coming after her.”
“You said Nova had a premonition,” I commented as we trudged past a third floor. “Does that happen often? Is that part of her magic?” Look at me, acting as if this were a normal question to be asking.
“The Regina is the most powerful sorceress in our sisterhood. She can do much more than the rest of us, seeing snippets of the future being one of her gifts. She can also conjure light and manipulate three of the four elements.” Mizuki sounded impressed.
“What about you?”
“I’m a Firewitch.” She held up a finger, the tip of it suddenly showing a dancing flame. “My scrying is best when I can burn stuff, although my healing sucks unless it involves cauterizing a wound.”
“Do all the witches follow an element?” I’d read enough fantasy to grasp the concept.
