She took a deep breath as she entered her apartment and closed the door behind her. She couldn’t keep thinking about this or she’d end up in some lonely cycle that’d make her text one of her stupid exes and that wasn’t worth the shame she’d feel tomorrow morning. She also couldn’t go back to thinking about the witch from her job earlier, especially not as she remembered Dexter’s face after she’d freed his hand.
She felt like she’d burst into flames at any second at that moment but there was no way she could’ve burned him. She was imagining things, she was tired, and after realizing the growling she was hearing was coming from her stomach, she was starving.
She remembered that she hadn’t eaten lunch and she’d left dinner before they even ordered. She frowned down at her stomach. She wasn’t risking the magical population again today, so take-out was her only option.
She called her favorite pizza place down the street and placed an order while changing into her pajamas and braiding her hair into two pigtails for the night. She stared at herself in the mirror. The golden specks in her eyes shined in the pixie lights that hung in her bathroom.
Another reminder that she was different from everyone around her. Her doorbell rang, startling her. How long had she been staring at herself? She shook it off and went to get her pizza. She tipped the waiter and took the large box of pepperoni and extra cheese pizza back to her bedroom.
She didn’t want to risk any opening for conversation from Alyson about tonight. She’d only get more worried and upset and Viri didn’t feel like adding calming down Alyson to her list of necessary struggles tonight.
She snuggled into bed and opened the box of pizza in her lap and dug in. After about six slices, she laid the box on the floor beside the bed and decided to find something on tv to watch, since her romance novel was not something she was in the mood for tonight.
She settled on a comedy special and after about fifteen minutes, she couldn’t tell if she was just that emotionally drained or if the comedian was crap. It turned into background noise as she drifted off to sleep with her thoughts.
She was engulfed in flames that night. She figured it would be like this after the weird day she’d had. The eyes appeared a moment later and she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She just wanted to sleep.
She saw a hint of sadness in the eyes as if they understood that the day had been too much for her. They drifted away and the flames turned to darkness, and she slept. No other dreams or nightmares took their place.
She woke up thirty minutes before her alarm, and even though she was pissed at the fact that she’d never be able to go back to sleep before it went off, she figured this would at least give her time to get a decent latte from the coffee shop by her job that she’s usually in too much of a hurry to stop at. Coffee would help her shake off the funk from yesterday.
Good coffee, though, not the stuff Alyson buys that tastes like a forest being shoved into your mouth. Alyson claimed it was healthier and that Viri needed healthy since she refused to stop eating meat. She’d just accepted defeat and after about six months of drinking mother nature’s coffee in the mornings, she’d stopped gagging.
She didn’t bother doing a full face of makeup after her shower. She’d just put her hair in a top knot, put on a little mascara, and called it a day. She could get away with wearing a t-shirt and jeans to the shop today because Morgana would be out of town for some jeweler’s conference – whatever that meant.
She avoided making too much noise as she grabbed her keys and left the apartment. The last thing she needed was Alyson bringing up Dex today, but she did feel bad for missing the second half of her engagement party. Maybe she’d make it up to her with pastries later. That’s how they usually apologize to one another.
She stood at the coffee counter, debating between a unicorn horn espresso and a cinnamon chimera latte. Cheesy names, but the coffee was worth it. As she debated with herself about how much caffeine she needed, she overheard a table of people discussing the Asai.
She tried not to roll her eyes as she heard a man saying that he believes one is secretly in town due to how the government officials had been so on edge lately and the new curfew was imposed for this week. She couldn’t hold in the eye roll any longer as she heard the rest of the table murmur their agreement.
She walked up to the cashier and ordered the cinnamon latte so she could get the hell out of the shop. The cashier, a small water nymph, smiled slightly. “I’m guessing you don’t believe in the supreme gods.” Viri gave her a small smile in return. “I believe they once existed. Now, they’re the equivalent to a scary bedtime story you tell your children to keep them in check.”
The nymph smiled again and nodded as she finished making Viri’s drink and handed it to her. “Well, all scary stories have some truth to them.” Viri thanked the nymph for the coffee and left. If there was ever a suitable time for political debates, seven in the morning was not it.
She made it to work thirty minutes early. A new personal record. One she wasn’t looking to beat any time soon, if ever. She saw a letter on her desk from Morgana. She read it as she walked to the front to turn the lights on.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Make some decent sales while I’m gone, or you’ll be the new centerpiece in the showroom. And stay out of trouble. The last thing I need is your overbearing mother breathing down my throat because you did something stupid. And if you’re wearing jeans, I'll murder you myself when I get back.”
Viri looked down at her jeans and sneakers. Well, she’d lived a good life at least. She shrugged and tossed the note in the trash. She made it to the front showroom to turn on the lights and yelped as she realized a woman was walking around the store browsing the jewelry.
The woman was stunning, and Viri hadn’t even seen her face yet. She had golden blonde hair that fell in loose ringlets around her waist and skin so pale it shone under the fluorescent lighting in the room.
She wore a golden suit that Viri would’ve called tacky on anyone else, but she somehow made it fashionable. She turned towards Viri and smiled, and it was so dazzling that she couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping open.
“No need to start questioning your sexuality. I always have an ancient glamour on to make myself unbearably attractive to the naked eye. You’d be surprised how often it comes in handy. Actually, I imagine it wouldn’t surprise you much at all, seeing as how you’re considerably attractive yourself.” The woman’s voice was like silk.
Viri laughed nervously. She didn’t know if it was because this strange woman stood in the middle of the shop that she knew she locked yesterday evening, or if it was because she had genuinely begun to question if she was attracted to the woman. That would’ve at least explained her bad luck with men.
“Um, can I help you?” was the only thing Viri could think of to say. Her brain felt like pudding for some reason. The woman walked closer to her and Viri could’ve sworn gold shimmered around her with each step. So much so, that Viri began to feel like she was in a golden fog. Had her coffee been spiked?
“I’m just browsing. I heard from a friend of mine that this place had an amazing jewelry selection and I figured I'd see it for myself. She also said there was a very knowledgeable jewelry associate here, who I’m assuming would be you. Correct?”
“Correct.” Viri was finding it harder and harder to focus on the conversation. It felt like the night she and Alyson tried phoenix ash and hallucinated for seven hours. Terrible decision. Wait.
Why was she thinking about phoenix ash? Focus Viri.
“How did you get in here?” She felt like she was squinting to see through the golden haze that had come over her vision.
The woman laughed and it reminded her of wind chimes. “Oh. Morgana and I go way back. She’d have been surprised if I hadn’t been able to get into the shop on my own, although she has some considerable warding around this place. It did take longer than I expected.”
Viri felt a chill down her spine at the woman’s tone, but it was instantly replaced with an odd feeling of relief. She needed to throw away the damn coffee. “Who are you?” She continued to struggle to fully focus on the conversation.
“Me? I’m no one. I’m more interested in who you are.”
The woman walked towards her and caressed her face. “Your eyes have golden specks. I only know of four other beings with specked eyes. It is said to be a mark of great power. What power, may I ask, do you possess?”
Viri pulled away from her touch, but her focus went toward the woman’s eyes. They were living gold, like staring into molten ore, and they had silver specks. Viri blinked and the woman’s eyes were brown. Had she imagined it? She opened her mouth to ask about them, but she instantly forgot what she wanted to ask. She instead felt compelled to answer the woman’s question. “I have no power. I’m human.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “Your hair color is unusual. Did you get it from your mother or your father?” Viri wanted to tell her she was becoming creepy and way too personal, but again all she could do was answer the question. “I have no idea where it comes from. My mother has dark hair and I’ve never known my father.”
The woman considered her words. She stepped away from Viri and towards the cashier’s counter and as she walked away, the golden haze around Viri’s senses seemed to ease. “Well, Viri the bastard human, I have need of you and my friend suggested that you were just the person for the job. You might remember her. She’s a hard witch to forget, and now that I've met you, I’m inclined to agree with her. Here’s an advance for the jewel I seek, and you’ll get the other half upon delivery.”
Viri opened her mouth to tell the woman that she could take the jewel she was looking for and stick it up her ass, but she immediately shut her mouth after seeing the large amount of cash sitting on the table. The woman took out another stack of cash and claimed it was a tip for Viri. Viri walked behind the counter and side-eyed the woman and the money.
“What jewel are you hoping I’ll find?” Viri was irritated and insulted, but she’d rather be insulted and paid than insulted with nothing to show for it but unnecessary emotions. After all, she was used to magic wielders being total pieces of shit.
The woman gave her a devilish smile. “You’re smart. I may come to like you. I need the Ember Sea Stone. It is rumored that you’ll find it in a preserved forest. I’ll be back in three weeks to collect it. That should give you enough time.”
Viri fought the urge to roll her eyes at the woman’s obnoxious tone. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do for you. I’ll just have you fill out our contact form and a payment agreement form and this uncomfortable little exchange can be all over for the both of us.”
Viri stooped down to get the papers out of the filing cabinet and when she stood back up the woman was gone. She ran to the door to catch her but when she opened it, she couldn’t spot the woman anywhere and she was pale enough that Viri knew she wouldn’t miss her in the sunlight. She walked back to the counter and sat down and looked at the money.
Well, she already paid half up front, so she figured she had to at least look for the jewel anyway. She counted the money and set it aside. The tip alone was worth three months’ pay.
She realized after she finished counting the money that she didn’t remember much about the conversation prior to her discussing the stone. She couldn’t remember how the woman got there or even what she looked like. She tried and failed and tried again, and her facial expression must’ve shown how hard she was trying to remember because a client walked in, saw her, and immediately walked back out.
She sighed and looked over at the cup of coffee and tossed it in the trash. Whatever was in that should be illegal and she’d stick to Alyson’s dirt coffee from now on. Lesson learned. She did remember the woman saying the creepy old witch told her about her which made her shudder slightly.
She took a deep breath. There must’ve been a full moon on the horizon. The full moon brought the crazies out. She wouldn’t let herself read too much into it. She would deal with the crazy later. Like after a few drinks later.