Alyson’s name popped up on her phone. She answered and a hologram of pastries popped up on the screen. The camera panned up and Alyson was pouting excessively. “I’m sorry Vi-vi.”
Viri couldn’t help but laugh. “What do you have to be sorry for? I’m the one who should be holding that box right now. I left your engagement party. You only get one for crying out loud. Well, I hope you only get one. Anyway, doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have let Dex run me off from my best friend’s party.”
Alyson looked like she wanted to cry at any minute. “Gods no. You had every right to leave. I’m sorry that you even invited him. He told me what he said to you, and he woke up with a swollen eye this morning to remind him to never even think that again.” Alyson was full-on crying by the time she finished her rant. They both needed a break from crazy.
“You know what Als, we’re going out tonight. You’ve only got a few single nights left anyway that we can party away. So, Roxy’s later? First round of dragon fire shots is on me.”
Alyson beamed while tears still ran down her face. “You’re on Vi-vi. I’ll find my shortest mini dress.”
Viri hung up the call and decided to search for the stone. The Ember Sea Stone was rumored to belong to one of the Asai. His name was Anzel, and he was a massive bird whose feathers were different hues of deep reds and blues. Viri remembered that he was said to have breathed both fire and water on anyone that dared to disobey him. The drawings made him seem colossal.
She decided to narrow her search down to see if she could find the location. After searching on the computer for most of the day and drawing on an old map she found in one of Morgana’s drawers, she decided it had to be somewhere in the Serulean Forest, which was roughly a couple hundred miles from the city in the middle of nowhere.
There was also zero way to access it from any of the highways since, thanks to a conservation group that got a law passed to preserve the magical green lands, it was smack dab in the middle of a large preservation area. She’d have to hike for days to even find the forest.
She sighed and turned off the computer. She’d stuff that into her “think about it later” file, which was about to be as thick as the novel on her bedside table if weird shit kept happening at this rate. She looked at the clock and figured it was as good a time as any to close the shop.
She got her things and locked the doors. “You better fucking stay locked.”
She decided to use the walk home to silently meditate. She focused on her breathing with each step and tuned out the world around her. Her mom taught her to use breathwork needed to clear her head and see things from a different angle.
She learned that it also came in handy when you needed to regroup in battle and usually when she meditated, she ended up going through fighting scenarios in her head. It was her way of grounding herself. She was more like her war hero mother than she cared to admit.
By the time she made it home, Alyson had already drunk half a bottle of wine and was curling her hair in the middle of the living room floor with the box of pastries half empty beside her. Viri tossed her purse on the counter and went to sit down beside her.
She grabbed a glazed puff pastry and toasted Alyson’s flaky one as they always did to accept each other’s apology. Alyson silently handed Viri the curling iron so she could finish the top of her hair for her. As Viri curled, she told Alyson about the weird encounter at the shop. She hadn’t planned it but talking to Alyson about her issues always felt so natural. They told each other practically everything.
“I don’t know Vi-vi. It sounds dangerous. Not to mention witches are devious, so she had to have some motive for even telling the woman about you, and any woman that’s friends with witches that go around sniffing people without warning is not a woman you need to go into business with.” Viri chuckled. “I’m not going into business with her. I’m just doing business for her. Temporarily.
Besides, she offered a ton of money. How could I say no to that?” Alyson snorted. “Your mom is one of the richest people in this land Vi. You don’t need the money and neither does Morgana. She has more gold than a goblin.” They both laughed. “I don’t know. I just need to think about it some more. Later. Right now, you need to be still before I burn your forehead trying to curl this bang.”
They finished the bottle of wine and a second one while getting ready and somehow managed to still look gorgeous. Alyson opted for a ridiculously short red mini-dress with spaghetti straps. Viri gave herself one last glance over in the mirror.
Her hair was a massive curly fro that rested on her shoulders, and she wore a brown leather bralette and mini skirt that matched. She looked like a nude sculpture at a glance. She looked at Alyson and they nodded their approval of each other and headed out.
Roxy’s was a bar that always had a DJ on the weekends and welcomed a crowd of pretty much anyone and anything. They both knew the bouncer at the door – a vampire named Eroch who had more muscles than Viri could count and his boyfriend, who happened to be the usual DJ, was equally stacked.
Viri winked at him as he let her and Alyson skip the line and ignored the protests she heard as they walked in. They stopped by the bar and as promised, Viri bought the first round of shots and they both got a cocktail to take to the dance floor.
By the fifth round of shots and cocktails, they had become fast friends with a group of wraiths on the dance floor, which led to countless hours of dancing and ended with Viri’s feet feeling like they might literally fall off. She found a table to sit at while Alyson decided to keep dancing and she ordered a glass of water to try to combat the tunnel vision she was beginning to get.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite girl.” Viri looked up and beamed at Velias, the utterly human DJ who was dating Eroch. “And why, pray tell, are you not on the dance floor? I know it’s not because of my music.” Viri laughed. “It’s because I got too drunk and forgot that you never dance with the damn wraiths.”
“Ah. Sore feet. Yes, those magnificent creatures love to dance the night away, literally and figuratively speaking.” Viri smiled again. Velias was only a year or two older than her, but he spoke like he was born long before the invention of the train. He’d always claimed it was because he was destined to fall in love with someone as ancient as his soul.
“And is that a wedding ring I see on our dear Alyson’s finger?” Viri nodded as she gulped the water that had been given to her. “And, when, might I ask, will we be seeing one on your finger Viri Omnel Harper?” She rolled her eyes at the use of her full name. “We will be seeing one on my finger when we also see a male that’s worth it.” Velias gave her a knowing smile. “We’d first have to somehow find a species of male suitable for our little Viri then, seeing as how you hate them all.” Viri flicked his nose and he chuckled as he gave her a peck on the cheek and sauntered off. “Must be getting back to my duties, do visit more often Omnel.”
Viri rolled her eyes again, like she usually did after speaking to Velias, and sat and sipped her water until Alyson was done dancing. They wrapped their arms around each other to make it to the car and both instantly threw their heels onto the back seat.
“Fucking wraiths,” Alyson muttered as she rubbed the bottoms of her feet. Viri drove with her knee as she put her hair into a hair tie to help dry the sweat that settled on her forehead and neck. “You’re the one that decided to keep dancing with them.”
Alyson scowled. “You know how I get after too many shots. I can’t stop.” They sat in exhausted silence for the rest of the drive. Viri turned on the autopilot because she could barely see, let alone drive the car.
They got home and Alyson walked right over to the sofa and passed out. Viri just picked up a blanket and tossed it on her as she walked to her bedroom. She managed to wash her makeup off and take off her skirt before she practically fell into her bed. She thought she’d instantly go to sleep, but her mind settled on the woman’s face from earlier.
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Alyson was right. It would be dangerous to get into whatever scheme the woman was cooking up, but curiosity was winning out and she needed to know what exactly it was about her that interested this woman. She knew she’d never be able to find the woman unless she wanted her to, so simply asking her was out of the question. She could just wait until the woman returned, but she was also curious about the jewel.
She thought about it in the darkness of her room for what seemed like forever, and it may have been the liquor or that long-held wish for her to be something more than a human jewel clerk, but she decided to go through with finding the jewel and figuring out what was so special about it and her.
Yeah. It was definitely the liquor, but her mind was made up and she drifted off to sleep. Maybe it was the combination of drunkenness and exhaustion from dancing, but she didn’t dream that night, and when she awoke, she felt settled and clear. Hungover, but settled.
Her phone rang and she groaned as she rolled out of bed to fish for it from her skirt pocket. She answered and her mother’s face appeared over the phone. “Imagine how loved I felt when I had to hear about Alyson’s engagement from her mother in the grocery store.” Shit. Shit. Shit. In all the crazy, she forgot to update her mother.
“I mean, I didn’t even get an invite to the lovely engagement dinner she told me all about.”
Viri groaned.
“Oh, and you’re hungover. Fantastic. You found the time to go drink but you couldn’t find the time to call your mother.”
Viri dropped back onto her pillow and sighed loudly.
“I’m waiting for your excuse, Viri.”
“Fine. You don’t like magical beings and you think Alyson’s family is pretentious so that’s why I didn’t invite you. I didn’t call because the past two days have been hectic, and I found time to drink because I needed a break from the hectic and I’m about to pack for a job, so I don’t have the time for the rest of your angry speech, but I am sorry, and you know I love you more than anything.”
“What job?” Of course, her mother would only focus on the part about her leaving. She hated it when Viri traveled to find jewels. She constantly argued with Morgana about it and she’s pretty sure the only reason they haven’t physically fought about it is because they’d leave whatever city block, they were on in heaps of rock and ashes.
“I have to go to the Serulean Forest to find a jewel for a client so I need to pack a week’s worth of stuff this morning and the sooner I can focus on that, the sooner I can get it over with.” Her mother was quiet for so long that Viri looked over at the phone to make sure she was still there.
“Mom, are you okay?” Her mother shook her head like she’d been focused on something else. “Viri, what jewel are you searching for?” Her voice shifted. It sounded solemn. “The Ember Sea Stone. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her tone was clipped. After a few more seconds of silence, she sighed, “Nothing, sweetheart. It’s just that you don’t need to be traveling that far for a stupid stone. Especially not alone. It’s too dangerous. I’m calling Morgana.” Her mother hung up before she could tell her that she hadn’t even informed Morgana yet. She fell back on her pillow and rubbed her hands over her face.
The last thing she needed was her mother’s over-protectiveness and she didn’t need to hear a colorful threat from Morgana about ways she could be used after she was turned to stone. Her stomach growled. She grabbed her phone and headed for the kitchen. She knew one of them would be calling her soon to yell and she didn’t know which one she’d rather deal with, but she knew she needed food before she dealt with either one of them.
There was no sign of Alyson when she walked into the kitchen, but coffee was already made and there was a full cup on the counter that she assumed was for her. There was also a plate filled with breakfast sitting beside the cup.
She shrugged and sat on the bar stool to eat. The food was still warm, and it very well could’ve been Alyson’s plate, but she’d take this as a win from the gods before whatever phone call she was about to have to endure.
She was halfway through breakfast when Morgana’s name popped up on her phone. She let out a long, heavy groan before answering the phone. Morgana appeared in a trench coat, shades, and one of her infamous head wraps.
“Firstly, how much is this woman offering for the stone?” Not nearly as bad of an opening line as Viri thought she would get. “Three times as much as we got for the Sunstone Crown.” Morgana let out a soft whistle. “That’s a lot of money. Tell me about this woman.”
Viri swallowed the bite of food she’d eaten. “There isn’t much to tell. I can barely remember much of the conversation. All I see is a golden fog when I try to think about how she looks or anything she said before offering to pay for the stone. And no, I wasn’t hungover. I’m chalking it up to a bad batch of coffee from the shop down the street. I was off all morning. Although I do remember that she had a weird witch friend that recommended the shop to her.”
Morgana chewed her lip. Something she only did when she was thinking too hard. Viri expected her to say she was lying about not remembering, but instead, she asked, “What did the witch look like?”
Viri scrunched her face as she tried to remember. “She had this long silver hair that reminded me of lightning and an aura around her that felt like she could very well redirect lightning if it came for her.”
Morgana took off her shades. “Okay. Find the jewel. Leave handling your mother to me, and don’t screw this up.” Viri sighed with relief. At least she wouldn’t have to survive another phone call from her mother today. “I won’t screw up. I do this for a living, you know.”
Morgana narrowed her eyes. “I mean it Viri. Destiny comes for us all and now it’s knocking at your door, but if you get hurt and make me regret backing you on this, I'll turn you into a water fountain for my garden.”
Morgana hung up before she could respond and Alyson burst out of her room with hiking gear and a book bag, leaving her with no time to focus on Morgana’s cryptic message.
She spit her food across the kitchen island. “What the hell are you wearing?”
Alyson looked down at herself. “Hiking gear. I came to bring you breakfast this morning, which you apparently found, but I heard you talking to your mom about deciding to go look for the jewel anyway, so I figured I'd better get ready because I’m going too.”
Viri reigned in her hysterical laughter. “Wait, what?”
Alyson just put her hands on her hips. “I used to go on these trips with you all the time. What’s the problem?”
“Key words: ‘used to.’ Why do you want to go on this one suddenly? You were so against it yesterday.”
Alyson shrugged. “I’m still against it, but since you can’t be bothered to listen to reason, I now have to go. It’s dangerous Vi-vi. I feel it, and I know that the word dangerous doesn’t scare you because you’re the daughter of a war machine, but it scares me and this is about more than finding that stupid jewel and you know it, so I can’t let you do it alone. We’ll count it as my bachelorette trip since whatever you would plan would likely hand us in the hospital anyway.”
Viri wanted to say no but her best friend looked genuinely concerned for her and she couldn’t stand it, so she rolled her eyes to try to ease some of the tension. “Fine. But we’re not stopping to pee every five minutes.” Alyson squealed and ran up to kiss her on the cheek. “I didn’t expect to win you over that easily.”
Viri smiled. “Well, you make some damn good breakfast. It’s hard to say no to that.” Alyson gave her another peck on the cheek, made herself a plate, and the two finished breakfast as Viri mapped out the trip to Alyson.
It would be several days of hiking through the preserved forest area until they made it to the Serulean Marshes and Viri didn’t know what to expect once they got there, but she imagined there’d be an abandoned temple that may or may not house the jewel.
All the records of the temple suggest that it had belonged to Anzel, but no one had seen or heard of him for ages so she couldn’t imagine that he had any followers that still cared enough to take care of the temple, which meant there was probably a high chance the jewel had been stolen, but it was the only lead they had.
“Well, this just sounds like so much fun. A long walk through a forest for a possible stone” Viri smiled at the sarcasm in Alyson’s voice. “You do remember that no one is making you go, right?” Alyson stuck out her tongue. “Of course, I’m going. I spent twenty minutes picking out an outfit that’s equal parts hiker chic and sultry explorer. Now go get dressed. We need to leave before my common sense returns and I realize that I’m an idiot for begging you to let me go on the trip.”
Alyson flipped her hair over her shoulder in a particular “I mean business” sort of way and Viri rolled her eyes as she walked back to her room to get dressed.
She had a text from her mom waiting that read, “Be careful. Love you.”
She quickly replied, “I’m always careful. Love you more. I’ll probably lose cell signal once I’m in the forest, but I'll call and check in as soon as I can.” By the time she finished dressing, her mom’s reply was waiting for her.
“If you don’t, I'll take Morgana up on her offer to turn you into a centerpiece.”
She laughed to herself as she finished packing her bag with essentials and headed back up to the living room. She braided her hair back as she went. She cringed at how tangled it would more than likely be by the end of the trip. Maybe her mom would miss her enough to agree to wash it for her.
Alyson was already sitting on the sofa with her bag beside her. She jumped up when Viri walked into the living room. Viri grinned at her. “You sure you wanna do this? You haven’t had to live on the wild side with me since you found a boyfriend you couldn’t go a day without talking to.”
Alyson grinned right back at her. “Oh please. Wild is my middle name and you know it. Plus, I've already called and let Hanley know that I'll be MIA for a week.”
Viri raised an eyebrow. “And he didn’t have an immediate meltdown?”
Alyson hit her on the arm. “Oh, shut up! Let’s go.” They linked arms as they locked up the apartment and left the building to find a wraith cab.