by Emme DeWitt
“Get up, Sleeping Beauty,” a voice said immediately before my head was assaulted with an overstuffed goose down pillow. I squawked, burying myself deeper into my various blankets and comforters, trying to avoid not only getting hit again, but the frigid temperature of the room.
“There’s this invention called an alarm clock,” I called through my layers of covers. “It’s very handy.”
“Well,” the voice said, yanking all my comforters and me along with them onto the floor, “it’s not nearly as satisfying.”
I looked up at Eli from my nest of comforters on the floor, my face mostly obscured by my ratty, product soaked hair. I had forgotten how dirty I could feel after waking up with make-up and hair product residue. My crustiness level was reaching maximum overdrive at this point, and all I wanted was a hot shower. A deep steam would be needed to slough off the many layers of gunk, grime, and various pigments.
“Good morning to you, too,” I grumbled, trying to fight my legs free of the mess to stand properly.
Someone had dumped me fully clothed into the bed the night before. The leggings had slid down to bunch at my calves, and I was thankful it was Eli waking me up, since I was definitely flashing underwear and ass cheek, the tight dress from the night before having ridden up above my hips.
I peered through my bleary morning eyes, not daring to rub my face for fear of extreme panda eye mode being activated. Eli was smirking enough; I didn’t need to add to her enjoyment.
The room was built like a hotel suite, and I could see a bathtub across the room through the doorway of what I assumed to be a very posh bathroom. I was having trouble finding purchase to stand on the silken sheets and duvet. Eli did not move to help.
Her arms were crossed in front of her, and she stood like a statue as I barreled past her, my toes sinking into the lush red carpet.
“Did you come with anything useful,” I muttered, “or are you just here to gloat?” My filter was never intact this early in the morning, and a flash of annoyance sobered me a little as I remembered the Eli of yesterday.
No, we didn’t want to push her to full anger, I decided. Not until after breakfast.
“Change of clothes and toiletries are in the bathroom,” she sneered at me, marching toward the door. “Be outside in fifteen or else.”
I snorted as she slammed the door behind her.
Just in case she returned to get her revenge, I locked the bathroom door behind me. I decided at the last moment to draw a hot bath instead of a shower. Eli’s time limit grated on my last nerve. A full soak would be needed for me to feel clean and decrustified.
With a smirk, I flicked the stopper down at the base of the tub and cranked the hot water handle to firehose-level pressure. Even so, it would need more than a moment to fill fully.
Slowly, I peeled off the tight borrowed clothing, now wrinkled from a night of fitful sleep. I tried to lay them nicely on a vacant chair, but they would honestly need a good cleaning before they were returned to their owners. Getting the dress off was an adventure, and suddenly I missed the gaggle of women around me to help.
Free from my constrictive clothes, I tore through the cabinets in the double vanity, finding a basket of bath salts in the bottom that made me hoot with pleasure. I tossed a bath bomb into the rising water and hissed as I lowered myself slowly into the scalding water. I placed a damp washcloth over my face to soak off the remaining make-up and laid back to enjoy my alone time.
I had not had an unsupervised bathroom visit in months. Quentin and I had joked about the naughty leanings of the guards who had to watch us do our business, but the awkwardness remained even though we tried to laugh it off. Just the lock on the bathroom door gave me immense pleasure.
As promised, I got another round of ground-shattering pounds on the door once my fifteen minutes had expired. The water in my bath hadn’t even cooled, so I felt no obligation to hurry.
After a few minutes of silence, a more practiced knock of authority rang through the door.
I greeted it with silence, basking in the healing powers of a good soak.
“Go in and get her,” Eli said loudly on the other side of the door. Her voice, though muffled, was clear enough for me to understand without straining my ears.
“I am not going in there,” Niko said. “Just wait for her to come out.”
“I’m not going to…”
“She’s in there, yes?” Niko said firmly.
“Yes,” Eli said in a clipped voice.
“And she’s still alive?” Niko said.
“For now,” Eli growled. “You know I can only approximate so much.”
“Then she’s no flight risk. Only one way out. If she’s still not out in another ten minutes, I’ll consider it,” Niko said, his voice fading as he moved away from the door.
“I’m not getting in trouble because the diva decided to lock herself in there,” Eli said, standing resolutely at the door.
“Well,” Niko said, “that diva is a personal guest of the Navratils. I think they’d be more upset if she wandered away.” Eli harrumphed, causing me to smile into my washcloth. “Also, she’s food motivated. Tell her she’s going to miss breakfast, and I guarantee you she’ll be ready in no time.”
I heard Niko chuckle, leaving Eli to her silent brooding.
He would be food motivated, too, if he saw the kind of crap they feed you in an institution, I thought at him, hoping he got the message. After last night, I wasn’t sure how clear I was projecting.
Last night.
Aleks’ words resurfaced in my idle mind, making me think a little harder about what had happened. Something about his aura must be working in conjunction with my powers. That was the only way I could explain Akira’s static as well as Aleks’ ease of “eavesdropping” on thoughts I hadn’t been broadcasting.
Unless I had been broadcasting and hadn’t realized it. I bit the inside of my cheek. I really hoped that wasn’t the case.
Sighing, I removed the washcloth from my face, giggling at the various colors of my temporary facade smiling back at me. I tossed it aside, grabbing a clean one before I went to town scrubbing off the rest.
I rubbed off the first several layers of skin all over my body and diligently washed and conditioned the entire length of my hair. The shower following the bath was not anything special, but I managed to let the anxiety that had been creeping into the sides of my subconscious follow the sudsy water down the drain.
By the time I had finished washing my face and detangling my hair, Eli was back, pounding at the door.
“I’m serious,” Eli called. “If you’re not out here in one minute, Niko’s coming in.”
In response, I turned on the hair dryer, drowning out the pounding on the door. I got my hair to damp versus soaking wet by the time Niko popped into the bathroom.
He sighed, his hand covering his eyes. He looked like a bored grownup forced to play hide and seek against his will.
“You decent?” Niko asked, clearly annoyed he was sent on a fool’s errand.
“Give me a second,” I said with a sigh, snatching a pair of jeans from the clean pile. So much for chaperone-free personal time. I had to dry the wet spot on my back that was left over by my hair. Luckily, I’d at least had my bra and underwear on when Niko popped in, but I threw on the henley left for me, pulling my damp hair through with another large sigh. “Decent.”
Niko’s hand dropped from his eyes, and he surveyed the room. Nothing out of the ordinary. He made a grumbling noise, clearly peeved at Eli for wasting his time.
“Even the institution gave me more than ten minutes to get ready in the morning,” I said pointedly at Niko, who raised his hands in mock surrender. He glanced down, noticing my still damp hair.
“Do you want to finish drying your hair? You’ll catch a cold,” he stated, his tone factual, not concerned.
“Nah,” I said with a grin. “Food might be all gone if we wait that long.”
Niko snorted, lifting his hands minut
ely in agreement.
“But seriously, you are always welcome to bribe me with food,” I said, tossing all my towels into a pile by the tub.
“Noted,” Niko said, a ghost of a smile playing across his face. I pointed toward the chair with my evening clothes on it.
“Should I?” I gestured futilely at the black pile.
“Leave them,” he directed, reaching for the door handle. “Let’s go.”
“Would you be opposed…” I began, a mischievous smile spreading across my face, “to teleporting to wherever I need to be?” I could hear Eli pacing outside the door, lamenting at her latest task. Niko squinted at me.
We locked eyes in a battle of wills, but Niko, ever punctual, gave in easily enough.
“You owe me unquestioning obedience for this,” Niko warned, stepping forward to grab my shoulder.
“Totally worth it,” I quipped, remembering to close my eyes before we jumped. I smiled, imagining Eli’s face when she realized I had gone ahead without her.
“Ah, the guest of honor,” a man said, nervously adjusting his glasses higher on top of his prominent nose bridge.
I froze, the devilish smile dropping from my face as soon as I realized I was in front of an audience. Niko stepped back, nodded respectfully at Aleks, and took his leave. I was left standing at the end of the ornate dining room with a large wooden table between me and the three remaining room occupants.
Aleks covered the bottom half of his face with his curled fingers, and although it seemed a lazy gesture, the lines near his eyes told me he was trying to hide a smile. My hand immediately went to my damp hair, and I tried to twist it more elegantly down one shoulder. My henley’s waffle knit fabric, while comfortable, did not seem to be on the same level of dress as the others in the room.
The man with the nerd chic glasses and large nose sat to Aleks’ left and wore a tweed vest, his shirtsleeves rolled up studiously at his elbows. Although he looked no older than his thirties, he dressed like someone brought up the same time as my abuela. His female companion dangled her mimosa lazily in one hand, her strong brow set in perpetual disapproval as she eyed me up and down. Her smartly cut emerald dress was powerfully elegant while still remaining feminine. I picked enviously at the hem of my shirt. I did a not-so-subtle double take, realizing her eyes were two different colors. One was a clear blue, and the other pure silver. Not unlike my main school nemesis, Mags.
I stumbled forward nervously, knowing that standing dumbstruck would not get me through this awkward interaction fast enough. Might as well jump in both feet first.
The empty place setting sat to Aleks’ right, and I was relieved to have unobstructed sight lines of all the guests. This time, I did note the exits and the wall of ceiling-high windows. I had promised Niko I would behave, but he hadn’t warned me the caveat attached to my food bribe. No one could fault me for being too careful anymore.
I cleared my throat nervously as I sat, a silent waiter appearing from the shadows to help me with my chair. I bobbed my head in thanks, but they were gone before I could successfully catch their gaze.
“My apologies,” I said, my mind cycling through possible dialogue options and etiquette rules. “Please excuse my tardiness.” I felt like an actor in a play. Is that what people said in fancy dining rooms with waiting guests? I had no idea. Sounded good to me.
“No need to apologize,” the man said, his words falling over one another in their rush to get out. “Right, Jasleen?”
The woman hummed thoughtfully, taking a measured sip of her mimosa. I smiled nervously in her direction, careful not to keep her gaze any longer than socially acceptable, but not too short either. Aleks remained silent in his chair, soaking in the interaction. I could almost hear the cogs in his head turning.
“It really is such a pleasure to meet you,” the man gushed, eliciting an eye roll from Jasleen. “Your family is very well respected and dare I say beloved in our community.”
“They are?” I said, reaching for the cup in front of me only to realize it was empty. My slight flicker of disappointment sent Aleks’ hand up, and the waiter appeared again, filling my cup with steaming fresh coffee. I scooped it up before he finished pouring, basking in the warmth and aroma like a cat in a patch of sunlight.
“Absolutely,” the man continued. “Legends, practically.”
I looked up from my steaming mug with a frown.
“Legends?” I parroted. My mind cranked through another new set of options. Tomas’s tragic death? Maybe Abuela’s? I couldn’t possibly have made enough waves to be notorious already. “And I’m sorry, you seem to know me, but I don’t know you. Or your companion.”
I took a long sip of my coffee, catching the groan of pleasure before it escaped into the room and I ruined what little semblance of respect the man felt he owed me on behalf of my family.
“Ah, that’s my oversight,” Aleks said. “May I introduce Henry Wolf and Jasleen Desai. Henry, Jasleen, this is Evangeline Herrera de los Santos.”
I squinted at Aleks, amused he had left off my mother’s remarried name. He tilted his head slightly, locking eyes with me. I pursed my lips but kept my comments to myself. I had a feeling I already knew the reason. A small part of me wasn’t even opposed to the edit.
“Yes, Evangeline de los Santos. Like I was saying, such a great history,” Henry said. Jasleen reached out and gripped his wrist, silencing the beginning of what I assumed would have been a long and extensively detailed monologue.
“Before you put the girl to sleep, Henry, I think it’ll be much faster to lay our cards on the table,” Jasleen said, her tone rich and direct, immediately swaying Henry to her way of thinking.
“Of course,” Henry said, a nervous laugh escaping him. I smiled at his energy though. Lots of bright yellow interwoven with the Elevated white. If not for the coffee, Henry’s pleasant aura could have warmed my exhaustion away. “After all, you two have a lot going on. Don’t want to take up too much of your time.”
Henry’s eyes bounced back and forth between Aleks and I. A large unspoken shared knowledge hung in the air, and I felt a bit taken aback. The assumption was that I was in on the joke, but I was completely lost.
Covering my perplexed expression with my saucer, I took a long measured pull of coffee. Just cool enough not to scald going down, but a bit warmer than comfortable. I used the mundane action to school my face back to normal. My mind was spinning off on several tangents at once, but I didn’t have the luxury of following any of those thoughts too far before I pulled myself back to the present. The nebulous Big Task ahead of me must be more monumental than I had thought. Somehow I was already mid-quest, and I didn’t remember getting the call to arms officially from anyone. I was just stumbling around until enough details fell together for me to do…something. Henry seemed to know a lot of the details I may be looking for. I was already apprehensive the meeting was being cut too short.
Finally, I set my cup down, and my stomach growled audibly in response. The plate in front of me remained empty, but no one moved to put food in front of it. I crossed my legs to hide my agitation, hoping if I played my part well enough, I could finally enjoy some of the food bribe I had anticipated.
“Jasleen has seen some interesting developments as of late,” Henry began tentatively, his attention half focused on his odd-eyed companion as she nodded her head in approval. The light caught her silver eye in just the right way, and I stiffened slightly. I wondered if a flare for theatrics was part of an oracle’s gift, or if Jasleen and Mags just came by it naturally.
“To clarify,” Aleks said, “Jasleen is an oracle.” I bit my cheek to muffle the snort that dared to escape.
“I figured,” I said, suction cupping my hands together in my lap as another intense urge to mess with my hair washed over me. Aleks’ eyes flicked over at me briefly, but he didn’t interrupt.
“Yes, well, interesting is putting it mildly,” Henry said, his cheeks rosy with excitement. “In light of such exciting events curre
ntly unfolding, we decided to pay a visit to show our support and offer our services, should they be needed.”
Aleks’ forehead creased deeply as his eyebrows popped up towards his hairline. So much for his practiced poker face from earlier.
“We are not ones to take sides,” Jasleen cautioned, shifting in her seat to directly face me. I tried to keep steady eye contact, but my mind screamed at me to look away. I focused on my breathing, remembering to blink at regular intervals.
“Sides?” I asked after several seconds of silence, clearing my throat.
“War is brewing,” Jasleen said, tossing the phrase lightly into the room.
My eyes flitted to Aleks, but he had regained his aloof composure, the darkness of his aura swirling idly around the legs of his chair. If I wanted to know more, I would have to focus my efforts into breaking his barrier without catastrophe, abandoning the doomsday conversation that was on the verge of being prophetic. No, it wasn’t worth it. I needed as much information as possible to orient myself in wherever and whatever I was doing now.
“Indeed,” Henry said, his nervous energy turning to excitement. “Quite the kerfuffle. A showdown, if you will.”
Jasleen clicked her tongue in disapproval of his word choice.
“Imminent?” Aleks asked, directing his question to Jasleen.
Her silver hoop earrings caught the light at the same time as her eye as she turned her face to the head of the table. A picture of a hydra came to mind, and I had to bite my cheek again.
“It has already begun,” Jasleen said, her tone just shy of ominous. “You’ve seen the effects of some of the chess moves already in motion. Unknowingly, I think, you entered the match by stealing a most valuable pawn.”
“Who me?” I asked, my eyes locked on the stare down between Aleks and my second least favorite seer. “Stolen seems a bit harsh. Pawn, even. I am a person, you know.”