The Touch Series: Initiation

by Cecilia Lonski

  On the seventh floor lived a girl who generously displayed black roses on her window sills. Her room was filled with books that were stacked around the floor while the bookshelves were inhabited by sketches and souvenirs from places she had never actually traveled to. Her crimson black curtains nearly gave out an immense shade that almost hid the tiny gold stars drawn on the walls of the room.

  Trippy house music was playing loudly from her laptop as she tiptoes her way around the mess on the floor to set her lunch down on her desk. She pushed a quija board that was taking up a lot of space on the desk. Placing her sandwich on one side of her laptop, she comfortably situates herself in her seat; drumming her fingers on the table while responding to an incoming Skype call. She knew exactly who it was and was prepared for this long-awaited call.

  After a few seconds, a middle-aged blonde woman appeared on the screen. “It's been a while, Ivy.”

  Ivy picked up her tuna sandwich, took a small bite, and licked a finger. “I've been busy. But you know that. You're the reason that I'm here. ”

  “And soon that will change. We are getting closer and much of that is thanks to you. I really do have to say Ivy that you're a very impressive witch. You're skills are almost on parallel to that of centuries old witches that I've met during my lifetime.”

  Ivy waved her off a she finished the last of her sandwich. She knew of her abilities and believed in herself but hated praise that was purely given to spur her further into doing something. She worked too long under the command of vampires and she hoped to be free of them soon. “Yeah. But we still don't know who exactly the descendant is. We've come to a bit of a dead end.”

  “Yes, that's true – unfortunately. But when a year ago, we heard of a rumor that one of the mermaids escaped and that there was a possible descendant or more,” the woman cleared her throat and took a moment to compose herself, “naturally, we needed to investigate and make sure it wasn't just a rumor. And then we hired you and you did what we all thought would be impossible. And your spells led us right to Richmond.”

  “Yes, but that's as far as my spells took me.”

  The woman smiled at Ivy. “We believe in you. I'm sure you'll figure something out.”

  “Oh, I know I will. I just need more time.”

  “We've been waiting for centuries. We have more patience than you could imagine.” She looked out of place for a moment. “How's my son?”

  This wasn't a topic that Ivy was fond of. The Constane's hired her to find the descendant and in return claim freedom from the constraints of the vampires and werewolves for that matter. But joining the Club as a way to look after Josef for his mother was not happily accepted on her part. “He's not really a talker. And I don't really care. I did the work that I was supposed to do for you, instead of getting distracted by joining your son and his idiotic friends on parties.”

  Josef's mother didn't seem affected by her response and instead continued to smile. “Despite our differences, I have always worried about him. He could have been great.”

  “Ivy, there's someone here to see you.” One of Ivy's roommates yelled from downstairs and it was enough for Josef's mother to end the conversation.

  “One more thing before you go.” Ivy wasn't too bothered about her roommate calling out for her. She sat back in her chair and checked her newly manicured nails. “I've always wondered about this, you know. I just want to know who messed this up for you and had you running around like mad for centuries? Who helped her escape?”

  Josef's mother smirked and her eyes went from brown to completely black. “Finding that out will be our next little venture.” She came off the screen and it went completely pitch black.

  Ivy stood up and slowly pushed the laptop screen down. “Hmm. Vampires are always so, so, so sloppy.” she whispered.

  Josef

  “She's late.” I glanced at my watch for the fourth time while Artie was begging me to wait on his friend to arrive for the interview. Just because I was a vampire, didn't mean that I couldn't be impatient.

  I didn't do this all the time. Maybe every few years. As much as I enjoyed helping out young girls, the process of finding the right ones was annoying. I aimed to help those who were less fortunate and who had potential to be great in whatever they wanted to be. I also aimed to enlist attractive girls mainly to please my friend Jacob but it never hurt me either. But up until now, I was no longer in the mood for it at all. Human girls simply didn't interest me, especially the new generation and their obsessions with bad pop music and fake tan. I definitely wasn't in the mood to help out a friend of Artie's who would most likely not make the cut. He tended to feel sorry for humans easily. A bit too easily for my taste.

  The door swung open and I heard the sound of heels against the floor. Her steps were slow and cautious before she turned the corner and came into full view. One look at her and I quickly glanced at Artie. Was this her? He knew my type and she wasn't it. She was something else entirely...

  Her strawberry blonde wavy hair immediately made me think of the fairest of maidens from centuries ago. I had never seen skin as fair or lips as naturally rosy as hers. Her hazel-green eyes had a look of innocence and fear, like a bambi.

  She smiled warmly at Artie. But once she spotted me, her cheeks turned pink. I was glad I had that affect on her so quickly. She should be easy.

  “Miss Turner, I presume?”

  “Yes, Quinn Turner. It's nice to meet you.” Her soft and sweet voice resembled her appearance. Her smile was genuine. More genuine than most smiles from other people. It was refreshing for once.

  We started talking about her education and job, though I had a hard time concentrating on what exactly she was saying. Once in a while she would look over to Artie as if she were looking for reassurance or help of some kind. For some reason, it irritated me but amused me at the same time.

  Turned out that she danced at some hotel. I frowned upon the discovery though I tried to be as polite as possible. She seemed too fragile and I didn't want to appear rude. The thought of her dancing with older men who wanted nothing more than to have the attention of a young and innocent women made me sick. She was the type of girl most men fantasized about and preyed upon.

  “You like to dance?,” I asked as I kept my voice even as possible.

  She beamed even more. “Yes, I love it actually. It's one of the few things I can say I am good at.” She had little self-esteem.

  I wanted to test her. “I hate to dance.”

  “Oh.” She looked worried and quickly looked at Artie which annoyed me. I didn't want her to rely on him. “What type of dance exactly?”

  “Several. I'm trained in salsa, rhumba, hip hop, jazz and the waltz. But I mainly dance the rhumba at work. I also have a background in ballet. So, I can dance ballet for you.”

  Really? Usually, I would have found such a response to be inappropriate especially in front of others but I found it to be charming and...tempting? I just might take her up on her offer.

  She turned more red than I imagined she ever could. “I'm so so sorry. That was really inappropriate. I didn't mean it like that... I actually don't know what I meant to say...”. She looked down at her hands which was another thing we were going to have to fix. There was no need to hide.

  I decided to just put her our her misery. “I can't imagine the pay is good at work.”

  “No, it's not but you wouldn't believe how generous tippers are on a Friday and Saturday night.” She finally looked at me again with a hint of a grin.

  Was that supposed to make me feel better? “I presume you dance mainly to entertain the male guests? Older, I presume too?”

  “Yes.” At least she was honest.

  “How do your parents feel about that?” Again, I tried to keep my voice even and without showing any signs of irritation.

  “Um, they think it's worse than working at McDonald's. They never liked my dancing and they believe my work is terribly inappropriate. But they don't see the art and beauty in it like
I do.” Hmm. She lived in some fantasy world.

  “Do you have any attachments or current situations that may cause issues in you joining me and the others on, let's say, a weekend trip? A boyfriend perhaps?”

  “No, nothing at all.” I hoped not.

  When she left, I knew what Jacob was going to say. He was going to decline. She wasn't the usual type and she might not get along well with the others. He and Artie argued for some time while I poured myself another drink. The human reminded me of the girls my adoptive mother once warned me against. The ones in vampire fairy tales whom all men would helplessly love but should have always feared instead.

  She was the siren with the voice of an angel.

  I am the poor sailor enraptured by her sweet look, smell and sound.

  Her innocent eyes and pout bring me close to my knees as her voice kindly presses me down.

  The last I see of her before the water overtakes me is the sight of her glowing eyes.

  Though this story will turn out quite differently...