Page 26 of Chasing the Night
Chapter Ten
Coveted and Plucked
Ender
Isabella banged on the door, rattling the ancient hinges and echoing her arrival throughout the Villa. I closed my eyes and sucked on the tightly rolled Nirvana Root. Its distinct pungent smell billowed about the place with each massive cloud I exhaled.
The door jarred again, and something rocked it a bit lower.
Laughter crawled from some place low and petty, I couldn’t prevent it. “Did you just kick my fucking door?” I asked without moving. I wasn’t sure I could. The Root had a hold like no other when it first set in.
“I’m going to kick more than that, if you don’t let me in!” she promised from the other side.
I snorted and tipped my head back. If I closed my eyes, I could float right along with the clouds. A weightless, worriless state of existence that made the most excruciating of circumstances immensely pleasurable.
“You ever been to the Kingdom Isles? Them little tarts there carry around hounds small enough to fit in their purses. No bigger than a damn flea and make more noise than a kennel full of coon dogs. Thought I left all that behind me but… here we are,” I sang while I lazily stretched across the sofa and tried to reach the lock. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do after comparing her to an ankle biter, but I was so high I’d already forgotten I’d said it.
Each time I found the edge, my fingers slid off before I could turn the wooden knob. My curses slurred as I strained and shoved the damn thing down. Before I could open the door, Isabella thundered against it, putting her weight behind the effort. The door gave, and she nearly went with it. Dark daggers slashed through me and a finger sliced the air in warning.
“I don’t know what the meaning of this is, but you are expected, and you will deliver!” She violently waved her hand, trying to chase the smoke from the room.
“Ten minutes,” I murmured, laying my head back again. Her fingers spanned my throat and her weight flew to my lap.
“You have two… to get your shit together, wash your face, and escort me to the Ball.” The hand that wasn’t on my throat crisply swatted my cheek. It didn’t hurt, but even in my carefree state, it bristled my pride.
I said nothing but stalked her with my eyes until she shut the door behind her. I palmed my face and scratched the stubble on my throat.
“Fuck,” I whispered on a sigh. My legs wobbled as I hefted my weight from the sofa and stretched toward the ceiling. A yawn came as if it were plucked and made my eyes glisten. “Fuck her and fuck a Ball.” I took another puff of the root.
Two minutes later, I stood at the bottom of the steps, glaring at her. She sniffed and looked expectantly toward my elbow. I hated when things were prickly. I didn’t suffer drama well, especially not other people’s drama.
As with all things in my life, Karma raised her proverbial middle finger and sent Reverie running through the house like a mad woman.
“What the fuck is she doing?” I asked, squinting after her in disbelief.
A purr-like laugh came from beside me, and Isabella patted my arm patiently. “Leave her to her audience. I’m sure Messiah will see that it is short lived.”
“I’ll see to her when he tires of the antics,” Aella quipped from near the liquor cabinet.
“See that you do, before someone has to carry you to bed as well, hmm?” Isabella cooed, glancing knowingly toward the array of bottles.
We were two steps from the door when the sobbing stopped. Something thundered across the floor atop us, and a thump spoke of something connecting with a wall.
“That’s you,” I mouthed, casting an antagonistic smile toward Aella.
I could feel her glare. It carried us out into the frigid outdoors.
“This… why are we going to dally around in a circle when it’s colder than the Iron Inlet? These people pride themselves on being the most cultured and advanced people on the map… and no one has proposed the novel ideal that perhaps, just perhaps, it might actually be enjoyable if we gathered somewhere that at least had walls?” I quietly ranted. “I mean, fuck… at least the Inlet Heathens take the measure to find a barn…”
The back of Isabella’s hand splatted across my chest. It was an abrupt move that she neither paused nor looked back from. “Stop dallying and grunting. You sound like a damn peasant and look twice as sullen.”
I slowed my pace, letting her prance ahead in that way that only Isabella Krypt could. When she entered a place, people took notice. Crowds parted, and even the most sated of men stared. Only tonight Isabella never made it inside. Uncle Icarus emerged from the shadows before we could breech the wall of shrubbery.
“Icky!” Isabella exclaimed, before air-kissing either side of his face. Her hands grasped either of his arms and she crushed her chest against him while they exchanged formalities.
She chatted the man so long, I was forced to rock a bit to keep the chill from nipping at my bones. I wasn’t the mountain of muscle that Messiah was, nor was I as tender-bellied as my twin. Lingering about in such elements usually caused my muscles to tense so tightly against my sides, breathing became a task.
I closed my eyes and tucked my chin to my chest. In the distance, something tall and mysterious sauntered on a man’s arm. She was distant, a mere figure in purple, and yet I knew she was worth the wait.