After walking out, I sat in the chair as the two women fussed with my hair and my face. They pinched, and they pulled, and in the end they had tamed my hair into pretty waves pulled to one side with some ringlet pieces framing my face. My eyes stood out with smoky grey eyeshadow and my lips were a frosty pink.
Muriel came out of nowhere and put some long, sparkling diamond earrings in my ears. “I know I signed up for being your mother,” she said, sounding exasperated. “but this is way out of my league.”
“My mother?” I asked. “Yes, I swore an oath to protect you and care for you, yada, yada, yada for all eternity.” she said. “Just don’t call me mother. Call me Muriel. Mother makes me sound ancient.”
“Okay” I said, carefully, watching the two stylists leave without saying a word. I wasn’t about to mention the other immortal woman that already claimed me as her adopted child. It must have been a thing with immortals whether they were The Pure or The Corrupt.
Standing up from my chair, I looked in the mirror and Muriel appeared from behind me holding two dresses to either side of me. One was wispy, white, beaded and shimmering. The other was red and strapless. “Angel or vixen?” she asked.
I looked back and forth to the dresses. I wouldn’t normally wear either one. Before I could speak, she said “Angel. That’s how I want them to see you. Sexy and innocent.”
“What kind of party is this?” I asked. “Oh, just a small one.” she said, pouring me another drink. “Around a hundred should show up. Mostly mortals.”
“Why?” I asked, accepting the glass from her. “For you to be seen, of course.” she said. “Everyone who is anyone will be here. Come down right at eight and mingle. Everyone will be here by then.”
“No falling asleep.” she said, wagging her finger at me. She laid the white dress down on my bed, went into the closet with the other one and returned with a pair of matching heels. She set the heels at the foot of the bed and then left the room.
Standing in the mirror, I looked at myself holding my drink. I barely recognized myself. Taking a sip of my drink, I felt another wave of warmth inside me. I set the cup down and made my way into the dress before stepping into the heels.
Standing in the mirror again, I did a little twirl as I saw myself looking tall and otherworldly in the shimmering dress. The neckline of the dress was low, revealing more than I was used to. Reaching to my chest where the silver locket had rested before that stewardess threw it out of the plane, I held my hand there, trying to see the old Emily somewhere in the hair and makeup.
Through my buzz, I searched for my previous resolve to not let myself lose myself. It was difficult to find anything in that place that reminded me of who I was. There were no books, no George, no nesting dolls, no Mary Jane shoes, and no quiet lab. I looked around and felt dizzy.
Walking out into the living-room, I circled around the room several times in my heels. I would have to face the challenge of walking down those big stairs in the shoes and wanted to be ready. Looking at a clock hanging on the wall in the living-room I read 7:58PM. I walked into the bedroom, drank down the remainder of my drink, and walked towards the hall with a buzz in my head.
At the end of the hall I stopped. I could hear the roar of people talking down below. I told myself “be confident” and stood tall as I walked toward the stairs. Stopping in the center of the top of the stairwell, I looked down.
Some of the roar quieted as people stopped to look at me. In the sea of faces I saw people staring at me with various expressions, mostly wide eyes. I looked down at my dress to see if I’d had a wardrobe malfunction, but everything seemed in place.
After calming myself down from the anxiety of having so many eyes on me, I stepped down the stairs towards the crowd. Muriel wasn’t anywhere in sight, but I began to recognized people as I got closer to the crowd. There was no one I knew, or even knew the name of, but I knew some were Hollywood actors and actresses. I was never big into famous people, but I’d seen them in movies.
I had no idea what to do or say. I was pretty out of practice, socially. As I stepped down from the last step, I was greeted by a man that I’d recognized from a recent chick flick. He approached me and said “You have an amazing house, and you look absolutely stunning.”
“Thank you.” I said.
“Emily, right?” he asked.
“Yes, and you are?” I asked.
He laughed and said “You can call me Johnny.”
“You can call me Em, Johnny.” I said, trying out my new nickname from Tim.
“Let me introduce you to some people, Em.” said Johnny. He led me around and I was introduced to men and women that all seemed to be fawning over me. I was handed glass of champagne after glass of champagne. Laughing at jokes, I found myself easily having a great time as I floated around in a drunken sea.
As the evening wore on, the lights dimmed down even more, and the music became face paced. A fog machine kicked off and laser lights flashed around the house to the music. It was like a strange dream. A song I didn’t recognize came on and the crowd roared.
I drank another glass of champagne and began dancing with the crowd. I moved through the crowd dancing, with hands of strangers on my body. I was lifted up to a table where I danced alone to a crowd cheering and swaying below. I moved in ways I’d never moved before, fueled by the crowd and the alcohol.
Falling backwards into a crowd of people, I was carried along until I was deposited on a couch. Looking over, I saw that I was sitting by the feet of a man lying on his back on the couch. He smiled at me, and I climbed on the couch to hover over the top of him. He brushed my hair behind my ears and I leaned in to put my lips on his. Closing my eyes, I felt the sensation that I was melting. It was the last thing I remembered.
I woke up to sunshine in my face, a massive headache, and women in black uniforms rushing about cleaning up messes. I looked over and saw a topless woman passed out on the couch next to me. I didn’t even want to know.
Sitting up on the couch, I put my hand up to my head. The headache was piercing and I could hardly see straight. Standing up, I looked around for my shoes. I didn’t see them anywhere, so I walked barefoot up the stairs, across the hall and into my wing.
Searching around the bathroom, I looked for anything resembling pain medication, opening and closing drawers. I could find anything. A wave of nausea hit me and I ran to the toilet, vomiting violently.
After it was over, I sat on the cold tiles on my bare legs, feeling awful. I couldn’t remember any time in my life before then that I’d drank so much. Touching my fingers to my lips, I remembered kissing the man on the couch.
I thought about Peter and felt sick. Not only did I sneak away in the night to escape him, but I had sealed my betrayal with a kiss on another man’s lips. It felt like I was sinking in quicksand, immersed in shame.
After turning the knobs on the bath, I climbed in and scrubbed every inch of myself with a washcloth. There wasn’t enough soap in the world to make me feel clean again.
Getting out and looking into the bathroom mirror, I wiped away the steam on the mirror with my hand. I still felt hungover. I looked hard into my own eyes and then ripped my towel off my body and threw it at my reflection in anger.
I fell to the floor, sobbing. Muriel appeared in the doorway. “Go away.” I said.
She grabbed the silky pink robe from the hook and wrapped it around me. I grudgingly put my arms into the sleeves, closing it up in the front. “You should be happy, dear.” she said, with her hand on her hip. “You made a lot of friends last night.”
I stood up and cringed at the sharp pains jolting through my head. “You need to clear your head.” she said.
I scoffed and glared at her.
“Cleanse your body of it.” she said.
“I threw up everything, and I took a bath. What more can I do?” I asked, crossing my arms under my chest.
“Make it leave your body.” she said.
Realizing what she was saying,
I wished I’d thought of that earlier. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I told the sickness in my body to “go now,” and I could feel my body tingling, still feeling queasy. I took another deep breath and said it louder inside myself, “LEAVE.”
My whole body began shaking violently, and a sharp pain erupted in my stomach. I began retching over the toilet again, with my whole body feeling on fire. I felt like I was about to die.
Suddenly it all stopped, and I felt peaceful inside. “Well,” said Muriel with a laugh. “That’s one way to do it.” I looked up at her with a scowl, hating her.
“Brush your teeth and come eat breakfast with me.” she said. “I had some food brought up for you.”
As I brushed my teeth I felt a wave of hunger. I looked for something to wear in the closet, throwing on some silky red panties and a matching bra. Everything looked so flashy to me. I finally found a dress that was a forest green color and looked like it would cover me up more than the others. It had capped sleeves, was tight around the waist and flared out at the bottom.
I made my way out to a small table with chairs on one side of the living room and sat across from Muriel. I looked down to see a classic breakfast of eggs and toast. My stomach growled. I placed my napkin on my lap and began eating. Muriel began eating her breakfast as well and poured herself a glass of wine.
“Really?” I said.
Muriel laughed. “What? A glass in the morning keeps me in good spirits. You look like you could use some help with your spirits as well.” She gestured the wine bottle toward my empty glass.
“Ugh.” I said. “No thank you. Not after that.”
“Ah,” she said. “At least you’re being polite. You looked like you wanted to murder me when we were in the bathroom.”
“Like I could murder you.” I said.
Muriel cracked up laughing, throwing her head back. “You,” she said, pointing her fork at me. “are funny. I think I’m going to like you.”
I finished my plate, drank my orange juice, and didn’t know what to do next. I stared across the living room and out the window at the blueness of the sky.
“I hope you got enough sleep.” said Muriel. “We have a big day.”
I scoffed.
“Cut the crap.” she said. “I’m being nice to you here and I don’t have to be.”
I sat up straight in my chair and looked at her. She was smiling, but the look in her eyes gave me a chill. “We have visitors today.” she said. “And they aren’t like me, or your friend Tim.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“We are fun.” she said. “These guys are very old and very serious. They want to test you today.”
I sank back in my chair and thought “why me?” as I remembered the “test” at the Hall of Elders.
“Okay.” I said, feigning ignorance. “What kind of test?”
She looked at me and gave me a half smile. “You’ll find out.” she said. “Get some rest and be ready by noon.”
Looking at the clock after she sauntered out of the room, I saw it was just after ten. After wandering into the bedroom I threw myself into the bed. I roared into my pillow with an arrrrrrrgh!
I was not looking forward to having someone attempt to murder me again. I missed my old, boring life. Looking at my large, empty bed I remembered curling up with my cat George purring against my back. Everything was so easy and predicable then.
Picking up my pillow I threw it violently across the room. It slammed against the wall on the other side of the room, rattling the wall. I looked down at my hands in amazement.
My mom was rescued, so it was time to think about rescuing myself. There had to be a way to get out of there, but I wasn’t going to underestimate Muriel. I had to be ready for the test that day. “I am not afraid.” I said to myself.
Meditating on the bed with my legs crossed, I familiarized myself with my blood and with the movements of my muscles. Getting out of bed, I jumped up into the air about ten feet, and landed softly on my feet. It was exhilarating.
Next I attempted a cartwheel, which tore my dress up the side. Stripping it off, I did cartwheels across the room in my red silky bra and underwear. Grinning at my own achievement, I tried a back flip and landed softly on my feet.
Being a gymnast wouldn’t be enough. My senses needed to be sharp, and quick. Thinking back to the Hall of Elders, I remembered my senses being fueled by anger. The memory triggered the emotion, and as I felt pissed off my heart beat in my ears like a war drum. Fueling it further, I imagined my mom being kidnapped from her home.
Boom, boom, boom, beat the drum in my ears as my senses sharpened. My eyes darted around the room, seeing every detail and hearing every sound. “You want to test me, test me you bastards.” I said.
After walking into the bathroom I grabbed a razor. Slashing it violently across my arm several times I watched my skin open. I told my blood “STAY” before it could even begin to spill out. Not a drop was spilled before the wound sealed itself.
Walking out into the bedroom I looked at the clock. It was noon, go time. Not bothering to get dressed I walked out into the main hall in my silky red bra and panties and then stood at the top of wide staircase.
Looking down I saw Muriel standing in the foyer with two men, one which bore the head of a falcon. He was wearing a suit, giving him the look of a business man with a falcon’s head sewn on. The other man was very large, bearded man and walked with a staph. He was also wearing a very nice suit, giving him the look of a biblical man that recently time traveled and stole the clothes of a business man.
“Perfect.” I thought, not the slightest bit phased by the sight. I was ready for either of them, or both. I held my chin high.
Muriel looked up at me with her mouth hanging open. She quickly closed her mouth and watched me as I descended the stairs. I walked up to them, crossed my arms, and shifted my weight to one leg.
“Where shall we proceed?” Asked Muriel, addressing the falcon headed man. “Here is fine.” he said in a deep voice.
“I am here to witness.” said the bearded man, stepping away with his staph. Muriel followed him, and they stood by a wall in the foyer. The falcon headed man stood in the very center of the room, and I approached him.
He looked me over. After I stood still in front of him, he paced in circles around me. From the corner of my eye I saw him producing a large hooked blade. As he held his arm back to build momentum to slash me, I jumped into the air about ten feet, did a back flip, then spun and landed on my feet behind him.
Quick as lightening he whirled around and slashed me with the blade across my stomach before I could react. “STAY!” I roared to my blood before it could spill. I asked my wound to close up and backed away from the falcon headed man. He stood there, watching me from the side of his head with a beady little eye.
I took on a crouching pose, slowing down time and ready to make a move. He made a leap towards me and I dove under him, rolled onto my back, curled up into a ball and rocked back up onto my feet. He whirled around and then threw his blade through the air toward me, making a kee-eeeee-arr sound from his mouth.
I whipped up my arm and caught the blade with my right hand, then tossed it into my left hand. As blood leaked from my palm I told my hand to heal. After it sealed closed, I wiped the spilled blood across my stomach.
The falcon heade man rushed at me, but the bearded man beat his staph against the ground and shouted “Enough!”
The falcon headed man stopped just in front of me. I stood there with my own blood smeared across my half naked body. Keeping my face steely, I stared him right in his beady little falcon eyes.
The bearded man approached me, clutching his staff in his hand. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Emily.” he said, looking at me intensely. “You are exactly what we had hoped for.”
He turned on his feet without saying another word, and the falcon headed man followed him out the front door. Muriel watched them leave and then turned to me.
“Holy s
hit, Emily.” she said. Without saying a word, I looked towards her expressionlessly, and then turned to walk up the stairs. After entering my bedroom, I flopped down onto my back in the bed and passed out.
XI
Corrupted
I felt a sting across my face accompanied by a slapping sound. “You bitch!” said Muriel. I could hardly keep my eyes open, my body felt so weak. I struggled to remember what had happened.
“How did you know?” she demanded. “You knew what being tested meant. You lied to Tim about being held hostage, didn’t you? Thought you could come here, save your mom, and then go home to your boyfriend and daddy?”
My first test at the Hall of Elders came rushing back to me. The terror of believing I was about to die and the expressionless faces of the immortals watching me bleed out. My dad and Peter had both treated the situation like it was normal.
My memories of Peter flashed through my mind. The image of kissing him in the hallway at my dad’s house and our first kiss at the jewelry shop. I had felt like I was in love then.
That love for Peter had been tarnishing since the beginning, from him leaving me to “research,” to holding me down after my mom had been kidnapped. I wondered if my Dad and Peter really cared for me. They seemed so far away, and they didn’t seem to be attempting to rescue me.
The falcon headed man flashed through my mind. After fading out of consciousness again there was another stinging slap across my face. Feeling the weight of Muriel’s body on my hips, straddling me, I opened my eyes to see her face with intent eyes hovering over me.
My whole body began shaking with maniacal laughter. I’d lost everything. First it was my career and apartment, then almost my life. Then I lost my mom, got her back, but lost Peter, my dad, my cat, and the life that I had just built with them. It didn’t feel like there was any going back after what I’d done with that man at the party. It all seemed crazy, and there wasn’t anything left to do but laugh.
A Tiny Bit Mortal Page 12
