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From above, the park looked like it had been coated in a thick blanket of pink and white snow. Tourists strolled in the spring sunshine, taking photos and picnicking in the specially created tree viewing areas. Children were throwing handfuls of fallen blossom petals at each other, screeching with laughter.
Kai smiled at the view from her East Uptown loft’s tiny balcony. I’ve been in Te Ling for five years now and the parks in spring never fail to amaze me. This is the first time I have seen the view from above though. She stretched and went back inside, shutting and locking the door behind her. The face of the door fitter flashed into her mind, his lined face frowning in concentration.
Almost as soon as she turned round, she tripped over a box. “Damn. I really have got to find the time to unpack properly.”
Picking the box up, she stacked it on another off to one side of the kitchen counter, ignoring the image of her Old Town cottage that flashed across her mind when she touched the box. Briefly she felt homesick.
I’d better put my gloves on before I get too distracted. I hope that Amira has finished those lightweight ones; it’s getting too warm to wear the leather ones. She picked up the pale tan leather gloves that rested on the kitchen counter and slid them on, getting a flash of Amira’s smiling face before the embedded magic cut it off. She sighed, That’s better.
Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, sliding through the options until she came to the calendar. Five clients this afternoon. Three locals and two referrals from the Park Hotel. I hope they’re not expecting much, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night; that vampire proved tricky to track down. She turned the alert off, slipped the phone into the inside pocket of her black leather jacket and added her Hunter’s License and wallet to it.
With a huge yawn, she swung the jacket over her shoulder, picked up the loft keys and left, locking all three locks carefully. The corridor outside was deserted and her footfalls echoed from the high marble clad ceiling and hardwood flooring. “I wish they’d put carpet down out here.” She muttered to herself, “I know it’s supposed to be a luxury block, but it’s so noisy.”
The lift dinged as she approached. Shall I do stairs or lift? The doors slid open to reveal the handsome, silver haired owner of the other loft on the floor.
“Hello.” He stepped out, “How are you settling in?”
Kai smiled back, “I’m fine, just having trouble finding the time to unpack.”
“You certainly don’t seem to spend much time at home, that’s for certain.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket, “I’d better get in before my wife thinks I’ve gone missing.”
Kai laughed and stepped into the lift.
By the time she’d got down to the ground floor, Kai had slipped into her jacket and fielded a phone call from her panicky new Personal Assistant. He’d better get a hang of my office system quickly; I can’t afford to spend too much time training him.
The lobby had the same marble ceiling and hardwood floor as the rest of the building, but here, a thick carpet runner led from the bank of lifts to the reception desk.
“Good Afternoon, Miss Riordan. There aren’t any messages or post for you today.” The receptionist’s voice was as bright as her orange and yellow blouse.
“Thanks Lucy.” Kai murmured.
“Michael is the Night Guard on duty tonight, I assume that you won’t be back until midnight again?” she said, one eyebrow raising with the question.
Kai didn’t stop walking, “I hope I’ll be in before then, but you never know in my job.”
“Hmm.” Lucy sounded slightly disapproving.
“Have a good afternoon.” Kai waved as she passed through the slowly spinning revolving door.
The walk to work didn’t take long, but because her office was in one of the small octagon shaped buildings dotted around the park, it was a beautiful one. Kai slowed down deliberately, enjoying the cool, flower scented air.
She crossed a red bridge arching over one of the brooks that fed the park’s lake and strolled through the blooming peach trees on the other side, to a grove of plum trees that surrounded her office and entered the building through the side door.
Sebastian, her new Personal Assistant was waiting for her as she stepped into the main reception area, “Miss Riordan, I found the files on the three repeat clients and created new ones for the referrals.”
She nodded and walked past him into her private office. He followed her laying the electronic tablet he was carrying on the desk as she hung her jacket up on the coat rack.
“The three repeat clients are all human, as are the two referrals.” Sebastian stood in front of the desk as she sat down.
“I am capable of reading their files, you know,” She sighed, “and I told you that I wanted the files in hardcopy form, not electronic.” Kai raised her hands and spread her leather encased fingers out, “These aren’t exactly good for touch sensitive devices, too thick and I can’t touch the thing barehanded.”
He looked confused.
“I connect with whoever touched the item last remember? As that’s you, I don’t think you’d want me looking out through your eyes every time I needed to check something in a file. It’s also the reason I don’t use a computer; too many people have touched or worked on them, even the brand-new ones.”
Realisation dawned and he snatched up the tablet, “I’ll find the hard copies of the locals and create hardcopy files for the two referrals.”
“Thank you.” She watched him march out of the office and sighed, And another one bites the dust because they don’t want to do any ‘old fashioned’ filing.
She studied the gloves. I wonder if Amira can make me thin gauze gloves? They might be thin enough to make using touchscreens feasible.
Sebastian came back in with three green folders, “Here are the local files for you. What colour do I use for the referrals?”
“It depends on if they are business clients or tourists. Tourists get yellow, business get black,” she said, “It’s all in that folder I gave you, the one with ‘Office Procedures’ on the spine.”
The tips of his ears turned red, “Oh, of course, Miss Riordan.” He put the folders down on the desk, “Is there anything else you need me to do?”
She pulled the folders toward her, “Just remember to tell me when the first client gets here.” She pointed at the office intercom, an antique wooden box with a speaker and four buttons on the top, “Yours is slightly different to mine; Red to buzz and speak to me, white to put the phone line on hold and black to connect to the phone system so you can pass phone calls across.”
“Why do you have a blue button?” he said.
“So, I can block your speaker if I need to.”
“And the green?”
Kai took a deep breath and changed the subject, “What time is the first appointment due?”
“In about ten minutes. It’s one of the locals; the second client is a referral, so I’d better get on and create their file.” He spun on his heel and strode out.
“Remember to bring them into the Scrying Chamber, not in here!” she called after him.
He waved one hand in acknowledgement.
Kai spent five minutes reading the record of the last meeting with the client, then put the file to one side and pressed the green button on her intercom. A red LED lit up next to the speaker. I’ve just got time to make sure the Scrying Chamber is connected and ready.
She stood up, and crossed to the other door into the office, turning the silver knob under the handle to unlock it.
The room on the other side could not have been more different to her private office, the deep red painted walls were hung with purple velvet drapes, which matched the purple velvet tablecloth on the centre table. There was only one small window, the glass covered with a dark red blind and swathed in red drapes. It was so dark that she had to turn the main light on to light the thick white candles that were dotted around the room.
Then she turned to the intercom box that sat on a side table and pressed the green button and looked through the door into her office at the other intercom. The LED was blinking slowly. Turning the main light off, the candles sparkled off the crystal geodes and carvings and the large crystal glass ball on its mahogany wheeled stand, glowed a pale green.
Good. That’s the candles lit and the session recording. Just need to get changed now. She stepped back into her office as the intercom buzzed.
“Yes?” Kai answered as she pulled on a dark purple velvet robe, tying the gold silk sash to one side.
“Your first client is here, Mis...” Sebastian paused, obviously remembering that Kai worked under a different name and that the client was listening, “Lady Starwind.”
“Thank you, Sebastian. Take them into the Scrying Chamber and I’ll be with them directly.”
“Of course, Lady Starwind.” The intercom went silent.
Kai put a gold lace mask on and pulled the hood of the robe up. I need to get Amira to make a pair of gold lace gloves as well... the pale tan leather works, but it’s just too warm to wear them at work.
She stepped through the adjoining door into the Scrying Chamber.
The first appointment was a regular business client, asking about the opportunities he might face in the conference he was going to. Kai had him handle the runes while they talked about the journey and the people he was going to see at the conference, then she slipped her gloves off and he pushed the bowl of runes across the table to her.
As she picked out each rune, she had a flash of thought from her client. From there it was easy enough to give him an interpretation that fitted his personal intentions and reinforced the nebulous plan that had come through from his thoughts.
He was happy enough with her reading and Kai knew that enough would come true that her reputation was safe.
The second was a tourist and for this one, she asked for an item that the woman wore all the time. She used the crystal ball and by wearing the bracelet the woman gave her, spun a tale of enjoyment and a mysterious stranger, using the images that flashed from the client’s mind to create the stranger’s appearance.
The third and fourth appointments were mundane tarot readings. She always used the cheapest type of Ryder-Waite cards to do the readings and then gifted the pack to the client at the end, wrapped in a locally produced silk scarf with the instruction that if they were to return, they should bring the pack with them.
The third client was a local who had been coming to her for readings for three years. The pack was in perfect condition and the local obviously had been attempting her own readings because the strength of the signal from the cards made it very easy to form a good reading for her.
The fourth appointment was the second hotel referral, another tourist that was absolutely delighted with the reading and the gift of scarf wrapped cards. He promised to sing her praises to everyone he met, clutching the cards to his heart as he left.
The last appointment before dinner was another regular client. This lady wore a full burqa and Sebastian sounded slightly scandalised as he introduced her to Kai, “Mrs Sharifi refused to allow me to confirm her identity, Lady Starwind.”
Kai smiled and moved closer to the client, recognising the tiny spiral tattoo at the corner of her left eye, “Don’t worry, Sebastian. As Mrs Sharifi is the last appointment of the day, you can head off. I will lock up.”
The eyes behind the mesh panel crinkled.
“As you wish, Lady Starwind.” Her PA sighed and left the room.
“I apologise for Sebastian, Mrs Sharifi. He’s new to the office.” Kai shut the door behind her PA and locked it, “We are completely private now.”
“Thank heaven for that,” Mrs Sharifi said, removing the Burqa, “My husband would have a fit if he thought that young man had seen my face.”
“Is there anything in particular that you would like today?” Kai led the way back to the table.
The other woman sighed, “Not really, Kai-Lynn. I’m more interested in a cup of coffee and a chat.”
“In that case Aa’eesha, shall we go through into my office and relax?” Kai turned the recording off and opened the adjoining door.
“I’d really appreciate that.”