“In that book which is my memory,
On the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you,
Appear the words, ‘Here begins a new life’.”
― Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova
The office was busy when I got there this afternoon. I was an hour late and most likely looked like shit; I certainly felt that way. Emma was laughing while trying to talk to a client over the phone, Ricky was talking to some mongrel who had arrived all the way from Scotland, and Zach was sitting behind my desk, looking through my files, nosey fucker. I was wary of my surroundings when I left the house a couple of hours earlier. Lucky for me Watchers weren’t waiting for me outside the flat like I expected. Despite that, I still had this unsettling feeling in my gut when I was on the way to work.
“Of course, Mrs. Pillars, we will take care of it. No, there isn’t any extra charge for use of extreme violence,” Emma was saying, pushing the phone away from her face probably because she was trying not to laugh. I had no idea what this whole thing was about and why Emma was so amused. As far as I remembered, Mrs. Pillars had hired us a while back to track down her daughter that she abandoned ten years ago when she found out that her baby girl wasn’t quite human. She knew about the demonic world when she decided to stay in a relationship with the father. It was quite a story until we found out that her daughter was a high-class hooker with addiction problems. Ricky was involved in her case, while I was chasing after Nameless Thief, running around London and pretending that I had everything under control.
“Finally! I thought you weren’t going to show,” Zach said when he saw me, taking his boots off my desk. This guy really needed to stop acting like I was working for him.
“Late night,” I muttered. “So what’s up? What kind of lead have you got?” I asked, knowing that I had to talk to Ricky about last night and about my dramatic encounter with Watchers and that bitch Alexis. Time wasn’t on my side and I was worried that somehow Nameless would get my letter straight to Arthur. My paranoia had reached a new level. I had to start using whatever resources I had. I couldn’t waste anymore time dealing with people that would only slow me down.
“We are going to a party tonight, a posh party filled with royals,” Zach said, standing up so he was facing me. I looked at him wondering if he took something this morning.
“Party? Are you having a laugh?” I repeated, thinking about Arthur and our night together. Yep, those kinds of thoughts still flooded my mind from time to time.
“Oh, I love parties. I wish I could join you guys,” Emma said unexpectedly from behind me. I wanted to roll my eyes. I wasn’t planning to attend any party tonight. Zach scratched his head. I didn’t know why he seemed surprised. He knew me well enough already to know that I hated any official parties.
“And I think I can make it happen, Emma,” Ricky stated, poking his head into my room. “I received an invitation, but I have other plans. I don’t think there would be any harm if you join Zach and Max?”
“Hold on a minute, guys. I’m not going to any party. Zach has come here to talk to me about our investigation,” I said, annoyed that no one was listening to me. I wasn’t planning to move my arse from the office today, and on top of that I was still very much hungover. My drawer was filled with human painkillers. They normally didn’t work, but today I was ready to swallow a dozen pills so I could get some relief.
“Oh yes, you’re going, Max. One of the big designers is presenting jewellery from his newest collection and I have information that Nameless is planning to make an appearance there,” Zach explained, staring at me intensely. I wanted to roll my eyes, not believing that the most wanted burglar in London would show up at a party that was riddled with security and police. Zach couldn’t be stupid enough to believe that.
I turned to Ricky, rubbing my forehead.
“So, how come you got an invite too?”
“It’s an opportunity to network to gain new business contacts. I used to pay lots of money for access to events like that. There are always plenty of clients there that might be interested in our services,” Ricky said, thinking rationally again. His thoughts were quite explicit today: he still didn’t trust Zach, even after all this time.
“Oh gee, Ricky, that is so cool. But I have nothing to wear and I need to think about getting a babysitter,” Emma said, jumping up and down.
“Zach, you cannot be serious. Is this really necessary?” I asked, not wanting to break Emma’s heart and tell her that maybe it would be safer if she stayed home tonight.
“Yes, my intel informed me that Nameless might have the letters with him tonight. Your Prince Charming sent someone to my boss. He wants results and he thinks that I’m not doing enough to catch Nameless,” Zach said, shaking his head, like he couldn’t believe that Arthur dared to question his abilities.
“All right … fine. I get it. I have to wear a bloody dress then?”
“It appears that way, Flower, but we both know that you will rock whatever you will wear,” he added, saying the other part of the sentence in that hushed tone of voice. Ricky heard him anyway and he cleared his throat, reminding me that my heart was still fragile. Zach and I hadn’t spoken since I left him on the platform and his presence was already causing an emotional turmoil inside my chest. I needed to make a decision. “I’ll pick up you ladies at eight.”
Emma giggled again like a schoolgirl, and I sat down at my desk, thinking that maybe tonight was the final opportunity to nail down Ronan’s son for good. Deep down I wasn’t quite sure if he would show. Zach said his goodbyes and left shortly after. Emma went back to work when Ricky’s new client needed to be registered. I was slightly relieved when the detective was out of my sight for now.
“I assume that you didn’t get information about Gjöll last night?” Ricky asked, wondering if I went overboard with tequila again. God, I really had a problem; now even my business partner thought that I wasn’t capable enough to complete a simple task.
“Actually, after I lost over three grand in hard cash one of the demons must have taken pity on me, because he shared with me the way that I could get to Gjöll,” I told him. The Nameless wasn’t most likely hiding in the underworld if he was planning to highjack the royal party. This just didn’t make much sense.
“Great. I don’t get it, so why are you so down?” he asked, sitting on the edge of my desk.
“I had too much too drink, ended up losing control when some moron demons tried to molest me on the street on my way back,” I explained. “I got tricked by Alexis. She knew that I would be at the market last night. On top of that I was also forced to use my power and attracted attention of two Watchers. They started chasing after me, so I had to run most of the night. I shouldn’t have worn the new trainers, now my feet are covered with painful blisters.”
Ricky rubbed his jaw, already alert. I could only hope that no one had recognised me from the streets.
“Alexis is a problem, Maxine.”
“I’m aware of it, and I’m planning to do something about it. Just give me some time,” I explained, regretting every bit of drink that passed through my throat last night. Deep down I really had no idea how to deal with Alexis, but Ricky needed to be assured that everything was under control.
I wanted to discuss with him details about my mother, but a moment later Emma interrupted us again. She started telling me all about the dress that she wanted to me to try on before the party, so I decided that the conversation about Alexis needed to wait. I popped some pills in my mouth, hoping to silence my headache. It sounded like Emma knew what she was talking about, and I had absolutely no experience in planning a night out. In the end we agreed to meet at her house. After my last official date with Zach I needed someone that could help me choose a dress that was appropriate for tonight.
I had the headache all day, while studying the map of London and analysing the information that Frederick had given me last night. The entrance to Gjöll seemed tricky, and I had to use my abilities to gain access in the first place. Watchers were always looking to catch mongrels that didn’t obey the rules, so I had to make sure that everything went to plan.
My phone rang when I decided to head home later on in the afternoon. It was a restricted number and past experience taught me that it was better to ignore these calls. However after almost ten missed calls I gave up and answered it.
“Hello.”
“Flower, I have a proposition for you,” said the voice that sent chills down my spine. Of course it was Arthur. It appeared that he had already forgotten about our last conversation. He was still openly pursuing me. “Party tonight. I’m taking you as my date?”
I automatically regretted that I picked up. Arthur was slowly turning into a stalker. He knew where I lived and now he also had my number.
“Arthur, how hard is it for you to understand no?”
He laughed, of course, he thought this was funny. We were playing a cat and mouse game, but this was my fault for letting him into my bed a couple of days ago.
“I’ll be picking you up, be ready around eight,” he insisted. All right, I had a feeling that he was talking about the same party that I was going to attend anyway.
“I had an invitation for some jewellery party tonight from Zach, and I’m taking my co-worker Emma with us, so I’m afraid that I have to decline, Your Highness,” I said, closing my eyes for a second, so I could erase the image of him on top of me. Yep, this was still happening.
There was silence on the other side of the phone for a good few moments. Maybe he finally started to understand that this wasn’t going to work.
“The detective. He is taking you to Bridskirt Manor?” Arthur asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, it’s a work thing,” I said, and automatically wanted to bite my tongue. Arthur was a competitive guy, and he wanted to beat Zach. I had a really bad feeling about this. Maybe I should get on the phone to Zach and cancel.
“Fine, go with that arsehole, but I’m not pulling away. I love you, so he can piss off,” Arthur said, then hung up the phone.
I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking that I should have made up some other lie. Arthur didn’t need to know that I was going out with Zach. I left the office at five and then went home. I picked up whatever elixirs I had left, knowing that my stash was running on empty again, and headed over to Emma to try on the dress she’d mentioned.
She opened the door nearly screaming my head off, asking me about all the officials that were going to be at the party. Her daughter seemed excited too. It looked like Emma had told her about a visit from the prince. I really needed to start appreciating more the fact that I had met most of the royals.
“So I have red, navy and gold dresses for you. I know that you’re much smaller than me, but I wore these dresses before I got pregnant with Suzi,” Emma was saying, after she dragged me upstairs and handed me a glass of white wine.
Alcohol, great. I wasn’t really sure if that was appropriate, but I took it. Some time after that she asked me to try everything on, and it turned out that I looked good in red. Emma was talking the whole time, complementing me on my legs, boobs that I didn’t have, and my hair. She matched accessories with my outfit and I was extremely grateful. After that her daughter arrived from downstairs and it looked like she approved too. When I checked myself in the mirror several moments later, I had to admit, I looked hot.
Emma had sorted herself much quicker than me. She chose a lemon long silky dress paired with a black clutch and heels. I couldn’t say anything bad. She looked astonishingly refreshing and pretty. Somehow this short bonding time kind of put me in a good mood. I felt like I finally had a friend, a girlfriend that I could ask about fashion advice. My head couldn’t deal with the emotional aspect of this new relationship, but maybe there was hope for me. I wasn’t going to die alone after all.
By seven Suzi was running around the house and shouting that there was someone waiting for us outside. The babysitter was there when we were leaving. She looked like a teenager, but I didn’t dare say a word.
“Ready, oh my, I’m so excited I could burst,” Emma said, looking flustered. “Come on, let’s go, the detective is waiting.”
I nodded, finished the glass of wine in one go, and headed towards the door. I had a feeling that we would have a very eventful evening tonight. That earlier phone call from Arthur worried me, but I told myself that I could do this, that I was strong enough to push him away. In theory that was easy, but in practise this had proven a real challenge.