Boy Meets Girl
My dead Raina was talking to James.
“And here’s the man himself” he said. Shit and double shit.
“Marcus, Sera. Sera, Marcus” I stared at the hand she stuck out at me. Her palm was warmer than I remembered and I wondered if perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe the upcoming conclusion of 50 years of gathering power and suffering the presence of the evil alchemists spirit was finally getting to me. Soon he’d be dead, Raina’s death would be balanced, and it would all be over. But I didn’t want to be mistaken. I wanted it to be Raina’s hand in mine again. Raina’s mouth smiling at me again. Raina’s honey brown eyes looking up at my face with just the hint of hidden joy only she could know.
“Sera” I rolled her name off my tongue. It felt familiar in my mouth. “Nice to meet you.”
“James has been trying to sell your beautiful art to me. Of course, he has no idea that I’m just a bartender and couldn’t afford the tailored shirt he’s wearing.” she laughed
“That’s too bad” I said “Perhaps you’d like to trade stories instead?”
Again, her laugh filled my chest with hope and sadness. This was not Raina, but I knew her… from her strong calves to a neck that loved the soft caress of lips right where it met her shoulder. Her dark red lips smiled.
“Marcus, there you are.” Marie said as if she’d lost a wayword child. “We haven’t finished our conversation” Triple Shit.
“Will you help me.” I whisphered to Sera/Raina “She’s a journalist and I’m tired of dodging her. I’ll do anything to get out of here. Please help me.” I put on the charm, literally. Letting my body heat rise slightly and sending a mixture of Elemental scent of water and fire at her. Any normal Brute female would think she’d just fallen in love.. Temporarily.
“Absolutely! I’m trying to duck out of my own blind date. The guy’s a total asshole.”
“Great, um, well not great. Anyway, what do we do?” Now we were conspirators playing a game.
“Look Marcus, I think we started that conversation on the wrong foot.” Marie said and smiled like a used car salesman. “Can we go somewhere more private to talk?”
And then my head started to ring. Slap! Sera hit my face again.
“So is this the woman you’ve been seeing behind my back” Sera shouted and grabbed my hand. “How dare you parade her in front of me.”
My stinging cheek brought my mind back into focus. Sera pretended to seethe in a jealous rage. I wish she didn’t look so much like Raina during our last fight. Her brows pulled down. Her lips drawn together in a thin line. Her eyes wild with a spark of mischief. I felt real tears start to form in my eyes, a mixture of physical pain and remembered pain. I shook my head to clear away the dark memories and assumed the warming of my amulet was from my own emotional turmoil.
“Of course not.” I pretended to soothe her by caressing her proferred hand. “I told you, I’m not seeing anyone else but you.”
She tossed my hands aside “Forget it. I don’t believe you. How can I believe you?” Sera ran through the crowd, that parted like the red sea before Moses.
I followed after her, directly out the door. Not my usual quiet exit, but it would just have to do. I looked back in time to see Marie struct silent, for once. Her mouth help open and eyes glazed over with a mixture of surprise and jealousy. I’m so glad I dodged that bullet. But the amulet was still warm against my chest meaning I was still emotional or very near a dangerous power source. And with someone who looked like my dead Fiance’s twin mysteriously back in my life, it seemed I had dodged a bullet and stepped into the path of a mac truck instead. Quadruple Shit.
Sera was standing next to the elevator doubled over laughing. Her purple dress shimmered in the hallway lights and her eyes sparkled. “Now that was seriously fucking fun.”
I needed more time with her. I needed to understand what she was doing here a day before the Banishing Ritual. A day before it would all be over.
“Well at least they’ll have something more interesting to talk about than the cocktail napkins for the next few hours.” We stepped into the elevator and I punched the button for the ground floor. I straightened my peasant shirt and placed my cold palm against my hot cheek. “So how can I repay you for slapping me in the face? Miss Sera…?”
“Oh. It’s Taylor.” She blushed and smoothed the tight fitting dress across her hips. “I’m sorry if that hurt. Sometimes I leap before I look. If it’s any consolation, my palm hurts too.” Sera showed me her hand and we shared a silent moment approving of each others injuries.
“Okay, you’re forgiven. I just hope I don’t wake up with your handprint on my face tomorrow morning. Let’s go ice our wounds with some well earned bourbon. You do drink bourbon don’t you?” I needed answers quickly and comrades sharing a drink was the best I could do in such short notice. Luckily, she seemed to hold the spirit of adventure from our public display.
“Of course. I’m a bartender for a living. I drink everything as long as it comes in a shot glass. Maybe you’ll even tell me your last name too”
We stepped out of the loft apartment building and I saw the usual Seattle clouds. “Perfect.” I said, “ I’ll call us a cab before it starts to rain.”
When she sat down in the cab, I was certain Raina was somehow trying to tell me something from across the abyss. Nobody but Raina was crazy enough to take off their shoes in a cab. Nobody except Miss Sera Taylor.
“You never told me name” She smiled.
I pulled her close to keep us both from shivering, just as Raina and I would have been. “My name’s Marcus Domino” Sera leaned into me, but unlike Raina, she wasn’t cold at all.