Lily harper complete s.., p.205
lily harper - complete series, page 205
Without looking up from her work, Annice said, “When we’re done, Tallis Black, you’ll know.”
I turned around just as the portal finally spat out its latest travelers. Lemures came out first, the corridor barely being big enough to fit two of them side by side. While that’d make things a mite easier, the situation was a long way from easy. Bringing up the rear was another suit, but this one was different. No sunglasses were perched on his face. The cut of his suit was a century past. And he stood only an inch shorter than his oversized lackeys.
The suit’s eyes fixed on Besom. “Ms. Harper... I should have known.”
“And now that you do, Fletcher, what happens?” Lily asked, ready to get on with the fight.
Fletcher’s glassy corpse eyes hardened into hateful diamonds. “Nothing pleasant.”
The Lemures started charging us when I felt a sudden suction grab me from behind. The salt Metra had scattered amazingly stayed in place and glowed. The beasties stayed on their side of the line as I got pulled backwards.
“Don’t fight it!” Annice called out, her voice disappearing as she finished her sentence. Deciding to trust her, I let meself go slack and be sucked into the whirlwind. Fletcher was still staring at us in confusion as the gate closed behind us.
THIRTEEN
LILY
The next thing I knew, I was smacking against a golden wall head-first. But instead of cracking my skull, the wall cushioned me like a marshmallow, gently pushing me away. I left a good-sized dent behind me as I slid into plush red carpet. Everyone else landed just behind me.
While the gate snapped shut behind us, the dent I’d made in the marshmallow wall gradually filled back in. In a couple of seconds, it was as though I’d never so much as tapped it. The rest of the crew seemed similarly surprised as we tried to get our bearings.
Shaking my head, I noticed the carpet had gold fleur-de-lis scattered throughout the sea of crimson. The ceiling over our heads was solid gold, full of the kind of decorative flairs you might associate with Louis XIV. The sole light source was an elaborate chandelier, slightly swaying in the direction of our chaotic entrance.
The weirdest thing about the room was how small it was: barely the size of my apartment’s kitchenette. The back left corner was dominated by a freestanding rack with elaborate hangers on it. A few of them held some fine dresses, showing off a rainbow of colors from pitch black to sheer white. Every one of them looked fashion-show ready. The back right corner was the domain of a set of three full-length mirrors, each of them facing an elevated platform. Mini-spotlights dotted the edge of the mirrors. They were off but looked like they could throw a glare worthy of the chandelier.
Bill groaned as he remained on his back and took the ceiling in. “So where the hell are we now?”
“If I didn’t know better,” I said while I helped Tallis to his feet. “I’d say we’re in the changing room of some high-end dress shop.”
“Oh, not just any high-end dress shop, Lily,” Annice assured me while Metra assisted her to her feet. “Fated Fashion is the best in the Kingdom.”
Tallis looked at her like she’d just suggested breaking his blade was a good idea. “An’ what in the name o’ Bran are we doin’…”
The door popped open, just wide enough for a middle-aged woman to stick her head in. She was a match for Annice in the looks department, but most of her beauty was ruined by the severe frown on her face. She groaned as she open the door wide enough to step into the room. The elegant green dress she wore was a decent match for her light brown hair, done up in a bun.
“I had an inkling you all were coming,” she said with resignation. “But part of me still wished I was wrong.”
Asterion was the closest to her. He bowed his head and got down on one knee. “Many apologies for our unwelcome intrusion, my lady. But our circumstances gave us little choice in the matter.”
Even as she sighed, she couldn’t keep a weary but pleased smile off her face. “Oh, there’s no need to explain, son of Pasiphae. I daresay I know more about your circumstances than any of you do.”
Annice came around the Minotaur’s right side with a big smile on her face. “The circumstances aside, it’s good to see you again, Macha.”
The woman didn’t return the smile. “Would that I could say the same, Annice Harper.”
Meanwhile, Tallis’ eyes bugged out in shock. “You’re Macha o’ the Morrigan?”
Macha looked around Tallis’ left side and nodded. “Or Clotho of the Moirai, as Asterion here would know me. Depending on the time and place, I’ve been called both.”
“Well, I just call you an all-around worrywart, Big Sis,” a younger female voice said from the other side of the door.
“Badb!” Macha snapped while the voice’s owner came in. Actually, it was more like she danced in. She looked like she was barely out of her teens and her shoulder-length hair was roughly the same color as Macha’s. That hair hung over her shoulders and ended at her chest, contrasting nicely with the golden dress she wore, which hugged her curvaceous figure. She had a toothy grin that was nearly as bright as the light reflecting off the dress.
Macha held her hands on her hips and tapped her foot like our new arrival had missed curfew. The girl just shrugged her willowy shoulders.
“Well, you are a worrywart,” the girl said. “Every time something like this happens, you only think about how badly we might fair.”
Bill gave me a sly look. “Gee, who does that remind me of?” I gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder and an annoyed look.
“Never mind how the worrying never accomplishes anything,” a deeper female voice added behind the pair of sisters.
Macha’s cheeks got flush with anger or maybe just embarrassment. “Oh, don’t you start too, Anand.”
Tallis hadn’t stopped staring at these two since he’d heard Macha’s true identity. Now his eyes went to the newest entry into the dressing room. The slight wrinkles on her face and dark spots on her arms made her look a bit older than Macha. She had a thinner figure than Macha or Badb but it was a perfect complement to the flowing silver dress that hung off her.
The older woman took a moment to kiss Macha’s cheek. “You know Badb and I only say these things because we care, right?”
The red drained out of Macha’s face, but she still said, “And I only worry because that’s my way of caring.”
Anand nodded, before shifting her grey eyes to Tallis. “While I realize you’re extremely starstruck at the moment, Bladesmith,” she said patiently. “May I suggest you put that awe aside so we may focus on the business at hand?”
“Well, let’s be fair about it, Ms. Anand,” I said, stepping in. “It’s not exactly every day you meet a trio of goddesses.”
“Yeah, it’s just every other day for you, Lils,” Bill quipped.
“Shush!” I admonished him, knowing full well he wouldn’t listen.
Macha stared a little resentment at my aunt. “Conversely, every day we don’t have to deal with Annice is a very good day indeed.”
Metra hummed and asked Annice, “Think she still holds last time against us?”
“Maybe a little,” my aunt replied. “Though I can’t for the life of me imagine why.”
Macha was unamused by our antics while Badb was doing her best not to laugh. Anand was giving the room a wistful look before sighing, “Well, we had a good thing while it lasted,” Macha said.
Despite the billion questions I had for the goddesses, one of them absolutely needed an answer. “Someone is eventually going to explain to us why we’re here, right?”
“For reals, Nips,” Bill chimed in. “As easy as Cheerleader, Hot Mama and GILF are on the eyeballs, I’m kind of keen to keep moving after that stunt in the slums.”
Asterion just grunted and shrugged. Tallis, on the other hand, looked a bit annoyed at my aunt. “By what right have ye made us impose upon the Phantom Queens, woman?”
Annice and Metra shared a conspiratorial smile. “Do you want to tell him or should I?” Metra asked.
“Well, I was the one who cut the deal so...” Annice answered.
“But didn’t they throw in a binding oath to make sure we kept our mouths shut?” Metra asked.
“I want to say ‘yes’ but it’s been so long.”
By this point, I was ready to tear my hair out. “Look, I don’t care who explains it. Just someone start!”
“I’ll start!” Badb volunteered, throwing up an enthusiastic hand. Macha forced the hand down and gave her a reproving look.
“I’ll do it,” she said, her tone making it obvious that this was the last thing she wanted to do. She sighed and started with, “We’d been petitioning AE for quite some time to get permission to open this shop, so…”
“Ugh, not to cut you off, Hot Mama,” Bill cut in. “But you never did explanate why a dress to begin with.”
Macha gave him a look that matched the one she threw at her sister. Anand stepped in to say, “Dress shops are part of the idea manufacturing sector of the Kingdom’s economy. Since fashion is in such a constant state of flux in the mortal world, workable designs must be constantly updated.”
That made no sense to me. “I thought people came up with those designs on their own.”
“Oh, they put their own unique spin on them, you betcha,” Badb said, her enthusiasm showing this was a subject she loved. “But the basics—what old Plato used to call ‘the Forms’—that all starts in the shops.”
Macha stepped in with, “Ideas are tested on clientele, refined and ultimately—when they’re deemed worthy—sent to Earth.” The frown came back to her face, but I could tell it wasn’t directed at anyone in the room. “And yet we were never deemed worthy enough to work in this trade until Annice’s... help.” Her eyes darted over to my aunt. “Well, go on and tell them the rest! I know you’re dying to.”
The way Annice smiled back at her, I could see a lot of Mom in her face. “All I will say is this,” she practically cooed. “Metra had heard about your troubles and told me. That’s why I suggested we pull the Oasis heist so we could nab a little inside information to... I think the phrase is ‘grease the wheels’?”
“Luck be a lady!” Bill exclaimed.
“Aren’t you forgetting to mention something, Annice?” Anand asked. “While your help was generous, I recall it was far from free.”
Macha held up a finger. “One favor, anything that’s within our power to grant... that’s the only reason you’d set foot in this shop, Harper.”
My aunt’s face grew serious as she nodded. “We need two things.”
The middle sister’s face hardened. “We only agreed to one favor.”
“Let me finish and you’ll see both favors are related.” She held up one finger. “First, we need some kind of meat, doesn’t matter what kind.”
All three sisters took a look at Asterion and shared the same understanding expression. “The meat will make you human once more,” Anand said, declaring what they all were thinking.
“Which brings me to the second item,” Annice added, holding up another finger. “We need clothes to blend in on the Kingdom’s streets, the best you can give us.”
“And why should we give you anything other than secondhand clothes?” Macha snapped, folding her arms.
“You know why, Macha,” Anand told her in a reprimanding tone. “Harper and her comrades coming here means our time at Fated Fashion is at an end.”
“What I’ve been saying since we took this shop,” Macha growled.
Anand remained calm about it. “There is no way Alaire won’t know the Herald and her companions were here. We need to be long gone by the time they figure it out.”
Mention of my newest title made me self-conscious. “For whatever it’s worth, I’m really sorry we got you mixed up in this.”
Badb burst out into a belly laugh over that. It would have pissed me off if it weren’t so infectious. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, holding onto her sides. “But that’s like a hurricane apologizing for destroying a town.”
Macha didn’t exactly look any happier, but I could tell she was making an effort to lighten up. “The truth is, Ms. Harper, we’d still help you even if we didn’t owe your aunt this considerable favor. Your status as Herald demands no less of us.”
Annice’s ears perked up. “So does that mean I can keep my favor for some other time…”
Macha gave her a sharp hiss through clenched teeth. “Don’t push it, Annice.”
My aunt backed off, holding up her hands while trying not to giggle. I could see Metra was having the same trouble holding it in.
“I’ll go warm up that steak,” Badb said before rushing out the door.
Anand just stared after the door her sister had left open before saying, “You measure them, I’ll take care of the rest?”
Macha pulled a tape measure out of nowhere and nodded. She pulled the tape free and looked at me. “Let’s start with you, Herald.”
###
About an hour later, I was checking out my image in all three of the corner mirrors. Staring back at me was this glammed-up girl next door in a spaghetti strap, Coke-bottle-green dress, wearing lipstick that was a perfect match to my auburn hair. I also had a light touch of rouge on my cheeks and some pancake makeup to cover up the few freckles on my fairly light skin. Macha had insisted the makeup helped make me—and the dress—look good. The whole outfit was capped off with gold earrings in the shape of lyres and a pair of flats the same green as my dress.
As I looked at myself over the shoulder, I frowned a little. Even with the expert crafting the sisters had put in, I could still see my extra pounds and curves.
“Everything okay, Herald?” Macha asked, needle and thread poised to fix any problems.
“Please, call me Lily.”
“Everything okay, Lily?”
I slowly turned around while I nodded. “Everything’s fine...” Yet, I couldn’t keep the frown from my face.
“Are you sure?”
I didn’t want Macha to get the wrong idea. “It’s perfect, really.”
Catching Tallis’ reflection in the left mirror, I saw he was leaning against the back wall next to his blade, tapping his finger on the crosspiece. He was now wearing a traditional Scottish plaid, albeit one made from green and gold silk. His feet were clad in combat boots that looked like they’d been shined for a week. It looked like a D&D version of his traditional outfit, all primary colors and no grit.
“You look good,” I said to him.
He grumbled something about silk as I turned to face my aunt. She was now wearing a pinstripe power suit with a beige shirt under the coat and a brooch on her right lapel that was twisted into a round symbol. While she wore no rouge, her lipstick was a darker shade of red than mine, while her nails were painted in the same color.
“Damn, I make this shit look good!” Bill said. I turned around to face him and instantly wished I hadn’t. The new glowing white robes he’d been given were putting out only slightly less light than the chandeliers over our heads. “You want to blendappear in the Kingdom, you gotta look your best.”
“Says the angel wearing the walking lamp,” Metra chuckled. Like Annice, no dress for her. She was clad in a long sleeved, orange dress shirt that covered her many tattoos with matching felt-green toreador pants.
“Hey, we angels got lacks-atude on that.”
On the other side of the room, the humanized Asterion was putting on a light blue suit jacket he’d pulled off from the rack. It matched his white dress shirt and blue slacks, giving him a posh look that seemed completely out of place on his immense frame. Yet, the more I looked at him, the more the clothes seemed to… work.
“I believe I have found the perfect match,” he said, rolling his shoulders within the coat.
Macha looked at him. “Are you certain I can’t persuade you to take one of the ties?”
An ironic smile popped up on his face. “My answer is unchanged.”
Macha seemed a lot less amused at that.
I turned from Asterion to Tallis, who was already looking at me. “Honestly, Tallis, I wish you’d gone for a suit too.”
He snorted. “Nae, nae, Ah’d only look silly in such.”
That prompted some rude laughter from Bill, complete with a knee slap. “Only way you don’t look silly now, yo, is if you were headlining a St. Paddy’s Day parade.”
My man did his level best to glare down at Bill through the bright light. “Like ye’d know the first thing ‘bout fashion, stookie angel.”
Macha frowned at Bill, then Tallis. “The Kingdom does have a wide variety of fashion from all times and places.” She nodded at Tallis. “As such, the chances of the bladesmith standing out are rather minuscule.”
Macha then gave Annice’s pantsuit a cursory glance before anxiously looking at the door. “Where are those two?” she muttered to no one in particular. “They should have been here by…”
Before she could finish, Badb burst into the room with a flourish. “Ta-da!” she proclaimed, presenting a number of belts in her clenched fist.
The middle sister of the Morrigan frowned at her. “You’re late.”
Badb scrunched up her pretty face, once again putting her fists on her hips. “I’m right on time, thank you very much,” she retorted in that bratty tone.
“Get on with it, then,” Macha said.
The pout slid off Badb’s face as she lowered her fists back to her side. “Lily has to go first.”
Macha nodded. “And please tell me Anand nearly has the bags prepared?”
“Why have Badb tell you, dear sister, when I can do so myself?” the eldest Morrigan asked from the doorway. The clutch of bags in both hands made her look like she was getting ready for a sea cruise.
Badb handed me a belt made from gold hoops with my blade’s scabbard hanging from it. I looked over the belt a bit dubiously. The clasp turned out to be an economy-size version of a clasp you’d find in a gold earring. I snapped it around my waist.
Meanwhile, Anand presented Asterion with one of the bags, a big duffel that looked like it could hold a whole stack of bowling balls. I noticed that the metal zipper on it revealed the Zodiac sign for Taurus.
