Their conversation was cut short the moment Cherry appeared on the elevator. Wearing a red sundress and her silky black hair in a ponytail with a white bow, Cherry looked as lovely as ever, and well-rested too, which meant that after the call she slept a little more, something Cecilio wished he could’ve done.
Cherry’s real name was not known by many, and most things about her were shrouded in mystery since she liked it that way. What was true about this young lady was that she was Korean and she was the proud owner of a nice club most nonhumans in the city frequented, that red wasn’t her favorite color but she wore it a lot because it looked good on her, and that she preferred to be called by this lovely nickname since choosing immortality many, many years ago. Still, she looked not a day over 27, with her thick and round figure and face, what gave her a mature charm were those captivating and long grey eyes she had. The sparkly brown eyeshadow made them look like stars twinkling when she winked at them.
“Good day boys, delivery’s here!”
She handed Cecilio a paper bag with some sandwiches and a drink from a restaurant from two streets away after leaving a kiss on his cheek, and then sat on the chair across from him. As quickly as she shake the other bag in André’s direction, the demon almost forgot he had to wait for Cecilio to give him the order to move, one that came quickly as Cecilio mocked him for how eager he was to eat human food. With a quick poof and some smoke, André was back again to being a human male that carefully took in the bag and waited for Cherry to rub his hair.
“Have you missed me?”
“Every hour of my day, of course. And you had the delicacy of bringing us lunch,” Cecilio didn’t wait and started eating the potato chips loose on the bag. “You always know what I need!”
“It was easy to imagine you haven't eaten at all, with how bad you sounded this morning.”
“Talking as if you barely could speak yourself. I thought you dialed my number while asleep,” he said before taking a bite of a tuna sandwich.
Cherry looked offended at the comment, “Me? Not being ready and fresh at all times? You’re terribly wrong.”
“Whatever you say…”
“Is my order ready?”
“Drying as we speak. Give it an hour. Is there a party tonight?”
She smiled before shaking her oreo milkshake with the straw. “A big one. I even came here to hand an invitation out of courtesy, but I imagine the rejection that will come since you do poorly in these types of events.”
“Oh, I’m going tonight,” she looked at him intrigued and he sighed, “For work reasons, I hope my presence won't ruin the mood.”
From nothing, Cherry materialized the invitation in the air with a movement of her hand and handed Cecilio the purple envelope. Inside it, there was a piece of black paper with golden letters in greek that he could only read half of it. What he could understand read “Welcome to my 250 birthday!..... Callas family…. Free bar all night.” Reading that name was enough to make him rethink if he really had to worry about The Order and whatever was going on in those mountains.
“The Callas?! … I think I might not go tonight…”
André, who was enjoying his roast beef sandwich sitting on the cornice, grinned at the smell of his boss’ discomfort. “Scared of a good ol’ Callas’ extravaganza? They always go all out when it’s a party, especially a birthday!”
“Shut up and eat your meat. I’m not worried about myself but I fear how they will end up leaving your club, Cherry. You know how they can be!”
“Wild? I like them because of that, and that's why I told them I would book the party at my establishment. I’m not worried about the damages. They break it they pay it!”
Her bright smile showed all of her intentions to both men. The Callas was a highly respected family of elves that has been established in this country since they reached this land before it even had its name. They were native terians, and quite rich too. First, it was their monopoly on gold they got from mines no human has ever set a foot in, then some investments when investing started being a thing, and if you searched for a successful bussines in this city, you could be sure there was a Callas involved in it in some way or another. They weren’t all family by blood, but belonging to the same race was enough to consider each elve that came to Teria part of the family, even more if they needed help.
They were also a group of wild party animals. Against the stereotype of how amazingly pretentious elves were, they could enjoy the company of others that didn’t possess the same golden blood and would start a party that looked classy and decent, but end it as if a tornado and then a tsunami destroyed the place. Cherry was already planning how she would renovate the main floor after tonight’s disaster.
“Is the middle brother of the main family, boss. This is going to be a good party.”
“You think so, André? This one brother is known for liking the music louder than others, and his liquor stronger than usual… I’m getting a headache just by thinking about tonight.”
“That means your brain is already preparing your body!” exclaimed a happy Cherry who took some of Cecilio’s chips. “Relax a little! That’s why you look so tired. With the shop, the overseeing of the city, and that nasty energy coming from the mountain since last Monday. A party is needed to let some stress out, not just meditating all the time!”
André and Cecilio exchanged confused looks before staring at Cherry who was enjoying her drink.
"… You sensed it since Monday?” asked Cecilio.
“Yes, quite hard not to.”
“And you kept quiet?”
“Come on, you know that I can’t do your job, kid.”
André laughed at the comment, and Cecilio seriously thought about pushing him off the roof. It would be harmless for him and amusing to Cecilio, but more important things needed his attention.
“It’s not ‘doing my job’, but letting me know if there’s something weird going on.”
“But you’re the one with overwhelming power, oh Great Witch that oversees balance on earth! How couldn’t you notice it?”
The way she mocked him made André cackle, and Cecilio felt his face getting hotter out of embarrassment.
“Not even the dog noticed it!” he protested and managed to get the demon to stop laughing.
“Was I asked to notice it?!” André bargained in the conversation. “I was not ordered to, so I didn’t notice, and it’s such a minuscule presence!”
“Yeah it is!” continued Cecilio. “You said it yourself, I got this overwhelming power so is not weird I miss the small disruptions! Is like the size of an ant!”
“It sounds more like a case of not paying attention to me.”
Cecilio wanted to answer, but Cherry’s phone started ringing and she ignored them both to attend to her bussines. Looks like she was handling some decorations issue so important that she stood up and walked to the other side of the roof, far away from the excuses. Cecilio and André didn’t look at each other, noticing they were just making things off to not look bad in front of her.
“She’s right, you should’ve noticed. I’m going to do my rounds,” André finished his sandwich and walked away. He only waved Cherry goodbye before disappearing into the elevator.
Getting corrected by the demon hurt his pride so much he lost his appetite for a moment, then regained it because this was the first meal he’d had since lunch the day before. Of course, the cereal with vanilla ice cream he mindlessly ate while losing himself in his new books didn't count as a proper meal. It stayed in his mind, though. How could he let this worrying energy be right in front of him and not notice it even once? It didn’t matter if it was Antares Callas’ birthday. He needed to investigate this.
“So, it’s now you and me,” said Cherry as she sat and let her hands rest on her lap. Cecilio knew what was coming. “… I’m kind of disappointed. I was allowing you at least 3 days without checking this out, but a whole week is too much, don’t you think? And..”
“You didn’t train me to be this bad,” he interrupted.
Cecilio stole the words out of her mouth, which now showed him a tiny smile.
“Saying I’m disappointed falls short of how I actually feel. To think I trained a lackluster witch, and one that I’m stuck to until the end of his days too,” she searched for his eyes, yet he made an effort to avoid her gaze. “How can I enjoy my days if you don’t do your job, boy?”
Cherry might look like your typical girl next door and behave as such, but this was the way she chose to live life as a prisoner. How she came to be a prisoner of the Great Assembly was shrouded in mystery for Cecilio, but the first time they met she was being kept hidden by them, and everyone told him that to unseal someone like her could cause chaos beyond imagination. Against all advice, he went and took her out of the place she’d been sealed for 90 years, a little red box that had been unopened and tightly sealed with runes all over it. That was a big, bright red flag. Why would he choose to go against his elders? Well, power was maddening, and the amount that Cecilio came to possess after one mistake, with zero skill to properly handle it was slowly draining him. He was desperate for some help, and the woman that came out of the ring box gave him just one look before embracing a young boy that had something that charmed her, and lucky him that it happened, because he was just 4 days close to his death.
Since then, Cherry took him under her wing, and a contract was made, one where she would be allowed to walk free in the world within the space Cecilio allowed her to inhabit. That space was now this building. She was free of her jail and thrown into another one with a better view, and has been teaching for the last 9 years everything she knew about this power he now held in his weak mortal hands, how to live with it, control it so it didn’t harm him, and how to give it back to the earth, since it came from it.
As a friend, she was loyal and sweet, mischievous most of the time, but a wonderful person. As a teacher, she was the thing nightmares are made of.
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
“I’m waiting for you to actually get mad before begging and crying.”
She sighed and looked at the rhinestones on her nails. “I’m going easy on you… Not a surprise that you get this sloppy around these days. May 7 is getting closer and closer.”
Cecilio showed in his face how offended he felt at that assumption, only to hide how right she was. May, in general, made him feel off, but around that date, he always got sick, and distraught and ended up getting his mind involved in anything that wasn’t thinking about the past. Maybe that’s why he spent the whole night reading non-stop. It was all because May 7 was the birthday of the man that broke his heart when he was young or at least the date he told him it was. He couldn’t quite tell now, since everything he said to him was only lies. You see, Cecilio wished he could forget and ignore many things that hurt him when he was younger, but dates, how he dreaded dates and anniversaries, those you just simply couldn’t erase from the calendar. He didn’t even celebrate his birthday either.
“Let’s not go there,” sighed Cecilio, massaging his temple. “I would appreciate it if we change the subject.”
“Get your act together then. The safety of many depends on you so stop drowning in your pathetic sorrow and fix this before someone gets hurt. And if it ends up being The Order you’re getting a punishment.”
“Cherry, my training finished 2 years ago,” he was slightly scared of speaking up.
“I’ll get a notebook and I’ll make you repeat runes until your hands bleed if necessary, so I get to keep my peace. Got it?”
Cecilio immediately nodded and Cherry relaxed again before standing up and leaning to kiss his cheek.
“Try to sleep a little before tonight.”
She left the rooftop, and her incense cones, now in a tiny box, floated behind her as she prepared for tonight's event. Cecilio looked at his forgotten, almost complete cigarette on the glass ashtray and decided to relight it and finish it, seeing the hour and deciding to take on Cherry’s advice. The store was already closed, and it would remain like that until Monday because he really needed that nap.
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