I had finally arrived at Mama Louise’s with Elysif and Iscariot. Although all three of us, being a bit terrified, did everything to not let it show as Mama Louise greeted us, she knew. She even attempted to hit on Iscariot just to mess with him. Though Iscariot was pleased that someone was interested in him, it made Elysif and me rather uncomfortable, because we now both had the mental image of these two old psychopaths getting it on. Neither of us needed to imagine that!

Upon entering her home, we were surprised to see that there were only a few Succubi. There were a few Leprechauns, some goat-headed creatures, and a centaur. The rest were mainly supernatural creatures, other than a few humans besides us. Iscariot began speaking with several of the guests, as if he was born to be at these kinds of parties, while Elysif and I stayed in the corner near the refreshment tables.

It was not that we were entirely antisocial, it was that we both knew our limits. Elysif had once mentioned to me that she couldn’t stand crowds due to the amount of information she had to take in all at once, and that it would give her migraines. I, on the other hand, just disliked being in situations in which I had to talk with people I barely knew, or people of importance, by myself. It made me anxious, thus, I stayed by Elysif in case someone who seemed important attempted to make conversation, and she stayed with me to make sure she had someone to give her a hand if need be. It worked well for both of us.

“What an interesting party!” Iscariot said ecstatically in his usual voice, joining us near the refreshments.

“Yes, it sure is. Although I have no idea who any of these people are, or even what some of them are,” I said in a hushed voice. To anyone passing by, they would probably assume that I was spreading gossip.

“Don’t worry, they all seem to be happy that we are here. They do need our aid at the moment, or so it would seem,” he whispered back.

“Wait! what does that mean?” I asked, but instead, he turned to Elysif.

“And what about you, Eli? Are you enjoying yourself?” Iscariot asked with what seemed to me as genuine interest.

“I am not a child, you don’t need to call me Eli, and no; I want to go home. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attempt to stop this headache,” she replied, before taking a silver vial from her pocket, removing some tablets, and downing them with some of the champagne set out at the refreshment table.

“Eli, what did you just take?” Both Iscariot and I asked with concerned looks.

“Just some pain relievers. Now, both of you need to stop worrying; I am a doctor,” Elysif replied.

“Of course, a witch doctor, that is,” Iscariot said, as if to cue her wrath, but before she could dismember him, we heard the clinking of a glass. Everyone turned to face Mama Louise, who was standing beside Scott who I guess had just arrived.

“Everyone, I thank you all for coming. Now that the final guest has arrived, we shall gather in the dining hall for a feast. We have accommodated everyone's preferences, and as such, if you have a complaint about someone else's food, you may take it up with me. But none of you want that, right?” Everyone seemed to chuckle at that comment. Was everyone here that afraid of Mama Louise? If so, then I guess we were all in the same boat.

We followed the gathering of creatures down a hall to the dining room. The table that sat inside was half the size of Scott’s flat, and on it sat rows of candelabras, all lit to give a certain nuance. All we could do was admire the table, that was shining as if made of gold, and covered with a single glass plate. The room itself was a marvel, as several clear half-columns lined the walls, and hanging in between them were lanterns. The floor was marble, and the ceiling was a magnificent painting of the night sky. It awed me to no end, and I wasn’t the only one. Elysif, Iscariot, and Scott were just as awed as I was, but it didn’t last long as Mama Louise came up behind us and ushered us into the room.

We awkwardly shuffled around the table until we saw our name written on a place marker in front of our chair and sat down. Then, Mama Louise sat down at the end of the table, beside Scott. Poor guy. Across from him sat Iscariot, on the other side of Mama Louise. I then sat next to Scott, and Elysif next to me. Probably a good idea to keep Iscariot away from Elysif, seeing as how they were getting along just swimmingly earlier.

Once we had been seated, a gaggle of Succubi came and poured us each a drink. Each drink was different, and seemed to match the person. Iscariot received a sparkling white wine, Elysif received vodka steeped in black tea, Scott got sailors rum, and I got wine. I had never drunk wine, but they wouldn’t have known that.

“So, Scott, what took you so long to get here?” I asked.

“I couldn’t find my tie,” Scott whispered, obviously lying.

“Bullshit! You were holding your tie when I left,” I whispered back angrily.

“Fine! I took a nap,” he said, finally accepting that lying wasn't going to work.

“You suck,” I replied.

“Whatever, just keep an eye on Iscariot and Elysif. They don’t always hold their liquor well,” Scott said, gesturing at the two.

“Fine,” I said, taking a sip of my wine. Damn, it was actually pretty good!

Scott took a sip of his own drink and looked at Mama Louise, “Mama Louise, what happened to the good stuff?” he asked, with an almost offended but hushed voice, as not to make a scene.

“My, my. Had I given you more expensive rum, you would have drank me into debt by morning,” she replied with a grin, before taking a sip of her champagne.

“You know me too well. So, why did you really call me and my friends here?” Scott asked.

“Friends? I haven’t heard you use that word in a long time,” she said, with a grin still plastered over her face. She was definitely enjoying this.

“Don’t look into it too much, just a slip of the tongue,” Scott replied sheepishly.

“Fair enough. But what I called you here for was a favor that involves everyone here,” she said, as her grin disappeared.

“If it’s that big of a deal, shouldn’t you be talking with one of my superiors? Also, what might this favor entail?” Scott asked inquisitively.

“I actually did go to your superiors about this issue, and it was said that you were the right one for the job,” Mama Louise answered with a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh, really! Those stuck-up bastards...” Scott said under his breath.

“What I need—no—what we need, is for you to take care of some Willowisps,” Mama Louise said in a way that seemed more like begging than asking. Scott had never heard her ask anything like that.

“And why are these Willowisps such an issue? I didn’t even know they still existed,” Scott said curiously.

“Unlike other wisps that are born from souls not reaped by a cemetery guardian, Willowisps are created by a warlock or sorcerer for a specific purpose. We don’t know what that purpose is, but Willowisps have started attacking many of the people that those in this room are supposed to protect,” Mama Louise explained.

“The more you talk about it, the more it seems like a non-Scott problem,” Scott said, dreading the thought of having such a job.

“That’s where you’re wrong. All of these people have sworn an oath of peace between each other and the Table. If one of the tribes that they protect were to have an uprising against them because of an attack and instate a new leader, then they could become violent towards us, or the Table,” Mama Louise explained.

“Now I see why this is a 'me' problem...” Scott said with a sigh.

“Humanity has avoided a war with the supernatural for nearly two-hundred years, and this could be what ultimately starts another one. We want peace as much as you do, so please take care of it. Everyone here has agreed to help you with any matters that you have to step away from in order to do this,” Mama Louise assured him.

“I’ll do it,” Scott answered after rubbing the back of his head.

“Thank you, Mr. Langston,” Mama Louise said.

“On another note, do you know of the changeling that I have been searching for?” Scott asked.

“The one who killed Isabell?” Mama Louise asked.

“Yes. I want as many people as you can spare searching for it, and keeping the people safe from anything else. Do know that it is my duty to also be a third party for all of your squabbles, so I request that, since you will have no mediator, to please keep yourselves in check while I am away,” Scott requested.

“I will do what I can; you have my word,” she said, holding her glass out. Scott held out his glass and they tapped together in agreeance. The two then took a sip of their drinks, but Scott didn’t stop, and finished his glass. Mama Louise, expecting this, pulled out a bottle of fine expensive rum from beside her, and poured him another glass.

“So that’s why you were holding out on me?” Scott said with a curiously surprised look.

“No, I just thought I would tease you first. You may finish the bottle, but that is all I am allowing you to have of my quality stock,” Mama Louise said with a joking smile.

“Well, I thank you. You are a wonderful host,” Scott said, before sipping the drinks slowly this time.

Mama Louise took another sip of her champagne and looked around only to be stared at by Iscariot. “I must say, Louise, you are absolutely stunning, and your choice of decoration is magnificent,” Iscariot said.

“You flatter me, Mr. Iscariot. But you are far too young for me. I was just messing with you when you arrived,” she said.

“Well, you know I am actually much older than I look. I have been working on a formula to reverse aging, and I am temporarily back in my prime because of it,” Iscariot explained eagerly.

“That might get you somewhere with me... if you could provide me with some of that formula,” Mama Louise said with an interested look.

“But of course,” Iscariot replied with a wink. Scott, Elysif, and I all avoided witnessing their flirtatious gazes for the rest of the night.