Author's Note: Alright, so the characters here are part of this ongoing universe that I’ve been working on. The ritual itself isn’t detailed because my computer ate half of this due to a great mistake on my part and I had to do a crazy rewrite about 40 minutes before the deadline. I apologize! That said, I hope you enjoy what did get here!

The Gathering
By Lenari Soto

I stepped into the brightly lit foyer quietly, shaking off the snow from my coat as my eyes examined my surroundings. My gaze fell upon the sparkling chandelier and I smiled, following its sensuous glass contours. I’d fixed it quite a few times, as it had a tendency to plummet towards the ground and shatter whenever any sort of disturbance took place in the mansion. Most of us secretly believed that it happened because it got upset, but I don’t think we would’ve admitted it if we’d been asked. After all, what were the chances of a chandelier having feelings?

Actually, in my world, things tend to come to life. So it’s really not that implausible.

Steps echoed in the hallway to my left, breaking my reverie. “I’m glad you’re already here,” V commented, smiling as she leaned against the doorframe. “Aeros isn’t here yet, but he should be arriving shortly.”

I slipped out of my coat slowly when she walked towards me, and smoothed my robes as she took the coat from me. “I’m not surprised. He’s usually late. We both tend to be.”

She closed the door to the coat room very quietly before turning to me. “I hope he’s not too late to see the show, dear. That’d be a damn shame.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure he won’t. When have we known him to miss a bunch of naked women dancing for him?”

“They won’t be naked, or dancing for him,” V corrected, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “It’s not like I want to invoke Audrey’s wrath upon myself. They’re here for the ritual and he’s only a spectator.”

Thinking of my sister-in-law, I smiled. “Good point. I don’t think Audrey would be too amused. I don’t think she’s amused by the fact that she can’t be here to begin with.”

V shook her head, black hair flying. “The Council allows no one but the members of the Council.” She took my arm, leading me through a curtain into the living room, and I found myself blinded momentarily by the dim lighting. As my eyes readjusted I could see that few people had arrived, and I sighed. I hate being either early or late, and it seemed like I’d managed to do one of the two again. “You’re not really early, you know,” V commented, startling me. “The rest of the Council just happens to be late.”

She released my arm and walked towards a table, and I followed. Her height made it easy for me to keep up. We sat down at the table, and she motioned for one of the girls to bring her a drink. “It’s early to begin drinking,” I commented quietly, and she laughed.

“I’ve been drinking since this morning.” At my shock, she elaborated. “I was out of normal cream so I put Bailey’s in my coffee.”

We both chuckled, and as the girl stepped beside V I was struck by how exotic-looking the girl was. Her skin was a deep olive tone, contrasting starkly with the fuchsia nail polish she was wearing. Straight dark hair covered part of her face as she leaned down to place the drink on the table, and when she straightened up long and curled lashes covered her gaze. V smiled at her, nodding in my general direction, and the girl turned to me. The eyes I expected to find green were surprisingly dark as she looked at me, and I found myself shooting V a furtive glance as the girl smiled at me. “Will you have anything to drink?”

I shook my head. “No, thanks. Underage, here.” She grinned at V as she departed, and I shook my head again. “She’s young, V.”

“She’s your age,” she commented, leaning forward on the table to look at me more closely. “Plus, it doesn’t bother me.” She lifted the glass to her lips while still looking at me, and I was struck by how much her eyes resembled the color of the scotch she was drinking. It wasn’t until she looked past me that I returned to reality, and I turned around to follow her gaze. I found Aeros standing at the door, shifting through the incoming crowd. He approached our table with a smile, and I smiled back half-heartedly. V and I watched as he ensconced himself in the nearest armchair to V’s, and I kicked him under the table. We exchanged a glance, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, leaning towards me.

V smiled, taking another swig of her scotch. “I’m going to go tell the Elders that most of the Council is here now. We should get this party started.” She rose, shooting Aeros another appraising glance before walking away, and I was about to chide him when Johari and Willow ran in, sitting down at our table looking very flustered. I raised an eyebrow at them, and Willow grinned sheepishly at me.

“We ran into the boys,” Johari explained with a smile, olive green eyes sparkling.

“Did you have your conversation?” I asked Willow pointedly, and she giggled, her flush evident against her light skin.

“It’s been started, and I think we’re going the right way.”

The three of us giggled as Aeros shook his head. “About time, really.” He turned to me with a grin. “So, Miss Crystal, have you taken care of your conversation?”

I was about to answer when a bell rang loudly in the enclosed space, and Hayti stepped into the middle of the floor, looking at all of us appraisingly. “As you know, we are here to perform the send-off ritual for a Council member that has departed,” she began solemnly, “and to imbue their replacement with the power they must now carry. This is a very powerful position to have to fill, so we will need all of you to provide your power to help this happen.” The four of us exchanged quick glances, and I could see Johari tense at the thought as Hayti continued. “And there is something else: someone needs to be the vessel for this transfer, and their survival… is not guaranteed.”

We knew before she’d finished speaking that she’d up choosing me.