Page 33 of Mortal Things

Katie hesitates. She must have stepped somewhere quieter, because the noise suddenly sounds muffled. “I’ll tell her you’re coming,” she says. “You know how she is on her birthday.”

I wince. “Thanks. Sorry. I swear I’m on my way.”

Katie hesitates again, as if she doesn’t quite believe me. And to be honest, I can’t quite blame her. But at last, I hear the old cheery sarcasm return to her voice.

“Apologize in person,” she says. “Now hurry up.”

11

Half an hour later, I find myself standing before the golden dome of the Koko Theatre right after ten o’clock, shivering in the cold.

An earlier downpour has transitioned into a drizzle, one too faint for an umbrella yet just enough to coat everything in a damp haze. The slick streets are smeared with neon pink and turquoise reflections, and the chill in the air is the kind that seeps into my bones.

The pavement outside the theater is already trembling with the sound of a deep beat from inside, and a line snakes from the arched front entrance of the building. But I stride to the front, where a second door with no line is guarded by an enormous bouncer in a black turtleneck and suit. Like the servers and entertainers at my patron god’s estate, I can see the silhouette of wings in his shadow.

He stares at me through an opaque pair of shades as I approach. In the adjacent line, a guy grimaces at me and shouts something about heading to the back to wait my turn. I just ignore him as I step up to the bouncer, where I pull my sleeve back to show him my Harbinger marking.

“Raven,” I tell him.

The bouncer takes one look at my marking and nods, then steps aside. The guy who had yelled at me from the line makes a sound of protest as I step forward, while the others with him turn to one another to murmur something—but then I’m in, the commotion outside forgotten.

The doors open into a cavernous space awash in scarlet, with several layers of intricate balconies wrapping around a crowded dance floor and the stage, where a DJ dressed all in gold now spins a thunderous electronic track. It takes me a second to recognize that the DJ isn’t a mortal at all, but Sky, the god of Music, his face lit up with joy as he calls for the audience to let out a round of cheers.

There are so many people on the floor that all I see is a field of limbs and tossing hair, the euphoric bodies lit up in sporadic intervals by sweeping lasers. The track pounds steadily through me until it feels like a heartbeat, keeping me alive with its thundering rhythm. And in spite of my disinterest in nightclubs, I can still feel myself drawn to the energy in the room, pulled toward the fragments of the creative soul within the music itself.

I don’t bother with the overcrowded dance floor. Instead, I head two stories upstairs, where I find Charlotte sitting at a booth with other Harbingers, her hair braided and tied up, a crown on her head. With her is Katie, her arms of tattoos fully exposed in her sleeveless jumpsuit, and Esrell, Willow’s Regent. Soren is here, too, the same Regent of Aurora’s that I’d seen at my confirmation, who had cast me a disgusted look.

Charlotte brightens at the sight of me, popping up like a spring to wrap me in a hug. “There you are!” she exclaims. Her eyes are glossy and full of manic joy. My heart twists. She was like this last year too, when she missed her parents the most, and I’d had the audacity to forget.

“Sorry I’m late,” I shout to her. “I was on assignment.”

She looks toward the couches. “Well, you’re here now,” she shouts back. “Do you want any peaches?”

I think I misheard her until I glance over at the table to see a giant bowl of ripe peaches among the spread. Charlotte’s favorite fruit, due to a peach tree her family had on their farm.

“I’ll get it myself!” I tell her.

She just nods vigorously. “When you come with me to visit the farm,” she yells, “I’ll pick some for you. I promise they’re the best you’ll ever taste!” She tugs on my arm. “Come on. We’re about to make a toast!”

I shoot her a wry grin through the flashing darkness. “Getting yourself in trouble already?”

“What?” she yells, holding a hand to her ear. “I can’t hear you, it’s my birthday!” She gives me a cheeky grin and sits back down before a cake covered in candles.

“Are you drinking?” I shout, nodding incredulously at the tall glasses littered around her seat.

“Yes, free snacks!” she shouts back. I nod at her as if she’d answered correctly.

Katie shifts next to me as I take a seat nearby. “It’s just sparkling cider,” she says into my ear. “Although she’s had nine glasses by now, so at this point, sugar might be having the same effect.” She gives me a thoughtful frown. “Should we stop her?”

I look over to where Charlotte jumps onto the couch and screams at the DJ’s next song choice. Beside her, Esrell studies the cider bottle’s label. “Are you sure there’s no alcohol in this?” he shouts at Katie, who shrugs.

“It’s okay,” she calls back. “Let her be the star tonight.”

I smile to myself. None of us are exactly parenting material, but when your own loved ones don’t remember you, we’re all the family we’ve got. At least Charlotte looks happily distracted.

The track shifts to a faster tempo, and a wall of crisscrossed purple lights scan across the vast space, making it difficult to recognize anyone except those around me at the table. Charlotte hops to her feet, her eyes shining, and starts to inch away from the couch.

“I’m going down to the dance floor!” she shouts.