Zoé is a young immortal. She is only 186 years old. Currently, she works in an incredible library of the occult, located in Budapest and curated by a very old immortal called Ikshan. Unfortunately, one day she stumbles upon a terrifying monster in a...
Sonia's cigarette smoke invades dangerously Elise's office. She's half sitting on our host's desk as Zoé and I are installed on a cozy sofa and Elise stands near the bookshelf, her arms crossed.
"Sonia, we need your help," Elise says.
The witch shrugs. "What did you do this week?"
Elise smiles and explains the situation.
"We need you to locate the second amulet," I say. "We've narrowed the area in the south of France. But we have to know more precisely where to search. Would you agree to help us?"
Sonia's hand gesture makes her heavy jewelry tint. "Yeah, yeah. Okay."
"Thank you so much," I say.
"But I'm not doing the ritual if this is what you're thinking," she mutters.
"Oh no. We would not have asked you. We're looking for a sorcerer," Zoé intervenes. Then she winces. "Of course, we don't know yet how we're going to find one, cause apparently random-guy-at-tattoo-parlor-number-2 is not worthy of helping us in our sacred quest."
There's a brief silence while I roll my eyes, Elise tries to understand what this is about, and Sonia doesn't even blink, as if Zoé had said nothing.
"Anyway," I try to put the conversation back on track. "We haven't resolved this issue yet."
Elise shakes her head. "A trustworthy sorcerer is hard to find."
Another brief silence.
"My ex-husband is an ex-sorcerer," Sonia says with a sigh, lighting yet another cigarette. "He's still a dickhead, though." She puts the cigarette in her mouth.
Elise represses a smile. "Can we trust him with this, Sonia?"
The short woman lifts her head while inhaling a long breath of smoke. "Unfortunately, you can."
"And what do you mean by ex-sorcerer?" Zoé asks.
"I convinced him to leave the dark side of the force. He was just in it because he had been raised into this bullshit. So now he uses his powers to rescue lost cats and help grandmas crossing the streets."
"He seems like a nice...," I try. Sonia scowls at me. "... guy...?"
"He's a dickhead."
"Alright," Elise offers. "Well, he knows sorcerer's procedures. Sonia thinks he is powerful enough. So we have our solution." She smiles. "Let's call him."
Sonia takes her phone and reluctantly presses 'call'.
"Darling, what a delight," says sarcastically the voice on the phone. "Why are you calling?"
"Could you drag your ass here and be useful for once?"
I'm pretty sure my face looks exactly as Elise's and Zoé's right now: fascinated.
"I'm not at your service."
"Really? You're not? Okay, then. Good luck with your next gambling calamity. And don't come to me crying when you will be like: 'Oh, I was sure I could trust this guy.'"
"That was this one time. Will you throw that at my face until the end of time? Do I remind you of the Beijing disaster every freakin' week? No, I don't."
"Apart from the fact you just did," Sonia says in an even higher pitch than usual. Elise pretends to cough discreetly and smiles. "Will you help or not?"
The voice over the phone softens suddenly. "Of course, I will."
"I'll call you for the details, you dick."
Then Sonia puts away her phone and finishes her cigarette in the stunned silence of the room.
"Well, that was something," Zoé says.
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