Skin and Bones

Val set the phone down on her desk and looked at the shadows pooling her office. She heard the smack of chewing gum bursting and sighed.

  “That is a terrible human habit you picked up,” she said to the corner of her office and shook her head as the sound repeated itself and a cocky woman slipped from the shadows.

  “Whatever you say, doc,” the woman said sarcastically.

  With a sigh, Val prayed for the good ol’ days, a time when many had feared her and she’d held the respect of a kingdom. Now, she was forced to walk amongst the humans and be eons away from her home.

  “Well… what news have you brought of your sister?”

  The girl came forward and threw herself down onto the couch that ran along the office wall. She put her dirty boots up on the armrest and pulled a dagger free from her boot, proceeding to clean her nails.

  “Erika,” she snapped. “Do not try my patience, child, or I will unleash all manners of hell upon you.”

  Erika dismissed her. “Seriously? What am I, twelve? Anyway, considering the violent reaction she had to seeing me, I would say fair Ever is well into her transition. Her champion is by her side, and he is as he always has been—a protective, overbearing, vicious SOB. So the stars are aligning and shit just got real.”

  Val rubbed her hands together. “Fantastic. We need her to help us reclaim what is her birthright and save the last remaining sisters. We cannot fail at this, Erika, for it would be the end of us all.”

  “Melodramatic much, Mother? Anyways, we are doing all we can within the limits of the rules he set forth. We can’t interfere, or he will be able to kill her again. We learn from our past mistakes.”

  Val stood and rounded the desk before perching on the edge of it. “This is all we have left. Seventh time lucky. Keep her and the champion safe, Erika. They both need to be intact at the end, no matter how much you dislike him.”

  Erika swung her legs off the couch and got up, rising to her full height. “He is my future queen’s chosen champion, and I will treat him with as much respect as he deserves,” She flashed a mischievous grin. “But only when she’s actually queen.”

  Sighing, Val didn’t know what to say to the second of her seven. “Be gone, Erika. I grow tired of your sense of humor. Bring me another update soon.”

  “I love you, too, Mother.”

  “May the grace of the gods go with you.”

  “And with you.”

  And then Erika gave her a soldier’s salute, bowing her head and fisting her hand over her chest. Giggling, the girl disappeared into the shadows, and Val was once more alone with the humans.

  She considered Erika’s joyful exchange. The girl had changed so much, having embraced her human life. But duty came first, and she would step up and perform her sacred vocation.

  …Or the whole world would burn to ash around them.