Read Online The Soother by Elle J Rossi - Free Book Online Page B

heart skipped. “Hi,” she said and waited.
    Nothing.
    Calliope tried again. “Your garden is really coming along, I see.”
    The smile never wavered. She cupped her mother’s cheek but received no response for her efforts. The world went on around them, but Ambra remained stuck in another place, perhaps even another time. Leaning in, Calliope kissed her forehead before backing away. Still, Ambra sat, smile wide, eyes unblinking. Wherever she was, at least it was a happy place.
    • • •
    With dusk came a sense of cautious reassurance. Calliope tossed back another drink, straightened her shirt and joined the dancing parade. Blaring, hard and heavy club music made it nearly impossible to do anything other than dance. All Calliope had to do was make it through the rest of the night and then she could go back to normal … with some help from her friend, Liquid A. Courage
.
Tonight’s drink special, of which she’d already slammed two, featured steaming glasses of sour orange bombs. Quite delicious and more than a little dangerous. Her off-kilter dancing had everything to do with the alcohol and nothing to do with her lack of rhythm.
    Shoulders swaying, head bobbing to the beat, Calliope squealed when a wicked hip bump sent her careening into Isabelle. The young soother giggled and bumped Calliope’s other hip. Isabelle, sporting neon-green sneakers and hot-pink and black striped tights, quickly grabbed Calliope’s hands to steady her. Isabelle then winked, leaned back and proceeded to spin the two of them in a circle. The dizzying effect had both witches laughing and spinning faster, knocking down anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in their path. Tears streamed down Calliope’s face, and it was in that moment she realized Isabelle’s soothing magick had grown. The time to take her under her wing and help her to hone her craft was now. Maybe that time-intensive task would be enough to distract her from disturbing thoughts of her mother and the ever-annoying Krystoff.
    And maybe frogs would start flying on brooms.
    The gothic song faded just as another started up. Calliope took the opportunity to park her butt on the curb. If it were up to her, she’d do nothing but get sloshed and witch-watch ‘til dawn. She should video the show. This drunken material would be good for a laugh or two the next time she needed an energy boost. An excellent idea, if she did say so herself, which she did, she thought, giggling under her breath. After shoving off the ground and waiting for the lights to stop flickering and the thick air to stop spinning, she selected another drink — the steamiest of the bunch — and concocted her exit plan. She’d have to be stealth. If anyone caught her sneaking away, or with the video camera in hand, she’d have no way to blackmail should the need ever arise. Her goods would be confiscated. Not that she’d totally set out to mock and embarrass, but having a little fun with a bargaining tool wouldn’t seriously hurt anyone. Conjuring a camera would be faster and she’d be sure not to miss out on anything. She considered it briefly before coming to the conclusion she was in need of an adventure and a couple minutes of alone time.
    Unless, of course, she happened to run into Krystoff. Alone time would turn into something else entirely. Calliope didn’t doubt for a minute he was still in the area. Maybe that was wishful thinking on her part.
    Chewing on her straw, she made her way down the street, trying to look as innocent as possible. She knew she was being slightly dramatic, but making a mad dash back to her house would take some of the fun out of it. Better to be coy, she thought while dragging one toe along the ground.
    “Going somewhere?”
    Talk about a major fun sucker. Calliope managed to keep her sighing to a minimum before she turned around. Typically, she loved Carrine, but these last few days had seriously tried her patience. Carrine had turned into an “er”