1 A Good Day

It was going to be a good day. The sun was shining, the line at Sera's favorite coffee shop was short, and her boss was on vacation which meant today was the first day of two whole weeks of blissful peace. Sera would be skipping, if it wasn't so undignified for a woman her age. And like to result in spilling her caramel macchiato, or breaking an ankle. Sera settled for a bouncy walk instead as she made her way the three blocks up the street to the office.

She wove her way through the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, smiling cheerfully at anyone who made eye contact. Most people hastily looked away, lest the crazy smiling woman do something alarming like try to start a conversation. The promise of the day held strong, as she reached the building where Handsome Bespoke Suit Man worked. He he emerged from his Rolls Royce Phantom as Sera reached the building and for the first time ever, he noticed Sera.

He paused and his dark eyes flicked over her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, before his mouth turned down in the barest hint of a frown. On different day Sera might have withered, remembering that she was a week over-due to have her roots touched up, or that it had been months since her last visit to the gym. But today she just gave him her brightest smile and continued on her way with just a little extra wiggle in her hips. Some men liked a woman with curves, after all.

Like whoever let out the wolf whistle from the group of men doing roadwork at the intersection. No doubt she was supposed to be offended and immediately turn on the men to chew them out for sexually harassing her, but it had been a long time since Sera had been the recipient of male admiration and she found herself laughing and waving cheerfully. One of the older men winked at her before a sour-faced younger man barked, "Get back to work. We were supposed to be done with this hours ago."

One more block brought Sera to the fifteen-story mid-century monolith of ugly that was her place of employment. A rumpled middle-aged man in a suit opened the door for a twenty-something woman in a mini-skirt and a see-through blouse. They young woman didn't even glance his direction as Sera picked her pace enough to slip through in her wake. The businessman scowled and stomped through the door on her heels. Lest the grumpy lecher ruin her morning, Sera turned to the security desk in the lobby. "How is your day going, Sam?"

"Boring, just how I like it," Sam answered. He eyed Sera thoughtfully and observed, "You look cheerful today."

"The sun is shining, I have coffee, and Andi is on vacation," Sera replied with a grin. Sam chuckled.

"That's the best news I've had all day. How long will the Wicked Witch of the Tower be gone?" he asked curiously.

"Two delightful weeks," Sera answered. She glanced over at the elevator and noted that the grumpy businessman was still waiting for a car so she continued, "Steve ordered cake to celebrate. Want me to bring you a piece later?"

"What kind of cake?" Sam wanted to know.

"Does it matter?"

Sam tilted his head thoughtfully for a a moment, then chuckled. "I suppose not. Yeah, save me a piece if you can."

"Will do," Sera said. Grumpy businessman made it onto an elevator which meant it was time for Sera to do the same. "And now I'd better get to work. I wouldn't put it past Andi to demand a surprise Zoom meeting just so she can check to see who's at their desks."

Sam made a face and muttered, "I don't know why you work for that woman."

"Because it pays much better than waiting tables," Sera answered wryly as she headed off. A few minutes later, one of the building's aging elevators delivered Sera to the tenth floor. She made her way down the hall past the offices of two financial advisors, an estate-planning lawyer, and a tech start-up, until she reached the doors of BTG Consulting. The new receptionist greeted Sera with a dazzling smile and the words, "There's cake in the conference room."

Lest she miss out on the cake, Sera made her way directly to the conference room even though it wasn't even eight thirty yet. She snorted with amusement as she surveyed the long table and noted that Steve had gone overboard. There were at least sixteen different varieties of cake on the table. Five or six people were milling around the table helping themselves to treats. The afternoon would be interesting when the entire office crashed down off their sugar high.

But that was for worrying about later. For now, Sera pulled out her cell phone and called down to Sam's desk to ask, "What's your favorite kind of cake?"

"Uh . . . " Sam said uncertainly.

"You know what, I'll send you pictures," Sera decided, and hung up. She felt a tiny bit of guilt over the amount of time she was wasting this morning but squashed it down ruthlessly. She'd just work late to make up for it.

Twenty minutes later Sera finally reached her desk, now in possession of two plates of dessert. She set Sam's plate in the farthest corner of her cubicle, where it was in the least danger of being swiped by a scavenging co-worker, and settled in to check her email.

The first message was a question from Krystyl, with the usual dose of positivity quotes leading up to a request for a consult on a file she was working. Sera glanced over toward's the other woman's cubicle, but there was no sign of her. It was too early for a her morning 'meditation break'. So where . . .

Oh, crap.

Sera shot to her feet, looking around wildly for Krystyl's long mess of blond 'faerie locks' and straining her ears for the jangle of too much jewelry. Across the aisle, Dan looked up from his desk curiously.

"Good morning?"

"Good morning, Dan," Sera answered. "Have you seen Krystyl?"

"No?" Sera cursed and fixed Dan with her sternest stare. He flinched and turtled his shoulders. "I think she's here today?"

Sera moved down the aisle and peered into Krystyl's cubicle. The woman was definitely in the office--her enormous multi-colored hand-woven bag was spilling its contents over the floor, and the usual tumbler of something green and lumpy was on the desk next to a partially eaten slice of organic gluten-free vegan cake. Turned back to Dan, who was staring at her in wide-eyed alarm.

"You're in charge of defending the cake on my desk," Sera informed him. "Especially the plate in the corner. That's for Sam."

"Uh . . . okay?" he said, eyebrows rising. "Where are you going?"

"To find Krystyl. She said something about 'cleansing the negative spirits' while Andi is gone in Friday's closing meeting," Sera said. Dan blanched.

"I think I saw her near the breakroom?" he offered, pointing.

"Thanks." Sera hustled through the maze of cubicles. If Krystyl set off the sprinklers again with her new-age claptrap trying to smudge the office of negative vibes, or whatever, it would ruin Sera's lovely day. Or more likely her entire week. Maybe the rest of the year, since Andi would probably fire the fool woman.

She made her way through the office, her grim expression dampening the festive mood of her coworkers as she passed, who suddenly remembered they had work to do and settled down at their desks, at least until Sera was out of sight. She found no sign of Krystyl in the break room, or the bathroom, or wandering around the main office inquiring about the state of everyone's shakras or advocating a vegan diet or arguing over where to find ethically sourced clothing. She wasn't in the copy room or the file room, or even in Steves little dungeon where he maintained the company's computers.

That left only Andi's office.

Swearing under her breath, Sera hustled back in the other direction. She swore again when she saw that the door was cracked open. Andi NEVER left her door open, lest one of her underlings venture into the space. She never locked it either, but she didn't need to. Everyone in the office knew better than to venture into Andi's sanctuary without a summons.

Except, apparently, Krystyl.

The fear of Andi's wrath was so strong that Sera hesitated for several moments. She could think of at least three people who'd been fired for entering the room without invitation. Maybe Sera should leave Krystyl to whatever she was doing? It wasn't as if Sera had any more authority than the other woman, or was responsible for her.

No, that was cowardly. Mustering her courage, Sera nudged the door open with a toe and peered into the gloom of Andi's office. "Krystyl? Are you in here?"

No answer. Squaring her shoulders, Sera lifted her chin in determination and stepped over the threshold. She looked around carefully as her eyes slowly adjusted to the light filtering through the blinds, noting that the office looked as it always did. Pale gray walls accented with abstract paintings that each cost more than house Sera had shared with her ex-husband. Chrome and glass desk with nothing on it but an expensive laptop, a clear plastic blotter, and a stand with expensive pens. Pristine white carpet with perfect vacuum tracks. More importantly, no sign that anyone had disturbed Andi's sanctuary.

Letting out a long breath that was part relief and part annoyance, Sera started to retreat, but a sound to the left drew her attention. She turned, frowning in confusion as she realized that Krystyl WAS here. Not only here, but she'd removed one of the paintings and revealed a hidden wall-safe. Sera gaped. Krystyl was a bright splash of orange and pink against the gray wall, and she was muttering a string of curses as she plastered an ear up to the safe. How could could Sera have failed to see her before?

And more importantly, what was she doing?

"What the hell, Krystal!" Sera exclaimed, striding forward. As she seized Krystyl's arm, the younger woman turned and her blue eyes went wide in surprise

"You can see me?" she asked in astonishment.

"Of course I can see you. And I'm pretty damn sure the cameras Andi has hidden in here probably see you too," Sera snapped back. "You are going to get fired!"

Krystyl gave dismissive wave of a hand.

"Oh, I took care of those with a blur illusion," she said dismissively. Then she frowned. "Which should have worked on you, too."

An icy prickle went down Sera's spine as she realized that while this woman looked like Krystyl, there was something . . . off. Krystyl was a fervent in her belief in the power of karma and the sanctity of all life. But the woman gazing at Sera now? That woman eyed Sera like she was a mildly interesting bug she hadn't quite decided whether or not to squash.

"I don't suppose you can forget all about this?" Krystyl mused. Sera was more than willing to promise she'd do exactly that, but her mouth was suddenly dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She tried to nod reassuringly, but her head refused to move. All she could manage was another step backward. Krystyl's eyes narrowed with displeasure and she grimaced. "Well, that's unfortunate."

With a sour twist of her mouth, Krystyl lashed out with one hand. Sera caught a glimpse long black-tipped fingernails, and then felt a sting of icy cold at her throat, and then a sharp tug. Confused, Sera lifted a hand to her throat. Her hand came away wet, and she lifted it to eye-level.

'Blood?' Sera thought in confusion, seeing her fingers slicked with red. With the thought it became a struggle to breathe. Krystyl watched in amusement as Sera pitched forward into the wall and slid to the ground, her hand smearing a bloody track on the soft gray paint.

This should hurt. Why didn't it hurt?

The edges of Sera's vision blackened as less and less oxygen got to the brain, or maybe it was from all the blooding out onto Andi's pristine while carpet. It occurred to her that she was dying, but she was strangely detached from both pain and fear. There was probably something she should be doing to save herself, but nothing came to mind, so she just watched Krystyl as the other woman went back to trying to open the safe.

Moments later the safe popped open and Krystyl gave a cry of triumph. She began pulling the contents out, flinging stacks of money and thick files onto the floor. She pulled out several velveteen covered jewelry boxes, grumbled unhappily at the contents after she opened them, and then dropping these in turn as well. Until she pulled out a zippered leather pouch and tipped out a handful of smooth opaque stones with a blue shimmer.

"Finally," Krystyl breathed, and poured the stones back into the bag with a satisfied smile. A few of the stones slipped out of her fingers and onto the ground beside Sera's fallen form. "Whoops, don't want to leave any of these behind. "

She stooped down and plucked up the stones, dropping them one by one into the bag. As she sealed the bag up, her met Sera's and she observed, "It's really too bad you had to wander in here. If you'd just minded your own business you wouldn't be about to die. There's a lesson in that, not that it will do you any good now. Just close your eyes. It'll all be over soon."

Humming happily, Krystyl stood up made her way to the door.

All the fear and pain that Sera knew was missing crashed into her at once and escaped in a weird gurgling moan. Krystyl paused on the threshold and glanced back over her shoulder. Expressions warred across her face--horror and indifference, sympathy and contempt, pity and irritation, as if her features belonged to two different people at once. She took a couple jerky steps back into the office.

"I'm so sorry, Seraphina," Krystyl sobbed, and stumbled a little closers. Tears slid down her face as she murmured, "I didn't know this would happen! I thought I was helping!"

'How could killing me possibly be a good idea?' Sera wanted to demand, but her vocal chords refused to cooperate. 'I don't want to die.'

"No one WANTS to die," Krytsyl said, and her features settled into cold disdain. She cocked her head to one side as though listening to something and the disdain turn to a smirk. "But why? She wasted this life."

Anger flared up in Sera's soul and for a moment it was easier to breath, easier to focus. She balled up all her fury and pain into a single word and forced it out, "Bitch."

And then the wrath was gone, leaving behind only weary resignation and the acknowledgement that Krystyl was right. She HAD wasted her life. She was an overweight middle-aged divorcee with graying hair, working in a dead-end job for a woman she hated. She'd meant to travel, but Rick hadn't wanted to go, and since the split there hadn't been enough money. Sera's friends had drifted away as they pursued their own careers or had families. Rick hadn't wanted her to work, and they'd put off having children of their own while he built up his practice, and now she was too old. She couldn't even become a crazy cat-lady, because her tiny little apartment full of cheap second-hand furniture didn't allow pets.

'This was supposed to be a good day,' she thought sadly as she directed an unformed plea for help to a divinity she didn't really believe in with a half-hearted promise to do better if she were allowed another chance.

"Ugh, FINE," Krystyl said in disgust, and stomped forward, crouching down at Sera's side. Her blue eyes were full of annoyance as she met Sera's gaze, grumbling, "I don't know how you could stand this woman. She just won't. Shut. Up."

Krystyl unzipped the leather pouch and stirred the contents with a finger before plucking out one of the stones and held it up to the light, peering thoughtfully at it. Then she shook her head, dropped it back into the bag, and chose another. Twice more she did this before finding one she liked. Then Krystyl took Sera's hand and wrapped her fingers around the small stone. "Hold tight to this now."

Entirely of their own accord, Sera's fingers tightened around the stone. It seemed at once both bone-chillingly cold and fiercely hot, and Sera relished this last sensation as her vision narrowed and darkened. Her ears filled with the sound of voices, but the words were indistinct, like the noise of a crowded theatre. Krystyl's smirking voice cut through the din one last time, with a drawl.

"Better luck next time, sugar."