Sirenz - By Charlotte Bennardo Page 0,31
had fallen onto the floor.
Shar looked around hopelessly. “The place is clean, but what good is that? Reynaldo will be here any second, and once he sees …” She pointed to the dress, which sported an irregular-shaped stain that curved to one side.
I stared at it, thinking that the tea stain made it look more interesting; before, it was so plain. It gave me an idea. “Let’s do something with the stain to make it look not like a stain, but part of the dress,” I suggested.
“How? And with what?”
I searched around frantically. “I saw some fabric scraps on the floor.”
“There’s not enough to do anything. The stain is too big. We’re screwed!”
I bent down to scoop up the material on the floor when an errant black feather floated to the ground. I started unbuttoning my top.
Shar leaned away with a wary expression. “What are you doing?”
“Preparing for the Rapture. What do you think?” I wrestled one arm out of a sleeve and with my free hand, grabbed a couple of feathers, and pulled. Hard.
“Ow!” I bit back tears and gave Shar a handful of fluff. “Here. Start from the bottom.”
She sneezed several times as she ran to a nearby desk and grabbed a stapler.
I tossed her scraps of fabric and trim and feathers as I built up the nerve to pull them out, but our progress started to slow. I was trembling with pain and her nose was running.
“Here,” she said, handing me the stapler. “You fix the dress, I’ll pluck.”
“No, you won’t do it right!” I protested, but she forcibly maneuvered me to stand between her and the dress.
“We can go faster if I take them out and you attach them. Besides, I can barely see! The down … ah-choo! … is making my eyes water!” She yanked, and I felt like I was being stabbed by a thousand needles.
“Ouch! Ow! Not the little ones!”
“Ah-choo! Freaking allergies,” Shar muttered, but she kept going. “Not bad,” she sniffed between pullings, looking at my work. “You’re pretty good at collage.”
“It’s a … ow! Hobby. Owww! Come on, you can be a little more gentle than that!”
She gave me an exasperated look. “Oh stop whining, it’s like pulling off a Band-Aid. Better to do it fast! And you won’t look like you’ve been tarred and feathered anymore.” She sniffled, then sneezed, again, and I felt a spray of droplets on my back.
“Ugh! Cover your mouth, please!”
“Sorry!” she snapped. “But it’s your fault I’m sneezing!”
By the time we heard the sound of Reynaldo’s heels clicking up to the door, we’d made a meandering river of feathers, fabric scraps, and sequined trim from the shoulder of the dress down and across the body to the hem. I was no designer, but I thought it was an improvement—less beige, and it smelled like cardamon. That had to be good feng shui.
My arms and back were red and raw, but I jerked my blouse back on and buttoned it. The door flew open and Shar hastily shoved the stapler behind her back.
Apparently Reynaldo didn’t share my opinion of our creation, unless the tortured rabbit sound he made was for joy.
“What … happened … here?” His mouth remained open, forming a perfect pink O, and for a few painful seconds, everything was silent. Reynaldo didn’t move. Well, it was a valiant effort.
A triumphant Demeter slipped in behind him. “I want to be here when Arkady comes in. He’ll rip you both apart. Think how dramatic, not to mention ironic, it will be for Arkady to be your downfall.” She turned her gaze exclusively on me. “Oh, here he comes, and with the pretty boy in tow as well.”
She stepped to the side, and Reynaldo breathed again. Then hyperventilated.
“The … dress … it …”
“Reynaldo?” Jeremy’s voice came from the hallway. Reynaldo didn’t budge until Jeremy tapped him on the shoulder, then moved aside like a robot.
Jeremy came through the door first, but he didn’t look at our feathery creation. His attention was directed solely back at what was out in the hallway. He stepped out of the way, but offered an arm to someone outside the room. A second later, a hunched figure hobbled in, clinging to Jeremy with one arm and leaning on a cane with the other.
This shuffling old man was Arkady? He was swathed in white cloth from head to foot and wore dark glasses like Shar. Neither hair, if he had any, nor skin showed.
Suddenly Jeremy realized that he, Arkady, and Reynaldo weren’t