“This is all I’ll need, I assure you.” Amelia inspected the ball of hair Ms. Gloria Tinder had placed into her hand. “This man will have heavens judgment brought down on him, don’t you worry.” She placed the hair on a silver platter and stood up as Gibli came by, retrieving the platter and exiting the room, hastily. Gloria’s sullen expression brightened a glimmer in her eye. “He doesn’t even deserve to be called a man. Swine is how I see it.” Gloria huffed causing Amelia’s eyebrow to quirk. “Well, there’s an idea.” She grinned fiendishly and Gloria giggled into her saturated handkerchief. “Ms. Tinder, please learn from this experience. Men are stupid and simple; don’t let their petty promises of love and grandeur blind you from their true intentions.”
The door to the library opened, Gibli bowed over ever so slightly. “Lady Tinder? May I show you to the door?” As if something troubled her, Gloria remained seated in the plush velvet couch, her eyes drawn to the carpet beneath her feet. Amelia stared at her, as if looking into her thoughts then smiled wryly, a light hearted laugh escaping her lips and it only made Gloria’s cheeks darkened with color. “Of course, you’ll need to bleed on your next first time.” She rummaged through a drawer in her desk as she spoke. “Wouldn’t want to let such youth and beauty spoil all because of a little mistake, hm?” she leaned picked up a loose strand of hair and without any warning, severed it with a gold talon that wrapped around her index finger. Gloria yelped as if wounded, sinking deeper into the couch.
“Oh hush, this’ll all be fixed. Now worry not, I do not sense another life in you, you will bleed on your honeymoon, and Mr. Connor Finnigan will pay for his crimes against the innocent. Now Gloria, I am a very busy woman, I must now insist that you leave so I may get back to fixing this city, one mistake at a time.” Gloria sprung to her feet and followed Gibli out and to the door. When right outside the door, she turned, her hands clasped tightly together, “Thank you Lady Vanderbilt. I am so grateful, I-“ Amelia cut her short, “You shall say no more, instead, you will show me how grateful you are when the time comes and I call on you. You are in my debt, and should you try to back out of this contract, every mistake you have made will come back at you and your family tenfold. Heaven and Hells wrath will plague your family for years to come. Have a wonderful afternoon Gloria.” And with that, Gibli shut the door on Gloria’s saucer like eyes and gaping maw.
Amelia had already begun ascending the stairs when Gibli spoke up. “Milady, do you remember the spirit you invoked unto the butcher?” he asked, halting Amy in her tracks, she glanced over her shoulder. “Is Sir Lawrence complaining again? He gave me very two rotting bat wings and a few bat whiskers. Neither are hard to come by in the black market, so he gets a common ghost.” She began to ramble, obviously having argued with the man one too many times. “If he wants me to invoke dark, clever, lethal spirits unto his rivals, he will have to bring me the ring of dead royalty, rope used to hang an innocent, or even some fresh corneas!”
Gibli cleared his throat, bringing Amelia back into the conversation. “No, Milady, he hasn’t come by after your last dispute.”
“Well I did threaten to give his wife the face of a pig.” She mumbled, nibbling on her lower lip.
“It seems the spirit has already been exercised. It happened this afternoon, by a fresh face from St. Dominic. I didn’t catch his name, but he looked to be pretty inexperienced. I’d say he’s just gotten started in his field of work by how long it took him to exercise the silly spirit.”
“Those damned men keep coming up here from their little raggedy town. I ought to burn the village down…. Did he mention my name? Does he have any suspicions?”
“No. Not that I witnessed.”
“Good.” And with that she continued up the stairs and into another room, slamming the door behind her.
Gibli sighed and made his way to the library before morphing into a cat, an awfully graphic transformation that Amelia has forbidden him to do in front of her. He leapt onto a window sill and then hopped into the garden. He would travel the streets in search of this no name for he feared his mistress would have him skinned if he came back with nothing.
“Let’s have some fun.” She whispered as she assembled items and ingredients onto a table. It only took her a few moments to utter an enchantment on a gold hair pin with gem flowers. “GIBLI!” she called and the door creaked open. “Drop this in this on Mrs. Lemmingworths doorstep--put it in a pretty box first. Then return home. I’ll need you to keep an eye out on whichever priests they send to to spoil my fun at the ball tonight.” It had come to her attention that whenever she attended any gatherings, the city folk made it clear that they were aware of her presence with the invitation of priests and fathers. It was a slap on the wrist, nothing she couldn’t handle with class and grace.
Gibli took the enchanted pin and made his way to the library before morphing into a cat, an awfully graphic transformation that Amelia has forbidden him to do in front of her. He leapt onto a window sill and then hopped into the garden. It wouldn’t be until later that night that the ruckus and fun would start, and she was sure