Reality Falling (The Book Wielder Saga 2) (3 page)

The gardens had been done up with fancy lights and colourful ribbons, and speakers had been set up in discrete corners with classy, calming music emanating from them. Veronica hoped that it would get a bit more exciting as the night progressed. She couldn’t imagine the hot girls stripping off to classical music.

Guys and girls alike gave her the eye as they walked by, and she winked back playfully as she waited for her fiancé to arrive. Others congratulated her kindly and tried their best not to gawp, so she tried even harder to emphasise her beauty and break their composure. Veronica liked being admired, loved flirtation, and thoroughly enjoyed fucking other guys and girls, but only when Winston was there with her. He’d briefly started sleeping with another girl, and it had upset and enraged her more than she had imagined it would. Things like that had never bothered her before, but then again, she had never been in love before. Now they strictly kept to sharing lovers, although it had been a while since they’d had a good group session, or a good session full stop.

She sighed and took another sip of her drink. Her strange Bloodmage senses told her that Winston was taking the right course of action, but she had a terrible feeling about the Archmage; his words were kind but his actions were cold and calculated. Omniosis also had Lewis acting like a trained dog and she didn’t want Winston to become like him. The blonde haired Book Wielder was getting stranger and stranger, and Brooke could sense it too.

Holding that thought, Veronica wondered where Brooke and Alexander were. She didn’t want the couple to miss the party or the ceremony – it was bad enough that the sexy little minx Lynette and the hunky beast of a man Kavarne couldn’t make it.

Winston finally arrived, looking smart and sexy in a dark blue polo-shirt and light denim jeans. He thought of himself as average looking but he was actually rather handsome. Veronica knew that he attributed his success with Veronica, and life in general, with his unique abilities as a Book Wielder and the fact that he was able to utilise the quill artefact. However, the reality was that he would have done well in life whatever he chose to do with it, and Veronica would have been attracted to him either way. The potential was always within him, but it was being plunged into the Supernatural world that gave him the confidence to unlock it.

“Hey...” Winston began to say as he gawped at his fiancée. His eyes eventually settled level with her impressive chest and looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

Veronica giggled. She had done what she’d set out to do. “Hey sweetie!” She put her arms around him and kissed him passionately, making sure that her ‘assets’ were pushing into his chest as much as possible. “Ready for some fun, hun? I hope the girls arrive soon!”

“Definitely,” Winston replied with a cheeky grin. “You’ve got a surprise coming your way too.”

“Not before our wedding night mister,” she said, grabbing his hard cock through his jeans.

“I didn’t mean that,” Winston laughed.

“Oh, then what is it?” she asked enthusiastically. It felt like old times already.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it now?” Winston said with a wink.

“I suppose not,” she laughed. “Let’s go and put a dent in the bar then.” Veronica pulled him towards the bar.

A Military Peace Keeper officer in a smart black and red uniform was sitting at the outside bar with a few other MPK men and women standing around him. He raised a glass in the couple’s direction and the rest of the group did the same. “Mr Reynolds and Mrs Reynolds to be, congratulations in advance.”

Veronica smiled and Winston thanked them.

“If you have a spare moment,” the officer continued, “we’ve increased the efficiency of our patrols throughout the city and also beyond the walls. Security here is better than ever, but I’d like to go over a few things regarding the other parts of Imperia...”

Veronica cut him off with an evil hiss that made the whole group of MPK’s flinch backwards, one almost fell over. “No work stuff,” she warned violently, “not tonight and not tomorrow!”

“Sorry ma’am, my apologies!” the officer said, and with a salute he and his group quickly found somewhere else to loiter.

Veronica composed herself and smiled at Winston. “Ready to get smashed?”

Winston nodded. “I’m assuming that you’re taking charge of my consumption tonight?”

“I certainly am.” She slapped her hand on the bar. “Barman, I’ll have a bottle of vodka for myself, a bottle of whiskey for my man, two Dreamleaf joints, and... two shots of Artravenia.”

Winston’s eyes went wide at the sound of that order. Veronica knew that he would be wary about trying the last intoxicant on the list, for Artravenia was a nasty little mix of several Gloom-based chemicals, all of which were highly potent. Made a slightly different way and the mix would create a powerful potion that would drastically increase magical spells and powers. However, the only thing Artravenia was good for was completely destroying your senses for the night.

The bartender gave them their bottles of alcohol, rolled them fresh joints from a container of crushed blue Dreamleaf that he got from behind the bar, and then pulled out a small glass flask of pinkish fluid with glowing blue swirls. He carefully filled a shot glass for the two of them and put the flask back. The bartender nodded politely and went to serve some other guests waiting nearby.

Veronica grabbed her shot glass and downed the contents before Winston could even blink. She forced herself to stay composed as the ice cold tingly fluid slithered down her throat, and almost immediately her vision was flooded with colourful swirls and distortions. Her body felt weightless and her mind pulsed with random thoughts. Everything was suddenly funny and incredibly interesting. Winston hesitated for a few moments and then drank his down too.

She watched as his white eyes went wide and darted around, taking in the hallucinogenic scenery, and giggled at him as he fought to act normal. “Good stuff, huh?”

“Yeah...” Winston replied slowly.

Veronica put an arm around his waist and picked up her Dreamleaf joint, putting it in Winston’s mouth for him. “Light us up, sweetie.”

Winston fumbled around in his jean pockets until he came across his trusty lighter, and after a few tries he managed to light their Dreamleaf ‘cigarettes’. The Dreamleaf added an additional backdrop of pulsing colours and the feeling of total relaxation, but compared to what the Artravenia was doing to them it was barely noticeable. The couple laughed, kissed, and fondled each other playfully as they drank their spirits straight from the bottle.

Shortly after, although it was hard to judge how much time had passed, Lucius stood up on one of the tables and started tapping a fork against a champagne glass. The guests broke off their conversations and soon the outside of the Hotel Noir was silent.

The Vampire Lucius, Winston’s partner in running the Shadow Circle, was smartly dressed in a vermillion shirt and black suit jacket and trousers, and as always his long black hair was neatly tied back with a red ribbon. The symbol of the Shadow Circle, a circle containing three smaller ones touching but not overlapping within it, was stitched in silver upon the front pocket of his suit jacket. He had a joyous expression on his pale angular face, but Veronica could see the stress and doubt behind his crimson eyes.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone and everything else in between,” he began merrily. “Welcome to the pre-wedding celebration for my partner-in-crime Winston, and my long-time colleague Veronica. Both are dear friends and very close to my heart, and I couldn’t be happier for them. So I propose a toast; to Winston and Veronica, and to the future!”

The human guests raised their alcoholic beverages and the Alternatives raised their glasses of sugar filled fizzy soft drinks (which to them had an intoxicating effect) towards Winston and Veronica, who smiled and waved. The pair of them did their best to ignore the weird and wacky sparkles and fairies that were dancing across their vision.

“As you probably have already heard, it’s an open bar,” Lucius continued, “and the same goes for the food. Waiting staff will be on hand all night to take any orders. Enjoy!” With that, he stepped down and refilled his glass.

“That was very... nice,” Winston slurred.

Veronica nodded sadly. “Just wish Xavier was here too, and the others.”

“I know,” Winston said as he cuddled up to her, “but I’m sure Brooke and Alexander will be about shortly.”

“Yeah, where are they anyway?”

At that point, Gregory and some of the others from the Woodsholme area arrived. The stoner Mage was looking far more presentable than usual in a crisp green shirt and brown trousers. His brown hair was neat and tidy, and he’d even had a shave.

“Congratulations, Winston.” Gregory shook his hand vigorously. “You’re always on the up, aren’t you?”

“Thanks Greg, I try,” Winston replied, trying to fight the sense of vertigo.

“And Veronica,” Greg said, giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Glad you’ve finally found someone to settle down with, although that outfit says otherwise...”

“Thank you,” Veronica said with a wink. “I’m trying to get him worked up for the wedding night!”

Gregory laughed. “Well you’re going the right way about it. I can see you two have been hitting something stronger than Dreamleaf.”

“Artravenia,” Veronica whispered comically.

“It’s... interesting stuff!” Winston said with wide eyes.

“I thought it was too early in the night to be getting totally wasted, but seeing as you two have already started I think it would be rude not to now!” Gregory said with a big grin. “I’ve got to talk business with Lucius quick – I won’t bore you two with it – so I’ll see you later, yeah?”

The couple nodded and Gregory walked over to Lucius’ table. Veronica could see the look of concern on her fiancé’s face; even the Artravenia wasn’t switching his brain off.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

Winston snapped out of it and thought about his answer for a moment. “Yeah... now that you mention it, I could go for some food.” He took a long drag from the Dreamleaf joint and let out a big puff of light blue smoke, but his eyes still flickered over to Gregory and Lucius.

“Cool, let’s go and sit down.” Conceding defeat, Veronica took him by the hand and walked him over to Lucius’ table.

Gregory had moved his chair close to Lucius and was talking in hushed tones, so Veronica and Winston took a seat a respectful distance away on the rectangular table.

“...we’re getting slaughtered out there,” Greg was saying. “If it wasn’t for our edge with the potions we’d already be fucked, and since he’s got most of the Alts away, they’re going to start dwindling pretty damn soon.”

“I know, I know,” Lucius said in reply. “I’ve already spoken about it to Omniosis, the Capital and the harbour towns and cities are the only places that are secure on the continent. He’s only interested in merging the Capitals. What happens to the rest doesn’t seem to be his concern.”

“I don’t want to speak out of place, but you spent all that time expanding the Circle’s territory to cover Rura and now this
Archmage
is letting it all slide away.”

“I’ll have words with him after the ceremony,” Lucius promised. “You’ll get your support one way or the other.” Gesturing in the direction of Winston and Veronica, he added, “Try to have a good time tonight, for their sake.”

Gregory nodded and headed to the bar, patting Winston on the shoulder as he went.

Veronica watched as Winston quickly finished his joint and threw it to the floor, grinding it out under his shoe. She hated seeing him like that and quickly tried to think of something to say, anything to take his mind off the pressure and guilt, but her mind had gone blank aside from unpleasant thoughts about the Archmage. She could feel herself crashing already. If the down was hitting her then it must have been even worse for her lover.

Luckily, a waiter approached them. “Are you dining tonight?” he asked politely.

“Yes please,” Veronica said hastily. “What do you fancy sweetie, apart from me?”

Winston snapped out of his reverie. “Pizza. A meaty, cheesy pizza. Is that good with you?”

“Definitely,” Veronica agreed happily. “We’ll have some nachos with cheese and dip too please. Oh, and get us some Rushdust as well, we could both use a pick-me-up.” The waiter scribbled their order down and went to serve Lucius, who ordered a very rare steak with potatoes and vegetables along with another bottle of wine.

“Thank you for all this Lucius,” Veronica said to him across the table, “and for everything else over the years.” She was so happy for the lengths he’d gone to for the occasion.

“Yeah, thank you very much Lucius,” Winston added.

“You two are very welcome,” Lucius said, smiling. “I hope you both have a great evening.”

It wasn’t long before the waiter brought out their orders. More waiters and waitresses began bringing out other people’s food, and eventually most people began sitting down.

The pizza was brought out on a wooden platter and was so large that it took up most of the space on Winston and Veronica’s part of the table. A big plate of nachos with melted cheese and chopped peppers was placed beside it, and the waiter pulled a small clear bag of reddish-pink powder from his pocket.