House of the Damned

The Incident

Five

The Incident

I have on the long sleeved, floor length, black dress that is my formal wear. My hair is pulled back in a braid. I actually have on shoes, in the form of black heels.

I’m helping Michael get ready, nervously repeating everything I’ve already told him, “Don’t speak unless spoken to. Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Don’t provoke any of the demons in anyway. And for the love of everything good, don’t do anything to anger Venus.”

He grabs my hands as I straighten his tie for the umpteenth time.

“Cassandra, I got it. And we’re good, so stop freaking out. Take a deep breath and calm the hell down.”

“No swearing,” I add, before taking his advice. Deep breath.

I wouldn’t panic so much except that we ended up on the evening kitchen shift. It means that all the demons have arrived and that we’re serving them dinner.

“Okay, then. Let’s get downstairs.”

The chaos in the kitchen isn’t even funny. Emily is in the midst of directing all the servers. She’s left the cooking to someone else, probably one of the nightshift chefs.

“Cassie!” she shouts, spotting me. I move over to her and she shoves a tray into my hands, piling it with bowls of soup.

“Take this out there, I’ll be out in a few minutes and there are a few other servants out there, so you’re not alone. Careful, honey.”

I nod and take the food out. I recognize all of the council, making me feel like I’ve been around for way too long. Juno, the queen of demons and the demon of troubled marriages; Jupiter, the king of demons and the demon of sins; Pluto, demon of death; Mars, demon of war; Minerva, demon of wisdom and the art of war; Neptune, demon of natural disasters; Mercury, demon of thieves; and Eris, demon of chaos. The nine council demons have the namesake of many of the roman gods, though not all demons do. The demon of greed, Mammon, does not receive his name from any mythological god.

I don’t meet the eyes of any of our guests as I serve them. I know better than that. Eris hates me. Neptune would like to kill me. Pluto actually likes me, but I would prefer his hatred, to be honest.

I have three bowls left to serve when everything goes wrong. Emily is bringing out the drinks and Michael is right behind her with more food when Mars pulls Emily into a kiss. She isn’t willing, but doesn’t pull away. I don’t know anyone who would. It’s another thing we know better than to do.

Michael on the other hand doesn’t know better. He drops the tray full of food and it crashes to the ground. I cringe at the sound. He pulls Em away from Mars and starts up an argument with the demon. The moment is like a car crash. I want so badly to look away, but can’t stop staring as it unfolds. When my eyes finally break away from the argument, I spot Emily’s grim expression. My eyes meet Venus’s. She simply raises an eyebrow at me, silently wondering what I will do.

I serve the last three bowls, grab Michael by the tie, and drag him out of the dining room.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand.

“I couldn’t just…I mean, he was…Shit,” is his attempt at an explanation. He continues rambling incoherently, his rant relatively swear filled.

I sigh and run a hand nervously through my hair. “What did I say about provoking the demons? And angering Venus?”

“Why didn’t anybody try to stop him?” he wonders, reminding me so much of a confused little puppy dog.

“Because we know better, Michael. Because there are consequences for all of our actions and sometimes it isn’t worth it.”

“How do you know it isn’t worth it if you don’t try?”

“Because we have tried and we know.” I run my hand through my hair again. “Alright, you go help out in the kitchen and just stay out of sight.”

I roll up his sleeves as I continue to rant. He grabs my hands again and stops me.

“Have you ever noticed that when your nervous, you must be doing something with your hands?” he asks.

“Yes. I have.” Even as he holds my wrists, my fingers drum in the air.

“Breathe, Cassandra, breathe.”

I take his advice once again and he releases his grip on my hands.

“Kitchen,” I repeat, before walking back into the dining room. Michael’s mess on the floor is cleaned up already. I go around and pick up the empty dishes. Eris stops me when I reach for her plate, a mischievous glint in her light grey eyes.

“Things are about to get a lot more interesting around here, child. That boy’s soul would have been mine if Venus hadn’t beat me to it. Chaos shadows the poor child.”

I sigh. As if my job isn’t difficult enough. “He’s my charge.”

She chuckles. “I wish you luck, Miss Cassandra. Apple?”

I shake my head. “No thanks, Miss Eris. I keep up on your namesakes and I don‘t need more chaos in my life.”

She chuckles again and the yellow apple in her hand vanishes. “Good luck, child. Good luck.”

I return to my task and carry a pile of dirty dishes into the kitchen.

Emily glances over at me, mouthing, ‘I’m sorry.’

“Not your fault,” I respond aloud. I’m given another tray of food, dessert this time. I carry it out and am stopped by Venus this time.

“You’re off the hook until the council is gone, but the minute they’ve left you will be in hell.”

I nod. “I know, Miss Venus.”

“Actually, Cassandra, you have no idea. Now get back to work.”

I do as told and the rest of night goes by without incident. At least, until we head off to bed. An argument breaks out between Michael and I about who’s sleeping where.

“You need the bed, you’re still recovering,” I snap.

“I can’t just take the bed and let you sleep on the floor,” he responds.

I roll my eyes. “I’ve slept in far worse places than the floor of this bedroom. Just give me a pillow and I’ll be fine.”

“For the love of God, just take the bed!”

“No!”

He narrows his eyes at me. Before I can continue arguing, he scoops me up and drops me onto the bed, an unflattering squeak coming from me as I fall.

“Bed.”

I pick up a pillow, hit him in the face with it, and move onto the floor.

“Don’t ever try that again,” I growl.

“And you say I’m stubborn,” he mutters.

“Because you are. Now take the bed.” I make myself comfortable on the floor and glower at him until he gets into the bed. “Thank you.”

Lying on his stomach, he’s facing me. “What did you mean when you said you’ve slept in worse?”

“I meant what I said. I was homeless for a good few years. I fell asleep wherever I was when I was tired.”

“How did you end up homeless?” he wonders.

“Not now, Michael. Maybe another time,” I mumble.

The room falls silent and we both fall asleep. Hours later when I wake up, I find that I’m in the bed and Michael’s on the floor. I glare at his sleeping figure.

“You are stubborn,” I sigh.

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A/N: Since I was late with my weekend update, here's a surprise Tuesday update! I should post again on Thursday. C: Happy reading!