“By the unmarked grave and the thirteen flames, we summon what was sealed,” read a robed woman, her face hidden in the hood’s shadow. An ancient, moss-covered tombstone stood shrouded in darkness, candles burning on its rounded top; other graves receded into the dark.
More figures circled it, chanting their incantation. They were dressed in various styles, but always in black: knee-length dresses, oversized pantsuits, fishnet tights. A reddish-blonde woman in an ankle-length lavender dress stood out amongst them.
A polite smile chiselled on her face as she watched her fellow cultists. Her gaze snagged on one girl across the circle, in black lace with a white bra underneath. Her nose wrinkled.
“…come forth…”
She dug her nails into her scalp and groaned.
The sound was so loud that the woman reading at the altar stopped. “Clarissa,” she hissed, “you might not have come if–”
“No, no, please, Lizzie, continue.” Clarissa waved her hand and made no effort to lower her voice. “My bad.”
Lizzie huffed. “…come forth and be known–”
A gust of howling wind blew out all thirteen candles, tousling hair and clothing. White smoke rose and vanished.
Someone let out a stifled sound between a hiccup and a giggle.
The candles came back a second later, and the whole circle saw the figure sitting on the tombstone, head down. She straightened and rose to her feet, her body naked, a tail wrapped around her neck like a scarf.
“Master is busy,” the tailed woman drawled. “Lilith is my name. How may I serve you, esteemed ones?”
Lizzie shuddered.
Lilith looked around the frozen girls, then fixed on Clarissa. “Oh my Lord,” she said, her eyes widening, “what a colour!”
“It’s lavender,” Clarissa replied, looking Lilith over. “It will suit you, and I may have one your size.”
“What did you trade for it?” Lilith jumped off the stone and stepped closer, her eyes never leaving Clarissa.
“Forty pounds, on sale. Shall we?”
The girls, one in lavender, the other naked, walked arm in arm towards the cemetery exit.
“I have something else for you to try on, dear Lilith.” Clarissa guided her through the parking lot to her red Cooper, which stood waiting. “Hop in.”
“I’m all ears,” the demon giggled. “It’s been ages since I wore something real.”
Clarissa drove off with the top down while Lilith was turning heads the length of the street. “…you need to see it, my dear. I bet it will sit well on you.” She kept up the patter all the way to her studio.
“Lavender dress?” Lilith pursed her lips as they stepped in.
“Why rush?” Clarissa pulled out a long rolling clothes rack and began to sweep through. She fished out a red lace dress with an open neck and shoulders, and measured Lilith with her gaze. “Try this, I want to see it. We’ll need to do something with your tail. Later.”
Clarissa sprawled on the sofa and held court. Two hours of it: Lilith tried on dress after dress, spinning under the bright ceiling light. Clarissa was shaking her head. Clarissa was nodding. Clarissa was making sounds of extreme approval.
“I didn’t think this would be so fun!” Lilith took off another dress and took the lavender one in her hands. “What a colour. Imagine meeting you in a place like that.”
“You know, I was researching new markets,” Clarissa said, sitting up straight and leaning forward to better see how the dress would suit Lilith. “Your old crowd has a rather limited colour repertoire, I must admit. But I bet I can get them out of all that black.”
Both women laughed.
Photo by Susan Wilkinson on Unsplash
Lavender Dress is the result of one of those one-word prompts that I love turning into the flash stories. I like those. It’s something that can be written in a matter of hours, if not less, and then suddenly take weeks to polish.
Next short story, Epicureans, will be out at September 1st. There will be snow.
Thank you for reading.
Aldwin