*CUPID'S MATCH BOOK 2* FIRST DRAFT
Lila receives an ominous Valentine's Day card.
Cupid & Cal are keeping a dark secret.
Fate is being interfered with.
And a sadistic, and extremely powerful banished cupid is intent on stealing Lila's heart. Literal...
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Cal gets out of the car first, lingering awkwardly outside as the white morning light shines down on him. Cupid catches my eye in the mirror; there's a longing in his eyes, mixed with sadness. He holds it for a moment, the air in the car suddenly heavy with a mixture of tension and apprehension. Then he averts his gaze and opens the car door.
"Cupid?" I say as he slides his legs outside.
He turns. I take a breath – finally saying what has been on my mind since yesterday.
"Are you worried?" I say. "About what they're going to say? About the match?"
He forces a grin, then waves his hand in dismissal.
"Nah," he says. "Come on."
He gets out of the car. I exhale, then climb out after him into the sunlight.
We all stand on the sidewalk a moment, Cupid and Cal's height making me feel small. A look passes between them. Both look hesitant. It does nothing to ease my nerves.
"We should smuggle a few weapons in..." says Cupid, "just in case things get ugly."
Cal gives him a sharp look.
"Absolutely not. The arrows won't work on them. There's no point."
"We can still fight their employees," says Cupid.
Cal gives him a look that suggests Cupid is an idiot. Cupid shrugs.
"OK, brother. I take your point."
"What?" I say.
Cupid looks at me.
"They'd see it coming. Plus...if we get to the point where a fight breaks out...well...we're already pretty screwed," he says.
"Do you think that's likely?!" I ask.
Here I was worried about what they were going to say... It hadn't really occurred to me that the Parcae were dangerous. But then I think back to the power that radiated off Morta, and the way both Cupid and Cal acted when they knew she and her sisters were getting involved.
"Not as long as you're both on your best behavior," says Cal. He looks at me, then his gaze slides pointedly over to Cupid.
Cupid raises his eyebrows and puts a dramatic hand to his chest.
"Moi? I'm always on my best behavior. In fact, I've always been the most amicable of us brothers!"
A look of disdain passes over Cal's face.
"Whatever," he says before he rolls up his sleeve to check his watch. "It's almost time. We should go."
Cupid nods.
Solemnly the three of us head toward the glass doors of the clinical looking, vast building. I look up over the revolving doors. There's a white plaque with a symbol of a loom above it, the words Parcae IT Systems written in bold lettering beside it.
