Page 13 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

I pull out my notebook and open it on the right page before the silence can get awkward. ‘Kate offered to teach me tarot and buy my first deck. She said to order it through you, and she’ll pay you when it’s here.’

‘That’s kind of her. May I?’ He holds his hand out for my notebook. I pass it over. ‘If she hadn’t already offered, I would gladly have bought your first deck, but since she’s beaten me to it I won’t interfere.’

I blush. Now that would have been a treasure.

‘I only asked her to teach me yesterday. You couldn’t have known.’

‘I’ll get it ordered today.’ He hesitates, and I brace myself for whatever is coming. It’s not often that I see him searching for words. ‘Say, an old friend of mine has invited me to a social gathering at his place. I wasn’t planning on going, but I think you might enjoy it.’

I frown. ‘I doubt that. Me and social gatherings don’t go well together.’

‘You are free to decline, of course, but allow me to elaborate: My friend is a vampire. The one you saw in my shop last week, if you remember? He came by to drop off my invitation. I have little interest in such things, but many of his Veiled friends and acquaintances will be there. I have told him about my human friend and have explained your extraordinary circumstances, and he has extended the invitation to you.’ He holds up a hand in apology. ‘I didn’t tell him any personal details, of course. Just enough so he could judge for himself.’

I nod as this sinks in. Leverett is inviting me to go to a party with him?

It sounds like quite a few Veiled will be there.

And Leverett invited me to go to a party with him.

I know it’s not a date, but it’s close enough to one that I can pretend. Which is a perfectly healthy thing to do. Right?

‘How does that work?’ I ask. ‘I thought the Veiled didn’t like humans.’

He inclines his head. ‘I’m afraid your introduction to our community was a rather violent one. The Dreamcatcher was told to go on the offensive because someone is scared of what you might do. Clearly this someone has a lot of knowledge over us or she wouldn’t know the first thing about your existence. The truth is that you’re not the only human to know about the Veiled. It’s rare, but not unheard of. Some Veiled have married humans, for instance. Other Veiled have befriended humans and eventually deemed them trustworthy enough to tell them their secrets. We are slow to trust, so most of those cases took years to unfold. Yours is a special case.’

I think for a second. Even apart from me going to a party with Leverett, it sounds like a good opportunity to make some Veiled friends. Except I’ve never been great at making friends, and they may not like me. But at least we’d have the chance to meet. It would also be interesting to meet other humans who know, learn how they navigate it. And if his friend knows how I’ve come to my... powers, for lack of a better word, and invited me anyway...

‘I don’t need to dance, do I?’

Leverett laughs. ‘No, don’t worry. It’s not that kind of gathering. There will be music—nothing unsafe for humans, I assure you—but no one expects anyone to dance. Mostly this is a chance for us to catch up every now and again.’

I raise my eyebrows. ‘Nothing unsafe for humans?’

‘Fairy music is infamous for enchanting humans to dance until they die of exhaustion... or rather, it is infamous amongst the Veiled.’

I gulp. ‘No, I’ve heard that, too. You’re sure it won’t be like that?’

It dawns on me how vulnerable I would be at such an event. Amongst so many Veiled, is there anything I—a mere human—can do to protect myself?

‘Don’t worry,’ Leverett says. ‘I’ll make sure that no harm comes to you. I give you my word.’

I want to melt into his sofa.

Instead, I smile. ‘I’d love to go, but I don’t even know what to wear. What does one wear to a social gathering?’

‘Whatever you like,’ he says. ‘Some Veiled use the opportunity to dress up, but there’s no formal dress code. I for one have never felt like myself in a suit. You could wear pyjamas, if you wanted. Most of the Veiled would likely see it as some human eccentricity.’

I laugh. ‘That takes the pressure off.’ I’m fairly confident I can pull off pyjamas, but maybe... I imagine Leverett and myself on a balcony, my arm linked through his, and I’m wearing a beautiful fancy evening dress I’d likely never wear again.

‘If you’re interested, I should warn you,’ he says. ‘Some of the Veiled who’ll be in attendance are ancient, by human standards, and still hold traditional values. You may see a fairy, for example, who’s enchanted a human he doesn’t know to accompany him simply to show he’s still superior to humanity, and the human won’t remember it in the morning.’ He hesitates again. ‘You might also see a vampire or two with human... servants, who attend to the vampires’... drinking needs.’

I nearly choke on my tea. ‘I can’t decide if that sounds like a pleasant evening or an uncomfortable one.’

Leverett nods. ‘It’s one of the reasons I don’t attend more often. But I thought you might find it a kinder introduction than what the Dreamcatcher was made to do. Does this mean you’re interested?’

I nod. Some of it will be uncomfortable, but the rest? I can’t pass up the opportunity to meet friendly Veiled who haven’t been hired to kill me, or to meet other humans who know.

‘Then there’s one last thing you should know,’ Leverett says. ‘Most of the Veiled have adjusted to the modern world, but some... tastes are slower to die out. Some traditions are lingering. I’ve no doubt that some of the Veiled there still see humans as little more than cattle or possessions.’ He gives me a heavy look. ‘Or toys.’

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