[What Kills Me Makes Me Stronger] 2 - I'm Looking For Magic

“Why did you bite me?” I checked my bleeding finger… which wasn’t bleeding anymore. I didn’t have any wounds.

I could’ve sworn that her teeth cut into my skin. There was even blood! Or was this her lipstick? I felt the substance, rubbing it between my index finger and thumb. Red liquid that was becoming sticky. But it couldn’t be blood because I didn’t have a wound. Was I going crazy?

“Welcome to the First Tower!” the demon lady cheerily said as if she hadn’t bitten me. “A great pleasure to have you here. Yes, we’re having job interviews today. Unfortunately, the elders—I mean, the humans with those odd strips of cloth down the front of their clothes—”

“Ties?” I suggested. This woman was committed to her role.  

“Ties! Yes!” Her irises widened as they glowed, sending shivers up my spine. Something was very wrong here. “The important humans with ties and coats like that you’re wearing will interview you after their small council is adjourned. Kindly head left. There’s that carriage that goes up and down. I trust that you know how to operate it?”

“The elevator? Ye-yes. I’ll press a button and—”

“Fascinating skills you have, knowing how to operate such a complex machine.” She gave me a wide smile.

I sharply breathed, staring at the rows of triangular teeth peeking from behind her lips. Those had to be fake, like the false vampire teeth that my sister and I used to wear for Halloween.

“I’m certain that you’ll be accepted for the job,” continued the demon lady. “Head to the third floor and traverse the wide hallway with statues. Enter the second door on the left—you’ll find an empty room. What you do next is fervently think of chairs, and one will appear.”

“What? Think of—?”

“Rest your tired buttocks there while you wait for the elders. The human with ties. I’ll tell them to have ties.”

“This is… this is a real company, isn’t it?” I looked left and right, ready for people to jump out and say this was all a joke. Laugh at my face. Come on, now.

“Of course. Company. Yes. And you will work for the Tower.” The demon lady handed me the flyer back. “Oh! A piece of advice, before you leave, Lady Emery. Don’t talk with people and not-people. Wait for someone to talk to you. I’ll look for the elders. Good luck with your interview.”

“Tha-thank you for your help. Erm, I like your makeup. It looks very realistic. And beautiful.” Wouldn’t hurt to be nice, even though I was on the verge of slapping myself to test if this was all a dream.

“I appreciate your compliment, though there are demons far more beautiful than me. As for you… I like the taste of your blood.” The demon lady licked her lips, revealing a forked tongue.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I hurried away, heading to the elevators. Thank the dried yeast that one was open. I snaked through the crowd of weirdos in the lobby, taking care not to make eye contact, and entered the elevator. I frantically pressed the button to close the door. But someone was able to enter.

Someone… or something.

That sounded like a cliché line from a book, but I swore to the hundreds of bread loaves I had made that the creature beside me didn’t have the silhouette of a human. It moved so fast that I didn’t get a clear look at it.

This was the worst decision of my life! Besides my education degree in this godforsaken economy. At least, it should’ve been my minor. But changing the past wasn’t the point here. Or maybe it was.

What was I thinking entering the elevator? I should’ve sprinted to the exit and forgotten the circus of bizarreness I had found here. Earlier than that—I should’ve run when the demon lady bit me. Too late to change my decision now.

I breathed deeply, recalling my last view of the demon lady. Her tongue was a thousand percent not human. Tongue-splitting was a real procedure—I had seen videos of it online. But what I saw back there was different, her tongue thin and too long.

And this… creature… standing beside me was also… different.

I fought the urge to turn my head. I didn’t even give it a sideways glance. Not looking at the problem didn’t make it disappear. The shiny surface of the door reflected the other occupant of the elevator. I kept my eyes looking straight, at my own reflection, but I couldn’t ignore the pile of robes taller than me, a couple of feet to my left.

Were those hands? That was more than two! Where was its face? Those might be masks stuck to the front of its robes. It was alive, wasn’t it?

Guttural murmurings confirmed that it wasn’t a pile of laundry stuck with mannequin hands and masks. It exuded warmth and coldness at the same time. Was that the air-conditioning of the elevator?

“Good… morning…”

Did it just speak? My heart beat so loudly that I swore it echoed in the elevator. Adrenaline crawled through my limbs, ready to fight the creature off if it attacked me. I was more stressed than on my first day of class. And, no, I wasn’t preparing to fight the kids I was supposed to teach back then.

Ding!

The third floor!

I walked out of the elevator with trembling legs, balancing on heels. No running. It might entice the monster to pounce. A monster! What else could it be?

“Take care… climbing… the Tower…” were the monster’s parting words before the door closed.

“Uh, tha-thank you.” I realized that I spoke and covered my mouth. Why did I answer it?

The elevator was already going up. I was alone.

To my left was a tall window wall, sunlight filtering through the glass. To my right were more elevator doors. At the end, directly opposite the window was an oil painting of a kingly man wrapped in purple robes and sparkling jewels. His right cheek was raised in a condescending smirk, as if mocking my fear, the end of his neatly-trimmed mustache pointing up.

In front of me was a long hallway, as the demon lady had said.

Go back down and leave? Or continue?

Before deciding…

I slapped myself so hard that I saw white for a moment, the loud smack bouncing off the walls in echoes. My right cheek throbbed from the burn as I checked my hand. Patches of makeup were stuck on my palm. But I wasn’t worried about that.

“That awfully hurt,” I whispered, my eyes slightly watery from the pain. “This isn’t a dream.”

I click-clacked to the window. Below me was Mendel Street. There were some people who seemed to have walked out of this building carrying bright orange paper bags with black logos. It was the signature look of the bags of the outlet store that used to be on this spot.

No. The store never disappeared. I had passed it earlier, and it was still here. The First Tower took its place for a moment to let me enter.

The most elaborate special effects couldn’t pull this off. I wasn’t hallucinating or dreaming either. “Magic is real…”

I took out my phone. No signal. With a trembling hand, I pointed the camera out the window and took pictures. I also shoot a video of my surroundings. Making money with proof of magic wasn’t my intention, though it was certainly on the table. This was mostly for my own sanity. I needed proof that I experienced magic when this tower would disappear like magical things always did.

A cold hand gripped my heart—could I leave this place? Was I abducted by supernatural creatures? Some stories I had discussed in class were of children transported to fantastical worlds and going on adventures. Another staple was tales of evil spirits taking away naughty kids. They were not mere stories!

Were these the good guy magical beings or the bad ones? I have to get out of here.

My finger was an inch away from pushing the button to call the elevator when a hopeful thought came to me. Wasn’t I looking for magic? Could there be a cure for Mom’s illness here? Could I bargain with the demons and piles of laundry for a healing elixir?

The First Tower called me with this ruse of a flyer; trying to escape probably wouldn’t work. However, this meant that this place, or whoever was running it, wanted something from me. I should be able to demand payment. I couldn’t leave now without trying to find a cure, an actual possibility for a miracle.

With a determined nod, I headed down the hallway. Second door, was it? Curiosity tugged at me to continue onward and examine the statues of warriors and monsters ahead, but I didn’t want to accidentally offend any spirits or gremlins who might be hiding. Stick to my new mission.

“It’s empty…” I entered a room with white floor, ceiling, and walls.

Chair. Think of a chair. That was what the demon lady had instructed.

After I blinked, there was a chair in the middle of the room. I’d have to be blinder than a bat to not have noticed this chair before, and bats weren’t actually blind. I ran my finger over the chair’s intricately carved wooden backrest. It was real. More proof of magic.

My heart raced, not in fear, though there was some of that, but with hope. I was looking for a job, but instead found magic.

I sat on the chair. I didn’t know what I expected, but nothing happened. How long was I supposed to wait for the elders to come? Judging what the guards and the demon lady had said, the elders seemed to be human. They may be understanding of my plight. If they wanted me to arrange enchanted parchments in alphabetical order, I’d do it.

“I should look presentable. Where’s a… mirror?”

A full-body mirror with a gilded frame stood in front of me.

Was this how the room worked?

“A hundred—no.” A hundred million dollars suddenly appearing in this small room might crush me to death. That was how these wish-giving situations got people. A monkey’s paw curse. A million dollars might be fine. Should I try?

Thinking more, this entire room might be a test for my greediness. If I kept wishing for other things, the elders would adjudge me unfit for magical help. Worse, I might get cursed. No more wishes!

I stood in front of the mirror. “I’m here for the interview. A magical interview, but still an interview. Focus on my mission.”

Smoothing my blazer, I eyed the width of my shoulders. It looked wider than most girls even though my blazer didn’t have shoulder pads. I was insecure about them in high school, but had come to accept them in college. So what if my shoulders didn’t make me look soft like other women? If this was the tradeoff for my bust size, I accepted it.

I practiced smiling while retouching my makeup and lipstick. People always told me that I had a mega serious expression even when relaxed. Resting bitch face, was it? Some of my former students confessed that they were intimidated when they first met me. And Mom would always joke that guys were too scared to approach me for fear that I’d erupt like a scandalous volcano.

I’d say that I was actually friendly. Think of me like a rustic bread, with a ruggedly thick crust but a soft and chewy interior.

Minutes ticked by, and no one came for me. Anxiety crept in. Was I trapped in here? Checking the door, it was open. The hallway outside was empty. I returned to the white room. The chair and the mirror were gone.

Should I think of a chair again? Was that being greedy? I only wanted something to sit on. The chair was already given to me anyway.

Knock, knock, knock.

I jolted. “Who is it?” I asked, immediately feeling dumb. I was the guest here.

“It’s me!” replied a cheery but also smooth voice. The demon lady at the front desk? “Can you let me in?” she asked.

“Hello…” I opened the door to an actual demon. I could confidently say that she wasn’t human, just like my elevator friend.

“My thanks, Lady Emery.” She closed the door and curtsied in front of me. “I can’t enter rooms unless invited.”

She stood maybe three inches shorter than me, not including her horns. No longer hidden by the counter, I could fully view her outfit—a white, long-sleeved coat, with golden buttons lining her right flank, that flared to a long skirt past her tiny waist. I noticed just now that she had manacles around her wrist and ankles, and she walked barefoot, her toenails long and sharp.

“Oh!” She gasped. “What I meant to say is I forgot my card thing to enter, the item humans use to—”

“There’s no need to pretend,” I cut in. “I know that magic is real. I know that you’re not human.”

The demon lady blinked. Her smile faltered for a moment before it returned, wider than before. She had more teeth than humans did. All were pointed. “Did you realize it when a chair—?” She checked behind me, finding nothing. “Oh? You did not use the room’s power.”

“I did. A chair appeared out of nowhere. But it disappeared when I left the room to check outside if anyone was coming to meet me.”

“The elders are quite occupied at the moment. And so, they tasked me with teaching you about the First Tower. You seek a job for remuneration, I presume? That was how the Tower called you.”

“Money is my target. But I also—”

“Then, you came to the right place!” The demon lady gestured outward with her arms as she strode past me. The white walls of the door turned dim gray. A waist-high pillar emerged out of the middle of the floor. “This is the Tower. One of four on this world. Floors upon floors of portals to other planes… other times. Past, present, and future.

“It is called the First because it was foremost amongst its siblings to call for brave adventurers to climb its levels. But those early adventurers hogged the riches of the Tower for themselves and their offsprings. The Tower fell silent through the years. It had been a couple of centuries since the Tower called for someone outside of the Families to face the challenges it provides. Now, you are here, Lady Emery. The elders expect amazing things from you.”