The morning turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. None of that scorching heat that had been draining everyone for the past two weeks. Fluffy little clouds drifted lazily across the sky, like a flock of lambs, while a gentle breeze tickled my nose. Nothing even hinted at trouble.
If only I hadn’t gone anywhere that day! I could’ve stayed curled up in my soft bed, brewed some coffee, and read a book on my favorite app. But no, of course not. It’s all Katie’s fault. Well, not really her fault, just how things turned out... Katie’s my college bestie, my one and only, you could say. And now, at the tail end of August, she’s getting married, rushing to tie the knot before classes start back up. Impatient, isn’t she? So today, we were on a mission to find the best wedding dress in the world. How could I say no?
We started by hitting up a couple of salons, where Katie turned up her nose at pretty much everything. Then we finally worked up the nerve to step into the most expensive one. And let me tell you, the dresses there were stunning! Katie couldn’t stop gawking and gasping in awe. After trying on a few options the saleswoman suggested, she settled on a breathtaking gown with a sleek, matte corset and a daring open back. The lace skirt was light as a cloud, flowing like a waterfall, widening from the hips down and pooling on the floor. Even I couldn’t help but say, “Wow!” Elegant, trendy, insanely beautiful!
Katie spent forever twirling in front of the mirrors, trying to see herself from every angle. She was clearly head over heels for the dress, and she didn’t even have the heart to take it off.
“Katie, check the price tag,” I whispered in her ear.
“I already did,” she waved me off. “It’s astronomical, but... after this masterpiece, I can’t imagine wearing anything else!”
“And where are you gonna get that kind of money?”
“Let Ruslan pay for it!” Katie exclaimed. “He wants to get married—he’s gonna have to shell out!”
Her fiancé, by the way, was a budding entrepreneur, not exactly rolling in dough yet. He should be investing in his business right now to get on solid footing, but I could see Katie was about to spin him in a whole different direction.
“Ksenia, sweetie,” she whispered, “you’ve gotta understand, I can’t walk down the aisle in any other dress now... I look amazing in this, don’t I?”
“Yeah, you do,” I nodded. No point in lying.
“And it’s like it was made for me, right?”
“Right. But the price!”
“Ksenia, honey... one last test. Try the dress on yourself, and I’ll take a look from the outside. If I love it just as much from this angle, then I don’t care how much it costs. I’m buying it!”
The thing is, Katie and I have almost identical figures, even though we look nothing alike. She’s a blonde with long, straight hair and these perpetually surprised blue eyes, loud, chatty, and obsessed with pastel colors in her clothes and makeup. I’ve got dark chestnut hair, brown eyes, and I rock dark lipstick and bold eye makeup. I prefer to think before I speak—or just stay quiet altogether. But our bodies are so similar that we often swap clothes, usually at her insistence.
“Isn’t it bad luck for me to wear your dress?” I asked.
“First of all, it’s not mine yet. Second, do you think no one else has tried it on before you? And third, you know I don’t believe in superstitions anyway.”
The temptation to try on such a gorgeous dress was hard to resist. Plus, I was tired of running around to salons. Let Katie just make up her mind already—this dress really was worth every penny. So, I agreed. A decision I’d regret a thousand times over later. I gathered my loose hair and pinned it up with a claw clip so it wouldn’t ruin the look. Katie had just changed back into her own clothes and handed me the dress.
The saleswoman offered to help, but I declined. The side zipper made it easy enough to manage on my own.
When I stepped out of the fitting room, I felt like a princess. A real, fairy-tale princess, no other way to describe it. The mirrors confirmed it, as did the awestruck looks from Katie and the saleswoman. I even started daydreaming about getting married in a dress like this. Only problem? There’s no one to marry. I’ve dated here and there, but no one’s ever sparked anything serious in me.
“Amazing!” Katie squealed, clapping her hands. “Come on, give us a spin!”
“One second...” The saleswoman expertly adjusted my hair with a quick motion and attached a sheer, flowing veil. “There. How’s that?”
“Incredible!” Katie stared at me, mesmerized. “Ksenia, spin around, I want to see it from every angle...”
I twirled like a model on a runway, striking a dramatic pose as I stopped.
But suddenly, the admiring looks on the girls’ faces turned to pure horror and shock.
What? What happened? At first, I thought I’d somehow ripped or stained the dress, but that couldn’t be possible!
A strange noise behind me made me turn around. A sharp, unpleasant smell of sulfur hit my nose, and a swirling vortex of black smoke began to form in the air. It hissed and grew, stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Then it split open like a book, and from the darkness within, a tall, horned figure emerged.
“A demon!!!” Katie squeaked before fainting on the spot.
Another dull thud told me the saleswoman had followed suit.
And there I stood, frozen like a statue, unable to speak, move, or even pass out.
The horned figure reached out and grabbed my wrists with a harsh grip. I wanted to scream, to push him away, but I couldn’t budge. The demon yanked me toward him, stepping back into the smoky vortex. I nearly stumbled, but he caught me, pulling me close against him. The vortex closed around us, hiding us in its core, spinning and hissing. My breath caught in my throat, my vision darkened, and—far too late—I finally blacked out.