Free A Life Less Pink by Zenina Masters Page B

off the hall, and they settled in with the door firmly locked. Cori removed her headgear and Red Riding Hood peeled off her mask.
    “Oh my.”
    The reason behind them knowing that she was a mage was quite clear. The mask had hid fantastical designs around her eyes, but now that they were out in the open, they were moving and telling a tale.
    “What is that?”
    The transporter sat gracefully behind the desk. “It is a living tattoo, a speciality of one tattoo parlour known to the mages. One of your kind designs them, or so I have been told. We never meet them; we simply pay and hope that we can do the pattern justice.”
    Cori watched with fascination. “It is the fairy tale you are dressed as.”
    “Yes, with a twist if you watch to the end.”
    “How does it work?”
    “The ink is in ideal suspension between layers of skin and my magic and impulses make it move. I have it set to Red Riding Hood for now, but I can pull it into standard day makeup if I need to.”
    “May I ask your name?”
    “Of course. I am Stella Winters, transporter for this region. I am a fairly new arrival. I have only been in the neighbourhood for three months.”
    “Coriel Flisk.”
    The brunette with the amazing tattoo smiled. “I know. Please, have a seat and ask me what you want to know.”
    Coriel settled in the chair easily, her back straight and the corset holding her tight. “I really just have one. When can I leave?”
    Stella leaned forward and raised her brows. “How do you feel about now?”
    Five minutes of negotiations and a text to her mother later, Coriel was on her way in a flare of light.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    She stumbled as she arrived and did what Stella had told her. She put on the charm from the file and waited for the guardians to come and get her.
    It took a minute, but a woman in a black robe who had snow-white hair came in and blinked. “I am sorry. I wasn’t expecting an arrival.”
    Cori curtseyed. “I apologise. It was a last-minute decision.”
    “Did you travel in time as well as space?”
    Cori chuckled. “I won a transport and expenses to the Crossroads at a costume party and the next window was in six weeks. I am never one to pretend fate did not smack me in the face, so here I am.”
    She extended the paperwork to the guardian, and when a man stumbled in a moment later, she curtsied again. “Good evening.”
    He smiled sleepily and walked up to what was obviously his mate. She filled him in and made a few calls.
    “Teebie is waiting for you at the Open Heart. Give me a minute and I will get dressed.” The guardian ran a hand through her hair.
    “Don’t bother. I will stop at the general store and get some regular clothing before I make my way to the Open Heart. I should be there in under twenty minutes if the map was accurate.”
    The woman smiled and there was relief in her gaze. “I will check up on you in the morning.”
    “Thank you. I apologise again for the unannounced arrival.” Cori retrieved the documents that were her copies.
    “It isn’t a problem. We just don’t get caught by surprise often.”
    “Good evening, enjoy your dreams.” Cori swished out the door with her skirts rustling around her. It was a great costume but didn’t seem to be the type of thing to wear while seeking out a mate, at least not this century.
    Her black and red locks were pinned high on her head in a modified Gibson-girl style. Having her hair out of the way made for a full range of vision, and she could see several people moving about on the streets, and the moment that they saw her, they froze in place.
    Smirking a little, she headed into the general store to do some shopping. It was time to get her clothing selections back into the current decade.
     
    Andy was most helpful, and ten minutes later, Cori had what she needed and was off to the Open Heart to pry off the corset and climb into some pajamas for the evening.
    Cori’s slow pace took her past the bar, and a man, who was about to enter,