This was of course also the floor of the ground above and there would be a constant parade of feet tramping over it; the procession of the ignorant. T...is glass strip and the stairwell were the only infiltrations of light because the one and only light fitting had corroded years before.I liked this downstairs haven because it was usually busy with 'trade' at all times during the day and you could hear the footsteps of those entering in good time before they entered. This was essential warning.. I heard Karen ask the other two women something when the full effects of the elixir finally hit me. It started as a slight tingling at the back of my head that extended down the back of my neck. This was followed by a very brief fainting sensation, as if I were experiencing a head rush from standing up too quickly. For some reason I momentarily lost my peripheral vision, which augmented my feeling of lightheadedness. I tried to listen to what the women were saying, and vaguely heard Gloria ask. "Ah the monster mask, haven’t used this baby in a few centuries." With a flick of his wrist the mask multiplied in his hand like the cards in a poker deck, the imp folding and shuffling the now 50 masks in his hands just as he conjured portals into the physical realm and started flicking them inside. On the other side the day had already ended and everyone was fast asleep, the heroes and heroines never noticing the masks flittered into existence in the air before landing perfectly right on. Until señora Pilar happened along. What was it she said when she turned you away? ‘I can’t – I wish I could.’ Well, I’d guess that with Pilar she found she could at last. Bully for Pilar.” She raised her glass in salute. “And then there was Claire,” Gemma went on. “A really serious, committed live-in relationship with a woman, followed by a dreadful loss. And what happened in the years between Pilar and Claire? Not to mention whatever’s happened since Claire… “What I’m getting at, darling, is.