by Ann Macela
Just when she thought she’d succeeded, her dog jumped on the bed and pulled the sheet from her.
“Damn, Delilah,” Gloriana said, but the hound only tugged at her big sleep shirt.
“Oh, all right, let’s go for a run.” Muttering about dogs that were too damn cheery in the morning, she headed for the bathroom.
The exercise restored her equilibrium, and she put the crazy dream out of her head. All she remembered was a heated look from pale blue eyes, and even that memory faded by the next day.
Him:
When he pulled her closer, she moaned, lowered her lids over her green eyes, lifted her rosy lips to his …
Mesmerized by the feel of her, he lowered his head to add taste to the mix. Her scent swirled in his nostrils …
And all he could smell was … dog breath.
He fisted his hand in her hair. All he felt was … dog fur.
A wet tongue licked his chin.
He opened his eyes to stare straight into Samson’s red and white face. He was on the edge of his bed clutching the dog’s ruff.
When Samson whined, Marcus let go and levered himself up from the bed. His muscles were tensely knotted, and the power the mysterious woman had in the dream revealed itself in his throbbing erection. He’d have to stretch carefully before his morning run.
Yeah, run. That’s what he’d been doing all night.
He went through his day with a vague sense of unease hovering about him that dissipated by evening. By bedtime, he couldn’t remember what caused it.
CHAPTER
ONE
No!
No, no, no! The words banged their way out of her head and into her throat, and Gloriana Morgan clenched her teeth with a snap to stop her thoughts from tumbling out of her mouth.
Her shocked brain persisted in thinking them, however, and added even more behind the dam of her teeth.
No! This man could not be Marcus Forscher.
For her opponent in their debate of the issues surrounding the working of magic, she’d expected a practitioner so divorced from ordinary spell-casting he couldn’t possibly acknowledge the methods of ordinary mortals. A man with his head so high in the mathematical clouds he couldn’t speak in less than equations, as demonstrated by his articles on the subject. She’d also envisioned either a total math geek—scrawny, thick glasses, disheveled in jeans and a wrinkled button-down shirt, nerdy to the extreme—or an aged professor of the same variety with even thicker glasses and one of those jackets with leather elbows.
Instead, who did she have shaking her hand?
A six-feet-tall, very blond, tanned hunk with a square jaw, an aloof, down-his-perfect-nose gaze, and a slight cool smile. And those eyes—a chilly light blue with a charcoal rim around the irises—he used to inspect her from top to bottom and back before locking his gaze with hers.
The warm clasp of his hand caused even more of a jolt as little zings of energy traveled up her arm and tightened the hold she had on him—or was it the hold he had on her?
“How do you do, Dr. Morgan?” she heard him say in a low deep voice. The hairs on the back of her neck quivered.
Finally one of the zings reached her brain and shocked her mind back to the matter at hand. She unlocked her jaw and managed to force a polite answer past her lips. “Pleased to meet you, Dr. Forscher.”
She carefully pulled her hand from his and let it drop to her side. Her palm still tingled and she fought against rubbing it on her skirt. Oh, God, her skirt. Her usual long, dark green flared skirt that went with her usual light green blouse and usual dark brown suede jacket. Usually worn for lectures in front of fellow botanists. She probably looked shabby—even nerdy—next to his impeccable navy suit and crisp white shirt. She paid little attention to fashion in general, much less the male variety, but his clothes all looked expensive with a capital E. At least he wore one vestige of nerd-dom—his red tie, replete with mathematical symbols.
She paused to take a calming breath before she turned to the man standing as the third point of their triangle.
Short, pudgy, balding, rumpled, fiftyish, and tweedy, Ed Hearst looked like what she had imagined for the editor of W2, The Witches and Warlocks Journal, the publication of record for the magic practitioner community. Part newshound, part scholar, Ed was a man she should not underestimate. His shrewd brown eyes took in an enormous amount of information, his sharp ears caught every nuance in conversations, and his formidable powers of persuasion were responsible for her presence at the event.
Pushing his smudged rimless glasses up his nose, Ed beamed at them like a rabbit eyeing two particularly plump heads of lettuce. “I can’t believe you two have never met in person. The debate has been going on for over a year and a half, and your offices are close by on campus.”
“The mathematics and plant biology departments don’t mix much,” Forscher replied, “and I was a visiting professor at Cal Tech for the last calendar year.”
“I’ve spent a great deal of time in the greenhouses lately,” Gloriana put in. She’d never felt the need to look him up in person. What good would it do? Neither would change their stands on the matter. Why get into a pointless argument? She had better uses for her time.
“I appreciate your cooperation in putting together the event so quickly,” Ed said. “We were fortunate you didn’t have travel plans and the HeatherRidge ballroom here in Austin was available in the middle of March. We certainly couldn’t have this discussion in a place that wasn’t owned and staffed by practitioners. I realize two weeks’ notice was short. Once I get an idea, however, I run with it, and holding the debate at this time will allow us to cover it in the next issue.”
Gloriana kept her attention ostensibly on Ed, but she snuck a peek at the mathematician from the corner of her eye. Was something wrong with the man? He was still scrutinizing her with the most intense gaze—as if she were a type of plant he’d never seen before.
“So,” Ed said, rubbing his hands together, “who wants to go first in the debate?”
“Let Dr. Forscher speak first,” Gloriana said quickly. She needed the time to settle herself down. “His article was the catalyst to the letters.”
“Is that okay with you?” Ed asked him.
Gloriana held in a sigh of relief when Forscher focused that laser-beam gaze on Ed.
“Fine,” her opponent said with a quick nod.
“Then let’s go.” Ed ushered them up onto the raised platform where a table stood with chairs, microphones, and filled water glasses.
Gloriana took the right-hand seat and arranged her notes as Ed sat in the middle and Forscher settled on the other end. She adjusted the microphone in front of her and scanned the ballroom. On this Saturday evening, the large ornate room with crystal chandeliers was filled almost to capacity with a mix of all ages and both genders. She could see her family seated off the middle aisle—her parents, her brother and his wife, and her sister and her husband—and she gave them a smile. Her father grinned and gave her a “go get ‘em” gesture with his fist.
Ed waited until his photographer had snapped a couple of pictures and the audience had settled, and said, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our discussion on ‘Spell-Casting: Past, Present and Future.’ I’m Ed Hearst, editor of W2. To my right is Dr. Gloriana Morgan, associate professor of botany, twelfth-level practitioner, and to my left is Dr. Marcus Forscher, professor of mathematics, eleventh-level practitioner. Both teach here at the University of Texas. Their curricula vitae are in the handout you received at the door.
“Last year, W2 published Dr. Forscher’s article entitled ‘A Mathematical Basis for Spell-Casting,’ in which he discussed the creation and use of mathematical equations and proof methods for working magic. Thinking in and applying math terms would, he suggested, standardize casting and result in a more efficient and effective process for all.”
A number of people in the audience shifted in their seats, but Gloriana couldn’t tell if they were moving in agree
ment or opposition to the idea—or simply getting comfortable.
Ed kept talking over the slight disturbance. “That article drew more letters to the editor, both pro and con, than we ever received. When we printed a selection, along with Dr. Forscher’s replies, we received double the first response. The tenor, the enthusiasm, and, yes, the intensity of the correspondents quickly convinced us we had an issue of substance and worth for the entire community. One of the most articulate proponents for maintaining a more traditional view of casting caught everyone’s eye. At our request, Dr. Morgan wrote two articles on the subject, which we ran side by side with Dr. Forscher’s.”
Ed paused to take a sip of water before continuing, “From those debates in print came the idea of bringing the two of them together with other practitioners to discuss the theory and practice of magic. Their respective specialties make them excellent choices for such a discussion since Dr. Forscher’s leads him into mathematic and magical theoretical research and Dr. Morgan’s grounds her literally and figuratively in spells ancient in their origin and practical in their nature.
“We’ll give each of our speakers a chance to express their ideas before opening the session to questions and comments. We’re recording the session. Let’s keep this informal and in order, shall we? Dr. Forscher will go first.”
Gloriana picked up her pen to be ready to jot down points she might want to address. Although she had agreed to it, she wasn’t sure she liked the setup at the table, but it had seemed a better choice than having to stand at a formal podium like two candidates running for office. Sitting in a row as they were here, however, she couldn’t see her opponent without leaning way back and even then she couldn’t see his face.
On the other hand, maybe that was a good thing; she didn’t need eye contact on top of the effect of that deep compelling voice. A shiver ran down her spine while Forscher thanked Ed for providing the forum. She made herself sit up straight, take a quiet breath, and ignore the itch in the middle of her chest. Concentrate on his words, Glori.
“My ideas and recommendations started, as scientific investigations do, with questions,” Forscher began. “What is at the heart of that which makes us practitioners in the first place? Many would answer, it is the ability to use magic in our everyday work. Given that, how could we practitioners cast better, more effective spells? Refine and understand the process and methods for casting? What factors, elements, go into a spell in the first place? How can we understand a spell mathematically?
“I drew on ancient and present masters for hard data and inspiration. What I learned led me to postulate a basic equation, one that would encompass the casting of every spell. The equation, which some call a formula, is on the back page of your handout.”
Paper rustled as audience members flipped pages. Gloriana did the same. She had not looked at the pamphlet, thinking she already knew what was in it. Another assumption gone bad.
There on the last page was the infamous formula. How sneaky of him to supply it. What was the matter with her? Why hadn’t she thought of printing handouts of her major points for the audience like she would for a class? She mentally shook herself. Not a thing to worry about at the present time. He was still talking.
“I realize,” Forscher said in a self-deprecating tone, “developing the process for the use of the formula moves me from my purely theoretical base into the realm of what some call ‘applied mathematics,’ or mathematics that everyone can use. So be it. My thinking led me to speculate on the nature of magic reality and from there to create the equation, and it became clear that I had a foundation on which to build and from which everyone could benefit. Let’s look at the formula.”
Gloriana looked down at the page. It displayed the equation,
She drew little stems, leaves, and petals to make the last S into a flower.
“A cast spell contains six elements,” Forscher said. “The last two may not be required, but the first four always are. You begin with the spell, small or lowercase s, you are going to cast. The exact spell depends on the particular, specific talent, sub T, of the practitioner. Capital L sub small s is the level of the spell being cast. Capital L sub small p is the level of the practitioner. In casting, these three ‘ingredients’ are multiplied by the amount of magical power or energy, capital E, the practitioner, sub small p, puts into the spell.”
Gloriana felt her eyes almost crossing at the recital. Too many capitals, subs, and letters.
“For example,” Forscher continued, “when casting the light spell lux, a small amount of energy input would create a dim light and more would create a brighter one. R refers to any ritual, gestures and the like, the spell requires, and I to any item used or required. The ritual and/or item provide energy themselves and act as multipliers on the casting to increase the potency or longevity or some other aspect of the spell. I used the asterisk instead of the normal mathematics symbol to show multiplication because there seems to be something else going on besides a straight multiplying effect. I haven’t identified the ‘something’ yet. The result is the cast spell, capital S. Does everyone follow me thus far?”
Gloriana kept her expression neutral when she looked out over the audience as he paused. Several people nodded, a few shook their heads, and others frowned. She couldn’t tell if they didn’t understand or if they were disgusted at the idea. No one, however, said a word.
“As I said, the equation is a foundation,” Forscher went on. “We need to do more work with the spell elements, defining and calibrating them. I maintain that eventually, by applying the formula, arranging the elements precisely in his mind and with his actions, a practitioner will be able to cast more efficiently, make better use of his energy, and generate more powerful spells. We will all understand the process completely. Spell-casting will become more coherent, more regularized, less haphazard, less risky.”
He paused again, and when Ed leaned back, Gloriana managed to see her opponent’s face in profile. He had a small smile on those perfect lips—a smile that sent a shiver of anticipation down her back. Would he repeat the words that had set off a firestorm?
“It’s time,” Forscher stated, “to move forward, to put the cauldron-stirring, potion-making stereotypes and unorganized, disorganized, nonproductive, energy-wasting methods of the past behind us. We must not look back, only forward, as we seek to understand our practice and wield it objectively, without emotion, scientifically, without messiness. Tradition—simply because we’ve always done something a particular way since the tenth century—has no place in the twenty-first. We can remove ourselves from the limits our history and our laziness have imposed upon us. We will enhance our powers and live up to our full potential.”
Yep, there they were, the incendiary statements that galvanized so much response. A ripple of sound and movement flowed through the room. A few people clapped—mostly younger men and women, from what Gloriana could see. Had she heard a few growls among the paper rustling and chair shifting? She glanced around but saw only poker faces. Nobody was giving away their opinions—yet.
When Gloriana faced Forscher again, he was looking back at her, the small smile still in place. Or was it a smirk? When her gaze met his and his expression changed to fierce, however, she could almost feel the glove smacking her face. The duel was definitely on—and she had a surprise for him. She was going to take the debate to a new level.
“Your turn,” Forscher said, his voice low and husky.
Ed leaned forward again and blocked her view, breaking the contact. “Next we’ll hear from Dr. Morgan,” he announced.
Marcus Forscher made himself sit back in the chair and forced his eyes to the papers on the table. What in hell was the matter with him? One glance at Gloriana Morgan and he didn’t want to look anywhere except at her. Euphoria had engulfed him—like he’d discovered a new proof for one of mathematics’ oldest problems. He, who’d learned never to show emotion or other weakness, wanted to shout with joy.
He’d regained control of him
self to speak, and when he’d finished, he’d given her an encouraging smile to indicate his goodwill toward hearing from her side. When she’d looked back, however? The impact of her dark green eyes had tightened his muscles almost to fight-or-flight level—and caused a definitely inappropriate reaction in his lower body. He’d barely managed to say two words.
Had she or someone else cast a spell on him? To make it difficult for him to debate? No, not possible. He was very sensitive to spells; he’d recognize it immediately. He pressed his fingers over his magic center at the end of his breastbone. No, his center itched some. Otherwise it felt fine.
Why hadn’t he looked Morgan up on the university or the practitioner Web sites? Surely seeing her picture would have prepared him for the reality of that dark curly hair and those big green eyes. When, however, had he had the time, what with returning from California and being thrown into his teaching duties and his book deadline? No matter. Here he was—and so was she.
He scooted his chair around to be able to see her without Ed in the way. She was pretty, with her hair falling to her shoulders, heart-shaped face, and clear complexion. Slim but curvy, probably five feet five or so. Dressed in a scholarly fashion, the greens and browns suggestive of her botanical bent.
Morgan flashed a suspicious glance at him while stacking her papers. He almost grinned. She was going to be a worthy opponent. Her arguments and observations about magic theory had been well thought out, intelligent, and penetrating. Expecting no less at the moment, he was looking forward to the discussion, but he couldn’t see how she could refute his hypothesis. It all fit together with mathematic precision.
“Here I am,” Morgan began with a big smile, “a certified potion-making, cauldron-stirring practitioner, who delights in the craft and the feel and the subtleties of practicing magic, who revels in the traditions of our art, and who believes in the innate ability of us all to live up to our magic potential.”
