Enthralled Magic (The Circle Series Book 1)

by Naomi L Scudder

  "Holy fuck, that Gypsy bitch is glowing," said a practitioner by the door.

  "Shut up, McDougle. We're not supposed to call them that!" scolded his drinking partner.

  "What, ‘Gypsies’? Or ‘bitches’?"

  Both men leaned back and guffawed at their misogyny, complete with belly grabbing and knee slapping.

  "Please, everyone, give your attention." My words were soft but firm, intense but not overwhelming.

  I felt the weight of their eyes, their undivided attention on me. I began: "I want to share with all of you a new way of dealing with our own delicious energy. Nons want it, other practitioners get their hackles raised by it, and I think I have a solution to both. Would you be interested in that?"

  Most of the room nodded. Those that didn't looked curious, and there were only a few who looked suspicious. It was a start.

  "I want everyone to picture a wall around themselves. A personal bubble that will keep your energy from mingling with others."

  Stunned silence slowly bled into heckling. I’d lost them.

  "She's got to be kidding."

  "Don't you think if it were that easy, we'd all be doing it?" said a redheaded fae woman in front.

  "Stupid Gypsy half-breed thinks she knows everything," said the man by the door

  "That shit hasn't worked in generations," said another from behind me.

  "I promise you it is that easy. Just try it," I pleaded from the table top.

  One by one, patrons left the small bar to find their old spots, varying degrees of disappointment on their faces.

  "I'm sorry, Z," Amari said and helped me off the table when the last practitioner left the room.

  "I don't understand. Why wouldn't they even try?"

  "They're not ready yet," Jade offered. "You can't force it on people. You've given them the know-how; they have to choose to use it. Just like anything."

  This was not what I wanted. How was I going to test it if no one would try it?

  I sulked back upstairs, trying not to pay attention to the coarse insults the nastier patrons threw at me on the way.

  I didn't know what I was going to do, so I did the only thing I knew: kept writing.

  When my stack of completed manuscript had doubled in size, I took a break to stretch and eat. I'd swallowed the last bite of a sloppy PB&J when I heard Jade's voice through the door.

  "Zora, it's me, Jade. Can I come in?"

  I unlocked the loft door and let her in.

  "Hey, I can't stay long. I just wanted to ask if you'd like to come out tonight after I get off. My girl and I know this great after-hours club. Loud music, lots of lasers and strobes, and you can sweat out all your frustration.”

  It sounded like hell. I preferred to sweat out my emotions a different way, and being a third wheel wasn’t my idea of fun at all.

  "Maybe another time,” I said.

  "I thought you might say that." Jade nodded. "Just come anyway, step out of your routine. It'll do you good."

  "I'll think about it," I said.

  "I'll take that as a yes. Meet you downstairs after closing. K?"

  I couldn't help smiling at her. "OK," I said, giving in to her charming persuasion.

  "Yay! Girls night!" she squeaked and ran down the steps back to the bar.

  I shook my head at her display of excitement and got back to work.

  This time was slower than the last. My back was sore from sitting so awkwardly, and my wrists couldn't deal with the non-ergonomic typewriter anymore. I pushed through anyway, not only editing as I went but also carefully adding bits about energy walling. Jade was right. All I could do was put the info out there. I couldn't control if people used it or not. That wasn't my business anyway.

  45

  "Hey, do you mind if I leave the coffee table set up like that?" I called from the bathroom.

  "Of course not. I'm just going to straighten up the power strip and cords so no one dies on the octopus you made," Amari teased.

  I'd gotten a lot accomplished in the few hours between my failed attempt to teach unwilling practitioners and closing time. I only had a quarter of the manuscript left to transcribe.

  "It's a spaghetti monster—get it right," I said, poking my head out of the bathroom to tease back.

  "Whoa; I haven't seen you pull out the glitter eyeshadow since the last time we went dancing," Amari commented when he saw my partially made-up face.

  "Appropriate, since Jade invited me out clubbing."

  "Did she?"

  "Yup. She said a change of pace would do me good, and I agree. Now quit being a distraction; she's waiting for me," I said and refocused on trying not to look like a clown hooker.

  I didn't have much in the way of clothing options at Amari's place. I had my favorite spelled boots though, and they were comfy enough to dance in. I kept the same jeans but changed my shirt to a lower-cut, sparkly one, and pronounced myself club-ready.

  "You look great," Amari said from the sofa. "Am I invited to the dance party?" he asked, getting up to meet me at the front door.

  "Afraid not," I said and hooked my sheathed knife to my boot. "Jade said it was a girl’s night."

  "OK," he said and gave me a soft, light kiss. "Be safe."

  "See ya!" I said and ran down the steps just like Jade had.

  "Sorry I kept you waiting," I said when I saw Jade by the front door.

  "No worries," she said with a smile. "Damn, girl, how'd you get yourself into those things?" Jade’s cat-like eyes widened to saucers when she saw my just-above-the-knee lace-up boot.

  "I spelled them so I didn't have to struggle getting them on and off." I'd also tweaked the same spell so their appearance would match my mood—but that wasn't a secret I shared easily.

  "Impressive. You'll have to show me that spell sometime."

  "I will," I said and meant it.

  "Ready?" she asked.

  "I am.” I was actually really excited. It had been so long since I’d able to go out. I’d have to remember to thank Brody, again. “You know, it's been years since I've been out,” I confessed as Jade led the way to her car. “And you were right, I do need a change of scenery."

  "Good." Jade smiled at me as she opened her car door for me. "I have some bad news, though," she said when she got in the driver’s side. "Annie's not going to make it. She's home sick. Poor thing's been puking her guts out all night."

  "Oh no! She's got the flu?"

  Jade shook her head and turned out of The Laughing Cat's parking lot. "No, she thinks it was the chicken salad I made."

  "Oh."

  "It probably was. I'm a horrendous cook. I'm surprised she still tries stuff I make."

  I couldn’t help a snicker. “We have that in common. Do you want to reschedule so you can take care of her?"

  "No, she's a ‘leave me to suffer and die alone’ sick person. Too much attention makes her mad. Besides, she’s got her mint and ginger-root soup. As soon as she can keep it down she'll be fine."

  "Ginger root and mint?" I asked, not bothering to keep the disgust off my face.

  "Yeah. It tastes like lizard crap, but both help settle the stomach. She's one of the herby-type practitioners."

  "Gotcha. So, where is this club exactly?" I asked when Jade entered a not-so-nice part of town.

  "On the outskirts of The Circle—the warehouse district."

  "A warehouse party? Jade, are you taking me to a rave? I don't think I do enough drugs for that."

  Jade laughed at me. "I don't either, but I love electronic dance music, and raves and festivals are about the only place you can hear it live. Plus," she said at a red light, giving me full eye contact, "you are going to love all the energy, trust me." Jade pulled into a strip mall and put the car in park.

  "We're parking here?"

  "Yup," she said and opened my door for me. "It's not too far of a hike. You'll be fine."

  "Why can't we park by the club?"

  "Here, take my arm," Jade said and poked a hooked elbow at m
e.

  My objections were silenced when we turned down a dirty, dark alley.

  It smelled like urine.

  "Jade, is the club legal?" I asked, finally taking her arm.

  "The club is completely legal, but the owners like to facilitate the illegal-warehouse-party feel," she said and pointed to a graffitied brick warehouse. "They bricked over the original entrance," Jade said as I scanned the facade for a door. "We have to use the underground entrance. Oh, don't look like that. It's fun," she said and led me to the steel cellar door in the pavement.

  I wasn't sure if I was ready for that much fun.

  Jade leveraged her entire body weight to get the door to open, and took me into the dark belly of the club. "Follow the red lights," she said when I made it down the steel diamond-plate steps. A line of bare, red-tinged light bulbs in the ceiling was all that illuminated the narrow underground passage. I'd never experienced claustrophobia, but this place brought me close. "How long is this hallway? How far to the club?"

  "It has to lead all the way up to street level, so it takes a bit. We're almost there," she said and smiled at me as bass vibrations reached us. Jade dance-walked the rest of the way.

  "Ready?" she asked, one hand on the door leading to the dance floor.

  I nodded, and Jade pulled me into the club.

  46

  Dark room, lights flashing, too-bright-too-dark-too-bright—Gods, I was going to have a seizure. So many people dancing, pushing, kissing. Too loud, too much. Every sense I had was on overload.

  A soap bubble landed on my nose and popped, making me cross-eyed for a moment.

  "Here," Jade said in my ear and pushed something into my hand.

  I thought she'd handed me E, or was it X? Was there a difference except alphabetical? But Jade wasn't trying to get me high; she'd pushed a soft pair of earplugs into my palm. She pointed to her own plugged ears, gave me a thumbs up, and pulled me to the dance floor.

  I was still shoving the foam into my ears when Jade showed off her moves—appropriate ones for the techno trance mash-up pounding the walls of the club. Damn, she was good. Really good. At the buildup of the song, she pulled a set of glow sticks out of her pocket.

  "Are you kidding me?" I asked myself. Jade drew light circles, squares, squiggles, all the shapes, around her body. This girl was amazing.

  She gave me a look that asked why I wasn't dancing.

  I danced the only way I knew how, with hip rolls, shimmies, and ribcage lifts. Traditional belly dance music was much slower than electronic dance music, but the moves and music found a balance without much effort on my part.

  Jade looked on with appreciation and tried a basic hip lift. Her narrow frame didn't make quite the impact that mine did, but she took to the steps naturally.

  Jade was about to show me the secrets to her moves, when I noticed a familiar profile behind her. It was Brody and Pilar, weirdly slow-dancing to EDM. I called over, forgetting that no one could hear anything. Then I looked closer. It was hard to tell with the lights-on-lights-off strobe effect, but I was certain they were practicing energy pushes. I could see his blue tinted energy flowing into Pilar's body. I also saw him read in her body language that he'd pushed enough for the moment.

  I couldn't help a proud little smile.

  After I'd perfected a few Jade-style moves, I added my own flair to it. Snake arms here, a hip shimmy there—and Jade started her glow stick light show around me, highlighting whichever body part I'd isolated. It wasn't long before we had a circle of onlookers, clapping and cheering us on.

  I couldn't hear them, but I could feel them—the crowd poured their appreciation, love, and attention at us. For just a moment, Jade and I were rock stars.

  We stumbled out of the club hours later, drunk on energy, high from dancing, and sweaty from both, and ran to the car.

  "That was AMAZING!" I said as we headed back to The Laughing Cat.

  "I've never been in the middle of a dance circle before! That was incredible!" Jade said.

  "No, you were incredible! Thanks for making me come out."

  "No, thank you for being so awesome," Jade gushed.

  We spent the rest of the car ride silently soaking in our club highs.

  "We definitely need to do this again," Jade said, letting me out in front of Amari's bar.

  "Absolutely," I said and waved goodbye to her.

  I sighed, soaking in the night air, relishing the feel of the breeze. The club energy made my senses more acute, and I basked in the feel of the cool air, and the silvery glow of the moon.

  Amari had left the kitchen entrance open for me. I quietly climbed the hidden staircase to the loft, skipping the creaky step before I eased the loft door open.

  Amari was on the couch, shirtless and in pajama bottoms. "Glad you're back," he said and turned off whatever crappy horror-slasher movie he had on. "How was it?"

  Instead of answering, I unlaced my boots, walked out of my pants, and took off my shirt. Standing there in just my underthings, I said, "Take off your pants."

  Amari was happy to follow the order. I was so amped from the club I had to burn off the extra energy—and Gods, he looked good.

  He always looked good.

  I walked to him, slow and deliberate, taking off my remaining clothes and letting my hips swing a little more than usual. Amari appreciated the show, as evidenced by his tented boxers.

  I consumed him, hands in hair, mouth on neck. I poured every bit of energy I had not just into Amari, but into what I was doing. Club energy, my own light energy, and the ancestral energy I'd been keeping bottled, all mingled and flowed through me, filtering out through my fingertips, tongue, and lips. I left a trail of glowing skin every place I touched.

  Amari looked at me, rapture on his face. "This feels different," he rumbled, his scratchy voice sending shivers up and down my arms.

  "I feel different," I said and continued to lick and bite and pet him, tracing glowing lines across his body.

  47

  Now that I wasn't pushing it away, the sex magic didn't seem out of control. The fiery need that threatened to melt furniture and make me crazy flowed easily and freely, completely under my control.

  Amari noticed. "You seem like you know what you're doing."

  I nodded, a sly smile slowly spreading across my lips.

  He met my smile with an evil grin, picked me up, and threw me over his shoulder. I squealed with surprise as he tossed me on the bed, landing on my ass and elbows. Amari grabbed me behind the knees and tugged me down to a better, flatter position.

  "I've been waiting for this," he grumbled in my ear. I didn't know what that meant or when his boxers had come off, but I could feel him against me. My body arched to meet his without much say-so from me.

  Amari threaded his fingers in my hair, tugging my head away to expose the line of my neck. His fingers were steady, sure, and close to the scalp. It didn't hurt. It felt tight but good.

  Amari knew my body. He knew all my favorite spots and easily read my non-verbal cues. But this was different. He found places on my neck I hadn’t known felt good.

  I squirmed and gasped beneath him, unable to keep still or silent. With my head pointed away from him, I couldn't tell how he was touching me. It didn't feel like lips, tongue, hands or fingers. It was almost as if he was pulling the sensations out of me without physical contact.

  "How are you doing this?" I asked between breathless groans.

  "Shhh, just close your eyes," he rumbled to me.

  Amari's voice and what he was doing to my neck caused a double shiver that made my eyes roll.

  As soon as my lids closed, I saw everything.

  "HOLY SHIT! What was that?" I tried to move my head to look at Amari but he kept a firm grip on my hair. I wanted him to let me go, but something inside kept me from saying it out loud.

  "Amari, tell me what I just saw."

  "I can't."

  "What do you mean? You knew something was going to happen or you wouldn't have
told me to close my eyes."

  "Something, yes. But I have no idea what you saw; it's different for each Staven-kom."

  "Oh, it's part of the ancestral shit. A little warning would have been nice."

  "It's part of the process."

  "What? Scaring the shit out of me with blinding colors and lights behind my eyes?"

  "No. Releasing some control. Close your eyes and try not to focus on any one thing. Soak it all in, be present with it."

  "Amari, I don't know what the hell that means."

  "Just close your eyes," he said with a sweet smile in his voice.

  I did and internally braced for the nuclear explosion of color. It was dazzling. Retina-searing, migraine-inducing wiggles and worms of color swam behind my eyes. I couldn't look directly at any particular one; they moved with the movement of my eye.

  "Ease up a little, Z," Amari said and wiggled his fingers. I didn't remember grabbing his hand, but I released the death grip I had on it. "Just relax and wait for it to smooth out."

  I refocused on the sensations that Amari still pulled from my neck, and slowly the intensity ebbed away, leaving only muted, trailing colors. They moved gracefully behind my eyes, weaving around each other with the ease and fluidity of spectral sea creatures. I still couldn't focus directly on them, but if I looked hard enough I could make out something behind the colors.

  "Oh, my Gods."

  48

  "Do you see?" Amari asked and let go of my hair.

  I nodded. It was beautiful—awe-inspiring, even. I could see everything—quantum-level energy exchanges, heat sources, radio, Wi-Fi signals, microwaves. I saw the residual energy where Brody and Pilar had sex—gods, they'd had sex everywhere. I'd have to tell Amari to buy a new dining table.

  If the energies were the foreground, the loft was the background. They flowed over, around and through physical items, and I could see it all with my eyes closed.

  All the energies moved differently and wore a slightly different shade of muted color to the party. Wi-Fi was a pale chartreuse and wiggled the fastest. Microwaves and radio waves were nearly the same shade of red, but radio waves were slightly longer.