by Rose, Rhea
The disarray of his backpack and hoodie sent me into a rage. I hated the way that disorderliness made me feel.
What a mess this situation was at every level!
That disarray made my anger surge so strongly that my heart squeezed, like a stress ball in the hands of a wrestler. I chewed my bottom lip, but with no chance to organize the mess in the corner, I was unable to muster my magical energies, but enough fear and rage settled in my face and eyes to make a scary expression, I guessed, because Devon, took an unsure, backward step.
His hesitation allowed me a moment to summon a voice and I spoke, well, it wasn’t really me, but the words came from my mouth “Ssssnakes,” I hissed at him, with an intonation exactly like his.
The ceiling chains began a slight sway which grew stronger until they clanked together. We both watched in mutual awe as they picked up speed and took on a life of their own, swinging and rattling and chinking together
They became snakes, big ones!
And they began to drop onto Devon. The first one hit his shoulders then fell to the floor, but it leaped back and immediately wrapped itself around his ankles, then another fell and this time it stayed on Devon’s broad shoulders, a third slithered down and wrapped around his waist. He pulled one away and tossed it with super human strength. It hit the wall but wound its way back toward him. He looked at me.
“No, you can't do that,” he said to me, like it was an order. And then another snake fell onto him. He struggled with it, but there were too many.
“Quick fix, make them stick, works like magic crazy glue, snakes ball together all over you,” I said, only this time in Maisie’s voice The words just came to me, like a jingle from a bad commercial.
And my voice sounded a lot like Maisie’s.
Devon screamed. “Maaissie!”
He was furious and wrapped up in snakes that stuck to him like glue. Only his face remained uncovered. He looked over at me -- for an instant I caught sight of his demon nature in his red eyes, and he terrified me -- as I realized he was well and truly bound by the snakes I’d called down from the ceiling, I felt incredibly pleased with myself.
I was still tied to the bed, but Devon’s backpack was directly in my line of vision, and strangely his hoodie was no longer in a rumpled heap, but folded neatly. The items were in the corner on the floor of the room and something told me that my little snakes were going to release me from my predicament a lot sooner than his.
*
But several hours later I still lay on the bed in Devon’s man-cave bedroom, pulling at the ropes on my wrists. I thought about the brick of cash Devon burned. How was I able to repair a broken perfume bottle and turn hanging chains into snakes that entwined someone, but not get myself free?
Beside me, Devon still wrapped in snakes, stood like a mummy, his eyes glaring. Devon’s words echoed in my brain, “You're going to have to work a long time for Maisie to repay that one.” That was exactly what I didn’t want to do! I even hoped that once I got this cash to her she might relent and let me be on my way, but the way things looked at the moment, the three of us; me, Devon and the cash were going nowhere.
I tried to remember exactly what Devon had done when he dragged me in here. I know he hissed out the word snake and he’d snapped his fingers. I’d forgotten that part. Alright, let see if I’m capable of snapping fingers while tied up like this. I tried and while my attempt was weak, it was possible.
I lay back on the bed and tried to relax and ignore Devon’s vitriolic spew describing the things he was going to do to me when he got free. It looked like freedom for either of us was out of the picture.
The Final Catch: A Tarot Sorceress Series
Click here to find all the chapters of Book Two: See Jane Hex
Rhea E. Rose
Other Books By Rhea E. Rose
a.k.a. Rhea Rose and R.E.Rose
Pandora’s Progeny: Speculative Short Stories
(Picture books)The Box, Rainbow Socks and the Carousel
Princess Mya and the Dust Fairies
(The following books are coming soon to an Amazon page near you!)
Book Two: See Jane Hex
Book Three: See Jane Spell
Book Four: See Jane Jinx
Book Five: See Jane Conjure
Book Six: See Jane Ensorcell