I increased the power coursing through my fingertips. Slowly at first, but before long I had three times the flow I had just moments before. Aiden screamed as the power tore into his skin, turning the areas closest to the collar a sickly black.
I was out of time. If it didn’t pop off soon I’d have to stop. Otherwise I’d just end up killing him. In a last ditch effort I sent a quick burst, ten times more powerful than the original flow, into the collar and abruptly cut it off.
The latch on the collar let out an audible click as it fell off his neck. It hit the ground with a lyrical clang then rolled under the stall door then came to a stop leaning against a toilet.
“You OK?” I asked, caressing the tender skin around his neck. There was a black ring of charred skin near where the collar was at just moments ago. The color changed from black to red, eventually to a light pink the further away it got. He was burned pretty badly.
“I’ll be fine. Beats having the collar on again.” He rotated his neck in a circle, causing his neck to crack a few times on the second revolution.
“I can heal that.”
“Later. We need to get out of here before they figure out what happened.”
I suspected they had a good idea what was going on already. I just hoped we had enough time to get out before they could do anything about it.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to cast a spell on you.”
He rubbed his charred neck. “Is it going to hurt too?”
“No,” I snorted. “It will bend the light around you, making you invisible.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve been seen with one of the higher-ups. I should be able to get out of here without a problem.”
“What if you don’t.”
“Then you run. Go back to the house and grab Greg. He will know what to do.” There was a chance that he might not be willing to do it, but it wasn’t worth scaring Aiden now. Not when I was so close to getting him out of this mess, again.
“We do this together. If you can make me invisible, then I can hurt anyone who gets close.”
“Doesn’t work like that. The second you even touch someone else, the spell will break. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”
He shook his head. “You said that last time.”
“I know, but you are going to have to trust me that this time will be different. If we keep up this game of saving each other, both of us will end up dead.”
“Then I’ll stay close. That way I can make sure nothing happens to you.”
“What happens if I have to go inside? It’s packed worse than a can of sardines in there. The spell will break in a matter of seconds if I go there.”
“Sounds like you need to stay outside then.”
Before I could talk him out of staying by my side, a knock filled the air, coming from the bathroom door.
- 17 -
“Shit,” I said in a panic. “Can’t veil us both.”
“Then do yourself. They already know I’m here.”
I shook my head. “If they find you without a collar…”
“It won’t be any worse than if they find you in the men’s room in the servants part of the house. You aren’t even supposed to be here.”
“Then what do you propose?”
He smiled, grabbed my hand, and led me into a stall. He sat down on the seat and motioned me to sit on his lap.
“What kind of girl do you think I am?” I said with a wink.
“The kind that wants to keep us both alive.”
My face flustered as I took a seat on his lap. Thankfully I decided against straddling him and instead sat on him like a chair, otherwise he might see how much it was bothering me.
He’s a cute boy, don’t get me wrong, but outside of this very situation, I wouldn’t have found myself on his lap this soon after meeting him. Yet I was having trouble fighting off the instinct to turn around and kiss him.
“What about the door?” I asked.
“They keep a spare key in a room down the hall. Whoever it was will probably just grab it and let himself in.”
As if on cue, the deadbolt on the door clicked, and the door opened and footfalls made their way in on the tile floor. I raised my feet off the ground and placed them on the back of the door. Both to hide that two of us were in here and to be able to see if someone opened the door. I hoped whoever it was would assume that the person in the stall had locked the door out of habit.
“Way to lock the door, Jackwad,” a deep voice called out from the other side of the stall.
Through the cracks in the door I saw a man walking past the barrier wall wearing a fine black suit with a white undershirt. Smoke wafted up to the ceiling from a cheap cigar as walked past our stall and entered the one right next to us. But, as if the cigar smell wasn’t enough, he let one rip making me wish I had a cigar of my own to mask the new stench.
Aiden shifted his legs, nearly throwing me from his lap. I held my arms out to the stall walls, rattling them as I regained my balance.
“Easy guy. You know they sell something that will help you get it all out, right?”
“Not having that problem,” Aiden said, grunting from my weight.
“I know what you mean,” the man said, letting another round of foul odor free from his stall.
I removed one hand from the wall and placed it over my nose, hoping beyond hope to keep any more of his stink from assaulting my sinus cavity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the women’s restroom is much better, but other than a dirty diaper or two, I’d never smelled something so bad in one.
I looked back at Aiden who was holding his nose just like I was. His smooth face was red as he was holding his breath. I snickered quietly at his look and he shook his head, like he knew what I wanted to do. Yet, through everything else we’d been through, I wasn’t prepared to torture him anymore. If things between us got deeper than they already were, there would be plenty of time to torture him.
After a few minutes, he toilet next to us flushed. I feeling of relief washed over me when I heard the guy stand up and refasten his belt. He banged on the divider as he was walking out and said, “hope you get it all worked out.”
“Appreciate it,” Aiden said, his face contorting when he took a deep breath of the smell.
I felt a laugh boiling in the depths of my gut and I forced to keep it in, knowing the last thing we needed was a feminine laugh in here right now. He might walk out of here proud of the mess he left behind, but it might change quickly if he found out I was inside. But, even as my stomach strained, and I held my lips together with my free hand, I couldn’t hold the laugh in.
“What the?” the man said as he took a few steps closer to the stall. He peeked in the gap between the door and divider, getting a nice clear view of me on his lap. While I was wearing a dress, there was no doubt we weren’t in here trying to have a little fun. When I heard him yell out for help, I wished I had straddled Aiden instead. At least then we wouldn’t have looked like we were trying to hide.
I jumped off Aiden’s lap, threw the door open, and made a beeline for the guy. There was a moment when I thought I would catch him, instead I ate the door leading inside as he pulled it shut behind him.
Aiden pushed past as I rubbed the budding red bruise on my forehead and grabbed the door handle. He pulled hard against the metal handle and let out a grunt, yet the handle failed to budge even an inch. I took a spot next to him, adding my strength into the mix, but the door wouldn’t move.
“What the hell do they have holding it shut?” Aiden asked as he placed his foot on the wall for extra leverage.
“Whatever it is, it can’t be the old man.”
The door handle ripped free of the wooden door sending Aiden crashing first against the concrete wall, then onto the nasty floor.
Before we looked like complete dumb asses, I checked the deadbolt just to make sure he hadn’t locked it on us. He didn’t, leaving what little dignity we had intact.
“What do we do now?” Aiden asked, pulling himself off the floor.
“Is there another way out?”
Aiden shook his head. “Not unless you can swim through the plumbing.”
Even if I could, the smell that still horrified my sinus cavity bluntly reminded me why that wouldn’t be a good idea. “Afraid not.”
We took a few steps back and scanned the ceiling, looking for a vent or anything else remotely suitable to crawl through.
The bathroom door opened with a creak and an impressively large man walked through. He wore a pair of leather pants that reflected the light as he walked through the door. His long sleeved black tee shirt failed to hide the bulging muscles hiding just underneath. He was a perfect example of how all bouncers should look, which was fitting since that’s what I believe his job was here.
“Easy there freako,” I said, stepping between Aiden and the bouncer. “We were just having a little fun.”
“I don’t think your boyfriend there is having much fun,” he said, pointing at the black ring around Aiden’s neck.
“I’m into the kinky shit,” Aiden said, peeking over my shoulder.
The bouncer grunted. I thought it was in approval until he opened his mouth again. “Where is your collar, little one?”
He took a step forward at us sending my nerves into overdrive. My natural instincts had me wanting to blast the guy with a bolt of electricity, or to melt his shiny ass pants with a wave of fire. Yet, unless he made a move against me using supernatural powers of his own, I’d just be asking to be hunted.
I didn’t like having my back against the wall, but there wasn’t much I could do unless I was willing to use magic on him. He was easily four times my size, so trying to fight him was out of the question. I didn’t need to look back at Aiden to tell he was thinking the same thing. Even fighting him as a pair was asking to have our asses handed to us on a silver platter.
As he continued to push forward, and us further in the bathroom, we were quickly running out of options. Thinking on the fly, I did the only thing that might work.
I turned around, faced Aiden, and gave him a wink just before I reared back and slapped him hard on the cheek. The force of the impact sent his head jarring to the right, sending spittle against a mirror. He held his cheek and glared at me with a look of shock I answered by pushing him back against the wall.
“Your ideas suck,” I said, pointing my finger in his chest. “Sometimes I just wish you would disappear.” I flashed my hands in front of me, causing Aiden’s body to disappear into nothingness.
At least, that’s what it looked like to the bouncer who screamed with rage. “Bring him back, little witch.”
“Bring him back yourself.”
I stepped back toward the wall, praying Aiden moved, otherwise my spell would’ve been for nothing. My hands felt the familiar feeling of cold brickwork as I backed myself against it.
“Bring him back now, or I take you to the boss. He won’t be happy the boy got away, but I’m sure he can have fun with you instead.”
“He’s gone,” I said, taking one small step away from the wall. “And you are too slow and ugly to catch me.”
Bouncer laughed loud enough to send an echo through the small room seconds before he charged.
I ducked below his outstretched arms and thrust my fist square into his groin. He failed to slow his momentum and crashed against the brick wall with a thud. As much as I wanted to revel in my minute victory, I decided it was a much better idea to run before he could recover.
I was at the door by the time he took his first staggered step. Without a handle, I gripped the metal deadbolt lock and pulled the door open. On the other side, two men wearing full black suits with abnormally pale skin stood with their arms folded. The man on the left had short black hair, a short black goatee, and his right ear was full of piercings. The one on the right was completely bald and clean shaven.
The one on the right opened his mouth first. “Why hello there. I assume you have an invitation.”
“I’m here with Randy,” I shrugged. “Just needed to use the ladies room.”
“And that’s why my associate found you in the men’s room with the collared boy.”
“What collared boy?” I asked. “The only person in here with me is the big oaf behind me.” As if on cue, he grabbed me by my arms and lifted me into the air.
“She made him disappear, boss.”
“Really?” the one on the right said before taking a few steps closer. He placed his outstretched hand against my cheek and rubbed it with his thumb. “What are we now? Wizard or witch?”
“None of the above?”
He snorted. “Perhaps this will make you talk.” His jerked his hand from my cheek and wrapped it around my throat. My eyes went wide in horror as he lifted me in the air by my neck.
I gripped my hand around his and tried to pry them apart, but he was too strong. Either he spent every day of his life doing the P90X workout in his spare time, or he had a trick of his own under his sleeve.
I tried to open my mouth to tell him I was a witch, but I couldn’t speak through my constricted windpipe.
“I believe she finally wants to speak,” he said to the other man whose eyes were focused intently on the gap of space between the bouncer and the door.
“She can remain silent,” the other one said, staring into the nothingness I knew had to be Aiden. “Her little friend is right here.” He thrust his hand forward, and it conformed around empty air. He lifted his arm up revealing Aiden as he gasped for air.
“Well, well. If that isn’t convenient.” The one holding me said as he slowly lowered me to the ground. He looked at the pair of guys walking down the hallway. “Get our special collar for her and place them in the cages. Tonight we kill the narc and a witch.”
- 18 -
I leaned up against the side of the cage and rubbed my neck. The metal collar was cold against my skin, even as it sent little bolts of energy into me at a regular basis. I had a hunch they had this collar sitting around for a situation just like this. The shocks didn’t hurt me physically, but that wasn’t the point. They were there to make sure I couldn’t concentrate on doing any form of magic. Specifically spells that require intense amounts of concentration, which pretty much includes every spell I could use to save myself.
Aiden was curled in a ball in the center of his cage as he had been since the moment they placed us in here. I’d reached out to offer my hand a few times, but he’d ignored it every time. If he’d even seen it.
Part of me wondered if he had resigned himself to his fate. Before, as long as one of us was free, it was easy to feel like the other would come to the rescue. Now that they had collars on both of us and had us caged, the outlook wasn’t as optimistic.
The sky was dark through the only window to the outside world that existed in our little prison. Yet, it held a yellowish glow as if they were having a bonfire outside. Something told me they hadn’t built it to hold a celebration as much as they had to create the means of our execution.
As a child growing up, I’d learned about the Salem witch trials like every other kid in school. Yet, even when I learned I was a witch, I never once believed I would face the same fate. Most of those women were innocent, however, so it was more of a way to kill innocent women. At least, that’s how I saw it. A real witch couldn’t be burned at the stake or drowned in a river or lake, at least if she had time to prepare.
Time was not my problem.
The door on the other end of the room opened with a loud creak. A shot of bright light shot in through the opening as the two men who put us here walked inside. They left the door open as they slowly made their way to the room, keeping their eyes on me as they closed in.
“Looks like the little princess won’t be broken by a simple cage,” the bald one said as he took a seat on the ground just out of my reach.
“Takes a lot more than…” I said before feeling the pain of electricity shooting
into my neck, causing my neck to spasm and nearly throwing me to the ground. Before it could, I grabbed hold of one of the cold metal bars to keep me upright.
“Easy little witch,” the black haired one said with a wide grin on his face. “That collar doesn’t like it when you yell.”
Shock collar, I told myself as I rubbed the pain from my neck. Maybe the collar wasn’t specially made after all. Perhaps it was just an everyday shock collar meant for a dog they modified to send jolts of electricity into the wearer at odd intervals to throw off potential spell casting. It was the only thing that made sense. What didn’t make sense was why they would have one modified like this in the first place. I hadn’t seen a dog, but then again, I had to admit I only saw a small portion of the house. There was a chance, however remote, that the dogs were being kept someplace far away from the other guests at the party.
The only reason I could come up with was that they knew well ahead of time they might have to deal with a wizard or a witch. That meant whoever owned this house had dealings with the paranormal. Either they were paranormal themselves, or for whatever reason had to deal with members of the community regularly.
I’ll admit, even knowing that wasn’t much help. The wizard community was far too large and diverse to track. Shoot, my business partner and best friend isn’t even one of the registered ones. Witches were more group oriented as a whole, but that isn’t always the case. For the most part, I find other witches to be whiny and arrogant. Like teenagers who were sent to a mall only to find out mommy’s credit card was already maxed.
I couldn’t even begin to think about the werewolf and vampire communities. Most of what I knew about both I learned from a few ancient textbooks that Greg liked to keep hidden in his room. I knew that vampires tend to be loners and urban while werewolves operate in a pack and are rural. In the paranormal, just as in regular life, there were always exceptions, but things were so close you could write a book about it.
Far Too Young To Die: An Astraea Renata Novel Page 11