The woman frowned, looking offended, but I pulled away from her and practically ran to the door, fleeing into the night.
If I had known where she would set her eyes next, I'm not sure I would have left.
Bindings
I didn't see or hear from Neal for several days. That wasn't usual; we weren't the sort of friends who talked on the phone a lot. A typical phone call for us might consist of, "Thursday at the Dancing Duck?" followed by "Eightish" and then "See you there." End of conversation.
But Thursday was rolling around, and I hadn't heard from Neal, so I gave him a call. My call rolled to voice mail, so I left a message asking if we were getting together Thursday.
He finally called me Thursday afternoon while I was at work, so I didn't get the message until I checked my cell phone during a break.
"Hey, Moira. I met someone! Her name is Arianna and she's amazing!" He spent two minutes gushing about how amazing Arianna was. Finally he said, "I can't see you tonight, but Arianna wants to meet you. I've told her all about you, and she can't wait. Friday. I'll pick you up at six."
I stared at the phone for a while, worried about Neal. He was clearly head over heels for her, but I was worried she wouldn't feel the same way about him. I couldn't wait to judge for myself. I called back, getting voice mail, and told him I was looking forward to it.
Friday when I got home from work, I changed into casual clothes: jeans, tennis shoes and a chambray shirt. If I was underdressed, Neal would tell me when he picked me up.
Unusual for Neal, he was a few minutes early. I lived in a small apartment in a small apartment building with no security, so he knocked at my door and let himself in. "Moira?"
I poked my nose around the corner, and Neal was standing in the doorway with a huge grin, but he looked tired and drawn. He was dressed just as casually as I was, so I knew my clothing was fine.
But I was taken aback for a moment. Neal's aura had changed. He was wrapped in deep red and purple lights, and there was a narrow rope of light that led away from him. I didn't know what it meant.
"Where is Arianna?" I asked.
"Waiting for us at her place," he explained. "Come on! Wait until you meet her!"
Yes, he was speaking in exclamation marks. I really, really hoped she was as excited about him as he was about her.
Neal spent the entire drive talking about Arianna. What I thought was interesting was that he kept saying the same things over and over. Mostly he talked about how beautiful she was, offering me details about what he found most beautiful. He loved her eyes and her lips and how smooth her skin was. I began to worry.
Neal was a really nice guy, but he was lonely, and it would be so easy for a woman to take advantage of him. In the past he had practically begged me to do so. What would he do for a woman who was actually offering him romantic attention?
I should have been happy for him, and if she turned out to be even half of what he found in her, I would be ecstatic. But I was withholding judgment until I met her.
And I was really worried about the aura, especially when I realized the rope of light extended in the direction we were driving.
We drove out of town about ten minutes. Neal explained Arianna liked her privacy. We eventually pulled off the road and drove a quarter mile along a narrow driveway with two wheel tracks, pulling up in front of a cute cottage, well-isolated from the highway and the nearest neighbors.
The rope of light led from Neal and directly through the wall of the cottage. It had grown thicker as we had gotten closer.
We climbed out of the car. Neal came around to my side and took my arm, dragging me towards the cottage. This wasn't necessarily atypical of Neal; he'd dragged me like this before when he'd been excited about something, but the last time it was to the video store so we could buy copies of the newest game. He dragged me to the door of the cabin, opened the door, then held it for me so I could step through first.
I gave him an odd look. Neal was a nice guy, but his mother didn't instill in him those types of manners. Neal had never held a door for me the entire time I'd known him. Maybe this was Arianna's influence. I turned my head to watch Neal as I entered the cottage; he smiled inanely at me.
Once I was inside, Neal stepped past me, grabbing my arm on the way, and pulled me along behind him again. "Arianna," he said. "We're here."
We stepped into the living room of the cottage in time to see a woman rising to her feet. She turned to look at me and I nearly gasped.
It was the woman from the Dancing Duck, the one who had disturbed me so badly.
Neal released my arm and crossed the room to her. She pulled him into her arms and gave him a deep, passionate kiss, but her eyes were open the entire time, and it was me she was watching.
I couldn't help but stare.
That was when I realized the light surrounding Neal was the same color as the woman's, and that the rope of light that led away from him was connected to her aura. When she pulled him into her arms, her aura surrounded him completely, and what glimmers there had been of his old aura completely disappeared.
She broke the kiss, pushing him away, and watched me. Neal turned around, saw me standing at the entrance to the room, and stepped back to me, grabbing my arm. He pulled me forward.
"Moira Fisher!" he said. "This is Arianna Byrd!"
"Moira," said Arianna warmly, her voice almost a purr. "Neal has told me so much about you. I'm sure we will be the best of friends." She reached for my hand, and I shook automatically with her, instantly regretting it. She covered my hand with her left as well, and I watched her aura begin to creep up my arm, wrapping itself around my wrist and working upwards to my elbow. I felt... something... not quite a tingling, not quite a warmth. It felt good, and I felt myself flush, but it was deeply disturbing at the same time. I stared at our clasped hands and tried to pull away.
Arianna watched me the entire time, and her smile changed as I reacted to what her aura was doing. She still smiled, and it was a smile that reached her eyes, but there was a satisfied look at the same time, as if she were pleased to confirm something she had suspected.
Arianna finally released my hand, and I took two steps away from her. Her aura clung to me, a rope stretching between us, and I stared in horror. But then it retreated from my arm, sliding off my fingers, and collapsed back into Arianna's overall aura.
No one said anything about what I had seen or commented on my freaked out reaction. Instead, Arianna said, "Come, sit." She gestured to the sofa. "Dinner will be later. For now, red or white?"
I blinked at her. "Red or white what?"
"Wine, Moira. I know you normally drink beer, but I'm trying to introduce Neal to the finer pleasures."
"Um-" I said. "Whichever you are having," I finally blurted.
"Excellent," she said. "We will be right back."
The two of them disappeared through a doorway, I presume to the kitchen. They were gone for a minute or two. I sat on the couch, looking around and wondering what was going on.
I was terrified of Arianna and wanted to run. The only reason I didn't was because she had Neal, my best friend, and I didn't know if I should leave him with her. I didn't know if I could peel him away from her, either. I vowed to keep some physical distance from her; that entire aura thing had me freaked out badly. I'd never seen anyone's aura do that before.
The two of them returned, Arianna carrying two glasses of red wine. Neal had his own glass and the bottle. Arianna passed one of the glasses to me, then sat down on the middle of the sofa, within touching distance from me, and took a sip from her own wine. Instead of taking the far end of the sofa, Neal sat down on the floor, leaning against Arianna's legs. He set the wine bottle on the coffee table and sipped from his own wine.
"To new friends," Arianna said once they were both settled.
I sipped from my wine, accepting the toast. I didn't normally drink wine, but I decided this was pretty good. I took another, larger swallow. "This is nice," I said. "Thank you."<
br />
"You're welcome, Moira," Arianna said. "I'm glad you like it."
We studied each other. Neal drank more of his wine, then set the glass down on the coffee table. He leaned more firmly against Arianna's legs and looked adoringly up at her.
Arianna, in turn, was not oblivious to my friend. She transferred her glass to her left hand and then reached down with her right to place it on Neal's shoulder. She didn't look at him, but she stroked his head and cheek. He stared up at her for a moment longer, then closed his eyes and laid his head on her leg.
I thought it all looked much more like a dog and his owner than a boyfriend and girlfriend.
Everything left me very confused. Neal was obviously smitten; Arianna seemed to be at the very least, affectionate. She smiled at him, had kissed him passionately, and if it hadn't been for the things I saw with my second sight, I would have felt very happy for Neal.
"It makes you nervous," she said to me.
"What does?"
"The magic that you see," she said.
I stared at her. She had said it very matter-of-factly, as if this were a casual conversation. Magic?
I drank more of the wine to give myself time to think about what to say.
"Magic?" I finally said. "Are you one of those New Age people with crystals and pentagrams?"
"Not hardly," she said, laughing lightly. "Are you going to deny you see magic?"
She took her hand from Neal. Tendrils of her aura clung to him, stretching from her hand. Then they melted into her hand, although he was still deeply wrapped in more of it. She pointed her index finger to the ceiling and began twirling it slowly. A tendril of her aura rose from her finger, looking much like a charmed snake. She smiled softly as we both watched it. The tendril grew and grew then began to wave back and forth in front of me. I followed it with my eyes.
Then the tendril began moving towards me and I pressed myself backwards into the corner of the sofa.
"It won't hurt you," she said. "I won't hurt you."
I stared at the aura-snake. It danced past me, cornering me against the back of the sofa, and circled to my other side. So focused on avoiding the piece of her aura that I moved away from it and closer to her.
"Please don't," I said in a small voice. "Arianna, please don't."
"Admit you see the magic," she said. "Admit it, Moira."
"I see it! Please don't touch me with it!"
She withdrew the tendril, and it slowly absorbed into the rest of her aura.
"I wouldn't hurt you," she said soothingly.
"That's-" I said, looking at her, my eyes wide. "That's magic?"
"You didn't know what you were seeing? How could you not know?"
"I thought-" I drank more of the wine, nearly finishing it. Arianna leaned forward to clasp the wine bottle and filled my glass then hers.
"You thought?" she asked, after I had more of the wine.
"I thought it was, I don't know. An aura or something."
She smiled, but she didn't laugh.
"I've never seen it do," I gestured with my hands, "that before."
"I wouldn't hurt you," she said again. "I can't. I'm not that kind of witch."
"Witch?" I asked. I moved away from her again. "You're a witch?"
She smiled and nodded.
"There are no such things!" I said with determination.
She pointed her finger to the ceiling and began to twirl her finger again.
"No!" I said.
She stopped twirling her finger and cocked her head. "Then what is your explanation?"
I was scared, very scared. My heart should have been thundering in my chest. Instead, I felt lethargic, and my heart was slowing. I stared at her, then down at the glass of wine in my hand.
"Oops," she said, as I started to drop the glass. She reached out and took it from me. "We don't want to stain the sofa."
"You-" I said. I tried to get up, but fell back against the sofa. "You drugged me."
"I won't hurt you," she said. "You'll sleep for a while, then we'll have a nice, long, lovely talk. You are amazingly precious, Moira. You have no idea just how precious you will be to me."
I tried to get up again, but it was too much work. Arianna reached for me. I tried to bat her hands away, but she pulled me into her arms, not even dislodging Neal.
"Please don't hurt me," I said, my words slurred.
"Oh honey," she said. "I won't."
"Neal?" I asked her, my eyes fluttering closed.
She began caressing my face, much the way she had Neal. I felt her aura, her magic, touching me, but I couldn't even resist.
"He is a lovely boy," she said. "I will make sure he is very happy. Sleep now, Moira."
And I did.
* * * *
I don't know how long I slept nor how long it took me to waken. I was in and out of consciousness for a while, I know that. When I finally was awake enough to form coherent thoughts, I was lying on my back, naked, with a sheet and blanket thrown over me. I couldn't move. I wondered what the witch had done to me.
I slept some more, but then I woke again, and whatever she had given me seemed to have worn off.
I still couldn't move. I was staring at the ceiling of a room. There was a strap across my forehead, holding my entire head immobile. I felt another strap tight across my upper chest. My arms were similarly strapped down, held away from my sides. There was a strap across my pelvis, one across my knees, and one across each ankle.
Once I realized how I was bound, panic filtered into my mind, and I began to struggle and scream.
Then Neal was there, looking down at me. "Shhh," he said. "You don't need to scream, Moira."
I started up at him, and Arianna's aura -- magic -- was thicker than ever.
"Neal," I said, starting to cry. "You have to help me. Untie me and we can get away from her."
"Why would I want to get away from her?" he asked, smiling. "She's amazing."
"She cast a spell on you, Neal," I told him, frantic. "She's a witch and she cast a spell on you."
"I know," he said. "She promised I would be happy. She promised me the woman of my dreams! She promised you would be happy, too, Moira."
He caressed my face.
"Neal!" I said. "You know I don't love you that way. I love you, but not that way."
"I know," he said. "She explained I could never have you. I always knew that." Then he stepped away, and I couldn't see where he went, but he raised his voice and said, "Arianna, she's awake and talking."
"Neal," I said, beginning to sob. "I'm your friend, your best friend in the entire world. I protected you when we were kids. We've always looked out for each other since. You can't do this to me."
I heard footsteps descending a staircase.
"Neal!" I shouted. "Please!"
He returned to my side. "Don't be afraid, Moira. You'll be so happy, just like me."
"No, Neal," I said, my voice pleading. "Please don't let her hurt me."
"I have no intention of hurting you, Moira," Arianna said as she stepped into the room. "Neal knows that."
"This is wrong!" I yelled. "Whatever you are doing, it's wrong!"
Arianna stepped to my side and looked down at me. She was dressed in a colorful silk robe, a kimono, I guessed, and I couldn't see whether she wore anything else.
She reached across me and caressed Neal. "Neal," she said. "Go upstairs and sleep now."
"Yes, Arianna," he said. He turned away.
"Neal! Please help me!" Neal didn't respond. Instead, I heard him walk away, then I heard his footsteps on the stairs. "Neal! Neal!" I heard a door close, and then I was alone with the witch.
She leaned over me, her face in my field of vision.
"I know you are frightened," she said in a tone that I knew was meant to be soothing. "I do not blame you. I am not going to hurt you. I tried doing this more subtly, but that didn't work. I am sorry my methods have become crude and frightening."
"Fuck you!" I screamed at her. "Le
t me go!" I struggled futilely against the bonds that held me firmly to the table.
"Moira," she said, and she caressed my face softly. "You know I am not going to let you go. I went through quite a bit of work to set this up, after all." She paused. "But I will give you a choice."
"Fuck you!" I said again.
"Your choice is this. You can calm down and address me politely, and I will answer your questions, all of your questions. And, I'll even offer this: I will let Neal go."
I shut my mouth but glared at her.
"Or you can continue to behave like this, and I will simply begin what I intend to do. And I will keep Neal, turning him more completely into a little puppy dog. When I am done with him, he won't have a single thought in his head that I didn't put there in the first place."
I felt tears crawling down my face. "Is that what you are going to do to me?"
"No," she said. She caressed my face again. "You can't escape, Moira. And while you can resist, you will eventually succumb to my magic. I will do what I intend to do, and you cannot stop me. Your words and your anger will not sway me, either. I know so much more than you do, and if you knew what I knew, you would understand why."
"This is wrong," I said quietly, trying to pull away from her touch. "You know this is wrong."
"I am claiming you, Moira," she said. And as she caressed me, I could feel her magic caressing me as well, lingering behind, wrapping itself around me.
"You may struggle while you think about it," she told me, still caressing. "But my ability to forgive verbal abuse is limited. So far, I have not intentionally scared you, although I understand you are scared. I have not intentionally hurt you, although I understand why you worry I will. I ask you: do not cause me to lose my temper."
I stared at her.
"I know you want to scream at me and call me names. Think carefully, Moira."
I kept my mouth shut, but I struggled against the bonds. She allowed it. While I struggled, she hummed quietly, still caressing my face, neck and shoulders. The rest of me was still covered by the bedding, and she didn't pull it away.
Familiar Page 2