Ritual Magic (22 page)

Clamping my eyes closed, I imagined a ball
of energy encircling me, glowing from my center and out towards my
extremities. When I could finally feel the warmth burning within
me, I opened my eyes and just began to walk. I walked forward,
refusing to think, see or feel. I no longer felt the iron grip of
my attacker. I no longer heard the wind whipping around me. I
simply walked with one foot in front of the other. I walked
directly through the man in white and through the plane's hull and
into the warmth of the cabin, but I continued to walk until I heard
my name being yelled almost directly in my ear.

"CELESTE!"

Solomon was standing in front of me now with
his hands up and out like he was trying to get me to stop. His body
had been pushed up against the far wall of the interior cabin, and
it appeared as if he was trying to get me to stop from walking
outside the plane to the other wing, but the expression that
covered his face was absolute terror.

The reality of what had just happened hit me
like a lead brick before I turned my head and scanned the room.
Everyone was now looking at me with open wonder—especially Von. His
chin was practically scraping the ground, as if he were seeing
straight through my clothing. For a brief moment, I wanted to make
sure I was still wearing clothing.

"I had no idea that you could do that." His
voice was almost swallowed by his breathy words.

I looked from Solomon to Jack and then to
Gabriel. Turning back around towards the damaged wing, I walked
back to the window to find the man staring back directly into my
eyes, and possibly even through me. His hair snaked around him like
it had a life of its own until he bowed his head sharply, turned
and walked into the oval portal that he had drawn in the air
moments before. Stepping into the portal with a slight hunch to his
slender shoulders, he ducked his head by a fraction and then
disappeared completely. An almost overwhelming sense of relief
washed over me.

Suddenly there were men and questions
everywhere.

"What the hell just
happened
,
Celeste?" Von's voice demanded.

"Would you like something to drink? Wanna
sit down?" Jack was trying to be helpful.

"Who do you think that stranger was?"
Gabriel searched for knowledge.

I looked up at Solomon who was standing
directly behind me by the window. "You almost stopped my heart, you
know. That's pretty difficult to do, considering I'm already dead."
He shook his head at me as he took me into his arms. "But you are
safe." He smiled down at me and I felt instantly calm. His eyes
swirled with emotions and I could smell the salty sea.

Why does that happen when I look into his
eyes? It kind of reminds me of my father...OMG, could he be my
brother?! That would be so wrong!

Grasping my head, I walked over to my seat
next to Jack as I locked the buckle in place and closed my eyes,
leaning backwards in my seat. "Could I please have a ginger
ale?"

"Feel sick?" Jack's voice was right next to
my ear.

"Uh-huh." I nodded as the room began to
spin.

"Jackson, would you please?" Von's voice
sounded from behind me as I leaned back in my chair.

"Who do you think that was?" Von's voice
rang out across the room, directed to no one in particular.

"Don't know." Solomon answered. "But we need
to do some research. I'm going to talk to Leo before we land." His
voice began to drift away from me.

"Ginger ale, just what the doctor ordered."
Jack smiled down at me as I opened my eyes at the sound of his
voice.

"Thanks," I sighed as I shakily took the
glass of ice and soda. "I needed this." I smiled at him as he
replaced his bass on his lap. He began to play some blues riffs as
I sipped the soda and closed my eyes.

"Try to get some rest." Jack leaned into me
and I laid my head on his shoulder, absolutely reveling in the fact
that I had one of my best friends with me at the time.

"Yeah," I agreed as I blindly handed him my
glass of soda, bringing the music to a halt unintentionally.

I was barely able to get any sleep, feeling
the turbulence of the Learjet and remembering how it felt out on
the wing. The shadow demon and the strange albino dominated my
thoughts as I tried to convince my mind into taking a siesta. It
looked like my mind wasn't buying into my reasoning.

Cora had come back to check on me twice, but
each time she had spoken to Von or Solomon and then returned to the
cockpit. My intentions were to talk to her about everything that
had happened earlier, but the timing just didn't seem right.
When would really be the right time?

Go to your happy place, Celeste. Think of
your happy place.

Somewhere inside my mind, I thought that the
best thing I could do was relax. Relaxation had eluded me so often
that I'd had to compose a routine for myself. Step one: breathe in
and out, step two: remind myself about my happy place, step three:
go on an imaginary vacation to my happy place which, of course, was
the beach.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and relaxed in my
seat.
Cleansing breath.
Step one done. Again, I reminded
myself,
Go to your happy place
. And then, my favorite
part... imagine the beach. The rolling sand, the waves crashing,
the wind whipping, the ocean roaring. The imagery was so fresh and
realistic that I was patting myself on the back for an accurate
imagination.
Yeah, baby! I'm there!

I opened my eyes and realized that I really
was
there. But where was
there
?

"Huh." I spun around on the spot. Scanning
away from the ocean, I didn't recognize Gull Cottage or even my
beach townhouse rental in Rockaway Beach. A row of beach houses
were lined up along small, quaint streets and hydrangea bushes
speckled the yards. Walking towards the water, I scanned around the
beachfront and noticed huge rocks poking out of the ocean
waves—towering over any normal sized stones.

"The haystacks." I sighed as I turned
towards the small town and ran my fingers through my hair. "How the
hell did I end up at Cannon Beach, Oregon?" That was a good hour
away from Rockaway Beach.

"You're right on time." A voice sounded
directly behind me. "It's nice to find that quality in a
queen."

Turning around quickly, I saw what I was
dreading—the albino standing in a white suit and looking
intimidating wearing his all-black sunglasses.

"On time for what?" My voice sounded
annoyed.
What do I have to do to get away from this guy?
I
eyed the scenic beach around us as people strolled further down the
beach line.

"Lunch." The pale lips on his tapered face
accentuated his sharp chin, making his words seem to fall directly
from his tongue to the sand below. Eyeing him suspiciously, I
turned my head to look at him through the corner of my eye as he
waved his hand in an oval again and a portal appeared.

"Aren't you afraid that the mortals will
notice your little
trick
?" I glared at him.

"No. Mortals only see what they want to see.
They never expect to have magic wielded right in front of them;
especially not when they are on vacation, avoiding the real world
in every way possible." The glasses pointed towards the families
milling around on the sandy landscape.

"Shall we?" He gestured towards the portal
as I eyed him suspiciously.

"And why would I go with you?" My voice was
threatening.
I'm really tired of this guy already.

The albino chuckled as he continued to
motion towards the portal. "Because you're curious." He nodded at
me. "I believe that you are more interested in finding out about
what information will be shared with you, as well who your
host
might be."

Eyeing the portal with suspicion, I turned
back to the albino to lay my fisted hands on my hips. "Who is this
host, exactly?" Curiosity really
was
making me stupid.

The albino held his hand out in a sign of
impatience, twitching slightly and giving the impression that he
was battling to remain poised and formal. "You will find out soon
enough."

"I really
prefer
not to travel
through ominous portals with random strangers." I was grounding
myself while thinking about my magic shields. Yup, they were in
place—I could feel the energy flicker off of my skin.

"That may be true," the albino dropped his
hand to his side and tilted his head, eyeing my fisted hands
digging fiercely into my hips, "but my employer can be
quite...persuasive."

There was a lot of meaning in his words, and
I eyed him from head to toe. His hair was waving around his
shoulders like every strand was alive and part of one larger
organism. With a closer look, I noticed that his hair was actually
undulating in waves.
Filing that for future reference
.

"And if I don't come with you now?"

He shrugged, "Then you will not know who is
inviting you to lunch, now will you?" He tilted his head.
"Hungry?"

Yes, actually, I'm starving. But I'd
rather stumble into town and eat there, even though I don't have
any money or desire to wash dishes.
I scanned the beach again,
searching for familiar faces or sounds. The ocean roared in the
background, but it was no different from what it sounded like
before I received the creepy offer for lunch.

What am I missing, Dad?
Nothing
changed. No warnings, no squawking birds, and no sudden waves
threatening to attack the albino. It wasn't like we were close
enough for the ocean to assist me in any way—I was alone.

"Your host is awaiting your arrival." The
albino brought my attention back to him as he stood with his hands
grasped together in front of him, his head turned slightly to the
portal to draw my attention back to its gray, rippling surface.

I tilted my head towards him and held a
finger up like I was asking for a second. "What guarantee do I have
that I will be safe? What is there to ensure me that I will not be
in danger if I attend...
lunch?
" I eyed him again, paying
special attention to his impeccable suit. His taste was odd, to say
the least, but it was a high quality suit and it absolutely gleamed
in the sporadic sunlight of the cloudy afternoon.

"You have my word, and that of my employer.
No harm will come to you. My employer is quite serious about
stating the truth." He smiled softly, with what appeared to be
complete sincerity...or so it seemed.

"Okay..." I felt a chill skip up my back as
the wind picked up and thrashed my hair around.
A bit late for
comments now, Dad.
"Let's get this crazy show on the road."

I walked towards the portal, taking a deep
breath and then stepping into the oval opening, which glowed
brightly as I passed through. The sensation of cool to warmth was
distinct as I stepped into the portal, but it was to be expected,
because magic always had some residual heat.

When I finally stepped through, I noticed an
immediate change of scenery. No longer was I standing on a
beautiful sparkling beach—I was standing inside a large windowed
room with lavish furnishings and the smells of food wafting on the
air. My eyes scanned the room and my view was filled with enormous
vases full of English roses, huge blooms with petal after delicate
petal.

"The table is over this way." The albino
came around from behind me and motioned to a large table covered in
a lace tablecloth and set with china as if for a formal meal.

The silverware was old and high quality. The
buffet along the side of the room was covered in heaps of steaming
food and fresh fruits. My stomach growled as I eyed the spread.
Shush. No one needs to hear you!

"Please serve yourself and have a seat." A
voice drifted from the far end of the room. My head jerked over to
the sound because it wasn't anything like I'd expected. For one
thing, it was a female voice that I heard.

"Umm, I think I would rather not. Thank you
very much for the invitation, but I am not comfortable eating in
strange homes; especially when I have not been formally
introduced." My stomach growled viciously at me in defiance.
I
said shut UP!

The thick, feline voice laughed brightly as
I watched a petite, well-dressed and intimidating business woman
appear near the table. Well, she simply appeared to be a business
woman because she wore a thick gray wool suit as if it were the
armor she had donned for battle. She stood no higher than five feet
tall but she still carried an air of intimidation about her. And,
even though her face spoke of beauty, her short graying hair was
quaffed up in a southern style and hinted that she was definitely
older than she appeared at first sight.

"Yes, I can imagine your trepidation, but I
assure you that you are perfectly safe here."

Yeah, I'll be the judge of that
. I
eyed her through narrowed eyelids as she picked up a plate and
served herself a dainty helping of grilled fish and a few pieces of
fruit.

"I assure you that the food is perfectly
safe." She smiled at me as she popped a grape into her mouth. I
noticed that, as she chewed, the lines around her mouth accentuated
her age, whatever age that may be, as nothing else probably
could.

"Please," she motioned towards the table,
"have a seat so that we can discuss things civilly." She walked
quickly to the table and took the seat at the far end. Grabbing a
linen napkin sitting next to the charger, she snapped it loudly
before setting it gracefully over her lap.

"Come." She waved towards a chair to her
right.

The albino took a position standing to the
left of the old woman's chair as she leaned over the plate and
scooped a piece of pineapple into her mouth. I couldn't help but
eye the albino as he stood motionless. It seemed just a tad too
coincidental that the woman finally noticed my discomfort.