Page 63 of Ensnared
“We can go up to my room,” Aiden says casually. “It’s at the other end of the house, so the only gadget you could kill is my alarm clock.”
Jack shrugs, and Ty pours the tea through a strainer and into a big mug. They don’t seem at all perturbed by the idea of going into Aiden’s bedroom, but I’m suddenly more nervous. That’s hislair, for gods’ sake. I mean, I’ve been inside after we brought him home from the forest, but he’d been unconscious then, and I’d been too out of it with pain and exhaustion to really notice anything about the room.
Turns out, there’s not much in it. Aiden’s room is almost Spartan, with pale wooden furniture and a single rug at the foot of the large bed. It’s larger than the other bedrooms, which makes sense. There’s a corner that would make a lovely sitting nook if he put a bookcase and a footrest next to the single gray armchair.
“This will do great.” I walk to the window and peer out into the darkness. This late in September, the sky’s still black early in the morning, but I think the room has a gorgeous view of the bay. There’s frost on the glass, though, and I’m happy we chose to stay inside.
“How do we do this?” Ty asks.
His voice has a strange tightness to it, so I study him more closely.
“Are you okay?” I take his hand and squeeze it. “You don’t have to participate, you know?”
He stares down at me, the muscles in his jaw working. “Nah,” he says at last, “I do. It’s exactly because you don’t want me to do it that I know it’ll be fine.”
“That’s the most convoluted reasoning I’ve ever heard.” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “But we’ll be careful. No heroics, okay?” I turn to the other two men. “If anyone feels strange or wants to quit forwhateverreason, we quit. Deal?”
They all nod. I’m going to have to be vigilant, though. If Aiden’s behavior from our last training session is any indication, I might need to pull the plug on the spell myself. With some trepidation, I take off my single bracelet and set it on Aiden’s dresser.
Then I take the box of salt I brought from the kitchen and pour some in my hand. “Go sit here,” I tell them. “Facing each other.” I direct them until they’re sitting in a small semi-circle and draw a line of salt around them, leaving enough space for myself.
“What does this do?” Jack asks. “On TV, they always use salt for protection against demons or whatever.”
Ty snorts. “You’re such an idiot.”
“No,” I protest. “It’s a valid question. Witches don’t call on demons. At least not thatIknow of.”
Now that I think of it, I’m probably not the best witchy resource, given my lack of magical education. That’ll change as soon as I get my hands on those books my sister is sending me.
“I could replace the salt with pebbles or spices. If we had chalk, we could draw with it on the floor. Anything will work, as long as we close a circle,” I tell them. “It’s for focusing energy. It’ll be easier to perform the spell.”
“Okay.” Jack’s shoulders relax visibly. “That’s cool.”
I finish the circle and sit across from them on the floor. “That’s done.”
Now comes the time to invoke the elements, which is strange to do with an audience. I’ve only done this on my own in the past two decades, since my family never let me lead any circles during the celebrations.
I mutter my way through the familiar words, conscious of their curious stares. There’s a stirring of magic inside me, the beginning of that lovely cool glow. “Pass me the tea, please,” I tell Ty.
He hands me the mug, and I drink all of the infusion. It tastes like herbs, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, just what I’d expected. There’s no honey in the recipe, and I didn’t dare add any. I put Aiden’s phone in the middle with the photo of the spell open and disable the screensaver feature. I could have printed out the instructions, but the phone will serve another purpose.
“If the phone dies, you need to stop me,” I say. “Are we clear on that?”
Aiden nods. “Okay, but I’m telling you, it’s going to be fine.”
“Yeah, I hope so.” I scratch an itch at the edge of my plaster, then extend my arms. “Here, let’s all hold hands.”
We join in a circle, and I sink into my magic. It’s beautiful and still a little scary, a place only half-discovered. Aiden, who is sitting to my left, is a great inferno of orange light, and I touch base with him. His magic shimmers in response, and I know he feels me, too.
Holding on to the fingers of my right hand is Jack, whose magic seems blue to me in my mind’s eye. It figures: it’s such a serene, lovely color that matches his personality perfectly. Unlike Aiden, who was completely walled-up the first time we tried this exercise, Jack offers no resistance. My heart swells at the sight of the trust he’s offering me. He knows, better than any of them, that I could take all of his magic within seconds, and yet he’s so open and receptive. I register his slight surprise as I dip my fingers into his magic.
I can’t feel Ty at all, however. And if this exercise is going to work, I need access to them all.
I reel my senses back and slowly open my eyes. “Something’s not right,” I say, checking over the spell and our configuration. “I can’t touch your magic at all, Ty.”
He looks up at me, dismayed. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“No!” I put my hand on his, intending to comfort him. “That’s not what I…Ohh.”
