Ritual Magic Page 5

  My voice echoed into the mist surrounding me, dropping in the heaviness of the quiet and finally succumbing to the death that all of my other calls for help had met with. I circled around on the same spot that I had been occupying for the past three hours. My legs should have been tired from the standing but, strangely enough, it was as comfortable as sitting down. Guess my butt won't get any bigger from all of this standing. Stay here for the rest of my life and never have to worry about a thigh master again. Tempting.

  Sighing, I began to look upwards from my desolate spot. There was nothing above, behind, before, or beneath me—it was as if I was surrounded by clouds, but clouds would have never been able to support my weight. So where AM I?

  I attempted to walk for the hundredth time but felt my legs pull at me like they were weighted down with 200 pound weights on each foot. I grunted as I grabbed my right leg and attempted to drag it forward. Nothing happened.

  "You know, I always gave you more credit for being creative, girl. It's a shame that you are acting like such a fool right now," a deep male voice sank in the chilly mist, drawing my attention away from my internal thoughts of frustration.

  My head turned to the side and an icy claw-like rawness began to crawl up my spine as I registered the beginnings of a shape...an extremely male shape, growing and forming right before my eyes.

  Expelling a ragged breath, my eyes watched in alarm as the colossal body formed with firm muscular legs and feet encased in Roman style sandals. He was wearing a Scottish-style kilt in blues and greens, he had an eight pack stomach of washboard abs, monstrous pythons for biceps, and a neck as wide as a basketball on top of shoulders that could hold the entire first string of the basketball team and still have room for more.

  Gulp! His long, wavy rich brown hair seemed to be peeking out at me from behind his shoulders, swirling lightly with the breeze. It was odd because I couldn't feel a breeze heavy enough to actually do to his hair what I was honestly seeing. It was undulating in waves...like the actual ocean. Double gulp!

  Usually, by now, I would be gasping for air and thinking about how hot this guy was, but he didn't instill hormonal fits in me. He actually instilled instant fear, and my desire to see his face was extinguished by my internal desire to actually keep my face right where it was. Looking at this man felt dangerous for some reason. Every instinct I had told me not to look, but like those dummies escaping Hades, you just had to see what all of the fuss was about.

  My eyes darted up to catch two enormous orbs of deep blue-green swirling in the sockets of what appeared to be an extremely tanned and buff...bodybuilder. How could a body builder cause me to blackout? Well, maybe with his amazing pecs of steel? Or was that buns?

  "Raven, honestly. Can't you control your own thoughts?" The voice sounded perturbed by my internal dialogue.

  Clear your mind, Celeste. I told myself. Be like the wind. I began to giggle to myself. Come to the dark side—we have cookies! That last one was just to get his goat—he was clearly listening to my thoughts.

  "Raven!"

  My eyes snapped open and I was immediately staring stone-faced into those orbs of ocean waves—pounding circles of fierce seas cresting and falling and forcing the ocean to resonate in my mind. I could hear the wail of the wind crying over the waves as the foam appeared after waves disappeared into even more waves, churning up the foam in a soft, delicate lace. All of this I caught in just a glimpse.

  That's when the sensation hit me—I was shaking from intense power as I felt my mind being washed clean and reorganized. My body went rigid and my head snapped back as if I was being filled with magic—incomparable magic that had no beginning and no end, flowing, growing, swelling. It was limitless and I was inhaling it just as I was exhaling it. The magic swelled through every cell in my body and escaped out of my fingertips, leaving small streaks of blue swirling with the mist that was moving with sentient agitation. My eyes became beacons in the misty void and I could see two blue-green pillars of light pointing straight into the heavens above. At least, that is where I guessed the heavens would be if I wasn't inside a misty prison of nothing. Calm thoughts, Celeste, calm thoughts.

  My body began to relax at my mantra as the power subsided slowly in ebbs of gradual ease. Slowly my breathing became steady, even. My head was able to move back to its regular position while my eyelids fluttered down to rest long lashes on my cheeks. After one final calming breath, I opened my eyes to see who was now standing before me in full corporal form.

  Well, in a word, he was a god—strong, broad, and impossibly tall. Really, I think this guy was a real god—he was at least ten feet tall! My chin popped open as I gaped up at this man, hoping that he wouldn't move even one step closer to me because I sincerely didn't want to find out the answer to the age-old question about men and their kilts. My mind was totally NOT going there with this guy—it just seemed so wrong to think about him that way at all.

  My mind raced as I accessed any bit of information about this man-god before me. Damn! Nothing! I shook my head and leaned back on the heel of my right foot. It looked like my legs were free to work now that Mr. Muscles had decided to show up.

  "May I ask where I am?" My voice was emotionless—my questioning voice. Good.

  The giant looked down at me and crossed his arms, leaning back a tiny bit so that he could look down at me over his enormous pecs. It was like he was a bouncer keeping me out of the hottest nightclub in town.

  "The Void," was his simple reply.

  Yeah, it pretty much fit the name. My body did a full 360 degree rotation as I took in details of my surroundings that I hadn't been able to take stock of before. I could see the ocean just past the mist...and there was a beach although there had been nothing for the past few hours... My eyes went straight to his churning orbs stuck under two bushy eyebrows. Honestly, looking him straight in the eyes should have made me queasy but it didn't—it actually brought me calm and strength. I could feel the power of the ocean surging through me instead of trying to destroy me. The power of the ocean. My forehead furrowed. I could feel the worry lines forming already.

  The giant rolled his eyes as he continued to look down at me over his forearms, a distinctive air of displeasure rolling off of his swelling muscles and down towards me and my helpless frustration. Nope, he looks annoyed with me. Why does that not bother me as much as it should?

  "So...another question please." My voice shook with a tiny touch of panic.

  "Yeeeeesss?" He drew out the word so long that I could tell that he couldn't wait to get the conversation over with. My womanstincts (you know, a mix between woman's intuition and your natural instincts) were screaming that I needed to get the show on the road. So I did.

  "What have you brought me here for?" My eyes zeroed in on his massive face and my strength instantly began to wane as my knees wobbled uncontrollably.

  His was the face of a bull mastiff if you know anything about dogs. That particular dog has a face as wide as your chest in certain instances. That dog has a face that looks like it's been smashed up against a glass window all of its life. That dog has a mouthful of teeth that are just intimidating enough to make you pee yourself if you ever have the misfortune to be growled at by one in close proximity. How do I know? Don't ask.

  The giant, let's call him Andre, looked around the void as he uncrossed his arms to allow them to drift down to his sides. Confusion had the nerve to flash across his mastiff face and a huge question mark seemed to form over his monster-sized head.

  "What da ye mean 'what have ye brought me here fo'? I did 'na bring ye here, lass." He shook his head as he began to pace around me, clearly assessing the goods. Honestly, his scrutiny was much weirder than even Leo (my now sworn protector and demon king friend) checking me out from head to toe. It was absolutely unsettling...and creepy.

  Something struck me as I fought not to cover myself with my shaky hands. "You weren't speaking with an accent before...why now? And what is that? Scottish brogue? Are you kidding me?
" A laugh escaped my lips until I caught his warning glance. He had a stern air about him but, for a brief moment, I felt more in control of the direction we were headed. I had no idea why, but it felt like the situation had shifted in one way or another.

  Andre's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth slowly. "I canna... cannot help how my words come out sometimes. I am the ocean—I touch many continents and am made up of many, many unique cultures. Lives lost at sea—they have become a part of me, forever sharing my space, pulsing through my veins." He clenched a fist and shook his head slightly as he looked at me through narrowed slits for eyes. "I did not bring you here, Raven. You did. I answered your summons, which is truly unusual because I do NOT answer to humans." He stood back on one heel and looked me up and down, "But you are not a typical human it seems." His eyes continued to dissect me and then he began to smile. He actually smiled and it sparkled with bright white teeth that stood strikingly against his rich golden skin. Dang, he's handsome in some overly masculine, muscular kind of way. But what had he been saying? What was that about the ocean?

  "The Ocean?" I put one hand on my hip and waved around the void as if I were referring to the lack of décor. "Are you kidding me with the 'I am the Ocean' bit? A little full of ourselves are we?" I laughed, which came out more as a sharp bark as he continued to smile down at me, his eyes swirling with freshly brewed foam from the crashing waves.

  "You sound just like your mother." He laughed. "'Dylan, you are so full of yourself. It's a good thing the sky over the ocean is endless or there wouldn't be enough room for you and the moon both.' Now THAT woman knew how to work a god, I'll tell you what!" He chuckled to himself as he continued to walk around me.

  A sudden piercing fear ran through me, but it wasn't the fear of being killed or checked out by a god. No. It was the fear that you get when you are caught by your dad sneaking in the back window from a night of who knows what.

  "You knew my mother?" While I was asking the words, I was listening to myself at the same time. It felt as if I were a thousand miles away from the conversation and, for some strange reason, it felt...safer.

  "Of course I knew your mother!" He nodded down at me, "I loved her madly. She was one of the most unique humans I had ever met. Her love for the ocean was almost comparable to yours. Your passion for the ocean is for other reasons, but she loved me because she was drawn to my natural essence, my love for life and the smell of the brine. It was as if she had been made for me—a woman of strength and beauty, tied to nature. She had talents beyond compare, that woman. She was something special, she was." He was slipping back into another accent. Was it English? I was getting a flash of My Fair Lady as I eyed him suspiciously.

  "And that would make you..." my voice trailed off. Did I really want to know who this crazy man really was? Be my crazy uncle Andre...please be my crazy uncle Andre.

  "Your father." He stated simply as he arched an enormous eyebrow and looked down at me with a 'Don't mess with your father, little girl' look.

  I was basically stupefied—I could practically feel the drool pooling in my mouth and I snapped my mouth shut before my jaw could begin its descent. My father...the Ocean. "Okaaaay, let's say I believe you..." and I don't. "What would I possibly want to call you for? Someone that I didn't even know existed and still don't believe in. Nope, you aren't the Ocean...you can't be." The shock was beginning to wear off and I stood my ground by crossing my arms, mocking the way that he had earlier, lifting my chin slightly to accentuate my newfound stubborn attitude.

  He cleared his throat and it sounded like thunder rumbling in the mist around us. "Yes, well, I suspect that you were calling for your powers to be returned. It was time, you know, because the prophecy must be fulfilled." He shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. Andre the Giant was uncomfortable with the conversation, and I must admit, I was curious as well.

  "Have my powers...been returned?" My voice spiked in shock. "What do you mean by that, Andre? I mean...Dylan?"

  "It's Father to you, young lady. I don't care how old you get—you must show respect to your God Father." He laughed to himself, chuckling underneath his rumbling breath, "That never gets old." He smiled to himself because I was clearly not returning the smile. LAME!

  "My...Godfather?" I shook my head as I rolled my eyes in his general direction. "Very punny, Dad. How many children have you used that one on?" Wait, how many siblings do I have? "And that has got to be the oldest God joke in the history of jokes, I'm sure." Ouch, my head hurts from the painful joke. I rubbed my temples in deep circles.

  Dylan looked down at me as if he was getting ready to draw a conclusion. "You are the true prodigy that your mother said you would be. She swore that if I gave her a child, that the child would be a rare individual of unmatched talents." He nodded as his eyes drank me in from top to bottom, like a father finally accepting that his child was a true miracle. "She was correct. And of course, I would never refuse that woman anything she ever wanted."

  "Me?! A prodigy? HA! You have GOT to be kidding! I'm nothing! I can't even control where I zap myself most of the time!" I shook as I listened to my voice spike unexpectedly.

  "That was the Fates manipulating your powers there, child. Not you."

  "The Fates?!" My brain was attacking my heart—the speed of my pulse spiking and quaking in my ears. "Why?" My voice shook again but I didn't care. I had to know what was happening to my life, and I had to know now.

  "Because they had to." Simple question. Simple answer.

  "Why?!"

  "Because."

  "I don't get it, Dad." Ick, ick, ick! "Why would the Fates send me anywhere?"

  "Because they had ta', girl!" He bellowed as he turned his back on me to walk around in the mist. Yes, that was what we needed at the moment—a leisurely stroll. "You would never have been able ta' attend all of the events of the prophecy without their help, child." Again his words were tinted with his Scottish brogue accent. It was kind of growing on me, actually.

  "What events? What prophecy?" My voice was beginning to quake with confusion and anger. Maybe I didn't get my temper from my mother. Maybe, just maybe, it was Andre here that was the source of all of my issues.

  Sighing, Dylan pointed and said, "Sit. We need to talk."

  "Sit? On what?" I looked around behind me and found two well-stuffed chairs that could have been straight from a showroom floor. Hmm, Dad had good taste—they were lush looking, covered in rich green-blue colors. Looking up at him in surprise, I walked over to one and ran my hand over the closest seat. It was like touching velvet—soft and smooth, and even cool to the touch. "It's cool." My surprise was obvious in my voice.

  "Memory foam." He nodded as I took my seat and then he walked over to his chair and eyed it. His chair was definitely going to give him problems if he tried to sit down in it. Actually, getting out was going to be the problem because of the average size. Snapping his fingers as he turned to sit down, the chair reached out and grew to the exact proportions that were necessary for his monstrous form. Wow. Even though I had watched the entire spectacle, I doubted that I would be able to convince anyone that I had seen that happen. Who would believe me anyway? I was basically having a conversation with a god who was now sitting in a memory foam chair that was the size of ten of my chairs put together. The difference in the chair sizes accentuated that I was the proverbial child and he was the...well, god.

  "Look, Raven." His American accent was back when he leaned over and rested his elbows on his huge knees. "I wish your mother was around to talk to you about this instead of me. She always said that you were going to make a difference, and that she and I were good together." He shook his head as his eye color deepened and the waves began to swirl into whirlpools of emotions. "How a simple human woman would be able to know something about the future like that is beyond me." Mother was definitely not simple—I can tell without even remembering her. Why can't I remember her?

  "Where is she?" The question fell flat because it didn't s
ound like I had any vested interest in finding out. My heart knew better, though.

  "That isn't really the matter at hand at this very moment, Raven." He shook his head.

  "Where. Is. She?" My words were sharp and rude, but I kept my eyes on him for fear that he would escape the conversation if I didn't.

  Throwing me a short, guilty glance, he turned his head away and sighed. "Look, your mother was an extremely powerful shaman. She was incredibly talented and strong. Her people were blessed with extreme longevity because of her skills and even now, when she is gone, her blessing still touches them."

  I thought about that for a second. There was actually a loud click in my head as I put a couple of impossible ideas together. "Gabriel." Well, that made sense. Gabriel was as old as I was and didn't look a day over 29. Being over 150 years old really made a woman feel older than she needed to be, even when magic held the years at bay. Well, that explained quite a bit because, according to my memories, he was not an immortal being and neither was I. We had both clearly been touched by the blessing that my mother had bestowed on the tribe. On our people. Our decrepitly old, ancient and hot people.

  "So where is she, Dad?" I gripped the arms of the chair to hold myself in place. This conversation needed to happen in a calm state of mind or he could leave and I would never know.

  Clearing his throat, he clapped his hands together as he continued to lean against his knees. "Communing with the dragons."

  "Dragons. Really? Seriously, Dad—this isn't Harry Potter. There aren't dragons to be tamed. This isn't a children's story." Huh, that was definitely out of left field.

  "I never said she was taming dragons—she's communing with them...in another dimension." He released an exasperated breath and leaned back in his chair. "Damned woman always was so wild and high-spirited. Hanging out with a bunch of scaly beasts instead of staying here, with me." He actually sounded like he was pouting. What a big baby!

  "So my mom...my mother is in another dimension...with dragons..." My voice dripped with sarcasm. I let that sink in for a minute. "Har, har, har, Dad. Very funny. Joke's on me I guess because I just can't believe that."