Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Coin Spell
   by Nysidra
   Summary: Vina doesn't know what's wrong with her, but she won't let her
fear stop her from seeking assistance from the most unlikely place.  (MF,
erotic, magic, Layali, Delrew)
   <->
   "I was generous the first time.  Another batch will cost double." Akash
trudged up the hill, dry blades of grass crunched under foot, the afternoon
sun warmed his back.  "Because I have better things to do than play fetch."
   Bag in one hand, keys in the other, phone cradled to his shoulder, he
pocketed the envelop on his windshield and got into the car.
   "Double means double.  Grika root is in high demand and short supply. 
If you don't like my prices, go to someone else." He tossed his bag into
the passenger seat and cranked the car.  "That's what I thought.  I'll call
when it's ready for pickup."
   As for the envelop, he knew it wasn't a flyer or an advert when he
snatched it up.  He set it down on his side table on the way into the
house. After a shower and a meal, he pulled the envelop over to him.
   A small slip of paper, neat, flowing handwriting.  "Is it possible to
get a better view of the beast within and live to keep the secret?  I have
asked myself this question every day since the day I saw you.  When people
see a predator, some run in the other direction, I set out an offering."
   At the bottom of the note a square of opaque material covered an object.
Already standing, alert, Akash peeled back the adhesive.  A silver coin
dropped into his palm.  Energy flowed from the object, transporting him. 
He stood transfixed as the sensation of a sensual massage filled his mind,
traveled along his skin.  It had the effect of being kissed by an attentive
lover, her body settled next to his.
   Seconds later the vision faded.  Time began anew.
   Under the adhesive, the final words: "Is it possible?"
   Akash fisted the now useless coin and stared down at the letter.  Such a
charm could have weakened or harmed him.  If he had opened this at the
park, on the phone, distracted, such an opening could have ended poorly.
   The space of a few seconds was hardly enough time for someone to attack,
but plenty of seconds to enrage him.
   He folded the note, but pocketed the coin.  Any true opponent would know
better.
   It was far better to run than bait him.
   ***
   Vina rode until her legs and lungs burned.  She leaned the bike against
the tree and collapsed to the ground, panting for breath.  She fumbled for
the water bottle, pulled the cap and sucked water.
   Exhaustion and fear had her trembling.  The next day, she couldn't go
back to the the groves where she had spent so many summer months, watching,
observing - stalking the man, to be honest.  Each time she mounted her
bicycle she went in the opposite direction, away from any place he might
be.
   He'd taken her letter without a moment's pause.  Vina didn't know if her
spell worked.  It had taken a whole month to charge the coin, for her to
think she had, anyway.
   Maybe she was confused.  Maybe she judged him wrong.  It didn't matter.
He didn't open it.  She didn't sign her name.  She would never go back. 
Her mistake would go away without notice.
   She first saw him in the groves just after the equinox.  She lost
control of her bike and fell, but instead of worrying about the bike or her
scraped leg, she was transfixed.  Vina knew he was both real and terrifying
- more than any of the hallucinations that taunted her.  Following him,
viewing him each day, beat sitting around the house feeling exhausted and
listless.
   She needed to find a way to reclaim those moments of clarity, which only
came while she stalked the mysterious man in the groves.  Dark hair, olive
skin, a fine physique, but there was something magnetic and enthralling
about witnessing his existence.
   Water bottle empty, Vina pushed to her feet.  She needed to refill
before she went home.  Riding herself to exhaustion wasn't going to work
her nerves away.  Fear and uncertainty twisted in her gut.  What if she met
him again?
   She needed something to distract from her ever returning to the groves.
She couldn't get swept up by him, become the willing lamb, baring her neck.
   She'd already done that once, followed the demented ideas provided by
her mind.  Somewhere within her chasm of confusion and malaise she had a
desire to feel, to know, to find out what there was about him.  If there
was any truth to her visions or if they were only in her head.
   Stalking the man was not a solution and she had fouled the last of her
confidence.
   What if he found her?
   Vina's knuckles ached from her death grip on the handlebars of her bike.
On the ground, not but a foot in front of her, was her coin.  She had chose
it because it had been crushed, damaged by something heavy that gnarled
half of its surface.
   Beads of sweat rolled down her neck, between her breasts, down the
middle of her back.  There was a breeze, but it did little for the heat. 
She could not look up, did not want to look around.  She stared at the
coin, the blades of grass, her toes.
   What about him?  Was he angry, frustrated, amused, disgusted?
   Her clothes seemed too snug, too tight, suffocating.  Her face and ears
burned and she wanted to fall down through the ground and slither away.  He
approached from behind, stopped close enough that she heard him breathing.
Slow, calm, deep.
   "Set your bike aside.  I want to talk to you." He didn't sound
frustrated or disgusted.  Self assured, sultry, strong.  Her belly flipped
in equal parts fright and lust.
   She had never been this close to him before.
   She set her bike aside and sat on the grass.  Taking a step in any
direction would have led to her falling on her face.
   Dark hands picked the coin up.  He flicked it into the air and caught it
several times.  The shadows she typically saw around him were gone.  He had
bright brown eyes, shiny, coal black hair.  Smooth skin, a freshly shaven
jaw.  She had seen him on days when he decided to let his stubble go a day
or two.
   Such ferocity in his features: shrewd, calculated, controlled.
   He looked plenty normal, but he was no normal man.  Vina was ignorant of
many things, but this was a certainty.  She had gone from avoiding him to
blatantly staring at him, drinking in his features, memorizing the
wrinkles, smoothness of his skin, round fullness to his lips, length of his
dark lashes.
   He wore dark denim jeans, a thick brown leather belt, slightly frayed on
the edges, a green lightweight shirt.  It only had three buttons and they
were all undone, exposing the sharp relief of his collar bone and the black
fitted tee underneath.
   He stared back at her, do doubt reading her like a billboard.  How did
her view her skin-tight biking shorts or the shirt that was so damp that it
left her feeling cold and naked?  She couldn't avert her eyes.  She had
never felt a need so strong, an attraction so consistent.
   She didn't use the word beast in her note, did she?  Vina had written so
many drafts.  It was hard to recall which one made it through.  Her body
swayed with each beat of her heart.  What would happen now?
   Beside her left shoulder, in the periphery of her vision, a tendril of
gray fog curled upward, beckoned her toward him, much as a finger.
   Forward, towards him.
   Vina rose to her knees, her hands on the ground for balance.  She paused
a moment, waiting for him to ridicule or question her.  Did she really see
it?
   She inched forward.  Despite all she had seen, perhaps she was truly
crazy.  Maybe she had been wrong about him, maybe this was all a
coincidence.
   "Closer." He pointed to the space in front of his bent leg, beside his
outstretched one.
   She settled in front of him, nearly touching, enough to feel his body
heat.  She sucked on her bottom lip, rubbed the flesh between her teeth.
   "As much as I relish your frightened shuddering, I want you to relax and
talk to me."
   She opened her mouth, worked her jaw, but the words would not form.  How
did she explain herself?  What, exactly, did he have in mind?
   "I'm not sure about relaxing, but I can talk." She hated the sound of
her voice: uneven, flighty, near madness.
   "How long have you been watching me?"
   Right to business then.  "Since Spring." She cleared her throat.  "After
the equinox.  I saw you in the grove, over the second ridge."
   "Saw me?  What did you see?" He pulled his cellphone out of his back
pocket and checked the screen.
   "Shadows," the rest left her in a rush.  "Impressions of a feral nature,
monstrous.  Only glimpses, always attached to you.  It has a recognizable
shape.  I've never been make out anything so distinct.  I thought ...  I
hoped I could meet you, talk to you."
   "You were right." His eyes sped over here.  "I am listening."
   Vina hesitated.  This was a trap that she had set for herself, but that
didn't mean she had to stay in it.  "I know the note was foolish.  I
apologize."
   He nodded.
   "I need to know what's happening with me.  I see things ...  so much
more than I see around you, but I could believe that I was going crazy. 
I've never seen it with a person.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  If
you don't, I can leave.  I'll never go looking for you again."
   He moved with a fluid grace that left her feeling clumsy in his wake. 
"You've found me, and I've heard your request.  We'll take it one step at a
time." He picked up her bike and headed for the street.
   She focused on each step, making sure her feet landed on solid ground.
Did he believe her, or was he about to take her to the police?  Were there
police for what she had done?
   Did he believe her?  Had she been right?
   He hooked his free arm around her waist.  "As I said, you have my
attention." Once they reached the sidewalk, he asked, "How long did it take
you to create the charm?"
   "A month." She had not missed a day, dedicating everything she had to
the pursuit.  "I worked very hard on it."
   Another nod.
   "That's all I wanted ...  to know it was real."
   "I'll put your bike in the back and take you home."
   Home?  Her home?
   ***
   Akash had his doubts about the efficacy of his seeking spell when he
spied the young woman sitting under the tree.  Where he expected so much,
he found so little.
   No way that could be the truth.
   As he drew new, he took more time to read, assess her ability, to root
out her intentions.  She was a muddy storm of masks and delusions.  She was
no adversary, no threat to his safety.  The charm had been an honest cry
for attention.
   Intrigued, Akash focused on gaining her trust, learning her story. 
Something within her spoke of buried ability.  He had seen her before,
noted and dismissed her presence in the grove.
   Even if her story was a fabrication, she appealed to him, thick thighs,
the slight round of her belly, the swell of her breasts.  He wondered how
her body wound tremble in orgasmic bliss.
   So, the best way to settle her story was to see her home.  After
securing the bike, he opened his passenger door for her.  She seemed tired,
as if telling him her story had exhausted her.
   She looked as if poised to ask a question, but then settled into the
seat.
   Did she truly have no clue?
   He grinned as he walked around to the driver's side.  If she lived
without a family or the rigor of an education, he could take her under his
tutelage.  A curious young woman should not be left to flounder alone.
   For either reason.  At the house he could gauge whether she was
interested.
   Akash's cellphone buzzed, but he ignored it.  Chatter of news radio
filled the ten minutes between where he found her and her address.  He
parked on the street and pulled out her bike, attached the front tire.
   The hairs on his arm rose, prickling drops landed on his back.  "You
live alone?"
   "Yes." She glanced to her house, then him.  "Why?"
   "Someone gave you this place." He closed the bed of his truck and handed
her bike over.
   Another nod.  Goodness, she had a gorgeous face, not so plain up close.
Hope and curiosity expressed in every muscle.
   Someone pulled the wool over her eyes, and she had come to him for help.
"What is your name?"
   "Vina." Her hopeful smile faltered.  "What's wrong?"
   Akash stared at the faint lattice of wards around her house.  The
specificity and intricacy of the wards spoke volumes about her, and the
person holding her.  "Vina.  Go inside and pack only what you need:
comfortable clothing, essential toiletries.  Come back to me and I will get
you away from here and help you.  I will not say a word if you stay, but we
will never speak again.  You have twenty minutes."
   ***
   He spun on his heel and got back into his car.  No further warning, no
more threats, only the gravity of his tone.
   Vina wheeled her bike as far as the steps and went inside.  She pulled
her ID, left her keys, wallet, and phone on the table.  She peeled out of
her clothes on the way to the bedroom.  She grabbed a bag and packed
clothing, essentials.
   She moved with a purpose that unnerved but invigorated her.  Mindful of
the time, she jumped into the shower and rinsed off.
   Fifteen minutes later, she walked out with the bag on her shoulder,
dressed in yoga pants and a ribbed tee.  She didn't bother with any locks
that she could not engage without her key.  She got into the passenger seat
and set her bag into her lap.
   As the car was still running, he pulled away as soon as her door was
shut.  Whatever he knew, she had suspected for much longer.  Something was
off about her house, about her, more than her particular affliction, but
she never had the energy to work on it for too long.
   When she posed her questions about he lassitude, strange dreams,
hallucinations, and peculiar sensations to Jack, he blamed it on an array
of mental illnesses or metabolic disorders.
   'It will all be okay soon.' That's the other the had began to say, as if
waiting for a day to reveal the lies and secrets.  Though a small part of
her wondered if Jack wasn't right about her, if she was mentally unstable
and needed time for the medications to take effect.
   Then she saw him.
   He said, "You knew?"
   "Not exactly.  Something is wrong with me, but I don't know what it is.
It's like a gut feeling, but a small one.  My worry only lasts for a day or
maybe an hour, before I saw you anyway.  What's wrong with me?"
   "Wrong?" He shook his head.  "Nothing.  You were looking for answers and
someone has been keeping you from finding them.  You probably owe thanks to
this someone for every good thing in your life.  I'm going to help you find
your answers."
   "Why do you care?"
   "Some reason I cared when I met you.  You're gorgeous and in need of
help.  And," he glanced over to her and sported a broad smile.  "I'm going
to take great pleasure in stealing you from under someone else." The rich
purr of his voice matched the zeal in his words.
   Out of the fire.  "I don't like the idea of being anyone's property."
   "They way you've been treated, I don't doubt that.  Give me the chance
to show you upside of being owned."
   Vina stared at him, wide eyed and slack jawed.  He could not be serious.
Could he?
   He gave her another look, but his expression did not seem to be one of
contained laughter.  "You stripped your clothing, showered, removed your
jewelry.  Did you pack your cell?"
   She shook her head and continued to do so as I he listed all the other
things she left behind.
   "Instinct has led you down the right path.  Don't stop trusting yourself
now.  Belonging to me will feel much better."
   Vina stammered over her words.  "Don't say it like that."
   He laughed.  "I mean it like that."
   She stared out the window.  She had never seen this side of him:
teasing, playful, flirtatious.  He had always been the man focused,
intense, even furious while pouring over his mixtures and books.
   Who better than a predator to guard her?
   ***
   There wasn't much that satisfied more than taking someone else's steal
from under them.  Akash pulled into his garage and helped her inside.  Soon
as he got her fixed up she would glow, radiate power, and he could drink
from her like a fine vintage.
   Ripe, sun-kissed fruit resting in the palm of his hand.
   Her arrival into his life seemed to good to be true, but too far-fetched
to be planned.  Anyone with a creature of her caliber would be foolish to
put her in his path.
   "Kitchen there.  Bathroom down the hall, second right.  Plenty of
entertainment in the living room.  Bedrooms are upstairs.  The door under
the stairs leads to the basement.  Come on."
   "To your basement?"
   "I want to show you now rather than have you sneaking where you don't
belong while I'm sleep." He signaled her again and headed down the steps.
   "Gym equipment in this room.  It's sound-proofed if you want to use the
stereo.  I keep my books in here, and," he turned his back to the closed
door and waited until he had her attention.  "Do not open this door.  Do
not enter this room without me.  When you have regained your strength, I'll
take you inside if you want.  I do not ban you to hide from you, but to
keep you safe.  Do you understand?"
   "Yes.  I won't go in there."
   He led her toward the second floor.  "Pick one you want."
   "Which one is yours?" She peeked through each door.
   "All of them.  This is my house."
   ***
   Smart ass.
   Though, she soon learned that he did not mean it as a joke.  One bedroom
had a flat screen television, cushioned chairs.  The sheets on the bed and
the furniture were all dark blues and greens.  The window had heavy
midnight blue drapes.
   The second bedroom had a large bay of windows, soft wall-mounted lights,
and a balcony that allowed for a full view of the sky from the bed.  The
color palette was more spring like: sea green, white, sandy brown.
   The third had a smaller bed: full sized, a large glass desk covered with
books and papers, all neutral brows in the color scheme.  No television, no
large windows.  It looked more an office with a bed.
   She picked the room with the balcony and placed her bag in the large
cushy leather chair.
   "I'll clear some space for you before bed.  Come here."
   Always with the orders.  At least she was used to that.  She approached
him, but he turned and led her into the hallway.  Two steps, then he turned
back to her.  "I want to kiss you."
   Her brows drew close and her mouth curled in a frowning grimace.  She
had heard his words, but her brain didn't understand exactly what he meant.
He had to be ten to fifteen years older than her.  They only met a few
hours ago.
   "Refusing won't tick me off.  I will still help you.  I will also ask
you again later."
   She lifted her chin and leaned forward.  Easier just to get it over
with. He pressed his lips to hers, soft press of flesh.  He breathed in and
she echoed.  His tongue swept over her bottom lip and her lips parted,
curious as to what he'd do next.  His hands wrapped around her waist, one
palm cupped her bottom and he tugged her tight as his tongue brushed
alongside hers.
   The fresh layer of stubble brushed her cheek.  He smelled good, tasted
good.  Did she?  Vina hoped so.
   Kissing.  Did she even know who (or what) she kissed?
   Vina pulled away and caught her breath.  "Okay?"
   "I'm not done with you." He dove right back into kissing her.  He didn't
turn forceful or cruel, it was the same tender exploration.
   Vina had kissed a boy in after-school recess, near the blenches.  Her
lips touched his and for a moment she felt buoyant, excited.  This was
nothing like that moment.  "You're just kissing me?"
   "That's what I asked, but I'll do whatever you want."
   "Just kiss.  I like this."
   He chuckled and intensified his kiss.  She tried to commit every
sensation to memory.  Wanting to know how much better this kiss could get,
she rose to match his passion, pulled him toward her.  As with all
activities, her energy flagged.  Her breath turned heavy, her muscles
ached. She fought the fatigue.  This was the first kiss she enjoyed.  No
one was ever going to know she did this.
   Her heart labored, lungs ached.  No!  She was not ready to stop.
   She sucked on his bottom lip and bit him.  Her nails dug into his
shoulders.  She trembled as her limbs weakened and threatened to put her on
her ass.
   "That's good." He held her upright and tongued the inside of his bottom
lip.  "That fight?  That is what I wanted." He leaned forward and
whispered.
   "Oh." The kiss was a test.  That's all.
   "Yes, I could have learned another way.  I didn't want to." He took a
step back from her.  "Can you stand?"
   She stumbled over to the railing and held on.  He'd done nothing to hide
the swell of his erection.  Did that qualify as being hard?  There
certainly seemed to be a lot of it.
   "Give me half an hour.  I'll prepare something to assist you." He kissed
the top of her head and smirked.  "Make yourself at home."
   Vina waited until he was out of sight before sinking to her knees and
crawling into the room, the room with a view, her room.
   Make herself at home.
   ***
   Akash barely restrained his laugh as he hid in the shadows.  Not only
was the woman low, she was being forcibly restrained from regaining her
energy.  Despite her abuse, she had enough to feign her weakness.  She
waited until she thought him gone before sinking to her knees.
   She had a nice round ass, firm thighs.
   He went to his spice cabinet and pulled out the sachet he would need to
break the enchantment.  He put a kettle on boil with a pinch of roots and
charged salt.
   It took him a while, but he found the enchantment.  When was the last
time he had to recognize his own work?
   He created the cage over a month ago.  Emergency request.
   Jack.  Ah, so this was what he had been hiding.  He had the cage
prepared to keep her locked away until the perfect unwrapping day.  He
should have kept her locked in a basement.
   A common mistake, thinking a magical creature could be controlled by
magic alone.
   Vina awakened the thrill of seduction, the lure of the chase.  Though
this was more like shooting fish in a hand-delivered barrel, it was his
barrel now, his water, and his gorgeous fish.
   She had a wicked tongue, the way she held onto him.  He couldn't wait to
feel that once she had more strength.  How would she express her desires?
   Given the intricacy of the cage, he would need to act quickly.  No one
needed to discover that he stole merchandise he had been hired to protect.
No one needed to know who or what she was.
   Feed her.  Get her clean.  Balancing her safety with his lust not a
great challenge.  The sooner he got her safe, the sooner he could delve
into her banquet of energy and flesh.
   Akash loved challenges.
   ***
   Vina joined her host downstairs on the back porch.  Instead of dinner, a
pair of tea cups and a boiling kettle awaited her.
   He poured hot water into the first cup.  "This is the first step toward
helping you.  You have been given things to ingest that are not of your own
choosing.  Drink the liquid in this cup first, then finish," he poured hot
water into the other cup, "with this one."
   How did he know?  Who was he?  "I don't even know your name.  How about
we start there?"
   "When you're clean."
   Since her parents' death Vina had taken all manner of substances.  They
were prescribed to help her with her troubles, but nothing truly helped. 
She was made a different kind of broken, but then she met Jack, and he
helped her.  He'd created a mixture that allowed her to lead a normal life.
   She pulled the first cup toward her.  "All of it?" She lifted the cup
and sniffed the fiery concoction of ginger, cinnamon.  Her nose curled
upward.  Was that pepper?
   "Drink as much as you can as quickly as possible."
   The first sip and the rest was easy.  The tea went down easy with a
pleasant red, earthy flavor.
   She was used to taking things that were supposed to help her.  Why not
one more?
   Jack gave her pills for her anxiety, then schizophrenia, her night
terrors, depression, eating disorders.  He had been there to pick her up
from school when her parents died.  He helped her through the insanity of
high school and supported her through college.  He gave her the house to
live in long before she could afford the mortgage on her own.
   She palmed the tears streaming down her cheeks as she lifted the second
cup.  The smell tingled her nose long before she took the first sip. 
Brittle, dark, blueberry.  It had a gritty finish.
   She had trusted that he knew how to help her.  She had gone to him with
all her worries and fears.  Where did all that trust leave her?  In the
home of a stranger, because she could see her madness surrounding him.
   He took her hand and walked her down the steps to the lawn.
   What if all this was a mistake?
   Akash sat, so she did the same.
   Why were they out here?
   She took a breath to ask but then a breeze kicked up.  It felt delicious
on her scalding skin.  That last tea had her sweating bullets.  She
whimpered as her muscled ached as if bruised, then she was shaking.  Her
guts twisted and lurched while the pain seeped into her bones.  When she
opened her mouth she felt as if trying to breathe around a bubble.
   Agony throbbed through her torso with each beat of her heart.  Muscle
cramps, suffocation, and migraines formed a union.  Blades of grass stabbed
her cheek.  She rolled onto her hands and knees, but her spine felt like it
was grinding and shifting.
   She couldn't find a position that brought comfort for long.
   Him.  The person who did this to her sat along beside her, unmoved by
her distress.  Why had he done this?  How was this helping?
   She couldn't breathe!
   Several horrible spasms prompted a worse sound in her throat.  Her whole
body seized as she retched, but what came out of her mouth was thick,
slimy. Worse, it moved, wriggling as if sentient and searching for a way
back inside her.
   It was pushed by her throat with each full-body seizure until it hovered
in the air.
   Vina scrambled back, stumbled and fell into his lap.  The thing she had
expelled dissipated in the air as if it had been nothing but ash.
   Then it was dispersed with the next breeze.
   He hooked one arm under her knees and carried her into the house, up the
wooden stairs, they didn't creak as much as she expected.  This was a nice
room.  She had picked it.
   Bathroom.  He set her in the tub and she leaned back.  Water filled the
tub, a little colder than she would have liked.  Her shorts were getting
wet.  The line of water devoured the little hairs on her thighs.
   Clothes should not get wet.
   She tugged on the leg of her shorts, but that wasn't going to be good
enough.  Water was not right.  She worked to sit, up, but her muscles
weren't doing what she wanted.  Damn it, she was about to fall over.
   He cradled her head and put her upright.  With an arm behind her back,
he lowered her further in the water.
   He could see her clothes were getting wet.  Couldn't he?
   He said something ...  sang something.  No, that wasn't right.  It
sounded like a poem, rhythmic.  She could not understand the words, but the
parts where the sounds paired were nice.
   She should have been trying to get out of her clothes, but she liked the
sway of that melody, the flow of each word.
   Blue lilies, some roses.  The water felt warmer.  That was fast.
   The poem ended.
   Vina blinked her eyes open surrounded by frothy bubbles up to her
shoulders.  She was leaning back against a folded towel under her head. 
She sat up.
   Her clothes were still on.
   But had she been dreaming?  Why was she in the tub?
   That man.  Vina peered at him.  He was sitting on the floor, his head
leaning on the arm of the tub.  He looked exhausted, more than a little
worn down.
   His voice sounded hoarse, "Can you remove your clothing now?"
   Why wouldn't she?  She removed her shirt and shorts and handed them
over.
   He wrung them dry and tossed them into the sink.  "Dunk your head under
water at least once before you get out.  Stay until the water cools.  Don't
stand up or get out until all the water has drained.  Rinse in the shower."
With a great sigh, he got to his feet and gathered her wet clothes. 
"You're mine now."
   "Fine now?" Maybe she misheard that.
   "That too," he said.  "My name is Akash.  I will be within earshot.  If
that does not work, bang on the wall three times."
   She followed his instructions to the last.  Once she was rinsed, she had
enough energy to get to the bed.  She grinned as she took in the smell that
filled her.  Him.  The bed would smell like him.  She grasped for a pillow
and tucked it under her head.  She moaned as if getting a whiff of freshly
baked cake.
   Then it came back to her, why she had to be here.  Why she'd sought the
advice of a stranger.
   But he'd done it.  She felt better.  Even as tired as she was, it felt
like she could come back.  She just had to find it.
   Akash entered the room dressed in a pair of dark sleep shorts.  He sat
on the bed and caressed her shoulder as if they had been lovers for years,
as if he was not getting an eyeful of her naked backside.
   "Feel better?"
   "Yes, like I could get better." Vina flopped onto her back and folded
her arms under her breasts.
   "Is there something you want, or do you simply want me to notice you?"
   She wanted...?  Truth be told, she wanted some very carnal things from
him when she saw him - surrounded by the pulsing shadowy wisps.  If she had
been anything of an artist, she'd have to draw it.  Words failed for what
she saw.
   "Just notice me."
   He nodded and made a great show of looking her from head to toe.  "I
enjoy what I see.  I'm hoping I get to take more than your mouth with mine,
explore what I can do to other parts of you with my tongue."
   Vina blinked rapidly, she stilled her breathing to better hear his next
words.
   "You are already mine.  I have no need to rush."
   "I don't know what you gave me, but I think it's still effecting me."
Vina took large breaths of air and looked around the room, expecting it to
be different somehow.  Was she really laying on her back naked and thinking
that would be okay?
   She pulled the towel around her body and sat up, away from him.  "I know
what this is.  This is what I was like.  It's ...  you need to make it
stop."
   "Confusion, doubt, more than one opinion?  Questioning.  It's been a
while since you were not punished for acknowledging multiple possibilities.
Tell me what startled you."
   "I don't know why I trust you.  Why was I laying there naked?"
   "Have I not given you all that you requested?"
   She shrugged a little.
   "Forget now.  You came to me for help.  Remember what got you there." He
tugged on her towel.  She let it slip through her fingers.  "Sleep.  It's
not necessary to dress for the occasion.  You were nude because you wanted
to be."
   ***
   Vina typically woke heavy with exhaustion.  Dreams she couldn't remember
disturbed her through the first hours.  Her muscles ached and she had to
fight to sit up, resolved to face the day, to find a way to contact him.
   It couldn't be all in her head if he was real.
   Her eyes opened.  The a shaft of sunlight made a slice along the
ceiling. Heavy respiration behind her, warmth along her back.  Her legs
were nestled around his.  He still had on the pants.
   Akash.  This could not be the shadowed beast that she had been stalking.
This could not be her reality.  In her worse nightmare she feared that he
would turn and send those dark tendrils after her.
   'Who better than a predator?' That phrase would come to mind on
occasion, like the line of a song she had forgotten.  She could never focus
on it long, but it always returned, capturing more and more of her
attention.
   Who better than a predator to protect her?
   Why was she in danger?
   "How did you sleep?" He threaded his fingers through hers.
   "Better than I ever remember sleeping.  Thank you.  I'm usually half
dead in the morning until I've taken my..." Right.  That stuff Jack claimed
she needed.  "Thank you." She shifted until she was able to get out the bed
and into the bathroom.
   When she returned from her morning ablution, he was gone.
   Vina unpacked her bag and looked through her clothing.  He'd said
comfortable.  Good thing she listened.
   ***
   As expected, the young woman was hungry.  She was on her second plate of
breakfast when she paused long enough to speak.
   "What do I do next?"
   "Three hours a day: morning, afternoon, evening.  I will take you
through your first lessons.  I will design them to harness your abilities."
   "Lessons?"
   "How to control the power that has been suppressed.  You will not be my
first student, though I expect you'll be a great challenge."
   "You've had students before?  Students of what?"
   "Of their magical nature."
   "How long do I have to stay here?"
   "Until you can defend yourself - as far as staying indoors.  I am hoping
you will not want to leave when that day comes."
   "Thank you, but I don't want to get in your way." Her eyes flicked up as
if witnessing his akera.
   Could they reach her now?  Could she see herself lying under him, her
body jostling each time he slammed into her?  How long before he could know
the flavor of her spirit?
   Vina shook her head and pushed her breakfast plate back.
   "I'll make sure we cover how to fake your first sight while engaging
your second."
   "Don't you usually go to the grove before noon?"
   "Usually, but--" His phone buzzed.  He set his jaw and silenced the call
from Jack.  "Not a chance," he whispered.  He turned back to her.  "I can
work in the basement.  My project this year was to enhance my productivity
if I am separated from my house - minimalist techniques."
   She wiped her mouth and took a drink of her water.  "You like a
challenge."
   He grinned.  "I do."
   ***
   Jack knew he had a problem the moment he unlocked the door.  His calls
to Vina had been ignored.  He found exactly what he expected.  She had gone
somewhere without telling him.
   He dialed her cell and found it on the coffee table along with her
purse.
   The keys were on the table beside the door.
   She got away damn clean.
   "Where did you get to, Vina?"
   She had run away from home before.  Once or twice every few years, but
never too far.  She usually went to a friend's house or to the movies or
the mall.  He would have let it slide, but he couldn't afford for her to be
out of his reach for more than a few days.
   Like now.
   He leaned in the door frame and frowned.  He knew the day would come
when he needed to tell her about her parents, her abilities.  He had to
find someone he could trust to teach her and keep her safe.  He'd hoped
that day was still a few years off.
   He walked through the house one more time, searching for any clue. 
Nothing.  Someone or something else had gotten to her.  Vina had stopped
with the questions he wasn't ready to answer.  Jack assumed that she
accepted her fate and could be a normal woman with a normal life.
   He checked the medicine cabinet.  All of her pills.  Her cycling clothes
had been tossed on the bed.  She had left in a controlled hurry.
   Would this have ended differently if he'd told her he danger?  If he had
warned her what people would do if they discovered her curse?
   He pressed the heel of his hand to his temple.  He couldn't recall her
mentioning new friends.  She hadn't been avoiding him, no matter how many
times he checked in.
   No matter who she was with, how she got there, without her medicine,
Vina was going to be sick, confused, and suffering from an influx of power
and urges that she could not control.
   At best someone would mistake her for having a mental break or suffering
from chemical dependance and take her to a hospital.
   At worse, she would be a naive buffet to the things that lurked in the
netherworld.
   Jack turned his ringer on high.  She would find some way to call.  He
pulled up his surveillance footage and checked his wards.  Four days ago,
afternoon.  Entered alone, left alone.
   Three days and no call?
   Gooseflesh broke out on Jack's arms.  She must have been purged.  Every
tracer, every calming agent, every layer of protection he'd spent the past
five years building around her - stripped away.
   Worse than his worse case.
   "No," he groaned.  "Damn it, no!" He rocked back and forth and shook his
head.  "No fucking way!"
   He's need a sorcerer.  Jack dialed Akash.  He didn't like dealing with
the slimy cretin, but his skills were beyond reproach.  He wasn't surprised
when it went to voicemail after two rings.
   "I won't negotiate on price.  Whatever you will charge me is worth
hearing back from you as soon as possible."
   He would have to do a working and summon her back.  If he failed, then
Akash would succeed.  He might have to go broke to keep the man out of his
business.
   ***
   Vina didn't have to use the periphery of her vision anymore.  The
shadowed outline of a creature bled through from its world to theirs.  It
followed Akash like an echo, a spirit that could move and linger outside
his physical presence.
   It wasn't shaped like Akash, but a large beast.  Big as a tiger, but
bulky - a tiger sized pit bull.
   Vina had taken to his lessons like they were memories she only needed to
recall.  She tuned into her energy, learned to direct its flow.  She'd
gather as much as she could during the day then practice transferring it to
him.
   She had to send as much as she could without harming herself.  That
particular lesson was designed to teach her how to assess her level of
effort, when to stop, how to keep herself from giving too much.  When she
erred, he was always gentle, coaching her back to consciousness.
   Her evening lessons were less hands on and amounted to a lecture over
dinner.
   Each day, each lesson.  Vina compared what she was learning with what
she had researched.  Akash taught her skills most useful for becoming an
assistant, things that would help her help him.
   He was teaching her something, and for that, she decided to be thankful.
Each day she was within earshot of him turning down meetings, breaking
obligations, turning away visitors.
   She had to learn to defend herself.  Until then, she was interfering in
his life.  The least she could do was help him while she was here.
   Even so, Vina was surprised that he'd kept to his end of the bargain. 
How easy would it have been to chain her in the sound-proofed basement?
   As if the man had to chain her.  Fear of Jack kept her indoors, lust
over Akash kept her attention focused.
   This particular morning, she looked in the mirror and saw a radiant
woman staring back at her.  She cupped her breasts and turned to the side.
Did he like her?  He said it, even gave her one hell of a kiss.
   What do you want?
   She bounced on the ball of her feet and grinned.  She felt wonderful. 
Even the mirror complemented her refreshed state, health, and vitality.
   Why did Jack want to keep her from feeling this good?
   She finished in the bathroom, but didn't dress.  When he touched her, it
was almost second nature to pass her energy to him.  Could they exchange
energy while having sex?  What would that feel like?
   You need to leave.
   The sudden through ripped Vina from her mission.  That was different
from a vision, but it felt like her own thought.
   Run.  Get away.  Leave this place.  This is not your home.
   She drew a slow breath, but she couldn't get enough air.  Her arms
prickled and a chill settled over her.
   You are in danger.  Leave.
   "Ready in here," said Akash.
   Clinging to the bannister, Vina took each step.  She could not afford to
stumble and fall.  She braced along the wall until she made it to the
dining room.
   A baked dish, salad, glasses of wine.
   Run.  Now.
   Akash lifted a brow and assessed her nude body.  "What are you feeling?"
   "Hearing," she whispered, as if the voice might know she was trying to
communicate.  "Think ...  a thought that I'm not safe.  I need to go home?
But you said." She fisted her hands and stood straight.  She imagined a
shell around her body.  Defense.  She couldn't go home until she learned to
defend herself.
   He picked up his cellphone and set a timer.  "Keep it up until this
alarm sounds."
   "You said to be wary of thoughts that feel wrong.  I want to call his
name."
   "That would pierce your shield, and I am not warded against you calling
out.  Do it and you go back to the life you had.  Do you need my help?"
   Her body trembled as if holding a great weight.  Her body, her muscles
didn't tremble, but her soul shuddered, like any moment her mind would
snap. She nodded.
   He walked over and the shadowed beast surrounded them both.  It wasn't
dark, but the lights dimmed though her eyes were open.  He picked her up,
cradled her.
   "I'm always paying you attention." He brushed his nose along her cheek.
   "This was not about attention," she said over the screaming voice that
urged her to get away from danger.
   The timer on his phone went off and silenced just as quickly.
   He leaned down and kissed her.
   Akash was dangerous.  He had never tried to convince her otherwise.
   He could kill her.  The urge to attack him flared, but Vina didn't give
into such foreign impulse.  "I think I'm still feeling it."
   "An echo, if anything took root, it builds.  What was it?"
   "I know you're dangerous, but what if you're dangerous to me?"
   "How you felt better since being here?"
   "Yes."
   "How have you been sleeping?"
   "Better."
   "Why did you come down to dinner naked?"
   She could have said she started feeling weird in the bathroom, cover the
truth he sought.  "I think ...  you're always saying how much you," she
stopped and sighed.  "I'm asking for it."
   "What's stopping me from asking you?"
   She frowned and looked up at him, then shrugged.
   He sat down in a chair and pulled her to his hips.  The shadow pulled
away.  "I want to be sure you would not answer out of obligation." He
winked at her.  "Who do you belong to, Vina?"
   As if washing away the last trace of her fear, a thrill rose through hre
body.  She found his hands and put them around her.  "I belong to you."
   His breath hitched as he stifled a cough.  "Say it again."
   She had said it often enough.  "I belong to you, Akash."
   He reached for the napkin on the table and wiped his brow.  He leaned
back against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.  "He must have had
help with that."
   "Are you okay?" His skin even felt cooler.  Why was she bringing this on
him?  He didn't deserve this kind of trouble.
   She framed his face and tried to do everything at once, raise her
energy, transfer it, pour it onto him.  Once step at a time, a little, over
and over like a while until the cycle turned constant.
   "However you started," he whispered, "that's how you have to ramp it
down.  Careful.  Work backwards."
   Backwards, each cycle.  Raise then stop.  Raise then stop.  The wheel
backed away, into herself.  Replenished herself.
   How did she do that?  If she could have kept that going ...  Could she?
   Of course.  It's why he's using you.
   "I've done something else to upset you?"
   Why did she have to help him in the first place?  She shook her head. 
"I should get some clothes on."
   "Please don't, not yet." He kissed along the side of her neck.  "Let me
taste you."
   She looked at him, rolled his bottom lip with her thumb.  "Okay."
   He lifted her by the hips and set her on the table.  "Put your legs over
my shoulders, lean back."
   The table felt cool on her back, but it helped with the blazing of her
skin.
   "Oh!" Was the last coherent sound she made over the next few minutes.
   ***
   Akash drowned his worry in pussy.  He took long laps between her wet
folds, trying not to think about the mistake he'd made.  He taught her to
work in reverse.  Now she could drain him as easily as she gave, if not
easier.
   Damn it, that's what was so dangerous about their class.  They could
take and take, and worse, make it feel like the sweetest ecstasy.
   If she pulled too much, would she have stopped?  Her thighs trembled on
either side of his head.  He could take everything he wanted from her in an
hour's span and leave her the husk of a physical shell, but it wouldn't
bring the same satisfaction.
   Why punish this beautiful creature for crimes she wasn't even aware she
could commit?
   He groaned and sucked hard on her clitoris as her cries for release grew
frantic.  He wanted her, continuously.  They could accomplish such great
things if they worked together, rise to a power that beckoned him.  That,
and he could fuck her.  Soon, his cock would be the one making her moan.
   "Thank you," she whispered as she held his head, her hips rolled and
jerked as her orgasm subsided.
   He drank from her slit, ambrosia.  As if he had to be won over to her
body.  Fuck, she was delicious.
   She was his, through and through.
   ***
   Vina drew her knees back to her shoulders.
   "Relax," his breath whispered at the back of her thighs, just under her
buttocks.  His cool, slick tongue lapped at her.
   How many times had she opened herself to him in the past twenty-four
hours?  "Please, more."
   His tongue moved slow, probing her.  He brought his fingers up and
twisted inside her opening.
   "Why won't you fuck me?"
   "You tell me," he mumbled before lapping at her.
   "Akash," she pushed on his head and let her legs fall.
   He arched one brow.
   "I belong to you.  Okay?  I want you to do more than think about me all
the time."
   He grinned.  "Get on your knees." Once she did, he said.  "Open your
mouth."
   She parted her lips, but her jaw dropped along with his pants.
   "All you ever had to do was say something." He put the head of his cock
in her mouth.  "Relax," he rocked in and out of her mouth.  "Drink this."
   When she closed her mouth around him and sucked, his head rolled back.
Soon after she swallowed his offering.  His hips thrust forward and his
grunted through his orgasm.
   They lay side by side in silence, then Vina said, "What are you?"
   "I ...  am your mortal enemy," his eyes were sad as he looked her over.
"Your kind feeds from my kind, use us like cattle."
   "Turning the tables for once?"
   "Not like you think.  Turns out I want you alive.  I want you to be with
me, not against me.  Mine." He reached down and tugged on his cock until he
had a renewed erection.  "Put this inside you."
   Vina rolled to her knees and straddled him.  "Wow," she whispered as she
sank down on the full length of him.
   "You look beautiful riding me."
   "Thanks," she leaned forward and rocked down on him.  This way her
clitoris rubbed his crotch.
   "Reach out for me."
   What did he mean?  She was already clamping down on his cock.  She
reached with her mind and felt ...  an answer, as if something reacted to
her presence.  Then it kissed her, flirtatious, brief.  They danced, moving
closer, wrapping around each other.  Then it was inside her, the way he was
inside her, rubbing against her.
   She shuddered and whimpered.  She lifted herself higher and slammed
harder down on him.  Everything about him addicted her, like fine desserts
and decadent candy.  Like the cycle, the wheel, she took from him, but gave
it back, ran it through her body.  That way nothing truly settled.
   "Fuck," Akasha groaned low in his throat.  "Yes.  Keep doing that. 
Fuck. Whatever it is." He whimpered each time until he stiffened and
swelled moments before his orgasm.
   She slowed the cycle until she was able to sit up.
   "I see why it is the best way to die." He thumbed her nipple and traced
a line down to her clitoris.  "Give me a minute, I'll be right with you."
   She grinned and rolled back so that he could play with her clitoris. 
"I'm yours.  No need to rush."
   ***
   If Akash minded that Vina dominated his time, he never said so.  The
initial discomfort passed, and Vina was hungry to try the things she didn't
know, discover the things that made her moan, learn what she liked best. 
He never missed an invitation to help her figure them out.
   "Would it be safe for me to get some of my things now?"
   Akash rolled over and retrieved his phone.  "Ask."
   She dialed the number and the screen display Jack's name.  He'd already
known him?  How?  Why?
   Beside her, Akasha folded his arms over his chest and rolled onto his
back.
   Jack answered and his words left in a rush.  "Akash!  Thank goodness
man. I've been looking for you.  I've lost my charge.  The one I had you
build a cage for.  I'll pay whatever you want, no bullshit.  She is very
important to me.  I can't give you specifics, but it is critical I find
her."
   If Vina had been standing, she would have went to her knees.  "Hello,
Jack."
   Silence for several seconds.  "Vina?  How did you get this phone?  Never
mind.  Don't answer that.  Listen.  I don't care where you've been, but you
are in serious danger.  Haven't you suspected that?  You must have.  Get
away from here.  How you survived this long baffles me, but that means you
still have a chance.  Fuck."
   Vina envisioned Jack pacing the floor, shaking his head.
   "Can you still get away?  Just yes or no."
   "I would like to get some clothes from my house.  I could send you a
list.  I am not returning."
   The line went quiet for so long that Vina pulled the phone away to make
sure the call was still active.
   "Vina.  You can't be serious."
   "Because I'm with him?  I asked for his help.  Isn't that why you
called, for him to help me?"
   Akash's eyes opened slightly, but his breath deepened as if sleep won
the war.
   "You have to believe that what I'm telling you is the truth.  Wherever
you are, I cannot find you.  He practices shadow sorcery.  He regularly
travels to a place that values you, your lineage like ...  like a recently
unearthed diamond mine.  Akash makes his living stealing and selling
artifacts - living and inanimate.  The more he feeds his power, the worse
he can do.  If he hasn't sold you, that means he's feeding from you.  His
help is a last resort, not a safe haven."
   Very close to what Akash had already told her.
   "If you could only see what darkness surrounds him."
   "I've seen it."
   "My darling, you are being bled out.  No matter what you think, know
that I have only been trying to protect you, shield you.  The longer you're
with him, the closer you come to death."
   "If I send you a list, will you follow my wishes?"
   He fell silent for several long seconds.  "Yes.  Yes, of course.  I'll
come to you."
   "Thank you.  I'll text it to you from this number." She disconnected the
call and started typing her list immediately.  Why would she even consider
betraying such a powerful ally?  Akash's power was great, she tasted its
sweetness each time.  She set his phone aside and lay on his chest.
   If she had to choose which protection she enjoyed more, then it was no
contest.  "Thank you."
   "For?"
   "Stealing me and keeping me for yourself." She hugged him closer.  "No
one is going to take me away from you.  I'm all yours, Akash."
   "Music to my ears, always."
   ***
   True to his word, Akash took her into the basement where he led her
through a full ritual to open portal.  Later, he took her beyond the veil
to the place he went for his items, a place he called the Netherworld. 
While there, he taught her some of he basics of survival within the realm
and other ways she could not only assist him, but initiate projects of her
own.
   "Jack will be here soon, with authorities."
   Vina dipped the cotton ball into a glass jar of thick beige cream and
spread it over to the half moon wounds on his back.  That and her hickeys
had him looking like the one in need of a rescue.
   "You did well."
   "What if I forgot what to do?  What if I messed up?"
   "Then you would need a stronger salve.  It is a dangerous business, but
the rewards are greater."
   "I'll get dressed." She went upstairs and grabbed one of his shirts
tossed over the foot of the bed.  The hem reached to her thighs.  That was
good enough.  She was on her way back down when she heard the request for
Alex to permit them entry.
   "We have received a valid complaint that you are holding a woman here
against her will."
   Vina walked into the room and sat in the large chair, folded her legs
under her.
   Akash let Jack and the investigator into the living room.
   The man's face lit with a boyish glee as he took in her bare legs. 
"Investigator Fernando, madam.  How are you doing?"
   "I'm wonderful."
   "Divine light!  What have you done to her?" Jack looked around Vina
rather than at her.  "It wasn't enough for you abduct her, but you've
corrupted her spirit as well?"
   "Last time I checked, I have been an adult for several years.  I
approached Akash.  I asked for his help.  I went to his home to escape my
own house.  I had to be purged of the poisons and potions given to me under
false pretense since I met you." She smiled at the investigator.  "Did you
hear that side of his story by chance?"
   Fernando nodded.  "He said you suffered from a debilitating infliction."
   "Debilitating?  Is that what I look like?  Is that how you typically
treat a Layali?"
   Jack turned his shocked expression to Akash and the investigator paled.
   Jack hissed.  "Are you insane?  Look at her.  Look at yourself.  She
will only get worse.  You planned this when I asked for the purging
solution, didn't you?  How dare you?
   Fernando spoke into the communication device on his shoulder.  He turned
to Akash, "As you have no counter complaint.  I'll leave her.  Madam, do
you want to press charges?"
   She shook her head.  She expected some kind of triumph, but both the
investigator and Jack looked afraid and ready to get as far away from her
as possible.
   "Did you bring her belongings?" Akash said as he walked Jack to the
door.
   She went to the window and watched them.  Jack pulled the suitcase from
the trunk, ranting and pointing to the house.  If she was as dangerous and
valuable as Jack claimed, then maybe he really had been trying to help her.
   Akash carried her bag into the house and shut the door.
   "He asked you to make the purging solution?"
   He nodded.  "And the cage that enhanced your house ward, but without the
bath, you would have been as you were afterward.  Do you remember those
moments?"
   "Barely.  I was ...  detached.  My thoughts were confused.  I couldn't
think properly."
   "Walking catatonia.  He was never going to reveal your true nature, only
find ways to smother and contain you."
   "You found a way to contain me."
   "I did.  Once that enriches your life and serves me." He grinned and sat
in the chair.  "As you proved this morning, you can defend yourself.  That
was my condition for your freedom.  You do not have to stay here if you
don't want."
   "What did he see?  Why aren't you afraid like them?"
   "Haven't you heard?" He crooked his finger and waited until he had her
in his lap.  "You belong to me."
   <->
Written: April 2011
"My sexual interests are like my eating habits.  I'll try anything once;
twice, if you prepare it differently." - Bianca Lee
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
CoinSpell