‘That’s okay, Aish. Any time.’
Faye took a deep breath and followed Aisha back into the bar.
This time, she would be more prepared.
Dal Riada were still playing. The song wove around her, and she could still see it as a magic in itself, enchanting the crowd. She watched the faces of the others around her; some were so entranced that their eyes were almost rolled all the way back; they swayed, totally unaware of where they were. She could sense that theyweresomewhere else, to all intents and purposes. The combined, spiralling, turquoise-blue energy of Dal Riada was transporting the whole crowd somewhere – maybe to their own individual beaches, to be seduced, or into another fantasy, Faye didn’t know – and the whole crowd were completely at the mercy of this band.
Part of her yearned to run straight back into Finn’s arms: she still wanted him so badly, and her body resonated with the unmet desire he had lit in her.
And, yet. Finn Beatha seemed to be playing a game with her. A game of cat and mouse, a game of desire that she had been thus far powerless to resist.
It had made her feel human, alive, wanted. But it also made her angry.
How dare this man – this person, who had appeared out of nowhere – think that he could enchant her in whatever way he wanted?
I don’t think so, she thought angrily.I can resist you. I am a witch, I was raised by witches, and no one plays with me. I am nobody’s puppet.
Standing at the bar, Faye imagined herself cocooned in a black cloak with a hood; she imagined drawing it over herself, and closing the seven energy centres in her body, the rainbow-hued chakras that everyone had, head to groin. Instantly, she felt better, more grounded. For good measure she imagined tree roots growing out of her feet and down through the sticky wooden floor of the bar and into the dark Edinburgh earth.
Now grounded, she let herself look at Finn again: he was just as beautiful, otherworldly, even. His hair was a lighter blonde in the stage lights, and the horse tattoo on his side seemed to writhe with the music.
‘Aish. We should go and get the train,’ she shouted to her friend, knowing somehow that it would be dangerous for her and Aisha to stay at the pub and get sucked in to whatever magic Dal Riada were weaving on stage. Aisha already looked half hypnotised again; Faye shook her arm. ‘Aish. Come on. We need to go. Avoid the crowd when they finish.’
It was an excuse, but Aisha nodded, looking confused.
As Faye looked up to the stage one last time, she had the impression that Finn was searching for her. His blue-green eyes scanned the crowd, but she could tell that he hadn’t seen her.
The defence was working, then.
Faye needed to take back some control. Her visions with Finn had been intensely pleasurable. But she needed clarity. How and what was happening? She wouldn’t know by allowing herself to get pulled under, into whatever bizarre, shared fantasy they were having.
Faye raised her hands to her long auburn fringe. Though she was only wearing an imaginary black robe, her hands grasped the edge of where the hood would be, and she brought her loose fists down in front of her face, as if to veil herself completely.
The music pooled around her in sharp, quick drifts, like snow; Finn had brought the flute to his lips again and the female singer with the dark hair in so many plaits keened a gentle melody over it. Faye’s heart surged; the tune was haunting yet mournful, and she felt an overwhelming longing take her over, though she could not have explained exactly what she was yearning for. It was as if she was homesick or longing for a love she had never lost.
‘Come on, Aish.’ She steered her friend out of the bar, and as the door closed behind them, Faye felt the spell break again. She stamped her feet on the pavement.Come on, she thought.Come back to earth, Faye.
‘You okay?’ she asked her friend, who looked a little dazed.
‘I’m okay. That was…strange,’ Aisha said, hugging her coat around her.
‘It was. An experience, to be sure. But not one I’m sure I’d like to repeat.’ Faye frowned.
He has no power over me, she thought as they walked away.Finn Beatha, you have no power over me. Iresist your enchantments, whatever they are.
Faye pulled the imaginary black robe tight around herself.
Her grandmother had taught her the first rule of spellcraft, when she was a child and just learning her first spells, learning about the elements: air, water, fire and earth, and the fifth element of spirit, which was a combination of all of those things. Later, when Faye was older, Grandmother had taught her about the planetary forces, the stars, the powers beyond the earth and beyond earth, air, fire and water that made up all of life in this realm, too. Those were the important basics. But there were rules, and the first rule wasBe sure.
To work a spell, the first thing to know was that you would likely get what you asked for. But, did you really want it? Grandmother had taught her to look inside herself, and think,If I got what I thought I wanted, would I be happy?
Faye had asked for a lover, and one had appeared. But it was so far beyond strange – this wasn’t what she had asked for. She had wanted someone normal, nice, available. She hadn’t asked for some kind of astral-plane headfuck.
This wasn’t what I wanted, she thought as she and Aisha walked away from the pub.How is this anywhere near what anyone would want?
Be careful for what you ask for: you might get it,her grandmother’s voice rang in her head.And what will you do then, my darling? What will you do now?
7
