Crescent Bound (21 page)

Lisa and Dawson appear next,
Dawson
is in his black tuxedo, but his mask is outlined in gold and white, matching Lisa’s mask.  Lisa’s gown is sheer-like, similar to mine, but she has golden swirls throughout her dress.  It drapes extremely low down the middle of her back and shows her crimson witch’s crescent. 

She spins around us enthusiastically
.
“So, what do you think?” 

Beaming proudly at her
, I tell her, “I think we all look amazingly gorgeous.”

I hand Marc his mask
.
“Your mask came from
Greece
.”  The mask is black like most of the men’s, but Marc’s has a
rich
gold inlay
ing
design which I can see now will really enhance his dark eyes.  Watching him place the mask on, it’s just like I imagined, he looks like a god
of seduction
.

I turn and say, “Let’s do this.”   Grabbing his hand gently
and usher
ing
my words quietly
to Marc, “Follow me and do what I do.”  I walk through the main doors of the mansion.

For me, walking through the threshold is like stepping into another world.  The foyer
is magnificent, deep polished r
edwood floors with story c
arved m
ahogany chairs surrounding the area and
in the middle stands a massive o
ak table.

White
candles glow softly along the r
edwood shelves which illuminate the stunnin
g stain glass windows.  On the o
ak table are numerous long-stemmed tapered candles.  We all take a candle.  Walking into the next room I see two f
ull size stained glass embellished
doors.  The doors open into the grand hallway.  Once in the hallway, there are stairs to the left side made completely from primavera.

We walk through the doors and another room appears as
a
mystic music drifts around us and I catch sight of a
white grand piano beside a huge
onyx fireplace.  Continuing on we soon come to a colossal size parlor room.  In the center of the room is another oak table, but this one has a large crimson pillar candle burning in the center.  Walking over to it we take turns lighting our candles.

We all repeat the chant,
“
Blessed be all and the one.  By calling the moon and the gazing sun. By invoking the spirits from an eternal rest, pay honor to those that will grant our request.  By the strength of the forest an energy of water, the heart of the flame and the light of the altar, do what ye will, but harm ye none. So mote it be.
”

Marc falls right in with us and repeats the chant perfectly.   A middle
-
age
d
and very beautiful brunette shifts in front of us and holds her delicate hand out to me.  I shake her hand and then I lean over to kiss her on the chee
k.  She speaks graciously to me,
“I am Ka
mila, dear Alyssa, daughter of L
ord Worthington, please come.”  She gives a slight bow and turns swiftly away.

I feel her energy charging the air and surrounding me as I quickly keep pace beside her. Just being in her presence, I know she is an extremely gifted and powerful witch.  We continue on down a long hallway finally approaching
an extravagantly carved door
.  Kamila raises her dainty hands making a slig
ht and simple wave and the hefty door
open
s
on her unspoken command.

The door leads
into a narrow and dim staircase winding downward into a dazzling ballroom below.  Two large onyx fireplaces align opposite walls and crackle with warmth.

Flickering candles outline the entire area and the natural light makes the room feel romantic a
s everyone mingles about
.  The melody of the music is soporific.  Everyone begins dancing together in perfect sy
nc; the women all have ravishingly
decadent masks on with white flowing gowns and the men in their black
tuxedos with their own equally enticing
masks.

The men are dancing aro
und the women in a very tempting manner
.  Kamila instructs Lisa and Megan to place the
ir candles on the south wall as
it represents the element of air
,
as they do. 
Dawson
now places his on the west wall for the element of water.  She then takes Marc’s candle as well as my own and she walks with us towards the far northern wall.  She places each candle on an elaborate iron sconce.

My fire element suddenly stirs inside me, as if Kamila’s fire element is summoning my own. I tenderly squeeze Marc’s hand before I release, I know what is coming next.  She turns to me, taking both my hands and holds them up high above our heads.  I feel her fire burn through me vigorously.  The surge of my own fire radiating within, letting it go, we both come alive with a blazing trail of fire swirling quickly around our bodies.

She positions our hands together out to the candles, illuminating brilliant flames dance from our hands lighting each one.  Wrapping her hands around mine a
nd in a tone of melody she says,
“
The call of the opposite is strong, when sacrifice does not seem to be a price, ye will rejoice and sing of sorrow as day becomes night within thy fire
. 
Blessed be, daughter of Lord Worthington
.”  Our fire slowly dies out and in a blink of an eye, Kamila shifts into
nothing but an air of
smoke.

I whisper back to her, “
Blessed be
.”  This is the second time I have ever pa
rticipated in an actual Imbolc c
elebration.  I have never heard of anyone saying a chant such as Kamila’s.  Before I can dwell on it too much, Marc’s hand moves me to the dance floor.  The music is slow enough that we can dance and n
ot bump into anyone
. Beguilingly,
I wrap my arms around his neck and sm
ile up at him with complete
adoration. 

I can see
his eyes
hold
a slight provocative look along with that
wicked
grin of his. “That’s definitely one way to light c
andles,” h
e says smiling
even
more. 

I give a
comely
look around the room sensing the energy from the other witches.
“Welcome to the witch world,” I r
eply back with my own unreserved
smile.

A low
laugh
rumbles
from
him as he
regards
the room taking it all in.  “Alyssa, it doesn’t matter what world I’m in, as long as we’re togeth
er.
”
H
is lips brush lightly against mine, commanding a need
.  I feel the tingling sensation
run all over my body
as his soft lips touch mine
, surrendering to his
ambitiousness. I forget where we are and
lose myself completely in the
enviable
passion.

I b
r
eak away from the kiss, and gaze
into his
inextinguishable
eyes taking in everything I
possibly can.  He looks so striking, so impressive
.  I don’t think that “gorgeous” even comes close to describing him.  Lisa suddenly startles us when she and then
Dawson
’s form
materializes
are right beside us.

“This place is amazi
ng; I believe it’s the best yet,”
Lisa says as she and Dawson dance around us.

“This house really enhances the celebra
tion,” I counter
and then ask, “Do you remember all the secret passageways in this house?”

“Are you kidding me, of course I re
member,” Lisa titter
s and glances over to Marc
.
“A few weeks ago we researched this mansion down to the final blueprints once we heard the Imbolc was going to b
e held here.” She smiles unabashedly
over to me as if she and I now hold the secrets of the universe.

Dawson
quickly announces with a lawless
grin, “After the ritual begins
, I’
m grabbing
this beautiful woman right here.
”
H
e pulls her closer to him and continues, “
A
nd making a run for it.” 

I pout my lower lip out and bat my lashes at him
.
“But
Daw
son
you’re going to miss all the
fun.”  Marc looks inquisitively through his tantaliz
ing mask at me.  Megan suddenly
materializes next to us dancing provocatively with someone we don’t recognize.

She spins on her heels
with an inhuman grace
and before she is whisked away
she
sarcastically
spiels
, “You kids have fun.
”
Then she
gives us one of her sultry
Megan wink
s
, and shifts away with her mysterious partner.

We keep dancing with the music. I keep my vision locked on
Marc, studying the wa
y his mask outlines his masculine sculpted
features.  He
notably watches me too, with a curt nod he queries
, “Why are you looking at me like that, like you’re expecting to lose something.”  I know how the celebration goes and what’s com
ing up.  I am extremely skittish
about letting him go.  I move even closer to him and tenderly kiss him on the lips.

The music changes and I look in his mystifying eyes and tell him
seductively,
“Find me and you can have me.”  All the candles go out instantly.  It’s completely dark, as dark as a starless sky.

All the women in the room shift, as I do, to different areas of the room.  I overhear
Dawson
quickly explaining to Marc about the ritual.  I shift to the stairs because, sadly, I don’t have night vision.  I’m really trying to remember just where I’ve been and the layout of the room.  I don’t want to move too far.

I hear Kamila’s enrapturing voice speak through the darkness.  “All males rejoice in the celebration of the Imbolc.  Take heart and seek your mate.  It is life and love that are important, the bringing of new life and new love.  May
your heart be rewarded tonight.
”
H
er hands alight with fire as she waves her arms out and only every other candle becomes alive with light.  The ambiance of the room glimmers with the soft splendor of candlelight as the
music changes again to a song called, ‘The Mummer’s D
ance
’
.

I not
ice the candles illuminating a
fountain which stands in the
center of the room, the water cascading
down into a small, s
hallow crystal clear pool embedded
inside
the floor.  The music sets a mystical and enchanting tone for the dance to begin.  All of the female witches shift back to the rose colored dance floor.

We move around each other, taking our places on the floor as the men stand back to watch.  Our pure white gowns shimmer as the glowing fountain enhances the form of our bodies.  We move forward slowly raising our hands above our heads, and then clap them together.

Our movements are spellbinding as no one stands out from the other; we are as one, spinning, twirling around allowing our dresses to flow freely.  Suddenly we stop,
and then
move our bodies rhythmically to the left and
to the
right.  Placing our hands in a praying manner we move our bodies in soft circular rhythms of expression as we dance lasciviously.  Half of us spin and shift ourselves off the dance floor.

We then find a hidden place in hopes our mate will seek us out. We can shift any where within the room, but are not allowed to remove our masks.  We roam slowly around until the one looking for us, finds us.  It’s basically a “hide and see
k” the witches’
way.

Now half the men move back onto the dance floor.  They begin dancing in a provocative way with another female, but he can not touch her, unless she is his mate, and believe me, they will know. The couple can either stay on the dance floor or leave to another room for a more private setting.

I s
hift off the floor and move attentive
ly around a group of tall columns.  Looking through the dim light of the room, I think I see Marc by one of the fireplaces.  I move swiftly, but gracefully th
r
ough the dance floor, when someone starts to dance with me.