Scribbles and Drabbles

Strings of Fate 5

Daniel stirred next to him, looking up with dazed confusion. The action had moved his hand from Terrence's back to the back of his thighs. The movement was enough to break him from the enchantment that rested over every member of the audience like a thin veil. No one would question this. They wouldn't remember it, not with any great detail.

"Terry?" A hesitate voice called.

"Hush," Terrence reached down to pat Daniel's hand while the other shielded his face from the light. As long as Daniel was calm he'd stay under the guise. It would make things a little safer for him. "Can you move the light a little?" he called, looking blind in the direction of the rafters were someone would be holding the thing. The light moved off him so it wasn't blocking all vision anymore. "Thank you." He wanted to look up and see who was controlling it but his eyes fixed on Madame X. The woman smiling pleased with herself and waiting.

"You prefer Terry?" Their voice purred as something settled into Terrence's chest.

"My friends call me that certainly," Terrence acknowledged. He should have put some protections on before coming out. He could only blame the call and the fact he'd been drinking for muddling his mind. Breaking an enchantment such as this was not going to be easy. They owned his soul. That tended to make things stick.

"We are family. Tell me, Terrence, as one who has seen our show before, have you enjoyed it so far?" She asked, a fan appearing in her hand as she gestured around the ring.

"Of course, it's impeccable as always. Can't say much about the food though," Terrence's stomach squeezed in pain again. He didn't think he was going to throw up again but his body was not happy with whatever they had consumed. "I will need to go home in the intermission."

The face paused, the smile fading as they studied him. "I will talk to Haley about that," she frowned. "And you are home, Terry. Come it is time you rejoined us." Madame X clicked her fingers. Terrence stomach twisted painfully and he was on his knees desperately not trying to throw up again but this time in the ring. The sand under his knees was hot and it took a moment for him to will everything to stay down as his body threatened to rebel against him.

Daniel yelled in surprise. Not good, the magic was broken on him. His friend would witness this completely.

"You could have walked me?" Terrence croaked once the world was still again. "I just told you about the food." He stood up on shaky legs. The world was too light at the moment, most of his focus on the pains in his torso. What little attention was left was on the woman standing a few steps away. "Unless you'd preferred the idea of me throwing up on you, Madame?"

"Not particularly." There was a flutter of fingers and the twisting stopped. His stomach shifted back to its normal position and the ache faded. "Better?"

"Much." He straightened up and let his shoulders fall to a more confidence set than the pained slumped of before."It's a cool trick, just not advisable on a bad stomach. I would prefer to return to my home regardless. This is not it."

Red eyes narrowed. They were choosing their next words carefully. "For Terrence, no. For Jaz, this is very much your home. It doesn't matter what face you wear, you belong here." You belong to me. The unspoken words echoed in space. Mixing in with a murmur the hybrids. The ones who had known him explaining to the ones who didn't who he was. The hybrid who slipped back into a human skin and escaped the net which kept them penned in.

"That's a name I haven't used in a long time. I am not him, Madame. Terrance is my birth name, I will always be Terrance."

"True, but neither can you deny you were Jaz." They trailed off, walking towards him.