Heritage Bound

Smoke, Sex, and Beer Part 1

I could hear the colors in the air humming. The blues, greens, reds, and yellows sang with energy as I attempted to manipulate them. The air around me swirled and the wind in the room picked up. My chanting grew louder as I neared the end of the incantation; it looked as though the spell would succeed this attempt.

My fingertips began to tingle as the magic in me spread from my hands, down my arms, to the rest of my body. I tensed as the energy pulsed through me, my skin throbbing from the power. The air turned electric, and the colors spiralling in front of me began to spark. My muscles relaxed as I let the magic take control. I could feel the power in the room grow stronger as the energy and magic in everything in my vicinity was being utilized for this spell. It all came together inside of me. I shook with energy. The words I spoke, while now only a whisper, became electrified. Magic seeped from my breath and into the colors billowing in the air. It was almost as though the spell itself was whispering to me, telling me that I would finally accomplish the goal of the incantation: to create a doorway - one only I could see - to anywhere in the world.

"Oh, just give it up already. This is one of the hardest lessons in the book to master. You're never going to get it," Lorelei said in a superior tone. She had been perched on the doorway to her room, silently watching me. My back was to her, but I could tell that she was rolling her eyes at me. The heel on her boot clicked against the doorframe, indicating her boredom.

Startled, I jumped slightly. "You're such a pessimist, you know that?" I asked her, sighing and shooting her a sideways glance. "Do you just not want me to get ahead of you in our studies? Is that why you're so intent on interrupting me?" The colors had dissipated and I could feel the power draining from me and back into the sources it came from. It was as though something had been pressing lightly on my skin, and slowly it was releasing it's grip on me, starting at my center and spreading out. The feeling was simultaneously unnerving and relaxing.

I became increasingly aware of my surroundings as the colors clouding my vision went away. The sun shining shining into Lorelei's room cast a bright light on part of the dark blue blanket, causing it to look stripped. My eyes traveled from the bed down to the hardwood floors, slowly taking in everything around me in an attempt to fully bring myself back to reality. I took in the plain white walls, which were a stark difference from the dark brown floors. The clock on the wall ticked quietly as I took in the intricate designs laced across the glass surface. I turned, facing the other side of the room, and took in Lorelei's closet. For such a large room, her closet was quite small. My eyes saw the burst of colors coming from the open door, and my vision began to cloud again, the colors returning in my eyes, but not in the air.

Lorelei got up from her perch on the door frame and strode over to the desk I was working at. "I know, and I take great pride in my pessimism," she said, as I continued to scan the room. She had chosen to ignore the rest of my question. "I hope you're fine with it. And if you're not... well, too bad." She took a seat on the edge of the desk that I was working on, staring down at the spell that I would have to start over.

"I guess it's a good thing that I don't care, then, right?" I said to her as I turned back to the desk and began to sprinkle the crushed pixie wings over the now empty bowl in front of me. The previous ingredients had coalesced into the colors in the air; as those disappeared, the ingredients did too.

"You bet your ass it is," She said, smirking. Her position on the desk made it so that she was breathing directly down my neck.

"It would be extremely nice if you would, oh, I don't know, go away," I said to her, annoyed that she wouldn't leave me be to get this right for once. She insisted on bothering me as I performed the spell, giving me no peace and quiet. It was lessening my focus on what I was doing, which was the only issue with the spell.

"Well then," She said, standing up and walking towards her closet. "What should I wear tonight? I was thinking something sultry but not slutty," She began to rifle through her closet, picking up outfit after outfit and throwing it on her bed, looking for something that she would eventually describe as "perfect" and then end up throwing out the next day because she hated it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my thoughts more on the spell I was performing than the conversation we were having.

"You know, something hot but not too hot. Something that'll make Devin go just a little crazy but not jump me," The clothes hangers clicked together and the sound of fabrics slipping off plastic filled the room.

"No, I mean what's tonight?" Pausing and turning to face Lorelei, I stated "Do you really think I care what would make Devin jump you? Your sex life isn't something I'd like to get involved in," I hoped the slight disgust I was feeling was evident on my face.

Lorelei snorted and stated "Of course you care, sweetie! What else are best friends for?"

"Not for telling stories of what you and your boyfriend do in your bedroom," I turned back to my spell, trying to get the picture of Lorelei and Devin, her boyfriend of two years, out of my head - unsuccessfully.

"But that's the best part of having a best friend! Who else would I talk to about stuff like that?" She bounded over to me and held a dress to my face, pushing herself in between myself and the desk. "What do you think of this? Too revealing?" Lorelei danced a little in an attempt to show off how the dress would look.

"Way too revealing."

"Hmm. Well, I'll find something else then," She looked slightly disappointed as she treaded back to her closet, placing the dress back on a hanger. "You didn't answer my question, you know."

I decided to stop attempting to complete the spell. It seemed Lorelei would not give me the time to do so. "What question?" I asked, flopping down on her bed.

"Do you know what you're wearing tonight?"

"You didn't answer my question," I grabbed her pillow and hugged it to my chest. It suddenly struck me that I was exhausted; the magick had taken the energy I had out of me.

"What question?" Lorelei turned to me and smiled, seeing that I was half asleep. She clapped. "Hey, honey, wake up! We need to discuss what you'll be wearing tonight. I was thinking something.. Well, revealing. You need to let loose a little, have some fun, maybe hook up with so-."

"Never, ever happening," I groaned, rolling off the bed. "I'm not you, Lorelei."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She walked over to me and stood in front of my feet, crossing her arms.

"It means I'm not you. You wear clothes like that. I prefer pajamas."

"Well, sweetie, tonight you're just going to have to deal with dressing like me," Lorelei threw the clothes she had been holding at me and walked back over to her closet. Her boots clicked against the hardwood floors and the sound reverberated through the room, effectively waking me up.

"You still have yet to answer my question," I said, getting up and going to lean on the wall next to her closet.

"What question?" She said, distractedly.

"What's tonight?" At that Lorelei turned to face me, hitting me with her hair. "Thanks for that," I said, sarcastically.

"What do you mean what's tonight?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I mean what I say, Lorelei," I rolled my eyes at her and yawned.

She pursed her lips. "How can you not remember what tonight is?" I shrugged. "Daniella! It's Devin's birthday! How could you forget that?" She wined to me, waving her arms around.

I shrugged again. "It's not like he's my boyfriend."

A/N: Hey Guys! So, what do you think of my newest work? This story is my baby right now, and I'm still figuring out how it'll progress, haha. 

I have high hopes for this, so please, leave feedback! I'm hoping to send this to a literary agent, once I finish writing it, edit it, have critics look over it, edit it some more, and repeat, lol. 

The next parts are coming soon, so keep an eye out! 

xoxo - Janalie