It was pitch black as they walked down the street together, back toward the trees. Rika's apartment was on the edge of town, which put them within a short brisk walk of the forest. They loomed taller with every step, lit only by the crescent moon hanging in the sky. Alden felt his blood pumping faster through his chest. Anticipation hung heavy in the air, like a coiled cat ready to spring. It took him a moment to realize what was strange with the setting.
"All the lights are are off," he commented aloud.
"Yup. The town voted way back to start turning off the lights at night completely. Since there's no real traffic around here, they pushed it through pretty easily. The only lights that stay on are near the train and the sheriff's office." Rika pointed up, and Alden's eyes followed.
The stars were laid out before him, more dense and detailed than he'd ever imagined coming from a much larger city. He could see the arms of the galaxy twisting through the deep black and the twinkling of millions of tiny specks. It was an overwhelming, awe-inspiring sight, one that sent shivers down his spine and caught his throat when he tried to speak.
"Made the right choice, eh?" Rika said, taking his hand. He flinched at the contact and the burst of electricity through his system, but she ignored it and pulled him forward. "Come on, I don't want you to be late."
"Late to what, exactly?" Alden spoke finally, curiosity overcoming his stupor.
"Something special." Rika gestured to the trees that now stood only a few feet away. He could see a clearing only a few hundred feet forward, lit by an unknown source. "Go in there and see for yourself. You think you can find your way back to the apartment on your own?"
"You're not coming?" Alden said nervously.
"Nah, they wouldn't want me there. You'll be fine, just watch. Don't talk to anyone."
"...Okay."
"I'll wait for you right here, then," Rika said, taking up a perch on a bench nearby and pulling out her phone. The screen, as dim as it was, seemed totally out of place compared to the canvas of stars above them.
His stomach churned in a mixture of excitement and apprehension, but Alden slowly made it his way forward nonetheless through the trees. Every step forward brought him closer to the lights, which he began to see were laid out in a wide circular clearing ahead. There was faint music wafting through the leaves, someone playing some kind of flute. As he walked forward he spotted figures through the trees, distinctive cloaks marking them out to be the members of Cinza's following. He finally emerged through the forest into the clearing, where a ritual-like arrangement awaited.
Her followers stood around the edges, hoods drawn low to hide their faces and patiently watching their leader. Cinza stood in the center, and unlike the rest, her hood was down, brown hair spilling out around her face. Her eyes were cast upward to the stars with an expression of rapture, their reflections dancing in her wide pupils with such intensity that Alden could see it from the edge of the tree line.
She lifted her arms from her sides. As she did, eight white stars rose from the grass around her, perfectly in sync with the charms dangling from her wrists.
Alden took a deep breath in excitement. Cinza's head snapped downward. Her eyes locked with his own. Alden felt like he was entranced, as if she held his entire head firmly with only the power of her gaze, but this was very different from what he had last experienced in the forest. Cinza's gaze was full of warmth and mystery, the potential of the universe pouring out from her eyes. The corners of her mouth twisted upward in a grin. Cinza shook her head, causing her brown hair to swing back and forth.
Alden gasped. Her hair began to shift in color, a shining line travelling down from her head to the tips of each strand, becoming a pure light silver-grey. Cinza shot him a playful wink before returning her gaze to the stars once more.
She snapped her arms upward, opening her palms to the sky, and began to sway in place. The eight orbs she'd summoned were joined by a web of them, forming the same eight pointed star that hung from the silver necklace now flashing on her chest as it caught and reflected the many lights dancing around it. Cinza lowered one hand, still wide open as if she intended to grasp at something.
She spun a quick circle, and the star began to rotate in place. The lights grew in intensity, and Alden lost track of the girl swaying in the center, directing the stars as if she were conducting an orchestra. His vision finally freed from her intense hold, Alden looked back at the sky, and gasped even louder.
The sky itself swayed in time to Cinza's motions. The stars twirled and spun through the heavens in time to her hands. Alden could only watch for a moment before he felt a small, warm hand grasp his firmly. His eyes shot back down to find Cinza suddenly directly in front of him, pulling him forward into the field of twinkling stars on the surface.
He had no idea what he was doing. Alden had never danced in his life, and had no knowledge of magic beyond what he had seen that day. Yet here he was, with an impossibly beautiful girl pulling him through a field of lights that were moving through him as if he were nothing more than air. The entire sky seemed to be rotating around just him and his impromptu partner. Cinza gave him a small smile. For the first time Alden saw her as a vulnerable, delicate person instead of the ethereal, unhinged leader she'd first appeared to be. Now she was just a small barefoot girl in a grey robe, inviting him to share with her something rapturous. She took hold of him and lead him through the clearing, swaying and spinning and twirling about together.
He felt something move inside him every time one of the spheres crossed their path. It was an impossible warmth that he was desperate to feel again, and yet he somehow knew that pursuing them directly wouldn't give him the same result. Only by following this girl and letting her lead him through the dance would he be permitted to experience such a sensation. The bracelets and charms adorning her wrists slid across his skin as she pulled him through the dance, her cloak fluttering in the light breeze flowing through the clearing. Alden felt as if the dance could have gone on forever and he could have been content.
Cinza gave him another smile, then suddenly released him. Alden stumbled backward and found himself outside the circle, back in the same spot as he had started.
Suddenly, she was on the opposite side of the circle, and one of her followers clung to her, their gray robes making them almost indistinguishable through the maze of lights that filled the forest. Another cloaked figure offered Alden a hand, helping him back to his feet.
"You're lucky," the young man murmured.
"Huh?"
"She doesn't just pick anyone. You must be special."
"Oh," Alden replied. He couldn't come up with anything more interesting to respond with. He stared at Cinza and her new partner—a girl with thick wavy crimson hair who had to be in high school—as they pivoted through the spinning web of lights.
"Want to stick around? We'll have something to eat later."
Alden was about to accept when Rika's face popped into his mind, waiting patiently only a few hundred feet away. Her warning rang clearly through his ears. As inexperienced as he was, Alden still knew how to recognize a cult when he saw one. With a last longing look at the girl dancing in the lights, Alden turned and sprinted out of the clearing before he couldn't resist any longer.
Rika was waiting for him just outside the trees.
"Good shit, huh?" she asked, grinning.
"That was..." Alden panted, out of breath between the sprint and the dance.
"As weird as Cinza and her groupies might be, they know how to put on a show. You get pulled in?" Alden nodded. "Don't worry about you being 'special' or whatever. They tell that to everyone. Newbies always get to jump in." Rika looked uncomfortable as Alden's face fell. "Sorry. Still, I thought you should see something we can do that doesn't involve shooting fire and lightning at each other."
Alden nodded again. "It was breathtaking."
"No kidding, you're winded as hell," Rika teased. "So, wanna learn magic?" she asked again, but this time, under the starlight and with the lights still dancing in the trees behind her, Alden didn't hesitate for a moment.
"Does it hurt?" he asked casually. He didn't care what the answer was. His mind was already made up.
Alden Bensen was going to learn magic.