Someone had stopped to help but kept walking around the car looking for her and asking where she'd gone, hearing but not seeing her. When she stepped out of the flowers, the old man had shrieked and ran to his car like he'd seen a ghost. Sage had stood there, baffled. She hadn't realized her distress had made her invisible among the dandelions until she'd done it in class during a test. There had been a plant in the corner by her desk and she was leaning back in her chair, her arm and shoulder swinging into the middle of it. She hadn't studied and was stressed out. Next thing she knew, her professor was demanding someone tell her where she'd gone.
Somehow, she could disappear around plants and flowers, but only when she was stressed. It was another reason why she wasn't afraid of coming out here alone. No one could find her if she was scared enough to use her magic.
If only she understood it and knew what all her abilities were. That was her other purpose. What good were powers if she couldn't control them?
She turned down the dirt lane that led to a vacant house. Though condemned with no one living there, she thought she'd heard someone near the house once. It could be a squatter. If they didn't know she was in the woods, they wouldn't bother her. Before coming too close, she pulled off the road into the dark woods, far enough that no one would see her car if they were headed to that empty house, parked and cut her lights. Grabbing her bag and her flashlight, she made her way to the clearing she favored.
Sage sat on a stump and ate a sandwich as the sky turn from pink and orange sunset to the dark blue of night. After packing up her trash from dinner, she set up a large circle with thirteen white pillar candles, lighting them as she placed them on the ground. The soft glow from the candles paired nicely with the nearly full moon above, visible through the trees. The full moon would begin on the night after Halloween, with a lunar eclipse on top of it. She'd wanted to do the summoning spell then, but she had this strange gut feeling she should be out here tonight. When a strong feeling hit her in the gut like that, it was useless to try to ignore it.
So, here she was.
With her bag outside the circle, she turned off the flashlight and kicked off her flip flops before pulling out a ceremonial dagger. She'd memorized the chant. When she returned to the middle of the circle, she winced as she pricked her left thumb on the sharp blade. It looked so much easier in the movies, but it took a bit of force to willingly cut oneself. Dark liquid beaded up, and she let a drop fall to the north, south, east, and west. She tossed the dagger out of the circle toward her bag and inhaled, straightening her shoulders.
"Goddess Gaia of earth, hear me and heed my request." She raised her arms to the sky, closed her eyes, and smiled. "I am a child of the earth, here to pay tribute through dance. If you approve of my offering, send a spirit of the forest who's worthy to accept all I have to give under the light of the moon."
The words were silly, pure fantasy, yet an electric charge of need coursed through her. By the goddess, she was horny. She imagined some phantom figure appearing in her circle, ravishing her, and she trembled. What would she do if it happened? Maybe she was sick to fantasize about sex with a stranger. Maybe there was something wrong with her. What she wanted was beyond comprehension, and every rational part of her brain begged her to think about what she was doing.
She couldn't. Something had drawn her to this place, had given her powers. She was but an instrument of some higher purpose, and she would see this through. Perhaps it would provide answers, and maybe it would only provide a one-night stand. Either way, she was good with the possibilities.
Sage thought of Persephone picking flowers when Hades had torn out of the Underworld, driven by lust and longing for the light he saw within her. What Sage craved was a lover she couldn't name. She'd know him when she saw him, and anyone else wouldn't do. She needed a Hades to her Persephone. Demanded that life grant her this. Some grand adventure of lust and sex and love and danger that knew no bounds through the good and bad.
Sage began to dance, undulating slowly as the cool air caressed her body through the thin fabric. Her nipples were hard, the movement of cloth sending delicious shivers through her. She'd end up masturbating in the backseat of her car most likely when nothing came of this, but dancing in the dark woods felt natural, like she was meant to do it. The movements lived in her blood, her heart. Her soul.
She didn't know how long she danced, but she didn't stop. Desire overwhelmed her, exquisite all the same. She became one with the earth, a vessel for Gaia, the primordial goddess.
Sage opened her eyes and stared directly into his.
2
When the call rolled over into voicemail for what seemed like the hundredth time, Adonis nearly threw the cell phone at the wall instead of leaving a message. "Where are you, Hermes? This isn't funny anymore."
