The Next Step

~3~

It's like I'm stepping through a wall of gelatin, and just as soon as I feel it suction closed behind me, it peels away from my face and reveals a strange sort of living room in front of me. Griffin and Nixon guide me forward and I take in the odd new surroundings.

It's a large space, but the decor is eclectic at best. The walls are dark grey, and are covered with bookshelves of varying sizes and shapes that emit a hazy glow. There's a red velvet couch pressed against one wall that looks like it would be at home in a seventeenth century brothel, and a beat up leather recliner sitting opposite it that appears to have been snatched straight from an early 90's sitcom, granny square blanket and all. Another couch is pressed up against the far wall, sandwiched between two mismatched book cases, but it's an unremarkable beige, and looks like it might be one of those sleeper sofas.

Piles of books and pizza boxes seem to double as end tables, and I raise my eyebrows as Griffin curses and snatches a pair of silky black boxers off of an open box beside him.

"Damn it, Baz," he shouts toward the rest of the residence. "For the last time, keep your underwear out of the common areas!"

Laughter rolls down the hallway, and a beautiful, naked man trails languidly behind it. Nixon's hand slaps over my eyes, but not before I get a full view of the laughing Adonis. His deeply tanned, perfectly sculpted abs are seared into my mind, along with his...other...perfect features. His wavy, toffee hair, tousled from sleep, dips across his shimmering hazel eyes, and every pore of him oozes sex.

"Basil," Nixon grumbles from beside me. "Cover yourself."

I hear the popping of several joints as the Adonis comes closer.

"Why?" He asks in a sweet tenor. There's a rustling of fabric and the snapping of elastic.

Nixon's hand leaves my face, and I'm greeted this time with an only mostly naked man. He seems to have taken the boxers and put them on, but they don't exactly cover much.

"Because this is a shared residence," Nixon sighs, "and we have company."

I get the impression this is a repeated conversation. Basil grins and flicks Nixon's cravat.

"Not everyone is as much of a prude as you," he laughs, turning his gaze to me. "Right, sweetheart."

My mouth goes dry as he focuses his charm my way, and lust rolls off of him in waves. He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, and it shoots electricity straight to my core. Griffin clears his throat, and when my eyes automatically look up toward the sound, he taps his glasses and nods to the man holding my hand.

It takes a moment for me to clear my mind enough to understand, but when I do, I snatch my hand from him and take a sharp step backward.

"Knock it off," I growl, realizing that he was messing with me kind of like Griffin had earlier. "Take your mojo somewhere else, Casanova. My emotions are off limits."

His eyes go wide, and he straightens up in surprise. Griffin smirks, and Nixon wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes.

"You are a treasure, Aurelia," Nixon sings happily. He guides me over to the beige couch and we both sit. Griffin perches on the armrest beside me, and the mostly naked man follows.

"Red, I'd like to introduce you to our other roommate, Basil." Griffin waves a hand toward the third man, who does a ridiculous little curtsy, holding the edges of his boxers out like a skirt. "He works with the agency as well, and he won't use his magnetism on you again."

Griffin's voice goes hard at the end, and Basil dips his head apologetically to me.

"Sorry, luv," he offers, and I catch the hint of an accent. "I'm not as good as these two with my control when I first wake. I haven't been at it as long."

He seems sincere, and I nod once in acceptance.

"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely curious about his excuse.

I turn to Nixon and ask, "What does he mean?"

Basil opens his mouth to answer, but is silenced by Griffin shaking his head sharply beside me. This infuriates me, and I jump to my feet and spin on him.

"Don't you dare think for a second about lying to me," I hiss. "I have followed you, without complaint, through the strangest day of my life, and I want answers."

I stomp my foot like a petulant child, and flames shoot up around me, causing me to squeal and jump backwards into Basil's arms.

"What the f-" I am cut off by a deluge of water before I can continue. The water slides across my body in an almost sentient manner before retreating into Basil's fingertips a moment later. I raise my arms and see that I'm completely dry. I can still smell the char from the Fire, but there's no evidence of it or the dousing water that followed.

Tears prickle in my eyes, and the whole, surreal experience is my undoing. My knees give as I break out into sobs, and Basil scoops me up into his warm embrace as I cry hysterically into his firm chest.
"What," I hiccup as the tears keep pouring, "is happening," I snort in a very unladylike fashion, "to me?"

I can't stop the deluge, and while I cry, I'm carried through the house and out into a verdant, woodsy meadow. I'm lowered to the soft grass, and all three of the magical men kneel around me. A whisper in the wind catches my ear between sobs, and it swirls around me, rooting me in the serenity of nature.

I begin to calm, and a connection that I've never felt before centers inside of me. I notice that the three men have their heads lifted, and their fingertips thrust into the earth, and that familiar sounding, nonsensical words are being chanted by each of them. I take a deep breath and let the fresh air wash through me. I repeat it, and as one, they cease their chant and lower their gazes upon me.

It's beautiful.

It's terrifying.

"Welcome, daughter of the Earth and Sky," they intone in perfect harmony. Their eyes are all clouded with a pale white glow, and I shiver when I realize that it's not the guys speaking. "Harm will not find you within this embrace. Be at peace to find your strength, and prepare for when the circle breaks." The air fills with the scent of ozone and my hair lifts away from me with static. "At last, four shall become one, united."

They drop to the ground, like their puppet strings have been cut, and a blast of lightning slams down around me. It dances along my skin, invigorating, rather than hurting me, and one by one, the men rise and stare at me, wide-eyed.

It takes a minute for the electricity to absorb into my skin, but when the final spark seeps in, I feel complete.

No one speaks for another minute, and Nixon shakes his head as Basil falls backward onto the grass. Griffin replaces his mirrored glasses and mutters the understatement of the century, "Well, that was different."

***