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saw, everything she thought she knew about magic changed!
* * *
Damon didn t knock, didn t call out a greeting, and yet the door opened wide. Nikki
felt him take her hand tightly in his grip as he whispered, There is nothing to worry
about just relax.
She looked up at him, and his smile though reassuring held something back. She
realized that her breath had been stuck in her throat and that her entire body was tense
with concern. Things were not right here & everything was off kilter. Black was white,
and up was down &
Nonsense, she told herself, steady now &
They stepped inside, and immediately Nikki s disorientation multiplied. As though off
in the distance she heard the door at their backs close with a snap. She turned and
watched with disbelief as the bolt moved into place & without the benefit of a human
assistance & at least not in the usual way.
Damon had dropped her fingers and now had his arm around her and his hand held her
waist as he pressed her to him tightly. She did not sense any nervousness on his part, but
then, she wouldn t would she? Damon never seemed discombobulated, but she & oh
she couldn t be actually visualizing what lay before her could she?
Ahead was definitely not the small floor plan that should have met her. From the
outside, this was but a small cottage. However, the inside the inside was totally not
what she expected.
Instead, the interior was spread out before her, wide, long, dark, and huge. The open
room presented itself in castle style with stone walls, stone flooring, and a huge cathedral
and wood-beamed ceiling throughout. The place was dimly lit with candles in chandeliers
and candelabras everywhere. Some torches gave off additional light from sconces along
the stone walls. There was a maze of artifacts and odd-looking tables, red velvet
upholstered wooden chairs, benches, storage trunks of ancient styles and various sizes. In
the midst of all this was an enormous black iron cauldron, sitting on a grate over an open
flame that came from a deep well in the middle of the room.
At the far end of the long, cluttered chamber was an enormous fireplace that seemed to
take up half a wall, and that wall seemed to go on into infinity. And if all that wasn t
enough to confound, in the midst of all this fantastic conglomeration stood a tall, lean
man no, not just a man but a man dressed in a Halloween costume that depicted a
wizard!
Nikki s mouth dropped as she watched him unbend from the huge iron kettle whose
girth was enough to hold two men. He gave the contents of the kettle a last stir with a
long, black ladle and smiled broadly at them.
Nikki couldn t speak, and she wanted to, very much. She wanted to tug at Damon s
jacket and ask him what it was she had stepped into.
Well, she knew what she had stepped into, so what she really wanted to know was
why the hell they weren t rushing out.
Wizard had replaced the word man almost as soon as Nikki s brain had managed to
accept what her eyes presented to her. She noted that this wizard wore a blue, pointed hat
that sparkled with tiny, luminous stars throughout its structure over a head of long white
hair. The same white, thick hair created eyebrows above sparkling blue eyes, framed in
white lashes. A mustache and long beard of white covered most of his face, but the
cheeks were rosy, and as he turned, a smile lit first in his iridescent blue eyes and then
curved his lips. He started forward, his blue robes swishing around him as he approached.
Nikki thought for a moment she had stumbled into a Harry Potter movie and couldn t
speak. Had she fallen and hit her head? Was she dreaming? She did in fact tug at
Damon s jacket and whisper his name. Er & Damon & Damon & It was all her mouth
could form.
He frowned at her. Hush and wait.
The man in the wizard s costume came at them hands outstretched, and all at once it
was obvious to Nikki that he not only knew Damon but was fond of him as well. My
boy, finally you have come to visit an old man?
Damon laughed and took the tall, elderly man s hand in his and gave him a hearty
shake. Now, Rysdale, you know I was here just a few months ago.
The wizard patted Damon on the back and said softly, It seems an eternity & He
turned to Nikki. Now, who is this?
I would think you would know, said Damon
The wizard laughed and said, I do, and I still want a formal introduction. It isn t
every day that I get to meet a slayer and one of this child s caliber.
Well then, Rysdale, old friend, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Nikki
Walker.
The wizard took her timidly outstretched hand and bent over it before he engulfed and
folded it within the crook of his arm. Finally I have been waiting for you for weeks.
Have you? was all Nikki could think to reply.
He chuckled. Indeed, indeed & He turned to Damon. You haven t told her a thing
about me, have you? The poor child is totally bewildered, and isn t that just like you!
Damon smiled, and Nikki thought there was just the hint of a sheepish look in his
black pearl eyes. No, I thought it best for her to meet, observe, and learn for herself. He
shrugged. She wouldn t have believed me if I told her. I thought it better to show her.
Rysdale s blue eyes twinkled at Damon. Perhaps you are right. He turned back to
Nikki and said softly, We shall discuss all of this over tea & and sweet cakes. Yes, we
must have sweet cakes with icing & He turned and called out, Did you hear that,
Charm, my love?
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