Chapter 30: Nexus Point

Chapter 30: Nexus Point

On my walk back to the apartment, I read through the paper. It had a list of ingredients, a drawing of a pentagram with mathematical looking symbols in it, and, as would be proper for any insane black magic spell, a chant to go along with it. However, to my surprise, it was in English. The first task was to find a nexus point. Scratch that. The first task was to figure out what the hell a nexus point was.

It was still before sunset, so I took a detour to the local library. It was small, but still open. I nodded to the librarian at the desk as I walked past the entrance. There weren't many people around, or other "people" either. I did see one with pink skin, but she looked fairly normal. I hoped she didn't catch me staring.

I sat at one of the computer desks. It had a flat screen monitor, one of those all-in-one PCs, a small mouse, and keyboard. Once upon a time, I too had a computer, but not recently. I had to pawn it to pay rent a few months ago. I logged in under my library username. The search screen sat empty as I debated what to type in. Black magic nexus points? Creepy possessed friend removal spell? Local insane asylums?

I finally gave up and typed "nexus point". The results were pretty lame. I found a jewelry dealer, some credit card company, and the definition of nexus. After a bit of reading, I learned two things: the nexus is the center or focal point, and, from a less than reliable site, the nexus is where destiny and fate collide. I was less than impressed.

I typed in Earth nexus points, which led to ley lines, and that is where I fell down the rabbit hole. Mostly it was a bunch of pictures and hokum. I was finding very little evidence with scientific proof. My logical brain was rallying so hard against this. I was finding it hard to take any of it seriously. At one point, even the browser crashed. I think even my computer was getting flabbergasted.

I wasn't really finding what I needed. I wasn't anywhere close to a total nexus point, or whatever. All of this was just pure guessing anyways. I was just assuming where all the lines crossed was where a nexus point would be. Also, none of the maps seemed to be quite the same. One would have sections crossed over one city and then in another that crossing would be six hours away.

I did my best to find a fairly reputable looking site then just found where some lines crossed closest to me. It looked like there was a spot that had three lines in a park nearby. How very convenient. That weird creepy feeling rose again. I mean, it wasn't perfect, and maybe I was way off, but a park that close near me with three lines? This just all seemed too easy.

I logged off and went for a walk. I thought I would check out this spot before I gathered up the weird ingredients. The park was on the other side of the city, well, larger town. When I reached it, the sun was just about to set. I loved the longer days, it was only 9 pm yet the sky was still bright enough for me to see into the trees. As I walked, the trees closed in. I checked the GPS on my phone. The flip phone version of this app was in black and white, but at least it showed my current coordinates. The deeper I went, the denser the trees got until I felt completely isolated from the rest of the world. I couldn't even hear the road noise from the nearby freeway.

The GPS said I was only steps away. The trees were so thick I had to crawl between two very large tree trunks in order to continue on. I stumbled into a clearing. My breath caught in my throat. This was weird. I spun around. Six large oak trees with trunks the size of cars stood around me. They towered high above with their leaves blotting out most of the light in the sky. The roots of the trees rose from the soil like small mountains creating a barrier between this circular clearing and the rest of the forest. My chest thrummed. It felt weird. Maybe it was all in my head, but I was definitely creeped out.

I fished the paper out of my pocket. With a stick, I drew the star like shape in the dirt. I lined up each point of the six point star with a tree. It helped keep the star balanced. I started in on the symbols. I knew this one was lambda. In physics, it was considered "wavelength". I drew a few more symbols that I didn't recognize then came across another symbol. This one was delta, meaning "change in".I worked my way around the circle. When I was finished I could work out just a little bit of what this was doing, or at least if I applied physics to it. I did find this all very fascinating. I wish I could talk to someone that actually knew what this all meant. Yet, in the back of my mind, this all seemed way too familiar to me, like I'd done this before somehow.

"Remi," the word whispered off my lips before I knew what I was saying. It was funny how that seemed to be my go to name whenever I was stuck. But who else did I have?

The shadows to my left darkened. Remi stepped out. Ember buzzed around his head almost like an annoying gnat. He tilted his head as if in a nod and the firefly slowed and drifted.

"You rang?" He asked.

"Are you always just standing around watching me or do you teleport to me when you hear your name?"

"Is that really the question you want to ask?"

I shook my head. "I want to know what the symbols mean."

He shrugged. "I'm not really up to snuff on the witchy stuff."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Witchy stuff?"

He pointed around the circle. "It's just a bunch of grabligook to me. What do you think it means?"

The firefly dive-bombed his head. He leaned to the side to avoid it.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

He waved Ember away. "Beats me."

When she calmed down, I continued. "I think its calling up energy, transforming it, and transferring it."

"Well doesn't that make sense?"

I bowed my head in thought. My fingers went to my bottom lip and pinched it. "I guess if the darkness is energy, it could be calling it forth, changing it, and pushing it outward. But this symbol here." I pointed to the capital phi. "What is it doing with flux?"

"Maybe the symbols here don't mean the same as they did in your physics classes," he said as he took a few steps closer to me.

I could feel the heat from his body and that smoky campfire smell. I looked around the circle, but I couldn't seem to think clearly. I was too distracted. "Maybe you're right."

He smiled down at me. His gorgeous golden eyes drew me in. "It looks like you've got the whole circle done. What's next on the list?"

"Oh, umm..." I flattened out the paper underneath the light of my phone. "A bunch of ingredients. It says pine needles, marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers... What is this? A campfire? Do you know what is going on with this?"

Remi set a hand on my shoulder. "Why do you ask so many questions? Is the why really that important? Don't you want to do whatever it takes to save your friend?" He squeezed my shoulder gently as he answered my questions with three more.

"I mean, yes. I do want to save her. I just feel like if I knew what I was doing, I could do a better job of it." I looked up into his gold-rimmed eyes again. "I can trust you, right?"

He stared down at me with a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. It was only for a moment then it was gone. He tilted his chin down towards my ear.

"Why wouldn't you trust me?" He whispered. His hot breath tickled my ear. Hot shivers ran down my spine steaming up my insides.

My mind spun away from any thoughts about the spell and to more pressing concerns. My body was hot. It wanted him and so did I. The memory of his lips on my neck flooded back in. His soft lips were just inches away from my neck again.

I leaned in ever so slightly. I wanted to say something witty in his ear, but words failed me. I couldn't think straight. His ashy scent filled my being. I wanted to touch him.

"Kira?" He asked, jolting me out of my trance.

"Hmm? Yes?" I stepped back and busied myself with folding the paper in my hand.

"Did you have any more questions for me?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nope, that's it."

"Okay. I have to go check on my other charges. You stay out of trouble."He gave me a wink and vanished in the shadows.

I just stared at the spot for a while as twilight turned the sky darker. I blinked. What was I doing again? I felt so foggy. Right. I had to get to the store and get these things. Then, I had to figure out how to get Mila out here. I felt a little more energized now. I was going to get my friend back.