I gaped at her. My patron had just read my mind; clearly I was in far deeper than I had imagined. I’d have to watch what I thought around her.
“Can you cast a glamour?”
I blushed at her question. “No. I tried, once. It didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought.” The goddess looked hard at me for a moment, and I busied myself watching the steam waft out of my mug. I tried to focus on the shapes in the steam, willing my mind to stay blank. She squinted once, but didn’t seem inclined to pursue my train of thought. I was relieved; I didn’t want to talk about that disastrous night with Justin.
“It’s an easy enough spell, once you know what you’re doing.” Aphrodite casually tossed the candy wrapper onto my floor and rose. Her red robes shimmered and looked almost translucent, and I blushed again, trying not to look too closely at her curvy frame. Even if she was wearing a glamour, my patron was by far the most beautiful woman on the planet!
She faced me, her head cocked to one side. I felt as if I were being examined under a microscope. I glanced down at the rumpled shirt I hadn’t had a chance to change. Surreptitiously, I brushed at a stain on my jeans. I kept my eyes down, ashamed for the first time to have sworn my craft to the patron of love. There was no way she had ever been a patron to anyone as ordinary looking as me.
“Actually, Helen was quite plain before I taught her the art of glamour.” She was reading my thoughts again, and I bit my tongue before I could snap at her. The goddess shot me a long look before she began to show me the spell.
She was right; it was simple. I hadn’t done a spell that required so little planning in a long time, and I wondered why I had screwed it up when I tried to glamour my voice with Justin. On my third try, I got it right.
Aphrodite clapped approvingly. “Oh, well done. Take a look!” She handed me a copper hand mirror, delicately carved with vines and buds. The face I saw in the glass was striking. I looked at least three years older, and my skin had flushed to a rich olive complexion. Instead of my usual dull hair color, the shiny hair that framed my face was so bright it looked like it had been expertly dyed. For the first time, I agreed with the people who said I looked like my mother. I stared at myself in wonder.
“How long does it last?” My voice was eager, and Aphrodite smiled indulgently.
“Right now, without practice, it will only last as long as you are absolutely focused on being beautiful.” The face in the mirror flickered, and I wavered somewhere between selves.
“Is there any way to make it last longer?”
She nodded. “The more you do it, the easier it gets. There are ways to tie off a spell and make it permanent, but I think we’ll wait to go over those until you get the hang of the simpler things.”
I felt my heart thrill at the possibility of forever altering my average appearance, but just as suddenly a shard of guilt pricked my fantasy. I set the mirror down quickly, not wanting to watch my features morph back into my normal appearance.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but what good does it do?” Aphrodite stared at me blankly. I swallowed and tried to smile. “It’s really cool, and I appreciate you teaching this to me, but it’s just that I’ve got all this power now that I’m a Red. Isn’t this spell sort of a waste?”
Instantly, I regretted my choice of words. Aphrodite’s smiling face had turned stiff, and the temperature in the room dropped considerably. I shivered, facing the goddess.
“You came to me for protection. You swore an oath to serve me. Would you break that oath on your first day in my care?” She spoke softly, but with each word, the goddess seemed to grow in size, filling my room. I shrank back in fear. I wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or not, but I really didn’t want to piss her off. Aphrodite was famous for her temper, and the last thing I needed was another goddess out to get me.
“That’s not what I meant at all! Of course I want to serve you.” Her size didn’t diminish; she continued to stare threateningly down at me. “It’s just that I want to do something with Red magic. I don’t want to cause chaos, but … isn’t there a way that I could work to harness chaos, to help people?”
The goddess laughed, and instantly she was the size of any average human. “Silly girl. Chaos cannot be controlled. Forget those thoughts and focus on learning the magic I will teach you.”
She kissed my forehead in blessing, and I felt energy gently caress my arms. “Now. You’ve had quite enough learning for tonight. Sleep, Darlena. I will see you again soon.” I started to hand the mirror back, but she shook her head. “Keep it. Mirrors carry the power of water, and they help us to know ourselves. You will need it, I think.”
She glided into the hall and I crawled into bed, too tired to even strip off my travel-stained clothes. Carefully, I set the mirror down on my bedside table. I tumbled into bed, my limbs heavy and my mind clouded. Right before I drifted to sleep, I realized what had bothered me about Aphrodite’s last statement: I had controlled chaos before. Perhaps my patron didn’t know as much as she claimed. With that dangerous thought, I fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Eighteen
I woke up with sunlight streaming across the bed, but my mouth tasted like old socks and honey. I stretched groggily, and my hand brushed against the mirror Aphrodite had given me. I picked it up and began to examine it.
It sparkled too much to be copper, and I realized: it was actually finely hammered rose gold. The handle was narrow but fit comfortably in my hand, and the round frame was etched with roses and vines. I turned it over and almost dropped it.
Staring up at me out of the glass was my reflection, still wearing the glamour. Even as I looked, the magic began to fade and my features returned to normal. Had the mirror carried some residual energy from the spell, or had I really managed to hold onto the glamour while I slept? I checked the mirror again, but now my hair was its usual frizzy, dull auburn. My eyes still gleamed, however, and it was hard to look away from myself. That was odd. What had Aphrodite said about the spell? It should have only lasted for as long as I was focused on it, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t been thinking about the spell while I slept. I’d have to ask her about that the next time I saw her; maybe I’d done something wrong.
Crossing my room, I set the mirror on top of my bookcase, next to the athame Mom had given me. Seeing it sitting there reminded me that I would have to face the music with my parents sooner or later. I was glad Rochelle had lied about where I was last night, but that wouldn’t change the fact that I’d run away. True, Dad had sort of suggested it, but I hadn’t stuck around to say goodbye to Mom, and I wasn’t sure what kind of reception I’d get now. I ran a comb through my hair and changed my shirt, but I decided I would wait to shower until I’d gotten the confrontation out of the way.
I headed down the stairs and paused before stepping onto the main floor. No one came around the corner screaming at me, so I took a deep breath and called, “Mom, Dad? Good morning?”
“Morning, sweetie! We’re out back.” Their chorused response sounded far too cheery, and I slunk toward their voices with trepidation. When I reached the sliding glass door that led out to the garden, I paused to take in the scene.
My dad was sitting in the old wicker chair, holding a cup of coffee. Mom was beside him, on her knees in the herb garden. She was trimming back the rosemary with a small pair of shears. Her sun hat shaded her face, but she wasn’t wearing any gloves; Mom loves to feel the dirt as she works her plant magic. The image was so normal, so perfectly average, that I started to sweat. Who were they trying to fool? I eased the door open and stepped outside.