Karizma
Chapter 7: Ryleigh

Ryleigh tugged on her blue dress and readjusted her strapless bra. The dress hugged her hips tightly and fell to just above her kneecaps. The dress tied around her neck, and the back of the dress curved into a V shape that ended just above her ass. She gripped the wall suddenly as she threatened to collapse on her bedroom floor. She had learned the cloaking spell and had been forcing her magic to constantly keep the shield around her. Her birthday was in a week and a half, plenty of time for her to become accustomed to her magic consistently humming beneath her skin. The spell was taking its toll on her physically; she was constantly exhausted, and yesterday during her shift had been the first time that she enacted the spell for the entire day. She had been taking it easy and enacting the shield for a few hours at a time, but yesterday she had pushed her limits. Her magic had been activated for over twenty-four hours, and all Ryleigh wanted to do was sleep. Bailey, however, wanted to go dancing.

Ryleigh had told Bailey about Kristopher, and the other two vampires that accompanied him. Considering Bailey wanted to go to Knight Life for dancing, Ryleigh had decided that it would be in the best interest of everyone if Bailey knew about them; the last thing she needed was her sister starting a war amongst the humans because she was threatened. Bailey had been more surprised that Ryleigh was befriending a vampire than she was with the knowledge that a vampire was her sister’s employer. Vampires aren’t really all that rare, Ryleigh reminded herself. She straightened herself as she exhaled. She ran a hand through her hair and exited her room.

Bailey wore a red cocktail dress, her newly dyed brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail. She wore a pair of black suede boots that consumed her lower legs, her knees the cutoff point. Ryleigh smiled at her sister as she crossed the room to the couch. Ryleigh sat down and began lacing the straps of her black stilettos. The heels were only three inches tall, and the straps only encircled her ankles, but they were her favorite pair of shoes. “You really trust this vampire that we can dance there?” Bailey asked skeptically.

“Bailes, we can go somewhere else. You were the one who wanted to go there,” Ryleigh said. A part of Ryleigh really did want to go to Knight Life for dancing, though. She could not remember the last time she had dressed up so revealing, and her crush on Kristopher had only enhanced with their little game that they played during her shifts. She refused to admit it aloud, but she could no longer deny it to herself. Her magic crackled suddenly to scold her. She knew that his kind was responsible for the murders of her own, literally; vampires were the reason that the Karizmas were going extinct, but there was something different about this vampire. He seemed genuinely concerned about her safety, and he appeared to flirt back with her a little bit. Ryleigh shook her head suddenly as she laced up her other heel. Don’t do it, she reminded herself. He’ll be gunning to kill you just like all of the others soon enough.

“I know, I know. I really wanted to check this club out but knowing that the owner is a vampire is disturbing,” Bailey sighed.

“Well, I’ve been working there for the last week, and coming home in one piece every morning. So, I think we can take him at his word,” Ryleigh said. “Besides, killing paying customers isn’t very ideal, don’t you agree?”

“I suppose so,” Bailey murmured.

“Stop worrying about it,” Ryleigh said as she stood up. She ran her hands through her hair again to fluff it. “We’re literally the two strongest witches on the planet. If you’re a little scared of a vampire, then we need to up your training even more.”

“Riles, I can handle myself, but it’s not like I’m trying to be around vampires.”

“Maybe you should be. You still have two years before you need to worry about it. Maybe you could start casually killing off their kind with me before we need to start worrying about them doing it to you.”

“Riles, you can’t be serious,” Bailey’s eyes widened.

Ryleigh shrugged as she grabbed her purse. “Why not? Our ancestors were vampire hunters. Why not take up the mantel and pick up where they left off? Better the vampires dead than us.”

“How would we dispose of the bodies? How would we get one to trust us enough to come home with us?”

“All right, all right, I get it. We can work out the kinks another day. Can we go dancing now?”

“Are you going to be okay? It doesn’t take a genius to see that you look like shit.”

“Man, I thought blue was a good color on me.”

“You know what I mean, Riles. I can feel your magic pulsing, and you are exhausted. You sure that you want to go dancing tonight?”

“Absolutely. I could use a night out with my sister. I can sleep the day away tomorrow.”

“Friend,” Bailey corrected her.

“Friend, of course,” Ryleigh smiled.

The girls took a cab to Knight Life, and Ryleigh smiled as the cab pulled up out front. Ryleigh quickly exited the cab and resisted the craving to touch Kristopher with her magic. She wanted to make it a surprise that she was there on her night off and was curious to see if he would notice her. She quickly reminded herself that she could not get attached to a vampire and it made her uneasy. She was beginning to miss Kristopher when she was not at work, and that was dangerous. Soon enough, his kind would come to kill her. She was rather surprised that she was so open to a friendship with him with that knowledge, but she had made peace with vampires years ago; living in fear of something only gave it more power, so she simply accepted that vampires were meant to kill her line. Now, she had an advantage; she had a cloaking spell, and the intent to pursue being a vampire hunter. For once, she was going to have the upper hand in this slaughter fest to obtain a life past twenty-three. For me, and for Bailey, she thought.

Ryleigh entered Knight Life and the blaring music deafened the voices conversing around her. She instantly reached out and grabbed Bailey’s hand. How Ryleigh had managed to get a Saturday night off, she could not fathom. The place was packed, and the bartender was busier than ever. Bailey tugged them over to the bar and Ryleigh nodded to Alisha. The bartender grinned suddenly and nodded in response. Alisha’s black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she was wearing a green tank-top with a pair of jeans. “Can’t seem to stay away, huh?” Alisha teased.

“My friend here has always wanted to come here, so naturally my getting hired inspired a night out,” Ryleigh replied.

“This place is amazing!” Bailey exclaimed as her eyes observed the club. Ryleigh smiled and gently pulled Bailey into a stool at the bar.

“What can I get you ladies?” Alisha asked.

“After the week that I’ve had, how about four double shots of tequila and two margaritas?” Ryleigh asked.

“What? Is Kristopher being an ass to you? I can whip him into shape,” Alisha snapped.

“No, not that,” Ryleigh laughed. “Just personal shit. Kristopher has been great, I promise.”

“You tell me if he’s mean to you. I got you, girl,” Alisha said. She pulled out four double shot glasses and quickly filled them with tequila. She turned around and began mixing the margaritas. Ryleigh grabbed one of the shot glasses and handed it to her sister. She grabbed the other and smiled. “To friendship,” Ryleigh said.

“To longevity,” Bailey smiled. The girls clinked their shot glasses in a toast and quickly consumed the alcohol. Ryleigh sighed as the burn was welcomed down her throat, while Bailey coughed. “Damn, Riles. I forget how strong you can drink sometimes.”

“That’s because I don’t get to enough. You wanted a night out, you’re getting it,” Ryleigh grinned. She quickly drank her other double shot and ran her hand through her hair.

The warmth of the alcohol quickly spread throughout Ryleigh’s body. Alisha set the margaritas on the bar and then quickly tended to other patrons at the bar. Ryleigh instantly gulped some of the margarita to both cool and increase the warmth in her body. She had not drank in so long that she was already feeling its relaxation consume her body. Ryleigh stood up and looked at Bailey. “Let’s go dance.”

“What about our drinks?”

“Fair point,” Ryleigh said. She grabbed her margarita in one hand, and Bailey’s hand in the other. Bailey giggled and gripped her drink as well.

Ryleigh led them to the dance floor, and immediately began swaying her body to the music. She took another drink of her margarita and closed her eyes as she danced. She felt the alcohol begin to threaten to drop her guard, to allow her magic to relax for the night, but she fought it. She needed to grow accustomed to this feeling, of trying to enjoy life while being in constant pain and exhaustion. She had not realized until her mind was distanced from her magic how painful her magic was. She felt like tiny needles were scraping beneath her skin from the extended duration of her magic’s existence. Throughout the day, her mind was otherwise occupied with work and dedication to the spell; now, her mind had the ability to relax, and she began to truly feel the pain that her body was enduring.

Ryleigh opened her eyes and finished her margarita. She allowed the cup to dangle in her hand as she used her free hand to twirl Bailey. Bailey giggled and twirled Ryleigh in response. Ryleigh felt her magic crackle suddenly and she grinned. She could feel him. She looked up instinctively at the second floor but was blinded by the multi-color strobe lights projected over the crowd. She was sure that he sensed her by now, but she refrained from stretching her magic out to touch him. She felt Bailey’s magic awaken and she looked at her in surprise. “Sorry,” Bailey shouted. “It was just a warning.”

Ryleigh felt hands grasp her from behind and she whirled around. A human man was grinning at her, a slight tinge of alcohol on his breath. He was slightly taller than she was. He had messed black hair with brown eyes. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a pair of jeans. “Mind if I dance with you?” he asked.

“You seem to already have decided that for me,” Ryleigh said. She felt her magic crackle again, but she forced it down. He’s just a human, she thought. The man rubbed a hand over the back of his neck nervously. “Liquid courage?” Ryleigh teased. She did agree to go dancing, why not actually dance with a partner?

“Yeah, I don’t usually do well with ladies,” the man admitted sheepishly. “But I just couldn’t stop staring at you, and liquid courage helps overcome the shyness. I’m Adam.”

“Ryleigh,” she smiled. “I suppose I owe you a dance.” She slipped her magic out to Bailey gently, to let her know that she was okay. Bailey’s magic touched hers in response. Ryleigh slipped her free hand into Adam’s and led them to a different section of the dance floor where there were small standing tables. She placed her empty glass on the table, then turned back to him. “Shall we?’

“If you don’t mind, gorgeous,” Adam grinned.

“Not at all,” Ryleigh smiled. She felt her magic crackle again, but she ignored it. If she continued to listen to her magic tonight, she was not going to have a moment of peace. I can enjoy at least one dance, she thought.