Dust (Of Dust and Darkness) - By Devon Ashley Page 0,76

mouth recloses. “Regardless, that’s the pixie that has to leave here tonight. That’s the pixie that’s going to survive and find her way home.”

Tears well behind my eyes again, pained that he doesn’t give me what I long for, what I need. But I nod my head in agreement. He’s right. I can do this. I will do this. I will not stay here and spend the remainder of my days unlawfully imprisoned. I’m going to get out of here and go home. And I’ll do whatever is necessary to do that. Including being dusted with magic.

“Hit me,” I say, expressing more confidence now.

“First things first.” Handing me the velvet pouch, he pulls a key from one of the pockets in his pants, then steps around to my backside. I hear a click, then my back involuntary jerks back and forth, the sound of metal scraping against metal with each yank. A loud metallic screech pierces the air, making me wish I could cover my ears with my hands. A massive weight lifts from my wings and I moan with pleasure, suddenly feeling lighter than air.

“Oh, thank you! You have no idea how good that feels!”

“I can imagine.” He tosses the metal clamp to the floor and it lands with a bang. “Now stand still and be quiet,” he demands, stepping before me again, recollecting the bag of his mother’s pixie dust. “This is going to require a lot of focus on my part.”

I nod, knowing full well the concentration it takes to will something to my desire. I’ve had several years experience using the dust to grow some of the plant life throughout the forest surrounding my Hollow. I tilt my head down, deciding it best to remove my eyes completely from his line of sight. I sense his arm lifting above my head and await impact. Impact, I think, internally laughing at the thought. I actually have no idea what this will feel like, if anything at all. So far I feel nothing, and can tell visually that I haven’t grown in size. Has he even started yet? I dare not look, more afraid of interrupting him than anything.

I catch a sparkle at the tip of my nose, the light reflecting the quickest flash of red on a hexagonal-shaped fleck. More and more specks follow and fill my vision, reflecting the beautiful colors of the rainbow as they twist and tumble downward. I suddenly feel a twinge in my tummy and instinctively cover it with my hands. The feeling’s hard to describe really. It almost feels like little tendrils are rapidly reaching out from a tiny ball of mass, right in the center of my tummy. They lick farther and farther, lengthening and extending their reach down my legs to the balls of my feet and toes, and up my arms and all the way down to my fingertips. Last is my head, and it fills with so much pressure I’m forced to squeeze my eyes and pinch my nose in a desperate attempt to fight against it. An involuntary gasp of air fills my lungs, and it holds firm as I feel my muscles stretch and lengthen. But what’s really weird are the bones, and they way they almost feel like they’re thinning in circumference in order to lengthen, manipulating and reshaping the bone that’s already present in my body.

I won’t lie. There’s a little pain involved, like a surplus of pins and needles attacking my body. I grunt as I feel myself lengthen and grow slightly in height. After a minute, it all seems to fade, but the pinpricks linger a bit. My facial muscles slowly release, and my eyelids fearfully creep upwards in small sections, widening my view layer by layer.

I gasp, and shoot my eyes wide open. I’m almost head level with the most gorgeous guy ever! Before, I was three inches shorter, now I’m only down by one. It’s almost like when we sit (or I sit up and he leans) and we’re close enough to converse comfortably face to face. But never before have I been anywhere close enough to do that standing up. Not that I’m complaining of the great view I had of his chest, but a view of his neck is so much better, because all I have to do is barely tilt upward to get an absolutely perfect look at those luscious lips. And right now they’re close enough to brush against mine, if only he would just