Old World Magic Ch. 05

My eyes snapped open as I felt the thoughts of at least a dozen people around me. Most mundane, kids, their shoes hurt, they were tired. A lot of excitement, which on a flight to Las Vegas, I suppose was to be expected. But there were some dark thoughts too. At least one person was thinking about how he'd stolen 'the money' and if he didn't score big this week, he'd be a dead man.

I mentally imagined my door, and found that it was unlocked and stood open. Had I done that while I was asleep? I shut the door and made sure it was latched, and the thoughts in my head stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out my legs. The bulkhead seat wasn't bad. It was the first seat in coach, and in front of me instead of another chair was the wall to first class. It wasn't a lot of extra room, a few inches maybe, but it seemed nice and I appreciated it.

I ran a hand across my bald head. I'd never gone bald before, never shaved my head, so the experience was a new one. I felt the way my hand stuck to my scalp ever so slightly, skin against skin. I felt down the back of my skull and felt that ridge at the top of my neck. I again marveled at this new body I'd been given. Everything felt so right and so good. When I'd woken up I had none of the aches and pains that I had grown used too over the last decade.

The captain's voice came on over the loud speaker and said we'd be landing shortly. He advised people to put their tray tables up and buckle up. The man in the isle seat next to me woke up and buckled up and nodded to the window, "Open the slat would you? The view of the Vegas strip at night from the air is something worth seeing."

I did and looked out, seeing only darkness, but then in the distance, lights on the horizon. Behind me I heard an older woman yammering to her seat mate about Vegas. The woman's voice was somewhat shrill and quite distracting. The man next to me leaned over and whispered, "God don't you hate loud ones like that?" I nodded and he returned to her seat muttering, "I wish she would shut up."

I sighed and tried to tune out the harpy behind me, until she laughed loudly and screeched, "I know, I know, I know! Men right!?" I growled under my breath and just imagined how nice it would be for her to shut up. I envisioned how happy the plane would be if this woman just lost the ability to talk for a little while, at least till the plane landed. How happy that would make me, I couldn't say.

I smiled, then to my surprise I heard the harpy behind me cut off in mid sentence. "...but then Janice said that she wouldn't ever... HEURKKK!" I smiled. I don't know what I'd done, but I knew that somehow I'd done it. Somehow my magic had shut that woman up. I listened on purpose now as her friend next to her talked to her. The harpy seemed to be whispering that she'd just lost her voice.

"It's this recirculated airplane air I tell you," her friend said, finally able to get a word in edgewise, "When we get to the hotel, I'll get you some tea and honey..." I tuned the quieter woman's words out, and some part of me knew that the harpy's voice would return shortly, just not till after I was far clear of her.

I looked out the window again and the lights of Vegas were bright now and getting closer as the plane banked and began to descend. Maybe I could get used to being a mage.

- - -

I told Adam about the incident as we rode from McCarran, which was just to the south and east of the famous Las Vegas strip, out to the town of Pahrump. There was a towncar waiting for us when we landed and the driver holding a sign that had 'A.Saks' on a dry erase board. But around the name were advertisements for "Ruby's Hideaway." The half clothed women along with the phone number and website gave little doubt as to what sort of establishment "Ruby's Hideaway" was. But as I saw the sign I asked Adam, "Ruby's? I thought it was your place."

He nodded and greeted the driver with a hug, "Estefano, mi amigo." I smiled as the hispanic looking driver hugged Adam back. He was a bit on the short side, probably no larger than five foot five, but dressed quite nicely. A nice looking suit with a plain black tie, done in a crisp windsor knot. Hair cut short and kept slicked back by hair gel, Estefano looked clean cut and professional. Adam introduced us, "Estefano, this is Mike. Mike, Estefano, he's the driver for my..." Adam paused, and looked around aware that we were in the middle of an airport, and that there were children about, "...my club."

Estefano held out a hand and I shook it. His hands were strong and his grip was firm, "Very nice to meet you Mike," he said with a hint of an accent. Not quite a Mexican accent, not quite southern, I couldn't place it. Of course I'd later learn that it was a bit of both mixed with the local Vegas dialect.

Adam explained as we walked to the town car, "We have a lot of clients who fly in just to come to Ruby's. So we offer them full service, we send Estefano and the car to pick them up at the airport and then later take them back to their hotels in either Pahrump or Vegas. For a modest additional fee of course."

Estefano added in as he loaded our two meager bags into the trunk, "Tips generously accepted as well." We all laughed and I nodded my head.

Once in the car Adam explained that Estefano was not a mage, but was aware of the true world. That we could speak openly in front of him. It was a relief however that the town car had a privacy screen. This was all still new to me and I was glad to speak with Adam alone as the town car left the bright lights of Vegas behind. I told Adam about the mouthy woman on the plane and how I'd wished for her to shut up, and she had.

Adam explained to me the basics of casting a spell. Some things were going to come as naturally to me as breathing. Eventually I'd start to get a mental 'sense' of people just in their presence. He couldn't explain it further, saying that different mages experienced it differently. In his case, he saw a 'halo' above people's heads, very faint, but that could tell him about them at a glance. He said it was like reading their aura. But that another mentalist he knew perceived the same thing in a totally different way, that the other mage, a gambler, got the sense of a playing card whenever he looked at them, the suit and the rank of the card told him much about that person.

That sort of aura reading was passive, took no effort, and was probably why I was picking up on people's thoughts some what. But that casting an actual spell was mostly image creation and forcing will on reality. Thus the image of the door I had created to block out thoughts was actually a spell. I imagined the door, and could close or open it to either block out or let in other's thoughts. The image helped me to control the spell, but my willpower made it manifest. So as I imagined the woman shutting up, and how happy that would make me, my willpower made that happen.

He explained how as I became more and more skilled, the images would come to mind instantly and without concentration, but for a while it would be a lot of practice. Then he explained what the next few months of my life would be like.

Nothing in life is free, I knew that, and Adam reaffirmed it as we closed on the town of Pahrump. I'd have the mornings to myself, starting at 4am, though Adam suggested I stick to getting at least 6 hours sleep. Since the brothel was a 24 hour affair, there was always an open kitchen, but most of the live in staff and the working girls usually didn't have 'breakfast' till around noonish. After the noon meal, at one pm, I was to report to Adam for instruction for at least one hour. During this time he'd test me on things we'd learned the previous day, or that I'd been practicing myself. Then he'd either assign me new tasks, or material to read, or practice. I'd have a few hours on my own again to work on these assignments or reading, though they would be unsupervised, so if I needed time for something else, that was my call. Then at five pm, it would be another hour of instruction with Adam, generally reinforcing the 1pm lesson. At six, there was another formal meal, which I could attend or not, as I wished. From six till ten pm I was again given my own time to do as I desired. However I was expected to be at 'work' at ten pm on the dot, dressed, groomed, and ready to serve as the bartender in the lounge at Ruby's Hideaway. I'd work the bar during the busiest hours, ten pm till four am. I'd be paid a small wage, and of course any tips, but Adam suggested saving the money away for now. As it stood he'd provide me with a wardrobe, and there'd be a room for me at the brothel. Likewise I had free reign of the kitchen, and if I needed to go somewhere, the brothel had two unmarked vans, in addition to the town car, that could be signed out with either Adam or Ruby's permission. There was also a limo, Adam told me, but I wasn't allowed to touch that.

I asked about Ruby, I thought that the brothel was Adam's. Adam smiled and said that I'd be meeting Ruby very soon, and that I should ask her those questions. However his smile was cryptic and I sensed there was more there then I was getting.

- - -

I'd never been to a brothel before and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I think I can say I was somewhat surprised at how nice Ruby's Hideaway turned out to be. The sign as we pulled into the parking lot read "Ruby's Hideaway: Resort, spa, and brothel." A spa? That was interesting to me. The building itself was a large rambling one structure with a chain link fence around the property, and then a large twelve foot privacy fence inside of the chain link. From the parking lot you couldn't see much other than the wide front of the building, but there were two entrances, one to the left with a large sign over it that just read "Girls" and an entrance to the right with a sign that read "Spa."

I realized that I could see all of this fairly well, even though it was night time. Yes the parking lot was well lit with high power sodium lighting, but that wasn't it. The sky was getting light, though the sun wasn't yet up. It had to be close to five in the morning, but I couldn't tell as I didn't have a watch. The early morning hour explained why there was only one car parked in the parking lot. Then I also remembered that it was only late Sunday night, actually early Monday morning.

That thought gave me pause, the realization that it had been less than forty eight hours ago that I had been sleeping in bed with my wife Renee. We'd woken up less than two days ago getting ready to make the drive from our home to a family reunion where I'd meet this man, Adam Saks, who would change my life. No, not change it, end it. Michael Gray was dead and gone. Michael Gray was no more. I looked down at my hands, strong young hands, the hands of a man that was half the age of my experience. I wasn't Michael Gray anymore, I was now Mike Naughton.

Estefano pulled the town car along to the side of the building and a section of fencing rolled aside to allow us into the back parking lot, reserved for staff. Here there were parked several more cars, a half a dozen or so. From this vantage point I got a better look at the rest of the 'resort' that was known as Ruby's hideaway. From the side I could see that the building went back quite a ways. Also from this section I could see several out buildings detached from the main one. They looked like little bungalows or condos. I could also see what looked like a life guard chair rising from behind a fence, and could only assume there was a swimming pool there.

Estefano pulled the town car into a garage, between a stretch limo and a white passenger van. Adam and I got out while Estefano made to refill the car from a gas pump in the garage. Adam and I walked to a large steel door with a keypad next to it. There he stopped and turned to me and tried to give me advice, "Try not to be overwhelmed Mike. I'm going to give you a few days to get acclimated before we really start your lessons in earnest, because I know you're going to have to get used to this place as well as getting used to being a mage."

I nodded and he typed in some numbers on the keypad, and then pulled open the large metal door. We passed through an entry way and into a long hallway that stretched off to either side. A quick jaunt and then through another door and we entered what looked like one of the nicest bars I've ever been in. The entire large room was done up in a lounge style with several comfortable couches, leather chairs, and soft lighting. The room was done in muted reds and soft golds, and every inch carpeted, padded, or otherwise luxurious. The one exception was the long mahogany bar that rested against the wall we'd just entered through.

Four women sat around the room, looking rather bored, but seemingly interested as Adam and I walked through the door. They stood excited, one of them calling Adam's name excitedly. But one of the women, a true beauty walked to us, a smirk on her face. Adam called out, "Ruby, I'd like to introduce you to our new bartender, Mike Naughton. Mike, this is Ruby, the madam of this brothel and the manager of the spa."

I stuck my hand out and took Ruby's hand in mine. She didn't shake however but turned it so her knuckles were up. Sensing what she expected, I bent and kissed her knuckles, taking the chance to look her over.

Ruby had wide hazel eyes that flashed between brown and green as she'd moved towards me, set in a long and delicate face. Her nose was thin and noble looking above full soft lips, which wore bright red lipstick. Her eyebrows were thin and arched, the hair coal black matching the hair on her head. Above that, her hair was cut in bangs which covered her forehead, and then fell backwards in long straight lengths that fell about her shoulders and behind her. Her skin was fair, light, with a lack of makeup other than the bright red lipstick and a touch of dark eye liner. She wore a black evening gown that fell from her delicate shoulders and covered her modest breasts. She was of average height I suppose, a few inches above five feet, though it was hard to tell with the high heels she was wearing. Over all she was a beauty, and evoked thoughts of class and a sultry sensuality, not wonton sexuality as I would have imagined from a madam of a brothel.

"Enchanted," I said as I straightened from kissing her knuckles. To which she chuckled and placed her hand over her cleavage.

"Mr Naughton," she said, her voice higher pitched, almost girlish, then I'd been expecting. She leaned in towards me. I could feel her breasts pressing against my chest and her warm breath on my face as she whispered into my ear, "When a mage says enchanted, it can mean so many things." She straightened , and I cleared my throat, somewhat embarrassed. I wasn't expecting the secrets of mage craft to be so well known. First the driver of the town car, now the head prostitute at the brothel?

I must have shifted and seemed uncomfortable, because Ruby moved and gived Adam a kiss on his cheek. "Let me see Mr. Naughton to his quarters then Adam, I'm sure you'll want to hold down the fort."

Adam nodded and smiled at her. "Go easy on him Ruby, don't break him."

She laughed, "No, I'll just break him in."

Behind, the other girls laughed and Ruby moved to link her arm in mine. "Come along Mr. Naughton," she said.

"Please, just call me Mike," I said interrupting her.

She laughed again, a high pitched tittering laugh, that was both girlish and yet sultry at the same time. She began steering me out of the bar and back into the hallway. "Ok, Mike it is," she agreed with a nod of her raven haired head. She led me back deeper into the building explaining, "The brothel and spa is the building we're in now. Out back there's a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and tennis court. There's three bungalow style houses for guests. One bedroom, one bath, kitchen, living room. It's for any of our guests who stay for a longer period of time or are willing to pay extra to have a home environment for a G.F.E."

I interrupted her, "G.F.E.?"

"Girl friend experience, it's when one of our girls goes with the clients for a while and they act as if they are girlfriends, not just prostitutes, or in some cases, they pretend to be man and wife. We've even let some of our clients have G.F.E.s with our girls and not use protection, but only with a clean and recent bill of health from a trusted doctor."

"And I'll be staying in a bungalow?" I asked.

Ruby shook her head as we reached the back door of the building, a simple steel number with a push bar. She bumped it with her hip and we went out into the very early morning air. "No no no dear, those are too expensive to waste on staff." She pointed at a large two story house that sat at the back of the lot. "That's 'the house.' Adam, Myself, and two of our girls live there. That's where you'll be staying."

We walked towards the house and I looked around at the swimming pool and grounds. Tables with umbrellas stood ready to shade guests from the Nevada sun, and a large grated cabinet held towels. In the distance I saw the tennis courts and the three tiny houses, all inside the security fencing. The ground was paved, but where it wasn't, it was landscaped with rock formations and a few strategically placed cactus to break the eye line.

Ruby led me to the house, a Victorian style, with a large covered porch. "Welcome to your new home Mike," she said as we pushed through the front doors. The inside was perfectly climate controlled and had the décor of an old English manor. The décor was old, with antiques, but I saw several nods to current technology, from the wifi antenna just inside the front door, to the alarm system.

She gestured to the security panel, I noticed it was not armed, but she said, "1869, that's the pass code." Then I caught her rolling her eyes, "That's when Adam was born I guess." She sighed and walked past me, towards the staircase leading up. I couldn't help but watch her hips sway and her tight ass move beneath her dark dress. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me, "Well, come along Mike, I'll show you to your room."

I bounded after her, still unused to the youth and energy that my new body had. Up the stairs and down a hall, she gestured to an open door and a darkened bathroom, as if to point it out without having to point it out. Then she pushed open a door near the end of the hall. The bedroom was rather plain, light colored walls and a queen sized bed with dark silky looking sheets. Some generic prints hung on the walls that reminded me of hotel room art, and a desk with a computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse on it. A closet door stood open and empty, and the window looked out on the back of the compound. Beyond the slightly dusty glass I could see some tract housing, beyond that what might be a trailer park, and then off in the distance, mountains.

"Window faces west eh?" I said as I walked to the window and lowered the blinds. The purple sky was already lightening to a deep blue as the sun was rising. "That's good I suppose," I drew the curtains across the now lowered blinds. "If I'm going to be tending bar all night, I'd hate to have morning light streaming in at me when I'm trying to sleep."

I turned around as I heard a soft sibilant sound. Still near the doorway, Ruby had slid the black dress from her body to pool around her feet. She stepped forwards out of the inky cloth pooled around her high heels and towards me. "Yes, sleep, that's what you're going to do right now," she said sarcastically as she moved slowly towards me, her hips still sashaying.

Her breasts were full without being overly large, C cups I'd have guessed, and even in the now dark room, I could see they were capped with two tight nipples and pebbled areola. Her body was lean and fit, and as fair as her skin was, her stomach practically glowed it was so white. Nestled between her hips, a single landing strip of pubic hair, slightly wider at the top then tapering off to a point at the bottom, directed attention to her shaved labia. I licked my lips slightly, and was suddenly struck by an odd sensation. Not arousal, that wouldn't be odd. But I suddenly knew something, I don't know how I knew it, I just did. This woman, Ruby, she wasn't a normal woman. I didn't know if she was a mage, or what. But I suddenly could tell, without a doubt, that she was more than what she appeared. It was almost as if I could smell it.