The Writers' Circle

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Chapter One


Selena paused in the doorway, looking into the lavishly decorated ballroom. She saw too many people, mostly professors she knew casually. Some were chatting, most had sparkling drinks in hand. Her stomach began a slow churn; she hated large crowds. She scented the air, testing for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was in the air that shouldn't be there, but her Instinct sat up and took notice. She felt the internal guardian sorting though all the levels of her sensory input.

"C'mon 'Lena, can we at least move out of the entryway?"

Amy, Selena's research assistant and the closest thing she had to a friend, hooked her elbow and pulled her into the large open room, tastefully decorated with the black and gold university colors. Black and gold uniformed wait staff circulated carrying trays of sparkling drinks and uniformly cut finger-sandwiches. Amy grabbed a star and a heart off the tray, along with the lace-cut gold napkin.
"Here, take this" Amy said as she shoved the gold-wrapped heart into Selena's hands. "And this, so you can all least attempt to look like you are enjoying yourself."

Selena took the proffered champagne glass reluctantly. She so did not need to drink right now. Selena took a deep breath, damping down the urge to flee. She wanted to get away from this gathering of studied politeness and disingenuous chit-chat, and her buzzing warning system.

"Amy, where is this professor we have to meet, I am beyond ready to get out of here." Selena looked around for a place to surreptitiously dump the pasty heart sandwich and champagne glass. She needed to get back to her labs. She needed to put in a few more hours. She needed so much right now.

"There's two we have to meet" Amy said absently, as she scanned the room, rising up on tiptoe to do so."And you just got here, so give up any ideas about scooting, got it?" Even in three inch heels, Amy barely came up to Selena's chin. How she thought she could see though the milling crowd was beyond Selena.
"I can't see anything 'Lena, let's go over to the open bar area, there is that little step platform thing I can stand on."

Selena shook her head, and pushed the stray wisp of black hair behind her ear. Amy, while quite bright in reality, could easily pass for anyone's idea of a dumb blonde. Especially in tonight's get-up. Three inch red heels and a short red halter dress that looked like it might have come from one of Amy's favorite stores--Music Shop?, Hot Shop? Hot Music? Something like that. Something where the music was loud and the clothes gaudy. Amy called it Goth. Selena called it tacky. She preferred Anne Taylor herself.

"Selena!" Dr. Aaron Pointer, Head of Cryptobiology, boomed in her general direction. She felt her ears recoil, even in human form. She narrowed her eyes, bringing him into shadow-focus. Selena made a moue of distaste. His form looked muddy, fetid.

Dr. Pointer bore down on her, stopping only to socialize momentarily with the Provost's wife and son. Always looking to make himself look good, she thought. Why could no one else see through him?

Dr. Pointer's cold grey eyes met hers over Miriam Bledsoe's shoulder. He finished whatever butt-kissing speech he had been imparting to her and took his leave. Miriam looked after him with the bemused, vapid look of yet another Pointer dupe.  He covered the remaining distance, his eyes casually inventorying her. She felt distinctly polluted by his gaze. Selena felt the scrutiny physically, his gaze an unpleasant weight on her face and body.

"I am so glad you finally decided to grace us with your presence. To what do we owe this singular pleasure?" he said when he reached her. His feral smile matched his cold grey eyes. Most people bought the kindly professor act. Dr. Pointer had a habit of focusing intently on you whenever he spoke; giving the impression he was kind, caring, compassionate and deeply interested in whatever was coming out of your mouth, be it a theoretical treatise of the merits of greenhouse lettuce germplasm to the latest shoe fashion trend. What a crock. Selena knew better. She delicately snorted out the smell he brought with him. She pulled her lips back instinctively, breathing through her mouth.

Amy butted in before Selena could answer. "You sent out the memo, the one that said that this was mandatory. I made Dr. Jager come even though her work is..."

"Amy", Selena said.

"But I was just going to tell him...oh..." Amy's bright red lips slowly closed. Selena willed them to stay that way. She poured her intent into Amy before turning to Dr. Pointer.

"I thought it would be pleasant to take a short break and meet our new professors," Selena lied. 

He examined her, his cold grey dead-fish eyes taking in her appearance. She looked the same tonight as she did every day, khaki pants, tailored shirt, flats. Not too fashionable, he thought, remembering his last interlude with Miriam. Boringly long straight black hair tucked behind her ears. She was certainly tall for a woman. Nothing special. Except her eyes of course. And the fact that she could Shift. He snorted. Unfashionable indeed. She had apparently missed the part where this was a formal event.

"Yes, see that you do."  he drawled, purposely letting his gaze linger over her, knowing how distasteful she found it. He straightened his immaculate black jacket, emphasizing his shoulders and emerald cuff links.

Selena held her breath, his miasma polluting her. Instinct rose, she willed him to go away, taking nothing more from this conversation. Her heart thrummed and her spine itched like spiders line dancing down the length of it. 

His flat gaze gave away nothing to Selena. She stood her ground, shielding her mind, compelling him to go, to have no desire to see her, her notes, her work. His insistence on supervising her work was more than frustrating, it was insulting and dangerous. 

"I think I see Dr. Holstein now." Amy tugged at Selena, breaking the eye lock Dr. Pointer had on her. "C'mon, before we miss him again."

Selena gave Dr Pointer one more mental shove to stay the hell out of her way and her life. The man was just plain creepy. It took a lot to creep out a Shifter, but Dr. Pointer had managed to do it to her.

Amy led Selena through the crowd to where Professor Holstein, an average looking man, with non-descript hair and slightly rumpled clothing was standing chatting with a tall, blonde, elegant looking woman and several other people. 
"Dr. Holstein!" Amy waved her hand, tottering on her heels. "Dr Holstein!"

Amy dragged Selena across the patterned carpet at a swift pace to Dr. Holstein and his group. Selena caught snatches of conversations and a nosefull of competing scents along the way. She felt her bile begin to rise and wondered where she could politely puke. She swallowed instead. Repeatedly. Her Instinct was still buzzing, keeping her nerves on end. She scanned the room again, trying to catch whatever was setting her off. It wasn't Pointer, or at least not just Pointer; she had been around him enough that her Instinct only growled long and hard in his presence. It did not buzz.