Read 0.5-The Asylum Interviews: Bronx: An Asylum Tales Short Story for Free Online Page B

open door. “What the hell have you gotten into?”
    I frowned as I pushed one hand into my pocket to grasp a small chunk of black chalk. “You’re a good friend, Parke, and I’ll do everything I can to help you, but I can’t answer that question.” Since he had approached the doorway, I could feel the barrier starting to weaken. I wasn’t sure it was going to hold much longer and I didn’t want to risk being affected by his tattoo before I could examine it. “Just stay where you are for a minute.”
    Moving over to stand on the first step, I knelt down and quickly sketched a protective circle on the small wooden porch, lined with symbols similar to what I had already used. The whole thing glowed for a second, eliciting a murmur from Parker as he took another step back into the apartment.
    “I didn’t know tattoo artists could do this,” he murmured.
    “They can’t,” I muttered as I stepped into the circle and pocketed the chalk. Before my friend could ask any more questions, I opened my journal and pulled my pencil from my back pocket. “Without crossing the doorway, let me get a look at the tattoo.”
    Parker pulled his T-shirt over his head and revealed a tattoo about the size of my fist in the center of his chest near the bottom of his rib cage. Despite the simplicity of the tattoo, it was quite elegant and lovely. Some of the black lines of the outline were thick, while others were thin. It was carefully shaded and detailed. The flames around the heart seemed to leap and dance. What was even more impressive was the location. Chest tattoos could be a bitch since most clients couldn’t stop breathing throughout the process, and a moving canvas was a pain in the ass to work on.
    I made a quick sketch of the tattoo, making note of the colors that Bronx had used. “Who decided on the location?”
    “It was sort of a joint decision,” Parker said as I continued to stare at him. “We weren’t sure which location would be the most effective. Bronx thought that the middle of my chest would link to both my stomach and soul.”
    “It’s been my experience that the actual location doesn’t make much difference in most cases, but this was a good choice.” I opened my mouth to ask him if he was experiencing any different sensations due to the tattoo when his phone rang. Parker quickly answered it, pacing away from the doorway. By his hunched stance and worried look, I could tell it was Jill. Apparently she was awake and looking for him.
    “Everything okay?” I asked when he hung up.
    “Yeah,” he mumbled. “She was just wondering where I was.”
    “Was she upset?”
    “Not as far as I could tell.”
    “Was she still horny?”
    Parker frowned at me for a second before it completely dissolved. “No. In fact, she didn’t mention anything about what had happened today. I don’t know if she doesn’t remember it or if she’s just embarrassed because she thinks it’s her and not something I did.”
    “We’ll fix this and then explain everything to her. Jill will understand,” I said, waving for him to return to the doorway. I looked over the tattoo one last time and closed my journal. “Are you hungry at all?”
    “No!”
    “Last night, we said the goal of this tattoo was to make you more sensitive to the little things. Do you know if that actually worked?”
    “I . . . I don’t know.” Parke’s shoulders slumped as he reached around and picked up his shirt off the floor. “I mean, I was still full from last night and when Jill started this morning, there wasn’t time to weigh whether a couple kisses were having an impact.”
    I stepped backward and leaned against the wood railing that lined the porch, and then quickly straightened when I realized that I had moved out of my circle. Damn, I was getting seriously out of practice when it came to this magic shit. I had never been big on protective circles and intricate spells. My preference had always run for powerful, aggressive spells that