Chapter 17
“What are they doing?”
“Moms are kicking you and Jamie out.” Richie laughed as they both looked at the land surveyors working on the land right next to them.
“What do you mean?”
“Mom says she’s tired of the waiting line forming outside of Jamie’s room and Mom’s starting to complain the lower level of the house stinks of Dark magic every time she has to go to her workroom.” Richie said with another laugh.
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Mom’s approved spending some of your family money to give Brandon, Jamie, and you a little more room of your own.” Richie said. “She said she’d tell you, but I think she forgot amidst all the other details she’s been having to go over with you. It was actually Randall Smythe who suggested giving you more of your own space. There was some concern about you being able to practice… your brand of magic, and well Jamie should have room to do that now as well, and Brandon of course. The house wards will only accommodate so much, and you shouldn’t have to drive so far up into the mountains.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Well, I was just guessing, but it was a good one.” Richie chuckled.
“I’d still need it for certain… things.”
“She’s going to be upset when she realizes she didn’t talk to you about it.” Richie chuckled.
“She’s been busy.”
“Probably.” Richie laughed as the door to the house slid open and a familiar figure walked out of the house.
“No one answered.” Tom called out, and Josh was right behind him. “You don’t mind that we just came in?”
“Nope.” Richie laughed. The truth was, if they’d tried to enter for the purpose of doing harm, or hadn’t already been allowed in the house, they’d have never gotten inside. They didn’t need to know that, though. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We’re supposed to go for a ride with Mikie here, if he ever gets out of the pool.” Josh said with a laugh. They were both wearing jeans, and t-shirts, instead of shorts, which meant they’d ridden here on their bikes. More than likely they’d left their jackets along with their helmets on their bikes. No one in their group ever rode wearing shorts, or without at least a helmet. Most of the time, none of them rode without a jacket either.
“I was just waiting for you guys to show up.” He said as he stood up and got out of the pool, earning some wolf whistles from the two.
“Will you look at the size of that thing?” Josh whistled and
“Oh shove it.” He said after a moment of thought. “You’ve both seen it before.”
“And that was too much information for me.” Richie chuckled as
“Are you sure about this?”
“We’re not going to get hurt, right?” Tom asked as he zipped up his green jacket. “I mean it’s not like last time. Nothing will be forced on us.”
“No, nothing will be forced on you guys.”
“Wow.” Tom murmured as they entered. Sunlight streamed down from the newly cleaned skylights high above. The building was still every bit as rusty as before, but now the electrical power had been reconnected. At the entrance was a line of coat hooks that would accommodate several helmets and motorcycle jackets. There was also a couch, some chairs, and a small refrigerator stocked with energy drinks and a few snacks. The only other major change – the floor was now covered in wrestling mats. They would be much softer than the hard concrete for some things, and were relatively easy for
“You going to be holding wrestling meets up here?” Josh joked.
“Something like that.”
He wanted a top, so I gave him one. Jamie smirked.
Not bad, either.
I don’t need to know that much.
“Jesus, you planning on moving up here?” Tom asked when he saw that setup.
“No, but it might be necessary to stay the night on occasion, so it’s best to be prepared.”
I’m nervous Jamie admitted and
Don’t be.
“Shit, they’re glowing.” Josh murmured as he shook his head while looking at Jamie and
“It’s called linking.”
“Yeah.” Tom said while Josh nodded, looking at the two mages again. There was a glow around them, a swirling mix of colors that he couldn’t quite identify. It was like the colors were changing too fast to really stay in place long enough for him to see more than that they were colors. Both mundanes seemed happy with having something cool in their hands to distract them.
“There.” Jamie whispered as their link settled, and the glow around them disappeared. The last few weeks had taken quite a bit of adjustments for both of them, especially where their powers were concerned. Both of them understood it was a time of flux, a time of change for them, and they would have to adjust, and find their own way forward.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I might as well try and get used to using it too.” Jamie said with just the barest of shivers as he thought about it. “I mean, it’s like you trying the spells I showed you. They didn’t burn you up, right? We’re not really Light, and we’re not really Dark. I might as well learn what I can now. The really powerful Light spells I’ll never be able to do now, but from what you say I might be able to do Dark ones, and might need that power if I’m in a fight.”
“Just remember, the magic can be hard, if you’re not used to dealing with it.”
“Now that’s a funny image.” Jamie smiled as the wards rang in
When Byron Williams Jones entered the building, Jamie and
“Now this is unexpected.” Byron Jones said with a carefully controlled expression of disinterest. “I take it there have been developments since last we met?”
“The integration is complete.”
“It is an honor to meet you, sir.” Jamie said carefully, and with a very slight bow of his head.
“You are not a Light mage…any longer.” Byron Jones held a hint of awe in his voice as he looked over at
“I sacrificed what I was for him.” Jamie clarified in a proud tone. He had a right to be proud as far as
“Then Michael won.” Jones’s voice held neither approval nor disapproval. It was a statement, nothing more.
“I am
“Do you still wish to take lessons with me, or are we to fight?” Byron Jones’s voice held no hint that he was ready for battle, but his body seemed poised for action, and David Heart’s face showed real worry.
“We’re here to learn, if you will impart your knowledge to us both.”
“You are willing to learn the Dark path?” The older man asked with a little surprise showing in his voice. “If you sacrificed yourself, you may no longer have access to the Light’s powers, but that doesn’t mean you are suited for the Dark.”
“I will learn what I can learn.” Jamie said with a slight shrug. “Power is power, it is the use to which it is put that matters to me.
“That it does, but will someone raised to the sensibilities of the Light be able to stomach what the Dark demands?” Byron Jones asked.
“We’ll see, won’t we?” Jamie asked.
“Yes, we shall.” Jones was smiling now, as if he was a cat who had got both the mouse and the jar of cream. “I see you brought some mundanes for today’s lessons.”
“Yes.”
“Then let us begin.” Jones said, and turned to Jamie. “The Light has its own forms of warding circles. Do you yet know those for the Dark?”
“No.” Jamie admitted.
“Let me instruct you.” Jones said, and proceeded to do that. When he was done, Jamie nodded and moved to begin the circle. When he was where he wanted to start, he bowed his head, took a deep breath and held out his hand, palm downward. His hand began to glow, not with light, but rather the absence of light. This was Dark Light, and the fact that he could summon it at all showed that mentally, he really had moved from the paths normal to Light mages. As he moved, creating a ring of the Dark Light wherever he moved,
“The circle contains the powers that are set loose within them.” Jones spoke in a calm voice. “They are only needed for the most formal of occasions. I assume you both will be participating in this?”
“Yes.”
“That makes this a little more tricky, unless you are splitting them up.” Jones said.
“I figured that, but it can be done, right?”
“Of course.” Jones replied as Jamie finished the circle. “Now, both of you come to stand in front of me. Good, now both of you summon Dark Light.”
“Done.”
“Since this is being done by the two of you, you must combine.” Jones instructed them when they were ready. “Face each other, hold out your right hands so they are next to one another, and state ‘In this we are one.’ together.”
“In this we are one.” Jamie and
“Didn’t expect that, did you?” Jones chuckled. “This why it is rarely done among Dark mages. What you are doing now has its long term effects, something
“Another part of the price is that for those like you, related by blood there is some mingling. Since you are cousins, you will probably have similar thoughts for a day or two, and there might be some permanent physical changes. Just be glad you are not more closely related.”
“Why is that?” Both of them asked as one, and Jones chuckled at them.
“This spell is impossible between parent and child.” Jones said. “The Dark will not allow it, the hands and Dark Light will not merge when it is tried. No one understands it completely, but you might understand when you look at the effects on brothers or sisters. That is another pairing that does not work, brothers and sisters. Two brothers can make the spell work, or two sisters, if they are willing to pay the price, but that is very, very rare in dark families.
“What effects?”
“Two siblings joined by the spell find themselves as if they were twins, born out of the same womb.” Jones said gravely. “Like newborn twins, their minds move in almost the same circles, a melding of the two that were before. Their bodies change, growing closer in appearance to each other, as if they were twins, and for a while, they are united in purpose. That was actually the original intent of the spell, between Dark brothers who sought to overthrow their more powerful, older brother. Normally there is not an extreme level of trust between siblings of the Dark, but with this spell, they are united as one for a common purpose. As time goes by, the physical changes remain, but like any other set of twins, their thoughts separate, learn their own patterns. I have heard of one set of brothers who did this, and kept renewing it every few years, but they were unusual. Why do you ask?”
“We’re brothers.” Jamie said and Jones’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“How?” The man asked.
“My father paid the fertility clinic to have Jamie conceived with his sperm instead of the sperm she intended to use.”
“Half-brothers, whose mothers are sisters.” Jones laughed. “Oh, now that is rich, and something that sounds just like your father. Well, no hope for it now, you’ve cast the spell. Your relation to each other is odd, though, half brothers, and cousins on your mother side, so it is not as if you had the same mother. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of the spell being cast between two with your relationship. You will have to take notes on its effects and send them to me. Or rather, I would ask that you do that, and send me the notes. I doubt I could order it.”
“No.” The two of them said together, and they weren’t sure if they would, but they’d think about it. Just like they did when Richie wanted them to help him cheat on his math final in the eighth grade.
“Well, what’s done is done, of course.” Jones said. “At least I will not have to explain everything now. Jamie should remember it from
“Let’s do this.” Jamie said with a hint of impatience. They weren’t quite one mind, but it was close to it, and as confusing as it had been when he was split in two between Michael and Worthington-geas.
Under Jones’s instructions, they had Josh and Tom kneel before them, on both knees.
With the blood on their tongues, these wards were even more firmly bound to them. In the mundane it created a tight bond that would allow them to know where the mundane was at any time, and their general emotional condition. The further away they were, the more general the knowledge. From the other side of the world, they might know east or west, but little more. From a few hundred miles away, they would know the general location within a few miles. Within twenty miles or so, they would know exactly where the mundane was.
Closer, like as close as they were now, they could even pull power from the mundane in limited amounts. They weren’t channels, and the single drop of blood was not like a soul-bonding or a similar spell. They could not pull enough power to leave the person dead, for instance, but in an emergency it might be enough to make the difference between life and death.
There were more advantages, of course, and that was why
Tom and Josh were in and out of their house, and their lives too much. They were the most likely targets of any mage coming after
“You can now banish the circle, unless you want to learn anything more of what you can do with mundanes.” Byron Jones offered.
“This is enough for now.”
“Very well.” Jone said with a sigh. “Now, as to banishing the circle, it must be done in the same order, with a ball of pure white light.
“Please.”
“I think that will be all for the day.” Jones said in a voice that sounded rushed, and he stormed out of the room, dragging David behind him.
“What was that about?”
“I don’t know.” They said in unison, and then looked at each as they laughed. The man had forgotten to tell them to release the joining spell. They clasped hands again, and tried to figure out how to undo the spell. Finally they found the right words, mixed with the right thoughts. “It is done, let the two that were one be two again.”
“Oh thank God.” Jamie said as the spell released him, but he still frowned a bit at
“Neither do you.”
“You know him better than I do.” Jamie said. “Was it possible he was joking? You know, making us believe all that crap just so we’d tell him we were brothers and not just cousins?”
“You’re what?” Tom asked with a shake of his head as he stood up. “Odd, I don’t feel any different. You’re both sure you don’t have AIDS right, or Herpes?”
“We’re clean, for now.” Jamie said with a laugh.
“What do you mean you’re brothers?” Josh asked. “We could hear you talking to him, but until you started talking to us, I couldn’t understand what you were saying, and I could never understand anything that man said at all.”
“
“Huh?” Tom frowned and
“Jamie, what were you up to today?”
“We thought that as they got older the boys would want more freedom and not be living in the confines of the same home as their mothers.” Stacy said with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. “But, we want them close to us, so we bought the land and figured as they got older we’d have houses built for them there. That way we could all live close to each other, but they’d have their own lives.”
“With recent changes, we decided to go ahead and build one of the homes now.”
“My house will always be yours, brother.” Jamie interrupted her, and
“Thank you.”
“Well, our original thoughts were that each home would be self-contained, but would share the pool and patio area.” Stacy said. “There’ll be a pathway connecting them.”
“Since the house originally intended for Jamie will be shared with you, it will be built with part of your funds, of course.”
“That’s fine.” They both said at once. Yes, the ‘bond’ was still there – at least a bit.
After dinner, Jamie and
No sooner than the door had been shut than Jamie was on
“I want to fuck you so bad.” Jamie growled, his engorged cock bobbing as he moved towards the bed. “Get over here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Fuck yes.” Jamie whispered as they were both spent and he collapsed onto
“Yes, that’s part of it.”
“No wonder they call it wild magic.” Jamie said breathlessly. They were both covered in sweat too, and
“If you say so.”
“We should get cleaned up.” Jamie whispered softly. Hours had passed, and it was getting late at night. “You’ll stay in here with me tonight?”
“Naturally.”
“What are we going to do?” Jamie asked quietly as they lay in bed together, arms and legs wrapped around each other in a jumble. It took
Do you feel jealous about my relationship with Jeremy?
Would you be pissed if I had sex with him? Jamey replied the same way. I’ve always kind of liked him, but now I want to see what you see in him. What about girls, do you feel any different about them?
“There’s more interest there than there was before.”
So we’re not going to get jealous of each other. Jamie’s thoughts were filled with relief at that and both of them knew it was true.
The Dark is about passion, and sex is a big part of that.
Would you fuck a girl with me, if I asked? Jamie asked.
As long as we make sure there’s no chance of her getting pregnant.
What do I want, now? Jamie asked in a lost voice. I don’t want to just supplant my old dreams so they’re yours. This closeness, I love it, but I’m still my own person. I don’t want to let it define me.
“I feel the same way.”
“Why would a woman marry me when I’m not going to give you up for her?” Jamie asked aloud.
“If she’s raised in the traditions of the Dark, it can be worked around, although many women expect their husbands to keep other relationships private, even secret.”
“Or better yet, a latent with the gift but not able to use it.” Jamie said carefully. “That way the children will be more likely to be gifted.”
“That would also work.”
“I just realized how much I’ve changed.” Jamie said sadly. “Here I am talking about using my gift to keep a woman in the dark about what I do behind her back, and I don’t even feel guilty about it. Even now, I mean, it hurts that I’ve changed so much, but I don’t feel guilty about considering actually doing something that I would have thought of as evil a month ago.”
“We all change.”
“I love you too.” Jamie said softly. They lay there like that, their thoughts mingling before fading apart, and then coming back together again, and eventually they slept.
This story brought to you by a lot of hard editing from Emoe, and
beta-reading by Trebs.
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