11

I excused myself to the bathroom to avoid making a complete fool of myself. Washing my face with cold water helped almost as much as her name. I delayed for a moment more, stomach fluttering, before hitting the wall with a closed fist. Pain helps jerk you away from things, unless of course it’s an electrical connection you happen to touch the wrong way.

Beautiful. Oh, I’m not sure how much of that was simply due to the fact that she matched my physical ideal, almost perfectly. Neatly framed, pale skinned, not dark but black hair, blue eyes, slender figure, a bit shorter than I am, with delicately drawn features and a small rosebud of a mouth. The oriental cast of her features, as her name attested, granted her face an exotic cast, but it was softened somehow. Almost certainly, of mixed blood.

Calming down was not just a matter of a bit of pain, but the certain knowledge that she’d be mine. It was almost worth it all, all by itself, if only for a moment. Not that I’d forgotten Chris, nor would I ever. That instant attraction, what I could only term ‘crush’, was something I’d felt only once before, something that had turned to ashes in my mouth as soon as I got closer. First impressions can be deceptive.

Christine was my girlfriend. I’d started out liking her, and what I felt now was considerably more than that. What this Lee would be, beyond wizard and disciple to mighty me, I’d simply have to see. There was no reason to rush, no reason to grow overexcited. The reminder worked, the rapid beating of my heart slowed down, and I suddenly recalled the need to breathe.

I got back just in time, and we began the usual warm up. It required a severe effort, but I managed to avoid staring at her. This time Hank was absent, so once again we were easily paired, and Dan had us working full out against each other, while he walked the line and supervised.

She faced me and bowed, and I followed suit. We weren’t formal here, and she’d either adapt, or continue to wear that cute white gi and bow. Freedom of choice, which I was soon going to take from her, I shook my head, and almost missed her attack.

Dan was right. She is as skilled I am, but not as strong, and not quite as fast. Which means that I managed to keep her from killing me, without breaking her apart, if only just. After every five minutes of workout, Dan gave us a couple of minutes to rest, massage aches, and attempt to restore circulation to twisted limbs. That gave us some time to talk.

“So, let me guess. You’re half Korean, you’re 19, you’re in college… on academic scholarship. Computer science? Dorm living?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Is Logan short for Sherlock Holmes? It’s computer science and economics, but otherwise… how did you do that?”

“Well,” I smiled, “I could simply tell you that I’m a wizard… Kim and Lee are the two most common Korean names, and you don’t look 100% oriental. You look mature enough to have finished high school, but not over twenty, and since this is your first or second practice here, you just moved. You’re smart, or I would really regret finding you quite so attractive, and you looked a bit… lost. Computer science was a guess, in line with smart.”

She spurted, not quite knowing how to reply. Dan signaled for ‘break over’, and she spiraled down, sending a spinning kick at my left heel. I jumped up, trying to kick down, and she rolled away and upright. “Are you hitting on me?” she asked as she tried an open handed attack and elbow combination. I dodged, blocked, and snap kicked at her knee, answering, “Obviously,” barely managing to swallow incipient laughter.

Five more minutes of full contact, with me mostly on the defensive, as I really didn’t want to deal any damage, left us both drenched in sweat, breathing in gasps. Dan was trying to build endurance, he’d done this sort of thing before. It’s dangerous, even with people who know how to pull back, because when you’re tired, you make mistakes. Of course, sometimes you have to defend yourself when you’re tired. No one is going to make apologies or excuses on your behalf.

It sometimes amazes me, the fact that people in ancient, medieval or even more recent times could fight in heavy armor, wielding weapons that weigh several kilograms. We read about knights and Roman legionaries in the history books, or romance or fiction, but nobody thinks about what that sort of warfare required of the human body. The thickness of wrist required to swing a heavy sword consistently for minutes, the strength required to draw a longbow, again and again. Here and now, I’m counted as quite fit, in excellent shape. Compared to our predecessors, I’m a wimp. It would take wizardry to make me really impressive.

On our second break, we were too busy catching our breath to talk much.

“Aren’t, you, supposed,” she took a deeper breath, “to ask me out now,” she finished the sentence in a single gulp, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“I have, a gorgeous, girlfriend, so I can’t. But I do, want to talk to you, after class. Christine is here, taking beginner class. If you, can spare, a few minutes.”

Her expression made it obvious that I’d hurt her, which was the last thing I meant to do, but I wasn’t going to start things off by lying. Even if she was ‘dreamgirl’ herself, I wasn’t going to just dump Chris, not for anything. Crystal was right. I am intensely loyal. Which I suppose is one of the reasons I never pursued a relationship before. I had trouble trusting anyone to return the selfsame loyalty I exhibited.

“I’m sorry if I came on a bit strong,” I apologized, “but I really do need to talk to you, and not just ‘let’s be friends’, I promise. I, we, need to show you something.”

She wanted to spit out a refusal, that much was clear. Before she could, I added, “I think I have a part time job for you.”

No, I wasn’t lying, I just wasn’t bothering with the truth. Since she’d never believe the truth – hell, I wouldn’t have! – that was incumbent upon me. I sometimes worried that I’d get too used to twisting the truth, that I’d segue over to uninhibited lies without noting the downward slope. But not today, I didn’t, as I had more important things to worry about.

Since she took Economics as a major, and was probably smart enough, I had my apprentice – not just for magic, but to take care of the ‘family’ fortune, another thing I needed to delegate. She’d need instructions and seasoning, but my gut told me she’d be more than adequate, and my version of adequate was a high standard indeed.

“I… ok, we’ll talk. Later,” she added as Dan signaled that the next round of the match was on.

I really should have avoided pissing her off. Eight iterations of the five minute round of full contact left me in pretty bad shape, though I did manage to avoid having anything broken. She had some restraint, at least. Nor was she in much better shape. I’d mostly defended, but when I did attack I kept nothing back, and my concentration on defense made my strikes unpredictable. She certainly had the bruises to prove it.

With the lesson over, we stumbled away, completely wrung out and dripping wet.

“Is this normal for a class?” she gasped out, “I’m not sure I could survive two of this every week.”

“No, it’s unusual to have two of the same in a single week,” I answered in a low voice, not trying to whisper, but to conserve energy. “We’re practicing for self defense, which means that we need to prepare for anything we might have to face, from knives and guns to multiple opponents, to this. This was endurance training. The bad guys won’t give you any breaks just because you’re tired.”

She nodded dumbly, and we took our things from the lockers. “Come on, Criss and Cross will be waiting downstairs.”

“Crisancros?” she asked, confused.

“Christine, and her best friend Kristen. Who’s the cross one, on account of her temper. They’ve been friends for years and years.”

“Oh,” she acknowledged, and followed my shuffling steps.

Criss and Cross were waiting for us, for me actually, and while they looked tired, I was pretty sure they were not feeling octogenarian. Everything hurt.

“Cheerist!” Chris called out, ran over to me, and hugged me carefully.

“Who did that to you?” Kristen puffed up, looking at my face. I probably had a black eye. She was good at pulling her blows, but she wasn’t perfect, and fatigue had taken a toll on both of us.

“Actually, that was her,” I pointed behind me.

The identical belligerent expressions on the girls’ faces would have had me laughing, were it not for the fact that I was actually worried about her safety. I couldn’t be entirely sure that they wouldn’t cut or flame her, not with my health involved.

I didn’t so much as take the luxury of looking back, to see her response to their aggression, as much as I wanted to. I raised my open hand, “Please, girls, calm down. I pounded on her, just as hard. Endurance practice, full contact, and she’s good. And talented,” I emphasized, and the light of understanding flickered in their eyes. They were still pissed, but they stepped back to give us some room.

I performed the introductions, “Girls, this is Kimiko Lee, or just Lee, and these,” I gestured, “are Christine and Kristen.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Lee said demurely, bowing her head somewhat, still standing half hidden behind me.

“Now girls, be nice. This is a bit public, so please follow me.”

I led them to an out of the way spot, a dead end no one should visit. “Kristen, stand sentry if you would.”

“Ha?” Kristen just looked at me. Obviously, I’d have to bring them up to date on terminology.

“Stand just outside, and tell us if anyone approaches,” I told her, and smiled wearily at Lee in an attempt to reassure her. Kristen went off, and I turned to look at Lee, struck again by her incredible beauty. This was the deciding moment.

“I…” Lee started as Chris, standing behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, “Relax,” she said in a light voice.

“Yes, take a deep breath and look at me. I’m going to show you a magic trick, and I want you to repeat it. I know you possess the innate capability to do so, so don’t worry about it.”

With that utterly inadequate explanation, I incanted clearly and unleashed a stream of blue flame from my fingertip.

She had the most amusing look on her face, like a stunned steer, looking like one of those cartoon figures who’d just taken skillet to the face, chirping birds and all. Just like in a classic cartoon, she tried to stagger back, and ran into Chris (or rather, Chris’ bosom), whose hands reached around her and hugged her middle.

“Shhh…” she whispered in Lee’s ear, “You can do it, we know you can. Try it.”

Still leaning back, with Chris’ hands around her midst, Lee began her first attempt at spellcasting, repeating the words of the spell in a quavering voice.

“You need to be calm,” I told her, “Try for serene. It will come easily, but you need to regain your center. Peace and calm.”

That seemed to help, and she straightened herself and made a more serious attempt. After only five attempts, she managed the firefinger cantrip, and entered the world of wizardry.

“Lower your index finger to break the spell,” Chris said, “it draws its energy from your bodily reserves, and I don’t think you have much to spare at the moment.”

Lee nodded absently, blue eyes still staring fascinated at the wavering line of spellfire, and dismissed the spell.

“What…” she coughed, and looked down, putting her hand on the arm Chris was using to hug her close, and squirmed free.

“What is the meaning of this? It means that magic is real, and you are a practitioner. We can’t really talk here. Understand that there is an entire other world behind the comfortable mundane world you’re familiar with, a dangerous world for a wizard coming into their power. Is there somewhere you have to be tonight? Come with us, stay the night, and we’ll explain.”

“I…” Lee started, looking around wildly, “I can’t believe…”

“Try it again,” I conjured a small globe of azure light and then another, sending them spinning around her head. “No theatrical supplies, no stage magic. It’s all real, and it’s part of you.”

She nodded sharply, and cast her one spell again, staring at the flames in absolute fascination. We just watched, and nearly jumped when her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, the spell breaking as she started to fall limply.

We caught her, and I checked the pulse. “Alive!” I told Chris, and asked her to fetch Kristen. I remembered something.

I opened the book, and there it was. The very first of the healing spells, and unfortunately it wasn’t much. The second circle life spell allowed for transfer of life energy, between the caster and those touching him, and the patient, a brute force technique. My first thought had been of the strength spell, to allow me to carry her easily, but then I recalled that we’d left the car back home.

I looked at the complicated drawings and scribbled lines of throat twisting incantation, and shook my head. Too complicated to manage in less than an hour, in ideal conditions. After casting it, I wouldn’t be in such great shape, either. Probably incapable of driving.

“Well?” Kris sniffed, “You showed her magic exists and she fainted?”

“No, Kris. This is what happens when you use too much magic when you’re exhausted. She collapsed, but it was a minor enough spell that she should regain consciousness soon enough. Let’s splash some cold water, and see if we can wake her.”

I carried her to a convenient bench – she was surprisingly light – and we managed to bring her around. As her long eyelashes fluttered, I greeted her awakening with a small illusion, a tiger prowling on my palm. She stared at it, eyes widening and mouth closed tight, until I dismissed the spell and help her up.

“So,” Lee whispered, “Magic.”

“Magic, in very deed, and you need to learn a great deal more. Do you have any extant obligations this evening and this weekend?”

She opened her mouth, and closed it, considering matters for a moment. “No, not really, and even if I had, they couldn’t be more important than this, right?” the corner of her lips stretched in a half smile.

“Correct. You can forget about your old life,” Chris interjected, “It’s gone now. You’re with us, now and forever, a wizard.”

“Now and forever?” she blinked, as she slowly rose to a seated position, looking sickly pale.

“Yep,” Kris answered, “According to Logan and his book, an archwizard – which is what he’ll one day become – can keep a wizard young forever, and even on her own, a wizard can live for centuries.”

“But that’s not quite as important now,” I interrupted. “There are few things you need to know, here and now: magic can kill you if you overuse it, and don’t ever try to teach anyone magic, even the most basic spell, even after you can recognize talent. That could prove to be fatal. And you should know that by virtue of being what you are now, a student wizard, there are a great many beings who work towards your destruction. We’ll give you an overview of what the wizard’s world is really like, at home. Let’s move, now – you really need to eat something, Lee,” uttering that name in a friendly fashion was deucedly difficult, but I managed to work my mouth around it.

But moving immediately was quite impossible. We spent a few more minutes sitting and talking there, until she could walk. We talked of lighter matters, introducing ourselves more completely, and she reciprocated.

An only child, Lee’s parents were entrepreneurs with impossibly high expectations, with the double standard of ‘man of the house’ and ‘of course ours must be the best’, which left her understandably confused. The use of corporal punishment, at the hand of her father, wasn’t helpful. Adopting a meek and mild manner and attaining virtually perfect grades got her parents off her back, but proved to be social suicide. Especially after she crippled a would-be rapist, who made the error of looking only at the exterior. Her father had insisted on martial arts training, out of some skewed sense of tradition most likely, and that and computers proved to be her only real bits of freedom.

She’d broken free just a month ago, by keeping her grades just low enough to raise her parents’ ire, convincing them that what she needed was a change of venue. She was quietly proud of that bit of deviousness. In fact, she was quiet all around, keeping even her voice soft and mellow. It was dramatically different from the females I was used to, and made me feel strangely protective.

Our little conversation also helped me measure the effects of the loyalty binding. Such forthcoming honesty was obviously unnatural.

“Do you feel well enough to cling to Logan’s back?” Chris asked. Lee had taken the bus over, and meant to purchase a vehicle, but had not yet found one that suited her budget.

“Would you mind if I called you Miko?” I asked her, almost over-riding Chris’ words. “You’ve heard about my b… brat of a sister, and I don’t want to remind you of your mother, either.”

“That’s fine, and thank you, yes, I believe I can walk,” and proved it by rising, somewhat unsteadily. Kristen led our cavalcade, while Chris and I supported Miko, and we walked downstairs slowly.

We were closing up on the bikes when they appeared, a trio of quadrupeds running towards us. I caught them in my peripheral vision, and their insides were those very same lines of energy that had kept the zephyr together, different only in colour, complexity and thickness. They would have looked like greyish-green dogs to a casual observer, but they somehow carried the impression of bulkiness, of heavy strength and power. They weren’t clumsy, but they lacked the startling speed of an air elemental. I started conjuring fire, shaping its forming, even before I began to turn, and did not even bother to look at them in the pure physical plane, wizard sight holding the entirety of my focus.

Before they’d taken three more steps towards us, one of them was down and smoking, heartweb a mass of flames. A second later, before I’d gathered enough strength to cast a second spell, with the hounds still advancing steadily, rather than at a run, a second stumbled, foot cleanly severed. It required another heartbeat to recognize the echoes of Kristen’s voice.

The third hound bayed loudly, not a bark but something more primal, a call to the hunt. It charged, running at a deceptively fast, ground loping stride, and I had to jump aside as its run turned to a cartwheeling tumble when I sliced its lifeweb to pieces. The last hound was running away, having somehow regrown or regenerated the missing appendage. “Leave it to me, Kris!” I didn’t even recognize my own voice, seemingly distant, as though threaded through a curtain of glass. Flaming its insides was a trivial matter, as it was just too slow to reach cover, the tangle of bushes from which they’d erupted.

My heart was beating loudly enough that I could hear nothing else, and my vision was growing cloudy. I dismissed the wizard sight spell, and turned around to see a wide eyed Chris still supporting a dazed Miko.

“What was…?” the latter asked, so startled that she was unable to so much as form a coherent question.

“Leafhouds,” I gasped out, “hunters and scouts from the courts of wood. Chris, we need to burn the residue to nothing, or they’ll find the remains and track us. Be sure not to step off the concrete,” I added.

Criss and Cross ignited the remains, anonymous clusters of vines and leaves no one would look at twice, with a few more firestarting cantrips, and conjured a soft breeze to disperse the ashes. “Do you think the elementals can learn anything from the vegetation?” Chris asked.

I silently offered her the book, which I found on the ground by my feet, and she read intently for a minute. None of us were in good shape, and we took the time to stretch and regain a measure of calm.

“No, probably not, according to the book,” Chris said, “But we’d better move it. The baying was a signal, and it could not have been missed. Let’s burn some rubber,” she laughed, Kris and I grinning in response.

“What is so amusing?” Miko asked, and I pointed at our transportation. She nodded briefly, signaling that she’d gotten the point, and put on the helmet I proffered.

The ride home would have been tense, if I’d had the energy to stay alert. I made a firm decision to keep a pack of emergency food, possibly including those horrible energy bars and drinks, in each and every vehicle. Another hound or two, and we might well have been overwhelmed.

It had by now become obvious that my understanding of the dangers we faced was flawed. The elemental courts were not acting foolishly, not at all. They probably had lesser, expendable minions scouting every human habitation. When said minions failed to return, or reported the existence (and possibly the location) of a menace, they probably employed larger numbers of minor elementals or a single squad of the heavy hitters, which would be enough to overwhelm most things. That was probably one reason the demons hadn’t conquered everything.

The book’s statement that wizards were no longer actively hunted had reflected the state of affairs in 1911, in certain specific geographic locales. It was obviously not true, here and now. Considering the convoluted intrigues and politics of the elemental courts, all I’d need to take their attention away would be the assassination of the local rulers. Unfortunately, once again, that was well beyond my capabilities. If the local courts kept in contact, the disappearance of the pack and the zephyr might well be connected. From now on, spell practice would take place in the… no, not the basement, but wherever the book said was the safest place in the house.

We’d been lucky, all too fortunate, in surviving our first encounters. Continuing to rely on fortuitous circumstances would whittle us down very quickly. Lady luck is a fickle mistress.

Lee… no, Miko, needed help off the bike. Her eyes were half lidded with exhaustion, signaling an incipient collapse. I supported her, and helped her to a seat in the kitchen. The effort left me weaving on my feet, and I had to lean on the counter for support while some of the leftovers heated in the microwave. Criss and Cross soon joined us, having taken care of everything in the garage.

Those two dug into the food with a will, but Miko and I had to struggle. That we were too tired to feel hunger was dangerous, and she seemed to realize the need for energy, as both of us forced ourselves to listlessly munch, chew and swallow, without recollection of the taste.

“Miko, quite obviously, you won’t be able to absorb anything now. I want to teach you a simple ritual that will allow for a much improved sleep. Two hours of rest with that aid, and we’ll be able to talk. Do you think you can learn a meditation and try it?”

Miko just nodded expressionlessly, and I set the book before her. For a few more minutes, we rested there while she absorbed it.

“Chris, Kristen,” I looked at them, “While we’re catching a bit of shut eye and recovering, you can start searching for someone to build the shrines. Unless you’re too tired to work?” They shook their heads. “Oh, and don’t cast any spells, not unless it’s an emergency. Gods know how far they’ll search, and how well they can see.”

“Well, we’re done here,” Kris said, “so we’ll uncase our laptops, set them up, and see what we can find.”

“I have the printouts for the shrine design. Do you have a scanner?” Chris asked.

“In the library, you saw it. There’s a printout that contains the network passwords and setup instructions in the drawer under the scanner,” I suddenly yawned. “Well, time for sleep. Miko, do you have the ritual memorized?”

She nodded, and we doddered together, supporting each other, to the nearest bed. The book was there, in case Miko needed to review her second bit of magic, but I just couldn’t wait. The yawn attacks made it somewhat difficult to concentrate on the ritual, but I finally managed it, and was out in an instant.

Waking up next to someone else, there in the same bed, was still very new. She was leaning against me, curled inward in a fetal posture, making soft sounds as she breathed. I flicked on the lights, and looked at Miko for a moment, smiling at how kittenish she looked.

I nudged her softly on the shoulder, and then again, and those incredible blue eyes flickered half open, her body stiffening in confusion as she took in the unfamiliar locale and my presence.

“Relax, Mikey. Magic, remember?”

The abrupt widening of her eyes and a small nod indicated that she did indeed remember.

“We really should have showered before collapsing,” I sniffed theatrically, “but we can do that now. Ok?”

“Good idea,” she whispered back, “Where?”

I showed her to the bathroom my sister uses, the one with all the pertinent female products (conditioner? A dozen choices of shampoo? I’d never really looked), and took a quick shower of my own. Emerging into the corridor in my ‘house uniform’ of slippers and shorts, I saw her standing hesitantly and ill at ease, barefoot, a towel wrapped around her and standing on her toes, looking around.

“Hey!” She jumped, clearly startled, “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you. We’ll give you a full tour and a full explanation – you’re one of us now – but you seem awfully tense. Care for a massage?” I moved closer.

“Ahhh,” she stated, and I didn’t give her a chance to say anything more. “Excellent!” I grabbed her and lifted, carrying her to the nearest bedroom. She really didn’t weigh all that much, or maybe it just felt that way with the energy boost granted by enchanted sleep. She certainly was tense.

I put her down gently on the bed, whisked the towel away, moved her waist-length fall of hair aside, and began to work on her back even before I started looking her over. Nude, from behind, she was absolutely exquisite, and the feel of her was like satin over steel. Well defined muscles and soft feminine curves, the prominent half moons of her behind nearly had me drooling. For half an hour I poked, prodded, caressed and massaged every available centimeter of her wondrous skin, kneading gently and firmly, finding and smoothing the knots in her muscles, to the accompaniment of happy moans and groans.

Why did I take the initiative, with her? I felt that she expected that, and would accept and enjoy it. I wasn’t any sort of professional masseur, but two summers past, my cousin Deirdre had spent the summer with us. She’d just finished high school and had gotten into some trouble – boys or drugs, I’m not sure. Mom’s sister sent her to us for ‘rehabilitation’. Deirdre was quite the beauty, with darker blond hair than my other female relatives, but all the associated curves, and she had an extremely distracting body, which she didn’t bother to cover all that well. She was also quite shallow, arrogant and unbearable, and I suspect Lee took a few pointers from her. She’d also insisted on massages, at first probably just to tease me. Apparently, I had some native talent, because the peremptory demands kept coming. Having my hands on her was pleasant enough, if the teasing was not. Deirdre hadn’t liked not being allowed to have people over, and took it all out on me, as I was the one charged with enforcing that restriction. After a week, I mostly stopped talking to her. Strange, to think of her now. After that summer, I’d never heard of or from her, and Ellen had managed to quarrel with her sister, so it’s also been nigh a year since I heard from aunt Vivian.

Playing with Mickey’s ass – Miko felt uncomfortably foreign – had been particularly pleasurable, and not really part of the massage, but after half an hour, my hands began to ache, almost as much as my dick. The glimpses I’d gotten between the crack of her ass and the view of the fine, sparse black hairs that covered her pussy, were an erotic high.

She was so relaxed, I had to help her into a robe, and she clung to me like a limpet.

“Come on, Mickey, it’s time for the long and involved story. I need your full attention for that. Do I have to wake you up to with some cold water?” I raised her chin with a finger, until those intensely blue eyes were looking at me, and smiled at her.

She blinked the dreaming away, and pushed back from me. “You’re mean,” she said lazily and stretched, displaying remarkable flexibility, “Now bring it on.”

Chris was sitting, staring at her laptop’s display and moving the mouse around, but Kris had gotten distracted. She had opened one of the ‘crates’ with the sex toys, and had a few of them strewn around on the floor. The strong buzzzz of a butterfly vibrator masked our approach, and Kris was examining a butt plug, biting her lips and frowning.

“Eager, aren’t you?” I slapped her butt, and she screeched in surprise and rolled away.

“Fucker!” Kris threw the butt plug at me, and I dodged.

“So this is how you work?” I said menacingly, and advanced on her. Chris was looking at us, eyes wide, and Mickey was staring at the toys in amazement.

I caught Kris, hugged her tight, and slapped her on the ass again. Resisting the urge to do a great deal more was frightfully difficult, especially with the available selection of toys, but resist I did.

“Don’t worry, Kris,” I released her with an evil smile, “You’ll become closely acquainted with all of them, I assure you. Now let’s sit down, and tell Mickey all about her new existence. Mickey, put that down,” I sighed loudly, and she jumped guiltily, the strange looking vibrator falling noisily, “And join us.”

“Mickey?” Chris stared at me, incredulous. “I thought it was Lee? Then Miko? Shouldn’t it be Minnie?” she giggled.

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,” I retorted. “I find it comes easier to the tongue, and she,” I ran my hand gently through Mickey’s long hair, more pleasant to the touch than a cat’s fur, “does not object.”

We took her as yet unformed, inchoate comprehension of the world of magic, and spent four hours fleshing it out.

“So, as you can see, we’re in real trouble. We’ve survived a few sharp little encounters, mostly by luck rather than planning and skill. But we haven’t really faced even the tip of the iceberg, just a floe or two.”

“Flow? Of what?” Kris asked.

“Not flow, ice f-l-o-e. Chunk of ice, floating on water. As in, released from the glacier we can see on the horizon,” Chris explicated.

“So, we have to take even greater care. According to the book, the houses we’ve seen, the general area is just barely suitable, and there’s little difference between them. We all liked the last mansion we saw best, and I’d like to minimize excursions, so that’s the one we’re buying. Kris, the building of the shrines is now your job. Do us proud, and remember how important precision is. Mickey will make sure we don’t go broke – I’ll start instructing you on investments tomorrow, after we pick up your stuff from the dorm. My parents will be back Monday, and we’ll go shopping on Saturday. Christine, you’ll spend tomorrow teaching Mickey magic in the afternoon and evening, everything you know, and help Kris in the morning. I’ll show Mickey the financial situation, and begin teaching her how to handle it all on her own. We’ll see how soon we can move in…”

“But,” Mickey interjected, “You said that I am not to teach anyone magic, that it means death. Yet Christine, if I understand correctly, is like me, a wizard potential, not an archwizard. Am I missing something?”

“No,” I thought back, “I must have misspoken. What I meant was that you are not to introduce anyone to magic, turn them from mundanes into student wizards, which learning the simplest cantrip is enough to accomplish. Better?”

She nodded silently.

“Chris, I have another thing for you to do, in your copious spare time. We don’t have any real military, intelligence, police or investigation experience. I want you to pick up as much as you can on that, and adapt it for what we can do, especially as regards what the few of us can do to maximize our effectiveness as a unit. Prepare a list of equipment we might need, training exercises, anything you can think of. Consult the book, as necessary.”

“But I don’t…” Chris gaped.

“I realize you don’t have any experience with such things, and that’s a good thing. I’ve read so much military and pseudo-military history and fiction I have preconceptions. You don’t, and we’ll get to argue about things. But you’re going to be our first general,” I grinned at her.

“Attention!” Kris barked and saluted Chris, who just leaned back in her chair, shaking her head bemusedly.

“Let’s confine our spell casting to within doors, out of sight of anything external,” I continued, “to avoid attracting more attention. No spells out of doors, if you can avoid it, however much fun it would be,” I looked at Kris, quite pointedly.

“Isn’t that a bit drastic?” Kris responded.

“Remember girls, behind every dark cloud is the blazing sun, just waiting to burn your skin off. Being paranoid, pessimistic, always ready for the very worse, will quite possibly allow us to survive the next few years, until we grow powerful enough to hold our own. Even then, the thing to remember with power is that there’s always a greater power, and that numbers can swamp us under, too. I’ve had a few thoughts about recruiting, but that’s a long way off. Any thoughts you’d care to share?”

“Those who are a bit older than the usual, but whose powers can still be awakened – are they more powerful than most, or weaker?” Chris asked.

“Ahem,” I looked it up, “Much weaker, it would seem. The stronger you are, the sooner it ‘crystallizes’.”

“Pity,” She grimaced.

“Why not recruit, if we have an isolated location?” Mickey asked.

“The more magic is used, the larger the signature. There are wards and higher magics to mask such things, but it will be years before we can cast them. The chances are improved if a small group of us becomes powerful, and then quickly teaches others. You don’t really understand what ‘enhancement’ means. We can’t, not without experiencing the rituals, but an archwizard makes Superman look impotent. Even our size will increase, more bodymass to handle greater power,” I shook my head at the very thought of it. “I will be able to enhance our students, so they’ll learn very quickly.”

“One thing we should do,” Mickey commented, “is choose an alternate rendezvous should this place be compromised, and we need to split up.”

“Good idea,” Chris nodded respectfully, “how about Paladin?”

“Paladin?” Kris asked, as I replied “No, that’s no good. Find a good hotel not too far away, as we’d need a place to spend the night if we’re chased away from here.”

“Paladin is that gaming store, I told you about it,” Chris said, “And I’ll find you, us, a hotel, tomorrow”.

“Kris, tomorrow, set up escape supplies in all the vehicles we use, together with food and drink packets, something that will keep. Even energy bars and drinks. Or at least make a list of what we’ll need, and I’ll show you how to order things.”

“Oh, that’s an obvious one,” Chris nodded approvingly, “should have thought of that. I’ll help wi…” a yawn escaped her, “oops, sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry to have kept you up so late. Go to sleep, you two, and I’ll start teaching Mickey how to steal.”

We exchanged ‘good nights’ and ‘sweet dreams’, and Chris unobtrusively picked up a dildo from the floor, winking at us.

Mickey was goggle eyed, and I caught her staring at the toys on the floor. A thought struck me.

“Have you ever experienced an orgasm?”

She fairly jumped, looked at me, lowered her eyes and blushed. “I…, yes, but not with anyone else,” the words rushed out.

“Never played with toys?”

“No, I’ve never even seen one, not really,” she seemed embarrassed almost beyond words.

“Do you want to?” I pressed her, snaking a hand inside her robe and cupping a handful of perfect little tit, rubbing my thumb over an erect nipple. I just couldn’t be patient anymore, not with her. The tugging on my heartstrings, every time I looked at her, had my blood boiling.

Her head arched back, exposing the vulnerable white expanse of her throat. “Yesss,” she hissed.

I almost tore the robe off her, and had trouble restraining myself. I wasn’t gentle, but I managed to avoid being rough. I threw her back on the couch, and licked, bit and fondled in a frenzy. She grew wet, producing the occasional moan, and began developing an overall rosy blush. When I reached her pussy, I stopped for a moment and cast a little spell, bringing an average sized dildo and a vibrator to me. When I licked over the closed folds of her beautiful pussy, she froze for a moment, before sinking back into the luxurious sofa and parting her legs further, nails digging into pillows. I used my tongue to part her labia and, ever so slowly, inserted the dildo. Her hips began to undulate, her legs to flex, and I played with her carnelian tipped breasts as she adjusted to the penetration.

I stopped to look at her for a moment, marveling at the abrupt and tumultuous changes of the last week, eyes drinking the perfection before me. There were no blemishes upon her soft skin, and the outstretched pure girl-beauty before me held me spellbound. Blue eyes opened, pleading for more, clenched mouth opening, to breathe, to speak.

With another little spell, her ass was now clean, and I followed the trail of fluid from the bottom of her filled pussy to the winking rosette of her anus, tonguing it full force as I flicked the vibrator on and touched it to her clit.

How long I feasted and played around, occasionally forced to restrain her from flying away or choking me with her thighs, I’ve no idea. I was lost to time, drinking of her, smelling, touching. I forgot myself.

A tug on my ear brought me back, as she tried to inch away, whimpering “Please, no more, enough, AHHH, please.”

I withdrew, face sticky with girl juice, and tossed the vibrator away. Slowly, gently, I pulled the wet dildo, feeling the trembling muscles in her stomach, and likewise threw it over my shoulder. I stripped, laid Mickey out on the couch, and lay down next to her, skin touching skin. Then I kissed her. My cock throbbed against her, as I invaded her quiescent mouth with tongue, teeth and lips. I wanted her so much, I almost forgot. But not quite.

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger,” I laughed softly into her ear, and nibbled on an earlobe. “I NEED relief,” I told her, wheeling so that her weight now resided on me.

For a moment, she just breathed, still in gasps, into the crook of my neck. Then SHE began to nibble and lick, laying an agonizingly slow trail downwards, a sweet pain that had me straining almost out of my skin. It was my turn to knife fingers into the upholstery, and groan. Even before she reached it, my cock felt like it was exploding, and she had little time to play with it before I spurted what felt like a full pitcher with a sharp cry. Eyes closed, breathing harshly, it took me a moment to recall the need to practice the sterility spell, as a prelude to the ritual. I felt her licking me clean, in dainty kitten fashion, and sighed happily.

“I think we need another shower, Mickey,” I said when she stopped licking and her small hands started to play with my limp cock.

“Sounds good,” she murmured as I started rising, and caught her hands, raising her to her feet.

“You are so beautiful,” I spoke before I thought, and pursed my lips. I think I was actually blushing, something I hadn’t suffered in a while.

“You’re sweet,” she touched my cheek softly, smiling, leaving me off balance. She was supposed to ask ‘Do you really think so?’ to which I was supposed to reply, ‘if I hadn’t meant it, surely I’d have said it before…’. Breaking off from the script left me speechless, and the fascinating vision of her perfect behind, swaying as she walked to the shower, held me hypnotized. Like a serpent to the sound of the flute, I followed, lacking volition.

I washed her, lathered her, washed again, and she instructed me on the care of her long hair. Hardly an onerous duty. Lacking toys, I proceeded to lick her pussy, playing with her soft pubic hairs, and finger her, the water a constant assault from above, until she tried to push me away, with so little strength that she must have been truly exhausted.

But not exhausted enough to leave me tumescent and aching with desire. Mickey definitely knew what she was doing. Sliding down to her knees, her hot mouth and tight throat left me with a hint of what sex was really like, as she swallowed my length with scarcely a hint of hesitation. The warm, tight, milking embrace was maddening, and I couldn’t help but thrust, fucking into her throat. Her nails dug into me, and we entered a rhythm, she gurgling and slurping around my erection, me trying to hold on, with all my will, to the wonderful sensations. It was not to be, could not last, and Mickey swallowed the evidence of my lust with almost religious devotion.

After that climax, we just showered and cleaned up, paying perhaps a bit more attention to certain portions of anatomy than was merited.

We decided that a tutorial of our business empire would just have to wait for a bit more sleep. Cuddled up together, we meditated and drifted away.

I woke up to a kiss, of all things, blinking sleep away to stare into blue eyes. It took another moment before I started kissing back.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Mickey grinned at me.

“A very good morning, I must admit,” I smiled back. “Are you ready to study?”

She was, and she did. We had the by now usual spell-practice breakfast, with the very cheerful and wide awake pair of Criss and Cross, and Mickey’s contribution to our strategy discussion proved most penetrating. I showed everyone how to order things, using my account, and ordered more foodstuffs. Following that, we left the two working with laptop and smartphones, attempting to find someone, anyone, who could build the shrines to the exact specifications – and in a hurry.

I canceled our next two showings, and called Cynthia, informing her that I was willing to pay 30% less than the price she’d mentioned on the second house she showed us – but I could pay it fully and immediately. She promised to get back to me.

Mickey did not approve or disapprove of my quite dishonest means of gathering information. She digested the system I used so quickly, I had to test her on it. After she showed that she understood the basic simulations perfectly, I was so happy, I twirled her around in the air before kissing her hard and putting her down.

“What was that all about?” she asked, a bit miffed, setting her hair back in order.

“You’re a show-me-once girl,” I ruffled her coiffure again, kissing her harder, “Do you have any idea how rare a treasure that makes you?” Her attempt at reply was swallowed by a gasp, as I started kissing lower, raising the t-shirt she wore and biting all around her nipples.

“Oh, yessss,” she hissed and her hands caught my hair, guiding my mouth. I licked her until stiffened, and then again, but all my arousal was mental. Quite simply, I couldn’t get it up, not after casting four second circle spells during breakfast. When, still shaky, she knelt and fumbled for my briefs, I caught her and shook my head.

“Alas, you’ll have to be satisfied with receiving more than you give. Magic takes more serious toll on males,” I reminded her, not very happy about that at all. Yet again.

Mickey was most contrite about the matter, and for some reason seemed embarrassed. This looked like a good time to take a break, and we caught up with the girls for a pre-lunch snack.

“We have a list of people and shops, so what we’re doing now is calling them up, seeing if they’re up for a rush job at high pay, with a generous bonus for exactitude and early completion involved,” Chris smiled. Put that way, everyone would at the very least listen.

“Excellent work. I’ll take Mickey over in the car, we’ll grab her things, then we’ll spend a few more hours on actual trades. Then I’ll leave her to your tender care, Chris. How does that strike you?”

“That should work,” from Mickey, “OK,” from Chris and a sarcastic “Just peachy keen,” from Kristen.

“You’d rather help Mickey with the spells?” Chris asked her friend.

“Probably,” Kris replied, “but I can handle it. Don’t forget to start reading all the military books, sir, general,” she added.

“Actually, Kris, I was browsing a bit on the subject, not just doing your work for you,” Chris grinned.

“Treacherous slut,” Kristen growled, murmuring a further litany of pejorative words I missed, as I went to dress and gather the necessaries for another little trip. I wasn’t looking forward to leaving home, however irrational that was. We weren’t really safe here, not much more than we were outside, the protection of a true home notwithstanding. Right or wrong, however, I FELT safe at home.