Chapter 12

The bond is an essential spell to a Magus. Without the bond, we really could not form lasting relationships of any sort. Sure, we could visit those we liked on repeated occasions, but to do so too often without forging a bond could be disastrous. I had my brush with such an instance with Danielle. Even though I had forged a bond with her and two other women, I had been with all three too often and Danielle was the first of the trio to show the first symptoms of how a Magus could, potentially, kill someone by feeding on them too much. We were like vampires in that sense, and I hated it. From that day on, I had wanted to find a way to replenish my power without having to feed off of others. Granted, only a few months had gone by since my awakening, but my desire to accomplish the change had not diminished. I realized, with a rush as I looked out into the living room, with thoughts of the spells Henry had cast on Cupps in mind, that I might find a way, not to recreate the bond, as Henry had been doing, but to find a way to alter my reservoir to replenish my magic without putting anyone in danger.

The living room was furnished with two large sectional couches with a lounge chair as a section for each. The shorter ends stood closer to the fireplace, and the lounges made for a tight walkway between the couches. Vixen and Stacia occupied the shorter sections of the far couch, which allowed them to see us as we appeared from the hallway first. Two more women, one with crazy black hair, and another with gleaming golden locks sat on the other couch facing them. Vixen looked up and asked, “Feeling Better?”

I looked at her and nodded, but I wasn’t any more forthcoming. Too many thoughts were swirling about my head.

Cupps stepped up next to me, looking spring-fresh but a touch worried.

The women in the room caught Cupps’ expression and my faraway one. Certain conclusions were drawn and the two of us were led around into the living room and seated on one of the empty lounges.

“What’s going on?” Stacia asked Cupps.

Cupps looked at me. “I’m not entirely sure. He was examining the spells that Henry cast on me, telling me what he was seeing as he did so, but then he stopped and said he needed to test a theory.”

I nodded in response. “Well said,” I said. “And I want to fully explain what is going on before I make my request so everyone understands what they could be getting into.”

The women all exchanged glances but it was Stacia who said, “I don’t care. I’ll volunteer.”

I smiled. “Thank you, but, please, hear me out first.” Then I looked around. “First, shouldn’t introductions be made?”

Vixen shook her head. “Of course.” Then she looked around. “I’m sorry, everyone. A well-hung young man strolls into the room and I forget to use what few brain cells I have left.” Then she held her hand out to me, talking to the two women. “This is our town visitor, Seth. He arrived yesterday and spent the night running from someone he says was chasing him, but it turned out to be Scarlet.”

I nodded to the two women. “Vixen isn’t the only one who forgets to think when faced with stunning members of the opposite sex.”

The ladies all giggled and Vixen continued. “Seth, this is Pasha.” The gleaming golden blonde smiled and nodded. She had dark blue-gray eyes, and a somewhat round face, giving her a youthful appearance. Her clothes were relaxed - a blouse and jeans - as opposed to other outfits I had seen, yet it was still obvious that she was blessed with her gifts of pleasing roundness about the chest and hips. She hadn’t gone out of her way to impress me, but I was impressed nonetheless.

Then Vixen held her hand out to the other woman and said, “And this is Lilith.”

Lilith sported the crazy black hair which fell almost to her waist. She smiled at me with an expression that I would have expected from my best friend, it was so open and genuine. She wore a black t-shirt with the red lips and tongue logo of the Rolling Stones. The logo was centered on her chest, bulging from the size of her breasts. She wore a long skirt with her legs crossed and a pair of flats adorned her feet.

Lilith and I exchanged nods as well.

“Now,” Stacia said, “What was it you wanted to tell us?”

I looked at Stacia. “I believe Henry was trying to cast several spells on Cupps that would have the same effect as a spell I know as the bond.”

The women exchanged looks and I continued. “The bond is a single spell that has several associated effects, but to understand why those effects are in place, you need to understand what it is to be a Magus.”

I scooted forward on my seat, sitting at the edge with my legs crossed at the ankle, almost in the lotus position. “Each Magus is born with a reservoir. This is the magical construct that holds magical energy. The energy comes from sex, which is why we have so much of it. Whether we use the energy casting spells or not, it will diminish. If the reservoir gets low, it will force us to seek out others to replenish the energy. If it gets too low, it could even take over and force us.”

I stopped and let that sink in for a few heartbeats.

“Now for those we gain energy from, the process can be draining. Everyone feels languid after sex, all that energy going into the act. Well, with us that feeling goes deeper. We aren’t drawing on the energy of the act, that is merely the opening we need to replenish our energy. Instead, we pull from the very life essence of the person or persons we are with. The intimacy is the doorway, your life is the food.”

I looked around at everyone and then eased back onto my seat, feeling I had said enough.

The women all looked at one another. Even Cupps shared looks with each of them.

Vixen was the one to break the silence. “You said your power is feeding on our life force? Doesn’t that shorten our lifespans?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know for certain. What I do know is that you sort of replenish your life force naturally, so I don’t believe so. It’s only when we draw on too much from one person too quickly that it becomes a real issue.”

Stacia gave me a steady look as if asking a silent question. I knew what she wanted to know. “I was with only my first three girls for a couple of months, taking turns with each, every night, before one of them collapsed at work, which is considered the first sign. What you and I did yesterday was nowhere close to what it would take.”

Her eyes rolled back and she let go of the breath she had been holding in relief. She pointed at me while catching her breath as if blaming me for her fright.

I didn’t blame her. “This is why I wanted to explain things before I asked for volunteers.”

“If sex with you is so potentially ... deadly?” Pasha asked, hesitating at the last word as if unsure how to express it, “then why do this? Why keep feeding?”

“Again, if the power gets too low, it will take control and force things,” I said. “I’ve heard stories of Magi moving out to the middle of nowhere, ignoring their power or the need to feed it, only to wake up in a stranger’s home amongst the remnants of an orgy.” I leaned forward again. “A very good friend of mine was conceived during such an event. To this day, she doesn’t know who her real father is.”

Pasha and Vixen both blinked at me like I had grown a second head or something.

“Now, the experiments that Henry performed on Cupps duplicate various effects of the bond. The bond does two primary things. One, it amplifies the emotional spectrum our partner feels when the bond is forged, which is usually sexual excitement. This encourages future encounters. Two, it makes the feedings more efficient, which means we take less life force from our partner during sex.”

“But you still do...” Vixen said, looking pale.

I nodded. “The only alternative would be to give up my power by passing it on to another Magus. However, my status puts me in charge of a lot of people, both Magi and normal - or Banal as we refer to non-magical folk,” I said, waving at all of them. “If I were to give up my power, it could leave them in the hands of someone far less scrupulous than myself.”

Lilith frowned. “Wait, what do you mean?”

I frowned because I knew this could lead well away from the topic we were discussing. However, I trudged on. “There is another type of bond, a bond between one Magus and another. That bond is only used by those of our governing body. They are the only ones who know how to create those bonds. They are the only ones who know they exist.”

Lilith thought for a second and said, “You’re a part of the governing body?”

I nodded. “I am the head of House Ursa. I formed the house purely by accident, using magic in ways that made sense to me and led to forging a bond with another Magus by accident. Since then, a fair number of Magi have joined my House and pledged loyalty to me. I cannot, in good faith or conscience, leave them simply because I don’t agree with how our powers work.”

“Wait,” Stacia said. “You forged that bond by accident?”

“The bond was the accident,” I said. “My intent was something else.”

“Did you accomplish what you wanted?” Lilith asked.

“After a fashion,” I said. “The bond does what I set out to do. I just wasn’t expecting there to be a consequential effect.”

Vixen shook her head. “I don’t understand. What happened that led to this accident?”

“Another Magus was trying to steal my magical energy - all of it. She would have taken my entire reservoir and left me as normal as anyone else.”

“Why not let her?” Pasha asked.

“Because she believed it would allow her to circumvent a magical effect that blanketed the city. No one, other than me and the person who cast the effect, was able to use magic in the area. I was under the impression that her methods would not work.”

“What made you think that way?” Pasha asked.

I shook my head. “At the time, we believed that I was related to the caster, which turned out to be true,” I said, and anticipating more questions, I held up my hands to stifle those questions. “However, we are also getting off subject. I wanted to explain the Magus-Fonte bond. I wanted you to understand why we use it, and generally how it works. For now, can we agree that I cannot give up my powers because too many people would suffer?”

“We might want to ask questions later, though,” Cupps said, and everyone agreed.

I nodded. “Fair enough. For now, to understand what Henry was trying to accomplish I need further understanding of the bond.”

“It sounds like some form of hypnosis,” Lilith said.

I shrugged. “Maybe, but I have yet to see it fail...” My voice trailed off as I recalled one instance where the bond had failed. Leanne and I had been in my bedroom, getting comfortable with each other, and she finally gave in to her curiosity and we climaxed together. At the time, I had been using a fetish to forge bonds with my girls, but I wasn’t wearing it while I was with her. I had tried to say the ritual words but they were insufficient and Leanne was hit with only a partial bit of the spell.

I blinked and looked around at the women. They were all watching me. Lilith asked, “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I just recalled something that might explain some of what happened.” I looked at Cupps. “Henry never finished the spell with you.”

She frowned at me. “What do you mean?”

I turned to face her, trying to find a way to explain how I understood the thought. “I tried forging a bond with a fellow college student, but I didn’t complete the ritual.”

“You couldn’t finish?” Vixen asked, smirking.

I sighed. “I finished, but not the spell. She acted as if she had hallucinations and she thought I had somehow given her some kind of drug. I ended up having to perform the ritual with her again to correct it.”

Cupps stared at me. “You mean, Henry has to finish this bond with me?”

I shook my head. “I don’t believe so. I think if anyone completed the bond with you, it would correct any effects his efforts had on you.”

“Which means you have to have sex with her and forge this bond,” Stacia said.

I sighed and nodded. “I can break the bond once it’s forged, which would free you from the effects of both my bond and Henry’s spells.”

She blinked several times in thought and then hugged her boobs. “Everything?”

I shook my head. “Not that. There’s nothing about the bond that makes those changes. This would only affect the emotional spells he’s placed on you.”

Cupps looked around at all the eyes on her. Then she looked at me. “If we do this, how long do we have to wait before you break the bond?”

I shrugged and then thought about it. “I don’t know. I’ve never broken a bond.”

“What?” Vixen, Stacia, and Pasha all asked at the same time.

I looked around. “I’m coming at this as logically as I can. Though I have offered to break bonds in the past, so the girls I offered it to could go on to live their lives without me influencing them, they chose to stay with me instead.”

Vixen scooted to the edge of her seat and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “Just how many girls have you shared this bond with?”

I stared at her for a moment. This was not a moment to be proud. “Eighteen,” I said, “and seven more Stirpi or Magi are bound to me.”

She shook her head and stood up. “I can’t compete with numbers like that,” she said and then walked out to the kitchen.

I watched her go and then looked at the others. “This isn’t a competition.”

“Maybe not, but you have to admit, you are spread thin,” Pasha said. Then she stood up and followed Vixen.

I sighed. I had heard of men complaining of not understanding what was wrong when their loved one was mad at them and refused to explain it. I feared, from their reactions, that I might have problems at home of which I was fully unaware. If none of my girls told me that there was a problem, nor explained what that problem was, then how was I supposed to do anything to fix the problem?

I looked at the other three. None of them said anything. I understood Cupps’ reluctance to leave. I was doing this to help her. Stacia made sense because she already understood what I offered. Lilith was the only one who continued to stare at me without suggesting problems. I focused on her. “What am I doing wrong?”

She shrugged. “I don’t believe you’ve told us everything.”

I shrugged and held out my hands, palm up. “I have no idea what else to say. I’ve explained everything about the spells that I know.”

She tilted her head to the side, like a curious puppy. “Have you ever been on the receiving end of a bond like that?”

I shook my head but then recalled someone who had been. “Jordan,” I said. “Jordan was my first.”

“The first you forged a bond with?” Stacia asked.

“Sort of,” I said. “She was my first. She took my virginity.”

They all looked at one another. “Go on,” Lilith said.

“She was a Magus, looking for a way to free herself of the spell on the city that wouldn’t allow her to use magic. She wanted to tap my power, to transfer a little from me to her. However, what she didn’t know was that I was still asleep. She awoke my power, and with each round of sex, she ended up transferring more and more of her power to me, until she didn’t have any left.”

“You took her power?” Stacia asked.

“Not intentionally,” I said. “First, she didn’t have much, to begin with, and second, she ended up getting her power back later. However, during that time when she had no power, she was bound to me as a Fonte. She even told me at one point that she liked it better than being a Magus. She had always enjoyed being with the men she had as Fonti, but she believed sex as a Fonte was better.”

Lilith arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you’re a better lover than the men she had.”

I didn’t say anything to that.

She smiled and looked at the other two. “If you don’t mind, Stacia, I’ll volunteer for this bond.”

Stacia looked at her, thinking it over. Then she looked at me again. “I think I know why your friend enjoyed sex with you more than her guys.” She looked at Lilith. “He may be addictive.”

I had been accused of several things since accepting what I was, but being called addictive wasn’t one of them. This was a whole new problem I might have to consider.

“Why?” Lilith asked.

“Because, I don’t like the sound of this bond, but I want to fuck him again. A lot.”

Both of them looked at me and I fought not to squirm in my seat. “I’m not trying to trap anyone,” I said, avoiding any direct eye contact. “I’m simply trying to understand why Henry tried to mimic the spell with Scarlet rather than using it directly.” I had to be careful with Cupps’ name. I was allowed to call her Cupps when we were alone together, but I wasn’t certain about using the name when speaking about her with others, hence the back-and-forth.

Lilith tilted her head to the side again. “You don’t think it’ll harm us, do you?”

I shook my head. “No, but it may have a different or varied effect, considering you are residents of a dimensional pocket rather than people from my own home.”

She leaned forward. “What’s the worst that could happen?” she asked.

I thought about that and looked her in the eyes. “It could do exactly what Stacia suggests. You may end up addicted to me.”

Lilith stood up with a smirk, said, “I can live with that,” and then walked toward the hallway leading to the stairs. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at me, to make sure I was watching. She then turned to face the doorway and pulled off her t-shirt. For an instant, I caught the lovely curve of her side boob, but then she turned so the edge of the doorway covered a majority of her breasts. She looked back over her shoulder at me. “You coming?”

I glanced at the other two. Stacia looked a bit worried, but crossed her arms and sat back, not saying anything. Cupps looked up with her large eyes and asked, “Is this necessary?”

“If I’m to correct what Henry did to you,” I said, “I believe it is.” Then I turned and followed the trail of clothes Lilith left for me.

I found her a moment later, in the same bedroom I had slept in earlier. She was sitting up against the headboard with the pillows all gathered around her and the blankets covering her.

I looked down. Her panties lay on the floor in front of me. She hadn’t been wearing a bra, and I had gathered everything else as I followed. I picked up her panties and set her clothes on the dresser by the door. Then I closed the door and approached the bed.

Of all the women I had forged bonds with, Lilith was the first one for whom I was scared. Yes, I felt bad for the others, all having to share me rather than going off and finding someone who could if he would devote exclusive time to her. Lilith wasn’t even from my world. She was a denizen of the pocket dimension attached to a child’s blanket. It scared me that we would do this and then something would happen to cause me to lose the blanket and not be able to get back to her.

I sat on the foot of the bed, looking at her. I had to be sure that she wanted to go through with this. I opened my mouth and she interrupted me by saying, “If you think you’re backing out of this, you’re sadly mistaken.”

I closed my mouth and looked at her. I didn’t look her over. The blanket covered her from the shoulders down. It covered more than her clothes. I looked into her eyes. “I’m not backing out. I want to make certain you understand the potential risks.”

She smirked. “What risks?” Then she sat up, holding the blanket to her chest with one hand. “The risk that I’ll have the best sex with you and then never see you again?”

That wasn’t how I had thought of it. I shook my head. “No.”

She curled her legs under her to get up on her knees. “The risk that I might become pregnant with your baby?”

She was blowing this way out of proportion. “No.”

She crawled toward me on one hand and her knees while using the other hand to continue to cover her chest with the blanket. “What about the risk that I might become addicted to you, whether by sex, your sperm, or just you?”

I shook my head. “No, I...”

She shook her head, her jet-black locks shaking out like she was trying to shake something loose. “Then tell me what possible risks I might face.” Then she dropped the blanket with her face only a few inches from mine.

I tried not to look down. I wanted to maintain eye contact, but she was making it difficult. Finally, my brain found the right gear for my mouth and I said, “There are possible side effects of the bond here that I’ve never encountered.”

She moved up, sitting on her heels, and placing her hands on her knees. Her crazy black hair made for the perfect set of curtains, covering her large breasts enough to only tease me with them.

When I looked up into her eyes again, she had a wry smile. “This isn’t about any spell,” she said with an accusatory tone but with a smile on her face. “You just wanted to fuck more of us.”

Confusion rolled over me. “What?” I asked, looking up into her eyes again.

She shook her head, her crazy hair waving back and forth but keeping her breasts covered. “We were talking about it earlier before you and Scarlet showed up. How we all act like sex-starved whores every time one of you visitors shows up.”

I nodded. “I understand,” I said, standing up. I turned and headed for the door. “If you don’t want to help, that’s fine.”

“Stop,” she said, with a mix of consternation and amusement in her voice. “Where are you going?”

I looked at her, with my hand on the doorknob. “I’m leaving. You don’t want to do this, and I’m not into forcing anyone.” I turned to the door again.

“But what about Scarlet?” she asked with a milder, subdued tone.

I looked again. “What about her? I can’t help her without doing research. There are only two ways for me to help her. Either I rip out all of the spells Henry cast on her, not knowing what effect that will have on her, or I try the bond on her. I have fewer doubts about the bond correcting the problem, but I don’t know why Henry didn’t use it himself, which is why I need to forge a bond with someone to find out. There may not be a problem. It may work exactly as intended, which would mean Henry was avoiding certain aspects of the bond by using the spells he did. On the other hand, the bond may have a strange or unforeseen side effect, which would be the reason he avoided using it on Scarlet. But, until I find out which it is, I won’t know how to help her. Of course, if you have any ideas and are holding out on me, then shame on you.”