Chapter 3

Raven's house was small – a one bed, one bath that worked perfectly for her single lifestyle. As a Magus, she lived alone because a standard relationship with any one person wouldn't work. I understood the dangers of that first hand. Danielle was worn out, like she was suffering from exhaustion, simply because she had been having sex with me – and it wasn't from my prowess in bed. The real kicker was we were only together two to three times a week. Things would have progressed much more quickly if she had been my one and only. I didn't know if Raven was like Jordan's mother, in that she didn't have a Fonti and went looking for someone to feed on when needed, or if she had a little black book filled with the names of the men she was bound to.

Raven met us at the door wearing a towel around her hair and another held around her torso. The last time I had seen her, she was wearing silk pajamas that engulfed her body and left little to show. I had been just starting my Initiation and I don't think she wanted to be any more of a tease than she had to be. Her current appearance caught me off guard however, and it took me a second to clear my throat to speak.

Raven's liquid brown eyes looked me over and her full red lips curled up in a smile. "This is a surprise," she said. "I wondered if I would see you again."

I glanced at Jordan and her mischievous smile. She told me on the way over that I would have to make the request, because I was the Magus. I was fine with that, but Raven's roaming eyes hadn't been expected. Jordan might have been used to being looked at like that as a former Magus, but it was going to take me a while to make the adjustment. I sighed and nodded at Raven. "Hello Raven," I said. "I was hoping you might be able to help us with something."

Raven looked from me to Jordan and back. "I thought you figured out what to do the last time you were here."

I knew what she was talking about and fought not to burn any brighter than I already was.

She smiled and stepped back. "Come on in. I think we've given my neighbors enough of a peek."

I was tempted to look around, but chose not to. We really weren't there for ulterior motives. Jordan walked in first and I followed. Raven closed the door behind us.

"Help yourselves to something to drink and I'll be right out," Raven said.

I turned to say thank you but my breath caught in my throat. Raven had already dropped the towel she'd been holding around herself. Though Raven's body was smaller, more compact, that didn't remove from her appearance in the least. Her dark tan was even all over and looked smooth and silky. Her breasts looked big on her and her nipples stood at attention, centered on smooth, slightly puffy areolas. A narrow strip of pubic hair adorned her lower body and her legs were as well toned as the rest of her. She was in fantastic shape, absolutely edible, and knew it.

Raven's brazen show made me realize that Jordan was right. I was completely new to the game of seduction.

Raven smiled and stepped away from the front door, closer to me. She looked me over again. "Normally, when I'm home alone, I forgo wearing clothes." She looked up into my eyes. "That wouldn't bother you, would it?"

I swallowed, but didn't say anything.

She smiled, glanced down, and said, "No, no problems here." She lightly grazed the lump in my pants and looked up again. "But I can tell you're nervous." She licked her lips and smiled. "I'll go throw something on." She stepped away from me, her hand lingering on me like she didn't want to let go and disappeared into her bedroom, leaving the door wide open.

Jordan's breath warmed my ear. "If there's anyone who can help you with a Charm Fetish, it's Raven."

I looked at her, unable to form words at the moment. I nodded in response to her statement but wondered why Raven would need a Charm Fetish. All she'd have to do is use that approach with any warm-blooded straight male and he would be in her bed in a flash.

Jordan laughed and dragged me down the hall to the kitchen. As Raven had suggested, Jordan pulled out a soda and a bottle of orange juice. She got a glass and poured the orange juice for me before cracking open her soda. She looked meaningfully at the glass in front of me. "Plenty of fluids, not crap."

I nodded, but seriously doubted anything would happen while we were at Raven's. The ultimate plan was to find me more Fonti, and sex was going to be involved, but not here, not now. After downing half the glass, I shook my head. I was shocked at how thirsty I was. I would probably have to look into a small cooler that would fit in my backpack, so I could keep juice with me at all times. At the same time, I continued to strain from seeing Raven. I really and truly understood what I was lacking. I looked at Jordan, mentally shook off the former thoughts, and said, "It's a good thing we're making me that Fetish, because I seriously doubt I'll ever be that good."

Jordan smiled. "You have the potential. All you lack is the self confidence."

"I agree," Raven said, walking up behind me.

I was taking another drink and almost spewed it on Jordan. I swallowed instead and went into a coughing fit. Jordan patted my back while I cleared my lungs.

Raven simply stood to the side and watched with an amused look on her face. She was wearing a light blue tank that barely concealed her breasts much less anything else, and a slightly darker pleated skirt. Her feet were bare, but then she was only dressed because of my inability to speak if she hadn't been.

She looked at Jordan. "So, I can see that he has completed his Initiation, and that you are indeed his Fonte."

Jordan rolled her eyes. "Fine, rub it in. You were right."

Raven shook her head. "It's not about me being right, but your acceptance." Then she looked at me. "Speaking of which, have you truly accepted your heritage?"

I glanced at Jordan. I hadn't realized she might have problems adjusting to her new life without Magic, much less being my Fonte. She never gave me any indication that she was anything other than happy. I needed to pay more attention to what was going on around me. I decided that was something we could talk about later and answered Raven. "Yeah," I looked at her again. "I've even learned a minor spell, but I need help with a Fetish."

She nodded. "So I heard, a Charm Fetish. How many Fonti do you have now?"

"Three," I said. "From my Initiation."

Raven's eyes widened and she looked at Jordan. "It took three women to complete his Initiation?"

Jordan nodded. "And he already has a couple of innate abilities."

A couple? I could see the marks of Magi and their Fonti, but what was the other one?

"Impressive for a Child Magus," Raven said. She looked at me again. "With three Fonti, why are you already trying to make a Charm Fetish? You shouldn't need more for at least..." Then she stopped and stared at my chest. "You're going to need a lot more than three Fonti." She looked at Jordan again, all signs of amusement and teasing gone. "Has anyone... ?"

Jordan nodded.

Considering I was the Magus and responsible for knowing what was going on with my heritage, they were doing a lot of talking around things. I felt almost as lost as I had when I first met Raven. She helped Jordan tell me about my heritage, but they danced around issues while they talked. I had an idea of what they were talking about now, but I didn't like the half-hints.

Raven looked at me. "You know the seriousness of what's happening, right?"

I nodded hesitantly, thinking she was talking about what had befallen Danielle. "I'd rather not get anyone else involved, if I had a choice."

Raven shook her head. "You don't have a choice. You need more Fonti, and you need them now."

Without another word, she turned and walked toward the front of the house again. Jordan and I followed. For a second, I thought we were leaving, possibly to go somewhere to find the items I needed to finish the Fetish, but Raven opened a door opposite from her bedroom and headed up a set of stairs. I hadn't even noticed the door before and could only guess that Magic had been used in its concealment.

At the top of the stairs, in a bonus room over Raven's garage, she turned on a light. There was a work table in the center of the room with a stool on wheels next to it. Lining all of the walls were shelves and shelves of jars. They held all sorts of things from spices to small nuts and bolts to bits of things I didn't recognize. It was an eclectic collection of stuff that probably took her years to gather.

Raven walked around the table, looking at the jars. Without even looking at us, she said, "If you brought anything for the Fetish, put it on the table."

I pulled out the amber stones and rings. Jordan pulled out the vial with my semen.

Raven glanced at our meager collection. "Stones, good. Vial..." She looked at Jordan. "Semen?" Jordan nodded and Raven approved. Then she looked at the two rings. "Are you two getting married?"

I hesitated, not sure how to answer. Jordan spoke up first. "Seth thought to exclude men and women in relationships."

Raven shook her head. "No, it doesn't work that way." She looked at me. "A Fetish is made up of elements to include. If there's something you don't want, simply leave it out. For instance, when I make stew, I don't want celery in it. I add meat, tomato soup, potatoes, onions, and various spices..."

"But you leave out celery," I concluded. "But if I include women in the Fetish, how do I include only women who are not in a relationship?"

She waved at the rings. "Well, not with those."

I nodded and pocketed the rings. "Teach me then."

Raven smiled. "A man after my own heart. Rather than being given a fish, you want learn how to fish."

I recognized the Chinese proverb, though I always heard it at church at home, and nodded. She was right. I didn't like the idea of others doing for me what I could do for myself. Then I realized that I had been expecting that from Jordan and resolved to apologize for that later.

"Okay," Raven said. "First, consider the request: you want women not committed. The opposite would be a committed woman, which that ring you have would represent just fine, but we need something feminine yet the opposite of a ring."

I said the first thing that came to mind. "A line. A ring is a circle, no beginning, no end, but a line has a defining beginning and end."

"Not bad, but not right either," Raven said. "Look at Jordan. Right now, she's in a relationship, but the only indication is your mark, which no one but a trained Magus could see. Not only is there the mark, but there is the knowledge in her head that she is attached to you."

"Okay," I said. "But what kind of trinket would represent that?"

Raven looked around at the jars. "Well, the women you're looking for are available, so to speak. Maybe even on the market."

"I'm not trying to buy anyone," I said.

Raven looked at me. "Not with money, but it's almost the same thing. You offer your affection and time, and they return the same. You both get something out of it." Her eyebrows rose and she turned to the shelves again. She pulled down a jar and opened it. "Think of it as an exchange of services, in the most rudimentary form." She reached in and pulled out a small piece of paper.

I frowned at the tag. "How does that represent women not in a relationship?"

She shook her head. "You're still thinking of exclusions. Stop that." She held up the tag. "This represents someone on the market, looking for a relationship. Now it only needs a female element."

I glanced at Jordan, who only smiled at me. Raven was back to looking at her jars.

"Now," she said, "besides the obvious, what trinket would be considered uniquely female?"

"The obvious?" I asked.

Raven turned around with a sly smile. "Yes, the obvious," she said, raising the front of her skirt and showing off that she wasn't wearing panties. Her lips were full and slightly moist. Only when I ripped my eyes away from her did she let her skirt go.

Jordan giggled and I fought down the burning blush in my face.

Raven turned back to her jars. "There is one thing that only women do, and it's not even by choice." She pulled down a jar and opened it. Inside was a tiny baby doll.

I shook my head. "A baby isn't purely female. It could be male itself, or in an incident where the mother dies during child birth, the baby is raised by someone else, possibly even the father."

She nodded and put the jar back. "Any ideas then?"

"There is something purely female, no matter the species," Jordan said.

Raven turned and looked at the younger woman. I looked too, curious what Jordan had thought of.

She smiled and said, "An egg."

"Perfect," Raven said, walking over to another section. She pulled down a jar full of something that clinked against the glass. She opened it and extracted a single, tiny egg. It was about the same size as the stones we were going to use. "They're made of porcelain," Raven said. "The only component that might get damaged is the price tag, if it gets wet."

I nodded. "Now, how do I put them together?"

"Well," Raven said, putting the egg jar back. "We need either thread or wire." She bent over and retrieved a medium sized tackle box. "Thread is fine for some things, and it's cheap, but it's difficult tying stone or this egg with thread or string. So, I would suggest hobby wire."