Chapter 7

"What is it?" Sammi asked, twisting around to see past me. "Is someone there?"

I looked at Sammi. "Um ... It's Jordan."

Sammi frowned at me. "She isn't mad, is she?" She untangled herself from me and looked.

I looked too. Jordan stood there like she was a statue. I really didn't like what I was seeing.

Sammi pushed at my chest. "Get up. We'll have to clean up sooner or later anyway."

I nodded, eased out of her, and crawled off of the bed.

Sammi raised her legs and peeled her pantyhose off. With the same lack of concern for the garment, she balled them up and pressed them to her crotch. She was soaked and a lot of the fluids we both produced tried to rush out of her.

Jordan walked around the bed and stood next to me, opposite from Sammi.

I stepped out from between them. It was weird enough that I had to bind women to me for sex, but to have them do the whole merry-go-round from Hell thing again was too much. I remembered how the girls scared me the night my Initiation ended. Floating up off the floor, spinning around me, and the amber marks. Jordan's glowed on her chest, a strip of amber light as if reality had been torn open to reveal another behind it. She didn't move to follow me when I moved though. I was okay with that, until I looked at Sammi.

Sammi was on her knees on the bed, moving to the edge. She had discarded the pantyhose and our mixed fluids leaked down her thighs. That wasn't what bothered me though. Her eyes were as vacant as Jordan's. She climbed off the bed and stood next to it, facing Jordan.

I remembered trying to snap Jordan out of this spell a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what it would take, but I wasn't willing to do anything more than give her a push so she'd fall on the bed, which I tried. All she did was stand up again.

I shook my head and looked at Sammi. Apparently the question about whether or not she was bound to me was answered.

For a wild moment, I considered getting dressed and leaving. I wondered what would happen if I did. Would they follow me? Would they stay here and wait? Why did I have to be a Magus? Why couldn't I just be like any other college student with all the same worries and wants?

Then I remembered how Jordan had found me, Danielle, and Jana at the hotel previously and I wondered if Danielle and Jana were on their way. The three of them had formed a triangle of sorts around me. Maybe nothing would happen if I stepped between Jordan and Sammi.

I moved between them.

Apparently Danielle and Jana weren't needed, because Jordan and Sammi floated up, and though the bed should have presented an obstacle, they floated over it as they rotated around me in that same freaky merry-go-round fashion.

I stayed where I was because I knew what was coming next. The girls and I had discussed our memory exchanges on several occasions after that night, but we never did figure out why those particular memories were shared. I realized my concerns about telling Sammi the truth were about to be either complicated or remedied when she stopped in front of me, her full breasts at eye level, and the same amber streak appeared along her torso.

Sammi was worried. She sat in her dorm room in Southern Methodist University in Dallas and stared at her phone. Andy hadn't called her at all during the break between semesters. Sammi had gone home to see her parents, and had a great Christmas, but it would have been better if Andy had called.

The phone rang. Sammi snatched it up before the one ring finished. "Andy?"

"Uh, no," said another male voice. "This is George. Is Tanya there?"

"Oh, no George. She's supposed to get back tonight."

"Oh, okay. Cool. Let her know I called, 'kay?"

"Sure," Sammi said and hung up. "Where are you Andy?" she asked the phone.

For another hour, she waited. She got up and paced the length of the room. It wouldn't do any good to go over to his dorm. She'd have to call up to his room so he could escort her in, but that required him to be there and the last four times she called, only his roommate had answered. Todd hadn't heard from Andy either but he was sure he'd be in before long. That reassurance had been two hours ago.

Unable to contain her worry, Sammi grabbed her keys and left. She walked over to the park where she and Andy usually went to study or hang out. She walked around to all of the places they usually sat, but no one was there. Too many students were still just getting back for the new semester.

She then walked over to the University Center. She wandered the halls for about an hour, hoping she might see more of his friends. She found Calvin, but he hadn't seen Andy yet either. And there was John, and like the others, he hadn't heard from Andy.

That worried Sammi. Andy talked to those two more than her. If they hadn't heard from him, something may have happened. She ran back to her dorm room.

Tanya was in the room, hanging up her clothes. "Oh, there you are," she said with a smile. "You got a call."

Sammi's spirit's rose. "Really? Who?"

Tanya shook her head. "Dunno, but I wrote down his number. It's on your notepad."

Sammi grabbed the phone and sat at the desk. She found the number and dialed it. A man answered, "Hello?"

"This is Sammi Ashburn, I received a call from this number."

"Ah, yes, Sammi," the man's voice softened. He sighed over the phone and then said, "I wish I were calling for a different reason."

"Who are you?" she interrupted.

"Oh, yes, sorry. I'm Arnold Winslow, Andy's father."

Sammi felt ambivalent. She had wanted to meet Andy's family, but she didn't understand why he was calling.

Again, Arnold sighed. "Sammi, I'm calling about Andy. I'm afraid... " He sniffed. "Andy passed away the day after Christmas."

Sammi's stomach sank.

"I'm not sure if he told you that he was epileptic. He had a grand mal seizure and choked on his own tongue. He hadn't had any problems in years and we all went out to do some shopping while he stayed here to clean up a little. When we got home ... we found him on the kitchen floor. There was nothing anyone ... could do."

It was obvious to Sammi that Mr. Winslow was still broken up about what had happened, but Sammi had questions. Why hadn't Andy ever told her about his condition? Why didn't he call her on or before Christmas, to at least say hi? Did he really feel he had to hide that from her? Did he think she would think less of him? Was he ashamed?

So many questions flooded her mind. She didn't know what to ask first, or if Mr. Winslow could answer any of them.

"I would have called you sooner," Mr. Winslow was saying. "But I didn't have your home number and I knew you probably wouldn't be back at the school before today." He paused and said, "We've already held services for him. He's at the Cemetery in North Carrolton, if you want to see him."

Confusion flooded Sammi. She asked, "North Carrolton? I thought you lived in Arkansas."

"We used to. We moved to Texas over the summer. Didn't he tell you?"

"No," she said softly. "There was a lot he didn't tell me. He never mentioned his condition."

"Well, he didn't like to talk about that. Not even with us. A lot of the family and friends who attended his funeral didn't know. He wanted to simply ignore it, and I guess, in a way, he was able to for a while."

"He didn't have to," Sammi said. "He could have told me. I wouldn't have felt any different about him if he had."

"I know what you mean," Mr. Winslow said. "I know your classes start on Monday. If you'd like, I can give you directions so you can visit over the weekend. Maybe say good-bye."

Sammi nodded and then said, "Yes, please."

I opened my eyes, back in the Studio at Silk and Lace. Sammi was in my arms, sobbing. Jordan had her hand on my back, sitting on the bed. I felt a little ill from the memories and emotions that had flooded me, so I sat down too. Sammi sat beside me, holding on for all she was worth.

I didn't understand why I saw one of the worst days of Sammi's life. With Jordan and Danielle, it had been something happy, even highly anticipated. Jana's memories had been from the day I met her, but from her point of view. It wasn't bad, not like this.

Of course, I didn't know what Sammi had seen of me. From the way she was crying, like with the others, I could guess. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

She looked up. Her face was wet with tears. "What ... how... ?"

I shook my head. "I don't know if I can explain it properly. What I do know is that whatever you saw, whatever you felt, really happened."

Her brow furrowed. "He did that to you? For just looking at his daughter?"

Ah, yes, that memory. I shook my head. "I can't explain that anymore than I can the sharing of our memories."

Sammi looked past me to Jordan. "Do you know what's going on?"

Jordan looked at me. "Seth is a Sex Magus. He has bound you to him to feed his power. As a result of that bond, you've exchanged some memories."

Sammi stared at her. I did too for that matter. Jordan said that I didn't have to tell any of my Fonti what I was or the nature of our relationship, though I worried I needed to, so they would understand what they were getting involved with, but for her to go and blurt it out like that ... It was asking a lot of anyone. I should know.

Sammi looked from Jordan to me and back. "You're bound to him too, aren't you?"

Jordan nodded. "As are two other women."

Sammi looked up at me. I could see some of the same questions in her now that I had felt in her from the memories.

"If I told you the truth, before we had sex, would you have believed me?" I asked simply.

She blinked and thought. "No, I guess I wouldn't have."

"Sammi, I honestly wasn't planning on telling you," I said. "I didn't know how you'd take it but ... I need more Fonti."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

I sighed. Jordan had broken the dam. Now I had to clean up by explaining all of the details. "Fonte is an Italian term that means fountain. In this case, it's the term used to describe a person I go to for sex. I need sex to feed my powers."

"So, I'm food?" she asked.

"No," I said instinctively and fervently. "You're more than that to me." I thought about that and realized it was true. Regardless of how quickly we had met and consummated, I had already come to think of Sammi as one of my girls, and not simply a Fonte.

She sat back a little, putting a touch of distance between us. "Seth, don't get me wrong, the sex was fantastic, but I don't need a new relationship right now. Besides, how much do you really know about me?"

I shrugged. "I know you've been lonely. You needed more than just sex. You needed to know that you're attractive, desirable."

She stared at me. "We just met tonight. How could you possibly know that?"

"Well, forget all the details I picked up when you were yelling at Stan," I said, glancing at the door. "There's also the spark we shared when you were showing me the new line you want me to model."

"Spark?"

I nodded. "To you, there was only the spark. For me though, I felt the emotions you were feeling at the time."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, God. You must think I'm some kind of slut."

I shook my head. "No, you don't understand. I can't hear your thoughts. But for the instant of that spark, I felt your emotions. Trust me; it can be confusing without the thoughts. But when you argued with Stan, I understood where you were coming from. I knew what you felt, because I felt it from you."

"You can't love your steak and eat it too," she said.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was not going to go over well. "No, but you can care for your cattle and still milk them."

She frowned at that.

"Okay, bad metaphor," I said, thinking furiously of some better way to explain.

"I guess I understand what you mean," she said. "So this won't ... hurt me?"

I shook my head. "Not in the least."

Jordan must have been staring at me again because Sammi glanced at her and then said, "You're not telling me something."

I threw Jordan a dirty look.

"Don't look at me like that," she said. "You wanted her to understand the risk, so make her understand."

I sighed again and turned to face Sammi. She watched me with calm detachment. "If I were to have sex too much with anyone one person, it could put them into a coma or even kill them."