Chapter 24

Erica, Leanne, and I all stared at Emma for a moment. I broke the tense silence first. “Erica, call Jordan. See if she can advise me on this.” I looked at her. “And make sure Sheriff Dalton doesn’t find out.”

She nodded and stepped away to find her phone among her clothes. She found it, dialed Jordan up, and worked on getting dressed while she quietly talked.

Leanne watched her too, then looked down at herself and blushed. She walked over to stand next to Erica, and worked on getting dressed.

I looked at Emma again. She shook with silent sobs. Regardless of how I felt about what she had attempted to do, I couldn’t let her cry all alone. After all, I was responsible for her condition. Therefore, I crawled up behind her and curled up with her.

For a few minutes, she continued to cry silently. Only the occasional shaking of her body told me what was going on. There was a problem with this that had nothing to do with my feelings of justice or remorse. The feel of her body, warm, soft, and sensual, made me respond. Intellectually, I knew I had held off who-knew how many orgasms while focused on making her go, so I was ready, easily, to start things again so I could finally get off.

I was ashamed of my reaction and tried to pull my hips back so my erection wouldn’t rub against her.

Emma noticed though, but she didn’t react the way I would have expected. She arched her back and pressed her butt against me. If she were one of my girls, that move would have been an open invitation to do just what I physically needed to do.

I didn’t do anything though. The situation was already bad enough. Besides, the only reason to have more sex with her would be to attempt to give back the power I had taken. Everyone had said once a Magus was drained of all his or her power, there was no restoring it. That many different people couldn’t be wrong, could they?

Emma sniffed and looked back at me. Her eyes were puffy and her mascara was smeared over her cheeks. Other than the messy aspects of her emotions, she was still hot as hell. My body responded appropriately. She wiggled her hips and looked at me. “If you want to finish, I’ll understand.”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve done enough damage. You don’t need me using you like that and making things worse.”

She frowned. “You’re not using me if I’m offering.”

I didn’t understand that. Even with the problem I caused, she was willing to let me do what my body so badly wanted to. Worse, I wanted to accept her offer. I shook my head and said, “I’m waiting for someone to call to offer some advice. The only thing I can think of is to make you one of my Fonti.”

She nodded. “That would at least allow me to stay connected to all the things I know. It would be better than being only a mundane no one wants.”

I frowned. “What makes you say that?”

She shrugged. “It’s just the way I feel right now.”

I sat up on an elbow so I could see her eyes better. “You have absolutely no reason to believe that.”

She shrugged again. “If you don’t want to finish with me, then what am I supposed to believe?”

Erica returned at that moment, but didn’t have her phone in hand. “I need to go pick up Jordan. She needs to talk to you and Emma. Plus, she said she’s getting angry again.”

I nodded. “Okay, and if you can pull it off, bring her back without the Sheriff following.”

“Naturally,” she said with a smile. She glanced at Emma again with a flicker of disgust, and then turned and left.

Leanne stood by the bed too, fully dressed yet quiet and withdrawn. “Is she the store owner?” she asked.

I looked at Emma and said, “No, she’s not.”

Emma shook her head and sighed. Another tear rolled down her cheek. “You’ll find Joyce tied up in the room behind the counter.”

I looked up at Leanne. “Go. I’ll stay here.”

Leanne frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, given what she’s already done?”

I looked at Emma again. “She won’t do anything else,” I said, and even to me, it sounded harsh.

Emma blinked and looked away. Leanne turned and went to find the store owner.

I sat up to put a little distance between me and Emma. “Why did you even think this would be a good idea?”

She rolled away from me and didn’t say anything.

I pulled at her to roll her back to me, but she fought me. We struggled and by the time I had her looking at me, I was hovering over her on my knees, holding her hands above her head. Both of us were breathing hard and our mutual nudity was having the normal effect on me. I wasn’t mad, not like I should have been. It might have been because I found her so attractive, or maybe I had burned off all my anger. Whatever the case was, I was excited to be there with her and my body was proudly displaying that fact.

I looked her over. Her breasts rose and fell with her breathing. Her nipples stood out hard. Her hips wiggled under me. Signs that she was just as excited as I was, even after everything that had happened.

Again, I felt bad about taking all of her power. Blindly accepting what everyone had told me wasn’t something I normally did. If that was the case, then I wouldn’t have earned my place in college, or made the money to make the trip. There had to be a solution to this problem.

I looked into Emma’s eyes and said, “I’m going to try something everyone has told me is impossible.”

She frowned. “What?”

I scooted down, nudged her legs apart, and rubbed myself against her before pressing into her slick, soppy entrance. “I’m going to try to give you your power back.”

Her expression was a mix of confusion and frustration with just a hint of hope.

I was close to orgasm already. The part of my spell to make her tighter was permanent. This time though, I didn’t think about making her more sensitive. I focused on her eyes, the feel of her body under me, the way her breasts swayed as we made the bed rock and the flush of her face as I drove myself all the way in her and let everything go that I had been holding back. My thoughts were on my orgasm, giving in to her needs, and, most of all, giving her the power I had taken.

My orgasm subsided and my vision returned to normal, but I was far from finished. My body continued rocking, a squishing noise emitted from our point of union.

Emma’s eyes were wider than before. Her breathing was heavier and those soft, kissable lips were there, parted, and waiting. I kissed her, pressed my body to hers, and enjoyed the feel of our copulation as well as how the length of her body fit mine. I was stretched out over her fully, something I only did when one of my girls wanted to suck on my nipples while we had sex. In this case though, our eyes were level. She didn’t have to use Magic to make me want her. Her eyes told me how much she was enjoying my reaction and that went a long way to helping with my next orgasm.

My Fonti frequently commented on how much of a mess I make when I shoot off. It was probably one of the reasons Jordan suggested I make my sheets self-cleaning. Emma didn’t say anything though. She humped up at me, keeping me going, showing a return of her enthusiasm.

I felt our combined fluids on my thighs and sac. I was sure we were lying in a small lake, but we didn’t move. I continued to enjoy the feel of her, inside and out, and held her tightly through an orgasm that sapped a lot of my energy. I felt exhausted even though I knew I had done more than that with my girls. It could have even been a telling sign: that I had given Emma all she needed. Weak all over, I lay there on top of her.

She held me but didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say either. This was harder than I thought it would be.

I closed my eyes for a second, but a bright light pierced my lids.

“What’s going on?” Emma asked.

The light seemed to be coming from between us.

I pushed myself up to find out.

The light came from my chest, or, more accurately, from my Magus mark, which hovered only an inch away from my chest.

I sat back on my haunches. Emma sat up and scooted away from me. “What’s going on?” she asked again, fear tinting her voice.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m not doing this on purpose.”

The shape of my mark was a rough-edged vertical streak along my sternum. It stretched out, away from me like a ribbon caught on the wind. We watched it as it got longer and longer, making curls, and generally whipping about. At first, it seemed only to grow out away from me, but then it unfurled, spun through the air like the tip was attached to a tiny invisible airplane, and then dove toward her left leg.

Emma rolled away but the winding, growing streak caught up with her. It didn’t hit her skin, but her mark appeared. It was a lozenge or elongated diamond on the side of her left thigh.

I felt something in my head, as if hot, spiked liquid flowed around my skull, just under the skin of my scalp. When my entire head was encased in the sensation, it sank into me and the world went fuzzy. I fought to hold onto consciousness, but I had no idea what was happening or how to stop it. The last thing I saw was Emma slumped over on the pillows at the head of the bed.

Mr. Charles Harland was a new patient of Emma’s. She had read his chart and medical history. His family doctor had suggested more rigorous tests for heart problems because Mr. Harland had been complaining of occasional weakness, especially while working around the house. The tests, attached to his file, didn’t look good, and Emma had to pass on the bad news.

Mr. Harland and a younger woman sat in the waiting room. Both of them looked up when Emma walked in. “Hi,” she said, giving them her best professional smile. She was well aware of how her height and figure affected most people, so by focusing on the chart in her hands and using as many big words as possible, she was able to diffuse most situations very quickly. “My name is Dr. Barett, and I’ll be your lead physician.”

She shook hands with Mr. Harland and found out the young woman was his daughter, Claire. Mr. Harland’s wife had died a few years prior.

Emma talked them through all of the tests, told them what the prognosis was, and then gave them a number of different options, most of which involved surgery.

Claire, Emma noticed, didn’t seem keen on surgery for some reason. “Mom died during surgery,” she finally confessed. “The doctors still can’t tell us why.”

Emma nodded. “There are times when even medical science falls short of being able to provide explanations,” she said. “Your father’s case, though, is well understood and any of the options I’ve provided could lead to a solution.”

“Lead to a solution?” Claire asked, sounding angry. “That’s the kind of double talk the doctors gave us when Mom got sick.”

Emma shook her head. “I don’t know anything about what happened to your mother, so using her as an example of what could happen to your dad isn’t going to help anyone. We’re looking for solutions. Can you help with that?”

Claire looked at her father and nodded. “Yeah, I can.”

Emma nodded. “Excellent. Now, if you’ll give us a minute, I’m going to check a few things with your dad.” She set the chart aside and reached into the cabinet for things she really didn’t need.

Claire stood up and kissed her dad. “I’ll be right outside.”

He nodded and smiled for her. Once the door was closed, with her outside, he turned to Emma and said, “This is actually worse than you made it sound, isn’t it?”

Emma blinked and set the stuff down that she had collected. “What makes you say that?”

He nodded at the door. “I’ve had to lie like that to her when her mother was sick.”

“You know what happened, don’t you?” Emma asked.

He looked away. “She had breast cancer. The doctors said it was localized and treatable, but when they did the surgery, it turned out there were smaller tumors that easily broke off. After she died, autopsy showed that one of the tumors slipped off into her heart and caused problems. There was nothing the doctors could have done.” He looked up again. “Claire doesn’t know because ... well, you’ve seen how excitable she gets.”

Emma nodded. “You’ve been honest with me and I can’t do any less for you.” She stepped around so she stood in front of Mr. Harland. “You have cancer too. It’s in your heart, which means it can easily spread throughout your body.”

Mr. Harland sighed and relaxed. “How long have I got?”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “That depends on you and how much help you receive. Most doctors would say six months, but anything could happen in that time. You could even go into remission.”

He shook his head. “The chances of that are way against this old man.”

Emma frowned. “You don’t look all that old to me.”

He looked up into her eyes and smiled. “Thank you, but we both know I’m old enough to be your father.”

“Be that as it may,” she said, “But you shouldn’t let it stop you from fighting.” Then she glanced at the door. “And to give Claire a few more years with her father.”

He nodded. “She’s all I really have now. I’m so worried about what’ll happen to her when I’m gone.”

Emma shook her head and tutted the older man. “That’s thinking negatively. She strikes me as someone who can take good care of herself.”

He smiled and nodded. “That is true. Did you know she paid her way through college even though she didn’t qualify for financial aid? She had two jobs and studied when she wasn’t working.”

“She inherited a lot of strength from you and your wife.”

“More Mary than me,” he said and some of the hope for life returned to his eyes. “You said there were options. Tell me about them.”

Emma nodded and told him about what the hospital could offer, the options of holistic medicine, and even about the commercials he asked about regarding Cancer Centers of America. What she didn’t tell him was how she used her Magic, on a very subtle level, to find any cancerous cells in his body and eradicate them. Any further testing would indicate that he didn’t have cancer anymore, but the tests she had would still be there in case her spell failed.

I woke up and tried to sit up, but my body was weak. I felt worn out, as if I had just finished rearranging Mr. Chamber’s entire stock, which included several piles of useless car parts. I didn’t know where I was at first and my vision was blurry. I could tell I was on a bed, a big one, and then I recalled what happened before I passed out.

A familiar voice asked, “Seth, are you okay?”

I focused on the direction the voice came from. There was a face there. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. It was Jordan. “What? When did you get here? How long have I been out?”

She sat about a foot away from me, her arms rigid at her sides, tension singing all along her body. “You need to explain what happened first.”

Her anger was back and she was using it. I looked around for Emma, but she wasn’t on the bed at all. I looked at Jordan again and scooted closer to her. “Let me help you first,” I said.

She pulled away. “I said you need to explain what happened first.”

I knew she could be stubborn, but this was ridiculous. “I will, but...”

She shook her head and stood up. She had on a light UTA jacket with a hood. It was open, and showed off the black top she wore was partially unzipped. Between the two garments, her abundant breasts were framed beautifully. The zipper for her top didn’t stop at her waist though. It continued on down to her crotch, which meant the black pants were a part of the top, all as one body suit. The leggings stopped several inches above her feet, showing off her high heels. As usual, she looked fantastic, but her mindset overrode any desire to be seen as a beautiful and sexy woman.

I felt a touch guilty that I had tried to restore Emma’s power but had never done so for Jordan, and I looked away. That was when I realized she wasn’t the only new visitor to the room. Next to the dressers, Emma stood clean and dressed. Erica stood next to her and didn’t look happy. A few feet away from them, closer to the door leading to the dressing room and the store beyond, stood Sheriff Dalton. She had on her black duster as usual, but today she was dressed less formally in boots, semi-faded jeans, a black tank top, and a baseball cap.

I frowned and looked at Erica. She looked away from me.

Jordan put together what was wrong. “Don’t blame Erica. Dalton showed up at my apartment before she arrived. Erica thought what was going on here was too important to wait, so we told her.”

Erica looked my way again and I nodded at her, letting her know that I understood.

“Now, explain,” Jordan said.

I didn’t understand why I was the one who suddenly felt like I had done something wrong. “You need to calm down.”

Her brow furrowed. “This IS calm.”

I sighed and shifted around to sit more comfortably, but I was a mess. Some of the fluids Emma and I produced had dried, leaving me feeling caked over.

Erica noticed and brought me a package of baby wipes and my clothes.

“Thank you,” I said and pulled out a couple to clean myself with. “Erica told you that Emma tried to take my power, and I took hers instead,” I said. “After she left to pick you up, I decided I couldn’t live with the idea that I had stripped two Magi of their power, and I tried to give hers back.”

Jordan’s face scrunched up and she turned a circle in frustration. “I’ve told you that you can’t give power back to a Magus after you’ve drained them. That’s why you should avoid having sex with them to begin with.”

I nodded. “I know, but I couldn’t just sit here listening to her cry over it. I didn’t like what she tried to do, and I liked what I did even less. I had to try something.” I looked at Emma, but didn’t want to jump right into what happened after the sex. I looked at Jordan again. “What did you find when you arrived?”

She waved at me and Emma. “You two passed out on the bed, naked and covered with cum.” Then she thought about my question. “Why?”

I looked at Emma again. “You didn’t tell them?”