by M. D. Grimm
My eyelids grew heavy, and though I struggled, it was a losing battle. The darkness claimed me once more.
***
The next time I woke, I could smell the night in the air. I felt better and flexed my fingers and toes, my body obeying me once more. I sighed in relief. My head was still achy but no longer pounding, and while my body was still sore, it could be ignored. I gingerly reached down to my magick, and it answered me quietly, exhausted. I let it be and rolled over, gazing at a sleeping Aishe.
I brushed a strand of hair away from his face and whispered his name. My relief doubled when my voice came back to me, though a little hoarse.
“Aishe,” I repeated softly, stroking his cheek.
His sweet face scrunched up slightly, and his eyes opened with seeming reluctance. He took a deep breath but then just stared at me, the sleep quickly vanishing from his eyes.
“Morgorth?”
“Who else would it be?” I smiled. Aishe kissed my hand before pressing his forehead to mine.
“What happened to you?” Aishe whispered.
“Magick fever,” I said. “It’s something that happens to a mage if they use too much magick and don’t pace themselves. I’ve had it before, when I was younger and trying to prove something to Master Ulezander.”
“But, what is it?” Aishe asked, leaning back to look at my face.
“The magick becomes weak,” I explained. “And the only way to replenish it is to take from the body it resides in. It’s sort of like what happens when you starve -- your body feeds off itself, trying to stay alive. The magick does something similar. But it takes energy and causes the host body to shut down.”
“Sounds awful.” Aishe cupped my face, as if reassuring himself that I was all right.
“It is,” I agreed. “But I’ll be fine. Just need to rest.” I sighed. “Well, if Nanna and Dyrc will let me. I’ve missed their deadline.”
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Aishe said. “Nanna came to visit after I got you here and--”
“What?” I sat up quickly, which wasn’t a good idea. My vision swam, my head pounded, and I fell back to the bed with a grunt.
“Calm yourself,” Aishe urged, rubbing his fingertips at my temples. The pounding dissipated as his fingers worked their own magick.
“She asked if you had come to a decision,” Aishe continued. “I told her that she had a lot of courage to come here, demanding the stone, especially after what Dyrc did.”
“And what did she say?” I asked, my eyes closed, enjoying the head massage.
“She asked what he had done,” Aishe said. “I told her about the necromants, and she didn’t believe me. Not at first. But when I had explained everything, she turned so pale. She didn’t know. She didn’t know what Dyrc had done.”
I wasn’t convinced that she didn’t, but I couldn’t prove it either way.
“I told her that she would not get an answer until you were well. She agreed and left.”
“Where did you speak with her?” I opened my eyes and stared at his face, hoping he didn’t try to lie to me.
Aishe rolled his eyes. “I opened one of the front doors and stayed behind it. She did not make any move to attack me, Morgorth. I was quite safe. I wish you would trust me.”
“I do.” I gripped his wrists, and he stopped massaging.
“I do trust you, Aishe. But I don’t trust them. I still worry about your safety. Especially when I’m unable to protect you.”
Aishe nodded and kissed me gently. I pushed into his arms and deepened the kiss, needing to taste him, needing to reassure myself that we were both all right. Aishe clenched his arms around my waist, and I wrapped my leg over his, pressing our groins together. I realized he was naked and moaned when I felt him harden against my balls.
But as our touches became more intense, I became lightheaded and nauseated. Cursing, I pushed away and rolled onto my back, covering my eyes with my hands.
“What’s wrong?” Aishe panted.
“The fever,” I grunted. “It’s not done yet.”
“Okay.” Aishe sat next to me and stroked my head.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t be.” Aishe kissed my forehead. “I want you healed. Then we can indulge in each other.”
I smiled, then sighed. “What happened with Dyrc, Aishe?
I passed out after you pointed an arrow at him. Why didn’t he kill you?”
“I’m sure he was going to,” Aishe said. I uncovered my eyes and looked at his face in the dark. His eyes glowed faintly, like green lanterns. “But then the strangest thing happened,” he continued.
“What?”
“Well,” Aishe said slowly. “At first I was alone, standing over you, knowing I would probably die at any moment.
Dyrc certainly looked like he wanted to kill me. But then, the wichtln pack came out of the forest, and -- well, they encircled me and you. They blocked you from Dyrc’s view.”
I gaped at Aishe. “They wouldn’t do that.”
“They did.” Aishe’s eyes widened. “And, not just them.
Grekel howled, a piercing and haunting noise, and the truls and morag, and the fasion, all the other creatures followed their lead. They blocked both of us from Dyrc’s vision.
A rather large trul lumbered in front of me and just stood there, a large club in his hand.”
My breath caught in my throat. “But they... they don’t do that. Especially the wichtln. They wouldn’t protect a weak leader. I was helpless. They only follow the strongest. They would wait and see who was the strongest so they could side with them.”
Aishe shrugged. “I’m telling you what I saw, Morgorth.
What I saw with my own eyes. Your minions protected us, Morgorth. The fasion dove at Dyrc, attacking him from all sides. He looked just as shocked as you do now.”
I couldn’t comprehend any of this. “They don’t do that,”
I insisted. “The wichtln only follow the strongest. They don’t... they just don’t do that. They don’t protect a downed leader.”
“Grekel stood beside me,” Aishe continued. “He looked like he wanted to rip Dyrc’s throat out. They protected us, Morgorth. All of them protected us. The wichtln led the charge.”
I shook my head and swallowed hard. “I need some water.”
Aishe reached over me and grabbed the goblet sitting next to the bed. I sat up slightly and drank slowly.
“So Dyrc just left after that?”
“Yes. After everyone attacked him.”
I blinked. “My minions attacked?”
“Every single one.” Aishe smiled. “Dyrc ran like a coward. It was wonderful to see.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.” And I was.
“It would seem we both misjudged the wichtln,” Aishe said softly a moment later. “It seems they have more affection and loyalty for you than we thought. Than I thought.”
I lay back down, setting the empty goblet on the table. “I really don’t know what to do with this information.”
“Well, don’t thank them,” Aishe warned.
I smiled. “No, I know that much, Aishe.” It was one of those strange elements to the relationship between master and minion. To thank them would show weakness. To keep silent would prove that I had expected them to save my ass -- it would say that I expected their continued loyalty. It would show my confidence in myself and in their fealty to me. But I could thank them in my mind. I loved all my dark minions at that moment. Not just for saving me, but for saving Aishe.
Aishe curled next to me, and we lay in silence as the night wore on.
“I really need to practice more on drawing magick from the elements.” I meant to only think it, and it startled me that I spoke out loud.
“What do you mean?” Aishe asked.
I stared at the ceiling, enjoying Aishe’s body warmth.
I was still so cold, and his love and warmth seeped into my skin. “Mages have two sources from which to draw magick. Inside themselves a
nd outside from the elements.
I’ve never done big magick like that before, multi-tasking in a fight, so I, well, slacked on training myself to draw from other sources.”
“I don’t think Master Ulezander would be pleased,”
Aishe commented.
I let out a small laugh. “No, I don’t think he would. I’ve slacked on a lot of things, Aishe, and I’m not proud of it.
I’ve gotten way too arrogant.”
“Not you,” Aishe said sarcastically.
I laughed again and smacked his ass. He chuckled. I turned to look at his smiling face. “And if I don’t practice channeling magick from other sources, when battle comes, I’m in danger of dropping my guard and getting killed.
Thankfully, air is the easiest element to draw magick from. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to fight both necromantic armies.”
“How do you do it?” Aishe asked.
“I send a small part of my magick out and make it latch onto the magick of the element. Then I just tug it inside me.
It’s a very strange feeling. Not uncomfortable or anything, but just... strange.”
“What can you do with outside magick besides create monstrous tornadoes? Which, I must admit, scared me. And amazed me. You really are something, Morgorth.”
I smiled. I liked his questions. His fascination about what I did, about who I was, was gratifying.
“There are a lot of amazing things I can do with foreign magick. Things I can’t do with my magick alone.”
“Like what?”
“Remember the Velorn tribe?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“And those balls of light I juggled and then handed to the children?”
Aishe nodded, still looking confused.
“Well,” I said, “I wouldn’t have been able to give them anything without drawing creation magick from the elements.”
“I don’t understand,” Aishe admitted.
I smiled and slowly sat up, propping a pillow against the headboard. The nausea had disappeared, and my head felt fine. Aishe rested his head on my shoulder and leaned into me, his arms around my waist. His constant need to touch me always filled me with a strange warmth, one I could never completely describe or label.
I rested my hand on Aishe’s smooth shoulder and felt a strange contentment overcome me, despite what had happened only hours before.
“The spells I use in battle and in daily life do not last,” I said. “The longer I want a spell to last, the more power or energy I have to pump into it. That is why I use the crystals for enchantments, to keep them active. Then I just need to keep the crystals full. It would be the same if I were to use the magick inside me or the elemental magick around me.”
I paused, searching for the words that would explain the process the best.
“When I created those glowing balls for the children, I started out using the magick inside me, but then, to make them solid and everlasting, I used the creation magick the Mother brought forth to create the cosmos.”
I looked down at Aishe. “It’s all around us, her magick.
I used the different elements and combined them, fusing them inside each ball, making them solid. Creating them, essentially. But in battle, like this one, it was different. I wasn’t creating anything solid, anything everlasting. I was trying to gain more energy, more power, because I knew my own was waning. Magick can do a lot of amazing things.”
“I’ve noticed,” Aishe said. “I’ve learned a lot about magick since meeting you. I’m a little jealous I can’t do what you can.”
“I’m a little jealous that you can heal better than I can.
We’re even.”
Aishe chuckled. I stroked his shoulder before lowering my hand across his back. Aishe shivered, and his muscles flexed under my touch.
“What about your gargoyles and stone dogs? Is that what you did with them?” Aishe asked.
I smiled. “Close. But since they’re essentially alive with their own personalities, that takes a greater degree of creation magick than the simple balls took. To keep them alive and independent of me, I used a spell that gave them the ability to draw their magickal life energy from the magick around us. My little minions draw off of it. It is their breath of life.”
“Sometimes I’m in awe of you,” Aishe said softly, his hand creeping down my stomach and under the blankets.
I pressed my nose to Aishe’s soft hair as his callused hand wrapped around my semi-erection.
“No wonder the other mages are afraid of you.” Aishe looked at me, his eyes bright in the darkness. His voice had become rough. “You’re brilliant.”
I shook my head. “I’m not doing anything they haven’t done.”
Aishe pressed his lips to my chest as his hand continued to pull slowly, causing a fire in my gut. He fondled me expertly, knowing where to touch, where to apply pressure.
I gasped for breath and was relieved when the nausea and lightheadedness did not return. Aishe’s mouth soon replaced his hand, and the suction was nearly my undoing. I have never met anyone so desirous to give me pleasure.
My orgasm shuddered through my body, and I was determined to return the pleasure this time. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down, but as I did, my magick seared inside me and my limbs became weak. I cried out and landed hard on him, gripping my stomach.
“Morgorth!” Aishe touched my face, rolling me onto my back. “What is it?”
As quickly as the spasm had come, it subsided and I was weak and limp once more. Sweat broke out all over my body, and I shivered with cold. My anger wouldn’t help me, but I felt it anyway. I gripped the blankets and cursed vehemently.
Aishe got out of bed and dampened the cloth once more, wiping it across my face. “I’m so sorry, Morgorth. I didn’t think--”
“Shut up,” I grunted. “Not your fault. It’s the fever.”
Aishe bathed my body once more before lying beside me again. He clasped my hand and laid his head on my shoulder. We lay in silence, and I brooded in the dark. I eventually came to a decision.
“I’m giving them Rambujek,” I said. “And I don’t want to argue about it.”
Aishe was silent for a moment. “I happen to agree with you, my love. The ruby is not worth dying over.”
“Even with the necromants that shit-eating Dyrc raised, the Council will never call off their dogs,” I said, thinking of all the mages they could send to collect the cursed ruby.
“And I can’t start a war with them. Even if they do deserve to have their butts blasted off.”
“And the peridot is more important,” Aishe said. “Happy Valley needs it.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Let’s just trade it tomorrow and get it over with.” I paused. “I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you.”
“My dear, dear Morgorth.” Aishe raised himself on his forearms and looked down at me. “I have never been prouder of you. You are sacrificing your pride for the good of others. They call it sacrifice for a reason.”
I stared up at him, amazed. “I find it surprising that you can make me sound like a hero when I’m giving in to arrogant jerks.”
Aishe smiled.
“Oh, and by the way,” I said, managing to take his hand.
“I want to thank you for saving my life yesterday. You’re certainly my hero.”
Aishe grinned and kissed me again, slowly, sensually.
“You’re welcome. My mage.”
I smiled and he curled next to me, and we slept peacefully through the night.
***
“I don’t know if I can do this.” I admitted bitterly. I punched the wall outside my stone room weakly. If such a simple process of undoing the enchantments to gain entrance to the room made me this weak, how was I to undo the spells around the stones and confront Dyrc and Nanna?
“You can.” Aishe urged and set me back on my feet. “I know you can.”
How he could say and mean that, I wasn’t sure. He’d had to help me dress this morni
ng for the Mother’s sake.
We walked inside the room, the plush purple carpet under our feet leaving our footprints. I took several deep breaths and walked toward the small pedestal. My six glittering, tempting stones lay there innocently. All of them called to me. In my weakened state I heard their calls louder and felt myself pushed toward them. I could almost see myself using Rambujek and destroying the Council, finally giving myself some peace.
Aishe touched my back, softly.
No, that wasn’t the answer. I flexed my fingers and rolled my neck. Holding out my hands over the faintly glowing purple dome that covered the stones, I slowly undid the spells that held up the enchantment that caged them. The enchantment that protected them from those who would take them.
I grew cold, and my magick ached as I dismantled the enchantment. Undoing an enchantment was easier than making one, yet I still needed Aishe to hold me up when I was done. I was sweating again, and my legs were trembling.
Damn it. I scowled and cursed Dyrc anew.
“Just take it one step at a time, Morgorth,” Aishe said comfortingly.
I took a breath, grabbing a cloth out of my pocket and untying a small pouch from my belt. I used the cloth to slowly pick up the ruby, careful not to touch any of the other stones. Touching a stone would allow their call to become much stronger than it already was. I slipped the stone into the pouch and securely tied it closed. The Stones of Power had a tendency to get “lost” and find their way into the hands of weak or glory-seeking individuals.
I didn’t have enough strength to rebuild the enchantment just then, and so for the first time since creating the prison for the stones, I left it unguarded. I had no choice, but I felt ill doing it. Of course, I already felt ill. My stomach was tight, my muscles constricted, and I couldn’t stop sweating.
Aishe wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me out of the room and down the stairs. The entryway once again become blocked by the magickal stone, and the door became invisible once more as it swung shut behind us.
