For the Love of Magic

by Natalie Gibson

  Maeve sat up slowly and took the cup from Libby. As she put it to her lips, a huge silhouette darkened the door. Maeve jumped and spilled a little of the tea onto her lap. The Guardian was in front of them in a flash and had the tea away from Maeve in the next instant.

  He tasted it and closed his eyes.

  Nathalia snapped, “How dare you barge in here like that? Do you think that Maeve’s in danger from us? That tea was made by our own Ingenium Primo. Do you actually think it could be poisoned?”

  The Guardian spoke not a word, but stood there stoic with his eyes closed as the Abbess railed at him. When he opened his eyes, he only looked at Maeve. He handed her the tea back and bowed one of his deep bows to her.

  “Oh, so she has your permission now, does she? How grateful we are to you.”

  The Guardian only bowed again as he backed out of the room. On his way out he grabbed the tiny bottle from off the nightstand. He opened it, smelled it, and then put a little on his finger. He waited a moment then he handed it to Libby with a nod of approval and gestured toward Maeve.

  “Nathalia, easy. It’s fine.” Maeve lifted her glass in a mock toast at the Guardian, and took a sip as Libby rubbed the salve on the matchmaker’s head. She had to switch hands when Libby grabbed each wrist and applied the potion there too.

  The Guardian was gone by the time Maeve looked up. “Wow, that’s crazy!” she said. “I do feel better. Ingrid deserves some praise.” She sounded more cheerful than she felt. The sick feeling was gone, but the unease she felt about being away from Aaron was not. She just wanted to run to him.

  Nathalia crossed over to the large door. “I’m gonna have a talk with Margaux about him.” She shouted out into the hall, “He doesn’t have to act like he owns the place,” and slammed the door and bolted it. “Shouldn’t he be helping Camilla now anyway? That’s what he’s here for.”

  Maeve shook her head. “He has to rest sometimes too. Did you know that he sleeps on the roof, in full sun during the middle of the day?”

  “He’s been up all night like the rest of us, plus he was up all day too helping clear the last batch of polluted power,” Libby rationalized. “However he gets his R and R is fine with me. I’m not sure what we’d do without him.”

  “How would we correct the problem if the Guardian didn’t have his unique gift—” Maeve glared at Nathalia. “—or was unwilling to share with us?” The Guardian didn’t even have to be there at all, but Nathalia was too stubborn to admit it.

  Libby answered, “I’m not sure, because no storage has ever been tainted by black energy before ours.” Libby looked thoughtful. “But I guess we would have two choices, both too terrible to contemplate. Sacrifice our Capacitors—they’d all have to pass away and break the circuit before the energy would dissipate—or use one of our Primos to siphon the power through and it would more than likely kill her.”

  The librarian’s answer rocked both of the other women. He was not just helping them; he was saving one or more of their lives. Maeve thought she would try to be more tender toward the Guardian. He had been nothing but protective and helpful since she first laid eyes on him, and his willingness was unforced and genuine. He had enough anger from Nathalia, without Maeve’s added to that.

  Libby sat on Maeve’s other side and hugged her shoulders tightly. “We were so worried about you. Vinculum Primo is connected to the Capacitors like none other. Your predecessor was my very best friend and so I know a bit about the matchmaker’s discipline. Peggy told me that embedded in the two main spells is a lesser spell. It sets up the path for the energy to follow from each couple you make to the Capacitors. You have an intimate connection with them because of your familiarity with that path.”

  Maeve thought about Peggy and said, “Yes, now that you mention her I remember how toward the end, right before she joined their ranks, she talked about feeling the connection to them acutely.”

  “Yes, she thought it was why so many matchmakers chose to move on to that next plane of existence earlier than other Primos. She used to say that, ‘In order for Vinculum to ascend to Primo, they have to put one foot on the other side.’”

  It was Maeve’s turn to console Libby. The Renuntio Primo was saddened by talking about her friend. Just like with Christians, “Heaven’s” gain was a personal loss felt by those left behind.

  “I know we give up our identities when we join the Capacitors, but I thank the Mother that she wasn’t the one killed down there tonight,” Libby admitted in a whisper.

  Nathalia asked hesitantly, as if clarifying a thought, “So, if Maeve’s connected so intimately with the Capacitors, is her excess orgasmic energy gathered by them just like with a matched pair?”

  Libby tilted her head and provided, “I guess.” She shrugged. “If there was excess power, but Maeve can tell you that matchmaking is a big set of spells that requires a huge amount of energy. There’s not normally anything left over.”

  “She’s right,” Maeve agreed. “I use all of my energy when I do a matchmaking. And once the spells are cast, my partner usually doesn’t want anything more to do with me so there are no superfluous orgasms to be collected by the Capacitors.”

  The rising sun broke over the horizon, burst warm through the window and shone on Maeve’s face. She closed her eyes. The glow through her eyelids reminded her of the ecstasy she’d felt with Aaron. That warm feeling of being completely out of control, with orgasm washing over afterglow washing over orgasm, was more addictive than any drug she knew of. In the pleasure of remembering, Maeve forgot to keep quiet about her breach in etiquette and said, “Except with Aaron it wasn’t that way.”

  “How so?” Nathalia pushed.

  “Once the spell was done, I expected him to react the same way as all the others, but he didn’t. He wanted me to stay with him. We made love over and over. Every barrier, every safeguard, every hang-up was analyzed and broken down by him in an instant. He was so in tune with me that he knew what every sound and every move I made meant. The first time we did it was the best sex of my life, and it only got better and better throughout the night. By early this morning, I had climaxes overlapping so that I couldn’t tell where one ended and the next began.”

  Maeve blushed at her own gushing, but it was all out there now. She felt most embarrassed because she had been out there enjoying carnal pleasures forbidden to her by title while all hell broke loose. Here, the dark effects of a matched couple’s murder had cause one Capacitor to bash another’s skull in. And Maeve, completely encompassed in an afterglow, took a while before she even felt the evil sickness.

  Her guilt must have shown on her face because Nathalia tried to quell it by saying. “We’re glad you enjoyed your night with Aaron. You deserve it. I’m not pressing you because I want to point out any error in your choice, only because something odd happened with the Capacitors tonight.

  “There was a great excess of power being collected and at first I just thought it was because of the ban on communal power. But then I found out it hadn’t happened the last time there was a ban. Until just a second ago, when Libby started talking about matchmaker’s connection to the Capacitors, I just thought that a lot of matched couples were making love. After all, it was Midwinter. What better time to make love than the longest night of the year? But now I think it’s Maeve.”

  “Sounds to me like you found a Levitus, Maeve.” Libby winced and glanced over at Nathalia. Because of the Abbess’ bias against men, certain subjects weren’t breached.

  “You think so?” Maeve whispered. She’d heard rumors of their existence but never a whisper of actual evidence. Aaron was a Levitus of the Family; no wonder they were so convinced he would be the father of the One.

  “What’s a Levitus?” Nathalia asked.

  Maeve responded, “It means ‘the lightning.’ They’re the rarest breed of men, one in billion, that are so sensitive and attentive to their sexual partners that the pleasure they can give a woman is unparalleled. They work like superchargers for o
ur Capacitors. Peggy only mentioned them in passing, having never met one herself, nor her mentor before her.”

  Nathalia stood. Her stiff shoulders spoke volumes of her discomfort with the subject that men, other than the Guardian, might have power. Pointing to Libby she asked, “How did you know about them?”

  “There is only one book in all the Daughters’ libraries around the world that contains the word Levitus, and it is in ours. Leonard took some interest in it when he first came here. He was convinced that it could be learned.” Libby’s smile sparkled. “I certainly wasn’t going to stop him from trying. Some of the best sex of my life was during that time.” Libby paused, the look on her face conveying her intense memories. She shrugged with one shoulder and smirked. “We had fun, but the Levitus ability is genetic.”

  Libby continued, “With a normal woman, capable of small and infrequent orgasms, a Levitus could turn them into multi-orgasmic nymphomaniacal partners. I can only imagine what one could do with a woman like Maeve. It’s no wonder that the Capacitors are overcharged. It’s probably best that it was temporary. It doesn’t sound like they could handle being overcharged night after night with a ban on communal power usage.”

  Maeve was not sure she could handle being supercharged night after night, but she only wanted to get back to Aaron’s arms.

  “Abbess!” A woman shouted from the hall. “Abbess! Nathalia, where are you?”

  Nathalia opened the door and Camilla stumbled in. She blurted out, “There’s another problem with the Capacitors.” Nathalia pulled her all the way inside and closed the door behind them. “Another one’s dying.” Before Camilla could continue the door tore off its hinges and smashed into the floor. Nathalia barely avoided being crushed.

  The Guardian stood, seething, on top of the toppled door. Gone was the calm and silent servant who had tested Maeve’s tea, replaced by a menacing monster. Completely naked, his cloak gone, he stood two foot taller. His back was hunched, his neck torqued so that his ear touched the ceiling. Giant bat-like wings, as golden as his hair, stretched out behind him, filling the corridor. Red opal eyes shone from within, flickering from an internal flame.

  Terrifying and alien as his appearance was, Maeve felt an attraction to go to him, to touch him, to taste him. Her stomach lurched, breaking the trance, and she looked around to see that the other women leaned toward him, feeling that same pull. His multi-layered voice drew her back in, “Come away from the One, Panacea.”

  Grabbing Camilla by her waist with one colossus hand, he backed out, looking each woman in the eyes. No sooner was he gone than his odd attributes, his very presence, was forgotten.

  Margaux came right in without waiting for an invitation. “Excusez-moi. I am sorry about the door.”

  Maeve looked down at it and said, “This old mission is falling apart. It’s not your fault that a little knock snapped the hinges.”

  A phone rang and Margaux pulled a cell from her pocket and answered it in French. After a minute she held it out, saying, “The Guardian says the Panacea is hysterical. She must speak with her Abbess.”

  Taking the cell phone, Nathalia nodded. “Of course, Margaux. Thank you.” Into the receiver she said, “Camilla, what’s wrong…? Calm down and tell us what’s going on.” She placed the phone back in Margaux’s hand and asked her to put it on speaker.

  Margaux pushed a few keys and held it out to the center of the room. Camilla’s voice came through scratchy but understandable. “Peggy’s dying. I don’t know what’s happening with her. She’s just fading. At this rate she won’t even turn to stone like the others. It’s like the power’s eating away at her. Bit by bit she’s coming apart. It’s nothing I can fix; I can’t replace what’s missing.”

  The Abbess attempted to comfort their healer. “We know, your power can only remove what doesn’t belong.” She spoke loudly. “Peggy joined the inner circle with a partner, as always. Capacitors work in pairs and now that hers is dead, the circuit’s gone. We’ll have to find a replacement or lose them both.”

  “And it has to be soon.” Camilla added. “I won’t have time to heal the black energy before the connection is lost. Whoever steps into the circle will be going into a very painful situation.”

  Libby stood. “I’ll go. Peggy’s my best friend and I can’t bear the thought of her dying.”

  Maeve shook her head. “No, Libby. You’re mated.” Leonard would surely suffer and die if the two were separated. No, it couldn’t be Libby. “I’ll do it.”

  “No, Maeve.”

  “Why not? I’m the obvious choice. I have no mate, Sara’s almost ready to step into my shoes, and Peggy and I already have a bond.” It was just as well. Without Aaron, the world held nothing for Maeve anymore.

  Margaux spoke up. “Your time ‘as not come.”

  Nathalia took a step forward. She swallowed a few times, looking at her best friend and then Maeve felt it. An overwhelming calm. Like easing into a warm bath. A complete absence of anxiety. They weren’t her feelings; they had to be coming from Nathalia.

  “You will be a wonderful Abbess, Maeve. I willingly gi—”

  Margaux interrupted, “It is I who take ‘er place. That is my destiny. I ‘ave seen it.”

  Maeve dismissed her offer. “You can’t step in because you have no link, no bond with Peggy. It won’t work. You would still just be two singles, and we need a pair.”

  “Do not presume you know all that ‘as passed between me and the Capacitors! I ‘ave connections to Peggy. Though I cannot explain to you, it will work. I can replace the one you ‘ave lost. It is simply a matter of you saying yes.”

  “You don’t know what you’re asking,” Nathalia argued. “The blackness…It’d be like stepping into...”

  “Freezing fire. It is my future.”

  Michael knew it hurt when he drew blood. It was purposeful. He insisted the blood used for their magic had to be gained through violence. His continued success bore witness to that, but he used especially painful techniques because he enjoyed their suffering.

  Jill lay face down on the white marble altar in their basement, wearing only jeans. Michael sat on her upper thighs. His erection pressed into her rear end as he leaned forward to draw the blade across her back. His cut mirrored his previous slice on the other side. “How can They not know?” Jill insisted through gritted teeth. Blood welled up and ran down her ribs to flow through the altar’s strategically carved channels and into collection bowls.

  “The veil keeps them from seeing.” The Gods of Old couldn’t tell them who exactly needed to die. It was up to Michael to find the right ones. He was Their chosen. The right combination of blood on the bone dagger They had given him would turn it into an unstoppable weapon capable of killing anyone with the slightest of cut.

  Michael slashed two more matching lines just below the first set. The high priestess was the first donor of the night so the carved canals were dry. She would have to donate until all the lines flowed red and each of the four bowls carried her blood.

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I will come to your room after the last donor is done. I will need relief before I can ask her for the next name.”

  His cock ached. He would cut every girl here tonight. Some of them might even cry. God, he loved that. Not as much as he loved it when his girl cried but it was still good. Ceremonial blood drawing was the best night of every month.

  The wounds’ flow slowed and Michael pushed at them, forcing more blood out of each cut. It must have hurt because Jill arched her back, lifting her shoulders off the altar. Her jaw clenched, the muscles in her face twitching in an attempt to hold back any sound. She didn’t mean to, but she let out a whimper.

  That sound made his heart pound. Michael exhaled a ragged sigh. The pleasure was short-lived since it was quickly won. Jill was too…easy. His girl had always held out so long, making him work hard to garner that sound from her. How he missed her strength, her high tolerance for pain, her hot angry tears, her sweet and powerful v
irgin blood.

  “She’ll tell me who they are. She has to mark them for death. Nathalia will know where to find them.”

  AARON SAT at the bar on the upper deck where he had a clear view of the dance floor. It was the exact spot he had been when he saw her for the first time. How many nights had passed since she’d spent the night at his condo? He couldn’t remember, but he’d spent every one right there waiting. He glanced at his watch and then downed the rest of his drink with one gulp. He leaned forward, craning to look around the stranger sitting next to him, caught the Rob’s eye and tapped the top of his glass. The bartender nodded and headed over to serve Aaron one more. Lucas’ hand shot out and snatched the glass away before the bartender could fill it.

  “I think he’s had enough,” Lucas said as he sat down beside his lovesick friend.

  The bartender joked as he refilled Aaron’s glass, “He’s only drinking Diet Coke, but he is on his eighth, so maybe he has had enough.”

  “Why on earth are you drinking that nasty shit? Wait, don’t tell me…that’s what she drinks. Seriously man, you gotta get over this girl. She’s obviously over you.”

  Aaron winced at the verbal blow. “I know I should and she said it would get easier, but I feel sick without her. Physically ill. I know it sounds crazy, but I think we’re meant to be together. I have to be here, in case she shows.”

  “And if she did, would you spout all this ‘meant to be together,’ ‘sick without her’ bullshit directly to her face?” He shook his head, tisking at Aaron. “You can’t sound this needy and get a woman like Maeve.”

  Aaron’s heart jumped at the mention of her name. The pull in his chest was sharp and undeniable. He stood up. “I think I’m gonna to drive over to the compound.”

  Lucas snatched up the keys lying by Aaron’s drink and shoved them into his own pocket. “Going over there right now would be a serious mistake. A girl like Maeve doesn’t like clingy men. You’ve gotta be more aloof. Maybe even make her a little jealous.” Lucas whipped his head back and forth, searching the crowd. “See that girl over there? Her name’s Star. Go talk to her, maybe you’ll get lucky.” Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out his cell phone and put it to his ear. He shouted, “Hello, Lucas here.” The music volume swelled and he plugged his other ear with his finger. “Hey JD, it’s been ages. Where the hell are you these days?”