Forbidden Magic: The Complete Collection

by Anya Merchant

  Victor held up a hand for silence. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he focused his awareness and bound his onyx aura to the man, opening a direct connection between their minds.

  It was a mixture of panicked confusion and uninterpretable static. Victor couldn’t see the man’s memories, or for that matter, anything beyond a chaotic mess of scrambled madness. He pulled back after a few seconds, letting his onyx aura fade off.

  “There must be another way to get in,” he said, turning back to Johnathon. “Please.”

  Johnathon shrugged his shoulders slightly.

  “Back before all this began, there were other entrances into the Labyrinth,” he said. “They weren’t well known, but occasionally we’d have people come into town from deeper in the tunnels, having crossed all the way through.”

  “And those connect to the cavern?”

  Johnathon nodded, frowning slightly.

  “I don’t know about any of them for sure,” said Johnathon. “Some people say that there was one in downtown, but it’s probably blocked up after all the construction that’s taken place. Other folk say there’s a couple through the sewers.”

  “But you don’t know for sure?” asked Victor. “How does this help me, then?”

  Johnathon chuckled under his breath.

  “Trust me, kid, I would do more if I could,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of someone getting hurt over trying to help all of us down here. Not many people give a spare fuck about us.”

  He extended his hand, and Victor shook it, closing his eyes as he did.

  I’m not giving up. Not now, and not ever.

  The walk back through the shanty town and to the tunnel’s exit was heart wrenching. Every fiber of Victor’s being screamed with guilt and shame. He felt like he was walking the wrong way, giving himself a chance to breathe fresh air and escape from claustrophobia while Kiara was still in the middle of it, or worse.

  It was a cloudy, silent night outside. Victor climbed the stairs back up to the street and took a moment to collect his thoughts.

  I have to tell Lucy, first and foremost.

  He took a deep breath, steeled his will, and started walking.

  CHAPTER 13

  Lucy’s apartment complex was quiet, devoid of any activity to suggest that anyone was still awake. Victor stood outside her door for a couple of seconds before finally gathering the courage to knock. He had to keep trying at it for a minute until Lucy came to the door and opened it.

  She was wearing a tiny nightgown that emphasized her figure, but her eyes were what Victor focused in on. They scanned him, and then the empty space to his side where Kiara should have been. The realization flickered across her face without Victor ever needing to say a word.

  Lucy drew her hand back as though to slap him, and then diverted it to run through her long blonde hair. She took a step back and gestured for him to come in.

  “Tell me everything,” she said. “From the very beginning.”

  Victor sat down on the couch with Lucy next to him and related the events of the night to her, leaving out only the business in Cassandra’s office. She listened intently without interrupting, and when he finished, she leaned back and folded her arms.

  “Tell me the truth,” she said. “Do you think that Kiara is…?”

  There was no need for her to say it. It was what Victor had been ripping himself apart over on the walk back. He’d considered taking Kiara’s moped, but he didn’t have the key, and even if he had, the guilt was too much for him to allow himself the convenience.

  “I think she’s alive,” said Victor. “The man I told you about, the one she saved. It seemed like he’d been in the cavern for a while.”

  Lucy stared at him for a half a minute, as though slowly trying to decide whether or not the assumption held water.

  “Why did you send her away from you, Victor?” she asked, keeping her tone level.

  “I thought…” Victor grimaced and leaned his head into his hand. “I thought I was saving her. I thought I was the one making a sacrifice.”

  His words had an unintended effect on Lucy, each one weakening her resolve a bit, as though he’d flicked salt into an open wound. She forced a sad smile onto her face and reached her hand out, taking Victor’s and running her thumb over his palm.

  “We’ll find her,” said Lucy. “No matter what. And I’m the one who needs to take responsibility. I sent you both down there.”

  “Lucy, that’s not-“

  “Quiet!” Lucy’s voice was authoritative and sharp, and it strengthened Victor by proxy. “Here’s what’s going to happen now. We get in touch with Kronenberg. He’ll be able to help us find these other entrances.”

  “I can help with that, too,” said Victor. “There’s a few libraries in the city. At least one of them will have what we need.”

  He stood up to head for the door, but Lucy stepped in front of him. Even though she was shorter than him by almost a foot, it felt as though she was looking down on him like she might a child.

  “You will get some rest before you do anything,” said Lucy.

  “What? No, I’m fine!” Victor tried to take a step around him, but Lucy moved to block him off. She took her hand and set it against the bruise on his leg, pushing hard enough to send a deep, aching pain through the rest of his body.

  “You are the only one that can stand a chance facing off against that abomination,” she said. “Besides, Kronenberg can check each of the library’s online databases faster than you could reach them all.”

  “Lucy, I’m fine.” Victor glowered at her, but she didn’t back down.

  She took a step forward, pushing her chest up against his. It would have been an intimidating tactic, coming from another man, but Lucy was a woman, and all it did was make Victor acutely aware of how soft and large her breasts were.

  “I will not take no for an answer,” said Lucy. “You can sleep in my bed. I’ll get Kronenberg on the phone and we’ll get to work finding the entrance.”

  Victor didn’t say anything.

  How am I supposed to sleep, knowing that she might not even be alive?

  “Victor,” said Lucy. She reached her hand up and gently caressed his cheek. “We’ll get her back.”

  Victor nodded. He wanted to believe her, more than he’d ever wanted anything before in his life.

  It was almost as though Lucy could sense his doubt. She met his eye, as though trying to impart some of her own hope into him. Then, she opened her arms and pulled him into a soft hug.

  “Your father was the same way, you know,” she said. “He always insisted on carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.”

  “This isn’t the world,” said Victor. “This is Kiara.”

  “I know,” said Lucy. “She’s my sister, as much as she’s your friend.”

  Lucy pulled back, but only slightly, keeping her body close enough to Victor’s for him to feel her heat. A flickering tension slowly began to spread through the room, like the rising tide on a warm summer day.

  Lucy’s hand ran across the back of Victor’s hair. He felt his body responding automatically, reaching down to Lucy’s waist, pulling her in a little closer out of instinct, more than intent. Lucy blushed and turned her face away from his.

  “I should call Kronenberg,” she said. “And get the search started.”

  She paused and then tapped her index finger on his chest.

  “And you should get some sleep.”

  Victor nodded and forced himself to pull away from her and walk toward the bedroom.

  “Use your azure aura.”

  Victor looked back at Lucy, over his shoulder.

  “What?”

  “It’s what Kiara does,” said Lucy. “When she can’t sleep.”

  Victor nodded slowly.

  She told me that once, in another life or death situation.

  He walked into Lucy’s room, stripped out of all his clothes except his boxers, and then climbed into her bed. It smelled faint
ly of fabric softener and perfume. Victor closed his eyes, bound his azure aura at a low level, and induced himself into sleep.

  CHAPTER 14

  It took Victor a few seconds to remember where he was when he opened his eyes. The sheets and mattress felt unfamiliar, too clean and soft for him to think that he was in his own bed.

  I’m in Lucy’s apartment.

  He heard footsteps approaching and leaned his head up to see Lucy’s petite figure walking over to the bed. It was still night, and the only illumination came from a thin sliver of light from a lamp left on in the living room.

  Lucy watched Victor for a couple of seconds, and then slowly pulled her nightgown up and over her head, revealing the matching set of underwear she had on underneath. Victor’s cock was rock hard by the time it hit the floor, but he also felt surprise and confusion muddling his thoughts.

  “Victor.”

  Her voice sounded tired, and the words came out slightly slurred, as though she’d had one glass of wine too many. She slowly lifted the sheets back and climbed into the bed, watching his reaction as she moved.

  “The search…” he said. “Is Kronenberg still-“

  “He won’t know anything until the morning.” Lucy reached her hand out gently rubbed his shoulder. “We should get some rest in the meantime.”

  A million thoughts rushed through Victor’s head, all at once. Lucy could have chosen to sleep on the couch if she’d wanted to. She could have put on pajamas, or kept on her nightgown. She could have stayed awake, and slept in the morning after Victor was up and about.

  What is she doing? And what am I supposed to do, in return?

  “Are you okay?” asked Lucy.

  “I’m… fine,” he said. “I’m just a bit overwhelmed by everything.”

  “Victor…” whispered Lucy. “You’re so much stronger than you even know.”

  Her hand slipped off his shoulder, slowly caressing its way across his chest. Victor let out a soft moan. His cock was harder than it had ever been in his life, and he didn’t understand why.

  This is Lucy. I’ve known her since I was a boy, and she’s always looked out for me.

  “I’m going to find her, Lucy,” said Victor. “I’m going to bring Kiara back, no matter what.”

  The words left his mouth carrying a hidden meaning. He was going to get the job done, no matter what it took.

  “I’m going to help you,” said Lucy. “In every way that I can.”

  Victor felt her hand slip a little bit lower on his stomach. His entire body pulsed with need. It was hard for him to pretend that he didn’t know what the reason for it was. He wanted her, and he’d wanted her ever since he first returned to Undercliff City, and reintroduced himself to her as a grown man.

  He reached his hand out and let it rest on her soft, naked waist, just above the line of her panties. Lucy flinched slightly, and then drew herself in a little closer to him on the bed. Her skin felt hot, but not nearly as hot as the tension in the air, trapped and magnified by the blankets and their half-naked bodies underneath.

  “She cares about us both,” whispered Victor. He let his hand slide down, passing across the silk fabric of her panties, and onto the side of her thigh.

  “I know she does.” Lucy’s hand also meandered, her palm hovering over his hard bulge as her fingertips toyed with the fabric of his waistband.

  Victor leaned his face in closer to hers. Lucy was staring at him, and there was just enough light for him to see her eyes and the swirling emotions within them. He wondered if it was really there, or if it was just a reflection of what he felt, somehow pushed out into her.

  He leaned in slowly, expecting Lucy to stop him, or at least pull back. She didn’t. Victor’s lips met hers, and Lucy slid her thighs open.

  That was all it took for the rest of their collective resolve to vanish, transmuted into unbridled lust as months of suppressed urges and desires came to the surface. Victor ground his hardness against her panties, pulling her tight against him as they kissed.

  It was difficult to tell whether any of it was truly happening or not. Lucy met each of his movements with one of her own, shifting and running her hands across Victor’s body as he pawed at her breasts and kissed her neck.

  She pulled his boxers down and slid his cock out, holding it like a loaded weapon in one hand. Victor was just about to get the clasp of her bra undone when she shifted, sliding his hands down to her panties instead. Victor practically tore them off, and immediately climbed between Lucy’s soft, perfect thighs to take their place.

  He moved up her body, his hard clock slowly rubbing against the soft inside of her leg. A noticeable shiver of pleasure went through Lucy. She put her hands up on his chest, as though reassuring herself that she could stop him at any time if she wanted to.

  We’re crossing a line. She still remembers me as a child, as my father’s son.

  Things had changed. Victor let the head of his cock tease at Lucy’s entrance. She was hot and wet, and her soft, warm pussy lips slipped aside as Victor eased himself in. Lucy reached her hand up and gently caressed his cheek, taking a deep breath at the same time that caused her body to shake with anticipation.

  Victor pushed in deeper, letting his cock get the full sensation of being inside of her, of Lucy. He saw images of the Lucy he remembered from his childhood, younger than she was now, but a fully grown woman in comparison to his nine-year-old self, the little boy who needed sandwiches packed in his lunchbox and to be tucked in at night.

  This is wrong. But why does it feel so unbelievably good?

  He thrust deeper into her. Lucy looped her hands around his neck and pulled his face down into her bosom, burying it there as though she was comforting him. Victor thrust faster, and faster, his cock eager to experience what it felt like to fuck her, his mentor, his boss, his father’s former girlfriend, Lucy.

  There were other emotions, too. She was Kiara’s sister, and the relationship between Victor and her was already complicated enough. Victor groped at Lucy’s big, beautiful breasts through her bra as he slid into her again and again. They felt better than he ever could have imagined, comforting, soft, and sexual.

  Kiara can never find out about this.

  Victor felt rugged energy coursing through his body. He pushed into Lucy faster, shaking the bed with each of his movements. Lucy let out tiny little whimpers and angled her hips up to meet his cock.

  “Oh…” whispered Lucy.

  He took her by the waist and lifted her hips, half holding her above the mattress as he ravaged her with his savagely hard cock. He needed her, every inch of her, and he needed a release.

  The darkness in the room gave the act a surreal quality, as though it was all just a dream. Victor was too enthralled by Lucy’s body to consider getting up to turn on a light, and he also suspected that this was the way she’d intended for the sex to happen.

  Victor leaned forward, letting his chest lean onto Lucy slightly. He positioned his lips against her neck and kissed her there as her hips bucked against him, keeping his cock mostly sheathed and grinding more than fucking.

  The combination drove Lucy wild. She let out a sharp gasp and wrapped her legs around him. Victor continued planting kiss after kiss in the nape of her neck, letting the base of his cock massage against her sensitive clit.

  Lucy’s fingers squeezed and tightened on the flesh of his back. She let slip a half-stifled moan and kissed him deep on the lips. Victor felt the momentum pulling him forward, and began to slam into her, not with gentle, caring strokes, but with aggressive strength, fueled by the fire of his lust.

  He fucked Lucy roughly, using her body like the beautiful thing it was. He began to feel confident, strong, and in control.

  Lucy let out a long breath, and with a levered movement that Victor did not entirely understand, she flipped him underneath her and swiftly mounted him. He didn’t try to struggle for control, and even if he’d wanted to, she had him pinned.

  Lucy slowly swayed her hips
back and forth, as though testing the hardness of his erection. She pulled herself up a couple of inches, her pussy lips gripping their way along the shaft of Victor’s cock. It was his turn to gasp, and though it was hard to tell in the dark, he was relatively sure that Lucy was smiling.

  She rode him with confidence, grace, and dexterity. Victor could see the outlines of her breasts bouncing with each movement. She reminded him of an experienced horse rider, breaking in a new steed.

  Is she breaking me in?

  He did struggle, once, sitting up in an attempt to regain a bit of his former status. Lucy put a soft, surprisingly strong hand on his chest and pushed him flat. Victor let his fingers settle on her hips, and she used his strength to leverage each bounce on his cock, as though encouraging her mount to run faster, and harder.

  “Oh,” moaned Lucy. “Oh!”

  She bounced faster, and faster, leaning forward to kiss Victor passionately. His hips were slamming up with her, and soon the two were making unintelligible moans of pleasure in a rhythm with each other. It felt good. It felt so incredibly, amazingly good. They were both shouting, and Victor was holding her tight as his cock slapped into her with reckless speed.

  “Lucy!” He reached his limit just as she did. His cock exploded with cum, spraying his entire hot, sticky load into Lucy’s cunt. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her legs intertwine with his, as if by holding onto each other, they could make the moment last forever. Pleasure erupted in Victor’s chest, spreading through every inch of his body and making him shake with pure, illicit delight.

  As if by magic, the bliss of the orgasm did seem to go on for longer than normal. Neither of them said anything to each other at first, and at least not directly afterward, as they both lay side by side in bed. Victor’s mind was numb, and empty of thought.

  “That should be enough to keep your nanites balanced for the next few days,” whispered Lucy.

  “What?”

  Victor sat up in bed and watched as the beautiful woman slipped back into her panties and out of the bed. She pulled on her nightgown and leaned over to Victor, close enough to whisper to him, but still with a safe distance in between.