“Ayden can actually use magic to turn himself into a dragon, his is an exact replica of my beast. Seeing that match was how I finally convinced him he was my mate,” Brogan replied. He was extremely proud of his mate’s unusual ability and wanted everyone to know about it.
“No way!” Derwin screeched, as he stood up and began hopping up and down. Brogan had no idea if he was excited or about to pee his pants.
“Does Latarian have a similar ability?” Ari asked thoughtfully, the witch in question was ignoring all of them as usual.
“No, just me. I looked through all her magic books and could never find anything about changing one’s self into a creature of any kind. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Ayden inquired.
“Yes!” Derwin shouted with a clap of his hands; he was still hopping up and down on the colorful carpet that graced the wooden floors of the living room.
“Both Derwin and I possess the ability to change into magical dragons,” Ari clarified with a smile for his exuberant familiar.
Brogan was just as interested as his mate about the dragon changing ability. “Really? Can you tell me how you got the ability?”
“Only that I was born with it and when I was summoned my familiar the first time he was immediately able to do the same. Like you, I have been unable to find it in any known magical source,” Ari confided once again, seemingly taking stock of Ayden’s facial features. Their newest witch had a rather plain face, but his personality appeared to be sunny and outgoing.
“How come your warlock can’t do it? That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t do stuff that she can’t.” At least the excitable familiar had sat back down as he asked his question. Derwin was obviously never at a loss for energy, Brogan mused.
As usual Latarian was not bothering to be in any way polite. “I’m a witch and Ayden is obsessed with reading. I am not fond of wasting my time with my nose constantly stuck in a book.” Brogan had no clue what the point of having all her power was, since she rarely used it and seemed to know very few actual spells. Ari and Derwin gave each other an indecipherable look at her reply and did not offer any further questions on the matter.
“I can’t wait to see your dragons, what color are they?” Ayden asked after the room was quiet for several minutes.
“We both have blue dragons,” Derwin answered.
“Maybe we should put an ad online for all blue dragons to mail us photos so we can find your mates,” Brogan joked.
“As much as I would like to meet my mate, I am happy to wait until Fate decides we should meet,” Ari said with a laugh.
“I am so glad you guys are here, but I am going to have to call it a night. I’m exhausted,” Ayden apologized and climbed off Brogan’s lap.
“You are still tired? We slept in late this morning, and it’s barely nine o’clock,” Brogan questioned with surprise.
“I’ll probably wind up waking up at like three, but I’m really ready to fall right asleep,” his mate revealed with a rueful smile and Brogan wasn’t anywhere near as tired as Ayden, but he wasn’t going to let his mate go to bed alone.
They said their goodnights and made their way into the bedroom. Brogan had plans to wear his mate out a little more before they attempted sleep, but Ayden was drooling on his pillow before Brogan had even finished brushing his teeth.
With a sigh, Brogan got into their bed and pulled Ayden into his arms so they could rest comfortably. Brogan was so accustomed to sleeping curled up under the covers with his mate that he doubted he still had the ability to fall asleep on his own anymore. Thinking back on the day’s events Brogan hoped Ayden felt replenished by morning. He had a feeling that Ayden would need all his energy to keep up with Ari and Derwin. Not to mention keeping up with the demands of being newly mated, Brogan thought with a grin, before kissing the top of Ayden’s head and letting his eyes fall closed for the night.
But Ayden didn’t feel rested the next morning. Once again he overslept, and when evening rolled around he was ready to head to bed almost as soon as darkness fell. Brogan wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but after several days of less and less time spent out of their bed he began to worry if something was truly wrong with his mate. It was on the fifth day after Ari and Derwin arrived that he finally became convinced that Ayden was somehow ill. It should have been an impossibility. Magickind suffered from very few maladies and most of them were related to rare birth defects, but there was no other reason Brogan could think of to explain Ayden constantly sleeping and now inexplicably he had lost interest in food. In fact, he was completely unwilling to eat anything at all.
“Aleksander, Ayden is sick.” It was Monday night, and they were all gathered for their regular family meeting. Ayden was the only one missing; he had already gone to bed for the night, even though, the sun was still high in the sky.
“He is certainly sleeping a lot,” Aleksander concurred.
“Did he eat anything at all today?” Noirin asked gently. She had baked up numerous sweets to try and tempt him, but it had all been to no avail.
“No, he just kept saying he wasn’t hungry when I brought him anything,” Brogan responded with a frown.
“I’ve never heard of an illness like this among warlock familiars, but it is obvious something is wrong,” Ari stated, although he and Derwin had not been at their home long they had, as predicted, began to grow fond of Ayden. Personally, Brogan thought it was impossible not to like his little mate.
“We are called witches. I find it odd that Ayden has fallen ill just as you have arrived,” Latarian aimed her scathing comments in the direction of their male witch.
“Are you trying to say I am responsible for whatever ails him?” Ari seemed incensed at the accusation, and although Brogan did not want to believe that of their newest additions the timing was difficult to ignore.
“What else could explain it? He had never shown these types of symptoms before,” Latarian pointed out.
“I am not making him sick,” Ari said through clenched teeth.
“You must know you will not get away with it if you are. After all, to come between a mated pair the punishment I am told is death.” Latarian gave Ari a sharp look, and Brogan wasn’t sure what to think. Ari seemed affronted by the very idea of him having anything to do with Ayden being sick, which Brogan felt could be a sign he was innocent. All he really knew at this point was that he wanted his mate fixed. Immediately.
“We need to contact someone to help him,” Brogan demanded.
“Maybe we should start with the prism wizard, he would know who to contact. It has been so long since the world has had witch familiars; we probably need someone who studies history to know what kinds of things can make a familiar sick,” Aleksander agreed.
“He will also help us contact the correct authorities if the cause of his illness is not caused by something natural,” Latarian added.
“I would do nothing to harm anyone here,” Ari’s hands were tightly clenched into fists as he spoke. Brogan’s only concern was Ayden, and luckily his best friend was of the same mind because he offered reassurances to Ari and then called the meeting to a close. Aleksander went to his office to leave a message for the prism wizard and Brogan headed straight for his bedroom. Undressing quickly, he crawled into bed next to his little mate.
“Brogan?” Ayden asked sleepily, as Brogan gently pulled him to lay across his chest.
“Who else would be getting into our bed naked?”
“I think I’ve got a list written down somewhere. I’ll find it for you in the morning.” Obviously Ayden’s sense of humor was still very much intact.
Brogan rolled his eyes before replying, “Very funny. Aleksander left a message for the prism wizard. We need to find out why you are so tired and have no appetite.”
“I’m not supposed to get sick, the spells on my back heal me constantly,” Ayden’s tone was one of pure annoyance.
“Latarian thinks it is Ari’s fault, that he is doing something to make you sick.” Whe
ther or not the accusation had any merit, Ayden deserved to know what was going on in the house.
“Why would Ari want to make me sick?” he sounded flabbergasted by the very idea.
“I have no idea.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I’d believe it of Latarian before I would Ari,” Ayden scoffed.
“He did arrive just as you fell ill.” Brogan felt it necessary to point the fact out, even though he had plenty of doubts about Ari’s supposed guilt.
“I still don’t think it’s him.”
“I just hope the prism wizard can help,” the thought was heartfelt. If the prism wizard couldn’t offer them aid, they were pretty much screwed.
“Me too. I knew I’d probably spend more time in bed after we were first mated, but I didn’t think I’d be spending all that extra time actually sleeping,” Ayden complained with a wide yawn.
Brogan gave him a now habitual kiss to the top of Ayden’s head. “I love you, my little hornball.”
“I love you, my giant hornball,” his mate replied and added a kiss of his own to Brogan’s chest.
Chapter 19
“Prism Wizard, thank you so much for coming.”
Prism Wizard Vadimas Porfyra had arrived at their house immediately after finding out that Ayden was ill. “Please call me Vadimas. I am happy to be of service. Let’s see what we have here.” Aleksander, Brogan, and the prism wizard were on their way to the bedroom Ayden and Brogan shared; Ayden had not even gotten out of bed today. Arriving in the bedroom they found Ari and his familiar, Latarian, and Blodwen already in the room keeping Ayden company. Brogan immediately introduced Vadimas to their newest family members; the prism wizard was delighted that there was another witch still alive. Had Ayden not required his attention, Brogan was sure he would have grilled Ari and Derwin with a million questions.
“Ayden, how are you feeling?” Vadimas asked, as Brogan sat on the bed next to his mate who was under the covers.
“I can’t seem to get enough sleep and I have no appetite,” Ayden explained tiredly.
“You might find it interesting to know that my familiar’s illness began just as he arrived,” Latarian pointed at Ari as she finished her statement.
Vadimas looked at Latarian and Ari both curiously before focusing his attention back on Ayden. “I rarely believe in coincidences, but in this case I can tell you that Ari’s arrival as Ayden fell ill is just that. I don’t know what this illness is yet, but I can tell you that it is somehow coming from Ayden’s magic itself.” The Prism Wizard’s face was a study of both concentration and puzzlement.
“Are you saying Ayden is making himself ill? Ayden, you have done your best to get as much attention as possible since our arrival, is it truly necessary to fake an illness as well?” Pure disgust rang in Latarian’s tone and once again Brogan saw Vadimas eyeing her curiously. Ayden gave her a hateful look, but did not bother to refute her accusation.
“I did not say it was the fault of your familiar. All I can tell you is that his own magic is attacking him. We need to figure out why so we can stop it. The sleepiness and lack of appetite are only symptoms. The real problem is that whatever is going on is draining his magic and as you are all aware a familiar without magic will perish. Being a witch’s familiar, I do not see how a council hospital will be able to assist us. Modern medicine has never seen any of your kind before.”
The prism wizard’s words slowly sunk into Brogan’s head, and when they finally settled into his brain he went cold with fear. Brogan shared a shocked glance with his mate, “Are you saying Ayden is dying?”
“Indeed, but I do not intend to let that happen.” Vadimas looked like he was going to say more, but Ari interrupted him with a question of his own.
“He is a familiar, his magic is naturally drained whenever a spell has been cast. Can’t Latarian just provide him with the magic he has lost?” Ari said the words carefully, as if explaining them to a child; obviously he thought his solution should have been obvious to them all, but as far as Brogan knew Ayden had never needed Latarian to give him magical power.
“I don’t give Ayden magic. He has his own,” Latarian said snottily.
“But, he’s a familiar. I don’t understand. That’s not how it works.” Brogan didn’t think Ari meant to be demeaning; he was clearly baffled by the relationship between Ayden and Latarian.
“Yes, I found it very odd too, but apparently these two have a unique relationship as witch and familiar. He is his own magical source and did you notice that he is the more powerful of the two?” Vadimas was speaking directly to Ari.
“I thought she kept him so full of magical power that it was confusing my senses,” Ari confided.
“No, he is definitely more powerful. I understand he knows more magical schools as well.”
“I thought the point of this was to make Ayden better, not to worry about why you believe us to be different.” Brogan rarely sided with Latarian, and he was intrigued why Ayden and Latarian were so different, but his mate needed help.
“Of course. You are correct, we can discuss this at another time. Now, has anything unusual happened since the symptoms began? Is there anything you can think of that might have caused Ayden’s magic to begin attacking him?” Vadimas made eye contact with everyone in the room; he seemed to expect all of them to volunteer any information that might help him figure this out.
“Ayden has recently mated with this dragon. Perhaps his magic is rejecting his mating; it is unnatural for a familiar to be mated with anyone but a familiar.” And just like that Brogan and Latarian were once again in complete and total disagreement.
“Fate chooses our mates, so certainly there cannot be anything unnatural about any mate pair. Your mating was just as the symptoms began?” At Vadimas’ question Brogan scooted a little closer to his mate to cuddle with him . Ayden sat up enough to snuggle against his chest as Brogan wrapped him in his arms; he must have felt the need for the comfort of his mate just as Brogan did. Neither one of them wanted to even consider the idea that being together was making Ayden sick, but Brogan would do whatever it took to keep his mate from having his magic drained.
“Yes, you don’t think our mating caused this, do you? If his magic is rejecting us, I would be willing to let Latarian cast her spell to break our mate bond.” They were the hardest words he had ever said and his dragon was roaring in protest, but if he had to give up being mated to save Ayden’s life he would do it. Brogan figured that even without the mate bond they could still be together, just not in the way they had expected.
Ayden pushed his arms away so he could look his mate in the eyes, “No way! There is no way we are ending our mate bond.” The green was making way for blue, and Brogan knew Ayden was getting angry.
“I’m not going to let you die,” Brogan’s words were resolute.
“This is ridiculous. Our mating is not making me sick!” His mate’s voice rose with the words.
As stubborn as he knew his mate to be, he was not going to allow it to result in Ayden’s death. “You don’t know that.”
“The idea is absurd. Mate bonds don’t kill people!” Ayden shouted and before Brogan could make any kind of reply a bolt of what looked like lightning landed near Ayden’s blanket-covered feet. Everyone in the room gasped in shock, except for the prism wizard, who stood with his arms crossed and had a look of annoyance on his wizened face.
“Hot damn! Those two fight all the time, can you teach me how to do that? Every time they start yelling: BAM!” Aleksander appeared ready to worship at Vadimas’ feet.
“Unfortunately shifters lack the ability to cast spells, otherwise I would be happy to give you the spell. As for your disagreement, I must agree with Ayden. I cannot fathom a mate bond resulting in illness. Latarian, I am quite curious about the spell you have for breaking mate bonds. Can you tell me how it is cast?” Latarian gave Vadimas her spell and Brogan watched as the prism wizard’s brow knit. He had no idea what the man was thinking, but he was relieved that h
e had agreed with Ayden. Giving Ayden an apologetic look, he attempted to pull his mate back into his arms. Either the look was enough or Ayden was too tired to argue, because he willingly returned to Brogan’s embrace and laid his head against his chest. A kiss to Ayden’s head and Brogan looked back at the prism wizard, who was shaking his head.
“I’m not sure who taught you that spell, but I can tell you that should you cast it, it would not work.”
“Of course it would work, my power is unmatched.” Obviously Latarian continued to ignore the fact that Ayden’s magic was stronger than her own.
“I’m afraid power has little to do with it. That is a demonic spell and only those of demonic blood can make it work and, since very few of them exist and no one knows where they live, it is useless. There is no written history of that spell ever being cast.”
Brogan shared another incredulous look with his mate, the big spell Brogan had thought would be the end of them wasn’t even possible. He wondered if Latarian was aware of the fact that she couldn’t actually cast the spell, but she had chosen to remain silent after the prism wizard made his pronouncement.
“Is there anything else besides the mating which we have already ruled out that could be suspect?” While he began wracking his brain for anything that could be making Ayden sick, he felt his mate shrug and absently ran his hand over his back. As he did so, he thought of all the spells carved into Ayden’s back. He didn’t know if all familiars had them or if they were unique to his mate. They had been there for centuries so Brogan could not imagine how they could be a problem now, but it couldn’t hurt to mention them.
“Ayden’s back is covered in unmagic spells, could they be somehow harming him?”
“Unmagic spells? May I see them?” After pulling away from Brogan, Ayden tugged his T-shirt up so Vadimas could see them. Brogan let his attention drift around the room as the prism wizard was studying his mate’s back. Aleksander wore a curious expression as he watched Ayden, and Latarian looked utterly bored as she contemplated her familiar. Blodwen, Ari, and Derwin wore matching expressions of pure horror. Before Brogan could make any sense of their reactions, Vadimas began questioning his mate.
Grand Redemption (D'Vaire Book 1) Page 20
