by Nichols, TJ
Any prisoner or traitor sent across the void and captured by a tribe was given a choice. They would also be offered the same mental relief that these two were getting. Some chose not to, as though they thought screaming would make it stop. They were wrong.
The sun was almost ready to kiss the sand. Saka watched, waiting for the moment.
As one Saka and Guda sliced the soft skin on the neck of the sacrifices. The small cut was all it took. The blood was black in the flickering blue light of the circle; it spurted out onto the stone, then drained down the hole and into the mountain.
The flow slowed to a trickle.
The woman stared up at the sky, her eyes losing focus and her breathing shallow.
Guda licked her claw, and Saka wiped his blade and sheathed it. Already the magic was swelling.
“Demonside thanks you.” He had no idea if the humans heard, but it needed to be said.
While he’d been distracted, a few more had arrived and were waiting for the circle to be dropped. When the sun had fully gone, Saka would let it fall. Then the talking would start.
He already knew that tonight they would talk about water, which would turn to the talk of human slaves who could be kept for more regular rituals. He suspected that some tribes were already keeping the criminals sent across alive for longer than they were strictly supposed to. He didn’t blame them. Raising rivers, even just enough so the pumps could reach them was hard work. Tiring.
The vote on slaves would be overwhelmingly yes.
Tomorrow or the next day, he would raise his idea. He was hoping for a discussion, not an outright no.
Chapter Twenty-One
More tree planting. Now Angus understood why there were such nice forests around the college. Saka stood in front of him, waiting to act as the conduit for magic from across the void, but Angus had something else in mind.
Terrance had been teaching him how to gather up magic. It was all around him, but in much smaller quantities than in Demonside. This was the magic that wizards used. It was small, which meant they could never take on a warlock in a magical fight. However, it was fine for finding lost pets or jewelry or any of the other little things that wizards did when offering their services.
It was why Angus had never had a problem finding things as a kid… he’d been using magic without realizing. Because his father was a very active warlock, there was more magic than usual around the house. He’d never realized. Consciously gathering, though, was much harder than having it eddy around him and accidentally using the available magic.
But he’d been working hard with Terrance and now he could draw it to him. He was more aware of it. He wasn’t sure that he could do it in class, though. What if people noticed that he wasn’t using his demon? If they could see magic, then they definitely would be able to tell what he was doing.
As before, he planted the seed and held his hand over it. Because he’d been warned about touching Saka, he held his hand out but not enough that he could touch the demon. Saka seemed to understand and kept his distance.
Angus smiled.
Instead of drawing from Saka, he drew from the land and himself. He had prepared for the class, and it wasn’t hard to run his thumbnail over the cut he’d made on his finger and reopen it. Blood magic, the kind that involved blood from the magic user, was seen as weak by warlocks.
Terrance would be disappointed that he was cheating. Especially when there was so much around because of all the tears in the void, but Angus wanted to make a point. He didn’t need a demon to do magic. However, it was a whole lot easier.
If he was caught spilling blood, he’d be in trouble. Angus glanced over, but the lecturer was helping a student whose tree was rather twisted. A drop of blood hit the ground and was absorbed by the freshly turned earth. Saka’s tail flicked in question, but otherwise he didn’t move.
Angus noticed, but he had to concentrate on what he was doing. There might be less magic for him to draw on, but it was also less contained. He could feel the difference between drawing from a demon and drawing from the world around.
As before, Angus got the seedling going, carefully drawing it up. It was much harder this time. The concentration and the energy needed were making him frown and sweat. It trickled down his back, despite the cold air. He was never going to be able to get the tree to his height by his own magic. And because he’d done it before, he couldn’t screw it up this time. He glanced up at Saka and then lowered his gaze, admitting defeat… this time.
Angus was going to have to draw on his demon. He was playing with magic while Demonside dried up.
Saka tilted his head slightly as though acknowledging the effort Angus had made. Angus opened himself up to the push of power from Saka, accepting the magical boost. The increase in magic was heady. He could understand why warlocks got addicted to the feeling. For those few minutes, Angus was invincible.
He grew the tree rapidly, yet carefully.
Before they had finished filling this field with trees, he would be able to grow one all on his own, without his demon. That would make him a better magic user than all of his classmates who couldn’t do a spell without a demon.
“Very nice, Angus.” The lecturer walked by. “And without touching your demon. You can move on to drawing the power, dismissing your demon, and then see if you can continue growing the tree using one of the methods described in yesterday’s class.”
Angus swallowed. It was one thing to draw magic and let it dissipate, the way they had been doing, and another to hold on to the magic for later use. Saka used the glass orbs. Warlocks had nothing like that. They had to find a visualization that worked for them, which was made harder by the fact that magic wasn’t visible here. Too much of learning how to use magic was trial and error. He studied Saka and wished he could ask him. His lecturer wouldn’t appreciate his student taking tips from a demon.
With Terrance he’d been holding it in the palm of his hand, but that wasn’t going to be practical in the long run. The scar over his heart tingled. Saka gave a very small grin that revealed his pointed teeth. Of course. That was how Saka had given him magic before. The scar could act as a focus… Would it glow in Demonside? He’d never know.
That Angus and Terrance were spending time together had been noticed, but if other students assumed they were dating, it was a good thing. Much better than if they found out what was really going on.
Angus knocked on Terrance’s door.
“Come in if you’re horny” came the reply.
Angus hesitated. He’d never been in Terrance’s room, and he wasn’t turning up for sex. The door swung open. Terrance was wearing track pants and a dressing gown, but bare feet. Warm air wafted out into the cold corridor.
“That was a joke,” Terrance said without a smile.
“I knew that.” Would he be this confident by the time he was a third-year student? Was Terrance not worried about people noticing him and wondering what he was up to? Right now it was hard for Angus to imagine making it through the rest of first year.
Terrance laughed. “No, you didn’t. Come in; you’re letting in the cold air.” Terrance grabbed his arm and pulled him in, then locked the door. “Better to let them all think you’re here for one reason.”
“Which I am.”
Terrance winked at him. “I know that… I’m having fun. You should try it.”
Walking along the edge of the knife between two opposing sides wasn’t fun. He was going to slip and get cut in half.
There was a circle marked in the middle of the floor, a couple of socks lay over the line, but Terrance kicked them clear.
“You really are allowed to do summoning and spells in here?” Angus bent down to touch the circle. It was metal inlaid in the wood flooring, and it resonated with old magic.
“Yep. You want to go first, or shall I?”
Angus looked up. “Now?”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
Angus’s face started burning even though T
errance was referring to demons. Half the time when Terrance opened his mouth, his words were flirty. It had to be his personality. He was unsettling with his confidence and manner, as though he didn’t care what everyone else thought, or even if they discovered he was working with the underground. Maybe it was an act and he was bluffing his way through college while praying that he wouldn’t get caught.
He did want to know what kind of demon Terrance had, though. Not a big one if it fit in this room. “What is your demon?”
“Scarlips.”
“You have that in here?” That was a large catish-scorpionish thing that, according to Saka, hunted in packs and had occasionally been known to kill demons wandering too far from their tribe. However, they much preferred the smaller animals that lived in the desert. He was more likely to be seen as a threat than a meal. That didn’t make the idea of having one in a confined space any more comforting.
“Don’t freak out, she’s fine. She knows if she is good she gets some blood.”
“You don’t expect her to kill you?”
“We chased around that tree over a year ago. I’m still here, and Aqua behaves.”
“Aqua?”
Terrance shrugged. “She needed a name.”
Right…. This room was not big enough for a scarlips and two humans who no doubt looked like large juicy steaks. “You summon her in here regularly?”
Terrance nodded. “And I let her out of the circle.”
“Maybe I should go first.” That way if the scarlips tried something, Saka could help.
Both men stepped back from the circle, and a couple of minutes later, Saka was there and looking very unimpressed. His lips pressed into a thin line, and his head was tilted so his horns became more of a weapon and less of a decoration.
“You have just pulled me out of a meeting. I don’t have long.” Hanging from his belt was the damn vial—Saka had obviously expected to be summoned. There would be no fun in the collecting of blood today.
“Would you prefer to come back later?” He wasn’t used to Saka being so abrupt.
“I cannot go back empty-handed.” Saka glanced at Terrance, and his hand slid to his machete. “Who is that?”
“My tutor… in all things magic.” Angus tried to imply the underground.
“My lessons are no longer enough?” Saka gave a lazy smile.
Angus vowed to find a magical way to stop himself from blushing. “I enjoy your lessons, but I needed someone on this side.”
Angus dropped the circle, and Saka stepped out. He ran his hand up Angus’s arm and kissed him as though making it clear that Angus was his. Angus didn’t resist, he was hard before Saka’s tongue slipped past his lips.
“No fun tonight,” Saka whispered. “It is unfortunate.”
“Yes.” Angus wanted to have sex with Saka, and he looked forward to being fucked by the demon. If the other warlocks knew, they would be horrified. Terrance would be horrified. Angus drew back a little. Even though there would be no pleasure, he wouldn’t shirk his responsibility. Saka could take the blood he needed to rebalance. He would go back to his meeting with something more than the shame of being summoned.
Terrance was strangely silent. He didn’t look revolted, more fascinated. That eased some of the tension that had formed. While they did use sex magic in the underground, Angus wasn’t sure if they involved their people-demons. Maybe he had crossed a line that should never have been crossed.
Angus glanced at the other warlock. “This is Saka, he’s a mage. I have been learning about magic from him.”
“Yeah, I got that. I… wow. I feel a little lame.” But he cast his circle and the scarlips appeared. She was a very vivid shade of aqua. In Demonside she must shimmer. Her black tongue flicked over her lips when she saw Terrance. Then she realized that there was company, and that poison tipped tail arched forward ready to strike. “Peace, Aqua. They are friends.”
“Comparing demons?” Saka asked. “I will have to make a rule that whenever you call me there will be blood.”
It would still be worth it. “I owe you for today, and Terrance owed his… plus I can’t summon you in my room.”
Terrance dropped the circle and started petting his poisonous cat as though she was a kitten. “Hey, I can’t leave, but don’t let that stop you two.”
“Angus isn’t ready for an audience.” Saka smiled. “And I don’t have the time. Sorry.” His smile vanished.
“I understand. You have your gathering thing.” From what Angus knew, it was an important gathering of all the tribes.
“We are debating important issues among the mages. It is in everyone’s interest that I am there, not here.”
“Would first thing in the morning be better for you?” Terrance found the spot that made Aqua give something close to a purr. The frequency set Angus’s teeth on edge.
“Yes, it would.” Saka inclined his head to Terrance.
Angus should’ve asked that. “I’ll summon you in the morning in future.” Summoning Saka under the watchful gaze of Terrance took all the fun out of it. Maybe he could go to the motel again. Although if he got caught, he suspected the warlocks would do a better job of wiping his mind. This was safer. “You’d best take what you want.”
“What I have time for.” Saka corrected as he pulled a knife free.
“Wait, let me get Aqua sorted, otherwise she might try and taste Angus.” Terrance got off his bed and picked a ritual knife off his desk. Aqua’s ears flicked forward, and the dangerous tail curled around her back leg.
Without even blinking Terrance sat on the chair and rolled up the leg of his track pants, then sliced open his skin with several shallow cuts.
The way it was done was so calm and cold, Angus didn’t quite know what to make of it.
Terrance glanced up. “You get used to it.”
Saka shook his head. “You could do a better job.”
“You offering?” Terrance raised an eyebrow. In jest or seriousness?
Jealousy spiked in Angus. He didn’t want to share Saka, but if Terrance was teaching him, wasn’t it also fair that Saka teach Terrance? It would be better if more warlocks knew how to rebalance.
Saka’s touch on Angus’s arm tightened a touch. “Not tonight.”
Gently Saka pushed Angus to the bed. Angus sat on the edge, really not looking forward to what was about to happen at all.
Saka smoothed his hand up Angus’s arm, pushing his sleeve as he went. His touch was hot, and Angus craved more. He leaned forward to kiss Saka. Maybe he could distract himself. Sink into the moment and enjoy what he could. Saka’s other hand slid up Angus’s thigh as he knelt in front of him. The tips of his fingers grazed Angus’s erection.
The demon made a small growl of frustration and drew back a fraction. “I have no time.”
“Then do it and go.” Stop teasing and making me want what I can’t have.
The warlock and mage glared at each other.
Saka drew his blade and traced the tip down Angus’s forearm without breaking the skin. Angus shivered.
“Remember, the higher the emotion, the more value, the more magic is rebalanced.” Saka didn’t take his eyes from Angus, but he was speaking for Terrance. “Fear, lust.” Saka caressed Angus’s length. It was obvious which emotion Saka caused. “It makes no difference—I prefer lust. It is more fun for everyone.”
A kiss and the sure stroke of the demon’s hand. Angus groaned and then realized that Saka had cut him. The vial held by his tail.
When Saka drew back, the vial was full. Saka pressed his hand to the wound, and then it was healing. “It should be gone by morning.”
His hard-on wouldn’t be.
Angus glanced down and saw that Saka was at least suffering from the same problem. The demon’s breathing had even quickened. He stole another kiss, then stood and stepped back… gone. He didn’t need Angus to dismiss him or open the void.
Angus looked at his arm to be sure that Saka had actually been here. There was the proof in t
he mostly healed cut.
Terrance sent Aqua back and looked at Angus. “It’s not just blood, is it?”
“No.” He closed his eyes. Admitting that he liked sex with a demon would be too much. Years of being told that demons were bad and immoral was hard to shake. But he remembered their tents, the colors, and the way they had looked at him after the night with Saka. They saw nothing to be ashamed of.
“I could feel the magic rolling between the two of you.”
“You should see it.” Angus bit his lip; he wasn’t supposed to remember that.
“So it’s true… it can be seen over there.”
“Yeah. But Saka really knows what he’s doing.”
“I could tell.” Terrance put some antiseptic on the cuts he’d made. “I should be cutting myself now after watching that. I know what I will be doing in the future.”
Angus frowned.
“Not with Aqua… on my own. Ew.” Terrance threw a shirt at him. “You are lucky to have a mage.”
“Yeah.” If he’d had a regular animal demon, he’d have never been taken across the void. Luck had nothing to do with it, though; Saka had wanted a warlock and had chosen him.
Terrance looked at him, his eyes dark. Was he still feeling the lust? Angus pulled down his sleeve to hide the cut. The moment stretched between them. Angus’s dick twitched. If he went back to his room, he’d be entertaining himself.
Terrance got up, walked over, and sat on the bed next to Angus. “Stay awhile.”
Angus wanted sex that had nothing to do with magic. Did Terrance want him, or was he just seeking release? Did it matter when that was all he wanted? “No magic.”
“No magic.” Terrance took off his dressing gown. There were old scars all over his ribs. They were evidence that he paid for his magic, and dangerous if seen by the wrong people. They needed to be fully healed so no scars remained. Saka could do that for him.
Angus stripped off his shirt and undid his belt. Terrance’s hands were there, tugging the jeans down as Angus toed out of his shoes.
