by Viola Grace
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Magus Shift - Tarot: The Magician
Copyright © 2006 Viola Grace
ISBN: 1-55410-719-9
Cover art and design by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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The Magician
A being who takes their own destiny into their hands. Someone who makes things happen.
They dare to use their powers to shape their environment and circumstances, keeping nothing hidden from the public eye.
It is an indicator that one should not wait for fate to decide for you, take the initiative.
Use one’s natural abilities to create change.
Dazzle others with your education and skills.
To Edward and Teresa, who supported my choice to write with astonishing enthusiasm. A girl couldn’t ask for more understanding siblings.
Prologue
The small house on the corner of the street rang with laughter. Inside the warm confines an elf, a mage, a werewolf and a dragon were all having margaritas and chocolate fondue. It was a feminine coalition that would stop at nothing to protect one another from the grip of the mages and dragon councils respectively.
It was the bi-weekly meeting of the Half-Blood Club, and all members were in attendance; Hookey, the half elf. Hex, offspring of a magus and a hedge witch. Jinx, the half werewolf, and George, a full-blooded female dragon hiding from the council. The names went back to their meeting as children, when they didn’t want any nosey mages to catch on to whom and what they were.
* * * *
With a deep sigh of inevitability, Hookey stood and faced her friends. “I have a rather alarming announcement to make.”
The women around the table stopped for a moment and all eyes focused on the speaker.
“In two days, I will have to face the High Council and submit to testing to assess my power level. After the tests, I will be put to the Question as to the existence of others like me.” She took a deep breath and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a frustrated motion. “I’m afraid that we’re going to be ‘outed’, ladies.”
George eyed her friend dubiously. “Why now? Why, after all these years, are you being tested?”
“Apparently my Grandmother has pulled some strings to get me before the council. If I pass the testing, and we all know I will, I get to attend the Winter Ball.” Hookey grinned with pure mischief in her eyes. “I have nothing to wear.”
“Are you going to remove the glamour?” George reached for the pitcher of margaritas.
“I don’t think I have a choice. The council will be able to see the spell when I undergo the tests,” Hookey shrugged apologetically. “Sorry everybody. I never intended for it to happen this way. If my Grandmother weren’t sleeping with the councilor from the fey contingent they would never have considered letting me be tested.”
“Well, it’s not like we didn’t know this day would come,” Hex sighed with her usual practicality. “I guess we just have to make our own moves as fast as we can.”
Jinx looked hesitant. “Umm…I haven’t exactly chosen my target yet.”
Hookey was exasperated, “Why not? It’s not like you didn’t have the opportunity.”
“Yeah, at least you have a wide open field of candidates. Not like some of us.” George was disgruntled.
“Hey George, lighten up. We all know that you’ve made your choice.” Hex started blushing.
“And we all know that you’ve made up your own mind on the matter, Hex. How long have you been working for him now?” George’s voice was sly.
“I am not working for him. I am merely sub-contracting my services to his company. For the last six months.” She made every effort to sound prim, but she still blushed to her roots as she thought about her target male.
“Ok ladies, what I’m getting out of this is that there is no time to waste. George, make your move. I’ll be standing by if you need help.”
“Help? What kind of help could I need? I’m just going to fuck him, not let him do my taxes.” George was grinning like a fool as she contemplated jumping the male of her choice. Dragons were occasionally difficult to deal with, but they had frenzied sex drives. She had been fighting her own raging hormones for so long that she was almost snarling at the thought of a good lay.
“Never the less, if you do need anything, I’ll be there.” Hex got a far away look in her eyes for a moment then focused back on the women in front of her.
“Jinx, you hide.”
“Hide where?”
“Your father’s mother still owns some property out of town, doesn’t she? Go there.” Hex seemed to be in fine form. Jinx looked surprised, but a pleased expression crossed her face as the logistics worked out in her mind.
“That’s a great idea. No one would think to look for me there, the clan doesn’t know about it and mom would never tell.” Relief was evident in her voice. “I’ll head out tomorrow.”
“Hookey, you, I’m afraid, are on your own. Your grandmother has someone in mind for you, but I just hope for your sake it is not the council rep she slept with.” Hex stopped to sip her drink.
“Ewww, could you imagine? Sharing a guy with your grandmother?” Jinx was horrified.
“Hey guys, do you remember the time that my mom and I had a date with the same guy?” George giggled. “He thought we were sisters, and for some reason it seemed to turn him on.”
“Until you changed form and stranded him outside the reservoir with a memory wipe.” Jinx snorted. “Not very sporting of you. He never had a chance.”
The room collapsed into giggles and anecdotes as the beverages began to disappear. The tension of the tasks looming before them forgotten for a few hours as they just enjoyed being with friends who understood what it was like to be a being of magic.
Chapter One
"Ok Hex, how did you know?” George was genuinely curious as she held the cell phone to her ear and swung her free leg off the edge of the bed.
“I saw it. I didn’t know exactly when, but I did see you in trouble.” Silence fell. “What do you need?”
“I need you to get me the heck out of here.”
“Can’t you fly out?”
“I can’t transform with this stupid shackle on my leg. He chained me to the bed Hex!” George was furious.
“He chained you?” She kept her voice flat, trying not to laugh.
“Yep. There is just enough play to let me get to the bathroom and back, but my clothes are no where to be found. I need help here.”
“Where is he right now?”
“He flew off at dawn, about five minutes after he locked me in place. He said he would be back for lunch.”
“Is there a large mirror nearby?”
“Oh, Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Yeah, there’s one right across from the bed.”
“Touch it and hold on until I come through, ok?”
“You be
t. I’m on it now.” George reached out to flatten her palm against the cool slick surface of the mirror.
Seconds later it began to ripple and shimmer. A hand appeared in the silver pool, then a foot, and seconds later Hex stepped through.
“Wow, looks like you had a lot of fun last night.”
She surveyed the room. Sconces were askew on the walls, pillows had been disemboweled and the sheets were escaping the confines of the bed. The ambiance of the room was also heavily colored by the scent of sex that hung in the air.
Perched on the edge of the bed was her friend Graylin Treel. Known to the half-blood club as George, and also splendidly nude. Black waves of hair partially concealed the love bites and bruises that decorated her golden skin. Her black eyes were tired but shining.
“Yeah, it was tons of fun. I just want this damn shackle off so that I can get the hell out of here and contemplate trying it again.” Her left leg lifted slightly and waved in the air to cause a gentle jingling noise.
“Uh, why did he shackle you?” Hex knelt down and began to chant in a low tone. Energy built up and surrounded the cuff.
“Something about making sure that I was here when he got back.” George watched carefully and sighed. “Dragon tradition apparently. At least in his family.” She shook her head. “Mom never mentioned this. Mind you, when she and Mathias mated, they were in mid-air and she took off before he recovered.”
No matter how closely she watched, she would never be able to pull off the spell with as much dexterity as Hex. It did seem a shame that with all of that talent, she would never be acknowledged as one of the greatest powers of the modern age unless she joined the aegis of the high council.
With a shimmering pop, the cuff released.
“C’mon. I think I hear something.” Hex looked uneasy as she began to feel the presence of power approaching rapidly.
“Me too. Let’s go.” George jumped off of the bed and stood next to the mirror.
Hex raised her palm to the mirror and began to chant softly once again. The mirror turned into a pool of silver and she reached out to grab George’s hand as she began to enter the pool.
“Shit, let’s go!” George shoved Hex into the mirror as Rikard came into the bedroom at a full run.
His bellow of rage followed the women through the mirror as they tumbled out the other side. Hex waved her hand frantically at the frame in her living room and it became a mirror once again.
“That was too close.” Hex slumped onto her couch and flipped an afghan at George.
George tucked the blanket around her naked form and scooted onto the other end of the couch.
“I am so sorry. I never meant for you to get involved.”
“Was that Rikard?”
“Yep.”
“As in, Dragon Council Rikard?”
“Yep.”
“As in, not going to stop until he finds you now that he knows you exist, Rikard?” Hex had her eyes closed, her head leaning back onto the couch.
“Yep.”
“As in, able to call upon the entire High Council for a tracking spell to pinpoint your location at anytime, Rikard?”
“Yep.”
“Well, you sure can pick ’em.” She sat up and eyed her friend. “How long do you think it will take for him to find you?”
“I think I have about a week. After that I’ll need to be ready to move very fast, very suddenly,” George sighed.
“Why him?” She was curious. Her own choice had been made for quite some time, but the criteria that drove her friends was a mystery to her.
“I needed a dragon, right?” George waited for her nod. “So I did my research. Who was the best looking, who was not my father—that was a big one—and who had the best ratings in bed.”
“Whoa, how did you find that last one out?”
“I polled his ex-lovers. He likes it a little rough, very fast, and very often.” George blushed, “So do I.”
“So, it was good then?”
“It was fantastic. I left as many marks on him as he did on me. We started in the main hall and worked our way to the bedroom.” A dreamy smile crept across her face and her eyes fluttered shut at the remembrances. “He may need to have his drywall fixed though, I think we did some damage.”
“How long did you say it was going to take him to find you?” Hex’s eyes grew distant as she listened to movement on the astral plane. A pulsing shift of power was drawing near.
“At least a week, why?” George sat up and began to look worried.
“There’s a dragon coming in for a landing in my back yard as we speak. That’s why.” Hex got up and walked to the patio door. She breathed a sigh of relief. The silvery green dragon was extremely familiar.
“It’s your mom.” Hex flipped the lock, swinging the door open in welcome. A minute later George’s naked mother was walking quickly across the grass and into the house.
“Excuse me for a moment. I’ll be right back with some clothing.” Hex shot up the stairs as quickly as she could. The look in Arabel’s eyes was pure murder. Angry dragons were best avoided.
In a tone universal to all races Arabel rounded on her offspring. “Graylin Treel. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Whatever do you mean, Mom?”
“The entire dragon clan has been alerted to your presence. Rikard himself just sent out an alert to locate you.”
“Wow. That was fast. How did he know who I was? I didn’t give him my real name.”
“He talked to the Council at dawn this morning. He wanted to know who could possibly have had an unrecorded female birth in the last one hundred years.”
“So, no one knows about me. Do they?”
“Apparently Mathias had some idea. He immediately mentioned me, had me summoned to the council chambers and they Questioned me.”
“Ouch. Are you alright?” Questioning hurt. It forced all information that was requested to be revealed. There was no way to coach an answer when you were put to the Question.
“I’m fine. The result of your little interlude however, is not.” Arabel sighed and sat on the couch next to her daughter. They really did look more like sisters than was proper.
“Arabel,” Hex began to descend the stairs, “When do you think the council will find her?”
“In the next twenty four hours.” Arabel took the pullover dress that was handed to her. “You are not safe either Izzy. You came up in Questioning.”
Isobel almost fainted, “How?” She knew it was coming, had steeled herself for it, but the vulnerability she felt was still a shock. It was now public knowledge that Isobel Marlin was a powerful magus and Hex had never been more scared.
“I was still under the Question when Rikard felt Graylin call you. He asked me if I knew anyone who could retrieve her from his house. Your name came up. I think they alerted the Warlock council. They may come for you at any time.”
“Well then, you had best take your daughter and get the hell out of here.” Hex stood quietly and began to formulate a plan. It would bump up her original time table, but it just might work. Oh, crap. Work. She would definitely be late today.
“Go. Both of you, out!” Hex shooed them out of her house and into her back yard. She stood quietly as they removed the borrowed clothes and transformed into great flying beasts. When they had gone she retrieved the clothing and got ready for work.
Chapter Two
"Morning Dave. How was your weekend?” The polite chit-chat was a Monday morning staple. To Isobel it was just one more thing she had to do to fit in.
“Fine. The boss wants to see you, first thing.” Dave didn’t even glance up from the code on the screen in front of him. He was too busy looking for bugs.
Izzy’s specialty was gremlins, the vicious creatures that fouled the hardware of larger operating systems, destroying data links and crossing wires.
“Which boss?” She put as much genuine curiosity into her tone as she was able. Stalling for time was not her favorite th
ing to do.
“The client whose systems we are currently working on. The one who pays our boss so he signs our checks. That boss. Mr. Sterling.” He still did not look up. Just kept scrolling though code, looking for something that should not be there.
Izzy sighed and walked down the long halls to the president’s office. The door read James Sterling - President. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“You asked to see me?” She carefully avoided using either his name or title.
“Isobel Marlin, daughter of Sirus Marlin. You are quite possibly one of the most powerful mages of our time. And yet here you are fixing my computers. Small world.” His eyes pinned her to the spot as she eased herself into the office.
“Close the door Isobel. You and I have something to discuss.”
“Is there a problem with the work I’ve been doing for you?” She kept her voice even while she pushed the door shut with her foot.
“No. But there are a few things that I need you to attend to, for example. Catch!” With a sudden flip of his wrist a small object came hurtling toward Izzy.
“Wha..?” She reached out in reflex and a shower of fine powder exploded as she caught the missile. A solid sneeze and a few seconds later she was unconscious on the floor.
* * * *
When she woke a few hours later, she recognized the feeling weighing down her limbs. Pixie dust. He had nailed her with pixie dust. For the next two days she would be completely powerless. Her knowledge of the spells and hexes she had learned over the last twenty years would be inaccessible to her memory.
She sat up and found herself in a room that was vaguely familiar. It looked like the guest chambers at the High Council Hall. As Izzy took stock of the room around her, the door opened to admit an Acolyte of the High Council.
“Ms. Marlin, I’m glad you have woken. Please accompany me.” He gestured to the open doorway and waited for her to rise to her feet.
