by Lisa Oliver
Handing Lucifer the plate and fork, Stefan sat down, clasping his mug of stew in his hands. It wasn’t cold – the air was hot and warm with the sun baking down on the sand around them. But the cup was familiar, and comforting.
“I never wanted to be an anchor, you know,” he said quietly once he knew Lucifer was eating. It was easier not to look at the man, especially when he was still only half dressed. Those muscles and tattoos were so distracting. “I remember when I was younger getting so angry about it. I could be responsible with my own magic, so why couldn’t powerful users be the same? I was still a teenager, you understand, determined to combine my magic with my tinkering, but then I got told I had to use my abilities to channel someone else’s magic. I didn’t handle that well.”
Surprisingly, Lucifer chuckled. “This stew is good, thank you,” he said waving at his almost empty plate. “And if you thought you had it bad, imagine how someone like me felt knowing I could only use my magic if I had an anchor. I was an arrogant asshole who didn’t believe they needed anyone well before I became a steward for the council. In my teenage years I was determined to be the exception to the magical rule – I truly believed it was simply a matter of control. My poor parents were refused house insurance after the third time I set it on fire, and you wouldn’t believe the number of things I blew up, trying to find and maintain that control.”
It was Stefan’s turn to laugh. Somehow, just that tiny admission, helped him feel closer to the bigger man. “Yeah, well, I guess we’re both tied by rules outside of our control. It can be very difficult being an anchor sometimes though. Because we’re considered necessary, the more powerful magic users put in laws stopping us from doing other work, or even renting a house on our own. It’s like the lawmakers only saw us as a tool so big magic could be used, and they never see us as a person in our own right.”
“Big magic, bah.” Lucifer had finished his stew and was now leaning back in his chair, holding his water bottle. “I’ve seen assholes insist they need an anchor just so they don’t have to put their own books away at a library. You are right, but you won’t hear me say it often. Darwin’s mate, Monty, is the do-gooder advocate who’s trying to change the rules for anchors for the better. I agree with the principle, but that’s not something I’m ever likely to do. Long winded meetings and having to kiss ass to even be heard gives me hives. I use magic to catch bad guys, and that’s my life. It has been for a long time. I hope that’s going to be okay with you. I know the past few days have been rough.”
Seeing as Stefan hadn’t even considered asking Lucifer to give up what he did so well, he didn’t see the point in responding to the question, but the indirect reference to their mating did give him an opening of sorts for what he had to explain.
“You know, your original assessment of young magic users wasn’t that far off the mark,” he said haltingly. “After Gaston died, I was adrift – swamped with offers, but too young to make good decisions for myself. Someone told me I was his mate – I was only twenty and believed him. It was sheer luck I didn’t die, but I did end up in hospital for three months. I’ve been overly cautious around powerful magic users like you ever since.”
“Shit!” Lucifer’s water bottle exploded as the man jumped up. “Who was it? Tell me they caught him and he’s rotting in jail at least.”
Stefan shrugged, staring down at his mug that was still half full. “The council didn’t do anything, even though the doctor at the hospital did report it. A guy in a suit came around to interview me, but when I told him what happened he just said I should be grateful I was still alive. He even had the audacity to suggest that because I was still breathing, the guy responsible must have cared about me in his own way. The doctor kicked him out for saying that, but I received a letter while I was still in hospital, telling me there were no leads and they were closing the case. I was expected to find another anchor position as soon as I left the hospital.”
“That’s fucking inhuman.” Lucifer stormed around the fire which was dying down. “For fuck’s sake, magic users like me can’t light a candle without an anchor beside them. We, people like me,” he tapped his own chest, “we have a responsibility to people like you, a huge responsibility of care. Who was it? The agent and the asshole, both. Give me their names.”
“The who wasn’t important. I’ve never seen them again,” Stefan said quickly. “I just felt you should know why I ran from you when you tried to tell me we were mates before. I was overwhelmed, so I ran. The thing is, I know our situation is different because I can feel our connection too. I wasn’t able to do that before because I was too young. And I thought, if I told you now, when you’re still recovering from being shot, that you’d actually listen to me, instead of just wanting to throw me over the bonnet of the car and fuck my lights out. I haven’t been with anyone intimately since that day. The sexual component of our claiming’s not going to be easy for me.”
Stefan looked up to see a crooked grin and heated eyes. “Don’t count on my being shot to dissuade me from doing exactly that,” Lucifer said seriously. “But no, as much as just thinking about you bending over a car bonnet is extremely tempting, your warning has been noted, and besides, we’ve seriously got to get out of this mess.” He looked around and then back at Stefan. “What’s our gas situation?”
“About half a tank. What’s the protocol now? Do we go after the men who tried to kill us, or Technic, or do we call in for help?” Or go home? Stefan didn’t voice the last idea, no matter how much he wished it were an option. Lucifer would be the type to work this case to the end.
“We need to go back to the scene of the original crime.” Sure enough, Lucifer was back to his decisive self. “Maybe it’s not too late for one of your gadgets to pick up Technic’s magical signature. It’s also the least likely place the people after us would expect us to be. Hopefully, Garrick will remember where it is and can lead us to it.” He leaned over and picked up his plate before turning in Stefan’s direction again. “Random question. You had Garrick when you were abused by that person. Why didn’t he warn you?”
Stefan felt a flush of shame and sipped a few mouthfuls of his now cold stew. “The man said he was allergic to feathers and made me leave Garrick behind when we met up. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t allow anyone to separate me from him anymore.” He didn’t stop to listen to what Lucifer might have said about his stupidity and hurried back into the building to clean up their things. With no idea of where they would be staying, he wasn’t leaving anything behind.
Chapter Eleven
Fortunately, Stefan wasn’t the chatty type, which suited Lucifer who had a lot to think about as Garrick flew over the car, leading them back to the original crime scene Brutus had shown them. Stefan’s confession shocked and humbled him. The man had gone through the worst thing an anchor could suffer – the attempted draining of his magical core… and survived. And rather than be hateful, nervous or angry, Stefan problem solved quickly, and he wasn’t a coward. More importantly, Stefan still cared about others, even though what had been done to him was wrong on every magic user and human level available.
Whereas I’m an arrogant SOB through and through. Lucifer knew on a conceptual level that anchors were never treated as well as the more powerful magic users, and yet what he’d said to Stefan was true. Scientists and researchers had tried for years to work out why the magical levels in some people was more powerful than others. In cases like Lucifer’s, the magic levels were too high so anytime magic was used, there was always an excess – which was nearly always destructive.
Lucifer could never work out why a field of poppies didn’t appear when he tried to use magic alone, or a cute puppy or even a unicorn. But no. As he’d seen in his office just before he’d met Stefan, and before that during the years he was a rebellious youth, uses of magic without an anchor to siphon off the excess resulted in fires and explosions. It was Lucifer’s father who finally sat him down and told him to grow up and accept the limits his ma
gic afforded him. Apparently, his mom had been on the verge of a mental breakdown, never knowing when the next fire was coming.
In the meantime, Darwin had tested as having the type of magic that was perfect for being an anchor. While Darwin bemoaned the fact he’d be tied to a lug like Lucifer and subject to their whims and rules, Lucifer was thrilled. He could handle having a family member around, even if it was an annoying younger brother. Through the years, their relationship had been tested and had gotten stronger because of their connection. The cracks didn’t start appearing until Darwin met Monty, forcing Lucifer to look beyond the family for the anchor he needed.
Lucifer glanced over at Stefan who was curled up against the car window, his eyes closed and his breathing even. Abuse, homelessness, lack of food security, and being treated like a sex object, all because the young man was deemed an anchor at seventeen and quite literally stripped of his rights. I will find a way to care for you the way you deserve, Lucifer vowed silently, before cursing as Garrick veered sharply to the right. That was the only problem using a bird as a GPS – they had no concept of following the roads.
The car bounced and jostled as Lucifer turned into the barely-there driveway he recognized from when Brutus had escorted them. The shack held an aura that made Lucifer shiver and he regretted having to bring Stefan at all. Of all the cases I could have chosen as his first, it had to be one that reeked of the issue’s he’d been through before. But the moment Lucifer pulled the car to a halt, Stefan was sitting up, rubbing his eyes.
“Must have been more tired than I thought,” Stefan offered shyly. “Was there anything else you wanted to do here apart from find this Technic’s signature? I’ve never actually anchored a council steward before.”
“The scene would have been picked over before we came here last time,” Lucifer said, looking around. “The one advantage of this place is that we should be able to see anyone coming. How do you feel about seeing if your gadgets can find a trace, and I’ll be a look out?”
“I can do it.” Stefan nodded as he reached into his bag. “Can you give Garrick some water please?” He held up a tiny water bowl and a bottle which enlarged as he applied magic. “It can’t be pleasant for him flying all this way in the heat.”
“I really envy you can use your magic like that.” Lucifer took the items offered. Looking through the window at the shadowed doorway of the hut, he added, “Just be as quick as you can, yeah? This place has got a lot of negative energy around it.”
“It’s not surprising, considering what happened here.” Stefan took a small box out of his canvas bag. “This shouldn’t take long.” Flashing a quick smile, Stefan got out, greeting Garrick who flew down to his arm. “You are such a good boy, thank you for leading us safely. Now look in the car, Lucifer has water for you,” Stefan crooned. “Stay here in the shade. I’m just going in there.”
Garrick cawed again, shaking his head.
“Five minutes,” Stefan said firmly, holding up the box. “You know you can’t be around me when I’m doing this, or the magical signatures get muddled. Now hop in the car. I won’t be long.”
But Garrick was being obstinate, and Lucifer felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. “Stefan…” he called out the driver’s window. “Maybe we should…”
“Garrick is just being overly protective,” Stefan grumbled, coming around to his side of the car. “Here. You take him. Honestly, I could have been in, done it and been out again by now. Grab hold, mind his talons.” Lucifer found an irate raven shoved on his lap. “I’m hurrying,” Stefan yelled as he ran towards the door of the shack, followed by Garrick’s warning cry.
“I feel it too.” Lucifer tried stroking down Garrick’s back. “Could be just nerves, right? Strange country. Different customs.”
Garrick fluffed out his feathers, shaking his head angrily.
“Yes, well, it would help if you could talk.” Lucifer carefully put Garrick on the back seat along with his water bowl. “I’m getting out, okay. I’m getting out and I’ll check on him. You look after you, or Stefan will be really upset.”
He couldn’t decipher the look Garrick gave him, but the bird did drink. Opening his car door, Lucifer set one boot on the ground, and was just swinging out the other one, when he felt something grab for his magic through the sole of his boot. “Stefan!” He yelled frantically trying to pull his boot back in, but it wasn’t budging. If anything, something was tugging on him, trying to drag his leg further into the sand.
“Stefan get your sexy ass back here now!” Grabbing for the car keys, Lucifer turned them, the engine making enough noise, but not firing. His boot was completely covered in sand, and he could feel his magic sparking, trying to get away. But without Stefan anchoring him, Lucifer would blow something up if he did anything and the only two things in sight were the car he was being dragged from, and the hut Stefan was in.
A roar came from the depths of the sand, its rumbling getting louder as the surface of the sand seethed and writhed. Garrick was cawing loudly, battering at the back window trying to get out, while Lucifer had his submerged leg in both hands, trying to pull against a force he couldn’t see. A skeletal hand came out of the sand, then another, and another. Heads appeared, masks of Anubis hiding faces and Lucifer pulled on his leg frantically. Four bodies. Four animated skeletal remains clawed their way out of the sand. When two of them turned towards the cabin, Lucifer roared, “STEFAN!”
/~/~/~/~/
“Honestly, you’d think I’d never done this before, the fuss Garrick makes sometimes,” Stefan said fondly, stroking over the wings of the elaborate dragonfly he’d crafted from cogs and magic. Crossing the room to the spot he remembered as where Technic had stood, taking care to avoid the pentagram that was still emblazoned on the uncovered stones, he set the small mechanical creature on the stones, waving his hand over it.
“Find the scent, the trace of one. I’ll follow your trail until the job is done. Your wings won’t rest, your power won’t die. Find the trail that cannot lie.”
The spell was corny at best, but Stefan had never prided himself on fancy words. Once cast, the dragonfly fluttered its wings, each leg moving with mechanical slowness over the stone Stefan placed him on. Stefan marveled at it – the way the tiny cogs the body was made up of all turned with perfect precision, allowing the movement of the legs. Even the antenna twitched as though the dragonfly was listening for him.
Or is he listening for Lucifer, Stefan wondered as he heard Lucifer yelling for him. “Come on little beauty. The big man’s getting antsy. Be quick.”
Kneeling on the floor, Stefan felt the trembles in the ground first, then a roar louder than anything he’d heard almost drowned out Lucifer’s scream. “Come on. Come on.” Stefan waved his hands urging his creation to hurry. If he picked up the dragonfly too soon, the spell would latch onto him and the beautiful creation wouldn’t be fit for anything else. “Please. Hurry.”
Finally, the dragonfly stopped walking around. That was what Stefan was waiting for, but as he scooped the precious bundle into his arms, a long shadow appeared from the door. Looking up, Stefan gasped at the twin horrors blocking his way out. Tucking the dragonfly into his waistcoat pocket, he drew two beetles from his mechanical box. Saturating them in his own magical signature, Stefan gave them the word to fly, sending them towards the two beings who were struggling to get through the doorway at the same time. “Distract. Decimate!” he yelled, flinging a power ball at the creatures, hard enough they stumbled backwards out the door.
Trusting his beetles to lead the creatures away and blow them up when they had, Stefan hurried to the door, his heart leaping into his mouth as he took in the situation. Lucifer was being dragged by some unseen being under the sand, while trying to fend off two of the creatures who looked as though they were trying to get his body out of the car. His features twisted, his clothes getting ripped from him, Lucifer was hanging on, but only just.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Not thinking about the consequences
, Stefan darted the short distance between the hut and the car, diving around to the passenger side and flinging himself through the door. “Use me,” he urged, slapping both hands on Lucifer’s back, feeling a crackle of magic. But it wasn’t the same. Lucifer’s power levels were depleted as if… My gods, that thing under the ground is draining him.
Stefan’s mind flew back to a scene a long, long, time before, when Gaston was first teaching him about his magical legacy. They’d been talking about the importance of fated mates. Mated pairs are so strong because they share their magic automatically, Stefan remembered the kindly man saying. It works on a loop, and there is nothing more powerful than a never-ending circle.
“Don’t hate me,” Stefan muttered, calling on the ball of magic that lived within the very core of his being. He yelled loudly, “With all I am, and all I’ll be, I claim the magic user, Lucifer Fireborn, as my own. Forever one, so mote it be.”
“What?” Lucifer dodged a swipe from lethal looking bone hands.
“You have to say it back. Hurry.”
“We. Will. Be. Talking. About. This,” Lucifer huffed. But the words came. “With all I am, and all I’ll be, I claim the magic user, Stefan de Marco, as my own. Forever one, so mote it beeeeeeeee… Fucking bastards.”
Lucifer’s voice trailed off as he slid further from the car seat, but Stefan felt the snap as the circle of their magical mating clicked into place. “Obfuscate. Eliminate,” he called out, pushing his magic into Lucifer’s body. The earth trembled as the force of their conjoined powers flowed through Lucifer’s body, sparking out at the skeletal beings and rendering them to dust. The sand around Lucifer’s boot shot up in a column that rose ten feet into the air before falling again. Lucifer lifted his foot back into the car, and hurriedly slammed the door, his clothes fixed and cleaned as a magical bonus. Amazingly, the engine started first time this time. “I think we need to get out of here,” Lucifer said roughly as he slammed the car into gear.
