The Magic Number

by Natalie Gibson

  Christy was still a teen, but her body was mature. She had been with men, and not all of them were the most gentle. The thought that a Guardian might be hungry or desperate enough to be tempted by Christy’s body to take her before she was ready to decide what she wanted scared Nathalia and Maeve. The two had declared Christy off-limits. That worked for Nephilim, but nothing would stop an Akhkharu if he decided he wanted Christy. She, as much as anyone else who lived there, needed to have the shield in place.

  The Guardians had volunteered to build the wall. They gathered to sing and ask for Ki’s aid in making the base for the new Daughter’s shield. Once finished with their fellowship and communion, they found their services no longer required. Ki herself had raised the stones from her depth and allowed them to poke through her surface. The smooth stones were megalithic and perfectly fitted. Knee high, they went around the whole compound. They curved at just the right pitch and looked like they had been there forever.

  Christy stood in the courtyard, her blond hair loose and flowing in the gentle wind. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, but her hands shook from nerves. Everyone was there to watch her. She looked beautiful and, Maeve thought, a little older than she had before the attack.

  Christy raised her hands, and the group grew quiet. Since she was the first of her kind, there was no agreed upon traditions or ceremonies. The children were close to her, since that’s how they were when she discovered her ability. This shield would be much larger than the ones she’d done before so she’d take every advantage she could get. Daughters and Guardians milled around, being careful not to slip into their normal ceremony formation. Maeve had told them that forming a circle of bodies could set Christy’s sphere incorrectly, and they didn’t want to risk wasting the energy.

  Christy dropped her hands and opened her fingers wide. In the loudest voice she could muster, she called out, “Key-ya-way will not allow you to hurt her children!” She ignored the gasps as she reached down, grabbed hold of the biggest power lines around and threw up her hands. The sphere was huge and took more power to close than Christy was prepared for. Where the smaller ones had just popped into existence, this one hummed. Like a giant bell being struck, it reverberated through Christy’s body. She vibrated with it.

  A kind of tension was building inside Christy that she’d never felt before. She wanted to let go of the power and stop it from doing whatever it was doing, but she couldn’t. A ripple of tingle passed through her extremities, and the feeling pooled in her stomach. Then it moved farther down. She opened her mouth, but she couldn’t breathe. Then…fireworks. Wave after wave of power and pleasure washed over her. The world disappeared, and Christy fell. When the earth reappeared, it was a woman. She was holding Christy, caressing her, thanking her.

  When she could get her body to obey her mind, Christy opened her eyes to find herself lying in the grass with Maeve and Nathalia on either side of her. Behind them, the strands of power had woven a textile of protection just like she’d envisioned. The sun was setting, and the orange sunlight reflected off the golden globe. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, it is. Can you make it a little less obvious? Invisible is preferable.” Maeve looked down at her with compassion. Their little witch had just done something amazing, but they really needed her to hide it. Quickly. The world wasn’t ready for full disclosure.

  “Yeah, sorry.” As soon as she decided to make it disappear, it did.

  Maeve helped her stand. Nathalia had been careful not to touch her—or anyone other than Eiran, really—and Christy’s magic hadn’t changed that. Since Nathalia’s conversion to the First Sinnis, her touch held an uncomfortable electric tingle at the very least. No one was quite sure exactly what other effect it might have, especially on a new witch with a previously unknown ability.

  “What happened?” When Christy stood, she couldn’t help but notice that her nipples were painfully sensitive, the fabric of her lace bra torturous. Also, there was a wetness in her panties, and where her thighs rubbed together was downright slick. Slippery.

  We should have told you what the power lines were made of when you told us it felt good in your body when you used them. We didn’t know they would affect you that way when you used them. It doesn’t affect any of us when we pull from it. Nathalia spoke in Christy’s and Maeve’s minds only.

  “No, but we only use it after it’s been filtered through the Capacitors. She’s feeling it raw. All those women, all that love—I should have known. I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with what happened, with what you felt.”

  Christy stared blankly at Maeve. She blinked slowly, and it reminded the Abbess that the girl was still in the afterglow and probably wasn’t following their conversation very well. “Next time, you can do that in private, if you’d like. Or maybe with a special someone?”

  A redness crept up Christy’s cheeks. She stole a glance around at the few people still gathered around and then closed her eyes in mortification. “Oh good goddess, I just had my first orgasm in front of the whole world!”

  Nathalia smiled at Maeve.

  Maeve put her arm around Christy, “Welcome to the club, honey.”

  So a man”—Christy’s eyes shot to Nathalia, knowing her tastes—“or a woman can give me that same feeling when we have sex?”

  “Maybe not that same feeling, but an orgasm, yes.” Maeve could only imagine the intensity of what had just been coursing through Christy.

  You told me you’d been with a few boys. Nathalia prompted, needing to know what they were dealing with.

  “I have been.” It was actually more than Christy would admit. Some she wouldn’t even admit to herself. Those weren’t totally consensual, and she blocked them out. “But it never felt like that. I told my friends I thought I’d had some orgasms, but now…”

  Maeve laughed. “If you aren’t sure if you’ve had an orgasm, you haven’t. Trust me, you’d know if you had.”

  “I know now. Geez, that was crazy. It almost hurt.” Christy put her face in her hands again. “I know I was making the most horrible face. How can I stay here? I know everyone’s going to be thinking about my stupid orgasm face every time they see me.”

  We’re used to it. There was nothing shocking about seeing yours. It was beautiful. Seeing it made the longing in Nathalia’s heart more pointed. She missed seeing the beautiful agony of the female orgasm. She missed being with Maeve. Eiran Kafziel was many things, but he was not the type who could stomach sharing his mate. Nathalia had to deal with it.

  “Maybe to you, but those Guardian guys seemed shocked. I thought some of them liked me but—”

  “They do like you, and some of them would love to see that face on you again. They’d give anything to be the one to give it to you.” Maeve and Nathalia exchanged glances. Some of them might even break the ban to get to Christy. She was going to stay with Libby and Leonard, in their son Billy’s currently unoccupied room, until they could get the Guardians settled back down. Christy wasn’t just a witch. She was special, unique, maybe even a chosen of their great mother.

  “You didn’t see the look on their faces. Some of them looked angry.”

  They weren’t angry. You were right the first time; they were shocked. Not at what you did, but what you said. You spoke of their ineffable god—their father’s creator, Yahweh—by a secret name unknown even to them. Ki is their name for mother earth. She is their ally just as Yahweh is their enemy. With one word, you have thrown their whole belief system into question.

  ISRAEL WAS fast and strong, inhumanly so. He enjoyed working at night. His vision was impeccable in the low light, and he didn’t have to think about moving slowly for appearances. The nursery was almost done, and he was proud of it. How many city-bred twenty-four-year-old deejays could say that? Couldn’t be many.

  Tank’s voice in the dead of night startled him. “You work fast.”

  Israel purposefully slowed his movements down. “Hey, Tank. Long time no see.”

  Tank had
stopped farther away than would normally be acceptable for conversation, and whatever the reason, Izzy was thankful. His ability to keep from shifting was improving, but he could be affected if someone’s desires were strong enough. Nanae kept telling Izzy how impressed he was with his restraint as a new Lilitu. That praise made Izzy want to continue to fight the pull of the power, but it was strong, and his body wanted to use it.

  “Are you tweaking?”

  “I’m sorry—am I what?” Izzy knew what he meant but needed some time to consider his response.

  “Meth, shard, speed, crank, coke, whatever. Are you on something? You build all night and are up all day. You never sleep. You move fast and never sit still. You’re nervous around people. You’re practically a shut-in. I’ve worked club security my whole adult life. I know the signs.”

  “No, it’s not that.” Izzy hesitated. He couldn’t think of a viable fabrication. The signs did point to drug use now that Tank had pointed them out.

  “We’ve known each other a long time, man. You can tell me. I can help,” Tank said.

  “Camilla’s exhausted and has a lot to do before her maternity leave, and Raphael has to be with her all the time to keep them both safe. There’s just so much to do to get ready with the baby on the way, and I’m the only one left to do it.”

  Tank wasn’t fully convinced but didn’t force the issue. “I forgot you had one on the way. Congrats, man.”

  “Thanks.”

  Tank let out a quick breath that could have been a laugh, but it sounded too forced. “Your life is about to get more hectic. You should get your rest now while you can. The baby takes up every bit of my spare time. Mine and Marcie’s.”

  “Oh, shit, man. I forgot we have a baby in this annex already.” The boys’ annex was far enough away from the main compound that Israel hadn’t worried about the other babies, Genevieve and Juliet. The noise he’d been making at night would never reach that far. “I hope my building noise hasn’t been keeping her awake. I didn’t even think about it.”

  “No. It’s fine. Sophia is just like her mom. Once they fall asleep, a tornado couldn’t wake them. Her tummy is the only thing that wakes either of them up. She’s still waking up to eat every two hours or so. She’s a greedy little fatty. I guess she takes after her daddy a little bit after all.” Tank patted his stomach. It wasn’t fat at all.

  Izzy looked at the man he’d known so long. He was thick and solid, not as chiseled as Nanae but big, with a more normal fat-to-muscle ratio. He was an attractive man, and Israel started to feel the motivation to please him. What would Tank want? Did he have any secret desires? Marcie was short and petite. The head of Daughters’ security wasn’t gay, but maybe he harbored a secret longing for something different than his wife. Izzy wondered what it would feel like to have sex as a woman. Could he replicate a shape so well that he could actually fool someone’s spouse? Not that he would want to, but the thought of having a man like Tank making love to him as a tiny pixie-like Marcie was tempting. How submissive he could be as her! Izzy wondered if he suddenly wanted Tank because of the man he was or the woman he could be.

  “You like boys or girls?”

  Stunned, Izzy just stared at Tank. How did he know what Israel had been thinking? Was it that obvious? Worried, Izzy looked down at his body. He was still himself. His thoughts had been his own, not reflections of Tank’s desires. Israel couldn’t change at will but was at the mercy of another until he was in full control of his new abilities. He stammered a bit, trying to think of an answer. “I—uh—uh…”

  Tank laughed for real this time. “I know the feeling. You want a boy, but you’re not supposed to say that. You’re supposed to say something like, ‘I don’t care as long as it’s healthy’ or something about it having ten fingers and ten toes, when all you can really think about is that one digit you’re not supposed to care about.”

  Oh, the baby. Of course Tank was talking about the baby. He had no idea where Izzy’s mind had wandered. It was Izzy’s turn to laugh. Tank had wanted a boy. “You and Marcie are young. You’ll get plenty more chances.”

  “Not for us. I mean we could, but I don’t really want to risk it. Marcie is so small, and my babies are always going to be big. This one almost killed her. After all these months, she still says she feels like baby Sophia almost tore her in half. She’s taking a long time to get back to feeling normal. Down there.”

  Tank said the last two words quietly, almost silently, but Izzy heard them. He also heard the longing beneath them. Tank wanted his wife. This was about to get difficult for Israel. He concentrated on Camilla and Nanae like he’d been practicing. They wanted him just as he was. He could retain this form no matter what those around him wanted. He had to.

  “Besides, one daughter is enough. I’m not sure I could handle protecting two,” Tank said, jolting Izzy out of his thoughts.

  “She can’t be that bad. I mean, how much trouble can a three month old get into?”

  “It’s not that. Sophie’s an angel. I want to keep her that way, and that’s the hard part. Living here, she’s got no chance of living a normal life. Marcie managed to break free, but she was pulled back in. She’s not an active Daughter, but I won’t rest until I have them both tucked away in a quiet, safe cul-de-sac somewhere.”

  A lot of men felt that way. Sex magic was not a popular subject with most fathers. He personally didn’t have any issue with it. He knew there was no safer place than this compound, even considering the most recent attack. The men hadn’t hurt any women or children. In fact, he knew that no child had ever come to any harm here. With the Daughters in charge, there were no abductions, molestations, or anything that kept parents up worrying at night. He steered the conversation away from the subject. “We’re having a boy.”

  “Good. You should take him as far away from the Daughters and Guardians as you can. It’s your job to keep that baby boy safe.”

  “This is our home. I could never take him away from Camilla and Raphael. He belongs with them, and so do I.” He took a deep breath. He hadn’t told anyone about their plans and didn’t know why he was starting with this man, but Tank needed to hear. “We are in love, and the three of us will protect our baby.”

  Tank met Izzy’s declaration with a look of disgust that he probably didn’t think Izzy could see in the dark. He said something dismissive and walked away. He spoke under his breath when he’d put enough distance between them that Israel couldn’t hear him.

  But Izzy heard every word of the man’s profanity. He was clearly not a fan of Izzy’s lifestyle choice. That was his prerogative. Condemnation of the Daughters’ choices were not. A man like that shouldn’t be in charge of their security. Izzy would have to talk to the Abbess about it.

  Sitting in the Abbess’s office, Izzy knew he’d made a mistake coming without Camilla and Nanae. Tank had been right about the change in Izzy’s behavior. Izzy had avoided seeing anybody since his change, and he hadn’t been aware of his effect on people. He apparently exuded some kind of pheromone, because everyone in the room was thinking sex. Tank hadn’t exhibited any unusual thoughts or behavior, but they had been outside, not in close quarters. The only thing saving him from using his ability now was that there were so many here with varying desires that his body seemed to have locked in its natural state.

  The rooms Nathalia had used as her office and living space when she was Abbess had been taken over by Maeve, Aaron, baby Genevieve, and her Guardian. Those rooms had been converted to pure living space for the four of them. The office had been moved across the sanctuary to what they had used as a conference room before. It had more room, was still conveniently located, and served very well. They needed an office with more space because, though Maeve was Abbess, she and Nathalia shared the tasks of that position. Maeve kept normal business hours, and she kept her baby with her. With Genevieve came her Guardian, the Nephilim named Samsiel Maru. Aaron, Genevieve’s dad and Maeve’s mate, sometimes joined them, but he was absent today. Nathalia
was there, and with her came her Nephilim, Kafziel Maru. Nanae called Nathalia the First and Genevieve the One. They were both something special to the Nephilim, but he hadn’t really said what. They were all involved with decisions that affected Daughters and Nephilim, and so the much larger office was already crowded even before people came in to have an audience with them.

  The four of them stared at Izzy, waiting. The baby giggled and cooed at her Guardian. The handful of his cheek she had fisted in her little hand looked painful to Israel, but the Nephilim didn’t seem to notice it at all. Genevieve could obviously do no wrong where Samsiel Maru was concerned. Izzy knew that wasn’t his real name. It meant Samsiel’s son. He had a secret, true name that no one knew, just like Nanae was a name only used by Camilla and Izzy. Everyone else knew him as Raphael Maru.

  When Izzy didn’t speak, Nathalia started. I’m glad you’re here, Israel. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.

  That was a shock. Izzy couldn’t remember Nathalia ever speaking to him. She had a thing about men. There was something weird about her voice and the way she moved her mouth, but Izzy couldn’t pinpoint what. “You are? You have?”

  Yes. Congratulations on the baby. Camilla told us.

  Israel relaxed a bit. He grinned. “Thanks.”

  “How are the renovations coming?” Maeve asked. Of course she knew about them. She’d given permission for their construction.

  “Great. The sunroom went up easy.” He shrugged, playing off how proud he actually was of himself. “It was mostly a prefab. I just had to build the connection between it and the existing building. The nursery is more work because I had to build everything from the ground up, but it’s just a square room with a closet along one wall. There’s no exterior exit, and only two windows, so I expect to be done before the baby is here next month.”