Spell Checked

by C. G. Powell

  “How big?” she asked.

  “Any size you want just remember the rules, the bigger it is, the more energy it takes.”

  “Okay, I’m done.”

  “Let’s see what we have here.” He said, sensing the energy parameters of the wall.

  “Not bad, Mae. If you want it to last longer, make the energy in the same space denser. Try it again, this time make it last longer.”

  “Done,” she said quickly. “What is the purpose of making walls?” She could not see its practicalities.

  “We use walls in many ways. They are good for diverting danger away from us and although we can’t charm a vampire, a wall will stop them. If you lay it flat, you can make a bridge, and it can even be used as a shield.”

  “Does it have to be solid?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Aidan replied, pondering the possibility.

  “I’m going to make a rubber wall and let you test it,” she said, thinking of energy in the form of rubber.

  When Mae was done, Aidan checked it out by running into it, which was not the smartest thing to do. He bounced off it like a vertical trampoline and landed on his ass. Gemma and Mae became hysterical with laughter.

  “Ouch…Way to spell check me. I would say yes, you can make a rubber wall! You are going to have to teach me that one,” Aidan answered rubbing his backside. “It is easy for us to sense a wall but that was not so defined. It could really come in handy.”

  “Are you okay, Aidan?” Mae laughed. “And what do you mean by spell checked?”

  Aidan got up off the ground and dusted the grass off his pants. “Spell checked is what we call getting surprised by an undetectable spell.”

  “Can you make a wall with parameters to allow certain people in while keeping others out?” Mae asked.

  “Yes, but we call that a veil instead of a wall. You want to try it?”

  “Yes…What’s the trick?”

  “Everyone has a different energy to them; you noticed that when you spoke telepathically. This time you want to map that energy signature and add it to the energy wall. Try mapping Gemma, then make the veil similar to a wall just thinner, like a curtain. Normally, you would set a veil in a doorway to allow only those you want in. But for now, just make it about door size.”

  “So, Gemma should be able to pass but not you…right?” Mae asked, concentrating on Gemma’s energy and adding it to the thin curtain.

  Gemma was able to walk through easily and Aidan was unable to go through. It made Mae happy that she could finally learn to do magic and it was easier than she thought.

  “Now we are going to play the wall game. I am going to go out to the tree line and you need to stop me from getting to the patio by using walls.”

  Aidan was at the tree line when Gemma yelled, “Go!” He made a mad dash towards the patio. Mae started throwing walls in front of him. The first ones were small and he jumped right over them. She started to go bigger but it took to much lead time to create, so the next ones were tall and slender, which Aidan just went around. Just as he was about to step on to the patio, she made a large rubber wall in front of him. Aidan bounced right off it back onto the grass and Mae threw her hands up in victory.

  “Well played, Mae. Now could you please help me up? I think I cracked a rib,” Aidan moaned.

  Gemma and Mae helped him into the living room and laid him on the couch.

  “Mae, I need you to get Meredith for me; she is with Beck in his computer room,” Aidan labored to say.

  Mae ran to Beck’s computer room, throwing open the door. Beck was at his desk and Meredith was at a table, organizing papers.

  Out of breath and half panicked, Mae relayed Aidan’s message to them. “Meredith, Aidan needs you! I think I broke his rib and he is having trouble breathing.”

  She dropped everything she was doing and raced down the hallway to where Aidan lay on the couch, with Beck right behind her.

  She placed her hand over his ribs to access the damage. “Aidan, your rib is broken and has punctured your lung. Beck, I need you to bewitch him or this is going to be very painful. Mae I need your help.” Meredith was spouting orders like a general.

  Beck bewitched his friend, resulting in Aidan lying still but out of pain. The damage must have been extensive, judging by the worry on Meredith’s brow.

  “Mae, remember how you made the tree grow? I need you to repair Aidan’s rib the same way, think about the bone cells and mend them. As soon as you move the bone, I need to mend his lung before it collapses. Let me know when you are ready.” Meredith knew she only had a little time to repair his lung.

  “Okay now!” Mae tugged on his rib using energy. When it was finally back where it belonged, she concentrated on growing the bones to fuse together. She noticed other cracked ribs so she repaired those as well, knitting the cells until they were one again. She noticed all the tiny, burst capillaries around the break, leaking blood to the skin’s surface and making the area swell up. Mae had always loved anatomy and now she felt comfortable with it. Her magic flowed like blood to reconnect the cells, drawing the pools of blood under his skin and absorbing it back into the veins. She could feel Meredith’s energy around her, encouraging her newly found talent. Soon they were done and Aidan was asleep and breathing regularly.

  Beck was pacing behind the couch, waiting to hear word on his friend’s condition. “How is he?”

  “He is going to be okay, I fixed the hole in his lung and Mae fixed his ribs and bleeding. Mae, I think you have found your witch’s calling.” Meredith looked at her with a sense of pride.

  “I kind of surprised myself too. It all felt so natural, I could see the cells like they were right in front of me,” she explained.

  “Well I can honestly say you have a gift for healing and I think I would like to spend more time on that rather than nature, now that I know.”

  Beck sighed, relieved that Aidan would be okay. Then he started worrying about the bewitchment he placed on his friend. “Ladies, I think we are going to have a problem when Aidan wakes up, especially now that he has managed to piss off every woman in this house.” Beck laughed, knowing this was going to be a long night if they did not come up with a plan.

  They all just stood there looking at each other when Gemma spoke up, “I’ll do it,” she sighed. “But you are going to have to bewitch me too and I’ll spend the night at the cottage with Aidan. I don’t want the whole house knowing our business,” she said, looking at Beck.

  “I suppose I owe you at least that much,” he laughed in agreement.

  “Gemma, you don’t have to do this,” Mae interjected.

  “Mae, it’s okay. I know Aidan and I are not good at being a couple. However, I could never complain about the sex, especially the night I was bewitched. This time I don’t mind taking one for the team,” she explained.

  Beck looked at Meredith and asked, “Do you think he is healed enough to let him loose in the cottage with Gemma for the rest of the evening, both bewitched?”

  “I don’t think it will be a problem, but I will monitor him one more time at the cottage before we leave him there for the evening. We should also see about having some dinner and snacks brought as well. They will not want to be disturbed later,” Meredith added.

  “By the way Mae, how in the world did you break Aidan’s rib playing a simple children’s game?” Beck inquired.

  Mae was a bit embarrassed but she told him anyway. “I made a rubber wall and he bounced right off it.”

  Everyone in the room started to laugh. It was a shame that it was at the expense of the poor man laid out on the couch, still under the spell. Hopefully the night would make up for that, giving Gemma at least one last tumble before she left for home.

  Chapter 8

  Gemma and Aidan finally settled in the cottage for the evening while the rest of Beck’s houseguests called it a night and remained at the mansion. Exhausted, Beck and Mae went to their own rooms in search of sleep and nothing more. However, their weari
ness did not last long. Under Beck’s bewitchment, Aidan couldn’t block his emotions which penetrated right through the house. It wasn’t long before Mae found herself in Beck’s bed and arms, now fully aware of what it was like to be influenced by another witch’s emotions in full force.

  Unlike the night before, they merely lay side by side, touching, kissing, and lightly caressing each other to placate Aidan’s unchecked libido which started to rage in their minds. Beck moved his fingers lightly along her neck, shoulders and arms, barely touching her skin. He left a trail of warmth and goose bumps in their wake. Mae’s hand moved down his back, feeling every muscle on the way down and letting it settle on his hard backside. Before long, their clothes lay strewn across the room as the final barrier between them was removed. There they lay naked, in each other’s arms, peaceful, while both of them continued reining the urge to lose complete control. Even their stillness could not quell the lust that was building between them and Mae could soon feel Beck’s hardness pushing against her.

  “Mae, I can no longer fight this,” Beck whispered, drawing her closer.

  Turning toward him, she whispered back, “Neither can I.”

  Unwilling to surrender to the animal-like lust Aidan was projecting, they lay facing each other on their sides. Mae curled up as close as she could, putting one leg over his hip and her arm around his neck. She lazily kissed him as he entered her slowly, until she could feel him inside her as deep as he could go. His movements were subtle but effective, each stroke nearly made her scream with urgency; each gentle touch made her heart race with anticipation of their inevitable orgasms.

  Beck whispered in a blissful calm, “I could sleep like this.”

  Mae kissed his neck and sleepily replied, “So could I, but let’s not!”

  ~~~***~~~

  Mae woke up to the sound of birds chirping, easing herself from Beck’s grip and making her way to the bathroom in her suite for a shower. The heated tiles warmed her as she tried to figure out which handles controlled the numerous shower heads and which buttons to press on the control pad. This was the most complicated shower she had ever encountered, and after several minutes she managed to get only one head to drip warm water. She was asking herself, “Why didn’t I just used Beck’s simple shower like I have for the last couple of days?” She knew the answer, she couldn’t sing with an audience and today she felt the need to sing. She stood under the trickling shower head and started to sing “Gypsy” by Shakira.

  Beck awoke to the sound of Mae’s voice trilling in the bathroom and crept up to the shower door to listen.

  “Cause I’m a gypsy…are you coming with me...I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me.” She sang without the sound of full running water to muffle her voice. Suddenly, she saw a silhouette on the other side of the shower door and screamed.

  “Good grief Mae, It is only I,” Beck said, opening the shower door in his underwear.

  “You scared the hell out of me!” she exclaimed, trying to cover herself with her hands to hide her private parts as though they were something he hadn’t seen already.

  “I was just enjoying your song and realized the shower was not running correctly, so I thought I would help you.”

  “Could you please show me how to work this thing,” Mae asked, pointing to the numerous handles and the control panel.

  “Only if I may join you?” he said, removing his underwear, knowing he would not be turned down.

  “Of course not, it’s your house,” she said, thinking to herself, “Good lord, why does the sight of his naked body make my knees go weak.”

  “First you have to set the control panel then select which heads, water temperature, type of water flow, and whether or not you want steam. Once you have it programmed, turn the handles on. The computer will remember the settings the next time you want to use it. All you have to do is press the on button and user one.” Beck stood there naked, programming everything into the computer panel on the wall.

  The water started streaming from ten different shower heads and steam began to appear from little nozzles at the bottom of the shower wall. Mae felt glad to have the water on but sad that she would have to stop singing.

  “So, did you mean what you were singing? Is that why you stole my pajamas?” Beck teased.

  “No, it’s just a song. I took them because I wanted to remember you, even though we just met,” Mae replied, nervously playing with the ends of her hair.

  Beck walked to where she was standing and put his arms around her. “I would love to hear you sing some more.”

  “Not going to happen,” she said sternly, wiggling out of his embrace.

  “You have such a lovely voice, why will you not share that part of you with me?” he begged, reaching for the soap and a washcloth.

  “I’m just too embarrassed to sing in front of people…especially you.”

  “Maybe someday you will feel comfortable enough around me to share that part of you, too. For now, I am happy to settle for the parts you will share with me,” he said, kissing her lightly on the forehead and handing her the soap and washcloth.

  Beck helped her wash her hair and she scrubbed his back, while she wondered how she was becoming so at ease around this divine creature. They had become a couple in such a short amount of time. There was no doubt in her mind that this was not just a quick vacation romance and it began to scare her. Still, she could not deny her enjoyment and the unusual feeling of familiarity that she now felt around him, as if she had known him an eternity.

  “What is wrong Mae? You look very pensive,” Beck asked.

  “It just scares me that we’ve become so close in such a short period of time and I’m afraid that if I tell you how I really feel, you’ll run away screaming into the night,” she sighed as they sat on the wooden bench enjoying the steam of the shower.

  “Mae, I have something to tell you. Remember when you could feel my pain?” Beck asked, knowing it was time to tell her of their bond.

  “Yes! And all I can say is I hope you never get hurt again,” she laughed.

  “I know why you could feel my pain. I am not sure how it happened, but apparently, you and I have bonded,” Beck finally confessed.

  “What does that mean?” she said, vaguely remembering what he had said a few days ago about it.

  “For one it means that we feel each other’s pain. Our attraction to each other is so overpowering that in a normal person it would be considered obsessive. I cannot even think of you naked without wanting to take you to bed,” he explained, hoping she would understand that she would never be able to leave him.

  “You mean you feel the same way, too? This is not just some silly crush to be forgotten in a week?” she asked. “Could he have really fallen for me as I have with him?” she wondered.

  “Yes, I am afraid so. You are stuck with me whether you like it or not,” he said, reaching out to squeeze her hand.

  Mae pushed his hand away and stood in front of him. “How long will it last?” she inquired nervously.

  “This is the first time I have bonded with a woman, but it is my understanding that it will last until death,” Beck sighed, looking into her eyes, nervously waiting for the signs of panic that were sure to ensue.

  Mae’s knees buckled under her at his reply. Beck grabbed her before she hit the marble floor. Sitting on one of the wooden benches in the shower, he sat her on his lap while she hyperventilated until her chest hurt so badly tears fell down her cheek.

  “Mae, calm down and take a deep breath. Am I really so bad?” Beck asked, trying to subdue her.

  “We hardly know each other and now you’re talking forever,” she said in a voice that was shriller than normal.

  “I understand your shock, but I expected it would reassure you to know the reason you feel so close to me. You seek logic in everything and it always holds the answers for you. This is no different. It explains why we are attracted to one another in a way beyond conventional logic.” Beck kept trying to e
xplain without telling her the real reason they bonded…They were in love with each other.

  She took a couple of deep breaths and started to calm herself. “Beck, I did not mean to insult you. It’s just a shock and I didn’t handle it very well. I’ve been hurt so many times from rushing into dead end relationships and this is the fastest one yet. I keep expecting you to get rid of me because you are far too good for me,” she confided putting her arms around his neck and sighing.

  “That is what I keep trying to tell you, Mae; I am not going anywhere. The bond between us is eternal and any separation from you would kill me. This is not any game I am playing just to keep you in my bed until I tire of you.” Beck kissed her cheek and she got off his lap.

  “I’m sorry I got so dramatic, it’s a lot to take in. So, how shall we classify our relationship? It is a relationship, right?” Mae’s head was full of questions, as she paced the floor in front of him, but this was the most important to her.

  “I do not know? But I am sure we can figure it out together,” Beck replied, turning off the shower with the press of a button and handed her a towel.

  “Am I your girlfriend?” she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Yes, you are most certainly my girlfriend. But I hope that one day we can come to a more permanent arrangement.”

  “What do you mean by ‘more permanent’?” she asked, raising her brow.

  “We will discuss that later, after I have won your heart and you feel more comfortable moving forward,” he answered, not wanting to scare her with talk of infinity.

  “Can I pick out your clothes?” Seeing Beck in a pair of jeans was certainly something that crossed her mind more than once and helped her to ignore the previous conversation.

  “If it makes you happy,” he replied, laughing at the randomness of her question.

  “I think we need to check on Gemma and Aidan after breakfast,” Mae suddenly said, changing the subject. She was concerned about what might have taken place the night before.