Broke In Magic

by Winnie Winkle

“We’re safe for the moment.” She leaned into him and he kissed her, feeling the heat returned. He ran his hands along her spine, cupping her ass and lifting her up into him, letting his tongue explore, leaving her lips and tasting the base of her throat and along her breastbone, inhaling her pheromones.

  Still holding her, he sunk to his knees and lay her in the flowers, opening her blouse and kissing her breasts, teasing the hardening pink nipples with his tongue before pressing with his teeth, eliciting a gasp of desire. Gentle hands removed her skirt and slid off her panties.

  With a quick motion, he yanked off his shirt, laying back and pulling her to straddle him so she would feel his swollen cock. He smiled at her response before kissing her lips with increasing fervor, biting her lower lip to tease, then releasing it to kiss along her jawline.

  He pushed her upright, running his palms over her hips, and touching her flower. Fingertips separated and explored as her eyes flew wide. He smiled up at her, loving the way she embraced his exploration, receptive to his touch.

  He rolled her onto her side, catching a leg with his knee and holding her open as he massaged her swelling bud, watching her face give way to the sensation, her need for him rising as he played in her slick wetness, teasing her forward, learning this unknown piece of her existence as it became a reality.

  She may kill me, but she needed to know. I am honored.

  “Do you want to touch me?”

  She nodded, and he shook as her hands, unknowing but curious, undid his jeans, pushed them away, then stroked and explored his warm rigid cock, squeezing and releasing. She squeezed his balls too and looked surprised when he jumped.

  “Go easy there,” he murmured. “It’s a balance between pleasure and pain.”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing,”

  “I will teach you, both about my body, and how to harness your own. Do you trust me?”

  Aqua blue eyes, the color of the sea below, held his brown ones. “In this place, I do.”

  “Then in this space, I’ll love you as you deserve to experience it, with gentle completeness.”

  Jasper returned his attention to her clitoris, lowering his mouth, her hips bucking in surprise at his touch. His tongue moved across her nub, fluttering, then with gentle pressure, followed by firm taps with his tongue tip. She shook, a joyful cry exploding from her as her orgasm built and overtook her. Jasper slipped a finger within her, feeling her hymen and the swollen shaking of her vagina.

  As the quivers subsided, his kisses began again, beginning the slow build of pleasure. She moved with a rhythm now, following his lead, letting her hips relax into his tongue and fingers, sliding partially inside her as his mouth drove her toward climax.

  “I want to become one with you, Melia. Will you take my body within yours?”

  His brown eyes waited, patient, for her decision. She nodded.

  “No, my love, tell me. This is your gift to give, not mine to take.”

  “I want you to love me, Jasper, I am ready.”

  As he swung his narrow hips over hers, hand guiding his cock to her wet readiness, the room shifted. They were once more in the cell, entwined in an embrace. Jasper looked into her eyes, shocked.

  “That wasn’t real?”

  “I had to know if I’d lost you. Lust is where the demon side leaks through your protections, so I set us in a place of pure positivity and we lusted together.”

  “I wish we could stay there forever, Melia, Can you do that?”

  “I cannot.”

  “Are you able to help me?”

  “Against this demon, I am powerless.”

  Turning to Theo, she nodded. “Open the cell.”

  They huddled in the jail, weighing the options.

  “I can’t defeat him. I’m not sure any entity can. He lies beyond my ability to contain.”

  “Even if you could, I doubt sending him back would stick. He moves beyond the laws of separation,” Lyra said and Melia inclined her head.

  “Together, we are significant firepower,” Romer argued. “A Muse and two Daimons are overkill.”

  “Most of the time, but not in this case,” Melia shook her head.

  If you destroy the son, the father will leave, Muse. The choice is clear.

  “Everything points to Jasper’s destruction,” Melia’s eyes clouded, “yet I know he can dwell in the light. I have no support from the ancients. My duty calls.”

  “We can run,” Wellie’s tone was stubborn. “High John will protect us. Let’s leave and take our chances. Magic won’t be a target any more, Melia doesn’t have to kill the man she loves, and Jasper might make it with our help. It’s the only way. Turn us loose and the problem goes along for the ride.”

  Wellie turned to Topper. “I know what you put in that chest in my room and I took everything. Let us go.”

  Violet eyes blinked. Good boy, Wellie. I wondered if you could read the runes.

  “If you fail, Jasper becomes the darkest of warlocks, driven to use magic in ways he should not. If we put that evil into the world, the results are on our heads.” Frustration and sorrow filled Melia’s face.

  “Melia, if you try, you must do it through two daimons and me,” Wellie warned. “I am prepared to die today. Destroying our light to reach him is not the way.”

  “Wellie, Romer, don’t. It’s not worth it. I’ve been fucked up since birth. You are true friends, but we’re staring at the end. I can’t ask you to give up everything for me. There’s no guarantee that doing so will even work. I could start Armageddon, making your deaths meaningless. It’s obvious I’m both the problem and the solution. I’ve known goodness and with Melia, genuine love. That’s a good run. Some men never find that. It’s OK to let me go.”

  Romer crossed his arms over his chest.

  Wellie’s face set, defiant, as he shook his head. “Nice speech, Bon Ami, but you convince no one.”

  Topper shifted in her seat. “The witches voted earlier and are in favor of letting them leave to return when called.”

  Theo sighed. I don’t know what’s the right thing for the kid. But, the best choice for the town is to get them away from here. There are too many vulnerable people; I need to keep them safe and out of the crossfire.

  “Let’s vote on it?” Theo caught Melia’s eye. Pain layered on her face as she shrugged.

  Muse, destroy him and restore the balance!

  “Let them bolt? Those in favor?”

  Every hand raised.

  Chapter 12

  Jancy drove the Taurus to the jail and hopped out, giving the square a once-over before hustling into the building. He passed Lacey in the doorway as she stepped out to cast protective spells on the car. Jancy tossed the keys onto the desk and clambered up on a chair.

  “The air is greasy with demons,” Jancy’s chin jutted out. “They aren’t even trying to hide, and it’s broad daylight. I saw five on the road into town.”

  He turned to the crowded jail cell and stared at Melia. “Why aren’t you out there cleaning house?”

  “I needed an answer that was here.” Her indifference to the dwarf’s indignation was obvious.

  Jancy eyed Theo, who shook his head. “Bigger than you know, Jancy. Obliged for the car delivery. Topper can pop you back if you’re ready.”

  “I sure as heck ain’t walking home through a pack of bored hellhounds,” Jancy snorted. “You need to get out there and look, Sheriff. It’s shading weird.”

  “Now that the Taurus is here, we’ll begin. Thanks again, Jancy.” Theo nodded at Topper and she snapped her fingers.

  “With our magic, we aren’t powerful enough to deal with Daddy, but we can thin the minions,” Theo slapped his hands on his desk. “How do you feel, Melia?”

  “Within me weakness grows. I need strength but none arises.”

  We’ve withdrawn our support on this effort, Muse. Emotion clouds your judgment and you diverge from the true path. Until you destroy the spawn, you are alone.

  I am not the only op
tion, Ancients. My piece is one key in a vast puzzle. Is not reducing the father the worthier goal?

  He is beyond us.

  Beyond me alone, but my ‘us’ extends to include these others. They shine with goodness and answer the call for restoration.

  Foolish Muse. You trifle with supposition when action is required.

  Frustrated, Melia turned to Theo. “The ancients abandon this course of action. My strength diminishes with no option to replenish.”

  “What was your plan, Theo?” Lyra interjected in her calm way.

  “Fly the desert. I can see for miles, picking the demons out with ease. With Melia riding, she could banish each one as I located them.”

  “Could you carry two?”

  Theo snorted, then looked at her placid face and felt like an ass. “I’m sorry. Yes, it’s not a problem.”

  “Then we will remove the minions together. I’ll ride and provide protection and strength to Melia, you find the demons, and she’ll send them to hell.”

  Lyra pulled her cell phone from her pocket and sent a text.

  Ready?

  Ready.

  Topper and Theo exchanged a glance.

  “It’s dangerous to be here with Jasper, Topper,” he murmured.

  “I can handle myself. Lacey is no slouch either.”

  “We could leave,” Wellie countered. “Topper and Lacey do not interest the Big Daddy.”

  Topper gave him a faint smile. “Big Daddy is as good a name as any.”

  “You three stay put,” Theo decided. “You’ll have a better chance of getting through the desert if we take out the riff-raff. Let’s go thin some minions.”

  Theo headed out the back door, dropped his jeans and shirt in the dust and shifted. His face expanded, wide yellow eyes staring across the sands as his neck stretched and wings emerged. He unfurled them with a leathery slap as his huge hindquarters and torso grew, finishing with a long orange tail.

  Counterbalance is in place. Let’s level Big Daddy’s playing field.

  Lyra helped Melia climb, unsteady, onto Theo’s back, then followed, wrapping her arms around Melia in a comforting hug, Color returned to Melia’s face and her spine straightened.

  “Thank you, guardian. Your energy fills me.”

  “Even if I fall, remain mounted and send them all, Muse. I fulfill my purpose in this fight. My strength is yours.”

  With a short run and three big downbeats, Theo lifted off the scorching sands. The desert feels hotter than usual. I think these unwelcome guests are lighting it up.

  In her El Paso kitchen, Alma took the forty small dolls and one large one and tossed them into the air. They landed on her table in odd groups. Tapping the small silver angel she wore over her heart, she murmured, “Be my eyes, Lyra.”

  Singing, Alma surveyed the table, before moving toward a group of three.

  Theo saw three demons near the center of town and swooped back, gliding as the silver lines flew, wrapping the shrieking trio. Lyra held fast to Melia while the demons shrunk to silver sparks that shot up in the sky, lost in the blinding sun.

  Alma jabbed long dressmaker pins into the heads of the first three, driving them through before throwing the dolls into the smoking cast-iron pot in her open oven.

  Theo wheeled as Melia rested in Lyra’s arms. He headed south, finding another pair. The sun beat on them as they flew, Melia catching and returning each one to hell. The din reverberated in their ears, malevolence coating the air and filling their lungs with sulphur. Snorting sparks, Theo kept the count.

  Five.

  Alma’s pot of figures caught fire as she threw in more dolls.

  In the desert, their successes increased. The remaining demons grew stealthy, hiding in the shadows. Theo breathed deep, hating the scent but using it to supplement his eyesight.

  Twenty-three.

  Lyra felt the last of her strength slip to Melia. I can barely ride now. I will soon fall, as many a daimon before me, slain in the cause of light.

  Theo dove, picking out two demons hidden in a stand of locust. Lyra’s arms dropped, and she slid sideways, her face covered in contentment, eyes closing with a joyful weariness, mirroring the moment after birth.

  A silver line shot around her, binding her back to Melia.

  “We fight and fall together,” Melia shouted, casting two more lines to dispatch the caterwauling demons as the thicket of locust exploded. “You are not of this world! We are the balance.”

  Thirty-one.

  Alma sang, delighted at the diminishing numbers. The big doll had four, but the remaining five were on the far end of the table, a ripe target.

  Winging toward the setting sun, Theo saw the group of five. His great head swiveled, looking at Melia. She rode upright in the wind, the silver tips of her white hair glowing, surrounded by a shield of white. Within the disc, Lyra gleamed, tied to Melia’s waist.

  “Go,” Melia commanded. “Let’s finish this.”

  Theo flew high over the runners then banked, hurtling towards them with the sun blazing behind him, blinding their red, fiery eyes. Melia wrapped them, indifferent to the protestations, then shot the five silver sparks.

  With a sigh of satisfaction, Alma shut the oven door on her flaming pot. Not so shabby. Perhaps I was harsh on the phone earlier. But, maybe not. We shall see.

  “Are there more?” Melia’s voice echoed across the desert.

  Dragon skin doesn’t crawl, but if it did, she’d cause it. When she’s full on, it’s more than this dragon can handle, and that’s the damn truth.

  “There should be four remaining, but I don’t see them.”

  “They are with the father. He will sacrifice them as he moves to reclaim his son. We must return and release Jasper, Wellie, and Romer. It is time to let them take their shot.”

  The enormous head nodded, gliding away from the lowering sun, headed back to town.

  Coins dropped in the houses of Magic.

  A great darkness visits

  Protect yourselves

  Vampires shifted as the sun set, whole families taking wing, fleeing in the night. Out in the dwarf compound, the community headed to the underground bunker. Trolls and the non-magicals who call Magic home arrived, following the dwarfs down the long steep stairway and stepping into the great hall, a hundred feet below the surface. With a faint pop, Topper appeared, peering with interest. I haven’t been here since the showdown with Pirro.

  “Do you want me to seal the entrance?”

  “Is there a chance we end up trapped in here?”

  Topper closed her eyes. We are up against a darkness that could annihilate us. It’s only fair to give them the true picture.

  “No promises, Abraham.”

  He gave her a considering look, then stared at the dwarfs. “How many shovels do we have here?”

  “Enough.”

  “Seal it, but make it so we can dig out, Topper. Whatever greasy nasty is out there won’t pick up a shovel.”

  “Done. Good luck, neighbors.”

  “Same to you. If it’s a lost cause, leave. Fight another day.”

  “I’m not wired to quit, Abraham.”

  The sound of tons of rock crashing into the passageway, sealing the entrance, accompanied her vanishing pop. Outside, Topper lifted and dropped the surface sand; the entranceway now matched every other scrap of desert for miles around the bunker.

  “See you on the other side of this night, my friends. At least, I hope so.”

  “Come with us, Mom.”

  “No, son. This is yours. I must guard the Muse. It is my place to stand.”

  Theo watched the auras of the two daimons swell and touch, the sense of protection pulsing through the room. I’ve never paid much attention to daimons, but what they do behind the scenes is impressive, even to a hardened skeptic. I hope their selflessness is enough. His heart didn’t believe it, but he kept quiet and rose, unlocking the cell and tossing Jasper his keys.

  “I’d let Wellie drive, Jasper. Romer is y
our protector and Wellie has High John. You are both the target and the weak link.”

  Jasper dropped the keys into Wellie’s outstretched palm. “Thanks for trying to help me, Theo, and thinning the herd.” He shook Theo’s calloused hand, seeing the doubt hiding in his heart. “I don’t think we’ll make it either, but taking a shot beats quitting.”

  “There’s that,” Theo agreed with a half smile. “Stay in the light, Kid.”

  “Tell Topper thanks for everything. She did her best by us and we’re grateful.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  Jasper turned to Melia, pulling her close, seeking to imprint every inch of her into his skin. Face buried in her soft white hair, he whispered, “You are my one, the only true love I’ve ever known. I live for you. Even if this is death, I wouldn’t trade a single moment.”

  He held her face, lost in her blue gaze. “If you must kill me, do so knowing my love is boundless and in agreement. Swear Melia, that you will do what is necessary if I fail to remain in the light.”

  Her eyes shimmered with tears, forever seas, a place where their souls consummated even if their bodies never would. “I promise, my one. If there is another line where our fates cross, I’ll wait through eternity for you.”

  Foreheads touching, they wept, tears mingling, falling in swirling drops of red and silver, splashing to the floor of the jail. Theo looked away, the unaccustomed lump hard to swallow. Lyra embraced Lacey as she sobbed.

  Romer and Wellie wiped their faces.

  “Time to bounce, Jasp.” Wellie rasped, shaking the keys and turning toward the door.

  Romer reached a hand out and took Jasper’s, whose body jerked with the flowing protection. “To the end, my friend. Let’s roll.”

  Chapter 13

  Wellie stepped on the gas as the road smoothed out. Already five miles out of Magic… didn’t think we’d get this far. Signs whipped past the windows. In the backseat, Romer sat holding Jasper’s hand in a death grip.

  My whole arm is on fire and there’s a band around my chest. Holy crap.