The Magic Thieves

by Serena Yates

  "I like that idea.” He grinned. “We'll probably have a few more of these before we're done, and this way everyone will be warned."

  The men of the Law Forces started dragging their snoring comrades outside. Then they took the statues and soon closed the doors behind them. Everyone sat back down.

  "It seems to me that we need to find a way to spread the golden magic across all of Tah'Nut if we want to get rid of the old regime.” Villzot was one of the air wizards and hadn't said much so far.

  "I think you're right. It will take some time and a lot of energy, but we can certainly do it.” Elryk sat back. “It might take too long to get to every individual separately, though."

  "I think you're right.” Kaythan looked thoughtful. “I'm sure that most people don't want the Xoh'kas anymore than we do, so once they know the regime has ended, they'll help us bring the few who were pro-Xoh'kas to justice."

  "That would mean we need to take care of the Ruling Assembly and the top echelons of the Law Forces first.” Elryk nodded. “That could work."

  "No time like the present.” Kaythan took his hand, linking their fingers and making sure their wrists touched.

  Getting comfortable in his seat, he leant back and focused on the golden magic and its power to help them flush out the criminals. The sphere formed quickly and started expanding, filling the room, then moving beyond its walls. The urge to close his eyes was overpowering, so he did.

  It was as if one of those cinema screens from Earth had been put up behind his eyelids. The whole government building complex was visible before his inner eye. He followed the golden wall as it advanced across the buildings, putting officials to sleep, leaving some of them behind as statues.

  "Do you see that?” Kaythan's voice was a mere whisper.

  "Yes, it's amazing.” He squeezed Kaythan's fingers.

  The golden wall of energy moved out, beyond the buildings, and across all of the city of Tah'Algor. People everywhere started rejoicing as the cruellest guards stopped moving and others simply fell asleep.

  He was getting tired and could feel Kaythan's hand shaking in his. The wall of golden magic had reached the outer limits of the city when it started to waver, then it collapsed.

  "I need a break.” Kaythan sounded as exhausted as Elryk felt.

  "We need to recharge our energies, that's for sure.” Elryk opened his eyes and winked at his mate.

  The need to have him in his arms had grown more urgent the longer they'd kept the golden magic going. He was pretty sure that the mate bond and the energy they created between them was behind this new phenomenon.

  "In private?” Kaythan's eyes widened, sparkling with interest.

  "That's worked for us so far.” He was sure they could keep up the golden magic for longer time periods if they kept refuelling it as they went.

  He couldn't wait to test his theory.

  * * * *

  Kaythan looked at his sleeping mate. He'd awoken to find Elryk cuddled against him. Squashed was more like it. Their legs were entwined, pressing the other man's pelvis against his hip, and an arm across his chest. Elryk's head was buried into the space between Kaythan's neck and shoulder, the warm breath caressing Kaythan's skin on every exhale. Kaythan grinned. It was as if Elryk had tried to crawl inside him.

  He smiled. They both seemed equally eager to be close to each other even in sleep. If Elryk wasn't crawling half on top of him, he was the one doing the crawling. It didn't seem to matter who took the initiative, they always ended up in roughly the same position by the next morning.

  They'd been too tired last night to do anything but fall asleep. Keeping the golden magic going for so long had exhausted them both. Kaythan had barely been able to understand what Elryk meant when he'd talked about recharging their energy to keep the golden magic going. Now that he was rested, Kaythan was eager to see if Elryk's theory was correct.

  It was more than trying to find out if a theory was correct, though. Something was missing in their mate bond. He'd started to feel it during yesterday's long session, and it had worried him. But he'd been too tired to figure it out. He still didn't know quite what it was. They were getting along well, the sex was spectacular and yet Kaythan felt uneasy.

  "What's wrong?” Elryk turned his head slightly to nuzzle Kaythan's neck.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.” He sighed. “I don't know what's bothering me. Everything should be okay but I feel like something important is missing."

  "Come here.” Elryk pulled him onto his side so they were lying front to front.

  Nice. His cock started filling, as did Elryk's, pushing up against him. Tah', but he had it bad for this man. Elryk placed an open-mouthed kiss on his lips, tongue moving inside to caress his own. Sweet moans were pushed inside his lungs as Elryk deepened the kiss.

  When Elryk pulled back minutes later, Kaythan almost voiced his protest.

  "Do you trust me?” Those midnight-black eyes were wide, his mate's gaze open and loving.

  "Of course I trust you. With my life.” What sort of a question was that?

  "It's just that—something is missing.” Elryk blinked, his eyes shining.

  "You feel it, too?” Kaythan felt his eyebrows rise.

  "Yes. I just wasn't sure you did.” Elryk sighed. “This mate business is turning out to be more mutual than I expected."

  "Well that's good, right?” He was confused now.

  "That depends on how far you're willing to go.” Elryk swallowed. “I need to make love to you, Kaythan. It's been driving me mad ever since you took me for the first time in the fifth chamber of the temple."

  "So where's the problem?” Kaythan smiled and relaxed. He knew what was wrong now. Their mate bond wasn't complete. “Don't you know that I'd do anything for you and with you?"

  "No, I don't.” Elryk dropped his head. “I don't know how willing you are to let me—you know?"

  "Elryk, dearling. Look at me.” Kaythan used a finger to push Elryk's chin up so he could see his mate's eyes. “I've never wanted it with anyone else. But with you, everything is different. I didn't know why I was so uneasy. I had no idea how to fix it. Now that you've mentioned the solution, I can feel that it's right."

  "You can?” Elryk's big eyes brightened.

  "Oh, yes.” He was more relieved than he could express, so he kissed Elryk instead.

  It was a deep kiss, claiming and passionate. Their cocks came to full arousal almost at the same time. He moaned and turned onto his back, taking Elryk with him so his mate lay on top of him. He spread his legs and Elryk wiggled until their cocks were aligned comfortably. This was good.

  Elryk started kissing and nibbling his way along Kaythan's jaw, down his neck and across his pecs to a nipple. At the first careful lick, Kaythan almost came up off the bed. The feeling was so intense, it sent shivers of desire straight to his cock. When the first nipple had been thoroughly licked, teased and lightly bitten, Elryk moved to the other one. Kaythan was writhing with desire by the time his mate finally moved on, licking a path to his bellybutton and straight down to his pubes.

  Taking a deep sniff of his scent, Elryk slid his warm hands along Kaythan's inner thighs and pushed them up and apart. Oh, Tah', he was done for now. Elryk licked and laved his balls, deep sighs of enjoyment making it clear how much his mate liked this. Kaythan made sure his legs were spread as wide as possible so the other man could get everywhere he wanted.

  When Elryk slid his thumbs along Kaythan's thighs, caressing the crease between groin and upper leg, Kaythan whimpered. When his mate pushed further inward and exerted light pressure on the sensitive skin just behind Kaythan's balls, he yelped and his hips bucked up of their own accord.

  "Perfect.” Elryk quickly slid his hands back along his thighs to hold them up and back, exposing Kaythan completely.

  When Elryk's tongue moved across the entire length of his crack, Kaythan thought he'd come. The pleasure was indescribable. Elryk followed up with more licks until he finally honed in on his hole
.

  "Fuck!” Kaythan had never felt anything like it.

  "We will.” Elryk lifted his head and winked at him.

  "Please.” Kaythan wiggled and pushed towards that tongue as if his life depended on it.

  Elryk didn't disappoint him. Licking around the hole in dizzy-making circles and finally pushing his way in with his agile tongue, his mate drove him totally crazy with desire. Kaythan swore he was going to do the same to Elryk. Soon. Nobody should go without this sort of pleasure.

  "Please.” Kaythan was breathing hard, the need for more almost too much to bear. “Please fuck me."

  Elryk chuckled and replaced his tongue with a slender finger. His head came up between Kaythan's legs and his mate watched him as the finger went in further. Next thing Kaythan knew, a pleasure so overwhelming that he had to scream with it, raced up his spine. The need to come became overwhelming.

  "Fuck.” Breaths coming in irregular gasps Kaythan bucked and pushed until Elryk hit that spot again. “What. Is. That?"

  "Sex magic.” Elryk's grin almost split his face.

  Kaythan could believe it. When a second finger joined the first in rubbing that magical spot in just the right way, he thought he wasn't going to make it.

  "Can't. Can't hold it.” Kaythan arched his back, his balls rising in readiness for much needed relief.

  At the last moment, Elryk squeezed the base of his cock and the need to come receded. Just enough to leave him panting for it.

  "Not yet.” Elryk's eyes were large and glazed with lust. “I want you to wait until I'm inside you."

  "Then fuck me.” Tah', he needed that beautiful cock inside him. Now. “Please, fuck me."

  "With pleasure.” Elryk lined up his swollen cock and pushed the head inside.

  "Tah'!” Kaythan breathed through the sudden burn. “Tah', that feels good. Give me more."

  With a look of intense concentration and rising lust, Elryk pushed his entire fat cock inside in one smooth movement. Full. He'd never been this full. He'd also never been more aroused or more in need of release.

  Elryk slid his hands to Kaythan's side, holding his hips up at the right angle and keeping his legs spread. Staring into his eyes, his mate began to move. Slow, deep strokes that hit his pleasure spot every time and made him howl with the rising arousal. Then Elryk moved faster and Kaythan started meeting his thrusts, increasing the power of their coupling almost beyond what was bearable.

  Finally, still looking deep into his eyes, Elryk pounded him so hard that he couldn't hold back.

  "Elryk!” Kaythan's balls rose and his orgasm overwhelmed him. Without a touch to his cock he started coming so hard that his teeth rattled. Spurt after spurt of hot semen coated his chest and abdomen, his hole contracting with each glorious burst of relief.

  "Kaythan!” Elryk's response was just as vocal and his mate drove deep one last time before releasing his semen into Kaythan's still clenching channel. Elryk's cock pulsed inside Kaythan, filling him with his love. It was the most amazing feeling to have part of his mate so deep inside him.

  "I love you.” Kaythan couldn't hold back the words anymore. He knew deep down that it was true and he needed to let Elryk know.

  Elryk's eyes widened and his mate collapsed onto his chest, letting Kaythan's legs slide back down onto the bed. Kaythan brought up his arms and held his lover as close as possible while they were trying to catch their breath.

  "I love you too, my mate.” Elryk finally lifted his head.

  Kaythan looked into the black depths that were now filled with love. He smiled. Now everything would be okay.

  When they had cleaned up and were sitting down at the little kitchen table to have breakfast, there was loud banging on the front door.

  "Who even knows we're here?” Elryk looked shocked before a big grin spread across his face. “It's okay, you'll like our visitors."

  "I hate it when you can use magic to find stuff out.” But he was grinning.

  As left out as he sometimes felt, he was glad that Elryk used his talents to keep them both safe. He got up, shaking his head as he made his way to see who was there. They'd decided to remain at his friend's country house for now. They'd figured it would be more private than moving into Kaythan's city residence. It didn't look as if it had done them a lot of good.

  "Good morning, my friend.” Arith stood there, widely grinning and looking at least two hundred years younger than when they'd last met only a few days ago.

  "Good morning.” Nysat's grin was almost as wide, his dark eyes were sparkling.

  "G-good morning indeed.” He laughed as he stepped aside to let the two surprise visitors enter. “Please come in. We were just about to have breakfast. You're welcome to join us, of course."

  "A cup of tea would be wonderful.” Arith greeted Elryk with a hug.

  "Same for me.” Nysat slapped Elryk on the back and took a seat.

  The table was really too small for four people, but their two guests sat back, sipping their tea, while Elryk and he devoured their bread and fruit.

  "What brings you here?” He finally couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer.

  "Arith had a vision.” Nysat leant back in his chair, folding is hands above his stomach. “There is no time to lose and you'll need all the support you can get, so we decided to come and join you."

  "Okay, you've got my attention.” Kaythan looked at Elryk.

  He nodded his agreement.

  "We're experiencing a much more accelerated pace of magic theft than ever before.” Arith frowned. “We only noticed it because we were trying to find a connection between the gateway's energies and the golden magic. We found the connection, as expected, but the power flow away from the gateway into unidentified individuals has also increased."

  "You mean non-wizards?” Elryk's eyes were big with shock.

  "Yes. We think that the power vacuum that was created when the Xoh'kas and the corrupt Law Forces officers were removed by the golden magic has encouraged the magic thieves to become bolder than ever.” Arith rubbed his temples. “If we don't stop them, they'll soon be holding all the magic energy and there will be none left for the wizards and other legal users."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Thirteen

  * * * *

  "We've been going about this in completely the wrong way.” Elryk sat up with the sudden realisation of what he should have seen days ago. “We've been thinking about catching the magic thieves and punishing them, like other criminals, in the hopes that it'll discourage others from stealing magic as well."

  "That's usually how you stop offenders, yes.” Kaythan frowned. “It's also why we have laws in the first place."

  "Usually is the key word here.” Elryk grinned, excited about his insight. “But this isn't a normal situation. Magic isn't tangible, so it's much harder to trace when it goes missing. It's difficult to prove that someone using it hasn't legally acquired it, and most of all, it's provided for free by the gateway. But we also know that it only works when it's handled by a trained person with certain talents, in other words a wizard, or when it's captured by a magically enhanced gadget that makes it available to non-magical people."

  "So because it seems to be free, the magic thieves think it's fine to take it and give it to others without obeying the rules?” Kaythan raised his eyebrows.

  "Yes, I think that's why they've been doing it and why nothing anyone has said has been able to stop them. They simply didn't believe normal laws applied to something as intangible as magic.” Elryk looked at his friends, but from their slightly puzzled looks it was obvious they hadn't understood what he was getting at. “What I've just realised is that instead of trying to trace the illegal magic, we need to think about how they go about stealing it in the first place. Once we know that, we have a much better chance of stopping them—right at the source."

  "I think you're onto something.” Arith tilted his head in thought. “Even if the thieves understood how dangerous it is to give away m
agic without regard for the proper handling of it, they probably couldn't do it unless they were wizards themselves. Is that what you're thinking?"

  "It could be that they're wizards who have fallen in love with the idea of giving something to people they'd normally have to pay for. It would certainly be a way for them to become popular in a hurry.” Elryk smiled. “I now see that it might be possible that someone, a wizard for sure, created some sort of gadget that enabled non-magicals to handle magic. That would explain why so much magic has been vanishing. If more wizards were involved, they'd run the risk of detection. But if it was some gadget that many different people could use, they'd be more difficult to trace and capture."

  "A gadget to steal magic?” Nysat shook his head. “How did you even come up with that idea?"

  "I guess I've spent too much time around humans.” Elryk grinned. “They have gadgets and machines for everything. Granted, theirs aren't run by magic, but based on something called science. The idea is to have inanimate things to do their work for them."

  "And you think that's what's been going on here?” Kaythan scratched his head. “It makes catching these people even more difficult."

  "I agree. So, I've come to the conclusion that trying to do that, at least initially, is the wrong approach. There's only one way to stop them.” He paused for dramatic effect, waiting until everyone was looking at him. “We've got to cut them off at the source."

  Stunned silence was the response.

  "I'm hoping you don't mean cutting off the flow of energies that come from the gateway.” Kaythan sat forward in his chair. It might stop the thieves, but it would also stop everything else from working."

  "No, that's not what I mean.” Elryk took his mate's hand. “I think we have a few choices. We can try to repair the Muyd'Othar, so that it can take up its guardian function again. That should stop the thieves from going straight to the gateway and limit them to siphoning off magic from willing or unwilling wizards. With new, non-corrupt Law Forces and a yet to be rebuilt House of Justice, we should be able to get a handle on those criminals."