Forbidden Magic: The Complete Collection

by Anya Merchant

  “Sex doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” said Ella. “And after the way you treated her… Well, let’s just say it’s going to leave an emotional impact on her.”

  Victor shook his head.

  “Maybe,” he said. “But I doubt it’s going to be a positive one.”

  “You’re wrong about that, too,” said Ella. “She’ll be propositioning you for a round two in short order, maybe before you head to bed tonight, even.”

  Victor shrugged.

  “You’re right,” he said. “I really don’t know the first thing about women.”

  “Just stay focused, and keep your goal in sight,” said Ella. “You might have a chance to turn the tables on her, and make it so that she’s at your disposal, rather than the other way around.”

  He nodded.

  “I will,” he said. “And thanks.”

  Ella disappeared. Victor closed his eyes and drifted halfway into sleep. Soft hands came to rest on his shoulders. He almost said Ella’s name out of reflex, but opened his eyes in time to see Annette standing over him, wearing only a towel.

  “Hey,” said Annette. “I filled the hot tub, if you’re interested in taking a soak.”

  It took him a second to a second to wake up enough to process what Annette had said, and then another to catch up to what was happening. She was smiling at him, and if anything, seemed refreshed by the rough excursions of the past hour.

  “Alright” said Victor. “That… sounds nice.”

  She took his hand and led him into the bathroom. It was bigger than Victor’s bedroom in the townhouse he and Kronenberg shared. He watched as Annette let her towel fall to the floor in front of the hot tub, and then climbed in.

  “The water is just right,” she said.

  She looked over her shoulder at him, and for the briefest of moments, she had a girlish, shy look on her face. Ella was right. Victor had taken at least a small amount of control back from Annette.

  I somehow get the feeling that it’s been a while since she’s been with a guy that treated her how I did.

  Victor slipped out of his boxers and took up a position in the hot tub opposite Annette. The water felt fantastic, and he almost groaned as he slimmed down into its steamy depths. One of Annette’s legs brushed against his and a surprising amount of residual arousal churned through his loins. Her eyes were level with his, and it felt as though they were, for the first time, meeting each other on an even field.

  “I heard you talking to her just now,” said Annette.

  Victor tried to keep his reaction from showing on his face as her words sunk in.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Victor,” she said. “We don’t have to pretend with each other, anymore.”

  He felt her foot against his ankle, and then against his calf, and then sliding all the way up his thigh, and into sensitive territory. Victor watched her carefully, scanning her face for information even as she did the same to him.

  “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Annette,” he said.

  She smiled at him. Victor had long since figured out that her smile could mean any of a number of things.

  “Is she here right now?”

  Victor had to catch himself, his eyes coming within a millisecond of giving Annette the answer before his mind had any say in things.

  “Annette,” he said softly. “You are starting to scare me. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

  Annette’s foot placed a soft caress against his crotch. Despite his recent exertions, Victor found that he could still enjoy the sensation, and even be excited by it.

  “Ella,” said Annette. “Her name is Ella. You spoke to her inside the simulation.”

  To Victor’s irritation, Ella materialized in the space next to the hot tub, still naked and with a severe frown on her face. He closed his eyes to keep them from wandering, and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

  “Annette,” he said. “Please… just leave this alone.”

  She responded to that by gently squeezing her toes. Victor’s cock betrayed him, hardening under the touch of her foot, oblivious to the situation.

  “Ella,” said Annette. “I get the feeling that you’re here right now, aren’t you?”

  Ella stared at Annette. She didn’t say anything. Victor realized that it was the first time in many, many months that anyone else had spoken to her. A sudden spike of protectiveness and fear went straight to his heart, and Victor exhaled sharply.

  “She knows already,” said Ella. “It’s too late for us to hide it. You can tell her.”

  Victor angled his head just enough to the side for him to effectively glower at her.

  “She isn’t going to let it go, Victor,” said Ella. “And… I want to hear what she has to say.”

  That’s what I’m afraid of.

  “Victor?” Annette favored him with a curious look, along with another soft caress of her foot. “What is she saying to you?”

  Victor shook his head. He couldn’t decide if he whether to laugh, or list off every expletive he’d ever heard. She’d beaten him. He’d been under the impression that he’d fucked his way into having the upper hand. It was all just a setup, a way of getting him to let his guard down, and open him, and more specifically, Ella, up to her inquisition.

  “It’s okay, Victor,” whispered Ella. “Tell her. I can help you handle her. She needs to think that she has you under her thumb again.”

  Victor chewed his lip almost to the point of bleeding, and then met Annette’s eye.

  “She’s telling me that it’s time to come clean with you,” he said, speaking slowly. “Yes. You’re right. Ella is here, right now. She’s always here.”

  Annette drew back slightly, as though she was surprised. Victor couldn’t decide whether it was a genuine reaction or not.

  “Does Ella…” Annette paused, as though choosing her next words very carefully. “Does she need anything? Is there anything I can do for her?”

  “She could stop fucking my ex-boyfriend and accidental soulmate,” muttered Ella.

  Victor raised an eyebrow at her and felt himself smile, despite the situation.

  “No,” continued Ella. “Tell her that I need what you need, and the best thing she can do for me is to help you.”

  Victor thought about it for a moment, and then repeated Ella’s exact words back to Annette.

  “Fascinating.” Annette started moving her foot again, and for a moment, Victor closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. She was surprisingly good at it, and his cock was hard under the soft pads of her toes.

  To his surprise, Ella slipped down over the edge of the four person hot tub, adding her ethereal presence to the mix. She slid up beside Victor and began rubbing one of her hands across his stomach and chest, even as Annette continued to rub and caress with her foot.

  “I’ve forgotten just how eager young men can be,” said Annette. “Twice in one night. I have to wonder how much of that is you, and how much is your abilities.”

  “I’m sure you’ll give it a long, hard think,” said Victor.

  Annette slipped around the side of the hot tub, unknowingly mirroring Ella’s position against him. She took his cock in her hand and slowly began to stroke, pushing her breasts in his face. Ella did something similar. It felt almost like the two women were vying for control, each trying desperately to be the one receiving the lion’s share of Victor’s attention.

  However, Ella didn’t have to play by the rules, in a literal sense. She made a mocking gesture of plugging her nose to go underwater, and the next thing Victor felt was her incredible mouth working across its cock. The water only aided the sensation, and her tongue felt as though it was in several places at once.

  Annette gave him a confused look as he leaned his head back. She touched his member again with her hand, but Ella’s sucking and licking took priority. Victor sank into the hot bubbles, his entire body pulsing to the rhythm of the jets, and then felt himself lose control.r />
  Ella pulled back at the perfect moment, giving Annette’s hand a chance to close around Victor’s cock as he began to cum. To Annette, it would look as though Victor got a bit overexcited. To Ella, it was a victory of sorts.

  “She can only do so much for you,” whispered Ella, into Victor’s ear. “That’s why I’m not jealous.”

  Victor fought the urge to roll his eyes.

  If this is you not being jealous, then I don’t want to see the other side of the coin.

  CHAPTER 14

  Victor insisted on heading back to his own room after the last encounter in the hot tub. Annette only protested for a couple of seconds before relenting. He found all of his clothes and headed down in the elevator.

  It was one of Hotel Maxworthy’s standard size accommodations, nothing special compared to what Annette had for herself. Victor brushed his teeth and headed straight to bed, his tired body taking no more than a few seconds to find its way to sleep.

  The knock on the door came earlier than it should have. Victor groaned and pulled himself out of bed with slow, clumsy movements.

  “Victor,” said Annette, from the hallway. “We have to get moving. There’s no sense in wasting light.”

  Victor said some very unkind things under his breath and then forced himself to pull on his clothes. Ella appeared by the door wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and looking impossibly well rested.

  “Come on,” she said. “Do your best, tiger.”

  “Please don’t start calling me that,” muttered Victor.

  She blew him a kiss, and then disappeared as Victor swung the door open. Annette stood on the other side. She was wearing a black skirt, pantyhose, and a tight grey blouse. The outfit screamed “business casual seduction”.

  “Ready?”

  Victor nodded. He almost thought about bringing up the night before, but something in Annette’s demeanor warned him not to.

  He walked down the hallway with her to the elevator, where the guard was waiting for them, and then out through the lobby and front door to where the limo and its driver were waiting for them. Victor and Annette climbed into the backseat, and they were off.

  “Alright,” he said. “Where are we going?”

  “To the facility,” said Annette.

  “Clearly. But where, exactly, would that be?”

  “You’ll know when we get there,” said Annette.

  Victor frowned at her.

  “I trust you, Victor.” A soft smile spread across her face. “And I want you to trust me on this, too.”

  They spent most of the ride sitting in silence. Victor watched the city passing them by out the window. They headed through the northern suburbs, and toward one of the small, nearby satellite towns.

  A strange feeling of déjà vu settled over Victor. He squinted at the scenery. It looked familiar, but as far as he could remember he’d never been to Maxworthy before.

  The limo took several more twists and turns, finally heading up the long road toward an old, abandoned industrial park. This time, Victor was sure that he recognized some of the area.

  The limo slowed to a stop in front of a building on the smaller side, compared to most of its multilevel companions. Victor blinked, and opened the limo’s door. He felt an old memory click into place.

  “My father took me out to this place once when I was a kid,” said Victor. “I never went inside, but I always got the feeling that-“

  He flinched back slightly as something finally clicked into place. Annette was circling around the front of the limo, and she read his expression as she approached.

  “I’m sorry, Victor,” she said softly. “I didn’t think you’d go along with it if I’d explained it when we first met.”

  “That test you gave me,” he said. “It was all so you could get inside my mind. To steal my memories.”

  He wasn’t as angry as he felt like he should be. He’d figured Annette would eventually do something like this, and having his expectations confirmed was almost a relief.

  “I had my computer team look through some of your childhood memories,” she said. “They didn’t know that the memories belonged to you, and I only received the relevant information. It’s not like I…”

  Annette trailed off, blushing slightly.

  “It’s still pretty voyeuristic,” said Victor. “And given that they’re my memories, I know as well as anyone that you’re not going to get anything out of them other than a mild case of the blues.”

  Annette looked confused, as though she was surprised by his reaction.

  I’m a bit surprised by it, myself.

  “What’s this place for?” he asked. “If you want me to continue helping you, I need to know what I’m doing here.”

  Annette nodded slowly.

  “This facility, ‘Brainstorm’, as it was originally called, was a center focused on developing neural connection interfaces.”

  “And that’s something you’re interested in… why?” asked Victor.

  “Your father was a genius, Victor,” said Annette. “The progress he’s made on, well, everything he set his mind to was absolutely staggering. This is one of his lost projects.”

  “Why?” asked Victor. “If it’s something your company can utilize now, years later, why was it abandoned in the first place?”

  “It was a government funded project,” said Annette. “And it was shuttered due to ethical concerns. Everybody working on it just stood up and walked away. Your father was already in the process of starting his own company with Eli, and that was enough to pull his talents in a new direction.”

  Both the guard and the driver were standing at attention. Annette, as well, appeared to be waiting for something. Victor made an inquisitive gesture with his hand at the entrance to the small building.

  “Well?” he asked. “Are we going to go inside?”

  Annette smiled at him and nodded.

  “Yes. Yes we are.”

  CHAPTER 15

  The front door, to Victor’s surprise, wasn’t secured by anything more than a single combination lock. He let his fingertips hold it up slightly and frowned.

  “This is really all that’s keeping us out?” asked Victor. “That doesn’t seem right.”

  “You’re overestimating the value of what we’re going to find inside, I think,” said Annette. “IF we’re lucky, we might get some information off an old hard drive. More likely it’s just going to be cobwebs and a few old documents.”

  There was something in Annette’s voice that gave Victor the opposite impression of what her words had intended.

  She didn’t go through all this effort to find cobwebs.

  “Jason, can you get the bolt cutters?” called Annette. “They should be in the-“

  Victor bound his scarlet aura through his fingers, superheating the lock’s metal loop and pulling it free of the door as though it was made of melted caramel. Annette gave him an impressed smile and nodded.

  “Never mind,” she said. “After you.”

  Beyond the door was a short length of stairs, and at the bottom of them was a large office space filled with old computer monitors, gigantic printers and copiers, and a sense of abandonment. A thin layer of dust coated everything. Victor bound his onyx aura to get a better look at the room, and then frowned.

  There are footprints on the floor. Somebody has been in here within the past year.

  He turned and looked back at Annette, who had a flashlight in her hand and appeared to be coming to a similar conclusion.

  “This… changes things.” She frowned and crossed her arms.

  Victor followed the footsteps across the floor, and through a standard office door. There was an old desk and computer in the room, but what immediately caught his attention was the circular rug in the center of the room. It looked almost new, and the footsteps led right up to it.

  “Here,” he said, gesturing to Annette. He took one edge of it and bent it back, revealing a metal hatch underneath large enough for a person to fit th
rough and perfectly flush with the floor. Annette smoothed out her skirt as she crouched down next to him, staring blankly at the find.

  “Your father,” she said, her voice buzzing with excitement. “Did he ever go on trips anywhere?”

  Victor frowned, and then remembered something.

  “Occasionally,” he said. “He’d disappear for a weekend here or there.”

  Annette ran her hand over the hatch, letting her fingers trace their way over to the opening mechanism in the side. She grabbed and twisted up, but the door held firm.

  “Dammit!” She huffed and brushed hair out of her face. “It’s down here. I know it is.”

  “Let me give it a try,” said Victor. He let his fingers explore the edges of the hatch, and then gave the handle a pull. It didn’t budge.

  “What would your father have used as a key?” she asked.

  “We don’t even know for sure that he was the one using this place.”

  “I guess that’s true,” she said. “But let’s operate on the assumption that it was him. How would he design a locking mechanism so that only he could open it?”

  Victor shook his head.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Look, just move back. I’ll use my auras to-“

  “No,” said Annette, cutting him off. “Not unless that’s the only way. We don’t want to take a risk of damaging something. You could end up causing an explosion, or, more likely, dripping superheated metal onto whatever is below.”

  “Fine,” said Victor. He stood up and looked around the room, his eyes settling on the computer sitting on top of the desk. It looked as though it was a decade or two out of date. He tried turning it on, and unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

  Victor and Annette spent most of their morning and afternoon like that, gradually growing more frustrated as the hatch stubbornly refused to budge. Annette’s guard, Jason, and the limo driver went out to get lunch at one point. After they’d eaten, Victor pulled Annette aside to have a serious conversation with her.

  “Look, I don’t see what else we can try,” he said. “Let me make an attempt at melting the handle.”