by D. R. Rosier
The other caveat was all spells had to be cast in the primary mind, and then passed off to one of the other partitions. Also, a caster couldn’t pass the partition spell itself from the primary mind, which left me with four threads to work with after passing off my defensive spells along with the magical link to Lilith which I drew my magic from. Also, if I lost concentration on the partition spell, all spells being maintained in the partitions would also fail.
So yes, it was more than a bit complicated, but suddenly it wasn’t impossible to have seven protection spells, and detect magic running in my head, and still have plenty of mental power for attacks, counters, and other spells.
I spent a little more time that morning to learn a handful of offensive spells, one for each elemental sphere, as well as those six protective spells. Plus, I always had balefire to fall back on. I wouldn’t want to face a master mage just yet, but I was a lot more confident. There were still a ton more spells to learn, and a lot about the magical spheres from infernal to elemental, like healing, opening locks, sleep, memory spells, and many others, plus, I hadn’t even looked into the wards yet, but I was confident enough now that I had at least a clue what to do in a fight.
Then it was time to break for lunch. Afterwards, I planned to learn the divination part, and review how to use the amulet to make pacts with others, both soul and otherwise. Then I could see about getting an heir, and a family line protector.
It would take me years to learn all the magic in this room, perhaps decades, so it seemed like a reasonable priority to take care of those things as soon as I could. Even a basic grounding in everything would take me months, so I had to pick and choose, and focus on what I needed in that moment, and for my next move. Still, just the fighting part of magic wasn’t that hard, so if I ran into trouble I should be okay, as long as it wasn’t overwhelming.
It was still intimidating, and it would take a lot of hard work, but it was no longer quite so dumbfounded. It really helped, if I kept telling myself that.
“Something smells good,” I said in a low voice, as I pushed into Lilith’s back and wrapped my arms around her. I honestly felt a surge of guilt at how damned good she felt against me, but I suppressed it. I’d never once cheated on Katia, but that relationship was over and not by my own choice, and I wasn’t going to turn down intimacy with, or ignore Lilith’s charms.
She wiggled her ass back against me, and I groaned. There was no aura of lust, it was just her body, and her scent, and the feel of her long silken reddish brown hair against my face. I’d need to be careful, it would be easy to fall for my patron.
She addressed my thoughts, “I’ll save it for special occasions. I don’t think either of us needs artificial lust.”
I chuckled, “No, we don’t.”
She was absolutely perfect for me. I already felt comfortable, not just with her body, but the vibes she was giving off. I could also tell she liked what I was doing just then, and her ass pushed back against my now hard cock.
She smirked, “That’s not an accident, I formed this body from your own thoughts and desires, both in looks and somewhat in personality, though the core of me and who I am is not changed, this body’s drives and needs do inform it.”
I released her reluctantly, when she moved for the oven and took out our meal, and then we sat down to eat. Lilith had cooked stuffed pork chops, with a creamy mushroom sauce inside a pastry shell. It was incredible, I’d never had anything like it.
“Thanks.”
She winked, “How are things coming?”
I nodded, “Good, I think, I should be ready this afternoon. Minimally ready. Guardian first?”
Lilith was thoughtful, “Yes, it wouldn’t hurt to have a protector besides me, one that could take an active role, and without a guardian there’s no point in having the heir.”
“Active role?”
Lilith nodded, “I’m a fallen angel, a succubus, and there are rules for those of my power level. I can protect you, but usually if it gets to that point it’s probably too late. Your protector will be able to take initiative to head off threats, and be aggressive about it. Whereas I’m more reactive. No doubt whoever you pick, we’ll make a good team.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“So, once I have an heir, and my protector, what then. I mean, how do the other paranormal races work?”
I needed to know how to establish myself. Perhaps it was too early to even begin to plan, but if I had the information I could let it stew in the back of my mind for a while, until I was ready to address it.
She said, “The mages have a council of nine, one of those being head councilor, usually selected by power, the strongest mage rules, although that includes cunning. The shifters have a head alpha, and then other alphas by type of shifter, they too decide their rulers by power and challenge.
“I suppose they all do, but in the vampires’ case it’s really about age. The coven leader will be the oldest vampire, and he’ll have his lieutenants which will be his oldest personal turns. Below them will be the lieutenants turns and other vampires. They’re very regimented, and more than the mages and shifters, the leader has absolute power over his coven. The older the vampire the more powerful they are as the demon animal grows inside of them.
“My advice is to wait until they mess with you, and then hit them back hard to gain their respect. There’s no sense going to look for trouble, the longer they ignore you the more powerful you’ll grow. I’d advise you to stick to studying magic, and working your deals for heirs and souls until they force a confrontation.”
I nodded, that made sense. Study was my future for a while, and anything that pulled me away from my primary goals was to be avoided, not chased after.
“Oh, I almost forgot, I meant to ask you if you knew who sent those demons after me?”
Lilith shrugged nonchalantly, “I do, but does it matter who they are? The supernatural world is full of creatures and conflict, let your father deal with his own enemies, you’ll have more than enough to deal with.”
That made sense, but I still wanted to know. What if they came after me again?
Lilith sighed, and looked down at the table, “They won’t come after you ever again, I can promise you that. You sure you can’t let it go? I promised not to lie, and I will tell you, but you’ve got a hell of a life in front of you now, and power, does it really matter?”
“Just tell me, what’s the big deal?”
She shut her eyes and sighed.
“Me,” she whispered, “I’m your father’s enemy, and my beloved sister’s enemy. In modern pop culture parlance, me and my sister are frenemies. This was all about getting a Moore of my own, and I set all of this up, everything. Your father doesn’t have a clue you were ever in danger. I sent the demon to your mother posing as your father’s messenger, and Celeste to your apartment to scare you, all to drive you here to make a deal. I own this building from past deals, your place here was my gift. Satisfied now?”
My fork fell from my hand and clattered on the table. My heart started to pound, and I was filled with anger and confusion. She’d done all this? She’d set me up to make a deal with me? Why me? What the fuck was a Moore? There was a very small part of me that was flattered she’d gone to such lengths to make me her warlock, and make herself my patron, but it was a very small part.
Wait. All of it, everything? I pictured Katia again, cruel and almost vicious in her breakup as she tore my heart out. Could that have been a part of this too? My heart squeezed tightly in my chest.
“Katia?”
Lilith bit her lip, “She was a distraction. You would have fought harder against joining this world.”
Rage exploded from me, had she had Katia, the love of my life possessed in order to stage that breakup, what did she really think happened?
Lilith shrugged and answered my thought, “Nothing. She doesn’t remember it, has no memory of that time, she believes she took a nap after you slept together. Except of course, she thinks you�
�ve disappeared from her life without a word four days ago, right after sex. I may have also had the possessing demon block her number on your phone, so she couldn’t reach you after that.”
“Why?” I demanded harshly.
Lilith flinched, and then fidgeted with the food left on her plate. I almost felt sorry for her, but then I remembered why I was so pissed off. I don’t know why I was so surprised, she was a demoness.
“Moore line warlocks are the best. I wanted what my sister had. I pinched you out from under them. I can promise you, we’ll be very happy together, and we’ll both reap the benefits. You could send for Katia, but I wouldn’t recommend going back to Chicago. I also wouldn’t recommend getting her involved at all, a powerless human female in our world wouldn’t live for very long. She’d be a weak spot for your enemies to exploit.”
The truth of those words hit me like a hammer blow. She does love me, she would be greatly harmed by my new world. Shit, even the shtick during the breakup about me lacking ambition had been designed to push me into this deal. There was no changing it now, she was my patron demoness, and would never trick me, lie to me, or hurt me again. But… it also changed everything. I couldn’t bear to look at her anymore.
I was also stuck with her for eternity. How fucked up was that?
I got up and went back to the study…
Chapter Nine
Katia stared out the windshield of her car, and at the bricks of the building. She lifted her hand and wiped the tears from her eyes, and didn’t know what to think.
Andrew had left her four nights ago, after some of the best sex in her life. Hell, her and Andrew always had mind-blowing sex. His cock was perfect, filled her up and stretched her out, touching all the right places, but also not to the point of being overly painful, and he was a very attentive lover, she’d always been putty in his hands.
They’d been together the last two years of college, and although they’d never talked about the future much, she’d thought he was the one. She’d have followed him anywhere, and done anything to be with him, and not because of the sex either. She loved him. His gentle strength, sense of humor, the way he treated her, the way he looked at her. He spoiled her, and she loved to spoil him right back.
He was everything, and he’d never once done anything to make her doubt him or their relationship. He’d never strayed, and she’d never considered doing so either. They loved and adored each other, or at least, so she’d thought.
She shook her head, confused. She’d just spent hours with Carolyn, Andrew’s mother. She’d come here to confront him, it was unlike him to even be a little bit of an asshole, much less disappear from her bed after sex without a word, and then block her number. No calls, no texts, just silence. She’d tried to get in touch with him other ways as well, and had failed. Finally, she’d come here to confront him, and find out what the hell was going on. She wanted to grow old with him, and he was just… gone, like the last two years had meant nothing. She knew that couldn’t be right, he loved her, she knew he did.
They’d talked, and at first Carolyn hadn’t wanted to tell her anything, but when she admitted he had gone to Seattle to start a new life, she’d lost it. She started sobbing, not the quiet kind either, the ripping painful chest splitting sobs that had felt like dying. Carolyn had held her, and then when she’d calmed down, Andrew’s mother had told her a story.
An insane story. About magic, demons, and miracles. About how he’d probably cut her off because his new life would be insanely dangerous, and also because he wouldn’t be able to remain faithful to her, making deals and heirs, and having a patron that was a succubus, a sex demon. It was insane? Andrew? A warlock?
Impossible, they didn’t exist.
So, she stared at the brick wall, as she had been for a long while since leaving Andrew’s condo building.
What if it was true? What if she went to Seattle and found exactly that type of insanity, would she still want him? Could she share him? He’d never cheated on her, and if he had she’d have cut his balls off, figuratively speaking. But… there was a difference going in eyes open wasn’t there? Would it be cheating if she allowed him to do what he had to do to stay safe? She giggled, a sex demon, maybe she should just join them?
Ugh, she could hardly believe she was even considering the idea of going after him. Her pride wasn’t involved though, at least not heavily. She knew he loved and wanted her, he was just keeping her safe, both her body and her mind… and perhaps her soul. She knew that much, she hoped. The bastard should have let her make the decision though, not just taken off like that.
Demons. It was crazy. Demons and magic were just stories. Weren’t they? Carolyn had seemed so sure though. She also looked crazy young, which gave credit to the healing story, had it extended her life? She didn’t look a day over thirty, and she knew Andrew’s mother was in her mid-forties.
She started the car and drove. She already had all her stuff in the back and in the trunk, she’d packed up her dorm yesterday after graduation, which he’d missed. Her mind was still spinning in circles as she drove down the interstate. She had no idea what to do. Her family was expecting her back in Pennsylvania sometime tomorrow.
She didn’t even recall making the decision, but when she got to route ninety, she went west, not east. Dear lord, she was crazy. She also knew no matter what she decided in the end, she had to see and talk to Andrew at least one more time. She needed closure, and she had to know the truth…
Joseph was pleased, that idiot Carmine had done something right. Julia was alive, and in a place vampires didn’t frequent, so there was a good chance a team could get in and out quickly enough to remain undiscovered.
“Are you sure?”
Carmine replied, “Yes, head alpha. She’s near one of the tent cities in an alley.”
“Good, don’t take any chances, send four to retrieve her, make sure they understand they aren’t to gather notice, we’ve got that major attack coming up and I don’t want the vamps on guard because of any stupid mistakes, understood?”
Carmine said, “I’ll send my best. The four I have in mind won’t have any trouble with the cat shifter.”
“Don’t underestimate the bitch, she’s a tiger. Make sure they bring silver and tranquilizer dart guns. She won’t come quietly, not anymore.”
Carmine grunted, “It shall be as you say.”
Joseph snorted as he hung up the phone, damned kiss ass. He’d better not screw it up…
I’d learned the two spells I needed, one to find a suitable guardian. It was a bit complicated, but it would find a person with the right potential and power, someone that would want to serve for some reason, and that would want something in return that I was able and willing to provide.
The second spell of course, was how to make a vampire from scratch. It was actually simple, since the demon had no intelligence beyond that of an animal there was no deal, it was simply the nature of the demon to give those gifts for the blood of life. It worked to mutual benefit, since the demon animal didn’t want to lose its host, it made it as strong and indestructible as it could. All I had to do was summon the demon in the circle with the human, and it would do the rest out of instinct, possess him or her, and poof, instant vampire. Well, not instant, it would take a while for the demon to modify and settle into the flesh, during that time the human would be unconscious. One of the circles already drawn in the summoning room would work for that.
The third thing of course, was I’d needed to review how pacts worked. I had to be careful not to offer something I couldn’t deliver on, if I did the pact was dissolved. If the person I made the pact with failed to keep up their end, their soul would be forfeit, even if it wasn’t part of the original deal. A pact meant swearing on their soul, so if they swore they’d pick the socks up off the floor if I gave them a Skittle, and they didn’t, they’d lose their soul.
Crazy.
It was also why Lilith believed those with pacts could be trusted, no one was going to
betray me if their immortal soul and everlasting torture was the price. At least, no one sane.
I’d also taken the time to learn two more spells that were basic and just a few words. Healing, it seemed prudent in case I was seriously hurt in an attack. The second was the sleep spell. The balefire, fire, water, earth, and air spells I’d learned this morning, were all deadly in their own way, I thought it might be wise to have a way of stopping someone short of killing them.
But now I just sat at the desk lost in thought. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I missed Katia so much it hurt, everything had changed and I felt like a fool for believing the lie. How could I have believed that she’d done that to me? I felt like I’d failed her.
How did I not know it wasn’t her?
Then there was Lilith, I hated her, but I also wanted her. I’d agreed to a pact with her, she was mine for life, my servant, my lover, it was a bond stronger than marriage, unbreakable. More than that, I’d live my eternity in her demesne after my death, which meant I was stuck with her forever. Realistically, I knew I’d forgive her at some point. We’d wind up in bed once again, but not anytime soon. At least, I didn’t think it would happen.
I also felt like a cheater. She hadn’t broken up with me, not really, so Katia was technically still my girlfriend, the love of my life, and I’d fucked Lilith over an altar, not that I could’ve stopped myself, there was magic involved, and more lust, natural, and unnatural, than I’d ever felt before in my life.
In short, I was damned confused. I wanted Katia, I wanted Lilith, I hated Lilith, and I needed to keep Katia safe and far away. Talk about a conflicted nut job, me I mean. I wasn’t sure what to do, I also knew I couldn’t risk brooding and whining about this, I had to find a protector and get started on an heir.
The door opened and Lilith came in, and sat on the desk.