by Erin R Flynn
“I’m so glad you got my calls,” he said after he put the baby down. He frowned when I gave him a shocked look. “You didn’t get them?”
“No, there’s been a lot of issues and problems. Where have you been calling?”
“The corporate number for your stores.”
I sighed. “You lost the unlisted number I gave you for the front desk of the coven, didn’t you? I never handle any of the corporate stuff. Your message must have gotten lost. I’m sorry. What did you need?”
“My daughter’s sick,” he rasped, rubbing his hand over his chest. “She underdeveloped in a few areas, and she might need a transplant.”
I nodded, making my phone appear and calling Jerome. “We have an emergency with a human baby. I know we’re all over the place but—”
“I’ll get the infant team there immediately. We also decided to do more jars during lunch so we’re prepared.”
“Agreed. Thanks, Jerome.”
“Always, boss.”
I hung up and smiled at the human. “We have a specialized team that will come and do whatever they can for her. They work miracles working with neonatal docs, so I’m sure they can help.” I chuckled when he hugged me with all he had. “Oh, you are such a good dad.”
“What did you need?” he asked, wiping under his eyes when we pulled apart. “You came for something else, right?”
“I have a tribunal this week. I need some entertainment. Can you swing a few songs during dinner? Maybe sign some autographs and a few pictures?”
“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need, Soraya. I can call some others and trade in some favors too. I know someone who damaged their vocal chords and is looking at a surgery that would give a nut not to have to go under the knife.”
“Well, I don’t require a testicle for help, but yes, we’ll help. We could use some good supe PR, as there’s a new wave of bullshit and hate against us.”
He shook his head. “It’s jealousy. Instead of appreciating the world is magical and full of so many awesome things, people are full of hate that they’re not the special ones.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “There are many ways to be special, darling, as you have the voice of an angel.”
He gave me a heated look. “I remember how much you like it. I don’t think my wife would like knowing that though.”
“I never touch married or mated men,” I reminded him. “Not even involved men. There are more than enough to never step on someone else’s turf.”
He winced. “I wish I’d had those morals when I was younger. I’m terrified I had a daughter after how I treated too many women. I deserve lots of bad karma, and I just don’t want it taken out on her.”
“She’s innocent. Fate doesn’t work that way,” I promised as if I was some sort of authority on it. I wasn’t, but he seemed relieved, and that had been what I was going for since he had enough stress on his plate. I made a few business cards appear, one for the front desk and how to reach me if he needed me again, and Jerome who was going to coordinate everything.
Next was a trip to PI and checking in with Kate, the human psychic who was now running the psychic division we’d added, to find out updates. There were several issues to handle, including a psychic who was working with demons to call more and more souls onto our plane.
There was another round of bespelling at the warehouse before bringing Jerome, Helen, and Keegan up to my workroom. Hunt got us food, and we went to work making more thigh cream and chi jars that went with the spell. He gave a curious look at the cabinet with the jars but didn’t ask. Keegan took pity on him and explained in more detail about how the spell worked and using extra calories humans could afford or needed to lose.
Once that was all done and I was tired but fueled up, I popped us over to the ancient nest to handle several matters. First, I brought over the finished potion for the barrier spell. We’d already done a test, and the coned covers would work as long as no magic touched them, so the nest had been handling that with all the supplies we’d given them.
“You can only use wood,” I reminded them. “No metal scoops or funnels. Wood or paper only. Not even plastic as it reacts for some reason. It’s a tricky one.”
We went down to the basement, and Victor opened the door to the room I’d put in to hold our prisoners. I wrinkled my nose at the smell and used my power to clean it—and them—up since they were just going to the bathroom in the corner like animals. Good. They were animals to treat people as they had.
They pulled out the ten that had already been interrogated by the nest we used and started the process of turning them into vamps while I made what we needed appear. We’d been doing it for days now, so we had the routine down pretty well. I was about to get to the next step after I finished the jars and sent the coffins to the bottom of the ocean when Jerome appeared, startling the vamps.
“Alarm hit in Paris,” he informed me.
“Bloody hell and fuck all the gits and tossers,” I growled. I went over to Hunt and took his collar off my magic. I made my emergency bag appear and sighed. “Follow with the teams and make sure they’re wearing translator spells.”
“Got it. Be safe.”
“Wait, where you are going?” Victor demanded, Andrew echoing the question.
I gave them the look they deserved. “To protect my people and save one of my stores.” I popped away without waiting for their answer. I froze everyone in the store, glad when I saw no one was hurt. However, the artillery they were sporting was a bit much to rob a pharmacy with magical goods. I waved my hand and tossed all the baddies in the corner, stripping them down to their shorts, gagging and restraining them, leaving it all in a pile for the police.
I unfroze my people, smiling when relief filled their eyes. “I got you, darlings. Just tell me what happened.”
“They wanted us to bring them to you, but we told them we couldn’t,” an elf explained.
“That’s random,” I muttered, bobbing my head. I walked over to the men and touched one of their heads, ignoring when I felt more people arrive. I let out a sigh when I saw what was going on. “A popular magazine did an article that I’m one of the richest people in the world and included rumors I have a magical vault with priceless treasures. That and I’m sitting on another gold mine with the sponges we’re starting production on.”
“You are,” Hunt agreed from behind me. “They wanted access to you?”
“Yes,” I answered, focused on Jerome. “Get with PR. That magazine needs to make it clear the stores can’t bring people to me and I have security in place after printing rumors that got my people involved to this level. This was a heist crew ready for anything when they got to the coven.” I looked at the humans I’d gagged, knowing they’d understand me since I always had my translator spell on. “Idiots.”
“I’ll warn Tommy we might need extra temporary security,” Jerome added. “I’ll handle the police. You finish with the nest.” He nodded behind me, and I sighed when I saw Victor and Andrew had come with. “Boss, it might be time to add barriers to the stores.”
I looked back at him and sighed again, running my fingers through my hair. “We’ve converted people with the stores. If we stop allowing anyone who doesn’t like supes into the stores, we’ll make more enemies instead of how many we’ve helped and changed their minds we’re not bad.” I held up my hand when he went to argue. “Talk with PR and come up with some ideas for after the tribunal. I don’t want to go to that level yet.”
He gave a slow nod. “Keegan suggested cleaning the New York City subway or some stuff like that since we got a huge boost from what Tommy’s contact bought and we found two more. The blue diamonds have shot up instead of pink, and it was bank. And he said we should give some as a gift to whatever elders show for the tribunal.”
It was my turn for the slow nod. “Yes, hire a jeweler or someone that could handle making each of them some setting they would wear, and I’ll enchant with a few basics like translator and bulletproof, as we wa
nt our friends safe.”
“Good deal.”
I thanked him and brought the rest of us back to the nest along with several other things since we were in Victor’s study. I set the machine on his sideboard and gave the ancient brothers a hard look. “Do not touch. You will interfere with the spell, and it will use your energy instead of the jars. It’s my magic that made it, so I’m immune from that link.” I waited until they nodded. “Do you want regular diamonds, or what do you have a contact for?”
“There’s been a huge push to find musgravite, as it’s all the rage this season, and no one raises eyebrows where you get it from unlike diamonds,” Victor answered. “Is it easier to make?”
“Yes.” I switched the bespelled contraptions that were no bigger than a coffee machine and muttered the right chant to configure it. “Now, I can do one jar and just let it run like I did my rubies, and I had a lot of them. Or I can do two jars round robin and they take turns, which gives them more time. Or we could be really mean and activate it every thirty minutes to do one stone. It will take longer to get them, but your battery will last much, much longer.”
“Do that,” they said together.
I nodded and adjusted it, attaching the one jar as the power source. I waited until the first stone was made, reaching in, picking it up, and handing Victor the twenty carat uncut gem. “There’s a bit of fluctuation as to shape and size, but they will all come out about there. They’re flawless, which is the main point.”
“You are such a miracle,” Victor whispered, holding up the gem to the light. “Truly, Soraya. To make such a spell so easily and—”
I snorted, gesturing to the box. “That was not easy. Are you kidding me? It took me months to get the first anything to work. It’s got about twenty different spells and parts that have timing and delays adding their part to it. It’s creating the right raw ingredient then adding pressure and precision.” I made a huge chunk of gold appear in my hand. “That was easy. You just have to have the power and knowledge, but it’s one element.
“Gemstones form from different elements and conditions. I would have probably had an easier time making chickens and living things besides nature are impossible.” I gave them both a serious look. “Do not hurt my gem maker. I will be pissed after what it took to make it. Why do you think I don’t have a bunch of them? It’s a bloody bitch to make.”
“You’re even more a miracle then,” he praised. “You always have been.”
I had some very sharp retorts on the tip of my tongue but decided to just focus on all there was to do. We joined the others who were already working on loading rods with the spell and sealing them, and it was another calm and helpful interaction.
Until I started to get antsy from using so much magic and needing fuel. Andrew made another comment about him being better than Hunt, and my patience snapped, saying next time it happened I’d be glad to show him that wasn’t true.
Idiot. I couldn’t help but poke back sometimes. Maybe that was why they still saw the girl I was instead of the century old woman in front of them? Probably.
2
The ancients easily handled a huge corner of the land in Peru, joking it was fun to throw the rods into the ground. Well, as long as they were amused, right? Then they teamed up with an enchanter from PI who was helping find psychics and worked on several more cities across the globe while marking them off the map they were working from.
Hunt and I had more bespelling to do, lots cooking in my private workroom as well. I also tied more jars from the now fledglings we were punishing to what needed to be done. On and on we went, both of us fueling all the time until just before dinner when we couldn’t take anymore.
“Limit,” he panted, sounding as ready to crack as I was.
I nodded and popped us back over to the nest, shrugging when he gave me a confused look. “I promised I’d show them.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s the middle of Times Square,” he growled, storming over to me. He grabbed me under my ass and lifted me up as his lips found mine. I used my magic to undo his pants and hurried to get him out. He trashed my pants as he sat me on the dining room table, and the second I was bare to him, I moved his dick in the right spot and he thrust, both of us moaning in need.
His fingers dug in my ass as he pulled me onto him as he fucked me silly. I changed the collar when he asked so he didn’t finish right away, wanting to torture him a bit when he was in that state from helping me. I screamed in bliss as it ramped him up even more when I admitted that. He fisted my shirt and tore it open along with snapping my bra, not even slowing down his hips.
I came with a scream, lying down on the table and arching my back as he kept screwing me, knowing what he wanted to see. A few more orgasms and I started to feel right in my head again. He pulled out of me and handled the tatters of my pants before burying his face in my pussy and feasting like a man starved. He teased my other hole, and I moaned, wanting that too.
“Doggy want my ass?” I taunted him. “You going to be a good boy, Remy, and fuck your master’s ass?” I smirked when he let out a huge moan, knowing exactly what buttons to push. He finger fucked me while eating me out, and I came again, begging him for more.
“This table’s too hard,” he argued when I was ready and he flipped me over. “Bed.”
I nodded, using my power to switch out the table for my bed. He growled in approval and gave me everything he had. After a few more orgasms just from anal sex, he knelt behind me and ate me out again, making sure he healed any soreness he gave me.
Next, I turned the tables and rode him, allowing him to climax again, smiling when he had a finish that lasted minutes and it was several orgasms in one. I moaned when I heard in his head he was dying to bite my thigh so he’d see it when I wore those little skirts to tease him. I pulled off of him and straddled his head, giving him permission. He growled, his eyes on mine as his teeth changed and he sunk them into my thigh.
Then he flipped us and screwed me until I forgot my name, working out any remaining energy and leaving us sated but completely exhausted.
“I think we’re going to be late for your fitting and next round of catering samples,” he chuckled as he moved down my body back between my legs. He gave several long licks while I watched. “Though I’ve had a lot to eat, and it was so fucking good.”
I snorted. “I’ve warped your brain with sex.”
“Yes, but I’m not the one forgetting where we are at the moment, so clearly I’ve done the same to you,” he drawled.
I winced, pushing up and glancing at the nest all watching, swallowing a flinch that I was naked and covered in Hunt’s spunk. I used my power and dressed us, shower fresh as I put my bed in my room and brought back the table, sitting on that instead. “I believe you now understand how out of our head we get using so much magic, and you don’t get the brunt of it because you’re not as powerful.”
“Yes.” He nodded as he moved me off the table, keeping himself in between me and the vampires just in case. “I’ve also seen you with five hawks work this off, and you didn’t forget who was in the room. You did with me.”
I gave him a scathing look. “Don’t go getting a big head, dog. You’re not the only one that’s happened with, and I very much forgot you were there while diddling five hot young hawks.”
“Fair enough,” he murmured, nuzzling my neck. “You need to eat. And you undoubtedly win from the upset coming off the vampires.”
“Yes, I see their auras,” I reminded him, stepping away from him. I looked at Victor and Andrew. “Is the matter finally settled?”
“Yes,” they both bit out.
“Lovely. See you tomorrow for the next round of work then.” I popped us to the conference room, ready for food and more food. We dove right in, and after a few moments I realized I had not one, but a few international superstars there helping. I got Helen’s attention and gestured to them.
She shrugged. “They wanted to use their star power to help. You’re
a good friend to have, boss. Plus, the infant team saved the baby, no surgery or transplant needed. They worked with the doctors, and they’re doing an interview tomorrow saying what we did. Give them some blue diamonds or something because they have seriously helped.
“They went across the street and built a basket for everything people forget like we said plus a few away from home spoiling items. Then they put together a separate travel basket of everything they get from people and hotels that’s always the best to have. They’re tapped into every trend and new thing and showed my team all the Instagram popular places we should hit up and have.”
I frowned, glancing over at them. “Will I show my age if I admit I don’t know what Instagram is?”
Helen snorted, looking like she felt the same way. “We’re adding poke with the tuna you’re getting, not just sushi and then sushi burritos. Apparently it’s all the rage.”
I shrugged. “I love poke. We’ll need a ton more roe and caviar to top it.”
“All over it,” she promised. “We’ve got the list to get Wednesday morning. They actually offered their personal chefs or knew ones to call that needed the work, so we have a lot more help in the kitchen here, as we’re only having human help here.” She waited until I nodded. “Which actually brought up a problem for the vampires.”
I groaned. “Right, no one to bite if we don’t allow humans.”
“Which one of them figured out how to handle,” she chuckled, nodding to the group. “She suggested hiring shifter servers that are fine with being the appetizer as well. It’s a bit crude, but well, we found a bunch more than willing, as they need the work and we’ll pay them well. They were clear as long as no sex was involved, they’re fine wearing sexy, skimpy outfits and being on the menu.”
“Rock on. We fill in those other gaps?” I checked, glad when she nodded. “Good. I know PI will be closed except for emergencies, as we need all our enchanters going back and forth, but I think we should reassign a healer one day from each store so they can help.”