by Lisa Oliver
Stefan grimaced as Lucifer carefully pulled out of his body, but he was soon smiling as Lucifer proved he could not only suck like a god, but he swallowed too. As Stefan came, he swore he could see their magic glow brighter and stronger, which was quite a feat considering his eyes were closed at the time.
/~/~/~/~/
Showered and fed, Stefan hadn’t complained when Lucifer suggested they get an early night. But long after Stefan had drifted to sleep curled up under his arm, Lucifer lay staring at the ceiling, his mind working overtime.
There was a lot for him to process. For one thing, this was the first time he’d ever shared a bed with his new mate, the first time he’d ever shared a bed with anyone period. Known for sprawling across the mattress when he was in his own space, Lucifer just hoped he didn’t wake up and find Stefan on the floor through the night. He tightened his grip around his mate’s back, just in case.
But there were more pressing things to worry about than the possibility Stefan might end up on the bedroom floor. Abdullah. Technic. The twins. Brutus. If Stefan’s take on the situation was right, and Lucifer had no reason to believe it wasn’t, then Abdullah had deliberately what? Lied to his face? Fudged the truth? Did he even have a damn vision about me facing Technic? Was Technic the one who’d killed that young Egyptian boy or was it someone else entirely?
Lucifer thought back to when they were all a lot younger. He’d risen through the ranks at the council quickly with Darwin by his side, only taking two years to reach Steward status among the Wielders of the Magic Sword. Being a steward, Lucifer and Darwin had gotten used to dashing off around the world, taking on all kinds of cases from magical malpractice to murder investigations. Lucifer remembered feeling ten-foot-tall and bulletproof every time he reported back to the office, another apprehension under his belt.
Technic was two years behind Lucifer and like Lucifer he made his presence felt quickly, always seeming to know where some of the nastiest criminals hung out. It was natural for the four men to socialize together, a rapport built on the fact they both had younger brothers as anchors. But as Lucifer adjusted his arm when Stefan stirred, he saw his friendship through new eyes.
Technic was the loud one of the pair; a true alpha type personality who always had an opinion on everything and wasn’t shy about sharing it. At the time, Lucifer appreciated a man who didn’t beat around the bush – he saw Technic’s brashness as a sign of confidence and honesty. Even their sexual moments were basic and usually instigated by Technic.
But now, with Stefan snoring lightly beside him, Lucifer thought back to Mark, and how he never offered an opinion and if he did, it was quickly shot down by his older brother. How Mark would often beg off from socializing even when Darwin was included. Was he bullied and I didn’t see it?
Levi and Alexi breezed into the council offices about a year before Technic killed his anchor. Two solid brutes of men, with their sister anchor not much smaller, the three were quick to smile and always looking for a good time. Technic latched onto them quickly, especially when he found out just how close the siblings were with each other and at the time Lucifer had just accepted that was Technic’s way of trying to come across as the lead steward. By that time, Lucifer was confident enough in his abilities and his position to not worry about it, letting his friendship with the threesome develop naturally.
Tomb desecration was a common theme in Egypt, and it was on one of those cases, Lucifer met Brutus who in turn introduced him to Abdullah. Brutus’s quick wit and his ability to always know the best place to secure food made him a firm favorite of Lucifer’s, and Abdullah earned his trust through the magnificent coffee blend he always had on hand when Lucifer was around. It was only natural for that friendship to extend to Lucifer’s American friends as time went on.
And now I don’t know if I can trust any of them. After Technic’s betrayal of everything Lucifer stood for, Lucifer made a point of never being intimate with any of his friends or co-workers. But the friendship between all the others seemed just as strong as it always had been. Had I been the one to pull away? But no, Lucifer discounted that thought as soon as he had it. Right up until a few hours before he believed Brutus and Abdullah were loyal friends. Now Brutus is dead, and Abdullah… Shit. Lucifer didn’t want to think another friend would betray him too, but Stefan had made good points; facts Lucifer would have thought out for himself if he’d been dealing with anyone else except Abdullah.
“You need to sleep.” Stefan lazily stroked over Lucifer’s chest. “We’ll catch the bad guys in the morning, no matter who they are.” Wriggling around, Stefan pressed his back into Lucifer’s side, sharing his warmth and showing a trust Lucifer envied and appreciated. Curling around into the big spoon position, Lucifer dropped off into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
Stefan woke up after a glorious sleep, to find sunlight streaming through the large windows and Lucifer hovering over him, a hand waving about an inch from his hip. His first thought was that his mate was horny again, and was showing a spot of restraint, but in Lucifer’s other hand was a book… of ancient marks.
“Did you get any sleep at all?” Stefan stretched out his upper torso. His mate might be a hard man, but he had excellent taste in mattresses.
“Some.” Lucifer flipped a page, frowning as he read the page.
“Not to be nosy or anything, but is there a reason why you’re studying my marks? If you’re looking for winning lotto numbers, you’ll be disappointed.”
“Do you know why an anchor’s marks glow when they are near their mate?” Lucifer flicked another page. He seemed insanely interested in the mark currently glowing on Stefan’s hip. Ha. All of Stefan’s marks were glowing – a result of being naked in a bed with his equally naked mate.
“Marks are inherent in all magic users,” Stefan said slowly as he tried to remember what Gaston had taught him. “They’re dormant symbols, usually reflecting particular skills an anchor might have and they glow to alert the wearer their fated mate is near.”
“Hmm, that’s what people are being taught now.” Clapping the book shut, Lucifer fixed Stefan with a hard stare. “Long ago, before councils set up rules and regulations restricting what a magic user could do, magic users were so much more powerful than they are now. They could translocate, some could fly, and none of them lived in poverty, or ever found themselves homeless. A wave of their finger and they could build a home complete with power and running water anywhere.”
“That might have been useful to me a few times in my past.” Stefan shrugged. “But given the rules prohibit someone like me even magicking up a few dollars so I could find a hotel for a night, maybe they banned magic users from building houses when the whim struck them because our cities are more crowded now. Once they stopped teaching magic in schools, I suppose a lot of the talents our forebears used to have just died out through lack of use.”
“That’s what we’ve all been led to think.” Lucifer waved the book he was still holding. “But if our abilities to use those talents died out, then why does your whole body glow with marks, many of which can only be found in old books?”
“Maybe I’m a throwback.” Stefan sat up, tugging the covers up around him. “Even if my marks did give us more powers, the council would never allow them to be used. You know their ruling on magic. We can use spells or intent-thinking – that’s it. No firepower unless we’re protecting ourselves and definitely nothing that might benefit us financially or do harm to others. Failure to adhere to the rules means someone you work with comes along and I find myself in a dungeon for the rest of my life, in a magic-suppressing straitjacket.”
“You have those marks for a reason,” Lucifer insisted. “None might use powers beyond their natural ability – that is the fundamental law all magic users follow.”
“Put in place apparently to stop powerful magic users from draining powers from anchors like me.” The conversation was making Stefan feel uncomfortable. He would prefer Lucifer was inter
ested in his body for sex rather than what his magic could do, and he was well aware of how ironic that was.
“That same law also protects someone like you from being prosecuted for using the powers available through the marks in your skin, the marks you’ve had from birth.” Reaching over, Lucifer took Stefan’s hand. “What did they say about your power levels when you were tested? Did they know you have marks everywhere?”
“No.” Stefan wanted to snatch his hand back, but he knew that would be petty of him. It would help if he knew what Lucifer was pushing. “There were six of us in the testing room. They told us all to roll up our sleeves to the elbow and then some guy in a long red robe passed a rod over our skin, to see what marks lit up.”
“A magic detector. That makes sense.” Lucifer nodded. “What happened then?”
“The red-robed guy called out a bunch of numbers as he went down the line. The organizer told us we could put our shirt sleeves down and told us to go. I didn’t know what level I got until my license arrived in the mail a week later.”
The furrow above Lucifer’s eyes deepened. “They didn’t test your powers; see what element you were affiliated with or anything like that?”
“Why would they? All six of us were anchors. It’s not as though we are ever encouraged to use our powers except to aid the all-powerful ones. It doesn’t matter if you’re affiliated with water, fire, air, earth or spirit, if all you are doing is making sure someone more powerful doesn’t set a building on fire, or blow someone up while using their magic.”
“That is wrong, so wrong of them.” Lucifer tapped the book he’d been holding. “If what this text says is true, then you personally have the ability to create buildings, translocate, summon a demon, and all manner of things, by yourself. You’re a living breathing powerhouse.”
And I’d like to stay that way. “Well, point me to the translocate symbol. I need to use the bathroom.” There was no way Stefan wanted to parade naked across the room when his mate was in this mood.
Sweeping the blankets aside, Lucifer pointed to a highly glowing symbol on Stefan’s hip that resembled a bird in flight. “It’s that one. Go on. Try it.”
“Are you serious?” Stefan shrunk back against the pillows. He did wish Lucifer hadn’t wrecked his pants. “I don’t know how to translocate. That’s a demon power.”
“It used to be something magic users did all the time. Try it. There’s only us here. What’s the worst thing that will happen?”
Stefan could think of a dozen things, like remaining a mass of separated particles for the rest of his life, forced to follow Lucifer like a cloud of angry bees. But his need to use the bathroom was increasing by the minute and he seriously needed a moment to clear his head from Lucifer’s nonsense. If it doesn’t work, at least Lucifer will shut up.
“I just think about where I want to go?” Stefan double checked to make sure he wouldn’t end up in some random location.
“Think of your destination, feel your magic and touch the symbol. Just that one,” Lucifer added. “I think the one beside it invokes an ancient druid and I’m not ready to meet one of them before breakfast.”
Oh joy. But anything was better than seeing the naked ambition on Lucifer’s face. Tapping into his magic, Stefan thought of Lucifer’s bathroom with its white porcelain tiles and huge shower, and then stroked the symbol on his thigh. He was still touching his thigh when he landed next to the toilet.
Flipping the lid up quickly, Stefan sighed with relief as his bladder emptied.
“Stefan. Stefan!” Lucifer burst through the door.
“My gods.” Stefan quickly shook himself off and moved to the bathroom sink. “Do you mind, I was busy in here.” He quickly washed his hands, reaching for a towel.
But Lucifer reached him first, swinging his feet off the floor and twirling him around. “You did it. You did it.”
Stefan waved his hands, desperately wanting to hang onto Lucifer’s shoulders, but his hands were still wet. “I did, and yes, it’s kinda amazing, but it’s not something magic users are supposed to do.” His eyes widened. “What if Monty or Darwin find out? They’ll have to report us, the council will lock me up and then you… you… you won’t be able to work anymore.”
“They can’t lock you up.” Lucifer’s joy was infectious. “You are using your natural talent. Babe, don’t you get it? With the marks on your skin, you’re more powerful than I am.”
Stefan hated to rain on Lucifer’s parade, but really? “Luc, babe, I seriously need a coffee and I think you do too. I can’t be more powerful than you, I’m an anchor.”
“I know.” Lucifer hugged him close to his chest. “And it’s so cool because you’re my anchor. We’re mated and the council can’t do anything to you for using the talents you were born with. That is a fundamental law. Now, how about you translocate us both to the dining room, and we’ll get that coffee you need.”
The lure of the promised coffee was strong, but honestly, what was wrong with his mate this morning. “Er…” Stefan patted Lucifer’s shoulder gingerly. “Can we put some clothes on first?”
“And the mark for that, is right here.” Lucifer touched the top of Stefan’s right shoulder and suddenly Stefan was clothed. What was doubly amazing was Lucifer was too.
Stefan swallowed hard as Lucifer’s eyes widened. “I’m guessing you didn’t think that would work?” he said quietly.
“I think there’s more to this mating shit than we first thought,” Lucifer said, and Stefan noted for the first time a spot of worry around his mate’s eyes. “How about you translocate us down to the dining room and we’ll get that coffee. We might have to talk to Monty about this.”
“Monty?” But Stefan’s words were lost in translocation. Lucifer apparently could hone in on where that mark was too, even when he was clothed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Fucking hell, demons.” Darwin scrambled out of his chair, pulling Monty behind him. “How dare you come into a Fireborn home wearing the face of my brother and his anchor. Get out. Be gone before I exorcise you.”
“There’s no need for your theatrics in the dining room of my own home,” Lucifer said drily, as he escorted Stefan to the side table where a buffet breakfast was laid out. Darwin’s reaction to their simply appearing in the dining room would have been a lot funnier if Stefan wasn’t visibly trembling. “Your yelling is upsetting my mate. Settle down.”
“Settle down?” Darwin yelled. “Who the hell are you to tell me to settle down when you… get your hands off that food!”
Sighing, Lucifer motioned to Stefan to pick out what he wanted before turning to face his brother. “Your middle name is Alfonse, so named after our paternal grandfather. You have a scar in the middle of your knee where you fell out of the treehouse we were trying to build when you were six. I’m not sure how you got the scar on your lower back. I suspect it was you being silly while drunk one night, but you told me it was from falling over a tree branch while hiking. You have three long scratch scars on the top of your right shoulder, a result of…”
“Stop. Enough. I’m convinced.” Darwin helped his white-faced mate into his chair. “But do you want to explain why you saw fit to use demon powers to translocate here, when you knew damn well Monty will have to report you. He’s on the council. Are you deliberately trying to get locked up?”
“Thank you,” Lucifer said to Stefan who handed him a plate and a large mug of black coffee. “That’s exactly how I like it. Have you got enough for now?” He waited for Stefan’s nod before leading them to a pair of dining room chairs. “My cook does take requests, so if there’s anything you prefer for breakfast, then just let her know and she’ll make sure it’s included in the regular menu.”
“I’m fine. Thanks.” Stefan sat down, keeping his head down so that a lot of his hair covered his face. Lucifer missed his hat and vowed to get it before they headed to Cairo.
Picking up a rasher of bacon, Lucifer looked his brother in the eyes as he deliberat
ely chewed it, amused by Darwin’s silent fuming. It wasn’t until he’d swallowed that he said, “Now, you were saying?”
“Magic users can’t translocate,” Darwin said urgently as he leaned over the table. “Are you deliberately trying to get arrested? You can’t expect my mate to stay silent about this.”
“Monty, my dear brother-in-law.” Lucifer showed his teeth. “Perhaps you can explain to your anchor, my clueless brother, what is the fundamental law relating to all magic users? The one that supersedes all others.”
“No magic user may use more than the power afforded him at birth. But look, Lucifer, if you’ve found a spell or something that allows you to translocate, if it’s not inherent in you to do it, then you have to know the council are going to…”
Lucifer held up his hand. “There was no spell. Only intent and that only pertained to the destination. We didn’t want to end up in the middle of nowhere, especially when Stefan needed his coffee.”
“Translocation is just not possible.” Monty shook his head. “All magic user skills are listed with the council. There hasn’t been a user who can translocate since 1843.”
“And yet you just saw me and Stefan do it in front of your very eyes.” Lucifer chewed another piece of bacon, frowning slightly as he noticed Stefan pushing his food around his plate.
“Is this because you and Stefan claimed each other?” Darwin looked between the pair. “Have your powers increased now you have a permanent anchor?”
Shaking his head, Lucifer said, “My power levels haven’t changed. My marks are still the same, and I don’t feel any different.”
Monty and Darwin exchanged glances, and then Monty said, “Stefan, did you reveal your true self when you were first tested.”
“I did as I was told.” Stefan had clearly decided breakfast wasn’t to his liking and shoved his plate away. “Walk through the door. Score 987. Green light to the left. You’re an Anchor. Walk through another door. Roll sleeves up. Some guy waves a wand over the marks on my arms, yells out a number to another guy with a clipboard. I get sent home. License arrives a week later. Congratulations, you are a level seven anchor. Please report to the council office for your first assignment.”