The Wizards of Venus Book One: Magic Touch (13 page)

* * * *

Jonathan awakened and rolled out of the bed. Sitting with his head cradled in his hands, he was vaguely aware of Rand’s presence in the next bed. They’d decided to rent a room at the inn near Alexander Costas’ home. “Is everything okay?” Rand’s voice was alert.

“I hope you said good-bye to your chosen.”

“Why’s that?” Rand rolled over on his side to stare at him.

“Because I’m going to kill her when we get back.”

“Excuse me? Do I have to worry about assassins already?”

Jonathan looked up at him. “She snuck into my dream with Pati and left me tied to the bed at her sister’s mercy.”

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Rand chuckled.

“It’s not funny damn it! Payback’s a bitch, Rand, and I’m going to pay her back to the
durlac.
”

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Gracie shifted restlessly on her bed. After she’d left her sister with Jonathan, she tried to lay down and sleep but to no avail.
I’m tired but too keyed up to sleep.
Tossing the covers off her legs, she slipped out of the bed. It took only a moment before she was slipping into Rand’s room. Wandering over to the wardrobe, she opened it. Inside hung neatly, were several of his shirts. Lifting one to her nose, she inhaled but smelled nothing other than the cleaner used to launder them.

“That’s not what I’m looking for.”

“Why don’t you try the hamper in the bathroom if you’re looking for something

which smells like him.”

“Bug off, Zara. You’re just pissed that Ruzac isn’t speaking to you. Did he really
sleep with King Mica when you kicked him out of your chambers?”

“Oh yes. I used to sneak in after he went to sleep. It touched my heart to see

my big, bad king sleeping next to his grandson, even if I was angry with him.”

“Are you all right, Gracie?” Mica’s voice startled her.

“King Mica!” Shutting the wardrobe door, she spun around to face him.

“I thought I heard someone rattling around in here.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep.” Gracie flushed. “I’ll go back to my room, now…”

“Nonsense! I was up already. Since Aria didn’t make it back from Areseric last night, where she’s been consulting with Arianna, I wasn’t sleeping very well. Why don’t we both go downstairs and be miserable together? I’ll even start a fire in the library for you.”

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Gracie’s eyes brightened. “You always did know my weak spot, King Mica.” Even as a small child, she’d love to watch the King draw fire from thin air and light the grand fireplace in the library.

Following him out of the room, she knew for the moment she’d found an unlikely confidant in her future father-in-law.

* * * *

Jonathan awoke to low grunts. Opening his eyes, he saw Rand moving through the different katas they’d learned during their training with Master Iason. Although it’d been awhile since he’d seen another practice them, he himself still routinely practiced. Shoving the covers off, he joined Rand and smoothly slid into unison next to him.

Savoring the smoothness of the movements, he offered his support to his friend. As they slid into the final kata, Jonathan gave a deep sigh of relaxation. It always felt good to stretch his body.

“Are you okay?” Jonathan offered Rand a cold bottle of water from the mini fridge.

“Yeah, as well as can be expected. I’m about ready to jump out of my skin.”

“The
mezclar?
”

“Yeah, and the fact Gracie didn’t sleep last night. I almost think she’s doing it to punish me for not bringing her with us.”

“I understand your reasoning behind not bringing her, Rand. Did you try merging with her?”

"Yeah, several times. Either she’s not sleeping or I’m too far away to reach her.”

“Do we need to call this off? I can go on without you, if you need to get back to her. I can only imagine the hell you’re going through.”

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Shaking his head, Rand wiped his arm over his forehead. “Here or there it’s going to be the same. At least here I can be of some use. We’ve got to find out who’s digging into Gracie’s past and why.”

* * * *

Mica watched as Gracie slipped farther into sleep. After realizing it was Gracie, he’d gone to her and used the excuse of Aria being gone to get her to confide in him. Underhanded as it may have seemed, he now knew what was driving his son’s chosen to the point of running from him. It’d taken a few fingers of Earthen scotch to loosen her up…

Sitting in front of the fire, Gracie cradled the crystal tumbler against her stomach.

After watching the king magically light the fire, she’d been content to sit and watch the
flames.

“I forget sometimes how relaxing it is to simply sit in front of the fire and do nothing.”

Gracie looked up at Mica’s words.

“It is relaxing. In a way I’ll be glad when this is over, even though I’m not looking
forward to the consummation of the mezclar.”

“Why? From experience I can say it’s probably the most erotic experience you’ll ever
have. The closeness and the binding of your souls along with your bodies and power is
a very potent aphrodisiac, Gracie.”

Staring at her tumbler, she looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she looked up at
him. “Would you be surprised if I said it scares me?”

“No. The fear of the unknown is not uncommon.”

“It’s not that, Mica. That I can handle. It’s how strong it is. I’m afraid I’ll lose myself.”

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Mica set down his tumbler.

“Why? You’ll only find true self in your chosen’s arms, Gracie.”

“Let me tell you a little story. There was this girl who’d been given a prophesy. One
which claimed her destiny would be foretold on the eve of a Gathering. She’d find her
chosen during the final dance but while she’d know great love, the deeper the love, the
greater the danger stalking her and her chosen would be. Of course this girl believed
the prophesy was pure nonsense. So when the girl’s best friend asked her to his
Gathering, she figured she’d be safe. After all this was the boy she’d known all her life.

And she didn’t plan on dancing the final dance. Everything was going fine until it came
time for the second to last dance. Her friend asked her to dance and, assuming it was
safe, she agreed. During the dance, she noticed something stirring amongst her power.

Something unusual but she was having fun, so she ignored it. About half way through
the dance, came a moment when the girl’s childhood friend was tempted to steal a kiss.

Then danger struck. Without a thought, the girl did as any trained Vindexicis warrior
would do. She protected. It was at that moment, the girl despite all her disbelief, realized
the prophesy had come to pass. The second to last dance became the last dance for
her since her friend whisked her out of the Palace. On the way back to her home, she
realized the stirring she’d felt earlier had been her sentient power awakening for the first
time and calling out to her friend’s. Within the short time between heartbeats, the
powers merged and bonded.” She paused taking a sip of her scotch.

“Go on, finish the story Gracie.”

“Afterwards, the girl thought her friend would claim her, even expected it. But to her
surprise, he went off to his advanced studies without a backward glance. At first she just
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assumed he wanted to wait for her to complete her own primary studies before claiming
her. So she studied hard and managed to graduate a few months later only to find it
was never his intention. She knew if she could feel the bond tugging at her, surely her
friend could too. But as the months turned into years and the years turned into a
decade, she decided he must’ve rejected the bond and never wanted her in the first
place.”

“Until?”

“Until the day her dad came forward and told her she’d been placed on the list for
suitable brides for her friend. When she’d asked to be removed from the list, her father
refused. Despite all her appeals, it came to pass and she was informed she was to
marry her friend. The one who’d rejected not only her but the bond between them. She’s
expected to forget the hurt and bewilderment she’s felt for the past several years and
embrace both him and their bond. But how can she forget and let him inside when she’s
afraid he’s going to once more disregard her feelings and again do as he pleases after
they’ve bonded?”

“A difficult decision for sure. But I can assure you, Rand will never willingly hurt you.

He had his reasons for waiting.”

“Perhaps he did but like it or not he can’t undo the hurt he’s already caused. I’m
simply afraid, even despite his best efforts not to, he may cause even greater hurt once
I’ve bonded with him...”

Finishing his drink, he reached for the communication console. Keeping his voice low he contacted his son. While he wasn’t going to go to reveal what Gracie had 134

confided in him, he was sure Gracie would sleep better if Rand visited her in her dreams.
The mezclar doesn’t understand hurt feelings or anger, it simply is.

* * * *

Rand quietly entered Gracie's dreams. She was sitting on her balcony, staring at the night's final stars. "Took you a long time to fall asleep." He told her sitting down next to her on the ledge. Turning towards him, she shrugged.

"Jonathan told me he was going to kill you the next time he saw you. You know it wasn’t very nice what you did to him." Rand picked her up and carried her to the bed.

Lowering her to the mattress, he watched her crawl under the covers. Sitting down next to her and leaning over, he couldn’t resist running his hand over her breast.

"Really? I don’t suppose the game he’s been playing with my powerless sister is an ample enough reason?" Gracie drew the covers up as far as his caressing hand.

Moaning softly, she pressed her head back against the pillows.

"Game? He’s quite serious in his pursuit of her.” A chuckle escaped him when he ran his hand over her other breast.

"Oh, I see. Mr. Control Freak has a plan, does he? Did he bother to ask Pati about what she wanted, or did he do the same as you and assume he knows what’s best for her?" A low moan filled the room. Heat flooded her cheeks when she realized it came from her. Squirming under his touch, she was ready to kill him when he chuckled again.

"Mr. Control Freak? Well, I'll admit that does fit him." Lying down on his side next to her, he captured her mouth under his. When he finally released her mouth, they were both panting.

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"We can't do this – we shouldn’t do this."

"Yes, we can. I’ve been dying to see how you react to pleasure. It can’t make it any worse if I give you a taste of pleasure. Give me a small taste to live on until we wed."

"And will I be able to expect the same in return? If you get your small taste, will I get mine?" Staring directly into his eyes, she waited for his answer.

"I can't, Gracie." He flopped on his back.

"Then you can't have me. It's equal opportunity, Rand, or nothing at all." She rolled over on her side, facing away from him. Following her, he wrapped himself around her from behind. Draping an arm over her waist, he listened to her sigh.

“This will all work out, Wildcat.”

* * * *

City of Greenwich The man walked up to the bar. After giving the bartender his order, he waited for his prey to arrive. He wasn't disappointed when the man arrived a few minutes later. As he walked up to the bar, he smiled charmingly.

"Alexander?"

"How do you know my name?" The tall and lanky man turned in surprise.

"I know many things about you, Alexander. I know you were friends with the Prince's intended and she’s the one who helped you convince your lover's parents that he was straight. I also know she helped you hide the fact you and Thomas were gay while attending the advanced studies school which frowned upon gay relationships.” The man’s face showed knowledge and determination.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Alexander was startled.

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"I need you to do me a small favor." The man took a quick drink. "Unless you want me to expose what I know to Thomas's parents, you’ll do it."

Fear raced over him and Alexander hung his head then shook it in defeat.

"What do you want me to do?" His answer was so quiet, it could barely be heard above the noise coming from the bar.

"I want you to stop the wedding of Prince Randall and his intended, Grace O'Connor."

"Why?" His confusion was evident.

"Because, Princess Deanna wants her revenge on the man who had her banned from the High Wizard’s Castle.” The man’s words sent icy chills down Alexander’s back.

"This is over a scorned woman?"

"It matters not the reason. The only things which should concern you, is whether or not your lover has a job once I inform his family about his supposed roommate. What do you think will happen when they find out?”