The Wizards of Venus Book One: Magic Touch (27 page)

* * * *

Katrina awoke with a start.
This is the closest I’ve ever coming to communicating
with him.
Rand stirred next to her before opening his eyes. “What’s wrong, Mistress Katrina?”

“I…the man…the one I told you about…something terrible happened. He’s lost his wife… and now…he doesn’t want to live. But if I let him follow her, what becomes of me?”

“You’re powerful in your own right, Kat. It sounds like your power has bonded to his.

He’s not going to go anywhere. Once we arrive on Venus and I’ve dealt with the traitor, I’ll help you find him.”

Hope shone in her eyes. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course, I could do nothing less.” When the announcement of their eminent landing came over the loudspeaker, Rand gave a sigh of relief.

* * * *

Gracie trembled while she completed the erasure spell removal.
“Perhaps
performing this spell twice in a matter of days wasn’t a wise idea, Zara.”
“It needed to be done, Sweetheart. And now that it’s gone from Charles’s

mind, it has cleared up once and for all his lack of guilt in this whole situation.

The one to blame is Aric. Luckily he’s still on the grounds and will be dealt with

soon.”

“But not until I arrive. I’ll take pleasure out of killing him, girl.”

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“Ruzac!”
A flood of relief filled her. If she was hearing Rand’s sentient power so clearly, her chosen had to be near.

”Of course I am and I’d worry more about what I’m going to do to you than about Aric’s demise. You endangered yourself.”

The pleasure at the sight of him disappeared.

“Excuse me?”

Rand crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his wife. Behind him she could see a woman. “Excuse me, Miss, you might want to move out the way.”

Kat stepped around Rand. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’m going to kick my husband’s ass and I really would hate for you to get caught in the crossfire.”

“Go ahead, Wildcat. Try it. I’ll enjoy warming your bottom for you when you’re done and so will you.”

“Ah, Rand, I wouldn’t do that.” Jonathan’s warning was lost on his cousin.

She narrowed her eyes. Rand relished the idea of the fight he was sure was going to happen. He was totally unprepared for the sheen of tears which filled her eyes.

“You bastard,” she whispered before disappearing. A moment later he swore when his cheek began to sting. Desperately he grabbed for her, only to come up with empty air.

“You fool.”

Rand turned at his father’s words.

“Dad?”

“Do you honestly realize what you’ve just done?”

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“Done?”

“Your chosen has stood in your stead while you’ve been off world. She’s dealt with performing your duties while dealing with a drug-addicted sister and a vindictive witch who tried to kill her. Only to have you come home and scold her like a child for doing what she felt honor-bound to do in your absence. If you don’t accept her as your equal, you’re going to lose her, son.”

* * * *

After watching Rand storm out when his wife and the room cleared, except for the tall auburn haired man, Kat closed the door, effectively sealing them in together. The moment she’d laid eyes on the man, she recognized him. When she approached him, his eyes widened. "Stay away from me." Charles stood up.

"After I’ve come all this way to find you?”

"You should’ve just let me go. With my memory restored, I can’t trust you. You came to Venus for no reason.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at the furious man who was breaking her heart.

“What’ve I done to lose your trust, Charlie?” Trembling on the inside, she refused to let the big man realize how deeply he’d hurt her.

“You’ve done nothing. Pardon my bitterness, but I just found out my loving wife wasn’t so loving. I can’t trust women with power, and if I’m not mistaken, you possess quite a bit to reach across time and space to contact me.”

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“I’m not her, Charlie. I’m Kat, a simple Earth girl who was lucky enough to find a light of hope when there’d only been darkness. Don’t take the light away from me.” Her lips trembled as she fought tears.

“I’m sorry, Kat. I can’t be what you want.” He turned and left the room.

Biting her lip hard, she hoped the pain would still the tears burning in her eyes. But it did nothing of the sort. Standing in the empty room, they flowed over her cheeks.

When they finally eased, she wiped them away. “That’s what you think, Charlie. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you go. The sooner you accept it, the better.”

* * * *

Gracie didn’t turn around when the door to their suite slammed against the wall. She knew without a doubt who was standing behind her. Moving towards the balcony, she ignored him. “Grace Anne!”

“Go away, Rand.”

“
Boy, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
For once Ruzac was erring on the side of caution.

“You weren’t the one who walked into to see your chosen sagging with weariness
after needlessly endangering herself and your babes.”

“Ruzac, shut him up before I do.”
Zara sounded like she was at the end of her tether.

Rand paused. It was the first unkind word Zara had ever spoken against him.

“Gracie…Wildcat…we need to talk about this.”

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“Isn’t it obvious, Your Highness? It doesn’t matter how well I satisfy you or perform my duties as your wife, you’re always going to see me as this helpless little girl who can’t defend herself. I’ve accepted it so there’s no need to revisit the issue.”

“I…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave, but I expect us to have separate lives outside of our royal duties. You can devote your time to your kingdom and I’ll devote mine to our children.” She walked out on to the balcony.

“Wildcat, please!” His voice was panicked.

“Go, Rand. You’ve got more pressing concerns than me at the moment. Aric is the culprit behind the attacks. He needs to be dealt with.”

Reaching out, his hand hovered over her shoulder. When she remained stiff it fell to his side.

“Ruzac, what do I do? I can’t reach her.”

“Let it be, boy. Give her time to cool down and then try again.”

“Somehow, Ruzac, I don’t think this is something time is going to heal. By

rejecting her abilities, Gracie feels like he’s rejecting her.”
Zara’s voice was sad.

“For the love of Mica, what have I done? I only wanted to protect her.”

* * * *

King Mica, Rand and Jonathan entered the garden where Aric had been detained.

As they approached him, he seemed to realize something was wrong.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

“I can understand your motives, Aric. But your means to an end in this case was a series of bad choices. Did you honestly think you could kidnap not only my son but use 274

my daughter-in-law as leverage to get the Crown of Areseric?” Mica spoke softly, but his expression was anything but calm. He was hanging on to his control by a mere thread.

Aric smiled sadly. “I had to try. Tell me you’d have done anything different if you’d been in my shoes.”

“I sure the hell wouldn’t have tried to use a chosen as leverage. The bond between chosens is sacred and matched perfectly.” Rand’s fists clenched.

“Perhaps.”

Pati had the misfortune of walking out into the gardens searching for Jonathan.

When she accidentally came too close, Aric reacted swiftly and jerked her to his side with one arm wrapping around her throat.

Jonathan hissed. “Let her go.”

“Unfortunately I’m sorry to say I can’t. She’s my ticket out of here.”

* * * *

Curled on the bed where she’d conceived Rand’s babies, Gracie was awash with misery.
“Gracie, sweetheart, this isn’t good for the babies.”
Zara tried to reason with her.

“I won’t do anything to harm my babes.”

“Give him a chance to cool off. This is part of what I was trying to explain to

you. To Rand, your safety and happiness comes first. You’ve got to expect he

was going to be upset seeing you so weary.”

“It doesn’t matter, Zara…”

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A sudden feeling of panic and misgiving raced over her, but it wasn’t her own. It was coming from her twin bond.
“Pati?”

“Gracie, I need a distraction. Aric grabbed me and the men won’t do anything
because they think they’re going to endanger me.”

“I’m on it.”

Striding to the balcony, she levitated over the railing and landed on the lawn less than twenty feet away from Aric and her sister. Gathering flames from the sulfuric atmosphere, she formed a small ball of energy, which she released at the feet of Aric.

He jumped as it exploded inches from him. In his fright he lost his grip on Pati.

Slamming an elbow into the solar plexus of the man, Pati grinned when he gave a satisfying ‘umpth’ before falling to his knees. Moving quickly away from Aric, Pati watched in sheer amazement while a ring of fire surrounded the man. Glancing at her sister, she noticed Gracie had been the one to initiate it.

“Wildcat?” The bewildered and shocked look on Rand’s face was priceless when he came head-to-head with the reality of his wife’s powers. Her voice was cold when she stared down at the man.

“I’m not going to tell you this more than once, Aric. Give up your quest for the throne of Areseric or die. It’s that simple.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Really?” She poured more power into the ring and the flames shot up a good ten feet. Aric started blubbering.

“Okay, okay, I’ll give up my quest for the throne.”

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“I know you will. As of this moment forth, your visa and passport to Venus has been revoked. You’ll be on the next shuttle off Venus. If you dare return, you shall forfeit everything; your magic and your life. Are we understood?”

“I….ah…yes.”

The flames died down. She nodded to Jonathan before turning and disappearing into the maze at the center of the royal gardens.

As Jonathan cuffed Aric’s arms, he looked over at Rand.

“If that doesn’t convince you of her ability to take care of herself, nothing will. Don’t be a fool, Rand. Go after her.”

Rand nodded and took off after his wife. This time he wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for answer. He finally found her in the center of the maze. She was sitting on a stone bench. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he took her hands.

“I love you, Gracie, and I’ve made a mistake by ignoring your abilities. While I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with allowing you to protect yourself, I’m willing to try. All I ask for is patience.”

When the silence grew, his heart began to pound rapidly.

“Please, Wildcat, meet me half way here.”

She finally looked at him. Touching his hair with trembling hands, she took a deep breath.

“All right, Rand. We’ll try.”

“Thank god!”

She squealed when he pressed her back against the marble of the bench. His hands were flying to his pants and tugging open the laces. Gracie whispered a quick spell to 277

remove all their clothes. She would’ve laughed at his expression if the overwhelming need to be one with him again hadn’t consumed her. Pushing on his chest, she tumbled him to his back. Before he could protest, she mounted him, screaming her pleasure to the skies.

“Fuck me!” His order lost its edge when she started riding him hard and fast. Within moments, they were both covered in the sheen of sweat. Despite their best efforts to make it last, the maze echoed with their cries of release sooner than they wanted.

Gracie collapsed on top of her husband and sighed as the ever-present tension finally eased.

“I do believe everything will be alright, Gracie. Ruzac and I agree.”

“You could be right.”

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Seven and a half months later

Kat wandered around the castle, out of sorts. She’d just left Gracie after examining her. Without telling the princess, she’d been feeding waves of healing energy to the babes Gracie carried. Both parents seemed ecstatic about the impending birth of their sons and daughter, despite the horrid morning sickness their father had endured for many weeks. Everything had settled down after the amulet Gracie wore had finally shortened. It seemed Rand finally convinced his wife of his love and respect.

With Pati still leading Jonathan on a spirited chase, Kat knew she wanted what the other two women had – a true bond.

They really do look fetching with their amulets nestled in the hollows of their throats.

I wonder if I’ll ever experience the pleasure of such a bond?

Finally focusing on a destination, she entered the huge library. Walking over to the shelves, she selected a book at random. A soft smile played around her lips when she realized what she held in her hand.
Who would’ve thought I’d find a copy of the ‘Kama
Sutra’ on Venus?

"What the hell are you doing in here? How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going to change my mind!”

She turned to see Charlie sitting in a wingback chair. Walking over to stand in front of him, she tossed the book on his lap.

"Instead of snipping at me, why don’t you read this, Charlie?”

”What?" He looked down at the book on his lap. It was a book of human erotica!

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"You heard me.”

"Why?"

“Because there’ll be a quiz later. A hands-on quiz.” She winked at him.

He scrambled to his feet but managed to hang onto the book of erotica. He headed to the door.

“You know, Charlie, there’s an old earthling expression for this situation.”

He stopped. “And what’s that? If you don’t first succeed, try, try again?”

“No.” She walked over and ran a finger up his spine, loving the way he shivered with awareness. “You can run but you can’t hide. I’ll eventually have you, Charlie.”

“Fuck!”

“Exactly my point, my dear man.” She smiled when he fled the room.

The End

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