Spell Break: Part 2

The next episode is ready for your consumption.  Or at least as ready as I can make it.  

If you missed the first installment you can read it here or you can click the label in the right hand side bar. 

Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Two

            Mary stayed behind to clean up and wipe the memories of the two human patrons that had been inside at the time of the attack, so it was up to Jason to get Kelly home.  Mary had sent her familiar, a shaggy Samoyed she called Henry, to lead the way.  Kelly barely had enough energy to keep himself upright and he leaned heavily on Jason as they made their way down the street.  Henry walked slowly, looking back every several yards to make sure his charges were still following.  Jason did his best to keep up.

            Jason nearly sighed in relief when the white dog turned into a yard and trotted up along the side of a small house.  Readjusting his hold on Kelly, Jason picked up the pace.  Soon they were in the backyard and Kelly pulled away to take a few stumbling steps toward the huge tree that took up the center of the space.  Jason reached out a hand to steady him, but Kelly shrugged him off, reached out to the tree, and heaved a huge sigh.  He leaned against the trunk, his face right against the bark, and simply breathed for a few minutes.  Jason watched, waiting for something to happen.  Jason looked at Henry as if the dog could give him answers.  Henry didn't, of course, just gave the trade mark "sammy" smile and trotted off. Jason shook his head in amusement and went back to waiting.  After a couple of minutes, Kelly simply turned around and sank to the ground with his back up against the trunk and closed his eyes.

            Jason took a few steps back and looked up at the tree.  He’d never seen an alder this large in Colorado.  Granted, he was no arborist, but he'd hiked enough in his youth to be able to tell most trees apart.  This tree was at least forty feet; it towered over the two story house in front of it.  It was in full leaf unlike the rest of the trees around that were just starting to bud.  He could practically feel the magic it emanated.  He didn’t even have to use the tricks that Kelly had taught him over the last year to feel his magic charging.

            Kelly’s continued silence started to wear on Jason.  He had so many questions, so many things he wanted to know, but he didn’t think it was the right time to ask them.  Not after the fight that Kelly had been involved in.  He waited, not exactly patiently, for his mentor and friend to say something.  But Kelly did not speak; he just sat there, breathing deeply.  Strix had been flying along behind them as they walked from the café to the house, and he landed on Jason’s shoulder with a soft hoot.  As always, Strix’s presence was calming and Jason was able to take a deep breath.

            “Who was that guy, Kelly?” Jason asked softly. 

            For a long moment, the other man didn’t even acknowledge that he heard Jason’s question.  Then, Kelly drew a ragged sounding breath and said, “A very bad man.”

            “Yeah, but,” Jason swallowed hard and shored up his nerve.  “But who was he?  Why did he come in there and attack you?”

            Kelly didn’t answer and the silence stretched between the two men like a physical thing.  The longer it went on, the more confused Jason felt.  Finally, it became apparent that Kelly wasn’t going to answer.  Hurt settled deep in Jason’s gut and not even soothing thoughts from Strix could make him feel better.  He had thought Kelly was his friend, had thought that Kelly wanted to mentor him, but now, it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen.  At least not today.

            “Right,” Jason said softly, doing his damnedest not to let his hurt leak through in his voice.  “Right, I’m gonna go.”

            Jason turned on his heel and walked quickly toward the edge of the yard.  It was a mile or two back to the bus station, and his ticket said the departing bus wasn’t leaving until eight forty that night, but Jason would rather sit outside the bus station for six hours rather than be in this backyard with a silent man.

            “Wait!” Kelly called out.

            Jason froze, his foot on the edge of the yard, but he didn’t turn around and he didn’t acknowledge Kelly.  He waited for the other man to say something.

            Behind him, Kelly cleared his throat.  “You came here to learn, right?  Well here’s the first lesson.  Augmenting another practitioner whose power has been drained with your own magic.”

            Anger swamped Jason and he could tell some of it came from Strix.  Kelly just wanted to use him to get his magic back up to level?  How dare he?!  Jason had come here in good faith, willing to learn from someone who had befriended and taught him for the last year, and now all Kelly wanted was his magic?  Betrayal started to filter in as well.  This day had not turned out like he had expected at all.  Jason felt like a fool for being played so easily.

            “Please, Jason,” Kelly’s voice was soft and strained.  “Please.  I need your help.  I promise to answer all your questions.  I promise to teach you what you need to know.  But right now, I need you.”

            Jason sagged, the raw emotion in Kelly’s tone enough to be his undoing.  Maybe he was a fool, but he turned around and walked back to where Kelly was still leaning against the tree.  He did his best to keep his face impassive.  He couldn’t ignore someone in need.  He would help Kelly and then he would be gone.  As soon as he got back to his apartment, he’d delete his account at Haven and change his email address.

            “What can I do to help you?” Jason said quietly and he was proud that it sounded as impersonal as he wanted it to.

            Kelly reached out a hand and Jason took it.  With a gentle tug, he urged Jason to sit down too.  But when Jason went to sit beside the other man, Kelly shook his head and guided Jason in between his legs.  A bit uncomfortable, he let himself be arranged until his back was pressed up against Kelly’s front and the other man’s arms were around his chest and stomach.  Kelly reset his cheek against Jason’s temple and gave a shuddery sigh of relief.

            Jason did his best not to squirm.  “This is a little…intimate, isn’t it?”

            Kelly’s cheek rubbed his hair as he nodded.  “This kind of thing is.  Touch, connection, is essential.  I need to feel connected to you so that when you channel your magic, it goes straight to me.”

            “OK,” Jason said, mostly believing him.  He blew out a breath.  “Now what?”

            “Now,” Kelly’s voice went low and sultry.  Jason told himself that Kelly wasn’t doing it on purpose.  He made himself focus on the man’s next words, “Now you just do like I taught you.  You open yourself up to the magic that’s all around, take it in, and channel it to me.  Relax, focus.  It’s easy as pie.”

            Jason did his best, knowing the faster that he got this over with the faster he could get out of here.  He closed his eyes and emptied his mind, reaching out with his other sense, to feel the life force that swirled around everything.  Once his breathing was even and his mind clear, he was able to pull it in.  As he did so, he focused on the feel of Kelly’s body surrounding him and willed some of that to flow through the points where their bodies connected and into Kelly.

            “Good,” Kelly’s lips were right up against the shell of Jason’s ear.  “You’re doing very well, Jay.  You’re a natural at this.”

            Jason told himself not to be affected by the praise.  But he couldn’t stop the warm glow that started in the pit of his stomach.  He told himself that he didn’t feel a bulge pressed up against his backside, either. It was unmistakable, though, and when he tried to put a little distance between them, Kelly’s arms tightened ever so slightly to keep him in place.  Jason heaved a sigh and relaxed back into the warmth of Kelly’s big body.  If Kelly was going to use him for his magic, then Jason was going to use Kelly right back.  It had been a long time since he’d felt the touch of another.  He was going to soak it in while he could. 

            Jason didn’t know how long they sat like that; Kelly’s back against the alder and Jason snugged up tight to Kelly.  Strix made himself at home on Jason’s knee and Nola curled into a ball at Kelly’s side.  It was peaceful, just sitting together, and Jason forgot that he was angry, forgot that he was supposed to be leaving, and just enjoyed it.

            “Did I tell you I am the de facto leader of my coven?” Kelly’s voice startled Jason out of his peace.  He gulped, and shook his head.  Kelly’s lips were still pressed against Jason’s ear and he felt the man smile before he continued.  “It wasn’t something I chose, but it did fall to me to take charge.  And that man…”

            Kelly trailed off.  Jason could tell a contemplative silence when he heard one and did his best not to fidget while Kelly got his thoughts in order.  Jason was desperate to hear what exactly what was going on but he also didn’t want to push too hard and make Kelly clam up again.

            “His name is Damian,” Kelly finally said.  “He’s a power hungry fool.  He’s tried before to take me out.  He wants my power and if he mortally wounds me, he can take my magic before I die.  The temporary power boost that he would have then would be enough for him to do some real damage.”

            “Sweet Jesus!” Jason gasped.  His hand came down to clench Kelly’s thigh tightly.  The thought that someone would be willing to kill someone else simply for a temporary boost was shocking.  But it was worse knowing that someone was gunning for Kelly.  Despite everything, Jason cared about this man.  The friendship that they had forged over the last year was real and the thought of losing Kelly made Jason’s heart pound. 

            Strix sent soothing thoughts and Jason calmed.  Kelly’s hand started making soft circles where it rested on Jason’s belly.  That made Jason feel all sorts of other things.  He clenched his eyes closed, willing himself not to get aroused.  That was not what this was about.  He sighed heavily and tried to relax again.

            “He’s in custody now, of course.  And the way I contained him means that he’ll have to work hard to recharge again.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to thwart any rescue attempts.”

            Jason nodded, a little bit relieved.  His mind worked over the questions he had and settled on one that pertained to their current discussion.  He turned his head enough so that he could see Kelly’s face.  “Is that why you were so drained? Because of the spell you cast to contain him?”

            Kelly gave him a rueful sort of smile.  “It’s not easy, that particular spell.  And trying to do it while keeping a shield around you was twice as draining.”

            “I—wait, what?”

            Kelly sighed and looked off into the distance, his eyes no longer looking at Jason.  Jason wanted them back on his.

            “I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt, Jay.  If he had managed to injure you…”Kelly trailed off and shook his head.  “No.  That would kill me.  I had to do what I could to protect you.”

            Jason’s mind reeled.  Yet another unexpected development.  He knew Kelly cared about him but the emotion behind his words?  That was something Jason couldn’t process right now.  Too much going on in his head.  He’d save it for later when he had solitude in order to work it all out.  He didn’t know what to say to Kelly’s pronouncement, so Jason remained silent.  Neither of them needed to deal with that at the moment.

            Kelly’s hold relaxed a little and Jason took the opportunity to turn in his lap to really look at the man.  He looked a lot better.  The exhaustion was gone from his face and some of the color had returned.  He looked hale and hearty.  Jason didn’t need to be there anymore.  The thought saddened him a little.  But now that Kelly had come through on his promise, had answered the questions he had asked, Jason felt sure that this wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other.  Soon, Jason could come back for another lesson.  He should go now, though.  It wasn’t fair to ask anymore of the man that had protected him.  Not today.

            “I better go,” Jason said.

            Kelly shook his head, one hand reaching out to grab Jason’s wrist gently.  Jason fought a grin that Kelly wanted him to stay. 

            “Really, Kelly,” Jason said as gently as he could.  “I need to get home.”

            Kelly turned his hazel eyes to Jason and stared for along moment.  Jason was caught in his gaze and didn’t even try to move.  Then Kelly’s face broke out into a sad sort of smile.  “Yeah, about that.”

            A little bit of something that sort of felt like dread snaked into Jason’s belly.  “About what?”

            “You can’t go home.”

            Jason scrambled backwards, tumbling over Kelly’s leg, and crab walked backward a few feet.  He sat there, staring at Kelly, panic starting to bubble up. 

            “What do you mean, I can’t go home?” Jason didn’t even care that his voice held the edge of hysteria.

            “I mean,” Kelly said slowly but his tone was one that brooked no disagreement, “that it’s not safe for you to go home.  Damian saw you today, saw me protect you, and he has followers.  They’ll know that you’re one of my weaknesses and they will come at you to get to me.  It’d be much safer for you if you stayed here where there could be people to help protect you.”

            Jason had the desperate urge to run.  He stumbled to his feet, ready to bolt and get the hell out of here, when Kelly surged up as well.  The big man held his hands out in a placating manner.  Jason’s breath came in short pants and panic surged through his veins.  It sounded a hell of a lot like Kelly wanted to keep him locked up in his house.  Like some sort of prisoner.

            “Shh, Jay, it’s ok.  I just mean for you to stay here until I can train you in defensive spells.  A week or two at the most.  Just so you can better protect yourself.  I need to know that you’ll be safe.”

            Kelly voice was low and steady, like he was speaking to a spooked animal.  Jason fought to regain his wits.  Strix was on his shoulder again and Jason reached out in his mind to the place where his familiar always was, to try and get the owl’s thoughts on the matter.  Strix trusted Kelly.  Jason tried to keep the shock off his face.  Strix didn’t trust anyone.  But, as a familiar, he was much better at sensing magic and intention that Jason was.  Strix thought it was a good idea to stay, not in the least because he really wanted to spend some time perched in that magnificent alder.  Involuntarily, Jason snorted out a laugh at the thought.  He could trust Strix implicitly because the owl always had Jason’s best interest in mind.  And he would have foregone the pleasures of the alder if he thought Jason was in any danger here. 

            Kelly stood by waiting patiently as Jason worked through his thoughts and came to a decision.  That, perhaps more than anything else, made up Jason’s mind.  He knew what magic could do, he knew what Kelly was capable of, and if the man wanted to coerce Jason into staying, he could have managed it.  But he was just standing there placidly, waiting for Jason. 

            “All right,” Jason finally said.  “We could use a vacation anyway.”

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