Born Magic Page 7

  “You don’t want to?”

  “I do…but…”

  “It’ll be fine. If we’re bad at it, we’ll try something different. One difference, though, I need to go grab the bottle of olive oil out on the table. Unlike, me in your…feminine parts, we need help with lubrication.”

  Nev slid off and allowed Jamal to get up.

  Jamal returned from the other room with the bottle in his hand. “Some in me, some on you, and maybe having me on my hands and knees might make this easier this time around?”

  “Okay.” Nev felt nervous, even though all his sexual experiences with Jamal had been pleasurable. He had overheard enough conversations in the hallways of Kustaa’s manor that implied a man on receiving end of something like this would experience pain. He watched as Jamal poured oil into his hand and then reached behind himself to insert his fingers inside.

  “Hey.” Jamal wiped his fingers on the edge of the sheet. “You look…stressed.”

  “This will hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Jamal cupped his hand against Nev’s cheek. “Nev, honey, that’s what the oil is for. And I’ve done this before. Even if it’s uncomfortable for a few seconds, it feels good, very good.”

  “I have heard…” Nev said.

  “One, it’s can hurt a lot if it’s not consensual, and that’s just flat out rape. Two, it can hurt if you do it with nothing, no oil, and spit doesn’t really help very much. Sometimes, it can hurt the first time. I care about you, but you are not my first. I know what I’m asking for.” Jamal handed him the bottle. “Some on you, too.”

  Nev smoothed a layer of oil on his cock. He was already stiff. The couple of strokes to coat himself ramped out his arousal more.

  Jamal knelt on the bed and crooked a finger at Nev. “Come.”

  It was an invitation that sent a shiver to anticipation through Nev. He wasn’t sure how much was desire and how much was fear.

  Reaching out, Jamal took Nev’s hand and drew him close enough to kiss.

  As they kissed, Nev could feel the connection between them blossom. His chest touched Jamal’s. Their pricks collided, and somehow the soft smack and slide reminded Nev of watching sword fighting practice.

  ::I’d like your sword in me.:: Jamal smiled.

  Nev had to laugh. ::Okay, we’ll try.::

  A few more kisses, and Jamal turned and braced his hands on the mattress, knees apart. ::Use your fingers first.::

  Hopefully, his fingers were already slicked enough. Nev ran a finger down the crease between Jamal’s butt cheeks and probed carefully at the opening there. It was already slippery. His pushed his finger in slowly.

  A low groan came from his partner. ::More. Feels good.::

  Nev worked his finger in and out a number of times, pausing at one point to use more oil. ::Stick with this or something else?::

  ::Do it. I want you in me.::

  Even though the words were a murmur in Nev’s head, he could feel the decreasing coherence as Jamal was being overwhelmed by physical sensations. He scooted forward, his own knees closer between Jamal’s, one hand gripping Jamal’s hip. He placed the tip of his cock against Jamal’s entrance and thrust in a bit. Gods…slippery tight heat. Nev gripped Jamal’s hip harder to steady himself. There were no words, just want.

  Jamal rocked back, and the angle pushed Nev further in. Another almost involuntary thrust from Nev, and he was buried within, his body flush to his lover’s.

  ::Fuck me.:: The plea from Jamal was raw and needy.

  Nev let his body set the rhythm, in and out. The pleasure was climbing, his own as well as Jamal’s.

  Jamal lifted a hand and grabbed his own prick, stroking. ::Faster.::

  Faster was more intense. Nev dug the fingers of both hands into Jamal’s hips, and the wave of pulsing ecstasy swept through him. He emptied himself into his lover, eyes squeezed shut, gasping, feeling Jamal’s body contract around him as echoes of secondary pleasure layered on top of his own.

  Eventually, the two of them collapsed to the mattress, Nev on top, his cock having slid free as it softened.

  “Unh…gods…” Jamal mumbled. “That was good.” He rolled over and pulled Nev up into his arms, kissing him thoroughly.

  Nev blinked several times, trying to get his brain back to functioning again. ::Wow.::

  Jamal ran his fingers through Nev’s hair. ::This makes being with you so amazing.::

  They lay entwined, slowly kissing and touching until Jamal’s stomach began to growl.

  Nev giggled. “Sounds like you need food. I have some fruit and olives and pitas.”

  “That would be good. I got so focused on seeing you, I didn’t go to the mess hall after I got through with my courier assignment.”

  “Let’s put some clothes back on and go out to the other room.”

  * * * *

  Jamal sat on the padded bench and leaned back against the wall. He opened his mouth and let Nev feed him a chunk of pita.

  “I can’t have you going hungry just to spend time with me,” Nev said. He sat with legs draped over Jamal’s lap.

  “I would endure many things to spend time with you.”

  Nev smiled and looked down.

  Maybe it was time for honesty. This was more than just a physical attraction. Jamal tipped Nev’s face back up with a finger. “I care about you, a lot. I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  Nev’s eyes widened. “Even though I’m not human?”

  “You are you, and that’s all that matters to me.”

  A smile slowly curved Nev’s lips. “I think I’ve come to love you, too.” He leaned in and kissed Jamal.

  Chapter 5

  A dull clunk woke Jamal. He raised his head. One arm was still wrapped around Nev. The room was dark, only a hint of moonlight peeking through the curtain at the window. Suddenly, a shadow moved, and Jamal sat up abruptly.

  “I thought you said he would be alone,” muttered an unfamiliar voice.

  Then the room was blindingly illuminated by floating mage lights. Squinting against the abrupt lighting change, Jamal was horrified to see four men dressed in dark clothing. Nev gasped as he awoke and shrank against Jamal.

  The men grabbed Nev and hauled him from the bed. Jamal lunged at the nearest one, striking a couple of blows, trying to get them to release Nev. Although Jamal had decent hand to hand combat skills, he and Nev were unprepared and outnumbered.

  Nev flailed and struggled as two of the men restrained him. “Stop! Let me go!”

  “Use the charm,” one of the men snapped.

  Another slapped a small flat object against Nev’s chest. Nev’s body went limp. The charm must have been on a cord because one was roughly looped around Nev’s neck.

  “Fuck you! Let him go!” Jamal kicked the one attacking him, which gave him only a moment’s respite. Then a blow to the back of his head spun the world into blackness.

  * * * *

  Seeing Jamal knocked unconscious sent Nev into despair. He was already incapacitated himself. The charm his attacker had used had rendered his whole body as loose and floppy as a stuffed doll. Only his eyes seemed to be under his control.

  He was wrapped in a blanket and heaved over the shoulder of one of the men. Bumping and flopping against his abductor’s back, he was carried down the stairs. Where was the staff member who tokenly played guardian? Nev thought he smelled the scent of warm blood as they exited the building.

  Where were they taking him? Back to Perathea? He recognized the accents in the few words that were spoken. They had to have been sent by Kustaa. But why? Did Kustaa plan to kill him personally? Several months ago when Nev had escaped, that had been the nasty mage’s original plan.

  He was carried a distance and flung into what he could only assume was a wagon. How had they gotten him out of the military headquarters complex? There were walls around the edges, and guards. The only answer that came to mind was—magic. The same way they had rendered him immobile and also how they must have crept
onto the complex grounds to start with. Hypothetically, there were safeguards of some kind that supposedly protected against that sort of thing. Reza had commented on the existence of those spells at one point…but hadn’t he also said that assumptions were made that having the headquarters inside the city made spells a bit redundant? Gods…was Kustaa planning an all-out assault on Quertesh? Or just the military specifically?

  Nev’s thoughts flitted through a dozen scenarios and possibilities, none of which he could do a single thing about at the moment.

  * * * *

  “Jamal! Hey! Wake up!” a voice pierced the groggy fog of pain and confusion.

  Jamal slowly opened his eyes. He was on the floor. His head hurt with every single beat of his pulse. Eventually, his eyes focused on the person kneeling beside him. Tarik.

  “What the hell happened? Where’s Nev? The staff guy downstairs is dead. The rooms up here are a wreck.”

  “They took him,” Jamal mumbled.

  “Who took him?”

  “Dunno. Four guys, wearing dark clothes, they had magic.” Jamal closed his eyes again, trying to breathe evenly against the pain, trying to think more clearly.

  “This whole place stinks of dark magic.”

  Jamal opened his eyes and looked at the unfamiliar speaker. He didn’t recognize the small older man who wasn’t dressed like any of the other soldiers or military staff that had flooded into the room. Putting together the comment and demeanor of the man, Jamal guessed he was a mage. “Does that mean they killed Nev?”

  “I don’t think so, only the aide downstairs. Although I think they harnessed the power of that man’s death to help cloak their escape.” The mage tromped around the room like he was looking for something. “Your name is?” He waved his cane in Jamal’s direction.

  “Jamal Fayed. I’m a guardsman stationed at Garrison Nine.”

  “And you know Nev how?”

  “He’s a friend. I came by to see him since I was here at headquarters on business.” Jamal wasn’t willing to confess the details of his relationship to some magic user he didn’t know. “And you are?” he pressed.

  “Reza. I’m the Archmage of the Querteshan military.”

  Jamal winced a little. He’d heard Nev mention that name. Maybe he should have been a little more diplomatic. “Sir.” He inclined his head.

  “Do you know him well enough to tell me if there’s some physical item that he’s attached to? I may be able to use it to track him.” Reza gave him a solemn stare.

  “Maybe.” Jamal staggered to his feet. Tarik steadied him and kept him from falling to the floor.

  “You okay?” Tarik asked.

  “Uh…I guess. My head is killing me.” Jamal walked slowly in the direction of the bathroom. On the small table against the wall sat the little wooden bird he had carved for Nev. Knowing that Nev treasured it, as one of the few things in his life that was specifically his, wrenched Jamal’s heart. He gently picked it up. “This.” He held it out to Reza.

  Reza took it and tucked it in a pouch on his belt. “I’m going to take it to my workshop. It may take a little time, but hopefully it will allow me to find him.” He crooked a finger at one of the soldiers. “Go find one of the healers. See to it that Fayed is taken care of.”

  Jamal wanted to protest that if he wasn’t dead already, getting roughed up and knocked unconscious likely wouldn’t kill him. The way the archmage stomped out of the room, though, made Jamal presume following the man was a bad idea. Instead, he sank down on the corner of the bed and held his pounding head.

  Tarik dropped to one knee beside him. He put a hand on Jamal’s arm. “Gods…I came into the building, and the guard down there was lying a pool of blood. I thought I was going to find you dead, too.”

  “I’m still not entirely sure why I’m not.” Jamal shivered. “If they took Nev just to kill him elsewhere…” His throat tightened.

  “The archmage…I think we should trust him. He seemed to have a theory. There’s blood dripping down the side of your face. Sit still. I’ll go see if there’s towel.”

  * * * *

  The rattling and bumping ground to a halt. Heat and daylight peeked around the edges of the heavy fabric that had been flung over top of Nev. Judging from the pattern of fabric, Nev surmised it was likely some kind of rug. He guessed that it served to hide that fact he lay immobile in the back of the wagon.

  “Give him some water. Master Kustaa wants him alive when we get there,” said a voice.

  The fabric was dragged off of Nev, and he squinted in the suddenly harsher light. A hand grabbed the front of his tunic and hauled him into a sitting position.

  One of the men in dark clothing glared at him. “I’m going to remove the charm for a few minutes.” He pressed a knife to Nev’s arm. “Delivering you alive doesn’t guarantee you won’t lose some blood if you try anything stupid.” He grabbed the cord holding the charm and removed it.

  A water skin was thrust into Nev’s hands. Shaking, Nev lifted it to his mouth and gulped water from it. It had the warm stale taste that often came from being stored that way, but he was grateful for small kindness of the moment.

  “You need to take a piss? Cuz I’m not cleaning up after you if you piss in the wagon.”

  “Yes,” Nev replied.

  “Get up slow and you can stand there.” The man pointed near one of the back wheels of the wagon.

  Slow was really the only speed Nev had at that moment. Laying paralyzed by the charm for hours had made his entire body stiff and achy. He relieved himself while Kustaa’s minion stood less than two steps away, large knife held out in plain view.

  “Get back in.” Knife man pointed.

  At least this time Nev had a moment to arrange his arms and legs in a somewhat more comfortable position before the charm was yanked back over his head and he went limp again. The fabric, which looked like a lightly woven rug, was tossed back over top of him. Feeling slightly more coherent, knowing he had at least a bit of time before they arrived…at a destination, Nev tried to sort what information he had.

  Kustaa was responsible for his abduction. No big surprise there. Kustaa was aware Nev had some level of magic skill, otherwise binding him with cords would have been thought sufficient. There was some kind of purpose in this other than just his death. It would have been easier for these servants to have just slit his throat and left his body. And that thought led to Jamal. Seeing him fighting then struck hard enough to render him unconscious, it worried Nev bitterly. There was nothing he could do but hope Jamal was still alive.

  What could he do in the meantime? Lessons from Reza had improved Nev’s skill at magic. He had even surprised the archmage by the body changes he had wrought using power of the ley line. Too bad he didn’t understand better exactly how he had made those changes. It hadn’t been a spell, no words, no gestures. It definitely hadn’t been any form of a charm because those needed a physical object to tie the magic to. Reza kept returning to the idea that magic was always interwoven with intent, but if it was that straight forward, Nev thought he should be able to just think about the charm’s cord sliding off and then he would have a chance at escape. That wasn’t happening. He’d tried a number of times since he’d been taken.

  * * * *

  One of the healers at the Querteshan Military headquarters treated Jamal’s head injury. The pain was down to a dull ache, and the dizziness was now mostly gone.

  Tarik leaned against the wall in Nev’s quarters, facing Jamal, who was sitting on a stool in the main room. Staff and officers had flowed in and out over the past couple of hours. The archmage hadn’t been one of them.

  “I think I’m going to either have to go back to the garrison to tell Captain Bhati what’s going on, or get someone else to send a message,” Tarik said. “We were supposed to be returning today.”

  “One of General Mengal’s aides told me to stay put. Eyewitness and all that,” Jamal replied.

  “Er, okay. That still leaves me in a weird kind of l
imbo. I mean, I like Nev well enough, but I don’t want to get in trouble for not following orders.”

  Jamal looked up at Tarik. “Go find the aide. Tall skinny guy with Dehwar on his name tag. I saw him walk in the direction of the stairs a few minutes ago. Ask him what you should do. Mengal outranks the captain.”

  Tarik squeezed Jamal’s shoulder. “I’ll be back in a bit then.”

  Resting his elbows on his knees, Jamal let his head hang. He felt useless. He hadn’t been able to defend Nev, prevent him from being kidnapped. There was lots of idle speculation going on among the headquarters staff, but as far as he could tell, nothing was actually being done at the moment.

  Dehwar came striding back into the quarters. “Fayed, General Mengal and the archmage would like you to report to the main briefing room. Follow me.”

  “Did the archmage find out where they took Nev?”

  “I can’t speculate. Information will provided by the general.”

  Jamal accompanied Dehwar to another building. In a long rectangular room, a map was spread on a huge table. Reza stood at one end, a bowl of water in front of him and the wooden bird dangling from a thin metal chain.

  “I need you to stand beside me,” the archmage said to Jamal.

  “Yes, sir.” Why that would be likely to make any difference, Jamal had no idea. Magic could be very weird.

  “What is your connection to this thing?” Reza waggled the wooden bird.

  Jamal felt his face flush with heat. “I made it and gave it to Nev as a gift.”

  Reza held the chain and let the bird hang suspended. He murmured some syllables that made no sense to Jamal. The chain and the bird angled outward to the left, and Reza moved his hand over the map until he appeared to be satisfied with a position. “He’s here currently, but travel is still occurring.”

  The general peered down at the map location. “He’s passing out of the edge of Kanamaly, going northeast. That’s a somewhat indirect route if he was being taken to Draeven.”

  “There’s no guarantee that’s where he’s being taken,” Reza commented. “Or that they aren’t going somewhere else first.”