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Henry made his way through the group of kids, touching their heads to link the spells. Due to the cautious looks from two mothers, he demonstrated the fire only gave off light and couldn’t burn.
Henry called out to get everyone’s attention. “The spells have enough energy to last for three hours, then they dissolve. Enjoy them until then.”
Layla walked by, and her flames were multi-colored. Henry laughed and gave her a thumbs up for figuring out the trick.
The other kids rushed up to her to ask how she did it, and she made them beg her before she demonstrated. Soon the ripples of color were running through many of the lights.
Henry opened the door as he looked back to the group. “There is one section of the cave I need to lock down, but the rest is safe for poking around.”
He made his own companion flame and headed inside. He and Lorelei stayed together and went directly to the short corridor with the double doors at its end. He immediately added an energy shield spell to keep everyone out of the hall. Then he took Lorelei’s hand and eased them through the shield. Pausing when they were inside, he touched the energy shield’s inner surface and momentarily closed his eyes, adding soundproofing to the spell. Then he opened them and saw Lorelei was already standing before the set of doors.
“Where do these go?” she asked him.
He walked up to them and opened them to show the stone wall with veins of crystals behind them.
“Right now, they go nowhere, but once I’ve filled these crystals with Wild Magic, I’m going to activate a spell that will open a Dimensional Gate to Eden.”
She stared at him. “A doorway to an alternate world. That’s something a lot of people would be keen to get their hands on. Having an entire world to exploit would drive reasonable people mad with greed.”
“Hence my asking people not to talk about this outside the mansion.” Henry spotted Raymond King standing behind the energy shield, his hands up to feel the edges of the field. He had no headlamp with him as Vampires had no trouble seeing in the dark. He was speaking, but they couldn’t hear him. Henry closed the doors, then took Lorelei’s hand and led her back through the shield as Eleanor and Meixiu arrived.
The surgeon looked down at the floor then at the wall inside the short hall. “Are those bloodstains?” she asked.
Henry nodded, and Lorelei looked back in surprise.
“Walter tried to activate a spell in this area a long time ago and powered it with sacrifices. The magic failed catastrophically. I sealed the corridor as I need to power-wash the wall and floor. The kids aren’t allowed in. He paused and turned to face the energy field and closed his eyes once more. The shield’s surface picked up the texture of stone. The corridor seemed to disappear.
“Wow! You’re getting good with this stuff!” Raymond said.
Henry smiled. “Learning as I go.”
Meixiu pointed to the ball of flame giving off light above Henry’s head. “You learned this too?” He nodded with a smile.
“We just arrived and wanted to say hello,” Raymond said, glancing at the fake stone wall once more.
Henry recalled he was supposed to set a door for them. “The door!”
Eleanor smiled and waved a hand. “We went to your place and called Tish when no one answered the door. She let us in through your door.”
“Let’s set up your Magic Door now. Lorelei was heading home as she’s a little tired,” he said, and they nodded. The group began walking back. They saw kids running everywhere, colorful orbs of flame bobbling along above them. Meixiu gasped. “Henry! It’s like Christmas lights coming to life!”
He chuckled and nodded as he watched them play.
“We should set up a huge dining room down here for everyone and light the place with those amazing fire orbs!” Meixiu suggested.
“I’m okay with that,” Henry said as he imagined how lovely that would look. It would certainly make the cave look better than Walter’s greasy torches had.
They reached the doors, and Meixiu pointed to the King’s assigned door. Henry looked to Eleanor. “Picture in your mind the door at your place you want this to open on, then press your hand to the door.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Oh! Okay.”
Henry touched the back of her hand on the door and linked it. “Raymond, touch the door as well.” When he did, Henry pulled his hand back. “Okay, it’s keyed to only open for you two. Give it a try.”
Eleanor pulled it open and made a little noise of delight. She looked back at Raymond with a wide smile. “This is so much easier!”
Henry smiled and waved as he switched to his Human glamor with a white t-shirt and jeans. Then he walked Lorelei to her door. “Thank you for coming today.”
“Can you come in for a minute?” Lorelei asked timidly.
He smiled and nodded.
She opened her door and stepped through with Henry at her heels. Once they were inside with the door closed, she pressed herself to his chest and kissed him deeply.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
Henry was surprised but went with it as she felt so warm and soft in his arms. She moaned slightly as his hands settled on her back.
Finally, she pulled back from the kiss then rested her forehead against his as she caught her breath.
“Thank you for standing up for me about the use of my magic,” she said quietly. “And for understanding.”
“I’ve thought about what it might feel like to have your powers, and I know what it feels like to be lonely. I’m so glad you found us. No one should feel like that-MMmmmph!”
Lorelei’s second kiss was far more aggressive and went on longer. When she did pull back, Henry was more than a little dazed.
“I-I’m really glad you found me!” he gasped, and she burst into happy giggles.
“Do you think we could arrange for another date night? Maybe this week?” he asked, and she nodded happily. “Uh, tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, and I’m not clear on the protocols. Do I say Merry Christmas Eve Eve?”
She chuckled and shook her head. “No. Merry Christmas is fine or just good night.”
“See you tomorrow?” he asked with a smile, and she nodded. “Good night!”
Henry stepped back into the vestibule and dropped his glamor.
“HE-Henry!”
He jumped a little at the shriek and looked to see Steph staring at him, a little wild-eyed, with her hand over the eyes of a struggling Layla. He gave her a confused look, and she jerked her head down, so he looked down as well and spotted his kilt rising from his excitement. He forced it down uncomfortably and threw her an apologetic look, then rushed through the door and made for the stairs to the upper floors.
He stopped on the third floor at the end of the hall, entering an open bedroom door. He closed it behind him for a little peace and quiet. He looked around at the smaller room, and an odd thought popped into his head. Was this the room Nate and Marisa conceived Natalia in?
He took in the antique furnishings, and it felt masculine, warm, and comfortable. The decor was understated yet drew the eyes to the tasteful touches. There was no ensuite bathroom, but it did have a space for a nice desk before the window. He could picture himself working there.
The washroom he’d use was out in the hall, and he recalled a chimney ran between this room and the hall washroom with the remaining rooms beyond that. It gave this room extra soundproofing and privacy.
He was still standing just inside the door, but he knew if there was a bedroom in the home he’d lay claim to, it would be this one. It certainly wasn’t the largest or grandest, but it felt like… him. If he had to live at the mansion until he could guarantee a means to control the rift, he would stay here. He’d ask Meixiu about it at dinner.
The window faced south-west over the front-drive. The third-floor height faced the upper branches of the trees across the front yard, which would be a lovely view in the spring, summer, and fall.
He switched to his default glamor but left his feet bare so he could feel the hand-knotted antique rug under them. He sat on the edge of the bed and nodded to himself. The antiquity of the furnishings did not include the mattress, which was a comfortable pillow top. Meixiu wanted her guests to be comfortable, so she must have upgraded all the beds.
He looked at the pillows, and they seemed so comfortable. Recalling how early he’d been up this morning, he decided he could take a little nap. He pushed himself up the bed to rest his head back against the pillows, and he was out.
-=-
When Henry’s eyes blinked open, the room was dark. The sun had set long ago. He’d missed dinner. They must have decided he needed the sleep more. They were obviously right.
Then he noticed he wasn’t alone in the bed.
Soft heat was pressed up against his left side. It wasn’t the twins as there was only one, and they did everything together.
There was so little light in the room, no glow from a digital clock, no indicator LED lights on power switches. No electronics at all. He triggered his Will-‘O-the-Wisp but gradually fed power into it to slowly brighten the bed.
He heard a slight gasp and turned his eyes to see the white flames reflecting back in Kali’s eyes. Her lovely straight black hair was pooling on the bed. She’d also dropped her glamor, so her snake lower half was pressed up against his body, the tip curled under his feet and partially up his other side.
“Kali?”
“Please don’t send me away! Please,” she begged.
Henry was immediately on alert. “What’s wrong?”
She hesitated and pressed her face to his arm. Then she pulled back to look up at him again. “You’re going to be disgusted with me and throw me out.”
She began to leave the bed, but he grabbed her arm and wrapped his leg over her, which was more of a symbolic gesture as her snake body was very strong. But she stopped and looked into his eyes.
“You will allow me the courtesy of deciding for myself what I will or won’t do,” he said firmly.
She immediately dipped her eyes and nodded to him.
“Speak to me,” he insisted.
She squirmed slightly until he interlaced his fingers with hers. This seemed to calm her, and she began.
“The night… of the housewarming party, you were injured, and we got to see you naked with your glamor active. I knew the properties of your glamor, but I wasn’t prepared.”
Henry waited for her to continue. He knew how his glamor worked, but he couldn’t see what they saw and only got an impression of what they felt based on their reactions, so he just had to enjoy his own experience.
Finally, she found her voice again. “I didn’t know. I’ve only had sex a few times, and I wasn’t really happy with those experiences. They always felt empty and unfulfilling.” Her eyes locked on his and her mouth opened a few times silently. She swallowed. “With you, I saw my deepest desire, and it frightened me.”