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Chapter 24
My first instinct was to escape via the portal that I’d only just traveled through. To my dismay, before I could get my feet to obey my mind, Marduke waived his hand and closed it.
“Killian!” I gasped as I frantically tried to reopen it to no avail.
“He was never going to be allowed through,” Gail said with satisfaction.
An amused smile formed on her lips as she watched me struggle to use my magic.
“You’re with them? Him?” I spat as I gave up my foolish attempt to undo the magic of a powerful dark lord such as Marduke. “I thought you were our friend. You sure had us fooled.”
“You need to give him a chance to explain what he’s all about,” she said with a tone that was similar to the one she’d used with me when she had me believing that we were friends. “The society has lied to you in so many ways. You need to listen to
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Instead of bringing clarity to the situation, Marduke’s tale made me all the more confused.He told of how he’d been a member of the society centuries earlier. He personally knew the founding members, including my parents. His claim was that he held a position of authority, but was overthrown and banished when he disagreed with and refused to admit certain practices and policies into order. These practices included allowing couples to syphon magic from each other’s shine.“What harm is there in couples sharing their magic?” I asked.His lips formed a weak smile. “Is it really sharing? The stronger one is always the syphoner; thus, weakening the weaker one. Without restrictions, the weaker one could be permanently altered. Yes. There is much harm. You know, firsthand, how it temporarily depletes the body’s life force. I am aware of how Jason repeatedly syph
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We were just outside the door of what could have been a quaint looking bungalow had a fresh coat of color been added to it when Gail hesitated. “There’s something that you should know before we go in.”She was prevented from explaining further when the thick and severely weathered oak front door swung open. My jaw dropped so low that it almost hit the ground and my eyes threatened to leap from their sockets and roll along the sickly foliage lined worn brick pathway that we stood upon as I took in the sight of Jason. Standing proud and bold, he wore only a pair of pants. The sexy, muscled torso that I remembered so well was completely exposed. He looked just as shocked to see me as I was him.He was the faster one of us to regain his senses. His voice was low to the point that it resembled a soft growl as he asked with a demanding tone, “What are you doing here?”Still stupefied, it took a few excr
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I found myself tucked into my very own shabby chic bungalow a few hours later. It was just as well. Although the place felt cold and lonely, it at least spared me the company of Gail and her rapist lover, Jason.Sleep eluded me until, succumbing to the overwhelming heaviness of my heart, I cried myself into the depths of dark oblivion. When I awoke to a faint haze outside my window -which I interpreted as the sun rising over my gloomy horizon- my eyes were still red and swollen. I pulled a washcloth from the well-stocked linen closet and, after soaking it in cold water, pressed it against my throbbing eyelids. It brought a semblance of comfort and normality back to me.I found the kitchen just as well stocked as the bathroom had been. In fact, I was forced to admit that the place lacked for nothing in the line of needs and comfort. If only it wasn’t so shabby in appearance.With a cup of freshly brewed coffee in on
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Since time wasn’t measured in the same way there as it was in my home dimension, I could only guess at how long I’d been performing the tedious task of opening and closing portals at Marduke’s leisure. I tried to keep track with my wristwatch and a journal, but that fell by the wayside during my second month of service when I learned that clocks didn’t work in the same way in alternate dimensions. Since their purpose was to measure time, it was conceivable that they wouldn’t measure equally. So, I gave up on the journal and just tried to keep a record in my head.As close as I could fathom, I’d been serving Marduke for almost a year. My agreement with the other world leader was that I’d decide whether to stay on for 10 years or give my notice of leaving after a year or two. I would soon have to make that decision.The primary reason that I’d agreed to do it at all was becaus
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I was glad for the early start the following morning. My body was overly tired and sore. Starting early gave me an opportunity to set a pace that wasn’t terribly taxing on my overused muscles. I hadn’t spoken to Jason since he’d fed me that aphrodisiac tea. It was a wicked trick to play on me and I wanted to get my point across about it. I’d already learned that complaining to him about things that he did, that I’d prefer he didn’t, met with deaf ears. Perhaps silence was the better approach.The amount of sex that we were having weighed heavy on me. It couldn’t be healthy. Even if it was fine on a physical level, it was eating at my emotions during the infrequent downtimes. I couldn’t understand how Jason could keep at it like he did. I, for one, needed to be free from it.Prior to meeting Lance, I’d had minimal sex and didn&r
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It was dark and I was alone. I didn’t realize it at first. The alone part, that is.I’d fallen into such a deep slumber that it took some time for me to regain my senses and even understand where I was and why I was there. The fact that there was minimal light to help me identify my surroundings didn’t help matters. It was during this time of organizing my senses that I realized my companion was missing.After taking my time standing up, I waited to see if my legs would behave as they should. To my relief, not only did I feel refreshed and invigorated, I was steady on my feet. The lengthy nap may have left me in a precarious situation, but it was clearly something that my body needed.I stepped out of the grove of trees in hopes that the faint rays of the moon would assist my eyes in scanning my surroundings. I needed to be able to better evaluate my situation and decide what to do and
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Several days passed with minimal interaction between me and my hosts. They provided me with a comfortable room within the queen’s large mansion and plenty of delicious food and drink, but little in the way of conversation. I was given a change of clothes that closely resembled what Fergie and the other women who I’d encountered wore. It took a while for me to adjust to such form fitting clothing, but I eventually learned to appreciate the freedom of movement that it provided. It was also surprisingly warm during the cold nights.I asked if anyone had seen Jason whenever the opportunity to speak with someone arose, but received no definitive answer. I determined that they knew of his whereabouts but didn’t want to share that information with me. Admittedly, I didn’t ask with a great deal of zeal. It felt good to be clear headed and free of his constant sex. It was more curiosity than anything else that mad
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“Do you think that the kidnappers were from this time period?” I asked Jassy after she’d put me through a particularly grueling magic lesson.Because I was surprised to discover that the world that I was in and the three dimensional homeland that I longed to return to existed on parallel planes and along the same timeline and the fact that I was a traveler, I couldn’t help asking the question.The look on Jassy’s face as she considered my question made me think of a cartoon showing a lightbulb going off in the person’s head. She spoke with a hint of excitement. “It is not something that I considered. I question if anyone has until now.”I thought about it for a moment while I wiped the moisture from the back of my neck. The magic that I was learning proved physically demanding to the extent that my body perspired heavily. “Do you have people who travel in time? Or, do they
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