Gregory blinked as a room swam into focus around him. When it settled down after a moment, he wondered why he was standing just inside an opulent bedroom. “Why am I here?”
A soft, sultry voice answered him from across the room, where darkness converged, “So we can meet, dear one.”
“What? Who are you? Where am I?”
“We are inside of you. I am that which you always yearned for. I can be anything you want me to be… if you can tame me.”
Shivers ran down his arms, and the words brought a hundred different images to his mind.
“Oh, it will be some time before we get to those stages. I am more than willing to do any of them, or all of them… with you.”
Swallowing hard, Gregory stepped back and felt the door shut behind him. “Is this what Bishop meant about my dreams?”
“Yes and no,” the sultry voice in the dark whispered. “She expected you to see a burning flame. You would know it was your aether and accept it. That is how novices are supposed to begin.”
“Then why am I different?”
A throaty laugh filled the room, “Yes, you are smart to ask that. But I won’t tell you unless you can make me. Unlike the novice flame, I’m a bit more of a… handful.”
Gathering his courage, Gregory took a step toward the dark corner of the room. “Okay, if I have to.”
A delighted giggle came from the corner, “Oh, yes! If you want to control me, you’ll have to tame me first.”
The room shuddered and the voice in the darkness sighed, “Alas, it won’t be today, it seems. Grow in power if you want to see me again, dear one.”
“What—?” Gregory asked, but the room began to crack and bright light surged forward.
~*~*~
“The tincture will heal him, sealing the wounds tonight, though the scars will stay with him for a long time,” Bishop’s voice said, jarring Gregory from the place he had been.
Sitting up, Gregory swayed in place, “I’m fine.”
Soft hands grasped him and helped him stay upright. “You scared us,” Amoria whispered.
“I didn’t mean to. I heard the scream, and then the bane wolf came into view.”
“You stopped it from coming after us,” Eloria said.
“I’m glad, but I don’t know why it came for me.”
“It was after you because your aether is fresh,” Bishop snorted. “They grow more powerful by eating hearts, and if that heart has been touched by Aether, they gain even more from it.”
“Are there others nearby?” Gunther asked.
“I will be going to check shortly,” Bishop replied. “We had no idea that any bane beasts had made it this far around the north edge. I will inform the academy so they can send some adepts to patrol this area.”
“What about my son’s fingers?” Gunther asked.
“The cost of having them regrown would be more than this village is worth. He’ll have to learn to adapt. He does deserve compensation, though. The bounty on a bane beast of wolf size is five thousand vela.”
The villagers nearby looked shocked, but she ignored them as she pulled out a handful of coins. Handing two to Gunther and two to Amoria, Bishop nodded. “There. The bounty is shared.”
“What, not Greg?” Amoria asked, puzzled. “He was the one who held it for you?”
“I have taken his portion to help defer the cost of the tincture,” Bishop replied.
“That’s fine,” Gregory said as he started to stand up. “I thank you, Proctor, for your help. We wouldn’t have survived if not for your intervention.”
Bishop eyed him for a moment before speaking, “You should rest. You lost a good deal of blood before I could see to your wound.”
“We’ll get him home,” Gunther said, moving over to support him.
“We’ll come with you,” Amoria said, looking at her sister, who was fussing with Gunnar.
Tony grimaced but nodded to his daughters, “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“We still leave at sunrise,” Bishop told Gregory. “Make sure you are at the inn by then.” Looking to Raymond, who had come out of his tavern because of the commotion, Bishop pointed to the dead bane wolf. “Salt as much meat as you can and bake the heart for me. I’ll need it when I get back. Oh, and set aside its core.” She flipped him a coin. “For the drinks and the work.”
“Yes, Proctor,” Raymond bowed before he bent to pick up the wolf. With a grunt of exertion, he hefted it onto his shoulder and staggered back toward the tavern.
“The rest of you may return to the festivities. The village will be protected,” Bishop announced and began jogging toward the edge of the village.
“Come on, Gregory. Let’s get you home,” Gunther said, lending the young man a helping arm.
Yeva looked pale when they brought Gregory in. She flitted about, bringing wet cloths and hot tea to them when they were seated in the main room. Gunther escorted her away once she brought in food and a kettle of tea for the new adults.
The four friends had been mostly silent when they went inside the house. With the two adults gone, they relaxed. Eloria grabbed Gunnar and kissed him hard, and Amoria did the same with Gregory, much to his surprise.
When she broke the kiss, she leaned against him, “I thought you were going to die.”
“I thought I might, too,” Gregory admitted. “If I hadn’t acted, though…”
“I would have died,” Gunnar grunted. “Thank you for saving me.”
“You saved Amoria,” Gregory replied and held her tighter.
“You would have done the same if our positions had been reversed,” Gunnar said. “I didn’t even make it flinch when I hit it. I know it yelped when you did. Odd, that.”
“I think it was the aether that hurt it, not me, which is what made it come for me instead of Ria and El.” Gregory took his arms away from Amoria, as he recalled what her father had asked of him. “Though the day didn’t go as everyone hoped.”
“But your day is still good,” Gunnar grunted, looking down at his three fingered hand. “Your dream was true.”
“If I get the chance,” Gregory said, “I’ll do what I can to fix that.” He glanced at Amoria from the corner of his eye, “I have to.”
Gunnar grunted, shaking his head. “Like I said, you’d have done it if our places were reversed.” Picking up his cup awkwardly with his left hand, Gunnar took a drink. “We have food and drink, so let us celebrate you.”
The small celebration lasted for about five hours, with the four friends reminiscing. Eloria was the first to fall asleep, leaning against Gunnar. Gregory handed over one of the blankets that Gunther had left behind so Gunnar could get her settled.
Amoria yawned while Gunnar got her sister settled, “We should all turn in.”
“Feels like one of our old sleepovers,” Gregory chuckled. “That was years ago.”
“Ten years ago,” Amoria smiled softly, “in this very room.”
“I’ll see you in the dawn hours,” Gregory said.
“You have a long journey ahead of you,” Amoria said.
“Come on, you two,” Gunnar chuckled as he pulled another blanket over himself. “If you keep talking, he’ll end up being late.”
Amoria and Gregory got themselves settled on the floor on opposite sides of Gunnar and Eloria. Snuffing out the lantern, Gregory lay in the dark. He kept replaying the bane wolf attack, and what had almost happened to Amoria. In time, his mind finally wound down and he was able to slip into sleep.
~*~*~
The soft, warm sensation of skin against his woke Gregory. “Huh?”
“Shh, you’ll wake them,” Amoria whispered as she began to plant kisses along his neck.
“Ria? What…? No, we shouldn’t,” Greg protested in a whisper, even though part of him was in full agreement with her.
“Greg, please,” Amoria pleaded. “You’ll never come back after tomorrow… no magi ever has. I know what it’ll cost me, but I want this. I’ve wanted it for years. I know it’ll be just for tonight, but it will help me because I’ll know that you really did love me as much as I did you.”
Her hands found his stiff flesh and his ability to make objections fled. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ria. I promised your father.”
“I’ll stop if you tell me to,” Amoria whispered and began to kiss his neck again, her hand stroking up and down his length. “Just tell me to stop and I will.”
Gregory shivered as she worked him, “Promise me, Ria… Promise me that you’ll try to find happiness after I’m gone.”
“I will do my best to be the woman you would want me to be, Greg. My word.”
“Oh, Aether,” Gregory moaned lightly as he gave in to her demands. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her softly, tentatively. He knew that what he was doing would make her life hard, but he was unable to resist her desires and his own.
When they finally stopped, laying there covered in sweat, the pair felt awkward and unsure of what to say or do. Stifled moans came from a dozen feet away, making them both glance to the pile of blankets where Gunnar and Eloria were. Sharing amused looks, the two stared into each other’s eyes before they came together again, more confident this time.
