16. Patrick

Chapter sixteen

Patrick

I let my head roll back until it rested against the headboard. I had fucked this up. I banged my thick skull against the tough antique wood several times, then sat and thought about the last couple of weeks and how badly I'd screwed everything up. I'd acted like some emotionally underdeveloped teenager. Embarrassed by my actions, shame for the way I'd treated Allan, and despair knowing I lied to him in order to keep him safe.

I meant well.

I heard the back door open again and Allan shuffling down the hall. A light exploded from down the hallway, chasing the dark back into the corners.

I left the bed, naked as always, and walked toward the light source.

I found him in the spare room.

"What are you doing?"

Allan was scouring my little library of tomes, scrolls, and texts.

"Looking for information on the Fae," he shot back as he turned and allowed himself to look at my body, taking in all of me. "You just really hate wearing clothes, don't you?"

"Yes." I walked over to him, then reached down to the bottom shelf where I had the only book with any information on the Fae in it. I handed it to him. "All you had to do was ask."

"Great!" He snapped up the book. "There's gotta be a loophole. There's always a loophole."

"Wait, you're not mad at me?"

Allan turned toward me with a sneer. "Why the hell would I be mad at you?"

"Ah, I didn't tell you everything?"

"Yeah, I know. I mean, sure, I could be slightly angry, but what good is that going to do? I walked out of here not knowing what the hell to think. I needed a moment to myself. So, after some alone time, I figured you only did what you thought best. You shielded me from information you knew would be harmful, electing to tell me when you thought I would be better prepared. How does that sound?"

"Highly accurate."

"Then stuff it. You're fine. We're fine." He leaned into me and gave me a quick peck on the lips, then flicked my dick with his free hand.

"Ow!"

"That's for not telling me. Okay, let's see how we can get out of this deal."

"Allan," I grabbed his hand as he tried to pass me. "I admire your tenacity, but don't you think it might be wiser for us to concentrate on your training? We may or may not find a loophole. But what we do know is your skill level isn't quite where it needs to be if you end up having to go with the Fae. Remember, I'm offering myself up first."

"And what makes you think I want to lose you for a year?"

My heart melted. Instantly.

"Allan, please?" I squeezed his hand.

"Okay, I'll make a deal with you. I will train with you during the day, but at night until bedtime, you let me scour this book to see if I can find a way out."

"But what if I want to…you know." I raised a single eyebrow and gave him a come-hither look.

"That only happens at night around here?"

That left me speechless. "Ah, no. We can do that whenever the mood strikes if it doesn't interrupt your studies."

Allan pursed his lips.

"Yeah, don't think I'm not onto your masculine wiles, He-devil. Your lessons are vitally important."

"I know. I know."

"Then come back to bed. Let's get some sleep so tomorrow morning we can really ramp up the training. I already have some ideas. But first we'll have to consume a bucketful of coffee and a massive breakfast. It's already two in the morning. Please? Come back to bed."

"You're lucky I like you. And I mean like you, like you."

Allan leaned in again, and this time he gave me more than just a peck. We melded into a deep, long kiss.

My dick twitched.

"No more of that. Bed." He winked at me.

Thank all the gods he wasn't angry with me. I thought for sure after dropping that bombshell he would be furious.

The next morning, I awoke before Allan, so I snuck out of bed and started breakfast, trying to be as quiet as possible. Argus and Kaos, though, had other plans.

While frying bacon, Argus woofed at me until I threw him some, and Kaos was determined to perch on my shoulder as I cooked, which was neither comfortable nor sanitary.

It took me a good half hour to convince her to sit at the counter and watch.

Turns out she was just as bad as Argus and wanted her own piece of bacon.

It wasn't long after Kaos polished off her slice of meat when Allan came into the kitchen and, to my surprise, naked.

"Ah, now, see, there's a witch." I said as I stirred the scrambled eggs.

He snuggled up behind me and hugged me. I could feel his flaccid dick neatly shoved against my butt crack, "Where's the coffee?"

"Pot is made and waiting for you."

"You're the best."

We ate breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, then strolled out into the glorious August sunshine to start what I hoped would be a more promising practical lesson in magic.

First task: determining where Allan's magic lay within his body.

Allan started to drag the kiddie pool out into the yard. We kept it stored beside the house so it wouldn't damage the grass by sitting on it all the time.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Getting ready."

"Hmmm. I had a different idea today." I gestured for Allan to follow me, so he dropped the plastic pool and came along.

Keeping in mind both of us were still au natural , we did have to be somewhat cognizant of any lake goers, but the campsites were far away, it was the middle of the week, and my place wasn't the easiest to see. Even if someone were out in a boat on the lake looking toward us, the curve of the shoreline tended to shield us from onlookers.

Still, one wanted to be careful.

I had occasionally seen fishers near my cabin.

"Aren't we a little exposed out here?" Allan asked.

"A little, but we should be able to see any looky-loos, and Kaos will tell me, won't you girl?"

Caw .

That made Allan jump. "Where the fuck is that demon bird?"

"Up there." I pointed. Glancing up I spied her at the top of a white spruce.

"I don't see… Oh, there she is." Allan shivered.

"You need to be nicer to her. You know she likes you."

He glared at me like I had rocks for brains.

"She does! She told me."

"So now you talk to animals?"

"Not exactly. But Kaos has been with me for a very long time. We…understand each other."

"Hmmm." Allan didn't seem convinced.

"Don't worry about other people. She'll let us know."

"Fine." Allan grumbled. "What are we doing? And why here?"

"Excellent question, my young student." Since confessing my desires and my sins, even though it had only been mere hours ago, I recognized a new sense of freedom in my interactions with Allan. A weight had been lifted. Talking to and interacting didn't have the same burden or restrictions it used to. What's more, he seemed to be more receptive to my communication.

Note to oneself: communication should be this easy to everyone; if it's not, I should evaluate why.

"We are water witches! What better place to practice our craft than in an actual body of water." I spread my arms before the lake.

The body of water contained enough energy for me to do any magical work I required. It responded well to me. Big bodies of water tended to take on personalities, and Sylvan's waters were generally calm, but with the occasional temper tantrum.

I let her get those bouts of energy out of her system and left the magic for other days when she was acting all feisty. Depending on what kind of magic I needed to cast, of course, a snarly attribute would sometimes enhance what I was planning.

Today, the sky was clear, and the sun was shining. Waters were calm, and birds sang from the trees. I could smell the scent of the phlox from my yard, although this late in August they would soon be done. In short, it was a perfect day to find Allan's center. The spot where his magic resided.

I walked to the shoreline and put my feet into the shallows. The crisp clean water was cool, but not cold.

The sand here tended to be a bit on the muddy side, and it squished between my toes.

"All right. Water magic. You've conjured it up before, but we still need you to discover where it lives within you."

"Don't remind me."

"Hah! Positive attitude." I waved Allan to come to me. "Stand in front of me. Yes, like that. No, just put your…oh gods." I wrapped my arms around Allan, pressing myself up against his back.

"You keep grinding that big cock of yours into my ass, and I won't be finding where anything lives, other than my libido."

I laughed. "Focus on your lesson. You can play with my dick later."

"Easier said than done."

"Okay, shush. Close your eyes. Still your mind." I placed my hands on Allan's bare stomach, the ridges of his abs tempting me to caress them, but I knew that would elicit the wrong response. Instead, I focused on his breathing. "That's right. Use your breath to calm yourself. In…fill your lungs…then out all the way. Let's do those two more times."

Breath work held an incredible amount of power to reset the brain, relax the body, and still thought patterns. Holding Allan, I could feel his body relaxing.

"Nice." I used my meditation voice. The tone was softer. "Now, let go. Send your mind out across the surface of the water. It's calm today, but even still, there are ripples and undulations, and waves. Ride them. Let the water take you away. Feel the bob and bounce of the buoys in the water, the pull and tug of the eddies under the surface.

"Feel the fluidity of the element. Relax and follow the flow. Can you sense it? Feel it?"

"I think so." Allan's voice was a mere whisper, but the excitement behind it filled me with hope.

"Now pull that energy in toward you. Bring it close." Keeping watch on the environment around us, I witnessed what I wanted to see happen.

As Allan brought the element into him, the surface of the water around us rose upward, in a cylinder, encasing us in a rotating cone of water.

"Keep doing it. Keep up the focus. You're doing really well!"

The sloshing of water surrounded us. Little water droplets from the spiral of liquid dotted our naked flesh. I even spotted tiny fish within the water, swimming for their lives.

"You're doing spectacular, Allan. Now with all that energy washing through you, follow the flow. Go into your body and suss out the source. Is it under your skin? Perhaps roiling deep within your guts? Or is it a deep-dive pressure ball in your brain? Where is the feeling the strongest?"

"In my chest." Allan said.

"Good boy!" We were getting somewhere! "Your chest is a large place. Home in on the location. Is it the water that coats your lungs? The flow of blood through your heart? The bones that cage your organs? Where is it hiding?"

Allan stood still for a moment, swaying in my arms ever so slightly.

"It's like a knot in the center of my chest. Like I'm having an anxiety attack."

"Aha! That's great!"

"No, it's not, the feeling is not a pleasant one."

"That will change. I promise. You will come to know that place, and it will change from anxiousness to a sense of ability, power, and confidence. The sensation will change too. Mine hurt at first. It doesn't any longer."

"Promise me, Patrick. Promise me. I don't like this."

"Breathe, Allan. It's okay. I've got you."

I squeezed him tighter to tell his body I meant my words.

"Here's the tough part. Go into that knot. Push your thoughts right into that power center just like you sent your thoughts out across the surface of the lake." This was the key. If he could connect his mind to the anxious knot in his chest, he'd be able to return to it repeatedly.

"I'm scared."

"It's okay. I'm right here, and nothing will happen to you. Start by pushing up against the spot."

"I'm there. It's forcing me back."

I'd never heard that before.

"Do you think you can pierce it?"

"No, it's angry. It doesn't want me there."

"Okay. We know where it is now. Let go. We'll try again tomorrow."

Allan inhaled violently, and then released all his emotions and energy in one big breath. The cone of water that had surrounded us toppled, and I watched as a wave of energy distorted the surface of the lake creating little whitecaps as it traveled away from us.

Allan spun around. Tears glistened in his eyes.

"What's the matter?"

"I failed you… again!"

"Allan, you did nothing of the sort. You won. You found out where your magic lives. Now we must keep knocking on the door until we find a way in."

I hugged him and held his head to my chest. He shivered, which was an expected reaction to the gain and loss of so much energy.

My heart swelled with pride for the boy. He'd done well.