Chapter 14- Gordy
IT TAKES ME a moment to remember where I am. I’ve gotten used to my room in Jade Lion House―that’s what Seb insists on calling it―and I’m not there. When I spot the warm body stirring in my arms, a smile breaks out on my face. Now I recall my date last night.
My first real date. My first taste of sexual anything. And my first time sleeping over at a guy’s house.
Loxley looks so gorgeous, even mostly asleep with his head disheveled. The sight of him sucking on my cock in the moonlight is a memory I could never forget. He wasn’t scared or grossed out about my erection at all. In fact, he enjoyed it, and I loved wrenching an orgasm from him.
Everything feels better with Loxley in my arms. He’s the first person I can connect to on every level, a connection I don’t want to lose.
He yawns and blinks away the sleep. “Morning,” he says with a smile.
Rubbing his back, I reply, “Morning. Sleep well?”
“Yes.” He shoots me a dreamy smile and rolls off. With a serious look, he asks, “Last…night…?”
He must be asking if I enjoyed myself. If I continue dating this amazing man, I’ll need to get used to filling in the blanks of his words. “It was so good,” I say. Kissing his hand, I know I said the right thing, because his smile makes the butterflies in my stomach float faster. He’s so precious.
“Next weekend?” he asks, darting up.
He wants to keep seeing me? “For sure!” I sit up and watch him bend over to put on his boxers. That ass is so tight and compact, I’m almost drooling. I’m truly a lucky turtle.
“Bathroom,” he whispers after putting on his glasses.
With him gone, I take a moment to put on pants and pad around his room.
I knew a little bit about Speakeasy. Now, I want to know everything about Loxley.
There are hardly any knick-knacks or pieces of his personality, other than his video games.
He did tell me he moved here not long after me.
Destiny put us here. This magical connection seems like a reward after years of loneliness.
Once he’s back, he beams as he approaches me. Putting his hands around my neck, he reaches up and gives me another sweet kiss. I can’t fight my smile or my wiggling tail behind me. “Next…w-w-weekend? What do you…?”
“Anything. A movie, video games, doesn’t matter.” He steps back and continues to smile. “What are you up to today?”
“I’m just…just…” His smile falls, and he looks around.
Huh? “Loxley, what are you…?”
He frowns and points at his ear. Loxley must hear something, but all I hear is the morning silence.
“I hear nothing.”
He shakes his head, and concern grows on his face. Before I can say another word, Loxley keels over onto his knees.
My heart stops when he groans. He holds his ears as if he’s blocking a huge sound. “Loxley!” Panic grows in my gut, and I kneel closer to him.
“Loxley, speak to me.”
He shakes his head. Tears run down his face; he’s in so much agony. What’s happening?!
“The voices,” he rasps. When he puts his hands on the ground, I notice waves of light floating around his ears.
Arcana, wild magic, is burning around his head. They almost look like sound waves from a science textbook, but I hear nothing. Loxley looks up at me and shakes his head again.
“Loxley, baby, what’s…what’s happening?” My head swims with conflict. I’ve never witnessed a medical emergency, and this one is magical in nature. Loxley is still shaking on his knees from the pain.
Fuck. On instinct, I pick him up and barge through the house, not giving a shit about my presence here.
“Help! Witches, I need help!”
“What is going on?” Lisbeth and the other two ladies promptly walk out of their rooms. Dressed in their nightwear, they gaze at me in confusion as I bring Loxley into the living room. I place him on the couch, and he continues to hold his ears.
“Reptile?!” the tallest woman yelps. I frown, but there’s no time to get mad at that. She clears her throat and raises her chin. “I mean, um…sir, what are you doing here?”
“Loxley needs help!” I bark.
“Cauldrons,” the other girl, Taina, I think her name is, mutters. With that, the witches gather around my date. He writhes on the couch, half-naked and holding his ears.
“What happened?” Taina asks.
“What did you do?” Lisbeth adds as they all crowd Loxley.
“I didn’t do anything!” Walking behind the couch, I touch Loxley’s hands.
“Look at his ears!” Slowly taking his hands away, he clenches his eyes shut.
The girls gasp when they spot the unmistakable signs of arcana flowing in and out of his ears.
Lisbeth and the others share dumbfounded looks of silence―it’s evident they’ve never seen this phenom before.
Loxley opens his eyes, and I almost break down when he gazes at me. “Gordy,” he rasps. He reaches for me, and I interlace my fingers with his.
“I’m here, baby,” I manage to mutter, and my eyes prickle. I can’t stand seeing him in so much pain. “I’ll make this okay, I promise.” Whatever it is.
The ladies gather around each other and whisper to themselves. In moments, they stand up straight and hold hands, each with a resolute look. I step back, and the two flanking Lisbeth raise their free hands.
“Mountain high and ocean deep, calm the pain and bring the sleep,” Lisbeth says.
“Mountain high and ocean deep, calm the pain and bring the sleep,” they chant in unison. In the blink of an eye, waves of purple and green energy flow from their palms. The energy blankets Loxley, and I’m in awe of their coordinated witchcraft. But more than that, I just want Loxley to be okay.
When his jaw unclenches and his brow relaxes, I feel my body relax too. Loxley falls asleep, and his hand leaves mine, flopping to his side. The moment I hear his soft snoozing, I let out a long, anguished breath.
“Thank you,” I say, wiping my eyes.
“Don’t thank us yet.” Lisbeth crosses her arms, and she looks all types of serious. “What are you doing in our house so early, Ruby Turtle?”
I gulp, and the immensity of it all catches up with me. Of course, my first hot date and sexual experience is tarnished with this occurring the morning after. So much for our relationship being private.
“Um…”
“Lisbeth,” Taina says. “I highly doubt Gordy did this to Loxley.”
She shoots Lisbeth a placating look, but the head witch continues to scrutinize me. I recall that she’s his aunt, his mentor. And now she knows we fucked.
My throat goes dry, and I can’t muster up an explanation. As my heart pounds in my ears, Taina steps forward and says, “Maybe we should call Seb and Kai. They have more power, remember?”
“And the Union of Mages has more books than us. Shall we call Luther and Taz?” the third woman asks in her posh British accent.
After a tense moment, Lisbeth relaxes. “Alright. Let’s call the gays.” Taina snickers, but Lisbeth points at me. “But if I find out you did anything to my nephew, I’m making turtle soup out of you.”
Her threat makes me laugh out of nervousness. Stepping out from behind the couch, I approach them. “I would never hurt Loxley. I only want good things for him.”
“He did just wake us all up in order to help the lad,” the taller witch says.
“Anika is right. Why would Gordy cause this?” Taina asks.
This seems to calm Lisbeth down, so she nods and sits.
“I’m gonna…go get dressed,” I mutter. With that, we split up, and hopefully someone can show up to get answers for Loxley.
***
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Kai says, leaning forward. The arcana continues to fly into Loxley’s ears, but he appears to be enduring it better now. Loxley puts his hands back over his ears, and Kai frowns at us. “I apologize.”
“You’re doing your best,” Lisbeth says. It’s been almost an hour since I rudely awakened them all on a weekend. The three witches stand around Loxley and Kai. I’m happy my family-slash-roommate showed up, but they don’t seem to have answers.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the farthest chair from Loxley, all dressed, ready to leave at any moment. Why should I gather with them? I can’t help.
I’m supposed to be this destined mage of immense power, a shifter of legend, but I can’t even help the boy I like. What if I made his ears worse?
Loxley gazes at me with his ears covered. His brown eyes reach me through his glasses, directly into my soul. How can I help him? I ought to be there for my boyfriend, but I can’t help. Are we even boyfriends? We had a great time last night, but I don’t have the ability to take away his pain.
Before I can walk away, the doorbell rings. Taina promptly dashes to the foyer, and, a moment later, I hear a British voice say, “I come bearing books!”
We all glance at Taina returning, trailed by the blond dude I met at the barbecue. He’s dressed in fine clothes, and there’s an old book under his right arm. “Taz, thank you for coming,” Lisbeth says. “You have answers?”
“Yes. With all the information you sent, I cross-referenced several books at the library in the Union. I think I found out what’s going on. Where is the lad?”
Everyone moves to the side, and Loxley gazes up at Taz. Taz frowns, and I hold my breath. The dude in the suit gradually removes Loxley’s hands, and we watch as flickers of energy waves go into his ears. Loxley winces, but there appears to be less arcana flowing into him.
“Just as I thought,” Taz says. He opens the old tome and shows it to us. Everyone except Loxley gathers around the wizard. “He may be a type of witch lost to time. Not divination, not green, not protection, and more than just a historical witch.”
“What kind?” Lisbeth asks, and I can’t even breathe as I peer from above her shoulder. The book reveals an illustration of an old witch with arrows pointing to her ears.
Taz takes a deep breath and says, “He might be…an empath witch.”