House of the Unwanted: A House of Frost Novel

Chapter 13

By Dabeagle

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By the end of the week the sexual side of the bonding seemed to be stabilizing a bit. It's not that I wanted Keats any less, exactly. I was just able to think about something besides having sex with him. My homework had been terrible that week, and I think the work at the garage had only worked out because Keats had been there with me.

Nick had come back later in the week, and I asked him about warding my home and Keats's family home. It had to be done while the Davidsons were out of the house, but we managed – and his grandmother taught me some of the techniques for warding a place properly. Friday night Nick invited us to a planning session at his home. For some reason I had it in my head that it would be this place he'd rented in town that he'd mentioned before, but instead when we stepped through the portal, we were in the middle of a beautiful spring day and definitely overdressed in our coats and hats.

His home looked like something from a novel. It had a large porch running across the front and around to the side. Each front corner of the house had a circular tower-like structure built in; the outside was clapboard, lending the whole place a whimsical feel. Flowers were in bloom, a garden could be seen on one side, and on the other, partially blocked by foliage, was a pond complete with a small beach.

“Holy shit,” I said, looking around.

“Damn,” Keats said softly.

“Welcome to my home. As master of House Frost, I extend guest rights to you and welcome you under my protection,” Nick said formally.

I cleared my throat, looked at Keats and then back to Nick. “Uh. We accept?”

Nick gave me a crooked smile. “I just wanted you to feel at ease. Magical commitments have power, and since you're in my home, it seemed appropriate.”

We started to walk toward the house. “How is it you left this and ended up with all those friends from the normal world?” I asked.

“When I reached my majority, I was sent on my test. I'm not sure if a Homestead has the same requirements, but you'll recall I mentioned my test was rigged against me.”

“Right. Trying to kill you.”

“Exactly. When I started to attend the normal school, I tried to blend in – but I was terrible at it,” he said with a grin. “My speech, my appearance, my complete lack of sophistication with electronics. As it happens, I stumbled into some kind people, and Ty was one of them.”

I grunted. “Do you think your bond led you to him?”

“That's an interesting question,” he replied, mounting the front steps. “I think it's possible that the bonding guides some aspects of life, but I honestly don't know. It would certainly lend the idea of fate a hand if that were the case, though.”

He opened a heavy wooden door with leaded, etched glass in the center. The home was something you'd definitely think of as a rich person's place. Wood panels with inlay, ceiling lights with medallions around their bases, tiled floors with a mosaic in the entryway. The house also felt...powerful, yet welcoming.

Something like Nick himself.

He led us into a sitting room where his grandmother, Ty, Brad, Cara and Jay sat. Sadie was also present, and there were other people I hadn't met. Nick took care of that right away.

“Tilman McKinley and Keaton Davidson, I'm pleased to introduce you to my friends Al and their partner Javier, Tess and her...I'm sorry, are you dating this week or not?”

“Terrible friend,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a smile. “I'm Tess and this is 'Topher. Jay and Brad are my brothers.”

“Oh, hey. Nice to meet you,” I said.

“I'm Zumibia,” a black girl with big hair said from beside Jay. “I can't remember if Jay and I are dating this week or not, either.”

“That's it, you're single,” Jay said, throwing his hands in the air and smiling.

“I'm going to hit on him, then. What was the name? Keaton?” she said, teasing.

“Oh, sure. Cheat on me with new guy,” Jay said, rolling his eyes.

“To answer your earlier question,” Nick said with a smile. “I have no idea why I'm friends with them.”

“He likes it when I take my shirt off,” Brad said, flexing his arm.

“You just like the attention,” Ty said with a laugh. “But the reason is that when things got weird, everyone here circled the wagons to help.”

“They're stubborn and rude,” Nick's grandmother said, though her tone made it sound like those were admirable qualities.

“In truth,” Nick said, “we're friends by choice. As you are very aware, Tilman, our world isn't always safe. They don't speak about me to others, and the only ones allowed to meet me and come here are those they love and trust. In turn, I love and trust them and do my best to protect them.”

I looked at Nick for a long moment. “You're not what I expected from a head of house.”

“He's not typical for the part,” his grandmother said. “Granted, it takes all types, but his house will not grow by force or by biology; it will grow from love, trust and commitment.” She paused. “Many magi are focused only on their own power, or that of their house. Not all, mind, but enough. It's easy to get a big head when you can raise dead bodies as servants or make time stand still.”

I shook my head. “Okay, I kind of get that feeling but...why?”

Nick opened his mouth, but Ty beat him to it. “It's Nick's nature. See, when he first came to our town the first thing he did, magic wise, was to heal Sadie, here.” He patted the dog's head. “She's old, but she's in perfect health right now. Her arthritis is gone, she can see and hear better than she has in years.” He looked at Nick fondly. “Nick's a life mage. Magi like him can go either way, according to their nature – life mage or death mage. If you knew Nick, you'd know there was never a choice – he was always going to be a life mage. To heal, to help.”

I nodded slowly, thinking, but really not sure what to do with the information.

“In any case,” Nick said, clearing his throat. “I have a plan.” He looked to the normals in the room. “To my abnormal friends, you will sit this one out.”

“Hey, you finally got it right,” Al said with a smile. “But I don't like the timing.”

“Me either, bro,” Brad said, crossing his arms.

“I warned you all the first time about how dangerous Michael is. We think there is a decent chance he's suffered a psychotic break since I severed him – cutting him off from the aether.”

“How...uh, how do you do that?” I asked.

“I'm glad you asked,” Nick said. He touched a ring on his thumb and a copy of him appeared. “Now, let me just make a tiny adjustment,” he said, touching the copy. Most of the body just disappeared, but what was left was like a cross section of the spine. It was creepy as.

“My father left a gift for me in this ring, and I've used it to study anatomy,” Nick explained. “If you look here at the spine you'll see this tendril here, wrapped within and around the spine.”

“What is that?” Keats asked.

“That is what physically differentiates a mage from a normal. This is the part of us that allows us to channel the aether and work with our blessing.” He pulled the tendril out, and as he did it seemed more like a root with tiny offshoots hanging from it. “When a life mage severs another mage, this is destroyed. However, as it was the first time I'd done it, you'll note something here I didn't know at the time. See these small branches here? I think some of these small bits were left behind.”

“So...that's why he can control fire, but it's so damaged he can't actually create it,” I said.

“Working theory,” Nick said with a nod. “My plan is to deal with two problems at once, but there is risk.”

“I can-”

“No,” Nick said forcefully. “I appreciate it, Brad. I know you'd do anything I asked of you, but there is absolutely no need to risk any of you, and having you there may actually be a distraction.”

“Don't say anything about taking your shirt off,” Ty said with a little grin.

“I just...we want to help, Nick.”

“I know. If there was something you could do, then I'd be open to talking about it. As it is, I think my hands will be full.” Turning to me, he spoke again. “You mentioned the Moody problem. Tess and 'Topher have been digging through public records and have turned up quite a lot of circumstantial evidence to back up the idea that the Moodys have ties to local law enforcement that let them operate with little fear of the law, or that they are given deferential treatment.”

“Sounds about right,” Keats said.

“Al and Javier were able to speak to someone who'd dealt with them in court. I provided them with a charm for the conversation, and they were able to find out that they have hurt many people, with drugs, with simple force, coercion and intimidation...the list of their sins is long.”

“Okay. Do we really want to deal with them with Michael around, though? My magic seems to be something he likes. I'm not even casting at home or at Keats's place, just to be safe.”

Nick nodded. “I think we set a trap with your magic as bait.”

“Whoa,” Keats said. “I'm not liking the sound of that.”

“For good reason,” Nick said with a nod. “The evidence seems to point to Moody striking at you again, but this time perhaps with real force. While he is a normal, he can still cause you a great deal of harm. But I think if we make a frontal attack on their operation – perhaps starting with their home to truly shake their confidence – then Michael will show up at that location, drawn by your casting.”

Keats shook his head. “I don't like it. I know they've run off people with guns before. This is a bad idea before you get the mentally unstable flamethrower involved.”

“There's a little more to it,” Ty said. “First, Nick would spend his time shielding and healing us, if needed. I'd be linked to Tilman so he can cast a fucking hurricane at these assholes. That level of his casting should bring Michael running, and we'll be there with Matilda,” he nodded toward Nick's grandmother, “and she'll snuff out his ability to cast. Then Nick will complete the job of severing him and probably do something stupid, like try to fix Michael's head.”

“His brain is, how did they say on TV? A feature, not a bug?” Matilda asked. “And really, Nicholas! The brain? Be satisfied with resurrecting your friend.”

“Brad wasn't...” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. In a low voice he said, “Every living being has a spark of life in them. Some people might think of it as a soul, life force, whatever term you like.” He glanced toward Keats and me. “When I heal myself, I pull energy from that spark. Think of it like a battery that regains what it lost over time.” He closed his eyes. “When I got to Brad his spark was still there, but...so dim. So near to going out.” He shook his head. “It wasn't a resurrection, but it-”

“It was still saving my life, bro,” Brad said firmly.

“Um, let's not forget my leukemia,” Jay said. He looked to us. “He's saved two thirds of the kids in my family.”

“Let's not forget his work at the hospital,” Javier chimed in. He looked from Nick to us. “I volunteer in the hospital, and Nick and Ty will come in to ease an awful lot of suffering.”

“They do the same at the shelter, where I volunteer,” Al said.

Nick nodded his head. “So yes, Michael may be unreachable, and part of me is fine with that.” He looked around he room. “But we all know sometimes we have to take preventative steps. Like using Drost's spark to save Brad.” He looked to me. “Or to stop the Moody family before they do worse. If you could see the damage done internally by drug abuse....”

“It is a terrible thing when a good man goes to war,” Matilda said quietly. “And yet, it happens.” She stood. “I think this is a workable plan, and certainly better than the last.”

A somber mood settled on our group.

“Well, I would like to ask,” Ty said, grinning mischievously, “How's the bonding going?”

“Oh my God! You guys are bonded? Like not that long ago? Jesus! Ty and Nick were like cats in heat!” Tess said with a big laugh.

Laughter filled the room, but they were looking to us. I took Keats's hand and realized we needed this – the levity, the honesty of being who we were with people that understood us. We needed to be accepted, and since teasing was part of this group....

“Well, it hasn't been easy,” I said. “I think about Keats all the time, and in ways I never thought about before.”

“Like what?” Keats asked, confused.

I looked at him. “When we got up the other morning, I looked at your V-lines and thought of them as cum gutters. I have never-”

Laughter erupted in the room and then voices were overlapping. Keats pulled me close and lowered his voice. “You think you're funny, don't you? Wait'll I get you home.”

“Okay, okay,” Nick said, getting the volume lowered. “But has that changed over the course of the week?”

“Definitely,” Keats said. “It wasn't easy to focus on stuff at the beginning of the week, but I'm starting to feel like I can focus on other things, now.”

“You guys are such perverts,” Ty said with a laugh. “What about your blessing, Tilman?”

I bobbed my head. “I'm definitely stronger; my range is over twice what it was. Nick, you said it'll get better? Is that what happened for you?”

He nodded. “My blessing has continued to get stronger, though I don't know how much of it may be from the House Frost mantle. I have continued to work with it, though, and Ty's been a huge help. His own blessing has grown as well. He's able to control it now, to shut off access from another caster and modify how much he's amplifying a blessing.”

I looked at Keats. “I think your talents are improving too, but they're all in the bedroom.”

Keats looked at me flatly. “And in the car, and in the laundry room, and-”

The room erupted with laughter, and I grinned at Keats, who gave me a sly grin back.

Again, Nick gained control over the volume in the room. “Tilman, have you tried casting a shield yet?”

“I, uh, no. I don't know how.”

Nick looked at me with an expression of concern. “Haven't you accessed an interchange?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said confidently, then shrugged. “No. No, I have no idea what that even is.”

His eyes went wide. “Okay. Well, we have a basic plan. Why don't we send my abnormals home and I can show you the interchange. I think we may have some work to do before starting this plan.”

“Won't Michael pick up on my casting? I mean, I'm guessing not, but...?”

“This is warded, just as we did to your homes,” Matilda said. “Come on, you troublemakers. I'll recharge your port key.”

“Well, I hope we see you again,” Tess said. “Maybe next time we can go swimming.”

“Swimming? Why did you say it like that?”

Ty hooked his arm into Nick's elbow. “Did you notice the pond on the side of the property when you came in?”

“Yes,” Keats and I both replied.

“The pond,” Al said, smiling and looking like she were melting. “It's so amazing.”

Ty gave me a crooked smile. “It is legitimately amazing, but Tess was referring to the fact it's a magic pond that causes feelings of wellbeing and mental balance. Synthetics, like most clothes, interfere with that, so.”

“You're saying you all go in butt naked?” Keats asked.

“Gotta see those cum gutters,” Zumibia said, bursting out into laughter.

“Perfect place for a wedding, right?” Cara said, looking to Nick and Ty.

“Yes,” Nick said. Turning to us. “I have to put a wedding ring on it, and I'm also told I have to specify it's a wedding ring, because my friends are perverts.”

“So...even though you're bonded, marriage is still a thing?” Keats asked. “My dad's pretty set on a wedding for me.”

“In the magi world, it doesn't mean much. But to my bonded it's very important, and there isn't anything I wouldn't give him.”

“I'll bet,” Jay said, and stepped back laughing as Ty slugged his arm.

Nick sighed and gave me a playfully suffering look. “You see why I had to say wedding ring, then?”

“All right, you miscreants. Let me recharge your port key and send you home,” Matilda said. Everyone made a point to say goodbye and that they hoped to see us soon. It was really nice, like meeting family you didn't know you had.

We followed Nick and Ty deeper into the house. “Hey, uh, guys have you ever noticed, like, a light? You know, after?”

“After sex? Yeah,” Ty said. “Nick thinks it's our souls coming to the surface, but then he can be a bit of a poet, especially in the afterglow.”

“It literally is an afterglow,” Keats said.

“Okay,” Nick said, coming to a stop. “I have to place a rune on you. Interchanges are information hubs, kind of like libraries. The rooms they are kept in are warded, so you need a rune as a kind of permission slip. It won't hurt.” He looked at each of us in turn. “Will you allow me to place the rune?”

I swallowed. “Okay.” Keats nodded. Nick reached out to me and turned my hand palm up. He placed the tips of his forefinger and middle on my wrist. A pulse of magic washed through me, and I watched as a green line flowed, like a vein, into my arm and formed an intricate pattern. Once completed, it faded from view. He then turned and repeated the rune with Keats.

“House interchanges are closely guarded,” Nick said. “Please be mindful.” We followed him into a room that looked very much like an old, old library. As we crossed the threshold I felt a weird pressure where the rune was applied. I glanced at Keats as he looked at his wrist. “That was the ward checking your rune. It protects from others who may get this far penetrating this space. It can be used a bit as a fall back in a war time situation,” Nick explained.

“What if you didn't have the rune?” Keats asked.

“This particular defensive ward makes your internal organs external ones,” Nick replied.

That was sobering, and also made me wonder why he'd allow us into a such a heavily guarded space. But then my mind was distracted by the room; the shelves were ornate and wooden, and the volumes on the shelves looked like old leather.

“Let's begin with shielding,” Nick said and pressed the spine of a book. He stepped back to make way as the bookshelf morphed, moving out about three feet and forming a podium, complete with the figure of a woman with her hair in a tight bun with two sticks run through it. “Librarian. What are the basic instructions for forming a shield?”

The woman's face came to life, sort of like a cartoon drawing that suddenly became flesh, and began to speak. “All magi may form shields according to their own blessing. The shield is comprised of will, focus, blessing and the actual subject manipulated by the aether. A basic shield can be created by focusing on the area to be shielded and drawing upon one's blessing to focus the size and shape of the shield. Channeling the manipulated subject will cause the shield to form.”

“What does 'manipulated subject' mean?” Keats asked, looking at Nick. Before Nick could do more than point at the librarian, she answered.

“A manipulated subject in this context is the form a blessing takes. For instance, an earth mage would channel their blessing in earth.”

“While the librarian is active, it will attempt to answer any questions asked, even if they aren't directed to it,” Nick said.

I stared at the construct. “If I'd had one of these...there's no telling what I could have learned.”

“You're welcome to make use of it,” Nick said. “But given we're thinking of going to war, in a sense, I think practicing your own shielding and offense while here should be pursued. You'll find that once you've mastered forming a shield, it can be broken by loss of concentration. While someone is shooting at you would be a bad time to discover this.”

“You think?” Keats asked.

“I'm hungry. Why don't we eat first?” Ty suggested.

We headed back through the house, though I glanced back at the librarian and wondered – what else could I learn? What else could I do? Portals? Charms? Hexes? How far behind was I already? My head spun and I felt small for the first time since the bonding took hold.

“What's wrong?” Keats asked, his voice low.

I swallowed. “I just...you remember I told you about what they told us would happen to us? The kids from the Homestead?”

He nodded.

“I was just thinking...if people who are part of houses have access to all this knowledge to protect themselves, how far behind am I? Like I feel strong right now, but how much do I not know that I should, if I'd had the right circumstances?”

“Not as far as you might fear,” Nick said, waving a hand to usher us into a small dining room. “Please, sit. As far as your concerns, yes, you're a little behind perhaps, but many manipulations will come easier to you due to the bonding. Now is a perfect time to learn.”

A meal was brought to the table, and Nick thanked the man.

“So, Ty,” Keats said. “You said the, uh, normal one in a bond like this could develop stuff?”

“Yeah,” he replied, nodding. “I developed into a conduit – something like a complex amplifier. There are items that can be imbued to mimic what I do, but they can only do so much and wear out. I can control the flow of energy and cut it off if I need to.”

“How long did it take? I mean for you to develop this?”

“I think it was a few weeks?” he said, looking to Nick. “Maybe less, actually. That time is a little blurry between my family drama, the sex, Jay's leukemia, the sex, the guy trying to kill Nick, the sex....”

We were chuckling, and Nick was smiling at Ty. “I think it was inside a week,” Nick added when we'd settled down. “I first spotted it when I'd healed Brad.”

“So, like, that...thing could be growing in me?” Keats asked.

Nick nodded. “It's also possible nothing at all will happen. The interchange said it's possible, perhaps even likely, for the normal half of a bonding to develop some blessing; it also may take many forms. Increased strength or agility, perhaps mental acuity or utility. There's also the possibility of a sympathetic blessing, much like Ty's as it works in concert with my own. This knowledge is limited to the knowledge that has been gathered and shared with the interface over time.” Nick frowned. “Are you concerned you haven't felt a change?”

Keats sighed. “I'm kind of concerned something will happen. Like...it's a lot. I'm really happy with who I have with me, but it's also a lot that I've basically found the love of my life at nineteen. He's able to make water jump for kids or make all your blood run out of your body.”

Adopting a soothing tone Ty said, “You're right about all of that. I felt a lot of the same things. Despite the absolute sure way you feel about your bonded, you also have to wonder if you can trust it all.”

Keats nodded. “Like we talked about before, I've dated some real losers.”

“Well, I think you should know, one of the bonuses of the bonding is that you skip over so many bad things,” Nick said. “When we first bonded, I recalled being upset that I wouldn't experience traditional courting with Ty, only because I wasn't excited about missing anything with him.” He held a finger up and smiled. “But then there's Shawn.”

Ty leaned back, crossed his arms and smiled at Nick. “I'm never, ever living this down.”

“You will not,” Nick confirmed.

“At least I'm going to tell the story,” Ty said and turned to us. “So, Nick shows up and I'm lost. Apparently, the bond can hit the normal half first, and it hit me like a fucking truck.” We laughed at his expression. “I'm serious! I took one look at Nick and I was consumed. But I tried to gauge Nick's interest, and he didn't seem to have any in me.”

“In my-” Nick began.

“Zzt! I get to tell it,” Ty said, pointing and laughing at Nick's expression. Looking back to us, he continued, “I figured with Nick's looks, he had a high body count, and I just wasn't going to measure up. So I started seeing this guy to distract myself – and he was the ultimate scrub. He was saying things about my friends behind my back, and when Nick tried to tell me, I got really defensive.” Ty's expression grew downcast. “Our friend Al has had a really hard road, even though they are in a good place now with Javier. But at the time, we were at a school dance, and this douche I was dating said a really, really shitty thing about Al – and I lost it. I just lost my shit.

“Of all our friends, Al's the least able to defend themselves, just because they have been getting hit from all sides for so long. So, when he said what he did, I broke it off and told him to get the fuck out.”

Nick raised a finger. “I was offended as well, but as an additional outrage, he was intending to sleep with Ty. I took this personally.”

Keats was staring at them. “Given you're so...powerful...I'm afraid to ask what you did to this tool.”

Ty started to giggle. “He made him shit himself. Right there at the dance.” Ty burst out laughing. “They had to clear the room for a bit just from the smell!”

There was just a moment where our brains needed to process things, and then Keats and I looked at each other and started to laugh loudly.

“Babe, that makes me think of what you did to Moody,” Keats said through his mirth.

“What did you do?” Nick asked. “As a water mage you have many choices, but many are violent.”

I nodded. “I made him piss his pants.”

Ty laughed and turned to Nick. “He's just like you.”

Nick smiled at me. “I think your response was likely appropriate.”

“Keaton,” Ty said, wiping a tear from his eye. “Just to get back to your concern – you're in good company. I know this period of time was a mess and you might not feel like it will ever really make sense – but it will. I promise you this bond you have is going to pull you through.” He shook his head. “Like with Shawn, I dated some losers, too. Eventually you have to start to wonder if the world is full of dip shits or if it's just you, especially the more you try to date and the people you meet just don't get better.”

Keats nodded. “Yeah. Something like that.”

“Those people were stupid,” I said. “Sorry, not sorry – I'm glad all those things failed. I was ready to go after that ex of yours when he showed up.”

Keats smiled and rolled his eyes. “I can handle him. I wasn't tempted to go back to him; it was just tiresome to hear him try to excuse his bullshit, and...what he did, the way he did it, really messed me up for a while.” He nodded at Ty. “Like you said, eventually you have to wonder – your relationships keep failing, maybe it's you.”

Nick crossed his arms and his expression grew thoughtful. “It does lead you to wonder if the bonding is more like the hand of fate. What if previous relationships were doomed from the start, because the bond guides us to our perfect match?”

“I mean...on the one hand I want to be kind of angry that it seems like my choice got taken away, but on the other hand my choices sucked, and I'm happier than I ever have been, so....” Keats shrugged.

“Well. If we're all done, why don't we go practice shielding?”

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