The Magic Thieves (11 page)

Kaythan pulled him closer and slid his hand between their sweat-covered bodies, down along Elryk's flat abdomen. Touching his mate's skin with as much of his flattened hand as possible, he made large circular movements on the other man's belly that let his hand come ever closer to the other man's groin. The erection that was beginning to be visible through Elryk's pants was very tempting. Holding back for a little while longer would make them both appreciate the first touch more, so he restrained himself.

A loud hissing sound from the direction of the magma lake made them sit up straight.
Fuck!
They were here to accomplish a task, not make out like younglings at every opportunity.

He looked to his left, following Elryk's gaze towards the middle of the lake made of liquefied stone. Right in its centre, a small flame flickered into existence above the surface as they watched. It soon came closer. Changing colour through the entire range of smouldering purple via several reds to a bright orange that was almost yellow, it grew more massive as it approached. About the size of a large dog by the time it arrived at the rocky bank, it stopped as if it could see them.

"Wow, a fire imp.” Elryk's voice was low and respectful. “They're extremely rare. None have been seen for several years, and some wizards have come to believe they're extinct. They're also extremely temperamental, so it makes a perfect guardian for this place."

"This isn't a
place
.” The fire imp's voice hissed and crackled like a log fire inside a large oven. Maybe contained and under control for now, but always ready to escape its confines and cause havoc if you didn't watch it carefully. “This is the fourth chamber of the temple of Tah'Muyd and you will show the appropriate respect or suffer the consequences."

"I meant no disrespect.” Elryk bowed deeply, thankfully without moving out of Kaythan's lap. “We're new to this realm, and in dire need of your help."

"Why should I help you?” The fire imp flamed more brightly. “You are intruders here."

Kaythan almost grinned. It acted like a small animal trying to puff itself up so it looked more dangerous.

"We're trying to stop some truly unscrupulous people from stealing even more magic than they already have.” Elryk swallowed and wiped the sweat from his brow. “You may not feel the effects yet, because this chamber is isolated and somewhat protected, but if we don't find a way to prevent them from taking more, the magic balance on Tah'Nut will be damaged beyond repair. I have agreed to help restore it, but cannot do it without the magic I lost a few years ago. I now need to retrieve it and can only do this by finding and absorbing the pieces of the Muyd'Zel."

"All right, your cause is worthy. I will give you that.” The fire imp's colour changed from a bright orange to a duller red. “However, I do not yet see what's in it for me if I help you find and retrieve what you're looking for."

"Why you...” That was as far as Kaythan got before Elryk's elbow made contact with his stomach. “Ouch!"

"Please.” Elryk's eyes pleaded with him. “Don't make it angry."

"I didn't mean to.” Kaythan hung his head. He'd never been this impulsive. Maybe it was the new mate bond, or maybe he was just getting irritated from sweating buckets. He turned towards the fire imp and bowed from the waist like he'd seen Elryk do. “I'm sorry for insulting you."

"You are forgiven.” The fire imp turned a bright red. “This time. However, I'm still waiting to find out why I should consider helping you."

"What would you like us to do for you?” Kaythan needed to make up for his earlier gaffe.

Elryk looked at him with approval in his eyes, which was a great reward that made him feel a lot better.

"I'm bored. There's nothing to do around here.” The fire imp shrank and turned purple. “It gets very lonely, too."

"I can see how a cave filled with magma isn't very exciting. It must become boring over time.” Elryk looked around the rock cavern. “So, what would you say if I gave you something to play with?"

"You would do that?” The fire imp grew back to its earlier size and went from purple to red in a heartbeat.

"If you help us—sure.” Elryk smiled.

"Yes, yes, I'll help you. I'll do anything if you give me something to do around here.” The fire flickered wildly. “Please, let me see."

"Okay, hold on. I haven't used magic for a long time and have only started again recently. This may take awhile.” Elryk made a move as if to get up.

"Don't leave.” Kaythan pulled him back, close against his body. He wasn't too happy about all the magma and heat around them. It was irrational since Elryk could probably take care of himself, but keeping his mate close to him made him feel better. At least it gave him the illusion of being able to protect the other man should it become necessary.

"You're not worried I'll hurt you if the magic goes wrong?” Elryk wiped more sweat from his face.

"You'd never hurt me.” Kaythan kissed Elryk's nose, loving the slightly salty taste from the other man's sweat that stuck to his lips. “And nothing will go wrong with your magic. It was fine when you repaired the raft, you used it perfectly for cleaning us up in the water chamber. And need I mention your expert usage in the air chamber? I'm still tingling from that one."

"You are, huh?” Elryk blushed, but he grinned.

"Yeah, that was truly inspired!” He grinned back and squeezed his mate. “After that much practice, it'll be fine, whatever it is you're planning to do."

"If you're sure...” Elryk smiled when Kaythan nodded. “Okay, here we go."

Elryk stared at one of the alcoves for long moments, then started to move his hands in slow, graceful gestures. He closed his eyes and a deep humming sound poured from his chest. Kaythan kept watching the alcove and blinked when the air seemed to shift, followed by a low shimmer, then a fog and finally what looked like a castle made from folded paper sheets.

Wow
. This magic stuff would never get old.

Elryk sighed and opened his eyes.

"There you go, fire imp.” Elryk sagged back against Kaythan's chest. “You can play with this as much as you want. Singe it, char it, or burn it, it will always return with a new challenge after you're done."

"Really?” The fire imp perked up and moved towards the artfully folded construction. After a moment of hesitation, it moved forward and completely engulfed the magically constructed object.

With a loud whoosh the whole thing turned into a blaze of bright flames that was gone after a few seconds, leaving nothing but grey ashes behind. They rained down to the floor, leaving a grimy layer of dirt.

The fire imp moved back, obviously waiting. As soon as it no longer touched the edge of the alcove, the ash vanished and a stack of twigs, thicker branches and a few large logs appeared from thin air. Jumping up and down with glee the fire imp moved closer until it enveloped the material. Crackling flames licked along the logs, caressing them like a lover's hand. The twigs burst into flame and were almost gone by the time the first branches caught fire. Once those were aflame in turn, the logs started turning black and the first wisps of smoke rose towards the ceiling. Finally, a sea of flames engulfed the logs until they crumpled and finally turned to ashes.

The fire imp moved back again, already jumping up and down in expectation of what was next. When a wooden rack appeared, that had several pieces of clothing hanging from it, the fire imp hissed at it as if it were a flamethrower. The flare-up lasted a little longer than the one based on paper, and the wood took a while to destroy, but the alcove's floor was covered in a layer of ash very quickly.

The fire imp tried out a few more objects. Some repeated after a while, but usually in different combinations. The ones with flame retardant materials were a big success, as were the ones with metal or other parts that just wouldn't burn down. Finally, the fire imp seemed to have played enough for the moment and moved away from its new toy.

"Impressive.” The guardian glowed a bright orange. “That is a worthy gift and I thank you for it. I will keep my promise and release this piece of the Magic Key to you before returning to my new favourite activity."

"What do you want me to do?” Elryk seemed exhausted but sat up straight at the fire imp's words.

"The piece of the Magic Key is hidden within my body.” The fire imp flared brightly as if in pride. “You will need to reach inside me to retrieve it."

"What?” Kaythan held Elryk more tightly. That—that thing had just burned several different types of material to cinders and now it was asking Elryk to put his hand inside what was obviously a very dangerous fire—or whatever it was? How was his mate going to survive without serious injury? Was he expected to just stand by, let him go ahead, and say nothing?

Elryk smiled when Kaythan's arms tightened around his middle after the fire imp had told them what to do. It looked as if his mate was worried for him. Maybe he even wanted to protect him. Not that the gorgeous man needed to be anxious, but it was nice to have someone care about what became of him. He hadn't had that basic level of selfless interest in his well being since he was five years old. Tears pooled in his eyes and he wiped them away quickly.

This was the worst possible time for him to remember how his parents and little sister had died, their house struck by lightning on a perfectly sunny day. Lightning that
he
had caused because he was playing with his magic and had lost control. Sure, the counsellors they'd made him see had explained that it wasn't his fault, that he hadn't been trained and that accidents happened. But that hadn't lessened the guilt for a long time. And the pain was still there almost fifty years later. It was less intense than it had been, but nevertheless, he could still feel it clearly. He doubted that it would ever go way, no matter how long he lived. And, since he was a wizard, that was probably going to be several more centuries.

"Elryk? What's wrong?” Kaythan's voice pulled him back to the present.

"Nothing.” He smiled at his worried-looking mate, trying to project a conviction he didn't feel. He wasn't sure he could deal with Kaythan knowing what he'd done. He was beginning to care about the other man. His opinion mattered more to him than he wanted to admit. What if he told him the truth and his mate ended up hating him?

"I have a hard time believing what you say when you look at me like that.” Kaythan stroked his back slowly, the movement soothing him a little.

"Like what?” Shit, had he given himself away?

"Like you've lost something very important to you, something you'd give anything to have back. But you don't have a clue how to do it.” Kaythan looked straight into his eyes, not willing to let this go.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry.” He tried to sound convincing, but his voice broke. Seeing the compassion in his mate's eyes was too much for him to bear. He didn't want them to keep secrets from each other. If he expected Kaythan to be honest, he had to be prepared to give him the same in return.

"Look, I can't force you to talk about something that's obviously bothering you a great deal. I'm just worried that it's linked to the fire magic and this next task. And if you're distracted by something, you might not be able to fully focus on whatever needs to get done.” Kaythan's gaze was intense.

How could he resist trusting the man? Even if this
was
one of Elryk's biggest secrets and a source for everlasting shame? The memories of his family's deaths weren't directly linked to fire magic, but they
were
linked to fire. The house burning down may have been caused by lightning, but its close companion, fire, had done the actual destruction.

What if Kaythan was right, and his being afraid or hesitant around fire would be a distraction? What if it was significant enough to cause him to fail? He couldn't afford to let that happen.

So he told his mate the whole story, embarrassing tears rolling down his cheeks as he relived everything. The sounds of his family screaming and the scents of burning substances had been the worst. He'd been in the garden and hadn't seen much through his tears. He suspected that shock had muted many of the more detailed impressions that his five-year-old mind hadn't been able to deal with.

When he was done, Kaythan still held him tightly, rocking them both gently to help him calm down. Even the fire imp was more subdued than it had been before. No hissing or crackling came from it and its colour remained a muted red throughout.

When he'd cried himself out, Kaythan kissed away his tears, making him smile a little at the tenderness the other man was showing. He didn't seem to be angry or disappointed at all. It felt so good to be held by strong arms and accepted the way he was, despite the mistakes he'd made.

"I'm sure they told you that it wasn't your fault, right?” Kaythan smiled sadly. “I know that it doesn't make your family come back, or your pain go away, but it should at least make you feel less guilty."

"That's exactly what they told me. I just had a hard time believing it. Still do, actually.” He sniffed and sat up, trying to pull himself together. “I guess I'll never know for sure."

"But I do! I know for a fact that it couldn't have been your fault.” The fire imp brightened slightly and grew a little larger.

"What?” Elryk looked up so quickly his neck hurt. “How can you know anything about this?"

"Just because I've been sitting here guarding a piece of the Muyd'Zel doesn't mean I'm stupid or have no idea what's going on.” The fire imp was almost back to its initial level of indignation.

"I didn't mean to imply that.” Tah’ but this fellow was sensitive. “I was just surprised that you're so certain that you know something about an event that is surely insignificant in the larger scheme of things."

"Not as insignificant as you may think.” The fire imp puffed itself up again. “Have you ever wondered why no other wizards under the age of ten have ever destroyed anything as significant as an entire house with their magic?"

"Not even those who became Grand Masters later in their lives? They should have had power levels comparable to mine, right?” Elryk frowned.