A Dangerous Legacy Pt. 21

"Seamus?" I'd found him a draft castle, sitting in an ornate chair staring into the fire.

He jumped at the appearance of a witch but then stared at my belly, confused. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I am Anna. I am from the future. I have a tale to tell on how magic will be reborn and you will play an important part. You will father a king."

He frowned darkly. "I cannot, I am not of Malachai's line."

"You will father a king born on the line of witches. Do you grant me peace to tell you the story?"

He thought long and hard, then summoned a cushioned chair with magic. I sank to it, already waddling at six months and grateful to be off swollen ankles. "Thank you."

It took most of the night but I told him everything, and I meant everything. I told him how Kenneth's life could be if he willingly lay with Alessandra, the guardian of my line, and how it would be if he did his duty by force.

There was darkness in him, with the deed he could have done there had to be, but it was not monstrous. In this time there was a war one between his kind and mine, and sadly rape was part of every war. It was the nature of the beast, a horrible crime that could be overcome with fraternity and understanding.

When I finished he stared at me. "Do you understand that by doing this I am violating Malachai's laws? I could be executed."

I had discussed this with Malachai who was at that moment visiting his past self in this time. If we were successful our penultimate act as rulers would be to seal the wards and prevent time travel. It was much too dangerous, so we had to succeed.

"I swear you will not."

He looked at my belly, expression softening. "And that is my grandchild?"

I nodded and he rose.

"May I?"

I knew what he wanted. Apparently when you got pregnant your belly became public property and I was used to it. He stepped to me and gently laid his hand on my belly.

"Is it boy or girl?"

"Girl." I smiled. I couldn't explain time travel paradoxes to save my life but I knew I had gone against orders I would give myself in the future. Somehow in changing that my child was now a girl. A daughter, I thought lovingly.

She kicked and Seamus' eyes widened. Then I was laughing and he was laughing, it was a warm moment.

"May I?" I asked now.

"Do what?"

"See your heart. If you do this for me I can see who your true love is and I will guide you to her."

He looked scared but nodded. Once more I laid four fingers on him and called the power. I felt an extra jolt come from my daughter who must know I was trying to help her grandfather.

I pulled back, thrilled to my bones. "Go, now, and find Alessandra."

"What about my soul mate?"

"She will guide you to her. On that I swear."

He nodded and then popped out of the room.

With my own magic I went back to my time and found Malachai at his home in Romania.

"How did it go?"

I smiled. "Let's cast the spell and see." Together we worked great grey magic, and suddenly we knew the world as it was, as others perceived it, but also had a distant memory of how we'd left it to go back, foggy like a dream, knowing it would fade.

"Seamus, my best friend is alive!"

"And Kenneth has both parents, and they are much in love," I said smugly.

We laughed and hugged as friends, and by the time we pulled apart all the darkness was forgotten.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He smiled at me. "Last night as king and queen. We could shake the earth."

"Nice try. King and queen in power only, duke and duchess officially. And tomorrow in magic as well. I have my wolves to return to, and don't you have a nice human girl to find?"

"She's human," he shook his head. "I haven't been with a human in...well, I think it was around the crusades, maybe the first ones."

I laughed and left him with that, flashing back into my conservatory. I couldn't use the hot tub pregnant as I was but I loved to sit there and see the night sky through all my plants.

"Anna?"

"In here!" I called. The door opened and three sleepy werewolves came in.

"Where did you go?" Andre asked suspiciously.

"Just in here. Baby's kicking and I couldn't sleep."

Julian smiled and helped me up. "Come back to bed."

"It's too frustrating. I hate that you all have to be so gentle."

"Just until she's born," Pierre said with a wink.

"And then we can be ourselves," Andre said wistfully.

They took me to bed and it was gentle kisses and soft cuddles. They had to be gentle with me, entering me only from behind on our sides, but I used my magic to make them feel great pleasure. Slowly, in turns, they claimed me and I fell asleep in the arms of the ones I loved.

***

"I feel ridiculous."

"You look lovely, Anna," Julian said with soft eyes.

"You're just saying that to me because you love me."

"True, but that doesn't make us wrong," Pierre said and stopped me from fidgeting.

"Children," Andre growled and we all stood straight.

They had been freed like all the wolves in the time of magical blending. Each witch and sorcerer had surrendered their wolves or dragons along with magic, and were granted a grey blending of magic back. On the day I had officially released them my three lovers had gone down on bended knee and pledged their love to me. As if I ever doubted them, though stupid pregnancy hormones made me cry like a baby.

Kenneth lived in London so we were at Wembley. The magic needed to hide all magic bearers from humans was massive, but everyone participated so it was manageable. Kenneth would rule from London, Malachai had eastern Europe as a duke, I had North America, Leann had northern Africa, Shin-Zan had most of Asia, Soren had the other parts of it, Valerius had western Europe, Horus had the southern part of Africa, and James had South America. Beneath us were a large number of counts, and that was our feudal system.

We dukes and Duchess made up a Council but there was to be an elected parliament backing up Kenneth. It had been a doozy writing that into our treaties, and Malachai still teased me about being an anarchist who had founded a government. Hey, anarchy wasn't immature or wrong, it was an impossible dream, and the world needed more of those.

Without impossible dreams no one would have found the new world, walked on the moon, found the polio vaccine, nor in the near future create an AIDS vaccine. Scientists, politicians, and artists were all at heart those who could dream impossible dreams.

"You're on," some magician whispered to me.

That was what were to be called. Unimaginative but simple.

My wolves stayed back as I came out on stage and stood to Kenneth's left with Malachai already on his right. Thunderous applause rang out but I was too worried over looking like a beach ball in a ball gown to notice.

Kenneth was a strong confident man. Sometimes when I looked at him I felt that shouldn't be right, but it was. Handsome and proud, I saw his mother Alessandra and father Seamus down in the front row, holding hands and beaming at their son.

Malachai caught my regarding look at our new regent and winked. Ah, a secret shared and buried by magic. So much of that.

Kenneth rose and signaled for quiet and the cheers died down. I felt the spell and then he spoke I knew it brought his voice to every man, woman, and some children in attendance. The nice thing about witches was no one was recording this on a cell phone for Youtube. I guess we were all old enough to understand the experience was better than the digital memory.

"Tonight you will witness the closing of time travel. Know it is not blocked to dragons. We no longer rule them but have our own treaty with their rulers Francine and Nadine of Krall. No magician may visit the past or future without a dragon keeping watch, never in corporeal form, and violation of this is a death sentence. And now Malachai and Anna will close the wards for good!"

You could have dropped a pin. I waddled to the front as did Malachai who eyed my stomach. I felt love in his gaze, real and deep love for our daughter. I looked back and Kenneth was the same. Lucky kid, I thought with a smile and felt her kick.

Malachai stopped me when I began to call my magic. "Anna, you could go back. You childhood was...you could go back, change it, and we would never know."

I shook my head. "It made me who I am and I am damn proud to be that person. Just as you refused to change your body when you became a sorcerer, I refuse to change my soul as a witch."

His eyes filled with admiration and almost paternal pride and he nodded. We joined hands and called to the wards. Those placed by the first of our lines, added to by others, broken by us. We blended our magic and found them all, millions, and with our combined wills they became frozen, static things. Once we saw them turn to concrete in our minds, or at least that's what they did in mine, we opened our eyes.

"It is done!" Malachai roared and there came cheers, not overly enthusiastic.

"And now the last of us will become magicians!" Kenneth shouted. "Watch the queen of witches and the king of sorcerers blend their magic through me and pledge loyalty to our new order!"

Now the cheers were enthusiastic beyond belief.

We turned to face Kenneth and nerves made my sarcasm rise. "Boy, they really hate oligarchies, don't they?"

Kenneth chuckled. "Ready?"

We both nodded and held our breath. Since the moment Alessandra had burned the magic into me I had been a queen. Almost all that would leave me now for Kenneth who someday would grant it to our already powerful daughter. I would still have magic, just...less. No more calling people back from the dead, no more destroying or creating wards of magic. No more could I completely pull magic from another, nor their soul.

I was sad but happy, a feeling similar to when I graduated college. A new life was coming but the old one was ending, and it was bittersweet.

Then he pulled our magic and for a moment I was human again, feeling naked, gasping. My child, almost pure magic, burned inside me like a hot stone. And then magic came flowing back. Dark and light mixed, the grey magic burned once more as it filled my cells. Just barely I stayed on my feet, holding into my dignity, and distantly I swore I heard a baby's giggle.

Then it was done. I was no longer a witch but a magician. No longer a queen but a duchess. Malachai looked to me and then whooped with joy, picking me up and spinning me until I forced him to set me down, my damn bladder screaming. I fixed that with magic and though I felt less of it in me, it was something new to explore.

Could I still find soul mates? Ooohh, could I do the sorcerer trick and grant someone their heart's desire? Something to investigate with my men later

Kenneth cleared is throat and Malachai and I straightened ourselves, bending our knees. Malachai had to help me, fucking ball gown and goddamn baby bump, I thought, but once down we bowed our heads.

Kenneth's selected master of ceremonies, a former witch named Josef, came forward.

"Do you Malachai, and do you Anna swear undying loyalty Kenneth and his line from now until he end of time, pledging your honor?"

"I do," Malachai and I chorused at the same time.

Kenneth remained standing. "Then rise duke, and duchess, and let us all rejoice. The world of magic is in harmony once more!"

The stadium exploded in cheers. Andre, Pierre, and Julian came out to join me and I hugged them all in turn, laughing. Kenneth sat on his throne, looking a little lonely, and Malachai stared at his compass mournfully.

Still, it was over. The wards would seal the world as it was. There would be no visit from my past self. Even as I thought it the memory started to fade until I was filled with love. I had magic and duty, but no longer the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Best of all? I had my three soul mates to love until the end of time, and one hell of a story to tell my daughter when she grew up to become the greatest queen of magic the world had ever known.

Epilogue

It only took me a year to get the hang of things. My house was constantly filled by laughter and love. My best friend Diane and her daughter live with us as do an army of free wolves who work for me keeping the house clean, food in my belly, and helping with midnight diaper changes and feedings.

Princess Maria Susan Alessandra Elizabeta McDonald was now nine months old. Born on August 10th she was quite a Leo, charismatic and bossy. Spoiled rotten too. After all she had five fathers and one mother. As soon as Kenneth and Malachai found their other halves she'd have three mothers.

Malachai and Kenneth spent as much time with us as they could. As soon as Maria was weaned she would begin spending four months at a time with us all. Watching them fuss over her was kind of funny, they treated her like she was china.

Kenneth was too busy to do much and happy in his role. His whole life witches and sorcerers had treated him so coldly. Now he confessed he knew Malachai and I were friends, but his did not trust the other magicians he worried were simply brown nosing. That man is seriously due a vacation and I hoped he found his soul mate soon. He needed a queen to share the burden.

Malachai discharged his duties as duke with aplomb but spent much of his free time following the compass. "The damn thing doesn't work," he'd often say as he appeared in my home. "It points north and I go north then suddenly it points south."

I just told him perhaps it wasn't the right time to find his soul mate. It wasn't until Maria was born he agreed, put it away, and began to enjoy passing the time with several Ms. Wrongs while waiting for Ms. Right to appear.

Surprisingly of my loves she liked Andre best, though he issued chilling orders to "stop that" when she fussed, rather than coo like Pierre, or sing like Julian. I spent most of my time with her reading to her, practicing languages, and staring at the little human I had made. To my shock I was head over heels in love with her. She had a single path of scruffy brown hair and eyes that seemed to be every color and none at the same time.

I spend a lot of my days helping the counts under me settle disputes and helping disseminate policies Kenneth sent down. At night after we put Maria down I had wild passion with my lovers.

Julian spent his days painting, and he and Diane opened an art gallery together. All too often he could be found chasing around the cooks demanding more spices. We still spend plenty of afternoons in his studio. Sometimes he paints me metaphorically, other times literally. Usually then we go to the rooftop garden and make love in the sun.

Pierre spends a lot of his time restoring cars and motorcycles in the garage. He says he wants to race but I've told him over my dead body. Practically immortal or not I would not tolerate a drag racer as a role model for my child. He's wearing me down oral sex, the sneaky bastard. He's discovered if he lifts me up, settling my legs on his shoulders and does it that way I'm rather dazzled and helpless to his charms, and I do so love those greasy fingerprints on my skin when I come in from the garage.

Andre used his freedom to go to school. He was studying architecture at the university. He so loved helping to build our home that he's decided he'd like to do it full time outside the house. At night when almost everyone was asleep and he was still up with his books I helped tutor him. I could have used magic to grant him knowledge and a degree but he as adamant about doing it himself.

And the best part is I have found a great way to help him study. I quiz him on chapters and class notes, and for every correct answer he gets five minutes of sexual submission from me. Just thinking about as I found him in my office studying made me shiver.

Andre was a straight A student. That night, if he got all his questions right we would have three hours of his domination and my submission. And by the time that was done, I'd be lucky if I could remember his name, but he would ace the test the next day.

Gone were the endless days passing while I felt my bolts rusting, a living statue unseen and unheard in the world. Now my days and nights were filled with love and laughter and hope.

And that was the most important lesson I could teach my child. It wasn't magic that changed your life, it was the people you surrounded yourself with. And in that I was the luckiest person on earth.