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Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance/Romance
Description: Kyle Wadsworth thinks he isn't ready to love again, after what happened in his second year of college. Now halfway through his junior year, he's obsessed with studying an ancient prophecy and is still haunted by past events, even in his dreams. But he soon learns that he's not the only one suffering from haunted dreams. One of his good friends, an enchantment student named Lindy Carmichael, is having uncontrollably erotic dreams and also difficulty using her magic. Lindy, a sexually naive young woman who, like Kyle, did not grow up in the magical world, fears that she is losing her power. Kyle can't do anything about the incubus haunting her nights, but power is one thing he can provide through erotic magic. Lindy and Kyle start "dating," first for the sake of schoolwork, but quickly become more serious about each other. As their romance blossoms, though, Kyle discovers that perhaps he can do something about the incubus after all. Is Kyle the hero prophesied in the ancient texts? Whether he is or not, there is one person whose help he must enlist. The one person who wants the least to do with him. The person Kyle sees in his dreams.
eBook Publisher: Ravenous Romance/Ravenous Romance, 2010
eBookwise Release Date: July 2010

4 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [326 KB]
Words: 74645
Reading time: 213-298 min.

Chapter One

Kyle climbed the steps to the observatory, the pockets of his coat laden with his journal and the latest results of Glendon's alchemical experiments. Glendon had discovered he enjoyed alchemy, and the results were very pleasant for his roommate and friends. With Randall now graduated and gone, Glendon had became Kyle's source for the occasional recreational elixir. Yes, nerdy, withdrawn Glendon finally had something to raise his status in the house.

Kyle own status was not doing so well. It had soared for a while, especially around the broom race, which he not only won hands down despite never having raced before, his charging of the amulets this year had been so effective, the brooms ran for hours before they waned. But Caitlyn was gone now, too, having completed her credits halfway through the year, and Kyle found he didn't have the stomach to cultivate new allies among his housemates.

He would no doubt drop even lower after tonight. The entire house was at the Valentine's Masque except for him. He turned the crank that opened the observatory dome. From here, in the tower with the telescope, he was too far away to hear the music, yet he found his ears straining to hear it.

He shook his head and maneuvered the telescope into place. It was a crystal-clear winter night. Through the windows he could see the Center for Astrophysics and the telescope the mundane students used off to his right. Its twin sat here in the tower only the magical students could see, nearly two hundred years old. He drew the curtains shut.

Astronomy wasn't magic, but the astrologists had insisted on their own telescope in the early 1800s, and although Veritas students could take regular astronomy classes and use the same telescope as the mundane students if they wished, this telescope was available just for them.

Wait. That definitely was music, from somewhere nearby. Kyle opened the curtains again and looked more closely. Apparently the Center for Astrophysics was hosting some kind of Valentine's Day star-gazing party in their tower. How romantic.

Kyle nearly tore the curtain as he thrust it shut this time. He sat in the chair by the telescope, took out his journal and scribbled down a few thoughts.

Just remembered. Dreamed about Little Girl Frost again last night. He (she?) shows up at the strangest times, in the middle of dreams about completely different things. Once she does, the dream's over, though. Sometimes she disappears the moment after our eyes meet, and then I wake up. Other times I end up chasing her, from dream to dream to dream, like flipping TV channels, but I never catch her. It always ends with her disappearing like a puff of smoke.

He didn't bother to write down that he sometimes woke up in a cold sweat, sometimes painfully hard, or sometimes crying. Once in a while all three, like last night. Glendon slept with earplugs, so he'd probably never even noticed.

Kyle hadn't seen Frost since that day over a year ago when they'd broken free of the dimensional pocket in Sassamon. Frost was still enrolled, but he'd moved out of the house and no one could or would tell Kyle where to find him. Kyle had thought surely Frost would appear for Master Brandish's tea, but he had not.

He had given up hope he might appear at the Masque. I don't even know what I want to say to him, Kyle thought. He just had a burning desire to speak to him. It would wane sometimes, but then Little Girl Frost would appear in his dreams and the longing would be sharpened all over again.

The sound of someone on the stairs made him raise his head. His heart suddenly caught in his throat. Is this a dream? Little Girl Frost was standing there, staring at him in utter shock.

She ran. Kyle wondered for half a moment if he had drunk one of Glendon's concoctions and not remembered it. Whether it was a hallucination or not, he ran after her. Down the curving stairs, she was already out of sight, but he could hear the clatter of her shoes. Deja vu struck him, reminders of a different tower, a different descent.

The door to the outside banged open and he followed, chasing the figure across the driveway, past the tennis courts, and then he lost sight of her around the building with the squash courts... He hurried around the corner.

There! Black hair down to her shoulders, her coat undone, just standing there catching her breath. Kyle spun her around with a hand on her shoulder. "Frost!"

The girl gave a startled gasp, then looked at him. "Kyle Wadsworth?" It wasn't Frost at all, and she wasn't out of breath. "I remember you from Esoteric Arts class last year. Viola."

Viola Gladwell. She'd never said much in class. "Oh, right. Hi, Viola. You didn't see... um, do you remember Frost? You didn't see him come running past here, did you? Or, well, anyone?"

She shook her head. "Afraid not. Are you okay?" She looked at him curiously.

"I, uh, yeah. Just... Yeah, fine." He closed his eyes a moment and opened them again. Nope. Still Viola standing there. Even a hallucination of Frost would have been welcome, he realized.

But Viola frowned slightly. "If you're seeing things, you ought to go have your visions checked," she said. "Or at least talk to a soothsayer you trust."

"I think I just need to talk to Frost," he said without thinking.

Her scrutiny only intensified. "I thought you two didn't really like each other."

"We... it's a long story. Frost's in the vision, though." He wasn't sure why he was telling her so much about this. Maybe because he had to tell someone. He'd only told Alex the barest minimum so far.

"Oh, here comes my shuttle." She put a hand on his arm for a moment, then started to hurry toward the curb. She called back, "He's in my Living Enchantment seminar, though. I could give him a message for you?"

Kyle just shook his head. "That's all right. Good night, Viola."

She waved as she stepped up into the van.

Kyle stared after it until it turned a corner and went out of sight, wondering why Viola hadn't gone to the Masque. Well, she was in Nummus House; it wasn't an absolute social requirement for her like it would have been if she'd been in Gladius House. Maybe though, he thought, it wasn't such a bad thing he hadn't gone.

He still had his journal in one hand. He felt in his pocket for the vials Glendon had given him. Three. Hadn't there been four? Had he actually drunk one and forgotten? Or did he lose one in all the running?

There was no way to know now, other than to ask Glendon later. Glendon, who had actually gone to the Masque. Who knew, maybe Glendon was even getting some tonight? Kyle didn't want to go back up into the observatory now, but he didn't want to go back to Gladius House either.

Talk to a soothsayer you trust, Viola had said. Kyle wondered if maybe Jeanie Kwan was around tonight, or if when she got back from the Masque, she might be up to talking. Or maybe Marjory would take him in tonight, or maybe Alex would want to try some of Glendon's experiments.

But first he had to close the observatory roof again. He went back up the stairs and cranked it shut with the brass wheel, cutting off the sound of laughter from the star party next door. Kyle hurried down Garden Street, back toward Harvard Yard and Camella House.

Kyle could hear voices, Jeanie and her roommate Lindy, shouting as he approached the lounge at Camella 3 West. He slowed and considered knocking on Marjory's door, then remembered she was in Salem for the long weekend, after all. Jeanie and Lindy were in the lounge itself and he didn't want to interrupt them, but at the same time if they'd wanted it to be a truly private affair, they would have gone into their room. All the doubles opened right into the suite lounge so their door was right there.

"You have to tell somebody!" Jeanie was saying.

"It was just a stupid dream!" Lindy shot back. "It's not like I'm hurt or something!"

"But..." Jeanie looked up. "Kyle. Talk some sense into Lindy."

"Er..." Kyle slipped his coat off and stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Lindy said with a huff. She jerked the scrunchie out of her hair and scratched her head, mussing up her light brown waves. "I just had a weird dream is all."

"A dream that you were raped!" Jeanie interjected.

Jeanie was sitting in the armchair, Lindy on the couch. Kyle sat next to Lindy. "A prophetic dream?"

"No, nothing like that, and... and 'raped' is kind of a strong word for it," Lindy said, her cheeks red. "Just... gah. I shouldn't have said anything."

Jeanie folded her arms. "It upset you. Of course you should say something. Especially if it's screwing up your schoolwork."

Lindy flopped back against the couch. "Whatever. I don't think it's because of the dream. More likely the dream is because I'm so stressed out over my junior project."

Kyle nodded knowingly. He was in the thick of his own and the end of the semester deadline loomed.

Jeanie relented a little, but she didn't let the subject drop completely. "Kyle, is there anything about rape dreams in Esoteric Arts?"

Kyle shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was only in it for the one semester. I don't remember anything about that in particular, but that might be a more advanced topic. Marjory would probably know."

"Okay."

"I actually came here to ask you something about dreams, though," he said. If I don't do it now, I'm going to chicken out.

"Oh yeah?" Jeanie raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"

Kyle looked at his hands. "Someone told me I should ask a soothsayer I trust. I've been having these recurring dreams. Or well, the dreams are all different, but this person keeps showing up in them."

Jeanie leaned forward. "Person? Like an archetype person, or someone you know?"

"Um, I think it's supposed to represent someone I know. He, well, she, first appeared in a prophetic dream, and now she keeps showing up again..." He slumped. There was no way to tell only a little piece of the story, was there? He was going to have to tell the whole thing for it to make any sense. Well, he'd hold off as long as he could in case some explanation might come. "I had this dream with a girl in it, but I'm sure the girl is Frost."

Jeanie nodded. "Okay, that's not that weird. You might have feminized him in your head because of his relationship with Michael, or maybe archetypally he's representing one of the feminine archetypes, even though he's male. Are you... I mean, is this because you're worried you're gay or something?"

Kyle couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "After what I went through last year, I don't think the words 'straight' and 'gay' really apply to me any longer. I still like women. mostly. I'm okay with guys, but I'm not looking to hook up with one. The term is sexual 'preference' right? I prefer women. But I did..." What to say about this? "I did have sex with Frost last year."

"You did?" Lindy blurted out. "I thought you hated each other."

Kyle shrugged again and slumped down against the couch. "I may as well tell you what really happened during winter break last year."

Lindy bent one leg so that she was facing Kyle on the couch now. Her hair brushed her shoulders. "About time," she said. "Marjory would never tell us what had happened to you that she was nursemaiding you like she did. We all just thought something had gone horribly wrong with your Esoterics test and that was why you quit."

Kyle realized that was as good an explanation as any. "That's pretty close to what happened," he said, "but what happened was it was actually Ciara's test, and when everything went wrong, I ended up trapped in a kind of dimensional pocket with Frost."

"Dimensional pocket? You mean a dimensional channel?" Jeanie asked.

"I guess so. We were supposed to be transported to the watchtower, but we got stuck. I... We had to resort to Esoteric Arts to free ourselves."

"Huh, but does that count as sex?" Lindy asked.

It felt like it counted at the time, Kyle thought. Then he saw how they were looking at him and wondered if he had said it out loud. Lindy put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," Kyle said quickly. "It's a valid question. There's plenty of ritual sex that isn't... where the emotional stuff doesn't get entangled. You have lightning rods like me and enchanters hooking up all the time just to power conjurations for practical purposes. There are the ones who fall in love and stay together for life, too, but no one goes into the ritual thinking that's the point."

"But you're in love with Frost now," Jeanie said.

"No! But I do really, really want to talk to him about it," Kyle insisted. "So maybe that's why I have the dreams?"

Jeanie was giving him a skeptical look. "These dreams, though, you say they don't seem prophetic. Are they lucid dreams? Was the prophetic one?"

"Um, the prophetic one just felt like a regular dream at the time. I didn't think of it as prophetic until I realized what it meant. Like, it took place in the watchtower, where I had never been, and then once I was there, I recognized it. The dream... I woke up almost crying from it, though. And the ones I'm having now... yeah, I wake up with my heart pounding, stuff like that."

"But are they lucid? Like can you direct what you do in the dream?"

Kyle thought about it. "What happens is, the girl I dreamed about appears in the middle of whatever dream I have going on. Then I try to chase her, and then I wake up. Yeah, the chasing is definitely me doing it, somehow."

"But you never catch her," Lindy said, cocking her head.

"No." Kyle let out a slow sigh.

"Does she run to the left or the right?" Jeanie asked.

Kyle thought for a moment. "Left." The direction the stairs had spiraled down.

"That means unfinished business in most kinds of dream symbology," Jeanie said.

"Yeah, what else is new?" Kyle stretched. "I guess I just have to find him and talk to him."

They were all silent for a few moments. Then Lindy said, "Um, is that really common? The bit about enchanters hooking up with... guys like you. Just to get spells done."

Kyle found he couldn't look at her, because she was blushing so prettily he thought he might stare. She had just a few freckles that stood out when she blushed. "Well, not that common, since lightning rods aren't that common, but, yeah, it's spoken of as a powerful pairing."

The two women now exchanged glances. "Maybe that is what your dream was about," Jeanie said to Lindy.

"Oh, God." Lindy hid her face for a second. "You mean, can I bring myself to have sex for the sake of a grade? Or will I feel utterly violated afterward?"

Jeanie shrugged and stood. "You wouldn't if it was Kyle. I'm going to brush my teeth." A moment later they heard the bathroom door down the hall open and close.

Lindy looked up at Kyle shyly. "Um. You know how she gets..."

Kyle had heard the story by now, of how Jeanie had swallowed a runestone in Soothsaying class and had been gifted (or cursed) with Truthsaying ever since. "She's not always right, is she?"

Lindy gave him a wan smile. "Hard to say. She's.... she's probably right, though. About this, I mean."

Kyle held his breath for a moment. "Do you need my help?"

Lindy looked around. Jess's door was shut, there was no sound coming from the lounge in 3 East, but Kyle noticed Alex's door was open a crack. It was dark inside, though. Lindy stood. "Let's talk inside my room."

Kyle followed her in and shut the door behind them. Lindy sank down onto her bed. "I wouldn't... you understand I wouldn't even dream of asking this of you... if it wasn't really bad."

He sat next to her, concerned at the sudden quaver in her voice. "How bad?"

"I can barely do anything anymore," she whispered. "Can't bend a spoon or light a candle, and I sure as hell am not getting my schoolwork done. Today..." She had to pause to swallow. "Today I could barely see the building."

Kyle felt a jolt of fear go through him. "Losing your Sight?"

She nodded. "I read... I read a journal or two, students who were so overworked that they temporarily burned themselves out. I... I need the energy from somewhere..."

There were tears poised on her lashes. Kyle dipped his head and kissed them away tenderly. "Hey. Hey, no worries. We can fix this. It doesn't have to be now if you're not ready. In fact, it's probably better if we figure out a time to do it."

Her voice was a little watery, and her pitch squeaked, as she asked, "You'd do that? For me? I thought you hated Esoteric Arts."

"Hush. I didn't want to study it the rest of my life, but I am a lightning rod, and you are a good friend, and if you need me, I'm here. If... if it's any consolation, you wouldn't be the only enchantress I helped this way."

"Have there been many?"

"Well, no, just one other. But she and I are still friends, if you're worrying things might get weird."

She smiled then. "It is, kinda. I mean, I really do like you, Kyle, as a friend. I'm not like Jess, or Ciara. Or Marjory for that matter."

Kyle's spine suddenly straightened. "God, it really is like I've slept with a girl from every room in 3 West." He'd even had a foursome with Alex that time over Christmas...

"Except for me or Jeanie!" Lindy said with a little laugh. "You've got three semesters to go to collect the whole set with Becca, Monica, and Jeanie, too...! But seriously. I have an enchantment midterm practicum next week. I'm afraid I'm going to fail..."

Kyle put a hand over hers. "Then we should do it the night before," he said. "Unless you think you should practice before?"

She shook her head. "I'll ace it if I just have the power."

"All right, then. We should probably do it here. Since I'm not in the department anymore, I can't use the rooms at Sassamon."

"Hang on." She went and pulled open the door. Jeanie was sitting on the couch, watching television. "Jean, do you have a meeting next Wednesday?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could Kyle and I have the room after dinner?"

"Sure."

Lindy came back and sat down again. "Here's fine."

Kyle nodded. "Next question. Do you want to go out to dinner first?"

"Is that part of the ritual?"

Kyle laughed. "For mundanes it is. And I figure since you and I both grew up more or less in the mundane world... you might be more comfortable with the sex if I take you out to dinner first."

She laughed, too. "That makes a crazy kind of sense. Okay, Kyle, you're on."

"Good. It's a date, then." He found himself grinning madly. "This is going to be fun."

She was blushing, but her eyes were bright and her smile as wide as his. "Yeah. So, what now? You just walk out and I see you next week?"

"I could kiss you first, if you wanted," he said.

She licked her lips even as she answered, "Okay. I don't... yeah, okay."

He slid one hand along her jaw, pulling her face close gently, then playing with her lips with his own, softening her gradually before the "real" kiss began. Her tongue was as soft as wet velvet, and Kyle caught himself before he could groan. Instead he pulled back and asked, "What were you going to say? You don't what?"

"Oh. Um. Have much experience. With any kind of sex, much less sexual magic." She nuzzled in his ear. "Is that all right?"

"Perfectly all right." He kissed her again, until he felt her breath shortening and his own cock becoming far too interested. "I, um, have to ask, though, about birth control and STDs?"

"Oh, yeah. Um. I'm on the pill, actually, because my periods were so irregular when I started school, so we don't have to worry about that. And, um, I know I'm clear of STDs, too. Because... well.. okay, I guess there's no reason to be embarrassed telling you. The one other partner I've had recently, we didn't have safe sex, and I was worried, so I went and got all the tests. As it turns out, I checked out completely fine, except for being sore as hell. He... he was way too rough."

"I can..." Kyle ran his hand along her jaw again. "I can be very gentle."

"And still give me the energy I need?"

He nodded, looking into her eyes. "Since I can come inside you, it'll be easy as pie."

She just nodded in return, then kissed him hungrily.

This time when they broke apart they were both breathless. "Um," Kyle felt a bit dazed.

"Yeah."

"Wednesday."

"Right. Wednesday."

"Okay."

"See you then."

"Yeah."

"Bye."

"Okay."

"Yeah."

Jeanie knocking on the door snapped them out of it, and Kyle made his exit before he could get drawn in again.

Alex's door was completely closed now. Hm. Kyle couldn't think about that now, though. He felt like he was floating down the stairs. On the way across the Yard he ended up in a group of revelers heading back to Gladius House from the Masque and let their happy chatter carry him along.