Welcome to Chapter 13. You guys have been great and I appreciate the votes and emails very much! Keep them coming please! This one has quite a bit of story and of course some wild sex. The twins are relying more on their non-human abilities and starting to learn what kind of resolve they will need to ultimately complete their task. I hope you enjoy it.
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Nicole's Story:
I was very relieved Geran and Mom came to a truce. I was worried they would escalate until she took him off somewhere to kill him. She's so unpredictable and has a temper to melt steel. Family life is fucking stressful.
I woke up curled in Geran's arms. He was watching me. "Morning." He gave me a kiss. "How do you feel?"
I thought about it for a moment. "I feel very drained. Hungry. Thirsty. Very thirsty. Possibly horny." He handed me a quart of orange juice which I downed in one long gulp. He gave me another which I sipped. "Thanks. That helps a lot."
"I was completely amazed you were able to hold out and keep Mom's succubus at bay enough to keep me safe. You're a lot stronger than everyone gives you credit for."
I gave him a very concerned look. "Geran, I didn't hold her back. I failed. I felt her power overwhelming you and me and I couldn't break us apart fast enough to save you."
"But you did. I'm here."
"No. You don't understand. I got a MASSIVE influx of power from multiple sources. Almost a legion of minds adding their power to me to keep you safe. Mom doesn't know. They were so subtle and secretive I wouldn't even know except I felt my own power fail. You should've been devoured mind and soul last night. They saved you."
We were silent for a while. Then he asked, "Any ideas of the source or sources?"
I nodded, "Yeah, the same ones you're thinking of. Angela and an army at her command. I don't know of any others. Although, there were these completely alien sources of energy flowing through me that kept me from burning in the awesome power of what we're assuming came from Angela. I don't know where they came from or even what they would be."
Geran looked very thoughtful and I knew he was calculating possible forces that would aid us. I let him think while I tried to regain my strength with the OJ.
"I need to get up and check something. Won't take a minute."
He went to our closet and opened our little dimensional safe. "Nicole. Come look at this."
I went over and peered into the safe. "Didn't we have more books than that in there?"
"We did. And considerably less ash. One of the books sacrificed itself to protect you as absolutely absurd as that sounds. It or they were the alien presence. Or perhaps Angela used the entire book to save us. Regardless, our guardian angel saved our bacon again and luckily we gave her the support she needed."
He paced a bit. "Every time we get one answer a dozen more questions pop up. Class is cancelled for today. I need to study these books. You need to rest and regain your strength. What would you like to do later?"
I fidgeted for a minute. "Geran, don't be angry or disappointed with me, but I need to be away from you and Mom for a few hours. Your minds are still raking against mine and it feels like sandpaper. I just need to get me back to me without any mental interaction. I would like to have a second date with Vince if he's available and spend the night having mindless sex. Would you be ok with that?"
He smiled at me, "Nicole, anything for you. Come back to me when you feel rested and whole again. I will miss you though. You could always let me watch your memories tomorrow." He held me tightly. "We need to make contacting Angela a VERY high priority tomorrow."
"I agree. I love you. Now let me sleep. I'll be back in your bed tomorrow."
I lay in bed texting Vince and polishing off my juice. Of course Mr. Horny Cat wanted my pussy. Men are so easy to manipulate, but I would never do that to Geran. We have become so addicted to each other it has gotten scary. I need him so much. I got up and found some of his worn clothes and brought them to bed with me so I could smell him while I slept.
Geran's Story:
Nicole's drained state alarmed me. Angela's intervention alarmed me. We had way too many fires to put out. I put the seven remaining tomes into a leather satchel with various protective sigils embroidered into the leather. A few minutes later I was banging on Meister's big door.
It opened and he was sitting at his desk as usual. Actually it was a brand new desk. I walked in and sat in the chair I liked best. "Don't you ever do anything besides sit your fat, lazy ass at that desk and wait for me and Nicole to knock on your door?"
"Yeah, punk. I do lots of other things, but I ain't doin' 'em right now. Understand?" He glowered at me. "Why did you show your ugly mug here alone? At least bring me that sweet morsel of your better half to heal my weary eyes."
"Well, we had a VERY busy day or two."
"I heard part of it. Slitter put a fucking huge bounty on you two. I put a bigger one on her if she or anyone else messes with you two. You'll pay me back of course. With interest. So give me the lowdown on your encounter with her. No one has ever damaged her like you guys did."
He ordered us some drinks and snacks as I relayed a fairly unedited version of the events. He chortled with extreme menace in his rumbly voice. "Shit, Kid, there's hope for your candyass yet. You guys have relieved me of years of pointless and boring plotting and scheming. You two stumble around like the proverbial bulls in china shops and are stirring up more shit than you can imagine. And you ain't even begun to invoke your true powers. So open the bag and let's have a look at the booty."
I pulled out one book at a time and only pulled a second when the first was returned to the satchel. Meister was thumbing the first book with his massive fingers when he suddenly paused and smelled his fingertips.
"There was another book," he muttered. "You smell this? Touch the bindings and sniff your fingers."
I did. It was a sickly sweet vinegar odor, but it was faint.
"Burn that scent into your memory, Squirt. That is the smell of the very highest of sacrificial magic. At least one hundred entities were sacrificed with that book to protect something of extreme value. What?"
He was looking at me. I felt faint and the room seemed to be spinning.
"Truth?" I asked.
"Geran, this is the coldest, hardest, truth of all time and I'm playing this completely straight with you. You know what was protected with that sacrifice and you have a good idea of the spellcaster, the victims, but you do not know what that book contained. Did I miss anything?"
I shook my head not trusting my voice. He pulled out a bottle of scotch and poured me a shot. "Drink."
I started to push it away. "Damnit don't make me pour it down your throat, Junior."
I downed it in one gulp and we sat in silence while the alcohol dulled the shock. "Thanks. Yes I do know most of the pieces and there were some books that seemed almost attracted to Nicole. Almost protective. The burned book was one of them. I can't recall the title any longer."
He grunted. "You and no one else alive will ever remember anything about that book. That's the way that type of magic works. All the dead sacrificed will remember it. You up for going through these remaining books or you wanna go home for a while?"
I steeled myself. "No. No. Let's keep going. I need this info. Are all these books designed to be used that way?"
He snorted again. "Not a chance. Each book is worth more than all the riches on this planet. Sacrificing the book was a million times more devastating than losing those hundred or so. To use one that way is a last resort, no other options, do or die action. Or the individual using it was trying to use it up to get one less safety net out of the way for you. Or they just weren't very smart and didn't think through their available options. We'll never know because that individual no longer knows.
"These books are created and designed to aid the world in the preparation for the Apocalypse. Well, some of them are. This one should help you find the Third. The Fourth is Death and it ALWAYS finds you. When the time is right Death will appear.
"Let's skim these and figure out where you should start. And yes, the knowledge in these books gives me a hell of an advantage over my rivals and compatriots so you're giving me an edge I could've never hoped to have."
I was trying to absorb everything he was telling me, but I kept thinking about Angela and what she did. Over a stupid, simple bonding night with Mom.
"Kid! Kid! Geran! Snap out of it!" I looked up and Meister was blurry. My eyes were filled with tears and they wouldn't stop.
"Geran, this is NOT your fault. Someone else made the decision to use the book that way. Not you. Not Nicole. And for all hers sins, not your mother. I know you're young and you've just been dropped into the most important war of an age. You've got to choose your times to grieve carefully. Choose the wrong time and it could be your sister on the slab. You're smart and the best natural tactician I've seen. Let your strengths guide you.
"This is not going to be a good time to review these books. I want you to reach out to two people. One is my half-sister. She's strong like me, but drop dead gorgeous and a smartass to boot. You'll love her. We don't get along much.
"The other is one of your sisters. One of the failed attempts between your mom and her pet angel that she let live. She's also gorgeous and a top notch sorceress. She prefers having her demonic features showing. She will want something in trade for helping you but she's so damn unpredictable I can't even guess what it will be. And it won't be the same thing each time.
"Here's a bottle of my private reserve. Go wrap yourself around it and sleep it off. Start fresh tomorrow.
"I'm guessing you two are pretty safe until the full moon then I think you better be prepared for another attack."
I nodded. "I came to the same conclusion."