The Thaumaturge [Chapter 17: Allies...]

Authors Note: A fair amount of narrative ground to cover in this chapter, so it's a little longer than usual. I thought about splitting it in two, but wanted to make sure I got some smut in there. So the smut's in there. Obviously.

I'm already hard at work on Chapter 18, since this is a two-chapter month for the Thaumaturge, so the accompanying poll is less immediate in its results, and also only open for a week.

Enjoy!

---

As planned, I took Thursday as a break from throwing magical power around.

Instead, I tried to focus on getting my life in order. 

I went to my engineering lecture. I shopped for groceries. I did laundry. Basically, I tried to catch up on the things that a normal, non-magical university student needs to do to get reasonable grades, eat actual food, and the like.

Of course, a break from thaumaturgy didn't mean putting my magical life on hold. In the background, I had a nearly nonstop series of texts and email exchanges, exclusively from witches, werelions, and gorgons. I wasn't sure whether to think of it as my dating life, my magical friendships-with-benefits, or just -- what was it that Clint had called Viv? -- my business associates. But whatever they were, my phone was buzzing every few minutes for most of the day.

---

First, I was going back and forth with Diana.

Diana: Hey. Still feeling woozy, but I was well enough to head home. Gonna rest here.

The message was accompanied by a photo of her -- in what I assumed was her bed -- with her usual crooked smile, covers pulled up but leaving her collarbone and one tattooed shoulder bare.

I lingered on the photo. I felt like it was a clear invitation, and a very tempting one. 

But I recalled how woozy I'd felt only a few hours ago. Lauren's admonishment to pace myself rang true. I really did feel like I needed at least one day of taking it easy, magically speaking.

And I wanted to make sure Diana was feeling well -- and ideally, that she had one of those magical pendants, so this didn't happen again.

So, regretfully for the moment, I opted not to offer to stop by when I replied.

Matt: Really glad you're feeling better. Rest up!

Now that I knew she'd be ok, I decided I needed to give her at least a little shit, too, after the amount of teasing she'd given me over the last few days.

Matt: Was a little surprised at how easy you were to tap out, though. Didn't expect you to be such a pushover, I figured you could handle it. I'll go easier on you next time. ;)

She sent me another photo: her, flipping off the camera. 

Diana: Hah. We'll see who taps whom when I'm back in fighting shape. Thanks for taking care of me and covering the payment with the lions. I owe you, big guy. ;)

I really did like her a lot.

---

I spent some of the morning texting with Brooke, too.

Brooke: OK, Diana just left. She’ll be fine. When're you gonna pay up? I'm free most of the weekend.

I was committed to taking today off, and wanted to make sure I actually helped my roommates prepare for the party tomorrow.

Matt: How about Saturday?

Brooke: Sure. You can come to my place. 3pm?

I was torn between trying to make it flirty and just keeping it...well, businesslike. I thought about sending something flirty, but I was worried about talking up our encounter knowing that it was likely to look quite different the next time I saw Brooke.

So in the end, I decided to keep it professional, magically speaking. I gave her message a thumbs-up emoji, and then sent a reply.

Matt: Also -- can you give me Clint's number, so I can get in touch with him?

Brooke: Why? You can talk to me.

I hesitated; I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but it hadn't been that. I decided there was no reason not to tell her why, though.

Matt: I want to discuss a deal to help empower the tribe's totem on an ongoing basis.

There was a long pause.

Brooke: Well. Glad you've come to your senses and decided to ally yourself with the right people.

Her next message was Clint's contact information.

I pushed aside my misgivings about what the next encounter with Brooke was going to be like, and tried to focus on the fact that developing a good relationship with the werelions generally seemed to be on the right track.

---

I had emailed Elana, just saying that I was under the weather and would miss this sculpture class. She replied only an hour or so later.

Matt,

So sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. I do hope it's temporary. I've made note that your absence is excused for today.

That said, I'd love to make sure you and I connect separately. I feel it's very important that you continue to utilize and hone your talents, even if you miss class, and I think I can help with that.

So stop by my Monday or Wednesday office hours. Since I have relatively few students, we'll likely be able to talk frankly; I can give you some one-on-one instruction and we can make arrangements to ensure your continued progress.

Professor Callis

Well, shit. Maybe I should've just gone to class. The idea of a 1:1 conversation filled me with some real trepidation. I could still recall what looking into her eyes felt like. I shivered at the memory. 

At least there wasn't anything I really needed to say in reply. Just a problem for next week.

---

And, last but certainly not least, there was Viv.

This was actually the exchange I felt most nervous about. There was a distance between us that was sharply at-odds with the flirty rapport that we'd initially had. I still didn't totally trust her...but I wanted to repair things, eventually, if I could.

I wasn't exactly sure how to start going about it. But inviting her to a party felt like a decent start.

Matt: Hey. My roommates and I are hosting a party at my place tomorrow. Want to come?

She took a little while to reply. 

Viv: Who else is going?

I wondered what she was really asking. If I'd invited Lauren? Whether any werelions would be there? Whether Diana would be there?

But I decided that it didn't really matter; I wanted to keep this light.

Matt: Well, I don't know who my roommates are inviting. But I'm only inviting you.

Viv: Ooh. So I'd be your date, then? How flattering.

I wasn't sure how to reply to that, and I was trying to decide whether to crack a joke or play it straight when she sent another message.

Viv: I can make it, but it'll just be stopping by quick. Is that ok? Too many late nights in a row; I'm tired and behind on a few things.

Matt: That's great! Stop by any time after 7 tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you.

Viv: Same. Thanks for inviting me.

Well. That all felt a little stilted and awkward. But at least she was coming.

---

Those conversations all took place and were done by Thursday afternoon.

Thursday night was great. I watched TV. I hung out with my roommates, had unremarkably un-magical conversations. I went to bed early. 

I woke up feeling refreshed and rested.

By Friday at noon, I was bored out of my mind. How had I lived like this, just...making breakfast and doing chores, blissfully ignorant that magic was real?

So when Lauren texted me, I grabbed my phone eagerly, ready for something, anything more interesting.

Lauren: I've got a prototype for you to look at. Want to come by the library sometime this afternoon?

An easy yes.

---

"...This is it?" 

"I think it looks nice!"

I picked up the battered bronze ring and inspected it, dubiously. "I mean, it certainly looks...old. Did you get this at a pawn shop or something?"

It wasn't remarkable in any way. 

“I-I mean, not a pawn shop exactly...it's from a thrift store. So what? You want something innocuous looking and understated. Something that doesn’t scream ‘I’m a magical weapon!’ at the top of its lungs.” She said it all a little defensively.

She had a fair point, and I didn’t dislike the way it looked, I supposed. “So…how does it work?”

Lauren straightened with pride, now. “It’s honestly the same basic enchantment framework as the pendants I made to store magical energy from thaumaturges. The difference is that instead of storing your energy, it just shapes and projects it."

I turned it over slowly in my fingers. “ So how do I use it?”

"One thing at a time, Rambo." Lauren pulled the ring out of my hand. "First of all, you wanted nonlethal. So this projects a mental attack, okay? It should render people unconscious if it hits them with enough power; at a minimum they'll be disoriented and it should buy you a little time. But if whatever's bothering you doesn't have a mind, it won't be impacted. No blasting doors off hinges. If...I don't know, you piss Viv off, and she creates some kind of mindless magical construct to come after you, it won't work on that. Got it?"

I nodded. "But it works on...peoples and animals and stuff, right? Anything with a mind?"

"Yeah, it should..." She hesitated, pursuing her lips as she thought about it. "To be really clear, mostly it should. It ought to work on things that are basically human or animal in their thought patterns; witches, werelions, the like. But the further you get from normal...cognition, I guess?...the less confident I am it'll work. There are a lot of edge cases where it might not. So don't pick a fight with a colony of giant fire ants, or a magical venus flytrap, or a ghost or something, alright? Stick to things that have physical brains that are structured at least somewhat like human brains.”

That seemed fair. I hadn't run into anything like that yet and really hoped not to. I bit back the urge to ask whether giant fire ants were real. "Okay, got it." I held out my hand for the ring.

She still didn't give it to me. "The next thing you should understand is that it's just a prototype. That's what let me make it this quickly; I didn't have to give it much power, just enough for a trigger, as it were. But that means I kept it simple. When you activate it, it will drain almost all of your available well of power and shape it into a single psychic blast. Use it, then get away. It uses a small fraction of the power it pulls out of you to reset the trigger, so you can use it again immediately, but you won't be recharged, so any follow-up blast will be much weaker."

I paused. "I see. Good to know." It made sense, but that was a pretty heavy limitation.

"You activate it -- which you should not do right now, to be clear, I don't know how you're going to test this thing but I'm not your guinea pig -- by folding your hands like this." She put the ring on one hand, clenched it into a fist, and wrapped her other hand around the fist. "I figured a somatic gesture was easiest. It'll mostly shape your power into a forward-facing cone effect, but there'll probably be a little bit of leakage around you. Don't use it while a friend's standing right next to you."

This all made sense to me. I could probably even use it with my wrists tied together.

"Any other questions?" She looked expectant.

I accepted the ring and hesitated. "I don't think so...what else should I know?"

"Um..." she paused, awkwardly. "Well...just in case it isn't obvious, when you have sex, it diminishes your reserves of magical power, which this relies on. So it's going to be less effective immediately after that. Just something to keep in mind."

"Okay."

She hesitated, looking even more uncomfortable. "Also, when you use it, it's probably going to feel like you're orgasming. I don't think you'll, y'know, have the...physical part happen, but..."

"Uh, wow. Okay, I appreciate the heads up." I'd have to try to mentally prepare myself in the moments before I used it, I guess.

"Look, I tried a few different designs, but that's the way thaumaturges access their power, so there wasn't-"

I could hear the defensive note that had crept back into voice, so I cut her off with a smile. "Lauren. This is great. The design isn't just clever, it's kind of brilliant. I appreciate having something that draws on my own power so I'm not beholden to you or somebody else to recharge it. And it's nonlethal. It's really everything I could want on such short notice. I really appreciate it."

She looked relieved, and broke into her own, slightly bashful smile. "Hey thanks. Happy to help. If you have a reason to use it, let me know how it works, alright? Maybe I can improve it once you've seen it in action."

"Will do. Thanks, Lauren." I stood to go.

She watched me stand, looking uncharacteristically nervous, now. "Just...just do be careful using it, okay? I-it might not take down something really big, a-and it might hurt people more than I thought, I-I haven't really tried anything like this before, so-"

I held up a placating hand. "Lauren. I'm hoping I never have to use it. I'm going to use it in self-defense, and probably only to escape a really dangerous situation. Alright?"

"Right...alright...it's, um, just occurring to me that you're walking out with a weapon I made and gave to you, so I feel kind of responsible for whatever you do it with it..." Her voice was small, and I could hear the misgivings in it.

I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring hug. "Thanks. Really. I know this isn't the kind of thing you normally make. I promise I won't run around mind-blasting innocent civilians, okay? But it means a lot to me to have something to protect myself with."

I felt her relax a little. "Okay."

I released her.

"Oh -- and don't worry, I haven't forgotten about talking to Viv about, y'know..." I winked at her, cheekily. I couldn't help myself. I was in a great mood.

She turned an incredibly gratifying shade of bright red. "Matt!"

"Thanks again, bye Lauren!"

---

That afternoon was spent helping my roommates prepare for our party. I tried to enjoy the mundanity of it -- the trip to the liquor store, the filling of a cooler with cold beers and ice on our little balcony, the adjusting of our furniture to make room for a beer pong table, and so on.

It was difficult to stay present, admittedly.

Now that I was feeling rested, my mind was thinking ahead, to my next moves. The deal I had with the witches was a good one. I'd smooth things over with Viv tonight. I'd talk to Brooke on Saturday, then give Clint a call. That would free up more power and time for the witches; show Lauren and Viv the value of following my lead. And it would hopefully show the werelions my utility, too, and then-

"Yo, Matt." It was my roommate Alyssa, who was standing a few feet away, expectantly holding a case of beer towards me that she'd just brought up from her car. She'd said my name a few times, I realized; I'd just been standing there, ignoring her.

"Uh, sorry." I took the beer, brought it over to the cooler, started to pull cans out and stick them in.

"You okay, man?" Alyssa dropped her normally sarcastic exterior, and I could hear the concern in her voice.

"I am actually, yeah. A lot on my mind...but I...I think it's good stuff, actually."

Alyssa nodded, slowly. "Hey, great. You've been so scarce I wasn't sure if you were doing okay. Did you invite any of your friends tonight? A few work friends from the tattoo parlor are coming, I think you'll like them."

I nodded. "Yeah, a girl I've, uh...gone on a couple dates with. Her name is Viv. I...am not sure you'll like her, actually," I said, guardedly. I was acutely aware that Alyssa was not the most welcoming of my friends. "But I like her." I emphasized the point.

Alyssa laughed. "That brunette you matched with last week?"

It once again made me realize just how out-of-touch I felt with my roommates.

"Uh, no, that was Lauren...Viv's a blonde." I hesitated, and then just decided to own it. Things were going well; why not?

"...But I have gone on a few more dates with Lauren, too," I said, cheerily. "She's actually also friends with Viv. It's weird and kind of complicated. Feel free to ask Viv about it."

Alyssa's mouth hung open. "Oh."

I gave her a cheeky grin. "Wow. You're speechless. That never happens."

She recovered quickly. "Well, regardless of whatever poly stuff you're into, I can't wait to meet her...although I dunno what all these women see in you," she said, some of her usual acidity returning.

"My winning personality and monster shlong," I said. I delivered the line deadpan, looking her directly in the eye.

"'Kay. I'm gonna go throw up now. Please put the beers in the cooler. Bye." Alyssa retreated, leaving me alone in our kitchen.

---

Another hour later and people started arriving.

Alyssa's little crew from the tattoo parlor was first. I was curious, meeting them, whether I'd learn they were all faeries or something, but they didn't seem to be. Just a handful of normal guys and girls our age, with more than your average number of tattoos.

Admittedly, I was far more focused on the girls than the guys.

I kept coming back to what Callistryllaxia had put in my head: that conquests made me more powerful.

I was especially interested in whether or not they had to be magical conquests. Would I get more powerful from sleeping with a nonmagical woman, someone who wasn't a witch or a werelion or whatever?

Alyssa made a round of mostly unremarkable introductions, but one did stand out.

"Matt, this is Michelle. She trains MMA stuff, like you. Michelle, this is Matt."

I shook hands with Michelle. She was probably my age, in her early 20s. Pretty, with dark hair, blue eyes, a firm handshake.

She was wearing form-fitting jeans and a tank top, purse slung over one arm. She was tall -- about as tall as I was in the heels she was wearing, looking me right in the eye -- with an appealingly fit, athletic frame. She gave me an appreciative once-over. "MMA, huh? Really? Where do you train?"

I held up my hands and gave a self-deprecating smile. "No, no, not actually MMA. Just jiu jitsu."

Michelle gave me a once over, and settled on a little coy smile. "No striking work? What, you don't like getting hit in the face?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No, I don't. Do you?"

The coy smile turned into a little smirk. "I mean, sometimes it's fun to play a little rough."

Well, well. I grinned, warming up to the banter. "Happy to roll any time if you want to work on your ground game."

"Oh, my ground game is excellent."

I gave her a wink. "Maybe I could teach you a few tricks."

Alyssa was watching this exchange with complete disbelief. She pointed at Michelle. "Down girl. No. C'mon, I'll get you a drink."

Michelle gave me a last, lingering look over her shoulder before following Alyssa.

...Which meant she caught me watching the way her jeans clung to her butt.

I didn't mind. Maybe she was my next conquest.

And then, from across the room, I heard Viv's voice. "Hey, Matt invited me to the party?"

"Uh, yeah, he's around here somewhere..." Chris was by the door, letting her in.

I headed towards her. Chris was doing his best to keep his eyes on her face, but Viv hadn't made it easy; she was wearing a tank top that emphasized her tits.

I came up next to Chris. "Hi, Viv. This is my roommate Chris."

She gave me a winning smile. "Hi, Matt. Nice to meet you, Chris."

"Uh...hi." I could see Chris torn between being flustered and being astonished that this gorgeous woman was who I'd invited.

It's not like I could blame him. A week ago, I wouldn't have believed it either.

"C'mon," I motioned Viv towards the kitchen. "Let's get some drinks and talk."

---

She raised one eyebrow at me. "So?"

We were alone in the kitchen; I could hear Alyssa and her friends kicking off a game of beer pong out in the main room. Viv was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching as I pulled two beers out of the fridge.

"Huh?" I looked at her, confused, as I handed a beer.

"So: why'd you invite me to this? I assume you want to talk about something." Viv cracked the beer.

I shrugged. "Nothing specific. I just felt like this was an opportunity to...I don't know. Reconnect, a little."

She took a sip and gave me a smile -- a much thinner one than the smile she'd given me in front of my roommate. "Okay." The smile twisted into a grimace. "Can I ask you a question, then?"

I nodded, slowly.

"Why have you been picking Diana over me?" Her voice was cool, neutral.

I blinked. "Because you and Lauren had just summoned a succubus without telling me th-"

She waved that way. "I get that. Before that. It's obvious you've been spending time with Diana for a while now; the succubus mentioned she could smell another witch on you. Why her and not me?"

I felt like the picking-her-over-me framing was bullshit, but I could hear the bitterness in her voice, the hurt. So I kept my own voice calm. "I haven't been picking her over you."

I paused, collecting my thoughts. "You have been clear that you view me as an asset, not a peer. Not a partner; not even an ally, really. You treat the werelions with more respect. Hell, the werelions treat me with more respect. I..." I shrugged, helplessly. "I wanted this to be different. You didn't leave me a choice."

Viv scowled down at her open beer can like it was responsible for all of this. Then she sighed. "I'm sorry."

I nodded.

I believed that she was sorry. I just had a hard time trusting that it was for the right reasons.

"I don't know if you know what it's like to try to build something, and fail miserably at it," Viv said, quietly. She sounded tired, now. "But it really sucks."

I tried to reassure her. "Look, I know the coven used to have more witches, but-"

"The coven." She rolled her eyes. "Matt, there isn't a coven anymore. Not really. There are two witches who hang out together. And Lauren is only still here because she feels bad for me. I can see the pity in her eyes. She's plenty brilliant enough that she could've set out on her own ages ago."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just watched her, quietly.

She continued after a moment. "Stef was just better at this than I am," she said, with a sigh. I could hear how disappointed she was with herself.

I snorted and shook my head at that. "I mean, from what Diana told me, it sounds like Stephanie dangled power from her thaumaturge in front of you all...and that the coven fell to pieces pretty quick once she wasn't willing to do that anymore."

Viv looked a bit taken aback, and considered that for a moment. "That's...not really how I see it. But I guess you have a point."

That brought up something else I was curious about. "What was Liam like?" I asked the question softly.

A sad smile, now. "He was kind, quiet. Obsessed with Stef. Nice to the rest of us. I don't think he much cared for magic, or being a thaumaturge. If it was up to him, he would've gone through his life not knowing about it at all. But it was a special way he could help Stef out, and that meant a lot to him."

"You think he's dead too, huh?" I could hear it in how she talked about him, but wanted her to confirm it.

She nodded, and the smile faded off her face. "I'm tired, Matt. Tired of trying to make stuff work, trying to build something. Tired of working to carve out space for us under the werelions. Tired of regretting a bunch of mistakes I should've avoided, and can't make right."

I nodded, slowly.

"I...could use your advice." I said, haltingly.

I still didn't want to tell her everything.

But she did have a bit of a unique perspective.

One that would probably be helpful to me.

It would mean trusting her, though.

She perked up a little, obviously catching something in my tone that was odd. "Okay. About what?"

"I talked to Clint a few days ago. He made a comment that's...stuck with me."

She gave me a quizzical look. "Um, okay?"

I felt suddenly vulnerable. This had to end with me talking about some of the plans I was making, at least in high-level terms, and I had misgivings about sharing that with Viv. But I pushed past the discomfort. "It was a little cryptic. He was talking about how unsafe the magical world was for thaumaturges, I think. He used some metaphor."

Viv made an impatient, go-ahead motion with her hands.

I paused, trying to recall it verbatim. "Something about how everything in the desert gathers at the oasis. Predators and prey both want water. So when a small gazelle arrives to take a drink, they all take notice. I thought he was calling me a prey animal, but that's not what he meant."

Viv let out a scoff. "Man, he's such an asshole. He definitely meant that Lauren and I are gazelles, didn't he?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He was pretty complementary about you, though, actually. Said you had a difficult hand, but that end of the day you were trying to achieve the same thing he was."

Viv looked a little taken aback. "He was probably just lying to be nice."

I shook my head. "He had some truth-serum thing we both drank. I think he was being honest."

"No shit? Huh." Viv took a swig of beer, digesting that in silence for a moment. "Okay, so he's talking about deserts and gazelles or whatever. Why'd that stick with you?"

"What if..." It was my first time putting the idea into words. "What if I tried to build something different here at the university? An...oasis, if you will."

"I'm not following." Viv looked nonplussed.

"Well, I feel like I have a sense of how the...balance of power works around here, now. The werelions are more powerful right now, so you've become beholden to them. You're stuck spending your magic empowering their totem. Then they find out you've found a thaumaturge, so some of them try to kidnap me. If they had succeeded, you'd probably kidnap me back. When you found out things had gotten complicated with the gorgon, you wanted to put me on a shorter leash; I imagine you'd do the same thing if werelions were constantly trying to abduct me. All of that would just continue, endlessly, until somebody won decisively and started keeping me as their pet, or I end up dead. Like Liam."

Viv winced, but after a moment, nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I think you're pretty much right. We'd all be vying for access to your power."

"So I want to figure out a different way to operate. So the university can be a kind of oasis. As far as I can tell, you and Clint are the major power players here, and I think you're both trustworthy enough to make it work. He doesn't have complete control of his pack, but he's dealt with me fairly when he's been involved. And I don't think you've always got my best interests at heart," I said, giving her a level look, "But it's not like your first act was to shackle me up in the basement of the library, either."

Viv flushed a little at the last sentence, but nodded, thoughtfully. "So...what're you proposing?"

I'm hoping to deal with them and you directly. Empowering their totem myself is just the start; that will free you up, and show them the benefits of working with me. After tha-"

I trailed off as Alyssa poked her head into the kitchen. "Hi. Viv, right? I'm Matt's roommate, Alyssa. You guys want in on the next round of beer pong?"

I glanced at Viv. She'd been extremely interested in what I was saying. Still was. I was tempted to make excuses and keep talking.

But I decided that this was an opportunity for me to make the point I actually wanted to make anyway. "You know, I was just about to tell Viv about how I definitely want her on my team." I paused, standing up. "So I'll play, but only if she's gonna play."

I looked over at her, and watched, gratified, as her expression shifted to an appreciative smile. She stood up, too. "I suppose I'm willing to carry Matt for a game or two, sure."

I laughed. It was the first thing she'd said in days that felt reminiscent of when we'd first met. It didn't feel like we'd repaired things, not completely. I wasn't sure I wanted to, not yet.

But it felt a hell of a lot better than anything we'd said to each other recently.

We followed Alyssa into the living room.

---

The next hour was a blur of ping-pong balls, beer cups, and laughter. I was half-decent, but Viv turned out to be exceptional.

"How are you so good at this?" I said, astonished, as she landed cup after cup.

"Magic," she whispered in my ear, provocatively. I felt the hairs on my neck stir at the way she said the word, close against me.

We were playing opposite Alyssa and Chris. As Chris lined up his shot, Viv casually leaned forward against the table. I could imagine the enticing view he'd have down the front of her tank top -- a valley of smooth cleavage, the shape of her breasts clearly visible.

Needless to say, he missed, Alyssa scolding him.

"It might also just be good strategic play, though," she acknowledged, giving me a wink.

I just laughed, shaking my head. Something else occurred to me. I made my next shot and leaned over to her to whisper in her ear. "Question for you. Anybody magical here?"

The party was in 'full swing', which really meant that the fifteen or so people we'd invited, plus the four of us roommates, were all here.

When Diana had scanned the crowd at the art gallery for me, she'd had to cast some kind of spell, using one of her tattoos.

Viv just took a breath in and exhaled it, slowly; waggled her fingers in a way that was odd, but might've just been somebody whose hand fell asleep or accidentally pinched their fingers, and then cast her eyes across the room.

I was kind of impressed by how understated the spell was. Diana had mentioned that Viv had the most raw magical talent, I supposed.

"Mostly no magic," she murmured to me. "A couple small magical items, maybe -- but that's not unusual. People have all kinds of stuff that has minor magical properties handed down as family heirlooms and the like, and they don't even know it. There's a ghost here, but that's not too unusual either."

"I'm sorry, a ghost?"

Viv gave me a look. "Quiet. I'll explain it later. They're harmless if left alone. So all-in-all, nothing magical to worry about, no."

I relaxed. "Thanks. I owe you one."

She gave me a coquettish smile. "You owe me two. I'm absolutely destroying your roommates." She sank the last cup, winning us the game.

"Jeez, Viv. Are you some kind of professional?" Alyssa complained, but her tone was amicable enough as she downed the beer.

Viv just shook her head. "It's all about good form." She pantomimed taking another shot, lengthening and arching her back.

I gave her an undisguised stare. "You do have good form."

Viv let out a low laugh, then turned to face Alyssa and Chris. "Well, this was fun, guys. But I've gotta run. Matt, can we chat for a minute before I go?"

"Nice to meet you, Viv," Alyssa acknowledged. "You're the only girl Matt's dating that we've met, so he must like you."

Viv gave me a speculative look, a little surprised. "Hmm."

I gave her an innocent look. "I sneak all the other ones into my bedroom after my roommates have gone to sleep."

Viv laughed.

I led her towards the hallway. "C'mon, we can chat in my room."

Alyssa's friend, Michelle, watched us go, lips pursed.

---

I ushered Viv in, and closed the door behind us. She glanced around my room with interest, but then turned to me, giving me a smile. "Hey. Thanks for inviting me. I had a good time."

"Thanks for coming."

Viv nodded, and then bit her lip; the expression was more thoughtful than nervous. "I'm in for whatever you're planning, Matt."

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "You didn't hear the rest of the plan, though."

She shrugged. "The general idea's right. You're right about the power dynamics on campus. Maybe you can change them. If you can't, it doesn't seem like it'll leave me, or Lauren any worse off. And I'm tired."

"I appreciate that. Just...do me a favor and be honest with me moving forward, okay?"

"Okay." She gave me a smile -- a little wary, but I could feel a warmth in it that had been absent. "Anything else I can do?"

I hesitated, but then shook my head. I'd been half hoping that we might...but, well, she'd said she needed to go, and this was a lot of good progress for one night.

She stepped forward and hugged me.

Well. A few days of rest instead of running myself ragged had done wonders for my libido, and I'd been staring at Viv all night. Feeling her full tits pushed against my chest, my arms wrapped around her body...I could feel my cock stir against her.

Clearly, she could too.

"Mmm. You're sure there's nothing else?" Her voice was an amused murmur in my ear. "I mean, that was quite the performance, when you were at my place the last time."

I flushed. "There's, uh, no way I'm going to be able to repeat that right now, Viv." I felt embarrassed, but only a little -- Viv knew as well as I did that it had essentially been a magical side effect.

"Oh, I know. It was fun. I've...thought about it a lot, since it happened. But if I'm honest, I think I prefer when I'm the one making you uncontrollably finish anyway. I mostly like to be in charge, I suppose."

She was still hugging me, voice warm in my ear, body pressed against mine, and I had gotten hard. As she spoke, she pushed herself into my cock.

I let out a long, slow, sigh. She felt good.

"Didn't you, uh, have to go?" I tried to protest.

"Yeah. What makes you think this'll take a long time?" She was immensely pleased with herself. She reached down, and through my jeans, ran her hand along my length.

I groaned.

She pulled away, slightly. "Lauren was telling me that she pulled more magic out of you with a little effort. Can I try that too? She said you're more powerful than you were. I really want to know just how much I can get, all at once."

I nodded, but then, uncertainly, asked, "Is...that safe? I hurt Diana..."

She seemed totally unconcerned. "Let's find out. Based on what Lauren said, I'll be okay; my reserves of magic are low right now, and I can handle a lot." Viv said the last part suggestively, still palming my cock.

I was out of objections and happy to take her word for it.

She pushed me to a sitting position on my bed, and in a single fluid movement, pulled her tank top and bra off over her head, standing in front of me.

My sexual experience had broadened considerably in the past week. It now included numerous beautiful women. A werelion. A gorgon. A fucking succubus, of all things.

Even with all of that, Viv still had the most outrageous pair of tits I'd ever seen. Big and round, soft tan skin, perfect teardrop shape. Her nipples were hard.

"I love how much you like them." She said it like a confession.

I realized I'd been silent for a few moments, and she was just watching me stare at her body.

"You're so fucking hot." I said the words automatically. At her comment, I sprang into action; I was tugging at my pants, unbuckling and unzipping, pulling them down.

My cock bounced out, into view, and Viv eyed it, appreciatively. "You know, the gorgon really did nice w-"

She'd hardly started talking when gently pulled her closer and lower, and pushed my hips forward, shoving my cock against her breasts. God. If they looked outrageous, they felt magnificent. Her skin was silky against my hard length. Even without her moving, the caress of her cleaving against me was incredible.

Viv giggled, moved to kneel. "Goodness. You seem a little pent up, Matt."

"Yeah..." Her comment made me pause, take stock. I realized she was right. I felt really pent up. It had been an entire two days since I'd gotten laid, but it felt like it might as well have been two months. Or two years.

"I wonder," she said, speculatively. "Maybe since you've gotten more powerful, your libido is higher? You need to get off more often?"

I didn't know. My cock was exquisitely sensitive. Considering anything beyond the way her tits felt against my shaft was impossible; even maintaining the conversation was actually kind of difficult.

"Well." She was looking down at my massive erection now, between her tits, with appreciation. "Happy to help."

Keeping eye contact with me, she used her hands to bring her tits around my cock. She paused in that position, speculative again. "Do you think you give more power if I make this last, or if I end it quickly?"

Her tits were so warm around me, so tight. My only response was a moaned, "Viv."

She gave me a grin, and then, softly, said, "We can test what happens if I make it last some other time, I guess."

I was panting.

Her eyes were on mine as she arched her back, tits jutting forward proudly, and used her hands to squeeze them even more tightly around me.

Then she started moving, slowly sliding up and down. I'd leaked enough precum that it was already slick, the motion smooth.

The sight of it entranced me. The head of my thick cock vanishing into the tight crevice formed by her big tits as her hands pushed them together and she pulled her tits up my length. The subsequent contrast as she slide her breasts down to my base, and my veiny length protruded a few inches out of her cleavage.

I could feel a powerful orgasm building in my balls.

She kept pumping my length with her breasts. "Remember when we first met? God, you spent all night staring at my tits..."

"In my defense, everybody was staring at your tits," I managed. The urgent need for relief was growing already. I didn't care.

Viv gave me a mischievous smile. "Yeah, but only one person finished between them in the bathroom later." She was massaging her tits on my cock faster, now.

I groaned with the pleasure of it.

"Only one person sprayed a huge load all over them," she said. Her eyes were on my cock, now.

I was right on the edge.

"Only one person fucked me with their big dick until I came all oh-"

That memory -- her, back arching as I pounded into her, losing control in a massive orgasm -- was more than enough to send me over the edge. Viv was forced to cut off midsentence with a cough, taken aback, as I started cumming. The first blast hit her right in the mouth.

But then she started stroking her tits down my cock, smooth, thorough movements, pulling them back up quickly.

And each time she pulled her tits up my length, I felt a pull at the core of me. The tugging sensation drew power out of me.

It was like what Lauren had done. But more. Much more.

I moaned, uncontrollably spraying a load all over her chest, her face, everywhere. And I could feel the power flowing into her as I did it. This wasn't an insistent tugging pull, like with Lauren; it was leaving me in a torrent, like it was being vacuumed away. Viv's eyes lit up, a look of wonder on her face. "Fuck, Matt."

The orgasm went on, and on, and on, more and more pouring out of me, ropes of cum spraying across her even as I felt something else -- magic, I supposed -- flowing from the core of me, into the core of her.

When it finally subsided, we were both breathing hard.

"I-I didn't even know...didn't..." Viv's voice was awestruck. "I've never even heard of anyone...that was so much..." Viv said the words.

I nodded. I didn't think she was talking about the volume of cum.

But admittedly, I wasn't sure.

---

I spent most of the time that Viv spent cleaning up -- and she had a lot of cleaning up to do, believe me -- in internal introspection.

I wasn't sure why, but I could feel my well of magical power in a different way, in this moment.

In the past, it had felt indistinguishable from my libido.

But I could tell that Viv had drained it -- drained me -- substantially. And although what she'd done had been hot, I felt

Maybe it was that juxtaposition -- I was now low on magic, but still felt...well, horny, after a few days off from having sex. Like I could go again, even though I was magically drained. Maybe it was just experience, maybe it was how powerful I'd grown. Maybe it was just someone pulling power out of me like Viv just had.

But either way, I felt much more attuned to what was actually happening inside myself than I had been. It was an odd sensation.

Viv came back out of the bathroom, still topless. I eyed her, appreciatively, watching as her breasts shifted, the way they hung, as she leaned down to retrieve her bra and begin putting it back on.

She gave me a smile. It was a complicated expression: smug, a hint of her usual mischief. Still some distance there, but less than there had been.

And there was a new note of respect in it, now, too.

"Matt. That is an almost concerning level of power. If you were any more powerful I would need one of those amulets that Lauren makes." She puffed out a breath, thoughtfully. "I...don't have that much basis for comparison, but I'm pretty sure the amount of power you're throwing around is unusual."

I nodded, slowly. "Yeah. I...I think so too. I want to understand it better."

Viv pulled her tank-top back on. "We need to understand it better if we're going to be trying to...reshape the magical politics of the university. Knowing exactly how deep your well goes, and why, might be pretty important. You should ask Lauren to look into it more."

I blinked. We. She'd said we.

I broke into a smile. "Thanks, Viv. Good idea."

She returned it. "No; thank you. That was...I've never..." She trailed off again. "I feel so full, so powerful. But as much as I'd like to stay, I'm also exhausted. I'm gonna catch up on sleep."

She came over to the bed. I stood up; we hugged.

She gave me a thoughtful up-down. "Let me know what else you need from me. Otherwise, take care of yourself, thaumaturge."

"You too, Viv."

---

I sat in my room for a while after she left, just thinking.

Too late, I realized I hadn't talked to her at all about Lauren's apparent interest in watching us. Ah, well. Next time.

But besides that, my immediate next move was clear. There was an easy way to test what Callistryllaxia had suggested: make someone new a sexual conquest. Michelle, Alyssa's friend, had seemed interested -- before Viv showed up, anyway.

I should head back out to the party and see if Viv's presence had made that impossible. It would be a good test.

But Viv had brought up another point I was mulling over: maybe I should also ask Lauren to specifically look into thaumaturgical power, what made thaumaturges stronger, why my libido was so much stronger, if there was something specific any of this meant or implied. I should learn as much as I could. Testing Callistryllaxia's little hint wasn't the only way I could get information.

The only problem was that I was also hoping that Lauren would refine the ring she'd made me, too. A prototype was fine, but it would be helpful to have something tested and refined.

And that brought up another thing I'd been thinking about. Diana had told me that Liam had had a few different magical protections he carried with him that the witches had made for him. It didn't sound like they'd saved him in the end, but now that I had some offense, maybe I needed some defense, too.

I knew what Lauren would tell me if I put all this to her: one thing at a time. She'd want to know what I wanted her to focus on. And I wasn't sure.

---

Author's Note: The poll this time won't impact what happens in the next chapter, but will drive how the story is unveiled and some of Matt's evolving capabilities. Make sure to go vote!