Mage Partners

[frogs_of_war]

I question my coworker from Morocco to make sure baba was the correct Arabic word for daddy and after a moment, I realized that we were talking across each other. When I asked for Daddy, he asked whether I wanted it in Arabic or English, but I knew that he couldn't write it in English, because the alphabet a word is written it doesn't change what language the word is from, so I asked him to write it in Roman letters, but he said he couldn't do that.

That was when I realized what he meant and just nodded. It was time for me to clock in from lunch and I what did it matter what he called it? I asked him to pronounce the word he wrote and romanized (a word I picked up while learning Japanese) twice as Abi and Aby and just to check (because I had Googled it first) I asked if this was the word for Daddy, the word a small child would use. He said no, Abi is father (what Google had told me) and he wrote and romanized Baba, which he insisted was the same word and had the same meaning.

I didn't question this either, but really I don't see Daddy and Father as the same word. Yes, they could potential mean the same person (but so could uncle and brother, depending on who said it) and they both do mean a man parent, but angry and irate and livid and steamed and riled and rabid and incensed all mean mad, but they aren't all the same word at all.

Someone else asked why I wanted it and I said it was for a story, used by the four year old sons of a Lebanese man and my Moroccan coworker smiled and said someone from there would definitely use these words. So I got both real world confirmation of my use of Arabic and a reminder that I use words that others don't (and have no reason to) understand.


Title: Mage Partners
Status: Complete
Genre: Fantasy, slash, magic
Length: about 3.4k
Summary: As a magic holder and not a mage, Gyorgy can’t use any of his power to save himself and those he cares for. But when rescue comes he finds more than he sought.
Note: According to name sites Gyorgy is pronounced Dyor dee (like Georgie with d's) or Dward ee (it’s Hungarian).


Gyorgy cringed and squeezed little Piroska tighter as the door thudded in its frame. The monsters had been attacking the house since sundown, but the fear of what would happen if they got inside made sleep impossible for the children. Gyorgy huddled with the other three in his group at the back of the entryway, probably the worst place to be, but he needed to know that the monsters hadn’t yet broken in.

The door was slammed against and all the children gasped, but the lock held. Gyorgy let out a sigh of relief. The monsters were huge, he knew, otherwise they could not have torn down the gates, but they only arrived under the cover of darkness, so he keep himself awake night after night imagining great horned demons or tentacled beasts or blobs of blackest night that suffocated him as they sucked him dry of magic.

Gyorgy shuddered. The monsters were drawn by the power the children held.

When the monsters first attacked, Gusztáv bácsi had repealed them easily, but they returned at the next dusk, this time in greater numbers. Each night Gusztáv bácsi took four of the children up to his workroom and drained them of magic as he protected the house and grounds. Every third night Gyorgy, Anikó, Piroska, and Henrik climbed the stairs to the workroom and tried not to imagine the monsters breaking though the unwatched door.

Gusztáv bácsi wished to give them more than two nights rest, but he had only gathered twelve children. Gyorgy and Anikó were the oldest and the furthest along in their studies. Gyorgy could refill his cistern with magic instantly once it was drained. He always had reserves and he had learned to automatically block a mage from getting to them without his permission, although he was sure Gusztáv bácsi never pushed him as hard as a greedy mage would. Gusztáv bácsi was a gentle man.

Gusztáv bácsi had brought the children to his home from many lands. He gave them new names and good food and protection from other mages, who Gusztáv bácsi look upon with disgust. In exchange the children gave him their magic.

The quiet had gone on too long. Something was up, but what? A crack rent the air. Anikó buried her mouth against Gyorgy’s shoulder and screamed. Was that the door? Had it finally let them down after the week of constant abuse?

Another crack sounded and then a boom. The door shook and then stilled although the mirror on the wall still rattled. Something was against the door. Something was coming in and for all Gyorgy’s magic, he could not lift a finger to stop it.

He got to his feet and handed Piroska to Anikó. Henrik squeezed his leg. He patted Henrik’s head and attempted a smile, but he didn’t think he succeeded because Henrik pressed his face against Gyogy’s thigh. Piroska and Henrik were the youngest of Gusztáv bácsi’s children. Gyorgy shouldn’t have brought them here. They should be tucked into their beds, dreaming, so when the monsters broken in they wouldn’t see their deaths coming.

The lock opened and Gyorgy stepped in front of Anikó. He could do nothing to save them. The tired children were not enough to protect the house.

Gyorgy stepped back against Anikó as the door swung open. He was too scared to run, too scared to scream, too scared to even breathe.

Men tumbled to the doorway and quickly closed the door behind them. Is this what the monsters looked like, men? This was worse than anything Gyorgy had yet imagined. If monster looked like men then how could one tell them apart? How would he ever feel safe again? But he wouldn’t have a chance to worry about that. He was about to die.

One of the monsters turned to the Gyorgy and the others as if just noticing them. His hair was long and blond, and Gyorgy’s brief glance showed he was handsome in a pretty sort of way. Gyorgy was going to throw up. That the monsters looked like men was bad enough. Worse was that this one awoke something inside him. Gyorgy’s breath was shallow and his face flushed red hot. He glanced up again to see if the beautiful monster was using some kind of weapon on him. The monster smiled in what looked like, but couldn’t possibly be, relief. “So, are you guys all right?”

Anikó screamed and dug her fingernails into Gyorgy’s back. “Get away! Don’t hurt us!”

“Hey, wait.” The blond monster put out a hand, but didn’t try to touch them. “We are not here to hurt you. Where is Gusztáv?”

Henrik sobbed. “No, no.”

Anikó peeked out from behind Gyorgy. “We will never tell! We will protect Gusztáv bácsi! We won’t let you have him!”

But didn’t the monsters want the children? Didn’t they come to suck the life and magic from them? If so, then why were some of these monsters securing the front door? Gyorgy was the oldest. He had to protect the others. In order to protect them he needed information. He squared his shoulders. “Who are you?”

A tall monster with very short hair looked him over. “The name is Christophire. We are mages here to save you. Eligius,” he turned to the blond, “you are in charge of these four. Robertson, Zlanchad, find the others. Everyone else secure the building.”

The mages spread out. As two walked past, they mutter how young the children were and that if they had a choice they would let the monsters have Gusztáv. Gyorgy gut churned. How could they say that about his kind, gentle bácsi.

“Now,” the pretty blond — Eligius — smiled at them, “Why don’t we go to a safer part of the house?”

“No.” Gyorgy stood his ground. “I have to watch the door.”

“But watching isn’t going to help.”

“I know that!” Gyorgy felt his bravado crake for the first time since the attacks began. “But I can’t leave; not seeing the door is worse, much worse.”

Anikó nodded. “When I don’t see the door, I imagine the monsters getting in. They only make noise when they beat against something. They don’t roar or anything. We would never know if they were inside waiting just around a corner to eat us. At least here we can see that they haven’t gotten in yet.”

“Phire,” Eligius turned his head toward Chistophire, but kept his body facing Gyorgy. “They want to stay.”

“Phire,” called a boy no taller than Gyorgy. “I found four children asleep upstairs. They are all in the same bed.”

Chistophire — Phire’s face became hard and he nodded. Another man cursed Gusztáv and said they should have put an end to his experiments years ago. But why? Because the children were too scared to sleep alone? What did Gusztáv bácsi’s experiments have to do with anything?

Anikó stepped around Gyorgy, but he wouldn’t let her past. What if she said or did something that got them kicked out of the entry way?

“Gusztav is in the tower, Robertson thinks, with more children,” the boy continued.

“Zlanchad, see if you can rescue them and bring me the oldest children you can find. Eligius, they can stay as long as they don’t leave that corner and they answer all of your questions.” He meet Gyorgy’s eye. “Do you understand?”

Phire had the most beautiful blue eyes Gyorgy had ever seen. They were like gem stones. He body tightened up. He felt kind of like when he was scared, but different. He couldn’t breathe, and thought was difficult. Not falling over was difficult. He shifted his foot. He had to respond. He had to say something, so he wouldn’t be sent away from those mesmerizing eyes. He swallowed hard, but his mouth was dry and his tongue paralyzed. All he could do was nod.

A grin cracked Phire’s face and he ruffled Gyorgy’s hair. “You’re a good kid.”

Gyorgy lifted a hand to the place where Phire had touched him as he watch the man walk away.

“Now,” said Eligius. “What is your name?”

Gyorgy left the introductions to Anikó. He couldn’t pull his eyes from Phire’s back. Phire turned around and met his eyes, then turned away. Was the man blushing? Why? Because Gyorgy was staring at him? That must be it. Gyorgy had to stop, but he continued to watch until Phire turn a corner and disappeared from sight.

“Gyorgy! Gyorgy! Pay attention. Eligius,” Anikó say the name like she said her favorite dessert, “wants to know where you are from.”

“Ah.” Gyorgy tried to breathe again. “I’m from here.”

“No,” Anikó said as if Gyorgy were stupid. “Before that.”

“I used to live with my grandparents, but they were very poor. Gusztáv bácsi came and got me. I’ve lived here since I was seven, over half my life. ”

“That makes you, what? the oldest?”

“Yes, but Anikó has been here longer. Gusztáv bácsi is her real uncle.”

“I see,” Eligius nodded. “Now, we are going to chase the monsters away and make sure they never come back.”

Eligius continued to talk, but Gyorgy stopped listening. Phire had come back into view. He wasn’t the tallest of the mages; one of them was built like a bean pole. He didn’t have the widest shoulders; one was only a little taller than Gyorgy, but with shoulders as wide as the front door. He wasn’t the darkest; one mage was the color of dark toast with designs painted on his bald head. Phire wasn’t the palest either. That had to be Eligius, who was the color of milk, his veins standing out a bright blue on the back of his hands as he convinced Piroska to let him hold her.

Phire wasn’t the most extreme of anything. He was the perfect height and the prefect width, and had the perfect color of tanned skin. Perfect for what, Gyorgy wasn’t sure. But everyone looked up to Phire and asked him questions. He was undoubtedly the leader of the mages.

But where were the magic holders? Gusztáv bácsi said that mages worked magic, but few could carry as much as they needed. Many paired with magic holders like Gyorgy and the other children. The way Gusztáv bácsi had said that left a bad taste in Gyorgy’s mouth, but not as bad as when Gusztáv bácsi explained that some mages shared a magic holder. Gusztáv bácsi had taken Gyorgy aside to say that, so the other children wouldn’t hear. Gyorgy wanted to ask why that was so wrong, but Henrik had come in and refuse to leave. Gusztáv bácsi had promised to explain, but never seemed to have the time.

The clock tolled four. How long since the last monster onslaught? The monsters only took a break was while gearing up for something big. The mages would run out of power soon, wouldn’t they? The children with Gusztáv bácsi must be exhausted. Would they withstand another hour of draining? Gyorgy need to save them. He needed to save everyone. He might be the only one left with power at all.

“What do you mean, he’s the oldest?” Phire asked Eligius. “Doesn’t old man Gusztáv have any adults? Are all of them children?”

“That seems to be the case,” Eligius petted Piroska’s head. “I never realized his subjects were so young.”

Phire’s face was hard and he narrowed his eyes, but his hand on Eligius’s shoulder was gentle. “You couldn’t have known. No one knew. I assumed there would be at least one holder to draw from.”

“But we are holders,” said Anikó. “We want to help.”

“No,” said Eligius. “Sixteen is the minimum age to partner with a mage. You are years too young.”

“Why?” asked Gyorgy. “Anikó and I have enough power to share. We’ve been helping Gusztáv bácsi for years.”

Eligius paled to a ghostly white and Phire gagged. “I really didn’t want to know that.”

What was wrong with sharing power? Gyorgy check his cistern. It was full but he stretched it a bit with his mind and added to the top then filled it to the brim. This made him dizzy, but when the time came to share his power he would have so much to give that the mages would have to take him seriously. He couldn’t let Phire think his youth made him weak.

A shout echoed down the stairs. “Phire, the tower is breached.”

“Good. Now get those kids out of there.”

“Wait! No!” Gyorgy yelled. “You can’t. The monster will attack again. We will all die.”

“Don’t worry,” Eligius put a hand on his arm. “It is almost dawn. They are gone for the night.”

“No!” Gyorgy pulled away from Eligius. “They always attack right before dawn, when we are most tired. They will come. Phire, you have to believe me.”

A low boom sounded far away, but the next was closer. “See!” Anikó screamed. “They are coming. We will all die!”

Eligius squared his jaw and turned Gyorgy to face him. “Now, I know this is sudden, but I need you to relax.”

He leaned towards Gyorgy. What did Eligius want? What was he doing? Gyorgy stepped back.

“We don’t have time for that.” Phire spun Gyorgy. He wrapped one arm around Gyorgy’s waist and the other behind his neck and he brought their faces together.

At the touch of Phire’s lips, Gyorgy burned. The heat flooded his body. His skin tingled where Phire touched him: his back, his neck, his entire front that was plastered against the mage. He couldn’t think and his body moved as if out of his control. His arms moved to Phire’s back and he grasped fistfuls of jacket. His body stiffened then relaxed, letting the man’s tongue deep within his mouth.

He moaned in his throat. He needed air; the gasps through his nose could not get enough to his overheated lungs. He smelled Phire’s sweat and his own fear and longing. The booms faded into the dull roar of voices: Anikó’s and Henrik’s, Eligius’s and the other mages’. Gyorgy’s sight filled with gold burning to a hot white, and finally, after an eternity, the blue of Phire’s perfect eyes.

He collapsed into Phire’s arms and fought a losing battle for his breath. A loud crack sounded. People shouted. One of those was Phire saying a single word.

The world flared white again.

People cheered.

Gyorgy couldn’t be bothered to open his eyes. He was much too tired. He felt Phire’s arms squeeze around him and he was lifted then set down. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but failed and fell back into Eligius’s lap. Anikó held Piroska, and Henrik leaned over Gyorgy and patted his leg, like when he was trying to wake him up in the morning.

“I’s alrigh,” Gyorgy slurred. “Jus tire.”

Henrik threw himself into Gyorgy’s arms and sobbed. Gyorgy was too tired to soothe him.

“I’m sorry,” Eligius smoothed Gyorgy’s hair. “I was supposed to be the one that shared your power. I’m the most efficient at using power. I would have taken a lot less. Phire used all you gave him. The monsters are gone and I don’t think they will be coming back.”

Eligius laid a gentle kiss on Gyorgy’s forehead. “I didn’t know you had that much power. I don’t think anyone did.”

“I didn’t.” Phire set a strong hand on Gyorgy’s foot. “I’ve never been that full in my life. I thought I was going to burst. It was almost like you had never shared power before.”

“He has,” said Gusztáv bácsi, “but he’s never had it ripped from him before.” Gusztáv bácsi huffed. “What is it with you mages,” he made the word sound dirty, “and your need to make every holder into a lover? Gyorgy, fill your cistern.”

That was why Gyorgy was so tired. How could he have forgotten something so simple? He filled his reserves quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. Now he felt bloated and dizzy. He reached up and touched Eligius face, gently trickling the excess power into him.

Eligius’s eyes widened. “Is this how you share magic? With the touch of a hand?”

“Of course.” Anikó set Piroska down and told her to take Henrik’s hand. When the three were linked, she held out her other hand to Gusztáv bácsi. “We need to fix the door, don’t we?”

Gusztáv bácsi nodded and took her hand. Gyorgy sat up and added himself to the end of the chain, just before Gusztáv bácsi said the word of magic. Power trickled through him like a summer creak, tickling his skin. Henrik laughed and that set Piroska giggling. Anikó smiled and bit her lip. The door repaired itself and closed with a sigh.

“That,” said Gusztáv bácsi, “is how partnerships should work. If you mages didn’t insist on making power sharing a form of fornication, more holders would step forward. They are not you slaves to do with what you will.”

Anikó sat down beside Gyorgy. “How did it feel? Was it different?”

Gyorgy shook his head. He didn’t want to explain, not the rush as the power left him nor the sticky, wet spot inside the front of his trousers. She would never understand anyway. Eligius’s arms wrapped around Gyorgy and he leaned back. He tipped his cistern just a bit and let power flow though his skin and into Eligius. This felt good, this sharing. This wasn’t the tickle of Gusztáv bácsi’s sharing or the explosion of Phire’s. This was friendly, with maybe something more.

Gyorgy turned to look over his shoulder at Eligius’s face. He had green eyes that sparkled like emeralds, but only when Gyorgy met his gaze. Was this a mage thing? He hadn’t looked at any of the other’s enough to notice. Eligius was definitely pretty in his own way.

“Do you want a kiss, too?”

Gusztáv bácsi growled. “You’ve ruined him! All my hard work, all those years swept away by a single kiss. Anikó, bring the little ones.”

Phire tilted his head as he watched Gusztáv bácsi stomp off. Then he grinned at Gyorgy. “I guess that means you are coming with us.”

“Coming? Where?”

“Anywhere we go.” Eligius set his chin on Gyorgy’s shoulder.

“Everywhere we go,” Phire corrected. “Get on with your kissing, but leave enough for me. Destroying those monsters really wiped me out.”

“Now it’s not my fault that you can’t hold a charge,” Eligius said, but he didn’t sound like he was trying to start an argument. He rested a hand on Gyorgy’s belly, which made Gyorgy hot in so many ways.

“Just don’t use him up.” Phire grinned back.

Gyorgy licked his lips and swallowed hard. Eligius’s hand was affecting Gyorgy’s ability to think, but he liked the lightheadedness, whether it was cause by Eligius or Phire. “I’ve got enough for both of you.”

“Well, you’d better. I can get kind of greedy.”

Eligius laughed. “At least you know the truth about yourself.”

Phire turned to the other mages. “Gyorgy is coming with us. He’s mine and Eligius’s, so hands off.”

Several people laughed and one muttered something about whether those two would be able to share anything. But Gyorgy didn’t pay attention because Eligius’s lips brushed his and sent tingles down his spine. Gyorgy opened his mouth and Eligius licked his lower lip then nibbled it gently. His tongue teased in then back out, leaving Gyorgy aching for more, which Eligius gave in full.

Eligius’s tenderness heated Gyorgy just as hot as being devoured by Phire, but more slowly. This kiss was different, but just as good.