Gender Bender in a Blue Blender - 7. Chapter 7- The Warded Room

Adain would have never thought he'd ever hear those words coming out of Talon's mouth. "Right," he said with a bit of a hysterical laugh. "Because I've only tried to break into that door all my life and even became cursed."

Talon took hold of his best friend's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Yes, but you've only ever tried doing it all alone. You heard Nikoal; Witches are more powerful. So, imagine what you and your cousins can do to that door together."

The Warlock in female form was still skeptical. They'd probably fuck up the whole house before they ever broke through that door together. He'd tried brute force plenty of times on that blasted ward with negative results and-

"Wait a minute," Aid mumbled as something mentally nagged at him. "Before that, there's something I want to try." He tossed his pajamas aside and dug in his closet for a hoodie and loose sweatpants. "I'm going to change, and then we'll try it."

"Do you want me to tell your cousins, too?"

"Not yet," Adain refuted. "I want to make sure of something first." He then rushed into the restroom to swap out the clothing. He pulled all the feminine clothing off but hesitated when he got to the colorful bracelets he had donned as part of his 'Niada' outfit that morning. They were of all sizes and colors, and he found that he really liked them. With a frown, he continued to change his clothes. He'd worry about his attachment to 'girly' things later. He had a bespelled door to open.

::

A good while later, Talon and Adain stood before the warded door in the Calistro household. Adain pressed a hand to the wood and took a deep breath. "It's just about the only thing I haven't tried yet," he stated as he gently knocked on the door three times.

Talon's brown eyes widened when they heard a click, and the door creaked open a crack.

As he flailed about, Adain grabbed the back of his head with both hands. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He cried out. "All this time…all this freaking time, and it opened with polite knocking!?"

Aid held his arm out when Talon moved as if to enter the room.

"Just wait a sec; I still don't fully trust it," Adain warned. "Let me scope it out."

Talon raised his hands in surrender as Adain took a few steps inside. A layer of dust was on most of the furniture, which appeared to be vintage. There was less dust on the bed, but it was littered with papers of all sizes. Adain didn't notice when Talon went in after him until the blond lifted one of the pages to get a better look.

"This one's a hand-drawn map," The blond deduced.

Adain's gaze was drawn to the middle of the bed, where a much larger piece of bismuth than the one Nikoal had given him had several other pages pinned down like a paperweight. When Aid closed his hand around the metal, he let out a hiss of pain as he shifted into his male form. Had the sun set already? They hadn't really paid attention. Aid was glad he chose to wear loose clothing ahead of time.

The young Warlock carefully lifted several pages freed from beneath the bismuth and began to read their contents. He barely recognized his mother's handwriting. But he doubted anyone else wrote their Y's the way she did.

All of the councilmen had a bismuth piece in their offices. All except Lewis. Something happened in those caves, whether it was a ritual or hazing. They have them in their office as trophies, making me wonder if they were mementos from an event. Who else could have been with them in those caves? I dread to think that Oleah…no, I must verify it with my own eyes. If the Laeramen are truly corrupt, we should leave this town together. I must uncover the truth to clear Adam's doubts and lay Alexander's fears to rest. And if this town is no longer safe, we must do whatever it takes to protect Adain…

A knot formed in Adain's throat as he read his mother's notes. He could barely read on further due to the tears in his eyes. All the nasty whispers and theories he'd heard over the last decade regarding his mother dissipated in his mind as if a fog had been lifted. He felt Talon's warm arms around him as he wept and allowed himself to fall apart in his presence.

His mother hadn't abandoned him. Hell, it sounded like his grandmother hadn't left them, either. She believed the town council was corrupt and that answers could be found in a cave. Was it a bismuth cave? Had something grave befallen her during her investigation? Had she been murdered?

"I think someone may have killed my mom," Adain's voice cracked as he tried to communicate with Talon. "She was looking into Grandma Oleah's disappearance and…."

The two of them had somehow ended up on the floor. Talon simply held Adain and rubbed his back as he rambled about the contents of the notes he'd found. After several beats of silence, Aid finally wiped the tears from his eyes and unclenched his hand around the letters he held in a tight grip the entire time. With a deep, shuddering breath, he knew what he had to do. He had to gather his cousins and investigate that Bismuth cave. Worse yet, he feared they'd emerge injured or become missing person cases themselves.

"In case something awful happens," Adain began, reaching up to hold Talon's face. "I want you to know that I…I think I might love you?" He confessed. "Not as friends or brothers…."

Leave it to Adain Calistro to make Talon one muddled mess. They had just uncovered some nasty business about Laeramen; the shorter man was still very much cursed despite finally entering the warded room…and he felt it was the best time to confess? What, in case they died?

"We better not die, First Aid Kit," Talon responded. "We better not fucking die. We owe ourselves a better confession than that. No, I refuse to tell you I love you until we find out what's in those caves."

"You do? What about your crush?"

Talon groaned as he dropped his forehead onto Adain's shoulder. "It's you. It's always been you, you fart knocker."

"I don't…wait, me-me? As in, I was your male crush??"

"Yes!"

Adain grinned widely and crushed his mouth against the blond's. Talon reciprocated without a moment's hesitation. Adain straddled the blond, and they lost themselves in the moment. Their jaws were tired by the time they finally drew back.

"Wait, this isn't exactly where I pictured we'd do these sorts of things," Adain mused aloud. His face fell as his thoughts drifted back to what they'd uncovered.

"We have to let everyone know." He decided as he stood back up and helped Talon get back up. The two of them gathered all the papers from the bed, including the map the blond had found. Aid also took hold of the bismuth, and the two stepped back into the hallway.

"Breaking the ward didn't exactly dispel your curse," Talon realized as they glanced back at the unlocked room.

"I know," Adain affirmed. "But, at least we know where to try next."

"Should I have your cousins meet us here?"

"No!" Adain responded immediately. "Have them meet us at our apartment. I don't think this is the best time to tell my dad and grandpa about Mom and Grandma, not when their memories are as perforated as an air filter. It's best that we tell them after we get them uncursed."

If we're even able to get them uncursed. Adain still had doubts but kept them to himself until they discovered more about his mother, grandmother, and the caves. Before they made their way downstairs, he took a moment to take another glance at his grandma Oleah's room. If his mother suspected the Laeramen of being corrupt, it was no wonder that she warded the door. She'd have wanted to protect any evidence she'd gathered on them.

As he reached over to gently tug the door closed, his gaze fell to the colorful bracelets he'd chosen to wear as part of his 'Niada' outfit that morning. Only a few days remained before the spell was permanent. While it had been a cruel prank of his mother to have cast such a curse on the door, which was probably aimed at Laeramen and not him, it was still his mother's magic. He was hesitant to let that last trace of her go.

"Aid?" Talon called from down the hall.

Adain released the door handle and lifted his hand to his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"On my way."