The Sorcerous Prince - 12. Chapter 12: The Growing Circle

Chapter 12: The Growing Circle

Monday, it was back to school, and Mihai was actually looking forward to it. His parents had not reacted well when they found out about the events on Saturday as well as Sunday morning, chiefly the fact that he almost died as a result of the black widow demon's venom. They said that they were going to have to talk to Empress Guadalupe about having him track spider demons, as they did not want him to have any more attention than he was already receiving. That was all he needed, rogue groups of demon who wanted him dead. The mainstream of demon society wanted him captured for evil service instead, and that was bad enough. They told him to stay in Candavorum until further notice. So just when he was starting to have the taste of freedom that came with becoming an adult in magical society, the noose tightened around his neck. For now, he was walking to school with his best friend.

“Wow!” Carissa beamed. “You went from barely making it out alive to helping destroy the entire nest? That sounds so exciting. Why don't I ever get to have any fun? You know, my gift would work well on them.”

“I can't say that I agree,” Mihai replied dryly. “You've never told me what it is. So far, I've managed not to dig through your mind for the answer.”

“You know you're not supposed to,” she snapped. “My father doesn't want me telling anyone. He has the same power. I doubt he's told you.”

“No, he has not,” Mihai sighed. “I'm supposed to be your best friend. You know I won't tell anyone.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “My gift causes people to have hallucinations...”

“That sounds interesting,” Mihai said quizzically. “I bet you have fun using it.”

“Not in the least!” Carissa growled. “The hallucinations can cause the victim to commit suicide. In fact, the only person I used it on was my brother, Lance.” She was crying at this point. “And you know he's dead. It was an accident, but it still happened. My father forces me to practice it on small mammals, lizards, and snakes as well as bugs. I hate it. The only creatures I wish to use my powers on are their larger and much more vicious cousins.” She was referring to demons. The original demons created the others through experiments with early humans and animals as well as magical beings. The results spoke for themselves.

Even though Mihai was definitely interested in what Carissa had to say, he felt a presence behind him. It was not a demon or his familiar, but it was someone he really liked a lot. There were two others, people he was likely acquainted with. The strongest presence was more directly behind him, and as Mihai's mind gently probed, his guess was confirmed. “Hello Konstantin,” he said without even looking back.

“How did you...” Konstantin asked incredulously. Mihai finally turned around and smirked at him.

“Well, my telepathy helps me see without eyes,” Mihai reminded him. “I can always tell how many people are around, regardless of how quiet they are. I can also tell if it's someone I like.” The last line was obviously flirtatious in nature. Mihai looked at the other two. “Hello Jake.” He said to the cute redhead with light brown eyes to Konstantin's left.

“Hello, Your Highness,” Jake replied regally.

“I doubt you call Konstantin, 'My Lord', so please, just call me Mihai,” he retorted in a friendly but firm manner. Konstantin, as the eldest son of a Duke, was a Count in his own right. The title, Count, was used in magical society instead of Earl, but it was the same position in noble hierarchy.

“Hello, Mihai!” he giggled.

The third was to the left of Jake Hanover. “Hello Tyler,” he said to the blond with purple eyes. Tyler Ericson had an eye color you would never find in mortals naturally. It was a deep purple, similar to that of a violet. Long ago Mihai had been infatuated with him. Of course, Tyler had dated Alexandra Wilson for a couple years, but they had broken up over the summer. He certainly showed no signs of interest in men and there had been rumors of him hooking up with plenty of girls since he became single. Tyler's older brother, Todd, however was definitely into men and men only. Jake was also totally straight, and his girlfriend, Tiffany Vincent, was Mihai's prisoner's fraternal twin sister. Ironically, Tiffany had told him the week before that she thought her sister needed to learn this lesson. Mihai reasoned that she was the only Vincent with a brain.

“Hello, Mihai!” Tyler replied amiably. Tyler looked over at Konstantin. “Are you going to ask him or not?”

“I...” Konstantin seemed apprehensive.

Mihai glanced over at Konstantin's friend, and asked, “Why don't you two go on ahead. I'm sure you'll both like having Carissa for company.” Mihai smiled as he thought, 'I'm sure Carissa won't mind having those two for company, especially Tyler.' There were no protests. The other three teens left.

Mihai and Konstantin walked slowly, ensuring that their friends would be far ahead. When the others were out of earshot, Konstantin finally asked, “Would you like to go out to dinner next Saturday and spend the night with me? I was going to ask you Saturday afternoon if you wanted to do something, but your mom said that you'd gone to New London.”

“Of course I'll go out to dinner with you!” Mihai beamed. “And I would definitely love to spend the night with you if dinner goes well.”

“Great!” Konstantin rejoiced! “I will pick you up at five! Does Austin sound okay?” Mihai nodded. “Oh, and I was thinking that you might as well get to know Jake and Tyler. They're really cool friends,”

“They seem nice,” Mihai retorted. “Maybe the three of you could come over after school. I have my lessons with the Baron and my mom, but I should be done by three.”

“We were planning to hang out at my house, but I'm sure they'll be alright with the change of plans,” Konstantin said confidently. “Maybe Carissa can come too.”

“We can ask her in Calculus,” Mihai suggested. Tyler and Jake were not in Calculus. They took Magical Accounting instead.

“That would work,” Konstantin agreed. “I'll talk to Tyler and Jake in English.”

“Sounds good,” Mihai said graciously. Mihai took Konstantin's hand into his own, and the two of them picked up their pace. Before long, they were both at school. Since their lockers were not close, they temporarily went their own directions. A girl who looked a lot like Melody was standing by, and Mihai saw her when he closed his locker door. “Hi Tiffany!”

“Hey,” she replied softly. “Do you think I could come over and visit my sister this afternoon?”

“Sure,” Mihai said simply. “It sounds like your boyfriend could be there too. He might be coming over with Konstantin and Tyler.”

“Well,” she cleared her throat. “That sounds like fun. I could probably just see Melody for part of the time and then hang out with you guys for a while. Is Carissa going to be there too? I think she and Tyler would be cute together. He's been hitting on me when Jake isn't around... I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it seems that your parents have turned this town into one big orgy!”

“Actually, I agree,” Mihai laughed. “When I was younger, they weren't so bad, but even others have told me, that in recent years Candavorum has been sexually open even by societal standards.” When Mihai said “societal” he was talking about magical society as the standards were different in the mortal world. Tiffany offered only a giggle in reply. The two of them walked to Calculus, which was the only class that Tiffany took without her boyfriend.

Mihai talked to Carissa, and as he expected, she was willing to come over after school. Mihai was glad that they had that class only every other day, because there was a lot of homework on this particular day. He was not too worried. He usually breezed through English assignments aside from long reports. History was also easy for him. That left Physics, and he was pretty sure that he would have homework from that class the following day, which would mean a busy Tuesday night. During English class, a light wind caused a piece of paper to land on Mihai's desk, one that confirmed that Jake and Taylor would be there. As Mihai expected, he was able to finish the “homework” for English before he even left class.

Mihai's studies, of course, were not over for the day. He had two hours with Charles Levesque, and he was pretty sure that they would be talking about demons, spider demons in particular. Once again, Mihai was in the fight room, but the fighting equipment was in the back of the room, and there were two desks at the front. Charles had a larger desk that faced Mihai's. Both had office chairs, likely bought by the Baron in the mortal world. Both were plush, and the seats were made of fine leather. Mihai took his seat, and Charles began to speak almost immediately. “So I heard what happened over the weekend,” the Baron said dryly. “Today, we'll talk about just how lucky you were to survive. We'll also be talking about the House of the Snake and the House of the Possessor.”

The House of the Possessor had once been the ruling House of the Underworld. In fact, they created the Underworld. They had experimented with DNA of animals along with the DNA of mortals, magical humans, and even their own kind. From their experiments, all the eight remaining houses were created, and the possessors created the Underworld as a safe haven for their creations. It was right before the magical people discovered the portal system that the other eight Houses had overthrown the House of the Possessor and created the Council of Demons.

“Spider demons are among the most feared of all demons,” the Baron cautioned. “The black widow demons have some of the most toxic venom, second only to that of the cobra demons. The Lady Black Widow demon's venom is the worst in the entire House, and very few have ever survived it. Luckily, the anti-venom for the other black widow demons will work on hers. The same cannot, of course, be said for the current Demon King's venom.”

“I have always heard of the dangers,” Mihai said simply. “I just remember being unconscious.”

“Ah yes,” the Baron said prosaically. “That is the one saving grace of their venom. With that of a cobra demon, you will feel extreme pain as it attacks every single nerve in your body. The possessors loved cobra venom, but there was something missing. You see, elapid venom is purely a neurotoxin. It was thought that by adding a hemotoxin to the mix, it would make the pain almost unbearable. Cobra demon venom is both, unlike the creatures from which they came. The combination is quite deadly, especially from the Demon King. Your aunt, the Empress, barely survived such an attack, and it was only because of her husband's sacrifice that she is alive this very day.”

“Is there anyone else in my family who has died from it?” Mihai asked even though he feared the answer.

“Yes, as a matter of fact your grandfather, great grandfather, and...” The Baron paused, knowing that his parents should be the ones to tell him the rest. It was one of the worst tragedies in recent family history.

“Was there someone else?” Mihai asked impatiently.

“Well... erm...” the Baron was stumbling. This was a tough position. He had only found this out recently. It was something not even Mihai knew. “Your parents don't want you to know just yet.”

“We'll just have to see about that,” Mihai growled. “It's unfair for them to hide something from me like this. Whoever this is, the one who died with them must have been close to us in some way. I know my grandfather died several years before I was born.”

“Yes, they did,” the Baron sighed. “Prince Karan is 25 now. He was a new born at that time.”

“You know...” Mihai said bitterly. “I have my ways of finding this information.”

“Probing my mind won't work,” the Baron snapped. “When your father told me, he put a very special spell on me. I will die before such information will be spilled.”

“Why would they hide it?” Mihai cried. “I have a right to know. Maybe I'll probe their minds instead.”

“That would be grounds for your destruction,” the Baron said coldly. “You damn well know it too. If you really want to know, you'll need to visit the Hall of Records in Jevartus.”

“I do believe I will then,” Mihai said haughtily. “And if you say anything at all to them...”

“I won't say a word,” the Baron promised. “They never said that I couldn't tell you where to find the information, just that I could not reveal it to you.”

“They must think of me as a child,” Mihai said bitterly. “I have a right to know everything about my family. They must be ashamed.”

“That's not it,” the Baron said confidently. “They're just afraid that this information will be too much for you.”

“Knowing what I already know...” Mihai paused and thought for a moment. “This doesn't add up. I can't understand why they would think that hiding this information from me would hurt me less than revealing the information.”

“I don't know,” the Baron stammered. “Look, we really need to get back to the lesson. There's a lot to go over.”

“That's fine,” Mihai lied. They went back to discussing the House of the Spider and eventually got back to the House of the Snake. Mihai was distracted. He wanted answers, and he would need a plan to get away to Jevartus. His parents had temporarily sealed off the portal, but he reasoned that the Duke of Austin would have one. He would be in Austin on Saturday anyway. It would not allow access to the Imperial Palace, but he figured that was a good thing. He also figured that the Duke would be spending the weekend at the family home in Candavorum. Empress Guadalupe would hopefully be oblivious to his plans, and so would his parents.

Potions class with his mother went quite well. He first told her that there would be guests for dinner, and she was happy about that. It seemed that successfully completing the Draught of Slumber during the previous week was helpful. His first potion this week was the Vampire Vanquishing Potion. The mixture was quite nasty and would literally destroy the vampire's donor blood. This potion was also toxic to humans, and it required a mask and special gloves. Despite those facts it took only an hour to make. The main ingredients were rattlesnake venom and werewolf blood. Those were common ingredients in vanquishing potions along with vampire blood, which was not needed for this particular potion, for obvious reasons. Mihai had not been required to acquire these ingredients from their sources as training for handling rattlesnakes and werewolves had not yet been covered.

It was around 3:30 when Mihai's friends arrived. He had his own personal rooms on the same level as his bedchamber for entertaining guests. The King and Queen usually respected his privacy even though he had normally only entertained Carissa. Now that he was more popular, that was changing. He led everyone to his personal parlor. The room was decorated in the royal purple and gold of his family, and that included the large Persian rug in the middle of the room. Tiffany had decided to join the group for a few minutes before she went to the dungeon to see her sister, and she was the first to speak. “Wow! I love it. Everything in this room is magnificent.”

Mihai remembered the parlor he had seen in the Imperial Palace of New London and how it made his furnishings look plain, but he cast that aside when he spoke. “Thank you! I have always been fond of this room. I picked out the decor myself.”

“You have exquisite taste,” she added. “It must be true what they say.”

“That's rude,” Carissa snarled.

“I wasn't trying to be rude,” Tiffany lamented. “I'm not like my sister. I don't go around insulting people.”

“It's alright,” Mihai said reassuringly.

“I think I'll go see my sister,” Tiffany said plainly. “I'll come back up here a bit later.”

“You won't find her in the dungeon,” Mihai told her. “Cheryl will be in the dining room. She will take you to Melody. She has been doing chores around the palace.” Manual labor was typical for the few prisoners in the palace, and Melody was no exception. Mihai sometimes saw her walking around the castle. She was often moping, and the labor seemed like it was a catalyst for change. Mihai had once even noticed her wiping away tears. He considered allowing her to leave earlier than the one month he had planned. He figured, however, that she needed at least another week.

After Tiffany left the room, Mihai noticed that his best friend and Tyler had started making out. “You two are gross,” Mihai grumbled. “There are extra bedchambers around here and a condom supplier close by. Please, if you want to fuck, don't do so in front of me.”

“Yeah, get out of here, freaks,” Konstantin teased.

They both got up and started to leave. “And stay out of the rooms to the left of the staircase. They're off limits.” Mihai added. Carissa already knew this so she gave him a certain one-finger gesture. “You wish.” Everyone laughed, including Carissa, as she and Tyler left, closing the door behind them. Mihai decided it was a good time to speak to Konstantin telepathically. 'Is it okay to talk openly about something secret? I think we need to change our plans for Saturday given some new information I received. I know little, but apparently someone else was killed when my grandfather and great grandfather were killed. My parents are hiding this information from me. Carissa's father started to tell me, but he stopped. I need to go to the Hall of Records, and taking you with me is a good cover.'

“Yes, I'd bet my life on the fact that he'll tell no one.” Konstantin had said this out loud.

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked.

“Tell him, Mihai,” Konstantin said flatly.

“We are supposed to be going out to dinner on Saturday,” Mihai acknowledged. “I have no plan to break the date. However, we may need to go to Jevartus early in the day.”

“Why would you need to do that?” Jake asked incredulously. “You just visited your aunt last weekend from what I have heard. In fact, your exploits during the visit are all over town.”

“This is not a social visit,” Mihai said firmly. “I need to go to the Hall of Records.”

“That sounds boring,” Jake chuckled.

“Be that as it may...” Mihai said in a loud tone. Since the door was now closed, the magical enhancements, no one outside the room could hear their conversation. “Years ago, before any of us were born, my grandfather and great grandfather, who was Emperor, were killed by the Demon King. Someone else apparently died with them, but for some reason there's a cover-up. They will not tell me. Even if the spell used to hide the fact that I was born from my aunt was used to conceal the existence of this other person, it is unlikely that this would be hidden from the elves who create the records and books. I intend to find out who this person is.”

When Mihai mentioned the spell, he was speaking of a spell that his mother and father had used to hide his impending birth and his younger years from others in the family. This spell was a closely protected family secret. Revealing this spell to anyone who was not part of the imperial family would result in death. It was a deep magic that few had ever witnessed. The spell was intended especially for Empress Guadalupe. The spell was rarely used and was broken either when the information was shared with the target or the individual died, at which point the elves would do an investigation and come up with a profile for the recently deceased. Mihai figured it was unlikely that the person who died would ever have been protected by the spell, and even if he or she had, death would have broken the spell.

“Well,” Jake sighed. “You have unrestricted access to all records there so long as the Empress does not tell you otherwise by letter or by word of mouth.” The mail carrier service spanned several planets through the portal system, and the workers were given Level 4 (or general military) access. All mail was received in 24 hours or less in magical society. “You could ask her instead, but she would probably try to conceal the information just like your parents have. I think it's stupid. You have a right to know your family history.”

“I am pretty sure they're trying to protect me,” Mihai said dryly. “What I don't understand is why they think I can't handle it. I'm not a child. I wouldn't have this unrestricted access if not for the fact that I am now of age.”

“You're right,” Jake sympathized. “I was also going to add that you'd be better off not using the portal here in the royal palace. Your parents cannot legally stop you, but they have other ways. You should use the portal in Konstantin's father's main residence in Austin.”

“That's exactly what I was thinking,” Mihai confirmed. “They get a read-out of everyone who uses it and their destination. However, they only know about it when they're here. They will be. The Duke's portal has the same read-out, but he is never home on the weekends. He joins his family here, right Konstantin?”

“True story,” Konstantin responded. Adelric Bayer and his wife had their arrangement for two main reasons. While they loved each other, they often fought if they were always together. They tended to miss one another if they had time during the week apart, though Mihai knew from his party that this was not always the case. “The only problem is that there will be guards. They also have to report anyone who even enters the Magical Palace of Austin. I'm personally restricted from using the portal there. The only one in the family he allows to use it is Mom.”

“My level circumvents such restrictions,” Mihai stated. “I can even swear them to secrecy.”

“There is that,” Konstantin chuckled. “Does that mean you can even give me permission to join you?”

“Of course it does,” Mihai beamed. “I wouldn't have it any other way.” Konstantin had been in another chair, but he got up and joined Mihai on the sofa. The two shared a tender kiss and began to cuddle.

“You two are gross,” Jake said, mocking the voice Mihai had used when he had shooed Carissa and Tyler away. Mihai flipped him off. Then Jake jumped on top of them, and the three started wrestling. Mihai and Konstantin were double teaming Jake, and soon they were taking his robe off. “Hey! I'm not into that stuff.”

“We still want to see you naked,” Mihai snickered. Once the robe was off, Konstantin touched the garment with his wand, and the robe seemingly disappeared.

“That's not fair,” Jake whined. “Give it back!”

“Alright,” Konstantin sighed. “There's one condition.” It seemed that Konstantin had hidden something else in the alternate dimension with his wand. He flicked his wand, and a stripper pole appeared in middle of the room. He flicked it again, and a magical stereo appeared. Magical stereos would play whatever the owner wanted. “Dance! If you're good, we'll allow you to have your robe back. You must also remove your boxers and leave them off in the middle of the song. I'll signal you when it's time.”

“You're evil!” Jake complained. “But I'm actually pretty good at exotic dancing.” Since Jake had turned 16, which was the legal age in magical society, he had secretly been working at a local strip club that was for adult magical people only. Konstantin had been one of the few he had told. Jake was not from an aristocratic family, and he figured he needed some good money before graduation.

As the music began Jake began swaying his hips to the beat of the music. Soon he was making rhythmic humping motions against the stripper pole. He had also managed to wrap his legs around the pole and temporarily hang upside down. Mihai was getting hard as a rock as he watched the sexy redhead dance. Konstantin did not fail to notice either as he began rubbing Mihai's cock through the fabric of his robe. Jake took that as his cue to slowly remove his boxers. Still dancing to the beat of the music, Jake turned around and lowered his boxers below his ass. Mihai was practically drooling at Jake's apple bottom, and he was even whistling and woofing like a dog.

While Jake was still dancing, Konstantin stood Mihai up and used wind to remove his robe, much to Jake's horror. The song was almost over, and it was a good thing. “Okay, give me back my robe.” Konstantin aimed his wand at Jake, and the robe reappeared. Jake put his clothes back on, and left as quickly as possible, knowing what was about to happen.

Konstantin turned his attention back to Mihai as the song, “Let's Get it On” began to play. He quickly disrobed, and they both discarded their boxers and sat back down on the sofa. Mihai's dick was already dripping with pre-cum, and Konstantin gave a muffled “Mmmm” as he flicked the head of Mihai's cock with his tongue, licking it like an ice cream cone. Meanwhile, Konstantin was stroking his own dick, which was just as thick as Fabian's but almost as long as Mihai's. Konstantin slowly engulfed the head of Mihai's cock into his mouth. With his free hand he began massaging Mihai's balls. Slowly, Konstantin descended down his sexy lover's long pole until he reached the trimmed bush with the tip of his nose. He then backed off a bit and bobbed up and down from the top to the middle, only occasionally deepthroating. Mihai was in ecstasy. This was even better than Fabian. He knew it was because of the deeper feelings his had from the handsome sorcerer who was servicing him.

Mihai's moans became longer and louder as Konstantin's ministrations became more and more intense. Sweat was dripping everywhere from Mihai's body, and he began to feel it. “I'm gonna cum!” Konstantin positioned himself so that only the head of Mihai's cock was in his mouth. Wave after wave of Mihai's seed shot into Konstantin's mouth, and he loved the taste. In the middle of Mihai's orgasm, Konstantin's began. Konstantin's shot jet after jet of his cum onto the front of the sofa and Mihai had angled his head so that he could watch the Adonis' magnificent cock spurt its molten lava, licking his lips and wishing the load was going into his mouth instead. As Konstantin's orgasm ended he let Mihai's softening cock slip out of his mouth.

Konstantin stood up and straddled Mihai's lap. Wrapping his arms around him, Konstantin pressed his lips against Mihai's mouth. Mihai opened his mouth, and he felt Kostantin's tongue urgently entering his mouth and greeted it with his own. Their kiss lasted for several minutes, and by they were done, their cocks were hard again. This time they got into the 69 position. They managed to orgasm in even better synchronization that time around.