CHAPTER#129

"Uh huh. You and Naia are resonant souls because you each already have a piece of each other entwined. She uses sensuality to power her spells, and the only spell you had really been subjected to was the soul exchange. When you two had sex, that connection resonated and the magic flowed back and forth, taking shape as something similar. My educated guess is that you have been inadvertently casting the same spell she did through sexual contact, exchanging bits and pieces of your soul. The effect with Cecilia would be the strongest, primarily because she is the source of the magic."

"That's how I was able to scream?"

"A piece of her lives within you. As a spirit being, she is her magic. I don't expect you to be ushering the dead off to the other side, but you could certainly generate her unique vocalization at a cost. That also means that she carries a small piece of you inside." Ratu let out a small chuckle. "And I guess the same could be said about myself. In a sense, spiritually, I am now part human, and you are part naga."

"Is that... okay?" He thought of the red lock of Cecilia's hair where it had once been white, or the moment in the cave when she had appeared human. Had he appeared as a banshee to her, if she had been looking? Being nothing but a spirit, the exchange had been literal in her case.

"That's a great question. I don't know. Ordinarily, magic involving someone's soul is a tricky business. If I take a piece of it, you lose a piece of who you are. Your memories and experiences won't change, but it will almost be like that part of you doesn't work right anymore. If I took a hand from you, you could still use your arm. But what if I took the ability to use your shoulder? Imagine what it would be like being unable to lift or rotate your arm. A piece of a soul is a valuable thing, and removing it would have dire consequences. If I simply took it, I could then fill the void with what I wanted, like magic. Remember the necromancer? He would remove the right pieces and fill the gaps with his magic, allowing him to control most of his creations with little effort." She flipped her hair back and showed him a patch of snake skin. "But imagine that I took a piece and replaced it with a piece of myself, an equivalent exchange. Functionally, nothing has changed, but just like this skin, I have added a bit of myself. Under the right circumstance, it's noticeable, but now it belongs to you and you are still whole."

MIke stared in wonder. All those times he had had sex with the others and used his magic, he had actually been making tiny swaps with them. "I should probably tell the others. They should know that this has been happening."

"Maybe. That's up to you. When one of you dies, the exchange undoes itself, so it isn't permanent, per se." She teased the edge of his limp cock with a fingernail. "But now I wonder what part of me swapped with you?"

"Like how? Can I do magic like you?"

"I doubt it. Once you have a magic of your own, your body wouldn't just magically absorb another type. You're like a sponge in that regard, already full of water. And because it's an exchange in such a small amount, the changes wouldn't be anything drastic. A soul is many things, and power does not make the man." She playfully ruffled his hair. "I don't remember this being so thick."

"I see." He ran his fingers through his hair. It had been longer and thicker for some time now, and now he wondered who he inherited that from. "When I was on the Jabberwock, it felt exciting to fly through the sky. I imagine I should have gotten scared, but it felt like a part of me."

"The gargoyle then. Her love of flying is now a part of you."

"But she still loves flying, right?"

"I imagine so, but now she probably has a new interest, or trait just waiting to be discovered." A sly grin crossed her face. "You'll tell me if you grow scales, yes?"

He let out a laugh. "I'm sure everyone will know by then."

Tink rolled over in bed and gave him a solid punch in the thigh, her mouth open wide in a yawn. "Husband talk too much. Tink tired, big fight tomorrow."

He smiled at the little goblin, running his fingers through her hair and caressing her horns. "You're right. Let's try and get some sleep." He laid his head down on the pillow and felt Ratu snuggle up on his free side, her body shifting against his. She radiated heat like an electric blanket, and he closed his eyes, waiting for dreams to take him.

--

He couldn't sleep, so had snuck out of bed to stand outside.

The cool night air drifted across his bare chest, and he stared up into the dark sky above. Other than the soft glow of the torches in his room, there was no other illumination. The centaurs had fled after the Jabberwock had attacked, even the stubborn Orion bailing on a tower with an angry monster inside. Mike guessed that the centaur found very little reason to stick around and argue with the victor of such a fight.

The stars above were different from any he could remember, and an entire galaxy ran across the sky, colorful smears that reminded him of the Hubble Deep Field. He wondered if Earth was on the other side of it, or if he was looking at a parallel universe that could only be seen from inside the wardrobe. He was both close to home and yet impossibly far away.

The house was full of secrets, but so too were the places it had linked to. His programmer brain was busy trying to make sense of it all, to tie the threads together, but the house was determined to keep its mysteries.