College Magic Cycle

Magery Chapter 9

Introduction

I welcome feedback from readers, in fact I thrive on it. It's really the only payment authors on NIFTY receive for their efforts. If you enjoy the story please take a moment to drop me an email and let me know. Comments from my readers drive my creativity.

This cycle includes four storylines. The stories intertwine. They are listed in the College Magic Cycle folder in the suggested reading order.

Please remember that NIFTY is a free site that provides an invaluable resource for men like us. Please consider donating to help ensure that site remains available for everyone. https://donate.nifty.org/

You can contact me at pseudonominius@gmail.com.

Author's Notes

·        If you want to be informed of new stories, send me an email, and ask to be put on the notification list. I'll send a notification. Everyone will be on the bcc line so your email address will not show to other members. Google sometimes blocks messages from this notification list. I don't know why. The google group listed below is the more stable option for getting notifications.

·        I have created a google group for people who want to get more information about my stories in that format. Only I can view the member list, so data should be secure. If a reader sends a question my way, I will post the answer to that group after removing any information about the reader. It's a good way to get more background information if you want. https://groups.google.com/g/pseudominius-stories

·        My editor is Robbear (robbear78@gmail.com). He not only edited this story but provided a lot of insight and suggestions that made the story better.

My Stories

·        College Magic (authoritarian and sf/fantasy)

·        Jack and the Giant (sf/fantasy)

·        Sacred Submissives (authoritarian and sf/fantasy)

·        Bellus Cinaedus (authoritarian and historical)

·        Guardian Angel (authoritarian and sf/fantasy)

·        Nivean and the Dvergar (authoritarian)

·        Small Town Slave Boys (authoritarian)

·        Desert Heat (beginnings)

·        Eros in Arcadia (Sf/fantasy)

·        Constituent Services (Encounters)

·        The Dancing Princes

Magery Chapter 9
Third week in September

Sebastian

It was Wednesday morning. I'd gotten up early because I wanted to complete my paperwork for Professor Thorne before I had to wake Ethan for his morning meeting with the novice mage group. I went down the list of the male undergraduate mages, paying special attention to the freshmen. I'd made notations on all of them over the last week. There were only two outstanding notes. Clarissa had measured Alonzo's power and it was just as we'd suspected. He was in the ninety-fifth percentile. Jason had showed a talent for organization. Alchemy House was producing the weapons we'd asked for on schedule, and he was still managing to produce the usual products that college-aged mages demanded. He was making everything; examples included alchemical hygiene supplies, hair dyes, depilatories, refection elixirs to banish fatigue, and alchemical power bars to replace a meal.

My Speculum Arcanum began to vibrate. I opened the case and saw the mirror shimmering. The name Conclavia Esther Blume appeared on the mirror to let me know who was calling. I quickly cast the encantum silentium spell on the bed where Ethan lay sleeping, his bare butt sticking out of the sheets like it did so often. Now he wouldn't hear my conversation.

"Salve et bonum mane, Conclavia," I said.

She replied, "Ut tu quoque salveas, Sebastiane."

Like most American mages, we switched to English once we'd exchanged greetings. Conclavia Blume continued, "Are you free for lunch today, Sebastian?"

There was no way that an important woman like Esther Blume wanted to pay me a social call, so I knew she wanted to talk business. "I can be available from noon to two o'clock, Conclavia."

She replied, "Good. I would like to meet with you and Micah at that time, or afterward, if necessary, but I will have to be back in the Nexus for an important social function by six o'clock. Can you make arrangements for us to have lunch?"

I had all the schedules for the dorm mages in my notes. "Micah's available from eleven to two on Wednesdays. Do you want to meet with his boyfriend as well?"

She asked, "Is this the new boy you told me about? Cameron, I believe you said in your notes."

"Yes, Conclavia. Cameron Campbell. He's a nice young man from an old family, not Fifty Families, but respectable enough. I think you'll like him."

"So long as he's nothing like Remuel Adler, I'll adore him. And do you think you've convinced him to change his mind?" she asked.

I replied, "I think Micah and Cameron have been in love for a long time but haven't been able to admit it to one another. I think it's very likely that your son will choose to be with Cameron."

"You've done a good job so far, Sebastian. You'll go far if you keep it up. Once we get a dirigent in to run Severan, they'll need an adjutant. I can't guarantee you the position, but I can guarantee that your name will be on the list."

I decided to take a chance on getting some other matters cleared up. "I didn't do it alone, Conclavia. Jason Lee has been of tremendous help in showing Micah another way. You may have noticed the bill he's presented for alchemical weapons we're stockpiling. With open conflict on the horizon, we need him to continue the work."

She chuckled. "You're learning to play the game, Sebastian. I'll see that Magus Lee's bill gets to the proper committee."

I sent a message to Cameron and Micah telling them that Conclavia Blume would like to take them to lunch at noon. Then I crawled into bed next to Ethan and canceled my silence spell. I'd thought about buying him an alarm clock, but I enjoyed waking him up. And sometimes, I thought that he played at being asleep because he enjoyed it too.

I snuggled up next to him and kissed his neck while my right hand rubbed gently across his firm butt. He stirred in his sleep but didn't awaken yet. The boy loved his sleep. He was always cute, but when he was sleeping, he looked angelic. His shaggy blond hair spilled over his pillow and the tiniest little bit of drool ran from the corner of his mouth. His sigila were quiescent and his breathing was slow and steady.

I knew the moment he went from truly sleeping to pretending to sleep. His breathing sped up a little and a faint hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth, making his extremely kissable lips twitch. I rubbed his sweet little hole until he started giggling. Then I rolled him over onto his back and straddled his painfully erect penis. I planted my butt on it firmly and then I started tickling him. I ran my fingers across his smooth skin and dug them playfully into his ribs. He laughed loudly until his face started to turn red. Then he begged, "Okay! Okay! Please stop!"

There were only a few sparks dancing across his sigila, so his channels must have been cleared. I ran a finger along the glowing lines and swirls. "It isn't nice to try and trick me like that."

He arched his back, making himself look even sexier. Then he said, "I was hoping you'd be driven mad with lust and just give in to your animal nature and take me this morning like the frustrated bottom that I am."

I kissed his sweet lips and then his nose. "It's Wednesday morning. Your birthday is on Friday, and I'm going to take your virginity then and make you mine."

Ethan's face grew serious, and he ran his hands up my arms. "You do know that I'm yours now. All that's left is for you to take what I've been trying to give you."

I slid over so we were lying side by side. I took hold of his dripping cock and stroked it a couple of times. I stared into his eyes and said, "Trust me. Once you see what I have planned, you'll be glad we waited."

He tried to pout but broke out laughing instead. "Give me a hint"

I pulled my hand up to my lips and licked the precum off it. Then I ran it slowly down his chest until it rested very lightly on his penis. "I'll give you one word, and then that's it. Beaches."

That perked him up. "Where? Aren't the beaches getting too cold now that it's almost October?"

I smiled at him and replied, "That depends on where the beaches are. And don't bother to ask because I'm not going to tell you."

His face showed me that he was thinking. Then he said, "Acapulco? Waikiki? Tahiti? Australia?"

I kissed his lips to quiet him down. "You'll never guess because you've never heard of it."

He gave me a look that said he had his doubts. The boy was beach crazy, and he did know a lot about them. I couldn't resist. I said, "Melite Beach."

He frowned. "I've never heard of it."

I traced his lips with my finger. "I know, but you're going to love it. Calm, warm water, white sand, and an amazing resort that would be five stars if it bothered to allow anyone from the Michelin Guide entry."

Ethan rolled over on top of me and started unbuttoning my shirt. "It's a mage resort, isn't it? And I've never heard of it because it's hidden from mundanes, right?"

I just winked at him and said, "I'll never tell."

He pulled my shirt open and scooted down so he could open my trousers. Then he stopped and grabbed his wand from the wand holder on the table next to the bed. He waved it around and chanted, "Vestimenta deponantur; in sella iaceant." My clothes flew off and landed in a crumpled heap on the chair."

He put his wand back and smiled. He was obviously proud of himself. He said, "Now you're as naked as I am!"

I pretended like I couldn't throw him off. "Oh no, whatever are you going to do with me now that I'm helpless?"

Ethan laughed and scooted forward until his slimy dick was rubbing across my lips. "Now that I have you where I want you, you have to suck my dick!"

"Oh no. Such torture," I joked.

Then I opened my mouth and encircled the head of his slender penis. If he was still this small at just a couple days shy of eighteen, odds were that he was always going to be a little small down there. But it was nice. I sucked the whole thing into my mouth and used my tongue to lick all the precum off it. Unfortunately for him, he was already on edge. I'd barely finished when he started moaning. He leaned forward so he could push his cock all the way inside my mouth. It was pressing against the back of my throat but going no farther.

I took hold of his hips and pressed my face into his hairless pubic area. When I started rubbing my finger across his sphintria, he tensed and shouted, "YES! I... I... I'M CUMMINNNG."

I swallowed his load as quickly as he shot it. Small arcs of lightning danced along his sigila and then jumped to my body. Luckily, I'd attached a lighting ward to my Serapis medallion, so I felt no pain, just a little tickle.

When he finished cumming, I rolled over on my side and pulled his body close to mine. I brushed his shaggy hair out of his face and kissed him. "You're getting very good at that," I said.

He wrapped his arms around me and asked, "The sex or the magic."

I kissed him again and said, "Both."

He snuggled up against me and let his hands roam over my body. When he found my cock, he squeezed it gently and stroked it. Then he moved down so he was facing it. He licked his lips with exaggerated lasciviousness. "Now it's time for me to blow you."

I hadn't intended to give him any hints, but he was insistent and very cute. He probably had enough information now to find out where we were going on Friday, especially if he were to ask Oliver. He was so sweet, so sexy and so fun to be around that I knew I was falling for him more every day. And when he peeled back my foreskin and wrapped his lips around my cock, I felt like I was in heaven.

He concentrated on the head for a while, then he pulled back, grabbed his wand, and murmured the noli suffocare charm. He'd done it perfectly and my cock slid down his throat without triggering a bout of coughing or gagging. Some would say it was cheating, but in my mind, it was just another example of mages using magic to make their lives easier. And Ethan's throat felt wonderful on my dick.

My golden boy was learning fast. He went back and forth between teasing the head and swallowing my entire cock, and he used one hand to hold my balls firmly while the other rubbed up and down my crack, brushing against my own sphintria which was quivering eagerly. I hadn't felt a cock inside me since James Blackwell's monster back before school started. I resolved to teach Ethan how to fuck shortly after I taught him how to get fucked. He may be smallish, but he'd make my hole feel good, and he was long enough to reach my prostate. Sure, it felt great to be filled by a massive cock, but most guys were too fixated on size. There are plenty of ways a smaller cock can still make you feel good.

I felt his finger pressing on my hole. I always cleaned myself with magic whenever I showered or used the toilet, but I whispered a cleaning spell just to be sure and then a quick lubrication spell to make it easier for him. I was just in time. He pressed on, and his finger slipped inside easily.

I moaned, "Mm. That feels great, Ethan."

I was already excited from playing with Ethan's body and sucking his cock, so when his finger found my prostate, I knew I wasn't going to last much longer. But I was surprised how much longer I did last. Ethan had learned something new. When I got close, he pulled back and started kissing the shaft, ignoring the more sensitive head and frenulum. Then when I'd cooled off, he went back to sucking my cock and stroking my prostate with his long thin fingers.

I was arching my back and breathing heavily. I asked, "Where did you learn to edge a man like that? NO! Don't answer! It feels too good for you to stop."

He'd brought me to the brink three times, so when the fourth time rolled around, it didn't take long at all. My scrotum tightened, pulling my balls tight against my shaft. I felt pressure building in my cock and in my perineum. And then I exploded into his mouth, spraying the back of his throat. My hips bucked and my ass clamped tight on Ethan's fingers.

"MERLIN'S FUCKING STAFF! TAKE MY LOAD! SWALLOW IT!"

When my cock had stopped spurting and Ethan had licked me clean. He crawled back up to me and kissed me with his cum flavored mouth. Our tongues danced against one another for several minutes and our hands explored each other's bodies.

Ethan pulled back and said, "Micah has been teaching me things. That's how I know how to edge you like that."

I gave him a wicked smile and wagged my eyebrows at him. "Really? Micah, you say?"

Ethan punched me playfully in the chest. "Stop that! He showed me what to do on a big dildo he has. I'm not cheating on you."

He was looking at me earnestly like he was waiting for me to say something. I kissed his forehead and said, "I'm not cheating on you, either, but I don't want to tie you down. You're still learning about your sexuality. If you want to hook up with someone, just let me know."

He seemed worried. "You wouldn't get jealous?"

Eheu_!_ I'd misread the situation. Ethan was obviously getting worried that I wasn't that into him. I brushed his shaggy hair aside and said, "Of course I would get jealous, but I care enough about you to let you do what you want no matter how I feel."

He pressed his cheek against my chest. "I just want to be with you."

I kissed the top of his head and said, "That's what I want as well."

Oliver

I'd been awake for an hour before Lalo began stirring. I was doing my calculus homework and watching him at the same time. He was stretched out naked on the bed we'd shared last night. He was objectively one of the best-looking men I'd ever met. He had deep brown eyes, like golden brown topaz, and his eye lashes were longer than any I'd ever seen before. His raven black hair hung in waves down to his shoulders. Sometimes he pulled it back into a wolf's tail; other times he let it hang loose. His skin was very light brown and he had only a little more body hair than I did. Compared to me, he looked buff, but I was extremely skinny.

I ran through some porn scenarios in my mind and decided I would try one. I used the vestimenta deponere spell to remove my clothing and then I slid carefully into bed next to Lalo. I inhaled his scent. The first time I smelled him, it had put me off just a little. It wasn't bad, but it was... different. But now that I'd slept several times wrapped in his arms, breathing in his scent all night, I found it arousing. It wasn't that he stank. It was just that all non-mages had a stronger odor than us, and werewolves had a sharper edge to their scent.

I pressed my face as close to his cock as I could without waking him. He was already fully erect and a tiny drop of precum glistened at the tip. I stuck out my tongue and licked it off. Lalo shuddered and rolled over onto his back, but he didn't wake. His new position allowed me to kneel between his legs and lick the shaft from his balls to the tip. Then I touched his cock gently and waited to see if he would awaken. When he didn't, I peeled his foreskin back revealing the glistening head of his penis. I held it gently and slowly ran my tongue across it. I really liked the flavor of his body, and that included everything: his sweat, his saliva, his precum and... of course... his cum.

I kept licking: his shaft, the head of his cock, and then his balls. It wasn't until I wrapped my lips around the tip that he woke up. I could tell the exact moment when it happened. His thighs tightened and his hands moved to stroke my hair. "Now that is the best way to wake up, Oli. Keep on doing that."

I tried to acknowledge him without taking my mouth off his cock. It came out, "M'ruv er gog."

Lalo stroked my hair and said, "That felt interesting, but you don't have to talk. Damn it, Oli, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

I'd read a lot of technical sites on the web about sucking cock, and I studied a lot of porn. I practiced as often as I could on my collection of dildos. I'd even used magic to create a simulacrum of a man and practiced on him, so I knew what I was doing when it came to sucking cock. I kept my teeth covered and applied the right amount of suction. I used my tongue to tease the head for a while, then I swallowed him until my nose was buried in his pubes and his cock extended a few inches into my throat.

I went back and forth between teasing the head and deep throating his cock. It wasn't long before I felt his body begin to tense. His balls were tightening in my hand and his hands were tangling themselves in my hair.

"Fuck yeah! That feels so fucking good. I'm going to blow any minute."

I applied more suction and rubbed the head of his cock more vigorously with my tongue. And when he did finally explode, I didn't just let his load spill into my mouth, I sucked it out with as much force as I could muster.

Lalo pulled my hair a little harder and yelled, "I'M CUMMING! FUCK YEAH! SWALLOW MY LOAD. TAKE IT ALL! UNGH! UNGH! Ungh! Ungh, ungh, ungh... You are fucking amazing, Oli."

He sat up, pulled me next to him on the bed and crushed my lips with his own. He thrust his tongue inside my mouth. He didn't try to dominate me with his kiss. It was like we were partners, and our tongues were each caressing the other. It was like they were dancing or mirroring each other. The kiss felt like it was going to last forever, but we eventually pulled apart. It was so good that I didn't even mind Lalo's morning breath.

Lalo ran one finger along my lips. "You are more handsome than you know, Oli."

I snorted. "We both know that's not true, Lalo. You are the most handsome guy I've ever had a chance to talk to. I can't believe that a 5... no make that a 6 or 7... like me is lying here in bed with a 10 like you."

Lalo shook his head. "Don't keep selling yourself short, Oli."

"I'm not conventionally attractive and I'm too skinny," I insisted. "Flattery doesn't work with me."

Lalo put his arm around me and replied, "I like guys who are unconventionally attractive. Did you see how hard I was? I was thinking about you while I slept. And I wasn't even thinking about sex. I was thinking of the two of us sitting together, talking, and doing our schoolwork together. It was just us being normal, and it was enough to get me hard."

I poked him in the ribs. "You are weirder than I am, Lalo."

"See, Oli, that's what makes you so attractive. You're perceptive enough to see how weird I am, and intelligent enough to find it alluring."

I kissed his chest. "I like weird."

Lalo turned my face so he could look into my eyes. "I want to be serious for a moment, Oli. I know you don't know much about pack culture, but I'm a beta and a gay bottom. Whenever I'm around an alpha or a beta top, I can't help it. My body just reacts. My dick gets hard, my fucking culo gets all loose and tingly. I've been told that my body starts giving off a scent that says, `come and get it!'. But with you, things are different. You make me want to top. I've never really felt that before, and it is something that has changed my life."

I thought for a moment then asked, "Does that mean that you don't want me to top you?"

"Oh, heck no, Oli. That's not what I'm saying at all. I want you to take me and throw me on the bed and fuck me hard, but it's my own choice. It's not my body taking charge and overriding my mind. You excite me physically, but I'm the one making the choice. With you, I have options that I don't have with the pack, and I don't want to be without that."

I was still hard from watching him sleep and sucking his cock had just made me hornier. I tweaked his nipple and said, "I think I'm ready now, if you are. That little speech of yours has given me the courage to go ahead and try and top your sexy ass."

He took hold of my hand and said, "There isn't time this morning. I have to douche and lubricate, and then we'd only have about fifteen minutes before I have to leave for class."

I put my hand on his hip and said, "Roll over. You forget that I'm a mage, not just a mage, but a really talented mage. If I say there's time, there is."

He rolled over and I used the ablutio spell to clean his ass, and the unctio spell to lubricate him. Then I kissed his round, muscular cheeks. If there were time, I would try my tongue at rimming, but we were in a hurry, and I was not confident enough in my ability to work the tempus detentum to try slowing time down.

I decided to play the role of a top to the hilt. I slapped his sexy butt and said, "Lift your hips up, Lalo. I need to get inside you before I explode."

And that reminded me. I chanted, "Eiaculatio mea retineatur." Now I wouldn't have to worry about cumming too soon.

My unctio spell made his rosula slippery, but I wanted to stroke it for a little while. I'd never had a chance to explore a real hole other than my own. Lalo's was smooth, although it was surrounded by a few silky black hairs. I rubbed it a few times, eliciting a low growl of pleasure from him. Then I pressed inward. Lalo's hole seemed to open and suck my finger inside.

"Oh, fuck me, Oliver. Your finger feels so good that I'm getting hard again, and I just came a few minutes ago!"

I thrust my finger all the way inside. His ass was warm, slippery, and smooth like velvet. I pressed inside and probed with my finger until I found his volupium. The English word prostate wasn't a true cognate because the volupium was the area inside the rectum that lay next to the prostate gland. We used the same word to refer to the sensitive area of the female vagina. Lalo's volupium was extremely sensitive. When I touched it, he let out what I could only describe as a "yelp", almost like a puppy.

I slipped my digitus impudicus (the finger you use to give a rude gesture) inside to join my index. I used both fingers to stroke his volupium until he started panting. I loved the way his ass muscles clamped on my fingers to show their eagerness.

Lalo growled, "You're good at this. I had no idea that you were a master fingerbanger."

I chuckled. "It's beginner's luck."

I didn't want to admit to him that I'd created a magical simulacrum that I could summon when needed, but I realized that its ass didn't feel right at all. Now that I knew what one felt like, I could fix that. I hadn't fucked the simulacrum because I wanted my first time to be the real thing. And the warm, velvety feeling of Lalo's ass showed me just how right I was to wait. But that was over now. I needed to take the next step.

"You feel ready for me, Lalo, but I'm not an expert. Do you need me to play with your ass some more, or can I fuck you now?"

His response was almost a whine. "Don't wait any longer, Oli. I need to feel you inside me. Do it now... please!"

I rubbed the head of my cock against his well lubricated rosula_._ I took a deep breath and prepared myself for this momentous event. I pressed forward and Lalo's anus seemed to open and welcome me inside. I felt a rush of pleasure run through me when Lalo's rosula gripped my cock. I was glad that I had used the spell to hold back my orgasm. I was so excited that I would have cum at the moment of penetration. My heart was racing, and my skin grew moist with sweat. The retensio eiaculationis spell would hold me on edge. I'd used it before while masturbating, but the feeling of a warm ass on my dick made all those earlier experiences with my hand fade into insignificance. Even those times Micah had sucked my dick seemed pale and shallow.

I pressed forward until my pubes were rubbing against his almost, but not quite, smooth butt. He was moaning and moving his backside in such a horny and submissive way that it made me feel powerful that I was the cause of his pleasure. If this was what topping felt like, I wanted to do it again, and again, and again... ad nauseam.

One of the stereotypes mages held about lupipelles was that they were violent, strong, aggressive... and lusty. I knew that Lalo didn't match the hyper-masculine stereotype at all, but the fact that I was topping a werewolf made me feel virile and strong. It was a feeling I liked.

Thanks to the retensio eiaculationis spell I could continue to let the pleasure build until I couldn't take it anymore. My balls were already tight against my shaft and waves of ecstasy were already washing over my body.

I slapped Lalo's ass and said, "Are you ready for my load, pulcherrime? Are you ready to be seeded by your pedicator?

Lalo moaned, "Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Give it to me, Oli. Seed me like a bitch!"

I thrust all the way to the root inside him and muttered, "eiacular." It wasn't a spell. No one could remember a spell at a time like that. No, it was merely the trigger phrase to end the retensio eiaculationis spell.

All the pent-up energy came flowing out along with my load. "AAAAARGH! VENIO! I'M CUMMING. TRISME-FUCKING-GISTUS!"

If I believed in blasphemy, I'd be going to the pits of Tartarus, but it would be worth it. It's not exaggeration to say that I had never felt such an intense rush of pleasure before. I knew at that moment that I was going to be a dedicated pedicator, a fucker of asses. At the back of my mind, I also knew that I would be using that retensio eiaculationis spell again. The way it had kept me on edge until I released it had turned an already amazing sensation into something completely transcendental.

I collapsed on top of Lalo. It was like my orgasm had drained all my energy. I slid to one side and rolled onto my back. Lalo wasted no time. He quickly moved down and swallowed my cock. He sucked it clean, swallowing my cum and his natural ass juices. The best thing was that the magical lubrication spell left no lube to ruin the taste.

I'd pushed us close to the limit on time, so I waved my wand over my head and said, "laver et emunder."

I didn't do flashy magic, so there was no flash, bang or interesting visual effects. In the blink of an eye, I was clean and well groomed. Then I turned my wand toward Lalo. He cried, "No! Don't take my scent away."

I smiled at him and replied, "Do you trust me?"

He sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes, Oli, I do."

"I'm not bragging when I say that I'm a very good mage, Lalo. I combined two common spells to clean and groom at the same time, and this morning while I was watching you sleep, I changed the mental image of the spell, altered the intonation and revisualized the pattern. This should... no, it will work."

And now I had to make it work. I hadn't actually tried the spell, but spell modification came easily to me. Most mages had to essentially learn each variation as a new spell, however I'd been working on modifying a spell while casting it, similar in many ways to how a rogue mage cast spells through visualization. But my technique was based on altering the mathematical structure of the resultant pattern before imposing it on the structure of reality.

I pointed my wand at Lalo and said, "lavere proprie oleis exceptis."

His body had been cleansed of sweat and the streaks of cum remaining from our coupling just a few minutes ago. I almost laughed when he raised an arm and sniffed his pit. I'd left him with all his own natural scents, but all those caused by souring of his sweat or from outside his body (including that obnoxious perfumy soap he liked) had been removed.

He was almost beaming with excitement. "Thank you, Oli. That saved a lot of time."

He started to put on the fresh clothes he'd brought with him, but I held up and hand and said, "Wait." I waved my wand at him and said, "Vestiare vestamentis tuis!" His clothes flew onto his body. Then I chanted another spell. "Emundere!" His hair untangled and pulled back into a loose wolf's tail. His teeth glistened like they'd been brushed and polished. His nails were trimmed and buffed, and he was clean shaven like he was every morning.

Lalo looked at himself in the mirror and let out a slow whistle. "Damn, Oli. I will never doubt you again."

I was still naked when he hugged me and planted a fresh tasting kiss on my mouth. "I love waking up with you, and... well the sex is great! Now, you need to get dressed so we can walk to class together."

I performed the same spells for myself, but without the modifications I'd made for Lalo. Then we rushed out the door.

Ethan

The morning magic training session was held in the sub-basement of Severan House. I met up with Alan Somers before heading over. He was a freshman like me, but he was taller. That was no surprise. Among the boys, only Kieran and Alonzo were shorter than me. I liked him. We had a literature class and a math class together, so we had a lot of time to talk. And he liked going to the beach as much as I did. He came from North Carolina and there were more than two dozen beaches there, some of them pretty famous.

On the way down the hall, we met up with Nathan Rand and Patrick McMillan. Patrick called us over and said, "Hey guys, did you know about the tunnels?"

I shook my head. "What tunnels?"

Patrick replied, "All the buildings have sub-basements and they're all connected by tunnels. My friend Oscar told me about them and showed me how to get inside. Let's use them to go to Severan House."

Alan and I looked at each other and then readily agreed. We took the stairs down to the basement. The area was mostly full of large storage lockers students could rent where they could keep things that wouldn't easily fit in their rooms, but there were also a dozen student bedrooms down there. They weren't suites like the ones above. They were single rooms. I'd been told during the dorm orientation that the rooms were usually empty, but there was the faint sound of music coming from behind one of the doors as we walked past.

Patrick led us to a door that bore the mark of Trismegistus, a staff with winged snakes entwined around it. That symbol usually meant that mundanes wouldn't be able to see it. Patrick stopped and pulled out his wand. He touched the symbol on the door with the tip of the wand. He said, "There's no spell, just the touch of an attuned arcane implement."

We followed him through the door and onto the stairs that led down to the sub-basement. Beneath Baylor Hall there was a large room, that was probably for banquets, and a lot of smaller rooms. Patrick was able to show us to the tunnel. A plaque beside the door said that it led to all the buildings along the north side of campus and to the quadrivium, which we took to be a place where the andrones (tunnels) met.

The layout was simple. One andron ran from Baylor Hall (Aula Baiulia) to Severan House (Domus Severana), with doors to the sub-basements beneath the Student Union (Aula Studentia), the Language Building (Aula Litterarum) and the Psychology and Social Sciences Building (Aula Artium Humanarum). A side tunnel led to the Music Annex (Aula Musica).

I had to admit that braving the tunnels made me feel like we were explorers. Given the emptiness and the lack of any signs of use, we assumed that this substructure had been abandoned, but we were wrong. While we were dawdling and peering into all the sub-basements, we were making enough noise that we didn't hear the footsteps behind us.

"You're going to make yourselves late for your class, nosing around the hypogea of the college." Of course, it was Clarissa. Of all the graduate students on campus, she was the one most like a stern professor. All four of us wilted like guilty schoolboys under her gaze.

She gestured up the hallway and said, "Let's get moving."

We all started walking up the hallway, much quieter and more restrained now Clarissa was with us. Even Nathan was subdued, and he towered over her at six foot three inches tall. I decided to get her talking because she was less intimidating when she was lecturing than when she was giving us the eye of disapproval.

"What's all this for and why is it abandoned?" I asked.

She gestured around us and said, "This structure is called the androneum, which is a fancy word for a series of interconnected tunnels. Most of the buildings on campus are connected. The newer dorms that are not used by mages aren't. Beneath each building is a hypogeum or substructure that contains rooms that were once in wide use. We still use them occasionally for official purposes, and some mages sneak down here to `hook up' with one another."

"So why doesn't everyone know about it?"

She sighed, "Everyone except the freshmen do know about it, Ethan. It's not some lost secret that only you four have discovered. You'll find that many of the mage students use these passages when it's raining or too cold outside. As a general rule, we've closed down some of the more attractive parts of the androneum to keep them hidden from the mundanes. When the... um... when the parts that are now closed were open, there were too many incidents of the mages sneaking their mundane friends down below and we had a rash of revelation crises as they were shocked into seeing the magical world."

"What's hidden down here?" I asked, my curiosity really piqued now.

She hesitated and then said, "There's the Palaestra, the Luditorium_,_ and the Thermae."

I counted them out on my fingers. "The wrestling room, the something to do with games, and the baths?"

She gave me a smile of approval and said, "Close. The Palaestra is for exercising, both physically and magically. The Luditorium is for games, often games involving magic. And the Thermae, well you're right. Roman style baths."

Nathan asked, "Can we use them?"

Clarissa put one hand to her forehead and said, "I told you they were closed. They have been closed since 1973."

We kept walking until we reached the hypogeum (I liked that word better than sub-basement) of Severan House. We passed through the large octagonal room called the centrum (because it was in the middle) and into the room Clarissa used for training. It too was a large octagon, but it was empty save for Clarissa's teaching tools and the silk banners covered with arcane sigils that hung on all the walls.

The other six novice mages were already there. Irene Newell, Maura Williams, Taylor Millhouse, and Deanna Syrtis were standing around yelling encouragement while Ursula Lavigne, Leia Wozniak, Harry Cooper, and Quentin Thomas were swinging wooden staves around and flinging colored lights and sparks at one another.

Clarissa didn't say anything. She just stood there staring at them until they noticed her, at which point they became very quiet. She gestured toward the rack where another eight staves stood. "Go ahead and take a staff. Today we're going to learn about using implements other than our wands."

We all rushed to grab a staff and then to take our place around the circle. Clarissa began speaking. "Every implement is different. Your wands allow you to cast quickly and with greater finesse, but a staff causes greater fluctuations in the background flow of the numina."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a staff of her own. Hers was much more ornate, with crystals embedded in the signs amid a vast array of inscribed sigils. The tip was an ornate structure of silver that contained a bright white flame. We'd all seen her pull things from her purse that shouldn't fit in there, but we gave her an appreciative clap, nonetheless.

She proceeded to show us how to use the staff. It was different. The motions for the spells were choppier and more powerful, almost like martial arts moves, and we could all feel the numina rippling around us. She had us practice some simple levitation spells. It took us a while to get results from the staff, but when we did, we could feel the difference in the force we were wielding.

Afterward, Alan and I had to go to our shared literature class.

"Let's go upstairs and walk across campus; I want to feel the wind," I said.

Alan put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious look. "We can; and if you don't mind, keep an eye out. I'm pretty sure that I've seen something upstairs, lurking in the shadows."

I loved his accent. Ah'm pretty shu-er that ah've seen something upsta-ers. I put a hand on his shoulder and let a tiny spark jump between us, giving him a jolt. "Don't worry, Alan; I'll protect you."

I couldn't help laughing a little as I said it. Alan was almost as good a mage as I was, and that was impressive because Sebastian kept giving me tips and helping me to practice. And of course, he was four or five inches taller than me.

He poked me in the ribs and said, "You know that is not what I mean. I think there's a ghost lurking up there. I've been reading up on it and there are tales about the Ghost of Severan House, but no one seems to know exactly who he is, or what he wants. There's not a lot of information, really."

We walked up the stairs and Alan slipped an arm around my shoulders. He wasn't being creepy, but I'd gotten the impression he wanted me to know that he was interested if I was. Meanwhile, he was happy being my friend. We'd wandered up to the basement from the hypogeum (I couldn't get enough of that word!), when Alan stopped and whispered, "There he is. Do you see him over by the historical gallery?"

I looked in that direction and saw a shadowy figure without much detail hovering around the wall of photos. Alan could tell that I saw something. He said, "He's dressed in an old-fashioned suit with a jacket that comes down to the middle of his calves. It has a vest and a shirt with a really high color. And he's wearing a graduation robe."

I shook my head. "I just see a shadow in the shape of a man."

"Are you kidding me? He's as clear as can be," he said.

At that moment, the figure seemed to notice us. He faded away. Without discussing the matter, both Alan and I ran up to look at the wall of photographs. There were dozens of photos in glass boxes, the old daguerreotypes. They were remarkably clear and well preserved. The banner above the photos said, "Senior Class of Severan College 1842 to 1860, Student Orientation and Commencement."

Alan said, "He was staring at these pictures. The answer to who he is must be here."

I asked, "Why are you so concerned about it?"

Alan shrugged and smiled. "Maybe it's for the same reason that he only shows himself to me. No one else has ever been able to see him clearly. I think he wants something from me."

He had a distant look on his face. It suddenly occurred to me. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Alan shook his head and chuckled. "I doubt it. He just intrigues me; that's all."

I decided not to let it go. "Is he handsome?"

He nodded and replied, "He has dark skin and curly hair, kind of wild on top and brushed forward on the sides. And he's short – like you."

He put me in a playful headlock with that last phrase and then started dragging me toward the stairs. "We can't stand around here all day looking at vintage photos of hot guys. We have a class to get to so we can discuss Emmerson."

Being around Alan was kind of like having an older brother. I was an only child, and my cousins were all younger than me. Not that Alan was much older. He was nineteen and would be turning twenty in November. I'd be eighteen this weekend, so he was just ten months my elder, but he'd told me about his two younger brothers back home.

He let go of my neck when we reached the top of the stairs, but we laughed and joked around all the way to class.

Micah

I kept staring at myself in the mirror. I liked what I saw, but I wasn't sure how Mom would react. Cameron was standing behind me. He put a hand on my shoulder and brushed my hair away so he could kiss my neck. "You're beautiful, Micah. Don't worry. Your mom is going to love you."

I used magic to lengthen my hair last weekend at Elijah's house. Now it hung down to my shoulders in waves. I'd applied a little eyeliner to make my eyes stand out more, and I was wearing lip gloss that made my lips seem moist.

My dusty rose silk shirt was loose and blousy. I wore it open to the third button, so the necklace of rose gold titanium links Cameron had bought for me was clearly visible with my Serapis medallion hanging below it. I'd kept my body completely smooth with the Unguentum Mollientum that I'd ordered from Flaminian's Apothecary in the Nexus. My nails were now well shaped and painted with metallic blue nail polish.

"You don't think it's too mollis for me?" I asked, holding out a hand.

Cameron chuckled, "I don't know how girly it is. But it looks good on you."

"What would your mother say if she saw it?"

Cameron lifted my right hand and kissed it. "If she saw it on me, she'd think that someone had been messing with mind because it's not me. But when she sees it on you, she's going to love it. And if your mother knows you as well as my mother knows me, she's going to know that this is just who you are."

I stood up and straightened the brown skirt I was wearing. It came down to just a few inches above my knees. I put on a few bracelets and then picked up a pair of dangly earrings that looked like gold hoops with spikes hanging down. I'd purchased them back in my Academy days, but I hadn't worn them much since then. They were of mage manufacture, so they didn't require pierced ears; they just stayed where you hung them until you decided to move them.

I sighed. "I'm torn, Cameron. Do I wear the skirt, or do I change into pants?"

He turned me so he could stare deep into my eyes. He smiled broadly and said, "I don't care which you wear. You look good in both, but you already told me that you don't want to wear athletic shoes with a skirt and you're going to be walking to two classes back-to-back and then climbing up the stairs to the third floor of the Student Union to have lunch. I think you should wear those black slacks and your comfortable shoes because if your feet get sore, I'm going to feel sorry for you and carry you up the stairs and I don't want to have to do that."

I kissed him carefully so as not to rub all my lip gloss off and replied, "Thank you for giving me a compelling reason to be comfortable."

I waved my wand and chanted, "Fustaneum deponatur et in armario iaceat. Me bracis vestier."

I hadn't combined two spells. That was Oliver's forte. Instead, I had cast a spell to put the skirt back into the dresser and followed it immediately by one to put my trousers on. A pair of socks, a pair of nice athletic shoes and then I was ready. Cameron had been waiting for me, so he grabbed my backpack in addition to his own and we set out for class.

I had adopted a new style. It was androgynous with the trousers, and I got a few looks, enough to make Cameron wrap his arm around my shoulder, like he was telling other guys to back off. It felt good to lean against him as we walked to class.

Julian

"And that's checkmate," Omar said.

His smile was infectious. I'd been teaching Medieval History at Severan College for five years, but Omar had just been hired to teach Middle Eastern History, and I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind since the first time we'd met. He was six feet tall, with a trim, but muscular build. He was always dressed in a suit, as befitted a professor at Several College, but when his jacket was off you could see his muscles through his tailored shirts. His hair was dark brown with lighter brown highlights. He had curls on top of his head, with a high fade that blended into his extremely close-trimmed beard. His eyes were dark brown with flecks of gold, and they always looked like they were surrounded by eyeliner, but I'd stared at them long enough to be almost a hundred percent certain that wasn't the case. His strong nose could best be described as aquiline, and his lips were well-shaped and sensual.

I wouldn't say that I was obsessed with him, but I had tried to find out everything I could about him. He was twenty-eight years old, with a BA from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Princeton. His family came as Assyrian refugees from Iraq in 1990, but he had been born in Chicago. He had two older brothers and a younger sister. He was raised mundane, but he was discovered as a mage during his sophomore year of college. He had no dating history that I could discover. Whenever I mentioned the subject, he always deflected it.

I put my attention back on the board. I was a very good chess player, but Omar's face distracted me, and so did his voice. He had no specific accent, other than a hint of Midwestern and we had that in common. Still his voice was deep and resonant. I imagined that he'd be a good singer if he gave it a try.

I shook his hand and said, "Good game, Omar. You win again."

He smiled and said, "You seem to be off your game today."

I nodded. "I am. There's something that's been preying on my mind."

He smiled at me, making my stomach flutter. He didn't say anything, so I decided to just take a chance. "Would you like to have lunch with me today, or dinner with me tonight?"

His smile intensified. "Are you asking me out on a date, Julian? I only ask because a friend of mine told me that you've been asking around about my dating history."

I was 40 years old, but still I blushed at having been caught out. "Maybe I am. And if I am, what would you say?"

"Do I seem gay to you, Julian?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Omar. If I could tell, I wouldn't be trying to investigate you behind your back."

He was still smiling in a friendly way. "I'll stop picking on you now, Julian. I am gay. The reason I have no dating history is because my parents are somewhat old-fashioned. I know that I'll have to tell them sometime, but I want to avoid it until I find someone I plan to be with on a long-term basis. I don't really date, but I do hookup with guys I like. I'm just discrete about it."

I laughed weakly and said, "Then no lunch date, I suppose."

Omar waved his wand and the door to the office closed and latched. "We can have lunch together. I like you. You were very nice to me and helped me get settled in here at Severan. You helped ease my anxiety about getting a post at such a prestigious college at my age. And I think you're very handsome. But we'll need to keep our interactions collegial in public until such time as we decide to make this relationship more than just a series of very nice hookups."

"Then we do have a lunch date," I chuckled.

Omar nodded. "Lunch date today, but no hand holding in public."

I said, "If we ever start dating openly, there will be a lot of disappointed undergraduates out there. You have quite the fan club, you know."

He held out his hand and pulled me to my feet. "So do you. Maybe they'll start `shipping' us."

I was going to answer with something witty, but he stopped me. He grabbed hold of me and pressed his mouth to mine, crushing my lips and thrusting his tongue inside my mouth aggressively. Foolish me. I'd mistaken closeted with reticent and naïve. Omar knew what he wanted, and I was happy to let him take it.

We kissed for several minutes, and Omar's hands explored my body through clothes. He squeezed my biceps and rubbed his hands across my pecs and down my lats. His hands cupped my ass and squeezed my cheeks. Finally, he pressed his hand against my erection and smiled. "I think we're going to have some fun. But now it's time for lunch."

We made sure our clothes were in order and then we left the history building to get lunch.

Academia Lounge was the nicest restaurant on campus. It was the place where professors and visitors liked to eat. I had a salad with grilled salmon and cilantro lime vinaigrette. Omar ordered pork chops stuffed with wild mushrooms. With the scalloped potatoes and grilled corn, his meal was a lot heavier than mine.

I smiled across the table at him and asked, "Pork chops aren't halal, are they?"

He finished chewing and then replied, "You didn't do your homework as well as you thought. My family's not Muslim. My parents are Chaldean Christians. My sister married a Muslim, an Arab American. That went over about as well as you can imagine given that both Iraqi and Arab immigrants came to this country due to persecution in their homeland."

Out of curiosity I asked, "And you? Are you still a member of your parents' church?"

He allowed the smile that made his eyes sparkle to adorn his face. "You know how it is, or maybe you don't, given the fact that you're..." he lowered his voice to a whisper... "a mage from an old family. Once you're on the church rolls, you never get off them unless you get excommunicated. But I like Mage Universalism. It has all the ritual and music, but no requirement that I actually believe."

We talked throughout the rest of the meal. Omar was an expert at flirting while remaining completely innocent on the surface. He kept me horny and at least semi-erect all through lunch. When the bill came, he pushed it over toward me and said, "You're paying for lunch. You've been here for several years, while I had to struggle along with a State University salary before I got here."

Then he winked at me. "Besides, it's customary for the more mature partner to pay."

I took the bill and whispered, "Is that what I am, a sugar daddy for a younger man?"

He whispered back, "Younger, but still calling the shots. Are you willing to accept those conditions?"

A chill ran down my spine. Omar was much more aggressive than I was. He excited me so intensely that I would have agreed to anything at that point. I nodded. "Yes. I think that would be more than acceptable."

I paid the bill, and we walked back to the history department. Outside, it was easier to talk without being heard. Because Omar was determined to keep his sexuality private, I let him take the lead. I hadn't realized how cagey he could be. He fingered his pentacle ring and whispered, "Mens tua et mens mea conveniantque communicentque."

I could feel the spell taking shape. I recognized it, so I didn't resist its effects. And then I heard Omar's voice in my mind. "Do you agree to be my concubinus clandestinus?"

He'd basically asked me to be his secret lover. The spell allowed me to reply mentally, "I will."

He was chatting verbally about inconsequential matters. The real conversation was occurring mentally. "I need you to understand that I'm serious about this being secret for the time being."

"I understand," I replied.

"Are you willing to accept that I'm the one in charge?"

I thought about it. I'd never considered myself submissive in any way, but I'd never been overly forward either. All my relationships had sort of just happened. I'd never been with anyone as aggressive and... dare I say, dominant... as Omar. He made my blood boil and my skin tingle with excitement."

I nodded and thought back at him, "That's fine with me."

He smiled at me and said something aloud about the two-hundred-year-old elm tree in front of Baylor Hall and how older elms were becoming rare due to Dutch Elm Disease. In my mind, he said, "I'll meet you at the Arcane Circle in Severan House at six o'clock. You can take me to your house and let me learn the key to your circle. You need to be clean and wearing something sexy."

I nodded and then asked, "Why me? I'm not sexy like you are, and I'm twelve years older."

We'd arrived back at my office, so we could talk aloud. Omar pulled me tight against him and kissed me. He thrust his tongue inside my mouth and when he broke off the kiss he said, "Stop fishing for compliments. You're handsome, although that mustache is going to have to go. And you're slender, if not muscular. I don't need, or particularly want, a man who will challenge me at every turn. I want a man who will be content to be my eramenos and let me be his erastes."

I swallowed hard and said, "The eramenos is usually the younger and more desirable partner."

He patted my face gently and said, "If I didn't desire you, I wouldn't be going to your house tonight, I wouldn't be fucking that sexy round butt of yours tonight and I wouldn't be sleeping in your bed tonight."

I smiled at him and asked, "You think my butt is sexy?"

He turned me around and pushed me over my desk. Then he undid my belt and pulled both my trousers and briefs down, leaving my ass exposed. He ran one strong hand over my cheeks and then smacked it hard. "Just as I thought, round and sexy."

He slid his fingers along my crack and rubbed my hole. I moaned, "Mm. That feels good, Omar."

"And your ass shows promise," he said. Then he took hold of a few hairs and pulled them out, making me gasp with the sudden sharp pain. "Wear something sexy and shave your crack."

He leaned over my back and pressed his erection against my butt. I could feel his cock through the double layers of cloth that concealed it. He kissed my neck and then whispered in my ear. "I want your ass, balls and cock to be hairless when I fuck you tonight."

"Trismegiste! I'll do anything you ask, Omar."

He kissed my neck again and ground his erection against my ass, pressing me into the desk. "You will, Julian. And I have a powerful libido. I'll be fucking you morning and night, maybe sometimes at lunch, right here across your desk. And you'll be sucking my dick in between, whenever I get horny. Do you agree to those terms?"

"Yes... sir?" I added the honorific because I wasn't sure what he was expecting.

"If you want, but I'm not insisting on it. As far as I'm concerned, we're just Omar and Julian."

"Yes, Omar. I am more than happy with those terms."

He smacked my butt again and said, "Pull up your pants. We have a few more minutes before I have to go teach a class."

I did as he asked and then sat in the chair next to him. Omar asked, "Were you a top or a bottom?"

The past tense didn't escape my notice. I replied, "Versatile. I mean, I've topped and bottomed."

He shook his head. "While we're together, you're a bottom."

That didn't bother me too much. I loved getting fucked, but as for fucking, I could take it or leave it. So long as I wasn't left sexually frustrated. I looked at Omar and said, "I can handle that. I love getting fucked and I loved sucking dick, but...?"

He smiled at me and patted my knee. "...but you want to know how you will be satisfied. Don't worry. I'm not some monster who wants to deny you satisfaction. I'll make sure that you have plenty of orgasms. I'll play with your cock, and I like sucking dick, so long as there's no pubic hair to get in my mouth. I think you'll find that with the exception of my dislike for bottoming, I will be a very solicitous lover. And it's not that I'm prejudiced against bottoms or have some irrational fear that it will make me less of a man. I've tried it a couple of times just to be sure, and I don't enjoy it."

"All of this sounds acceptable to me, Omar. My dick has been hard this entire conversation, so my body definitely agrees with me."

He looked at his watch and stood up. "Almost time to go teach. Now get up and give me a kiss, Julian."

I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. His eyes were like golden brown pools and for a moment I felt as if I would be drawn into them and lose myself. We kissed and he held me tight against his chest. When we finished, he sighed and said, "Remember. Get rid of that mustache and no masturbating, no matter how horny I've made you."

"No masturbating?" I questioned.

He shook his head. "No more masturbating. Period."

He gave my cock a quick squeeze and winked mischievously. "You're older than me and I don't want you wasting your energy on masturbation. Your ass belongs to me; your dick belongs to me; and all your cum belongs to me."

When he left, I sank into the chair and stared into space. I had expected a shy young man whose mundane background had left him hiding in a closet. I had not expected a confident, aggressive gay man who knew exactly what he wanted. Instead of me mentoring him in a journey of self-acceptance, he was taking charge and molding me into... what? He kept saying that we had to keep our relationship secret unless he decided we were going to be together long term. Did he mean that this was a trial run? It bore thinking about.

Sebastian

Ethan was free so I decided to take him to lunch with Conclavia Blume. We'd both gone to meet her at Severan House. She was dressed impeccably in a jacket and skirt with a robe that resembled a coat. She had skin darker than Micah, a medium brown tone that was complemented by the red and gold of her outfit.

"It's good to see you, Conclavia." I wrapped my arm around Ethan's shoulder. "And this is Ethan Lowry, my boyfriend."

She put a hand on his cheek and nodded approvingly. "Good afternoon, Ethan. You are a lovely young man, and now I know why he's not available this weekend. I hope the two of you have fun."

Then she turned to me and said, "You two look marvelous together. Your mother must be pleased."

I nodded. "Thank you. She adores Ethan. Father and Grandmother on the other hand... who knows what they're really feeling?"

We started walking toward the Student Union. The Conclavia put a companionable hand on my left arm. My right arm was busy holding Ethan to my other side. "I hope I'm not going to upset your grandmother terribly by revealing her secrets, but she is very fond of Ethan. She brought him up twice in conversation, once while we were having lunch, and once at the Starlight Vigil at the Sternkassel Hotel."

"Really? She'd given me the impression that she wasn't sure about him." She'd given me the impression that he wasn't suitable, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Ethan. I knew that it would hurt his feelings if my family thought he wasn't good enough for me.

"Oh, yes. Cassiopeia Winthrop mentioned that her son Gavin was available again, and Sylvia Orlov reminded her that her son Max was looking for a new husband. And I heard your grandmother telling them that you were off the market because you'd found `a delightful young man who made you happy'."

That surprised me, but I decided to file it away for later. Right now, we had business. I was beginning to worry about Cameron and Micah showing up late, but they came up the stairs behind us.

Cameron

Micah had been dragging his feet getting ready, but I didn't let my frustration show. He was nervous about having lunch with his mother and I didn't want to cause him more distress. He looked gorgeous like he always did. I could be biased because I'm in love with him, but I thought Micah was the best-looking guy on campus.

While we made our way to the Student Union, I put an arm around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. "Don't worry, babe. Everything will be great."

Then I was overcome by anxiety of my own. "She's not going to hate me, is she?"

Micah stopped and threw his arms around my neck. "No, Cameron, my mother will love you. It's me she never approves of. She thinks I'm a hopeless airhead."

I was not going to tell Micah that everyone thought he was "flighty". I kissed him carefully and tasted the spicy orange of his lip gloss. "Give it a chance and know that I will support you whatever happens."

We had to hurry to get to the Academia Lounge on time. It was on the third floor of the Student Union in the southeast corner where diners could look out over the quad. We met up with Conclavia Blume, Sebastian and Ethan in the lounge. Sebastian was still checking us in with the host.

Micah's mother was a formidable looking woman, very professionally dressed and attractive in a very stern looking way. And she had a way of filling space with her personality. She came over and drew Micah into an embrace. Then she held him out to look him over. "This is a new look."

Micah nodded and asked, "Do you like it?"

Conclavia Blume was direct and honest. "I'm not sure, dear. I'll have to think on it."

Micah smiled, but I could tell that he was tense. He pulled me up next to him and said, "Mom, this is Cameron."

She held out her hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Cameron. Weren't you supposed to go on the Places of Mystery Tour with us the summer before last?"

I nodded. "Yes, Conclavia, but my Aunt Maura had picked up a case of gorgon flux in the Ural Mountains and brought it back before she knew she had it. The whole family was quarantined until the Department of Health declared us all free of it."

That seemed to have surprised her. The family had kept the incident quiet since all the magical fluxes were rare and highly contagious. We hadn't wanted to be the center of attention for something that embarrassing. She regained her social footing very quickly however and said, "Well it's nice to finally be able to put a face with your name. So, you and Micah are..."

"...we're dating, Conclavia," I said.

She smiled at me and said, "Then you have to call me `Esther' until you two become serious."

The host told us our table was ready and we followed him to a private room that faced south over the quad. The food here was quite good. Micah and his mother had the salmon salad. Ethan and I had prime rib sandwiches with sauteed mushrooms (morels were always available at the Academia Lounge). And Sebastian had roasted quail.

There was some small talk. I kept a supportive hand on Micah's shoulder as much as possible. To her credit, Esther was very nice. She asked me and Ethan a lot about our families, since she already knew Sebastian, and she told us stories about some of the conclavii she thought were ridiculous. Then she turned her attention toward Micah.

`So, Micah. Have you decided about what you're going to do this Sunday?"

He glanced over at me and then whispered, "I'm going to stay with Cameron."

She took a drink of her lavender lemonade and then said, "Let's be clear about matters. Are you telling me that you've decided to put Remuel Adler behind you."

He nodded and leaned against my shoulder. "And I'm rooming with Cameron."

Esther gave us a look of provisional approval and then nodded her head. Focusing her attention on me, she said, "And are you responsible for Micah's newfound love of androgyny, Cameron?"

I wasn't going to let her intimidate me. I remained calm and replied, "No, Esther, I'm not. I was surprised when he first tried it, but I love him, and I accept him for himself." I was proud of myself for not emphasizing the word "I".

She shook her head. "You misunderstand me. I believe that Micah is leaving Remuel because he's now with you. And that makes me happy. I just want to understand your feelings toward my son. If you're comfortable with his androgyny, so am I. But what if he decides that he wants to become a woman?"

I turned Micah's head so that I could look him in the eyes while I spoke. My words were directed toward his mother, but I wanted to make sure he understood them as well. "I have been in love with Micah for five years now, although I didn't realize that it was love I was feeling until last year. Seventy five percent of mages like boys, and seventy five percent like girls. I'm in the fifty percent that likes both. I like Micah as a boy, and if he decided to make a change, I'd love him as a girl."

Micah started crying. "It doesn't work that way, Cam. You know that a person doesn't wake up one day and decide to be something they aren't. If I were a woman, I'd know it." He looked at his mother and said, "I'm your son, mother, not another daughter. I've just decided that my definition of masculinity is different from most of my friends."

Esther replied, "Either way is fine with me, son. I just like to keep things straight in my head. So, if you don't mind, we'll talk to Mordy and his son tonight and let them know what you've decided. I don't see what purpose would be served by delaying. We can contact him via Arcane Speculum if you don't want to go over to their house."

We were all looking at Micah. He said, "Let's do it after lunch and get it out of the way."

Ethan raised his hand and we all looked at him. He asked, "If 75% of mages like boys and 75% like girls, isn't that 150%?"

Micah had a look on his face like he hadn't thought of it that way, but Esther was just smiling. It was Sebastian who answered first. "The 75% of mages who like boys includes 25% who are gay and 50% who are bi. The same with the girls. The 50% who are bi are in both groups, so it's 25% gay, 50% bi, and 25% hetero."

He looked puzzled for just a minute and then nodded. "Okay. I see it now."

After lunch we went back to Severan House and used one of the conference rooms to make the call. It went surprisingly well from my perspective. Micah looked Remy straight in the eye and said, "I wanted to let you know that I won't be renewing my contract with you. I'm with Cameron now and I'm going to stay with him for as long as he'll have me."

I jumped in. "Forever! I'm keeping him with me forever!"

Remy wasn't happy. We could tell by the scowl on his face. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

I put my arm around Micah, and he leaned against me as he said, "It is. I'm very happy."

Remy was staring daggers, but Mordecai leaned into the picture and said, "If you're happy, we're happy for you, Micah."

"Thank you, Uncle," Micah said, and then he broke the connection.

Julian

After my last class, I rushed home to do all the preparations for tonight. I was looking through my armoire hoping to find something sexy, but the truth was that I didn't have anything I considered sexy. None of my clothes were tailored to fit me like Omar's were. I'd have to figure something out. I used the deponere vestimenta spell to remove my clothes and I looked in the mirror.

I was a little shorter than average at five foot eight inches tall, and I weighed 145 pounds. That was my ideal weight. I knew because I kept it there with the pondus proprium spell. I had a full head of dark blond hair. I kept it cut to a few inches on top of my head so that it sat in a loose tangle. The sides were cut very short. I thought I was good looking for a man of my age. I had no visible wrinkles. My eyes were blue, and my nose was straight and well-formed above my lips. They were thin compared to Omar's, but thicker than most of my German American relatives. And, of course, there was the mustache that Omar hated.

I didn't spend any time in the gym, so I was thin rather than buff, but Omar had said he liked that. I had quite a bit of body hair on my chest, my arms, and my legs. And of course, I had quite a bush. I knew the tonsoria spell. I used it regularly to shave my face. I inhaled and then let it out slowly. "Barba mea tondeatur."

It was easier this time since I didn't have to exclude the mustache. My mustache and the stubble that had begun to form on my cheeks fell off as if I had just given myself a very close shave. The problem with this technique was that I had to name each part I wanted to shave in a separate spell. Collum for the neck, then pubes, penis, scrotum, and culus. It worked, but frankly the result looked ridiculous. My bikini area was denuded of hair, but there was a distinct line between it and my hairy abdomen, and between it and my thighs.

I shrugged and began the spell again. Pectus for chest, abdomen for abdomen, brachia for arms, crura for legs, tergus for back, clunes for buttocks, manus for hand, and pedes for feet. Soon I was hairless below my eyebrows. I noticed a couple of age spots on my body, little brown discolorations. I used the maculae evanescere spell to remove all the blemishes. I looked a little younger without the mustache and without the body hair. Not bad at all, I thought.

In my drawers I found a single metallic blue thong that I hadn't worn in years. It wasn't mage manufactured, so it was a little worn, but it still looked good. I pulled it on and adjusted my package. I was still half hard, but the material was springy enough to keep me contained.

None of my clothes were as well tailored as Omar's, and I wasn't experienced enough in magical clothing modification to alter something as complicated as a suit. I did have a pair of burgundy shorts with a five-inch inseam. I also found a distressed sky-blue Henley shirt that Bill had left here when he returned to Palm Springs to be with his boyfriend Jordan. He was bigger than I was, but that was easily corrected. I shrank the shirt with a controlled diminution spell until it fit me like it was a second skin. I also raised the waist until it rested even with the very top of the waistband of my shorts.

I had a pair of sandals that wouldn't look bad with the shorts. I pulled out my Speculum Arcanum. The model I owned doubled as a wallet case for my mundane cell phone. Opposite the phone was the magic mirror itself. I tapped it with my wand and said, "Omar Majid" while picturing him in my head. The Speculum Arcanum was superior in many ways to a mundane phone. It was more secure. It was completely undetectable by mundane devices. It was a video phone. And it could use video messaging. I looked into the mirror and said, "Omar, I want to be prepared for dinner. Would you prefer Italian, German, or American – you know, steaks, burgers, hotdogs? That's all I know how to cook. Also do you want wine, beer, or something else to drink?"

The message would wait for him to respond. I looked through the ingredients in my kitchen. I didn't have much in the freezer to prepare. Usually, I prepared a full-size recipe and then portioned out the leftovers and used magic to store them. I had a lot in the cibarium, a little box like you would use to store recipes. In this case, it stored simple three by five cards with pictures of an entire place setting complete with the food on the dishes. I was looking for things that I had more than one serving of.

Omar didn't call me back, but he did leave a video message. "Hello, Julian. I like all the cuisines you mentioned, but it's been a while since I've had German cuisine. And with German food we need beer. I also like a single cup of coffee after dinner, a bold roast. I look forward to seeing you."

I flipped through my cards. I ignored all the wurst. Omar could get wurst anywhere. I chose Sauerbraten with spatzle and rotkohl. I also found a card with eight brotchen on it. Luckily, I had some hefeweizen in the refrigerator and a couple of fresh lemons.

I went through the house cleaning everything that wasn't perfect and then I ran back up to my library. I'd placed a carpet in the middle of the room with an arcane circle in it. It was easier to translocate from one circle to another. I stood in the middle of the carpet and used my wand to draw a circle in the air above the arcane circle below. "Ex hoc loco per interstitia ad illum locum translocem."

Only a moment passed in the real world, but it felt like I fell through space for ten to fifteen seconds. It was always ten to fifteen seconds, I'd asked around. Everyone told me the same thing, and no one had an explanation for it. I always felt nauseous, like I'd just gotten off one of those spinning rides at the fair. I counted myself lucky. I knew people who threw up every time they translocated.

I was in the hypogeum beneath Severan House. This was the route I used to get to work every day. Since Omar had told me to wait for him here, I went into the lobby and took a seat. Most of the mages who worked, or were students, here would already be home at this time. That's probably why Omar had asked me to wait for him at this time.

And I didn't have to wait long. Omar showed up, still in his suit but holding a gym bag. Seeing him and knowing that he was going to fuck me tonight made my heart race. My dick was already pressing uncomfortably against my shorts. He smiled, but he didn't say anything until he was close enough to whisper. "There's my sexy eramenos. Let's get going. Once I pass through your circle, I'll be able to use it any time I want. I'll be showing up at your place all the time."

"I look forward to it," I whispered back to him.

We walked side by side back to the circle room without touching. Those few inches separating us felt like an unbridgeable gulf. Ever since we'd kissed, I wanted to feel his touch at all times. I forgot all about my queasiness and cast the spell again.

Omar held his wand and said, "consocius tecum itineram." With those words he attached himself to my translocation as a partner. It would be as if he had cast the spell. He would know the key to my circle as easily as if he took the time to attune to it. In theory, I could have refused the contact, but I didn't want to. I couldn't deny him anything, even this metaphysical touch.

Two translocations in less than an hour left me feeling so nauseous that I stumbled and almost fell. Omar caught me in his arms and helped me to stand. "Easy there, Julian, let me get you to a seat."

He led me into the living room and helped me onto the couch. I said, "Translocation sickness. It'll pass in a few minutes."

He seemed immune to its effects. He ran one strong hand down my cheek and then went into the kitchen. I could see him from where we were sitting. He looked through the cupboards and took out some glasses. Then he started rumbling around in there where I couldn't see him. When he came back, he held a tray with two glasses full of hefeweizen. He'd even known to put a lemon slice in each glass.

I took one of the glasses and took a sip. "You definitely know how to handle beer, Omar."

He smiled and wiped a little foam off his upper lip. "I am from Chicago."

By the time we'd finished our beers, my nausea had subsided. I stood up and said, "Let me get our dinner ready. It won't take long."

Omar gathered the beer glasses onto the tray and followed me into the kitchen. "I saw your cartae cibariae lying on the table. They don't bear the mark of a restaurant. Did you make them yourself?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I like to cook, so I prepare most of my own meals and then I store the leftovers magically so I can eat them later."

Unlike mundane leftovers, food stored this way was preserved at its moment of freshness and it could last forever if preserved by a talented mage. I restored the food with the dimittere encantum key. Everything was still hot. Meanwhile, Omar was preparing another round of beers. I set rounded glass cups on the table and created mage light inside them. Then I turned the ceiling lights down so we could enjoy a romantic dinner.

"This food is excellent, Julian. I haven't had sauerbraten in a long time. And your spatzle is tender and buttery."

His praise made me feel good. Cooking was something I was good at. I was competent with both mundane and magical techniques, and the truth was that I was a little proud of my skill. We made small talk over dinner, and Omar even held my hand. After dinner, we had a single cup of coffee, as Omar had requested. Then we sat staring into each other's eyes until Omar said, "Why don't you show me the bedroom?"

I levitated the glasses with the mage lights in them and said, "Follow me."

I led him upstairs and into the master bedroom where I sat the mage lights down on the nightstands. Omar placed his bag on the floor by the dresser and said, "Clothes for the morning."

Damn he was cocky! If his self-assuredness was intended to be arousing... it was. I looked at him and said, "You're in charge, remember? What are we going to do next?"

He strolled over to me and drew me into a kiss. He thrust his tongue into my mouth and slid his hands under my shirt, lifting it up so he could feel my skin. His hands felt strong and warm on my newly smooth dermis. He pulled my shirt off and ran a hand over my chest. He paused to pinch one nipple, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to my groin.

"You shaved your whole body for me?" he asked.

I nodded and said, "It looked ridiculous when I had bald pubes and a hairy belly."

He stood back and looked me over. "You look younger."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

He moved up and took hold of my hips, pressing his cock into mine. "You're very handsome, and you don't look too young for me."

I laughed. "Too young? I'm twelve years older than you are."

He wrapped one arm around my neck and kissed me tenderly. "I like older men."

I started unbuttoning his shirt. "Are you saying you have a daddy fixation?"

He pulled his jacket off and tossed it aside. Then undid my shorts so he could pull them down. He smiled when saw my thong. "I like daddies who know how to follow orders, sexy daddies with slender bodies and round butts. I like obedient daddy bottoms."

"This whole idea is strange to me, Omar. I was educated in the classical tradition where the older partner is supposed to be the mentor, the more aggressive one," I said.

Omar ran one hand over my ass and used the other to squeeze my cock through my thong. He pulled the strap to one side and ran his fingers along my crack. When he found my hole, he rubbed it gently. Looking into my eyes he said, "And that's probably why you've been so unhappy in love. I'll bet when you were younger, you had older men chasing after you, but now that you've reached forty, you're confused. You don't want to chase after the young men. You want to be what you always were, the eromenos. Just relax and let it happen."

Omar guided me to the bed and laid me down on my stomach. I could hear him taking his clothes off and tossing them aside. "Didn't older men chase you when you were an iuvenis?" I asked.

He climbed into bed with me and stretched out on my back, separating my legs with his knees and kissing my neck. "They did. And when they thought they had caught me, I turned it around on them and showed them what they really wanted. I fucked my first `daddy' when I was still a senior at the Academy. And I haven't looked back."

"So, I'm the latest in your string of `daddy bottoms' then?"

He admitted, "Maybe. I don't know yet. I'm getting close to thirty myself. I think I'm looking to find a daddy bottom to settle down with. You could be that guy for me, but I won't know until we try it out."

His lips felt so good on my neck and his fingers were pressing inside me. He whispered the podex lavare and the culus ungere spells to clean and lube my ass. When he finished, I said, "I think I could be that daddy bottom if you decide you want me. I haven't been able to keep my eyes off you since we met."

"Good. But you need to accept that I'm not going to hide my relationship once I've decided to go public. I will play the active erastes role in public and I will expect my partner to play the more passive eramenos role in front of everyone."

The idea excited me and my breath grew shallow. I felt like my skin was on fire. "I think I would love that, Omar. I think you're right. The reason my last relationship fell apart was because Bill and I were the same age, more or less, and he wanted me to be more assertive. I failed him and drove him off."

Omar knelt between my legs and ran his hands down my back. "Don't blame yourself, Julian. You shouldn't try to be something you're not. It's not your nature to be assertive, so don't beat yourself up over it. Just allow me to take charge. It's what you want; and it's what I want."

He was right. I was more comfortable when someone else took charge. I wasn't sure how far I was willing to go in following his lead, but I was prepared to try. "Take charge, Omar. Be my younger erastes and make me your older eramenos."

He started kissing the nape of my neck and then kissed his way slowly down my spine. When he reached my buttocks, he kissed both cheeks and then ran his tongue slowly and sensually up my crack. His tongue teased my culus, sending shivers running along my spine and a sharp jolt of pleasure to my cock, which was now so hard that it was throbbing against the mattress.

Omar pressed his face harder against my ass and thrust his tongue inside me, gently massaging my culus from the inside. He slid both hands under my legs and lifted my hips so that he could get further inside my podex. He pulled the pouch of my thong aside, then used one hand to massage my balls with gentle firmness and the other to squeeze my cock. I was leaking precum in a steady stream.

Omar pulled back for a moment and said, "Your pretty pink rosebud has opened for me. Nunc mentula mea te interficiam et pedicabo, Delecte."

My whole body resonated with his deep voice as he intoned the Latina Moderna phrase; my whole body was throbbing as I played the words over and over again in my mind. Now I'm going to impale you with my cock and fuck your ass, Beloved. I was blushing over his use of the word mentula. It was the dirtiest possible word in Latin (classical or modern) for male genitals.

I responded in the same language, "Me pedica fortiter irrumaque!"

He pulled my hips up higher and rubbed the head of his cock against my hole. "Don't worry, Julian. I'm already planning to fuck you hard in both your ass and your mouth," he said, rephrasing my Latin in English.

My ass had taken cock many times since I lost my virginity twenty-four years ago, and Omar had done a great job opening me up, so he was able to slide inside me without much resistance. I relaxed my muscles and accepted his mentula eagerly. I gripped his cock with my ass, like I was trying to pull him even deeper inside me. I knew that he must be around seven inches, because his head was pressing against my inner sphincter without trying to force it open.

Omar groaned and gripped my hips firmly. "And that is why I prefer more mature men to young virgins! You know how to use your ass to please a lover."

I moaned loudly. "I think my culus is in love with your mentula."

"Good! Because my mentula is falling in love with your warm, soft... and oh so very talented culus."

He pulled almost all the way out and I flexed my ass muscles to grip him tight as he did. He sighed and then thrust inside me again. We kept up that pattern, when thrust inside me I relaxed to welcome him and tightened to hold onto him when he pulled out. With each thrust he rubbed my hole with his shaft, stroked my prostate as he passed, and then poked my inner sphincter with his head. It was like he was the perfect size for me.

One of the sad things about getting older was that my libido was less intense than when I was younger. Omar was a virile and sexy young stud. More than that, he knew what to do with his cock. He had my ass quivering and my prostate tingling, but it took a lot more effort for me to reach an anal orgasm than it had when I was younger. But Omar had experience with older lovers. He knew that. As he got closer to orgasm, He used my own precum to lubricate his strong hand. Then he wrapped it around my cock and began to stroke me with firm and gentle strokes.

I could tell that he was struggling mightily to hold back his orgasm until I came. We were both breathing heavily, our chests heaving with excitement. My body felt like it was on fire and my cock was throbbing with urgent need. Suddenly an orgasmic wave of pleasure crashed over my body, and I came in his waiting hand. My ass was clamping down on his cock. It pushed him over the edge and then milked his shaft while he spilled his seed deep inside me.

"Take it. Take it. TAKE IT! TAKE MY LOAD, JULIAN! FUCK YEAH! AAAAAAARH!"

And then he pulled out and rolled onto his side. I turned to my side to watch him. He lifted his hand filled with my cum to his lips and licked it up with a smile on his handsome face. "You taste good, Julian. I plan to make this a regular part of my diet."

I ran a hand down his sweaty torso and took hold of his slimy cock. I looked into his eyes and said, "Now it's time for me to clean your cock."

He pushed me down on my back and replied, "Me first."

He moved to straddle my torso and bent down toward my groin. "You have a nice cock, Julian."

"It's just average," I replied.

Omar smacked the side of my hip and laughed. "Don't contradict me, Julian. It's about six inches long, with a straight shaft that tapers nicely at the tip. Your foreskin is the perfect length. When you were hard, it left the very tip exposed, like your glans was peeping out of a hood. I say that it's a very handsome cock."

Then he took hold of my dick and licked the shaft from balls to tip. "That feels amazing, Omar."

"Thank you, Julian. Yet another advantage of being with mature men. They've taught me a lot about sucking cock over the years."

I was staring at his cock hanging down over my head. If I lifted my head just a little, I would be able to suck his cock as well. I pulled two pillows down from the top of the bed and propped my head up. The nice thing about the culus ungere spell (usually elided in common speech to culungere) was that it made an anus slippery and moist, but there was no actual lube to spoil the taste of the cock (or the ass either if you were rimming). He tasted of his cum (slightly muskier than mine) and my ass.

Omar was younger than me. He was hard again in no time, and I knew that he would be ready to cum again soon. For me, that was unlikely, but I still loved the feeling of his mouth on my dick. Omar's cock was about an inch longer than mine, but it was significantly thicker. When he grew hard, he barely fit inside my mouth. I had to pull back and mumble the noli suffocare spell so I could swallow him comfortably.

I sucked his dick until he swelled and flooded my mouth with his cum. I swallowed it greedily. When he'd finished, we lay side by side. He held me tight against his chest and wrapped a leg around me. We kissed slowly and gently until we fell asleep.

College Magic Cycle Characters

Mages

·        Alan Somers. A freshman and newly discovered mage who took his oath to the Concordium with Alonzo and Kieran. He's five foot eleven inches tall with an average build. He's from North Carolina and he shares some classes with Ethan.

·        Cameron Campbell. Formerly one of the twink trio along with Micah Blum and Oliver Rankin, he is now considered a twunk. He is five ten and weighs 165 pounds. He's lean but muscular and is a member of the Severan College soccer team. He has bright red hair, fair skin and a lot of dark freckles. He is the boyfriend of Micah Blume.

·        Clarissa Spencer. RA for the supernatural girls in the dorm. She works for Professor Sybil Thorne, the local representative of the Conclave. She's also the head of magical training for newly discovered mages (foundling or orphan mages).

·        Ethan Lowry. A 17-year-old boy from Long Island. He stands 67 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. He has golden blond hair, blue eyes and always has a golden tan. In this story he was working with the hunters. His mother is a sylph (an air spirit) and his own spirit is half human and half ventus (a name for male air spirits). He holds a donum arcanum (magical gift) and is being trained as a mage. He's an orphan who was raised by his uncle, ow also deceased. He is now Sebastian Trent's boyfriend.

·        Micah Blum. An 18-year-old mage boy who rooms with Darren. He used to spend most of his time with his two friends Oliver and Cameron. They were in a polyamorous relationship. Micah is a little afraid of Darren because he's afraid of werewolves. Once he was in an abusive relationship with his older cousin Remuel Adler, but now Micah has chosen Cameron Campbell as his boyfriend.

·        Mordecai Adler. A 50-year-old mage who is a high-ranking member of the custodes and of the American FBI. He's a powerfully built man with dark olive skin tone and black hair that is just beginning to turn gray at the temples.

·        Oliver Rankin. A freshman mage (18 years old), one of the twink trio along with Micah Blum and Cameron Campbell. He describes himself as a rude, arrogant (because he is smarter than everyone around him) and unable to quickly read social cues. He's befriended Kyle Mason and works with him in science lab.

·        Remy (Remuel) Adler. Micah's 20-year-old cousin, a low-ranking member of the custodes who lives with his father Mordecai and keeps his official records. He was Micah's lover at the Academy and has recently taken Micah as his slave.

·        Sebastian Trent. A 24-year-old graduate student. He's the RA for his floor and he helps Professor Thorne to wrangle the mage and supernatural scholars on campus. His female counterpart is Clarissa Spencer. Sebastian is 70 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a little overwhelmed with the fallout from Alonzo's spell and Kieran's rape, so he allowed Domenic the leeway he needed to enslave Kyle. Now there's nothing he can do about it. Sebastian is bisexual but prefers men. He has older men on campus who blow him in exchange for favors. He seems to have a lot of influence on campus for a grad student. He is dating Ethan Lowry but feels guilty about the age difference.

Mundanes (or Unknown)

·        Lalo Arenas (Beta). A cute and thin latino freshman, with a wiry build. Lalo is short for Eduardo. He has light olive skin tone, jade green eyes, and brown hair. He is friends with the mage Oliver Rankin (they share a literature class), and now the two of them are dating.

Places

·        Alchemy House. A large house in Severan purchased by Jason's father for use as an alchemy lab to make weapons and potions for the Severan Council. Jason has convinced his father to sell him the house instead of turning it over to the Conclave. The house was owned by a mage and has too many magical enhancements to be sold to mundanes. It has magical protections and wards, but the Lee family is paying for more to be added.

·        Baylor Hall. A dorm building at Severan College which is used to house the mages and lupipelles (werewolves) on campus. The third floor is use by male supernaturals and the fourth by female supernaturals. The muripelles (wererats) refuse to use this dorm and they stay elsewhere on campus. The dorm has a dining hall on the first floor.

·        Ibis House. A large house in town that is used by the mages as off-campus residence. It's shielded by the velamen arcanum and mundanes tend to ignore it. It's been modified by magic over the decades and has a lot of magical features and defenses. There's a magic circle to make translocation spells easier to use. It's owned and operated by the Ibis Foundation, a mage NGO that maintains Ibis House facilities near mundane universities in many towns.

·        Numina Flux Zone (NFZ). This area of southeastern Ohio is a weak spot between the worlds. Magic rituals are easier to perform here, and a higher-than-average number of people born in the region have mage talent, although most of them are never identified or trained. The realms of faerie, umbra, outland, spirit, underworld, astral, dream, and light are easily accessed from this zone. Other realms may or may not be easier to reach from here than from elsewhere. A similar, but smaller zone surrounds the Sagacia Academy and the Ossuarium in the Bayou of Louisiana.

·        Severan College. A fictional private college in fictional Severan Ohio. It was founded by the mage Aurelius Severan, originally to provide mundane college degrees to young mages. To accomplish this goal, mundane professors needed to be hired. Over time, the magical nature of the school became hidden behind a layer of mundane scholars and professors. The college sits near dead center of the numina flux zone that marks a weak spot between the worlds.

·        Severan House. The oldest building on campus was originally the home of Aurelius Severan, the mage who founded the college. Severan House contains offices, a museum, and several mage-only facilities, including a magic circle in the basement to make translocation spells more accurate. Students living at Ibis House and mages visiting from other towns and states use this circle to arrive in Severan.