The Space In Between 9
Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between the characters in this story and real people (appearances, names, etc.) are purely coincidental. This story may contain homosexual material, including love and sex, so if material like this is illegal in your region or if it discomforts you, please leave.
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The Space In Between - Chapter Nine
Mark cleaned the steam wand of the espresso machine with diligence and patience. He then washed the steaming pitcher and placed it back in the cupboard. He wished his coworkers a good morning as he passed them in the hall, a soft smile gracing his face. He sat the ceramic mug filled with a caffe latte on Evelyn's desk, and half a second later, said woman walked into her office.
"Good morning, Mark," Evelyn said with a chipper attitude. "Is it Take Your Boyfriend To Work day? If so, nobody notified me about it."
Baffled, Mark asked, "What?"
Evelyn gestured toward the glass wall. On the other side was Ulysses, sitting in Mark's chair with his feet up on the desk. Mark fixed a sweet smile on his face and confidently walked out of Evelyn's office.
With fake cheeriness, Mark greeted, "Good morning, Ulysses. How are you on this wonderful day?"
Ulysses swiftly swung his legs sideways off the desk.
"Careful," Mark said softly. "You do not want to harm anyone in this office, do you?"
Ulysses sent out magical cells to each and every person on the whole floor that were meant to teleport them to the parkade. Each cell did make it to each and every person, but those cells dissipated on contact.
Mark smiled behind his N95 mask but it was obvious, and he said to Ulysses, "Now if you will excuse me, Son of Kiri, I still need to look like an adequate executive assistant. And I'm sure you have criminals other than myself to arrest and interrogate. Now run along."
With a sarcastic smile, Ulysses responded, "Should I expect you for dinner, my love?"
"I am afraid not, dear boy," Mark answered as he gently pulled Ulysses out of the chair. "I have other duties to complete after this job."
"What other duties?"
"Mm-mm," Mark hummed and sat in his now empty chair. "Every couple has some secrets, now don't they."
That same afternoon, while Mark was sitting at his desk eating a chicken rice bowl, Kiri walked up to him. Mark, while chewing, smiled and gave the witch a nod in greeting. Kiri gingerly sat in the lone chair on the other side of Mark's desk, and crossed her ankles.
"Good afternoon, Kiri," Mark finally greeted. "What a lovely day, isn't it?"
Kiri looked beyond Mark, out the window behind him, and replied, "It is indeed. A single cloud gracing the blue skies, a very light breeze dancing in the air, perfectly temperate."
"It occurs to me that you did not come to speak about the weather."
"I did not," Kiri confirmed. "I would like to know why. I would like to know if you have always been a witch. I would like to know if you really do love my son. I would like to know if you've been using him. And lastly, I would like to know what changed between five months ago and now. It was five months ago that Covid-19 was created, and I have a strong suspicion that you created it. Which would explain why persons with magical cores are immune."
"Questions, questions," Mark said and took the last bite of chicken. "I am afraid that I am much too busy to entertain your queries. But I wish you a delightful day."
"Markus--"
The chair disappeared from under Kiri and she fell butt first onto sand. She felt the heat hit her skin and sunlight blinded her.
"Where did you come from?" the voice of a little boy asked.
Kiri used her hand to block the sun and looked around. She found herself lying in the sand of Venice Beach, Los Angeles. Kiri angrily stood up and walked to a port-a-potty where she teleported.
"I say we apprehend his mother," Queen Sofi suggested. "We can ask her questions and escalate it to interrogation if she does not comply."
Kiri shook her head and responded, "I'm sure Mark would expect us to do that. Mark seems to be much more powerful than Uly and I, so that is out of the question."
Trying to conceal her concern, the queen asked, "Wh-what makes you think that Mark is stronger than you?"
Kiri sighed heavily before she answered, "Mark blocked every spell I cast. He neutralized teleportation particles. He terrifies me."
"He's--" Ulysses began but had to swallow a lump in his throat. "He's still Mark."
"Is he?" Kiri rebutted softly. "Was he ever?"
"Something's changed," Ulysses replied with desperation. "He wasn't always like this. He- he couldn't have been. This is Mark. He- he cries at movies. He volunteers at soup kitchens. He corrects people who feed ducks bread."
"So what happened?" Queen Sofi asked. "I still think he has always been a witch but you are adamant that he has not. What has changed, how, and when?"
"I don't know," Ulysses answered with a distant look. "He has always seemed like Mark. There's been no noticeable differences in his attitude or cadence. He's the same old Mark."
The queen nodded and reiterated, "Which is why I am certain that Mark has always been a witch."
"That is impossible," Ulysses said softly with a slow shake of his head. "Mark could not feign teleportation sickness. He could not feign the confusion and fear about magic. It is entirely impossible. We can summon Kaltun."
Kiri and the queen nodded their agreement. Kiri walked up to Ulysses and embraced him in a tight, comforting hug. Kiri leaned out of the embrace but stroked her thumbs over her son's face. A second later, she teleported out.
"Dragon Media," a female voice answered the phone call.
Mark responded, "Hi Daria, it's Mark."
"Mark Lillico?" the woman clarified. "I'll transfer you."
The line went quiet so Mark transferred the call immediately, and put the receiver down. Mark then continued adjusting tomorrow's schedule to reflect Evelyn's new agenda. While typing, he heard the clacks of dress shoes walking on the marble tile floors and looked up.
Mark smiled sweetly and greeted, "Ulysses, Son of Kiri. You grace me with your presence twice in one day. How kind of you."
As he stepped around the lone chair to sit, Ulysses responded, "I came with queries, but only at your behest."
"Depends," Mark answered and went back to typing. "Inquire away, Son of Kiri. I will choose whether to answer."
"That would be my first question," Ulysses said and sat one knee over the other. "Why have you decided to refer to me as 'Son of Kiri'?"
"Because that is what you are," Mark answered, typing away rapidly.
"I am my own person," Ulysses stated blandly. "I am more than the son of the eldest witch in history."
"Please carry on with your questioning."
"Have you always been a witch?"
Mark did not answer. He stopped typing, and turned his face toward Ulysses. Mark stared with zero expression on his face.
After a few beats of silence, Ulysses asked, "How were you able to hide your magical core? I have examined you multiple times."
Mark, again, elected not to answer. His expressionless stare remained behind his N95 mask.
"Did you ever love me?"
Mark blinked, and Ulysses could see affection in Mark's eyes. Ulysses nodded his head slowly in acknowledgement.
"Yes," Mark replied. "I love you."
"Then why are you doing this?"
As he resumed typing, Mark answered, "We were born to rule over the non-magical folk. The creator made us so that the ungifted had a purpose. Their purpose is to serve us."
Shocked and baffled, Ulysses demanded, "Who is feeding you these ridiculous lies? Markus, your beliefs are skewed."
"That is the fantastic thing about society today," Mark responded with zero tone in his voice while still typing. "We are free to believe in what we choose. I can believe in Buddha today, Krishna tomorrow, and Odin next week."
"This is true," Ulysses agreed, "your beliefs are entirely your choice. Markus, I regret asking you this, but will you please accompany me to the palace?"
Mark finally looked toward Ulysses, and answered with a sickly sweet voice, "I would, my love, but I have so much work to do today."
In a fraction of a second, Ulysses fired out neural pause particles to the entire floor, and a teleportation particle to Mark. Mark, however, remained unfazed. He continued typing, though the rest of the staff on the floor looked to be frozen in time.
"I will ask you this once," Mark began calmly, "and only once. Release my coworkers and go about your day. If you do not, I will inflict torture on you that I can promise you have never experienced."
"I would like--"
Mark had created a particle that flew into Ulysses' nose and into his brain. Ulysses immediately felt like his skin was melting off his flesh. He let out screams, he rubbed his palms over his arms and chest, but it didn't help.
While still typing, Mark halted his torture and said, "If you still plan to come at me in the future, be prepared for a fight."
Trying to catch his breath, Ulysses pleaded, "Mark, please."
A second later, Ulysses no longer saw Mark before him, but it was Queen Sofi, his mother, and Eric. Queen Sofi and Kiri looked shocked at the sight of Ulysses sweating and breathless, and obviously recovering from pain. Kiri strode over to her son and grabbed him in an embrace. She held him close and tight as he began to sob.
"He's gone," Ulysses stated with a broken heart. "Mom, he's gone."
I hope that you are enjoying this series so far. I have been working on this series for about two years, it is so new to me. Listed below are my other works of fiction if you are interested.
Car Radio
Connected
Do Not Go Gentle
Near Wild Heaven
The Other Half of Me Unknown
A Quick Fall
Some You Give Away
Somewhere a Clock is Ticking
Strawberry Wine
Tearing Me Apart
You Call It Madness
You Don't Mean to Hurt Me