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Part 4: The Umbral Gate

And lo upon him from the east

A light upon the darkness feast

Ignites the sky without instruction

The sun arise the nights destruction

Expels the child's dreams of nights

And basks him eternal morning light

Chapter 38: What are we really?

We stood in the darkness facing each other and our magic danced around us as I listened to him speak. We had been standing for many hours and I listened as he recalled his life up until the present. Jackson Petrie was an enigma, now more that ever

"That is how it all started. That night we developed the plans to get close to you and teach you how to access your magic and make you become acutely aware that the thing around you might not actually be what they appear to be." He paused before pressing on.

"We are governed by magical laws, passed down from the high King to his subjects. The first is that we cannot spread the knowledge about our people or speak of anything of a magical nature to humans. With the exception if they already know about us. This law is what has protected our people for several thousand years." Jackson said "if we could have just come to you and say it, it would have been monumentally easier, but you needed to figure out things for yourself."

I waited as he seemed to gather his thoughts

"Never ever would have anyone ever have guessed that the Ada Ky'rae would be a human. Even I thought it was impossible and yet... here you are. When we started this I wanted you to know that we just wanted to awaken the knowledge... but the more and more I got to know you... Well... I do really love you Raven, you are truly like a brother to Me." he said and I saw a tear roll down the side of his face. He looked into my eyes and I could honestly feel his pain and for a moment I forgave him for what he did to me.

"Colin and I in the shower... were you...?" I asked and Jackson seemed to know what I was asking

"Yes, by that point Colin and I were dating, we ended up bonding before you and I even got together... I'm sorry" Jackson said

"That seems kind of fast" I said

"Cailen speculated that it is because of our magic, it finds us our perfect mate straight away and pushes us to forge our bond." Jackson said "I happen to agree with that hypothesis"

"So you said that I smelled funny?" I asked "should I be insulted?"

"Dustin" he said giving me a sour look "your MAGIC smells funny"

"So that means..." I dragged

"You are the Ada Ky'rae"

"You've said that, but what does it mean?" I asked

"Dustin... do you trust me?" Jackson asked

I slowly had to think about it for a moment

"Yes" I slowly said

"Close your eyes" he said and I did so feeling rather silly.

I want you to go into that deep focused place of your and find where you can feel your magic.

I slowly mentally relaxing into my focused place and I felt the chill of my magic spreading through my body like being hit with a cold blast of air. I felt goose bumps all over my arms and legs.

"Good Now I want you to not push your magic out, but rather I want you to think about letting it go. Imagine your body is a sponge... I want you to let the magic pass through you. You are holding onto it. I want you to let it go.

I found my magic deep within me and I felt trapped and caged. I tried pushing with my mind and then I remembered what Jackson said so I instead pulled and tried to free it. I felt my magic slowly begin to leak out and then with a hard pull I felt my magic burst free and it felt like getting hit in the face with a bucket of ice.

Suddenly I felt warm again and it almost felt like the time I became hypothermic and the coldness became warmth, the cold felt nearly like freezer burn and my body ached as I let it go.

Eventually I began to relax...

"Open your eyes" he said

I opened my eyes and there seemed to be a soft glow illuminating the darkness around us like a campfire and I realized it was me. I looked down and I saw soft tendrils of yellow and white light passing through my skin and releasing into the air. It dissipated into the night like steam and I would saw it looked like soft still flames moving in slow motion around me.

The light seemed strongest around my back where the tendrils of light seemed to be almost five feet long nearly giving me the appearance of wings. When I turned my head to look at them the tendrils moved outward so I could have a better look at them and I realized they were obeying my will.

I looked to Jackson and he had fallen down to one knee

"And I am your servant" Jackson said facing the ground "I swear on all that I am, that I am only here to serve and protect you. I never meant to harm you Dustin. I pray to Ada that you might believe me and learn to trust me someday."

"What about this Cailen... don't you serve him?" I asked

"I am a hand of Ada, I follow her will." Jackson said simply "but I hope you will help us."

"I have questions" I said

"Shoot" Jackson said looking up at me

"The Gallants, Colin's family" I asked

"The Gallants were born and raised in this world with their powers intact which is a feat I can hardly imagine. Casey and Clayton work for the temple, Colin has been serving Cailen faithfully for many years now, but I am sure his brothers do now know." He said

"How old are you?" I asked

"I'm not sure but I guess about twenty two or so" he said

"Can you switch back to your human form?" I asked and Jay or Aden seemed hesitant

"Are you sure it will not only upset you more?" He asked

"Please just show me" I said and he sighed and looked at me "Dustin I am still the same person you've known, everything I said about how I felt about you was true. When I am near you my magic sings with joy. Please just remember that" he said and I watched as his face bunched up as if in concentration and I watched as his face returned into the human shape I knew.

I stepped forward and I reached out to touch him. My hand reached up and I touched his face and I ran my fingers through his hair. As I did I got flashes of images in my mind, and now I knew from his story what they were; the manor, Caius, and Daius, Twfen and Aldena.

"Why is it that when I touch you I see things?" I asked and Jay smiled

"You magic is stronger than mine, it is pulling out memories and useful information." he said

"And how is it you can reach me in my sleep?" I asked

"I flooded you with magic, you were suffering the first symptoms of magical poisoning" Jack said and then looked sheepish and followed with "I'm sorry. But you were experiencing the first stages of magical poisioning."

An awkward silence fell between us.

The silence stretched on and then finally Jackson looked into my eyes and he took a few steps forward and he wrapped me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and cried.

I don't know how to explain the need but my body needed to release the tension I was feeling so I wept onto Jackson's shoulder and somehow I felt like I was getting back a piece of the humanity I felt like I was losing.

"I'm so sorry Dustin, everything is going to be alright" he rubbed my back and I sobbed and I felt my magic pulling itself back inside me and the light around us faded back into blackness.

He held me and for the first time I felt comforted about having magic and I felt a little bit better about the whole thing.

"Thank you" I said pulling away and Jackson kept me firmly in his grasp

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked

"Yea" I said wiping my eyes "It's just a lot to take in"

"I know this might be a bad time, but I'm breaking up with you" he said

I couldn't help it, perhaps it was the absurdity of the statement or the timing but I laughed. It felt strange to be laughing and he smiled at me too.

"I'm somehow okay with that" I said

"You already found Ian?" he ask and I detected a hint of jealousy

"Jealous?" I asked "I thought you didn't do jealous"

Jay looked down ashamed and an awkward silence fell between us.

"I'm not" he said calmly and then looked back up and gave me a soft smile and I knew he was joking around.

"So what did you mean? I am the one you were looking for?" I asked

"I placed my back against the stone and asked for help... Ada brought me here, to you" he said and I couldn't help it. I laughed

"I'm sorry Jay even if this were all true; that your name is really Aden and that you're from a parallel universe you're saying that you came all this way for me?" I laughed harder

Jay seemed to take a little offense to my laughter.

"Parallel universe" Jay muttered "that's a good way of putting it... Regardless, I need to train you how to use your magic" he said

That reminded me of something important

"JACKSON!" I shouted

"What!" he exclaimed suddenly surprised at my outburst

"I told Clayton, he knows about my magic" I said

To my utter amazement Jackson smiled

"We know" he said "it's going to be alright"

"What do you mean, you know?" I asked

"Raven, I don't want you to be upset, but you are being watched constantly. I don't mean like survealiance or anything, but you are incredibly special and you need to be protected. If the temple comes, someone needs to make sure you stay safe. I will always be near." He said

I didn't like it. But I accepted it

"Fine, I'm going inside" I said "I need to sleep"

"No matter how much you want it, you will never have that normal life you want so much, you have a gift Dustin and you need to embrace it." he said

"I will think about it, could you please give me a couple of days to think about it?" I asked

"Take all the time you need, but I feel the temple will probably make a move before then" Jackson said

"If that happens, will there really be someone watching me?" I asked

"Yes" Jay said

I felt comforted and he gave me a reassuring smile

"Remember that you are part of my Anam Cara and in my heart I will always love you" and with that he disappeared into the dark.

I went back inside and quietly climbed back into my room and fell asleep as soon as I hit the covers. I don't know how long I slept but I was awoken when I felt my bed move and I opened my eyes and watched Ian climb under my covers. He turned his back to me and I instinctively wrapped my arms around him and held him close.

"Couldn't sleep" he muttered and I just squeezed him tighter and we fell back asleep together.

When I finally woke up I still had Ian wrapped in my arms snuggled tight against me. That was the first thing I became aware of. The second thing I became aware of my cock's raging hard on that was trying to burst out of my boxers and was aching.

I reached down to adjust myself and I heard Ian mutter

"Leave it, it felt nice" he said

"Yea but it was aching" I said adjusting it. "How long have you been up?" I asked

"A little while" he said "I was just so comfy I didn't want to wake you"

"Thanks" I said

"Why were you gone so long last night, I tried waiting for you but you were gone" he said

"I had a lot on my mind" I said

"About what" Ian asked turning around and facing me on the bed. I saw his eyes sparkle and I could really see his every feature at this distance. His eyes were so gorgeous and they seemed like two vast universes you just seemed to fall into.

"About stuff" I said "and about you"

"Is it, too soon?" he asked gesturing between us.

"No, Jackson is aware of this" I said and Ian seemed a little surprised

"What did he say?" Ian asked "was he mad?"

"He'll get over it" I said "are you alright?" I asked and Ian's face grew darker but he managed a smile.

"I'm alright, I still don't know what I am going to do about food, clothes, school etc..." he said "I mean... it's not like I can stay here... right?"

"Well obviously no..." I said and I saw the sad look spread across his face "I mean... if you stayed here I might ravish you so much you'll never be able to get out of bed" I said and Ian laughed and playfully smacked me

"Real funny" he said "But seriously?"

"Seriously?" I asked and I took a moment and said "You can stay here, you're almost eighteen and you are almost old enough to go out on your own anyway" I said

"I still can't believe it, every time I close my eyes I think I am going to open them and everything will go back to the way it was" he said and at that moment I knew exactly how he felt. I wish I could close my eyes and will my life back to how I was before I knew about magic and how Jay was really an elf.

"Yea" was all I said as I too got lost in thought and we just lay there together.

After some time I heard a soft

"Dustin?" Ian asked

"Yea" I said

"Do you love me?" Ian asked and I sat up and looked down at him in lying in my bed and he had tears in his eyes.

"My father didn't love me" he said with tears leaking down the side of his face and my heart swelled in my chest "Nobody loves me..." he began

"NO!" I shouted "I love you Ian, of course I do" I said "Ian, you've been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. All my years of school have meant nothing, but suddenly you've entered my world and now everything is better"

Ian blushed slightly I continued

"Ian, you don't even know how beautiful you are" I said and I leaned down for a kiss.

Ian's lips were as soft as I remembered them being and he moaned I I used my tongue to open his mouth and pressed inside. He moaned as our tongues connected and I felt his arms wrap passively around me and held me tight. He pulled away

"Thank you" he said giving me his smile and my heart warmed

"No, Thank you" I said "I love you Ian, Always have"

He blushed and we detached from each other and we went downstairs to see if anyone was awake. We went downstairs and saw Nix was in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee.

"Hi squirt" she said holding out a cup "here's your fix"

"My hero" I said mockingly taking the cup.

We sat at the table and Ian fixed his own cup and Nix helped him as he moved awkwardly through our kitchen. Nix was actually being very nice all things considered; I may have mentioned once or twice that she and I often don't get along too well.

"SOOOOO" She said dramatically "Which one of you is the top?" she asked and Ian spit his coffee back into his cup

"Excuse me?" he asked

"I mean to say, who likes to get screwed?" she asked and I slapped my hand down on the counter.

"WE" I intoned "have not had sex yet, thank you" I said "and frankly... THAT is none of your business"

She huffed and turned away and put her finished cup in the sink

"Well mom and dad are out shopping for some stuff for your boyfriend here, they said they'd be back in a few hours" she said "I think they might have been doing some of those black Friday special deals today too" she gave us a wink "perhaps Santa will bring you what you wanted this year"

"I figured out Santa didn't exist before you" I said

"That's right..." she said ignoring me "Santa already DID bring you want you wanted... A MAN!"

She then left us in her wake as she tromped upstairs

"Your sister is really something" Ian muttered and I cracked a smile

"Yeah she is" I said

"If she totally didn't look exactly like you I'd say you were adopted" he said with a frown "is she always like that?"

"It's her coping mechanism and I've learned to accept it" I said with a sigh "so are you a top or a bottom?" I asked

"How in the hell am I supposed to know that?" he asked with a laugh giving me a playful shove.

Just then we heard a knock on the door and I got up out of my chair to see who it was. I opened the door and I was shocked to see Colin standing in a heavy coat and a knitted cap leaving a streak of his blonde hair in the front.

"Colin" I said surprised to see him "How did you get here, in the cold?" I asked

"It's really not that far" he whispered "I got a ride" he said a bit louder and I noticed Ian walk over to the door

"Hey Colin" he said and I could tell Colin was a bit surprised to see him

"Hey Ian, wussup?" he asked

"Not much" he said and Colin gave me a funny look

"NO" I said "jeez what's with everyone thinking I'd jump Ian's bone the first chance I got... fuck, his dad kicked him out he's living with us" I said and Ian looked upset for a moment but got over it.

"Yea" he said

"Oh shit man... fuck... I'm sorry dude" Colin said

Ian sighed

"I'm still coping" he said

"Yea man" Colin said and I stepped back so Colin could come inside and I shut the door behind him.

"So what brings you all the way over here?" I asked

"Well I wanted to talk to you for a bit, I know things have been tense between us and I never really did properly thank you for rescuing me in the pool and all that shit, I really feel like an ass." He said

"Listen, I'm with Ian now, so I'm willing to put it all in the past and you can be with Ian" I said

"You don't get it" Colin said with a sigh... "I'm just sorry I fucked everything up"

"You fucking should be" Ian said upset and I could tell having Ian here was not a good thing

"Ian, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you please wait for me upstairs so Colin and I could speak in private?" I asked and Ian looked fit to be tied, but relented and turned in a huff and pounded upstairs.

"Fuck dude" Colin said "Listen my family wants to talk to you, we'll come by tonight" he said softly "I know deep down you're still upset with me but we have to get a chance later. Jackson said he was going to speak with you, I haven't seen him I've been at temple."

"They're moving to get me so soon?" I asked

"Tonight" Colin nodded

"Fuck me" I whispered in amazement

Colin smiled

"Is that an offer?" he smirked and for a moment if felt like I had gotten my friend back.

"No, but I will be ready for you tonight" I said

"Thanks man" he said turning to go but paused and turned around

"Dustin?" he asked

"Yes?" I asked

"Thank you for forgiving me, I know as your friend what you saw must of hurt you really bad, it took some real strength to allow yourself to overcome it. I... I thank you... Fuck I'm leaving!" Colin cursed as he let himself out the door.

I walked upstairs to confront Ian who was sulking on my bed.

"Ian..." I said and he ignored me

"Ian, whenever we disagree on something I need you to promise me that you will talk to me about what is upsetting you and to not shut down, otherwise I can't make it better." I said and Ian turned

"What was that all about!" Ian snapped

"I know you're trying to protect me" I said "and most of the time you're right to do so, but Jay is an issue I need to deal with on my own and that includes confronting Colin and to be honest I blame Jay far more than I do Colin so please calm down" I said holding his arm "Colin has good intensions. Please trust me?" I asked

"Alright" Ian said "for a kiss"

I leaned down and kissed the man I loved.

Thanks for Reading

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Cailen