Nora came in and handed me the book. It was a very old and worn leatherbound journal, about the size of a small diary. It had a leather flap that snapped to keep it closed, and I snapped it open and opened it to the first page.

  Before I read the page, I noticed the first page wasn’t about magic at all. It was more an accounting sheet, and my eyes were a bit wide as I took in the numbers. We’d lived in a middle-class neighborhood, and at eighteen I’d inherited the money from the state sale of the house, minus what they’d still owed the bank. It’d been a rather modest inheritance.

  But that was what the human world knew about, but my parents were active druids. The only ones in the world, bonded as I was to Rosaria. I flinched and pushed it out of my head, when I pictured my parents having a threesome with Rosaria. That was just… icky and wrong, but no doubt it’d happened a lot.

  I was from a long line of family druids, which must’ve had earth spirits bonded to them in the distant past before they were temporarily banished from our world to a sanctuary. Because there were lists of gold bullion, gemstones, and the locations they were secured in, all around the world. It took a minute to sink in, that I was no longer in dire straits, and I was on the contrary a millionaire. Though it would take some creativity and caution to put those precious metals and gems into the human system without catching the notice of the government.

  That didn’t mean I wouldn’t get a job, but it did mean I’d have time to figure out my life first, and it would allow me the opportunity to actual be a full-time druid if I wanted.

  I turned the page and started to read. Not a spell yet, more a general treatise on druid magic, and it seemed important to read that before starting in on learning spells. There might be general rules and dangers listed that weren’t mentioned in every spell in the book.

  And there were, magic wasn’t safe, which was pretty much the first line in the journal. Druid magic was dangerous, changing the very nature of my body, and the unwary and foolish would find themselves crippled, mutated, or even dead if they didn’t use caution in its use. Magic needed to be respected, much like how a gun needed to be treated as if it were loaded at all times, and never pointed at anything unless I was willing to see it destroyed.

  Spells took focus on a specific concept, to the exclusion of all else. Random thoughts could cause the spell to fail, or if the random thought was in any way related to the spell’s purpose it could twist the spell and cause harm to the caster. Focus while casting on a single unified concept was paramount.

  The focus was what the spell did, and the words of a spell would kind of match it. But it was the spoken word that stirred the magic, that pushed the magic into that concept and executed it. The spoken word had power, a command to enhance what nature had already provided. The words spoken weren’t nearly as important as the intent and focused concept behind them, but they did have to match the intent of the spell, or it would cause a random thought related to the unrelated words spoken. If that made sense.

  The spoken word invoked the magic, but it was the will and thoughts that defined it fully.

  All enhancement spells would have enhancement as part of the unified focus for instance. If my thoughts wandered to modification, and I hadn’t mastered the level of magic necessary or the right total focus was absent for an actual physical change, it could twist my body unnaturally and cripple me.

  Experimentation was possible, all the spells in the book had been created after all, by one of my ancestors. But it advised not doing so until I’d fully mastered all three levels of my intrinsic magic, and could consistently and easily cast every spell in the book. Even then it would be dangerous, especially full transformations under transfiguration.

  Lastly, it warned to never cast a druid spell on another. It not only wouldn’t work, but our natural magic also wouldn’t leave our bodies, the magic would extract a bloody price for even trying. Well, so much for turning my enemies into frogs, I supposed.

  I also realized how lucky I was to have this. I suspected other druid lines cut off from all spirits and their magic would’ve lost their line’s lore and spells over the last five centuries. That was twenty-five generations, so a lot of druid lines would have to start over from scratch, unless they contacted me and I was willing to share my family’s lore. I also suspected the spirits could get them started, they surely remembered what druids were capable of, and the basics of how magic worked, they’d just have to assemble new spells.

  The first spell in the book was eagle eyes, to enhance vision. Nora had advised against it, but I did peak at the other enhancement spell names, if not the modification spells or the transfiguration spells. I wanted to get a general idea what was possible. The next two were to enhance smelling and hearing. I supposed it made sense to enhance those three senses, there was little reason to enhance touch or taste, at least for area awareness, hunting, or battle. The rest of the spells rotated around physical attributes, such as speed, strength, agility, balance, coordination in proprioception though they didn’t call it that, tougher denser skin, spatial awareness, and stamina.

  In total that was only eleven enhancement spells I’d need to master before working on modification spells. The enhancement spell mastery would also make me completely aware of my true body on a much deeper level, which was necessary in modification magic since I’d have to turn myself back to normal. It was also necessary to have a profound understanding of what I was before I could change it into anything else, even just a hand into a claw.

  Then I went back and studied Eagle Eyes. By lunchtime I’d managed to cast it successfully several times, but I’d far from mastered it. There was no way I’d be able to apply the needed focus without shutting out the outside world, and I could be easily distracted by something in my living room, never mind if I’d been facing a real threat and the chaos of a pounding heart and adrenaline flooding my veins.

  I’d need to practice it over and over again, until my subconscious took over and made it easy and natural. I suspected that’s really what the older druids meant by mastering a spell, using the words of modern psychology. I needed to practice it enough that it became a mostly subconscious act.

  The spell was pretty cool though, I could read street signs half a mile down the street from my apartment window. Everything was ridiculously sharp in clarity. Human eyesight was already tuned to detect movement of any kind, but that became even more apparent and richer with the eyes of an eagle.

  Still, I was at the point I could cast it without the spell book, which meant all I had to do was practice it daily until it finally clicked and was mastered, which meant even if it took two to three weeks of repetitions to cover, I could still learn a new spell tomorrow, then practice both. It didn’t seem prudent to memorize more than one spell per day, or I’d start getting it all mixed up in my head.

  I figured within two weeks I’d know all eleven of the enhancement spells. And I could practice all eleven over and over again daily. At that rate, if I stuck to it, I could master all the enhancement spells in a little over a month, and then start on the modification ones.

  Plus, that meant I had the afternoon free, to pursue other things. Like the joy I took in watching Nora and Rosaria cumming wildly on my nimble tongue or pounding cock. As a plan went, it was totally unanimous, and we spent a quite vigorous afternoon in bed. Both of them could be quite wild, and so far I hadn’t found a kinky act they didn’t like. Of course, I wasn’t a sadist, so I supposed they weren’t that outrageous either.

  Regardless, I managed to dump two more loads into both of them, and both of them had double digit orgasms during our little marathon, and not all of them were attributable to me. Rosaria might not have completely trusted Nora, but the two had no problems getting each other off while I recovered between rounds, or even licking the other out while I was pounding them. Honestly, it was hot as hell to watch them pleasure each other, at least to me it was.

  I also put the magic and spell journal in the gun safe. Not only were the spells priceless family lore from my druid line, but it was also a map to millions in gold, silver, and precious gems. I didn’t want to get paranoid about it, but it seemed prudent to leave it in there. I even went so far as to take pictures of all the spells on my iPhone, so I wouldn’t have to carry it across the world with me, and risk it getting it lost, stolen, or destroyed. With the enhancement spells on my phone I could study, learn, and practice one a day, no matter what country I was in, without risking the book.

  After an extended shower we all put on the same clothes from that morning, since we’d only worn them like three hours and spent all afternoon naked. Then we headed out for an early steak dinner, before we’d drop in on the kiss.

  Chapter Five

  Nora had offered to let me drive her new M5, so of course I took her up on it and we left my old Ford Focus back at the apartment. At the moment we were on our way to the vampire kiss, all of us full from our steak dinners.

  “So, how do witches make money in the world, what does your coven do.”

  Nora replied, “Many covens prey on the world with their intrinsic magic. It’s not hard to collect money when men are putty in our hands and will do whatever we say. Just like not dealing with demons, my coven takes a higher road that is rarer but not that uncommon either. We invest in the stock market, careful not to make too much, one of our spirits has some ability at seeing the future.”

  I nodded, “What do you use your magic for.”

  Nora tilted her head, “For anything we want. It’s a part of our daily lives. Even my coven never has to work very hard, so we might host an outdoor party, and make sure the weather is perfect. We also use magic for contraceptives, it’s far more reliable than the pill or even a condom. Mostly we use it to create protections and wards against other covens that might seek to take over our territory or steal our spirits.

  “In a lot of ways internal fights are more prevalent than fights between species, because we’re all in competition for limited resources no other race needs. We don’t get along with wizards or vampires, but generally we avoid each other and try not to cross their interests. Why?”

  I shrugged, “I was just wondering what I might expect from other druids, and if there was a way to leverage my magic and duties as a druid for an income. I don’t really want two jobs, if I can avoid it, and I won’t be turning my back on my birthright.”

  Nora nodded, “It will vary, just like humans. Some will be allies, there will be others with your peaceful outlook only interested in self-defense if cooperation fails them. On the other hand, some druids may try to kill you to take Rosaria. The Fae are the rarest and strongest of the nature spirits, and your family is obviously among the strongest of druid families to have her bound multi-generationally. The Nymphs and Sprites are far more numerous, save a few exceptions, and there’ll be plenty of them to go around. The covens are the same that way, we have allies in other territories, as well as enemies.

  “As for the other, you should be able to gain riches through your spirits bringing you unclaimed gems and precious metals from the planet. I’d be happy to teach you how to avoid triggering a government investigation, and you’d be able to spend most of your time cleansing and enriching the land and water in this area.”

  That sounded like a plan, focusing on my druid duties and life. I’d go ragged if I had to do a job on top of that to put food on the table. It kind of made sense, and I’d get to spend even more time in the wilderness.

  “You mentioned exceptions that we’ll all fight over?”

  Rosaria took it up, “Spirits of spirit. Nature elemental spirits of Earth, air, fire, and water are numerous, but the fifth element of spirit is rare, even on the pixie and nymph levels. If we manage to find one of any rank, we should bond it immediately, before the other druids can catch up. If nothing else, you’ll be ahead of that learning curve.”

  “What’s so special about that power, the power of spirit?”

  It was also confusing, spirits of spirit? Couldn’t they have called it something else? Like spirits of essence, or spirits of soul. Or… whatever, spirits of spirit, I could deal.

  Rosaria said, “The shared power of spirit will give you the ability to see the truth of all things. True sight, it is called. Illusion will not work on you, neither will a witch’s powers over the mind or a vampire’s compulsion work on you. Discernment as well, which means you can’t be lied to and not even easily misled by deceptive word use. You can also shield yourself from non-physical spells, curses and the like, and cleanse curses on others or objects. There are offensive uses of spirit, but none that are among the shared powers with a druid.”

  Nora nodded, “Witches can do some evil stuff with a spirit of spirit of power and principality, like destroying souls. It’s a power better avoided, since it doesn’t just impact the mortal lifetime, but the immortal spirit of the human or supernatural for all their future lifetimes.”

  “Okay, that all sounds useful, but I’m guessing its protection from a witch or vampire messing with my mind is the real reason they’re so coveted? I mean, water and empathy helps not to be deceived I’d imagine.”

  Nora grinned, “Yes. Empathy does help, but there are ways around that so you should remain wary. Such as using a dupe to lie to you that believes it’s the truth, while your true enemy strikes from the hidden shadow when you fall for it. Spirit can see the truth in something, but empathy only tells you if the person believes it’s the truth.”

  “Got it. We’ll look into that then. Once we’ve taken care of the small trifling matter of the Renewal.”

  Nora giggled, and I turned and winked her way before returning my attention to the road.

  Rosaria said, “Hang a right at the next light, and it’s a half mile down on the left. I’ll tell you when we’re getting close.”

  I made the turn and felt my heartbeat pick up, and then took a deep breath. Was I really about to knock on a vampire kiss’s front door and enter their homefield advantage of power? I supposed I was.

  It was the right thing to do. I had no doubt I’d have to defend myself at some point, but I wasn’t going to start fighting everything and everyone and only looking out for my interests. Still, it was just prudent to be ready for trouble.

  I’d be satisfied with the power that Rosaria alone gave me, I didn’t need a harem of nature spirits or all that power for my own satisfaction. But I knew it would be prudent to snag a spirit of spirit if I could, as well as other spirits too. Earth at the least which would make me much more effective in renewing the ecosystem. I could both cleanse and promote growth of life then. But I wouldn’t turn down an air and fire spirit either if any came along.

  One of each might be too greedy though, and though I was just guessing I had the impression opposite elementals would clash, and the last thing I wanted was a fire spirit to be arguing with Rosaria all the time. It was a unique relationship, not like it would be with other humans, but that didn’t mean domestic bliss wouldn’t be threatened if I picked the wrong combination of bonded nature spirits.

  So, maybe just water, earth, and spirit, if I could manage it.

  Let me verify that.

  “So, if I got a spirit of each type, would the opposing elements… argue?”

  Rosaria giggled, “Yes. You could manage it, keep us in separate bedrooms. Visit fire and air one night, and sleep with me, earth, and spirit the next. But even then, it’s not entirely wise to split your house. I’d suggest spirit, and either earth or air would ally with me. Three spirits will make you diverse enough, powerful enough, and be small enough and compatible enough to maintain complete control of your household.”

  “Are all spirits female?”

  Rosaria said, “Yes, in the wild. Though in our true spirit forms we are neither male nor female. So if a female druid comes along and would prefer a man… we can transform. In truth we relate more easily to a female existence, birth, fertility, and the cycle of life in nature are more closely associated with females. Although in a wider sense since we can’t become pregnant by mortals.”

  So many questions.

  Rosaria said, “Pull over here.”

  I started to pull over, “One more question, what are my options, as far as my legacy and children.”

  Nora snickered, and I gave her a look.

  Nora blushed, “Sorry. Your options are any human mortal race supernatural or otherwise, but to ensure all your children would be druids, you’d need to choose a normal human or a druid wife. If we made a baby, there’d be a fifty-fifty chance it’d be a witch or a druid. Such an arrangement is extremely rare, but it is possible to pass on both legacies with a large enough family.”

  “One more, are witches a girls only club.”

  Nora giggled, then smirked, “We pretty much are. Male witches are possible, but we very rarely marry. I mean, our personal powers are built around seduction, manipulation, and mind control, so the idea of being faithful to one man for life is to give up a lot of our potential. We also tend to use a spell to ensure female issue when we choose to conceive, and the father is not invited to participate in the family, or even told about the child. They do get to walk away with the memory of the best and wildest sex of their lives though.”

  That seemed cold on the surface, but I kind of got it. They were covens of women, raised by women, and the idea of a man having the power of seduction seemed wrong. Even if that was a double standard. A man’s libido was stronger, although there were exceptions to that rule. I knew I wouldn’t want to live with the temptation of knowing every woman on the planet was mine to play with should I desire. I wouldn’t abuse it, but then what was the point in even having the power.

  Women could abuse it too of course, but they seemed less likely to do so. Like some covens used the power to steal from men and play with them, while Nora’s and others did not. Also, what man wouldn’t jump on the chance to sleep with a beauty like Nora, I knew I hadn’t given a second thought to her seduction of me, save why she’d done it.