| Touching a Dream |
| Bob had 'rolled' over onto his side so he could see Harry, his face so peaceful and childlike in sleep. How many countless nights had he watched from a distance, wishing he could be this close? Somehow the bond between them had grown beyond anything he could have imagined. Most people were lucky to touch true love once in their lives. How had he, despite his crimes, been granted it twice?
Like so many of these lonely nights, he pondered his situation. Not truly living, not truly dead. Trapped within his own skull for eternity. He had endured this 'half life' for 500 years. And yet, what was that compared to eternity? Sometimes it frightened him to think about it. He supposed it was supposed to frighten him. That's why it was used as a punishment. But truly, his 'life', for what it was worth, didn't feel like a punishment on most days. Ever since he'd met Harry, he'd had something worth living for. Teaching the boy, while frustrating at times, had truly been a delight. So bright, so inquisitive. And beneath it all, so 'not impressed' by his Uncle Justin's posturing. Bob remembered his mother, Margaret. She and Justin had been close in age, and had always been very competitive with each other. Bob had had their training as well. But perhaps because they had each other, they never needed him the way young Harry had. Both had seemed destined to follow in the Morningway tradition of becoming powerful sorcerers. But then she had met 'The Amazing Dresden' at a summer carnival, and everything changed. Margaret had found something more important than power. She had found love. And she willingly gave up the easy life she'd had at the Estate to follow her husband on the road. Bob had thought her insane at the time. But now that he had remembered love himself, he understood. What he hadn't been expecting had been Justin's reaction to what he called her 'betrayal.' He'd been incensed. Furious. And then she had been killed. By magic. But nobody knew who did it. Oh, everyone suspected Justin. But there had been no evidence. How was it that he had been identified immediately after his crimes, sentenced to this eternal purgatory? They had known that Harry had killed Justin. But nobody could pin Magraret's murder on her brother? Every magic user left his own energy signature at the place the magic was done. The stronger the working, the heavier the signature. It was next to impossible to kill somebody with magic and not leave a calling card, effectively saying 'hey, I did it!' It tended to dissipate over time, which is why Wardens like Morgan tended to sweep in the moment the power blast was detected. It was a much more effective 'justice' system than the one Harry's Lt. Murphy worked for. But no signature had been found near Margaret's body. Bob's thoughts were interrupted as Harry began thrashing in his sleep, obviously in the throes of an unpleasant dream. This was always the hardest part; not being able to shake him awake, hold him as the night terrors passed. All he could do is call out, hoping the sound of his voice would be enough to wake Harry out of the dream. "Harry. Harry, it's all right. It's just a dream. Wake up, Harry. Please!" More often than not, it didn't work. But tonight it did, and Harry woke to find an anxious Bob lying beside him, reaching out in a desperate attempt to touch him. "Bob? Wha ...?" The ghost let out a sigh of relief. "You were dreaming, Harry. I suspect it wasn't pleasant ..." Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "No ... I was dreaming ... about my mother ..." The look of shock on Bob's face disappeared quickly, but not quickly enough. "Bob? What is it?" Harry's eyes drilled into him, demanding the truth. "I was thinking about Margaret ... how she died ..." Harry frowned. "Do you think that's connected to my dream?" Bob shook his head. "I don't know what to think, Harry. We're in uncharted waters here." Harry sighed and sat up, rubbing his temples. He glanced at the clock � only 1AM. He'd crashed early, but still ... something was bugging him. Something about his mother's death ... "Bob. Tell me again how she died." "Harry, please. Let's not dwell on this now ... perhaps if our thoughts are linked, if I were to indulge a fantasy or two, you might have some most pleasant dreams instead ..." Harry stared at Bob. Then laughed softly. "Trust you to find a way to bring sex into it!" Bob shrugged. "Seriously, Harry. This might be our last night together ... ever. Let's not waste it on a nightmare ..." Harry could see the very real fear in Bob's eyes. He'd been convicted once of killing with black magic. He knew the vengeance of the Council. It really was possible that after tomorrow, Bob would be gone, his skull crushed, his spirit consigned to the depths of whatever version of Hell you believed in. And that was something Harry simply couldn't bear. He'd lost his mother before he even knew her. He'd lost his father. Bob was all he had. Which was why this was so important. He just knew it had something to do with their situation. He reached his hand out, gently caressing the ghostly face beside him. "Bob. It's not wasting time ... I have a feeling this is important. Like I'm trying to remember something. Something that will help us." Looking into Harry's eyes, Bob nodded. If Harry could be this strong, so could he. "All right, Harry." He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "She was found in the hotel room where your family was staying. Your father had taken you somewhere; she had stayed behind, saying she didn't feel well. When you returned, she was dead. The mortal police filed it as natural causes. The Wardens knew magic had been involved, but they couldn't find the energy signature behind it. That certainly caused a bit of a ruckus ..." "That's it!" Harry cried excitedly. "That's what I was trying to remember. The energy signature. Anybody who uses magic gives one off. So we can use it to prove they were there!" Bob frowned. "Prove who were where, Harry?" "OK, Mai sets us up to do her dirty work for her. But what if it didn't work? What if you decided to side with Justin after all? The longer he has to prepare, the more dangerous he'll be. Don't you think Mai would have been there, watching, just in case? Planning to take him out much as you did, while he's still not fully recovered. She'd have to have been cloaked, which uses magic, so there should be a signature!" "Harry, there was so much power unleashed in that room, a simple cloaking spell would have gotten lost." Harry shook his head. "You really pushed it to the last minute, Bob. I'll bet she had her big guns powered up and ready to let fly. That would have registered." The ghost nodded. "You may have something, Harry ..." "Do you know how to read those energy signatures?" Bob smirked. "It's supposed to be something only the Wardens know. Of course I know it!" Harry laughed. "I knew I could count on you! Now, what do we need?" The next several minutes were a flurry of activity as Harry quickly dressed in his usual dark, drab wardrobe, then descended into his lab to prepare some crystals per Bob's instructions. He was out the door a few minutes later with several crystals, and an assortment of powders and potions to help him stay unnoticed. He parked his jeep around the corner from the Medical Examiner's offices and slipped in the back door. Once again, his talent for bypassing locks came in very handy. As usual, the morgue was in the basement. A single guard slumped wearily over the desk. Harry blew in just a bit of a sleeping powder through the open door while the guard's eyes were half closed, and they stayed closed. Another lock opened for him and he was in. Unfortunately, there were half a dozen examining rooms down here as well as the locker for the 'cold storage.' His memory of that night was a bit fuzzy, so instead of trying to remember which room, he simply stood there and let his magical senses search for him. Bob had been right about one thing � there had been some powerful magicks going on that night. Even three nights later, the sense of power was still there. A non-magical person like his Dad would feel it as an unexpected chill, a sense of deja-vu, somebody walking over your grave. But to a trained wizard, it was a roadmap. Harry went into the first room on the left. This was where it had happened. Where Bob had given his life to protect Harry. The power his friend had wielded while alive still vibrated here. Harry was nearly overwhelmed with the intensity of it ... and the memories of holding Bob in his arms, warm, alive, but dying. It was hard, but somehow Harry shook himself out of it. He had to focus on the task at hand. He held out one of the crystals that they had 'tuned' to Bob's frequency. It hovered over his hand for a moment, then started to spin, faster and faster, beginning to glow a brilliant blue. Finally, it stopped spinning and fell into Harry's hand. It had absorbed all of Bob's energy from this room. Harry tucked it safely into a pocket and held out another one. This one was keyed to his signature. He hadn't really done any magic that night, but just in case, they wanted to be able to identify his 'fingerprint.' It spun a few times gaining a faint golden tone then dropped lazily into Harry's outstretched hand. Now for one of the 'unkeyed' crystals. It would find the biggest energy signature still available. One would expect Justin's, but if there was a fourth ... they'd have their evidence. This crystal spun almost as fast as Bob's had, glowing a fierce, fiery red. // If that's not Mai, I'm a monkey's uncle. // Of course, it could have been Justin ... only one way to find out. Harry held out the final crystal. If only the three of them had been present, this one would not react. But if another person had been there ... As the crystal started spinning, Harry let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This crystal glowed with an eerie dark purple light, almost black. // Justin. // Just to be on the safe side, Harry tried one more crystal. This time there was no reaction. He packed the crystals safely away and crept out past the still sleeping guard, re-locking the door on his way out. Shortly after Harry had left, Bob reverted back to his non-corporeal state, huddled in his skull. It just felt somehow safer. This was the part he hated most � when Harry would go out into the world and he had to sit here and wait. Many times he�d wondered what would happen if Harry didn�t make it back. There had been a few times over the years when it had been iffy. It had never occurred to him before tonight that maybe it would be him who did not return. That Harry might have to continue on without him. He was the immortal ghost, Harry a mere human. Some wizards lived incredibly long lives � take Ancient Mai, for instance. But only a few had the power to achieve that. The Morningway line had that kind of power. But they also had a penchant for dabbling on the dark side, which got many of them killed prematurely. Which was probably a good thing for the world in general. He�d thought about asking to come along with Harry tonight, but quickly discarded that thought. Harry would need his wits about him to gather this evidence. Bob just hoped it would be worth the risk. They�d have to convince the rest of the council that Mai had set them up to do her dirty work. It was a good thing he and old Jeremy Morningway, Justin�s father, had cracked the Warden�s secret of reading energy signatures. And done them one better. Their crystals detected the signatures, but left them in place. His actually gathered up the energy left behind. Good lord, that�s how Justin had done it � how he had killed Margaret! Jeremy must have left one of the crystals they�d created where Justin had found it. Come to think of it, the old man had died of natural causes too � could Justin have committed patricide as well as fratricide? It was almost too horrible to imagine. But Bob knew almost instinctively that it was true. Justin was entirely capable of such a thing. He�d been more than willing to kill Harry just to extend his worthless life. Family, blood, meant nothing to the man. Bob knew in his heart that he had done a good thing in ridding the earth of Justin Morningway. But he doubted the council would see it that way. Their only hope was if Harry�s evidence swayed the rest of the council against Mai. Not very likely � The sound of a car outside heralded Harry�s return. Quietly, he slipped in the door, sending a small pulse of energy out to light the candles that were scattered about. Three in the morning was not a time for electric lights. �Bob?� he asked quietly. The familiar black mist shot with red and gold streamed out of the skull and formed beside him. �Right here, Harry. What did you find?� He couldn�t keep the tremor out of his voice. Harry grinned. �Four crystals, Bob. Yours, mine, an eerie dark purple/black one that must be Justin�s, and one very powerful fiery red.� �Red, you say. Yes, that fits Mai.� �Exactly what I thought.� Harry put the four crystals into his most secure storage, put a strong locking spell on it, then shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it haphazardly on a chair. He was still wired from the adrenaline rush. He looked across the room at Bob, standing there in his blue pajamas looking positively edible. �Bob. Come here �� The leer on Harry�s face said all Bob needed to know. He understood how these late night expeditions could get the blood boiling. Harry wouldn�t be able to sleep for hours yet. He walked across the room slowly, enjoying the way Harry�s eyes tracked his every movement. A fire was beginning to smolder in their depths. Bob walked up to Harry, standing almost nose to nose, leaning in as if to kiss hi,m. And then suddenly Harry was there, kissing him hungrily, sucking his thumb into Harry�s mouth. Passion more intense than anything Bob could remember flared through their shared body. Somehow they coordinated arms and legs long enough to get up the stairs to the loft bedroom and get Harry�s clothes off before tumbling into the bed. For just having the one body between the two of them, they managed an amazing amount of thrashing about. At some point Harry was sure he felt extra ghostly hands touching him where he shouldn�t be able to reach. It all felt so good he really wasn�t capable of analyzing or even caring at the moment. Bob�s hands roamed over Harry�s ass, memorizing every curve, every dimple. One finger began lazily circling the entrance, wringing a groan from deep in Harry�s throat. // Bob! // Harry�s mental cry carried a meaning beyond words. Bob knew Harry wanted it as much as he did. The flickering candlelight gave him an idea. He reached out his other hand, sent a small burst of power outwards. One of the long thin candles on the wall left its sconce and flew into his hand. The movement had put the flame out, but he pinched it between his fingertips with a little spit to make sure. The wax was warm from the recent flame. It took a bit of maneuvering, but he got their body into a position where he could insert the tapered end of the candle. In his mind, he saw Harry�s prick piercing him, just as he was sure in Harry�s mind it was Bob�s prick. It didn�t matter that in reality it was a wax candle that Bob worked in, slowly at first, then with more and more vigor. Harry couldn�t believe what he was feeling. Bob was making love to him, and it felt amazing. He�d never felt anything like it. His heart was pounding, his breath coming in panting gasps. Bob�s right hand was busy thrusting the candle into them, but Harry's left hand was free to grab his dick, adding another level of delight. Bob nearly cried aloud when Harry took him in hand and started pumping in rhythm with his thrusts. They thrust together, faster and faster as they built toward a towering climax. When it came, Harry�s body arched completely off the bed, his cum shooting straight up into the air, only to land a few seconds later with a loud �splat� on his chest. Exhausted, Bob let go of the candle, leaving it where it was for the time being. They lay sprawled on the bed for a good 10 minutes before any attempt at movement was possible. Even mental conversation seemed beyond them. But they both felt the warm contentment, the tenderness, the depth of their love and trust. It was more than sufficient. Harry could have fallen asleep right there, but something was telling him that might not be such a good idea. So he reluctantly roused himself and tried to sit up. Which was when he realized the candle was still inside him. Luckily it was long enough that it was fairly easy to reach, so he gingerly tugged it out. // Sorry about that, Harry � // Bob�s voice giggled in the background. Harry ignored him and got up, heading toward the bathroom. His cum had splashed everywhere. He might have to change the sheets tomorrow. For now, he just wiped it off with some toilet paper, took a leak, then crawled back into bed. A tiny pulse of magical energy snuffed out the few candles that managed to stay lit through their energetic activities. // Thanks, Bob. // he sighed. // Love you .. // // Love you too, Harry // continue to Chapter 7 Send me some Feedback Back to my Dresden Home page Back to the Jade Palace Home Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 6 |