Page 47 of The Bairwick Witches
Theirapartment.
They found themselves on the bare floor of the one-bedroom, lying on the quilt Dev’s grandmother had left him, surrounded by pizza, wine bottles, and piles of unpacked boxes. Across the floor, they made love intheirplace, until they found themselves on their bed, in the bedroom they shared, into the kitchen, where Dev, on his knees, ate Schuyler’s ass as he prepared them dinner.
They were tumbling through a life thatwouldhave been, one experienced through countless blissful moments: nights together on the couch, naked, teasing each other while playing video games, cuddling during movie nights, until they were back in bed.
In a new home, years into their marriage, they remained happy, and their sex was still as hot as the first time. They tumbled through the memories of fights and love, threesomes and orgies, and just them—often just them. The good times and the losses: the nights of sex had out of obligation, to the nights they both sought solace in others.
The passing of time still found them attracted to each other, finding pleasure despite the aging bodies they inhabited, they still always saw each other as they were, never lamenting the bodies that once had been. They enjoyed vigorous sex well into their eighties and beyond, and just as they had from the first time, they continued to orgasm together, in unison.
The blades of grass scratched Schuyler’s back as the cool wind whipped across his naked body. Dev remained on top of him, stroking his face, admiring him. Both of their bodies trembled from the exertion. Schuyler admired him, lingering in the sweet post-orgasmic bliss of a life imagined and created. These were memories which Schuyler realized would remain with him, and he would never again feel the emptiness of thosewhat ifsthat had once hounded him.
He’d lived the life he had always wondered about.
“I love you, Smudge,” Dev whispered as he reluctantly rolled off him, their clothes reappearing. “And I owed you that. Hopefully, it helps you move on.”
Schuyler couldn’t form the words to thank him; the weight of thewhat ifsvanished. Life—still an unfair bitch in all her guises—now felt lighter. “I love you more,” he replied, sealing his devotion with a kiss.
“Yo,” Dev added, after a pause. “I gotta know—who’s the fucking little twink? Kinda young for you, Smudge.”
The two of them rose to their feet, still clinging to each other, not wanting to separate.
“Um, babe, that’s your nephew, Issac. He’s the one who found your journal. Didn’t know a damn thing about magic, I’ve been teaching him.
Schuyler noticed the pensive look crawling across Dev’s face. “Your sister hid the truth from him.”
Dev shook his head. The information presented was enough to break him away from Schuyler. He waved his hand over the altar, dissolving it, and looked at Issac, still asleep on the grass. “Is that whathetold you?”
“It is. He’s actually pretty good. He’s impressed me.”
“As if.”
“What? He is though. Is this because we’re seeing each other?”
“No, I’m dead, babe. I can’t be mad about who you’re banging. What I’m saying is he can’t be good at magic—he’s not a witch.”
Chapter Eighteen
Schuyler stood stunned for a moment, trying to process the information. With a myriad of questions burning to be asked, he muttered only, “Huh?”
“Well,” Dev said, his tone carrying a slight inflection reminiscent ofBewitched’sSamantha Stephens. “They told you my death was a car accident, but that wasn’t true. And, like, don’t be angry with me, ’cause remember—I’ve been dead and stuck here for twenty years, so trust, I feel bad.
“I was… experimenting,” he confessed. “I pushed further into the Dark Magics than I let anyone know. I’d been exploring what lies on that end of things, and I found this well, with all this immense power that no one seemed to know about, just waiting to be tapped. I thought maybe invoking a little of it would be okay, but it was far more potent then I realized, but I didn’t care, all I wanted was that power.
“And I know you’ll be disappointed in me because of that.” Dev’s enthusiastic energy faded. “The amount I took was enough to threaten our magical ecosystem and wake the Elders. Their punishment extended past my execution.”
That last word hit Schuyler in the chest. The love of his life had beenexecuted?! He knew Dev dabbled; part of the allure Schuyler felt for Dev was the darkness churning within him. And everyone knew there was fun to be found in the Dark Magics, especially when you were young and unburdened.
“They stripped my entire blood line of their gift; left them all earthbound. As we both are well aware, when I fuck up, Ireallyfuck up.”
The final piece of the puzzle. Schuyler realized now why Dev’s family had moved out of Bairwick so quickly after the burial ritual, without a word. Why instructions were ignored, and the journal packed away. Sky wondered if Beau knew the truth, if the event took some dark turn and became a secret, a cautionary tale the whole town whispered about.
“I didn’t realize how deep into things I’d gotten until it was too late,” he said, kissing Schuyler with every ounce of remorse within him.
Many witches had the same story: dabbling one minute when it was fun, addicted the next, and needing help to sway the pull of power before they too defied the Edict. Schuyler was shooketh to his core, but the events were so far in the past that he held no anger at the situation, and he accepted Dev’s apology.
“And this is why you’re the bestest Smudge to ever Smudge. And I love you.
“But this lil’ bitch right here—” Dev pointed to Issac. “This one has some explaining to do becauseifhe’s my nephew, hecan’tbe a witch. And if he is a witch, he isn’t my nephew.
