“Okay…”
“You’re a mage, no question about that.”
He’s stating the obvious, and I wish he'd just get to the point.
“And?”
“And so, it appears, is Tiras.”
Tiras—a mage? I didn’t think mages like myself could conjure real, live people, let alone other mages. Conjurers pull people out of the Ether…that's how it works, isn't it? So how can Tiras be a mage?
I'm too stunned to speak. I just sit there with my jaw hanging wide, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting to breathe again.
“That presents us with a dilemma of sorts. After all, you were committed here all those years ago because of what you were caught doing with an Etherkin.” Dr. Palmore sighs. “Or rather, what we thought was an Etherkin. Since the man you were with has proven to be a man, the reason for keeping you here is no longer a valid reason.”
I'm not sure what this means. Is he going to discharge me and keep Tiras? That might be worse than our previous arrangement.
“And it seems that Mr. Williams has recovered from his temporary ailment.”
Wait…Is he saying what I think he is?
Dr. Palmore stands and strides over to the bed, handing me an envelope.
I tear it open and pull out the folded papers inside. When I read them, tears fill my eyes. I look up at the doctor, and for the first time in ten years the detachment in his eyes is replaced with kindness.
“Really? This is legit?”
He nods. “And Mr. Williams has a matching set of documents.”
I launch myself at Dr. Palmore and throw my arms around his neck. “Thank you so much!”
To my surprise, he hugs me back. “I'm sorry we kept you here so long. I don’t know quite what happened, or how it happened, but I’m glad to remedy things for the two of you.” He steps back and gestures at my open door. “Go. Go to him.”
I don’t need to be told twice. With my discharge papers in hand, I run down the hall to Tiras’s room.
He's standing in the doorway with a satchel on his shoulder and a wide grin on his face. He's got an envelope in his hand, and I know what the papers inside say without even looking. Tiras wraps me in his arms, and I sink into his embrace.
“I can't believe this is happening…after all this time.” I tilt my head to gaze into his eyes. “But how? I didn't think mages could conjure other mages.”
With a smile he takes my chin in his hand. “No, they can't…but they can summon demons, and those demons can choose to give up their demonic powers and become human.”
“Summon demons…?” I think back on my life with Tiras, and it occurs to me that I never considered that I might not be a conjurer. Summoners are rare, cooperative demons more so, and I guess I never put two and two together. Tiras has an ancient, biblical name, he’s never aged in all the years I've known him, and those stunning amber eyes…I don’t know how I didn’t add it all up before.
Non-magic humans always talk about how evil and dangerous demons are, but to us mages, they’re just another race. A deadly race from another dimension, yes, but not inherently evil. Mages and demons interact all the time, just through spells and incantations for the most part. The mage community holds summoners in high regard, because they—we, I guess—can better facilitate deals with the demon realm. It’s strange that I got misclassified for so long, though. With how sought-after summoners are, one would think they’d come up with a way to differentiate us from conjurers.
“Can I summon other demons?”
“Do you want to?” He dazzles me with a crooked grin, and I realize I don’t care if I can summon anyone else. I have the demon—ex-demon—that I want, and he’s right here in my arms.
His lips meet mine in a fiery hot kiss, and I wonder if he's a pyro mage like the twins. It would make sense for a demon to get fire powers when he becomes human, but such a thing is so unheard of that I can only guess for now.
When we come up for air, he's got a tender smile on his face and tears of his own sliding down his cheeks. I've never seen him cry before. Maybe when he was a demon he couldn’t.
“I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you. It's harder than I thought it would be to convince the authorities that I'm crazy, so it took a few days to get committed here.” He winks. “I had to set three different fires and give an officer second degree burns before they’d bring me in.”
So I guessed right. “You burned a cop?”
“Only a little…and I made sure there was a healer nearby when I did it.”
Dr. Palmore taps me on the shoulder. I didn’t even hear him walk over to us. “Ahem. You two should probably get going, before I change my mind.” His smile gives him away, so I know he's just joking, but I take Tiras's hand and pull him towards the exit just in case.
We walk out the front door of the asylum hand-in-hand, our faces tilted up to the sun, the winds of freedom blowing through our hair.
I don’t know what we’ll do for a living now that we're both free, but I do know one thing: whatever we do, we’ll do it together.
The End
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About the Author
AJ Mullican lives on four acres in southern Arizona with her husband and two Maine coon mixes. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, sewing, embroidering, or fencing. She participates in historical reenactment (pre-1600) and makes much of her own garb and embellishments.
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