Chapter 4

Adam sat on the back seat as his mother drove back home to Ashwoode. Sleeping on his shoulder was Kaley, the girl that at first tried killing him and his mother. He looked out the window as he took in the events that just transpired. In a matter of hours, a magical brand appeared just above his groin, one identical to the one his mother also received. To top it all off, it turns out it's a magical brand that allows him and his mother to charge mana through intimate interactions.

"What a day, right?" He said, sitting behind his mom.

Maria glanced back at him through the rear view mirror. "It certainly has been."

"So, uh, we did some pretty wild stuff back there." Adam said, unable to keep his mind away from what just occurred.

"Yeah." His mom replied, not quite sure how to respond. "I know I asked you to do some things that seemed a little crazy, but I'm glad you were able to push through."

Adam wasn't sure if this was the right time to confess that he has always wanted to do those types of things with his mom. Or maybe even push further than that. Now that they both have magic brands, could the two of them take things to the next level?

He sighed heavily, realizing she would probably think he was a pervert or something. "Don't worry about it. I mean, I didn't really want us to get hurt. And it sounded like you knew what you were doing. So, I guess it worked out."

"Oh, thank goodness." Maria said, letting out a deep sigh of relief. She turned to Adam and flashed him a weak smile. "When our brands appeared, I was afraid you would be reluctant to do what was necessary. I know it's weird doing these things with your mom, but hopefully this was the last time we have to do something like this."

Adam felt his heart sink. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe you could teach me how to use magic."

Maria glanced at him. "Really?"

"I know we have to do weird stuff, but I'd love to learn more about my powers. I've only seen a small part of what you and Kaley can do, and I think you could teach me a lot."

"That's true. But..."

Adam panics. Did he go too far? "I know you're my mom, but I think it would be cool if I could learn how to use magic."

Maria took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Oh, Adam. You know that I love you, right?"

Adam nodded.

"And I'm happy that you want to learn more about your powers. But, I'm your mother. Even though we are magically bonded, we still have a bond of flesh and blood between us. If I taught you how to use magic, it wouldn't feel right, because I would essentially be teaching you how to use my body. That's not going to happen."

Adam was stunned. He thought they were getting somewhere. "I...I understand. It's okay. It would be weird for you to teach me how to use magic."

Maria looked over at him. The disappointed look on his face broke her heart. She couldn't help but sympathize with him. "But there is another way you could learn how to use your magic."

Adam looked at her, confused. At that moment, Kaley shifted in her seat, getting more comfortable, and Adam understood what his mother meant.

"Would you be okay with me and Kaley practicing magic?"

Maria's grip on the steering wheel tightened up. "I mean, if you really want to learn how to use your magic, I'm sure that-" She grits her teeth. "Kaley could teach you a lot."

"Yeah. If Kaley is okay with the idea, it would be great."

As they approached their neighborhood, Adam nudged Kaley awake and whispered in her ear.

"We're almost home."

Kaley yawned and stretched. "Home?"

She was groggy from sleeping for so long. "Is this where you live?"

They pulled up in front of their house, and Maria parked the car.

Kaley hopped down from the car. "You live there? It's so cute."

Maria opened the door, and they entered the house. As soon as they were inside, Kaley rushed back outside.

"Hey! What's going on?" Adam called after her.

"I've never been invited to someone's house before."

Adam laughed. "Well, come on inside. We can show you around."

Kaley followed Adam and Maria into the living room. "This is amazing!" Kaley exclaimed. "You guys have everything!"

"Thank you." Maria said. "It's nice having a big house."

Adam gave Kaley a tour of the house. He showed her all the bedrooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen. After showing Kaley every nook and cranny of the house, Adam brought her to the backyard. They sat down at one of the picnic tables.

"So, uh, I wanted to ask you something?" Adam said.

Kaley looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me train my magic."

Kaley tilted her head. "Will you be needing my help?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah. For obvious reasons my mom doesn't want to practice magic with me. But since you've already shown me some of your powers, and considering you can charge mana with anyone, I was hoping you could help me. Is that okay?"

Kaley smiled. "Of course! I would love to help you out, big brother. But, why won't mommy teach you?"

"You know why. She's my mom. It's weird to do that kind of stuff with family members."

Kaley frowned. "You should try it sometime. I've heard of plenty of mages that are paired with family members. They are way stronger than mages paired with a random person. Why do think your mom was able to take me down with the mana she charged by just kissing you? Or how she beat the other homunculus?"

Maria interrupted them. "Adam, you have a visitor."

Adam wondered who on earth would visit him when he saw Rebecca standing in the doorway.

"Oh, right. Rebecca." He said.

"I explained to Rebecca how we came back early from our camping trip because we had family coming over." Maria said.

Rebecca smiled. "I'm sorry for intruding. I saw you guys pull up to your drive way and wondered why you were back so soon."

Kaley stared at Rebecca. "Is that your girlfriend?"

Adam and Maria exchanged glances. Rebecca turned bright red.

"Uh...what? No. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Then why is she here?" Kaley asked.

Rebecca looked at the ground, embarrassed. "I didn't mean to intrude. I was just wondering if we could go to the fair, like we had planned."

"We planned to go to the fair?" Adam said.

"Yes. Remember? You couldn't go because of the camping trip."

"Oh! Yeah. I forgot." Adam said.

Maria spoke up. "Uh, I'm sure Kaley is very tired from her trip, and it would be in bad manners for Adam to leave her behind while you two go and have fun at fair."

Rebecca sighed. "Well, tomorrow is the last day of the fair. Hopefully the three of us can go."

"That sounds good. Hopefully nothing comes up." Maria said, knowing full well she wasn't going to let Adam go near another dragon ritual site.

Kaley glanced at Adam. "I want to go to a fair."

He nodded. "Okay. Tomorrow then."

Rebecca bounced up and down. "Really?!"

Maria gave Adam a look. "Like I said, hopefully nothing comes up." She lead Rebecca back into the house and closed the door behind her.

"So, how do you know cow-tits?" Kaley asked.

"Rebecca? She's a friend." Adam explained.

Kaley raised an eyebrow. "Just a friend? There's nothing going on between you two?"

Adam laughed. "Nothing is going on. She's a friend, that's all."

"Good." Kaley said. "The only girl I would share big brother with is mommy. Nobody else."

Adam didn't like the sound of that.

Kaley stood up. "I'm tired. Where should I sleep?"

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Let's ask mom."

They went to the kitchen where Maria was washing dishes. Maria looked up.

"Uh, mom, where is Kaley going to sleep?"

"Can I sleep with big brother?" Kaley pleaded.

Maria put her hands on her hips. "No!"

"But I want to sleep with big brother."

Adam took a deep breath. "Uh, mom, since Kaley is going to be teaching me magic, shouldn't we charge our mana? I mean, so we have something to work with."

Maria looked like she was about to explode. "I won't be having you two-" She stopped herself, taking a deep breath of her own. "Fine. But no intercourse under my roof. Understand?"

Kaley smiled. "Yes ma'am. No intercourse under your roof."

Kaley walked up the stairs and went into Adam's bedroom. She pulled off her clothes and got under the covers.

Adam followed her and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing? Mom said we couldn't have sex."

"She specifically said no intercourse." Kaley replied with a smile.