Page 26 of Wicked Magik

The body on the table convulsed, the stitches held together and strained against the sudden movement. The lightning in the room intensified, striking the table and coursing through thecorpse. Benedict's spirit, now invisible even to me, was being drawn into the vessel, the heat of the room a stark contrast to his usual icy presence.

The convulsions grew more violent, and I had to use my magic to hold the body down, preventing it from thrashing off the table. The muscles beneath the stitched skin contorted and twisted, taking on a more natural form. The limbs jerked, and the chest heaved as lungs filled with air for the first time in years.

Slowly, the lightning dissipated, the clouds in the room vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. The body settled onto the table, the rise and fall of the chest was the only movement noticeable. I stepped back, exhaustion washing over me. The spell had worked, but the true test would be when Benedict opened his eyes.

I waited, my breath held, as the eyelids fluttered open. Benedict's eyes, now a mix of his original vibrant blue and the dull brown of the corpse, stared up at the skylight. A shudder ran through the body, and then a hand lifted, turning to examine the stitches crisscrossing the skin.

"Well," Benedict rasped, his voice a mix of his old spirit whisper and the deep baritone of the corpse. "This will take some getting used to."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "But it works?" I asked, stepping closer to observe his movements.

Benedict turned his head to look at me, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yes, my Lord. It works." He sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the side of the table. His movements were stiff, but already improving as he grew accustomed to his new body.

"Good," I said, allowing myself a small smile of satisfaction. "Now, let's see about getting you something to cover up those stitches. Until I am able to learn how to hide them properly, or fuse them together, one of the two." I turned to rummagethrough a nearby cabinet for some clothes that would fit him. As I returned to Benedict I saw him admiring himself.

Benedict looked down at his body, running a hand over the stitches on his chest. "Yes," he agreed. "That would be wise. I don’t think the meat market would appreciate it if they saw my hands held on by a thread.”

I huffed, but my lips curved into a smile, until it faded. I had no idea how to hide them. I wasn’t even sure his skin would fuse together properly. I would have to do more research.

“I think long sleeved clothing will be in your favor for now. High necked collars. Luckily for you, it is male fashion.” I took a rag and wiped my fingers.

Benedict didn’t mind, instead felt down his naked torso. A blanket covered his manhood for privacy. He picked up the sheet and gasped. “My Lord is gracious. Does this work as well?” He pointed between his legs.

I rolled my eyes. “Hold off on any sexual excursions for a while. I don’t know if it will fall off or not.”

Benedict gasped. “What of Oryx? Has his?”

I slammed the drawer shut.

“We don’t speak of that, Benedict. While I give you free speech while you were a spirit, you best mind your tongue while you are in a vessel.”

Benedict leaned back on the table and kicked his legs. “Aye, a sore spot for now eh? Why don’t you even try to have him remember? I don’t under—”

I raised my fist and slammed it on the table. “Enough! You are not privy to my life. I suggest you go finish changing. I gave you a vessel now, leave me to my own devices.”

Benedict rolled his eyes and wrapped the sheet around his body. “And what do I do if Oryx sees a stranger walking around in a sheet?”

I pulled back my hair to put it back into a bun. “Tell him, you are the project I was working on and you will be taking care of all the original duties before Oryx came to be. He’ll understand.”

Benedict didn’t look so sure, but he left the room anyway, slapping his newly attached feet to the floor.

I wiped my hand down my face and pushed the table away. While I might have created a vessel for Benedict, it was an experiment for the real project I was working on. One that no one dared know about until it could be completed.

Luckily as a spirit, Benedict would come and go and I would have time to work in peace but having him around with his own vessel, I will have more time to dedicate to my latest project.

I picked up the papers and shoved them back on the desk.

It had been two days since Oryx had been home and not once had he come to see me on his own. He was there during meal times but he was always distracted. It was unlike him and I was about to pump his stomach from the blood he ingested from the humans. It would stay in his stomach for days and whatever hallucinogens were making him… not right.

I hated how I couldn’t see into his mind. I needed to know he was still stable.

I groaned after I got up off the floor. I wish he could understand what I was doing for him, it was to help him but it would confuse him further.

Or was it my own pain that was keeping me away from him?

I grasped my chest with a desperate grip. Though no heart beat within, the void seemed to throb with an overwhelming, suffocating sorrow that threatened to consume me whole.

Soon, I will have everything I need and then everything will be as it was once before. His spirit has a vessel and he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.