Chapter 93: A “Spicy” Suggestion

With Victor Grayson's academic book about Egyptian rituals in hand, Lecia Bowden breathes out as she leans back on her couch. Her eyes waver by the flow of text, doomed like any other to be seen by mostly students writing for their uninspired history essay.

"Seriously, is this thing going to light me on fire again or what?"

Truly uninspiring.

Yet, even with proper magical context, there's no excusing the crazy talk as Lecia reads the former professor's views, desperate to learn more about him and the blue flames that enshrouded her from his book. While the flames may not have caused her any noticeable harm, it doesn't mean that nothing was done. So, without knowing enough of the ancient magic, she feels there's no choice but try to tempt the fire again.

A bad decision? Absolutely.

That said, there's been no reaction since checking the book out from the library. Midway through the pages, the book's material hasn't particularly stood out either. Victor spins new interpretations of Egyptian life and death, but retreads carefully along existing historic lines.

'It could be the flames were just a one-time thing, but...why? What is your goal, Victor?' Lecia questions, tightening her grip on the book's binding.

It doesn't help that there's no prior accounts of people catching fire while studying with various copies supplied to libraries. As such, it's easy to conclude that her experience is unique among readers, no doubt related to meeting the "dead" author himself.

Her impromptu study session with Vivi at least showed that the blue flames weren't her imagination. At the same time, the blonde's witness to such flames and overall involvement poses a troubling risk. She delegated a background check on the girl to her intel team, only claiming her to be a potential help in figure out the results of their ritual.

While hoping nothing spirals out of the event publicly, her focus remains to figure out Victor Grayson and the ones that attacked her people in Egypt. Not knowing if or when she'll get the chance to see the illusive man, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to collect herself. When she reopens, she continues her trek into his perspective. Despite nothing related to magic, she soon comes across an interesting section:

The concept of Sacrifice has long existed in other cultures and societies. As it relates to Isis spreading beyond Egyptian worship into other groups and cults, the Druids have overlapping spread in time with the goddess; though, they varied in beliefs and rituals. Julius Caesar wrote in his account during the Gallic Wars, Commentarii de Bello Gallico, of sacrifices being fit into a human-shaped wicker stature, then burnt all together in flames. Although there is no preservation effort seen like in Egyptian mummies, the unification of men and women into one shell has never been described otherwise. Along with the Druids general belief of being reborn, the assimilation into the wicker man, then sacrifice, is almost symbolic of the journey to be part of a greater being.

'I suppose that's one way to interpret it,' Lecia agrees, humming.

Even her organization had studied the Druids to understand the Stonehenge book. Concerning sacrifice, there is also speculation they used the famous stone monument in their rituals. The only problem is that there is very little records on the Celtic priests, so she didn't want to waste resources digging into finding association with her magical book.

That doesn't mean there isn't a connection, though. Especially if Victor is the one to mention it, there may even be truth to the behavior of Druids that he's not telling.

'Looks like this reading isn't completely fruitless. It might be worth digging deeper into Druids,' Lecia decides, closing the book in her lap for a break. She stares up at the ceiling from the headrest. 'I remember some say Merlin was related to the Druids. Hah...well, if Isis exists in some way, it's not out of the question for other mythical figures to...!'

Her thoughts are disrupted by a buzz in her pocket. Dropping the book on a side table, she pulls her phone out and sees the caller ID to one of the members of her intel team. Although she didn't expect to hear so soon about Vivi, she hoped for some news.

"Hello, did you find anything about her?"

...

Lecia blinks. "I mean, it's possible that Vivi isn't her whole name, but—"

Hearing more, Lecia flattens her lips before shutting her eyes. "I see...Well, I couldn't just question her easily in public. For now, keep an eye out, especially with any forums that might be discussing the Al-Bali star and Layna Moore that's been circling. Meanwhile, I'll try setting up another meeting with her at our café. Let our barista know we'll be coming at some point. I'll follow with more details, hopefully soon."

...

"Yes, it's been a while since we've done this. Anything else to note?"

...

"I see...well, thank you."

Ending the call, Lecia's lips twist to the side as she stares ahead of her screen, then leans forward and groans. "A strange girl who is vying to be an author, but doesn't have enough presence on the internet or place in any official record. Am I a fool or what?"

Fool or not, Lecia has nothing to judge "Vivi" except the timing and pick of Victor's book. It's not out of the question she may be related to the former professor, or worse, a cult member of Isis he warned about.

Regardless, she has to set up necessary precautions.

'I truly hope it's nothing. She seems like a smart girl, if anything,' Lecia holds. Sighing, she proceeds to text the scrub girl to set up their next meeting.

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Within Mary's place, Viviane's phone pings from her new acquaintance. She pulls it up, raising her brows as Lecia proposes to meet at a café sometime this coming week. With much to discuss about the library meeting, she can't respond while in the middle of dinner with Daniel and Marianne.

Especially when the table she's at glimmers with wild rice, roasted potatoes, and seared steak; all garnished with garlic, lemons, and thyme. The savory scents are enhanced by the lit candles that glow from the center, spreading warmth for the three. To top it off, wine glasses are distributed, reflecting the rich preparation for the night.

Daniel clears his throat, unable to prevent his lips from rising after finishing half his plate. "You know, I said you didn't have to go overboard, but at the same time, wow!"

Marianne grins. "See? Just know this preparation is as much for Mama as it is for us. After all, when else would I get the chance to sip some wine during a fancy dinner?"

Snorting, Daniel nods to the side. "I suppose that's true."

He glances at Viviane as she tucks back her phone, then slips in a bite while keeping her expression at ease. Although she isn't complaining, Daniel knows she isn't tasting or smelling anything of the food that deserves the attention.

"Mother, would you want to connect with me a little bit to actually get a taste?"

Viviane blinks, then drops her fork, waving her hands. "Oh, child, it's fine! Mommy has connected enough with you today."

Such implication doesn't slip past Marianne. Gasping, her eyes shine as she leans forward. "Wait, so you two did join! That mean our son is all good to go from his appointment?"

The elder slime and artist flinch. In front of the lovely dinner array, they momentarily forgot about the major developments of their day.

Passing a glance to Viviane, Daniel swallows first and smiles stiffly. There won't be a good time to tell anyway, so he takes front, rubbing his neck.

"Soo...actually, Mom, I had a...let's say, different kind of doctor's appointment than expected. We weren't sure when or how to tell you this while you were out shopping, but..."

Marianne's smile loosens. "...But what? Is something wrong?"

It's unfortunate to dampen the mood with worrying news, but Daniel takes a heavy breath before relaying the events of meeting Victor Grayson. Starting from the violet flames of magic to the warning of others who would see a "fire" in them, Marianne increasingly pales as she listens. Even her inner Mary can't grow excited over the existence of real "wizards" linked to Merlin.

All that she hears is how her son could've been in danger. Although it was not explicitly claimed, Marianne can't help feel so as she imagines how easily Daniel was "abducted" by this mysterious professor, even while Viviane was around.

The fusion's shared heart tightens as Daniel finishes his recollection. With no recourse to the swirling in her stomach, she shakes, clenching the fork in her hand with uneasy breath.

Her eyes empty into Daniel's own as she lowers her voice. "What the hell, love..."

Sweating, Daniel gulps again. "I-I'm sorry, Mom. We should've told you this sooner."

That acknowledgment only worsens the mood. Lips parting, Marianne lets her own fork clink away to slam her hand against the table.

Her pupils contract.

"Damn right, you should have! This isn't anything small!" she snaps, tears brimming in her eyes. "Before you even think it, Anne and Mary being away for shopping is not an excuse for the lack of response. What would have happened if Viviane couldn't reach you? Oh god, if you really had disappeared, how would I..."

Knowing the risks that could've been, Daniel smiles bitterly and reaches over to squeeze her hand. "Mom..."

"Sister, I'm also to blame," Viviane adds, trying to keep her voice leveled. "I could hardly understand what was going on, but all I knew is that I needed to get him the hell out of there. I didn't care about anything except making sure he was safe with me."

Scoffing, Marianne squeezes Daniel's hand tighter while planting her other hand over her face. "You know very well you can't just monopolize your feelings over him without consideration. It isn't right!"

The elder slime wiggles her lips and lowers her head. "I know, and I'm sorry. For something like this, there's no excuse."

"Fuck, this really is all too much," Marianne squeaks, rubbing her eyes before taking another shaky breath. "I expected us to at least talk about Marlin's arrival tomorrow morning, but now with this..."

Unclear how to proceed, she lets go of Daniel's hand and hardens her gaze to the two as they look like they had more to say.

"Spill it. Is there anything else?"

The elder slime returns her gaze slowly. "That's...well, we also went to the library to find more information on Nimue and the cults as we planned, but then stumbled into Lecia."

"W-what?!"

Quickly, Viviane straightens and shakes her hands. "A-ah, b-but don't worry! It was just me. I covered our child the whole time, so I'm certain she never suspected—"

"Stop," Marianne cuts, her eyes wild enough to turn Daniel and Viviane to stone. "You're going to transfer all your experiences so far to me. Now."

With no room for debate, the elder slime shakes her head as if at gunpoint, then extends her arm, planting on top of Marianne's head firmly as she had done before. Compared to the first time, though, it doesn't come with the boatload of despair and long, empty memories that crashed the fusion with a massive headache.

Still, there's some backlash as Marianne winces, grunting lightly as Viviane's perspective adds to her memories. She immediately is hit by her elder sister's confusion and frantic emotions while she sneaked further into the clinic to look for Daniel. Then, the coating of said son while engaging with the former archaeologist, producing a baffling surge of blue flames out of nowhere. With so much to their trip, she can somewhat understand Viviane and Daniel's hesitation to tell her immediately, although it doesn't excuse it.

Although the exchange of memories plays like a long video, it finishes outside in seconds as the elder slime detaches. Opening her eyes, Marianne inhales sharply. She stares blankly at the table, processing the elder slime's time with more questions to their increasingly troubled world.

"Uh, Mom?" Daniel calls, sweating as silence reaches uncomfortable levels.

Not nearly shaken out, Marianne switches to her glass of wine. Snorting, she takes it and downs the entire glass down without a second thought. The two in front of her don't move an inch as her gulps permeate the air. When she finally plants the glass down with a firm thud, her eyes fixes on Daniel.

A drop of tear falls down her face while she forces a smile and a cool breath. "Love, are you...okay after all of that?"

Reliving the memories and emotions of others will always speak louder than anything told. Daniel's heart wrenches for the amount of worry he's caused for the underlying Mary and Anne. He can only offer comfort, scooting his chair over to reach and cup her cheek. In turn, his fusion mother hums, accepting his touch.

"Yes, I'm fine," he reassures, sliding his thumb against her dark skin. "Again, I'm sorry."

Marianne lips relax for a second before pulling away. She inhales more calmly as she manages all the shared chaos that fills her.

What matters now is that both Daniel and Viviane are okay.

"Hoo...Alright, let's move on then. Barring the fact that this Victor had no right to engage with you like that, do you think he means well if he came to advise you?"

Daniel thins his lips. "I can't say. As far as my talk before I was pulled out, he seemed forthcoming. At the same time, he also approached Lecia, too. I don't know what their relationship is, but I don't have any doubt that the flames that covered her are a result from him."

"It didn't seem like they're friends with how Lecia reacted," Viviane notes.

Sighing, Marianne crosses her arms. "Knowing what we know now, let's focus on Marlin. Tomorrow, Mary will be picking him up from the airport in the morning. He'll probably be tired, so I don't want to shock him immediately by revealing all of us."

"I believe that's for the best," Viviane agrees. "I'm more interested in getting the chance to review the Book of Isis he was given."

"It might only be a copy," Marianne warns. "Mary tried to convince him, but he wouldn't make any promises he'd take it along. Honestly, it's probably safer this way."

Viviane shrugs. "Whatever the form, I'm hoping reading it might help me remember more. The magical symbols should be there."

"Or, even as a copy, it could read blank to you — just like Victor's book."

"Ugh! That would be so..." Viviane pauses, then widens her eyes. "Wait! Speaking of, were you able to see Victor's text from my memories?"

Marianne blinks, then equally widens her eyes as she recalls. "Actually...hold on, I can! I mean, you guys didn't read past the first page introduction, but I think it matches with what Daniel saw. So then..."

Thinking through the collective times magical messages came across differently, she narrows her eyes and hangs a hand to her chin. "It's just like how we've seen with other magical texts."

Daniel hums. "If Victor descends from Merlin's disciples, it would make sense how any of his books can be enchanted for a certain reader. This 'fire' within us might also have something to do with how a book reacts."

The fusion shakes her head. "It's a shame you weren't able to check the book out. I wonder if other copies are enchanted, would all of them be blank for Vivi-Mama?"

Viviane slumps, pouting. "I didn't want to read a stupid academic book anyway."

Giggling, Marianne claps her hands together. "Feeling left out, are we? Well, let's get back to Uncle Marlin, not Merlin. How should we approach him when he's ready?"

"I say it depends on how he feels," Daniel begins. "But, if he's expecting 'shapeshifters', a simple transformation is the least to start out with."

"Maybe," Marianne agrees. "Just to start with, perhaps Viviane and Mary should stay together and meet with him in the morning. Meanwhile, you and Anne stay put and focus on your dinner with Rachel tomorrow. If he's adjusted well, we can all see about meeting him together that day or the next."

Viviane raises a hand. "I'm fine with that, but do you think it'd be wise to exchange memories with him?"

"Absolutely not," Daniel maintains. "Exchange verbally if you have to, but that should be the last resort to force an understanding."

"Except, I might not learn more of my past if we don't share," Viviane counters. "It's similar how recently some memories come from our joining. Besides, I can limit what I can share so as to not overload him."

"Even so, I'm with our love here," Marianne supports. "At least, I wouldn't want to risk splitting my uncle's brain on the first day."

"Very well," the elder slime accedes. Although left unsaid, she wouldn't hesitate to do whatever needs to be done if the uncle turned out to pose a risk to her family.

She hoped that wouldn't be the case.

With that, the dinner continues as the three talk a little more at ease over their plans for tomorrow. As for Lecia's invitation to Viviane, Daniel suggested his elder slime mother offer to meet next weekend in order to give some breathing room. They could take the time to look for another copy of Victor's book in the meantime, as well as any consider new information from Marlin. Of course, Viviane wouldn't go alone to meet Lecia again. She would need a host for sure to seem more "human".

At some point, between Marlin, Lecia, and Victor, he hoped the gamble of exposure would be worth it, giving a better picture into his mysterious, loving slime mothers.

...

..

.

Later, as the night sky and city lights loom outside the window, Daniel takes a sip of the wine with their plates cleaned and some cheer returning after the long talk.

"Again, that was excellent, Mom."

However, after everything that was shared, Marianne narrows her eyes and pouts. Her body sways a little in her chair as she twirls the fork in her hand with a bit more heat to her face than usual.

"Not so fast, looove. Did you think Mama would forgive you and your Mother after holding back such a...ahem, swimming day from me?"

The artist and elder slime stiffen.

"First, we had to eliminate your clone, then you disappeared with nobody to remember you!" The fusion continues, half-whining. "Do you need your mothers to constantly babysit you or something, huh?"

'Yep, she's a little drunk,' both Viviane and Daniel think.

A single glass shouldn't have made her this loose, but holding shared emotions and thoughts that blur together is probably worsened by the alcohol.

Nevertheless, Daniel clears his throat. "Mom, relax. I don't see how the clone part has anything to do with this, but I'm fine."

Unwavering, Marianne huffs and points her fork at him with a squint. "No more excuses, mister! Thanks for worrying me, I'm afraid my planned dessert is going to start off spicier this time!"

"S-spicy?"

Slowly grinning, Marianne holds up three fingers from her other hand. "That's right. If you're truly sorry, accept three spankings on my lap! You thought it soooo 'dramatic' to Vivi-Mama earlier, but I think this is an appropriate measure between a mother-girlfriend and son, no?"

Daniel holds his breath, unable to believe what he's being offered to make it up to her. He glances at Viviane, but she looks away, feigning a cough.

He wants to partially blame the elder slime for seeding ideas, but Daniel pushes forward a dry chuckle as he returns his gaze to the eager fusion. "Mom, please. We're all adults here, so there's no reason for that sort of punishment in this day and age. Since you're clearly drunk, why don't you lay down for a bit?"

Harrumphing, Marianne leans forward. "Love, I admit I'm a little under, but I'm serious! Also..."

With the pause, her lips twist playfully. "When did I ever say it would be a punishment?"

"..."

There's no question that this suggestion is of Mary's influence, being the kinky British artist she is. Under normal circumstances, Daniel would have no trouble rejecting such a play without hesitation.

However, as the male artist's face flushes and cock harden in his pants, he realizes that maybe...just maybe, his lovely girlfriend's influence is affecting him in the head more than expected.

That could be the wine, too.

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