*104.

Farren stalked to the edge of the circle. "Don't you dare!"

"But how could I resist such a delicious treat," the djinn purred. "Unless you have a better offer."

"No." Devin and Dean grabbed his arms and dragged him away from the edge of the circle.

"Don't even think about it," Devin growled.

"I'm not going to let him possess Dan!"

"Dan will kill us if we let you in that circle," Dean said.

"Then there's only one solution." Farren locked eyes with the djinn then set his foot on the line. Forcing fire through the sole of his shoe he scorched a line through the circle.

"Good job, child." The djinn floated over to Farren. "Now, you have a choice. Sacrifice yourself or I take your boy there."

Farren knew there was only one answer. "I'm yours."

"Good choice, child. I'll make sure your lover has a good life. I might even keep him."

Farren needed to end this now. For the first time, Farren knew he could be strong enough and brave enough. He would do anything for Dan.

The djinn floated closer and before Farren could brace himself, the spirit slammed into Farren, filling him to overflowing.

Farren screamed. The pain he felt when he had too much magic was nothing compared to the djinn forcing its way into Farren's body. Every molecule he had burned from the djinn power. A cool slide of scales across his skin jerked Farren back to earth. It took him a moment to realise the avatar hadn't turned cold, but Farren burned hotter than ever before.

Instead of fighting the sensation, he embraced it.

"Now!" the serpent whispered.

Filled to the brim, Farren transformed into the most powerful shape he could think of.

He channelled Xiuhcoatl. The fire god heard Farren's plea and came to his aid. Farren's body stretched and stretched, his skin changed to scales and transformed from the colour of flesh to the colour of flame. His red snake scales continued to form until serpent Farren filled up most of the stadium. With each inch of growth, Farren pulled even more power from his lamp, from the earth and from his avatar. He wouldn't be a victim. No one would control him ever again.

*105.

"No!"

The djinn's voice echoed in Farren's head, but Farren ignored it. He would sear it out of him if he had to burn himself to ashes to do it.

The djinn screamed. Streams of mist poured out of Farren.

"Dean, Devin, help me!" Dan's voice filtered through Farren's pain.

"Run, Dan!" Farren yelled telepathically, hoping Dan would hear.

The triplets circled him, surrounding him until he stood in the middle of their triad.

Cool magic swirled across his body, adding to the snake's power.

Dan grabbed Farren's lamp and tossed it out of the ring. The mist followed the lamp, seeking more power. Farren waited for the djinn to be completely in the lamp. The small keychain dangle transformed into a full size one that would've done Aladdin proud.

Farren coiled in a ropey pile while power poured off him like midday heat.

"Hold on, love, you almost had him," Dan whispered.

Farren didn't stop pushing the djinn out of him until he felt hollow inside.

"Get him," he told his serpent.

He peered around Dean's shoulder to watch the serpent swallow the lamp. A loud bang reverberated through the air.

The triplets dropped their arms, signalling for Farren to release his magic. His body shrank and shook until finally he lay shaking on the ground in his human form with all his energy expended. Magically clothing appeared over his body. He glanced up to see Dan waving his hands.

"It's a little trick I learned from Jay," Dan explained.

"Handy." Sweat beaded on Farren's forehead, but he felt better than he had in weeks.

He accepted Dan's hand and let him pull him up to his feet.

The reptile lay still on the floor, its flame extinguished. Farren stumbled over to the reptile, but before he could touch a single scale, the snake moved. A small fire curled around its skin as it slithered back to its favourite spot around Farren's wrist.

Farren's heart settled with the contact.

"Farren!" Betina shouted. "You ruined everything!"

He glanced over to his screaming cousin. He'd completely forgotten about her. Without their grandfather, she didn't have the name of a djinn to call. Betina couldn't do anything.

*106.

Instead of going after Farren, she charged at Dan. Farren threw up a hand to stop her. A large fireball rushed through his palm. It grew as it passed through the air until it engulfed her entirely.

Screaming, she fell to the ground. Two seconds later nothing remained of her but a pile of ash.

"I thought she was fireproof," Devin said.

"Maybe, but not djinn fireproof." Farren knew he'd come into his proper powers. He was now a djinn.

His transformation was complete.

He'd worry about the council and the ban on djinns another day. He suspected Jay would take care of it all if only to protect Dan. He hated having to tell his aunt that Betina couldn't be saved, but there wasn't anything he could've done for her. Some people were just born evil.

"Hey, babe." Dan's arm came around him in a comforting touch. "It'll be all right. I've got you. I'll always be here for you."

"I know." Farren kissed Dan. "I'll be there for you too."

"What is your snake doing?" Dan asked.

Farren looked at the serpent. Flakes of turquoise scales were falling off it and sliding from Farren's wrist like scaly snowflakes. "I think it's moulting."

"Eww. We definitely need to learn more about fire snakes," Dan said.

Farren laughed. "Yes, definitely. Let's go back to the dorm. I'm ready to celebrate."

Dan's wicked smile accompanied his brothers' groans and yells of too much information. "That's a great idea."

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing: www.totallybound.com.

Hidden Magic: William's House.

Amber Kell.

Excerpt.

Chapter One.

William Stamson never thought he'd fall in love with a lady.

After being a gay man for the first twenty-five years of his life, he met a tattered painted lady with three broken windows and a gap-toothed fence, and fell illogically, irrevocably in love.

"I'll take the house," he told the realtor who stood waiting patiently for him to finish examining the front of the mansion.

"B-but you haven't seen the inside. The house needs a lot of work," she sputtered.

"There are several in much better shape if you like this neighbourhood."

He watched her wrestling between wanting an easy sale and her moral obligation not to sell a decrepit house to a client. He wondered if her reluctance stemmed from the magic pulsing through the property like a beating drum, pounding out a complicated rhythm.

Hearing the underlying music wasn't an ability everyone had. Most days Will wished he were one of those talentless people. Although he could hear the power thrumming through the air, his strange immunity kept him from using the magic. He wasn't surprised no one could live in the house. The mansion all but seethed with energy, an uncomfortable experience for magic wielders, while giving non-magical people the eerie sensation of a haunted house. Electricity crackled in the air, arcs of energy dancing around him. The house's magic reached out to him, invisible fingers ruffling his hair, like a human petting a favoured child.

Closing his eyes, he opened his senses to the entity.

www.totallybound.com A soft gasp, a pleased hum, then the pounding rhythm smoothed to a quiet whisper. A hush filled the air like the silence after a tornado or maybe the eye of a storm.

Acceptance.

The sensation sank into his bones, warm and loving like a mother's hug. Well, maybe other people's mothers. His didn't give actual hugs. Physical contact might wrinkle her designer clothes.

"Are you sure you want to put in an offer?" The realtor's anxious voice broke up the moment, the magic dissolving. Her tone wavered between hope and desperation. For the first time he noticed the worn cuffs on her green suit and the faded colour of the shirt tucked underneath.

"Yes," Will insisted. Despite the building's odd power, the place made him feel as if he were home. Besides, writing scary detective stories could only be easier living in a spooky mansion. He smiled when he thought about his relatives' future reactions.

Will was the dreamer, the only exception in a family known for controlling powerful people across the globe. As a result of his carefree approach to life, everyone thought he needed someone to take care of him. Not a relation on either side of his family had forgotten to leave him a small inheritance when they died.

In Will's family 'a small inheritance' was a minimum of two million dollars. His Great- uncle Frederick had been particularly generous, even as he'd addressed Will as his 'idiot nephew'. Will had willingly overlooked the condemnation for the cool one hundred million his uncle had left in his account.

However, as much as Will loved them and appreciated their acceptance of his gay lifestyle, if he didn't move out of town soon, he was going to go to jail for fratri-patri- matricide. Will longed to settle down with the Mr Average of his dreams. None of the doctors, stockbrokers or lawyers paraded in front of him by his hopeful mother and calculating father met his needs-after fucking them, they really served no purpose.

He knew his behaviour made him a slut. But hell, he didn't golf, and after humiliating his snobbish dates by comparing stock portfolios, there wasn't anything left to talk about. His dates all ended with him cutting them loose and ignoring them when they called.

After having gone through most of the successful gay men in Seattle, Will had decided maybe he should try something different. Besides, the zombies were starting to creep him www.totallybound.com out. All cities had at least a few necromancers that could raise the undead, but Seattle was starting to get more than its share. Will needed to leave before someone got the bright idea to drain his blood as a form of zombie pest control.

Since Will was a void-a person who could nullify magic-his blood was the essential ingredient in unbinding spells that raised the undead. A few times lately, the hairs on his arms had stood on end from the sensation of something with a strong magical presence watching him. Another reason he'd searched for a new home. He needed to lure whatever was following him away from his family.

The search for a place to live brought him to this small town east of Seattle. Unable to find a man, Will planned to settle down with an old painted lady needing a fortune in upgrades.

Luckily, he had a fortune.

"This house has been on the market for a while." She quickly consulted her notes as if they held the secret to Will's desire to purchase the old mansion.

He gave her his pants-dropping smile, more than a little surprised when his charm worked and her cheeks turned an interesting shade of pink. "Then they should be happy to receive an offer. Let's go back to your office and get the paperwork going." He could feel vibes of anticipation coming from the house as if the building had sat waiting for him to come by and save it from ruin.

Poor house.

"What's the asking price?"

She mentioned a ridiculous amount, considering the condition of the house, but he figured the place must have sentimental value to someone, and this one time he didn't feel the need to bargain. He wanted the house.

"I'll take it."

"There might be some delay. I'm not sure a bank will approve such a large amount for the place." She gave the house a dubious look.

"No problem. I'll pay cash."

"Oh." She looked surprisingly flustered. "Then let's draw up the paperwork."

www.totallybound.com A week later, Will happily drank hot coffee in his freezing kitchen. Apparently the heater had died several years ago and no one had had the funds or interest in fixing it. He wasn't much of a breakfast person, aside from the occasional cold cereal, but he would definitely go into town for a hot lunch. He needed to have the stove looked over professionally before he'd willingly trust the appliance with his favourite teakettle. Small- town diners were the perfect place to find out the latest gossip and help him discover whose second cousin twice removed had a son good at fixing stuff.

The diner was everything he'd ever seen in the movies.

Old movies.

From the cracked retro fifties booths, to the ageing waitress with frizzy hair and attitude, the place appeared as if it were something out of a film.

The waitress gave him a slow once-over like she didn't know what to make of him. He didn't know why. He wore a plain pair of jeans and a red polo. He'd even left his handcrafted Italian leather shoes at home and wore his plain white Nikes.

He was the epitome of ordinary.

"Have a seat anywhere," the waitress told him. As Will passed her, he caught the faint scent of cigarettes and chewing gum. He held onto his composure by a thread, hoping she didn't snap a bubble at him. She was a walking cliche, and Will barely held in his laughter.