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oliversrarebooks · 9 hours ago

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The Rare Bookseller Part 94: Oliver's Protection

Previous > Masterlist

tw: mind control, self harm

"I want training, too, sirs!" Oliver blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him quizzically.

"Oliver, I appreciate that you want to help, but you can't even walk right now, much less --"

"I know, sir, and I don't expect to be trained as a hunter. But if I could help with the magic, perhaps…" His hands twisted the fabric of his pants. "I would at least like to know how to carve the protective rune, the one Vivian uses. Just in case your sire…"

Just in case there came a time where Alexander couldn't protect Oliver from his sire, a true emergency where a moment of lucidity might make a difference. He didn't dare say it, as it seemed disrespectful to point out the possibility that his master might fail. Any protection offered by the rune would only shield Oliver briefly at best. Still, the thought of having this tool in his arsenal made him feel slightly better, as though he wasn't a complete sitting duck. He looked up at his master, pleading with his eyes.

But his master was scowling. "Absolutely not."

Oliver realized how his request must have sounded, like he was looking for a way to prevent himself from being enthralled by Alexander himself, when that hadn't been his intention at all. He shrank away, embarrassed.

Before he could try to explain himself, Miss Lily chimed in. "Why not? I don't see the harm in it. Wouldn't it be good for him to have some emergency protection against other vampires, especially your sire?"

"That was what I was thinking, sir," said Oliver, eagerly agreeing. "I didn't mean anything against you at all."

Alexander softened. "I'm sure you didn't, but still…" His arms gripped Oliver a little tighter. "I can't bear the thought of being unable to enthrall you, even temporarily, even as a test for your own protection."

"You wouldn't have to test the protection. I could do it," said Miss Lily. "Why don't we chat for a bit while my Vivian gives Oliver a lesson? If he can successfully gain the protection, I can do my best to enthrall him." She stroked Vivian's hair. "If you're willing to play nicely with my declawed hunter, then surely Oliver gaining a little of her knowledge isn't a threat."

"I know Oliver isn't a threat, it's just…" Alexander sighed. "Fine. I suppose you do make a good point, that it could provide him some desperate option in a worst-case scenario. As much as I detest the idea of Oliver being out of my reach, I also detest the idea of my sire puppeting him to his whims. I suppose it wouldn't do any harm for him to learn, just as long as he never tries to use it against me."

"No, never, sir," said Oliver emphatically. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"You say that, but… Well, I suppose I owe you a bit of trust, considering how much trust I ask of you. Especially considering I have failed to protect you on multiple occasions. Very well, learn the protective rune, and let Lily test if it worked."

"Thank you, sir." Oliver hoped that his master wasn't upset by his request. He just felt so utterly helpless in the face of their risky plan to kill the Maestro, and having even a small bit of knowledge would help ease his mind.

With that decided, Alexander and Lily moved to a couch nearer the fireplace (but still well in view of the thralls), and Oliver settled next to Vivian as she pulled a thick book from her bag and placed it on the table. Up close, Oliver could see that it was practically falling apart from use, dog-eared and marked everywhere with notes. She flipped it to a page showing instructions for how to carve a particular rune.

"This is the book on witchcraft and hunting that's been passed down in my family for generations. It's all I have left of my mother, so please be careful with it," she said.

"Of course. I would never mistreat a book, even if it weren't so precious as that."

"It might be easiest if you read these few pages first, to get an idea about how the rune works. I've never taught anyone, so I'm probably poor at explaining things."

"That's fine with me. I learn best by reading anyway." Oliver began reading over the descriptions of each portion of the rune and what it represented. He found he was growing a bit excited about the prospect of doing magic, real magic, instead of having all of the supernatural happenings done to him. Perhaps if this went well, he could convince Vivian to teach him more.

Nonetheless, he couldn't help but be distracted by his master's quiet chat with Miss Lily.

"I'm surprised that you're okay with this plan," said Alexander. "I would have assumed you'd be dead set against anything so risky as this. If you're thinking of sabotaging this for my own good, I swear --"

"No. Nothing like that." Miss Lily leaned back into the couch. "And I still do think this plan is risky, but I hardly have a choice but to allow you to do it, unless I can think of something better."

"I can guess what's caused the sudden change of heart. Or rather, who has caused the sudden change of heart. You really have become attached to that hunter, haven't you?"

Miss Lily waved him off. "Yes, yes, feel free to say 'I told you so' all you want. You have me dead to rights. I couldn't stand the thought of our sire getting his hands on Vivian. Happy?"

Alexander chuckled. "It is a bit gratifying to see you getting so attached after you've admonished me so much," he said. "But all joking aside, I think you needed this. I could tell how you haven't truly been yourself since Miriam was… compromised. You lacked a thrall that was wholly your own."

"I didn't want to think I needed it so badly," she said. "I think maybe that's part of why I was so insistent on foisting Oliver on you. I could tell that you were perfect for each other, and I thought at least you should have the indulgence I was denying myself."

"Well, I certainly don't mind that you did. I was upset at first, but you were right. Oliver is perfect, and I'm glad to have him."

Oliver stared down more intently at the book, cheeks burning from the praise. It was still so strange and wonderful to be so wanted. He forced himself to focus on what he was reading and tune out his master's conversation.

Once he had finished, and Vivian had gone over the material with him -- then came the moment when the discussion turned from the academic to the practical. Oliver had put out of his mind the fact that this rune would need to be carved into his skin, and felt a bit dizzy as Vivian produced her silver knife.

"I recommend first drawing or painting it on your skin. You certainly don't want to make mistakes when you're handling the knife."

"I certainly don't." Oliver rolled down his left sleeve and kept his hand as steady as possible as he took up his fountain pen and drew the rune on the meat of his forearm, exactly as it was in the diagram, taking care not to scratch himself prematurely.

Vivian looked on approvingly. "You're a natural. That looks exactly right. You've even properly drawn the character at the 3 o'clock point -- that one often trips people up." She unsheathed the knife, turning it around and handing it to him. "Now you know what you have to do. Make sure it's cut in the correct order. Shallow cuts, just barely breaking the skin. I don't think your master would appreciate it if you waste too much of your blood."

Oliver glanced up at Alexander, who had ceased chatting with Miss Lily and was now staring right at him, giving him a small nod that seemed to indicate that Oliver should proceed. "I can make it painless, if you'd like," Alexander said.

"No, sir, if I truly need to use this, then --" He didn't want to say it out loud, to invoke the possibility that his master might not be there to defend him. "I wish to be able to do it on my own, if you please, sir."

"If you're going to do this at all, then I suppose that seems the most sensible."

"You can do it," said Vivian. "Just a little scratch, and it will be over soon enough."

Oliver gathered his courage and pressed the tip of his knife to one of the lines he'd drawn on his skin. The knife was razor sharp, and it didn't take much pressure at all for a bead of blood to well up under the point.

"That's it," Vivian encouraged. "No deeper than that. Just enough to draw blood. And don't forget to speak the words we rehearsed."

"Right." He almost considered calling it off, saying it was a mistake for him to want to learn to defend himself in this way, but some stubborn part of him refused. He was safe here in the library, with his master nearby, and Vivian had thoughtfully laid out some bandages. There wouldn't be a better time to try this.

He took one more deep breath and began to scratch the rune into his skin, as quickly as possible without sacrificing accuracy, trying to ignore the pain. Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke the words, blood dripping down his arm and onto the table in front of him. When he had finished carving the symbol, he felt a kind of warmth from the self-inflicted wound, a strange tingling sensation.

"I think it took, at least a little bit. Well done," said Vivian. "These bandages are coated with a powder that hides the smell of blood. Otherwise, the vampires will be able to smell you out from miles around."

Indeed, Alexander was looking at Oliver like a man possessed, and Oliver knew that his master would be taking a meal after Miss Lily and Vivian went home. Miss Lily seemed affected as well, staring at Oliver as he bandaged the wound.

"Well, let's see if it worked, then," said Miss Lily, sauntering over to sit next to Oliver on the couch. "You're such a delightfully susceptible thrall. Let's see if a bit of magic can truly make you immune to my voice."

"All right, sir."

Miss Lily gripped his chin, directing his eyes straight into hers. "Relax, dear, relax and slip under my control. You won't be able to resist."

And the rune on Oliver's arm burned.

He pulled away from Miss Lily, not hypnotized in the slightest, but nonetheless incapacitated by the blinding pain from his arm. Seething, he curled up into a ball, trying to calm himself down from the pain.

"It's okay, Oliver, you're doing well," said Vivian, rubbing his back.

Before Oliver could respond, Alexander had snatched him up, holding him in a bridal carry. "Are you all right?" he said. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"It's fine, sir!" Vivian protested. "The brand is meant to hurt. That's part of how it protects you from hypnosis. It'll be the same for you, when you've devised the modified rune, I would think."

"You should put him down, Lex," said Miss Lily. "He wants to test it, don't you, Oliver?"

"Yes, sir," he said through gritted teeth. There was little point in exposing himself to this pain if he didn't gain some knowledge from it.

"Fine, but I will be comforting him once you're done," said Alexander, as he begrudgingly set Oliver back down.

"Are you ready, Oliver?" asked Miss Lily.

He nodded, trying to look determined.

"Then focus, dear. Focus on my voice and allow it to relax you. Focus only on me, and become so sleepy, so very sleepy…"

Oliver could feel the influence tugging at his mind, even through the pain, but the rune was keeping him awake and alert. "I think it's working, sir."

"Is that so? Then do something else for me." She reached out and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Quiet, Oliver. Just be oh so quiet for me."

It was Miss Lily's trigger that she'd implanted in him back at the auction house, and despite everything he'd been through, it still had a hook in his mind. He struggled against the sensation of his thoughts slowing and grinding to a halt, trying to resist the growing urge towards obedience. And all the while, the brand on his arm burned so strongly that it was starting to feel numb and cold.

"Come here, Oliver," said Miss Lily, opening her arms to him, and it felt magnetized, like he was being drawn in regardless of his own will. But even through the growing haze and the pain, he remembered he was meant to be resisting.

"No," he said in a strangled voice, backing away into Vivian, who was behind him.

"No? You don't want to rest in my arms?" Miss Lily said teasingly.

The rune carved into his arm felt like pins and needles, compelling him to resist the influence on his mind even as Miss Lily's voice coaxed him to let his guard down. Without thinking, he stood up to get away from her, until a sharp pain in his knee forced him to remember why that was a bad idea. He half-collapsed onto the table as his master rushed to his side once more and picked him up.

"That's enough of this," said Alexander, holding Oliver in an iron grip. "You've caused my thrall quite enough distress for one day."

"I wanted to try, sir. It was my decision," Oliver pointed out.

"And he did great! He was able to resist Miss Lily, at least for a few moments," said Vivian. "He achieved at least some protection on the first try. I had a feeling he would have a natural aptitude for magic."

Oliver's pride at this was dampened by the disapproving look on his master's face. "That may be," said Alexander, "but that doesn't make magic any less dangerous. I'd prefer to keep my thrall out of such things, if you don't mind." He sat Oliver down on a chair by the fireplace and fussed with his bandaged arm.

Oliver couldn't help but feel a small sting. Having a natural aptitude for magic was exciting, something he didn't know before, a skill he could cultivate to be useful. The way his master shut it all down was…

"I suppose I had better not try to take your pain away, lest I cause you more," said Alexander, staring at the bandages as though the rune were carved to offend him personally.

"There isn't much pain, sir," said Oliver, and indeed, it had subsided since Miss Lily had stopped her attempt to enthrall him. "Thank you for allowing me to try."

"You're welcome." Alexander sighed, the bad mood seeming to bleed out of him now that Oliver was once more in arm's reach. "And I suppose some emergency protection doesn't hurt, but no more magic than that, all right?"

Vivian leaned forward. "But sir, I think Oliver would be adept at healing magics, which could --" The withering stare from Alexander caused her to shrink back into her seat, surprisingly meek. "I suppose you know best for your thrall, sir."

"That I do," said Alexander. "And once I complete this plan to dispose of my sire once and for all, I'll truly be worthy of the title of master."

Previous > Masterlist

I'm sure this won't have any relevance later. Thanks for reading.

Next week, Fitzwilliam attends the Maestro's ball and meets his former master, Alexander.

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