Hidden Island Chapter 40, part 2 of 4

Hidden Island
Chapter 40, part 2 of 4

Tonya seemed to deflate. She looked back and forth between them both and started to leave the room. "Fine. Sorry. I'll go."

"No," Caine said.

Tonya stopped abruptly and looked at him with angry, hurt eyes. She said nothing.

"Knock it off. It was just water," Caine said. "And it was fun."

"I thought you said I was a brat," Tonya said accusingly.

"You're always a brat," Caine said with a shrug.

"Fuck you!" Tonya snapped, whirling to face him again. "You think I'm just going to stay here so you can keep insulting me?"

"Tonya," Caine said gently. "I like it when you're a brat."

Her anger melted away, replaced by sheer confusion. "What?" She looked at Janie like she needed a translator.

Janie tried to hold in her smile. "You do enjoy provoking reactions from people."

"It's something we have in common," Caine said with a slight smirk.

"Oh, so you're a brat too?" Tonya asked in a snippy tone.

"Naw." Caine shook his head. "I'm too old. When I do it, I'm an asshole. When you do it, it's cute."

She seemed amused and appreciative momentarily, but then she glared at him again. "I'm not a fucking child!"

"You think someone has to be a kid to be a brat?" Caine asked.

"No, but..." she sighed. "I don't know."

Caine had the decency to look a bit apologetic. "I didn't know you were still hung up on the kid thing."

"It's just the way you say things!" Tonya snapped again. She put her hands on her hips and took a moment to think. "You just said you can't be a brat because you're too old. That means I'm not."

"Yeah, all right. You got me there," Caine admitted.

"It's not..." Tonya struggled. " I know you don't think I'm a kid. We've been over that enough.

It's just... you make me feel like one sometimes."

"Wasn't trying to," Caine shrugged.

"That's worse!" Tonya growled.

Caine's apparent confusion was a mirror of Tonya's earlier expression. "How?"

"I don't know, it just feels worse," Tonya sulked.

"When he calls you a brat, it makes you feel like he's treating you like a child?" Janie offered.

"Yeah!" Tonya said.

"And when it's accidental, it seems like that's how he feels, and he has been lying about seeing you as an adult," Janie continued.

Tonya pointed enthusiastically to Janie while staring pointedly at Caine. "That!"

Caine nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. I'll try not to be an asshole on accident."

"And perhaps find a different word?" Janie suggested.

"Sure," Caine agreed.

Tonya scowled for a moment, then shook her head. "No."

Janie's brows rose. She and Caine shared a quiet look while they watched Tonya think.

"I really can be a brat sometimes," Tonya said slowly, trying to work things out as she went.

"Hell, I like being a brat. I never really got to be a kid, so I don't think I grew up. Not like other kids do. I feel stuck sometimes, like I'm a little of two different things, but I don't know how to be either one."

Caine's brows rose. "I know that feeling."

"You know what it's like to be treated like a kid always?" Tonya asked doubtfully.

"Not for a long time," Caine said wryly. " I know what it's like to feel like a contradiction."

"What, nice and an asshole?" Tonya deadpanned with a slight glare.

Caine glanced away for a moment and scowled, then smiled wryly. "Actually, yeah. That pretty well nails it."

"Maybe, but I don't think anyone looks at you and thinks you're something you're not," Tonya said pointedly. "I know what I look like. I'm short and skinny, and I got no tits. If I wear the right clothes, I look like a twelve-year-old boy. I fucking hate it. Yeah, it lets me get away with a lot and gets me out of shit I don't want to do. I don't have much else going for me, so I use it. I guess I just... I wouldn't say I like being treated like a kid by you. And I don't like feeling like I've been lied to."

"Tonya," Janie said carefully. "If you choose to act childishly, doesn't it seem hypocritical to get upset when people treat you like a child?"

"No," Caine said before Tonya could answer.

Janie was surprised. Both women turned their eyes to the naked man leaning against the wall.

"She worked her ass off today," Caine said. "Remember that bet we made? We both lost. She hauled buckets of rocks up those stairs for hours. We're in a tough situation. If acting like a brat helps her vent some stress, great. It helps all of us. We need the distraction. Even if she blows off steam by acting like a kid, I know she isn't one. I shouldn't treat her like one. If she feels like I'm doing that, she's right to get mad."

Janie was surprised at Caine's clarity. She looked back at Tonya. "Very true."

Tonya lunged for Caine again. For a moment, Janie thought she would try to hit him again, but
Caine didn't dodge away. He opened his arms a bit, and she grabbed him tight around the waist, burying her cheek against his wet chest. He put his arms around her shoulders and smiled. Janie blushed a little, feeling like she shouldn't be watching. The room still felt far too warm. As she stared at the floor again, she had a revelation about the feelings she had been struggling with.

Nudity was different from sexuality, and both were different from intimacy. They'd been braided together in her head for so long that it was hard for her to think about them as separate things, but it had become evident that they were very different. She'd recently discovered that under the right circumstances, she was surprisingly comfortable with nudity and immensely enjoyed seeing displays of sexuality. Intimacy was the biggest hangup now. Seeing it on display made her feel like she was intruding on something private.

While arguing, Janie had barely noticed that they were all naked. As soon as they embraced, Janie felt like she should look away. Thinking about it opened up dozens of new questions in her mind, but Tonya started talking again before she could pursue any of them.

"You're the only one who gets to call me a brat," Tonya said, pointing her tiny finger at Caine's face like a weapon.

"I'll try not to abuse the privilege," Caine said.

"Where'd all that come from anyway?" Tonya asked. "Dumping a bucket on someone is something I'd do, but not you."

"Things have been tense lately," Caine said with a shrug. "I wanted to lighten the mood." He let out a self-effacing chuckle. "Not something I'm good at."

"I'll teach you," Tonya said, burying her face in his chest again.

Caine squeezed her tighter. "Sounds like a threat."

The two of them, wet and naked, embracing in the steam, looked at each other with fierce affection. Despite the anxious knot in her chest from feeling like she was watching something private, Janie thought they looked beautiful. Something nagged at her, though, distracting her from the tableau.

Steam?

Hadn't it been cooler earlier?

Why was there steam?

"Um," she said, drawing Caine and Tonya's attention. She gestured around. "Why is it so hot in here?"

The pair suddenly realized how warm and thick the air was.

"What the fuck?" Tonya said, swiveling her head to look all around. She let go of Caine and walked around the room, holding her hands like divining rods. "It's like the hot spring in here."

"It was cool when we started," Caine added, sounding suspicious.

"Yeah, it felt great," Tonya said. "What happened?"

Janie started thinking, trying to remember what the air had looked and felt like when they first came in and when it changed. It had to have been gradual. They would have noticed if all the steam had been sudden. She gasped in sudden worry, yanked the door open, and ran out of the room, oblivious to the display of bouncing flesh she put on.

"Damn," Tonya said, suddenly distracted as she leered after Janie's pert behind.

"Behave," Caine said, giving her a gentle push towards the door.

Tonya stopped abruptly and gave Caine a playfully defiant look. "Brats don't behave."
Caine gave her a steady look and started reaching for the bucket. Tonya let out a small yelp and ran out of the room after Janie. Caine chuckled to himself and followed.

They found her in the stairwell, carefully moving to the ground floor. She stopped halfway, holding her hands before her and smelling the air. Then she descended fully, clearly confused.

She looked around, then came back up the stairs to meet Caine and Tonya in the doorway to Will's bedroom. "I thought there might be a fire downstairs."

"Scary thought," Caine said. "I don't want to be steamed like an oyster."

Tonya waved her hands around. "The air's nice and cool out here." She trotted back to the washroom and shook her head in confusion. "It's only warm in here. What the hell is going on?"

Caine's face pinched in thought, and he eyed Tonya suspiciously. He sat down on the edge of Will's bed and took a slow, centering breath. "Give me a bit; I want to check something," he said. He closed his eyes and went very still.

Janie stood quietly, watching him with curiosity. After seconds, Tonya got bored and started fiddling with things on Will's dresser, glancing back at Caine frequently.

After a minute or so, Caine opened his eyes again. "Makes no fucking sense."

"What?" Tonya asked, flopping down onto the bed next to him.

"It was us," Caine said. "Well, you. I think."

"What?" Tonya asked, wide-eyed. "I didn't do anything!"

"Not on purpose," Caine said. "You did something, though."

"How? When?" Tonya demanded.

"I don't know," Caine said.

"Then how do you know it was me?" Tonya asked, growing more upset.

Caine tapped his chest. "I'm drained. Not too much. I didn't even notice when it happened, but I can tell now that I've checked. The last time that happened was when you blew up the baths.

And before that, in Bella's room."

"I thought that only happens when I cum?" Tonya said, shaking her head in confusion.

Janie pursed her lips and fought down the rise of embarrassment and discomfort at Tonya's lewd words. She exhaled and focused on the meaning behind them. "So if I understand this correctly, Caine, you possess some kind of... mystic reservoir and Tonya is connected to it and sometimes uses it without realizing what she is doing?"

"That's the short of it," Caine nodded. "Whatever Bella's ritual did, it connected us in a way we haven't figured out."

"So she's using you as a font?" Janie wondered out loud.

"Something like that," Caine said, turning his hands upward in confusion.

"I didn't know people could be fonts," Janie said with a slightly horrified shake. Based on her understanding of magical energies, the whole idea seemed impossible.

Tonya's shoulders slumped. "Well, at least I didn't blow up this time," she said dejectedly.

Caine put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up. Not blowing up is progress."

Tonya was dejected but nodded in begrudging agreement. Then, her face twisted up in confusion and annoyance. "So why'd I make a bunch of steam?"

"I... suspect you made heat," Janie offered.

"I didn't mean to make heat!" Tonya groused. "Wait! Heat's one of the things to look for so you know if your ward is bad or if you're doing a ritual too fast."

"Yes, that's correct," Janie nodded. "Magic never wants to be contained. When called up, it tries to dissipate. When it cannot dissipate, it tries to become something else. Like heart or sound. Wards are used to contain magical energies so that they don't release before they can be used for their intended purpose."

"I wasn't using a ward, however! I wasn't even trying to do magic," Tonya said in frustration.

"Natural magic isn't unheard of," Janie said.

"Even if I did do something without meaning to, it shouldn't have been able to make all that steam!" Tonya protested. "I couldn't even do that without a full ritual and award. I'm just not that strong."

"You couldn't blow up a hot spring on purpose either, but you still did," Caine reminded her.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Tonya groused.

Caine smirked and bumped her shoulder with his arm. "Nope."

Janie tapped her lip with her finger and paced as she thought. Tonya's eyes followed her viciously. Caine's didn't. Janie was too focused to notice either one. "As I understand it, most people capable of channeling magical energies aren't able to do so quickly. It's both a natural limitation and a practiced one. A slow ritual is generally a safe ritual," Janie explained. "Most people who try to channel energy without a ritual can't contain it. It becomes a small burst of sound or light, a spark, or a bit of force that feels like a breeze. It's not dangerous at all. Wards are for containment, allowing people to build up energy over time. Magic can be quite powerful, with a ward to hold more energy and a ritual to focus it into a specific effect when the energy is released. It only becomes a problem when large amounts of uncontrolled energy are released simultaneously, like when a practitioner fails to perform a ritual properly or when a ward fails." Janie stopped pacing and turned to face Tonya and Caine. "To turn water into steam on this scale would require a fair amount of dissipating energy and still doesn't account for what it was intended for in the first place."




To be continued