Chapter 5
“He is getting better.” The voice belonged to Stacy,
A flicker of thought.
Oh, yes. He remembered. Magic was real, and he was a powerful mage. Everything from the conversation with Stacy, to what happened in her workroom was there, in his mind. All the mysteries of his life laid bare before him, and before Stacy and Jamie. Everything was clear right up until the darkness his father had created in him attacked again. It hurt to even try and remember anything after that.
“Why is Jamie in here still?” That voice belonged to
“Jamie is as safe as any of us right now.” Stacy’s voice was firm, the bedrock he remembered from in his mind, and it was comforting in a way he had never expected.
“As any of us?”
“What’s done is done, and soul-bonding like that can’t be broken.” Stacy’s voice was firm, but held an edge of kindness. “I don’t believe his future is set, either. We all have free will, and his participation in the darker magics was not voluntary. I think you missed something I detected. The kindness we’ve seen didn’t come from just that last boy he used. It was there already, before the geas was set on him. That was why the geas was set, to counter the goodness he was already exhibiting. What he absorbed, what he took from that last young man only woke it up again at just the right time. The geas had to hide, and couldn’t fully counter it before you brought him here. We have all been very lucky. He needs our help, and I think you will have a very angry son on your hands if you try to take his brother away from him. Jamie at least doesn’t mind their new-found relation.”
“Neither do I.” Richie’s voice almost caused
“Not you too.”
“Me too.” Richie said. “I got more of it from Jamie than I think you got from Mom. Jamie was right there with him the entire time, and it was Jamie the darkness wanted too. He says that
“Fine, but we had all better not get careless.”
“You can open your eyes now,
“How are you feeling, brother mine?” Richie asked as he crossed over to
“Like I was torn to pieces and taped back together.”
“It’s been two days.” Stacy said in answer to the question in his eyes.
“Oh.”
“Well, you were torn to pieces, and taped back together.” Richie said quietly. “But, you’re well on the way to recovering.”
“You’re a healer.” He stated.
“Apprentice, but doing quite well.” Stacy said with a proud tone.
“Speaking of which, I have lessons with Master Smith.” Richie said. “I’ll see you later tonight.
“Later.”
“You’re going to be okay,
“Michael.” Michael Sinclair decided and spoke aloud. “Or maybe Mikie since my brothers all have names that end in ‘ie’.”
“Are you sure?” Stacy asked in a worried tone. “Names have a powerful force in our lives.”
“That makes it all the more important.” Mikie said, and as he thought of himself by that name, he smiled. “Yes, I’m sure. Worthington Sinclair is dead, and I want nothing of him. In fact, if Uncle David wants all of it, he can have it for all I care!”
“We’ll talk about that later, and I hope you’ll at least listen, but I approve of the change in your name.” Stacy said, and he took a deep breath. Yes, she had a good point. All that money and power in the hands of his uncle would be as bad as raising his father from the dead, or the darkness having won the fight. No, he’d take the Sinclair fortune, but he would put it to different uses. Yes, he’d do good with it, to make up for the evil that he’d done, and the evil his father had done.
“There is plenty of time for that in the future, son.” Stacy said gently, and put a hand on his cheek. He leaned into the touch and smiled at the woman. She returned the smile. “I’m glad you came out on top in that struggle.”
“So am I, but there’s so much wrong I’ve done.”
“You can’t.” Stacy said firmly. “The ritual that was used is one of the most powerful. Nothing will break the bond between you two now, not even your death.”
“What do you mean?” Mikie asked. Yes, that name fit him. He was young, little more than a newborn child, really. Much of those sixteen years that he had lived belonged to someone else, someone that he wasn’t and didn’t want to become.
“I think we need some privacy.” Stacy said grimly and looked over at the guy sleeping next to him. “Jamie, how about you go in now?”
“Okay.” Jamie murmured, proving he really wasn’t asleep. Mikie could feel something slip around those barriers that were still around his mind, and a distracting warm light was suddenly in his head.
“There’s a good boy.” Stacy said approvingly and her hand moved from Mikie’s cheek to his chin, pulling his attention back to her instead of the presence in his mind. “This will only work a few times before it realizes that Jamie is distracting it from what we’re talking about. Try not to think about what we are going to discuss when he’s gone.”
“It’s not gone is it?” Mikie asked in a despairing tone. “It’ll always be there.”
“It’s not gone, no, but it won’t always be there.” She said in a comforting tone. “Yes, Mikie does fit you right now. The geas your father set on you when you were young, it thought we believed it vanquished, but we felt it still there, still hidden in the recesses of your mind. It shared much more than it thought it did. Jamie understands it now much more than it suspects. When it sucked him in, he knew enough to study it as much as it was trying to study him.
“Jamie learned it was set on you when you were a child, five or six years old.” She continued and released his chin now that she had his attention. “It was made to suck out the innocence from you, the goodness, the happiness, the joy that you had from a very kind woman. The thing was meant to set your feet on a certain path and keep you there. When he killed your family, and tried to kill you, your Uncle managed to set you free of it though, if only for a short time. Now you have a chance to live your own life, if you are brave enough to fight for a life of your own.”
“How?” He asked simply.
“The geas is as much a part of you as you are.” She told him gently, but her tone was firm, demanding. “You cannot live without it, and be whole just as it cannot live outside of you no matter how much it thinks to take young Jamie.”
“There’s no hope then.” Mikie said weakly and tears appeared in his eyes again.
“I didn’t say that.” She said sternly, dragging his attention back to her. “All of us have a piece of darkness inside of us. It is constantly there, whispering to us, urging us to do things we shouldn’t. For most people it’s little things, like taking a bar of chocolate from a store, or getting drunk all the time. We all live with it, but in you, because of the geas it has its own life, its own personality. It is a separate entity living inside of you. In order to live, though, it needs to consume you, all that you are now.”
“I’m not really a good person, you know.” He said miserably. “I stole the goodness from Miguel, just like I stole the ability to ride motorcycles from Steph.”
“In a sense, but the goodness of Miguel found and awakened your own innate goodness.” She said kindly. “It’s not all from him, but he gave you the boost you needed. You did take from them, and I hope now that you understand what it was you were doing, you will not do it again.”
“I won’t.” He said firmly. “It is stealing, theft of the worst kind.”
“Yes, it is.” She said with a very bright smile. “You understand, and that’s enough for me. To defeat the darkness inside of you is going to take all the bravery and courage you can summon though.”
“What do I have to do?” He asked. “I want it out of me!”
“That is impossible.” She said sadly and he felt the despair again. “The answer lies in what it has tried to do with you. It wants to swallow you, consume the goodness in you.”
“I have to consume it?” He asked, following the logic she laid out for him. “Won’t its darkness contaminate me?”
“Not if you keep it under control.” She told him. “Maybe consume isn’t quite the right word. You need to merge with it, make it a part of you instead of letting it exist as a separate entity.”
“But won’t I become evil?” Mikie asked and shuddered at the thought.
“It’s losing interest.” Jamie’s voice was weak, but clearly audible.
“We have to cut this short.” She said with a grimace. “Just remember this: We all have the seed of evil inside of us. It’s our choices though that determines who and what we are. If it is a part of you, it is you who will control the choices you make in the future, not the geas.”
“I think I understand.” Mikie said weakly as he felt the brooding presence return inside of him. Yes, he could feel it now, even as Jamie left his mind. He looked over at his… brother who smiled at him.
“It’s good to see you awake again.” Jamie said with a smile.
“It’s good to see you too.” Mikie said.
“So, Mikie, eh?” Jamie asked with a little chuckle.
“It fits.” He replied.
“It does, for now.” Jamie agreed. “How about we get you out of bed? You hungry?”
“Yeah, I am.” Mikie agreed. It took both of them to help him up, and by the time they made it upstairs, he was exhausted. After eating, they helped him to the couch in the living room. Jamie sat on the couch next to him, curled up with his head on Mikie’s shoulder. Richie came home after another hour and sat on the other side of him. None of them said anything as they watched a movie together. Just being there was enough for them to tell Mikie that they were with him, supporting him. Before the movie they were watching ended, he was asleep again.
He knew it was a nightmare, but that didn’t make it any better. The geas, as Stacy called it had gotten control of him again, and through him had gotten to Jamie. Richie and their Moms were both dead, killed by fire from the two of them. Uncle David had met a similar grisly fate once they had gathered
Now
They knew they were each other’s true partner, and together they would create more havoc than anyone could imagine.
“No!” Mikie shouted as he woke in the middle of the night. His room was dark, and he was alone, covered in a sheen of sweat from the nightmare. Even now he could feel the geas laughing at his horror. It had crafted the dream, taunting him. Oh yes, it would let him know it was there now, because it was strong enough to weave him into forgetfulness the next time he slept. The thing was letting him remember now because it wanted to savor his despair.
“No.” Mikie repeated, but this time it was not in fear of the dream, but a warning to the geas inside of him. Even as sleep came over him again, and he began to forget what the geas had made him dream, he kept repeating that single word over and over again.
The next day was better for him as he got up by himself and managed to get upstairs alone. Yes, he had to grip the handrails, and balance himself against the wall, but he was upstairs on his own. That brought a smile to his face, and he ate two bowls of cereal before Jamie came upstairs.
“In the pool with you.” Richie advised an hour later, and he was right. The lukewarm water felt good with the heat outside already reaching nearly a hundred and it wasn’t even noon yet! They all swam for a while, and then got out to dry off in the hot sun. Stacy joined them for lunch, and informed them she’d be at the college for the rest of the day. She taught Women’s Studies at one of the junior colleges nearby, and school would be starting soon.
“You boys need to do your clothes shopping for the new semester soon.” She reminded them before she left. Richie left to meet several of his friends, driving his own Prius. Jamie, who had failed his driving test the first time, was hoping he’d be allowed to retake it soon. He’d be able to get his own car then, and not be dependent on someone else for a ride.
The next several days passed in similar relaxation for most of them.
That Saturday he was strong enough to go out to the mall with Richie and Jamie. Richie drove, and they all spent quite a bit of money buying new outfits. Mikie scorned the conservative slacks and polo shirts he might have once chosen, and assured by his new-found brothers that the dress code at the new school he would be attending was lax enough, he stuck to shorts and shirts of several different colors and designs.
Sunday proved too much for
“I’m going to the bathroom.” Josh said sometime after mid-day had passed. Unlike most of the others, he was wearing trunks instead of Speedos, and disappeared into the house.
“You okay?” Jamie asked Mikie, who had gone to the side of the pool with a distracted look on his face.
“I am fine.” Mikie said in a far-off tone, but he shook his head after a moment and smiled. “I think the sun’s getting to me bro. I’m going inside for a bit.”
“Okay.” Jamie smiled and pushed off as Richie started to dunk Andy, who was calling out for help from Jamie. Mikie smiled at their antics and got out of the pool, drying off with a towel before heading in the house.
“Hey.” Josh said with a smile as he came out of the bathroom just as Mikie was entering the hallway.
“Hello.” Mikie said in a slightly husky tone. There was a smile on his face, and Josh started to blush a bit at the look he was getting.
“You’re going inside?” He asked his friend’s relative.
“Yes.” Mikie said with a wider smile. “The sun was getting a bit much for me. I thought I would watch television for a while.”
“Oh.” Josh said. “How do you like living here?”
“It is not too bad.” Mikie said with a very slight shrug as he scratched the front of his Speedos. That drew Josh’s eyes down there, and to the good-sized bulge that was starting to spread. Mikie let himself wonder what it would be like to be a football player, wearing all that gear and slamming into other people… he bet it would be fun, especially with as broad a set of shoulders as Josh had. “At least I have my television from home. It is one of those plasma models, fifty-four inches.”
“No shit.” Josh breathed with wide eyes.
“No shit.”
“You got any?” Josh asked and this time his voice almost cracked and he blushed slightly.
“Why don’t you come and see?”
“Wow.” Josh whispered hoarsely, and
“No.” Mikie nearly screamed with horror as he pulled back and stood up. Josh looked up in surprise, and a little bit of fear.
“It’s okay.” Josh said in a comforting tone. “I mean, I’m not gay, but it’s okay. Just this once.”
“No, it’s not.” Mikie moaned, and crossed the distance between them in a flash. This time when his lips met Josh’s, he was in control, and the geas was pushed down. This time, when their lips met, his mind entered Josh again but with a different purpose. He erased their meeting in the hallway, and the subtle tendrils of lust he’d pushed out towards the good-looking guy. Josh was still spell-bound when he broke the kiss, helped the guy to his feet and pushed him out the door.
He would remember nothing, but Mikie shut off the disgusting video, threw the disk in the garbage can and threw himself down on the bed. His eyes leaked tears as he started sobbing. The fucking thing had almost succeeded in steeling a part of another innocent person! He’d almost let it!
But forget he did as sleep overtook him, and the geas extended subtle tendrils. It had moved too fast, but the hunky football player had been too tempting. He was strong, and skilled at what he did, and maybe in this new school those skills would have come in handy. Oh yes, he knew when he took them this way, he took some part of those skills from his victims. Certainly they didn’t lose everything, but they did lose that edge that made them a bit better than anyone else.
Like that motorcycle rider. Sure, the man still rode bikes, but he wasn’t quite as good as he had been before. His rising star in the racing circuit had faded, and he’d gone on to another career, leaving his diminished skills as a fun hobby. Josh would have been fine. Maybe not as good as a football player, and maybe he would not end up with a scholarship to college, but he would still have been able to play.
What was disturbing was that Mikie had resisted, had pushed him back, and had stopped things before he’d gotten anything more than a mere taste of what Josh experienced when he played. The boy realized what was happening and fought back successfully. He was stronger, but still weak, and he could not risk another confrontation with the boy, much less the boy’s protectors.
“Wake up.”
“What time is it?” He asked her sleepily.
“Just past four in the afternoon.” She said sharply. “What did you do to Josh?”
“What?” He asked with surprise. “What’s wrong with him? I didn’t do anything!”
“Yes, you did.”
“I didn’t do anything!” He nearly shouted as he sat up and glared at her.
The geas fled before her, amazed that she would confront the boy so directly, and that the boy would not resist her. He should have, as far as he knew he had done nothing wrong and should have been indignant at the attack from her. Instead he’d flung open his mind, and the geas had to run and hide. If she found it, there would be another battle and this time the host might not survive.
“Oh my god.” Mikie murmured in horror as his Aunt unlocked the hidden memories. He suddenly remembered, and she watched, the almost-seduction of Josh, and the nightmares of the last few nights. Tears fell down his cheeks as he relived those horrible visions, and the fear he felt on waking. Shaking, he waited for his Aunt to do something, to make sure he could never harm anyone again.
“Shhh, Mikie, it’s going to be okay.” She said as she pulled out of his mind even as she wrapped him in her arms and held him close to her. He stiffened in total shock as she ran a hand through his hair and made more comforting noises. “Josh is going to be fine, and you, you are going to be better than fine.”
“How can you say that?” He asked and didn’t care how high his voice sounded. “I almost raped him! I almost did the same thing to him I did to all those others! It almost happened again!”
“Almost.” She said as if that meant everything. “It didn’t happen though. You stopped it, Michael Sinclair, and I didn’t think you had that in you. Stacy was right. You’re going to be okay, and we’re going to be with you every step of the way.”
“But I’m evil.” He whispered, and was surprised yet again when she laughed.
“No, Mikie, you’re not evil.” She assured him. “In fact, you’re the farthest thing from evil that I’ve known.”
He sobbed into her shoulder at that, and at the other gentle words she gave to him. A Sinclair didn’t cry of course, and he hadn’t since he was a child, but lately it seemed like he did nothing but cry. There, with her, he cried again and for the first time since he’d woken after that first battle, he felt the evil go into full hiding, not even daring to peak out through his eyes. It knew that his Aunt and her partner knew about it now, and it would be preparing for their next attempt to get rid of it, except Mikie already knew that was not going to happen.
That afternoon, it was Elizabeth who convinced him of the wisdom in Stacy’s words. She had seen him almost commit the same evil he had done over and over again, and she’d praised him for stopping it. Stacy had told him it was the choices he made that defined him, and
Later that night, after everyone else had left, she had sat everyone down in the living room and had Mikie tell them what had been happening. Stacy looked grim, Richie worried, but Jamie and Elizabeth were both smiling at him. The dark presence was still hiding, not daring to show itself or even hint at its presence, but they knew it was there, and it would not rear its head again until Mikie was ready to face it down.
That night, Richie slept with him in his bedroom.
Monday brought the last week of summer before school started, and Richie seemed intent to enjoy it as much as he could. He was gone from the house before Mikie had even woken, and left them there alone.
“Let’s go for a ride.” Jamie suggested after they had both eaten breakfast. “No one will be home until evening.”
“I don’t know.” Mikie said with a frown.
“Why not?” Jamie asked.
“I stole that, I stole the knowledge, the ability to ride.” Mikie said sadly.
“You aren’t going to put humpty-dumpty back together again by not riding.” Jamie said with a frown.
“No.” Mikie agreed after a long moment of thought. “But what good comes of it?”
“You don’t have to atone for the wrongs that happened with every waking breath!” Jamie said with exasperation. “Look, we’ll enjoy it, right? I enjoy riding with you. We’ll both enjoy it, and feel better. That’s good, right?”
“I guess.” Mikie said with a sigh. Fifteen minutes later they were dressed in their riding gear and heading out on the freeway, going west. As soon as they were on the bike, they ‘clicked’ again, and now Mikie recognized it for what it was, a low-level linking and rapport. That was how they moved as one on the bike. In a sense, they were one person.
The geas could feel it too, and it dared to hope and stirred a bit, but as soon as it did, it felt another web being burned by the bright light that was Jamie. In a panic, knowing a fight now could cause the bike to crash and cause its host body to die, it fled even deeper and didn’t show itself again.
They reached
It hates the desert. Mikie thought to Jamie as they rode back towards
I love the desert. Jamie replied. It looks so desolate, but if you look closely, it is filled with life. The desert can be harsh, but that’s part of its beauty. You have to struggle with it to stay alive, but as long as you struggle, you’ll find that it can support you.
I think I see what you mean. Jamie said as the wind picked up. He could sense the dust storm building to their south, and the Monsoon storm behind it.
“I think this storm isn’t natural.” He said when they got home and found Stacy already in the house. She frowned at their riding gear, but said nothing about that.
“It’s not natural.” She agreed. “A couple of weather-workers have been building it up. Once it gets north of us, it’ll really start to drop a lot of rain. There’ll probably be a few flash floods here in town, but there will be more water in the reservoirs afterwards. If we’re ever going to break the back of this damn drought, we’re going to need more storms like it and some good snow storms this winter. You boys should expect a rather wet winter.”
“But…” Mikie tried to argue with her, but she cut him off.
“I’m sorry, Mikie, but you have to understand I can’t quite take you as a student.” She said softly, and with sympathy. “Jamie, come with me. You’re due for another lesson.”
“Yes ma’am.” Jamie said with a smile, and a ‘sorry’ look for Mikie. With a sigh of his own, Mikie went downstairs to his room and slowly got undressed. He was soaked in sweat, and decided to take a shower, trying not to listen to that little voice that said they’ll never fully trust you, you know. If the geas hadn’t been so frightened earlier, he might suspect it was whispering those words to him.
No sooner had he gotten out of the shower than he heard the doorbell ringing. With a muffled curse he put on a pair of cargo shorts without bothering to put on underwear first, and headed upstairs. Down in the workroom, Stacy and Jamie wouldn’t hear the doorbell, and no one else was home yet. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see the broad-shouldered, red-haired football player standing there with a little half-smile on his face.
“Hey Mike.” Josh said pleasantly. “Is Rich home?”
“No, he’s been out all day.” Mikie answered with a frown. “Sorry.”
“Oh, damn.” Josh said with a frown. “I tried calling him but he didn’t answer. I was hoping to hang out here for a bit. My parents went on a rampage again and I don’t want to get caught in the middle.”
“You can come in if you want.” Mikie said, hoping the handsome guy would decline. He was too handsome, really, and what happened, or almost happened the other day still made him feel guilty.
“That’d be good, if you don’t mind.” Josh said with a broad smile that showed off nice teeth. Yes, he really was too good looking.
“Come in.” Mikie said, as he stood to the side. Josh came inside, and Mikie shut the door behind him. “I was just getting out of the shower.”
“Oh, sorry, man.” Josh said with a little blush as Mikie led the way downstairs.
“Don’t worry about it.” Mikie said with a smile plastered on his face as he led the way to his bedroom. “You want to go swimming?”
“Yeah, that’d be cool.” Josh said with a grin. “I even got a pair of trunks on under these shorts.”
“That’s good.” Mikie said as they entered his room. “I’ll get a swimsuit on and we’ll go outside.”
“Nice room.” Josh said with an appreciative whistle.
“Thanks.” Mikie said as he went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of yellow Speedos that Jamie had bought for him a few weeks ago. Without hesitation, he dropped his shorts and began to pull on the swimsuit. He was surprised when a hand began to run over his butt just as he finished pulling on the swimsuit. The contact sent tingles all the way through him.
“Oh man, I’m sorry.” Josh said in a horrified voice. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“It’s okay.” Mikie said with a slight blush, trying to ignore the hardening of his cock. The geas was still in hiding, but he could feel it watching now. It wasn’t doing anything though, and while he had to admit he was attracted to the football player, he didn’t want to rape Josh’s memories or experience. He did turn and face Josh, though, and lifted his face to smile at the guy and tell him everything was okay. Josh though, had other ideas and his lips met Mikie’s in a firm kiss. Now it was Mikie groaning into Josh’s throat as the guy’s large hands pulled him closer. Part of Mikie wanted to shout ‘No!’, and push Josh away, but the geas was just watching, not acting, and he wanted this.
What would sex be like without the geas raping the mind of his partner? Would it be as satisfying? As they stumbled to the bed, and Josh’s hands began kneading his now fully-hard cock, Mikie began to suspect it would be every bit as good.
This story brought to you by a lot of hard editing from Emoe, and
beta-reading by Trebs.
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