Rich Boy: Growing Pains - 6. Chapter 6

How many seventeen-year-olds could say they have had the United States government try to kill them? Well, outside of terrorists of course, but Worthington did not consider himself to be one of those. It had only been the presence of the elves, and the ogres, that had distracted him from those thoughts that night as he celebrated his seventeenth birthday.

If they really were government soldiers, he understood his Uncle probably did not send them. He had to wonder though who might try to kill him on his eighteenth birthday. Maybe he should have just stayed in bed that day altogether and not wake up until it was over.

Unlike now, the elves at least had provided a needed distraction the night of his birthday. He’d expected them to be taller and was slightly disappointed that they were on average just an inch or two shorter than him. They were slender though, very slender, and dressed in bright clothes that could hurt the eyes if he spent too much time staring at them.

Kelvren, Prince of the Elves of Tirnaslanteen had been quite an interesting conversationalist, and he had learned far more in the hours of their conversation that night than he had in all the lectures anyone had given him on elves. Most striking about them was how they looked at the world. Kelvren was old and could remember growing up just a few centuries after Jesus Christ was said to have lived. Yet at the same time, he seemed younger than Worthington because of how he reacted to the world around him.

Governor Lokar had commented that elves were flighty creatures, never caring about tomorrow and Kelvren had lightly responded that dwarves were far too serious because they didn’t understand that if it was going to rain tomorrow, it was going to rain. You made sure the crops were ready for the rain, your roof didn’t leak, and you enjoyed a comfortable day in front of the fire, enjoying the sound of rain on the rooftop. Worthington had watched the byplay between the dwarf and elf and made mental notes about dealing with both of them.

Elven Princess Olara of the Firnarlanteen Elves made a quiet contrast to her Dark elf counterpart. Physically there was no real difference between them. Both had pale hair that really defied classification as either blond or white. They also had the same pale, creamy skin and looked close enough to be brother and sister. It took several politely worded questions to figure out the difference between them.

"Our Dark brethren prefer homes in the ground, beneath the roots of our trees." She answered his questions with a laugh and a smile. "They hang their lights from the roots of our trees in their dank little caves while we make our homes in the trees themselves."

"You mean you perch on a branch like a bird." Kelvren had retorted in a friendly way before moving on to a discussion of the latest alternative dance music hitting the gay clubs. It seemed the elves loved to dance, and would often conceal their identities behind a glamour so they could dance the night away at a gay club, or a rave party.

There were other differences between them, although the two different types of elves seemed to have resolved the majority of their differences. They lived near each other in relative peace, and when Worthington asked how they had managed to resolve their differences, both had grown very serious before Olara replied. It was the only time that night he remembered seeing them so serious.

"You humans and your infernal machines and death metals made us realize we had to bury the differences between us." She’d said before moving off into the swirl of people dancing. The Main Hall had been filled with over two hundred people, most of them non-human. Stacy and Elizabeth had shown up later in the night, amazed by all that they saw and in the weeks since then had wanted to know just about everything Worthington or Jamie would tell them about what was happening up in the mountains.

It had been Sapha who had clued him into one of the major differences between Light and Dark elves. He’d ended up with Kelvren in his bed that night, and discovered that while they may indeed be two different species, elves and humans had compatible body parts, and elves enjoyed dancing in bed as much as they did on the dance floor. Kelvren had been a particularly loud lover as well.

Before he left the next morning, Sapha had met him standing at the door to Worthington’s bedroom. Her stern glare had made the elf seem sheepish at first, and then indignant. Worthington was about to tell her to stand aside when the elf sighed, his shoulders slumped, and he began to remove things from his pocket, including the gold bracelet that he’d given to Worthington the night before as a birthday gift! When he was done, the elf had turned to give a dazzling smile to Worthington and sauntered past the Housemistress while whistling a jaunty tune.

"Elves." Sapha had muttered with disgust as she picked through the small pile of things the elf had taken out of his pockets. She snorted at one of them and held up a small golden ring. "I don’t think this was in the house. He must have gotten it from somewhere else and forgot when he picked it up. You have to watch those elves, my lord, especially the Dark Ones. They have no understanding of private property."

"I can see that." Worthington had smiled as he shook his head. "Thank you, Housemistress."

"I hope you had a good time." She had snorted. "The Maker knows we could hear the elf screaming his head off for miles when you had your way with him so we know he enjoyed it. You won’t have any problem with the Tirnaslanteen after that unless it’s keeping them out of your bed or forgetting to search them before they leave."

"Speaking of which, shouldn’t you search him again before he leaves the castle?" Worthington had asked while blushing furiously. He’d hoped she’d rush off at that.

"I have Karden down there waiting for him." She had laughed and turned to leave while whistling the same tune the elf had on the way out.

"Mr. Sinclair, do you understand this or not?" The man’s voice pulled Worthington out of fond recollections of that night and the next morning. He looked at the man in khaki shorts, hiking boots, and a khaki shirt with the red scarf around his neck and sighed.

"Yes I do, Mr. Hall," Worthington replied. "If a camper exhibits any medical conditions including headaches, watery eyes, visible rashes, or is constantly scratching any part of his or her body, we are to take them directly to the nurse."

"So you were paying attention." The ‘Head Counselor’ snorted, causing his Australian-style hat to bob a bit on his bald head. "Try to look like it, please."

"Naturally," Worthington replied while Jamie snickered next to him. They were at the camp for poor, neglected children as Worthington thought of it sarcastically to himself. Jamie came here every year, as did Richie, although this year Richie was elsewhere, preparing for his first semester at college. He’d graduated from High School, and was going away, to the consternation of Stacy and Elizabeth who were prone to break out in tears that their boys were ‘all grown up.’

"Many of our campers come from gang-infested areas of Phoenix and need to know there are more options in their life than the gang." Hall continued, and Worthington had to suppress a laugh at the image that Jamie sent him. Ever since the attack on his birthday, they had not had as much trouble with the ‘Sinclair’ as they were thinking of him now. His attempt to take them over had left him weakened in the end, and left them stronger in their own self-identities. It was easier for them to send mental images and thoughts back and forth without bothering the barrier they still kept up between them. As Hall continued on a lecture about how to recognize gang symbols and behavior among the campers, they sent back and forth images of the different members of MR wearing such getup or flashing hand signals back and forth.

Stop it you two. Brandon sent with an exasperated sound to his mind voice. He was having a more difficult time keeping a straight face and hated being here. Carl was there as well but seemed to be wrapped up in staring at one of the young females who was a junior counselor like him. Rob had flat out refused to come, and Colin was in his own little world like usual of late.

Worthington tried to pay attention to the Head Counselor but found he couldn’t as his gaze drifted over to the guy sitting in a chair on the other side of the half-circle formed by the sitting counselors and junior counselors that ranged in age from Carl’s fourteen to a few eighteen-year-olds. Jamie tried to distract him with a well-aimed elbow, but his gaze didn’t move from the dark-haired guy that looked so much like Jeremy. It was so damn unfair!

Just over a week ago Jeremy and his family had returned from their holiday at Disney World in Florida. Worthington had wanted to meet them at the airport, excited about finally having Jeremy back in the area, but Jeremy had flat out stated that they were too tired. The drunk driver had hit them on the freeway, causing their car to roll over and fall off an overpass.

Worthington had felt their deaths through the anklets Jeremy, and his brothers all wore and had screamed in pain. Without thinking, he’d grabbed Richie and all but forced him onto the back of Jamie’s bike, barely taking the time to put on a helmet. He and Richie had arrived on the scene about the same time as the first police officer showed up. A spell had sent the officer back to his car looking for the SUV that a person who had seen the accident had reported to 911 while Worthington and Richie tried to do what they could for the people in the crumpled car.

I know. Jamie’s voice was filled with grief as thick as his as Worthington tried to shake off the memories of that night, of cradling Jeremy’s lifeless body and pouring energy into Richie as the healer worked his magic on Terry and Timothy. Both boys would live, but the third triplet was as beyond Richie’s powers as Jeremy and their parents. The funeral had been yesterday, and Worthington would rather have been anywhere than here, at this stupid camp.

A promise is a promise, especially to the Light. Worthington remembered the words Stacy had spoken when he tried to refuse to go to this camp. He’d wished he could have blamed the deaths on his Uncle, or demons, or some other magical thing, but the truth was it had been a stupid drunk driver. He’d wanted to exact revenge on the idiot woman, but Jamie had stopped him from doing that, reminding him that was what the law existed to do.

What good is magic if you can’t save the ones you love? Worthington asked rhetorically once again. He’d asked that question several times a day now since it had happened. He wouldn’t even have Jeremy’s younger brothers around anymore. Some relative had come and taken them to live with her family in Wisconsin of all places. It just wasn’t fair. Jeremy was going to be there with him for years, and now some stupid drunk driving bitch had taken him away.

Let’s go for a walk. Jamie said softly as he cast a little spell to make sure the Head Counselor wouldn’t notice them getting up and leaving. Outside the building, he let out a deep breath and let the tears come to his eyes again. Jamie walked with him quietly, his hand holding Worthington’s in comfort.

They were about an hour further east of Clairville, and the mountain air was clean and warm, but nowhere near hot. The smell of pine and other forest growth was around them, and Worthington felt some of the muscles in his back relax just a little bit as they walked in silence, with his brother comforting him. Without saying a word, Jamie sent him reassurances and reminded him of what had been accomplished that night. Magic had kept the two younger boys alive, and fixed the damage that would have left Terry paralyzed otherwise. Richie had performed near-miracles according to his teachers, healing wounds that they could rarely touch on the best of days, and that had been because he’d had all of Worthington’s power at his disposal.

He said it was like wielding sunlight it was so strong. Jamie reminded him. Magic did that, healed and breathed life back into those two boys. You did that, with Richie.

"It still wasn’t enough," Worthington muttered. "What if it’s never enough?"

"Shit happens," Jamie whispered back, and Worthington felt a little bit of a smile form on his face despite the tears streaking down his cheeks. Trust Jamie to make him smile even when he was crying. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t even cried when his parents, grandparents, and most of his other relatives died, but here he was crying over a bunch of mundanes?

"It wouldn’t be so bad if we could have kept the boys around," Worthington muttered for the tenth time.

"Yes, it would have." Jamie countered just as he had every other time. "They would have been constant reminders of everything we lost that day. You know I loved him too."

"I know." Worthington sighed. They had both loved Jeremy, as had many other people. Over a thousand people, most of whom had actually known them, had attended the funeral for Jeremy and his family. Every mage in Phoenix had been there, even the ones who had not been there on the night of the final fight against demons.

"No one thought it was a waste for those that died that night," Jamie assured him, knowing where his thoughts were going now. "They had those extra months, a fun vacation to Florida, so much more than they would have if the demons had gotten them. No one thinks it was a waste what we did that night."

"I know." Worthington sighed.

"Remember what Barret said." Jamie reminded him. Stacy had called the Mind Healer and Psychotherapist out from LA to talk to the both of them when she saw how much the accident was affecting them. Richie would probably have done it if she hadn’t. He hadn’t wanted to leave them but had his other commitments, just as they had theirs.

"I know, I know." Worthington murmured as they walked around the camp. It was a nice campground really, with a series of dorms on a hillside, and the main mess hall that was where the ‘orientation’ was happening right now. There were another four cabins for the camp staff and several miscellaneous buildings.

The dormitories had two wings with a common area in the middle. One side would be for the girls, and the other for boys. Worthington already knew that most of the campers would range in age from ten to twelve, and all came from poorer families in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. This year each of the boy’s dorms was given the name of an animal, and the girls had plant or flower names. Jamie knew that each year they rotated so next year it would be girls with animal names and boys with plant or flower names.

Jamie’s group of campers was going to be the "Raccoons" while Worthington had "Badgers." It almost seemed stupid to him, but Jamie had mentioned how it was important to the kids who would be coming up tomorrow. The whole camp was structured to achieve several purposes beyond just getting kids out of the city for a few weeks. Their goals included teaching kids about ‘nature’, and most of the staff were avid environmentalists determined to show these kids how man was destroying all the good things about nature, and there were other goals that included showing the kids there was more to life than gangs, drugs, and general hopelessness that many of them might feel for their lot in life.

"It is fun here, you know?" Jamie said softly as they continued to hike up a trail that led past the dormitories. "We’d just gotten back last year when you arrived. I always feel good after two weeks up here. These kids, when they get here, they’re like all tough and prickly. Most of them don’t really want to be here, but when it’s time for them to go back home most of them don’t want to leave and go back to their lives. The transformation in them is amazing."

"I know." Worthington sighed, trying to let the peaceful nature of the place seep into him. It was a different place up here, a different pace than anywhere else. The atmosphere up here reminded him of Kelvren a bit, and he could see how it could affect kids who didn’t know anything but the hustle and bustle of city life.

"Do you want to work on those exercises Jones recommended?" Jamie asked as they reached the top of the hill and climbed onto the wooden platform that was normally used for looking at the night stars. Worthington considered the idea for a moment and shrugged slightly. Byron Jones had recommended some exercises to further help them deal with the Sinclair consciousness. They weren’t exactly easy, and both of them disliked them because afterward they often felt alienated towards one another. Still, they hadn’t done them since Jeremy’s accident and they should if they ever hoped to reach the point where Sinclair would not be a threat to them.

"We might as well." Worthington sighed. "How long do you think we have until Hall is done with his lecture?"

"It’ll be another two hours at least." Jamie laughed as he thinned his side of the mental barrier between them. Worthington did the same, and he could feel their minds seeping into each other as they had in those weeks following the battle with the Demon Lord Zaroc. These exercises could only be performed this way, with the two of them fully aware of each other’s presence.

He could feel Jamie’s tension, the knot of muscles in his back that was refusing to relax as they sat with crossed legs on the platform. Jamie was grieving as much as he over Jeremy’s loss, but it was different grief. It was all tied up in the other grief that Jamie had been feeling for a while now.

Jamie grieved for the lost certainty in his life. Before Worthington had come into his life, he’d known the path laid out for him. He would be a Light Adept, one of the few in existence in the world today. His life would be spent helping others, making the world a better place.

There was no grief over his decision to sacrifice all that to see Worthington come through the merging of his personalities in a good way. That had been part of what he knew his life was about, bringing the best possible outcome, improving the world just a little bit. The grief he felt though was for all the things he’d lost since then.

His appearance was one of the losses he felt the most. The joining spell and the Sinclair consciousness that had resulted from it had changed both of them physically. Their bodies had responded to the genetic melding that was part of the spell by growing and changing both of them. Worthington no longer quite looked like he had before, and Jamie was just as different than he’d been before. For Worthington though, he liked the changes for the most part. Jamie understood why because Worthington liked being better than anyone else, and their bodies were taller, more muscular, had bigger equipment that left their sexual partners both gaping in awe and slightly afraid of how they were going to use that equipment.

Where Worthington liked those changes, Jamie didn’t. They made him feel odd, unnatural. He’d been happy to be of average height and to be only slightly bigger than normal down there. His physical conditioning had been ‘just right’ before, and at least now he was able to ‘let himself go’ a bit so that he wasn’t as defined muscularly as Worthington. The fact remained though that he grieved over his lost identity, his lost physique. Most people would call what he had now better, but for him, it symbolized part of what he lost.

As much as he hated to admit it, Worthington found himself angered by Jamie’s grief over his lost physique. Worthington knew he was better than before, accepted the changes, relished them even, and Jamie’s dislike of them felt too close to a rejection of him. Jamie’s dislike set up a dissonance between them, and he could feel part of whatever it was holding them together, pushing them towards a single consciousness rip apart as anger built inside Worthington.

"Oh fuck that hurt," Jamie whispered as the barrier firmed up once more between them and they withdrew from each other.

"That’s worse than tearing memories apart," Worthington admitted as he put a hand to the side of his head. He could feel the barrier between them and was glad for it as he felt the residual pieces of his anger still simmering inside him. It was hard to resist the urge to fight them, to instead let them simmer. No matter Jamie’s reaction to what had happened, he still loved his brother, and the anger felt like a betrayal, but it was necessary too. What they had just done had worked. There were less of them that needed to be kept separate by the barrier. They were one step closer to being two completely separate identities.

"Yes, but it works," Jamie admitted, echoing Worthington’s unspoken thoughts. That was reassuring in a way. Even when this was all done, they would still be close, brothers united in love and purpose towards common goals. More, they would be friends, best friends.

"I think I understand why Jeremy’s death is bugging me so much," Worthington said softly.

"Why?" Jamie asked with real curiosity.

"I’ve gotten used to the dangers associated with magic and the special world we live in," Worthington said slowly. "Him dying at the hands of a demon would have been easier to take, but he was killed in a normal type of accident. A drunk driver hit his family’s car on the way home from their vacation. It’s so random, the type of thing that can happen to anyone at any time and can’t be predicted. It reminds me that despite the world we live in, there’s still the common dangers everyone faces. Also, it makes me realize that no matter the plans we make, ordinary random events can still derail them. Demons I can fight, mages I can fight, hell, I can fight soldiers with guns too, but how do you fight pure random chance?"

"You don’t." Jamie laughed softly. "I think that’s one of the differences between Light and Dark paths."

"I don’t understand," Worthington admitted.

"Dark path mages learn to control everything around them," Jamie said. "Your father controlled you through spells, you learned to control Brandon as a Channel through soul-bonding him. These agreements you’ve been making with the other Dark mages from your old school set boundaries of control, what you control, what they control. That’s the Dark way, to learn what you control, what others control and so on. The Light path teaches a different way."

"What way?" Worthington asked.

"Take you being here at this camp," Jamie explained. "It’s because of the bargain you made with the Light."

"How’s that different?" Worthington asked. "I mean, it is still about control, right? I gave up control to the Light over what I would be doing for part of my summer."

"You gave up control or did you ever have control?" Jamie asked with a chuckle. "You relinquished what you thought of as your control over your life to the Light, and that’s what the Life path is about. Light mages go where the Light wants them, they subsume their will to that of the Light in service to the greater good. That’s what things like the vow of virginity are about. The vow is an example that Light mages have the self-control to follow the will of the Light, to surrender to the control of the Light. Dark mages wrestle with the Dark, seeking to wrest control from it."

"That’s a simplistic view of things," Worthington said aloud, but he was thinking about what Jamie had said. Part of it made since, in a way, but there were holes in the theory that he could see.

"We’d better head back," Jamie said as he looked at his watch. "Our little exercises took longer than we thought."

"You’re right." Worthington agreed when he checked the time himself. It was nearly two and a half hours later from when they started. His legs were a little stiff as he stood up, but they climbed down the ladder of the platform and made their way down the trail, rejoining the group of counselors as they were heading towards the dormitories.

You are so lucky. Brandon sent mentally. Colin had to cover for your absence twice.

Sorry. Worthington sent back, but Brandon knew he really didn’t mean the apology.

Hall stopped the group inside the common area of the dormitory section and began to read out a bunch of rules from the clipboard he carried. All the suitcases and bags of the counselors and junior counselors were on the floor of the room, and he took what seemed like pleasure in reminding them that the camp’s staff had already searched their bags for contraband material including weapons, pornography, and alcohol. Worthington kept a smirk to himself because he knew they hadn’t searched his bags, nor the bags of any of the mages here. A few simple spells had kept that from occurring unless one of the staff was a previously unknown mage.

"You will want to make sure you lock all possessions up whenever you are not in the dorm." Hall continued. "Make sure your campers do that as well. Some of our campers have no concept of private property, and every year there is at least one case of something being stolen. Now, I’m going to call out your assignments, and you will take your checklist and inspect your dorms. Note the condition of all the mattresses and bunks. You will be responsible for making sure everything is in good condition at the end of the two weeks, including no new carvings on the walls or ceilings. These kids like to carve their initials everywhere they can."

Why the man called out the pairings of counselors and junior counselors, Worthington didn’t quite understand but shrugged it off. They’d already been paired off at the time of their application, and he was going to have Brandon in his dorm with him to help look after the twenty or so rugrats that would be his responsibility. When Hall called out the pair of "Briggs and Meyers in Tiger dorm.", Worthington was surprised. Briggs was one of the mundane counselors, a nerdy looking guy who had just turned eighteen and was here for the last summer before going off to MIT or some other school like that.

"Sinclair and Davenport in Badger dorm." Was the next pairing Hall called out and Worthington moved forward with a sheepishly smiling red-haired Colin Davenport to collect their inspection form. Worthington just nodded at the strong young mage as they collected their bags and carried them down the hallway to the left. Their dorm was at the far end, closest to the second set of bathrooms and showers that would be shared by all the campers in cycles.

The dorm was a long room with ten sets of bunk beds, five on each side. At the foot of each bunk bed was a large locker. Just past the entryway, there was a drywall partition that separated out the ‘counselor’ area including two twin-size bunks on either side, two standup lockers and two footlockers at the end of the beds. On the other side of the sleeping area was another partition with two desks and a long countertop.

"Which bed do you want?" Colin asked in a subdued voice as they looked around the room.

"I’ll take the one along the hallway wall," Worthington said with a shrug and put his bags down on the bed. Colin moved to stand between the beds and put his bags down on the bed nearest the drywall partition. The dorm room was more like a wood cabin with stained wooden beams in a crosshatch pattern overhead and narrow windows letting in sunlight from the side that did not border another dorm. At the end was a fire escape door with an alarm on it that would sound if it was opened.

"Home sweet home," Colin said acerbically as he opened up one of his bags and began to take out several pairs of jeans, shorts, and other clothes to pile in his footlocker.

"Funny how you ended up in here with me," Worthington commented as he watched the boy with his carrot-colored red hair. Colin blushed slightly at that and looked down at the clothes in his hands.

"When you and Jamie were gone I had to cast a spell to keep him from noticing," Colin said sheepishly. "I had him change the assignments at the same time."

"Why?" Worthington asked, and Colin put the clothes down on the bed and turned around to face him, but his eyes were locked on the tiles between them.

"I was hoping you’d get to know me better," Colin said with a blush on his cheeks after he opened and closed his mouth several times.

"You haven’t been happy lately," Worthington said slowly, thinking aloud as he continued. "It looks like you’ve been distracted lately, and you haven’t really been paying much attention. Mr. Wilson commented the other day that you haven’t been progressing as well in your lessons. Does any of that have to do with why you wanted to room with me?"

"Yes," Colin said as his cheeks blushed even more furiously. Unlike most redheads that Worthington knew, including the football player Josh, Colin did not have skin covered in freckles. Sure, he had a few, but his creamy skin was largely freckle-free. It was also pale since whenever he did go out in the sun, he always put on the highest-level sun block he could find.

"What’s going on, Colin?" Worthington asked. "If something’s wrong, you should go to Jamie, you know. He’s the one who gave you Sanctuary and is responsible for you now."

"What if that’s not what I want?" There was heat in Colin’s voice, and his eyes blazed for a moment as he looked up at Worthington. He quickly blushed though and dropped his eyes down to the ground.

"Jamie cares about you, Colin," Worthington said slowly and carefully. Colin was powerful and would be stronger yet as he grew older. "No matter what you think, if he’s doing something to upset you, he will listen to you."

"He’s holding me back," Colin said bitterly. "We’ve argued about it, and he knows he’s holding me back and he won’t change his mind."

"You don’t expect me to get involved between my brother and his ward, do you?" Worthington said sharply, and Colin paled with his neck drooping further down than before.

"He treats me as if I’m still sworn to the Light," Colin said through gritted teeth. "Mr. Wilson says that Jamie’s forbidden him to teach me certain magics, and not to do anything with me that would… that would violate my virginity."

"Sex is a powerful tool, but your virginity is something that you can never get back once it is gone," Worthington said slowly. "Jamie’s doing what he thinks is best."

"It might be if I had any interest in the fucking Light," Colin said fiercely, his voice just below a shout and this time when he met Worthington’s gaze, he didn’t immediately drop his head back down to the floor. "I don’t want anything to do with the Light! Jamie, and you I guess have no problem walking between the two, but that’s not what I want. I want to be a Dark mage! I want what the Dark offers! The only reason I haven’t gone and fucking got rid of my virginity is because I accepted Jamie’s sanctuary and that means I have to obey him. He wants me to either walk between the two paths, or go back to the Light. He told me that! He says he wouldn’t mind me changing my mind and re-swearing to the Light. He says as long as I’m still a virgin the Light may take me back. I don’t want that!"

"But you haven’t broken your virginity?" Worthington asked with a raised eyebrow and a calm voice. Colin was panting now with his anger and took a moment to get his breathing back under control.

"No." He answered angrily.

"Why not?" Worthington asked. "Surely it’s not just because Jamie gave you Sanctuary. A Dark mage would ignore restrictions that ran counter to what he wanted. You have to know if you violated the Sanctuary you could go to someone like Byron Jones and he’d give you a scholarship to the boarding school and train you. Someone of your power, any of the different Dark path schools, would take you in without charge."

"Jamie is the one who gave me Sanctuary, who freed me from my grandparents," Colin said fiercely, and now he looked down at the ground again. "As much as I am pissed he’s holding me back, I’m still grateful for what he did for me and don’t want to turn my back on him. I like it here, I like him, I like you. To be honest, I even like Rob even though he’s an asshole a lot of the time. Brandon’s a good guy and Carl’s like the nicest kid on the planet. Stacy and Elizabeth are decent for old folks, and I just love Clairville and the dwarves. The elves too!"

"So what is it that you want from me?" Worthington asked as he crossed his arms and gave the boy a stern look.

"Today’s my birthday," Colin said softly.

"What?" Worthington was surprised. "Why didn’t you say something? We’d have thrown you a birthday party, even here! We could have had presents for you, and a cake at least."

"There are only two things I want for my birthday," Colin said softly, and his gaze met Worthington’s calmly.

"What are they?" Worthington asked although he was able to guess what they were.

"I’m sixteen today," Colin said defiantly. "I want Jamie to surrender my Sanctuary to you, so you’re the one responsible for me until I turn eighteen."

"Sanctuary doesn’t quite work like that," Worthington said carefully.

"You know what I mean," Colin said confidently.

"How do you know I won’t impose the same restrictions on you that Jamie has?" Worthington asked.

"You’re not him," Colin said with a snort. "As much alike as you two are at times, you are definitely not the same person. You understand the Dark a lot better than he does, and you don’t dislike it the way he does. You can understand why someone would want to be Dark the way I do, and I don’t think you’ll stand in my way. I don’t want to be evil, but I am Dark. There’s nothing you can do to change that, and I don’t think you’ll try."

"What’s the second thing you want?" Worthington asked having already accepted the boy, no, the young man’s answer.

"I want to lose my virginity tonight, to you," Colin said firmly. "I want you to take me."

"You’d be better off with someone else as your first time." Worthington chuckled softly. "I will split you in two."

"How do you know that’s not what I want?" Colin asked. "You’re half the reason I even spoke up that day at the house. I knew I wanted you right then and there and I wanted to lose my virginity to you that day. When Jamie spoke up, I nearly cried. Every fucking night I jack off thinking about you and the way you’ve changed has only made it fucking worse. You’re god damn gorgeous, and I want you and I’ll do whatever it takes to have you."

"Are you saying you love me?" Worthington asked quietly.

"God no." Colin snorted. "I’m saying I lust after you. I wouldn’t know love if it bit me in the ass, but I know I want to feel your body, have you take me. I’m not a fucking Light pussy that thinks sex is about love. It’s about pleasure, and that’s what I want, good sex with the fucking hottest guy I’ve ever seen."

"You’re a virgin, what do you know about sex?" Worthington said scornfully.

"Then get off your fucking high horse and show me," Colin growled. For all his strength, the boy was still largely untrained, and Worthington could have easily shrugged off the mental hold Colin exerted just as he could have shrugged off his hands as Colin reached out and gripped his arms. Instead, he let Colin draw him into a rapport and show Worthington what was going on in his mind, and what he really wanted.

Colin was sixteen today, and he knew what he wanted. It was more than just physical desire for Worthington that drove him, it was a desire to be a Dark mage as well. He understands that Colin’s motivations were not evil, nor did he think Colin would become evil, but most definitely the guy was Dark path material. With a deft twist, he kicked Colin out of his mind and back into his own while he broke Colin’s grip on his arms.

"You just might regret this in the morning," Worthington growled as his hands gripped the back of Colin’s head and pulled at the red hair there, bringing Colin’s lips firmly against his. He could feel the guy’s excitement against him as he pulled Colin in tight. If Jamie had a problem with this, he’d deal with it later. For now, he was going to concentrate on showing Colin exactly what sex was really like.

Colin’s entire body was quivering with excitement as Worthington broke the kiss and began to strip the clothes off of Colin at the same time he cast a warding on the doorway to the dorm so they would not be disturbed.

It was going to be an interesting night.