Rich Boy: Awakening - 11. Chapter 11

Life settled into a happy routine for Michael after school started. The summer time had been wonderful, but he found that he was enjoying school even more. His days and nights were so busy that he often found himself turning around and finding that an entire week had passed by without him really noticing.

Worthington Sinclair had never particularly enjoyed sports, but Michael found that he loved sports. Part of him wished he’d been able to take up football after going to his school’s game every weekend. That was the first real temptation for him when it came to his powers. It would be so easy to get one of the better football players alone, and to use glamour magic to seduce the player. Then he could steal the player’s skills during sex, and join the football team.

It was only his newfound sense of ethics that stopped him from doing that. He still continued his thrice-weekly discussions with Stacy and found himself sharing that temptation with Stacy. At first he’d expected her to be disgusted with him, but she expressed approval that he not only resisted the temptation but shared it with her in their discussions. After that, she was even more forthcoming about different aspects of magic, and the ethics that she taught to Richie and Jamie.

Some of those ethics he knew he would not be able to follow, and she seemed to understand that as well. That left a whole bunch of other things for him to contemplate though, and he found himself thinking about them on a regular basis. The few times that he found himself in Brandon’s company alone, he would often use Brandon as a sounding board. Brandon was even more familiar with Dark magic than Michael, and proved to be a good sounding board for the ideas that he was developing on the proper use of his Gift.

Jeremy came over almost every day, including weekends. In fact, on the weekends he would spend most of the day with Michael, and not always practicing wrestling. They discussed everything imaginable, from their individual pasts, to dreams of the future, and even current politics, which Jeremy seemed to find interesting while Michael was mostly bored by the topic. Every night that his parents were home for dinner, though, Jeremy was there with them. A few times he even brought his brothers Timothy, Eric, and Terry over. They seemed to love the pool most of all, and spent every minute they could there, to the amusement of the older boys.

As they had promised when he first arrived, the heat faded into gloriously warm, but not hot days as September turned towards October. For every minute of nearly unbearable heat during the summer, Phoenix seemed to offer a gloriously comfortable day in the fall, and according to his friends and relatives, most of the winter would be this way. Jamie promised that there were only a few weeks out of the year that it would be too cold to comfortably use the swimming pool, and more than likely he’d never want to wear anything more than shorts if he didn’t have to for some reason.

Stacy and Elizabeth, as well as both Richie and Jamie attended not only his first Wrestling Meet, but every single one of them. It felt odd to him to have people there to cheer him on, but it was also very, very comforting. He was nervous in his first match, especially since the guy looked so absolutely mean, but he managed to eke out a victory anyway.

Naturally he hadn’t worn a cup or jock for the match, and the size of his erection had caused the guy to freak out a bit, giving him just enough advantage to pin the guy. Jeremy’s advice had worked, and the fact that nearly everyone could see him in the competition singlet he wore didn’t bother him nearly as much as it should have. His only regret was the return of extreme interest in him by several of the girls at school the next Monday.

Jeremy ended up helping him there as well. His new friend, who was fast becoming an even closer friend than anyone but Jamie, spread it around school that he was ‘engaged’ to some girl from another rich family. The rumor mill took that and twisted it so that they became childhood sweethearts, and Michael was totally dedicated to her. Although some very determined girls weren’t deterred by the rumors, most of them took his polite words and actions at face value and didn’t try for more from him. He even went to a few dances with some of the more sympathetic girls, never the same one twice, and while he danced with them as expected, he went no further.

Oddly enough, that seemed to seal his reputation as a ‘real’ gentleman, and he found himself continually surrounded by girls. He actually found most of them very pleasant to be around, and enjoyed occasionally flirting with a few of them, especially when they proved to expect nothing more than the casual flirting, and an occasional dance. Several times he even went out on ‘dates’ with one or two of them, in a group, usually with Jamie and Sarah, who were becoming more and more an ‘item’ every day.

It was one night in early October that Jamie came into his room after returning from a solo date with Sarah. Michael was laying on his bed, on his stomach, watching television. He’d managed to win his television back from Jamie in a bet after Brandon had flat out refused to buy him a new television. It was Michael’s money the boy managed, and he was soul-bound to Brandon, but the boy had developed a powerful will of his own, and nothing short of a flat-out command would change his mind. Michael refused to use that power, to command Brandon, over something as silly as a television. Instead, he’d set Jamie up with Jeremy’s help, and won the bet to get his television back.

“Argh!” Jamie groaned as he flopped down onto the bed next to Michael. Jamie was dressed in a nice pair of khakis, and a dress shirt fresh from his date and had lipstick smeared on his cheeks.

“What’s the matter?” Michael asked with a little bit of concern. “Don’t tell me you got into a fight with Sarah.”

“No, nothing like that.” Jamie groaned and rolled over. Michael’s eyebrows rose a bit. Jamie was hard as a rock, and tenting his pants out like mad.

“Let me guess, it’s the whole ‘have to be a virgin until you’re seventeen’ thing.” Michael laughed in a teasing tone. “I swear, you Light Mages have the silliest fucking rituals.”

“She doesn’t even understand why I won’t go further than kissing.” Jamie groaned as he playfully punched Michael in the shoulder.

“It’s not like you can’t get a handjob from her, right?” Michael asked him. “I mean, you did that with me and it was no big deal, apparently.”

“Two things.” Jamie said seriously. “Well, no, make that three. First, I don’t love you. I think I love her. That makes a difference for Light Mages.”

“Congratulations, brother.” Michael said with a genuine sense of happiness. Jamie blushed at that, and reached down to readjust himself.

“Thanks.” Jamie blushed. “I haven’t told anyone else yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with her.”

“I’m really happy for you.” Michael said and squeezed Jamie’s shoulders. “So, you were saying, love makes a difference.”

“Yeah, don’t get me wrong, I love you, bro, but it’s a different kind of love.” Jamie stated.

“I’m not so Dark I can’t understand and appreciate that.” Michael reminded him.

“Yeah, well, just so you understand.” Jamie murmured. “It does make a difference. Don’t ask me how, ‘cause I really don’t understand myself. It just does. The second difference is that you’re a guy, and well, I mean, a guy’s equipment ain’t all that bad to mess around with, but it isn’t a girl’s, and that’s what I really like.”

“I can understand that, too.” Michael assured him. “It’s a little different for me. A girl’s stuff I can dance with, but now a guy’s, well that gets me really going.”

“What about you and Jeremy?” Jamie asked, changing the subject. “You guys fooled around yet? I mean, you’ve told him you like guys and everything. Is he straight?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, bro.” Michael laughed. “Let’s just say, if he let me, I’d jump his bones in a heartbeat. Only thing is, the few times things have started down that road, he’s always pulled back, and I don’t want to look in his mind and find out.”

“Maybe you should.” Jamie laughed. “I mean, Sarah’s mind is so wonderful. Her gift is still just forming, but it’s so wonderful. I mean, well, Jeremy’s not gifted, but you could still share with him if it’s all that serious. I mean, do you love him?”

“I don’t know.” Michael admitted softly, staring at Jamie. He’d never thought of Jeremy that way, but he did realize that he had very strong feelings for the guy. That was going to be something he’d have to think about. Stacy had started showing him meditation techniques, and maybe he could meditate on Jeremy. They were supposed to be talking about Jamie, not himself though. “So, the second thing is that her equipment is far more interesting to you, what’s the third?”

“Well, it’s kind of related to the second.” Jamie laughed with a blush. “With a guy, stopping at a handjob is no big deal. It’s nice, it’s better than jacking off by yourself, but I have no desire to go further than stroking, and kissing, you know? With Sarah, or any girl, I’m going to want to go for more. I mean, oh God, just thinking about her lips around me, or something more is driving me insane. If we went further than kissing, I don’t know I’d be able to stop and that would ruin things.”

“Well, let’s see what I can do for you.” Michael said, giving in to the urge, and his own erection that had been forming the longer he’d seen Jamie’s. Their cocks were so identical in size, which considering they had the same father, and their mothers were sisters, it shouldn’t be at all surprising. Jamie just groaned as Michael’s hand touched his erection through his pants, and Michael scooted closer to him. Their lips met with a little tingling feeling, and both of them felt their shields fray as they linked and merged. They had not done anything sexual since Michael had been fully aware of his abilities, and as Jamie’s hands touched his own cock, he reveled in the feeling.

While he was feeling Jamie’s hands on his cock, fumbling it out of the shorts he was wearing, he was also feeling his cock in Jamie’s hands. The silky texture of his own skin against Jamie’s, the sticky liquid already leaking from the tip, all came through two sets of senses, and when their mouths met and tongues began to wrestle, he thought he was going to explode right there. Then his hands were inside Jamie’s pants, and pulling his brother’s cock out of his pants. Neither one of them lasted long, but rather matched each other’s motions with a preciseness that would have been impossible if they weren’t linked so tightly. Michael’s feet curled, and he felt Jamie’s doing the same as they approached the brink and went over it together, spreading liquid stickiness between them.

“Oh fucking God!” Jamie cursed mildly and there were tears in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked worriedly as he was pulled out of the warm afterglow that was filling him.

“Nothing’s wrong, but I think I just made it harder to stop thinking about Sarah.” Jamie laughed with a little bit of bitterness. “Imagine if that’s what you feel whenever two gifted do it together, and it’s more than a fucking handjob and kissing.”

“Yeah.” Michael said with a hint of sourness, and they were still linked closely enough that Jamie sensed where his thoughts were going.

“You can probably forge a link with him, if things go that far.” Jamie said in a consoling tone. “I’ll ask Mom about it.”

“Thanks, bro.” Michael said, holding up a hand covered in rapidly cooling Jamie sperm. He smiled as he licked it, tasting it and smiled. “You taste just like me.”

“Well, it makes sense, right?” Jamie laughed. “C’mon, let’s go get cleaned up.”

It was another first for Michael. He’d never showered with another guy before. Sure, he’d been in showers with other guys before, and a vague memory said he’d probably had sex in a shower before, but he’d never actually showered with someone the way he and Jamie did. They washed each other, and as they rubbed their hands over each other, both of them grew erect again. Jamie laughed playfully, and they mocked sword fighting with their nearly identical cocks, which led to kissing, and another handjob that was nearly as mind-blowing as the first. Michael felt alone, when after they’d dried off, Jamie kissed his cheek and went back to his own room.

“Hey.” Brandon said sleepily as he padded into Michael’s room after Michael had turned out the lights and gotten into bed. Brandon had been given the other guest room to make his own, and didn’t complain that it was smaller, and had only a view of the hillside out the window. He seemed happy to have his own room at all.

“What’s the matter?” Michael asked and Brandon smiled sleepily as he crawled underneath the covers and curled up in front of Michael. He even pulled Michael’s arm over him and then scooted closer so his back was flush against Michael’s.

“Nothing’s wrong with me.” Brandon murmured sleepily. He was already drifting off to sleep again. “You were lonely, really lonely, so I thought I’d come in here and keep you company.”

“Thank you.” Michael said with genuine fondness as he closed his own eyes. Brandon had rolled back his own shields enough to show that he’d been fully aware of what Michael had been up to. The soul-bond gave him a little window into Michael’s mind and while he didn’t know everything going on, or direct thoughts, he’d felt the sexual excitement from Michael, and he’d known Jamie was in the room. He’d also felt Michael’s loneliness afterwards. It was a testament to how he felt about Michael that he felt no qualms about coming in here and being a comforting presence. Brandon hated the idea of sex between the two of them, and while he’d willingly provide Michael with it if he wanted it, the fact that Michael did not ask for that only made him even happier.

Barrett de Long, the mind-healing psychotherapist visited him twice over that time, and both meetings were interesting. At first, the mind healer was not happy about the crystal sphere, and thought Michael was fooling himself thinking the geas was fully confined in that sphere. They spent several hours with that happy churning waterfall inside Michael’s mind, and after he pulled out, de Long grudgingly admitted he could find no trace of the geas outside of the sphere. The entire time he’d been in Michael’s mind, the geas had fearfully pulled in on itself, fearing its death was at hand, and remained quiescent without attempting escape for three whole days.

The geas did attempt to escape though, usually once a day. Most of the attempts took place at night, while Michael was asleep. It obviously felt it had the best chance of escape at those times, but each time Michael woke in plenty of time to reinforce the sphere before a crack could form from the geas’s assault.

Their second meeting began with a much shorter entry into Michael’s mind. He enjoyed the feeling of that waterfall in his mind, and luxuriated in it while it was there. When the waters receded before he’d expected he’d come out of the rapport with several blinks of surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Michael had asked. He could feel the new channels that had been cut in his mind and understood what they did now. Positive and negative thoughts flowed in certain patterns through the mind. The channels reinforced a more positive approach on life. Life was a balancing act, though, and so there always had to be a path for the negative thoughts to flow. What de Long did though was to keep them in certain paths that were minor to, and controlled by the more powerful channels for positive thoughts. Michael would still feel jealousy, anger, and other negative thoughts, but they would never be in control of him unless he let them. All it would take would be a little concentration to return them to the proper channels.

“Nothing is wrong.” De Long said with a smile. “Your mind is as much healed as I can achieve. Many people take years to undo the harm of so many years with such negative things. You though, you reinforce my healing with your own as soon as I lay it down. I can do no more good for you there.”

“So what now?” Michael asked.

“Now we talk about integration.” De Long said with a grim frown. “The longer you wait at this point, the more difficult it will be.”

“It scares me.” Michael admitted with a weak shake of his head. “I don’t want the foulness inside of me. Isn’t it safely locked up in there? Why can’t I keep it there?”

“The longer it is allowed to exist as a separate part of you, the more difficult the integration will be.” De Long responded. “I am not saying you should begin now, and you should not do it alone. It would best be done with a mage like Stacy present.”

“What about you?” Michael asked with some hope. “I should wait for you, right?”

“No.” De Long said with another shake of his head. “Actually it will be better for you to do it without me present. Oh, I will come a few days later, and reinforce your channels, but you should take a bit of it out at a time, and integrate it as you did when you were looking for that spell you used on the other boy. Do it slowly, a bit at a time. I tell you what. We will schedule regular sessions every few weeks. A few days before the session, you will try to integrate part of the geas into you. Just part of it, mind you. Do it with Stacy and possibly Jamie monitoring you. I think the two of them will be best. They can prevent it from getting the upper hand. Take part of it out, cut it off from the rest, and make it a part of you. Each time it will grow weaker, and you will grow stronger. Then I will come a few days later, and heal whatever damage is done. We can also talk about what you learn in those experiences, and I can help you deal with them.”

“Okay.” Michael agreed after taking a deep breath. “We’ll try this.”

“Good.” The man said with a friendly smile. “You are doing well, young man. Do not let this geas make you afraid. That will only make it stronger.”

“Yes, sir.” Michael smiled again.

Two days later another ‘officer of the court’ arrived for a surprised inspection from the Ohio court. Smythe had reported the judge was not pleased at all with the report from Brantree. This time he sent a woman who clearly disapproved of lesbians, but she got nothing more than the first person had, and went back to Ohio thoroughly disgruntled. Part of her displeasure had to do with hearing that Michael had gone on a few dates with girls at school. Apparently his Uncle had taken the tactic of claiming the lesbian presence would warp him, make him susceptible to a deviant lifestyle. His dating of girls, while not exactly proof of heterosexuality at least presented the right image. It was just pure luck she didn’t hear any of the silly rumors that Jeremy had started.

The next weekend, Brandon came into Michael’s room with a smug look on his face. It was still early on Saturday morning, and Michael had decided to get a head start on his assignments for the weekend. The schoolwork wasn’t quite as challenging as what he had faced at the boarding school, but neither was it a walk in the park. Earning his regular perfect marks was taking up more and more of his time as the semester progressed, and he had to make a conscious effort to schedule time for the work. When you added in wrestling practice, meets, and all the other social activities associated with public schools, and having friends, he was surprised he had time to sleep at all.

“What is it?” Michael asked Brandon. The boy, no, Brandon was the same age as him, and had lost much of the little boy aura he’d had before. He was more mature, and taking an increasingly active role in the ‘Sinclair’ aspects of Michael’s life. Brandon was in regular contact with Smythe, and his financial advisors, as well as keeping tabs on the legal cases. Certainly Brandon didn’t understand everything going on, but when he didn’t understand he asked questions and kept asking them until he understood. “Did you finally get down Tom’s pants?”

“No, that Julie bitch has him all doe-eyed at her right now.” Brandon said with a sigh. He’d been trying to get down Tom’s pants since the end of summer, without using his Gift, and had kept meeting with frustration after frustration. It was almost funny to watch at times. Brandon had even purchased a green Ninja bike very similar to Tom’s and had only succeeded in getting a jealous look.

“Then what is it that has you all smiley and feeling so happy with yourself?” Michael asked as he grew a little irritated. Brandon had the most annoying habit of dragging out guessing games until Michael pulled the answer from his head. If Stacy had seen him do that, she’d have gotten pissed and called it Dark, but Brandon seemed to enjoy those little reminders of Michael’s authority over him. He found them reassuring somehow.

“I’ve got what you’ve been looking for.” Brandon said and Michael sighed. So this was to be another guessing game.

“What have I been looking for?” Michael asked with irritation. Brandon smiled.

“You wanted a way to undo some of the harm you’ve done in the past.” Brandon was smug and Michael didn’t hesitate. He mentally commanded Brandon to give him the information and it began to spill out from Brandon’s mind in a rush. With it came the satisfaction that everything was okay, Michael still held Brandon soul-bond and was strong enough to use it. He hadn’t been corrupted so badly by the Light Mages that he’d be eaten alive by other Dark Mages.

“Carl? You found out where Carl lives.” Michael said with wide eyes as he turned back to his computer and pulled up a mapping site. So, the boy’s family had moved after he’d been denied a new scholarship, and were living in the Mojave Desert with the mother’s relatives. The fact that the father had lost a good-paying job and not been able to find another was a clear indication of further punitive steps against Carl and only made Michael madder.

“You know, just because you’ve turned your back on all the guys at school doesn’t mean I need to.” Brandon defended how he’d gotten the information.

“No, in fact it makes good sense, and if I knew any of them better I might keep in contact with them.” Michael said as he figured how long it would take to get out there. If they left in an hour, they could be there today. He didn’t want to wait.

“You do know them.” Brandon said with a confused look. “Not all your memories are stuck in the geas.”

“No, but how do I know that I really know them without knowing what it knows?” Michael argued back and Brandon nodded his understanding.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Brandon asked.

“No.” Michael stated. “I was thinking of asking Richie.”

“The Healer would be good.” Brandon agreed and left the room, his business concluded. Michael got up, his homework forgotten and went to find Richie, who was in the game room playing billiards with Jamie. Both of them listened to what he had to say and both of them were frowning.

“Of course I’ll go with you.” Richie said firmly.

“I want to go too.” Jamie argued.

“The car only fits two.” Michael reminded him.

“We can take more if we go in my car.” Richie offered.

“Not fast enough.” Michael countered. “I’ll be there in three hours. Your car will take more than that.”

“Mom should go.” Jamie argued, meaning Stacy.

“No, it’s not something for her to deal with.” Michael countered.

“Then why is he going?” Jamie argued.

“I’m a healer, and my skills will be useful.” Richie countered for Michael. “It makes sense, Jamie, and I’m best suited to back him up in this. He doesn’t need a regular mage.”

“Thank you.” Michael said with a smile.

“Let me get some real clothes on.” Richie said. He’d been wearing a ratty old pair of shorts and a t-shirt with several holes in it. Ten minutes later they were on the road, blasting their way through Saturday traffic and heading west past Phoenix. Twice a cop saw them, and started to chase after them, but Michael understood the spell necessary to distract them, and they found something more interesting than his speeding car.

“Thanks for coming with me.” Michael said after shaking off the second cop. Casting the spell at that distance took energy, and it was a real spell, not just low magic.

“Damn you’re good at that.” Richie said with a laugh. “Almost makes me wish I could learn that Dark stuff.”

“You could, if you wanted.” Michael stated.

“If I wanted.” Richie smiled. “And you’re welcome, of course. I think you’re doing the right thing, and I’ll always be happy to help you do the right thing.”

“Thanks.” Michael said.

“Do you know what you’re going to do, exactly?” Richie asked him.

“I was thinking I’d erase the memory totally, make it so he no longer has to remember it.” Michael stated.

“But won’t that cut a hole in him?” Richie asked. “I mean, he has to have been affected by it always being there, and so when you erase it, he’ll just have the aftereffects to deal with, but he won’t be able to get at the cause of it, won’t know why they’re there. Wouldn’t that be worse, in a way?”

“Well I can’t just unlock it, can I?” Michael said in almost a panic. “I mean, if it was totally unlocked, he could tell anyone, tell them that I raped him. I’m sorry, you know I wish I hadn’t done that, but it’s done. Still, I can’t let him make an accusation like that.”

“So you’re not interested in paying the price for your actions?” Richie asked in a tight voice.

“You know better than that, Richie.” Michael said. “I bear some responsibility for what happened, but it wasn’t the same me as exists today that did it.”

“So what are you going to do?” Richie asked.

“I don’t know.” Michael said with a frown. “I just know I can’t leave it like it is.”

They reached the small town in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and Michael realized how out of place his trendy little car was here. The place looked like it could be a ghost town, but there were people moving around, and he saw some signs of life as he pulled up in front of a house near the edge of the town, such as it was. Richie got out with him, and they approached the house, not needing to knock because a middle-aged woman was looking at them through the screen.

“What do you boys want?” She asked in a defensive tone.

“Is Carl here?” Michael asked, ignoring the geas inside his head as it tried to distract him. It didn’t like this, and made as if it was going to try and break out, but he had it secured and ignored it otherwise.

“Whose asking?” The woman asked acidly.

“I went to school with him and wanted to see him.” Michael said softly and tensed up when there was movement behind the woman.

“It’s alright mom, I know him.” A familiar voice said, although it was cracking a little bit. As the woman moved out of the way, Carl looked no less angelic than he had last school year, but his eyes told a different story. There was a haunted look in them.

“Don’t be out too late.” The woman grunted sourly before walking away and Carl opened the screen door moving out on the porch.

“Who’s he?” Carl grunted with a nod towards Richie.

“A friend.” Michael said and followed the boy as Carl strode off the porch and towards the car. He stopped in front of the car and put his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

“Nice ride.” Carl’s voice was bitter and full of acid. “I s’pose you came out this way to get a taste of my ass again. Well, you ain’t taking it by force this time. You want it, you pay like everyone else. Two hundred bucks, up front.”

“What?” Michael asked with shock and the boy turned to look at him with an odd look.

“Oh come on, you know what those fuckers did.” Carl said contemptuously. “Hell, you raped me for them! Did you think they’d let it end there? Some fancy guy comes out here once or twice a week, a different one every time near abouts and takes me out on a ‘little date’. At least he fucking pays for it. They let me have that much will. I gotta go with him, but I don’t gotta give up my ass unless they pay me. I guess it was only a matter of time till you showed up wanting another piece of me. If your friend wants some too, he’s gotta pay his two hundred bucks too.”

“Fuck.” Michael spat, and fell to his knees as the crystal shield inside his head bent and twisted under a vicious assault. Carl just frowned at him and looked like he was enjoying the look of pain on Michael’s face, but Richie ran to his side, and his Healer abilities managed to work their way past Michael’s shields. When Michael realized it was Richie touching him, he reached out desperately and grabbed the Healer into a rapport.

“What’s going on with him?” Carl snapped. “Damn it! They blocked me from ever being able to do anything, not that I could do much in the first damn place, but I can still see!”

“It’s a long story.” Richie muttered aloud as Michael drained the strength he needed from him.

“He’s draining you pretty good, whatever he’s doing.” Carl laughed raucously. “Worthington Sinclair always was one to take what he needed from whoever he wanted.”

“Shows how much you know.” Richie murmured as he went slightly dizzy. The crystal sphere in Michael’s mind was as close to shattering as it had ever been. None of the other attacks on it had come this close to succeeding. Richie wasn’t nearly as strong as Jamie, nor was Brandon close enough to draw on for strength. He could hear the strain in Richie, and knew Richie would give out before too much longer. “This isn’t Worthington Sinclair here in front of you.”

“What do you mean?” The boy snapped. “I know him. Oh believe me, I fucking know the bastard quite well.”

“The body is the same, but the mind inside is different.” Richie snapped. “He was under a geas, a compulsion spell for a long time. Michael, the guy in front of you right now broke free of Worthington, and has been living a new life. He doesn’t go to that school anymore. He’s a good guy. He came here to help you damn it.”

“Then what’s wrong with him?” Carl asked.

“The geas, the part of him that was Worthington is trying to break free.” Richie gasped, going to his knees as his power weakened. “I’m sorry, Mikie, I can’t give you any more.”

“You’re saying the bastard that raped me, he’s got him locked in his head?” Carl asked with anger showing in his voice.

“Until it breaks free, which it will in a moment.” Richie replied.

“Take my power!” Carl shrieked, running over to Michael and putting his hands on either side of Michael’s head. “I can’t fucking do anything, but it’s still there. The bastards made sure I could feel it, but if you ain’t one of them no more, I fucking will let you do it.”

Michael didn’t wait, he reached out and sure enough the boy’s power was lying there, waiting for him. As he took the power of the boy into him, and threw it into supporting the crystal sphere that was about to break, he also drew the boy into a closer rapport, let him see what was inside of his mind. With a whimper, the geas gave up, collapsing in on itself as it had fully exhausted all the strength it had been carefully nurturing for weeks. Michael didn’t break the link with Carl though, and instead showed the boy everything he could of what happened to him, and why he was there.

“Can you break the block they put on me?” The boy whispered as Michael opened his eyes. There were tears in Carl’s eyes. “Can you let me use what ability I do have? Can you do that for me, please? Can you make it so I don’t have to go with those men when they come? You do that, and I’ll forgive you everything!”

“Come here.” Michael said as he stumbled his way to his feet, and drew the boy into a tight hug. It was no more than that, just a hug. “I am so sorry I didn’t stop it, I’m sorry I helped, I’m sorry it happened.”

Even as he spoke, he drew on more of the boy’s strength. His own power, and Richie’s was exhausted, but the boy was a natural channel, and had more than enough power for him to do this. First, he replenished his own depleted stores, with the boy’s blessing, and then he set to work, right there on the side of the road in front of the boy’s house. There would be nothing for anyone ungifted to see, but he must blaze like the sun as he gathered in mage power to work at the spells knotted in the boy’s brain.

It wasn’t easy destroying the spells. First off, they were set by a very powerful mage. The next problem was that he didn’t know the spells, and while he could use raw power to break them, doing that risked hurting Carl. He had no idea how long he worked, but eventually the spells came apart, and he dug deeper until he found the spells he had set, or Worthington had set, on that dreadful night. Undoing them meant reliving that experience, except this time from Carl’s perspective.

He’d always been proud of the size of his cock, but feeling how it tore into the boy, rammed into him and tore him open so he bled brought tears to Michael’s eyes. He was ashamed he could do something like this, and try as he might to think otherwise, he had to admit that he was capable of it. Worthington was a part of him, and when he completely integrated the geas, Worthington would always be a part of him. The difference was that he was different now, and he knew the temptations of power like this. Silently he vowed not only to himself but to Carl who was still with him that he would never allow such a thing to happen again with his body.

“I’m free.” Carl whispered as Michael pulled out of his mind, and released the link between him. Richie was sitting on the hood of the car, watching them with a smile on his face. There were tears in Carl’s eyes as he spoke, and a smile on his face. “I’m free.”

“Yes.” Michael said softly, and decided he was going to do nothing more. Let Carl do what he wished. After what he had been through, he deserved whatever justice he demanded, and he let his intentions be plain to both of them.

“Don’t worry about me.” Carl grinned up at him. “You’ve already done more than enough to make up for what you did. You freed me, and you’re not the person that did it to me. That guy’s locked up in your head.”

“But eventually I’ll have to absorb him into me.” Michael said quietly. “He will be a part of me.”

“But he won’t be in control.” Carl grinned still and the tears were fading from his eyes. “He won’t be you. You, you’re a good guy. I think I could like you, if you didn’t have his face. As it is, well, you understand I’m not really interested in being your friend, right?”

“I understand.” Michael said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about what happened that night.” Carl continued.

“Thank you.” Michael said softly. Then he thought of something and went to the car’s glove compartment. Tearing off a piece of paper he wrote two names and numbers on there and handed it to Carl.

“What’s this?” The boy asked.

“The top one is this doctor I’ve been seeing.” Michael answered. “He’s a mind healer, and he understands our abilities. Talk to him. He’s a good man.”

“I can’t afford no shrink.” The boy snarled, but he didn’t argue about needing to see one.

“I’ll make sure any fees he charges are covered.” Michael said. “It’s the least I can do for you.”

“Okay.” Carl said softly. “I’ve been wanting someone to talk to about this shit, but I know most people won’t believe me even with my magic not all tied up. This here’s your number right?”

“Yes.” Michael agreed. “You don’t have to be my friend, but keep in touch. If there’s something I can do for you, call me.”

“I won’t say I will, but we’ll see.” The boy said. “You better get going. Mom probably thinks you’re one of those guys always coming to pick me up. Well, that ain’t gonna happen no more. Thanks, and bye. Don’t take it wrong when I say I hope to never see you again.”

“Good luck, Carl.” Michael said and got in the car before anything else could be said. The boy was already back in the house by the time he pulled away with Richie in the passenger seat.

“You did the right thing.” Richie told him.

“I hope so.” Michael said as they reached the freeway. “I hope so.”