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Subject: {ASSM} RP:Shadow Knight Chronicles 1-5 (mc m/f violence rom het teen)
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<1st attachment, "Shadow Knight Chronicles 1-5.txt" begin>
Author's Note: I started this story when I was writing under the
pen name Matrix Legion. I never got around to finishing it, and
when I finally did reread what I had wrote, I came to the
conclusion that it was complete and utter cardboard. The
characters were too stiff and the story lagged. So, here I am,
back at the drawing bored.
As you will soon notice, I've changed the names of the
characters, not to mention the story. It used to read "Marcus'
Power", now it reads what you see below. I really hope you like
this version better. I know I enjoyed writing it much more than
the first.
For those of you who followed Marcus' Power, the plot has changed
a little but not a lot.
And PLEASE, PLEASE send feedback. That is the main reason I
rewrote this.
Send all comments or suggestions to Gambit367@aol.com
The Shadow Knight Chronicles
By Gambit
Chapter One
Ethan Remfield stood beside the picnic bench that had been the
meeting place for him and his stepsister for the past two years.
Ever since they had moved to this school. He would sit and he
would wait.
The place he was waiting at wasn't that bad. There wasn't too
many kids milling about and he was virtually by himself-- the way
he preferred to be. The grass was green and it seemed like a fair
day. Something was just nagging on his mind though. The day had
gone to good so far, he knew that something had to go wrong
sooner or later.
His light, light blond hair was in dire need of a haircut, and he
knew this, as he wiped the bangs away from his mirror plated
shades. The shades were very small and round, just big enough to
cover the boy's eyes. He was dressed in all black. One would
think that he hung out with the gothics of the school, but he
didn't. The black button up shirt and jeans were just his style.
He really had no good reason to dress that way.
They were much unlike the shades, which he wore because his eyes
were extremely sensitive to light.
No, Ethan didn't hang out with the gothics, preps, nerds, or even
the jocks. The truth was that the seventeen-year-old boy was a
loner through and through. Some would call him a snob, or even,
maybe, stuck up. But that wasn't the case at all. The fact was
that Ethan just liked to blend in.
Some would call Ethan eccentric and maybe even odd over some of
the things he did. Like wearing his shades, even at night when he
didn't need them. In truth, the boy did that for two reasons. The
first being that when people saw his eyes they always either
gaped or accused him of wearing contacts, which he didn't. The
second was a small part of why people thought him odd.
A person could tell many things by looking a person in the eyes.
And the boy just had emotions he didn't want people to see. Ethan
always guarded his privacy with a fierce determination that would
sometimes even surprise his family. He didn't like it when people
looked in his eyes; it was as simple as that.
She's late again. He thought, sitting down on the cement picnic
table. But that's nothing new. His thoughts added. Then he pulled
out a pack of Camels and a Zippo that his lovely sister had got
him for his birthday last year. There was an inscription on it
that said, "To my big Brother, with love".
The seventeen year old blew out a jet of smoke and thought of the
past. Some of it had its moments of joy. Others . . . Well, there
was torment beyond most people's understanding. That's why he
didn't talk to that many people about it, not even to Joanna or
Tosh.
Joanna Remfield. That woman was possibly the savior of his soul.
Lord knows she was definitely the savior of his life. He knew for
a fact that he would have ended it all with a few quick cuts of a
knife by now if it weren't for this woman, this woman that took
him in and claimed him as her own.
To put it nicely, before Ethan was eleven, he was a child of the
system, a system that didn't really suit him well. Most called it
foster care, but not Ethan. He called it "Hell's Outhouse". And
that was basically what it was for the boy. He understood that
the system worked for many kids . . . But he also understood that
he had to have had the worst run of luck in the history of foster
care, or so he thought.
By the time the boy was eleven years old, he had visited the
emergency room nine times, twice for gunshot wounds, the rest for
various broken bones. There were times where he should have went
to the emergency room but didn't because his "Foster Parents"
thought that he should stay in his room and think about what he
did, while he bled, and when it was bad, prayed for death.
A miracle happened on his eleventh birthday, though. Shawn and
Joanna Remfield adopted the boy as their own. This confused Ethan
somewhat; since he had stopped speaking all together by the time
he was ten. They would talk; he would nod yes or no, nothing
else. There was not a peep that came from Ethan.
Ethan did not do this to be unruly. In all truth, the boy really
didn't know why he stopped speaking. All he knew was that
sometimes things started out good, but then the other shoe would
drop and he would be straight back in hell again. He just didn't
want to chance giving his feelings to someone that might throw
them back in his face.
He was thirteen years old when it happened. A beating didn't
break his silence and it wasn't broken by a bribe. His stepsister
who was a year younger than him broke it. She had always looked
out for him after that day.
He was playing with a pocketknife that his stepfather, Shawn, had
bought him for his birthday and sliced his finger open. Natasha,
Tosh to her friends, had immediately went and got a band-aid and
fixed him right up. "There ya go, sport." That was all she said.
It wasn't the hurt of the cut. And it wasn't the sight of the
blood . . . But it was the sheer warmth in the younger girl's
eyes that made Ethan brake down. He cried like he had never cried
before- even when he got the beatings from the other families.
No, these were tears of joy. And this girl, no more than a slip
really, had brought them crashing down.
After that, Tosh had become his best and only friend. When he
finally spoke to Joanna, it was her turn to cry. And Ethan was
pretty sure that Shawn even got a little misty for a second or
two. From that day forth, Ethan had strove to make them as happy
as they had made him. If a person was good to the Remfield's,
they were good to you.
Ethan had learned that very early on.
Ethan knew a lot about his family that he didn't let on. He was
always good with details. He also knew a lot about himself that
he didn't think important enough to go into with his family,
especially his stepsister. She would probably hover over him
until he went to the doctor's office. But the changes to his body
. . . He pushed the thought out of his head. He really didn't
want to go into it.
Just then Ethan looked across the schoolyard and saw a short
(probably about 5'1") girl standing in front of three jocks,
football players to be exact. He watched her closely, seeing her
wipe the black died hair (she was blonde originally) from her
eyes impatiently, yelling at the three jocks with ferocious
intent.
She is kinda cute when she's mad. He thought with humor. She was
pointing her finger at the one in the middle and verbally
assaulting the boy as best she could. But knowing Tosh, there was
a good reason.
Ethan saw that the middle jock's face was turning more than a
little red. Ethan's feet started him in Tosh's direction before
he even thought twice about it. He didn't know if the jock was
the type to hit girls or not, but he wasn't going to stand around
and find out.
******************
"You listen to me you dumb fuckin' jock. I'll try to use words
that you'll understand," Tosh started off, her deep blue eyes
starting to flash. "If I want to "Dress like a boy" that does not
make me a damn "dyke", as you say. Of course your small mind
probably doesn't know that there is nothing wrong with that to
begin with."
Tosh kept going, loudly, and wouldn't even give them a chance to
speak. "Once you get an I.Q. that don't involve football stats or
a number of shoe sizes, why don't you take a look around. You
might finally figure out that you are a complete and total
ASSHOLE!"
I might have just screwed up. The small thought came to Tosh as
she watched the middle jock's face turn bright red from anger.
The boy, who was about two in a half times the size of her,
looked like he was going to pop. And his friends didn't look any
better. Yep, definitely messed up. Open mouth and insert foot,
Tosh. She thought, a little worriedly. She knew she could fight,
but not at these odds. One of these days I'll learn.
The middle one, who had the bad haircut, and had started this
whole mess to begin with, apparently decided that he was not
above hitting a girl. His arm reared back to slap the loud mouth
girl into next week. Then-- nothing. Someone caught his wrist.
The jock, Daniel was his name, turned to see his reflection in a
pair of mirror-plated shades. The blonde boy that owned them had
a look of complete calmness. That calm look should have allied
his fears some. But for some reason, it only worsened them, and
with very good cause.
By simply twisting Daniel's arm in the wrong direction, Ethan
sent the boy, almost, into a flip. Daniel landed on his upper
back and almost his neck. That was when Daniel's friends thought
they would get in on the action. Ethan just smiled in a maniacal
way that even made Tosh a little nervous.
The first one just came barreling in with haymakers that Ethan
almost laughed at. By the time the boy actually made it to Ethan,
Ethan did a spinning round house that impacted squarely on the
boy's jaw. Ethan could have sworn that he felt a few of the boy's
jaw teeth come loose from that, but it might have been his
imagination.
Ethan felt something that he rarely felt-- elation. And this
feeling came from battle. He was pretty sure that this was the
first time he felt it. It almost felt as if he was unstoppable.
All of his movements felt completely natural. And this was
strange, yet elated experience. He was in, what he called; "The
Zone" and he loved it.
All the sudden, Ethan heard a scream ring out. "Look out!"
By sheer instinct, he dropped to one knee and turned at the same
time. He turned just in time to see the third jock right in front
of him. Without thinking, Ethan delivered two quick rabbit
punches to each of the boy's legs. Each of them was just above
the knee, and slightly on the inside of the thigh. The result was
the boy falling to his knees right in front of Ethan.
Then, with lightening quickness, Ethan grabbed two handfuls of
jersey and jerked the boy forward with vicious intent. The
head-butt that was delivered made those watching wince in
sympathy, even Tosh. She knew the boy had a broken nose. She also
knew that all three were unconscious.
What amazed some of the people that were watching was that during
the entire fight, Ethan's shades never slipped once. That and
Ethan never got hit once, and that was at three to one odds.
Ethan stood up with one fluid motion, without using his hands. If
Tosh didn't know it, she couldn't have known that he was just in
a fight. The only indicator was the grass stains on the knees of
his jeans. "We better jet, before a teacher comes out." Tosh
stated, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him off the
schoolyard.
But he would have certainly left on his on accord. He was in no
mood to hang around. "Whatever you say, half-pint."
"Don't call me that." She stated, slapping him in the chest
playfully. She let out a nervous giggle as she tried to get him
off school grounds. She was not quite quick enough to do so
though.
"Mr. Remfield, hold it right there. I'd like to have a word with
you. It was a voice that Ethan was really hoping he wasn't going
to hear after that fight. It was that of Principal Wayne.
"And what word would that be?" Ethan asked with a mask of stoic
calmness. It was all an act though; he was a nervous wreck on the
inside.
If a glare could have killed someone, Ethan would have been dead
right on the spot. "Go to my office and wait, Mr. Remfield," Then
the chubby little bald man turned his attention on Tosh. "You
wait for me as well, while I get this lot picked up and sorted."
He added gesturing towards the downed jocks.
Ethan could tell Tosh was about to say something and grabbed her
by the arm gently, erasing any protests she had on her lips. She
just gave out a defeated sigh and followed Ethan into the school.
Behind them, the principal was helping up the football players
and making sure that there were no serious injuries.
************************
Even though they town the lived in was only moderate size, the
high school there was top notch. It was a three-story building
that was still moderately new. The town had just finished
construction on it two years before. Yes, the town of Kaymon, New
Mexico had a great deal of respect for the educational system.
It's just too bad the students don't have that same respect for
one another. Ethan thought with a wry shake of the head.
"Jeez, Bro, you had me worried for a second when those other two
jumped in. I thought you were gonna get the shit knocked out of
you," Tosh said, only receiving a slight twitch of a smile from
Ethan. Her face became sober all at once, she wanted some answers
and she wanted them now. "I never seen anyone in real life fight
like that, Ethan . . . And move that fast. Where did you learn to
do it?"
They were on the second floor by now. Ethan just kept walking
with his head bowed, looking at his feet. After all, what she had
just asked was part of the changes he had not wanted to talk
about. "From around the way." He murmured softly, knowing that
she would drop the line of questioning.
That was his code phrase to Tosh that her line of questioning was
getting a little too personal. She gave a frown but dropped the
line of questioning. In all truth, she was a little irritated
that he would only open up to her a little at a time. He never
shared his past experiences in foster care with her at all.
Whenever she would ask about them, she would get one of two
responses. He would tell her that she didn't want to know, or she
would get the other response. He would sink into a depression
that would last for days and not speak a word to anyone. It was
the last response that made her quit grilling him about thepast.
They both walked into the waiting room of the principal's where a
receptionist was typing on a computer. The office was very nice
and the seats were comfortable, even if they were plastic. The
woman that was on the computer looked to be in her mid thirties
and *looked* to be so wrapped up that she didn't know they had
entered. That all changed though, as soon as she spoke up.
She and Tosh were on an almost friendly basis since Tosh was in
there so much.
"Ah, Ms. Remfield, so glad to see you again. What did you do this
time? Put a green snake in your teacher's desk?" She asked
teasingly, her Spanish brown eyes were twinkling.
"Nope, did that last week. This time I'm here for starting a
fight I didn't participate in. My Knight in shining armor here,"
She waved an arm Ethan and continued. "Was the one to doing all
the fighting." She gave Ethan an impish grin and got a scowl in
return.
"You don't look like you have been in a fight, young man." The
receptionist replied, appraising the boy.
Ethan gave the woman a self-depreciating shrug before sitting
down.
"He don't talk much, but he grows on ya after a while." Tosh told
the woman in an almost mock conspiratorial tone.
Ethan drowned out the rest of what the girls were talking about;
he had no wish to hear about himself. Every time he heard his
name he would just give an absent-minded nod. Yes, Ethan
definitely had something bigger on his mind. And it worried him
that Tosh had noticed that today. Noticed his quickness, and the
ability to fight. He was also fairly certain that the black
haired girl also noticed the sheer brute force he used behind the
blows.
The boy had no clue as to where he had learned those skills. In
all truth, that was his very first spinning roundhouse kick . . .
And he had executed it perfectly and with great efficiency. It
was beginning to worry him. What worried him most were the
changes to his body . . . But, no, he didn't want to think about
that right now.
Best keep my mind on the matters at hand. He thought.
Just then, the short, bald, little man that called himself a
principal walked in. He was wearing a cheap gray suit with a clip
on tie, and he smelled of Old Spice. That was another changing
Ethan was worrying over a lot. His senses seemed to be
heightening gradually. But not at a super fast rate, thank God.
He didn't know if he could handle that.
But first he was going to have to think of the trouble that he
was in now. Great, he's looking right at me. Why does he remind
me of an oversized muskrat? He thought humorously.
"Right this way, Mr. Remfield," The man spoke with an authority
his small little body shouldn't be able to hold, but Ethan stood
up none the less. "I'll speak with you afterwards, Natasha." He
added, as he walked into his office with Ethan in tow.
"Please shut the door, Mr. Remfield." Mr. Wayne told him as he
took a seat behind the desk. Then the man started to clean up
the papers on his desk with a professional air. Ethan had a
feeling that he was doing it so that he could flaunt the fact he
was the one in control.
"Let me get to the point, Mr. Remfield. I think that you are a
troublemaker and a bad element in this school. Did you know the
boy's nose you broke our star quarterback's? No, I suppose you
wouldn't, Mr. Remfield. You're the one that is always lurking
behind the crowd, waiting to cause trouble. Well, Mr. Remfield .
. ."
Ethan really couldn't hear the rest of what the man was saying.
Oh, he heard bits and pieces, but basically, he didn't hear
everything. Which really didn't matter, because what he did hear
was starting to make him mad, and that was always a bad sign.
Before the principal got another word in edge wise, Ethan broke
in. This was when something really strange started to happen. It
was a tingling sensation that went all the way from the back of
his neck and all the way up to his skull. It sort of made his
scalp tingle. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it sure as hell
wasn't unpleasant either.
"Shut up, you poor excuse of a little man. I have a first name.
Ethan. Use it. Learn it. Burn it into you're fuckin' brain,
because if you call me 'Mr. Remfield' one more time, I will skull
fuck you. Got me?" The strange part of this dangerous lecture was
that his voice never rose above normal level.
The principal had a mute look on his facial features, but he
nodded nonetheless.
Ethan went on. "Now, what happened out there was not my fault.
Those three jocks started messin' with Tosh, and NOBODY messes
with Tosh while I'm around. So, what I think is you should let us
both go home and forget about the whole thing." The tingling
intensified. What the hell is that blank look on his face all
about? He thought, as he looked the principal over. His eyes were
also glazed.
Ethan was expecting to get expelled, not what happened next.
Finally, Mr. Wayne shook his head a little, as if clearing
cobwebs, and gave Ethan a genuine smile. "I think you're right
Ethan. Family is very important . . . And I think we should just
forget this whole thing ever happened."
"Thank you." Ethan replied, a little uncertainly, as he stoodup.
"You may tell your sister on the way out that she is free to go
as well." The usually dour man added with a smile.
Usually people irritated Ethan that smiled like that nonstop. But
hey, if it kept Tosh out of trouble he was all for it. "Thanks,
I'll see you on Monday Mr. Wayne."
But Mr. Wayne's smile wasn't the only thing that was on Ethan's
mind. It was how things went in that office. He knew for a fact
that Mr. Wayne's could have chucked his ass out of the school for
the rest of the year for the way he talked to him. Something
wasn't right, but the guess he had was positively ludicrous, at
least to him it was.
Mind Control, the changes in his body, there were to many things
that were happening at once for him to think of. I can't even
believe I'm even entertaining the idea of Mind Control. He
thought as he walked back out into the receptionist's office.
He saw Tosh sitting in the blue plastic chair trotting one of her
legs and waiting impatiently. "You ready to get out of here,
half-pint?"
"Don't be toying with my emotions, Little Man. I'll kick your ass
to the moon." She added jokingly.
"Nah, seriously, he let us off. Let's get the hell out of here."
Tosh didn't have to be told twice, she was on her feet and just
before she went out the door she turned and told the
receptionist. "See ya Monday, Connie." The fact was she was in
the office so much that she was on a first name basis with the
woman.
"Probably so, probably so." The woman murmured as she kept typing
on her computer.
******************************
When they finally made it out on the school grounds, there was
someone there that was waiting patiently for them. It was one of
Tosh's friends. Her name was Heather. And Heather, in Ethan's
book, was a complete knock out.
She was leaning against a Dodge Ram pickup truck and was wearing
a pair of white shorts that were a tad too short by societies
standards, but certainly not by Ethan's. Heather was also wearing
a light blue blouse that was just a little short at the bottom.
Just short enough to give a peak of her belly button every now
and then.
She was also a year older than Ethan, which made her two years
older than Tosh. But neither of the girls seemed to mind. "So,
what didja get in trouble for this time, Tosh? You were in there
for a while." She stated as she flipped a red ponytail over her
shoulder.
"Why does everyone think its me that always gets in trouble?"
"Because you usually are." Ethan and Heather replied in unison.
He even had to chuckle at that and that was a rarity, because he
usually kept a tight lid on his emotions. That was, unless he was
just with his family.
Tosh just gave them both a glare. But she knew that they were
mostly right. "Well, this time it was Ethan here who got in
trouble. Wiped the floor with three football players. Probably
broke our quarterback's nose." She said proudly. And she looked
proud. It was a good act. But she knew that he shouldn't have
been able to do what he did. And it was making her even more
worried that he was hiding something from her. She hated when he
did that. They were best friends, they told each other
everything. And she could tell by his facial expressions that
something was bothering him.
"Hey, Tosh. I'm still crashing at your place tonight, right?
'Cause my parents are going at each others throats like you
wouldn't believe." Heather asked with a frown.
"Yeah, I cleared it with Mom and Dad last night." Tosh replied,
opening the door of the truck. Heather's parents were notorious
for fighting days on end, but they always seemed to work it out,
somehow.
"Hey, wait. Before you guys get in, I want to show ya something."
Her smile was almost diabolical as she led them to the back of
the truck. She then unzipped her duffle bag and moved aside the
clothes she brought with her.
Ethan and Tosh looked down into the bag, right at a liter of 100
proof Vodka. Tosh even let out a very uncharacteristic girlish
squeal. She always loved trying to get away with things that she
wasn't supposed to be doing. Ethan just usually marked it down to
teenage rebellion and left it at that. She swung an arm around
Ethan's shoulders and with mischievous eyes said, "We're gonna
get drunk tonight, Bro."
Ethan just shook his head and let out an amused sigh. "You do
whatever gets your kicks, Tosh. But if we get busted, it's your
ass."
She just stuck her tongue out at him in response.
With that, the three of them got in the truck and headed for the
Remfield Household.
****************************************
Chapter Two
Shawn, Tosh's father, and Ethan's stepfather was fairly
successful because he worked at a law firm. That meant that they
were by no means rich, but they were fairly well off, to say the
least. They lived in the suburbs and their house was just
slightly above middle class. But that was just fine with them.
The house itself was a two story one. The top part of the house
had three bedrooms and was considered "The Kids'". That meant, as
long as they kept it clean, did there own laundry and gave their
parents no reason to come up there, their parents would never
come up there.
Shawn and Joanna were pretty cool like that. They trusted their
kids to take care of themselves. But they trusted Ethan to a
fault. And there was a reason for that. If he ever did anything
wrong, there was a damn good reason for it, like the fight that
he had gotten into that day. He had a good reason: Tosh's safety
was in question.
But all Ethan could think of on the way home was that tingling
sensation that he got and how the principal basically bent to his
will. It couldn't be Mind Control, could it? It wasn't possible
to control someone, was it?
That was when he figured out that he would try a few things on
Heather, just to assure himself that it wasn't mind control. When
they pulled up they were surprised to find that there was no car
in the driveway, which was kind of odd. Their mother was usually
home when they got home. They knew that their father wouldn't be
home, for the fact that he was on a business trip in Oregon.
"Huh. Wonder where Mom is?" Ethan murmured as he got out of the
truck.
"Only one way to find out." Tosh replied, heading for the front
door. She made it to the door with the others firmly on her heal
and pulled out a key to unlock the door.
Ethan walked straight to the kitchen, where the refrigerator was.
That was where all family notes were posted. There, he read the
note from his stepmother.
Dear Kids,
Jeanie's husband was in a bad car wreck; I have gone to help out
with her children. There should be plenty of things in the
'fridge to help feed those monsters you call stomachs. (Ha ha)
Now, you had best behave yourselves. I should be back by
tomorrow.
Love,
Mom
"Who's Jeanie?" Tosh asked, a look of confusion marring herface.
Ethan just gave her a shrug. "Hell if I know. But you know how
Mom is, she'd help anyone." Tosh nodded her assent to this.
"You know what this means don't you?" Heather asked. A huge smile
plastered on her face. She didn't wait for an answer. "We've got
the whole place to ourselves. We don't have to sneak around!"
Ethan just gave a dry chuckle. "Well, I don't know about you
girls, but I'm taking a quick shower." Ethan stated, heading in
the direction of the stairs. "See ya in a few."
"Are you getting all clean and dashing for me, Ethan?" Heather
asked, completely missing the incredulous look that Tosh gave
her.
"Of course. You know I've been secretly lusting after you for
years." Ethan replied with a straight face. He watched, with
delight, as Heather turned a nice shade of pink. Then he broke
into a wide grin as he turned and jogged up the stairs.
"You're wasting your time, girlfriend. You'll never get that boy
to blush. I swear he's prepared for anything anybody has got to
say." Tosh told her friend. She tried to keep any sound of
annoyance out of her voice.
The truth was that she was a little jealous. Ethan rarely smiled
and it was only for a handful of people, all of them in his
adopted family and namely her and Shawn. She had had a severe
crush on the boy for the last two years and it was to no avail.
She had flirted and flirted, but he would never flirt back, not
seriously anyway.
And to see him openly flirt back with her best friend . . . Well,
it irked her a little. But Tosh wasn't the type to let that get
in the way of friendship.
And Ethan had just been acting strange the last couple of weeks
to begin with. He was more out going, yet more closed at the same
time. It was almost like he was putting on an act. But she
decided that she would wait until after Heather left to wrench
the truth of what he'd been hiding out of him.
Tosh threw an arm around her best friends neck and said, "C'mon
kid. Let's go listen to some tunes in the den." She noticed that
Heather was finally getting over blushing and chuckled a bit at
her friends reaction to her brother.
***************************
What the hell has gotten into me? Why did I say that? Ethan
thought as he made it to his room. He walked into his room and
sat down with a 'thud' in his desk chair. He knew that he hadn't
been himself for well over two weeks, but he thought that it just
had to do with his body. Maybe it had to do with his mind to,
because, usually, he wouldn't even talk to any of Tosh's friends.
He would be just withdrawn and closed off. Oh, he'd talk to Tosh,
Shawn and Joanna. But that was about the extent of it. He didn't
like talking to other people. That's just the way he was. Ethan
was just a very shy boy, at the best of times.
But it seemed, since the changes in his body, he was slowly
gaining confidence. Which was understandable, considering the
changes. Ethan knew one thing for certain; he was going to have
to tell Tosh sooner or later. He hated keeping secrets from her.
Ethan just shook his head, like he was trying to shoo away the
disturbing thoughts and stood up. He walked over to his dresser
and pulled out a sleeveless black button-up shirt and a pair of
black Lee jeans, along with some underclothes and headed for the
shower.
He undressed quickly when he made it to the bathroom. He always
thought that it was pretty cool that he and Tosh had their own
bathroom to share. Shawn and Joanna had their own downstairs. And
he would thank whatever mighty being that was up there watching
that Tosh was a tomboy.
Ethan didn't think that he could handle sharing one with a
regular type of girl.
The shades were the last to come off. They were always the last.
He squinted a little at the harshness of the light in the
bathroom. He forgot to turn it off. That was one this that did
irritate him about Tosh, she always forgot to turn off lights.
Ethan got into the shower and let the hot water run over him in
waves. He just wished that the water would take away his worries
just like it did the sweat and dirt.
He must have stayed in that shower for close to thirty minutes
just letting the water wash over him. It felt great. He always
liked taking long showers, or taking a long soak in the tub. For
a person that had been through as much as he had, he learned to
enjoy the simple things of life at an early age. Because when he
was in foster care he found out that some of the things that
people took for granted in a normal life, he just didn't have in
Hell's Outhouse.
Ethan got out of the shower and wiped the steam from the mirror.
He looked at his reflection with mixed emotions on his face. The
things he was looking at were the changes that happened at a very
rapid rate-- in the course of two days in fact. That was what
worried him, and if he was truthful, exited him more than a
little.
Two weeks ago, he was of average build for someone his age. Now,
his muscles were not exactly huge . . . He guessed the best word
for it would be 'cut'. But they were also bigger than what they
were by about two times. And they were VERY well defined. His
washboard stomach stood out in stark contrast.
Ethan looked into his eyes and he could swear that they were
getting icier. It almost looked like the tint of blue had faded
just in the slightest. They were looking more supernatural
looking, and he would be lying if he said that it didn't bother
him. Ethan really didn't want to be more different than he
already was.
Ethan dried off his hair quickly and ran his hand through it with
negligence. Then he threw on the jeans and the sleeveless black
button-up shirt that he had. Then he slipped on his shades. When
he looked in the mirror, he could have sworn that he was looking
at someone else. There were a couple of words that came to mind
as he looked at the boy in front of him. The boy whose bangs fell
over his mirror plated shades slightly . . . Wild. Untamed. Those
were the words.
He didn't bother to button the shirt he was wearing as he walked
out of the bathroom. He didn't know how to explain to Tosh what
had happened because he himself didn't know. So he was going to
show her, and pray that she took it well. He really did wish that
she wouldn't worry about him so much-- But at the same time he
was a little flattered.
He stopped at the top of the stairs before he went down, so he
could think. How can I see if it's really mind control if Tosh is
watching? If it were mind control, I sure wouldn't mind some fun
with Heather. He thought the last with a crooked smile.
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. He thought with a note
of finality.
Ethan made his way down the steps as quiet as a cat. Which wasn't
that hard since he was barefoot and the stairs were carpeted.
When he first made it to the bottom of the steps he noticed that
the girls were not in the kitchen. That's when he heard the sound
of their laughter coming from the den.
"I'm not kidding, you should have seen the look on his face when
Ethan sent him flying backwards. It was one for the books. He
looked like a cow shit on his head, he was so surprised!" Tosh
stated, then they both broke out into laughter again.
"I wish I could have seen that! Daniel always was an asshole."
Heather said wiping a tear from her eye.
Ethan noticed that Tosh must have taken a shower as well, because
her hair was wet and she was wearing a pair of very faded blue
jeans and a t-shirt. She was also barefoot, just like him. He
sort of liked the way her eyes sparkled with contained laughter.
Ethan let his shoulder lean into the doorframe as he watched
them. He listened and watched them talk about that fight for a
good two minutes. "It really wasn't all that great," He told them
with amusement in his voice.
Both of their backs were to him, and they both jumped a little,
making Ethan chuckle a little. "You would say that, Ethan," Tosh
said, right before she took a drink of soda. She made the mistake
of turning to look at him with the soda still in her mouth. Once
she saw him, the soda was promptly spat half way across theroom.
Ethan was very glad that he was far enough away that he didn't
get hit. Tosh just stared at him, wide eyed. "What? Did I grow a
third arm or something? 'Must have by the way you're staring." He
stated with a sound of amusement that he didn't feel. That's
right, Ethan, just pass it off as normal, maybe you can get her
to do the same. He thought.
"Damn boy, what have you been doing?!? Working out while I
slept?" Tosh exclaimed, trying to keep from staring at her
stepbrother's pecs and abdominal muscles. I knew he was in good
shape, but damn! She thought wildly.
To take her eyes off Ethan's body, Tosh looked over at her best
friend. Her best friend was just staring at him, her mouth
slightly agape. She wasn't even blinking. Tosh snapped her
fingers in front of her face. Apparently that worked, because she
snapped out of it. "Damn Ethan. Lookin' good, kid."
Ethan wanted the focus off of him. "Are we gonna drink or jaw all
night long." I think might have pulled it off. Tosh isn't going
nuts. He thought. In fact, Tosh was giving him a curious little
smile. I wonder what that's about?
"We are gonna drink, Big Bro. And we are gonna drink hard." Tosh
stated as she went over to her friends duffle bag and proceeded
to get the Vodka.
Ethan noticed that there was a little bit more of a sway in her
hips than normal. He arched an eyebrow at that. He didn't know
what to make of it. The next thing he knew she threw the liter of
Vodka at him. "I think there's some orange juice in the fridge,"
Ethan caught the bottle deftly and just gave her a nod as headed
back towards the kitchen. He heard the hushed whisper from
Heather before he was out of earshot, though. "Jesus is he
built."
He just smiled at that as he made it to the refrigerator. He got
out the half gallon of orange juice and started making drinks
when a plan came to him. If it really was mind control, which he
wasn't sure if it were, then he'd just have Heather to ask to see
his room, alone. Surely, Tosh would take the hint.
I wonder if this is right, if it works? He thought as he started
stirring the drinks. If she likes it, there shouldn't be a
problem, right? Right. Right after that thought the girls came
into the kitchen. "Took you girls long enough. Chattin' about the
weather, were ya?" They both blushed and he chuckled. I could get
used to this.
Tosh and Heather took a seat at the table. "Hey, Ethan, what are
we gonna do while we drink anyway?" Tosh asked. She was slowly
getting used to the way he looked. But she would be lying if she
said that she wouldn't mind dragging him upstairs and thoroughly
raping him.
"We could play cards?" Heather piped up.
"Yeah that sounds good. That ok with you, Tosh?" Ethan asked.
"Sounds great, as long as I get to drink and as long as its five
card draw." She replied, leaning back in her chair, taking in
every detail of Ethan. Since she was really looking, she noticed
changes that she hadn't seen before.
Take, for instance, the fact of how he moved with such grace . .
. Yet the grace reminded her somewhat of a jungle cat stalking
its grounds. He seemed to exude such power that she was very
surprised. She was surprised, because before his goal was to
blend in. Now . . . Now he had the attention of the whole room,
even if it was just she and Heather.
Ethan sat the drinks down in front of the girls and went to
retrieve the cards. This should be an interesting night he
thought as he went to collect the cards.
*************************
One hour later and about three glasses of screwdrivers, Tosh
found out two important facts. The first was simple: She was more
than slightly buzzed; She was blistering drunk. The second was
she was trying to catch Ethan doing something. She had quickly
figured out that the little sucker was a born card-shark by the
way he shuffled, but it hadn't occurred to her to think of that.
"Ya'll, I tink itss time I went to sweep." Tosh's speech was more
than slightly slurred.
Ethan gave her an amused glance. It was all goin the way he had
planned it. He had changed his original plan at the last minute.
He had been putting a lot more Vodka into Tosh's drink than he
had Heather's and his self's. This way, Tosh would sleep through
what (if it worked) he had planned. It looked like everything was
going in his favor.
Tosh stood up, swaying almost dangerously. "Watch it, half-pint.
Don't want ya fallin'," Ethan said as he moved quickly and
scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed no more than an
infant.
Ethan turned to the redhead that was still seated at the table.
"I'll be back in a minute."
"And I'll be waiting," She replied with a saucy smile. God he's
gorgeous. Heather thought as she watched Ethan carry Tosh up the
steps.
Ethan marched up the steps with determined strides. Now he was
very confused. How am I going to know if it's mind control? It's
as obvious as the back of my damn hand that she already wants me.
He thought with a frown as he used a foot and kicked Tosh's door
open when he made it to his destination.
Tosh and Ethan had a lot of differences and their rooms were one
of them. Tosh's room was always in complete disarray. There were
clothes all over the floor and on top of her dresser. And he had
to chuckle when he saw a bra on top of her computer. His room was
always spotless. The girl in his arms had called him a neat freak
on more than one occasion.
Ethan noticed that his buzz had already dissipated and he
wondered if it had to do with the changes in his body. He passed
the thought up as he made it to Tosh's bed and laid her down as
gently as he could. She was still half awake, though.
Tosh looked at him with glazed eyes and a crooked grin. "What? No
kiss goodnight?" She asked. Her speech was still slurred.
What the hell. He thought and leaned down and gave her a gentle
kiss on the lips. Just when he was about to pull back, Tosh
pulled him by the neck, invading his mouth with her tongue for a
soul-wrenching kiss. Then, just as suddenly, she broke it off.
"If I wasn't so drunk an' sweepy, we'd do more." She told him
with a drunken wink and then promptly passed out.
Ethan stood up straight. His cock felt like it was as hard as
iron, but he was also very confused. Does she like me like that?
He thought, walking back out into the hall. Nah. It's gotta be
the alcohol. He thought.
Then he leaned against the hall wall, to sort his thoughts. They
strayed from Tosh to Heather. If she already wants me, how can I
tell if it's mind control? He thought, drumming his fingers
against his thighs, thinking furiously.
Then an idea came to him. I could see if it works silently. Make
her do stuff that she normally wouldn't do in front of people.
But it has to work off just thought alone, or I'd seem like a
complete jerk. He thought with a nod.
"Are you gonna stay up there all night, Ethan?" Heather's voice
floated up from the first floor. She didn't sound really drunk at
all. But then again, that's the way he had it set up.
"Be right down." He called, taking his time going down the steps
on purpose. He was trying to figure out what to try and make the
girl do. Then he got an idea.
He made it to the bottom of the stair and took in the vision of
Heather as she sat at the table. She had already taken off the
rubber band that held her ponytail and her hair was flowing over
shoulders. She turned to look at him and her green eyes sparkled.
"Well, you made this Irish girl wait long enough." She said in a
joking voice.
"You're Irish? I didn't know that." He stated as he began to
shuffle the cards. "How much Irish are you?" He asked. Just
making idle conversation until he got to the point that he wanted
to start the test.
"You're looking at a full blooded Irish girl, bucko. I just
killed my accent early, so I could blend in better." She replied,
watching Ethan deal the cards.
Another reason he wanted to talk about a safe subject was that it
was part of the test. It's understandable that she may want him
in the heat of the moment, but not in the middle of a safe topic.
"What part of Ireland are ya from?" If you're going to do
something, might as well go whole hog. He thought, and then sent
the command. <'YOU FEEL EXTREME LUST BUT DO NOT WANT ME TO KNOW
IT. YOU WILL TRY YOUR BEST TO HIDE IT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE WORD
'TRICK''> He sent the command as hard as he could.
Ethan watched in fascination as the girl flushed a nice shade of
pink. "D-D-Dublin. It's kind of warm in here isn't it?" She
asked. Ethan watched her shift in her seat.
"I really didn't notice it." Ethan replied. A smirk was planted
firmly on his face. He was pretty sure that it had worked. He
watched as Heather's breathing grew a bit more ragged by each
passing second.
By the end of the hand, she was breathing rather hardly and there
was a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. "You ok, Heather?" He
asked.
"Yeah, o-o-of course." She stammered out.
"Hey, Heather?" Heather focused on him, her eyes were glazed but
it sure as hell wasn't because of the booze.
"Yeah?"
"Wanna see a card trick?"
That was all it took. She was on him like white on rice. It was
rather awesome for Ethan to watch. Heather basically flew out of
her seat and when she was in reaching distance, she pushed Ethan
to the tiled kitchen floor. He was flat on his back while he
watched her strip. He was rather amused that she wasn't wearing
any panties, and he was rather impressed at how quickly she
undressed.
Before she could do anything more to him though he reached up and
pulled her down to the floor with him. They locked in a french
kiss that had both moaning at its intensity. Then he the he broke
free of the kiss and worked his way down.
"Ohhhhh, God." She moaned out as his lips circled one of her
already taut nipples. He swirled tongue around it and sucked on
it for about thirty seconds before moving on to its twin.
He was starting to move down her taut belly when the tides
turned. She flipped HIM over. "None of that. I'm ready NOW." She
stated in a very husky and sexy voice. Then proceeded to rip his
pants and underwear down to his knees.
She straddled his hips and grabbed a hold on his nine-inch cock;
another of his bodily changes, then she started to rub the
bulbous head of it up and down her slick pussy lips. Her
breathing, although unbelievable, was even more ragged by this
time.
Heather looked at her reflection in Ethan's mirror-plated shades
as she sunk the entire length of his cock into her pussy.
"OHHHHHHH GOD!" She screamed nearly at the top of her lungs as an
orgasm automatically hit her. Her body shook with convulsions.
That was all Ethan could take, considering that this was his
first sexual experience. He cum he arched his back as his come
filled her, setting her off onto another orgasm. "Damn," He
gasped.
Heather just laid her head on his chest, totally exhausted. Wow.
That was her only thought.
I think my life just got even luckier. This was his thought as he
stroked the redhead's hair.
***************************
Chapter Three
Light filtered through the window, making the sleeping form on
the bed stir. The form tossed and turned as if he were in a bad
dream, the covers were wrapped around him in a very constricting
manor.
Reaching blindly, Ethan grabbed the pair of mirror-plated shades
that were on the nightstand. His eyes were still firmly closed as
he slipped them on. Much better. The sleepy boy thought as his
eyes slowly cracked opened.
He noticed two things at that moment. The first was that he was
the only one in his bed. He distinctly remembered going to sleep
with her the night before. The night before . . . Fuck! It
worked. He thought wildly, sitting straight up in bed.
The teenager pulled his covers off and got out of bed completely
naked, smiling as he remembered last night's festivities. Then he
frowned, wondering where Heather was. Ethan walked to his dresser
and pulled out some clothes for the day. As he looked in the
mirror that was on the dresser, he saw something on his muscular
chest. It was a symbol of sorts. It looked like small tiger
vaguely, but had the coloring of a hickey.
Huh. He thought.
In all truth, Ethan didn't know whether to be exited or a bit
scared about this new development. He didn't exactly know why he
was changing so much. And the more he thought about it, the more
it scared him. After all, would he change more? And what price
would there be for these gifts?
He sat back down on his bed and let out an explosive sigh as he
put on his shoes. And to top it off, Heather might be mad at me.
He thought.
As he looked at the nightstand by the bed, he saw that it read
11:45. He almost slapped himself in the forehead. He never slept
that late before. Could it be because of the changes? Does my
body need that much rest? He mused.
The reason that it worried him was because of the fact that he
was the type of person that only slept four to five hours a
night. He did the math in his head and realized he slept thirteen
hours. He never slept that long in his life.
Ethan jerked his head up at the sound of the door. It was a
fairly light knock, so he knew that it wasn't Tosh. Tosh just
gave three heavy thuds and opened the door. "Yeah?" He called
out, standing up.
"Great, you're awake." Heather said as she walked into his room.
"Yeah, I guess I slept late enough last night, didn't I?" He
asked with a wry shake of the head.
"Yeah, guess," Heather started with more than a little
nervousness in her voice. "Listen, Ethan, we have to talk-- about
last night, I mean."
Oh shit. She knows. Was the first thing that popped into his
mind. But then he looked at the expression on her face and it was
more regret than anything else. "Well, you see, it's like this,"
She went on. "I have a boy friend and . . ."
"And last night was a one time thing?" He finished for her
watching her nod. Then he nodded, very gladly. "I'm glad you feel
like that. I mean, I thought that you was going to come in her
and slap the shit out of me." He told the redhead.
Heather laughed a beautiful laugh. "As if. It was all my doing
anyway. Hell, I practically raped you." Now she was blushing deep
red.
Thank god she doesn't even know what happened. He thought as he
looked at the beautiful eighteen year old. The possibility of
that would have been disastrous and Ethan knew it.
The next thing he notice's is Tosh sticking her head in his room.
"Hey, Bro. Could you do me a favor?"
Ethan looked at his sisters face and winced. He could tell that
she was in obvious pain. "What's the favor?" No matter what she
asked, he promised himself that he would try his best to do it.
That's how guilty he felt.
"Could you go to the store and get some aspirin. We're out." Tosh
said in an almost whisper.
"Yeah, I was wanting to get some CD's anyway. I was gonna to it
tomorrow, but now I just kill two birds with one stone." he
replied with a smile.
"Not so loud, Bro." Was his all his sister said, rubbing her
temples as she said it. Then she just went back down the hall and
back into her room. Her nice quiet room.
Both watched her go with pity in their eyes. "Hey, Heather, could
you maybe do me a favor? Watch her while I'm gone? I don't like
seeing her sick like this,"
"Are you sure? It's a two mile hike to the store and I would be
happy to drive you." She replied politely. They both knew it was
for show though. Heather really wanted to watch over her friend.
She hated seeing her like that just as much as Ethan did.
"Yeah, I got some energy to burn . . . So, go see how she's
doing, ok?" He asked again.
"You got it, kid." Ordinarily Ethan would have argued over her
use of the word 'Kid', but the boy just had to much on his mind.
"See ya later." She added as she disappeared into the hall.
Ethan was most certainly not lying when he said he had some
energy to burn. It felt like he was on meth, or crank to some
people. He knew what that felt like because he had a foster
parent force it on him when he was ten, just to see what it would
do. He was up for days and had more energy than he knew what to
do with. The down side was when he came down, he started
hallucinating. God, I hope it won't be like that with these
changes. He considered. But in the back of his mind he really
knew that it would be nothing like that.
Well, better get to walking. He thought, grabbing his wallet off
the dresser. When he walked out the door he grabbed it and he was
going to shut it like he normally would, with the normal amount
of strength and got a surprise. The door knob came off in his
hands as the door was shut with vicious force.
He heard Tosh moan at the sound.
Yeah, I walk would do me some good. I definitely need to sort out
my thoughts. He thought. He was really getting worried now.
**********************
The only thing that Ethan didn't like about the mall were the
people. He really didn't have much against a person singularly,
just when they were in large groups-- like in a mall.
The first thing that he bought was Tosh's aspirin. He really
didn't want to forget that as he was going to look at the Music
CDs at the music store. He had about a total of thirty-five bucks
in his pocket after he bought the aspirin. Then again, I could
walk out with anything in this store and not get caught. He
thought with contemplation. But he knew that he could never do
that. He never was one for stealing.
Ethan walked towards the music store, fully hoping that the CD
Everlast: Eat at Whitey's in. hat was when he felt it. It was on
the inside of his head. It was like when he used the mind control
trick. This was more of a low-grade buzzing that he could even
hear, let alone feel. It made his head feel funny and it oddly
made him feel like scratching his scalp.
The boy just shook his head and tried to clear it as he made his
way towards the music store. When he made it there, he
automatically went to searching in the "E" section. But he really
couldn't focus. The buzzing sensation was starting to get on his
nerves. Then all of the sudden, it seemed to get stronger.
Then for no apparent reason, Ethan jerked his head up and looked
directly to the left. What he saw was a little surprising. It was
a girl. But it was also a girl of likes of which Ethan had never
met before. And there was one thing that stood out on the girl
that gave Ethan a sense of wonderment, and, if he was truthful,
dread.
The girl that stood no more than six feet from him had a sword
that was attached to the back of a thick leather jacket. The
sword looked like a Katana with a silver dragons head on the butt
of it. Under the leather jacket--he could tell because it was
unzipped--was a black t-shirt that was tucked into her skintight
black jeans. To top it all off the girl was wearing a pair silver
tipped boots.
But what got Ethan was the fact that she was wearing the exact
same kind of shades that he was wearing. She also had the same
shade of hair he did. It was a little unnerving though, to have
her just standing there, like she was evaluating him.
"Problem?" He asked in a neutral voice, taking a step towards
her. She took a step back, and all of the sudden he felt a wave
of dizziness wash over him. By sheer instinct alone, he realized
that the girl before him had entered his mind. With that same
instinct, he locked her out and lashed out.
The girl reached up and rubbed her temples, a lot like what Tosh
was doin when he left. She quit almost as quickly as she did it,
though. As if not wanting to show that she was in pain before
him.
"Hunter, Tracker or Rogue?" She asked. Even though there was an
edge to her voice, Ethan had to admit that sound quite
esthetical.
She might have been beautiful and her voice might have been
lovely, but Ethan thought that her manners were lacking. "What
the hell are you talking about?" He asked and there definitely an
edge to his voice at that point.
It didn't seem to faze the girl though. "Are you a Rogue, Hunter
or Tracker?" She asked slowly. There was a little uncertainty in
her voice now.
Ethan looked at the girl, who looked to be about his age, and
thought that she may be a little crazy. "My god, you really don't
know what you are, do you?" She asked. There was even a note of
pity in her voice.
"What's your name?"
"Jesse Budroux. Second Adept," She started, but before Ethan
could speak, she asked another question. "Have you even learned
what you are capable of yet? Or do you just play with peoples
minds." Jesse asked that last question because that was all she
was able to get from him with her quick probe before he shut her
out like a Master. Who is this kid? She thought. A novice
wouldn't have even known she was probing until it was to late.
She saw Ethan go pale at the thought of being caught and she had
to smirk.
"Relax, I'm not judging. You're really new to this aren't you?"
"How 'bout we go to someplace that's a little less public to
talk?" He asked. Ethan would be lying if he said that he wasn't
more than a little scared. How did she know? He thought wildly.
Jesse nodded. "I saw a small caf that's just a short walk from
here. I'm a little hungry, might as well kill two birds with one
stone." She replied practically.
All Ethan could do was nod mutely. This was becoming a little too
much for his brain to process. "Yeah, sure. I could use something
to drink."
The both of them started walking down the line of stores in the
mall. He knew one thing for certain and he was completely baffled
by something else. The first was, the longer he stayed with this
girl, the more at ease he was. Well, there were two things that
baffled him. The first was the fact that no one seemed to mind
this beautiful blonde walking around the mall with a Katana
strapped to hitch that was on the back of her leather jacket.
"Why aren't people freakin' about the blade you have on your
back?" he asked, curiosity tinged his voice.
Jesse gave the boy a smirk. "I just give off a mental vibe that
tells them to ignore it."
"Why do you carry it?" He asked as they walked into the small caf
were there were very few people. They took a seat as far away
from the people as possible.
"I'll answer that all in good time, maybe," She started. "But
first, what's your name?"
"Ethan." He replied. A chubby little waitress chose that time to
come over to take their order. Mason ordered a Mountain Dew and
Jesse ordered a hamburger with a Coke.
Jesse looked at the boy before her with a very serious
expression. "Look, I'm going to ask you something. And before you
say no, I want to take into consideration that I'm in a little
bit of trouble and I don't know who I can trust."
Ethan just cocked his head as if asking her to go on, then took a
sip of soda.
"I want you to let me into your mind-- to see if I can trust
you."
The word "NO" almost jumped immediately to his lips. But then he
thought about it and decided that he really didn't have anything
to hide. But he did want something in return. "I'll let you do
it-- on one condition." He stated.
Jesse leveled her gaze on him.
"Let me see your eyes."
The girl decided that the few moments of irritation that the
light caused would be worth it if she could get a look into
Ethan's mind, to make sure he wasn't a threat. She lowered her
mirror-plated shades and gave him a level gaze with a small smile
on her lips. "Now its my turn." She stated as she pushed back up
her shades.
"Is gonna make me dizzy like it did last time?" He asked. He
really didn't like the feeling. Ethan saw how she squinted
against the light. We really are alike. He though. Maybe I can
get some answers now.
"No. You should only feel a slight tingle." She didn't tell him
that a novice wouldn't feel anything at all. "And that's because
you gave me your permission."
"Do it." He said with a note of finality, before he lost his
nerve.
Jesse didn't have to be told twice. The whole thing only took
about five minutes, because she was that good at doing probes.
She learned everything about him since the time of his first
memories. It gave her only a slight headache doing a full probe
like this.
Mason felt the tingle, like she said he would. And after about
five minutes it was gone and he knew that she was out of his
mind. When he looked at her he was a little more than surprised.
He saw a tear rolling down her left cheek. He then did something
that was completely uncharacteristic of him. He reached out and
wiped it away. "What's wrong?" He asked gently.
"Hell's Outhouse . . . How did you survive it?" She asked in a
terribly sad voice.
Ethan was glad that he was wearing his shades, because, although
he wasn't crying, his eyes misted. Finally, someone that fully
understands. He thought. He gave her a weak smile. "No other
choice." He stated plainly. He was starting to feel really
connected to this girl named Jesse.
"You're much braver than you let on, Ethan." She replied,
collecting herself so that her voice didn't waver. "You really
don't know about the Shadow Knights?" She asked, after what all
she saw in his mind, it was the least she could do to explain it
to him.
He shook his head negative. "What's a Shadow Knight?"
"You and me, and a lot of other people. Shadow Knight's are a cut
above the Normals, Ethan." She said in a very serious manor.
"We're faster, stronger and have a higher mental capacity. I want
you to notice that I didn't say that we were better, though. We
also have many of the same faults." She added this in a bitter
tone.
Ethan leveled an intense gaze on her. "What kind of trouble are
you in?"
"The Hunters from the Zone are looking for me."
Ethan looked at the clock on the wall of the caf , then back at
the beautiful Shadow Knight. "Come home with me." He stated
plainly. Even he could hardly believe he said it.
"What?! Are you that dense, Ethan? I just said that Hunters were
looking for me. I won't put you in that kind of danger." She
added the last sentence softly. "Or your family." She added and
watched him flinch at that prospect.
"It's highly unlikely they would find you at my place. They would
probably look in places that they knew you would likely go to.
Since you're the first Shadow Knight I've met, I damn well know
none of them know me."
"And what of your family?" Jesse retorted.
"They'll say yes."
"If they say no?"
"I'll . . . I guess I'll have to persuade them." He put emphasis
on the word persuade. His face was marred in a deep frown. He
really didn't like the idea of doing that.
"It gives you a guilty conscience to use the gifts you were
gifted with?" Jesse asked with a curious expression.
"They're my family," was his simple answer.
And by the smile that was on Jesse's face, it was the right one.
She watched as he stood up and held a hand out to her, as if to
help her out of her seat. If anyone else would have done that to
her, she would have thought them chauvinistic. But it was pretty
charming when Ethan did it. It also amazed her that he could
still hold the element of charm after all that he had been
through.
What amazed her more, was when they were walking through the
mall, he never let her hand go. She didn't know why she allowed
this . . . Well that was a lie. She did know. It just feltright.
Jesse decided, before they even left the mall, that she was going
to teach this newbie of Shadow Knighthood everything he would
need to know to survive against those that would do him harm. And
there were those that would. She knew that for a fact. That was
what the Trackers were for. They were recruiters. If you didn't
give the answer they wanted, it was your head. And she was going
to make damn sure that never happened to Ethan.
Ethan was in thoughts were very confused. He didn't know why he
kept holding the girls hand. All he did know was that it felt
completely right. It was almost like the girl was a kindred
spirit to his tortured soul. She was someone that finally
understood all that he went through.
I just hope Tosh, Joanna and Shawn understand. He thought a
little sadly. But he had a feeling that he was going to have to
use his gifts on them to let him take in Jesse.
Mine. A primal thought went through his head as he squeezed
Jesse's hand a little harder, as if claiming her. What the hell?
He just shook his head and kept walking.
Tosh sent me for aspirin and I am bringing home so much more.
Hope it don't increase her headache. He thought with no humor.
************************
Ethan let out an appreciative whistle when he saw the car that
Jesse had. It was a Mustang convertible with a scoop on the hood.
"Nice wheels." He stated, as he opened up the door on the
convertible and sat down in the passenger seat. He almost looked
at Jesse with jealousy when she just vaulted over the door-- that
was exactly what he wanted to do.
"You'd be surprised the kind of deals you can get with our
ability." She stated, know he knew what she meant. She in no way
bought this car.
Ethan just smirked at her and appreciated the rev of the engine
as she gunned it. With a maniacal smile she pealed out of the
mall parking lot. This was a side of Jesse that she didn't show
many people. But for some reason, she felt comfortable around
him.
There were legends about when two Knights meet in the Shadow
Knight Chronicles, written by Dakrin. Legends about how some
Knights found their soul mate, and they would take and instant
likening to each other on contact. But she always considered that
hogwash. That couldn't be it could it? There were no Knights back
at the Zone that had felt that. That she was sure of.
They didn't talk much on the way over to Ethan's. He wanted to
wait to quiz her when they were in private, and quiz her he
would. The boy had a thousand questions going through his mind.
The first of them were simple. When would the changes top? The
second was; what was he capable of?
Ethan groaned as they pulled into the driveway.
"What's the matter?"
"Shawn would pick this day to show up early from his business
trip." He murmured, and then opened the door. It wasn't like he
wouldn't have been very pleased to see him . . . It was just the
circumstances.
"Who's Shawn?" Jesse asked as she hopped out of the car. She was
a little bit disappointed in herself for missing something in the
probe.
"He's my Dad . . . Well, the only man that I respect enough to
call that anyway." He replied with a sad little smile.
At that moment, Shawn came out on the porch smiling. The smile
faltered a little when he saw Jesse, but grew again. "Jesse
Budroux, as I live and breath. You're a long way from home."
Ethan noticed that everything in his adoptive fathers voice asked
a simple question: What are you doing here? Ethan was floored
that Shawn even knew the girl. And he knew that if he knew Jesse,
he knew other things. But what?
Chapter Four
What the hell? They know each other? Then thought as he
watched Jesse walk up to Shawn. Then something that completely
freaked Ethan out happened. Shawn fell to one knee and grasped
Jesse's hand, placing a light kiss on the back of it. "It's good
to see you again, Mistress." He said with a sound of awe.
Yeah, I think this is an off the chart weird day. Ethan
thought as he watched the two of them
"Get up Shawn, before the neighbors see you. Act normal, I
am no longer part of the Zone." She said with a sad smile.
I am gonna ring some answers out of that girl when I get a
hold of her. Ethan thought.
<'I'll explain when we're alone or when your foster-father
wants to do it'> Ethan jumped at the voice in his head.
<'I know you will'> He sent back. For some reason he new
instinctively how to do that. And the message he sent had a
little edge to it.
Jesse sent him a look that told him to be patient and to
his chagrin, he felt guilty for being impatient. "Whatever," He
started speaking out loud. "Can we all go inside now? I want some
damn answers.
Shawn gave the boy a stern look for cursing, but Ethan
didn't care, because he was more than a little pissed at him.
He'd been hiding things from him. Ethan marched straight into the
house without looking back to see if they were coming. He noticed
that his hearing was bit more sensitive and their footsteps were
easy to pick up on. He could zero in on they're exact location.
He walked right into the living room and stared right at
Shawn and Jesse after he got settled into a recliner. He figured
he would less likely blow up if he were sitting down. "Well?
Where are the answers?" He asked in an almost bark. He saw Jesse
flinch and winced inwardly. He really wasn't mad at her.
Shawn looked at him with his deep blue eyes. "Before I give
you the answers, I want to give you something that you're father
gave to me. It was something he owned and wanted to pass down to
you."
I couldn't have heard that right. Ethan thought. Shawn knew
my father? What kind of sick twisted joke is this.
Shawn walked to the hallway closest and went to the back of
it. He kneeled down and pulled up a corner of the rug and there
was a small black button there. When he pushed the button, the
back of the closest slid to one side, revealing a plethora or
daggers and knives. But the centerpiece was that of a Katana.
The swords handle looked to be in sturdy black leather that
had been polished almost religiously. The sheath was cased in
dark black leather that was well cared for. But it was the head
of the dragon that was on the sword that held Ethan's interest
the most. It was so well detailed that he knew that it had to
have taken hours to make. This head was right on the butt of the
sword. He had thought that Jesse's was nice, but this one was
much, much better.
Shawn also walked out with a book in his hands. It was a
fairly good-sized book that looked to have over 300 pages in it
just by looking at it and guessing. It was also leather bound and
black, with a symbol of two swords crossed with a ring of fire
around them. "What is all of this about, Dad?"
Shawn let out a sigh of relief. If he was calling him Dad
and not Shawn, he knew that he wasn't as mad as he thought at
first. "Ethan . . . I want you to listen very carefully. Can you
do that for me? Not interrupt until I am done?"
Ethan noticed Jesse take a crouch beside where he was
sitting. She wanted to listen too. "I promise. Just tell me what
the hell is going on." Ethan asked in almost a desperate voice.
The changes in his body and mind and now this, well, it was
beginning to wear on him.
Shawn walked over to Ethan and handed him the book and the
Katana, then headed back to the middle of the floor, and stood as
if he were a bard about to tell a story. In a way that was
exactly the case. Only it would be a very short story, because he
wanted Ethan to learn most of it on his own.
"First of all, I'd like to tell you what I am. I am known
as a Watcher. I watch over new Shadow Knights until they can look
after themselves. I just lucked out when I found you, in more
than one way."
"So you guys adopted me out of duty?" Ethan asked, hurt in
his eyes.
Shawn walked over and knelt beside him. "I'll be truthful
with you, Ethan. At first, yes, we adopted you out of duty. But
after only a few months I started to love you like my own son,"
He stood up again, looking at Ethan. "When you reach the point of
being able to read minds you will know that this is true." He
added in a matter of fact tone. He watched Ethan give him an
incredulous look at the last sentence.
"Now for the story of your real father. The one that
started The Shadow Knights, and the one that wrote that book you
have in your hand. His name was Dakrin. As far as anybody knows,
he is the first Shadow Knight in existence. Some also say that he
was the wisest."
"In that book you hold, there will be rules to follow and a
philosophy to consider. Because, like it or not son, you are a
Shadow Knight, and soon will be a Master with the right training,
and you will be a leader." Shawn stated as he sat back down on
the couch. "That is all I have to say about your father, if you
want to know more, you had best read that book in your hand."
Maybe it was the fates. Maybe it was in his DNA. Maybe he
was just losing his damn mind, but he believed everything that
came out of Shawn's mouth. "Are you a Shadow Knight?" He asked.
"No, I'm merely a Watcher, that makes sure you survive to
maturity. I do have a small amount of telepathic abilities. They
are no where near that of a Shadow Knight though."
"What is a Shadow Knight capable of?" He asked, curiosity
marring his teenaged face.
"Many things," She murmured. Jesse's eyes were closed, and
she was scanning the house while the guys talked. What she found
surprised her. There was a Latent listening in.
Jesse cleared her throat as if to say something and Shawn
bowed his head to her superiority. "Shawn, with your permission,
I would like to take Lord Carver to a training cabin in Michigan.
There I could teach and show him what he needs to know. And I
believe that you know my brother Shain. After I can not teach him
anymore I'll take him to Shain's Shadow Zone Complex."
"I received an interesting command while I was gone on
business, my lady. One that said the main Shadow Zone in New
Mexico is hunting you. Are you sure you should be the one that
should start his training? If they find out who he is . . . They
know the prophecy." Shawn replied to her in a soft voice.
Lord Carver??? What the hell? Prophecy? I need a hell of a
lot more questions answered. That's for damn sure. He thought.
But he also decided to go with the flow. For some reason--a
reason he completely didn't understand--he trusted Jesse
implicitly. "How long will the training at the cabin take?" He
asked in a neutral voice.
Thank God. He's taking this better than I would. Jesse
thought. "About a month, give or take. But if I know my brother,
he'll want to train you for a few months, depending on how
quickly you learn. There's one more thing, Shawn." She said with
a sad tint to her voice.
Shawn gave her a look that said she had his undivided
attention.
"I think it would be best if I take the girl, Tosh, with
us. She's a Latent," She then turned to Ethan to explain. "A
latent is someone that has the possibility of becoming a Shadow
Knight. But it's usually upon first death."
"First Death?!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Relax. I'll explain it later, my Lord." Jesse's replied in
a soothing voice.
Boy, 'O, Boy. If I have to ring her scrawny neck I'll get
me some answers. Ethan thought more than once. Not that he'd
actually try to hurt the pretty Shadow Knight. Then a second
thought came to him. The book in his hands held all the answers
he needed, or so it sounded when they were talking about it. So a
guy named Dakrin was my farther. He thought.
Shawn frowned as if already knowing that fact. "I will
allow my daughter to go, but training two people at once can be
hard on a person. Shouldn't you consider some help, my Lady?"
Jesse's pretty face went into that of a frown. "Can I use
your phone?"
"Of course, my Lady." Shawn replied as he watched Jesse go
to the phone.
"Dad," Ethan started out. "Why do you call her 'my lady'
and why the hell does she call me Lord Carver?" He asked
curiously.
"It's nothing but protocol and etiquette in the Shadow
Zone, my son."
"Then why don't you call me my Lord?" He replied cheekily.
"Don't get a big head, Ethan." Shawn replied with a
chuckle.
"Now for the hard part, how do we get Tosh to believe us,
and leave her friends here?" He wasn't talking about Heather.
Ethan was talking on a more permanent basis.
"I won't use mind control on her." Ethan stated with
ironclad conviction. "And I won't let you do it either." He
stated this to Jesse, while she dialed a number on the phone
"There won't be any need for that. I thought there was
something going on, and now I know why," Came Tosh's voice from
midway up the stairs. "This is way fuckin' deep." She said with a
very serious face.
"So what's the answer, half-pint, you going or not?" Ethan
asked. His voice was light, but his insides felt like they were
in knots, and the knots were growing tighter for every second she
didn't answer. He really didn't want to leave her behind.
"Where you go I go." That was her answer, a sweet smile
adoring her face, as she wiped her bangs out of her eyes.
"Then it's settled, my Lord. When would you like to leave?"
Jesse asked with a cock of her head. She was already coming up
with training exercises for her Lord to go through.
"First things first: Quit calling me Lord. Please, I'm
asking this as a favor, I don't like it coming from you. If it
was from someone I didn't know . . . Who knows?" Then he looked
at Shawn. "When does Mom get home?"
"She'll be here in the morning." Shawn replied. "Are you
going to stick around to say good bye?" He asked. There was
definite sadness in the man's eyes.
"Yeah, I owe her that." And so much more. He thought.
*****************************
{Three Hours Later}
Ethan sat on Tosh's bed and thanked whatever god was up
there that Heather had gone home when Shawn arrived. He really
didn't want to have to explain this thing to her, and he wasn't
really sure she should know.
Smiling, Ethan looked over Tosh's room. The girl never was
one for neatness. The room had all the 'modern' conveniences,
though. For instance, a 19" color screen TV and a top of the line
computer. The computer had all the necessities and gadgets. Such
as, Digital Cameras, a Scanner and a web video cam etc.
He looked over at Tosh who was sitting at her computer
desk. "I can't believe we're leaving this place tomorrow." She
said with a sad sigh. Then her eyes grew a little hard. "And I
can't believe you kept this from me! I thought we agreed never to
keep anything from one another, no matter what. Why would you do
that?" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
Ethan just closed her eyes while because he knew that she
was justified to yell him. After she finished, he patted a spot
on the bed. That was his signal that he was ready to talk. Tosh
did as he told her to, but grumbled on the way over. Ethan
thought that it was kind of cute. But he wouldn't dare share that
information with her in the mood that she was in.
"Look. You know I love ya, right? The reason I kept it a
secret for so long was because I didn't understand it at first,"
And I still don't. His thoughts added.
"I guess I can sorta understand that. And I want you to
know something," She started," She reached out and pulled him
gently to her lips. It was a sweet and gentle kiss. "That's
didn't bother you, did it?"
"Not at all, half-pint. Not at all."
That was the point where there was a gentle knocking on
Tosh's door. "Yeah," She called out. The tone of her voice said
that she didn't like being interrupted during that moment.
"May I talk to for a minute, my-- Ethan." She just caught
herself just in time from calling him exactly what he asked her
not to do.
"Yeah, sure." He replied, getting up off the bed. Then he
turned to Tosh. "We'll finish this conversation later." A crooked
smile was on his face. It's just as well we didn't do anything .
. . With Shawn being in the house and all.
He noticed the narrow eyed look that Tosh gave Jesse, but
ignore it. It was one the lesser problems on his mind. He was
going to get his answers. He stayed quite this long because he
didn't want to be rude. But he thought that it was time to get
his answers, and now.
Walking out in the hall, he looked at Jesse. "Dad set you
up in the guest room?"
"Yeah, Shawn's a good guy." She replied with a slight
smile. As if she had a fond memory of his stepfather in the back
of her mind.
"Good, we'll go to your room to talk. It's time I got some
answers." He stated in a no nonsense voice.
**************************************************
When they were in the guest room, Ethan shut the door
behind him and sat right down on the mattress. He noticed that
his body was more sensitive to the smallest things. He didn't
know what to think about it at the moment. He had one question he
wanted to ask first. And he wanted to look her in the eyes when
he asked it.
Since the lights were turned off, Ethan took off his shades
and laid them on his desk. "Take off your shades." He requested
of her. She did as he bid and laid her mirror plated shades on
the nightstand.
"Why are you running?" He asked in a completely neutral
tone.
"Ah, I knew that question she was coming," She replied with
a smile. A smile that even a blind man could see was fake; was
full of pain. "To answer that question, I'll have to tell you
about the way the Zone in New Mexico is run. Its changed a lot
since your father was in charge."
"I'll tell you the short version, and you can read the rest
in Dakrin's Chronicles," She started as she stood up. "You know
for a fact that you can control peoples' mind with thought alone.
But you do not know the full extent of your capabilities."
Ethan just sat quietly and listened. "The Knights in New
Mexico . . . Well, there is only one way to describe it. They're
power hungry. They have already mentally enslaved an entire town
of about 2, 000 people.
Ethan grew pale at the thought of someone doing that to an
entire town.
Jesse noticed this and was more than a little pleased.
"They're tracking me because I broke Shadow Code Number One."
"And what is that?" Ethan asked, shifting in his seat a
little.
"I killed one of my own. A Shadow Knight by the name of
Jimmy Tomas." She said in a matter of fact tone.
Ethan didn't look disgusted at her at all. And there was a
reason for this. Because in the back of his mind, he knew that
she had a good reason for doing this. But he asked the question
anyway, because he knew that it was expected of him. "Why?" He
asked, their supernatural eyes locking for a moment.
"I'll show you." She stated simply, closing her eyes.
The first image he saw was that of a boy carrying a plate
of food to a man that was dressed a lot like what Jesse was, even
the sword. The boy tripped and spilled the food on the man, and
with nothing more than a glance, the boy fell to the ground dead.
The Knight was the second to hit the floor. And that was Jesse's
doing.
"How do you kill a person by just looking at them?" His
face was a little pale at the vivid images he saw. It was almost
as if he was there, there to see the blood squirt from the boys
nose before he hit the ground and went into convulsions.
"One word: and you will need to learn it by heart.
Kinetics. There is energy all around us Ethan," As if
demonstrating she turned in a complete circle, then looked him
back in the eyes. "That's what sets us apart from the Normals. We
can bend some of the rules of energy to our will. Some say that
Dakrin was able to break it. But I think that's just a legend."
She finished, sitting down on the bed.
"By Kinetics, you mean telekinesis. That's how you killed
that guy?"
Jesse nodded an affirmative.
"How do you do it?" He then asked. Ethan was avoiding the
question that he was dreading. What happened to his father.
"You just focus you're mind and use it as an extension. But
I warn you. It's like a muscle. You have to keep using it to make
it stronger." Then she got a twinkle in her eyes and suddenly the
chair that Ethan was sitting in lifted about for feet off the
ground.
"Hey!" He barked out.
"Sorry, couldn't resist." She told him with a look of
mischief. "The one thing about telekinesis, though, you can't use
it on yourself; meaning you can't make yourself float. Got it?"
Ethan just nodded. After Ethan was sat back down on the
ground and the fun and antics were over, he got a serious look on
his face. "The changes to my body, what do they mean?"
If the truth were told, that was the last question she
wanted to hear. She knew how many times the boy before her had
prayed for death and it would never come. And now . . . She
decided to be blunt. "You're immortal. The only thing that can
kill you is a bullet to the head, decapitation, or being ran
through the heart with a sword. Other than that, Ethan, you will
never grow old." She added the last in a soft and sad tone.
Ethan sat there for almost two minutes thinking about how
he should feel. And after that he figured out that he didn't know
and decided to push it to the back of his mind. "Ok, now I know
the second biggest question."
"What was the first?"
"What happened to my father, Dakrin?" His eyes were filled
with curiosity.
Jesse decided to be blunt again. "Most of the Knights grew
tired of his rules. Like the rule where there where only two
Followers allowed to each Knight. They basically ganged upon him
and slaughter him."
"Followers? You mean slaves?"
"No, slaves do not exactly like where their at. Where as,
if a Knight is good with his or her mental abilities, he or she
can make a follower the happiest person in the world." She stated
with a frown.
"That little boy that the Knight killed . . . He was your
follower, wasn't he?" He asked as he got out of his chair to move
to where she was sitting on the bed.
A few tears rolled down her face. "Yeah," Her voice was
hoarse. Ethan did nothing but rock her backward and forward and
gave soothing words. It a few minutes, but the beautiful Shadow
Knight finally got her composure back.
"We had better get some rest, my brother wants us to come
straight to the compound." She stated in a firm voice, She didn't
trust herself this close to Ethan. She could feel the wetness
between her legs.
Ethan smelt it. He gave her a smirk. "Whatever you say,
Jess. Whatever you say."
****************
Chapter Five
Joanna Remfield always prided herself on trying to be strong-she
never much succeeded-but she always tried. She promised herself
that she would not cry when this day came. And the day was here.
Moreover, here she was still all misty eyed as she watched her
little Ethan pack his bag in his room.
This was her handsome boy. She could not help but cry. She
watched how his gentle, light blonde hair fell over the
mirror-plated shades that she had gotten him just last year. The
boy had well over seven pairs. Joanna should know, she bought
most of them for him.
She knew this day would hurt, she knew. However, that
didn't help one bit.
Ethan looked over at his adoptive mother and did something
he rarely did; a tear slipped out from behind his shades. "I have
to go, Mom. You know this is the only way. Just take care, all
right? I promise to call."
That was all it took, the blonde headed woman broke down
into sobs. That, in turn, lead Ethan to do something that he
hardly ever did again. He walked over quickly and gave her a very
hard and warm hug. "It will be all right. I promise. Hey, when
have you ever known me to land on anything but my feet?" He asked
this jokingly but his voice was hoarse.
"You get yourself back to me, you hear. And I mean in one
piece, Ethan." Joanna stated in a stern voice. Such a stern voice
that it manage to break through her teary voice.
"I promise, I promise." And with that, he picked up his
bag and headed out of his room and down the stairs. He knew Shawn
wouldn't be there. He never was much for goodbyes.
He didn't dare look back at his mother's eyes, for fear of
losing his nerve and staying. If what half of Jesse said was
true, his people really needed him. He was The Chosen. But he
still wasn't completely convinced.
**********************************************
The trees seemed to pass by in a blur for Ethan. He could
hardly believe that he was really leaving the only real home that
he had ever known. It was almost surreal. The circumstances were
surreal. He tried to keep all thoughts of Shawn and Joanna out of
his mind and just keep his eyes on the scenery.
Two hours and twenty minutes into the trip, Jesse got a
phone call on her car cell. As it turned out, Shain didn't want
her at his Zone at the time that they had allotted. He said that
it was much too dangerous. There were warring factions in the
city of New Orleans and he didn't know how many people would try
to use her against him.
He even suggested a two-week wait at the cabin. Jesse shut
the phone off. I'm not going to argue with that. "Guess what
kiddies? We're going camping." She said in an overly chipper
voice to raise their spirits. She knew they hated leaving their
home.
"What, did you're brother change his mind about us going
up there?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, he's having some trouble up by New Orleans, until
it's finished he wants us at the cabin." Jesse replied.
"What's this cabin like anyway?" Tosh asked from the back
seat. She had a pair of earphones hanging around her neck. She
had listened to ACDC almost the entire trip.
"Well, it's not exactly a cabin. It has six rooms and all
the modern conveniences. Shain just started to call it The Cabin
because it's out in the middle of nowhere." She replied, never
taking her eyes off the road. She saw a motel up the road a ways.
"Hey you guys, let's take a pit stop. We'll crash at that motel
and then head out in the morning. Besides, I want to teach you a
few things while we are in this town." She directed the last
statement at Ethan.
They pulled up to the motel and made a complete stop. "So
when we get to cabin, we'll be the only ones there?"
Jesse let out a snort. "Are you kidding? You have
obviously never met Shain. He said that since there will be three
spare rooms we won't be using, he's sending three BladeRunners."
"What's a Blade Runner?" Ethan asked. His mind was
starting to go into overdrive. He was starting to doubt himself
and even he knew that that was a bad thing.
Jesse gave him a small smile. "Blade Runner's are
basically the bottom line. When it comes to efficiency, there is
no one better. To put it in a way you might understand better,
when it comes to Shadow Knights, Blade Runners are the special
forces."
Looking at Jesse get out of the car and go to the front
desk of the motel, Ethan couldn't help but have a small flash
back, one where he was nine years old. He probably had about a
kilo of cocaine on him. His foster father had given it to him to
take to the motel, and then he was to bring back the money. It
was simple. Right?
He made it to the person he was supposed to give it to,
but right when he went to hand him the bag-it fell to the floor
and busted. That little accident caused him four weeks in the
hospital.
The guy beat him un-mercilessly with a pair of brass
knuckles.
Snapping fingers that were in front of his face brought
him out of his reverie. ". . . Yo, earth to Ethan. Man, are you
there or what?" Tosh asked with a little nervousness in her
voice. Ethan just grew a little pale for about three minutes.
Three minutes: that was how long it took her to bring his eyes
back into focus.
Tosh couldn't blame him for having a lot on his mind. But
she thought that he was thinking about being the Son of Dakrin.
In truth, Tosh had a lot on her mind as well; like being a
Latent. She didn't know how she should take that. She was a
little glad that she could be like Ethan. But on the other hand,
it was more than a little frightening.
At the beginning of the trip, Tosh shot questions at Jesse
as if they were bullets. She wanted to know all there was to know
about being a Latent. She found out three things. One she already
knew.
That was; to become a Shadow Knight a Latent had to go
through a traumatic first death. Jesse said that first death
would not be permanent unless she was beheaded. She didn't like
the sound of death. If fact, she hated the "D" word.
The second was much rarer. If a Latent went through
extreme emotional duress, they might be able to reach, what Jesse
called, Knighthood. She didn't even want to consider what she
would have to go through to get that upset. She knew it would
have to be something bad, because she just didn't get upseteasy.
The third she liked much better. All she had to do was
talk Ethan into it. And she thought that it shouldn't be too
hard. It would be difficult but not impossible. The third way to
become a Shadow Knight was for a Master to release it. The only
other way it could be released was by four First Adepts.
The reason she knew that Ethan would be reluctant to do it
was because of what he told her it was like when he went through
the change. For to solid days it felt like his blood was on fire,
was what he told her. That was when she promptly yelled at him
for not saying anything. He also gave her a strange reply. "In
the back of my mind, I knew it was supposed to be this way." It
was a strange response, but she respected it.
The reason she knew that she would have to argue with him,
was for a simple and uncomplicated fact. He hated seeing her in
pain. Jesse said the pain would be worse for her because if
someone opened her up to Knighthood; those two days of torment
that Ethan went through would all be added up and it would hit
her in a change that would only last for an hour. And it would be
a very long hour, where her body would go through the change.
Tosh looked over at Ethan, who still had his birth
father's book in his lap and sighed; to her knowledge, her
stepbrother had never opened it up. It was almost as if he were
afraid to do so. It was as if he was afraid of what he would
find. To look at him, a person would swear that he was as solid
as a rock. But all of this was starting to where him down. She
could tell by how tightly he was holding onto the leather bound
Chronicle. It was almost a white-knuckle death grip, but not
quite. She had no idea it was from the flash back he had.
She had to smile a little as she thought about the past
they had together. He was always bailing her out, or trying to
anyway. She didn't know how many times he took the blame for
something she did. He usually wouldn't get away with it though,
and that was for a simple reason; she wouldn't allow it. If she
messed up, she claimed the responsibility. But there were times
that she let him take the blame, for the little stuff. She did
this because she knew that it made him feel better to help her
out of jams.
"Why such serious faces guys?" Jesse asked in a light
voice. She watched them both jump. They were both obliviously in
deep thought. "I got us a room. It's number seven. Let's hope
seven lives up to its luck, huh?"
"Yeah, let's hope." Ethan said with a chuckle as he got
out of the car. He held out a hand and helped Tosh out when he
got out. "Your room awaits, my lady." He stated with a goofy
accent. He was trying his best to lighten his mood. The way he
figured it, if he could go through the motions long enough, maybe
he really wouldn't be so wound up.
Apparently, Tosh was in harmony with the idea. "Why thank
you kind sir."
Jesse just laughed at their antics. "C'mon, I want to get
settled in. We'll rest an hour and then you and I are going to
the mall that is about a fifteen-minute drive from here. The
manager told me about it. I want you to practice your mental
skills," She told Ethan. Jesse then looked at Tosh. "You'll have
to stay here. I don't his concentration straying." She told Tosh
in a gentle voice. She didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings,
but Ethan was capable of really messing someone up if he lost his
concentration.
"That's cool. I could use a nap anyway." Tosh replied as
the three of them walked towards the room. They got situated in
no time flat.
*****************************************
Ethan never was one for crowds. He pretty much hated them
his entire life; now was no exception. But this was sort of a
different situation. He was looking for something. Or to be more
specific: someone. A guinea pig to be exact. Jesse wanted him to
flex his mental muscle, as she put it. He really didn't know if
this was right or not, but he was willing to go along with it.
The boy had a plethora of emotions running through his
mind. Was he worthy of being called the Son of Dakrin? Was he
even the real Son of Dakrin? And why did Jesse follow him so
blindly? Sure, he might be a Shadow Knight, but The Son of
Dakrin? How is she so positive? These were the questions running
through the boy's mind.
He looked at all the people that were walking through the
mall. Ordinarily he would have not even come to a place like
this. It wasn't that he had anything against the people here, he
didn't, there was just that there were too many of them. Just off
the odds alone, there had to be at least one asshole out of every
twenty.
He looked over at Jesse, who was slightly smiling, and
looking as beautiful as ever. She had on the same leather jacket
with a sword attached to it, just as he did. Jesse got him a cool
looking leather jacket at the leather shop. A biker's jacket that
cost around two hundred and fifty dollars. They got it free of
course. Then they went to Ace Hardware and got a latch to put on
the jacket, for the sword.
Because of her mental abilities, no one said a word about
the two swords she was carrying, or about the fact that she took
things freely and attached the latch to the back of the jacket.
From that moment on, he had his on sword on his back, even if he
had no clue as to how to use it.
And then there was the leather belt and boots that she got
him. He was carrying all five daggers that he brought from home
on him now. The boy felt like a walking arsenal. There was a
dagger in each black boot and three that were attached to the
back of his belt. They were all very light and shiny; Jesse said
they were titanium. With all the blades that he was carrying,
they made him feel-deadly.
If it wasn't for Jesse's, what she called, mental vibe, he
knew that he would have been picked up for carrying deadly
weapons, or at least hassled.
Ethan looked at his reflection in the mirror and his jaw
almost dropped. The boy standing in front of him was not the boy
he remembered. Here stood a boy, in the reflection, that had a
dark black leather jacket with an all the zippers and pockets
someone could want and a pair of expensive rich black silver
tipped boots. The daggers were inside them. Jesse said they were
just for back up. The main daggers he would be practicing with
were the ones on his belt.
But what got his attention the most was the sword on his
back. It was slanted at a slight angle that went to the right, so
that he could pull it easily. Jesse's words floated back to him
as if they were dust on the wind.
"A Shadow Knight will live and die by his sword. None of
them will use guns. Even the ones who have undesirable morals,
will live by that code," She clipped the sword to his jacket. "At
the cabin, we will mainly work on your swordplay skills. I said
swordplay, but there is nothing playful about it. If you fuck up,
you'll lose your life." She told him sternly.
"I promise to give it 100%." He replied.
"You had best give it 110%, 'cause we're running out of
time. I would be teaching you swordplay now, but I think you need
to relax a little." She added softly, laying a hand on his
forearm. Even through the leather jacket, the hand made his skin
tingle.
And an hour later, as he stood in front of the shiny
window, he could swear that he could almost feel that slight
tingle. He came to a sudden realization at that moment. He was in
love with Jesse. Either that or he really, really liked her a
lot. But he was sure that she was half of the reason that he left
his home. The other half was because Shawn told him it had to be
done.
He only hoped that he didn't disappoint her.
When it came to battle, he wondered about himself. When it
came down to it, could he take a life? That's stupid. Yeah, I
could, but am I capable of it? Can I take a life? Can I watch the
usual brightness of a person's eyes slowly flicker out like a
candle in the wind? He thought morbidly. Then he just shook his
head, as if trying to rid himself of such thoughts.
A light cuff to the shoulder shortly startled Ethan out of
his thoughts. "Whatcha ya thinking about that's got your face in
such a god awful frown?" Jesse asked, standing to the right of
him. She could hardly believe she snuck up on him. She had read
Tosh's thoughts and they said that he was almost impossible to
surprise.
"Nothing important," He fibbed. "So, Boss, you got me
decked out in all this gear, what's next?" He was carefully
trying to steer the conversation from what he was thinking.
Jesse saw through the tactic but let it go anyway. "I
thought that we'd start with something easy. I told you about the
vibe that I put out that make people not notice my sword. Well,
I've been adding you into that ever since you put the sword on-I
want you to do it yourself now." She told him with a quirk of a
lip.
"And just how do I do that?"
Jesse frowned for a moment. "Well . . . Well, what I
usually do is imagine my mind flowing out in all directions. And
at the same time give the command that they do not see the sword
on my back. You can also make it so that they don't see you at
all." She added. Then her eyes lost focus just for a second, then
looked at Ethan. "Ok, nobody at all can see us now. They're
subconscious can see us and they will walk around us, but that's
about it."
Ethan nodded at this.
"Ok, I want you to tell me when you're ready and then I'm
going to take my barrier off you. If you're not using yours, they
will see you." She stated, sitting down on a bench that was near
a water fountain. "Are you ready?"
Ethan made himself imagine that he was sending out radio
waves that told people not to notice him., He thought it would be
easier this way than what Jesse told him to do. "Yeah, I'm
ready." He replied, nodding briskly.
Jesse let the barrier go on Ethan, but left it on herself.
She then watched in amusement as he walked into one of the
clothing stores where a woman was looking at some clothes on a
rack. She laughed outright when he waved his hands in front of
her face like in a classic movie scene. He turned back towards
her, walked over, and sat down. "Now what, Boss," He asked
jovially. He was getting a kick out of his new gifts.
"Now you are going to learn how to enter a person's mind."
She stated simply. She had to laugh again at look of astonishment
on Ethan's face. "It really isn't that hard. You look around in
their head and rearrange a few things. If you mess up, I can fix
it." He really is very moral. I suppose that's good if he's going
to lead our people. She thought. "Well? What are you waiting
for?" She asked, standing up.
Ethan stood up with her. This will probably be the hardest
part. He thought. "Ok, is there a specific person I should pick
out or will any do?"
"Pick someone you'd like to fool around with, you look a
little tense." Jesse replied cheekily.
Ethan gave a mock scowl and walked off in search of a
subject; leaving Jesse to think. Jesse might have been putting on
a good act, but the truth was that she was a nervous wreck. She
had emotions that she didn't know what to do with, the first and
foremost being Ethan.
She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she was
completely certain that she was head over heals for the boy. She
knew that she shouldn't feel this way-but she did. She felt the
love as if it were rooted deep into the very depths of her soul.
The only thing that she could even possibly come up with that
would explain it, was the legend. The legend that said there
really were soul mates out there. It was just that most people
were not lucky enough to find theirs.
But there was also more on her mind besides love. She had
to train him the best she could in the way of the Shadow. She was
having doubts if she could do that well enough. Jesse also knew
that part of that was pride though. She wanted Ethan to be above
just par when Shain got a hold on him. She wanted to prove to her
brother that she was more than a pretty face.
The last time she tried to prove herself to him, he ended
up furious, but had to go along with it never the less. She
managed to get herself to become a spy in the Shadow Zone in New
Mexico. She would send him reports when she could and give him
the vitals on how strong they were. Overall, she had put herself
in a very dangerous position. And she blew her cover by killing
another Knight.
She didn't tell Ethan or Tosh that Shain was sending three
Blade Runners for her safety, and hers alone. Shain always tried
to look out for her. In truth, Shain didn't believe in the myth
of the Son of Dakrin. On the phone, he said that he would indulge
her and find out for himself when he met the boy. And Jesse knew
that Shain would put Ethan through the ringer when he started
testing him.
What surprised Jesse the most was the fact that Ethan
acted like it wasn't a big deal that he wouldn't age. In fact, he
hadn't even asked how old she was. It was all for the best
though, she supposed. She really didn't want to tell him that she
was one hundred and seventeen years old. It wasn't something that
a person bragged about to someone. Especially since she didn't
look a day over 16. She had seen many things in her life. But, by
far, Ethan Remfield was the most interesting.
She just hoped that her unbelieving brother would go easy
on him.
Just then, she looked up to see Ethan making his back to
her. Behind him was a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She was
wearing a Dallas Cowboys' jersey that was a little big on her. To
accompany the shirt, there was a Dallas Cowboys' ball cap that
she had on backwards, and far enough back to show off her bangs.
Other than that, the girl was wearing a pair of jeans and
sneakers.
Jesse did a quick scan on the girl. She was scared out of
her mind, but that was understandable. Ethan was just useing what
he knew and nothing else. He had just commanded her to follow him
and to act as if nothing was wrong, and not to talk. But on the
inside, the girl was terrified. Ordinarily, Jesse would have
relieved her fears, but she wanted Ethan to do it. The girl was
very pretty, though. And Jesse liked her name. Her name was
Kasey.
She would make him a good follower. Jesse mused. He'll
need to get one eventually. It might as well be now. "Good,
choice." Jesse praised Ethan. "Let's find a place that's a little
quieter. I saw a janitor's room that way, on the way over here."
She said, motioning with her head.
Ethan just nodded. "You got it."
As they started walking towards the janitor's room, Jesse
was doing an in-depth scan on the girl. She was 16 years old. But
that was not what pissed Jesse off. No, what pissed Jesse off
were the scars on the back of her thighs. They were very light,
but there, nonetheless. They were there because her father, the
preacher, decided that he needed to beat The Devil out of her at
least three times a week. When Ethan saw this, she knew he would
feel better about what she was going to ask him to do.
The janitor's door was locked, but with no more than a
flicker of a thought, it was just as easily unlocked. The three
of them walked in. "I've decided something, Ethan."
Ethan looked at her with curiosity.
"Kasey Williams here is going to be your follower," She
started, holding up a hand to forestall the protests that she
knew were coming. "I want you to look into her mind first. Look
at her home life. Look at what she has to live like. Then make a
decision." She finished.
Ethan let out an explosive sigh. "All right, but how do I
look into her mind?" I can't believe I'm actually doing this. He
thought. And I definitely can't believe I'm considering getting a
slave . . . Oops, I mean follower. He thought with a little
sarcasm.
"All you have to do is reach out with your mind and close
your eyes, soon it will find a connection with hers. You will be
able to see all of her memories and emotions. And you should be
able to manipulate erase or create new things in her mind at your
will." Jesse replied as if she were talking about the weather.
She was acting as if it wasn't a big deal on purpose. She didn't
want Ethan too nervous.
Ethan closed his eyes and felt a moment of dizziness that
didn't last no longer than a few seconds, then his mind suddenly
connected to Kasey's mind. It was amazing, or at least it was to
him. The first thing he saw was how terrified she was. He erased
that immediately and made her completely comfortable around him.
He could see how her mind operated her body. He could see her
memories. He could see her fears and hopes. Then he grew angry
when he saw her father.
He would make her his. But he would leave her personality;
she would exist just for him. If he were truthful, he would say
that this rather put him on a power trip, totally dominating
someone. He was the only friend that she had. That and she was
very sexually attracted to him, and wasn't shy about it either.
The one thing that he didn't make her do was call him "Master".
He would be called "my Lord" instead.
Ethan couldn't believe some of the things that this girl's
father did to her. He would beat her if he thought that she had
even kissed a boy. And at the same time, deep into the night,
guess who would sneak into her room? That's right, her uptight
preacher father; and he would do all the things to her that he
beat her for thinking about.
It was almost scary to Ethan how natural all this seemed.
It was very easy to rewrite someone-- very easy, but also very
exhausting. He changed many things on her body as well as her
mind. The girl would no longer have to shave and her nipples were
more highly sensitive to pleasure now.
When Ethan pulled out of the girls mind, he was breathing
very raggedly, not to mention almost exhausted. He looked over at
Jesse, who was leaning against the wall of the small room. He had
left the silence command on the girl, for now. He wanted Jesse to
look her over. "Care to check my work, sensei?" He asked a little
breathlessly. He was too tired to chuckle at the small joke.
"That's a sure thing, grasshopper. But first let me do
something." She walked over to him and laid a bare hand on his
cheek.
Ethan could feel the power flow into him. In a matter of
seconds, he felt just as good as he did when woke up that
morning. Then her hand was gone and she was breathing just a
little heavily. Ethan looked at her with awe. "What did you do?"
He asked with wonder.
"I just shared some of my Kinetics with you," She stated.
"It's not a big deal." She stated, and she was already starting
to breathe normally.
Ethan quit talking at that moment because he saw that
Jesse was staring at Kasey. Jesse stared at her a good five
minutes. Then, with her mouth agape, she turned towards Ethan.
"Jeez, Ethan, do you know what you did?!"
"What you told me to?" He asked, clearly confused.
"Yes you did that, but you also burned the commands into
her head so goddamn deep that I couldn't remove them even if I
tried."
"Is this a bad thing?" Ethan asked. He was getting a
little worried now.
"Not unless you think its ok that the girl can't be away
from you for more than a couple of days. If she's gone any longer
than that, she slips into a severe depression. I've seen it
happen before and it's not a pretty sight," She watched as Ethan
began to grow a little pale. She decided to reassure him a
little. "But look, if you're strong enough to put the commands in
that deep; you can most likely take them out."
"Yeah, maybe I can. I'll definitely look at into it at the
cabin." Ethan replied, but it sounded as if he was trying to
convince himself.
Jesse smirked at him. "Nobody is going to get mad at you
for being too good, Ethan," She looked over at the girl, then
back at Ethan. She then lowered her shades. "Why don't you and
her get to know one another. I think I want to do some shopping."
She stated, giving Ethan a wink and pushing her shades back up.
Then she promptly walked out the door before Ethan could even say
anything.
Ethan watched as the lock locked by itself and knew it was
Jesse's Kinetics at work. He looked over at Kasey and was
surprised. He had programmed her to be happy with him, but her
eyes were misted over in tears. He pulled off the silence command
and she started openly sobbing, which startled him. "What's
wrong?" He asked, but thought it sounded more than a little lame.
He rushed over and engulfed her into a hug.
"You don't really want me." She cried out.
"Yeah I do, I promise." He stated. What have I gotten
myself into?
"Really, my Lord?" she asked, eyes full of hope.
He knew one way that she would be positive that he wanted
her. He leaned down and caught her mouth in a deep kiss, making
sure to press his thigh against her jean-clad crotch. She moaned
into his mouth and ground her crotch into his leg. She was very
sensitive do to the reprogramming and it was showing.
Ethan broke the kiss and took three steps back. "Undress
for me." He ordered gently.
"Yes, my Lord." Was the response that was given.
Ethan watched as the brown-haired girl undressed for him
and had one thought: Mine. She took off the jersey and bra first
and gave Ethan a view of her very beautiful tits. "Are they to
your liking, my Lord?" She asked demurely, giving the objects in
question a little jiggle.
"They're perfect." Ethan responded immediately. He was
being turned on to a high degree by this girl. He was even more
turned on when she slipped her sneakers off and pushed down her
jeans, leaving her only in her socks.
She would have taken them off, but Ethan made his move.
"Lie down." He told her, holding her hand as she slid to the
floor.
When she was completely laid down, Ethan started by
kissing her neck, listening to her soft mewing noises. He worked
his way down her body further. When he sucked a nipple in his
mouth, Kasey's back arched and she screamed out, "MY LORD!" Then
her body was racked in a mind-blowing orgasm.
When she settled down somewhat, Ethan slowly worked his
cock into her well-lubricated pussy. He started out with slow and
steady strokes. All the while Kasey kept moaning. The longer he
went, the louder she moaned. After about five minutes, she was
moaning constantly and chanting. "My Lord, my Lord, my Lord."
That was all Ethan could take. He came with a loud grunt;
setting off another orgasm in Kasey. Her back arched and she
squealed loudly, then promptly passed out.
Ethan rolled off her and looked up at the ceiling. Being a
Shadow Knight does have its benefits. He thought with a smirk.
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