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The Afflicted Ch. 11

By: ShyChiWriter



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* * * *

Colette, Galen's companion, was pacing about the room frantically.

"I have to see him," she muttered to herself.

Since the rescue party, all she'd been able to think of was Arnet. She kept reliving the moment when the handsome Arnet rushed into the room and gallantly fired the flurry of darts in their direction.

"If only I'd stayed," she whispered to herself. "All I had to do was pull away from the deplaceur and I'd be with him right now."

Palo was standing in the doorway of their locked suite, fighting his own demons. His dose appeared to not be as strong as that which had gotten to Colette or Scaurus, but he was still annoyingly preoccupied with the man known as Arnet.

"Colette," he said softly.

She ignored him and paced past him again, muttering to herself.

"Colette," he said in a louder tone.

Still, she went on about Arnet. Seeking out solitude, she retreated to corner of the room and just stood there -- staring into the corner and musing on what she would do if she could get to Arnet's side.

She felt a man's hand on her shoulder. She turned with a smile, her mind having convinced her that Arnet had found his way to her. Instead, she was faced with this... this Palo. His ebony skin and his piercing eyes were nothing more than annoyances to her.

"Colette!" he said strongly. "It is a sickness; a temporary infection. You must know that. Use your mind, not your heart."

Tears streamed from her eyes.

"I know," she cried. "But it's been a day. An entire day, and... it is only getting worse. My head tells me I am not making sense, but it's no matter. The pain only grows."

"Dear girl," he said, pushing against her, "has it ever occurred to you that perhaps it isn't just this serum which is increasing your longing. Have you ever thought that it might be something else for which you are yearning?"

He had her pinned in the corner now, she suddenly realized what his intentions were...and it disgusted her.

"How could you!" she cried. "If I was going to be with any man, it would be Arnet, and only Arnet. Arnet is perfect and...mmmhphh."

Her words had been silenced by Palo's mouth. She fought him at first, then slowly surrendered to the lust raging in her body. He kissed her deeply and their hands sought each other out. Her hands caressed his muscular arms and chest. His hands pushed down her loose blouse and freed her left breast. His fingers were soon working magic on her nipple and she was moaning with pleasure.

He pulled back, smiling.

"Do you see?" he said. "There is something else you need."

Smack.

Her hand left a dark print on his cheek.

"How dare you!" she said, then she stopped herself.

"Wait," she cried. "Just then, while we were... I'd forgotten. He wasn't there in my thoughts anymore. But now he's back. My god, this is torture! Here!"

She ripped her blouse open, exposing both breasts.

"Please Palo, hurry," she moaned. "Make me forget. Please, please make me forget."

Palo's mouth was already descending to the fulsome orbs she had offered. His tongue was soon flicking across her nipples and her pussy was bucking against his hand which was seeking her out beneath her skirt. Within a few minutes, the remnants of her clothes and his own shirt were lying in tatters on the floor.

Palo worked his way down her body and she gasped as his expert tongue worked its way into her moistened folds.

"That's it," she moaned. "Oh god, that's it, Palo.

One of his hands was still caressing her breast and as he pinched her nipple she begged him for more.

"Pinch harder," she moaned. "It helps. Ooh, don't stop."

Her hips pushed involuntarily into his tongue as the first hint of a climax arrived.

"Oh so good, so good," she cried out incoherently as the first wave crashed through her. "I've never...so good...I can't, oh thank you Palo. I needed this so much."

He stood, kissing his way back up her body as she greedily sought out the huge bulge crying out to be freed from his trousers.

It was her turn to drop to her knees and she cried out with wonder at the rigid 'monster' she freed.

"And I'd thought Galen was the biggest I'd ever see," she moaned. "You certainly give him a run for his money."

A sudden look of frustration crossed her face.

"Damn!" she cried.

"What is it?"

"He's back," she pouted. "Much as I'd like see how much of that I could fit in my mouth, I need more of a distraction. Can you distract me, Palo?"

She stood up and turned her back to him, leaning against the wall and offering herself to him as he stepped out of his trousers.

"Is this a good distraction?" he asked, pressing into her from behind.

"Almost," she moaned.

His bulbous head slipped in the first two inches, spreading her eager labia wide.

"This?" he asked.

"Almost," she murmured.

"This!" he cried.

He slid fully into her --pressing deeply into her inner reaches. It was just what she needed, though.

"Oh my god, that's it," she moaned. "Do it again."

He pulled out and thrust in once more. He did it with such force he lifted he almost lifted her off of the ground. Her huge breasts were flattened up against the smooth, cool wall and she cried out in ecstasy.

"Oh yes, Palo," she cried. "Make me forget. Please, please make me forget him -- just for now."

Palo proceeded to do that. In fact, they were helping each other -- letting their consuming lust override the biological hold of Arnet. For the next full half hour, Colette's body shook as Palo took her from behind. Her warm cavern opened further and further and he was soon plunging his full, substantial length into her with great strokes. She found she did not need the pain. The pleasure of his rushing cock erased anything but what they were doing.

For as long as she could, she deliberately put off her orgasm, preferring instead to be lost in the rhythm of mindless coupling they found. Yet, she couldn't go on forever and she felt a guttural moan starting somewhere in her body.

"Oh Palo!!!" she shrieked as the rapture she had put off arrived with a vengeance.

"Oui, Frederique..." he muttered. "Oh, I'm sorry -- he muttered, stopping his stroke."

"No," she gasped. "Don't be."

She turned over her shoulder to let him kiss her from behind.

"She told me you would take care of me, and she gave me her blessings. Oh..."

Her hips began to quiver, the suppressed climax within her fighting to reach full speed.

"So please do, take care of me," she begged. "And you can call me any name you like if you keep this up."

Her arms were against the wall. She laid her head against them and cried out wordlessly as the full orgasm rattled her body. Palo could not help but follow shortly thereafter and his cries mixed with hers as spurt after spurt of his spray emptied into her.

Elsewhere, Scaurus and Seetha were locked in their own lustful battle to fight off the horrible demon which had infected them. This method would prove to be the only effective escape for the four detainees in the days to follow.

* * * *

Galen walked hand-in-hand with Glennis. They were in the long thoroughfare beneath Manhattan. Like always, the two of them were attracting a fair number of stares; Galen, because he was a legend; Glennis, because of her hypnotic and unsettling beauty. They were also constantly followed by adoring Night Foxes, who would dart from their owners to be fondled by the angelic and beautiful girl.

"How is your apartment, my dear?" he asked.

"It is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Do you know; they bring me food every day? Not once since I arrived here have I had to go out and find something to eat."

"I'm glad," he said. "And I see you have new clothes."

"So many!" she said with a smile. "Every time I stop in a shop, the owners just give me some. That happened above as well, but here they are even more generous."

"Fascinating," said Galen. "Now, will you tell me once again about your childhood? Let us try and revisit your earliest memories."

Their few conversations had all been much the same. Galen would prod, and Glennis would innocently deflect his questions. That she remembered something, he was sure, but those memories were buried so far away he wondered if they would ever come back to the surface.

The visits, though, were always pleasant and Galen took great pleasure from simply spending his time with her.

He had his questions and she had hers, which she always asked just before they parted ways.

"Have you decided when I might see Jacob? The boy who can hide like a window?"

"I'm sorry, dear," said Galen sadly, "the situation is very complicated."

"But I'm not complicated," she argued. "I'm simple as can be, and I simply want to visit him. What is complicated about that?"

"I'll think on it, dear," he said.

He gave her a tender kiss on her cheek and she hugged him lovingly.

"Goodbye, old man," she said. "You are lucky with years."

Galen made his way back to the house on the park which he and Colette had been sharing with Frederique and Palo since their arrival. The huge underground mansion had been busy since the incident with comings and goings.

Numerous visitors stopped in every day. They consulted with Frederique as well as with Galen on matters surrounding Arnet and what threat he might pose. A full Afflicted raid had been staged on Arnet's building where Jacob had been kept. They had not been surprised to find it empty and gutted. With Arnet's vast resources and his ability to travel by day, it was going to prove terribly difficult to track him down. Especially, due to his serum, they felt they could no longer trust any of their daytime resources.

Galen spent every spare moment in the lab he had established in the mansion's second kitchen. He analyzed and reanalyzed the serum they had retrieved. After two days of work, he felt confident that it was the mortal serum and had no lasting effects. The rest of the time he spent peering into the blood samples of the four children. There were countless candidates for mates for the four of them.

So often the decisions in these cases were more political than biological, and that was more of the challenge. There was also something lingering in the back of his mind that Galen couldn't quite pinpoint.

He arrived back to the underground mansion and gave a cursory greeting to two members of the Council guard who were just leaving. He was surprised to see there was no one else in the building except Frederique, who greeted him wearing a long satin robe.

"Hello Galen, how was your visit with Glennis?" she asked, giving him a very warm kiss on the cheek which he barely noticed.

"Lovely, as always," he muttered.

Still, the stray thought was niggling at him.

"Have you figured out where she came from yet?" asked Frederique.

Frederique had taken him by the hand and was leading him through the house. To where, he did not notice. This wasn't unusual for Galen. He was the original preoccupied scientist, and he'd had nearly two millennia to perfect his absent-minded technique.

"Do you want to hear an insane theory?" he asked her.

"Nothing you say is insane, Galen," she said.

They were in the gymnasium now, though he scarcely noticed. He also scarcely noticed her setting him on a padded couch and unbuttoning his doublet. Frederique found herself making the same discovery that Colette had a few months before. Though Galen's face belied a somewhat older man, his torso was wonderfully fit and trim, looking perhaps like a mortal's body of thirty years of age who exercised frequently.

"This girl, Glennis," Galen mused, "she is exceptionally fair. I don't mean merely the color of her hair and skin. I mean her very being."

"Fair?" asked Frederique. "What do you mean by fair?"

His boots were now removed and his trousers were being unbuttoned.

"I mean... good," continued Galen. "There isn't a thing about her that is dishonest or disingenuous or false. She is pure goodness, through-and-through."

"What does that mean?" asked Frederique. "I mean, scientifically, what conclusions do you draw from that?"

Her hand was now wrapped around his somewhat flaccid, long member. Her tender strokes were bringing it quickly to life, though.

"I don't think she will age," said Galen. "I think she will reach maturity and she will stay that way indefinitely -- but unlike our bodies which the Affliction rejuvenates -- her body is simply too pure to know how to age. Imagine that. Tell me, Frederique; were there any messages for me?"

His cock was now near stiffness and Frederique was enjoying the feeling of such a full, large member in her hand after two days of abstinence.

"Oh yes," she said, kissing his neck tenderly. "Brana is concerned that Jacob is healing too slowly. His sexual appetite is down and he seems a bit moody -- more than can be blamed on being separated from the girls."

"Well sun-shock is no laughing matter...I say, Frederique, what are you doing?!"

Galen, lost in his thoughts, had only then noticed Frederique's activities.

"I'm seducing you, of course," she said calmly.

"But Frederique, I delivered you," he said, somewhat taken aback. "I've known you since you were a baby."

"Oh please, Galen," she said, swinging across his lap to straddle him. "I'm now older than nearly every woman you've ever bedded. Let's put my childhood behind us, for god's sake. Besides, with Palo and Colette quarantined, we've got to do something. It's been two days now. Colette would never forgive me if I didn't see to your needs."

"Fair enough," said Galen. "But can I finish my thought on Glennis."

"Of course, darling Galen. Take your time."

Her robe had fallen open and her breasts were pressing against him. How long he would be able to talk about Glennis was debatable.

"Frederique," he said. "We among the Afflicted are subject to enough legends. Vampires, chiefly, among others. For that reason, what I'm going to say shouldn't be too surprising. I think that Glennis is one of the fair folk."

"A fairy?" asked Frederique. "But she doesn't have pointed ears."

"No," said Galen, "Nor does she have any special powers that I can discern. Yet, she was able to see Jacob where none others could. She could see my great age in a second. The Night Foxes love her. I think the truth of the fairy tales might have some truth to them. I have heard many times of the fair folk. If Glennis is one, then they are very real, very different branch of humanity. The best way I can describe it is this: Imagine if Adam and Eve weren't the only ones in the Garden of Eden. What if they were simply the ones who discovered sin and had to leave, but others remained behind. That is what Glennis's forebears would look like. Innocent, wise, pure; that is just conjecture of course, but whatever she is -- she is remarkable. She... soothes me. "

"I think that is a perfectly logical theory," said Frederique.

She had positioned herself atop Galen's rigid cock. With a sigh, she inched herself downward.

"I have an idea," she whispered.

"What's that, Frederique?" he asked.

"Why don't you send her to Jacob? Not for any reason but to be with him. If she is truly as soothing as you say, perhaps her presence would help move his healing along."

"Frederique, that is a remarkable idea," said Galen. "I will arrange it within the week."

"Oh good," sighed Frederique.

Her cry was not about Jacob and Glennis, but at succeeding in pulling Galen all the way into her.

"Can I confess something to you, Galen?" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Your mate, Sophia - how lovely she was."

"Yes, she was," agreed Galen. "Her loss is still one of the hardest."

"Yes, but tonight let's not mourn the dead. Let us celebrate them," purred Frederique. "Sophia once confessed to me how much she adored your lovemaking. She, of course, went on endlessly about your marvelous instrument. What impressed her the most was your knowledge. She said your knowledge of anatomy and the body's inner workings made you the most wondrous lover one could ever imagine. Is that true Galen? I have wondered for centuries just how gifted you are in such matters?"

"I will humbly admit I know a trick or two that are, shall we say, beyond the reach of your typical Afflicted."

"Well then," sighed Frederique, "I look forward to the next hour, or so."

"Oh Frederique," grunted Galen lustily as he stood up, keeping her in place as he did. "An hour won't be nearly enough to show you all the things I know."

"We have time, Galen. Don't you dare leave anything out."

Their lovemaking began, and the thought which had been lurking in Galen's subconscious was pushed back down until another time.

* * * *

Aimée was surprised at how easy it had become to get used to having an observer. On Council's orders, there was to be someone with her at all times -- not out of mistrust, but for her own protection.

Around Aimée's neck was an ornate necklace of pearls and sapphires. What was hidden beneath, however, was the invention of Franz.

Today Aimée was in her quarters and was waiting for the young man she had chosen. Anthony. Every day, Brana came to her with a book full of photographs and sketches, allowing her to choose the volunteer she would take to her bed.

Anthony was a recent graduate of the Academy who had yet to take a mate. Brana had confessed to Aimée that there had always been glowing reports about Tony's attentiveness and especially his stamina.

Aimée had felt the numbness returning again when it came to lovers. She had enjoyed her brief time of freedom in the dorm, but the thrill had waned and she had loved the closeness she had found with Jacob - and Claude. Now, she was only feeding the hungers of her body. Her heart and soul... they were wanting.

Still, it was an adventure in itself to have a new lover every day.

Her guard/observer was Winifred, a stoic-looking, buttoned-up Englishwoman who seemed to lack anything remotely close to a sense of humor. This was day three since Jacob's rescue and Winnie had been her guard for three of the four days. Her other guard, Stenn, had appeared to enjoy his role of observer and she had watched the flush in his face grow more and more red as her adventures went on. She mused that perhaps was why Winnie had been given the assignment more permanently.

Anthony, or Tony as he preferred, entered the room gave Aimée an appraising look.

"She going to be joining us?" he asked, looking to Winnie.

"I don't know," said Aimée with a grin. "What do you say, Winnie? Are you up for it tonight?"

"Thank you, but no," said her chaperone, mouth in a thin line.

Winifred removed a small volume from her handbag and sat down upon a chair.

"Do continue," she urged them. "I'll be right here."

"I know you will," said Aimée.

Aimée had already begun undressing. She felt that with these mandatory trysts it was best to simply dive right in. Teasing and playing, slowly undressing, these were the rituals of someone testing the other person -- of feeling them out, of learning them. She had spent ours with Jacob, and Claude, slowly undressing and teasing. There had been emotional undertones there. Here, she knew it was all for just one thing.

She appraised Tony and wasn't displeased with what she saw. He wasn't as muscular as Claude, nor was he terribly well endowed (though not tiny, by any means). What she liked was that he had an intensity about him. He was like a great cat on the hunt, and his prey was Aimée.


The Afflicted Ch. 11



"So, Aimée, what's your number? How many do you want?" he asked.

"How many what?"

Tony grinned confidently. "I detect a hint of French in your accent. How many petit morts? How many small deaths do you want? Six? Seven?

"Why not twelve?" said Aimée.

"Why not?" said Tony. "Of course, that's before I have any myself. No telling where we go from there."

Aimée looked at him with an air of distrust.

"Are you saying you can bring me to twelve before you even have one? Not even if I try to wring one out of you?"

"Absolutely," said Tony.

For the first time, Winnie showed something. She gave the tiniest snort of disbelief, though she never looked up from her book.

"You don't believe me?" said Tony to Winnie.

Her silence was a tacit affirmation.

"Very well then," said Tony. "I'll make it thirteen -- not to say it won't be pleasurable for me. We begin."

Tony dropped down in front of Aimée and immediately set to work.

He was good. Aimée had never experienced a lover with such a talented tongue and fingers. She had one orgasm standing, at which point her knees buckled and she dropped onto the fainting couch behind her (an apt description), before she had even caught her breath she was on the way to a second."

Two hours later, Winnie had not read a single paragraph of her book. She watched in wonder as Tony (also a flier) pummeled Aimée directly above her in an almost scissor-like fashion, Aimée's legs spread wide her body turned perpendicular to his.

"Are you ready for thirteen?" asked Tony.

"Oh please yes, finish me Tony," moaned Aimée. "But, please you this time. Please cum with me."

"As you wish," he agreed.

An exhausted but rhapsodic squeal escaped Aimée's throat when Tony pulled her into him again and again. He cried out himself this time, and the thrusting grew slower and slower as he poured his cum deeply into her.

Winnie did not notice the droplets that fell onto the open book in her lap at first, and when she did, she was too flushed to care.

Tony and Aimée descended. Tony gently set Aimée down on the fainting couch, then bent over to whisper into Winnie's ear -- who was still staring straightforward in shock.

"Thirteen," he said seductively. "I suspect, Winnie, that a great deal hides beneath that prim exterior. Look me up some time and we'll see how things go."

He kissed Winnie's ear tenderly, his tongue snaking out to tease her. Winnie stayed in that spot, staring at nothing for a long while after Tony departed.

* * * *

Abby had never felt so empty. For the longest time her existence had truly been multi-faceted. In a way, it was as though she saw the world as an insect might -- through countless lenses. The lenses were the eyes of everyone around her, and those views were also tinged by the emotional overtones of each person's eyes she borrowed.

Now, her world felt incredibly small. The majority of her time there was only Yusef, one of the few members of the Afflicted who had had minor empathic abilities. His empath skills were negligible, but he did know how to shield his mind from any intrusions.

At first, Abby found him to be dry and humorless. He was descended from the Afflicted branch who had occupied the city of Petra which they had carved out of the rocks. The Afflicted people living there had been able to live a nearly normal life in the cavernous city until an earthquake had cut off the ancient rivers feeding the city.

In their conversations Abby soon learned that Yusef was a deep thinker and a gentle soul. He was simply deliberate and reserved in his manner. He'd had a brother who had been blind and he was actually very helpful in teaching Abby how to navigate without the aid of others' eyes.

Then, there were the lovers. For Abby, they were the bright spot of her day. Whereas Aimée just viewed her lovers as tools to satisfy her sexual needs, Abby savored each moment a young man came to visit. Her world was truly empty when she was alone, so the young men provided her with the sight, the hearing, and the emotions that she craved so deeply.

By the time each new young man arrived, she was ravenous for contact, and they were the beneficiaries of her longing.

On this morning, man who arrived wasn't as young as the others.

He stopped at the door and saw the beautiful redhead wearing a fine silk robe which was diaphanous enough to hint at the treasures below.

"Hello, my name is..."

"I know your name," said Abby. "You are Sean Blake and you are nearly sixty years old. You hail from Ireland and you were brought into our kind by a woman named Stacia, and... oh dear, I am so sorry for your loss."

"She grew careless," said Sean in his Irish brogue. "She shouldn't have died."

"But you still miss her," said Abby. "You're angry at her, but you miss her at the same time."

Sean dropped his head, looking to the ground sadly. "This is true," he said in a quiet voice.

"Come here, Sean," Abby said. "Sit at my feet and we'll talk."

"You read my mind," said Sean, bluntly. "You seem to know everything about me. You don't need to talk."

"No," agreed Abby, "but you do. Come here, Sean, let's make this a pleasant day."

He did as she bade him, and Abby and Sean began to talk. They talked of his childhood in Cork, of his first loves, of the day he met Stacia and how excited he had been to find his gift was to be a water breather. Once immersed, his skin served in the same fashion as the gills of a fish. This fascinated Abby to no end.

As they spoke, Abby's hands slowly explored his body with him barely knowing it. Her tender ministrations gradually brought him to a point of both relaxation and arousal.

Their conversation somehow naturally evolved into lovemaking, and Sean found himself lost in a fog of erotic and sensual overload. For Abby, her unions were the only time to feel truly alive every day. As such, she was determined that her partners would benefit from her gifts as much as possible.

As Sean's body eventually shook with his third climax, he held Abby close and she reveled in the desperate way he pulled her to his body.

"By the gods, girl, you are one of the most amazing things I've ever known."

"I thank you Sean," said Abby with a smile. "You are also wonderful."

"And you aren't mated yet?"

"No," she admitted.

For the first time that night, he saw a trace of sadness in her face.

"I could ask," he insisted in the heat of the moment. "I could ask if we might be right for each other. I promise you Abby, I'd never treat you poorly."

"Oh Sean, that means more to me than you can imagine. But, I'm afraid my heart does not belong to me. Nor does my life, for that matter. Both of those things belong to the Council."

"The Council?" asked Sean. "But what do you mean?"

"Nothing," said Abby. "Please, Sean. We just have this one time together. Let's make the most of it."

The rest of their time was indeed pleasurable. For their final time, Abby had to satisfy her curiosity. She filled the tub in her suite as full as possible and marveled as Sean sank to the bottom and waited for her there. In the beginning, she rode him with her torso above the water, but he eventually communicated to her that she would be safe below as well.

He pulled her down to his mouth and they moved in slow undulations. They splashed water over the edges with their motion. He was able to pull oxygen from the water and breathe it back into Abby's lungs. They emerged feeling almost reborn in a way.

Around a half hour later, Abby walked Sean to the door. Sean was clothed once again; Abby wore a simple terrycloth robe. Her hair was still damp from their adventure in the bathtub.

"You're a darling, that's for sure," said Sean. "I hope our paths cross again -- soon."

"It was delightful, Sean. Thank you for letting me get to know you."

They kissed and Sean departed. Yusef stood by the door, as solid as ever. As Abby turned to return to her bedchamber, his voice rang out.

"Abby, may I say something?"

"Of course, Yusef," she said, turning back to him with her usual smile.

"Young woman, I hope you don't take this for anything other than the compliment I mean it to be. I have seen four men come here as strangers and I have seen four men walk out of here willing to hand you their hearts. I have also seen them treated to the kind of lovemaking that is very, very rare. What I want to say is; if you ever chose to turn your attentions to becoming a courtesan, there would not be a king in the world who wouldn't give his entire treasure house for one night with you. I don't mean to suggest that you should, I just mean..."

"I know what you mean," said Abby, blushing. "And I take it as the compliment it is meant to be. Yusef, can I ask you for a favor?"

"If it is allowed, anything," said Yusef.

"Would you read to me?" said Abby.

"I would be honored," said Yusef with a smile. "And I have just the book."

He reached into his traveling bag and pulled out a worn leather volume.

"The Seven Beauties, by Nizami, he said. "It is one of the great treasures of the East. You will love it. There is nothing more beautiful than hearing it in the native Persian."

"But I don't speak Persian," said Abby, sadly.

"I will open that part of my mind," said Yusef quietly. "I will speak the words, and you will see the meaning in my mind's eye."

"You can do that?" whispered Abby.

"Of course, but don't tell anyone, I'm sure it would be frowned on."

"You can trust me," said Abby.

"I know, dear girl," said Yusef. "I know I am as safe with you as I would be with my own mother."

* * * *

Brana was a bit harried. Running the dorms and all that entailed was a difficult enough job as it was. Now she had the four special cases to worry about and their schedules.

The boys, in particular, were a challenge. Four days now, and every evening she arrived to find a very, very long line of women. As soon as the women spotted her, she would be surrounded with each woman begging to be given a night with one of the young stallions.

"I have work," she said sternly. "Schedules to manage, food to order, stacks of paperwork."

"But..." started one woman.

"I will see you when I can," she said. "Just, give me a few minutes and then you may come in, one at a time, to plead your case."

Brana retreated to her office and angrily worked her way through sheaf of orders and requests on her desk. When she was done, she deliberately poured herself a cup of tea to drink and drank it slowly, determined not to let the circling buzzards outside compromise her schedule. At last she opened her door and called out.

"Very well ladies"

A well-coifed, bejeweled woman in expensive clothes pushed her way to the front of the cue and forced her way into the office.

"Brana, dearest."

It was Irina Neratoff, a woman who had served on the minor council several times during her five hundred years. Brana remembered Irina's granddaughter, Marian, from a decade before. She had been a rather spoiled cadet at the beginning, but had turned out to be quite a dear.

"Word has it that you are harboring some young stallions in need of companions."

"It's true," said Brana. "If Marian is available, just let me know."

"Oh goodness no, Brana -- I wish to volunteer myself. It has been so long since I've been able to drink from a lovely young fountain. Gregor is certainly a wonderful lover, but a stallion he is not."

"Irina," said Brana. "You are twenty-five times the boys' age. Though they are lustful, they are innocent. You know far too much and would spoil them."

"I would educate them," insisted Irina. "How thirsty I am just thinking of it."

"Well, I'll put you on the list," she said. "The final word is up to Galen, of course. We'll let you know."

That was, of course, a lie. Beyond the restriction of no one person for more than a day, Galen had left the choices entirely up to Brana's discretion. She had learned that 'the list' was an answer more easily accepted than a simple 'no'.

The parade of women continued through her office. Some were bored, most were licentious and randy, and then there were the few:

It was the last woman of the day. Brana had thought everyone had left, but stepped into the office to see the woman starting to leave.

"Hello?" she said curiously.

"Oh," said the woman in a trembling voice. "I had changed my mind. I was just leaving."

"No, please," she said. "Do come in."

The woman came closer into the stronger light and Brana had to hold back a gasp. There was a haunted look about the woman that was unmistakable.

The Afflicted always looked alive. Some chose to look younger than others. The shallow and vain usually chose an appearance of around twenty years of age. Others valued a more mature look, but the look of an Afflicted was universally vibrant.

This woman looked weary and spent. It was the look of one who might be dying, who might be growing weary of her time on earth. By mortal standards, she might have looked like an Asian woman in her thirties. By hospital standards, she would have been diagnosed with consumption on first blush.

"How may I help you, good woman," inquired Brana.

She led the sad lady back into her office.

"My name is Seika," said the woman after a long pause. "My mate was Haru Morimoto; he was taken in a raid by the black guard some fifteen years ago."

"I am so sorry," said Brana.

Seika began to break down, tears flowing freely.

"I have tried," she sobbed. "I laid with my brother because he looked like my husband. I submitted my name to the Council and they sent me many candidates, but none of them were right for me. I even lived in a brothel. I thought, perhaps out of the hundreds of men I might find one who my body cried out for. There was no one. "

"Now," she continued, "now I go to the singles quarters once a week and find someone, just to feed my body, but it doesn't seem worth it. Nothing seems worth it."

She cried some more. Brana crossed to sit beside her and took her hand gently.

"I was ready," said Seika. "I was ready to go. Just yesterday I stared at the door of my apartment. I watched the line of light peaking around the edges of the entryway. I was this close to simply opening it and stepping out. I don't know what stopped me."

"Then I heard of the stallions," Seika said quietly. "It isn't that I wish to take one to mate. I wouldn't presume so much. No, I thought of their seed. I thought back on my times with Haru. We were each other's first mates, and yes, I knew him as a stallion. I still remember the times just before the Blood ritual. I drank from him for days at a time, it seemed. We were so young -- so alive. I thought, perhaps, that is what my body needs. Perhaps if I could taste so much, if my skin could be bathed in that deliciousness swimming with life -- perhaps that could wake me once again. I know it's silly, but those were the thoughts going through my mind. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

She got up to leave but Brana held her arm to stop her.

"Wait," said Brana. "I have to tell you, it's true."

"What?" asked Seika, incredulously.

"Seika, I was talking with Madame Villepreux-Power just the other day and she told me just such a thing. She said the seed of an Afflicted stallion is so alive, so curious, that it has often been known to have healing effects. Here."

Brana wrote down an address and slipped it into Seika's hand.

"There is a young man named Claude," she whispered. "He will spill more onto you and into you than you could ever imagine. If there is a cure in this route, he is the one to provide it. Meet me at this address in three hours."

As Seika left, Brana wondered superstitiously if she was bringing bad luck on herself for telling such fibs. Madame Villepreux-Power had said no such thing, but this woman was near death. Brana didn't see the harm in a little white lie if it gave this poor woman hope.

* * * *

It had only been five days, but Claude was growing a bit weary of the routine. Each day, a new woman. Each day, another goodbye; and each day he still missed the girls desperately. His mind hopped back and forth between memories of, and longings for, Abby and Aimée in equal measures.

Now, he was being used as some sort of charity worker. Brana had briefed him on this Seika and he wasn't very happy about it. A hopeless woman who might be dying; the idea frightened him in many ways.

Yet the woman who presented herself at the door surprised him. She was dressed in an elegant silk kimono and her hair was pushed up with beautiful jade hairpins. Yes, her eyes bore a haunted look -- but she was certainly lovely.

"Thank you for having me," said Seika demurely. "I know an aging widow would not have been your first choice, but I promise you my skills are not lacking. I have the experience of two centuries and the techniques of five continents at my disposal. I assure you, I will do my best to please."

A half hour later, Claude believed every word she had said. His own mother (a stunning sexual being with six centuries' experience) had initiated him in the ways of expert manual and oral pleasure, but Seika made even the wondrous Frederique look like a highly skilled amateur when it came to pleasing a man. In those mere thirty minutes, Seika had worked him with her hands, her mouth, and even her feet. She had pleasured Claude in ways that left him practically paralyzed in ecstasy. Every time he was near, she seemed to know the perfect time to retreat and leave him at the edge. Several times, she actually let him begin to cum, but squeezed the base of his cock in some way that stopped things at once. Twice, he was sure he felt the surging cum retreat into his system.

Now she was ready. She was kneeling in front of him and sliding his huge member all the way into her tiny mouth and entirely down her throat.

"Now," she gasped as she pulled him out, releasing the vice-like grip she had around the base of his shaft.

It had been a long time coming and with Claude's condition there was a titanic amount. It had been some time since a lover had been able to contain all of Claude's first burst of the day, but Seika seemed hell-bent on doing just that. Stream after stream poured down her throat and she swallowed it greedily. At last she couldn't take any more and pulled back, aiming his cock down her body for the last few bursts (which, by themselves, would have been all a mortal could ever hope to muster).

Claude's eyes were closed in gratified bliss as Seika rose up, rubbing his glistening cock between her breasts as she did. Opening his eyes, Claude almost cried out in surprise. This was a different woman. Her eyes were bright and no longer had circles beneath them. Her smile was genuine and not forced, and beyond everything there was a renewed hunger in her eyes that was undeniable.

"Did I please you well, young man?"

"I... oh my god," gasped Claude. "Can I ask, whoever I end up with as my mate, will you give her lessons?"

"I promise I will," she said with a smile.

Then she blushed and whispered.

"And much to my surprise, I think it is a promise I might be able to keep."

An hour later, she was riding him to her third orgasm. Her tiny frame could not contain his entire ample shaft, but she took in all she could, his mammoth cock bouncing against her cervix with each descent of her slender body.

Claude was near another orgasm and she elicited another anguished groan as she stopped him once more.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he cried.

"It builds up," she explained. "Done properly, you gather even more fluid within you. I want so much, so very much indeed."





The Afflicted Ch. 11



Moments later she was squatting above him, bouncing up and down on his shaft with surprising athleticism as she lowered and raised herself in direct vertical motions.

Claude gasped out.

"Please, this time?" he begged.

"Very well, my stallion," she agreed.

She descended down as far as her body would take and squeezed him with her inner muscles, urging his long-awaited eruption to begin.

Perhaps more sensuous than anything she had done so far, the look on her face as she took his cum into her was something Claude would never forget. It was as though she was willing every drop to find its way somewhere into her body -- into her very being. As Claude felt himself exploding, he was hypnotized at the rapture upon Seika's face. Even when he was done, she kept her eyes closed and continued rocking back and forth on his shaft -- milking him with tiny moans escaping from her lips.

After a while, she reluctantly lifted off him and sighed at the sound of his white magic dripping out of her and back onto him. Then she lowered herself down onto the length of his shaft and slid her soaked pussy up and down his length.

"You're still hard," she purred.

"It happens," said Claude. "Especially after seeing what I just saw."

She pondered the situation. "What am I going to do with all of this lovely slipperiness? Hmm."

She reached down and grabbed his shiny pole to maneuver it behind her. He groaned as she pushed it between her cheeks, rubbing his slickness everywhere.

"Brana says you are young," murmured Seika. "Are you so young that you've never done this?"

"No, I haven't," groaned Claude.

"Then we both shall win," said Seika. "You will have your first time there, and I will have you filling me in every place. You will help me with this, won't you?"

"Yes," whispered Claude.

Her tight brown bud seemed both anxious and reluctant to take him. Slowly at first, he pushed his way in, Seika gasping with each fraction of an inch he moved in. Claude felt he was almost past the tightest point and he unconsciously lifted them from the ground. That tiny burst of gravity was all it took and he suddenly felt her tight opening relax, sending him surging into her more sacrosanct passage.

Seika gave a cry and Claude couldn't tell if her subsequent hiss was of pleasure or pain, or a mix of both.

"Hurt?" he asked tenderly.

"Only in a good way," she moaned. "How amazing this feels. And you didn't tell me you were a flier. That will make this way ever-so-much more interesting.

Hours later, Brana arrived at Claude's temporary lodging and gave in inquiring glance to the guard who stood inside. He simply gave Brana an affirmative raise of the eyebrows as she peeked into the rooms beyond.

Claude was splayed out across a couch, lost in exhausted sleep. Seika had risen upon hearing Brana's arrival and was retrieving a less formal, more Western dress from the bag she had brought. Still naked, she turned to see Brana and gave a cry of delight, running to Brana to embrace her.

"Oh Brana, what a lovely night!" she said. "It was just what the doctor ordered, truly."

"I'm so glad," said Brana. "You look wonderful. So energetic, so happy, so..."

"Alive?" offered Seika. "My friend, I don't know if there was any truth to what you said, but I feel like there was. The milk of a young stallion was indeed good medicine for me."

Seika still had the dress hanging over her arm and was beginning to put it on when Brana noticed something.

"Umm, Seika, you might want to freshen up... bathe perhaps before you go?"

"But why?" asked the woman.

"You, uh..."

Brana indicated a white, flaky patch on Seika's cheek then her hand drifted down to illustrate further. There was scarcely a patch of skin on Seika's entire body that didn't bear some trace of Claude's voluminous offerings.

Seika gave a girlish giggle that Brana wouldn't have believed could have come out of her not twenty-four hours before.

"My goodness," she said. "I think I'll just keep it there, as a souvenir. I have a wonderful tub in my home, imported from Japan. It will be so much more enjoyable to wash it off there. Thank you again, Brana, this was a life-altering night.

* * * *

Jacob was weary. The sun-shock had taken more out of him than he had realized.

To be tired, truly tired, was unusual in itself for an Afflicted. To feel pain of the sort that he still felt in the darkened patch of his back -- it was unheard of. Two months prior, a blade had slipped in training and the gash had been to the bone of his upper arm. In less than a day there had been no pain, in two days it had been a seam, in four days, not a trace of a scar remained.

His sun-scarred back still ached, so did the cuts that had come from the whip. As one of the Afflicted, having to deal with lingering wounds was a new sensation and one which he detested more by the day. The constant pain put him in a foul mood.

Worst of all were the women. Brana arranged them. She told Jacob that Galen insisted, but even the companions were different. For the first time since his awakening, he did not have a constant hunger for a woman. Of course, it didn't take much convincing when each woman arrived, but his energy wasn't as high and he was perhaps only good for one or two climaxes a day.

The climaxes were the most annoying part of all. He had been a stallion. Since his awakening, the volume of his ejaculations had only gone up and up. However, because of the sun shock his volume had been normal.

He might not have minded if it weren't for the looks on the women's faces. He was sure what they'd been told. 'Come sleep with a stallion.' The woman on Wednesday, particularly, had not been very good at hiding her disappointment when she had knelt before him and seen the few teaspoons-worth that landed on her chest.

The visits from women had turned into his least favorite part of the day.

Jacob practically cringed at hearing the knock on the outer door.

He knew the routine well by now. Due to his gift, his guards remained outside. When someone wished to enter, they knocked. Jacob was then to sit in the bench directly across from the door so he could be seen through the view hole. Little matter that made, he thought to himself. He hadn't been able to turn invisible since the sun. Rules were rules though, so Jacob dutifully rose up from the couch and crossed to the bench.

Once his presence was verified, the door opened and the inner door, an iron grate that slid from the floor, slid down.

"Hello Jacob," said Brana, stepping in and smiling warmly. As soon as she stepped in, the grate slid back up. Two guards watched ominously from beyond.

"Hello Brana."

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"About the same. Tired. Sore. Balls a bit empty."

"Galen assures me it will all come back," she assured him, patting his cheek. "Jacob, I have a special visitor, today."

"I can hardly wait."

"No Jacob," said Brana quite seriously. "This is a very special visitor. Unlike any you've had this week, or ever, for that matter. Glennis."

An ethereal beauty stepped in front of the grate. Jacob's mind searched for where he had seen her before. She gave him a smile that would have melted the hardest of hearts.

"Let her in," whispered Jacob. "By all means, let her in"

The grate slid down and remained down and the girl stepped in. Jacob still couldn't remember her, but he was captivated.

"Jacob, this is Glennis," said Brana. "She has wanted to meet you for some time."

Glennis walked to the bench to sit beside Jacob. She gazed at him adoringly so long it made him uncomfortable.

Without even turning her head, Glennis spoke.

"You may go now Brana."

It didn't sound like an order, but that was undoubtedly what it was.

Brana said a pleasant goodbye and left them to their own devices. Jacob found himself still struggling to remember the girl as the door clanked shut.

"I have wanted to see you again for so long, Jacob-who-hides-like-a-window."

The dawn of recognition crossed Jacob's face, and it was not a happy one.

"You!" he said, his face turning an angry shade of red.

"You are... displeased with me?"

"No," said Jacob angrily. "I'm ecstatic to meet the girl who almost got me killed."

The expression on the girl's face almost changed Jacob's mind right away, but he was determined to stay mad at her. He turned away so her hypnotic eyes couldn't work their effect on him any further.

Soon, he felt her hand on his shoulder.

Jacob, I... I am naïve. That's a word that Galen used. He said that 'naïve' didn't have to be an entirely bad word, but that being naïve is not such a good thing in the world sometimes. Always, my entire life, I have been lucky -- but you are the first person I have ever hurt because of how naïve I was. People... they don't harm me, I don't know why. But last week, I found out what happened to you because of what I did and I cried for the longest time."

"Oh," said Jacob.

He could hear that she was near crying now.

He turned back to her and it wrenched his heart to see the tears forming in her eyes.

"I thought it was a game," she said. "I love hide and seek, but I had never seen someone hide the way you did. I wanted to get to know you better. I don't understand why people would hurt each other."

"How did you see me?"

"I'm not sure. I just knew you were there... in here," she said, tapping her chest. "In here, I could see you as plain as anything. Though my eyes saw you were not there, it didn't matter. I knew. So, I went to you and caused a great deal of trouble, as I understand it. I'm sorry, once again."

"Who are you?" asked Jacob.

"They call me Glennis, but I think my name is...something else. I can never quite remember."

"Well Glennis," he said, trying to reassure her. "We can look at this two ways. One, you accidently revealed me to Arnet and I was captured, and so on. Two, without you, we might have never known the truth about Arnet and his plans. He has captured many members of the Afflicted in the past, but none of them lived to tell the tale. I was only able to be rescued because of my sister and Aimée with their amazing talents."

"I like to think of it the second way," said Glennis, laughing through her tears.

"So do I," said Jacob.

"But I still don't know you," said Glennis. "That is why I am here, to get to know this boy who can hide like a window."

She reached out to take his hand. It was the first time her skin had touched his and it was electrifying. Jacob gasped at the touch as their two systems somehow exchanged a greeting. Glennis also felt it and her eyes flew open wide at the curious jolt of recognition.

They sat that way for some time, both of them uncertain of what was happening. The closest sensation Jacob could liken it to was the way it felt when Abby reached out to him in intimate times and established a rapport. This was like that, but without the sexual overtones. The possibility of intimate love seemed there, but this was just a 'hello'. This 'buzz' was just their systems getting to know each other. Regardless of what level of sexual attraction they felt, both of them could have let that moment go on forever. Eventually, Jacob's other hand reached out to take hers and they sat there for countless minutes, staring into each other's eyes.

"You're still hurt," said Glennis at last.

"Yes," said Jacob. "It is called sun-shock. Madame Villepreux-Power explained that it is the Affliction's survival mechanism. The Affliction cells retreat from the sun."

"I don't understand what cells might be," said Glennis.

"I'm not sure I full understand it either," said Jacob. "But for now, you wanted to get to know me. Why don't we concentrate on that?"

"I'd like that," said Glennis with a smile.

"But I want to get to know you, too" insisted Jacob. "You first. Where are you from?"

Glennis reiterated the same tale she'd told many others, how her early memories were cloudy and she remembered a boat and a storm, and arriving at the base of Manhattan in a small boat.

Jacob relived his times in Canada. They exchanged childhood memories, Jacob's revolved around his family, those of Glennis were more vague but she did remember the various families who had taken her in. She had favorite street vendors who could always spare her a few chestnuts or pastries.

She also told of him of her favorite sleeping places, which had obviously been more important in the winters.

"You slept in a bank?" asked Jacob, in wonder.

"I did," she said. "Three winters running. The first winter, the guard let me in. Then, the bank president found out and he let me sleep in his office every night where there was a fireplace."

"Didn't anyone ever try to adopt you?" asked Jacob.

"No," she said simply. "Some people asked, but I told them I didn't want to be adopted and they left me alone."

"How old are you?" asked Jacob after a while.

"I've never quite worked that out," said Glennis. "It never seemed important."

"We should figure it out," said Jacob. "You said you walked when you came off the boat after the storm, so I can only guess you were at least three or four when you came here. Let's say four. You remember winters fairly strongly, let's count from there."

They began to count over the winters and the places she had found shelter regularly each year. Soon, they had reached twenty, then twenty five.

"Now then, the thirtieth winter I remember, I remember that, it was four years ago. That was the year I had to get new clothes because I got these."

She grabbed her breasts through her blouse to illustrate.

"It didn't make me happy," she went on. "I had my very favorite dress and it didn't fit around my chest or my hips any more. "

"Fascinating," mused Jacob.

"What?" she asked.

"You are probably somewhere near forty years old, but I wouldn't put you anywhere past eighteen if someone asked me to guess," said Jacob. "You didn't start developing until after thirty years, and you've survived all that time in one of the roughest cities in the world -- not a scratch on you."

Glennis shrugged with a bemused smile on her face. It meant nothing to her. It was as though she was living among humans, but not with them. She found them amusing and fascinating, but had never truly connected with them.

Their conversation continued and she kept telling stories of her favorite places in Manhattan, and Jacob's tale soon reached the point in his life of the raid on his village and his confinement with his sister in the mountain bunker. He felt an uncanny sense of trust with Glennis and before he knew it, he was telling her of their awakening and of how they were eventually forced to appease their lusts with each other.

"We knew it was wrong," explained Jacob, "but we didn't have much choice."

"Why was it wrong?" asked Glennis. "Brothers and sisters love each other. That's part of what families do."

"Oh Glennis, I wish I could give you a clear answer on that. Biologically, there are many reasons why incest should be avoided in any species. Our science instructors talk about recessives and dominants, and all of these other things. With the Afflicted, it is more complicated. There have been numerous examples of brothers and sisters and half-siblings becoming bloodmates over the years, but offspring are mostly forbidden. For first bloodmate, the council strongly discourages sibling pairings... and blah, blah, blah. Long story short, Abby and I did what we had to, just like Claude and Aimée. Now, we're trying to find a way past it. I just hope Galen can find a way to work it all out with matching gifts and cells and all of the complications we seem to have created."

"And who are Claude and Aimée?" asked Glennis, patiently.

Jacob explained the complicated relationship with Claude and Aimée, eventually, they had each other's stories caught up to the present day.

"Jacob, can I ask you something?" asked Glennis.

He was surprised to see her blushing.

"I want to know what it feels like, in your heart, when you lie with someone you care for. I know about the sex parts. I have seen the girls who sell themselves in the Bowery. I have watched them raise their skirts for men in alleys. I have sometimes seen husbands and wives through windows. Just a little while ago, I began to have stirrings. What is it like... to want someone in that way?"

"Oh," said Jacob.

He thought about it for a long while and searched for the right words.

"I suppose, it really is like a hunger," said Jacob. "When you are hungry, your body yearns for food and once you've eaten, that longing doesn't just go away. It is more than that. Your body is satisfied. It is better than it was before you ate. When you kiss someone, or you lay with them it is like that. This Affliction, it has terrible hungers. What I would say is, we will often kiss or take someone to our bed... and perhaps we will leave that encounter and it will be like we had a snack. A plain piece of bread or some soup. After those encounters, we're no longer hungry, but there also isn't more. When I lie with Aimée or Abby, it's like a feast. With them, I have that 'more', like I've just had a steak and mashed potatoes and dessert, too."

Glennis pondered his words, and then blushed again. She couldn't even look him in the eyes, which was odd, because she had been staring deeply at him the entire time they had spoken. Now, she was looking away.

"Jacob," she whispered. "I have had this stirring, of late. I have wished to kiss someone, but every time I see a boy it doesn't feel right. I have seen no boys who I want to try this kissing and more with. Then, I saw you hiding like a window. I decided I should try it with you. I know your heart is confused and given to other girls, but I am here now. I was wondering if you would teach me how to kiss. I was wondering, if you could help this hunger that has been growing. Will you?"

Jacob contemplated her request seriously.

He finally spoke in a soft tone. "I think that being the first man to kiss you would be an honor higher than few men have ever known."

Jacob took her hand and led her to comfortable couch. He had contemplated the bed, but wanted to be sure there was no intimation that there would be something beyond kissing. In truth, his suppressed system allowed him to keep his lust quite in check.

They turned to face each other and she looked trustingly into his eyes.

"How is it done?" she asked quietly.

"Like this," he whispered.

He placed his hand softly on her cheek and she did the same with her own hand. Very slowly, he pulled the trembling girl toward him and was surprised to find that he was trembling as well. Instinctively and with his gently guiding hand, she turned her head and their lips met. For a lifetime in a minute, they stayed like that, their lips touching. When they pulled back, both of them had tears in their eyes.

"I was lost in the snow once," Glennis finally said. "I was walking for hours and it had been a day since I had eaten. I was so hungry. I came upon a house where a great glow was pouring out the front window. Inside, a family and their friends were gathered for a Christmas dinner. I walked up to the door and found that it was open. I walked in and sat in an empty chair, they didn't even ask who I was -- they just set me a plate. The turkey, the ham, the sweet potatoes; they were perfect."

"I did not know I was hungry, Jacob," Glennis said as she brushed the tears from her eyes. "But this kiss, I know now that I was starving, like you say. Please, feed me some more."

Jacob obliged and the two of them sat on the couch and kissed intensely for the longest time. Eventually, their hands sought out each other -- but it wasn't in a sexual way. Jacob's hands brushed innocently past Glennis's breasts to reach for her waist and pull her closer to him. Her hands played with his face and his hair before eventually finding their way to his back.




The Afflicted Ch. 11



Jacob winced when Glennis stopped kissing him.

"What's wrong, Jacob?"

"It's the sun-shock," he said. "It is the oddest thing. There aren't any scars and the skin is just a bit red. Yet, it hurts like it would with a bruise."

"Let me see," she said.

He carefully removed his shirt and turned so she could see him.

"Oh my," she whispered.

She leaned in and tenderly placed her lips to a spot just below his shoulder blade. Jacob was surprised that it didn't hurt at all. Glennis pulled away and giggled.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Come here," she said, pulling him to a mirror on the wall.

Jacob turned to look over his shoulder and had to laugh himself on seeing the outline of Glennis's lips forming a white patch against the redder sun-shocked portion of the rest of his back.

"What did you do?" he asked.

She thought about what she had done.

"Well," she said, "I tried to picture these cell things that you talked about and I just imagined that they were afraid. When I kissed you, I tried to speak to them in my mind and tell them there was nothing to be afraid of anymore."

"It seems to have worked," said Jacob.

"Come here, Jacob," said Glennis.

She took him by the hand and led him to the one place he had wanted to avoid, the bed.

Silencing any protests he might have, she pushed him gently down so he lay on his stomach and she climbed up and straddled him.

"Glennis, I don't..."

"Shh!" she urged him. "Just let me take care of you."

Jacob grew worried about being in such an evocative position with Glennis, but after about the third kiss, he quickly forgot. Her kisses on his skin were not only soothing, but hypnotic as well. He felt an engulfing sense of peace wash through him with each touch of her lips on his back. For Glennis, it was also satisfying as she saw his skin grow normal once again in patchwork of curved impressions.

The peace evolved from comfort to drowsiness with each new patch that was healed, and Jacob soon couldn't speak or move from being so tired. He started to say something to her, and he wondered if he did or just imagined doing so. As she kept kissing his back, Jacob fell into a deep, profound sleep.

After perhaps an hour, Glennis looked down at his back, fully healed. She had a great sense of accomplishment.

"Jacob, would you like to kiss some more?"

There was no reply. She peered around to look at his face and saw that he was snoring gently.

"That's a good idea, Jacob," she said tenderly. "I am quite tired myself."

She laid her head down between his shoulder blades and soon joined him in sleep.

* * * *

Jacob was fiercely uncomfortable. He took stock of his situation. There was someone lying on top of him. He thought back on the night before and realized it was Glennis.

Was she why he was uncomfortable? He evaluated himself and realized, no, her weight atop him was amazingly reassuring. She was surprisingly light.

That wasn't the problem.

There was an ache. It was a fierce ache.

Were his arms asleep?

No.

Was the problem his back?

No.

His back felt... perfect. Glennis had miraculously healed him with her tender, healing kisses.

He scanned through his body. Head, good. Back, good. Arms, good.

Waist...

There it was.

He was lying atop a raging erection. It was not just hard, it was pulsing. The beast of lust had been reawakened with a vengeance and it was trapped awkwardly in in his trousers beneath both he and Glennis. He was so hard he could feel the mattress bouncing up and down in tiny ways as each heartbeat pushed blood into his aching member.

His cock was crying out for release. His Affliction had been revived and it was firmly reminding him it had been more than a day since a partner.

Did it yearn for Glennis, he wondered?

He evaluated the situation and his feelings. If his body had a voice, it certainly wouldn't complain about Glennis.

He turned his head and looked at small clock on the wall. 8:30 AM. If Brana was keeping to her normal schedule, she would be along any minute. He would be damned if he would let his one time with Glennis be a five minute tryst. He couldn't do that to her either. If was to be her first time, it should be done right.

"Glennis," he whispered. "Glennis!"

She began to stir, and like him, she took a little while to remember where she was.

"Good morning Jacob," she said, smiling. "Oh, what a wonderful night. I barely remember falling asleep."

"Me neither," he agreed.

She rolled off of him and then snuggled beneath his arm, squeezing in to push him up on his side so they were facing each other.

"Jacob?"

"Yes, Glennis?"

"I'm hungry again. In fact, I'm starving."

She moved her face closer to his and their kiss was, if possible, both softer and more intense than their first kiss from the night before.

Jacob felt her hand on his chest and it was as though an electrical current was passing between the two of them. It was not lust. It was something more. Yet, it could easily evolve into something more sensual very quickly, and they were both aware of it.

"Jacob," she whispered. "I want to..."

"We need to wait," said Jacob through gritted teeth. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but now isn't the time. If we are ever to do this, I have to tell you that now isn't it. You are... you are special, Glennis. If we are going to make love, I want to do it right and proper, and not be interrupted. Do you understand?"

"I think so," said Glennis.

She took this with the same peaceful acceptance that she did everything else in her life. They kissed a bit longer, and Jacob felt the longing continuing to grow. He was more than a bit disappointed when the knock came on the door.

He and Glennis kissed a few more times on the way to the bench in front of the door. Out of curiosity, Jacob willed himself to become invisible, and was gratified to see his gift had returned. Brana looked through the view hole and couldn't help but smile as Jacob faded into view on the bench.

Glennis gave Jacob one final kiss farewell and departed.

Just as Brana was about to leave, Jacob called out to her.

"Wait, please," he cried.

She gave a nod to the guards, confirmed he was still on the bench, then stepped back through and let the grate slide closed again.

"Brana, listen," said Jacob. "Glennis and I, we didn't... consummate. It was a lovely night, but if Galen was worried about resonance... we didn't resonate. I mean, we... I just mean if doing things count, we didn't do that many things and I wouldn't want to lose my chance at..."

"At doing more things?" said Brana, with a grin.

"Exactly," said Jacob.

"Well, I'll note that," said Brana. "But you should know, a lot will be decided tonight. Scaurus and the others seem free of the serum, even Colette and will be released this afternoon. The council arrives within the hour, and you will be brought before them this very evening."

"Oh," said Jacob. "Good. By the way, Glennis cured me. She somehow healed all of my sun-shock. I'm feeling better than ever."

Just then, Brana noticed something. It was a very noticeable something. A frighteningly stiff and curious one-eyed monster was desperately trying to peek out above the waistband of Jacob's trousers.

"That's good news," she said, barely able to suppress a blush. "And when you say, better than ever, does that mean... everything?"

She gave a subtle nod to the object in question.

"Oh god," muttered Jacob.

He pushed the offending monster back down... or, more down-ish and to the side as well as he could.

Brana did some quick mental math. This was going to be a terribly complicated day and there was a good chance that she might not get someone to Jacob at all. If Jacob truly was recovered, according to Galen's advice, it could be dangerous to make him wait all day... and then there was the trial that night.

She turned to the guard and spoke through the grid.

"Go on and close the door," she said. "I'll be a little while yet."

As the door closed, Jacob was surprised to see her unlacing her blouse.

"Brana?" he said.

"Jacob, dear, as head of the Academy residence program, it is my sacred duty to see that all cadets are properly taken care of."

He wasn't sure what to say, but his body knew the answer it wished to give.

Her blouse was gone and she was soon stepping out of her skirt and undergarments.

"Jacob?" she chimed. "Jacob, love, where are you?"

Jacob realized in the lusty rush, his gift had kicked in on its own. He kicked off his own clothes as he took in Brana's exquisite beauty.

"Jacob," she said, laughing. "I need to point out that I have a very busy day. I'm certainly honored to help out. You'll not hear this sort of thing from a woman very often but I would have no objection to this being fast. Oh!"

She suddenly felt herself lifted off the ground and her mouth meeting hungry invisible lips crushed to hers.

"Oh!" she cried again as she was heaved higher and two hands reached down to support her thighs.

"That's it, Jacob," she moaned.

She reached down a hand to guide him quickly into her. The whole thing had come as a surprise, so she did not have much natural lubrication prepared. She sighed at the contrasting feeling of his long cock pushing its way slowly into her; her pussy reluctantly giving way to him. Yet, with the final plunge she was growing more than wet and she thrilled at his strength as he began lifting her up and down his shaft vigorously.

She continued kissing the invisible young man lustily as she bounced up and down upon him for perhaps a minute. Soon, however, she felt a shift in his body and he started to slow down.

"Don't stop," she urged him. "Remember, quick is acceptable in this instance.

He renewed his pace and moaned loudly just before stopping several thrusts later.

Brana buried her head in his invisible neck as a shocking burst of heat filled her inside.

"That's it, Jacob," she growled into his ear. "Don't stop. Welcome back, young stallion."

* * * *

Frederique was insatiable.

Galen had thought they had made love for their final time in advance of Palo and Colette's return, but Frederique had cornered him in the library when he was reading and ancient play by his old friend Terrence. He had been sitting in a leather chair, fully engrossed in the drama, and the next thing he knew she had him buried entirely in her throat. They were soon floating haphazardly through the mansion as he took her from every possible angle.

As he drew close, she wrapped herself around him and kissed him deeply.

"Once more, Galen. Do it once more before we part. You know what I mean."

Galen acquiesced and reached out with his senses. It was a trick he had learned long ago that even he couldn't quite explain. When buried deeply in a woman, he could establish a more intense connection through the nerves in his penis and her labia. It was almost like he was massaging the Affliction and it responded by sending a burst of satisfied pleasure to the area in question.

Today was extra intense. They both cried out in ecstasy and Galen found his mind drawn deeply into Frederique's body.

This happened now and again. In the height of ecstasy, it was almost as if he was floating among the cells in Frederique's body. He could see her cells and the marks they bore from her parents, whom he had known and loved dearly. He could also see the Afflicted cells marked by her bloodmate Palo. He found it pleasing to see how healthy their bond was. He could also see her flight cells and marveled at how naturally they merged with her human cells. For her, flight was as natural as it was to a falcon. And finally, there was a trace of...

Galen's eyes suddenly popped open. His orgasm subsided quickly and he waited patiently as Frederique's climax rolled furiously through her body. As the paralyzing pleasure left her, she opened her eyes and saw the expression on his face.

"Galen, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," he lied. "I just... I must... the report for the Council. I have to put the finishing touches on it and I just realized how the time is growing short."

"Yes, of course," she said.

Though she was concerned, she chose not to pursue it further. She lowered them to the ground and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. He clumsily returned her affection then wandered off to his temporary lab, muttering to himself.

* * * *

The guards outside of Aimée's quarters couldn't help but smile at the beautiful blond girl who had approached them.

"I wish to visit with the girl Aimée," said the girl.

Though it was counter to their orders, they saw no reason not to allow the girl inside.

Aimée looked up at the sound of the door opening. It seemed early. Brana had told her they would be coming to get her as evening drew on, yet it was barely noon. She watched the door open and eyed the lovely, otherworldly girl let in by the guards.

"Hello, my name is Glennis," the girl said.

Glennis flashed Aimée a smile that melted her heart. Glennis leaned in and kissed the surprised Aimée tenderly on the lips. It was not a flirtation, it was a greeting. Aimée could only liken the contact to the times she had pressed her naked body against Abby's when the empath had established deepest contact with her.

However, this kiss from Glennis was not the touch of an empath. It was different, but no less intense. Aimée gasped in shock when the fair girl broke contact with her lips, yet Glennis did not let go.

Glennis lifted her hands to Aimée's face and held it gently, touching her forehead to Aimée's.

"I need to know you," said Glennis. "I don't know why, but it's important. Tell me about yourself. Tell me everything."

Aimée knew she had to comply.

"My first memory was in Morocco," started Aimée. "My mother, Frederique, was swimming with me in our underground pool..."

* * * *

It had been a very long week for Bullet. All week, confined to a dampening table. It had been discussed that she could be kept in a suite similar to Aimée's, but even one jump from the fearsome Bullet was one too many. So, she had been put on the table. It wasn't as intense or nausea inducing as a collar, but it was just as effective.

Bullet understood. She had been entirely enamored of Arnet after the dart had struck her. As the serum had grown weaker, she had accepted her fate -- if not happily, at least without complaint.

Brolly had been her 'caretaker' during the week... and he had been quite the caretaker. She'd been a little surprised at his familiarity with loving someone in bonds. He was quite adept with crops, clamps, and clothespins, among other implements. The pain had actually aided in distracting her mind from Arnet. All the week, Bullet also contemplated fun ways of exacting revenge on her fellow Jumper.

It certainly did her heart good to see it was Brolly who was sent to retrieve her.

"Well then, love," he said with a jaunty smile. "Madame Villepreux-Power certifies you to be one hundred percent Arnet-free, and it's a good thing, because we're to transport the Council and we need our best."

He leered at her with an appreciative eye. For the entire week, she had been bound, nude and spread eagled on a large rack-like bed.

"Shame really," he mused. "If they'd have let me come an hour earlier, I would have had you once more."

"We'll have other times," she said, flashing him a rare smile.

"Yes, I suppose we will," he agreed.

He leaned down with a curious, wild look in his eyes and kissed her deeply. His hand reached for a nipple and pinched painfully, forcing a hiss of pleasure out of her. She was soon free and she leapt into his arms, kissing him ferociously and reveling the feeling of being free again. As she kissed him, she smiled at the pinch she felt on her 'arse' as Brolly would have said. A dizzying wave of ecstasy washed through her as she kissed him one final time before they had to work.

* * * *

Claude heard the door opening and took it deep breath. He was sure it was time to face the Council, but instead a willowy girl walked in and rushed to him.

"You are Claude?" she asked.

"I am," he said, "but..."

She grabbed him and kissed him fervently. He found he could barely breathe from the intensity. Within moments, she had his shirt off and she had removed her own. Her breasts were high globes on her chest and his breath was taken away once again by the vision of her.

"Lie down," she ordered him.

He went to his bed and did as she asked. Soon, she was atop him and they both could barely catch their breath at the intensity of the way their two systems called out to each other.

"Aimée told me this was how Abby moved things faster," explained the girl. "My name is Glennis and I need to know you."

"Why?" asked Claude. He was beyond confused.

"I don't know," she said. "But I need to know things and quickly. Tell me about yourself, all of it."

Claude began a narration of his life, his naked torso pressed against Glennis, their fingers locked together.

* * * *

Colette was holding hands firmly with Palo as the doors opened.

He tried to pull away, but she held fast.

"No," she whispered. "That's not how it is done."

So, the two of them emerged together, Palo looked sheepish but Colette wore a satisfied smile. Scaurus and Seetha had done much the same moments earlier. They had exchanged a courteous greeting with Seetha's husband Ajmal. Then Scaurus had returned to his duties and Seetha had rushed home with her husband for a proper reunion.

Frederique stood waiting, radiant and lovely. Colette led Palo to her and took his hand to place it into Frederique's. It was a formal gesture among the Afflicted, often used when spouses were separated by duty or confinement.

"Thank you, my proxy," said Frederique, hugging her tenderly.

"And thank you, my proxy," replied Colette.

"Oh, it was a pleasure, trust me," said Frederique.

"Speaking of, where is my wonderful docteur?"

"Working on a report for the council," said Frederique, apologetically. "He became rather focused this morning."

"No surprise," said Colette. "I'd be surprised if he even remembers me."

"Oh, he remembers," said Frederique.

She hugged Colette once more and whispered quietly in her ear.

"If you must know, he confessed to me he is going to apply to take you to mate very soon."

Colette pulled back in surprise and looked Frederique in the eyes to be sure.

"Truly?"

Frederique nodded.

She hugged Frederique even more fiercely as Palo watched on.

"My word," said Frederique. "I thought I was well-endowed."

She reached up and gave Colette's breasts a playful squeeze.

"I mean, I knew they were big -- but feeling them -- those are amazing. Palo, you must have had so much fun with these."

"Oh he did," admitted Colette.

Palo was still speechless from embarrassment.

Frederique gave a teasing nudge to Palo's ribs.

"Well," she said, "when we've put all of this insanity rest, I expect to get to watch first-hand what sort of fun he has. Farewell, dear woman."

* * * *

Abby heard the door and gasped at the presence that had just entered the room.

Abby had a mental trick she used to envision the mind of every person she connected with. When she'd been a child, one of her favorite toys had been a snow globe her father had made. Inside was a small log cabin and pine trees. The swirling snowy scene was one of the last images she could remember seeing with her own eyes. When she met someone, she used the same image to help symbolize that person. One example was Galen, who she visualized as having a snow globe that was half snowstorm, with an endless flurry of activity denoting Galen's infinite curiosity. The other half was placid and still, indicative of the physician's meticulous contemplative scientific side.




The Afflicted Ch. 11



This girl who had just walked in, she was unlike any other mind Abby had ever encountered. The image that came to Abby was one of a small golden cottage suspended in the exact center of the globe. Around the edges of the globe swirled silver flecks at a rapid rate. In between the edge of the globe and the center floated a leaf that represented a memory. The most curious thing to Abby was that the golden cottage was shut up tightly. The doors were barred, the shutters sealed. Such beauty with such secrets was a confusing image for the empath.

"Hello," said the girl to Yusef. "I wish to speak with Abby, alone."

To Abby's surprise, Yusef agreed.

"Of course, Miss," he said in his deep voice. "I will wait right outside."

Once he left, the girl crossed to Abby.

"Hello," said the girl's voice. "My name is Glennis...

"No, it's not," said Abby in a kindly tone. "That is not your true name."

"I know," said Glennis sadly. "But I don't know what my real name might be. Do you know it?"

"I can't find it," said Abby. "It is lost somewhere in your mind."

"Can you help me find it?"

"I can try," said Abby.

It was odd, how the two young women had connected. Glennis was not an empath, Abby could tell that, but she was quite perceptive. They established a deep connection immediately and were able to speak in shorthand.

"What is worrying you?" asked Abby. "Something else, besides your name seems terribly pressing."

"I don't know that either," said Glennis. "There is something of great urgency about to happen. I don't know what it is, or to whom it will happen -- but I'm trying to discover it. Aimée, told me how you...how you shared thoughts and memories with her. How you could do it rapidly."

"Of course," said Abby, understanding what Glennis was asking.

Without another word, the two of them began removing their clothing. Glennis took Abby by the hand and led her to the bed. Instinctively, Glennis laid down first and welcomed the feel of Abby's skin pressing against hers. With so many nerves touching each other, the connection was stunning. Abby nearly wept at the communion she felt with this girl. Whether Glennis was an empath or not; Abby had never connected with another person so naturally.

Glennis was not Afflicted. Of that, Abby was certain. Yet, Glennis's system was surprisingly similar. There was the same vibrancy about her body, the same added awareness and heightened energy of an Afflicted. The only thing missing was the hunger. This girl had no desire for blood, nor was she driven to have a companion. It wasn't that Glennis didn't wish for intimacy. That need simply wasn't a burning necessity among her basic drives.

As Abby was examining the basic essence of Glennis, she could tell that the girl was doing the same with her. The time came for deeper inquiry, for Abby to try to use her gift to delve for the answers Glennis was hoping to find.

"What do you want to know?" asked Abby.

"Everything," whispered Glennis.

Breast to breast, hand to hand, pelvis to pelvis -- Abby touched her lips to Glennis's and both of them felt the world fall away as they became lost in and intense rapture.

Once connected, Abby saw more clearly the dual nature of Glennis. Her spirit was beautiful and overwhelming. Her ability to love seemed vast, as was her potential in regard to where she might be able to extend her senses and her mind. Yet, for all of this beauty, Glennis's heart was hiding an alarming secret.

"What aren't you telling me?" inquired Abby silently. "What aren't you telling yourself?"

"I don't know," thought Glennis, "please help me reveal it. Don't be gentle. This is important."

Abby raced back through the memories she could see in the fair girl's mind. Every place she turned seemed shrouded. It was as though any painful memory was quickly obscured. Winding her way backward through what Glennis could remember, she finally arrived at the storm.

As Glennis had once described to Galen, there were hazy images of other people like herself. There was a boat and ornate couches on the deck. Abby could make out a sail that seemed to billow without the presence of a breeze, taking the inhabitants from an ancient land to a new one. Then came the storm, but it was confusing. The rain fell and with each drop, the vision became more blurry.

"It is the storm," thought Abby. "The storm is the key to it all. What happened in the storm?"

"Nothing," said Glennis, suddenly defensive. "It was just a bad storm. They must have drowned."

"No," replied Abby, "there is more. Fight through this. Let me see what's hiding beneath."

The two of them struggled together for what felt like hours, though it was only a few minutes by the clock. At last, Glennis pulled back from their embrace. Her face was drenched with sweat and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I can't," she sobbed. "I don't know why, but I can't let you go there. I'm so sorry."

Abby was also crying, it would have been impossible for her not to be since she was connected on such a deep emotional level with Glennis.

"Glennis, don't be sorry," she said. "This is hard, but you're right, we need to find this out." They tried once again, but again met a solid wall which enclosed this most important of memories.

Both of them were gasping from the effort. Abby contemplated the situation and decided on a highly unorthodox plan.

"Very well Glennis," she said. "Forget about the memory. We are going to establish a deeper contact in another way. Let us focus on nothing about memories; nothing about your past or your name. This is just about fun.

"How?"

"I need you to trust me," said Abby. "Just trust me and come with me on this journey."

"Very well," agreed Glennis. "What are we to...oh, my."

Abby had lowered her head, and for the first time in her life, Glennis felt the touch of lips and tongue on her nipples. It was lovely and stimulating, but...

Glennis stopped Abby, lifting her head.

"Abby," she said. "I find this nice, but I am not made that way. I like Jacob. I also found that Claude was tempting. You are not tempting. I have seen girls who do this, but I am not tempted in this direction."

"Nor am I," said Abby. "But that doesn't mean it can't be nice. Like I said, Glennis, trust me."

Glennis quickly found that, tempted or not, she was arching her back to meet Abby's attentions. Her hands were soon seeking out the buxom redhead and their kisses were no longer chaste and sisterly, but deep and ravenous.

Abby's leg found its way between Glennis's long, smooth thighs. Glennis gasped out and unconsciously pushed against Abby's smooth flesh. Their hands touched each other feverishly. Abby's tongue worked expertly on Glennis's breasts and Glennis's fingers instinctively found the perfect pattern on Abby's clitoris

Their pace grew more rapid and intense. Glennis was the first to cry out in ecstasy as the first orgasm of her life ripped through her lithe body. Abby quickly followed, but the remarkably gifted empath had an unexpected trick up her sleeve. Somehow, even in the throes of orgasmic bliss, she was able to reach out with her mind. This reach was no gentle touch, however, it was a powerful grab and once she found the place to latch on, she did not let go. She stayed deep inside, waiting for Glennis to ride the wave of her first time. However, as soon as the last spasm left her bucking hips, Abby struck with a vengeance.

If Glennis's memories were locked in that tiny golden house that Abby envisioned, then in one move, Abby threw open the shutters and unbolted the doors. Both girls cried out in pain as the suppressed memories shot through them. There were faces and homes. There were memories, a different language and... happiness. Glennis's real name in her native tongue was musical and lovely, though scarcely pronounceable. Glennis had lived in a hidden valley in the Fair Country, wherever that might have been. The valley had been discovered and her people had departed for the new world. The voyage had gone well, and then... and then...

Glennis sat up in shock and let out a wail that seemed to rattle every stone within miles.

"It wasn't a storm," she cried. "It was tears. I was crying! They left me! My parents. My people. They set me loose. They told me it was necessary! They obscured my memories and set me loose among these people. I was just a little girl! How could they?!"

"I don't know," said Abby, weeping almost as much. "I don't understand, I truly don't." Abby held the weeping girl in her arms for well over an hour. The one thing Abby feared was that they would come to fetch her to the council before Glennis was done coming to terms with her grief.

They had time, though. Abby sensed a sudden shift in Glennis's mood as she switched from anguish to anger. She stood and began gathering her clothes.

"We should get dressed," said Glennis.

Glennis's mind was now shut off from Abby. Abby did not know why, but she followed the girl's suggestion and began donning her clothing.

When they were clothed, Glennis started taking deep breaths and began to gather her will.

"You might want to cover your ears," she advised Abby.

Abby did, but that didn't mean she couldn't hear the frightening shout that emerged from Glennis.

The word Glennis called out did not have a counterpart in a human tongue. It meant 'mother' and 'father' at the same time and could be used for both with different inflections. The way Glennis used it, it meant both. Abby knew this, because she had seen it in her memories when Glennis had shouted that same word when she was set loose on her small boat when they abandoned her as a small girl.

"Now what?" asked Abby.

"We wait," said Glennis. She sat herself down and crossed her arms, staring angrily into the air.

For several minutes nothing happened. Then, the air began to sizzle and a curious pop electrified the room. The deplaceur warnings immediately went off.

Curiously, Glennis opened herself up to Abby again and let her borrow her eyes. It seemed that she felt Abby should be part of this.

Three beings were standing in the room. Two were women, just as beautiful and stately as Glennis. The third was a man who was so fair and well-featured he might have also been called beautiful, were it not for his masculine elements contrasting with the women beside him.

Through Glennis, Abby had a general understanding of who these people might be. The male, she knew to be Glennis's father. With the women, the relationship was perplexing. Both women seemed to have a claim to Glennis in some sort of mother role. Abby wished she could decipher the relationship further, but Glennis's mind was also unclear in that area and the others' minds were thoroughly blocked.

"Hello daughter," said the man.

"Silence that noise," said one of the women.

The other woman twisted a bright mechanism on her wrist and the noise of the deplaceur alarm stopped.

The other woman seemed to instantly understand Abby's nature.

"Surprising, I must say," said the fair woman. "We're surprised to find you with them. We'd started to believe you would always live with mortals."

"Why?" asked Glennis, angrily. "Why would you leave a little girl to live anywhere other than with her own people?"

Glennis's parents showed no emotion at her question.

"Because it was foretold," said the father. "It was written in the stars that you should walk apart from us while you grew. "

"I would have erased the stars," said Glennis between gritted teeth. "Before I would have left a child to fend for herself, I would have wiped the sky clean if the stars said such a thing."

"Go gently with your emotions, dear," said the slightly taller woman. "We understand that you might be a bit upset, but don't let your time among the savages sway your manners."

"That's all I know," said Glennis through gritted teeth. "I have raised myself among the savages as you call them. I hope you'll forgive me."

The door began to open and the man grasped a talisman around his neck and aimed his other hand at the door. The door quickly pushed shut again and it was clear it would not move again until he allowed it. Pounding could be heard from the other side of the door and Yusef's voice kept calling for Abby.

"We can discuss this all in good time," said the man. "Now, it is time for you to return with us."

"Why?"

"So you can be with your people again, of course," said the shorter woman. "Now come along."

"But I have friends here," objected Glennis.

"Please, don't be tedious," said the taller woman. "We will go. Now."

The air sizzled once more and they were gone; the three fair people, as well as Glennis.

Abby would have mourned Glennis's departure more, but she didn't have time. As soon as they departed, the door burst open. Yusef and the guards came rushing in to find only Abby in the room.

"What's happened?" asked Yusef.

"More than you can imagine," said Abby. "I don't know if fully understand it."

A few minutes later the Council guard arrived to question her. Though the episode was perplexing, those in charge decided it was best to investigate the event at a later time.

A dampener was placed around Abby's neck.

It was time for the hearing.

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