Chapter 14: Home Again

When Henry and May walked through the door to the room, Misty called out "He's back!"

Seven girls crowded around him. "Thank God you're back!" several of them said. "We were so worried."

"We're back earlier than I said," said Henry. And indeed he was. It was just a few minutes after noon, when lunch period started.

"Yeah," said Serena. "But Bonnie is in a bad way. She needs your help asap."

May looked through the crowd and saw that the petite blonde was laying on the ground, panting like a dog in the summer sun. Her body was glowing a bright orangish-red. At first glance it looked like she was on fire.

Henry frowned. "She shouldn't have built up like this so quickly." He looked down at the freshman. "Did anything unusual happen at school today?"

Bonnie tried to focus through the burning pain. "I don't think so ... Oh yeah, two girls had a fight between classes. It was a real hair-pulling catfight."

The sorcerer placed a hand on top of her pubic sigil. "And you were there when it happened."

She nodded. "It took place next to my locker ... Oh, yes! Thank you, Master."

The glow on her body started to fade.

"Do you know what the argument was over?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, "Probably over a boy. They usually are."

"Your body reacted to some strong emotion and produced a lot of magical energy. It could have been anger, jealousy, envy, or some other feeling that was in the mix. We need you to stay away from that emotion as much as possible."

The little human battery nodded, "Definitely."

"We'll figure it out," reassured Henry, as her body returned to its usual color. "I'll even try to give you some kind of protection, if possible."

"Thank you, Master," sighed Bonnie.

With the crisis averted, the rest of the harem relaxed, and greeted May and Henry properly.

"Where's Angie?" exclaimed Monica. "Didn't she come back with you?"

May cleared her throat and shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Angie ... stayed behind."

"Stayed behind? Why?" several asked at once.

"She's getting some special training that she in turn will teach us."

"When is she coming back?" asked Bonnie, as she regained her feet.

"She'll be back in two or three years," said the brunette.

"Years?!" shrieked all the girls at once.

Henry spoke up. "The skills that Angie is learning are not something you can learn overnight. Be patient, I will bring her back in good time."

Iris put a hand on May's shoulder. "Our sisterhood felt so ... empty with you and Angie gone. It will be better with you back, but still not the same without Angie."

"I agree," said May. "Our Master described our sisterhood as a web, with each one of us being a strand. We'll just have to cope with the hole in our web."

"You must realize that inevitably, one of your sisters will die. It may be fifty years from now. You will need to learn to cope when a strand is snipped."

"But she isn't dead, is she?" said the former class president, a tear trickling down her cheek. "She's just ... lost."

Henry shook his head. "She's not lost. I know exactly where she is. In due time, I will bring her back."

All the harem nodded mournfully.

"Have any of you eaten lunch yet?" he asked.

They all shook their head.

"Well, go get some, before the cafeteria closes."

The girls all hastily dressed and exited the room. Only Dawn and Joy were left behind.

Dawn spoke softly. "I think I'll stay here. Stanley and I have some work to do before our big reveal."

Henry looked at his slave. She was looking haggard. Her black hair was hanging limply and her cheeks looked sunken. "When was the last time you've eaten? Have you had a bite since I've been gone?"

The freshman was stunned. She finally shook her head. "I don't remember."

"Dawn, you've been doing great work with the room. But you need to take care of yourself."

She nodded, "You're right. But Stanley is so needy right now, and working with him is so compelling..."

"I know, but I want you to go get some food in you; right now."

The black-haired girl nodded and headed for the door.

Henry cleared his throat. "You might want to get dressed first."

Dawn started, "Oh, clothes; right." She went to her storage nook and her clothes.

The sorcerer turned to the last girl, "Can I help you, Joy?"

She paused for a second, "I have some questions for you."

"No, you have some answers that you want me to confirm."

His response threw her off. "It's just that I went to the ATM yesterday, and found that my account was at zero."

Henry waited for the blue-eyed dark blonde to finish.

"And my dad had just put in my weekly allowance, so there should have been a lot of money in it ... And I was wondering if you had taken it."

He looked her dead in the eyes. "You know the answer."

The junior blushed and bowed her head. "But that was my money," she whispered.

"Wrong! You belong to me, and everything you own belongs to me as well. Understand?"

Joy bowed her head. "Yes, Master."

"Use the debit card I gave you."

"I don't know the PIN number."

"It's the last four of your social security number, reversed."

She nodded and turned away glumly. "Why?" she whispered.

"You know the answer," he replied. "You need to be taught who your true Master is."

The rich girl tearfully ran to her nook, put on her clothes, and left the room.

May walked with her sisters toward the cafeteria.

Bonnie was oohing and ahhing over her shiny hair and soft skin. "I wish I could get some of that oil poured on me," she said.

The brunette thought for a moment. "Henry said it was very expensive. But you can ask him, he might get you some."

"Yeah," said Jenny, "for a price."

The blonde freshman pondered. "I think I might enjoy paying the price."

Monica, the Hispanic sophomore, exclaimed, "God, Bonnie! You've become such a slut."

The shortest sister wiggled her hips provocatively. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

As everyone was laughing, Moon Potter, the art teacher, caught May's eye from a side hall. She motioned for the sophomore to come over. "Your brother is in the main office," she whispered.

May gasped, "Max? Here? Short, brown hair, and glasses?"

"That's him."

"But he's in middle school!"

"Well, you didn't come home at all last night, and he got worried."

"That's so sweet," she cried.

"He's talking about notifying the police."

"I'll go talk to him," said May.

When she got in the office, her brother was sitting on a bench facing the receptionist's desk. "Max?" she exclaimed.

His face lit up when he saw her. "May! You're here!" He ran into her arms and hugged her.

As May hugged him she felt, for the first time, the hardness of an erection against her thigh.

"Where have you been?" he cried. "I've been so worried about you. I'm the only one worried."

"I'll explain. First, let's get you out of here."

As they walked down the hall, Max asked, "So, where've you been?"

"I've been ... out of town. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just figured you had stopped caring about me, like mom and dad have."

The twelve year old nodded ruefully. "Tell me about it. I tried to get them interested in where you were, when you didn't come home at all last night. It took a minute for them to even remember who you were. Then they said, 'She's a big girl. She can take care of herself.'"

"That sounds about right."

May soon realized that she was unconsciously taking him to E-Hall, where the secret room was. She led him into room E-13, which was across the hall from Henry. It was another empty room that for some reason was unlocked.

She grabbed Max's shoulders. "You wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully with some answers for you."

The sophomore ran across the hall and, without even undressing, told Henry what was going on.

The sorcerer stroked his chin. "Two siblings with magical proclivities and non-magical parents are unheard of. I need to talk to him."

"What do I tell him before I bring him in?" asked May.

"Everything that you feel is relevant. He knows something strange is going on. Maybe satisfying his curiosity will help."

She nodded and returned to room E-13.

"Okay, Max, I've been given permission to tell you what's been going on these past few weeks. It may take a while, so please hold off your questions until the end."

She started telling him how she got enslaved and ended on her little excursion into a parallel Earth. Along the way she told about the sisterhood, but left off the sexual bonding part. Along the way she tried to minimize all the sexual aspects of her enslavement.

When she had finished, Max pondered her story for a minute. "So, you have to obey everything this Henry guy says? What if he told you to kill someone?"

May bowed her head. "He hasn't told me to break any laws yet. But if he told me to rob a bank or kill someone, I would do it. I'd have no choice. That would include killing you or myself."

"But can't you say 'no'?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. He owns my soul. That means if he tells me to do something, I do it."

"Can you show me this secret room?"

"Yes, my Master wants to meet you."

Max stood still for a moment. "Hearing you call someone your master is so weird."

"It is weird for me too. But he is my Master. I must do as he bids."

May led her brother out into the hallway. "The room is across the hall."