Chapter 5

FRIDAY

Josh was the first to wake up. He could tell right away that he was naked, and lying on his front. The floor was cold and metallic, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the whole room seemed to be like this. He stood up, a thing which he found incredibly strenuous for some reason, and looked around. The tiny room was nothing but pure metal on all sides, except for one wall which appeared to be nothing more than transparent energy, flowing gently.

Josh saw Abbie on the floor, and shook her awake too.

“Abbie! Abbie!”

“Whuh ... what?” She asked. She opened her eyes, and looked around, before jolting awake properly. “Where the fuck are we!?”

“I don’t know,” Josh replied, helping his sister up.

“What are you, stupid?” Josh and Abbie turned to face the man in the cell across from theirs. “You’re in prison, obviously.”

“Prison!?” Abbie shouted in panic.

“Hang on, you’re the guy who was interrogating me!” Josh said. “What have you done to us!?”

“Nothing, you idiots. It’s you that’s done things.”

“We’ve not done anything!” Abbie protested.

“We all have. I let Normals get access to magic, among other things, and you used that magic to commit countless crimes, mostly rape.”

“We didn’t rape anyone!”

“In the eyes of the law, you did. Using magic on people without their permission is already a crime, without forcing them to have sex with you too.”

“But we weren’t hurting anyone!”

“This isn’t some adolescent fantasy, this is real life. And in real life, you can’t just go around using magic to do whatever you want. Not without being careful like I usually am. Were you two seriously so blinded by the prospect of losing your virginities you didn’t stop to wonder where the wand came from, and whether or not using it was a good idea?”

“I ... I suppose not,” Josh admitted.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Asked a worried Abbie.

“When they’re ready, they’ll bring us before the courts,” the man replied. “You’re just a bunch of innocent Normals who didn’t know what they were doing, I imagine they’ll just give you a slap on the wrist. Me? At minimum I’m looking at a death sentence.”

“Minimum?”

“One thing I’ll give your society credit for is that convicted criminals are still considered people. The magical justice system does no such thing, and there are basically no rules as to what punishments the courts can dish out. And when said courts have access to a near infinite supply of magical power, you can understand why I’m hoping they just kill me.”

“Well you’re a magician, can’t you just get us out of here?” Josh asked.

“First of all, I’m a wizard. Secondly, we’re in a magical prison. Haven’t you noticed the handcuffs you’re wearing?” Josh and Abbie both looked down at them. They weren’t joined together at all, but had lights on them. “The left one restrains magic, the right one drains physical strength, which is why you feel so weak. It makes escape impossible. That’s also why we’re all naked. No chances.”

“So what do we do?”

“We wait for our fates.”

And so they waited. Nothing much was said, Josh and Abbie just sat down on the floor and hugged, wondering when their time would come. Josh was sort of glad of the magic restrainer, as it meant that he wasn’t overcome with lust just by being in Abbie’s presence. She started crying at one point, and Josh just held her closer to him.

Eventually two guards came for them, lowering the barrier. Josh briefly considered trying to fight them, but the restraint sapping his energy meant that any sort of movement required an incredible amount of effort. The two guards pulled the teens to their feet, and escorted them down the corridor. Josh and Abbie took the opportunity to look into the other cells as they passed, and inside they saw all manner of different people, male and female, human and non-human. All of them looked miserable, which was probably to be expected in a prison.

Josh and Abbie were led into a dark room, where 3 men and 3 women were sat on either side of a man with a long beard. Josh figured he must be the wizard judge, because of course a wizard judge would have a big beard. The siblings noted that there didn’t seem to be any sort of jury here.

“Leave us, I don’t foresee any trouble from the Normals,” said the bearded man, with a big, booming voice. The guards left, the man turned to face one of the women. “Councillor Haruoz, you may proceed.”

“Joshua Stoney, aged 17, you stand accused of numerous counts of rape, theft and mind control, as well as one count of possession of an illegal magical item,” said the main who looked old, though not as old as the bearded man. “Abigail Stoney, aged 15, you also stand accused of numerous counts of rape and mind control, as well as one count of possession of an illegal magical item.”

“We’re innocent!” Abbie shouted.

“SILENCE!” boomed the bearded man, and Josh could swear he felt the room shake. “Know this, Normals, our courts are not like yours. Your guilt is already confirmed. You are here to answer for your crimes, so that we may decide how best to punish you.”

“We’re sorry, sir,” both teens said together.

“I advise you not to lie to us again,” the bearded man said, not the slightest hint of friendliness in his voice. “Councillor Mayomo.” The woman, who looked to be in her 50s, but who really knew with wizards and witches, pulled out something.

“Do you two recognise this?” She asked. They did. It was the wand. “WELL!?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“This is a Class 4, rechargeable magic wand,” said Councillor Mayomo. “Specifically it’s one with the Sorsone charger removed, something which particularly lazy wizards and witches do. It means that, rather than draining power from the user after every use to recharge the batteries, it runs entirely off the internal supply, effectively meaning that for a week or two, depending on how much it’s used, it can be used with almost no effort on the part of the user. The downside to this of course is that it means absolutely anyone can use it, including Normals. Including you.”

“Joshua,” said another of the women, this time a younger one. She’d have probably been quite attractive if not for the situation. “Did you know what this thing was when you found it?”

“No ma’am,” Josh replied. “I mean, I didn’t at first. But I kind of worked out because it looked like one. Like, ones on TV.”

“And when you had worked out the wand’s power, after you knew what it was capable of, what did you do?”

“Well I, uh...” Josh stuttered, embarrassed, but the woman gave him a look to suggest if he didn’t talk he’d be in a lot more trouble. “I gave myself orgasms.”

“Councillor Lowlorf, play the evidence,” said the woman.

“Of course, Councillor Kar-Il,” said one of the other men. He waved his hand, and the blank spaces behind Josh and Abbie and behind the councillors both changed to show the footage of Josh experiencing spontaneous orgasms in his bedroom on Monday evening.

“As my fellow councillors can see, the accused used the power of the wand to bestow sexual pleasure upon himself, as well as to alter his physical form,” said Councillor Kar-Il. “This is of course not a crime, but as we can see by this later footage, the accused did not stop there.” The footage turned to a montage of shots of Josh having sex with various girls. “The accused went on to use the power of the wand to force countless Normals to perform sexual acts on and with him, all without their consent. Joshua, please tell the council why you did these things.”

“Well, it’s ... it felt good.”

“I see. So, in your eyes, does the pleasure in carrying out a crime justify it?”

“Um...”

“Did the sexual pleasure these girls gave you justify taking way their free will?”

Josh didn’t know what to say.

“Let’s move on,” said Councillor Kar-Il. Councillor Lowlorf waved his hand once more, and the screen changed again. “Do you recognise this girl?”

“That’s Ruth.”

“Ruth Ewing, aged 16,” Councillor Kar-Il explained. “The only girl to have sexually pleasured you consensually. Of course, she didn’t know it was you, did she?”

“No ma’am.”

“Who did she think you were?”

“God, ma’am.”

“God. After turning himself invisible, the accused approached Miss Ruth Ewing, and claimed to be the deity of her religion. The accused then commanded Miss Ewing to sexually pleasure him.”

“She wanted to fuck him!” Abbie shouted. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“SILENCE!” The bearded man shouted. “Unless you wish to be cast straight into the Pit of Sorrow, you will stop interrupting me. Am I understood, young lady?”

“Yes sir. Sorry sir.”

“Now then, I believe Councillor Kar-Il was just explaining your brother’s Rape by Deception.”

“As I was,” Councillor Kar-Il continued. “We now move on to the final charge against you, that of theft. Two days ago, upon leaving your school, you entered a fast food restaurant, and used the wand’s power to force the workers there to provide you with large quantities of food, which you did not pay for. Why did you do this?”

“I was hungry.”

“You were a short distance from your home, where plenty of food was available to you. Alternatively, you had money with which to pay the restaurant. Even without this, you could have used the wand to create food to eat. Why did you not do any of these things?”

“I ... I don’t know.”

“That is all, Joshua.”

Councillor Kar-Il then turned to Abbie, who tensed up.

“Abigail,” she said. “Tell us how you came to possess the wand.”

“Well, uh...” Abbie said. “I saw Josh with a naked girl. So I went into his room, and found it. I thought it looked like a magic wand, so I tried casting a few spells. I realised it worked so I took it.”

“Do you often steal your brother’s property?”

“No, but ... this was a once-in-a-lifetime find.”

“And what did you do once in possession of the wand?”

“I ... had sex with One Direction,” Abbie admitted.

“The accused use the power of the wand in order to force a popular boyband to sexually gratify her. Over the next 24 hours she then used the power to, among other things, enchant her body to induce arousal in those near her, and to commit numerous counts of rape, much like her brother did, before we were able to apprehend her yesterday.”

“All evidence has been presented,” said the bearded man. “What do you two have to say for yourselves?”

“We’re really sorry, we didn’t mean to be criminals. We were just weak, that’s all,” Josh said.

“We shouldn’t have used the wand, we should have just gotten rid of it.”

“Councillor Treybon, how do you suggest we punish the Normals?” Asked the bearded man.

“Erasure of magical memories,” replied the final woman.

“That’s it?”

“To do more would be extreme, I feel. They didn’t know what they were getting into, and believed they were only indulging in some harmless fun. No deterrent would be needed as they would lose all memories of this, and would be unlikely to encounter magic again.”

“Very well, let us vote.”

All 7 councillors raised their hands together.

“It is decided then,” said the bearded man. “Joshua Stoney, Abigail Stoney, you are sentenced to have your memories wiped of all magical experiences this past week.” Magical energy formed in the hands of the councillors at shot out at the teens, sending them unconscious once more.

It’s not been long since they took the Normals, but they’ve already come for me. Justice is swift, I suppose. They take me off to the council chambers, where I am to be judged. Chancellor Mothruise and his six lackeys. These 7 people are the most powerful in the world, holding all the sway in magical society. The Emperor is little more than a figurehead. This of course means that anything they choose to do me isn’t going to be overruled by anyone. Sadly.

“Johnathan Chrislow, aged 454,” says Councillor Haruoz. “You stand accused of an incalculable number of crimes. Rape, murder, theft and mind control being just the start, and with the latest being the crime of allowing two Normals access to a magic wand.”

“Is there anything I can say which will get you to let me off?” I ask.

“No, and we don’t intend to allow you that chance anyway,” said Chancellor Mothruise. “Your punishment was decided while you were unconscious.”