Chapter 2: Embrace the Stepsister

October 7
Taylorville, South Carolina

Joshua was on the mountain again. This time the full Moon was already visible in the night sky. The village was still below, but now it appeared grim and dark. The Moon gave the only light to the scene. The great lunar orb was strangely comforting to Joshua, but it made him feel nervous as well.

Why the Moon? Joshua pondered. What does it symbolize?

"Your time is short, Joshua!" the voice warned. "Look behind you if you would see your danger!" Joshua looked over his shoulder, and saw something in the distance. It was dark colored, so it was hard to see, but it was airborne and approaching quickly. Joshua felt a heart freezing dread when he looked at the thing.

"How do I escape it?" Joshua shouted down to the village.

"You cannot escape it. You must defeat it. We can help you, but you must come to us."

"How can I come to you? Every time I try to get off of this mountain, I fall!"

"You must embrace the truth..." the voice said again. Before Joshua could ask another question, or the voice could say more, the teen suddenly woke up.

Joshua realized that he was in his apartment in the sanctum. His bedside lamp was on and Sara was leaning over him. Her breasts were visible where the blanket had fallen away when she sat up.

"Are you okay, Joshua?" Sara asked. "You called out in your sleep. I got scared, so I turned the light on." As if waking up next to a naked Sara wasn't shocking enough, she seemed genuinely concerned.

"I was having a bad dream," Joshua said, trying not to look at Sara's chest. "Thank you for waking me." The sheets were down around Joshua's waist, and now that Sara knew he was alright, she began to devour him with her eyes.

"Why don't you let me wake you up properly, lover?" Sara asked sultrily. "Then you can give me a proper thank you." She lowered her mouth and one hand to Joshua's chest.

Joshua thought to stop Sara, but her kisses and caresses felt really good. What's wrong with me? Joshua asked himself. I've never been so horny before. Does this happen to everyone after their first time? He could feel his dick stirring as Sara licked and kissed her way down his chest and abdomen.

Sara pulled the sheet down to expose Joshua's groin for her inspection. She was well pleased with the quickly stiffening rod she found there. Sara felt her stepbrother shudder as she began to gently fondle his cock. She licked the head of his organ, savoring the clear liquid she found there. Sara began to kiss the glorious prick, giving careful attention to every inch. Then she gently sucked Joshua's right ball, followed by his left. When she judged that her stepbrother was ready, Sara took his manhood into her mouth. She was experienced, so Sara was able to take all of Joshua into her throat, not stopping until her nose was pressed to his pubic hair, without gagging.

Joshua was being driven crazy by his stepsister's talented mouth. Even as her head bobbed up and down and she maintained an incredible suction, Sara's tongue continued to tease and excite his cock. Sara could feel Joshua getting close. She lightly raked her nails across his ball sack and... he didn't climax.

Joshua felt the pressure build in his balls, but when it reached the ultimate point there was no release. It was as if a flood gate had been closed and in place of climax Joshua received pressure beyond his previous imagining and a doubling of his need for release.

When Joshua failed to orgasm, Sara felt a sudden increase in the intensity of her lust. Her womanhood was already wet with arousal. Now, Sara's love juice began to run down her legs. She increased her attack on her stepbrother's cock. Sara was determined to make him climax.

Joshua was brought to the point of orgasm three more times by Sara's inspired effort, but there was no release. His carnal need had grown to such a point that he could think of nothing but its satisfaction. Sara's pussy had become a wellspring, flooding with liquid arousal. She was sopping wet, yet she burned with unreasoning need.

"Oh god Joshua, I need to fuck!" Sara gasped. She crawled into the bed and lowered her crotch to his, impaling herself on Joshua's steel dick. They slammed their bodies together with all of their strength. They pushed as hard and fast as they could, their passion driving them rapidly to physical ecstasy. They climaxed at the same time. When the last spurt of Joshua's cum subsided, both teens were surprised to find that neither his erection, nor his libido had lessened.

Sara seized Joshua's ass and rolled onto her side, holding his virile penis within her.

"Come on stud!" Sara gasped. "Do me again!" Joshua had no inclination to argue. In their new position, both teens were able to thrust their pelvises. Joshua's lips met Sara's and they kissed deeply and passionately while their bodies worked to join more closely, to penetrate, envelop, and merge as one. They broke the kiss when Sara ran out of breath, but their bodies continued to couple until the most powerful of physical sensations overcame them again.

Sara had worn herself out with her desperate thrusting, but Joshua's unflagging hard-on still evidenced its need for, and promise of, pleasure. Once again, Sara held Joshua trapped inside her hot, welcoming cunt as she shifted to the missionary position. Sara was beyond the ability to speak, but her lust-glazed eyes, and the fact that she was holding his cock trapped in a glorious prison, told Joshua all he needed to know.

Joshua continued to fuck Sara until he had experienced two more orgasms, and she had three. His seed filled her to overflowing, until her pussy was lubricated as much by his juices as hers. When Joshua's need was finally sated, his stepsister was exhausted and fell into a pleasant slumber. Despite his energetic performance, Joshua was barely sweating.

Joshua withdrew from Sara's delightful body and went to the linen closet. He couldn't leave his stepsister lying in the residue of their sex. He put clean sheets on the sofa in his sitting room. Then, Joshua filled a basin with warm water. He took this, soap and a washcloth into the bedroom. Joshua gently cleaned his stepsister, keeping his libido in check by willpower buttressed by his recent fulfillment. When he was done, Joshua carried Sara to the sofa and saw to her comfort. He wrapped her in a sheet so that she wouldn't be bare to the world when she awoke.

With Sara taken care of, Joshua saw to himself. He took a shower, dressed and combed his hair. To do more than that, Joshua would need the items he had left in the house. He wrote a letter for Sara, explaining where he had gone, and went to the main house.

Joshua saw no one when he entered the house, but he smelled coffee brewing. The teen reasoned that his parents had gone to see Blake and arrange for a bail hearing. He ascended the staircase, making almost no noise. As he did, Joshua thought, it would be quicker and quieter to... He paused in the hall. To what... ? Again the thought refused to finish and Joshua grew more frustrated by that fact. Seeing that concentrating on the problem only seemed to drive the answer deeper into hiding, the youth decided to go ahead with his chores and hope it might be coaxed out passively.

Joshua removed his large garment bag from the closet and set it on his bed. He put in four changes of clothing, a pair of sleeping pants, his shaving kit and deodorant. Then, he put in the display case he had finished two nights before.

The case was made of walnut with a black velvet lining. There were three knife shaped recessed compartments. Two held recent additions to Joshua's blade collection, but one was empty, as his Scottish dirk was being held as evidence by the police. The stolen blade was itself a reason for great annoyance, but it paled when compared to the fact that his stepbrother had tried to bury the dirk in his chest. That crime, in turn, shrank to insignificance next to what Blake and the others had done to Kelly. Joshua had no time to indulge his rage, so he forced it down inside. With the way things were going, he had little doubt that it would find release before the day was out.

Sara had not gotten around to packing any clothes Thursday night, so Joshua had to guess what items to take her. He threw one change of clothes into his bag. She could return for more. The toiletries were in her bathroom. They were not organized in any pattern that the boy could discern, so he grabbed a bar of her rose soap. It might be suspicious if she came home smelling of the antibacterial soap Joshua used. He also grabbed a brush, and comb. He decided to let her return for the rest.

Joshua returned to his room long enough to change clothes. He selected a black cotton shirt, black trousers, and his black hiking boots. Joshua was tying his boots when he heard someone coming up the stairs.

The footfalls were light, so it wasn't Joshua's stepfather. There was the distinct clack of high heels on wood, so it wasn't one of the servants. The sound reached the landing and turned toward the side of the hall that held Joshua's and Blake's rooms. The footfalls stopped just in front of Joshua's bathroom. That was close enough for Joshua to speak without shouting.

"Come in, Mother," Joshua said calmly.

Julie walked slowly into her son's room. She was struck again by how clean and Spartan it was. There were no posters on the walls. There were no knick-knacks or clues to Joshua's personality, except for two framed pictures on his desk. One was a picture of the Ward family. The other was an earlier picture of Julie. Even the bedclothes were as plain as any found in a hospital, or prison. The sanctum was where Joshua concealed all of the possessions that could reveal who he was.

As Julie looked at her son, she noted the strong resemblance he bore to his father. He was just as tall and athletic, and frighteningly handsome. After the previous day's events, Julie knew that Joshua had much more in common with his father than mere appearance. The day she had dreaded had finally arrived.

"Joshua, I need to speak with you." As her son stood there with the tender expression he never showed the rest of the family, Julie thought He looks so... normal. "I'm not sure how to proceed, so I'll be blunt." Julie took a breath. "Your father wasn't human." Joshua was seldom stunned into inaction. Nevertheless, he momentarily lost the power of speech. "I met your father in the Rocky Mountains. I was riding a bus home from college. You know how I hate to fly. A huge snowstorm struck. My bus became trapped in a small valley. There was a hotel, and we passengers took shelter there."

"My father was on the bus with you?" Joshua asked.

"No. He arrived about two hours after our bus. He claimed that his car had become stuck and that he walked the last couple of miles. We all assumed that he was a very lucky young man. He looked to be about seventeen, maybe a little older or younger. We were all trapped in the hotel with nothing to do, so we socialized, played cards and parlor games, and went to meals. Charlie Hawkins -that was your father's name- seemed to prefer my company to anyone else's. He was clearly too young for me, but he was so charming and handsome. We took our meals together, talked and played chess a lot." Julie blushed at that moment.

"On the second night, I asked Charlie back to my room. For the next two nights and three days, we only left for quick meals. I imagine that the others talked, but we didn't care. On the third day, Charlie revealed what he was."

"How did he do that?" Joshua asked.

"He cut his hand. He bled a black liquid that evaporated into smoke when it hit the floor. He hand healed so fast, I could see it as it happened. He told me that someone was after him, a wizard I think. He told me that he loved me and would return when his presence would no longer endanger me." Julie began to cry. "Charlie kissed me one last time, and he left."

"What was my father?" Joshua asked. He would have strongly doubted the story had it come from any other source. Joshua had never known his mother to lie to him, however. Besides, having a parent who wasn't human might explain the strange ability to manipulate emotions. "What am I?"

"I don't know what he was," Julie answered reluctantly. "But I know that you are my son, and I love you." She saw a bittersweet expression pass over her son's face, but it vanished quickly and he didn't cry. In truth, Joshua had never cried. As a small baby, he would wail if he needed something, but never with tears. As soon as he was able to talk, Joshua had stopped even the wailing.

"Is there anything else that you want to tell me Mom?" Joshua asked.

"Let me try to remember," Julie answered wiping tears from her eyes. "Well, I said that we only left for meals, but early in the second night we were together, Charlie left for a half an hour."

"Did he say where he went?"

"No, but when he came back, he was... very amorous." Julie blushed. "I also noticed that he was very persuasive. People listened to him, and would do as he suggested. Oh yes, He seemed to have very quick reflexes." Joshua saw his mother's eyes widen as she remembered. "We were at the bottom of the steps, just starting up, and there was an elderly woman halfway up the steps ahead of us. The woman started to fall and Charlie was up the steps in a blink to catch her. I've never seen anyone move so fast before or since."

Joshua nodded, if the boy was feeling anything, he was hiding it well. Even the initial shock had disappeared from his face. Still, Julie could somehow feel her son's love for her. It seemed to radiate from him like light from a candle.

"I would like to ask you a question," Joshua said.

"Okay." Julie felt she was ready for anything.

"Your family disowned you when you refused to seek an illegal abortion."

"How did you..."

"I heard you and Grandpa Davis talking one night. Please let me finish. You had to have known that I would not be human. I want to know why you didn't just travel to a country were abortion was already legal, or why you didn't just give me up for adoption. Your family would surely have accepted either option."

"Listen to me, Joshua," Julie said gently to her son. "I love and miss my mother, brother, and sisters, but I couldn't kill my son to appease them. I couldn't kill you because I love you. They may yet come to their senses and allow me back into the family, but if you were dead, that wouldn't change because someone had regrets later. I couldn't give you up for adoption because I love you and I couldn't leave you with strangers to discover your father's legacy alone." Julie hugged her son and he hugged back.

Joshua had long carried the weighty knowledge that he was the cause of his mother being disowned by her family. He had caused her to drop out of college and get a job working for a jerk. His mother had only been able to leave her horrible job when she inherited Grandpa Davis' fortune. Joshua knew that he was the assassin of her happiness.

Now, Joshua had not merely struck his stepbrother, he had injured him severely and gotten him caught in the middle of committing a serious felony. Just as he had caused his mother to lose her mother and siblings, now he might cause her to lose her new family.

Joshua had always hidden his unhappiness from his mother. He had dealt with his problems on his own from an early age, so he would not be a greater burden. Now, Joshua hid the terrible pain he felt in his heart. Pain he felt for the wrongs he had done his mother. His mind turned to thoughts of his blade collection, and of driving his Arkansas Toothpick through the offending organ and stopping the pain that way.

"Excuse me, Mom. I have to put my stuff in the sanctum and finish getting ready for school."

"Oh, no one told you? School has been cancelled for today, because of the... incident."

"In that case, I don't need to rush. I would still like to get back to the sanctum before Father returns," Joshua said, anxious to leave before his emotions revealed themselves. Julie stepped aside to let her son pass.

"Oh, by the way, Joshua, say good morning to Sara for me." Joshua turned slowly. "I smelled the rose soap in your bag." Julie smiled impishly when she said it. "Like father, like son they say." Her expression became more serious. "Don't go breaking her heart, Joshua."

"I don't believe her heart entered into the equation, Mom," Joshua stated before leaving.

Joshua went down to the kitchen. Miss Flowers and the other servants were having their breakfast when he entered.

"Good morning, all," Joshua said politely.

"Good morning, Joshua," They answered. Miss Flowers and Miss Mendez, the maid started to rise.

"Please don't interrupt you meal on my account," Joshua said quickly. "I just wanted to see if there were any leftovers I could take back to the sanctum with me." The two women smiled and paid Joshua no attention. Miss Flowers retrieved a formidably large wicker basket from one of the cabinets, and she and Miss Mendez began to load it with food from the fridge. The gardener, Mr. Verne went to the counter and loaded a plate with pancakes and sausage links. He grabbed a mug and went back to the table. Mr. Verne set the plate and mug at an empty chair.

"Have a seat," the gardener said kindly.

"Thank you all," Joshua said sincerely. The servants were at their meal and didn't have to trouble themselves. They certainly didn't need to offer him hospitality at their table. Considering the treatment they received at the hands of his family, Joshua was surprised by their kindness.

Joshua ate quickly, but neatly. He had finished his breakfast by the time the food basket was ready. The maid handed it to him.

"Thank you, Miss Mendez."

"Please, you are not so much younger than me. Call me Juanita." The attractive nineteen-year old maid smiled sweetly at Joshua. There was a hint of desire in the young woman's eyes.

She had lovely raven black hair and smooth reddish brown skin. Her figure was all smoothly rounded contours, with full, heavy breasts and wide, welcoming hips. She had warm brown eyes and a most endearing smile. Joshua was surprised by how much he wanted her. Not now! he commanded himself. Yes, not now, but later his libido answered. Joshua took the basket.

"This is heavy. What's in it?"

"Oh, just a few ham sandwiches, a couple of bottles of Coca-Cola, some brownies, and some apples," Miss Flowers said.

"It feels as if you packed the whole hog," Joshua said, thankful for something else to talk about. "Thanks again." Joshua left quickly. As he sprinted across the yard, he checked his watch. He saw that it had stopped at eight twelve on the previous night. He knew that it had stopped at night because the little AM/PM window showed a smiling moon. Moon... Joshua thought, remembering the dreams. Time is short... the Moon tells time!

The youth increased from a sprint to a run. He produced his key before he reached the door, so he wouldn't have to stop to look for it. He charged up the steps to his apartment. Joshua set the basket on his table and rushed to his desk. He dropped his bag by the desk and looked at the dot symbols that represented the phases of the Moon. He ran his finger down to the next full moon.

"Wednesday, October 13th," Joshua whispered. "My sixteenth birthday..."

Lear's Cove, Maine

William Drake was in his office bright and early Thursday morning. He never did any work there, leaving the boring business details to his underlings. Drake's contribution to the insurance company his great-grandfather had founded was to call the spirits to grant it good fortune and inflict ill fortune on the competition. Well, he had also cast a fatal malediction on his father, but that was for his own benefit, not the company's.

On the occasions that William came to the office, he would send for a secretary to 'take dictation'. His favorite secretary of the moment was a knock-out blonde named April Larson. The other executives at Drake Insurance & Investment didn't like April. They said that her work was abysmally bad.

William found her work to be quite satisfactory. At that moment, April was 'taking dictation' doggy style across the desk. She had been a gift from the gods to William Drake.

April was an airhead with the body of a Valkyrie. She believed in magic, and was aroused by William's bragging and occasional displays of power. When he told her of the Hetsiuib and his plans to enslave one, April turned into a burning lust beast. She fucked him in his chair, on the couch, and on the floor. Now, as Drake hammered his dick into her wondrous pussy, April begged for more.

"That's it you wizard stud! Fuck me hard! Tell me how you'll control the Het-whats-it."

"I possess his secret name," William grunted and gasped

"Oh god, that's it! Shove your man meat in my pussy! Make me come! Tell me the name so I can come!" April moaned. William kept thrusting as he leaned forward. He breathed in her ear, and gently bit her lobe. He knew that she took erotic pleasure from his brags to such an extent that she had climaxed twice from his words. As he laid across April's back, his mouth at her ear, William didn't speak and he slowed his thrusting. "Oh fuck! Don't tease me! I'm so close, I gotta come! Make me come, please!"

More than anything, William Morgan Drake III loved power. Power was his meat, drink, air, and even sex. Keeping April from her climax and making her beg for the release he could give her was power in a very personal and satisfying form.

"How do you ask your master for something you want very much?" Drake whispered.

"Please master, make you slave slut come! Only your power can make me come! Please master, only you are man enough to make me come!"

William whispered the name in April's sweet little ear, setting off her climax. The woman's cunt rippled along William's rod, squeezing him to orgasm. When he was finished, Drake withdrew and tossed his used condom into the waste basket.

"Your potency crystal really did its work today," Drake said, referring to the rose quartz April wore around her neck on a leather thong. He humored her silly belief in the pathetic charlatans who sold her potions and pendants and rubbish enough to fill a truck. He reasoned that such treatment would make April feel smart and make her think she was an insider of the magic world. William felt that a happy bimbo was a sexually useful bimbo. "Now, you better get dressed and get back to the secretarial pool. It's nearly lunch time."

April had to pull her clothes on over her sweat and sex residue. William Drake had a private washroom, but April didn't know that. Besides, he wanted to clean up, and he didn't feel like sharing. After the woman was gone, Drake took a quick shower.

Before he put his clothes on, William put his talismans back on. Unlike the slut's charm, William knew that his talismans worked. One gave limited protection from physical attack, one shielded him from baleful magic that attacked the body, such as the curse that had stopped his father's heart, and one protected him from mental manipulation. He wore them under his shirt, in direct contact with the skin. Drake only removed them to have sex. At all other times, they were his armor against unlikely, but possible attack.

William was in a very good mood. He had once again debased another human being for his own pleasure, but his greatest happiness came from the fact that he had an entire detective agency combing South Carolina for the location of his Hetsiuib. He had no doubt that the creature would be found soon. Mine to use as I please, William thought. It's a pity that it isn't female.

Kelly Wilkes was standing in a field in Ireland. She knew that she was in Ireland, because she had visited her mother's family there when she was five, and again when she was twelve. Her Aunt Ellen was standing about two feet in front of Kelly, facing her. Several feet behind Aunt Ellen stood her young friend Chris... something. Kelly remembered meeting him briefly on her second trip. She was puzzled because she remembered Chris being older than she, but now he looked about the same age.

"Kelly darlin' are ye alright?" Aunt Ellen asked.

"Yes, Aunt Ellen, I think so," Kelly answered, a little disoriented.

"Listen carefully, Kelly," Ellen said earnestly. "I know about yer attack. Ye're still in danger. Be on yer guard. Chris and I are on our way, and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"On your way? I'm talking to you right now. How can you be here and on your way?" Kelly shook her head, trying to clear it. "For that matter, how did I come to Ireland? I don't remember leaving home."

"Ye're not in Ireland, lass. I'm contacting ye through the dream world." Kelly wasn't surprised. Even in the real world, Aunt Ellen believed in magic and psychic powers, and other strange stuff. Kelly's parents hadn't returned to Ireland after the second trip because Aunt Ellen had started saying that Kelly had 'the gift' and could someday be a seer or sorceress. They didn't want their daughter's head filled with such nonsense.

"I know what ye're thinkin' Kelly. Ye think this is all nonsense, but ye felt yer gift warn ye yesterday. Had ye paid it heed, ye'd not be hurt now."

Kelly forced herself awake. She realized that she had experienced a dread just before she entered McNally Hall, but she had written it off as silly. Kelly got out of bed, and found that the pains of the previous day were still with her. Did I really throw away a chance to save myself from this? she wondered. Then she began to cry softly.

Those three bastards had taken so much from her. They had taken her peace of mind. They had taken her trust in the rightness of the world, and they had taken her virginity as if it was a cheap trinket from a gumball machine: something obtained easily and discarded shortly thereafter. If Joshua had not arrived when he did, they would have continued to hurt her, but there was little left that they could have taken.

It hurt to think of Joshua. Kelly had often daydreamed about giving her virginity to him. Now, he had seen her in the music room. He knew what had happened. Kelly knew Joshua would be disgusted by the thought of her now.

Kelly went into the bathroom and started to shower. She had bathed upon returning home last night, but she still felt dirty. As she washed, Kelly heard a knock at the bathroom door.

"Kelly, honey, are you alright?" her mother asked, her voice burdened with concern.

"Yes, Mom," the girl answered. Then she thought to ask a question of her own. "Mom? Did Aunt Ellen call yesterday?" Kelly reasoned that if her aunt really knew about the attack, she would have called. If she didn't call, then Kelly would know her dream was just that. There was a long moment of silence before Deirdre Wilkes spoke again.

"Why would you ask that, honey?"

"We haven't seen your Irish relatives for so long," Kelly answered evasively. "I guess I just wish we could hear from them. You know that family can be a comfort in troubled times."

"Your aunt did call yesterday, sweetheart." Kelly detected a guarded tone in her mother's voice.

"Did she ask how I was doing?" Again there was a delay before Deirdre gave her answer.

"She... she called with a warning that you were in danger. I told her that you were fine and safe at school. It wasn't twenty minutes later that we got the call telling us what had happened." Kelly could hear the tears in her mother's words. "Oh Lord, honey, if I'd listened to my sister, I could've prevented this whole thing!"

"Don't beat yourself up, Mom," Kelly said as calmly as she could. "How could you have known that she was right?"

"I should've had faith in my sister."

"Yes, and I should've had faith in myself, but we've always been taught that premonitions are nothing but superstition, and anyone believing in them was off their rocker."

There was another long silence. Kelly knew that her mother was still outside the bathroom door. She wanted to comfort her mother, but she didn't know what to say that would relieve the unreasonable guilt her mother felt. Finally, Deirdre spoke again.

"What would you like for breakfast, dear?"

"Two soft-boiled eggs, with toast and coffee please. Oh, and, Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I love you."

Sara awoke while Joshua was standing over his desk, looking at the calendar. He spoke before she could, but he didn't turn to face her.

"Good morning, Sara. I brought you a change of clothes and some other items." Joshua picked up his bag and took out Sara's stuff. He turned and set the items on the table by the sofa. Sara shuddered when she saw her stepbrother's face.

His features were a stone mask, but a cold, deadly fire burned in his eyes. Sara suddenly feared for her life. Joshua turned away to gesture toward the kitchenette.

"When you are through with your bath, there are drinks and sandwiches on the card table, help yourself." Sara would have thought to ask Joshua to join her in the shower, but not now. She wanted more than anything to be away from Joshua at that moment, but she didn't leave at once.