Chapter 4

Sunday morning was a bright, clear and crisply cold January day. Eric was a little out of sorts.

He had been discussing the basic tactics used in the fight the previous night with Erith but he had been avoiding the one thing that had been bothering him and caused him to have a restless night.

Looking back, he began to realise that what he had done to Jenny's attackers was done whilst he was angry and upset but he just couldn't reconcile the fact that they deserved it.

"Erith, would you have done the same?"

"I doubt it Eric, but I am not prepared to judge you on this matter. If those animals had done the same to one I cared about, I would probably have ended them and had done with it. Mind you, I would most likely be feeling the doubts that you are today as well." He replied into Eric's mind.

"they are not so much doubts but I can't help thinking that what I did to them makes me no better than they are. Admittedly, I didn't actually do most of the things that happened to them, that was Jenny and I don't regret letting her have her revenge that way but something about the whole affair has left me a little unsettled. I just reached into their heads and forced them to my will. Nan told me that with power comes responsibility and I am beginning to see what she meant."

"Don't let it eat at you Eric. You have made a choice. Now you must either live with it and be happy or alter it. I will not advise you on this, so don't bother asking. This is something you must decide for yourself."

"Oh, great help you are! Thousands of years of knowledge and experience at my disposal and as soon as the going gets tough you dodge the issue!" Eric snapped back at him half jokingly. Erith just chuckled and retreated from his mind.

After performing his ablutions, Eric called Jenny. She sounded groggy on the phone.

"Are you alright?" Eric asked her.

"Yeah, I'm a bit sore but I think I am going to be OK thanks to you. I really don't know how to thank you for what you did last night Eric. How did you do that by the way? I have never known Anthony to do what anyone tells him, let alone obey somebody like that. What did you do to them?"

"It's a long story Jenny and I promise I will help you sort it out in your head when I next see you but for now, just think of it as a kind of hypnosis."

"Ok. Will you come round today? I could really use some company if you're not too busy" Jenny asked him, her tone almost pleading.

"Yeah, cos I will Jen. What time would you like me to come over?"

"Any time you like really. I aint planning on going anywhere today. Can you make this morning?"

"Sure, just let me grab some breakfast and I will be right over. I should be there in about an hour if that's ok?"

"That's great. See you in a while. Thanks Eric, I really own you one." With that she hung up.

When Eric arrived at Jenny's there was a note pinned to the door telling him to come straight in and come upstairs.

Eric did as the note instructed and called to her.

"I'm in here Eric!" she shouted back.

Eric opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks. Jenny was lying on her bed in just a thin night dress that barely covered the tops of her thighs, her hair was still slightly damp from her shower and despite the bruises he had never seen her looking more beautiful. Jenny smiled seductively at him and patted the bed beside her. Eric sat on the edge of her bed nervously.

Jenny sat up behind him and put her arms around him and began kissing his neck whilst running her hands down the front of his body, onto his thighs and finally began to rub his rapidly hardening cock through his jeans.

Eric grabbed both of her wrists and gently pulled them away from his crotch, turning to look at her he said "Jenny, no."

She tried to sshhh him but he was having none of it. "Jenny, no." he repeated quietly.

Jenny looked confused and hurt. "What? Now you know the awful truth about me you don't want to be with me do you? Do I disgust you that much Eric? I really want to pay you back for what you did last night!"

"Jenny, knowing that you are safe now is payment enough and I know that you really don't want to do this so I will say it again. Jenny, no."

Jenny's expression turned from hurt to angry. "Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I do and don't want? How dare you!" she shouted at him.

Eric placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "Jenny, look at me. Look at me. Now look me in the eye and tell me that this is what you truly want."

Jenny averted her eyes and began to cry. "Oh Eric, I don't know what I want. I just need someone to care for me and I don't know how to get it without fucking them. I am such a filthy slut. I deserved what they did to me and I don't deserve you as a friend. Please leave, I don't want you to see me like this."

Eric pulled her into a tight embrace. She struggled against him and tried to push him away but deep inside, Eric knew that if he let her go he would lose her as a friend forever so he just held her tighter.

"Jenny, you are not a slut. You are an unfortunate victim of circumstance. You were in a situation that you couldn't handle. There is no shame in that and I will never think anything less of you because of it. I told you last night that you are my friend and I meant it."

Jenny finally stopped struggling and seemed to go limp in his arms as huge wracking sobs shook her frame. Eric continued to hold her, gently stroking her hair and whispering worthless platitudes to calm her down. After about a quarter of an hour, she quietened down and her breathing became deep and even and he realised that she had fallen asleep in his arms.

As slowly and softly as he could, he manoeuvred them so that he could lay her down and extract himself from her embrace but as soon as he tried to move, she clung to him tightly without waking so he lay next to her still holding onto her. Pretty soon Eric dozed off as well.

Eric awoke when he heard the front door open. He lay still, gazing at Jenny's now peaceful looking expression. Her bedroom door opened and her mother stood there. Eric could tell that she was about to start screaming at him so he put his finger to his lips and slowly untangled himself from Jenny's sleeping form and left the room with Jenny's mother following him.

"Come with me" she snapped at him. Eric followed her into the kitchen.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing laying on my daughters bed whilst she is asleep and her nighty is tucked up round her waist? You had better have a damned good explanation young man or I am calling the police!"

"Mrs Blackstock, please calm down and I will explain. Did Jenny talk to you last night when she got home?"

"No, what the hell has that got to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with everything. You had better take a seat." Eric said with a sigh.

"Mrs Blackstock, please try to be clam and let me finish before you fly off the handle again. Last night, I had a phone call from Jenny asking me to meet with her in the park. When I went to see her, she was muddy and bruised and very upset."

"Oh my god! Is she alright? What happened? I had better go and see her..."

"Mrs Blackstock. Please stay calm and listen to what I have to tell you first. First of all, yes she is ok. She is a bit bruised and sore but other than that, externally she is ok."

"What do you mean externally? Oh god no. please no."

Eric looked at her with sympathy and kindness. "I am really sorry to be the one that has to tell you this but yes. Jenny was raped last night. Repeatedly"

Mrs Blackstock was speechless. She sat in her chair and began shaking and crying.

Eric pulled her into a hug and rocked her until she managed to get herself under control.

"I'm so sorry. I don't even know your name."

"Eric Faye" he replied

"Well, Eric Faye, I think you had better start telling me this story."

"Please understand Mrs Blackstock, I am not telling you this to keep myself out of trouble. I am telling you this because I don't think that Jenny will. She has an unbelievably low opinion of her self right now and thinks that this is all her fault. She is going to need some serious support."

"Thank you Eric. I'm sorry that I jumped to the wrong conclusion when I saw you in her room but..."

"You don't need to explain, it must have looked a little suspicious! Anyway, Jenny has been in an abusive relationship for the last couple of months and it culminated with the events of last night. 3 guys repeatedly raped her and got a little rough with her. Like I said, she will be ok in a couple of days externally but she is going to need some serious help to sort out her emotions. In the time I've been here she has gone from happy to horny, to hurt to angry to suicidal and back again. Her mind is in turmoil. I'll help in any way that I can but I don't think that I can or should manage this alone."

"Oh god. I had suspected that she was with an abusive boyfriend but she just wouldn't talk about it."

"She was probably too afraid or ashamed. Her boyfriend was a nasty piece of work and a horrible bully. I can't imagine what she has been going through this last couple of months."

Mrs Blackstock looked at him and began to cry again. Eric reached out with his mind and gently damped her emotions down a little. Her head snapped up in surprise and she gave him a strange look.

"Why don't you make yourself a cup of tea? I am going back up stairs to make sure Jenny is ok. Please don't make a fuss when you come in to see her. It won't help her. She really needs you to be strong at the moment. Right now she is clinging to me like a life line but as I can't be here all the time, you will have to take that role on."

With that, Eric left the room and went back upstairs to Jenny's bedroom. Jenny was awake and sat up against the head board of the bed tightly hugging a pillow and trembling. When she saw Eric she literally flew off of the bed and into his arms and began sobbing again.

"I... I thought you had left me" she wailed.

"No. I was just downstairs talking to your mum."

Jenny gasped. "You haven't told her have you? Please tell me you haven't told her. I couldn't bear for my mummy to know what a whore I am"

Mrs Blackstock, who had been stood outside the door listening to this exchange rushed into the room and threw her arms around her daughter, almost crushing her between herself and Eric.

"Oh little JenJen, don't be so silly darling. I would never think that of you. What happened to you was not your fault baby. If some bastard forces himself on you it's not your fault, you're not a whore, you're just you. Someone who has had a bad experience. It doesn't change who or what you are and it doesn't change what people who care about you think of you either."

The three of them stood like that for a long time until finally Jenny stopped crying and gave a shy smile.

"Will you stop for lunch please Eric? I don't want you to go home yet" She asked him.

"Yes Eric, please do. I need to talk to you some more as well" Mrs Blackstock said to him.

"Ok, if that is what you want Jenny. You know I can't say no to you when you look at me with your puppy eyes" he said with a wink.

"Oh, I think you have proved that you can!" she said in reply, also with a wink that made Eric blush.

Mrs Blackstock just looked at him and raised an eyebrow but decided to stay quiet much to his relief.

Lunch was a fairly silent affair but jenny did seem to be a little happier or at least more in control of her emotions. Eric was under no illusion that this was over or that she had put it behind her but he was at least hopeful that she could now start the recovery process with the help and support of her mother and him.

After lunch Jenny announced that she was going to take a bath so Eric sat with her mother in the kitchen.

"What did you do to me earlier Eric" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was starting to get hysterical, you did something to me to calm me down. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything Mrs Blackstock"

"I think that we can dispense with the Mrs Blackstock now don't you? My name is Liz. Now stop lying to me and tell me what you did"

Eric was a bit surprised. So far, no one else had noticed when he went inside their minds, but it was obvious that he was not going to get away with feigning ignorance. He very softly reached for her mind again to give her the idea that she was no longer interested in what he had done and suddenly gasped in pain. His head felt like it had been clamped in a vice!

Eric looked at Liz in shock. Liz just calmly looked back at him with a small smile playing on the corner of her mouth.

"How long have you been able to do that Eric?" She asked.

"How did you know?" He replied without answering her question.

Liz just chuckled. Eric, Eric, Eric. I am guessing that this is all fairly new to you so I will forgive your outrageous lack of manners this time but I will warn you, if you try that with me again it will not be pleasant. Am I making my self clear?"

"Very. Now please tell me how you knew. No one else has ever noticed when I did that."

"Do you do it a lot then?"

"No, to tell the truth I have only been able to do it a few days so I haven't had much practice"

"Ah, I thought so. In answer to your question, I knew you were doing it because I am used to people manipulating me that way. I used to live with a sorcerer. Actually he is Jenny's father. Don't look at me like I have two heads Eric. Do you honestly believe that you are the only person on the planet that can do things like that? Now, tell me, how did you learn to do it?"

"Eric, you must not mention me or Erith to her. I need to hear more of her story before I can decide whether to trust her or not" Brianna whispered in his head.

"Well, learn isn't really the right word. I just sort of woke up the other morning and found that I could do it."

"So you're a natural? That's pretty rare. Most of us have to teach ourselves how to do it. What else can you do?"

"I'm not sure. I have altered a couple of people's thoughts slightly, I have forced my will on a three people that really deserved it, I have made some people forget some things and I have clamed my dad and you down a bit. What did you mean when you said about my lack of manners earlier?"

"Oh, its very bad manners to go into someone else's head without an invitation. You said that you have forced people to your will. When you say forced, just what do you mean?"

"Well, the three guys who hurt Jenny came back for another go. I forced them to let Jenny do what ever she wanted to them."

"Did she hurt them?" Liz asked with some concern in her voice.

"A little but no more than they did to her really. It was kind of poetic justice."

"I think you had better tell me a little more about what happened last night Eric."

When Eric finished explaining what he had done, Liz looked at him in awe.

"My god, you must have had total control of their motor skills. I can't believe how powerful you are. When you just tried to enter my mind, how hard were you trying?"

"Not at all really. I was being very gently cos I've noticed that the gentler I do it, the less people seem to notice"

"THAT WAS GENTLE?!? Jesus Eric, it felt like you were trying to break into my mind with an industrial wrecking ball. Eric, I give you permission to enter my mind. I am going to try to stop you but this time I won't hurt you. See if you can get through my barriers, I really want to see just how strong you are"

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you or anything"

As soon as Liz nodded her head, Eric reached out with his mind and with a subtle push entered Liz's head. She gasped and he felt her try to eject him but she had no more success than a strand of spiders' web would have stopping him walking into a room.

Liz was absolutely stunned as she tried to push him out. Never had she felt such raw power, not even her ex lover the Sorcerer had been able to force his way into her mind when all of her defences were up like this but this... this... BOY had just pushed through them like they weren't there. Liz rallied her defences and created another perimeter within her mind, effectively locking her mind like an impregnable bank vault. Eric felt her retreat and then make another shield so he continued to push forward, still hardly trying and he felt her mind once again open up to him completely. The sensations were different for him this time. Never had he been so deep into someone else's head. All of Liz's knowledge, memories and experiences were open to him. Remembering what Liz had told him about manners, he decided not to pay too much attention to what he found there but one thought, almost dazzlingly bright amongst the others caught his attention so he focused on it. He almost broke the connection when he realised what the thought was. Liz was getting turned on by him! No, that wasn't entirely accurate, she was getting turned on by his violation of her and her lack of control, her loss of power.

Blushing, Eric pulled back and removed himself from her consciousness completely.

Liz gasped as she felt him leave her head and slumped forward slightly panting.

"That is incredible. You still weren't really trying were you?" she asked in disbelief

"I didn't want to hurt you" he replied simply.

"Eric, I have never heard of someone with your level of ability. It is totally off the scale of anything I have ever experienced and I have met a few VERY powerful mind weavers. What you just did makes their abilities seem almost insignificant. I want to try something else. I am going to try to stop you entering my mind this time by focusing your thoughts back on you. It is what gave you the headache a few moments ago when I repelled you. I know it is not pleasant but will you do this?"

"I don't know Liz. You hurt me last time, I'm not sure I want to go through that again"

"Eric, I couldn't hurt you if I tried. When you feel me try to resist you, just push a bit harder and keep adding to the preasure until you feel the headache go away. Once it does, you should be past my defences. Go on, don't be afraid. Give it a try."

Eric once again pushed lightly against her mind and instantly felt the pressure building inside his own head. He pushed a bit harder and the pain in his head increased. His mind, assuming that it was under attack, pushed with everything it had to repel the attacker. Liz and the chair she was sat in shot back across the kitchen floor, colliding with the counter top. Liz had a vacant look on her face and a drop of blood was starting to run from her nose down her lip. Eric immediately stopped his invasion of her mind and rushed to her side.

"Liz! Oh god, are you alright? I am so sorry, I never meant to hurt you! Liz, LIZ! Talk to me!" Eric's voice was rising in panic.

Liz slowly shook her head and became more focused. "Wow!" she said and looked at Eric. He couldn't decide what her expression was telling him. Unsure if it was fear, anger, respect, pain, shock or awe.

"Are you ok, I really thought I had hurt you or something" Eric said

"I'm fine, well as fine as I can be after having a bulldozer thunder through my brain at full speed" she replied with a smile. "Eric, do you think you could make me a cup of sweat tea please? It will help me to recover a bit faster. That was the most intense experience of my life. Never has anyone managed to do that to me. What did you do?"

"I'm not sure. I felt you start to hurt me so I pushed back a bit harder but that just hurt more. Once the pain started to get more than I could cope with, something in my mind just took over and forced you out of my head" He replied whilst stirring her tea and bringing it to her.

"Christ almighty, that boy is powerful. I'm gonna have to keep him a secret from the society. Who knows what they will do if they realise that there is someone like him out there. Probably over react again no doubt" Liz thought to her self

"Who are the society?" Eric asked her.

Liz promptly spilled her tea down the front of her blouse and looked at him in amazement.

"How do you know about them?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"You just said that you had to keep me a secret from them. I was just wondering why."

"Eric, I didn't say anything. I just thought it!"

"Really? I heard it as clear as day. How did I do that?"

"Holy shit, he can read my mind!" Liz thought to herself

"Certainly looks that way" Eric said to her.

Liz was turning an interesting shade of white as the colour drained from her face.

"Erm... Eric, could you stop doing that please. It's a bit disconcerting."

"Doing what? I am not doing anything. I thought you were doing it to me."

"Eric, I can't project my thoughts like that. I am going to put my barriers back up and think of some things. See if you can still hear my thoughts please?"

Eric just nodded and looked at her strangley.

"This boy is so strong! My god, what a turn on. I cant help but think of him dominating me, mind body and soul, using me in anyway he wanted, forcing me to submit to his every desire!"

Eric blushed a bright shade of red and averted his eyes from Liz. She immediately realised that he had heard every word and felt herself begin to match his blush.

"You heard that didn't you?" she asked him breathlessly

"Yes. I take it I wasn't supposed too?"

"No, you should not have heard a word of it. My barriers were up as tight as I could hold them. Can you hear anyone elses thoughts like this?"

"No. it seems to be just you. Maybe when I forced you out of my mind it created a link or something?"

"That's a possibility. Can you stop listening to me?"

"how do I do that? Its not like I was trying to listen to you in the first place!" Eric replied in an exasperated tone.

"You will have to actively filter my thoughts out. This is going to be something that you need to learn if this happens much more otherwise you will never be alone in your own head"

Eric snorted but didn't bother to explain that he hadn't been alone like that since before he could remember.

"Brianna, a little help here please?"

"It is as simple as it sounds Eric, you just need to concentrate on not hearing her for a few seconds and your subconscious will take over from there, blocking her thoughts. Before you do that though, I want another look around her mind. This woman interests me greatly. She is quite a powerful mind weaver and I want to know how she learned to do it. It is not natural ability so someone must have taught her. Don't worry, I wont hurt her, in fact she wont even know I have been there but I need to assess the risk she poses to us. "

"Liz, I am going to go into your head again, gently this time to see if I can figure this out and stop it. Is that OK?"

Liz just chuckled. "Like I would have any choice in the matter if you just decided to do it! Thanks for asking though, I appreciate it. Go ahead and do what you need to do Eric, just don't hold it against me if you see things in there that you weren't supposed to!" she said with a smile

Eric smiled back at her and took her hand in his. Gently he pushed forward into her mind and was surprised to encounter no resistance at all. In just a few heartbeats, he had explored every recess of her mind and Brianna had been along for the ride the whole time.

"What's wrong Eric? Can't you do it?"

"No, I'm finished. I can't see anything obvious in there that would cause this but then again I am so new to this that I probably don't know what to look for anyway. I think that I can stop actively listening to you though."

"Eric, you couldn't have finished. I never felt you at all that time. Are you sure you are not just trying to keep me happy whilst you continue to listen to my thoughts? I wont be happy if that is what you are upto young man!"

"Honestly Liz, I have been in and looked everywhere."

"Prove it" she snapped back at him

"Ok, but you asked for it. Your darkest secret is a desire to make love to your daughter, you find me VERY attractive and have a fantasy of me screwing you from behind whilst you are tied up and wearing leather whilst Jenny watches. Just for future reference, I prefer lace to leather but hey, its your fantasy"

Liz sputtered and coughed, almost choking on her mouthful of tea.

"oh my god. How did you do that? No one can go that deep into a locked mind!

"Eric, she is no threat to us. You may tell her about me if you like but keep Erith out of it for now. You are going to have to allay some of her fears or she will be terrified of you. If you can convince her that you are no threat to her, she could become very useful to us in the future." Brianna said to him.

"Liz, you are going to find this hard to believe but please just listen to me. Ever since I was born, I have had a voice in my head. She has offered me advice and companionship over the years and more recently she has begun to pass bits of knowledge to me. I think this may be why I am a bit more powerful than I first appear."

"You have a voice? Permanently? Does she have a name? Where is she from? Can..."

Eric cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Liz, one thing at a time! Would you like to meet her?"

"How do I do that if she is in your head?" Liz asked

"Take my hand again and I will make the introductions."

Liz tentatively offered her hand to him. Eric took it in his own and once again gently pushed into her mind. Her fear was almost a living thing and Eric was impressed that she would allow this despite the fact she was scared almost half to death.

"Liz, meet Brianna, Brianna meet Liz. Play nice ladies"

Liz gasped as she heard Brianna begin talking to her but Eric could feel her fear begin to dissipate. In a brief moment it was over and Brianna pulled Eric back from Liz's mind.

"Eric. You are the one! I can't believe this. I am sitting here with a living, breathing prophesy in the flesh! Oh god I am so sorry!"

Liz jumped from her chair and went to her knees in front of Eric.

"My Lord. Please forgive your humble servant for her impertinence. Had I known it were you My Lord I would have offered the proper respect and followed the traditions. I submit to your justice gladly. I am not worthy of you."

"Liz. LIZ! Stand up. What the hell are you on about? What is all this My Lord business. Get off your knees now and sit down."

"Brianna, what the hell is going on? Why is she suddenly treating me like this?"

"Don't let it go to your head Young One." Brianna giggled

"It seems that there is a secret society that has been praying for the return of the Fey for thousands of years. She is a member, introduced by this so called sorcerer. She believes that you are the first Fey to return to the mortal realm. Of course, when I explained that you are Erith and My son..."

"Brianna! Why would you do that to her?"

"Because you are Eric. And having someone who will respect the situation know about it is going to help us immensely. "

"My Lord, I have angered you." Liz whispered

"No Liz you haven't angered me, just confused me. This is as new to me as it is to you. I don't know your prophesies, legends or stories so I don't know what is going on. What I do know is that I will not have you bowing and scraping to me calling me "My Lord" or whatever. I am Eric Faye. The same Eric Faye that you just caught in your daughters bed and threatened to call the police on. The same Eric Faye that made you your last cup of tea so stop this nonsense and look at me."

"Yes My Lord" Liz said her head still bowed.

"Liz, do I have to make it an order for you to treat me as me?"

"No My... No Eric" she replied, looking at him in the eyes for the first time since he had pulled back from her mind.

"Good. Now lets stop this ridiculous game and get back to the important things in life shall we?"

"Yes M... Eric" she replied.

"Ok. What are we going to do about Jenny?"

"Whatever you command Eric. It is not my place to decide on a course of action for you. I am sure that whatever you decide will be the right decision"

"Don't be stupid Liz. I am a 15 year old boy. I don't have the life experience to deal with this. I will help you in any way that I can but you can't put Jenny's health on my shoulders like this. I could end up scaring her for life. She needs her mother AND her friends."

"Yes Eric, wha ever you deem best"

Furious, Eric reached into her mind and removed most of her awe of him along with the majority of her subservience. He didn't need a puppet and Jenny needed a strong mother.

"Why have you done that?" Liz asked him in amazement

"I don't like it, it embarrasses me and it is not going to help your daughter to have you deferring to me every time you need to make a decision. You need to be your own person Liz."