The Unholy Rites
Act 6
It was the 11th of January and the day had turned out to be warm and sunny. It was the first day with no snow in over a week.
After lunch, Mike and Terry asked me to go out and play basketball in the driveway. I had already finished my homework, so we I agreed.
But the whole time I was thinking about Father James.
There was a time in when I was small that Dad and I used to play basketball. But today he was doing is normal Saturday routine. Drinking on the couch and watching the NFL football playoffs.
My instructions to him had lasted six days. For those six days he had been dry as a bone. Every night he came home, had dinner with the family like a normal Dad, and then gone to an AA meeting.
The seventh night he came home with a large brown paper bag and started loading bottles into the liquor cabinet. Minutes later he was in his boxers and t-shirt, lying in his easy chair, a drink in his hand.
No one said anything about it.
Life goes on.
The good news, actually the very good news, was that my powers really did work. I could control people, give them instructions, and expect those instructions to be carried out. I couldn’t permanently reprogram them without a mirror, but I could control them.
Then there was Sara, but other experiment. She hadn’t been back to school since the incident. The rumor was that her parent’s, and several doctors she saw, couldn’t get her to wear clothes. She would get dressed like normal, and then minutes later strip out of them and start walking around like it was natural to do so.
I didn’t imagine we would see her back at school anytime soon with that sort of problem. Which, I am sure, was a big disappointment for the school’s male population.
I feel a little sorry for her, I thought, as I showed Mike how to dribble the ball between his legs. I hadn’t intended to permanently screw her up.
That is what I was thinking about when I brand new black SUV pulled up to the curb in front of the house.
Father James got out.
I wanted to run to him and jump into his arms. It took every bit of my strength to just wave at him and keep playing with the kids.
He smiled, waved back, and then walked up the pathway to the front porch.
He rang the doorbell and Mom let him in.
This was a concerning development. Why was he here? Why hadn’t he called or come by yesterday when he was supposed to arrive home?
I was showing Terry how to shoot a jump shot, when the fight started.
I could hear Mom yelling, Dad yelling, and above it all the calm voice of Father James. I couldn’t make out what any of them were saying, but they were definitely upset about something.
I was listening so closely that I missed every shot I tried to take, and Mike made fun of me for it.
After a minute or two their voices calmed, and we couldn’t hear them anymore.
Ten minutes later the front door opened, and Father James walked out with my Mom. I could tell she had been crying. They walked down the path and stopped at the edge of the driveway.
Then Mom hugged him and started to cry again.
When she finally stopped her patted her shoulder with a smile, then walked over to us.
He greeted Mike and Terry first. He asked how they were, if they were enjoying school, the normal bullshit.
Meanwhile I was standing there nearly vibrating with a mix of curiosity and desire.
Finally, he got to me.
“And how are you today Alicia?”
“I am good Father James.”
“Enjoying being back in school?”
“As much as I can enjoy it.”
“Yes, speaking of your school,” he said with a look of what I interpreted as frustration on his face “I understand there was an incident there involving a young girl in your class. Is she going to be OK?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Do you know her?”
I nodded. I wondered how he had heard about it so quickly after getting back into town?
“Well, I hope she will be OK and that no further… incidents happen.”
With that he reached out and shook my hand. Hidden in his hand was a key.
I quickly pocketed it and hoped no one else had noticed.
“Well, I have to get back to the church. A lot of things to do. You all have a blessed day and I will see you on Sunday.”
He smiled, got back in his new SUV, and drove off.
“That is an awfully nice truck for a priest.” Mom said, shook her head, and then walked back into the house.
After a moment we could hear the argument start up again.
Later that night, as Mom and I were doing the dishes, I asked her why Father James had come and what the fight was about.
“The Father came to tell us that he got your Dad a new job. Thank goodness.”
“That seems like good news.”
She sighed and stopped working. She didn’t look at me.
“Your Dad wasn’t exactly thrilled at the news. It’s a janitor job. He feels like it is beneath him and he doesn’t want to take it.”
“A janitor? But Dad… he worked in a bank.”
“Alicia, you are old enough now for me to be more open with you. None of the banks will hire him. Almost no one else will either. Your father… he just needs a break. I convinced him to give it a try. He starts next week.”
I just nodded and kept handing her the dishes.
“If you get a moment this week Alicia, drop by the church and thank Father James. He has been so good to us and we need to show him we appreciate him.”
“Don’t worry Mom,” I said stifling a grin “I will make sure he is appreciated.”
The next day, after school let out, I drove straight to the church. I probably broke a couple of traffic laws on the way there.
When I pulled in, I noticed that the church secretary’s car was parked in the front parking lot.
We would have to be careful today.
Father James’s new SUV was parked in his space. I walked over to take a look. It was a brand-new high-end luxury truck. Black pant with tan leather interior. I imagined what it would be like to fuck him in the backseat and got a little wet.
I went to the back door and used the key he had slipped me to get in. After I was in, I put the key on my key ring for safe keeping.
I walked across the basement, my hands and knees shaking with excitement, and knocked on Father James’s door.
“Come in.”
I walked in, closed, and locked the door behind me.
Father James was sitting at the kitchen table. He looked very angry. My excitement bleed away quickly and was replaced by shame and a little fear.
He didn’t say anything for several minutes. Not one word. Just looked at me.
Meanwhile I stood there and felt worse and worse with each passing second.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and with tears in my eyes I walked over to him, got down on my knees, and looked up into his face.
“You used your powers on that girl.”
“Yes.” I replied.
“Why?”
“She… she has been torturing me for years. Ever since Eighth grade. She has made my life hell.”
“Tell me. Tell me everything she has done so that I can understand why your risked everything to do this stupid stunt.”
I told him. Going back all the way to when Sara and I were friends. All the times she had tried to hurt me in field hockey. All the rumors she started. The nasty comments. And finally, the fight in her room.
How Sara had confessed that she loved me and was just being awful to cover it up.
All leading to controlling Sara and making her walk nude through the school that day.
When I was done, he turned his head and looked down at me.
“Is that all?”
“No.”
“What else did you do?”
He knew. I don’t know how, but he knew. Just like when Josh raped me, and he had gotten so angry that he lifted me off my feet. He knew something sexual had happened, but not what.
“I made her eat me out.”
He sighed, reached down, and put his hand under my chin so that I couldn’t look away.
“And why did you do that?”
“I wanted to humiliate her.”
“And making her walk naked through the school in front of all those people wasn’t enough?”
He was right. I didn’t want to admit it to myself until that moment, but there had been another reason.
“I wanted to get off. I was horny. And you were gone. And it turned me on so much having her eat me out. It still does.”
“Did anything else happen?”
I knew I was in trouble, so I might as well confess everything. I told him about my father, what he did to my mother, and what I had done to him with my powers.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Well, for your father, he will need to be dealt with at some point.”
He took his hand off my chin, put both hands on my shoulders, and lifted me up.
Then he hugged me and kissed me passionately.
When our embrace broke apart, I spoke first.
“How mad are you at me Father James?”
“Not as mad as I was before you told me the story. I can understand why you did these things, even if I think you were incredibly stupid to risk so much for revenge. Especially if you had waited and told me when I got back, we could have done something together. With far less risk and likely more reward.”
He paused for a moment, then smiled.
“I can also understand why you had sex with her. I, myself, missed you a great deal and I was, to be honest, very horny as well. But I resisted my urge. You did not.”
He ran his hands down the side of my body and stopped them at my hips.
“Now, it was a girl. And, again being honest, it turns me on with the thought of you being with another girl. In fact, I think we might want to pursue that further. But if it had been a boy? Alicia, I can tell you that I could never forgive that. Our love would be at an end. Do you understand?”
“It will never happen. Never.”
“Well don’t say never… let’s just say that you will never touch another man without my permission.”
My pulse quickened and I shied away from him a little bit. There might be a time when he would ask me, or order me, to be with another man?
Now I was genuinely scared.
“However, I don’t think I can let this incident go. Even if I do understand why you took the actions you took. There must be punishment.”
He took my arm roughly and lifted me off the ground. He half-carried me across the room and led me to the back of the couch.
“Strip.”
“But I…”
“Strip.”
I removed my shoes first, then my top and bra, and finally my jeans and underwear. I stood there naked before him, but he didn’t even take a second to admire me.
He simply turned me around and then pushed me, face first, over the couch so that my that I was lying completely exposed with my ass and pussy in the air.
Then he hit me.
The first slap against my ass was gentle. Almost like a warning. The next one drove the breath out of me and made me squeal like a pig.
He worked both ass cheeks, and even took several swats at my exposed cunt that sent ripples of pain roaring through my body.
Each smack sent shivers through me and I began breathing hard. I remembered that the church secretary was upstairs and bit down on the couch cushion beneath me to muffle my squeaks and cries.
Oddly, despite the pain, I found myself getting wet. I was enjoying it a little.
When he finally stopped I was in tears.
Then I heard something else. His zipper going down.
He spread my legs apart against the couch and entered me with such force that I thought he was trying to kill me.
This wasn’t about pleasure for him, he was teaching me a lesson.
His cock was like a weapon. An extension of his hands that he had just used to beat me.
He loved me. But I had to learn my place.
He thrust himself in and out of me like a jackhammer. Not caring whether or not I enjoyed it.
He started smacking my ass again, in time with each thrust, and I bit down harder to keep from crying out.
I don’t know how long it went on for, but my I had lost feeling in my ass and my whole body was sore by the time he finally stopped.
“Stand up and turn around.”
It took me a couple of seconds, and a lot of pain, to get up off the couch and turn.
“On your knees.”
I dropped down onto my heels as gently as I could, but pain still wracked my body.
He smacked me across the face. Not hard, but enough to make me tear up again.
Then he started to masturbate. I opened my mouth, but he shook his head.
“Close it. You don’t deserve that.”
I closed it.
Then he came. Right across my face. He covered my mouth, my chin, my nose, and both of my eyes with his cum.
When he was done, he zipped up.
“Stay there. Don’t move. Don’t touch your face.”
I couldn’t open my eyes, but I heard him walk into the other room, open the fridge, and crack open a bottle of beer. He came out and sat down at the kitchen table.
For the next, probably ten minutes, I sat there with my ass burning, my legs cramping, and my face soaking in his cum.
“Get up.”
My legs were unsteady, and the pain unbelievable, but I stood up.
“Go clean yourself off in the bathroom. Then come back.”
I followed his instructions. I was crying the whole way down the hall, the entire time I was cleaning myself up, and then walking back to the kitchen.
When I got back, he stood and embraced me.
“I am sorry I had to do that Alicia. But you took a great risk that could have hurt us both badly. I couldn’t stand to loses you. Worse, I cannot be found by the authorities. Not the human ones and certainly not the heavenly ones. I a demon. An escaped creature of evil and if I am found here on earth, I will likely be destroyed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father James. I understand. Thank you for teaching me. I love you.”
“I love you too my dear Alicia.”
We kissed and I felt some of the pain fall away.
This is where I belonged.
“No please sit. On the couch. That will be easier for you.”
We moved to the couch and I sat down gingerly onto it. Pain radiated across my back side and I knew I was going to be sore for a couple of days. I would have to be careful to hide it from my parents.
He sat down beside me.
“Now, I know I just gave you a lecture, and a lesson, on obedience and taking risks. That makes what I am about to tell you all more than a little ironic.”
He took my hand and held it.
“Someone in our congregation reported me to the church authorities.”
“Who?”
“Oh, I know exactly who it was.”
“What did they report?” I asked with a sinking feeling in my gut. Were we discovered?
“Nothing about you. Although there was something about inappropriate behavior towards parishioners that could have been a reference to you. I don’t know for sure. What I am sure was reported was my spending. This person, this worm, told several people higher up in the church that I was spending far too much money for a priest. Sadly, this information came to me after I bought my new toy outside.”
He stood up and began to pace.
“This person, who is very influential in our little community and parish, also reported that I have been lax in my priestly duties such as confession, visiting the sick, charity work, and pretty much everything else that I am supposed to be doing.”
He stopped and looked around the room.
“The trouble is, that he is right. I have no patience for this trivial nonsense. I have no desire to sit in a little booth and hear people whine. I have no time for wandering around a hospital visiting people who won’t even know I am there they are so far gone.”
“So, what happens now?”
“They want to move me. Transfer me to another parish. Maybe even strip me of all my possessions to teach me a lesson in humility before Christ.”
“Leave the parish?”
My heart sank. They couldn’t move him. They just couldn’t. He was my life!
“What are we going to do?”
“Well that is where the irony comes in. Friday night you and I are going to go and deal with this person. We are going to make sure that they retract their report. We are going to make sure that if this influential person, or any of his friends, decides to try and mess with me again that they know the consequences. In short, we are going to take a big risk. Bigger and more dangerous than the one you took. Are you prepared for that?”
I nodded. If he thought this was the way to save himself, and us, then I was with him.
“One benefit of this is that you will get practice. A lot of practice. Even using the mirror.”
“Am I powerful enough for that?”
“Only one way to tell my child. Only one way to tell. I need you to tell your parents that you are going to spend Friday night at your friend Margo Janes house, and then come here precisely at eight. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Father James.”
“Then we meet here at eight. Wear dark clothing. Black preferably.”
We embraced once more and, of course, kissed each other goodbye.
The sound of a nightstick striking the glass of the window woke me up. It took me a second or two to realize I was in my car. Looking around I came face-to-face with a cop looking in the window of the driver’s side of my car.
“Miss? Are you OK?”
I nodded.
“Can you get out of the car and stand up for me?”
I opened the door as he stepped back. I put both feet down on the concrete and stood up slowly. The pain from my punishment had only gotten worse since it happened. It felt like my entire backside was on fire.
Then there was a flashlight in my eyes.
“Miss, have you been drinking tonight?”
“No.” I said, but I was conscious that I was slurring my words a little. What was wrong with me?
“Any drugs?”
“No, Officer. No drugs.”
My head was starting to clear, and I could see around his flashlight that I was in the parking lot of a fast food burger joint.
“Miss, I am going to need you to blow into this. You are not legally obligated to do so, but if you don’t, I can take you in for testing.”
He shoved a breathalyzer at me. I blew into it. Fortunately for me, to do this, he had to take the flashlight out of my eyes and put it away.
I must have merged. That was the only explanation. It must have happened while I was driving, and I had just enough time and concentration to pull into this place and park before I passed out.
“Thank you, Miss. Ok this says you haven’t been drinking. Can you tell me what you have been doing? You look confused. Are you sure you haven’t been using drugs? You are very unsteady on your feet.”
I was fully awake now and aware of how much trouble I was in. I needed to do something to explain away what was happening.
“No, Officer. I was just driving home from my boyfriends and I got really tired. We…. Uh we had a little adventure tonight and I was very tired.”
“Uh-huh. Because, I have to tell you, sleeping in your car in a parking lot is not normally what I find with sober people. Let me see your license please.”
By this point several of the customers at the restaurant had stopped watch us.
“It’s in my purse. Can I go back into the car?”
“Go ahead.”
I reached in my purse, got my license out, and handed it to him. He was going to know I was only eighteen.
Then it occurred to me.
Embarrass him. If I could tell him something that would embarrass him, or make him uncomfortable, maybe he would let me go. Looking at the drug store next door I made a plan.
I made a come here motion with my finger.
“Can you come a little closer officer? I don’t want to just shout this out for everyone to hear.”
He looked skeptical but leaned a little closer.
“My boyfriend and I… we uh… we did a little roleplay tonight. You know… bondage. Spanking. Whips. Do you understand?”
“Are you saying that he beat you?”
“No, just a little lite consensual spanking. But it did leave me a little sore. That’s why I am kind of moving around a little. I’m not drunk. Just a little uncomfortable.”
“And what about sleeping in your car?”
“I pulled in to go next door and get some aspirin and then I was going to come over here and get a burger. I just rested my head against the window for a second. I must have fallen asleep.”
“Ok. And if I call your boyfriend will he verify this? Your evening of adventure?”
I was screwed. If he called Father James everything would come out. I had to think fast.
“You can. Though I doubt he is awake. It was… quite an adventure and I gave him a rough time too.”
I winked at the cop and smiled my best sexy smile.
“Uh-huh.” He said again.
I was standing there, trying not to rub my ass to make the fire go away, and I was the center of attention for at least fifteen people watching from the outside and inside of the burger place.
All I could for was pray he wouldn’t ask to call my boyfriend. Or worse, since I was eighteen, call my parents. I could just imagine what that conversation would look like.
“Ok. Since you aren’t drunk, and I don’t think you are on drugs, I am going to let you go this time. Not even a warning.”
“Thank you, Officer.”
“But I need to tell you that what you have done is very dangerous. Sleeping in your car is a great way to get hurt by a stranger. Maybe even raped. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Officer.”
He gave me back my license and I thought he was going to leave, but he reached under his coat where his badge was and pulled out a card. He handed it to me.
It was a business card with his name, badge number, address of his precinct, and a phone number.
“That is where you can reach me if you need me for anything. I love adventure.” He said, placing a lot of emphasis on the last word.
He was hitting on me. Unbelievable!
Then he winked at me and started back to his car. I got back into mine as carefully as possible and headed home.
It was eleven when I got home. An hour past my curfew on a school night.
I, with great care and not a little bit of pain, made my way up and into the house.
Mom was up and she was pissed.
I tried to explain that I had been studying late at the library for a biology test and lost track of time. She didn’t buy it for a second.
She told me that as punishment, which I seemed to be getting a lot of that day, that I was going to have to clean the entire basement on Sunday. Including organizing the mountain of clothes down there that Terry and Mike had outgrown.
But at least she didn’t ground me. Friday night was still a possibility.
Rather than ask her right then, I apologized and went up to my room. I fell asleep without even changing out of my clothes.
The next morning over breakfast, before school, I asked Mom about Friday night. She gave me another talking to about being out late the night before but said that I could go.
Just like any time I was waiting to see Father James, the seconds and minutes seemed to crawl by.
When Friday night finally came, I was so eager I nearly forgot to go home and get a change of clothes. I couldn’t leave the house wearing all black, but I did pack an overnight bag as if I was really going to Margo Jane’s house and I stuffed all my black clothing in there.
Halfway to the church I turned off the road into a park and changed my clothes in the bathroom. It was nasty in there but deserted.
It was only 6:30 when I got back in the car, so I sat in the parking lot of the park and read a book for class until it was 7:40. Fortunately no cops came around asking questions.
I pulled into the parking lot right at eight and Father James was waiting next to his SUV.
I got out, dressed all in black, and decided to prance over towards him like I was dancing.
He laughed and kissed me.
“Into the car little one.”
I climbed in the passenger side while he got in the drivers.
“Before we go Alicia, there is something I want to say.”
He paused for a moment and looked at me.
“I am a demon. Not human, although I do inhabit a human body. The truth is that you aren’t really human anymore either. You are a new type of creature. Part human, of course, but with a part of my essence, my soul I suppose, inside of you. You have become more than any normal human ever has. At least as far as I know. Clear so far?”
“Yes.”
“As part of that transformation, your merge into one being, you are going to become even more powerful and more even further from humanity.”
I nodded.
“Tonight, what we are going to do, it is very much not-human. We are going to teach a lesson. A much harsher lesson than the one I taught you. We aren’t going to kill anyone. But we are going to hurt them both mentally, emotionally, and physically. For me, a demon, this is not a new thing. But for you Alicia, this is a step into a new world.”
“I understand, Father James. I am ready.”
“You may think you are, but once we get in there you may hesitate. You may be afraid and experience sorrow for these people. You may even have regret afterward.”
He put the key in the ignition and started the truck.
“What I really saying is that, you need to remember that these are people who are trying to hurt us. Trying to tear us apart. And we cannot let them do that. We must not.”
“Yes, Father James.”
“And no jealousy tonight. This is for the two of us. We must both do whatever we need to do.”
“No jealousy.” I repeated without a lot of confidence.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. We were in the rich section of town and soon started passing massive McMansions on either side.
We drove past Sara’s house at one point.
Finally, we pulled into a cul-de-sac at the end of a long-wooded road. There were only two houses here and Father James turned down the driveway on the left and turned off the headlights.
I knew where we were. This was Deacon Siler’s house.
His son Ethan was two years older than me and a sophomore at college. He had played on our football team with Josh and had been recruited to a big state school to play for them.
His daughter, Megan, and I had been good friends as kids. I had come to their house several times for birthday parties. We had grown apart after we ended up in different schools, but I still saw her and the rest of the family, minus Ethan, at church every Sunday.
Of the four church Deacon’s, Mr. Siler was the most respected. He basically ran the parts of the church that didn’t fall under Father James control.
I knew him. I knew his kids.
Father James was right. I wasn’t ready for this. Not with someone I knew.
But… I had to do it. Father James would want me to be brave.
Besides, if Deacon Siler was threatening to take Father James away from me, then he deserved to be taught a lesson.
No one would break us apart.
The clock on the dashboard said 8:20.
“Are you ready my child?” he said turning to me.
I took a deep breath.
“Ready Father.”
“Do not hesitate. Remember these people want to destroy our relationship. Our love. We must be strong.”
“Yes. I will be.”
He got out of the car and walked to the front of it. I joined him there.
The path to their front door was gravel and as we marched up it to the front door, I worried that they would hear the crunch of our footsteps.
When we got to the porch, Father James pulled open the outer glass door, and then began ringing the doorbell. Not just once, but many times in a row. I could hear it going off inside like a siren.
Shortly the main door’s hand twisted, and the door opened.
Deacon Martin Siler stood there in his pajamas, carrying a baseball bat, and with a look of anger on his face. His restful Friday night was being disturbed and he was going to deal with it quickly.
Not quickly enough.
“Hello Martin.” Father James said as he charged the door and pushed Deacon Siler back into the house by his shoulders. I followed right behind them.
He shoved the Deacon against a wall, and I saw Father James eyes blaze to life.
“Sleep.”
Deacon Siler’s eyes glazed over, his face went slack, and he slumped to the floor against the wall.
“Martin?” came a voice from the brightly lit room to our right. Father James didn’t hesitate and charged into that room.
Mrs. Siler was just getting up from the couch, a book in her hand, when Father James and I entered. He reached across the couch, grabbed her head, blinded her with a look, and told her to sleep as well.
She fell onto the couch below him.
“Find the daughter. Bring her down here.”
“If I make her sleep, I won’t be able to carry her.”
“Control her. Make her walk on her own. You can do it Alicia.”
I obeyed. I searched downstairs, but I didn’t find Megan. I went back into the living room where Father James now had lifted Deacon Siler up, and dumped him next to his wife on the couch.
I didn’t say anything, only pointed upstairs.
Father James nodded.
I went up the stairs, taking them two at a time, until I reached the landing at the top. It was dark up here.
To my right was a closed door with no light under it. Straight ahead was another closed door with a light shining under it. Finally, to my left and down a short hallway was a third door, also closed, but I didn’t see any light.
I stopped for a second, unsure where to go first. Then I heard the sound of water from behind the door in front of me. A shower.
I tried the door and found it unlocked. I entered and immediately got blasted by a wall of steam. Megan, it must have been her, had been in the shower for a long time and she liked it hot.
“Occupied!” said a voice from inside the shower.
I grabbed the handle to the glass shower door and rapidly drew it open.
Inside was Megan, naked, wet, and with a really large and fancy purple vibrator in her hand.
“What the fuck? Alicia?!?”
My face went hot as my eyes lit up and she cringed backward.
And, as every time I had done it before, her eyes went glassy and face slack.
“Turn off the shower. Follow me.”
I was going to take her straight downstairs. I wondered what Deacon Siler was going to feel when he saw his naked daughter. Especially with such a large vibrator in her hand.
I stepped out into the hallway ahead of her and the right side of my face exploded in pain.
“Fuck you!” yelled a voice and another blast of pain hit me. I stumbled to my knees.
I rolled over onto my back and looked up to find Ethan, in t-shirt and sweatpants, staring down at me with his fists raised.
Oh, he punched me, I thought to myself.
It took a second in the dark, but he recognized me.
“Alicia! Wait… what the fuck is going on here.”
Thinking quickly, I kicked him in the balls as hard as I could, and he went stumbling back onto his ass.
My head swimming a little from the two blows he struck, I got back to my hands and knees and rapidly scooted across the carpet towards him.
Megan, still naked and dripping water, stood in the doorway like a statue.
He kicked out a foot at me, but I dodged it. Then I was on top of him and fighting. I got a couple of punches into his face, before he was able to push me away. He outweighed me by at least 50 pounds, most of it was muscle.
I landed on my back and kicked out with my right foot. I connected with the side of his chest just as he was trying to get back up and he sat back down again with an “oof!”.
From downstairs I heard Father James call my name. There was concern in his voice.
I ignored it.
I had to use my powers. Even with my head ringing like a bell. But could I control two people at once? I hadn’t even thought about doing it, much less tried it.
Ethan was quickly getting to his feet again, so I kicked out with both feet again and aimed at his head. I missed, but I made him dodge and gave myself a few precious seconds.
I threw myself up off my back and towards him.
My eyes, shining as powerful as I had ever seen them, lit up the darkened landing around me, just as Ethan took another swing.
My powers overwhelmed him halfway through the punch and it ended up bouncing off my shoulder.
“Alicia? Are you alright?!? I am coming up.” I could hear Father James pounding up the stairs now.
Ethan was kneeling there on the carpet in front of me and both of his arms fell to his sides.
I did it.
I stood up slowly. I was a little woozy from the punches. I felt the side of my head and it was burning. When I pulled my hand back and there was a little bit of blood from around my ear.
His knuckles must have opened a cut.
Then Father James was there, his eyes lighting up the place even more than mine, and he looked ready for a fight.
He took in the scene. Megan in the doorway. Ethan on his knees. And me, shaking my head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
“Did he hurt you? Let me see.”
Father James gently took my head in his hands and turned it so that he could see both sides. I felt him put a hand to my ear and I knew he could see I was bleeding.
Without another word he turned and kicked Ethan in the balls.
The boy didn’t say anything but slumped against the wall beside him.
“I already did that.” I said.
“Damn it. I didn’t expect him here. He must have come home from college for the weekend. Here, let me carry you downstairs and I will come back for them.”
“No.” I said firmly “I am OK. I can do it.”
He smiled at me with pride.
“OK, you do it.”
I grabbed Ethan by the chin and told him to stand up. He did.
“Ethan, are you hearing me?” I said to him.
“Yes.”
“Walk downstairs and sit down on the couch.”
He pushed past Father James without a thought and walked downstairs.
I turned to Megan and ordered her to do the same thing. The naked girl followed her brother downstairs.
I shook my head again. The pain on the right side was starting to lessen.
Father James took me in his arms and held my head against his shoulder.
When he spoke, he sounded like he was almost on the verge of tears.
“Alicia. My love. I am so happy he didn’t hurt you worse. I don’t know what I would do without you. I honestly didn’t expect him to be here. Can you forgive me?”
I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“Nothing to forgive.”
He smiled.
“What do we do now Father James?”
“My love, we teach Martin Siler a lesson and we use his family to do it. The good news is, while we are at it, the two of us are going to have a lot of fun. No jealously, remember?”
“No jealousy.”