The usual restrictions apply: please read no further if this type of story isn't to your tastes, or if you're under legal age. This story may not be reprinted anywhere without permission. The entire contents are copyright 2003 by James Frederic; All rights reserved. Comments to the author are welcomed at JFrederic87@netscape.net. Please visit my site at http://si-87.envy.nu/
"Somebody help me!" A voice cried out of the darkness.
"Do it now Justin, or you know what'll happen." A cold voice replied, knowing there was no one around to reply to the desperate cry for help. Jace towered above his younger stepbrother. Tall and muscular, Jace was not one to defy. His wiry, Filipino frame displayed his prominent muscles. Beside him stood his younger brother, Nick. Nick was similar in appearance to Jace, but more closed off and younger. They stood above the cowering form of their stepbrother, knowing that they could get seriously hurt if he realized his true power.
Justin lay on the floor, cowering, curled up into a ball, hoping they would go away. He didn't want this, he didn't want these powers. If all they meant was getting bullied around and hurt so others could use him, he didn't want them. Jace raised his hand to deliver another blow to Justin's face, when something inside Justin snapped. He became so scared that Jace would kill him that he just snapped. He didn't want to die, and he would do whatever was necessary to live.
As Jace lowered his hand to deliver the blow, Justin started to glow with an eerie light. His body uncurled and started to rise off the ground. "NO!" He cried, "I won't let you hurt me any more, not now! Not EVER!" His body began to change; his clothes became angelic in appearance, and pure white in color. Magnificent wings began to unfurl and rise out of his back; one white, one black, and a leathery tail with a triangle at the end began to snake out from just below his waist. Horns rose from his head, and a halo encircled itself above them. "Holy shit!" Jace proclaimed, backing away fast and beginning to run. Nick quickly pursued him, not wanting to remain in the presence of his stepbrother any longer.
"NO!" Justin exclaimed, "No longer will I let you hurt me! It's time you realized the pain you have inflicted upon me!" Justin cried, tears of anger and pain streaming from his eyes. His mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. His wings gained shape and form; the white wing on his left began to form into the shape of an angel, and his black wing into the shape resembling that of the grim reaper. His wings continued to grow in size until they stood out slightly larger than arms length away from his body. The black wing on his right reached out, and with a giant sweep, sent Jace and Nick crashing against the wall. They slowly sunk to the floor, trails of blood following their heads on the way down. Justin watched in horror, and as his stepbrothers sank to the ground, he began his own descent to the floor.
His white wing grew, and caught him before he could reach the ground. The angel smiled down onto his limp body and whispered to his counterpart, "He looks so innocent like this, doesn't he?"
"My my, have we actually become infatuated with our charge?" Aku asked provocatively. Eki blushed furiously, and quipped back,
"No, of course not, he is the one we were sent to protect, I only care for him as I would a friend." Aku smirked unbelievingly and replied,
"Right, a friend that inspires certain feelings deep within your..." Eki blushed a deeper shade of crimson and exclaimed embarrassingly,
"Please, I beg of you, DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" Aku smirked and replied sarcastically,
"Sure, some angel you are, falling in love your charge," Eki turned redder still and quipped back nervously,
"I'm not in love, I just care about him, besides, he doesn't even know of our presence."
"Right, whatever you say, now how about we agree to disagree and return him to his human form?" Aku replied slyly, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Eki growled and replied sharply,
"Fine, good-night, and good riddance." The wings began to yet again grow, and consume Justin, enveloping him in a cocoon. When they began to retract into his body, he had yet again regained his human form. "The time is at hand Justin, you shall soon realize your destiny," a vaguely familiar voice echoed through his dream.
Justin shot up from his reclined state in bed and took a deep breath. "Thank god, it was only a dream," He sighed, relieved. "But it seemed so real. Has that happened before?" He questioned himself at length, but not finding the answers he sought. "Oh well, it was only a dream, no harm can come of dreams," he mumbled to himself reassuringly as he drifted back to sleep, no doubt to be tormented by the nightmares of past memories locked away in pain and suffering. Justin slept fitfully through the night, tossing and turning without abandon, his eyes tight shut with what looked like a grimace.
Justin's alarm went off at seven-thirty, as usual. Justin, however, did not get up until seven-forty, as usual. He went through the typical morning rituals, getting ready, eating breakfast and the like. When he approached the mirror, he looked at himself thoughtfully. The image before him was the typical mortal teenager, slim but slightly muscular build, soft brown hair parted down the center. What drew the most attention to him however, were his eyes. He didn't know why people like blue eyes so much more than any other color.
"Mortals," he said to himself, rolling his eyes. They were sort of interesting though, he noted to himself. They were darker that most eyes. Most people with blue eyes that he had seen were ice blue. His varied from sky blue to royal blue, depending on his mood.
Justin stared at himself intently in the mirror, looking past the glamour. What he saw was his body, but with horns, a halo, a pair of magnificent wings, one white, one black, and a leathery tail. He never got why he had a black wing and a white wing, but it probably had something to do with the fact that he was half-angel, half-demon. The child of an angel and Satan, Justin had no place in the world. He kept whom he was a secret to keep him from reliving the pain he once knew from his stepbrothers.
He sighed to himself. It took a great deal of power to conceal his true form from mortals, and an even greater deal of magic to hide himself from people with magical powers. Justin broke the stare he so intently kept, and looked over at his clock. He had about twenty minutes before he had to go. He turned his head back to the mirror and saw only what he wanted people to see, an ordinary human, devoid of any clue that he possessed any magical powers whatsoever. He sighed to himself and went to his bed to wait out the now fifteen minutes before he had to go. As the time approached, he got up and started to head towards the door, being joined by his sister and stepfather.
The ride to school was unremarkable, a few fights between him and his step-father, Miles, and a chosen few comments to his sister, Mae, and the trip went by grudgingly as usual. As Justin stepped out of the car, his attitude changed completely. No longer under the constraints of his family, he was free to act and say what he wanted around his friends, and not be ridiculed. "At least I have lunch to look forward to," he sighed to himself. "Thank goodness for friends, and boyfriends," he finished, smirking. "Let the fun begin!"
Justin started to run, or prance as some people described it. He didn't quite know who described it as that, but he knew that someone did. On his way to the `blue hall' on the other side of school, he was silently joined from the side by none other than his boyfriend, Mark. This came as no surprise to Justin however, he had sensed the presence of his boyfriend from the time he stepped foot on school grounds.
"Morning honey," Mark cooed into Justin's ear while delicately slipping his arm around Justin's lithe body, entwining his fingers within those of his love's. Justin shivered from the contact and smiled back to Mark. Their eyes locked, and for just one moment, Justin thought he saw a flash of yellow in them. What was that? He thought to himself, That couldn't have been human. He sighed inwardly, No, it was just my imagination, I've checked Mark hundreds of times before, he's 100% human for sure. As Justin was assuring himself of this, fresh doubt popped into his mind. What if I'm wrong though, what if he isn't human? What if he can't control who he really is? Justin fiercely pushed these thoughts down back into the depths of his subconscious. He loved Mark with all his heart and soul, and that's all that mattered. Right, even if Mark isn't human, neither am I, and either way he still loved him with a passion unmatched by most.
Justin was snapped back to reality, and focused on the person that had broken him from his trance-like state. "Honey, are you ok? You seemed kind of out of it there." Justin smiled at Mark's concern, and replied softly,
"Yeah, I'm just fine Mark, thanks for caring."
"No problem honey," Mark smiled back. The two stood there in each other's arms, eyes locked with each other.
As if by telepathy, their eyes began to slowly close, and they started to lean towards each other. Justin, not wanting to chance Mr. Flatriss coming out and yelling at them, tweaked the laws of reality slightly. Time slowed to a stop just as their lips met is a passionate kiss. Mark was too enthralled with the feeling of his boyfriend's silky soft lips to notice that they were the only ones moving. Justin opened his mouth slightly to Mark's searching tongue, allowing it entrance into the warm cavern of his mouth. Their tongues intertwined with each other inside Justin's mouth, in a sensual dance. As the kiss advanced, their tongues started to withdraw into their respective mouths, and the two started to separate. Justin made sure to resume the flow of time before Mark could notice he even stopped it.
They stared into each other's eyes until Justin started to waver. Damn it, he thought, That took more magic than anticipated. Mark was looking at him with rising worry, Justin wasn't looking too well. His eyes were bloodshot and half-lidded, and he was swaying around drunkenly.
"Are you alright Justin? Maybe you should go to the nurse," Mark asked worriedly. As he finished his sentence, Justin began to fall forward, unconscious.
"Justin!" Mark exclaimed, fear very apparent in his voice. He stepped forward to catch the limp body of his boyfriend. A million thoughts raced through his head as he ran to the nurse's office, but one in particular stuck out, Please be okay Justin, I couldn't live without you.
Mark's eyes constantly kept snapping back to Justin, as if they were attached to him by string.
"So, how did this happen?" Mark was snapped out of his state of focus by the gruff man standing in front of him. He knew that the man was there to help Justin, but he still didn't trust him. The medical assistant was dressed in the familiar white coat of a hospital nurse, but he had an unfamiliar scent to him. Mark couldn't quite place it, but it made his nose feel funny.
"We were kissing, and when we stopped, his eyes were bloodshot, he was swaying around dizzily, and then he just fainted." The man standing in front of Mark merely raised an eyebrow, but he knew better. He knew that the other man was seething inside; his temperature was too high for him not to be.
"I see," he commented idly, voice neutral but slightly cold, "Well we'll do the best we can for him, but he'll probably wake up on his own. We will notify his parents, and send him home when he does." The nurse said in as neutral a voice as possible, and waved for the medics to come and load Justin's stretcher onto the ambulance.
"Can you notify me when he wakes up?" Mark questioned hopefully, but already knowing the answer.
"No, you are not family, he will talk to you again when he returns to school. Have a good day sir." The nurse's voice lowered to a whisper, and his eyes narrowed. Mark knew it was futile to argue, so he simply agreed and stood there and watched as Justin's limp form was loaded into the ambulance.
"Please Justin, be okay, I love you," he whispered before turning around to head to his class, a lone tear running down his cheek.
Mark headed back to where he was originally supposed to go, pausing once as he looked onto the poster for the Valentines Day dance. He sighed loudly, and continued on. What purpose was there to a dance where every one was glowing? But even so, if he could go to it with Justin, he would jump at the chance. His parents had choked down on him so much that he only saw Justin at school. Two or three hours a day just wasn't enough, especially under school constraints. He hated not being able to express how he truly felt about Justin, and he knew Justin felt the same way. A little kiss here and there, some hand holding, he felt like one of those stupid straight couples that are just in lust with each other. He felt so much more than that. He loved Justin with all of his heart, and he wanted to truly show Justin that. Mark's thoughts wondered back to when they first got together. They had so much time with each other, had access to each other's houses (not at night though), and they had no worries. Their love had evolved into something much more powerful since then, but now he had his parents to contend with.
Mark walked into his social-psych class as Ms. Anne finished her explanation of a group project, and began to sit down at her desk. She looked up as Mark approached and asked with a smile,
"So, where have you been, and where is Justin?" Mark sniffled sadly and replied,
"Justin fainted before school. He had to be taken to the hospital. His parents will be contacted when he wakes up."
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I hope he's alright," Ms. Anne exclaimed with worry. One of the two teachers Justin still had from last year; he and Ms. Anne kept a student-teacher friendship. It also helped that Mark had her as well. She, like most teachers, was very accepting of Justin and Mark's relationship. She also headed the Gay-Straight Alliance. Ms. Torres continued to reassure Mark that Justin would be all right, then proceeded to fill him in on what he had missed, and assigned him to a group.
Justin slowly opened his eyes to the view of a white ceiling that had been scrubbed clean, and raw in some places. He yawned and tried to stretch, only to find that he had i.v.'s attached to both arms in various places. He also felt a catheter and other various instruments attached to him in strategic places on his body.
"Wha-, where am I?" He questioned himself, and anyone who may be able to answer his question.
"You're in the hospital after you lost consciousness at your school," answered a rather gruff looking man standing in the doorway, "You've been unconscious for a couple of hours now."
"Oh," Justin took this information in at his own pace, calculating what time it would be, and what state of worry Mark and his parents would be in at the moment.
"Oh, Justin, you're awake," his mother replied calmly. She knew why he had fainted, it may have been hard for other magical beings to tell why, but he was her son, and she knew when he used his magic on a grand scale. It took a massive amount of magic to stop time; very few could actually manage it. She was rather surprised that Justin could. Her son's powers were growing at an alarming rate; she would have to watch them more closely now, to make sure that they didn't turn evil.
Justin again realized he was in a dreaming state. Though not one of pain, but one of pleasure. He could vaguely see Mark's shape outlined beneath the silky smooth sheen of fabric that separated him from Justin's searching eyes. There was something different though. Mark's form was different somehow. The unconscious form seemed to provide an uneven surface across the sheets, as if there was more than the creamy skin of Justin's lover beneath it. Justin began to approach Mark's bed cautiously, wondering if the entity that now occupied it was in fact Mark, or even human for that matter.
As he came close enough to notice the head, he gasped in shock. In place of the beautiful face that belonged to his lover, there was the curious visage of a wolf. Justin recoiled in shock, but continued to move ever slowly towards the bed. The "were-wolf" Justin was staring at was not gruesome like some would depict, but calm, and peaceful, a mask of serenity painted across its face. Justin continued to stare at the wolf, taking in the precious beauty that it portrayed. Justin finally came to a halt, perpendicular with the entity's head. Justin finally reached out to stroke the cheek of this mystery-wolf. Its fur was not hard and bristly like he expected, but rather silky and soft, like the sheets that covered the rest of its body.
As Justin tenderly stroked the cheek of the wolf, its eyes began to flutter, then inevitably open. The wolf stared at Justin with a piercing gaze. Justin looked back into those golden orbs, and found familiarity in them. The look the wolf was giving him was not of fear, or suspicion, or even hate, but rather of love. Justin wondered why he was so drawn to the loving pull of the entity's eyes, and it finally dawned on him. This was one that he knew, and loved, it was Mark!
As Justin realized this fact with a start, Mark extended a silky paw from beneath the sheets and softly grasped Justin's hand within it.
"Please forgive me Justin, I hid this from you because I feared you would hate me." Mark pleaded, tears beginning to well up, and spill forth from his beautiful golden orbs. Justin grasped Mark's hand tighter and knelt down to bring himself only inches away from Mark's face.
"Don't worry Mark, there is nothing to forgive. I understand your reason for keeping this from me, I have kept my own secrets, and I am sorry for that, but regardless of what you look like, it doesn't change my feelings for you. I still love you with all my heart, no matter who or what you are." Justin replied softly, bringing his face closer to Mark's.
Mark shifted his gaze back to Justin and stared back into the royal blue eyes of his lover. As a breeze began to flow through Mark's open window, the two began to bring their faces closer together, interlocking their lips and sending their tongues into each other's mouths in a soft, sensual dance. Mark brought his other hand to the back of Justin's head and proceeded to pull his head closer to his own. Justin lifted his leg up and proceeded to position it on one side of Mark, and his other leg on the other side.
Their tongues ended their soft embrace, and withdrew into their own cavernous mouths, no doubt to be used at a later time. Mark slowly lifted Justin off the bed, and raised his sheet in an invitation to join him in bliss. Justin silently accepted, and noticed with a blush that Mark was wearing nothing except a beautiful coat of fur. Justin used his own powers to discreetly remove his own constrictive clothing, save his boxers
He climbed in next to Mark, who wrapped his arms protectively around Justin, intertwining his paws with Justin's own hands. Justin could feel Mark's bulging sheath pressed against his rear, but ignored it. This night was for comfort, not exploration. Justin snuggled closely to Mark, and felt the familiar pull of sleep begin to claim him. As he was drowsing off, a familiar voice whispered into his ear, the words that struck fear into his very soul,
"I'm back Justin, and this time, everyone will know who you are."
Justin again shot up from his dream, covered in sweat and staring at the hospital bulletin on the wall in front of him. He looked to the small clock to his left, and read the numbers one-one-five. Great, he thought to himself, it's one-fifteen. Justin took a few moments to ponder his dream. He wondered what it meant. He considered the factors involved, Mark was a were-wolf, and they slept in the same bed together. That would be a normal dream save the part about Mark not being human. Then there was also the voice at the end. He knew it was Jace's, and that it could very well have been a premonition. Justin sat in bed and pondered the meaning of his dream until sleep once again claimed his as its own.
Lee sat at her desk, not really paying attention to the teacher and his insatiable desire to bore the life out of his students. Her mind wandered to Justin, and where he may be. Mark had told her that he fainted before school, and was at the hospital. At least it's nothing fatal, she thought semi-sarcastically. Life would be dull without Justin. Somehow, without anyone's knowing, he managed to worm his way into everyone's life. Everyone had been alone some way or another before they all met each other. Mark, Justin and herself were the connecting threads that held everyone together.
Mark had his way of becoming everyone's big brother, the one everyone was so used to having around. Justin had his own way of life. He was always the friendly shoulder to cry on, the person who would drop his problems if someone was down, or needed help. Justin was quite familiar with pain, and hated seeing others acquainted with it. After being through so much himself, Justin could understand, or try to, the pain that his friends sometimes went through.
Lee sighed nostalgically. Whether they liked it or not, Justin had become a crucial part of everyone's life. Everyone who meets Justin gets affected by him in some way or another, they can't help it, and neither can he. He is the kind of person no one forgets; no matter how hard they try.
"Ahem," The teacher coughed annoyingly, "Ms. Nekkyo, can you please stop drawing, wipe that look off your face, and answer the question?
"Fine, the answer is Robert E. Lee," Lee replied sharply, quickly becoming agitated. I should know, she thought harshly, I was there.
"Very good, Ms. Nekkyo, yes Robert E. Lee was the commanding general for the confederates, and lost to Grant, in turn, losing the civil war..." The teacher continued droning on, as Lee tuned him out, fuming inwardly for disturbing her inspiration on the drawing pad. She continued drawing again, her thoughts returning to Justin every once in a while.
Justin regained consciousness once again, but he was not in the hospital, he was in hell. Fear shot a hole through his heart, and his mind only processed thoughts of survival.
"What am I doing here?" He asked, trying to cloak his voice in authority, hoping a lesser demon would answer him.
"I summoned you here," replied Jace, an evil smirk set in his face. Justin backed up in shock, trying to return to earth, but finding it impossible.
"Sorry Justin, but you can't teleport out of here. I made sure of that." Jace spoke this while inspecting his hand, acting as if this was a small matter.
"Bastard!" Justin screamed,
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Oh, I have my reasons, but for now I'd like you to see one of my new talents." Jace finished inspecting his hand and held it out towards Justin, as if to press it against an invisible wall. Justin looked on with curiosity and horror as masses of demons were appearing I front of Jace, all ready to attack Justin. Jace lowered his hand and shouted for them to attack. None of the demons however, moved. Justin smirked, regaining his confidence.
"They won't attack me Jace, the know what the consequences are for attacking the child of Satan, and heir to the throne of hell." Jace narrowed his eyes and spat disgustedly,
"Ungrateful beasts, get back in the earth." The legions of demons looked back at Jace, their eyes glinting with cannibalistic glee. Justin smirked evilly, and watched the turn of events unfold before him. He knew the temperament of demons. They hated being summoned, especially for no reason, and would take out their anger on the nearest being alive. Jace, being aware of the temperaments of demons as well, shimmered and disappeared before the demons could peruse him. Jace's voice however, remained for one last warning.
"I'm not through yet Justin, just wait until I find the Divine Rose." Jace's voice echoed throughout the cavernous depths of hell, finally disappearing into silence. Justin had heard rumors of such an artifact, but none were too detailed. Resolving to look into it later, he disappeared in a burst of flames, no longer constricted by Jace's spell.
Mark lay in his bed, twisting uncomfortably, his face in a grimace. His dream causing him to cry out softly,
"Justin, no please don't go Justin, I love you. Please come back, I can't lose you." As Justin disappeared in Mark's dream, two different apparitions appeared, startling him. "Who are you? And what have you done to Justin?" Mark asked angrily, advancing threateningly towards them.
"Don't bother child, this is just a dream," The first apparition said. He appeared to be wearing a cloak, much like the Grim Reaper's.
"Don't worry Mark, Justin is just fine, I promise." The second apparition's voice was much softer and more understanding than the first's. This apparition wore a long white cloak, and had a face devoid of any negative emotion. Mark looked at the two quizzically and asked skeptically,
"Who are you, and what are you doing in my dream?" The first apparition scoffed, but it was the second that spoke,
"You may call me Aku, and this is my friend Eki," Aku said, gesturing towards the apparition next to him.
"We're not friends," Eki said quietly, but spoke no more after that.
"We are Justin's guardians," Aku said kindly, and continued on. "We protect him with unseen hands. He has no idea we exist, not will he." Mark raised his eyebrows at this, but allowed Aku to continue on. "Justin is very special, and we know you are as well. We also know that Justin loves you very much. Someone or something is plotting. We are not sure who they are, or what they want, but what we do know is that Justin will be in grave danger." Mark looked worried, but still said nothing as Eki spoke this time.
"You love him right? You will have to protect him, he is too special to die."
"How is he special, do you mean he's another werewolf like me?" Mark asked cautiously, and added as an afterthought, "How did you know about me anyways?" Aku blushed at this, but spoke anyways.
"Well, as Justin fell in love with you, we did some research to find if you would be an appropriate choice or not." Mark looked slightly bemused at this.
"I see, and I assume I passed then?" Aku nodded, as Mark posed another question,
"So, how is Justin special anyways?" Eki and Aku looked at each other and nodded slowly. It was Eki that spoke.
"Justin is well, the prince of hell. His father was, is Satan, and his mother was an angel, but she gave up her title to become 'human' and live on earth. She still has most of her powers, but rarely uses them. Justin has lived his whole life hating who he was. He does not wish to be heir to the throne, nor have his angelic powers. His deepest desire is to become mortal. He is afraid that you would stop loving him if you found out about his secret." Mark looked taken back, but replied nonetheless.
"I would never stop loving him, even if he is, well, Sin-Incarnate. I still love him anyways." Aku looked somewhat happy at this.
"You have to protect him, there is only so much we can do without revealing ourselves." Aku said softly, looking Mark directly in the eyes. Mark nodded as the world around them began to blur. As he woke up, Mark heard one last comment from Eki,
"Kid, if you ever tell him about us, I'll kill you." Mark sat up in bed, instinctively knowing that that was more than a dream.
"Please don't let anything bad happen to Justin," he murmured softly, a lone tear sliding down his cheek.