Accepting Fate - (Slums to Riches, Book one)

Chapter 23

Angelique had to swallow the bile rising in her throat when Michael rolled onto his stomach. Stitches would have left scars, and he already had too many. The roadmap of scars brought tears to her eyes as she laid her hands over the raised and lumpy skin. If he had not told her Bob bit and scratched him, she would have assumed he used a spiked whip to inflict the scars.

One wound concerned her the most because it peeled back to reveal bone. She had to cause Michael more pain than she ever wanted to experience herself. But she pressed it into place and released her energy into the wound.

All the while, Andrew and Ty shouted at Logan to let them in. Logan's back slammed against the door a few times until Angelique waved her hand at the door and said two words. One to lock the door, "cincinno," the other to silence the noise, "silentium."

For the first time, the mothers included pictures to explain the words. A Latin handbook would have made it easier to understand. Since she did not have one, she relied on the mothers' guidance.

As she did with his arms and legs, she rotated her hands over Michael's back, biting back her own moans as she repeated the mantra in her head. When she reached the dimples above his buttocks, she sat on her haunches and stretched her back, ridding herself of the ghostly aches and pains.

She waved her hand at the door, speaking the word to open the door in her mind. "Logan, could you take Michael to go look at his back?"

"Get out!" Michael shouted as soon as Logan walked over to him. "Annie called Logan, not you two, and I never gave you permission to come into my room."

"Michael, we're..."

"I know, but I'd like you to leave right now. And please do not come in here, unless I say you can."

Andrew slammed the door behind him.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him, Mickey. He feels responsible for what happened. He was right there beside you ever night."

"I know, but he's going to ask questions and waste our time. You get super angry when you have to repeat yourself. I'm saving us all from a lot of frustration and electrocution, or worse. One of us could end up a toad forever."

She pushed his head and giggled. "Get out of here. I need a few minutes alone."

"Annie?" He leaned over the bed to look at her. "Are you sure you're okay to go on? I don't mind waiting a bit."

She kissed his forehead. "I'm sure. As I said, I just need a few minutes alone. I promised not to go too far, right?"

"Yeah, but that worries me. You never know when to stop. I don't want you to get sick because of me."

"I won't. I swear I will stop if I really can't go on. Before I pass out. Now, do you want to see that gorgeous back or not?"

He frowned and turned to Logan, who stood staring at him with his mouth hanging open.

"It's all gone. You don't have any scars," he said after a while.

"For real?"

Michael's eyes stretched, and he hobbled as fast as he could to the bathroom. When Logan followed, she sat down, crossed-legged, on the floor and raised shaking hands to her face. "Please, help me out here." She prayed silently. "I can't stop now. He doesn't deserve all this pain. He deserves happiness more than any of us and this is the only way I can help, but I need a little boost. The internal damage is too much for me right now, but I can't leave him like this. Let me complete my task. Please."

She rocked herself, forcing back the tears threatening to break free. A sudden gust swirled around her and she gasped for air as a blast of energy knocked the wind out of her.