Accepting Fate - (Slums to Riches, Book one)

Chapter 50

"No!"

Angelique rushed to Michael and surrounded them in a shield. She did not want anyone else hurt. Stones dug into her soles, reminding her of her promise to wear shoes. Laying her hands beside michael's writhing body, she grew a patch of grass and then lifted his head onto her lap.

"Why Mickey? Why did you come out here? Why couldn't you wait until I got inside?"

He spoke through clenched teeth as he tried to explain. "N-needed to t-tell you something. H-had to c-come out. M-mothers t-told me to-to come."

Angelique yelled up at the sky as though she could actually see the two women looking down at her. "Stop this. He doesn't need more pain. Hasn't he gone through enough? Take it back. I know you can. Take it back."

"We cannot. He asked for this. He wanted to be like you, so he could help you."

"He doesn't need to be a witch to help me."

"It is his request."

"Mickey, please, let me stop this. You don't need this. You have enough to deal with."

"I-I can't. I tried! He f-fights with me in m-my dreams. I can't s-sleep. Please. It's my choice."

"It's the wrong choice."

"It's inevitable," the mothers said.

"No it is not. You can reverse this."

"It will happen again. And soon. Help him and we will explain. Leave him and he dies. Then it will be over. The demons win."

"I don't understand. How can they win if he dies? Not that I want him to die. I want you to reverse this."

"We cannot. Only you can and only if he agrees. Help him and we will explain."

He cried out as all his muscles seized up. His back arched off the ground and then it all passed again.

"You don't need this Mickey. You heard my thoughts and saved me from those demons, without having magical abilities."

"With Cook's help. She tapped into our minds, so I could talk to you. As a witch, I can do it on my own. I created the bond between us, and as a witch, I will have the ability to link with the others too. You can store the bad thoughts. I need that. I can't get rid of him alone. I can't fight any more. I tried, Annie, but I am so tired. He's going to kill me in my sleep, and there's nothing I can do to stop him. Please, Annie. Let me have this. Make me like you."

Angelique rocked him in her arms, dripping tears onto his face and hair. How could she deny this sweet, innocent child when he begged her for help? How could she deny him when she knew she would need his help soon?

"Mickey, I think you should wait--"

"No. It's already started. Just let it finish. They said we would have to choose soon, anyway. I choose to do it now."

"What is he talking about? Choose what?" she shouted at the sky.

"Help him before he dies. We will explain. Hurry!" the mothers scolded.

"Annie, it hurts. Please. Finish it. Please!"

"Dammit Mickey!" she shouted and dropped her head to his forehead. She sobbed for all the pain he would go through as his body absorbed her energy and changed him on a cellular level.

When her tears died down and she could form words, she said, "I hope you know what you're asking me to do. I have to release my energy directly into you. What you have absorbed won't be enough to change you. But make no mistake, this will be much worse than what you've already suffered. If you survive this..." Her voice broke and she shook her head, not wanting those thoughts in her head, but needing to explain what it could lead to. "If you survive the changes, you can do anything you set your mind to. You can fight anything. You can beat Bob at his sick game, even though they are only memories. If you survive, Mickey."

"Bob already tried to kill me once. A little molecular change won't do me in. Do you doubt my willingness to live?"

"That is not my concern. It's the willingness of your body to accept the changes you have to go through to become a witch, that has me worried. Your mind might be strong enough, but you could be overestimating your body's strength. Especially after what you went through. I'm scared for you, Mickey. I can't lose you now."

"Annie, the mothers would not have sent me out here if they didn't believe I could survive the changes. They would have kept me inside. Right?"

"You have more faith in them than I do. They've messed up in the past. Who says they are not wrong about this?"

Michael squeezed her hand. "I do. I've never felt this healthy in my life Ann. Before you healed me, I walked with a limp, because Bob wouldn't take me to the hospital, when I popped a knee. That's why I stopped playing sport at school, but I enjoy painting too. I get to release all my anger, without harming anyone. Trust me Annie. I know I can do this. Please."

She wiped her eyes and nodded. "Okay, but I hope you are ready, because we're in for a world of hurt. Both of us."

"I'm sorry, Annie. I never wanted you to feel my pain. Not when I shifted, and definitely not now."

"As the mothers said, it is inevitable. I will feel it until I learn to block it out, like I do with emotions and thoughts."

When she laid his head on the grass, Andrew asked, "Angie, what's happening to him?"

"I'll explain soon. I need you guys to go back to the house. Stay behind the protection shield around the veranda. Cook will tell you when it's safe."

"There's a shield around the veranda?" Ty asked.

"The closer you are to the door, the safer you are."

She waited until Cook and Logan took them all back to the house. Jenny sat in her window seat, peeking out at them. At least she had a smile on her face.

She turned back to Michael and released the shield around them.

"Don't fight it. Let it flow through you and, please, do not stop breathing. Like before, you can scream and shout, but do not stop breathing. Promise me."

"I promise. In and out. Pound the sand, throw stones, but don't stop breathing. I got this Annie. I'm not going to die. Not today. I still want to meet my mate."

Angelique could not stop her laughter, even as she laid her hands on his bare chest and felt his ribs poking her. He needed to eat more. Hopefully he had enough to sustain him for what he needed to do next.

Trying to ease both their minds, she said, "I happen to know she has had a tough time, but not like you did. And she has red hair and big boobs."

Michael grinned and said, "What more can a guy ask for? She sounds perfect. Now, let's get this pain over with, so I can sort my mind out for my woman."

She swatted at him, catching the tip of his nose as he tried to dodge her, but then she got serious.

He nodded that he was ready, so she let her energy flow to her hands and straight into his chest.