Centum Malediction

Chapter 7-10

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

It was dark. The sun had long set. Michael struggled to recall a day as bad as this one as he sat alone in Chelsea's desk. He had already called his father informing him on what happened, leaving some of the gruesome details out. It was almost nice, having his father know about magic and what he had to do.

Naturally his father was worried, but in the end was happy to hear everyone was okay, or rather, still alive. The thing was, Chelsea had suffered the worst of them all and Michael wouldn't leave her side until she recovered. He glanced from his phone to her bed where she slumbered still in the nude. Michael couldn't dress her as she slept, he was too clumsy for that, but he made sure she was covered comfortably by her heavy blankets.

Hector helped him secure Chelsea while Fiona dealt with the innocents unfortunate enough to fall under Damien's spell. Alexander and Heather made a quick exit, as per Fiona's orders. Michael understood why. As he regained control of his body he felt the energy of the spell transfer to Alexander. He was still under the influence of the spell, but Alexander never commanded him to do anything so he was just left with an uncomfortable feeling. Eventually that feeling faded all together, suggesting that unless Alexander reapplied the spell to him Michael had free will once again.

If someone had to have the spell Michael was glad it was Alexander. Alexander would never use that power for evil like Damien did. It was a power Michael didn't even trust himself with. He couldn't ignore the desire to have the power, but it wasn't a strong enough desire for him to pursue. It wasn't like Prae's power. He would not kill to obtain it.

"No!" Michael jumped from the sudden noise as Chelsea screamed out sitting up in bed. She was in a cold sweat breathing, panting heavily. Her eyes darted around the room wildly until they landed on Michael. For a moment, a smile of relief washed over her when she saw him. But as quickly as it came, that smile faded. "What are you doing here?" She grabbed the blanket that had fallen off of her from sitting up and held it tightly covering herself.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Michael tried to explain. He was immediately cut off.

"Get away from me!" She screamed loudly. Michael wasn't sure how to react. He just sat there staring at her.

"Get away! Get away! Get away!" She repeated even louder than before. Michael stood up, he began to walk towards her to try to calm her but Hector burst into the room. Chelsea's eyes turned towards Hector as she screamed. "Leave me alone!"

"Michael, give her some space." Hector didn't seem surprised. Michael wasn't sure what to do. He had never seen Chelsea act this way, and even in their worst arguments she had never screamed so loudly. Michael slowly walked out of the room, his worried gaze never leaving Chelsea. He knew it would be bad, but they would work through this. They had to, or even in death Damien would win.

"What's wrong with her?" Michael asked in a hushed whisper once the door to Chelsea's room was closed.

"You should know." Hector responded coldly. "You saw what Damien did to her. I suspect it was even worse behind closed doors."

"I don't want to think about that." Michael said darkly.

"You don't want to think about that." Hector scoffed. "Well, she lived it. It's probably the only thing she can think about, especially given how loyal she is to you. You don't see it because of how she is around you, but Chelsea is normally more shy and withdrawn. Damien had her marching around naked for all to see like she was a piece of art."

"I understand that, but she's not the only one who was used. He made me set myself on fire. He almost made me kill Alexander." Michael began to say but Hector just shook his head.