For The Whored: The Future: Ch. 31

"Are you sure it's alright?" Lydia frowned.

Susan laughed. "Just go. I'll be fine for just a few minutes"

"But, five babies?"

"Honey, your husband, and your father are both right there. They can handle it if I need anything. Elunara is probably roaming nearby, and Chrissy should be up here any time now. It'll be fine."

"Come on, Sweetheart, let's get this humiliation over with." Bradly laughed.

"Alright, I'll be back soon, I swear."

Bradly knocked on the door.

"Bradly!" Bryan clasped his hands together. "I didn't expect.... Lydia?" He blinked.

"Bradly wanted to show off his statue." Lydia grinned. "He just talks and talks about it."

"Oh!" Bryan blushed. "Well, in that case." He pulled the door back. "Come in."

Lydia blinked. "WOW. It's..." She put her hand on the statue. "It..." Shaking her head, she frowned.

"Do you not like it?" Bryan pouted.

"Well, it's amazing, that's for sure." She decided she wasn't going to touch it again. Eyeing the work, she grinned. "The accuracy is completely crazy."

Bradly gave a nervous laugh. "Isn't it just?"

Reaching a hand out, she stopped a moment before she could touch it again. "Well, I've had my mouth on that enough to know it's accurate." She winked at Bradly.

Grinning, he brushed her hair out of her face. "Care to give it another lick, just to be sure?"

Putting her hand to her mouth, she giggled. "Oh, I'll do more than li--" Her smile fell and her eyes went wide.

"What's the matter sweetheart?"

She put a hand to her chest and swallowed. "I've been away from my babies too long."

"It's only been..."

She put her hand on his arm and desperately tried to get him to catch her signals; the jerk of her head, the twitch of her eyes. "I need my babies." She turned and ran out of the door.

Bradly stepped forward, but Bryan slipped behind Bradly and slid his hands under Bradly's shirt. "Well, that was interesting. Maybe she doesn't appreciate my art?" He slipped a hand down into Bradly's pants and stroked the growing erection.

Lydia fled with her life. She collapsed against the platform. "ELUNARA!" She screamed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared.

Grogek reached her first. "What happened?"

"I need Elunara! NOW! PLEASE!"

Elunara appeared from seemingly nowhere. "What?"

"I know who hates me! I know who hit me!" She gasped.

Elunara led the charge, as Grogek, Jordan, and Darguni followed behind. "And you're sure?"

Lydia struggled to keep up. "It was gradual at first. He was annoyed I showed up, but then as Bradly and I started flirting... I thought he was going to strike me down where I stood. There's also something horribly WRONG with that statue. I... recognized it somehow."

Elunara kicked the door in.

"Elunara!" Bryan jolted up. "I didn't expect..." He stared at Lydia, before he turned and fled to the back room.

"Bradly!" Lydia dove forward. He was tied across the top of the statue.

"Wait." Elunara yanked her back. "Jordan, grab Bryan."

He was frowning at his son. "Right."

Elunara ran her hands over Bradly. "He's out..."

Jordan stuck his head back in. "Bryan's gone." He headed out the door and to the others.

"Momma, please." Lydia begged. "He's... sitting on "it"."

Elunara shook her head and sighed. "Look at the bruises on his body." She tried to untie him and jerked her hands back. Summoning her dagger, she tried to cut them, and only got a jolt for her efforts. "Lydia, go to Mathias, tell him I need a spellbreaker." After Lydia left, Elunara let herself break down.

Jordan came back in and closed the door. "It's the same, isn't it?"

"Yes, and no." She wiped her eyes. "Yours was a succubus. This is cultist magic" Finding a towel, she tossed it over Bradly's prone body. "The result is the same. A tame little pet that lets you do anything you want to it."

"Can we at least shift him off?"

"I tried." She held up her healing hand. "These burns are deep." Closing her eyes, she struggled to keep calm. When Jordan wrapped his arms around her, she shuddered. "I told him to wait... and I never made time... this is all my fault."

"Baby, you couldn't have known."

"He TOLD me, I RECOGNIZED it, and I did NOTHING."

He winced. "I..."

"Momma?"

"Bradly?" She put her hands on his chest. "Bradly, fight it, baby. Fight it."

"Hurts..."

"I know, baby." She tried to focus her energy but reached nothing. As tears streamed down her face, she tried over and over again to break the barrier.

"Just keep fighting it." Jordan put his hand on Bradly's head.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, I'm here. We'll get you out of this trap as soon as we can."

"A spell breaker is on the way." She tried to cut the ropes again and hissed as her hand was burned. In anger, she kicked the base of the statue. Cracks shot through the marble. She and Jordan shared a look, before the both of them started kicking at the statue.

Jordan summoned his sword and jammed it in the largest crack. Together, they forced the break open further, shattering the base and causing the statue to break. Bradly screamed as a shockwave burned into his wrists and the worst piece was jammed up further. Seeing the blood, Elunara threw herself on to his body. Pouring her energy out, her body was burned from the power surge, as she forced her healing abilities away from herself and into Bradly's body.

The door opened and Lydia gasped. Throwing herself on to Elunara, she began to channel the energy. The spell breaker threw themselves into the task of breaking the hold on the boy. Another spell breaker came in, followed by a third, and together they worked on the spell binding Bradly. Lydia shifted her body, pouring her energy into Elunara instead.

Darguni licked his lips. While he disagreed with his mother to reclaim the rat alive... he would not disobey orders. In fact, the order didn't say what state he had to be in. On a hunch, he hit up Jerry and Louis first.

"Darguni! This is a surprise." Jerry blinked.

"Has Bryan been by?"

"No." He looked back at Louis. "Have you seen Bryan today?"

"When I was out shopping, I spotted him. He was distracted, said something about a picnic." Louis frowned. "Are you after Bradly?"

"Bryan tried to kill my wife, and kidnapped my brother."

"WHAT?" Jerry choked.

"Sirs, I don't have time. But believe me, Bryan is under arrest immediately. If you prevent his capture..."

Jerry began yanking on his gear. "I'll bring my son down, no matter the cost."

Louis nodded as he got dressed. "Whoever he's become, we'll stop him if need be."

Bryan swore under his breath as he made his way through trade district. He had to get to the flight master immediately, but the nasty snarl of adventurers and nobodies was making it near impossible. A hand on his shoulder made him jolt.

"Oh, hey, dad." He held tightly to the package in his arms as he blinked at Louis. "I thought today was your off day."

"It was." Louis frowned.

Another hand clamped to his other shoulder. "Hey, dad."

"Bryan, what have you done?" He whispered.

Bryan's eyes went wide and he hugged the bundle to his chest. "I... don't know what you're talking about."

"Come with me." Jerry tightened his hold on Bryan's shoulder.

"NO! NO, you can't make me!" He began to struggle.

Jerry and Louis grabbed Bryan by the arms. "It's probably best you dropped out of the guard." Jerry sighed. "Come on, you have a lot to account for."

Bryan sat, tied to a chair, tears in his eyes. "Bradly should have been MINE, damn it."

Elunara sighed. "Bradly currently covered in cuts, bruises, and SCARS thanks to you."

"You don't know anything! You're just a female. Things happen. It's part of the experience."

She put a hand to her forehead. "Just... start from the beginning."

Bryan grumbled. "I'd say... I'd say I was sixteen, when a bunch of us went for a swim in the lake... and" He sighed. "Bradly took off his shirt... and I just knew. That moment I just KNEW that he was all I wanted." He sighed again. "I tried so desperately to join the guard so I could spend time with him. But, while I had to sleep in the barracks with a bunch of smelly gorillas, Bradly got to stay HOME with his PARENTS!" He shook in his chair. "That was supposed be my CHANCE and I got STUCK... UGH I can't even..."

Jerry sighed. "You only joined the guard to be with Bradly?"

"I HATE physical tasks." He pouted.

"Where'd the magic come in?" Elunara redirected the attention.

"Well, I quit the guard, because, ew. But there was a secondary problem... Lydia. Bradly had eyes ONLY for Lydia. Like, that's all he ever talked about, all he ever cared about. But SHE didn't see it. Gods, I hate that snotty bitch."

Elunara's arm shot out and she grabbed Darguni and forced him back. "And then what?"

"Well, I went looking through the libraries for information on... well gender sets. I wondered if there was a way you could turn someone gay or straight. What I actually found, was information on succubus magic, which is interesting and all, but doesn't exactly apply. Then I found this study... it was actually a study on you..." Bryan licked his lips. "You may not BE a succubus, but you certainly wield succubus magic."

She groaned. "THAT theory again?"

"It's not a theory." Bryan shook his head. "Anyway, I studied it, I mastered it, and then I added my own spin. You see, when Lydia rejected Bradly, she gave me the opening I needed. So, I kissed him." He giggled. "When Bradly didn't reject me... I knew, absolutely KNEW I was on the right path. I just had to make it stronger. I just had to build a conduit."

"The statue." She murmured.

"Exactly!"

"So why did you try to kill my wife?" Darguni growled.

"BRADLY IS MINE, DAMN IT!" Bryan shook against his bonds. "That stupid harlot was weakening the magic! Every time she brought him back into her embrace, the magic weakened and I had to try all over again!" He huffed and he puffed. "When she finally fucking married YOU, I had him all to myself, you see. MINE! MINE, MINE, MINE!" He flipped his hair out of his face. "You should be grateful." He snorted. "I was going to have her toss the abomination first, and then she'd die with a HAPPY memory in her head. Gods only know WHY she was able to hide the rat."

Elunara shoved Darguni backwards. "Do not let him get to you. I did not let you in here just to kill him." She jerked her head and everyone stepped out, leaving Bryan in the chair. Once the door closed, she stumbled.

Darguni held her up. "Mother, you're not well."

"I'll get to the yard in a minute."

Louis raked his fingers through his hair. "Gods, who knew he'd turn out like this?"

"Don't blame yourself." Elunara shook her head.

"Can we just go to the orphanage and get another one?" Jerry snorted. "Sorry, Louis. It was supposed to be a joke." He wrapped his arms around his husband.

Varian sighed. "Bryan can wait until after Elunara gets energy." He shook his head. "We need time to figure out how to deal with him, don't make me order you."

Darguni scooped her up. "I'll get her there."

"Ugh, you are SO like your father." She snorted.

"I consider that a complement." He took off running.

Bradly groaned and grabbed his head.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Lydia ran her fingers on his cheek.

He shot up. "Sweetheart, your face!"

Wincing, she sighed. "Yeah. It's not deep. Just a minor burn." She rubbed her own cheek.

"What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but Bryan had tied you to some altar thing. When Momma tried to free you, it... reacted. She's burned pretty badly." She shifted Dargek to the other side.

"I... am SO confused."

"Apparently, Bryan has being using magic on you." She said quietly.

"Like..." He put a hand to his mouth. "Like dad."

"Yes." She stood up. "Forgive me, I need to switch babies."

"Of course." When she left, he yanked the cover back. With a wince, he shifted over.

"Please don't get out of bed. Momma healed you what she could, but there's still some damage to heal. I can handle minor things, but if you do something nasty to yourself..."

"Why...?"

"I can't lie to you... He had you... impaled on the statue."

Bradly froze.

"It's exactly as bad as it sounds. When momma and Jordan broke the statue, it... shattered in your ass. There's a fair amount of damage and I need her to heal it properly. I can stop bleeding, but that's as far as I get. Momma's got Bryan in interrogation right now." She rubbed her cheek. "Plus, I'm working on my own injury." She sat down. "Bradly, I'm SO sorry."

"I..." He blinked. "I'm kind of relieved."

"What?" She switched Lily over.

"This has been driving me completely INSANE, and to find out it wasn't even my fault?" Putting the back of his hand against his mouth, he laughed. "I can BREATHE again!"

Leaning forward, she brushed his hair back. "I was so worried about your mental state."

"Yeah, but... You have to realize how much time we've all spent with Dad. His was worse... he has a child from what happened to him. I KNOW it wasn't HIS fault, and so I KNOW it wasn't MY fault either." He raked his fingers through his hair. "I mean, it's freaking me the fuck out, I won't lie... but all this guilt and depression and confusion, it been lifted. Just... POOF! I was giving in to all this shit he made me do... I was horrified, disgusted, disturbed, and yet none of it was really me!"

Once she had Lily on her shoulder, Lydia climbed in the bed beside him. She laid her head on his shoulder. "Good."

"You have no idea how much I've hated myself." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

The door opened and Darguni narrowed his eyes. "You're not healed enough for THAT."

Lydia giggled. "We were just cuddling."

"I dumped mom at the yard and came home."

"Did you get it out of him?"

"Boy did we." Darguni sat on the edge of the bed and told them all of it.

"The fuck?" Bradly shook his head.

Darguni rubbed his fingers on Lydia's healing cheek. "My poor wife." He murmured.

Lydia blinked. "Do that again." She whispered.

He ran his fingers over it. "This?"

"I feel you." She whispered.

"What?"

"Bradly, you do it."

Curious, he rubbed his fingers over her burn.

"Interesting..."

"Are you going to tell us?" Darguni chuckled.

"My... healing energy is pulling off of yours when you touch me. Bradly gives me a little bit of energy, which feels good, but you... you actively GIVE me your healing ability. It's... almost euphoric."

"Then how about this?" He pulled her face to his and soft and slow, he kissed her.

When they broke, she gasped. "Oh, wow..."

"Um... are you going to keep at that?" Bradly shifted uncomfortably.

"Hey, Bradly..." Lydia whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You want children, right?"

"Yes, I..." He blinked as she plopped Lily in his arms.

"There's some practice." She grabbed Darguni's hand and ran up the stairs.

Bradly blinked down at the baby. "Well then."

Elunara popped in the door. "Uh, where'd that girl go?"

"Fucking her husband." Bradly pointed at the ceiling.

"And she gave you Lily?" She smacked her forehead. "That was NOT the instructions I left her with!"

"Before you strangle her... she just discovered that Darguni's healing ability actively transfers to her when they touch."

Her eyes went wide. "Really?"

"She called it "euphoric"."

"I'll be damned." Elunara sat on the bed. "Alright, I need to heal you more."

"Have at it."

She laid her hands on his shoulder and began to concentrate. "How are you handling it?"

Her voice was quiet, but he could hear the strain. "Momma, I would be dancing around like a moron if I wasn't worried about ripping myself apart."

"Are you sure?"

"I just got proof I wasn't losing my mind." He cuddled the infant in his arms. "I don't... I don't even want to discuss the things he made me do." He shuddered. "I just got through telling Lydia... I felt like I was trapped in one of your awful stories..." Taking a deep breath, he shuddered again. "Book sixteen, page thirty four."

She froze. "No."

Shaking, he nodded. Hugging the child to him, he fought tears. "Book twelve... page nine, book nineteen, page forty five... The list goes on."

Elunara put her hand over her mouth.

"Momma, I was starting to think that... I thought that I liked it and that's why I let him. When I escaped, I hated myself. I wanted..." He laughed. "Who'd have thought that holding a tiny baby would make me feel better about this stuff."

"I did." Lydia climbed into the bed and wrapped her arm around him.

"You can have her back."

"No, just hold her for a little longer. It'll help." She laid her head on his shoulder.

Elunara returned to healing Bradly. After a moment, she stood up. "I'll continue this... after I go rip that little fucker apart." She pointed at Lydia. "I don't care what, you fucking sit there." She pointed at Darguni. "You run shit either of them needs." She bolted out the door.

"What did you say to her?" Darguni marveled.

"The truth."