The McCallister Curse Pt. 02

"Again, just before, Sara started getting worked up as we waited for Constance, but a simple touch from me caused it to fade.

"I think that as long as I am around, I can prevent Sara losing herself to the curse," the angel concluded.

"That's very circumstantial," Audrey's response was doubtful.

"But it is better than nothing," she admitted.

"I know Audrey, I wish I could give, or do more, truly I do," Gabrielle's utter sincerity made the blonde wish she hadn't been so doubtful, to have some faith of her own.

"As for the other part of your question. What did the curse mean by heaven being blinded?

"Well, it means that we angels couldn't seek out or find traces of the family, it literally hides them from us. Worse when they start attracting demons, it hid them from us as well. Demons and devils wandering the earth, spreading their sins and we were always blind to it until the McCallister was dead," Gabrielle's words were filled with incredible sorrow as she explained, as if all the demon's victims rested at her feet alone.

"I only found Sara by accident, a chance encounter in the street, and now we have another chance, one of stopping this curse from claiming more victims," she admitted.

"You found me by accident? How?" Sara had been listening to Audrey question their beautiful divine friend, but she couldn't help but wonder at this turn of fate.

"I was in the city a few years ago, middle of winter, the streets full of ice, you had just come out of a coffee shop, balancing a drink and a few other things. You slipped and I caught you by reflex.

"Instead of being filled with any information I would need to help you or bring some joy to your life, I got nothing. Not a single thing about you or your life. It was as if you didn't exist.

"When I tried to actively get something from you, I hit a wall, when you turned the corner and disappeared from sight afterwards, I couldn't track you like I would any other potential soul in need."

Gabrielle chuckled, "It was incredible, I hadn't encountered anyone like you ever. So, I did the logical thing. I followed you home."

"I used some contacts, people better versed in history and magic for information on what could possibly cause such a thing. As you can probably guess there isn't many, and the McCallister Curse was only mentioned as an afterthought, everyone already thought the line was extinguished.

"Still, it was the one that felt true, and so I waited, three years spent watching over you, praying I was wrong and hoping I was right. That finally the hosts of heaven would be able to intercede and fight this terrible curse," Gabrielle admitted slowly, a small portion of guilt weighing down her words for the hope she had seen fulfilled.

Constance chuckled lightly at the recollection of the angel's lucky encounter, "Our Lord works in mysterious ways."

The others were soon laughing softly as well at the overused platitude, it wasn't truly very funny, but it broke the stress and fear that had been plaguing the room for most of the dire conversation.

"I needed that," Sara managed to choke out, "Thank you Abbess, I hope I didn't offend you."

"It's quite alright child, you have had a day unlike any other, some levity at my expense can be forgiven," Constance waved the apology away.

"We are almost done I think," she continued, "There is not much more to tell."

"I know this has been a lot to take in Sara, and again I'm deeply sorry but these are things you needed to know. You need to know about this new world you've found yourself in."

Sara swallowed nervously and nodded, "Thank you really, if not for Gabrielle I don't know what would have happened. Nothing good though if what you've said is true.

"I still can't quite believe it you know?" she said, not really expecting an answer from the trio.

Gabrielle answered anyway, "It's very real Sara. This curse, the families of Steelhaven, the things you can do to people if you aren't careful, the person you could become. All of it is real.

"But we will take care of you, I promise," the angel told her, bursting with passion for Sara and her mission to protect the pale beauty.

Audrey spoke up, almost interrupting the angel and trying to ignore the small flutter of jealousy she felt growing in her chest as she watched Gabrielle and Sara.

"I umm, still have some more questions, things I think we need to know, things that could be important."

Constance replied, eyeing her off as if sensing the burgeoning jealousy within her, "Of course Audrey, ask and I shall do my best to answer."

"Umm firstly, I'd like to know why its only now that Sara is in danger, surely she has been heir to the McCallisters for more than a day?"

"From what we know, its Lord Ian's doing. When he and his family were cursed, he immediately took action. He spent fortunes, traded secrets, and treasures, secured hostages, and arranged murders. He dealt with anyone and everything looking for help.

"I don't know why he didn't seek the churches help or perhaps he simply fell before he could. From what our Inquisitors have managed to extract from demons in the past, we know he dealt with several Pitlords and other dark entities.

"We think it is one of these deals that modified the original curse, Ian realised that the curse could not be broken, at least in his time, so instead tried to change it so that a survivor might eventually find a way to do so."

"What did he do to it?" Audrey prompted eagerly.

"We don't know what the Pitlord or the other demons got out of it, but the curse was changed so that it only recognised a heir once they reached 21 years of age. The prime of their life, a head start against the curse but if they couldn't escape it then they were in a healthy position to spread the family line as it were.

"Until the day that they reached 21 they were a nobody, hidden away by magical contract, names would change, appearances would be disguised if recorded, tracking spells gained no knowledge. The power spent to work such a contract must have been immense," Constance admitted to them.

"That's how Sara has managed to be in Steelhaven without anyone coming for her!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Exactly," the abbess replied.

"But now she is 21 I'm assuming?" Constance let the question hang in the air.

"Yesterday," Sara confirmed.

Constance nodded, "Then now she is the heir and the protections Ian secured are gone and Sara can now be found and recognised as a McCallister. I would recommend staying within the walls of the abbey for the next few days while we arrange to get you away from Steelhaven."

"It's the best place for now," Gabrielle readily agreed.

Sara couldn't help but agree as well," I think you're right; I don't know anything about these families, all this magic, vampires...," she shuddered as she mentioned the famed creatures of the night.

"I've even apparently got these powers of my own and no idea how to use, control or stop them."

"That kinda leads to my other question actually," Audrey said, shifting slightly in her seat, not quite avoiding looking at Sara.

'Was what happened this morning because of Sara or because of the succubus?" she asked Gabrielle.

A look of vexation crossed the platinum haired angels' perfect features before she looked at Sara apologetically.

"We did skip past that bit didn't we. I'm sorry but the answer for the most part is Sara.

"You haven't really talked about it, but from the small amount I saw you had both already been quite ahh active when the succubus revealed herself."

"It started with a dream for me," Audrey told her "All these men using me, fucking me, I don't think I've ever been that horny in my entire life. But then they were gone, and I was with Sara. Just telling you about it now is bringing it back."

"it's ok Audrey, I don't think you can really stop that anymore," Gabrielle told her gently.

"It was definitely Sara and I would hazard a guess that you are under her sway already. Things you have said, the way you've acted. Sara has claimed you I think."

"I did what?!" Sara demanded frantically.

"Your 'Command' aura has bound Audrey to you I think," the angel told her.

"I'm only guessing but it does make sense."

"I need you to tell me what happened this morning before I arrived," she told the pair.

"Please."

"Like I said, it started with a dream," began Audrey, "Men and cocks everywhere, but then Sara was there and everything else faded away."

"Sara pleasuring me, me pleasuring Sara," the blonde continued almost dreamily.

"All sorts of positions, toys and acts. All of them pure bliss."

"I don't know what woke me up, but when I did Sara was there, a thick hard cock between her legs just for me. I couldn't help myself, I needed it.

"The pleasure I felt with her was overwhelming, I couldn't get enough of her, I wanted to own her, make her my pet, my toy, the need for it consumed me," Audrey was breathing harder as she continued, her face flushing, the arousal just recounting the experience brought forth plainly visible to everyone.

"It was similar for me," Sara told them, as she observed Audrey's reaction with an almost feral hunger in her eyes.

"I didn't dream though, or at least I don't remember it if I did. I heard Audrey moaning from the kitchen and I went to check on her, I thought she had just gotten lucky.

"But when I got to her room, she was alone, moaning and twisting and turning all by herself, it didn't feel right, I touched her and then my mind was full of these images. Audrey with all these men, every single image full of sex."

"And then I was there, images of Audrey and I together," Sara couldn't help but look embarrassed by the admission, colour filling her cheeks and the hunger fading from her eyes as she avoided looking at her friend.

"I fell against the wall after that, and then I grew...

"I grew a penis," Sara mumbled softly.

"It felt amazing, and then Audrey touched it. After that all I could think about was wanting her, having her.

"I would've done anything," she said.

"I almost did I think, Audrey wanted me.

"Wanted me to submit, to become a plaything and I almost did it, I couldn't think of anything better. But something in me stopped it. It wouldn't let me become a slave," Sara explained, her eyes searching Gabrielle's face, trying to see if the angel understood, if she had an answer.

Sara found sympathy but no answers, Gabrielle simply nodding for her to continue her tale.

"When I resisted, something changed. I wanted to be the one in charge. I wanted to have Audrey, to own her," Sara still couldn't bring herself to face her dearest friend as she admitted it.

Sara's voice lowered and her next words were barely a whisper they all had to strain to catch even in the secluded silence of the study.

"Then she said yes.

"Audrey accepted me, and it felt wonderful, this beautiful creature belongs to me."

Sara finally faced her friend as she spoke, terrified of finding hate, of rejection. Afraid that after all the days crazy events she would have lost her friend as well.

It wasn't rejection that met her, but neither was it acceptance. Audrey's face was a mask, no hint of her feelings towards Sara's declaration of ownership was visible upon her face. Not even her bright blue eyes revealing her inner thoughts.

Sara couldn't hold the gaze, she knew she should feel guilty about claiming to own Audrey, that she should take the words back and try and pretend this morning hadn't changed things between them, but it felt right, it satisfied something within her that she knew had to be her curse.

She knew she wouldn't take it back.

Audrey was hers.

Gabrielle broke the building tension calmly, her soothing voice pulling them away from their own dark thoughts.

"Thank you for sharing, both of you. Truly.

"I think I can guess as to why it all happened, I'm not infallible, only angelic," she said with a small smile.

"When Sara's curse activated, you were all out, drinking and partying, you wouldn't have noticed it. All those people, all of them also probably drunk, high and aroused as well. Your mind would've touched them all, it's more than likely that it was here that you attracted the succubus. A demon would've known who and what you were instantly.

"When you got home and slept, your unleashed mind has latched onto Audrey's. The pent-up desire, the demands of your curse dumped straight into her dreams.

"Then again, when you went to wake her, touching the naked skin, your newly awakened mind-reading abilities latched onto the dreams. You would've fed upon each other, a constant cycle of lust and need, all of it probably amplified by the lurking succubus," the angel explained, laying all of her deductions out for the pair.

"Rose," Audrey interjected.

"I'm sorry?" Gabrielle asked.

"The succubus, she said her name was Rose," Audrey told her.

"I see," Gabrielle's reply was confused, thrown off by Audrey's interruption.

"In any case I think this morning's events were simply the result of an untrained mind coming into ownership of powers well beyond its ability to control. With time and effort Sara it will be easy for you to contain them, to learn control."

"What about her dick? What caused that?" Audrey demanded.

Gabrielle shrugged in response.

"I don't know. It could be something from the curse, from one of the deals Ian, or Duncan or another ancestor made in the past. It could even have been the succubus' influence, though I have never heard of such a thing personally," Gabrielle told the demanding blonde.

Audrey sat back in her chair in a huff, arms folded across her ample chest, clearly not impressed by the angel's answer.

"I'm sorry Audrey, I wish I had better news for you. I will look for more answers but our best hope for those is probably with the Inquisition, the arm of the church that deals with the magical side of society."

"Right," Audrey's answer was derisive, obviously not impressed with Gabrielle's lack of knowledge.

Sara intervened, afraid her friend might say more, her sharp tongue had often gotten the better of her in the past and Sara had no wish to see their saviours and hosts receive a spray from Audrey. Besides there was one last thing she had to know.

"I've got one more thing I'd like to know if that's ok?" Sara broached, hunching her shoulders, shrinking her already small frame further into the cushioned chair.

"Of course Sara, anything, and we shall do our best to answer," Constance told her, readily stepping up, she too sensing the potential conflict from Audrey's abrupt tone.

"I feel terrible about it now, and for even asking this at all, but ummm.

"Is it because of my power, this 'Command' that it felt good to have Audrey submit? Why did I feel better when she did? Why do I feel more...," Sara paused, her voice shaking with suppressed emotion, hands outstretched as she searched for the right word to express herself.

"Why do I feel more complete? Why do I feel as if I already own Audrey?"

The loaded question hung in the air between them all, stifling them all with its potential consequences. The trio all looked to Gabrielle, this question beyond the ability of Constance to answer.

Gabrielle looked back at them all, face pensive as she surveyed the room, weighing the cost of answering. But she was an angel, the truth was demanded of her, no matter how much she wished the opposite.

"It's both I suspect. Your curse and 'Command'," she told them.

"You have unwittingly used 'Command' on Audrey, and she gave her assent, you have bound her with your power and linked her to you and your desires," the angels tone was tired, as if the admission of the truth had cost her something dear.

"To put it bluntly, she is yours."

Sara's eyes filled with tears as Gabrielle confirmed it, the shame, the guilt overwhelming. She had enslaved her best friend and she had enjoyed it.

"The satisfaction comes from the curse, the need to dominate. By taking Audrey, you fed it," the angel continued.

"In time that hunger will grow again."

"This is too much, I need..., I need to get out," Sara cried and jumped from her chair.

"I can't do this!"

Constance rose smoothly from behind her desk, moving to comfort the distressed girl.

"It's ok Sara, it's ok. It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known what was happening," the kindly abbess said, taking Sara by the shoulders, trying to calm the crying young woman.

"Come with me ok, I'll get you something to eat, some tea perhaps? Then I'll have Talia show you to a room where you can get some rest ok?"

Sara just nodded glumly, trying to control her sobs, letting the tears fall smoothly down her cheeks. Constance nodded to Audrey then smiled glumly to Gabrielle before leading Sara from the room, turning, and pushing the young woman out the door, careful not to touch the newly awakened McCallister's skin.

Closing the door firmly behind her, she left a dejected angel and a confused, angry young woman alone and with no real idea as to how they should deal with the other.

Gabrielle figured as the divine one and the only angel in the room that it was up to her to try and help Audrey. She had been completely silent since her revelation and the news she had received would be enough to make anyone angry and confused. She was surprised at the blonde's restraint.

"I'm sorry I...," she began.

"What are you...," Audrey started at the exact same time.

They both looked at each other and shared a low chuckle, some of the tension bleeding out of them, the silly exchange helping to clear the air between them.

"Please, you first Audrey, my role here is to help. Ask your question," Gabrielle insisted afterwards.

Audrey apologised as well, "I'm sorry Gabrielle, I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you, it's not your fault that all of this is fucked up."

"I just wanted to know what do we do now, we can't hide here forever, as lovely as Constance is and how pretty this abbey is, I don't think it's a good idea to leave Sara stuck in a convent for any length of time."

"Yes, you are probably right there. Caging Sara won't solve the problem of her curse or save her from the families. But for now, it will do.

"A few days out of sight while Constance and myself contact agents of the Inquisition. They really are our best chance for helping her, of keeping her safe," Gabrielle told her.

"A few days? OK I think we can do that," Audrey conceded, weariness threading its way through her words, the tension of all that had been revealed finally taking its toll.

Gabrielle took pity on the obviously drained young woman.

"You should rest as well Audrey, you will need that brain of yours soon enough, going into the magical world for the first time can be dangerous, and you two have even more to be wary of.

"And I'm sorry about what happened with Sara, I should have acted sooner, saved you from her powers. I should have seen the wild usage coming."

She hesitated briefly before adding, "She didn't mean it, claiming you I mean, binding you to her. She feels sick about it all, I can tell.

"I would give her some space, some time to come to grips with what she has become, then go see her, don't let this ruin your friendship."

"She..."

"I'm the one..."

Audrey had to bite back her initial responses, bitterness clouding the words. Gabrielle was right, it wasn't Sara's fault, but the knowledge didn't make her feel better, didn't sooth the fact that she was owned, that she now had a Mistress. Didn't make her any less angry that it was obviously messing with her brain, with her thoughts and emotions.

She sighed heavily, "I know it's not her fault," she told the angel, "but I can't help but feel like I'm the one that's gotten the shitty end of the stick. You're saying I'm basically a slave to someone that's cursed, that Sara is gonna go fucking crazy because of it and now I'm part of it!"