Cruel and Unusual Magic

"Where's Harris?" he croaked.

"Not your concern." Lena paused, staring intently at the bound thief. "Unlike what your friend suggested, I will not turn you over to the police. I can't have even a hint of who I am getting out and before you tell me you'll never say a word, I know that isn't true. You're a liar, always will be. Besides, I do not trust the criminal justice system to mete out appropriate punishment. That job falls to me."

Louis started to shake with fear.

"You were willing, eager even, to use this poor girl as a plaything. You wanted to shape her to your desires, violate her body and humiliate her for your pleasure, and then cast her aside or, more likely, enslave her or kill her so she could never tell anyone what you'd done. Your own little disposable sex doll."

Louis began to feel dizzy. His arms, still bound, felt weak and tingly, like a case of pins and needles but from his shoulders to his fingertips. The same feeling spread into his legs, then through his torso.

"Did you ever for a moment consider what that would feel like for her? The damage you were doing to her? She will carry the memory of your abuse with her for the rest of her life. And she will live a very long life, I will see to that. But you know what is longer than a whole life? Forever. Forever is a long time."

Louis looked at his bound hands. The tingling stopped, and he lost feeling in them completely. And they started to change. The hair on the back of his hand disappeared and the skin became smooth and glossy. He felt the skin on his cheeks tighten and he lost feeling in his extremities. An odd ridge began to form between his fingers and up the side of his hands, like there was a seam where the top and bottom of his hands met. When he finally figured out what was happening, his mouth had been replaced by a round plastic opening.

"You wanted a live sex doll. Now you are a sex doll. You're still alive, in a manner of speaking. You're not breathing, of course, and you can't speak or eat, or even move unless someone moves you. You are somewhat posable, but you are a very inexpensive model, so there are pretty strict limits. What you can do, as well as ever, is feel." As if to drive the point home, Lena sharply pinched the thumb of one of Louis' hands. His brain felt the pain and sent the nerve impulse to his hand to flinch, but he was paralyzed. "You will feel it when someone roughly penetrates you. You'll understand this girl's pain when someone forces their cock into your round inviting lips and you'll taste every drop of cum that's deposited in your mouth hole. You'll be crushed and suffocated when a man lies on top of you. You'll hear every grunt, curse and degrading word that someone using you utters. You'll even feel the shortness of breath as you are deflated after use. Be thankful I have spared you the agony of feeling your body twisted and mangled when you are folded and put away."

Lena wagged her finger and the chains disappeared from the plastic doll that was Louis. The inflated arms fell back by his sides, as they were molded to do. The doll still bore a faint resemblance to Louis and was still clothed in the cable TV uniform. "I can hear you Louis, at least for now. I won't really care to hear from you when I am done, but for now I need your help. No one will buy an inflatable Louis doll. We need to make you a girl doll. So, do you want to describe to me how you planned to transform my housekeeper? This will be the closest you will ever get to experiencing your dream girl."

All Lena heard was mournful moaning. "Cat got your tongue? No worries, I can probe your mind and get the description. I just thought you might enjoy getting to describe the creation of your dream girl, even if it's you who's transforming. No. Last chance? OK, but this might sting a little."

Louis felt like a dental probed had been inserted through his ears into his brain. He knew it wasn't real -- his ears and head were plastic and air -- but the sensation, every sensation, felt real. He felt a gash open between his legs as the transformation began but that was all. But he knew what he was becoming. He could see it in his mind's eye.

Lena stood with her hands on her hips, watching. "Wow. I didn't see that coming. Well, there is no accounting for taste. Still I am sure someone will buy you and give you a home in a drawer or closet. And years from now, when they are done with you, they may give you to someone else. Or you may just end up in a landfill. Remember, plastic lasts forever." Lena popped the inflation nozzle open and began to squeeze the air out of the Louis doll. Louis felt as if he was gasping for air, like a prolonged asthma attack. When he was empty, Lena folded him carefully. She held out her hand and a box with a plastic window on the front materialized. She placed the Louis doll into the box, making sure the eyes could see out through the window. Magically, the box became decorated with pictures and cleaning instructions for the Louisa doll inside. "With care and cleaning, you'll get a lifetime of pleasure and satisfaction from Louisa," the box stated in bold letters.

End of Part 2

* * * * * * * *

Epilogue

"A robbery?! Are you OK? Is Mariel OK?" Brad asked in a panicked but hushed voice, so as not to disturb the work reception at which Lena was a no-show.

"I'm fine," Lena replied. She paused before adding cryptically, "Mariel's been very brave. She'll talk to the police and then I'll take her home." Lena could not say that Mariel was unharmed -- she'd been harmed in a way that no one ever should experience. Brad did not need to know that, and she was certain Mariel would not want anyone else to know the details of her ordeal, ever.

"I'll be right home," Brad said.

"No, no," Lena replied kindly but firmly. "Mariel walked in on two men robbing our home, a day after she walked in on you lying naked on our bed. I don't think she should see any more men right now. I made sure to tell the police to send female officers." That was the story Lena decided they should go with: Mariel walked in on the two men ransacking the house; they got spooked and knocked her to the ground as they fled. Any other version would be two fantastic for the police and too painful for Mariel to recount. Plus, there was the matter of the two missing men. Best to keep things simple.

"Alright," Brad relented. "Let me know when I should come home. I'm so sorry for Mariel." Brad didn't bother to ask about the house or Lena. He well understood his wife's power and knew there was no reason for concern. Mariel's well-being would be on Lena's mind more than her own. Fortunately, it didn't dawn on Brad that it was the Lover's Gift that had caused the trauma; he'd be crushed. As it was, Lena would have to remake it and she was going to avoid suggesting its use for a while. "Love you, hon. Take care of Mariel."

"I will. See you later. Love you too." As at the end of all their phone calls, Brad felt a soft ghostly kiss on his lips as they hung up. He loved that.

Lena hadn't called the police yet. She wanted to give Mariel some time to calm down and then talk out the experience. There were decisions yet to be made, all of which depended on Mariel's state of mind. Mariel had awoken, trembling under the blanket, with Lena sitting next to her on the couch. Lena had brought some tea, infused with magical herbs to ease Mariel's distress. She wasn't going to erase the memory, not without Mariel's consent at least. Memories are private property and should not be touched without the owner's permission. And there was the matter of Mariel shattering the mirror from across the room.

Mariel accepted the tea with a weak smile. "Thank you, Ms. Lena" she said, barely audibly.

"You're welcome, dear." Lena took a small sip. Her trembling abated somewhat and a bit of color returned to her cheeks. Mariel's eyes tentatively scanned the room. There were no men. There was no glowing stone. And, there was no mirror nor trace of broken glass. She was relieved. Maybe none of it really happened. No, she knew better. It happened, whatever "it" was. It all happened.

She looked up at Lena and, mustering as much courage as she could in her weakened state, asked, "What ... happened?"

Lena took a deep breath and smiled as reassuring a smile as she could. "That's a fair question, but I have to ask you one first, and I want you to think carefully before you answer: do you want to know what happened? You can change your mind later, but I want you to think about that now."

That last part about changing her mind confused Mariel but her brain was such a jumble that she dismissed it and focused on Lena's question. Did she really want to know what happened? She was having trouble piecing it all together. Most of it didn't make sense. Would bits and pieces come back to her, forcing her to relive the confusion and despair over and over? Or worse, would she never remember parts of it and be tortured by the gaps?

Mariel saw herself as a strong woman, a survivor. She overcame the odds in the foster system and kept her family together. She worked long hours and studied hard. She'd met every hurdle life placed in front of her and cleared it with grace.

"Yes, I want to know. Everything."

Lena smiled. She admired the woman's courage. But she also dreaded having to share intimate details of her own life, details she had kept successfully hidden from only those she trusted. But, it was her carelessness with her own secrets that put Mariel in this position. Lena decided that she'd have to trust Mariel.

"OK, let me begin by saying that you are perfectly safe right now, and it will be part of my life's mission to make sure you remain safe. Always." Mariel nodded; she didn't understand how or why Lena would do that, but it was reassuring to hear. "The reason I can say that with 100% confidence is because there is something about me that you don't know. It's a secret that very few people know. My mother knew before she passed. Brad is the only living soul that knows. And now, you will know." She paused. She couldn't predict how Mariel would react. Lena took a breath and continued.

"Mariel, I am a witch." She paused. Mariel's face remained unchanged. Lena could have just told her that the sky is blue and her expression would have changed no less. "Witches exist. Magic exists."

Mariel's mind hiccupped. Shock paralyzed her momentarily. Fleeting glimpses of the abuse she suffered raced through her head. Her body changing and being controlled. Magic would explain what happened, but magic isn't real. Adults used tales of witches and magic to entertain and scare children. She had dim memories from her early childhood of the grown-ups in her life telling stories about magic. They were just that: stories.

Lena watched with growing anxiety. Mariel hadn't moved or changed expression. Either her wheels were turning, or she had slipped into deep shock. Or both.

Fragments of images invaded Mariel's thoughts. Her clothes disappearing. Her body parts changing. She could feel it happening. She didn't need to just trust her eyes, her nerves corroborated what happened. And what she saw happen to the other man; his clothes and body and face changing. As if by magic. By magic.

Mariel's brain felt like it had been torn open. Someone using magic on her, on the man, explained everything. And it terrified her. She looked up at Lena. This woman is a witch, she thought to herself. Her face went from expressionless to horrified in a blink. If all of this was true, then she was helpless. At that moment, she felt more vulnerable than she had ever felt growing up. Part of her wanted to run. But how do run from the kind of power she experienced today? When she awoke after her fainting spell, she had a tiny glimmer of hope that the worst was over. Now she felt, it had only begun.

"Was that man ... the man in the mirror ... a witch?'

"No, he was not."

Mariel paused before speaking. She was about to utter words that would confirm her worst fear. "Then ... you did all this to me?"

Tears welled up in Lena's eyes. She hadn't done this to Mariel. But it was her fault. That distinction would mean nothing to a woman who'd just been raped due to her carelessness. Lena chose her words carefully. She would not reject the blame, but she did not want to frighten Mariel further.

"I did not do those things to you. But it was my magic." Lena could not hold back her tears, but she continued. "Those men found a magic charm I'd made. They learned its power, and it brought out the worst in them. But it was my magic in the charm, and I should have protected it." She looked Mariel in the eyes and said, "I am to blame."

Mariel had heard those words before. Her father had said them years ago. He was explaining how it was his fault her mother was dead. He had forgotten to lock up his gun. When her mother had walked in on the robbery, the thief had found the gun and used it to shoot her mother. "It was my gun. I am to blame." That's what he told her. That's what he wrote in his suicide note. She remembered herself at seven-years-old crying at his funeral, repeating over and over, "It was your gun, but you didn't pull the trigger. It was your gun, but you didn't pull the trigger." The thief had taken her mother. Guilt and shame took her father.

"It was your gun, but you didn't pull the trigger," Mariel whispered softly.

"What?" asked Lena through her tears.

"It was your gun, but you didn't pull the trigger," Mariel repeated. And then the dam broke. Mariel grabbed Lena by the shoulders and sobbed against her chest, while Lena buried her face in Mariel's hair. When she could compose herself, Mariel unloaded the whole story of her birth father and mother, her younger sisters, their time in foster homes.

"So, as far as I'm concerned, it was your magic -- and I can't believe I just said that -- but you didn't use it on me. Please don't blame yourself, Ms. Lena. It was those two horrible men." She paused; she wasn't sure she wanted to ask the next question. "What happened to those men? What WILL happen to them."

"They chose their own fate when they hurt you," Lena answered evasively. Mariel would not let it go.

"But, where are they?" She looked around.

There was no avoiding it. "I used magic to imprison one of them in the mirror before he could hurt you further."

"And the other?"

"He's ... gone." Something in Lena's tone told Mariel that was all she'd say on the topic.

"I remember the mirror. I remember the mirror breaking."

"Yes."

"He was ... in the mirror when it broke."

"Yes."

"What happened to him?" This was perilous ground for Lena. She could avoid talking about Louis' fate because Mariel hadn't seen anything after she fainted. She saw Harris in the mirror and she saw the mirror break.

"I don't know for sure," Lena answered truthfully, "but this is what I think. He was trapped in the mirror. I did not intend to ever let him leave there. His entire world and life would be the confined space of what was reflected in the mirror. A small and lonely prison cell."

Mariel shuddered. She felt no pity for the man who had just raped her, but she knew it was a bleak and horrible fate. She didn't know the half of it. "Is he ... is he going to starve to death?"

"No, dear. He was not human in the mirror. His essence became simply a reflection of himself. There is no body to starve. He would have been trapped by himself to consider his actions. I would have placed the mirror somewhere where's it's reflection provided a suitable environment for him to consider what he did and who he'd become until God or the universe called him home."

"Would have?"

"When the mirror shattered, all the light and form, including his, that was reflected in the mirror was gone." Lena stopped her explanation there. Any further would only serve to upset Mariel, since it was she, not Lena, who had shattered the mirror. Lena needed to explore that fact carefully.

"The world is better off without him," Mariel said finally.

"Yes." Mariel didn't ask anything further, so Lena continued. "May I ask you something?"

"OK."

"Do you remember when the mirror shattered?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember where you were when it shattered?"

"I was on the floor."

"Do you remember the moment before it shattered?"

Mariel hesitated. It was painful mentally putting herself back in that place and time. "I remember him saying he was going to go to jail and when he got out he'd find me."

"And then?"

"I was thinking, 'No, I won't let you.' And I screamed."

"And then the mirror shattered." Lena tilted Mariel's face up and looked deep into her eyes. "Mariel, I think YOU shattered the mirror. Something inside you, some ... power responded to your fear and lashed out. That power broke the mirror."

"You mean, it wasn't you?"

"No, dear. I think it was you."

"But what does that mean?"

"Well ... do you remember your mother or grandmother ever talking, even in a kidding way, about magic or witchcraft?"

Mariel thought hard for a moment. "No. I can't remember anything. Except for the usual fairytales from books and movies. Nothing specific."

"OK. Well, it's possible that they didn't know that this power ran in the family and it was dormant for some generations. It's also possible that they knew but hadn't shared it with you yet because you were too young."

"So, does this mean ...?"

"That you are a witch? No. It does mean that you have some magical ability in you. It takes practice and discipline to become a witch." Lena hesitated. This was very personal. "And it takes a good and caring teacher."

"Would you ...?"

"Before you say anything else Mariel, I need you to know this. I could use magic to make all of this go away. I could cast a spell that would plant a different memory in your head that would match what we tell the police. Yes, we're going to have to lie to the police, but only a little, and justice has already been served. You need to make a choice. Remember all of this, everything that was done to you as well as the discovery of your latent power. Or I can erase it and you'll never know any of this happened."

"Couldn't you just erase the bad parts?"

"No. Your ability hadn't been nurtured. It was awoken abruptly, violently even. Without that trigger in your memory, the power would submerge back into your deep subconscious. It might resurface some day, or it might not."

"But you would know I have that ability."

Lena shook her head. "No, dear. I can't take a memory away from you and keep it for myself. If these events didn't happen for you, they mustn't have happened for me either. If I cast a spell to change your memory, I must change mine as well." After I leave myself a note in my jewelry box that says, "The Lover's Gift is unmade -- if you remake it, lock it up. Trust me," Lena thought to herself.

Mariel looked away, out of shyness. "If I keep the memories, would you be my teacher and help me explore my power?"

Lena took Mariel's hand in hers. A surge of warmth enveloped the girl. "If you are sure you want to live with this, I'd be honored to teach you whatever I know. But once we start, there's no going back. Whatever you choose, I will ensure you are safe for the rest of your life, which will be long and healthy. I owe you that. You can go back to your normal life now, but once an agreement between teacher and apprentice is made, you are committed. Magic is a responsibility not to be taken lightly."

Mariel thought of the two ugly men who had brutally violated her. She remembered the obscene changes in her body that were forced on her. She could almost feel the malevolence of Harris, amplified by his misuse of Ms. Lena's magic. She shuddered at the thought.

And then she thought about her sisters and how she could take care of them better if she could master this power the way Ms. Lena did. Perhaps her sisters have the same gifts too -- if so, it would be unfair to rob them of the opportunity to explore their gifts. She looked around and saw the simple but blissful life that Ms. Lena and Mr. Brad have; clearly Ms. Lena's magic hasn't spoiled them or made them bad people. In fact, they were two of the nicest people she knew.