Chapter 2

Colette turned and looked over her shoulder as she exited the doorway into the hall. She wondered if his eyes were on her as she left the room, and instead of making her uncomfortable — as it should — the possibility made her smile. The thought was confusing, worrisome, and comforting — all at the same time.

She knew that Tharsas was treated like a dog by her mother and sister, and she suspected that Lavina did something worse to her stepbrother, though she had no idea what that might be. The amount of fear and anger she saw in Tharsas' eyes, when he thought about their younger sibling, was simply more than the ill treatment she knew of could account for.

Her mother paid her little mind — instead fawning upon her younger sister. While this really didn't bother Colette that much, as being ignored was far better than the look of disappointment in her mother's eyes when she did notice her, it still stung a little.

Tharsas had always been a bright spot in her life, ever since they had moved into the castle. Even when things were happier — before her stepfather's heart had burst — Tharsas had been her favorite playmate as a child, and one of her best friends as they grew older.

A dark cloud had descended over the castle when the elder Tharsas had died. The servants, her stepbrother, and she had been devastated. Colette found it very confusing that her mother almost seemed to be rushing to get him in the ground, and did not appear to miss him at all.

Heat rose in Colette's cheeks when she remembered accidentally discovering her mother — only days after the funeral — coupling with one of the Barons who had arrived to pay his respects. It was shortly thereafter when Tharsas had begun to lock himself away in his room, leaving Colette without the pleasure of his company.

Turning into the bath room, Colette closed the door behind her, failing to notice that it had not latched, as thoughts of her conversation with Tharsas intruded upon her dark musings — a welcome distraction. She remembered his smile vividly, and could still feel his cheek under her hand where she had touched him before leaving.

A tingle between her legs caused her to shiver as she thought about Tharsas. She stiffened, frightened by her body reacting so improperly to thoughts of her brother. The feeling refused to go away, however, no matter how hard she tried to turn her thoughts to other things. As she undressed, she discovered the reason why. Dark ruddy spots revealed themselves on her panties when she removed them. Colette bit her lip and stared at them. Her time of the month was upon her, a few days early, and with it came the unnatural heat that nearly drove her mad.

As always, she tried to ignore her body screaming for release, knowing the futility of her resistance. She stepped into the tub — the water always kept clean and of a proper temperature by the servants, night and day — leaned back, and tried to think about what she might do the next day. Colette always felt a little lost when winter came and took her from her garden, which was her passion, and diversion. She had tried to take up any number of hobbies, but always found they felt more like work than a pleasurable diversion. After a while, she simply let her mind drift and forgot about tomorrow.

Colette leaned back in the tub, deeply relaxed by the warm water surrounding her — and something else. Her hand had drifted between her legs to caress her nether lips.

The tingle between her legs had spread and grown in intensity, far beyond any possibility of being ignored. She pressed two fingers between her folds, knowing that her need would consume her thoughts until it was sated now, and that the heat would likewise assault her constantly over the course of the next several days as she bled.

Colette's fingers stroked in and out of her slowly, her thumb occasionally rubbing over her bud to stimulate it as well. Her breathing quickened, her nipples stiffened to pebble-hardness, and the tingle inside her grew to an ever-increasing itch that consumed her with its strength.

Her eyes closed, her mouth opened, and she sucked in a long, slow, deep breath, as the pressure within her reached painful intensity. Then her breath seeped from her in a quiet, broken gasp, as her release came over her. Her body quivered, and her fingers pressed hard into her depths as she came — her back arching and thrusting her breasts upward into the chill air. She collapsed back into the water — sloshing it over the sides of the tub — as the wave broke, depositing her back in reality once more.

She gasped for breath, and her eyes fluttered open. Her eyes then widened, as she thought she saw movement in the dark corner where the concealing wall blocked view of the tub from the hall outside. She bit her lip to prevent more sounds of pleasure from escaping her, and stared hard into the gloom, trying to adjust her vision to compensate for being under the light of the braziers in the room.

After a few moments, she determined it must have been her imagination, and let her stiffened body relax once more — a quiet moan escaping her at the same time. She closed her eyes again, settling into the warm water — and the even warmer feeling of afterglow brought on by her orgasm.

Tharsas watched with open-mouthed awe as Colette's face tightened, and her large breasts thrust out of the tub. Her body quaked as if she was being shaken by an earthquake, a gasping breath escaping her — sounding like music to Tharsas' ears.

He remembered passing the bath room, hearing the faint sounds of water lapping in the tub, and the next thing he knew — he was standing in the shadows watching her. His heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears, and between his legs, his cock throbbed in time with the echoing thumps in his ears.

Colette sank back into the tub, and then he saw her eyelids begin to flutter slightly. Reality hit him like a hammer, and he darted back out of the room into the hall. The intense throbbing in his ears, and between his legs continued — growing stronger.

Tharsas hurried to his room, closing the door and pulling down the front of his trousers, with a gasp of relief. The trousers were tight enough normally, as such was the current fashion, and his pulsing erection had made them feel like a noose cinched about his private parts.

Pre-cum coated his glans, and another drop welled up as he leaned against the door — breathing heavily. The image of Colette with her large breasts thrust upward, rivulets of water — shimmering in the brazier light — running down her body, and a look of ecstatic release on her face was burned into Tharsas' mind. No matter whether he opened, or closed his eyes, he could still see it.

Still leaning against the door, he closed his eyes and gripped his cock, stroking it fast, as the image of Colette in his mind quivered and gasped. He heard the sound of his grunting gasp before he realized he had made it, his manhood pulsing and spurting thick streams of semen onto the floor before him. He continued to gasp, as the spasms ceased, leaving him to drip slowly, while his legs wobbled beneath him.

Tharsas slid down the wall and sat down hard, his cock still throbbing and oozing. His head fell forward, until his chin rested against his chest, and he fought hard to regain his breath.

Lavina thankfully did not come to torment him, and take him that night. Either the young Baron had performed better, or she had found it impossible to slip away from him. Tharsas prayed the same would hold true for as long as the man was in the castle. Not only had he been spared Lavina's advances in the night, he had been spared her finding meaningless and demeaning tasks for him to perform during the day.

A mixture of confusion and arousal battled within Tharsas, as he rode to the Master's home to study, and he found he could not concentrate once there. The image of Colette reaching her peak in the bath, and the sounds of her musical gasps of release ran through his mind constantly, blurring any other thought he had.

The old graybeard suggested he should return home early and rest, thinking him vexed with some sort of ailment. Tharsas nodded wordlessly, and walked out to his carriage, startling the driver — who was lounging inside, enjoying the warmth of Tharsas' magic.

Tharsas smiled when he saw the larger carriage being prepared for a journey upon returning home, indicating at least one of his tormentors would be leaving this evening. His heart lurched when he considered the possibility it might be Colette going somewhere, and he hoped his first instinct was correct.

Upon reaching his room, he pulled a chair from its place, and stared intently out the window that overlooked the stable. A short while later his smile returned when he saw Peronelle and Lavina entering the stable, with the two Barons. He immediately dressed in fine clothes, and walked the halls, hoping to find Colette. When he did not find her in any of the common areas of the castle, he went to her room. The door was shut tight, something that was rare for his stepsister. He started to knock, but his nerve failed him. He listened for a few moments, but could hear nothing.

Once more, he raised his arm to knock — and once again, he let it fall to his side. He walked the halls back to his room, and there cast a spell to see what Colette was doing. When the image appeared before him, he saw that she was lying in bed, rubbing her temples, with her eyes tightly closed. She was still dressed in her nightgown, and appeared to be feeling quite ill. A servant was at her side, and Colette sat up to take the medicinal tea from the woman, while Tharsas watched.

Tharsas let his magic lapse. Colette was not feeling well, and he would not disturb her. The hidden sheaves of paper scribed with his pilfered spells leapt forward in his mind, and he smiled. If he could not enjoy the pleasure of Colette's company, his magic would certainly suffice.

Looking through the papers, he selected what appeared to be the easiest of the three at first glance. Reading the description of the spell, he discovered it was a death spell, something that the Master would never teach him. It was a minor spell, created to kill vermin and insect pests, but was death magic nevertheless.

Tharsas studied the spell, silently mouthing the words and practicing the gestures described. He could feel a warmth building inside him, and knew he was finding the correct pronunciation and inflection. When he reached the last syllable and mouthed it, the heat within him seemed to contract into a tight ball in the pit of his stomach, turning icy cold. It was a far different sensation than he was used to, but unmistakable as the signal he had mastered the spell.

He knew exactly where to find the perfect test subjects. The compost piles for the kitchen leavings constantly drew uninvited guests to the castle, even in winter. The warm walls of the kitchen also provided a perfect haven for them.

Anxious to cast the spell and see its effects, Tharsas hurried to the servant's entrance of the kitchen. Peeking out the window, he saw a pair of rats feasting on the leavings of the last meal. Knowing that the cloudy glass pane would be no barrier to his magic — and that opening the door might cause the rodents to scatter — Tharsas cast the spell as he looked out the window.

He felt an intense chill flow all through his body, causing his muscles to stiffen and his teeth to clench. A sickly yellow cloud appeared over the refuse pile, and the rats immediately began to twitch and writhe. Within a few seconds, they were both stiff, with only the faintest muscle spasms rippling through their extremities.

Casting another spell, Tharsas wrapped a bubble of warmth around him, and stepped outside. The vermin were now quickly freezing in the frigid air — stiff as boards. Tharsas felt a great swell of satisfaction well up inside him, and he kicked one of the dead rats with a loud laugh. Turning toward the wall, he saw the hole through which the pests emerged from to feast. Casting the death spell again, he directed the cloud through the hole, once it formed.

Tharsas was rewarded with the sounds of squealing and scratching emerging from the hole — then silence.

Drawing back his leg, Tharsas aimed carefully, and kicked the second rat on the refuse pile far out into the courtyard — laughing as it bounced across the frozen ground. Turning back to the door, the thought occurred to him that there would now be dead rats in the walls of the kitchen. Casting a spell of clairvoyance, he saw at least six or seven dead rats, and a multitude of curled up bugs lying within the wall. Noting the location, he made a mental note to inform one of the staff to pull out a block in the wall, and remove the dead creatures before they began to stink.

Tharsas walked inside and closed the door, allowing his warmth spell to lapse. A broad smile of satisfaction decorated his face as he walked confidently through the halls. He stopped one of the servants, and relayed the information about the dead rats. The servant looked confused, but replied that he would see to it at once.

Tharsas was returning to his room, planning to study another of the purloined spells, when a meow caused him to turn. A dark smile crept over his face — his eyes narrowing — as he stared at Lavina's longhaired white cat.

Tharsas wondered whether the spell would be as effective on the feline as it had on the bugs and rats. His fingers formed the first few gestures of the spell, as he spoke the words, staring with burning hatred at the cat Lavina loved.

He stopped, the words falling from his lips. While killing the cat would make him feel good — so good — at the moment, the act would be pointless, and would only cause him more problems — once Lavina blamed him for the death.

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, he quickly mouthed the words of a different spell, and pointed at the cat. The feline yowled and hissed when the spark of electricity leapt from Tharsas' finger and zapped it. It immediately turned to race away from him down the hall.

Drawing at least a little satisfaction from giving the cat a good shock, which wouldn't leave any marks to accuse him of; Tharsas continued to his room to study another of the forbidden spells. If this one proved to be as useful — and amusing — as the last, he would certainly be distracting the graybeard often, to glean more of the dark magic from that warded bookcase.

Colette stood outside Tharsas' room, biting her lip, with her hand raised to knock on the door. She had already been standing thus for quite some time, hesitant to complete the action. There was a war raging inside her, and neither side was gaining ground.

She thought she heard something then, and leaned in close to the door to listen. Concentrating, she recognized the sound. It was Tharsas' voice, and he was speaking words in the language of magic. The faint sound of the repeated syllables through the door was different from those she had heard him utter before. The words caused a shudder to run through her body, raising goose bumps on her skin, and conjuring up an image in her mind of spiders crawling all over her.

Colette stepped away from the door, wrapping her arms around her and shivering. She could no longer hear the words a step away from the door, but they echoed in her memory still.

Colette thought, Tharsas is studying his magic, I shouldn't disturb him.

Now that she had an excuse not to confront the feelings at war in her heart, Colette left to return to her own room. Her head once again began to throb painfully, as she walked farther from Tharsas' room, and the cramps she had been ignoring forced their way through her mental restraints. Now nearly in tears from the pain, she hurried to her room to lie down.

It took Tharsas six more long nights of study to learn the other two spells he had copied from his teacher's warded bookcase. Often he awoke deep in the night, face down on his desk, where he had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

The first spell he had nearly filed away without studying further. It raised the dead as mindless walking corpses. Even as he started slip the paper back into its hiding place, his hunger for new magic overcame his revulsion for the dark nature of the spell.

The frozen rat corpses behind the kitchen proved to be a perfect medium for testing the spell. The animated rodent obeyed his commands without fail, even remaining motionless and hidden as he slept, immediately moving to obey new orders the next day. After using the dead creature to chase Lavina's cat for a short while, he reversed the magic, allowing the corpse to fall inanimate to the frozen ground once more.

The second was the most difficult spell he had ever seen, by far. It was learning this magic that devoured most of his week of study. Tharsas' eyes rolled back in his head when he felt the icy bite of the spell's mastery deep within him.

This spell he would not cast for mere observation purposes. Only in the direst of circumstances would he use this black magic, though he was fully prepared to do so should it be needful. The spell sucked the life force from its target, and transferred it to the caster. This transference restored the strength of the recipient, both physical and magical, and could heal even grave wounds through the absorbed energy.