Lukas brushed my mind with his and I connected us, and Jonathan brought the child and sat with us. It was a wary-eyed girl this time, a bit older than the boy and less placid.
Jonathan had to calm her down before Lukas could touch her, and I again wondered how he managed to be so collected at his age. Then Lukas touched her, and all hell broke loose.
First Lukas was assaulted by recent memories, of loneliness, of missing something she couldn't remember, of hunger, cold and aches everywhere, but especially of fear, fear of the dark, fear of people passing by, fear of an unknown shape hovering over her, a shape that left children at the edge of the wasteland?
This child had experienced the deprivation and hopelessness of her time in the wasteland much more acutely. Lukas was already wearing it away, going over it again, and again, until it receded a little, then a lot.
The memory barrier became visible, and Lukas patiently started grinding away at it. It was huge, and strong, as if the girl wanted to forget what had happened in the past, but she needed to remember her name and that of her parents, so there was nothing for it but to continue. I replaced a lot of magical energy, this girl was burning Lukas up at an incredible rate.
He was nearly through the barrier now, and I started to feel uncomfortable.
But right at the moment that I wanted to call this session off, fearing what might be dammed up behind that solid barricade, he broke through, and we were both overwhelmed by a flood of memories, and everything went black.
When I came to with a nasty smell in my nose, I saw Tristan looking at me with concern in a pair of friendly eyes, holding a bottle of pungent herbs to my nose.
Tristan? Where was Paul? I called out for him, and Tristan said: 'Paul is with Lukas, he can't get him to wake up.'
I felt for the connection in my mind, and it was still there, but blank, silent. I wrestled myself up and kneeled by Lukas' side, his face slack and lifeless, his
breathing shallow.
His hand still touched the girl, who was in Jonathan's arms, motionless but breathing stronger than Lukas. I sat next to Lukas, and next to Paul who held him, touched his face with both hands and followed our link down, into the blank space, calling his name frantically.
For what felt like a long time I was calling, searching to no avail before I got the idea to use sight. I stepped over the implications of using sight in a virtual space, I just did it, and immediately saw Lukas, trapped in a maelstrom of horrible memories.
I stuck my hand in, then my arm, and got hold of him, pulled him out. I wanted to go back to the now, but he was adamant he had to solve this, so I balanced his magical energy with power I took from the nearest source, which I hoped was Paul's but really didn't care anymore, then helped him slow the maelstrom down.
We managed together, and with the memories coming at him at a reasonable speed he identified them and put them in their place.
Neglect, loneliness, agony due to the forceful draining of her magical energy, physical abuse, Lukas still had the will and the energy to face them all with her, again and again, countless times, until they became less strong and he could go further back in time, to her youth, to search for good memories, and for her name and where she had come from.
Lucy was her name, Lucy Smith, and she was from a slum in this very city.
She had been stolen away from her home and abused for nearly a year by a man who hired her out to men looking for really young girls.
When her talent blossomed she had been bought by the black mage, a horrible change in fate for a child already damaged beyond belief.
As the experience of the repeated rape hit Lukas' mind, I felt him recoil in abhorrence as he had not from any other kind of abuse so far. I realised that somehow the idea of forcing sex on someone was alien to him, something he had never even heard of.
And now he was experiencing rape as if it was happening to himself, living the memories of a twelve-year old girl together with her, a horror beyond belief to someone who thrived on love. I expected him to flee the scene and curl up in misery somewhere, but he managed to pull himself together to face even this abomination, going over the memories of it again and again, until they had faded just a little bit, and they could go further back still.
There were some nice memories in her life, but they were very old and clearly from very early childhood. There was no address to be found, but the names of her parents were John and Marcy. John Smith, not much good to find a girls' father in a slum.
To end his treatment on a positive note, Lukas searched for a happy memory that would help her build a future, and he found it in her love for animals.
This would give the Nomes' a lead to help her cope with her past, and maybe start a new, better life.
I felt Lukas break the connection, and could only just prevent him from blacking out again.
Back in the now I was afraid to find him blacked out after all, but he was the opposite. He was very much awake in Paul's arms, and his incredible need nearly overwhelmed my mind, it blazed in his usually so friendly eyes.
But it didn't frighten me, I knew what I had to do, so I wrapped my arms around him and softly asked him: 'Where?'
'Over there, a path, an open space,' he panted. I looked at Paul and he said: 'I know where it is, can you walk? I'll carry him there.'
Looking straight at him, I asked: 'Can you handle that, physically and mentally?' He replied: 'You took my energy, remember, I saw most of it through you. It was horrible, I need to be there too, nothing can be worse than that.'
So all three of us left the greenhouse garden towards the place Lukas had chosen, Paul carrying Lukas, me behind them.
I looked back and saw Jonathan holding the girl, Lucy, with Tristan hovering over both of them protectively. That man had sure been shaken today, I hoped Frances would give him some more of her coffee to settle his nerves.
We soon reached the open space, it was beautiful, surrounded by birches, covered with lush green grass. Paul carefully laid Lukas down in it and nearly fell over next to him, face showing some pain but not much.
I kneeled between the two of them, not knowing what to do.
Paul said: 'I'm fine, see to him,' so I did. Lukas was awake and aware, but in a really strange state of mind, nothing I recognized.
I opened my mind to him, hoping to find out what was ailing him. He held out his arms and I embraced him gently, expecting him to want to make love roughly, as he usually did when he had healed someone.
But he didn't want that this time, something was blocking him, but his need
was so overwhelming by now that I decided to stroke him, just to be doing something. That helped a little, he eased a bit, so I scratched his horns really softly, really lovingly.
He relaxed even more, and his thoughts became more coherent. He had been struck so hard by the sexual abuse, to him it was a perversion of what gave him life, and it blocked him from making love, that would bring the abuse back instantly, souring the love it was meant to give. He needed love in other forms to pick him up a little, and he was sure I would recognize the stage in which he would be ready for a little physical loving again, but receiving, not taking, not this time.
This I could work with. I made myself comfortable on his one side, and asked Paul to lie on his other side, and to check his energy levels.
With our connection now three ways, I could feel the energy being restored, which helped a great deal to revive Lukas. It was no task to show Lukas our intense love for him, for he could feel it straight in our minds. By now, Paul knew what ailed him as well, and he came forward magnificently, showing all his tenderness towards his dear friend, stroking his hair, scratching his horns and opening his shirt a little to caress the narrow but muscular chest.
When Lukas had accepted this level of intimacy, Paul started playing with the little hairs on his chest, carefully licking a nipple, and when that produced a shiver of pleasure, the other one.
Seeing Paul caress Lukas turned me on again,
just like that one time after Ilsa's visit, but of course this was way too early to do anything with my lust.
I continued to scratch Lukas' horns softly, as Paul moved a little lower, removing Lukas' pants very slowly, very softly, no dominant gestures, no force of any kind, just stroking and caressing.
Now he tickled the little curls on Lukas' stomach, moving down really slowly, avoiding his still flaccid penis just yet, rather stroking the incredibly developed muscles on his upper leg.
'When did you get these huge muscles, Lukas?' Paul asked softly, 'last time I felt your legs they weren't this large, were they?'
He massaged them softly, and Lukas started to get into it now, forgetting parts of his nightmarish experience, finally turned on by Paul's incredibly gentle stroking and kneading.
Lukas managed to speak in a very breathy voice: 'Told you I build up stamina quickly, same with muscle.'
As soon as that was out, he wanted to kiss me, and of course I was really glad to oblige, intensely happy to see the life come back into him. Meanwhile, Paul was still fondling his legs, his hocks, the rims of his hoofs, which brought Lukas even further back from his shocking memories. I could see his penis was now upright, eager for attention too.
And Paul did indeed move towards that area now, still stroking his legs, still admiring the packed muscles with his hands, and finally his tongue. Being caressed by Paul's tongue so close to his most sensitive parts excited Lukas even more, and he even got a few licks over his testicles and the shaft of his member, but not yet where it usually counted.
The expectation brought him even further out of his misery and the horrid memories of the abused girl, and he relaxed even more. His mind was filled with love now, and a part of it was being replaced by lust, slowly but steadily.
Now Paul tilted Lukas' slim body a tiny bit, and stroked his firm buttocks and the cute little tail above it, feeling through the cleft between his two butt-cheeks really slowly, caressing his testicles softly from behind. This caused Lukas to shudder once more, still heating up.
Paul now moved his hand over the long muscle of Lukas' back, up over his shoulder, and on to his face, where he licked the dented lip heatedly, then kissed Lukas tenderly and very lastingly, until I felt both their excitement rise to a level above fondling.
Deeming the time ripe for giving Lukas something more physical, I moved towards his midsection and very, very slowly moved my tongue over the head of his penis. I could feel it was not too much, it produced a surge of pure lust, and another lasting kiss with Paul.
They had their hands in each other's hair now, and when Paul started to scratch Lukas' horns more firmly, I could feel him move beneath me, another stage was reached.
I went from licking to enveloping it in my mouth, first a bit, then more and more, until he started to pant a little, and the heat in our minds was taking over from love.
Paul kissed Lukas once more, and then in a heated but otherwise normal voice Lukas said: 'I'm doing well, go, indulge yourself, I can handle it.'
And with that I felt Paul's hand lifting up my skirt, and his mind posed a clear question, not in words, but in feelings, which I responded to with pure lust.
Soon he was kneeling behind me as I was still enjoying Lukas lying still for once, to let me mouth his penis in its full glory, maybe even until he came.
And on top of that I felt my undies being moved aside, my pubic hair being fondled until my need was almost tangible.
Then that blissful feeling of finally getting it, feeling Paul enter me in one decisive move, his hands on my hips, his mind on my mind, a mixture of loving and being loved. No taking tonight for Lukas, he managed to keep still and let me bring him to a shuddering climax, whilst Paul pleasured first me, and then himself in his usual, calm way.
And then we laid on both sides of Lukas again, still stroking him, still kissing him every so often, until we could feel his need quiet down and finally rest.
This was such a special moment, we didn't speak, we just listened to the birds whistling in the birches, and to the noise of the children still playing on the lawn. Lukas wanted to embrace us both, and with the two of us in his arms he said: 'Now I'm really, really happy.'
Chapter 44
Of course we had to get up again, and set our clothes to right, so we did, but not eagerly.
Restored, Lukas walked back to the greenhouse on his own two legs, where we got more coffee and some sandwiches.
Then the three of us drew a rough sketch of the new greenhouse, after which I carefully measured every nook and cranny of the plot, and the general dimensions of the new greenhouse. I would draw a more detailed sketch with all the exact measurements at home.
When I was done, I found Tristan watching me, and I invited him over. He asked: 'What happened there, can you tell me? It was positively frightening.'
I told him: 'That girl had been sexually abused, and Lukas had no concept of sexual abuse at all, so experiencing it through her memories had a huge impact on him. His species thrives on love, so you can imagine what living through a perversion of it did to him, it nearly destroyed him.
He was totally lost in her memories but I managed to find him and get him out of her memories, and then he insisted on treating them right away.'
When I was done talking he observed: 'He really shouldn't be doing this until he has a lot more experience working magic. But I'm sure he won't stop, he is called to do it by his own empathy.
So here's my tip: next time Lukas does this, use an anchor.
You three are so close that the link between you is tangible to my sight. Next time, one of you feeds Lukas, and the other anchors all of you to the now.
That will be much safer.'
And now I couldn't control myself any longer and I hugged him tightly, then said: 'Thank you so much for the advice, we should have thought of that ourselves, we'll certainly do it.'
He said: 'Thank you for the hug, it makes me feel welcome. And also for the advice, for I have a date with Ilsa. I'll try to follow your other piece of advice, are you sure she'll want me to make love to her? And not to fall in love with her?'
I nodded, convinced this was the right approach for Ilsa. He continued: 'Can I visit sometimes, or invite you over to my place? Getting to know you three has made me realize how lonely my life really is.'
'Of course you can, we love going out and both Lukas and Paul can cook like chefs, they love to entertain guests. You will come to our wedding, won't you? We're having it here, in the garden, and I guess quite soon.'
We left early that evening, Lukas and Paul needed their rest and frankly, I felt totally drained as well.
I didn't feel up to a family dinner at the Nomes', and I guessed Tristan didn't either, for when we announced we would be leaving before dinner, he offered to drive us home in his carriage.
On our way back we were all silent, the day's events had had a deep impact on all of us. I felt kind of sorry that Tristan had to go home alone after a day like this, but I supposed one couldn't go from total loneliness to total sociability in just one day, he'd have to practice enjoying people's company.
The carriage pulled up at our front door, and we all got out.
Both Lukas and I gave Tristan a familiar hug, Paul shook hands with him, still a bit suspicious of the latter's upper-class attitude, I guess. Our new acquaintance got back in his carriage and drove off, and we went into our own familiar house. We went straight to bed, but we were not done for the day yet.
Before Paul or I could ask Lukas whether the burden of healing so many traumatised children was too much for him, he said: 'I thought I was in control of my gift, but today it betrayed me, if you hadn't been there with me I could have died or lost my mind. To be honest, I don't know if I dare use it again, I wish desperately I could undo knowing how making love can be perverted, and I'm afraid to get stuck in some kid's horrifying memories again.'
This is what we both been afraid of, Lukas was way too sensitive to go through that process t
wice a day, day in day out.
Now Paul observed: 'We can make it safer for you Lukas, but we cannot spare you the emotional burden of reliving all those memories with the children.
But you need not treat them all, if it is too hard on you. The news of the factory is all over the city by now, so parents will most likely come looking for their missing children, especially if they know they were talented.
And once they are restored to their parents there are other ways of dealing with trauma, they take longer to have effect and they're not as complete as your treatment, but they would not remember the horrors and make new, better memories.'
With hope, almost hunger, Lukas asked him: 'You can make it safer?' Paul bowed his head and said: 'I'm sorry I didn't realize the danger before, but it is the same danger scrying poses, so the solution is ridiculously easy: add an anchor.'
This was exactly what Tristan had suggested, and hearing it, Lukas looked struck and said: 'Bescu! I should have thought of that myself, I was raised in a world filled with magic, even if I didn't have any myself.'
After a short pause, he continued: 'With the danger of getting stuck removed I dare try again, only not twice a day. Will you both help me tomorrow? See if I can handle one?'
We promised, and with our minds relieved we were happy to go to sleep.
When I got to that nice fuzzy stage, where you can still feel your beloved's arms around you, smell his scent, be vaguely aware that sleep is upon you but still able to enjoy the feeling, that is when I heard an unknown ringing voice say:
'There's someone in your cellar, maybe you should check it out.'
I sat up straight in bed, wide awake, and so did the guys. 'What was that?' I asked aloud, but the guys were already up and on their way out of the bedroom, very alert.
Lukas was frightened out of his wits, for he knew as well as I did what was kept in the cabinet in that cellar, but still he guarded Paul's back.
Remembering Paul's assurance that nothing could break in to his house without him knowing, I stayed behind to find out who had spoken. 'Who is there?' I queried suspiciously, and in answer I got bubbling laughter.
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