LOGINChapter 33:I guess you'd better come in.“Well, I say he got what he deserved,” Michael's mother remarked apropos of nothing at breakfast the following morning.“Pardon, Mom?” Michael glanced up from his own section of the paper, the funnies. Ever since he had used his power on his mother, Michael had been feeling guilty about it. He had taken to eating breakfast with her at the very least, even though they hardly ever really said anything to each other anyway. At first she had been a little surprised at his sudden desire to be with her, but was actually starting to like having her son available to throw comments at now and again.“Oh, there was a rapist caught, um, last week I think. He admitted to multiple rapes, claimed he was a reformed character, even gave away the
Chapter 32:And you will teach me?”“Julia said it used to be easier, um, to change things in the real world.”Cleopatra nodded. “In my time magic was more common because it worked, even for people with no talent. People believed in it, so it worked. We used to use poppets, voodoo dolls, to bring harm to people. Our burial rituals were all based around magic and belief. It was a way of life.” One of her hands strayed across to rest on Michael's chest, her fingers playing lightly over the bare skin. “In modern times, people believe in nothing. Religion no longer raises the awe it once did, even to those who still say they believe. Life has become… mundane.”Her hand had moved down across Michael's stomach as she spoke. Now it wrapped lightly around his
Chapter 31:You had sex over a telephone line“'Kay,” she heard, and the line went dead. She returned her own receiver to its cradle and headed toward the bathroom. After stumbling twice she kicked off her heels and went the rest of the way in only her stockings. By the time she made it she was well aware of how wet she had got during her phone call.She started the shower running and pulled off her left stocking. “Another new pair in the morning,” she griped, and then something about the wetness soaked into the patterned stocking top caught her eye. She looked more closely, frowned, and then reached between her legs. “Th-that's not possible,” she said after a few seconds of disbelief.“Michael? Michael, wake up.” The voice was unfamiliar. Michael's eye
Chapter 30:What are you wearing under it“Have you drawn the curtains yet?”“No, let me just…”“Stop! Stand up and turn to face the window. What can you see?”She looked out into the Atlanta night. “About two hundred years away, across the hotel parking lot and the road, is another hotel. I can see various room lights on, some have closed drapes. One of the parking lot lights is right below me; it shines in through the window if I don't draw the curtains.”“Good. Take off your jacket,” he commanded.She unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it off one shoulder, swapping the phone to her oth
Chapter 29:God, but you're a wonderful bastard“Hi, Lucy.” It was Michael's voice, which was reassuring. She looked up (down?) and saw that the feet were his. “It occurred to me that the only person who didn't get tied up this afternoon was you,” he said. “So I thought we should rectify that.” He brought his hand around from behind his back so that she could see the cat-o-nine-tails-style whip he was holding. “And I thought it might be interesting to see what a little thrashing did for you.”“No, Michael, I'm really not into…” He brought the lash down across one of her legs. “Oh! That… didn't hurt.” Actually, it had felt quite good, like a hundred tiny points of pleasure flashing down the length of her leg.“
Chapter 28:I can feel you, MichaelJulia looked around the room and sighed. “Typical Corporate America-style hotel room,” she said. “The walls are beige and papered. There's a band of patterned paper up at the top of the wall that's supposed to be decorative. Green and red swirls on it. I've got two paintings, well prints, to look at. There's an obnoxious little girl in a frilly pink dress, and a landscape, a Turner I think.”Michael closed his eyes and began to imagine the room Julia was telling him about. “There are two queen-size beds. I don't like kings when I'm sleeping alone and I had no plans for picking anyone up this trip.” She sounded lonely then. “The headboard runs between both beds, there are stupid little cabinets that aren't much use for putting anything in. The main storage space is out in the hall, next to the bathroom. That







