Justin felt as if his legs were filled with lead as he stumbled along the road, uncertain of what had just transpired mere moments ago... his only thought being of getting somewhere to have this massive wound cleaned and stitched. Fuck, it hurt so much. He grasped his hand around the arm that continued to seep blood, unable to fathom how that quick slashing across his wrist had evoked such pain and massive blood loss. A wound he had inflicted on himself... but he hadn't - had he?

Those eyes.

Mesmerizing.

Filled with their own haunted pain... yet so predatory and full of purpose.

He hadn't known that old man... but the younger man that miraculously appeared - yes, he had seen him before. But it hadn't been in the real world. That man had been featuring in his dreams, off and on for over a year now. Justin had never been able to place the face. He knew he would have never forgotten that granite expression; one that when relaxed displayed the most beautiful man he had ever seen. He shook his head knowing he shouldn't be having such thoughts about the man. He was with Ethan. In his own way, he loved him. In time he hoped it would grow into the love that Ethan obviously felt for him. Now, he wasn't so sure such was possible in reality.

Justin heard Ethan's friend Daphne calling out to him, but he kept on walking... almost as if he had to. He wasn't sure what was real anymore. Was it the voice that had compelled him that made him move forward now? Or, could it be his own shame that in a way he had been betraying Ethan by going to this man in the first place. Fuck. His head hurt almost as deeply as his arm. He could hear that voice... that beautiful and hypnotizing voice chanting inside his head - "Justin... Justin... Justin..." His mind kept returning to the sight of the man freed from his chains, his intense eyes possessing him in a single glance. "You have set me free. Come to me, Justin. Come to me."

His legs unable to move further, his mind seemingly possessed by the stranger that wasn't quite a stranger to him, Justin felt his legs collapse beneath him... his body falling unconscious to the pavement. He couldn't hear Daphne, then Ethan shouting in the distance; his entire being transported to a place of dark magic, the dreams and desires of a powerful man suddenly becoming his own. As much as he tried to awaken, he found he could not. Whether he knew it or not, he was under a spell. An intricate spell that would soon consume him.

Brian allowed a slight smirk to cross his lips as he stepped from the building that had once enslaved him, his senses and awareness of Justin swelling within him. Injury or not, he would have him tonight. He could heal him in an instant... but it wasn't to his advantage to do so quite yet. He had preparations to make, the most urgent being his lodgings. Brian knew where he would go... but it needed to be ready before he could summon Justin again. The next meeting they shared would be of an entirely different nature. Justin would come to understand how they were connected... and his resistance would fade. Brian knew their destinies were entwined, it was only a matter of convincing Justin of that... along with removing any obstacles that stood in his way.

One, in particular, disturbed him most of all. Grace. Fucking bitch. He knew she would come once she felt his freedom. Brian knew he must take efforts to protect Justin immediately. He wanted him. Not only did he want him, but they were also now bound. As he'd stared into the terror-stricken face of the blond boy, Brian had felt his Tresum powers soaring to heights like never before. On all counts, Justin was meant for him. More than that - Justin belonged to him. Very soon he would see that too.

In regard to anyone who tried to thwart his plans, Justin's friends and his boyfriend in particular - they would pay the ultimate price for their actions. Brian's steps carried him to the old lighthouse that he knew would serve as the perfect temporary resting place until he could make other arrangements. Within moments, Brian had used his power to adequately decorate the room with a bed, surrounded by candles... all together with an ensemble that would assist him in his first possession of Justin. Soon, he would summon him. He had to wait a bit longer. Brian closed his eyes, focusing on where Justin was - here and now, to no surprise he found him resting on a hospital bed, a man that Brian instantly viewed as an enemy holding his blond's hand. It only took an instant for hate to build in him for that man. He smiled savagely, a hope lurking within him that he would be forced to deal with this man. As Brian watched the man gazing at Justin with a tender and possessive expression, he decided nothing would give him more pleasure.

Justin was his... and his alone. It was their destiny. This man would not come between them... nor would the bitch that had cursed his very existence. "Once you are alone, I will call you to me, Justin. I will heal your wound... and I will show you that you belong to me. In time you will understand the world of Tresum... and you will love and desire me above all things." Brian paced back and forth, playing out everything in his mind, making certain not to leave anything to chance. "Rest now, my blond soulmate. Soon you will understand and accept your place in Tresum. In the process... you will learn obedience to your master."

Brian moved outside, the winds and the night beckoning him... but his desire to claim Justin was what now drove him the most. Once they were completely together, his powers within Tresum would be immense. Then, he could deal with the witch that would continue to plague him until she was finally destroyed. Brian vowed to himself one day she would be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.

Justin's head tossed frantically against the hospital pillow; a sheen of sweat broke out on his body as the dreams once more overtook him. He was with Ethan. They were playfully exploring each other, only the two of them in the world. Then... he was there. Justin pulled free of Ethan to focus his entire attention on the man that stared at them almost mockingly. A look that bespoke of a man knowing things that they couldn't possibly understand... and was amused by that fact.

It wasn't just any man. Even in sleep, Justin knew that to be true. It was that man - again. The beautiful God-like man that continued to haunt his dreams. A man that always stopped short of touching him before he awakened. In his dream world, Justin could admit feeling saddened by that. Despite his reality with Ethan... he also found himself desirous of this man. It was hard to fathom anyone not desiring him.

In an effort to force himself to concentrate on his boyfriend... the man who deserved his loyalty, Justin began repeating his name over and over. "Ethan... Ethan... Ethan."

Justin couldn't see the snarl that attached to the warlock's face... nor knew of the possible consequences of the same actions. He heard the hypnotic voice calling out to him, the same one that had lured him earlier, yet this time, the voice held a much different purpose. The voice was a reverberating echo within his head. It was relentless. "Justin. You cannot resist my voice." Justin tossed on the bed, his mind in a state of limbo between the dream world, and the transition into wakefulness. The voice continued to drill into him, the tone becoming more determined with each word spoken. "Come to me, Justin. Come to me."

"Nooooo," Justin moaned, doing his best to resist... even in his subconscious knowing this to be futile at best. "Ethan..." he whispered, grasping at anything to keep him grounded and safe from the power that threatened to envelop him.

The voice became angry at the continued resistance, and the mention of his lover's name. "Justin! It is pointless for you to resist. Come to me - NOW!" The man's voice softened slightly. "You know what you must do."

Instantly, Justin sat upright on the bed. Resistance was now a thing of the past. He could no longer deny the man's sultry and hypnotizing call. He didn't even pause to slip on a robe as he left his room, his eyes not even noticing the nurses' station, nor the fact that they hadn't noticed his departure. He moved along in what was nothing short of a trancelike state, uncertain of where he was going... only knowing wherever it was - his body was taking him there. He still heard the man's voice, so intimately and insistently... it was as if the man was standing next to him, breathing the words into his ear. Justin knew that wasn't the case, but the man's closeness was something he felt coursing through him.

"Come to me now, Justin. Hear my voice and obey..."

Justin's eyes didn't focus on anything as he made his journey. His destination was the only end in sight. He was there within minutes, his urgent, yet almost sluggish steps carrying him with ease. He opened the door to the lighthouse, his footsteps taking him down the steps; even under the spell that now overwhelmed him, knowing the man that haunted his dreams would be waiting for him. He didn't have long to wait. When he finally stood before him, Justin was afraid to look up; uncertain if he would view an old man or the face of God.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No," Justin whispered, his eyes still downcast. "I only know I had to come to you."

"You set me free." Brian smiled, watching him hungrily from his sitting position. He hadn't fully appreciated this boy earlier... nor from his visions of him. He was truly exquisite. His destiny was becoming even sweeter each moment. "Look at me," he rasped, his eyes moving up and down the beautiful blond boy. Brian's voice sharpened. "I said, look at me!"

Obediently, Justin looked up, awareness penetrating the fog that surrounded him. "I set you free."

"Free to exist," Brian agreed. He held out his hand. "Come here."

Eyes widening, knowing he shouldn't be here with this man... shouldn't want to be near him, Justin protested, "Ethan..."

Brian's eyes flared in a jealous rage. Ethan again. He would deal with that problem. His voice dropped to a sultry purr. "I am all you will ever need. Now... come to me."

Justin couldn't resist him. Only a small part of him even wanted to fight him. He stepped forward, his eyes closing when he watched the man that he vaguely remembered calling himself Brian when he had released him earlier, standing to his feet. He moaned when he felt the heat of those hands slipping into the opening of his hospital gown, with one flick of the wrist rending it into pieces. He felt hot lips sliding along his neck, a groan escaping the man that was determined to possess him; the sound of a man that had thirsted for a long time, and had now found the nectar he chose to both savor and devour. Justin gasped, unable to believe how good his lips felt on his skin.

He pulled back to look at him briefly, his fingertip running up and down Justin's chest. He viewed in an instant what must have been Justin's father striking him in anger. Brian felt his body pulse with rage. How dare anyone attack what belonged to him! He looked deeply into the blond's transfixed eyes. "I will protect you, Justin." Brian's lips returned to Justin's neck, leisurely licking and sucking his skin, this boy's taste affecting his dick in a way no other man had ever done before him. He marveled at his restraint. It had been so long since he had had a man beneath him. That in itself signified just how important this boy was to him. His hands moved along Justin's back as his mouth tasted the skin of his neck; the mixture of sweat and his unique essence turning him on ferociously. "Do not be afraid..." Brian murmured into his neck, his desire for the blond blocking his normally intuitive senses to danger swiftly approaching them. Sliding his hand down to capture the arm of his soon-to-be lover that had been wounded, Brian whispered, "Let's heal you first... then, I will claim you - over and over again."

A shrill and evil laugh penetrated the room. Justin blinked as he looked for the origin of it... yet instinctively knew he had heard that same laugh in his dreams. That laugh held danger... even more so than the man that held him in his arms. Intuitively, Justin knew this man - Brian - meant him no harm; yet this woman wanted his death. As her laugh escalated, he remembered her part in his dreams only too well... her role in the dreams essentially turning them into nightmares. Unfamiliar with the ways of Tresum, he didn't realize she was allowing him to see it clearly now. He gasped as he felt her rage and hatred for him, remembering how she had killed him in his dreams. Every dream that Brian had come to him had resulted in his own death. Justin knew that was what this woman wanted. He wasn't certain anything could stop her from achieving that... not even this man that he somehow believed wanted to protect him.

"Grace..." Brian sneered, his eyes seeking out her presence, yet unable to see her... but he could more than feel her. "It's over. You have lost. The kiss of a young man has set me free. A man that is destined to be mine!"

Maniacal laughter continued. "Never!" Grace shrieked. "You will never have him! I will see to that." Grace turned her gaze away from Brian's beauty to focus on the pale young man that already obsessed him. Contempt swelled within her heart as she viewed this boy that had so effortlessly achieved what she craved the most - Brian's unyielding desire. They would never be together. Never! Her eyes fastened on the bandage around Justin's arm, eyes glowing in fiery red embers. It only took a moment for blood to begin seeping through his bandage, his cuts instantly reopening and a cry of pain resulting.

Brian savagely pushed Justin behind him. "Leave him alone, Grace! This is between you and me."

"How wrong you are, darling. You brought him into this." She made herself visible, walking toward him, anger and revenge boiling within her. Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "You actually think you can shield him from me?"

Suddenly feeling an absence, Brian reached behind him, all to find nothing. His nostrils flared as he spat out, "What have you done with him?"

"Relax, dear Brian. He's back in his hospital bed, most likely being attended to by the staff wondering how his wound suddenly reopened."

Brian looked at her in disgust. "You are pathetic, Grace... and your actions will cost you in Tresum."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing on him, still uncertain after all this time how much Brian had mastered in the ways of Tresum.

"I fulfilled the conditions of your curse. The kiss of a young man has set me free. Yet, you don't intend to let it end there. You never intended it! That violates the laws of Tresum."

Grace backed down from him warily. "Nonsense. I haven't returned you to your prison. That has ended. It has nothing to do with the fact that you should be with me! I will never allow you to be happy, Brian. Never!"

"You are so wrong, Grace." Brian's eyes met hers in equal savagery. "I will have any man I desire... Justin included. There is nothing you can do to stop me. My Tresum powers are nearly equal to yours now. Leave Dante's Cove before my powers surpass your own. Because once they do, dear Grace - I will destroy you!"

Watching as Brian left, the need for revenge continued to fester inside of her. She knew where to hurt him the most... but it wouldn't be with these insignificant men he would undoubtedly slake his long-denied lust within. They would be meaningless. The one that mattered was his precious Justin. Once she destroyed him, then Brian would realize he could never be free from her. Finally, he would understand the lengths she would go to in order to have him. Her eyes filled with jealous rage as she remembered the sight of Brian's hands on the boy, his lips moving on his skin in such hungry desire as they had never moved on her. "Poor little Justin," she hissed. "You will die - tonight!"

TBC