BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Chapter 15

Greed

   Justin groaned and stirred a little in his seat. His eyes fluttered as he struggled to open them.

   "Ahhhh, is my little Sleeping Beauty starting to wake? Well, we can't have that, can we?"

   Justin tried to struggle. But his limbs were heavy as lead and seemed numb. He could barely lift his fingers and his eyes still seemed like they had weights on them as well. But he struggled to open them, find out where he was, what was happening.

   But before he could, a thumb and forefinger were pinching his cheeks hard, forcing his mouth open. A small pill was popped in and then a leather-gloved hand was covering his mouth so he couldn't spit it out. The other leather hand massaged his throat until he was forced to swallow.

   And the chemical-induced fog descended, like a dark and evil spell and Justin once more fell into a black and sweet oblivion.

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   The nightmare continued.

   Justin had no idea where he was, how much time was passing, had passed. Every time he started to wake, Ethan sedated him again.

   Once, Justin played possum for a while, feeling his limbs come back a little at a time. He lay there with his eyes closed, feeling that feeling in that stomach you feel when you are moving. A car. He was in a car.

   With his eyes flickering, just the slightest bit at a time, Justin flicked them open to see where they were. An endless highway stretched out before them. The landscape was flat and desert-like with scrub and cactus stretching in all directions.

   Justin closed his eyes. It was not yet time.

   Flicking his eyes every so often, Justin continued to bide his time for an opportunity to make his move. More and more feeling came back into his body. His mouth and jaw didn't feel so clumsy anymore.

   Finally, there was a spot in the road where the shoulder widened and there was room for a few parking spaces and a pipe sticking out of the ground ending in a water spigot. Ethan pulled over and stopped and got out to stretch.

   This was it. Carefully, silently, Justin eased open the door. Even more carefully he eased his cramped and half sedated body out of the car. He bolted back the way they had come.

   "Ahhhh, I didn't know you'd woke!" called Ethan conversationally. Please...do run. It'll be so much fun chasing you down with the car until I find you again. It's 30 miles back the way we came to anywhere and 20 miles in the other. He continued doing lunges and hip bends and twists and other stretches as if he hadn't a care in the world.

   Justin lifted his left hand and prepared to depart. His heart lurched in disappointment. The ring was gone. They were in the middle of the desert. Ethan was right. There was no use trying to run. Dammit.

   "And of course, while I'm running you down, I'll probably...run you over. Probably. I haven't decided yet."

   Justin just stood there, seething with anger, until finally he was forced back to the rest stop.

   Ethan indicated the spigot. "Care for some water before you dash off? Of course, it'll probably wear off before you get a mile."

   Justin actually did take a drink. The water felt cool and refreshing and as if he hadn't drunk anything in days. He probably hadn't.

   "Knock it off," he said dully, "We both know I'm not going anywhere."

   Ethan shrugged and had a bit of a walk around. Then he got a bunch of water pouches from the car and began filling them up.

   "Why?" asked Justin, "Why are you doing this?"

   "Why does anybody do anything? Money, of course."

   "What money? I don't have any money on me. My painting's sold but Sidney Bloom was taking care of all that and then it was going straight to the bank."

   "Not that money. I was told you were carrying quite the wad of cash. This wad," he taunted, pulling it out of a pocket. Justin checked his own pocket self-consciously.

   "Damn it Ethan, that's supposed to go towards 3 months of my family's mortgage! Give it back!"

   "Ahhhh, no wonder I had to give a chunk of it back before we actually left. Along with the emerald. Of course the diamond...and the sapphire...were all mine. They should fetch quite a price when we get to a decent city." He plucked them out of his pocket and looked at them adoringly, especially the diamond, which sparkled in the sunlight.

   Justin frowned. What do you mean....give a chunk of it back?"

   "What do you think I mean?" Ethan slipped everything back inside his own pants pocket. "Your mother's about as greedy as me. Almost. Why do I have a feeling that money won't be going to the mortgage?"

   Justin's jaw dropped. "My - my mother? What has she got to do with any of this?"       

   "Justin, she has everything to do with this. Who do you think hired me to kidnap you?"

   "But why?"

   "She knew I had the hots for you. Besides, you were cramping her style. She wanted you out of the way, I guess. I don't know. I don't really care. Besides it's not the first time I've done her dirty work. It's just the first time I've enjoyed it."

   Justin tensed up at the lustful look in Ethan's eyes. "Back off! I may not be 100% but I know more moves than the ones I gave you at the house and you'll be in a world of hurt!"

   "Ethan calculated his chances and then shrugged. "Your loss. Besides, I'm not into the rape scene. I don't force when I can make men beg for it."

   Justin laughed derisively. "Geez Ethan! Is your cock bigger than your ego?" Cause if it is, you must be hung!"

   Ethan's face twisted in anger. "I think this little rest stop is over! Time to get going! So...time for another sleep pill." He took out the bottle.

   "NO!" Justin backed away but Ethan stalked him until he was pressed up against the car.

   "Since you're so....wide awake...I'm giving you a choice. Take it yourself...or I'll knock your head against the window until you black out and make you spend the next leg of the journey in the trunk."

   Justin looked at the criminal in the eyes and saw he was deadly serious. He was pretty sure that Ethan was unaware of his head injury but Justin couldn't let him exacerbate it. He had no choice. He took the pill from Ethan.

   "Where are we? Where are you taking me?"

   "We're in Texas. I'd figured we'd head to Dallas before we start on the next leg of our journey."

   "And where's that?"

   "Where I was told to take you. As far away from Pittsburgh as possible."

   "Wait! Texas? How long have we been on the road?"

   "Oh, about 5 days or so. Come on! Bottom's up!"

   Justin made a last ditch effort. "All right! I will! But Ethan, why did you take my ring? Give it back! It's worthless to you and means the world to me! I promised I'd never take it off! Please!?" He conjured up some realistic tears.

   "Worthless? Who are you trying to snow, Justin? I've looked at it and it's solid silver! I'm going to sell that as well. It may not fetch as hefty a price as the jewels but as I said Justin...I'm a greedy, greedy man! Now take the fuckin' pill!"

   Justin thought quickly. As he swallowed the pill, he figured, he was just missing his week deadline. He had to escape. But how?

   And then there was no more time to think as the heaviness and the sleep descended and Ethan was guiding him back into the front seat is preparation for heading to parts unknown.

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   On the seventh day, the day of return, Brian had awoken with hope in his heart. He put on a nice suit and put his snakes back into the ponytail, ready to hide quickly when needed. He'd shaved, waited for Justin, did his nails, waited for Justin, put on his sexiest mask and waited for Justin.

   And then there was nothing else to do but wait. And the later it got, the more his hopes and heart fell. Until at last the sun slipped away and it was clear that Justin wasn't coming.

   He had chosen fame and fortune over a life with him. Perhaps he had even found someone to share his bed with. Someone with nice teeth and flawless skin. Someone who didn't need a mask to hide behind. Someone who could be a travel companion as he travelled the world painting. This last thought was an especially bitter pill to swallow, as Brian had grown to dream about travelling to parts unknown after such a long seclusion. And his thoughts were absolutely feral when he thought about another man touching Justin.

   He didn't understand. Justin promised. He had promised he would come back. Hell, he had to force the twink into the car for fuck's sake!

   Brian roared, a terrible roar that was equal to the one he had done when Justin. He was heard for many miles in every direction. He roared until all of his strength was gone and he was on his knees.

   "Are you happy!?" he yelled, "Are you fucking HAPPY!? Is this love? Is this what you had in mind for me when you put this...this THING on me? This pain? This jealousy? This REJECTION!!? This utter humiliation!? Is this what you wanted!!?"

   There was no answer. There was only silence.

   "I did my part! I thought...I thought...finally, I did it right! I didn't rush! I didn't force it! We waited and he consented! He even made out that he didn't want to leave!?"

   There was no answer.

   "And all the time, he couldn't wait! All the time, he was waiting for a time for me to let down my guard! And now I'm doomed! There's no time for another! And I don't want another! Soon, I'll be your monster even though I did my part! Is that fair! IS THAT FAIR!?"

   There was no answer.

   "I know you're there dammit! You said you'd be watching! Well, I hope you enjoyed the show! It's the last thing I'll give you the satisfaction of watching! And I'll be damned if I give you the satisfaction of winning!"

   There was no answer. There was only silence save for a series of strange choking type noises.

   The day had started with a dawn of hope but it ended with a dusk of despair.

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   The nightmare continued.

   Ethan and Justin's trip heading west continued. Ethan was careful. He never stopped for gas and/or food when Justin was awake and when he did stop to have Justin take a piss or drink it was in a semi-conscious state. At night, they would stop at motel and Justin would awake to find himself being tied or already tied to the bed in such a way that it was spread eagled but with a few easy adjustments could be released to go to the bathroom. His hands and ankles were tied with rope as if they were manacles and then attached from wrist to ankle with another line of rope in such a way that it attached his wrists to his ankles but allowed limited movement.

   Since he slept all day, Justin often found that he would lie there all night awake, tied up and bored out of his mind. He missed Brian with a physical ache. He also feared those pills were becoming habit forming, as he could feel the need for one when Ethan started getting ready to go.

   Whenever he was lucid enough, Justin begged for his ring back. He knew he sounded pathetic. And Ethan knew it and kept it around for a few days longer than necessary, holding it over Justin's head, torturing him. Justin would sob and squeeze out a few emotional tears.

   However, what he was careful to conceal, was that whenever Ethan would turn his back after one of these confrontations, Justin would give a small, satisfied smile.

   Finally, there came the day where Justin knew he had to get away. He had calculated in his head that they had been on the road for about 2 weeks. He figured that this was the deadline day for Brian's spell. God, Brian! He must be going mad. And if he didn't get back Brian was going to kill himself before the day was up. Justin knew he couldn't let that happen. He wondered if Brian missed him at all.

   And then he realized it didn't matter. What mattered was that he missed Brian and he knew he had to save him. He couldn't let him die. He loved him. He started as he thought that and then felt that thought become knowledge and the knowledge became fact. He loved him. He loved Brian, was in love with Brian, flaws and all. He didn't care about the snakes or the tattoos or the acid burns or anything. All that mattered was saving his life. All that mattered was being with him again and being held and kissed and fucked into oblivion. Forever.

   Justin was tied up to a motel bed as usual when he thought of this on the morning of the deadline day. They were somewhere in California. Ethan had sold the diamond for a huge amount but was still holding the ring over Justin's head as leverage and mental torture. Justin began to plan and realized he was going to have to give up a lot in order to get away. Maybe everything. But he also realized if he could play this right, he might be able to get away with everything.

   Justin bided his time. He was careful. He didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

   He waited till Ethan woke up and released him to go to the bathroom. He hobbled over in his ropy manacles.

   "Sorry, I have to keep you tied up," Ethan taunted. "If only I could be sure you wouldn't run away."

   "You've hardly given me a reason to stay," Justin replied back drily as he did whenever Ethan gave him this tired line.

   He did his business and then came back into the main room. He took a deep breath. This was it.

   "Look Ethan. Why don't you just let me go? You did it. We're in California. I'll never make it back to Pittsburgh for a long time, maybe forever. Just let me loose, give me my ring, take your spoils and we'll part ways. Sure, I could go to the cops, but I'm sure you'd be long gone by the time I could find one. You did it. From here on out I'm just a drain on your resources. Just let me go."

   "Sorry, can't chance it," said Ethan stubbornly, "Change of plans. I'm going to take you to the coast where you'll take a long walk off a short pier. I can't leave you running around telling every cop who I am, what I look like. You're too dangerous to be left alive."

   "That's not true! As I said, you can be long gone before I get to a cop. Look Ethan, all I want, all I've ever wanted, is my ring back. Give it to me, let me go and you have my word, I won't even go to the cops." He took a deep breath and pulled out his trump card. "I'll pay you. My mother paid you to take me into captivity. I'll pay you to let me go. I can pay you more."

   "What are you talking about?" asked Ethan derisively, "You don't have anything I want."

   "Oh yes I do," Justin said. He hobbled over to his clothes and out of his sock he dumped a ruby, an emerald, a diamond and a sapphire.

      Now Ethan's attention was caught like a deer in the headlights. "Ahhhhhhh....." he breathed, "Where did you get those?"

   "Never mind where I got them. I've got them. And you can have even more than this, if you give me my ring and let me go."

   "What are you talking about?"

   Justin hobbled over and fumbled at his clothes. He picked up his jacket and then dropped it clumsily. "Look, I'll show you, but I need to have my hands free. Can you please untie me. I'm not going anywhere without my ring and besides, I'm sure you could catch me easily if I tried to make a break for it. Please. You won't regret it."

   "Oh...fine! What's to show me? I removed all your valuables the first night." He flicked a few knots and Justin's hands were free.

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   Brian woke up on his death-day quite suddenly. He lay on his back and his eyes just flipped open as he went from deep sleep to full awareness in one second.

   He lay there for a few moments just looking at the ceiling. He felt nothing. Nothing happy. Nothing sad. Nothing angry. No depression. No despair. Nothing. He felt...blank. Yes, that was it, he felt blank and empty as one of Sunshine's canvases before he started to work his magic.

   Something...surged inside Brian but he quickly pushed it down and away and it was gone. And then, again, there was...nothing.

   After his initial Beast-like tantrum, he had waited till the next day to see if he would come. Perhaps he was detained. Perhaps he had had more shows. Perhaps he had missed his flight. And so he had waited.

   He had waited in vain. He didn't come the second day either.

   He phoned around. He phoned Debbie from the number she had given him the day of the accident. Yeah...accident.

   Debbie hadn't seen him since the art show and he hadn't been around the Diner since then either. She suggested Lindsay.

   Lindsay hadn't seen him either. She knew about the deadline and thought he had gone back to Brian. She suggested Jennifer.

   Jennifer was cheery and optimistic and informed him he had been approached by several agents, met a rich, devastatingly handsome man with raven wavy hair and green eyes and great teeth, and had packed up with him and gone to New York to pursue his art career further.

   As Brian listened to this, he had the strange sensation of having a wad of marshmallows plugging up his mouth. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Finally though, he'd sucked in a big breath, hoarsely thanked Jennifer for her time and hung up.

   He'd sat there for hours, wave after wave of emotion rushing over him, coursing through him, driving him closer and closer to insanity. Depression. Anger. No, rage. Intense jealousy. Pornographic pictures of Justin writhing in ecstasy in the bed of another man tortured him, images of Sunshine's blue eyes hooded with passion as the new man pleasured him with his mouth and his cock until dream-Justin writhed and screamed in ecstasy. A handsome man. A man who didn't need to hide behind glasses or masks, with eyes as green as seaweed, skin that was unblemished from tattoos and bronzed like a God, and wavy, raven black hair. Justin had chosen beauty over substance and he would never see him again.

   He had chosen his career and New York and forsaken his promise. He hadn't even come back to say goodbye, probably afraid Brian would lock him up again in a fit of jealousy and possessiveness and so, had just escaped into the urban jungle that was the Big Apple.

   For a few days, Brian wandered the rooms and halls, mourning Justin as one dead. He walked, sat in a beautiful room until he couldn't stand it anymore and wandered to somewhere else. The beauty of the tapestries and carpets and rooms and furniture were lost on him. The castle was now nothing more than a gilded cage.

   Brian sighed and looked over to the other side of the bed where it was glaringly empty and cold. He sighed deeply again. At least he would never wake to an empty bed again.

   He got up, went to the bathroom, did his ablutions. When he walked back into the bedroom, there was a tray near his bed with a delicious breakfast on it. He ignored it.

   He got dressed. He dressed in a formal suit with a nice tie and a matching handkerchief in the breast pocket. The handsomeness of the suit clashed interestedly with the ugly snakes that writhed around his head.

   He pulled the snakes into a ponytail and found a simple domino mask.

   He went downstairs to a kitchen and opened the fridge freezer. He took out an ice cube tray. Frozen inside one cube, was a tiny golden key.

   He found a meat tenderizer, wrapped the cube in a towel, and broke the key out of the cube.

   He took the key into a room where there was a wooden box on a mantelpiece. He opened the box. Inside there was a larger, silver key.

   He took the silver key and went over to a side table. He unlocked the drawer in this table.

   He pulled open the drawer and took out the mirror.

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   Justin reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out a carved, wooden box about the size of a matchbox.

   "What? That old thing? You wanted to show me an old matchbox? Pshaw! I already know about it! I found it the first night I took you!"

   "And yet you overlooked it and left it with me! Had you realized its properties you would not have let it out of your sight! Perhaps next time you will learn not to judge things by their appearance alone."

   "What are you talking about?" Ethan snapped impatiently.

   "Only this," Justin said. And he opened the hinged lid at the top and put the ruby inside. He closed and opened the box and there were two rubies inside. Somehow, the box was big enough for both of them. Justin dumped them both onto the bed.

   Ethan's eyes bugged out of his head. "How did you do that? That can't be real! You're - you're playing a trick somehow! A trick to save your skin!"

   Justin sighed. "It's no trick. The box duplicates anything that's put inside." He tossed one ruby to Ethan, put the other in the box and closed the lid. And then there were two.

   "Do it again!"

   Justin did it again.

   "Again!"

   He did it again.

   "Put all of them in!"

   Justin complied and somehow there was room for a ruby, emerald, diamond, and sapphire. And when he closed the lid, there were 8 jewels.

   "Do it again!"

   Justin closed the lid and opened it. There were sixteen.

   "Again!"

   Justin gave a small Mona Lisa smile and did it again

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   Brian took the mirror and went up through the halls and stairs until he reached a very special door. For a few minutes he just stood there, his eyes wide and dry.

   Then he reached up with his index finger and began to trace slowly along J...U...S...T...I...N. He did it again...and again...each time his finger moving a little slower along the gold.

   Finally, he reached toward the handle. He could go in now. Justin was gone and the enchantment would be inactive. Almost against his will, his hand started to slow. A few inches away, it started to shake and then dropped to his side.

   A thousand memories flooded his mind. All of them of him a Justin making...fucking. No. Making love He smiled a little. Yes. He would call it that, just this once, now at the very end. Justin and he had...made love on every surface in that room. The bed, the table, the counter, the shower, the bathroom sink, and even once on his artist's stool. They had made love everywhere and they would never make love again. He couldn't go in there and have him not be in there...waiting, wide-eyed, eager, spattered with paint, innocent looking and yet carnally hungry for his cock and his kiss.

   He traced the gold letters of his name one last time. J-U-S-T-I-N.

   "Good-bye...my love," he whispered brokenly

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One hour later:

   It had just been an hour but to Justin it had seemed like much longer. A heaping pile of the assorted jewels lay on the bed. After a while though, Ethan grew bored and made him clone a bunch of the silverware that had come with the room service. Then he had given Justin a dime and a quarter and made him duplicate that as well. Justin had opened and closed the box until it was as big as a breadbox and poured out a huge heaping pile of shining coinage as well. Then he did it again. And again, until there was a mountain of silver on the bed and the mattress sagged a little because of the weight.

   The greedy lust shone perversely out of Ethan's eyes. "More! More!" he panted.

   "NO! No more! Not until I see my ring! At least show it to me!"

   While Justin had worked, Ethan had gotten dressed. He pulled out Justin's ring from a pants pocket. "What? This ring?" he taunted.

   Justin made a lightning quick grab for it but Ethan pulled it back just in time. "Make me more!" he commanded.

   "For fuck's sake Ethan! You don't need any more! The pile of jewels alone will set you up for life! That alone should buy my ring and my freedom. Plus you have all this silver and money as well! How much more do you want!?"

   "Twice as more! No! Twice as more as that! Until we can dump it all in the tub and I can lie in it! No! Until we fill up a swimming pool and I can swim in it! No! More! More than that! Till I'm the richest man in the world!" His eyes were shiny with maniacal greedy lust.

   "Ethan! Snap out of it! If you tried any of that the weight of the coins and jewels would just weight you down and bury you alive! Be careful! You're greed is getting out of control! Be happy with all this! You can sell all this and live comfortably for the rest of your life!"

   But Ethan was in his own little world. He heard only what he wanted to hear.

   "Bah! You're right! All these quarters are just chump change! And selling gem after gem would be the height of tedium. Why not cut to the chase!? Here! Duplicate this!" And he pulled out some of the money he had left and peeled off a $100 bill.

   "No! Ethan, you don't understand! You can't duplicate..."

   "Oh, shut up! Get out of my way! I'm going to be rich and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Ethan pushed the jewels and coins out of the way, grabbed the box, and shoved Justin off the bed and out of the way.

   Justin bumped his knees and elbows as he landed but otherwise was unhurt. He quickly untied his ankles. Ethan was too busy to notice.

   "Be careful, Ethan. I'll warn you again, do not let your greed consume you. Stop now and be glad what I've done for you."

   Ethan ignored him. He put the bill in the box, which was big enough for it to fit perfectly.

   "No...Ethan...don't..." Justin said listlessly but did didn't really care. Ethan had chosen and sealed his own fate, and anyway he wasn't listening to him. He got dressed hurriedly. He felt something momentous was going to happen.

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   Brian next went down to the West Wing. The trashed walls and tattered carpets seemed strange to him now. On one hand he remembered inflicting every bit of damage and yet at the same time it was as if he were looking upon the handiwork of someone else. The scratches on the wall....God, he'd been so angry! Now...he, remembered the anger, all the hateful thoughts but at the same time, they were someone else's thoughts as well.

   He reached the office. God, what a mess! All those tantrums! What a child he'd been. And it had almost cost Justin his life. It was a fitting shrine for a baby.

   He went over to the desk, uncovered, and picked up the picture of the son he would never see. His eyes were wide and dry but when he spoke, his voice was filled with heartbreak.

   "My little boy. My very little boy. How I wish things had turned out differently. I wish I hadn't ignored you, spent all that time working. I wish I had used my wealth to spoil you, lavish gifts onto you. I wish I had been there for your first step. Your first word. To have you over to the loft. To tuck you in. To watch you sleep and have you wake me up. To feed you Corn Pops and Froot Loops and all of the other disgusting sugary things your mothers will never allow you. To take you to school. Your first schoolyard fight. Your karate lessons. Your second schoolyard fight, which you would win. Your first date. With whoever. Ohhh God! Brian sniffed. "I wish I had gotten to tell them to call you Gus. Oh, my little boy! Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for everything!"

   He gently pressed a kiss to the baby in the picture. He left the room in deep sorrow, only dimly aware that he still carried the picture with him.

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   Ethan opened and closed the box over and over and over with the $100 bill inside it. One became two, two became four, four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and so on and so on.

   The box became bigger and bigger as more and more money was created. It became as big as a cigar box. It became twice as big as that. It was as big as a briefcase. It became twice as big as that.

   "Ethan stop! For God's sake that must be enough for you now!" cried Justin

   "Shut up!" snarled Ethan.

   The box needed to be slid onto the floor. It became as big as a travelling trunk. It became as large as a large treasure chest.

   "Ethan, stop! For God sake, that must be enough!"

   "Shut up!" snarled Ethan.

   The lid was harder to open now. With the next open and closing it was as twice as large as a large treasure chest. And then it was as large as a wardrobe. It stood on its side so the lid opened out sideways.

   "Yikes!" Even Ethan was a little startled at the radical growth of this latest open and closing.

   "It doubles, every time you open it!" Justin said scornfully. "What did you expect!? Surely, this is enough for you now!"

   "Oh shut up! But yes, maybe this is enough."

   He reached over and went to open the lid/door. There was a snarling, growling noise. This startled Ethan and along with that, the lid was heavy now. He started and the lid slipped out of his hands. It slammed closed and now it took up half the room.

   "Ethan! What have you done!?" yelled Justin.

   "I didn't mean to! The lid was heavy! And it growled at me! What was that noise!? What the hell was that noise?"

   "I don't know! But you wanted it! Take it! Open it!"

   There was a pause.

   "I'm not sure I want it now," Ethan quavered.

   There was another dull growl from the huge box. The lid thumped open and closed slightly as if to say: Open me!

   "Open it Ethan! Your treasure awaits. You made it. You wanted it. Go get it." Justin said with steel in his voice.

   "No! I - I changed my mind! I don't want it!"

   The lid slammed and beckoned.

   "Ahhh, but it wants you Ethan! And I want my ring back! So here! Here is your treasure! Here is what your greed has made. Take it! Take it and let me go! Take it and leave me alone and let me return to my Beast!"

   "Your Beast! Why would you want to go back to a monster anyway!? Besides, we're in California! You'll never see him again! You'll never get back to the East again!

   "I want to get back because I love him. He's better that 20 of you and I swear if it takes me 20 years, I'll get back to him. But it won't take me that long! Now here! Take your treasure!"

   And with that, Justin grabbed the lid and heaved it open, pushing with all his might, opening it wide.

   Inside, there was a wall of money. The low growling came again, became louder and louder, became a snarling, one that reminded one of low-lying anger and fierce revenge.

   Ethan began to scream.

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   Brian had gotten back to the Main Hall and was about to head down the hallway that led to the Courtyard when he heard a muffled, soft, voice as if someone was trying to talk through a pillow.

   "Master! Master!?"

   Brian looked around in confusion and then just shrugged and kept going. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

   "Master! Master!" the voice came again.

   Then Brian realized he was carrying the mirror with his arms listlessly at his sides, the face of it resting against his pant leg. He lifted the mirror up and looked into it.

   It was Emmett.

   "Oh, Master! There you are! We've all been...I mean, I hope you don't mind me talking to you this way but we all felt the mirror move and hoped...Well, we could all feel..."

   "Oh for God's sake, spit it out!"

   "Right! Well, the thing is...well we saw that you hadn't touched your breakfast and we...I mean, I was hoping there was nothing wrong with it...plus with the overall psychic gloom of the house, we all thought we'd see if you were all right. So...are you...all right...Master?"

Emmett finished with extreme nervousness.  He looked and sounded like one who had drawn lots and was then shoved into a room to put a bell onto a large and hungry tiger. Which was sort of the case.

   "It is my last day. I did not eat the food because there was no point. I didn't want it. The "psychic gloom" as you called it, is there because I am preparing to die. So no. I guess I am not..."all right"."

   "To die!? Why ever are you preparing to die?"

   "I'm not going to be a monster forever. I can never see my son. Justin is not coming back. He was my last chance to break the spell and he left me and decided not to come back. I opened my heart to him and he left me. Now I'm doomed. And I cannot roam the world as a monster out of mythology."

   "Uh...Master? Maybe you're wrong about the little master? I remember driving him to the airport and him being absolutely distraught. He did not want to leave. He was upset that you pushed him away. And all he could talk about was getting back. Maybe he was detained or something? I'm sure he'll return shortly."

   "He's not detained. He met someone at his show and went off to New York. He's not coming back. He never was." Brian's voice was as dead and lifeless as he wished to become.

   "No! That cannot be true! I'm sure...that doesn't sound like the little master at all! We were sure! We were sure he was the one to break the spell!"

   "Well, he wasn't. He fooled all of us. He was just biding his time, waiting for the right time to escape his promise and get away from me."

   "Oh, Master! Do not talk like this! I hate to see you..."

   "You don't have to call me that anymore. You are all discharged. You have served me well. Thank you for everything you've done but there is nothing more you can do."

   "We cannot be discharged until the spell ends or in the event of your death," said Emmett, "And anyway, none of us will leave you now, until the end. We love you Master."

   "Thank you...Emmett," replied Brian, at a loss of what else to call the creature, "But there's nothing more for any of us to do. Go away now. I'd like to be left alone now."

   "Oh, but Master! If you're feeling so low, how can I leave you by yourself. How bout I bring you a nice lunch in the dining room and maybe a nice soothing cup of..."

   "No! Be gone!" Brian hated to be so harsh but it was the only way to get rid of the irksome spirit who would hound him until he was commanded.

   Emmett's face fell a little but he cut off his speech and sadly faded away.

   Left blissfully alone once more, Brian headed slowly through the castle. Slowly, he made his way to the yellow room. Out onto the verandah. Down the steps and into the Courtyard garden.

   He wound his way slowly around the white paths and said his goodbyes and his sorrys to as many of the statues as he could. Some were sweet men, some were fortune hunters, but all received something as Brian went past. He knew this was foolish as they were dead but a part of him knew he was putting off the inevitable. He also wondered if maybe there was a part of them that could hear him somehow, like a coma victim.

   After a long, indeterminate time, he finally reached the center. He caressed the picture of his son one more time and then carefully placed it on a stone bench where he'd be able to see it.

   Then he stepped into his flower bed into the center of the ring of golden flowers which was now a full 24 flowers at least.

   He pulled back a sleeve and looked at the countdown. The rose looked sickly and withered. As he watched a leaf dropped off and then a petal as well. There were only 2 left anyway. Both fallen items vanished. The countdown read that there was only about an hour left.

   Brian dropped his hand and took a deep breath. Then he took a few more. He may as well get this over with. No use dragging it out.

   He took another deep breath for courage. This was it.

   He looked over at his baby son and it gave him comfort.  He could do this. He could. Justin wasn`t coming. There was no hope. He had to do this He could do this. He could.

   With a last long deep breath, he raised the mirror. Lowered it. Raised it. Lowered it. Took a huge breath, looked at his son, raised it. He looked into the mirror.

   He undid the snakes. They writhed and hissed and swirled around his head, thrashing happily now that they were free from their bondage.

   Slowly, with a trembling hand, he reached up. Closer and closer it came to his face as he prepared himself to take off his mask........

TBC