2. St. Louis and Beyond We traveled slowly, stopping every third or forth day in small towns for rest and supplies. I bought a old, but serviceable buckboard wagon and harness for the two pack horses at the first opportunity which saved a great deal of time unloading and loading the horses. We coupled almost every night as Ellen's skills under the blankets improved. I bought her shoes and better fitting clothes and lectured her constantly concerning proper behavior for young women as she still, occasionally, would whine like a child when frustrated. We pulled into a small town, perhaps a days ride out of St. Louis, in the late afternoon. I made arrangements at the livery stable for our horses and wagon and was removing our bags when that odd sweat odor permeated the otherwise empty stable. Ellen dropped the bag she held as her face became slack and blank. I could feel the oddly light compulsion attempt to take me over. I was able to reject it, but assumed the posture and expression of one bound as a young man of about fifteen years stepped out of the shadows. He looked at me for a moment, then to Ellen. With a smirk he walked up to her and roughly squeezed her breast. Anger flared in me! I seized the young man in a strong compulsion causing him to stiffen and fall backwards onto the straw. Ellen, released, put a hand to her breast to massage away the pain. I drew the revolver. “Sam! No!” Ellen cried out, “He's just a boy!” Her words somehow got through my rage, calming me slightly. I was still in a towering rage but started to think. Shots and a body in a small town where we were strangers would only lead to a variety of problems. If rape had been his intent, there was no evidence. I put up my gun and entered the boy's mind. He had been using his partially understood powers for over a year, taking girls as young as ten on occasion, for his pleasure. He reveled in the shame of families with suddenly pregnant daughters. No woman in this town was safe from his lust. I could not kill him, I did not know how to remove his powers, or even if such were possible, and I certainly could not leave him free to continue. I recalled Richard telling me that most of us became awakened only after the onset of manhood, some, like myself, much later. An idea occurred to me. Back in his mind I was able to determine that he had been raised at a small local orphanage. I sent Ellen to dirty an old towel in the alley behind the stable. While she was away I sucked the years out of him until he was a suckling babe of no more than a month old. His mind was now a blank slate. I had her wrap the tiny body in the filthy towel and laid a light compulsion on her to remain silent and follow me. We slipped out the back door and made our way to the orphanage, as I pushed a few month of age on passersby and removed our presence from their memories. We left him on the step and departed, using the same technique to return to the stable. We picked up our bags and, on the way to the hotel, I removed Ellen's memories of the entire incident. In the morning, the town was ablaze with the news of the foundling babe. None knew of anyone with child of the of that age. In the morning we continued to St. Louis St Louis was a bustling city in a state of rapid growth. We took rooms in a modest hotel. Ellen spent time at the library and attending classes intended for people who had little if any formal education. I spent my days in the business district, learning about business by looking into the minds of the people who ran things, soon learning how to invest my money and where. I was getting a reputation for being a young man on the way up. I was frequently able to buy portions of a cargo before most knew it was even available and sell at large profits to people desperate for whatever the item might be We rented a small house and, for the most part, lived quietly, shunning the parties frequented by the well to do. Within the year we had bought that first house and almost at once were able to sell it at a profit. I wrote to my bank withdrawing about half the annual increase in any one year to further my investments. Five years passed in this manner when rumors and rumblings of war caused me to think about better places to be. I sold our holdings and we made the long rail trip to San Francisco, then up to the growing town of Sacramento. While the gold rush was officially over, there was money to be made. We were soon established in a large house on extensive lands. While there, Ellen became dissatisfied with our life together. She wanted children and acknowledgment of her status while I preferred the quiet of relative anonymity. We parted on good terms and she reentered society as a twenty one year old war widow of independent means. I became somewhat bitter over the outcome and while I wished her well and never sought to hurt her I wanted to lash out at someone. I began to frequent lower class saloons, often taking a whore for the night, but somehow dissatisfied by their somewhat predatory company. One evening I was accosted by a young woman of perhaps sixteen years, who was essentially begging, but promised anything in exchange for a dollar or two. She was a pretty thing, slender with honey gold hair and bright blue eyes I took her back to my empty house. Once inside, I took her thin coat and hung it in the entry along with my own. As I went to take her in my arms, she twisted away, demanding I pay her first. My smoldering anger erupted! I backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the floor. She stood, slowly, one hand on her reddened cheek, fear and tears welling up in her eyes. She turned to run, but I spun her back and grabbing the collar of her dress ripped it nearly to the crotch. She stood in shock as I roughly grabbed her breasts and forced her to kiss me. She tried to bite my tongue. I slapped her to the floor again then lifted her to her knees by the hair. I commanded her to open my trousers. When she hesitated, I slapped her again and twisted her head back so she was forced to look into my eyes. “You will use your mouth on me,” I snarled, “and if there is even a hint that you might bite, you will regret it for the short rest of you life.” With tears running down her face she opened my trousers and took me into her mouth. I seized her head and drove my self into her throat. She choked and gagged, struggling to pull away. I pulled her head back and stabbed my meat back into her throat and held her there until her eyes began to roll back. I pulled her back again, and she vomited on my trousers. I held her head with one hand full of her hair and slapped her twice, forehand and backhand and gripping her again with both hands forced myself back down her throat. “Know this, whore,” I snarled, “you are now and ever mine! If you please me, you will suffer less, if you displease me, you will discover the meaning of pain.” I pulled her off of me, making her look up into my eyes. “Do you understand, whore?” I demanded. “Yes.” she managed to say in a small frightened voice I forced myself down her throat again, holding her as my heat built. Her eyes were rolling up as I sprayed my seed down her throat. I pulled her head back again spraying over her face as she choked and gagged trying desperately to catch her breath. I half dragged her down to the basement. Throwing her to the floor, I found some rope, tied her hands tightly together, and throwing the end over a beam, lifted her until she was on her toes and tied it off. I ripped away her clothes, leaving her twisting and struggling on the rope. I backhanded her across her breasts, with just the tips of my fingernails, causing her to jump and yelp in pain then roughly forced fingers into her tunnel. I watched her twisting on the rope for a few moments, then found an old rag to gag her. I was weary, and went up to bed. In the morning I went back to the basement with a tin cup holding a scant mouthful of water and a small crust of bread. I ripped the gag out of her mouth and placed a small bit of the bread in her mouth and held the cup to dribble a few drops of water past her lips. Either the rope had stretched or her body had, her heals were only about an inch off the floor. Looked at me dully. I pinched and twisted her nipples and forced fingers into her sex. She jumped and whimpered. As I began to replace the gag, she whispered something that I couldn't quite hear. I grabbed a handful of hair and jerked her head up. “Say it again,” I said, louder!” “My sisters . . .” she got out. I retrieved the cup and let her have what water was there. “Where!” I barked at her, “Names!” She told me an address and room number on the seedier side of town and told me two names, Susan and Sally. I repeated the address to her and she nodded. Back upstairs, I called for the gardener and instructed him to take the wagon into town and bring the girls back. I had him take a loaf of bread and small jug of cider along as they might be hungry. He was to tell them that their sister had sent for them to live with her in a nice big house so they should bring anything they didn't want to lose. I went to my study to consider what to do next. I had been I towering rage at first, but that had passed. The fear and despair I saw in her eyes excited me and I wanted more of that. I located the housekeeper and had her prepare one of the upstairs rooms for the girls. I worked at preparations for most of the day, I brought down a wash stand, a heavy table and chair and two cages that had been stored in one of the barns. These cages were roughly cubical, about three feet on a side. I untied the rope, letting the girl down. She collapsed to the floor. Straining to hold her weight off of the ropes had sapped her strength. I untied her hands and fastened a leather collar around he neck and tied the rope to the collar. With just enough slack to allow her to sit in the chair and reach the wash stand. I threw a thin blanket on the floor where she lay. “Rules!” I snapped. She looked up at me “Rule one: you will obey me in all things without question or comment” I said, “tell me rule one.” “I will obey you in all things without question or comment.” she recited in a dull monotone “Rule two: you will make no effort to escape.” I said, “tell me rule two.” “I will make no effort to escape.” she recited “Rule three: you will make no effort to attract attention to yourself.” I said, tell me rule three.” “I will make no effort to attract attention to myself.” she recited hopelessly “Now for punishments.” I said, “do you see those cages?” “Yes.” “If you break a rule,” I said, one of your sisters will be placed in a cage.” Her eyes flew open in horror. “No, please, not that, please.” she hung her head and wept. “That is entirely up to you.” I said, “if one of your sisters appears there, it will be your fault.” “Please, not that.” she whispered through her tears. “In fact, they should be in the house by now.” I told her as I climbed the stairs. “by the way,” I called down, “what is your name.” “Eve.” she said, my name is Eve.” I went on up and closed the door. The girls were indeed here. I found them in the kitchen where the housekeeper was feeding the thick slices of bread, heavily buttered and bowls of beef soup with barley. I sat at the table. “Hello girls,” I said with a big smile, “I'm Sam, what are your names?” “I'm Susan.” said one, “I'm Sally.” said the other. They were twins, about six years of age and painfully thin. They shared their sister's blonde hair and blue eyes. They looked at me with the solemn eyes of the innocent. Sitting there in their threadbare dresses, they were adorable. “Your sister, Eve, had to take a little trip, but should be back in a few days”, I told them. They nodded, accepting what I said without question. “Now, there are a few rules in my house.” I said, “first, you must never enter my study and, second, you must never go into the basement.” “Why?” asked Susan. “Well, my study is my private place, and the basement? There are rats down there.” I told them. I took a pitcher of wash water and a washcloth and half of a small loaf of bread down on my next visit. Eve was asleep curled on the thin blanket. I woke her gently, and told her to sit at the table. I poured the tin cup full and set the bread on the table. I poured the basin on the washstand full and went back up the stairs. I was soon back carrying a bucket with a tight fitting lid. Eve was choking down the last of the bread. The cup was empty. I refilled the cup. I told her the bucket was her toilet and she must keep the lid on it when not in use. She nodded her understanding. I told her she was filthy and should use the wash stand. I also told her she would make every effort to keep herself clean. She nodded again. That evening, after the twins had been tucked in, I went back down to Eve. I found her at the table with the thin blanket over her shoulders, looking somewhat cleaner. The basin water was dark. I nodded to myself and carried the basin upstairs to empty it, I brought it back down along with a full pitcher, more bread, and two morsels of the beef from dinner. I had her kneel on the floor facing me while I sat in the chair. I broke off a small bit of the bread and had her open her mouth. I popped the bread into he mouth. I splashed some water into the tin cup, letting her only have a small sip. She opened her mouth for more bread. When about a third of the bread was gone I gave one of the bits of beef. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as she chewed and swallowed. I fed her the rest in the same slow deliberate manner. When she was done, I made her recite the rules then get up on the table laying on her back holding her legs spread wide. I ran a finger along her folds and sniffed. Shaking my head. I walked around to where her head hung over the edge of the table. I opened my trousers and pulled my shaft out, pressing it against her lips. She opened her mouth to enfold my shaft in wet warmth. I used short strokes while her tongue was busy on my shaft. I felt my heat rise and soon poured my seed into her mouth. “My seed is precious, Eve,” I said, “swallow it all, do not spill a single drop.” She worked with he tongue to clean me of any trace of my seed before I closed my pants. She finished by wiping a tint droplet from the corner of her mouth and sucking that finger clean as well. I stepped over to the cages. “You must clean yourself better, Eve,” I said, “You don't expect me to insert my member into a cesspit, do you? If you don't clean yourself properly, I might have to consider that a broken rule.” I rattled one of the cages. I saw the horror in her eyes as she though about one of her sisters in the cage. I went up to bed, pausing to look in on the twins. They were sound asleep cuddled together in one of the beds. I quietly closed the door and went to my bed.