The Age of Temptation

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Same excuse as usual - busy life. I don’t have writer’s block. The story is constantly running through my mind and I know exactly where I am taking it. It’s just a matter of getting the story out of my mind and down in writing. Hope you are still enjoying it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Covenant and I make no money from the writing of this fiction.

Chapter 28

When Madison’s alarm clock woke her up the next morning she stumbled out of bed to the sound of Raina coughing in their bathroom.

“Rai? You o.k.?” Madison asked through the closed door.

She heard the toilet flush and then the door opened. Raina stood in front of her, pale and sickly.

“I’m not feeling well.”

“You puked?”

Her dark haired friend nodded, walking past Madison and flopping down on her bed.

“Let me throw some clothes on and I’ll take you to the nurse. Is it some kind of stomach flu?”

“Probably,” Raina mumbled. “So are you going to tell me what happened last night?”

“Maybe I should wait until you are feeling better…”

“Mads!”

“O.k., o.k., I’ll tell you. It was him.”

“Him?” Raina sat up quickly. “Oh God! He’s here? In Ipswich?”

“No. He somehow appeared on my lap top screen last night to tell me he’s going to Europe to find his own witch.”

Raina sat staring at Madison. “Why?”

“Because if he finds one, he won’t need me anymore.”

“That would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?”

“It might be if he wasn’t so determined to destroy the rest of us. In other words, I would then be… expendable.”

Raina put her face in her hands. “Oh God,” she rubbed her forehead, tiredly. “Is that what made you smash your computer?”

“I didn’t smash it. He blew it up.”

“Do you think he’s lying?”

Madison shrugged. She didn’t have the heart to tell Raina about Ben, not when she was feeling so poorly already.

“Ben could tell us if he left or not,” Raina suggested.

Madison nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, wanting to change the subject. “Come on, let’s get you to the nurse.”

OOOOO

Raina was excused from classes and sent back to the dorm to rest all day, which Madison decided was just as well. After all, from the moment Pogue greeted her in the morning with a very intimate kiss, they had become completely absorbed with one another.

When they weren’t in classes, Pogue and Madison were wrapped around each other, forgetting that anyone else existed around them. She didn’t know what it was about Pogue Parry that made her want to melt into his very skin. Perhaps it was his sexy bedroom eyes that took every opportunity to express his blatant desires to her. Or maybe it was his deep, silky voice that whispered against her skin next to her ear, making her shiver with delight. But then, it could have been his incredible body that pressed up against hers at every opportunity.

How things got so intense between them in such a short amount of time crossed Madison’s mind briefly when she had a moment to gather her thoughts during class. She chastised herself inwardly for forgetting that the soul of one of her best friends was stuck somewhere in limbo. And during the last period of the day, she decided she’d head straight to Marish House after school and see if the spirits of her ancestors would help.

When she left her class, Pogue was already waiting for her at her locker. Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered, “So, it’s Friday. What do you want to do?” His lips fastened to her neck, suckling gently, making her want to just give in to whatever he wanted.

She reluctantly replied, “I need to take care of some things.”

“What, baby?” Pogue asked, against her skin.

“I need to go to Marish House. Will you take me? Then I thought I’d stop by the drug store to get Raina something for her stomach flu.”

“Sure, I’ll take you. You want to go now?”

“Yeah, after I change and check in with Rai.”

Pogue nodded. “I’ll meet you out front in twenty?”

“Yeah, o.k.”

OOOOOO

Since it was winter, Pogue drove Madison in his truck. On the way, Madison filled him in on the events of the night before and why she wanted to go to Marish House.

When they pulled into the driveway of the old Victorian, Pogue turned off the engine and looked at her in concern. “Why didn’t you call me last night after it happened? Why Caleb? He doesn‘t even live at school.”

Madison sighed. “Is that really the important thing out of all that happened?”

Pogue took a deep breath and released it. “Sorry, you’re right.” He reached over and took her hand. “I just want to be there for you Madi when you need something.”

Madison nodded. “I know. But Caleb had to be informed. You know that.”

Pogue nodded. “Yeah. Come on, let’s go help your friend, Ben.”

The construction crew had already left for the day and Madison gazed about at all the progress they had made so far. “This place is starting to come together,” she marveled.

The ghostly caretaker opened the front door for them and Madison knew Pogue would be able to see all that she could as long as he held her hand. She squeezed his hand. “Don’t be freaked. O.K.?

“I’m fine,” he replied, giving her a small grin.

The air crackled with an electric charge and the temperature dropped as Madison and Pogue stepped into the main parlor. The ghostly figures of three women dressed in garb from the early 1900’s were seated in the well appointed room, apparently having tea. Madison had seen this illusion before, where everything looked as if it was happening in present time, the first time she had entered Marish House last fall.

“Whoa,” Pogue marveled. “You doing this, Madi?”

Madison shrugged. “I am or they are. I really don’t know.”

The ancestral specters looked at them in expectation as they stepped further into the room.

“Hello,” Madison began. “Can you speak with me?”

We can.

The female voice seemed to speak out loud, yet none of them moved their lips.

Madison cleared her throat and continued. “I was hoping you can help a friend of mine who has passed recently.”

She waited a moment, but received only blank stares.

“You see, I’m having problems with a demon. This demon has informed me that he has trapped the soul of my friend somewhere. Actually, he said that my friend was feeling ‘lost’ and would be unable to come to me. I was hoping that maybe one of you would know what this meant and possibly be able to help him for me.”

The three spirits turned their gazes to one another, communicating with their eyes as Madison waited for a reply.

Which demon? A voice then asked.

“I don’t know yet. I’m in the process of finding out. He’s in the body of a powerful warlock.”

Then a cacophony of feminine voices filled the air as the spirits seemed to speak at the same time, arguing amongst themselves.

Pogue and Madison glanced at one another, wondering at the outcome of this strange conference.

Suddenly there was silence, and the ghostly grandfather clock in the foyer tick-tocked loudly.

He would trap us too. Came the reply.

“Please, you’ve got to help. Ben… he died trying to save me. I can’t leave him stuck somewhere.”

The ghosts seemed unaffected by her sentiment and sat staring at her.

“Look,” she swallowed. “The demon is leaving to go across the world. He won’t be near Ben any longer. You should be able to get to him with no problem. Won’t you at least try?”

Still, the stubborn ghosts sat unmoving. Madison’s anger and frustration was starting to build.



“You know, I should just evict all of you from my house! I thought you were family, but I see you don’t care one bit about helping out a family member when they are in need.” She noticed they finally began to show a bit of emotion on their faces at the word ‘evict’. Madison decided to play that card further.

“So, why don’t you all just get out and find a new place to dwell. I don’t need any fair weather family around.”

The ladies looked outraged, beginning their squabbling over again. Then she felt a cold spot pressing in on her shoulder. She turned her head and noticed the caretaker had placed his ghostly hand on her to get her attention.

We will help. He spoke.

The ladies looked at him in surprise and he stared them all down.

We will help. He repeated, firmly. A Marish is in need.

“Thank you,” Madison sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

OOOOOO

“That was a trip,” Pogue commented as they drove away from Marish House. “That butler seems to have a lot of say around there.”

“And good thing he does too. Those lazy sows didn’t want to lift a finger.”

Pogue chuckled and shook his head. “And you, Madi, taking charge like that! I loved it.”

Madison grinned in return. “Sometimes you got to shake people out of their comfort zones to get them to do something.”

“What do you think they can do?”

“I figure the dead would have more success finding other dead than the living could,” she shrugged. “We can’t get around like they can and we don’t have all their ‘senses’. Ben told me all the things he could do now that he was out of his body, so I have a pretty good idea of their abilities.”

They pulled into the parking lot of the drugstore where Pogue’s uncle was the pharmacist. Walking hand-in-hand, they stepped inside. Madison looked about for the flu medications and began scanning the shelves for one that would help with upset stomach. Pogue held her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. When Madison reached for a bottle of medicine, Pogue wrapped his hand around her fingers, stopping her.

“What?” Madison asked.

“Think for a moment,” he replied. He led her to the next isle and faced her toward the shelf of pregnancy tests. “She sleeps a lot and she’s vomiting, Madi.” He reached up and grabbed a rectangular box, placing it in Madison’s hand.

Madison turned her head back to gaze at him in consternation. “That’s not funny.”

But Pogue wasn’t smiling. Nothing on his face indicated that he was joking at all.

She turned her whole body to face him now, the realization too terrible to contemplate. “But… that would mean…” He watched her as she tilted her face downwards, looking at the pregnancy test in her hand. Her other hand flew up to cover her mouth as she hissed, “Oh my God!”

Their eyes connected. “Do you really think…?”

Pogue didn’t want to tell her that he knew it was true. He knew it because Caleb had seen Chase’s energy pulsating from Raina’s womb. He wasn’t sure Madison would be very happy finding out that they all knew before she and Raina did.

“Do the test, Madi. Do the test first before you give her a bunch of medicine that might not be good for… it.”

“It? It? Oh, my God! What the hell would be ‘it’ be, Pogue? A demon?”

“Shhhhh…,” Pogue whispered, looking about. The only other customer in the store was at the check out counter and Pogue didn’t want anyone to overhear this particular conversation.

Madison slapped her hand over her own mouth, looking around wide-eyed.

He took her in his arms and whispered, “We’ll talk about this later. Don’t assume the worst.”

Madison sighed, trying to relax in his arms.

“Let’s go,” he urged, taking her hand and pulling her to the register.

The customer had left, leaving them alone with the checker, a young man that looked very familiar. In fact, he could almost pass for Reid’s twin brother.

Madison stared at him as this thought went through her mind. She glanced at Pogue and said, “He looks like…”

Pogue smirked. “Madison, I’d like you to meet Billy Garwin. He’s Reid’s cousin.”

Billy had heard the introduction and grinned indolently at her. “So, you’re Madison Marish.”

Madison nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

“Is it really?” Billy said, grinning. “No one else seems to think so.”

Pogue frowned at him as he said. “Don’t mind him, Madi, he’s got a bit of an attitude.”

“I wonder why,” Billy muttered. He looked at the box Madison placed on the counter. His eyes flicked up to Pogue. “You are in a shit load of trouble, Parry.”

Pogue laughed sarcastically. “Yeah? From who, Billy boy? You?”

“From the families, asshole! She’s not suppose to bear your spawn.”

Pogue’s eyes flashed and Billy Garwin flew backwards into the shelf of cigarettes, making the whole thing slide to the floor along with his body.

“Don’t ever speak that way to us again,” Pogue hissed in a deadlier voice than Madison had ever heard him use. For that moment, she didn’t recognize the Pogue Parry she thought she knew.

Pogue’s uncle came from behind the pharmacy counter in the back of the store. “Is everything all right?” he asked as he strode forward.

While Billy pulled himself off the floor, Pogue glanced over his shoulder at his uncle. “Yeah, don’t worry about. It was just Billy being Billy.”

Madison gave him a small, embarrassed wave, feeling relieved a bit when Pogue’s eyes flashed again and the shelving went back on the wall along with all the packs of cigarettes that were scattered on the floor. Within seconds it appeared as if nothing had happened.

Billy Garwin was now red in the face as he stood before them, looking down and not saying a word as he put the pregnancy test in the bag and took the money. Madison felt sorry for him.

“Thank you,” she said, trying to smile at him. “And, it’s not for me actually,” she added.

But Billy didn’t say anything as he left the counter to go into the back room after the transaction was over.

“What’s his story?” Madison asked as they left for the truck.

“He’s a fuck up, Madi. He was given all sorts of opportunities and chances, and he blew them all. He’s lucky he’s got that job now. But he’ll probably fuck that up too.”

“How?”

“Thievery, drunk and disorderly, big fucking mouth about family matters, drugs. You name it, he’s done it. He should be in prison. If he was not a family member, he probably would be.”

Madison was quiet as they rode back to school before she finally said, “You didn’t have to be so hard on him.”

“Yeah, I did. You don’t know him like I do, Madi. I’m sorry you had to see that, but he needed it.”

They reached school and Pogue walked her back to the dorm room. “You want me to come in with you?”

Madison sighed. “No, I think I better talk to her myself. She’s going to freak out. I really hope it’s just a stomach flu.”

Pogue leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be in my room if you need me. And… tomorrow night… are you still coming with me?”

“Of course,” she replied, hugging him. “It’s your birthday.”

OOOOOOO

Madison shored herself up as she stepped into the dorm room, smiling gently at Raina when she spotted her friend sitting up in bed reading.

“Hey,” Madison greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, but then I haven’t had anything to eat all day. I’m kind of afraid to.”

Madison nodded and went to her bed, sitting on the edge facing Raina.

“What’s up? You’ve got that look on your face.”

“What look?” Madi answered.

“The I-have-something-bad-to-tell-you look.”

“Well… I’m not sure how you are going to react to what I need to say.”

Raina dropped her book down onto her lap. “Just say it.”

“I went to the drugstore to pick something up for your stomach and…”

“Yeah?”

“And Pogue went with me.”

“Yeah?”

“And, well, he sort of suggested that you might not have a stomach flu.”

“What do you mean?”

Madison let her breath out. “This is kind of hard for me to say.”

“Just say it!”

“When is the last time you had your period?”

Raina stared at Madison, frozen for a moment. “You… you can’t be serious?” Then she laughed nervously. “Oh God, that couldn’t be true!”

“So, you’ve had a period since…?”

“I… don’t know… shit!” Raina hopped out of bed and began tearing through her backpack. She pulled out her planner calendar, quickly turning the pages. “Shit, shit, shit!! I… with all the bad stuff going on… I might not have written it down.”

“But you remember having one?” Madison asked, hopeful.

“I don’t know!” Raina yelled, throwing her calendar down on the floor. “I can’t remember anything mundane like that since Ben was killed. I could have gotten one. Shit! Madi… what if?”

Madison opened the paper bag on her lap and pulled out the pregnancy test, watching as Raina’s eyes widened.

“Oh God! I’m too scared, Madi. My life would be ruined!!”

Madison sighed. “No, it wouldn’t be. If… it’s true, we’ll deal, o.k.? You wouldn’t be the first teenager to ever get pregnant, you know?”

“No, but maybe the first to have a demon baby!! Oh, my God!” Raina cried and began hyperventilating.

Madison stood and held Raina, guiding her to the bed before she collapsed on the floor. “Rai, it’s o.k., sweetie, calm down.” She sat with her, hugging her as her friend broke down in tears. “I’m here for you, Rai. I’ll help you with this. But first, we need to find out if it is even true or not.”

“All right,” Raina replied, trying to stop her tears. “You’re right. Maybe I’m freaking out for nothing. What do I need to do? Pee on a stick?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Madison said, looking down at the box in her hand. She tore open one end and pulled out the instructions. She read the directions out loud.

Raina grabbed the test stick and headed for their small bathroom. “O.K., I’m just going to get this over with.”

While she was waiting for Raina, her cell phone rang. She saw Caleb’s name across the screen and answered.

“Madi? Is everything all right? I just talked to Pogue.”

“She’s taking the test right now.”

There was silence as Caleb contemplated his next words. “I’d like to come by.”

“This is not a good time…”

“I already knew, Madi.”

“You already knew what?”

“That’s she’s pregnant. I could see it - the energy around her.”

“What? You knew? And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“You had just been attacked and you lost Ben… I didn’t think it was right to dump more bad news on you and Raina. I thought it would be better if she found out in the more traditional sense.”

“Better? There is no better or worse in this scenario, only the facts! Fuck! I don’t believe all this!” She hung up on Caleb, throwing her phone onto her bed and heading for the bathroom door. Knocking softly, she said, “You o.k. in there? Rai?”

When Raina didn’t answer, Madison slowly opened the door. Raina was standing at the sink, her forehead pressed against the mirror and eyes shut. The test stick was sitting on the edge of sink, but Madison didn’t have to look at it to know it was positive.

She put her hand on Raina’s shoulder and said softly. “Rai? Come on, let’s go sit down. We’ll talk about options.”

The dark haired girl obediently followed Madison out of the bathroom and sat on her bed in shock, still not raising her eyes. Madison sat next to her and took her hand in hers. “Rai? Sweetie?”

“My life is over,” Raina muttered.

Madison shook her head vehemently. “No, no it’s not! You can do something about it. It’s still early. You can…”

“Have an abortion?” Raina finished for her. She shook her head. “No, Madi, I can’t. I don’t believe in abortions. I just… can’t.”

Madison squeezed her hand in understanding. “O.K., there’s adoption. Lot’s of childless people waiting for a baby…”

“A baby, not a demon!” Raina snapped, her eyes watering again. “Oh God! Why did I ever get involved with you and your twisted life? Right now, I wish I’d never been your friend. If I had stayed away from you, Chase would never have used me like he did.”

Raina’s words stabbed at Madi’s heart. But she couldn’t deny that Raina was right. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t want to be what I am. I didn’t have a choice. And I definitely didn’t want anything bad to happen to my friends.”

Raina stood, her fists clenched angrily. “Well it did! Ben is dead and I am pregnant with a demon’s child! Damn you, Madi. You brought evil into our lives!”

Now it was Madison’s turn to cry as Raina’s words tore into her. “Rai…”

“What I am I suppose to do? My parents are going to freak out!” she yelled. “Just get out, Madison. Get out and leave me alone.”

Madison bolted for the door, sobbing, and headed straight for Pogue’s dorm room. People in the corridors looked curiously at her as she passed them crying, but Madison hardly cared. Raina had decided to blame her and Madison felt guilty as charged.

When Madison reached Pogue’s room the door clicked open before she could touch the handle and she hurried in, sobbing. But it wasn’t Pogue who wrapped strong arms around her first.

It was Caleb.

“How did you get here so fast?” she wept against his chest.

“I didn’t leave. I had things to do here after school,” he replied.

Madison turned her face and noticed Pogue sitting on his sofa, watching them.

“I take it she didn’t react very well,” he commented.

“She’s blaming me,” Madison sobbed.

“She’s in shock,” Caleb said, kissing the top her head soothingly. “She doesn’t really mean that.”

“Yes, she does. And she is right. Ben would be alive and she wouldn’t be having Chase’s baby if it weren’t for me.”

“And how could you have planned for any of that, baby?” Pogue replied. “It’s all water under the bridge. Nothing can change what you are and what happened.”

“I’m frightened for her. I didn’t want to leave her, but she screamed at me to go.”

Caleb caressed her cheek, wiping her tears with his finger. “I’ll handle it from here. You just rest. You’ve got a big day tomorrow with Pogue. You need to take care of yourself too.”

“Caleb, no. She’ll be scared of you without me around. Don’t go there.”

“Shhh, baby,” Caleb crooned, “it’s o.k. My mother is the one who is coming to see her tonight. She’s going to talk to her about her options.”

“I already tried that. She doesn’t believe in abortion. And she doesn’t want to give a demon child to anyone to adopt.”

“Demon child? Madi, it’s not demon. It’s just a warlock. He’ll be like us.”

Madison pulled her head off his chest and looked into his eyes. “How can you be sure?”

“Like I told you on the phone, I can see the energy of the baby. He’s Chase’s first born. It’s a physical creation from his DNA. It has nothing to do with the spirit of the demon, though the demon in Chase is probably viewing the child as another body to inhabit eventually if Chase should die. Which, is probably why it did not attack Raina.”

“Seriously? It’s not going to be a demon?”

“No. He’ll be like every other child. At least until he’s thirteen and inherits his powers.”

“Will your mom tell Raina that?”

Caleb nodded. “And she’ll also tell her that should she decide to raise a Son of Ipswich, she’ll have lots of help. She won’t have to be one of those struggling single teenage moms. Well, at least as far as the struggling part goes.”

“She’s terrified of telling her parents.”

“That’s not something that has to happen right away. First things first. I’ve got to go meet my mother outside. She should be just about here. You going to be all right?”

Pogue was now standing behind her and she felt his hands slide around her waist.

“I got her now,” Pogue said, pulling her against his body.

OOOOOO

Madison spent the night in Pogue’s arms, though it took her awhile to fall asleep. They slept in the next morning as it was Saturday.

She felt Pogue’s arms tighten about her and his lips swept against her cheek. “Morning,” he murmured.

“Hey,” Madison replied, sleepily, turning in his arms.

“How are you?” he asked, putting her halfway under his body and kissing her.

“I don’t know,” Madi sighed. “But, you know what? This weekend is not going to be about me and my problems. This weekend is about you.”

“If you need some time to work things out with Raina, I’ll understand.”

“Raina can wait. She kicked me out, remember? She needs to lose her anger a bit before we can work things out. But you, you are ascending tonight. You are the priority today.”

He smiled his sexy grin and kissed her. “My mom got the guest house ready for us. I think she’d rather not see my ascension. And I don’t want her there anyway.”

“I was thinking that maybe you should ascend outside in the forest. That way I can help you better if you need it.”

“Lots of trees surround the estate, Madi. We’ll be fine.”

“Are you nervous?”

“I guess. A bit. Caleb says it hurts like fuck. Of course, he was in the middle of a battle with Chase at the same time. I’m sure that didn’t help.”

“Hmmm… well… I definitely plan on giving you pleasure and not pain, so I think your ascension will be a bit more pleasant.”

“Oh yeah,” he grinned, move his leg against her sex, “how about a preview?”

Her breath left her in a rush as her need of him quickly built. Her fingers tightened over his biceps and she began moving her hips to press against him further. His lips descended down on hers and she parted them easily, giving in to the delicious kiss.

Nudging her legs further apart, he settled himself between them. Continuing with his leisurely kiss, he entered her, causing her to groan with the sensation of being filled.

The kisses became more ardent and Pogue’s thrusting quickened as they both were caught up in the intensity of the joining. He pushed up a bit on his elbow, grabbing under her leg with the other arm and lifting it up so that he could sink even deeper into her. Madison moaned in reply, loving the sensations pulsing through her body with each thrust.

When they both came, Pogue continued a gentle thrust as he held her under him, kissing down the length of her throat.

“Madi, I want to keep you forever,” he whispered against her damp skin.

Madison wove her fingers through his hair, caressing him. “Shhhhhhh…” she whispered back.

@

OOOOOOO

A/N I thought I’d get to the ascension in this chapter, but it seems the event with Raina took center stage and I wanted to do them both justice. So, I’ll focus more on the ascension next time. I also wanted to introduce a new character, Billy Garwin, who will be in some of the future chapters, though not too heavily.

I hope you’ll leave a review and let me know you are still there and still interested. I know it’s been awhile. But those reviews will excite me keep writing. Thanks!