"Ahhhhhgg!" I screamed out. Everything disappeared. Suddenly it was black. My head was numb.

I twitched as I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Carlos, wake up. It's just a dream." He was shaking me.

"Huh? Oh. What?" I was groggy, confused. "Oh... Daniel?" I sat up and ran my hand over my head. I yawned.

I'd been having a lot of those lately; almost every night, sometimes more than one. At least I hadn't peed the bed again. That was worse than the nightmares.

"When are you going to tell me what's going on?" Daniel wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.

I'd been holding it all in. Maybe I needed to let it out. "It's just... well, I'm scared. It's this whole thing with Nancy and her mother. There's stuff I haven't told you."

"So tell me." He kissed the back of my neck and leaned into me, supporting my weight.

"Carlos," he sounded like a concerned mother, "If you're involved, then I'm involved.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath trying to summon the courage to speak and to give myself time to figure out where to begin. "It's our balls, Daniel."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Daniel pulled me around to face him. Carlos, I know she's grabbed 'em and squeezed pretty hard, but no one eats someone else's balls."

"Carlos, you're not making any sense, what book? You never told me you found a book."

I rolled across him and crawled to the bed; reaching under the mattress I pulled out the spell book.

"This book." I held it out to him and dropped it in his lap. I stood and walked around the bed to the light switch.

It took a few seconds for our eyes to adjust and I sat down beside him. "Here, let me show you." I took the book from his hands and flipped through the pages until I found the spell. "Read." I handed it back to him.

He flipped through the pages as I waited. I was a bit confused when I saw his expression change from one of horror to one of amusement.

"Tradition holds that rooster testicles achieve the best results, though the testicles of any animal may be used."

The middle school gymnasium was decorated with red and blue streamers and balloons. Those were the school colors. There was a band playing on stage. There were rows of tables around the walls and a large dance floor in the middle, right in front of the stage. There were lots of girls dressed in formal gowns. Some even had flowers. Linda wore a beautiful blue gown with white trim. She was escorted by Shelly who was wearing red. They were both stunning. Daniel and I followed them. We were wearing the same clothes we'd worn to the cabaret; black pants with black patent shoes and a black top hat. Daniel wore a red shirt with ruffles and I wore blue.

We found a table with some of Shelly's friends and Daniel and I held the chairs for our ladies. Our seats were chairs set behind the table just like the puppies at the cabaret. Once the girls were seated Daniel and I went to the buffet table to get drinks for our mistresses.

There were a variety of soft drinks, punch, and fruit juices. I knew that Shelly liked sparkling apple juice so I poured her a glass and returned. There were also a variety of appetizers and once she had her drink I returned to fill a plate with them. Most of the stuff was fried and I knew Shelly wouldn't go for that, but there were several different types of crackers and dips, fresh vegetables with ranch dressing, and a nice selection of fresh cut fruit and berries. By the time I returned, she and Linda were already on the dance floor.

Several of the girls from our PE class stopped to say hello to Daniel and I. They made some jokes about our being a bit 'over dressed' and we all laughed. I was really nervous. I didn't want one of them to ask me to dance. Not because I was afraid to dance. They teach us that stuff on the farm, but because I didn't know if I'd be allowed. I worried for nothing, the girls didn't ask.

I saw Jane. She was sitting at a table across the room with some girls her age. I watched her for a while hoping she would come over to talk, but she just sat there. She wasn't dancing and didn't look like she was having much fun. I felt bad for her and wanted to go talk, but that was definitely not allowed. I was in total puppy mode tonight. It was my duty to escort my mistress and provide whatever she wanted.

Eventually the band took a break and the girls returned to their seats. They chatted with their friends, ignoring Daniel and I completely, except to have us fill their glasses.

When the band started playing again, the girls grabbed Daniel and I and dragged us onto the dance floor. I danced with Shelly, then Linda. When the music slowed down, the girls shoved Daniel and I together and we danced hip to hip and cheek to cheek. It was wonderful. We even kissed a little. Well, ok, we kissed a lot. When the music finally stopped we parted and suddenly realized that everyone was watching us. My face went redder than Daniel's shirt. His did too. Then they started clapping. I saw Shelly say something to one of the band members and they broke into a tango and Daniel just smiled at me. I nodded and we danced it like we'd danced it a million times before. Only this time it was even better. We practically made love on the dance floor.

After that we never got to sit again, at least not while the band played. All the girls wanted to dance with us. It was exhausting. I managed to dance my way over to Jane and offered her my hand. She was the only girl I asked all night. It wasn't proper, but I wasn't going to leave without spending at least one song dancing with her.

At the next break she came to our table and I started to introduce her to the girls. But there was no need. They already knew her.

Shelly looked at me and laughed. "Of course we know Jane. Her older sister Nancy is sponsoring us to be Little Sisters. We couldn't have gotten in without her."

My jaw practically hit the floor. I looked over at Daniel who was as shocked as I was.

I looked at Jane. I didn't want to say this in front of her, but I had to warn Shelly. "Nancy is the one who keeps harassing us."

"Tell 'em Daniel." I looked at Daniel and could see that he really didn't want to speak up so I continued, "She's the one who stripped us and hurt us."

"No! That's a lie!" Jane screamed at me. She was angry. "My sister would never do anything like that."

"But... But... it's true. She's the one who's been threatening us. You know how much she hates puppies." I pleaded with her. I couldn't believe her reaction.

"She might not like puppies, but she wouldn't hurt anyone. How could you say that? I thought you were my friend." She turned and stormed away.

"Ja-ane." There was a huge lump in my throat. I wanted to cry. I looked at Daniel for support.

"I just can't believe you." Shelly grabbed my arm and spun me around. She was angry. "How could you say something like that. You're gonna ruin everything. If she goes back and tells her sister...." Her whole body was tense. She shook with anger.

"I finally have a chance to be someone and you've gotta do this... Just because you're not the center of attention... Just go away!"

I looked at Daniel hoping he would say something... anything. He just stood there.

I hung my head and turned away, tears streaming down my face. I didn't understand. Why would they be so upset? It was like she didn't even care about me. It was like none of them cared about me; not even Daniel.

I wandered the campus for a while before heading across the commons on my way home. The dance had ended and there were lots of girls exiting the gym on their way to the dorms. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my side. My breath went right out of me. By the time I knew what was happening, it was too late. I had been punched in the kidney and Nancy grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I dropped to my knees.

"There are too many people around for me to administer my usual beating so listen up." She yanked my arm and I cried out in pain. "You stay away from my sister, you pathetic bastard. If you go near her again I'll break your arm. You understand?" She yanked up on my arm again.

"Yes what." She demanded. She yanked me to my feet. It felt like she was ripping my arm right out of its socket.

She let go and I collapsed to the ground holding my shoulder and still fighting for breath.

The girls had said something about an all night party in the dorm after the dance. They were going to try to sneak Daniel and I inside. Now I figured it would just be Daniel. Nobody wanted me.

It started as the best night of my life. I never had so much fun. Now it was the worst. I was always messing things up. It was so important for Shelly to be accepted by the other girls that she refused to believe me. I let her down. Nancy wouldn't hurt her; it was me she wanted to hurt. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut. I guess I can't blame Jane either. She was just defending her sister. I'd have done the same thing.

Daniel could have supported me. I don't know why he didn't. Maybe he figured it would only make things worse. Maybe he thought I was just plain crazy after I'd shown him the book. It made me look so silly. Maybe he thought Nancy had only attacked us because I'd stolen the book. Maybe he thought it was all my fault. This whole thing was just another one of my stupid ideas.

The pain in my shoulder was starting to fade. I was breathing better, but still had a dull ache in my side. I'd probably be bruised. I picked myself up and started to dust myself off when I noticed the rip in the knee of my pants. My shirt was torn too.

'That's just great,' I thought, 'now mom will be mad at me too. So will Dr. Wills.' These clothes had been expensive. There was no one to turn to.

I found a large bush and crawled underneath. No one would miss me 'til morning. Mom wasn't expecting us home.

I was cold and shivering as I awoke. It was still dark. I had no idea how long I'd slept. All I knew was that I couldn't stay here. I'd freeze to death. My face was still wet with tears and there were more coming. I huddled myself together and tried rubbing my arms to warm myself. It didn't work. Dare I go home? Mom would likely be asleep. I could sneak in quietly. I began walking. The commons was deserted.

It didn't take long to reach the house. Mom kept a key hidden under a rock in the flower bed and I used it to unlock the door. I crept inside as quietly as I could.

I darn near jumped out of my skin at the sound of my mom's voice and as the light switched on. I turned to face her, blinking at the light.

"Where have you... What on earth? What's happened to you? Are you alright?" Mom's voice quickly changed from anger to concern as she obviously saw my dirty, torn clothing.

"I've been so worried about you." She strode towards me and scooped me into her arms. "Linda called. She said you and Shelly had argued and Shelly sent you home. I've been worried sick for hours. I even called security. They're looking for you too."

"I'm sorry," I said between sniffles. "I didn't mean to worry you. I just couldn't come home. I guess I deserve a spanking." I meant it too. I wanted her to spank me. I needed to be treated like a misbehaving puppy. I didn't want to be her son right now.

"I'm just glad you're home safe. Where have you been? Why are your clothes torn and why are you so dirty?" Her anger had disappeared. Now she just seemed relieved.

"I needed to think so I just walked around for a while. Then I fell. I knew you'd be mad at me and disappointed." I couldn't tell her the truth. She wouldn't believe me anyways. No one else did. I continued, "I couldn't face that; not tonight. Everyone else was so mad already. I thought I'd save you for in the morning. I'm sorry."

"You go and get a shower and get warmed up. Then come to my bed. I want to hold my boy tonight. I need to feel you're safe. We can talk in the morning."

I did as I was told although I wanted her to spank me. I knew it was useless to argue. Besides, she needed to get some sleep and so did I.

After breakfast, mom just sat at the table and watched as I did the dishes. I knew she wanted to talk and it was making me very uncomfortable. I couldn't finish. I just had to say something.

"I know, but it's hard to talk sometimes." I sat at the table across from her. I didn't know where to begin.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you mommy. I thought you felt bad because they said Jacqui was murdered and if I found out who killed her you would feel better." The words just sort of jump out of my mouth.

"Daniel was helping but he didn't really want to. He thought it was another one of my stupid ideas that would get him in trouble. I guess he was right." I hung my head and looked down at the table.

"Well, it was the witnesses. You know, the ones who saw Jacqui's car crash. We found out that two of the witnesses were dead and maybe killed, the other two were missing. Their names were Margaret and Nancy, just like Jane's mom and sister. But the last name was different."

"Since Nancy was the one harassing us, Daniel thought maybe they changed their names like you did when you got married. I found out they were from Athens."

"Just a minute. Jane's sister is the one who's harassing you? Why didn't you tell me this before?" Now mom seemed to be getting upset.

"I'm afraid of her. She keeps threatening me. If she knows I said anything..." A shiver ran up my spine. "Please mom, don't say anything. Please."

Mom didn't say anything. I could see she was thinking and not sure of what she wanted to do about this right now. I decided to continue.

"I found a book that said Kypris is another name for Aphrodite and the book said Aphrodite was made from her father's testicles when he was castrated."

"I don't know. But that's why they're upset at me. Nancy sponsored them and I told them that Nancy was the one harassing us. They're mad because if Nancy gets mad at them for what I said, they won't get in."

"I see. They want to ignore the harassment so they can get what they want. Carlos, they're wrong. I can't let that happen. Your sister can't be allowed to put her desires above your safety."

"Wait mom. It might be all my fault." I was really nervous to confess the next part.

"It's a book about magic. I found it in the library. It belongs to Nancy. I didn't know it then, but somehow she found out I have it. She wants it back."

"That's what all this is about. You've got something that belongs to her and she's resorting to harassment and violence to get it back?"

"It might, I don't know." I took a deep breath. "Mom, there's something in that book. A spell. It's about gaining true love and beauty, like Aphrodite." I paused.

"The spell said that eating testicles is how women could attain perfect beauty and love because of the way Aphrodite was created. Her father's testicles became part of her so by consuming testicles a woman can destroy the male and absorb his power turning it into true beauty and love. So I thought they were the ones who killed Jacqui and they were going to eat our testicles."

"Until Daniel showed me something that I missed." I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at her. This was going t make me look so stupid. "He read the next page. It said they use rooster testicles."

Mom couldn't refrain from giggling and I felt about as dumb as I'd ever felt in my life.

"You've got quite an imagination, Carlos." She was shaking her head. "I guess with all that's happened, it's easy to get carried away and become paranoid. We have been in some danger from the Coven and I've had you doing all sorts of research on them. I suppose a frightened little puppy with a vivid imagination wouldn't know quite what to make of it."

"At least you realize your mistake. It's probably not too late. Why don't you give the girl her book and apologize. I'm sure that sooner or later everyone will forgive you. But I will have to have a talk with her mother. Beating up my sons is not acceptable. I won't tolerate it."

It was mid-morning when the doorbell rang and I went to answer it. Jane gasped and giggled like she always did when she saw me naked.

"Only when I'm naked." I smiled at my own joke and felt a sense of relief that she wasn't mad at me anymore.

She giggled again, then a stern look spread across her face. "I'm supposed to be mad at you."

"No. Nancy admitted it. She said she wants her book back and you keep denying you have it. She admitted pushing you around a bit."

That was an understatement. "I should have given it back. I just wanted to read it first."

"I'll get it and you can take it to her." I turned to leave, then stopped. "You can come in if you want."

I shivered as she said it. Nancy was the last person I wanted to see. Jane must have sensed my fear.

Jane led me to the high school building where we went down a stairwell and entered through a basement door. It was cold, empty, and dark. I followed her to the end of the hall and into a room.

"What the... ooowwww." A hard slap to the balls caught me off guard and I sank to my knees.

"Shut up and get me the rope. It's part of the ceremony." I hadn't seen her, but it was Nancy's voice.

What I had seen was Shelly, Linda, and Daniel with their hands over their heads, tied to a beam on the ceiling. There was tape over their mouths. The next thing I knew, my hands were being pulled away from my groin and tied as well. Nancy led me to the beam, pulled them up and tied me securely. All the while, Jane was protesting.

Nancy picked up her book and flipped through the pages. "Yes, it's as I thought. I'm missing a few items." She looked at her sister. "Jane! Put that down."

Jane had picked up a knife. I assumed she intended to cut us loose. Nancy grabbed it and slammed it down on the table in front of me.

"Good." Nancy grabbed her sister by the wrist and pulled her towards the door. "Oh, you will hang around until I get back?" She laughed at her little joke.

I looked at the other three. The horror in their eyes said it all. I'd been right all along.

I looked at the knife on the table. It wasn't too far away. I could reach it with my feet, but what good would that do? I thought for a minute. Coach Sims had shown me how to do some moves on the rings in the gym. I could bend myself in half with my feet over my head. Maybe, if I could pick the knife up with my toes...

I swung my feet onto the table. I reached the knife with my left foot. I tried, but couldn't pick it up. Then I got an idea. I scooted the knife to the edge of the table. The handle hung over the edge and I kept it from dropping with my left foot. I brought my right foot under the table and slipped the handle between my big toes and the second one. I closed them together. Yes. Success.

Unfortunately, that looked like it would be the easy part. Somehow I would have to get it into my hands which were tied above my head. Dropping it would likely mean suffering a nasty cut as it would fall on me for sure.

I swung my legs upward. They didn't quite reach. The rope felt like it was burning into my wrists as it supported all my weight. My stomach was so tight it was hard to breath. I had to pull myself upwards. But somehow I managed. It took every ounce of strength I had and I wasn't sure I had enough. I managed to catch my heel behind the beam. That bought me time to take a breath. Now I slide my foot downward. The tip of the knife caught the beam, nearly knocking it from between my toes. I bent my knees. I managed to grip the blade of the knife between my index and middle fingers. I relaxed my toes and the handle slipped away. The knife almost did as well. I slowly lowered my legs, trying to keep from jerking so I wouldn't lose what little grip I had on the knife.

I sighed and took a couple of deep breaths. I knew there had to be a reason I did those five hundred sit-ups and one hundred pull-ups everyday. But even that hadn't prepared me for how painful this had been. That blow to the balls and Nancy's punch to my kidneys last night weren't helping either. Then I transferred my grip on the knife to my left hand before transferring it back to my right. I now had hold of it in such a way that I could cut the rope with a sawing motion. It took several minutes, but the rope finally snapped and I fell to the ground.

A couple minutes later I had managed to cut the ropes from my wrists and to massage and stretch my joints enough to get up and move around. But it was too late; there were voices in the hall.

The door opened and I lunged, knife in hand, at the person coming through. She caught me by the arm, grabbing my wrist and pushing me to the side. I dropped the knife, fell to the ground, and froze.

Mom never did have that talk with Nancy's mother. But the police did; not just the ones in Brighton either. The Athens police were interested in her as well. A search of the house had turned up some white robes and a set of fake ID cards with the name Margaret Hatch.

A week later, Nancy was still at large and Ms Plummer wasn't talking. We received a visit from that reporter, Suzanne Winters, of the Athens Herald.

Everyone was sitting around the kitchen table. Well, everyone but Daniel and I. We were busy being puppies. That meant fixing snacks and tea to serve to our guests. Daniel passed out plates and napkins and poured tea for everyone. I set a plate of cut fruit, crackers, and cheese on the table.

Before I could reply she continued, "I was expecting puppy biscuits and buttermilk."

Everybody laughed at the obvious reference to our lunch with the Goddess Mother and Priestess Melinda.

"Besides, we should be serving you. From what I understand, you're the hero around here."

I smiled sheepishly and blushed. I didn't want to be a hero. I sure didn't feel like one. "Nah, I didn't really do anything and everybody helped."

"Oh no you don't," Shelly interrupted. "You did the investigating. You figured it all out. WE didn't believe you."

"Nah, Jane was the one who got away and called security. Daniel figured out who Nancy and Margaret really were. You girls got asked to join the sisterhood. Priestess Melinda called you, Ms Winters. Mom asked me to help with her research. All I did was come up with some stupid idea about a magic spell and that was wrong and that's why nobody believed me."

"Don't you believe that for a minute you silly little puppy." Mom pulled me towards her and hugged me tight. "This whole thing was your idea. You had some help, but you saw it through. You got it solved. Without you, those two would still be out there waiting for their chance to harm us."

Dr. Wills was next to speak, "Well I'm still in the dark here. What exactly is the story behind all this?"

"Well," Ms Winters answered, "It would seem that the Plummers were members of this coven that I keep hearing about, though I can't seem to confirm its existence. But one thing seems clear; she was obsessed with you, Carlos."

"According to Officer Bates, who was arrested two days ago, Ms Plummer ran Jacqueline off the road, killing her, and she covered it up, then the two of them took care of the witnesses. It would appear that the officer may have been involved with this coven as well. She never said exactly why Jacqueline was killed."

"Apparently, they followed you here to Brighton and Margaret convinced you, Ann, to hire her as a teacher. That way she could continue to keep an eye on your two little puppies. I still haven't figured out why that was necessary, but I'm still digging." She smiled at that last part knowing we weren't about to say.

"Well, if Nancy is a part of this coven, then she's likely long gone and well hidden. They may never find her. Margaret is facing three counts of first degree murder and Officer Bates is likely to be turning state's evidence against her. And I would say that you are all safe. At least for the time being. Finally, I'd like to thank you each for your time, but I've got a story to write." Ms Winters stood up and I walked her to the door as everyone said their goodbyes.

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The Puppy Boy

A story by e

Chapter 10 - The Lure of Aphrodite