Obedience, young one.

Adam opened his eyes and watched the shadows leech out of his sight, smoke rolling around a small, dark room. He could feel the sweat on his neck, and tingling sensations roved over his arms and chest like bugs crawling over his skin. When he went to wipe them off, he found nothing out of the ordinary, standing in his family's blacks and whites with his hands hidden in perfectly fitted gloves. His eyes felt itchy, but he didn't dare rub them in case closing his eyes meant going blind again.

He spun slowly in his spot, hoping to understand where he was and what was happening, but his mind felt like a storm. He couldn't seem to form complete thoughts, and he couldn't make out any details of the room, like he was standing in an unfinished dream. He felt nothing but the strange dread in his stomach. He wasn't scared, but he knew something was wrong.

As he turned back around, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness, but Adam felt as if it had always been there. Even as he watched its silhouette separate from the background, huge height and musculature being created before his eyes, he knew that it had been watching him since he'd arrived here, wherever that may be. He couldn't have been more exposed if he was naked with his heart's desires written out on the floor. Adam knew who was standing in front of him.

"Father." The creature had a head, with two sets of curling crimson horns ripped from the shape of the background, but no face he could see. His body was huge and toned, but Adam couldn't make out the edge where his flesh ended and the wall began, like he was looking at a shapeless cloud.

Young one, it cooed, and it began to step forward, although the distance between them did not change. There was a flash of rage through the creature, but Adam didn't see it; he felt it, like it was inside his own body.

Come closer. Obey me.

"Where are we?" he asked instead.

You don't recognize it? I expected better from my own kin. The creature made a gesture and suddenly the room disappeared, replaced by unending consciousness, like Adam's mind had expanded to fill the corners of the universe. He wanted to scream, the familiar edge of insanity driving itself into his head, but his body didn't react.

The walls and floors began to reappear, and Adam felt alien glee in his mind as it shrunk back to its normal size. Vaguely, he realized his throat felt hoarse.

"It's my mind," Adam said, and the creature nodded. "What are you doing here?"

Answering your call, young one.

"I didn't call you."

Are you so sure? The room changed in the blink of an eye, and Adam was back in the forest – he'd forgotten all about traveling north, about Brady and George and their suicide quest. His arm was outstretched, the owlbear was before him, and he felt the pull of power in his chest as he yanked backwards. Its pupils widened, like all the light in the world had been shut out.

You use my gifts, you call to me, young one. Approach.

"I don't want to approach you." Adam curled his hands into fists, feeling the leather of his gloves tightening over his knuckles. His apathy was leeching away, replaced by the memories returning to him. Somewhere in the woods, he was lying in a bed. There were soft hands on him, his cheeks and his chest, holding his hands. If he focused on them too hard, the feelings would evaporate like water through his fingers, but he knew they were there.

"You blinded me. You've been hurting me since I was a child."

Power without consequences is not power at all. The pain is a gift.

"You've made me hurt George."

Compared to you, he is nothing, insolent child! Adam watched the figure of his father go to move closer, to close the distance between them in a heartbeat and rip him to shreds. But it stayed stuck against the wall, held back by something. Adam was replacing his father's rage with his own, pain soaking into his consciousness from wherever his real body was. His fingertips felt like they were on fire and his back hurt so bad he thought he could be laying on a bed of nails, but the pain was sobering him.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"He's everything to me," he spat, and the walls began to fade into darkness again. Adam wasn't afraid of the blindness anymore. "We're headed north and we're going to stop you. I'm going to undo all the pain you've caused me. Forget about me helping you!"

You will see how powerful I am then, young one. The visage of his father was being slowly swallowed by the walls, but he seemed no less threatening as his words cut into Adam's head. There, I will not be held back by your asinine foolishness. You will accept my powers and your connection to me will grow. Then you will understand what must be done.

Adam woke up on the forest floor.

His eyes fluttered open, the early afternoon sunlight making his head throb, but he could ignore it compared to his elation at being able to see again. He could hear people talking and a fire crackling near his feet, and he forced himself to sit up. His entire body trembled in pain as he did, his back aching like he had rocks for muscles and his head erupting in protest. He didn't care.

Brady was sitting next to him, and he turned in surprise as Adam sat up. He didn't have time to react before Adam pulled him into a hug, curling around the tiny sorcerer with no regard for how much pain he was in. The realization that he'd forgotten about him in the presence of his father was crushing, but he could forgive himself as their chests touched. When he finally pulled back, he turned to George by his other shoulder. He reached out and pulled him into a hug too, burying his nose in the cleric's brown curls. He didn't want to let go of either of them.

"Take it easy," George said finally, and Adam released him from his arms, his body crying in protest to his movements. "You can't just move around like nothing happened." But Adam was too relieved to heed his warning, turning to see the rest of their crew sat around a small fire, watching the reunion.

"What time is it?" Adam's voice was nearly gone, and he felt the itch burning in his throat, the same one he'd almost noticed in his mind. He must've screamed himself hoarse.

"A few hours after noon. You've been out for two," Matt said, and he passed a stick around the circle. "You should eat something, if you can stomach it." Brady handed him a skewer of rabbit. Adam's stomach ached in hunger, but he took the stick gingerly as his hands moved slowly under his command. His fingers still felt like they were burning, and he wished he had his nice gloves.

"What happened?" he asked between bites. He was met with hesitant silence before Gee clapped her hands on her thighs, beaming at him brightly.

"Well, we did laundry!" she said, making up for everyone else's silence. "Sewed up everyone's stuff, hopefully there's less blood from here on out. And Matt taught me how to hold a sword."

"Caught some rabbits," Nathan said quietly, stirring the coals with a spare stick. George let out a big sigh and turned to the noble.

"How much do you remember?" Adam blinked at him.

"I was blind. I heard something . . ." He noticed everyone eyeing him suspiciously and decided not to reveal his dream. "And now I'm awake. I don't remember anything else after that." Brady touched his shoulder softly.

"Things got a little crazy. You can see alright now?" Adam nodded, but his friend's gentle tone made him nervous. He didn't like it when Brady got quiet.

"I think we should still try to make it to Lochton today," Matt said, taking the attention off of him and his worried expression. "I don't know how much time you need to rest, but we'll all be feeling better when we reach the next city. Less owlbears there."

"Oh, to sleep in a bed again!" Brady's volume was back as he swooned at the idea.

"Do we have the budget for a bathhouse?" Gee wondered, looking to Adam for any confirmation. "A few of us could stand to have a wash, I don't want to be parading around a new town smelling like Brady."

"It deters the owlbears," Brady bit back, and he stuck out his tongue at her. They both broke into grins.

"I could be ready to go soon," Adam said before they could keep bickering. "I might slow us down but you're right, we need to get to town." He groaned as he removed himself from his smelly bed roll. He was soaked through with sweat.

"Here, big guy," said Gee, standing up and helping him to his feet. "Let's do some stretches, huh?"

"What?"

"Staying flexible is my day job. Just follow my lead." She bent over at the hip and put her hands on the ground. Adam tried his best to follow suit, but with the state of his back, he could hardly lean forward. The rest of the crew began to stir and pack up their things (George and Brady broke down his stuff together) as Adam cursed through the shapes Gee pushed him into. By the time they were ready to go, he felt twice as exhausted and no more limber than if he'd been dead for three days. At least Gee was smiling.

They made their way through the forest back to the road north, and Adam had been right: he set a slow pace. Before they left the woods, Brady fetched him a tree branch and told him to walk with it. They'd ended up together again, but Adam found his eyes wandering to George in front of him as Brady started running at the mouth. George peaked over his shoulder at him once, but there was a hollow look in his eyes. Adam didn't see his face for the rest of the trek.