Page 22 of A Lesson in Obedience
Chancellor Fowler raised his eyebrows in surprise. “My daughter sure has put a spell on you boys. Her mother was just as enticing. I really should visit her, let her know that despite her deceit, she raised a beautiful young woman.” He sighed giving me a curious look. “What do you plan to do, hmm? Fight for her honor? She is perfectly fine, Asher. I’ve already told Riley that I don’t want to hurt her. Let’s not pump our chest out and play hero.” He slapped my cheek twice before walking around me. The feeling of heat from his hand caused me to hiss.
I scoffed, whirling around, my dad blocking me from following after him.
“Asher, you are the smarter one between you and your brother. You can help us if you want. That girl has lived her entire life not really knowing who she is, and all Erik wants to do is give his child all the things she should have had.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “You almost sound like you know what it’s like to be a good parent, like you can somehow understand. I won’t help you. Helping you only hurts her.”
“And you would never do that because you…. care for her?” Chancellor Fowler questioned, tilting his head to the side as he looked at me. “You didn’t seem to think about her much when you were willfully letting Oliver in on her whereabouts, or is that how the kids show their affection nowadays?”
I ignored him, trying not to let the sting of what I did weigh on me so much. I did what I had to do for River’s sake. I didn’t know that something I’d done could escalate into a much bigger issue. I hated the fact that I was starting to understand Grayson right now. “It isn’t right! I am not going to reward everything you’ve done. You killed her dad. You can’t come back from that so stop being pathetic and thinking your daughter will give a shit about you.” I looked him up and down, disgusted by his very existence.
He let out an exhausted sigh, like a restless child. “I used a little magic so that he went out a window. Can we please move on? Your father is the one who waited for him to stop breathing instead of calling the police right away, do not give me all the credit.”
My dad didn’t even flinch at his words. He kept looking at me, catching my eyes and never breaking contact.
“Y-you did what?” I didn’t want my voice to stutter. I wanted to appear strong and like I had my shit together, but this caught me off guard.
He rolled his eyes. “We were the only two left in the office besides Thomas. Erik told me what he’d done and my reaction was to help. Thomas wasn’t going to make it anyway, alright? I had to sit there and wait for the poor bastard to die.”
“Fuck! Dad, what the fuck?”
“It was a lot of work for us, Asher. Make it look like he’d been drinking. Pouring alcohol down his throat, shattering a bottle nearhis body…” Chancellor Fowler prattled on, but I was walking backwards away from both of them.
“You told River a security guard found him. You talked about how much the school would miss him and how distraught you were. You stood there and watched him die. For what?” My back pressed against the wall. I took off my glasses, rubbing at my eyes, trying to press my fingers into them hard enough so that I didn’t have to see either of these horrible people anymore, but it was no use.
“Power,” Chancellor Fowler explained. “Family and power are one of the two most fought for things, well, I guess love but that can be achieved from either of these things eventually. You think everyone you know isn’t seeking more power, more strength for their family? You clearly do not know the people you surround yourself with, trust me.” He said it with a smirk like he knew something I didn’t. “I know how to get your father more power and I can do the same for you and your brother. I’m not selfish, I can siphon powers from my coven for those who are loyal.” He nodded towards my dad and I curled my lip upward.
I shoved my glasses back on my face, running my hand over my mouth and down my short beard. “I don’t want that. I don’tneedpower. I need you to fuck off and leave her and the coven alone.” I turned my head to look at my dad. “Leave River out of this.”
My dad’s eyes gleamed with this look like his mind was working overtime. I felt a tug inside my head, but nothing happened. I knew what he was trying to do. He snickered, smirking at me. “Oh, my son, you’re strong enough to push me back. You’ve grown those mental powers, that mental block and it makes me proud to know you’re a worthy opponent.”
“You can’t make me do anything. I. Won’t.”
Chancellor Fowler let out a low laugh, it was condescending and made my skin crawl.
“Ah, but your brother….” My dad continued, “he hasn’t been so disciplined.”
I watched my dad tap his chin as if he was in deep thought. “The fuck does that mean?”
“River is smart. I didn’t raise children who weren’t intelligent?—”
“You didn’t raise us at all,” I spat at him. I felt my lips clamp together; something was holding them closed. I tried to open my mouth but couldn’t. I eyed Chancellor Fowler who had his index and thumb almost touching, telling me he was using his powers to keep me quiet.
“So rude to interrupt,” he scolded, inclining his head towards my dad to keep going.
My dad wrinkled his nose. “I may not be able to get to you, but your brother is an entirely different story. I don’t like forcing his hand, but we do what we must to achieve the things we deserve.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You get that girl to go back to school, push past her reservations. We both know your brother will comfort her while your little shadow friend wallows in his shame.” He perched on the edge of his desk, clasping his hands together and placing them on his knee. “You use that wondrous power of yours to make her mind a place she can’t stand, that fighting against herself is wrong, that the only way to relieve her pain is to seek her father’s help.”
The chancellor let me go and I rubbed my lips together. I let out a humorless laugh, catching my breath. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. She knows my power anyway, she would know it’s me. And that’s if I was even considering this, which I’m not.”
Chancellor Fowler took my dad’s place in his office chair. “Ah, but along with your brother’s comfort will come yours. You can’t tell me you got that masters degree and don’t know how to make a dream infiltration look natural, almost like she conjured it up herself.” He tapped his fingers along the arm of the chair.
My jaw ticked and he nodded as if my silence was answer enough.
I grabbed him by his suit jacket, pulling him towards me. “I don’t answer to you. I got my brother out of this house the minute I hadthe chance and I’m not going to let you manipulate me into doing your fucked up dirty work because you like being this psycho’s bitch.” I nodded towards Chancellor Fowler. I pushed my dad away from me causing him to hit the desk hard.
I turned to leave when he called my name. “Asher, it is simple. I want more, and despite you and your brother’s disrespect, I know with help from Erik we could be stronger and better. You don’t do this and I’ll be forced to use your brother. His mind is not quite the steel trap that yours is. I can make it hurt and I can makehimhurt. He will fight and hate every minute of it, but he will do what I say. It will make what happened to Grayson look like child’s play.”
