A Two Sided Coin

Carson woke up on a bed in a very luxurious room. It took him awhile to be able to get used to this change of environment and he wondered if he even experienced the "ritual" at all.

He took a moment to try and remember. Snippets of memories eventually returned to him, but he couldn’t remember the ritual itself very much. He could only remember screaming, pain that consumed his being and chanting, horrible chanting.

He got up and walked out the only door to the room. He walked into a very snobby looking living room and seated there, on a couch, was his mother.

"Hello Carson, glad to see your up. Come sit beside me." She said with her usual condescending tone. When she had finished her command, she patted the spot right next to her. Carson decided he might as well listen to her and sat down, but as far from her as the couch could allow.

His mother assessed him with a calculating look then sipped some tea. Carson didn't even realize it was in her hand until her movements drew attention to it.

When his mother finally decided she was ready, she sat the cup on a saucer on the table in front of her then turned and spoke, "You have been given power and I expect you to use it for the organization."

She held up a hand after that to stop Carson from interrupting her, then continued, answering his unspoken questions, "You have magical power and are able to cast spells. Unlike other powers this can't be sensed by a reader and will take training to be able to use even the most basic spells. Also unlike other abilities though, yours is limitless and eventually their will be nothing you can't do."

Carson noticed at the end of this dialogue, that his mother had a gleam of lust and greed in her eye, "Melena shall be your partner and she will teach and control you. You have been changed from your position to become the main muscle for the organization. You will help capture the most powerful of targets and take down the ones we cannot control. Their will be no debate on this, you will do as your told."

Carson started to protest but saw his mothers eyes flick behind him and turned to see Melena, "Howdy lover, it seems were going to be seeing a lot more of each other."

With that, she smiled a dark smile then reached up and tapped Carson on the head and he thought no more.

***

Carson awoke in a padded white room on a white bed with white sheets and even had white posts. It was a winter wonderland, without the winter. Carson took a few moments to get a bit less disconcerted.

When he did he noticed a strange woman across from him in the room. When she saw that he was awake she walked over, until she was standing right beside the bed, where he was laying.

She then said in a whisper so quite Carson couldn't hear her at first and even then had difficulties understanding, "...Sent me... I will teach you all that I… and the organization… knows about magic... Only hurt... For a moment..."

Carson didn't notice she had stopped speaking, until she knelt down and placed her hands on his chest. He felt a pain like none he had ever felt before, then passed into a world where he learned things he never thought possible.

***

Carson awoke, three days later, in the same white room as before. The only differences were that he was alone and he had knowledge he had had no dream of ever obtaining before. He sat up and waited.

Carson waited for what he thought was a few more hours before the wall across the room from him seemed to open and Melena entered. Carson figured their must be door hidden somewhere along it, and filed the information for later use.

Melena walked over to him, sat in his lap and put her arms around him. She tried to kiss him but he struggled to escape. Instead of vying for dominance, she just laughed and stood up. When she was standing, Carson realized she was holding a black folder in her right hand.

Melena followed his gaze and answered the unspoken question with a smug coolness, "Our assurance of your loyalty."

With that she tossed the folder on to the bed. She waited as Carson flipped it open and looked inside. The file, contained pictures of Tyra out in the world. Venice, Brazil, Germany, it seemed they were tracking her every move. Carson could tell she was being cautious but the organization apparently knew more than either of them could have imagined.
Carson frowned and looked questioningly at Melena.

She sighed and said in a tone an exasperated parent would use on a child, "Lover, we know you two are close. We placed her as your partner for that purpose. The facts are simple, she thinks she has escaped and while she has her guard up for us she doesn't fully comprehend our capabilities, so her guard just isn’t good enough. If you don't work as our agent she will die, but not just die, she will be tortured, tortured until she screams your name out in hatred and swears to meet you in hell.”

Melena shot him a look filled with malice, “You know we'll do it, if we get rid of her as leverage we'll just find something else to manipulate you. You know I’m speaking the truth, personal quarrels aside."

Melena stared into Carson's eyes, watching as him process the information. Carson was angry but knew that Tyra was better off than he could have hoped and he should have realized they would use her in this way. The organization wasn’t as ignorant as he had hoped; they had planned this all from the beginning.

Once Melena was sure he got the message, she stretched and said, "Now it's time to practice everything you have learned. Once I deem you good enough to be my partner, we shall enter the field, our first assignment has already been assigned. Sound easy enough?"
Carson growled and stood up, he was ready.

***

Carson and Melena were in Los Angeles after he had successfully completed his tasks. He might not be as powerful as his mother implied but give it time and he knew that no one would be able to stop him. Carson didn't really want that much power but he knew he was going to need it to get him and Tyra out of the organization for good.

Carson and Melena were after a target, it was not a capture but an assassination mission. Carson waited in the hotel room, where just down the hall was their target, however, he needed to wait for Melena.

He waited a few moments, impatient, and then Melena entered the room.
"How much longer?" Carson asked in a bored monotone, he just wanted to do this then get out, no problems, no interferences.

"Not much longer." Melena replied distractedly.

Carson looked up at her, feeling an unexplainable anger, the heat of such he had never felt before. But before Carson could even lower his eyes, he was slammed into the wall on the opposite end of the room. It happened so fast his mind had trouble keeping up. Focusing, he realized Melena was holding him with her forearm against his neck. He could still breathe, but barely.

Then Carson noticed her face, "Wha...?" He choked out.

Purple veins were all over her body, on her face, her arms, everywhere visible. She had strength that Carson had never seen before, even in his line of work.

"Pucker up lover I'm going to knock you out for a bit." Melena said with shaken confidence, and leaned in.

Then Carson felt a change come over him, he felt dark, evil, "Not this time." Carson said in a voice that was not his own.

Then Melena was flying across the room, crashing into the opposite wall. After a moment, the veins began to recede from her body and she didn't stir again.

"You've locked me up for long enough, now it's time to let us have some fun." He said to the unmoving form, then he swept out of the room.