Spartan

Spartan

Part 3 - divine

"Hello, my name's Joshua, I'm eleven and I'm spartan" I said when my turn came up. The rest of the class introductions continued. "I'm Ahmed, I'm eleven and I'm human." "I'm Jessica, I'm eleven and I'm human." "I'm Sarah, I'm eleven and I'm amazon." "I'm Alex, I'm eleven, I'm Jessica's twin sister and I'm human." "I'm Peter, I'm twelve, it was my birthday yesterday, and I'm human." "I'm Tina, I'm eleven and I'm human."

"Thank you everyone" the teacher said, "and I am Miss Banks, I'm thirty seven and I'm human. Now I know some of you have come from the same primary school but most of you won't know each other so the first thing we're going to do today is get to know the person sat next to you a little better. Jessica, what's the problem?" she asked the fidgeting girl.

"Erm, can I sit next to someone else?" she asked. Sarah, the amazon girl she sat next to, looked like she was about to cry. "Why, what's wrong with sitting next to Sarah?" Miss Banks asked.

"Er, I just don't like this seat" Jessica mumbled.

"It's because I'm amazon isn't it?" Sarah piped up. "You just don't want to sit here `cos I'm amazon, you're just a bigoted cow!" Because of the differences in growth rates, Sarah only looked like she was six or something but she had a mouth on her, that was certain.

"Enough! Jessica, you can stay where you are. Sarah, if you feel bullied or anything come and see me in private please, don't make announcements or accusations in front of the entire class and I don't want you using that sort of language towards your classmates, it's not nice. Now" Miss Banks continued sternly, "we're going to get to know the person you're sat next to. I want you to ask about their favourite colour, their favourite television programme and what they ate for supper last night. You have five minutes."

I sighed. The boy next to me, Ahmed, had already thought his answers as the teacher asked the questions. This was going to be boring. "Joshua, be nice," I heard dad Apollo say.

"But dad" I complained silently, "the telepathy makes this stuff boring."

"So surprise him. Why don't you claim to have done exactly what he did?" dad Apollo suggested. I grinned. "If I do it too much he'll think I'm weird" I pointed out.

"Josh, honey, you're a priest, they're going to think you're weird anyway" I heard dad say and then I had to turn my attentions to Ahmed.

"Hiya Ahmed, I'm Joshua" I said.

"Hi" he said. "So what's your favourite colour?" he asked me. I could read his mind and gave the same answer he was going to, "I like really pale green, like leaves when they're just growing" I told him, giving him a big smile. He gulped and I could hear dad Apollo laughing. "I, er, like blue" the boy mumbled.

"He's lying!" I told dad. Dad just laughed some more. "Why do you think that is, Josh?" he asked me but then it was my turn to ask Ahmed something. "What's your favourite television programme?" I asked.

I could tell Ahmed was struggling to decide what to say. In the end he just gave me his first answer, "I like Mythbusters" he whispered. "No way!" I replied, grinning at him, "that's my favourite too!" I gushed, laughing inside. I was beginning to enjoy this. "Er, what was the last question?" Ahmed said, then continued, "oh yeah, what did you have for supper last night?"

I read Ahmed's answer again and was ready with my own. "I had pizza and chips" I told him. Ahmed shook nervously. "I had that too" he whispered. Dad Apollo laughed some more. "Dad, what is it?" I asked him.

"He's got a crush on you Josh" dad said to me, "if you'd read a bit deeper you would have figured that out yourself."

I felt mortified. "Dad!" I groaned, silently of course, "that's not fair, don't set me up like that" I asked. It was awful having a parent that knew your every thought. You couldn't keep a single thing private.

I turned back to Ahmed. "You okay?" I asked him softly. "You seem a bit nervous?" I continued. He shook some more. "Look, I think I know what you're thinking" I whispered to him, "and relax, please. You're pretty good looking yourself." He reacted like he'd been stung and just stared at me like I'd grown two heads or something. Then he grinned sheepishly and erotic thoughts started to spring up in his eleven year old imagination, so vivid I couldn't help but catch them in full, glorious technicolour. Dad Apollo laughed even harder.

All thirty two of us reported back to Miss Banks and she started giving books out, this class was English. But all the time Ahmed's mind was filled with images and my penis got hard and started to pulse as they flashed from his imagination to my own. I looked down at the throbbing snake inching its way down my left trouser leg and sighed. This was going to be one hell of a first day at secondary school.

As soon as the bell rang for break I ran to the lavatories and locked myself in a toilet cubicle. I fished the snake out and it sprung up and hit my stomach. I wanked furiously, trying to calm it down and reduce it to something approaching normal proportions before the next lesson. I came with a sigh and tucked my softening cock back into my shorts, zipped up my trousers and made it to Geography with seconds to spare.

Mr Charleson was one of the few spartan teachers in the school. He must have been eighty-something but he was nice and I knew him and his partner from the temple. "Hello Josh" he greeted me, "what a pleasant surprise."

"Hello Dave" I said and a few of my classmates giggled. "In school I'm Mr Charleson, not Dave" he corrected me, "now please take a seat."

I sat down at an empty desk and got out my pencil case. More people were coming into the room and to my profoundest mortification, Ahmed came and sat next to me and smiled shyly. This did nothing for my throbbing trouser snake which promptly began to grow again. "Hi Josh" he said softly.

"Hi Ahmed" I managed in a strangled whisper. Ahmed's mind was still on the same fantasies, embellished now with a huge, "what?" I yelped out loud.

"Are you okay, Josh?" Mr Charleson asked me. "Er, yes Mr Charleson, sorry" I answered. "Next time you need to say something please put your hand up? I know you're a priest but here at school you're a pupil and need to act accordingly, okay?"

"Yes Mr Charleson, sorry" I replied, blushing furiously as some of my classmates giggled again. The reason for my involuntary outburst was that Ahmed's imaginings had suddenly begun to include my penis -- he'd obviously noticed it growing.

Now, this might be a good point to stop and explain a few things. First of all, I'm spartan. Yeah, nothing new, I've got two dads and am a different species of person, that's like so old news. But no one except me and a few close family members know who my two dads are. One of them is obvious `cos he gestated me, my dad Gabriel but the other, well, that's where it gets complicated. You see I'm a priest in Apollo's temple, just like my dad Gabriel and granddad James but Apollo isn't just my god -- he's my dad too, so it kind of makes me a demigod. That's why I've got the telepathy and that's also why I don't get any privacy. Dad Apollo kind of takes up residence in my head sometimes and nothing I can say will get rid of him. He says he just wants to watch out for me but I think he just likes embarrassing me.

Anyway, back to me, Ahmed and the trouser snake. It was reaching the point where I was going to have to do something or something would be done for me. I was almost at boiling point and that's despite having a pretty furious wank in the toilets just before the lesson.

I raised my hand. "Er, Mr Charleson, I need to go to the toilet" I said. He frowned. "Did you go at break?"

"Yes Mr Charleson but I've got tummy ache" I said, lying slightly in the hope he'd be nice.

"Go on then but be quick" he sighed and I picked up my bag and ran.

Back in the toilets I wanked furiously and all I had in my head was Ahmed. I didn't think he was my life partner, there were no bells and whistles or anything but he obviously lusted after me and my eleven year old hormones loved every second of it. I came in a huge pulse, a dozen jets of cum landing in the toilet. Sighing, I got some tissue to wipe my cock, pulled up my pants and flushed the loo. I was just exiting the cubicle when someone else came in. It was Ahmed.

My treacherous hormones sent my lust into overdrive and the snake down my trouser leg again. "Er, hi Josh, I asked Mr Charleson if I could come and check you were okay" he said to me. His mind said something different, though -- he wanted to see my cock again and his eyes fell to my crotch and to the rapidly escaping organ.

"Er" he started to giggle, "you've got a bit of a problem there." He grinned at me.

"Why the hell not" I thought but before I could open my mouth dad Apollo was in my head. "Joshua, what are you doing?" he asked. Like he couldn't read my mind, he knew exactly what I was doing.

"Look dad, please, just stay out of this" I silently begged him even as I spoke, "er, yeah, and it's not a bit of a problem, it's rather a big problem" I smiled to Ahmed, "I don't suppose you fancy helping me out do you?"

Now at eleven years old the differences between spartans and humans are quite profound. I was already well on the way through puberty and I stood a head and shoulders taller than Ahmed. I knew from his mind that he was barely ten centimetres when hard whereas I'd measured myself enough times to know that I was fifteen soft and as much as twenty three erect, depending on what I was thinking of at the time. I towered over my little friend in more ways than one but he seemed thrilled by the idea. "Yeah!" he yelped in a high-pitched squeal.

"Joshua Gabrielson cut this out at once and get back to classes or I'll set the fire alarm off" dad's voice sounded stern in my head. "Dad!" I yelled in my loudest thought, "please dad!" Then the fire alarm sounded and all I could hear in my head was chuckling. "Er, we'd better go" Ahmed said, disappointment plain on his face. "That's the fire bell." We exited the toilets and followed the crowds outside.

By lunchtime my irritation with dad Apollo had pushed all lust-fuelled thoughts into the background and he knew I was angry. "Josh, little one, I just don't want you getting hurt" he said.

"What if I want to be hurt?" I shot back as I ate my lunch. "What if it's my choice? Are you going to take away my free will? You always promised me you'd never force me to do anything, are you going to break that promise and make me your puppet? Come on, dad, if that's your plan tell me now!" Yeah, I know I shouldn't have said it but I was so pissed off.

Dad didn't immediately answer, which was a good thing because Ahmed came over to my table. "Can I sit here?" he asked me. I nodded and forced a smile out. Two of the girls in our class, Tina and Linda, came over too. "Is it okay if we join you?" they asked and I nodded to them too. We talked about our classes and our primary schools and by the time we'd eaten I'd calmed down. We left together and as the girls needed to visit their bathroom I took the time to visit the loo myself. Ahmed followed me in and we peed together at the urinals and I knew he was peeking at my cock because I could see it in his mind. I grinned to myself. "If he wants something to look at why don't I give him something?" I thought as I began a slow wanking motion, bringing my cock to a state of semi-hardness as I peed. It grew, as it always did and a brief brush of Ahmed's aroused thoughts were all I needed to push it into full hardness.

"Hey, the new spartan kid wants to fuck someone!" a voice yelled out from behind me. I span around, hard on still on show and throbbing, to see a group of human boys perhaps fourteen or fifteen, larger than Ahmed but a little bit smaller than me. "I was actually just wanking but if one of you would give me a blowjob it'd be appreciated" I said, continuing to stroke. Hell, they'd already guessed what I was up to so it didn't seem too awful to provoke them a little further.

They stared in silence. "Holy fuck, how long are you?" one of them breathed in the end. "Twenty three centimetres when I'm fully hard" I smiled.

Ahmed stood transfixed, staring open-mouthed at my cock. "Earth to Ahmed" I giggled, "see something you like?" He swallowed a couple of times but didn't speak. "You can touch it if you like" I offered, turning to the other boys who clearly, by the tenting, were all aroused themselves.

"Can I touch it?" one of the older boys asked, the same boy who'd yelled at me a few minutes previously. "Be my guest" I grinned. To my amazement he came over to me and knelt at my feet, looking directly at my cock, only a hand's span away from his nose. He reached a tentative finger up and stroked it and it quivered. Shit, this was hot! Whether it was his adoration or the audience I didn't know but I started to throb and my balls began to clench. "Er, if you don't move you'll get cum up your nose in a minute" I warned him. Then something amazing happened. He leaned closer, opened his mouth and took the head of my cock into his lips. He licked the precum off the end and sucked a couple of times and that was all I needed to unload. A dozen blasts went into his mouth and he drank them down. A couple of his friends were wanking as they watched him give me my first blowjob.

"Fuck" I gasped when I could breathe again. "That was" I had no words to describe it.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me" he stumbled to apologise. "Don't say sorry, that was amazing" I breathed.

Ahmed was still watching me and as I looked over at him my cock did the rise and started growing again. "You ready again?" one of the other boys laughed. Just then the bell rang signifying five minutes to the end of lunch. "Shit!" I said with feeling. I now had to get the rock hard monster back in my trousers. I looked at it. I knew what to do.

Shit, this was going to hurt. Taking a deep breath I held it in one hand, curled my fingers in the other and flicked it with my nail as hard as I could. "Ow!" I yelped but it had the desired effect. I tucked it away, went to wash my hands and turned back to a still-stationary Ahmed. "Come on, man, we've got R.E. next" I said and we ran back to our classroom.

The R.E. classroom was all soft chairs and tinkly music. It was actually really nice but it looked more like a living room than classroom. We all took seats on squashy sofas or beanbags and the teacher sat at the front of the room. "I'm Mrs Davis" she said, "and I'm your religious education teacher. It's my job to ensure you know a little about the main religions in the UK today and a little about each other's religions. Now I know this classroom is a little different to the others, that's because it can be a difficult thing to talk about what you believe and we want you to be able to relax and share with us."

She looked around the room. "Could those of you who have a faith and who worship in a public building, a temple or mosque or church or somewhere similar, please raise your hand. Several of us put our hands up but I could feel all eyes on me. "Dad Apollo?" I said silently. I felt him listening but he didn't speak. "I'm sorry for what I said before, dad Apollo. I need your help, they're going to ask me about the temple in a minute, will you help me? I'd really appreciate it."

He stayed silent but I knew he was thinking about what I said but then I had to pay attention because the teacher was talking again.

"One at a time and only if you're happy to, I'd like you to give the name of your faith and explain a little bit about it. And the rest of you, you mustn't speak. Not a single word or comment, no matter what you think of your classmates answer you must not comment, not until I say you can, okay? Tina, will you begin?"

Tina explained she was a Catholic. David was Jewish. Patsy was a Pentecostal Christian. Ahmed was Muslim. Then it was my turn. Dad still hadn't spoken to me but I knew he was paying close attention to my words. "I'm Joshua Gabrielson and I'm Apolline. I worship Apollo. My dad's a priest and I'm an acolyte which means I can do all of the priestly things except sacrifice, I haven't sacrificed yet and when I do I'll become fully ordained. I believe in Apollo, I've felt him and I've heard him. In case you didn't know my granddad James is high priest. Sometimes Apollo uses his voice and sometimes he uses my dad's. When I was five I became an acolyte which means I first got my two swords. It was the first time I lead prayers in the temple that Apollo asked if he could use my voice and he offered a blessing in celebration of family."

"What do you mean, Apollo used your voice?" Mrs Davis asked me. "Is it like, you know what he wants you to say?" I shook my head. "No, he kind of gets into your mouth and speaks using your voice box." Then I took a risk. I knew dad was still listening. "Let me try something" I said and I closed my eyes. "Dad Apollo, please say something. I'm sorry, I know you're only looking after me, I'm really sorry."

"That was a horrible thing to accuse me of, Joshua, I would never take away your free will" dad Apollo's voice answered and I could hear his grief. "I know dad, I'm sorry! Please, dad?" I said but didn't know what I was asking. Luckily dad understood.

"I love you, son. I'll always love you" he said, "but to do this would be to reduce me to some sort of circus act. I'm not going to speak through you, not like this. You hurt me, Josh" he finished and slowly drifted away.

"Joshua?" Mrs Davis said, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine Mrs Davis" I said. "I just prayed to Apollo and asked if he'd speak through me now but he said it'd be reducing him to a circus act and he wouldn't come. Sorry" I apologised.

"No matter" she smiled at me in a slightly condescending way. "Who's next? Oh, yes, Mohammed."

The lesson went on but I barely heard it. I was still feeling sorry for myself. It was towards the end of the lesson when Mrs Davis said, "okay, does anyone have any questions for your friends?"

Tina put her hand up. "Yes Tina, who is your question for?"

"Joshua, Mrs Davis" she said. Mrs Davis looked at me. "Is that okay Josh?" she asked and I nodded. "It depends what she wants to ask but yeah, it's okay" I said. "What do you want to know, Tina?"

"Are the stories about your temple true?" she asked me and blushed furiously. "What stories are those?" I asked her. I could read from her thoughts what she meant -- she was curious about us being naked but of course I couldn't admit that I knew what she was thinking.

"You know, do you, like, have to take your clothes off?" she giggled and a number of the other girls giggled too. I took a deep breath. "You can't approach Apollo's throne with clothes on, Tina. If I lead worship or attend prayers I'm completely naked except for my swords." The class laughed out loud. "Don't you find that, like, really embarrassing?" David asked and I shook my head. "I'm not ashamed of my body, why would it embarrass me?"

"And have you seen sacrifices and everything?" a boy called Michael asked me. "I've not just seen them, I've stood so close when my dad or granddad have sacrificed that I've been covered in the blood." A couple of my friends looked green. "But I'm not going to say any more `cos I'm sure Mrs Davis doesn't want you to throw up" I grinned and everyone laughed.

The last lesson of the day was Chemistry. The lesson was held in a laboratory with benches and other odd things in it and it looked as if it offered plenty of opportunities for explosions and similar fun. The teacher, Mr Jones, spent the whole lesson telling us about safety stuff and explaining what everything was and then it was home time.

I headed towards the tube station. I only had to go three stops but it was still easier to get the tube than walking. As I started to walk I heard footsteps running behind me and I turned around to see Ahmed. "Hey, you heading home?" he asked me. "Yeah" I said.

"Where d'you live?" he asked, falling into step beside me. "In my granddad's apartment at the temple with my dad and my brothers" I answered. "So you really are a priest then?" he asked me and I nodded and grinned. By this time we'd reached the tube station. "I'm going on the tube" I explained, "so I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Er, my mum and dad'll be out till six, can I come with you?" he asked. Reluctantly I shook my head. "Not unless you've got signed permission from your mum or dad, otherwise you won't be allowed in." He looked confused so I explained, "if you're under eighteen you can't come in the temple unless you've got either written permission or a parent with you and to get to my apartment you have to walk through the main lobby. Sorry" I apologised. "But why don't you skype me or something tonight and your dad and my dad can talk and you can ask him for a permission letter?" He nodded and I scribbled my email address down for him before heading down to the platform.

My little brothers, six year olds Nathaniel and Jonathan, were already home when I arrived back. Their school finished earlier than mine and was closer to home too and dad Gabe had picked them up half an hour before I even got out of my school door. "Hey Josh" Nathaniel thought to me as I walked through the lobby. "Jon and I are having pancakes, should I get dad to make you one?" he asked me. "Nah, I'll ask him" I thought back and reached my mind up to find dad Gabriel's thoughts. "Dad can you cook me one of those?" I asked him, startling him and making him drop the spatula.

"Hey, Josh" he greeted me, "where are you?"

"Coming up the stairs. Nattie told me you were making pancakes, I'm ravenous" I told him.

I got to the apartment and pushed open the door to be greeted with the lovely smell of warm pancakes and syrup. "It's almost ready Josh" dad Gabe yelled out loud as he heard the door go.

"How was your first day at high school?" he asked me when I went through to the kitchen to give him a kiss hello. "Mostly awful" I answered, "I accused dad Apollo of taking away my free will and made my classmates sick when I told them about the sacrifices. Oh yeah, a not-so-awful bit, a fifteen year old human guy gave me a blow job in the loos after lunch." I couldn't see any point in lying about it -- all it'd take was one vivid dream and dad Gabe and both my brothers would relive the whole damn thing and dad Apollo knew everything I did anyway.

"Oh, Joshua, do you mind not reliving it at the tea table?" dad Gabe sighed. I realised I'd been remembering the sensation of, "Joshua, control yourself!" he yelled before starting to giggle. He looked so young when giggled and smiled like that, like he was only sixteen or seventeen himself -- so young that a lot of people thought he was my brother, not my dad. He sighed briefly and became a little more serious. "And let's change the subject, what possessed you, accusing Apollo like you did? Do you know how much you hurt him?"

"I was angry, I didn't mean it" I protested but dad Gabe shook his head. "But that's just it, honey, Apollo could tell what you were thinking. When you said it, sweetheart, you believed it. And somewhere inside you still do, don't you?"

I couldn't help it, I started to cry. "Come on" dad Gabe said, hugging me. "Your dad Apollo is a god, sweetheart. He can't change what he is and even if he could I wouldn't let him. He is what he is. And it worries you, doesn't it? You worry about what he could do if he chose to?" Reluctantly I nodded.

"Don't you understand how much he loves you?" dad Gabe asked me softly. "There's so much he could do to all of us but he doesn't because he loves us. You need to trust him, honey but you're finding that so difficult aren't you?" I sniffled and nodded.

"So what are we going to do to help you trust me, then?" Apollo's voice spoke gently. I turned to see him sat at the table next to me. I burst into a fresh wave of tears and he embraced me tightly. "Joshua, I love you so much, how can I make it clear how much that love restrains me? Little one, if all the sacrifices stopped tomorrow and if you were the only one left who believed in me, if the only way I could continue to exist would be for you to offer your own life as a sacrifice on my altar, Joshua, I would prefer to die. I have lived for thousands of years but I would prefer to die than see your life shortened by so much as a single second. Joshua, I'm going to tell you something else too. There are three boys in your school who are HIV positive but who don't know it as well as several who are aware of their status. Josh, I'm not saying any of them ever would be so irresponsible but if an HIV positive boy propositioned you and was about to make love to you without protection, would you want me to let him just go ahead and infect you? Or would you want me to stop you? Tell me Josh."

I felt sick. "I'd want you to stop us" I whispered. "Even if you were in the same situation that I stopped with the fire alarm this morning?" he asked me, continuing, "even if you wondered if the boy was your life partner, even if you were desperate? Would you thank me or get angry with me? Would you appreciate me stepping in or get frustrated?"

"I don't know dad" I answered him. "And that, Joshua, is probably the most honest answer you could have given." And he hugged me and I cried and cried.

A while later, perhaps a few minutes, perhaps half an hour, dad Gabe took my plate and heated the pancakes up. "Come on, sweetheart, eat up" he urged me and I swallowed my tears and tucked in. Jonathan and Nathaniel came over and hugged me. I know, they're only six years old but living with telepaths means that all of us know what each other's thinking anyway. "Dad Apollo wouldn't do anything bad, Joshie" Nathaniel said. "I know Nattie" I answered. Jonathan giggled. "What's so funny, squirt?" I asked him. "That boy really let you put your willy in his mouth?" he thought at me. He couldn't actually get real words out as he couldn't stop giggling.

"Yeah" I told him. "Eurgh, that's gross!" he laughed and ran off.

Just then the alarm went on the home computer to say that someone was skyping us. "Dad, that might be Ahmed from school, he wants to come over" I explained, bouncing over to the console.

I was right, it was Ahmed and behind him stood a tall, stately lady who I guessed might be his mother. "Hi Ahmed" I greeted him.

"Hi Josh, this is my mum, mum this is Josh, Josh this is my mum" he said.

"Hello Mrs Azad" I replied, "let me just get my dad." I turned from the console. "Dad, Ahmed and his mum are on, can you come over?" He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. "Dad this is Ahmed and his mum Mrs Azad" I introduced them, "Ahmed, Mrs Azad this is my dad Gabriel" I introduced him.

"Er, is that Mr Gabrielson?" Ahmed said. Dad laughed. "No, Joshua is my son, Joshua Gabrielson. I'm Gabriel Michaelson, my dad is Josh's granddad Mike. So you're Josh's new friend from school?" dad asked, "he said you'd like to come and visit us?"

"I'd like to but Josh said I wouldn't be allowed in" Ahmed said.

Mrs Azad nodded. "I'm glad he didn't just come over, we're Muslims and I'm not sure about him coming into your temple, it doesn't feel right to me" she admitted.

"The only part of the building that's actually consecrated is inside the main hall and you don't need to go anywhere near it to get to our apartment" dad explained, "but if you'd prefer to bring your son, you and your husband together and come and see for yourself you'd be most welcome" he invited them.

Mrs Azad seemed to visibly relax. "How about we come over tomorrow evening?" she said. "My husband finishes work at six, we could come to you at about seven if you like?"

"That's fine. You'll have to leave before eight if you want to avoid the worship services but you'll have most of an hour to look around and talk with us" dad said.

"That's so cool, I can't wait!" Ahmed interrupted and dad laughed. "Josh'll see you tomorrow in school" he smiled. "Bye Ahmed" I shouted. "Bye Josh" he replied before we disconnected.

The rest of the evening passed pretty much quietly. We went to worship at eight o'clock and Jonathan and Nathaniel went to bed immediately after. I followed half an hour later and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning dad Apollo was cooking porridge and dad Gabe was nowhere to be seen. "Where's dad Gabe?" I asked as he handed me my bowl. "In the shower" dad Apollo told me. I tucked into the porridge. It was actually really good. "What have you put in here, dad? It's lovely" I asked. He grinned. "Apricot jam" he said, "I thought you'd like it."

I ate my porridge and sorted out my schoolbag and was just pulling my shoes on when dad Gabriel emerged. He came and hugged me. "Have a good day at school" he said. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye dad!" I shouted as I left and sauntered down the hall.

The tube ran on time for a change and school started as normal. Ahmed sat next to me whenever he could and we talked about all sorts of things, games and sports and the things we each enjoyed. We actually had a lot in common and he was fast becoming a good friend. Tina and Linda sat near to us and I got to know them quite well too. For some reason Tina fascinated me. Her skin was creamy and dotted with a few small freckles and her eyes were the loveliest pale blue, almost grey and they seemed to bore into my heart. Her hair fell in strawberry blonde curls down her back, like a waterfall and there was something about her fragrance that entranced me.

At lunchtime the four of us sat together and we gossiped some more. Tina wanted to ask me more about the temple and being naked. I think she was fascinated by the whole concept, so much so that I ended up saying, "I'm leading worship on Saturday morning, why don't you come along? You'll have to bring your mum or dad with you `cos you won't be able to come in by yourself but you'll be welcome if you want."

"Really!" Tina gasped. I nodded. "Course. Everyone's welcome. Only don't come without your mum. It starts at nine o'clock." I couldn't help but shake a little at the thought of me seeing her naked and her seeing me.

"Can I come?" Ahmed asked. "That's up to your mum and dad" I reminded him, "but you'll at least see the lobby and my apartment tonight" I said.

After eating I needed the loo and absent-mindedly headed to the toilets. I peed and realised that behind me the same crowd of boys as yesterday had come in. "Hey, spartan!" one yelled.

"Hey, human" I retorted. "I've got a name, you know, I'm Joshua" I told them.

"I'm Matt" one offered, "and this is Dan, Tim, Mike and Pete" he pointed his friends out. It was Tim who'd given me the blow job the previous day.

"So" Matt drawled, "do you wanna play or something?" he asked. I grinned and was going to say something but I suddenly felt dad Apollo in my head. "Josh, if you're planning on playing with everyone in this group you'll need to protect yourself from HIV, I put some condoms in the front pocket of your backpack this morning" he thought softly to me.

"Sure" I stuttered, not wanting to make my new friends wait for my answer but also answering dad Apollo too. "Only I don't give blow jobs unless you're wearing a condom and I intend to keep my arse for my life partner" I told them bluntly.

"Why? You some kind of monk or something?" one asked me, laughing. "No" I said and suddenly I knew how I could explain. "One of my uncles is HIV positive and I don't want to make the same mistakes he did. And I am a kind of monk, I guess, I am a priest."

"Yeah but that temple of yours is a kind of brothel, you're all naked" Mike laughed.

"Take that back" I said, getting angry.

"No! It's true" he drawled.

"Take that back or I'll" I began but dad Apollo stopped me. "Joshua, calm down" he said.

"But dad he mocked your temple. I can't let him get away with it!" I told him. The boys were standing around waiting for me to finish my angry retort to Mike. I took a deep breath. "Look, it's not a brothel, it's a temple and a holy site" I said in a softer voice. "Why don't you come along? I'm leading worship on Saturday morning and a couple of my friends out of my year might be coming too. You're welcome as well but you'll have to have your parents with you, you can't come in alone if you're under eighteen."

"Really?" Mike asked me. "Yeah" I smiled. I didn't point out that he'd also have to take his clothes off to come in.

The rest of the day passed as normal. I started Chinese lessons and maths that afternoon and headed home on the tube. Dad Gabe had made omelettes and afterwards I did some homework whilst waiting for Ahmed to arrive.

It was ten to seven when security rang up to say that Ahmed and his parents were at the front desk. I ran down the corridor and the stairs to meet them. "Hiya!" I yelled from half way up the stairs. "Come on up" I invited them and the family walked across the lobby and joined me on the staircase. "Hiya" Ahmed said, "this is my mum and dad."

"Mr Azad, Mrs Azad, nice to meet you" I said politely, smiling at them as I led them towards my home.

Dad Gabe was at the door and my little brothers were playing on a console and giggling, looking over at the door. "Mr and Mrs Azad, Ahmed, this is my dad Gabriel and down there are my brothers, on this side is Jonathan and on the far side is Nathaniel" I introduced them, pointing. "Dad, Jon, Nattie, this is Ahmed and his mum and dad, Mr and Mrs Azad."

My dad extended his hand and Mr Azad shook it warmly and smiled. "Thanks for inviting us round" he said, "it's nice that Ahmed has made such a good friend so quickly. You know" he continued, "I've never been inside here before, it's not what I expected."

We talked for a while and all had some drinks before dad said, "would you like a tour? We've just got time if you'd like." Mrs Azad looked uncomfortable. "Only the public bits" she said, "not anywhere we'd have to undress, please" she asked.

"Mum!" Ahmed drawled, embarrassment leaking out of every pore. "It's okay Ahmed" I answered him, "if you're mum doesn't like the idea of being naked then she needs to say so. Not everyone's comfortable with it" I said to him. "Do you want to look round too?" I continued and he nodded so we joined the tour and my dad acted as guide. "Well our apartment is the whole of this corner of the top floor and half of the back of the building" he began, "and there's another in the opposite corner and a smaller one at the front. The upstairs has all the meeting rooms and a big conference room and offices of our legal firm. It's like a square up here as the main worship space has a really high ceiling."

We went downstairs again into the lobby. "The security office, our secretaries and switchboard are on the front at this side" he said, pointing out each room in turn. "Down there is the receiving room where animals come in from the abattoir." Mrs Azad looked uncomfortable but dad continued, "and the other side, under our apartment, are the priest's showers and facilities for cleaning up after we've sacrificed. Next to it is the prep room for the dead animals and then the kitchens. And here" he finished, leading them into final room, "is our canteen and food distribution point. Anyone can come into here and get a free hot meal" he explained.

"The rest of the downstairs is our changing rooms and the main worship space but unless you're willing to undress you can't go through" dad explained. Ahmed looked at the people filtering through the big bronze-covered doors in twos and threes. "They're going to worship, it starts in about fifteen minutes" I told him and his parents. He looked at his mum and dad. "I don't think so" his mum said sternly. His dad looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Come on, Hussain, you're not seriously considering" she said to her husband.

"He's interested" he said, "and if I'm honest, so am I." She was going to retort but noticed my little brothers walking down the stairs and coming towards us with their dressing gowns in their hand. "We're going to worship, dad" they said and dad Gabe just nodded before they wandered in. "Listen" he said, "we really need to go. You're more than welcome to join us. Or you can wait in the canteen, the chairs are comfortable. We'll be done about half eight." He looked at the family. Mr Azad looked at his wife.

"I'll wait in the canteen for you" she said. "Are you sure?" he asked her. "Go on, Ahmed wants to learn more about his friend" she smiled. "It's fine."

"Take them in and show them where to put their things, Josh" dad Gabe said, "I'll go and get our sword cases and dressing gowns" he offered and ran up the stairs as I led Ahmed and Mr Azad through the bronze gates and into the temple proper. "The female and the disabled changing is on that side" I said, waving towards the right of the gates, "and we're through here" I lead them in. There were a couple of dozen people changing already including Jon and Nattie. We had reserved pegs and I took mine and directed Ahmed and Mr Azad to the ones next to ours. "Put your clothes on the peg and the hangars and your shoes in the rack underneath" I said, beginning to undo my laces.

I'd only just managed to get my shoes and socks off when dad Gabe arrived with our stuff. We set to stripping properly and dad and I put our swords on, aware that Ahmed was staring at us both, open mouthed. But in his mind wasn't the erotic images I'd expected he'd get when he saw me naked -- no, he was actually terrified of my swords. The harness I wore to stop them slipping accentuated my musculature and Ahmed suddenly was terrified of what I might be able to do with those weapons. He knew by the way my dad and I handled them how sharp they were.

"Come on" I said, "we'll get you your swords" I said, smartly ignoring his fear and he gulped and followed me to the temple entrance. Nattie and Jon had run ahead of us and already had their sword belts. We got to the desk and the attendant tonight was Simon. "Hi" he said to Ahmed and Mr Azad, "first time?" They nodded. He sized up Ahmed and gave him a child's second-size sword, the same size as my brothers. Mr Azad was given an adult's three-quarter size sword as you need to be over six foot to cope with the full size ones. They buckled them on and I lead them into the temple proper.

I always feel a sense of peace entering the temple, I don't know why. But I breathed deeply and smiled. "You love your god don't you?" Ahmed asked me. He held his dad's hand tightly and was still scared. I nodded. "I do" I said to him.

Tim Potts was leading worship tonight. He knelt at the altar in prayer as we walked towards the consecrated circle. I stepped over and felt the heat of Apollo's presence. Ahmed and his dad followed me and as they stepped over their eyes went wide. "Bloody hell what was that?" Ahmed breathed, shivering with the sensations. "It's Apollo" I said. "His presence is quite commanding" I grinned. His dad was also shivering.

Tim began and drew his swords into a sword cross and the service began. After a few minutes I turned to Ahmed and his dad. "You're just going to draw your sword and hold it pointing out to one side like everyone else. Dad Gabe and I are priests so we draw our swords into a cross" I explained.

We drew our swords and I held them and looked at dad's statue and for the first time in a long time I really worshipped. I don't know why it struck me at that moment but I gave Apollo all my heart and soul. And I heard him speak. "Thank you Joshua" he said to me, a depth of emotion held in his voice.

The prayers continued and then finally Tim invited everyone to pray individually with swords. As was my duty I helped a few people to kneel properly and then turned back to Ahmed and his dad. "Do you want to pray?" I asked them.

Mr Azad nodded. "How do we do this?"

I smiled, I still had one sword in my hand, I'd sheathed the other, so I said, "hold the sword in your right hand and kneel on one knee, like this." I demonstrated for them what I meant. "Then put your sword onto the floor point down and lean your head on the pommel, then either just ask Apollo to touch you or pray something else to him."

They knelt and prayed and both of them started crying when dad Apollo came and touched them. I lifted their faces and broke the connection before it could overwhelm them completely. "You okay?" I asked.

"Shit, he's real isn't he?" Ahmed hissed. His dad seemed to be having trouble breathing. "Sit down Mr Azad, let me get you some water" I offered. I saw Nattie near the changing room and shouted over to him, "Nattie, can you bring Mr Azad some water and get a medic too, he's about to pass out."

Nattie came over with the glass and one of the security guards-cum-medics in tow. The medic was naked so that he could come into the temple but his sword was very short, necessary for gaining entry but nothing more. "Hey," he said softly, "shall we go sit somewhere calmer and you can get your breath?" He led Mr Azad to the rest-room where overwhelmed people were taken to recover -- fainting happened fairly often amongst the first-time attendees. "Ahmed, are you okay?" I asked him. "Do you want to go with your dad?"

He shook his head. "Apollo touched me, I felt him, he's" he stumbled then went silent, staring at the statue and the fire and the altar, overwhelmed but suddenly not afraid anymore. Then I felt dad Apollo come and talk to me. "My priest, may I use your voice?" he asked formally and ignoring Ahmed I turned to the statue, bowed and knelt and said out loud, "my voice is yours, great Apollo," then he was in me and I stood up and looked at my friend.

"If I bless him will he pass out?" dad Apollo asked me silently and I answered, "I don't know but I don't think so, he seems pretty calm." Then he opened my mouth and spoke in his deep, rolling voice, "friend of my youngest priest, may I bless you?"

The room went silent and Ahmed's eyes went wide as he heard that my voice was obviously not my voice. Dad Apollo walked my body over to the hot coals and I calmly stepped onto them. All around the plaza people began to walk forwards and kneel around the fire pit. I turned and met Ahmed's eyes. "Friend of my youngest priest, come forward" dad Apollo invited him again.

"Josh?" he asked, bewildered. Dad Apollo laughed in his booming echo. "Joshua will be back shortly" he said, "I'd like to bless you first." Ahmed came and knelt and I touched his head. "Blessings" we said together and the fire shot through my hands and into him and he trembled when he felt it. I extended my hands and people touched my fingers, claiming a blessing for themselves, then dad Apollo walked me back to the marble and as soon as I was away from the fire he left and I slumped, exhausted.

Dad Gabriel was there hugging me, holding me up as I got my breath back. He kissed me. "That was lovely, son" he said and we turned around together to help Ahmed to his feet. "Josh?" he whispered, wide eyed, scared of me. "Yeah, I'm back" I smiled. "And Apollo must feel you're a pretty good friend to want to bless you. You okay?"

"Erm, I think so" he stuttered and dad Gabe shuffled us both back to the changing rooms.

We dressed in record time and now that the temple experience was behind him, suddenly Ahmed was intrigued with my body again. I unbuckled my swords fairly slowly and stowed everything in my case whilst I was still nude, to give him the chance to check me out. Thank goodness Nattie and Jon had already gone as Ahmed's thoughts were pretty explicit and I soon got a hard on as I picked up his imaginings. I turned and saw him stood frozen, checking me out. Chuckling I picked up the dressing gown that dad Gabe had brought down with the swords and fastened it. "Hey, Ahmed, you can't go home like that, put some clothes on already" I urged him.

"Er, aren't you getting dressed?" he mumbled as he turned and began to fumble with his clothes. "Nah" I answered, beginning to fold my gear up and slip my shoes onto my bare feet. "I'll be going to bed in a bit, there's no point." A certain part of my anatomy proved at that moment that there was a point, or at least it had a point, by rising so much it that it began to peak out of the opening on my dressing gown.

Ahmed giggled and said, "it looks like you've got a point there" and I looked down and saw the head of my penis peaking through the cloth like some sort of blind mole. "I'll sort that out upstairs" I grinned, then continued, "but since there's no one around, if you fancy giving me a quick kiss goodnight you can do."

He wanted to, every fibre of his being wanted to but he said, "my dad'll come looking for me if I'm not ready soon, I'm sure and your dad hasn't even begun to dress yet so we'd probably get caught. Can I, er," he stopped and blushed. "Tomorrow before school, the first floor toilets near our classroom" I smiled before helping him to get the rest of his clothes on.

Mr Azad appeared just as Ahmed was finishing dressing. I'd managed to cover myself up and held my folded school clothes carefully to disguise the rise. "Come on, its getting late" he chided. I followed them out and saw that dad Gabe was in his dressing gown and was stood at the reception desk waiting for us. "If you want Ahmed to be able to come over after school you'll need to do a consent form" he told Mr Azad. Mrs Azad came over and joined us as Ahmed's dad sorted the details. Photos were taken and signatures recorded and the security guard said, "is it full access or just non-worship areas?"

Mr Azad looked at his son. "It's up to you" he said and Ahmed smiled. "I'd like full access if that's okay dad" he asked and Mr Azad nodded and looked back at the guard. "It looks like we want full access, please" he asked and the security guard confirmed it.

Soon they were ready to leave. "I'll see you at school tomorrow" I said to Ahmed. "Yeah" he replied, "and thanks, it's been great!" They left and I went upstairs and home.

The rest of the week passed in a bit of a blur. Ahmed gave me three blow jobs and Tim and Matt each gave me two. I gave three back. Every time I insisted on condoms, of course. Classes were good and by Friday afternoon about fifteen of my friends had promised to ask their parents to bring them to the temple the next morning to come to worship.

I got home in good spirits, cheered even more when I realised that granddad Mike and granddad James had arrived that afternoon. "Hey, Josh, how's secondary school?" granddad Mike asked me, giving me a hug when I walked in.

Dad Gabe murmured something about adoration and blow jobs and granddad James burst out laughing. "Your dad was too innocent for all that but your uncle David and uncle Andrew were the same. Just don't go doing anything foolish, will you?" he asked.

"I know how ill uncle Andrew gets sometimes" I said, "I'm not going to make any mistakes, I promise" I assured him.

We talked and laughed over supper and went to worship together. Granddad James led it as he's high priest and even though he's like seventy four or something he's still really fit and everyone loves it when he does all his elaborate presentations. Dad Gabe sometimes does them too when he leads worship cos he's going to be high priest next and I've been learning them too, since I first got my twin swords when I was five. I can do them all but not together in a service yet cos I'm still an acolyte and not a full priest.

Anyway we were sat in the living room, talking. Dad Apollo was with us and Jon and Nattie had gone to bed. I was getting tired and thinking about my early start the next morning when granddad James said, "Josh, I've got a serious question for you, not as your granddad to grandson but as high priest to acolyte."

I looked at him. His wise eyes were the mirror of my dad Gabe's and my own. I thought about what to say but realised that there was only one way I could answer him. "Your holiness" I murmured softly.

"Joshua Gabrielson, you lead worship tomorrow. Are you prepared to offer sacrifice and be ordained?"

"Tomorrow?" I blurted and he smiled and nodded. "Your dad was thirteen but we think you're ready now." I looked around the room at who was included in the `we' and saw dad Apollo nod too. "Son, are you ready?" he asked me.

"And you want me to do all seven presentations?" I asked. Dad Apollo answered, saying, "you can if you wish but you don't have to do all seven. You could just do a sword cross and the seventh like the other priests do. Only your granddad has to do the first six."

I felt a combination of fear and clarity as I looked at my family. Unselfconsciously I found myself sinking to my knees. "I will offer" I answered and felt dad Apollo come over and hug me. "Thank you little one" he whispered as he kissed me.

The next morning I'd fasted and was in the temple praying from about half seven, too nervous to stay in bed. A small bullock had been tranquilised and was lifted onto the altar just after eight o'clock. Notices were put outside in the lobby to say that the normal prayers had been replaced by sacrifice and ordination and granddad James stood at my side.

"Breathe" granddad James smiled. "You're going to pass out if you keep holding your breath."

"Sorry granddad" I muttered, "I'm just nervous."

"You can back out if you wish" he told me. "Nah, not that nervous" I smiled. "Listen, can you run through the sword thrusts for the sacrifice once more? I think I've got the neck one but I'm still not sure about the heart."

"Of course, sweetheart" he said to me and retrieved two blunt metal poles, the same length and weight as my swords. He demonstrated swiping one over the bullock's neck and the other pointing to pierce its chest. "Like this" he said. I took the poles and did it myself a few times. "That's it" he assured me, "do it like that and it'll be fine" he said.

I returned to my kneeling, aware that people had started to filter in behind me. Attendants were on hand to remind them to keep silence.

Soon it was time to begin. The gong rang signifying that sacrifice was about to take place and granddad James nodded at me.

I'd decided to do all seven presentations and after I did a sword cross I began with the first, facing the altar and Apollo's statue. My swords whirled as I sweated and my hands ached but I kept going. Four hundred revolutions and I sank to my knees, breathless. Then the second sword cross and the second presentation, arcing my swords in a figure eight. Then the third, extended arms. The fourth, kneeling with my arms above my head, then the fifth, a figure eight again but in a slightly different rhythm to the second. The sixth, crossing and uncrossing my swords above and below. The seventh, a simpler arc, then the final sword cross. I was breathless and sweating, aware of all eyes on me, aware I'd been pushing myself for almost two hours, aware that every muscle screamed for rest.

I looked at the bullock, lying there. I closed my eyes briefly and said, "for you, lord Apollo" and with the swift movements my grandfather taught me my swords flashed and a torrent of hot blood hit me, bathed me in the hot, red liquid. I let my arms fall to my side and the blood flowed down my body and pooled at my feet. At one side my grandfather stood, smiling. At the other, my dad Gabriel grinned and in front of me my dad Apollo's statue was alive and he smiled down at me.

Exhausted and overwhelmed I fell to my knees in the pool of blood and crossed my swords on the floor, thanks spilling out of me that I'd managed it. Then from one side clapping started. I looked up and saw that my granddad James was applauding. My dad Gabriel started, then my brothers, just behind him. I stood and turned and took in the congregation for the first time and realised that the temple was full, my uncles and cousins were all there and perhaps a dozen friends from school and their family members. I grinned tiredly. Dad Gabe came over with a small towel and he gently wiped the blood off my face and out of my eyes.

"People will want to touch the blood, it's considered lucky" he reminded me. He took my swords and left them in the sword cross in the pool of blood at the altar and holding me up by one arm he lead me around the room.

Tina was there and I don't know if she was more awed by the blood or the fact that I was completely starkers but to give her her due, she didn't gaze too long at my crotch. "Wow!" she whispered, her fingers touching a dab of blood from my arm. Matt and Dan were there and other friends from school. Ahmed and his dad were stood at the back of the room. All eight of my uncles were there, all of dad Gabriel's brothers and their partners and my cousins. We had a big family and it was great to see everyone together. My uncle Andrew ignored the blood and gave me a big hug. "That was great Josh" he said to me.

After I'd done the rounds I retrieved my swords and dad led me through to the showers and clean up area and some attendants came and lifted the bull down with a truck and wheeled the body away. Later on I'd get the first taste but not yet, all I wanted to do was stand under a hot shower and let my muscles rest.

My hands were so shaky that I couldn't undo the buckles on my harness and my dad had to do it for me. "Why d'you do all seven presentations?" he asked me as he helped me loosen the straps. "It felt necessary" I answered, unable to vocalise precisely what I was thinking. He put the leather and the swords in an oil bath to lift the blood off and led me through to the sit-down showers. I'd always wondered why they had seats but now I knew -- I was so tired I could barely stand.

"Your granddad is playing host but they'll want to see you within the hour" dad Gabe said as he got soap and shampoo and began to wash me like I was a little boy. I didn't care and let him do it, aware that I could hardly lift my arms. When I was clean he dried me and dressed me in the traditional red that I would wear today to mark my new status. "Come on" he said, helping me stand up and put some soft slippers on before walking with me upstairs and to one of the big conference rooms.

Everyone cheered when they saw me and I grinned despite my tiredness. My cousins and school friends surrounded me and asked hundreds of questions and everyone tucked into the buffet. Everyone except me, I couldn't eat or drink anything until the cooks had brought the first cut of my sacrifice and I'd tasted it. "I'm thirsty, dad Gabe" I whispered to him and he nodded. "Not long, an hour at most" he promised me.

Presently a thick steak, still steaming from the grill, was carried in and I took a knife and cut a small piece and ate it. Everyone wanted to try a morsel and it was cut into tiny flakes for all to taste. I was finally able to get some proper food and as if they knew what I was craving my little brothers came over, very carefully carrying a huge glass of orange juice and a big bowl of scrambled eggs. "Oh, wow, I love you guys" I gushed tucking into the eggs and juice. Jon looked around and then thought to me, "dad Apollo helped us make them, he said that this was what you wanted."

"Thanks guys, they're great" I assured them as I ate.

My school friends, Tina and Linda and Patsy and Sarah and Matt and Dan and Ahmed were all there with their parents and seemed to be having a great time. One of Sarah's mums drew a crowd but Amazon women are so regal and proud that they tend to be stared at wherever they are. I've always wondered how they managed to hide their species at all, they're just so perfect-looking. But me and my friends gossiped and we didn't just talk about temple stuff either, we talked about the latest games and clothes and football and all sorts of stuff. Linda thought I was a loser for supporting Manchester United but she supported West Ham of all teams so she couldn't talk. Their parents stood together with my dad and chatted with him too. Presently people started drifting away and I said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for coming. The last people there were uncle Andrew and his family.

"Go get some sleep" uncle Andrew said, hugging me tightly. It hurt sometimes to see how old he'd gotten. Dad Gabe was thirty three and looked sixteen but uncle Andrew was only thirty four and he looked about sixty. I knew it was the virus and that he'd made peace with it a long time ago but it still hurt. I hugged him back and said, "you look like you could do with some sleep yourself." He smiled and knew what was on my mind. "My life is good, Josh" he whispered. "Don't lose any sleep for me and don't make the same mistakes I did, that's all I ask." He kissed my cheek, picked up Peter and after saying bye to my dad Gabe and my brothers he left. Dad guided me with a gentle hand back home, helped me undress and tucked me into bed. "Get some sleep" he said and even though it wasn't yet three in the afternoon I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

Unsurprisingly, considering I slept right through, I woke up at six on the Sunday morning. Dad Apollo was sat on the edge of my bed watching me. "Morning" I whispered softly.

"Hi Josh" he smiled. "Feeling okay?" he asked me. I wriggled. "Other than feeling like my arms are made of lead, yeah, I'm fine" I answered.

"Why don't you go and get another hot shower and I'll make you some breakfast" he offered. "What would you like?"

I was so hungry I couldn't think. Toast and porridge and bacon and eggs and fruit and yoghurt and all sorts of things swam through my mind. Dad Apollo laughed. "Go and shower, it'll be ready shortly" he promised before drifting into mist and ghosting away.

I showered and put a thick, warm pullover on instead of my normal shirt. It helped my muscles to loosen up a bit. I walked through to the kitchen, enticed by the appetising aromas that drifted from the doorway and as I walked in dad Apollo placed a plate on the table. It was piled high with dozens of strips of thin, crispy bacon and half a dozen eggs, perfectly scrambled. There was also a warm dish with porridge and syrup, a full six slices of hot buttered toast, a dish of strawberries and creamy yoghurt and a huge glass of orange juice. "Oh, wow, wow, wow!" I gushed as I fell on the food, devouring it like a starved man. "Anything for my boy" dad Apollo smiled at me.

Dad Gabe came in shortly and my brothers followed in their pyjamas. Dad Apollo cooked for us all, as he did every Sunday and we ate and laughed and relaxed together. That afternoon we went for a walk in Hyde Park, enjoying the September sunshine and we laughed and joked together and it felt like all was right with the world. It was almost as if becoming ordained and entering an adult role had somehow made it okay for me to enjoy being a child again.

Monday and school rolled around again and I got dressed in my uniform and headed downstairs and out quite early, having resolved to try and work out some of my stiffness by walking instead of taking the tube. I got to school in plenty of time and the first class was Miss Banks and English. We started with comprehension, which I didn't enjoy but it was easy enough. But my arms still ached and I kept having to put my pen down and rub my shoulders.

"What is the problem Mr Gabrielson?" Miss Banks said after I'd rubbed my arms for about the dozenth time. "My arms are aching Miss Banks" I told her. "Why? What on earth have you been doing or don't I want to know?"

"I was ordained on Saturday" I told her, blushing slightly, "and my arms are aching `cos the swords are really heavy." She shuddered. "Oh, of course, you're Apolline aren't you?" I nodded. "Sorry about keeping putting my pen down, I'll finish this at home if I don't manage it now" I told her and she nodded. She actually looked a little green around the gills and I knew that my mention of sword play and sacrifice had upset her tummy a little.

Ahmed grinned at me. "I didn't really get the chance to say but you looked so cool when you were, you know" he whispered softly. "Your skin's kind of golden looking and when you sweated, the fire reflected off it and made you look" he shuddered and his eyes rolled and I knew he was moments away from cumming. He wasn't able to shoot sperm yet, I could tell from his mind but even a dry orgasm would be pretty embarrassing in the middle of an English class so I leaned over and pinched his hand.

He made to yelp but I silenced him with a stare. "You didn't want everyone to know you were perving after me did you?" I whispered to him, "you keep that up and you'll end up cumming into your shorts." He didn't need to know that I knew he couldn't cum yet. He blushed scarlet and giggled. "I can't help it" he whispered, "you're gorgeous."

"Mr Azad, Mr Gabrielson, that's enough whispering please" Miss Banks said, "please work in silence" and that was that.

We headed to the toilets immediately after the lesson and as soon as we were locked in a cubicle together I leaned down and kissed Ahmed full on the lips. I'm not sure why but it felt right somehow. He swooned and would have collapsed had I not been pressing him up against the cubicle wall. I sank slowly down to my knees, fished his pre-pubescent organ out of his pants, rolled a condom onto it and kissed it gently and he shuddered. I took it into my mouth and gave it just a couple of gentle sucks and swirled my tongue around the head and that was all he needed to send him over the edge. He hissed between clenched teeth and started to tremble and shake all over, his limbs looking almost palsied as the dry orgasm worked its way through his system.

I stood, pulled the condom off, dropped it into the loo, tucked his cock away and held him close as he recovered. "You enjoy that?" I whispered. "Mmm" he groaned, smiling lopsidedly at me. I leaned into his ear, licked it and nibbled it a bit then whispered, "lunchtime and it's my turn" and with that we headed to our next class.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. I couldn't give a coherent account of it if my life depended on it. All I do know is that Ahmed and I ran to the toilets as fast as we could as soon as the bell rang. We locked ourselves into a cubicle and laughed together as we recovered. Ahmed smiled at me. "I'm not really sure what to do" he said. I grinned and pulled a condom out of my back pocket. "You got many of those?" he asked me, laughing.

"Just enough for the school day" I told him and without ceremony whipped my cock out and rolled the condom onto it.

"Why do you insist on condoms every single time?" Ahmed asked me.

"'Cos one of my uncles is HIV positive and I promised I'd never make the same mistakes he did" I said frankly.

"You don't think that I" Ahmed gasped and I shook my head, leaned down and kissed him fully on the lips, swirling my tongue around his mouth. "No, of course not" I assured him when I pulled back, "but I'm not going to play bareback, not ever, not until I meet my life partner. It's just not right, Ahmed."

"You went bareback when you got that blowjob on the first day" he objected. I nodded. "I know, that was a mistake. I've got an appointment to get tested on Wednesday."

"Tested?" His eyes went wide. "Yeah" I answered, "for HIV and SRV and other blood-borne stuff." I didn't mention that anyone who comes into full body contact with the blood from the temple sacrifices has to get tested every month anyway. I'd been tested every month since I first stood next to my dad during services, when I was eight. So far everyone had always been clean but it didn't hurt to take precautions.

"Ahmed, twenty percent of adults have permanent, disabling, communicable diseases" I reminded him. "We can't afford to mess about, we don't know who's done what or anything. SRV, spartan reproductive virus, doesn't affect humans but if spartans get it our filaments become too thin to support a baby. I want to have kids when I'm older."

Ahmed looked at me, shock registering. My cock deflated and the condom sagged as fear filled my playmate's eyes. "You'd forgotten I wasn't human, hadn't you" I said. It was a statement, not a question. "Ahmed, one day I'm going to gestate my sons and breastfeed them. I know I look like I'm all boy but I'm not. And I'm sorry" I continued, seeing the hurt on his face, "but I don't think you're my life partner. We can play now but you'll not be my one and only."

"That's okay Josh" he smiled, then the smile turned into a wicked little grin. "Anyway, enough talk, I believe you've got a little friend you'd like me to meet?" His thoughts turned back to his own orgasm and I became fully hard as he sank to his knees and began to suck me.

I came in a dozen strong pulses and filled the condom with juice. "Fuck, that was good" I gasped. He giggled. "I thought you enjoyed it. You came so hard I almost thought you were going to burst through the end for a second."

We laughed together as we stumbled from the loos and towards the canteen. We ate a quick lunch and headed for our afternoon classes. That evening we skyped for a bit and did our homework together online before supper. I packed my bag for the following day and put some more condoms in my back pack. Dad Apollo had put a huge wadge of them in my drawer so I wasn't going to run out anytime soon. As I put my books away dad Apollo appeared and stood by me.

"You're taking my advice to heart, then" he said to me. I nodded. "I don't want to catch HIV or worse, SRV" I told him. "I want to have kids one day."

"Do you think Ahmed's your life partner then?" he asked me and I shook my head. "I'm fairly certain he's not, we're just playing. I love his attention but I don't think I love him, not really. I don't even know if he's gay, it's just lust I think" I said and giggled. "I think Tina lusts after me too but I wouldn't know what to do with a girl."

"Well if you and Tina want to try anything don't ask your dad or your uncles for advice" dad Apollo laughed. "Oh dad, that's gross!" I laughed back, "girly bits would just make me just totally shrivel up!"

"What are you laughing at?" dad Gabe said, pushing my bedroom door open. "Josh's got a girlfriend" dad Apollo chuckled. Dad Gabe didn't know where to put his face. "Dad Apollo, she's not my girlfriend!" I yelled, mortified. "Do you want her to come over and stay the night?" dad Apollo laughed again.

"Dad!" I whined, "stop it, you're making me shudder just at the thought."

"If you really need to know, I can tell you how to make her shudder" he said evilly.

"Okay, that's enough, any more you're going to make me throw up if you continue!" By this point all three of us were breathless with laughter.

Now I don't know how but I swear dad Apollo planted some idea or something in Tina's head `cos she cornered me at the school gates the next morning. "Hey Josh" she beamed.

"Hi Tina" I smiled nervously. She took my arm and linked it like I was just a female friend and giggled. "Why so nervous?" she asked. Damn, she was perceptive. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing.

"Do you guys, spartans, ever even have girls as friends?" she asked me. This was easier. "Yeah, when my uncles went back to school after the imprisonment they all made better friends with the girls than they did with the boys and my friends in primary school were all girls" I explained. I grinned at her. "For some reason we make the boys nervous."

"Ahmed isn't scared of you" she said bluntly. I grinned again. "Ahmed's open minded. I'd never do anything he didn't want me to."

"So you guys have done stuff together?" she asked, wide eyed. What the hell, I thought to myself and nodded sheepishly. "Oh, that's like, so cute!" she grinned. "You're such a nice guy, Josh" she said softly. I probed her thoughts and realised she was remembering me naked at the temple. As I did she blushed, thinking I was studying her face. "You're not so bad yourself, Tina" I whispered in my most seductive voice.

"I'd love to come to your temple again" she said, equally softly.

I looked at her, met her eyes. "You mean you'd love to see me naked again, don't you?" I corrected. She blushed more wildly and nodded. "Well, why don't you invite me round to your place? We've got some chemistry homework we can do together" I offered.

"God, you serious?" she breathed. "Yeah but don't call me god" I replied and she laughed. "You're such an idiot!" she said and I giggled back. "Yeah, idiocy's what I do best, I'm spartan and I'm flirting with a girl, that's like, so gross" I chuckled. She looked at me, wide-eyed. "You're flirting with me?" she asked. I leaned down and kissed her nose. It was such a cute little button nose. "Yeah but you're flirting with me too" I whispered and turned my back on her to walk into the classroom.

I sat down and the lessons started but I was bombarded on two fronts, Ahmed wanting to do all sorts of weird and wonderful things to my cock, Tina wanting my cock to do all sorts of weird and wonderful things to her. It was like a double whammy and the trouser snake almost ripped its way out of its cotton prison in an effort to take one or both of the offered torments and release the almost overwhelming pressure.

I ran to the toilets at break and Ahmed was there, ready to give me release. He helped me to roll the condom on, he was that horny and his lips were so hot and tight on my cock that I exploded in seconds. I was still rock hard though and after removing and discarding the filled condom I rolled a second on. "What are you planning on doing with that?" he asked me.

"Wank it again, once ain't going to cut it today" I gasped as I pumped up and down. Ahmed grabbed it and began wanking as he sucked the head again and I came in an equally huge pulse. I pulled the second condom off and would have gone for a third but the bell rang and we had to run to lessons.

As I sat there I daydreamed, mostly of Tina but a little of Ahmed too. I knew what she looked like naked, she had been in the temple after all. She made me my horny as fuck and totally confused me all at the same time. Then I heard dad Apollo's voice. "your teacher is going to ask you a question in a minute young man so stop daydreaming about your girlfriend and pay attention."

I managed to snap my thoughts back to the class and read my teachers mind. It was history and she said, "okay, can anyone tell me what happened from 1939 to 1945? Erm, Mr Gabrielson do you know?"

"The second world war, Mrs Hill" I said.

"Well done Mr Gabrielson" she smiled at me. "And what about 1914 to 1918?"

I tried to look thoughtful. "Was that the first world war?" I asked her. She nodded. "Well done! Do you like reading?"

"Not really" I told her, "but I watch the discovery channel a lot." She laughed. "Honest too" she said to me. "Okay, smart alec, what war was fought from 1853 to 1856?"

I picked the answer out of her mind and said confidently, "The Crimean war." She took her glasses off and looked at me. "How do you know that?"

"I didn't, I guessed" I told her and grinned. "It was the only other war whose name I could remember" I said and she laughed.

The lesson continued and she gave out a quiz so that she could see how much each of us remembered from television or the internet or had picked up from her introduction. I actually didn't do too badly at all, if I didn't know an answer I just sifted through my friend's answers and wrote down the one that most people had picked. "Joshua, isn't that cheating?" dad Apollo asked me.

"Not really dad" I told him, "it's not like I'll ever not be telepathic is it? And there aren't any rules banning people from using telepathy in the classroom, I'm sure there's not." He laughed at me. "Your teacher was right, you are a smart alec" he chuckled.

At lunchtime Ahmed, Tina, Linda and I sat together at what had rapidly become our regular table. Tina and Ahmed both flirted outrageously with me and Linda's mind was the only one that had any sort of purity to it, or it was until Tina said, "so Linda, Ahmed, you both checked out his package at the temple, I'm sure. How long do you reckon it gets when it's hard?" Linda went purple and started giggling uncontrollably and Ahmed joined in. "It's twenty three centimetres when it's hard, he told me himself" Ahmed whispered to the giggling girls.

"Should I just get up and leave you to gossip?" I asked them, blushing slightly. My cock was on the rise again as all three of their imaginations replayed me naked and sweating at the temple and their own reactions to my body. They laughed and shook their heads.

"Er, did your parents do consent forms when you came to the temple on Saturday?" I asked the girls, trying to act casual and they both nodded. "Yeah, so we can come over if we want" Linda said. "So how about the four of us get together this weekend and do some homework or something?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Ahmed grinned.

"I've got a better idea" Tina said, "would your dad let us have a sleepover and we'll watch films till really late and stuff?"

"I'll ask when I get home" I told them, my pulse suddenly racing, "you ask your mums or dads and skype me. If they agree, how about Friday? Only I'll have to get up early on Saturday `cos that's my service."

They agreed to ask and bounced away, enthusiastic about the prospect of a naughty sleepover and I headed to the toilets for another wank. This was getting out of control but I was so horny I couldn't do without it.

The rest of the week passed pretty much in the same way. I went to the clinic on Wednesday and for the first time had to tick `yes' to sexual activity. I was so embarrassed but the staff nurse didn't bat an eyelid and just took the blood sample as normal. I had a few more blow jobs at school and did okay in the lessons and Tina, Linda and Ahmed had all gotten permission to stay over.

Dad Gabriel had teased me mercilessly about having a girlfriend. "She's not a girlfriend, she's just a friend who happens to be a girl" I told him for what must have been the hundredth time. "Yeah but she lusts after you and can't wait to get into your pants" dad Apollo said. "You might not think so but she definitely thinks she's your girlfriend."

"But I'm spartan, that's insane!" I protested, getting upset. Dad Gabe stopped laughing and came and hugged me. "It's only as insane as humans being gay or lesbian with other humans and not spartans or amazons, Josh. Human men have gay relationships with each other even though there's no chance of any babies and human women do the same thing. It's just a lot rarer for spartans to like girls or amazons to like boys. You're only eleven, just enjoy yourself and play safe and don't worry about it."

"Dad!" I groaned but I have to admit that his assurance that it wasn't completely insane made my heart flutter for some reason, a reason I steadfastly refused to think about too closely.

Friday afternoon finally arrived. Tina, Linda and Ahmed had brought overnight bags with them to school and came back home with me. They had to stop at reception whilst security confirmed their identity and checked that they had permission to be there but presently we were all bouncing up the stairs towards home.

"Hi dad Gabe, we're here!" I yelled as I got through the door. "Hi honey" he said, peeking around the kitchen door and grinning. His hands were covered in flour and he had a band around his hair to stop his curls falling into whatever he was making. "I'm baking with your brothers, supper'll be ready in a couple of hours and I'll bring some hot biscuits through once they're done. Why don't you go and sort out some airbeds and sleeping bags and stuff in your room?"

"Okay" I agreed and we headed towards my room. "Was that your dad?" Linda asked me. I nodded. "He's like, dead young, he looks like a teenager!" she gasped. "He's thirty three" I corrected. "But he's gorgeous!" she gushed and Tina nodded enthusiastically. "Guys, he's my dad" I winced and mimed throwing up, making them all laugh.

Dad had already put the airbeds and everything in a heap on my bed so after we'd dumped our bags and kicked off our shoes it didn't take us long to sort them all and spread them out on the floor. "So what d'you want to do?" I asked.

"Let's download some movies so we've got a choice later" Tina suggested. "Yeah and we can play a console game or two as well" Linda said. We were all into retro stuff so I got out my old Xbox and we had a great time. Jon carried a plate of chocolate biscuits out to us and we ate them all warm. "These are so good" Linda said as she helped herself to a third.

Dad Gabe had borrowed one of dad Apollo's fish pie recipes and we all ate far too much, it was that good. For afters we had lemon cheesecake and I knew who'd made it after the first mouthful -- dad Gabe wasn't nearly a good enough cook to pull it off, dad Apollo had made sure he was at the table in a fashion even if he couldn't actually appear with my friends being there. We played some more games and at about quarter to eight we went down to worship. "You went to the changing room with your mums last time so you know where you're going" I said to Tina and Linda, "and your attendant will fasten your swords. We'll see you in the main plaza in a few minutes."

Dad Gabe was leading worship tonight and Ahmed and I had my little brothers in tow. We stripped and I put my swords on, buckling the shoulder straps carefully. Ahmed looked at me. "You look good" he whispered, grinning. "Thanks" I grinned back, aware that my cock was on the rise again with the attention. I tried my best to ignore it -- men often got hard ons in the temple and it was considered bad form to notice them or be self conscious about them. The done thing was to completely ignore them but occasionally one couldn't help but notice, especially when they throbbed and pulsed purple and spewed semen all over the floor. Perhaps unsurprisingly it was teenagers who most often embarrassed themselves in this way and I just prayed that I wouldn't do the same, not tonight at any rate.

My brothers had already run through to get their swords and I walked over with Ahmed to get his. He was also semi hard and tried to hide it. "Ahmed, ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist" I counselled him. He frowned. "Guys get hard ons all the time. As long as you don't draw attention to it by doing something stupid like trying to hide it then no one will care. Come on" I finished, "let's get inside."

We went in and presently were joined by Tina and Linda, holding hands as they walked shyly towards us. Their swords were slung over one shoulder on a thin leather strap that ran between their small, pubertal breasts. I idly noticed that their breasts were only slightly mounded and their nipples were small and perfectly formed. My cock throbbed and bounced just a little higher. I swallowed and turned my attention to my dad Gabe, kneeling and my dad Apollo's statue, looking over the temple and towering over us. "Don't let me embarrass myself, dad Apollo, please" I begged him silently as we entered the consecrated circle.

Tina and Linda came and stood next to me and Ahmed. Tina smiled and whispered a sheepish, "hi" but her attention wasn't on my face but on the rest of me. Linda didn't speak, she was fixated on my crotch. I throbbed again and became harder than steel. Ahmed looked at me too and his little cock swelled and grew to its full size. I gulped, realising that I was in for a very interesting evening.

The worship actually went okay. We prayed and drew our swords at the appropriate points and I showed my friends how to pray with swords and I didn't embarrass myself by cumming but I was so glad to be able to escape and drag my underwear back on.

We headed upstairs and began watching some movies in my bedroom and eating popcorn. After a couple of hours dad Gabe came to say goodnight. "If you're not up I'll do your service in the morning, sweetie" he said to me, "don't panic about it." That was unusual -- he more often than not lectured me about responsibility. He smiled then did something he rarely attempted -- he used my own telepathy to speak to me mind to mind. "I don't want you to rush tonight, relax and enjoy yourself" he told me before wishing us all goodnight and clipping the door closed.

We finished the movie and played some more games and by eleven o'clock all of us were yawning. "Shall we get ready for bed?" I asked. "You can either change here or use the bathroom."

"I don't see why we shouldn't just change here" Linda announced, "after all we've already seen each other naked."

I couldn't fault her logic and I was suddenly anxious to get the play time started so I just grinned, pulled my shirt over my head and started unbuttoning my trousers. The others quickly followed suit and suddenly we were all in my room in the nude.

"I don't want to go to sleep yet" Tina said, "can we sit on your bed and watch another movie?"

"Naked?" I asked stupidly.

"Of course" she grinned with an evil little smile. We piled onto my double bed and I clicked play on the next movie and we settled down to watch. It was a comedy and we laughed together as we lounged against each other.

It wasn't long before Tina and Linda's gentle fingers started exploring me. Not wanting to be left out, Ahmed moved to my feet and began exploring too. I began to catch my breath but managed to gasp out, "Ahmed, top drawer." He opened it and saw the condoms and pulled a handful out. The girls played with my nipples and nibbled my ears as Ahmed opened a condom and pulled it over my cock. Just the sensation of the rubber made me shudder. Linda crawled down next to Ahmed. He took my cock in his mouth and Linda gently began playing with my balls. Tina continued to nibble my ears and nipples and cover me with kisses.

I was so hot that I came, filling the condom up with juice. Ahmed laughed as he pulled it off and dropped it into my bin before rolling a second over my still hard cock.

"You enjoying this?" Tina asked me and I nodded, helpless under the attention. "Lean closer" I whispered and as she came near my face I lifted my head and kissed her nose. "You've got a cute nose" I grinned, then I touched her nipples and she gasped, "and sweet little nipples, they're like bullets" I told her, beginning to roll them between my fingers. To one side Ahmed and Linda had left my cock and balls and begun to kiss each other and Tina let her hand slide down to my condom-clad cock, sliding her fingers up and down it.

"This is wrong" I gasped as she masturbated me. "You're a girl, this is wrong" I told her. She continued to move her hand up and down and kiss my nipples and belly button. I came again and she sat back and watched me recover. I smiled at her as I peeled the second condom off and threw it away. "You're so beautiful, you know" I said. She kissed me gently. On the bedroom floor Linda and Ahmed were lying top to tail, both gasping and slurping.

"You want to do that?"

"I, erm, don't know much about girl's er, anatomy" I told her.

"Well let's have a little lesson" she giggled, lying back on the bed and spreading her legs. "These are my lips and this is my vagina" she said, fingering the moist, pink slit. "And this little button here is my clitoris. If you rub it a bit, or even lick it, then I can orgasm just like you" she grinned.

"Okay" I said, "but how do we cover you?" I thought for a moment, got another condom and reached over to my desk to get a pair of scissors. I opened and unravelled it and slit it so that it made a sheet of thin rubber. "Perfect" I said and she giggled. "You'll really do it?" she whispered.

"Of course" I said, rolling another condom on, turning around and lying down flat on the bed. She lay over me and I covered my mouth with the split condom before leaning in and licking the little button she'd identified as her clitoris. At the other end I could feel her take my condom-clad cock into her mouth and suck it.

It took an immense amount of concentration to keep licking but I managed it. Since I'd already cum twice I had a few minutes in me at least so I concentrated all my attention on bringing Tina to orgasm. Shortly she began to gasp and buck and writhe on me and I knew she was cumming but I kept licking, holding her still with my arms around her legs. I came too, bucking as I filled the condom with semen again and she rolled off me, spent.

"Wow" she gasped. A brief burst of applause reached our ears and we saw Ahmed and Linda watching us. "We couldn't manage it, we didn't really turn each other on enough but you two, you're hot!" Linda giggled.

"You sure you're spartan?" Ahmed asked then, "cos you seem to be enjoying yourself with Tina."

"Her clitoris doesn't make me gag like cocks sometimes do" I said breathily, "and she smells a lot sweeter too. And I love her nipples and her nose, they're so cute" I giggled.

Tina leaned in and kissed me and we shared tongues and swapped spit, ignoring our audience. Presently my third used condom started to slip and I leaned away from her, pulled it off and tossed it in the bin with the others. I sat up and smiled. "I'm not going to sleep naked" I told her, "if you want to play some more I'll put another condom on, otherwise I'm going to get some pyjamas on."

"He plays safe" Ahmed said to Tina when she frowned. "He won't even give head unless I'm wearing a condom and I don't even ejaculate yet."

"Why don't you play with Ahmed and I'll play with Linda next?" Tina grinned. I nodded and we swapped. Ahmed and I both rolled condoms back on and lay back and kissed and Linda and Tina were tickling each other and giggling.

We ended up playing same-sex three times before Linda and Ahmed both pleaded exhaustion and found their sleeping bags. They were snoring almost before their heads touched the pillow. Tina joined me in my bed. "You won't fuck me yet will you?" she asked. I shook my head. "I'm sorry Tina, I'm not going to either fuck or allow myself to be fucked by anyone other than my life partner. Kissing or masturbating or oral, that's fine but not fucking. I hope you're not disappointed?"

"I'm actually glad" she admitted, "I've been told the first time hurts like crazy."

"It's the same if you take it up the arse, the first time is awful or so I've heard. I want to wait until I'm sure before I allow someone in me and I certainly wouldn't take anyone else unless I knew I was going to be with them like, forever or something."

"You're really something" she grinned, leaning in for a cuddle.

"What do you mean, something?" I asked her, concerned.

She giggled sleepily. "You're a gentleman, Joshua. You're a proper gentleman" and she fell asleep curled in the crook of my arm.

We all woke up a little before quarter to nine. I assured them all it was fine to stay in bed and I stumbled through to the bathroom to wash the dried cum off my cock before fastening my sword harness on. Dad Gabe saw me buckling it on in the living room and came to give me a hand. "Good night last night?" he grinned.

"Yeah but I can't neglect prayers dad" I said. "They're all awake but I don't know if they'll get up yet." I rushed downstairs wearing just my swords and my dressing gown to lead the nine o'clock service. I got back at half past, still in my swords and true to my prediction my friends were still lounging in bed.

I opened my sword case on my desk and drew the blades and carefully polished them and put them away before unbuckling the harness, folding it and putting it in the top pouch. I turned to see Ahmed and Linda lying lazily in their beds with their eyes closed but Tina was resting her head on her hands, in my bed, watching me intently.

Despite my reluctance I had to admit that Tina was amazing. Her cute strawberry blonde curls flowed around her face like fizzy pink water and her pale blue eyes followed me around the room. She had little curves that were just right for running your hands over and perfectly kissable lips. She was dainty and curvy in the way that girls manage and boys never do and there she was, in my bed, completely starkers and watching me adoringly.

"You are so gorgeous" I purred as I went back to my bed and lay down beside her. I took her in my arms and kissed her deeply. I didn't even notice that Linda and Ahmed had gotten up and dressed. We kissed deeply, like I'd never kissed anyone before and as I held her in my arms I felt like crying that I would one day leave her for my life partner, the man I could breed with. She cuddled me and held me close as I cried and when I'd run out of tears she kissed me some more.

"What are those tears for?" she asked me.

"'Cos one day I'll fall in love with someone else and I'd rather just love you" I sniffled.

"You love me?" Tina asked, eyes wide.

"I'm not sure but yes, I think I love you Tina" I said.

Just as I spoke the words, "I love you Tina" my bedroom door opened and Ahmed and Linda came in with breakfast trays and dad Gabe stood behind them, grinning. "So you admitted it then?" he chuckled.

Tina held the sheet up to her chest but Linda pulled it out of her hand. "Don't be stupid, we've all seen them. Sit up properly and take your breakfast" she grinned. Ahmed gave me my tray, porridge and orange juice. It looked nice but I wasn't sure I could eat, I was so embarrassed by the whole thing. My face was scarlet with blushes but dad Gabe said, "Josh, honey, don't worry. You might be heterosexual or you might just be exploring but whatever you're doing, just enjoy it. It's no big thing darling, honest."

"Your dad's going to put a movie on for us" Ahmed then said, "but don't take too long to eat and get dressed `else today's going to be boring." He grinned and the three left the room.

I looked at Tina and started to cry, I couldn't help it. "What's up Josh?" she asked me. I couldn't speak. "Are you hettie?." She asked and I shrugged. "I don't know, Tina" I said in the end, "I want children but" I started to cry again, unable to get past my `but'.

"Josh, I love you too" Tina whispered and she also had tears in her eyes. "I don't know if it'll be forever or just for now but today, Joshua, I think I love you too."

We kissed carefully to avoid upsetting the trays then tucked into our breakfast. We dressed quickly and made our way out to the main living room. Jon and Nattie were sat with Ahmed and Linda and they were all watching Shrek. It's a great old film, I love it and Tina and I just sat back and laughed along with them though our fingers remained intertwined.

Later on we went down to the park with dad Gabe and my brothers and he bought us all sandwiches and ice creams from a kiosk. At teatime we headed back to the temple because parents were picking everyone up at five o'clock. "See you on Monday or you can skype me if you want!" I yelled as they all left and on the spur of the moment I swept Tina up in my arms and kissed her. My friends cheered as we embraced. "See you Monday" I whispered. "See you Monday" she replied and then left with her mum. Once they were gone, everything suddenly seemed empty as I traipsed back home.

Dad Gabriel was waiting at the door and behind him dad Apollo hovered anxiously. I saw them both and just burst into tears again. We sat together on the sofa and they both hugged me until I was cried out. "You've got it bad for her haven't you?" dad Apollo whispered. I nodded. "I really love her dad and it just hurts to think that one day I'll meet my life partner and leave her" I cried.

Dad Apollo and dad Gabriel looked at each other, pain in their eyes and something passed between them. "Josh" dad Apollo said after a long pause, "it breaks my heart to have to tell you this but you've already met your life partner."

"What? Who?" I asked.

"Ahmed" dad Apollo told me calmly. "That's why I blessed him in the temple but you're struggling to love him aren't you?"

"Ahmed? But that's impossible, I mean, we're friends and we've exchanged a few blow jobs but" I mumbled.

"And Joshua, little one, that's how we know you're attracted to females" dad Apollo said in his gentlest whisper. "Even meeting your life partner hasn't affected you the way it would had you only been attracted to males like most spartans are."

I couldn't help it. I began to sob huge, broken-hearted tears.

I cried for the rest of the weekend, curled up in dad Apollo's arms on my bed. He was in other places too but one benefit of having an omnipresent dad is that he can stay with you as well as do all his other stuff. I felt like my life was over. I'd always wanted children but finding out that I didn't love the only person who I was fertile for cut me to the quick. Yeah, I lusted after him a bit but it wasn't proper love, not like a partner bond is supposed to feel. And Tina made me all confused and I didn't know where I was going or what I wanted in life.

Monday morning came but I'd eaten and slept so little that there was no way I could go to school. My mind was in turmoil and I felt sick, afraid and overwhelmed at having to choose between Ahmed and Tina. Dad Apollo stayed with me, held me tight and whispered calming noises for hours and hours, trying to get me to at least acknowledge the world around me but I'd just shut down.

The first thing that penetrated my grief and confusion was the sense of my hands both being held. One of the people holding and caressing my fingers had cool hands but the other's hands were warmer. I slowly opened my eyes and looked and saw Ahmed holding my right hand and Tina holding my left. Stood near my bed were dad Gabriel and granddad James and they both looked worried.

I must have shown panic on my face for granddad James knelt and took my chin in his hand gently. "Joshua, honey, Apollo possessed me and explained what's happened, to us, your friends and their parents. Tina's mum and Ahmed's dad are in the living room with your granddad Mike. They agreed to come and help you, sweetheart you haven't eaten for two days, we were about to take you to hospital. I'm sorry, Josh, Apollo said that they were the only two who'd get through to you."

"So I'm your life partner, eh?" Ahmed smiled softly. "That explains why I fell head over heels for you."

"You're not worried that I don't feel the same way?" I whispered. It was the first thing I'd said in two days.

Ahmed's face lost the smile. "It hurts a bit but not too much. I just want you to be happy Joshua, I could never do anything that'd make you unhappy."

I gripped his hand a little tighter and then turned to Tina. "I'm so confused right now, I think I love you but I don't know. I mean, I love you but not the same as I love Ahmed, it's more but at the same time less. But if I'm just confused" I stuttered and fell silent, hanging my head, overwhelmed by the whole thing.

Tina and Ahmed looked at each other and then leaned in and together kissed me, one on each cheek. "What?" I mumbled.

"When Apollo spoke to us through your granddad he explained that trying to choose between us was going to drive you insane and that if you continued to try and choose you'd end up doing something stupid like killing yourself" Tina said, speaking quietly. "He asked us if we were brave enough to stop you."

"Stop me what? Killing myself?" I asked.

Ahmed smiled softly. "No, dimwit, stop you trying to choose."

"What?" I asked again.

"You love Tina" Ahmed told me, "and you need Ahmed" Tina finished.

Tina smiled softly. "Apollo said that somehow the love you're supposed to feel for Ahmed you feel for me instead but that you still need Ahmed because if you thought he was unhappy then you'd be unhappy too. It's like your partner bond is in two pieces, he said and you've managed to link yourself to both of us."

"I can cope with being needed" Ahmed giggled, "it's a nice feeling."

"And I think I can cope with being loved" Tina giggled too.

"It's just up to you, Josh, if you can cope with both of us?" Ahmed asked me. All the time they both clung to my hands and snuggled up next to me on my bed.

"Now you're responsive we're going to leave you alone for a bit" dad Gabriel said. I'd almost forgotten he and granddad James were there. "I'll make you something to eat, why don't you get a shower then come out and eat? Tina and Ahmed's parents aren't going anywhere either, your friends will be here for as long as you need them."

He and granddad left the room and I carefully sat up in bed. I felt dehydrated and a little woozy. Ahmed put his arms around my back to steady me and Tina held my hands. "Gently, now" she whispered as Ahmed cuddled up to me.

Tina grabbed a glass of water and held it to my lips. "Just a bit at a time" she whispered. I drank whilst leaning into Ahmed's arms, taking in Tina's beauty and grace. "See" Ahmed whispered, "you need us both."

After a few minutes my pair of nursemaids helped me to the bathroom and proceeded to undress me, help me into the shower and wash me. I still felt helpless, hurt, afraid of what I felt and I couldn't believe that they were both so generous as to do this for me, to be willing to share me. I tried to speak to them, to check if they were okay with this but one or the other stopped me with gentle kisses, whispering, "don't be afraid Josh, we're both here, we're going to be here together for you, we promise."

They massaged me with soap and washed my hair, then after they'd ensured I'd rinsed off they dried me and dressed me, all the time touching me with soft hands and warm lips. Then taking me by the hands they slowly led me out to the living room, to where their parents and my family waited.

Dad Gabriel gave me some scrambled eggs and orange juice and I stared at it stupidly, somehow I just didn't know what to do. Eventually I realised I was eating and looked and saw that Ahmed was feeding me as Tina cuddled me. I saw that their parents were worried and tried to pull away and take the spoon myself but they held me tight. "They're worried about you, not us" Ahmed said and Tina nodded. "Josh" she said, "a god came and spoke to us all. Stop panicking and let us do this, lord Apollo asked us to stop you choosing and we're going to do that. We're happy to share you, we're happy to care for you and our parents are happy to let us." She took the spoon from Ahmed and he cuddled me as she picked up some eggs. "Now are you going to eat or are we spoon-feeding you the rest?" she whispered with a slight giggle in her voice.

I took the spoon and smiled as I started to eat. Tina and Ahmed both cuddled me tightly. I looked at their parents, who were talking in low whispers to dad Gabriel and granddad James. Dad nodded and said, "thank you so much, I can't begin to tell you how grateful we are" and they stood up to leave.

Tina and Ahmed exchanged worried glances but Tina's mum calmed them, saying, "we're going to get you some overnight stuff and school uniforms, you're both staying here the rest of the week to help Josh stay calm. He needs you more than we do." Ahmed's dad nodded in agreement and said, "we'll be back in an hour at most" and they left the apartment quietly.

The bags were delivered and I discovered that it was supper time on Monday evening. Ahmed and Tina both gave me some homework sheets and helped me do it and at bedtime we all got into pyjamas.

We headed into my bedroom and I was surprised to find them both leading me to my bed. Yeah, it's a double but it hadn't occurred to me that they expected the three of us to sleep together. I must have started trembling for they both cuddled and kissed me. "We're only going to bed to sleep, Josh" Ahmed whispered. "We're not expecting to have sex or anything, we just want to hold you" Tina said gently.

I went back to school the next day with both of them hovering at my side. Some of the teachers raised their eyebrows but said nothing. Both of them almost absently played with my fingers and despite my fear of what we were getting ourselves into I found myself getting hard. But since we couldn't drag Tina into the boys toilets we did nothing until we got home.

Ahmed and I both had raging hard on's and Tina was squirming as we ran up the stairs. We were going to head straight for my bedroom but dad Gabriel stopped us. "Whoa, whoa, whoa" he said, holding his arms out. "You three have appointments at the GUM clinic, Josh to get his results from last week and Ahmed and Tina to get tested. Your parents have filled out consent forms, just drop your schoolbags here and get going."

"Damn, I forgot" I said, "but why are Ahmed and Tina getting tested?"

"'Cos if I'm not very much mistaken the three of you will very soon want to start bare-backing and you are absolutely not even thinking about it until you're each certain you're clean and Tina is on birth control" dad replied in a soft but stern voice.

The three of us blushed scarlet. "Dad!" I exclaimed, mortified he'd brought such a topic up. "It's important Joshua" he told me, "I know you're all only young but this is so important, you make a mistake now and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

We headed to the clinic -- dad stayed at home to look after my brothers so we were alone. "Your dad trusts us to go even though we're not with him?" Tina asked as we sat on the bus. I nodded. "Yeah, he knows we're responsible enough" I told her but that wasn't the real reason I wasn't disobeying -- dad Apollo was sat next to me -- invisible but sat next to me. "How you bearing up?" he asked me silently as we rode.

"Okay, I guess" I replied. "I'm still having difficulty believing this is real, it's like, too good to be true" I told him, then we had to abandon our conversation as Ahmed and Tina started talking about the football and the awful test that we'd been given in maths that day.

Ahmed and Tina both had a counselling session as this was their first visit. I'd been through this so many times it wasn't funny anymore and I loitered in the waiting room until they called me through. "Take a seat, Josh" the doctor smiled. "We've got your results here and they're all negative" he said and I let out the breath of air I'd been holding.

"Were you expecting a different result?" he asked me. I blushed. "Well, er, I kind of was given a blow job and didn't wear a condom and I was worried about it."

"Well that was incredibly foolish but it seems you've escaped any lasting consequences" he told me. "You're free to go, see you in a month" he smiled. I went to book my next test and follow-up and waited for Ahmed and Tina. They emerged with relief on their faces. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be" Tina said. "Wait until next week and you're expecting your results, that's the bad one" I replied.

"Are you okay?" Ahmed asked me with concern. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, all negative, thank goodness." They both grinned and cheered quietly. "Oh yeah, I was given a birth control injection too" Tina told us, smiling. "You don't need birth control for me, spartan sperm is sterile to humans" I pointed out. "Yeah but if any of Ahmed's ends up in the wrong place even by accident I'll need it, his won't be sterile" she countered. I couldn't argue with that logic so I didn't try.

We headed back but didn't end up playing any as the visit to the clinic had kind of put us off. Dad Gabe had already put our tea out and we ate and laughed with my brothers. After supper dad went to get his swords and opened the case on the kitchen table. "What are you doing, dad?" I asked him.

"Ensuring your friends can't tell our secrets" he said, lifting the swords out and holding them in a cross. "Ahmed, Tina, one at a time I'd like you to put your hand over the centre of my swords and say, "I swear never to reveal anything I learn about the identity of Joshua Gabrielson's parents."

I knew what was coming and I said, "dad, are you sure?" He just looked at me. Ahmed and Tina seemed a little nervous. "What's going on?" they asked.

"Joshua can't tell you anything until you swear. Please?" dad Gabe interrupted.

Both of them swore on the crossed swords and I could feel Apollo accepting their vow. "Now can you tell us what's going on?" Ahmed asked.

"Josh's other dad wants to come and say hello" dad Gabriel said. "You know, don't you, that Josh and his brothers and myself have been sworn to secrecy about the identity of my partner, my sons' other father?" They nodded. "We just thought you were like, divorced or something and he was embarrassed" Tina said. "I'm very much bonded and in love" my dad told her, smiling. "Spartan's don't ever divorce."

"Then why all the mystery?" Ahmed asked.

Dad Apollo had drifted in invisibly and before my astonished friend's eyes he slowly became visible. "What the?" Tina muttered. "I am Joshua's father" he said in his full-on, choral, I'm-a-deity voice. "I am Apollo."

They both stood there, dumbfounded, though neither of them passed out. "Dad, tone it down a bit, please" I said, mock-punching him. He chuckled in an ordinary, mortal voice and hugged me. "I am sorry about making you swear on crossed swords but my lover's and my son's lives could all be ruined if my identity was discovered. You are both bonded, somehow, to my eldest son so it was fitting that you knew."

"So if you're dad is Apollo" Ahmed mumbled. "Yeah, I'm a demigod" I replied. "You can't tell but me and my brothers are telepathic. That's about the only difference though."

I could hear Tina thinking, "this is bullshit" and I replied out loud, "it's not bullshit Tina, I really can read your mind."

"Oh my god" she muttered. Dad Apollo looked at her. "Yes?" he replied softly. She looked at him and gulped. "I didn't mean" she stuttered and he laughed. "Tina, relax" he grinned. "When I'm home I generally play mortal. I just couldn't bear not being able to hug my sons for the whole week that you're here. Joshua needs you but I'd like to think he needs me too."

"Thanks dad Apollo" I said, hugging him. My friends just stared. "He's my dad, guys, why can't I hug him?" They said nothing. "Ahmed, Tina, come on" dad Gabriel said, drawing them into a hug. Dad Apollo and I went and joined them and then, not wanting to be left out, Jon and Nattie came over too.

"You know, I was made inside daddy Apollo's filaments and Nattie was made inside daddy Gabriel's" Jon piped up. "People thing we're twins but we're not really, Nattie was born two days before me and then I fell out of daddy Apollo and joined him!" he giggled. "It's nice to be able to tell someone else" he confided.

Dad Apollo touched Ahmed and Tina's heads, kind of in a blessing, kind of ruffling their hair in a parental fashion. "You've made my little Joshua very happy, you know" he said. "He couldn't cope without both of you."

"So everything you said about wanting us to stop him choosing, that's still true?" Tina asked. Dad Apollo nodded. "If he tries to choose he'll end up killing himself or else going insane with grief. I didn't want to lose my son, he needs you both so much" he told them softly.

"Is it because he's not completely spartan?" Ahmed asked, "that he's bonded with both of us, I mean?"

"No, it's just chance, or luck or some such. That was the first thing I thought of but in his genetics he's completely, one hundred percent spartan" dad Apollo assured them, assured us all.

They relaxed and we sat and ate together, chicken casserole and strawberry pavlova. Dad Apollo had cooked it and served it to us as we laughed and talked together. That evening, we fell into bed and I loved feeling them cuddling me on both sides. "Your dad Apollo is actually really cool" Tina smiled. "And he's a great cook" Ahmed giggled, "that pavlova was amazing."

"I guessed you liked it, you did eat four slices, sweetie" I said to him.

"Call me that again" he asked.

"What?" I said.

"Sweetie. It's nice" he giggled.

"I've got both my sweeties with me" I giggled back, "I still can't get over how you both seem so okay with all of this."

Tina sighed softly. "Josh, you still don't get it do you? Your partner bond draws us both to you so strongly that we couldn't leave you if we tried. And we don't want to leave you, we don't want to leave each other, we need to be together, all three of us."

"Really?" I whispered, unsure, afraid again.

"Really" Ahmed replied and he and Tina practised their joint kissing again, each smooching on my cheeks then meeting my lips in a three-way liplock that had us all swapping spit and tongues with each other.

Ahmed was ahead of me with the condoms, rolling them first onto his own cock then onto mine. Tina had sliced a third into a sheet using a small pair of nail scissors, knowing I wouldn't even give her oral without a barrier. We ended up with Tina sat over my face and Ahmed sucking my cock as Tina sucked his, locked in a three-way sprawl of arms and legs and tangled sheets. As it was late we fell asleep after one orgasm apiece, cuddling closely to each other.

The rest of the week passed quietly. My friends stayed until Friday, when their parents came over for supper and took them home for the weekend. They also got more used to dad Apollo being around, or being visible at any rate and they both started taking advantage of my telepathy to talk to me in classes. We played a little each night, each of us both excited and nervous about Ahmed and Tina getting their test results on Monday.

During our playtime we discovered that Tina and Ahmed weren't really that enthusiastic about doing each other -- they preferred to wait for my attention than make each other cum. They also preferred to give me attention then have me do anything for them and most often one would smother me in kisses, nibbling my ear and playing with my nipples as the other gave me a killer blowjob. I knew I'd have to figure out a way to pleasure us all together but that was for the future, together they had me so horny I couldn't think and I reckon that was exactly how they liked it.

The weekend dragged but we skyped each other for a couple of hours and I also skyped my granddads and my uncles to tell them. Uncle George had the funniest reaction -- he slid off his chair as Greg started laughing. "You're bonded to two people and one of them's a girl?" he gasped. "And it's really your partner bond?"

"Yep" I smiled. "And better still, both of their parents are fine with it and they stayed all last week."

"Yeah but a girl?" uncle Greg said. "Uncle Greg you should see her, she's like, so gorgeous" I gushed, rolling my eyes and nearly swooning in front of them. He laughed some more. "Okay then my little hettie lover boy" he giggled, "I'll take your word for it."

Monday came around and we met at the school gates and hugged and kissed each other soundly. "God, I've missed you" Tina whispered. "Me too" Ahmed told me. "Don't you care that our friends can see us in a threesome?" I asked. In unison both said, "no" and giggled as I demonstrated a bit of my strength and picked them both up and twirled them around. They were still quite little, a lot littler than me even though we were the same age so that wasn't as difficult as it sounds.

"I love you so much, both of you" I whispered.

"You love me?" Ahmed asked. I nodded. "Having you together makes you just as lovable as Tina and Tina just as needed as you" I smiled. "Anyway, come on, we'll be late if we don't get a move on" and we headed to classes.

We bumped into Matt, Dan, Tim, Mike and Pete, the fifteen year olds who'd accosted me and offered `playtime' in the toilets on my first week. "Hey, the spartan's got himself a fan club" Dan drawled.

"Hey, the human hasn't" I retorted.

Dan glowered but Matt held him back. "I didn't think spartans liked girls but we all saw you kissing Tina, what's going on?" he asked in a suspiciously nice voice.

"It's none of your business" I told them.

"Oh yeah?" Mike drawled. "We might just make it our business, hey boys? We don't want a confirmed queer spoiling our ladies now do we?"

"Leave us alone!" Tina yelled.

"Come on guys, leave it, if a teacher comes past" Pete said reasonably and Mike shot, "what's it to you? You want a kid like him running after the lassies as well as the lads?"

"Stop it, why do you care if we're close enough friends to kiss each other?" Ahmed shouted, "you're just bullies, leave us alone!"

I looked at Tina and Ahmed. "Stay together and behind me" I thought at them using telepathy. I'd only done that a couple of times but they managed not to show any surprise on their face. They clung to each other's arms and edged backwards a little as I walked forwards and faced off the five bullies. "Leave us alone and go to your classes now" I said softly.

"Or what? You'll fight us?" Dan drawled.

"If I have to" I said, equally softly. I knew I was strong enough, I'd always been strong -- another gift from dad Apollo, I guess. Mike took a shot at me, drew back and let his fist fly but I grabbed it and bent his hand backwards, dislocating his wrist. His scream echoed down the corridor as Dan tried to kick me but I dodged and hit his nose, drawing blood. Matt tried to punch me just as Mike had done but I pushed him backwards and he fell to the floor, cracking his head on the wall and Tim, the only silent one of the bunch together with Pete both ran off, straight into Mr Charleson who'd come out, wondering what all the noise was about.

I turned and hugged and kissed Ahmed and Tina, ignoring the groaning and shouting and general noise and confusion behind me.

"Joshua Gabrielson, they said you attacked them, what on earth were you thinking of?" Mr Charleson asked me sternly, coming over and getting my attention. I pointed to the camera in the doorway. "It should all be on CCTV" I said softly, "they were bullying me and Tina and Ahmed, I acted in self defence. And I didn't swing first either."

"It wasn't just self defence, he defended us too" Ahmed said.

"I've never been so scared but he saved us" Tina added.

"It was, Mr Charleson" Tim then spoke, "Matt and Mike didn't like the fact that Josh seemed so happy and they wanted to push him around a bit. I didn't like the idea but went along with it `cos they're my mates, you know? Or they were. Josh is telling the truth, he acted purely in self defence."

"Be that as it may, your three friends are injured badly enough to have to go to hospital" Mr Charleson said, "and we cannot condone such violence even if it was self defence. Mr Gabrielson you are suspended for the rest of the week. Tim, Peter, Ahmed, Tina, please head to classes, Joshua please go to the headmaster's office."

"You can't forcibly separate a bonded spartan from his partner" I said softly. I hadn't meant to say it but it just came out of my mouth almost involuntarily. Mr Charleson snapped around and stared at me. "Who?" he asked.

I looked at Tina and Ahmed. They met my eyes, terrified. I was about to out the three of us and I gulped. "Er, this is really difficult Mr Charleson" I told him.

"Out with it boy, we all know the rules for bonded spartans, I need to know who else is suspended with you."

I reached into Tina and Ahmed's thoughts. "Can I?" I asked them and they both nodded and each took hold of one of my hands. "I'm bonded to Ahmed and to Tina, sir" I whispered softly.

"That's ridiculous, spartans only have one lifemate and Tina's female! Now stop trying to make me angry and go to the headmaster's office."

"Only if I can make a phone call first, sir" I said more forcefully.

"Who do you want to call, boy?" I asked. I smiled. "My lawyer" I answered. My smile grew teeth.

I had my granddad Mike's parliament office number in my mobile and I knew he was at the House of lords doing a speech that afternoon, he'd told me on skype over the weekend that he might be around for supper. His secretary answered after the third ring. "Lord Hill's chambers, his private secretary speaking, may I help you?" she said, smiling at me from the screen.

"Is my granddad available?" I asked her. "I'll just check" she said, "the screen will go blank for a moment" she told me. I waited a few seconds then my granddad Mike's face appeared. "What's up Josh?" he asked me.

"School wants to suspend me for fighting, granddad Mike but they're trying to separate me from Ahmed and Tina, they're claiming they can't both be my bonded partners."

"Shit" granddad said. It made me smile, hearing him swear like that. "I'll be there in twenty minutes, don't leave the premises!" he said and I could hear him shouting instructions to his secretary even as he pulled his coat on.

Mr Charleson gave up and marched all of us who were still standing to the small meeting room near the headmaster's office. Pete and Tim settled into the comfortable chairs and Ahmed, Tina and I cuddled together on the sofa. "You telling the truth about them two?" Tim asked me shortly. I gulped and nodded.

"How? That's like, so freaky," he grinned, smiling to show me that he didn't mean anything nasty by his remark and was genuinely curious. I shrugged. "How does the partner bond work in the first place?" I asked him. "I mean, psychologists have been studying it since my dad was a teenager and they haven't figured it out even yet. It's supposed to be some freaky thing that enables spartans to find the man that we're genetically compatible with but if that's all it was why would we love each other so much? Why does it prevent us from ever cheating, from ever loving anyone else, even after our eggs are used up and our sons born? No one can answer that. And no, before you ask, I don't know why I've bonded with Ahmed and Tina, I have no idea but I love them both. My dad Gabriel thinks that I'm probably hettie." Tim frowned and I explained, "heterosexual, it's rare but not unheard of in spartans but mostly only before we meet our male life partner. But somehow, even though I met Ahmed I still loved Tina and we ended up being bonded together."

My granddad Mike arrived within the twenty minutes like he'd said, a state limo dropping him off at the school gates. Barely a minute later, Ahmed's dad, Tina's mum, my dad Gabriel and my granddad James also descended on the school. The headmaster took one look at the crowd and we adjourned into the staff room so that we'd all fit.

"Right, what the blazes is going on?" he said, "Mr Charleson, if you wouldn't mind?"

Mr Charleson told about me fighting and showed a clip of CCTV footage of me being bullied and them trying to hit me and failing. He then explained that all three were in hospital being treated for their injuries and that he had suspended me for fighting, saying that even though I was provoked the type of violence I'd meted out couldn't be tolerated.

"And what's the problem?" the head master said, glaring at me, "suspension seems reasonable enough."

"Yes, sir" I spoke up, "and I'm not arguing about the suspension, it's just that he wanted to forcibly separate me from Tina and Ahmed and when I told him he couldn't because I'd bonded to both of them he told me I was being ridiculous and that was when I asked if I could call my lawyer and I rang my granddad Mike."

"Are you bonded to them both?" he asked me and I nodded. He looked at my granddad James. "Your holiness, is this possible?"

"Apollo says it is headmaster" he replied in his gentle voice. "And you" he turned to Tina and Ahmed's parents, "you know all about this and you're okay with it?"

They nodded. "It surprised us but when we saw how ill Josh had become, trying to choose between them and when we heard Apollo speak through his high priest we knew it all to be true" Mr Azad said. "It genuinely seems that Josh can't cope without them both" Tina's mum pointed out.

"Josh?" the head master asked, "you're in front of your high priest and the highest ranking spartan in the country. I know they're your grandparents but I know you would never lie to them. Your dad is here and the parents of your" he paused, "friends" he nodded at Tina and Ahmed. "So let me ask you straight and I need a straight answer, "are you bonded for life to both Tina and Ahmed?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes sir." I answered.

"And Ahmed? Are you bonded for life?"

"Yes sir, to Josh" he said.

"Not to Tina?" the headmaster asked and Ahmed shook his head. "No, just Josh. Josh links us." He held my hand tightly, squeezing it as we spoke and my arm snaked around his back, hugging him.

"And you, Tina?" he said finally, turning to the little girl.

She smiled and nodded shyly. "I am. I can't explain it, it's like the whole universe moved somehow and my only connection with it is with Josh. If he wasn't there" she shuddered and a tear leaked from her eye. And even though I had hold of Ahmed I leaned over and kissed her gently, pulling Ahmed with me. "Thanks guys" I whispered.

We sat back and looked at the circle of adults and at Tim and Pete. The headmaster sighed. "Have you registered yet?" he asked.

"No, they haven't" my granddad Mike said, "I'm investigating the due legal process of registering a bond to two people simultaneously. It would be wrong to legally register one half of Josh's partner bond and not the other. But there is precedent for recognising the non-separation rights of bonded spartans even without registration."

"Are you both willing to share Josh's punishment?" he asked Tina and Ahmed and they both nodded. "And your parents? Are they also willing to let you be punished for something you didn't do?"

He looked at them and the pair conferred in whispers before Mr Azad, Ahmed's dad, spoke. "Headmaster, the fight was about them being bonded together. Any one of them could have denied it and avoided both the fight and the aftermath but they chose to stay true to their love. Who are we to argue with such dedication? Yes, they will share Josh's punishment."

The headmaster nodded. "Very well, a one week suspension but I will be providing you with school work and I expect you to spend the days studying together, is that understood?"

"Yes sir" we said softly.

"If you could provide me with some web links I'll set up my study as a classroom" dad Gabriel offered, "and I'll ask a colleague to pop in each day and make sure they're studying" granddad Mike added.

The arrangements were made and Ahmed and Tina's parents also agreed that they could spend the nights with me too. Granddad Mike went back to the House and the three of us went with dad Gabriel and granddad James to the temple.

Ahmed's dad and Tina's mum brought suitcases around with clothes and dad Gabriel set up the web links and by lunchtime we were happily cuddling and studying together.

We actually got more done at home than we would at school since we could discuss things and go at our own pace. We spoke out loud and telepathically and the conversation merged so completely that it didn't matter which way we communicated. Later in the afternoon one of granddad Mike's secretaries came to see us. He checked our work and emailed the school to confirm he'd seen it and then it was half past four and time to head to the GUM clinic.

Tina and Ahmed were worried. They were both virgins and I knew dad Apollo would have told me if there was anything serious but they were still worried. It turned out, however, that their worries were completely unfounded and both were completely negative. "We should celebrate" Tina whispered. "Yeah!" Ahmed giggled.

"How?" I asked, grinning at them.

"Oh, I reckon we could think of something" Ahmed whispered right in my ear as Tina kissed me.

We had supper and pled tiredness, hoping that dad Gabriel would let us adjourn to my room. "Promise me one thing?" he asked after looking at us all sternly.

"What?"

"Try not to broadcast too much to your little brothers, they're only six, they don't need your sexploits in full technicolour if you can possibly help it" he grinned. We blushed in unison before scarpering to my room and locking the door.

Our clothes were lost in a rush of wandering hands and kisses. I went to open my drawer to get some condoms out but Tina said, "no, I'm on birth control now and we know we're all clean." I forced myself to pull away from the pair. "You sure?" I asked gently. "We're sure" they said together.

"We want to bare-back, Josh" Ahmed whispered in a slow, soft voice. "And we want to lose our virginity, Josh" Tina added in similarly slow, careful words. I gulped. "There's only one of me and two of you" I began and they giggled. "Don't worry, we'll take turns" Ahmed assured me as they pulled me onto what was rapidly becoming our bed. His words sounded suspiciously like a threat and I wasn't sure whether I should be randy or nervous.

Ahmed lay back in the middle of the bed and Tina knelt and leaned down to my crotch, kissing and slurping around my cock. Then she leaned to Ahmed, got him to hold his legs high in the air and kissed and rimmed his arse. Then she sat up and kissed us both on the lips. "Go on, Josh" she whispered, "I want you to fuck him."

"What do you want Ahmed?" I asked but Tina put her hand over his mouth. "No, you ask me what to do to Ahmed and ask him what to do to me" she said forcefully.

"Okay" I said, turned on by the game. "What should I do, Tina?" I said.

"Give me your hand" she said. I did and she licked a couple of my fingers. "Now push them in his arse and wiggle them around to stretch him." Ahmed said nothing.

The little tight pucker was so small but I patiently pushed my damp finger into the soft crack. He gasped a little but still said nothing. I got a second finger in and wiggled them around, widening the hole.

"That's enough, fuck him Josh" Tina said.

"It's not stretched enough" I protested.

"Then go slow" she instructed. "I want it to hurt, it'll be fun to see you work your cock into that tiny tight hot hole." All the time she kissed me and nibbled my ear and I was increasingly worked up. With a gasp I pushed the head of my cock through the tight sphincter muscle and Ahmed's eyes went wide. Tina put her hand over his mouth and he screamed into her palm, then started to pant.

"Wait a little Josh, let him get used to it" Tina whispered. I did, I couldn't bear the thought of hurting Ahmed even a little bit.

After a few minutes I pushed my cock deeper. Shit, it felt good! So hot and incredibly tight, it was amazing. It didn't take as long as I thought for me to be buried to the hilt and Ahmed had relaxed, Tina had removed her hand and the boy's eyes had glazed, he was panting softly and his cock was the hardest I had ever seen it.

"Fuck him Josh" Tina urged me and I did, slowly at first then faster and faster, pounding into the tiny hole. I came in an incredible rush, filling his bowels up with my cum, collapsing on top of him. After what must have been at least ten minutes' worth of recovery, I heard Ahmed speak. "Come on, Tina needs it now" he whispered.

"What should I do?" I asked him.

"Get off me first and then give her your cock in her mouth so she can wash it" he told me and I did. She licked it like a lollypop before letting it go with mischief in her eyes.

"Spread her legs and lick her pussy" Ahmed told me, still lay in post coital exhaustion next to where Tina had positioned herself. I did as he told me, aware that he had gotten hold of one of her legs and was holding her wide.

"Now fuck her Josh. Right in all the way all at once. She needs it to hurt too."

I took aim, adjusted my hips and aware that Ahmed had hold of her, fired myself in her to the hilt in one fast thrust. Ahmed already had his hand over her mouth and she did as he had, screamed into the warm palm covering her lips.

"Fuck her Josh" Ahmed urged me and gently, softly at first I began to thrust into her hot wet pussy, slapping my balls against her bum as I did. I came almost as quickly as I had with Ahmed and fell onto the bed, exhausted.

Tina wriggled from under me and she and Ahmed had a whispered conversation behind my back. I was that exhausted I couldn't move. They gently turned me over and began covering me in kisses. Ahmed licked Tina's juice from my cock and slurped the remaining cum away as Tina nibbled my ears and caressed my nipples, kissing me all over. Then they both went to work on my genitals, holding my legs up, one licking my bum as the other sucked my balls, then kissing the tops of my thighs, then both of them licked my cock up and down with their hot wet tongues. I came again in a fountain, spraying their faces and hair and my own chest with semen. They licked it up and then kept going, licking and sucking and caressing me. My protests were to no avail, when I shouted too loudly both of them lifted a hand up and covered my mouth, silencing me.

I came a fourth time in a huge fountain, exhausted, amazed that I still was able to produce semen after four such powerful orgasms. And still they didn't let up, pinning me with their bodies as they caressed me still further. The last thing I was aware of was a fifth spine-cracking orgasm before everything went black.

"Joshua, hey Josh" I heard a pair of giggling voices. Kisses covered my cheeks. "Oh, you're so beautiful covered in cum and kisses" someone giggled, Tina I think. "I can't believe he passed out on us, I was having so much fun" Ahmed whispered. I groaned. "What did you do to me?" I thought to them. My mouth wasn't working well enough for me to be able to speak out loud.

"We were playing with our lovely shiny unwrapped new toy and it went all limp on us" Ahmed giggled. His fingers travelled over my cock and I jumped. "No! No more!" I gasped, squirming away from his touches.

"Aw, you going to put our lovely new toy away so soon?" Tina asked me. "I know!" she said brightly, "why don't I sit on your face? You can scream your protests right into my pussy and Ahmed can play some more, then when he's had enough he'll gag you with his cock and I'll do the same."

"No, no" I gasped but I was still exhausted and couldn't stop them. Tina's dripping pussy was pressed into my face. "Now are you going to suck all your semen out of there?" she asked me, "please?" she whispered. I began to lick and felt Ahmed's hot breath on my cock. I groaned and thought, "no more" but they both knew I wasn't serious. This game was far too much fun. I felt myself getting hard as I began to drink Tina's sweet juices and taste her properly for the first time, then felt Ahmed's mouth begin to bob up and down, taking me almost into his throat.

Tina orgasmed as I sucked on her clitoris but she kept her place until Ahmed pulled off me and masturbated me to a sixth climax. And I still had semen in there, I was stunned as I felt it shower my belly and legs. Finally the pair swapped places and Tina gave me another blow job whilst Ahmed's still rock-hard penis was shoved into my mouth, gagging me once more. I sucked him to climax and felt him shudder as his first wet cum shot down my throat. It took my seventh a little longer to arrive but to give Ahmed his due, he kept me pinned and silent until Tina's ministrations got the required results. Only two small shots of cum finally confirmed my balls were empty and Tina and Ahmed fell on the bed either side of me. We were all covered in cum, all mine as well as sweat and saliva but none of us, least of all me, had any energy to go and get cleaned up.

We awoke at ten o'clock the next morning to dad Apollo's laughter. Luckily we'd pulled the duvet up so our genitals weren't visible but what we'd been up to was more than obvious. "You need a shower and you definitely need to change your bed sheets" he laughed. "I'll go and tell Gabriel you're just waking up" he said before ghosting away.

"Oh, I feel so drained" I moaned. Tina and Ahmed giggled in tandem. "That's because you are, silly" Ahmed whispered down one ear. They both started kissing me and I still had very little energy available to fight them off but in the end I said, "enough! We need to get showered and sort this room out and we've got school work to do."

"Oh, pooh, does that mean we can't play with our new toy some more?" Tina pouted. "It's such a nice new toy, please?" Ahmed begged.

I laughed, I couldn't help it. "You keep on and you'll break it" I gasped between my laughter. "Let my batteries recharge a little bit, please?"

We wrapped ourselves in the mucky sheets before scampering together down to the bathroom. We showered and cleaned up and I couldn't believe how far my cum had travelled, all three of us were coated in dried cum over our bodies and in our hair.

We dried up, went back to my room in towels and dressed, then remade my bed and cleaned all the semen off the carpet, headboard and wall using damp cloths, disinfectant and lots of laughter. It was nearly lunchtime when we finally made it to the kitchen, putting a load of laundry in on a hot wash before tucking into beans on toast for brunch.

"You finally managed to surface then?" dad Apollo asked us, appearing as we ate. "Surely all that semen decorating your room wasn't yours, Joshua?" he asked me. I blushed scarlet but managed to say, "Ahmed only had one wet orgasm and I swallowed the whole lot so yeah, the redecoration was all my doing." Ahmed and Tina both laughed and cuddled me. "It was such lovely redecoration, can we do it again tonight?" they purred.

"If you really want to but you must let your new toy recover a little," I purred back, kissing them both. Dad Apollo cleared his throat. "School work, the three of you, that's why you're here this week after all" he said. "Not to have nonstop rampant sex all the time."

We worked for the afternoon and surprisingly we were able to shift the backlog we'd missed from the morning and get ahead of ourselves for the afternoon lessons. We finished the assigned work on the net by three o'clock and decided to continue and study some more until dad Gabriel and my brothers arrived home. When they did my brothers immediately asked, "Joshie, what were you doing last night? We wanted to watch but you didn't broadcast and daddy Apollo stopped us from hearing you."

"I'll explain when you're older" dad Gabriel said, "I told you that in the car."

"Yeah I know but I wanted Joshie to tell us. Did you put your willy in their mouths?" Nattie asked, also giggling.

"I'm not even going to answer that!" I told him, blushing, but I couldn't help but remember some of the sensations. "You did!" both of the boys crowed in victory as they heard my memories. I tried to clear my mind but it was almost impossible. Luckily dad Apollo came to my rescue, throwing a blanket around my thoughts. "Leave your brother alone, you're too young" he told them softly.

Granddad Mike's secretary came to check our school work and we had supper, dad Apollo had grilled some steaks and we ate them with chips, followed by cheesecake for afters. Later we played on a couple of console games and Linda from school skyped us.

"Your mum told me you were at Josh's, Tina" she said after we'd answered and said hello. "Pete and Tim in year ten have been talking to everyone, they said you're all suspended and that you're some kind of threesome or something" she giggled.

"Well we are and we are" I said. She frowned. "We're suspended cos Josh was fighting and we're together in a threesome cos Josh's partner bond has somehow bonded us all" Ahmed explained.

"You're in love, the three of you? Pete and Tim were telling the truth?" she gasped. "Yep" we replied together. "It's all over the school" she said, "you're going to have hell when you get back, no one will give you a break at all" she warned. "Your only chance for an easy life is to deny it."

"We can't do that, Linda" I said, pulling Tina and Ahmed into a cuddle. "We're in love, we're bonded so closely we can't hide it, we can't pretend it's not real, we can't pretend even for a few hours at school. They're going to have to get used to it."

We chatted for a bit about school and our friends and football and said bye. Shortly after dad Gabe came in. "I heard what your friend said about school, we might have to do something about that" he said.

"What do you mean, dad Gabe?" I asked. He shrugged. "Let's see how you go when you get back to school next week, we won't anticipate anything, it might be fine" he said but he looked and felt worried.

We fell into our clean bed later that evening and were once again randy. Only this night I wanted us to do something as a three. "I want Ahmed to fuck me" I told them after we'd kissed and caressed each other for a while. He grinned and said, "you sure?" I nodded and continued, "only I want to fuck Tina at the same time."

"Like we'll make a Joshua sandwich" Tina giggled, "ooh, yes, lets."

She lay in the middle of the bed and I licked her to get her wet before penetrating her gently, softly. She squirmed as I angled my thrust and began to very gently fuck her, taking my time. Behind me, Ahmed was rimming me and managed to get a couple of fingers up my arse before I felt his cock knocking on my back door. I held myself still, firmly buried inside Tina as I felt Ahmed enter me. Shit, even though it was a slender twelve centimetres it was sore, it seemed like it was splitting me open! I began to groan but my pain was swallowed by Tina, kissing me deeply.

After what seemed like an age Ahmed was buried to the hilt inside me and I managed to get by breath back. Ahmed was kneeling behind us both and he whispered, "you okay Josh?" I was still lip-locked to Tina so I thought to him and her both, "I'm fine, I'm fine, start fucking me slowly Ahmed and let me continue to fuck Tina."

He began to pull back and as he did I followed him, withdrawing from Tina, then thrust deeply into her as Ahmed began his thrust back. Our rhythm joined and I pounded her as he pounded me and as our bodies joined I opened my telepathy and our minds joined too. My orgasm began to build and I could feel Tina and Ahmed's pressures mounting. We all ended up crashing together, orgasming simultaneously and it continued, wave after wave for as long as I bound our minds together in telepathic contact. In the end exhaustion overtook us all and I pushed myself to one side, aware that Tina was very little to have both Ahmed's and my weight crushing her. We fell down on the bed, gasping, cum leaking from my cock and my arse.

"Wow, what a workout!"I giggled after I'd gotten my breath. I reached my hands down and found Tina's clit and Ahmed's cock at the same time and both of them wriggled out of reach, squirming. "Aw, come on, you taking my toys off me so soon?" I pouted, still giggling.

I got to my knees and fell upon Ahmed, taking his cock to the root, cleaning his cum and my arse juices off it as I brought him to a squirming orgasm. Then I did the same to Tina, sucking my cum out of her pussy and licking her clitoris until she began to shudder and begged me to stop. They were both lying on their backs and I stayed on my front as I flung my arms across their chests, using my strength to hold them still whilst I fiddled with their very sensitive nipples. I pulled them closer together and knelt over them with one knee in between each of their legs, holding them still with my weight pinning their thighs to the bed. "You two had me for seven goes last night" I said. "And you've both fucked, which is two and I've given you oral which is four so I reckon I need to squeeze another three each out of you before we sleep."

"Josh!" Tina giggled, "I can't orgasm that much."

"Then you're in for a very long night aren't you?" I whispered, leaning over to suck one of her nipples and breasts deep into my mouth. I began working them both by hand, jacking Ahmed's cock as I flicked Tina's clitoris. They both came, bucking and Ahmed squirted a tiny drop of semen which dripped down his cock. I took it on one finger and rubbed it onto my tummy. He looked at me. "A first anointing" I giggled. "I think I'd like to be emergent." Ahmed and Tina laughed some more.

I next tried to give Ahmed oral but he was limp and exhausted and couldn't get it up no matter how I tried. I turned to Tina but she just lay limp and tired too. "You guys get tired too easy" I complained with a grin. I snuggled between them and they both rolled onto their sides and shuffled backwards a bit to accommodate me. After a few more giggles and some passionate kisses we all fell asleep.

The rest of the week passed pretty similarly, we had passionate sex at night and studied together during the day. We got a lot done and it was nice to be able to work in private rather than struggle through school. I actually felt a little jealous that my uncles Greg, George and David were old enough to remember the days when all spartans were home-schooled. Ahmed and Tina chose to go home and spend some time with their families on Friday and Saturday. I led worship on Saturday morning as a fully ordained priest and talked for a bit with granddad James about the schedule for the full moon the following Wednesday -- I was taking the third sacrifice, after my granddad and my dad. On Sunday afternoon Tina and Ahmed came back so we could go back to school together on Monday morning.

We knew there was going to be trouble from the moment we got off the tube near school. Some other kids from school were hanging around and as soon as they saw us they started laughing. "Hey, it's the threesome!" one shouted. "I'll pay to watch!" another hollered.

"Come on, ignore them, keep walking, we'll be fine when there are teachers around" I thought to Ahmed and Tina and we started half-walking, half running towards the school gates. The taunts continued the whole way, some ruder than others and we were all nearly in tears as we arrived in Miss Banks' classroom. We were early and no one else was there so we fell into each other's arms and hugged tightly. We didn't hear Miss Banks come up behind us.

"They giving you a hard time?" she said softly. She had a sympathetic smile on her face and we separated out of our hug but kept hold of each other's hands as I answered, "yeah, we kind of expected it a bit but they're awful."

"If you'd prefer to stay in my classroom rather than going out at break, that's fine" she offered and we nodded. "We'll see how it goes but thank you" I said to her.

The morning went well. The three of us stayed linked telepathically and chatted the whole time and whenever there were questions I read the teacher's mind and we each took it in turns to give a word-for-word perfect answer. We shared our ideas on the tests and enjoyed being joint top-of-the-class. Lunchtime came around and promised to be moderately horrible but we agreed we'd stick together no matter what.

The lunchtime staff stopped people harassing us in the dining room but when we'd outstayed our welcome at the table there were still fifteen minutes of lunch left. Ahmed said he wanted the toilet and we headed towards the boy's loos. Tina was going to wait near the door but at the last minute she became too scared and I stayed and held her whilst she cried and Ahmed went in for a wee.

It was only a matter of half a minute before we heard him scream. Ignoring the fact that it was the boy's toilets both Tina and I ran in as fast as we could and the scene that met our eyes was one of horror. Mike, the bully whose wrist I'd dislocated, had pinned Ahmed to the floor with his plaster-cast arm and had ripped his trousers and as we froze in a split second's worth of shock, he brutally pushed his cock in Ahmed's tiny, unprepared arse and began to rape him. "No!" I yelled and pushed him away with every ounce of strength that I had. He was knocked unconscious, banging his head on a sink but I didn't care, my panic was for Ahmed, trembling and bleeding on the floor.

Tina dragged her jumper off and tied it around his waist as I picked him up and cradled him. His trousers and underpants were ruined so Tina rustled through her bag and pulled out a small pair of girl's knickers. "I bring them in case I start my period in school and have to get changed. I know they're small and girly but they'll cover you up" she offered, in tears.

I helped him wriggle into the knickers and tied my jumper around Ahmed's waist too and cuddled him as he cried, then reached out and yelled, "dad Apollo, I need you!" in my loudest thought. He was there and absorbed the scene in an instant then began issuing instructions. "Tina, I want you to go straight to the headmasters office and get him to come here at once, tell him what's happened. You won't be alone, I'll come with you invisibly. I'll also tell Gabriel and he can phone both of your parents and the police and I'll stay here with Josh and Ahmed too" he said.

Tina ran off and in a matter of minutes was back with a wheezing headmaster and secretary at her side. They took one look at Ahmed's torn trousers and the makeshift clothing around his groin and at Mike, woozy and bleeding in the corner of the bathroom, his cock hanging loose and covered in blood and they went pale. "I've already called my dad, he's on his way with Ahmed and Tina's parents and the police" I told them. I didn't feel it important to explain quite how I'd called him. "Ahmed wants to press charges for rape, Tina and I both witnessed Mike's actions and there'll be traces of his DNA in Ahmed's anus" I continued. Ahmed cuddled me tightly and sobbed as I spoke.

"Oh my god" the headmaster trembled. I felt dad Apollo enter my head. "I am Apollo, I am here to help my youngest priest" he said in his choral echo. "Just speak to me as you would any other witness and I will use Joshua's voice to answer you."

"When I said oh my god I didn't mean" the teacher stuttered and Apollo nodded my head. "I know but I came anyway, my priest called out to me when he saw what was being done to one of his bonded partners."

I then used my voice myself. "Tina, come and hug us, I think Ahmed needs us both" I told her. She did and moments after the three of us embraced together the police and our parents arrived.

Mike was taken away in an ambulance handcuffed to an officer and Tina and I went with Ahmed in a second vehicle after we'd each given statements. Ahmed was finally calm enough to talk, with us two and his dad both holding him and he said that Mike had pushed him to the floor in a split second and he hadn't realised what was going on until his trousers were torn away, that's when he screamed and we came in to witness what was thankfully only a brief second's worth of rape but which was awful and brutal and sickening nevertheless.

In the hospital Ahmed was swabbed for DNA evidence, treated for bruises and given emergency doses of antibiotics in an effort to stem any infection. I hadn't yet had the courage to ask dad Apollo if Mike had been one of the boys in school who he'd told me was HIV positive so didn't mention anything. Ahmed's mum brought him some clean clothes and Tina and I carefully bathed and dressed him and the whole group of us went back to the temple -- Ahmed had already said he couldn't bear the thought of being apart from Tina and I so it looked like it would be yet a third week that we would share a bed.

After tears, hugs and kisses Ahmed and Tina's parents left and my dad Apollo became visible. As soon as I saw him I knew from his face the answer to the question I had dreaded asking. "No!" I gasped.

"What?" Tina asked me.

"I told Josh on his first day of school that there were three HIV positive boys in your school who weren't aware. Mike was one of the three" he told us.

"Has he passed it to Ahmed?" I asked as Tina and Ahmed both started to shake and cry either side of me. Dad Apollo shrugged but didn't answer.

"Dad, please? Is Ahmed going to test HIV positive?" And he burst into floods of tears as he nodded a gentle yes.

We cuddled, of course and cried buckets of tears. Ahmed tried to pull away but I said, "it's not catching in the air and saliva is too antiseptic, it kills it" and continued to hold him and kiss him. Tina slipped to his other side and cuddled up to him too, letting him feel our love.

"It's not the end of the world" dad Gabriel said after an hour or two of crying. "My brother, Josh's uncle Andrew, he's HIV positive and he has a partner and two sons who he carried himself. And if he can do that there's no reason why you three can't still be lovers."

Ahmed continued to cry and I began to feel a helpless rage build inside me. I don't know why but I wanted to be sure of what dad Apollo had told me and I reached inside Ahmed's body with my telepathy.

"What are you doing Josh?" dad Apollo asked me but I couldn't speak, couldn't answer him. The telepathy didn't seem to be working but it seemed as if I could just tweak it slightly.

There!

Suddenly a whole new level of things were visible to me and I could see the invaders already in Ahmed's bloodstream. "Josh, pull back now!" my dad Apollo's voice sounded loud and terrifying. "Don't do another thing, son, I beg you" he said, "you can't, you're supposed to be mortal!"

I let my telepathy fall away and looked at my dads. Both of them seemed horrified. "What? I just wanted to see the HIV for myself" I said.

"Don't you understand what you've just done?" dad Apollo said softly, in tears again. "You were on the verge of shedding your mortality Joshua."

"What?" I didn't understand.

"Josh, sweetheart" dad Gabriel said, falling onto me in an effort to hug me. "You almost followed your dad Apollo. You almost" he couldn't finish his sentence. I was still confused.

"Josh" Ahmed then spoke, sounding calmer than he had all day. "I think what your dads are trying to tell you is that you were about to make yourself into a god. You were about to become immortal."

I couldn't take it in. The room swam and everything went black.

"Has he rested enough, do you think?" I heard dad Gabriel speak through the darkness. It was the first thing that had penetrated my consciousness for some time.

"I think so, what he did was at his very limits, though" dad Apollo answered.

"Hey, Josh, can you hear us?" Tina whispered.

"Josh, I need you, come on, wake up" Ahmed begged.

"Come on Joshie, you're our big brother" Jon and Nattie's voices chorused together.

I opened my eyes groggily and took in the six of them. I realised I was in bed and it was dark outside. "We had to let you sleep or the shock and the efforts you've put yourself through would have made you pass out again" dad Gabriel told me when I'd realised the time.

They were all sat on my bed looking at me. My dads' eyes contained panic and my brothers', confusion. Tina and Ahmed looked at me with adoration and love. "I'm fine" I muttered.

"You came too close today to doing something there would be no turning back from" dad Apollo said to me. "Joshua, you're mortal, I beg you please, stay that way? Don't try and leave your mortality, the pain isn't worth it son, please" he whispered, a tear falling down his face.

"I don't understand dad" I said.

"Do you think I like seeing all those animals die to sustain me? Do you think I like having to draw life energy from my priests with every twirl of their swords? There's more than one reason why doing all seven presentations causes so much tiredness, son. Do you think I won't grieve when I watch Gabriel die and you and your brothers die and your children die and I remain changeless? Do you think I haven't grieved a million times before for lost loves and lost children? Do you know how much pain immortality brings, Joshua? And how much hunger? What would you eat, I bet that didn't even occur to you did it? Food is pointless, you need to be given energy. I take life energy, what would you take Joshua and who would worship you, who would give it to you? Yes, Josh, my son, my beloved son," he whispered, cradling my face between his warm, glowing hands, "you could heal Ahmed if you chose to become a healing deity and yes, you could so easily choose that and become divine but at what price?"

I looked at him stunned, afraid. "I could choose?"

"Yes and your brothers too" he told me, "but even in ancient Greece with its hundreds of demigods none ever made that choice, it is too terrible, too high a price. Nothing is worth the pain it brings."

I looked at Tina and Ahmed and at my family clustered around me. "You're wrong, dad. Love is worth it" I whispered, then I closed my eyes and did it.

I cut my mind from my body and absorbed the flesh into my consciousness without for a second thinking about how. I flung open the gates in my mind that so far only my telepathy had leaked out from. I pushed myself to the very edge of space and time then reformed as I had been, lying in my bed.

Dad Gabriel was crying and cuddling my grieving little brothers tightly. Ahmed and Tina were wailing on each other's shoulders. Only dad Apollo looked at me and for the first time when I saw him I truly understood him. "I'm sorry dad but I had no choice. Love compels me" I said and my voice sounded strange to me, choral. My room was lit brightly and I realised that I was glowing. And as Ahmed and Tina met my eyes, stunned, amazed and afraid I held my hands out to them. "Come, love me, let me love you, let me heal you" I told them.

They came to me, held me, cuddled me, kissed me, offered me all the love they had. I took the love and fed on it and used the energy they gave me to remove the invading virus in Ahmed's bloodstream. Ahmed shook and clung to me tightly and as I burned the virus away a spontaneous orgasm rippled through his body and he sprayed semen from his rock hard cock into his underwear, soaking himself. As he lay in my arms, gasping, I kissed him gently. "You're cured" I whispered.

"But what have you done to yourself to cure me?"

"Nothing I wouldn't willingly do a million times over, Ahmed" I whispered as all three of us cried. "I love you and for that I would do anything, literally anything."

Dad Apollo looked at me and smiled wryly. "So you're a lover, then? You never did take the easy path did you?" and he hugged me tightly. "I never wanted any of you to make this choice but if you had to do it, love is a good reason, perhaps the only good reason" he said.

I looked at dad Gabriel and sat up to see him better. Ahmed and Tina stayed lying down at my sides, their arms linked tightly around me. "Dad?" I said. I dropped my voice to a child's register and spoke as I had when I was five years old. "Daddy, look at me."

He looked up in shock and I smiled. "What are the tears for?" I smiled. "Jon, Nattie, come and give your big bro' a hug" and they looked at me, wide eyed. I tried to limit the light and make myself look more human and with a giggle they suddenly climbed on my bed and flung themselves at the three of us and kissed me soundly. "I don't like it when you're all glowy, it makes you look like you could burn us or something" Nattie said as I cuddled him. "I'd never do that Nattie, you're my brother" I assured him softly.

Dad Gabriel came over and took my hand. "Can you forgive me, dad?" I asked him silently into his mind.

"Oh, Joshua, of course I forgive you, you're my little boy, Josh" he replied. "And I love you so very much."

"I know dad, I can feel it" I told him, "and I know you're my dad and I know this is probably wrong but I need to ask, I'm hungry dad."

"Do you want me to cook you" he began, then stopped. "What do you need?" he asked in a low, slightly nervous voice.

I smiled. "If it's not too much trouble, I think a kiss would be sufficient" I whispered. He leaned in to me, leaned over Ahmed and Tina and Jon and Nattie all clustered around me. He kissed my forehead softly and as he did so I drank of his love. I discovered something wonderful as I drank, that love would never run out and would never run dry. I could never take all the love someone offered because love was limitless. As he kissed me Jon and Nattie did too and I felt their brotherly affection and drank it too and felt full and warm and comforted by their willingness to let me feed.

"Thank you" I whispered when they pulled away. "That's it?" he asked, surprised.

"That's it" I smiled back. "You all love me so very much, that was all I needed" I told them.

"We love you too Josh" Ahmed and Tina said to me, looking at me from where they still clung to my sides in a tight cuddle. "I know and I just pray you will never feel resentful when I ask you for your love again and again over the coming years" I said. "I'm going to need you both very much indeed" I told them.

"We know and that's fine" Tina said to me gently. "You saved Ahmed. For that we will both offer you every gram of love we possess and would do so a thousand times over, a million times over. We love you Joshua" she whispered.

"And I love you too" I said, feeling my own love building and then feeding me, a perpetual cycle that could adequately sustain me for as long as I had someone who loved me unconditionally and who I could love in the same measure.

I don't know how long we just lay together. Ahmed, Tina, Jon, Nattie and my dad Gabriel seemed to cling to me, cluster around me and slept, touching me, in a pile of love and limbs and sleeping bodies. I had no need of sleep as I had no need of food but the love they gave me was sufficient, in that moment, to fill me and I knew they would sustain me in the difficult months and years I had ahead. My dad Apollo had no need of sleep either and as the warrior he always was he stood guard over us, watching us carefully.

I looked at him and we exchanged smiles and then I could feel his love, a bright spark in an otherwise dark soul. "Dad?" I said to him silently. He looked at me and realised I'd felt and seen his love.

"I wondered when you'd ask" he said simply and ghosted forwards and kissed me on my forehead in the same manner as my dad Gabriel. I drank his love and knew I need not fear the future. My dad and I would sustain each other if we had to. I could sacrifice to him and he in turn could love me. As I thought this I broadcast it and he smiled. "You made a brave and fearless decision today son and I promise, for as long as I exist I will love you."

They all awoke slowly next morning, disentangling themselves from each other and stretching carefully. "Good morning" I said softly. The sunlight shone into my room making it easier to hide the glow. I'd tried overnight and found it wasn't as difficult as I'd first thought to make myself appear to still be mortal.

"Hey" dad Gabriel said first, stretching out and wriggling away from the headboard where he'd slept with my own head resting softly on his stomach. "We all ended up crashing in here, then? I hope you didn't mind."

"Why would I mind being surrounded with all the people I love?" I smiled. I looked at Jon and Nattie, lying on my right side, cuddling each other as they had since they were very small and I leaned over and kissed their foreheads. They giggled as they woke up. "Hi Joshie" they chorused.

Finally I looked at Ahmed and Tina, Tina curled under my left arm, Ahmed almost completely on top of me in a little foetal ball. I curled my fingers in their hair and they looked at me with sleepy eyes. "Morning, sweeties" I giggled.

"Morning lover" they smiled softly.

We slowly moved around, got up and dressed. Yes, I still dressed -- I'd decided to try and play mortal, for the moment at least. Dad Apollo had cooked and they all enjoyed porridge and apricot jam for breakfast. I ate too and enjoyed it but it did nothing for me. Just like breathing, I did it out of habit but it wasn't necessary anymore. And then Ahmed, Tina and I made our way to school.

They were both surprised that I came to school but like I said, "I'm still only eleven, I don't care who my parents are." They laughed and cuddled me as we rode the train and we were all smiles and lightness as we entered our classes.

The head teacher came to find us at break. "Are you okay, Ahmed? I'd expected you to take some time off school" he said. Ahmed smiled. "I'm fine, as long as I'm with Joshua everything is fine" he answered calmly as he snuggled into my arm.

The school gossips had done their work well and it seemed that everyone knew that Ahmed had been raped and that Mike was in prison for the attack. Matt, Dan, Tim and Pete came to find us at lunch and they all looked tearful and scared. "We never in a million years thought he'd do such a thing, we're sorry" they gushed to us, not caring that the whole canteen could hear them. "I forgive you" Ahmed said almost before they'd finished speaking. "It wasn't your doing anyway and as long as I have Josh and Tina, nothing can upset me" he said simply, holding my right hand as Tina gripped my left.

On the Wednesday Granddad James came to the temple for the full moon sacrifices. Dad Gabriel was a little surprised, I think, that I would still be Apollo's priest but I said, "why should that change, dad? He is still my father and he needs the sustenance. As he feeds me I must feed him." We didn't tell granddad what I'd become, I couldn't face trying to explain, I didn't know what to say, even if I'd had the time to sit down and have a conversation. I did the presentations and the third sacrifice of the evening as I'd promised Apollo, feeding him and even as I was performing I could feel his love feeding me, enabling me to have the energy to continue. Afterwards Tina and Ahmed came with me from the temple to the priest's showers and helped me to clean up. Dad Apollo later came and thanked me and fed me again with a kiss so that I did not go hungry. "I have eaten well tonight, thank you" he whispered as his lips touched my forehead, before I lay still, cradling Ahmed and Tina as they slept through the night.

It was Friday morning before a further round of gossip spread around the school. Mike had been given a routine HIV screening in hospital and of course it had come back positive. Luckily, before panic could spread too far the teachers held an assembly. "We would like to request that any student who has had any kind of intimacy, including kissing, oral sex or intercourse, with Michael Ashton please remain in the assembly hall. This is deadly serious and very urgent and I would urge you all to have understanding and compassion for any of your friends who stay behind."

Ahmed and I stayed, of course, along with Tina. Matt, Dan, Tim and Pete were also there and three other boys. We were ushered into the meeting room near the head's study and a young nurse with a kind face waited for us. "You've all had sexual activity with Mike?" she asked. We nodded except for Tina, who said, "I haven't but I am intimate with Joshua and Ahmed and Joshua has and Ahmed was raped by him." The nurse nodded back and said, "I'm sorry to tell you that Michael is HIV positive with a very infectious strain. We need to do urgent blood tests on each of you to see if he has passed the virus to you."

We all offered blood to the needle -- I had a moments panic, hoping my blood would appear normal but on inspecting it carefully I realised it was no different than any mortal's would be. I looked at the group of us and scanned the bodies of the boys who were sat there and to my grief realised that Matt and Dan had the virus. They were the three my father had told me of, Mike had obviously been raped by an HIV positive attacker and he in turn had raped his friends. Whether they thought it was rape was beside the point, if someone was HIV positive any unprotected sex was always rape in the eyes of the law.

As we walked back to classes I had a silent conference with Ahmed and Tina. "Matt and Dan are positive" I told them, "but I think I might be able to heal them, if only I had opportunity and explanation."

"Why don't you contact your uncle?" Tina asked me. "He's HIV positive isn't he, see if you can heal him first? If you can't then you can stay incognito but if he is healed then you can consider offering your skill to others." I thanked Tina for her wisdom and reached out to my dad Gabriel. "Dad, could you get uncle Andrew and uncle Henry to come to visit this weekend?" I asked him as soon as I had his attention. "Of course son but why?" he thought back to me. I let him feel me smile. "I'm going to try and heal him dad" I said and my dad's combined grief and joy hit me. "Oh, Joshua, really?" he gasped in the end, "you really think you could?"

"I don't know dad but uncle Andrew knows about dad Apollo and I'm sure he'd let me try" I replied. He agreed to get in touch with him and the three of us headed for our last class of the day before making our way home.

On Saturday morning I led worship as normal, Ahmed and Tina joining me in the temple and afterwards we sat and hugged, me, Ahmed, Tina, Jon, Nattie and both of my dads. I was still getting used to the whole needing-love-to-live business and struggled to keep my reserves topped up. They were loving and patient and understanding and helped me by loving me as only a wonderful family can. That afternoon uncle Andrew, uncle Henry and my cousins arrived and we greeted them with smiles and kisses. "What's up?" uncle Andrew asked as soon as we'd said our hellos.

"What do you mean, why couldn't I just want my brother to visit us?" dad Gabriel replied.

"I can tell something's up, you're all moving around Joshua like he's some sort of beacon or touch point or something" he said, perceptive as always. I reached into uncle Andrew's mind with telepathy. Just as he'd always known who both our dads were, he always knew we were telepathic so this didn't surprise him as much as it sounds. "How much does uncle Henry know about my parents, uncle Andy?" I asked.

He smiled and spoke out loud, drawing Henry, Drew and little Peter into a family hug. "I can't keep secrets from my family Joshua" he said, "they all know who your other father is."

"And you never said, not even you, Drew?" dad Gabriel said.

"Daddy Andy said it wasn't something we should talk about, he said people could be horrible to you all if we did" Drew explained, "and he said you would be upset if we talked too much about it so we had to pretend to forget, unless it was very important and you asked us."

"That should make things easier" I said softly, dropping my mortal voice and talking chorally. They all stared at me, suddenly afraid. I dropped the shell of flesh and blood and stood there glowing, divine. "I have chosen to follow my dad Apollo, uncle Andrew" I said quietly, "but I am a healing deity and I would try and cure you, if you'd permit it."

They all instinctively started to fall to their knees but I held them up. "I need love not worship. I need the love of my family and my lovers and the love of those who I would heal. Please don't kneel, if you must recognise me I'd appreciate a kiss." I toned the voice and glow down, dialled it back so that I appeared mortal again. "I'm still me, uncle Andrew, just I now take after dad Apollo instead of dad Gabriel" I smiled my old grin, hoping to relax him a little.

He was scared, I could tell but his fear was mixed with hope and expectation and amazement. Slowly he leaned over and kissed my cheek softly. "Nephew" he said and a tear fell from his eye. I felt love but it wasn't love for me, it was his love for his family and for my dad Gabriel. But it was love and I was family and as soon as he called me nephew a little of that love came my way and I drank it gratefully.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough and I didn't have sufficient reserves to heal him of my own strength. I pulled back. "There isn't enough love there, uncle Andy, or at least not enough directed my way. I'm not sure what I could use instead."

"Does it have to be love, Josh, or can it be something else? Like affection or gratitude or lust, even?" dad Apollo asked me silently into my mind. I thought about it. "I think it could be any of those things, as long as they're felt for me directly." Then I had an idea that might circumvent the problem and enable him to love me enough. "Dad Gabe, Jon, Nattie, can you stay with Drew and Peter for a bit?" I asked. "Tina, Ahmed and I need to get a bit of privacy with uncle Andrew and uncle Henry."

The five of us went to my bedroom. "How much do you want to be healed uncle Andrew?" I asked him bluntly.

"I'd give anything" he said simply.

"Anything?" I asked. "You know I'm divine, right? You're sure you could give anything?"

He nodded. "I've almost got full blown AIDS, Josh, I want to see Peter and Drew grow up. Yes, I'd give anything if you can help me do that."

"And you, uncle Henry? Do you also offer anything? Everything?" I asked, turning to him.

"With all my heart, yes" he replied, beginning to cry.

"What do you intend to do, Josh?" Tina asked me.

"I need to make my uncle Andrew feel for me what he feels for uncle Henry" I said. "Not permanently, not forever but just for a split second. That'd be enough, I think" I explained. I turned back to my uncles. "Uncle Andrew, I need you to undress and I need you to lie back on my bed and close your eyes and whatever you feel or hear, promise me not to open them until I say so, okay?"

He gulped but nodded. "Okay" he said.

"Tina, Ahmed and I will give you a bit of privacy. Uncle Henry, if you can calm him down, relax him, help him undress and perhaps kiss him a little and cuddle him?" I said. "Then when he's ready just stick your head around the door and we'll come back in."

They talked for a while after we left them alone. I could have listened but I didn't. Dad Gabriel saw us loitering outside my bedroom door but said nothing. After half an hour uncle Henry's head appeared and without speaking we followed him inside.

Tina and Ahmed stayed clothed but I undressed, then gave uncle Henry some telepathic instructions. "Do you remember our first night together?" he asked uncle Andrew. "When I first kissed you, when I first assured you I wasn't going to hurt either of us?" he began. His memory was very vivid and as he spoke he thought about what he did and as best as I could I began to recreate the images I saw him remembering.

"I kissed you on your nipples" he said as I kissed. Involuntarily they hardened and after I'd kissed my uncle I climbed onto the bed fully and lowered my naked body onto his, feeling his cock and my own begin to rub together and harden.

"I caressed your arms with gentle fingertips" he continued and I did the caressing as he held my weight, felt my entire body touching his. Both my uncles were crying but uncle Henry continued in a quiet voice, "and my lips met yours for the first time."

I leaned into his lips and gently at first, kissed my uncle. He resisted but my mental instructions to my uncle Henry made him relax.

"Cuddle me, Andy" he said. "Cuddle me and kiss me and don't be afraid" and uncle Andrew embraced me as his lover spoke and even through his tears I felt a spark of that deep-seated bond flow my way, flow towards me, the embracer, the kisser. I blew on that spark, magnified it into a fire and used it to burn the virus out of his blood and body and as I did he orgasmed in a huge rush of scalding hot semen that bathed me all over. I let my shape go, let myself burn with my uncle's seed and for the first time since he was eighteen he was clean and well. I gave my uncle Henry some more silent instructions and, still crying, he sat on the bed, leaned down and hugged his partner. I ghosted away from between them and left them lying together, kissing, making love, holding each other. "Come on" I said to Tina and Ahmed, "they need some privacy" and we left quietly.

"Is he healed?" Ahmed asked me softly, once we'd gotten out of the door. I nodded. "Yeah, he's healed. He doesn't quite believe it yet but he's perfectly well" I smiled. I was going to join my little brothers and cousins and realised my clothes were still in my room. Oh well, I thought as I span an outfit from my own light and went in to the lounge.

"Where's your uncles?" dad Gabriel asked me.

"Consoling each other" I replied. "I had to come between their partner bond for a second, it wasn't easy on either of them."

"You mean?" dad said, dumbfounded. "He's healed, dad. He managed to love me enough for a single second that I was able to heal him."

"Why did you need us there Josh?" Tina asked me a short while later. "You're my life partners, as I healed my uncle for that same second he loved me our bond was temporarily severed. I couldn't bear the thought of being physically away from you as well as emotionally" I told them as I pulled them both close. They kissed me. "I think it was more than that" Ahmed said after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"I think we were needed as your witnesses" he said. "I think you needed us there to anchor you with our love, to make you remember who you were, to remind you that what you were doing was religious as well as sensual. I think, Josh, you've already chosen us as" he paused.

"My priests" I finished his sentence with calm eyes. "I wasn't going to mention it yet but you're too clever for your own good" I grinned.

It was over an hour before my uncles emerged. They both seemed fresh, new and I knew they'd accepted the healing. Unprompted, unexpected, they came and cuddled me and kissed me on each cheek and their gratitude and affection filled me anew with living energy. "You did it!" Andrew laughed as he hugged me tightly, "you actually did it! Josh, I love you so much, I can't begin to explain what I'm feeling right now!" he continued.

"I can feel it" I smiled, kissing them both. "And you have my sincere apologies for having to come between your bond, it was as difficult for me as it was for you" I told them softly.

"Don't apologise, you've given me my life back!" uncle Andrew laughed but uncle Henry corrected him, "given us our lives back" he smiled.

They spent the evening with us, laughing as everyone else except me ate supper. "So you're really a god" little Drew asked me and I nodded. "But don't say anything to anyone about that unless I say you can, okay?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Why don't you eat supper?" he continued.

"I don't need to" I smiled, "but I can if it'd make you feel better." I leaned over to his plate and pinched one of his chips and ate it. "Hey that's my chip!" he giggled. "It's mine now" I teased him as I took a second.

Dad Apollo casually faded in and joined us at the table. I don't think my cousins or uncles noticed him to begin with but after a few minutes uncle Henry's eyes went wide. "Erm, there's someone else at the table who wasn't here a few minutes ago" he muttered. I laughed. "You already know all about the both of us, why can't both of my dads join us for supper?"

Henry gulped.

"You're already sitting at the table with one deity" dad Apollo smiled, nodding in my direction. "Surely one more makes no difference?"

Later we all headed down to the temple for the eight o'clock service. My uncles were surprised that I still worshipped but I told them the same thing I'd told my dad Gabriel, that just because I'd changed it didn't mean the way I worshipped my father had changed. I still wore my swords, still prayed as I always had, still offered my father worship and sustenance even as his love helped to sustain me.

I knelt and prayed with Ahmed and Tina at my sides and my uncles and the rest of my family ranged behind me, except for dad Gabriel who led prayers. Afterwards we all went to watch a film before talking together briefly. "I want to offer healing to others, dad" I said, "but I want all of my family to know first. Do you think you could get everyone together, your brothers and my granddads and cousins and everyone?"

"I'll help you" uncle Andrew nodded, "we'll get everyone here next Saturday, is that soon enough nephew?" I nodded, thanked him and smiled before everyone headed to bed. Of course I didn't sleep but Ahmed and Tina did and the love I felt for them, along with their love for me, sustained me and filled me and I felt comforted, satisfied, whole.

We spent Sunday as we always did, laughing and joking together as dad Apollo cooked breakfast, followed by a walk in Hyde Park. Later in the afternoon, damp from where we'd all been rained on, we hurried home, laughing. Everyone else dried off, I just span new clothes -- I'd rapidly begun to get used to using my light to clothe myself -- if nothing else it made it easier on the laundry.

"So what are we going to do about Matt and Dan when we get to school on Monday?" Tina asked as we finally began to relax. "I mean, we know you can heal them" she pointed out. "I'm going to leave it this week" I replied. "If I offer healing I want it to be for everyone and anyone but out of courtesy to my family they need to know first. It'll profoundly affect all of them after all, not least my dad and my brothers. Let's see how my relatives take it." They agreed and we looked at our homework before heading to bed. I wasn't omniscient or omnipresent or any of the other `omni's', I was simply a lover, a healer and a telepath. Dad Apollo thought the other things may come in time but it didn't bother me, in fact it made me feel more normal.

School went quite well that week. Matt and Dan weren't there on Tuesday or Wednesday but returned, red-eyed and nervous on the Thursday. Ahmed, Tina and I stayed together, touching each other all the time and I think everyone could tell we were hiding a secret but they were all polite enough not to ask. Tina's mum and Ahmed's parents brought more of their possessions around since they'd virtually moved in and though they still didn't know my secret they were happy for their children to remain with me at my house for the foreseeable future.

Saturday finally arrived and we'd had confirmation that all my relatives, great granddads, great uncles, first, second and third cousins however many times removed, everyone, were coming to the temple that afternoon. We'd reserved one of the big conference rooms and set it up with chairs for everyone and a small speaking area at the front, so no one could possibly miss what was going on.

I led worship and afterwards dad Apollo and I hugged my dad Gabriel. "You sure you want to do this?" dad Apollo asked him. "It's going to change your life forever my sweet, possibly ruin your life and the lives of all your sons" he asked for the dozenth time.

Dad Gabriel nodded. "Joshua's got an amazing skill. If he can heal Andy of full blown AIDS then there is nothing he can't heal. It would be unfair to keep that gift to ourselves, Apollo, if he can cure the incurable then who am I to deny him that chance?"

"Dad you need to be certain you can cope" I reminded him. "And you two" I said to my little brothers, "your life will never be the same, you'll have a harder time than daddy will `cos everyone will realise that you are able to make the same choice I did. I need to be certain you understand that." I probed their thoughts, read their mind, read my dad Gabriel's mind and I found their love and acceptance and willingness. "We're ready Joshie" Nathaniel grinned at me. "You need to do this, your power is too big to hide it."

Since they were part of my family Ahmed and Tina's parents were also going to be present. Ahmed and Tina had to be at my side if I began healing. I needed them, as Ahmed had so wisely noted, to anchor me.

Presently everyone began to arrive, very elderly and small children and every age in between. I had quite a large extended family and it was lovely to get everyone together. Many times my dad Gabriel was asked, "what's this about?" but he just answered the same to everyone, "wait until everyone's here and we'll explain.

Presently the room was full. All were there, all were curious. My dad Gabriel took a deep breath and took centre stage.

"Thank you for coming" he began. "Some of know what we are about to disclose, for most of you this is a complete secret. You're all aware that I've got three sons without an obvious partner. You all know that I've said many times that I couldn't tell you who my life partner was. Today that's going to change."

My granddads inhaled deeply and looked worried but dad Gabriel continued. "I first met my life partner when I was a toddler and I accepted that he was my life partner when I was thirteen years old. We live together, yes, we live together happily, equally, in love. Yet until now, for reasons you will soon learn, the dangers have been too great and the benefits too small for me to tell you who the other father of my sons is." He took another deep breath and looked at me.

"Why, you may ask, was it too dangerous before and it is safe now? It isn't safe, it isn't any less dangerous but one member of my family, one of my sons, has changed, has become" he paused, "let's just say he's become more like his other dad and less like me. And to enable him to freely live the life he has chosen we have decided as a family to share our biggest secret."

He smiled and I knew he was getting ready to tell. Dad Apollo walked invisibly over the stage and hugged dad Gabriel from behind. "Dads, granddads, uncles, brothers" he said, "I'd like you to meet my life partner. I'd like you to properly meet and greet and recognise the love of my life. I'd like you to meet Apollo."

There was a stunned pause as total silence filled the room. Then slowly my dad Apollo became visible, glowing golden, still hugging my dad Gabriel. He leaned down and kissed him and dad Gabe relaxed back into his arms and snuggled closer. Then before anyone could speak, dad Apollo spoke in his beautiful choral voice.

"I asked Gabriel and my sons to keep my identity a secret to prevent ridicule, to prevent people taking advantage of my children, to enable them to live a normal life" he began. "A normal life, a mortal life. Two of my sons are still mortal, are still spartan. But my eldest boy, Joshua, he has chosen a different path."

This was my cue and I got up from my chair and joined my dads, kissing them both. Then in front of my whole family, in front of Tina and Ahmed's parents, I dropped my mortal appearance and glowed like dad Apollo did. I spoke chorally as he could and said, "I made a choice to heal a loved one" I explained, "and in doing so I became divine. I have healed my uncle Andrew of HIV/AIDS and wish to offer my healing to others but I will not do so without the blessing of my family. That is why we called you together today. I need to ask your permission to share my divinity with the world."

There was a clamour. There was no other word for it but a panicked clamour of voices and thoughts and feelings and shock. "Please" I called and everyone fell silent. "Please, one at a time."

"Andy, you're healed?" my uncle David asked, stunned. He nodded. "Completely" he said. "I've even been for an anonymous blood test and I've got the results here" he continued, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket. "I didn't want to go to my own doctor, under my own name, not until Joshua gave me permission to do so. But yes, I'm clean, not only of AIDS but of any trace I've ever had HIV."

"How?" my granddad Mike asked, crying, falling to his knees in shock and relief. Uncle Andrew looked at me. "A kiss, I think" he replied softly.

Another voice rose up. "Gabriel, how could you!" It was my uncle Greg, the man whose previous Christian background had always made it difficult for him to accept Apollo's divinity.

"I love him Greg" my dad replied simply. "How could you marry my uncle George?"

"That's different" he protested and I could hear in his thoughts that he doubted Apollo was divine, doubted I was divine. In fact he thought we were the opposite, he thought we were some sort of demons from Christian mythology.

"Uncle Greg" I said to him, "dad Gabriel, stop." The room went quiet again. "Uncle Greg, if I was demonic would I really have healed uncle Andrew? You've known me since I was a baby, do you really believe that suddenly you don't know me at all?"

He drew himself up to his full height. "Get thee behind me Satan" he growled.

I smiled softly. I could feel my uncle George's pain, my cousins' confusion, my uncle Greg's fear. "Uncle Greg" I said, this time in a mortal voice, dialling back my glow, "has my dad Gabriel changed since this morning?"

He reluctantly shook his head.

"And have I changed from this morning?" I continued. His eyes flashed with fear and anger. "I do not know you!" he shouted.

"But you do" I corrected him. "You held me when I was barely a week old and asked my dad Gabriel how it was possible. You were there when we all went to Cornwall for a holiday when I was six and you taught me how to surf. You came when I was ordained a couple of weeks ago. How can you claim you don't know me?"

"But you were a boy then, you're a demon now!" he shouted, crying and shaking. My uncle George tried to hug him but he shook him free. I looked at my dads and also at Tina and Ahmed. "I can heal him if you will love me enough" I replied.

"Heal him of what?" uncle George asked.

"His fear" I replied simply. "His fear is paralysing him uncle George. If I don't heal him, he will kill himself attempting to kill or exorcise me."

One of my great uncles came over, my uncle Winston. He too had been a Christian but had embraced Apolline worship many years before. "I will kiss you Joshua, if it would help" he said in his gruff voice.

Greg had collapsed to the floor by this time, shrieking and crying and muttering odd prayers to the Christian God. Surrounded by my family I dropped my mortal appearance once more. I extended my arms and Tina and Ahmed came and hugged me on each side and kissed my cheeks. Then my dad Gabriel and dad Apollo took my left hand and kissed it and my uncle Winston took my right.

Uncle George helped Greg to get to his feet and I manoeuvred myself and my lovers closer. I leaned forwards and very gently placed a tender kiss on his lips. I drew the love of my family in and used it to heal uncle Greg and he trembled as an orgasm ripped through his body and I burned away his fear. Panting, sweating, with a soaked crotch and a blush flowering on his face his breathing slowed and he began to hug and kiss me. "Oh, Joshua, I'm sorry, my little Joshua" he mumbled as he cried. "Shh, it's fine" I assured him, releasing him into George's arms.

"How is this possible?" granddad James asked me. "When did it happen?"

"Almost two weeks ago now" I told him. He began counting on his fingers. "Then the last full moon services?" he gasped. I nodded. "Yes, I was already divine when I took my place in sacrificing to my father. He needs the life force to sustain him even as I need love to sustain me."

"Why didn't you tell me then?" he asked. I could see the hurt in his eyes. "Granddad James, I had ten minutes from coming in from school to moonrise. You were already at the altar. I'm not omnipresent, I'm not omniscient, I still need to go to school and then ride the tube home. I didn't have chance before and you were exhausted and bloody afterwards, you went almost straight to bed after you'd showered and you were still asleep when I left for school next morning. When could I have told you?"

He suddenly laughed. "You still need to go to school?" he asked incredulously. I nodded. "I'm only eleven granddad, of course I need to go to school." I smiled at him. "Do you think I still fit the definition of `people' or will they kick me out like they did spartans at the beginning of the imprisonments?"

Granddad Mike came over and squeezed me in a bear hug. "They can say whatever they bloody well like" he growled, "as long as they know they'll have me to answer to. I'll change the law single-handedly if I have to, to get you your education Josh" he smiled. I could feel his affection yet I wasn't rude enough to feed without asking. "Granddad Mike, may I feed please?"

He frowned and didn't understand. "Your love. I'm hungry granddad, please?"

"Of course Josh" he said, tears in his eyes, kissing me on the forehead as he hugged me all the tighter and I drank his affection down as I rested in his arms.

"It tickles" he smiled as I began. "You can feel me?" I asked and he nodded. I looked at Ahmed and Tina and my dads. "Can you feel it when I feed?" I asked them. They nodded too. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. "Sometimes I've fed and not asked you" I exclaimed, feeling guilty.

"Josh, you're my boy, you never need to ask" dad Gabriel said, hugging me along with granddad Mike. "You don't need to ask us either Joshie" Jon said and a chorus of "nor us, don't worry" rose from my family.

Ahmed's dad and Tina's mum came over at that point. "You fed from our children?" they asked. They seemed pretty upset, even a little angry. I pulled away and knelt at their feet, I think they were a little stunned but I bowed my head. "Yes" I answered, "and with your permission your children, Tina and Ahmed, will be my priests. I need them to anchor me and I need their love to feed me. I have no choice."

"Mum, please" Tina came over with tears in her eyes. "I love Joshua, I'll love him my entire life. You've already accepted our partner bond, mum, this is what it means." She turned to Ahmed's parents -- he was still silent, looking at them with hurt eyes. "You know that when Ahmed was raped he contracted HIV? He's the reason Josh chose to change himself, to heal Ahmed."

"Son? Is this true?" Mr Azad gasped. Ahmed nodded. "But I'm healthy now" he said and hugged me tightly. "Josh healed me and for my whole life I will stand at his side."

"You swear to us this is love? You're not just using them, are you?" Mrs Azad asked me and I replied, "I swear. I would never do anything so evil as use someone without their permission, without their will. I cannot feed unless people love me, if there is no love there is no food. Tina and Ahmed truly love me and I love them in return."

She looked at Tina's mum then at her husband, then at my two young priests. "I guess we'd better bring the rest of your things, then" she said softly.

"Mum?" Ahmed said, confused.

"You're moving in here, aren't you?" she asked. "You need to be together?"

"Oh mum!" he gasped, grinning from ear to ear, running over and hugging her tightly. "You really mean it? I can stay with Josh forever? Oh, mum, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, son" she replied with tears standing in her eyes.

"Everyone" I called and the conversations died back again. "I need your permission. I need to know you're all okay with me telling the world who and what I am. I need to know you'll support my dad Gabriel and my brothers and do all you can to help me and my dad Apollo protect them. I need to know you'll all keep your faith and continue to offer worship and sacrifice to my dad Apollo. I need to know you'll all willingly love me and I need to know you won't condemn me for feeding on that love. With your permission I would like to touch each of you, just once and read your mind and read your hearts so I can know what you truly think and feel."

My granddad James came to me and looked at me, tearfully. The whole family was silent and watching. Dad Apollo joined me and my granddad swallowed, as if suppressing his fear, then with a nod to my dad Apollo knelt at my feet. There were a few gasps but granddad spoke and everyone went quiet to listen.

"I am your grandfather and high priest of your father" he began, "and for the benefit of the rest of my family, let me say that I have known who my son Gabriel's life partner is since Gabe was thirteen. Yet I have continued to worship and sacrifice to Apollo as I have never questioned his divinity, never wondered for even a second about his worthiness, with all my heart I have always worshipped him. And now my grandson, my beautiful grandson Joshua, to you I also offer." He bowed his head to me solemnly, with honour and worship and love.

I touched his shoulder, helped him to his feet. "My father lives off the life energy he receives in sacrifice and off the worship of the faithful. I simply need love, grandfather. Do not kneel to me, do not offer worship to me, instead kiss me and offer your love. Whatever love you have, affectionate, honest love, offer that."

"Of course" he smiled, took my hand in his and like a prince in the old fairytales he brushed my knuckles with his lips.

I went around my family, one by one. Each person I kissed softly, either on their forehead or on an offered hand. And with each kiss I felt their acceptance of all I'd asked. From youngest to oldest there were few doubts, few fears. All were willing to worship my father and love me. All offered love willingly and freely and I fed.

The final three people were Tina's mum and Ahmed's parents. I approached them slowly and they watched as I stood first near Tina's mother. "You need my permission?" she asked. I nodded. "This will profoundly affect the rest of Tina's life, of course I need your permission" I smiled. I held my hand out and tentatively she placed hers in mine. I kissed her hand as my granddad had kissed me and though she was full of doubt, her love for her daughter was strong and she acknowledged that if she was to truly love Tina she had to respect her decision. I smiled my thanks and turned to Ahmed's parents.

"He really had HIV?" Mr Azad asked as he held his wife's hand tight and I nodded. "From Michael, his rapist" I said and the father winced. "It makes me feel sick, just thinking" he told me and without thinking I enfolded the couple in my arms, hugging them, acknowledging their pain. "I know" I whispered to him. "He is so precious to you and to me, our darling prince. I wouldn't have chosen this path for just any reason but love compelled me. I couldn't bear the thought of Ahmed suffering."

As I cuddled them I felt their change of heart, their acceptance of me as divine. "Look after him" Mrs Azad whispered. "Please, look after him Joshua."

"I will, I promise" I replied.

It was a long day for all the mortals. Though I didn't tire I could see my father, brothers and Tina and Ahmed were flagging after a few hours of conversation and questions. We managed to excuse ourselves and send our guests either to their homes or to hotels in time for supper, which dad Apollo had already prepared and my close family fell onto the feast gratefully.

We headed to bed early, Ahmed and Tina wanting to spend some intimate time with me after so many shocks, so much stress, so many nights spent cuddling and simply loving me. We began kissing and as they undressed I lost my clothes in a burst of light and allowed myself to lie naked between them. "Can we play, Joshua?" Tina whispered and I kissed her and giggled. "I hope so, your shiny new toy needs some attention" I said as I laughed.

They wouldn't hear of me pleasuring them, instead they both insisted that they would derive far more enjoyment from pleasuring me. Together they covered me in kisses and much to my delight I found that a certain involuntary muscle action was just as involuntary. That may sound odd to some boys but believe me, I hadn't looked forward to having to consciously give myself a hard on, it seemed a little seedy somehow but my fears were unfounded.

I throbbed harder than steel as they began to kiss me and with a sudden burst I came with a veritable fountain of semen. "Wow!" Tina gasped as it spurted high, far and wide. I shuddered with the orgasm, overwhelmed by the sensation of being full and having my appetite sated for the first time in a fortnight. "Josh, you okay?" Ahmed asked, kissing me.

"Fuck, yeah" I gasped and he giggled. "You enjoyed that then?"

"It filled me up, guys" I explained after a few moments. "Something about being brought to orgasm by you filled me up with all the energy I need."

"Well let's give you a second and see if we can give you a little extra to play with" Ahmed laughed as he started sucking me off and bringing me to a painful hardness and a second orgasm.

They sometimes took it in turns and sometimes played together but before they were tired I'd orgasmed eleven times. Something about a divine body meant that I didn't tire, nor did I run out of semen but came just as enjoyably every time. They finally collapsed in bed having had two orgasms apiece themselves, content and tired and once they were sleeping I slipped out from between them and cleaned up my room and changed my bed around their sleeping forms.

My dad Apollo came to talk to me later in the night as I sat and watched Ahmed and Tina sleeping. "You discovered a more satisfying food source then" he asked me silently. I shrugged. "I'm not sure it'd be so satisfying if it was just sex, dad" I replied. "There's something about sex with someone who loves me, it's a combination of the two that seems to fill me up." I smiled. "I hope this doesn't mean non-stop sex when I offer a healing ministry."

He raised his eyebrows and looked grieved. "Of course that's what it means, Josh, I thought you would have realised that" he said softly. "You had sex with your uncle, for crying out loud and all three of the healings you've attempted so far have triggered massive orgasms. Josh, you've chosen to be a lover and if you're going to heal a person, that's exactly what you'll have to be to them, their lover. Maybe just for a second but that seems to be the way your power leans. Joshua" he said, taking in my shock, "your uncle Greg hated you but he still orgasmed at the moment you healed him. And besides, to heal him you had to draw on the love of five people. To heal your uncle Andrew you only needed one person's lust, his, for you. Son, do the maths, please?"

I felt sick. "Then if I offer healing services" I began. I couldn't finish my thought. "When, not if, when you offer healing services Joshua, your heart is too big, too generous to keep your skills to yourself" my dad Apollo told me. "And yes, just as your friends accused my temple of being when you started school, your temple will end up being a brothel. You'll have to have sex with your clients and let them bring you to orgasm in order to have sufficient energy to heal them. Male and female, old and young, since your family cannot be with you all the time and Tina and Ahmed will end up being exhausted. Perhaps for small children you could use your family's love or your priest's sex but for consenting adults you're going to have to let them make love to you. And of course, as soon as you complete a healing, your clients will orgasm in response, no matter who they are."

I couldn't help it. I cried.

Dad Apollo told Tina and Ahmed when they woke up on Sunday morning -- I just couldn't get the words out. But their reaction surprised me. "We know" Tina said softly. "We thought everyone had realised that" Ahmed frowned.

"You don't mind? You aren't sickened or horrified?" I gasped.

"Joshua, we were there watching you and your uncle Andrew" Ahmed said simply. "We realised as soon as you said you both needed to be naked what the healing would involve."

"We saw the whole thing Josh" Tina said, "you gave both your uncles and Ahmed huge orgasms when you healed them and you nearly had sex with your uncle Andrew anyway, the way you ground your hips into his when you embraced each other. And besides which, if you expected Ahmed and I to have missed the huge hard on you had when we all left the room to give your uncle Andrew some privacy then I swear you must have thought we were blind." She smiled gently. "Have you been trying to lie to yourself?" she asked and through my tears I nodded.

"Oh, Joshua" Ahmed whispered, embracing me gently and suddenly everything was okay again.

Granddad James had asked the temple secretarial team to organise a press conference for the Sunday afternoon, in the same conference room as our family had met the day before. Despite his surprise he was supportive and keen to help me do as I'd asked, reveal my divinity and offer healing. He, granddad Mike, Uncle Andrew and his family and Uncle David and his family were all still with us, intending to support my dad Gabriel once the proverbial hit the fan. Tina and Ahmed's parents were also still there.

Soon, sooner than I'd liked or expected, we were sat in front of a sea of cameras and microphones and my granddad Mike began. "My family has had a very close relationship with our god Apollo for many years" he said, "you all know that I offered my life to him to help re-consecrate this temple and my partner, my youngest son and one of my grandsons are all priests. And I'm sure most of you are also aware that my youngest son has always been the source of some controversy and gossip since he has sons but no obvious life partner."

Everyone had fallen completely silent as he continued, "we wish to make two announcements today, the identity of my youngest son's life partner and also the true identity, the species if you will, of the three boys, my three wonderful, lovable grandsons, who were born as a result of their union."

Dad Gabriel smiled and got to his feet and behind him Apollo hugged him as he had when we'd told our family. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like, for the first time, to introduce my life partner and our god present in solid form, I'd like to introduce you to Apollo." My dad Apollo became visible and instead of making any speeches he simply turned dad Gabriel around, embraced him and kissed him.

Granddad James got to his feet and after bowing to Apollo went to the main microphone and began to speak. "My lord Apollo has loved Gabriel since he was a small boy. He speaks to us using his own voice but he cannot be heard by non-believers so he has asked me to speak for him. My three grandsons are demigods, half-gods and all have telepathy as a gift from their father, my lord Apollo."

Rubbish! Smoke and mirrors!" came a voice from the back of the room.

"And you are?"

"John Jones, with the Daily Mail" the reporter replied, "and I don't believe a word. What is all this? Some party trick, some costume or something?"

Granddad James went to reply but with a brief word, "no, leave it to me" from Apollo he knelt, bowed his head and remained silent. Some of the reporters obviously believed for they all gasped when they heard Apollo speak in his beautiful, terrifying choral voice. "I will touch the unbelieving reporter and convince him myself" he said and began to walk through the room.

With every step he took he glowed hotter until he was white hot and almost impossible to look at. He stood taller by a head and shoulders than everyone in the room. Then when he reached the argumentative John Jones he extended his hand and touched him with a single finger on his forehead.

"Oh, my" dad Apollo said, "to have so much anger buried inside must cripple you. Jehovah didn't take your mum from you Mr Jones, she died from breast cancer. No god would take someone's life without their permission, not even me."

The reporter had been rendered speechless. "Have faith, John" Apollo whispered and he fell to his knees, crying.

"I still don't believe it, he might be a plant" another reporter spoke up. Dad Apollo turned to her but I called out, "dad, don't, let me."

I stood up and walked over to her, aware all eyes were on me. "Your name is Patricia Woodcock, you are forty seven but you pretend to be thirty nine, you have a husband and a lover and you" I paused, "oh my, how many people have you consciously tried to pass HIV to, Patricia?"

"Lies, all lies" she gasped.

"You're HIV positive, you have been for what, seven years, since a former lover infected you. You tell your husband the pills you take are for weight loss but they're not, are they? They're your anti-virals."

"I'd never do such a thing" she screeched.

I bowed my head. "You have done it many times over" I said softly. All the time television cameras were filming the whole episode.

"How do you know all that?" another reporter asked me. "Is it because you're a demigod?" he asked. I smiled. "Partly, it's more to do with a choice I've made. My little brothers wouldn't be able to do everything I've just done, they're telepathic but not like me. They are both mortal and any medical tests would prove that they are, or at least live as, spartans."

"So why are you different, what's this choice you've made?" he asked me.

"I've become divine, like my dad" I replied, dropping the mortal shell and talking chorally as Apollo did.

Exactly as my family had, a clamour of voices rose to a cacophony in the room. "Silence!" I shouted and all stopped talking immediately.

"I'm eleven years old" I began, "and I've lived as a spartan for most of my life. I'm not omniscient or omnipresent but I am immortal and I am a healer. Two weeks ago I chose to become divine in order to heal a loved one of HIV. I am a healing deity and the main reason for this press conference today is to announce that I am willing to try and heal anyone who requests my help."

There were a few questions about my life, my brothers and my family and then granddad Mike stood up once more. "Now, please, ladies and gentlemen, we would like you to leave, the press conference is over, no further questions."

We made the headline news. Theologians and academics debated what my claim to divinity meant and the implications of Apollo living and having children with a mortal. Doctors debated how my offer of healing might work. As an aside, Patricia Woodcock was arrested for rape and actively passing HIV on to others. We sat together at home with my granddads and my uncles, all watching how our claims were reported.

At supper time we invited Tim Potts, the temple's chief of security as well as a priest, to come eat with us. Dad Apollo and dad Gabriel had cooked together and prepared a buffet table as there were far too many of us to sit down together. My granddads and uncles were all uncomfortable at seeing their god acting so much like an ordinary mortal man but we assured and comforted them by our easy acceptance of it.

Tim and his wife arrived but looked terrified and when I smiled and said hello to them Tim automatically fell to his knees. "Tim, stand up" I smiled, "I don't require worship, only love. We wanted you to come to supper with us to ask you about organising some security to accompany me, my brothers and my priests to school tomorrow."

"You have to go to school?" he blurted.

I grinned. "Course I do, I'm only eleven, Tim" I told him. "Tim, relax. Yeah, I'm divine but I've not gone mad or anything" I told him. "I'm still going to live with my dad and still going to go to school and still going to do normal eleven year old boy things." At that point, unfortunately for Tim, dad Apollo came out of the kitchen carrying a hot dish of filled potato skins. "Hello Timothy" he said, using the voice he normally reserved for speaking through his priests. Tim fell prostrate on the floor with his face on the carpet and he couldn't stop shaking.

Dad Apollo looked at dad Gabriel, who took the dish in oven-gloved hands over to the table. "Rise, Timothy and serve your god" he whispered to the terrified man, who slowly got to his feet, cowering away from my dad. "My sons and Joshua's priests all require security" he said, "and though I will be with them always I will, by necessity, remain invisible. I need five trustworthy people who will be a visible deterrent. Can you arrange something?"

"Of course, lord" he stuttered. "Excellent" dad Apollo smiled, talking in more mortal tones. "Now come, eat, all of you" he invited, "before it gets cold."

Dad Apollo and I didn't eat food of course. Dad Apollo told me that Tim's and granddad James' awe and fear were suitable, if meagre foodstuffs for him. I in turn drank my family and my priest's love. Tim noticed neither of us ate or drank from the buffet table and approached me nervously. "Erm, I'm sorry, I don't know how to address you" he mumbled. "How about Joshua?" I replied, "whatever you do, don't call me lord, that's my dad" I grinned at him.

"Joshua" he said nervously, "why aren't you eating?"

"I don't need to" I told him. "Like my dad, food isn't what sustains me. He needs worship and life. I need love and affection."

"Then you really are divine?" he asked. I could sense his curiosity and his wonder. He didn't mean any disrespect, he was just intensely curious. I dropped my mortal appearance and did the full-on glow and choral speaking. "Yeah, I really am divine" I smiled.

Presently I pulled on my skin again and we all went down to the temple for evening prayers. Dad Apollo filled the huge space with his presence as we knelt and prayed as granddad James led the service.

As we knelt Tim leaned over to me. "Joshua, how, I mean, why, do you worship? He's your dad."

"And my god, Tim" I whispered back. "And he needs worship to survive just as I need love and affection. He loves me. I worship him. It's a relationship of equals and of necessity."

We worshipped, Tim agreed to find us some security and after they ate a light supper I accompanied Tina and Ahmed back to our bedroom. "You've had a busy day Josh" Ahmed whispered as he kissed me.

"Lie back and let us cuddle you" Tina asked me. I helped the pair undress slowly, sensuously, kissing them and caressing their bare skin, then I lay naked on the bed, glowing with a soft golden light that provided gentle illumination in our otherwise dark bedroom. Slowly they both walked to me, knelt on the bed, one at my left and the other at my right. "Joshua you've said a few times you don't need worship" Tina said softly, "but I hope you don't refuse us permission this night."

"Tina?" I whispered, confused.

"For tonight let us be your priests" Ahmed whispered, "let us worship our god" he finished, bowing his head low at my side. Tina mirrored him, bowing to me and with uncharacteristic wisdom I knew I had to let them do this. I could feel their love but below it something else, a respect and honour that magnified their love and mine also.

I did not speak, words were unnecessary. Instead I lay still and quiet and permitted them first to kneel, then to slowly kiss me. Their kisses were less sex and more worship, less romance and more honour yet they were filled with a boundless love and as I drank their love I realised that my denial of worship had made me overlook a key aspect of worship, the love of worshippers for their god.

They continued to kiss me and as their kisses became more sensuous, moving to my most sensitive areas. And we did, in the end, make love and their actions brought me to such an intense orgasm that I fed well and fed fully and was more than ready to attend school the following day.

As we reached the temple lobby, in our school uniforms with bags on our shoulders, at eight o'clock the following morning, Tim was there waiting for us with five serious-looking, uniformed security guards. "Joshua" he said, bowing his head to me, "your guards, Leonard, William and Susan, a guard for each of you, along with a car graciously provided by your grandfather. Harvey and Hugo" he pointed to two other guards hovering further back, "are to guard your younger brothers."

"Thanks Tim" I smiled and went to the guards. "I would touch you if you'd permit" I said and reached my hand out to them. In turn each touched me and I read their hopes and dreams and their minds and knew them to be trustworthy. "Come, we'll be late for school if we don't hurry" I smiled and they followed us. Leonard was to be my security guard, William, Ahmed's and Susan, Tina's.

We headed straight for the headmaster's office when we got to school and with one look at us the secretary went ashen-faced and hurried in to tell him we were there. "Ah, please, come in" he said nervously and led the six of us into his office. "I wasn't sure if you'd be returning to school, Joshua" he began in a querulous voice.

"I'm not omniscient headmaster" I smiled, "I'm immortal and a healer but I'm still, what is it you call us, a `snotty nosed year seven'?" Ahmed and Tina giggled. "My priests and I need to learn as do eleven year olds of all sentient species. I hope you will permit me to attend your school?"

The head master blushed as I read his mind and used his own words to describe us, the youngest pupils in his school and though he was terrified inside he nevertheless managed to remain quite composed on the surface. "I checked the amendments to the education act myself" he confessed, "in the event that you did in fact return to school. It seems that your grandfather was quite careful in how he dictated the wording. If you'd permit" he pulled a piece of paper from his desk, "blah, blah, blah, all sentient species shall have equal right of access to all schools, colleges and places of education that fall within the jurisdiction of the government and her agents."

He put the sheet down. "So, though I never would dream of preventing you from learning, we cannot turn you away anyway. It is your right to learn here, should you wish. And your" he paused, "bodyguards?" he asked.

I nodded. "My parents both wished us to have a visible deterrent to prevent mischief" I said softly. He gulped. "Your parents, plural?" he asked. I smiled and nodded again.

"And is your noble father lord Apollo with you now?" he asked. Sheepishly I nodded a third time. "Lord Apollo," he whispered, his eyes filling with tears, "with all my strength I thank you for considering us worthy to teach your son and I hope you will not find us lacking."

"Your acceptance of him is assurance enough, thank you" dad's voice ghosted from his unseen form hovering in the corner of the room.

The bell rang at that moment, signifying five minutes to the start of lessons. "Then, children" the headmaster said, "let me get visitor passes for your guards and you can all head to your class. We will get permanent passes arranged by the end of the week." With the formalities out of the way the three of us headed through the corridors, only a couple of minutes late for Miss Banks' English class.

We clipped open the classroom door, my guard, Leonard, leading the way. "Yes?" Miss Banks said as she saw him. He nodded to her silently and after checking the room with darting eyes he stepped to the side and admitted Tina, Ahmed and me. The class gasped and started muttering. "Sorry we're late, Miss Banks" I said in what I hoped was a normal voice, "we had to stop at the office to get permission to come back and for our security guards to join us" I explained, casually walking to my desk. Leonard walked to the very back of the room and took up a security stance, Susan stood at the door and William must have waited in the corridor.

"Oh my" Miss Banks gasped, stunned.

"Miss Banks please?" I said. "What is today's lesson? Do you want us to continue with the comprehension exercises from last week?"

"What are you doing here, Joshua? I mean, oh my, what do I call you?"

"Joshua is fine" I smiled, "Or Mr Gabrielson if you're irritated with me." The class tittered. "And I'm here to learn, I still need to come to school Miss Banks, I'm only eleven after all."

"Oh my" she said again, then shook herself. "Class, please continue with the comprehension exercises beginning on page twenty two. Joshua" she inclined her head towards me, "if you would permit, I'd like a word?"

I went to her desk as my classmates got their books and pencils out. "Yes Miss Banks?" I asked her softly.

"You really expect me to be able to teach you?" she asked with fear in her eyes. I nodded. "Like I said to the headmaster, I'm not omniscient, I might be immortal and I can do some pretty amazing stuff but I'm not omniscient. And yeah, I am telepathic but that doesn't mean I know everything either. I just want to be able to have a normal childhood, that's all" I finished.

The week at school progressed in a similar fashion. My friends were awe struck and nervous and no one would talk to us at breaks or lunchtimes. The teachers were all surprised to see me and I had to give the `I'm not omniscient' speech quite a few times. But by Thursday things had begun to settle down and people had even gotten used to our guards lurking in the background whenever we were around.

Thursday lunchtime saw some of our classmates sit with us at the dinner table for the first time all week. "Joshua" Linda blushed, nodding to me.

"Hi Linda" I smiled at her. "You okay?"

"Erm, yes, thank you" she said nervously. "Linda, relax" I grinned. "I'm still me."

"So what you having for dinner?" she asked me, in the mode of making conversation. I just smiled pointedly. "I don't need to eat, remember?" I said. She blushed and stuttered. "Don't worry, Linda, it's nice that you've got the courage to come and talk to us, I was beginning to think we'd be ignored forever and that wouldn't be fair on Ahmed or Tina" I smiled.

"What've you got on your sarnies?" I asked and she smiled back. "Peanut butter" she said in a small voice.

"Smooth or crunchy?" Ahmed asked her. "Crunchy" she answered. Ahmed mock-frowned. "I prefer smooth" he said. I just nudged him and mock-whispered, "yeah, you like anything that's smooth and gooey don't you?" He laughed and blushed and mock-punched me. "Joshua, don't be rude!" he said loudly. Linda and Tina both joined in the laughter.

Her nervous conversation with me seemed to break the ice and the following day, Matt and Dan approached us as we stood in the yard after lunch. "Hi, Joshua" they said softly. "Hi guys" I replied. Leonard, William and Susan watched our exchange carefully. "How's things going?" I asked.

"They're working on a combination of anti-virals for us, we're not doing too bad and we're getting used to things" Dan said. "Mum's taking it really hard, though, she can't bear to hug me at the moment" he admitted and a tear leaked from his eye, a tear he rapidly wiped away with a tissue before carefully folding it and depositing it in the bin.

"You know I'm a healer, I healed my uncle of full blown AIDS and he's had it for years" I told them. "If your parents would bring you to the temple to stay with me this weekend I can try and heal you" I offered. Ahmed and Tina took my hands and squeezed them as I spoke.

They looked at me, shocked. "Think about it" I told them as the bell rang and we headed for classes.

"What are they going to do?" both Tina and Ahmed thought at me almost simultaneously. "They don't quite believe it but they're both going to persuade their parents to bring them to visit us. Dan thinks he'll only be able to get his dad to come long and Matt thinks only his mum will join him but they're both hoping to be there."

The rest of the school day and evening went pretty normally. I told dad Gabriel about my offer to heal Matt and Dan and warned him that they both may come the following day. "Do you know how you're going to do it?" dad asked me. "Probably similar to how I healed uncle Andrew" I replied, "only with both of them on my bed and the three of us" I indicated Ahmed and Tina, "helping to get them aroused enough that they feed me, then once I've fed I'll turn their arousal into healing and we'll probably all crash in one huge orgasm together."

Dad Gabriel laughed. "If you're planning orgies, me and your brothers are definitely going out tomorrow!" he told me. "We'll probably get your uncle David and uncle Luke to drive us to Manchester and we'll stay with them or your granddads for a bit. Get out of the limelight for a bit and give you some privacy, you know?"

"Will you be back on Monday?"

"Probably, or Sunday night" he smiled. I nodded. "That should give us enough time" I mused and he laughed. "You won't be able to keep it up that long" he taunted, meaning the energies to heal. I replied to his unintentional double entendre saying, "oh, but dad, I can stay up for ages, Ahmed and Tina will vouch for that."

"Joshua!" he exclaimed, blushing. My dad is actually really quite innocent and child-like and he gets easily embarrassed by people being rude or smutty. You wouldn't think so, being a temple priest, as he's seen almost everything a human body can possibly do but he blushes furiously whenever someone says something or something happens that lowers the tone too far.

We worshipped together in the temple that night and again the following morning. Dad, Nathaniel and Jonathan were leaving in a secure convoy with my uncles and cousins a little after ten o'clock so they were all packed but had time to worship before they departed. We'd just finished prayers and had reached the lobby when I saw Matt and Dan come up the steps, Matt holding his mum's hand tightly, Dan with his dad's hand on his shoulder.

"Hi guys" I smiled when I saw them. "You're very early."

"Not too early I hope, sir?" Dan's dad whispered nervously.

"Call me Joshua, please" I asked him, "and no, you're not too early, I was only making small talk." I turned to the reception desk. "Matt Davis with Mrs Davis and Dan Barker with Mr Barker are my guests. I don't know how long they'll be here, Matt and Dan could end up staying until tomorrow so don't worry if they don't sign out before the end of your shift."

"Of course Joshua" the guard smiled and they all signed in and the parents signed access and consent forms for their sons. I hugged dad Gabriel, Jon and Nattie as their car had just arrived. "Be good" I said to my brothers, "enjoy Manchester. And dad Gabe" I turned to him, "if things are more relaxed and easier up there, stay a few days. I know there's school but it might be easier on my brothers if they have a little peace and privacy."

"Okay" he smiled. "Have fun" he said, kissing me, meaning it genuinely, honestly, innocently. They left with security guards in tow and I showed my guests up to our apartment. We sat down and after I'd made drinks I began to explain what I intended to try. Yes, I was embarrassed but Matt and Dan were both under age. Tina and Ahmed were bonded to me which removed any need to consider the age of consent but for the two boys I was to attempt to heal, the not-under-sixteen rule was still very much in force. I didn't worry about it for minor stuff but I was likely going to have to involve them in something no less than a group orgy and I was definitely going to trigger a huge orgasm when I managed to heal them.

"Mrs Davis, Mr Barker, Matt, Dan, thank you for coming" I began. "The first thing I'm going to do is explain how my healing skills work and explain, as best as I can, what I imagine will happen when we start. I'll also be asking you, Mrs Davis and Mr Barker, to sign consent forms before I actually do anything. My dad and brothers have left to give us privacy and before we begin I'll also need you to leave. Matt, Dan, you've brought some overnight gear, toothbrushes and clean undies and stuff?" They both nodded nervously.

"Okay, I'm a healing deity" I began. "Yes, I'm divine and yes, at the moment I look and sound mortal but I'm only doing that so you listen to me instead of being awe struck. I'll drop the flesh in a bit and show my true form but for the moment you need to pay attention and you won't if you're just staring at me, okay?" The four gulped and whispered very quiet yeses.

"My healing works by using a powerful emotion that the person who needs to be healed, Matt or Dan, feels for me. I magnify the emotion as I receive it and I feed on it and then mirror it back and in the process I'll burn away the illness. It works for mental and physical illness and restores your body and mind back to how they should be. Now the difficult bit of the healing process is the emotion itself. It has to be based on love, like affection or desire or lust and it has to be felt directly for me."

I paused and let my words sink in. Reading the minds of my four listeners I realised they didn't really understand what I was saying so I reiterated, "in order for me to heal Matt and Dan I need to help them either love me, or desire me, or feel lust towards me. Before I can heal them we will almost certainly end up doing something very similar to sex. And then when I do trigger the healing event itself it will definitely cause massive orgasmic feelings throughout your whole body and you will cum all over yourselves and all over me."

If they were uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to how uncomfortable Matt and Dan were now. If they blushed any harder their clothes would spontaneously combust from the heat their bodies produced. "You're going to have sex with our sons?" Mr Barker managed to squeak out after an agonised few minutes of gasping for breath.

I shook my head. "Not precisely, I'm going to help your sons feel an emotion towards me that I can feed off, that's all. The orgasm isn't technically sex either, it's the after-effect of my healing. The whole process might feel and look like sex but that's not the reason or the intention."

"And you need our permission?" Mrs Davis asked. I nodded. "The law is very clear on sexual activity with minors. I know I'm only eleven but I'm a bonded spartan so the age of consent doesn't apply to me or Ahmed or Tina either for the same reason but it does to Matt and Dan. I need you to sign consent forms to show that you are aware of the sexual nature of my healing skills and you permit me to have sexual contact with your sons in order to try and bring about their healing."

"Don't we get a say?" Matt interrupted.

"Of course" I replied. "I would never, ever force anyone into a sexual situation, with all of my being I promise you both that. If this becomes too much, if at any point you want to back out, if your mind recoils in fear and disgust and you cannot cope with the contact then I will stop. But I'd like your parents consent so that, if nothing else, we can try, we can begin." I paused and for the first time that morning dropped my mortal shell. I glowed with a golden light, though I moderated the intensity of the light and I spoke chorally. "Please, let me try and heal you?" I asked them gently.

After a few minutes of embarrassed, agonised silence both parents took up the documents that our law firm had drafted for me and carefully signed them both. They got to their feet. "You promise they won't be hurt?" Mrs Davis asked, tears in her eyes. "I promise" I spoke chorally again, "with all of my heart, with everything I am, they will not be injured in any way by my actions" I assured them both. After kissing and hugging their sons tightly they made their way out of the apartment and after waving goodbye I shut the door and turned back to my priests and guests sat nervously together in the living room.

I could feel the tension in the air. Ahmed and Tina were better than Matt and Dan but they too didn't really know how today was going to go. "Okay" I announced in my mortal voice, standing in front of them and carefully absorbing my clothes back into my light and toning down my glow so that I stood bare naked and on show in front of them. "We're not going to do anything sexual yet, you're all too stressed but I do want you all to get naked. We're going to have some snacks and play some computer games and try and relax together but I want you all to be naked, please, just to get used to the sight of each other's bodies."

The clothes were lost in a surprisingly short space of time and for a good couple of hours we just played games and nattered together. I made them some lunch of toasted cheese sandwiches and glasses of pop which we ate whilst still on the computer, then I spoke to Tina and Ahmed telepathically. "In a minute I'm going to stand up. I want you to silently stand up with me and then look at Dan and Matt. Let me speak if they ask anything and when they stand up too I'm going to lead you all into my bedroom, okay?"

They both nodded their affirmative and presently our game began. I got to my feet and Tina and Ahmed put down their console controllers and copied me. The three of us looked at Dan and Matt and their tension levels rose but they didn't speak either, they just stood and somewhat nervously followed us into my bedroom.

Matt opened his mouth to say something but before he could speak, I was there with a finger on his lips. "Shh" I said, "you don't need to speak for me to hear you. From this point onwards, no words, please? Let me speak only. If things get too much I'll hear your protests in your thoughts and I'll back off. But words and questions are unnecessary, the only question you need ask is one to yourselves, do you want to be healed. If your answer is yes then leave your fears behind and lie with us" I invited the pair with extended hands.

They slowly, cautiously took my hands and together with Tina and Ahmed, who were behind me, the five of us sat on my bed. It was a good job none of us were fully grown adults, there wouldn't have been room but as we were only children and teenagers we were going to fit pretty well.

I spoke to Ahmed and Tina telepathically. "Gently start to touch me, just with one hand, on my arms or shoulders or something, like you're beginning a massage" I asked. They did, with gentle fingers exploring my skin. I still had hold of Matt and Dan's hands and I slowly pulled their hands towards my torso, encouraging them without words to begin to do what Ahmed and Tina did.

Soon I had four hands exploring me, tickling me. Dan and Matt were still very nervous but I could tell that they were trying to relax. "Deep breaths" I whispered to them. "Don't force it, just breathe deeply and explore me with your fingertips."

I then spoke to Tina and Ahmed telepathically. "I'm going to lie down in a minute, when I do I'd like you to scoot round from behind me and then get behind Matt and Dan and give them a shoulder massage to help them loose some of their tenseness. Is that okay?"

They both answered to the affirmative so I slowly began to lie down. Matt and Dan kept touching me but my movement placed their hands very close to my crotch and I could feel the tension rise again. Tina and Ahmed did as I'd asked and began to massage and squeeze their shoulders. "Relax" I said softly. "Close your eyes and relax and when you're ready I'd like you to lie down next to me, one on either side and let me cuddle you."

It took Matt ten minutes to make a move and lie down and on hearing him rustle the bedclothes Dan peeked through half closed eyes and then copied him. "If it's okay, for the moment just kneel at the end of the bed and watch" I asked Ahmed and Tina silently, "or else put a teeshirt or dressing gown on if you're cold and just sit on the floor nearby but don't leave the room, I don't think I could cope if you did."

As I spoke I lifted my arms up and cradled the two boys, letting them rest their heads on my shoulders and relax into me as I cuddled them. My duvet had been bundled to the bottom of the bed that morning when we got up and I looked at Ahmed and thought over to him, "could you cover us up with the duvet please?" He smiled and nodded and with Tina's help we were covered. Matt and Dan both seemed a little uncomfortable but I soothed their fears. "We're not going to do anything yet" I said, "you're both too afraid, I've got nothing I can work with yet. Just relax and sleep and imagine you're cuddling someone you love. Do you remember your parents giving you a cuddle as you slept when you were very little? Just think of that and let me hold you."

Within a couple of hours they were both feeling a little better, not quite asleep but not really awake either, dozing gently at my sides. I could feel that some of their tension was slipping away and their hands were relaxed and weighed heavily on my stomach rather than being held there by tense shoulders. I could read in their minds that they were comforted by having someone to cuddle and I realised that suggesting they remember their parent's hugs was a good move. It seemed that since their diagnosis neither of them had been hugged much and were both starved of skin on skin contact.

Tina and Ahmed were sat on my bedroom floor. Both had teeshirts, their dressing gowns and slippers on, had found books and were reading quietly. They were ready to help me should I ask, both within easy reach, within eye and thought-contact but neither actually involved. This was as it should be. They were my witnesses and my anchors but as it was with my uncle Andrew, they only had to see, not take part.

As Matt, Dan and I lay together I began to gently whisper to them. "What did it feel like when someone cuddled you? Have you ever just cuddled someone as you slept? What did that feel like? Imagine and remember now" I asked and slowly, first from Dan but with Matt not far behind, I could feel something coming from them, an emotion. Affection. I smiled and gently began drinking it in. "What's that?" Dan whispered, the first thing he'd said.

"I'm drinking your affection" I smiled. "Does it tickle?" He grinned sheepishly and nodded. "You're both filling me up, between you I'll have enough energy to heal you soon."

"Take your time, I can't remember the last time someone let me just hug them like this" Matt whispered sleepily now that the prohibition on talking had been broken.

I drank for three quarters of an hour and as I did the affection began to change and slowly they both became aroused. I think it was the expanse of naked flesh they were both touching that did it, that and they were both feeling very affectionate. I took a risk and leaned first to Dan and then to Matt and kissed them on their foreheads. "That's nice, thank you" I told them.

I began to move my hands and weave my fingers across their backs as I kissed them some more on their foreheads and the tops of their heads. Dan was the first to move this time, turning over, remaining on the same spot but suddenly facing me on his hands and knees and without any warning he reached up, touched my cheek and kissed me on my lips. Matt moved and watched his friend and me smooching and when Dan pulled back he did the same thing.

I had freer movement in my arms and I began to stroke their chests and audaciously I rubbed their nipples. Both boys gasped as I fondled them and their lust grew stronger.

"I'm going to heal you now" I told the two aroused boys. "Are you ready?" Both nodded and I released their energies back into them, burning the virus out of their bloodstreams in a few spare seconds. As I did their erections shot semen all over me and the bed and they collapsed to their stomachs, exhausted by the strength of their orgasm. Presently they both began kissing and fondling me. "God, that was amazing" Dan breathed between kisses.

"You're both healed, you can stop if you want" I told them.

"No chance" Matt said, his hands running up and down my torso, his tongue playing with my nipple. Their hands reached my cock almost simultaneously and they began to wank me to orgasm. I came in a rush of hot semen and then Tina and Ahmed were there, pulling the duvet away, pulling me from between the boys, cuddling me as we renewed our bond once more.

Matt and Dan seemed bereft when I slipped from between them and I turned and smiled at them. "You've got each other, enjoy yourselves" I said softly as I leaned into Ahmed's embrace. "But, but" Dan stuttered. I went back and hugged them both, this time with Tina and Ahmed at my back. "You've got a lot of affection there, it needs to go somewhere. Why don't you share it with the person who shared your healing?"

"But that's gay, it's wrong" one pleaded. "Only as wrong as me being hettie" I replied, pulling Tina closer, "just relax and enjoy it. Or sleep and cuddle. There's nothing wrong with being affectionate, that's what healed you after all" I smiled, then I took Tina and Ahmed by the hands and we got off the bed.

Again Matt and Dan looked afraid but I leaned down and kissed them both. "We're going to give you some privacy. If you don't come out for supper we'll see you in the morning. Pleasant dreams" I smiled and the three of us let ourselves out quietly.

"Are they healed?" Tina asked me.

I nodded. "Yes and they're very horny, I had to come out or else they wouldn't have left me alone. They'll be fine together, I'm sure."

"Did you plan it that way?" Ahmed asked. "No" I replied, "it just seemed right. They both need someone to cuddle right now, someone to share their happiness with and it can't be me or else our bond would be damaged too much. Anyway" I finished, "I think we've got a little unfinished business ourselves" I grinned.

I led them to the settee and we continued to caress and kiss. As we did I let my mind reach back and realised that Matt and Dan had indeed taken my advice and were cuddled closely together, kissing each other gently. I returned my thoughts to my lovers at that point and lost myself in the heights of arousal as we made gentle love together.

I cooked supper for my priests and eventually Tina and Ahmed became too sleepy to keep their eyes open. With my bed still being occupied by a pair of very enthusiastic young lovers I carried my priests to my dad Gabriel's bed and tucked them in before sitting with them and watching them sleep. It was gone eight the next morning when they stirred and Matt and Dan were still fast asleep. After we'd exchanged some `good mornings' and more than a few hugs and kisses I said, "I'm going to wake our guests up in a few moments so we can all go to worship."

"Are they still asleep?" Ahmed laughed. I nodded. "But apart from the time they spent dozing with me they didn't actually get a lot of sleep. In fact, I think it was about three this morning when they finally nodded off."

Presently we were up, I'd fastened my swords on and pulled an illusory dressing gown over my shoulders. I woke Matt and Dan by reaching into their minds telepathically and calling their names. "Joshua, where are you?" I heard Matt say.

"Outside the bedroom door, it's morning, I wanted you to come down to the temple and worship with us."

"Give us a second, we need to get dressed" Dan shouted. "Don't bother" I replied, "you'll only have to strip again. There are two spare dressing gowns on the back of my door, just put those on, you can get dressed when you come back upstairs for breakfast in a bit."

They sheepishly emerged and it was obvious from their body language if nothing else that they were feeling very loving towards each other. "Have a good night?" I asked them and they blushed cutely. "Thank you, thank you" Dan gushed, grinning at Matt. "You helped us find each other" Matt said, meeting Dan's eyes. "It's been wonderful!"

We went to temple and my friends took swords and we prayed before returning to the apartment. Dad Apollo wasn't there but he obviously had been because a big pan of steaming hot porridge was on the cooker. "Who made this?" Matt asked as we sat down to breakfast. "My dad Apollo" I answered.

"Is he here?" Dan asked nervously. I shook my head. "No, not at the moment, he doesn't want to scare you I don't think." The four mortals tucked in to the hot breakfast and when they were finished I said, "right, showers. Who's first?"

Dan and Matt looked at each other and giggled and after reading their minds I continued, "we probably need to be quite quick so we'll share. You two first" I nodded at them, "and Tina, me and Ahmed second."

They quickly agreed and almost ran to the bathroom and I couldn't help but giggle. "Oh my" I laughed to Ahmed and Tina as we cuddled, "I didn't intend for them to fall in love but it seems they've fallen head over heels for each other" I told them. They both smiled. "Just like we fell for you" Tina said, kissing me.

They emerged, squeaky clean and giggling, an hour or so later, dressed somewhat reluctantly and telephoned their parents. Matt's mum, Mrs Davis and Dan's dad, Mr Barker, arrived about forty minutes after they'd been called and both looked nervous when they were showed in but their nerves quickly faded after they saw how happy their sons were. "You're healed?" Mr Barker asked. Dan nodded. "I am dad but I kind of fell in love whilst I was being healed" he smiled. "I hope you're not mad, Matt and I love each other."

"Matt?" his mum asked, somewhat bewildered. "There was so much affection there after we were healed, mum but Joshua's already got lovers so we shared it together and one thing led to another. You're not mad are you?"

"No son, no!" she cried, "I'm happy! You're healed? You're really healed?"

"I'm healed of HIV and of my mistrust and hurt too, mum" he said. "I don't know if I'd be gay if it wasn't Dan who shared my healing but I don't care, I'm in love."

"Dad, say something" Dan then said to his surprised father. "My boy, my beautiful boy, you're well again, whatever had to happen to cause that is fine with me. Come on" he finished, "can I give you both a hug?" And Matt and Dan first were embraced by Dan's dad, then Matt's mum came and cuddled them too.

I watched and felt privileged to share this special moment. After a long hug Mr Barker turned to me. "What can we give you?" he asked.

"Nothing" I replied, "your son and Matt gave me all I needed when they fed me last night. I require no other compensation."

"Please, let me give you something" he insisted. I shook my head. "If you really want to compensate me then I have a small request" I said.

"What? Anything!" he replied, reaching for his wallet. I stayed his arm and said, "support your son and Matt. Both of you" I addressed the parents, "support your sons, let them live together and love together. Be there for them as a loving family. That is all the thanks I need."

Mrs Davis had tears in her eyes and nodded and hugged me impulsively. "Of course, Joshua, thank you" she said before the four exited the apartment, leaving Tina, Ahmed and I alone.

Tina and Ahmed both went to visit their parents that afternoon and dad Gabriel and my brothers did arrive home that evening. They'd had a nice time but as they said, it wasn't really home. Me, my brothers and my dad Gabe just sat together for a couple of hours, laughing and talking, having special alone time as a family -- something we'd not done for quite a while. Though I loved my priests with all of my heart there was something special about being with my dad and little brothers.

Ahmed and Tina came back -- came home -- at bedtime and after a settled night, in our own bed this time, we returned to school on Monday morning with our security and were met by a rapturous welcome by the year elevens -- it appeared that Matt and Dan had contacted everyone they knew to tell them that I had healed them. It was strange, I reflected -- the previous week everyone was scared of me. Now, they were all awe-struck and most, male and female, seemed to want to touch me and I found myself floating on a sea of gratitude, affection, worship and even a little lust. It was a heady brew and I drank it in willingly.

Over the week my fellow students calmed down a little and the school gradually got used to my presence there. I studied willingly and began to relax in the life I had chosen. Matt and Dan were closer than ever and it seemed they couldn't keep their hands off each other. They both thanked me repeatedly both for healing them and for bringing them together.

It was the following weekend and Tina and Ahmed had gone home to spend the day with their families. I led worship as normal and then I ushered my brothers upstairs for breakfast. Dad Gabriel was in deep discussion with Tim about something so I left him to talk.

It was a few minutes later when he came up with a huge smile on his face. "Joshua, I need to discuss something with you" he said. We left my brothers eating in the kitchen and adjourned into the living room. We stood together and he said, "are you aware that the temple has had several dozen telephone calls asking about your healing ministry?"

"No" I said, dumbfounded. "Well, they have" dad Gabriel said, "and whilst I was happy to host your friends, Matt and Dan, here at home, I think we need to make other arrangements if you're going to start healing strangers. Now before you panic, I'm not pushing you out of your home but I want to make some arrangements so that you have your own" he paused, "I was going to call it an apartment but that's not what it'll be because you'll live here, for the moment anyway. Perhaps workplace might be a better description. Anyway, Tim and his wife have for the last few months been thinking of leaving, especially since Tim's ready to retire and they've offered you the use of their apartment. We need to get the legal department's approval and your granddad's of course but what do you think as an initial idea?"

"Dad" I stuttered. I couldn't speak. "Dad, that's" I paused again. "You don't mind, are you sure?" I asked in the end.

He nodded. "It'll keep your brothers and me safe and it'll also give you some privacy and the ability to offer healing more often without worrying about us. It's going to take a little time, Tim and Amelia need to find a house and the legal team need to approve it. And we'll probably need to get permission from the authorities so that you're not shut down as soon as you start, so you've got a little time to get used to the idea."

"Why would the authorities shut me down, dad Gabe?" I asked. He frowned sadly and sighed and I heard his answer in his thoughts before he said it out loud. "In case they decide it's a brothel, Joshua" he said softly. I could feel the tears he was holding back and instinctively I swept him up in a hug. "Oh, dad, I'm sorry" I whispered as he burst into tears. "I never meant to hurt you, dad," I said, "and I don't have to do this if you'll find it too difficult, I can live off my family, you all love me enough that I don't need strangers."

He shook his head and swallowed his tears. "But strangers need you, Josh. You've got an incredible gift, never be afraid of it. Your healing powers are needed by many people, Joshua. I would always feel like I'd crippled you if I made you hold back. I raised you to do the best that you could and I want you to stand proud and be the best! Joshua, you're going to offer healing and you're going to do it willingly and be proud of your skills. Don't let me hold you back, Joshie, please?" he asked before bursting into tears once more.

I could feel his churning emotions as I hugged him. Fear was predominant, then panic, regret, hurt, a deep grieving sadness and underlying it all the most powerful love I'd ever felt. I held him tightly as he cried and as I did I felt my dad Apollo arrive. He stood on my dad Gabe's other side and hugged him even as I did. "My dear, sweet Gabriel" I heard him say, "we love you. We will never leave you alone, we promise" and even though he promised for me I meant every word as strongly as he did.

It took three months for all the permissions and licences to be granted. We decorated the apartment in calming pale blues and greens. The living room was arranged as a waiting room and we had a reception desk built. One of the legal secretaries was pressed into service as our receptionist, something he did willingly. The first strangers to arrive were a heterosexual couple. He was healthy but she had terminal cancer with only weeks to live. I healed her and brought them together as I had Matt and Dan and despite my protestations they gave a large donation to my temple. The same week a human gay couple who were both HIV+ came for healing and the following week a couple brought their four year old son. He had terminal leukaemia and was the first person who'd approached me who I knew was off-limits -- I couldn't even consider trying to feed off the child's feelings.

I ended up having sex with Tina and Ahmed and immediately after they'd made me orgasm I healed the child as he sat in his mother's arms. He had a dry orgasm but I'd warned his parents this would probably happen. His father was surprisingly philosophical about it. "An orgasm isn't a fate worse than death, Joshua" he smiled. "If you can heal him, do it. He's young enough that hopefully he won't worry about the sensations too much and if he does, we'll just tell him it's what being healed feels like. He won't know any different until he's an adult."

I healed people perhaps three or four evenings a week, leaving them to sleep at the apartment under the watchful supervision of my receptionist or a security guard. Tina, Ahmed and I always went home afterwards, into the privacy of our room and our family. I grew up happy and loved, with a family that respected me and parents that supported me. Dad Gabe gradually lost the haunted look in his eyes after the first few dozen letters of thanks from parents, lovers and others began to arrive. And as the novelty wore off, my brothers were treated normally again at school and had the normal raft of friends, especially amongst our cousins, with whom we regularly shared holidays in our favourite resort of St Ives, Cornwall.