Storiesonline.net
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                             Melissa's Rite
                            by A Strange Geek

Copyright© 2008 by A Strange Geek


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Description: The Harbingers, the group of teens united against the Darkness in Haven, face a new threat. 15 year old Melissa, having gained a mysterious power as the result of a terrible prank that backfired, now seeks greater power to further her revenge. Was she the one foretold by Mara, the one they were not to attempt to stop? Or is something far more sinister going on?

Codes: MF mf mF ff Ff Mult paranormal teen non-con mc mag inc mother son sis dau humil oral mastrb toys squirt
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This is a sequel to the short story Melissa's Initiation, and is also a continuing story with the same characters from the previous Haven novels (The House at the End of the Street and Now This Won't Hurt a Bit). While I try to very briefly summarize what happened in the past stories so you don't necessarily had to have read them, you may want to read them at some point anyway to understand the backplot and characters more.

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Chapter 1


Kathy Hendell squirmed on the bed as she rose from the unnatural depths of slumber with cruel sluggishness. Her breaths were soft, slow pants, her thighs quivering as they spread apart. The sheet had long since been tossed off, her sheer nightgown askew, the bottom hem bunched up above her waist. Her glistening bush lay exposed to the slim shafts of morning sunlight that leaked in from around the blinds.

Kathy's eyes finally fluttered open behind wavy strands of honey-brown hair. She moaned and closed them again, draping a shaking hand over them. She shuddered and gasped as she closed her legs and rolled onto her side. Her body tensed and her jaw clenched as her fleshy thighs pressed against her straining, aching pussy.

"No, please ... no ... d-don't ... uhh... uhhhn..."

Kathy shivered, her breathing becoming a staccato, throaty pant. Her hips jerked with each throb of a sharp, unwanted orgasm.

She whimpered as her climax faded, turning her face into the mattress, honey tresses hiding her eyes from view. She was vaguely aware of noises from the kitchen downstairs. Her daughter was already up.

Her body shuddered violently at the thought of facing Melissa again.

Kathy finally forced herself to sit up. Her trembling hands fought to pull the nightgown down over her crotch, though it would do little good. She hugged her arms around herself. The gown stretched tightly across her plump breasts, the hard nipples tingling at the touch and making her nether regions burn. Kathy uttered a quavering sigh and fought to contain her body's sinful desires.

Her heart pounded. That seemed its normal state now around Melissa. Most of the time, she lived in fear of what her daughter would do next. When she wasn't fearful, she was consumed with unholy lust.

She swallowed, her throat tight, and fumbled for the glasses on the nightstand. She jammed them onto her face as she stood.

Through the large, owl-like lenses of her silver-framed glasses, everything swam into terrible clarity. Terrible because nothing seemed hers anymore. Her daughter, the house, even her now strangely distant husband.

She turned her head and looked forlornly at the empty bed. James had already left for work. She had no idea whether he had even tried to rouse her.

Falling asleep was like falling into a dark, bottomless pit, with only her own torrid and sleazy thoughts to keep her company. She couldn't dignify them by calling them dreams. To her, they were dirty and obscene, horrible things that no decent Christian should be entertaining.

And yet they set her sex aflame with unrequited desire, so powerful that her body could not help but respond to them. They sent her into paroxysms of pleasure that fogged her mind and made her question her own beliefs.

Kathy swallowed hard and headed into the bathroom. She shed her nightgown and hesitated before the mirror, squeezing her eyes closed and turning her head. She didn't want to look at herself.

It was not as if she needed to see her body. She knew her own body far too intimately now. She was aware of every curve, of every nuance. She knew things about it that she had ignored because it was not proper to think of such things. In the back of her mind, she knew James thought about them, but that was proper. They were wedded in holy matrimony. It was her duty to allow him to think of her in this way, so long as it was kept behind the closed doors of the bedroom.

Kathy was panting, her pussy aching again. She whimpered and yanked the bathrobe from the hook behind the door, shaking with the need to get it around herself and hide her body.

The bottom edge of the robe was ragged and frayed, little bits of thread hanging in lose tendrils. She flushed with embarrassment, having forgotten that Melissa had made her cut the robe short the day before. The bottom edge came up to the tops of her thighs, only barely hiding her sex.

She looked down at herself. Her forty-something body was only starting to show some of her age. The thighs were a bit thick, but her legs were long and graceful, so it was hardly noticeable. The plumpness around her waist was offset by the heaviness of her bosom and the luxurious fall of hair.

She wished she could wear more. It had been a few days now since she had last worn underwear. Bras made her nipples tingle until it drove her mad. Panties made her pussy grow hot and wet and rise in unbidden pleasure, filling her mind with lustful thoughts. It was a choice between modesty and chastity.

Kathy raised her eyes and took a few deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm herself. She wandered down the stairs. Her heart thumped the closer she crept towards the kitchen.

Melissa had taken to making her own breakfast in the mornings. It was a mixed blessing. Kathy did not have to work with Melissa's icy gaze at her back, ever-fearful that Melissa might reach into her mind and make her do something to further shame herself. But the cruel words that Melissa had spoken when Kathy had asked her why ("because I want as little from you anymore as possible") hurt her far more than any sexual mortification could.

Kathy pushed open the door with a trembling hand.

Melissa was, in many ways, her mother in miniature. The same wavy tresses of honey-brown hair, the same heavy yet well-rounded breasts, the same long legs. The eyes, however, a deep ocean blue, were quintessentially her father's.

Yet as familiar as she seemed, she was so horribly alien to Kathy that it was as if some other being -- some other beast -- sat in place of her daughter at the table.

Kathy heard a noise at the sink. She uttered a small gasp, her liquid green eyes widening as water streamed from the unattended spigot into a hovering glass. The handle abruptly flipped back down and halted the water. The now full glass floated across the room and set itself down beside Melissa's plate.

Kathy shuddered. Somehow, that power scared her more than Melissa's ability to slip into her head.

Melissa finally looked up. Her eyes fixed an icicle-sharp gaze on her mother. Light flashed against gold at her bosom. "Stop that."

Kathy could not respond at first. Her eyes were drawn to the pentacle-shaped pendant that hung from its slim chain around Melissa's neck. She remembered the shock and horror she had felt when she had first seen Melissa with that blasphemous object, right after having come home from her sleepover with Susan Radson and Ann Went.

She had heard rumors that Susan and Ann were into the occult. She had hoped they were wrong. She had trusted her daughter not to associate with such a blatantly un-Christian fellowship.

When she finally found her voice again, it quavered despite her best attempts to steady it. "S-stop what, dear?"

Melissa picked up the glass. "Stop acting as if you think I'm about to recreate a scene out of Carrie and start throwing knives through the air at you."

Having never seen such a horrible movie, Kathy did not know the exact reference, but she could guess. "I'm sorry, Melissa," she said in a sheepish voice. "I'll ... I'll try not to do it again."

Melissa took a drink of water and stabbed at the remainder of a sausage on her plate. "So, mother dearest," Melissa said. One corner of her mouth twitched upwards. She let go of the glass, letting it hover in mid-air. "Scared of me?"

Kathy could only stare, not knowing what the "right" answer was.

Melissa's eyes flashed. "I hope you are, actually."

Kathy was surprised, though she realized she should not be. She understood so little of her daughter anymore, ever since she came home last Saturday so changed.

It had only been a week. Yet it seemed like she had suffered for an eternity.

"But you just said..."

"I said I wasn't going to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone, mother, really. I just want to settle the score."

"Settle the ... but ... but what do you have to settle with me?"

Melissa's gaze took on an icy hardness that sent a chill down Kathy's spine. At the same time, however, heat grew in Kathy's pussy. She whimpered and stumbled backwards. Her back fetched up hard against the wall next to the door. Her hands scrabbled against it, fingers curling as her pussy rose in terrible, unwanted pleasure.

"Sit down," Melissa said as the water glass floated down to the table. The chair opposite her slid out from under the table with a small shriek against the hardwood floor.

Kathy felt the stimulation abate somewhat, leaving her sex feeling achy and unsatisfied. The fact that her mind flirted with the desire to consummate the pleasure herself made her cheeks pink with shame.

Kathy's fear mounted as she took the proffered seat, sitting down tentatively as if in the belief that a chair moved into place for her telekinetically would somehow taint her with the same evil that had consumed her daughter. What scared her more was the fact that each time she looked at Melissa, she seemed less her fifteen year old daughter and more a horrible demon bent on the destruction of her family.

Kathy settled her hands into her lap, only to realize that placed them too close to her sex and thus to temptation. She placed them on the table instead.

Melissa's smile widened, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "No. Put them in your lap instead."

Kathy gave her daughter a stricken look. "Wh-why?"

"Because it's easier that way if I want to make you masturbate."

Kathy flinched in revulsion just as much as her pussy grew hot and steamy. Her legs parted as if in anticipation. Whimpering softly, she lowered her hands and placed them on her quivering thighs. "Why are you doing these things to me, Melissa?"

Melissa paused to chew on her last piece of sausage, moving with exaggerated care as if to prolong her mother's emotional torture. "I told you, already. I'm just settling the score. I'm doing that with all the people that have screwed me over."

"I-I don't understand. What have I done to you to deserve this? Please ... I..."

She fell silent when Melissa's fork clattered to the plate with a loud report.

Kathy shrank at Melissa's stare. At the same time, she started to pant. Her arousal rose to painful levels. "Wh-what are you d-doing?" she moaned in a barely audible voice. "Why a-are you making me..."

"Shut up."

Kathy's mouth snapped closed. Her eyes were liquid with unshed tears.

"This is all your fault, mother."

Kathy looked on in both fear and confusion.

Melissa snorted in derisive laughter. "You don't get it, do you? Do you?!"

"P-please, Melissa," Kathy croaked in a husky voice. "Please..."

"Don't beg me. I don't want to hear begging from you."

"I-I'm sorry. I just don't understand. I ... uhh ... p-please, if something's wrong, if y-you're in trouble ... uhhn ... if ... n-no..."

Melissa's lips curled into an evil smile. Kathy panted with deep, shivering lust. Wet sounds rose from between her thighs as fingers slid helplessly over swollen, aroused flesh.

"Why am I doing things like this to you?" Melissa said in a mocking tone of voice. "Maybe I want to associate my punishment with something your body craves so you'll crave the punishment just as much."

Kathy shook her head, averting her eyes. Her hand moved with a will of its own, stroking her sopping slit, her thighs clenching as she rose. "I ... I-I don't crave..."

"Stop it. Stop denying it, okay? I'm tired of hearing the stupid religious line from you!"

Kathy whimpered. Her pussy strained for release.

"You see, that's what this Power has taught me. That everyone craves it. That's how I control someone. That's how I can take someone and make them into a puppet if I want."

Kathy started thrusting her fingers into her cunt. Her free hand reached under her robe and played with her hardened, erect nipple. "S-stop it, please," she begged.

"The more you beg me to stop, mother, the more I want to do it to you. It's a huge rush, you know, having all this control. Finally having all this control. I didn't have any control in my life at all before this, thanks to you."

"B-but I..."

Melissa shot to her feet, the chair clattering to the floor loudly behind her. "Shut up!!"

Kathy mewled her distress. Her fingers pumped faster into her pussy, which strained so hard at the edge of orgasm that stars flickered at the edges of her vision.

"No place was good enough for you, was it?!" Melissa shouted, her eyes blazing with icy fury. "No place was holy enough for you, was it? You always feared some sort of bad influence on your delicate flower of a daughter."

"I ... only wanted ... to protect ... you..." Kathy panted. Her legs were splayed wide over the chair, moisture from her pussy pooling under her. Her body trembled hard enough to make the uneven legs of the chair rattle against the hardwood.

Melissa sneered in derision. "Oh, well, you wanted to protect me. Yeah, that makes it all okay, doesn't it? You decided that I needed this protection soon as I hit puberty. So you 'protect' me by uprooting me once a year and move someplace else, right after I finally manage to make a few friends and not feel so alone. Just so I can do it all over again!"

Tears trickled down Kathy's cheeks. "Melissa ... p-please ... let me ... l-let..."

"Let you cum? Is that what you want to do, dear mother? Is that the word that has such a hard time passing those righteous lips of yours? Sure. I'll do that for you."

Kathy's hips jerked violently back in her seat and she cried out as her pussy exploded. Hot fluid gushed from her slit and hit the floor with a splash. Her fingers pressed hard against her clit, her pussy pulsing so hard she could feel it against her hand.

Kathy's fingers kept stroking her slit, completely of its own volition. Her climax continued unabated, the hard throbbing radiating up into her. Her whole body seemed to spasm, her nipples pulsing in the same rhythm.

Melissa giggled. "Well ... you said you wanted to cum. You never said you wanted it to stop."

Kathy writhed helplessly, panting so hard it sounded as if she were gasping for breath. Her orgasm took over her body, driving out all other thoughts from her head. Her eyes swam as she grew lightheaded. She swayed, her hand still mindlessly stroking her slit as she hovered near the edge of passing out from the sheer intensity of the pleasure.

"Stop."

Kathy's hands fell away from her pussy and her breast. She grabbed the edge of the table to steady her. She trembled, her eyes downcast as she fought to catch her breath. A terrible ache settled into her pussy, terrible both for the reminder of what her daughter had made her do, and for the lingering craving for more that it left.

"You still don't understand. You still don't get it."

Kathy was unable to respond. Her orgasm had faded, her body tamed for now, but her mind had rebelled. Melissa had flooded her with intense images of wanton lust and sexual abandon. She saw a thick cock in her pussy. Or one in her mouth. Or one sliding between her big boobs.

Melissa stepped away from the table. The chair that had fallen behind her righted itself.

"M-Melissa ... please ... d-don't leave me like this," Kathy begged, shivering as she lost the struggle against her erotic thoughts. Her body responded, her nipples growing hard again, her pussy steaming.

"I have to get to school, mother," Melissa said disdainfully. "You'll just have to take care of it yourself. Just like last time. I'm sure he'll like another go at you."

Kathy shuddered and uttered a deep sigh of both desperation and lust. Her cheeks burned in shame at her weakness. Despite what Melissa was doing to her, she believed she should have been stronger. "Please ... n-not Gary again ... please, let me..."

Melissa laughed. "What's the matter, mother? Don't want to thank him for all the jobs he did for us? You always stiffed him on the tip anyway."

Kathy mewled in distress. "L-let me at least d-do it with your father instead..."

"What, and reward him for going along with your stupid little delusions?! No chance. He could have stopped you. He could have put his foot down and said that moving would be too disruptive for me. But he said nothing. He just went along with everything you ever wanted, just because he didn't want you flying into hysterics just like you always did when you didn't get your way!"

Kathy moaned and trembled. She had no more words for her daughter. Now she struggled with her own desires, the ones that rose up not at Melissa's bidding, but from the depths of her own mind. Her own fantasies, carefully buried away as she felt any good Christian would do, were bubbling to the surface. Melissa's repeated assaults against her mind were snapping the chains that had been carefully wrapped around her baser wants.

"I have to get to school," Melissa said in a lower voice, her smile fading now. She paused and added in a lower voice, "Stop trying to pit yourself against me, and I'll ease up on you, okay?"

But Kathy was not willing to give up her hold on the only thing that she understood, the only thing that made any sense to her. "Melissa ... y-you're ... you're possessed ... that has to be it ... that pendant..."

Melissa's hand rose to the pendant and cradled it lovingly. "That's your problem, mother. You can't accept the idea that I took this Power myself. It was offered to me and I took it. Willingly. No one possessed me as you so put it."

"Susan ... Susan and Ann put you up to this..."

Melissa laughed. "Well, you know, in a way, you're right. Only they thought they were going to humiliate me. A little prank on the misfit girl. But guess what? It blew up in their faces. I got this Power, and I got back at them. I'm still getting back at them. They have a long way to go before they've made it up to me!"

Kathy gave her daughter a stricken look, even as her eyes smoldered with aching lust. "No, Melissa, don't hurt anyone! Please don't hurt anyone!"

"Hurt? You don't know anything about hurt!"

Kathy squirmed in her seat as more moisture dripped from her cunt onto the chair.

Melissa smirked. "Well, maybe you do, in a way. But then again, what you did to me doesn't even hold a candle to what those two little cunts did. But just maybe I think you have a shot of understanding what you did wrong. I guess I owe you at least that much. I suppose..."

Melissa stopped herself when she realized she was rambling. Her fingers played with the pendant, flicking it idly as she watched her mother writhe in the chair. She took a slow, deep breath and let it go.

"Go get Gary to give you a nice fuck," Melissa said in a cool voice. "Maybe I'll even let you put on underwear again after I get home from school."

Before her mother could say another word, Melissa turned on her heel and dashed out of the kitchen before she could have any second thoughts.

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Heather Sovert sighed, tapping the pen against her chin as she contemplated the answer to the next question. She did a half-roll to one side and ran a hand through her flaming red hair to brush it out of her subdued gray-green eyes before letting herself flop back onto her stomach. Almost involuntarily, she looked up.

Across the room, her little sister Melinda slept. The blanket was wrapped around her like a cocoon, and she lay curled with her knees drawn up.

Heather fixed her eyes on Melinda. She could see where one side rose and fell with her sister's breath. Rusty brown hair lay strewn haphazardly about pillow and blanket.

Her eyes flicked to the clock on the stand next to Melinda's bed. It was still fifteen minutes before Melinda would awaken.

Heather dropped her pen to the notebook before her. She wanted to pull her eyes back down to the textbook astride it, but they remained locked on her little sister. It was only when she felt a tingling in her sex and nipples that she tore her eyes away.

She willed herself to concentrate on the exercise in the textbook. Her bare feet idly thumped in turn against the pillow at the head of the bed. But the next answer would not come to her.

Her eyes rose again. She had purposely left some homework undone the night before to give her an excuse to work on something that morning. She believed if she distracted herself enough with some other activity, she would have an excuse not to interact with her sister at all. So far, it was not working.

She's so vulnerable,  Heather thought. So sweet. So pretty. So... 

Heather swallowed. The tingling that had been teasing her now settled into her sex. A gentle warmth spread through her pussy, and her nipples grew taut under her bra.

"God, no," she murmured, dropping her face to the book and breathing into the page for a few moments, hoping the flame of desire would fade on its own.

It wasn't getting any better. It was worse than it had been when Nyssa had first arrived. She curled a hand into a fist and thumped it against the mattress in a fruitless gesture. She uttered a long sigh.

It had all started with the House at the end of the street. The power there had forced her into a sexual tryst with Melinda, and had left Heather with a lingering desire for her. Yet she had it under control until Nyssa had arrived.

Nyssa Neris had been the school nurse at the start of the semester. Only she had been something else, something bent on enslaving all the students at Haven High as a means of paving the way for the Darkness. Her mere presence had been enough to magnify Heather's desires. She enslaved Heather, and then made Heather enslave Melinda.

That had ended when Nyssa was defeated. Yet her parting words had suggested that anyone that had been under her thrall had been permanently affected in some way. Heather had hoped that she had not been in Nyssa's thrall long enough for it to affect her. But when she heard of the others that were still having difficulties -- like Sally Franner, the smartest girl in the school who had been turned into an airheaded bimbo during Nyssa's reign and still struggled to keep her grades up -- she had started to worry.

And now, in the past week, her old desires for Melinda were back again.

Heather looked up again. It wasn't working. She couldn't concentrate on her homework now. Memories of what she had done to Melinda flitted through her head. Sometimes, recalling Melinda's enslavement filled her with horror. Sometimes, like now, the images inflamed her lust.

Melinda stirred. She shuddered, and her next breath came out as a low moan. Her chest rose and fell faster.

Heather swallowed. It was happening again. Somehow she was influencing her sister, even in her sleep. This had been a bad idea. She looked at the clock. There was still ten minutes to go. She couldn't get herself to stand and nudge her sister awake. She was afraid that the close proximity would make it all that much harder to resist her desires.

She looked around frantically as her pussy grew damp. She finally yanked a page from her notebook, wadded it up, and tossed it across the room.

The paper wad bounced off a shoulder. Melinda flinched and groaned, but did not stir any further. Heather grabbed another page and did the same thing. This time the wad bounced squarely off Melinda's ear.

She jerked awake. "Huh... ?"

For effect, Heather wadded another paper and launched it just as Melinda rolled over and sat up. It bounced off her forehead.

"What the hell?! Quit it, Heather!"

"Oops, sorry, I was aiming for the wastepaper basket and must've missed," Heather said with a smirk.

"Yeah, right, tell me another one! The basket is on the other side of the room, bubblehead."

Heather was about to retort when the blanket fell away from Melinda's chest. Melinda's gown had come open during the night, and Heather was now staring at Melinda's perfectly round, pert breasts. The nipples were raised, two small points of dark, erect flesh, the areolae around them slightly puckered.

Melinda's breasts were larger now than they had been during the summer, Heather was sure of it. Melinda had been a late bloomer, but now her body was playing catch-up. Even her waist and hips seemed to have taken on more feminine curves.

Though with what had happened with the House and then Nyssa, Melinda's sexual experience was far beyond her chronological age of fourteen. It was the same for all of them.

"What are you looking at?" Melinda demanded.

Heather blinked. "Nothing."

Melinda's eyes widened. "You're doing it again!"

Guilt made Heather shiver, but the older sister persona made her indignant. "Doing what again, runt?"

Melinda blushed. "Oh, so you're going to deny it, is that it?"

Heather flushed with pleasure as her sister became increasingly flustered. She tried to ignore it, as it only fueled her desire. "Deny what?"

"Stop it!"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to stop!" Heather lied. "Look, Melinda, either shit or get off the pot. I have better things to do."

Heather tried to look away, but Melinda made it impossible when she threw back the covers and got out of bed. "Listen, Miss Big Bossy Bubblehead, I don't need this, okay? I had enough of it before, when N-Nyssa was around."

Melinda still shuddered when she thought of or mentioned Nyssa.

Heather tried to voice words of further denial, but they would not be summoned to her lips. Instead, she could only stare at the bare apex of Melinda's sex where it peeked out from behind the folds of the nightgown.

Melinda's skin flushed, and she shivered. "S-stop staring at me like that."

"I'm not ... you're the one not wearing panties, Melinda."

"I didn't know I needed your approval," Melinda retorted, though her voice was weak.

"And just when did you stop wearing panties to bed?"

"I-I thought it was more comfortable this way, that's all."

Heather snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Well, I didn't do this to make you stare at me like that!" Melinda said shrilly.

"Keep it down, runt, okay? You want Mom and Dad to hear?"

The two of them knew this was an empty threat. Penny Sovert had shown them how far she had fallen back into the Darkness after Nyssa. She would not have minded at all if Heather and Melinda engaged in hot sex every morning and evening. And their father was oblivious to everything, thanks to whatever influence Penny had over him.

"Then stop it," Melinda said in a husky voice. "Stop making me feel this way."

Moisture glistened in Melinda's tight pussy, her shaven labia swollen with her arousal. Heather could even just make out Melinda's clit. Her own pussy grew hot, and when she moved her legs, she could feel that her panties were already wet.

"I'm trying, Melinda," Heather finally said.

"You're not trying hard enough!"

"Then give me a hand, please. Wear panties to bed. Stop parading around here in the nude in the mornings."

"And you don't? Yesterday you put your clothes on dead last. You showered, you got your books together, you checked email, you blabbed on the phone to Diane, and then you finally put clothes over that stupid body of yours."

"And why didn't you tell me before that to put something on, huh?" Heather snapped. "Or didn't you think of that because you were too busy ogling me?"

Melinda looked mortified, her brown eyes cloudy, but she said not a word in denial. She shivered again, and the wetness in her pussy was more pronounced.

"Works both ways, runt," Heather muttered.

The two of them stood in silence. Melinda finally shifted her gaze to Heather. She swallowed and panted lightly. Her nipples tingled even with just the gentle brush of them against her nightgown as she breathed.

For the first time, the two of them were contemplating the same thing at the same time. But neither would broach it. Neither would make the next move.

Finally, Melinda tried to break the spell. She wrenched her gaze away and turned towards the bathroom. "I need a shower," she murmured.

"Melinda, wait, please, maybe we should..."

Melinda whirled around, hands balled into fists. "No, there's nothing we should do! Nothing at all! Don't you dare get any ideas, Heather! I don't want it!"

She practically ripped the nightgown from her body and threw it on the bed. Heather felt another spike of arousal at the view of Melinda's nude body just before it disappeared into the bathroom. The door closed with a slam that made one of Heather's pop-star posters fall from the wall.

Heather wished she could make Melinda understand. It was already too late for Heather not to get any ideas. She already had plenty of them.

Heather rose from the bed. Her pussy was still steamy and ached uncomfortably. Stretching to hang the picture back on its hook made it worse as her tight jeans squeezed against her mound. She was panting hard by the time she turned away from the wall. She sat down heavily on the edge of her bed.

She knew she could have Melinda if she wanted. She could not make Melinda into an obedient slave like before -- and she truly did not want to -- but she could arouse Melinda enough to drive her nuts.

Heather thought it would not be as bad if she were in another relationship. It didn't have to be a romantic interest, just a sexual partner. That's all Brad really had been to her in the end. A sex partner and a trophy.

As desperate as she was to distract herself from her thoughts of Melinda, she had tried to get back with him, only to find out that he was going with Ann Went.

What the hell does he see in that silly cunt? Heather thought.

She wrapped her arms around herself. The last confrontation with the Darkness had shown her how selfish she had acted for many of her teenage years. But her old life had been easier to understand. Its measure of success was very simple: be popular and be in control.

But how did she measure success against the Darkness? And her desire and influence over Melinda, wasn't that a failing? Didn't that mean they were trying to use the same power that they were fighting against?

Heather's gaze jerked up as the shower started. Knowing that Melinda was inaccessible to her now did nothing to tame her lust.

Heather stretched out on the bed. She undid the belt button and yanked down her zipper. Her hand slid under the panties and squished into hot, wet flesh.

And in the shower, Melinda stood as Heather had so many times herself: with one hand propping herself up against one side of the stall, and her other hand massaging her clit between spread legs in helpless abandon.

Their mutual cries of pleasure were lost in the rush of water of the shower.

-------

Richie Gardner awoke with a start, bolting upright in bed, his eyes looking as wild as his disheveled brown hair. His gaze swept his room. Sunlight struggled through a thick tree canopy behind the house, the breeze stirring the dappled light against the windowpanes.

He blinked a few times and ran his fingers through his hair, wincing and cursing when he caught a tangle. He curled the hand into a fist and brought it down onto the mattress with an impotent thud, kicking off the sheets at the same time. He drew his knees to his chest and wiped his face with his hand.

Same goddamn fucking dream, he thought in vehement frustration.

Actually, it was not quite, but Richie was upset enough not to bother to make the distinction anymore. Instead, it was bits and pieces that, if brought together in the right order, might make a complete dream. It was like doing a jigsaw puzzle while having only a tenth of the total pieces at any one time, and then expecting to put all of them together in his head later.

Except he didn't want to put it all together. Dreams were not his thing. That was for that nutty girl Cassie to worry about.

"Shit," Richie declared to no one in particular as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

He was trying hard not to hold a grudge against her. Like Heather, Cassie had been caught up with Nyssa through no fault of her own. Nyssa had exploited Cassie's affection for Richie, and Cassie had come close to enslaving him.

Yet even now, with Cassie's affections directed towards someone else, Richie could not stop thinking that Cassie was still too weird for his comfort.

Richie kicked at one of his sneakers with his bare foot, sending it flipping end over end until it struck the bottom of a poster frame. The poster -- a picture of the 2002 New York Yankees baseball team -- swung a few times back and forth like a pendulum, then fell from its nail and crashed to the floor.

The poster fell towards him. He viciously kicked it back, putting a crack in the clear plastic covering.

"Fuck!" Richie declared. He looked for something else to throw, his hands balling into fists, his freckled face screwed up in anger, frustration, and anguish. Finally, his hands uncurled and he dropped his face into them, sighing through his fingers.

I'm trying, dammit. I'm really trying,  he lamented.

Richie had spent the last two weeks since being freed from Nyssa trying to find his way again. The problem was, he was not sure he ever had it in the first place. Sometimes he resented Cassie for that as well. She was the one that had helped free him and his fellow Harbingers from Nyssa's control.

He occasionally wondered if it would have been easier to remain enslaved. It would have taken away the need to shoulder this responsibility.

No, he didn't want the power. He had to keep telling himself that. If he told himself that enough times, maybe he would start believing it. It didn't matter anyway. It had been taken away from him, and it was never coming back.

Except...

He shook his head violently. Get out of my head, dammit!

But it was impossible not to think of someone he was forced to see every day in school. He could not look at Linda Davis and not remember what he had done to her. He could not ignore the tingle of excitement it gave him. Nor could he ignore the urge to try it again, to see if he had any lingering influence, like he had heard happened to others under Nyssa's control.

Richie sighed and glanced at the clock. He suddenly snatched it off the nightstand and held it inches from his now wide and staring eyes. "Huh?? It's almost ... aw, FUCK!"

Richie dropped the clock to the night table. He shot to his feet and looked around in a panic. He had ten minutes before the school bus would arrive.

"What the fuck?! Why didn't I wake up with the alarm? Why the fuck didn't Mom get me up?? MOM!!"

Richie ran from his room, still clad in only his briefs. He dashed down the hall to the master bedroom and peered inside. The bed was made and there was no sign of Sandra Gardner. Richie ran to the railing overlooking the living room below and bellowed again, "MOM!!"

Not a sound greeted him, save for a passing car in the street outside.

Richie pounded a fist against the railing and dashed back into his bedroom, fuming. His mother had left early for work. Again.

He believed he had plenty of reason to be angry with his mother. After working all day, she would come home only long enough to freshen up before leaving again. She used to call them "dates," but even that pretension was dropped now. Both of them knew the truth, that she was going out to get laid and laid good.

It mattered not to Richie that she was simply feeding a sexual addiction that the Darkness in Haven had instilled in her. She had told Richie openly that she had accepted this rather than take its power for herself. Thus he felt she had made her own stupid decisions, and he could not be expected to have any sympathy for her.

Now his anger was edging over into hatred. At least before she had been predictable. He would know when she was there and when she wasn't. Now her hours were erratic, and he had no idea from day to day where she would be.

Ironically, it actually gave her more time at home with Richie, something he had wanted before the House. Now he wanted nothing more to do with her.

Richie's thoughts remained dark as he threw on some clothes and grabbed his backpack. He was grateful for a trigger for his pent-up rage. Sometimes, when he was alone in his room, he could sense the images from his broken, repetitive dream come back to him, as if they had a life of their own.

All he could discern was that a man and a woman were arguing. It looked like they were in his room, but the room was arranged differently, and not even like a bedroom. It was more like an office. He was cheating on her, or something like that. She wanted to leave him, and he was trying to persuade her into staying. She might have thrown something at him at one point, he wasn't sure.

Richie slung the backpack viciously over his shoulder and stormed out of the room when the thoughts of his dream came back to him despite his fury. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the images from his dreams vanished from his head.

-------

Jason Conner stared out of the window of the school bus. His eyes were unfocused, his gaze sliding over the landscape as it rattled by. A loud ripping sound made the floor of the bus vibrate under his feet as the driver grinded the gears on a turn. "Another Bradley fart," someone said, setting off a wave of laughter.

"Shaddap and pipe down back there!" rasped the elderly driver Mr. Bradley. This only set off the students into louder peals of mirth.

Jason barely noticed. As the bus turned onto the avenue, stands of trees difted alongside the bus, their canopies glowing in red-gold fall splendor.

Jason hardly paid attention to the other students anymore, save for looking out for more Dark Auras. That's what he and his fellow Harbingers called the black miasma that surrounded those that have been touched by the Darkness. Only they could see it.

He, Richie, Heather, and Melinda could because they were given the power directly by Mara, the woman whose spirit had inhabited the House. They were the original Harbingers, a name they coined for themselves. Cassie and Ned could see it because they had been saved from the Darkness by direct intervention. Becky could as well, but she would have nothing to do with the rest of them anymore once she had reconciled with her boyfriend.

Jason sighed and turned his head from the window. Up ahead, Richie's house came into view from around the bend. He glanced at the others on the bus, as if acknowledging their presence only now.

Of all of the Harbingers, he had been the most disappointed following Nyssa's departure. He had hoped that the others that had been taken under Nyssa's thrall -- Frank, James, Sally, Kathy, Irene, just to name a few -- would come out of it with the same ability. Instead, they were just as ignorant of it as before.

It wasn't enough to simply be freed of the Darkness' control. To be able to see the Dark Auras, the person had to be directly wrenched from that control. Many of the others had simply been released by Nyssa voluntarily when she could no longer maintain her power.

Jason turned his gaze away from the others with disdain. Even though the lot of them could not see the Auras, he thought that having had so many fellow students act very oddly over the course of two weeks would alert them that something was wrong at Haven High. Instead, they reverted to being typical teenagers again, and turned their attention to what they deemed was far more important: keeping up with the latest fashions and struggling to remain popular.

Jason sometimes wished he was allowed to be a typical teenager again.

He peered through the windshield as the bus swayed and grinded its way to the curb in front of Richie's house and sighed. Oh, man, not again.

No one was waiting to greet the bus as it pulled to a stop. The doors popped up, and Mr. Bradley muttered a curse under his breath.

"Stop at the wrong house again, Mr. Bradley?" someone in the back chimed, setting off a wave of laughter.

"Shaddap!" The old man wrenched the door control. The doors squealed as they began to close.

"Hey! Hey, wait up! Stop, you stupid old... !"

"Mr. Bradley, here he comes!" Jason stated loudly to cover his friend's expletive.

The driver muttered darkly and yanked at the control again, muttering another curse when it stuck and he had to use two hands to move the lever. The doors shrieked open. A panting Richie climbed on.

"Thanks, man," Richie said, giving Jason a high-five before he plopped into a seat across the aisle. The seat immediately next to Jason was empty, but that was "reserved." Even the other students respected it. As gossipy as the lot was, they were aware of most of the relationships that were in force at the moment. One could guess from a partially filled bus which students had significant others that had not boarded yet from the odd pattern of empty seats.

"You're a mess," Jason commented mildly.

"Yeah, I know. Overslept."

"That's the third time that's happened."

Richie rolled his eyes. "You tryin' for the job of my mother or somethin'?"

Jason sensed a bitterness in his friend's voice that was beyond just the usual barb. And even his "usual" barbs were more restrained these days. He wondered if the others noticed. They were ready to toss Richie out of the Harbingers once they had learned what he had done.

Richie was the only one of them to voluntarily give himself over to Nyssa's control -- even after having been almost enslaved himself by Cassie -- just so he could have some power to himself. He had promptly used it against his history teacher Linda Davis, turning her into his sex slave.

"Just want to know if something's wrong, that's all," Jason said.

"Stop worrying about me, 'kay? I'm fine."

"Come on, Richie, you know what the standard procedure is now for this sort of thing."

Richie shook his head. "What the fuck, Jason? You're tryin' to turn this thing into some kinda freakin' corporation or something?"

Even though Richie was trying hard to temper his insults, it did little for his stubbornness. Jason was always having to force himself to be patient with Richie, but he was approaching his limit. "Look, I've explained this before. We missed too many things last time with Nyssa, things that were obvious. We made too many foolish assumptions. I don't want to fall into that trap again. So if something is up with you, Richie, you need to tell us."

Richie gave Jason an annoyed look, but bit back a rejoinder. "Look, it's nothing, okay? Just having trouble sleeping sometimes. Has nothing to do with..."

He stopped when the bus lurched to a stop on the next block. Heather and Melinda climbed on.

Jason looked over to them in the hopes that things would be back to normal, though he knew it to be a false hope. If it had not happened in two weeks, it wasn't going to happen without some prompting. And sure enough, both were starkly silent towards each other.

Melinda dashed over to the empty seat beside Jason, as if afraid Heather might take it. She dropped her backpack between her legs, wrapped an arm around Jason, and drew herself close to him. Jason felt her tremble.

Now what? Jason thought.

Melinda had been rather clingy since Nyssa. Jason had actually welcomed it at first. Having been cut off from her when she had been enslaved by Heather, he had enjoyed the renewed contact and, to be honest, the renewed opportunities for sex with her.

Melinda had been a lot more aggressive in her sexual encounters with him. It had surprised him at first, but he did little to resist it. It was as if it seemed more natural to him. He was perfectly willing to be more submissive to her. It made it harder for him to use their sessions as a means of finding out what was really wrong between her and Heather.

Jason slipped an arm around Melinda, though what he initially had thought to say to her was forgotten when the bus pulled away and drove past a white van. Only now did he note that the van had been parked directly before the Sovert house. Jason followed it with his eyes and caught the name "Suburban Digital CableCo" emblazoned on the side.

He blinked and looked towards Heather. "Wait ... are you guys getting broadband?"

"Yes, finally!" Melinda piped.

"Melinda, it's not that great, and I already told you why," Heather said in an exasperated voice. "Stop being so dense."

"Fine. You don't have to use it then. But at least now I can do stuff online when you're yakking away to your bubblehead friends on the phone."

"So why is this not a good thing?" Jason asked.

"Because we're getting it only so Dad can start working from home all the time now," Heather said in irritation.

"Your Dad? What exactly does he do?"

"He's the director of IT for a small business downtown."

Jason looked surprised. "Really? How come you never told me that?"

Richie snorted. "And have you go geek-out with him every time you come over? Yeah, sure, that'll do yer sex life something good, huh?"

Melinda rolled her eyes, but said nothing in denial. Her arm tightened around Jason a bit more, which confirmed Richie's accurate perception.

"Well, uh, never mind that," Jason said. He didn't feel quite as embarrassed talking about sexual matters so openly anymore, but he did prefer that his relationship with Melinda was not discussed openly. "Okay, yeah, I see what you mean. We can't meet at your house anymore."

"Starting Monday, anyway. He went into the office today, since he wasn't sure how long it would take them to set it up," said Heather.

"So can we use it today?"

"Aw, man, it's a Friday, for fuck's sake," Richie complained. "I don't wanna be in some meeting."

"We have to, Richie, now that we know who the subject of Cassie's dream is."

Heather looked perplexed. "We do?"

"Yeah. Ned told me earlier in the week when he saw her Aura. It's Melissa Hendell."

Heather's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Before Jason could make note of her reaction, Richie suddenly snorted. "Yer joking!"

Jason turned to him. "What, you know her?"

"Well, yeah, sorta. She's a soph, same as us. Kinda out there. Real spacey type. She gets made fun of a lot."

"Oh, out there, huh?" Melinda snapped. "Like Cassie, right?"

"Hey, cool yer jets, 'kay? I don't make fun of her. I don't do that to girls."

"Glad to see we get special treatment from you. We're sooo happy to hear that."

Richie fumed, but rather than hurtle a barb back, he just thumped a fist against his thigh and looked out the window, ignoring the rest of them.

Jason wished Melinda would not egg him on like that. Melinda always harbored a dislike for Richie, but it seemed like she let into him at the least bit of provocation anymore. He looked at Heather, as if looking for clues in her face. She gave him a forlorn look in return.

"Anyway, we need to use this last meeting to try and figure out someplace else to meet," said Jason. "With your place no longer available, it's going to make things difficult."

"Diane said she would find out if we could meet at her place," Heather said.

"That's on the side of town, Heather," Melinda said in irritation.

"Well, so's our place to her. And you know something, runt? I'd love the excuse to stay away from our house. I don't care about the broadband connection. You feel the same way, you know you do."

Melinda hesitated. Her eyes shimmered, and Jason felt her tremble again. "Yeah," she finally said softly.

It pained Jason to think how estranged both Heather and Melinda were now from their mother. They had even stopped talking about trying to find out what she did at the Li'l Missy Inn. Penny worked there as a managerial assistant, or so was the claim. But Mara had already mentioned that the Inn was at the junction of several lines of force and may be the focus of the Darkness' power.

"Jason, do you know if Melissa has done anything to anyone?" Heather asked.

"Well, we haven't seen anyone else with Auras yet. Cassie hasn't had any more dreams about her."

"That's good, isn't it? It means that she's been quiet?"

"I'm not sure, actually."

"I don't understand. I thought Cassie could see this stuff."

Cassie had the ability to see into other people's lives through her dreams. She could not predict the future, she could only peer into the present. It was still a powerful ability, as it gave them insights into their adversaries during the trouble with Nyssa.

"She can explain it better than I can when we meet later," said Jason. "What about you, Heather? You picking up anything?"

Heather sighed and shook her head. Cassie was not able to see the future, but supposedly Heather could. In her case, however, it was more vague. Just general feelings that something was going to happen, and actual imagery was fleeting or came to her only very close to the event. She had had precognitive flashes about her own fall to Nyssa and she had not learned how to interpret them enough to prevent it.

"Good!" Melinda piped.

Heather frowned. "What are you babbling about now?"

"You only seem to know when bad things are going to happen to your friends. Like you did when Cassie was going to take Richie."

Richie shuffled his feet. He turned his attention back to the others, but had his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"So we know none of us are in danger now, right?" Melinda said, voicing it almost as a demand rather than a question.

"I don't know, Melinda. I don't know enough about this to tell you one way or the other."

Melinda looked like she wanted to yell at her big sister again. Instead, she said quietly to Jason, "I just don't want this to be Nyssa all over again."

Jason caught the edge of fear to Melinda's voice. "It's okay, it won't be. We're going to be more careful about things this time. We're not going to take anything at face value."

They all lapsed into silence for the rest of the trip. Jason understood the problem, for he felt the same way. They had all hoped not to be confronted with another challenge this close on the heels of Nyssa's defeat.

And now they had another problem to deal with: finding a place for the Harbingers to meet. Jason felt this may prove more daunting than anything the Darkness could throw at them.



-------

Chapter 2


When the lanky, dark-haired girl disembarked onto the graveled parking lot of Haven High, she lifted her deep brown eyes and swept her gaze from one end of the lot to the other. She stepped into the shade of the bus to try and cut down the glare of the morning sun, but she had to squint anyway as she tried to find the others.

Diane Woodrow sighed when she barely caught sight of Heather tagging along behind the others, just seconds before they disappeared into the school building under the watchful eye of Vice Principal Seeger.

She pulled the strap of her satchel further up her shoulder and emerged into the sunlight. She tilted her head and ran her fingers through her long, straight black hair, then let it fall behind her.

She missed the short meetings that her fellow Harbingers used to have in the parking lot each morning. But in the wake of Nyssa, it was deemed too dangerous to do anything out in the open at Haven High, not with the Principal herself, Laura Bendon, still under the Darkness' sway.

Diane looked around. There were some other faculty members drifting about the parking lot, looking critically at the other students as they filed towards the school's east entrance. She witnessed one break up a gaggle of girls that had congregated near one of the buses.

She stopped and stared at the instructor for a moment, narrowing her eyes and shading them from the sun with her hand. She was trying to see if a Dark Aura would appear around him.

She still did not know if she could see them. Laura Bendon was the only one that they knew for sure still had one, and she rarely appeared outside her office anymore. Diane was too scared of her to manufacture a reason to go see her, and the others thought it was too dangerous. If anything, Jason had suggested that everyone try to toe the line as much as possible to avoid receiving detention or any other disciplinary action.

Diane sighed and gave up, lowering her hand. It was frustrating not knowing whether she now had the ability or not.

Diane walked up the steps and into the school. The Vice Principal eyed her suspiciously as she passed. It was likely that Seeger -- or "Saggy Seeger" as the students called him because of his bulldog face and large, sagging jowls -- was told by Bendon that certain students -- namely the Harbingers -- were possible troublemakers and to keep an eye on them.

Diane tried not to shrink at Seeger's scrutiny. Her heart raced a bit, as it always did now when she entered the school. Without realizing it, she hurried down the hall, as if intent on getting the day over with as quickly as possible.

"Diane? Diane, wait up!"

She skidded to a halt and turned. "Oh! Heather, sorry, I-I didn't see you there."

Heather jogged up to her and said in a low voice, "Listen, you got a moment before class? I have to talk to you about something."

Heather glanced around as if checking for anyone eavesdropping. Diane's gaze followed her friend's eyes. "Um ... yes, I have a few minutes. Is something wrong?"

Heather gently took Diane's arm and shepherded her out of the main corridor traffic until they were standing next to a door labeled "Maintenance." Diane tried not to react to the touch to little avail. Her skin flushed hot, and she swallowed and gripped the strap of the satchel more tightly.

Heather turned to her. There was a pained look to her face. "Diane, this is important. Jason found out who Cassie dreamed about. It's Melissa Hendell!"

Diane blinked once. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but the memory was not coming to her.

"Early July, just before the holiday?" Heather prompted a bit impatiently. "That honey-haired girl in the dweeby clothing? The one we ... we pulled that little stunt on?"

Diane's eyes widened. "Oh, her." She cracked a smile. "Yes, I remember now. We got her good with that, didn't we? Wow, I never saw someone turn that shade of red before..."

The glare from Heather was enough to silence Diane at once. Diane swallowed again, feeling a knot of anxiety in her stomach.

"It's not funny, Diane. You remember what Cassie said about the girl in her dream? She just didn't fall to the Darkness, she took some power for herself."

It took a moment for Diane to understand the implication, largely because she did not really want to see it. "W-wait, you don't think ... you don't think she'll try to get back at us or something, do you?"

"I don't know, but I wanted to warn you about her. Just in case ... well..."

Diane sighed. "Just in case I still can't see the Auras is what you mean."

Heather gave Diane a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Diane."

Diane looked into Heather's lovely green-gray eyes. She could tell that Heather was being honest with her. She could read a lot in those eyes. She wished she had more opportunity to look into them.

But that would mean forcing herself to admit her feelings for Heather in the first place.

Diane had some vague notion that perhaps her attraction for Heather had somehow been caused by Nyssa, like Heather's obsession for Melinda. But it had slowly dawned on her over the past two weeks that her feelings had not originated with Nyssa. They had existed for long before Nyssa's arrival. Or even before Heather got tangled up in the House.

Yet even if Nyssa had not caused her attraction to Heather, she had known about it. She had shared that secret with Jason when he was still in her thrall. Jason had tried to tease her about it in the hallway but managed not to come out and say it explicitly.

A day after they finished with the Nyssa business, a teary-eyed Diane had called Jason and begged him not to tell anyone what he knew.

"Heather, do you think I'll be able to see them?" Diane asked. "I mean, Nyssa did try to take me, right?"

"I don't know that, either. She put you under to get you out of the way, but she didn't really try to enslave you."

"But if I can't see them, I'm no help to any of you, am I?"

"Diane, please, don't say that..."

"But it's true! What good am I if I can't tell you who may have been affected by the Darkness? I'll just blunder into them without knowing and then you'll all have to rescue me and cause you more ... huh... ?"

Heather had taken Diane's hand into her own and squeezed it gently.

Diane's lips parted. She looked into Heather's eyes again. She felt a tiny shiver pass through her, her heart thumping.

"Diane, if you can't see the Auras, then being with us is the best thing you can do."

Diane took a moment to find her voice again. Heather squeezed her hand again, and she trembled. "Wh-why? What good would that do?" she asked defiantly, though her voice was weak.

"Well, for one thing, it would let us protect you. Diane, come on, you've been my friend for how long? You think I want to abandon you now?"

"I-I don't know ... Things have changed so much..."

"Yeah, I know. We don't do the same things together anymore."

"You've changed, Heather," Diane said, her voice growing husky.

"I know, but I had to, Diane. Look, don't ever tell anyone this, but ... sometimes I actually like doing nice things for Melinda more than I liked poking fun at her all the time." She paused and grinned. "Well... sometimes. I do still like to get a rise out of her."

Diane gave Heather a ghost of a smile. She had looked up to Heather. She did many of the things Heather did simply because Heather did them. And Heather had been popular. By extension, as her friend, Diane had become popular as well.

In the days after the House, when they had drifted apart, Diane had come to realize that the popularity had been a sham. She went from popular to nothing almost overnight. Yet she still had feelings for Heather. That was what had convinced her there was something more to it.

"Heather, we didn't mean Melissa any harm," Diane said. "She must know that. We didn't hurt her or threaten her. I mean, come on, all that stuff we ever did to people, we didn't really mean any harm, right?"

Had what she and Heather done to Melissa been bad enough to warrant revenge against them? Melissa had looked terribly embarrassed, but she had not shed a single tear. In fact, she had tried to leave the scene with as much dignity as she could muster. Surely she had known that, as the new girl in town, she'd get a bit of a hazing from the others?

Heather was not sure how to answer. She remembered all the times she used to tease Jason something awful. That had surely hurt him in some way. Yet he never said anything. He never threw it in her face no matter how upset he got. Now they were close friends, and it was as if it had never happened.

But it did happen, and Heather felt guilty over it. But only sometimes. She could still find it to be a source of private amusement.

Heather looked up. The crowds in the corridor were beginning to thin. "Look, we better get to class. We're going to try to meet at my house this afternoon. Can you come?"

"Yes, I can come."

"Good. And don't worry about whether you can see the Auras, okay?"

Heather let go of Diane's hand. Diane's heart raced anyway. "I'll try."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

Diane just nodded, not trusting her voice. She sprinted to her locker and fetched the books she needed for her first class after homeroom. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. It did some good. She still felt a tingle in her nether regions, but she could ignore it.

For once she was glad she was not on the same class rotation as Heather.

-------

Melissa smiled as she sashayed down the street, swinging her hips with exaggerated movements and letting her skirt twirl about her thighs. There was a bit of a chill to the morning, but the sun felt nice on the black stockings that hugged her graceful legs. The heels of her shoes clacked against the sidewalk in what to her was a satisfying symphony of poise and sensuality.

She marveled at how only a little over a week ago, she had taken this same walk with her shoulders hunched as if she had expected someone to hit her. Every muscle would tense whenever she saw another of her peers, afraid that some humiliating insult would come her way that would make her want to run back home.

Now she walked as if daring anyone to cross her. The golden pentacle pendant flashed in the morning sunlight. She made no attempt to hide it. Teachers sometimes looked askance at her, or even gave her dirty looks. It never lasted long. One look from Melissa, a smile, and suddenly the teacher simply adored how it looked on her.

Today it would be the same with the skirt. It showed way too much thigh to be tolerated by the dress code. She wanted to see who would call her out on it.

It was so easy. Just a single look, and she made it happen. She could change a thought or emotion, or make someone do something, or making something happen within someone's body. The little things like that were child's play to her. It made life tolerable for her in school now. Even entertaining.

She turned off the street and headed down the short path to the stairs of the west entrance of Haven High. Two boys near the gate stopped their conversation to stare at her, eyes flicking over the swell of her breasts or the smoothness of her legs. Melissa turned her head towards them and gave them a wicked smile as she came to a stop.

"Like what you see?" Melissa said in a sultry voice.

The boys had not expected her to notice them, let alone stop and speak to them. They exchanged an embarrassed look. Nevertheless, the bolder of the two gave her a lopsided smile and said, "Um, yeah, I do." His companion nodded quickly in agreement.

"Better be careful. If you look at me too long, you just might get hard over me."

The first boy's cheeks colored, but he grinned nevertheless. "Heh, yeah, maybe. I ... uh ... what... ??"

His mouth dropped open. His companion's eyes grew nearly as wide as his glasses.

Suddenly both boys felt their cocks expanding quickly in their briefs. One had to shift his weight from one foot to the other to work it free of an awkward confinement. The other tried the same and failed, having to resort to a tug at his belt, trying to make it look casual. He flinched when his cock sprang from its cramped position.

In seconds, both were sporting full erections, pulsing in time with their heartbeats. It caused an obvious bulge the crotches of their jeans.

"And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Melissa said in a husky voice. She leaned forward, giving them a view into her cleavage as her breasts dangled against her dress. "That just might make you ... cream in your pants."

The first boy uttered a yelp and staggered until his back hit the wrought iron fence that marked the edge of the school grounds. The other simply curled his hands into fists and trembled. Both started moaning softly, crimson-faced as their cocks felt as if they were being vigorously stroked.

"Oh no, we wouldn't want that," said Melissa with an evil gleam in her eyes. "That would be so very, very messy."

She turned and started up the stairs. As she did, she flicked a bit of her telekinetic power at them. Their zippers were yanked down and the buttons at the top popped open simultaneously just seconds before they came. Their cheeks glowed in mortification as their cocks throbbed wetly into their briefs. Several passing students gasped or made sounds of revulsion.

Melissa left the stairs and continued through the doorway. Behind her, she heard a girl's voice rushing towards her. "Ugh, what the fuck was that? Disgusting! God, get me away from those creeps."

Melissa was shoved to the side. A blonde girl flashed an angry look at her as she passed. "Get the lead out of your shoes. Silly cunt."

The smiled never left Melissa's face. She watched the girl walk ahead of her and stop by a locker not too far from the entrance.

Melissa wandered over to her. The girl looked up and frowned. "What the hell do you want?"

"I think you're mistaken," Melissa said.

"Huh?"

"You called me a silly cunt. That's not correct."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Look, get away from me, you weirdo."

Melissa ignored her. "You see, a silly cunt is not a person, it's a thing. In fact, it's yours."

The girl gasped suddenly, and she stared in surprise and horror.

Melissa smiled. "See how silly your cunt is?"

The girl swallowed and panted. Her feet slid apart. Her hips rocked back and forth as if in a parody of intercourse. Her hand trembled, rattling the locker door. Her eyes shimmered, both sultry and terrified at the same time. Her mouth opened in a silent plea.

"It's so silly it just gets hot all by itself, and then cums when it feels like it."

The girl whimpered, then moaned. She clutched at her locker door with both hands, her hips jerking as she came. Her breath became a staccato sigh as her pussy throbbed so intensely she could barely think.

Melissa smiled. She turned away and continued to her own locker further down the hall. When she got there, she looked back at the blonde girl. The girl's cheeks glowed scarlet. She hastily pulled the books for her morning classes from the locker, still trembling from her orgasm. She slammed it closed and hurried down the hallway.

Seconds later, she staggered to a stop and utter a strained moan. Her hips jerked backwards again in a second orgasm. She clutched at the lockers to stop herself from sliding to the floor. Other students looked on with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

But a few students look on in horror. Their gaze immediate started sweeping the hallway. One of them found Melissa, paled, and quickly dashed away.

Melissa's smile widened. Very good. People were starting to connect the dots. They were starting to realize that she had some sort of power over them. Fear would allow her to keep some sort of control over those she did not personally touch with her power. It would make her life tolerable again at this school.

She fingered the pendant again as she closed her locker. Some of her smile faded.

It wasn't enough. Indirect control was fine, but she wanted more than that. Unfortunately, she had been thwarted in this effort. She had discovered that while she could inject momentary bits of control in people -- like with the two boys outside, or the girl that shoved her, or the teachers to avoid getting in trouble -- complete control was harder.

On Monday, she had stolen Ann's boyfriend Brad and make him hers. She had made him have sex with her in front of Ann.

On Tuesday, she had taken Susan's boyfriend Sam, and did the same with him, letting Susan simply play with herself without cumming while she watched.

Then on Wednesday, she had tried to take Jim, the boy that Susan had been seeing on the side. She did so, but then she lost her hold on Brad, and some of her hold on Sam.

Thursday, the day before, she had renewed her hold on Sam, had taken Brad again, only to lose Jim and spark rebellion from her mother.

When she had first received this Power, she had known there were limitations. She had not understood at the time just how grating those limitations would be. She simply could not extend her hold to everyone she wished. She could keep only a certain amount of complete control in place at one time, at least until she was able to bring about more permanent changes in her victims. But those changes took time, and she did not have the patience to do it for everyone.

Then there were Susan and Ann. She wanted to retain an iron grip on their minds no matter what, so that limited her reach even further. She teased them with vague promises of eventually releasing them, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that they would likely never have free will ever again.

She doubted she could release them even if she wanted to. The fact that they never escaped her control when she overextended herself was proof to her that they were too tightly bound to her by now. She had messed with their minds to such a degree that they could never be free of her. Not unless she somehow lost the Power completely.

Her mother was a different story. Melissa did not control her quite like the others, at least not all the time. Instead, she dipped into Kathy's mind and altered her on a more basic level. It required a great degree of finesse. Most of the work had to be done at night, through her mother's dreams. But again, it took time that she did have to spare for everyone.

Her fingers closed tightly around the pendant. She took a slow, deep breath. It was more than just a piece of costume jewelry. The dark being that had come to her when Susan and Ann had left her naked and alone had recognized it. It had protected her from the being's wrath, prompting it to offer her the Power instead.

And now it was in her dreams every night. It was helping her punish her mother. It gave her insights on the subtleties of the human mind. It showed her how to make small but permanent changes over time.

But there was more power to be tapped. Enough power that subtlety would no longer be needed. She just had to find it. And she had a feeling who might be able to tell her more about it.

Melissa cradled her books in her arm and headed to class.

-------

The silence of the hallway was broken by the strident ring of the bell. Doors opened, and students poured from their first period classes in a torrent.

One slim boy dashed from his sophomore English class, his lace-less old sneakers flopping against the tiled floor, barely visible under the wide cuffs of his baggy denims.

"Hey, nosy!" a girl called out as he passed, giggling.

"Oh no, it's Nosenstein!" cackled a boy.

Another boy made pig-like snorting sounds, his friends joining in until they all dissolved into laughter.

Ned "The Nose" Lussander did a spin on one heel, thumbed his bulbous nose at them, and made a snorting noise back with a smirk on his face before continuing on his way.

Ned hardly cared about the comments anymore. Up until two weeks ago, they used to bother him a great deal. He didn't ask to have a big, slightly misshapen nose. It was the best the surgeons could do with the money that his parents had after that unfortunate fight, the same one that gave him the jagged scar on one cheek.

But that was before he fell in with the Harbingers. And Cassie.

He smiled as the object of his affection appeared up ahead, having just stepped up to her locker. Cassie Kendall wore a look on her face that was somewhere between dreamy and thoughtful. A lot of people found this disconcerting, and had long since branded her a weirdo since freshman year.

Ned found it endearing instead. She looked so pretty when she was lost in her own little world. Curly bangs of perfectly coiffed brown hair framed an adorable oval face. An impeccably neat powder blue blouse was wrapped about her torso, and the pleats of her matching skirt swirled about her calves.

Ned was also a little jealous. He was interested in dreams, and he often kept a journal of his own. He was envious of how far more detailed and meaningful Cassie's dreams were.

Or used to be. In the past week, she had been frustrated at how lacking in detail they were.

So lost in her own head was Cassie that she failed to note Ned standing there. Her hands moved slowly and methodically in and out of the locker exchanging books, operating on automatic.

"Hi," Ned finally said.

Cassie gasped and flinched in surprise, blue eyes going wide.

"Um, sorry I startled ya, babe," Ned said sheepishly.

Cassie recovered and smiled. Ned couldn't help but grin foolishly back. He loved seeing that smile. "Oh, no, it's okay. I was just ... um, thinking..."

"Heh, I know that look. You finally had another good dream, huh?"

"Well ... part of a dream," said Cassie, frustration still edging her voice. "I'm still not getting them the way I should."

"That's better'n nothin', though, right?"

"I guess, but..."

Ned had learned to recognize when something was really troubling his girlfriend. Her eyes would go cloudy and edge towards slate-gray in color. It was like looking at an ocean under a cloudy sky.

At least he hoped she was his girlfriend. They hadn't actually gone out on a date yet (mostly because he was too chicken to ask) but they spent a great deal of time together at school and spoke on the phone a few times. Just to be on the safe side, he never mentioned the word "girlfriend" when talking about Cassie. That way he could avoid any future potential disappointment.

Now Cassie's eyes shimmered as she looked up into Ned's. "To be honest, I-I'm getting a little scared."

Ned blinked. He had not expected that. "Um, scared? Whaddaya mean? Scared of what?"

"That my ... my ability, or whatever you call it ... is going away."

Ned snorted and waved a hand in dismissal. "Aw, c'mon. Why would that happen? These things don't jus' get up an' walk away, ya know."

Ned actually had no idea what the "rules" behind it were. He just wanted to calm her fears. Unfortunately, it was having little effect.

"I've read about people getting psychic powers, and then losing them after they did something big with them," Cassie said, closing her locker. She hugged her books to her bosom like a shield. "Maybe that's happening with me. I helped with Nyssa..."

"Helped? Babe, ya took her down!"

Cassie blushed and her lips quivered in a nervous smile. "But that's what I mean, Ned. Maybe after I did that..."

"But ya got a beat on Melissa in yer dreams."

"I might have been lucky there. And that dream got cut off abruptly, too."

"Hey, there's gotta be some other reason fer this. Look, the others didn't lose anything, did they?"

"They had their powers given to them for a specific purpose. Remember the story they told you about the House over the summer?"

"Um, yeah, I do," Ned said, rubbing at his neck. That story had creeped him out, almost as much as it did when he thought back to what he himself had almost done with the power that Nyssa had given him before the others rescued him. "Um ... hey, ya know, maybe the Brain can help ya out."

Cassie giggled softly at Ned's nickname for Jason.

Encouraged, Ned smiled. "Yeah, I betcha he can tell ya something about that. Listen, that reminds me, babe. I'm s'pposed to tell ya that we got a meeting this afternoon at the Sovert premises."

"Oh! This afternoon?"

"Yeah. Prolly gonna talk about the latest thing to hit fair Haven and..."

Cassie suddenly gasped and clutched more tightly at her books.

"Huh? What? Something wrong? All I was gonna say was..."

"Shhh!!" Cassie grabbed Ned's arm and turned towards the lockers, taking Ned with her.

"Hey! What... ?!"

"H-help me with this p-problem in the math book, Ned," Cassie said in a quavering voice. Her eyes flicked to the side briefly and she shivered as she scrambled to get one of her textbooks out. In her nervousness, she opened her chemisty textbook instead. "I-I mean..."

Something trailing inky blackness passed by in the corridor.

Ned nodded. "Uh, yeah, of course, Cassie, glad to lend out the ol' Ned noodle."

They both fell silent and tensed. Almost as one, they slowly turned their heads.

Melissa Hendell continued down the corridor at a brisk pace, her back to them, having taken no notice of them. The Darkness surrounded her body like an inky black cloak. It reflected no light that fell upon it from the overhead lights. It was a roiling mass of glowing blackness, with slithery tendrils that trailed behind it from her legs and arms like serpents. Other students stepped through it, oblivious, sending them writhing about before rejoining their mistress.

Cassie swallowed and leaned against her locker, panting lightly. "I-I've never seen it that bad before, Ned," she breathed. "Even Nyssa wasn't quite that bad."

Ned frowned and slowly shook his head. "Nah, Nyssa's was just as bad. There's jus' something different about hers."

Cassie glanced towards Melissa again, though she was barely visible anymore in the crowd. "Wait, you can see patterns in it like Jason can?"

"Huh? Nah, nothin' like that. Jus' a gut feelin'. But I wonder what she's doin' down here."

"Down here? I don't understand."

Ned smirked humorlessly. He jerked a thumb down the corridor down which Melissa had gone. "I'm on the same class rotation as the Mistress of the Dark here. And that ain't the way to the next class. Or her locker."

"You know where her locker is?"

"Oh yeah. I've been keepin' tabs on her."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Ned, that's dangerous! If she catches you ... some of the things I've heard she's done..."

Ned waved another hand in dismissal. It was a gesture that was braver than he actually felt. Tracking Melissa scared him. His stomach twisted in knots whenever he got near her. But he felt like he was still repaying a debt to Cassie. She had been the one that had stopped him from making a big mistake and falling completely to Nyssa.

And, though he didn't consciously realize it yet himself, he was showing off for Cassie.

"Look, I'm okay. I'm too ugly for her to wanna deal with."

"Oh, you are not!"

Ned blinked. "Huh?"

Cassie opened her mouth and closed it again, cheeks pink. "I-I mean ... if she really has some sort of power from the Darkness, she can do anything she wants. Please, promise me you won't do anything more until you've talked to the others about it."

"Um ... sure, babe, I promise," Ned said in a weak voice, looking a bit distracted.

"Look, we better get to our classes. I'll see you at lunch."

Cassie offered him a small smile and walked away.

Ned smiled as well, though she did not see it. His mind was still trying to parse what she had said. Did she really think that he was not as ugly as he thought he was?

Ned finally realized that the crowd had thinned. He rushed to his own locker and then on to class.

-------

Once, she had walked the halls of the school with a strutting confidence that drew the desirous looks of the boys and the jealous glares from the girls. With her dusky-blonde hair tied into its ponytail, it would lend a bit of cuteness or innocence to an otherwise wantonly sexy body poured into tight attire that skirted the edge of acceptability in the dress code.

She had commanded a following among both genders: eager boys that were interested in dating one of the more popular seniors, and sycophantic girls that wanted to ride on her coattails and get themselves noticed. She had power of a sort, the power to set the social hierarchy at Haven High.

But now, even after only a week, it all seemed a distant memory to Susan Radson.

Susan barely met anyone's eye as she trudged towards her locker. No one bothered even so much as to say "hi" to her as she passed. Not only was she a social nobody, having been toppled from the ladder by a single backfired prank, but they knew something was odd about her. And some of them knew it led back to Melissa.

Susan's hand trembled as she spun the dial on her locker. As her arm moved, her top stretched over her breasts, the nipples two hard points. She let go with a deep, sultry sigh as they tingled. She shifted her feet, her thighs sliding back and forth a few times before she caught herself.

She moaned softly, closing her eyes. Already her pussy felt warm and damp. She didn't need to exacerbate it before the day was over.

"Oh, no, Susan, don't stop."

Susan swallowed hard and turned her head. Melissa stepped up to her and smiled broadly.

Barely a second later, Susan's legs moved of their own accord. Her thighs scissored, brushing against each other as they passed, her hips gyrating in a slow, sensual dance. The heat in her sex rose, her pussy aching. The warmth trickled out from the edges of her panties. She uttered a very soft, despairing moan.

"Mmm, much better, isn't it?" Melissa purred. "I'll bet you can't wait to get Ann's tongue in your twat later."

Susan said nothing, her thighs continuing to inflame her desire. In the hallway, other students gave them a wide berth. At first, these meetings had been a source of curiosity or amusement. Now it made them too anxious to stick around.

Melissa stepped closer. "I'll bet you're so horny now it hurts," she cooed in a sultry whisper. "A horny little slut. You'd give anything to cum right now. Even if it meant stripping yourself naked, spreading your legs, and rubbing your twat right here in the hallway."

Susan gave Melissa a frightened look like that of a trapped animal.

There was a pause, and a wicked gleam came to Melissa's eyes. Suddenly, Susan's hands rose to the top of her blouse.

"N-no, please ... p-please, Melissa..." Susan begged, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as her fingers undid button after button completely against her will.

Melissa giggled. At the last button, Susan's hands stopped, shuddered, and became her own again. Susan sniffled in both relief and disappointment as she rebuttoned her blouse.

That was the most horrible part of it. Not the fact that Melissa had extended her control over them so much that she could treat them as mere puppets at her whim, but the fact that she could make them greet it with anticipation. As mortified as Susan would have been to put on such an exhibition, it also felt intensely erotic to her. It was as if her humiliation was being made to inflame her lust.

The last week of her life had been a living hell. The stretches of time that Melissa left her and Ann alone were rapidly dwindling. She had thought she would have had more time to herself after Melissa had been sated by her initial revenge. In extracting payback, Melissa had transformed Susan and Ann into personifications of lust. But she had arranged it it so that each could be satisfied only by the other, locking Susan and Ann into an intensely sexual relationship.

Susan had hoped that if they were good and gave Melissa no grief, she would do nothing more to them. She had held out hope that she might keep her other relationships intact.

It did not take long for those hopes to be dashed. Now she truly had lost everything that had mattered to her.

"As much as I would love to chat with you, Susan, I've dropped by just to inform you that I want you to come over to my house after school. I have something to discuss with you."

Susan gave Melissa a dark and lustful look. Her thighs had resumed rubbing against each other. "B-but ... But I have to ... with Ann..."

Melissa grinned. "Oh, you can do better than that. Now, you want to expand on that?"

The words sprang into being in Susan's head and tumbled from her mouth.

"Ann and I have to dive into each other's muffs after school because we're so wet and horny for each other," Susan said, blushing furiously. "We have to lick each other's cunts until we're exhausted from cumming so much."

"Yes, I understand all that. In fact, bring the stupid cunt along. Have your little fun, and then ... we'll talk..."

Something gleamed in Melissa's eyes that made Susan cringe. When Melissa spoke again, it was cold and unfeeling, sending a shiver through Susan's body.

"And I really do hope you have the answers I want, Susan. I will be very... disappointed ... if you don't."

Susan swallowed, panting in fear now as Melissa walked away.

-------

Late morning was the low point in Richie's day. Not that school itself held a great deal of his interest in the best of times. Boredom stole over him barely after the second period was over. Most of his teachers had given up trying to involve him in the class. But it was not until this particular period, the one right before lunch, that he grew openly sullen and resentful.

This was the class he had Miss Linda Davis for history.

His face was creased in a partial scowl. He leaned his head on one hand as if simply bored, but the narrowed, hard gaze told another story. Despite his apparent lack of attention, his eyes were riveted on the curvaceous form of Linda Davis as she strolled back and forth before the class, her heeled shoes making a sharp report with the tile with each step.

Anger bubbled and frothed inside of him whenever Linda came to a stop and faced the class to drive home some point in the lesson. Her gorgeous fall of blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she occasionally threw it back behind her with a casual swipe of one hand. Two eyes of bright blue alighted on a student at random, held eye contact for a few moments, and then flitted to the next student.

But never Richie.

On the Monday following Nyssa's defeat, Richie was sure that Linda would have called on him to stay after class and ream him for what he had done to her. Richie had met the young woman during the summer, when she had stopped to watch him play baseball with his friends. She had never revealed she was a teacher the whole time that he had talked to her. He had not found out her status until the semester began, much to his embarrassment and frustration.

To Richie, Linda had been an "oh-so-fuckable blonde." So when Richie had given himself to Nyssa in exchange for the power she offered, this is exactly what Linda became for him. He had had trouble imagining her as a teacher, and so he had changed reality to suit his world view.

Yet Monday came and went, and she said nothing to him. Not a word. Not even so much as a dirty look in his direction. He had thought he would be relieved. Instead, it infuriated him. At least by yelling at him, or giving him detention, it would have acknowledged that he had actually held sway over her. It would have been proof that for a short time, he actually had something that he wanted.

Each class, he silently dared her to look at him, to face him in some small way. Was she she showing him contempt or fear? He had no way to tell.

Several times, Richie had contemplated confronting her on his own, just to see how she would react. But then he would start wondering if he had any lingering influence over her. He wanted to test it, just to see if there was any truth to what Nyssa had said when she left.

And he would decide against it.

The power was bad. It was bad. He had to keep repeating that to himself. No one should have it. Not Nyssa, not him, no one. Bad, bad, bad.

Richie had not noticed he had clenched his hand into a tight, trembling fist until he felt the needle-like pain of his nails in his palm.

Richie swallowed and let out a long sigh, forcing himself to open his hand. Four angry, thin red wheals appeared where his nails bit into the skin. He flattened his hand against the desk and cursed under his breath.

The bell rang and nearly jolted him out of his seat.

"All right, homework for Monday, go read..." Linda began, and was drowned out by a groan of despair from the students, forcing her to raise her voice, "... go read the rest of chapter six and write an essay on the effects of the War of 1812 on American politics. Include at least one item that you researched outside the textbook. And anyone that copies verbatim from Wikipedia will get a zero for the assignment! Mr. Gardner, a word with you, if you please."

It took a few more seconds for Linda's words to register, causing him to abruptly freeze in the process of collecting his things. He thought he had imagined it, something that his head had conjured up while he had been lost in thought towards the end of the class. But when he looked up, he saw Linda seated at her desk, her eyes finally on him.

He held her gaze for a moment, as if daring her to break contact first. Instead, some students drifted between them. When they had passed, Linda had dropped her gaze down to her desk again.

Richie's heart thumped. So was this it? Wait until his guard was down and then attack him? He felt defensive, and now his mind filled with retorts and rejoinders he could make to whatever accusations she was about to level at him.

But along with it went questions as well. Did she really understand what had happened? Did she know that he had taken the power rather than being given it? Did she know that Nyssa was behind everything?

Richie shouldered his backpack. He waited for the last of the students to leave before heading up to the desk.

He didn't know where to place his eyes. He had to look her over once. It was one thing to see her in front of the class, but another to stand close to her. He noticed for the first time that her manner of dress was a bit less conservative compared to what she wore at the start of the semester. Her slacks hugged her hips. Her blouse was tighter, the hemline lower and revealing more of her plump cleavage.

Linda turned in her seat and regarded him. Her eyes met his again. Her red lips were slightly pursed, her eyes a bit cool. She folded her arms in a businesslike manner and looked to him expectantly.

"Um, you wanted to see me, Ms. Davis?" Richie asked.

Linda paused another moment. Some of the iciness retreated from her eyes. She appeared to take a single, quick, deep breath. "Yes, Mr. Gardner, I wanted to talk to you about your work in the class."

Richie frowned. "But I'm doing the work, Ms. Davis," he protested.

"Yes, you are. That is what I wanted to mention. I wanted to thank you for participating in the class once again."

Richie stared at her. Anger flickered in his eyes. She had been converted into his personal slut for nearly a week, and all she wanted to do was talk about his academics?

If Linda saw his growing fury, she did not note it. Her voice remained calm and collected. Perhaps even relieved. "I am glad that this matter has been resolved."

Richie slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it's been resolved, Ms. Davis," he said, fixing his gaze on her.

Linda's eyes flickered for a moment. "Good. I am glad you saw fit to..."

"That 'little trouble' was why you put me in detention. Remember?"

Linda hesitated only a second. "I remember that well, yes."

Richie's voice rose. "Yeah? You do? Are you sure you didn't forget anything?"

"Why would I forget anything that has happened this semester?" said Linda in a lower voice. "Now, that is all I wanted to..."

"So you remember that one day in detention, Ms. Davis? Right before that weekend?"

"Mr. Gardner, that's enough, please."

"I didn't have detention that day, did I? You were busy. Because I made you..."

"That's enough!"

Richie fell silent. Linda had cast an icy look at him again. Yet her lips were parted and her breathing was heavy. Her arms wrapped more tightly around herself.

His eyes darted. There were telltale bumps in the swells of her bosom. He struggled to remember if they were there when he first walked up to the desk.

Linda took another and more obvious deep breath. When she spoke again, it was in softer, measured, and halting tones. "Mr. Gardner ... I feel that it is ... it is in our mutual best interest that we let what happened in the past stay in the past."

Richie was not sure what to do. It was obvious that Linda was reacting to something. He didn't know if it had been his voice that had done it or her own thoughts.

Or was that why she would not acknowledge him? When Richie had had control over her, he had made it so that hearing his voice made her horny. Was she afraid this was still true? Is that why she never called on him in class or even acknowledged his existence, for fear that he would speak?

"But it happened," said Richie, his voice nearly a plea. "It did. It really happened."

Linda remained silent and turned her eyes away from him.

"C'mon, it did! A week. A whole week! You gotta say... !"

Linda placed a hand on her cheek and sighed. "Yes, it happened," she whispered. "Is ... is that what you wanted to hear, Richie? That I remember it? Yes, I do. Every bit of it. Does that make you happy?"

"You liked it."

Linda snapped her gaze back to him. "What?"

"You liked it. Some of it, anyway. I mean ... come on, it couldn't have been all that bad."

"That doesn't matter..."

"Why not? Why the hell not? I..."

"Stop it," Linda said firmly, though her voice quavered. Now the bumps on her blouse were far more pronounced. In the silence that followed her plea, Richie could hear her panting breath.

Richie swallowed. He was affecting her. She was getting aroused right in front of him. It was nowhere near the all-consuming passion that he had instilled in her before, but it was more than he thought he could do.

He felt himself being pulled in several directions at once. He wanted to do the right thing. But what if she did enjoy it? What if she really did want to do it again? Wouldn't that make it okay?

"I think you should leave, Mr. Gardner," Linda said, attempting to make her voice more forceful. She unfolded her arms and tugged at her blouse without thinking. Her nipples rubbed against her bra, tingling madly and making her visibly quiver. Her legs slid a bit further apart on the chair. "Please."

Richie paused for a long moment. It felt like the longest moment of his life. She looked incredibly vulnerable, even more so than when he had held her in his control.

He finally turned and trudged across the room. Halfway to the door he stopped and turned his head back towards her. "I want to do it again, Miss Davis."

Linda took another breath, letting it go as a sultry sigh. "Y-yes. I know. I..."

Richie looked on hopefully. He wanted her to make the first move. That would make everything okay. Then it would be clear that she really wanted it.

"I can't," Linda said in a hollow voice, barely audible.

Richie stared at her for a few moments and then frowned deeply. "Yeah. You can't. Uh-huh. Sure, whatever."

Richie grumbled to himself as he left the room.

-------

Gary Johnson was a handyman. Not because he was unskilled or particularly unintelligent, or because he couldn't hold down a "real" job, but by choice. Big, burly, and smart, he simply liked to help people with the odd jobs around the house.

And he liked to help himself.

As it was the case that morning. Kathy Hendell had called and said that she had a very important job for him. It was very clear the moment she opened the front door what kind of job she wanted. And it was not the first time it had happened to him, either.

He didn't waste any time. He didn't wait for her to stammer through her request of him. It was obvious that she was hoping that he would save her from herself, that he would be chivalrous and refuse to help her cheat on her husband. But it was also obvious that she was horny as hell, so much so that by the time he got her robe open against her feeble protests, her thighs were nearly as slick as her pussy.

Yes, he could have stopped and let her be. But being a handyman meant heavy work for little pay. He had to have his perks somewhere. And for some reason, Haven was rife with "perks" such as this. He would have been a fool to pass it up.

And Kathy was in no mood to refuse him despite her little murmurs of "no, this is so wrong" or "please, don't do this."

All her protests vanished the moment he had her on her back and his cock ramming into her sweet, hot cunt. At that point, the only sounds she made were those of a desperately horny woman begging for sexual release.

Did he think it odd that a normally upright and Christian woman would suddenly act like a bitch in heat? Yes, he was smart enough to know this was quite unusual. But Haven, he had discovered, was quite an unusual town.

Ultimately, when Kathy cried out her pleasure and clutched at him begging for more, he realized that it didn't matter one bit. All he knew was that he was a handyman, and here was a job that needed doing, and by God he was going to do it right.



-------

Chapter 3


Heather burst into the room. "For the last time, Melinda, NO!"

Melinda stomped over the threshold on Heather's heels as her older sister dropped her backpack on the floor near her bed. "Why the hell not, Heather?!" Melinda yelled, her face scrunched up in indignation.

Heather whirled around and plopped herself down on her bed with an exasperated sigh. "I've told you several times already why! It's too risky!"

Melinda shrugged the straps of her backpack from her shoulders and threw it as far as her diminutive frame would allow. It bounced once off the bed and crashed to the floor beyond it. It bumped against a torchiere lamp, making it briefly list to one side before it swayed back upright again.

"Yeah, nice going, runt," Heather muttered, lying back on the bed with her legs still dangling off the side.

"Shut up!" Melinda snapped.

Heather frowned and propped herself up on her elbows behind her. "Huh?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, you bubblehead?! We're not doing that until we can figure out a way to make it safe!"

Heather looked at her sister in confusion for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "I don't mean that."

Some of Melinda's anger faded from her eyes. "You better not be," she said, her voice still sharp. "I've told you a million times that I don't want to get pregnant, so I don't take him inside me. As much as I want to, dammit, I don't."

"All right, I get the picture. Anyway, I'm not worried about that, runt. I'm worried about Mom and Dad."

"They're not even here!"

"But we don't know if they'll decide to return at any time. Not after Dad decided to work from home." Heather frowned. "And you can bet Mom made him decide that!"

Melinda shuddered. The thing she hated the most about the incident with Nyssa was the revelation that her mother had fallen too deeply into the Darkness to be trusted. It was obvious that Penny was influencing her husband David to simply not notice anything that was happening. Now she had managed to persuade him to change his work routine in a major way, even to the point of accepting the expense of a broadband connection, something she had always maintained they simply did not need.

"So, no, Melinda, you can't have your little fuck session with him after the meeting."

Melinda's anger was promptly rekindled. "Fine! If you won't let us have the bedroom, we'll just do it in the living room. Or the basement."

"No way, Melinda!" Heather said, springing to her feet. "I'm not letting you two do it anywhere in this house."

"You're being so totally unfair about this!"

"I'm thinking of your safety, that's all!"

"Jason thinks it's okay, why don't you?"

Heather rolled her eyes again. "Oh come on, runt. You have him so wrapped around your little finger he'd jump out the window if you just bat your eyes at him and whine enough."

Melinda blushed. "I do not!" she screeched.

"It doesn't matter. He's not the one deciding this, I am."

Melinda clenched her hands into fists. "The hell you are!"

"Melinda, I'm warning you, don't defy me on this..."

"Or what?! What are you going to do? Run to Mom? Run to Dad? Face it, we can do anything the hell we want as long as it doesn't involve the Harbingers."

Heather sighed and covered her eyes with her hand. "Melinda..."

"This is not fair, Heather," Melinda whined, her eyes glistening. "Come on, please ... I haven't had sex with him in days..."

Heather snorted. "Big fucking deal. I haven't done it since Nyssa left."

Melinda looked shocked. "What??"

"Yeah, that's right, runt," Heather said, her voice quavering as she folded her arms, trying to look defiant. "Nothing for two weeks. So forgive me if I don't have any sympathy for..."

"And you're going to stop me and Jason just because you're not getting any?!"

"That's not true! That is not the reason I'm doing this!"

Melinda's eyes widened. "Yes it is! Yes it is! You little fink!"

"I said it's not true!"

"Then why are you blushing?!"

Heather opened her mouth and paused a long moment, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Her arms tightened around herself and she took in a deep breath. "I'm ... I'm not..." she said in a weak voice.

"Yes, you are! Come on, fess up, Heather! You're the one that liked to be horizontal all the time with Brad the Wonder Chimp."

"What, you think I'm going to just fall into bed with anyone?" Heather said indignantly, though her voice was rapidly losing its conviction. Her eyes were fixed on Melinda, growing dark and sultry. "I'm not like that, Melinda. I have to have some feelings for someone first."

"And I don't for Jason? Come on, you know ... you..."

Melinda trailed off. Her lips parted slightly.

"What?" Heather asked.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"You're doing it again. Again!"

Heather tried to open her mouth again to voice a protest, but no words would come to her. She knew she should avert her eyes, but she could not bring herself to do it. Her gaze first fixed on the rise and fall of the swells of Melinda's breasts, then on the curve of her hips.

"What's your excuse now, huh?" Melinda demanded, though some of the edge to her voice was lost as well. "I'm not naked. I'm not even dressed in anything revealing."

"I-I know. I'm not ... I'm not interested either."

"Liar."

"Melinda, really, I'm not. I don't know where you're getting this idea. I'm not interested in having sex with you."

Melinda's eyes widened a touch and her cheeks grew faintly pink. The hands that had been curled into fists loosened. "I don't believe you. You've been doing something to me the past week."

Heather took another deep breath, letting it go through her nose. "Just your imagination," she said in a soft voice.

Melinda swallowed. "Y-you're still doing it."

"Then run away," Heather snapped. "If you're so afraid I'm going to make you start licking my pussy or something, then..."

Melinda uttered a strained sigh and collapsed into a nearby chair. She dropped her face into her hands and shivered. "Oh God, Heather..."

"You're horny, aren't you?"

Melinda's cheeks flushed again. "Only because you made me, you b-bubblehead," she said, her voice husky.

"I'm sorry," Heather breathed. "I-I can't help it. I've tried ... I've tried..."

Melinda closed her eyes and shook her head violently before turning away from Heather.

"Please, it's not my fault. It's something left over from..."

"You want to make me into your slave again, don't you?"

Heather looked horrified. "No! No, Melinda, I never wanted to do that!"

Melinda swallowed again. Her pussy grew hot and achy. "I wish I could believe you, Heather."

"Melinda ... we have to do something about this..."

Melinda shook her head again, rust-brown hair flying. She was panting lightly.

"I can't keep going like this. Seeing you all the time and feeling like..."

Melinda shuddered and squirmed in her seat, her panties squishing against her slit. "I can't."

"You want to, Melinda, you can't tell me you don't."

"You made me."

"But ... b-but does it matter? I..."

Melinda's head whipped around. Fury and lust both burned in her eyes. She bolted out of her seat, staggering a bit when her thighs gave her swollen cunt a squeeze that sent another shiver of unwanted pleasure through her. "You're all hot and bothered? That's your problem! You go find someone to fuck. Leave me out of it!"

Before Heather could say another word, Melinda fled.

Heather fell back onto the edge of the bed. Her hands dropped into her lap, her legs spread apart to relieve some of the pressure. She had to resist the urge to touch herself.

She stared at the seat that Melinda had vacated. She wished she did not have to impose this on Melinda. She really wished she could have something -- or someone -- else to distract her.

Heather stood up and headed into the bathroom to make herself presentable for the meeting. In more ways than one.

-------

Richie was inside the house before the bus had barely left the curb, and then on the stairs before the front door had finished swinging closed behind him. He bounded up the stairs two at a time, barely stepped across the threshold to unceremoniously dump his backpack inside, and turned back the way he came only a second after it thumped to the floor.

In less than a minute since he had entered the house, he was already on his way out, stomping down the steps as if emphasizing his desire to remove himself from the place. Richie took the last three steps in a single leap, landing with a heavy thump that made the plastic flowers in a nearby vase rustle, and raced for the door.

"Hey!"

Richie suddenly stopped and whirled around.

Sandra Gardner had emerged from the kitchen, a frown marring an otherwise attractive face under a fall of dirty-blonde hair. Fraying denim cutoffs hugged her hips, a tank top wrapped tightly around the large swells of her breasts, her feet bare. She lifted a can of beer to her lips and tipped it back, taking a long swig before speaking to her son again. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out. See ya." Richie saluted her and turned towards the door.

"Wait a minute. Did you just get home?"

Richie stomped to a halt again and sighed. "No, I've been hidin' in the basement all day."

"Don't be a fucking wiseass, Richie, I'm not in the mood for it."

"Why? The job workin' ya too hard? That why you're home now?"

"Never mind why I'm home," Sandra snapped. "I told you, my work is none of your fucking business."

Richie said nothing in reply. There was no point. Her mother knew better than to make further pretense anyway. She supposedly worked for a cleaning service. Richie was sure there was more to it than that.

Richie tried not to look at his mother's eyes. That would just make the Dark Aura go away.

He used to think he didn't want to see it around his own mother. Looking intently enough into someone's eyes was a way of negating the perception of the Aura. It made it vanish from the senses for a short time. It was still there, but simply masked from sight for a bit. When he had first started seeing it around his mother, he had wanted nothing more than to stop seeing it.

Now it was the opposite. He wanted to make sure it was there all the time. He didn't want to take the chance that he might think his mother was actually someone worth caring about.

And he knew perfectly well why she was home. It was to prevent the Harbingers from thinking of using that house as a meeting place. It was the only reason that made sense to him. Jason never mentioned it when Richie first told them that his mother's schedule had abruptly changed, but Richie had figured it out for himself.

"Why do you wanna know where I'm going?" Richie demanded.

"Well, funny thing is, Richie, that I have this job called 'mother.' And it requires I know where the hell you are."

Richie bit back any of the usual responses critical of her capacity in that role. Despite his sharp tongue now, this was actually a far more civil attitude than he had had towards her for some time. But it didn't mean that he was going to be any more direct with her, either.

"I'm gonna go off and join the boy scouts, okay?"

"What, you need a merit badge in smartass or something?" She downed the rest of her beer. "You got one more chance to tell me where you're going or you ain't goin' nowhere, got it?"

Richie fumed, his fingers curling into fists. He would have loved to have told her what she could do with that threat. It was not like she had any real power over him, or so he believed.

"I'm gonna go see some friends, that's all, Mom."

"Yeah? Which friends?"

"What diff does it make, huh?! Shit!"

"Which friends,  Richie?"

Richie was not sure how to answer. This was the first time that his mother had bothered to ask. As much as he was at odds with the Harbingers, he didn't want to be the one that brought the Darkness down on them all.

"Just Jason. Mebbe his girlfriend. Dunno about anyone else."

Sandra appeared to pause for a moment. A peculiar look came across her face, as if she were struggling with conflicting thoughts in her head. "Jason, you said?"

Richie paused, feeling a twinge of anxiety. "Um, yeah, Jason. Why?"

Sandra took a half-step to the side, as if having caught herself before stumbling. Richie eyed her and then the empty can. For a moment, Richie thought she was drunk, but she looked too lucid and her speech sounded too clear for that.

In the air surrounding Sandra, the Darkness shuddered.

"What?" Richie said more insistently, his heart pounding. "What about Jason?"

"Nothing!" Sandra cried, exasperated, looking flustered. "Fine. Just ... j-just go. But get your fucking butt back here by sunset."

"But why were you so interested in..."

"Shut up and get out of my face, all right?!" Sandra yelled. She retreated into the kitchen, her Dark Aura roiling and writhing behind her. Richie heard the sound of the empty can being violently tossed into the garbage bin.

Richie frowned and headed out.

-------

"Now, Jason, don't stay out too late," said Audrey Conner as she followed her son from the foot of the stairs to the door.

Jason turned at the door and smiled. "I won't, Mom, I promise. Anything you want me to get you on the way home?"

"No, that's fine, I'm planning a big shopping trip tomorrow. You can come along and help me with that."

"Sure thing, Mom. Anything else?"

Audrey gave her son a faint smile. The auburn-haired woman was still a bit surprised at this turnaround in her son's attitude. Only a few weeks ago he had seemed sullen and withdrawn. And before that, during the summer...

Well, the less she thought about that, the less likely she was to fear her son again.

"No, honey, that's all. Thank you for being thoughtful." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Jason smiled again. He was grateful for the show of affection.

He had reason to be. His mother was unaffected by the Darkness thus far, and he kept a close eye on her to make sure she stayed that way. He never saw even a trace of a Dark Aura on her. It was a sort of anchor for him. If he could rely on just one person in his life never falling to the Darkness, it gave him some measure of hope.

But what also motivated him was guilt.

During the incident with the House, Jason had used its power on her mother when she tried to take the internet from him. She didn't understand exactly what he had done to her or how, but it had instilled a fear of him just the same. After nearly losing everything to Nyssa, he realized that he didn't want this situation to continue any longer. But without the power, he could not simply will his mother into normalcy. He had to work at it instead.

"Well, I'll see you later, Mom."

"I'll close the door for you."

Jason headed into the garage and mounted his bike in one smooth motion. He was pedaling fast out onto the driveway barely seconds after the door opened completely.

Jason felt he had good reason to worry about his mother. Where she was innocent of the Darkness, his father was another matter. But it was worse than Richie's mother, or at least he felt this way. Where Sandra was a slave to the Darkness, Henry Conner was willingly working for it.

Jason could tell this from the patterns he saw in the Aura. He alone out of the Harbingers had this ability. He could tell who was a slave, and who was a collaborator. And for the former, he could "hear" the Darkness as it "spoke" to its slave.

He had no idea what his father was doing for the Darkness. He was a neurosurgeon that worked at the downtown hospital, apparently doing some research whose purpose he would not disclose. That was as much as he knew. His father had yet to take an active hand in trying to stop Jason from fighting the Darkness.

Jason pedaled his bike down the street, and it was not long before he was out of sight of his house. He really didn't need his bike for this short trip. But it gave his mother the impression that he was going further afield, so she would not criticize him for getting "too serious" about his girlfriend Melinda.

Jason slowed his pace when he saw the long, black limo parked at the curb just short of the intersection with the avenue that ran by both the Sovert and Gardner households. Here, the car was just out of sight of anyone walking down that avenue unless they turned the corner.

As soon as Jason came alongside the limo, he hit the brake and skidded to a halt just as the window in the rear seat slid down.

"Anything?" Jason called out.

Cassie's face appeared at the window. "Jason, he stayed after with Miss Davis today," she said in a distressed voice. Behind her, a lanky girl in the shadows waved.

Jason nodded to her. "Hey, Diane. Cassie, did Richie do anything else with her?"

"It was hard to tell. I only listened from the hall. I didn't want to take the chance on being seen."

"Did you get a look at Miss Davis?"

"Briefly. I tried to go and talk to her after Richie was gone, but she shooed me out of the room. She was trying to hide it, but she was upset."

Jason sighed. "Damn him," he muttered.

"Jason, I don't know if Richie actually did anything to her. I mean, he had two weeks to try anything. Why only now?"

"Yeah, but I put you on watching him only in the last week or so."

"Maybe it was perfectly innocent."

Cassie hated the idea that Richie was backsliding. While she was not as enamored of him as she once was, she didn't want to be unkind towards him.

And the truth was, Jason did this at Melinda's insistence. Linda Davis was her favorite teacher, and she grew increasingly paranoid that Richie was going to take advantage of any lingering influence. Cassie had agreed to do it largely because the class she had at the same time put her just across the hall from Richie's anyway.

"Yeah, I wish I could believe that," Jason said. He was still angry over the way Richie had dismissed their attempts to stand up to the Darkness when he had intercepted his friend on the way to Linda's house to complete her enslavement. He wanted to believe that Richie was trying to do better, but Melinda was still so vociferous in her hatred of him, and he held Melinda's opinions in high regard lately.

"So we keep an eye on him still?" Cassie asked in a tired voice.

"Not much else we can do. All right, we have to get this meeting started. I'll just meet you over there."

Jason was pedaling away even as he uttered the final sentence.

-------

"All right ... well ... the first thing is, though most of you already know this by now, is that it's definitely Melissa Hendell."

Even though she had been expecting it, Diane met Jason's words with a terrible sense of disappointment. She flopped back against her seat on the sofa, wrapping her arms around herself. She seemed to draw herself in, as if trying not to touch either the hand rest on one side or Heather on the other. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Heather. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room, where Richie sat alone in a chair borrowed from the dining room.

"So someone saw her black shit?" Richie called out.

"Oh yeah," Ned said, nodding his head. He squatted on the floor next to the chair in which Cassie sat. "More black than the inside of a bowling ball warehouse at night in the middle of a power outage."

Cassie's lips curled into a tiny smile and she had to resist the impulse to giggle. "It's pretty bad, yes," she commented.

"God, who hasn't seen it?" Melinda piped, leaning against Jason and shivering.

"I haven't," Diane said glumly.

Heather turned her head and looked at her friend with concern. Diane's eyes flicked to her and then darted away. "You mean you haven't run into her yet?" Heather asked hopefully.

Diane sighed, feeling her cheeks flush. She hated being put on the spot like this. "I mean, I can't."

"You still can't?" Melinda asked, surprised. "Why not?"

"Melinda, shut up," Heather snapped.

"Don't tell me to shut up! You're not the boss here, Jason is!"

"Look, everyone just stop, okay?" Diane called out in desperation. Her eyes shimmered as she looked at the others. She sighed and stood up. "I'll just leave. I'm sorry."

"Diane, no. Wait, Diane!" Heather bolted out of her seat and stepped in front of her friend. "Please, I..."

"Heather, I was looking right at her!" Diane cried. "She was right in front of me! I could almost reach out and touch her, I was so close. I saw nothing."

"Diane, that's dangerous. You know ... you know what she might ... I mean, what she can do..."

Diane shook her head. "No, forget it. I can't stay here when I'm totally useless."

"Diane, wait, " Heather grabbed Diane's arm when the lanky girl started to edge around her.

"Come on, Diane, ya don't hafta leave," Ned said. "So ya can't see the spooky black stuff. It's overrated, anyway."

"Diane, you helped me free one of the others from Nyssa!" Cassie called out. "That wasn't useless!"

Melinda's eyes just flicked between the two older girls. She had never been a big fan of Diane. Most of the time Heather was tying up the phone line, it was Diane with whom she was conversing. Also, if Melinda were unfortunate enough to be in the same room with both of them, their teasing was so merciless it sometimes drove her to tears.

That was before the House happened, but it was a recent enough memory that it still hurt. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do.

"But I can't see the Darkness," Diane said, her voice quavering. "All of you can. I'm just going to wind up getting someone in trouble for having to go save me or something like that."

"Diane, you can't leave, please," Heather begged. "You ... it's not safe..."

"That's my point! I don't want to drag all of you into this."

Heather gave Diane a pleading look that quickly turned to one of exasperation. She looked over to Jason. "Jason, please, tell her that we'd come after her anyway, that it doesn't matter if she's in the group."

"Heather, don't do this..."

"Heather's right, Diane," Jason finally said. "We're not going to abandon you. We're going to go help anyone that Melissa may decide to take."

"Fuck, she hasn't even taken anyone yet," Richie drawled.

"We don't know that," Melinda piped indignantly.

"Well, I didn't hear no one say nothin' about black shit around anyone else, 'kay?"

"You're such a turd, Richie."

Richie's eyes met Melinda's spiteful gaze, and he opened his mouth as if to hurl an insult back at her. Instead, his mouth snapped shut, and he clenched his jaw until the joint spasmed in pain. He seethed quietly, or largely so after grabbing his chair and jerking his body so that it tipped back briefly and came down with a loud thump.

Cassie gave Richie a sympathetic look, though he did not see it, before turning her gaze to Jason. Jason looked a bit upset. He glanced at Melinda and looked as if he were about to say something to her, but one glare from Melinda appeared to silence him.

This annoyed Cassie. Melinda had started mouthing off more often over the past week and Jason didn't seem to want to stop her. She knew they were rather close now, but Jason had always been more willing to gently silence her when she was getting out of hand. Now only Heather did it, and in a way that just set Melinda off even more.

Heather turned back to Diane. "See? It doesn't matter if you leave, we're going to protect you anyway. So you might as well stay."

Diane gave Heather a stricken look. At the same time, she felt a renewed feeling of affection for her friend. It was making her own struggles that much harder. She finally swallowed hard and said in a shaky voice, "Fine. I'll stay. But we better tell them."

Heather's eyes widened. "Um ... tell them what?"

"Tell them why we think Melissa might go after us."

"What?? She knows about the Harbingers?" Melinda piped. "Who told her?!"

Her gaze flicked over the others and came to rest on Richie, her eyes narrowing in obvious accusation. This time, Richie exploded.

"Hey, fuck you, Melinda! I didn't tell nothin' to nobody! Don't hang this on... !"

Jason was finally prompted to action, though he looked reluctant, and his voice did not carry much force to it. "Melinda, please, there wouldn't be any point for Richie ... for anyone ... to go telling her anything about us."

"No, no, no!" Diane cried. She looked terribly embarrassed, her cheeks flaming. She hated trying to talk to so many people at once. "Not the Harbingers. I don't mean all of us, I mean Heather and I."

"Diane, that was ... that was months ago, maybe she..." Heather said.

"Heather, you're the one that warned me about it earlier!"

Heather's eyes shimmered.

Melinda frowned. "Warned you about what?" she demanded.

Heather glared at her, but there was little enthusiasm behind it. "Look, this was before everything started. Before the House. Before... "

"Before you decided to stop being a total jerk?"

Heather frowned deeply, but nodded.

"Aw, man, don't tell me we're talkin' revenge angle here," Ned said, crossing his legs under him. With his tall and thin frame, this gave the impression of a large grasshopper waiting to jump. "She's not gonna start zapping people like in Carrie, is she?"

"That was telekinesis," Jason pointed out. "This is mind control. Different method."

"Oh, well, fuck, that makes it all so much better," Richie sneered. "Was real worried til you cleared that up."

Melinda opened her mouth to retort but Jason managed to talk over her, as if finally emboldened by hearing of a possible new threat to his friends. "Heather, you want to tell us what happened? Did you do something to Melissa?"

"Like in Cassie's dream?" Melinda asked, looking aghast.

Heather looked horrified. "What?! No! We never pulled shit like that on her!"

A week ago, Cassie had had a vivid dream about a honey-haired girl being taken out to a forest, where she stripped herself naked and allowed herself to be tied to stakes in the ground. It became apparent that she had been tricked into participating in a bogus ceremony to humiliate her. Later she encountered a strange, dark being that offered her a great power. She willingly accepted it, and the dream faded out just as the girl gained the Dark Aura about her body.

Cassie started to vent some of her annoyance at Melinda. "Melinda, come on, you don't really think Heather and Diane could do something like that. I mean..." She glanced nervously at them, having occasionally suffered choice barbs from them the year before. " ... I mean, they never got that bad..."

"Oh yes they did!" Melinda screeched. "Go on and ask them about all the times they teased me until I cried, and then laughed at me when I went running to Mom and Dad to get them to stop!"

"Melinda stop it!" Heather cried. "I'm sorry for all that! I'm sorry! I won't ever do it to you again! I p-promise!"

Melinda stared at her big sister, thunderstruck. An awkward silence fell over the others.

Heather took a deep breath and wiped at the trickle of tears on her cheeks. She felt more embarrassed than contrite. Her feelings for Melinda and her fear over Melissa had combined to make her emotionally fragile for a passing moment.

But her apology had been sincere. Even as difficult as it was to change her life, she had no desire to tease Melinda as badly as she once did.

Diane tentatively slid an arm around Heather's waist, hoping it would be taken only as a show of support from a friend and nothing more. She was struggling to keep it to that in her own mind. Heather smiled faintly in appreciation and shared a quick hug with her friend, causing Diane to draw in her breath and hold it for a moment until they separated.

"I'm ... I..." Melinda faltered as Heather turned around to face the rest of them.

Heather shook her head. "Forget it," she said softly.

Melinda opened her mouth again, but closed it without saying a word.

"Heather, I hate to push you, but I think you need to tell us what happened," Jason said. "I mean ... I don't want this to be like last time. With Nyssa I felt like I was going around with only half of what I needed to know. Like I just missed understanding things I should have picked up. I don't want that to happen again."

Heather nodded as she and Diane sat back down. "Okay, um ... it was like this ... Melissa was the new girl in town. She was a real dork."

Jason smirked very slightly. He remembered when Heather thought that same thing of him before the House.

"Um, yeah, well, you know what I mean, okay? Anyway, she was trying to get with the in-crowd. But she was really out of it instead. She didn't know what was cool, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she missed the memo on that, huh?" Melinda muttered.

Heather didn't rise to the bait and continued on as if Melinda had said nothing. She glanced at Diane, who had averted her eyes again. "So me and Diane play along with her anyway, get her interested, make her think we're going to let her hang out with us."

"Make her think you're going to be her friends, you mean," Melinda piped angrily.

"Melinda, please, I want to hear Heather out," said Cassie sharply.

Melinda blinked in surprise at this rebuke and subsided reluctantly.

"Thank you," Heather said with relief, grateful that there was someone at the meeting that had some control over Melinda.

Ned smiled faintly up at Cassie. He changed position again, drawing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He had some sympathy for Diane. He felt a bit like the odd man out as well. He didn't share the same history as the others and didn't have a lot to contribute.

And to be honest, all this talk tended to bore him.

Ned always thought he was more a doer than a talker. Even when he had been "recruited" after his rescue from Nyssa, he had wanted to cut to the chase and storm Nyssa's office.

"Look, I admit, it was stupid, okay? I wish I had never done it," Heather said. She met Melinda's dubious look with the retort, "And not just because I'm afraid of Melissa going after me."

Diane sighed. Dragging it out felt like torture to her. "Look, let's just tell them, please? I want to get this over with."

"It wasn't even that big a deal, really, or at least Melissa didn't make it out to be at first," said Heather. "We ... well, after she started hanging out with us, we start talking about boys. So we get this idea to play a trick on her. One of Diane's friends, um..."

"George," Diane said in a hollow voice. "George Urdine."

"Yeah, him. He and his girlfriend were in on it, when he was going with that bi gal."

"Huh?" Richie suddenly spoke up. "Bi?"

"Yeah, figures you'd perk up hearing that," Melinda said acidly. She still resented Richie for the time he made her and Heather have sex with each other at the House. She glanced over at Heather, then blinked and looked away, shivering.

Heather continued, trying to ignore the others. "We claimed we had this really great guy we wanted to introduce Melissa to. Told her he was interested in all the same dorky ... uh ... the same stuff that she was. We set it up for them to meet in a burger joint over by the city park.

"So George is there with his girlfriend, but they sit in different booths. Melissa doesn't know George so she doesn't know he has a girl. So we get shy little Melissa to meet with George, and he just wows her. She's like hanging on his every word or something."

"Just like we planned it," Diane added, folding her arms tightly, her eyes slightly downcast.

"So, they start talking hot and heavy..."

"Hot and heavy?" Cassie asked.

"Sex, Cassie," Melinda piped.

Cassie blushed and nodded. Ned glanced up at her and wrapped his arms more tightly about his knees, trying not to think about Cassie and sex in the same thought.

"Not sex, runt," Heather snapped. "But they were talking sorta intimate. He ... well, he kinda gave her the impression he was really into her. That he wanted to kiss her. So ... so he had her close her eyes ... and, um, well, she got this really, really sexy, long, drawn out kiss ... from his girlfriend."

Cassie gasped softly. Richie hid a smirk behind his hand. Ned just blinked once and very nearly chuckled. He caught himself when he saw the look of shock on Cassie's face.

Melinda had a look of disgust on her face, as if she had just trodden in something dirty and smelly.

Jason was trying to be careful not to show a lot of outward reaction. Nevertheless, he thought it was a rather dirty trick to play on someone. He had to remind himself that this was the Heather before the Harbingers, before they knew of the Darkness. She wasn't like that now.

Diane could not even raise her eyes to the others. Heather looked only at Melinda, as if daring her to say something. "Look, she was embarrassed, okay, but she didn't look that bad. I mean, she even tried to laugh at it."

"Along with you two, right?" Melinda piped. "Betcha thought you were sooo funny, miss bubblehead."

"Melinda, I already said I'm sorry I did it."

"Yeah, because someone is coming after you now! Never would've thought of that if this hadn't happened!"

"Please, this isn't getting us anywhere." Cassie said.

"Um, Cassie's right," Jason finally said. "I think we've heard enough about it."

"No, you need to hear one more thing," Diane said, her eyes shimmering. "We found out later..."

"That might not be true, Diane!" Heather said.

"Well, we don't know, so maybe we need to assume it is. That may have been her first kiss."

"What??" Melinda gasped. "Oh, way to go, you two! Ruining a girl's first kiss. Brilliant."

"I said, we don't know if that's true," Heather insisted.

"Look, enough," Jason said. "It doesn't matter at this point. I'm not sure we even needed to hear as much as we did, but thank you for telling us, both of you. I know that was probably awkward."

Diane just wanted to disappear. She felt embarrassed at having to tell the others, and she was worried that Heather was angry with her now. Heather just nodded and subsided, refusing to meet Melinda's glare.

"So now what?" Richie said. "So they fucked with the new girl in town. She gonna go gunning for them now?"

Jason sighed. "I don't know. I was hoping Cassie might be able to tell us something more."

Cassie flinched at being put under the spotlight suddenly.

"Have you had any more dreams, Cassie?" Jason asked, realizing that she needed a little prompting.

"No, and that's what's been frustrating me. Well, I have had dreams, I always do. But they're really fuzzy, like I get only bits and pieces."

Richie shifted his feet.

"Ever since I saw Melissa take the power from that dark figure, it's like I'm trying to look through a curtain to see anything. Everything is blurry and indistinct. I catch only occasional lucid bits."

"Gotta be something in those bits, babe," Ned said, trying to sound encouraging.

"Well ... all I can say is that I think Melissa has taken someone already. Maybe more than one."

"Probably the ones that played that awful prank on her in the first place," Melinda said. "Serves 'em right."

Richie frowned. "You fucking nuts or something?"

Melinda looked taken aback. "What??"

"You actually want her to fuck with someone's head?"

"I didn't mean it that way! I just... !"

"I got the sense they were older," Cassie said a bit loudly. "Older than Melissa, anyway."

"Seniors," said Jason. "That may be why we haven't spotted them yet. Their class rotation schedule is so different from all of ours."

"Okay, so we spot 'em," said Richie. "Then what?"

Jason considered for a long moment, all eyes on him. "Maybe nothing," he finally said.

Many of the others looked at him in surprise.

"I've been thinking about this since Cassie revealed her dream to me. Remember what Mara warned us about?"

"She said a lotta weird shit, Jason," Richie said. "Which one was it?"

"The one where she said that a girl from Haven High would fall to the Darkness this semester."

"But lots of girls fell to it, Jason," Cassie said. "When Nyssa was here."

"But they really didn't have a lot of choice, did they? They were enslaved. I don't think that's what she meant. Especially when Mara said that we shouldn't stand in her way or we'd get hurt. That implies someone taking power for herself, so she can use it against others."

"But Nyssa did that," Melinda piped. "When she sent people she took to go after others."

"No, I get it now," said Cassie. "That's not the same. Slaves taking other slaves. Melissa is not a slave. She took the power herself. I saw it in my dream."

"And I've seen Melissa," Jason said. "I can tell from her Aura that she's not a slave. She has the same patterns that my ... that someone who went voluntarily into the Darkness would have."

"Come on, yer not sayin' we just sit on our hands, are ya?" Ned spoke up. "I didn't get into this outfit to jus' sit around and let things happen."

"Well, I'm not saying that, either," Jason said. "Mara told us we can try to stop others from falling victim to her."

"But what about the babes she's already got, huh?"

"I don't think we can do anything for them."

Ned made a face. "Jeez, dude, that's kinda cold."

Jason gave him a sullen look. "I didn't say that I liked it."

Melinda glanced over to Heather and Diane before looking back at Jason. "So we have to protect the bubbleheads here from Melissa, then?"

"Melinda, don't call us that!" Heather snapped.

"Don't expect any sympathy from me! That was a really dirty and mean trick you pulled on her. Look, I don't want her messing with you or Diane, okay? But don't expect me to pretend like you didn't do something terrible to her in the first place."

"Heather, are you sensing anything?" Cassie asked.

Heather looked confused. "Huh? Oh, you mean ... no, I haven't felt like something was going to happen to any of us. I haven't felt anything like that all week."

"So maybe Melissa hasn't really targeted you at all."

Heather sighed. "I don't know. I don't get these visions very far ahead of when things happen. And lately it's all been really fuzzy when I do get them. I really wish you could tell us more about what Melissa is doing, Cassie. We'd both feel better knowing."

"That makes two of us."

But Diane was already feeling a little better. Heather had told her about Mara and the predictions she had made, but she had forgotten that detail. Knowing that perhaps it had been preordained that they had to protect her made it easier. At least she felt she could make eye contact with nearly everyone again.

Everyone except Heather.

She had no idea what Heather thought of her now. She almost wished Jason had blabbed her secret to Heather. It might have been easier than broaching the subject herself.

Ned folded his arms and grumbled. Cassie turned her head and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Ned, how can we do anything against Melissa anyway?" Jason asked. "We don't know anything about her power or its limits or her intentions."

"I-I've heard some really strange stuff about her, Jason," Melinda said, shivering. "Like ... like she can just wave a hand at someone and make them do stuff. Or like the other day I saw Wendy Michaels after last class. She was staggering around, breathing hard and moaning. She could barely work the combination on her locker. I think ... I think she was c-cumming."

Richie's eyebrows rose.

"What, you mean Melissa gave her ... gave her an orgasm?" Jason asked.

"But one that wouldn't stop! Or she kept having them over and over, like once a minute."

Richie snickered.

"Did she have a Dark Aura?" Jason asked before Melinda could retaliate.

Melinda still shot a sour look at Richie. "I thought I saw one tiny little wisp, but that was it. I tried to help her, but she waved me off. She was so embarrassed! But I think it started getting better once she was able to head to the exit. Then that wisp disappeared."

"Sounds like she's playin' with her food before she eats it," Ned commented dryly.

"Or just being a bully herself." Melinda could understand the reasons behind Melissa's actions even if she didn't condone them. She tried to do something like that herself when she had been tangled up with the House.

"We can't stop her from 'playing' with people like that, can we?" Diane asked.

"We're not going to get anywhere until we learn more about Melissa. And that pendant of hers," said Jason.

"The pendant?"

"Yeah. Remember, Cassie said the dark figure seemed to think it was important. It made the figure offer Melissa the Power." Jason glanced at his watch. "I think we better wrap this up. I don't think we want to chance Heather and Melinda's Mom coming home."

"She's not due for another hour, Jason."

"I know, but ... but I want some time, um, for something else."

Richie smirked, knowing full well what he meant.

"Jason, I already told Melinda that..." Heather began.

"Jason, when can we meet again, huh?" Melinda said loudly. "We should meet again soon."

Jason frowned. "Well, that's the problem. We're about to lose the one place we could go. Unless anyone else had any luck..."

Diane sighed and shook her head. "We can't do it at my place. My mother won't allow me to bring that many people over without adult supervision. And she works during the day."

"No'em meeting place here, kemosabe," said Ned, shaking his head. "Let's just say that the ol' homestead is not in top shape family-wise."

"I looked into renting a room at a conference center," said Cassie. "But my parents have to clear it because I'm a minor, and they want to know exactly what I need it for, and want Harry my driver to chaperone."

Jason looked over to Richie.

Richie made a face. "What?"

"What about your place?" Jason asked patiently.

"Oh. Nah, man. Not with my ever-lovin' mother changin' her lovin' hours. What about your place, dude?"

Jason shook his head. "Mom's home all the time."

"So? She don't have black shit around her."

"But my father does," Jason said coldly. "You want it getting back to him?"

"So what do we do?" Melinda piped.

"I don't know yet. We're going to have to play it by ear. Keep in touch by phone and email, hold impromptu get-togethers. Cassie had the idea we might all meet sometime this weekend in a restaurant."

Richie snorted. "Most joints don't want crowds like this, man."

"Not a fast-food place, a regular restaurant."

"That I can get my parents to approve," Cassie said. "Any opportunity for me to flaunt my family's money to my friends is time well spent in their view."

"Huh. Isn't that kinda too out in the open?" Ned said. "Anyone can overhear us."

"It a psychological thing, Ned," said Jason with a small smile. "When was the last time you remembered a conversation at a restaurant? Or at some other public venue? You just tune it out. Everyone else will be intent on their meal and not mind us. So long as we watch for people with Auras, and we're not too loud, we should be okay."

Ned smirked. "Guess that's why yer the brains of the outfit."

"But we can't keep doing this forever. We have to come up with an idea. Otherwise..." Jason paused and sighed deeply. " ... otherwise this is the last meeting of the Harbingers."



-------

Chapter 4


From a comfortable chair near the side of her bed, Melissa watched the antics of her two slaves with amusement, her lips curled into a wicked smile.

Susan's naked body shivered, her skin glistening with perspiration. Her breath came as rapid gasps and wet grunts, her face buried in the wet pussy of the girl that lay spread under her. As she licked at the musky, steaming cunt, it made her own arousal spike such that her pussy ached for release as well.

Susan's knees were splayed out to either side of Ann Went. Her hips had descended until her dripping snatch was plastered tightly against Ann's face. Only Ann's nose was visible, her cries of need and sexual ecstasy muffled by Susan's pussy. Her trembling hands ran along the insides of Susan's thighs, making Susan quiver. Tangled waves of dark brown hair lay spilled around Ann's head.

Suddenly Ann shuddered and made a keening noise, her thighs clenching. Her hips jerked, the bed squeaking in response. Moments later, Susan's toes curled, and she uttered several loud grunts. Her breath became a shallow pant.

"Mmm, that was your third one, wasn't it?" Melissa purred.

Both Susan and Ann shifted about as if intending to disengage from each other, both panting wildly. But as Susan parted from Ann, Ann whimpered and lifted her hips. "No, more, please ... I need more..." she whined.

Susan shivered and moaned as heat flared again in her own pussy. She turned her head and regarded Melissa with a desperate look.

Melissa smiled, looking delighted. Her fingers grasped the chain of the pendant, holding it aloft from her bosom. She rolled the chain between her fingertips, twirling the pendant one way and then the other. "That's right. You need four now."

"Please, Susan..." Ann begged, tugging at Susan's thighs, trying to pull Susan's pussy down to her face again. "Please, lick my twat ... I'll do yours again..."

Susan whimpered before dropping her body back down upon Ann again.

Melissa giggled. "That's right, my little lezzie fucksluts. Lick, lick, lick. Make each other cum again. Oh, and I bet you both adore the taste of pussy now, don't you?"

Melissa leaned back in her chair, her legs parting. She let out her breath in a slow, sultry sigh. Watching them was making her horny. Not the sexual action itself, as she was simply not into girls. It was the power she held over them that excited her.

She smiled. She could call on any number of boys to service her. Whether one was in her complete control or not, she could influence anyone she wished into desiring a tryst with her.

"Mmm, I'm getting hot myself. Maybe I'll have Sam over again," Melissa mused aloud. "He's a wonderful fuck. Did you know that Susan? Oh, that's right, you do ... since he used to be your boyfriend."

Susan mewled her distress into Ann's pussy.

Melissa appeared momentarily distracted. She turned her head and frowned. Without a word to Susan or Ann, she stood up and stepped over to the door. She cracked it open enough to admit her head into the hallway. Soft sobbing drifted to her ears.

Melissa frowned. She looked back at her charges for a moment before ducking into the hall and closing the door behind her. She took light, quiet steps as she crept down the hallway towards the door to the master bedroom, which stood slightly ajar.

Melissa paused a moment beside the door, then leaned over and peeked inside.

Upon the bed, her mother's naked form lay on her side. Her knees were drawn up, exposing her pussy between her thighs. Her head lay against the pillow. She trembled, tears occasionally dripping from her eyes.

Melissa drew in a deep breath and frowned, her lips pursed. She wanted to chastise her mother and demand to know what the big deal was about getting a nice fuck. Anyway, it was not like her mother had bothered to care about her wants, so why should she care about her mother's desires?

Melissa thought that it was proper for her mother to suffer. Yet as she watched, she slipped into Kathy's mind. Within a minute, Kathy's sobs stopped, and her body became still. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, her chest rising and falling steadily and peacefully.

Just so her stupid crying doesn't annoy me,  she thought as she turned away.

When she returned to the bedroom, Susan and Ann had separated. Susan had rolled onto her back. Both were panting, faces glistening with each other's juices.

"Finally had enough?" Melissa said with an evil grin.

Ann regarded Melissa with shining eyes but said nothing. She rarely spoke at all anymore, a complete contrast to the chatty Ann that people used to know. That was before Melissa had altered her mind and made her incapable of lying. Not even the smallest fib could pass her lips.

"Clean yourselves up," Melissa ordered. "Then Ann can get dressed and go home. Susan, you get to stay so we can have a nice little chat."

-------

"Heather, do you and Melinda want a ride to the restaurant tomorrow?" Cassie asked.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, I guess. Though maybe pick me up around the corner so my parents don't see it."

Heather's eyes kept flicking between Cassie and the sofa, where Melinda and Jason still sat. They were whispering to each other, Melinda giggling now and then.

Diane appeared on the other side of Heather. "Something wrong?"

Heather finally pulled her eyes away from the two of them just as Jason grinned and slipped a hand into his pocket. "Sorry, just trying to keep an eye on my little sister."

Diane glanced at them for a moment. "Why? Is she still giving you... ?"

The doorbell rang, causing nearly everyone to jump. Richie frowned, while Heather, Cassie, and Diane exchanged anxious looks. Ned looked confused.

"It can't be my parents," Heather whispered urgently. "They wouldn't ring the doorbell."

"Mailman, maybe?" Cassie suggested hopefully, though there was a nervous quaver to her voice.

"God, it can't be Melissa, can it?" Diane said softly, stricken. "She couldn't know we're talking about her, can see?"

"Why the hell are we whispering?" Richie called out loudly.

"Shhh!!" the girls all said at once, save for Melinda.

The doorbell rang a second time.

"Well, go see who it is, Heather!" Melinda called out in exasperation. "God, what a bubblehead!"

Heather frowned and quickly crossed over to the front door. Just as she reached it, she heard a scrambling noise behind her and a soft giggle. It did not quite register until she had already looked out the peephole and saw that no one was there.

She whirled around in time to see Melinda dashing up the stairs with Jason in tow, her hand clasped tightly around his.

"MELINDA!" Heather bellowed. "You get back down here now! You... !"

The two of them disappeared from the top of the stairs. The bedroom door slammed shut seconds later.

Heather fumed, red-faced with both fury and embarrassment at having been duped so easily. "Oh, she is dead. She is so dead!"

Richie just smirked.

"I don't get it. There's no one at the door?" Cassie asked innocently.

"No, Cassie, there's no one at the door," Heather said in a mocking tone of voice. She caught herself when she saw Cassie's hurt look. "Sorry. Jason has this stupid little thing he came up with that makes our doorbell ring. Melinda made him use it to distract me so they could..." She waved vaguely up the stairs.

Cassie looked at her in confusion.

Ned grinned wryly. "So they could make some nookie, babe."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Now?"

"I told her she couldn't!" Heather cried. "It's too risky! I thought Jason had more sense than this!"

Richie snorted as he stood up. "Aw, c'mon, leave 'em alone. Just cuz your sister's gettin' some and you're not..."

"I said that's not the reason!"

Richie gave her an annoyed look. "Hey, chill, 'kay? Listen, I'm outta here. Just lemme know when this shindig will be this weekend. See ya all in the funny papers."

"Well, I'm not going to hang around here," Heather declared after Richie departed. "I don't want to be here if the shit hits the fan. Diane, you want to take a walk or something with me? Or go down to the mall?"

Diane was surprised enough by the question that she hesitated in her response. "Um, sure thing," she heard herself replying without really thinking.

"You won't need a ride home, Diane?" Cassie asked.

Diane shook her head. "No, I don't mind the walk."

Cassie turned to Ned. "You want a lift?"

Ned looked surprised as well. "Huh? Me?"

Cassie smiled faintly. "Yes, you."

"Oh, well, I'm close enough I ... er ... I mean, yeah, sure, I'll ride with ya." Ned gave her a lopsided smile, though mentally he kicked himself for almost letting the opportunity pass.

"Great. Okay, I'll let everyone know when and where we'll meet this weekend. I'll try to pick someplace a bit obscure."

"Just as long as it's not some bistro run by snooty French people," Ned quipped.

Cassie giggled as she and Ned left.

Heather took a few deep breaths in an attempt to tame her anger and turned to Diane. "Sorry I blew up. Melinda is just driving me nuts lately."

"You want to talk to me about it?"

Heather considered. In the past she would often confide personal things to Diane that she wouldn't tell anyone else, but she was not sure this was something she could talk about. Even though all the Harbingers were more open about sexual issues, this may be too personal for her to divulge.

However, she felt a bond with Diane. The two of them would have to look out for each other now. Heather had neglected their friendship during the latter half of the summer, something she believed had led to Diane's mother briefly running afoul of Nyssa. Heather wanted to make up for this.

"Sure, we can talk about it," Heather said softly. "Come on, let's go, before those two start sounding like a cheap porno flick is being filmed up there."

-------

Jason actually did question the wisdom of this action. Heather's yell had made him hesitate, though it went unnoticed as Melinda kept tugging at him, clenching his hand very tightly as if afraid he was going to slip away from her.

Melinda let go only once they reached the bedroom, and only to close the door behind them.

"Melinda, wait, maybe we shouldn't be doing this when..."

Jason's words were cut off when Melinda threw her arms around him and drew him into a deep kiss. Jason protested weakly, his hand alighting on her shoulders in an attempt to nudge her back.

Melinda slipped a hand between them and rubbed his crotch.

Jason drew in a sharp breath, his hands trembling and sliding off her shoulders. His protests faded, his body shivering in anticipation as his cock hardened in his pants.

Melinda broke off the kiss, the two of them panting.

"M-Melinda, wait..." Jason breathed.

"No, Jason," Melinda said, her voice both husky and indignant. "Please, don't tell me to wait. Don't ever tell me to wait anymore."

Jason opened his mouth, but found the desire to resist fading. Melinda rushed in and kissed him again, opening her mouth as well, their tongues sliding past each other. Her hand yanked down his zipper and plunged under his jeans, stroking his cock hard.

Jason broke off the kiss. "Uhhn! ... Oh man..."

Melinda grinned as her fingers teased him. "If you want to cum, Jason, you have to do what I want. You want to cum, don't you?"

Jason swallowed and nodded.

"You sure you want to?" she asked, one fingertip swirling against the most sensitive spot.

Jason moaned and trembled. "Oh man, yeah... "

"Only if you're really, really sure you want to cum."

"Uhhn ... yeah..."

Melinda giggled. She loved how easy it was now to talk "dirty" like this with Jason. She wasn't sure how it started. It simply became that way over the past few weeks. Just like how Jason had become more submissive to Melinda's desires.

Melinda withdrew her hand. "Okay, Jason. All you have to do is make me cum first. And... " She shivered and felt the heat flare in her pussy. She lowered her voice to a whisper. " ... use your mouth. Please."

-------

"Wow, I get to ride in a limo," Ned said with a wide grin as he and Cassie stepped towards the curb. "Sweet."

Cassie glanced behind them. Heather and Diane had emerged from the house. She quickly hustled Ned into the car without a word, garnering a confused look from Ned.

"Where to, Miss Kendall?" asked Harry the moment the door closed.

"Ned's house," Cassie said. She recited the address.

"As you wish, Miss Kendall."

Ned could tell from Cassie's voice that she was upset. "Whatsamatter, babe?"

Cassie waited until Harry had started the car and pulled away from the Sovert house. She glanced back at the receding figures of Heather and Diane before turning to Ned. "I wanted to talk to you alone for a moment."

"Alone? Uh ... really?" Ned said, shifting nervously in his seat.

"Ned, I'm worried about Jason."

Ned looked disappointed at first, as if he had been hoping she would say something else. Then when her words registered, it became a look of surprise. "Jason? Why, what's up?"

"Didn't you notice how much he let Melinda get away with at that meeting? Only once I prompted him did he start trying to rein her in."

"Well, Melinda's always been a spitfire, ya know?" Ned drawled. "She's always mouthin' off about something."

"Yes, I know, Melinda's always been vocal. I hate talking bad about her because she really is a good friend. But she's been getting out of hand, and Jason used to have better control over her. She really likes him, and having him disapprove of her was often enough to keep her quiet."

Ned frowned. "Wait, ya don't think that Melissa got to him already?"

Cassie shook her head. "No, we'd see that. This is something else. It didn't happen all at once. It's sort of been happening over the last two weeks."

Ned smirked. "Well, ya already said she likes him, at least enough for them to fandango in her parents' house. Maybe he's jus' smitten with her, too."

"I'd like to believe that. Jason just struck me as someone who's more level-headed." Cassie sighed. "Maybe I am making too much of this, then. I know I'd hate to feel like I had to keep an eye on him, too."

Ned nodded, then noticed Cassie's choice of words. "Too?"

"Oh, um ... Jason asked me to keep tabs on Richie. To see if he was trying to take advantage of Miss Davis. You know, that lingering effects thing Nyssa mentioned. Now I wonder if checking on Richie was more Melinda's idea. She can't stand Richie."

Ned nodded. "Hey, ya don't think this thing with Melinda and Jason could be leftovers from the Naughty Nurse Nyssa?"

"I thought about it, but it doesn't make sense. Melinda never enslaved Jason. If anything, Jason wanted to rescue her from Heather. I'd be more concerned about Heather and Melinda, actually."

"Unless this thing with the Darkness is more complicated than we thought," Ned said sourly. "I swear, I need a frippin' manual to tell what's goin' on. Let me know when Darkness for Dummies comes out."

Despite the serious intent of Ned's statement, Cassie giggled. Ned offered a tiny smile in return.

-------

Susan's breaths came in gasps and short, staccato sighs. She writhed on the bed, her trembling hands clenching and unclenching. Her legs lay splayed, her pussy again soaked. She lifted her hips as if to meet an unseen lover, her thighs trembling with terrible need. Her pussy strained, and she hoped desperately that this time Melissa would relent.

Hope faded when her hips again fell back. She uttered a pitiful whimper as she retreated a bit from the edge, leaving her pussy swollen and achy. Only a little while ago she wanted nothing but to stop cumming. Now she wanted to cum more than anything else.

Melissa sat in her chair, watching the spectacle. Despite the tiny ghost of a smile that touched her lips, her eyes held a faraway look, as if mentally she were anywhere but in the room. Yet her apparent lack of attention did nothing to help Susan. She strained at the edge of another orgasm that would not come, uttering a keening moan.

"Bet you really want to cum now, don't you, Susan?" Melissa asked without looking down.

"Uhhn! ... y-yes ... please... " Susan said in a breathy voice. "P-please ... oh God..."

"You know, it's really weird, Susan," Melissa said, still looking off into the distance. "I can do things like this so easily. I can plant any thought or emotion in your head..."

A wave of euphoria came over Susan, flooding her mind with utter bliss. Her paroxysms of unsatisfied sexual lust became a delight instead of a torture. Her movements took on a far more sensual tone, and she moaned deeply in unbridled pleasure. Her hands slid slowly up and down her body in a provocative dance, as if seducing a potential lover.

"Oooo ... this feels sooo good..." Susan burbled in a high, breathy voice. "Oh yeah ... mmm ... uhh ... oh no..."

The respite faded. Now the bliss retreated. She strained again, and again fell back. Her hands clenched into fists and pounded against the mattress in frustration.

Melissa's fingers curled around her pendant. "And still, it's not enough." She finally looked down. She stared at Susan for a long moment. "You know, I can make it feel like anything. A cock up your twat."

Susan gasped. Her hips bucked. "Uhh! ... Uhhn!..."

"Or a tongue in your snatch."

Susan's legs spread apart even further. She gasped and trembled as she felt incessant wet strokes against her clit.

Melissa watched and sighed. She felt something vaguely unsatisfying about this. It was true she wanted to punish Susan and Ann very badly. They deserved it, and it was a pleasure to watch them squirm under her control. But it hadn't given her any sense of purpose. It was as if the more she punished them, the more empty she felt.

Melissa clutched hard at the pendant.

"P-please ... oh God ... n-no more ... uhhh!" Susan cried, her hands gripping her knees, her body shaking.

Melissa made a face. Susan shuddered and let out a long, rattling sigh as the stimulation vanished. Slowly, she dropped her legs and lay limp. She still needed to cum badly, but at least she was no longer being driven insane with need. Her head lolled to one side as she panted for breath.

"I can make it so you never cum, Susan," Melissa said with a sudden savagery to her voice that reflected her internal frustration. "Just make you get close like this, maybe several times a day."

Susan whimpered and closed her eyes, swallowing hard. She tried desperately not to beg any more, or to cry. She wanted to preserve what little dignity she still had. She knew it might be no more than an illusion. Melissa had stripped her bare not just physically, but emotionally as well. There was not a single thought or feeling that Melissa could not manipulate.

Melissa unclenched her fingers. She held the pendant by its chain, twirling it back and forth. "So you better answer my questions truthfully if you ever want an orgasm again."

"B-but ... y-you could just make me t-tell you the truth. You ... you didn't..."

"Didn't have to torture you? Oh but it's so much more fun that way. Anyway, I can't have you thinking this is some sort of lark, that you can just relax in the understanding that you were a bad little girl. Certainly you didn't think it was enough just to trick me into coming out into the forest. You had to go all the way. Well, that's what I'm doing. Going all the way."

Susan bit her lip and didn't say a word. Her eyes flicked to the pendant as it flashed in the light with each spin.

"Or rather, I will go all the way ... once I know how ... once I get enough power..."

Susan could not stop herself from reacting. Her eyes widened and she drew in a breath a bit sharply.

Melissa gave her an ingratiating smile. "Yes, that's right. I want more. Right now, I can control you and your pitiful boyfriends. I can make everyone at school scared of me. But, really, revenge only goes so far. It..."

Melissa stopped herself. Susan simply stared at her.

Melissa's jaw tightened. Why was she telling Susan all this? Susan didn't need to know. It was not like Melissa needed approval from her, or from anyone for that matter. She was her own validation. She provided her own yardstick.

And there were things that Melissa would never tell, such as the real reason she did not simply will Susan into telling the truth.

Melissa was unable to do it. She had already tried. The only explanation that made sense to her was that it worked only on those who were truly weak-willed. Ann used to be such a sycophant, sucking up to whoever was popular at the moment just so she could look good as well. As a result, she had little resistance to Melissa's control. Melissa could mold Ann's mind like putty. Everyone else required more effort to do anything beyond the simplest effects.

With time she could do it. Whittling away bit by bit, she could make Susan tell nothing but the truth always. But she did not have the patience for it.

"Tell me about this pendant, Susan," Melissa demanded, her voice cold. "Where did you get it?"

Susan's mind was so addled that she barely thought about the repercussions of telling Melissa about the pendant before she spoke. "I-I got it from my mother."

"She gave it to you?"

"No. I ... I took it."

Melissa grinned wickedly. "Oh you naughty, naughty girl, stealing from your poor mother. Tell me, Susan, and tell me everything. What kind of power does this thing have?"

Susan's lips parted. She gave Melissa a genuinely confused look.

"Yes, Susan. Power. This helped me get what you and Ann only paid lip-service to, with your fake Pagan worship."

Susan wanted to protest that she really was a Pagan as she had claimed to Melissa. Her mother was not only Pagan, but a full-fledged practicing Witch as well. Susan actually had tried to practice magic on her own, using some of her mother's techniques, and sometimes had managed to get something to work.

"I-I really don't know, Melissa," Susan said in a pleading voice. "My mother was going to give it to me at some point. It's supposed to be special, but..."

"Oh, yes, it is very special. Do you know that I dream about it? All the time. Every night. It calls to me."

Susan cast a helpless look at Melissa, anxiety making her stomach clench and her body tremble. She realized with deep despair that the more she spoke, the more she directed Melissa to her mother.

Susan was desperate to keep her mother out of this. She tried very hard to act normally around her mother, but it was difficult. Already it was clear that her mother knew something was wrong. Her mother had other senses from which Susan could hide nothing.

"So your mother told you nothing about it? Nothing at all?"

"Just what I said. It's special somehow, and it was very important for me to have it at some point."

Melissa grinned. "So you decided you wanted it a little earlier, is that it?"

Susan said nothing. She honestly was not sure why she had taken it. At the time she knew she had a reason, but she could not remember what it was. Just like she was not sure why she gave it to Melissa.

Melissa let the pendant drop against her bosom. "Then I guess I'll have to talk to your mother."

"No, you can't!" Susan blurted before she could stop herself.

"So now you think you can tell me what I can and can't do?"

"No, I-I didn't mean that. I meant ... p-please ... let me talk to my mother..."

"You've been very helpful, Susan. I think that deserves a little reward."

"No, wait, Melissa, please ... let me t-talk ... uhh ... oh God ... uhhn!"

Susan's closed her eyes tightly as her pussy rose again. She climbed so quickly that she gasped in shock as much as pleasure. She rose to the edge, hanging there in excruciating torment as the seconds ticked by, expecting the final consummation be snatched away from her again at any moment.

Instead, she uttered a strident moan as she crested, her pussy throbbing hard. Her hips jerked, her breath becoming a hard, staccato "uh! ... uh! ... uh!" sound at the intensity of her orgasm. Sexual bliss filled her mind again, making her whole body shiver with delight.

Her climax wound down, but did not stop. Her cunt continued to pulse softly, making her squirm and pant lightly in a gentle haze of sexual pleasure. It was like fading embers that would not quite go out, leaving her excited and aroused, and her pussy damp.

Melissa stood up. "See, I can be nice. Doesn't that feel good?"

Susan gazed up at Melissa with half-lidded eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself, pushing up her breasts and making the erect nipples more prominent. It actually did feel good, but she had hoped that it was Melissa altering her perceptions again.

Except that she knew it wasn't. She could tell what was from Melissa and what was from her own head. Melissa always left her conscious of the control. Even Ann -- who seemed to be a total, mindless slave to Melissa -- had her old self tucked away in a corner of her mind, forced to watch what had become of her.

Susan simply did not want to admit that she was actually enjoying something that Melissa was doing to her.

Melissa grinned. "That's right, you really like that, don't you? You know, this can control you just as good as planting thoughts in your mind. Much better than being a puppet. Pleasure or humiliation, your choice, Susan. Now, get up."

Susan stood. She moaned softly in disappointment as her orgasm attenuated until it was barely there.

"Oh, no, you can get it back. It's easy. Here, I'll show you. I want to meet your mother, Susan."

Susan gave Melissa a stricken look. "But ... but I can talk to her..."

Melissa shook her head. "Your answer is supposed to be, 'I'd love for you to meet my mother, Melissa.' Say it."

"I-I'd love for you to meet my m-mother Melissa... "

Susan let out a slow sigh as her pussy throbbed and pleasure washed over her again.

"See? Do what I want, and it will feel good. So how does tomorrow morning sound?"

"It ... sounds good. Tomorrow morning..." Susan's body shivered in delight.

"And you won't warn her ahead of time."

"I won't warn her ... uhhh..."

Melissa giggled. "You can get addicted to this, you know. Just like you're addicted to Ann's twat. Now, get dressed and go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Y-yes, Melissa," Susan sighed.

Her orgasm retreated again until she could barely feel it. She said not a word as she dressed, Melissa watching her with an amused gaze. She headed out of the room and out of the house without looking back.

The movements of her legs kept her sex tingling. Any thoughts she tried to have of her mother drew her back to Melissa, and set her pussy throbbing again as well. It was just enough for her to feel it, not enough to make her break her stride.

Susan wanted to prevent this meeting between Melissa and her mother. But any time a thought tried to form in that vein, she would invariably envision them together, and she was rewarded with more pleasure. It nudged her mind towards more "acceptable" thoughts just as well as if Melissa had simply planted those thoughts in her head in the first place.

Yes, she could get addicted to this. And then another part of Susan Radson would slip away forever.

-------

Melinda lay with her hips just short of the foot of her bed. Her feet were drawn towards her, knees dropped to either side. The small, round swells of her breasts quivered as they rose and fell quickly with her pants. The nipples stood erect, tingling madly whenever she chose to run her fingers over them.

Jason's hands were curled gently around her calves from where he knelt, his head between thighs that were still slightly plump with the vestiges of baby fat. His tongue slid over slick, pink flesh between clean-shaven labia. Her clit was a swollen nub of flesh at the top of her tight slit. His tongue flicked at it, drawing soft gasps and excited whimpers from Melinda.

"More," Melinda moaned. "Please, more..."

Jason obliged immediately. He leaned forward, tongue lashing at her hard and fast until Melinda was panting and trembling. His tongue dipped down to her entrance, toying with it before lapping at the tip of her clit.

Melinda's pleasure mounted precipitously, but before she could tell him to back off before she got there too fast, he relented on his own. One of his hands slid up her leg towards her pussy, sending a shiver of delight through her. He toyed with her entrance with a single finger, drawing excited gasps from her.

Melinda writhed and moaned as Jason pushed his finger into her, feeling the tightness of her pussy clamp around his digit. She had to resist the urge to rock her hips when he thrusted first the one, then two fingers into her.

"Ohmigod ... ohh..."

Melinda felt so much more in control with Jason. She realized now that Jason was being much more compliant in matters of sex than he ever had been. But she was sure there was no way she was exercising any control over him. The only time that had happened was with the House. And all that was gone, both the power and the House itself.

Jason's fingers plunged into her faster, making a squishing noise in the wetness of Melinda's cunt. Melinda was rising fast again, but she didn't want it to stop this time. She tried to say something to him, but her voice wouldn't work.

But Jason did what she wanted of him anyway. He clamped his mouth over her clit and sucked hard, then licked at the little knob incessantly.

"Ohmigod! ... Ohmigod! ... Ohh... Ohhhh!!"

Melinda's back arched, her body shaking as she climaxed. She let out another loud cry as her pussy throbbed hard and steady, Jason's tongue teasing her clit to keep it going.

"Ohhh! ... Ohh, GOD ... uhhh..."

Melinda's orgasm wound down slowly, until she was left limp and panting. Jason drew back from her, settling back on his feet, his cock stiff and purplish between his legs. He was panting lightly as well in his excitement. He wanted Melinda to return the favor very badly, but knew she didn't want to be pushed. She wanted to enjoy the afterglow of her orgasm.

He always had liked pleasing Melinda from the moment that he discovered that he could do it competently without the skill being fed to him from another power, as it had been in the House. Lately he had the urge to do it for her more often, but circumstances were always against them.

As Melinda's breathing returned to normal, Jason slowly stood up. He wondered if he should have waited for her to say it was okay. For a moment, he actually considered dropping back to his knees.

Melinda struggled to sit up, a pleasant ache lingering in her pussy as she slid her hips back from the edge of the bed. Her eyes fell on Jason's pulsing cock, and she giggled. "Wow, you're really hard, aren't you?"

Jason's cheeks flushed pink. "I'm very excited, Melinda," he said in a husky voice that held a hint of a plea to it.

Melinda smiled and slid off the bed. She padded into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, tossing it to Jason as she returned. "Here, you got my, um, stuff all over your face."

As Jason finished wiping his face and hands, Melinda came up to him and curled her fingers around his cock. Jason uttered a small gasp and shuddered.

"Want me to lick it?" Melinda cooed.

Jason swallowed. "Y-yeah ... please..."

"Want me to make you cum nice and good?"

Jason panted and just nodded, not trusting his voice.

Melinda giggled. She loved teasing him. She wasn't sure how it started, but the more she did it, the more she liked it. She thought Jason was cute when he was really desperate.

"Come on, then..."

Jason climbed back on the bed, his cock flapping against his body as he lay down. Melinda barely managed to hide a smile behind her hand at the sound it made.

Melinda slid over him, feeling Jason trembling in anticipation. Her fingers returned to his cock. She thought it incredible how hard he was. His cock never seemed more rigid than it was when he was waiting for her attentions.

Her fingers fluttered up and down his shaft. Jason uttered several excited, quavering sighs. Melinda felt the urge to tease him like this for an hour. Maybe longer. Just to see him squirm. Just...

With some effort, she forced herself out of this line of thinking. Instead, her fingers tightened around him and gave him several slow but firm strokes. Jason moaned deeply, his arms and legs lying still, his head lolled to one side.

Melinda felt a renewed flash of heat in her pussy. She loved it when he just lay there, as if at her mercy. In a way, he was. She controlled his pleasure. He wouldn't try to hurry her or tell her to stop. He'd let her go at her own pace.

Melinda positioned herself, draping part of her body over one of his legs. One breast brushed his thigh as she passed, making Jason shiver with delight. Her hair spilled over him, the touch exciting him further. She massaged his cock a bit longer even as her face hovered over it, exciting him further and making him lift his head and give her a silent plea.

Melinda's lips touched the head of his cock, kissing it gently. She then parted her lips as she let him penetrate her mouth.

"Oh man..." Jason groaned as nearly all of his manhood disappeared into Melinda's mouth.

Melinda had learned just as much sexual skill as Jason had. And in the last week or so, with rather astonishing swiftness, she had learned how to use it to drive him nuts.

She had figured out just how fast and how hard to stroke him to make him rise but not go over. Her head bobbed back and forth in a gentle rhythm to this effect, tilting it slightly backwards on each up-stroke. In this way, her tongue pressed hard into his shaft right near the center, just short of his most sensitive spot. Further up, her mouth loosened, just teasing him under the head.

And on the down-side, she tightened her lips and drew him straight back inside in a single quick stroke. Her fingers played with his balls, bouncing them gently or tugging at them carefully when it looked as if he might get too close too soon.

Jason moaned and squirmed each time his pleasure rose, only to level off and retreat. Melinda's movements were too slow to drive him further.

Melinda kept it going at this pace until she heard Jason's noises become more pleading. She fought the urge to keep going until he started to beg. Instead, she steadily increased the pace. Her head moved faster, her mouth concentrating on the upper half of his cock.

Jason panted heavily, his eyes closing as he rose unimpeded. Melinda teased him one last time, taking him to the edge and then letting him drop from her mouth. Before he could react, Melinda giggled and took his cock inside her mouth, pumping furiously.

Jason's cock exploded in her mouth a few seconds later. He groaned loudly and writhed like mad. She clamped her lips tightly around his shaft, but even then a few drops trickled out from the corners of her mouth.

Jason was still breathing heavily when his orgasm faded and his cock softened. Melinda let him pop from her lips, then tilted her head back and swallowed. She licked off the rest that had escaped from her mouth.

"Oh wow, Melinda..." Jason breathed.

Melinda giggled as she came alongside Jason, throwing an arm around him. "You say that every single time, Jason." From the tone of her voice, however, it was clear that she loved hearing it every single time as well.

Jason slowly smiled and wrapped his arm around her. She snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and smiling. "I really wish we could do this more often," she said with a soft sigh.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I, um, wish there was something else we could do again, too."

Jason sensed the disappointment in her voice. "I've been trying to think of something, but I'm coming up empty. You're too nervous about using a condom. Leakage and all that."

Melinda squirmed. "Well, yeah, that ... but, um ... I kinda don't want anything between you and me, you know? It just feels better the other way. Sometimes I wish..."

She didn't complete the thought. She didn't have to, as it was something Jason had thought of as well. There were some things about the power that the House gave them that they missed, such as the guarantee of never getting pregnant.

Melinda quickly abandoned that thought before it depressed her. It was bad enough that she had to bring up this next topic at all.

"Jason? I, um, need to talk to you about something," she said. "It's about Heather..."

-------

"Diane, it's about Melinda," said Heather. "I don't know what I'm going to do with her."

The two girls were sitting on a bench in the park. A tree of red-gold fall splendor towered overhead, dappling the sunlight around them. Each time they moved about, leaves crunched underfoot.

Diane was about to comment that she understood. She had noticed that Melinda was getting out of hand as much as Cassie had. But when she opened her mouth to speak, she spotted something in Heather's eyes that made her subside. She had grown so used to looking at those eyes, stealing glances at their soft green beauty whenever she could, that she could read a lot of Heather's emotions in them.

"What's wrong with her?" Diane asked. "Is she bugging you again?"

"Well ... in a way, yes, but it's not her fault this time. I guess maybe it's not her, it's me, really."

"But what's the matter?" Diane asked urgently. Part of her impatience was the fact that this was the first time Heather had confided anything in her for a long time, and she was anxious to forge that bond between them again. Maybe it could take the place of her other feelings.

Heather's cheeks colored, which surprised Diane. Heather was rarely embarrassed about anything she said to her friend. "Diane, remember what Nyssa said, about lingering effects?"

"Not really. I wasn't in the room, I just know what I've been told. Something about how some of the things she did to people sort of being there still?"

Heather swallowed and nodded.

In the awkward silence that followed, Diane put two and two together. Her eyes widened in shock. "Heather, you don't mean you and Melinda ... th-that's she's still your... ?"

"No, no, she's not my slave," Heather said quickly. "And I don't want her as my slave, Diane. But I have feelings for her..."

Diane looked at Heather in shock.

Heather's blush deepened. "Diane, I didn't want this, okay? I didn't ask to be attracted to her. But I am, and it's driving me fucking crazy."

Diane realized now that Heather had misinterpreted her reaction, but it was too late to correct it. Even then, she could not have possibly revealed the real reason, though it influenced her next question. "Heather, don't get mad at me for asking this, but are you sure you didn't have any feelings for her before? Or for..."

"No, Diane, I ... uh ... well ... I may have had something for her, but it was really weak until Nyssa showed up. I think it was just a leftover from the House. I could have ignored it. But not now, I..." Heather paused. "Or for what?"

Diane blinked a few times. "Um ... huh?"

"You sounded like you were going to add something before I cut you off."

Diane swallowed. "Oh, um ... I was just going to ask if you ever had feelings for ... other girls before..."

"Never, Diane. Not in the slightest."

Diane's heart sank. Her heart pounded as she forced herself to ask, "What about now?"

"I don't feel any attraction to any other girls, Diane," Heather said firmly. "I mean, look, you know me, I never made fun of anyone's, well, sexual orientation. Hell, we had a bi girl help us with that little stunt against Melissa."

"Maybe you're bi, then."

Diane was not sure where she found the courage to say it, or how she managed to keep her voice from quavering when she said it. She wished she hadn't, for now there was a hard edge to Heather's eyes.

"I'm not bisexual, either. Really, Diane, it's just these feelings for Melinda that's screwing things up. I'm not about to go bi or lezzie, not by choice, anyway. And it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have, well, influence over her."

Diane had hoped that there was even just a chance that Heather might reciprocate, or at least be open to the idea, if she had admitted her feelings to Heather. Now that it seemed like those hopes were dashed, she latched on to the last part of Heather's statement as a way of trying to ignore the pain.

"Wait. Influence over her? I thought you said you didn't want to enslave her?"

Diane's emotional frustration made her words harsh, and Heather became defensive. "I said I don't! Stop it, I get that enough from Melinda. I don't necessarily want to influence her, Diane, but..."

"You don't necessarily want to?"

"I can't help it. It just happens, that's all, because..."

"Because you want her."

Heather frowned at Diane, but her eyes betrayed the truth. "Yes, because I want her."

Suddenly, Diane wished she had been drawn into Nyssa's web sooner that she had. Maybe if Nyssa had taken her and discovered her secret desires sooner, she would have arranged something so...

Abruptly, a look of horror came over her face, and she shook her head.

Heather narrowed her eyes. "What was that for?"

"What was... ? Oh, nothing. I was thinking of something else."

"Let me guess," said Heather coldly. "You think I do want to make her a slave again. You think I want to make her some sort of toy."

Diane gasped suddenly. "What?? N-no, I wasn't thinking that at all. What gave you that idea?"

"Look, Diane, I don't want this power. It's too dangerous. You start using it and you don't want to stop. We all screwed each other over in that House. Shit, if Melinda would stop being a fucking little snot and just ... just give in on her own..."

Diane was ashamed of herself for thinking about being even remotely involved with this power. Though the idea of what she might have brought about with it -- the fantasy she might have had Nyssa create for her -- was scary for a different reason.

"I'm sorry I wasn't more help," Diane said listlessly. "You're probably sorry you mentioned it to me."

Heather looked at Diane and shook her head. "No, it's okay. I had to tell someone, and you're the only one I would trust with this."

Diane smiled wanly. That was small compensation for her loss, but it was something at least.

Heather sighed and stood up. "Thanks for listening to me, Diane. You really are a great friend."

Diane stood, then nearly gasped when Heather drew her into a tight embrace. Diane returned the hug, trying to ignore the tingle it sent through her body.

Heather was smiling by the time she broke off the hug. "Let's just hang out a little longer at the mall. At least until the runt is done rutting with the brainiac back home."

Diane forced a smile. "Sure thing, Heather."

-------

Jason bolted up into a seated position on the bed, sending Melinda scrambling back in surprise. He stared at her as if she had just grown a third arm. "You want me to what??"

The shock of the request had been enough to break his submissive stance, and now Melinda cringed a bit. "But ... you told me you might want to do it again, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but that was weeks ago, Melinda. We weren't such an item back then."

Melinda's lips twitched into a smile. "We're an item?"

Jason blushed faintly. "Well ... yeah, we are, right?" he asked nervously, as if afraid he had just made a big mistake. "I mean, we only see each other, and only ... you know ... with each other."

Melinda smirked, thinking it was amusing that she was more comfortable speaking about it than him. "You mean we don't go boinking anyone else. But you said you wanted to do it again with Heather."

Jason sighed, exasperated. "This better not be one of those weird female tests."

Melinda stared. "A weird what??"

"Female test! Like asking if you look fat in a particular dress or something like that!"

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Shit, give me a break. I don't do that to you. That's something Heather the bubblehead would do."

"You want me to boink that 'bubblehead' as you call her."

"Just to get her the hell off my case!" Melinda piped. "God, Jason, it's a nightmare living with her. She says she doesn't want to enslave me, but she keeps making me want to do it with her."

"It's a lingering effect, like Nyssa said..."

"I don't care! I don't want her messing with me. If she had someone to boink, she wouldn't care about me."

Jason wiped a hand over his face and then ran his fingers through his already mussed hair. Her logic was dubious at best, but he didn't want to call her out on it, knowing it would just upset her. "What about her? What if Heather doesn't want to do it?"

"Jason, she said she liked it with you. She wanted to do it again."

"Again, that was weeks ago."

"Come on, Jason, don't do this to me!" Melinda whined. "I want her off my back. Please."

Jason took a deep breath and let it go. "I'll ... I'll try talking to her."

"Fine. So long as you both get horizontal after that."

Jason stared. "I can't believe you're actually telling me to boi ... to have sex with another girl. Your own sister."

Melinda blushed. "Shit, I didn't say I wanted to watch! And don't you dare tell Richie about this. I don't want to hear it from him!"

"Oh, believe me, I won't," Jason said sourly. He shook his head, actually grateful for the distraction despite the subject matter. "I just don't know what's up with him, Melinda."

Melinda frowned. "I do. He wants to boink Miss Davis again."

"Maybe."

"Huh? Wait, did he try something with Miss Davis? Did he??"

Jason had not wanted to tell Melinda about Cassie's report, but he felt the need to please her again. He explained what Cassie had told him.

Melinda flushed indignant. "Oh, that fucking little perv! That little turd!"

"He didn't do anything to her," Jason protested, albeit weakly.

"He's going to, Jason! I know he is! Why the hell do we keep him in the group? He doesn't do shit for anyone else."

Jason had no answer to that. Or rather, none that would placate Melinda. He had seen Richie making some effort to be less abrasive. He wanted to give Richie the benefit of the doubt. It was hard. He still felt that Richie had betrayed them to Nyssa, even after being rescued by from her.

Yet he still felt something of a debt to Richie. When they had first met, Richie had helped keep the more dangerous bullies away from him. Even now they no longer pestered him. He felt he still owed Richie for that.

But if he crossed the line with Linda Davis...

"We'll keep an eye on him, Melinda," said Jason. "I promise."



-------

Chapter 5




Sarah was panting, her hazel eyes wide behind errant strands of dark brown hair. She trembled as Frank stepped up to her, one foot struggling as it tried to take a step back from him. It was difficult, but she managed it.

"Sarah," he said gently, holding his eyes to hers.

Sarah swallowed and shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his despite how hard she tried.

Frank reached for her. She shuddered and drew in her breath as a ragged gasp, managing another half-step back from him. He caught a piece of her open blouse, pulling it aside to reveal two round tits in a lacy bra.

"Stop it," Sarah breathed.

"You don't have to do this, Sarah," said Frank, his voice gentle but commanding.

Sarah trembled. Her hands clenched into fists. "I-I'm not going to listen to you anymore, Frank," she said, having to force almost every word from her mouth. "N-no more."

Frank stepped forward again. He opened her blouse and pushed it from her shoulders. Sarah made a half-hearted attempt to stop it. She shivered as the blouse fell into a heap on the floor.

She was breathing hard, her bosom swelling against the bra. She whimpered as he lifted a hand to her, thighs shaking as she stumbled back, only to fetch up against the desk by the window.



"Richie."

His hand alighted on one of her fleshy orbs. Sarah clenched her teeth and tried to suppress a moan as he lightly squeezed the warm, pliant flesh. He hooked a finger under the cup and pulled it up. Sarah bit her lip and whimpered again as her breast popped out of the cup and rolled against her chest.

"Richie!"

He smiled at her. Sarah made one last attempt to wrench her gaze from him as his fingers touched the hard, tight nipple, sending a shock wave of pleasure through her body... 

-------

"RICHIE!"

Richie abruptly wrenched himself to the side with a frustrated groan. "What the fuck is it?!" he bellowed back, eyes squinting at the light.

"Phone call!"

"What?? Tell 'em to taking a fucking flying leap into hell!"

"I'm not your fucking secretary! Get your ass down here!"

Richie groaned again, kicked viciously at the tangled sheet, and turned to sit on the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock: it was just short of eight on a Saturday morning.

"Richie!" his mother shouted again.

"Yeah, fine, okay! Can I fucking get dressed first?!"

He heard a grumbled curse in reply, but Sandra finally conceded the shouting match.

Richie cursed as well as he shot to his feet, his briefs tented by his stiff cock. It had been that dream again, but this time he had seen a lot more detail. And it was actually getting interesting before his mother had awoken him.

He kicked at one of his sneakers, sending it bouncing across the floor and banging against the dresser.

Richie figured he knew who it was. It was probably one of the other Harbingers nagging him about meeting for lunch when he already knew from the flurry of emails the night before. He threw on his jeans, trying to will his cock into growing flaccid again to make it easier, but his thoughts kept returning to his hot dream. He muttered another curse as he carefully pulled his zipper up over his swollen member and grabbed a shirt on the way out.

He put on his shirt as he bounded down the stairs, until he came to an irritated Sandra Gardner standing by the phone in the kitchen. Richie stomped over to her, his shirt still only half-buttoned. He held out his hand.

Sandra glared at him and did not relinquish the phone.

Richie frowned. "What?"

"Why is she calling you, Richie?" Sandra demanded.

Richie shrugged. "Guess I'm just so freakin' popular. Big man on campus, all that shit."

"Can you stop being a smartass for ten seconds?"

"Can you stop asking me dumb questions?"

Sandra's face drew into a scowl, but there was a flicker of hurt in her eyes. "Listen, don't mess with this anymore. You left all this behind when that damn nurse left. Don't screw it up now."

Richie gave her a confused look as Sandra slapped the phone into his hand and headed upstairs.

As he watched her go, he wondered now how much the Darkness knew about the Harbingers. Was that her way of getting him to leave them? Well, he had no intention of doing that. Now he was more motivated than ever to remain, if just to spite his mother.

Richie brought the phone to his ear. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Richie ... I need to talk to you."

Richie froze. After a long pause, he said tentatively, "Miss Davis?"

"Yes, this is Linda Davis."

Richie had no idea what to say. Was he in trouble? No, her voice didn't sound angry. It was upset, but not angry.

"Richie?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, I can talk. What about?"

"I ... not over the phone, I don't feel right about it. Can you come over? Please?"

"What, now?"

"As soon as you can."

"Why?"

There was a pause. He heard an exhaled breath, like a sigh. "Because we need to get something straight."

Richie frowned. "Listen, I'm not comin' over if you're just going to whale on me about yesterday, okay?"

"No, Richie, it's not that," said Linda. "Look, this is very hard to talk about on the phone. I promise, I'm not going to yell at you. In fact ... I want to ... I want to arrange something with you."

Richie's eyebrows rose. "Wait, what? Arrange something?"

"Yes, I need to... " Linda stopped and sighed in exasperation. "I need to talk to you in person. Please don't make me say anything more."

Richie paused, then slowly grinned. "I'm making you, huh?"

"Just come over, and..."

"So I did do something to you yesterday. Admit it, I did."

A long pause. "Yes," Linda said in a tiny voice.

"You were starting to get horny, right? Just from me talking to you."

"Stop it," Linda said firmly, reasserting some of her authority. "That's enough. I won't discuss any more of this until you're here. I'll see you later."

She hung up before Richie could say another word.

Richie's lips curled into a satisfied smug as he hung up the phone. His cock hardened again in his pants, but this time he welcomed it. So he still had some kind of influence over her, enough for her to want him over. If he played his cards right, he could have another sweet little setup.

But if his fellow Harbingers found out about it, it would be all over.

Richie's smile faded and he pounded a fist against the wall near the phone. He'd never get them to accept it, not with Jason letting Melinda mouth off whenever she wanted. Maybe if he could convince them that it was her idea. After all, she had called him. What was he supposed to do, just tell her no?

Richie frowned. Yes, that's exactly what they would tell him. But he didn't want this for the control or the power. It was simply that Linda Davis was hot, and he wanted to fuck her. That was all. He heard stories all the time about teenage boys doing it with older female teachers. It wouldn't be all that different. He was always mystified as to why the boy was considered a "victim" in those cases.

"Shit!" he declared as he remembered that the Harbingers were supposed to meet for lunch.

Richie's hands clenched. He had to go see Linda. He could not let this opportunity pass. Besides, he had plenty of time. Cassie wasn't going to send the cab to pick him up until after ten.

He ran up the stairs and grabbed his jacket. He was just about to turn back towards the stairs when his mother's voice came from down the hall. "Hey, where the hell are you going?"

"Out," Richie said without turning around and without stopping.

"Hey!" Sandra raced up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around. "I said, where are you going?"

"Come off it, Mom, I go out every Saturday and you don't give a shit where I go!"

"You're going to see Linda Davis, aren't you?"

Richie scowled. "Yeah, so? What's it to you?"

Sandra stared at him. "You haven't learned anything!"

Richie rolled his eyes. "Mom, I don't fuckin' control her, okay?! I don't have it anymore. She not my slave."

Sandra folded her arms. "Yeah, but she wants you over at her house."

Richie fumed. His eyes darted away from her face, just so he could remind himself about the Dark Aura surrounding her. She was with the Darkness. She was not his mother, not anymore. He didn't have to answer to her.

"Yeah, and maybe she wants me cuz she just wants me. Ever think of that? Every think maybe she enjoyed some of what happened, huh? Maybe she enjoyed cumming so much, or sucking my cock. Or you think I don't know how to fuck a girl good? That it?"

Sandra was taken aback by the frankness of Richie's language. He had always been foul-mouthed, but this was the first time he had spoken in such a blatantly sexual manner.

Sandra wanted to tell him this was wrong. She wanted to explain to him how this was going to give the Darkness more fodder in the long run. But every time the thought tried to express itself, she instead felt a heat in her sex. The more she struggled, the more her pussy tingled.

Richie's eyes widened, and he took a step back. The Aura had become agitated suddenly and was wrapping itself more tightly around Sandra's body. He felt a queer sensation in his stomach as he saw Sandra's expression soften, and a sultry look come to her eyes.

Sandra's pussy grew hot and wet. She shifted her weight, and her hips tilted provocatively.

"All right, Richie," she finally said, her voice breathy and quavering. "You can go see her."

Richie had seen this before. He could recognize it for what it was, and it sent a chill through him.

She gave him an odd little smile. "Go have some fun with her."

Richie nodded slowly, then turned and fled from the house.

Sandra started to pant as the front door closed behind Richie. She turned from the top of the stairs, her legs trembling as she staggered back to the bedroom. She didn't quite make it. Her pussy convulsed in orgasm, dropping her to her knees, and then to all fours.

A voice said in her head: You've been a good little girl.

She moaned and shuddered, fluid trickling down the inside of one thigh.

Much better than you were the other day,  it continued in a mocking tone. When you barely put any effort into stopping him from seeing his friends.

"Uhhn ... I c-couldn't... " Sandra panted. She arched her back as her pussy rose and strained at the edge of climax. She whimpered in unsatisfied need. "Too ... t-too suspicious..."

I'll decide that. But no matter. He's distracted now. That will suffice.

Sandra's pussy spasmed as she crested into another orgasm. She collapsed to the floor, writhing and moaning.

She couldn't hold out against it anymore. The Harbingers had bought her some time. When Nyssa had been defeated, she had felt the Darkness ease. It never left her completely. It was more like the deepness of night giving way to the twilight that preceded the dawn. For awhile, she could have thoughts that were her own, that the Darkness was not privy to, without resorting to any trickery.

Now her strength was giving out. The skies of her psyche had darkened. It was again approaching midnight once more. The cravings had overcome her will again.

She welcomed them. She couldn't let it find out. She couldn't let it know about the naughty thoughts that had passed through her mind during those waning hours of twilight.

Pleasure, my slave,  the Darkness taunted her. That is all that matters to you. That's what you live for. Let me show you.

Panting heavily, she crawled back into the bedroom and let the Darkness reward her for her good behavior.

-------

"Bill, do you have to go to the office today?" asked Debby Radson, wringing her hands before letting them plop into her lap with a frustrated sigh.

Bill Radson paused to glance at himself in the mirror over the dresser, smoothing back his sandy-blonde hair as much as possible. He finished buttoning up his shirt before turning to his wife, who sat on the edge of the bed dressed in a flowing robe of deep blue. "Not quite the office," he said in a slow drawl. He stepped over to her and ran his fingers through her chestnut hair. "I have to head on-site today."

Debby smiled wanly, her hand reaching for his. She was grateful for the touch even as upset as she was. "You only just started that job, and it seems like you spend so much time there."

Bill squeezed her hand. "The hospital expansion is a big project, love, and has some serious money behind it. They say jump, my company says how high."

"Yes, but we only just got back from my sister's, and..."

"Well, that's part of the reason. I have to fix a screwup that happened while I was gone before it gets out of hand."

Debby sighed, her sea-green eyes cloudy and despondent.

Bill sighed. "You still worried about Susan?"

Debby stood up. She cinched the robe closed around her waist, pulling it taut against her wide though gracefully curved hips. Her breasts jiggled freely under the looser fabric around her torso, giving fleeting glimpses of the plump flesh and an occasional flash of a nipple.

Compared to her husband's lean build, the rest of Debby looked plump as well. It gave the illusion of her being larger than him, even though he was taller by a good six inches. She looked up into his eyes with a frown marring her otherwise pretty face. "Yes, I'm worried about her, Bill. I've been worried about her since we got back. I've told you why."

Debby shook her head and stepped away from her husband. Bill's gaze strayed to the outline of her backside against the fabric, steadfastly ignoring the large, silver pentagram sewn into the back of her robe.

Debby was a practicing Pagan, and a self-proclaimed Witch. Bill was neither of these things. He was not particularly religious at all, and he normally had no problems with Debby wishing to pursue her own beliefs. But that was always with the unspoken caveat that Debby did not base any decisions concerning the family on her "magic."

Debby spun around, her robe twirling open around her legs and flashing her thighs at him for a second. "Why do you think I'm dressed this way this morning, Bill? I need to seek some answers. I'm hoping for some guidance from the Goddess. Yes, I know you don't believe in that stuff, but..."

"Hey, easy, easy," Bill said gently, stepping up to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and sighed. "Look, please ... just consider the possibility that she's being a typical teenage daughter. Didn't you tell me she lost her boyfriend or something?"

"Well ... that's what the last reading told me..." Debby said sheepishly, averting her eyes.

Bill simply nodded, deciding not to call her to task for trying to read too much out of a Tarot deck.

She looked at him again with pleading eyes. "Bill, she'll barely talk to me anymore, even when I try to ask her questions."

"Look, love, what good will me being home today do? She responds to me even less."

"I just wanted some moral support, that's all."

"Honey, you have it. Just promise me not to try to give her any life advice based on..."

Debby sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, I know. At this point I'll be glad to know what's going on. I just want to know what's been bothering her this past week."

Debby already had her own fears about what was happening to Susan, but she couldn't discuss it with him. He wouldn't understand how she could feel the strange, sinister energies surrounding their daughter. Or how sometimes, when she was practicing her magic in sight of Susan, she thought she could see the barest flicker of a terrible, inky-black miasma cocooning Susan's body.

Bill gave her a small smile. "Well, if you figure out how to do it, you should let the world know. You'll be famous."

Debby forced a smile at his joke. He took this to mean that he had satisfactorily calmed her down. He leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. He truly did hope that his wife figured out what was up with Susan. Perhaps then she would relax and they could go back to having sex again.

Debby was normally rather uninhibited in bed. In his limited (and often erroneous) knowledge of Paganism, he believed her Pagan beliefs were responsible for her intense sexual proclivities. Thus he had no intention of discouraging her from practicing her faith if it meant more sex.

And he found her voluptuousness to be rather erotic.

He turned away from her and headed back to the dresser, where he picked up his hard hat. "I'll try not to be too late, hon," he said, turning around. "I should be back by dinner."

Debby nodded without saying a word. She wished she could tell him the real reason she was so worried. She had discovered only that morning that the pendant was missing. It had been there before they had taken their trip. The only explanation was that it had been removed while they were gone, and Susan was the only suspect.

She felt guilty for not having checked on it before now, which lead to even more guilt over not having taken the time to explain to Susan the pendant's history and its importance. Debby had thought that Susan needed to mature a little more before she could handle the responsibility.

Bill smiled again, nodded, and headed out.

Debby wandered over to the dresser. Her eyes fell upon two pictures, hinged together. On the left was a black and white photo of a beautiful teenage girl with luxurious dark hair and bright, inquisitive eyes. Her smile seemed to brighten the frame itself. On the right was a color photo, waves of dark brown now streaked with gray, the smile more subdued, and the eyes tired.

A tiny plaque on the left picture read: "1944." The one on the right read: "1978."

Debby's eyes traced the lines of a chain that hung from the younger girl's neck. Whatever lay at the end of it was cut off from the picture. But Debby knew what it was. It was the same thing that -- until recently -- lay hidden beneath a false bottom in a drawer of the dresser.

Debby shivered in fear. Susan had known about the existence of the pendant, but Debby had never revealed where she kept it. Which meant there was only one way that Susan could have found it.

The pendant had told her.

-------

"I got it, Mom, it's for me!" Jason called out as he leapt off the bed and snatched the phone from the hook. "Hello?"

"Hi, Jason!" Cassie said cheerfully, and then carefully waited.

Jason yanked open a drawer on his desk. "Hey, Cassie. What's up? Need some help with that assignment again?"

Sitting inside the desk was a tiny circuit board with a single glowing red LED, thin wires snaking towards the back of the drawer. Halfway through his sentence, the light winked out.

"Yes, I need help with chapters..."

"We're clear, Cassie," said Jason in a lower voice. He dashed over to the door and closed it. "No one is listening in."

Jason had wired up the small circuit during the summer when he first saw the Dark Aura around his father. It would tell him if someone was still listening in on the other line. He couldn't take any chances that the Darkness might recruit his father to eavesdrop on Jason's phone calls. He ran back to the desk and kept an eye on that light as Cassie spoke again.

"I just wanted to check if you were still okay to go to lunch today."

"Yeah, looks like it. Since it started getting colder, my Dad doesn't want to barbecue anymore. Plus he's involved in some big construction project at the hospital. New wing or something like that. You talk to the others yet?"

Cassie sighed. "All but one."

"Who?"

"Richie."

Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "But the others can make it, right?"

"Yes. Heather said her mother was trying to keep them in, but from the sound of it, I don't think they're going to listen no matter what punishment she threatens them with."

Jason hated the idea that Heather and Melinda would be in perpetual dire straits with their mother. Jason no longer tried calling Melinda on the phone, knowing full well that Penny Sovert would do everything in her power to keep them apart. He tried not to be angry with her. He knew from the patterns on Penny's Aura that she was a slave to the Darkness, and not a willing one.

"Okay, we'll just meet without Richie," Jason said, an edge in his voice.

"Jason, all his mother would tell me was that he wasn't home. Maybe it's nothing. He said in his email last night that he'd be there when I send the cab for him."

"I'll believe it when I see it. You sure his mother didn't say anything else?"

"No, and I didn't want to push it, knowing what I do about her."

"I don't think she's as bad as Mrs. Sovert."

"Richie seems to think so."

Jason had the impulse to spit "screw what Richie thinks," but managed to bite back his words. He fumed for a few moments, taking a few deep breaths until the urge to rant had passed.

His attempts to understand Richie's position -- as Cassie was often fond of pleading when the others got angry with him -- were rapidly failing. He could see Richie trying to improve, but something was nagging at him that it was simply not enough.

Maybe Melinda was right about him all along. Jason used to feel guilty for not doing more to help Richie's mother, but now wanted to wash his hands of the both of them. Richie was becoming more of a liability than an asset.

"All right, we'll see if he shows," Jason said curtly.

"I'm sure he'll show, Jason," said Cassie. "See you in a bit."

"Okay. Later, Cassie."

-------

Richie raced down Green Avenue on his bike as if the devil were at his back.

In a way, this was true, except it took the form of his own memories. Jason had chased him down this street only three weeks ago, trying to stop Richie from completing the enslavement of his teacher. The words Jason had spoken -- as well as his own words to Jason -- now came back to him with unusually sharp clarity.

This is too big, dude. Way too big. We were outclassed before we started.

Richie frowned. This was not the same thing, was it? Not by a long shot. He couldn't enslave her again. He didn't have the power to do so. He just had some influence over her, that's all. He didn't want...

Go have some fun with her.

His Mom wanted him to go. The Darkness wanted him to go. It thought it was a good idea. It...

I can't deal with that. I can't fight that. So I didn't bother... 

Richie brought the bike to a skidding halt in sight of Linda's house, nearly spilling him to the pavement.

He stared. Emotions fought in his head, flickering across his face as mere glimpses into the complexity of his feelings. Anger, fear, frustration, lust, all of them vied for control, leaving him confused and exasperated. His hands and legs tensed, as if he were preparing to turn the bike around and head home.

Instead, he dismounted, his feet thudding to the pavement hard enough to jar his bones. He wheeled his bike towards the front walk.

You fucking idiot.

Richie stopped. The memories were coming back to him with such intensity it was almost as if he were standing by the side looking back at himself.

Then his own, original thought came to him: You're doing something that the Darkness wants you to do.

This made him pause one more time, just as he was about to chain his bike to the fence that ran before Linda's house. He frowned and continued his task with a vengeance, pulling the chain taut with a vicious yank before snapping the lock on it. "No one fucking controls me," he muttered darkly as he marched to the front door.

His heart pounded as he rang the doorbell. His cock was already rising in anticipation. Really, that's all he felt he wanted. Not the control. Just the sex. He was sure every boy his age had these urges. Jason couldn't talk. He had Melinda.

The door opened, and there was an awkward moment of silence across the threshold.

Linda appeared as if she could not decide between a casual or sexy look. She was wearing jeans and a pullover top, but both were rather tight. Her breasts hung high enough on her chest to suggest that she had on a bra, but the nipples were already swollen and erect, appearing as two prominent bumps.

Linda's face was subdued, though her gaze was dark and a touch sultry. Richie's eyes flicked over her body, almost of their own accord. Linda noticed this, and her skin flushed in response. "Please, come in, Richie."

Richie entered without saying a word, more for lack of inspiration than anything else. The house looked pretty much as he had remembered it. Other memories flooded back to him about what he had done with her in this room. They played out in his head in startling detail, as if he were watching a movie of his own past.

Linda closed the door, taking a deep breath and letting a go as a slow sigh before turning to him. She tugged absently at her shirt, pulling it more taut across her bosom, and paused as if going over a rehearsed line in her head. "All right. I called you over so we could talk about this," Linda began. "We need to..."

"You're horny already, aren't you?"

Richie blurted the first words that came into his head. Linda wrapped her arms around herself and took another deep breath. "Please, let's ... let's sit down and talk first."

"Just answer my question, 'kay? Then I'll sit wherever you want me to."

Linda gave him a stricken look.

Richie returned it with a frustrated look of his own. "I just want you to be straight with me, that's all! No one fucking ever tells me the truth. Just gimme this and I'll sit and listen to whatever you wanna tell me."

Linda hesitated, her cheeks coloring. "Fine. I'm horny. For you. Does that satisfy you?"

Richie sensed the bitterness in her voice underlying the obvious desire. Richie nodded, then strode over to the sofa and plopped himself down heavily.

Linda followed and sat down more tentatively next to him. "Richie, this is hard for me, so please be patient. Part ... part of this is my fault from the start."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we've been through that shit. You gave me the wrong idea, blah blah blah. Been there, done that. Already know that you were just watchin' the little boy playin' baseball."

He could still remember it as if it had just happened that day. Linda had shown up right after the second inning. Richie had already gone hitless that game, but when she had started watching them, with her tiny shorts that left her long, slinky legs bare and the tank top that hugged her tits, and the hair that looked golden in the bright summer sun, he had started belting them to the far corners of the field just to impress her.

She had never even once hinted she was a teacher.

"That's what's hard for me, Richie," Linda said in a husky voice. "I guess I wasn't completely straight with you."

Richie narrowed his eyes. "Huh?"

Linda's legs quivered. Her blush returned and deepened. "I guess ... I guess I did fancy you a bit when I stopped to watch you play ball during the summer."

Richie's eyebrows rose.

Linda's eyes met his. "It was nothing more than an infatuation. Understand that, please. I never intended to take it any further. Never. Sometimes we have our little fantasies, and..."

"You fantasized about me?" Richie cried, his voice a mixture of excitement and triumph.

"No, I didn't mean it quite that way. Not ... you weren't ... look, what I mean is, I didn't think of you in that way, not..."

And suddenly, Richie felt as if he were rushing away, as if pulled through a tunnel. He was both falling and not falling, spinning through a void...

-------



The lights were low, the house silent. Outside the darkened window, crickets chirped in summer chorus. On the small end table near one end of the sofa, a nearly empty glass sat. At the bottom, remaining fragments of ice caused swirling eddies of meltwater to dilute the last few swallows of amber-colored liquor.

And now, the gentle sound of crickets was joined by soft sighs and moans.

Linda Davis was sprawled out on the sofa, her head propped up on a throw pillow against the hand rest. Her eyes were half-lidded, partially from the buzz of alcohol, partially from desire. Her shorts and panties lie on the floor. One foot was draped over the back of the sofa, the other was on the floor.

Her pussy glistened even in the dim light. Her fingers caressed her wet slit, liquid sounds joining her light panting and lustful moans. She swirled her fingertips about her clit, driving her lust into a greater frenzy. She tilted her head back, her breath growing short and her sighs more desperate.

"Uhh ... uhh! ... UHHNN!! ... Ohhh!" Linda cried as her hips bucked with her orgasm. She pressed her hand to her slit, stroking firmly to drive her climax to greater heights. She shuddered, panting hard, her fingers working her wet folds until she was spent.

Linda's head lolled to one side, her hand still draped over her mound as she let herself wind down from her intense climax. She swallowed, still panting lightly as she forced her hand to withdraw. She sat up, looking faintly embarrassed, as if having just indulged in a thought that made her feel guilty or uncomfortable.

"Not Richie," Linda said softly but adamantly. "Don't even think about it."



-------

"Richie?"

Richie flinched and blinked rapidly as reality slammed back into place around him.

"Are you okay, Richie?" Linda asked. "You looked like you had zoned out for..."

Richie suddenly jumped to his feet and rounded on her, his hands clenched into fists. "You're lying to me!"

Linda stared, too nonplussed to respond.

"You did so fantasize about me! I'll bet you ... you frigged yourself over it. Got off on it. Yeah, you did!"

Linda's mouth opened in shock. She recovered quickly, but not fast enough to avoid Richie noticing. And it did nothing to stop her cheeks from glowing red.

Richie was not sure what had happened. But rather than let himself be distracted by this puzzle, he concentrated his thoughts on what he really wanted. He knew as sure as if he had actually been there and seen it for himself that Linda had masturbated on that sofa during the summer, and she had been thinking of him at the time.

Linda finally managed to speak. "All right. Maybe I had some thoughts about you like that. But it wasn't right. I'm too old for you."

"Yeah, but you were thinking about it. I know you were."

"It doesn't matter."

"Why the fuck not??" Richie nearly screeched.

Linda rose to her feet. Her legs trembled, and her feet stood slightly apart. "My thoughts ... my private thoughts ... should not be anyone's concern. Whatever fantasies I have are only that. They're never meant to be made real. I don't know what happened a few weeks ago, but something made me ... made us..."

"Made you do something you already wanted to do!"

"No. It's not like that. I was infatuated with the idea, not the act."

Richie gave her a funny look. "That makes no sense."

Linda sighed. "I didn't expect you to understand. But now it's gone past just my thoughts. Even after I'm no longer..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say the words. She visibly shivered at the memory and shook her head. "Now I have something lingering. I had it under control until I was foolish enough to try and talk to you yesterday."

Richie frowned. "That why you been treating me like dog crap on your shoe in your class?"

Linda looked distraught. "I'm sorry about that, but you see why I did it..."

Richie was already shaking his head. "Naw, I don't see it. You got the hots for me and you were tryin' to deny it."

"Only because something happened!" Linda said in exasperation.

"Yeah, whatever. You said you were horny when I got here. Do you still frig yourself over me now?"

"Richie, please..."

"Well, do you? Come on, answer me!"

Linda shivered again. "Y-yes," she whispered, averting her eyes.

"Show me."

Her gaze snapped back to his. Her eyes shimmered.

Richie's cock was rock-hard. "Come on, show me," he said, his voice filled with lust.

Linda took a deep breath. "I don't have to do what you tell me, Richie. It's not like that anymore."

"Yeah, I know. But you wanna do it, doncha?"

"Only because you made me want ... I mean... "

"So which is it, huh? I made you or a didn't make you. Make up your mind."

"I mean that your presence makes it worse."

Richie smirked. "I turn you on just being here? Just talking to you?"

Linda hugged her arms around herself. "It's lingering from before. It has to be, don't you understand that?"

"Yeah, maybe. But you already wanted me."

"It's not..."

"Stop it, okay?! You said you wanted an arrangement, right?"

Linda opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying a word.

"C'mon, just show me," Richie said in a softer voice. "C'mon. Please. Do it. You wanna do it anyway."

Linda couldn't truly separate in her mind what was her own desire and what was a lingering compulsion to please Richie. She could still refuse him. She could throw him out of her house. But she would likely do in private anyway what Richie wanted her to do in front of him. Sending him away would not make the feelings disappear. Worse, they would drive her to distraction while she waited for them to abate.

Linda popped the button on the waist of her jeans, her hands trembling. Richie slowly smiled as Linda pulled the zipper down and slid the jeans off her hips. A dark stain appeared in the crotch of her lacy, pink panties, the fabric creased where it had drawn into her wet slit.

She paused a moment before pulling her panties down. The crotch peeled away slowly from her bare pussy. She let out a lusty sigh as the fabric gave way before she shimmied the panties the rest of the way down her legs.

"Wow, yeah, you're horny all right," Richie said, staring, his cock aching.

Linda blushed as she sat down on the sofa, paused, then lay herself out as Richie had seen her in his dream. Or vision. Or hallucination. He wasn't sure what it was. At the moment, he didn't care.

Linda sank her fingers into her aching pussy, sliding them against her swollen clit with little hesitation.

Richie swallowed, his heart thumping, his cock pulsing faintly in time with it. His eyes traced the lithe contours of her legs up to the triangle of her mound. He watched raptly as her fingers squished in her pussy.

"I wanna see the rest of you," Richie said. "Take off your shirt and bra."

Linda hesitated, though her fingers continued to move slowly against her clit.

"C'mon, I bet you wanna do it anyway, right?"

Linda swallowed and let go an excited sigh. He was not controlling her. She could resist him. But she didn't want to. She wasn't sure if there was a difference.

She lifted her hand from her mound and sat up. She pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the side. She reached around behind her and unhooked her bra, shrugging it off her shoulders and pulling it away from her chest. She uttered another sigh of desire as her tits spilled out of the cups.

Richie stared as Linda lay back again and slipped her hand over her sex. He watched her dip her fingers into her cunt before sliding them back up and over her clit.

Richie's hands went to his belt.

Linda was too caught up in her own pleasure to notice at first. It was not until Richie had stripped down to his briefs that she turned her head and gasped. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, Linda's hand draped protectively over her mound, though her fingers were still pressed into her slit. Her eyes shimmered with both desire and fear, and they were drawn to the large tent in Richie's briefs, a tiny spot of wetness at the apex.

Richie grabbed the waistband, his breath heavy with intense lust.

"No, wait..." Linda called out, though her voice was weak and breathless.

Richie's fingers tightened. "You wanted an arrangement, right?"

Linda could only pant in reply.

"An arrangement. You told me that. Well, I want it too."

Richie pulled down his briefs, his cock springing free and bobbing before him, rock-hard.

Linda panted harder. Her sultry eyes fixed on his cock. "I-I ... we can't, not like this ... not..."

Richie approached her. "You want it. C'mon, you already said so. What the hell else were you gonna suggest, huh?"

"Maybe just ... j-just oral sex, or something like that..."

Richie thought for a minute. "You on the pill?"

Linda swallowed and then nodded mutely.

"Good. Then we don't hafta be careful."

Linda's eyes remained wide and fixed on Richie as he climbed onto the sofa. As he crawled towards her, she clamped her hand over her mound and pressed her free hand into her chest, holding him at bay.

Richie stopped. His cock hung inches above her hand.

"You wanna," he said, his own voice deep with lust. "Stop lying to me. Just ... don't lie to me, 'kay?"

Linda was panting hard now. The hand against his chest slowly weakened and dropped away. The hand over her mound lifted, paused, and then reached for Richie's cock. She let out a deep sigh of anticipation as her slick fingers wrapped around his shaft.

"Oh man, yeah..." Richie moaned.

Linda's fingers tightened around him and pulled him towards her pussy. Richie surged forward, Linda barely having time to snatch her hand out from between them before he sunk his cock into her cunt.

Any remaining objections in Linda's mind were drowned by the wave of delight that flooded over her as he entered her. She closed her eyes and raised her hips to his, shoving him as far into her as possible. As soon as he started thrusting, she joined in the rhythm. She tilted her head back as her body rocked against his, Richie smirking as he watched her breasts roll up and down.

"Yeah ... I knew you wanted it..." Richie breathed.

Linda moaned, her hands clutching his shoulders. She tried to think, to gain back some sense of rationality. "Richie ... we shouldn't ... shouldn't have d-done this..."

Richie laughed. "Yeah, right ... guess I shouldn't do this either."

He thrusted into her as hard and fast as he could, his body slapping loudly against hers. Linda gasped, her fingers curling, nails digging into his skin. She threw her head back and moaned loudly. "Oh God ... oh yeah ... uhh!..."

"That's it..." Richie panted, his eyes as wild as his hair. "You love ... a good fuck..."

It was impossible to think straight anymore. Her pussy was rising fast, her body craving the pleasure as much as she had when she had been his slave.

In her mind, it still seemed so wrong. Calling him over had been a bad idea. She should have known it would degenerate into this. Or perhaps part of her did know and didn't care.

Linda couldn't stop herself. She needed a good fuck, and Richie was giving her one. The consequences of it scared her, but not enough to make her stop.

Linda strained at the edge, her back arching, her body shuddering. She opened her legs as wide as the sofa would allow and lifted her hips. She let out a strident cry as she went over, her pussy throbbing hard and squeezing his cock as it pounded mercilessly into her.

Richie's body tensed. The way she gripped him like this had been his favorite part of sex with her. It triggered his own orgasm, his cock pumping hard into her depths. He shoved himself in as far as he could go, groaning loudly as he let his cock expend itself deep inside her.

Their moans and cries faded, replaced with hard panting as their orgasms wound down. Richie lay against Linda for a moment, his cock still inside her, giving a few remaining weak, abortive throbs.

"Oh man..." Richie groaned.

It was a few moments before Linda could speak. When she did, she pushed gently at his shoulders. "I didn't intend for that to happen, Richie."

Richie resisted the push at first with an indignant look, but he relented. He withdrew and crawled back from her before sitting upright at the other end of the sofa. "You wanted it."

Linda took another moment to catch her breath. She tried to ignore the pleasant ache lingering in her pussy, or the general sense of contentment that came over her from having been nicely fucked. "I was trying to control my urges," she said softly as she drew her legs onto the seat cushion.

"Why? You wanted an arrangement, right?"

Linda slowly nodded. She still wanted it. After having actually had intercourse with him again, she couldn't stop now. That was what she had been afraid of. That was why she had hoped to be content with oral sex.

Richie smirked. "Weekend gonna be 'nuff for ya, or you need more fucking than that?"

Linda drew her legs more tightly under her, her cheeks pink. "I-I'm not sure."

"I can come over after school. If I'm not busy with other stuff." Richie had remembered to leave time for the Harbingers almost as an afterthought. "Hey, how 'bout this be, like, extra credit for the class or something?"

Linda shook her head. "I can't do that, Richie. This has to be separate from all that."

Richie narrowed his eyes.

Linda swallowed. "Please, it has to be. Don't make me go back on that."

"Aw ... Yeah, okay, fine. Prob'ly better so no one finds out, right?"

"Yes. For as long as this lasts."

Richie raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"This has to stop sometime. We can't keep doing this."

Richie made a face. "Why not?"

"You have to free me at some point."

"Free you? I'm not controlling you! You're not a slave."

"You have something over me, Richie. You make me want to have sex with you."

"But you fantasized about it!"

Linda found it hard to explain. It was more like he had taken away her ability at self control. He made it so her own emotions overruled her rationality. She doubted he would understand this, or even listen.

"I'm not doing anything to hurt you," Richie said, his voice edged with desperation, as if trying to convince himself as well as her. "I'm not gonna tell you what to do when I'm not here. I can't. I don't have it anymore."

Linda shuddered faintly. She wished she knew what "it" was. Another fear was that this "it" would come back again, and she would fall again under his complete thrall.

Richie sighed and shook his head. He bolted out of the chair and gathered his clothing.

Linda watched him. She was disappointed to see him go just as much as she was wary of him. Before she could stop herself, she heard herself asking, "Can you come back tomorrow?"

Richie heard the hopeful tone to her voice and grinned smugly. "Yeah, I can do that. Give ya another nice fuck."

Linda smiled faintly. She already looked forward to it.

Richie finished dressing. "Okay. Like before. We keep it quiet, right? Business as usual in class, that sorta shit."

"Yes, of course."

"Cool. Okay, I'll see ya tomorrow."

Richie quickly headed out of the house.

He was practically shaking with excitement as he ran to his bike and undid the chain. Everything was going to be okay after all. He had not enslaved her. He wasn't doing anything that would help the Darkness. He was just having some fun, that's all. There wasn't anything that could go wrong with this arrangement.

Smiling to himself in satisfaction, he mounted his bike and pedaled away.



-------

Chapter 6


The doorbell rang.

Susan shivered. She drew in her breath softly and let it go as a slow, lustful sigh as her pussy throbbed very gently. The hand holding her book trembled. She placed the book next to her on the sofa, turning her head towards the kitchen. Her mother did not emerge. She had hoped to be spared having to answer the door herself, but her mother was likely already in the back yard.

She stood up. Her panties clung wetly to her mound. She tried to think of telling Melissa that her mother was out. It wouldn't be a lie. She was out in the back yard. She just didn't have to mention that.

Her soft orgasm had subsided, but her pussy still felt achy and in need of greater release. It had started sometime after she rose that morning. Her mother already suspected something was wrong. Susan could tell from the way her mother regarded her whenever they were alone.

Susan strode to the door and opened it.

Melissa smiled. "Good morning," she said brightly. "Is your Mom home?"

"She's out," Susan said immediately, but after a short pause added, " ... i-in the back yard."

She flushed with pleasure as her pussy throbbed briefly in another wispy climax.

Melissa's grin broadened. "You're learning, aren't you? How easily the mind can be molded with the promise of pleasure. Mind if I come in?"

"I'd love for you to come in," said Susan. The gentle throbbing continued.

Melissa stepped inside. "And you didn't warn your mother I was coming?"

"No, Melissa, I didn't."

"Good girl, Susan. Now, fetch your mother for me."

Susan tried one last measure of defiance. She stood her ground for a few moments, trying to think of anything other than obeying Melissa's command. Thoughts of the horrible things that Melissa could do to her mother flickered across her mind. It wasn't enough.

"Susan?" Melissa said, looking at her expectantly.

Susan clenched her hands into fists. She was losing the battle. The addiction was too strong. "Yes, of course. I-I'd love for you to meet her, Melissa."

Her pussy swam in hot sexual delight.

Melissa giggled. "You're so cute when you're trying to resist me."

Suddenly, the low-level orgasm stopped and the ache in Susan's sex retreated. She gave Melissa a stricken look.

"No more for you right now. You'll get rewarded once I have what I want. Now fetch her."

Susan nodded and headed through the kitchen.

The back door opened up onto a small patio, and beyond that down a small set of steps was the yard. The grass had long been replaced with myriad bushes and plants that were more native to the area, at her mother's insistence. Tall junipers rose up on two sides, and a high privacy fence spanned the third. It was effectively isolated from the neighbors, save for some gaps here and there in the trees.

A clearing had been created in the center of the yard. Debby Radson stood here, her flowing blue robe drawn more modestly around her body, though she still wore nothing underneath. She would have preferred to perform her rituals in the nude, but this was as much as she could get away with without the neighbors complaining. She already chafed at the fact that Bill would not let her inscribe a proper pentagram.

Debby's back was to the house, yet she sensed her daughter's approach. She paused in her preparations and turned.

Susan smiled, standing at the top of the steps. "Mom, a friend of mine just came over. I'd really love you to meet her."

Debby suppressed a sigh. "Susan, dear, can she come back later? I'm going to be a bit busy for..."

Her voice trailed off. There was something odd about Susan's smile.

"Please, Mom. I really want you to meet her."

Susan's pussy was still damp, and it tingled as she obeyed Melissa's commands. It kept her aroused, teasing her body with the promise of greater reward. Even now, looking directly at her mother, she was unable to give her mother any conscious sign or clue that something was amiss.

But Debby already knew. She could sense her daughter's increased sexual excitement. It both baffled and scared her. "What does she want, Susan?"

"She ... she wants to meet you."

"Why?"

Susan paused. She squirmed, her hips sliding back and forth as she shifted her weight between her feet. "I just thought it would be a nice idea, that's all."

Debby started towards her daughter, but came to a sudden stop just as she reached the stairs, her eyes widening as an icy chill suddenly passed through her.

There was something inside the house, a malevolent power that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The only time she had ever felt something similar was about two weeks ago. She had felt it emanating from somewhere within the high school as she drove past it. The next time she tried to go near the school to pinpoint it, it had vanished.

She feared now it was the very same power, or at least from the same source.

"Susan, I want you to go to your room and close the door," said Debby. Her voice was steady and unyielding, her eyes hard. They both masked how frightened she actually was. "And don't come out until I tell you."

Susan gave her mother a puzzled look. She hesitated, then nodded slowly before heading back to the house.

Debby followed close behind, placing a hand protectively on her daughter's shoulder. Her heart pounded hard in her chest, blood rushing in her ears. The sensation got worse the further into the house she went. She felt a vague sense of revulsion that something like this was inside her house, a place she had considered a sanctuary from whatever evils lay in Haven.

Debby came to a stop just inside the living room. Her hand squeezed Susan's shoulder and brought her to a stop as well.

Melissa looked up from the sofa and smiled. "Good morning, Mrs. Radson."

Debby was too astonished to speak.

For the first time, she was able to see a stain of darkness around someone without advance preparation. She could see it only faintly, just wisps of inky black slithering around Melissa like thin tentacles. If she looked just off to the side, they disappeared from view. She shuddered at what she might have seen had she had time to prepare for it.

"Go to your room, Susan," Debby said softly into Susan's ear, never taking her eyes from Melissa.

Susan started away from her mother.

Melissa turned her head. When Susan got to the bottom of the stairs, Melissa called out, "Leaving so soon, Susan?"

Susan stopped and turned.

"Susan," Debby said firmly. "Go to your room as I told you."

"I would rather she stay, Mrs. Radson."

Debby glanced at her daughter. Susan remained where she was, looking to Melissa rather than her mother.

Debby felt another icy chill. This girl had some sort of hold over Susan. Debby had hoped she had read the signs wrong. She wanted to overcome Melissa's influence, but not at the expense of having Susan be nothing more than a pawn that they exchanged between them.

"Very well," said Debby.

Susan left the stairs and sat down next to Melissa.

"Mrs. Radson, I'm hoping you can help me with something," said Melissa.

Debby studied the young girl. Reading her was hard. Beyond the wispy darkness, there were little more clues to be had.

She noticed a slim gold chain around Melissa's neck. Whatever was attached to it lay hidden under Melissa's blouse. Her intuition told her what it was already, which sent another chill through her.

"Please, won't you sit down?"

Debby saw how Melissa carried herself with supreme confidence, as if expecting no one to defy her. Debby paused just a moment to make sure she was still acting of her own volition before advancing and sitting down in the easy chair.

"My name is Melissa Hendell," said Melissa. "I'm a good friend of Susan here."

Debby glanced at Susan. Susan gave her mother a furtive glance and subsided, leaving her hands folded demurely in her lap. "I don't remember her mentioning you."

"Oh? That's too bad. And surprising, considering how kind she was to me."

Susan shuddered.

Debby was under no illusions about her daughter. She knew Susan could be unkind to people, and she had called the girl out on it many times. It was one of the reasons she thought Susan needed more time to mature before she could handle the responsibility of the pendant. "Kind? In what way?"

"She gave me something very important. Something special. Something you might know more about."

Melissa's fingers tugged at the chain, though she did not quite pull the pendant out. It was as if she were teasing Debby, daring her to guess Melissa's secret.

Debby looked at her daughter again. Susan's eyes were downcast. Her breath was short, and she occasionally squirmed in her seat. Debby shifted her gaze to Melissa and tried to look defiant. "And why would you think I would know anything about this, Melissa?"

"Oh, come now, Mrs. Radson. I know you're Pagan. And I bet you're a practicing Witch as well. You would most certainly know about things like this."

"I don't profess to know everything."

Melissa grinned. "Perhaps. Maybe that's why you lost it so easily."

Debby took a deep breath. Her heart thumped, and she fought to keep her voice steady. "I don't want to play any more games. You have my pendant."

Melissa smiled and plucked the pentacle from between her breasts. She twirled it by its chain.

"That does not belong to you."

"Oh, but it does, Mrs. Radson. Your daughter gave it to me."

Susan did not appear to react. Debby could still sense the heightened sexual arousal in her daughter. It was clear to her that supernatural power was keeping her that way.

"The pendant was not hers to give," Debby said in a louder voice. "She ... took it from me when I was not home. Though I don't blame her for that."

This made Susan look up, her eyes holding a surprised look behind the dark lust.

Melissa let the pendant fall against her bosom. "Well, that's rather generous of you, isn't it? I would have punished her myself."

Debby ignored this. She had to get the pendant back. It was more dangerous than she had realized. She had known that the pendant could influence others. Her mother had warned her about it and had taught her how to shield her mind from it.

But her mother had never warned her about its ability to influence those that did not possess it yet.

"I want to know more about this pendant, Mrs. Radson. I want to know everything about it."

"I'll tell you about it, Melissa, if you give it back to me first."

"Give it back? When it has done me such a world of good?" Melissa smiled. "For the first time in a very long while, I feel like I'm in control. Isn't that a good thing? To be in control?"

Debby was unable to keep fear from causing a quaver in her voice. "Is that ... is that what you have done to my daughter?"

Melissa's smile faded. "Maybe I'm not as generous as you. Maybe I believed she needed to be punished."

Debby's voice rose. "Punished for what? Nothing deserves what you're doing to her!"

"I'm not here to discuss your precious daughter," Melissa sneered. "I want to hear everything you know about this pendant. It's a key to power, isn't it? Even more than I have now?"

"I don't know how you got the power you already have, Melissa, but I'm not going to give you more."

Melissa's lips curled into an evil smile. "Susan, take off your clothes."

Debby blinked. She was not sure she had heard Melissa correctly. It was not until Susan stood and pulled off her top that she realized she had heard every word with cold clarity.

"Susan, stop it," Debby called out desperately. "Stop it."

Susan's hands faltered as she undid the button on her jeans. Her cheeks blushed scarlet, and she trembled. Yet it did not stop her. She unzipped her jeans and pushed them down her legs.

Debby wanted to stand up and grab Susan's hands, but she was afraid of hurting her daughter. What little she had been taught about possession had warned against physically restraining the possessed unless it was a life-threatening situation. Battles like this had to be fought spiritually.

"Why do you want to stop her?" Melissa said smoothly. "She's very attractive. Isn't she, Mrs. Radson?"

Debby looked confused. Her eyes shifted between Melissa and Susan, then clung to the latter. Susan stepped out of her jeans, standing in her underwear. Her panties were darkly stained. Debby was taken by her daughter's beauty, as if really seeing her for the first time.

She watched as Susan slipped off her bra, breasts spilling out. Susan was indeed beautiful. Even sexy. She wondered how she had not noticed before...

"No!" Debby covered her eyes with her hand, allowing her to turn her head away. She curled her free hand into a fist and slammed it against a hand rest of the chair. Slowly, the Darkness retreated from her mind, as well as her illicit thoughts. Utter revulsion came in its wake.

Melissa looked only mildly surprised that Debby had shielded against her. She felt she could get through it if she concentrated hard enough, but she hoped it would be unnecessary. It was more energy she had to spend, and she had a limited amount as it was. If she pushed too hard, she would lose some of her control over Brad or Sam. She already had to write off Jim for the moment. What little control she had remaining over him would likely be gone by the time she was finished here.

"You can't keep me out forever," Melissa said.

Debby dropped her hand from her eyes and faced Melissa. She looked up in time to see Susan slide her panties down her legs and push them aside with her foot. Susan sat back down on the sofa, naked, her pussy wet and shiny.

Debby could feel the Darkness reaching for her again, trying to get into her head and mold her emotions and perceptions. She was panting with the effort to resist it.

"Answer my question," Melissa demanded, dropping all pretense of politeness. "Am I right? That this pendant can lead me to greater power?"

Debby's fingers curled tightly around the hand rests. "You a-already have power..." she said breathlessly.

Melissa did not rise to the bait. She had already explained herself to Susan. She didn't need to repeat it. "Susan, masturbate. But don't cum."

Susan whimpered in embarrassment, but dutifully opened her legs and slipped her fingers into her wet slit with a squishing sound. She massaged her clit with gentle, circular strokes, moaning softly.

Debby looked horrified. "Melissa, stop it! Stop making her do that!"

"But you like it. You find it really sexy and erotic."

The pressure on her mind was nearly intolerable. Tendrils of Darkness leaked in like many tiny leaks in a dam. She felt a small tingle in her sex. Her nipples hardened. "I-I'll tell you what I know," she said in a strained voice. "But ... b-but let Susan go. Let her go, please. Please."

"You have no clue what she did to me, do you?!" Melissa roared. "You have no fucking clue! Your precious little girl wanted to leave me tied up naked in the forest for a night! You think I should let her go after that?!"

"What??" Debby stared at Susan. "No, that's not possible, she ... She didn't ... Susan, y-you ... you couldn't... !"

Susan's eyes glistened with guilt, even as she panted and whimpered in rising sexual delight. Her fingers worked her cunt, pumping gently in and out before drawing them up over her clit again with deep, firm strokes that made her thighs quiver with her mounting pleasure.

Debby was stricken, shaking her head. "No ... no, the pendant ... it had to be the pendant..."

"Oh, but Susan was being cruel to me long before she gave me the pendant. Her and that cunt Ann Went. Oh, no, you can't push it off on that."

Debby was losing the battle. Her legs parted as her pussy grew hot and wet. Her eyes kept sliding over to Susan. Wild, intensely erotic thoughts tried to slip into her mind. She was growing increasingly helpless to resist it.

"Getting nice and horny, aren't you?" Melissa said with vicious glee. "Susan is such a sexy little slut, isn't she?"

"S-stop ... stop it..."

"So horny your pussy it just begging for relief."

Debby panted hard, her whole body shivering with intense arousal. Her legs parted further, pulling the robe apart. One half slid from her leg and revealed her lightly furred mound. Moisture gathered in her slit and coated the insides of her thighs near her pussy.

"You should know, Mrs. Radson, that thanks to her little stunt, she has gotten very, very good at licking twat. Would you like to see for yourself?"

Debby moaned. "No, please ... please don't ... don't make her... !"

But Susan had already stopped masturbating and was sliding off the sofa and onto the floor. Panting with desire, she crawled over to her mother and pulled the robe aside. Debby tried to get out the chair, but her body would not respond to her. As she watched Susan approach, it was as if her legs moved of their own accord, spreading wide.

Susan's hands trembled as they touched Debby's thighs. Debby shivered in both excitement and revulsion. Susan's eyes were glazed, her breathing hard, her eyes fixed on her mother's pussy.

"You understand now, don't you?" Melissa said. "Like Susan did. Sex is power. It can be used to control people, even without making them into puppets. If I make her lick your cunt, Mrs. Radson, you'll want her to do it again. And again. And again."

Debby sobbed once, a tear trickling out of one eye.

"So tell me what I want to know. Tell me about the pendant."

Debby whimpered as Susan suddenly leaned forward but stopped just short of her pussy.

"Th-the pendant ... it's ... it's c-connected with a book," Debby croaked. She immediately felt a surge of guilt.

"A book? What kind of book?"

"A book, with ... w-with a ritual ... a rite ... the Rite of Power. The pendant was used as a focus..."

"Power? What kind of power? Where?" Melissa cried, her excitement rising.

"U-under Haven ... a node ... l-lines of energy converge, a-and the Rite taps it, the pendant focuses it..."

Melissa smiled. "And where is this book?"

"I don't know."

Her smiled faded. Her hand curled around the pendant. "Don't lie to me. Where is the book?"

"I don't know!" Debby cried, another tear wetting her face. "I really don't know! I was never told! Please ... please believe me... I don't know ... my mother knew but she never told me before she passed away..."

Melissa felt frustrated. She didn't want to have to go as far as she did in forcing the information from Susan's mother, and now she discovered it was incomplete. The knowledge she had was useless without this missing piece.

And yet the pendant was compelling her. It wanted her to find the book. It wanted the Rite to be done. She had the sense that it had been attempted once before but not completed. Yes, that would explain some of the emotions she felt in her dreams. A feeling of longing and frustration, of being on the edge of a great revelation and falling just short of understanding.

"The Rite was done before, wasn't it?" Melissa said softly, her eyes unfocused. "But not finished. It was stopped."

Debby swallowed, her breathing ragged as she struggled in vain against the hold that Melissa had on her mind. The more she tried to fight it, the more intense her arousal became, until she desired the touch of her daughter's tongue in her folds on her own. "M-my mother stopped it, then she hid the book," Debby said hoarsely. "P-please, Melissa ... don't seek it out ... don't..."

Melissa wasn't listening. She rose slowly to her feet. "Thank you, Mrs. Radson, you've been most helpful."

Debby uttered a sigh, but her arousal remained heightened, and Susan remained kneeling between her legs. Her eyes flicked helplessly from Susan to Melissa, silently imploring.

"Susan," Melissa said calmly, though her voice was edged with irritation. "Eat your mother out."

Debby gasped. "No! No, please, don't ... uhhh! ... ohhh! ... ohh, Goddess ... no ... uhhn..."

Susan's face was plastered to her mother's pussy, her tongue licking with wild abandon. She panted and moaned, the taste of her mother's cunt making her own arousal spike until moisture dripped from her slit.

"And don't stop eating her until she cums six times."

"S-stop..." Debby croaked, though her body shivered with intense pleasure. She closed her eyes tightly as she tilted her head back, trying to push out the Darkness. She could feel it worming its way into her mind, shaping her desires and her needs. Even as a new tear trickled from the corner of her eye, she moaned and called out lustily, "Ohhh, Susan ... oh, yes ... uhhh ... Goddess, that feels so good..."

Debby had been left with her own self intact. She could see what was happening to her but was helpless to stop it. Even as she called out, her cheeks burned with humiliation

"Six times," Melissa repeated. "That should be enough to make you beg to have Susan lick you every day."

Debby struggled to break through the incestuous lust. "Uhhhn ... wh-why ... why did you do this ... ohh ... I-I told you what I knew..."

"Because, Mrs. Radson, I don't believe you've told me everything. This will give you some incentive to reconsider. And if you don't tell me, you'll find out what your daughter's pussy tastes like."

She turned and headed out of the house without a backwards glance.

Melissa made it as far as the street before she had to stop. Her hands were clenched into fists, her eyes blazing in anger.

She was furious with Susan's mother. Debby had forced Melissa to push her, and push hard. She had not intended to go as far as she did, but she had not expected Debby to put up such a fight. It was the first time she had experienced any real resistance to her power. With as much power as it had taken against Debby, she had lost her control over Sam as well. She had only Brad still under her thrall out of the boys she had taken.

Melissa lips curled into a small smile.

She knew that Brad had been Heather Sovert's boyfriend before Ann. She had not forgotten about Heather. Or Diane. She remembered quite clearly what they had done to her. She remembered it because it was the very first act of humiliation perpetrated against her in Haven. Melissa, straight as an arrow, being kissed by a girl. And her first kiss as well, a special moment that had been irreparably ruined.

Everything she did to Susan and Ann was retribution for that incident. Heather and Diane had made her kiss another girl, so she made other straight girls fuck like rabbits in heat. In some ways she hated Heather and Diane more than Susan and Ann. But Susan and Ann had been her immediate targets, the ones that had pushed her into taking the Power. She owed them for that.

She could not take them as she had Susan and Ann unless she concentrated all her remaining energy. She could conceivably have all four of them as her puppets, but that would leave her with nothing left, not even enough to torture her fellow students at Haven High.

No, if she wanted to get at either of them, it would have to be indirectly, until she gained the greater power that she sought.

-------

Ned was excited when Cassie told him that she would be picking him up. It was not so much getting to ride in the limo again as it was the company.

He thought he had a golden opportunity for a chance to talk to her alone. Well, as alone as he could be with the driver in the car, that is, but it was better than nothing. The restaurant was in the outskirts of downtown Haven on the west side of town, and Ned was on the east side. He thought it meant he would have that bit of a drive to get to know her better. At school they didn't talk much beyond classwork and their one known shared passion for dream interpretation. And there, Cassie far surpassed him. He felt he wasn't even in the same league.

Yet Ned found himself a bit tongue-tied, and by the time he managed to strike up something resembling a conversation, they stopped to pick up Diane halfway through the trip.

Ned sighed to himself. He was reminded every day now why he had been resentful at first of Cassie when she had stopped him from enslaving the Asian beauty that lived across the street from him. It would have been so much easier that way. Trying to actually talk to a girl was hard, even one he thought liked him already.

Ned remained silent the rest of the trip, and was annoyed that it went unnoticed.

When the limo pulled up in front of the restaurant, however, he forgot his discomfort. He stepped out of the car, his eyes drawn to the awning that stretched from the top of the front door. Across the front, written in flowing script, was: Cipriani's.

Ned whistled through his teeth. "Whoa. This is a real swanky place, huh? Hope they don't think we're the help or something."

Cassie giggled as she came around the end of the car. Diane cracked a smile as well. "Stop it, it's not that bad."

Ned smirked. "Dunno about that, babe. Yer talkin' to a meat-n-potatoes kinda guy. This is real high-class compared to my usual fare."

"You wouldn't think so to hear my mother talk about it. She thought it wasn't high-class enough. This is where the 'commoners' eat, in her opinion."

Ned spotted Jason, Heather, and Melinda coming over to them. "Huh, well, I guess the rest of 'em here count as commoners, but..."

"Ha ha, very funny," Melinda piped, sticking her tongue out at Ned.

Ned thumbed his nose back at her. "See, now we just took the place down a few pegs."

Cassie giggled again. Ned gave her a lopsided smile, the expression on his face suggesting that he figured out only now that she had been laughing at his jokes the whole time.

"You sure we'll be able to get in, Cassie?" Jason asked.

Cassie's humor disappeared when she caught the edge in Jason's voice. Her eyes flicked over the others and confirmed what she had already guessed: Richie was still absent.

She tried not to sigh as she spoke. "My mother arranged it for me. She just had to call ahead, throw some money in people's faces, and everything is set."

Cassie's voice was tight as well. She didn't care for flaunting money or influence, but at least this time she could claim it was for a worthwhile cause.

"Well, we better get inside, then."

"But ... um ... okay, Jason."

By now, Ned had noticed the absence as well. "Hey, wait, what about Ri..."

Ned was abruptly cut off by a nudge of Cassie's elbow to his ribs.

Melinda was not as delicate. She gave Jason a sullen look. "Yeah, and I bet I know what he's doing now, too."

Jason sighed. "We don't know that," he said tonelessly. There was little conviction to his voice. "Look, I'll talk to him later and..."

"Wait, I think that may be him," Heather called out suddenly, pointing.

They all heard the sound of a car racing towards them just as Heather spoke. Diane jumped away from the curb just as a taxi came to a sudden halt. Richie clamored out. "Yo. Looks like I got her before the party started. Cool."

He thrust his hands into his pockets and gave them a cheesy grin.

Melinda narrowed her eyes suspiciously and stared hard at him. "Nothing," she muttered in a very low voice, audible as more than an indistinct mumble only to Jason.

Jason was not sure whether to be relieved or upset over Melinda's assessment of Richie's lack of a Dark Aura. He wasn't even sure that Richie would acquire one even if he were doing what Melinda suspected.

Cassie was visibly relieved to see Richie. "Well, we're all here, so let's head inside. The reservation is under my name, so let me go in first."

Despite Cassie's earlier proclamation, the place did appear as if it catered to a higher clientele. The lighting was subdued, as was the background din of conversation, as if they were in a library rather than a restaurant. All the waiters were dressed in tuxedos. A piano stood off to the side, though the seat was vacant at the moment.

Cassie did not appear to notice. She looked as if she belonged there, carrying herself with an almost regal bearing as she walked up to the maitre d'. Most of the others shuffled their feet and looked down. Only Richie was still openly ebullient, grinning widely, even waving to some of the waiters when they happened to look in his direction.

"What the hell are you doing?" Melinda demanded.

"What's it look like, shrimp?" Richie retorted. "I'm bein' friendly to the natives."

"You look like an idiot doing that."

"Melinda!" Heather hissed softly but urgently, grabbing her sister's arm. "Stop acting like a little snot for once."

Melinda yanked her arm away and fumed. "Whatever you say, Mom."

Heather was about to respond when she noticed several patrons glancing at them in annoyance. "Look, just behave yourself, okay? This isn't the burger joint downtown, you know."

Heather wanted to remain angry at Melinda. It helped push away the other feelings. Melinda was quite content with doing the same. She folded her arms indignantly and stuck her tongue furiously at her older sister.

Richie snickered.

Ned noticed Cassie looking a bit embarrassed as the maitre d' took a long, hard look at the teens before turning and snapping his fingers for a waiter. Ned frowned and turned to the others. "Look, gang, no offense or nothin', but y'all might wanna check yer tongues at the door. They don't look like they take kindly to troublemakers."

"Who said I was a troublemaker?!" Melinda whisper-shouted at him.

"Melinda, please," Jason said, tentatively reaching for her arm.

Melinda yanked it away at first, then sighed and stepped closer to him. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Cassie looked relieved. At least Jason still had some small measure of control over her. She wished she knew why Melinda was flying off the handle so much over the past week.

Diane, of course, understood, and sighed. She debated with herself now over whether she should have pushed the issue with Heather in the park. It might have been better to let her feelings be known. Instead, now she had to question every little thing that she did with Heather, as if afraid of offending her somehow.

A waiter came over to them. "This way, please."

Cassie nodded and gestured to the others to follow.

Diane brought up the rear of the group. She saw the others glance furtively to the side. She looked on despondently. She knew what they were doing. They were looking for Auras.

She never felt so inadequate. It was a dreadful feeling. She longed for the way things used to be, when it was just her and Heather, and her sexual propensities were properly buried. Together, the two of them could do no wrong.

They had felt that way even after having played that joke on Melissa.

"Hey, you okay?"

Diane nearly jumped. She had not noticed Heather come alongside her.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm fine," Diane lied. "Just ... just a bit overwhelming in here, you know?"

Heather nodded. "Yeah, I hear you. Cassie doesn't think this place is swank, but wow, I doubt Mom would ever ... um ... I mean back before..."

Heather trailed off. It was so hard for her to think about her mother anymore without sinking into despair or becoming enraged. She felt like she had been orphaned, that she was living with strangers now. Even her father, who she honestly had not given much thought to for a long while, didn't seem like anyone she wanted to know.

Diane tried to smile. "It's okay. I understand."

Heather grasped her hand. "I'm really sorry about the park, about flying off like that, I..."

They had reached the table, a corner booth, tucked in the recesses of the restaurant. After the Harbingers had seated themselves, the waiter handed out menus, took their order for sodas, and bustled off.

"Okay, did anyone see anything?" Jason said urgently to the others. "Anything at all?"

"Kinda hard to see in here, pardner," Ned drawled.

"You'll know it, Ned," Melinda said. "It really stands out. Blacker than black. But I didn't see anything myself, Jason."

"Then nada for me, I guess."

Heather and Cassie shook their heads. Richie looked about to shrug, thought better of it, and said, "Nah, man, nuthin'. Just lotsa snooty people."

Jason nodded. He looked out over the table. He caught a few other patrons looking their way. They turned their gaze elsewhere as soon as Jason looked at them.

"So much for people payin' no attention to us," Richie said with a smirk.

"I think it's just because we're a bunch of teenagers. They're afraid we're going to start yelling or get rowdy. I don't think they care what we say, so long as we're quiet."

"So what do we do now, Jason?" Melinda asked. "What do we talk about?"

"Well, our next moves with Melissa, for one." He turned to Cassie. "Still nothing?"

Cassie shook her head. "My dreams are as murky as ever. But I'm going to try something to see if I can figure out what's blocking me. I'm going to try some lucid dreaming to see if I can break through the block."

Jason nodded in understanding, but the others looked confused, save for Ned.

"It's where ya take control of yer dream," Ned explained.

Richie made a face. "You can't do that."

"Ever have a dream where ya realized yer dreamin' in the middle of it?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, that's lucid dreaming for ya."

Richie frowned. "But you can't do it on purpose."

"Yes, you can," Cassie said. "Well, you can do it if you know how. Not everyone can do it. I can do it at will, though, I just prefer not to most of the time."

"Thank you, Cassie," Jason said. He looked to the other side of the table. "Heather?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, nothing," said Heather. "I'm not feeling like anything is about to happen to us."

"That just means she hasn't gone after you yet," Melinda piped in a mocking voice.

"Melinda, don't start. I won't go there. Not here."

"But that's what she's going to do, isn't it?"

"What, you happy about that, is that it?"

"I'm not!" Melinda said shrilly, only to have Cassie hiss a "shhh!" through her teeth. "I'm not," Melinda repeated in a softer but no less adamant voice. "I just meant maybe if she goes after you, that's how we can stop her..."

"You can't use her as bait!" Diane cried softly.

"We're not using anyone as bait," Jason said firmly. "Okay, it's obvious we have no clue what Melissa is going to do next."

"Shouldn't we find out if she's already got someone?" Ned said. "I mean, she musta screwed with someone's head by now. Hate ta say it like that, but..."

"Wait, I-I might know something," Diane said a touch too loudly. She forced herself to lower her voice, but she was too excited about having something to contribute. She was frustrated a second time in her response when the sodas came and had to wait for the waiter to leave. "I talked to a friend of mine this morning on the phone. Jill Harrison."

"Jill?" Heather said in surprise, making a face. "How do you know Jill 'oh I'm so fucking great because I'm the head of the bimbo squad' Harrison?"

Melinda suddenly spurted her soda out of her mouth as she burst into giggles.

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Now what, runt?"

"B-bimbo squad??" Melinda cried, trying to keep her voice down.

"The cheerleading squad, I mean," Heather snapped, though a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. "The teacher who heads it seems to pick the most brainless ones in senior year for the squad. Anyway, Diane, how do you know her?"

"Her family knows mine," explained Diane. "Not really much choice on my part. She seems to think I'm her friend. Or should be, or something. Anyway, she said that someone she knew in senior year was acting weird. Susan Radson."

"Susan Radson? Why does that name sound familiar?"

Diane smirked. "Sam? Jim?"

"Oh, that Susan. Yeah, let me guess: Sam found out about Jim and dumped Susan."

Diane shook her head. "No, she didn't say that."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised. Susan is such a tramp."

"Oh, but face it, Heather, Sam is freaking clueless."

"Yeah, and on top of that, he..."

Melinda suddenly made gagging noises and pretended to stick her fingers down her throat.

Heather looked at her younger sister in irritation, but it was Ned that spoke up. "Um, not sayin' that the soap opera that is Haven High isn't interestin', but what has this got to do with Melissa?"

"Oh, sorry," Diane said with a lingering grin. For a moment it was just like the old days, just the two of them gossiping about their peers. She had almost forgotten the others were there. "Just that Jill said Susan was acting so oddly that it was creeping her out. Her exact words, in fact."

"All right, that's someplace to start, then," Jason said. "We might want to check on these two guys as well. If something's happened to Susan, and they're close to Susan..."

Heather smirked. "You could say that, yeah."

Jason managed a ghost of a smile himself. "Then they might be in danger as well."

"You want to try to get them away from Susan? Lots of luck. The way they fawn over her is pathetic."

"Yeah, nothing like you and Brad before, right?" Melinda piped.

"Melinda, just shut..."

"Are you all ready to order?"

Several of them flinched. The waiter gave them an ingratiating smile.

Cassie drew herself up in her seat, and gave the waiter an imperious look. She suddenly looked several years older. "Not as yet, Marco. You have such wonderful dishes that we are having a devil of a time deciding. Please, a few more minutes, if you would."

The waiter smiled. "Of course, madam. Is there anything else you need to help make your decision?"

"No, that's fine. We simply need more time."

"Very good. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you." He bowed his head and left.

"Wow. You do that so well," Ned said in open admiration.

Cassie slumped back to her normal self like a balloon deflating. Her cheeks flushed pink. "Please, don't compliment me for that. It's something my mother taught me to do. I'm not that proud of it."

"I thought it was freakin' cool!" Richie said with a chuckle. "Shit, he woulda sung the national anthem if you had asked him to!"

This just made Cassie blush even deeper crimson and shrink in her seat.

Melinda frowned and kicked Richie in the calf.

"What the fuck?!" Richie whisper-shouted, rubbing his bruised leg.

"You're embarrassing her, you twit!" Melinda hissed at him.

"Everyone, let's decide on something to eat," Jason called out, picking up his menu.

They lapsed into an uneasy silence as they tried to select something that they could understand from the menu, as most of the selections were written in Italian. Cassie had to assist them in this endeavor.

"How do you know Italian so well, babe?" Ned asked, obviously impressed.

Cassie blushed again, but smiled. "Several summers spent in Italy when I was a kid. My parents own a villa in Tuscany."

Richie frowned and tossed the menu down. "Any way I can order a burger an' fries here?"

Melinda rolled her eyes. "You do that and I'll die of embarrassment."

"Hey, worth a try, then, huh?"

Melinda glared and went to kick him again, but Heather stopped her.

Cassie quickly picked up the menu and turned it towards Richie. She pointed to something. "Here, try this one. It's not too fancy."

"You can't tell me you've never been to a nice restaurant before," Melinda piped.

"Maybe I can," said Richie. "Maybe my Mom don't have that kinda money, shrimp. Don't make a lotta dough as a maid."

"Don't call me... !"

"Your mother's a maid?" Jason asked.

If it had been asked in anything other than a strictly inquisitive voice -- and by anyone other than Jason -- Richie might have balked. Even now he felt a bit irritated, though his voice was not as aggressive as his words. "Yeah, she is. What's it to ya?"

"Nothing. You just never mentioned what she did is all."

Richie made a face and propped his head up with one arm. "Yeah, well ... I don't think she spends all her time standin' up on the job if ya know what I mean."

No one said anything in response. Ned glanced around at the others, as he did not know quite as much about Richie's mother, but decided that now was not the time to ask. The silence was fortuitous, as the waiter arrived to take their order.

The silence returned for a short while after the waiter departed, until Diane finally broke it. "Um, Jason? Do you think I should try and get a little more chummy with Jill? Find out more about Susan?"

"If she'll let you," Heather said. "Generally she doesn't bother with anyone that isn't as 'glamorous' as her. Oh, uh, I didn't mean you weren't attractive, Diane, just..."

Diane smiled wanly. She was under no illusions about her own beauty. She always thought she was a little too skinny and not quite endowed enough. Compared to Heather, her breasts were rather small. And Jill, compared to Diane, indeed warranted the adjective "glamorous."

"It's okay. Anyway, where her family and mine are close, I can probably get away with it. Or I just won't try to avoid her like I usually do on Sundays, when we run into them after church. Besides, she's a lot like us. She'll gossip at the drop of a hat."

"C'mon, we're not that bad," Heather said.

"Oh yes you are!" Melinda declared.

"It sounds like a good idea to me, Diane," said Jason. "Okay, I think we got that all squared away. And remember, don't go near Melissa, whatever you do."

"Hey, um, ya think we need to keep Heather and Diane here under guard or something?" Ned asked.

"Under what??" Heather cried.

"I mean, we gotta keep an eye on you two, right? In case Melissa goes gunnin' for ya when we're not all together. Someone's gotta sound the alarm if something happens, right? I mean, in school ya don't have to worry so much 'cuz..."

"I don't think it will be that bad, Ned, really. I think we're going a little crazy with this."

Diane picked up on the nervous quaver in Heather's voice. "What about if the two of us hang together as much as possible this weekend? We ... oh wait, damn, I can't tomorrow, my parents are taking me to visit relatives over in Randall. We'll be gone all afternoon."

"Heather, you'll be with your parents tomorrow, won't you?" Cassie asked.

"Not if I can help it," Heather said. "Melinda can hang out with me."

"Oh, no way, Heather!" Melinda piped. "I'm not going around with your bubblehead friends!"

"Stop it, runt. You..."

"Jason's free, he can hang out with you."

Jason blinked. "Huh? I am?"

Melinda gave him a meaningful look. "Yes. You said you wanted to spend time with her, didn't you?"

Heather blinked. "He did?"

"I did? Uh ... I mean ... yes, I did. Yeah, that's fine, I can hang out with her tomorrow."

Melinda smiled and mouthed "thank you" at him.

Heather looked oddly at the two of them and then shook her head in confusion.

Their talk turned more conversational until lunch arrived. As the waiter headed away, Jason glanced at the others. "We do have one more thing we need to talk about. We need to figure out where to meet again."

"Guess we could keep doin' this," Ned said with a grin as he tucked into his meal. "Man, I could go fer this. Um, that is, if it's not too expensive fer..."

"My mother would think it was a wonderful idea," Cassie said in a manner that indicated that she did not share this opinion. "She would approve of anything that lets me show off our money and influence. Meals like this, even every day, would be cheap to her."

"Well, this might do in a pinch, but it's harder to do it on weekdays," Jason said. "Dinner's the only meal available for this, and our parents will want us at home."

"But this would at least cover the weekends, right?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, I guess, for now. But we need something else for the weekdays. I don't want to have to wait a whole week. So, anyone think of anything?"

An awkward silence followed his words.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that."

"Hey, what about we jus' go to the park or something," Ned said. "Or an empty field on the edge of town. Or just hang out somewhere in the mall. I mean, yer the one that came up with the idea of no one bothering ta listen ta us."

"Yeah, everyone here's too busy stuffin' their faces anyway," Richie said sullenly. He picked at his food, finding that he didn't quite like it as well as Cassie had suggested.

"Maybe we should stick to places like the mall," Heather suggested.

"Oh yeah, figured you'd like that," Melinda said with a roll of her eyes.

"Because it would look normal to people, dummy."

"Melinda, think for a moment," Diane said sharply. "How odd would a bunch of teens hanging out together in a mall look compared to a park or field?"

"Okay, so maybe we'll try that," Jason said. "It might work if..."

Melinda suddenly gasped and drew back into her seat as she stared over the table with frightened eyes.

"Oh no," Cassie whispered, her own eyes widening as she saw it as well.

"Aw, crap," Ned muttered.

Jason's jaw tightened.

A nearby table that had been unoccupied when the Harbingers had arrived was no longer. The waiter was seating a young couple there. The man turned to the stricken teens and smiled politely, nodding once before sitting down. Darkness swirled around his body like a thick fog.

Jason stared at it. The subdued lighting meant nothing. Every pattern and movement of the Aura came to him in crystal clarity. He could tell that this was the Aura of one that had been enslaved. It was unmistakable.

"Jason??" Melinda asked in a frightened voice.

"What is it?" Diane demanded of Heather.

"The man that just looked at us, he has the Aura," said Heather.

"What? Here? But ... oh no, you don't think Melissa knows... ?"

"It's not Melissa," Jason said quietly, still staring. "Melissa didn't take him. But..."

"Jason, how do you know that?" Diane asked.

"Shh. Please, be quiet a moment..."

Jason could just make it out. He could hear it better if he cleared his head of distraction...

Observe them ... listen to them ... what plans do they make ... what conspiracy do they foment... 

Jason's heart pounded.

Tell me ... tell me what they know... 

"Jason, what is it?" Melinda cried softly.

Jason took a deep breath, his eyes growing hard. "We can't talk here any further. Don't say another word about anything."

Richie narrowed his eyes and looked towards the man, then back to Jason before shaking his head. "Shit, that creeps me out about you, I gotta admit."

"I don't understand," Diane said helplessly.

"Diane, remember what I told you about Jason," Heather said. "He can..."

"No." Jason said firmly. "Not another word. We can't give them anything. Let's just eat our lunch and get out of here."

The others exchanged nervous glances before settling down to their meal in silence. None of them had much of an appetite anymore.



-------

Chapter 7


"I thought they'd never leave. God!"

Melinda slammed the door behind her as she entered the bedroom, still dressed in her Sunday finest. Unfortunately for her, "finest" was defined by her mother, which meant a frilly white and pink dress that Melinda though made her look like a dork. Her hands were already unbuttoning her blouse as fast they could when she suddenly stopped and gasped in surprise.

Heather looked up from where she lying on her bed, reading a magazine. "What?"

"Why the hell are you still here?"

"What, I have to get your permission now?"

"You're supposed to be going out. You never have to sit with Mom and our stupid relatives every Sunday."

Melinda resented the preferential treatment that their mother had again bestowed upon Heather. When she had complained about it to Jason, he had reasoned that it was a way of causing a rift between the two girls. "The Darkness is trying to break us all up," Jason had told her. "It knows from Nyssa that we're trying to stop it."

This reassurance did little to mollify her.

"Yeah, I know," Heather said, sitting up. "You don't hear me gloating over it anymore, do you?"

Melinda's expression softened for a moment, but she folded her arms and gave Heather an indignant look. "Stop changing the subject! You said you wanted to go out and hang with friends."

"Yeah, and then you tried to saddle me with Jason. Why?"

Melinda was never very good at hiding things from her sister. Guilt flickered in her eyes for a moment. "What ... what do you mean, 'saddle' you? You're cool with him."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"You even boinked him a few times back at the House. And you liked it."

Heather frowned. "Wait, what does that have to do with anything?"

Melinda's eyes widened for a moment. "Um, nothing! I just meant..."

Heather stood up and stepped over to her sister. "Melinda, what's going on? What scheme are you hatching?"

"I'm not! Why do you always suspect me?"

Heather smirked. "That a trick question?"

Melinda pouted and stuck her tongue out. She unfolded her arms and headed past Heather, purposely bumping into her sister hard. She undid the rest of the buttons and shrugged off her blouse.

"Why do you want me going around with Jason, runt?" Heather demanded, trying hard not to let her gaze linger on Melinda's bra. "He's not going to want to hang out with my friends, and they're just going to give him a hard time."

"A hard time? You mean like you used to?" Melinda piped. She tossed her blouse on the bed and pulled down her skirt.

"Yeah, used to. But I don't have control over the others."

Melinda stepped out of her skirt, then plopped herself down on the foot of the bed and pulled off her white stockings. "Ugh. Mom still dresses me like a ten-year-old," she muttered, casting a look of disdain at them before flipping them over her shoulder.

Heather took a deep breath as Melinda stood. Her gaze flitted over Melinda's body. Melinda yanked her panties back into place, having tugged it down when she took off her skirt. It drew Heather's eyes, her gaze lingering on Melinda's crotch.

Melinda looked at Heather crossly. "You better not be ogling me again!"

"Melinda, why do you want Jason with me today?" Heather demanded, her voice quavering a bit. She wanted to tell Melinda to finish changing clothes, but she could not get the words to come to her lips.

"You need to be protected because of Melissa. Someone from the group has to be with you, and I don't want to do it because you're just going to keep doing what you're doing now!"

Melinda's voice was a touch husky. She forced herself to turn away from her sister before her own thoughts could stray any further. She headed over to her dresser and yanked open the drawer.

"Melinda, tell me truth. Now." Heather declared.

Melinda's head snapped around. "I already did!"

"No, you haven't. Tell me."

Melinda's eyes widened. "Stop it! Y-you're trying to do it to me!"

"Then tell me the truth, dammit."

"I ... uhhn ... stop it..."

"Melinda, tell me," Heather said, her voice sultry. Her heart thumped.

Melinda swallowed and groped for her jeans in the dresser drawer. For a few moments she was hopelessly distracted in her search, her pussy tingling and her thighs trembling. By the time she managed to pull them out, her breath had become a soft pant. She made a half-hearted attempt to put on her jeans, then staggered and thumped against the side of the dresser.

"Please, Melinda," Heather said in a softer, more contrite voice. "Level with me for once."

Melinda's cunt felt achy and hot. A small stain appeared on her panties. Two hard bumps rose behind the cups of her bra. "You suck, Heather," she muttered, though her eyes held a dark, desirous look.

Heather's arousal had spiked as well. Her pussy seemed to steam behind the folds of denim. She forced herself to close her eyes and turn away from Melinda and dropped her face into her hands. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

Melinda sat down heavily on the edge of her bed. The worst of it was passing. She still felt horny, but her desire for Heather specifically was fading. "I want you to stop doing this to me. I want you to start getting some again so you won't want me anymore."

"God, Melinda, would it be that bad?" Heather cried.

Melinda glared at her, but it faded quickly. "I don't know! That's the problem. You said you don't want me as a slave."

"And I don't!"

"Okay, okay! I believe you! But ... but what if it doesn't work that way? What if it happens anyway?"

"Wait, you mean if it wasn't for that ... you might do it?"

Melinda hesitated a long moment before finally answering, "Maybe."

Heather felt a sense of relief. So that was what was bothering her sister. It was not so much revulsion over the sexual act itself as it was the slavery aspect. "Melinda, you don't see any Aura on me, do you?"

"Huh? Of course not!"

"Well, that's the only way I'd enslave you, if I was still working for the Darkness. I don't think I can do it outside of that."

Heather actually had no idea if this were true. But she was sure of her own convictions.

"But you can still make me do what you want," Melinda said in a low voice. "You can just ... just look at me and turn me on. God, that's a little creepy, Heather. And you're still doing it. I can still feel it."

"You better put your clothes on, Melinda," Heather said, her voice shaky.

Melinda stood. She considered changing her panties, but when the thought of being naked before Heather made her shiver with pleasure, she steadfastly changed her mind and quickly threw on her jeans and a pullover shirt.

"I'll bet I can guess what this is about," Heather said, feeling some of her desire for Melinda ebb. "You want me to have sex with Jason, don't you?"

Melinda blushed, but it made her words no less forceful. "Maybe if you go boink him a few times, you won't want me. Or it will satisfy you enough that..."

"He's your boyfriend!"

"S-so? So what?"

"Melinda, I don't go doing it with other girls' boyfriends. No way. You just don't do that sort of thing."

"Oh, now you have a bunch of rules all of a sudden? I'm giving you freakin' permission, you bubblehead!"

Heather sighed and covered her eyes with a hand for a moment. "Melinda, is Jason okay with this?" she asked in exasperation.

"Why wouldn't he? He loved it when he got to boink you before."

"That was before you and he started going together."

"Heather, please!" Melinda begged. "Please do this for me. Just try it."

"I can't believe you're asking me this. And you're not upset about it?"

Melinda's lips drew into a pout. At the time she had conceived the idea, she wasn't. It was not until she had a night to think about that she started having doubts. Now she was worried that Jason might think Heather better in bed than her.

"No, I'm fine with it," Melinda said anyway. "Really, I am. I came up with the idea. Anyway ... I-I trust him. And you."

Heather's eyebrows rose. "You do?"

Melinda spoke haltingly, having difficulty in finding the right words. "You wouldn't really do anything to hurt me. I know that. I mean ... we drive each other crazy, but ... but you'd never really hurt me. Not anymore. Not since the House."

Heather uttered a quavering, emotional sigh. Her eyes glistened, and she blinked rapidly for a few moments. She wanted desperately to hug her little sister. It was a tremendous burden lifted from her to hear that Melinda did not think of her as the enemy.

The only thing that stopped her was the fear that the physical contact might spark something else. Melinda's eyes betrayed a similar emotion, and it was clear she understood the sentiment that Heather had just expressed in her face.

"All right, Melinda," Heather said in a softer, more controlled voice. "I'll try. But only if he really wants to do it. I won't force him."

Melinda slowly smiled. She decided to take the chance herself. She padded over to Heather and gave her a very brief, tight hug, quickly backing out of it before anything else could happen. "Thank you."

-------

Jason had no idea how he was going to pull this off.

Broaching the subject was the least of his worries. He had to figure out just where they were going to do the deed. Assuming that Heather even wanted to do it in the first place.

Jason bounded down the stairs. His mother was dusting near the entryway. His father was sitting in the living room, idly clicking through the sports channels. Jason tried very hard to ignore him, such that his Dark Aura was barely at the edge of Jason's vision.

"Bye, Mom, I'll see you later," Jason said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Jason, dear, wait!"

Audrey stepped over to the closet. Jason turned around in time to see her produce one of his jackets and hold it out to him. "Here, it's rather chilly out this morning."

Jason managed not to roll his eyes. Considering that the fickle Colorado fall weather was going to be sending the temperature just shy of seventy by afternoon, the jacket would be just another thing to carry. Nevertheless, he smiled and accepted it.

The phone rang. His father rose to answer it.

"Thanks, Mom," Jason said.

"You're not going to see Melinda Sovert again, are you, dear?" Audrey asked, a small smile on her face, but her voice suggesting a more serious tone.

"No, Mom, actually, I'm not going to see Melinda."

"I'm sorry I harp on that, dear, but I just don't want to see you get too serious."

Jason had heard this many times. "Yes, Mom, I know. We're just dating, that's all. Not even really going steady."

Audrey smiled and ruffled his hair. "Anyway, my young man seems to have a lot of girls interested in him. Try not to play with their hearts, Jason. Don't string any of them along."

Jason blushed but managed a smile. His mother most often answered the phone, so she knew that Cassie and Diane called him regularly. He let her have the illusion that they were interested in him in that way. He rather liked the idea that someone thought he could be that popular with the girls. "Well, um, I better get going Mom."

He started away from her.

"Jason!"

He froze at his father's voice and slowly turned.

Henry Conner stood by the extension in the hall, holding the phone up. He regarded Jason with a stern look, which seemed to be the norm now. Jason reasoned that his father already knew he could see the Aura about the man's body.

His father's Aura was similar to Melissa's. He was a willing agent for the Darkness. He had chosen of his own free will to accept whatever power it had given him. And where his father was a neurosurgeon, he did not want to think about what he might be doing on its behalf.

There were subtle differences between his Aura and Melissa's, however. He couldn't quite read what they meant yet. He thought it might mean his father got his power in a different manner than Melissa.

"Yes, father?" Jason said stiffly. He heard his mother sigh softly in frustration.

"Telephone." Henry held out the phone to him.

"I'll take it upstairs."

"Why?"

Jason stopped. "Huh?"

"Why so secretive, Jason?" Henry asked with a hard edge to his voice. "What do you have to say that I can't hear?"

"It's a little thing called privacy, father. It's all the rage now."

"Don't get wise with me, young man. When you speak to me, you will use a tone of respect."

Audrey sighed windily. "Oh, honestly! Stop this, the both of you! Jason, don't talk back to your parents like that, please."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Now go take your call upstairs."

Jason turned away from his father. "Thanks, Mom."

Audrey turned to her husband and planted her hands on her hips. "And you stop badgering him! Bad enough you two treat each other like strangers..."

Jason closed the door and cut off the conversation. He sighed. He hated putting his mother through this. She was really upset with the rift that had opened between him and his father. Even if Jason explained the reasons behind it, it would only make matters worse.

Jason grabbed the phone and opened the drawer. The LED glowed. "I got it," Jason said tonelessly.

There was a long pause before the light winked out. "Hello?"

"Big white man gone, kemosabe?" came the voice on the other end.

"Yeah, Ned, he's off the other line. What's up?"

"Sorry to bug ya, big guy, but I be bugged as well. Hasta do with this Melissa shtick."

"Oh? You have some info for me?"

"Nah, but if I did, ya wouldn't act on it, and that bugs me."

Jason made a face. "I don't understand."

"Dude, ya know me. I'm an action kinda guy. Ya saw how I wanted to go gunnin' for Nyssa when I joined this merry band."

Jason smirked. "Yeah, and I remember us having to dissuade you from that. You saw what she did to everyone."

"Yeah, yeah, but the thing is, we eventually went after her. I mean, yeah, it was more Cassie's moment to shine with that little head game she did with the naughty nurse, but I got to smash those vials of whatever it was she was collectin' from folks."

Jason saw where this was going. "You want to go after Melissa."

"Hey, don't worry, I ain't goin' in without backup. I like my mind, such that it is."

"Ned, we barely know anything about Melissa or what she's doing. This is not the time to..."

"Look, I know," Ned said urgently. "Not sayin' we should go stormin' her evil overlord stronghold or whatever she's got. But you said mebbe we shouldn't go after her in the end, and that kinda sticks in my craw."

"I'm just going on what Mara told us, Ned. I wish I could convey better the details of what we experienced with her."

"Hey, I know, I know. But mebbe she didn't know the whole score, ya know? Mebbe she was more afraid of you guys hurtin' yerselves."

"And you're not?" Jason snapped. He paused and composed himself. "Sorry. But yeah, you might be right. But ... but I don't want to make mistakes again, Ned."

"Mistakes? Whaddaya mean?"

Jason had not wanted to talk about this yet. It was something that had been weighing on his mind for the past two weeks, but there had never been the right moment to bring it up. "Ned ... I missed some things that should have been really obvious. I almost lost it for all of us. No, I did lose it. All my friends got caught. If it weren't for Cassie, we'd all be mindless slaves by now."

"Aw, c'mon, you're being' too hard on yerself..." Ned protested.

"No, Ned, listen to me! I made some big mistakes, no matter how you look at it. And I don't intend to make them again, there's too much at stake. So we're going to play it by the book with Melissa. We're not going to move against her until we're absolutely sure it's the right thing to do."

He heard Ned sigh at the other end of the phone. "Okay, big guy, I hear ya. You're the brainiac of the outfit, so that's gives ya a lotta clout. So long as ya consider it in the end, I'll be a happy camper."

Jason was not quite as reassured by that as he suspected Ned hoped he would be. "Thanks, Ned. Really, I don't want you to feel you can't state an opinion. I mean, people see me as the head of the group, but everyone's input counts."

"Sure thing, that's cool. Hey, man, it's great hearin' ya like this again."

Jason's face took on a puzzled look. "I don't understand."

"Oh, um ... uh, look, don't tell Cassie I said anything about this, 'kay? But she was worried that you were kinda ... well, not really taking the lead a lot. You sorta let Melinda run things a bit."

Jason blinked in genuine surprise. "I do?"

"Yeah, sounds kinda weird, but ya gotta admit, dude, she's been mouthin' off a lot. 'specially to Richie and Heather."

Jason didn't say anything in response. His fingers tightened around the receiver.

"Um ... you're not sore at me, are ya?" Ned asked tentatively.

"Huh? Oh, um, no, Ned. Just a bit confused. I didn't realize it was happening, honestly."

"S'okay. Honest injun, I got no real complaints about how ya run the show."

"No, it's okay, thanks for letting me know," Jason said distractedly. "Um ... I have to head out. Do you need anything else?"

"Nah. Jus' wanted to do a little spleen-venting. It's nicely vented now."

Jason grinned slightly. "Okay, talk to you later."

"Yeppers. Sayonara."

Jason slowly put the receiver back on the hook.

If it had been anyone other than Ned, he might have indeed been upset. But Ned was a straight-talker, and Cassie had said something as well. He highly respected her opinion after how she had helped them with Nyssa.

Jason was perplexed. He could almost see it. He could almost see how he was being rather submissive around Melinda. He could almost see how even at the restaurant, it had taken him a few minutes to find his footing and run the meeting properly.

But his perception fell just short. He thought Ned and Cassie might have a point, but he had trouble getting a handle on it.

Jason tucked this into the back of his mind as he headed out of the house.

-------

Humming a tune to himself and grinning broadly, Bill Radson hugged his wife from behind and gave her a sloppy kiss on her ear.

Debby smiled wanly as she closed the door on the dishwasher, having just finished cleaning up after a late breakfast. She slid one foot forward to balance herself as he leaned into her. The movement of her thighs made her feel the lingering ache in her pussy again.

"You are such a sweet, sweet wife, you know that?" Bill cooed in her ear.

Debby's cheeks pinked, but she kept up the smile. She placed a hand over one of his arms and squeezed it affectionately. She knew why he was being so nice to her. She had made love to him not just the night before, but that morning as well, and with a wild passion that had surprised even herself.

She felt guilty. Her motivations had been self-serving. She had hoped that expending her sexual energies with him would mean she would no longer crave her daughter's attentions. Already it seemed it had been for naught. She could feel renewed stirrings of desire just at the thought.

"Bill, will you be staying home today?" Debby asked, her voice softly pleading in tone.

"I'm home for the entire day, darling. Got everything squared away at the construction site yesterday."

Debby felt a mix of relief and worry. Bill hardly believed in otherworldly forces, so he could not be expected to help her stand up against them. Perhaps, however, his presence would dissuade Melissa from attempting any further attack against her family.

Bill hugged her one more time before turning away. "I just want to kick back today," he said, grabbing the main section of the Sunday newspaper from the table and tucking it under his arm. "Been a really busy week."

Debby sighed. "I know. For me, too."

"Well, you could do with some rest, too, then." He grinned and winked. "Especially after this morning."

Debby forced a smile until Bill had left the room.

She was not sure what she was going to do. The ache in her pussy was growing worse, and now it was arousal rather than the afterglow of intense sex that was the cause.

She straightened up and retied the sash about her waist, drawing the robe more tightly around her body. Whenever she felt in dire spiritual straits, she didn't feel comfortable wearing anything except her robe. But given the circumstances, she wondered if getting dressed would have been the better idea.

Debby composed herself as much as possible and emerged from the kitchen. Bill was already sitting in the easy chair, his feet up on the hassock, immersed in his paper.

"Bill, did you see Susan by any chance?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, darling, I haven't. Not since she excused herself from the table soon as breakfast was done. She looked like something was on her mind."

Debby nervously nodded. Susan had been subdued all morning, even more so than usual, and Debby had felt a constant tingle along the back of her neck. Her heart thumped in the fear that something else was about to happen. Not knowing what else to do, Debby sat down on the sofa.

Bill finally lowered his paper and gave his wife an inquisitive look. "Something the matter?"

Debby looked at him with shimmering eyes. "I'm still worried about Susan."

Bill sighed through his nose, laying the paper down on his lap. "She's just going through a phase, that's all. Really, I thought you might appreciate the peace and quiet."

Debby shivered. She remembered how much at odds she and her daughter were before Melissa. Debby knew that Susan had an acid tongue, and her own card readings had suggested that Susan was headed for a bad end unless it changed. She wished she had acted on that sooner. Now she longed for the days of arguments and tense evenings around the dinner table. At least then Susan had been of her own mind.

And now that Susan was hidden away. Debby could sense it. Her daughter was still there, but muted. But she had no idea how to get the real Susan back.

"I know you think I worry took much," Debby said. "But I think I have a reason to."

"Okay, then, why?"

"Because she's not acting like herself! You can see that for yourself, can't you?"

Bill looked skeptical. Perhaps she was not enjoying the apparent tranquility, but he was. His work was rather stressful. He had to deal with government types all the time, as they were helping fund the hospital expansion, and they were the most trying employers he ever had.

He had noticed that Susan was acting unusual. But he had hoped that his wife would sort it all out.

"Look, maybe just give her some more time," said Bill. "Give her some space. That's probably why she high-tailed it out of the kitchen after breakfast. She has her own things to do and she doesn't want us butting in."

Debby wasn't sure what she should feel. She realized that Bill's advice might have been very sound had Melissa not been involved. It would make perfect sense for a girl of Susan's age to want to start breaking away from her parents. But she knew this was not it, and she was frustrated that Bill did not have the sensitivity to see it himself.

Debby gave her husband a level look. "Maybe you're right, Bill, but at the same time, I'm going to do some things my way. So if you see me practicing more witchcraft, I don't want you to get upset at it."

"Just so long as you don't pull Susan into it, that's all I ask. Just let her be."

Debby resented this, but held her tongue and tried not to let it show on her face. Despite Bill's decrees, she had already shown Susan some witchcraft, and she could tell that Susan had tried some on her own. "Yes, Bill, I'll ... I..."

Debby trailed off, her eyes widening. The hairs on the back of her neck had risen suddenly. She shifted her gaze to the front door.

Bill gave her an odd look. "What... ?"

The doorbell rang.

Bill glanced at the door then back to his wife, an astonished look on his face. He quickly recovered, picking up his paper and saying in a curt voice, "Answer that if you would, please, darling."

Debby glared at him, though he did not see it with the paper in the way. He had seen a true manifestation of the craft when his wife had reacted to the doorbell before it had rung. But as usual, even when he saw it for himself, he tried to ignore it.

Debby rose from the sofa, her heart racing, and answered the door.

Melissa smiled. "Good morning, Mrs. Radson. How are you today?"

Debby opened her mouth to say something, but closed it without saying a word. She felt her pussy tingle and her thighs quiver.

"Who is it, darling?" Bill called out.

Debby forced herself to find her voice. "Um ... i-it's one of Susan's friends. Melissa Hendell."

"Oh?" Bill lowered his paper and stood up. Melissa strode forward and offered a hand. Bill shook it once. "Nice to meet you, Melissa."

"Same here, Mr. Radson."

"I guess you're here to see Susan? She's upstairs in her room. Second door on the right off the..."

Debby was horrified at the thought of leaving Melissa alone with her daughter. She closed the door and called out desperately, "Bill, she might want something to drink first. Maybe ... maybe Susan wants something, too, I can call her down."

"No, that's okay, Mrs. Radson, I don't need anything," said Melissa. "But you're very kind for asking."

Bill smiled. This is what he thought a teenager should be like: kind and respectful towards her elders. "Well, if you change your mind, just come on down."

"Sure thing, Mr. Radson. I take it you're having a day off today?"

Bill nodded. "That's pretty much the plan. Sunday's always meant to be a day of rest, I say."

"I couldn't agree more, though I imagine someone that owns a house like you do always has something to do around here."

Bill paused a moment, looking thoughtful. "Hmm, true, there are always a bunch of chores that need to get done."

Debby stepped closer to them. She could feel something happening. It tinged the air like lightning during a storm. She felt a chill creep up her spine. Oh no ... no, not Bill... 

"I know I always feel better after I've done my chores," said Melissa smoothly. "Especially the harder ones, the ones that take a long time to do. You have any like that?"

"Come to think of it, I do. There's that shelf I've been meaning to make over the workbench in the basement."

"I'll bet you'll feel better once you get that done."

Debby could sense the icy tendrils of Darkness from Melissa. She could almost see them in her mind's eye. They were like snakes, slithering around her husband's thoughts, nudging them the way Melissa wanted them.

"Bill, you said you wanted to relax today," Debby said a bit loudly. "After that week you had at work..."

Bill turned his head towards her. For that moment it seemed as if the Darkness had shuddered and hesitated. Melissa's eyes narrowed very slightly and flicked over to Debby.

"Yeah, true," Bill mumbled. "But ... I really oughta take care of that."

"But that will take you all day!"

"Well, it's got to get done. It's not going to get itself done."

Melissa smiled pleasantly, though there was a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Debby gave Bill a stricken look. He rolled his eyes and tossed his paper into the chair. "Look at it this way. Now you and Melissa and Susan can all talk your girl talk without a fella in the room to ruin it."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll all have a lovely conversation, Mr. Radson," said Melissa.

Bill smiled. "Now, see? It was very nice to meet you, Melissa." He looked back to Debby. "I'll be in the basement if you need me, darling."

"Just concentrate on your chore, Mr. Radson, and don't worry about us."

Bill nodded and headed towards the basement door.

Debby watched him go until the basement door under the stairs had closed behind him. She turned to Melissa, her eyes betraying both anger and fear. "You did that to him! You tried to..."

"And you tried to block me," said Melissa. "My, my, Mrs. Radson, but you are a woman of many talents."

Debby honestly did not know how she had done it, or what she had done. She had never tried to shield someone else from outside influence. Now she wished she had known this before. Perhaps if she had developed this skill, Susan would never have...

"But you're not keeping me out, are you? You can't. Have you had Susan lick your twat today yet?"

Debby's cheeks glowed scarlet. Her pussy was rapidly growing damp again.

"No? Trying to see how long you can hold out? Or just figuring out a way to do it where hubby won't notice?"

Debby swallowed. "You can't k-keep this up. You can't keep c-controlling me like this."

"And why not?"

"You don't have enough power. That's ... that's why you want the Rite ... that's ... uhhn!"

Raw lust flooded over Debby's body. She tried to back away, but her trembling legs would not support her. She fell to the sofa.

Debby's thighs quaked as they fought against her will. They eventually, if haltingly, parted, her pussy throbbing lightly. Images flickered through her head of Susan lapping at her folds. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed them away, but they would not be dislodged.

Melissa giggled. "It gets easier, you know, if I nudge things along first. Like I did when I made you get off on Susan eating you out."

"Then ... th-then why..."

"Why do I want more power? Because it has its limits. And it takes time. And I am impatient. I have so much I want to do, and I don't want to diddle around person by person. I want it all."

Debby panted hard, legs now spreading wide as her resistance grew weaker. Her pussy ran hot and liquid. She struggled with the impulse to touch her aching cunt, her hand sliding over her thigh.

"No more questions from you. And no touching yourself. Only Susan can get you off. Now, let's go upstairs."

-------

"Hi," said Heather.

"Um, hi," said Jason.

The two of them stood on the corner in awkward silence.

To Jason, it felt like it was the early summer again. Heather was the raving beauty, unapproachable and unattainable, who took every opportunity to tease him about his crush on her. He had felt both excited and mortified in her presence. He had hoped never to encounter her on the street, yet she had occupied his dreams every night.

For Heather, it was a little different. As much as she had been repulsed by the idea of "Jason the Dweeb" having anything to do with her, she had taken great pride in the fact that he was smitten with her, and that she could exploit it for a cheap laugh when she was bored.

Jason finally had to break the silence. "Um, okay, so you want to go somewhere? The mall, maybe? Or the park? I could fetch my bike if you want and..."

"Jason, I know why Melinda put you up to this," Heather declared.

Jason paused for a long moment. "Um ... what ... what do you mean, Heather?"

Heather smiled wanly. "I wormed it out of Melinda. What she really wanted you to do."

"Oh."

Silence descended again. Jason shuffled his feet.

Heather stepped up to him. He looked into her eyes. "Look, Jason, Melinda sort of pushed you into this, so..."

"She didn't push me," Jason protested. "I mean, not a lot, anyway."

"Yes, she did. And she's pushing me as well."

Jason nodded. "So ... you don't want to do this?"

"Do you?"

Jason shifted his weight. "Um ... that's not a fair question, Heather. Not from you or her."

Heather actually found this amusing and chuckled. "Jason, I think I might be insulted if you stopped thinking I was, well, desirable."

Jason blinked in surprise.

Heather smiled more naturally. "Do you still find me desirable?"

Jason swallowed. This was hardly fair to ask of him. "Well ... um ... yeah, I do..."

Heather put a hand on his shoulder. Jason shivered and felt a familiar, though confusing, stirring in his pants. Was he still that taken with her such that a simple touch was enough to arouse him?

"Well, good, you should be," Heather said with a smirk. "I have a reputation to maintain, you know."

It was clear that Heather had been joking. Nevertheless, Jason felt another wave of heat come over him. An uncomfortable pressure grew in his pants as his cock expanded.

"It's a little scary after the fact, knowing that I could have had you do whatever I wanted if I promised you sex in return. Wow, I remember I just had to touch you and you would... " Heather trailed off and looked oddly at him. "Jason, are you all right?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine," Jason said in a strained voice. "Um ... Heather, do you want to do this?"

Heather paused. Now she was picking up on his excitement, both in his voice and his eyes. "What, you mean you want to go through with this?"

"If you want to."

"Jason, you don't have to," Heather said in an urgent whisper. "Don't feel forced to do this because of Melinda."

"I don't, really. I ... I really want to do this. With you. Please."

Heather stared at him. "Jason, what's going on? Why do you want to do it with me all of a sudden?"

"Heather, I'm not sure myself, but..."

Heather gasped and took a step back. "Oh no. I'm doing it to you. The same thing I did to Melinda!"

Jason shook his head. Blushing, he glanced around before giving his belt a sharp tug outward to let his cock spring into a more natural position. Heather's eyes widened as she realized what he had just done. "No, Heather, I don't think it's you. I don't feel like you're trying to influence me, at least not directly."

"Are you sure?" Heather asked warily. "Please, don't try to spare my feelings."

"I'm not. I don't know why I'm so ... t-turned on by you right now, but..."

Heather's heart thumped. "Jason, are you feeling anything else?"

"Just that I want to do whatever you want me to do," said Jason in a husky voice.

Heather's eyes widened. "This is crazy, Jason. This is not like you."

Ned's words came back to him from the phone conversation. Now something was starting to make more sense to him. He could see more clearly what was happening.

"Something is going on here, Heather," Jason said. He took a deep breath. "Heather, let's talk about this later. I'm having trouble thinking straight right now."

Heather did not want to admit it out loud, but seeing Jason like this was arousing her. It was as if she were still excited at the idea of controlling someone. Attempts to put it out of her mind were in vain. It was just making her as excited as it did guilty.

"God, Jason, I feel like I'm taking advantage of you," Heather said, though her voice was growing husky as well.

"You are. But ... I-I'm really turned on by that, too."

Heather didn't understand this. She knew this was not right, but Jason was getting her too excited to want to stop.

"Jason, there's no place for us to go," Heather said desperately. "We can't use your house or mine. Where... ?"

"I think I know someplace," said Jason. "If it won't disturb you..."

-------

Debby gasped as she stepped over the threshold of her daughter's room.

Susan lay on her bed, naked, writhing in torturous, denied pleasure. Her legs were splayed, her hand over her wet pussy. Her fingers worked her slit, stroking her swollen clit, impaling her cunt.

Susan's back arched as she strained near the edge again, tired and aching fingers working her clit madly. She fell back, trembling and whimpering pitifully as she was again denied release.

"What are you doing to her?!" Debby demanded, eyes wide with horror.

Melissa closed the door. "She's having a bit of trouble getting off," she explained casually. "Just like you would have downstairs if I let you masturbate like you wanted to."

Debby turned her gaze back to her helpless daughter. As she stared, she felt her desire rising again. She clenched her fists as the urge to touch herself rose within her. Her eyes alighted on Susan's pussy.

She watched Susan's fingers moving against the needy, wet flesh, as if fascinated by it. She trembled, her body flushed with growing lust. She licked her lips. Suddenly, realizing what was happening, she gasped and staggered, her back fetching up against the door with a loud thump.

Debby panted as the Darkness touched her mind again. It seemed to slide into her with greater ease. Her attempts to push back meant nothing to it.

Melissa grinned. "I told you it gets easier, didn't I? I can barely feel any resistance from you."

Debby groped for the doorknob, but her fingers slid from it as if sapped of all their strength. Her eyes smoldered with dark desire.

"Doesn't her pussy look delicious?" Melissa cooed.

Debby clung hard to a last remaining tendril of willpower in her head, but it only became worse. She sucked in her breath suddenly, eyes growing wide, then let it go as a moan as her pussy throbbed in soft orgasm.

"Don't make me break you!" Melissa snapped. "I can do much worse than this!"

Debby fell to her knees, panting, her cunt still pulsing in constant climax.

"That's better. Feels so good, doesn't it? Just like it would to lick your daughter's twat. Even she would like it."

"Uhhn ... please, Mom, eat me out..." Susan moaned. "Oh please ... lick my pussy ... make me cum... "

"Y-you're making her say that," Debby breathed. At the same time, however, she started to crawl across the floor towards the bed.

"Doesn't make you want it any less," Melissa commented.

Debby heard her daughter's moans and pleas, sending more waves of pleasure crashing through her body. It overwhelmed every sensibility she had. She moved out of her own need as much as at Melissa's bidding.

She shed her robe as she climbed on the bed. Panting heavily, she crawled between Susan's legs. Susan drew her hand up and spread her pussy lips, exposing the wet and swollen pinkness of her folds. "Lick me, Mom, please ... make me cum..."

Debby's trembling hands slid along Susan's thighs. Susan whimpered and shuddered. Debby stared at Susan's cunt, eyes holding both desire and despair. She wanted to taste Susan very badly. Her orgasm had stopped, but she knew it would start up again the moment she tasted.

"Now, Mrs. Radson," Melissa said as she stepped up to the bed. "You get a chance to redeem yourself, and maybe I won't make you do this. Maybe I'll take back your lust. Maybe I'll remove Susan's, so you can go back to being just mother and daughter instead of sex-starved lezzies in heat. Tell me, Mrs. Radson, how I can find the book?"

Debby hesitated. She had not expected the question to be phrased that way. "I don't..."

"No, I don't accept an 'I don't know'! You said your mother hid the book. You said you don't know where. But there must be a way to find it. People hide things with the intent on finding them again later."

"N-no, Melissa ... she didn't want a-anyone to find it, she..."

"Then why didn't she destroy it? If she didn't want anyone to have it, that would make more sense, wouldn't it?"

Debby squirmed, her pussy straining. Susan continued to beg softly for her mother's mouth. Debby moaned, trying to both pull herself away and dive forward at the same time. "I don't know ... she didn't tell me that ... please, Melissa, I don't know!"

"You know something!" Melissa shouted. "I can see it! I can sense something you're not telling me! Fine, you don't know where it is, but you know how to find it!"

Debby whimpered, shaking with the effort to restrain herself.

"Tell me!"

Debby panted hard. She was so horny that it was almost painful. Her sense of self felt as precarious as a house of cards. The more she resisted, the worse it got. Her whole psyche would be consumed if she did not relent.

"The pendant ... it shares a connection with the book ... it can tell you if the book is being touched ... or is being read ... you can ... s-see through the eyes of one reading it..."

"A connection," Melissa repeated, absently curling her fingers around the pendant. "Yes, I understand. But I don't sense anything. All this connection of yours tells me is that the book has not been found by anyone. How does this help me find it?"

"Melissa, please! That's all I know! I don't know anything else!"

Tears dripped from Debby's eyes and onto the bed between Susan's thighs.

Melissa's eyes blazed. Again, more tantalizing knowledge, more teasers, more enticements, but nothing concrete. She was no further to her goal than when she had started. This had been a waste of time and energy. Her energy. And she had little to spare.

But what angered her most of all was that Debby was still hiding something from her. Something she was so frightened of revealing that she would rather take the chance of additional torture than reveal it. Melissa was not sure how she sensed it. It was almost as if it were being whispered in her ear, as if someone else knew and was trying to alert her.

Her fingers gripped the pendant more tightly. "Fine. Enjoy."

Debby's next protest was muffled by Susan's pussy.

Debby shuddered as she throbbed again, hips writhing madly. She moaned and whimpered as she buried her face in Susan's mound, licking and sucking with wild abandon. Susan uttered a shrill cry as she came, her cunt convulsing in overpowering orgasm.

"That's it, Mrs. Radson," Melissa said. "Keep eating her out. And by the time you two are done, you'll be really nice pussy-slaves for each other. But don't worry, Susan can teach you to sixty-nine. She's had a lot of practice at it already."

Debby moaned piteously, but could not make herself stop. Her daughter's pussy was delicious, and she simply could not get enough. She loved hearing Susan moan in such pleasure. And she would be so looking forward to Susan licking her in return.

At the same time, her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Melissa smiled humorlessly. "And don't worry. Before I go, I'll make sure your loving husband will never find out about this. He'll just be oblivious to your moans of pleasure each time you go at each other."

She turned and left the room.

-------

"Uhhn ... Oh Jesus ... ohh!..."

Heather squirmed in the tall grasses, just down a small embankment from an empty, weed-filled lot. She let out a gasp as Jason's fingers sunk deeply into her cunt, her nipple sucked into his mouth at the same time.

How did he get this good?! Heather thought wildly as she panted.

She felt very envious of her sister. Jason had been pretty good at the House, but he had developed his own skill since then. She now understood why Melinda got so upset when they couldn't have sex as often as she wanted.

Jason's lips squeezed Heather's nipple, his tongue lashing at it inside his mouth. Heather uttered a whimpering moan, her legs parting wider. When he slipped a third finger into her tight pussy, she gasped and clutched at him. "Oh God!"

Jason shivered with both excitement at pleasing her, and his own yet unsatisfied arousal. His cock pulsed with his heartbeat, a drop occasionally oozing out and dripping to the ground. For the moment, however, even as much as his cock ached, nothing mattered more to him than Heather's pleasure.

Heather had been wary about the place Jason had chosen for their tryst. He had taken her to the little cul-de-sac where the House used to stand. Now it was reduced to a bare lot covered in weeds and detritus. Behind the lot, the ground sloped towards a small stream and a thick copse of trees. There was a spot hidden from both the road on one side and the greenbelt on the other.

Being this close to where the House once stood had spooked her, but Jason was able to quickly make her forget her fears.

Jason had reduced her to a quivering mass, writhing on the clothing she had laid out to protect her from the roughness of the ground. It was not until that point that she realized how badly she had needed sexual contact. She knew she had become more highly sexed since the House, but now it was as if sex were a necessity instead of merely a pleasant activity.

Suddenly she wished she had thought to bring a condom with her.

Jason's fingers slowed and he lifted his head from her breast. Heather fell limp for a moment, looking at him in mild disappointment. But it took only a few seconds for her to realize what he was going to do.

"Oh my God ... ohh ... oh, yeah!"

Jason's tongue swirled around her clit, teasing the little swollen knob until she was panting heavily, her body quivering with rocketing pleasure. He lapped at her clit with an eagerness that astonished her, and a skill that excited her.

His lips closed around her clit, his mouth pressing into her folds. He sucked at her hard and licked furiously.

"Oh God! Oh God! ... ohhh! ... Jason, I-I'm going to ... uhh!... ohhhh!!"

She arched her back sharply as a jet of hot fluid spurted from her pussy. It splashed hard against Jason's face with a single, distinctive wet sound. Heather gasped as her pussy throbbed, her hips trying to buck with the force of her orgasm.

Jason carefully eased off, licking her gently to prolong her climax before drawing back, her cum dripping from his cheeks.

Heather fell limp, her head lolling to one side. "Oh. My. God."

"You said that the last time, too," Jason commented with a small smile.

Heather laughed weakly as she slowly sat up, her pussy aching in sweet, post-orgasmic afterglow. "Melinda is so goddamn lucky, the little snot."

"I hope that meant you enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed it? Enjoyed it? Jason, stand up and get the hell over here, and I'll show you how much I enjoyed it."

As soon as Jason had risen to his feet, Heather drew herself up on her knees. She grabbed his cock in her hands the moment he was close enough.

Jason uttered a husky sigh that became a loud gasp when Heather wrapped her lips around his swollen, purplish cock.

"Oh man..." Jason groaned as Heather's head bobbed back and forth. Heather's own skill was considerable as well. She had been doing this for her boyfriend Brad for some time before the House.

He could not help but recall when she had done it for him the first time. Jason had put her under his control largely without even really thinking about it, and, ironically, at Melinda's urging. Heather had been so incensed by it afterward that she "got back" at them by making them have sex with each other. It had not turned out to be quite the retribution that she had hoped.

Heather tilted her head up, stroking him hard with her tongue each time she drew back. Jason panted heavily, his pleasure rising fast with each back stroke, then easing off when she slid forward again. Each time he climbed a little higher, Heather pumping his cock a bit faster.

Jason's hands clenched, and he strained harder with each stroke until he exploded in Heather's mouth. He threw his head back as his cock throbbed. Heather sucked him deep inside and squeezed him with her tongue. She drew back, wriggling her tongue against the sensitive spot under the head, milking as much from him as possible.

Jason was panting and weak by the time Heather let him fall from her mouth and swallowed. She licked her lips and smiled up at him.

"Wow ... thanks..." Jason breathed.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave you like that," Heather said with a smirk. "And you would've let me, too, wouldn't you?"

"Huh?"

"If I hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have pushed it. You would've let it go."

Jason said nothing for a long moment. "I don't know," he finally answered.

Heather stood up and picked up her clothes. She shook them to get the dirt out of them. "I think you would have. And, Jason, that was really fantastic, what you just did for me, but ... but I don't remember you being this accommodating. This submissive. I really think something's happened."

Jason sighed and retrieved his clothes. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I don't know where it came from, Heather, I really don't."

Heather slipped on her underwear. "Maybe we should talk about this at the next meeting."

"You may be waiting awhile, then. I have no clue yet as to where we can hold our next one."

"Well, we have to figure this out. I mean, you can't go around acting like this forever. This is why Melinda has been getting away with murder lately, isn't it?"

Jason didn't reply. Heather fell silent as well until they were both dressed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get on Melinda's case," Heather said softly.

"No, forget it. In fact, I want you to tell me anytime I do seem to be letting Melinda get her way." Jason found it easier to talk in a less deferring manner now that his sexual urges had been satisfied. "But just don't get too upset with her. It's me that's at fault."

Heather would have disputed that. In her view, Melinda was clearly taking advantage of the situation. But she held her tongue, not wishing to upset him further. "All right, I promise. Maybe get Cassie to do the same."

"Yeah, I think she noticed as well. Um, all right ... you want to go grab some lunch, then?"

Heather grinned. "You're not afraid of the gossip we might generate?"

"Not with you being one of the main gossipers in Haven. I figured you would help filter it."

Heather blinked in surprise, then burst out laughing. Jason gave her a small smile, glad that his statement was taken as the joke that it had been intended.

"Let's get some lunch then, you dweeb," Heather said with a wry grin.



-------

Chapter 8


Melinda made a conscious effort to hurry herself along. Usually she was quite sluggish on a Monday morning, reluctant to return to the weekly regime of school and homework. But by the time Heather had finished her shower, Melinda was already dressed and packing her backpack.

Heather cast a lingering gaze on Melinda as she crossed the room, stopping beside the dresser. Melinda paused and looked up. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing."

Melinda's eyes grew dark as they flicked over Heather's nude body. She forced herself to avert her gaze. "Go get dressed, bubblehead," she muttered.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

"Then do it faster! Before you start getting any ideas!"

Heather turned away and gathered her panties and bra from the dresser. She paused a moment, then abruptly turned around. She caught the movement of Melinda's head just as her younger sister looked away.

"Yeah, now who's getting ideas?" Heather declared with a smirk.

"No idea what you're talking about," Melinda said. She stuffed a math textbook into her backpack with a vicious shove that made the seams bulge.

"You were just looking at me before I turned around."

Melinda snorted. "Get over yourself, Heather."

Heather threw down her underwear and marched over to Melinda. She yanked the backpack away.

"Hey!" Melinda cried.

"What's with you, Melinda? You've been acting hostile to me ever since yesterday afternoon."

Melinda's eyes burned with anger. She kept them locked to Heather's, but it was difficult. Heather was slightly bent over, her breasts dangling under her. Her feet were parted enough for Melinda to see the triangle of her sex.

A small wave of warmth came over Melinda's body. As much as she tried to resist it, she was responding to Heather's nudity. When her nipples began to rise, she forced herself to look away, cheeks faintly pink. "Get dressed, Heather. Then talk to me, okay?!"

Heather realized that she was embarrassing her little sister, and for a brief moment she reveled in it. She caught herself and turned away, grabbing her underwear and slipping it on as quickly as she could. She retrieved her jeans and a shirt from the dresser. "If it helps any, Melinda, I think what you suggested worked."

"Yeah, great. Glad to hear it."

The flat tone in Melinda's voice suggested otherwise.

Heather was mostly telling Melinda the truth. The fact of the matter was that her tryst with Jason had done little to diminish her desire for Melinda. It had simply reduced the urge for sexual contact. She could still feel it, but at a much lower level. It was not enough to push her into influencing Melinda anymore, at least not at the moment.

Heather finished dressing and turned around. "Okay."

Melinda hesitated before looking up. "Really wish you'd stop strutting around here naked. Like anyone really wants to see that stupid body of yours."

Heather bit back a retort. She had almost said "Jason didn't think so," but wisely refrained. "Look, it was your idea, Melinda. If you're upset about it, maybe you shouldn't have told me to do this in the first place."

"Do you still want to boink me?"

Heather was surprised at the bluntness of the question. "Huh?"

"Answer me! You still want to do it with me?"

The answer was more complex than yes or no, but she knew that would be lost on Melinda. "No, I'm fine this morning."

Both relief and disappointment appeared in Melinda's face, as if she were trying to decide which was more appropriate for her to feel. "Good. Keep it that way."

"You still want me to keep going with Jason?" asked Heather.

Melinda hauled her backpack from the bed, slinging it over one shoulder with a grunt. "Do whatever the hell you want. So long as you stay away from me."

"I just don't want to interfere with..."

But Melinda had already walked out of the bedroom without a backwards glance.

Melinda fumed as she descended the stairs, her steps heavy and plodding as only an angsty teenage girl could do. Her bra felt too tight, the cups rubbing against her now hard and taut nipples. There was a faint heat in her sex.

She was not that upset at Heather and Jason's tryst. It was more that nothing had been done for her own feelings. Her own attraction for Heather had not diminished. She had trouble distinguishing between influence from her sister and her own feelings.

Melinda still had trouble letting go of the old image of her sister. Until the House, Heather had been the bossy one, the one that delighted in teasing Melinda to tears, or of using her (thoroughly non-mind control) influence over their mother to get her way regardless of Melinda's desires.

Heather had stopped doing many of these things after the House, and Melinda had gotten along with her better. But that was before Nyssa, and before Heather had resumed her close ties to Diane. Melinda secretly resented the two of them getting back together. They had been a source of much grief for Melinda in the past.

I won't let her get away with that shit again,  Melinda thought as she thumped off the bottom step. And if she thinks she can steal Jason to get at me, she's got another thing coming to her!

Melinda's thought was not rational. Even she knew it. But it did not stop her from feeling it as if it made perfect sense to her.

-------

Upstairs, Heather sighed deeply in Melinda's wake.

She turned from the door and got her own things together. Her face creased in increasing anger. She wished her little sister didn't insist on such histrionics. If Melinda were still having trouble with her own feelings, why doesn't she just come out and say it?

Some of Heather's anger faded. Because you don't make it any easier for her, that's why,  she thought.

As much as she tried to relate to her little sister better, some old habits died hard. She still saw herself as the "better" one, the older one, the one-that-should-be-listened-to. She still felt a small pleasure from bossing around her little sister. She sometimes wondered if she had taken to her enslavement of Melinda too easily, if she should have somehow resisted Nyssa's control better.

Heather picked up her backpack and glanced at the window. She frowned and parted the curtain with her hand. She muttered darkly as she saw the white sparkle of frost on the lawn.

She put down her backpack and returned to the dresser to fetch a light sweater. As she pulled it out, it snagged the corner of a small paperboard box, pulling it into the light from the recesses of the drawer.

Heather stared at it for a long moment. It was a box of condoms she had purchased early in the summer, when she thought she might have intercourse with her then boyfriend Brad. She had never used them. She was afraid of leakage, especially with as vigorous as she was sure Brad would have been during the sex act.

Heather put the sweater aside and took the box in her hand, glancing at the door for a moment. She felt flushed as she recalled her tryst with Jason the day before. She smiled faintly at the memory of how much she had wanted him to actually fuck her instead of confining it to oral sex.

At the House, they could actually fuck. They could prevent conception merely by thinking about it. If she didn't want to get pregnant, she simply didn't. It had been that simple. She really missed that.

Heather was startled by her mother's voice from downstairs. "Heather, it's chilly out this morning, wear a sweater. And bring one down for Melinda."

"Mooom! I don't need one!" came Melinda's petulant voice in protest.

"You need one if I say you need one, young lady."

Heather smirked despite her feelings towards her mother. "Okay, Mom! Be down in a minute!"

Heather opened the box and looked inside. She paused for a long moment, then sighed. She quickly closed the box, stuffed it in the back of the drawer, and grabbed a sweater for her little sister. She kicked the drawer closed with her foot, scooped up her backpack, and sailed out the door.

-------

Jason cast a bleary-eyed look out the window of the bus as it rumbled down Green Avenue. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had almost nodded off twice as the bus took its circuitous route through the subdivisions.

He had not slept well the night before. The question of finding a secure place for the Harbingers to meet had weighed on him heavily. He had finally fallen asleep sometime past two in the morning out of sheer exhaustion.

His hopes for some solace from the others were quickly dashed. Everyone was tense. Richie just folded his arms, looking sullen for some reason that he would not disclose. He appeared almost as if he wanted to talk about it, but then shook his head and stared out the window.

Heather kept giving Jason furtive, almost embarrassed glances. He sincerely hoped it had nothing to do with his tryst with her. Even Melinda seemed stiff as she leaned into him. He was definitely hoping that had nothing to do with the tryst, either.

He hated having to put forth his troubles to them in their present state, but he was desperate and out of ideas. "So did anyone think of anything over the weekend?"

Richie frowned. "Huh? Think of what?"

Melinda's eyes blazed in anger, and Jason felt her tense even further. For a moment she looked as if she were going to say something quite sharp to him. She relented at the last moment, huffing indignantly.

Stress made Jason's voice testy in response. "About where we can meet. I asked everyone to try and think of something."

Richie made a face and shook his head. "Nah, man. Nuthin' here. Things've been weirder than normal around my house."

"Weirder? You mean your Mom?"

Richie hesitated, again looking like he wanted to say more. He just shook his head.

"Then what is it?"

"Nuthin'. Just ignore me, 'kay?"

"I'm sorry, Jason, I didn't really have time to think about it," Heather said.

"Yeah, you were too busy yesterday," Melinda muttered.

"What about you, runt?" snapped Heather. "You had all the time in the world yesterday."

"I was busy!"

"Uh-huh. Doing what?"

Melinda fumed and glared at her sister. Her eyes flicked over to Richie for a moment. "Forget it," she said sullenly, folding her arms.

"Well, I'm out of ideas as well," Jason said, exasperated.

Heather looked at him more closely. "You okay, Jason? You look terrible."

Melinda frowned and turned, as if only now taking the time to look at him herself.

"Just tired," said Jason. "Had trouble sleeping last night."

Richie muttered darkly under his breath.

"Okay, we're just going to have to hope that nothing happens today concerning Melissa. I don't feel safe having us meet in the school parking lot, not as a whole group. Until we find a place we can meet, we're dead in the water."

"It it helps any, Jason, Diane called me last night and said she talked to Jill again," Heather said. "The only other person she said was acting kind of odd was Ann Went."

"In what way?"

"Jill told her Ann seemed really out of it. Really withdrawn, which is very unusual for her. She generally spouts her mouth off and annoys the hell out of everyone."

"You hate her only because she's probably boinking Brad," Melinda piped.

Heather rolled her eyes. "I don't care who Brad is going with."

"Liar."

"All I said was I thought he could have done better than Ann."

"Was that when you called her 'that stupid cunt?'"

"Um, it's ... it's not important," Jason said, forcing the words out. "I mean, what Heather thinks of her is not important. What matters is we have forewarning about someone else Melissa might have affected."

"But what good is it if we can't meet?" Melinda said.

Jason shrugged and shook his head in frustration.

"Aw, cut the gloom-n-doom shit, huh?" Richie said in annoyance. "Melissa's not Nyssa fer fuck's sake. She woulda screwed with a lot more people by now if she could, right?"

"I have no idea," said Jason. "I'm going to have to hope that you're right."

An uneasy silence settled on them for the rest of the trip to the school.

-------

"Miss Hendell."

Melissa looked up in annoyance at her homeroom teacher, a rather prim young man who always seemed to be standing at military attention. Even his gaze was as stiff as his manner. "Yes, Mr. Preston?" she sighed as she dropped into her seat, a sullen look on her face.

"You are to report to the Principal's office immediately."

Melissa frowned. She eyed the yellow slip in Prim Preston's hand. Every student at Haven High recognized it: a behavioral reprimand.

Her jaw tightened. She was already in a foul mood. She was still upset over the lack of useful information from Susan's mother. And on top of that, she had left Susan's house the day before rather horny herself, only to find that Brad was away for the day with his parents.

"Fine," Melissa snapped. She stood up, drawing a disapproving scowl from Mr. Preston. As a show of defiance, Melissa adjusted her pendant to insure it was plainly visible. Mr. Preston said nothing, but his scowl deepened.

Melissa marched out of the classroom and stomped down the hall. She was doubly furious with Debby Radson now. She had expended so much energy breaking through the woman's resistance that it was harder to influence the faculty as she liked. It was likely that someone had the gumption to call her out on her style of dress, or for displaying her pendant.

Melissa took a few deep breaths as she approached the administrative area. She was not going to let the Principal stop her. She would abandon her attempts to influence the teachers and just focus everything on Laura Bendon. That's all that mattered anyway.

Melissa paused as she approached what was supposed to be the desk of the Principal's secretary, a rather mousy woman named Marcie Fuller. Or at least that's what she had remembered of the skittish young woman when she had last seen the woman a month ago.

At first, Melissa thought the Principal had hired someone new. This woman, though she had the same black hair and stature as Marcie, shared little else from the one Melissa remembered. The old Marcie wore her hair in a tight bun and peered at the world through schoolmarm glasses with eyes fixed in a permanent startle. Her clothes were so conservative that only her voice hinted that a female existed beneath them.

This woman wore her hair in loose waves, and the glasses were gone. Her eyes were dreamy and a touch sultry. They matched the rest of her, attired in tight-fitting clothes that clung to every curve and shaped her breasts into two perfectly round mounds.

She looked up and smiled. "Oh, good morning! You would be Melissa Hendell, right?"

Melissa stared. That was Marcie Fuller. She recognized the rather high-pitched voice anywhere, though it had lost much of its squeaky quality. There was a husky cadence to it instead.

"Um, yes, I told she wanted to see me," Melissa said.

"Ms. Bendon is waiting for you in her office. Please, go right in."

Melissa's gaze lingered on Marcie for a moment. At the mention of the Principal's name, Marcie had squirmed in her seat.

Melissa slowly stepped past Marcie. As she reached the door, she heard an odd noise and turned her head. Marcie sat with her legs splayed wide over the seat of her chair. Her back was to Melissa, but it was clear that she had one of her hands between her legs, moving softly. Faint, wet sounds came to Melissa's ears.

Confused, Melissa let herself into Laura Bendon's office.

The chestnut-haired woman behind the desk smiled and gestured to an empty chair. "Miss Hendell, I presume? Please, close the door behind you and have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Melissa's lips drew to a thin line as she shut the door with a slam. She plopped herself indignantly into the proffered seat and folded her arms tightly.

Laura leaned forward, steepling her fingers. "Now, Miss Hendell, do you know why you are here?"

Melissa hated games like this. She would have preferred that Laura got right to the point. "I'm here because you summoned me, Ms. Bendon. I would have thought that fairly obvious."

"Now, is that the proper attitude to have towards your Principal? I think not."

Melissa fumed, her anger escalating into fury. She had no patience for this. "I can take any attitude I want, Ms. Bendon."

"Oh really? And what makes you so different, hmm?"

There was something about Laura's smile that made Melissa wary, and a devious undertone to her voice as well. But Melissa could be the same way, and now her lips curled into an evil smile. "Oh, I'm very different, Ms. Bendon. Very different indeed."

"So I have been told by the faculty. Hmm. Tsk tsk, Melissa. Flouting the dress code as badly as you do, and wearing that ... object."

Melissa's eyes blazed as she clutched the pendant protectively.

"No, the other teachers do not approve at all."

"And what about you, Ms. Bendon?" Melissa asked savagely, leaning forward. "Do you approve?"

Laura said nothing in reply. She simply continued to give Melissa an enigmatic smile.

"Maybe it's your attitude that should change, Ms. Bendon. Maybe you should be more accommodating to some of your students. Maybe you just won't care what I ... what..."

Melissa suddenly recoiled, slamming back hard in her chair. She winced as if in pain.

It had been the mental equivalent of running full-tilt into a brick wall. It was not just a case of being resisted. It was like pushing against a mountain.

"Are you quite done?" Laura asked in a bored voice.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Melissa demanded.

"Keep your voice down, if you would, Miss Hendell. While I have control enough over Marcie, I do not have influence over the other faculty."

"Control over... " Melissa said, trailing off. She glanced towards the closed door.

Laura smiled. "Do you like what I've done with her? So much better than the old Marcie. The old one was very loyal, I will give her that. But the new one ... oh, she is so much more than loyal."

"She's your slave?" Melissa asked tentatively.

"Completely. Mind and body. She does whatever I tell her, and experiences the most exquisite pleasure when she obeys me. And it is quite permanent. The old Marcie is simply ... gone."

"All right, so what's going on?" Melissa asked in a more conversational voice, trying to hide her growing trepidation. "You knew I tried to control you?"

"Yes, I felt it. Better abandon that now. I am already spoken for."

"I don't understand."

"I am already a willing slave to another. I gave myself to her, so it can't be undone by you."

Melissa heard the tone of deep affection in Laura's voice. She could sense Laura's mild arousal as well, as she had with Marcie. "So what's this all about? You're not seriously going to call me out on what I wear, are you?"

"That was simply an excuse to get you here so I could talk to you in private."

"Talk? About what?"

"About what you are doing in this school."

Melissa frowned. "I may not be able to get into your head, Ms. Bendon, but that doesn't mean you can stop me. Even if I can't control you, I can hurt you very badly if you try anything against me."

Melissa applied her will, and a pair of scissors flew from its place in an office organizer and impaled one of its blades into the desk.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "No need for the parlor tricks, Miss Hendell," she said with disdain. She pulled the scissors out of the wood and set them aside. "I am not here to stop you. I am here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes, help you. My Mistress had to leave Haven for awhile, but she left me one final task to perform for her. I am to see when signs of the Darkness are stirring at Haven High, and assist it in any way I can."

Melissa gave her a confused look. "Wait, what do you mean, the 'Darkness?'"

Laura's lips curled into a sly smile. "The source of your Power, Miss Hendell," she said in a husky voice. "The source of all the power to be had in Haven."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Melissa snapped. "I got this Power myself. It was offered to me freely and I took it. No one enslaved me. No one recruited me for some cause. I took it and used it to my own ends. I don't answer to anyone."

"I don't deny any of your claims for one moment. But regardless, that is the source of your power. And as such, I must obey my Mistress and help you."

Melissa was angry again. She had earned the Power. It was not a gift, or a payment, or a loan. She earned it. Now she was being told that it belonged to some higher and more powerful entity?

"No one controls me," Melissa said. "No one can tell me what to do with the Power."

"And no one wishes to. But where it comes from is important, Miss Hendell, for it affects those that can see it for what it is."

Melissa looked exasperated. "You're not making any sense! What are you talking about?"

"There are several students here that can see the Darkness. Then know who has been affected by it. Who has been enslaved by it. Who has power given by it. They can see you, Miss Hendell. They saw it the moment you acquired it. One of them likely even dreamed about you when it happened."

Melissa felt a twinge of anxiety but tried to dismiss it. "So what? Lots of students already think I've got something over them. They fear me. I like it. So let them know about me."

"That would be well and good if that was all there was to it," said Laura, leaning back in her chair. "But they will actively work against you."

"And how the fuck do you know?"

Laura raised a finger in admonishment. "Watch your language, Miss Hendell. Please remember you are speaking to your Principal. I know they will work against you because they already have. My Mistress is the one that used to be the school nurse, Nyssa Neris. She was far more powerful than you are, Miss Hendell, and the Harbingers stopped her and forced her to leave."

"Wait, the what? Harbingers?"

"It is what they call themselves. A bunch of students banded together to put a stop to Nyssa and succeeded. And now they will do the same with you."

"How can they? No one can stand up to..."

"They have other abilities, Miss Hendell. Given to them by someone else that had the Power. I don't know exactly what those abilities are, except for one, but it gives them an edge."

Melissa looked stricken. Both anger and panic raged inside her. Just ten minutes ago it seemed so simple. She had the Power and no one else did. Now she was competing against others?

"This isn't fair!" she cried. "I won't be stopped! Not by them! Not by anyone! Once I get the book, once I learn the Rite, they won't be able to stop me!"

Laura smiled. "Book? Rite?"

Melissa seethed. "This is not fair," she muttered petulantly, hugging her arms around herself tightly. "Not fair at all..."

"So you're looking for more power, is that it?"

Melissa did not respond for a long moment. Her breathing grew labored as she fought the urge to lash out at Ms. Bendon, to telekinetically topple her out of the chair, to break down the door, to do something to express the fury inside her. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

A vase atop the windowsill holding a flower arrangement abruptly shattered.

"Stop it and get a hold of yourself, Miss Hendell!" Laura said sharply, though she looked a bit rattled as she looked at the shards over the windowsill and floor. "This is not the time for a temper tantrum."

"I'll lose my temper whenever I feel like it!" Melissa shouted, though her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She took a deep breath and let it go as a faint sob. In a lower voice still edged with anger, she said, "I want it, Ms. Bendon. I can have real control over everything in my life. It's out there somewhere. I just need to find it. And then..."

Then what?

Melissa had never given any real thought to specifically what she would do once she had greater power.

She knew her immediate plans. She would take complete control of everyone in her life. That included everyone at school and her immediately family. Nothing would ever happen again that was unexpected or unpleasant. She could finally settle down and never be uprooted again. Life would not be just tolerable but actually enjoyable.

But after that, what then?

Sometimes, when she lay in bed waiting for sleep to claim her, she worried that she'd feel as empty as she did after pursuing her revenge against Susan and Ann. She had no real goals after taking control. Never having had control before, she did not know what it was like to make any sort of long term plans.

But then something would rise up from somewhere within her mind and quell her fear, urging her ever onward. These issues would work themselves out, she came to believe in those last moments before falling asleep. There was nothing to worry about. Having the greater Power was all that was needed. Everything else was secondary.

"The book, you mean?" asked Laura. "Is that what you are looking for? Something that will unlock some great power for you?"

Melissa blinked as she was jerked out of her momentary reverie. Her eyes blazed as she perceived an almost savage relish in Laura's voice. It was as if Laura were mocking her.

"And you can't find it," Laura said.

"I don't even know where to look!"

"Really? What do you know about it?"

Melissa had not wanted to tell Laura anything. She still feared that Laura wanted the Power for herself. But she had no idea where to go from here. Haltingly, she told Laura what Susan's mother had said. She explained about the pendant and the supposed connection to the book.

"You see? I have all this information about it, and none of it is useful in getting me what I want!" Melissa cried. She was close to tears. "And Susan's mother knows something she's not telling me. She knows something that will help lead me to the book. No matter what I do to her, she won't reveal it!"

Laura's smile was not helping her disposition. It nearly made Melissa strike out with her telekinesis again.

"The solution is quite simple, really, Miss Hendell, if you've been listening to what I have been telling you," said Laura calmly.

"Don't play these games with me! Just tell me!"

Laura sighed. "Oh, very well. You do not have the resources to find this book. Use someone that does."

Melissa stared. "Who?"

"The Harbingers."

"What??"

"The Harbingers are extremely resourceful, Miss Hendell. And I have already stated that they have other abilities, ones that may be able to find the book for you."

Melissa laughed humorlessly. "You just got through telling me that they're working against me! You expect me to just ask them to go find this book for me?"

"Miss Hendell, you are far from a stupid girl, so stop acting like one," Laura said coldly. "It's very simple. Just let them find out about the book and the fact that you're looking for it. They will do everything they can to find it first and keep it from you."

"And how do I get it from them after... ?" Melissa trailed off, and her eyes widened as realization dawned. "I can use the pendant's connection with the book. If I could see the spell through their eyes, I won't need the book in my hands, will I?"

Laura smiled. "I always said that the students in this school would do better if they just applied themselves."

Melissa's mind was racing. She needed to drop the hint to the Harbingers about the book. But they could not be allowed to know about the connection with the pendant! If they could be kept in the dark about that, they would pat themselves on the back for thwarting her plans will she quietly prepared to perform the Rite.

"All right, who's in the Harbingers?" Melissa asked.

"Jason Conner is the leader," Laura said. "Richie Gardner. Melinda and Heather Sovert."

Melissa's eyebrows rose. "Heather?"

"You know her?"

Melissa's gaze became icy. "You could say that. I sort of owe her for something. Her and Diane Woodrow."

"I believe Miss Woodrow is part of the group as well. And Cassie Kendall and Ned Lussander."

Melissa smirked. The little rich girl and The Nose. What a motley crew!

"Be careful of Cassie," Laura warned. "My Mistress called her a Dreamer. Her dreams give her visions of other people and what they are doing. She helped the Harbingers piece together Nyssa's plans."

Melissa cradled the pendant in her hand and looked down at it. "I get dreams, too, Ms. Bendon. Ever since I started wearing this. They got much stronger once I had the Power. And in almost every one of them I kept getting the feeling that someone was watching me. But then I'd hear some sort of voice telling me not to worry, that I was hidden from prying eyes. That..."

Laura's lips curled into a sly smile of satisfaction. "It would seem that the pendant is somehow blocking Miss Kendall's ability. Consider yourself fortunate. But I am not surprised. The Darkness is doing everything it can to hinder them. For instance, they are being stymied in their attempts to find a meeting place, but I imagine they will overcome it given time. There is only so much the Darkness can do at the moment."

Melissa nodded absently, lost in thought.

"Do you have some idea now on how to proceed, Miss Hendell?"

Melissa's fingers curled tightly around the pendant for a few seconds, then let go. She slowly nodded. "Yes, I think I do, Ms. Bendon."

"In that case, Miss Hendell, it is almost time for first period. I suggest you return to your class."

Melissa stood. She was halfway to the door before she turned around. "Oh, what about the official reason for me being here?"

"Ah, yes, that. Hmm. Let's compromise. You keep your clothing within acceptable limits of the dress code, and you can keep displaying your pendant. We can claim that you cited religious freedom in the latter case. Agreed?"

Melissa had not wanted to concede on anything, but she needed the faculty off her back if she had to concentrate on her new plan. "Agreed."

"Then good day, Miss Hendell, and don't hesitate to come to me again if you need help."

Melissa gave Laura a genuine smile, nodded, and headed out.

-------

Melinda's two friends were still giggling at a cutting comment she had just made about a fellow student when she cut short the conversation with a "later" and a quick wave. She dashed through the hallway, her hair swinging behind her. Several strands lay curled in disarray over her shoulders and in front of her eyes by the time she spotted Jason. She brushed at her face in annoyance.

"Jason! Jason, wait!" Melinda called out as Jason turned away from his locker.

Jason spun around. "Melinda, I have to get to class, what is it?" he asked in a tired voice.

Melinda came to a stop, still panting slightly. "I need to talk to you about Richie."

Jason sighed. "Melinda, can this wait? I..."

"No, it can't! Richie..." She paused, then lowered her voice and leaned in close to him. "Richie is boinking Linda Davis! He's trying to control her again!"

"I know that's what you suspect, but we don't have any proof."

"Jason, I saw him leaving Miss Davis' house yesterday!"

Jason stared at her. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"That's what I was doing while you and the bubblehead were doing it." There was an icy undertone to her last two words. "I went over to her street and waited on the corner. I saw Richie come out of her house."

Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Dammit."

"He's doing it again. He's trying to make her a slave."

"He can't do that. He doesn't have that sort of power anymore. We would have seen it."

Melinda stamped her foot. "He's doing something to her, Jason! He's ... he's influencing her. Like Heather was trying to do to me. Something like that."

"But you resisted it, right?"

"Yeah, but only because Heather tried to stop." Her voice become more conciliatory. "It got better after you and her ... you know."

"I only did that because you wanted me to 'you know.'"

Melinda smirked. "Yeah, I bet it was a real hardship, forcing yourself to boink Miss Redhead Bigboobs."

Jason blushed. "Boink? Well ... we didn't do that..."

"Huh? Didn't do what?"

"We didn't ... have intercourse."

Melinda frowned. "You better not have! No way!"

"I didn't!"

"Promise me you won't do that with her! You'll just do other stuff. Just not that. That's for us, once we figure something out."

"Melinda, I ... all right, I promise. But ... please, let's get back to the original subject before I'm late for class."

"So what are we going to do, Jason?" Melinda asked in a pleading voice. "Miss Davis is my favorite teacher. I can't stand the idea of Richie messing with her like this. Even if he's not enslaving her, this is so wrong!"

"I know. He can't do this. It's totally against what the Harbingers are about. But I want some more proof before we confront him about it."

Melinda made a face. "What more do we need?"

"We need to make sure he's really doing something to her. That he's really going over to her house for sex."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! What else is he going there for?"

Jason looked thoughtful for a moment. "I have an idea how we can find out, but I don't have time to explain it. I'll catch you later."

Melinda sighed. She felt frustrated that she couldn't get any answers from him now. "All right. Talk to you later, Jason."

She whirled around and ran down the hall, hair flying behind her like a banner.

-------

Richie was never very focused in school even in the best of times, but that particular Monday morning was worse than most. By the time he got to his history class with Linda Davis, he went into a torpor, sitting as still as a statue with his head propped up on his hand. The lesson was no more than a drone, a hollow sound that echoed in his unreceptive mind.

The same dream that had been so vexing him had plagued him once more just before waking that morning. The images were as strong as ever, yet still just as disjoint. Some were repeating themselves. Multiple times he had seen the woman throw her wedding band at the man. He would see the man duck, and the ring continue past him, and...

 ... and then the dream would fade out.

Richie hated thinking about his dreams. To him, dreams were supposed to be just weird bits of nonsensical verse to be forgotten by breakfast. Worse, he could summon them up again in crystal clarity only while he was in his room. The moment he stepped out, they became fuzzy, and he could no longer see any of the details.

The bell rang, jerking him out of his stupor. He muttered a curse as he swept up his notebook -- not a single mark having been entered in it since class began -- and stuffed it into his backpack so hard that the cover tore from the spiral binding. He followed this with another guttural curse as he stood.

"Mr. Gardner, I need to see you, please," said Linda.

Richie frowned and marched sullenly to the desk. "Yeah?"

Linda cast a sharp look at him, but made no further note of his disrespect. Her eyes flicked over the other students as they left. She waited a few moments before speaking again. "I'm sorry to bother you with this. But I wanted to know if anything was wrong."

Richie made a face. "Huh?"

"I couldn't help but notice that you were slacking off again today. And after you have been doing better."

"Why should you care?"

"Because I am still your teacher, despite..." She paused, glancing past Richie for a moment. She lowered her voice. "Despite our arrangement."

Richie smirked. "What, I can't get a good grade outta this?"

"No, you can't. We have to keep the two separate. I've already told you this."

Richie had not wanted a confrontation. Had he not been in a sour mood already, he would have made some perfunctory conciliatory noise and moved on. But as it was, Linda was just making him more angry. "Then maybe I don't want this arrangement. Maybe I don't want to fuck you again."

Linda's eyes widened in alarm.

Richie grinned. "Yeah, that got ya worried, huh?"

"I am more concerned about your language," Linda said in a shaky voice.

"Nah, that's not it. You're really worried I'd cut you off."

Linda looked annoyed. "This is not something I have to worry about being 'cut off' from..."

"C'mon, don't give me that. You can't get enough of me. Admit it. You want to it keep comin'." Richie suddenly chuckled. "Cummin', get it?"

Linda took a deep breath and shifted in her seat. "Richie, stop it," she whispered in a husky voice.

"Why? Did I get you thinkin' about cumming with my cock inside you?"

"No more, please," Linda said firmly, though her voice still quavered. "Not now."

"Then how 'bout later? After school?"

"We can't do this every day, Richie, it's too risky."

"You want it. You have to have it."

Linda's sex felt achy and warm. Her nipples tingled and swelled. Richie saw the telltale bumps against her blouse and grinned. She shifted in her seat and uttered a soft, lusty sigh. She pressed her thighs together as if attempting to contain her arousal, but it made her pussy go from warm to hot.

"I-I won't trade grades for sex, Richie," she murmured.

"Fine, I don't want a stupid grade from you. I'll do the work, 'kay? Just don't freakin' bug me about paying attention in this stupid class."

Linda swallowed and nodded.

"How soon will you get home today?" Richie asked.

"R-richie, not ... please..."

"How soon?"

"We ... I ... f-four o'clock," Linda said softly, her eyes smoldering with desire. "Four. I'll be there at four."

"And you'll be naked, right?"

Linda blushed. "If ... if you want me to..."

"Cuz I don't like to wait. I wanna get right to it. Fuck you good and then leave."

Linda moaned. Every word was getting her more horny. "Yes, Richie ... please, stop there. I still have to get through the rest of the day."

Richie smirked. "Yeah, okay. I'll see ya later."

Linda swallowed again and nodded. She watched him go with a mixture of relief and longing. She turned way from the door and tried to take some calming breaths. With Richie no longer in the room, it was easier for her to get back onto an even keel. Her pussy still felt wet and needful, but some of the flames of lust had been doused.

She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. Her voice was still edged with lingering desire. She knew it would not go away completely. Her own fantasy would fuel it, a fantasy that should have remained caged in the back of her mind. Ever since Richie had ... whatever he had done to her, the fantasy had escaped, and it resisted all attempts to rein it in.

Richie was not reaching into her mind and molding her as he had done before. Instead, he was using her own illicit desires to control her. In a way, this was worse than total enslavement. And she had no idea how to get herself out of it.



-------

Chapter 9

Richie was halfway to the classroom door before Cassie realized he was on his way out. She dashed away, her heart thumping in fear that she was about to be caught spying on him. She shoved her way through the crowd to escape, her cheeks glowing faintly pink.

She flung her gaze behind her even as she continued to plow forward. She half-expected to see an angry Richie on her heels. So when she came to a sudden stop after bumping into someone in front of her, she nearly shrieked. Instead, it came out as a single, sudden, high-pitched gasp.

"Whoa, hey, babe, I'm sorry I startled ya."

"Oh, Ned, no, it's okay," Cassie gushed in relief.

Ned looked at her in concern. "You all right?"

Cassie's head snapped around one more time, throwing her curls into his face. She nudged him further down the hall before speaking to him again. "Ned, I just spotted Richie with his teacher Linda Davis again."

"Oh, yeah, that's what I was comin' ta tell ya," Ned said. "Ran inta Melinda earlier. She's on the warpath about Richie. Says she caught 'im with her yesterday."

Cassie sighed despondently. "And I just caught something from him now."

"I thought ya had trouble hearing what he was sayin' in there."

Cassie's cheeks went a little more red. "I took a peek. I poked my head in for a moment."

"Oh man, did he catch ya? Is that why ya were runnin'?"

"No, I don't think he did. I know it was dangerous, but I had to know. Ned, they were talking ... really intimately. Richie said something about sex ... well ... about fucking anyway." Cassie's voice became a barely audible whisper on that word, cheeks scarlet. "And Miss Davis was looking ... um..."

"Like the lack of a bed was the only thing stopping 'em from doin' the fandango?"

Cassie swallowed and nodded meekly, unable to meet his eyes.

"Hoo boy," Ned sighed.

"Ned, Richie can't be controlling her, not directly, can he?"

Ned shrugged. "I dunno, babe, I really don't. I mean, we don't see that funky Aura on him. Mebbe we should just ask him."

Cassie's eyes widened. "I don't think that's a good idea. You know how he flies off the handle so easily."

"Only when Melinda gets his goat. By the way, when did she become Miss Popular?"

Cassie tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"Seems these days Melinda's always got a gaggle o'gigglin' girls around her whenever I see her. Seems like she picked up a fan or three."

Something about that didn't seem right. Cassie had known Melinda in grammar school. Even though she was one grade ahead of Melinda, there had been enough contact between them for Cassie to know that Melinda was something of a loner, much like herself. It was why they had become friends, at least before Cassie had to go on to high school and her connections to the dreamworld became much stronger.

That friendship had nearly been ruined when Melinda came to Haven High. Melinda couldn't relate to her anymore, at least not until after Nyssa had tried to enslave her and the Harbingers had rescued her. The experience had changed Cassie.

It was apparent to Cassie now that something far more mundane was changing Melinda, and she wondered if that had anything to do with Melinda's recent aggressiveness.

"Well, supposedly Heather was unpopular until she got to Haven High, so maybe Melinda's just following the same pattern," said Cassie.

"Huh. Yeah, I seem to remember Heather bein' sorta a bit cocky, too."

Cassie refused to go there. She hated bad-mouthing friends. "Anyway, Ned, about Richie..."

"Oh, yeah. Well, have Jason talk to him, then. He seems to do okay with him."

"I'm still worried about Jason."

Ned had nothing to offer on that subject. In fact, he not expected to get into this at all. He had used Melinda as little more than an excuse to go find Cassie for his own reasons. He had wanted to make it look like it was something that happened to come to him on the spur of the moment. He did not want to look like he had been planning it for a week.

Cassie looked up at him. "Ned, you have any idea what Jason thinks about this?"

"I think he's sorta in denial about it. He wants something to prove that Richie really is going fer his teacher. Sounded like he might've had a plan cooked up. Dreams not telling ya anything about Richie and Miss Davis?"

Cassie shook her head, exasperation in her eyes. "I've been focused so much on Melissa and trying to figure out why I'm so blocked on her that I haven't given much time to anything else. Maybe we can talk about that over lunch."

"Um, yeah, sure," Ned said uncertainly.

"Well, I better get to my next class." She started to walk away. "See you..."

"Cassie, wait!"

Cassie stopped and turned. "Yes?"

Ned swallowed. "Uh..."

"Something wrong?"

"Uh..."

"Ned, we'll both be late for class. What..."

"Wouldyagooutwithme?"

Cassie blinked. "What?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Ned paused for a long moment, then finally said, "Um, o-okay, never mind, I understand..."

"I'd love to."

Ned fell silent again.

Cassie slowly smiled. "I'd love to," she repeated in a soft voice.

"Okay. Um ... okay. Great. Tonight, then?"

"I have to go with my parents to some formal function tonight, but I'm free tomorrow."

"Ah, cool. Tomorrow it is."

The two of them stood standing there, several feet apart, grinning at each other. It was only the bell that shattered the moment.

"Oh goodness! I'm late!" Cassie cried.

"Babe, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye!" Cassie waved and dashed down the hall.

Ned just stared and finally lifted his own hand to wave, even though she had already ducked down a side corridor and out of sight, leaving him standing in the hallway alone.

Ned finally lowered his hand and took a deep breath. It did little to calm him.

He thought he had the hard part behind him. But now he realized he had no idea where to take her, what to do with her, or how to get her alone without being chaperoned by her driver.

Then again, considering his growing sexual desire for her and what he had done the last time such a thing became an obsession, perhaps being left alone with her was a bad idea.

-------

"Heather, are you okay?"

Heather gave Diane a confused look. "Huh?"

Diane made a face. "You're doing it again."

"I am not," Heather replied automatically. "I mean, doing what?"

"Zoning out on me like that. Pretending you're paying attention to me."

Heather put down her fork into her half-finished lunch. "I'm sorry, Diane, I didn't mean to."

"It's all right," Diane said in a softer voice, though she still felt hurt. "But is something the matter? It wasn't anything I said to you, was it?"

"Diane, stop worrying about that. That's about the third time you've said something like that to me today."

Diane blushed. "I-I didn't realize ... Anyway, is something wrong?"

Heather sighed and glanced around the cafeteria. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said in a low voice.

"What is it?"

Heather hesitated. She picked up her fork and pushed the remnants of her lunch around the plate. "I'm not sure how to say it. Diane, this is going to seem like a weird question, and you don't have to answer it if it's too personal."

Diane's eyes widened. She simply nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Have you noticed anything strange the last week or so? In your own feelings, I mean?"

Diane's lips parted. Her heart thumped as panic fluttered briefly inside her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you been thinking about ... about sex a lot? Or just more than you used to?"

Diane swallowed. What was she supposed to say? Did this mean that Heather was picking up on Diane's feelings?

"Have you?" Diane asked, unable to bring herself to answering the question directly.

"Well, I told you about Melinda."

"Um, yeah. You still having a problem with that?"

"Well, it was better this morning but ... it's not her, Diane, not really. I..." Heather sighed. She shook her head and dropped her fork with a clatter. "This is not making any sense to you, is it?"

"Well, no, not really. You said it was better. So what's the problem?"

Heather looked around again. She slid her seat closer to Diane. "Diane, please, please don't let on I told you this," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I had sex with Jason yesterday."

Diane gasped, looking shocked. "What??"

"Well, oral sex, anyway," Heather amended quickly, though her cheeks had colored. She smiled faintly. "But it was pretty good."

Diane looked stricken for a moment before she caught herself. She had a foolish notion that perhaps Heather was about to save her the trouble and confess feelings for her. Instead, it made her fear that Heather remained a confirmed heterosexual and would want nothing to do with a more intimate relationship with Diane.

Heather saw Diane's reaction and misinterpreted it. "Diane, don't worry, Melinda knows about this. She suggested it herself."

Diane stared. "Heather, you really have me confused now. What the hell is going on? Why did she tell you to do this?"

"It was her idea to see if it would make me stop bugging her. She thought if I started 'getting some' that I'd stop wanting her."

Diane nodded quickly. Some hope had returned to her. "So that's the only reason you did it?"

"Yes. Mostly. I mean ... well, you know about the House. We did it there. He was pretty good. Really good, actually. He..." Heather stopped herself and squirmed in her seat. "See, this is what I mean. It's like I can't turn my mind off about sex now. It was bad when it was just Melinda, but..."

"Are you still thinking about Melinda?" Diane asked. Blood rushed in her ears.

"Yes, dammit. It's like doing it with Jason only made it go away for a little while. But I just want to know why I'm so highly sexed in the first place, never mind who I want to do it with!"

Heather's cheeks were bright pink. Diane realized that it was taking a lot for Heather to admit this. She had a great deal of admiration for Heather, which only fueled her own passions for her friend.

"But I think something is happening to all of us, Diane," Heather said urgently. "Melinda's got a libido that would light up New York, the way she goes at it with Jason. And you heard about Richie, right?"

"Was that what Melinda was getting all whiny about earlier?" Diane asked. She tended to tune Melinda out unless they were meeting as the Harbingers. She still considered Melinda to be something of a brat. "He was trying to do something with his teacher?"

"Yes. Miss Davis, the one he had taken when Nyssa had control of him. But you see my point? It's like our sex drives have shifted into overdrive. Only Cassie and Ned don't seem to be affected at all. So have you felt anything?"

Diane bit her lower lip. "Um, y-yeah, I guess I've felt it, too."

Heather looked relieved. "Anyone in particular?"

Diane's heart raced. "I'd rather not say," she said sheepishly.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Diane shook her head quickly. "I just don't want to mention it where someone might overhear us."

Heather nodded absently, feeling a little foolish for not having waited until after school herself. But it had been weighing on her mind so much she had to tell someone. She managed a small smile. "Can you tell me if it's anyone I know?"

"Um ... you could say that, yeah."

"How about you tell me later after school?"

"After... ? Oh, um, sure."

Heather's smiled widened. "I'll meet you after last class, then? Maybe we can get a ride with Cassie so we don't have to wait to take the bus home first and then have to head over to the mall."

Diane had to quell an urge to refuse the offer, but she realized she couldn't keep going like this without Heather knowing. It frustrated her to think that some outward influence might be pushing her into it by inflaming her own desires. She might have been able to keep these feelings to herself for longer if it were not for that.

But maybe if Heather realized this as well, it would not come as such a shock.

"Sounds good to me, then," Diane said.

"Great. Could you at least tell me if you've told him yet?"

Diane very nearly corrected Heather's pronoun use. "Um, no, not yet, but ... but I'm going to be mentioning it really soon."

"Good. It's better to get that sort of thing out in the open, you know. Hopefully you won't be disappointed."

Diane sighed. "I really hope so, too, Heather."

-------

After trying several times to concentrate on the last lesson of the day and failing, Cassie gave up.

She looked down at her notebook. The page was filled with incomplete thoughts. She would manage to latch on to the instructor's words and begin dutifully copying notes, then her mind would drift off. Her pen would simply slow and stop, a dreamy look coming over her face.

The instructor had given her several disdainful looks and an occasional shake of his head, but he never called her out on it. He, too, had long since given up on her.

Cassie caught one of his looks and blushed in embarrassment. She dropped her pen to the notebook in exasperation and squirmed in her seat. This only made her blush deepen as she felt the fluid warmth between her legs.

Cassie had already been having erotic fantasies about Ned, but she had managed to keep them under control. She kept telling herself there was simply no opportunity to satisfy them, so there was no point in dwelling on them. That all changed when Ned asked her out.

This was one of the dangers of knowing her dreams so well. Knowing her dreams meant knowing her emotions also. She never had cause to say "I don't know why I feel this way." Because her emotional state was never a mystery to her, suppressing her emotions was nearly impossible. The dreamy look that came over her on occasion was simply a self-control mechanism.

Cassie was jolted by the sound of the bell. She had again drifted off, and now she was panting lightly, her pussy hot and tingling. She needed something more interesting than a class lesson to keep her mind off Ned. She had no idea how she was going to handle herself on her date with him.

For all the intensity of her sexual passion, she was still a virgin. She had almost done it with Richie, but she had been under Nyssa's control. She did not want to contemplate the consequences had she succeeded.

Cassie rose from her chair. Her sex felt uncomfortably swollen and achy. She steadfastly ignored it and went to find Jason.

When she rounded the corner and entered the hallway to Jason's locker, she saw Melinda and Richie standing near him. Cassie ducked to the side before she could be seen.

As she watched, there appeared to be a brief, heated discussion between Melinda and Richie. Richie finally gave her a smirk and delivered a parting comment before he turned way. Melinda stamped her foot and blew him a raspberry as he left.

Cassie waited until Richie had disappeared down the hall before approaching them.

"There you are!" Melinda piped at Cassie's approach. "Ned told me you saw Richie with Miss Davis again."

Cassie glanced at Jason for a moment. "Um, yes, I did."

"Did you hear anything he said?" Jason asked.

Cassie hoped Jason was in control of the situation again. "Yes. I heard him talk to her about ... well, about sex..."

"I knew it!" Melinda cried. "I knew it, I knew it!"

"And he said something about four o'clock today, but I don't..."

Melinda gasped and turned to Jason. "He's going to do it again. He's going to make her boink him again today."

"Again?" asked Cassie.

"He's been doing it to her since Friday."

Cassie's eyes widened, but Jason cut in. "We don't know that for sure yet."

"Jason, Ned said something about you having some plan to prove that Richie's really going after Miss Davis?" asked Cassie.

Jason looked a bit guilty. "Yes, um, something like that."

"Jason and I were going to talk about it," Melinda said. "We told Richie we wanted to talk privately about something. Course, the perv thought we were going to talk about sex. Anyway, now that I know that turd is going to see Miss Davis again, I want to follow Richie today and prove that he's making her boink him again."

Jason knew Melinda's logic was flawed. Just because Cassie heard a time mentioned did not mean that Richie was going to see Miss Davis. Even if he did see her, there was nothing Melinda could do to find out what exactly was going on inside. But he subsided without saying a word, unwilling to override her if this is what she really wanted to do.

Damn, did I just act submissive again? Jason puzzled in his head.

"Jason, any word yet on when we can meet again as a group?" Cassie asked, anxious to change the subject. Talking about sex was doing little to dampen her own flame of desire. Her pussy still throbbed faintly with her heartbeat.

Jason shook his head. "No. I haven't a clue yet. Why, did you have anything to report?"

"Other than what I told you already, no."

"What about that lurid dreaming thing?" Melinda asked.

"Lucid dreaming. It hasn't helped."

"About that lucid dreaming, Cassie," Jason began. "Could you... ?"

"So what are you doing with that, anyway?" Melinda said over Jason's words. "Are you trying to get into Melissa's head?"

Cassie gave Melinda an uncomfortable look. "Um ... something like that."

"Can you do that with Richie? You can help prove what he's doing to Miss Davis!"

Cassie sighed. She really thought that Melinda was taking this vendetta of hers too far. While she thought that Richie messing around with a teacher was bad, she was not as hostile towards it as Melinda.

"Melinda, I'd rather not," Cassie said firmly. "I already feel really funny about doing it with Melissa. It's ... it's like invading someone's privacy. If something comes to me on its own, I can accept that, I don't have control over it. I didn't even know my dreams were from real people until I talked to you after I was saved from Nyssa. But I can't just go invading other people's lives like that."

"It's all right, Cassie," Jason forced himself to say. His loyalty to Cassie overrode his submissiveness to Melinda for the moment. "I won't ask you to do something like that. You can stop trying it with Melissa if you want."

"I might want to try one more time, Jason. I'm really concerned about how Melissa is blocking me."

"What, you mean she's actively keeping you out?"

"I think so, and I want to know how."

"Maybe it's that creepy pendant of hers," Melinda said with a shiver.

Cassie looked at Melinda oddly. "Creepy? What's creepy about it?"

"Well, look at it! It's a pentagram. That's evil, isn't it?"

"Not really," Jason said. "That's a common misconception. It has nothing to do with evil per se."

"Then what is it supposed to be?"

"The five-pointed star represents the human form," explained Jason. "The top point is the head, the next two the arms, the bottom two the legs. Very roughly speaking, the direction of the star indicates a value system. Pointed up it means spiritual over material. Pointed down means material over spiritual."

"Hers is pointed down, Jason."

"Yes, but that still doesn't mean..."

"Um, you're going to miss your bus, and I need to meet Heather and Diane outside, since I agreed to give them a ride to the mall," Cassie said. She hated to interrupt it because it was a positive sign that Jason was thinking independently of Melinda.

"Yeah, we better get going," said Jason.

Cassie was about to turn away but stopped. "Wait, Jason, you were trying to ask me something earlier?"

Jason glanced at her. The guilty look came to his eyes again. "Um ... it was nothing, don't worry about it. I'll see you later."

-------

Melissa panted softly as she lay sprawled out on her bed. Her body lay limp and deceptively submissive, her knees spread and drawn up towards her body. Her breasts rolled gently back and forth in time to the slow thrusts of the beefy, sandy-haired boy above her. The pendant lay on the mattress beside her head, the chain still looped around her neck.

Brad's hips swayed against Melissa's body in perfect rhythm, his breathing labored as his cock strained close to the edge but would not go over. It had become a powerful ache that would have had him begging for relief had Melissa allowed him that option.

Melissa's pussy ached as well, but in her case it was from the three orgasms that she had already received from him. She willed him to lean forward a touch, and sent his cock stroking her clit a little more firmly. She tilted her head back and moaned deeply, enjoying every second of her carefully controlled pleasure.

Melissa had wanted Brad simply because he was Ann's boyfriend, and she wanted to rob Ann of any happiness whatsoever. She still savored the memory of the look on Ann's face when she had made Brad fuck her while Ann watched. Melissa had made her say things like "watching my boyfriend fuck you is making me wet," but she had let Ann's true feelings escape and show on her face.

Melissa had intended to have Ann in attendance every time she did it with Brad. Instead, she stopped after the first time. It had been one of the first signs that the mere act of revenge against Ann and Susan was not going to satisfy her for very long. It was becoming almost a chore.

Brad drew himself closer to her, his hips moving faster. Melissa panted harder, reveling in his responsiveness to her desires. Brad was like Ann in many ways, so easily molded. He was a big, muscular sex toy to her. A passing thought was all it took to elicit complete obedience from him. She wondered if Brad even really cared he was being controlled, so long as he got lots of pussy out of the deal.

Though she was sure he didn't care for being held back from cumming.

Melissa moaned louder and raised her hips to his. He pounded into her, their bodies slapping together, the springs of the bed squeaking. Melissa tossed her head back, her body tensing as she hovered at the edge. She let go with a single, long cry as she came, her pussy throbbing around his still rock-hard cock.

Melissa made him draw out her orgasm. He slowed down, using his cock to give her clit more gentle strokes before finally pulling out of her. He fell back from her onto his knees, panting hard, his cock purplish in color and glistening with her juices. A drop of his own seed oozed from the head. He still hung just short of orgasm.

Melissa slowly sat up, giving Brad a sly smile in return to his pleading look. She shifted her pendant until the pentacle hung between her breasts.

She gestured to him. He crawled to her on his knees, still panting. Melissa cradled his cock in her hand, teasing it lightly. Brad shuddered and groaned.

"You want to cum, don't you?" Melissa cooed.

"Oh fuck, yeah," Brad moaned.

"And if I didn't? If I made your cock go soft and sent you away?"

"I'll come back again when you want me to."

"Oh, such a good boy." Melissa withdrew her hand. "Brad, you were Heather Sovert's boyfriend for awhile, right?"

"Yeah, but she dumped me before the semester started."

"You ever fuck her?"

"Once. But she got really bent outta shape over it."

"Hmm. Really."

Melissa considered for a moment. Yes, revenge got old, but it had to be done. There had been five outstanding debts to her. Susan and Ann were two. Her mother was a third. Now Heather and Diane remained.

Melissa wanted to use Brad somehow against Heather. But according to Laura Bendon, Heather would know that Brad was being controlled, if this thing about the so-called Darkness was to be believed.

Melissa did not want to believe that some faceless dark entity was behind her power. She did not want to think that the dark being that had granted her power had been an avatar of something that sat behind the scenes manipulating events to suit it.

No, Laura Bendon had to be wrong. Melissa was willing to believe that these so-called Harbingers could see who was affected by her power, but she refused to believe in a faceless Darkness. She got this power because she deserved it, not because some higher being had an agenda.

"So she doesn't want anything to do with you?" Melissa asked.

Brad shook his head. "She wants me to stay away from her."

"Was she a good fuck?"

"Oh yeah. Love how she squirts when she cums."

An amused look came to Melissa's face. "Oh, she squirts, does she? Mmm, I would imagine that would be messy if it happened at an inopportune time. Maybe even embarrassing. Tell me, are you in the same class rotation as Heather?"

"Not this semester."

Melissa looked thoughtful and smiled. "You know, I think I can change that. How would you like to help me get back at Heather for dumping you?"

Brad paused a moment, his eyebrows knitted in thought, or at least as much thought that Melissa allowed him. His cock was still aching and hard, and his balls felt swollen. "Yeah, I can go for that. Sure thing."

"Such a good little boy." She gestured to Brad. He climbed out of bed and stood. "Now ... I'd like you to meet my mother. She's just downstairs."

Brad thought it odd to be asked to do such a thing when he was still naked and in need of sexual relief. But the confusion did not last long. He realized that Melissa's mother likely needed a good fuck, and he was happy to oblige. "Sure thing, Melissa. Thanks."

He grinned and left the room.

Melissa placed a hand to her bosom and stroked the pendant lovingly with her fingers. Yes, she could work through others. She could channel a bit of her power through her puppet. She wasn't sure how she knew she could do it, she simply knew. Just like she had known how to use her power in the first place from the moment she had received it.

Laura Bendon had never said whether or not the Harbingers were immune to her power. She intended to put it to the test.

-------

Heather had tried to treat it as any other trip to the mall, yet it was clear that it was anything but to her friend. Diane showed little interest in wandering about the fashion stores to see what was on sale and poke fun at the people that bought the hopelessly out of vogue clothes from the bargain bin. Or in strolling about the boardwalk that ran alongside the canal and snicker at the dweebs and nerds that hung out near the video game store.

"Something's seriously bugging you, Diane," Heather finally said.

Diane hugged her arms around herself, looking peevish. "Yeah, it is. Glad you noticed."

"Diane, you don't have to tell me who you've got the hots for if you don't want to."

"No, I have to. Please, let's go somewhere and talk."

Heather nodded and started towards the benches at the far end of the courtyard, where they had sat before to talk about Heather's trouble with Melinda.

"Can we go someplace more private?" Diane asked.

Heather smirked. "It's a mall, Diane. There's not that much privacy here."

"There's a picnic area at the end of the path that runs alongside the canal. I don't think anyone will be there now."

"Wow, this must be something big."

"Um, yeah, you could say that. Please, let's go."

Heather followed Diane back to the boardwalk, and then down a side path that wound through a clump of trees. The ground was covered in red-gold, and their footsteps crunched in the cool fall air. The breeze rose and showered them with more leaves drifting from the crowns of the trees. They found a picnic table and brushed away enough leaves for them to sit down.

Heather sat down first. Diane considered sitting opposite Heather, but instead slid in next to her.

"So what's the scoop, Diane?" Heather asked, her voice conveying concern as much as intense curiosity. "Who is it and what's got you so bugged about it?"

Diane paused and took a deep breath, letting it go as a rattling sigh. Her heart pounded so hard that her chest ached. "I'm not sure how to tell you, Heather. I really hope you don't hate me after this."

Heather gave her a puzzled look. "Hate you? Why would I do that?"

"It's just ... the person I'm attracted to might make you upset."

Heather stared. "Diane, you're not ... you don't have a thing for Brad do you?"

Diane looked at her in surprise. "Brad? No, of course not!"

"I mean, I wouldn't be upset if you were, but, well, no offense, but you can do better than him. I dumped him for a reason."

"It's not him," Diane said firmly. "Really. It's none of the guys that you've dated."

"Okay, so why would I be upset?"

"It's ... not even a guy that I'm after, Heather."

"Oh? Then what..." Heather trailed off. Her eyes widened. "No!"

Heather had said it in the same way she would if she were responding to some juicy bit of gossip rather than an actual negative reaction to Diane's announcement. Still, Diane was not sure how to respond to it.

"Diane, a-are you serious?? You're not ... you are? Are you really... ?"

"Lesbian? Yes."

Heather was shocked. "Diane, I ... I-I'm sorry, I never knew. You never said anything."

Diane laughed weakly, little humor to it. She had trouble maintaining eye contact with Heather. "It's not something that comes up in normal conversation, Heather."

"But all those times we talked about guys, I mean..."

"Being lesbian doesn't mean I can't gossip with you."

"Oh, well, I didn't mean that, I... " Heather trailed off and sighed. "I'm sorry, Diane, I'm saying all the wrong things here. Please, don't take it that way."

Diane nodded. "I know. I figured you wouldn't really hate me just for this. I mean ... what you told me about the House and all that..."

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice there."

Diane finally raised her eyes to Heather's. "You didn't hate it, did you? Please, tell me the truth."

Heather paused, her mouth working for a few seconds but nothing coming out. When she found her voice again, it was soft and slightly husky. "No, I didn't hate it. Maybe I didn't like being forced to do it with Melinda, but afterward ... I guess ... I guess I did enjoy it."

"And you keep wanting to go after Melinda again."

"Yes, but ... I don't know where that's coming from."

Diane's eyes remained locked to Heather's. She kept looking into those lovely, soft, gray-green pools. "Does it matter?"

"It does to me, Diane, I ... I mean..."

"You'd enjoy it if you did it with her again, wouldn't you?"

Heather shifted in her seat. "I guess so, but she doesn't want to do it..."

"But I do."

"You ... wh-what... ?"

Diane leaned closer. "I want to do it," she repeated, her voice husky.

Heather stared, her lips parted. Her heart thumped. "D-Diane ... what do you mean..."

"I want to do it with you."

Heather squirmed. She had already felt heat in her nether regions from thinking about Melinda again. With as oversexed as she was, this was not helping matters.

There was a silently pleading look in Diane's eyes, as if she were searching for some sign from Heather. Heather looked helplessly back. She didn't know what to say or what to do. She was barely aware of how close Diane was to her.

She became aware the next moment. Seeing neither encouragement nor rejection, Diane took a leap of faith. She swiftly leaned forward and kissed Heather.

Heather drew in her breath in a single, sharp gasp. The heat in her sex flared, her folds growing swollen and damp. Her trembling thighs parted. For a moment, her oversexed body let her be drawn into the kiss, her eyes closing. She pressed her lips to Diane's, letting out a very soft moan through her nose.

Slowly, her mind caught up. She uttered another moan and broke off the kiss, turning her head away. She panted lightly, her pussy aching. She raised a trembling hand to her cheek and tried to breathe normally.

Diane drew back slowly. Her eyes shimmered as she tried to understand Heather's reaction. Heather looked excited, as much as Diane was herself. Her own sex was tingling madly.

But she sensed she had done something dreadfully wrong. "Heather ... Heather, I'm sorry! I didn't mean ... I..."

"It's okay, Diane," Heather said, her voice a bit breathless. "Please ... j-just give me a moment."

Diane nodded. Secretly, she was a bit smug, and it showed as a ghost of a smile on her lips. She had managed to make Heather horny just from her kiss. She considered that a small victory for her.

Heather finally calmed down enough to where her breathing was back to normal. "Diane ... please don't take this the wrong way ... but I can't do this now."

Diane looked stricken, but for just a moment. She forced herself not to despair. None of her nightmare scenarios about Heather's reaction had come true.

Heather looked at her. Her eyes still smoldered. "I need some time. I need to figure out how much of my feelings are mine."

"You don't think you're being controlled by anyone, do you?" Diane suddenly looked alarmed. "God, you don't think that I... !"

"No no no, Diane. Not you. I know you're not doing anything. Believe me, if you were, I wouldn't be able to sit here and say 'no' to you."

"But ... it's not 'no' forever?" asked Diane hopefully. Desperation was in her eyes.

"I don't know yet. Let me sort out a few things first."

"Like what?"

Heather was not sure how to respond. A lot of what she was going through was simple denial. She didn't want to accept that the House and Nyssa had permanently changed her. She still had some idea in the back of her head that she was being influenced, and it was just a matter of finding out where it came from.

For the first time in a long while she wished the House was still there. If Mara were around, Heather might be able to get some answers from her. She had to know if this was intentional or not. She had to know if every encounter with the Darkness was going to leave her a little more changed each time.

"It's really hard for me to describe it," Heather said. "It's like I have to know whether my own desires are something I can live with."

Diane nodded slowly. "I don't understand that completely, Heather, but I don't want you doing anything against your will. I want you, but I want you to want it as well. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does. It wouldn't be so bad if I had ... well, if I were lezzie ... er, I mean..."

Diane smiled. "I don't mind the term 'lezzie, ' Heather, not with you saying it."

Heather smiled weakly in return. She wished she didn't feel the need to forestall this. Her arousal wasn't going away. Her pussy still felt achy and needful. She was desperate for sexual release, and she could almost imagine herself letting Diane provide it...

She forced herself to take another deep breath. She had to get her mind off sex.

"Or at least bisexual," Heather continued, her voice quavering. "Before the House that is. Wait a minute. Diane, how long have you felt this way about me?"

"I've been interested in you since the start of the summer. The really strong sexual attraction started a few weeks ago."

"When Nyssa was in town."

"But it hasn't stopped, Heather. I still feel it rather strongly."

Heather swallowed and nodded quickly. "Okay. Maybe ... maybe I should mention something to the group ... oh, what am I saying, you want to keep this quiet, right?"

Diane smiled faintly. "Well ... Jason knows."

Heather stared. "He does??"

"Nyssa told him. She knew my secret somehow. I begged Jason not to mention it after Nyssa was gone. So you can talk to him if you want."

The only problem was that Heather was thinking of something very much different than talking when Jason came to mind, as horny as she still felt.

"Heather, while you're thinking about this, can we still be friends? Please? I don't want to lose this friendship, even if we don't..."

"Of course we're still friends!" Heather cried. "Geez, Diane, I'm not like some people that think lezzies are contaminated or something like that. I'm not like Becky, you know."

Diane slowly smiled. She and Heather exchanged a brief hug.

"I better get home, Diane," Heather said. "I need to ... to take care of something..."

Diane nodded, then blushed as she caught Heather's meaning. She felt extremely flattered. "Um ... me too, actually..." she said sheepishly.

-------

Kathy's struggles, already weak to begin with, were fading rapidly. "No, p-please, Brad, don't... "

Heedless of her words, Brad unhooked her bra, then reached from behind her and yanked it off, letting her breasts spill out.

"Brad, please, stop ... y-you can't ... uhhn!"

Brad grabbed Kathy's boobs and kneaded them in his fingers. "You got really great tits, Mrs. Hendell," Brad breathed into her ear.

Kathy trembled. Her pussy steamed from behind her soaked panties. She had been so happy that Melissa had let her put on underwear that morning, though now it seemed like a useless gesture. She had seen Melissa come home with Brad and had heard the sounds of sex from upstairs. She had tried to ignore it, but Melissa had so messed with her mind that she had become aroused by it instead.

Part of her, the real Kathy Hendell, wanted to bolt. She wanted to tell him to put his clothes on and get out. But Melissa had turned her into someone was going out of her mind with lust instead.

One of Brad's hands dropped and slid under Kathy's soaked panties. His fingers squished into her slit. Kathy closed her eyes and uttered a lustful sigh. Her quivering thighs parted, and she panted as his strong fingers stroked her hard.

"Uhh! ... Uhhn! ... B-brad ... no..."

"You need a good fuck, Mrs. Hendell."

Kathy moaned. Yes, she needed it. She needed his cock slammed into her twat over and over. She whimpered and shook her head, trying desperately to get these thoughts out of her head. She couldn't tell if they were coming from Melissa or directly from Brad.

"Never fucked a woman your age, Mrs. Hendell," Brad said. "It's gonna be a lot of fun."

Kathy lost the remaining shred of resistance she had. "Y-yes, Brad, fuck me, please ... fuck me hard ... I need it..."

She was barely aware of time passing. She somehow wound up on her back on the sofa. Her panties were yanked down her legs. She was all too eager to see them gone. She looked up at Brad with a pleading, hungry look as he descended upon her. She spread her legs for him, her pussy aching and wet.

Kathy let go with a loud moan of desire as Brad entered her.

Her cheeks burned. Melissa had made her into a slut. The shame of it was as great as her sexual need. Brad thrusted into her with a desperation nearly as strong. Kathy realized Melissa was controlling him as well, but it did not make it any easier to bear.

Kathy whimpered and rocked her hips with his, slamming him into her as deep as he could go. She cried out as she came, her body shuddering from the force of her orgasm. It faded, but her lust did not, nor did his frenzied thrusting.

Brad clenched his teeth, gasping as he climbed upward so slowly that it was excruciating. Kathy mewled and cried out as she came a second time, her pussy throbbing so hard she could barely breathe.

The words suddenly rose up in Kathy's throat. "Fuck me, baby ... fuck me hard ... use me like a whore ... use me like a toy..."

Brad shuddered violently and uttered a loud, guttural groan as his cock exploded inside her. Despite her eyes glistening in shame from what she had been made to say, Kathy nevertheless reveled in the sensation of his throbbing member in her cunt. She pulled him towards her and let him play out deep inside her.

-------

From upstairs, behind the closed bedroom door, Melissa smiled.

It worked. Normally she could not directly control someone not in her line of sight unless they had permanent changes like Susan and Ann. Even then she could not give them new commands or additional controls unless they were present in the room with her. But she now saw she could channel her ability through a puppet that she owned.

All she needed to do was talk to the Principal again. Then she would be able to use Brad to toy with Heather while she waited for the Harbingers to find the book for her. Then all that remained was finding a way to get at Diane as well.

And once she had the Rite of Power, revenge would not matter to her anymore. She would find a greater purpose. Everything would work out. She would no longer be plagued by self-doubt. She would know exactly what she wanted and how to use her power to get it. She was sure of it.



-------

Chapter 10


Jason skidded his bike to a halt before the door to the garage, nearly running into it. A bulging plastic bag with the words "Marty's Grocer" hung from one handle bar and shook as he dismounted.

He hurried to the side of the door, keyed in the code, and waited impatiently for the door to rise. He wanted to get back to his room so he could think. His initial idea for what to do about Richie had gone up in smoke when Melinda had beat him to the punch. He had thought of asking Cassie to peek into Richie's life through her dreams and find the proof he needed that way. But once Cassie had admitted her discomfort with it, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Now he was back to square one.

Jason wheeled his bike forward the moment the door had risen far enough to admit it. He ran the bike towards the back and secured it. He grabbed the plastic bag and started inside.

Jason hit the button for the garage opener and closed the door to the house behind him with the garage door still rumbling down. He dumped the bag of groceries outside the pantry and was already on the stairs by the time the garage door finally came down with a muffled thud. He bounded up two steps at a time.

"Jason!"

He stopped on the middle step and turned to see his mother at the foot of the stairs, her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Mom," Jason said sheepishly. "I know you don't like me going up the stairs like that."

Audrey tapped her foot. "And... ?"

Jason looked perplexed for a moment, then glanced towards the door to the garage and sighed. "And I'm supposed to wait until the garage door comes down before leaving the garage. Sorry about that."

"And one other thing, Jason."

"I'm sorry about that, too."

Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is there something I should know?"

"Um ... huh? Er, no, I just thought..."

"Unless that's what this means." Audrey reached into a pocket of her dress and withdrew a white envelope.

Jason gave his mother a questioning look.

"You left so quickly after coming home from school that I didn't have time to give you this."

"Er ... what is it?"

"A letter. For you."

Jason looked nonplussed. He walked down the stairs and took the letter. It was indeed addressed to "Jason Conner." He flipped it over. There was no return address, but the postmark was from Haven, so it had been mailed locally.

"I thought they didn't allow letters without return addresses anymore," Audrey said. Her tone of voice suggested that she believed this to be a very good policy indeed.

Jason just shrugged. He had no idea who would send him a letter, let alone try to be anonymous about it. It worried him. Ever since Nyssa, he questioned anything that seemed out of the ordinary anymore, and this definitely fit the bill.

"Well, um, thanks, Mom," Jason said and started to turn away.

"Wait a minute, Jason. I want to know who that's from. You don't have to tell me what's in it. I respect your privacy that far, but I feel I should know who is sending you letters out of the blue like this."

After a moment's hesitation, Jason tore open the envelope, trying to look nonchalant about it. He steeled himself for whatever he might see before extracting the letter and reading it.

Jason's eyes flitted back and forth across the single sheet of writing paper. His expression remained stoic. Audrey folded her arms and peered at him with some curiosity and concern.

Jason finished reading the letter. It was not very long, and it told him nothing of who had sent it. He had to make up something, or his mother would assuredly insist on seeing the letter for herself.

"Um, it's okay, Mom. It's from a friend of mine that lives across town," Jason said. "She, uh, is having trouble with her internet access so she sent me a letter. Must've just forgot to..."

A faint smile came to Audrey's lips. "She?"

Jason was barely aware that he had used a feminine pronoun. "Uh, yeah, it's from, uh, Diane. Um ... I'd rather not say what's in the letter, Mom."

Audrey sighed and shook her head. She smiled affectionately at Jason and ruffled his hair. Her voice held both admiration and admonishment. "Really, you have to stop trying to steal girls' hearts all over town, young man."

Jason blushed. "Er ... yeah ... sorry, Mom, I'll, uh, try to be more selective."

Jason wanted to laugh out loud. His mother still thought he was some sort of lady killer, and he wasn't doing much to tarnish that image. Richie would never let him live it down if he ever found out. But if it deflected her mother from the truth, so much the better for him and the Harbingers.

"I just don't want you accidentally breaking some poor girl's heart, that's all."

The tone of his mother's voice suggested that she was almost proud that her son could be guilty of such a thing. Jason couldn't help but smile at this. "Sure thing, Mom, I'll be careful about that. Don't string them along, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm glad you were paying attention. Now, please tell anyone that wants to write to you to use a return address next time."

"I will, Mom, thanks."

Jason turned and ran up the stairs. He closed the door behind him and threw the bag on his bed. He glanced at the closed door for a moment and opened the letter again.

It was handwritten in a childlike scrawl. The words were lucid enough to be from an adult, but dashed off rather quickly. It read: A place to meet: 1045 Ollander Terrace. South off Mesa View Rd, but come in from back. Key near 3rd rock from fountain. Use until Halloween, not Thursdays.

He folded the letter again.

Jason wasn't sure what to make of it. He was alarmed at the implication. Someone outside the group knew that the Harbingers needed a meeting place. Was it sincere offer? Perhaps someone that had been rescued by the group but refused to join now having second thoughts? Or was it just a ruse by someone associated with the Darkness, trying to lure them into a trap?

Jason sprinted to his computer and dropped heavily into his chair. He entered the address into Google and came up with a location near the edge of town, just off the greenbelt that followed the river along the east border of incorporated Haven. It was near in the middle of Mesa View Estates, a rather upscale section of town.

His immediate thought was Cassie. Perhaps someone affiliated with the Kendalls? But Cassie was trying to keep this from her parents, so that didn't make sense. Nevertheless, she might know something.

Jason fired off a quick email to Cassie: Cassie, please give me a call this evening after dinner. I need to talk to you about something very important. Thanks.

The phone rang just as he clicked "Send." He leaned back in his chair and stared at the Google map.

"Jason!"

Jason sighed and jumped out of his chair. He crossed the room and yanked open the door. "What is it, Mom?"

"Telephone. A girl."

Jason rolled his eyes. It was likely Melinda calling to bug him about Richie. "All right, I got it." He closed the door and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

He yanked the drawer open, but the LED had already winked out the moment he had spoken.

"Jason, it's Heather."

"Heather? Is something the matter?"

"Um, sort of. Can you come over right now, please?"

Jason made a face. He really was not feeling up to dealing with another crisis. "I'm not sure I can, Heather, I've been out already and I have a ton of homework to catch up on..."

"Please, Jason, it's very important."

Heather's voice sounded strained. There was a hint of desperation to it as well. "Heather, is something the matter? Something wrong with Melinda?"

"No, it's not Melinda," Heather said, sounding a bit annoyed. "Everything is not about her, you know."

"Sorry. But what... ?"

"I can't talk about it over the phone. Please, can you come over? Soon?"

Jason looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was just getting to four-thirty. "I'm not sure my Mom will let me out this close to dinner. But I'll try. If I can't, I'll send you an email."

"Please try, Jason."

"I will. I'll -- maybe -- see you soon."

Jason hung up and shook his head. Now what?

He left his room and bounded down the stairs. "Um, Mom? I need to go out again for a bit."

Audrey emerged from the kitchen, still in the midst of tying an apron around herself. "I was just about to get dinner started, Jason."

"Yeah, I know. When will it be ready?"

"About six-thirty. But I don't want you walking in the door with only minutes to spare. You need to set the table for me."

"A quarter after, then?"

"Do you have to go out at all?"

"It's kinda important."

"It always is with you. Wait ... are going to go see that girl that just called you?"

"Yes," Jason answered without thinking.

Audrey paused. "Was that Heather Sovert on the phone? Melinda's sister?"

"I'm not going in order to see Melinda, Mom," Jason said with a tired sigh.

Audrey folded her arms. "I'm more concerned about what I told you before. Melinda might get upset if you've started seeing her sister."

"No, it's not that!" Jason exclaimed. "I mean, I'm just going over to help her with some homework."

Audrey gave him a dubious look.

"Really, I am. She has a term paper due and she's freaking out about it. Please, I want to go help her, Mom."

"You shouldn't do her paper for her..."

"I'm not, I promise."

"Hmm. I've heard that before. I was your age once, you know. I know about girls that get guys to do their work for them."

Jason rolled his eyes, even though he knew his mother hated that gesture. "It's not that. Definitely. I don't do people's term papers for them. I swear. Please?"

Audrey heaved a dramatic sigh. Jason knew that sound. It meant that she was going to acquiesce to keep the peace but she still didn't like it. "All right. But be back by six, not a minute later. If you can't help her by then, it will have to wait until tomorrow."

Jason smiled. He bolted to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best. Thanks, Mom."

He rushed out of the house before her mother could change her mind.

-------

Linda trembled as she stood naked next to the bed, her pussy slick with moisture. Her feet slid apart, and she shifted her weight, both in a vain attempt to ease the pressure in her cunt. "Please, Richie, I-I'd rather do it facing you."

Richie was pulling off his clothes in a very nonchalant manner. "I wanna do you from behind."

Linda swallowed. "I don't like it that way as well. Please..."

"Yeah, but I wanna do it this way. I wanna fuck you from behind."

Linda shivered and moaned, wrapping her arms around herself.

Richie smirked. "You do, too."

Linda averted her eyes and shook her head.

"Yeah, you do. You wanna be fucked, doncha?"

"Y-yes..."

"You love getting fucked by me."

Linda's arousal reached a fever pitch. The insides of her thighs glistened.

Richie pulled off his briefs and tossed them aside. He stepped up to her and squeezed one of her tits. Linda's resistance melted, and she leaned into the touch.

"I'll do whatever you want," Linda panted. "Just ... j-just fuck me ... please..."

Richie grinned. "That's better. Okay, get yer fuckable bod on the bed."

It had taken him nearly a half hour of teasing, but Richie had managed to break down Linda's willpower. She had tried to take more control of their tryst and do things her way. Richie would have none of that.

Worse, she kept asking questions about how he had managed to get control of her in the first place back at the start of the semester. She wanted to know the truth of what had happened.

Complete control was not possible for him anymore. But all he needed was control of her sexual desire, which he seemed to have in abundance. Then it was a simple matter of using it against her. The more she resisted, the more horny he made her until she just couldn't tell him "no."

And she finally stopped asking him so many questions about the past. Who cared about the past? It didn't matter how they got there. It only mattered where they were now.

He lightly stroked himself as he watched Linda climb on the bed. She dropped her head to the pillow, hugging it with her arms, and thrust her ass into the air. Richie eagerly jumped behind her and stared at her helpless pussy.

Richie grabbed her behind, squeezing her ass cheeks. She whimpered, and he paused with his cock pulsing only inches from her slit.

She wanted this,  he told himself, perhaps for the sixth time since he had arrived. It was her fantasy to begin with. I didn't do anything wrong. She wanted to fuck.

"You want this, doncha?" Richie called out suddenly.

"Yes ... yes, please..." Linda called out weakly.

Richie hesitated for another moment before positioning his cock at her entrance and shoving himself inside.

"Uhhhh ... Oh God..." Linda moaned.

Richie rocked his hips, immediately settling into a moderate, steady rhythm. He pulled her towards him with each thrust forward, enjoying the satisfying slap as their bodies impacted.

Linda was panting hard, almost in time to his thrusts. Her head was turned to one side on the pillow, her eyes closed. Caught up in the excitement of the moment, she wanted to move her own hips to his. He kept a firm grip on her, and forced her to his pace.

"I'm doing the fucking here," Richie called out in a strained, breathless voice. "Just sit still."

It was a silly turn of a phrase, at least to Linda's ears. But as addled as her mind was with lust, the humor was lost on her. And she dared not anger Richie, or he might stop and deny her pleasure. It was like an addiction. She had to get her fix.

Linda's whimpers became moans as her pleasure mounted higher. Richie picked up the pace, his hips moving like a piston, the slap of her ass against his body growing louder. Richie was panting heavily, perspiration glistening on his body as he drove himself as hard as he could.

Linda jerked forward each time Richie slammed into her. Her pussy clenched as she soared. Richie groaned loudly as his cock was gripped by her tightened passage. She cried out as she came, her pussy throbbing, her cunt like a thick cocoon around Richie's cock.

Richie tilted his head back as his cock strained near the edge, his movements becoming frenzied and a bit uncoordinated. Finally he let go with a loud cry of "oh fuck!" and shoved it deep inside her, practically collapsing on top of her as he throbbed hard.

His orgasm felt like it went on for a long time. It wound down slowly, his cock still making a few remaining weak throbs as it lost its erection. A huge grin spread across his face as he finally drew back and slipped out of her.

"Oh man ... oh fuck ... that was great..." Richie gushed as he caught his breath. "Wow."

Linda stirred. She groaned and rolled onto her side, then to her back. She placed a shaking hand to her forehead as she breathed heavily.

"See? Toldya you'd like it," Richie drawled.

Linda offered him a forced smile. "I-it was great, Richie," she said in a weak voice.

"Yeah, you liked it. You got off on it, I felt it."

Linda shifted her legs. There was a faint after-ache in her pussy. She simply nodded.

"So why'd you tell me you didn't wanna do it at first, huh?"

Linda hesitated. Did he really want an answer? Now that her lust was quenched, she could think a little more clearly again. He seemed to be able to control her only when she was aroused.

Richie grinned. "Or maybe you don't think that way anymore? Maybe you wanna do it this way next time? Or from now on?"

Linda resisted the urge to tell him yes. Even now she could still feel a slight heat in her pussy, as if he were trying to arouse her again. "I just ... I kind of find that position a little demeaning, Richie. That's all."

Richie's grin faded. "Demeaning? What're you talking about?"

Linda sat up. She saw Richie's cross look and shivered. "Never mind"

"It's fucking. It's not 'demeaning.' Not when you want it, right?"

"I want it, Richie. I do. I just..."

"Yeah, you want it. Just like I said all along."

"But..."

"Getting fucked by me, that's what it's about. Your own fantasy, right?"

Linda drew in a deep breath and let it go as a husky sigh. Her pussy was tingling in renewed arousal. The point she was trying to make was lost to her increasing lust.

Richie saw that she was getting excited again. This pleased him to no end. He wished he could go another round with her, but he doubted he could get it up again in time before he had to head home.

Richie wanted her to do something sexy for him. Maybe if it made him hard again he could have her suck him off before he left.

"Hey, you got any lingerie?" Richie asked. "Like a teddy or lacy underwear or something like that?"

"Lingerie? I don't normally wear that unless..." Her voice faltered. "Unless it's a special occasion."

Richie smirked. "Getting fucked by me ain't special, huh?"

"I-I didn't mean that."

"In fact, maybe I'll have you wear it for me when I come next time."

Linda moaned softly. Her pussy was growing damp again.

"See, you're likin' the idea now, huh?"

"In the dresser," Linda said in a husky voice. "Bottom drawer. A ... a lacy black teddy."

Richie grinned and strolled over to the dresser. He yanked open the drawer and saw what he wanted right away. He grabbed it and straightened up, turning to face the bed.

And suddenly, the scene before him shifted...

-------



"You're not into this, are you?"

Linda hung her head low as she sat up in bed. The lighting was subdued, even romantic. Her body quivered in its silky black teddy. She shook her head despondently without saying a word.

The man sitting on the edge of the bed uttered a windy sigh of disappointment. His shirt was off, his bare chest broad. "Yeah, and I'm not into it anymore either," he muttered.

Linda looked up. Her eyes shimmered. She reached out a trembling hand to his shoulder. "Dan, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just ... it's..."

"Linda, you're just not here. Your body is, but your mind isn't."

"Maybe ... m-maybe if we just go a little longer. Please. I bought this for you! I..."

Dan took her hand and squeezed it. "Yeah, I know you did. The wrapping is great, babe, but there's no present inside."

Linda's eyes misted. She pulled her hand away, her head dropping. She sniffled once, and a tear fell.

"Maybe this long-distance relationship is not going to work," Dan said softly.

"Dan, p-please..."

"Look, Linda, you stopped calling me for, what, nearly a week. Then you'd barely talk to me when I did get through to you, and now you get me to drive to Haven, you throw yourself at me, but you can't go through with it?"

Linda raised her head. Her cheeks shone. She sniffled again and wiped at her eyes and face. "I really wish I could explain what happened, Dan, b-but I don't understand it myself."

Dan sighed. "No, I know what's going on. All too well. You got another guy. Or you did. And that went sour so you're trying to make it up to me."

Linda stared, utterly stricken.

"C'mon, deny it, babe. I wish you would. But you can't, can you?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears again. "It's not like that! I don't know what happened! It was like ... like I wasn't me! ... it..."

Dan looked at her earnestly. "Linda, just tell me it wasn't someone from the high school."

Linda bit her lip and whimpered.

Dan's eyes widened. "Oh fuck, Linda, not one of the students?!"

"I WASN'T MYSELF!" Linda wailed. "S-something ... he ... I was controlled ... I..."

Dan made a face. "Controlled? Oh come on, Linda. Maybe you forgot that you confided in me about your fantasies about teenage boys?"

"No, it wasn't that, it ... Dan? ... Dan, wait!"

Dan had risen to his feet and grabbed his shirt. He shook his head. "Linda, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. You need help."

Linda became too choked up to speak. She could only watch helplessly as he finished buttoning his shirt and gave her a forlorn look. "I really still like you, babe. Maybe if you get your head straightened out, we can hook up again. Until then, it's best I don't know the sordid details."

Dan turned and left the room. Linda struggled to remain in control of her feelings as she heard him make his way down the stairs. Then she heard the front door open and close behind him, and it was too much for her. She burst into tears, burying her face in her hands...



-------

"Richie?"

Richie blinked rapidly, flinching as reality abruptly returned. "What?" he demanded sharply of Linda.

"You ... nothing, you just seemed ... far away for a moment..." Linda said.

Richie frowned. Linda's gaze alighted on the teddy he held. For a brief moment, Richie thought he saw the same grief he had just witnessed in his vision of the past flicker across Linda's eyes of the present.

It was just like the other day, when he was sure that Linda had fantasized about him. Now he was just as sure that Linda had lost a boyfriend because of what Richie...

He suddenly dropped the teddy as if it had become red-hot.

"It didn't happen that way!" Richie blurted, yelling his accusation at the teddy lying on the floor. "That's a lie!"

"Richie? What's wrong?"

Richie looked up, eyes wide. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Um ... nuthin' ... everything's cool," he said in a flat voice. "Uh ... look, I gotta bail. Gotta get home for dinner."

Linda nodded, looking a bit disappointed. She glanced at the teddy on the floor. "You want me to wear that for you next..."

"No!" Richie exploded. "I mean, no, don't wear it. I like you naked better. See ya tomorrow."

"Richie, is something wrong? You..."

Richie fled, leaving a very puzzled Linda in his wake.

-------

Heather wasn't sure she knew her own mind anymore.

What feelings were hers? What had been imposed upon her? Was someone trying to get into her head now? Was Melissa already striking at her somehow?

First Melinda, now Diane. She wasn't lesbian. She wasn't even bisexual. At least she hadn't been before the summer. The House ... or was it Nyssa? What had caused her to feel like this? What had so totally messed her up?

Maybe Jason would know. Maybe he would have some insight. Heather would ask him about it when he arrived. Yet now that she knew he was coming over, her thoughts turned to more prurient interests.

When they did it in the House, he was really good. Melinda was so lucky. Even after the House, he still knew how to please a girl. She wondered if Melinda were being truthful when she claimed that they weren't actually fucking. Heather couldn't imagine Melinda not wanting his cock in her pussy, considering...

Heather moaned. Soft, wet sounds came from behind her panties. Heat rose to her cheeks as she only then realized she had started masturbating.

She pulled her hand from under her jeans and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't talk to him in this state. Maybe she should...

Heather came out of her lust-soaked reverie with a jerk. Her head snapped around, her hair flying. An image had come into her head. It was fuzzy and indistinct, and she had to concentrate to force it into further clarity.

Finally she saw Jason ringing the doorbell. It disturbed her father, who was on a conference call. He snapped at Jason in irritation and suggested from now on he confine his visits to weekends.

Heather gasped. No, it had not happened, but it was about to. It had been so long since she had a precognitive flash that she almost failed to recognize it. And with as hard as it was to see, it had only been the sense of urgency that had caused her to notice it at all.

Heather jumped out of bed, wiping her wet fingers on her jeans. She yanked the door open and flew down the stairs. Already she could hear her father's muffled voice from the den. He was having a heated debate with someone on the phone. No wonder he would have blown up at Jason.

She dashed across the living room at a dead run, nearly colliding with the door. After a mad scramble with the lock, the door flew open.

Jason's hand was already raised, his finger extended to push the button. He blinked in surprise when Heather batted his hand away.

"Heather, what... ?"

"Shhh!!" Heather hissed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. "My Dad's working in the den, I don't want to disturb him."

Jason nodded in understanding. Heather said not a word until they were on the stairs. "He probably won't hear us up in the bedroom," she said. The needful ache in her pussy seemed to get worse at her own words. The movement of her thighs lightly pleasured her sensitized sex, driving her to distraction until they reached the top, where Jason looked at her expectantly.

Heather blinked. "Huh?"

"I asked you if you could tell me what this was about."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you. Uh ... not out here, in ... i-in the bedroom."

Her voice grew husky. A wave of heat flooded her body.

"Are you okay, Heather?" Jason asked warily.

"Yes ... no, I'm not, Jason, that's why I called you over. Please, let's go."

Heather took him into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. She turned and gave him a smoldering look.

Jason's eyes widened. "Um ... Heather?"

She stepped away from the door. "Yes?"

"Maybe ... maybe we shouldn't leave the door closed."

"I don't want Dad to hear us."

Jason nodded slowly. "We're just going to talk, right?"

"Talk? Yes, talk. Yes, I'm sorry." Heather shook her head and sighed, placing a hand over her eyes for a moment. "Jason, something's really messed up with me."

"Heather, you didn't have a run-in with Melissa did you?"

Jason's eyes roamed over her body. Heather felt a new rush of arousal at his scrutiny, even though she knew it was not for sexual reasons. "No, Jason, at least I don't think so. I don't have an Aura. But I don't know what's going on."

"But something happened to you?"

"Diane confessed her feelings towards me. She said you knew already."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I knew. She wanted me to keep it quiet. I'm glad she came out with it, though. Is that what's wrong?"

Heather swallowed. "Jason, it's too much. Melinda, Diane, you..."

"Me?"

"I should never have had sex with you, Jason. I still feel attracted to Melinda, and now Diane, and you ... it's like I can't turn myself off!"

Jason thought furiously. It was difficult, as Heather was edging closer to him as she spoke, and he could see the desire in her eyes. He was responding to it as well. His cock already stirred in his jeans. "Heather, the only thing I can think of is this is something left over from Nyssa..."

Heather sighed. "I know, I know. Nyssa made me want Melinda. Or made me want her more. The House made me want her, or made me highly sexed. But I can't ... I can't..."

"Heather, maybe repressing it is what's causing the problem."

Heather stared. "What?"

"Maybe if you and Melinda ... well, gave into this, you wouldn't be so bad off. She's really the object of your affections right now, isn't she?"

Heather was panting lightly. Her eyes roamed over Jason's body. "You're getting horny too, aren't you?"

Jason took a deep breath. "Never mind that."

"You are. I can tell. You're getting hard."

"Heather, don't, you'll just regret ... you'll ... uhh..."

Heather rubbed Jason's crotch. "Please, Jason, do it with me. Please ... maybe one more time will do it for me."

It was a struggle for Jason to resist. Every fiber of his body screamed to let Heather do what she wanted with him. "Heather, stop ... I can't ... you're not making it any easier. I just said that..."

Heather unzipped his jeans.

" ... th-that it doesn't work like this. You'll still want to ... uhhn ... oh man..."

Heather's fingers rubbed the bulge of his cock through his briefs.

"Just keep quiet," Heather whispered. "Dad won't know we're up here. We'll be done before Melinda gets home. Just play along with me."

Jason panted as lust swept over him. "O-okay ... whatever you want..." he moaned.

-------

Melinda was angry at the world.

Everything seemed to be going against her. They had another power-hungry minion of the Darkness to worry about at school; Heather was trying to boss her around again; Richie was pulling this crap with her favorite teacher; Jason never seemed to have enough time for her anymore; and everyone was getting mad at her whenever she wanted to speak her mind.

It was all so unfair.

It was all Heather's fault. She was the one with the perverted desire for her little sister. Melinda was sure she didn't have even an ounce of desire for Heather in all the time since she hit puberty. Not once! It was all Heather's idea.

Melinda glanced at the house on the corner and frowned when she caught a glimpse of the blinds suddenly snapping back into place in the living room window. She frowned. The old lady that lived there had been looking at her again.

Shortly after Melinda had arrived and staked out a place behind the large oak tree, the elderly lady had come to the end of her walk demanding to know what Melinda was doing. Melinda got cheeky with her, claiming it was a free country and she could damn well stand next to a tree if she wanted to. Since then, the old lady had been watching her warily from the house.

Melinda came out from behind the tree and looked down the street. Miss Davis was the fifth house from the corner. She could still see Richie's bike near the door. What a loser,  Melinda thought. What a noob. He doesn't even know how to hide that he's there. He... 

"Eep!"

Richie had come barreling out of the house so fast that Melinda was still standing out in full view as he mounted his bike. She ducked behind the tree in a panic.

Barely seconds later, Richie was pedaling away like blue blazes, zipping past Melinda's tree and turning down the cross street in a whir of wheel and a blur of motion. Melinda barely caught a glimpse of him disappearing down the lee side of the hill when she peeked out again.

Melinda glanced at her watch and cursed. She swore Richie did that on purpose, as if he knew she was watching him. It was just late enough that there would not be enough time to see Jason before dinner.

"Damn you, Richie!" Melinda cried.

"What are you babbling about out there?"

Melinda whirled around. The old lady was at the front gate again, a scowl creasing her already heavily lined face.

"None of you business," Melinda snapped.

"Don't you sass me, young lady! Why aren't you in school? Kids these days are just out of control, I tell you! I have half a mind..."

"That's obvious."

"You little brat! What's your name? I'll give your parents a good talking to, I will! I..."

"Shut up, you old bat."

The old lady gasped in shock. Melinda blushed furiously at her own disrespect. She muttered an apology and dashed away.

-------

"Jason, no, wait. Wait."

Jason looked up. His hands had already spread Heather's thighs apart, her pussy wet and glistening under him. The aroma from her intense arousal made his cock ache, and he longed to taste her again. "What is it?"

"I want to do something different. I ... just come here and lie on your back."

Jason gave Heather a puzzled look. It turned to one of disappointment when Heather pulled out from under him and scrambled off the bed. "Heather, I don't understand, what..."

"Please, do as I say." She grinned. "If you want to cum, that is."

Jason shivered and nodded quickly. He was aware of what she was doing. She was taking advantage of his odd submissive streak to make him do what she wanted. Part of him railed against it, but he could do nothing to stop it. The more she tied her commands to sexual reward, the more he wanted to obey.

Heather hurried over to her dresser and yanked open a drawer. Just as Jason settled onto his back and turned his head, Heather stood up and returned carrying a small, square packet.

"What is that?" Jason asked.

Heather just smiled at him and tore it open. She plucked the condom out and tossed the packaging away.

Jason's eyes widened and he struggled to sit up. "Wait, we can't do that! I told Melinda..."

"It's okay, Jason. I'll be on top, they'll be less chance of leakage."

"No, that's not what I mean, I ... Heather, wait... "

Jason let his breath go as a breathy moan as Heather fit the condom around the head and rolled it down the shaft. She gave him several firm strokes to make sure the condom was secure, eliciting a deeper moan from him.

"H-Heather, I promised Melinda I wouldn't... " he said weakly.

Heather barely heard him. She panted with mounting excitement, and her body trembled with desire. She straddled him and reached between her legs. She grabbed his cock, giving it another few firm strokes to silence his remaining protests. She positioned him at her entrance and dropped her hips down upon him in a single fluid movement.

Jason gasped as his cock penetrated her tunnel, enveloped in her tight depths.

"Oh my God..." Heather moaned, dipping her head, her hair spilling over Jason's shoulders and neck. She closed her eyes, her mouth open as she panted through her parted lips. It had been so long since she had last felt a cock in her pussy that she wanted to savor the moment. She sank down, driving him deep inside her. She wriggled her hips just to feel the fullness inside her.

Heather finally drew herself up, planting a hand on either side of Jason. She started to piston her hips against him, humping him hard and fast. "Oh yeah ... oh God..." Heather moaned. "I really missed this..."

Jason lay limp, submitting to her completely. Dimly he realized that this was wrong. He was being influenced by Heather's need, and Heather was oversexed because of her own desires gone awry. He struggled to break the cycle. He placed his hands on her sides as if intending to push her away. But as Heather continued to hump him and his pleasure rose, the spark of resistance faded. His hands dropped from her sides and fell limply to the bed.

We're not even being directly controlled,  Jason thought through the haze of lust. But we can't even control ourselves.

Heather must have also come to the same realization, for she called out in a panting, desperate voice, "Jason ... I'm sorry ... I can't help myself ... oh God ... oh yeah!"

They bounced against the bed as Heather stepped up the pace, her hips pounding against Jason harder than he had ever seen her in even their hottest sessions at the House.

"Uhhn! ... oh God ... I won't do this again ... I p-promise ... I... "

Heather threw her head back and barely stifled a loud cry. There was a quick, strong splash where they joined, running down the inside of Jason's thighs in small rivulets. Heather buried him inside her and gyrated her body against his. Jason strained hard at the edge until the movement against the inside of her cunt sent him over the edge. He gasped as he came, his cock throbbing hard inside her.

The two of them fell limp, Heather draped heavily atop him. They were barely coherent for another few moments. It was Jason that managed to recover first. "Heather, the condom..." he croaked.

"Yes ... yes, I know," Heather said, rising after a brief struggle and letting him slip out of her. She looked at it and heaved a relieved sigh when she saw it had remained intact. "Here, I'll help you with that."

Jason just nodded. He watched Heather slip it from his flagging cock and wrinkle her nose. "That's another reason I don't use these," she said as she handed it to Jason, gesturing towards the wastepaper basket. "They're really messy to deal with after and it kind of kills the mood. Oh, make sure you hide it under the stuff that's already..."

SLAM!

Jason stopped with his arm halfway to the wastepaper basket. Heather simply stared, eyes wide.

Melinda's face was a frozen mask of shock, fury, and hurt.

After a few awkward seconds of silence that seemed to last an eternity, Jason finally said in a weak voice, "Um, I better take care of this..."

"That's right, Jason, go take care of it!" Melinda cried, her body quivering with rage. "Go hide it before Melinda gets here! Don't let her find out how you just fucking cheated on her!"

Jason hastily threw the condom away as Heather slid off the bed. "Melinda, it was your idea for me to..."

"I didn't tell him to stick it in you!"

"Melinda, keep your voice down!"

"SHUT UP!" Melinda screamed. "I don't fucking take orders from you!"

Jason ran a hand through his hair. His heart pounded in increasing panic, his eyes flitting to the door. "Melinda, please, let us talk to you for a minute. There's something going on here that you don't know about..."

"I know what I just saw!" Melinda screeched, her eyes liquid. "Jason, you promised ... you promised me you wouldn't..."

Jason stared helplessly as tears streamed down Melinda's face.

Heather sighed and covered her eyes with her hand. "Melinda, will you just listen for a minute?!"

"Why, s-so you can just tell me more lies? So you can boss me around and tell me what to do?"

"It's not like that!"

"The hell it's not! You want everything! You always did! Now you want Jason, too!"

"No! I don't! I just ... we just got carried away!"

Jason looked at Heather. No, it was more a case that she got carried away, not him. She took advantage of a weakness. Jason felt some resentment over that, but expressing it would just add fuel to Melinda's fury.

Melinda stared at the two of them, her eyes flicking back and forth, as if she were trying to find some truth in what they were saying. Her gaze returned to Heather. She sniffled once and wiped in annoyance at her face.

Heather glanced at Jason. She caught the look in Jason's eyes that Melinda had just missed. She felt a twinge of guilt as she realized what she had done. She only dimly remembered now Jason mentioning that he had promised Melinda something. She had been so caught up in her own lust that it had not even registered, or she had ignored it.

Heather looked back to Melinda. "This is sort of my fault, Melinda, don't be mad at Jason."

Melinda stared. "Sort of your fault?! You always have a fucking excuse!"

Heather's head jerked around in alarm. She stared at the door and gasped. This time the image had come with shocking clarity, so much so that it nearly appeared superimposed atop the reality of the bedroom.

"You always want to try and blame someone or something else!"

"Melinda, stop it! Be quiet!"

"You're such a fucking loser! You... !"

Alarm became panic. She jumped to her feet and ignored Melinda. "Jason! Quick! Hide! Before..."

"What the HELL is going on up here?"

The room descended into a second shocked silence.

In the doorway, Penny Sovert stood with her hand still on the door knob, staring with an anger that was turning quickly to confusion.

"Oh my God..." Heather murmured.

Penny's eyes narrowed on her older daughter's nude form. When her eyes shifted to Jason, he blushed deeply and yanked a sheet over his body.

"Penny, what's going on up there?" came a voice from downstairs. "What's all the racket?"

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Melinda gasped, her face one of sheer panic.

Penny turned her head. "I'm taking care of it David. You can go back to work."

The footsteps stopped. There was a loud sigh, and then the footsteps resumed, this time retreating. Penny turned her gaze to the others, her eyes now burning with anger. She stepped fully inside and slammed the door behind her. "You are all damn lucky I happened to come home when I did."

The fear that the others had felt in the presence of Penny Sovert was waning. Instead, they now focused on the black miasma of her Dark Aura. It flowed around her body like thick, oily smoke. Jason could sense excitement from it.

Despite knowing what her mother represented, Melinda was so upset that she switched into child mode, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, this is all Heather's fault! She's trying to steal Jason from me! She..."

"Melinda, no!" Heather hissed as she stepped forward.

"Melinda, don't discuss anything with her!" Jason called out. "You can't! She's..."

"Jason, get your clothes back on right now," Penny's voice rang out with parental authority. "And go home. You are no longer welcome in this house."

Melinda gasped. "Mom! No!"

"Every time he's here, he's disruptive. I will not tolerate this any longer in my house."

Melinda's mouth dropped open. Her lower lip quivered as tears poured from her eyes. She whirled around, her eyes blazing fury at Heather. "This is all your fault, you bitch!"

"MELINDA!" Penny shouted.

Melinda bit her lower lip hard and whimpered.

Jason was trying not to let Melinda's emotions get to him. He was staring hard at Penny.

"So help me, Melinda, I will ground you for the rest of the year if I hear you use language like that in this house again." Her eyes shifted to Jason. "Stop that."

Jason ignored her and continued to stare. There wasn't any point now in hiding his ability. The fact that she had told him to stop meant she knew exactly what he was doing. If she knew, the Darkness knew as well. It was likely the Darkness had discovered it at the restaurant, when Jason told the others to remain quiet.

"I said stop it! Unless you want me to inform your parents of what you were doing here."

And then Jason broke through.

Keep them apart ... break them up ... hinder them ... stop them... 

Jason turned away and looked at Melinda. "Melinda, don't blame Heather for this. This is just an excuse for your mother to try and break up the group."

Melinda stared, stricken.

"Melinda, isn't this a little early for your mother to be home? Isn't it a bit odd she happened on us now?"

Heather's mouth dropped open. She hadn't made the connection herself until Jason explained it. Now she glared accusingly at her mother. "Is that it, Mom?" she said, defiance creeping into her voice. "You got sent here just so you can catch us? So you can do whatever it tells you? Again?"

Melinda wanted to stay angry at Heather and Jason. She felt betrayed. But she could see the Aura for herself, much more sharply defined for her than anyone else. She sniffled and turned back towards her mother. She let her gaze focus again on the blackness and reminded herself of how her mother had let such horrible things happen to her when Nyssa was around.

"Yeah," Melinda said, wiping at her face again. "Yeah, Mom. He's disruptive. Maybe he'll try and stop Heather from making me a slave again, huh?"

Penny's jaw tightened. "That is quite enough from you, young lady. I will not discuss this matter any further. Jason, you will be dressed and out of this house in two minutes or I will call your parents. Heather and Melinda..."

She paused. Jason held his breath, his heart pounding. Now comes the hammer. Now she'll ground them so they can't go anywhere. He sensed a growing agitation from her Aura.

Penny's eyes softened a touch. Melinda's eyes were indignant and angry. Heather's were silently pleading.

"Heather and Melinda," Penny repeated. "Your phone and internet privileges are suspended for two weeks."

Melinda stared at her mother in shock and looked about to protest. Heather stepped forward and placed a hand heavily on her shoulder and squeezed. Melinda viciously yanked herself from Heather's grip, but she subsided and remained silent.

Penny was quiet for a moment as if daring anyone to defy her. She looked at Jason. "Two minutes. And if I catch you looking at me like that again, you'll regret it."

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jason jumped out of bed and scooped up his clothes. He turned to Melinda and whispered, "Melinda, is your home network wireless?"

Melinda looked surprised at the question. "Jason, what the hell does that have to do with..."

"Please, just answer me."

"I think it is, Jason," Heather said. "When Dad installed it, he put a router in his office. It has two antennas on it. He stuck a card in our PC but didn't run any wires to it."

Jason nodded. "Okay, unless your Dad pulls the wireless card out of the computer, he'll probably just change the WEP key to cut your access. There's a few unsecured networks in the neighborhood. I'll give you directions on how to latch on to one."

"Jason, I don't understand this computer stuff!" Melinda piped.

"Melinda, never mind, okay?" Heather cried, exasperated. "I'll do it."

"I'm still mad at you! Don't think I'm not!"

"Fine. Be mad at me. But Jason's right, Mom didn't just happen to come home right now."

"The Darkness must have some sort of new ability," Jason said quietly as he quickly dressed. "I've wondered about this for awhile now. It can sense when we're having sex in certain places. Probably because your mother is ... well, in league with it."

"But that means we can't do it here anymore," Melinda whined. "Now what are we going to do?"

"I may have something. But I need to talk to Cassie first."

"Cassie? What does she... ?"

"I don't have time to explain it now. I'll have to talk to you tomorrow."

"But... !"

"Melinda, back off!" Heather declared. "Please. He has to get out of here."

Melinda pouted, but she managed to stop herself from stamping her foot like a peevish child. "Shit, I don't know who to be mad at anymore. Why didn't you know Mom was coming, Heather?"

"I didn't get a precog of it until just before she got here. I'm sorry!" Heather cried at Melinda's accusing look. "I can't control it, all right? Sometimes it comes in time for me to do something, sometimes it doesn't. I'm just as frustrated about it as anyone else!"

Melinda did not look mollified, but she remained quiet.

Jason glanced at the clock. He stuffed his feet into his sneakers and simply tucked the laces into the sides. "All right, I'll see you two tomorrow."

Melinda stepped in front of Jason before he could reach the door and gave him a tight hug. Jason hugged her back. He smiled at her and exited the room.



-------

Chapter 11


The room was still dark despite the approach of dawn. There was an occasional soft pattering against the bay window when the breeze blew up the side of the mesa, interspersed with Cassie's pants. In the bed, Cassie was still asleep, deep in dream. She writhed as if struggling to escape.

She moaned and rolled from her side to her back. Her eyes flitted back and forth behind their lids in a frenzy. Her lips parted as her breathing grew heavy. One hand groped at her nightgown, pulling it up. One leg slid to the side, stretching wet panties across her mound.

Cassie's pants became gasps. Suddenly her eyes flickered open. She lay for a moment in a twilight between dream and real, then drew in a sharp, deep breath and let it go as a low moan. Her head tilted back as her pussy throbbed.

Cassie swallowed and draped a hand over her eyes as she waited for her orgasm to fade. With one last moan, she rose to a seated position and rubbed at her bleary eyes.

She puzzled over the darkness of the room and slipped out of bed. Her nipples were still stiff and tingly from her dream as the fabric of the nightgown slid over them. She took a few deep breaths to center herself again.

She looked out the bay window, brushing aside the curtain with her hand. Haven could barely be seen in the valley below, obscured behind low bands of off-white and slate-gray. The mountains on the other side of town faded in and out behind gauzy fog. Rain and tiny ice pellets briefly lashed against the glass when a stiff wind rose.

Cassie turned and sat down, her back to the window, and shivered.

Her lucid dreaming was close to a breakthrough. She thought she had managed to peek at Melissa and what she had done the day before. She thought she saw an office, and Melissa talking to an older woman. It might have been the school principal.

But that was not what had her worried now, or what had caused her spontaneous orgasm upon waking. It was the other dream, the one that had come to her unbidden.

Cassie glanced at the clock. She was anxious to talk to Jason, but it was too early.

She took the time to get a shower first. Afterward, she called on her personal hairdresser to dry and arrange her hair. Cassie hated having to do this. She would be just as content with a simple ponytail or a braid she arranged herself. But her mother would have a fit if she discovered that Cassie had come out of her room in anything less than a state of coiffed perfection.

Once her hairdresser left, she pondered her dream again.

Ever since she had learned that her dreams were visions of other people's realities, she was able to take a step back and examine them more critically. Until that point, she had always had one foot in the dreamworld for most of her day. It made relating to people difficult. Now she had learned how to detach herself from it.

For instance, if this had been just a month ago, she would not be able to think of her dream without the possibility of cumming again.

Cassie shook her head. She wasn't going to learn any more on her own. She picked up her cell phone and called Jason.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you last night," Cassie said once Jason gave her the all-clear to talk. "It was late in the evening when I got your email. I spent most of yesterday with my parents. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I wanted to know if you knew anyone named Reginald Yonce."

Cassie blinked in surprise. "Reggie Yonce? Yes, I know the name. What about him?"

"I was going to ask you that," said Jason. "Any way he would know about the Harbingers?"

Cassie's eyes widened. "Yonce? No way. I never breathed a word about any of this to my parents or their associates. Anyway, he's not even home. He's been out of the country for the last week or so and won't be back until next month."

"Hmm."

"Jason, what's this all about? How did you come up with that name?"

Jason told her about the letter. "I did some more Googling on the address late last night and came up with that name."

"Well, he does live in Mesa View Estates, so I suppose the address is valid. But it doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, tell me about it. And this has a local postmark. No way this Yonce fellow could have mailed it from out of the country. And you're sure that there's no way your parents know about what's going on in Haven?"

"Positive, Jason. If my father is at all interested in Haven, it's for the real estate. He could care less what else is going on. Reggie Yonce is an investor that father has dealt with in the past. I can't imagine him finding out by himself."

Jason sighed. "All right ... So then someone else sent this. It looks like it was dashed off in a hurry."

"Hand-written?"

"Yes."

"Then it's definitely not from Yonce. He has a secretary print even the smallest notes on monogrammed stationery with a fancy font from a printer."

"Then it might be a hoax. Or someone trying to set a trap."

Cassie bit her lower lip. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet."

"We really need a place to meet, Jason. I'm close to a breakthrough with Melissa. Maybe this is someone we know trying to help us?"

"I'd like to believe that, Cassie," Jason said in a tired voice. "But I have to be careful."

"We have to be careful. Please, Jason, don't go off on your own on this, not ... not with the problems you're having."

"I didn't mean ... wait, what are talking about? What problems?"

Cassie sensed the challenging tone in his voice. "Jason ... I had a dream last night. You, Melinda, and Heather were in it."

Jason fell silent.

Cassie's insides fluttered nervously. "Jason, I didn't try to have this dream, it just came to me, I..."

"It's okay, Cassie," Jason said a bit sharply. There was a pause, and then in a more contrite voice, "I know how your dreams normally work. How much do you know?"

"It was really vivid and clear." Too clear, she thought with a shiver as she recalled her orgasm. "Heather seduced you, didn't she? She was just ... crazy with lust. And Melinda got really mad when she caught you. And then her mother..."

"I get the picture," Jason said sourly. There was a pause and then a deep sigh. "Yeah, it's a mess. Don't blame Heather, though, please."

"I don't want to blame anyone, Jason, but there's something very wrong."

Cassie gripped the phone tightly in one hand and fidgeted anxiously with one of her curls with the other. Despite how close a friendship she had forged with Jason, she sometimes still worried she would somehow lose it.

For such a long time, people had shunned her because of her dream abilities. But in the last month, she had made more friends than she ever had her entire life. But this meant she had very little experience in maintaining a friendship.

"Cassie, I know. I figured that out yesterday," said Jason.

Cassie uttered a sigh of relief. She knew him enough to tell that he was sincere and not just trying to placate her.

"I have to be careful around Heather and Melinda. If either of them attempt a sexual advance towards me..."

Cassie heard the quaver in his voice. It was embarrassing for him to talk about it. She felt guilty for pressing the point, but she couldn't let it get swept under the rug. "Is it limited to just them?"

"Well, I think it's worse with Melinda, just because we're involved. But for all I know, I might have trouble if you tried something."

Cassie's eyes widened, and she blushed. "Jason, I wouldn't..."

"Oh, I know, I was just saying."

Cassie tugged on her hair too hard and winced. Her thoughts were going where she didn't want them. It had reminded her of her date that evening. Now her nether regions tingled again.

"Um, a-anyway ... what can we do about it?"

"We have to go back to meeting as a group, Cassie. It's not just me being submissive. It's Heather being oversexed. I suspect something's going on with Diane as well. I hate to ask this, Cassie, but have you been having any trouble?"

"Um, you mean like... ?" She trailed off, unable to say the words.

"Unexplained sexual urges. Or just normal ones that are really strong."

Cassie hesitated. She squeezed her legs together. Heat flared. "Um ... no ... not really."

She felt a twinge of guilt. Should she have said something about her feelings for Ned? No, that was likely not an issue. It was just her excitement over going out with him. She had so little experience at dating. For all she knew, lots of girls reacted this way.

But it felt a lot like the urges for Richie before...

Cassie shook her head. That was different. She felt no compunction to dominate Ned.

"Okay, good. Cassie, I have to figure out what to do. This has to be straightened out. It'll just tear the group apart if it keeps up."

His voice was heavy and strained. Cassie felt a surge of sympathy for him. She sorely wished she was of more help to him. She searched for something to say to him, though the lingering warmth in her sex distracted her.

"If Melinda wasn't so stubborn," Jason muttered "And Heather wasn't so confrontational with her. If they would just ... well, if ... um ... never mind"

"No, what is it, Jason? If they would just what?"

Jason paused for a long moment. "Cassie, what started all this is that Heather is still attracted to Melinda. And she can ... influence Melinda. She tries not to, but..."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Oh my ... n-no, I didn't know that. But ... but that does make some other dreams I've had make a little more sense. I thought I was reading them wrong. Goodness!"

"So Heather is dealing with a desire for her sister, and Melinda wants her to direct it elsewhere."

Cassie looked shocked and then incensed. "And she tried to direct it on you?! I know she's your girlfriend, Jason, but that was not fair!"

"Like I said, it's a mess. Listen, Cassie, I have to go, I still have to finish getting ready for school. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Jason. Later."

Cassie quietly hung up the phone.

She remained still and deeply thoughtful. After a long moment, thoughtful turned to determination, and she set about getting ready for school.

-------

"You're going to be late, Jason!"

Jason rolled his eyes as he arranged his backpack. "I'm almost done, Mom!"

"If you miss the bus, you're...

" ... taking myself to school, I know."

Jason realized that he was stalling. He was not looking forward to this day at all. He feared he was going to be minus one friend when it was over.

Jason had given Richie as many chances as he could. He had felt betrayed when Richie went over to Nyssa in the first place. Then after Nyssa was defeated, it seemed Richie was making the effort to get along with everyone better. But now there was this issue with Linda Davis, and Jason again felt betrayed, as if it had all been just a facade to gain their trust.

He was angry with Richie for putting him in this position. What was the point of defeating Nyssa and freeing those under her control if Richie was just going to take advantage of it again? Did he really care so much more for his own pleasure than what was right?

He finished packing and zipped up his backpack. He felt a flutter of anxiety in his stomach. He had decided on a new approach to finding the proof he needed, but he didn't like it any better than forcing Cassie to do something she didn't want.

Jason grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He bounded down the stairs, took another brief rebuke from his mother for it, and kissed her on the cheek before barreling out of the house.

The air was cold and slick. The rain seemed to float like mist. When the breeze blew, it felt like little icy needles against his face. One foot threatened to slide out from under him on the soggy leaves that carpeted the sidewalk. He drew his jacket around himself and shivered as he stepped to the curb.

Despite having settled on a course of action, he felt lost. He had to call Richie out, but wasn't sure what he should do if Richie refused to stop. He had to sort out the mess with Melinda and Heather, but he was too vulnerable to being influenced by them. He had to check if the offer of the house was safe, but had nowhere to start.

He sighed as his glasses fogged up with fall moisture. The weather was apropos for his mood: cold, dark, and gloomy.

-------

"Hey!"

Richie roughly shoved a book into his tattered backpack. He looked up and frowned. "What?"

Sandra leaned against the door frame, still clad in only her bathrobe, her hair still damp from the shower. Her arms were folded tightly, but her face seemed to vacillate between an expression more appropriate to her stance and something softer. Her eyes shimmered slightly.

"Are you going to be out again this afternoon, Richie?" Sandra asked.

"What's it to you?"

Anger flared in her eyes for a moment but quickly faded. "I just want to know, that's all. You ... you're going over to Miss Davis' house again?"

Richie just shrugged and dropped his eyes. His jaw tightened as he battled the dream imagery in his head. The longer he remained in his room, the more it seemed to want to grab him, as if wanting to pull him into their world.

"It's okay if you want to, you know."

Richie looked up again and sneered. "Yeah, right."

"No, I-I mean it, it's okay."

Richie's eyes narrowed. Sandra's hips shifted. "Just like the nurse, huh?"

Sandra's eyes widened briefly. "The nurse? What the fuck did you mean by that?"

Richie gritted his teeth. He viciously shoved another notebook into his pack and tried to yank the zipper closed with one corner still sticking out. He pounded it with his fist, gave up, and threw the partially open backpack on the floor. "You're getting off on this."

Sandra gave him a shocked look but said nothing in reply. She straightened up and shifted her weight again.

"Yeah, you are. You're getting off on the idea of me fucking Miss Davis."

"Richie, I want you to stop talking like this!" Sandra declared. "How did you get such a filthy mouth?"

"Listenin' to you, I guess," Richie quipped before he could stop himself.

Hurt appeared in Sandra's eyes. Richie bit his lip. He almost apologized. Hurt quickly became anger, but then the anger faded again. The Aura around her seemed to congeal. "I just want you to be happy, Richie."

"And you think fucking Miss Davis will make me happy, huh?"

Sandra shivered. "Yes ... yes, it's what you want, isn't it?"

Richie remained silent. He could hear his mother panting lightly. He stared intently at her.

Sandra frowned. "What the hell are you staring at?"

For once, Richie wished he had some ability like the others. He wished he could hear the Auras. Was the Darkness talking to her now? Was it whispering in her ear? Did it want him to continue with Linda Davis?

"I'm not part of that, Mom!" Richie exclaimed. "No way!"

"Part of what?"

He ignored her. "I'm doing this on my own. Because I want to. Not because you do, or because... " He waved vaguely at her Aura.

Then for a moment, Sandra's eyes appeared to clear, and there was lucidity to them. But Richie had seen that before, and he stopped getting excited about it. No, she was gone. She didn't care. She gave up fighting it. In his mind, she was the Darkness' slut for hire. So much for motherly love.

"Just don't hurt her, Richie," Sandra said in a soft voice.

The images would not go away. No matter how hard he tried, they pulled at his consciousness as if alive. They tried to draw his attention to them. But at that moment, he wanted his attention on his anger. It was all he had that he could understand.

Sandra's voice grew increasingly strained, as if she were struggling to talk. The Dark Aura swirled around her like a miniature maelstrom. "Don't ... p-push her too hard ... just..."

It was too much for him. The frustration inside his head combined with his anger and made him explode.

"Yeah, don't hurt her! What, you think maybe you can get at her through me? Well, no fucking way! She's mine! Not yours! And she doesn't belong to this stupid, motherfucking Darkness shit either! She never will! Because I won't fucking give her up!"

Richie grabbed his backpack and stormed out of the room.

Sandra stumbled out of the way. "Richie, wait!"

Richie ran down the stairs. "Shut up. Just shut up!"

"Richie, don't talk to your mother like that!"

Richie stopped at the bottom of the stairs and whirled around and bellowed, "You don't even know how to be a mother!"

Sandra just stared, stricken.

For a moment, his face betrayed guilt. His mouth moved as if he wanted to say something. He sniffled once and swiped at his eyes before they blazed back into full anger. He turned and ran out the door.

Sandra drew back from the railing. She gasped as the despair that was rising up inside her was drowned by a wave of pleasure. She leaned against the wall just outside Richie's bedroom, her thighs quaking. She moaned and slid slowly to the floor, her feet spreading wide as her robe fell open. Her pussy swam in liquid heat.

The Aura around her body slithered over her like a snake, sliding between her legs and bringing her to an orgasm that made her pant like an animal in heat.

He will continue to see Miss Davis. Good girl.

Sandra wrapped her arms around her knees and moaned helplessly in another orgasm. A single tear slid down her cheek.

-------

It did not take long for Melissa to realize that she had a shadow.

She had a sense for these things now. She knew he had been tagging along behind her for the past week. She thought perhaps he was simply enamored of her in his sick and twisted little way. But after she had spoken to Principal Bendon, it made so much more sense.

She had tolerated it. It had even amused her. But now it needed to come to an end. Besides, it would serve as a wonderful test, not to mention entertainment.

Melissa sauntered into school, shedding her jacket as soon as she was inside and casually slung it back over one shoulder. She swung her hips as she walked, her tight jeans cupping her ass cheeks and making them move in a provocative dance. Her blouse was stretched tight over her bosom, buttons straining and revealing the curve of her breasts in her lacy bra.

Several boys stole glances at her, though some immediately looked panicked that she might happen to turn around and catch them in the act.

She came alongside her quarry, leaned on the locker, and said in a husky voice, "Hello, you sexy boy."

Ned turned his head, yelped, and spilled half his books on the floor.

For a moment he just stared. His eyes flicked over the inky fog that enveloped her body. It did nothing to obscure her curves, which drew his gaze more than the Aura did. Finally, he gave her a nervous smile. "Um ... ya must be mistakin' me fer someone else. Sexy boy? Pfft. Ain't called Ned the Nose for nuthin'."

"Mmm, really?" Melissa raised a finger and touched it to the bridge of Ned's nose.

Ned nearly flinched, his mouth dropping open.

Melissa smiled. She slid her fingertip gently down his bulbous nose. "Perhaps this is not the only thing that's... big ... about you?"

Ned would have laughed at the comment in any other context. It was the silliest pickup line he had ever heard. But humor failed him when his cock abruptly inflated in his briefs, hardening faster than he thought possible. Flushing with embarrassment, he grabbed his belt and yanked it back and forth until his cramped manhood was partially freed, snapping to its full length behind his briefs.

Melissa slid towards him. Ned drew in his breath sharply and held it. The lockers behind him rattled as he backed into them.

"So ... you want to go out with me, is that it?" she cooed.

"Um ... what ... what gave ya that idea?" Ned asked in a shaky voice.

"Well, the way you've been following me around like a little puppy dog for one."

Ned swallowed, his heart pounding. "Oh, ah, well, that ... er, we are in the same classes ya know."

Melissa giggled. "A convenient little excuse to follow me and think I won't notice. But I do know these things, Ned."

"Uh ... y-yeah, I can tell ... um... "

His cock tingled. Light pleasure radiated from it as if it were being stroked.

"Can you do a good impression of a dog, Ned?"

Ned stared in shock. "Huh??"

"Since you like to follow me around like a puppy, maybe you want to act the part."

"Um, no, if it's all the same to ya, I... "

His cheeks burned hot with humiliation as he felt the urge suddenly rise within him to bark. The pleasure rose in his cock precipitously, his breathing short and heavy. His embarrassment grew when he realized he sounded just like a panting dog.

"The more you think about acting like a puppy, the more excited you get."

Ned clenched his teeth. He appeared as if he wanted to sink into the lockers and disappear from sight. His cock strained as the stimulation soared. His resistance was waning. Faint, dog-like growling sounds bubbled in his throat.

Melissa grinned evilly. "Which will it be? Bark for me, or cream in your pants for me?"

Ned's fingers curled. One gripped the handle of a locker and held on as if for dear life. His cock strained hard near the edge.

Ned clenched his teeth so hard that they hurt, his hips jerking once. Sticky warmth flooded his crotch as his cock throbbed. He gasped as his orgasm seemed to drag on for a long time, soaking his briefs and causing a single tiny dark stain on his jeans.

At once, the urge to bark disappeared. He sagged against the lockers and moaned softly.

"That was an interesting choice, Ned," Melissa said with a giggle. "I guess you don't get to be my puppy after all. So you might as well stop following me like one."

Ned swallowed hard and nodded, not daring to trust his voice.

Melissa smiled and left.

-------

As Cassie exited the car, Harry smartly snapped open an umbrella for her. She held her head high with a greater confidence than she actually felt. It didn't matter. She simply needed to act the part. Her parents had taught her how to do that very well. They were masters of the fine art of wearing a mask that hid what you truly felt. It was why she hated being dragged to social functions. Everything and everyone was so phony, and she was expected to do her part.

And now she was doing it on purpose. She would have cringed it she let herself think about it too much.

Cassie trotted up the stairs with the last of the students. She glanced briefly at the empty school buses just before entering the building. She had purposely delayed Harry so she would get here after the others. She had to catch Melinda alone and hope that she was not clinging to Jason too closely. If Jason had any sense, he would keep her at arm's length for now.

She approached Melinda's locker and stopped a good distance away. There was Melinda, again surrounded by a passel of friends from her freshman year. Even though Cassie couldn't hear anything, it was obvious that Melinda was doing most of the talking and her friends most of the listening.

One of the girls turned her head as a boy approached. She smirked and nudged Melinda. Melinda said something that made the boy stop. The boy angrily snapped something back. Melinda replied, her friends dissolved into laughter, and the boy's face glowed scarlet. He shot a glare back at them and stomped away.

Cassie frowned. Ned had been right. Melinda was becoming Miss Popular. And just like Heather before her, she was starting to abuse the position.

Cassie felt a renewed surge of confidence. She held her head high and walked up to them. Two of Melinda's friends saw her coming and whispered among themselves. Just as Cassie stepped up to Melinda, she heard the word "weirdo" float through the air towards her.

"Melinda, I need to talk with you for a moment," Cassie said in as lofty a voice as she could manage. It was not that hard. She needed only to talk like her mother did to the servants. "Alone, please."

Melinda turned her head. "Oh, there you are, Cassie! I was wondering what happened to you. Everything okay?"

The two of Melinda's friends exchanged an odd look, as if they were shocked to discover that Melinda was actually acquainted with the school freak. They looked at Melinda as if expecting her to suddenly serve up one of those deliciously witty remarks that she was so good at making against others.

"Unavoidably detained on the way over. But I do need to talk to you, it's urgent."

Melinda looked mildly annoyed, but she nodded and turned to the others. "Hey, I'll catch you all later, okay? Meet me outside the caf later if we don't see each other before then."

Her friends nodded and departed. The two that had looked so surprised went away together, glancing back behind them and continuing to whisper.

"What is it Cassie? Something about Richie? Jason is going to..."

"It's not about him," Cassie said firmly. "I need you to come with me after school."

"Where?"

"We may have found a new meeting place. I want to check it out but I don't want to go alone."

Melinda made a face. "I didn't hear about this from Jason."

"He told me about it just this morning. But he's going to be busy with dealing with Richie today, so I thought I'd do him a favor and check it out for him."

Melinda nodded, though there was a dubious look on her face. "Does Jason know you're doing this?"

"No, and please don't tell him."

"Why not?"

"He'd just worry about us."

"Wait, this isn't, like, dangerous or something, is it?"

Cassie honestly didn't know. She had asked her parents a few questions about Reggie Yonce that morning over breakfast, but this had not told her anything new. If anyone in her circle was with the Darkness, she wasn't seeing it. None of the people that associated with the Kendalls on a regular basis had the Aura.

She was going to gamble that there was strength in numbers. If Melissa were trying to get at them, she hoped that four against one would be decent odds.

"No, I don't think so, Melinda, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"We should get more people, then," Melinda piped. "I don't want it to be just the two of us."

"I was going to ask Heather and Diane to come along."

Melinda frowned briefly but slowly nodded. She grinned faintly. "Do I get to ride in the limo?"

Cassie smiled. "Sure."

"Okay, deal. I'll see you after school."

Cassie's smile abruptly faded as she looked past Melinda. She uttered a tiny gasp and clutched at her books.

"Finally, I get a ride in that thing! I've been waiting for you to ... huh? What's wrong?"

Melinda saw Cassie staring fearfully over her shoulder. Her own eyes widened as she whirled around. She bit her lip to suppress a yelp.

Cassie recognized her. It was one of the girls from her first dream about Melissa, the blonde that had helped tie Melissa down. Melinda didn't recognize her, but she saw the horrible Dark Aura, writhing and twisting obscenely about the girl's body.

Susan Radson was walking slowly, her legs gliding in measured strides that made her hips gyrate provocatively. She panted lightly, her thighs trembling, her eyes burning with a slow, sensual heat that matched what she felt in her nether regions.

Melinda swallowed and backed into her locker as Susan approached. She swallowed and wrinkled her nose in revulsion as tendrils of inky black slid between Susan's legs and around her breasts, as if somehow physically caressing them. Melinda thought she could actually catch a faint whiff of Susan's arousal.

"Susan!"

Melinda nearly jumped. Her eyes glazed in fear as Melissa Hendell advanced quickly towards them.

Susan stopped and turned, not four feet from where Melinda stood.

Melinda tried to push Cassie down the hall. Cassie stood firm and did not move, even though her own heart was pounding. Melinda gave her a stricken, scared look. Cassie shook her head and whispered urgently to her, "Pretend you need something from your locker."

Melinda looked about to protest, but Melissa was already upon them. She suppressed a whimper and opened her locker, her trembling hand taking a few tries to work the lock.

"Yes, Melissa?" Susan asked, her voice a mixture of lust, fear, and eagerness.

"I am disappointed, Susan," said Melissa, folding her arms. "Very disappointed."

Cassie turned away but listened as intently as she could. In the moments of quiet she could hear blood rushing in her ears.

"M-Melissa, I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you..."

"Maybe your mother likes what I'm doing to her. It's the only reason I can think of for why she keeps defying me."

Susan shivered. "P-please ... please, Melissa..."

Melissa grinned evilly. "Maybe you like it as well."

Susan moaned. Her panting became deeper. Her thighs slid back and forth.

"Can't get enough of each other, is that it? Just like you and Ann?"

"No ... this ... this is tearing her up..."

"Then she needs to tell me what she knows. She needs to tell me how to find what I want."

"She's told you everything ... everything she knows ... uhhn ... p-please ... no..."

Melissa grinned. Susan whimpered as she came.

"That's right, you can't stop thinking about it now. You can't stop thinking about your mother's twat. That will keep you hot and wet all day."

Cassie nearly gasped. Melinda gave Cassie a sick look.

Susan trembled, her pussy still throbbing.

"She's going to tell me," Melissa said. "She's going to tell me where it is. She knows something she's not telling me. But she's going to tell me, unless she wants me to change her into a horny little pussy-slut like you."

Susan was incoherent. She nearly dropped her books. Her orgasm pounded away in her cunt, making her bend over slightly, her feet sliding apart. Melissa sighed and relented. Susan let out a breathy moan as her climax mercifully abated.

"Don't expect me to be as easy on your mother. I'll break her. Just like I broke you. And then I'll have the power I want."

Melissa spun on her heel and stalked off.

Susan took a few moments to compose herself. She lifted a trembling hand to her cheek and forced herself to take several deep breaths. Her orgasm had abated, but her pussy still swam in musky, wet arousal.

Susan took a few steps back the way she had come, stopped, then went the other way.

Cassie turned her head. She waited until the miasma of Melissa's Aura had disappeared down a side hallway before finally uttering a sigh of relief. "They're gone, Melinda, it's okay."

Melinda glanced around, then slammed her locker shut. "Why did you do that, Cassie? Why did you make me stay? I was so scared!"

"I know, I'm sorry. But did you hear them?"

"Most of it. Melissa's looking for something?"

"Yes. And she's ... she's t-torturing Susan's mother for the information." She looked back the way Melissa had come. "I really hope I get through tonight. If I could get just one good dream about Melissa, I can find out what she's looking for."

"Why is that important enough to scare the shit out of me?"

"Because of what she said!" Cassie cried, exasperated. "She said this thing will give her the power she wants."

Melinda shivered. "She's powerful enough, she doesn't need any more."

"All the more reason to figure out what's going on. Come on, we need to get to class."

"We need to tell Jason about this!" Melinda piped as they walked away.

"We will. Later. He's got enough on his mind with Richie..."

-------

A short time after the two had departed, Susan reappeared. She hustled down the hall back the way she had originally come. When she got to the corridor junction, Melissa stepped out in front of her.

"Did I do okay, Melissa?" Susan asked. "Please tell me you were pleased."

Melissa smiled. "Oh, yes, I was pleased, Susan. Very much so. I wasn't expecting Cassie to be there, but so much the better. Melinda was sooo scared of the Big Bad Melissa that the little twat was about to run for it."

Susan nodded. There was a pleading look in her eyes.

Melissa's smile faded, and she gave Susan an imperious look. "Yes?"

"Melissa, if ... if you get them to find the book for you ... will you let my Mom go?"

"Why Susan, are you actually showing some compassion? Is this the same Susan that wanted to leave a poor girl tied down naked in a forest all night?"

Susan drew in a deep breath and let it go as a soft sob. "I'm so sorry for that, Melissa..."

Melissa giggled. "Oh no. Not really. You haven't even begun to be sorry enough for my liking. I'll let you know when that happens. Now get your wet little pussy to class."

Susan swallowed, nodded meekly, and walked away.

-------

Richie slammed his locker hard. He stalked away, stopped, swore a blue streak, and returned to his locker. He threw it open with a bang, grabbed the book that he had forgotten, and slammed it shut again. He then opened it and slammed it once more, just because.

He stomped into his homeroom class and threw his books on the desk with a bang. He glared at the teacher as if daring the man to call him out on it. The teacher simply sighed and shook his head. Richie sneered and dropped into his seat.

He clamped his hands over his ears, as if trying to block out a voice only he could hear. In a way, he was, but it was from inside his own head. Nothing could stop him from hearing his own turbulent thoughts.

Keep her. She's fucking hot. Life is so screwed up, you deserve something nice.

Richie closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Give her up. She's just fucking trouble. Mom wants you to keep her, that's enough reason to stop.

Richie pressed his hands into his head.

Keep her. She wants it. It's her fantasy. It's not harming anything. You saw it yourself.

He took his hands from his ears, curled them into fists, and slammed them against the desk.

Give her up. You fucked over her relationship. You made her break up with a boyfriend. You saw it for yourself! You know it's true!

Richie wanted to throw something, as frustrated as he was. Yes, he knew. He knew about Linda's fantasies of him. He knew of her failed relationship thanks to his control over her.

But how do I know this shit?!

He needed to talk to Jason. Jason always seemed to know about stuff like this, or would have some words of reassurance for him that he wasn't going insane.

Richie cursed under his breath. If he talked to Jason, he would have to admit what he was doing with Linda. Jason would tell him to stop. And that only brought the original conflict to the forefront of his mind again.

Richie leaned back in his seat and tried to let go of some of his anger. Even as much as he disliked school, he had to get through the day, and he was going to get himself in trouble if he acted this way in all his classes. He might even get detention, something he had managed to avoid for the last two weeks.

And he couldn't have detention if he was going to see Linda again. He would decide whether to keep her or not later. He couldn't deal with it at the moment.

-------

Jason waited until the final ten minutes of his homeroom class before asking to be excused to use the bathroom. As he had hoped, the teacher told him that he might as well take his belongings with him so he wouldn't miss the start of first class.

Once he was out in the hall, he dashed to a classroom near the nurse's station. He shivered slightly as he glanced towards the office. Even though he knew the new nurse was perfectly ordinary, he still felt a chill when he was in this part of the building.

Jason tore his gaze from it and peeked into the classroom. "Um, Miss Davis?"

Linda looked up in surprise. Spread out before her on her desk were a set of tests she had been dutifully grading. "Mr. Conner?"

"Yes. Can I talk to you for a few minutes, Miss Davis?"

"Shouldn't you be in your homeroom class now?"

"Yes, but ... this is very important. And private. Please?"

Linda looked warily at him for a moment, then nodded once and gestured for him to come inside.

Jason closed the door behind him, paused to collect his thoughts, and headed to Linda's desk. "Miss Davis, I'm a friend of Richie Gardner."

Linda drew herself straight in the chair. "What about him, Mr. Conner?" she asked curtly.

"Um ... Miss Davis, first of all, I just want to help. Please believe me. I think you're a really cool teacher."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "Thank you."

"So don't take it wrong when I say that I know about you and Richie."

There was a pause. Linda's eyes shimmered. She drew in a slow breath. "In what way, Mr. Conner? Know about what?"

"I know you've been ... well, seeing him."

"And how do come by this information?"

Jason hesitated. He didn't want to reveal his hand too much or get Melinda into trouble. "I'd rather not say at the moment, Miss Davis, I'm sorry."

"Then I don't think I can help you," said Linda crisply. "I don't know what you're talking about in that case. Now, you had better get going, as first class is about..."

"I know you and he are having sex," Jason blurted in a quavering voice.

Linda fell silent. She fixed an accusing gaze on him.

"Miss Davis, I know this is not your fault. I know that Richie is..."

"I don't believe you know quite as much as you think, Mr. Conner," Linda said, her voice cold. "I have no idea what you thought you would gain from making such a fantastic accusation, but you won't get it."

"I don't want anything from you, Miss Davis. Please, listen to me. I..."

"No, I have heard quite enough. Perhaps you have read one too many stories in the news about this sort of thing and have projected some sort of wish fulfillment on me. I'll not be the subject of your adolescent fantasies."

Jason said not a word. So was Melinda wrong after all?

Linda sighed into the silence and folded her arms. "Mr. Conner, I think I must insist on knowing why you came up with this crazy idea about me and Mr. Gardner."

Jason tilted his head. Was there a hint of nervousness in her voice or was it just him?

"Well, Mr. Conner?"

"Um ... a friend of mine saw him going into your house. Several times."

Linda paused and stared at him. She shifted in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. Her arms tightened. "And you automatically assumed it was for sex?"

Jason wasn't sure anymore. What should he do now? He couldn't make her tell him the truth. Or she might be telling him the truth now. "Then ... what was he doing there?"

"I am not obligated to tell you, Mr. Conner, but I will anyway. I am tutoring him. He had a bad streak during the first part of the semester and is struggling to make up the work. I am helping him. There is little that is prurient about that."

"Why couldn't you use a classroom at the school..."

"That's enough, Mr. Conner! If you insist on carrying this further, take it up with Principal Bendon. Be assured that she will want far more proof than you care to offer. In the meantime, I will not be subject to your baseless accusations!"

Linda turned away and returned to her papers, pointedly ignoring him.

Her voice had become shaky towards the end. Now as Jason looked at her, she seemed anxious. He sensed he might have hit a nerve after all.

Jason had disturbing ideas of what might have happened in this confrontation, but they had been at the extremes. Either she would break down in tears and sob a confession, begging him to free her from Richie's clutches, or she would be so shocked and angry that she would drag him to the Principal for immediate disciplinary action.

Instead what he got was worse: the waters muddied even further, no more clear than the cold fog that had settled over Haven that morning.

Jason headed towards the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned back around.

"Miss Davis?"

Linda sighed and smacked a hand against the desk in frustration. "What is it now, Mr. Conner?"

"A few weeks ago, something really strange happened at this school. Some students acting weird. Like they suddenly had some sort of influence over others."

Linda's eyes widened.

"Like they could control people," Jason continued, his heart racing. "Make them do things against their will. Or maybe things they wanted to do, like fantasies, but that they never could..."

"Stop it!"

Jason fell silent. Outside, the wind picked up, and rain lashed at the windows. The glass glistened with moisture in the same way as Linda's eyes.

"I just want to help," Jason said softly.

Linda stared at him for a long moment, swallowed, and then hardened her gaze. She said not a word to him, but Jason could just see her trembling in her seat.

Feeling vaguely embarrassed, Jason muttered an apology and fled.

Jason sprinted down the hall and glanced anxiously behind him, as if expecting Miss Davis to chase him. He leaned against the lockers and drew in a deep breath.

He had said too much to her. But it had the effect that he had hoped it would. She was aware of what Richie had done to her, that much was clear. And now he believed Melinda was right. But he needed more. He had to catch Richie in the act, or he had to get Miss Davis to admit what was happening.

The bell rang. He pushed himself off the lockers and headed to class.



-------

Chapter 12


The wind tore at them as soon as they exited the limo, whipping strands of hair before their faces. Cassie's still neatly-coiffed curls suffered the least, but she too was constantly trying to toss her head to keep them out of her eyes. Melinda's long, straight hair suffered the most, and she softly cursed every few seconds. Diane finally handed her a hair tie, one of which she had already used to draw her own long hair into a makeshift pony tail.

"Thanks," Melinda said, though she muttered one last curse, since she hated ponytails.

"At least it's not raining anymore," Cassie commented, trying to prevent Melinda from complaining further.

Melinda squinted up at the sky. Clouds sailed past, bits of blue appearing and disappearing among the white. Occasionally the sun broke through and brilliantly shone, only to fade quickly a few seconds later to no more than a hazy splotch.

Cassie returned to the limo. The window slid open as she approached. "Harry, the girls and I will be spending some time in the park. Feel free to go on break for an hour if you wish."

"Thank you, Miss Kendall," said Harry with unfailing politeness. "Please call on the cell phone if you need me."

Cassie nodded and stepped back as the window closed. Harry pulled away from the curb and drove off.

Heather stared in disbelief, then looked at Cassie. "I thought you never could get him to leave."

"Yeah, he's always hanging around waiting for you," Melinda piped.

Cassie smiled. "This is the one section of town where my parents don't worry about me being alone. This is ... well, the upscale part of Haven."

"Jeez, you're not kidding," Diane said, looking around.

The street was lined with tall, majestic trees that glowed with autumn color, interspersed with stands of bright green pines and beautiful blue-tinged spruces. Huge facades of sprawling homes appeared in the gaps between the trees, surrounded by lush, perfectly manicured lawns and bushes, even this late into the season.

Just down the block was a low stone wall, broken by a wide opening with a soaring arch. Beyond it lay fitted-stone paths winding about gently rolling hills and thick stands of trees. An inscription atop the arch read "Mesa View Park". Well beyond the park on the other side of the river soared the distinct flattop of Haven Mesa.

"Oh, wow, what a view!" Melinda said, pointing.

"You should see it from there looking back," said Cassie.

Melinda whirled around. "That's the mesa you live on??"

Heather rolled her eyes. "And how many mesas do you count, runt? Where else would she be but that one?"

Melinda frowned, but her cheeks blushed faintly.

"Cassie, why did you tell your driver we'd be going to the park?" Diane asked.

"Well, I had to have some sort of cover story," said Cassie.

"Oh, so we're not really going there?"

"We are, actually. We, um, have to come at the place from the back."

Melinda raised an eyebrow. "From the back? Why?"

Cassie gave them a guilty look. "I, uh, haven't quite told you everything about this. We better get going while we can and I'll try to explain..."

"Cassie, I asked you before if this was dangerous and you said no. You weren't lying to me, were you?"

"No, Melinda, I wasn't," Cassie said, though her cheeks glowed pink. "But I'm actually not completely sure about this place. Let's go, and I'll explain along the way..."

-------

Jason pedaled as if he were chasing the devil himself.

The rush of air knifed the cold into him through his open jacket, and the sudden shift of the wind through intersections threatened to dump him onto the pavement. The breeze had scoured most of the moisture from the streets, yet as he approached the cross-street to Miss Davis' home, he sent up a spray of water as he plowed through a low spot in the asphalt.

Jason pulled on the brake and slowed to make the turn onto the other street. He was not sure this was the right thing to do, but he had no other options. She wouldn't listen to him at school, so maybe she would listen to him at home.

Cassie had reported that Richie had argued about something briefly with Miss Davis, and that she had appeared anxious and concerned. That had been a good sign that Jason had gotten through to her, though he was concerned that she would let it slip that he had talked to her. But if this had happened, Richie had given no sign of it on the bus ride home.

Cassie had not heard anything about them meeting after school. Jason had to assume that Richie was going to do so anyway, and that it would be at approximately the same time.

Jason shuddered to a stop at the fence outside Miss Davis' home. He paused to catch his breath before he dismounted. He looked at his watch. Richie would be along in twenty minutes if he kept to the same schedule. Jason had wanted to be here earlier so he could get away in time, but his mother had had another errand for him to run.

He sighed. It was now or never.

He chained his bike to the fence and hurried up the walk. He hesitated only a second before ringing the doorbell.

Jason heard running feet approaching the door. It opened, and Linda's slightly breathless voice began, "You're early, Richie, I only just finished..."

She froze in mid-sentence, her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open.

Jason stared as well, and was suddenly at a total loss for words.

Linda was standing there in nothing more than a thin robe of shiny, satin-like material. It clung to the shapely curve of her hips, the bottom edge swirling about her thighs as the breeze blew in through the open door. The wind picked up briefly, wrapping the robe around her slim waist. The cold made her nipples stand out against the fabric. The sash was loose, a narrow slit open nearly to her waist, barely hiding her breasts from view.

Linda huffed, yanked the robe closed over her bosom, and started to close the door.

Jason's throat finally unlocked. "Please, Miss Davis, let me talk to you for a minute! Please!"

Linda stopped. Her fingers tightened around the doorknob. She swallowed hard.

"You're expecting Richie, right? He's going to be here soon, isn't he?"

Linda drew in a deep breath and let it go as a sigh, part exasperated and part sultry. "All right, Mr. Conner, yes, he's going to be here. Are you satisfied?"

Jason was overcome for a moment and didn't know what to do. He felt uncomfortable looking at his teacher in this state of undress.

"You better go. I-I don't know if Richie would like you being here."

"Miss Davis, can I talk to you for a few minutes? Please? Then I'll go."

Linda's face appeared to run a gamut of emotions. Jason thought he saw anger one moment and desperation the next. Her eyes were unmistakable, though. They exuded a growing lustful anticipation. Jason felt vaguely ashamed to see it in a teacher.

He realized it was ridiculous. Teachers were human beings and had the same urges and needs as anyone else. But he had trouble wrapping his brain around the concept at the moment.

Linda gestured curtly and stepped aside. She closed the door behind him as soon as he was inside. "I don't see what this is going to accomplish, Mr. Co ... Jason ... What good is this going to do? Are you going to stand there and tell me this is wrong?"

Jason was not sure. He had not planned anything beyond getting her to talk to him. The rest he was making up as he went along. "Miss Davis, Richie controlled you a few weeks ago, didn't he?"

Linda drew her robe more tightly around her. She turned away from him and lowered her eyes. "How do you ... why do you think that, Jason? Why do you think Richie did something like that to me?"

"It was like I said earlier. It happened to other people, too. Mostly students."

"And ... a-and they did the same thing? Made people into slaves?"

"Yes, that's right."

Linda whirled around. "How? How did this ... supposedly happen?"

Jason didn't have time to go into a long explanation. "Miss Davis, I promise to tell you the whole story later. It's kind of involved."

Linda looked annoyed but nodded. "Is it still happening now?"

"No, it was stopped. I mean, at least no one is being completely controlled."

"And what does this have to do with me, Jason?" Linda asked, a trace of defiance in her voice. "If this was supposedly stopped, why come to me about it?"

"There may be some effect lingering afterward, Miss Davis. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to know if Richie is making you do things for him."

Linda's jaw tightened, and she fixed him with a hard stare.

Jason wanted to cringe. "Look, Miss Davis, I'm not making any judgments. If you and Richie are doing this because you want to, it's none of my business and I won't mention anything to anyone..."

"I don't know," Linda said.

"Huh?"

Linda placed a hand on her cheek and sighed slowly. "You asked me if I want this. I don't know. But he wants it. And ... when he wants it, I want it. That's all I really know."

"But when you're alone, do you still want it?"

Linda paused, her eyes shifting, a veil of embarrassment drifting over her face.

"Okay, you don't have to tell me that..."

Linda uttered a short, humorless laugh. "I might as well, Jason, I have very little modesty -- or dignity -- left."

Thanks to Richie,  Jason thought, seething silently. Way to go, you asshole.

"I guess I do want it, in a way. A stupid fantasy. I was being ironic when I mentioned earlier about teachers that have sex with their students." She gave Jason an earnest look. "But I never did it, Jason. Not before Richie. God, I came close a few times. But I stopped myself. And then Richie ... h-he did whatever he did to me..."

"I'm sorry," Jason blurted. "I'm really sorry this happened. Maybe we stopped it sooner..."

"But how did he do it, Jason? How? How did he get that ... that power? And why is it still working on me? Do I really want it myself or is that what he did to me? I mean, I want it now. I'm ... I-I'm getting excited just thinking about it. About him. But I can't tell if they're my own feelings anymore."

"Do you want this to stop? Do you want him to stop?"

Stricken, Linda looked at him helplessly, her eyes glistening. "I don't know."

The more he listened to Miss Davis, the more upset he got with Richie. Did he not know what he was doing to her? Did he even care? Towards the end of the crisis with Nyssa, she had used the original four Harbingers like puppets. It had been a frightening and terrible experience for all of them. Had Richie forgotten so quickly what that was like?

This wasn't right. It wasn't fair to Miss Davis. Even if she did want this arrangement, she had to be allowed the right to decide for herself.

"Miss Davis, maybe we..."

The doorbell rang.

"That's Richie," Linda said in a voice of both fear and lust.

Jason looked towards the door, his eyes hard.

"I have to answer it," Linda said.

The doorbell rang. And again. And again.

Jason had made no effort to hide his bike. He had hoped to get lucky and get this conversation done before Richie had arrived. But now, in a way, he almost wanted the confrontation. His own anger and frustration had finally reached critical mass and had nowhere else to go.

"Go ahead and answer it," Jason said, an edge to his voice.

-------

"Cassie, I don't think this ... ouch! ... this is such a good idea anymore," said Melinda. She rubbed the back of her hand where the sharp needles from a low-hanging spruce branch had grazed her.

"Oh, will you fucking stop complaining already?" Heather snapped. She wrinkled her nose as her sneaker sank into a patch of mud hidden under the blanket of spent aspen leaves.

"What the fuck, Heather?! This is the first time I've said anything!"

Heather sighed in exasperation. Melinda was right, but it was easier to be angry with her sister than deal with her other feelings. "Okay, fine, whatever..."

"I'm sorry, but I think Melinda's right, it's a mess back here," Diane said.

Cassie tried not to lose her nerve and continued plodding onward through the foliage along the edge of the greenbelt. There was a faint smell of moisture to the air as the wind blew off the river. "It's not going to be this way all the time, you know. It's only because it was raining this morning."

"Yeah, and when it snows?" Melinda piped. She tripped on a piece of deadwood and stumbled. In her anger, she spun around and kicked it, sending it into Heather's leg.

"Ow! You little idiot," Heather grumbled.

"Then pick up your big feet, bubblehead!"

"Big feet? Yeah, like yours are so dainty and ladylike, huh?"

"At least they're not as ugly as yours."

"And how would you know? You got some weird kink for feet or something?"

"I do not!"

Cassie rolled her eyes. She wondered if they realized how stupid they sounded. Or maybe they did, if they'd rather do this than address the real issue between them.

"Please, cut it out, all right?" Diane said in annoyance. "Melinda, stop being a brat."

"What?!" Melinda screeched, causing the others to wince. "Shut up, Diane! You can't say that shit to me anymore! You..."

Cassie stopped and turned. The others nearly ran into her. "Please, stop it. We're right behind the house next door to the one we're after. You want the neighbors to know we're skulking around back here?"

"Well, I didn't think we were going to have to sneak in," Melinda muttered indignantly.

"All I know is what's on the letter that Jason got."

"Why isn't he doing this? Why did we have to come out here?"

Cassie was going to repeat the line that she had used before, that she wanted to do a favor for Jason, but she realized that was wearing thin. Heather and Diane now looked expectantly at her as well. They all knew now that Cassie had some other motive.

She sighed. "All right. I wanted to talk to all of you away from the rest of the group. I have something important to discuss. Please, don't make me explain any more out here. Let's get to the house first."

The three exchanged a look. Melinda just folded her arms and sighed dramatically, but she said no further words of protest.

Heather exchanged one more look with Diane before she turned to Cassie. "Cassie, you've never steered us wrong before, so we'll trust you. Sorry I flew off the handle with the runt here."

Melinda glared at her big sister, but it quickly became more conciliatory.

Cassie relaxed. "Thank you. I promise to explain everything once we get there and check the place out."

They moved in relative silence now, save for the occasional curse or grunt of frustration from Melinda. Cassie felt a bit guilty. She was not worried about getting her clothes or herself dirty. With as many servants as her parents had, she would be cleaned, groomed, and once again perfectly coiffed before her parents saw her again. She knew the others didn't have that luxury.

A privacy fence rose up along the side of the greenbelt, smothered by thick vines. The leaves varied from dusky crimson to rust in hue.

"I'm not climbing that!" Melinda piped.

"I don't think you'll have to," Cassie said. "These places usually have a ... there it is."

There was a gap in the vines. As they approached it, they could see that it was a gate.

"It's closed," said Melinda.

"Thank you, Miss Obvious," Heather muttered.

Diane, the tallest of the four, stepped up to the gate and rose on her toes, peering over the top. "It's just a latch on the other side. There's no lock."

"Well, I think that means that whoever sent Jason the note was serious," Cassie said. "They usually keep those locked."

"To keep out the riff-raff from the greenbelt, right?" Diane said with a smirk.

"Well, pretty much. It's for the convenience of the homeowner to be able to walk right onto the greenbelt. Anyway, we need a way to unlatch that."

"I'll do it."

Then to everyone's surprise, Diane vaulted up the fence, scrambled over the top, and came down on the other side, seemingly in one smooth, liquid movement.

There was a click and a squeak of a wet hinge, and the gate swung open.

Diane blushed when the others stared at her. "I, uh, do a lot of hiking in the mountains with my parents during the summer. My Mom always prefers the really primitive back country trails."

Heather grinned. "No wonder you stay so thin."

Diane smiled, and tried to ignore the tingle in her sex. Heather looked into Diane's eyes for a lingering moment before awkwardly turning away, her skin flushed.

Melinda gave them an odd look. "What's with... ?"

"Let's get to the house," Cassie said loudly.

The back yard was nothing like any Heather, Melinda, or Diane had ever seen. A rather large marble fountain dominated the center. It had been drained of water, holding only what had collected from the rain. Golden aspen leaves littered the bottom. From either side a line of boulders marched with regular precision towards the ends of the property.

Cassie turned to the right and counted out to the third boulder. "Help me look for the key, it's supposed to be around here."

"Here it is!" Melinda called out a few minutes later.

Cassie took the key from her. She looked around. Tall junipers lined either side of the lot, hiding them from view from the neighbors. "All right, let's try to be quiet. I don't think anyone is really supposed to know that we're here."

She led them to the back porch. Melinda gawked at it with obvious envy. It was easily larger than the Sovert living room. Cassie walked straight to the back door and tried the key. It worked easily, the door opening for her. She bid everyone to enter quickly.

Like the porch, everything inside seemed obscenely huge. They stood in a kitchen as large as any that might grace a restaurant. As Cassie closed the door, an astonished Melinda turned to her. "Cassie, is your place like this??"

Cassie looked embarrassed. "Um ... actually, ours is larger ... Anyway, we better leave our shoes here, so we don't tread dirt everywhere."

"Shouldn't we check to make sure no one is home?" Diane said in a low voice.

"I think they would have heard us by now," Heather commented.

"Oh sure, she makes an obvious comment and you don't get on her case!" Melinda piped.

Cassie slipped out her shoes first and peeked into the dining room. The only sound was a gentle, mellow ticking from a large grandfather clock in the living room beyond.

"It's okay, I'm pretty sure we're alone," Cassie said.

Diane glanced nervously at Heather for a moment before going up to Cassie. "Are you sure no one can overhear us here? No one's listening in on us?"

"I'm ... pretty sure, Diane."

Cassie had done as much research as she possibly could after her phone call to Jason. She had found out everything there was to know about Reggie and his house. She even had her driver stop briefly by Reggie's office downtown just so she could get a look at some of his associates. Not one Aura was to be seen.

She even asked them about Reggie's trip. There was nothing suspicious about its purpose or timing. It turned out that she had seen him barely two days before he had left for his trip. She did not recall seeing an Aura on him.

As far as she could tell, the house was safe.

Diane looked back to Heather for a moment, who was arguing with Melinda again. "I just want to make sure anything that's said here ... well ... stays private."

Cassie nodded. "Yes, Diane, don't worry, please. I mean, even Melinda wouldn't..."

"Shut up, Heather, I want to see more of this place!" Melinda said, practically bouncing in her enthusiasm. She came up to Cassie. "I wouldn't what?"

Diane turned away as Cassie said, "Nothing, Melinda. Let's go into the living room and we can talk."

-------

Jason watched Linda approach the door. Suddenly her walk became provocative, her hips swaying from side to side. He heard her utter a slow, lusty sigh as she reached for the doorknob, and her voice was husky when she spoke. "Richie, I'm glad to see you again. I'm already so wet for... "

Richie pushed past Linda, surprising her so much that she stumbled and nearly fell. Only by clutching the doorknob did she manage to prevent a fall. He barreled into the room, stopping just a few steps short of Jason. He stared at his friend in shock and anger, his mouth open. His hands curled into fists.

Behind him, Linda swallowed and closed the door. "Richie, I'm sorry. Don't be angry, please, he..."

"What the flying FUCK are you doing here?!" Richie bellowed.

Jason had not counted on any confrontation with Richie inside Linda's house. He had hoped if it happened at all that it would be outside. There was no reason to drag Miss Davis into the altercation.

And outside, he would have had a chance to run away if Richie became violent.

"This isn't what it you think it is, okay?!" Richie shouted before Jason could reply. "You don't know Jack SHIT of what's goin' on!"

Jason tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. It was difficult. As much as he feared Richie and what he could do with his fists, his sheer anger at Richie towered far above it. "Fine, maybe I don't," he said in clipped tones. "Enlighten me."

Richie frowned. "Huh? Talk normal for once, you fucking nerd!"

"Tell me your side of it. Tell me why you're doing this to Miss Davis."

"I'm not doin' nuthin' to her!" He spun around. Linda flinched. "Go on! Tell him! Tell him about your fantasy about me! Tell him how you frigged yourself silly over me!"

Linda's blushed scarlet.

"She did tell me, Richie," Jason said. "She admitted to me she had a fantasy."

"Then what's the problem? What's the big fucking deal?!"

Jason started losing his patience. "I've explained this to you before! Several times! Not all fantasies are meant to be played out. There's a reason they're called 'fantasies, ' Richie! They're not real!"

"Bullshit!" Richie screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, his eyes wild. "It's real! She felt it! She wanted it!"

"She doesn't know if she wants it, you made the decision for her!"

Richie balled his hands into fists and he raised them threateningly. Jason's heart pounded, but he did not back down. Richie slowly lowered his arms, but kept his hands tightly clenched. Without taking his eyes from Jason, he said, "Linda, you want it, doncha? You wanna be fucked nice and good, right?"

Jason blanched at the bluntness of Richie's language. Linda uttered another husky, needful sigh. One of her hands tried to slip under her robe. She withdrew it hastily, blushing again. "Y-yes, Richie..."

"You're horny right now. For me. Just for me."

Linda swallowed. "Uhhn ... yes..."

"You want me fuckin' that wet cunt of yours, right?"

Linda leaned against the door, panting. "Yes ... oh God, yes..."

"Stop it!" Jason shouted. "She's only responding to it because you're saying it."

"What the fuck, Jason?! You sayin' no girl can be turned on by me? You think all the girls go for is freaky nerds like you?! Not ever girl's as desperate as whiny Melinda!"

Jason nearly exploded, but managed to control himself. He reminded himself that Richie was just trying to bait him.

"Richie, please... please listen to me," Jason said, forcing himself not to shout. "You took control of Linda when..."

"That was before! I'm not... !"

"I know! Please! Hear me out! I'm not going to rehash that, okay? I'm just stating what happened. You took control of her, and then we all were freed from Nyssa. But remember what Nyssa said..."

Richie jabbed his finger at Jason. "I know what you think she said."

Jason ignored him. "Something from Nyssa lingered. You have some leftover influence over Miss Davis. Richie, it's not your fault. You didn't ask for that. It's just a consequence of..."

"Maybe I didn't want it to go."

Jason fell silent.

"Yeah, that's right. Maybe I wanted to keep something over her. Come on, Jason, look at her. Look at her! She's so hot..."

Jason looked past Richie. Miss Davis had slid to the floor, one hand slowly working her pussy, the other fondling a breast. He quickly looked away. "That's not a reason to keep someone in this state. It's not fair to her."

Richie bit his lower lip. He didn't know what to say. The conflict that had plagued him earlier that day came back to haunt him.

"You keep saying she wanted it," continued Jason. "Do you really know? Can you honestly say she would want it if she had her own mind completely to herself?"

"C'mon, Jason," Richie said, his voice having turned from anger to begging. "C'mon. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to your friend."

Jason's eyes widened, then narrowed in sudden, escalating fury. His own hands curled into fists.

"Have a heart, man. I'm your pal. Can't you understand? Can't you..."

Jason suddenly surged forward and shoved Richie hard in the chest. Taken completely by surprise, Richie stumbled, his arms pinwheeling before he fell with a loud thump to the floor.

"Don't you DARE talk to me about friendship!" Jason screamed. "What the fuck do you know about friendship?! You were part of the Harbingers! You were part of a team! You know about teams, don't you? Everyone does their part! And what the hell have you done?! Right when we needed you, when Nyssa was trying to take over the school, your fucking walked right into her arms! Where the HELL do you get off saying ANYTHING about friendship?!"

Behind him, Linda had stopped and was staring at the two of them. She trembled, as if she wanted to take action, but she had no idea what to do.

Richie rose to his feet. He shot a look of pure venom at Jason, though his eyes were cloudy. He wanted to hurl something back at Jason, but no words would come to him. With Nyssa, his argument had been that there was no point in fighting it. It was too big to be fought. They just couldn't win against it.

But now the argument rang hollow. Richie was angry, but some of it was directed at himself. He couldn't handle that, and it came out directed at Jason instead.

"Maybe I could say something about friendship if you bothered to lift a fucking finger for my Mom!" Richie roared.

Jason cast a stony gaze in return. "That's not fair."

"Like HELL it's not!"

"You think I like the idea that there was nothing that we could do?"

"You didn't even try! How the fuck could you know if you didn't even try?!"

Jason didn't want to talk about this. He already felt guilty enough about it, but he was sure that he had been right in the end. There hadn't been anything that they could do. They didn't have the knowledge or resources. No sooner than they had stopped reeling from the House when Nyssa struck. And now it was only a little over two weeks after that, and they had Melissa to deal with. They hadn't had a break.

"I told you over and over again, Richie. My own Dad is affected, too. You think I would have refused to help your Mom if..."

"Oh, spare me your sob story about your father!"

Jason blanched. "What??"

"He walked into it himself! You said so! He went over on his own! He's no better than I was!"

"SHUT UP!" Jason screamed. "SHUT UP ABOUT HIM!"

Jason moved as if he were about to hit Richie when Linda suddenly called out, "Boys, stop!"

The two of them turned towards her.

Linda was on her feet, her robe closed. She was still panting from her arousal, but her eyes looked more lucid than they had a few moments ago. Jason glared at her, as if daring her to explain why she was interrupting them. He quickly relented, and instead shot a murderous glare at Richie.

"Please ... I don't want to be the cause of this..." Linda said in a shaky voice.

"Miss Davis, I'm sorry," Jason said contritely. "I didn't mean to let this get..."

"Still horny for me, babe?" Richie said.

Linda blinked. "Wh-what?"

"Still horny? Nice and wet?"

Linda swallowed. "P-please, Richie... "

"Just can't wait for my cock, can ya?"

Linda moaned and trembled, her arousal spiking again. She squeezed her legs together, her pussy throbbing softly.

Jason gave Richie another shove, though this time Richie stood his ground. He raised a fist. "Don't do it, man. Just don't."

Jason sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not. I'm through. That's it. So long, Richie."

He started towards the door.

"What, that's it?" Richie demanded. "What the hell?"

Jason turned around. "What more do you want? You like sparring with me? Too bad. There's no point. You don't care. So I don't, either."

"What? You kicking me out or something?"

Jason paused, then slowly nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am. You don't want to be in it anyway. So you're out. Now you don't have to figure out how to pronounce it right."

Richie just stared. He was again at a loss for words. He knew he shouldn't care. He never was as involved as the others. But it felt bad. He lost something when Jason said he was out. He couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but it felt important.

Jason looked past him. "Miss Davis, I'm terribly sorry I couldn't help you after all. I guess I failed again."

"It's ... it's all right," Linda said softly, her voice still filled with lust, but her eyes glistening with sadness. "Please ... it will be all right..."

Jason wished he could believe that, but he wasn't sure of anything anymore. He just nodded and headed out the door.

-------

"I am not!" Melinda exploded.

"Oh yes you are!" Heather cried, mocking Melinda's own angry whine. "You have him wrapped around your little finger!"

"Heather's right, Melinda," Diane said. "He always does whatever you want him to do."

"Oh, shut up, Diane!" Melinda shouted. "You bubbleheads always stick together, don't you?"

"Melinda, stop it," Heather snapped. "Stop thinking of yourself all the time and just open your eyes."

"Yeah, you're one to talk! You made Jason stick it in you! You're the one controlling him, not me! Just like you try to control me!"

"I'm trying hard not to!"

"Then who was the one that got me all horny again this morning?!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"You always say that. You always claim you don't mean to do anything to me. I guess you didn't really mean to do all those nasty things to me before the summer. You and Diane!"

"Melinda, that's enough," Cassie finally said.

Melinda's head whipped around. "Huh??"

Cassie took a deep breath. She was already irritated by how much Melinda had gushed over the opulence of the living room before they could get her to quiet down.

Though Cassie was used to such things. The living room was cavernous, with a cathedral ceiling and a huge chandelier. The furniture was ostentatious rather than functional. It was obviously a place for entertaining others rather than sitting a family in comfort. Heather and Diane sat together on a sofa that could easily hold two more couples. Melinda sat in the large recliner like a queen on a throne. Cassie had opted for the love seat.

Cassie turned to Melinda. "Melinda, do you consider me a friend?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do!"

"Then will you listen to me as your friend?"

Melinda paused for a long moment, then nodded slowly.

"Melinda, you have to stop acting like everyone is picking on you," said Cassie.

Melinda's mouth dropped open. She gave Cassie a stricken look.

"I know Heather and Diane did it to you in the past. But they're not doing it now, so you need to stop harping on them so much."

"But she's accusing me of controlling Jason!" Melinda whined.

"No, she didn't, Melinda, but you're saying that because you're not listening!"

Melinda was so taken aback by the rebuke that all she could do was stare. Cassie had never been this cross with her since they had renewed their friendship in Nyssa's wake.

Cassie took another breath. "Melinda, what I said was that you're influencing him without realizing it. And that's what Heather was responding to."

"But that's the same thing as controlling," Melinda said, though her voice was weak. "I mean ... isn't it?"

"No, it's not."

"Melinda, I was trying to explain this to you this morning," Heather said in irritation. "And you didn't listen then, either."

"I did so! You..."

"No, you didn't," Cassie said firmly. "Because she told you that Jason was acting submissive. She didn't say anything about you controlling him. You're not controlling him. But you're such a strong personality that it's triggering his submissive streak whenever he's around you."

Melinda said nothing in reply. She folded her arms, looking indignant, though there was some flicker of contriteness in her eyes.

"No one's blaming you for anything," Cassie said. "And Heather's not at fault either."

"How can you say that, Cassie?" Melinda asked. There was a pleading look to her eyes, as if she were begging for someone to support her position. "After what Heather did with him?"

"That's a totally different issue," Cassie said. She looked at Heather. "Isn't it?"

Heather smiled weakly. "Jason's been a regular kiss-and-tell, hasn't he?"

Cassie managed a small smile in return, but she sensed the seriousness to Heather's words. "He had to. This is going to tear the group apart if we let it go."

"What are you talking about?" Melinda demanded.

Cassie looked over to Heather. Heather nodded and turned to Melinda. "Jason thinks that this submissive streak of his is leftover from Nyssa. And me ... she left me with something, too. I'm overly sexed."

"Huh. That's an understatement," Melinda muttered.

"The point is, it's out of her control," Cassie said.

"But it was never this bad until last week! So what happened? Melissa?"

Heather looked at Cassie with some alarm. Obviously this was something Heather had not considered.

Cassie wished Jason was there, but quickly quelled this thought. Back before everything had gone to hell with Nyssa, Jason had confided in Cassie that he believed everyone was relying on him too much. He had trusted her specifically with running the group if he had fallen. While others may argue that Cassie had her moment, she still felt as if she owed it to him to continue.

"I don't think it's Melissa. Heather, this didn't come on all at once, did it?"

Heather shook her head. "No, it sort of built up over time. I mean, for awhile I could ... uh ... take care of things myself..."

Diane squirmed in her seat at the imagery that brought into her mind.

"But that didn't work so well after awhile ... and then Melinda..."

"What about me?" Melinda demanded.

"You know what I'm talking about. I'm still attracted to you. I still want to do it with you."

Diane swallowed. She squeezed her legs together.

Melinda's eyes shimmered. "Stop talking about that," she muttered, her arms tightening around her.

"I can stop talking about it, but I can't stop thinking about it."

"And you're making me think about it!"

Diane gave them both a forlorn look. She wished Heather could somehow transfer that attraction to her. It was driving her nuts knowing that Melinda was resisting Heather's attentions, but she was willing and available.

And she would have been perfectly willing to be "influenced" in the same way that Melinda was. It made hearing them talk about it inflame her unrequited desire to ever more frustrating levels.

Heather caught Diane's look and returned a guilty one of her own.

Cassie was picking up on the subtle clues between Heather and Diane. She was a bit more perceptive of people's emotions than most, since she knew her own so well. Jason had hinted at something between the two of them, and it was looking to her like it was true.

Heather finally turned back to Melinda after trying to settle her turbulent, conflicting emotions. "Melinda, Jason told me that he thinks I'm acting out of this desire for you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Melinda piped.

"You keep refusing me, so the need just gets worse."

"And that's supposed to be my problem?"

Heather paused and sighed. She glanced at Diane again. "No, I guess not. I just thought you might want to help me."

Melinda stared. It was the closest that Heather had ever come to actually asking something nicely of her for the past week. But it didn't make it any easier to accept. "I don't want to be enslaved again!"

Cassie cut in before Heather could retort. "Heather can't enslave you. If you don't want her to, she can't do it to you. She's just influencing your feelings, just like with Jason."

"But I'm not submissive! I mean..."

"It's limited in your case to Heather is what I'm guessing."

"Because she enslaved me in the first place!"

Heather frowned. "That's not fair, Melinda."

Melinda swallowed, looking guilty. "I-I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't your fault. I just... " She curled her hands into fists and beat the chair cushion once. "I just don't know what my own feelings are anymore!"

"Join the club, runt."

Diane hung her head.

A heavy silence descended over the room, save for the distinct tick-tock of the grandfather clock. Cassie had to do something to break the deadlock. Every decision she made was terribly difficult for her. She was not used to being in a leadership role.

Kendalls were expected to take charge. She believed her parents considered her a disappointment in that regard. But she had seen how her parents took charge. It was often at the belittlement of others. Rising through the ranks by stepping on others. She did not want to become that.

She knew this was a different context, but it gave her difficulties nonetheless.

"Melinda, how bad to you expect it to be?" Cassie asked. "I mean, are you really afraid she's going to make you a slave again?"

Melinda looked shocked. "You want me to do it, don't you?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just asking."

Melinda shot Cassie an accusing look, but subsided quickly. She glanced at Heather for a moment. "No, I guess not. She can't. Not if I don't want her too, right? She doesn't have an Aura. You have to have it to be able to do something like that."

Cassie realized that Melinda was trying to convince herself. She honestly was not sure if having an Aura was a prerequisite. But she let it stand for now. She trusted Heather enough to know she wouldn't willfully enslave Melinda.

"I just don't want to do it because it's what she wants," Melinda said. "I want it to be what I want. I don't want to go back to having to do things because it's what Heather wants. I've had enough of that for years and years."

From the look on Heather's face, it was clear this was a revelation to her as well. "Melinda, get this through your head right now. I don't want to control you. And I don't just mean this mind control crap. I don't want to tell you what to do. If I ever did, it was only because I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" Melinda cried. "You're kidding, right?"

"News flash, Melinda! We're on the same side. Stop treating me like I'm the enemy."

Melinda stared. For once she was at a total loss for words.

"Melinda, I'm not your enemy either," Diane said quietly. She sighed. "You want an apology? Fine. I'm sorry I messed with you all those times. I don't do it anymore. I haven't been doing it. Not since Heather stopped."

"Yeah, but would you have stopped on your own?" Melinda asked loftily.

Heather looked about to explode at Melinda, but Diane cut her off. "Probably not."

Both Melinda and Heather looked at Diane in surprise.

"You wanted the truth, didn't you?" Diane cried. "So that's the truth, Melinda. Deal with it."

Melinda wanted to rant, but some of her thunder had been stolen by Diane's honesty. "So you just went along for the ride with Heather, huh?" she said. The acid in her voice was weak.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"Why?"

"You don't have to answer that," Heather said quickly.

Diane paused. She looked into Heather's eyes. "Would you rather I didn't?"

"It doesn't matter to me anymore, Diane. It's getting impossible to keep secrets from each other. Ever since this all started it's been getting easier to talk casually about ... about sexual matters. Even Melinda barely blushes anymore when she talks about it."

Melinda gave them a funny look. "What are you two talking about?"

Diane turned to Melinda. "I'm a lesbian, Melinda. And I want Heather."

"And so help me, runt, if you say 'eww, ' you'll be sorry!" Heather declared.

Melinda became flustered. "I wasn't! I'm not! I ... Diane, really?? You ... and you want her??"

Cassie felt a little better. Everything was out in the open. They were talking with each other instead of at each other. Maybe this was going to turn out okay after all.

She found Melinda suddenly looking at her. "Cassie, you're not going to tell us you got the hots for someone here, are you?" she asked anxiously.

Cassie blinked, and her cheeks reddened. "Er, no. I'm, uh ... not inclined that way..."

Heather smirked. "Especially when you've been making eyes at Ned."

Cassie's blush deepened. "Oh goodness ... I'm not that obvious, am I?"

Diane snorted. "Cassie, you're the only one that laughs at his lame jokes. You might as well write it in neon that you like him."

Cassie covered her eyes with her hand, but the imagery Diane conjured up made her giggle.

"Oh, stop it, you're all embarrassing her!" Melinda cried. "God!"

"It's okay, Melinda," Cassie said. Her cheeks were still glowing, and her nether regions tingled, but she was grateful for the break in the tension. "It looks like maybe we all understand each other better."

"I still need to resolve this thing with Melinda," Heather said quietly. "It's driving me nuts, and it's not fair to Diane."

Melinda gave her an odd look. "Huh?"

"I feel like I'm stringing Diane along. I don't know what my feelings are for her. I'm so overly sexed right now I can't think rationally about it. Just..." She paused, squirming in her seat as Diane had done. In a softer voice she continued, "Just talking about this is making me e-excited. I have to get this resolved with Melinda."

Melinda's eyes widened. "Oh sure, put me on the spot, whydoncha?" she piped, though her eyes were less harsh than her voice.

"Melinda, it's just going to get worse. I'm going to keep influencing you whether you like it ... whether I like it ... or not."

Melinda shivered. "You're doing it now," she said in a small voice.

Heat collected in Diane's sex. This was arousing her as well.

A thought had come to Diane early that morning. She wondered if Heather had influenced her somehow, like she had done to Melinda. Diane herself had become more highly sexed of late. She wanted to believe that it was just excitement over the possibility of Heather reciprocating her feelings. Heather's response to her kiss had been a hopeful sign.

She shivered at the thought of Heather nudging her emotions in such a way. She didn't greet this with as much consternation as Melinda. In fact, if anything, she welcomed it.

"I can't shut it off," Heather said. "Wish I could. But I can't. But it might get better if..."

"Y-yeah. Big if."

"I know."

Melinda sighed. "All right," she said meekly. "I'll do it."

Diane offered Melinda a tiny but sincere smile.

Melinda managed one back, then stared at Diane in amazement. "Wow."

Diane tilted her head. "Wow what?"

"You actually want Heather."

Heather gave Melinda an indignant look. "What's that supposed to mean, runt?"

"Nothing," said Melinda imperiously.

"Yeah, right, tell me another one."

The banter this time had a more lighthearted tone to it. Cassie was very glad to hear it. "We just have one more thing to deal with, and that's Jason."

"Cassie, I'm not going to do to him what I did today ever again," Heather said.

"Good!" Melinda piped.

Heather gave her sister a pointed look. "But you have to do your part, too, Melinda."

Melinda looked aghast. "I am not giving him up as my boyfriend!"

"You don't have to. Just try not to talk over him at Harbinger meetings."

"I don't ... do I?" She looked at Cassie.

"You sort of do, Melinda," said Cassie. "I mean, you always did that, but Jason could still talk over you in return. But he's more vulnerable now, and you have to ease up."

Melinda sighed. "But I don't even know when I'm doing it."

"How about I try to keep track of it for you? You said you trust me, right?"

"Of course!"

"So I'll watch for it and try to catch you when it happens. Deal?"

Melinda paused a long moment, then finally nodded. "Deal."

Cassie had a feeling that Melinda would be more amenable to it coming from her than her big sister. She was glad that it seemed to work.

"Um ... Cassie ... if I'm influencing him like this, and he's submissive ... does that mean he's acting like that during sex?" asked Melinda.

"Probably, yes."

Heather snorted. "How would you not notice that, runt?" she asked in amusement.

Melinda smiled faintly. "I just thought he was being nice to me."

"If that's all, Cassie, maybe we better get going," Diane said, her voice a little shaky. The turn the conversation was taking into domination and submission was sending her emotions into a frenzy. Her pussy was already wet enough to make her panties damp.

Cassie glanced at her watch and nodded. She stood up and looked around. "Heather, have you had any precognitive visions or anything while we've been here? Any uneasiness at all?"

Heather shook her head. "Nothing. Not even a tiny bit."

"Then I think the place is safe."

"So we'll start having Harbinger meetings in here?" Melinda asked excitedly. "Oh wow, cool!"

"We should let Jason decide that, but I think we can."

"I still wish we knew who sent him that letter, Cassie," said Heather. "I know I didn't sense anything, but it still sounds a little fishy to me."

"I know, Heather, but what choice do we have? Not after what Melinda and I heard in the hallway this morning."

Melinda shivered violently. "Don't remind me, okay?"

Heather frowned. "What happened?"

Cassie relayed the incident that happened in the hall near Melinda's locker.

"Oh my God, poor Susan," Heather said, horrified

"And her mother!" Melinda piped. "Oh, ick!"

"What's she looking for that's so important, Cassie?" Diane asked.

"I don't know," Cassie said. "But I want to find out. I'm going to try my lucid dreaming one more time tonight. I want to see if I can push through and learn more. No way she can be allowed to have something that would make her more powerful."

The four of them headed out of the house. Cassie would make sure to give Jason a call that evening after her date with Ned. She wanted to know how he had fared with Richie. She hoped it was at least half as good as it had been with the girls.



-------

Chapter 13


Jason sighed in exasperation, running his fingers through his hair as he paced the length of the room, his other hand curled tightly around the phone. "Cassie, I wish you hadn't done that! You and the girls could have been in serious trouble!"

"You were already busy dealing with Richie. I just wanted to help."

"Walking blindly into danger like that is not helping!"

"I did no such thing, Jason. I checked out that place as thoroughly as I could, and we covered our tracks. Everything is all right."

Jason wanted to be angry with Cassie. He needed some way to vent his frustration. But he knew that Cassie was not stupid. Someone who had managed to stand against Nyssa successfully was far more capable than he was giving her credit for now.

"I think this is too convenient. We happen to need a place to meet because of Melissa and this drops in our laps."

"Wait, you don't think Melissa is behind this?"

"Why not? With her power, she could control someone into setting this up."

"But what purpose would it serve?"

"To get us all in one place to make it easier for her to take us out of the way."

Cassie considered this for a moment. "I don't think that's possible, Jason."

"Why not? We don't know what her power level is!"

"All seven of us at once? If she had that sort of ability, she'd be on par with Nyssa, and things would be a lot worse right now."

Jason sighed. "That's a real stretch, Cassie. This is all just circumstantial evidence."

"Then why is she seeking more power?"

Jason paused and furrowed his brow. "And how would you know she's doing that?"

"Because of this..." Cassie relayed to Jason what she and Melinda had overheard. "I told the girls as well. I'll fill Ned in later before we go out on our date."

Jason remained silent for a long moment.

"Jason?" Cassie asked tentatively. "Are you still there?"

"Too convenient," Jason finally said.

"What?"

"Come on, Cassie. You and Melinda just happen to be in the right place at the right time to overhear Melissa tell her plans to Susan?"

Cassie was upset that not one but two things she thought she had done well were called into question. It made her feel like she had done nothing right that day. "You're not making any sense. Why do that in the first place?"

"I honestly don't know. And if it were just that, or just the letter about the meeting place, I might not be so suspicious."

"So what do we do now? Even if Melissa had staged that scene in the hallway, it's obvious she's up to something."

"Yeah, I know. Damn. We're not supposed to get in her way, but..."

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm not sure you're interpreting Mara's prediction correctly."

Jason made a face. "Yeah, Ned read me the riot act on that already," he said sourly.

"Jason, I'm going to try my lucid dreaming one more time tonight," said Cassie. "I'm pretty close to a breakthrough. Maybe I can confirm Melissa's plans."

"All right. Thank you. I know that sort of thing is hard for you to do."

"To be honest, after hearing what she might be doing to poor Susan and her mother, I don't have as much sympathy for her. Maybe people have been cruel to her in the past, but I don't think it justifies this."

"I know, but try telling her that," Jason said, his voice more calm and even. "But what about this house? You sure that everything looked okay, Cassie?"

"Positive. We were there for an hour and nothing happened to us. Heather didn't sense anything sinister at all."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "An hour? Doing what?"

"Talking. We ... worked a few things out."

"Oh?"

Cassie tried to find the right way to say it without embarrassing him. "We think we got a handle on your, um, submissiveness problem. Both Heather and Melinda are going to back off."

Jason blinked. "Back off? But ... uh ... Melinda and I are..."

"No, I don't mean it like that. Just for Harbinger stuff. And Melinda agreed to let me keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't get out of line."

Jason was stunned. He had been in a catch-22 because the problem would have prevented him from being as forceful with Melinda as he needed to be to correct it himself. He had been too embarrassed to ask for help. He realized that was foolish on his part, but the male ego was a powerful thing.

"Thank you, Cassie," he said softly. "I owe you big. Again."

"I just wanted to help."

Jason did feel a small measure of disappointment. He had enjoyed having sex with Heather again. It wasn't better than with Melinda, just different. Having the variety had been nice.

After a moment's thought, however, he realized the flaw in the plan. "I appreciate it, Cassie, but Heather and Melinda still have their own problem they need to..."

"That's taken care of as well," said Cassie, a hint of pride in her voice. "Or rather, I think they're going to take care of it soon."

"Oh. Wow."

Cassie giggled. "Seems crazy, doesn't it? How we all seem to talk about sex routinely now?"

Jason forced a weak smile. He could not get the image of Miss Davis out of his head. Only to him there had been nothing erotic about it. It had disturbed him that Richie could be so shameless.

And now Jason realized he had to inform Cassie of the bad news. "Cassie, I need to tell you something. It's about Richie. He's out of the group."

There was a moment of silence at Cassie's end, then a slow sigh.

"I had to, Cassie. He's messing with Miss Davis and he won't quit. He doesn't see what's wrong with it. I can't rely on him anymore. I'm not sure I ever could."

"Jason, what is he doing with Miss Davis? Has he enslaved her?"

"It's as good as that."

"Is he playing to some fantasy of hers?"

Jason frowned. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Because that's a common theme of some of the other things we've seen lingering in people after Nyssa."

"But it doesn't excuse Richie's actions!"

"I'm not saying it does, but ... well, didn't you tell me that Miss Davis sort of flirted with Richie over the summer?"

"That's what Richie claims anyway," Jason said acidly. "But he can claim anything he wants. And that doesn't make it Miss Davis' fault."

"I didn't say that either!"

Jason sighed. "This isn't getting us anywhere. The fact of the matter is that he let us down. Again. I can't deal with having to watch him all the time."

Cassie thought there was more to it. She herself knew that fantasies could be very powerful things. Nyssa had manipulated one of hers, one that still came back to her at odd moments when she was alone. But she never knew whether she had any lingering influence simply because she never felt the urge to try it.

"All right, Jason," Cassie said. "You're the leader of this group, so it's your decision."

"Yes, I am," Jason said firmly. "And that decision stands."

"I need to go. I need to get ready for my date with Ned."

"Sure thing, Cassie." He smiled. "It's about time."

"About ... huh?"

"You and him I mean. Considering how much you two like each other."

Cassie giggled weakly. "I guess we are that obvious."

"If it helps any, it was Heather that had mentioned it to me a week ago. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice time."

"I'll try. Bye."

"Bye."

-------

Richie poked at his dinner, his head leaning against one hand, his face morose. Sandra cast furtive glances, her eyes unable to settle on annoyance or concern.

"Is there something wrong with dinner, Richie?" Sandra finally asked when the silence became too much for her.

Richie shook his head without lifting his eyes. He speared a piece of chicken on his plate, seemed to contemplate it for a moment, then finally popped it in his mouth. He wrinkled his nose and sighed as he chewed, as if the meal had suddenly tasted bad to him despite being one of his favorites.

"You barely ate only half of it."

Richie shrugged. "Not that hungry."

Sandra frowned and opened her mouth, but stopped herself from making an acidic comment. The frown faded. She didn't want to risk another hurtful remark. She was not sure she could take much more from him.

She thought it rather cruel that the Darkness would not protect her feelings from Richie's sharp tongue. It would be better if she were made a total, mindless slave to it. Then she would not be conscious of Richie's hatred.

Sandra looked at Richie again. She had had the foolish notion that if she had stayed home and cooked a proper meal for him that he might actually afford her a little kindness. She did not truly believe she deserved any, but it would have made her feel better. There was so little she could do for him anymore.

"I'm sorry for this morning, Richie," Sandra blurted, though she knew it was just the wrong thing to say.

Richie's fork clattered to the plate. "Huh?"

"This morning. Whatever I did that made you upset. I'm sorry."

Richie's eyes narrowed and again burned with anger. One hand clenched, then slowly let go. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said sullenly. He moved to pick up his fork, paused, and looked at his mother again. "Mom, why'd you come to Haven?"

Sandra looked surprised at the question. "That was a long time ago. I'm not really sure anymore..."

"Bullshit."

Sandra glared at Richie, but quickly subsided. "Why is that important to you?"

"Why won't you answer it?"

Sandra hesitated. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "It's ... it's rather personal, Richie."

"Yeah, so?"

Sandra grimaced. Remembering was nearly as hurtful as Richie's words had been that morning. She waited, silently begging the Darkness to descend upon her and block out the horrible memories. But the Darkness was again cruel to her, and let her experience the emotional pain.

Perhaps it was part of her punishment. Perhaps the Darkness knew that she had stolen moments for herself as recently as the week before. Now it would let her wallow in self-misery as a reward.

She glared at Richie again. "Yeah, and how do I know you just don't want more shit to throw back at me?"

"I just want some fucking straight answers for a change."

"I didn't want any of this to happen. You have to understand that."

Richie threw his fork down again. It bounced off the plate and clattered to the tablecloth. "You totally fuck up my life and then you won't even tell me why. Yeah, some Mom you are."

Sandra felt her throat close up.

Richie shook his head and stood up. He fixed a narrow gaze at her. His expression softened slightly, but he turned away from the table just the same and started to walk out of the room.

"I was looking for help!" Sandra exclaimed.

Richie stopped at the door and turned around. "Huh? Help for what?"

"For a ... a personal problem. Between me and your father."

"What kinda problem?"

Sandra knitted her fingers together anxiously. "A sexual problem, Richie," she said in a low voice.

Richie's eyes widened.

"I was ... I couldn't ... I had trouble getting in the mood for him."

Richie stared. "You're kidding."

Sandra averted her eyes in embarrassment. "No, I'm not. We had..."

She trailed off. Her pussy was warm and damp. Not now ... please, let me finish ... if I'm to tell him the truth, let me do it my way!

Richie snorted humorlessly. "Yeah, guess you had that problem fixed, huh? You can do it with anything that moves now."

"That's not what I wanted, Richie," Sandra cried, though the wave of desire coming over her robbed it of its conviction. "I just wanted to make love to your father again."

"And you came to Haven for that? I don't get it, Mom. What the fuck was here that you didn't have back where we lived in Randall?"

Sandra felt the tendrils slithering into her mind again, wrapping themselves around her thoughts. She had little energy for resistance. Each time it got harder. "A therapist," she said in a husky voice. "A ... wonderful therapist..."

Her pussy grew hot and wet. Her thighs parted to relieve the pressure. Her arousal soared as she remembered what he had done to her, how he had twisted her desires and made her need sex as much as want it.

Richie said nothing. He just stared, his mouth open.

Sandra fought to say her own words in her own voice, but it was a losing battle. "He changed me, Richie. He made me enjoy sex again. Really enjoy it."

Richie closed his mouth. His hands clenched. It was happening again. Just when he was going to find out something, she was stopped. He wanted to sympathize with her. He knew he should, but he couldn't. The anger and the years of frustration and growing resentment were too great.

She came to Haven herself. She started it. Jason had talked about betrayal, but he felt Jason was wrong. His own mother was the original betrayer. She betrayed Richie and his father.

Richie seethed with hatred, but he bit back the impulse to shout it at her. He had gained at least that measure of compassion, however fleeting it may prove to be.

Sandra could not talk anymore. She was afraid of what she might say. The Darkness had made her intensely lustful again. Her pussy begged for relief and she had to satisfy it.

"Yeah, you enjoy it all right," Richie said in a sullen voice. "Sure. You get all that you want now. Hope it makes you happy."

The words hurt, but they also excited her beyond all reason. Her hand disappeared under the table. There was the sound of a zipper, the slide of fabric, and then wet noises.

Richie swallowed. He stared for another moment, then quickly left the room.

Sandra moaned, her fingers working wet and needful flesh. She rose at first, then hovered. She moved faster, until the uneven legs of the chair made a rapping sound against the hardwood as it rocked back and forth. She whimpered piteously as relief came no closer no matter how furiously her fingers worked her slit.

Bad girl.

Sandra whimpered again. Her pussy felt horribly achy with unsatisfied lust.

Very bad girl.

"I'm sorry..." she begged softly. "Please..."

Tell him nothing.

"B-but he deserves to know. I didn't ... I..."

No.

Sandra let her breath go as a despairing sigh. She pulled her shaking hand from under her panties. The voice fell silent in her head, but its anger was with her still.

She rose from the table. Her pussy still burned. It would stay that way, with no way to cum, until it was satisfied that she was sufficiently punished. Until she could be a good girl again. She would look forward to that.

She wiped at her eyes, took a deep breath to compose herself, and began to clear the table.

-------

David Sovert rose from the dinner table. "Good meal, honey."

Penny smiled at him. "Thank you."

He pushed in his chair. "I need to reply to a few emails at work. Won't be long."

"Now now, dear," said Penny as she stood, taking a large bowl in her hand. "We didn't get you that internet setup so you could spend your off time at work."

David smiled. "I know, honey. I'll keep them brief."

"You better. I'll be waiting for you."

Heather shuddered at the husky tone of her mother's voice. Melinda made a face and averted her eyes when David planted a light but lingering kiss on his wife's lips. "Need help with the cleanup?" he asked softly.

"No, that's fine. It's Heather's turn tonight."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit."

They kissed again and parted.

Melinda watched her father's retreating back and shivered before standing. "May I be excused?" she said in a small voice, not meeting her mother's gaze.

Penny looked at her for a moment. Heather heard the tiny sigh. "Yes, you may."

Melinda nodded. She looked back at Heather. Her eyes held a sultry, needful look. She swallowed and fled.

Heather felt guilty. She had been thinking about Melinda all through the meal, and it had obviously affected her little sister. But at least this time Heather didn't see the anger or frustration. If Melinda were upset about anything, it was her father.

Heather couldn't see it no matter how hard she looked. But Melinda claimed she could. It was just a very faint wisp, barely there, as if it had been a stray tendril of someone else's Aura that had found itself a new host. It was Penny's influence over him. She was exerting it more often now.

Until that evening, Melinda had held out some hope that her father had not been seriously affected by her mother's fall. Now it seemed that was gone as well.

"Heather?" Penny said crisply before carrying the bowl into the kitchen.

Heather stood and cleared the table. She helped her mother load the dishwasher in utter silence, then stood by the sink to help wash the pans and implements that could not go through the washer.

Penny turned her head and glanced at her daughter on occasion, her dark red ponytail wagging. "You're quiet tonight."

"I have something else on my mind right now, mother."

Penny sighed through her nose. "Mom" had become "mother" as of that morning. She felt like it was a demotion. "May I ask what?"

"Melinda."

"Oh?"

As casually as she could, and without bothering to lower her voice so her father would not hear, she said, "I'm going to have sex with her tonight."

Penny froze with a plate halfway out of the soapy water. She blinked a few times, then handed the plate to Heather for rinsing and drying without a word.

Heather turned to her mother with the dripping plate in her hand. "Don't you care?"

Penny looked at her. "Is it something you want to do?"

Heather hadn't expected that question, and there was a pause before she answered. "Yes."

"Then what... ?"

"Don't you care why I want to?"

"You're getting water on the floor."

Heather dutifully, if a bit perfunctorily, rinsed the plate and set it out to dry. "It didn't come from me," she said without looking at her mother. "And I'm practically controlling Melinda into doing it."

Penny's gaze hardened. "Don't blame this on me, Heather. Or ... or Haven. You're not being controlled by anyone anymore."

"No thanks to you," Heather muttered.

"I don't want to go into this again."

"Tell me something, please. Does it want us to do this?"

Penny hesitated. "I don't follow you."

"Yes, you do. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It wanted me to enslave my sister. Does it want me to do this, too?"

Penny stared at her daughter for a long moment, her eyes shimmering. "I-I can't tell," she said softly, averting her eyes.

Heather had hoped for an answer of "no." Then it would have been an act of defiance. She had dreaded an answer of "yes." Then she couldn't do it, no matter how badly the desire burned. She'd sooner die that do something the Darkness wanted.

This was neither. But it would have to do.

"I'm doing this for me," Heather said softly but vehemently. "No one else. And Melinda agreed. Willingly. She made the decision herself."

Heather actually still had her doubts, but she had to keep the conviction strong in her voice. She had to deny it any satisfaction it might get from this.

"Fine," Penny said in a small voice as she pulled out the drain plug. "That's fine, Heather. It's ... a good thing."

"I wish I could believe you really mean that," Heather said as she headed out of the kitchen.

-------

Cassie looked at Ned across the table in the restaurant, tilting her head as she took a sip of her soda through the straw. "Ned, is there something bothering you?"

Ned blinked. His eyes slid back into focus. "Huh? Oh, uh, no, babe, I'm fine."

Cassie put down her glass. "You've just been so quiet. It's not like you."

Ned tried to give her an unconcerned grin, but it came out lopsided as it always did when he was faking. "Aw, yer prolly tired of hearin' my lame jokes anyway."

"I don't think your jokes are lame."

Ned felt heat rise to his cheeks. It happened every time Cassie paid him a compliment he felt he didn't deserve. Which was about every one of them so far.

Cassie sighed despondently. "It's me, isn't it?"

Ned stared. "Huh?"

"I tried to dress casual, Ned, but this is as casual as my parents would allow."

Ned couldn't help but grin faintly. He thought she was beautiful, no matter what she was wearing. Though he understood what she meant. She was the best-dressed girl in the place. Her deep blue gown was cinched at the waist, allowing her hips to flare a bit and show off their curves. There was a bit of sparkle along the hems. Her hair was piled atop her head and woven into an elegant bun, with a short ponytail emerging from one side and draped alongside her head, just brushing one cheek.

"No, yer fine, really. I mean, I kinda figgered that an' tried ta dress the same way myself."

Cassie smiled. "Yes, I noticed. You look quite handsome."

Ned snorted as he glanced down at himself. His look was simpler, though in stark contrast to his usual attire. He wore a neat, gray, buttoned shirt and a dark blue set of dress pants.

"This ain't even mine," Ned said, grabbing at his shirt. It appeared to be fitted for someone with a much broader chest. "Hand-me-down from my big bro."

"Well, it still looks nice. It was good of him to let you have it."

Ned shrugged. "He don't need it in jail."

Cassie's eyes widened. "In where?"

Ned could have smacked himself. "Long story. Let's just say he made a lotta bad decisions back in the ol' neighborhood."

Cassie nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Ned looked at her and interpreted her silence differently. "Eh, you don't wanna hear about my life."

"Who says I don't?"

Ned didn't reply, which led Cassie to draw her own conclusions.

"Wait, this isn't about me, is it?" she asked in a pained voice.

"Huh?"

"Ned, I tried to downplay this as much as possible. I don't want you of all people thinking of me as the little rich girl. I hate that almost as much as I used to hate people thinking I was insane because of my dreams."

"Whoa, no, babe, I'm sorry," Ned said quickly. "C'mon, Cassie, I know ya don't wanna put on airs. I wouldn't think ya were so cool if ya did that. Yer Mom made ya wear that, right?"

"Yes, she did."

"I mean, ya look great in it, but I know it prolly wasn't yer first choice."

Cassie paused, then smiled slightly. "Well ... I did want to look nice for you."

"Ya always look nice, Cassie."

Cassie blushed. Her smile widened.

"I just ... I dunno, I feel funny comparing myself to you. Like yer outta my league or something. I mean, wow, I'm so different from you it's nuts. It's like a movie cliche. Rich upper class girl, poor city boy. So, it's me. It's my hangup."

"I think I understand," said Cassie. She tilted her head. "So why do you call yourself a poor city boy?"

"Cuz of where I'm from. Grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New Yawk City," he said with a smirk, purposely parodying the accent. "Not exactly the garden spot of the world, ya know. Kinda rough neighborhood."

"Oh wow," Cassie said softly, her eyes wide. "How bad was it?"

Ned grinned and pointed at his nose. "A little souvenir. Got inta a fight and got my nose smashed. Not enough money in the family piggy-bank to fix it right."

Cassie covered her mouth with her hand for a moment. "Oh my, I'm so sorry..."

Ned shrugged. "Eh. Least it gets me a distinctive moniker 'round here. Everyone knows 'The Nose.' I was jus' at the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm not really much of a fighter and don't really wanna be."

"And your brother... ?"

Ned shrugged. "He made his own problems, let's just say that."

"Wow."

Ned smirked. "See? Betcha sorry ya asked."

Cassie was anything but sorry. His story had fanned the flames of her desire for him. She wasn't sure exactly why. It was a bit like Richie all over again, which worried her as much as it excited her.

She shifted in her seat. Her panties were damp, making her blush deepen.

"You okay, Cassie?" Ned asked.

She looked at him. Her eyes were dark and sultry. She blinked rapidly a few times and drew back in her seat. "Um ... I'm fine."

Ned grinned. "Man, ya really are interested in this, huh?"

Cassie smiled. "Yes, Ned, very much. I don't mind we're opposites. In fact, I rather like it."

"You do?"

Cassie nodded. Her cheeks were still faintly pink.

"Huh, wow. Sorta like yer the uptown girl and I'm the back street guy. Someone oughta write a song about that ... oh, wait..."

Cassie dissolved into giggles.

Ned smiled. He felt a little better. It even made up for the embarrassment he endured at the start of the day. He still had not told Cassie about it.

Cassie was still giggling when the waitress delivered their meals. By the time she stopped, her pussy was very warm and wet. She had to pause to catch her breath and drink some cold water in hopes of quelling the heat. She was only partially successful.

"Ned, did you say your parents were out earlier?" Cassie asked as she picked up her fork.

"Um, yeah, they were spendin' time with relatives. Why?"

"Could we go back there for a bit after dinner? I just ... I just want a little time alone with you, that's all."

Ned gave her a surprised look. "You do? Er ... well, um, okay. But yer driver will wanna..."

"If we tell him a parent is home, I think he'll let us go in alone."

Ned slowly smiled. His heart thumped. Okay, dude, don't ya dare get yer hopes up,  he thought. She ain't that kinda gal. "Yer gettin' devious. I like that in a girl."

Cassie giggled again. He never got tired of hearing that sound.

-------

Heather slowly closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall beside it, her hand still resting on the knob. Her eyes held both desire and uncertainty as she gazed at her little sister.

Melinda stood by one corner of the foot of her bed. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it without saying a word. Her hands lay before her, sometimes folded demurely, sometimes fidgeting, as if she could not settle on how to present herself.

Heather saw the hint of submissiveness in Melinda's stance. A wave of heat passed over her, and she drew in her breath and let it go as a sultry sigh. Melinda trembled, her eyes dark with growing lust, yet held a pleading look.

"You're doing it again," Melinda said softly, though there was little admonishment in her tone.

"Sorry," Heather replied. There was just as little contriteness.

"You don't have to be, bubblehead. This is what you wanted."

Heather took a step towards her sister. "Only because you said it was okay. Are you having second thoughts?"

Melinda swallowed. Her cheeks pinked. "I c-can't. Not now. Not like this."

Heather looked past Melinda for a moment. It was only now that she realized what was missing. Melinda had moved most of her stuffed animals off her bed. Now all but her favorite -- a tiny pink bunny -- remained, looking forgotten in a far corner.

Suddenly her "little sister" didn't seem so little anymore.

"Heather, promise me one thing, please," Melinda said in a quivering voice. "Don't ... don't make me do anything embarrassing. Please?"

"I don't want to do that, Melinda. I'm hoping you'll enjoy it. I want to give you pleasure as well. I want to make you cum as much as..."

Melinda shivered and moaned. She was growing even more aroused. Heather could not help but grin. It was amusing as well as arousing to seeing her sister like this.

"Melinda ... take off your shirt and jeans."

Melinda appeared to resist for a moment, but it only made the heat in her pussy worse. Her trembling hands grabbed the shirt and pulled it over her head. Heather looked mildly inquisitive as the simple white bra was exposed.

"You went up another bra size?"

"About time you noticed," Melinda breathed.

Melinda tossed the shirt to the side. She squirmed as she undid her jeans and pushed them down her legs. Her sensitive nipples rubbed against the inside of her bra cups as she moved, sending shivers through her.

She stepped out of her jeans and straightened. A dark and glistening stain spread over the crotch of her panties. The soaked fabric clung to her folds. She shifted her hips, moaning softly as her pussy tingled madly.

Heather uttered a breathy, lust-filled sigh. "You're so pretty, Melinda."

Melinda managed a tiny smile. "You're only saying that because you're horny."

"Don't sell yourself short. Jason is very lucky."

Melinda's looked at Heather in surprise. Somehow she knew Heather was being sincere.

Heather stepped up to her sister. Melinda raised her eyes, but then closed them with a low, long moan as Heather touched one of the raised bumps of Melinda's nipples pressed against the bra.

"So you're up a size, huh?" Heather asked with a sly smile as she flicked at one of Melinda's nipples. "Show me."

Melinda shed her bra. Her breasts rolled from the cups, round, pert, and beautiful. Heather gently turned Melinda around. Melinda panted in anticipation as Heather's hands slid around her sides and cupped the warm and soft flesh.

"Uhhnn..." Melinda moaned. "Ohmigod..."

Heather's thumping heart was a dull throbbing in her swollen sex. "They feel really nice, Melinda."

Melinda writhed in her sister's hands. Her thighs grew slick. "Uhhn ... uhhh... God..."

Heather's advances grew more bold and self-assured. She was influencing her little sister all right. She had fired Melinda's lust until the heat had made her melt in Heather's hands. But it was not mindless obedience. It was simply that Melinda was too horny to refuse.

Heather's hand slipped down. Melinda panted harder just in the anticipation of the touch. Heather teased her, playing with the waistband of her panties, tugging them into her slit.

"Uhhhn! H-Heather ... p-please, touch me..." Melinda begged.

Heather's hand slid down and under. Fingers slid into young folds. A single finger slipped into a tight tunnel.

Melinda squealed and burst into orgasm, her hips jerking hard against Heather. Her pussy squeezed Heather's finger. Heather pumped it back and forth until Melinda was panting hard. Melinda's legs grew weak, and she staggered.

"Wow, you went off like a rocket," Heather said, giggling. She withdrew her hand and stepped back.

Melinda spun around. "D-don't you dare make that the last one you do to me!"

"I wouldn't dream of it, Melinda. I need to undress. Take of your panties and play with yourself for me."

Melinda looked defiant for a moment, but it quickly faded. She was still too wet and too needy. There was a wet sound as her panties peeled away from her bare, slick mound. She slid her feet apart and slipped her hand over her still-aching pussy. Her fingers sank into her slit with a faint squish.

Heather stripped as Melinda watched. Melinda's breath quickened when Heather's large breasts bounced free. They dangled under her as she bent down to remove the rest. "And you say I'm good looking," Melinda said. "Miss Big Boobs of Haven High."

Heather cast her clothes aside. Naked, she walked up to her sister. Melinda's fingers moved more urgently. "Jason is your boyfriend, not mine."

"You ... y-you went after him ... uhhn..."

Heather's hand had replaced Melinda's. Melinda slid her feet even further apart, her thighs quivering. Heather spoke to her in soft tones. "I went after him once. I don't want him as a boyfriend, Melinda. He wants you, not me. I won't take that away from you."

Melinda collapsed into Heather, pumping her hips against Heather's fingers, whimpering with desire. She felt Heather's wonderfully plump breasts against her body, sending another wave of heat over her.

Heather removed her hand from Melinda and backed up a step. She took Melinda's hands in her own. Melinda looked at her sister with pleading, intensely lustful eyes.

Heather stepped backwards, taking Melinda with her. She sat on the edge of her bed and gently pulled Melinda between her knees. "So you like my boobs?" Heather said with a sly smile. "You think you might show me how much you like them?"

Melinda knew what her sister wanted. Heather slipped an arm around her and pulled very gently. She balked and resisted. Heather lifted inquisitive eyes to Melinda. The gaze that stared back betrayed surprise.

With all her defenses stripped away, her psyche laid bare and helpless, Melinda finally saw a kindness in Heather that she hadn't realized existed. Or that she simply had refused to see.

"Please, Melinda," Heather whispered.

Between her own revelation and Heather's will, Melinda's resistance collapsed She fell against Heather, and when her sister's breast pressed against her face, she eagerly sought the nipple like a hungry child.

Heather gasped and let out a ragged moan, a shiver passing through her body as Melinda sucked. "Oh God ... oh yeah... "

Melinda drew herself closer to Heather. Her tongue licked faster, making Heather shudder in delight. Heather's legs trembled as she parted them, her pussy swollen and steamy.

"Uhh ... oh God ... oh Melinda..." Heather moaned. Her hands slid down Melinda's back and over her ass, squeezing the cheeks. Melinda whimpered into Heather's breast as her pussy throbbed lightly with her heartbeat. She clamped her lips around the nipple and sucked hard.

"Uhhh! ... God, I'm so horny ... touch my pussy, Melinda ... touch..."

Heather threw her head back as Melinda's fingers sank into her steaming folds. Heather panted wildly as her sister rubbed her clit with quick, eager strokes. She started to rise, and was torn between letting Melinda continue and get relief now, or have Melinda do what she really wanted.

But no sooner than Heather had thought it when Melinda's lips parted from Heather's breast with a ragged, lustful sigh. "You want me to lick it, don't you?"

Heather gazed into Melinda's eyes. They were glazed with lust and silently pleading. She was trembling with her own intense need. Heather glanced downward. The insides of Melinda's thighs were damp. A single drop of fluid trickled slowly down towards her knee.

Heather slid her arms up Melinda's sides. Melinda moaned softly. Every touch sent a new thrill through her body. She couldn't think of anything else, her mind thoroughly addled by desire. Heather had Melinda at her mercy.

"Yes, I do," Heather whispered. "I want to cum all over your sweet little face, Melinda. But not yet. Here, lie on my bed."

Melinda paused as if confused. Heather stood and smiled at her, and she understood. Melinda gave her sister a grateful smile in return and did as she was told.

Melinda panted eagerly in anticipation, drawing her feet to her and dropping her knees to either side. Her bare pubes were slick. Her clit, normally nearly hidden by the tightness of her slit, bulged from between her folds, a swollen knob of aroused flesh. Heather crawled between Melinda's legs, running her hands along Melinda's thighs. Melinda shivered and uttered a high-pitched, desperate moan.

Her moan turned to a gasp, her back arching briefly as Heather's tongue invaded her folds. She writhed and panted as Heather flicked and teased her clit, driving her into a frenzy. Heather clamped her mouth over Melinda's mound and sucked, drawing Melinda's clit out so she could stroke the whole shaft with her tongue.

"Ohhh! ... Ohmigod! ... Uhhnn!" Melinda cried. Heather's lips closed around her clit, cheeks dimpling and tongue lashing mercilessly. Melinda soared and crested hard. Her pussy throbbed so intensely that she saw stars at the edges of her vision. She squealed in delight as her orgasm shattered what little composure she had left.

Heather relented slowly, drawing out her sister's orgasm. She occasionally gave Melinda's clit a harder flick, making her jerk and utter a sudden, guttural "uh!" sound as her fading orgasm briefly spiked again.

By the time Heather drew back, Melinda's head lolled to one side and she let go with a long, sultry sigh.

Heather smiled and left her sister, stepping into the bathroom. She returned a moment later carrying a towel. She placed it on the bed to one side then crawled atop Melinda. Heather's breasts dangled under her and brushed against her sister's. Her nipples tingled as they slid across soft flesh.

Melinda turned her head. She gazed up at Heather and murmured, "Thank you. God, I was so horny."

Heather's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Maybe you're still just a bit horny."

Melinda shuddered and moaned. Her pussy grew warm again, even as it ached from the afterglow of her orgasm. "Uhh ... God ... how do you do that... ?"

"Don't worry, I'll make you cum again if you need it. But now I need something from you."

Melinda swallowed. "You want me to lick your pussy," she said. Her cheeks didn't even color.

"Oh yes." Heather retrieved the towel. "Lift your head."

Melinda complied. Heather slipped the towel under her. She looked up at Heather in alarm. "You want me to do it on my back? I'll drown!"

Heather giggled. "Oh, you will not. In fact, you love doing it this way."

Melinda's eyes widened as her pussy seemed to throb lightly at the thought, making her squirm. "Oh that's so not fair, Heather..." she protested, though it was weak, and there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

Heather smiled wickedly. She planted a knee on either side of her sister and positioned her hips over Melinda's face. Melinda looked up at Heather's musky sex, feeling a sudden surge of want.

Heather lowered herself delicately, leaning forward and grasping the headboard of the bed. She stopped when she felt the light touch of Melinda's face against her sex. She shivered and gasped softly as something wonderfully warm and wet caressed her slit.

Melinda's hands slid around her sister's thighs. Then to Heather's surprise and delight, they urged her lower. Panting in growing excitement, she lowered herself further, moaning deeply as Melinda's mouth pressed more firmly against her mound.

"Oh yeah! ... Don't stop, please..."

Melinda was panting as well, tilting her head back and pulling Heather towards her again. Her face pressed harder to Heather's pussy, her senses nearly overwhelmed by the heat and aroma. One of her hands left Heather's legs and slipped between her own. Melinda moaned into Heather's pussy, the vibration sending another ripple of pleasure through Heather's body.

Melinda worked her own slit with her hand as her tongue worked Heather's. Heather arched her back and angled her hips, pressing a little more of her pussy against Melinda's face. Melinda licked steadily faster, her fingers rubbing herself in a wet frenzy.

"Uhhh! ... oh God ... ohh... ohhh!"

Melinda suddenly gurgled, fluid jetting into her mouth and splashing over her face. She gurgled a second time, her mouth filled with Heather's cum. She made a gulping sound as she swallowed, breathing hard through her nose to catch her breath. After the brief pause, she continued licking as if Heather had not even climaxed.

Heather was about to lift her hips from Melinda's face. Instead, she gasped and shuddered as her pussy burst into a second orgasm. Her pussy squirted again, though only a trickle by comparison to the first time.

Finally, gasping to catch her breath, Heather pulled back from her sister and collapsed onto her side. Melinda's back arched and she moaned as she drove herself to climax.

"Oh wow..." Heather moaned.

"Yeah..." Melinda panted. "Wow..."

Heather slid beside Melinda. She took the towel from under Melinda's head and used it to help clean her sister's face. Melinda licked at her lips and gave Heather a glare. "Never told me you were going to make me drink it, you bubblehead!"

The two stared at each other for a long moment, then burst out laughing at the same time.

Heather pulled Melinda into her arms and hugged tightly. Melinda embraced her sister in return, uttering a long sigh.

Heather smiled. "Was it that bad after all?"

Melinda considered for a long moment, gazing into Heather's eyes. "No, I guess not," she said softly.

"I tried to be nice about it."

"I know."

"I tried not to embarrass you."

Melinda nodded, her lips slowly curling.

"I tried to..."

"Oh, give it a rest already!" Melinda said, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Don't you ever shut up? God!"

Heather smirked.

Melinda grinned faintly. "I'm sorry I thought you were going to enslave me again."

"It's all right. I'm just glad you're convinced I'm not the enemy."

"No, you're just going to make your poor little sister too horny to think whenever you need to get off again."

"Well ... I'm hoping it won't be all the time. I'll try not to. I don't want to take time away from you and Jason."

Melinda slowly smiled and hugged her sister again.

"Come on, we need a shower," said Heather when they parted.

"Who first?"

Heather paused. "Share one?"

Melinda blinked. "What?"

"Why not?"

Melinda glanced at the bathroom, then nodded. "Yeah. Why not?"

Heather took Melinda's hand. The two exchanged a look of affection that they had not shown each other for a very long time before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind them.

-------

Cassie's hair lay spilled about the sofa cushion, having come undone from its bun. One leg fell, her foot hitting the floor, the shoe popping off and bouncing under the coffee table. She gasped for breath as she writhed, her lips pressed to Ned's in an escalating fury of passion.

She felt Ned's lips part tentatively. She did the same, shuddering as his tongue invaded her. She moaned into his mouth, the foot on the floor sliding out and back, her pussy aching and throbbing. Her desire burned hot.

One of Ned's hands slid up her body and grabbed at one of her breasts through her gown.

"Mmmph!" Cassie cried. She trembled, her legs trying to part further. She panted hard, sounding almost as if she were suffocating. Desire escalated to lust as Ned tried to pop her breast from its confining dress and bra.

"Mmmph! Mmmrh ... stop ... Ned, stop!"

Ned froze and lifted his head, one hand still curled around her breast. Cassie gasped for air and tried to calm herself down. She felt Ned's hand still on one of her tits and squirmed, her nipples tingling madly.

"Ned..." she whispered urgently, barely able to get her voice to work.

Ned blinked stupidly for a moment, then snatched his hand away. He scrambled to a sitting position on the sofa.

Cassie rose slowly, still breathing hard. She closed her eyes and swallowed as her wet panties squished in her slit. She moaned softly as she drew herself upright and raised a trembling hand to her face.

"I'm sorry. Oh man ... I'm sorry..." Ned groaned. "Aw, man, I really screwed things up ... I..."

"Ned!" Cassie exclaimed. She put a shaking hand on his shoulder. "It's all right. Please, don't blame yourself."

"I just thought ... I thought you wanted to..."

Cassie turned her head towards him. Her eyes still smoldered. "I do. I want it really badly."

Ned looked confused. "Oh ... Um ... Okay."

Cassie sighed and hung her head for a moment. "But I shouldn't want it this badly. I-I'm not ready for this yet."

Ned nodded quickly.

Cassie slumped in her seat. She tilted her head back and took a deep breath. "This must be the same thing as the others. Some influence left over."

Ned jumped to his feet, alarmed. "Aw, crap! Dammit!"

Cassie blinked. "What?"

"I'm doin' it. I'm gettin' inta yer head or something. I'm makin' ya do this."

"What? Ned, no. No. You're doing nothing of the sort."

"Cassie, please, are you sure? I mean, damn, I didn't want it this way."

"I'm sure, Ned. This isn't you. It's me. Ned, please, sit down."

Ned hesitated and looked at the sofa fearfully, as if afraid the proximity to Cassie would set him off again. He finally plopped into the seat, knitting his fingers together tightly in his lap, his shoulders slumped as if expecting punishment.

Cassie shivered once. "Ned, before I do it with you, I have to be sure of my own feelings. I'm a bit lost right now and it's scary."

"I didn't mean to scare ya, babe, I..."

"No, please, I told you, it's not you. Ned, you ... you're such a nice guy ... I really like you."

Ned stared. "You what?"

Cassie smiled. "I like you. A lot."

Ned slowly broke out into a grin. Somehow that meant more to him than a hot session of sex ever would.

"So I have to make sure I want to do it for the right reasons. Please, I hope you understand."

"Yeah, babe, I do," Ned said, sounding a lot more chipper now. "I mean, yeah, this woulda been real hot, but, yeah, ya wanna make sure it's you and not Haven."

Cassie nodded. "Yes, exactly. Please, don't feel bad about this, it's not your fault."

Ned gave her a lopsided grin. "Yeah, well, some of it kinda is. I think I kinda had something to prove."

Cassie tilted her head. "Prove? You don't have anything to prove with me."

"Nah, I mean ta myself. That I can ... that I still had some sorta control over ... uh, well, over certain things."

Cassie looked confused, even more so when Ned blushed.

Ned wrung his hands in his lap. "Um ... I sorta had a run-in with the poster child for evil at the school. Haltingly, he told her the whole story, his cheeks flaming by the time he was done. To his surprise, Cassie threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Ned," Cassie cried. "Oh, that must have been terrible!"

"Heh, not to mention messy. Don't 'xactly carry spares with me, ya know?"

"Ned, please, don't go near her again."

"Nah, I won't. Learned my lesson." He smiled faintly and glanced at the front door. "Well, um, you prolly better go before you get inta any trouble."

Cassie stood. "I'll need to fix my hair first."

Ned took her to the master bathroom upstairs. He kept glancing around nervously. The house was a cluttered mess. Boxes lay strewn about. Every level surface was piled with papers, magazines, catalogs. Old pieces of unused furniture were shoved into odd corners or lay blocking half a hallway. He was relieved when Cassie didn't seem to take notice of it.

Cassie fixed her hair up as best she could and straightened her dress. She walked with Ned to the door. "Ned, I really did have a nice time tonight."

Ned grinned. "So did I, babe. Even if we didn't, ah..."

Cassie blushed and smiled. "We might still do it at some point. Just not tonight."

"No prob. See ya in school tomorrow."

Cassie nodded. She opened the door, paused, then turned back around. She swept her eyes over the room. "I really love this house," she said wistfully. She smiled at Ned and left.

Ned closed the door behind her, grinning like a little kid on Christmas morning.



-------

Chapter 14




The veil stands before her as it always did, an indistinct misty haze, both real and imaginary. She reaches to it, her hand groping, her eyes straining. She can see them just beyond, dark shadows and vague shapes moving in the mist.

She takes a deep breath, her hand trembling as she steps forward. Her body shivers in her nightgown, her feet cold and clammy against the ground. She raises both hands now, and the veil seems to push back against her palms.

And as before, she pushes and struggles to reach the other side. The mist curls around her like a sinister fog, sending a chill through her. The dark shapes become tantalizingly recognizable, as they did each previous attempt.

There is a far off sound, very faint. A cry? A laugh? Or...

Suddenly the mist becomes like ice, sending a terrible cold through her. She is unable to move, as if having been frozen solid from the inside out, accompanied by a horrible sense of falling helplessly through a void.

And just as suddenly, the chill is gone, and Cassie is standing in a bedroom.

The shock wears off quickly. She is through! She broke through the veil! And now she watches a scene that is both erotic and macabre at the same time.

A girl lies naked on the bed, sprawled out, moaning in helpless, unsatisfied need. Tears stain her cheeks. She murmurs something. A plea, in a voice weakened by perhaps hours of begging that falls on cold, unfeeling ears.

Cassie recognizes her. It is Susan Radson.

Between her legs, an adult woman, also naked, lies with her face buried in Susan's sex. Her face is wet with Susan's moisture and her own tears. She licks at Susan's folds, her body shivering with intense, unwanted, unbearable arousal. Her hips writhe, a wet stain on the bed beneath her sopping pussy.

A sense of horror comes over Cassie. The woman is Susan's mother.

"Like being a pussy-slut, Mrs. Radson?"

Cassie gasps, eyes wide as she looks across the bed at Melissa. There is no feeling in her eyes. They are as icy as the mist. Cassie trembles at the sight of them.

Debby Radson moans her distress. Cassie can sense she wants to stop but cannot.

"This is what you'll be from now on. And just for Susan. You have to do it at least once every day, don't you? I can make it worse. Far worse. Or make it so Susan never cums. And if she doesn't, you don't either."

Debby shudders. It is as if she is trying to fight. Cassie wants to encourage her, but she is afraid. She does not know if Melissa can sense her presence if she did something other than observe.

"Stop fighting me!" Melissa cries. "Stop it! You can't win against me!"

Debby shudders again and her ministrations slow. Cassie bites her lip. Come on, Mrs. Radson. Come on. You can do it.

Cassie looks up, and for a moment, she is petrified. It is as if a bright, sinister green eye had locked with hers, its gaze dark and evil. But then light glints off gold, and she blinks. It is only Melissa's pendant, its five-pointed star laying against a breast.

Debby moans in despair, and her face drops to Susan's mound. She licks with even more abandon than before. Fresh tears leak from her eyes.

Melissa slowly smiles. It is a cruel smile, cold and wicked. "Bet you're starting to think about telling me what you know now, huh? Bet you want to tell me how to find that book."

Suddenly, Susan cries out in terrible pleasure. Her body bucks hard as her pussy spasms and throbs. As if Melissa wished one final humiliation, Debby mashes her face to Susan's mound, barely able to breathe as she jerks her head up and down. Susan's cries go on and on, her orgasm consuming her until she is totally spent and grows still save for the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

Debby finally stops and struggles to rise on all fours, her head hung low as she pants. She mewls and her body quivers. She is hanging just short of cumming, straining cruelly at the edge.

Cassie swallows, her heart racing, her stomach twisting.

"Well?" Melissa says.

"I can't... " Debby moans. "I can't ... I won't..."

Cassie holds her breath in the silence that follows. Melissa's face twists into a deep scowl as she turns away. Debby abruptly cries out, her eyes closing tightly. She collapses onto her side as her pussy throbs.

"It doesn't matter."

Cassie yelps as something flies through the air before her. She jumps back just in time to avoid being struck by a long, tapering object. It plunges into Susan's pussy with a loud squishing sound.

Susan screams. The fat dildo in her cunt mercilessly fucks her.

"Susan ... Susan!" Debby cries, struggling to get up. As soon as she is on all fours and crawling towards her daughter, a second dildo spears the air and buries itself in her cunt from behind.

"Ahhh! ... Nooo!..." Debby wails as she falls over onto her back.

"I'll get the information I want," Melissa says. "If not from you, then from elsewhere. I'm close. Really close. Once I have that book..."

She lifts her eyes. Fear clutches at her heart as Melissa appears to look directly at her.

Melissa smiles. " ... once I have it ... I'll make everyone pay..."

Cassie stifles a scream as she stumbles back. She is plunged again into the icy cold, stealing her breath and freezing her body. She is falling backwards, everything racing away from her into the mist...



-------

Cassie jerked awake with a huge gasp, her heart hammering so fast in her chest she was sure it would burst.

For a few moments, she was petrified, her mind still lodged in a disorienting limbo between dream and reality. She could still see Melissa in front of her and hear the horrible sexual torments that continued to play out behind her. It was as if something had snatched at her, holding her by a single tenuous yet stubborn tendril to the dream world.

Like an overstretched rubber band, the tendril snapped, and she crashed fully back into reality.

Her body jerked again as the paralyzing fear abruptly disappeared. She felt horribly drained. Now she remembered why she didn't do lucid dreaming too much. It sometimes put her so far into the dream world that it was harder to leave.

Cassie slowly sat up. She winced as a dull pain flared at her temples.

Great, a headache on top of everything else,  she lamented silently.

Cassie massaged her temples as she stood up. She took a few slow, deep breaths to try to calm herself. That had been one of the most vivid dream experiences she had ever had. Only some of the imagery from the House had come close.

She disappeared into the bathroom. In her view, most rooms in that house were much larger than they needed to be. But this one she didn't mind, as it had an alcove where she kept an electric kettle and boxes of herbal teas. These were the only things that seemed to settle her whenever she had a particularly disturbing or powerful dream.

She dropped a teabag into the cup and leaned against the door frame with a sigh as she waited for the water to boil. The revelations from her dream were only now starting to make sense to her. The more she thought about them, the more she shivered.

This is terrible,  she thought. Poor Susan. And her mother! Oh goodness ... and Melissa's other power... 

Cassie swallowed hard. Her dreams were never symbolic. If something flew through the air under its own power in her dream, it had done so in reality. The conclusion was inescapable and frightening.

A telekinetic,  Cassie thought, an icy chill creeping up her spine. If she wasn't powerful enough... 

Cassie poured her tea, sweetened it, and sipped it thoughtfully as she left the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed. She couldn't do that again. Breaking into Melissa's reality had taken too much out of her.

And that pendant, the one that had looked like...

Cassie looked puzzled. It was as if she had tried to chase down a thought and it had eluded her. What was she thinking about? The pendant? She had seen it, but it had not appeared to matter much in the dream. Melissa didn't do anything with it. It just hung from her neck like a piece of jewelry would.

She had to tell Jason about this, but later once she was not so shaky. She quietly finished her tea and set about getting ready for school.

-------



"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Sarah stood with her back to the desk, one hand grasping the edge to steady her. She panted and stared wild-eyed at Frank. Frank looked perplexed, as if he had no understanding of what had just happened.

"I-I did it..." Sarah breathed. "I broke free. I'm free. You can't get me anymore."

She glanced down at herself. She hastily put her bra back into position, covering up her bosom once more.

Frank sighed and cast a sad look at his wife. He shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in you, Sarah. Very disappointed."

Sarah trembled, wanting to cringe. She drew in a deep breath and let it go as a ragged sigh. She straightened up, slowly looking more confident. "No, Frank, you can't do that to me. I'm not your little plaything anymore, understand?!" she shouted, her hands curling into fists.

Frank frowned. "Very well. It doesn't matter. Nothing you say to me will change anything."

"I know what you've been doing, Frank!" Sarah said, baring her teeth like a vicious animal. "Right under my nose. Right in this house!"

"It's all part of my work, Sarah."

"That's not work! That's fucking with people's MINDS!"

"Don't even pretend to understand my work! You haven't the faintest clue what it's about. What it's really about."

"Oh, I know what it's about, Frank! You think I'm stupid? That poor woman from Randall. Not only do you fuck with her mind, you fuck her too!" She folded her arms defiantly. "So how many, Frank? How many did you hypnotize into being your private little SLUTS?!"

Frank sighed. "It's not like that. Sarah, please ... I need you ... if you would let me explain..."

"Explain? You have nothing to explain to me!" Sarah shouted. "And I have no reason to listen to you!"

"You are my wife!"

Sarah's eyes blazed. "I CAN CHANGE THAT!"

She snatched at her wedding band and threw it with all her might. Surprised, Frank lifted his hands to his face. The ring stung as it bounced off a bone in his wrist. With a sound like a tiny bell, it hit the hardwood floor and rolled into the open closet. Then came a strange noise, a hollow sound as it fetched up against the back of the closet...



-------

Richie's eyes blinked open.

"Arrrgggh!"

He curled his hands into fists, and beat them repeatedly against the mattress. He turned on his side and beat the pillow with one fist a dozen times, leaving it a misshapen, lumpy mass of down.

He stared at it for a moment, then swept it off the bed, sending it into a lamp on his night stand and nearly tipping it over. He wiped his face with his hand and sat up in bed, drawing his knees to his chest.

This was driving him crazy. Again and again, night after night. It was almost like those strange waking dreams he had at Linda's place.

But they were not dreams, they were real... 

Richie looked towards his closet. It appeared rather different from his dream. In the dream, it had a hinged door. His had a sliding door. In the dream the room had a bay window. His had a regular window.

The bay window. He remembered that. His mother had the bay window replaced when it got damaged by a falling branch from a heavy spring blizzard. He frowned. Was that it? Another weird look into the past?

No, that was stupid. No one can see the past like that. It had to be something else. Something that made more sense. Maybe he just dreamed it, and it wasn't real.

But it was real. He knew it. He could not bring himself to think otherwise. It was not so much belief as instinct.

Richie kicked off the covers and stood up. Jason would know about this. He always does. Or even Cassie. She's supposed to know about dreams. Maybe he was getting as wacky as her. He would just ask them...

Except he couldn't. Not anymore.

"Shit!" Richie exclaimed, stamping his foot.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. The images would not leave him. They replayed in his head. The scene of the ring being thrown, bouncing, disappearing into the closet, repeated over and over.

"Get the fuck out of my head!" he screamed and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

He turned his head and nearly jumped at his own reflection. Still panting, he stared at himself in the mirror.

He didn't know anymore who it was staring back. It looked like him. It was the familiar freckled face, tousled sandy hair, and changeable pale blue eyes that sometimes edged towards green. But it was as if a shell stood propped up against the sink. He stared at something vacant and empty.

Anger marred his face. Even that emotion seemed meaningless. He had the urge to punch out that reflection, to sock the fake Richie on the jaw and make the real one come back.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I am getting as whacked-out as Cassie."

He tore his eyes away. The images from his dream had faded. As long as he was not in his room, they didn't plague him. He seriously considered sleeping on the couch that night.

He sighed. He was alone in the house again. His mother would have already checked on him if she had been home. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or hurt.

Richie thumped the door with his fist and turned to use the shower.

-------

Melinda flounced onto the bus, her hair flying. She smiled at Jason as she plopped into her customary seat next to him. She snuggled against him briefly, giving him a half-hug with one arm.

Jason forced a faint smile. He wished he could share Melinda's apparent good spirits. He looked across the aisle as Heather sat down, looking more chipper herself. "Um ... so, you two, uh, take care of things?"

"Yeah, we boinked each other," Melinda said.

"Melinda!" Heather hissed and leaned forward. Her eyes flicked back and forth. "You want everyone in school to know?"

Melinda stuck her tongue out at Heather. "Maybe I don't care anymore."

Heather sighed and rolled her eyes, settling back into her seat.

"Well, even though we're more open about this stuff now, I don't think we want to advertise it," said Jason. He was making a conscious effort not to let himself be influenced by Melinda. It helped that he already had something else weighing heavily on his mind.

"Oh, yeah, and like there aren't others in school boinking each other more because of everything that happened," said Melinda loftily.

Jason subsided, then thought better of it. "I don't think they want to bring attention to it either, Melinda."

Before Melinda could reply, Heather cut in. "Where's Richie?"

Jason sighed and jerked his head to one side. Heather and Melinda craned their necks. Richie was sitting in the rearmost seat, staring sullenly out the window, as if making a conscious effort not to look their way.

"What's with him?" asked Heather.

"Maybe Miss Davis wouldn't let her boink him," piped Melinda. "I can always hope."

"He's out of the Harbingers," said Jason.

Heather stared at him in shock.

Melinda was shocked as well, but recovered swiftly. "About time!"

Jason felt reluctant to contradict Melinda, but the gravity of the act overcame it. "I didn't like doing it, but he wouldn't let go of Miss Davis."

Melinda gasped. "He did enslave her again! That fucking perv!"

"No, Melinda, it wasn't quite like that..."

"Don't tell me it wasn't! I know he..."

"Melinda," Heather said firmly. "You're doing it again."

Melinda frowned at her. "Huh?"

"What Cassie said yesterday."

"I'm just saying what I feel, that's all."

"I know, Melinda. But just ease off a little and let Jason talk, please?"

Melinda hesitated. Her instinct was to defy her big sister. It was what she always did. But it was a little harder to do now. She sighed and nodded. "Sorry, Jason."

Jason gave Heather a grateful look. "It's complicated. It's like Miss Davis has a fantasy and Richie is playing it out. But he's not giving her a chance to decide whether she really wants it or not."

"But he can't keep going around doing it with a teacher," Heather said in a low voice.

"Right. I know. Miss Davis knows it's wrong as well, but ... like I said, it's complicated. And it's not the only reason he's out."

"I would have gotten rid of him right after he went to Nyssa on his own," Melinda grumbled. "He's a traitor. He... "

"Melinda..." Heather began in a warning tone.

"Heather, I'm not saying anything Jason hasn't already said to me before."

"There's no point arguing about it," said Jason. "It's done. Leave it alone, please."

Heather noticed the pained look on Jason's face even if Melinda had not. It was obvious that it had hurt Jason to do this. However, Heather thought it the right thing to do as well. Turning himself over to Nyssa had been the most horrible thing that Richie had ever done.

"Jason, are we going to meet today after school?" Heather asked. "Since we checked the place out with Cassie?"

"I really wish you hadn't done that..."

"Well, we did it. Like you just said about Richie, it's done. Nothing weird happened to any of us."

"And it's a really cool place!" said Melinda happily. "It's huge!"

"I still want to know who sent us that note," Jason said. "But I guess if we're going to meet, we might as well do it today. The letter said don't use it on Thursdays. Today's Wednesday, so if we don't use it today, we'll have to wait until Friday."

Melinda glanced towards the back of the bus. She caught Richie looking their way. He jerked his head to the side and stared out the window again.

She frowned and leaned forward. "And don't tell Richie about it. Don't tell him where it is or what we're doing."

"Yeah, I have to agree with that, Jason," Heather said. "If he's pissed at you, you don't want to take the chance of him trying to screw you over."

Jason wanted to believe that Richie would be above such a thing, but he honestly did not know. He wanted to agree with them, and struggled for a moment to convince himself it was what he really wanted and not a case of parroting what they wanted. He turned his head and looked at Richie as well.

Holding his gaze on Richie, he finally said, "Yeah, probably better to be safe than sorry."

Richie could not hear them from the back, but he noticed Jason looking at him. When he turned his gaze towards his former friend, he saw Heather and Melinda were looking as well.

For a moment he had the crazy idea that they wanted him back.

But then he saw the disappointed look on Jason's face, the memory of Jason's harsh words still fresh in his mind. He saw Melinda's accusing stare and Heather's disdainful one. Richie frowned, flipped his middle finger at them, and resumed looking out of the window.

"Yeah, fuck you, Richie," Melinda muttered. "I still say good riddance."

Jason said nothing, giving her only a small nod of his head as he turned his gaze away from Richie for the last time.

-------

Diane had eaten only a bit of her lunch before she reverted to picking at it with her fork.

"It started some time this morning, Diane," said Heather. "Just a sense that something is wrong. That something is going to change."

Diane was anxious to express what was on her own mind, but she knew this was important. Heather's precog ability was admittedly a mystery to her, and it was apparent that Heather didn't understand it any better. "Are any of us in trouble?"

Heather paused a moment, a distant look to her eyes. "It's possible, but ... I think it's going to me rather than anyone else."

Diane put down her fork. In a nervous voice she asked, "Is it Melissa?"

"Well, there isn't anyone else it could be, is there?"

"What about me? Are you sensing anything about me?"

Heather shook her head. "No, not really. But you know what's really strange about this, Diane? I've never had something this clear before. Or this far ahead. I usually get these things only minutes before something happens. Now I'm sure that whatever this is, it's not going to happen until tomorrow."

"You better tell the others about this, Heather," Diane said anxiously. "Please. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm going to tell everyone at the meeting this afternoon."

Diane nodded and averted her eyes. "Um ... How did it go with Melinda yesterday?"

"Oh, um ... it went rather well, actually."

Heather didn't offer any more than that. A nervous silence fell between them.

Diane sighed and gave up on her rapidly waning appetite. She looked up. "Did it make it easier for you to think about ... other things?"

Heather didn't respond for a long moment. Diane looked at her and found that she had stopped eating as well. Heather reluctantly met Diane's eyes and said in a quiet voice, "I'm still thinking about it."

Diane breathed in deeply and let it go. It wasn't quite the disaster she expected. But it wasn't any better than that.

"I really feel bad about this, Diane. I'm not ... I'm not put off by the idea of a relationship with you. I've pretty much accepted that I'm bisexual now."

Nevertheless, a blush came to her cheeks. Diane noticed this, but didn't know what to make of it. "Well, that's better than an outright 'no, ' I guess," Diane said, though her tone was a touch morose.

"Well, it is, actually. I just need some more time. I want to have the same feelings for you, but I'm not sure yet."

Diane nodded. She wished she were more aggressive in matters like this. If Heather were really open to the idea, and Diane could seduce her, then...

No, that was a ridiculous idea. She couldn't see herself doing that. She would rather play the submissive role, even if she did not call it that in her own head. Heather had always been the more dominant one in their friendship. She always followed Heather's lead. Heather had come up with all the ideas of what they did with their time.

The only exception was Melissa. Diane had conceived of the trick to play on her, but Heather had run with it once Diane had presented the idea.

"Diane, I could, well, do it with you," Heather said in a low voice. "But I think you want more than that."

Diane's sex tingled. She saw herself "doing it" with Heather in her dreams every night. But Heather was right. She wanted there to be something else to it.

Diane looked at Heather. For a moment she considered admitting the role she wanted to play, that of the willing submissive to Heather's desires. She wondered if that would make any difference. Heather was so used to having her way, even as much as she had tempered that in recent months. Would that play to her propensities, and make Heather more willing to...

"Yes?" Heather asked.

"Oh, um ... nothing," Diane murmured. She smiled weakly. "Yeah, you're right, Heather. I'd rather you really want to do it. I'll ... I'll wait."

"I'll try to sort this out as soon as I can, Diane, I promise."

Diane simply nodded. It was all she could hope for at this point.

-------

The house was still empty when Richie returned home after school.

Richie slammed the front door hard in his frustration. He felt like he had been alone ever since he got up that morning. He would have actually welcomed seeing his mother, even if she would only give him grief.

Or worse: continue to sing praises of his relationship with Miss Linda Davis.

Richie paused for a moment at the threshold to his room before rushing inside. At once, the images that had been fuzzy in his head all day sprang back into stark clarity. The final moments of the dream played out mercilessly in his head, always ending with the ring and its arc through the air towards the closet.

Muttering a curse, Richie dumped his backpack by the side of the bed with a loud thud. He immediately turned to head out. He had an hour before he had to be at Linda's place, but he had no intention of spending it in his room.

With a sound like a tiny bell, it hit the hardwood floor and rolled into the open closet.

The imagery surged into his head as if it were happening right before him. Richie stopped and turned his head towards his closet.

Then came a strange noise, a hollow sound... 

Richie narrowed his eyes. He turned and took a step towards it.

 ... as it fetched up against the back of the closet... 

His hand was almost on the handle of the sliding door when he snatched it back.

"What the fuck am I doing?" He stepped back from the door.

With a sound like a tiny bell... 

"Stop it!"

 ... it hit the hardwood floor and rolled into the open closet... 

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

 ... Then came a strange noise, a hollow sound... 

"There's nothing there! This isn't real!"

 ... as it fetched up against the back of the closet... 

"FUCK YOU!"

 ... It hit the hardwood floor and rolled... 

Richie grabbed the handle and flung it aside. There was a sound of splintering wood as the handle was partially sheared off from the impact with the other half of the door.

"There's nothing here!" Richie screamed as he started yanking boxes and old shoes from the bottom of the closet. "Just all this shit! There's no ring! There's NO FUCKING RING!"

But then Richie's gaze was riveted, as now he had seen something he had never noticed before.

In the back corner of the closet was a black spot, a rectangle about three inches by one inch. Richie stared at it for a long moment, as if trying to decide what to do. He finally stepped into the closet and dropped to his knees.

The spot was a gap in the hardwood flooring. The last plank in the back had come up three inches short, and no one had bothered to fill the gap with a smaller piece.

Richie leaned forward and peered into the gap, but it was too dark to see anything. He poked a finger into it. The gap extended into the subflooring, his finger touching nothing but empty air at first. Finally he felt his fingertip just barely brush against something solid.

He stretched his finger as far as it would go. Whatever it was, it was loose. But he couldn't push his finger in any further to extract it.

Richie jumped up and ran to his night stand. He yanked open the drawer and rummaged through the detritus. He eventually produced a small paper clip.

As he returned to the closet, he bent the clip into a makeshift hook. He crawled back into the closet and fished the hook into the hole. After a few failed attempts and muttered curses, there was a faint metallic sound as he snagged the object. He carefully pulled it out of the hole, then backed out of the closet and stood up to examine his prize.

Balanced on the paper clip hook, cobwebs drifting in the air around it, was a gold ring.

"Holy shit," Richie muttered as he tilted the paper clip and dropped the ring into his outstretched palm.

His fingers closed around the ring...

 ... and reality changed.

The first thing he was aware of were the sharp, slightly hollow reports of heels against wood. He looked up, and then jumped back in shock when a young woman with dark brown hair suddenly crossed in front of his vision.

"Who the fuck are you and what are you... ?!"

The young woman had stopped by the closet and turned her nervous gaze towards the bedroom door. She swallowed, her hazel eyes shimmering with both hurt and fear.

"Wait, you're the woman from my dream!" Richie cried. "You..."

The woman turned away from him as if he were not even there. She grabbed the doorknob and yanked the closet door open. Its hinges squeaked faintly.

"What the fuck? Why's the closet ... why ... holy shit..."

Richie trailed off to a bare whisper as he stepped back and looked around his room.

Except it was not quite his room anymore. The bay window was back, and a large oak desk sat before it. An old Macintosh sat in one corner of the desk. Or rather, old in model but looking almost brand new, as it if had rolled off the assembly line only months ago. The bed was different as well. It had fancy brass bedposts that held up a lacy canopy. Floral-patterned throw rugs sat on either side. All of Richie's baseball paraphernalia were absent.

The woman suddenly turned and came right at him, holding a suitcase. Before he could step aside, she walked right through him, as if she were a ghost.

 ... to get out of here before he sees me ... can't let him try to... 

Richie stumbled but managed to stay on his feet. He felt disoriented, as if the words he had heard had been injected directly into his head by a lightning bolt that left him momentarily dazed in its aftermath. They had stopped the moment she was no longer in contact with him.

He whirled around and stared as the woman -- as Sarah -- slammed the suitcase upon the bed and opened it. She then proceeded to fill it with belongings from the closet. As he watched, he caught a glint of metallic gold. She was wearing a ring, the same one he still clutched in his hand.

"Hey, lady? Sarah?" Richie called out. "Fuck, you can't hear me, can you? Goddamn. This is my fucking dream, but..."

But it was real. And it was real because it had actually happened. And he was bearing witness to it as if he had somehow stepped back in time to see it. Just like Mara had done at the House, when she showed them all how her spirit had come to be imbued within its walls.

Somehow, Richie knew, just as assuredly as he knew his own name.

-------

Jason sat still, his brow furrowed in thought. No one else spoke.

Cassie was relieved to see Jason much more in command. She had purposely shooed everyone else away from the recliner specifically so he could have it. Not only would this better isolate him from anyone that might influence him, she had hoped that the throne-like seat would encourage his natural leadership role.

Cassie had sat Melinda next to her on the love seat, feeling a little guilty at having to deny Ned that coveted place. He instead sat at the far end of the sofa that Heather and Diane shared.

"Cassie, was anything else said about this book?" Jason finally asked.

"I've told you everything that was said in the dream," Cassie replied. "There was nothing more than that."

"That was enough!" Melinda piped, looking revolted. "Oh my God! I thought Richie was a total perv, but Melissa is fucking sick! Did you have to tell us about what she made Susan and her mother do? Eww!"

"Jason deserves to know everything Melissa is doing, Melinda," Cassie said. "I didn't care for relaying it. Or experiencing it in the first place."

"Cassie, I really appreciate you doing this for us," Jason said. "I'm sorry it was so difficult for you."

"It's okay. I'm just not sure I could do it again."

"Well, don't we already have what we need?" Ned declared. "C'mon, it's as obvious as the schnozz on my face what we do next! Miss Melissa Voldemort wants this Book of Supreme Ultimate Super-Duper Power, right? Well, beat her to it!" He slammed a fist into the open palm of his other hand. "We go find it first and keep it outta her hot little hands. Simple."

"Oh, yeah, sure, real simple!" Melinda said in a mocking voice. "You just happen to know where it is, huh?"

"Well, no, I don't. But Susan's mother knows."

"So?"

"So, we go get it outta her, go find the book, and go hide it somewhere else. Or burn it. Or if ya wanna be real dramatic, go find yerself a basilisk fang and do that little trick Harry Potter did, only I ain't cleanin' up the mess afterward."

Melinda rolled her eyes, but Cassie giggled at Ned's joke. Cassie should have realized that Ned would want to jump into the action. He hated sitting by the sidelines. He had already bounced back from Melissa's humiliation of him the day before, and Cassie had to spend ten minutes earlier that morning convincing him not to try following her again.

Ned turned to Jason. "So whaddaya say? Yer the head honcho here. We a go for Operation Keep-Away?"

"Ned, the overall idea is good," Jason said carefully. "Melissa certainly can't be allowed to get anything that would give her more power. But we don't know if Susan's mother would even talk to us about it. Melissa might have prevented her from talking to us in the first place."

"Yeah, okay, mebbe, but it's worth a try, right? Even if she just slams the door on us like a buncha encyclopedia salesmen, we can at least say we tried."

"And if Melissa finds out that we tried to get at this information?"

"Jason, it's not like Melissa could get any more pissed off than she already is," Heather called out. "And I really don't want her getting any stronger, not when she's already planning something against me."

Cassie looked at Heather in alarm. "Oh no, did you get a precog, Heather?"

Heather nodded. "Something like that. It's still vague, but it's better than any I've ever gotten before. She's going to try something, probably tomorrow."

"Dammit," Jason muttered.

"If she's going after Heather, she's going to target me soon as well," Diane said.

"We won't let anything happen to you two bubbleheads, don't worry," Melinda said loftily.

Heather detected the sincerity in Melinda's voice despite the choice of words. She smiled faintly at her sister. Melinda's lips twitched, and she gave Heather a sympathetic look in return.

"Even if we talked to Susan's mother this minute, there's no way we could track down this book before tomorrow unless she knew exactly where it was," said Jason. He made a face. "Guys, something about this still really bothers me. First Melinda and Cassie just happened to overhear Melissa in the hall and now this. It's almost like it's too easy. Everything falling into place at once."

"But Cassie's dreams are always right! Aren't they, Cassie?"

Cassie looked a bit nervous when all eyes suddenly shifted to her. "Well, as far as they see what's actually happening, yes," she said cautiously.

Melinda whipped her head around. "See, Jason?"

"You can't let her have this book!" Diane cried. "Not when she's already planning something against Heather!"

Heather took Diane's hand and squeezed it gently. Diane paused and took a deep breath to calm herself. She blushed as she realized how hysterical she likely sounded to everyone else.

No one else spoke for the next few moments. Several exchanged nervous glances. More than one pair of eyes weighed on Jason to see what he would do.

"All right," he finally said, though with obvious reluctance. "Heather, we'll make sure to stick with you as much as possible tomorrow. You won't be alone even one moment outside the classrooms, I promise. As for Susan's mother, we'll talk to her and find out what she knows."

Ned grinned and smacked his fist into his hand again.

"But not now. Not today. Look, hear me out!" Jason said as protest rose from Melinda and Ned. "From Cassie's dream, Melissa is no closer to getting what she wants. Susan's mother is being defiant and is not giving up the information. She's been holding out this long, I think one more day won't make a difference."

"Susan's mother has some sort of defense," Cassie said. "Susan Radson is supposedly a practicing Pagan. Her mother might be a Witch or a Priestess. I got the sense of some sort of energy or power from her."

"So do we go to her place tomorrow, Jason?" Melinda asked.

"Not all of us. I'll go."

"Aww..." Ned muttered.

"No, Jason, I think I should go," said Cassie.

Ned's head jerked. "Huh?"

"I'm more familiar with her since I saw her in my dream. I have a better sense for her."

"I'm going with you, babe," Ned said.

"Ned, wait, you..."

"No, yer not talkin' me outta this. You shouldn't go alone. I can hang out outside and give ya some sorta warning if I see Melissa coming."

"That's a good idea, Ned," Jason said. "Cassie, can you lend him a cell phone or something to call you?"

"Yes, I can," said Cassie. She smiled at Ned. "Thank you."

"I want to go with Cassie, too," Diane said, her voice quavering.

Cassie turned her head. "Oh, Diane, you don't..."

"No, I do. I want to feel like I'm doing something to help."

Cassie looked helplessly at Jason.

"If she really wants to do it, I don't see a reason to tell her no," Jason said.

Diane smiled weakly and nodded in appreciation.

"All right, I think that's it for now."

"One more thing, kemosabe," said Ned. "So is what Cassie told me true? Ya really punted Richie from the group?"

"I had to, Ned," Jason replied. "He went after Miss Davis again. He just doesn't get what's wrong with the arrangement. I can't trust him anymore."

Ned just nodded in response.

Jason turned to Cassie. "Please call me tomorrow when you're done with Susan's mother."

"I will," said Cassie.

"Okay. Let's get out of here."

-------

"Sarah."

Both Sarah and Richie spun around. Sarah's eyes widened.

Standing in the doorway was a young man with a chiseled face that wore a look of sadness and disappointment. His penetrating slate-gray eyes were fixed in an unrelenting gaze upon his wife. His black hair was slicked back, his high forehead giving Richie the impression of a mad scientist.

Sarah was poised with a pair of slacks in her hands. She trembled as her eyes were drawn to his.

The man -- Frank -- stepped fully into the room. He said nothing. He simply kept his gaze locked on Sarah's eyes. His face continued to radiate disapproval. Richie frowned. He could feel it himself, as if he had been caught doing something that he shouldn't.

He turned his attention back to Sarah when he heard her whimper.

Sarah was shaking. She bit her lower lip. Richie furrowed his brow in confusion. He glanced from her to Frank and back again.

He's trying to control her,  Richie thought.

Frank took another step towards her. Sarah whimpered again and the slacks fell from her hands and onto the floor.

Frank relented. He smiled. "Good girl."

Sarah moaned. Where she was trembling with guilt before, now she quivered with swiftly increasing arousal. Yet she shook her head violently and swallowed hard. "No," she said weakly, then in a steadier voice. "No. N-not this time. You..."

"Unbutton your blouse, Sarah."

"No ... n-no... " Sarah gasped as her pussy grew hot. Her shaking hands rose. Each button she undid caused an erotic wave of pleasure to wash over her. By the time she was done, she was panting heavily.

"Holy..." Richie muttered, staring in utter fascination and no small amount of sexual curiosity.

She looked at Frank through errant strands of hair, struggling to maintain the defiance in her eyes. When he took another step towards her, she fought to take a step back. It was difficult, but she managed it.

"Sarah," said Frank gently, holding his eyes to hers.

Sarah again shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving his despite how hard she tried.

Frank reached for her. She shuddered and drew in her breath as a ragged gasp, managing another half-step back from him. He caught a piece of her open blouse, pulling it aside to reveal two round tits a lacy bra.

"Oh wow..." Richie said softly. His nether regions stirred.

"Stop it," Sarah breathed.

"You don't have to do this, Sarah," said Frank, his voice gentle but commanding.

Sarah trembled. Her hands clenched into fists. "I-I'm not going to listen to you anymore, Frank," she said, having to force almost every word from her mouth. "N-no more."

Frank stepped forward again. He opened her blouse and pushed it from her shoulders. Sarah made a half-hearted attempt to stop it. She shivered as the blouse fell into a heap on the floor.

She was breathing hard, her bosom swelling against the bra. She whimpered as he lifted a hand to her, thighs shaking as she stumbled back, only to fetch up against the desk by the window.

Richie wasn't sure how, but he was sensing some sort of power at work. He looked at Frank ... really looked at him ... and then his eyes widened in shock as he finally saw it. The Dark Aura, swirling around him like a black storm.

"Oh fuck," Richie murmured, taking a step back from the both of them.

Frank's hand alighted on one of Sarah's fleshy orbs. Sarah clenched her teeth and tried to suppress a moan as he lightly squeezed the warm, pliant flesh. He hooked a finger under the cup and pulled it up. Sarah bit her lip and whimpered again as her breast popped out of the cup and rolled against her chest.

He smiled at her. Sarah made one last attempt to wrench her gaze from him as his fingers touched the hard, tight nipple, sending a shock wave of pleasure through her body.

"No..." Sarah murmured. Her body shook.

Frank massaged Sarah's nipple. Sarah moaned deeply. Her pussy rose and strained. Her hands clenched into fists as she fought.

"No..."

Frank lifted his hand to the other breast and kneaded it. He seemed unconcerned, as if everything were a foregone conclusion. Richie watched the swirls of Darkness writhe as if in ecstasy. Sarah squirmed in consuming lust as much as she twisted in rising and desperate defiance.

Frank smiled. "Now, cum for me, and everything will be..."

Suddenly, Sarah's fists rose and beat him hard in the chest, pushing her away from him. She stumbled back until she fetched up hard against the side of the desk.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Sarah grasped the edge of the desk to steady her. She panted and stared wild-eyed at Frank. Frank looked perplexed, as if he had no understanding of what had just happened.

"I-I did it..." Sarah breathed. "I broke free. I'm free. You can't get me anymore."

Richie's mouth dropped open. She fought it? She actually fought it and won? But no one can fight the Darkness like that!

Sarah glanced down at herself. She hastily put her bra back into position, covering up her bosom once more.

Frank sighed and cast a sad look at his wife. He shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in you, Sarah. Very disappointed."

Sarah trembled, wanting to cringe. She drew in a deep breath and let it go as a ragged sigh. She straightened up, slowly looking more confident. "No, Frank, you can't do that to me. I'm not your little plaything anymore, understand?!" she shouted, her hands curling into fists.

Frank frowned. "Very well. It doesn't matter. Nothing you say to me will change anything."

"I know what you've been doing, Frank!" Sarah said, baring her teeth like a vicious animal. "Right under my nose. Right in this house!"

"It's all part of my work, Sarah."

"That's not work! That's fucking with people's MINDS!"

"Don't even pretend to understand my work! You haven't the faintest clue what it's about. What it's really about."

"Oh, I know what it's about, Frank! You think I'm stupid? That poor woman from Randall. Not only do you fuck with her mind, you fuck her too!" She folded her arms defiantly. "So how many, Frank? How many did you hypnotize into being your private little SLUTS?!"

Frank sighed. "It's not like that. Sarah, please ... I need you ... if you would let me explain..."

"Explain? You have nothing to explain to me!" Sarah shouted. "And I have no reason to listen to you!"

"You are my wife!"

Sarah's eyes blazed. "I CAN CHANGE THAT!"

She snatched at her wedding band and threw it with all her might. Surprised, Frank lifted his hands to his face. The ring stung as it bounced off a bone in his wrist. With a sound like a tiny bell, it hit the hardwood floor and rolled into the open closet. Then came a strange noise, a hollow sound as it fetched up against the back of the closet...

And then they were gone.

Richie blinked rapidly. He was in his room once again, alone, staring into an open closet with a broken handle, his hand closed around a dusty old ring.

And the voices in his head from his dream finally fell silent.



-------

Chapter 15


"I need to talk to Cassie this morning," said Jason after Heather and Melinda had boarded the bus. "I did some poking around last night on the internet. Susan's Mom is actually a practicing Witch."

"I could have told you that," Heather said with a small smile. "Diane told me on the way home from the meeting. She heard it from Jill that Susan's Mom was into that stuff."

Melinda looked at Jason. "How did you find that out on the net?"

"It's not hard. You can find out a lot about people these days on the internet."

"That's a little scary, Jason."

"Well, in her case, she doesn't exactly hide her affiliations. Just a few Google searches led me to her Coven's website."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Great. Witches get websites, and I can't even fucking get online."

"I thought I set you up to use the neighbor's wireless?"

"Dad took out the wireless card yesterday while we were at school," Heather said in irritation as Melinda glanced towards the back of the bus for the fifth time since she boarded.

Jason frowned. "That sucks."

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Melinda piped. "And Heather got a precog again."

Jason looked at Heather. "Still see something happening today?"

Heather nodded. "Yes, and it's going to happen in one of my classes."

"In a class? Are you sure?"

"Positive. It came on very strong this morning for some reason."

"Jason, what are we going to do?" Melinda cried. "We can't be with her in the classroom!"

"I know, dammit," Jason muttered. "Heather, this doesn't make any sense. Melissa's not even in the same year as you. I don't see her being able to do a lot when she's not even in the room and a teacher is."

"Unless she controls the teacher, too!"

"Melinda, she's not that powerful. That's why she wants more power in the first place. I just don't get what she expects to do to Heather in the middle of a class."

"Look, stop arguing about it, okay?" Heather snapped. "I'll just deal. Check on me after each of my classes. If I have ... if I have the Aura around me, just stay away from me."

"I really don't think that will happen," said Jason, though he was trying to convince himself more than anything else.

Melinda looked off towards the back of the bus again and uttered a dramatic sigh. "Jason? Could you do me a favor, pretty please?"

"Um, sure, what is it?"

"Make Richie stop looking at us all the time. It's fucking creeping me out."

Jason turned his head. Richie was indeed watching them, though after Jason stared at him for a few moments, he reluctantly directed his gaze out the window instead.

Jason kept staring at him for a few moments. Was Richie still pissed off at them? He looked more anxious than angry.

"All right," Jason said, looking away. "If I get a chance to talk to him later, I'll mention it."

"Thank you. I just don't want anything to do with that turd anymore."

Jason simply nodded and said nothing more.

-------

Melissa walked to school with a spring in her step. Whenever she saw some boys she knew, she would smile at them and twirl her skirt a bit to show off her legs.

As fall was wont to do along the Front Range, the weather had flipped from cold and wet to warm and dry again. The sun rose bright in a clear blue sky, burning away the chill that had settled over the town the night before. Melissa took full advantage of it. Her skirt was just long enough to remain within the bounds of the dress code, but it was light enough that she could tug at it in class and flash her panties to a fellow student while making him -- or her -- experience a brief moment of intense and embarrassing sexual arousal.

She smiled and reminded herself what she was about to do that day. She had experimented with Brad the past few days, using him on her mother, as a means of practicing the technique. Now she could do it with a few simple thoughts and still pay attention to what was going on around her.

When Melissa approached the west entrance of the school, she was surprised to see Laura Bendon standing at the top of the steps.

"Good morning, Ms. Bendon," Melissa said brightly.

"Good morning, Miss Hendell," said Laura. "My office, if you would."

Melissa raised an eyebrow, but Laura had already headed into the building before she could inquire any further.

She followed Laura into the office. "Is something the matter, Ms. Bendon?"

Laura closed the door and sat at her desk. "I have fulfilled your request. Mr. Weston will be transitioned to Heather's class rotation starting today."

Melissa smiled. "Thank you."

"I assume this is so you may get at Heather Sovert?"

Melissa nodded eagerly.

"Hmm. So you have learned to channel power through your puppets. Interesting."

Melissa gave Laura a smug grin.

"Too bad you are putting it to such an uninspired use."

Melissa's smile faded. "What??"

Laura sighed. "Really, Miss Hendell. You have so much potential. Do you think an act of petty revenge now will help your plans?"

"It is not petty!" Melissa cried petulantly. "And I already have everything set up for finding the book. I gave the Harbingers the hint to talk to Susan's mother, and I blocked her from mentioning the pendant."

"I am sure that took a lot of power."

"What would you know about it?"

"Simple deduction, Miss Hendell. Mrs. Radson has information about the book. You cannot get it out of her. I am assuming she must have some sort of defense against your power or you would just compel her to tell you and simplify matters. Therefore, if you are to prevent Mrs. Radson from revealing the pendant-book link, you would need to apply a considerable amount of power to overcome her resistance."

Melissa silently fumed, folding her arms indignantly.

"One wonders then, why you did not just extract the information from her once you had overcome her resistance."

"If you must know, it's because implanting thoughts is far easier then extracting them," Melissa snapped irritably. "Her will is too strong for me to just make her tell me the truth, not without damaging her mind. But it was not nearly as hard to block her from telling anyone about the link. The real trick was making it so she wouldn't know I did it until it was too late."

"And again, that took power."

"Yeah, it did. So?"

Laura sighed. "Use your head, Miss Hendell! You have little to spare. Do you really think you should waste it attacking Miss Sovert now?"

Melissa frowned. "I have everything under control."

"Hmm. I hope so."

The reality was that Melissa was starting to feel the strain. Much of her direct control over her mother had slipped. But she had addled her mother's mind so badly that Kathy was rendered ineffective at reining in Melissa. Some of Melissa's changes had been rendered permanent, and thus had left her mother with lingering sexual desires. As a result, Kathy was in a constant state of emotional turmoil and self-conflict that made her wallow in doubt and confusion.

And Melissa's father James was no help. Melissa had allowed him to discover his wife's new sexual receptiveness. He took shameless advantage of it. It wasn't difficult for him. Having had to deal with a cold fish of an overly religious wife for so long made him jump at the chance without asking too many questions.

Melissa also had a thought lurking in the back of her head that this would work to her advantage even after the Harbingers had located the book and given her the Rite.

"I assume you will go after Miss Woodrow as well?" Laura asked.

"Yes. Eventually."

"I have some information about her you might find very useful. Something my Mistress shared with me before she left."

"Oh? What is it?"

Laura smiled. "What are you willing to pay me for it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I have given you a great deal of help, Miss Hendell. I wish compensation."

Melissa stared. "You want money for this?"

Laura laughed. "What use will that be once you have the power you seek? I imagine you will be the one truly in charge of this school after that. No, I wish something else as payment when that times comes."

Melissa narrowed her eyes. "Like what?"

"My receptionist Marcie is a very good little girl," mused Laura. "But I desire some variety. Something new."

Melissa stared. "You want... slaves?"

"I have some specific students in mind." Laura leaned forward, her lips curling into a sultry smile. "I think Miss Heather Sovert would look very sexy in a frilly French maid outfit, fishnets, and six inch heels. Don't you think?"

Melissa giggled. She thought that would be a fitting end for Heather to wind up as a lezzie love slave. "All right. Deal. Now, what's this information?"

"Diane Woodrow is a lesbian," Laura said. "And she's fallen for Heather Sovert."

Melissa gaped at Laura. "No way!"

"Oh yes, it's quite true. Mistress knew the fantasies of every student in school, I assure you."

"Does Heather know this?"

"I have no idea."

Melissa looked thoughtful before she muttered darkly, "I'll bet it was her all along. I'll bet she gave Heather the idea for it!"

"For what, Miss Hendell?"

Melissa frowned. "Never mind, Ms. Bendon. Thank you for the information. I think I can find a way to make use of it."

"In that case, you better get ready for your homeroom class."

Melissa nodded and stood. She paused a moment. "I'm sorry if I seemed hostile to you before, Ms. Bendon. I'm just afraid someone is waiting to take this power away from me just as I'm about to grasp it. That feeling has been haunting me ever since I realized there was something special about this pendant."

"I understand. I have no desires on your power. I only wish to retain my own agenda after your ... regime ... is in control. Good day, Miss Hendell."

Melissa left.

-------

"I knew Mrs. Radson had some sort of ability, Jason," said Cassie brightly. "Thank you for checking on that for me."

Jason smiled faintly. "Are you sure you're okay with talking to her today?"

Cassie paused to look for something in her locker. "As sure as I can be. I'm a bit scared to be honest. But I need to do this. I can talk on her level. We're both mystics in a way."

"Just make sure Ned has your back covered."

"I will." She closed her locker and turned to face him. "You still think something is wrong with all this, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. It just seems too convenient to me. Maybe it's a trap of some kind."

"You thought that about the meeting house, too."

"Yeah, I know, I sound like a broken record," Jason said with a sigh. "And the house looks okay so far."

"The only additional thing I found about that house is that Reggie is having someone look after it while he's gone. That must be why we can't go there on..."

There was the sound of a cough nearby. Both Cassie and Jason turned.

"Uh ... hi," said Richie.

"Um, hello, Richie," Cassie said awkwardly. "How have... ?"

"What the hell do you want?" Jason snapped.

Richie glared at Jason before he could catch himself. "I just wanna talk to you for a minute, that's all."

"We're busy, sorry."

"No, it's okay," Cassie said. "I should get going, Jason, I'll see you later."

"Actually, I kinda wanna talk to both of you," Richie said, shuffling his feet. After a long moment he added, "Please."

Jason fixed him with a cold stare. Finally he folded his arms. "Fine. Talk."

"Um ... well ... something kinda weird happened. Thought you two might know something about it. Uh ... it's like this..."

Richie told them about the dream he had in his head for nearly a week, about finding the ring, and the scene he had witnessed, hurrying himself on the last point when Jason curtly reminded him of how little time there was now before class.

"Ooo!" Cassie cried excitedly. "Psychometry!"

Richie stared at her blankly. "Huh? Psy-what?"

"Psychometry, Richie. Object reading. You hold an object in your hand and get images of what happened to it. Oh, goodness! You never knew you... ?"

"Ain't no object reading, Cassie," Richie said in a slightly irritated voice. "It was like I was freakin' there. It was like my room, but in the past. It happened before, but just not so goddamn real as this was."

Cassie looked thoughtful. Jason was stone-faced.

Richie risked a glance at Jason. "It was kinda like what Mara did."

"Yeah, sounds like it," Jason said flatly. "How long it take you to make that up?"

"What?! I didn't fucking make this up! This really happened, man! I was so freaked out about it I didn't even go over to Miss Davis' house!"

"Gee, that must have been terrible for you. Want a medal now?"

"Please, stop it, both of you!" Cassie cried before Richie could retort. "What if he's telling the truth, Jason? I mean, look at you, Melinda, and Heather. You all have some sort of extra ability from the House. Doesn't it make sense Richie would, too?"

"So what do you want now, Richie?" Jason demanded. "You think this will get you back into the group?"

Richie frowned. "You can keep your fucking group, okay? I just want someone to tell me if I've flipped out or something. I want someone to tell me if this is real or if I got a screw loose. Tell me if what I saw really happened!"

Jason was about to retort when he got a better look at Richie's eyes. There was a genuine fear shimmering within them. This had Richie scared out of his wits, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Jason, can we verify it somehow?" Cassie asked. "There must be a way. If he's telling the truth, this is an amazing ability!"

Jason sighed deeply. "What were the names of the people in this vision, Richie?"

"Sarah and Frank," said Richie. "Dunno their last name. They were married. Prob'ly divorced after that, seein' how she threw her ring at him and never looked for it."

"How long ago was it?"

Richie shook his head. "Dunno. Must've been before me and Mom moved in. That was about ten years ago. The computer on the desk looked old. A Mac."

"An iMac?" Jason asked. When Richie looked at him blankly, he sighed and added, "The ones with the bright, transparent cases."

"Oh. Nah, this one looked like the ones before that. I was kinda young when they were out, so don't remember 'em as good."

Jason considered for a moment. "All right. I'll go see if I can track them down when I get home."

Richie nodded. "Thanks, man."

Cassie smiled and looked excitedly at Jason. "If this is true, and he can see into the past that way, that's going to be incredibly useful for the Har ... er..."

She trailed off, glancing sheepishly from Jason to Richie.

Jason took a deep breath and let it go through his nose. "Richie, I'll do this for you. But so long as you're screwing with Miss Davis' head, you're not getting back into the Harbingers. Period."

Cassie bit her lip, waiting for the explosion from Richie.

There was a long, tense silence. Finally, Richie nodded. "Okay. That's cool. I hear ya. Uh ... see ya later."

He lowered his head and walked away.

Cassie watched him go. She stepped forward cautiously. "Jason..."

"We can't let him back in if he won't abide by the spirit of the group, Cassie," Jason declared. "We can't compromise on our principles."

"And I all but told Heather to go after Melinda," Cassie said softly.

"That's ... that's different."

"But is it, really?"

Jason looked at her. "Melinda consented. We don't know if Miss Davis did. That's the point. I just want him to take a step back and let her decide for herself."

"And if she thinks she wants to continue it? What then? How do we tell it's still her decision?"

Jason was growing irritated with Cassie. She was forcing him to make it more complicated than he felt it needed to be. "Fine. In that case, then, he should just back off period and not have anything to do with her. A student and teacher screwing around like that is just wrong, Cassie."

Cassie said nothing. She couldn't offer anything to either support or oppose his position.

"Let's just get to class," Jason muttered.

-------

Heather entered her first class after homeroom with no small degree of trepidation. The feeling that something was going to happen was at its strongest. She paused just inside the door, glancing around looking for something obviously out of place but finding nothing.

She swallowed and headed to her seat, her heart thumping.

The last time she had a feeling this powerful, she was then called to Nyssa's office and subsequently enslaved by her. She half-expected to get a similar summons just to lure her out of the classroom so Melissa could attack her. It was a foolish notion, however, as she knew with dead certainty that the danger was in the class itself.

A student stumbled as he tripped over a strap of someone's book bag and fell against Heather's desk. She gasped and nearly jumped out of her chair.

"Oh, hey, sorry, Heather," said the boy as he passed.

Heather just nodded quickly and took a few deep breaths. All right, get a hold of yourself, Heather,  she thought. Melissa is not here.

Heather dropped her backpack to the side and opened it. She started pulling out materials for the class as a broad-shouldered, muscular boy passed her and took a seat just across the aisle. She closed her bag and straightened in her seat.

"Hey, babe."

Heather turned her head and flinched. Brad gave her a smarmy smile.

"Brad! What are you doing here?! What... ?"

Her voice trailed off. Inky black slithered like tentacles around his beefy frame. She stared, her eyes glazed in shock.

"Missed me, babe?"

Heather tried to breathe. "Brad ... what are you doing here, this isn't your class rotation!"

"It is now. Ain't it great? We can get back together again."

Heather recovered swiftly from her initial shock and sneered. "In your dreams, you fuckhead," she hissed.

Brad was unperturbed. He just grinned all the more. His smile felt so creepy to Heather that she shivered. "Yeah, you'll want me again. You'll see."

Was this Melissa's idea of an attack? To have Brad harass her? Heather shot a murderous gaze at him. "Go to hell, you bastard. You come near me outside this class and you'll fucking regret it. Touch me in class and I'll scream rape."

Brad chuckled. "Nah, you're gonna come to me."

"Now you really are dreaming. Leave me out of your disgusting little fantasies."

"Just like it was a fantasy when we fucked?"

Heather uttered a short, humorless laugh. She remembered when he had forced himself on her. She had used the power from the House to control him enough into making it an enjoyable experience for her. None of his supposed "skill" had any part in it. She doubted he would understand the irony even if she explained it to him.

"You love my cock in your hot little twat, Heather."

Heather's eyes widened and her cheeks pinked. "Shut up, you asshole."

"Yeah, you love it. You just think on that. You'll see."

Heather was about to shoot back a retort when the teacher's voice rang out: "Whatever you are about to say, Miss Sovert, can wait until the end of class."

Heather fumed and faced forward in her chair. She didn't understand this at all. Was this really Melissa's doing? What was the point? Brad couldn't make her do anything, could he? He didn't have the power, Melissa did.

But it became very clear barely ten minutes into the class that something was happening.

First it was only fleeting thoughts. The memory of the one time they had engaged in intercourse would flicker through her head at odd moments. She thought it was nothing more than just the power of suggestion, a psychological trick.

As time passed, it grew worse. Her mind invented new imagery, all involving Brad fucking her. Her mind zeroed in on it like a movie camera doing a zoom shot on the action in a porn movie. She would see his cock sliding in and out of her in perfect detail. Each time she managed to push it out of her mind, one little slip in her concentration and the imagery surged back.

It was like a little daydream playing in the back of her mind. But it wasn't her daydream, it was someone else's. The distinction hardly mattered. It was vivid enough that, halfway through the lesson, heat rose in her sex in response.

She squirmed in her seat. The more she tried to ignore it, the worse it got. Soon she felt slick moisture in her delta when she shifted her legs. A continuous loop of erotic imagery played in the back of her head, like movies strung together back to back, all showing Brad's cock pounding into her pussy over and over.

It was maddening. She could concentrate on resisting it, or on the lesson. She couldn't do both.

In the last quarter of the hour, she was forced to devote her attention to the instructor or she would miss the homework assignment. Her pussy became steamy and swollen. Her nipples hardened and tingled. Her breath quickened. She could even feel a faint fullness in her cunt or a light, sliding touch against her clit, as if he were already inside her.

The bell rang, and it was like a movie projector was abruptly shut off. The imagery simply stopped. She slumped in her chair like a balloon deflating. She struggled not to moan as her still needy cunt throbbed with her racing heart.

"See you next class, babe," Brad said.

Heather jerked in her chair. She gasped as the sudden movement mildly stimulated her pussy. By the time she could think of something suitably acidic to say to him, he was gone.

-------

Ned was out of breath by the time he raced down the corridor and skidded to a halt at Jason's locker. "Where's ... Heather? ... She ... okay?"

"She's supposed to come to us after class," Melinda piped, standing next to Jason. "We were going to go looking for her."

Ned paused a moment to catch his breath. "Our resident Wicked Witch of Haven was looking mighty smug in my class. She looked at me like she knew a dirty little secret."

"Wait, here she comes!" Melinda said. She uttered a tiny, panicked yelp. Just as Jason turned his head towards her inquisitively, she had subsided and was staring intently instead.

Heather walked up to them, Diane at her side, shaking with barely contained fury. "That little bitch. That little cunt. I don't fucking care what Diane and I did to her, she..."

"Heather, what happened?" Jason said.

"She's trying to sic Brad on me! She's taken him and trying to force me to have sex with the creep."

"Oh, eww!" Melinda said, wrinkling her nose.

"This time, Melinda, I totally agree with you. He's a fucking turd."

Melinda eyed Heather once more. "You don't have an Aura. Not now. I mean, I saw something, like that tiny wisp I saw on some other people Melissa screwed with. It's gone now."

"I'm not being controlled. He's just ... or I guess Melissa is through him ... planting thoughts in my head of me and him doing it."

"How bad is it?" Jason asked.

Heather fumed. "Bad enough that I want to change my panties."

"Ick," Melinda said.

"Jason, is there anything we can do?" Diane asked in a worried voice. "I mean, if he keeps this up, it's going to drive Heather nuts."

"I am not doing it with him, Diane," declared Heather. "No way. I don't care what he does."

"Of course you can't!" cried Melinda. "That's how he wants to enslave you!"

"Yer all overthinkin' it," Ned spoke up. "Melissa was humiliated. She's turnin' the tables. No better way to do that than gettin' Heather hot and horny in class. Simple as that."

Heather sighed and covered her eyes with her hand. "Great. What else is he going to do to me?"

"Jason, this is just like Nyssa!" Melinda cried. "She got people to enslave others for her, too!"

"I don't think Melissa has enough power to do that," Jason said. "I mean, the technique is similar, yes, but I'm thinking -- I'm hoping -- that she can't do much more than that."

"Some hope!"

"We have to get to class," Jason said hastily. "I'm sorry I don't have any ideas, but you're just going to have to bear it for now. Ned is probably right, but we have to wait and see what else she does."

"Oh, nice, use Heather as a guinea pig," Diane muttered in frustration.

"I don't like it, Diane, but I don't have any answers. And just in case this is similar to Nyssa, so long as we don't let Heather have sex with Brad..."

Heather made a gagging sound. "I'd die before I let him do that."

"I think Melissa's pullin' the strings," Ned said. "She looked like she was concentratin' on something other than the lesson. She's jus' channelin' it through Brad. Ol' jock-brain prolly has only enough power to blow his own nose."

"Let's go," said Jason as the crowd in the hallway began to thin. "We'll regroup later."

-------

Richie lingered in his seat as his history class let out. He avoided meeting Linda's eyes until nearly all the other students were gone. When he did lift his gaze, it was met by a sad, forlorn face.

He stood up and trudged to Linda's desk. "Yeah?"

"You never showed yesterday," Linda said in a low voice.

"Um, yeah, I know," Richie drawled. "Sorry. Something kinda came up."

"Was it your friend again?"

"Huh? Jason? Nah. This was something else."

Linda nodded. She looked torn, her mouth opening and closing as if she had thought to say something but changed her mind.

"He doesn't want me doin' it with you anymore," Richie said.

"Yes, he made that ... abundantly clear."

"What about you?"

Linda stared at him. "I don't understand."

"What do you want, huh? You wanna keep going?"

Linda sighed. "That's not a fair question, Richie."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell what I want anymore. You ask me if I want to keep this going. I'm getting ... I'm getting wet just thinking about it, but ... but..."

She turned away, flustered and quivering. Her pussy ached. "I-I was horny all afternoon yesterday, Richie," she said in a husky voice edged with desperation. "I couldn't get dressed, I'd just soak through anything I put on over my pussy."

Richie's cock stirred. He couldn't help it. This was turning him on. It made it that much more difficult. "You got past it, right? You were okay."

"After I gave myself about three orgasms, yes." Linda dropped her gaze to her lap and blushed.

Richie's cock was rock-hard. "You shouldn't've done it."

Linda lifted her head and stared at him. "What?"

"Durin' the summer. You watched me play. You talked to me. You fuckin' flirted with me."

"I know. It was wrong. I'm sorry. I never thought..."

"Yeah, I know."

Linda had no reply for him.

"Well ... gotta go." Richie turned away.

"Richie!"

He stopped.

"Come over today? Please?"

"Yeah ... yeah, okay. Whatever."

Richie walked out of the classroom without a backwards glance.

-------

It got only worse for Heather.

The next class, Brad told her how much she'd love swallowing his cock. She imagined herself at his feet, licking and sucking his manhood with wild, unbridled passion. Each time he came in her mouth in her mind's eye, she could taste him faintly in her mouth. She even felt a tickle on her chin, as if some of his cum had dripped from her lips. Once she even swallowed on cue.

The class after that, he suggested how she'd love taking him between her nice, big tits. She felt a faint presence between her breasts, and her nipples grew hard and taut. When Brad came in her head, she'd feel a very light flutter against her skin, as if his seed were splashing warmly over her flesh.

Her pussy swam in moist heat. The brief respite between classes was not enough. By the time it mercifully came to an end at lunch time, she had risen halfway to orgasm, and her legs felt as if she had run a marathon.

"This is driving me crazy, Jason," Heather said in an unintentionally husky voice, her body visibly trembling. "I can't shut him out and concentrate on class at the same time."

"How do you feel towards him, Heather?" Cassie asked. She regretted not being with them earlier when Heather had first reported what Brad was doing to her.

Heather blushed furiously and whispered, "Like I want his cock."

Diane sighed despondently. "This is just getting worse," she muttered.

"I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to have sex with him. I can't. I..." Heather trailed off, panting. "E-excuse me, I h-have to take care of this..."

She started away from them.

Melinda gasped in alarm and ran after her. "Heather, wait, where are... ?"

Diane caught her arm. "Melinda, stop it, she's just going to, um, use the bathroom. To take care of something."

"Use the... ? Oh."

"Diane, don't let her walk the hallway alone," Jason said. "Go with her, please."

Diane nodded quickly and took off after Heather.

Melinda sighed. "Great. What the hell are we going to do about this?"

"Heather still doesn't have any Aura, Melinda?" Cassie asked.

"She has that little wisp again right after she gets out of class, but it doesn't hang around. Thank God!"

"Melissa's not controlling her," said Jason. "Just planting thoughts in her head through Brad, but they don't last. It's the same way she terrorizes other people. I think Ned was right about what she's trying to do."

"It's close enough to controlling her to creep me out! God! I can't believe she actually wanted to boink that dumb slab of beef once."

"Jason, maybe Susan's Mom can help," Cassie said.

Melinda made a face. "Huh? Come on, Cassie, she can't even stand up against Melissa herself."

"She must have some defenses, or how has she been able to keep information from Melissa in the first place?"

"And Melissa's doing this indirectly through Brad," Jason said, nodding. "She can't be using as much power. It's worth looking into."

"So how is Heather supposed to get through the rest of the day?" Melinda demanded.

"Having the lunch break might help. She has only two more classes after that."

"We better get going," Cassie said. There was a nervous quaver to her voice.

"You okay, Cassie?" Melinda asked.

"Just ... a little nervous about later, that's all."

"Want me to go with Ned? I can..."

"No, you should be there for Heather after school. She may need some comforting."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I'll bet she'll need something else, too."

Cassie and Melinda headed off together. Jason finished arranging his locker and closed it. He started away, but stopped when he spotted someone watching him from the other side of the hallway.

"Hi," said Richie.

"Yeah, hi. What do you want?"

"Nothin'."

"Then why are you standing there?"

Richie hesitated. "Um ... Heather okay?"

"What's it to you?"

"Who's bugging her? Brad?"

"I said, what's it to you?"

Richie frowned. "Cut me some slack, man. Just wanna know she's okay."

Jason sighed impatiently. "No, she's not okay. Melissa's screwing with her head through Brad, making her want to have sex with him. You should know all about that sort of thing."

Richie frowned but said nothing.

Jason shook his head. "Just butt out, okay? Nothing you need to worry yourself over anymore."

Jason started away again. Richie jumped forward and grabbed his arm. Jason whirled around, yanking himself violently from Richie's grip.

"Hey, man, Heather's a friend, okay?" Richie said.

Jason's eyes blazed. "I still don't think you know what that word really means. Stop saying it until you get fucking clue."

Richie stared in shock. Jason turned and fled.

-------

Heather was panting as she sprinted down the hallway, dodging the other students in her mad dash out of the school. She barely contained a soft moan as the movements of her thighs made her pussy ache for release.

Lunchtime had helped only a bit. It had not taken long for Brad to make her into quivering mass of lust again. To make matters worse, the instructor had called on her in the middle of class. She had to answer the question with a husky voice that sounded more suited for the sound stage of a porn movie than a classroom, all the while squirming in her seat and trying not to let the erotic imagery in her head slip into her speech.

Everybody had noticed something was wrong. Heather had blushed so hard it was as if her cheeks had been on fire.

She wanted to get out of the building and on the bus before Brad could find her. As she jogged down the stairs, she whimpered as her pussy strained just short of orgasm. Her legs were shaky, and she nearly stumbled when she stepped onto the gravel of the parking lot.

Heather stopped to catch her breath and to let the stimulation in her sex abate. After a few moments, she started across the lot.

"Heya, babe."

Heather froze and turned her head. Brad leaned against a light pole at the foot of the stairs, lips curled into a smug grin.

For a few moments, she could only stare at him. Her paralysis was broken only once Brad started towards her. She started to run from him, but he was too fast for her. He managed to outpace her and step swiftly in her path, bringing her to a halt.

Heather stumbled back a half-step. "B-brad, get out of my way, I..."

"So, didja think things over like I said?" Brad asked with a lascivious grin.

Heather shuddered. "Brad, stop it ... I'm not doing anything with you ... You're just wasting your time."

She tried to step past him. He blocked her again.

"Brad! I-I'm not putting up with this! I..."

"You're hot for me, ain'tcha?"

Heather swallowed. "No."

Brad smirked. "So you're not wanting my cock in your twat?"

Suddenly the image burned crystal clear in her head of a large, thick cock popping past her labia and sliding into her. Heather moaned deeply, her legs quivering. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but her resistance had been exhausted. Her pussy hung even closer to climax.

"Yeah, you're thinking of it now. You need a good fuck, don'tcha?"

Heather panted hard. A haze of lust settled over her. Her pussy strained at the edge. "P-please, Brad, don't ... p-please..."

"The only 'please' you're gonna be saying, babe, is 'please, Brad, don't stop' when I'm fucking you nice and hard."

Heather drew in a sharp breath. Her hips jerked as she uttered a short, embarrassed "uh!" Liquid heat flooded her delta, and a dark stain appeared in the crotch of her jeans. She whimpered, her face turning scarlet as several students gawked at her.

Jason and Melinda appeared at the top of the steps. Melinda shouted in alarm.

"C'mon, babe, I got a friend with a car," Brad said, taking a step towards her. "Let's go have some fun."

Jason and Melinda had barely taken their first step forward when someone barreled through them, pushing them aside like tenpins. Just as Brad reached for Heather, the figure blasted down the steps and ran full-tilt into him.

Brad was knocked off his feet. He fell hard on his backside with a crunch of gravel. He slid back a few inches, splitting a seam in his faded jeans and tearing off part of the back pocket.

"What the f... ?!"

"Get away from her you fucker!" Richie bellowed, his hands curled into fists.

Heather was too dazed from her orgasm to react. Teeth clenched in fury, Brad scrambled to his feet. Richie launched himself at Brad, knocking him down to the gravel again. The two of them grappled madly at each other, throwing wild punches and kicks that tossed up gravel and dirt. Other students gathered in a loose circle and started shouting for one side or the other, until a larger figure pushed past them and into the fray.

"Break it up! I said BREAK IT UP or you're both suspended!"

A meaty hand grabbed Richie by the collar of his jacket and hauled him to his feet. He had several scratches dotted with blood on his cheek. Brad stood, panting, blood dripping from a split lip, one eye swollen and bruised.

Richie fought the hand that held him.

"That's enough, Mr. Gardner. I said THAT'S ENOUGH!" a red-faced Vice Principal Seeger shouted.

By this time, Jason and Melinda had arrived at Heather's side. Melinda was aghast. She stared alternately at Richie and Heather.

Richie finally stopped, though his face burned with hatred as he looked daggers at Brad.

"Mr. Seeger, he attacked me for no goddamn reason!" Brad cried. "I was just talking with my girlfriend and he..."

"She's not your girlfriend, you asshole!" Melinda shrieked.

"Miss Sovert, I did not ask for your input!" Seeger exclaimed. "And watch your language while you are on these school grounds!"

"Melinda, don't!" Heather said when Melinda opened her mouth again. Her voice was shaky, but her gaze was firm. "Please."

Nearly purple with rage, Melinda curled her hands into fists and kicked at the gravel.

Mr. Seeger let go of Richie's jacket. He folded his arms. "Well well well, Mr. Gardner. And here you were going for the record for most days without detention."

"He was fucking with Heather!" Richie cried. "I was protecting her!"

"I didn't lay a hand on her!" Brad shouted. "Honest, Mr. Seeger, I didn't! Just ask her!"

Mr. Seeger sighed and turned to Heather. "Well, Miss Sovert?"

Heather swallowed. She avoided looking at Brad directly. "H-he wouldn't let me go. He kept blocking me from the school bus, Mr. Seeger."

The Vice Principal gave Heather a critical eye. One eyebrow rose when he noticed the dark stain in the crotch of Heather's jeans. "Did he touch you in any inappropriate way?"

Heather's cheeks burned. "No, Mr. Seeger," she said sheepishly.

Melinda uttered a frustrated sound and turned to Jason with an imploring look, but there was nothing anyone could do. What could they tell him? That Brad was implanting images of sex in Heather's head? He'd give them all detention just for concocting such a stupid story.

Richie looked equally frustrated. He shot a blazing look at Brad. "I know what you did, you fucktard," he growled through clenched teeth.

"That is enough, Mr. Gardner. Detention. Two weeks. Starting Monday, if for no other reason than I do not wish my weekend ruined by having to preside over giving your pointless tasks to pass the time."

Brad gave Richie a smug smile. Richie looked very much like he wished to wipe it from Brad's face.

"And you, Mr. Weston. One week," said Mr. Seeger.

Brad's mouth dropped open. "What?? Why?!"

"Because, Mr. Weston, I will likely never find out what really precipitated this altercation, and as such, I will punish both sides to make sure whoever is at fault thinks twice about doing it again. Good day."

"But, Mr. Seeger, I... !"

"Good day, Mr. Weston. And you, too, Mr. Gardner. And don't either of you think about starting this up again when I leave or you will both be expelled."

Fuming, Brad wiped at the blood on his lip and stalked away.

"The rest of you, get moving. The show is over." The Vice Principal turned to Heather. "Are you quite sure you are all right, Miss Sovert?"

Heather took a deep breath and just nodded.

Mr. Seeger paused, his eyes flicking back down to the stain again. Finally he turned and moved off.

"Fucking asswipe," Richie muttered as he watched Brad's retreating back. "Think's he's so fucking cool cuz his father's military."

"Richie," Heather called out.

"Huh?"

A faint smile touched her lips. "Thanks."

Melinda stared. "Shit, Richie, did you really knock him down?!"

Richie shrugged, though one corner of his mouth tugged upwards. "Yeah. Guess I did." He wiped at his face, where the scratches had already scabbed over. He glanced at Jason.

Jason hesitated, his face betraying his loss for words. "Uh ... Richie ... I'll, um, make sure I look up those names for you when I get home. About ten years ago, right?"

Richie nodded. "Yeah. That's cool. Lemme know, 'kay?"

Jason nodded. "Call you?"

"Yeah. Oh, uh, make it late ... I'm gonna be out for a bit ... uh ... you know..."

Jason's jaw tightened, but he nodded without making further comment.

Richie wanted to shout to him that Linda had asked him -- almost begged him -- to come over. Instead, he just grinned humorlessly. "Yeah, I'm still screwing with Miss Davis. Guess I'm not such a great guy after all. See ya in the funny papers."

He turned and jogged towards the school bus.



-------

Chapter 16


The limo pulled up to the curb a block away from Susan's house. Cassie, Ned, and Diane climbed out of the back seat.

Cassie looked around as they stepped away from the car. "Okay, there's two streets here where Melissa might approach from," she said, pointing.

"I'll take this road," Ned said, jerking his thumb behind him.

"And I'll take the other road," Diane said.

"And I'll be in Scotland before ye."

Cassie smiled faintly at Ned. She took a deep breath. "All right. You got the cellphones I gave you. My number is the first one on the speed-dial list, the other phone is the second, so either of you can alert the other after me."

Ned saluted. "Gotcha, chief."

"But don't stick around waiting for me, okay? Run if you see Melissa. I can always have Harry pick me up right at the door and then swing around for you two."

Diane nodded quickly. She was trying hard not to show how desperately nervous she felt.

"All right. Well, here goes nothing."

Cassie started walking briskly towards Susan's house, forcing herself to hold her head up high. Diane was not the only one trying to hide her anxiety. Behind her, Ned and Diane separated, each running down a different street and taking position near the intersection.

Cassie's heart was racing. She wasn't sure exactly what she should say. She had been thinking about it all day and rejected countless approaches. For all she knew, Susan's mother would just slam the door in her face before she had the chance to gain the woman's trust. If that was even possible in the wake of Melissa's tortures.

She didn't hesitate when she reached the front walk. She couldn't afford to. She held her head aloft and pretended a confidence that she did not quite have. As much as it chafed to do so, she had to rely on techniques her mother had taught her in dealing with people.

"Act forceful and confident," her mother had told her. "Act as if you have a right to be there, because most often you do. Act as if it is a privilege for the other person to be in your presence, because most often that is true as well."

Cassie marched to the front door and rang the doorbell.

There was a long pause. Cassie started to worry that no one was home, but then there was a click, and the door finally opened.

Debby Radson stood still with the door halfway open. She peered at Cassie oddly for a moment. Cassie braced for what she thought would be the inevitable door slam, but Debby finally opened the door the rest of the way, albeit slowly and cautiously.

Cassie's breath caught in her throat. The turmoil that the woman had been through was obvious. Her eyes were dark and sad. Her free hand visibly trembled as it roamed anxiously, as if she didn't know what to do with it. She wore shorts that showed off her legs and a top that bared her midriff, but she looked vaguely embarrassed to appear so exposed.

And, of course, there was the Dark Aura. Cassie likened it to an angry swarm of bees that left little trails in their wakes as they spun about Debby's body.

"Yes?" said Debby, a nervous edge to her voice. "May I help you?"

"Mrs. Radson, I need to talk to you about something rather urgent," Cassie said, saying the first words that popped into her head. "It's about Melissa."

Debby's eyes widened and her hand tightened around the knob. The door swung a few inches as if she intended to close it. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"My name is Cassie Kendall. I go to the same school as..."

"Kendall? Not ... not the same Kendalls that live on the mesa?"

"Yes, ma'am, they're my parents," Cassie said after a brief hesitation, a forlorn tone in her voice. "I hope you don't hold that against me."

"Oh! No, not at all. It's just..." Debby peered hard at Cassie again. " ... it's just ... I thought..."

Cassie felt increasingly uncomfortable at the scrutiny. "Um, yes?"

"Oh ... nothing. Melissa is not here, Cassie, if you're looking for her."

"No, I'm not. In fact, I'd rather she not be here. I need to talk to you about her. About ... what she wants."

A small gasp escaped Debby's lips. The doorknob rattled as she quivered.

"Mrs. Radson ... I-I know about the terrible things Melissa is doing to you. I can't tell you any more out here in the open. Please let me come in."

Debby gave Cassie a stricken look. "Melissa sent you..."

"No, Mrs. Radson, she didn't. Please, believe me, she didn't send me here."

That was something Cassie had never thought of, that Susan's mother would think this was some sort of trick or setup by Melissa. Now Debby was again scrutinizing Cassie intently. Was the woman looking for something? If she were a Witch, could she possibly see some of the same things the Harbingers could?

"I don't have an Aura, Mrs. Radson," Cassie blurted desperately.

Debby looked taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course you do."

Cassie's eyes widened in alarm. She glanced down at herself.

"Everyone has an aura, Cassie. But yours is rather hard for me to see."

Cassie looked up. "Oh, you mean..." She trailed off, but relaxed. Now she understood. Some did claim they could see a sort of aura around others. Its layers and patterns were supposedly insights into one's personality. "Yes, I see. You can read them?"

Debby nodded with a faint smile. "Here, come inside. Maybe I can get a better reading from you with a little preparation."

She opened the door wide. Cassie smiled and stepped inside.

-------

"Heather? Are you all right?" Melinda asked tentatively.

Heather was trembling in her seat. Her thighs were parted. Each time the bus hit a bump or lurched with the changing gears, it made her pussy rise again. She was panting lightly. "No, I'm not," she said curtly.

"Brad's not still affecting you, is he?" Jason asked.

"She doesn't have an Aura anymore, Jason," Melinda said.

Heather stared at Melinda. "What do you mean 'anymore?'"

Melinda looked uneasy. "When Brad was messing with you in the parking lot, you had one. A faint one. It started to fade after Richie tackled Brad."

"But it's gone now, right?"

"Yeah. But it was really creepy, Heather. It reminded me too much of you under Nyssa."

"It's not like that," Heather said. "And to answer Jason's question, he's not controlling me now, but he did affect me. It's fading, but not very fast. I'm still... " She glanced around her. A few of the other students were looking at her and whispering comments to each other. Her cheeks glowed. "Well, you know."

Melinda sighed. "Just great," she piped, folding her arms.

"What's your problem, runt?"

"I know what you're going to want when we get home."

Heather swallowed and shook her head. "No, Melinda, not this time. I wish I could."

Melinda looked at her sister in surprise. "Huh?"

The bus lurched through an intersection. Heather moaned. A girl nearby giggled. "If I wanted you, Melinda, you'd be feeling it by now," she said in a husky voice.

"Oh, ick, you want Brad, don't you?"

Heather swallowed. Her eyes flicked between Melinda and Jason. "Not ... n-not him specifically. Just what he has."

Melinda stared in confusion.

Jason leaned over and whispered in her ear, "His cock, Melinda."

Melinda's eyes widened. "Ohhh..."

"I doubt you can provide that, runt," Heather muttered.

Melinda looked from Heather to Jason and back. "Oh, not again!"

Heather said nothing and spread her legs further apart in a vain attempt to relieve the growing pressure in her sex.

"This is so not fair..."

"What?" Jason asked innocently. Melinda glared at him. He understood at once. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh.' Shit, why does this always happen to me?"

"Happen to you? Give me a break, Melinda!" Heather hissed.

"Heather, there's no place for..." Jason trailed off. He turned his head. The others that were eavesdropping suddenly looked away.

Jason sighed. He wondered when this would start to draw the attention of the other students. Already they were gossiping about the ones that had suffered under Nyssa's control. It was only a matter of time before they figured out that something was going on with his circle of friends.

He personally didn't care what they thought of himself. He was more concerned with it getting back to his mother, especially where she already thought that lots of girls were interested in him.

"There's no place to do it," Jason whispered. "That's the problem."

"What about the place we did it before?" Heather asked.

"It's probably still wet and muddy from Tuesday, since it's a bit sheltered. And it's already getting chilly again this afternoon. We're supposed to finally have a hard freeze tonight."

"Jason, I don't care about the cold."

"What about the place where we have our meetings?" Melinda asked.

"It's Thursday," Jason said. "Remember, the letter said we can't use it on Thursdays."

"Look, let's use the same place we did before," Heather said. "I'll go get a towel or something to lie on. Please, Jason, I need this."

Jason said nothing, but his cock already stirred in anticipation.

"Stop it," Melinda snapped. "You're doing it again."

"Melinda, I'm a little desperate, okay? Back off."

Melinda huffed indignantly.

Heather sighed and gave her little sister a pleading look. "Remember what I told you? What I promised about Jason?"

Melinda's expression softened. "I remember," she said in a small voice.

"I meant it. I don't want to take him from you. I just need to get this out of my head."

Jason knew that Heather's desire was affecting him again. Ever since she had mentioned it, he was growing more enamored of the idea despite his misgivings. He fidgeted and shifted in his seat as his cock grew hard.

"I'm coming with you," Melinda said.

Heather stared. "What??"

"You heard me! If you're going to get some, so am I!"

Melinda snuggled up against Jason, throwing an arm around him possessively and sticking her tongue out at Heather. Jason shivered in growing sexual need, his cock aching and pulsing in the confines of his jeans.

-------

Cassie sat at a tiny table in a small alcove that looked like it used to be a pantry. The shelves were filled with a menagerie of arcane artifacts: crystals, glass orbs, bags of dried herbs, candles of varying colors, shapes, and sizes. One of those candles flickered in the center of the table, casting a subdued, dancing light.

Now wearing her ceremonial robe, Debby Radson moved in a rough circle about the table. Cassie watched in utter fascination. She first tossed a small patch of dirt on the floor at one point on the compass. She then moved to the next, and splashed some water into a cup. Next, she bent down and blew lightly into a similar receptacle. Finally, she dropped a piece of kindling into a ceramic bowl and tossed a lighted match after it. The fire crackled and popped as it flared up briefly.

"This is called 'casting a circle, ' Cassie," Debby said as she sat down opposite her guest. "It's to help protect this space from outside influences."

Cassie nodded.

Debby smiled faintly. "I know you probably don't believe in any of this stuff."

"Oh, no, Mrs. Radson, I, um ... well ... there's a lot more I believe in than maybe you'd think."

Debby lay her arms across the table, the candle between them. She turned her palms up. "Cassie, if you would give me your hands? This works better with contact."

Cassie hesitated. She watched the Darkness creep around Debby's arms. Her heart thumped hard as she reached her hands across the table. She tensed as their hands touched.

Cassie could see the little tendrils of black barely touching her skin, but she couldn't feel it. The Harbingers had long since established that the Darkness could not simply leap from one person to the other from nonsexual contact, but it was a bit unnerving just the same.

"Now, just sit still, Cassie, and let me view you through the heat rising from the candle flame," said Debby. "It helps me resolve it a bit ... I..."

Debby's eyes slowly widened, and her mouth dropped open.

Cassie shifted nervously. "Um ... i-is something wrong, Mrs. Radson?"

Debby grasped Cassie's hands very tightly, causing Cassie to utter a tiny yelp in surprise. She had to resist the urge to pull back. "Sit still for another moment, please," Debby breathed, staring raptly. "I thought I saw ... great Goddess ... oh my..."

Cassie was on pins and needles. What was Susan's mother seeing?

"Cassie ... are you a Witch?"

Cassie nearly flinched in surprise. "What?? Er, no, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

Debby let go of Cassie's hands and withdrew her arms from the table. She drew in a shaky breath.

"What is it?" Cassie demanded, her voice rising.

"Cassie, I have never seen an aura quite like yours. The layer that represents your dream state is incredibly strong! You might ... no, you must have a Gift."

Cassie blushed. "Oh, that..."

Debby looked excited. "Cassie, you have it? You can see things in your dreams?"

Cassie nodded. "Yes. That's how I knew what Melissa is doing to you and Susan. And how my friends and I know about the book she's looking for."

Debby paled. "Your friends?"

"Yes. Mrs. Radson, there's something happening in Haven. There's something here. Something terrible. We're trying to fight it. Or at least prevent other people from falling to ... Mrs. Radson? Are you okay?"

Tears were trickling down Debby's face. "Somebody else knows," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "Somebody else knows. Thank the Goddess!"

"Mrs. Radson, do you know about it, too? Please, we need all the information we can get."

Debby nodded and held up a hand, sniffling. "J-just a moment..." She wiped at her face and tried to compose herself. "Yes, Cassie, there is something here. Something evil. Some sort of entity."

Cassie felt a chill down her spine. "E-entity?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"That's the only way I can think to describe it. I don't know a lot about it. But I do know that Melissa is looking for a ritual. The Rite of Power. Something to tap the energies at the node here."

"The node? You mean were the lines of force converge at the Inn?"

"Yes, you know about that too!" Debby said excitedly. Her expression immediately became grave. She shivered and shook her head violently. "The spell she is looking for ... the cost is too high. Too terrible. No one sane would do it!"

Cassie swallowed. "I'm not sure Melissa is exactly sane, Mrs. Radson, not if she's doing these horrible things to you."

Debby bolted from her seat, her chair falling backwards. It struck and shattered the cup that held the water. Cassie jumped out of her own seat in surprise. "She can't have the book! The Rite was done before. My mother..."

Debby paused, looking as if she were searching for words.

"What about your mother, Mrs. Radson?" Cassie prompted, trying not to sound impatient.

It was a few moments before Debby spoke again, as if she were still trying to chase down a thought, but it was not quite coming to her. "Um ... my mother was there when the Rite was last performed. She ... she didn't want anyone to do it again, not after what she saw. She hid the book so no one would be able to perform the Rite again."

Cassie was scared. Not of Susan's mother, but of the implications of what the woman was telling her. It sounded like the Rite had done something it shouldn't have. Was that when the Darkness had come to Haven? Had Mrs. Radson's mother released something terrible from the node? But what did that mean if the Rite were performed a second time?

"Mrs. Radson, about ... a-about this entity," Cassie began in a shaky voice. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"I wish I could, Cassie. My mother wouldn't talk about it. By the time I sensed an evil presence in this town, she had passed on. She took that knowledge with her. I-I started to learn more about it, but I've only barely scratched the surface." Debby trembled. Her eyes filled with tears again. "I-It wasn't enough to keep Melissa out of my head. Goddess help me, I'm so close to breaking, Cassie. To telling her about the clue. I can't keep doing this. I n-never thought sex could be used like this..."

Cassie had a thousand questions about the Rite, but she had to concentrate on her task. "What clue are you talking about, Mrs. Radson?"

"What? I ... why do you want to know about that?"

"Because my friends and I want to find the book."

Debby looked horrified.

"Not to use it! To keep it away from Melissa. We'll destroy it if we have to."

Debby shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "You can't. My mother tried. It won't burn. It can't be torn. Nothing. The power in its pages is too great to..."

"The clue, Mrs. Radson," Cassie said desperately. "What about it? What is it?"

"It shouldn't exist!" Debby cried. "I should have destroyed it! My mother couldn't leave well enough alone. She hid the book and pined for it afterward. She insisted I have a means to find it, so she passed on this clue to me, and I..."

Cassie gasped when her cell phone warbled. She yanked it out, nearly fumbling it to the floor in her panic. "Hello?"

"All hands, red alert!" Ned cried at the other end. "Sensors detect enemy Melissa approaching with Susan and some other chick in tow!"

"Oh damn ... Ned, get away now. Call Diane. I'll get Harry." She hung up. "I've got to go. Melissa's coming."

Cassie turned to leave, but Debby grabbed her arm. "Wait! Wait!"

"I can't! Melissa..."

"Please! Let me give you the clue so Melissa won't get it from me! Please!"

Cassie's heart raced. "A-all right, but hurry!"

Debby fled the room, Cassie on her heels. They bounded up the stairs to the bedroom. Cassie shivered as she recognized the room from her dream vision.

Debby ran to the dresser. She yanked the bottom drawer open and pulled up the false bottom. A set of handwritten pages tied with a string was shoved against the left side of the drawer. Next to it was a long, thin wooden box that once contained the pendant Melissa now carried. Just peeking out from the back of the drawer was a sealed, yellowed envelope.

Debby extracted the envelope. For a moment, her gaze lingered on the pages, and she contemplated handing them to Cassie as well. There was nothing in that journal that could help Melissa directly, but she was unsure whether it would help Cassie and her friends either. And there was no time to explain what it was.

She finally disregarded them and replaced the false bottom, shoving the drawer closed with a bang. She stood up and thrust the envelope into Cassie's hands.

"It's in there, still sealed," said Debby. "I never thought of opening it. Just keep it from Melissa. Don't speak about it where she can hear. Don't let her know you have it! And if you do find the book, be very careful with it. The Rite is not the only spell in there, and there are some just as terrible and dangerous!"

Cassie nodded quickly, clutching the envelope to her bosom. "Thank you, Mrs. Radson, thank you very much! Now, I have to leave..."

"Wait, there's something else you need to know," Debby said. "Something ... something about the..."

"Yes, yes, what is it?" Cassie demanded, her voice going from urgent to frenzied.

Debby blanched. "I-I ... I can't remember ... it's something important, but I can't remember! What's wrong with... ?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have time! I have to leave!"

Cassie leapt out of the room. Debby followed. "Use the back door in the kitchen! The alley on the other side of the fence exits onto Pine Drive."

"Thank you!" Cassie called out without looking back. She pulled out her cellphone and speed-dialed Harry just as she burst out the back door and onto the rear patio.

-------

Heather panted hard, her body writhing atop Jason's legs. Her pussy dripped onto one of two large beach towels spread out under Jason's body, the insides of her thighs damp. Her head bobbed up and down with wild abandon on Jason's cock. She moaned continuously, savoring the taste of him against her tongue.

Melinda was panting as well, her naked body straddling Jason's head. Eager, wet sounds emanated from where Jason's face lay buried against her mound. She barely even noticed the growing chill of the afternoon air that she had so vociferously complained about when she had first stripped off her clothes.

Jason lay in a haze of lust, his mind addled by their combined influence over him. His only thought at the moment was their pleasure. At the same time, he writhed as his own pleasure rose at Heather's frantic ministrations.

Heather was still being driven by her own overpowering desires. She drove him deep into her mouth as if starved. But even as this satisfied one craving, it made the other grow stronger. She moaned and shivered the more she imagined Jason's cock in her pussy. Yet her cunt was already straining so close to climax that it would not take much to send her over. She didn't want to deprive Jason of enjoyment by satisfying only herself.

Finally, the urge became to great. With a whimper she drew her head up, his cock popping from her mouth. Breathing hard and shaking with desire, she fumbled for the condom and managed to slide it onto his cock with her trembling hands. She climbed atop him and impaled herself upon his manhood, a high-pitched moan escaping her lips.

Jason uttered a muffled groan when his cock was abruptly cocooned in slick heat. His tongue sank deeper into Melinda's folds, bringing a squeal of delight from her.

Heather humped madly on Jason's cock, perspiration breaking out over her body despite the chill to the air. She closed her eyes and arched her back as she slammed herself against him, her pleasure rocketing upwards.

Melinda was rising precipitously as well, her moans dissolving into strident whimpers as she hovered closer to the edge. Without even thinking, she pushed her mound against her lover's face. She gasped loudly as she strained hard, and cried out as she released. Her muscles clenched as she came, her pussy throbbing hard and making her body jerk.

Seconds later, Heather gushed, gasping for breath at the strength of her climax. She wriggled her hips against Jason, who moaned into Melinda's cunt as his cock spasmed and pulsed inside Heather.

"Ohmigod," Melinda moaned softly as she slowly fell forward and into a heap on the towel, where she lay panting for breath.

Heather pulled herself from Jason and fell to her side. Jason lay limp on the towel. None of them could speak for another minute.

"I think ... that worked..." Heather breathed, still catching her breath.

Melinda moaned. "Uhhh ... i-it better have."

Jason started to recover his senses, now that both girls had been satisfied. He quietly took care of the spent condom and struggled to a seated position. "Another lingering effect," he said, still sounding a bit breathless himself.

Melinda stirred and sat up. "Huh? What effect?"

"Have you noticed how we orgasm in sync all the time?" he asked. "Even after the House? I don't think that's normally possible statistically speaking."

Heather stared at Jason for a moment, then began laughing. Melinda just rolled her eyes.

"What?" Jason asked, bewildered.

"Jason, you are the only boy I know that would do it with two girls at once and talk about statistics afterward," Heather said.

"You are such a nerd, Jason," Melinda commented loftily.

Jason blushed, even though he knew they were just teasing him.

Still giggling, Heather stood up. "Jason, thank you. That really helped. I..."

She froze. Right before her line of vision, some tall grasses at the top of the embankment rustled, then became still.

Melinda gave Heather an odd look. "What is it?"

"Shh!"

Melinda exchanged a worried look with Jason. Heather continued to stare at the clump of grasses, the stalks dry and brown. Fluffy seed pods fluttered in the breeze like cotton.

"I thought I saw something, but... " Heather shook her head. "I guess it must have been the wind."

"It better have been!" Melinda piped, scrabbling for her clothing.

Jason reached for his clothes as well. "I think this will have to be the last time we do this here. I mean, it's supposed to be secluded, but it's still out in the open."

"Yeah, and it's cold, too," Melinda complained as she pulled on her jeans. "Brrr!"

"Yeah, like you even noticed that when Jason was licking your pussy," Heather said with a wry grin as she dressed.

"Oh shut up!"

"Um, Heather, are you going to need this every time Brad does this to you?" Jason asked tentatively.

"Oh, you'd just love that, wouldn't you?" Melinda asked with a smirk.

"I'm really hoping Cassie comes up with something from Susan's mother, Jason," Heather replied. "I mean, no offense, but I don't think I can do this with you every day."

"Not to mention she's running out of condoms."

"Ha-ha, very funny, runt."

"I hope you're not going to get in trouble for this," Jason said. He had one corner of a beach towel in his hand. Bits of mud and dirt were stuck to the underside.

"Mom won't be looking for these until next summer," Heather said. "We'll get them laundered before then."

Nevertheless, Jason did his best to scrape off as many of the larger chunks as he could. He folded the towels neatly and handed them to Heather. "I better get home in case Cassie is trying to call me. She should be done with Susan's mother soon."

"I really hope she's okay," Melinda said. "Call us when you hear anything, Jason?"

"He can't, runt, we're not allowed to use the phone."

"Well, shit, I don't want to wait until tomorrow to hear!"

"Look, if something really bad happened, I'll find a way to reach you," said Jason. "If you don't hear anything, you can assume everyone is fine."

"But I want to know what she found out!"

"Hey, no one wants to know more than I do," Heather said. "Not when Brad is going to pull the same thing on me tomorrow."

"How do you know that?" Jason asked.

"Because I can see it, that's why. It started coming to me not long after we finished."

"Same thing happened after you boinked me," Melinda said. "You get off on this or something?"

"Wow, you're a regular comedian, huh?"

"Wait, she may have something there," Jason said.

Heather looked shocked. "I do not get off on this!"

"No no, I don't mean it quite that way. I meant that sex has something to do with your ability. Like it makes it more powerful or something."

Heather stared. "You're not serious."

"Well, it's a theory, anyway. Maybe that's the real reason you're oversexed."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Great."

"Let's go, I'm getting cold," Melinda complained, chafing her hands against her arms.

The three of them climbed up the embankment and onto the lot where the House once stood. They paused and looked around.

"Kinda hard to believe it was here," Heather said softly.

"Yeah, I know," agreed Jason.

Melinda shivered. "It gives me the creeps. Let's go."

They headed away from the lot for the last time.

-------

Cassie frustrated the curiosity of both Ned and Diane when she insisted on leaving the envelope sealed until she had a chance to talk to Jason. Her first attempts to reach him failed, as he was not home yet.

"I also don't want to take any chances," she had said to them. "Just in case something odd happens when I open this."

Once she got home, it was not until later in the evening that she finally got away from her parents and their insufferable friends for a private moment to call him. She speed-dialed his number on her cell phone and pulled the envelope carefully from its hiding place under the mattress.

"I'm sorry I couldn't call before now," Cassie said with a sigh. "I really hate these functions my parents hold in the mansion."

"It's all right. Mom mentioned you had tried to call me, so I figured you were all right. So what happened?"

Cassie told him.

"You didn't get a chance to ask Mrs. Radson about whether she could do something for Heather?"

"Oh no, I never had a chance to ask her. I didn't have the time. When Ned called and..."

"It's all right, I'm glad you left when you did."

"How is Heather doing?" Cassie asked anxiously.

"Well, she's better now. But she had a run-in with Brad..." Jason proceeded to tell Cassie about the altercation in the parking lot.

"Oh, goodness ... is Heather okay?"

"Um, yeah, sorta. Had to, uh, help her take care of things again."

"Oh? Oh my!" Cassie blushed. "I'm sorry."

"Well, to be honest, Cassie, it wasn't exactly unpleasant for me."

Cassie managed a nervous giggle. Unfortunately, this only set off her own thoughts about Ned. When her pussy started to tingle, she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, Jason, about this envelope she gave me..."

"Have you opened it yet?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you first. You think it's safe?"

"At this point, if we get that paranoid, we won't be able to do anything."

"Maybe Richie should hold it," Cassie said. "Maybe he can pick up something from it. Then..."

"Richie's not in the Harbingers anymore, Cassie," Jason said firmly. "And he won't be until he takes care of something."

Cassie bit her lip but said nothing.

"Please, open the envelope."

"Okay. Hang on..."

Cassie put the phone down and picked up a jeweled letter opener she had borrowed just for this moment. With a sense of both trepidation and excitement, she carefully slit open the envelope and extracted a brittle piece of stationery, folded once. She slowly opened it. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Cassie picked up the phone and said in bemusement, "It's a poem."

"A what?"

Cassie stared at the four cursive, hand-written lines, arranged in rhyming meter. "A poem, Jason. It's short, I'll just read it: It is one among the masses; it lies opposite the light; see where it ensconces; see it hidden in plain sight."

At first there was silence, until Cassie held the phone closer to her ear and heard faint whispering, as if Jason were talking to himself. "Jason, do you have any idea what it means?"

"Not yet. Read it again slowly."

Cassie did so. As she did, she heard typing in the background.

"I'll have to think about this a bit," said Jason.

"Want me to bring this to school tomorrow?"

"No. In fact, I wonder if you should destroy it."

Cassie was horrified at the thought. Despite how Jason felt about Richie, she wanted to see what he could make of it if he really did have some sort of psychometric ability. "Jason, I don't think Melissa knows I have this. And if she does find out, she wouldn't know that I destroyed it and would come after me anyway. You said yourself we shouldn't get paranoid."

"Okay, but please put it somewhere safe. I'll memorize this so I don't have to cart around a copy of it. Is there anything else, Cassie?"

"Well ... I was going to ask ... did you look up that information for Richie?"

There was silence at the other end for a long moment before Jason finally spoke. "Yeah, I did. The previous owner of Richie's house was a fellow named Doctor Frank Hovath. He was a licensed hypnotherapist. And he had a wife named Sarah."

"Oh my goodness! Then Richie did see something!" Cassie said excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess he did. Sarah did file for divorce at one point, but a few days later, she shot and killed him."

Cassie gasped. "What?!"

"It was apparently big news back then," continued Jason. There was clicking in the background. "I found this article from nine years ago in the local news archives. She was charged with murder, but she was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. The reason was her unshakable belief that she killed her husband in self defense when he tried to use mind control powers on her. She went on to claim that he was just part of some bigger conspiracy involving the whole town."

"Oh no..."

"The official diagnosis was severe paranoid schizophrenia with psychotic episodes. She was committed to a mental hospital in another state. I can't find anything else about her after that. It's like she just disappeared."

Cassie was so shocked that she could not respond.

"Well, there it is. Seems now we know what happens to someone that tries to say anything about what's really going on in Haven."

Cassie finally found her voice, though it was rather shaky at first. "Jason, this means Richie has something sort of amazing power! He can see into the past! He was right, this isn't object reading, it's something more."

Jason said nothing.

"We can't ignore it!" Cassie cried, exasperated.

"I'll tell Richie what I found out so he doesn't think he's crazy," said Jason in a flat voice.

"That's not what I mean."

"What else am I supposed to do? Yeah, I can see it now. Hey, Richie, come on back. So what if you're enslaving your teacher, you have some super-awesome power that makes up for it!"

"I didn't mean it that way, Jason!" Cassie snapped. "And he's not enslaving her, not really. He's just taking advantage of her fantasy."

"I think that's splitting hairs."

"But..."

"Cassie, he even so much as admitted to me that he was going over to Miss Davis' house again this afternoon!"

"Then maybe we should help him instead of condemning him. Richie's not evil, he just doesn't have much resistance to temptation. Miss Davis didn't make it any easier on him from what you told me."

Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He remembered what Richie had told him once: stop measuring him by someone else's standards. But he could not get past Richie's betrayal to Nyssa. That was not just giving into temptation, it was a complete failure to think of anyone other than himself.

At the same time, he couldn't forget how Richie had come to Heather's defense. Richie technically had no obligation to her or any of the Harbingers. If Jason hadn't been there to witness it himself and see the look of sheer rage on Richie's face, he would have accused Richie of grandstanding just to get in good with the others again.

"We can't afford to lose anyone from the group," Cassie said in a small voice. "And you told me he defended Heather. Surely that means he at least cares about..."

"All right. Please, enough," Jason said. "Look, I can't just open the door for him. He has to want to do something about this himself. He needs to make the first move."

Cassie sighed. It was less than she wanted, but more than she had expected. "That's fine. Don't open it for him, but just don't slam it in his face if he opens it first."

"I promise, I won't." Jason took a deep breath and let it go. "I need to call Richie and tell him about what I found. He's already pestered me with three emails so far in the last hour."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."

-------

Richie lay on his bed on his side, the computer monitor glowing against his back in the subdued light. He heaved a deep sigh as he played with the gold ring in his fingers.

He had cleaned it up and even polished it. When he held it up to the light, it had a dull sheen. He rolled onto his back and flicked it into the air, spinning it like a top with a snap of his fingers as he tossed it. He snatched it out of the air, holding it tightly as he sat up.

He willed the scene to come back to him.

Suddenly the sun was out again, and the summer leaves blew in the breeze outside the bay window. He pulled in his legs just moments before Sarah planted the suitcase at the foot of a bed that was no longer his.

He sat cross-legged and watched the scene play out for the fourth time. He could summon them up at will, like watching a futuristic 3D movie.

But only in this room. Nowhere else in the house would it work. On the last play-through, he had tried walking out of the room. He was suddenly back in the present the moment he had crossed the threshold. When he had looked back into his room, it had returned to the present again as well, Frank and Sarah having vanished.

He sat still, barely moving or reacting, until it came to the part where Sarah just broke free of Frank's direct control. They were arguing over what he was really doing, just prior to her ripping off her ring. Frank was standing within arm's reach of him.

Richie raised his hand. He slowly extended it until the tips of his fingers just barely touched the edge of Frank's image.

 ... can't leave her like this ... she must come under my control again ... she must be a good little girl again... 

Richie gasped and yanked his hand back. Sarah threw her ring and the room morphed back to the present.

He stared at the ring in his hand. He closed his fingers tightly. It had been like a voice in his head, as if the man had been speaking directly into his ear. It was as if he had somehow sensed Frank's thoughts.

The phone rang.

Richie leapt from the bed and bolted out of the room, shoving the ring into his pocket. "I got it, it's for me!" he shouted.

Sandra's hand had been inches from picking up the phone. She jerked her head around when there came a tremendous thump as Richie took the last three steps in one leap.

"You're gonna fucking break your leg doing that," Sandra muttered.

Richie ignored her and grabbed the phone. "Yeah? Hello? Jason?"

"Yeah, it's me," said Jason flatly.

Richie waited for his mother to leave the room. "So ... what's up? What..."

"You're not crazy. Cassie and I think what you saw was real."

Richie seemed to freeze for a moment. He turned and fell back against the wall. "I did it again, Jason," he said in a low voice that quavered a bit. "I was able to play it again and again like a frickin' rerun."

"Cassie thinks you can see into the past. I found information on those two you saw..."

Richie's eyes widened as Jason relayed what he had discovered. "Holy shit," Richie murmured.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Man ... I only saw up to when she threw the ring at the dude."

"You'll have to talk to Cassie about this ability, most likely, but you probably have to be holding something from the scene. When Sarah lost the ring, its connection to the past was broken. Again, that's just a really wild guess."

"It has to be in my room, too. It don't work nowhere else."

"That makes sense too. Remember Mara and what she showed us? It was the same location, but in the past."

"Wow, man, you think I can do the same thing she did? Fuck."

There was a long pause at Jason's end. Finally, he sighed softly and said, "Well, anyway, that's what I found. Later."

"Jason, wait! Is Heather okay?"

Another pause. "Yeah, she's fine."

"Good. I woulda pounded that asshole if Saggy Seeger hadn't shown up."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Sure thing, man."

"So ... Anything else, Richie?"

Richie bit his lip. He briefly considered telling him about what had happened just now, how he had sensed Frank's thoughts, and Sarah's before that. Instead, another less disturbing subject came to mind. "Uh ... about ... about Linda ... I mean, Miss Davis..."

Jason's voice tensed when he spoke again, but there was also a hint of exhaustion to it. "What about her, Richie?"

"I just wanna let you know ... she asked to come over."

Jason didn't respond.

"I swear, Jason, she did! C'mon, you gotta believe me!"

"But you went, right?"

Richie hesitated. "Yeah, I did. But..."

"But what?" Jason said curtly, his voice rising. "What excuse do you have now for doing this to her, huh? She wants it, so it's okay? Never mind that she's not even sure if she wants it really or she's just pleasing you. Never mind that her head is still so screwed up from what you did to her when you ran off to Nyssa..."

"I didn't fuck her, okay?!"

Jason paused. "What?"

"I-I didn't do her. I was gonna, but ... but I made her play with herself with her dildos. I didn't put it in her. I didn't."

Jason was silent.

"It sorta satisfied her. She still wanted to do it. I still ... I might go tomorrow and do it, but maybe leave her alone on the weekend ... Jason, I'm trying, 'kay? I'm freakin' trying!"

There was a slow intake of breath from Jason's end. "All right," he said in a less confrontational voice. "You're trying. Thank you ... Do you need help?"

Richie blinked. "Huh?"

"Help. Do you need help?"

"Uh ... I dunno what you could do..."

"I just thought I would offer, that's all. Well ... See you tomorrow."

"Um, yeah, sure. Oh, uh, Jason?"

"What is it?"

"Okay if I sit with you guys again? I mean, no Harbinger stuff or nothin'."

"Sure," Jason said. There was actually relief in his voice. "Sure thing."

Richie broke into a slow smile. "Thanks, man. You really are the best."

"I try. See you, Richie."

"Yeah, see ya, Jason."

Richie hung up the phone quietly. He headed back up the stairs and into his room, closing the door behind him.

Richie dropped to his knees near the bed and reached under it. He pulled out a shoebox, its top dusty, a single spider scurrying across it. He wrinkled his nose and flicked it off with his finger.

He glanced at the door for a moment and listened for anyone coming up the stairs. When he heard nothing, he removed the cover and put the box on the bed.

Inside was a baseball, a leather glove sized for a five year old, and a birthday card.

Richie picked up the card and opened it. In a quick, highly slanted crawl were the words "To my little leaguer, love Dad."

With little emotion apparent on his face, he put the card back down and picked up the baseball. It was slightly scuffed on one side, right where it had struck the sidewalk after his first real hit. Other than that, it was nearly pristine, as if it had never been used again.

He gripped the ball tightly and closed his eyes.

He always remembered when his father had given this and the glove to him, right when he woke up that one particular Saturday morning. He remembered how his father had spent nearly that whole week during the summer teaching Richie the game. He remembered how it made him not really notice his mother's absence for a little while.

That was only a month before the marriage fell apart.

But none of the memories were as strong as that first one, when his father handed him that ball as he still lay in bed the morning of his fifth birthday. Now, as he held it in his hand, the memories surged into his mind so powerfully that his heart raced in anticipation that he would open his eyes and see his father standing there in his room, and it would be ten years ago again.

He opened his eyes. His was still alone, and his room remained as it was before. Yet the image stuck in his head, on the cruel, tantalizing edge of reality.

Richie muttered darkly under his breath and dropped the ball back into the box. His face twisted in anger, but he resisted the urge to throw the box across the room. Instead, he dropped it heavily to the floor, stuck the top on it haphazardly, and shoved it under his bed.

"Fuck it," he muttered as he fell back onto the bed, eyes shimmering with feelings he forbid himself to express.



-------

Chapter 17


Melinda's eyes flicked suspiciously to Richie when she climbed aboard the bus the next morning.

"He asked if he could sit with us, and I said it was okay," Jason said.

Melinda's indignant look made it clear that she was anything but okay with it. She plopped into her seat beside Jason, glaring at Richie. "He's not... ?"

"Don't getcha panties in a twist, 'kay?" Richie drawled. "I'm not in the Harbingers. I won't even say nothin' if you all talk about it."

"Heather, how are you doing this morning?" Jason asked.

"Better than yesterday," Heather said as she sat down. "Won't be for long."

"You think Brad is going to go at you again today?"

"I know he is. I've been feeling it this morning ever since ... uh..."

She trailed off. Melinda rolled her eyes. "Since she boinked me."

Richie's eyes widened. A smirk started to tug at his lips, but he killed it quickly. Melinda narrowed her eyes accusingly.

Jason glanced around. Two other teens abruptly looked the other way. Still others were whispering secretively amongst themselves. One abruptly ended her conversation when she noticed Jason looking at her. The girl gave Jason a sly little smirk.

Jason furrowed his brow and looked away. "Um, anyway ... Let's stick to Heather between classes. And after class, too. She shouldn't be alone until we figure out how to deal with this."

"I shouldn't have run out ahead of everyone else," said Heather. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"I'll pound him flat if he fuckin' messes with you again," Richie grumbled. When the others just looked at him, he frowned. "On my own. Not 'cuz of the Harbingers. Just 'cuz I need to hit someone, all right?"

"Richie, don't get into more trouble on my account," Heather declared.

Richie shrugged. "Detention don't really matter to me."

"Seeger threatened expulsion if you did it again," Jason commented mildly.

"Better than that asswipe tryin' to get Heather horizontal."

Someone nearby giggled.

Heather turned her head. The same girl that had smirked at Jason looked away and began whispering to her friend again.

"Jason, could something happen to Heather if Brad did boink her?" Melinda asked in a worried tone.

Jason frowned as he looked around again. "I think we better end this conversation here. In fact, I don't think we should talk about any of this on the bus anymore."

"Why not?" Melinda piped.

"'Cuz he don't want the enemy listenin' in," Richie said. He stood up. "So I'll leave."

"No, Richie, wait, that's not what I meant," said Jason.

"But we always talk about stuff like this," Melinda protested.

"No, we don't. We only started doing that recently." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I think people are starting to listen in."

Now Heather, Melinda, and Richie were all looking around. The covert surveillance ended at once, but the whispering did not.

Melinda frowned. "They're talking about us?" she asked, her voice a mixture of anger and concern.

"Well, if you wasn't going off about who's 'boinking' who all the time... " Heather hissed in annoyance.

"I was not! And you're the one that brought up about us..."

"Melinda!"

Melinda's mouth slammed shut. Her eyes widened as if she realized only then what she was about to say. Now there was a real panic in her eyes as her head whipped around. "Oh shit ... you don't think anyone knows about ... I mean ... ohmigod..."

"Look, let's not panic, okay?" Jason said. "We'll just have to keep it quiet. Or talk in places where we can better control who's nearby."

"Are we meeting again this afternoon, Jason?"

Before Jason could answer, a boy nearby sniggered. Richie turned in his seat and kicked the boy in the thigh.

"OW! What the hell?!" the boy cried, rubbing at his leg.

"Mind your own business, fuckhead," Richie growled.

"Yes, we're going to meet," Jason said quietly. "But I don't want to talk any more about that either. Let's just drop the whole thing for now."

The four of them settled into an uneasy silence for the rest of the trip. The others around them briefly betrayed disappointed looks before returning to their gossip.

-------

Ned dashed to his locker and shoved books into his back pack like so many bricks. He acted as if he were late, despite the fact that all around him were moving at a much more leisurely pace. He glanced up and down the hallway, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

He slammed his locker shut. He was forced to stop and take a deep breath, his heart hammering in his chest.

He sighed. He wished that date had never happened. If he hadn't tried to push things too fast, he might not be feeling this way. It was like that Asian girl he had almost enslaved when he had been under Nyssa's thrall. She had been an infatuation that had become an obsession. Now it seemed the pattern was repeating with Cassie.

Ned turned away from his locker. He tried to put his baser thoughts about Cassie out of his head.

He rushed towards Cassie's locker. He stopped when he came within eyesight of her, and tried to walk the remaining distance at a normal pace. His last few steps were hurried anyway. "Um, hi."

Cassie jumped. "Oh! I-I didn't see you there, Ned, I'm sorry."

Yeah, way to go, Nose,  Ned thought vehemently. "Um, no prob. Uh, I can talk to you later."

He turned around before she could say a word.

"Ned, wait. Wait!" Cassie grabbed his arm.

A little shiver passed through him at her touch as he stopped. "I jus' didn't wanna, ya know, intrude or sumthing..."

Cassie smiled faintly. "You're not. I'm rather glad to see you, actually."

"Were you thinkin' about some dream?"

"A little. I had another one about Melissa."

"Yeah? Thought you weren't tip-toeing through her mental tulips anymore."

"I wasn't. This one simply came to me on its own." She shuddered. "Just more of the same, Ned. Melissa doing those horrible things to Susan and her mother. And Ann Went as well."

"Sorry ta hear, babe. Can you block 'em out?"

Cassie shook her head. "At least I don't know of a way to do it. I never had to before."

Ned nodded. He felt awkward about bringing it up now.

"And I have other things on my mind, too."

"Oh, ya mean that poem that..."

"Shh!"

Ned clamped a hand over his mouth and looked around. No one around him sported a Dark Aura. He lowered his hand, looking sheepish. "I forgot."

"I'm sure we'll get a chance to talk about it later."

Ned nodded again, his jaw clenched.

"Anyway, was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Ned?"

Ned hesitated for a long moment. He finally cleared his throat a bit loudly. "Uh, well ... was wonderin' if ya wanted to go out again."

"Oh, I'd love to, Ned. But ... well, we probably shouldn't be alone this time."

"Huh? Oh. Well ... we were kinda lucky last time. Er, I don't mean lucky like that, I mean..."

"I know what you mean, Ned."

"Not that I don't wanna do it. But ya know that already."

Cassie swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I know," she said softly.

"Not to pressure you or anythin'. When yer ready."

Cassie's heartbeat quickened. "I'll try not to keep you waiting too long," she said, at a loss for anything else.

Ned nodded once. "Well, um, I should..."

He trailed off. Cassie looked at him inquisitively. Ned stared back into her slate blue-gray eyes.

Ned shuffled his feet. "Uh ... we could ... we could just confine it ta, ya know, something safe..."

Cassie let her breath go as a husky sigh. "Ned, you're not making it any easier..."

"I just meant if yer worried about gettin', ya know, preggers..."

"It's not that, Ned. I just want to make sure I do it for the right reasons."

Ned saw Cassie's eyes darken, and her body trembled just enough for him to notice. "Oh man ... yer gettin' ... I shoulda kept my mouth shut. I really am messin' with your head..."

Cassie's pussy tingled delightfully, but she tried to ignore it and shook her head. "You're not, Ned, as least I don't think you are. I'm just..." She paused, then stepped very close to Ned and whispered, "I want to do it with you as well. Very much. But..."

Ned's cock had been toying with an erection, but at these words, it grew hard swiftly. He was at odds with himself. He wanted to keep nudging her until she gave in, but knew that pressuring her wasn't right.

When Nyssa had taken him, he had only just been stung by a failed attempt at an intimate relationship with another girl at school. He had chosen the Asian girl as his target not just because of his infatuation with her, but also because she had represented the most unattainable target he could find, a sort of indirect means of revenge.

Now it was as if Cassie had taken on that role. He still considered her unattainable, even after having grown this close to her. He was trying very hard not to see what had happened the night before as a rejection.

"You do like me, right?" Ned asked. "I mean, you're not just sayin' that?"

"Of course I like you," Cassie said. "Really, this has nothing to do with you. It's my own hang-up. I'm afraid of this turning into another thing like with Richie."

Ned looked surprised. "Yer afraid of doin' something to me like that?"

"No, not quite. It's hard to explain. It's sort of like you and Richie represent something directly opposite what my parents are. I want to make sure I'm not throwing myself at you just to spite them or something. Do you see?"

Ned nodded. "I think so," he lied.

"Please, Ned, be patient. I'll get past this. Just give me some time."

Ned nodded again and forced a smile.

Cassie smiled. "See you later."

"Yeah. Later."

Ned watched Cassie head down the hallway. His eyes drifted down to her ass. His cock ached, and he sighed despondently.

-------

Heather took her seat in her first class after homeroom. She tried to ignore Brad as he swaggered down the aisle and cast a lascivious gaze at her. She afforded him only a brief, burning gaze of hatred. The only solace she took was the fact that one of his eyes had puffed up from where Richie had landed a decent blow.

Brad sat down and leered at Heather. "So I'm not good enough to fuck, huh?"

Heather took in a deep breath and let it go through her nose. She ignored him otherwise.

"Guess you're gettin' too good a fuck from the nerd."

Heather whipped her head around, giving him furious stare. "Who I fuck is none of your goddamn business."

Brad smirked. "Didn't figure he even knew how to do it. You hafta give him an instruction manual or something?'

Heather cast a haughty gaze at him. "If he ever did do me, he'd be a much better lay than you ever were."

"Aw, now that's not nice at all. You've gone all bitchy on me."

"And you've become a total asshole. We're even."

Brad nodded. "Yeah, okay. I know the score, babe. You won't have me."

"Wow, you used your brain. That's a first for someone who usually thinks with his dick."

Brad laughed. "Yeah, and you'll be thinking with your cunt."

Heather's lips parted. Some of her conviction wavered. "What the hell does that mean?"

Brad grinned. "I can't fuck you, so you'll have to do it yourself."

"All right, settle down," said the instructor, causing Heather to flinch. "Last night's homework on your desk. Now."

Heather took out her notebook and opened it. She leaned back in her seat and tried to focus on the lesson. But her mind would not let go of what Brad had said to her.

So what was he going to do to her now? Was he going to make her start thinking of him again? Sex with him was the furthest thing from her mind. Unless she conjured up the imagery herself, she saw nothing of herself interacting with him on any level, let alone sexual.

She tried to relax. Maybe he was taunting her. Melissa was supposed to have some limit to her power. She might have exhausted her energy. Or she didn't count on Richie trying to beat up her "boyfriend".

A thought flickered through Heather's mind. She recalled herself sitting in the stall in the ladies' room just before lunch the day before, masturbating in an attempt to relieve some of the sexual tension.

Heather's skin flushed. It had been enjoyable despite failing in its intent. Her thought lingered on the moment, especially the quick stroke of her fingers over her swollen clit, and how the pleasure rocketed from her pussy through her body...

Heather shifted in her seat. Her sex felt warm. She made a face and shifted her thoughts to something else. This wasn't the time to be thinking about self-pleasuring.

Minutes later, as she dutifully wrote some notes on the lesson, it slid back into her thoughts once more. In her mind, fingers sank into wet folds with an audible squish and began to tease her sensitized flesh.

Heather shook her head. Stop it. Why am I... ? Oh no... 

Her pussy was growing wet. The more damp it became, the more she imagined her fingers slipping under her panties and sliding over her wonderfully wet slit.

Heather leaned forward, closing her eyes tightly. He couldn't actually force her to do it, could he? He was just planting the desire in her head, that's all. He couldn't force her hand. She had control over her body.

Halfway through the class, she realized she had the same dilemma as the day before: block him out, or pay attention to the class, but not both. Her pussy had soaked her panties again, and her legs were spread. Her pussy ached to be touched. In her mind's eye, she was plunging her fingers into her tight, slick cunt, pumping them in and out as her pleasure soared.

Heather gasped and yanked her hand away from her thigh.

Her hands gripped the sides of the desk tightly as she took a deep breath. I won't let you do this to me,  she thought. I won't let you force me into masturbating in class!

"Miss Sovert."

Heather bolted upright in her chair. "What?! I-I mean ... yes, Ms. Parkington?"

The dour-faced woman regarded her with some disdain. "Are you quite all right, Miss Sovert?"

The imagery in her head would not abate. Her mind was flooded with images of her fingers massaging the wet, pink flesh of her pussy. Even as she stared at the instructor, she could see it. She could almost feel her fingers sliding sensuously down her delta, playing with her labia before sinking into liquid, lusty heat.

Heather flinched. One hand had alighted on her thigh again, this time dangerously close to her loins. She pulled it back again.

"Yes, Ms. Parkington, I'm fine," Heather lied.

"Are you sure? You sound out of breath."

Heather forced herself to breathe normally. "Just ... relaxation breathing ... I'm under stress..."

There was a faint titter of laughter through the class. Heather's cheeks burned.

Ms. Parkington sighed. "Very well. But if you feel sick, leave for the nurse at once. I will not have someone throwing up in my class."

Heather nodded, not trusting her voice.

When the instructor had turned away, she let out a ragged sigh. She didn't understand. She had managed to resist Brad's thoughts better than this the day before. Was her resistance breaking down? Or was Melissa getting more powerful despite Jason's theories?

She had to concentrate on staying in control, even if it meant missing the rest of the lesson.

-------

Melissa was not pleased.

Nothing was happening fast enough for her. She thought she had Heather the day before. Heather had been ready to fall at Brad's feet. Melissa had intended Brad to fuck Heather senseless so she could get into Heather's head. Even now, she wasn't able to simply force Heather into playing with herself in class. She could only plant the desire in Heather's head, and that was stretching her power to the breaking point.

She sighed and slumped in her seat. She wasn't paying any attention to the lesson at all. She didn't need to. A simple projected thought at the instructor, and she would not be called upon.

She wished she knew what the Harbingers had discovered. She knew they had been to see Susan's mother the day before. Did that woman reveal her little secret to them? Would they start looking for the book? And did she keep the pendant link a secret?

Melissa turned her head and looked at Ned. He looked studiously at the instructor, as if hanging on his every word. He was not very good at stealth. Melissa knew he was looking at her ever since the class started.

She once again toyed with the idea of abandoning her plans for revenge. It wasn't getting her anywhere with Susan and Ann. The time and energy would best be spent on the Rite. That's really what mattered.

But then that little thought rose from the recesses of her mind. Abandoning her plans for Heather and Diane would mean giving up control, even if only in a tiny way. She did not dare do that. And certainly not Susan and Ann. They must remain hers. She had spent so long feeling like a spectator watching her life go by, letting others carry her along by their whims, to even think about giving up anything she had gained.

She would stay in control. Even if meant pushing herself to the very limits of her own endurance.

-------

Heather wasn't going to make it.

It was her third class of the morning. The mental assault was relentless. This time Brad openly stared at her with a smarmy smile on his face as she struggled. She squirmed in her seat both from the agony of her aching arousal and the lascivious scrutiny.

Heather kept trying to tell herself that she was in control. They were just thoughts and desires. It wasn't like the House or Nyssa. She had some say in her actions.

But the desire was growing so overwhelming that it was difficult to ignore.

Heather tried to concentrate on what Ms. Hollis was saying. It was doubly hard because she already didn't like this teacher. Ms. Hollis made Heather uncomfortable the moment she had set foot in the instructor's class at the start of the semester.

But when she let her attention focus on the lesson, the clarity of the imagery became so clear that she had trouble distinguishing her thoughts from her actions. In her head, fingers slid over slick flesh and soft wet noises drifted to her ears. Musky heat permeated her pussy as her pleasure slowly rose.

Halfway through the class, Heather contemplated the unthinkable.

She was in the last row of seats. Ms. Hollis was not paying any particular attention to her. She had tried to keep control of her face so her dire situation would not be noticed. No one was looking her way except Brad.

As if sensing that Heather was at her limit, Brad's smile widened. Heather bit her lower lip and whimpered as the urge grew stronger still. Despite her attempt to keep her breathing normal, she was panting lightly.

Heather swallowed and slipped a shaking hand under her desk.

She steadfastly refused to look at Brad. She didn't want to even acknowledge his presence. She popped the button at the top of her crotch and pulled her zipper down just enough to loosen her jeans. She clenched her teeth to suppress a moan as she slid her hand under her panties.

As soon as her fingers contacted wet flesh, it was like an electric shock through her body.

She jerked in the seat, jostling her chair. Her cheeks grew pink, and she flicked her eyes from side to side. She caught Brad's gaze and wished she could shrink into her seat and disappear, her blush deepening.

She averted her eyes. She had intended only to tease herself, just enough to gain some pleasure and satisfy her urge. Instead, her fingers were quickly buried in moist heat, stroking hard.

Heather closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to slow down. She had to retain control. She couldn't let this be on Melissa's terms. She couldn't let anyone else find out what she was doing.

She heard whispering off to the side. She turned her head, and to her horror, another boy was looking at her, his eyes goggling at what he saw. There was a huge grin on Brad's face.

You fucking bastard,  Heather thought. Her cheeks glowed. And now Brad was trying to attract another student's attention, this time a girl.

Stop it, please STOP IT...  Heather begged in her mind, but the erotic assault to her emotions continued unabated. In her moment of distraction, her attempt to slow her ministrations failed miserably. Her hand whipped up and down her slit even harder, each moment of pleasure making it that much more difficult to stop.

Heather heard a disgusted noise. The girl whose attention Brad had summoned wrinkled her nose in disdain as she looked away, shaking her head. She leaned over the aisle on the other side and made a comment to another girl. The other girl craned her neck to see, her mouth dropping open in shock.

Heather's free hand gripped the side of the desk like a vise. Her thighs clenched as she soared towards climax. She needed just a few more seconds. Just a few more and she'd get relief.

She tensed her muscles as hard as she could. It was a technique she had not done for a long while. She used to do it in the days of her budding puberty while masturbating in the quiet dark of her room at night. If she could concentrate properly and without distraction, it would minimize the mess.

Heather's pussy strained hard near the edge, seconds away from orgasm.

"And just what is the sudden attraction over there?" Ms. Hollis' voice rang out.

Heather gasped. The shock made her yank her hand out from under her panties a split second before much of the class turned their heads in her direction. But it was a second too late in another critical regard.

Her hips jerked hard and rattled her chair. The tension on her muscles lost, her pussy gushed. Her crotch was soaked in seconds, fluid trickling onto the chair. She bit her lip hard, but a small whimper escaped her as she throbbed.

Ms. Hollis raised an eyebrow as she directed her gaze at Heather. "Miss Sovert."

Mortified, Heather could barely meet her teacher's eyes, her pussy still throbbing. Her throat locked up.

"What were you doing just now?" Ms. Hollis demanded.

Heather lifted her hand from under the desk. She thought better of it, but not before the light glistened on her damp fingers. She dropped the hand to her side. She closed her thighs to hide her wet panties from view. She uttered another small gasp and her hips jerked once more as her orgasm briefly flared again.

"N-nothing, Ms. Hollis."

"Really."

Heather said nothing, her heart thumping.

"And you weren't doing anything to distract the other students? Anything at all?"

Heather shook her head. She knew Ms. Hollis had caught her, but she was not going to openly admit it. She also knew most of the students in the class had guessed what had happened as well. That was far worse than anything Ms. Hollis could do to her.

"Miss Sovert, come see me after class," Ms. Hollis said imperiously. "Until then, I advise you to keep any further ... urges ... that you may have to yourself."

"Y-yes, Ms. Hollis..." Heather murmured. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes.

-------

In another classroom, Melissa suddenly broke into a wide smile.

All she had needed was that brief moment. The mind was so vulnerable at the moment of orgasm. All the defenses came down. The old adage "sex is power" had far more meaning than perhaps its original author had known.

In those few seconds, she could not do much. She could not take control of Heather outright, or even plant a suggestion. But she could mess with Heather's inhibitions. The mindscape was like an intricately woven tapestry, the threads forming delicate patterns that represented the psyche. She simply snipped a few of those threads that lay about Heather's self control.

She leaned back in her seat, feeling smug. Now it would be easier to nudge Heather into doing what she wanted. And it gave her an opening as to what to do about Diane.

-------

Heather was trembling as she stood before Ms. Hollis icy gaze.

"Now, Miss Sovert. Kindly tell me what you were doing in the back of the class earlier."

"I-I wasn't doing anything, Ms. Hollis."

"Then exactly what were those boys looking at?"

"Brad has been bothering me, Ms. Hollis. He wants to be my boyfriend again and I don't want him."

Heather could at least console herself that this was the truth, as far as it went. But Ms. Hollis remained dubious. "I am going to ask you point blank, Miss Sovert, and I expect an honest answer. Were you masturbating?"

Heather's cheeks burned. She let out a forlorn sigh. "Yes," she said in a tiny voice.

"Hmm. And I suppose you thought the boys would get a kick out of that."

"It wasn't like that, Ms. Hollis, please."

"Then why were you doing it?"

"I ... I-I needed to do it..."

"And why could you not wait until after school when you were in the privacy of your own home?"

Heather had no answer. She gave the teacher a forlorn look.

"Miss Sovert, I asked you a question. I expect an answer."

Heather was on the verge of tears again. "P-please, I won't do it again. I promise."

"That still does not answer my question," said Ms. Hollis. "I will ask you again: Why did you not wait until after school?"

Heather didn't know what to say. What was Ms. Hollis looking for? An admission that she was trying to distract the boys? Or was Ms. Hollis simply trying to embarrass Heather further?

"Ms. Hollis, I can't tell you," Heather said in a shaky voice. "I wish I could. But I promise never to do it again."

Ms. Hollis sighed and scrutinized Heather for a long moment. "All right. It's clear that you're going to be stubborn about this. I will accept your promise. But I cannot let this go unpunished."

Heather nodded slowly.

"It seems that detention is the punishment of choice around here. I, personally, despise it. I find it useless. I would rather you do something useful. So this is what you will do. This Halloween, the school will be holding a party for the students. You will provide your service to the school by helping set up for the party and helping manage it once it gets started. That means no date for you that night. Is that understood?"

Heather swallowed. Mara had warned about a danger to Heather on Halloween, even to the point of telling her to stay home that day. Now she was stuck with this, but she couldn't afford to worry about it now. "Yes, Ms. Hollis," she said sheepishly.

"Very good. Now, get to your next class."

Heather nodded and fled.

-------

Richie pounded a fist on the locker. "That's it! He's fuckin' dead!"

"Richie, stop, please..." Heather pleaded.

"If you get in trouble again..." Jason warned.

"Hey, I'm not stupid, 'kay?! I'll wait 'til after school and then I'll kick his sorry ass into the next fucking state!"

"Richie, Brad is twice your weight!" Diane said. "He'll wipe the floor with you."

"Yeah, he would've pounded you if Seeger hadn't stopped it!" piped Melinda.

"Shut up!" Richie exclaimed. "You two don't know shit about..."

"Look, everyone, time out, okay?!" Jason cried. "Stop it. Richie, beating up Brad is not going to solve anything."

"But we gotta get Brad to stop fucking with Heather's head!"

"I know! But even if you take Brad out of the picture, it's Melissa behind it. She'll just find someone else to use. We've got enough problems as it is."

"Huh? What problems?"

"Like the fact that someone saw what we were doing yesterday," Melinda said in a miserable voice, her eyes shimmering. "God, I got teased about that so badly in P.E."

Richie rolled his eyes. "For fuck's sake, someone was gonna figger it out at some point the way you all go at it."

Melinda clenched her hands into fists and whirled around to fire a blistering retort when Cassie and Ned ran up to them. "Oh my goodness, Heather, I heard a terrible rumor about..." She stopped as several long faces stared back at her. Her own face fell. "Oh no..."

"Yeah, I thought so," Ned grumbled. "The bitch was lookin' like the cat that dined on the canary two classes ago."

"God, I've never been so embarrassed," Heather whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes again. She turned away from the others. Diane tentatively draped an arm over her shoulders. Heather trembled before she buried her face in Diane's shoulder. Diane hugged Heather tightly.

"Jason, we have to do something about this!" Melinda cried.

"What am I supposed to do?" Jason complained. "I don't have a magic spell to shield Heather. I wish I did. So if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them."

"Jason, I might have an idea," Cassie said. "But I don't think we should talk about it in the hallway here."

"Fine!" Richie exclaimed, pounding his fist against the locker again. "You want me to leave so I don't see your fucking secret handshake or something?!"

"Richie, stop being so defensive!" Jason declared. "She didn't mean that."

"I just don't want anything getting back to Melissa, that's all," Cassie said. "You're welcome to join ... er..."

She trailed off as Jason gave her a withering look.

Richie's gaze shifted between the two of them. His jaw tightened and he nodded. "Yeah, I get it. No prob. I'll just butt out. I prob'ly got plans after school anyway. Y'know, makin' out with the teacher and all that."

"Yeah, go advertise that, why don't you?" Melinda sneered.

Richie glared at her but walked away without saying a word.

Cassie looked helplessly at Richie's retreating back, then turned to the others. She looked flustered for a few moments before finally saying in a huff, "That was uncalled for. You and Jason."

Jason blinked. "What?"

"Why are you shutting him out? You said he was trying to stop ... well, you know."

"I can't just let him back in right away. He has to prove he's serious about it."

"But with his ability he could be a real help to us!"

"Look, kiddies, I hate to break up the party, but some of us got classes," Ned said in irritation. "Let's wait til after school. Then we can commence bitin' each others' heads off."

Heather and Diane separated. "Guys, we're headed to lunch," Heather said, sniffling once. "Please, don't fight over this. I just have to get through today and I'll have the weekend to recover. Brad can't get at me then."

"You're damn right he won't!" Melinda piped.

"We won't let him come near you, Heather," Jason said firmly.

"Diane, you want a lift to the house with Ned and I?" Cassie asked.

Diane nodded. "Yes, please."

The other Harbingers departed, leaving Heather and Diane alone.

"Heather, I'm really sorry this happened to you," Diane said despondently. "I wish I could help."

"It's all right, Diane," said Heather.

"No, it isn't! I feel useless again."

"Diane, please, don't do this. Right now all I need is a good friend."

Diane said nothing.

Heather sighed. "I know. You wish it were more than that."

"No, that's not it. I mean, yes, I do, but..." Diane paused, then stepped closer to Heather and whispered, "Heather, when you told me after your first class what Brad was doing this time, you can't imagine how much I wanted to ... to help you with that a little more directly."

Heather felt a small shiver pass through her. "I know, Diane ... I wish..."

Diane shook her head and forced a smile. "You want a friend. That's what I'll be. We'll deal with the other later. Come on, we have to get to lunch."

Heather slowly smiled and shared another hug with Diane before they both headed towards the cafeteria together.

-------

"Mrs. Radson was a bit flustered once I mentioned my dreams to her," Cassie began. "So what she told me was a bit jumbled. I tried to piece it together afterward, so here's what I came up with."

The Harbingers were seated in the elegant living room of the mansion. Jason appeared uncomfortable. He still half-expected a trap to be sprung on them. He believed he would feel that way until he knew who their unknown benefactor was.

He was also upset with Cassie. He felt like she was treating him as the bad guy concerning Richie. He was grateful that Cassie was the compassionate one of the group, but he felt that could go only so far. He couldn't get Cassie to understand that Richie would not change his ways if he were not made to feel what it was like to violate a trust.

"Melissa is looking for a book of magic spells. One of these spells is something called 'the Rite of Power.' It allows one to tap the power at a node, which is where lines of force converge. In this case, it's the one under the Inn. This is where it gets a little murky. She said that there's some sort of entity at the node. When her mother Jessica was in attendance when the Rite was being performed, she saw something coming out the node."

"Coming out of the node?" Melinda piped in a quavering voice. "Cassie, wh-what is this thing that's supposed to be there?"

"I don't know, Melinda. All she said was that it was evil."

"Is that what's behind everything going on in the town?" Diane asked. "Some ... some sort of monster?"

"Well, let's not get overly dramatic," Jason said.

"Anything that would allow someone like Melissa to do what she's doing to Heather is a monster in my view, Jason!"

"Never mind what it's called!" Melinda cried. "Is that what we're fighting, Cassie?"

Cassie sighed and shook her head. "I've told you everything that I know. I wish there was more, but Melissa showed up and I had to cut the conversation short. I was lucky to get the clue to finding the book."

"She told you where it was?"

"No. She doesn't know herself. She's had the clue in a sealed envelope and never looked at it herself. I've read it and told Jason."

"I didn't have a chance to memorize it," Jason said.

"Um, that's okay," Cassie said, giving him a sheepish look. She pulled her book bag into her lap and carefully extracted the envelope from between the pages of a textbook. "I have it here."

Jason sighed. "Cassie..."

"You told me to keep it somewhere safe. That's what I did. I thought it safer with me where I can see it rather than being left at home where anyone could take it." Cassie plucked the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. She read the four-line poem aloud.

"That's it?" Melinda demanded. "We go through all that shit for a stupid poem?"

"And what was that third line?" Heather asked with a confused look. "Ensconces?"

"Yes, I know," said Jason. "The grammar is dubious on that line. Technically it should be where it is ensconced since it's a transitive verb, but the author employed a bit of literary license to..."

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Nerd. I meant, what the hell does the word mean?"

"Oh. It means to place protectively."

"But it could be anywhere!" Melinda said.

"It's gotta be in Haven here, right?" Ned asked. "Since that Rite was done here. Haven's not a big town."

"It is when you're trying to look for a single book in it."

"Well, let's look at each line of the poem," Jason said.

"The first one was: It is one among the masses," said Cassie. "So maybe that means it's with a bunch of other books?"

"The library?" Diane suggested.

Melinda rolled her eyes. "You're not going to hide something like this in a library, bubblehead."

"No, actually, it makes sense," Jason said. "The last line talks about it being hidden in plain sight. Without this clue, you'd never think it was there."

"There was something about a light, wasn't there?" Heather asked.

"Yes," Cassie said. "The second line: It lies opposite the light."

"And 'ensconces' suggests a hidden or protected area," Jason said. "That lies opposite some light source. Only ... hmm ... Cassie, any idea how long ago that clue was written?"

"Mrs. Radson didn't say. But the envelope and letter look pretty old. If her mother was a young woman when she saw this Rite, then..."

"Then that could place it in the late 1940's or early 1950's. Which is where the problem lies."

"Why?"

"Well, think about it. Opposite a light source. If that referred to some lamp or other light fixture, then the clue is useless today. The library was renovated about five years ago. And that library has been around almost as long as that letter, so I'm sure that was not the first renovation. No way the place could possibly look the same as it did sixty years ago."

"So we're back at square one," Diane said with a sigh.

"Or it's not really in the library," Melinda said. "I told you it was a dumb idea."

"Look, would it hurt us to give the library a look-see?" Ned asked. "I wanna do something with this clue. Worst that happens is we don't find anything."

"I can't go now," Heather said. "I'm just too shaken by everything that's happened today."

"And I have another stupid function to attend with my parents," Cassie said glumly. "It will take me an hour to get ready for it."

"The library has hours on Saturday," Jason said. "Up until about one in the afternoon. We can get a look around. Maybe I can come up with some old photos of what the place used to look like back then."

"Jason, I don't have a library card," Melinda said.

"You don't need one just to get in, only to check out books. So can everyone make ten in the morning?"

A nodding of heads.

"Okay, good. I guess we're done then for..."

"Jason, I think we should tell the others about Richie's ability," Cassie said. "And what you found out for him."

Jason sighed, then gestured for Cassie to start. They both told the others about Richie's ability and what Jason had discovered about the couple that used to live in Richie's house.

"I think it makes sense that he has this ability, actually," Cassie said. "He can see the past, I can see the present, and Heather can see the future. It was like all of us were meant to come together as a group."

Jason chose not to remind her about Richie's current status, but Melinda had no such qualms. "Except Richie's been kicked out."

"I know. I'm hoping that won't be permanent."

"I'm not."

"Melinda, Richie was willing to get himself hurt to protect Heather."

Melinda opened her mouth to retort until she caught Heather's eye. She sighed and subsided.

"His exclusion from the group is not permanent," Jason said. "I just want to see a little more progress. He says he wants to try to break things off with Miss Davis."

Melinda snorted in derision. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Jason paused, then nodded slowly.

Cassie frowned at Melinda. "To be honest, one of the main reasons I brought the clue with me rather than leave it at home was that I was hoping to hand it to Richie and see if he could get anything from it. I thought it would help us."

"Unless the bit about him needing to be in the same place as the thing he's trying to see is correct," said Jason. "So he'd have to be in the same room where the poem was written."

"But he might get some fleeting images anyway. And, Jason, I want him to come along with us tomorrow at the library. I don't care whether he's in the group or not. This is too important to worry about that now. He has an ability that can be really helpful."

Melinda looked about to protest, but refrained after a warning glance from Cassie.

Cassie turned to Jason. "Is he really trying? I mean really trying to stop this thing with Miss Davis?"

Jason shrugged. "He says he is. I guess I believe him. All right, I'll call him later and see if he'll come along tomorrow."

Cassie smiled. "Thank you."

"If we're done with all that," Diane said. "Can we please talk about what we can do to stop Brad? I don't want to see Heather go through another day like today again."

Ned looked at Cassie. "Babe, ya had some idea 'bout how to protect her?"

"Well, sort of," said Cassie. "It's a bit of a long shot. Mrs. Radson said the book had other spells in it. I was thinking that if we can find it, there might be something in there that can help."

"That's assuming that we find it," Jason said. "And we can actually do the spells in the book. And it would be safe to even try them in the first place."

"I know. But it's all I could come up with. I wish I had a chance to ask her more about the book, but then again, she hasn't seen it herself."

"To be honest, Cassie, I don't think we'll find any book."

Cassie sighed. "You still think this is a setup of some kind."

"Yeah, I do. We went from having nothing to supposedly knowing all of Melissa's plans in the space of a week and having a nice place to meet."

"You think she's gonna gun for us at the library?" Ned asked, unable to hide the amusement from his voice.

"Not necessarily. But I still think we're being led towards something. But we've agreed to keep going, and that's what we'll do. So I think we should end this meeting here."

He stood up before anyone could object. The others followed suit. "Um ... Heather?" Diane asked tentatively. "Can I talk to you before we go? In private?"

Heather nodded. "We'll catch up with you," she said to the others. She waited for them to leave before turning to Diane. "What is it?"

"I hate not being able to call you. It's driving me nuts."

"I know, I know."

"I want to spend more time with you," Diane said softly. "I know you're not sure about ... about us, but..."

Heather stepped closer to Diane and smiled. "It's all right. I have to admit, it's nice knowing you feel this way about me."

"I just wish you felt it on the same level that I do. I think about it all the time, Heather. It gets me excited at odd moments."

Heather suddenly felt a wave of heat pass over her body. Her gaze fixed on Diane's eyes.

"You're not the only one that has to deal with getting h-horny at bad times. It happens to me a lot, if I think about you too much."

Heather's eyes turned dark and sultry. Her pussy tingled.

Diane blushed when she noticed Heather staring at her. "That was too much, wasn't it? I shouldn't have ... said ... Heather, what... ?"

Diane's voice dissolved into a surprised gasp when Heather pulled Diane close and kissed her.

Diane struggled for only a second, mostly out of shock. She recovered swiftly, her eyes sliding closed. She moaned into the kiss and submitted. Her legs quivered in her mounting excitement, and a dull throbbing was felt in her sex.

Heather escalated the kiss and parted her lips before her brain caught up with what her body was doing. Her eyes fluttered open and she broke off the kiss, panting lightly. "Diane, I ... s-sorry, I don't know what got into me! I just..."

"No, no, it was nice!" Diane said, her voice husky. "Please, you didn't have to stop."

Heather looked confused and distressed.

Diane grew anxious. "You did want to do that, didn't you?"

"I was thinking about it, but ... that was really weird. It was like I didn't even consider what I was doing, I just did it. I'm not making any sense, am I?"

Diane shook her head sadly.

"Everything is really strange for me now, Diane. You said it yourself, I'm not the same person I was at the start of the summer. I'm still trying to understand my own head."

Diane nodded. She was simply glad that Heather was not denying that the impulse had been her own. She would have been devastated if Heather had believed that someone was controlling her into doing it. Surely Melinda or the others would have picked up on that.

Heather smiled weakly. "I did enjoy it."

"Heather, I have to ask ... Did you really do it with Jason near the greenbelt?"

Heather blushed. "God, that's all over the school now, isn't it?"

Diane nodded forlornly.

"Yes, we did. I had to. Brad had screwed with my head so much that..."

"It's okay. I'm not jealous or anything like that. Look, we better get back to the others," said Diane with a small smile. "Or they really will believe we stayed behind to have sex."

Heather felt a surge of warmth again in her nether regions, and she actually considered taking Diane up to one of the bedrooms. With some effort, she quelled the impulse. "Okay, let's go. After the library, we'll hang out together somewhere."

Diane smiled and nodded. The two of them headed out.

-------

"Oh God ... oh yeah ... don't stop ... harder... harder!"

Richie grunted as his hips pounded against Linda's body, the two of them coupling in frenzied heat reminiscent of some staged adult movie. With as much excitement as he felt with his cock inside Linda's tight pussy, he felt almost equal measure of guilt.

Linda had begged him to do her. Richie admittedly did not resist very long before acquiescing. He both hated himself for his inability to give up the sex and the others for wanting him to give it up. He was even doing it from the front like Linda wanted.

Linda moaned deeply. She reached up and grasped her ankles, holding her legs apart as wide as she could, a silent invitation to Richie to go even deeper.

Richie rocked his hips as fast as he could, his breathing heavy. Linda arched her back and cried out. He uttered a strained groan and speared her hard as his cock exploded. He was barely coherent for the next few moments as he throbbed hard inside her. Linda moaned and writhed, her own orgasm stretched out by his pulsing manhood.

Finally, Richie was spent. Still panting, he withdrew and rolled onto his side.

"Thank you," Linda whispered as she went limp on the bed.

"Yeah, don't mention it," Richie said breathlessly, realizing that it sounded stupid the moment it came out of his mouth. "I gotta run after this."

Linda sat up and gave him a disappointed look.

"I gotta stop this," Richie said. "I gotta."

Linda bit her lip but nodded slowly.

Richie sat up and wiped his face with his hand. "You gotta figure out what you want, see? You hafta want this yourself. That's how it has to work. You get it?"

"I do, Richie, but..."

"But what? It's real simple. Don't go makin' it all complicated like Jason the Nerdboy does, 'kay?" He scrambled out of bed and scooped up his clothing.

"I just don't know what I want, Richie," Linda said softly

"You keep sayin' that. You're a fuckin' broken record. Figure it out over the weekend."

Linda's eyes widened. "You're not coming over?"

Richie shook his head as he yanked his jeans up his legs. "Got things to do. Won't have time. Sorry."

Linda hugged her knees and nodded.

"So, just think about it, 'kay? Make a decision. That's all I want. I just want someone to make a fuckin' decision!"

Linda said nothing in reply. Without another word, Richie finished dressing and left.



-------

Chapter 18


Cassie drew her coat around her shivering body in a vain attempt to block the wind. She tucked her hands under her arms. The elegant gloves she wore were designed to look good with her coat rather than keep her hands warm.

"Do you see anything, Richie?" Cassie asked, her voice quivering with the cold.

Richie didn't seem to care about the wind, or the tiny snowflakes that struck his exposed face like icy pellets. His jacket was only half-fastened, part of it flapping with the breeze. In his gloveless hands he held the letter that contained the poem and the reason why Cassie, Richie, Ned, and Diane waited for the others in front of the Haven Public Library.

Richie screwed up his face. "Just bits and pieces. Like the dream I had before I found the ring. I can see some chick at a table writing a letter."

Diane stared, her hands thrust into the pockets of a thick winter coat. "Really? You can actually see something?" she asked, her breath fogging the air.

"Yeah. Kinda."

"What does she look like?" Cassie asked excitedly.

"Long black hair. Real funky dress, like from some old pic. Place looks weird, too."

"Jason might be right about how long ago the letter was written."

Ned also appeared not to mind the cold, his jacket open in the front. He glanced up at the leaden gray sky, squinting as the wind rose and blew tiny ice crystals in his face. "Least mebbe this weather'll keep everyone else away."

"Does anyone even use this place anymore?" Diane asked. "I always do everything on the internet."

"I can't see nothin' more'n that," Richie drawled, handing the letter back to Cassie.

"Well, it was worth a try, anyway," Cassie said. She carefully folded the letter and tucked it into an inside pocket of her coat. She shivered hard as the wind struck her. "I guess you really have to be at the place where the memory is."

Richie nodded absently, looking intensely thoughtful.

"I think they're here," Diane said, pointing.

A yellow cab pulled up to the curb. Jason, Heather, and Melinda got out.

"Well, good news is that the rumors of our sex lives hasn't gotten back to my Mom yet," Jason said as he walked up to them.

"And the bad news, kemosabe?" Ned asked.

"Bad news: I didn't really find anything about the library. Not even a single picture about what the interior of the library looked like before a renovation that was done in 1981. So this may be a wild goose chase after all."

"So, at least we'll get us some fine fixin's fer dinner if we catch one," Ned said, betraying his impatience. He jerked a thumb towards the entrance. "Let's go. That book ain't gonna find itself."

"And it's freezing out here anyway!" Melinda complained, hugging herself.

"Here, I better go in the lead," Jason said as he headed for the door.

The main doors of the library opened up into a small rotunda with a vaulted ceiling. Just off to the left lay the checkout and returns desk. Past that was the wide opening into the main wing of the library. On the opposite side, another similar entrance led to the reference section and administrative offices. Lining the wall in between the two openings were public access computers.

The rotunda was arranged around a bronze statue that rose from the exact center. About eight feet tall, it depicted a distinguished scholar holding a large book tucked under his left arm, his right arm raised high and holding a lantern. Red velvet ropes cordoned off a perimeter around it about a foot from the base. A small sign attached to one of the poles read: "Please do not touch the statue. Thank you."

There was a gold plaque attached to the base, but none of them were close enough to read it.

Richie brought up the rear. As he crossed the threshold, he froze. His eyes took on a distant look.

Melinda shivered as she felt another blast of wind against her back. She jerked her head around and glared at Richie. "Close the door, stupid."

Richie blinked, as if not even realizing he was still holding the handle. He let it go, a subdued look in his eyes.

An elderly lady from the checkout desk turned her head and smiled. "Hello, Jason. Nice to see you again."

"Hi, Ms. Johnson," Jason said softly.

She craned her neck as the others came into view. "Oh my. With this nasty wind, I didn't think I'd hardly see anyone today."

"Um, they're with me, actually. Group project for school."

"It's such a relief to see that some students understand how much better it is to do research here instead of online. Please, don't hesitate to call on me if you need anything. I'm sort of running the show today."

"You're the only one here, ma'am?"

"Oh yes." She sighed despondently. "We barely have enough funding as it is to stay open at all on Saturdays. Oh well."

"We should be okay. Thank you, anyway." Jason smiled to her and led the others into the main section of the library.

"Okay, now what?" Melinda whispered urgently.

Jason looked around. "Well, we have to make it look good in case Ms. Johnson looks in on us. Just wander about the aisles and take a book out every now and then. There's a study area in the back."

"But what are we looking for?" Heather asked.

"I wish I knew. I don't even know if the library is the right place to be."

"Yeah, this is the right place," Richie said.

The others stared at him. "And how do you know that?" Melinda demanded.

"I saw something in my head when we came in. The same chick I saw when I held the letter. She said something about hiding it quickly and getting out."

"It's got to be here then!" Cassie cried softly.

"Did you see where she was hiding it?" Jason asked.

"Nah, man, sorry. That's all I saw."

Ned socked his fist into his open hand. "Okay, gang, we gotta find us a spell book. Let's go."

-------

Melissa lounged against the hand rest at one end of the sofa, lazily turning the pages of a magazine and looking bored.

"Uhhn ... p-please, Melissa... " came her mother's breathless voice. "Please..."

Melissa sighed and ignored her.

Kathy moaned and writhed in her seat. Her fingers massaged her clit, knees spread. "Uhhn! ... Oh God ... n-no more..."

"Keep watching," Melissa said without looking up.

Kathy swallowed, her wide and shocked eyes staring at the TV despite her desire to look away. The images that flickered in faint reflection off her glistening eyes from the adult movie sent waves of unrelenting lust through her body. Her fingers could not move fast enough or make her cum hard enough to satisfy it.

"M-Melissa ... if your f-father comes in..." Kathy moaned desperately.

"How many times do I have to tell you? He won't come in unless I want him to. He's perfectly content to putter away in his workshop in the basement this morning."

"B-but ... ohh! ... n-not again ... stop ... uhhh!... uhhhnn!"

Kathy's thighs clenched as her pussy throbbed again. Her feet tugged at the panties that lay tangled around her ankles. Even as her orgasm faded and both cunt and fingers ached, she continued to masturbate without pause as the lead actor of the picture started fucking yet another girl hard and fast.

Melissa finished reading an article and leisurely turned the page. "Besides, you love watching porn movies now."

"P-please, no ... I can't ... this is wrong... "

Melissa raised her eyes. "Stop whining, Mom. I'm giving you a break. You don't want strange guys fucking you, so you take this instead." She smirked. "You know, I don't see Dad objecting to what I've done. He's fucked you himself, hasn't he?"

Kathy shuddered and blushed deeply, even as she pumped her fingers hard into her cunt and panted heavily.

"Probably the only action you've given him in years. All because of your stupid..."

Melissa trailed off, her eyes going wide.

They're close ... soon ... very soon... 

Melissa's heart thumped, first in fear, then in mounting excitement. She had not recognized it at first. Until that moment, it had come to her only in her dreams. This was the first time she had heard the voice of the pendant while awake. But there was a reason why it had spoken to her so directly.

Someone was about to find the book.

Melissa clutched at her pendant and took a deep breath. It seemed almost too good to be true. She had given them the clue only days ago, and now they nearly had their hands upon the very object of her search! But where was it?

The pendant did not answer her.

Kathy moaned piteously as her aching pussy rose again.

Melissa let go of the pendant. "One more orgasm. Then you can stop. In fact, you can just go away. I won't bother you any more today." She slowly smiled. "I'm suddenly feeling in a very generous mood."

-------

An hour later, the frustrated Harbingers came together around the largest table in the study area. Outside, the wind had eased, but the sky had darkened, and snow wafted down in thick flakes.

"This is ridiculous," Melinda piped. "I don't even know where to look."

"We tried searching bookshelves that looked like they were opposite an overhead light," Heather said. "We didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"But is that correct?" Cassie asked.

"How the hell should I know?!" Melinda cried, which was met with a chorus of "shh" sounds from the others.

"What I mean is, there was a line about it being hidden somewhere."

"But out in the open at the same time, right? That's what doesn't make sense."

"Didja try lookin' behind the books?" Ned asked.

"Yeah, we tried that," Melinda said in irritation. "We're not stupid, okay?"

"I thought I had something," Diane said. "There was a cart sitting directly across an aisle from a light. I searched it, but I didn't see anything but ordinary books. It didn't look like it had any compartments either."

"It was probably just left there by someone putting returned books back," Jason said. "But it was worth checking. Richie, are you sure you don't..."

"Look, man, I've been asked a freakin' zillion times by everyone," Richie snapped. "I don't fucking have any more for you. I gotta be holdin' something."

"Wait, what about the letter?"

"We tried it already," Cassie said. "Nothing. The letter wasn't written here."

Jason sighed. "Shit."

"Yeah, my thought 'xactly," Richie muttered.

"Jason, you said you couldn't find any pictures of the place online," Cassie said. "What about here? Maybe they have something we can look at."

Jason slowly nodded. "Yeah, it's worth a shot. Ms. Johnson has been with the place for twenty years. She might know something. Here, wait up, everyone."

Jason rushed into the rotunda and approached the checkout desk. Ms. Johnson looked up and beamed. "Yes, Jason, how can I help you?"

"My friend and I are doing a research project about the history of Haven," he began. "There's some information I was hoping you might have."

"What an interesting project! This town does have a rather fascinating history, indeed. A bit checkered, in fact. What do you need?"

"I'd like some history about the library itself. Are there any old photos of the place back about mid-century?"

Ms. Johnson's eyes widened. "Oh my, you want to know about the library's founding, then."

"Founding?"

"Yes, it was built in 1950. Sadly, there are few records of that time. A fire in 1965 burned down the reference wing and much of the library's records."

Jason's face fell. "Oh."

Ms. Johnson gave him a sympathetic look and touched his hand. "I'm so sorry, Jason. No one was more heartbroken than the librarian at the time."

Jason nodded. "Well, thank you anyway, Ms. Johnson."

She smiled and dropped her eyes back to her paperwork.

Jason suppressed a sigh as he wandered away from the desk. Rather than heading back to the main wing, he drifted towards the statue, placing a hand on one of the poles that held the velvet ropes in place. He raised his eyes to the statue's face.

So now what? They had two tantalizing clues and no leads. And if the book was not at the library after all, it could be anywhere.

His eyes drifted across the outstretched arm of the statue, then down to the book. Finally he dropped his eyes to the plaque. Engraved on the plaque were the words "The Light Of Knowledge."

Jason's mouth dropped open. His eyes snapped back to the lantern that the statue carried. To the light.

Opposite the light... 

Jason stepped back from the statue. The lantern was held towards the main section of the library. But it was intended to be viewed as someone stepped inside. So the front doors were opposite the statue.

And right next to the doors was the checkout desk.

"Ms. Johnson!"

She looked up. "Yes, Jason?"

"Was this statue always here?"

"Oh yes. It was placed here when the library was built. A generous gift of the governor at the time."

"And the arrangement of the rotunda here. Was that always the same?"

Ms. Johnson looked thoughtful. "I am not sure. It was as far back as the fire, and that was before the first major renovation."

Jason smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Johnson, that was very helpful."

He walked out of the rotunda, then when he was out of sight of Ms. Johnson, he raced back to the others and explained his revelation.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Jason said excitedly. "It's the only thing even remotely like a light that's been here since the place was built. And that was about when we think the letter was written. It's the best thing that fits with what we have."

"So what do we do?" Ned asked.

"We have to search the checkout desk."

"Uh, small problem, chief. Whadda we do with the old biddy behind the desk?"

"Aw, c'mon, that's easy," Richie drawled. "Wait til she goes to the bathroom. She's a woman and she old. She'll be in there for an hour."

Diane and Heather snickered. Melinda rolled her eyes.

"I can't come up with anything better, so we'll do it," said Jason. "Is there anyone else in the library now?"

"Two older guys in the ref section," Ned said. "Sittin' readin' mags in the corner."

"Okay, how about this? One of us keeps an eye on Ms. Johnson and lets us know when she leaves her desk. Then someone watches the hall to the restrooms and gives us some sort of signal when she's coming back. We post someone else to watch for anyone else in the library coming into the rotunda, and a third to watch for new people coming in."

There was a nodding of heads.

"I'll keep an eye on Ms. Johnson, then. She's used to me hanging around."

-------

Melissa sat alone in the living room. The TV was off. Utensils clattered in the kitchen as her father made himself lunch.

She tried to remain patient and failed. Several times she attempted to prod the pendant into telling her how much longer it would take. Each time she was met with silence. Then out of the blue she would hear the voice again, and it would say the same thing to her. Just as it did at that moment.

They are so close ... they will seek it ... they will find it... 

"Yes, I know, but when?!" Melissa hissed under her breath.

Again, there was only irritating silence in return.

-------

An antsy forty-minutes later, Jason flagged down the others.

"She finally left her desk, but then I had to wait for someone else lingering right near the entrance to the reference section to leave, so we don't have much time. Let's go."

The Harbingers poured into the rotunda. Diane went to the reference section, Melinda to the hall that led to the rest rooms. Richie stood watch at the door.

Ned vaulted over the desk and landed with a thump on the other side. Cassie grinned faintly as she, Jason, and Heather joined him via the swinging gate instead.

Very soon, the rotunda was filled with sounds of drawers opening and closing, papers rustling, and eventually, frustrated sighs and grumbling.

"We're not finding anything, Jason," Heather said as she looked through a drawer for the third time.

"Look for false bottoms," Jason said. He pulled up a set of folders in the drawer he was currently searching and rapped the bottom with his knuckles.

Cassie shut a drawer and sighed. "I don't think it's here, Jason."

"But it's the only thing that makes sense! This is as 'opposite the light' as we can get."

"Maybe the reference section? The lantern is pointing towards the main section. The references section is on the opposite side of the rotunda from it."

"Me and Melinda already looked in the ref section," Heather said. "But I think you're right, it's not here."

Jason stepped back, exasperated. He glanced behind him. "Start looking for compartments in the walls and floor." He crouched and rapped his knuckles against the worn hardwood.

Heather paused, then slowly shook her head. "It doesn't feel right. It's not here."

Jason straightened. "How do you know that?"

"Finding this book is pretty important, right? I think I would sense it if we were going to find it. If..." Heather trailed off. Her eyes widened. "Ms. Johnson is..."

Melinda dashed into the rotunda. "She's coming back!"

" ... coming back," Heather said at the same time.

"Dammit," Jason muttered. All of them rushed out from behind the desk. Diane joined them from the reference section. Richie wandered past them, looking up at the statue.

"What now, o wise one?" Ned asked.

Jason sighed. "No freaking clue. But we better get out of here, first."

Jason started back towards the main section of the library, the others falling into step behind him, save for Richie. He was still lingering at the statue, standing close enough that the rope was touching his waist.

Cassie glanced behind her. She came to a stop and turned. "Richie?"

Richie continued to stare up at the statue. Images were forming in his head, just like they had in his room before he had discovered the ring.

Cassie started towards him. "Richie, did you hear Jason? We have to get back."

Richie's eyes lowered, but he did not acknowledge Cassie at all.

A worried look on her face, Cassie approached him and reached out a hand. "Richie, are you all right?"

Richie reached out his hand towards the statue. Cassie's hand alighted on his shoulder.

Richie touched the statue...

 ... and reality shifted.

He heard a loud gasp just behind him and whirled around. "Cassie?? What the fuck?!"

Cassie's eyes were wide and staring as she frantically looked around her. The place where they stood bore little resemblance to the library rotunda save for its general shape and the statue that still dominated its center. The walls were open to the studs, wire and pipe exposed. Large scaffolds rose towards the ceiling, some dwarfing the statue itself.

The room was shrouded in darkness, save for what feeble illumination remained from a string of work lights draped between two scaffolds. The night breeze blew in through the opening that would hold the front entrance, making the lights swing and shadows sway along the debris-strewn floor.

"How the hell did you get here?" Richie demanded loudly.

Cassie's eyes were drawn to movement on the other side of the chamber. She pointed and tried to draw Richie into the shadows. "Shh! They'll hear you!" she whispered, but it sounded embarrassingly loud in the quiet of the dark rotunda.

"No, they won't," Richie said. "And that one in the front is the chick I saw in my head."

Cassie stared at Richie for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the approaching figures.

A tall, lean woman with flowing black hair was picking her way carefully through the detritus that littered the unfinished floor of the library. She carried a flashlight. Or rather, they assumed it was a flashlight. While it had the familiar electric lamp and reflector, it was shaped and carried much like a lantern.

She was dressed in clothing similar to what Richie had seen in his thoughts. She had a bag hanging by a thin rope tied around her waist. It gave a faint, metallic rattle as she walked.

She turned her head and looked at her companion, who was only just barely discernible in the light. "Hurry up, please, I want to get this over with," she said in a melodic, though irritated voice.

"I am going as fast as these old legs can carry me, Jessica," came the reply. He was panting, as if trying to catch his breath. "You are going to have to help me. My arthritis is positively awful today."

"They can't hear us?" Cassie whispered.

Richie brought his fingers to his lips and gave a piercing whistle that made Cassie jump. "Yo! Over here!" he shouted. The figures took no notice. He turned to Cassie. "See?"

"Richie, did you touch the statue just now?"

"Yeah, I did. I wanted to see if I could get anything. Looks like I hit the jackpot, huh?"

Cassie's expression quickly turned from fear to fascination. "And I'm seeing it too! Oh my goodness! It must be because I was touching you when..."

"We'll need a ladder," said Jessica as they stopped in front of the statue. "Are you sure it will be safe in there, Gary?"

Cassie gasped and pointed. "Richie, look!"

Under one of Jessica's arms was a thick, leather-bound book.

"Huh. Yeah. Think that's what we're lookin' for?" Richie drawled.

The man named Gary, a wizened, slightly stooped man with a bushy gray mustache, paused a moment before responding. "As safe as it can be, so long as neither of us tells anyone about it. Honestly, Jessica, I don't like this. I can get into a lot of trouble if anyone finds out. I want to retire next year and live out my days in peace."

Jessica turned. As she did, Richie and Cassie got a glimpse of the cover of the book. Inscribed upon it was a large, gold pentagram, pointed downward. In the center was a stylized eye.

The eye... 

Cassie stared at it for a long moment, and it was as if something were about to click in her head. She felt like she had seen the eye before. It almost seemed to glow...

Cassie blinked rapidly. The eye wasn't glowing. Of course it wasn't. It was just a symbol on a book, nothing more.

"Trust me, Gary," Jessica said with a soft smile. "After tonight, you won't need to worry about this anymore."

"I wish I had your confidence. But I have agreed to do this, so let's get it done."

Cassie and Richie watched in silence as Jessica put the book down and disappeared into the main wing. She returned carrying a short ladder, cloth wrapped around one end.

Gary tensed and winced as he watched the ladder positioned against his work of art, flinching at the sound of it lightly striking the shoulder. "Careful! You'll scratch it!"

"I wrapped the end of it to avoid that. I don't have the time and you don't have the strength to move the scaffolding closer to the statue. Okay, Gary, get the book and hand it to me when I tell you."

Gary slowly bent down, wincing slightly, and picked up the book. He looked very nervous and tentative holding it, as if afraid it was going to burn him. "I don't like this, Jessica..."

"Yes, yes, I know," Jessica said in annoyance as she climbed the ladder.

"You used something from this book on me, didn't you? That's why I agreed to this crazy scheme in the first place. I didn't even know you before a few months ago."

Jessica appeared to ignore him. She reached the part of the statue where the enormous book was held under the statue's left arm and lifted a hand.

"What is she doing?" Cassie asked. "She's ... oh my!"

Jessica had removed a piece of the statue and was holding it in her hand. It was the top edge of the "book." She balanced it carefully on the rung of the ladder and called down. "Hand me the book."

Gary struggled to lift the heavy tome, grunting with the effort. Jessica had to descend two steps to receive it from him.

"Fuck, they're gonna hide it in the statue," Richie said.

"Opposite the light!" Cassie cried. "It wasn't talking about the room, it was talking about the statue! Held in the hand opposite the one holding the lantern. And it's hidden in plain sight, all right. No one would ever think to look there. Oh, how clever!"

Jessica ascended the ladder again. She positioned the book and carefully slid it inside the hollow. She grabbed the piece she had removed and fit it into place with a faint click.

She reached for the bag at her waist and withdrew a two long metal bolts and a screwdriver. She inserted a bolt at each end of the piece she had replaced and tightened them. When she was done, she sighed, betraying both relief and sadness. "It's done. The book is safe now. No one will know it's here."

"I do," Gary muttered darkly. "And I hate you for giving me that knowledge. And what is to stop someone from seeing the bolts and removing them?"

"No one is going to have reason to remove them. They'll just assume that the bolts are necessary. Hardly anyone will notice them anyway."

"I wish I had never let you talk me into this, however you did it. To mar a work like this with two ugly bolts..."

Jessica calmly descended the ladder and turned to face him. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I burdened you with this, and it's my responsibility to relieve you of that burden."

Gary gave her an odd look. "Relieve me? How do you intend to... ?"

Cassie uttered a surprised gasp when a string of strange syllables flowed from Jessica's lips, sounding like no language with which she was familiar. Despite the fact that this had happened so many years ago, she could still feel a palpable tension in the room as the spell was woven from Jessica's speech.

Gary's eyes glazed, and his mouth dropped open. His muscles went limp, save for what was needed to keep him standing.

"You will forget about the book," Jessica said firmly. "You will forget about what I asked you to do. You will forget about the hollow in the statue."

"Holy shit," Richie murmured.

"Forget ... I will forget..." Gary murmured. He stood as still as a statue himself, his face slack, his eyes vacant.

"Awaken," Jessica intoned.

Life pooled back into Gary's eyes. He blinked rapidly for a few moments. "Huh? What am I... ? Jessica! What are doing here??"

Jessica smiled. "You wanted to show me your masterpiece, remember?"

"I did? Oh, um, yes, I suppose I did," he said, smiling vaguely.

"And it's very well done. I'm sure the town will be pleased when the library opens."

"Yes, of course, I ... oh heavens, some idiot has left a ladder against my statue! That will scratch it for sure!"

"Here, I'll fix it." She lifted the ladder from the statue and leaned it against a scaffold instead. "There. Not a scratch on it that I can see."

Gary inspected it for himself before he finally relaxed. "I must have a word with the foreman in the morning. I cannot abide by this wanton disregard for my art."

"I'm sure it was a misunderstanding. Let's go, it's getting late."

Gary nodded and smiled as the two of them turned away from the statue...

"Are you two quite all right?"

Cassie flinched. The scene around them had dissolved so suddenly back to the present that she was disoriented. She turned with Richie towards Ms. Johnson, who was now looking worriedly at them.

A hand came down on Cassie's shoulder. She nearly bolted.

"Sorry," Jason said. "You okay? Richie?"

"Yeah, we're fine, what's the deal?" Richie said. "We're just admirin' this fine work of art, right Cassie?"

Cassie was still recovering her wits and did not respond until Richie nudged her in the side. "Huh? Er ... yes ... yes, it's rather fascinating."

"It was like you didn't hear me," Ms. Johnson said anxiously. "Like you weren't even here. Please, d-don't do that to me again."

Cassie blushed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Johnson. Um ... Jason, maybe we should go. I think we found what we were looking for."

"We didn't find anything, Cassie," Jason said in a low voice.

"But we did," Cassie said, tilting her head towards Richie.

Jason hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, I'll round up the others." He turned to Ms. Johnson. "Sorry for the trouble. We should get going anyway. Thank you for your help."

Ms. Johnson slowly smiled. "Please, do come back again."

There was a little less enthusiasm in her voice now.

-------

They know ... they have found it... 

Melissa paced in her room. She clutched at the pendant and tugged hard at the chain. "They have it? Are they holding it? I don't sense it. Am I supposed to be sensing something?"

Silence.

"Answer me, dammit!"

More silence.

Melissa gritted her teeth to suppress a frustrated scream. The bulb in her bedside lamp exploded.

Melissa forced herself to take a few deep breaths to calm her anger. She turned her gaze towards the lamp. The shards of glass collected themselves from the night table and bedspread, glittering in the light as they hung suspended like dust in a beam of sunlight. They came together in a tight ball and sailed in a arc into the wastepaper basket. The remains of the bulb unscrewed itself from the socket and joined it a few seconds later.

Patience ... they need time ... it will not be long... 

Melissa sighed and threw herself on the bed. As much as she hated to admit it, this was one thing that was out of her control.

But not for long. Once it was done, it would be hers. It would finally be hers.

-------

The Harbingers stood in the wet and cold, just out of eyesight of the library entrance. The wind had died, but large, fluffy flakes still drifted down from a gray sky. Icy slush frosted the grassy areas.

"So now what?" Ned asked, irritated. "What are we doin' out here when the book is in there?"

"We can't just climb the statue and take the book," Jason said. "No way Ms. Johnson was going to leave us alone after she saw Cassie and Richie space out like that."

"Did we really do that?" Cassie asked, her cheeks flushed.

"Yeah, you did. You both looked like you were in a trance or something."

"Huh. Guess it's kinda like a bad trip or something," Richie drawled. "Surprised the old lady didn't call for a doc."

"You were like that for only a few moments."

"Really?" said Cassie. "It felt like it was much longer that that. Anyway, the point is, we know where the book is now."

"How the hell are we going to get it?" Melinda said, looking sullen as she plunged her hands into her pockets and drew her arms close to her body. "And let's go somewhere else, it's freezing out here!"

Jason gave Melinda a sympathetic look and hesitated. "Um..."

"Anyway, I want to get lunch, I'm starving."

"Um, yeah, that sounds like..."

"Melinda, stop it!" Heather snapped.

"What?!" Melinda cried. "I can't even say I'm cold and hungry now?"

Cassie grabbed Jason's arm and pulled him further away from Melinda. "Jason, were you going to say something else?"

"Um ... yeah ... yeah, I was," Jason said. "We have to figure out a way to get that book out of there when no one is looking."

"Simple," Ned said. "Wait til it closes and break in."

"Are you nuts?!" Melinda shrieked.

Diane winced. "A little louder, they didn't here you over in Randall."

"We can't go breaking into... !"

"Look, why not?" Ned said. "C'mon, how secure is it gonna be? It's a library. Not like there's wads of cash in conveniently placed piles lyin' around."

"Fine, you do it then," Melinda huffed. "We'll visit you in jail. Count me out!"

"We're not breaking into anything," Jason declared.

"Jason, look, I can..." Ned began.

"No, Ned. Give it a rest. We are not breaking into the library. And before you say anything, Cassie, this is me talking. I wasn't intending anything like that from the start. We have to think of something else."

Ned sighed, exasperated. "Dude, in order to get the book, one of us has ta be in the library when everyone else is out. How d'ya 'xpect ta do that 'cept by breakin' in?"

"What if one of us waits inside until Ms. Johnson closes the library?" Diane suggested.

Heather gave her an odd look. "Wait, you mean, like hide somewhere in the library?"

"Sure, why not? Ms. Johnson closes up and goes home, and you have the library to yourself. Wouldn't that work?"

"Ms. Johnson is not stupid," Melinda piped. "She'd go looking to see if anyone was still there."

"Melinda, she's freakin' old as dirt," Richie said. "She ain't gonna go lookin' around every corner and under every table. She's lucky she can move that bony body around at all."

"Oh, stop it! She's not that old!"

"But Richie has a point," said Cassie. "She is elderly. There has to be lots of places someone can hide."

"But I'm not going to... !"

"Okay, stop," Jason declared before Melinda could continue her objections. He paused to collect his thoughts and make absolutely sure what he was thinking was his own. "All right. I think it's worth a shot." He looked at his watch. "It's a little more than an hour before the library closes. Let's grab a quick lunch and find a hardware store to buy a screwdriver. Then I'll go back to the library..."

"Wait, you?" Ned said. "C'mon, lemme do it!"

"I don't want to have anyone else taking a risk."

"Look, stop being so noble fer once. Let me..."

"Ned," Cassie said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Ned snapped. He immediately softened his expression when Cassie took her hand away quickly. "Um, I mean, sorry, what is it, babe?"

"Let Jason do it, please?" She paused and lowered her voice. "He needs to do this."

Ned stared at her for a long moment, then sighed in exasperation. "Okay. Yeah, no prob. I guess I had my moment in the sun when I smashed those whatsihoosits of Nyssa's."

"All right, then, that's the plan," Jason said. "There's a burger place two blocks down from here. There ought to be a hardware store somewhere nearby as well. Let's go."

The Harbingers walked away, a few of them casting lingering glances back towards the library through the slackening snow.

-------

"Fifteen minutes to closing, Jason."

Jason looked up from his book. Ms. Johnson stood at the very edge of the reading area, clinging to the side of a bookcase as if seeking protection from it. A smile graced her lips, but the corners of her mouth twitched, and her eyes shimmered. Jason was sure she was still spooked by what had happened earlier.

Jason smiled pleasantly and closed his book. He had a notebook and pen out, both bought along with the screwdriver and a small tote bag, to further create the illusion that he was doing research for his class. "I was just about to start gathering my stuff, Ms. Johnson, then I'll be out of your hair."

Ms. Johnson tried to laugh. It came out as a nervous chuckle. "Oh, you're not in my hair at all, Jason. I like seeing you again."

"Thanks. But I know some of my friends are a bit odd."

Some of her smile faded. After a long pause, she nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, they are. I'll just leave you to it, then."

She turned and scooted away.

Jason very quickly packed everything into the tote bag. When he was done, he craned his neck to make sure that Ms. Johnson was not within eyesight. Now he was stuck with the dilemma of how to hide himself.

He had thought that it would be fairly easy, but he had forgotten how small a library the town had. It was nowhere like the one in the city he used to live in before his family had moved to Haven.

After a few frantic moments considering options that he quickly realized would not work, he opted for his fallback plan. He grabbed the bag and headed to the men's room.

Jason entered the handicapped stall and sat on the toilet seat. He drew his feet up and hugged his knees to his chest. The door stood slightly ajar, but the stall was large enough that he was tucked away out of sight of the door.

One o'clock came and went. He had assumed that Ms. Johnson would turn off all the lights before going. Yet the time crept past ten minutes after the hour and the lights still burned. He glanced anxiously at his watch until it was fifteen after and resolved to wait only five more minutes.

Jason had to stifle a gasp when he heard the squeak of the hinges of the rest room door.

There was silence for another minute, then Ms. Johnson's nervous voice: "Jason?"

Jason forced himself to breathe calmly through his nose and to remain absolutely still.

"Is anyone in here?"

Jason bit his lip, his heart pounding.

"Please, don't scare an old woman. If you're here, tell me."

Another long pause. Finally, the door swung shut and there was silence. Five minutes later, the room was plunged into near darkness. The only light was the feeble illumination from a gray-white sky beyond the frosted glass of the tiny, high window.

Jason let out a long, relieved sigh.

To make sure, he waited another five minutes before venturing out of the bathroom. The whole library was cast in gray light. The silence was eerie. Even when occupied by only himself and Ms. Johnson it didn't seem this quiet.

He crept into the rotunda. The statue rose before him in solitary splendor. He glanced at the door. The snow had stopped, and feeble sunlight was trying to burn through the thinning clouds. Hazy beams shone through the overhead skylights. Jason had hoped the cloud cover would last until he was done to further hide himself from passerbys.

Jason needed something to stand on. He tried a chair, but it was too short. He found a book cart and wheeled it over, using some of its contents to jam the wheels and keep it from slipping out from under him. Nevertheless, it wobbled ominously as he climbed atop it.

He carefully straightened up. The book on the statue was level with his head. He could see the heads of the two bolts. With some dismay he saw that they had spots of rust on them.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered.

He withdrew the screwdriver. He had to lean to reach the bolts such that he had to prop himself up with one hand against the statue. The cart wobbled. He shifted his weight until it stopped.

It took him a few tries to fit the screwdriver into the slot of the bottom bolt, as his hand was shaking. At first the bolt refused to turn, but finally there was a loud squeal as the bolt loosened. He had it out a minute later.

The top one proved more difficult. He had to use both hands to turn the screwdriver, which meant leaning his body into it. A slip off the bolt might send him to the floor. After nearly five minutes of coaxing rusting threads, the rest of the bolt gave way more easily.

Jason leaned against the statue and removed it the rest of the way by hand. The statue piece fell and clanged off the statue base before coming to rest on the floor.

Jason took a deep breath and peered into the hollow opened up before him, but it was too dark to see anything. He reached his hand inside and felt his heart thump when he touched the top edge of a thick book.

Good Lord, it's actually here,  Jason thought, both amazed and frightened.

Jason wormed his fingers around the leather covers of the book and pulled it out into the first light of day it had seen in fifty years.

The book was heavier than he had expected, and it overbalanced him when he tried to get a firm grip on it. Instead of letting it drop to the floor as he should, he made a wild grab for it with both hands.

He pulled the book into his arms, but his feet slid out from under him as the cart broke free of his makeshift setup and started to roll. He pitched himself to the side, stopping the roll, but caused the cart to tip to one side. Both it and he came down in a crash that echoed through the rotunda, the book tumbling from his hands.

-------

Melissa gasped and stared off into space, her eyes wide. She shivered violently.

For a few disconcerting seconds, she felt as if she were in two places at once. She was lying on her bed trying to distract herself from the endless wait. But she was also pulling something heavy into her hands, something bound in leather, until...

She winced and rubbed at her upper left arm. She had barely touched it when the phantom pain vanished, along with a similar flare along her calf. At the same time, the other reality dissolved like mist after a very brief but terrible sensation of falling.

Melissa got out of bed. Had one of them found it? Had she seen something through the link between the pendant and the book? Why did it disappear?

She didn't bother asking her questions of the pendant. She got an answer anyway.

Patience.

-------

Breathing hard, Jason picked himself up. He gritted his teeth as pain flared horribly in his upper left arm, and a second but less intense burning in his calf on that side.

Jason stood up. He flexed his arm. It hurt, but the pain had already faded somewhat. His calf hurt terribly when his jeans rubbed against it, but when he lifted the pant leg, he saw only a red, raw scrape and no blood. He took a few steps. It was uncomfortable but bearable.

Nothing broken or sprained,  he thought. But I'll have some nasty bruises there for a bit.

Jason looked at the book on the floor. It had managed to land perfectly flat, its front cover facing up. The inlaid gold star looked pristine. The leather had felt smooth and supple in his hands for the brief moment he had held it. It could have been created just a day ago.

In the center of the pentacle, the stylized eye shone emerald in the now brightening sun through the skylights.

As much as he wanted to examine the book, he had to clean up. He righted the cart and jammed more books against the wheels. He replaced the piece over the compartment and screwed the bolts back on. The top one resisted his attempts to send it back in. He screwed it down as far as it would go and hoped that would be sufficient.

He scrambled down, his calf hurting with the exertion. He shoved the books back onto the cart and wheeled it back where he had found it. Jason returned to where the book lay on the floor. With a deep breath, he reached down and picked it up...

-------

Melissa felt it again, an eerie sense of dislocation.

She was picking up a book. It was in her hands! Only ... it wasn't...

Melissa closed her eyes. She saw it more clearly. The inlaid pentacle, the eye, the leather. And now the book was being opened. Before her lay a parchment page, as crisp and neat as it had been when the book had been conceived. Ink so black it seemed burned into the page flowed in richly cursive script.

Could she read it? No, it was in a foreign ... no, wait ... it was English, but with an archaic structure. It had to be at least two centuries old. It was hard to decipher, but she could make out the text. The first page had something to do with focusing mental power to...

The page turned. Melissa wanted to turn it back, but nothing happened.

You will learn use the link.

Melissa's eyes flew open. She still sensed the other reality in her head, playing out ghostlike around her, like one movie weakly superimposed on another.

You will learn how to influence those that touch the book.

Melissa understood. She was seeing through the eyes of the person that was holding the book. It was as if she were inside his body. His? Yes, it was Jason. He flipped through a few more pages before closing the cover and heading for the doors. He turned his head and looked back.

Melissa closed her eyes to block out her own reality. She recognized the place now. She almost laughed. It was ludicrous. Hidden in the library, right in front of everyone!

You will learn to take control.

Melissa opened her eyes. She nodded. "Yes, I will learn," she whispered.

In the center of her pentacle pendant, a stylized eye that had not been there before now glowed with emerald green light.



-------

Chapter 19


"Well, there it is," Jason said with a small sigh. "We got it."

The book sat alone on the elegant coffee table. This was the first time the others were seeing the object of their search. Jason had insisted on keeping it hidden in the tote bag (where it just barely fit) until they were sure they were unobserved.

The book seemed to dominate the entire room. It had a presence that prompted some of the Harbingers to avert their eyes occasionally, as if staring at it too long engendered feelings of discomfort. But when they did lay eyes upon it, it was with a curious -- sometimes even eager -- look, as if they were both wary and desirous of it at the same time.

"So now what?" Ned asked. "Whadda we do with it?"

"Keep it away from Melissa," Heather said immediately. "That's the whole point behind getting it, right?"

"Yeah, but we were talkin' about mebbe findin' something in there ta help ya against Melissa's stooge Brad."

"Yes, please," Diane said. "Jason, do you think you could find something like that?"

"I honestly don't know," Jason said. "I glanced at the first few pages. Each spell has some sort of incantation, but it's in no language I recognize."

"Hey, yeah, that Jessica chick from the library said something weird just before that other guy got all funny," Richie said.

Jason nodded. "The descriptions of the spells are in English, but circa 1700. It's a bit hard to read. Cassie, did Mrs. Radson say anything else about the book?"

Cassie was staring at the book, unmoving.

"Cassie?"

She flinched and looked up. "Huh? Oh, sorry ... um ... what is it?"

"You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just ... something seemed familiar about the book, and I was trying to figure out what. Now, what was your question?"

"Did Mrs. Radson say anything else about this book?"

"Only that we should be careful with it. There are other spells in there that are just as powerful or dangerous as the Rite." Cassie paused, her gaze dropping down to the book again. "May I look at it?"

Jason shrugged and nodded. Cassie leaned forward and pulled it into her lap with a soft grunt, having underestimated its weight.

Melinda had been quiet ever since the book was placed on the table, staring at it much like Cassie had. Her eyes betrayed far more eagerness and far less fear than any of the others. She felt a twinge of jealousy when Cassie got to look at it first, but she held her tongue.

Cassie opened it to a random page. Cursive script rippled across the parchment, stark inky black against pristine off-white. The words seemed to jump off the page at her. It was a bit disconcerting, like the writing itself was alive.

"This one seems to have something to do with desire," Cassie said as her eyes scanned the text. "Or perhaps love. Instilling it in someone, I think."

Ned smirked. "Heh, so we got ourselves a book o'love spells?"

Cassie opened to another random page. "This one is a spell of persuasion. To make you appear more attractive to others." She flipped to another. "This one allows someone to ... um ... oh my!"

Her cheeks glowed pink.

"What is it?" Melinda demanded.

"Uh ... it ... i-it makes everyone in the room very aroused ... I think it implies that it's supposed to be for initiating an orgy."

Richie snickered.

Cassie quickly closed the book, her cheeks scarlet. "A-anyway ... I see what Jason means. It is a bit hard to read, but not impossible. Mostly it's just archaic words and the cursive script that's making a little difficult."

"Then you can find any spell you want in there, right?" Melinda said.

"It's a huge book, Melinda. I'd have to read it from cover to cover to learn where everything is. That's going to take awhile. I've already forgotten where that love spell was..."

The book abruptly flipped itself open in her lap.

Cassie shrieked and bolted to her feet. The book tumbled to the floor. It fell with a heavy thud onto its spine, stood perfectly balanced for a moment, then smartly fell open and was still.

Ned was immediately at Cassie's side. "You all right, babe?!"

Cassie swallowed and nodded. "Y-yes ... it just c-caught me by surprise, that's all."

Jason had stood as well. The others watched him anxiously as he slowly bent down and picked up the book, then turned it around in his hands towards Cassie. "Is this the spell you were looking at?"

Cassie tentatively stepped towards the book. Her eyes widened. "Yes, it is!"

Jason turned it around again and looked down. "Show me the orgy spell."

He had to grip the sides of the book firmly to prevent himself from dropping it in shock when the pages turned of their own accord to the spell. Cassie leaned over and nodded. "That's the one. Oh my goodness..."

"Heh, well, that solves that, huh?" Ned said.

"Mrs. Radson said there was powerful magic in that book, Jason," Cassie said. "But I never expected this!"

"So that's all we have to do?" Melinda said, her voice tinged with excitement. "We just need to tell it what spell we want and it shows us?"

"Wow, man, that's freaky," Richie said.

"Jason, have it show ya the Rite!" Ned called out.

Heather looked horrified. "What?! Why would we want to look at that?"

"I don't mean ta cast the stupid thing, jus' so we know we have the real McCoy here. And I'm jus' plain curious."

"I'm not sure of this guys," Jason said, closing the book. "I don't know if we should trust a book that can move on its own."

"Oh, come on, Jason!" Melinda cried angrily. "Stop being so paranoid! God!"

Jason hesitated. "Um..."

"Melinda, stop..." Cassie began.

"No, Cassie, come on! Don't tell me to be quiet this time. Why the hell did we go through all this if we're not going to use it? And no, I don't mean the Rite. Nothing says we have to cast any of the spells in that thing. Just looking at them is not going to hurt, right?"

Jason bit his lip. Perhaps he was being too cautious after all. It could be no more than it appeared, that the book simply assisted them in searching its contents. "Well, I guess you have a point, Melinda, I..."

The book was suddenly pulled out of his hands.

"If anyone is going to look at it, it will be me," Cassie said, though her voice quavered. She was not feeling particularly brave. She simply wanted to avoid an argument and prevent Melinda from influencing Jason. She sat down, placed the book in her lap, and took a deep breath. "Please show me the..."

The book opened. Pages turned.

"Freaky," Ned murmured "Ya didn't even hafta say it. Did it give ya the right one?"

Cassie peered at the text. She nodded slowly as her eyes scanned the page. "Yes, this is it. It talks about channeling power from a node like Mrs. Radson said." She paused a long moment, eyes flicking back and forth as she read. "It's a bit complex. It needs more than one person. One to cast it, four to channel the power. But the four have to be prepared by ... b-by..."

Cassie paled. She gasped, her eyes glazed in horror as she slammed the book shut. "Oh God..."

"What? What??" Melinda demanded.

Ned sat down next to Cassie and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you okay?"

Cassie swallowed. "Y-you have to channel the power through others," she said in a hollow voice. "You have to ... e-enslave four people first, so they won't resist. And then r-remove their souls..."

"Remove their WHAT?!" Diane cried.

"Holy shit," Richie muttered. He reached over. "Lemme see that..."

"No!" Cassie turned in her seat to keep the book out of his reach. "It's a horrid spell, and I don't want to ever look at it again!"

"Jesus, I just wanna see if..."

"Look, everyone, calm down," Jason said, exasperated. "We don't need to look at that spell, Richie. The idea was to keep this from Melissa, that's all. No reason for us to read it."

"Yes, we have to keep this from her, Jason!" Cassie cried. "At all costs! It didn't just say you needed any four people. You had to take those that 'grievously wronged' you. If she's really that angry at Heather and Diane..."

Heather looked stricken. Diane appeared ready to panic.

"It will be okay, " Jason said firmly. "Melissa does not have the book, we do. She doesn't know anything of how the Rite works, or she would not be looking for the book in the first place. Please, don't freak out on me, anyone."

"If that's what the Rite is like, I'm not sure I want to see what any of the other spells are like," Cassie muttered.

"Cassie, don't say that!" Melinda piped. "We got the Rite because we asked it to show us. We're not going to ask for spells that are going to do horrible things to each other!"

Heather turned to her little sister. "Wait a minute, runt. What do you mean we're not going to ask? What spells do you think anyone is going to be asking for?"

"I didn't mean it that way. I-I was talking about the spell to protect you."

"Yeah, right. Tell me another one."

"What, you can read my mind now?"

"No, but you're blushing."

Melinda huffed indignantly, too flustered for a moment to reply. Her cheeks were indeed faintly pink, and grew a deeper red now.

"Melinda does have a point, Cassie," Jason said mildly.

Cassie was sure Jason was saying that only because of Melinda, but she did have to agree. "All right. I'm sorry I went a little crazy just now. Melinda, exactly what kind of spell are you looking for?"

Melinda folded her arms. "Who said I was looking for one in the first place?"

"Uh, Melinda? It's pretty obvious ya want somethin' from it," Ned said. "Yer not 'xactly the most subtle person in this room."

"Fine! If you really must know, I wanted something for, um, Jason and I. For when we, uh, you know, do it."

Richie raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What more do you two need? You already do it like freakin' rabbits."

Melinda glared at him. "No, we don't. That's the problem."

"I get it," Heather said. "She wants something to prevent her from getting preggers if Jason fucks her."

Both Cassie and Diane looked a bit taken aback at Heather's frank language. Heather appeared momentarily nonplussed as well, but she recovered quickly.

"So what if I do?" Melinda asked. "Is that so bad?"

"I don't know about that, Melinda..." Cassie began.

"Cassie, just see if the book has one. Please?"

Cassie sighed and looked down. The thought had barely entered her head when the book opened and pages flipped.

"Um ... it says 'Cast thou this magick upon yon maiden pure, and thou shalt bed her, and have no spawn. Cast thou this magick upon the soiled, and she shalt be wicked with thee, and yet no spawn shalt commence.'"

Richie made a face. "Sounds like whoever wrote that swallowed a freakin' Bible."

"I told you it was an archaic form," Jason said. "What was it you had it give you, Cassie?"

"I wanted a spell to prevent conception," said Cassie. "So that's pretty much what I thought."

"'Spawn' means children, right?" Melinda said. "So that's the spell I want."

"I'm not sure I trust it," said Cassie. "I mean, I understand the words, but the sentence structure has me concerned. It notes a difference between a 'pure' and 'soiled' woman for instance."

"But the result is the same, so what difference does it make?"

"Melinda, you shouldn't trust your body to something like this until we know how this magic works. We should try something less dangerous."

"Cassie, look for a defense spell of some sort, please," Diane implored.

Cassie nodded. She ignored the indignant look Melinda shot at her as she looked at the book. When it did not respond to her thought alone, she spoke her request aloud. "Show me a spell that will defend against mind control."

The book remained still.

"Maybe that was too broad, Cassie," Jason said. "Try something more specific."

"Show me a spell that will shield against sexual thoughts from another."

Again, the book did not move.

Cassie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Show me a spell that protects against outside influence."

Once more, the book simply lay in her lap.

Cassie tried several more variations, plus some suggested by the others. Nothing happened.

"Great. Just great," Diane said despondently.

"Hmm," Jason mused. He stepped forward and took the book from Cassie. "Show me a spell to instill sexual arousal in another."

He knew speaking aloud was not necessary, for the pages flipped after the second or third word was out of his mouth, but he wanted the others to hear what he was asking of it.

"Show me a spell to remove sexual arousal."

Nothing happened.

"Show me a spell to block sexual arousal."

Again, nothing.

"Yeah, that figures," Heather muttered. "Plenty of spells to make a girl's pussy wet but nothing to stop it."

Richie smirked. Some of the others looked a bit askance at her. Heather was barely aware she had said it until she spotted Diane and Cassie staring at her. Her cheeks pinked, but she shrugged in apparent indifference.

Jason handed the book back to Cassie. "No, it means the spells are more of an offensive nature rather than defensive. We'll have to figure out something else."

"Look, why don't we try one of the simple spells," Melinda piped. "So we can make sure that it's okay."

"We don't need to do any of them, not if we can't find something to help Heather," Cassie said.

"Oh, sure, fine, it's okay to help her out but not me!"

"This isn't the same thing and you know it."

Melinda hesitated, looking embarrassed. "I know it isn't," she said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. But if you did find something to help her, you were going to use it anyway. So why not this?"

Cassie was about to protest again but reconsidered. She still believed it was dangerous to experiment, but she was finding it harder to voice dissent. She looked at the spell again. It was starting to look alluring to her as well.

With some difficulty, she lifted her gaze and looked helplessly at Jason, though she knew he would likely be swayed by Melinda if the girl complained loudly enough.

To her credit, however, Melinda managed to refrain from saying anything, but Jason could only look indecisively at the two of them. He was already torn between Melinda's desires and Cassie's common sense.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Richie grumbled. "Do some spell just so Melinda will stop whining. How bad can it be?"

"You're so confident about it, how about we cast it on you?" Heather said.

"Ha ha, real funny. Melinda is the one that wants this, do it to her."

Melinda blinked. "What??"

"Yes, I agree," Diane said. "She wants it so badly, try out a spell on her."

"Look, the book was made to be used, right?" Ned called out. "Seems kinda stupid to me to make it some sorta trap. Seems like a whole lotta overkill."

"It's not that, Ned, it's..." Cassie began, but the rest of her protest died before it reached her mouth. She was suddenly struggling with her own feelings on the matter.

"All right! Do it to me then!" Melinda exclaimed. "That spell Jason found just now, the one that makes you horny ... Try that one. That doesn't seem so bad."

"Unless you start playin' with yourself," Richie drawled.

"And you think I'll do that in front of you? In your dreams, Richie."

"All right, we'll try it," Jason said slowly as he was finally swayed.

Cassie looked down and reread the description of the spell: Aflame with desire be the loins of thy maiden til pleasure is commenced in the center of her heat.

She realized the danger and looked up as if to say something to this effect. She reconsidered at the last moment. "Who's going to recite it? I don't feel comfortable doing this."

"Let Jason do it," Melinda said.

Jason nodded and took the book from Cassie. He scanned the incantation several times, furrowing his brow. It read: palthet'quixla thrilos ron'indna.

Jason rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This is not easy. It's not even English, or any other language I'm familiar with. I'm not sure I'll pronounce it right."

"Just try it, please."

Jason read it to himself several more times. "Okay ... um... Panthetki ... no... Panthetquixla thrilos ronindna."

No one spoke for the next few moments.

"I don't feel anything," Melinda said.

"Sounds like nonsense to me," Heather said.

Cassie and Richie exchanged a glance. Richie shook his head. "No, it doesn't sound right to me either," Cassie said. She stood up and looked at the spell. "Jessica was using similar syllables in Richie's vision when she cast that spell at that gentleman, but the timing was different. I think those accent marks between the letters might mean you're supposed to pause. Try that."

Jason nodded. "Panthet quixla thrilos ron indna."

Melinda paused, then shook her head. "Nothing."

"I think that's closer, but still not quite right." Cassie said. "Jessica put emphasis at odd places. Maybe you're supposed to pronounce those syllables after the marks more forcefully."

"All right," Jason said. He turned to Melinda again. "Panthet QUIXla thrilos ron INDna"

Melinda started to shake her head, but then hesitated. "Wait. I think ... I ... ohh!"

"Did it work?" Jason asked.

Melinda shivered and squirmed. "Uhn ... y-yeah, I think it did..." she said in a strained voice.

"How bad is it?" Cassie asked anxiously.

Melinda shifted her legs. She could feel moisture already oozing in her slit. "Let's just say I can feel it," she said in a quavering voice. "It was there kind of suddenly. A little like when Heather does it to me." She looked at her big sister suspiciously.

"It's not me, runt," Heather said. "I wasn't thinking about that at all."

Diane remained silent. She squeezed her legs together and tried not to look uncomfortable.

"Well, um, I guess that means it works," Jason said sheepishly, looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Guaranteed ta break the ice at naughty parties," Ned said with a wry grin. It faded when he saw Cassie's worried look.

"Oh, stop it," Melinda muttered. "But see, nothing bad happened. Uhnn ... n-nothing at all."

Heather looked askance at her. "You sure you're okay?"

Melinda kept squirming. Her breath was short. When she moved in her seat, her pussy squished. "Uhnn ... y-yeah, I'm fine."

Richie looked on with interest, a smarmy grin on his face.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Melinda demanded, though the breathlessness in her voice robbed it of some of its impact.

"Whatchin' you get all hot an' horny, that's all."

"I am not ... I ... ohh ... oh God... "

"I was afraid of that," said Cassie. "The description of the spell suggested it wouldn't stop until, um, she did something about it."

"Now you tell me! Why ... uhhn! ... wh-why didn't you t-tell me before?!"

Cassie looked stricken. "I'm sorry! I guess I didn't..."

Melinda panted hard and gripped the edge of the seat cushion. Diane swallowed and averted her eyes, her own breath quickening as Melinda whimpered.

"Sh-she needs to take care of this," Cassie said, blushing.

"Melinda, go to one of the bedrooms upstairs," Heather said.

"Aww..." Richie muttered.

"Uhhn ... I want Jason ... please, let him fuck me..."

Jason swallowed, his cock stirring. He even took a half step towards her.

Cassie leapt to her feet and pushed Jason back. "No! Melinda, please, take care of this yourself."

Already mortified and gasping for breath, Melinda nodded and stood up, though her legs were shaky. She moaned and nearly collapsed as she tried to ascend the stairs. By the time she got to the top, the movement of her thighs had driven her halfway to orgasm. She was whimpering with the urge to thrust her hand under her panties and masturbate in full view of the others.

Finally, she made it into one of the rooms along the upper hallway and slammed the door shut behind her.

Jason took a moment to clear his head, though his cock remained hard. "Um, okay ... So we know this stuff works."

Richie chortled. "Oh yeah, definitely."

"Anyway, we need to figure out a way to keep it safe." He closed the book and set it back down on the table.

"Hey, uh, can I ask a question?" Ned said. "Are ya gonna try out that other spell with Melinda? The one that's s'posed ta be like some sorta birth control?"

"Why do you want to know?" Heather asked with a small smirk.

"Uh, oh well, jus' outta curiosity, that's all. No reason really. Not like I'm gonna use it ... uh..."

Cassie blushed.

Ned glanced at her and cleared his throat. "Yeah, jus' academic reasons."

"Uh-huh," Heather said. "Right."

"I don't know whether I'm going to try it or not," Jason said.

"You will, Jason," Heather said. "Melinda will want it and you'll do what she wants."

"Well ... maybe she won't now that she's had a taste of what this stuff can do."

"I doubt it."

"Then Cassie can keep the book. That way I won't even have it around to..."

"No, you keep it," Cassie said quickly. "I think it's better it stays in town. If my parents find it, they might think it valuable and will want to sell it or something. Or put it on display."

Cassie thought it was far-fetched that her parents would find it, let alone be interested in it. She was more concerned about her own temptation.

Jason did not look enamored of possessing the spell book, despite what Melinda might want from it. But he also did not feel comfortable making a unilateral decision. "Everyone else okay with this?"

"No skin offa my nose," Ned said with a grin. "An' from me, that's sayin' a lot."

"Fine by me," Heather said. "Though I expect Melinda to be really busy tomorrow."

Diane just nodded, not trusting her voice. Her own pussy burned almost as much as if the spell had been cast upon her. Watching Melinda become horny had made her just as aroused as any magic could.

Jason nodded. "Richie?"

"Huh? What?"

"What do you think?"

Richie shrugged. "Don't matter. I'm not s'posed to be in this group, remember?"

Jason sighed. "Humor me."

He shrugged again. "Might as well be you. Everyone trusts you the most."

A door upstairs opened. A somewhat flustered Melinda descended the stairs, her cheeks glowing pink as she noticed the eyes of the others upon her. "What you all staring at?!" she demanded hotly.

"All better?" Heather asked with a wry grin.

Melinda's blushed deepened. "Yeah, it's okay now." She glared at Richie. "And if you say so much as one word... !"

"Hey, chill, willya?" Richie said. "It's cool."

Melinda stared at him for a moment longer before plopping into her seat again.

Cassie looked relieved that Melinda was all right. But she was still upset -- and a bit mystified -- over why she did not sound a warning to Melinda beforehand.

Jason looked at his watch. "I think we better finish up. I have to get back home early to help out around the house. Relatives coming over for dinner tonight."

"Melinda, I want to talk to you for a minute," Heather said. "Alone."

Diane stood up with a nervous sigh and started after the others.

"Diane, wait, you can stay to hear this," said Heather. "I have time to hang out with you today."

Diane was about to protest, since she did not believe she was in a state to think clearly about anything, but Heather had already turned to Melinda.

"What?" Melinda demanded.

Heather waited until the others had left the room. "You're going to make Jason use that spell on you, aren't you?"

"What's it to you? And I'm not making him do anything."

"You remember what Cassie said. You're influencing him."

Melinda looked uncertain at first, then turned indignant. "Why is that so bad? It's not like I'm making him do anything he didn't want to do with me anyway."

"You better not be doing this just because you're jealous over Jason fucking me."

"I'm not!" Melinda protested immediately. After a brief pause, her expression softened. "All right, maybe I am jealous. Just a little. Look, I know, you're not trying to steal him from me. I believe you. But that doesn't mean I don't want to do it with him. It's been so long, and you know how I feel about condoms. I thought you did, too."

"Yeah, but my head was too fucked up and my pussy was too wet for me to think straight. Look, just be careful, okay? I do care about you."

Melinda nodded. "I know. Thank you. But I promise we won't mess with any of the other spells in the book. I don't want this to be the House all over again."

Heather nodded. "Okay, we better get going."

"Heather, wait..." Diane said in a strained voice, grabbing Heather's arm.

"Melinda, we'll catch up," said Heather.

Melinda gave them a funny look, but whirled around and flounced out of the room.

Diane took a deep breath. "Heather, I..."

"I know what you're going to say, Diane," Heather said. "I'm a bit pissed myself that there wasn't anything in that book to help protect me from Melissa."

Diane looked uncomfortable. "Well ... that's part of what I was thinking. I am worried about you, Heather. I think something has already happened."

"What? I don't understand."

"Something's different about you. You're acting a little odd."

Heather made a face. "What are you talking about?"

"It's the way you've been talking, for one thing. And then ... the way you kissed me yesterday..."

Heather grinned. "I thought you liked it."

Diane's lips curled into a small smile. "Well, I did, but..."

"Then don't worry about it. Let's go, I want to see if Cassie can drive us over to the mall."

"I better not go."

"Huh? Why not?"

Diane bit her lip. "I'm feeling a little ... I-I'm a bit excited right now..."

Heather stared. "Not because of Melinda..."

"Well, not completely. It started before that. With you."

"Me? I made you horny?"

Diane blushed furiously and nodded.

"But I wasn't even trying to."

"It was the way you were talking, Heather. That's what I mean. That sort of thing turns me on. When you talk ... when you talk s-sexy..."

Heather thought for a moment. "You mean like when I said about Brad making my pussy too wet to think straight?"

Diane shivered. "Yes, l-like that."

"I didn't know that did anything to you."

"You didn't start openly talking like that til yesterday afternoon."

Heather looked puzzled. She had hardly noticed it herself.

Diane took a deep breath. "Heather, I hate to say this, but I don't want you doing that unless you intend to follow up on it. It's frustrating enough for me."

Heather never knew she could have that effect on Diane. Yet there was something oddly alluring about it. It was like the rush she got when she made Melinda horny. Now she had another one she could affect. The more she thought about it, the more fun it seemed.

No, what was she thinking? She couldn't do that to Diane. That wouldn't be fair, regardless of whether or not Diane was receptive to it.

It was clear that Diane was aroused. And willing. She had made that abundantly clear in so many words. It wouldn't be taking advantage of her at all. But she couldn't do that. That wouldn't be right.

"Diane, you're right," Heather said, though the words were slow to come to her. "I've been unfair to you. I'm sorry. I'll try to stop."

Diane looked crestfallen. She was hoping for it to go the other way. "Still thinking about your feelings for me?"

"What? Oh, yes, I am. So much is going on right now. I want to get this thing with Brad straightened out first. I want my head to be mine again."

Diane nodded, trying to hide her disappointment and failing.

Heather could tell that Diane was upset, but there was little more she could do. "Come on, we better get going."

-------

Melissa closed her eyes one last time and remained still, as if in a meditative trance. She waited, but nothing more came to her after Jason had put the book back down on the table. Once contact was lost, so were her voyeuristic visions.

She sat up in bed, looking somewhat sullen. Things still moved too slowly. Cassie had the spell right in front of her. Melissa had seen what was required for the first part. She needed to completely enslave four that had "grievously wronged" her. She already knew who those would be. She had two of them already. Heather and Diane would be the other two.

But that was all. It was clear some other preparation was required, and she had not seen the final incantation. She had to know the whole spell before she started.

She also needed a means of taking Heather and Diane. She would procure another spell from the book for that. She was sure there would be a total enslavement spell within its pages. She didn't have enough power to take them herself while still holding Susan and Ann, and keep her influence over her mother, Susan's mother, and Brad.

Melissa had tried to influence Cassie into looking at the spell again, but that had failed. The link allowed her only a tenuous connection to the mind of the one holding the book. Cassie had been so horrified by the spell that there was no overcoming that. She would have to find someone else from among the Harbingers to help her get at the rest of the spell.

Yet she had managed something. When their attention had turned towards trying out the spell on Melinda, she had managed to suppress Cassie's objections. It had been quite fascinating and amusing to watch the spell work on Melinda.

But most of all, she was pleased to see that her "adjustment" of Heather was taking hold. She didn't recall Heather using such explicit language before.

And if all went well, Brad would have something very interesting for Heather come Monday morning.

-------

Richie came home to the sounds of pots and pans. He made a face and headed towards the kitchen. As soon as he pushed open the door, the thick aroma of tomato sauce wafted out.

Sandra stood at the stove. She turned her head and frowned. "About time you got your ass home. Any later and you'd miss dinner."

Richie glanced at the clock on the microwave. "It's only four-thirty."

"I'm going out this evening, but I wanted to make you dinner before I left."

Richie said nothing. He simply stared at her.

Sandra attended to her cooking for a few moments before glancing over her shoulder. "What? No snide comments about what I'll be doing tonight? Or who I'll be doing it with?"

"What's the point?"

Sandra paused, then nodded once. "About time you figured that out," she said in a low voice that had lost some of its edge.

Richie had the impulse to tell her that he already knew how much of a hopeless case she was. Even now, the sight of the Aura around her was enough to make him forget how good the food smelled.

He bit back his retort. He recalled what he had witnessed in his room and what Jason had told him. His eyes became uncertain.

Sandra turned around. "What?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you just standing there?"

"What, I can't stand in the kitchen anymore? You making some sorta secret recipe or something?"

Sandra smirked. "That's almost funny." She turned back to the stove. In a more contrite voice she said, "Look, Richie, I know you probably hate me these days, but..."

"Mom, you know someone named Frank Hovath?"

The spatula she was holding clattered to the pan. A tongue of flame shot up where the grease from the sausage she was frying splashed over the side. "You're a freakin' name dropper tonight, huh?" Sandra said in a calm voice, though her hand trembled a bit as she picked up the spatula. "Where did you get that name from?"

"From Ja ... uh ... nowhere," Richie said.

"Yeah, right."

"So who is he?"

Sandra paused to flip over each of the sausages and to check the heat under the pot containing the sauce. "Stop playing fucking games with me, Richie. You already know who he is."

"Just that he used to live here. And he was a hypno-something-or-other."

"Hypnotherapist," Sandra said in a soft voice. "The one that I saw. The one..."

She stopped herself. Her pussy already felt warm just at the mention of his name.

Richie remained mercifully silent, allowing Sandra to finish cooking the sausages without interruption or distraction. At the same time, she grew increasingly nervous under his scrutiny. By the time she had tipped the sausages into the sauce and started heating water for pasta, she glanced behind her and said sharply, "If you insist on hanging around, do something useful. Set the damn table."

For once, Richie did not protest. So surprised was Sandra that she had to turn around briefly just to convince herself he was actually doing it.

When Richie had finished, he plopped himself into a seat, thinking hard.

The silence was too much for Sandra. As much as she did not want to talk about it, she had to know why Richie was so interested. But more importantly, the Darkness wanted to know as well.

"So what brought this up?" Sandra asked, her tone insistent. "Why are you so fucking obsessed with this?"

Richie ignored the question. "So he lived here, huh?"

"You already know that."

"Where'd he work?"

Sandra set the water on the fire and turned the flame low under the sauce before facing Richie. She tried to keep her emotions under control and remain dispassionate. "He worked out of the house. He used the den as his office."

Richie puzzled over this for a moment. "Wait, is that why that room has a door to the side alley?"

"Yeah. Never figured that out before now, genius?"

Richie glared at her, but didn't rise to the bait. The side door had been a mystery to him since they had moved in. It led to the alleyway, but the exit to the street had been blocked off with a chain-link fence, so it was useless as a means of egress.

"So that's where you went all those times you were gone back in Randall?"

"Yes, Richie, I went to see him," Sandra said, her voice growing softer. She tried to maintain a hard stance, but it was becoming difficult. The memory of Frank was sending waves of gentle warmth over her body.

"Must've been some therapist, huh?"

"He was ... very good at what he did, Richie. He was exceptional. A very wonderful doctor."

Her voice went from soft to sensual. Her pussy tingled, her thighs longing to part for him again, as if he were more than just the memory.

"Couldn't've been that good," Richie muttered.

Sandra was unable to hold back. It was such a deeply programmed trigger that it was as impossible to resist as the Darkness was at its strongest. Hot moisture oozed in her slit. Her nipples rose to points. "No, he was the best, Richie. He did so much for me. So very much."

"That why his wife bumped him off?"

Sandra uttered a tiny gasp, her eyes wide. She faltered for a moment at the shock of his statement. She remembered the horror she had felt upon hearing the news. Her husband had just declared his intention to divorce her, and after this news she had nothing left.

Nothing, that is, except the job Frank had procured for her, one that she would never be able to leave.

Sandra let out a rattling sigh and turned to check the water and stir the sauce. Her pussy felt nicely warm and wet, which comforted her. "He was a wonderful doctor," Sandra repeated in a sultry, whispery voice.

Richie's jaw tightened. He glared at Sandra's back. "Yeah, so fuckin' wonderful that he..."

He stopped himself, using all his willpower to bite back his retort.

"What, Richie?"

"Nothin'. Never mind Yeah, okay, whatever. He was freakin' better than sliced bread."

There was silence for a long time. Sandra tended to dinner as if Richie were not there. The fire in her loins slowly abated. She felt embarrassed and guilty.

Richie glanced towards the other door from the kitchen that led into the short hall. At the other end of that hall was the den. He couldn't remember the last time he was there. It was hardly used anymore. Even the door to the outside was blocked by an old, scratched-up desk. The rest of it was used for storage of items they no longer cared about.

One of his hands slowly clenched. He wanted answers. He wanted to know. Yet his heart raced in fear at the thought of finding out. If the room would even tell him anything.

He had determined that this ability would show him only things that it considered important. Otherwise every time he touched an object or sat in a chair, he would be assaulted with jumbled memories of the past.

But that still left him with the question of how to trigger his ability.

Sandra finished the pasta and combined everything in the pot with the sauce. Richie didn't speak again until dinner was served and Sandra had sat down before her plate.

"Doesn't look like much of an office now," Richie said.

"Well, of course not. You think I was gonna leave it like that?"

"That desk in there from his office?"

Sandra shook her head. "I got that from upstairs. I shoved it against the door to stop someone from breaking into the house through there."

Richie nodded. "So, uh, what happened to the rest of it?"

Sandra looked askance at him. "Why the hell do you want to know that?"

Richie shrugged, trying to look casual. "Dunno, just curious."

"You were never curious about the house before now."

"So I gotta have a reason for everything?"

"You always do."

Richie sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, screw it. Shit, get a grip, Mom."

Silence descended again.

"The basement," Sandra finally said softly without looking up from her meal.

Richie paused to swallow a bite of his dinner. "Huh?"

"I moved the furniture from the office there. All but one item. The couch was bought by someone."

"Oh. Okay."

Sandra looked up. "Why do you want to know?"

Richie shrugged.

Sandra continued to stare at him. He knew something he wasn't telling her. The Darkness knew it. It wanted the information from him, but Sandra had no way to get it from him.

Sandra shuddered, but Richie did not see it. Her pussy grew slick. Her thighs quivered.

Good girl ... tell him nothing important ... he'll trip up eventually ... then you'll know... 

Sandra took another bite of her meal to stop herself from moaning softly.

-------

Richie clicked on the light from the top of the stairs.

The basement smelled musty. Cobwebs stretched across corners and floor joists. He felt a chill as he descended through the cool and slightly dank air. The furnace clicked and roared into life just as he hit the last step, though it would do little to stop him from shivering.

He found what he was looking for in the back. An old filing cabinet sat against one wall. A small desk stood on end in the corner. A leather office chair with a torn cushion leaking stuffing groaned under the weight of unrelated detritus above it.

He had known this was here, but not its origins. It was the only furniture in the basement, so it had to be what he was looking for.

Richie cleared the junk atop the chair. The spring creaked as the weight was relieved. The wheels squeaked as they turned.

He hauled it up the stairs, muttering and cursing at its bulk, and wheeled it to the den.

He had not been in this room for a long time. It didn't look any different. The same broken stereo sat gathering dust in one corner. A boxed artificial Christmas tree sat in another. Several tattered boxes lay stacked atop the desk shoved against the door. Next to it was a small refrigerator, as thoroughly broken as the stereo. There was a box of broken toys. Stacks of old books lay everywhere.

Richie barely had enough room to roll in the chair. But the moment he did, images began to pop into his head. He saw his mother. He saw Frank Hovath. He saw a black leather sofa. He saw the small desk from the basement. And he saw...

Richie stopped and bolted upright. He swallowed. He had seen his mother again. Entirely too much of his mother.

He looked down at the chair. Did he really want to know?

He bit his lip and sat down in the chair, and the detritus of ten years vanished.

Suddenly the room seemed twice as big as before. The door was unfettered. Carpeting covered the floor. On his right, Frank sat at his desk, in the very same chair that Richie did. Or rather, what the chair was like ten years ago. The leather gleamed. It made barely a sound when Frank shifted his weight.

On the left was the huge leather sofa. And standing in front of the sofa was...

"Mom!" Richie cried out. He blinked. "Mom?"

It was Sandra, but one that was ten years younger. Her body shape was the same, but there was an energy to her that the present-day Sandra did not exhibit. Although she was just standing there, fidgeting anxiously and shifting her weight, Richie could see it.

She still had the same voluptuous figure, but this was tighter and more sculptured. Her legs looked more graceful. Her breasts sat higher on her chest, round and plump. But there was something else different about her, and it took him a moment to understand what it was.

She had no Aura.

Richie wanted to say something to her, even though he knew that she would not hear him. But before he could open his mouth, his mother spoke. "Doctor aren't you any closer to fixing this? Please, tell me you figured this out!"

Richie shivered. He had never heard his mother sound so scared.

Frank regarded Sandra with a patronizing look. "Now, now, Sandra, you are far too excitable about this."

"I can't help it! This is driving me crazy!" She turned from him and paced the length of his office. Her heels clacked against the floor. Her legs trembled. "It's like it's gone too far the other way."

"I understand, Sandra, that is why I had you come back for more treatments."

Sandra whirled around. "I don't think you understand! If I don't have sex every day ... sometimes more than once a day ... it's like I'm wet all the time. I want to do it all the time."

Frank smiled mildly. "I am sure your husband is happy."

"It's too much for him!" Sandra cried. "He can't keep up! And I need more than he can give me. Doctor, I ... o-on the way over here, I had to pull over twice. I frigged myself like crazy each time, and now I'm just getting horny all over again! And ... a-and ... Mike ... I think he knows. He knows what we've been doing together during these sessions..."

"Sandra, I told you this before. You simply need some more treatments in order to fine-tune your libido. And sex is the best way to do it."

"You've been doing that for several weeks now, dammit. And it's just getting worse each time. You keep promising that you'll fix it, but..." Sandra paused and uttered a lusty moan as she shivered. Her feet slid apart. "Uhhn ... God I feel like I'm on fire..."

Richie's heart was pounding. His cock stirred, and he felt an immediate surge of guilt over it.

"Then I believe we should proceed with today's treatment," Frank said with a smile, gesturing towards the sofa as he stood.

Sandra looked at it in both longing and fear. She raised a shaking hand to her cheek and moaned, "You did this to me ... you did something to me..."

"Of course I did. I let you enjoy sex again. Really enjoy it."

Sandra swallowed and shook her head. "You made me enjoy it too much! It's like I'm addicted to it!"

Frank's smile turned shark-like. "Sit down, Sandra."

Sandra's legs trembled. She stepped over to the sofa and sank deeply into the cushion. She swallowed and moaned, her whole body quivering.

"Now lie on your back."

Sandra started to pull her legs up, then stopped and bolted to her feet. "No!"

Frank tilted his head.

"You are doing something to me," Sandra said with a snarl. "You're ... changing me ... you're making me into something I don't want to be."

"So you don't like having sex with other men?"

Sandra shuddered. "S-stop it..."

"It feels good, doesn't it? Just like getting a fix."

Sandra gave Frank a horrified look. "Oh my God ... you ... you meant to do this all along! You... uhhnn!"

Richie nearly jumped out of his chair. Frank had lifted his hands to Sandra's tits and squeezed them through her top.

"You want your fix, don't you?" Frank said silkily. "You want to feel good."

Sandra was panting hard, unable to speak. She leaned into his touch. One of his hands dropped. He popped the button on her shorts and pulled down the zipper. She moaned as her soaked panties appeared.

Richie clenched his teeth and his hands. His cock grew stiff, and he hated himself for it.

"Yes, I've been addicting you to sex, Sandra," Frank said, teasing her wet slit with a single finger. Sandra mewled and squirmed. "It's a very effective means of control. Now you're fully open to it."

Sandra looked at him with lustful eyes, but fear shimmered in them as well. "Wh-what ... I-I don't understand ... uhhn ... s-stop ... please..."

Frank smiled as he pressed his finger deeper. "There's something much bigger going on, my dear. And you need to play a very important part in it. Now, lie down for me like a good little girl..."

Sandra shuddered again and moaned as her pussy throbbed weakly. She turned towards the sofa.

"No, don't! Stop!" Richie shouted. "DON'T DO IT!"

Sandra stretched herself out on the couch. Her body sank into it, as if it were about to swallow her up.

"Oh fuck," Richie said in a desperate voice as he saw tendrils of black snaking around his mother's body.

"This is indeed your final treatment today, Sandra," said Frank. "You'll need no more. After today, you'll belong to it."

Sandra writhed, waves of intense lust crashing over her and making coherent thought impossible.

Frank smiled and knelt beside her. He slipped off her shoes and slid her shorts down her legs. Sandra uttered only a single moan of protest, but was otherwise helpless to stop him.

"Stop touching her," Richie muttered through clenched teeth. "Stop it, you fucking bastard..."

"That's it, my dear, be my good girl. You want to be a good little girl, don't you?" Frank said as he removed her top.

"Uhhn ... y-yeah ... good girl ... I'm a good little girl..." Sandra cooed. The darkness around her swirled excitedly.

"It will feel wonderful." Frank unhooked her bra and removed it. Her tits rolled and jiggled, the nipples taut and erect. "And you want to feel wonderful."

He cupped a breast and squeezed it. Sandra cried out softly. Her legs were restless, her feet trying to find purchase and push herself off the sofa as one last vestige of resistance played itself out. It stopped when he slid her panties off.

Richie pounded a fist against his thigh. He was both angry at what he was seeing and sick over the fact that he was getting off on it. For a moment, he could see no difference between this and when he made Heather submit to him at the House.

In his moment of distraction, Richie had missed seeing Frank undress. Now naked, he climbed atop Sandra. His own Aura joined with what rose from around Sandra, cocooned her in its utter blackness.

His hips sank between her legs.

Sandra cried out, tossing her head back, moaning in both intense pleasure and despair, the Darkness slithering around her and entering her body along with his cock. She writhed madly, as if trying to extricate herself from this unholy union. Her hands pushed at his chest even as she panted in mounting pleasure.

Slowly, all resistance ended. Her protests faded as she succumbed to the dark power that now enveloped her entire body. Her hands fell away from his chest, then clutched at him with desperate need. She raised her hips to his in time to his thrusts, encouraging him to go deeper and harder into her.

"Uhhn ... yes... " Sandra murmured. "I'm a g-good girl ... I'm your slave ... I'll do what you want..."

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Richie bellowed. He leapt out of the chair and ran towards them. "Get off her, you asshole! Get... !"

Richie abruptly crashed to the floor as he tripped over a pile of books, cracking one shoulder against the dead stereo. A cloud of dust rose from the floor, sending him into a paroxysm of coughing.

He scrambled up, one foot striking the box of toys and upending it, an arm nudging another precariously balanced on the desk. It fell and struck the stereo. Glass shattered within, and several colored shards tumbled out.

Richie ran a hand through his hair. He stared at the chair for a moment, then gave it a furious kick. It reeled backwards, struck the threshold, and tipped over backwards. The adjustment knob for the back of the chair snapped off and rolled down the hall.

Richie vaulted over the chair. He righted it and shoved it inside, then threw the knob in after it. He slammed the door and fled as fast as he could.



-------

Chapter 20




He has little heed for his own safety. Nothing matters but this. Get it any way that he can. His makeshift scaffolding trembles under his feet, but it does not deter him. When his fingers finally touch the prize, he is oblivious to the danger. The heart lurches as he tumbles.

A moment of dreadful silence. The book lies still on the floor. Its baleful eye stares sightlessly. It waits patiently.

He stirs and rises, bruised but not beaten. Now safely on the floor, he stares at the book. The eye seems to beckon to him, as if it he could give it sight again. The temptation is evident in his own eyes. The book of power. The book of might. It has a presence that relegates the thousands of books of human knowledge around it to nothing more than meaningless scribbles on worthless paper.

He turns from it with effort. He repairs the damage done in attaining his goal. The eye waits.

Finally, he turns to it. Now he takes it into his hands. The eye...

...

He sits at the table with his family. A meal is nearly concluded, and he is impatient to leave. His father keeps his son under a hard and calculating gaze. He resists and hides his anxiety. No secrets will be revealed. No confidences will be broken.

He leaves the table and is in his room. There is a presence. It is not seen, but it is there. It is hidden, but it throbs with power. Yet it is blind again.

He is preoccupied. Its presence is palpable to him. He closes the door and retrieves it. Power flows again. Sight returns...



-------

Cassie's eyes flickered open.

I was dreaming about Jason,  she thought after a moment.

She rose from bed, her bare feet padding silently against the plush carpet. She sighed and shook her head. That was so typical of him, to take a spill like that and not tell anyone. It looked like it had really hurt. He was lucky he hadn't broken anything.

It was not unusual for her to dream about her friends. In fact, it happened with a regularity that allowed her to know much more about her peers than she felt she ought. For a long time she had not known that these visions were real. Ever since she did, she felt some guilt over this voyeurism, even though she had little control over it. Waking up wet and wanting from a peek into someone's sex life was a common occurrence.

It at least helped her understand why people had thought she was not just dreamy but a little creepy as well. She would spout the things that she had seen to anyone that would listen, not knowing that they were real. Now she kept them to herself, though most others continued to avoid her.

Cassie frowned. She had little to look forward to on a Sunday. Her parents would drag her to social functions all morning and into the afternoon. She resolved to call Ned soon as she had the chance and meet with him later. After dealing with her parents and their stuffy friends, she was going to need something a lot more down-to-earth to compensate.

But as she showered and dressed, she realized that something was bothering her far more than her social calendar.

Something about those dreams disturbed her. She often saw aspects of people's lives that were best left unseen, but her visions of Jason had been fairly innocuous. What was it that bothered her? The book? She had her reservations about it, but her dreams would not seek to remind her of something she already knew.

Or was it the eye...

Cassie paused. Once again, she felt on the edge of discovery. But once more, it seemed to slip away from her. Yet this time it left her with a lingering sense of foreboding. It was like staring at a picture she knew was slightly off, but unable to pick out the exact element that skewed her perception.

She shook her head and hoped the day would go by quickly.

-------

Melinda burst into her bedroom in a huff and tried to slam the door behind her as hard as she could. She knew full well that Heather was on her heels, and there was a loud thud as the door hit Heather's raised palms instead.

"I said I was sorry, Melinda," Heather said as she stepped inside.

"Yeah, you're always sooo sorry after the fact!" Melinda retorted shrilly. "Guess that's supposed to make it all better, huh?"

"I honestly don't know what came over me!"

Melinda whirled around, the bottom hem of her Sunday morning dress twirling about her calves. "Heather, you made me get wet while I was sitting in church!"

Heather sighed and sat down heavily on the edge of her bed. One corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "It was kind of funny watching you squirm like that."

Melinda fumed. "Yeah, you would've thought it fucking hilarious if I started playing with myself next! You stupid bubblehead! I thought maybe that spell from yesterday had come back. You scared the hell out of me!"

Some of the amusement left Heather's face. "Well, I didn't mean for you to think that. I guess I just wanted to have a little fun with you."

"I thought you stopped pulling shit like that on me."

"I did! I mean ... I'm trying to."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "You are so lucky that I managed to convince Mom I wasn't feeling well so she didn't make me sit through her stupid little tea party. I couldn't stand doing that in damp panties. But you'd probably think it was funny to make me horny there, too, huh?"

A smile automatically came to Heather's face at the image it conjured in her mind, but she killed it quickly. Not fast enough, however, to escape Melinda's notice.

"You bitch! You were going to do that!"

"Melinda, I'm not sure why I thought that was funny just now..."

"Yeah, right!"

Heather actually did think it was funny. She just hadn't meant to admit it. And she had actually entertained the thought of playing such a prank on Melinda. She cracked a smile again.

Melinda shot Heather a furious look. "Heather, go find something to do somewhere else, okay?"

"What? You want me to leave?"

"Yes, Miss Bubblehead, I want you to leave. Sorry I used words that were too long for you to understand."

"Why do you want me to leave?"

"Because I want to take off these clothes and I don't want you watching me."

Heather made a face. "You're afraid of being naked in front of me now?"

"You have to ask me that after what you pulled earlier?"

"I said I was sorry. Now stop acting like a baby."

"Fuck you, Heather. Now get out."

Heather didn't move. She just looked at her little sister.

"You hard of hearing now, too?" Melinda retorted.

"I'm not leaving. Go do what you need to do."

Melinda clenched her hands into fists and glared at Heather. She gritted her teeth and started to unbutton her blouse. "Fine."

Heather watched the buttons become undone, exposing more of Melinda's lacy bra underneath. Her lips curled into a small smile. As the blouse slipped off her sister's shoulders, the nipples became visible as two small raised points on the cups of the bra.

Melinda dropped her blouse to the bed and shot two blazing eyes at Heather. "Stop it!"

"Stop what, runt?"

"You're doing it to me again."

"I am? Maybe you just get off on getting naked in front of me."

"I do not! Only when you ... wh-when..." Melinda trailed off and swallowed.

"Keep going, Melinda," Heather said in a sultry voice. "Keep stripping."

Melinda tried to protest, but it died in her throat. She undid her skirt and let it drop to a crumpled heap around her feet. Her nipples stood out prominently, and her panties clung to her wet slit.

"See? You like it when I watch you undress."

"Heather, stop it, please," Melinda begged. "This isn't funny."

"Strip, Melinda."

Melinda shuddered. Her hands trembled when she reached for her bra straps. "You said you wouldn't do this to me."

Heather's smile faltered. "I said ... um..."

Melinda slipped the straps from her shoulders and unhooked it in the back. The cups fell away. She shivered as a new wave of heat came over her, her arousal spiking.

Heather's eyes widened as if in some sudden or shocking insight. She abruptly stood up and turned away.

Melinda was about to remove her panties when she stopped. The flames of desire began to wane slowly, at least enough for her to resist obeying Heather's last order.

"I'm sorry, Melinda," Heather said softly. "I got carried away."

Melinda glared at Heather's back, but it was robbed of some of its intensity by her remaining arousal. "What the hell is with you, Heather? You've been acting really weird since Friday."

"I know, Melinda. It's like I'm having trouble controlling my own impulses."

Melinda peered intently at her sister. "You don't have it. Not when I look at you directly."

Heather turned around. "What do you mean, not when you look directly? I thought you weren't seeing anything at all on me anymore, not since Friday afternoon."

"Well, it's weird. Sometimes it's like I think I see something out of the corner of my eye. Then I look directly at you and it disappears."

"Are you sure about that, Melinda?"

"I know what you're going to do. You're going to say Melissa did something to you and it's not your fault. Nice try, but I'm not buying that!"

It took some willpower on Heather's part not to make Melinda so horny that she could barely stand, let alone speak. She briefly conjured up the image in her mind of Melinda crawling across the floor to Heather's waiting pussy. She quelled it, but not before it sent a small tingle of desire through her sex and made heat flare in Melinda's pussy.

"See, you're just doing it to me again!" Melinda piped.

"Why is getting horny so bad?" Heather retorted.

"Because I want to go see Jason today. Unless you're going to go back on that promise too and take him from me!"

That made Heather finally take a mental step back from what she was doing. "No, Melinda, I don't want him," she said firmly, enough to overcome whatever other thoughts on the subject may be lurking in the dark recesses of her mind. "All right, I'll go. I want to spend some time with Diane anyway."

"Why don't you go screw around with her instead? She's got the hots for you anyway."

Heather's skin flushed at the thought. Diane was practically throwing herself at Heather's feet anyway. For a moment, she entertained the metaphor as reality in her head. The heat on her skin spread to her pussy.

Stop it,  she chided herself. You can't just dominate her like that, no matter how enjoyable it... 

"I'll see you later, Melinda," Heather said hastily before heading out of the room.

-------

Richie rushed out of the garage ahead of his mother.

"Hey ... Hey!"

Richie stopped in the hall and whirled around. "Yeah?"

Sandra paused to hit the garage door button. She stepped into the house with the door still rumbling down. "Did you even hear me in the car just now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. You hafta go out. Fine."

"I'll be back for dinner, so you make sure your butt is here."

Richie shrugged. "Whatever." He started away.

Annoyed, Sandra jogged to catch up with Richie. "Yeah, don't thank me all at once now."

Richie frowned. "Thank you for what?"

"For trying to be what you want me to be."

Richie stopped and stared at her, perplexed.

"You said you wished I was home to make dinner more," Sandra said patiently. "Like a regular mother."

"Oh, that."

"Richie, I'm trying, okay? At least meet me halfway."

Richie bit off a retort. They came so easily to him. The pattern had become so ingrained that it was difficult to stop.

But he was tired and not in the mood for conversation. All through the night, he had been haunted by the images he had seen in the den. It had been a restless night.

He wanted to be angry, but he needed to direct it at someone. Being angry at a dead man wouldn't cut it. He could hate Frank Hovath easily, but anger was more difficult. So his only choice was to be angry at Sandra.

He had indulged himself in anger towards his mother for a long time. But now was the first time that such a luxury was tainted with guilt.

"Yeah, okay," Richie said, somewhat less combatively. "I'll be there, butt and all."

They headed silently into the house and up the stairs. Richie turned to step into his room.

"Richie?"

Richie sighed dramatically and turned, but he managed to cut off another gibe. Instead, he said nothing, a sullen look on his face.

"Are you heading over to Miss Davis' house today?"

Richie made a face. "Nah, prob'ly not. Why?"

"You didn't go see her yesterday, so I was curious."

"How d'you know I didn't go see her, huh? You were out part of the day. Mebbe I went and fucked her a few times then."

Sandra looked taken aback, but recovered quickly, her lips curling into a small smile. "Well ... as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters."

But Richie's anger was boiling up again. He could not get the vision of the past out of his head. "Is that really why you want me at dinner, huh? So you can bug me about this?"

"No, Richie! I ... I-I want you to keep seeing her..."

Richie snorted. "No, you don't. You're just saying that cuz you hafta say it."

Sandra's eyes widened. She hesitated, as if struggling for words. Richie's eyes narrowed and flicked over her body. Did the Aura around her seem agitated? He couldn't see the patterns that Jason could, but it did seem as if it was swirling faster around her.

"Maybe I'm gettin' tired of her," Richie said. "Time to move on, y'know? Find someone new. Another girl to fuck. Gettin' bored doin' the same one over and over. Yeah, but you prob'ly don't know about that, huh?"

"I told you, I am not going to discuss my personal life with you!" Sandra declared. "Stop bringing it up!"

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Just go and get your fix."

Richie turned way. He took no more than a single step into the room before Sandra grabbed his arm and spun him around. Richie jerked his arm violently from her grasp and jumped back. He looked at his mother with both fury and fear.

"What the fuck did you mean by that?" Sandra demanded.

Richie's mouth worked but nothing came out.

"Answer me!"

Richie's mind worked furiously. He understood now that he could not let his mother know about his ability. She might try to stop him from learning the truth. Finally, he shrugged. "It just seems like you screw so much it's like you're fuckin' addicted to it or something."

Richie tried to say it as casually as possible, but he was never very good at concealing his feelings. There was still an anxious edge to his voice, and his eyes betrayed worry.

Sandra paused a long moment, then frowned at him. "Shut up. Stop trying to analyze everything I do. I like sex, Richie. Get over it."

Richie's mind filled with a hundred different retorts. Instead, he clenched his teeth and nodded curtly. He headed into his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Richie had the urge to throw or kick something, but he checked that impulse as well. He let it out just enough to punch the mattress as he threw himself onto the bed, not even bothering to change out of his Sunday clothes.

His own thoughts seemed as pitiless as the visions of Sarah and Frank had been. Why did his mother stay in Haven after Frank died? Why couldn't she have gone back to Randall? Even with the addiction, she could have dealt with it there. She wouldn't have forced his father to leave her. She wouldn't have dragged Richie to this godforsaken place.

And he would have had a real family again.

I could find out.

Richie realized he could go back to the den and replay the scene. He could reach out to his mother and sense her thoughts. He could know what she was thinking the moment she...

Richie shivered as if hit with a blast of wintry air. And would he hear the Darkness as well? Would he hear what it was saying to his mother the moment it invaded and took control of her? Or would he hear his mother welcoming it, even inviting it into her, giving in to its seductive promises of pleasure in exchange for obedience?

He turned over and smacked the mattress with his fist again. He didn't know what to do next. All he had was his anger, and it was becoming clear that this would not serve him for much longer.

-------

Jason wheeled his bicycle through the gate in the back of the Harbingers' meeting place. Melinda held the gate open for him with one hand while the other carried the tote that contained the book. Melinda was obviously excited, her disposition a lot sunnier now than it had been earlier. She was not even complaining about the biting chill to the air that morning.

Jason was anxious. He originally had every intention of telling Melinda that this may not be a good idea after all. It took Melinda only a minute of pleading and whispering naughty things in his ear to convince him otherwise.

He wheeled his bike across the frost-covered grass. The sky was a thin gauze of white, a ghost of a sun occasionally shining dimly through. Leaves crunched underfoot.

"I've wanted to do this for such a long time, Jason," Melinda piped as she let the gate swing closed behind them. "You think you can say the spell okay without Cassie here to help?"

"I think so. I know what the inflections are supposed to be now."

"Good. I am so looking forward to this!"

Jason leaned his bike against the back porch before they went inside. Melinda impatiently shed her gloves and coat. Jason had barely finished doing the same when Melinda grabbed the tote in one hand and Jason's hand in the other. She practically dragged him out of the room and up the stairs.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, Melinda dropped the book and threw her arms around Jason. She gave him a kiss and giggled excitedly. "Think we should get undressed first before you try the spell?"

"Um ... I-I don't think it really matters..."

Melinda grinned and wriggled her hips against him. A small, husky sigh escaped Jason's lips, and he grew hard against her body. "I just don't want to take any chances of the spell wearing off before we're done, Jason. So let's take off our clothes first."

Jason hesitated a moment, then nodded.

They parted and began to strip. Melinda moved a little faster, smiling as more of Jason's body was revealed. It faltered when she gasped at the purplish bruise on one arm and calf. "Jason, does that hurt at all?" she asked anxiously, still standing in her bra and panties.

"Huh?" Jason said absently as he stepped out of his jeans. His cock tented the fabric of his briefs. "Oh, um, not really. Just looks nasty."

"Good." She pulled off her bra and panties. Her pussy already glistened. She grinned and stepped up to Jason as soon as his briefs were off. She grasped his cock with her hand. "I would've been really upset if you had hurt this."

Jason drew in his breath and let it go as a soft moan as her fingers stroked him lightly. "N-no, that's just fine ... uhn ... y-you're going to distract me from doing the spell."

Melinda giggled and stepped back. "Okay, do the spell then."

Jason nodded and picked up the book. He sat on the bed and placed it in his lap.

For a very brief moment, he thought about the Rite of Power. He was not sure why that happened to pop into his head. He supposed it was because that was really what this book represented to him. He had not really cared about anything else that was in it.

He pushed this thought aside. Now was not the time to be concerned with the Rite. He instead focused his thoughts on what Melinda wanted of him. Seconds later, the book flipped open, and pages turned. Jason peered and struggled to read the description text, at least enough to confirm that it was the same one Cassie had found.

"I wish I was sure what the spell meant by 'soiled, '" Jason murmured.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, it might. Sometimes 'soiled' in the time when this was written meant a woman that has had sex before."

"So? It still prevents me from getting pregnant, right?"

"I think so."

"Then do it."

Jason nodded and read the incantation to himself a few times. Satisfied he had it right, he looked up and read it out loud. "Vistlath'stezra harlroth ilwit'stezra yirlos ron'indna!"

Melinda felt a wave of intense heat over her body. It was so sudden that her legs grew weak. She gasped softly and staggered.

Jason looked at her in alarm and set the book aside. "Melinda, are you all right?"

"J-Jason, was that the right spell?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes, it was the same one Cassie found."

"I-It feels more like the one from ... uhhhn ... oh God..."

Jason shot to his feet, a panicked look on his face. "Melinda, I'm sorry! Maybe I did it wrong. May... mmph?!"

Melinda drew Jason into a kiss. She panted heavily into it, mashing her lips to his with a hunger that bordered on frantic. Her mouth opened, and she plunged her tongue past his. She felt his erection press against her and shuddered hard enough for Jason to feel it.

Melinda broke off the kiss, breathing hard, her eyes dark with a lust so intense it made Jason speechless.

"Fuck me," Melinda moaned. "Fuck me hard ... Please ... Please, Jason ... make me scream ... pound your cock into me..."

Jason stared at her in shock. He knew what had gone wrong. The wording of the spell had mattered. It had done just more than give Melinda protection against pregnancy.

Melinda didn't wait for him to react. Moaning and trembling with intense need, she pushed him back towards the bed. The back of Jason's calves hit the edge, and with Melinda pushing him, he could not recover. He fell into a seated position at the foot of the bed.

"Melinda, wait, you..." Jason began, until Melinda sat in his lap and kissed him again. She sent him falling backwards, a grunt escaping him as his back hit the mattress. He tried to draw his legs onto the bed and push himself further up, but Melinda was already shoving her hips against him, her breathing heavy as she sought his cock.

Jason only barely managed to nudge the two of them far enough so his feet did not have to rest uncomfortably off the bed before his cock slid into something tight and wet.

Melinda moaned as she pushed herself down and buried him inside her. She wriggled her hips tightly against his body. Jason had never gone this deeply into her. "That feels sooo good... " Melinda cooed in a breathless, husky voice. "I love your cock inside me, Jason ... I love it when you fuck me..."

Melinda's hips rose and fell. Jason groaned as her pussy seemed to clench around his member, even more so than he remembered it. Each time he penetrated her again with each downward thrust of her hips, it elicited another moan or gasp from him.

"Oh wow, Melinda..." Jason groaned.

"More..." Melinda breathed, panting hard. Her eyes closed, and her hips humped faster. "More ... uhhn ... yeah... "

In the back of his mind, Jason knew that Melinda had been enchanted by the spell. She was not acting normal. But he couldn't bring himself to stop her. She wanted this, and thus he wanted it as well.

And the part of him that was a perfectly normal male teenage boy did not want her to stop, either.

"More ... oh God more..." Melinda whimpered.

Melinda slammed her hips against him in a mad frenzy, until her body was slapping against his loud enough to be heard through the door. She gasped for air between constant moans of mounting delight, her pleasure soaring as her pussy ached and strained.

Jason was rising with her, panting almost as hard. His hands held her hips, helping her keep to a steady rhythm despite her frantic need.

"Oh yeah!" Melinda cried. "Oh yeah! ... ohmigod ... more ... please, more! ... uhhn! ... uhhh! ... oh God!!... AHHH!!"

Melinda's pussy exploded, throbbing so hard that she nearly screamed. Her cunt convulsed around Jason's cock, triggering Jason's climax seconds later.

Melinda squealed with delight as he throbbed inside her. Her orgasm didn't abate until his faded, and even then it lingered, diminishing slowly, until it left her panting for breath.

Jason fell limp, feeling totally spent. His chest rose and fell against Melinda's soft breasts. Melinda was still humping him slowly, until his erection finally had flagged enough that it couldn't sustain it. She reluctantly let him slip from her.

Jason was about to say something when Melinda swiftly descended upon him in another sensual, passionate kiss.

"M-Melinda, that was..." Jason began when she broke off.

"Again," Melinda moaned. She shivered with desire, her pussy still hot and wet. "Fuck me again ... please..."

Jason stared, his eyes wide. "What?? But ... b-but I can't..."

She squirmed against him, gyrating her hips, crushing her tits to his chest. "I'll help you get hard again," she said in a sultry whisper. "Then you can stick it in my cunt. You can fuck me again. Nice and hard."

A stunned Jason could only stare before she kissed him again.

-------

Melissa felt like she could enjoy Sundays again.

The whole church nonsense was gone, for one. No more listening to meaningless platitudes spewed by a stranger with no knowledge of Melissa's troubles. If that were not enough, her mother had insisted on regurgitating them on the walk home. Then she was forced to sit with the family through lunch in her Sunday finest.

But she kept the lunch, if not the formal dress. She liked having the family together. It let her experiment.

"I finished the weekend chores yesterday, dear," said James. He was a rather unassuming man, a bit lean, his hair thinning on top. He looked with some uncertainty at his wife. "I was planning on watching the game, if that's okay."

Melissa smiled as she turned her gaze to her mother. Kathy squirmed in her seat. Her body was clad in a bikini of the most shocking pink color Melissa could find. A very soft, rhythmic squishing sound issued from somewhere under the table. Kathy's hips rocked in time with it. "Uhhn ... y-yes, dear ... that's fine..." she moaned.

James smiled, looking relieved. Kathy always had a problem with watching sports on "The Lord's Day." He was glad she had loosened up about that as well. "So what will you be up to today?"

Kathy panted as the dildo in her pussy thrust back and forth under Melissa's power. "S-spending time with Melissa."

"Oh, what will you be doing?"

Kathy swallowed, and her cheeks burned as she tried to resist the words that were bubbling to her mouth. "Learning how to be a horny slut."

"Well, I hope you two have fun." James rose. "I better get going, kickoff is in ten minutes."

Melissa almost laughed. As James displayed his complete ignorance of Kathy's appearance and speech, she witnessed Melinda turn into a horny slut herself over the link. It was a mercy that Jason had put the book aside. Melissa was sure she could not have contained her mirth a moment longer.

It was, however, tempered by the fact that she had failed to gain the Rite once more. But the Harbingers were curious enough about the book that eventually someone was going to pick it up again.

Laura Bendon had made it all clear to her the evening before, when Melissa had called her for some advice on how to hasten matters.

"Power is something everyone wants, Miss Hendell, remember that," Laura Bendon had told her. "The Harbingers may think they are so noble and pure, but they can be affected by its allure as well. Or at least make them curious. You will get your chance. Don't push too hard."

So Melissa had been gentle with Jason. He had been easier to influence than Cassie, but he was too focused on his task for it to be effective.

She turned to her mother. "Isn't this so much better than going to a stuffy old church?"

Kathy whimpered as the dildo pumped into her faster, the outward end bulging against the crotch of her bikini. She suddenly jerked in her seat as she felt something tweak her nipples. She felt it again, and again, each time tugging a bit harder, until her nipples ached and tingled. Then they felt like they were being rolled firmly between two invisible fingers. Soon they throbbed gently, sending more forbidden pleasure through her already ravaged body.

"Melissa, please stop," Kathy begged, raising two teary eyes to her daughter. "Please, no more..."

Melissa's good mood evaporated. "Will you stop begging?! What is the matter with you? You still think this is so evil?"

Kathy's reply became a strident moan. She spread her thighs apart, whimpering pitifully as her pleasure rose sharply. She threw her head back and cried out softly as her pussy throbbed.

The dildo stopped, and Kathy's orgasm faded. Melissa sighed as Kathy slumped in her chair. Melissa slipped into her mother's mind. She made Kathy slide the dildo out of her pussy and work it with her mouth as if sucking a guy's cock.

Melissa was getting tired of this. She wanted her mother to submit and be done with it. She didn't need the distraction when the time came for the Rite. After that, it would no longer matter.

She glanced at her mother again. Melissa's eyes betrayed a moment of sympathy and perhaps pity as well. It was as if she really didn't want to keep doing this to her mother. She just wanted Kathy out of the way, that was all. She wanted the woman to succumb of her own choice.

Melissa was beyond the need to punish Kathy any longer. She wanted to move on.

You're being too sentimental.

She flinched and clutched at her pendant.

She's an obstacle. Treat her as such.

Melissa's eyes narrowed. Kathy shuddered as her trembling free hand slipped between her legs and started stroking her slit. She squirmed violently in resistance until she succumbed to the new waves of pleasure from her pussy.

Melissa sighed and let go of the pendant. "Just be glad I let you fuck Dad," she muttered.

-------

"This is bad, Diane," Heather said. "Even Melinda is saying I've changed."

Diane was almost finished with her latte, but Heather had barely made it halfway through hers. They sat in a far corner of the food court at the mall, the cold having chased them inside from their usual outdoor haunts.

"But she still didn't see any Aura around you?" Diane asked anxiously.

"She thought she saw something, but when she was looking right at me she couldn't see it. So I don't get it. If Melissa did screw with my head, why isn't it showing?"

"I wish I understood more about these Auras. If only I could see them myself, I wouldn't feel so frustrated in trying to help you."

Heather leaned back in her seat. She picked up her container and took a sip, making a face when she found it was tepid. She sighed and pushed it aside. "I appreciate it, Diane."

"So what happened?"

Heather recounted what she had done to Melinda that morning. "I was treating her like a little sex toy almost. Another minute and I might have had her on her hands and knees licking my pussy."

Diane nodded quickly. "Um, so ... so that's not what you wanted to do?"

Heather was silent for a long moment. "Diane, I need you to keep this a secret, okay? Please, don't tell anyone."

"Sure thing. What's up?"

"Well ... Melinda still acts like such a brat sometimes. She's better about it than she used to be, but ... but when she gets that way, I just want to slap her down. And ever since she agreed to this arrangement, I'm tempted to use it to keep her in line. I keep thinking if she has to focus more on her cunt than anything else, she'll act a little more civil."

Diane's eyes widened. "You'd actually do that to her?"

"I know, it sounds terrible."

Diane paused a long moment, then broke into a weak smile. "Actually ... it's kind of funny."

Heather slowly returned the smile. "That's what I thought, too. You should have seen her face earlier in church. It was priceless! She ... wait ... I'm doing it again. I shouldn't be thinking about it like this."

"This is more like you used to be. Before the House, I mean."

"But I've been trying to change that."

"I know. But that must take a lot of effort."

Heather rolled her eyes. "You don't know the half of it. I have to check myself all the time. I hate having to do that. I had it good for so long when I was on top. I sort of miss that."

"You always had a dominating personality, Heather," Diane said. She tried to make it sound casual despite the heat in her sex.

Heather looked at Diane intently. "You really think so?"

Diane blushed slightly at the attention. She shifted in her seat. "Um ... yeah, I do ... It's sort of what I really liked about you."

"Don't tell me you find that attractive."

Diane nodded.

One corner of Heather's mouth turned upwards. "Really? Is that what gets you wet?"

Diane's blush deepened. "Yes," she said in a small voice. "You're sort of doing it to me now."

"Are you serious? You're getting horny now?"

Diane squirmed. "Y-yes."

"Wow. I didn't know I could do that to you."

"Heather, I think I understand what's going on now," Diane said, trying to ignore her aching pussy. "It's like your inhibitions have been lowered. You're doing stuff you thought of but you'd stop yourself from doing."

Heather was struck speechless by this revelation, and she averted her eyes from Diane for a moment.

Did that mean this was what she was really like? Someone who naturally wanted to dominate those around her? Is that the real reason why Nyssa was able to so easily bring out her fantasy and make her enslave Melinda? She had convinced herself that she had never truly wanted to enslave her sister. She had passed on the power when it had been offered by Mara before that. What had changed?

She looked at Diane again. The thought that she could arouse Diane so easily made her feel good, just like dominating Melinda earlier had.

"I must be a terrible person then," Heather said in a neutral voice, though her eyes betrayed her troubled feelings.

"Heather, don't say that. It's not true."

"Oh yeah? Then how about this, Diane? What if I had this power over you that I do over Melinda? What if I could make you lick my pussy anytime I wanted? Or make you frig yourself for me?"

Diane spread her legs apart under the table, and her thighs quivered. Her pussy felt damp when she shifted in her seat again. "What if I wanted you to do that?" she said softly.

Heather blinked. "What?"

Diane blushed furiously. "Haven't you already figured it out? I'm submissive. I've always been that way. Heather, I've had two dates with boys in my life. Each time ... I let him fuck me."

Heather looked shocked. "You have?? When? Who?"

"Never mind that, okay? I was just glad I had enough sense to make him wear a condom. Besides convincing me that I wasn't really into boys, it made me understand what I'm like. That's why I latched on to you. You're ... you're a submissive's dream."

"Were you always like this?"

"Well, I was before Nyssa came, if that's what you mean. I think she may have magnified it. I mean, I know she didn't really take me, but just her being in Haven seemed to affect people ... I think Nyssa knew my secret. She knew about my feelings for you. She must have known about this, too. Maybe she did do something to me."

But the truth was that Diane was not exactly sure. The others had insisted that Nyssa had done nothing more than trance her so she could not interfere. All she remembered was having one of the most exquisite and intense orgasms she ever had in her life, and then falling into a dark, icy abyss.

Heather stared. "I don't know what to say."

"I don't expect you to say anything," Diane said with a small sigh. "I just wanted to clear the air."

"But now I can get you horny anytime I want, since I know what buttons to push."

Diane nodded without saying a word.

"That's way too tempting, especially when I've been so oversexed lately. God, just knowing I can do this to you gets me excited. It's the same with Melinda."

"You're not really making me do anything, Heather. You're not controlling me. Not really."

There was a forlorn tone to Diane's voice.

Heather thought for a moment, then said cautiously, "Diane, you wouldn't want me to use any of those spells from the book on you, would you?"

Diane shivered. "I wouldn't stop you if you tried, let's put it that way."

"Jesus, you want me to make you a slave or something?"

"Well, no, not completely. I know some submissives are into that sort of thing. I wouldn't mind experimenting with certain things, but ... um ... is this making any sense to you?"

"What's making sense is that you're giving me too much power over you. This is crazy, Diane."

"All I know is that I want to be intimate with you, and it's driving me nuts being held off for so long."

"But didn't you want to know if I had the same feelings as... ?"

"I'm attracted to you on several levels, Heather. We can work out the others later."

Heather saw the look of desire in Diane's eyes. There was also a hint of desperation to the way they shimmered. A very slow smile spread across Heather's face. "You really get wet at the idea of licking my pussy?"

Diane let out a lusty sigh. "Yes."

"You know that I squirt when I cum, right?"

Diane nodded. "It's a real turn-on for me."

"Doesn't look like you need to be turned on any more than you are."

Diane bit her lip. Her pussy ached badly. "Heather, please ... don't tease me like this unless you..."

Heather stood up and took her hand. "Let's go."

Diane stood. Her legs were shaky. "Where?"

"To the Harbinger meeting house. We'll use it."

"But wait, Jason and Melinda are using it."

"So what? They don't own it. A place like that has to have more than one bedroom. C'mon."

Diane smiled weakly and followed eagerly.

-------

"Uhnn! ... oh, yeah ... harder, Jason! ... Fuck me harder!..."

Jason panted wildly, his hips rocking between Melinda's spread legs. Melinda clung to him tightly, moaning in desperate need. Her pussy was so wet that her inner thighs were damp. "I'm going ... as fast ... as I can..." he gasped.

"More ... oh God more..." Melinda moaned. She stretched her thighs apart even further until the muscles drew taut.

Jason's cock ached. He had never done it a second time in quick succession like this ever since the House, and that had been under the influence of a power that had forced a response from him.

He tried to shift his body forward. When he plunged into her again, he sank into her deeper than before, his shaft catching more of her clit as it slid past. Melinda uttered a shrill cry.

Jason was starting to perspire. He pushed himself as hard as he could until their bodies slapped together hard with each of his thrusts.

"Oh yeah! ... oh Jason! ... Don't stop! ... Fuck me! ... Uhhn, no wait, you're slowing..."

"Melinda ... I thought I heard something..." Jason groaned as he turned his head.

"No, please, don't stop! ... Please fuck me! ... Please!..."

Jason was sure he had heard someone in the hall. He stared at the door, as if expecting someone to burst in and demand to know what they were doing.

Melinda whimpered pitifully. "Please, Jason..."

Jason forced himself to turn his eyes from the door. He gritted his teeth as he pumped into her so fast that her breasts rolled up and down her chest.

"Oh yeah! ... Ohmigod! ... Ohhh!..."

Jason was soaring. He couldn't stop now even if he wanted to. He felt Melinda tense. It was going to be another synchronized orgasm. Some part of his intellect that was still engaged through the haze of lust realized he had been right about that particular lingering effect.

Melinda squealed, her back arching as her pussy strained. She let go with a loud cry, her cunt pulsing so hard that she could barely distinguish it from Jason's throbbing when he came just seconds later.

The two of them moaned and writhed. Melinda clutched at him, forcing him to remain buried inside her even as his orgasm faced. She shoved her mound against him, as if wanting more.

"I-I'm spent, Melinda," Jason panted, trying gently to extricate him from their union. He finally pulled away and collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily. "Oh man ... wow..."

Melinda panted as well. She whimpered and quivered. After a few moments, she rolled atop him, draped an arm around his chest, and hugged him tightly.

"I-I need more..." she whispered into his ear.

"Oh Jesus, Melinda ... I can't..."

"I-It's not as bad as before ... but I need something ... please, finger me, or lick me, but I need more..."

"The spell did this to you, Melinda. It must have been that wording that..."

"I know! But I still need it. Please, Jason? Please?"

Jason swallowed and nodded. "Just let me catch my breath first."

Melinda squirmed. Her pussy grew hot again. "Please, don't take too long..."

-------

"Holy shit, did you hear them going at it?" Heather said as she closed the door behind them.

Diane looked over the room. They had opted for what must have been the master bedroom. It was a suite in and of itself. One part was dominated by the huge king-sized canopied bed surrounded by plush carpet. On the opposite side of the room was a tiled area with a large, sunken Jacuzzi.

She turned her head. "You can still hear them," she said, bemused.

Heather stepped up to Diane and gave her a sultry grin. "Maybe we should try to be louder than them."

Diane blushed, but her body shivered in obvious delight.

"So how wet are you now, Diane?"

"Getting there fast now that we're finally alone," Diane replied in a husky voice.

"Still want to lick my pussy?"

Diane let her breath go as a ragged sigh. "Y-yes..."

"Still want me to cum all over your face?"

Diane whimpered softly and clenched her thighs. Moisture squished in her slit. She nodded, unable to trust her voice.

"Wow, I guess you're right about my inhibitions. I don't think I'd ever say stuff like that so easily before this. Diane, you ever lick pussy before?"

"Yes," she croaked, then cleared her throat and tried again. "Yes. Back in the early part of the summer when I went on that camping trip with my parents. A girl from another family my Mom knew came with us. They put us in the same tent. She dared me to do it." She smiled faintly. "I don't think she was expecting me to follow through on it."

Heather nodded. "Diane, take your clothes off."

Diane's blush deepened, but she nodded and complied.

Heather drew back and watched as Diane stripped. Her own pussy was already tingling madly, but now it became truly damp and aching as more of Diane's lanky body was exposed.

It was a bit of an epiphany for her. Until then she was not sure she was truly bisexual. Melinda might have been just a one-off thing. But seeing Diane strip was making her horny.

Diane's body was slim but a bit more shapely than was obvious from her clothing. Her breasts were perfectly round and petite, but a bit larger than Melinda's. Her hips did not flare out quite as much, but her legs were long and graceful.

Heather's eyebrows rose as Diane slid her panties down her legs. "You shave?"

Diane nodded as she stepped out of her panties and kicked them aside. "It makes, um, doing myself easier. I've sort of had to do that a lot recently."

Heather stepped up to her lover and smiled. She reached between Diane's legs. "Really?"

"Uhhn! ... oh God... " Diane cried, clutching at Heather's arm and closing her eyes. She spread her feet apart and panted softly as Heather's fingers sank into her. She rocked her hips against Heather's hand.

"Jesus, Diane, you're really eager."

Diane couldn't answer. She was too consumed with the passion of the moment.

Heather giggled and withdrew her hand. Diane moaned and gave her a forlorn look. Heather stepped back and began to strip.

Diane's eyes widened. She swallowed and reached a hand between her legs, stroking herself lightly as Heather became naked before her. Her breath caught in her throat when Heather's large boobs spilled from the bra, and again when her jeans fell and revealed her legs.

"Heather, you're gorgeous," Diane gushed, panting lightly, her fingers stroking herself faster.

Heather smiled as she shed her panties. "Diane, go get a towel from the rack near the Jacuzzi."

Diane stopped masturbating. "Huh? A towel?"

"When I said I squirt, Diane, I meant it. I don't want to leave too much of a mess."

"Oh, right." Diane quickly complied.

Heather took the towel from her. Diane reached between her legs again, but Heather placed a hand over hers and stopped her.

"I'm going to return the favor, Diane. I want to make you cum myself."

Diane shivered and smiled. "Okay."

-------

The door opened. Sandra smiled, placing her hand on her waist and tilting her hips. "Hope I'm not too late," she said in a sultry voice.

The man at the door -- someone she had met at church that morning and whose name she had already forgotten -- smiled lasciviously in return. "Oh, not at all, the party's just started. Glad you could come over."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, hon," she said, playfully stroking one of his cheeks with a languid sweep of her hand as she stepped past him.

She entered the living room, where two other men sat before a large TV, shouting at the football game. Another was wandering in from the kitchen with cans of beer. Her pussy already tingled in anticipation, just like it had been programmed to do nearly a decade ago.

She was pulled into their midst. She became wet just from the proximity of so many virile men around her. They plied her with beer and other alcohol, but they hardly needed to bother. By the time their attentions became more aggressive, she was flush more with arousal than drink.

Sandra lost herself to it. It wasn't long before they were pawing her, stripping her clothing and making her pant with anticipation. Her pussy was dripping by the time her panties came off. Her nipples throbbed whenever her tits were grabbed and squeezed.

A cock was stuffed in her mouth. She sucked it eagerly.

She was lowered onto another cock. She was compelled to hump it.

It quickly degenerated into a fuck-fest. Each man had her in turn. She always had a cock in her mouth or her fingers. One made her use her tits and came messily over them.

Her pussy grew achy and sore, but she still craved more. She had to have more. It was her only solace.

When she was this deep into sexual debauchery, the Darkness overlooked her. It didn't monitor her so closely. She was getting what she needed. Her sexual addiction had a purpose. It was her tether to Haven. It was the leash that the Darkness held. But it held the leash loosely when it believed Sandra in no danger of betraying it, either by thought or action.

Sandra arched her back and tossed her head, moaning her delight as she came again. The man between her legs pumped furiously to reach his own peak. In that space of time, Sandra was free to think.

How much did Richie know? How much had he and his friends found out about Haven? About herself?

(just go and get your fix)

Richie didn't understand. Sandra was protecting him. Knowledge was a dangerous thing in Haven. If he knew, she would be forced to tell the Darkness that he knew. She could not bear the thought of what she might be asked to do to stop Richie. She already knew of some of the things that Penny Sovert had done. And things that she might yet do if the Darkness felt seriously threatened.

(just go and get your fix)

No, it was a lucky guess. It was nothing more than that. She had to fix that in her head. She had to really believe it. That was the only way to fool the Darkness. The only way to keep a secret from it was by an unshakable belief in the exact opposite.

(just go and get your fix)

Sandra's partner grunted and shuddered as his cock throbbed in her pussy.

It triggered a second orgasm. She moaned deeply, letting the pleasure fill her, letting it crowd out her forbidden thoughts. It was nearing the end of the party. She had to be ready if the Darkness reasserted itself.

She had to keep playing the part of the good little girl.



-------

Chapter 21


Melinda whimpered softly and moaned, her legs spread wide. "Oh yeah ... mmm ... harder ... oh God..."

Jason's fingers rubbed Melinda's clit hard enough to chafe her if she had not been so aroused. Instead, he glided over her pink, swollen flesh as if oiled, her moisture still copious even after two orgasms.

"Uhhn ... yeah ... more..." Melinda moaned.

His fingers ached as much as his cock. He had never seen Melinda this horny. Cassie must have been right about that spell. It had more than the effect they had desired.

A small part of him, however, enjoyed this turnabout. He had started to resent how Melinda -- and to a lesser extent, Heather -- were taking advantage of his submissive streak. For the moment, she was dependent on him for her pleasure, and he liked having this bit of power over her. His cock managed to stir once more, despite how spent he felt emotionally.

"Uhhn! ... Inside me, Jason ... stick your fingers inside me..."

Jason was getting into it more as his erection recovered. He jammed two fingers into her tight tunnel and pumped hard. Melinda squealed and arched her back. She turned her head just as Jason became erect again. Melinda reached out and seized him in her hand.

"Jesus ... Melinda, I ... uhh..." Jason groaned.

Melinda's fingers stroked him quickly, and he finger-fucked her faster in response. Melinda closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her fingers tightening around his cock. Jason could not have pulled it from her grip even if he had wanted to.

Melinda uttered a shrill cry as she came. Her cunt squeezed his fingers, her hips bucking. Her hand fell from his cock. Jason kept stroking her, trying to prolong her climax as long as possible, hoping to burn off the rest of her lust. He was sure he couldn't do her again, even having recovered his erection.

Melinda let out a single, low moan as her orgasm faded. Jason withdrew his hand and fell onto his back, hoping that she was finally sated.

Melinda rolled onto him. She was still panting, a lingering look of desire in her eyes. Her hand grabbed his cock again and stroked it hard.

"Uhhn ... M-Melinda ... I can't do it again ... I ... wait, what... ?"

Melinda kept stroking him as she crawled backwards towards the foot of the bed. She gave his cock a hungry look before opening her mouth and clamping her lips around his shaft.

Jason's fingers curled and gripped the blanket, his head tilting back. He uttered a ragged moan as Melinda's head bobbed. He rose at an agonizing glacial pace at first despite Melinda's enthusiasm, but it ramped up sharply when she started using her fingers as well, milking his cock as hard as she could.

Jason came suddenly, his cock throbbing for a few moments before any seed spewed forth. Even then it was nowhere near as much as it had been his first two orgasms. Her cheeks dimpled, fingers kneading his member as if she were trying to suck him dry. It might not have been too far from the truth. He simply didn't have very much left to give.

Melinda lapped up what she did get, rolling it around in her mouth as if savoring it before finally swallowing. She massaged the underside of his cock with her tongue, coaxing a few more weak throbs from it. One last drop oozed out, and she licked it up as well.

Melinda drew back, letting his cock fall. She collapsed onto her side and moaned. "Ohmigod..."

"Are you all right?" Jason asked, though he was left a little breathless.

"I think so ... I think it finally wore off."

"I'm sorry, Melinda, I didn't know it would do this."

Melinda nodded absently as she caught her breath. "It's okay, Jason."

"I, uh, hope you enjoyed it."

Melinda stirred and drew alongside him. She smiled faintly. "I did, even if I was acting like some dumb porn star bimbo. God. I hope there's a different birth control spell in there."

Jason would not have minded using that spell again, but he kept this to himself.

Melinda lifted her head suddenly. "Jason ... I thought I heard something..."

"I heard something earlier. I thought maybe..."

"Shh!"

Jason fell silent and heard it as well. A faint moaning sound came through the wall. He immediately sat up and exchanged a look with Melinda.

"Someone's in the house with us!" Melinda whisper-shouted.

"It has to be one of the others," said Jason.

"But who?? It sounds like ... wait ... is that Heather? Who's with her?"

"I'm not sure."

Melinda gasped. "Jason, you better go check! Maybe Brad got to her and he's fucking her now! Heather might be in trouble!"

Jason did not believe it was Brad that was the culprit, but he wanted to put Melinda's mind at ease. He nodded and got out of bed. He found his briefs and slipped them on before heading out of the room.

-------

Heather lay limp, surrendering herself to the moment. Her head lolled to one side, her lips parted as she panted softly. Her legs were partially bent, knees to either side, her pussy willing and open.

Diane swirled her tongue around Heather's clit, taking tiny, furtive licks. She was meticulous, savoring every second that she tasted Heather's wetness and smelled Heather's intense arousal. It was driving her own excitement to a fever pitch, her pussy aching to be touched in return.

For Heather, this was the first time in a long while that it was slow and easy. Usually she had been in such a frenzy to satisfy her own need that there was little time for subtleties. She was pleasantly surprised to find Diane was of the same mindset.

Diane carefully parted Heather's labia with her fingers. She slid her tongue over the exposed pinkness, playing at Heather's entrance and flicking more boldly at the tip of Heather's clit.

Heather gasped and arched her back. Diane's tongue wandered slowly upwards, her licks turning to firm strokes against Heather's engorged womanhood.

"Oh Diane, that's nice..." Heather moaned.

A tremor of excitement came over Diane. She had so hoped that Heather would be pleased. She had wanted this to be special. She had been worried that having only done this with one other girl would have made her clumsy and awkward with Heather. Instead, it was turning out just as she wanted.

She poked a finger at Heather's entrance, teasing it inside her. Heather moaned and trembled. Diane pressed her lips to Heather's clit and sucked lightly as first one finger, then two, slipped into Heather's slick tunnel.

"Uhhn! ... oh God ... yeah..."

Heather was rising steadily. Diane moaned very softly into Heather's pussy. Heather felt the faint vibration, and a shiver passed through her. Diane's knees slid apart. She wished Heather's fingers were touching it again. Or any other part of Heather for that matter.

Heather's pussy strained as she neared climax. Diane's fingers squished as they speared Heather's tunnel repeatedly. Heather's moans escalated, her breathing ragged. Diane sensed Heather was close and withdrew her fingers from Heather's pussy. She wanted to experience it fully. She didn't want anything blocking it.

Diane licked Heather's clit furiously. Heather gasped, her back arching as she rose the rest of the way like a rocket. "Oh God! ... Ohhh!... OHHHH!!"

Diane closed her eyes and held her breath just a split second before Heather gushed into her face. She felt the liquid warmth bathe her cheeks and drip down her chin. Some of it trickled into her mouth, and she swallowed it eagerly. Heather bucked from the strength of her orgasm, but Diane kept her face to Heather's mound and her tongue to Heather's clit.

Heather cried out several times as her pussy throbbed. She let go with a second, smaller burst of fluid. Diane exhaled a lustful sigh through her nose as she eased off slowly. By the time she finally drew back, her face as soaked as the towel between Heather's thighs, Heather was panting and quivering.

"Oh. My. God."

Diane giggled. "I was told that means you enjoyed it."

Heather propped herself up. "And just who told you that?"

"Melinda."

Heather rolled her eyes, but then smiled. "Yeah, okay, I guess I've told enough of her secrets, so that's fair. I would have been worried if you told me Jason said something."

Diane smiled and laughed softly. "No, he's not my type."

Heather started to laugh as well.

Click.

Heather abruptly stopped. She bolted upright, and her head snapped around until her eyes were on the door.

Diane blinked in surprise. She glanced at the door as well. "What's the matter?"

"I thought I heard something."

Diane's eyes widened. "Oh no! You don't think the owner of the house..."

Heather waved her lover silent. She listened intently for a few moments. "No, it's okay. I think it was Jason or Melinda coming to check on us. I don't hear them going at it in the other room. And I didn't get any precog warning me of any danger."

Diane bent down and cleaned her face on a corner of the towel. When she looked up, Heather was upon her, a sultry smile on her lips. Before she could say a word, Heather reached between her lover's thighs and sank her fingers into Diane's slit.

Diane closed her eyes and exhaled a lusty, needful sigh.

"Still horny, Diane?" Heather asked in a husky voice.

"Uhn ... yes... "

"Want me to make you cum?"

"God, yes ... please..."

Heather grinned wickedly. "Say it."

Diane shuddered and moaned. "Please make me cum," she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. "Please ... uhhn..."

Heather's fingers penetrated her, hand rocking against Diane's sex. Diane panted in mounting excitement and pleasure.

"Lie down, Diane, and I'll make you cum..."

-------

Melinda stared at Jason. "You're joking."

"Well, it looked like Diane to me."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know they were doing it!"

"Guess they are now."

"Maybe that means the bubblehead won't want to go after me so much." Melinda sighed and shook her head. "Heather's getting really bad, Jason. She keeps trying to do things to me she promised she wouldn't."

Jason frowned. "She's not trying to enslave you again, is she?"

"No, not really. I don't think she can. But she's getting bossy again, and it's starting to piss me off."

Jason looked thoughtful. "Did this start Friday afternoon?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Damn. I think Melissa did something to her."

"Jason, sometimes I can see something on her, like something out of the corner of my eye, but when I go look, there's nothing there. I didn't think she had an Aura before, but now I'm not so sure!"

Jason nodded. "I'm wondering if these Auras don't tell us the whole story. You said something similar about Heather when Brad was messing with her. You saw something that faded once she wasn't being affected directly by Brad anymore, but even that was just barely there."

Melinda made a face. "This isn't making any sense."

"Well, think for a moment. Is what Brad did really controlling Heather at all? He didn't force her to do anything, really, he just made her really horny. That's not strictly direct control. Remember, you told me you saw something similar on people that Melissa messed with. It was wispy and disappeared after a bit, so Melissa didn't exercise any lingering control on them."

Melinda nodded. "Yeah, I remember. But it's as good as control when it makes you so horny you can't even think!"

"I know, but this may be a limitation of the ability. There are three types of Auras we can see. One: those controlled directly by the Darkness, like your Mom or Richie's Mom. Two: those that get their power from the Darkness but are not technically slaves to it, like Melissa or my Dad. Three: those who are controlled by those with power from the Darkness, like Susan Radson. That may be the limit. Other forms of influence might not show up as well."

Melinda sighed. "I still don't get the difference."

"Well, I admit, I'm only making educated guesses. Sometimes I wish the House was still there so I could ask Mara about this. Or maybe I should have talked to Elizabeth Jellison, the one that clued me in about Mara in the first place."

"So what do we do now?"

"I think we should wait for Heather and Diane. They probably know we're here anyway."

-------

Diane shuddered and panted hard. Her hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched as her pussy was teased relentlessly towards final release, only to be left short. Her cunt ached and strained, her legs quivering, muscles along the insides of her thighs tightening whenever she grew close again.

"Oh God ... uhhn ... Heather ... ohhh..." Diane moaned incoherently.

Heather giggled as she played her fingers inside Diane's slick tunnel, moving slowly, continuing to tease more than satisfy. Heather had her lover like this for several minutes now. She was curious about how submissive Diane would remain. Had the roles been reversed, Heather would have already asked for relief.

Heather withdrew her fingers. She placed a single fingertip against Diane's clit and very slowly massaged it. Diane whimpered softly as her pussy quivered right at the edge of climax.

"Wow, you're close, aren't you?" Heather asked.

Panting hard, Diane nodded and swallowed.

"Isn't this driving you nuts?"

"Uhnn! ... Y-yes..."

Heather pressed her finger completely against Diane's swollen clit. Diane shuddered again. "Not even going to shove your hot little pussy against my hand? You'll cum in a second if you do that."

Diane shivered, as if her body wanted to give in to the temptation. Heather gave her clit a single stroke. Diane gasped, fingers curling. Her pussy strained further, but she didn't go over.

Heather looked at Diane in amazement. "Wow. You are enjoying this."

If Diane were able to get her voice to work, she would have explained to Heather that orgasm denial was a fierce turn-on. She had tried to do it to herself when she masturbated, but it never worked out very well. The closest she came was running a vibrating dildo with a weak battery so the sensations would build up at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Having figured it out for herself, Heather grinned wickedly at Diane, keeping her finger pressed to Diane's slit and giving it an occasion slow stroke to keep Diane's pussy within a hair's breadth of release. "You know, I'll bet there's a spell in the book to do something like this."

Diane trembled and uttered a lusty sigh. "Oh God..."

"Something to hold you back from cumming. Maybe until someone told you that you could."

"Oh Heather ... uhhn..."

"You'd do anything to cum, wouldn't you?"

"H-Heather ... uhh ... y-yes..."

"You'd lick my pussy? Maybe suck on my tits?" When Diane did not respond right away, Heather stroked Diane's clit once, eliciting a sharp gasp from her lover. "Well?"

Diane reached the end of her endurance. Despite how incredibly erotic she found Heather's "torture" of her, she was too desperate to continue. "Y-yes! ... I-I'd do whatever you want ... oh God, Heather, please... !"

Heather smiled affectionately at Diane. She dipped her head between Diane's legs and replaced her finger with her tongue.

Diane's pleasure soared, making any further speech impossible. Her pussy strained one last time, and then it was as if a dam had burst. Her cunt muscles clenched as she barreled over the top, her pussy throbbing so hard that her hips jerked.

Diane was unable to make a sound for the first few seconds, her orgasm too powerful to let her speak. Finally, her throat unlocked, and she let out a strident cry. Her fingers curled into the sheets as her cunt pulsed, Heather's tongue still licking madly.

Diane felt she had achieved an ecstasy that she had seen only in her dreams. This moment had been everything she had hoped. She had wanted Heather to be aggressive, and she got it. She had wanted an orgasm that drove her wild, and she got that too.

Her climax finally wound down. She went completely limp, panting hard to catch her breath. By the time Heather drew back, her cunt was aching from having been held so close for so long. She loved it. She hoped the ache would last the rest of the day. She wanted the reminder that she had finally consummated her relationship with Heather.

Heather giggled and lay down next to Diane. "Was that good?" she asked softly.

Diane swallowed and nodded, not able to speak yet.

"Sorry if I went a little overboard. I mean, maybe you're right about me being uninhibited now, but I still don't want to hurt you."

"No, Heather, it was fine," Diane said, her voice still breathless. "More than fine. I really enjoyed it. Thank you."

"You really are into that? Denial, I mean?"

"Well, I never did it with someone before, but the idea turned me on."

"Wow. But that must make you feel pretty helpless."

Diane gave Heather a weak smile. "That's the idea, Heather. I know you probably don't understand."

Heather sat up and shrugged. "So long as you enjoyed it, that's all that matters."

Diane sat up as well, her breathing normal again. "Um, Heather ... were you serious about what you said? About ... about using a spell on me?"

Heather nodded. "Only if you want me to, Diane. But I wouldn't mind doing it, let's put it that way."

"I think I'd like to look and see what I can find in that book."

"If Jason will let us, yeah."

"You think he'll tell us no?"

Heather smiled mischievously. "Well, he'll try. But I'm sure I could persuade him if I needed to."

Diane nodded slowly, though there was a dubious look to her eyes. "But Cassie said we shouldn't do that. Jason has that submissive problem himself. I mean, it's different from mine. He doesn't want it."

Heather did appear to consider for a moment, but then waved a hand of dismissal. "Look, it's okay, Diane. I mean, you heard him and Melinda going at it like bunnies in heat. He can't go and use a spell for them and deny us. That wouldn't be fair."

Diane nodded again. She knew that Melinda could just as easily sway Jason as Heather could, so it really was not a fair argument. But she held her tongue and trusted Heather to know what was best, like she always did.

Heather slid off the bed. "Come on, let's get dressed and go see if Jason is still here."

-------

Ned was beside himself when Cassie called wanting to go out with him that afternoon. So it was a disappointment when all she wanted to do was talk about the book.

"This whole thing is making me uneasy, Ned," Cassie said before taking a sip of her soda.

"Babe, ya hardly touched yer fries," Ned replied, nodding his head towards her half-finished fast-food meal.

"Huh?" Cassie looked down. "Oh. I'm not hungry anymore. Ned, I dreamed about Jason getting the book and then looking at it later on that evening."

A chagrined Ned nodded. It had been a valiant attempt to change the topic, but for naught. "So was he cackling and saying things like 'fools, I'll destroy them all'?"

Cassie looked perplexed. "Er, no, of course not. Why would he do that?"

Ned smiled weakly. "It was a joke."

Cassie sighed. "I think you should take this a little more seriously."

"Babe, I would if I knew what ya were talkin' about. Something happen in yer dream? Jason actin' weird?"

Cassie shook her head. "Nothing like that, but I couldn't help but feel something was really wrong. Ned, that book may have some power we don't know about. I mean, it turns its own pages. That's creepy just by itself."

"So, uh ... would ya feel better if, um, no one used it?"

"I wish it were that simple. I tried calling Jason earlier and he was out. Mrs. Conner said he left with Melinda. I just know they're messing with that spell that Melinda wanted to try." She shook her head in exasperation. "Melinda keeps pushing Jason to get what she wants even after I made her promise not to. Oh, she is so infuriating sometimes!"

Ned just nodded, not knowing what to say. The truth was, he was hoping to find something useful in that book as well. He wanted something that could help Cassie feel more comfortable with having sex.

But the trick was going to be getting Cassie to go for it. He didn't want to use something on her without her consent. Cassie liked him for what he was and not because he made her like him. He didn't want to screw that up.

"Ya don't think the book is, like, evil or something?" Ned finally asked.

"Well, that awful Rite of Power spell is not exactly very friendly, is it?"

"I jus' mean there might be something useful in it. I mean, it's kinda like a knife. Sure, ya can stab someone with it, but most of the time yer gonna just cut yer dinner with it."

Cassie remained silent, looking unconvinced.

"My point is we don't hafta use the worst of 'em."

"And my point is that all the spells in there have to do with mind control," retorted Cassie. "It boils down to that. How can that be good?"

Ned hesitated before venturing, "I dunno, babe, mebbe some people like ta have fun with that sorta thing. I mean, temp'rary. Not like enslaving people."

Cassie considered this for a long moment and then sighed. "I guess I just don't see it. Maybe Jason and the others can, since they dealt with that in the House. I just don't see the fun in having your mind messed with by someone else. Do you?"

"Er ... nah, I guess not. Yeah, I s'pose yer right," Ned said.

Well, there goes that idea,  he thought.

-------

Heather knocked on the door, and then let herself in anyway. "Everyone decent?"

"Yeah, way to barge in on us, bubblehead," Melinda said, rolling her eyes.

Heather smirked as she looked at both Melinda and Jason. They sat across from each other on the bed, fully clothed, the book lying closed between them. "Not like either of you have anything that I haven't already seen several times. So you two have fun fucking each other's brains out?"

Jason blushed faintly, but Melinda made a face at her big sister. "Maybe. You and Diane boink each other yet?"

Now it was Diane's turn to blush, but Heather just grinned. "Yeah, we have two very pleased pussies between us."

Melinda's eyes widened and she turned to Jason. "See? It's like what I said!"

Jason looked at Heather. "From what Melinda's told me, Heather, I think that something happened to you Friday."

"Diane figured that out, too. I know. Melissa messed with me a bit."

"A bit??" Melinda cried.

Heather sighed. "All right, you want me to admit that I'm bossy? Fine. I'm bossy. You're free to tell me to go to hell if it bugs you too much."

Melinda was a bit taken aback by this frank admission, and she was at a loss for a reply. Diane grinned. "That's a first, Heather. Your little sister is speechless."

"Oh, shut up!" Melinda retorted.

"Heather, I'm a little concerned about this," said Jason. "I don't think we can protect you from Melissa at this rate."

"Yeah, I know," Heather said in a more subdued voice. "I'm tempted to play sick tomorrow just to stay home from school. I almost wish she makes me do something in class that will get me suspended or expelled."

"I doubt it. If Ned was right, Melissa wants to humiliate you."

"What about Diane? Melissa hasn't tried to go after her yet."

"I'd rather she didn't," Diane said. "Not for me, but so I can try to protect you. Even if it's just fetching Jason and the others if something goes wrong."

Heather smiled faintly. "I appreciate that, but I don't want you getting hurt."

"We'll all look after you, Heather," Jason said. "As much as we can, anyway."

"You sure there isn't something in the book that can help?" Diane asked. "Um ... maybe I can take a look?"

"I'm pretty sure I used every combination I could think of when I asked for a protection spell."

"Well, maybe there's something that can be used against Melissa directly. You know, best defense is a good offense sort of thing?"

"Hey, yeah, Jason!" Melinda said. "Maybe we can give her a taste of her own medicine!"

Jason considered for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure. I mean, unless something in here could stop her in one shot, it would likely just make her strike back at us."

Diane's mind raced. "Uh ... well ... maybe if..."

Heather smirked. "Way to beat around the bush, Diane. Jason, she wants to see if there's some fun sex spells in there we can try."

Diane blushed scarlet. "You know, you don't have to tell them everything..."

"Really, there's hardly any point in keeping things like this a secret."

"Yeah, but that's way too much information," Melinda piped, wrinkling her nose. "I don't want to hear the details, okay?"

"I don't think either of you want to take a chance on these spells," Jason said. "Not after what went on just now."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What happened?"

"Melinda got a little, uh, frisky when I cast the spell at her."

Heather laughed. "We heard you earlier. That wasn't frisky. That was a fuck-fest. Look, the runt enjoyed it, didn't she?"

Jason looked at Melinda. Melinda smiled weakly. "Yeah, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure I want to do that spell too often, but, yeah, the sex was good."

"So can you let Diane look at the book for a moment? Please?"

Jason hesitated, but then picked up the book and presented it to Diane. Diane gratefully took it into her hands and sat down on a corner of the bed.

"Jason, if she wants to mess with it, let her," Melinda said. "If they screw up and turn themselves into lezzie bimbos or something..."

"Oh, stop it," Heather said. "We're not stupid. We're not going to use anything that will mess with us like that."

Diane was not sure where to begin. She was not even sure the book would know what she wanted. It took a few moments for her mind to settle down to a single coherent thought: A spell to let someone control my pussy.

She flinched when the book opened and the pages flipped.

Melinda tried to peer over Diane's shoulder. Heather waved her back. "Mind your own business, runt."

"Diane, can you read the descriptions of the spells enough to understand them?" Jason asked.

Diane's eyes scanned the page. It read: The pleasure of thy maiden be at thy whim. If not at thy whim, then none doth commence. If her pleasure peaks, thou binds her soul more tightly to thy whim.

Diane felt flushed. It sounded like it would actually enslave her the more Heather used it. That was beyond what she wanted. She turned her head towards Jason. "Um, yes, I think so. And Heather's right. We just want to have a little fun with this, that's all."

She tried again. This time she thought about a spell that would let Heather control her orgasms. The pages flipped, and her eyes came to rest on another spell. Bind thy maiden's pleasure firmly to thee. She shall writhe at thy command, and only thy command doth she stop. Use it again, and again, and thy maiden shall beg for thy attentions.

Diane sighed. This one was bad in a different way. It sounded as if using this spell too many times would make Diane addicted to sex with Heather.

"Find anything?" Heather asked.

Diane looked up. "Um, a few, but I'm not sure it's quite what I want. I think I need more time to look at this. Can..."

Take the book home with you.

"Can ... can I take the book home with me, Jason?"

That had not been what she had set out to say. She was going to ask Heather if they could stay there a little longer. But taking it home would be ideal. She could look for the spell in private.

Heather turned to Jason. "So how about it? Can she take it home?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Jason said slowly.

"Why not? Melissa doesn't know we have the book in the first place."

"I know that, but Cassie said that Susan's mother wasn't sure how long she could keep resisting Melissa. What if she spills the beans about giving the clue to us?"

Diane looked back down at the book. Suddenly the pages flipped and returned her to the first spell she had looked at. She was not sure why the thought had entered her head. For some reason, she wanted to look at that first one again.

As she reread it, she felt a small tingle in her nether regions. There was something alluring about the spell despite its pitfall. The idea of being Heather's slave was not as scary as she had thought it might be.

She shook her head slowly and forced herself to stop thinking along these lines. Yet now the pages flipped again, returning her to the second spell. There again was that tingle of excitement. It would be something of a thrill to have to rely on Heather for all her sexual needs.

Diane was confused. Was she more submissive than she had thought? She was pretty sure she wasn't into the whole mistress-and-slave thing. She had never thought of Heather in that manner. But now...

Show me a simple enslavement spell,  she thought, and the pages flipped.

"Well, okay, what if she does?" Heather said. "How is it going to be any safer with you? Or me? Or Cassie? She's more likely to go after Cassie anyway since she's the one that Mrs. Radson gave the letter to."

"Yeah, who cares about Cassie, right?" Melinda sneered.

"You know I didn't mean it that way. But Cassie has more protection than any of us."

"Uh-huh. So glad Nyssa never got to her."

"It's not a fair comparison, actually," said Jason. "We didn't really know about Nyssa at that point in time. Certainly Cassie didn't. This time she's forewarned. So I guess I see Heather's point."

"So Diane can keep it?" asked Heather.

"Yeah, I guess so, as long as she can keep it from her parents."

Ensnare her mind and bind her to thy will,  the spell in Diane's lap read. Thy commands be her desire. Thy commands be her pleasure. She shall obey and feel pleasure at each task she commences for thee. She shall feel ecstasy at thy happiness and despair at thy anger.

Diane shuddered. The idea of being completely enslaved to someone frightened her. Inexplicably, it send a shiver of pleasure through her as well.

"Is that okay with you, Diane?" Heather called out. "Diane?"

Diane blinked and looked up. "Huh? What? Oh, yes, okay. Thank you. Yes, I can keep it from my parents. They tend to respect my privacy."

"Still nothing?" Heather tried to peer at the spell Diane had open before her.

Diane quickly closed the book, blushing. "No, nothing quite yet."

"It's settled then," Jason said as he stood up. "I need to get home. I want to do some research online and see what I can find out about Mrs. Radson's mother Jessica. Cassie said she had been there the last time the Rite was performed. I want to see if I can find out where the Rite took place."

"What for?" Melinda asked.

"Just in case we need to see it. If it happened in Haven, and I can find out where, Richie might be able to see it if he stood at that spot and held the book."

Melinda wrinkled her nose. "Cassie said it was a horrible spell! Why would you want to see it done?"

"I want to cover all the bases and know what we're up against." While he would not admit it, he also had some morbid curiosity as to how the Rite worked. He wanted to see what happened when it was carried to conclusion.

Essentially, he wanted to see the worst-case scenario: how bad would it be if Melissa somehow managed to conduct the Rite.

"Well, don't go showing me, I don't want to know!" Melinda piped as she hopped off the bed.

Diane stood up and tucked the book under her arm. "I'll keep the book safe, Jason, don't worry."

Jason gave her a small smile. "I know you will, Diane. I trust you."

Diane returned the smile. She felt so much more like part of the group again.

-------

Melissa was ecstatic. The Rite of Power was almost hers.

She smiled smugly, thinking it was rather fitting that Diane would be the cause of her own downfall. So Diane was a subbie as well as a lezzie? She could have fun with this.

Melissa had the least trouble influencing Diane's thoughts over the others. It had been almost too easy, and she had worried briefly that Melinda would see an Aura on Diane, however faint. So far, Melissa appeared safe from discovery.

She had to be careful, however. She would not push Diane any further until the girl was alone. She had done all she could without arousing suspicion. Now she simply had to wait until Diane was looking at the book again away from the others. Then she would have what she wanted.

-------

When Cassie called that evening, both she and Jason exchanged their misgivings about the book.

"You really shouldn't have let Diane take that book home, Jason," Cassie said with a tired sigh.

"I don't think it will cause any harm. I mean, Heather had a good point about how it didn't really matter which of us had the book," said Jason.

"I think she just took advantage of you to get what she wanted. Or rather, what Diane wanted."

"Well, it's pointless to complain about it now." There was an edge to Jason's voice. He hated not knowing whether he had made a decision based on the merits of the argument, or if he had let himself be influenced again.

Cassie dropped the subject, not wanting to antagonize Jason any further. "You said you wanted to do research on Jessica. Did you find anything?"

"A little. I know her name was Jessica Belle, and she did live in Haven. The only thing interesting I found on her was an old article about the disappearance of four teens in 1948. She was questioned by the police, but nothing seemed to come of it."

"Four teens? Could that be when the Rite was done the last time?"

"I tried to find more information about it. All I came up with was that the police were looking to question someone named Agatha Kessru, but she had apparently disappeared as well. The case went unsolved."

"Jason, any idea where the teens disappeared? Richie would need to know exactly where to look if he's to get anything."

"I know. But there's nothing about that. They just went out together one night and vanished. So the Rite could have been held anywhere."

There was a thoughtful pause before Cassie spoke again. "Well, not quite. What little I had read of the spell said that it had to be performed along a line of force leading to the node you want to tap."

"But we don't know where those lines are."

"Actually, maybe we do. Or at least one of them. Remember, I saw Melissa's 'initiation' in my dreams when she acquired her power. It was up in the picnic area just off the west edge of town. I'll bet that happened right along one of those lines of force. Strange things seem to happen where those lines run. Maybe the Rite took place somewhere near there. If we get close enough to it, Richie's visions might get stronger and we can sort of home in on it."

"Well, it's worth a shot, anyway. Let's head over there after school tomorrow and ... wait, Richie has detention starting tomorrow. Damn. We won't be able to go until later in the afternoon."

"I can do that," Cassie said brightly.

Jason sighed despondently. "Yeah, but I can't. Mom told me today she wants me home an hour before dinner is ready from now on. I think she's starting to get wind of some of the 'rumors' about all the sex that's been going on. You'll have to take Richie by yourself."

"Okay, Jason, I can do it. I can get the book back from Diane while I'm waiting for Richie to finish his detention."

"That works. Anyway, I have to go. I want to do some more research before I go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye, Jason."

"Bye."

-------

In the darkness, there was a faint electronic noise. A lanky figure stirred under the covers. There was a rustle, a click, and light flooded over the bed.

Diane blinked and squinted, the blanket falling away from her nightgown. She rubbed her eyes and reached under her pillow to silence the alarm on her watch. She sat still and listened.

There was silence, broken only by a faint rushing noise as the furnace kicked on.

Diane got out of bed and dropped to her knees. She reached under the bed and pulled out the book.

Her heart thumped as she cradled it in her arms. She couldn't explain why, but she felt a rush of excitement whenever she touched it. It was almost a tangible, physical force, like a weak electric current passing through her.

She wasn't sure what caused it. Perhaps she was feeling the powerful magic that went into the book itself. Or perhaps it was the realization of how much power was at her fingertips. She wanted it to be used on her, to give Heather control over her.

She stood and paused. No, that was not quite right. She didn't really want to let Heather control her completely. Just a little. Just for fun. Just because it sounded like something interesting to do.

Diane climbed back into bed and slid under the covers. She propped her back against the headboard and lay the book in her lap. Within seconds, the book snapped open and the pages turned to the last spell she had looked at, the simple enslavement spell. It was the first thing that had popped into her head.

She blushed faintly and tried to think of something less extreme. The pages turned again.

Now she was looking at something similar to the first spells she had perused earlier. It was another variation of enslaving her pussy to another. If Heather used this one, Diane would feel sexual pleasure anytime Heather touched her anywhere on her body.

Pages turned again. This one allowed Heather to affect her pleasure by just thinking about it.

She found a few more, each one a variation on the last. It was a complex assortment of effects, and she was not sure which one she wanted Heather to try first. It would be simpler to have Heather enslave her.

Diane flinched as the pages turned and quickly returned her to the enslavement spell.

She swallowed. Her pussy felt warm. No, this went too far, didn't it? She didn't want to be Heather's slave, did see? She shook her head.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try it. If she didn't like it, she didn't have to do it again. It was not like these were permanent. The one Melinda had done to herself, and then the one Jason had cast on Melinda wore off after a bit. Surely this would as well. There just wasn't a way to make any of these permanent.

Diane gasped when the pages abruptly turned towards nearly the very end of the book, and a new spell appeared before her: Cast upon the commencement of any Magick to bind it to the soul. Thy Magick shall remain unchanging and resolute, unless met with greater Magick and volition. Greater and greater still be the need upon the march of time.

Diane's heart raced. Spells could be made permanent, and increasingly unbreakable over time. But they didn't have to do that. It wasn't like someone could accidentally say the spell, not with as foreign as these incantations were.

Diane closed her eyes and let out a slow, lustful sigh. Her pussy was wet. Despite her fear, the thought of her rendered helpless to Heather's desires aroused her. She shook her head again. She had to stop thinking about it. She needed something to distract her. Something...

The Rite of Power.

Diane opened her eyes. She felt that tingle again, that rush that she experienced when she had first touched the book. The Rite? Why did she think of that? That had nothing to do with what she wanted.

She looked down at the book. She admitted she was curious about it. Certainly she never wanted to see it used, if it were as bad as Cassie had suggested.

The thought had barely entered her head when the pages of the book turned, and the Rite of Power was open in Diane's lap.

She peered at the text. It was more difficult to read than the others had been. It was also very complex. Four victims had to be chosen, those that had committed some grievous wrong against the caster. They were to be enslaved to render them compliant. It was important that they did not resist in the slightest.

More importantly, their enslavement had to result from the spellcaster's own will. No spell from this book could be used to assist.

Then a focus was needed. This was an artifact rendered with magic found elsewhere and worn about the neck. Diane thought Melissa already had this, as it likely referred to the pendant.

Her hands gripped the book tightly as the spell described a special receptacle that needed to be created and then prepared with an incantation. The next part she had to read several times to understand it, but when she did, she gasped in horror and had to resist the urge to slam the book closed as Cassie had.

A special spell would be incanted to each victim. This would draw the "soul" from the person and store it in the receptacle, leaving behind just a shell, a puppet whose strings were held by the one conducting the Rite. Then the final incantation would be spoken, and the power would stream from the node, through the four husks, towards the focus and hence into the spellcaster's body.

Diane was trembling by the time she got to the end. She understood now why Cassie thought it so horrible. She panicked at the thought of her mind ripped from her like that.

She closed the book and took a few deep breaths. She had to calm down. Her friends would not let this happen. She should forget about it. Melissa did not know the spell and would never find it.

Her fears ebbed. She looked down at the book. It had already turned again to the enslavement spell.

Letting out a sigh of relief and renewed desire, she perused the erotic spells one by one. It was not long before one hand slipped under her panties, and the sound of pages turning was joined by soft moans.

-------

Melissa was was so frustrated she could scream, and she thumped her fists against the mattress once in her anger. The glowing emerald eye in her pentacle pendant cast an eerie radiance over her bed.

The spell was far more complex than she had thought. The utter nonsense of having to prepare this receptacle alone was bad enough. But the worst of it was the restriction on how she took her victims. Diane had glossed over it in her own mind, but for Melissa it had stood out very clearly.

Melissa had to use her own power to control all four. She could not use a spell. In fact, this was the overall tone of the whole Rite, that it would grant greater power only to one who already could wield power. It was a Rite of passage as well as of power.

Taking control of Heather and Diane while keeping control of Susan and Ann would tax her power to its limit. She would have to release everyone else from her control. If she took Heather and Diane too early, Susan's mother might interfere, or help the Harbingers to...

Take her out of the way.

Melissa flinched. The eye in the pentacle glowed brighter.

The voice was stronger than it had been the last time it had spoken to her. She grasped the pendant in her hand, shadows briefly playing against the sea of green. Light spilled from between her fingers.

"I don't understand," she asked into the green-tinted dimness. "I won't have the power to control her."

Take care of her before you enslave the others. Changer her. Like you did Ann. Like you did Heather.

Yes, she had changed Ann by making her incapable of lying. And then Heather, by loosening her inhibitions. But Ann had been easy. She had been so weak-willed to begin with, and Melissa's power had been so focused that there had been no hope of resistance. And Heather had been easy as well. It was only a small change, performed at a moment of weakness.

But Susan's mother had defenses. She still held out against Melissa even now.

You are strong enough. You can get past it.

"I've tried!" Melissa cried. "I can't!"

You have not tried. You have not used all your strength. Push as hard as you can.

"I could damage her mind. I could fuck her up so badly that..."

Then so be it.

Melissa sat absolutely still. Her fingers tightened around the pendant. It seemed to glow even brighter in response.

Better for her to be mindless than to interfere with the Rite.

Melissa swallowed. Her heart thumped, blood rushing in her ears.

You want power. The Rite will give you that power. Everything else is secondary.

Melissa slowly nodded.

In her mind's eye, Diane set the book back into its hiding space. The light died, the room slipping into darkness once more.

Melissa took a deep breath and let it go as a slow sigh. She lay back down, and tried to go to sleep.



-------

Chapter 22


"So will you do it, Richie?" Jason asked.

Richie gave Jason a stony look. His breath steamed forcefully under his nose, like a bull huffing before charging.

Richie wasn't stupid. He knew Jason had waited to spring this on him until they were in the school parking lot that Monday morning, when the eyes of all the Harbingers were on him. He knew Jason was hoping this would make him less likely to refuse, since Jason usually avoided meetings out in the open anymore.

The desire to be defiant was automatic. It was in his eyes. But there was something else as well. It wasn't quite fear. It was more like disappointment. He wished he had some sort of ability other than this.

"Yeah, whatever," Richie muttered.

Jason sighed. "If you don't want to, Richie, just say so."

Richie fumed. "No, I don't wanna do it, okay? Happy now? But I'll do it anyway. That's what I'm s'posed to do."

"Richie, is something the matter?" Cassie asked tentatively.

"Yeah. Plenty. Nuthin' anyone can do about it."

Cassie glanced at the others. "If you really don't want to do this..."

"I said I would do it, 'kay? It'll have to be after I spend the afternoon with Saggy Seeger, though."

"Sorry if this is going to cramp your style," Jason said loftily.

Richie glared at him. "Oh yeah, I see. You think I don't wanna do it cuz I'd rather go fuck my teacher, huh?"

Jason said nothing and fixed a cool gaze back at Richie.

Richie poked a finger at Jason's chest. "You wanna know something, nerd-boy? I didn't touch her all weekend. Nothin'. Didn't even go see her. So just back off."

"Then why are you being so defensive about it?"

"Oh, stop it, both of you!" Cassie declared, exasperated. "I'm getting tired of this."

"Jason's the one that thinks he has me all figured out!" Richie snapped. "Go talk to him!"

"What the hell's with you today?" Melinda piped, frowning. "Last couple of days you're actually tolerable to be around and now you're back to being a jerk."

With great effort, Richie bit back a retort. "I had a fuckin' lousy weekend, 'kay?" he muttered.

"Because you didn't get a chance to boink..."

"Melinda, please don't," Cassie said.

Melinda shot a glare at her friend but subsided quickly. After a brief pause she said in a more contrite voice, "Sorry. I'm just worried about Heather today."

"Join the club," Diane said with a sigh.

"Look you wanna know what the fuck is wrong with me?" Richie exclaimed, his voice rising in frustration. "I'll tell you. It's this fucking power or whatever the hell it is. Maybe looking into the past is not such a great thing. Maybe you don't always like what you see."

The others fell silent. Jason's expression softened, and guilt crept into his eyes. "Richie, did you see something that..."

"Aw, fuck it. Never mind Forget I said anything. See ya later."

Richie trudged towards the school entrance.

"Jeez," Ned said in a low voice as he watched Richie leave. "What bee got in his bonnet?"

"I should have realized that this was going to happen." Cassie said. "I mean, think about it. He can see into the past. He can see exactly what happened. We think we know what happened in the past, but we can't always remember all the details. Or something gets lost in the retelling. Or we conveniently drop details that are unpleasant."

"Huh," Ned said. "Never thought of that. Man, I wonder what he saw."

Jason had an idea. Ever since he had learned about the previous owner of the house, he wondered if Richie might see something more directly related to his own history. Or his mother.

And I acted like a total ass towards him,  he thought.

He exchanged a glance with Cassie. She had the same idea as well. Neither would mention it out loud. Richie deserved a bit of privacy until he learned how to deal with it. The fact that Richie had admitted as much as he had was nothing short of astonishing.

Jason turned back towards the others. "Diane, you brought the book?"

"Oh, um, yes, it's right here," she said, holding out a plastic shopping bag.

Cassie stepped forward and claimed it. Diane was reluctant to let it go, even though she had already copied down some of the incantations that she wanted to show Heather later.

"I don't think we should bother meeting today," Jason said. "Cassie and Richie will be done late enough that I won't be able to make it."

"I'll call you and let you know what we found as soon as I can," Cassie said.

"Thanks. So instead, let's focus on trying to mitigate anything that Melissa tries to do to Heather today."

Diane stepped closer to Heather, as if to protect her. Heather smiled faintly at her lover, trying not to look nervous and failing.

"Heather, are you getting anything at all today?" Cassie asked.

"Yes. I can see my precogs more clearly now," Heather replied. "Brad's going to keep messing with me somehow, and then something will happen at lunch. Something involving Diane, too."

Cassie gasped. "Melissa's not going to try to take control of both of you at lunch, is she?"

Heather shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I think she's still going for the humiliation angle. I don't feel like we're being threatened beyond that. I'm pretty sure I'd know if we were."

Cassie sighed. "This is really frustrating. We know something will happen but we can't do anything to stop it."

"I'm tellin' ya, we're gonna hafta go bring this fight home ta Melissa 'ventually," Ned said. "Before she starts doin' more than jus' makin' the girls blush."

Jason was at a loss as to what to say. It was tempting for him to say that as long as Melissa was not really trying to take control of them, it was "okay." But he wasn't the one being subjected to daily humiliation. He didn't think it was fair for him to determine how much someone else could endure.

Heather sighed despondently. "I'll just deal with it for now, okay?" she said, though there was little conviction to her voice.

"Ya shouldn't hafta," Ned insisted, remembering his own embarrassment at Melissa's hands.

"We'll figure something out," Jason said, a hint of desperation to his voice. He hated how the situation was developing. He felt like a liar. He had stated clearly at the start that they would try to protect people that Melissa targeted. Now Susan's mother had fallen to her, and she was working over Heather, if indirectly.

What he really resented was the feeling that he was flying blind. He wished he had more resources, even if it were something to tell him how the Darkness worked, how its control over others worked, how Aura detection worked. Having any one of those would be a huge boon. But the internet was not exactly brimming with information on such things.

Which left him with only one real option: ignore Mara completely and find some way to strike at Melissa directly.

He turned to Cassie. "I never asked if you're going to be okay with doing this with Richie. I know how you feel about the Rite."

"I'm the only one that can get him up there, since we have to get there by car," Cassie said, shivering slightly. "I don't have to look at the vision with him if I don't want to."

"Okay. Well, let's go. Start of another week, I guess."

-------

"I know your little secret."

Heather tried not to shudder at the sound of Brad's voice. She didn't want to acknowledge his presence at all.

"Yep, I know it, all right. Want to offer me something to keep it a secret?"

Heather glared at him. "Yeah, right. Nice try, fuckhead. Like half the school doesn't already know."

Brad gave her a surprised look. "Huh?"

Heather smirked. "What's the matter? Brain get stuck in neutral again?"

"No one else knows about it unless you went and told them already."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself. And tell Melissa to get over herself as well. Fine, go make me think about it. I'll just go find Jason later and we can fuck again. Problem solved. Not like he doesn't like it or..."

"I don't mean that little pussy dork that your sister has the hots for."

Heather stared. "What?"

Brad grinned lasciviously. "So what'll it be, babe? Let me get you in bed for an hour or two..."

Heather snorted. "Like you know how to last an hour in bed."

Brad frowned but didn't break his stride. " ... or I get to reveal your little secret to the whole goddamn school."

It was a huge effort for her not to panic. Melissa could not possibly know about her and Diane! They had told only the other Harbingers, and they wouldn't spill it to anyone else. Or did Richie get pissed off at them enough to reveal it? No, he wouldn't do that. Even at his worst, he never revealed any Harbinger secrets. And Melissa couldn't read minds.

"I'm gonna give you until lunch time to think about it," Brad said, startling her out of her reverie. He grinned. "And you're gonna have a lot to think about."

Heather's heart thumped as the instructor called the class to order.

It couldn't be that. It had to be anything but that. She couldn't take having the whole school know about it. She had already seen her popularity take a nosedive since the semester began. After this, it would crash and burn.

She tried to convince herself it shouldn't matter. She should be above this sort of thing now. All that popularity was superficial. Jason and the others were her real friends, the first ones that she had had in a long time next to Diane.

And how would he even do it? How did that fit with her precog vision? Stand up and shout it to the cafeteria? She could just deny it. Or even better, just laugh at him and make him look stupid. That wouldn't take a lot of effort.

Or would he make Heather tell everyone? But later she could simply claim it was a big joke, or that she did it on a dare from Brad. She might be able to pull that off. Her remaining popularity would give her an edge there.

And what about Diane? What did she...

Heather abruptly shivered and let out a ragged sigh.

The image that so suddenly popped into her mind was of Diane on her hands and knees, licking Heather's pussy. In her head, Diane buried her face into Heather's sex with no hesitation, quivering with as much excitement as Heather, her own pussy wet and swollen.

Heather swallowed. Slowly, she made the imagery fade. But it left her with a burning heat in her loins. The moment her concentration slipped, another erotic thought slid into her mind. Diane was masturbating at Heather's order but not allowed to cum until Heather instructed her.

Stop it! stop it! she shouted in her head. I don't want to do those things to her.

But the truth was that some part of her did, and now she envisioned Diane lying on her back, Heather perched with a knee on either side of Diane's head, her pussy smothering Diane's face.

Heather bit her lip to suppress a whimper. Her pussy was hot and damp, enough for her to feel the urge to masturbate. But her fears kept her from giving in to the desire, and each time she came close to doing it, she thought of how much better it would be to wait until Diane could satisfy her.

This set off another round of erotic imagery, with Diane in all manner of submissive postures. It was a vicious circle, keeping her horny and frustrated at the same time.

-------

"Mr. Gardner, I would like to see you for a moment."

Richie's shoulders slumped. Several passing girls eyed him and giggled. More than one boy shot him an openly jealous look.

Richie glared back at all of them, his hands clenched, as if daring them to come out and say what he was sure was on their minds. It did little good. Enough people had heard the rumors that they had strength in numbers and were no longer intimidated by him. Two girls even stopped at the door and made exaggerated kissing noises in his direction before dissolving into giggles as they left.

He trudged to the desk. "Yes, Miss Davis?"

Linda looked crossly at him. "You got yourself detention."

"Yeah, I did. Hurray for me."

"Why did you have to do that?"

Richie shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Can't you answer anything without a smartass comeback?"

"Guess that's why I have detention."

Linda's eyes grew hard. "I thought you had changed when you started doing the work in my class. Looks like you haven't learned anything. You think of no one but yourself."

Richie blinked. "Huh?"

Linda opened her mouth as if to give him a loud rebuke. She paused, glanced at the door, and lowered her voice. There was no less of an edge to it. "You're going to tell me you can't come over after school, aren't you? You did this just to avoid seeing me."

Richie was at a loss for words. He realized only now that Linda was actually angry with him. That was the first time it happened since he had started having sex with her.

"Dammit, Richie, I was miserable all weekend ... I was ... I was wet almost all the time ... you never came over."

"I never said I would."

Linda sighed. "I was hoping you were just saying that because of your friend Jason."

"I don't have to answer to him, 'kay? If I didn't come over it's because I didn't feel like it."

"And you don't feel like it at all anymore? Is that it?" There was a hint of panic in Linda's voice underneath the anger.

Richie bit his lip and shuffled his feet. He did feel like it. He still wanted to fuck her and keep on fucking her. He was getting more pussy than all the rest of the boys at Haven High combined.

And the rest of the school knew it! Yes, they laughed and teased him behind his back, but the point was that he was getting some and they weren't. And the guys were envious as hell.

But now he couldn't get the horrible images out of his head. A marriage breaking up. His mother and the hypnotherapist. Linda and her former boyfriend. All caused by the same power that he wielded himself.

The cries in his head of how his actions were not the same thing were ringing even more hollow now. The image of his mother being practically raped -- emotionally if not physically -- would not leave his head. Except now he saw himself doing the same thing to Linda, stripping her of any dignity that remained just to service him.

"Richie, answer me!" Linda cried.

Richie looked up. "You don't get it, do you?"

Linda looked taken aback and had no reply for him.

"You don't want this. I want it, not you. That's the only reason we're having this talk. Because I want it."

"Of course you want it," Linda said softly. "You want it, so I want it. That's how it is. That's ... that's how it's supposed to be..."

Richie shook his head violently and took a step back. He gritted his teeth as he imagined himself having sex with her again. He tried to shove the thought out of his head. It wasn't right. He had to stop. If he didn't stop now, he never would.

He would become the same monster he saw in his vision. Perhaps that was an exaggeration, but he was in no state to see the difference. All he could see was his mother on her back being fucked into submission.

Linda gave him a confused look. "What is it?"

"I gotta get to my next class," Richie said tonelessly. "See ya."

"Richie? Richie, wait, please!"

"What?"

"Are you going to see me again? Ever?"

"I got detention, remember? Two weeks. Won't have the time. Sorry."

Linda gave him a stricken look.

"Look, you survived the weekend without me. You taught the class today. It's not like you're dying or something, right?"

Linda sighed. "No, I'm not. But I still want you."

Richie was still trying to rationalize it in his head, that this simple declaration made it okay. He shook his head again. "Fine. You want me. Talk to me in two weeks when my detention is over."

Linda squirmed.

"After two weeks you won't want me anymore. Trust me on this. I'm a jerk. I'm a grade-A asshole. I'm a total fucktard. Just ask everyone in the school. Just ask my friends, too. They'll tell you. Especially Jason. Or Melinda. They'll tell you. Good for nothing, that's me."

Linda just stared at him, speechless.

Richie frowned, turned, and marched out of the classroom.

-------

Ned's attention drifted as the other Harbingers talked. He tried to keep himself focused, but it was difficult. It was the same report anyway. Brad making Heather hot and horny, Heather struggling to resist her carnal urges until she had a chance to take care of them.

Yeah, take care of them,  Ned thought glumly. Least she can.

To Ned, it was like everyone was getting some except him. Jason did it with Melinda. Heather did it with Diane and sometimes Jason or Melinda. Richie did it with his teacher, though he was supposed to stop.

What Richie was doing was supposed to be wrong, yet Ned secretly wanted to cheer him on.

He avoided looking at Cassie. She was so excited about going with Richie and the possibility that he would see another vision of the past that it was all she could talk about. She hardly noticed him at all.

When the Harbingers parted, Ned didn't bother waiting for Cassie. He simply shuffled to his locker.

"Ned? Ned, wait."

Ned turned and tried to offer Cassie a weak smile. "Yeah, babe?"

Cassie tilted her head. "Is something the matter?"

"Huh? Uh, nah, I'm fine. Why'd ya ask?"

"You've been really quiet this morning. And ... well ... you didn't even try to kiss me before I went home yesterday."

"Oh. Uh, well ... guess I figgered ya didn't want yer Mom knowin' yer associatin' with the riff-raff, ya know?"

Cassie gave him a dubious look, though there was a hint of amusement to it. "That never stopped you before."

Ned smiled weakly. He had been rather open about his affection for her since the aborted attempt at sex. He would kiss her whenever he parted from her, sometimes lingering a bit more. He would hug her, sometimes letting his hands wander a bit close to her rear. He gave all sorts of subtle clues that he was still interested.

What was lacking was her interest in return, and it was bothering him.

Cassie looked concerned. "Melissa hasn't done anything to you again, has she?"

Ned shook his head. "Nah, I've laid low around her. Look, um, it's nuthin'. Jus' my own hang-ups."

Cassie considered this for a moment. Her face fell. "This is about the sex, isn't it?"

Ned stared. "Whoa. Okay, now, come on, tell me the secret. Women can read men's minds, right?"

Cassie's lips curled into a brief ghost of a smile. "Ned, I'm sorry. With everything that's been going on..."

Ned nodded and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he said, though he was unable to hide the disappointment from his voice.

"I really wish I could be as ... as open about this as the others," Cassie said softly. "Maybe if I had been with them in the House, and it had changed me like it did them..."

She trailed off, an awkward silence settling over them.

Ned cleared his throat. "Um ... well ... ya know ... there's always that book..."

Cassie gave him an alarmed look.

"Never mind. Sorry. I didn't mean..."

"No, it's okay. Darn it. I wish I hadn't read anything of that Rite. Maybe I wouldn't be so skittish about that book."

"Well, I don't wanna jus' make ya all hot and bothered. I want ya to want it, too. I mean on yer own."

"I do! I'm just really nervous about it. I wish there were something simple that would get me over this. I know everyone else does it without giving it much thought, but..."

Cassie suddenly paused. She stared straight ahead, her lips parted.

"Er ... Cassie?"

"That's why I'm having trouble with this!" Cassie declared. She looked at Ned. "I just figured it out. All the sex that's been going on. Sometimes I feel like people are losing themselves to it, like it's not making them think straight. I'm afraid that will happen to me. It almost did when Nyssa had me."

Ned slapped his forehead. "And here I am tryin' ta make ya agree to puttin' a hex on ya. Gah, I'm such a moron."

"No no, please don't think that." She smiled. "You just want me to be able to enjoy it."

"Yeah, but I've got other motivations, too."

"Well, of course you do, silly." She paused and lowered her voice, her cheeks pink. "If you remember, I was the one s-spreading my legs for you on the sofa. You didn't force me. I was willing. I still am."

Ned nodded. "I'm tryin' ta be patient. I really am."

Cassie considered. "Ned, how about this? I promise that after Richie and I are done today, I'll take a look at the book. I'll see if there's something simple in there that we can use to make me less nervous. Or ... o-or something to make it difficult for me to say 'no' but won't mess with me in any other way."

"Well ... only if ya want to, babe."

"I do. I might not find anything, though. Please understand if I have to refuse after all."

Ned nodded quickly. "No prob, babe. Ya might have trouble findin' one that does the trick and prevents the nine-month fandango ... er ... what?"

Cassie was blushing furiously. "Um ... well ... no need for that ... I'm on the pill. Have been for two years."

Ned's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Cassie nodded. "My mother's idea. She didn't want to risk me getting pregnant if some ... commoner took advantage of me."

Ned sensed the faint icy sting in her voice. It was clear Cassie's mother was more concerned about tainting the family bloodline than any consideration for her daughter.

Cassie smiled again and kissed Ned softly on the lips. "Call me tonight?"

Ned nodded mutely, grinning like a little kid.

Cassie giggled, waved, and headed away.

-------

After her last class before lunch, Heather hustled Diane away from the others and into the cafeteria, beating most of the rush. Diane went along despite wanting to talk to the other Harbingers a little longer and turned to Heather once they got inside.

"Heather, is something wrong?"

"Yes, plenty is wrong," she said, a lingering huskiness to her voice. Brad was no longer in her head, but the constant march of eroticism involving Diane was enough to keep her damp on her own now that they were standing so close to each other.

"Oh no ... a-all right, do you need to get some..."

Heather was already shepherding her towards one of the tables in a corner, far from the serving line. "I don't want to be overheard," she said in a low voice. "We can get some lunch afterward."

Diane nodded as she sat down. "What is it?"

Heather sighed. "Melissa knows about us. She knows we're ... we're lovers."

Diane's eyes widened. Her heart raced. For a moment, she forgot about Melissa entirely. All she heard was the word "lovers." It was a sign that Heather had accepted what had become of their relationship.

But her excitement was tempered with some doubt. Was this only because of Heather's reduced inhibitions? If Heather returned to normal, would she drift away from Diane again?

The other shoe finally dropped in her head and she gasped. "Oh no! Heather, h-how did she find out??"

"I don't know! None of us would tell her!"

Diane slumped in her seat. She draped a hand over her eyes. "What can she do with this, Heather? How do you think she's going to use it against us?"

"Brad already threatened to reveal it to the whole school," Heather said miserably.

Diane paused and looked at Heather. "Was there anything else?"

"Anything else? Shit, Diane, that's enough!"

"But ... surely she's going to do something else with it?"

"Brad wants me to have sex with him, in exchange for not telling anyone. That fucking bastard."

"No, I don't mean that. I meant was there anything else she could do to..."

"Diane, you're missing the point! It doesn't matter what..."

"Aw, don't tell me you two having a lovers' spat already?"

Heather gasped and flinched. Diane looked up and stared, her eyes wide.

Brad grinned at the two of them. "C'mon, you two are supposed to be the lezzie lovebirds now, right?"

"We are not ... I-I mean... " Heather stammered.

Diane gazed at Heather, utterly confused.

Brad smirked. "Still got one more chance, babe. Let me fuck you good, show you what a real guy can do for you, and you're off the hook."

Heather shot him a furious look and bolted to her feet, her chair clattering to the floor. Heads turned in their direction. Startled, Diane rose to her feet as well. "No fucking way I'm going to let you lay a hand on me," Heather snarled. "You back off right now. I get the least little thought in my head about screwing you and I shout rape."

Diane swallowed and stepped back.

Brad shook his head sadly, though a grin remained plastered on his face. Heather's eyes burned as they stared at Brad, though a faint shimmering of fear appeared in them as they watched swirls of inky black slither around his body.

"Well, babe, guess we gotta spill the beans about you two."

"Yeah, fine, you try that. Everyone knows you're a fucking jerk. No one will believe you over me."

Diane stared. She was confused. She was trying to understand Heather's reaction and failing.

"So go ahead. You tell everyone. I'd like to see that. I'd like to ... to see ... what... ??"

Brad's smile widened. "Oh, I'm not gonna tell them. I won't have to."

Heather staggered back. She closed her eyes tightly, but it made the imagery in her head just that much more powerful. Her body shivered. Her pussy steamed. Her breath was a ragged pant.

Diane rushed forward. "Heather? Heather, what's he doing to you? What... mmmph?!"

Diane's words were cut off by Heather's kiss.

It was not a simple, affectionate kiss like Cassie had given Ned. It was a passionate kiss, a lustful kiss, a full-mouth kiss of heavy desire and need. Diane struggled, but only for a moment. Her knees went weak, and she moaned deeply into Heather's mouth. Heather's lips parted and she followed, their tongues dancing against each other.

She held the kiss even through the loud catcalls and whistles from the other students, even through the comments that ranged from the derisive to the truly perverted. Diane almost forgot she was standing in the cafeteria. Her body quivered with growing desire, her folds soon wet and hot. She even pressed her body against Heather's.

Heather finally recovered her senses, her resistance rising along with the pink in her cheeks. With great effort she raised her shaking hands and pushed herself away from Diane.

Diane stumbled, panting, grasping at the back of a chair to stop from falling. Heather just stared, her eyes wide with horror. Her head snapped around when the sounds of the other students finally registered. The pink deepened to scarlet.

And a long-buried memory came to her.

She was ten again, standing in the cafeteria of her elementary school. One of the bullies had just upended her tray and spilled soup all over the sweater that her mother had gotten her for Christmas just a month before. Everyone was laughing at her.

Tears blurred her eyes and ran down her face. She turned away and fled the cafeteria, sobbing.

-------

"Laura, I am approaching my wits' end with the students of this school."

Laura Bendon leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers. "Oh? In what way, Seymore?"

Mr. Seeger cast a dour look at the Principal. "Not moments ago, I witnessed something most reprehensible in the cafeteria."

Laura raised an eyebrow. "Not another fight, I hope?"

Seeger frowned, deep creases appearing in his thick face. "If only. Two students were engaging in a most ardent display of affection in full view of all the students."

"And why are you bringing this to me? You are in charge of detentions."

"Do not remind me, please. Both these students were female."

Laura paused a moment. "And?"

Seeger fumed. He paced back and forth before Laura's desk, his jowls quivering as he spoke, "Lord knows I try to keep up with the times, Laura. I try to be progressive. I try to respect the students', ah, differences. But this ... I don't think I can handle this..."

"Be careful when you say things like that, Seymore," Laura said with a hint of a smile. "One might think you intolerant."

Seeger stopped and glared. "Absolutely not! I would object just as strongly if it were a boy and a girl. I simply do not feel competent to deal with the matter as it stands."

"And this is why you are bringing it to me?"

"Well, yes. You are a woman, after all..."

"Nice of you to note that."

Seeger flushed. "Anyway ... I thought this situation requires your intervention. You know better what goes on in another girl's mind. That is, another woman's mind. I mean ... you know what I mean!"

Laura could not help but smile. She enjoyed seeing Seeger squirm.

"One of the girls appeared rather upset," said Seeger. "I thought it best you talk to her."

"Upset? Who was it?"

"Heather Sovert."

Laura tilted her head. "Was the other girl involved Diane Woodrow by any chance?"

Seeger's bushy eyebrows snapped up. "Why, yes, it was. So you are aware of the situation..."

Laura nodded. "I will handle it, Seymore. Don't concern yourself with it anymore."

Seeger looked visibly relieved. "Thank you, Laura, I appreciate this." He sighed deeply. "Please understand, in only another year I am up for retirement..."

"I understand. Considering where this school is going, perhaps that is for the best. Perhaps I can help you put in for an early retirement if you wish."

Seeger looked elated. "Would you? I would be forever in your debt!"

Laura stood up and came around the end of the desk. "I'll see what I can do. You've done your best with what you had."

Seeger's expression darkened. "I'll be candid with you, Laura, and this is no reflection on you. I do not like where this school is headed. This ... this thing with Miss Sovert and Miss Woodrow is only the latest. There has been a severe breakdown of morals among the students. They think I don't know, but I do. Oh, yes, I do."

Laura smiled mildly. "I'm sure you do."

Seeger shook a meaty finger. "Mark my words, Laura. We live in a far too permissive society! Haven never used to be this bad. I blame the internet. If it were me, I'd yank the plug on it! Take Haven off the grid! Disconnect the tubes!" He paused when he realized he was huffing for breath. He took a moment to calm himself and straighten his tie. "Anyway, I will leave this disciplinary matter in your hands. Good day."

Laura watched him go. Once he was away, she stepped into the reception area. "Marcie."

Marcie Fuller turned in her seat, looking dreamily at Laura. "Yes, Ms. Bendon?"

"Inform Melissa Hendell that she is to see me after her last class."

Marcie squirmed as her pussy throbbed softly in anticipation of obeying her mistress. "Mmm, right away, Ms. Bendon..."

-------

Diane paused near a hallway junction, the lockers rattling briefly as she fell against them. She folded her arms tightly across her chest, sniffling once. She cast a glistening gaze down the hall, as if expecting someone to come after her.

A teacher? No, they never came out when one was really needed. One would have shown up only if it had been planned for them to get detention or worse for their behavior.

Or maybe Brad? Or Melissa? She was horribly exposed, and Heather was nowhere to be found. They were sitting ducks to be taken if that's what Melissa had intended.

She sighed, her breath catching as another sob threatened to rise from her throat. She unfolded her arms long enough to wipe at her eyes. No, it was just what Ned had told them. Melissa was out to embarrass them.

And she had partially succeeded. Heather had looked positively mortified. Diane felt embarrassed herself, but nowhere near as Heather. She was more upset for Heather than herself.

Diane wanted to kick herself for not going after Heather right away. But Brad had gloated over what he had done, and Diane could not help but share a few choice expletives with him.

Diane turned her head suddenly. She thought she had heard something.

She stepped away from the lockers and took a few steps down the hall towards the west wing. She heard it again. It was someone sobbing.

She quickly followed it to an unoccupied lab at the end of the hall in the science section. She peered inside, clutching at the door frame. She paused in uncertainty before finally calling out softly.

"Heather?"

Heather sat slumped over one of the desks, her head on her arms, her face buried from view by her red hair. She was crying, her body trembling. Diane's heart lurched at the sound.

Diane glanced down the hall and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her. She reached down to touch her lover's shoulder.

"G-get away from me," Heather quavered.

Diane's hand hovered for a moment before falling away.

"You don't w-want to see me ... y-you hate me..."

Diane stared, horror-struck. "What??"

Heather lifted her head. Diane uttered a soft gasp. Heather's cheeks shone with tears. Her eyes were bleary, and ragged strings of wayward hair fell before them. Her lower lip trembled. "You hate me! You should hate me for what I just did!"

Diane was totally nonplussed. For a frightening moment she was sure she had heard "I hate you." But this made even less sense. "I-I don't understand. Why would I hate you?"

Heather wiped at her eyes, even though tears continued to leak from them and trickle down her cheeks. "What I just did to you! Why are you even standing there?!"

"Heather, I know Brad made you do that! I know he made you kiss me! It's not your..."

"I ran out on you!" Heather screamed. "I was embarrassed to be seen kissing you!"

Diane was too thunderstruck to reply.

Heather buried her face in her arms again, though her body was no longer wracked with sobs. Tears dripped silently to the top of the desk, and she occasionally sniffled. "Melinda thinks I'm shallow. Maybe she's right."

Diane crouched next to Heather's chair and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Heather, please, don't do this. Why do you say that?"

Heather lifted her head again and forced herself to take several deep breaths. She wiped at her face and eyes again. "I still care about my popularity, Diane. My fucking popularity. It doesn't mean shit anymore at this school and I still care about it."

"But... " Diane said helplessly.

"Diane, you don't understand. I-I used to be a total wallflower before I hit puberty. No one liked me. No one at all. I don't want to go back to that."

Diane's eyes widened in astonishment. Heather? A wallflower? The idea seemed preposterous to her. Ever since she had known Heather, she was always the apple of everyone's eye. If anyone disliked her, it was out of jealousy.

"Back in the caf, a-all I could think of was how everyone would think I was some sort of lezzie freak!"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Diane asked in a small voice.

Heather sighed. "I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, no, I don't think lesbians are freaks. But almost everyone else thinks so."

"But you're not lesbian. I mean, you're still into guys."

Heather snorted. "Well, not like any of them will touch me now." Her eyes glistened again. "See?! I did it again! I just care about what other people think! Come on, Diane, you can't tell me that you weren't upset when I ran out on you like that. I ran like I didn't want anything to do with you!"

Diane paused a long moment. "Well ... I guess I was upset. A little. I was more mad at Brad. But I think I understand."

Heather stared at her lover for a long moment, then wiped at her eyes again and stood. "Yeah, right..."

Diane stood with her. "I do understand! Look at it from my perspective, okay? I'm the one that really is a lesbian. If anyone is going to take more flak for this, it's me. I was never popular to begin with."

"Oh, come on..."

"No, it's true. People only bothered with me because I was your friend. Funny you should be the one talking about being a wallflower. Only reason I'm not is because of you."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? You're saying I just screwed up your life!"

"No, I didn't! I mean, you didn't screw anything up! Stop it! If anyone screwed up anything, it was Melissa, not you."

Now Diane was close to crying. She hated seeing Heather beat herself up like this. Where Heather was always the strong one, seeing her like this was devastating.

Heather sighed, and she buried her face in her hands. "God ... what we did to Melissa is not so funny anymore..."

Diane tried to ignore it. She was already feeling enough guilt for that. She didn't want to dwell on that now, as it would only make things worse. "If you want to end this, Heather, then tell me now that you don't care about me," Diane demanded, her voice shaky.

Heather lifted her head. She looked at Diane with alarm. "What?!"

"Y-you heard me. Just tell me now so I'll get out of your life. That will solve the problem, won't it?"

Heather was already shaking her head. "No, Diane, please ... I do care about you. Even before all this started I cared. I cared about you before the House. Maybe before the summer started."

Diane stared. Her heart soared. She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. "Are you sure about this? Please tell me you're sure!"

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure!"

Diane smiled. "Then how can you tell me you're shallow?"

Heather was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"You said you thought you were shallow. You can't be if you really cared about me all along."

Heather had barely realized that she had said it. All along she had claimed not to know what her feelings were about Diane. It had taken this moment of vulnerability for it to come out. That, and a helpful reduction in her own inhibitions.

Diane stepped closer to her. "Does this mean you finally figured it out?"

Heather let out a long, windy sigh. "Diane, I am so sorry. I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me you at least enjoyed that kiss you gave me."

Heather slowly smiled. "I did. You weren't exactly eager to stop it."

Diane shook her head. "I wasn't. It was lovely. And ... exciting."

Heather drew close. Diane let out a sigh of anticipation, her heart thumping. "Diane, I want you to tell me something honestly."

Diane nodded, looking into Heather's eyes. They were still lovely despite having cried so hard.

"I'm still interested in guys. I still want to have sex with guys. You need to tell me now if that's a problem."

"No, I'm fine with it. I know you're bi. We're not ... we're not committed like that. Now you need to tell me something."

Heather slipped an arm around Diane's waist. She felt Diane tremble at her touch. "Yes?"

Diane's voice became husky with renewed desire. "I-I copied down some incantations from the book ... please tell me you'll try some on me. Please."

"Will they let me tease your pussy?"

Diane swallowed and nodded.

"Okay, we can try some of them."

"Today," Diane whispered. "Let's try them today, after school."

"Sure thing. It should be a lot of fun."

Heather kissed Diane. It was slow and tender at first, and grew in intensity slowly, escalating to a passionate climax that very nearly triggered the same thing in Diane's nether regions.

By the time Heather broke off the kiss, Diane was panting lightly, her pussy aching.

"We better get some lunch before the hour's over," Heather said.

"What about everyone else? They'll start in on us as soon as we walk in."

Heather took a deep breath. Her voice was shaky but resolute. "So let them. If they can't deal with this, they can fuck off."

It was taking a lot for Heather to say this. Diane appreciated it all that much more. She hugged Heather tightly in silent thanks.

They left the room and walked towards the cafeteria hand in hand.



-------

Chapter 23


"You are a foolish, foolish girl, Miss Hendell."

Melissa was too thunderstruck to reply. She simply stared at the Principal in disbelief.

Laura leveled a cold gaze at her. "I learned of your petty little display of power over Miss Sovert in the lunchroom."

"Petty?!" Melissa exploded. "Do you know what they did to me over the summer? You have any idea how much they humiliated..."

Laura waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, we all know how cruel and unfair everyone has been to you. Really, you are starting to sound like a broken record."

Melissa fumed. She lashed out mentally, only to feel her attack slam into that impenetrable, dark barrier. In her mind's eye, it was like a blackness that appeared as if it would suck her in as much as it would keep her out. Her jaw tightened as she relented.

"Are you quite done?" Laura asked in a bored voice.

"You can't defend against a physical attack. I could seriously hurt you."

"Yes, you could. And it would be just as pointless as what you did today."

"It was not pointless! I humiliated the both of them in front of the whole school! Heather ran out of there crying her eyes out! Everyone else taunted Diane until she left, too!"

Laura sighed and started to shake her head, then thought better of it and looked Melissa in the eye. "Fine. We'll go with your version, then. You humiliated them. Good job. I guess that means they're both cowering in fear of what you might do next. They couldn't even show their faces in the lunchroom out of the sheer terror of being ridiculed again."

Melissa clenched her teeth. "Shut up."

"Except that none of that happened. They returned to the cafeteria, didn't they? Your stooge Mr. Weston made them kiss each other again, didn't he? They went right on with their lunch, didn't they?"

"Shut up!"

Laura raised a finger in admonishment and frowned. "Do not use that tone with me. I am still your Principal, and I will punish you for it if it happens again."

Melissa bit down a retort and clenched her fists. Laura took a half step back and braced herself. A few seconds later, a plant was knocked off its shelf, its clay pot shattering on impact with the floor.

Laura sighed and folded her arms. "Really, now, Miss Hendell, I am growing tired of having to explain why I have to keep paying the janitorial staff overtime for cleaning my office."

Melissa said nothing and gave Laura a sullen look.

"My point in all this, Miss Hendell, is that this is energy best spent towards your ultimate goal. Thanks to my Mistress, I have a certain degree of power I can use to provide cover for your actions, but it is limited. You are pushing that limit."

"I've already reached my goal," Melissa snapped. "Well, part of it. I have the spell. I know what I need to do for the Rite."

Laura's gaze intensified. "Tell me."

Reluctantly, Melissa explained what she had seen.

Laura paused a long moment, turning away from Melissa and pacing the length of her office once. "Interesting. It's more complex than I thought it would be."

"Tell me about it. It's going to take me another day to get the receptacle done. I have to find someone to do it for me, since I don't have the skills or the patience to learn them."

"And the incantation is likely rather powerful. Why are you wasting your energy?"

"I am not wasting it! It's letting me fuck with Heather's mind."

"And you didn't heed what I said about how they can detect..."

"Yes, I did. I've been careful. I've been subtle."

Laura raised an eyebrow dubiously. "You? Subtle?"

"Yes, me, subtle. I'm not controlling her. I just messed with her perceptions. I'm getting good at that. It will make it easier for me to take her and Diane so I can use them for the Rite."

Laura still appeared doubtful, but nodded for Melissa to continue.

"I'm screwing with Diane as well. I've already made it so she'll want Heather to enslave her. All I had to do was snip a few of her inhibitions, just like Heather. Not really direct control, so they won't notice it. Then once Diane is enslaved to Heather, I take Heather. They both deliver themselves to me for the Rite. So, see, my revenge on them was useful after all."

Laura considered for a long moment.

"It will work," Melissa insisted. "They don't know about the link with the pendant. They don't know I've been spying on them whenever they hold the book. Cassie's dreams about me are being blocked. And I'm blocking Susan's mother from trying to tell them anything about it. They know the Rite was done before, but they don't know that the Rite was stopped, or that it can be stopped. I was that careful."

Laura finally nodded slowly. "Yes, it might work. If you don't screw it up. If you can really push Miss Sovert into making her control of Miss Woodrow permanent without alerting the others."

"I have it under control. By the end of the week, I'll have the Rite done. Then it's all mine."

Laura smiled. "Yes, it will all be yours. I guess I underestimated you, Miss Hendell. Very well, you may go. But I warn you. You need to be less obvious in the future. Don't rock the boat this close to having it all."

"I'll be careful. I'm almost there. Thank you for your help, Ms. Bendon."

Laura simply nodded again, still smiling. Melissa smiled as well and left.

Laura narrowed her eyes as the door closed. She allowed herself her own private, secretive little grin.

-------

Without Cassie to give them a ride, it took Heather and Diane longer to reach the meeting place. They had to go home first and then meet at the mall before heading over together. Diane had not wanted to tell Cassie what they were doing, knowing how she felt about the book.

Upon entering the house, they rushed up the stairs to the bedroom they had used the day before. The covers were still upset from when they had last used the bed.

"Okay, so what are these spells that you want me to try on you?" Heather asked after closing the door behind them.

Diane fished a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her jeans. She looked down at it, pausing as if having second thoughts. She held it out to Heather, her hand trembling a bit.

Heather gave Diane a small smile as she took the proffered paper and unfolded it. "There's four of them here. Which ones did you want me to do? And what do they do?"

"Try the first one," Diane said, her voice quavering in anticipation. "It ... it lets you control my pussy. You can make it do what you want without even touching it."

Heather looked up. "Are you serious?"

Diane bit her lip and nodded. She squeezed her thighs together as heat gathered.

"Well, okay ... let me see if I can get this right ... Cassie said the marks mean I emphasize the parts that follow ... okay." She cleared her throat. "Thri'quixl'altkas yirlos ron'indna!"

Diane uttered a tiny gasp and flinched. There was a sudden, powerful tingling in her pussy that made her visibly shiver. It would have driven her mad if it had continued, but it quickly faded to a softer sensation, as if she had just inserted a very gentle vibrator into her vagina.

"Are you all right?" Heather asked with concern. "Did that do anything?"

"I think so. I feel a bit strange. It feels nice, but..."

Heather smiled. "Nice? Your pussy getting nice and wet?"

Diane smiled faintly. She was about to reply when her eyes suddenly widened and her mouth dropped open.

"What's the matter?"

Diane closed her eyes and let out a long, sultry sigh. Her pussy swam in steamy arousal. "Oh my God ... uhh ... y-yes, I think it worked..."

"What do you ... wait, are you wet now? Just from me telling you?"

Diane swallowed and nodded.

"So ... if I said you should get really horny right now..."

Diane moaned and trembled. Her hips writhed, moisture oozing from her crotch as her panties became soaked. Her pussy felt swollen and achy. She panted softly.

Heather stared in astonishment at first, then slowly smiled. "Cum."

"Uhhhnn!!" Diane fell forward, clutching at her lover as her pussy throbbed. Her hips jerked with each spasm. She panted hard, her hot breath steaming past Heather's ear. "Uhhh! ... Ohhh! ... oh Heather ... uhhh..."

Heather hugged Diane tightly until her powerful orgasm faded and her body went limp. "You okay?" Heather asked with a trace of amusement in her voice.

"Y-yes ... Oh God ... th-that was incredible..." Diane breathed.

Heather gently broke off the embrace. "Diane, take your clothes off for me."

Diane blushed faintly, but smiled and nodded. She started to unbutton her blouse.

Heather watched, her own pussy growing damp in anticipation. When the blouse had dropped to the floor, Heather said, "I think you're starting to get horny again."

Diane shivered and moaned softly.

"You'll get more horny each time you take off another piece of clothing."

Diane's heart thumped. She slipped the cups of her bra from her breasts. She felt another wave of lust pass over her and gather in her sex. She quivered as she reached down to remove her jeans.

Heather giggled and began to undress. "This is going to be fun."

-------

Richie was a model student when it came to detention. He was so used to it that, despite his brief hiatus from it, it had become more like a chore he might do around the house. It just needed to be done, and there was no point in trying to avoid it.

He ignored the scrutinizing gaze of Mr. Seeger and the angry glare from Brad. He simply went about his task until Seeger declared that detention was over.

"Mr. Gardner, one moment."

Richie had been halfway out the door. Ahead of him, Brad turned his head and sniggered. Richie surreptitiously gave Brad the finger before turning around to face the Vice Principal. "Yeah, Mr. Seeger?"

Seeger waited for Brad to depart before speaking again. He fixed his calculating gaze on Richie and said, "I wish you to tell me the truth in answering my next question, Mr. Gardner. Can you do that for me?"

Richie paused. "Was that the question, Mr. Seeger?"

Seeger glowered. "Do not be a wise guy, Mr. Gardner. I wish to know something. I wish you to tell me exactly why you had attacked Mr. Weston last week."

Richie was a bit nonplussed at the question. "Uh, because he was bothering Heather."

"And you expect me to believe you have suddenly decided to become so chivalrous?"

"Huh?"

Seeger sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. The point is, Mr. Gardner, is that you claim to have been defending her honor as it were, yet there was no evidence of Mr. Weston having bothered Miss Sovert. Can you account for this?"

Richie hesitated. "You said you wanted me to tell you the truth, right?"

"Yes, if that is not too much trouble."

"Nah, it's fine. You just won't believe it."

"Try me,  Mr. Gardner."

Richie shrugged. "'kay. Brad was messin' with her head."

Seeger frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"See? Toldya, Mr. Seeger."

"Are you telling me he was ... playing some sort of psychological trick on her?" It was clear from his voice that he certainly did not consider the likes of Brad intellectual enough to accomplish such a thing.

Richie shook his head. "Nope. He was really gettin' into her head. Y'know, like hypnosis. Mind control. That sorta thing."

Seeger stared at him. "Mind control."

"Yep. Weird, ain't it?"

Seeger's face darkened. "Is this some kind of sick joke, Mr. Gardner? Because if it is, I am not laughing."

"Nope, no joke, Mr. Seeger. And I ain't laughin' either."

"Mind control," Seeger echoed.

"Yep. Been goin' on all over the school since the semester started. There's some seriously weird shi ... er ... stuff going on around here, Mr. Seeger."

Seeger remained silent for a long moment. If this had been a month ago, he would have doubted this child's sanity. The truth was that he had not mentioned to anyone even half of the oddness he had seen at Haven High, not even to his wife. It was not limited to the students, either. Some of the faculty and staff appeared to be acting odd as well. Linda Davis for one. Marcie Fuller for another.

And he was becoming increasingly wary of Laura Bendon.

But mind control? Despite what he had observed, he could not stretch his meager imagination to encompass this.

"Perhaps you believe in such ... such nonsense, Mr. Gardner," Seeger said in a huff. "And perhaps you truly believed you were defending Miss Sovert against this form of alleged attack..."

He paused again. He remembered the stain on Heather's jeans. One eye twitched. He blinked rapidly and pushed the thought aside.

" ... but I would advise you that if you believe such a thing is happening again that you inform a faculty member rather than take matters into your own hands. Now, good day."

He swept an arm towards the door. Richie nodded and headed out.

Richie wondered if Jason would yell at him for spilling the beans to Mr. Seeger. He was frustrated. It was the summer all over again, when he had first discovered the Darkness' control over his mother. He had closed the book on that, but this ability to see the past had opened it again and shoved his face into the pages.

He emerged from the east entrance of the school and saw the black limo waiting. He smirked, wishing some of his rivals could see this.

Cassie waved to him from the back seat of the car. Richie got in, and gravel crunched as the limo turned out of the parking lot and thumped onto the street.

"Everything okay, Richie?" Cassie asked, her hands clutching the handle of the bag that contained the book.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. Why?"

"I saw Brad leave, but it was awhile before you showed up. I thought maybe... "

"That I skipped out on you?"

Cassie shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to say that."

Richie stared at her. He still harbored a tiny amount of resentment towards her. He had hated her for what she had almost done to him despite the fact that it was not her fault, that she had been under Nyssa's thrall. It was harder to hate her for it now, but it was also difficult to let go of it completely.

"Sorry," Richie mumbled. "It's nothing. Saggy Seeger wanted to talk to me, that's all."

Cassie nodded slowly and was silent for awhile. When the silence became too awkward, she turned to Richie again. "Um ... thank you for agreeing to do this."

Richie shrugged. "Got nothin' better to do."

"I mean ... well, I figured that not everything you can see from the past is pleasant."

He shifted in his seat and shrugged again, trying to look uncaring. "Not like I can change what happened."

"If you want to talk about it..."

From the tension in Richie's body, it was obvious to her that he was feeling defensive, but his eyes were soft, almost forlorn, and flicked about the back seat in indecision.

"Richie?"

"It don't matter, Cassie. Really, it don't. She gave up fighting it anyway after that."

Cassie tilted her head. "She? Your mother?"

Richie's eyes shimmered. "Um..."

"You mean you saw what happened to her? How she became..."

"Look, never mind, okay? It was a long frickin' time ago and too much shit's happened since then. She's gone. Maybe if my Dad was around, he'd..."

He trailed off. Cassie looked at him with concern and compassion.

Richie bit his lip. He was close to venting all his frustrations to her. Grief suddenly surged up inside of him. He quelled it, but not before Cassie saw it in his eyes and was moved to reach out a hand to him.

Richie slid closer to the door. "Just let me know when we get there," he muttered, and turned his head to stare out the window.

Cassie lowered her hand and sighed softly. She had wanted to try to connect to him as a friend, and now she worried if she had made things worse.

-------

Diane was panting so hard that speech was impossible. She writhed and quivered helplessly in Heather's lap, her back to her lover, her thighs splayed wide over Heather's legs. Her pussy strained hard and glistened in the subdued light. Her intense arousal ran liquid in her folds, oozing down her slit.

Heather cupped Diane's tits, played with them, squeezed the pliant flesh. Each touch sent another tingle of intense pleasure into Diane's pussy, keeping it on the knife's edge of climax. She rubbed the hard nubs of Diane's erect nipples, making Diane shudder and moan her distress.

"Now don't you cum yet," Heather whispered into Diane's ear. "Don't you dare cum."

She dropped a hand from Diane's breast. Diane mewled when Heather's fingers sank into her slit. She rose even further, her pussy aching badly from how close it was to cumming, but relief eluded her. She let out a desperate cry.

Heather giggled. She had cast the second spell on Diane, the one that made every touch drive her lover into delirious sexual arousal. "Too much?"

"Uhhhn ... uhhh ... n-no..." Diane managed to gasp between her pants and moans. She had never been this excited in her life. Even though the orgasm denial was nearly at painful proportions, it was driving her to incredible heights of ecstasy.

"In that case, if you want to cum, you need to do something for me."

"Uhhh ... a-anything ... p-please, tell me ... ohhh!"

Heather speared Diane's tunnel with two fingers. Diane closed her eyes and spread her legs wider as Heather pumped her fingers back and forth. "How good are you at sucking on a girl's tits?"

"Uhnn ... n-never ... never d-did it..."

"Guess you're going to learn, then."

Heather withdrew her fingers and nudged Diane. Diane reluctantly slid from Heather's lap. She staggered a bit as she stood, her legs weak and trembling. She continued panting until the pressure in her cunt eased.

Heather slid from the edge of the bed and lay on her back. She smiled and gestured to Diane.

Diane eagerly climbed on the bed, her pussy still hot and wet. Heather slid her hand lightly along Diane's side. Diane moaned deeply and arched her back as the touch made her pussy strain again.

Diane was breathing hard by the time she brought her mouth to bear on Heather's breast. Her hot breath blew across Heather's nipple, making her lover shiver with delight and the nipple swell and firm.

Diane parted her lips and licked gently at the taut little knob of flesh, rewarded by a breathy moan from Heather. Heather spread her legs as her hand reached behind Diane's head and gently pushed her lover into her tit. Diane opened her mouth more fully and clamped her lips around the nipple, her cheeks dimpling and her tongue lashing.

Heather moaned deeply, her pussy tingling with excitement. Diane was learning quickly. Heather felt Diane's tongue swirl around her nipple, then lap at it like a cat drinking milk.

Heather smiled and ran her hands down Diane's sides. Diane quaked as her pussy strained once more, making her suck harder at Heather's tit. Heather gasped and slid her trembling hands over Diane's ass. Diane mewled into Heather's breast.

"Mmm ... Diane, that's nice..." Heather moaned. "The other one, please..."

As Diane lifted her head, Heather grinned wickedly and reached between Diane's legs. Diane gasped loudly as Heather's fingers sank into her wet folds again. "Hope this doesn't distract you too much."

"Uhhn ... uhh ... oh Heather ... please ... I-I need to cum badly..." Diane begged.

"First do my other tit."

Shaking, Diane lowered her head and took Heather's nipple into her mouth. She sucked hard, squeezing her lips around the firm flesh. Heather panted in her rising delight. Her fingers flicked in firm strokes against Diane's helpless pussy.

It was finally too much for Diane. She broke off, lifting her head, panting so hard she could barely speak. "H-Heather ... God ... p-please... please..."

"Oops, sorry, I guess I got carried away. You may cum."

Diane's pussy rose like a rocket and exploded, her whole body shuddering violently as she came. Her hips jerked several times against Heather's hand. Her climax was so intense that she could not utter a sound for the first few moments. When her throat finally unlocked, she uttered small, strident cries as her cunt spasmed around Heather's fingers.

"Oh, that was a nice one, wasn't it?" Heather cooed.

Diane panted wildly as her orgasm faded. She collapsed against Heather, her head turned to the side, her cheek resting against one of Heather's breasts. She lay limp, breathing heavily through the last ebbing throbs in her pussy.

Heather wrapped her arms around Diane. The touch renewed Diane's arousal, making her shiver. "Wow, still feeling horny when I touch you?"

"Uhhh ... y-yeah..." Diane breathed. She squirmed under Heather's embrace as heat rose between her thighs again. "This is incredible ... uhhhn ... God, I'm still wet..."

"Melinda said it took a little while before it wore off. Enough time for you to lick my pussy, and then maybe..."

She caressed Diane's ass cheeks. Diane whimpered and writhed.

" ... maybe I'll let you cum again."

-------

Cassie stood a short distance from the limo. She visibly shivered as she gazed down the narrow path that wound through the trees. "This is it. This is looking familiar to me."

Richie came around to Cassie's side. The area was heavily shaded as the sun sank behind the tall hill that rose to the west. Patches of pristine white snow lay in thin blankets about the roots of the taller evergreens. He cast a questioning look at Cassie.

"It's from my dream of Melissa," Cassie said quietly. "When they ... when they did that horrible thing to her."

Richie nodded absently. "So where to?"

"This way."

Cassie led him down the path and emerged into a clearing. She stopped short, causing Richie to bump into her. "What?"

Cassie's eyes were wide as she pointed. On the ground were four stakes, a piece of thick rope snaking from each one. A picnic table had been pushed to the side of the clearing, where it sat at an odd angle, a thick tree root rising under one of its legs.

Richie stepped past Cassie and looked down. "Shit, did they really tie her down like that?"

Cassie wrapped her arms around herself. "Yes. It was horrible. She cried and cried, until... don't touch that!"

Richie had bent over and was reaching for one of the ropes. He jumped back in alarm. "What?!"

"Sorry. It's just if you touch that, you might get a vision of what happened. I don't think you really want to see what happened to her."

"You mean when that weird dark dude fucked her?"

Cassie winced. "Yes, that's what I mean. I don't think we'll gain any more insight from that."

Richie shrugged, though silently thanked her for warning him. "Whatever. Anyway, we're here, so gimme the book and let's get this over with."

Cassie nodded. She put the bag on the ground and withdrew the book. Her gaze was drawn to the eye on the cover. She stared at it for a long moment, as if mesmerized by it, before handing the book to Richie.

Richie steeled himself as he took the book into his hands, but nothing immediately came to him. He looked down at it and gripped it firmly, then closed his eyes. He stood perfectly still.

Cassie glanced nervously from the book to his face. She wished she knew why she was feeling so anxious. Again, she had the sense that...

(the eye)

 ... the book felt odd to her somehow, that something was subtly out of place.

When Richie did not respond for a few moments, Cassie took a tentative step forward. "Richie?"

To her surprise, he answered her. "Yeah?"

"Are you getting anything?"

"Nope."

"Nothing at all?"

"Just the faint stuff I got before. I can see Jessica a bit. Some other older woman with her. That's about it."

"Are you sure? Here..." She stepped forward and touched Richie's shoulder. "Try it again."

Richie smirked. "Nothin' to try, Cassie. It just comes to me if it's gonna. But it ain't."

"I don't get it. This spot is right on one of the lines of force. It has to be. Otherwise Melissa couldn't have..."

"Yeah, well, maybe it moved or something."

Cassie looked thoughtful. "Or they did the Rite somewhere else along this line. Darn, I wish I had a map with me. Richie, which direction do you think the Li'l Missy Inn would be?"

"Beats me. Back that way, maybe?" Richie gestured vaguely towards the east.

Cassie looked in the opposite direction towards the trees. She stepped to the side of the clearing and peered past them. "I can't see anything. I don't think there's another path up the side of the hill here."

"Shit outta luck, then."

Cassie turned on her heel and stamped her foot in a very Melinda-like gesture. "This is so frustrating! I was sure we'd get something if the Rite was done here."

"Maybe it wasn't."

Cassie looked thoughtful and did not respond.

"So what now?" Richie prompted.

Cassie stepped back into the clearing and pulled out her cell phone. "Call Jason, I guess, and ask him if he has any ideas."

-------

Diane slid her arms under Heather's thighs, pulling her face into Heather's pussy. She lashed her tongue hard against Heather's clit, lips plastered against Heather's folds. She sucked greedily as she licked, her cheeks dimpling.

Heather's pleasure mounted quickly. At first, she wanted to temper Diane's eagerness, but she simply loved feeling all of Diane's face against her mound. It was an expression of real submissiveness, and she was starting to enjoy it.

In fact, she was growing steadily more accepting of her dominant role. If this is what she was really like, then there was little point in trying to deny it. It was fulfilling a need for Diane as well as herself.

"Uhhn ... eager to please ... aren't you?" Heather panted.

Diane whimpered, her hips writhing. She closed her lips around Heather's clit and sucked. Heather made her pussy hang at the edge of climax. It felt as if she had someone's finger pressing into her sensitized clit, unmoving, only one or two strokes away from driving her to orgasm.

"Uhhn! ... oh yeah! ... More!..." Heather moaned.

Diane licked as fast as she could, grunting with the effort, moisture trickling down her thighs.

"Yeah! ... ohhh!... ohhh!!"

Fluid squirted messily from around Diane's face. Diane drew back just enough so she could breathe without inhaling it into her nose. She continued licking until Heather's hips seem to draw into the mattress. Heather let out a second cry, and a smaller burst of fluid wet Diane's lips and tongue.

Heather's breathing grew softer as her climax faded. Diane drew back and staggered to the side. She fell beside Heather, her pussy aching badly, and gave Heather a pleading look.

"You may cum, Diane," Heather said, still a bit breathless.

Diane drew in her breath sharply and she hung at the excruciating edge for another few seconds. When she let go, she uttered soft cries and moans until she was spent.

"Oh wow, Diane," Heather said. "The way you did me was awesome. Oh my God, you do that so well."

Diane smiled. "Thank you." She draped an arm across Heather. She felt a small tingle at the touch. "I think the spells are starting to wear off. It took a few moments for me to cum and touching you is not affecting me quite as much."

Heather smiled slyly and drew Diane into an embrace. Diane moaned softly and quivered. "Sure about that?"

Diane giggled. Her pussy did still feel warm and inviting, but it was not as overwhelming. "It just feels nice now."

Heather kissed Diane deeply. Diane shivered and moaned into Heather's mouth. The heat in her sex spiked, but faded when their lips parted. It was enough to make Diane pant again. Heather grinned. "You going to need some more?"

"I think I'm okay. My pussy aches so much now that I doubt I'm up to any more today."

"So what about the last ones? You had four spells on that piece of paper. We did only the first two."

Diane blushed. "Oh, those ... um..."

"Want me to try the next one on you?"

"Oh, uh, no, that's okay."

Heather's smile turned wicked. "Oh? What does it do?"

Diane's blush deepened. "Um ... well..."

"Ooo, must be a good one. Should I just try it and find out?"

Diane's eyes widened. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Heather smirked and slipped out from under Diane. She quickly bolted out of bed and scooped up the paper. Diane rose to her knees on the bed, eyes wide.

Heather looked down at the paper. "Hmm ... this one's a bit longer, but I think I got it. Okay, here goes..."

"Wait!"

Heather's mouth was already forming the first syllable when Diane jumped off the bed and snatched the paper from her lover. Heather looked at Diane in surprise.

"Sorry," Diane said sheepishly. "It's ... it's an enslavement spell."

Heather stared. "A what??"

"An enslavement spell," Diane said in a slightly husky voice. "It makes me your complete slave for as long as it lasts. I-I'm not sure why I wrote it down, I didn't think I wanted to go that far..."

Heather looked at the paper in Diane's hand. She was very tempted to take the paper back and try it anyway. She quickly quelled this thought, but the excitement it had engendered remained. "All right, Diane. I don't want to do anything you're not ready for. I mean, this is supposed to be fun, right?"

Diane nodded, giving Heather a tiny smile. "And I did have fun. I mean ... it was a little scary, too, how you could do that to me. I think I understand a little now of what went on with the House. It's a bit addicting, isn't it? Using the power? Or submitting to it?"

Heather slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She looked at the paper again and smiled. "Come on, let's get dressed and straighten up in here. Maybe next time we can try it."

-------

"So what do we do now, Jason?" Cassie asked. "We've no idea where to go."

"I'm not sure what to tell you, either," Jason said with a sigh as he stared at an online map of Haven and the surrounding area. "Are you sure that the Rite has to take place on a line of force? Exactly on it?"

"Richie looked up the Rite for me to make sure. Yes, it has to be exactly on one."

"Unless the place where they took Melissa is not really on the line."

"It has to be! How else would she have received that power?"

"We don't know enough about this to be sure. Mara didn't tell us everything, she just..."

Jason trailed off. He stared at the map, narrowing his eyes.

"She just what?" Cassie prompted.

"Wait a second, Cassie, I think I have an idea."

Jason quickly brought up an image editing program and did a screen-grab of the map. He painted a dot roughly in the center of the southern half of the town where the Li'l Missy Inn was located. He then painted a dot to the southwest of the town in the approximate location where Cassie and Richie were at that moment. He then placed a third dot in the northeast where the House had been located.

"You still there, Jason?" Cassie asked after a few minutes had passed.

Jason stared at the dots. "They don't line up."

"What doesn't line up? I don't understand."

Jason drew a straight line from Cassie's location, through the Li'l Missy Inn, and to the right side of the map. It passed well to the south of the House.

"The House was supposed to be on a line of force as well. I think I was assuming it was the same line that Melissa's supposed initiation took place. But it's not. And Mara said that there were several lines that crossed at the Inn."

Cassie considered. "But are you sure that means they go through the Inn, rather than just come together there?"

"I admit, it's a shot in the dark, but ... here, let me try this..."

Jason drew another line, this time starting at the House, passing through the Inn, and to the left side of the map. It passed to the south of Cassie's location.

"The campgrounds," Jason said. "That might be it."

"What campgrounds, Jason?"

"It's just up in the foothills. You'd have to backtrack to the main road out of town and take it further up into the high country. If these lines of force do cut straight through, then the line where the House sat would come out the other side of town through that area. It's secluded enough, certainly. Especially in the off-season, someone could easily hold some sort of ceremony up there without anyone noticing. That might be where the Rite took place."

"Wait, yes, I know what you're talking about now!" Cassie said excitedly. "Diane mentioned it to me the other day. Her family goes there every summer. It's ... oh no..."

"What?"

Cassie sighed despondently. "Jason, there's no way I can get Harry to take us up there. The campground is closed for the season. It took a bit of convincing just to get him to take me to the picnic area."

Jason frowned and ran his hand through his hair. "Dammit. We need to see this thing."

"Is it really that important, Jason?"

"Yes. I want to know what happens after someone receives the power from that node. Just in case we can't stop Melissa."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Don't say that, Jason," she said, her voice quavering. "She can't be allowed to..."

"I know, I know. But I want to know how bad it could be. You said Susan's mother said that something came out of that node. I want to know what it is. It might give us some useful information, since that's what we seem to have in short supply right now."

Cassie swallowed and shuddered. "O-okay. But I can't get us there."

Jason's mind raced. "Did Diane mention if there was a bike trail to the campgrounds?"

"Yes, there is. She said her family tried biking up there once, but it wasn't easy. The road is pretty steep in a few places. And it took her two hours."

"Then I guess Richie and I will be truant tomorrow."

Cassie gasped. "Oh my..."

Jason never thought he would hear himself talk about skipping school. Whenever he came down with a cold, he would try to fake not being sick to ensure his mother would not keep him home. "This is too important, Cassie. I have to know."

"What about Richie? Don't you need to ask..."

"You seriously think he'll pass up a chance to skip class?"

Cassie looked at Richie. "What?" Richie called out.

"I see your point," Cassie said. "All right, we'll head out of here. Do you want me to stop by your house and give you the book?"

"No, keep it and bring it in tomorrow. Probably better that none of us has it for longer than a day at a time."

Cassie nodded. She shivered as she remembered her promise to Ned.

"I have to go, Cassie, I have to help get the table set for dinner," Jason said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Jason, bye."

"Bye."

Cassie put her phone away just as Richie came up to her. "What's up?"

"Here, let me put that away first," Cassie said, reaching for the book. Having it out in the open was making her very nervous. Richie relinquished the book, and Cassie slipped it back into the plastic bag and left it on the ground. "Jason wants you to go with him to the campground up in the foothills tomorrow, but you'll have to skip school to do it."

Richie smirked. "Cool."

Cassie sighed. "Yes, he thought you would say that. Come on, let's get back to town."

-------

Melissa was holed up in her room, pacing the floor in frustration.

What was going on? What was Richie trying to do? And why were they standing at the spot that Melissa had been "initiated?"

Cassie already knew what had happened to Melissa and had told the others. But this time it was as if she were expecting Richie to tell her something else? Principal Bendon had mentioned that Richie might have some sort of power like the others, but had no idea what it was. Did this have something to do with it? What were they trying to discover?

To add to her frustration, Cassie had put the book away before she could explain some of the odd things she had said in her phone conversation. All Melissa could glean was that they now thought the campgrounds were important in some way. She had no idea why. She had never been there herself.

Melissa intended to visit Susan's house early the next morning. She wanted to talk to Susan's father and get him to build the "soul receptacle" for her. It was nothing more complex than a little wooden box. But the box had to be built in a specific way, and it had to be of a specific type of wood. Susan's father was much more suited for the task.

Perhaps she would talk to Susan's mother and see if she knew anything of what Cassie and Richie were doing.

You need to silence her.

Melissa felt a twinge of anxiety at the sound of the pendant's "voice" in her head. "I'll try," she whispered.

You must do it. She cannot be allowed to interfere.

"I know! She won't. I'll make sure she doesn't. Somehow."

-------

Cassie lay on her belly on the bed, staring at the open book before her, her arms an inverted "V" propping up her head. Her eyes scanned the description of the spell for perhaps the sixth time, as if she were looking for some hidden message.

Lay bare thy maiden's desires,  the spell read, and let her be consumed by them. She shalt not deny thee, but revel in thy lust for her. Thy wants shall be hers.

Cassie sighed. This was the most innocuous of all of them. It was the one that implied the least amount of enslavement. Yet even this required her to put a great deal of trust in Ned. Under this spell, she would likely perform whatever sexual act Ned wanted. She had no idea if he were into any particular kind of kink that she might not be ready to try.

Cassie shivered. Her thoughts were sending another tingle through her nether regions. She was distracted enough that she flinched when her cell phone went off. She sat up and grabbed it from her night table. "Hello?"

"Heya, babe," came Ned's voice at the other end.

Cassie smiled weakly. "Hi, Ned." She glanced down at the spell and hesitated. She didn't want to bring that up as the first topic of conversation. It didn't feel right to her.

Ned fortunately saved her from the awkward moment. "So how'd it go with Richie? Any startlin' revelations?"

"No, we didn't get anything. Nothing at all."

"Aw, man, I'm sorry. That sucks."

"Well, we have another lead..." She explained what she had discussed with Jason.

"Huh? Did I just hear ya right or do I need to get the wax cleaned outta my ears?"

"You mean about Jason and Richie skipping school tomorrow? No, you heard right. I don't know how they're going to pull it off, Ned. They can't call in sick, the school always does a follow-up phone call later in the day to the parents."

Ned snorted. "Knowin' our fearless geek leader, he's prolly gonna hack into the school computer or sumthin'."

"Oh dear, I hope not. I keep worrying he's going to get caught some day."

"Nah, the school's pretty clueless about that sorta thing. Jason knows what he's doin'."

Cassie shook her head. She hated all this duplicity that the Harbingers needed to perpetrate. It was frustrating, sometimes, being only a teenager. They were required to act like adults without access to the same resources that adults enjoyed.

"So, um ... didya have time to, uh, look up sumthin' for me?" Ned asked tentatively.

Cassie's skin flushed. She glanced down at the book. "Um ... I think I found something, yes. I'm ... I'm not sure how potent it is."

"I was just lookin' fer sumthin' that would make ya less nervous."

"Well, the problem is that it's never that simple with this book. Here, listen..." Cassie read the description aloud.

There was a pause at the other end. "Huh," Ned finally said.

"This is the best I could find."

"It, uh, sounds like it kinda gives me a lot of power, don't it?"

Cassie blushed. "Yes, it does," she said in a small voice.

"Yeah ... Um, okay ... well, if ya don't wanna do it..."

"No, Ned, I promised you I would find something, and I did. I'm willing to try it. But the only problem now is Harry."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, him," Ned said, as if he had somehow forgotten about Cassie's ubiquitous driver. "Well, why don't we jus' use the meeting house like everyone else?"

"I really didn't feel right about any of us using it like that, to be honest."

"Yeah, but we don't really have anywhere else ta go. Doin' it that one time at my place ... well, almost doin' it ... was a fluke."

Cassie sighed. "I guess you're right. I just didn't want to run into any of the others."

"Afraid we'll make 'em jealous?"

Cassie smiled and giggled softly.

"So whaddaya say, babe?"

Cassie took a slow, deep breath. Her pussy was already damp. She squirmed and let her breath go as a sultry sigh. "Let's do it tomorrow afternoon after school."

"Sweet. I'll be there with bells on. Well, ya can take 'em off if they get too loud when we're doin' it."

Cassie giggled. "You are such a nut."

Ned chuckled. "I'll see ya tomorrow, babe."

"Okay. See you."

Cassie hung up the phone. She drew in another deep breath. She reached under her panties and lightly stroked herself, letting her breath go as a lustful sigh.



-------

Chapter 24


Jason was a bit bleary-eyed the next morning. He had been up until nearly one in the morning trying to get into Marcie Fuller's calendar manager. Even after breaking into her account, he had to figure out what files he needed to modify. She was not exactly the most organized person in the world.

His efforts appeared to pay off. Now when he logged into the account, he saw that it already had a note entered by Marcie not five minutes before from the mother of a student claiming her son had the flu.

This confirmed he had the right file, but now he was concerned Marcie would notice two new entries popping up out of nowhere. He had little choice but to take the chance.

He added a note for himself, indicating that he had a cold. Then he added one for Richie, claiming an earache. He hoped to get to a computer before the afternoon check call, delete the entries, and pray that Marcie did not notice. She had never been that bright to begin with, and Jason did not believe that being permanently enslaved to Laura Bendon had helped it much.

Now he had to deal with his mother.

"Jason! The bus will be here soon!" his mother called out from downstairs, as if on cue.

"Coming!" He logged off his computer and bolted for the door, grabbing his backpack and slinging it over one shoulder without slowing down. He was careful to take the stairs one step at a time and not rush.

Audrey wore the same look of mild concern that she had been exhibiting for the past few days. Jason had tried not to worry about it.

"Mom, I was thinking of taking my bike to school today," Jason said.

Audrey looked surprised. "Really?"

Jason nodded as he stepped off the stairs. "Just thought it would be nice to get away from the other kids."

He hoped this would work. His mother already knew he used to have difficulties on the bus. Though now his mother tilted her head and gave him an appraising look. Jason recognized it and inwardly sighed.

"Is everything okay at school, Jason?" she asked.

Jason recognized that tone as well. It meant that she already knew or had heard something, and denying it was only going to make her suspicious. So he had to play up to it. "Um, well ... it's not that bad. I've just been getting teased a lot lately by the other kids. More so than usual, I mean, and I just want a break from it."

Audrey folded her arms and pursed her lips slightly. "Jason, I'm a little worried about you."

"Um, why's that, Mom?"

"Before I answer that, I want you to tell me what the others are teasing you about."

"The usual stuff. Being the class nerd, that sort of thing."

Audrey looked expectantly at him.

Yeah, she knows something. Shit. "And ... and they tease me about the girls I've been going with," he said, his cheeks pink. "I guess they're jealous or something."

Audrey took a deep breath and let it go. "Jason, there have been some awful rumors circulating about you. I've been hearing it from some of the other parents. Are you sure there's nothing else you need to tell me?"

Jason tried to look confused. "Rumors? What rumors? And no, there's nothing else to tell you."

Audrey's lips drew to a thin line. "I hope there's nothing else, Jason. I hope you understand that there are certain things you are just too young to think about doing."

Jason gave her his best bewildered look. "Huh?"

"You're too young to think about ... about taking a relationship too far. Personally I think that sort of thing should wait until marriage, but..."

Jason looked alarmed. "Is that what you heard? That I've been having sex?" His voice quavered as he spoke. "Jeez, Mom, no offense, but give me a little more credit than that. I don't want to come down with something awful or get some girl pregnant. Wow. I don't know who started that fantastic rumor but..."

"Well, never mind that," Audrey said, looking relieved. "It's enough to know you're being smart about it."

Jason nodded and tried to smile. He hated having to deceive her like this. He appreciated her concern for his well-being. He wished he could explain things to her and make her understand, but that was beyond his abilities.

Audrey smiled and ruffled his hair. "All right, go ahead and bike to school. But stay at the bus stop long enough to tell the driver you won't be on that morning so I don't get a call later."

"Sure thing, Mom," Jason said, his smile more genuine now. "See you later."

-------

"Hmm..." Bill Radson mused as he put on his jacket.

"Is this something you can do for me, Mr. Radson?" Melissa asked.

"Oh, yes, I can do it." He smiled and chuckled. "Considering the big projects I work on all day, it would be a nice change of pace to do something small like that."

"Would you have trouble obtaining the wood?"

"We have some at the construction site for trimming and finishing work. I could easily lift some from the waste pile. It would go to recycling anyway."

Melissa smiled. "Wonderful, Mr. Radson. I was worried you wouldn't be able to find it."

"It is unusual, yes, but I can swing it. Mind you, I won't be able to work on it until this evening."

"Do you think you could finish it tonight?" Melissa asked hopefully.

"Hmm. Not sure about that. Delicate work."

"I really would appreciate it if you could finish it tonight."

"Well, I'll try, but..."

Melissa mentally pushed a bit more. "I really need you to do it tonight."

Bill paused. He slowly nodded. "Yes, of course. I'll get that done for you tonight, Melissa. You can pick it up tomorrow morning."

Melissa smiled broadly. "Thank you, Mr. Radson, you've been a big help."

Bill smiled in return. He swept his gaze around the room. "Now, where did Debby and Susan go?"

"They're busy in the kitchen, Mr. Radson. I'll tell them you left."

"Thank you. Well, have a nice day at school." Bill tipped his hardhat to her and left.

Melissa headed into the kitchen. Soft moans greeted her as she entered. She grinned at her two charges, who sat in adjacent chairs, each with her hand down the other's panties.

"I'd make you do more, but Susan has to get to school," Melissa said. "Now make each other cum quickly."

Their hands moved faster, causing each of them to squirm and pant. First Debby then Susan cried out softly in orgasm.

"Susan, wait for me at the door. We'll go to school together. I know you'll love that."

Susan nodded silently, her eyes glazed and listless. She withdrew her hand from her mother's sex and left the room without a backwards glance.

"You're breaking her," Debby said, her eyes glistening. "Susan is so withdrawn now. She barely says a word to anyone when you're not around."

"Her mouth is being put to better uses," Melissa said casually as she took a seat across the table from Debby. "You don't seem to mind."

Melissa applied her will. Debby shuddered and her cheeks reddened. "Yes, I love it when she eats me out until I cum so hard I scream." She whimpered and closed her eyes. "S-stop making me say these things..."

"I could make it worse for you, Mrs. Radson. A lot worse."

Debby shuddered. She yanked her jeans and panties down her legs and masturbated in a wild frenzy.

"I could make you do that all day. I could make you want to do it all day. Would you like to be addicted to frigging yourself? Ten times a day? Twenty? Or you just simply have to do it every waking moment?"

"Uhhn ... n-no ... p-please, Melissa... !"

Wet sounds filled the room. Melissa pushed harder. Debby uttered a desperate cry as she felt the Darkness closing in on her, suffocating what was left of her free will. She struggled against it, but the pressure against her mental shield only increased.

Each time Melissa nudged a little harder, that remaining bit of will pushed back. She could sense it quivering before her. It could not hold out indefinitely. Yet she sensed her link to Brad already growing weaker. He would slip from her control if she kept this up.

Melissa pushed again. Debby frantically finger-fucked herself. It was becoming an all-consuming need. She was at the edge of a chasm filled with inky black. If she slid into it, she would fall and never come back out. She dug in her heels and resisted with everything she had left.

Melissa's control over Brad was tenuous now. She could already sense some bewilderment on his part as to what he had been doing for the past few days. She was losing him.

You will not lose him if you put everything into one push.

Melissa panted and pushed a little harder. Debby's resistance trembled, but refused to yield. The essence that made her Debby Radson still lay just barely out of Melissa's reach.

Everything. All your power. One quick burst.

Melissa swallowed. She could feel it. Energy throbbed and strained, as if eager to be unleashed. One second was all it would take, and it would be over. Debby would be neutralized. She would be practically mindless.

You will put the thoughts in her head that she needs to survive. But then discard her. She is unimportant.

Melissa clenched her teeth. One push. She could do it. She felt the power waiting to be used. Mindless. Debby would be utterly broken. Mindless. She would be better off dead.

Then arrange that instead if you wish.

Melissa uttered a tiny gasp. She pulled back, mentally and physically. Debby felt the intense pressure vanish, and the tendrils of Darkness snap back. Her hand moved at a more sedate pace. She cried out softly in orgasm, moaning in distress at the deep ache in her pussy.

Melissa took a deep breath and let it go. Her eyes burned as she gazed at Debby again. "You see? I could have destroyed you just now. I could have left you nothing more than a puppet. A little wind-up toy. A husk. Don't cross me. Don't ever cross me. Don't even fucking think about crossing me!"

Melissa shot out of her chair and burst out of the room. In her anger, she lashed out at Susan mentally and made her collapse to the floor in a mind-numbing orgasm.

Melissa took a few more deep breaths to calm herself. She eased off Susan. "Get up, you look pathetic."

Susan rose slowly to her feet, still panting.

"After school, I want you and Ann to go to that adult shop on Oak Street," Melissa said. "Buy the biggest dildo they have. Then go home and take turns fucking yourselves senseless with it."

Susan shuddered. "Yes, Melissa," she said softly. She trembled as she already grew horny just thinking about it.

"Now, come on. And try not to moan at every little orgasm you get along the way."

Melissa had to keep her anger engaged. It was the only way she could drown out the pendant. It was not speaking to her directly, but she could sense its presence in her head. And it was not pleased with her.

It was not pleased at all.

-------

Diane stepped off the school bus just as another pulled in behind it. She smiled faintly and felt a tingle in her sex as she drifted in that direction, waiting for Heather to emerge.

It had been a long time since Diane could remember herself feeling this happy. She had finally consummated her relationship with Heather and didn't need to hide it from anyone. She didn't even care about the mocking sniggers and vicious gossip that she had heard around her through the bus ride.

Heather saw Diane and waved. Diane rushed over to her lover. "Hi, Heather, did you ... oh!"

Heather leaned in and kissed Diane on the mouth. Diane uttered a slow sigh through her nose. The kiss did not last long, but it was tender and affectionate. It left Diane with a feeling of pleasant warmth over her body despite the chill air.

"Ugh. Are you two going to suck face like that every morning now?" Melinda piped, wrinkling her nose.

Diane smirked. "Not like you don't know what it's like to do another girl, right?"

Melinda blushed. "Oh, shut up. For your information, we've hardly done anything since you two got it on. Not much, anyway."

"I just make her touch herself when she's trying to get dressed," Heather said with a giggle.

"Yeah, and you almost made us miss the bus, you bubblehead!"

Heather and Diane laughed. To Diane, it was like old times again.

"I just wish you two hadn't done it in front of everyone the other day. I'm getting teased because of it," Melinda said sullenly.

"Not like I had a choice, runt," said Heather. "And I don't really care. You'll just have to deal."

"Or maybe I can help."

The voice caught them all by surprise, but Melinda recovered first. "Go fuck yourself, Brad, you big turd," she hissed.

Brad cast a disdainful look at her. "Sorry, I don't listen to little kids."

"Little kid?!" Melinda screeched. "Listen, you fuckhead, I... !"

"Melinda, hush," said Heather. "Let me handle this."

"Ooo, you're gonna handle me?" Brad said with a smarmy grin. "I got something I want ya to handle, babe."

Heather smiled coldly. "Better 'handle' that yourself, because that's the closest you're going to get to me touching it."

"Yeah? Maybe I can change your mind."

"Don't you dare!" Melinda cried. "You do that, and I'll see it for sure! You can't get away with anything that the rest of us won't know about!"

"She's right, Brad," Diane said, feeling a little bolder with Heather next to her. "They can see if you mess with Heather."

Brad turned to Diane. "Then maybe I should check you out, instead."

Diane's eyes widened, and her foot moved as if to back up a step.

"In case your tiny little brain hasn't figured it out yet, Brad, Diane's not into guys," Heather said loftily.

"Oh yeah? Betcha I could change that. Would you like that, Diane, huh?"

Diane suddenly drew in her breath sharply as another wave of heat passed over her. She let it go as a ragged sigh, her pussy tingly and hot. She closed her eyes and shook her head violently as an image of herself humping his cock filled her head.

Brad smirked. "Yeah, that'll feel good, huh? That'll be better than anything Heather could stick in there."

Diane moaned and shivered, partially out of forced arousal, partially from utter revulsion. Each stroke of a phantom cock in her mind's eye increased her desire and disgust in equal measure.

Heather stepped between Diane and Brad. "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

"Diane? Are you all right?" Melinda called out.

"N-no ... please, stop..." Diane moaned as she staggered against Melinda, panting softly. She shuddered as her pussy throbbed.

Brad grinned. "Yeah, I can do it for you, Diane. Just you and me. I'll show you what you're missing out on when..."

"Ned, no!!" came a sudden shout behind them.

The next moment, Brad was nearly knocked off his feet. He staggered to the side, twisting his body to avoid falling, but just barely. He spun around and glared at his attacker.

"Ya hard o'hearin', dude?" said an red-faced Ned, his hands clenched, his eyes narrowed to angry slits. "Or ya jus' got bonked in the head with the football to many times? Lady said leave her alone."

Diane took advantage of the distraction. Breaking Brad's concentration had freed her from his influence. She swallowed and staggered away, trying to ignore the lingering ache from her forced orgasm.

Heather came up to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. "You okay?"

Diane nodded, still catching her breath. "I'm fine now. Thank you."

Cassie ran up to them and clutched at Ned's arm. "Ned, please, he'll hurt you!"

Brad snickered. "Ooo, he'll hurt you!" he cried in a mocking falsetto before he dissolved into laughter. He made a come-on gesture to Ned. "Fine. Go ahead, take a swing at me. You pussy. You freak."

Ned clenched his teeth and shook with rage. His muscles tensed. Cassie tightened her hold on his arm. "Dude, I grew up in Bed-Stuy in New York. Ya don't know what yer messin' with. An' ... mebbe I don't wanna see ya hurt that bad."

Brad smirked. "Awful sweet of you, nosy. But then maybe I want to see you hurt."

"AHEM."

Brad snapped his head around and froze. Ned just smirked.

"Well, Mr. Weston?" said Mr. Seeger. "Care to explain that little threat you just made?"

"Brad started it this time!" Melinda cried. "He did! He... !"

"Enough, Miss Sovert. I am very well aware of what happened." He turned back to Brad. "I'm waiting, Mr. Weston."

"Uh ... um, well..."

"Yes, I see you are as eloquent as always."

Melinda had to clamp her hand over her mouth to avoid laughing.

"This time you have no excuse. You made a very clear and overt threat. Your detention is extended to two weeks."

Brad's mouth dropped open. "What?!"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Weston?"

"What about the No ... Ned? He shoved me!"

Seeger looked at Ned. Ned cracked a tiny smile and tipped an imaginary hat at him. Seeger's jaw tightened. "I saw no such thing."

Brad fumed silently. Cassie glanced curiously at Seeger.

"No more argument from you. Get to class. That goes for all of you." Seeger turned on his heel and left. Brad glared at the others before he headed away as well.

"Well, that takes care of that bag of hot air," Ned said with a grin. "All in a day's work for... mmph!"

Cassie had thrown her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips.

Ned just stared at her when she broke off. "Um ... wow ... I, uh ... what was that for?"

"For not trying to fight him," Cassie said. "I prefer you intact."

"What is this, Haven kiss-in-public day? Jeez!" Melinda piped.

"Sounds good to me," Ned said, still grinning. Cassie giggled.

"We lucked out," Diane said. "Seeger could've given you detention, Ned, and we'd really be screwed having another member down."

"I don't know about that, Diane," said Cassie. "I don't think it was luck. I saw Seeger while I was running over to you. He was looking right at you, Ned. He did see you push him."

Ned blinked. "He did? Why ain't I gonna serve time with Brad then?"

"Does it matter?" Melinda said. "Maybe he finally figured out Brad's a total dick."

"Anyway, we better get to class," Cassie said.

"Um, you all go on," Heather said. "I want to talk to Diane for a moment."

Melinda rolled her eyes and muttered something about making out as she followed Ned and Cassie inside.

Heather turned to Diane and smiled. "So ... are you still up to this afternoon?"

"Huh? Oh yes. Yes, of course."

"Did you bring the paper again with the spells on it?" Heather asked in a husky voice.

"I did. I-I have it my pocket."

"Any new spells you want me to try on you?"

"There w-was only one more. The ... the enslavement spell..."

"Oh? I thought there were two incantations left."

"Yes, but ... but that last one is different, it ... it sort of makes other spells more permanent."

Heather looked surprised. "Permanent? You want me to control your pussy permanently?"

Diane shivered. "I-I don't know why I wrote that one down, honestly, but ... um..."

"But what?"

Diane hesitated, then shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important."

Heather smiled. "Okay, then, we'll meet after school. This is going to be a lot of fun."

Diane slowly smiled.

-------

Jason met Cassie's limo a short distance from his neighborhood and got the book from her. He then took a circuitous route towards the foothills road, trying to avoid being seen by anyone that might know his mother. He saw Richie lounging against the railing along the side of a short bridge that forded a dry stream bed.

"'bout time you got here," Richie grumbled.

Jason dismounted from his bike. "I sort of took the long way to get here. You should have as well."

Richie shrugged.

"You're not afraid of getting caught?"

Richie snorted. "Like my Mom is really gonna care."

The usual acid sting to his voice when he spoke about his mother was absent. His tone was more one of resignation than anything else. Jason missed this, and sighed in exasperation. "I really wish you'd stop to think for once."

"Look, if you're just gonna get on my case the whole time, I'm gonna go home, 'kay?"

He turned away. Jason grabbed his arm. Richie spun around and was about to yank his arm viciously from Jason's grip when he saw the contrite look in Jason's face.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Jason said, letting go of Richie's arm.

Richie's expression softened. "Whatever. I mean ... yeah, no prob."

Jason nodded once. "Anyway, we should get started. This is going to be a bit of a hike. I looked on a trails map and I think Cassie misheard Diane, or her family is in exceptionally good shape. This is more like a three..."

"I've given her up."

Jason stopped, looking confused. "Given up ... oh ... Miss Davis, you mean?"

"Yeah, her. Cold turkey. We're done. That satisfy you?"

Richie couldn't help but let that last acerbic comment slip out. He regretted it as soon as he had said it, but he didn't try to apologize for it.

Jason gave Richie a neutral look. "It wasn't about satisfying me. It..."

"I know, I know. Don't go into again, 'kay? I did it cuz I don't wanna fuck up her life anymore than I already did."

"Than you already did? What do you mean by... ?"

"Never mind. Forget it. Just ... something I saw. Something I didn't like."

Jason understood. He was very curious what it was Richie had seen in Miss Davis' past, but he would not push it. The point was that Richie had done it for the right reason, and not just to get in good with Jason or the others.

But he had trouble letting go. That betrayal to Nyssa still stung like a wound that wouldn't close. He didn't think anything could heal that.

"Come on, let's get going," Jason said.

The two of them mounted their bikes and pedaled down the road leading west out of town.

-------

"Marcie."

Marcie Fuller appeared at the door to Laura Bendon's office and gave her Mistress a languid gaze. "Yes, Miss Bendon?"

Laura gestured towards her computer. On the monitor was an email from Marcie titled "Absentee and Truancy Report for Oct 11 2005."

Marcie's dark and slightly glazed eyes glanced at the screen. "Yes, I sent you that earlier. Is there something wrong with it?" Her voice betrayed a genuine fear that she had somehow displeased her Mistress.

"I see Jason Conner and Richie Gardner's names on this list."

"Yes, that's correct, Miss Bendon."

Laura considered for a moment. "Do you specifically remember receiving a call from either of their parents?"

Marcie's eyes widened. "Come to think of it, Miss Bendon, no, I don't recall that. That's a bit strange, isn't it?"

Laura leaned back in her chair. Marcie was a bit scatterbrained. Enslaving her had no effect, either for better or for worse. Even offering her additional pleasures when she properly remembered things had not helped.

Normally, Laura would not have even questioned it. But where it was two of the Harbingers, that made it rather suspicious.

"Should I call their parents, Miss Bendon?" Marcie asked, anxious for her Mistress to give her an order.

"No, not yet. But I wish Melissa Hendell to be sent to my office after her current class is over."

Marcie sighed softly as pleasure swept over her. "Mmm ... right away, Miss Bendon..."

-------

"Fuck ... gotta ... I gotta stop..." Richie breathed.

"'s'okay," Jason panted in response. "We're here."

Both their bicycles staggered to a stop at the crossing gate lowered across the road into the campgrounds. Richie reached out a trembling hand to steady himself. Jason dismounted, then nearly fell to the ground when his weak and aching legs threatened to give out from under him.

Jason stumbled to a post and leaned against it, panting so hard in the cool air that his throat hurt. Despite the chill, the morning sun against their jackets had warmed them just enough so that both were sweaty from the effort.

Still breathing hard, Jason yanked down the zipper of his jacket and welcomed the cold breeze against his shirt. He looked at his watch. "Two ... t-two and a half..." he croaked. "Better ... than I thought ... we'd do..."

Richie got off his bike, letting it fall to the dirt. He draped himself over the gate like a rag doll. "Oh man ... felt like fucking two days..."

Jason looked at his bike, where the bag with the book hung from one handle. Trying to steer the bike with that weight had been a challenge. "S-sorry. But this is the only place it could be."

Richie groaned and straightened up. He looked past the gate. Parts of the road were obscured with patches of snow. Much of what was uncovered was muddy. "Man, it's a fuckin' mess in there," he muttered.

Jason finally caught his breath and came alongside Richie. "Might be easier to go on foot."

"Yeah, but how far, huh?"

"I don't know. I think you're just going to have to keep walking while holding the book."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Gimme the book, then."

Jason went to his bike and lifted the bag from the handle. He took out the book and handed it to Richie.

Richie grasped it firmly in his hands. Suddenly it was as if Jason were racing away from him, dissolving into a mist. The world spun around his head...

-------



She stood upon a heavily rutted road that was still damaged from the soaking rains of the previous season, surveying the land around her with an imperious gaze. She held the book reverently in one arm, cradled against her like a pampered pet. She ignored the wind as it wrapped her simple robes around her tall and statuesque body.

When the wind fell, so did the rustle of the leaves, and thus gave rise to a softer sound.

Whimpers of both pleasure and fear drifted to her ears, but she paid them little heed. Behind her, four teenage girls stood in a row. They were naked, their bodies shivering both from the cool night breeze and the soft pleasure that suffused their loins to keep them quiet and content.

And now another figure stood among the four. It was the black-haired Jessica, wearing robes similar to those of the older woman. Her eyes betrayed sympathy and worry as they beheld the teenage girls' plight. She draped an arm around one of them as if in comfort before approaching the older woman.

"Do you feel it, Jessica?" the older woman asked, an eagerness in her voice.

"I do, Agatha," said Jessica placidly. "I am rather astonished I can feel it this strongly."

"It is the most powerful of the lines that run under Haven. It is the perfect location. We shall..."

"Agatha, I'm worried."

The woman turned and regarded Jessica with a lofty gaze. "Indeed?"

Jessica glanced at the four teenagers. Agatha did as well. A smile curled her lips. All four suddenly moaned deeply and shuddered, two falling to their knees as strong orgasms overtook all of them.

Jessica took a deep breath, her eyes troubled. "I fear we might hurt them. That they can't take the power that will be flowing through them."

Agatha's expression did not change in the slightest. She held out a hand. "The receptacle?"

Jessica sighed and reached into her robes. She handed Agatha a small wooden box with a tiny metal clasp.

"You have prepared this correctly?"

"Yes, Agatha. I followed the directions in the Rite to the letter."

"Then you worry over nothing. Nothing physical happens to the body, Jessica, I have told you that over and over. They will be mere puppets. Husks. Emptied of mind and volition."

"Until you restore their souls to them."

There had been a slight inquisitive tone to Jessica's voice. Agatha either did not hear it, or chose to ignore it. She turned away. "We continue onward. It is not far from here."

"Yes, Agatha."

Jessica quietly shepherded the girls after her mentor.



-------

"Richie? Richie!"

Richie blinked and staggered as reality settled around him once more. "Whoa ... what a trip..."

"What happened? Did you see something?"

"Oh yeah, man. Shit, that was freaky." Richie conveyed to Jason what he had seen.

"That must have been her, the one I read about," Jason explained. "Agatha Kessru, the one the police wanted to question about the disappearance of those girls. And those four were probably them."

"Dunno what she had planned for 'em, dude, but it looked kinda kinky."

Jason sensed the amusement in Richie's voice and frowned deeply. "This isn't funny, okay? It's not your damn private peep show. Those four are ... were ... going to be used in that Rite of Power. Cassie told you how terrible that..."

"Hey, fine, okay! Jesus Christ, I know all that! I can't help it if I like lookin' at naked chicks. It's in the past, man. Chill."

The confidence in his voice wavered, but he wouldn't back down. He was growing tired of Jason harping on everything he said.

Jason sighed. "Sorry. All right, at least we know we're on the right track. Let's lock up the bikes and keep moving. If we're lucky we won't run into a ranger."

-------

Melissa frowned.

"What is it?" Laura asked.

"Dammit. I lost it. For a few minutes I couldn't see anything."

"He put the book down?"

Melissa shook her head. "Now they're talking about something Richie saw. Shit, what the hell did he see? I didn't see it! It was like it just totally blanked out!"

Laura leaned back in her chair. "What are they saying now?"

"They're talking about the Rite, but like it was in the past. Like..."

"Like the one that Mrs. Radson claimed happened?"

Melissa stared at Laura. "What are you talking about?"

Laura steepled her fingers. "I believe we have just discovered Richie's power."

Melissa looked confused.

"He can see into the past, Miss Hendell," Laura said patiently. "It makes sense. Miss Kendall, the present. Miss Sovert, the future. And now Mr. Gardner, the past. It is little wonder that they have learned so much."

"They have not learned about the link with the pendant!" Melissa shouted. "There's no way they could know!"

Laura stood up. "Nevertheless, Miss Hendell, you should consider speeding up your plans. Every moment that passes now means they get closer to the truth. If I am correctly surmising what Richie and Jason are doing, they are attempting to witness the last time the Rite was performed."

"So what? What difference does..."

"Because they will know that the Rite was once stopped."

Melissa fell silent. She gripped the pendant in her fingers, briefly cutting off its emerald light.

"Miss Hendell, do you have Mrs. Radson under your control? And I mean tight control?"

"I have her under as much control as I can. I need power to finish what I started with Heather. I was going to do that today until you interrupted me!"

Laura gave her a dubious look. "And was that the thinking behind that clumsy attempt with Mr. Weston earlier?"

"I told you, I pushed Diane into finding that spell that would enslave her. And then the one that would make it permanent. What I did with Brad today was so I could get into Diane's head again and reduce some of her own inhibitions a little more."

Laura considered, then nodded for Melissa to continue.

"All I have to do now is give Heather another push. Then Heather will have Diane under her complete control. Then all I need to do is take Heather. That way I can keep control over Susan's mother until the last possible moment. Then just when I start the Rite I can assert complete control over Diane and give up the others, since I won't need them anymore."

"And if you push that hard on Heather, the other Harbingers will see it."

Melissa smiled wickedly. "Not if I take out their most sensitive one long enough to get done what I need to do with Heather and Diane. I'll have to give up Brad so I have enough power, but I won't need him anymore."

"Very well. What about the receptacle?"

"It will be finished tonight. I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow morning."

"I strongly suggest you perform the Rite at the earliest opportunity, Miss Hendell. Do not wait much longer. Do not give the Harbingers time to figure anything out."

"But why am I not seeing what Richie is seeing?" Melissa cried, clenching her fists.

"It doesn't matter. Stop being distracted by that. Focus on what you need to do."

Melissa took a deep breath to calm her anger. She hated being told what to do. She was supposed to be the one in control, but it seemed as if other people were calling the shots. Laura was making sense, but she resented it just the same. "Fine. Let me go back to class and work on Heather through Brad. I need all the concentration I can get to pull this off right."

Laura nodded. "Very well. And I suggest you tuck that pendant into your blouse, unless you want everyone to wonder if you are making some foolish fashion statement."

Melissa opened her hand. The pendant was still glowing as it maintained its link to the book. She tucked it under her blouse, but when that left a dull green glow against the fabric, she slipped it into her bra instead.

"Now get back to class," Laura said. She smiled. "While I make a little bit of trouble for Mr. Conner and Mr. Gardner."

-------

"Wait," Richie said.

Jason came to a stop. They had abandoned the hopelessly muddy road for the dead grass along the side, which provided better footing. A line of firs and lodgepoles towered over them, the high branches rustling in a constant, soft cacophony in the breeze. It was the only sound to be heard, a quiet that Jason found to be a little eerie.

Richie stood silently with the book gripped in his hands, his eyes closed. "I'm seein' something."

"Where?"

Richie's brow scrunched in thought. He opened his eyes and looked towards the trees. "They turned that way and sorta disappeared."

Jason looked around, taking a few steps one direction down the line of trees, then the other. He finally stepped forward and pointed. "There. I see a path. Probably a nature trail. It's kind of steep."

Richie snorted. "When's that stopped us, huh? Least it's downhill. C'mon, let's go, this frickin' book is heavy."

Jason fell into step behind Richie and clasped his shoulder.

Richie stopped and turned. "What?"

"I want to make sure that if it starts, I get pulled in with you. I want to see this for myself."

Richie shrugged. "Whatever. Sure you don't just wanna see the naked girls?"

Jason frowned.

"Sorry. Jeez, chill out, dude."

Richie quickly started down the path before his false bravado failed him. The chill of the high-altitude air clutched at them as the sun was reduced to dappled patterns on the ground.

Richie cursed as he nearly tripped over a fallen branch, then again as he fell against a spruce and felt the needles go through his shirt sleeve. "Fuck, I hate nature," Richie grumbled as he stomped down the path.

"Look, I think there's a clearing up ahead," said Jason.

They picked their way down a final sharp decline before emerging into the open...

 ... And the two of them blinked in surprise when it abruptly became night.

Agatha stepped to one end of the clearing and set down her gas lantern. She thrust an arm towards the other end. "Put yours there, and the third along the line."

Jessica stepped away from the four girls, the two lanterns in her hands swinging gently as she walked. She silently placed one lantern at the other end of the clearing, then started towards Richie and Jason.

Jason's eyes widened. He pulled Richie out of the way, although he was already starting to move. "Get off, I'm comin'," Richie said in irritation.

"Sorry," Jason said as Jessica put the lantern in the spot where they stood not a second ago. "I'm not sure what would happen if I touched..."

"Um ... nothing happens. Just passes through you. You can't do nothin' with no one in these things." He looked wistfully at the four naked teens.

Jason also looked, but more in sympathy than anything else.

The four girls were standing in an uneven line, trembling and whimpering. Even in the dim light, it was clear they were kept in a constant state of intense sexual arousal. Their thighs glistened, new moisture occasionally tricking down when one of them orgasmed.

Agatha stood at a point between the two end lanterns and faced the four girls. She smiled. "Oh yes, I can feel it, Jessica. We stand on a powerful force line under Haven. It leads directly to the node. It is little wonder that I had my first taste of true power here. It... "

She hesitated and turned her head.

Jason turned his head with her. He nudged Richie. "Look."

The lantern that had been placed on the ground near them was growing brighter, the flames taking on a greenish tinge.

Jessica noticed this as well, and her eyes widened. "It's not supposed to do that..."

Jason stared at her. "It's not?" he asked, realizing a moment later that it was foolish to try to ask any of them a question. The scene was so real to him it was difficult to remember that it was not really happening.

"Yes," Agatha whispered huskily. She raised her book. "Yes, I can feel it! It's like it's already reaching out to me. It knows I want the power, Jessica!"

"Oh, wow, check it out!" Richie said, pointing.

Jason already saw it. The eye on the cover of Agatha's book was glowing, casting its emerald light over the clearing, bathing everything in sickly green.

Agatha lowered the book. Now the pendant had a glowing eye as well, just as bright.

Jessica stepped forward. "Agatha, something is not right here. Something feels off."

"What are you talking about, child?" Agatha snapped.

"The book ... your pendant ... why are they glowing when we have not started the Rite yet?"

Agatha sighed. "I am tired of this, Jessica. This was simply an annoyance before when you kept questioning me, but I have no patience for it now. If you do not want to participate, then leave. But do not think I will share my power with you afterward."

Jessica lowered her eyes. "I'll stay," she said softly.

"That's better." She turned to the four girls and smiled wickedly. Her gaze alighted on each one in turn. Each girl was rendered helpless in the throes of a massive orgasm, any remaining resistance in her already addled mind crumbling away.

"Jesus!" Jason gasped as the nearby lantern abruptly shattered. The flames leapt into the air, a luminescent tongue of eldritch acid green fire that remained in place despite the loss of its container. The eye on the book and the pendant glowed brighter still in response.

Agatha smiled in satisfaction. "They are ready. Jessica?"

Jessica reached a trembling hand under her robe, even as her eyes darted anxiously at the unnatural source of light. She placed the wooden box in Agatha's outstretched hand, unlatched it, and flipped open the lid.

Agatha thrust the open box before her and turned to the first girl. "Tophr'ulthis orgos ron'renthrala!"

Hearing the incantation itself made the hairs on Jason's neck stand on end, but it was nothing compared to what happened next.

The girl raised her head and gasped, a look of abject horror on her face as if she only now knew exactly what was about to happen to her. She raised her hands as if to ward off an attack, then froze in place when her body was suffused with a bright, cool blue light. Her arms slowly lowered to her sides. Her eyes became fixed and staring.

The glow gathered itself into a concentrated ball of almost blinding blue-white light that hovered before the girl's face. Her eyes stared mindlessly at it. Her body did not move save for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

A tendril of poisonous green emerged from the heart of the box. Both Jason and Richie recoiled as it slithered in the air like a horrible, disembodied tentacle. It lashed out towards the girl, wrapping itself around the blue-white orb of energy. A tortured scream shattered the moment of calm as the ball of light was pulled into the box. The glow dimmed, until it was a swirl of tenuous blue-green mist.

"Th-this is getting a little freaky, Jason..." Richie croaked, his eyes wide and shimmering.

Jason simply had no words. He felt sick to his stomach. The sound of that scream was still echoing in his head.

He heard it three more times. Agatha turned to each one in turn and repeated the same incantation. Each time it was the same. The last one, despite Agatha's enslavement, screamed in the flesh when Agatha began her incantation.

It ended the same. The scream died on her lips, only to be continued in her spirit. Jason's eyes were blurred with tears.

Richie simply stared. It was as if his own thoughts were frozen.

The last one was pulled into the box. Now the blue-green miasma within writhed and frothed, as if a struggle were taking place. The box itself began to shake.

"Close it!" Agatha snapped. "Jessica, do not dawdle! Close it now!"

Jessica had been shaken as well by what she had seen. She surged forward and closed the lid of the box, securing the latch. It continued to tremble as she took it from Agatha.

Agatha glared at Jessica. "You will not open that until we have concluded. If you do, you risk disrupting the Rite. And you may do damage to their souls. And I will be very angry."

Jessica swallowed and nodded, cradling the quivering box in both her hands as she stepped back.

Agatha turned to the four. They stared mindlessly back. She gestured. The four turned as one towards the bright green flame.

Richie's breath caught. Jason felt bile rise to his throat. He swallowed it back down with an audible click.

Their eyes were totally dead. They were breathing and their hearts were beating, but it was just a shell. There was no mind. No person.

Suddenly Richie was no longer so interested in their nudity.

Jason forced himself to avert his eyes from the four girls. Now he was looking at Jessica. She was staring at the green flame, shaking her head. Her eyes held a troubled look beyond her concern for the four teens or the box she held in her hands.

Agatha turned. "You worry for no reason, Jessica. Everything is perfect. I can already feel the power surging, ready to flow into me. I barely need to call it to me. It already knows who its Mistress is. And now I shall summon it."

Agatha gripped the book and held it before her, brandishing it like a shield.

"Tophr'altkas ron'kninetala progetha donlas ron'seltha!"

A blinding beam of emerald light erupted from the tongue of acid green flame. It struck the four mindless teens, surrounding them like a glowing cocoon. Their mouths dropped open and their eyes shone with unholy brilliance.

The four let out a single collective moan. Fluid splashed from their pussies. Energy drew itself together and knifed towards Agatha. It passed through the eye of the book and into the pendant, and for a moment, it was as if the two were linked.

Jason stared.

As if the two were linked.

"Jason! Jason!" Richie screeched. "What's that?!"

Jason blinked, purple spots dancing before his eyes where he had beheld the light, and turned towards his friend. Richie was pointing at the tongue of flame, his arm shaking badly.

Swirling black darkness, blacker than anything that they had ever seen on even the worst Aura, rose from the flame.

My time has come.

Jason shuddered violently. It was if an icicle had been plunged into his his heart and froze his very blood to ice. Even across the gulf of time he could hear the Darkness.

"Yes!" Agatha cried in exultation. "It's working! I can feel it!"

Your power it is not. It is mine.

Jason stared, suddenly puzzled. It was indeed the voice of the Darkness, there was no mistaking it. And yet, there was something different about it.

It was ... primitive. That was the only way Jason could describe it. When he heard the Darkness on those possessed by it, he sensed a frightful cunning and terrible intelligence behind it. But in this vision, it was attenuated, as if it were not fully formed.

"Go away!" Richie suddenly bellowed. "GO AWAY! JASON, MAKE IT GO AWAY!!"

Give me life.

Jason barely comprehended Richie's shout, his eyes still fixed on the visage of their enemy. The Darkness rose and became a figure. It was vague, like a sketch or caricature. It may have been vaguely humanoid, but he was not sure. It could have been his own mind trying desperately to see something familiar in something so utterly alien.

What was clear, however, was a sense a terrible hunger, mixed with desperation.

Jessica suddenly gasped, the box tumbling from her hands. It lay on the ground, the energy within rattling hard against the latch. "Agatha, no! Something is coming out of the node! Something..."

I will take yours.

The figure dissolved into a formless black fog and flowed into the violent energies streaming into Agatha.

"NO!!" Jessica screamed and ran towards Agatha.

Jason staggered back a few steps. Despite the horror that was unfolding before him, he had to watch. He had to find out what happened when the Rite was completed.

Jessica lunged. Jason barely saw it happen. The green light died. Agatha was on the ground along with her book. Jessica held the pendant in her hand, its chain snapped.

The Darkness shimmered, writhed, and screamed.

Jason nearly threw up. The intensity of its rage and fury was almost too much for him to bear. Mercifully, it was gone when the Darkness vanished a moment later.

With a soft sigh, all four teens collapsed to the ground.

Richie trembled. His eyes darted fearfully around the clearing. He let out a moan of relief when the Darkness was nowhere to be seen.

Jason lifted a shaking hand to his forehead. He didn't understand. The Rite was interrupted? It was never finished? But then that meant...

"Agatha ... Agatha, are you all right?" came Jessica's shaky voice as she helped the older woman sit up. "Are you... ?"

Her words were interrupted by a vicious slap to her face. Jessica gasped and fell back on her rear, looking up in astonishment as Agatha loomed over her.

"Why did you do that?! Why did you stop the Rite, you insolent little BITCH?!"

Jessica rose unsteadily to her feet. "S-something was coming, Agatha. Something terrible! A thing ... an entity ... this is what I had sensed all along! There's something inhabiting this node! Something unnatural! You almost released it!"

Agatha stared at her, red-faced. "You expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe you just didn't want the power for yourself?!"

"No one should have it! Don't you understand? Anyone that tries this will release that ... that thing!"

"And perhaps that is the source of the power, did you stop to think of that, you stupid girl?!"

"It would have possessed you! Or destroyed your spirit and used your husk as its body."

"Perhaps that is a small price to pay for such power!"

Jessica stared. "You're insane. I won't listen to this anymore." She marched away from Agatha and picked up the box.

Agatha gasped and stepped forward. "What are you doing?!"

Jessica turned. "I am releasing them from this horrid Rite."

Agatha surged forward. "No! Stop! If you do that, I cannot use them again! They... !"

But just as Agatha gasped her arm, Jessica released the latch.

The box exploded. Blue white light shot out of the remains, breaking free of the now feeble pull of the green, which fell back and faded to nothingness behind them. The swirling globes floated to the prone bodies on the grass. Each was suffused with a pure blue glow. Life and mind pooled back into their eyes. When the glow had faded, they moaned and stirred.

"Thank God," Jason murmured, teary with relief.

"You have ruined everything!" Agatha screamed.

"I saved your life!" Jessica shouted back.

The four teenage girls rose to their feet, looking confused and scared. Some of them started to cry. Agatha turned and glared at them. Tears stopped, and they began masturbating.

"Let them go," Jessica demanded.

Agatha ignored her and picked up the book.

"I said, let them go! You can't use them anymore!"

Agatha whirled around. "They are all I have thanks to you! I will keep them for now."

"You can't! They'll be missed from school. They..."

"I will be taking them away from here." She smiled wickedly. "To a new life."

"What are you talking about?"

"They still need to be punished for what they did to me. If I am to be denied power, then I will need to be content with revenge. Oh, don't worry, I will let them go eventually. After I am through with them."

Jessica gave her mentor a horrified look. "You can't mean ... they're only sixteen!"

"Perfect. Men love them that young."

"What??"

"Huh?!" Richie cried as well, startling Jason.

The four moaned as they orgasmed. They continued stroking themselves, whimpering with the desperate need to stop and let the terrible ache in their pussies abate.

"Perhaps I cannot keep them enslaved forever," said Agatha. "But I can change them. I can addict them to this pleasure. I can make it so they crave it every day. Several times a day, with many, many partners."

Richie's lower lip trembled.

"That will ruin their lives!" Jessica cried. "You're making them into harlots! They won't be any better than prostitutes!"

"A fitting end, I would say." Agatha turned to the girls. "Come along."

Jessica gripped the pendant tightly in her hand as Agatha passed. "You won't be able to do much without that spell book."

Agatha slowly turned. Her grip on the book tightened as she cast an imperious look at Jessica. "Is that a threat?"

Jessica said nothing in reply.

"Do not even consider crossing me. Our alliance is at an end. Do not make us enemies. You will regret it. Dearly." She smiled coldly. "And that is even assuming you can find the book after tonight. Or me."

Agatha left, the four helpless teens following her.

Jessica lifted her hand and uncurled her fingers. She stared down at the pendant.

"Don't be so sure of that," she murmured. She closed her eyes briefly. A feeble light glowed in the center of the pentacle for a few moments, then faded. She started to turn away...

 ... and vanished.

Daylight, and the present, returned.



-------

Chapter 25


Jason was numb with shock. He almost didn't realize he had returned to the present. He could still feel the icy chill of the Darkness. He could still see the horribly empty eyes of the girls. He could still hear the terrible scream of their spirits being ripped from their bodies.

He finally shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He was still frightened, as if Agatha were there about to jump out at them like some bad horror film. He had to force himself to think logically rather than emotionally. Several revelations had come to him, and he had to piece together what it all meant.

"All right," Jason finally said. "We know the what the real danger of the Rite is. But we know it can be stopped. Why didn't Susan's mother mention this? Maybe Melissa prevented her. Richie, do you have ... Richie?"

Richie stood a short distance away. His eyes were cast downward at the book. His breathing was ragged, his hands clenched into fists.

Jason took a step towards him. "Richie? Are you... ?"

Richie dropped the book to the ground, drew back his foot, and with a look of red-faced fury gave the book a hard kick.

"Richie!" Jason cried, trying to grab his arm.

Richie violently shook him off while delivering blow after blow to the spell book. When his kicks did it no damage -- a cracked spine mending itself in seconds, torn pages repairing themselves in time for the next blow, crumpled parchment smoothing itself out in a blink of an eye -- his blows became even more vicious.

Finally with a scream of frustration that made Jason recoil, Richie picked up the book and flung it as hard as he could across the clearing. He finally turned towards Jason. His eyes were as red as his face and blurred with tears. He bared his teeth like a feral animal.

"I HATE THIS POWER!" he bellowed. "I FUCKING HATE IT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS SHIT ANYMORE!"

Jason never saw Richie this angry before. He would have feared for his own safety if he had not seen a tear trickle down Richie's cheek. "Richie ... I-I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be like..."

"Jason, tell me what happened to those four girls!" Richie's voice cracked. "Tell me they came out okay. Tell me they didn't wind up like my Mom! TELL ME MY MOM'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE THAT FOR THE REST OF HER GODDAMN LIFE!!"

Jason was completely stricken. He had no idea what to say.

"P-please, tell me..." Richie croaked.

"I ... I don't know ... they ... they disappeared after that. No one found them again."

Richie gave Jason a look of pure rage. Tears flowed down his cheeks and dripped to the ground. "I s-saw it ... I saw it, Jason! ... I saw when m-my mother ... when h-he took her ... m-made her into a slut..."

"Oh God ... Richie ... I didn't know..."

"A-addicted ... made her addicted to it ... and I almost did the same thing to Miss Davis!"

Jason felt his heart sink into his stomach. I'm such a fucking moron,  he thought.

Cassie had been right all along. She had never come out and said it, but she had implied it many times. She thought Jason had been taking this grudge against Richie too far. He was so intent on making Richie "learn his lesson" that he was blind to everything else.

Jason stepped up to Richie and placed an arm around his shoulders. "You didn't do it. You stopped. You did the right thing."

"I-I'm sorry," Richie cried, sniffling and wiping at his face. "I f-fucked up everything with Nyssa ... sh-she ... she woulda done that to us, too ... I didn't know, Jason! You gotta believe me, I didn't know!"

Jason sighed. "I know. I wasn't exactly giving you a chance. And ... maybe I should have tried to help you with your mother more. I'm sorry."

The two of them looked at each other. Keeping his gaze steady on Richie's eyes, Jason extended his hand. Richie clasped it firmly and pumped it once.

"Friends again?" Jason asked with a small smile.

Richie managed a weak smile in return and sniffled. "Friends."

"And Harbinger."

Richie's smile widened. "And Harbinger. Thanks, man."

Jason was glad it was over. Staying angry at Richie had been draining on him. He was glad to be relieved of the burden.

Richie drew back and composed himself, wiping his eyes and drying his hands on his pants. "Okay, then ... let's figure out how to take this Melissa bitch down."

Jason picked up the book. "We have to head back to town right now. I need desperately to talk to Cassie. I think she may have some insights on something I saw."

"What part of it?"

Jason opened his mouth and paused. He glanced down at the book, his gaze drawn to the eye in the center of the pentacle. "I'll tell you later. Please, trust me on..."

Richie clasped him on the arm. "It's cool, dude. I trust you."

Jason nodded. "Thanks. Let's go. Sooner we get away from this place, the better."

"No shit, Sherlock. Least it's downhill on the bikes this time..."

-------

Heather stepped into her last class of the day, not with a sense of relief, but of trepidation.

Nothing had happened to her all day. Brad had not said even a single word to her. All he would do was give her a sly smile and sometimes a wink but nothing more. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Diane was relieved, but the others were suspicious, especially Melinda. She kept eying Heather intently, as if expecting to see more of an Aura on her. By the time lunch came around, Heather was able to relax a bit for the first time in a long while.

But now this was Brad's last chance. If he and Melissa were waiting to spring something on her, this would be the most dramatic moment.

Heather was also feeling uneasy. It was not a clear precog vision, just a vague sense of "wrongness." Something was going to happen, but she was not sure what. The fickle nature of her ability was starting to grate on her. She thought she was getting enough sex to keep it properly "charged." Surely it didn't require even more? Or was there something else she had to do?

Heather had made it to her seat before Brad. When he did arrive, it was with the same swagger that he always used. Heather gave him a cold look, and then braced herself when he looked at her.

Brad grinned lasciviously at her, winked, and dropped into his seat.

Heather let her breath go as a relieved sigh. It was no different than any of the other classes. Maybe Melissa had given up on her for now.

Heather tried to pay more attention to the lesson this time. She was already facing the prospect of pulling no better than a "D" in at least two classes because of everything that had happened that semester. While she had never been a star student, she was intelligent enough to pull at least a "C" in everything with the occasional "B".

But not long after the class began, her thoughts drifted to Diane.

Images flitted playfully through her mind of Diane on her knees, eager to lick Heather's pussy. Or lying on the bed while Heather rocked her hips against Diane's sweet face. Or writhing helplessly in a chair as Heather pleasured her and kept her just short of orgasm.

Heather drew in a deep breath and shifted in her seat as her thoughts made her pussy wet. Her eyes widened. Were they her thoughts?

She glanced at Brad. Brad was lounging in his chair, tapping his pen against his notebook, looking bored. He caught Heather's gaze. His lips curled into a smug grin.

Heather glared at him and set her eyes forward again.

She tried to focus her attention on the teacher. It helped, but the erotic imagery did not fade completely. Some of it had to be her own feelings. She was looking forward to her tryst with Diane after school. That was enough to arouse her just on its own.

Diane appeared in her mind again. This time she was kissing Heather's feet.

Heather blinked. Had she wanted to imagine such a thing? Diane would never do something like that. Not unless...

 ... unless she were Heather's slave, and obeyed because she had to.

Heather shivered with pleasure, but felt a twinge of guilt almost immediately. It wasn't a real enslavement, was it? Diane wanted her to do it. And it was temporary, just like all the other enchantments they had tried. It would wear off in a few hours at most.

Unless I used the other spell, too.

Heather was not sure why she had that thought, but it sent another tingle through her pussy. No, that wasn't right. She couldn't do that to Diane. Diane would never want Heather to go that far.

But she wrote down the incantation.

Heather swallowed. Her panties were damp. As much as she tried to deny her own thoughts, they were getting her horny. Diane was already so obedient as it was. What was a little more? Diane was enjoying being the submissive.

God no ... these are not my own thoughts ... are they?

Heather was confused. She couldn't possibly be thinking about enslaving Diane. That would be no better than taking Melinda as a slave. But if that was what Diane wanted, would that make it okay?

Heather closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to steady herself. She had to stop this. She was working herself up into a panic just because she was worried about Melissa. It was making her paranoid.

She opened her eyes and tried to push the doubts out of her head. It would be fine. She and Diane would simply have some fun together, that was all. Nothing permanent, even if Diane did want it. She was worried over nothing.

-------

Jason and Richie reached the edge of town with some time to spare before they could meet up with Cassie. They were both famished, not having brought anything along for lunch. They bought some snacks at a 7-Eleven and sat down in a nearby park.

Richie told Jason about what he had seen in the vision of his mother.

"It sounds like the same person," Jason said. "Frank Hovath, the one that owned the house before your mother."

"Yeah, the fuckin' bastard," Richie growled. "He did it to his wife, too. Musta been messin' with a lotta chicks' heads."

"Probably. He had the perfect cover. People going to a hypnotherapist would expect to be taken under. Even be willing to submit to it."

"What I wanna know is where the fuck my Dad was."

"What do you mean?"

"Dude, he coulda stopped it! I remember my Dad. He was buff. He coulda fuckin' decked this candy-ass doc."

Jason hesitated. He tried to be as delicate as possible as he said, "Unless he really believed your mother was just having an affair."

Richie glared at him, but it was clear that the anger was not directed at Jason. "I dunno. That's the fucking problem with this stupid power. I gotta be where the action happened. I can't get nothin' on my Dad. I've tried."

"He might not have been at the house. Do you have something that he held?"

Richie thought about the baseball under his bed. It was something he had told no one he possessed. "Um, yeah, I do. Don't work."

"I'm not sure what to tell you, Richie."

Richie sighed. "Yeah, I know. Forget it."

Jason shook his head. "No."

Richie looked up. "Huh?"

"I'm not going to forget it. I've ... all of us, have been forgetting it for too long. Maybe we need to actually do something about your Mom."

"But ... everything you said, about not having time, or..."

"We'll make time, then. We'll figure it out. Somehow."

Richie stared, then slowly broke out into a wide smile. He slapped Jason on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

Jason smiled faintly in return. "Richie, you have any idea what happened to your Dad in all this?"

Richie shook his head. "Nah, man, no friggin' clue. Just know he ditched her. Jason, maybe he didn't know about all this. Maybe ... maybe Haven got into his head and made him leave. If he knew about all this Darkness shit, maybe he'd do something." He paused a long moment. "Maybe he'll come home."

Jason thought that was a tall order. If Haven really had done something to him, it could have made him forget about Richie and his mother. It was unlikely that he was living anywhere near Haven in that case.

Or worse, it could have kept everything from him and really made him think Richie's mother was sleeping around with other men on her own. Her story about being addicted to sex would have made her sound delusional. But if that were the case, wouldn't he have taken custody of Richie in the ensuing divorce?

"Richie, you know anything about how the divorce proceedings went?" Jason asked.

"Nah, I was only six. It was kinda weird. Me and Mom moved outta the house in Randall and into an apartment here. Only saw him something like every other weekend for three months. Then Mom fuckin' lays the bomb on me and tells me they're divorced! Then we moved into the house. Downhill since."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, that is weird. All right. Maybe I can find some court records on the divorce. I'll see what I can do."

"Sure thing. Melissa comes first, though, right?"

"Yes, she does."

"Good. Don't you dare back down, man. We all gotta kick her sorry ass for wanting to pull shit like what we saw."

Jason smiled faintly and stood up. "We should get going, we need to get across town to meet Cassie."

Richie stood and started towards the bikes. Jason grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Let's not talk about what we saw until we see Cassie," Jason said in a low voice. "Don't ask me to explain right now. I'm probably just paranoid about this, but I want to talk to Cassie."

"So long as I can hear what you talk to her about."

"Of course you will. You're a Harbinger, aren't you?"

Richie smiled. "Yeah. Guess I am, huh?"

They headed towards the bikes.

-------

Melinda burst out of her last class of the day, and after a quick glance up and down the hallway to make sure no faculty were about, she ran to her locker.

She wanted time to talk to Cassie before they met Heather. Melinda didn't want to be left alone with her or Diane. She had seen the tiny wisp of Darkness around Diane after Brad had affected her. If Melissa had lowered Diane's inhibitions as well, they might become the "terrible two" again and find new ways to tease her. Where Heather could still control Melinda's libido, she shuddered to think what they might do to her.

Melinda darted through the growing crowds in the hallway to reach her locker quickly. But as she began to dial the combination, the crush of students abruptly evaporated directly behind her. She lifted the handle and pulled the door open.

A hand above her landed heavily on the door and slammed it shut again.

"What the... ?! All right, who the f..."

The words died in her throat. Melinda fell against the lockers, wide-eyed with terror.

"Hi, Melinda," said Melissa with a sly smile. "Fancy running into you."

Melinda could only stare, eyes shimmering...

Melissa giggled. "Well, this is a first. And here I thought you had such a gift for gab."

"Sh-shut up..." Melinda said in a badly quavering voice. "Leave me alone."

"Oh, now that's so mean of you. I really must fix that."

Melinda whimpered in horror as she felt the icy tendrils slip into her mind and smother her thoughts. "N-no ... please, d-don't..." she begged in a tiny voice. "Please ... uhhn ... uhhh..."

Even as her thoughts turned to ice, her body became hot, and her sex ran molten. She shuddered violently at the sudden waves of lust that wracked her body. Her hips writhed against the lockers as she let go with a long, sultry sigh.

"Now, what were you saying to me?" Melissa asked sweetly.

Melinda's voice was breathy and lusty as she struggled to speak. "Uhhn ... uuhh ... wet p-pussy ... lick ... uhh ... stroke ... cum ... play with my tits... "

Melissa giggled. "Who needs a big vocabulary, right? And who needs to feel anything except nice and horny."

Melinda panted, her eyes glazed. "Uhhn ... yeah ... pussy ... play with my pussy..."

"Oh my goodness!" came a cry from down the hall.

Melissa glanced lazily at the sound and smiled. She turned back to Melinda. "And that's what's going to happen to you if keep trying to talk. Or try to communicate in any other way. Nothing but sex comes out. And you'll want nothing else but sex when that happens. Have fun."

Melinda moaned and slid a hand under her panties as Melissa headed away.

Cassie and Ned came running up to Melinda. "Oh no! Oh Ned, she has it! Melissa..."

"Yeah, I see it, babe," Ned said, his stomach turning as he watched the faint swirls of black around Melinda's body. "That fucking bitch."

"Melinda, stop, please," Cassie said softly, gently tugging Melinda's arm.

"Uhhnn ... no ... pussy so wet..." Melinda moaned in desperation as her hand was pulled out from under her panties.

"Melinda, don't try ta talk, okay?" Ned said.

Melinda looked at Ned in languid protest and opened her mouth, but Cassie slipped her hand over it.

"No, Melinda, shhh ... Oh goodness, Ned ... Melissa's got control of her! Why?! I don't understand this!"

"I don't get it either, babe. I thought she wanted..."

"Melinda!" came Heather's sudden shout as she and Diane ran up to them. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw the miasma around her little sister's body. "Oh no ... Melinda, are you all right?! Are..."

"She can't speak to you, Heather, not right now."

"Why not?! What did Melissa do?"

Melinda had managed to calm down somewhat. The lust was still there, but the urge to masturbate had eased. Her cheeks flamed in mortification. She looked up at Heather and gasped.

The wispy Aura that she had seen before around her big sister was more substantial now. It was still very ethereal, but now she could see it all the time. But it was becoming painfully clear to her that no one else could see it. It was still below their threshold. Only she was sensitive enough to see it.

"H-Heather! ... You ... uhhhn ... y-you ... l-lick my pussy ... uhhh ... suck my tits..."

Melinda's lust became all-consuming again. She staggered back against the lockers and pawed at her breasts through her blouse.

"Oh man..." Ned groaned. He turned and glared at a diminutive freshman boy that stared open-mouthed at Melinda. "What the fuck are ya lookin' at, shrimp? Scram!"

The freshman blinked and fled.

"No, Melinda, please, stop! Fight it!" Cassie cried, grabbing at Melinda's hands. Melinda whimpered in frustration. She rubbed her thighs together, eliciting soft, moist sounds from her soaked slit. Cassie sighed in desperation and looked up at the others. "We have to get her out of here. Every time she tries to talk, this happens."

"Why did Melissa do this to her?" Diane asked, stricken.

"We don't know!"

"Unless it's ta get back at Heather," Ned said. "Since her idea yesterday was a bust. I mean, look, she don't have a real dark Aura. Not like Susan."

"It's bad enough!"

"We can't take her on the bus like this," Heather said.

"Take her ta the meetin' house," Ned suggested.

"If I can get her to calm down..." Cassie started.

Melinda shook her head violently and opened her mouth again. "Fuck me ... lick my pussy ... uhhhn!... uhnnnn!!"

Melinda's hips jerked hard as her pussy throbbed in orgasm.

"Melinda, quiet, " Cassie said firmly. "You have to stay quiet. If you can do that, I can take you in the limo."

"Me and Diane are coming too," Heather said.

"And me, too," said Ned.

"Wait, everyone, I don't have room for all of you!" Cassie said in exasperation. She sighed. "I wish Jason were here."

"Dontcha hafta pick him an' Richie up? Jus' drop us off along the way."

"Listen to me! I don't have room! Ned, I'm sorry, you'll have to find your own way."

Ned looked taken aback, but he nodded and subsided, not wanting to upset her further.

Cassie turned back to Melinda. Melinda was panting, but she had averted her eyes from the others and appeared to settle down. She swallowed and whimpered softly.

"You okay to try and ride with us, Melinda? Just nod or shake your head."

Melinda nodded, and then had to be stopped from sliding her hand under her panties once more. She moaned and squeezed her thighs together again.

"Oh dear..." Cassie looked at the others. "All right. Heather and Diane can come with me. I'll drop you all off at the meeting house. Maybe ... maybe put Melinda in one of the bedrooms and let her ... um ... you know..."

Heather nodded. "I get it."

"Take her to the limo, please, and tell Harry I'll be out in a minute."

Heather took Melinda's hand and glanced at Diane. "Come on, Diane, let's go."

"Ned, I'll call you a taxi from the car," Cassie said as the others left. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a heartfelt look. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

He placed his hand on hers and squeezed. "No prob, babe, I understand. But are ya sure it's safe for 'em to be alone in that house?"

"It's all we got right now. I'm positive there's no connection between that place and Melissa. And Melissa can't take someone unless she's right there to do it. Besides, you'll be there to keep an eye on them."

"But she can work through others, ya know."

Cassie looked shocked. "You mean Melinda? But to what end? She can't enslave people through others or she would have done that already through Brad."

Ned shook his head. "I dunno, that's the prob. Mebbe no more'n makin' them share the love with each other."

Cassie blushed at the idea and silently nodded.

Ned tried not to think too hard on that idea either. "Anyway, I'll keep a lookout. You jus' worry 'bout gettin' ta Jason and Richie."

"All right, let's go."

-------

Melissa was getting excited again, though it was belied by the leisurely pace at which she walked home.

Everything was coming together. Her hold on Melinda was shaky, but it was enough. So long as she kept concentrating, she could keep a slim tendril of influence over Heather. She had guessed that they would take Melinda to their meeting place. After all, it was the safest place for them.

Melissa giggled. She had no idea precisely where they were meeting, and it didn't matter. She could sense Heather's mind through Melinda, just like she could through Brad. Once Heather was engaged with Diane, Melissa could push harder without fear of discovery.

A figure suddenly loomed in front of her, causing her to flinch backwards in surprise. "What... ?!"

"I want to know what the fuck you did to me," a red-faced Brad growled at her.

Melissa frowned. "And you need me to tell you that? You really are as stupid as Heather thinks you are. Now get out of my way."

Melissa tried to step around him, but he blocked her again and glowered.

She shot him a furious look. "You really must be that stupid, if you think you can intimidate me."

"What was all that you made me do? What the fuck was all that?!"

Melissa laughed. "You're the one that wanted Heather back."

"Yeah, I want her back. But I don't want to fuck with her head!"

"And that's exactly what I'm going to do to you if you don't get out of my way right now."

Brad lifted his hands and shoved her shoulders hard. Melissa yelped and lost her balance, falling to the sidewalk. "And maybe I don't think you can do that anymore. You let go of me when you went after Heather's kid sister. So maybe you can't do it."

Melissa's eyes shimmered as she looked up at Brad. His hands clenched into fists, his lips curling.

"Yeah, I'm right. You're scared of me now, aren't you? Otherwise you'd be screwing with my head now. Yeah, some power you got, you little freak. Maybe I should make you think twice about..."

CRACK!

A heavy branch from the tree just adjacent to the sidewalk broke in two. The loose piece came down heavily on Brad's head. Stars burst across his vision, and the world swam in blurry waves of gray as he collapsed to the ground.

Shaking with both fury and relief, Melissa rose to her feet. "Don't ... don't you ever ... EVER ... touch me in any way ever AGAIN!"

Brad moaned, his head pounding as if a hammer were striking it repeatedly in time to his heartbeat.

Melissa's eyes widened, as if she were only seeing now what she had done. She panicked for a brief moment until she saw him actually move. She struggled to decide if she should summon help for him.

He doesn't matter.

Melissa's heart raced. Brad might have a concussion. He might be seriously hurt.

You have other things to attend to.

She swallowed, glanced around nervously, and continued down the street at a brisk walk.

Now concentrate. Focus. You nearly have Heather and Diane where you want them, but only if you don't lose your hold on Melinda.

Melissa took a deep breath and let it go, set her eyes hard, and tried to push the image of the injured Brad out of her head.

-------

Heather watched her little sister's writhing form on the bed. Several times Melinda had tried to talk ever since Cassie left, and now she was reduced to a quivering mass of lusting flesh.

Most of Melinda's clothes lay in a heap on the floor. Her panties were still clinging to one ankle, her bra still hooked in the back but the cups had long freed their contents.

Melinda masturbated in a frenzy with one hand, her other squeezing one of her tits. She pinched the nipple until it was pinkish-red and throbbed with her heartbeat, then rubbed it madly and shivered at the wave of pleasure that crashed over her.

"Hot pussy..." Melinda moaned. " ... lick my cunt ... suck my tits..."

Heather swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself. She could see the slithering tendrils of Darkness. She knew this was a most terrible thing to happen to her little sister. But she couldn't help but get turned on by it.

Her thoughts kept turning to Diane. It had started in the limo but grew stronger after Cassie had left. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about this. It felt wrong. It was like a precog vision, but it remained vague and misty. Each time she thought on it, it was harder to see, as if it were slipping away from her.

She had thought about telling Cassie what had happened in her last class. It would have been difficult, as it meant admitting to her dark fantasies. She had trouble admitting them to herself let alone anyone else. But when she had seen Melinda and the Aura around her, all she had cared about was the well-being of her little sister.

Her body shivered again as her arousal spiked once more.

Melinda lifted her head. "Uhhnn! ... N-no ... p-pussy ... fuck me ... uhhh..."

She tilted her head back as her body was wracked with another orgasm. She could see the Darkness deepening around Heather. She could even feel it flowing through her and into her big sister. She knew Melissa was using her, but it made her struggle no less futile.

Heather turned away. She felt a small twinge of guilt as she left, but it faded when her eyes fell upon Diane standing in the hallway, waiting anxiously.

"How is she?" Diane asked as Heather closed the door.

"Horny as hell," Heather said, her voice husky. "She kept trying to talk to me."

"So what do we do now?"

Heather paused, as if still struggling with her own thoughts. She stepped up to Diane. "I guess ... I guess we find something to occupy our time."

"I really hope it doesn't take long to ... H-Heather, what... ?"

Heather slipped her arms around Diane, giving her lover a sultry smile. Her arms trembled, and her lips twitched, as if she were still committing herself to this course of action.

Diane's eyes widened. She made an attempt to pull away, but it was weak. Heather tightened her arms and pulled Diane closer, her movements becoming more self-assured. When Diane opened her mouth to protest, Heather kissed her deeply.

Diane struggled, but it was half-hearted, and it faded when Heather's tongue slid past hers. Heather's hand slipped down and squeezed one of her ass cheeks. Diane shivered and moaned.

Diane was panting when Heather broke off the kiss. "H-Heather ... maybe we shouldn't do this..."

"But you wanted to, didn't you?"

"Yes, but..."

"And don't you want to now?"

Diane stared into Heather's eyes. "I-I ... that's not a fair question..."

"But do you?"

Diane let out a lustful sigh. "God, yes ... I don't know why ... it's not right, not now, not with..."

Heather hesitated for just a second. "There's nothing we can do for Melinda right now, Diane. And ... and I want you very badly..."

Diane shivered. "I-I know ... I want you as well, Heather, but ... oh!"

Heather had slipped her hand into Diane's pocket, smiling impishly. There was the rustle of paper, and Heather pulled out the list of incantations. Diane stared at it, then back at Heather.

Heather grinned and stepped back, her eyes dropping to the paper. "So this third one is the slave spell?"

Diane's heart thumped so hard her chest ached. She just nodded slowly, not trusting her voice.

"And the fourth one?"

"It ... m-makes it permanent. But..."

"But what?"

Diane hesitated, then just shook her head.

Heather smiled faintly. "It's okay, I won't use that. This is just for fun, right?"

"Yes ... just for fun, that's all..." Diane said in a hollow voice.

"So ... Ready?"

Diane paused for a long moment, her own feelings in conflict. But before she could respond, Heather spoke.

"Tophra'zorquis yirlos ron'indna!"

Diane drew in sudden, long breath. Her arousal abruptly spiked, her pussy rising as if vigorously stroked. She felt a strange haze come over her mind and her senses. Everything seemed to swim out of focus. She let out her breath as a deep moan and quaked as her pussy let go. The pleasure rose into her mind, washing away all her thoughts and worries. A soft euphoria swept over her, filling her with simple, sweet bliss.

Her lips curled into a soft smile as she gave Heather an adoring look.

"Diane?" Heather said warily, startled at the sudden transformation.

"Yes, Mistress," Diane said in a breathy, dreamy voice. "What is your wish?"

Heather's eyes widened. "Oh my God. What did I just ... I mean ... okay ... Diane, t-take off your clothes."

"Yes, Mistress."

Diane swiftly undressed, showing no hesitation whatsoever. As more of her body was exposed, she grew more aroused. By the time she was completely naked, she was panting again, her body shivering in pleasure. Her nipples were two hard points. Her pussy glistened.

"Are you horny already?" Heather asked.

"I feel pleasure when I obey you, Mistress," said Diane in a husky voice.

"Oh wow ... O-okay ... come in here."

She led Diane into one of the other bedrooms. She quickly pulled off her clothes, her own pussy already wet as well. "God, I can't believe you're really ... okay, if you're really my slave, then ... then..." She sat down on the foot of the bed. She crossed one leg over the other and wiggled her toes. "Come kiss my foot."

Diane stepped forward and knelt before Heather. She cradled Heather's foot lovingly in her hands and brushed her lips lightly against it. She moaned softly as her pussy swam in pleasure.

"L-lick my toes," Heather breathed, growing more excited with each passing moment.

Diane tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She swirled her tongue sensuously around each toe in turn, panting in delight.

Heather was astonished. She never had a thing for this sort of fetish, but having Diane do this to her was making her intensely horny. "God ... wow ... okay, s-stop... " She uncrossed her legs and smiled. "Come lick my pussy now, slave."

"Yes, Mistress," Diane moaned as she moved forward, Heather opening her legs invitingly.

-------

"Yoo-hoo, Avon calling," Ned called out as he entered the living room. "Anybody home?"

He strolled to the center of the room and looked around. He looked towards the stairs and cupped his hand around one ear. He heard a faint noise from upstairs.

"Natch," he said with a small sigh.

Ned climbed the stairs and headed towards the sound. He listened at the first closed door he came to. Melinda's moans drifted through the door.

He considered checking on her but decided better of it. Melinda might get the wrong idea of just why he took a peek. To be honest, he would not trust his own motivations, either.

He stepped away from the door and frowned. Where were Heather and Diane?

He took a few more steps down the hall and heard another sound from further ahead. He stopped at the next closed door and listened again. Now Heather's moans came to him, and a call of Diane's name in a lusty voice.

Ned's eyes widened and he stepped back. "Ahem. Yes, well ... far be it fer me ta in'rupt the doings of the Haven Love Nest," he muttered to himself.

He headed down the stairs and plopped himself into a chair. With everything that was going wrong, he sincerely doubted that Cassie would have the time or desire to let him try out the spell she had found. He was not very enamored of the idea anymore himself.

Ned sighed. "Story of my life..."

-------

Melinda whimpered as another orgasm swept over her tortured body, her pussy aching badly, her hand hurting from the constant activity.

She had heard Ned, first calling out from downstairs, and then his footsteps in the hall. She had made the mistake of trying to call out to him. It had triggered another surge of unquenchable lust.

Panting hard, she pulled her hand away from her sex and lay as still as she could. At once she had the urge to touch herself again. Her pussy was still swollen with unnatural arousal, and her nipples tingled madly.

She could hear Heather's moans through the wall of the adjoining bedroom. Something was very wrong. Heather would not have left her alone. At least, she hoped her big sister cared enough not to abandon her just to have sex with Diane.

But that assumed that Heather was in her right mind.

Melinda could sense the touch of the Darkness in her head. It was as frightening as it was a relief to know she could actually tell when someone was trying to control her.

She slowly rolled onto her side. She felt weak. Lust still burned inside her. She struggled to stay focused and fight the urge to masturbate herself silly. Melissa hadn't completely controlled her. Maybe she couldn't. Maybe she didn't have enough power, or Melinda had some sort of partial protection.

Melinda drew her knees up and curled into a fetal position. She moaned as her pussy throbbed dully. She closed her eyes tightly, clenched her teeth, and gave a mental shout.

GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD!

Melinda shuddered violently. Something had happened. The Darkness was like icy tentacles in her head. She thought she felt felt one withdraw. She opened her mouth.

"Ned ... g-got to find ... tell him ... p-pussy wet ... fuck me ... stick a cock in my twat..."

Melinda lifted one knee and masturbated furiously. She blinked away a tear. She was not going to cry. She had managed to do something. She just had to wait and try again.

-------

"Finally," Jason breathed as he saw Cassie's limo turn down the block.

"I'll say," Richie muttered. "Gettin' a fuckin' wedgie sitting here like this."

Jason and Richie were sitting on their bikes in the empty lot of a gas station that was closed for the season. They had been waiting a half hour for Cassie to show up.

Jason bit his lip. He could sense something was wrong the moment he saw Cassie get out of the car and run towards them. Before she was halfway across the lot, Jason called out, "What's wrong, Cassie?"

"Plenty!" Cassie said, and proceeded to tell him what happened to Melinda.

"What?! Melissa has Melinda?!" Jason cried in a panic, jumping off his bike. Richie also bolted, coming alongside his friend with a look of genuine concern on his face. The bike tottered and fell to the ground, unbalanced as it was by the book hanging from one of the handlebars.

"Melissa did something to her, but she's not under Melissa's complete control," Cassie explained. "Melissa just made it so she can't talk to anyone right now. But she's safe. She's at the meeting place right now. Melissa's nowhere near her."

"Who is with her?"

"Heather and Diane, and by now Ned should be there. But I don't understand it, Jason! Why Melinda? She never did anything to Melissa. Ned thinks it's just to get back at Heather since what she tried yesterday didn't work well, but it doesn't sound right to me."

Jason ran a hand through his hair. He wished he were at Melinda's side. Did Melissa take Melinda to have a plant inside the Harbingers? But then Cassie said she wasn't completely enslaved. And Melissa knew about Auras. She couldn't think they would be fooled.

His mind worked furiously. She wanted to get at Heather and Diane. Was Melissa using Melinda like Brad? Could she, if Melinda were not completely enslaved?

"You said Ned was there?" Jason asked, a panicked edge to his voice.

"Yes. He should be there by now. He was coming by taxi, and I gave him a cell phone to call me if he found anything was amiss."

Jason exchanged a look with Richie. Richie shook his head. "I dunno, dude. Something's fucked up here. I mean, yeah, Melinda's all whiny and all that, but to do this weird shit just to shut her up? Don't make no sense to me."

"Ned thought maybe Melissa wanted to use her like Brad, to keep influencing Heather," Cassie said. "But I don't get it. What purpose would that serve if she can't actually take control of Heather that way? We're missing something!"

"Listen, I need to tell you about something," said Jason. "Richie and I saw the Rite when it was performed years ago."

Cassie gasped. "Oh my goodness..."

"Cassie, the Rite was stopped! It never finished! Jessica grabbed the pendant from Agatha and stopped it right before ... b-before the Darkness could take her."

Cassie's eyes went wide. "The ... th-the ... y-you saw it? The thing Mrs. Radson said was there?"

Richie shivered and looked pale. Jason just nodded.

Cassie swallowed, speechless.

"Cassie, listen. There's something we saw I need to ask you about. When the energy from the node went into Agatha, it traveled through the book and into the pendant."

Cassie stared.

"It went through that fuckin' weird eye on the cover," Richie said. "Dead center."

Cassie shivered and grew pale.

"Yes, that's right, it did. And the weird thing was that it looked like the pendant had a glowing eye, too."

Cassie's lower lip quivered.

(The eye)

"Cassie, you had that dream where you thought you saw the eye glowing on the book. Do you think ... Cassie?"

(The eye in the pendant)

"Hey, Cass, you okay?" Richie called out.

(The eye in Melissa's pendant)

Cassie's eyes rolled back and she sank to her knees.

"Cassie!" Jason and Richie cried at once.

The two of them immediately came to her side and grabbed an arm each before she could take a further spill onto the gravel. Another figure was bounding towards them from the limo.

"Miss Kendall!" Harry shouted as he bolted towards her. By the time he got there, she had already risen shakily to her feet. "Miss Kendall, are you ill? Do you need me to take you to the physician?"

"I'm all right, Harry," Cassie said in a weak voice.

"You look terribly pale, Miss Kendall. I must insist that you..."

"And I insist you stop fussing over me!" Cassie declared, her voice stronger. "I'm fine. Get back to the limo, I will be there shortly."

"But, Miss Kendall..."

"That's an order! Now!"

Harry stared at her for another moment, then drew himself upright, looking quite miffed. "As you wish, Miss Kendall," he said stiffly before returning to the car.

Cassie watched him go before turning to the others. "Jason, I had an earlier dream about Melissa, the one where I found out what she was doing with Susan's mother. Her pendant had a glowing eye! And it was like ... it was like she was talking to someone. Someone not in the room with her. It..."

"Why didn't you say this before??" Jason cried.

"I only just remembered it! It was incredible. It was like a dam burst in my..." Cassie's eyes widened, and she stared at Jason in horror. "Oh no! Jason, Melissa blocked it! She blocked my memory of it!"

"Holy crap," Richie murmured. "Can she do that?"

"She obviously did! Or she had help from the pendant!"

"Cassie, what if the pendant and the book are linked?" Jason said excitedly. "They both have that eye symbol. They looked like they got linked when that power passed through it."

"And Melissa's pendant is what spared her from that dark figure," said Cassie. "It was how she got the power in the first place. If the Darkness gave her that power, it recognized the pendant. That's what protected her! That's what the figure was looking for!"

"And it's using Melissa to try to come back again. The Rite is not what Melissa thinks it is. It's designed to bring that entity into the real world. And if she wanted the book, and the link between..."

Jason trailed off.

"What is it?" Richie asked.

"Jason, what's wrong?" Cassie asked urgently.

Jason's hands clenched. "Shit. Shit! SHIT!"

Cassie flinched.

"Cassie, that link lets her see things through the book!" He turned and kicked at the gravel in his frustration."Fuck! I knew that getting this book was too easy!"

"Ya lost me there, dude," Richie said.

"Think about it for a minute. Say she can see stuff that happens with the book. Like when we're touching it. Or reading it. She lets that convenient hint drop that she's looking for a book. So we go find out about it and fetch it for her, thinking we're keeping it from her. Only we didn't, because she can see it through us. She fucking set us up!"

Richie frowned. "Holy shit. You sure about that?"

"Yes! Agatha left with the book, but we know for a fact that Jessica got it back and hid it. Remember the end of the vision, when Jessica was holding the pendant? She was looking at it as if she knew it could help her get the book back."

"Aw, fuck. That means she knows what spells we've read. And..."

"She knows the Rite!" Cassie cried. "Oh no! She has the spell already! And I gave it to ... no, wait, Jason, she can't have it. I didn't read the whole thing. I stopped, remember? I never went back and read the whole thing."

"Yeah, but I bet you got the urge to read it, didn't you?"

"Well, maybe I did, but I never went back to read it."

"And so did I, just when I was looking up that spell to use on Melinda. I remember wondering why on Earth I was curious about the Rite at that moment. It made no sense until now. The link works both ways. She can influence people over it."

Cassie gasped. "You didn't... !"

"No, I didn't read it. But we weren't the only ones to be holding the book."

Cassie looked stricken. "Oh goodness ... not Diane ... she couldn't possibly have..."

"Cassie, you have to get back to the meeting house!" Jason exclaimed, running for his bike. Richie followed suit and climbed back on his own. "If Melissa really is using Melinda like she used Brad, Heather and Diane could be in trouble. I have to get home and check in with my mother or I'm going to be in trouble. I'll meet you over there as soon as I can."

Jason mounted his bike and was pedaling like mad in the same breath. Richie was right alongside him, and the two of them beat it out of the gas station as if the devil were at their backs.



-------

Chapter 26


Jason ducked into the garage as soon as the door had risen far enough to admit his bike. He unhooked the bag from the handlebars and shoved it under his mother's car. That would hide the book sufficiently for the time it would take to check his email and let his mother know he was going out again.

Jason was careful to wait for the garage door to come down before he left the garage. "I'm home, Mom," he called out in a casual voice before heading up the stairs.

Halfway up, his mother burst out of the kitchen.

"Get back down here right now!"

Jason froze. His stomach churned as he turned around. His mother stood at the bottom of the steps, her arms folded, giving Jason a look that was far more harsh than anything he remembered.

Jason came down the stairs. "Um ... what's wrong, Mom?"

"You're going to tell me right now where you have been all day and exactly what you have been doing. Now."

Jason's mind raced. There was no point in claiming he was at school. He realized he was a fool for thinking that this simple ruse would work. It should have been obvious that Principal Bendon would take note of two very specific people absent at the same time. Even disregarding this fact, the trip to and from the campgrounds had taken much longer than he had planned, so he never had the chance to get to a computer to undo his work.

"Well, it's obvious you already know I wasn't in school," Jason said evenly.

"That doesn't answer my question! I want to know..." She ticked off her fingers as she spoke. "Where you were, what you were doing, and who you were doing it with."

Jason decided to start off with the truth. Every good lie has a kernel of truth to it. "I went to the campgrounds, the ones just outside of town in the foothills. I was with Richie."

Audrey took a deep breath and let it go. When she spoke again, her voice was a little less harsh. "Well, that answers the where and the who. You can be sure, young man, that I fully intend to have a talk with his mother, if for no other reason than to make sure you were really with him."

Jason hated implicating Richie, but it was likely Bendon was causing Richie the same heartache as well. "That's fine, Mom. He'll tell you the same thing, that he was with me."

"But you haven't answered the why. Why, Jason? You didn't just skip out on classes, you went somewhere that was inherently dangerous without adult supervision! Did it not have a sign on it telling you it was closed for the season?"

Jason sighed. "Yes, it did, Mom."

"Then why did you go there?"

Jason hesitated. "I can't tell you," he said softly.

Audrey looked aghast. "I beg your pardon? You can't tell me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I can't."

Audrey remained in stunned silence for a moment. She frowned deeply and her eyes burned. "All right. I want you to cut the bullshit. Tell me who you were really with."

Jason was momentarily nonplussed. His mother rarely used profanity. "I told you that I was with Richie. No one else, just him."

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not!" Jason cried, incensed. "Who else would I be with?"

"Oh, I can think of any number of people, Jason. Melinda. Heather. Diane. Cassie..."

"Then call them up if you want and find out if they've been in school!" Jason cried. "Or call the school and ask them!"

"Oh, I will, young man, you can count on that."

"Good. Then you'll know I'm telling you the truth. I haven't told you a single lie since we've been talking."

"And that's supposed to reassure me? When you already gave me the biggest lie of all this morning when you said you were going to school in the first place?!"

Jason fumed. He didn't want to be angry at his mother. She was acting as a mother should. He briefly considered telling her everything, but worried if she would think him either insane or a fantastic liar. Neither would put him in any better position than he was.

"You have one more chance, Jason," said Audrey, her voice growing more tense. "One more. Tell me what you and Richie were doing."

"I can't."

Audrey let out a sigh.

"Mom, please! It wasn't anything bad or illegal! Look, give me a little time. Just a few more days. Then maybe I can tell you. I just need..."

"I've heard enough. Go to your room. You're grounded until further notice."

Jason's heart sank. "Mom, please ... I've never done anything like this before..."

"And I'm bringing you to the doctor's office tomorrow morning."

Jason stared. "Huh? Why?"

Audrey's eyes shimmered. "So you can be tested for drugs."

"What?!"

"Jason, what else would you have me believe?! You said it was just Richie and you. If it wasn't the girls, then it wasn't sex. That leaves only drugs."

"I AM NOT DOING DRUGS!" Jason bellowed. "You think I'm so stupid that I'd take that shit into my body?!"

SLAP!

Jason staggered back and nearly tripped on the bottom step. He raised his hand to the cheek that his mother had just struck, staring at her in horror.

"Don't you DARE use that language with your mother!" Audrey cried. "I don't know what's happened to you, Jason! You are not the same person you were before this past summer. If it's not drugs, tell me what it can be. Tell me right now what it is!"

Jason sensed a desperation in his mother's voice that tore at his heart. She really wanted to believe it was something else. She did not want to think her son was doing drugs. But it was the only thing that fit in her world view.

Audrey took a deep breath and drew back when Jason did not answer. She struggled to hold back tears. "Go to your room," she said in a shaky voice.

"But, Mom, please, I have to..."

"I SAID GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

Jason turned away. He heard his mother stomp off and retreat into the sewing room, slamming the door behind her.

Jason trudged up the stairs. The conflicting emotions and imperatives in his head were tearing him apart. He could not hurt his mother, but he had to get back to the others. He could not abandon them. He had to get to them somehow, by any means necessary.

By any means...

He paused at the threshold to his room. He remembered what Cassie had told him about the vision in the library, and what Jessica had done to insure a man's silence.

He swallowed hard. He also remembered how he had used the power from the House against his own parents, and how it had made him feel.

This isn't fair,  he thought, banging a fist against the frame of the door.

He took a deep breath and carefully crept down the stairs towards the garage.

-------

"Uhhh! ... Oh God ... Oh Diane ... uhhn..."

Diane licked at Heather's pussy with incredible skill. It was as if the spell had also imparted to Diane the exact knowledge she needed to maximize her Mistress' pleasure. Diane's tongue flicked and swirled about Heather's clit, her fingers thrusting into Heather's tunnel at an ever faster pace.

Heather lay on her back, her feet on the edge of the bed and spread far apart. "Your face ... use your face..." Heather panted.

Diane complied immediately, her mind still lost in a fog of blissful obedience. She buried her face in Heather's sex, lips and tongue rubbing Heather's slick slit. Heather's moans became more strident as she rose. Diane curled her arms around Heather's thighs to pull herself even more firmly into Heather's pussy.

Heather uttered a loud cry and tossed her head back. Her pussy gushed and squirted from around Diane's cheeks. Diane murmured in delight and shuddered as her own pussy throbbed in reward for bringing her Mistress such pleasure.

Heather panted heavily. By the time her orgasm abated, she was out of breath. She lay still, chest rising and falling rapidly. Diane drew back, her face shining and wet.

Diane settled back on her feet, her head bowed. Heather's cum dripped from her face to the floor before her. "Your slave hopes she pleased you, Mistress."

"Oh God ... oh wow ... yes, Diane, you pleased me..."

Diane shivered and moaned, her pussy throbbing again. She smiled dreamily as she came. "Ohhh ... thank you, Mistress..."

Heather struggled to sit up. "Diane, did you just cum?"

Diane looked up. "Yes, Mistress. Your slave was so excited at having pleased you. Please, what may your slave do for you now?"

Heather smiled. "Cum for me again."

Diane moaned and quivered, her knees sliding apart as her pussy throbbed intensely.

Heather stood and stepped over to Diane. She looked down. The feeling of power was intoxicating. It was the same as with Melinda. It wasn't so much the sex as it was the rush of being in control.

She shuddered. This was wrong. She was abusing the power. Diane would never want to act this way on her own, even despite her submissive streak.

But seeing Diane kneeling at her feet was making Heather horny again. Even after that fantastic orgasm, she was still excited at having Diane at her mercy. Her rising lust was making it difficult to think straight.

For a fleeting moment, she again understood that something was amiss. This couldn't be her. She wasn't like this any more. She wouldn't take advantage of people just for her own pleasure. That was the old Heather.

Heather trembled and her voice quavered. "Kiss my feet, slave..."

It sounded wrong. It felt wrong. But when Diane's willing lips brushed against her skin, her pussy tingled madly, and her nipples grew hard and taut.

"Lick my toes."

Diane moaned softly as her tongue swirled around each toe as skillfully as if she were playing at Heather's clit. Heather shuddered as her desire was inflamed.

"Now cum..." Heather said huskily. "Keep cumming as you lick..."

Diane's hips writhed. Deep moans bestowed touches of Diane's hot, moist breath against Heather's feet as her cunt pulsed, sending her into paroxysms of delight.

Heather clenched her hands to resist touching herself. Her pussy needed attention again, but she would have Diane get to this shortly.

-------

Melissa pressed her hands to her temples, closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. It did little to help. Dull pain still throbbed. The aspirin she had taken had not made even a dent in it.

She didn't understand what was going wrong. She was having to push harder and harder. Was Melinda resisting her? Heather? Both?

She silently cursed. She was at her limit. To apply any more pressure, she would have to give up both her mother and Susan's mother. She wasn't ready to do that yet. She had to keep them from causing her trouble. She already saw how much trouble releasing Brad had caused her.

She wished she knew where Heather was at that moment. Then she would just go there and affect Heather directly without needing Melinda. That was really the only thing holding her back.

Applying direct control required eye contact. Once she had direct control, distance was no longer a factor. Which was why she was puzzled that her partial hold on Melinda was weakening.

And now Jason was reading book again. He was looking up a spell about memory. Why was he doing that?

She gritted her teeth and struggled to maintain her concentration. She needed only a little more time.

-------

Melinda had managed to get out of bed, but standing was impossible. Her legs were too weak. She crawled on her hands and knees towards the door, moaning and whimpering as she fought the urge to touch her still needful flesh.

Her knees slid wider apart as she crawled, as if reminding her of her pussy's lingering need. She put all thought of talking out of her head. She was not going to try to talk to anyone. No one at all.

She shivered. Her pussy dripped hot lust on the carpet. Even the thought of trying to talk to someone was enough to set her off.

Get out of my head ... get out of my head ... get out of my head... 

Melinda kept repeating the mantra to herself. She tried to imagine her words as big clubs that she swung at the tendrils of black that tried to suffocate her will. She couldn't tell if she was making any progress. She wouldn't know unless she tried to...

Melinda moaned deeply and fell onto her side. She balled her hands into fists to stop herself from masturbating again. Her pussy squished when her thighs came together, a flare of wet heat in her delta threatening to drive her to distraction and ruin her mantra.

She struggled to stave off her erotic thoughts. She needed only a little more time.

-------

A soft knock came at the door.

Audrey looked up. Her eyes were red. She wiped at a glistening stain on her face. She took a deep breath to steady herself before calling out, "Jason, I told you to go to your room."

"I need to talk to you, Mom," came Jason's muffled voice through the door.

"We have nothing to discuss, young man, not unless..."

"I'll tell you everything. Everything that happened today. Everything that's been happening since the summer."

Audrey's mouth dropped open, and she trembled. Her worst nightmare had been confirmed.

Or maybe not. Maybe it was something else. Maybe he wasn't doing drugs. Maybe he wasn't trying to arrange for an abortion for Melinda. Or for any of the other girls he had slept with. Maybe there was some other explanation, something less heinous. Something she could fix.

Audrey stood up and opened the door. "Jason, you had better be prepared to tell me the absolute..."

"Thotg'altkas orgos ron'indna!"

Audrey drew in a single, long breath and let it go as a low moan, her eyes half-lidded and glazed. Her hand fell away from the door knob and limply to her side. Her shoulders slumped. She stared straight ahead as she dropped deeply into trance.

Jason's insides clenched. "Mom ... I ... I want you to forget about the call you got from Principal Bendon."

"I will forget about the call..." Audrey echoed, her voice barely audible.

"Forget about the argument we had."

"I will forget..."

"The argument never happened. The phone call never happened."

"Never happened..."

"I was in school all day. There is no reason to doubt that."

"In school ... no reason..."

Jason felt sick. He had to keep telling himself that this was necessary, that he was doing this for a greater good. And it was for his mother's good as well. She wouldn't have the trauma of believing that her son was a drug addict.

He paused to make sure he had not forgotten anything. He had only one chance at this, as he did not think he would ever have the courage to do this again. "Awaken."

Audrey blinked rapidly as her eyes refocused. She appeared dazed, until she glanced down at Jason and gasped.

"Sorry, Mom," Jason said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, it's okay, Jason ... wait ... I don't remember you coming home..."

"I just got in a little while ago. You were busy and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Busy? Oh ... Strange, I can't recall what I was doing ... Did you have a good day at school?"

Jason forced a small smile. "Yeah, it was okay. Same as usual. Um, Mom, I need to go out again. I promised some friends I'd meet them after school."

"Just remember what I said about being home an hour before dinner."

"Right. No problem. I'll see you later."

Jason quickly made his way back to the garage.

He had to do it, of course. He had his friends to consider. He had Haven to consider, as well as the innocent people that were ultimately at risk if the Darkness had its way.

Nevertheless, he still had to pause and wipe tears from his eyes as he waited for the garage door to go up.

-------

Ned was uptight. He would pace the living room, or wander into the kitchen and glance out the back window to see if anyone else had arrived yet. He would sometimes stand at the foot the stairs and look up, wondering if he should do something.

But do what? Walk in on Melinda? On Heather or Diane? Most likely any of those actions would get him roundly slapped. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

He again stood at the foot the stairs. He wondered how much of it was simple jealousy. Everyone was getting some except him. He silently berated himself for that thought a moment later. It wasn't like Melinda had a choice in what was happening to her.

Thump.

Ned frowned and looked around. Had he heard a noise, or was it just his own anxiety playing tricks on him? He started away from the stairs.

Thump.

 ... except to find that it was coming from up those stairs. He returned and looked up again, puzzled. There was a long pause.

Thump.

"Melinda?" Ned called out tentatively. "Heather? ... Um ... everything okay up there?"

Thump.

"Prolly nuthin'," Ned mumbled as he started up the stairs.

-------

Melinda had fallen hard against the door in her first attempt to open it. She lay on the floor moaning, her hand again giving rise to soft, wet noises between her thighs.

When Ned's voice drifted to her, she had an idea.

Not talking to him ... not talking to him ... not talking to him...  she repeated in her head as she rose to her knees and pounded her free hand against the door once. She whimpered and sank her fingers deeper into her pussy, distracting her too much to think of anything else for another minute.

When she was able to think again, she gave the door another thump with her fist.

Not talking not talking not talking not gonna talk not gonna talk not gonna talk... 

-------

Melissa panted. Her temples pounded. Harder. Push harder. Keep pushing.

You should have eliminated Debby.

Melissa squeezed her eyes shut. Almost there.

You would have more power now if you had eliminated her.

Melissa gritted her teeth. The pain grew worse as her muscles tensed. It shot down the back of her head towards her neck.

If this fails, it will be your fault.

"Shut up ... please shut up..." Melissa begged under her breath.

-------

"Ohhh!"

Heather gushed a second time over Diane's face, moaning as she stood quivering in the throes of her orgasm. Diane made a gurgling noise as she kept licking at her Mistress' pussy, fluid dripping down her face and trickling over her breasts. Her own pussy throbbed gently in reward.

Heather took a shaky step back, still panting. Diane remained on her knees. But rather than keeping her head bowed, she lifted her eyes to her Mistress. As much as they were filled with obedience and desire to please, a pleading look shimmered within them as well.

Heather looked into Diane's eyes. "It's starting to wear off, isn't it?" she asked, her voice still breathless.

Diane hesitated before finally speaking in a weak voice, "I ... your slave ... wishes to serve you, Mistress."

"You want to keep doing this? You want to keep being my slave?"

Diane shuddered. "Your slave ... must serve you..." she murmured.

"Yes ... yes, you want to ... you do want it."

"M-Mistress ... your desires are mine..."

There was a growing struggle in Diane's voice to match that in her gaze. Obedience and desperation both flickered across her eyes. Her body quivered.

Heather was panting lightly again, but only partially from desire. Some small part of her had realized that it was not just her own dark fantasies against which she now struggled.

I can't ... I can't do ... but it's what Diane wants ... no, she ... but... 

Heather stepped away from Diane and fetched the paper with the incantations written upon it. Diane's breath caught, but she could not get herself to speak. Heather returned to her, still staring at the paper that she held in her shaking hands. "This last one ... I-I can make it permanent..."

Diane whimpered softly. The veil was lifting, but only very slowly. She struggled against it in vain. The spell effect would not dissipate any faster. "Y-yes, Mistress," she heard herself say, unable to stop herself.

Heather looked at Diane. "You ... you want me to? You really want me to?"

Diane swallowed. "I-I ... I'm ... I'm your slave ... your slave is here to please."

"But how would it feel to be my slave all the time? How..."

Diane moaned as her pussy suddenly throbbed. She shuddered as the pleasure rose up into her mind and made what little thinking she could manage impossible for a few crucial moments.

It's okay, she wants it ... no ... this isn't right ... but she ... I want to control her... 

Heather shuddered, her pussy swollen and wet with renewed lust. "Okay ... good ... I just wanted to make sure..."

-------

Cassie huffed as she ran along the edge of the greenbelt, clutching at a terribly painful stitch in her side. She wasn't going to get there in time. Scenes of horror flitted through her head as to what she would see once she got there. Tears occasionally blurred her vision.

My fault,  came her anguished thought. If something happens to any of them, it will be my fault. I never should have left them.

She had already berated herself for not listening to Jason in the first place when he had suspected the whole thing from the start. Now she worried if her judgment about the meeting place had been wrong as well. Had Melissa set that up also? Was she waiting to swoop down on them whenever she wanted?

The thought that Melissa might be there waiting for her filled her with such fear that she considered turning back. She would do no such thing of course, but just having the thought made her feel like a coward.

I'm just a stupid spoiled little rich girl, just like everyone says... 

She sniffled and wiped away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

-------

Ned jumped back when he opened the bedroom door and saw a naked, masturbating Melinda on the floor.

"Holy shit, I'm sorry! I..."

"Heather! Aura! Stop! S-s-f-fuck me! Fuck me hard! Lick my pussy!" Melinda exploded before crying out in orgasm.

"Melinda, don't try to talk, it..."

He trailed off.

Heather. Aura. Stop.

Ned bolted. He barreled into the adjacent bedroom, his eyes barely registering the snaky tendrils of black around Heather or the strange syllables she was uttering before he tackled her and knocked her to the floor.

Diane moaned and swayed. Her eyes had begun to glaze back into complete and utter obedience at the sound of the incantation. Now it was fading, and the sliver of will that had returned grew slowly but steadily stronger.

When she shivered again, it was not in pleasure, but at the terrible thought of how she had nearly lost herself forever.

"Get off me!" Heather screamed as Ned pinned her wrists to the floor. "Get off! Ned, what the fuck ... what ... oh no..."

Diane whimpered and started to cry.

Heather's eyes widened. The Darkness around her body began a slow retreat as her mind cleared. "Oh God ... oh my God, DIANE! Ned, LET GO!!"

The sound of terror in Heather's voice was enough of a shock that Ned loosened his grip. Heather wrenched her body from under his and rushed to Diane's side. She fell to her knees and hugged Diane fiercely. "Oh my God, Diane ... I'm sorry ... I'm so sorry..."

The effects of the enslavement spell now rapidly fading, Diane buried her head in Heather's shoulder and wailed, tears spilling down Heather's shoulder and back. Heather started to cry as well.

"I'm sorry ... Diane, I'm sorry ... please forgive me ... I'll never do that again ... never..."

"I-is she okay?" came Melinda's weak voice from the door.

Ned looked up. Melinda was slowly trying to stand up, pulling herself up the door frame after having crawled her way from the other bedroom. There was a commotion from the stairs. Melinda turned her head, and a panting and horror-struck Cassie appeared at the door.

"Oh no..." Cassie murmured, staring.

"'sokay," Ned said with a faint grin. "Current score: Harbingers one, Melissa zilch."

The next moment, Ned was the center of very ardent hugs from both Cassie and Melinda.

-------

Melissa lay with ice wrapped in a wash cloth atop her forehead in an attempt to tame the splitting headache that made her nauseous.

Her eyes burned in frustration. What happened? She had sensed Heather was close. She could just barely see it in Heather's mind. Both Melinda and Heather had been resisting her so badly that it had taken all her concentration to stay focused. Now she had lost contact with both of them.

Had someone stopped Heather? Or had it been the reaction of the other Harbingers when they saw what Melissa had wrought?

She tried to reestablish contact with Melinda, but the pain that flared back was too great.

Do not bother.

Melissa swallowed and let out her breath in a slow sigh. "I got Heather to enslave Diane ... I must have..." she murmured.

That is unknown.

"I got her! I know I did!"

Then we wait and see. For your sake, you better be right.

-------

By the time Jason and Richie made it back, the girls had calmed down to the point where they could shower and get dressed. Melinda was incensed at what Melissa had done to her, but the hugs from both Heather and Diane for her clever way of alerting Ned more than made up for it.

The Harbingers met in the living room and traded stories. Jason told them what he and Richie had seen, Heather related (with some heavy embarrassment and guilt) what had happened with her and Diane.

"It really wasn't your fault, Heather," Jason said. "Don't go blaming yourself."

"But it is my fault!" Heather cried. "I wanted to use these fucking spells on Diane in the first place! Melissa only took away my inhibitions!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" Richie declared. "You didn't fuckin' wanna make her inta some sorta sex doll, didja?"

Heather fell silent and looked at Diane. Diane swallowed and averted her eyes, blushing. "I-I kept thinking Diane wanted it ... but that was just Melissa messing with me, right?"

Diane took a deep breath and let it go, unable to make eye contact with anyone. "Maybe ... maybe I did want it ... I don't know anymore ... but I didn't want it to be f-forever..."

"Melissa was fuckin' with your head, Heather," Richie said. "You heard what Ned said. You had all that black shit around you. Betcha she was messin' with Diane, too, makin' her want you to mess with those spells."

"Richie's right, Heather," said Jason. "Melissa took some fantasy of yours and blew it out of proportion. You, too, Diane. You might have wanted to mess with those spells, but Melissa pushed you into letting it go too far. So please, neither one of you start blaming yourself for it."

"Jason, why did Melissa do this?" Cassie asked. "You have any idea?"

"Yeah, I think I do. To make it easier for Melissa to take them both."

Melinda frowned. "I don't get it."

"She has limited power, remember? She can control only so many people at once. And once she takes Heather and Diane, I'll bet she has to give up everything else if she wants to hold onto them and keep Susan and Ann."

"Which means she'd have to give up Susan's mother!" Cassie said. "Who probably knows about the link! That was the thing that she said she needed to tell me just as I was leaving but couldn't get it out. I'll bet she knew that the Rite could be stopped as well. Melissa prevented her from telling us!"

"Oh, wait, yeah, I get it!" Ned said. "If Diane was Heather's slave, then she jus' needs ta take Heather, and Diane follows along cuz she hasta."

"Yes," said Jason. "And then she can exert complete control over Diane at her leisure right before she starts the Rite. That way..."

"That way Susan's Mom can't tell us nothin'," Richie said. "And she gets away with it, that fuckin' little cunt."

"So what now?" Heather asked in a shaky voice. "Does Melissa know we stopped it? I don't think Melissa has me or Diane anymore."

"I don't see an Aura on either of them," Cassie said, which was met by nods of agreement from Jason, Ned, and Richie. "Melinda, do you see anything?"

Melinda narrowed her eyes. She turned her head slightly to one side. "Sort of. I can see it only if I don't look right at it."

"So it's back to what it was before," Jason said. "Just their inhibitions affected now."

"Not even that, Jason. It's weaker. I can only just barely see it."

"She affected my inhibitions, too?" Diane asked, eyes wide.

Jason nodded. "That's likely why you went along with things so easily."

Diane looked at Heather. She certainly hoped that was it. She didn't want to think she was so submissive that she wanted to have her will completely taken from her. She would be even more useless to the group than she already felt.

"Jason, what do we do?" Cassie said. "Even if Melissa finds out that she failed, she's going to keep at it until she gets Heather and Diane. She won't stop until she has what she wants."

"We have to stop her from doing the Rite," Jason said flatly. "It's the only way. We can't keep protecting them indefinitely. Eventually we'll slip up."

"But how? She already knows the spell, so hiding the book again won't do any good. We can't ... we can't k-kill her or something like that."

"Jessica stopped it by taking the pendant from Agatha."

"Yes, but that was during the Rite! That's like saying we have to let her start it just so we can interrupt it!"

"I know! I know!" Jason cried in exasperation.

"Wait, what about that memory spell?" Ned asked.

Jason looked at him sharply. "What about it?"

Ned was a bit surprised at Jason's initial reaction and paused.

Jason sighed and said in a more contrite voice, "What was your idea, Ned?"

"That little spell that Jessica used on the dude when she hid the book. Use it on Melissa. Make her ferget 'bout the Rite. I mean, it's perfect. She don't even know about it..."

"Yes, she does."

"Huh? She does? How?"

Jason's jaw clenched. "I had to use it. On my mother."

Cassie gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth when Jason looked at her.

"Long story," Jason said. "Suffice it to say Mom found out I wasn't in school today, and I had to do something. So Melissa saw me look up the spell. She knows it exists."

"Crap," Ned muttered. "So we're back at square one?"

"Unless we can distract her in some way so someone can use the spell on her. Otherwise she may see it coming."

"Wait, I don't get it," Richie said. "Jason, you said she can see what we're doin' when we hold that stupid book, right? We still have to read the friggin' spell. Cassie, you didn't read the whole thing, didja?"

Cassie looked uncomfortable, not for herself, but where this was leading. "No, Richie, I didn't, but..."

"Jason, you didn't do it, right? You're too smart for that!"

Diane sniffled once and trembled.

Jason gave her an uneasy glance. "No, I didn't. Richie, it doesn't matter..."

"Fuck yeah, it matters! Maybe we're in the clear! No one here's stupid enough to..."

Diane burst into tears.

Heather tried to slip a comforting arm around her, only to have it violently shrugged off when Diane bolted from her seat. "It was my fault! I read it! I gave her the spell! My f-fault... "

Tears streamed down her face as she became too emotional to speak. Heather jumped out of her seat and hugged her.

"Aw, fuck," Richie muttered, looking miserable.

"It's all right, Richie, you didn't know," Cassie said softly.

"Shh, come on, it's okay," Heather whispered. "Please, Diane, it's okay..."

"My fault..." Diane sobbed. "All my fault..."

"No, stop it. Stop it." Heather broke off the embrace and looked into Diane's eyes. "Diane, it's not your fault. Melissa influenced you. You had no idea what she was doing. None of us did."

Diane sniffled, her face screwed up in anguish. "I s-still have to fix it. I have to do something to help fix it."

"Diane, you don't..."

"Yes, I do! I won't be able to live with myself if I don't do something! L-look ... maybe we can fool Melissa."

Heather gave Diane an odd look. "Fool her? How?"

"Maybe ... maybe we can pretend the spell you used backfired. I got you instead or something."

Heather had to crack a smile at this picture. "And how will that help, assuming she even believes it?"

Diane looked flustered at having her idea shot down already, but the urge to redeem herself forced her to persevere. If she didn't, she knew she would forever feel like the one that let them all down. This was her chance to put it right.

Even if it meant sacrificing herself.

"S-simple," Diane said, wiping at her eyes in annoyance and trying to appear calm. "You pretend to be enslaved. She goes and ... a-and takes me..."

Heather looked horrified. "What?! No!"

"Listen to me! She takes me and then you're free to act for awhile before the Rite starts."

"And do what?"

"I don't know!" Diane cried shrilly. "Okay, yeah, I'm a little vague there, but..."

"I'm sorry, Diane, but I have to agree with Heather," Jason said. "Melissa won't believe that you somehow turned the tables on Heather."

There was an uneasy silence. It was uneasy because everyone knew what might work instead. Melinda realized it as well. Her mouth dropped open, her stricken gaze flicking between the others before coming to rest on a thoughtful Heather.

"But ... she would believe me enslaving you," Heather said slowly. "And if you pretend to be enslaved, and I ... and I let..."

"No!!" Melinda cried.

Heather sighed. "Melinda, please..."

"Don't 'Melinda please' me, you stupid bubblehead! Jason, please, tell her she's insane! Tell her she's nuts to think of this. They're both nuts!"

The pure adrenalin rush was allowing Jason to keep thinking critically and lessen any chance that Heather or Melinda could influence him. Or it was is own will asserting itself, as there simply was too much at stake to allow himself to waver. "Melinda, let Heather speak, please."

"But... !"

"I'm not saying we're going to do it, just that she deserves to be allowed to speak her mind."

Melinda sighed and slumped in her seat.

"Heather, you can't do this..." Diane said softly.

"No, Diane, you had the right idea, I think," Heather said. Despite the apparent conviction on her voice, her eyes betrayed a deep fear that strained her voice. "We let Melissa take me. And she'll think that you're under my control and won't touch you right away. Then you can ... you can do something..."

"She could warn the rest of us," Ned suggested.

"How?" Richie asked.

"I give her a cell phone and set it to speed dial mine," Cassie spoke up. Her voice was shaky. She could scarcely believe what they were contemplating. She almost hated herself for abetting it. "Then she just needs to reach into her pocket and push a few buttons. Then we know Melissa's getting ready to start the Rite, and the rest of us can get there to stop it." Cassie paled. "I can't believe I said that ... we can't let Heather just..."

"It's the only way to do it," said Heather. "Then when someone interrupts the Rite, and ... a-and the souls are returned, she can't..."

"Stop it!" Melinda screeched. "Stop it! You're talking about letting Melissa put your soul in a fucking little box!"

"Then you come up with something better!" Heather bellowed. "Even that's better than living in fear! Jason, please. I don't like the idea of becoming Melissa's puppet like Susan or Ann even for a little while, but there's nothing else we can do."

"All right, everyone, calm down," Jason declared. He sighed deeply and shook his head helplessly. "There is no way I am going to tell anyone to do something like this. But I don't have any other ideas, either."

"Dude, even if Diane pulls this off, how the hell are we gonna get up there?" Richie said. "Took us fucking forever. Melissa ain't gonna go by bike. She's gonna get someone to drive a damn four-wheel drive up there."

"No, I don't think she's going to do it there."

"Huh?"

"Richie, where Agatha did the Rite was not just any place along the force line. It had some personal significance to her. She said she got her 'first taste of power' there. What if she got her initial power in a similar manner to Melissa? Melissa wouldn't know about the campgrounds location. The only place she knows for sure where a line of force resides is where she got her power."

"Yes, that makes sense," Cassie said. "And that's just up at the picnic grounds. We can get to that more easily."

"This is nuts!" Melinda cried, jumping to her feet. "You're all crazy! You can't do this! You can't just let Heather give herself to Melissa!"

Heather approached her sister. "Melinda, it's all right..."

Melinda whirled around and shoved hard, nearly making her sister stumble and fall. Tears blurred her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. "SHUT UP! Just shut up! You're g-going to do this a-and be enslaved to her forever! You'll never b-be my sister a-again..."

She cried so hard her body shook. Jason rushed to her side. She buried her face in Jason's chest and sobbed. Jason put an arm around her and squeezed.

"P-please make her stop," Melinda moaned. "Please don't let her do this..."

Jason sighed and looked helplessly at Heather.

Cassie stood up. "Melinda, Heather and Diane have to decide on their own. No one else. Not ... not even you."

Heather looked down at Melinda. "I have to do this, so stop being a brat, runt," she said with soft affection in her voice.

Melinda lifted her head, her face stained. She wiped at her cheeks and sniffled. "You always g-go and do whatever you want anyway, you stupid bubblehead," Melinda said in a weak voice.

The two sisters hugged tightly and smiled faintly at each other.

"I have to admit, Heather, I'm a little worried about what might happen to Melinda when Melissa goes after you if she happens to be nearby," said Jason.

"Jason, if Melissa is really being taxed to the limit, she won't do more than just leave Melinda unable to summon help," Cassie said. "Like she did today."

"Oh joy, I get to do that again," Melinda said sullenly.

"So are we going to do this?" Heather asked.

Jason paused a long moment. "Yes, if that's what you and Diane really want. But we're not going to let Melissa get far enough to use that box. No way."

"Thank you!" Melinda gushed.

Heather looked perplexed. "But you said that releasing the souls from the box will stop her from being able to use us again."

"I know, but we can't trust Melissa. I don't know what kind of damage she could do to you like that."

"So what's the plan, then?" Ned asked.

"We stop Melissa from doing the Rite and use the memory spell on her. Once she's been taken out of the picture, then ... well, then we'll figure out something to do with the spell book."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. We certainly can't keep it."

Melinda opened her mouth, but thought better of it and subsided. Ned shuffled his feet and glanced at Cassie. Heather and Diane exchanged a guilty look.

"We can't keep it!" Jason declared loudly. "No way. Not with as much trouble as it caused. I don't care if Melissa is no longer linked to it when this is over."

"Hey, um, one question," Ned said into the awkward silence that had followed. "When is Melissa gonna lower the boom? Diane's gonna hafta pretend she's Heather's slave til then."

"I don't think Melissa will wait," Jason said. "If she's known the spell for awhile now, she's had time to prepare. The only other thing she really needed to do is have someone make her that wooden box."

"Yes, that's right," Diane said. "I remember that now. You had to make it a certain way and cast a spell on it. But that didn't seem so hard to do. My father could make something like that in his workshop if he had the right wood."

Jason nodded. "I think we should force the issue."

"What? You mean make her come after Heather?" Richie asked, frowning.

"If we're going to do this, Richie, I'd rather we do it and get it done. Force her to do it tonight, when we're expecting it. Make it happen on our terms."

"I agree," Heather said. "Let's do it."

Diane nodded slowly as well. "Yes, please. Might as well do it now while I remember what it was like to be under that spell."

Richie nodded. "Yeah. Let's take the bitch down."

"Let's go for it!" Ned called out.

Cassie nodded. "Yes, let's just do it. I want this over with."

Melinda wiped again at her eyes. "O-okay," she said in a weak voice. "Fine. D-do it."

Jason took a deep breath. He didn't like this. There was so much that could go wrong. But there was little choice in the matter. They had no other options. Melissa held all the cards. The least they could do is dictate when and how the game was played.

"All right ... we need to set Melissa up. Here's what I propose we do..."

-------

Melissa was out of her mind with worry.

Now that the headache had abated, she had tried to establish a link to Melinda again. It was like pushing against a brick wall. She had no idea of what was going on.

Maybe the pendant was right all along. Maybe she should just empty Mrs. Radson's mind. Or ... or kill her. With her telekinesis, she could do it such that it would leave no evidence. She could even think of ways to do it bloodlessly. She...

The eye appeared in her pendant and suddenly began to glow. She gasped as a scene came into crystal clarity, superimposed on her surroundings.

-------



A futile flip through ancient pages. A few useless requests and a book that remained still as if mocking them.

A sigh. "Shit. There's nothing here! I can't find anything to counter this!"

A gaze rose. It was Jason's. Diane and Heather appeared before his eyes. Diane was smiling softly, her face dreamy. Beside her, Heather was despondent and worried. "Please, Jason, look again. There has to be something!"

"I've looked several times, Heather. Nothing."

Heather sighed. She looked at Diane. "Diane, I'm so terribly sorry about this. If I had only known..."

"What may your slave do to please you, Mistress?" Diane said, her smile never wavering.

"Jason, this is terrible!" came a cry to the side. Jason swung his gaze around and looked at a stricken Cassie. "It was bad enough they were playing around with that enslavement spell. I never thought they could make it permanent!"

"Man oh man, Melissa's gonna have a field day with this," came Ned's voice. "I toldya she was tryin' to screw 'em over real bad! Can't get any worse than this!"

"We can't let Diane go home like this," said Jason. "I don't know if she can live on her own anymore."

"This slave lives only to please her Mistress," Diane said in a husky voice. "Her slave needs to be with her Mistress."

Heather groaned. "Oh God, I wish this had never happened."

"Heather, can you take her home with you? Maybe have her tell her mother that you two are having a sleepover?"

"Yes, I think I can do that. She'll do whatever I tell her, so I can get her to do that. But ... Diane won't be able to come over til tonight," Heather said loudly. "Her mother will insist she do her homework first and have dinner there. I just have to hope I can give Diane the right instructions to fool her Mom. So she will not be at my place until tonight."

"Jason, are you sure Melissa doesn't know anything about the Rite?" Cassie asked.

"Positive. There's no way she even knows we have the book. Ned was right all along, Melissa is just trying to get back at Heather and Diane for what they did to her."

"I'm just worried because Heather has no phone or internet privileges." Cassie spoke her next words very precisely and clearly. "There would be no way at all she could possibly call any of us for help if something happened. And ... a-and her mother is in league with the Darkness herself!"

"It will be all right, Cassie, I'm sure of it. Now, we should think about getting out of here..." Jason closed the book and slipped it into the plastic bag...



-------

The image faded. The eye winked out.

Melissa smiled broadly. "I did it. I got Heather to enslave Diane. And Diane will be staying over at Heather's. I can take them both tonight. Their friends won't be able to interfere. It's the perfect setup. I knew it would work! I knew it!"

She had hoped that the pendant would agree with her, that she would hear a voice of congratulations in her head. Instead, she heard nothing.

She frowned. She didn't need its approval. Everything would fall into place now. By the time the day was over, she would have nearly unlimited power. And then she could shape Haven into anything she wanted. Anything at all.

-------

Jason shoved the book under the table. He looked up and took a deep breath. "Good job, everyone."

Cassie uttered a shaky sigh of relief. "I really hope I was convincing, Jason. I was nervous the whole time. I almost forgot my last line."

"You did great, babe," Ned said with a grin.

"And I really hope I can get my mother to agree to me staying overnight at Heather's," Diane said. "She's really wary of letting me do things like that on a school night."

"Now the hard part," said Jason. "We figure out how to actually stop the Rite."

"By any means we can," Ned said, slapping a fist into his open palm. "Grab fer the pendant. That don't work, knock her down. That don't work, knock the girls down."

"It has to be before she starts the first part of the Rite. Before she has a chance to use the box. Distract her somehow, get some component of the Rite away from her, like the pendant or the box, and then someone uses the memory spell on her. Again, we can't let her use the box."

"Okay, but what if something goes wrong and she does it anyway?" Richie drawled. "Why can't we just open the stupid box?"

"Because, remember, Agatha also seemed to think it would damage them if they returned to their bodies while the Rite was still happening. We can't fool around with this, Richie. We can't take the least chance that anyone will be hurt."

"Except Melissa," Ned said darkly.

"I don't want to hurt her either. I just want to stop her."

"Yeah, well ... I jus' might put a li'l more importance on Heather and Diane over her, ya know?"

"We need a plan," Jason said. "We can't just trust things will work out. Let's start tossing some ideas around..."



-------

Chapter 27


"Mom?"

Richie waited with one hand on the doorknob, tensed as if ready to bolt. The house remained silent, growing dark in the deepening evening twilight. A frigid wind blew in the doorway, a dead leaf alighting on the carpet.

Richie slammed the door behind him and picked up the leaf. He crumpled it in his fist as he called out for his mother again. He checked the garage and found it empty.

He smirked. The joke was on Laura Bendon as far as he was concerned. His mother had not been home earlier that afternoon, and she still wasn't home. Yet his smirk faded when he thought about what his mother was likely doing at that moment.

Richie tried to put it out of his mind. Instead, he found himself drawn to the doorway of his mother's bedroom. His eyes swept the room slowly.

He hated this power. Truly hated it. He could not look at someone else's possessions now without wondering what they might tell him if he held them. Even the fleeting glimpses he got when he was not in the right place could hint at some tantalizing knowledge.

Nyssa had known about his ability, and had deemed it both powerful and dangerous.

Knowing the past was indeed dangerous. A personal recollection could be filtered and toned down to acceptability. He could fool himself into thinking that things had happened exactly as he believed he remembered them, and comfort himself in the thought that they were not as bad as they really were.

And yet it was what he had thought he had wanted for so long. It was truth. And even in the wake of the misery such knowledge engendered, he craved more.

Richie wandered into the room. He focused on the first thing that had caught his eye, the hairbrush sitting on the dresser.

He picked it up. Immediately, his surroundings shifted to morning twilight. His mother was fixing her hair, still clad in only her underwear. He jumped when he heard his own voice making a snide remark at the door.

Looking at his own doppelganger was disconcerting. Even more so was hearing his cutting words towards his mother. Soon the scene played itself out and shifted again. Now it was night. The lamp was on, but at its lowest setting. His mother was not in the chair. He heard a moan behind him and turned at the sound.

Sandra was sprawled out naked on the bed. She was writhing and panting, her legs spread. Her hand worked the handle of the brush in and out of her cunt.

"Y-yes ... yes..." Sandra breathed. "I-I'm a good girl ... uhhn ... yes, I'm a good little girl!... uhhhh!"

Just as Sandra moaned in orgasm, Richie let out a yelp and threw the brush to the floor. Reality winked back into place.

He opened the closet door. Several skimpy outfits hung there. He held the doorknob at arm's length as if afraid of contamination.

Finally he reached a hand forward and touched one, something that looked like a French maid's outfit. He caught a ghostly glimpse of his mother slipping off her normal clothes and revealing this sexy outfit underneath, and then of someone groping her breast.

He touched another one, a bikini. She was beside a pool in broad daylight. The place looked posh. Men and women with tall drinks ringed the background. She slipped her bottom down her legs as a hand reached between her thighs.

He snatched his hand back and slammed the closet door shut.

Richie fell heavily against the dresser. He frowned at himself in the mirror. "Fuckhead," he grumbled at his image. "Hope yer gettin' off on it."

He idly opened the top drawer, glanced inside, then slammed it shut. He did the same to the second, but stopped himself at the last moment before it could close all the way.

He pulled it back open. There were several typewritten sheets stapled together with the words "Haven Cleaning and Maid Service" at the top of the first page.

Richie took it in hand, his eyes scanning down the page. It appeared to be a schedule of sorts from several weeks ago. One entry read: Monday 10AM, 367 Messeir Court, general cleaning only. Another one for the same day read 12 noon, 6589 S. Gondin Road, delicate dusting and strip-tease (wear French maid outfit). Still another read: 2PM, 788 S. Hayden Drive, general cleaning and typical fuck-the-maid fantasy.

Richie felt disgusted at what he was reading, but something made him turn the page and glance down the next set of entries. It made his stomach churn. Some appointments dropped the pretense of a maid service entirely and described what sex act his mother was expected to perform.

He reached the third page, and when his fingers touched the paper, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

He was not expecting it, and he jumped back a foot as his eyes came to rest on the chair. It was now occupied by his mother. She was fully dressed and staring at the very same document that Richie held. Hers was open to the exact same page. Her eyes appeared unfocused, as if she were only pretending to see what was written before her. A single fingertip lay near an entry at the bottom of the page.

"Maybe."

Richie was not even sure he had heard it. It was whispered so softly from Sandra's barely moving lips that he thought he might have imagined it.

"Might work."

Richie blinked. "Huh? What might work?"

But the Sandra of the past did not hear him. Her lips curled into a slow, sultry smile. "A full day's work for me," she said in a husky voice. She flipped the document to the first page and returned it to the drawer. She faded back into nonexistence as the drawer was closed.

Richie frowned. He looked down at the page again. His gaze alighted on an entry near the bottom.

Thursdays thru October, 1PM, 1045 Ollander Terrace, caretaking, then little school girl routine to greet owner upon return.

Richie had to stare at it for a minute before it clicked. Wait, isn't that the address of the place we're... 

The floor rumbled with the sound of the garage door going up.

Richie cursed as he flipped the pages back, fumbling it in his haste and partially tearing the first page from the staple. He dropped the pages into the drawer and slammed it shut. He raced out of the room and into his own, then threw himself onto the bed.

Be cool,  Richie thought. Just like Jason said. Don't let on something's going down later.

Each of them had conceived of a plan to get out of the house when word came that Melissa was moving against Heather. Richie's was the least inventive. He was simply going to barrel out of the house, jump on his bike, and pedal away before his mother could stop him. He would worry about the repercussions later.

He leaned over the side of his bed and reached for a sports magazine just as he heard the door from the garage open. It nearly slipped from his fingers in his surprise when the door shut a second later with a mighty slam that shook the house.

"Aw shit," Richie muttered, tossing the magazine down with a sigh.

Richie had already swung his legs over the side of the bed when Sandra stomped up the stairs to his room, so he was already seated and facing the door when she appeared.

Sandra gave Richie a hard look. She folded her arms and leaned against the door frame "All right, you sneaky little bastard. Where the FUCK were you today?"

Richie's hands gripped the edge of the mattress. "Where the fuck do you think I was?"

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't school. And don't smart-mouth me."

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says your dumbass principal, that's who."

"And what the fuck would you know about it, huh? You were out all day."

Sandra reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

Richie's eyes flicked from her mother to the phone and back again. There was a moment of anxiety and doubt in his eyes, but he quickly replaced it with anger. Anger was better. It was what he understood, and it was what his mother would expect. "Yeah, and since when do we rate high 'nough to get a cell phone," he said in as snide a voice as he could muster.

"My boss gave me this, so I can keep in touch with the main office during the day."

Richie glared at her. He remembered all the "appointments" he had seen on her schedule, and for a moment it helped fuel his anger. But then the memory of what he had seen in the den welled up from the dark recesses of his mind no matter how hard he tried to banish it.

Stop it, Richie chided himself. She's not even fighting it ... She's completely given in ... You can be mad at her ... BE MAD AT HER!

Yet the sharp retort he thought to make died on his lips as a terrible thought came to him.

What if his own mother had set them up? What if she had arranged for them to meet at that house so she could feed information about them to the Darkness? What if she were helping it plan for the Harbingers' defeat?

But that couldn't be right. Wouldn't Melissa have moved against them at the meeting place if that were the case? Or was the Darkness itself waiting to take them out when they were done with Melissa?

His hands clenched into fists, and he averted his eyes.

"What?" Sandra demanded.

Richie bit his lip and shook his head. "Nothin'," he muttered. He looked at her, his gaze icy. "Okay, fine, yeah, I skipped school. Not like I haven't done it before."

"In grammar school, Richie, not high school. You don't fuck around with something like this!"

Richie just shrugged.

"It doesn't matter to you, does it? Not a damn fucking bit."

"Guess not."

"Maybe it will mean something to you if I ground you for a month?"

Richie snorted and smirked. "Yeah, okay, Mom. Grounded. A month. Got it."

Sandra stared at her son. Richie narrowed his gaze. Something was happening with her Aura. It looked agitated, as if it were angry. Some of the fury drained from Sandra's eyes, and they appeared uncertain.

He's hiding something.

Sandra swallowed as the voice of the Darkness reverberated in her head. She felt her pussy throb faintly, her thighs quivering as if in anticipation of her next command.

Not his ability. I know about it now. But he's learned something. Something important.

Richie had seen Auras do this just before Jason said he heard something from them. A chill crept down his spine at the thought that the thing he had seen in his earlier vision was in his mother's head.

"Grounded for a month," Sandra said in a hollow voice. "And don't think you can sneak off when I'm not here! I'll find a way to enforce it!"

Richie tried not to react to the threat. Instead, he just nodded and remained silent.

Watch him.

Sandra took a deep breath. Her pussy ran hot and liquid, pulsing mildly with pleasure that radiated up from her body and into her mind. Her nipples hardened and tingled.

Be my good little girl.

Sandra's fingers curled. Her pussy throbbed softly. She let out a small moan through her nose.

Richie heard it. His stomach clenched.

Don't let him out of your sight.

Sandra unfolded her arms as her orgasm faded. "Come on downstairs with me, Richie."

Richie made a face. "Huh? What for?"

"You're going to help me make dinner."

"You don't need me for that."

"Don't tell me what I need or don't need. Then ... then maybe after dinner we can watch something on TV together..."

Richie looked at her strangely. "Are you fucking serious?"

"That's enough. No more talking back to me."

"But I don't wanna watch TV, everything on these days is crap. I just wanna..."

"I don't care what you want!" Sandra shouted. "You always whine like a little brat about me staying home and spending time with you, and now when I give it to you, you find something else to whine about. You're really pathetic, you know that? Now, come on."

Richie fumed. Every bit of him exuded anger and hatred. All but his eyes. They held only hurt. Her hard words clashed violently with the sympathy he had mustered after seeing the horrible vision of the Rite. He had no idea what to feel or think.

He pushed himself off the bed and stomped over to his mother, giving her another glare. Sandra returned it with a blazing anger of her own before turning away.

It was only when she was halfway down the stairs, her face out of sight of Richie, that she allowed herself a single tear.

-------

Jason's hand trembled so much that the plate rattled against the table as he set it down. He glanced anxiously at his mother as she bustled in from the kitchen. The heady aroma of her cooking rolled through the air in her wake.

"Don't take too much longer, dear, dinner will be ready soon," Audrey said, barely glancing at her son as she dropped a set of trivets on the table before turning back towards the kitchen. "And make sure to evenly space those."

"Yes, Mom," Jason said in a hollow voice, though his mother had already disappeared, the swinging door the only evidence of her passing.

He tried to steady himself. He looked nervously at the clock above the mantle in the living room. It was nearly six. Any minute now he would hear the sound of the garage door opening. Then it was going to be war.

A war of stealth, that is.

Jason set out the rest of the plates and started on the silverware. He had the toughest job of all the Harbingers. He had to get out of the house without his father interfering. His father held a more commanding position in whatever hierarchy the Darkness had conceived in Haven. Like Principal Bendon, he was not a slave to the Darkness, but he was doing everything he could to help it.

Or so Jason thought. Since it was clear that Principal Bendon was helping Melissa, it was reasonable to assume that his father would do the same.

Audrey emerged from the kitchen again, taking her own look at the clock. "He better not be late again," she muttered softly. She sighed before turning to Jason.

Jason looked away and forced himself to focus on his task. He was already mentally sweating bullets that his hack into Haven General Hospital's computer network had been discovered. It had not been as clean a break-in as he had wished. He worried that not only had he been detected, but that his father already knew and was now racing home to ream his son for it.

"Is something the matter, Jason?"

Jason's head jerked. The remaining cutlery in his hands slipped and clattered loudly to the table. He gave his mother a sheepish look. " Sorry ... Um, nothing, Mom."

"Are you sure? You've been awfully quiet since..."

The phone rang.

Audrey slapped her arms against her sides. "That better not be..." she muttered angrily as she barreled back into the kitchen. The ringing was silenced moments later.

Jason's heart pounded. He looked at the clock again. Get home, dammit,  he thought vehemently. And at least let me know if I screwed up.

Even if he were in the clear, success was still by no means assured. Once the signal came, he had to get back into the hospital network and insert a medical emergency alert into the files of one of his father's patients. It would trigger their automated pager system and force his father to head back to the hospital.

That was the theory. The hospital system was a puzzling mixture of subnets that each had their own quirks and hence their own security roadblocks. And there was one with a firewall so bulletproof that all his efforts to breach it would be like using a peashooter against the Great Wall of China.

"Dammit, Hank, you promised!" Audrey's anguished voice suddenly rang out from the kitchen.

Jason looked up.

"Just once I would like to have..." his mother called out again, until she caught herself and lowered her voice. Then Jason could hear only muffled noises, but it was very clear that his mother was upset.

Jason flinched when he heard the phone slammed back onto the receiver just as a timer on the stove went off. He picked up the trivets but fiddled with them in his hands anxiously until his mother emerged holding a steaming pot of potatoes.

Audrey stepped heavily to the table and cast an angry glance first at the table and then at Jason. "Will you stop fidgeting like that and put the trivets down?!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." He quickly tossed one down on the table. Audrey set the pot down with a loud thud and whirled back towards the kitchen. "Mom, wait! Is something wrong?"

Audrey stopped at the door and glared at him. "Your father will not be home for dinner," she said stiffly. "He says he's had something come up at the hospital and has to stay for another few hours."

Jason could sense the hurt in her voice, but he was more concerned with the development itself. "Did he say why?"

Audrey grew annoyed. "What difference does that make, Jason? The fact is, he won't be home for dinner even after he pr..." She caught herself again. Her jaw tightened. "Just ... just sit down. Dinner is ready anyway."

She disappeared back into the kitchen. Soon the air was filled with frustrated bangs and clatters as well as the smell of a cooked roast.

Jason sank heavily into his chair. He should be relieved. This took the burden from him. He didn't have to keep his father away from the house. He was in the clear. He could just slip out and with luck get back before...

No, it was too easy again! Just like when they had supposedly discovered Melissa's plans in the first place. Just like when they happened to get a nice meeting place.

Was this another setup? Was he going to arrive at the location for the Rite and have to deal with both Melissa and his father? Was Henry Conner going to help the Darkness even at the cost of going against his own son?

Jason let out a long sigh. There was nothing he could do about it now. They had to go with the plans they had and deal with anything as it came up.

He was going to be glad when it was over.

-------

Penny Sovert rose from the table. "Melinda, it's your turn to help with the dishes tonight."

Heather stood as well. "Actually, um ... I want to do it tonight."

"But it's her turn, Heather."

"I know, but I ... I want to talk to you about something." She gave her father a sidelong glance before returning her gaze to her mother. "In private."

There was a coolness to Penny's gaze as she looked at her daughter. Both Heather and Melinda had noticed that their mother was on edge not long after they had arrived home that afternoon. They had assumed she was upset with them for being so late, but she had not said a word about it.

"Don't let me interrupt in that case," said David with a small smile as he rose. "I have some email to catch up on anyway, so I'll let you girls talk."

Penny sighed as she watched David walk away. "Very well. Melinda, go to your room," she said in a snappish voice as she collected the silverware. She plunked them on a plate with a clatter and took it into the kitchen.

Melinda came alongside Heather. "I don't think it's going to work," she said anxiously. "She's really mad about something."

"I have to get it to work, Melinda," Heather said as she collected the remaining dishes. "Now get out of here before Mom really does get mad at us."

Melinda made a face and fled. Heather took a deep breath before carrying the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

"If you're going to ask for your phone and internet back, Heather, the answer is no," Penny said as soon as Heather stepped into the room. She spoke without turning from the sink, which she was already filling with water. "I heard you two whispering to each other out there. Don't think you can pull anything like that on me."

Heather put the dirty dishes in the sink and stood beside her mother. "It's nothing like that, really."

Penny's jaw clenched. Her eyes remained downcast. "So does this have anything to do with what you've been doing lately?"

Heather felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach. "What are you talking about?"

She had tried to act surprised, but it had come out sounding defensive instead. Penny cast a sharp gaze at her daughter. "I've been hearing a lot of things about you, Heather. And your friends. And what you might be doing together."

Heather's carefully rehearsed script lay in tatters the moment she looked into her mother's eyes and felt nothing but contempt rise up inside her. When she spoke again, her voice was pure acid. "Really? Would that be rumors you've heard yourself, or is someone whispering in your ear? The same someone that happened to tell you to come home early in the first place when Jason..."

Penny slammed the spigot closed, causing a loud knock in the pipe under the sink. "That's quite enough."

"Then stop trying to dance around it! I know who... what you're working for. And what it can do. It's not a big secret anymore."

"Fine. Then you ought to know that it's not something you should interfere with."

"But it sure as hell interferes."

"Don't use language like that in this house, I've told you over and over..."

"Maybe I don't care what you think anymore," Heather declared. "Maybe that's something you ought to know."

Penny frowned deeply and looked away. Silence descended as Penny cleaned, and Heather rinsed.

Heather realized she was having trouble keeping her emotions in check. She was too scared of what would transpire that night, not just for herself, but Diane and Melinda as well. She was even worried about her mother. Would she just stand aside and let it happen? Would she try to interfere and get herself hurt? Both prospects were bad in different ways.

Heather finally spoke. "I invited Diane to a sleepover tonight."

There was a splash as several items of cutlery fell back into the sink. Penny turned to her daughter. "Absolutely not."

"I already invited her."

"Then call her and uninvite her."

"You said I couldn't use the phone, remember?"

"Stop being difficult, Heather!" Penny exploded, slapping her hand against the edge of the sink. She winced as she splashed water into her eye. "You cannot have her over, not tonight of all nights, and that's final."

"But I... " Heather trailed off. She narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. What did you mean by that?"

"You heard me, Heather. I will not allow you to have Diane or anyone else over."

"No, that's not what you said. You said 'not tonight of all nights.' What's that about?"

Penny stared at her daughter, eyes hard but flickering with uncertainty. Her lips remained pressed tightly together, and she swallowed once.

Heather's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God. You know."

"And what business is it of yours, Heather?" Penny said hotly, though her voice was quavering. "Why do you know anything about what's going on? I'll tell you why. Because you won't leave it well enough alone. Even after I told you how I was trying to protect you."

Heather made a scoffing sound. "Yeah, some protection..."

Penny suddenly turned away from the sink and grabbed Heather's arms. Water soaked into one of the sleeves of Heather's shirt. "Heather, stop it. Stop it. Please. Stop trying to interfere. I'm begging you."

Heather stared at her mother in shock. Penny's voice sounded as fearful as Heather felt.

"I actually don't know what specifically is happening tonight, Heather," Penny said in a softer voice. "I know ... I know it's something big ... s-something dangerous. Call Diane. Tell her to stay home. Call your other friends as well if you want and tell them to stay put, too. Please."

Heather swallowed. Her mind raced. "I-I can't ... I ... Diane has to come over. I did something to her..."

Penny's mouth dropped open. "What??"

"I enslaved her."

Penny stared, stricken.

Heather forced a smile, though the corners of her mouth twitched. "I enslaved her, Mom. Completely. No will of her own. She's all mine."

Penny let go of Heather and staggered. She gripped the side of the sink. "You c-couldn't have, Heather. You don't ... after Nyssa, you no longer had the power to..."

"I got some power."

Penny raised a trembling hand to her forehead. "You didn't. Please tell me you didn't..."

Heather's stomach turned. She hated doing this. For the moment, she had forgotten how angry she was with her mother. But the deception was the only thing her mother would believe, and it would protect their real plans.

"What's the point in fighting it, Mom?" Heather said, trying to sound casual. "I just did what you did. I got some power and used it on Diane. She's a lesbian, did you know that? So it really..."

Penny sobbed once. Heather fell silent. It was all she could do to maintain her own composure.

"That's not how it happened, Heather. I didn't take ... that is, it wasn't so much a choice as..." She gasped and shuddered. Her eyes closed tightly, and she moaned. When she spoke again, it was in a little girl's voice. "S-sorry ... I w-won't tell ... I promise ... I'll be good..."

Heather had to resist the urge to bolt. She could see the Darkness churning violently around her mother's body.

Penny opened her eyes. She gave Heather a quivering smile. "O-okay, Heather. You can have her over. I'll leave you to your privacy. I'll ... I'll make sure your father doesn't disturb you either. Is ... is anyone else coming over later? A-anyone at all?"

Heather could see the fear in her mother's eyes. It was a mercy to lie to her. "No one at all. Just Diane. Why would anyone else be coming over?"

Penny shook her head. "No reason at all, honey. None at all. I'll do the rest of the dishes, Heather. You go upstairs and ... and get ready for your slave."

Seconds after her statement, Penny gasped softly and let out a ragged, sultry sigh, her feet sliding apart. There was a very faint splash from under Penny's jeans.

Heather fled.

-------

Ned tried to pay attention to his meal but could not help stealing glances at Cassie across the table. She seemed to have her attention on nothing at all. Her head was propped up on one hand, her gaze unfocused and morose. She poked bits of food around on her plate.

Ned was about to say something when Cassie sighed and put down her fork. She did not appear to notice she was sitting with someone else as she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. The pale glow from the LCD screen made her cheeks look ruddy in the subdued light. She made a face and slipped it back into her purse.

"That's the third time you've checked it," Ned finally said.

Cassie blinked and looked up. "Huh?"

Ned paused. Light from the candle that flickered in the center of the table danced in her glistening eyes. "Um ... is this the wrong time ta tell ya how cool yer eyes look in the candlelight?"

Cassie tilted her head. "What? Oh!" Her cheeks turned even more ruddy. She managed a very weak smile. "Thank you. And I'm sorry about the phone. I should have had them sit us near the window where the signal strength is better so I wouldn't worry about it so much."

"'sokay, babe. I just don't wanna see ya freak out about this."

Cassie sighed. "Goodness, if it's anyone that should be freaking out, it's you."

"Huh? Ya lost me there."

"Well, look at this. I'm using the pretense of a date to keep us both up after dark for..." She waved a hand vaguely in the air. "You can't tell me this would be your idea of an ideal date."

Ned put down his fork and reached for her hand across the table. "Jeez, don't be so hard on yerself, babe. I'm doin' just fine."

Cassie's eyes slid from his eyes to his plate. "You hardly touched the main course."

"Oh, that," Ned said with a shrug. "No biggie. I guess this venshun stuff is not my fav."

"Venison. And see, I even violated your rule. I took you to a snooty place with 'bistro' in the name."

Ned smirked and chuckled, squeezing her hand. Cassie's lips curled into a tiny smile, though it faded quickly at her next thought. She pulled her hand away, eliciting a somewhat surprised look. "I can't believe you want to even look at me after what I told you earlier."

Ned had to admit it had been a disappointment to hear that Cassie could not go through with letting him use the spell on her. He sighed and reached for her hand again, this time holding it more tightly so she would not pull it away. "Look, never mind the spell, it's ... it's not really important. I mean, c'mon ... ya may feel diff'rent about it when it's all over."

"Please, don't get your hopes up about that, Ned. Right now, I don't want anything to do with that book again."

Ned paused for a long moment, then took a deep breath and let it go, forcing a confidence into his face that he did not truly feel. "Okay, then no prob. We don't do it. I won't bring it up 'gain."

"Ned, I didn't mean..."

"No, it's fer the best, babe. Ya don't need me makin' ya feel pressured. An' ya will, I know you. 'specially after seein' how upset ya were earlier."

Cassie slowly smiled. She reached across the table and kissed him softly on the lips. "Thank you." She extricated her hand slowly from his grip and went back to eating her meal with a little more enthusiasm.

Ned smiled weakly and tried to go back to his own meal. He was not quite as eager.

Yeah, way to go, noodle-brain,  he chided himself. Just gave up the only chance you'll ever have to get into bed with a girl again.

The next moment, he felt an equal amount of guilt churn in his stomach.

But that was the right thing to do, wasn't it?

-------

"About time," Melissa muttered as she heard footsteps coming up from the basement.

A smiling Bill Radson appeared at the door. "Here you go, Melissa."

Melissa received the small wooden box with the same reverence that her mother might receive Communion at Mass were Kathy still of the mindset to do such a thing anymore.

It was not very large or impressive. Her cupped hands could encompass it. She fingered the latch and lifted the top, which moved effortlessly on shiny brass hinges. It was hardly deep enough to contain even a single paperback novel. Yet with the proper incantation, it would house the souls of four people.

"I hope you're pleased with it," Bill said.

Melissa closed it and looked up, smiling in self-satisfaction. "I love it! Thank you very much, Mr. Radson, for getting this done sooner. This means a lot to me."

Bill smiled. "You're such a nice girl, Melissa. I really do hope you keep coming around. I would like to get to know you better."

Melissa chuckled. "Oh, you can count on that, Mr. Radson. In fact, I'd say that after tonight, everyone will be getting to know me a little better. Now, if you'll excuse me, Susan and I have to go."

"Girls' night out, huh?"

Melissa grinned. "You could say that, yes. I assume it's okay for her to have the car?"

"Hmm. Technically she just has a learner's permit..."

"I'll make sure she drives safely, Mr. Radson, no problems there."

"Hmm. Well ... all right."

"Thank you. Now, I'm sure you had other things you wanted to do tonight in your workroom, right?"

Bill paused for a moment, his eyes unfocused. "Well ... it really is getting late, and I have to get up early in the morning..."

"But surely you have some home projects that you need to catch up with?"

Bill remained silent and unmoving, as if caught between two thoughts.

"You really want to get to them as soon as possible, don't you?"

Finally, Bill nodded slowly. "Yes ... yes, I need to catch up on them. Thank you for reminding me."

He turned and headed back down into the basement.

Melissa took a deep breath and let it go. She was trembling slightly. Maintaining her lingering influence over Debby, Bill, and her mother was taking its toll on her. She had to push to get Bill to do what she wanted.

When she took Heather, she was going to lose at least one of them. Her mother was the safest one to lose. She already had some permanent changes that would prevent her from interfering. Debby and Bill were the dangerous ones.

Melissa headed into the living room. An anxious-looking Susan was standing near the door, shivering in both fear and lust. As Melissa stepped up to her, she whimpered softly and rubbed her thighs together. Moisture ran hot and made muffled squishing noises.

"Yes, you're going to be sooo turned on by all this," Melissa cooed.

Susan moaned and shuddered as her pussy throbbed. She closed her eyes tightly. No protests would come to her. Melissa's control of her thoughts and desires was nearly complete. She wanted only what Melissa wanted of her.

"All that power you're going to help me get. Makes you just want to cum..."

Susan's hips jerked as another orgasm was sparked.

" ... and cum..."

She staggered and fell against the door, panting wildly as her cunt convulsed.

" ... and cum..."

Susan's knees buckled, and she slid to the floor, shaking helplessly.

Melissa giggled and relented. Susan's orgasm faded slowly, leaving her breathless.

"Melissa ... uhhn ... w-wait, please..."

Melissa turned around, casting a contemptuous gaze before her. She smirked. "Now now, Mrs. Radson ... aren't you afraid of your loving husband seeing you like this?"

Debby leaned against the side of the archway that led into the dining room. Her robe was open, exposing her naked body underneath. Her now aching hands gripped a thick dildo that she continued to plow into her nearly spent pussy. Her eyes were wild with both desire and desperation. "P-please ... don't do this ... i-it's too dangerous..."

Melissa smiled and walked up to Debby. She carefully hid her irritation over how Debby was still straining against her control. "You're sounding like a broken record again, Mrs. Radson. I've heard all this before."

"L-listen to me! ... Something happened the last time ... something terrible ... y-you don't understand the forces you're dealing with!"

"And you do? Perhaps if you did, you would have taken the power for yourself. That's really what it is, isn't it? You're just upset that I thought to exploit this power first!"

"N-no! ... I never ... uhhhn! ... oh goddess..."

Debby shuddered as she came. She still could not stop impaling herself with the sex toy. Even as she fell to her knees, the dildo slid wetly to and fro.

"That has to be it," Melissa murmured, her fingers curling around the pendant. "The power is not dangerous at all. You were just too much of a coward to take it."

Melissa turned away.

Debby lifted her head. "You c-can't keep control of me! I know parts of the Rite! Y-you have to take complete control! You can't keep me!"

Melissa gritted her teeth. "Shut up."

"I-I'll ... uhhn! ... I'll try to stop you..."

Melissa whirled around. "Shut up! You think you're so fucking clever, holding out against me, don't you? You think that will buy you anything? You think I'm so dumb that I wouldn't take precautions? Oh yes, you'll break free from me. But not soon enough to do any good. By the time you get your wits about you, I'll have the power I want.

"But don't worry, Mrs. Radson." Her lips curled into a malevolent smile. "I'll be back to see you after that. And then you can forget about resisting me again. Then you'll do whatever I want like a good little girl."

Debby tried to stand up, stumbled, and fell onto her back. She spread her legs and mercilessly pounded the dildo into herself.

Melissa raised her hand. A set of car keys flew threw the air from upstairs and into her fingers. She tossed them to Susan, who nearly dropped them. Susan was staring at her mother with a stricken look on her face.

"Stop staring like an idiot, Susan, and let's go. We need to pick up the others."

Susan's wide eyes turned to Melissa. "Wh-what about my mother?" she asked in a weak voice. "What will you do to... ?"

"Anything I want to do with her will make you horny, you stupid cunt."

Susan shuddered and moaned, her pussy hot and steamy again. "Y-yes ... yes, of course..." she burbled.

"Now move. Fetch Ann first, then we'll get Heather and Diane."

Susan smoothly turned and opened the door. Somewhere in the back of her head, she remembered a similar moment. It was the moment she had left this very same house to drive herself, Ann, and Melissa to the picnic grounds to perform Melissa's initiation.

An anguished, silent cry of terrible regret echoed through her head.

-------

Diane sat down heavily on Heather's bed as Heather closed the door. She sighed and dropped her face into her hands. "God, that was nerve-wracking ... I'm not sure how I'm going to pull this off in front of Melissa."

Heather leaned against the closed door. She wrapped her arms around herself and glanced nervously towards the window. "I know, Diane, it's going to be hard. God, I hope she doesn't try to force me to tell the truth all the time like she did with Ann."

"I told you we should have used that memory spell on you!" cried Melinda. "We could have convinced you that you really did enslave Diane all along!"

"And I told you a million times already why that would cause a lot of other problems!" Heather snapped.

"Please, don't you two fight over me, this is hard enough," Diane pleaded.

Heather sat down next to Diane. She slipped an arm around her lover and held her close. "It'll be okay, Diane."

"I'm sorry I yelled," Melinda muttered. "I'm just a little scared."

"You're scared? We're the ones she's coming for, runt."

Melinda gave them a sullen look. "Melissa will probably fuck with me, too. Shit, I hardly have any clean panties left after this past week! I might as well just strip naked now."

Heather couldn't help but smirk slightly at the thought.

Melinda's eyes widened. "Don't you dare try to influence me!"

"Oh, chill out, Melinda. I'm not going to do that."

"I just don't want you thinking you need some kind of boost to your precog thing or something."

Heather's expression turned more somber. "I don't need any. I've already been sensing something is about to happen."

Diane gave Heather an alarmed look. "Melissa's already on her way?"

"Probably. She's not close yet. I'm just getting faint images in my head. I-I do know she has the box already."

Melinda shivered. "I don't want to see that," she said in a tiny, frightened voice.

Heather fought down another surge of panic for perhaps the fourth time that evening. She had to distract herself from it. "Um, Diane, you got everything set? You know what to do?"

Diane nodded and pulled out a cell phone from the pocket of her jeans. It was the slimmest one that Cassie could find at the wireless store earlier that afternoon that was not a flip phone. "I'll use this to call Cassie soon as Melissa is about to arrive," she explained. "Then I leave the line open and you try to stall for time as much as possible before she c-controls you..."

Heather took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm hoping she wants to take a few moments to just h-humiliate me before we go," she said in a shaky voice.

"She's going to use me to do that, too," Melinda whimpered. "I just know she is."

Heather sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Melinda, she is. Stop whining about it, it's driving me nuts."

"Then I try to touch the number buttons on the keypad to let them know what's going on," Diane said a bit loudly. "One to tell them we're leaving. Two to tell them we're back on the road. Then I use three, four, or five to tell them which route we're taking to get to the other side of town. Six if we take a diversion somewhere to do something else. Seven when we're headed back towards the picnic grounds again. Eight when we arrive. Nine if she decided not to do the Rite where we thought she would do it."

"Very good, Diane."

"What if you lose the signal?" Melinda demanded. "I heard a friend of mine complain about how you get a bad signal on the west side of town."

"Cassie will call me if that happens," Diane said. "The phone is set to vibrate only. I just have to answer it and the call is open again. That is, I hope. I won't be able to tell if the signal goes away because I can't take the phone out and look at it."

"It'll work," Heather insisted. "It has to work. Jason and Cassie both thought this up."

"They have to get there first," Melinda said. "They have to! They can't leave you alone like that!"

"Melinda, please! Calm down! I'm freaking out enough about this on my own without you to..."

Heather's own words were cut off as she suddenly gasped in the middle of her sentence and sat ramrod straight. Her fingers curled so tightly into the edge of the mattress that her fingernails nearly tore a narrow slash through the sheet.

The image was so clear that she had trouble distinguishing it from realty. For a frightening moment, she was sitting the backseat of a car riding down a darkened street. And next to her in the seat looking rather smug was...

Diane trembled. "What? What is it?!"

Melinda stared, eyes wide in fear.

"It's Melissa," Heather said in a terrified, hollow voice. "She's coming."



-------

Chapter 28


Cassie tightened her arm around Ned's waist and snuggled closer to him. Ned tried not to let himself think of anything beyond the fact that they were standing on the boardwalk overlooking the canal that ran through the center of town. He could feel her trembling and knew she was seeking warmth and comfort rather than anything romantic.

It helped somewhat that Harry kept a watchful eye on them from the limo, parked just a short distance away. He had already admonished them once about remaining in his sight.

"I wish it wasn't so cold tonight," Cassie said.

Ned didn't think it was that cold. His breath barely fogged the air. The clouds that had rolled in shortly after sunset slowed the night cooling. He was more concerned about snow. The clouds appeared lighter in hue, which usually meant snow was on the way.

"Ned ... please do me a favor."

Ned pulled his gaze away from the sky. "Huh? Oh, sure, babe, anything."

"If we have to use the memory spell on Harry ... y-you do it."

Ned hesitated. "Um, ya sure about that?"

"I can't do it. I just can't. I-I've done a lot for the Harbingers, but asking me to cast one of those spells is too much for me."

Ned smiled weakly and offered a brief hug. "Okay, no prob. You wanna give me the spell now?"

Cassie nodded. She separated from him enough to open her purse and fish out the piece of paper that held the incantation. She stared at it for a moment before finally handing it to Ned. "This must seem really stupid to you, doesn't it?"

"What? Oh, no, not at all..."

"Yes, it does. It probably does to everyone else as well."

"Aw, c'mon, babe, why ya doin' this to yerself?"

Cassie turned away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't even imagine using one of these spells on someone that's willing, never mind someone unwilling. How do the rest of you do it?"

Ned felt uneasy. In his mind, it was a veiled way of saying "how dare you consider using one of these spells on me."

Cassie looked at him when he didn't respond and sighed. "That was unfair of me."

"It is kinda hard ta answer that, babe," Ned said sheepishly.

"It's easier for the rest of them, isn't it? They actually had this power and used it on each other. They ... they still do, some of them. It's like they're used to it. I guess I don't want to get that way. I don't want it to be so commonplace that I don't think twice about sapping someone's will. Or having someone take mine."

"Um ... well ... I kinda think I know the answer ta that, but ... uh..."

Cassie stepped up to him. "Tell me, then, please. I want to know what makes it so hard for me to accept."

Ned rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he hadn't said anything. "Yer not gonna like the answer."

"I already don't like the question in the first place, or that I have to ask it. Your answer can't be any worse."

Ned sighed. "All right ... Well, it's like this ... yer used ta gettin' what ya want. None of us are."

Cassie looked at Ned in confusion.

Ned was afraid that it would take some further explanation. "Yer rich, Cassie."

"My parents are rich. I..."

" ... can take advantage of it anytime ya please. Look, don't get the wrong idea, 'kay? The rest of us are real glad ya can. It's given us just 'bout everything we need. But ya see? They can't do that. They don't have that kinda control over their lives, and this..."

"What, you think I really have any control over my own life?" Cassie said hotly. "If I did, I wouldn't... !"

Cassie was startled into silence when her cellphone warbled.

Ned breathed a sigh of relief. Cassie dove into her purse and yanked out her phone. "H-hello?? ... Diane! Is she... ? Oh goodness ... a-all right, I'll start calling the others. Keep the line open, please!"

Cassie pulled the phone from her ear and set it to mute. "Ned, you have the other... ?"

"Way ahead o' ya," Ned said, presenting the phone that Cassie had given him the other day when she had met with Susan's mother.

Cassie took the phone from him. She looked worriedly over Ned's shoulder. "Harry's going to give us trouble, I know it."

"Then I'll take care o' that right now while ya make the calls."

Cassie grabbed his arm just as he turned away. "Wait! You're not going to use it on him now?!"

"Yeah, babe, I am. We can't take a chance, ya know? We'll just be wastin' time flappin' our gums at him."

Cassie gave him a stricken look and wanted to argue the point. Instead, she pulled her hand away and nodded, her eyes glistening. "I hate this."

"I know, babe. Not my cup o' tea, either. Sooner we get this over with, the better. Now, let's git'r'done."

Cassie (who had to have the reference explained to her the other day) smiled wanly at him.

-------

Jason jumped out of his chair as soon as he heard the phone ring.

He was at the door to his room by the time the first ring ended. He heard the door to the den open downstairs followed by his mother's sigh. His heart pounded as the second ring came and went.

There was no third ring.

His mother's footsteps paused, then continued, then a click. "Hello?"

Silence. Then a sigh, a hangup, and his mother's retreating footsteps.

Jason leapt away from the door. He dropped to his knees beside his bed and pulled out two pillows and a thick blanket. He stood up, yanked the blanket and sheet back from his bed, and proceeded to shape the pillows and additional blanket into the approximate shape of his own sleeping form.

He had already told his mother that he had a ton of homework and studying to do, and that he might retire directly following if he were tired enough. He hoped that seeing the light off would be enough to convince his mother he was asleep and not disturb him.

Jason pulled the blanket over his makeshift mannequin. To complete the picture, he found an old pair of eyeglasses and placed them on the night table next to the bed. He hoped that, from a distance, they would look similar enough to his present glasses to fool his mother.

Jason checked the hall. His mother had retreated into the den, and he could hear the sewing machine running.

He turned off his computer and grabbed his jacket. Something was still bothering him. He again thought that his father was making this too easy. It was as if he had purposely worked late just to lure Jason out of the house.

Or was that just paranoia? After all, he had the same suspicions about the meeting house and their mysterious benefactor. It had turned out that Melissa was using other methods to spy on them that had nothing to do with the house itself.

Jason turned off the lights and crept out of his room. He closed the door gently and stole down the stairs as quietly as possible. He ducked into the garage where his bike lay.

This was the only thing he couldn't fake. If his mother came into the garage for anything, or his father came home, his deception would be exposed. He had no choice but to risk it.

He walked the bicycle out the back door into the yard rather than go through the main garage door. He brought the bike through the gate, to the front of the house, and finally onto the street.

He jogged his bike to the corner and stopped in the circle of pale yellow illumination from the street lamp. He held his breath when headlight beams lanced through the dark, only to relax as a car he didn't recognize passed without taking notice of him. There was apparently no one waiting to stop him or follow him.

He looked up. The houses were sharply silhouetted against a rather light-colored cloudy sky. The forecast had been for snow showers, but he had hoped it was wrong.

He mounted his bike. Giving one last look around him, he launched himself into the night.

-------

Richie stared at the screen with a sullen look on his face, his arms folded defiantly across his chest. The images from the TV flickered in his darkened eyes. That was as far as they got. Despite his fixed gaze, he was barely aware of what he was watching.

Sandra lounged in the seat next to him. She sat with her bare feet tucked under her as she worked on her second can of beer. She occasionally glanced at Richie, who had ceased to acknowledge her since they had sat down together after dinner.

She drew in a long breath and let it go in a combination of frustration and trepidation. Most days, the Darkness was not a constant presence in her head. She was aware its desires and felt its occasional reminders of her responsibilities to it. Yet since the evening began, she felt the constant chill of its touch on her mind, as if it had curled up inside a section of her head like a cat poised to spring.

The both of them were startled by the sound of the telephone.

Sandra paused and turned her head in annoyance, not moving from the couch at first, and allowed the first ring to pass. It was only when the second ring began that she put her can down and stood up.

Richie followed her with his eyes, then glanced towards the door.

Sandra had come around the end of the sofa when the second ring ended just a second sooner than normal. It was close enough that neither Richie nor Sandra noticed it. But another had.

NO NO, IT'S A SIGNAL! STOP RICHIE!

Richie had already diverted his gaze away from his mother. Now he noticed the pause after the second ring and knew there would be no third one. He bolted from the sofa and dashed to the front door.

Richie deftly unlatched the locks on the door and started to pull it open. The knob was violently yanked out of his grip, and the door slammed shut a split-second later. He saw the hand on the door, but in his surprise and panic, he wasted a precious moment to turn around and confirm that it was his mother that had stopped him.

Before he could extricate himself, Sandra surged forward and slammed her body against his, pinning him to the door.

The force of the blow knocked the wind out Richie, delaying his reaction further. Just as he recovered his breath, he was greeted by the sensation of warm, plump flesh mashed against his face.

"Mom! Stop it! What ... mmph ... stop..."

"Don't fight it," Sandra said, her voice quavering badly but deeply husky. Her shirt was pulled up, and she rubbed her bare tits against Richie's face. Her body trembled with mounting desire even as her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Tendrils of her Aura slithered towards Richie. "You always wanted this, didn't you?"

Richie finally managed to lift his hands and give her a hard shove. Her breasts fell away from his face, but then her knee forced his legs apart. He gasped when her thigh slid against his crotch.

Richie pushed her leg down. She mashed her boobs into his face again, and her leg slid up once more. His cock stirred and hardened. One of her hands dropped from her tits and rubbed his crotch.

"Stop it! You're my mother!" Richie cried, his voice equal parts desperation and growing lust.

A single tear trickled down Sandra's face. "Stay home, Richie, and your mother will give you the best fuck of your life," she cooed. She yanked his zipper down and slipped her fingers over the hard bulge in his briefs.

Richie moaned, and his legs trembled. He was as frightened as he was aroused. She was doing something to him, something that was rapidly draining his resistance. Tendrils of her Aura entwined themselves around his body and roamed as if seeking entry.

Her tits dropped from his face again. He thought he had a break until he realized that his mother had already opened his belt and pushed his pants down his legs. He barely had time to look down and gasp before his briefs fell, and his engorged cock was enveloped in Sandra's hungry mouth.

Richie panted hard as her head bobbed back and forth. The growing heat of lust in his body was met by the icy feel of the Darkness in his head. He saw the stain of tears down his mother's cheeks, and it helped him hang on a little longer. "M-mom ... uhhn ... y-you don't wanna do this ... s-stop ... uhhh! ... s-stop!"

Sandra shuddered and closed her eyes, and simply sucked him harder and faster.

-------

Cassie's stomach clenched as she stepped over to the limo. Harry was still standing as motionless as a statue next to the driver side door, his eyes glazed and staring into the distance.

"Jus' about done with him," Ned said quietly to Cassie. "But wanted ta make sure I thought of everything before I snapped him outta it."

Cassie was unable to avoid staring at her driver in horrible fascination. "S-so what did you do to him?"

"Told 'im that ya got blanket permission from yer folks ta take ya anywhere," Ned explained, trying not to sound too proud at his accomplishment. "That seemed ta take. Then I tried ta tell him that yer parents said it was okay to leave ya alone with me. That was harder. Seemed ta wanna resist it."

Cassie sighed and nodded. "I know. He's very protective of me, even without my parents telling him. Please, don't push it any harder than that. I don't want to hurt him."

"'sokay. I think it took once I repeated it a coupla times. Ya got anything else?"

Cassie was already shaking her head. "No, just bring him out of it, please."

"Sure thing." Ned turned to Harry. "'kay, big guy. Awaken!"

Harry blinked rapidly and swayed. He recovered swiftly and straightened. He turned to Cassie and nodded once. "Yes, Miss Kendall? Where would you and your date like to go next?"

Cassie took a deep breath. "To the picnic grounds just off the west side of town. Same place you took me the other day, if you recall."

"Yes, I remember, Miss Kendall. Though I am not entirely sure that place is safe this time of night. Would it not be closed at this late an hour?"

Cassie looked at Ned. Ned made a "go on" gesture.

She turned back to Harry and raised her head imperiously. "Nevertheless, my mother clearly gave you permission to take me where ever I wish to go, and that is where I wish to go. And you should know by now that there are few places 'closed' to someone like me."

Harry hesitated, then nodded again. "As you wish, Miss Kendall."

Cassie let go a sigh of relief as Harry turned away to open the door for her and Ned. Ned gave her a thumb's up and a grin.

"I hate doing that," she whispered to Ned inside the car.

"I know, babe, I'm sorry," Ned said softly back. "I promise never to ask ya to do that jus' fer the hell of it."

Cassie managed a smile and squeezed his hand as the car pulled onto the road. "Thank you. Now I hope that everyone else got away okay."

"And Heather manages ta stall Melissa enough so we can get there first."

-------

Melissa opened the door.

The drama of the moment consisted of little more than Heather standing up upon seeing her nemesis in the doorway of her bedroom. She regarded Melissa with trepidation but, surprisingly, little outright fear. Melinda was less reserved. She pulled in her breath as a soft gasp, and her eyes shimmered on the edge of panic.

But where Melissa's eyes were drawn was to Diane. Her lips curled into a smug smile.

Diane sat still with her hands folded demurely in her lap, staring at nothing in particular, a soft, vapid smile on her face. In reality, Diane was so nervous that one corner of her mouth twitched, but Melissa either did not see it or dismissed it.

Melissa raised her eyes to Heather and closed the door. She strolled forward very casually, as if this were her house and Heather were the guest. "You're not surprised to see me. Not surprised at all."

Heather swallowed and drew in a breath. She lifted her head, trying to show some resolve despite her anxiety. "Why should I be after everything you've been doing to me through Brad the last few days?" she said in a cool voice.

Melissa clicked her tongue and lay a single fingertip lightly under Heather's chin. Heather flinched as if it were a knife held to her throat. "Now that's not a nice attitude to have. But I could give you a much better one. And I will before the night is over."

Heather frowned and jerked her head from Melissa's hand. "Like you did with poor Susan? And Ann?"

Melissa laughed. "Poor? Oh hardly. They cum about ten times a day now. Doesn't that sound pleasant? Of course, now that's all they're good for." She glanced at Diane. "Sort of like sweet little Diane here."

Heather's hands clenched. Anger over what Melissa had almost made her do overrode her fear.

"How does it feel, Heather? Having your own mindless slave? Feel good? You always did want to be in control."

"You made her do that, you bitch!" Melinda blurted, jumping to her feet.

"Melinda, no, stop it!" Heather cried. "Please..."

Melissa looked bored.

"But she did! And she made it so I couldn't warn you!"

"Melinda! I said stop it, or I'll make you cum so long and so hard you'll pass out."

Melinda gasped. "What?? Y-you wouldn't... !"

She clamped her hand over her mouth when she saw both the stricken look on Heather's face and the twisting, horrible black of a growing Aura around Heather's body.

Melissa smiled. "It is true, isn't it? You do have some sort of lingering control over your baby sister."

Heather's eyes burned. "Who told you that? Nyssa's little pet, Principal Bendon?"

"Show me. Make Melinda horny. Really horny."

Melinda's eyes widened. She stared panic-stricken at her sister.

Heather looked at Melinda and then back at Melissa, trying to resist obeying the command. The suppression of her inhibitions still lingered, making it more difficult. It helped that the need to delay Melissa as long as possible was, for the moment, a stronger driving force.

But it wouldn't hold for long. She could already feel icy tendrils of Melissa's will casting a pall over her mind.

"You can make Melinda into a little sex toy, can't you?" Melissa persisted. "You can make her so aroused she can't even think."

"Heather, please, don't..." Melinda begged softly, eyes glistening.

"You'd love to do that to her. It makes you wet just thinking about it."

Heather panted. She was losing the struggle. Melissa was simply too strong for her. When it had been filtered through Brad, she could focus her thoughts on something else. With Melissa, there was no something else. She thought and felt only what Melissa wanted her to think and feel.

Heather let out her breath as a ragged, lusty sigh. Intensely erotic thoughts of her little sister filled her head. In her mind's eye, she saw Melinda naked, pussy helpless and wet.

"N-no..." Melinda moaned and collapsed to her knees. It had come on so suddenly and so intensely that she became lightheaded. She gripped the side of the bed until it passed. When her senses no longer reeled, it was as if someone had poured warm oil into her panties.

"I-I'm sorry, Melinda," Heather whispered. "I-I'm s-s ... I want you horny, baby sis. I want you dripping wet and thinking about pussy."

Melinda whimpered as images of hot, wet cunt drifted through her mind. "Mmm ... pussy ... uhhh ... n-no..."

"That's it, baby sis. Think about eating pussy. I-It's ... it's all you want to do."

It was too much for Melinda. She was already exhausted from resisting Melissa's control earlier. She couldn't stand up to Heather's influence. She thrust her hand under her panties and sank her fingers into her sopping folds. "Uhhhn ... eat pussy ... mmm, yummy..."

Melissa smiled in satisfaction and looked at Diane.

Test her.

Melissa's smile faltered.

Make sure she really is Heather's slave. Make sure you are not being deceived.

Now Melissa frowned. Deceived? They couldn't do that. They wouldn't dare.

Then TEST HER.

Melissa's eyes snapped over to Heather. "Now I want to see your slave in action. Have her eat out Melinda."

Heather gave Melissa a stricken look. "B-but why... ?"

"I said do it! Don't ever make me give you an order twice!"

Diane struggled not to react. She already felt sick watching Heather being forced to abuse her little sister. Only by fixing the thought in her head that everything now depended on her enabled her to keep up the act and stay "in character."

Melissa smiled wickedly. "In fact, give me a show. Have Diane strip her and tease her until she's in tears begging to be eaten out."

Heather was torn. She wanted to feel elation that Melissa's ego was providing for the delay the others needed, but it meant subjecting her lover and her sister to more of Melissa's torture. She wiped at a tear as she turned. "D-Diane..."

Diane immediately stood up. "Yes, Mistress?" she said as brightly as she could manage.

"Do ... do what Melissa just said. Strip Melinda, tease her, then ... th-then eat her out."

"Of course, Mistress. Anything to please you..."

"And have her strip as well," Melissa said.

Diane forgot herself and turned her head towards Melissa. She managed to suppress a worried look.

"What?" Heather said weakly.

"What did I tell you before about questioning me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I was a really stupid cunt for asking again," Heather said, blushing at the words Melissa forced out of her mouth.

"Much better."

Heather turned to Diane. "You heard her, slave. Strip."

Diane hesitated a moment, but then began to unbutton her blouse. "Of course, Mistress."

Diane's heart thudded. She had not counted on Melissa having her undress. She would be forced to leave the cell phone in the pocket. She had to hope that Melissa would at least have her dress again before taking her out of the house.

-------

"Still nothing, babe?" Ned asked.

Cassie looked at her cell phone and shook her head. "The line is still open. I can sometimes hear muffled sounds in the background. And I know I heard Melissa's voice at least once."

Ned glanced out the window. As the landscape grew darker the further towards the west they traveled, the more stark grew the contrast with the cloudy sky.

"I think we're gonna beat her there," Ned said with a grin. "We're gonna get there first."

"I'll feel better if Jason gets there, too. I wish I had a to find out how close he is. Or if he got out of the house at all. Richie, too. We really need him as well."

"Aw, they'll be okay. Jason's smart and Richie ain't gonna take no cr ... er ... stuff from his Mom. He doesn't care if he gets inta trouble with her."

"I really hope so, Ned. Anyone that's going to help stop Melissa has to be there when she starts. It will be too late otherwise."

Ned craned his neck so he could see past Harry. "Well, here's hopin' we won't have long ta wait," he commented, pointing.

The first snowflakes were starting to drift down into the path of the headlight beams.

-------

Sandra drove Richie into a frenzy, taking him so close that his cock seemed to strain right at the edge. His balls felt swollen and achy from denial. He gasped each time she curled her fingers around them and tugged them from his body, stretching them whenever he got close.

Richie writhed against the front door. His attempts to push himself away were increasingly feeble. He had to bite his lip to stop himself from begging his mother to make him cum.

He realized that his own baser desires were being used against him, like they had from the start. He felt guilty for being so obsessed with sex in the first place. He clung to this thought, as agonizing as it was, as it was the only thing stopping the encroaching Darkness from completely taking him.

Finally, his mother drew her head back and let his cock fall from her mouth. Richie was panting hard, his cock pulsing and tinged slightly purple from the strength of his erection. Sandra rose up on her knees, bringing her bosom level with his cock. She grabbed her tits from the side and enveloped his shaft in warm, soft flesh.

Richie moaned as a shudder passed through him.

"Go ahead, Richie..." Sandra said in a husky voice. "Pump your cock in my tits. Do it. Fuck my big titties."

Richie's hands curled into fists against the door. His body shook from the effort to resist. His hips trembled and made a single very brief thrust forward. He clenched his teeth as his cock slid within invitingly pliant flesh.

Sandra squeezed her tits more firmly and kneaded his cock between them. "More, Richie ... do it ... cum in my tits..."

Richie shook his head violently.

"Maybe you want it in my cunt instead?"

"N-no ... no, please, Mom, d-don't..."

Sandra stood up. Her fingers curled tightly around his member. "That's what you really want, isn't it?" she said in a sultry voice. "I want it too. I'm wet for you, Richie. You like that, don't you? You like a woman getting all horny and wet for you."

Sandra pulled the crotch of her panties to one side with her free hand. Underneath, her pussy steamed and swelled. She tilted his cock down and leaned forward until the head lay nestled in her moist folds. She drew it slowly up and down her slit, wetting it and stroking it against her clit.

"Uhhh ... s-stop..." Richie moaned.

"Oh, you don't want me to stop ... This is what you want, I know you ... Now come on ... come with me into the bedroom and fuck me ... fuck me all night..."

Sandra lifted her hips and leaned forward. Richie quivered as his cock now lay right at her entrance, the head just barely parting her labia.

"Or fuck me right here if you want ... just enough to cum in my twat..."

Richie felt helpless. His body burned with the desire to jerk his hips forward and impale himself in her pussy right then and there. He would cum in seconds. Sweet relief was so close. The Darkness cocooning his body shuddered in ecstasy at its moment of apparent triumph.

"Or maybe..." Sandra withdrew her hand from her panties. They brushed against his cock. She grabbed his shoulder. " ... I need to give you a little encouragement..."

But Richie barely heard her words, or even sensed the fact that his cock had popped past her labia and was slowly enveloped by her velvety cunt. For the moment that her panties had touched his skin, he suddenly saw his father as if the man were standing right in front of him. It was as if his mother had suddenly become transparent, as if she were not even there.

The sight of him filled Richie with an ache that went far beyond anything that the Darkness could do to him. Richie wanted to go to him, but someone was in the way. He had his chance to see his father again, but someone was trying to stop him.

Richie's hands shot up. He gave his mother a vicious shove. His cock popped wetly from her pussy. Before a surprised Sandra could react, Richie grabbed her panties and yanked them as hard as she could. As threadbare as they had become, they quickly stretched, tore, and snapped. Richie soon clutched them in his hand against his chest, holding onto them as if for dear life.

And around him, reality changed.

Sandra was no longer in front of him, but stood by the sofa instead. Her decade-younger body was wrapped in a silk negligee. Underneath it she wore only a pair of skimpy, lacy panties, the same ones that Richie now clutched in his hand.

And before her stood his father.

He was more haggard than Richie remembered him. His face was covered in a scraggly beard. His hair was unkempt, and there was a wild look to his eyes as he stared at Sandra.

"You shouldn't have come here, Mike," Sandra said, her voice flat even though her eyes smoldered. Around her body, her Aura churned excitedly.

"I didn't come here for you. Don't flatter yourself," Mike said in a tone of contempt. "I came to see Richie before I left. Where is he?"

"I-I sent him away tonight."

"Why? Just to keep him away from me?"

"No! No, it's not that ... I..."

"I guess I should be glad you're trying to shield him from your new slutty lifestyle."

"I am not a slut!" Sandra bellowed. She shuddered suddenly and staggered. She swallowed hard as her Dark Aura swirled in obvious agitation. "I-I told you what was wrong ... you wouldn't believe me!"

Mike sighed in exasperation and rubbed at his beard. "I don't want to hear this anymore, Sandra. We've been over this. Just tell me where Richie is. I want to see him one more time."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Because your stupid lawyer told you so?!"

"No, that's not it! Please ... listen to me ... I..."

"How did he do it, Sandra, huh? How?"

Sandra appeared nonplussed. "What?"

"How did he game the system? He got the divorce case heard in Haven instead of our town of residence. He got the judge to award you custody despite all the evidence of you sleeping around. He got the judge to deny me visitation rights. He even got the judge to consider a restraining order against me!"

Sandra opened her mouth, her eyes desperate, but closed it again without saying a word. Her Aura slithered around her faster.

Richie was too astounded to react. All this time he had thought that his father had skipped out on his own. It was what his mother had always implied in the little she spoke about the divorce. He had assumed that his father had stopped caring about either him or his mother.

"And now today I got called into my manager's office and guess what happened, Sandra? Or maybe you and your lawyer buddy know already. I fucking got FIRED!"

Sandra's eyes glistened as she stared at him.

"That's right. Fired. Someone stuck kiddie porn on my computer at the office. Boss says he's 'doing me a big favor' by 'just' firing me and not turning me over to the cops. Says this is my 'big chance' to 'turn my life around.' Bullshit. This was all part of the plan to run me out of my son's life."

Sandra looked stricken. Richie silently begged her to tell him that she had nothing to do with it, that none of this was planned, that it was all in his head. Instead, she said nothing.

Mike's eyes burned. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, you got what you wanted. Congratulations. Once it gets out that I had kid porn on my computer, I can forget about getting a job in Randall again. Or Haven. Or anywhere else in this state. Well, I guess this is goodbye. See ya in the funny papers."

Richie's heart leapt into his throat.

He turned away from Sandra and headed towards Richie. He just stared. He took in every detail of his father's appearance until tears blurred his vision.

"Mike, wait ... wait, please!"

Richie wiped at his eyes and sniffled. Sandra had grabbed Mike's arm. He spun around and glared at her.

Undeterred, Sandra stepped closer to him. She was trembling. Her Aura slithered around her body with an almost perverted sensuality. Her hand slid up his tensed, muscular arm. "You don't have to leave so soon, Mike," she said in a softer voice.

"What? Huh?" Mike said, thoroughly confused.

"I ... I had a feeling you'd show up tonight."

"Oh really? Do tell."

Sandra nodded. She caressed his shoulder and pressed her other hand into his chest. "I did. I dressed like this for you."

"You dressed... ?"

"You always liked this outfit. Ever since I wore it on our last anniversary. Remember?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember. So?"

Sandra smiled. She popped a few of his shirt buttons and slid her hand over his bare chest. Richie heard a slow intake of breath from his father. "So ... it can be like that again..."

Mike hesitated before trying to turn away from her. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about..."

Sandra reached out and pulled him back around to face her again. This time she leaned into him, pressing her lithe body against his. His hands instinctively sought her waist. "Stay with me for a bit, Mike," Sandra said in a husky voice. "Stay and let me please you."

Richie's eyes widened. His heart was pounding. Oh holy shit ... She's ... she seducing him ... like she was doing with me... 

Richie thought he was going to throw up. He saw the beginning swirls of Darkness flitting about his father's body.

Sandra drew him into a deep kiss. He seemed to resist at first, but his hands slid up her sides and then around her back and down her ass, squeezing the cheeks. Sandra broke off the kiss, panting lightly. "Yes, that's it, Mike ... Just stay with me tonight ... Maybe it will make things more clear to you..."

Her voice was shaky. Richie could see her trembling. The Darkness was forcing her to do this. It was trying to get at his father, trying to turn him to the same Master that she obeyed.

"Sandra, stop it," Mike said in a weak voice. "You're doing something... stop it..."

"Only if you really want to," Sandra said in a sultry, teasing voice as she drew him into another kiss.

The kiss escalated, the two of them moaning softly into each other's mouths. Her hand reached between them. There was the sound of a zipper. Mike flinched and drew in a deep breath.

But then he held it, and his body shook. Suddenly his hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her roughly away from him.

"No, Mike, don't push me away ... we can do this..." She reached for his crotch again.

THWACK!!

"MOM!" Richie screamed.

Sandra banged her leg hard against the coffee table and fell with a loud thud to the carpet. When she lifted her head, once cheek bore a red welt from where Mike had backhanded her.

Mike stood staring at her, panting hard. He raised his badly shaking hand, the one that had struck her. He curled it into a fist and closed his eyes tightly, choking back a sob. "Frank, you bastard..." Mike murmured softly in anguish. "You fucking bastard ... you made me hit her... you made me hit her!"

Sandra stared at him, as if not knowing what to do or how to react. Around her, the Dark Aura swirled placidly, as if it no longer had anything to do.

As if it were suddenly satisfied with what had transpired.

Mike took a deep breath and forced himself to unclench his fist. He drew himself up straight. "I've never hit anyone in my life," he said in a steadier though still quavering voice. "Never. And I was always told never, EVER to strike a woman. But Sandra ... you were doing something to me ... I don't understand it ... but I had to stop it. I had to stop it."

Sandra staggered to her feet. "Mike..."

Mike shook his head and raised a hand in a stopping gesture. "No. This is the end, Sandra. I'm history. If I can't stop myself from being violent towards you just to protect myself from ... from whatever ... then I can't stay."

Sandra could only stare. Tears trickled silently down her face.

"If it helps any, Sandra, I don't hate you. Maybe ... maybe I understand a tiny bit of what you were trying to tell me. But it's too late now. Too little, too late. I've got to go."

Mike turned away. Sandra sobbed once and looked away as well. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

Trembling, Richie dropped the panties from his shaking fingers. His father vanished, and his present-day mother loomed in front of him.

-------

Melinda writhed in the throes of intense lust. Her thighs lay splayed, her young pussy helpless before Diane's skilled mouth, Diane's tongue winding and twisting around her swollen clit. Each time she tried to think of something else other than the pleasure Diane was giving her, Heather's influence filled her head with more intensely erotic thoughts.

All that her struggle could produce was the occasional soft sob interspersed among the moans and pants.

Heather's jeans and panties lay about her ankles, her fingers fucking her slit hard and fast. Melissa had told her she would be unbelievably turned on by watching Melinda made into a helpless sex doll. She could not stop masturbating as she watched.

"What a happy little slave you have, Heather," Melissa said with a sly smile. "She eats pussy like a pro, too. Must be true that she was a lezzie all along."

Heather panted, her fingers moving faster as her pleasure rose. Her eyes narrowed, as if she were still resisting by attempting to close her eyes against what she was forced to watch.

"I heard you had enslaved your little sister once," Melissa continued. "Must be why it was so easy to push you into doing the same to Diane."

"Uhhn ... n-not easy..." Heather moaned.

Melissa grinned smugly. "Oh, you mean that bit of trouble that Melinda gave me? Don't underestimate me, Heather. You'll regret it. Oh wait. You already regret it, don't you?"

Heather swallowed and nodded.

"Regret isn't good enough! Otherwise I would've let Susan and Ann go a long time ago. No, you can keep your fucking regrets. I have what I want now, which is you under my control, where you won't cause anyone any more harm. In fact, that's what I'll do with the whole stupid town. None of them will be able to hurt me again."

Heather gasped as she rose. "Uhhn! ... y-yes ... never hurt you again ... never..."

"That's right, never! And I'll give everyone a very special job to do. Melinda will be a sex doll, pussy always wet and ready. And you ... Someone needs a maid. A very slutty maid. And as for Diane, how about I..."

You need to get going.

Melissa trailed off abruptly. "What??"

Heather opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a loud moan. Her head tilted back, and hot fluid spurted from her pussy.

Stop this petty show of power and go the place for the Rite.

"Dammit, you're the one that wanted me to test..." Melissa muttered through clenched teeth.

Time is now of the essence! Go!

Melissa turned to Heather. "All right, show's over. Call Diane to you."

Heather stopped masturbating, still panting hard. "Diane, come here."

Diane immediately stopped licking and stood up. Melinda whimpered her distress at being left short of orgasm. Diane ignored it as best she could and headed over to Heather. "Yes, Mistress, how may your slave serve you now?"

"Both of you, get dressed, fast," Melissa said. "We're going on a little trip."

Heather's heart sank as she realized there would be no more delays. Her time was up. Now it was completely in the hands of the others.

"N-no..." Melinda moaned. "P-please ... don't take her..."

Melissa looked at Melinda. "I've already arranged for something to occupy your time so you can't get any silly ideas in your head about warning anyone. You..."

Someone has already been warned.

Melissa's eyes narrowed.

I do not know how. But I can sense it. I can sense urgency and alarm.

"Sense... ? From what? From who?!"

The pendant fell silent.

"From who, dammit?!"

Heather didn't understand why Melissa was shouting. Who was she talking to? Diane was equally as confused, but she was too relieved to have the cell phone close at hand again to worry about it. As soon as she was dressed, she briefly lay a hand against her pocket to insure that the cell phone had not fallen out.

Melissa whirled around and faced Heather. "Make Melinda go to your mother. Now."

"No, please!" Melinda begged in a weak voice as she struggled to sit up. "Please, Heather... please..."

A tear trickled down Heather's cheek. "Go to Mom, Melinda. The thought of it makes you horny."

"Oh no ... no, please ... uhhnn ... oh God ... I..."

"Go to her, Melinda, or you won't get to cum."

Melinda panted hard as her pussy suddenly rose and strained at the edge. She mewled her distress and shivered.

"Go, Melinda. Now."

Tears welled up in Melinda's eyes. She stood up and staggered to the door, the movement of her thighs agony against her straining pussy. She slipped out and closed the door behind her.

"You didn't have to make me do that," Heather said, wiping at her eyes.

"Oh, she's just going to get a little motherly loving, that's all," Melissa said with a smile. "Now, let's go."

-------

For a long moment, Richie and his mother stared at each other. Sandra appeared confused. She was torn between concern for her son and the desires of the Darkness. Both drove her to approach him.

Richie was shocked out of his own stupor and stumbled away. His feet became tangled in his briefs and jeans, and he crashed to the floor. Motherly concern overriding everything else for a moment, Sandra reached down to help him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Richie bellowed.

Shocked, Sandra jumped back.

Richie yanked his jeans and briefs up his legs enough so he could scramble to his feet. He stepped back from Sandra as he struggled to redo his belt. "Just ... j-just stay away from me, Mom. I mean it!"

Sandra did pause, but her Aura grew extremely agitated, and she stepped forward again.

Richie jumped and ran around the other side of the sofa. "Stop it! I'm not playin' this fucking game with you!"

Sandra ran to the back of the sofa and leaned out over it, as if intending to lunge at him. Richie nearly tripped over the coffee table in his attempt to stay out of arm's reach.

"Richie ... p-please ... I'm sorry..." Sandra croaked, her voice still husky.

Richie swallowed and shook his head. "No, you're not. You're not sorry."

"Yes, I am! I-I ... that was too much ... too soon ... I should have..."

"You tried to fucking get me!" Richie screamed.

Sandra blinked. Her eyes glistened. "I d-didn't want to ... I have to..."

"You were gonna pull me into it. You were gonna give me to the Darkness!"

Sandra raised a trembling hand to her face. She took a few deep breaths, but her body continued to shiver in growing lust. "N-no ... nothing like that ... I just ... I just wanted to keep you here ... please, Richie, that's all it was ... that's ... Richie? Richie!"

Richie bolted for the front door. By the time Sandra could react, he had already flung it open.

"Richie, stop! I can't let you go!" Sandra cried, grabbing his arm. He wrenched it violently from her grip. "I'll come after you, Richie! I'll..."

Richie slammed the door shut behind him.

In a panic, Sandra put her shorts back on and pulled her shirt down over her breasts. She ran upstairs to fetch her jacket and car keys.

A few moments later, a shadow appeared at the window, lingered for a moment, then disappeared. Richie re-entered the house a moment later and dashed towards the garage.

Inside the garage, he found his switchblade and opened it. He plunged the blade into the side of one of the front tires of his mother's car. The air made a long sighing noise until the wheel rim rested on the ground.

Richie heard his mother on the stairs. He ducked behind the old dead refrigerator in the back. His mother rushed in, her coat thrown on over her clothes, and circled to the front of the car.

Richie came out from behind the fridge and ran back into the house just as Sandra noticed the flat tire.

"Richie! Stop!" his mother shouted.

She took off after him, but got only as far as the door when it slammed in her face. She tried the knob but he had already locked it. She pounded once on the door. "Richie, you open this door this instant!"

In a nervous panic, whimpering as the Darkness made its displeasure known in her head, she frantically fished in her purse for her house keys. But when she finally unlatched the door and pushed it open, it made a loud thunk as it fetch up against the security chain.

"RICHIE!!"

Richie was already in his room. He grabbed his jacket and fell to his knees beside his bed. He knew what he was doing was wasting valuable time, but seeing his father stand up against the Darkness had inspired him. He had to have something to remind him of that.

He pulled out the shoebox and tore the lid from it. He grabbed the baseball and jumped to his feet. He heard the garage door go up as he ran down the stairs. He jumped the last four steps in one bound and rushed over to the front door, latching its security chain as well. He raced away from it just as his mother tried to open it.

Richie ran for the back door but hesitated. No, his mother would try that next.

His mother pounded the front door against the chain a few more times before she finally gave up and ran for the side of the house.

Richie looked at the baseball in his hand for a moment before stuffing it into the pocket of his jacket. He dashed back to the front door. After peering out the window to make sure his mother was not there, he slipped the chain off and headed out. By the time he reached his bike and started to undo the chain, he could hear his mother entering the house through the kitchen.

He didn't bother looking back. He vaulted onto his bike and kicked off in one smooth motion. He pedaled madly down the walk through the now gently falling snow. His front wheel skidded dangerously on the turn to the street, but he recovered and was away by the time his mother reached the front door.

Her yells quickly faded behind him into the snowy night.

-------

The Darkness could sense it.

The time was close. It again had the chance that it had lost so many years ago. The Awakening was at hand. It would leave its confines and be free. It was now older, wiser, and more powerful than it had been the first time. Now there would be less chance of mistakes. It would know what to do.

And there was the pendant.

The Darkness could sense it as well. A tiny bit of its own intelligence, its own life energy, separated from it and trapped inside the pentacle. They were aware of each other's existence. They sought reunion. It was what drove the pendant to seek the Rite again.

But the Darkness sensed something amiss. The Harbingers might interfere again. Wretched things! They only played at having power. They had no idea what power really meant.

But of all of them, Richie was the most dangerous. The ones that had a personal ax to grind always were, especially now that he had started to learn the truth. No matter. Sandra had delayed him sufficiently. She was a good little girl who did as she was told. Now Melissa could handle the rest.

Yes, Melissa had been good. A very good tool. It seemed almost a shame to destroy her in the end.



-------

Chapter 29


Jason was breathing so hard that his sides ached horribly and his throat burned raw from the cold air. He steered his bike off the street and wobbled to a stop along a chain-link fence bordering a field. He nearly fell off his bike as he dismounted. He staggered to the side and stood gasping for breath.

He had reached the west edge of town before he had to stop. He stared into the darkness that lay ahead of him, the tops of the hills standing out in sharp relief against the clouds. Snow wafted down in thick flakes.

He looked around, his hand clutching at a small flashlight in his pocket. His heart lurched at every small sound. He was sure that his father was tailing him somehow. He had changed his route to thwart it, but now it left him weak in the legs from the extra pedaling.

The cell phone tucked into the inside pocket of his jacket vibrated.

He yanked it out, the light from the LCD screen like a bright torch in the darkness. He cursed himself for not thinking to find an option to dim the display. Still breathing hard, Jason said into the phone, "Yes, hello? Cassie?"

"Yes, it's me! We ... Jason, are you all right? You sound..."

"Winded ... That's all ... What is it?"

"We got a signal from Diane. They've headed out."

Jason's eyes widened. "Really? Only now? Where are you?"

"We're almost there! We just passed the city limits, and now we're going up the hill road. What about you?"

"Just at the edge of town. I'll be there in another twenty minutes if I hurry." He started towards his bike and winced. The short break had been enough to make his already tortured muscles stiffen. His legs felt like lead. "I better get started now."

"Jason, have you seen or heard anything from Richie?" Cassie asked.

"No, nothing. I don't believe he's taking the same route."

"I just wish we could've given him a cell phone, too..."

"No, it was too risky. We don't know how bad things are with his mother, and, well, he's not the most tech-savvy person around."

Cassie sighed. "I know. I just wish..."

Jason mounted his bike. "I've got to get going now, Cassie, and I can't talk and ride at the same time. I have to get there before Melissa does."

"Okay, Jason, we'll see you in a bit. Please hurry!"

The phone chimed softly as the call ended.

Jason shoved the phone into his jacket. He took a few deep breaths and forced life back into his aching legs.

-------

Richie came barreling down the street in his mad rush to put his mother and the Darkness behind him. He covered half the distance to the Sovert household before he finally spotted the car idling in front of the walk and the figures walking towards it.

Richie tried to stop, but his bike skidded on the slick pavement. He steered it off the sidewalk, where it bumped hard as it hit asphalt, his teeth clicking loudly as they came together. A parked SUV loomed ahead of him.

Richie wrenched the bike around hard. The bike turned sideways, the wheels sliding out from under him. Both he and the bike tumbled to the ground. Richie came to an immediate stop on his backside, barely suppressing a curse by clenching his teeth. One wheel of the bike slipped under the car before it finally came to rest.

Up ahead, the figures paused.

Richie tried to peer through the back window of the SUV and the windshield at the other end. For a heart-stopping moment, the figures remained still, their heads turned in his direction. Finally, one of them -- Richie thought it was Melissa -- gestured impatiently to the others. Richie watched as they climbed into the car. A few seconds later, the car pulled away from the curb and turned out of view at the intersection.

Richie cursed, both at himself for almost blundering into them, and at his mother for delaying him. Now Melissa had a head start on him, and there was no way he would make it there before her.

Now what? Was there any point in going on? Everything had counted on all the Harbingers getting there before Melissa.

His mind burned with the memory of the confrontation with Jason on the day when Richie was to finish the enslavement of his teacher at Nyssa's bidding. He remembered how he had told Jason that there was no point in fighting it. It was too big. They were outclassed.

Richie stood up. His hand closed tightly around the baseball in his pocket.

Outclassed,  Richie thought. Yeah, right. Dad was outclassed, but he didn't let it suck him in, and he didn't fucking give himself to it. Not like you did, Richie, you dickhead.

Richie took out the baseball. An image came to him, albeit dimly, like peering into a mist. It was his room, back in the old house in Randall. He was five again, holding the baseball in his hand for the first time.

"You practice with that now, Richie," his father had told him. "It'll take you awhile to build yourself up, before you get good. Just don't give up."

But his father gave up, didn't he? The going got tough and he left.

Richie closed his eyes tightly and thrust the ball back into his pocket. He picked up his bike.

You think you know it all now, huh? he thought. Yeah, right. You don't know shit. You only think you do.

Richie mounted his bike and pulled it back onto the sidewalk.

Stop fucking around and DO something.

Richie set his face hard and started to pedal. This time he had the devil in his sights, and he was damned if he was going to let it get away from him.

-------

Doctor Henry Conner lifted his head as his cell phone vibrated against his hip. He kneaded the bridge of his nose with one hand as he dug out the phone with the other. He sighed, and his shoulders slumped as he read the number on the caller-ID.

"Great," he muttered. He thumbed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear. "Yeah, honey, what is it?"

"Jason's gone!" came Audrey's anguished voice from the other end. "He's gone,  Hank!"

Henry leaned back in his chair. "What do you mean gone, Audrey?"

"What the hell do you think I mean?! Stop playing games with me!"

"Audrey, I have a splitting headache, I'm trying to keep tabs on a critical patient, and I am up to my armpits in paperwork. Could you please explain to me what you mean?"

"I went to check on Jason, and the lights in his room were off. I thought it was rather early for him to go to bed, so I checked on him to see if he was sick. He just had a bunch of pillows stuffed under his blanket! He's nowhere in the house, and his bike is gone!"

"All right, calm down, for Christ's sake. You sound on the edge of hysterics."

"Why wouldn't I be?! I have no idea where he is!" Audrey sobbed. "I-I have to call the police, Hank, he's out in the dark and cold somewhere a-and..."

"No."

"I ... wh-what??"

"Do not call the police, Audrey."

"I can't just wait around wondering where he is or when he'll come home!" she wailed.

"I'll take care of it."

"What? How??"

"Never mind. I have an idea where he is."

Audrey gasped. "You do?? Where?"

"It would take too long to explain."

Audrey sighed. "Great. Just great. First he keeps secrets from me, and now you! When the hell am I going to know what's going on in my own son's life?!"

Henry closed his eyes and rubbed briefly at one of his temples. He reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. "Audrey, I don't have time for histrionics." He shook out two tablets. "I will take care of this. Jason will be home safely later. I promise you that."

"And you better both be ready to tell me what's going on!" Audrey cried.

Henry dry-swallowed the tablets and paused for a moment as they seemed to blaze a trail down his gullet. "Fine. But I have to get going now if you want me to take care of this. I'll talk to you later."

He ended the call before his wife could reply and slipped the cell phone back into his pocket.

Yes, he had an idea where his son was at that moment. He even had a small idea of what his son was trying to do. He also knew that if Jason succeeded, the Darkness would be handed another major setback. It would take the entity awhile to recover from it and extend its influence over the town once more.

Henry leaned forward in his chair and went back to work.

-------

Jason's bike wobbled to a stop, the headlamp swinging drunkenly from side to side.

His legs burned as if on fire. His throat hurt almost as badly as the time he had strep as a kid. He nearly fell off the bike and had to wheel forward a few more feet until he could rest a hand against a tree. For the moment, he did not even have the energy to dismount.

"Jason! Is that you?"

Jason was too winded to speak. A battery-powered lantern bobbed towards him. Cassie and Ned soon rushed to his side.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Cassie said, resting a hand against her chest.

"Richie... " Jason croaked as he gulped in air. "Is he ... here yet... ?"

Cassie's eyes widened, and she traded a worried look with Ned. "No, he's not! I was hoping he was with you."

Jason shook his head. "Haven't seen him ... anywhere..."

"Aw, crap. We need 'im, dude," Ned said. "He's the strongest of any of us."

"I know! ... We'll have to make do..."

Ned made a face. They had counted on Richie to grab Melissa and hold her long enough for Cassie to take the box, Ned to take the pendant, and Jason to cast the memory spell at her. Diane's role was to provide a moment of distraction. She would be the signal that would cause the others to converge on Melissa.

Success hinged on all of them doing their part. They hoped that both surprise and the simultaneous attack from all sides would prevent Melissa from focusing her mind control or telekinetic powers effectively enough to stop them.

Jason finally recovered enough to get off his bike, though his legs screamed in protest. He walked his bike further up the road and dumped it behind a tree to conceal it. "Look, he may still get here in time. If he doesn't, then here's how we change it. Ned, you grab Melissa. Cassie, you get the box. I'll do the spell."

"What about the pendant?" Cassie asked.

"I think the box is more important to get away from her than the pendant. We can take the pendant once I've tranced her with the memory spell."

"I dunno if I can hold onta her fer long, dude," Ned said. He raised his arms and flexed them. "Ain't 'xactly Mr. Universe material here."

"Doesn't have to be for long, and we'll have the element of surprise. I hope, anyway."

There was a faint beep.

Cassie handed the lantern to Ned. She whipped her cell phone from her purse. "Diane just gave us another signal, Jason! They're starting up the hill to the picnic grounds. They'll be here in ten minutes!"

"We gotta hide," Ned said.

"But where do we go? We have to be close to her."

"I gotta be behind her if I'm gonna grab her."

Jason looked around and started towards one end of the clearing. Cassie took the lantern from Ned and followed. His eyes briefly alighted on the stakes that still thrust up from the ground. He shivered at the thought of what had happened here. He actually felt sorry for Melissa. In a way, this was not her fault. She was something of a victim herself.

Jason looked towards the other side of the clearing and pointed. "That way is back towards town, towards where the node is. Agatha stood facing that point, right along the force line. So if Melissa does the same thing, she'll stand..." He gestured to a spot a few feet from him. " ... about here."

"Then we skedaddle and hide..." Ned gestured to the line of scraggly bushes behind them. " ... in there."

Cassie raised her lantern and stepped towards the bushes. "With all the leaves gone, it's not much cover."

"Hide behind the trees just past them," Jason said.

"I'd rather be closer," said Ned.

"So would I. That's why Diane is going to distract Melissa and hopefully cover any noise we make."

Ned nodded. "Gotcha, chief."

Cassie took a deep breath and let it go. "We better do this, Jason."

Jason nodded. "All right, let's go."

He headed towards the trees. Ned followed, but Cassie grabbed his arm and stopped him. When he gave her an inquisitive look, she drew him into a quick, tight hug. They smiled weakly at each other and headed into the trees.

A few moments later, the scene became still once more. Cassie turned off the lantern and plunged the clearing into darkness.

-------

Richie knew he could never keep pace with Melissa. He tried hard to do just that at first, and almost caught up with her when she hit a bit of traffic. But when he realized he might give himself away, he backed off and let her get ahead of him again.

Gotta think straight, man,  he thought. Can't fuck this up more than it already is.

Richie kept going along Main Street for awhile after losing sight of Melissa, skirting the edge of the street where he could, as the asphalt was better than the concrete for keeping his bike from sliding. Cars passed by with little regard for him.

As he neared the west edge of town, a police car approached from behind. It slowed and held pace as it came alongside him. Richie noticed it, but took no more than a cursory glance, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

The police cruiser pulled ahead of him. Its brake lights glowed, and it pulled to the curb directly in Richie's path. Richie immediately slowed down and started to go around it. He had barely begun to make the turn around the back fender when the cop stepped out of his vehicle and stood astride it, facing him.

Just as Richie came alongside the vehicle, the cop silently held up a hand in a stopping gesture.

Aw fuck,  Richie thought. For a very brief moment he considered pouring it on and zipping around the officer. Instead, he brought his bike to a shuddering stop, sliding a bit as he crossed a tire track of compacted snow left by the police car.

Okay, play it cool,  Richie thought. He gave the cop what he hoped was an innocent look as he said in as polite a voice as he could muster, "Evening officer. What can I do ya for?"

The officer was tall and lean, with an angular face and a gaze of intense scrutiny. He leaned against the open door of his cruiser and nudged his hat back. "Bit late for you to be out, isn't it?" he asked in a neutral voice.

Richie shrugged. "Dunno. I go out late like this lotsa times. Did I do something wrong?"

He tried not to be combative. For all his faults, Richie rarely got into trouble with the law. The few times he was picked up, it was generally because of the crowd he hung out with combined with being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The cop regarded Richie for a moment. "What's your name, kid?"

Richie paused for only a second. "Brad Weston."

The office rubbed his chin and gave him a speculative look.

Richie grinned. "Maybe you've heard of me. I'm a jock at Haven High. Big man on campus, that sorta thing."

"Hrm. Really."

Richie did not reply. He couldn't help but shift his eyes to the side in his impatience to get going.

The cop folded his arms. "You sure your name wouldn't happen to be Richard Gardner?"

Richie snorted and tried to look amused. "What, that loser? Nah, not me. I'm Brad."

"Uh-huh."

Richie knew that tone. He remembered it from those other times he had told a cop he was innocent of whatever wrongdoing his friends had perpetrated. The police never believed him even when he told the truth.

"Stay right there, ah, Brad," the cop said. He leaned into his car and pulled out the mic from his radio. "Dispatch, this is car six. Gimme the description of that Gardner kid again, willya?"

A voice crackled back. "Fifteen. Brown hair, sort of tousled. Freckles. No glasses. Wearing a Red Sox jacket."

The cop eyed Richie for a moment. He clicked the mic. "Yeah, okay, got it. Thanks." He replaced the mic and stood. "Wanna try running your name by me again, kid?"

"I told you already, I'm Brad Weston."

The office sighed. "Right. Well, see, some people think you're some kid named Richard Gardner. Like your mother, for instance. How about we take you to her and you can let her decide, hmm?"

His mind raced as he shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Want me to just follow along on my bike?"

"No. We'll attach it onto the back of the car."

Without another word, the officer stepped forward and grabbed Richie's bike. Richie dutifully stepped aside. As soon as the officer's back was towards him, Richie rushed forward. He kicked hard at the cop's feet while slamming his shoulder into the cop's back.

The officer slipped on the snow and fell hard onto the bike, knocking the wind out of him. He was barely on the ground when Richie turned and ran as fast as could, nearly taking a tumble himself on the snow.

Richie heard the cop shout just as he ducked into a side-alley.

-------

Two beams of light swung sharply through the whirling flakes. Wheels crunched against gravel and snow as a car came to a stop. A few moments later, the lights flicked out and the laboring engine was silenced.

A flashlight clicked on inside the car from the back seat. A smiling Melissa pointed the beam at Susan behind the wheel, and then Ann next to her.

"Bringing back memories, you two?" Melissa said. "Fond little memories of how you tricked me into your little initiation? Oh, what fun times those were!"

Susan and Ann exchanged a look but said nothing. Ann sobbed softly.

"But now you get to do the same thing," Melissa cooed. "I get to give you girls an initiation of my own. You just love that idea, don't you?"

Susan and Ann both shivered and moaned. They squirmed in their seats as their pussies throbbed.

"Yes, that's it. You just can't stop cumming at the idea, can you?"

Ann mewled. Her hips jerked. There was a squishing noise as her thighs shifted position. Susan panted. Her nipples became erect and throbbed along with her cunt.

"Oh, and we can't forget Heather, now can we?" Melissa said. Next to her, Heather shuddered. She let out a strained gasp and a shrill whimper. There was a muffled splash as she squirted into her panties. "Yes, she's all excited about it too. Make your slave excited as well, Heather. Tell her to cum, also."

Diane's eyes widened.

"Uhhn ... c-cum, Diane..." Heather moaned.

Diane hesitated for just a moment. She closed her eyes and writhed in her seat, uttering what she hoped was a convincing moan. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure Melissa would hear it.

"At least I let you all cum," Melissa said. "Not like some that drove me into a frenzy and then left me like that. All right, everyone out of the car, now."

Melissa waited for the others to exit before she got out. She turned to Susan and smiled, shining the light in Susan's face. "Remember, Susan? Remember how you made me strip right here? With only the icy cold car to lean against?"

Susan shuddered, her pussy still throbbing softly. "Uhh ... I-I'm sorry, Melissa ... I didn't..."

"Shut up."

Susan bit her lip and fell silent.

"Strip."

Susan whimpered and started to undress.

"All of you. Strip. Heather, keep Diane cumming, just like you."

Heather trembled. Occasionally, another small splash of fluid spurted from her slit, though it diminished each time. "Keep cumming, Diane," she said softly. "Cum for Melissa ... don't stop cumming..."

Diane moaned and forced her breathing into a light pant. It got harder as her clothes came off, the cold biting her and making her shiver. The other girls were shaking as well. Their areolae puckered in the chilly air, and their nipples stood out like hard nubs. Susan wrapped her arms around her helpless, naked body, her hips still swaying in a continuous, rolling orgasm even as her limbs trembled with the cold.

Melissa nodded once in satisfaction when all four girls were naked. Susan's keys flew from the pocket of her jeans into Melissa's hand. She unlocked the trunk and took out three propane lanterns, which she placed on the ground. She then carefully withdrew the small wooden box. She cradled it in her hands, taking a deep breath and letting it go as a sigh of excitement.

She returned to her four charges. "Yes, that's it. Keep cumming your little brains out. Get used to it. This is all you're good for now. Forget about thinking for yourselves anymore."

Their orgasmic moans were mixed with despairing whimpers, except for Diane. Keeping up the act was growing more difficult and more nerve-wracking. Maintaining even a simple expression of slavish devotion on her face was taxing. The way Melissa treated the other girls was heartbreaking. She wanted to cry for them.

"Heather, Susan, and Ann, go get the lanterns and turn them on."

Diane stood where she was, swaying her hips back and forth and making small moaning noises. Her heart thumped.

Melissa smiled. "It's almost too bad that Heather enslaved you. You're not even aware of what I'm going to do to you. You're already mindless."

Diane didn't dare say anything in response.

There was a hissing sound and a flicker of brilliance as a lantern came on. Melissa glanced at it casually before returning her attention to Diane. She was about to say something when...

Something is not right about Diane.

Melissa narrowed her eyes. Diane tried to ignore it. Now she was glad for the cold, as her shivering hid her growing fear.

Diane is not cumming at all.

Two more lanterns flared into light, illuminating the entire area. "Heather, come here," Melissa snapped.

Heather staggered up to Melissa, the lantern swinging in her hand. She swayed, shifting her weight from icy foot to icy foot, her thighs stained with her cum. "Y-yes?"

"You told her to keep cumming, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did ... she'll c-cum as long as you want..."

Diane is faking it. She's not even aroused. It's a trick of some sort.

Melissa's eyes flicked between Heather and Diane.

Don't let on. She's planning something. Find out what it is first.

Melissa gave the two of them a shark-like smile. "Okay, girls ... time for the party to start..."

-------

Richie clutched at a stitch in his side as he emerged from behind the garbage cans placed at the edge of the curb. He peered down the street where the police cruiser had disappeared around the corner.

He was closer to his destination, despite having run a twisting path through the streets and back alleys to avoid the cops. The road where the cruiser had disappeared ran right along the city limits. He was just a few blocks north of the road that led into the hills and up to the picnic grounds.

Ignoring the pain in his side, he sprinted towards the street. He caught a pair of headlight beams swinging around as a car turned onto the street. Richie ducked behind a parked car and let it pass. Another sprint, and another car. He shrunk behind a tree and waited for it to pass.

He had almost made it to the corner when another flicker of light appeared on the road. Cursing to himself, he dropped behind a hedge.

This time it wasn't a car. The light had been a street lamp reflecting off metal. He peered hard through the falling snow. It was someone on a bicycle.

Richie caught a glimpse of him -- a tall and lanky teenage boy -- as he pedaled through the light of a street lamp. The bike had a basket wired to the front, and there was a brown bag inside it with a paper stapled to it.

The teen drove to the curb and hopped off. He leaned the bike against a tree, grabbed the bag, and sprinted towards the front door of one of the houses that lined the street.

Take out food,  Richie thought. His eyes narrowed. He glanced at the house. The boy had just arrived the door and thumbed the doorbell.

Richie bolted. By the time the door of the house had been answered, Richie reached the bike. It was taller than his own, and he nearly fell off the first time he tried to vault it. By the time he mounted it properly, the delivery boy was shouting obscenities and running towards him.

Richie pumped his legs as hard as he could and was away just two seconds before the boy would have reached him.

He clenched his teeth as he headed down the street, moving the same direction the delivery boy had been going, not having had time to turn around. Richie hated doing this. He was no thief. But there was no way he could to walk to the picnic area. He needed this bike more than the delivery boy did.

Richie turned the corner and started to double back towards the hill road.

-------

Melissa smiled at her four naked charges. "You see? I'm not completely without compassion for you."

At one end of the clearing, away from where Jason and his friends lay hidden, a fire burned brightly. Melissa had used her telekinetic power to uproot several bushes and gather them at this spot. The heat from the flames had already melted the snow in a circle about it.

The light flickered against the bodies of the four girls. It took some of the biting edge off the chill, but they still shivered in the cold. And it did nothing for the thickening snow falling from the skies.

The flames roared upwards suddenly, causing the girls to step back in fear. The fire was tinged green.

"The power is here all right," Melissa said reverently. She glanced down. The eye in her pendant glowed with emerald fire, nearly as bright as the flames themselves. She cradled it in her hand and giggled. "I haven't even started, and it's already starting to come to me!"

She looked up. Heather, Susan, and Ann were still uttering soft whimpers and moans as their orgasm continued unabated. Heather's struggle to retain the power of thought was waning. Melissa's control had clamped down too hard for her resistance to mean anything. She barely even felt the cold anymore. Constant sexual pleasure was sending her into a catatonic bliss.

Yet some tendril of her sanity remained. She knew what was happening to her, and she silently panicked. It was like trying to push against a brick wall that was slowly falling atop her.

Diane just stared, trying to maintain a neutral expression. She occasionally shifted her feet and made a sighing sound. She hoped Melissa would not notice her. She had to find the right time to give the signal. She didn't know if Jason and the others were even there. For all she knew, none of them had made it.

She tried to keep these despairing thoughts at bay. Jason had told Diane they would try to hide behind where they thought Melissa would stand, and that would be opposite wherever a green flame appeared. So if they were there, they would be off in the trees. They looked awfully far away to her.

Melissa turned away. "Diane, you know I have you to thank for all this."

Diane stiffened and barely managed to suppress a gasp.

Melissa cradled the wooden box in her hands. Her fingers lovingly caressed the sides. "It was you that gave me the spell. I was able to read it through your eyes."

Diane tried desperately not to react, but her insides had been wrenched hard. While she had already believed it was her fault, there had been some small room for doubt, some chance that she had been wrong. Melissa had dashed her hopes.

When Melissa turned around, Diane gave her a languid gaze, but her eyes shimmered in growing fear. Melissa was still standing too far from the edge of the clearing.

Melissa smiled. "You should be happy about that, Diane."

Diane paused, then forced a smile. The corners of her mouth twitched anxiously.

"In fact, you really ought to be just cumming with joy over it."

It happened so fast it was like Diane had been slammed into a wall. Her whole body tensed and shuddered. She fell to her knees, panting hard as her pussy throbbed so intensely that stars flickered at the edges of her vision.

"And I mean cum for real this time, not that bullshit you were pulling before."

Diane's cry died in her throat. She fell to her side, writhing and moaning, her cunt convulsing hard. Her nipples started to throb in time with it, sending her mind reeling.

"D-Diane... " Heather croaked. "N-no ... please..."

"Shut up!" Melissa shouted. "I don't know what fucking game you and her were playing, but it ends now. You don't call the shots anymore!"

Diane squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands clenched. She could feel Melissa's power sapping her will. She felt her desire to stop Melissa fading. She knew that soon all she would be able to think about was her throbbing pussy. And then it would be impossible for her to do anything.

"All of you! Every one of you silly cunts! Don't even think about resisting me! After tonight, you just won't be able to. Once I have this power, I can wipe your tiny minds clean and put in whatever I want."

Diane whimpered. It felt as if her whole body was giving itself over to her orgasm. Near mindless bliss crept into her mind. It was getting harder to find the will to resist. It was easier to just succumb to the pleasure and have all her worries taken away from her.

She heard movement, and then Melissa's voice. "Diane, stand up."

The orgasm relented.

Diane let out a single, rattling sigh. Her climax had not quit entirely. Instead, it had abated to the same level "enjoyed" by the others. Melissa had to, or Diane would not be coherent enough to obey even a simple command.

And she did want to obey. She wanted to do what Melissa told her. She drew herself to her feet. She moaned softly, her pussy aching both from the orgasm and in a silent plea for more.

Diane opened her eyes. Sickly green light flooded the clearing. The fire had become an inferno. Melissa's pendant was a small sun.

Melissa stood by the edge of the clearing and held up the box. "And now ... we begin."

When Diane comprehended where Melissa was standing, one last surge of resolve rose inside Diane and briefly overwhelmed the forced pleasure. For that tiny moment, she had her own will again. Before it could slip away from her, she opened her mouth and let out a shrill scream.

-------

Debby suddenly shuddered so hard that the headboard rattled against the wall.

Her aching, trembling hands remained where they were for the next moment as her mind momentarily reeled. Slowly, one of her hands grasped the dildo like a vise and pulled it out with wet, slurping noise.

She held it up. Her eyes blazed. She hurtled the dildo across the room. It banged against the bedroom window, cracking the glass, and spun across the top of her dresser before tumbling to the floor.

Debby pulled herself out of bed, but her legs were weak and would not support her. She crashed to the floor, panting hard. Tears leaked from her eyes.

It was like a veil had lifted. She could think and feel for herself for the first time in days. But any joy she felt was tempered by horror at the thought that the reason she had been released was that Melissa was about to start the Rite.

"Oh Goddess ... oh no ... Susan... Susan!"

Her anguished cry echoed down the stairs. The thought of her daughter's peril gave her new strength. She slowly rose on all fours, then to her knees.

"Debby?" a voice came faintly from downstairs.

"BILL!!" Debby screamed.

Her husband had already emerged from the basement in something of a daze, trying to remember why he had thought it would be a good idea to work on chores that late into the evening. When he heard his wife's cry, he bounded up the stairs.

"Debby?! Debby, what ... oh my God!"

Bill rushed forward and grabbed his wife's arm, pulling her to her feet. Debby gasped as she swayed again and clutched at her husband for support.

"Debby, what's wrong? Wait ... why are you naked? Why..." His eyes spied the dildo on the floor. "What the fuck ... Debby, what's been going on around here tonight? What have you been doing up here?"

"Bill, stop asking questions!" Debby shouted. She pushed away from her husband and staggered to the dresser. Bill tried to catch her again, but she waved him away. "Just get me one of my robes from the closet so I can cover myself up."

Bill sighed in exasperation and shook his head as he stepped over to the closet. "Answer me one question, okay? You seem to understand all this weird shit. What the hell's been happening the last couple of days? I feel like I just woke up from some sort of bizarre dream."

Debby didn't appear to be listening. She opened a drawer and yanked out the false bottom. She pulled out the sheaf of old papers bound with string, the same one she had contemplated giving to Cassie. As she straightened up, Bill brought her a blue robe with a green and yellow floral pattern. He tried to drape it around her shoulders, but Debby had recovered some of her strength and grabbed it from him instead.

"Now grab my car keys and get my car warmed up," she said.

Bill frowned. "Your car? Why?"

Debby threw the papers on the bed and slipped on the robe. "Because Susan has your car, and I need you to drive mine. I'm starting to recover now, but I don't feel safe behind the wheel."

"Recover from what?"

"From the 'weird shit' as you put it!" Debby cried, rounding on him. "Think, Bill! You've been freed from it now as well! You should start remembering some of the things that's been going on around here!"

"Freed from... ? I don't understand. What ... Wait..." Bill paused, then suddenly paled. "No, wait, it ... no, that couldn't possibly be ... you and Susan ... oh my dear God..."

Debby sat heavily on the bed and grabbed the sheaf of papers. She snapped the string in her impatience to undo it and started sorting through the contents. "Bill, don't freak out on me! Go get the car ready!"

"But where are we..."

"To save our daughter, that's where we're going! Don't argue with me anymore!"

Bill gave her a stricken look before rushing out of the room, snatching his car keys from the top of the dresser as he went. As he thumped down the stairs, Debby looked feverishly through the papers.

"Got to be in here ... come on, I know you did one..." Debby murmured urgently. "Come on, Elizabeth ... yes, here it is..."

She pulled out a single page. It was a map of Haven, with a copyright date of 1965. Four thick lines had been drawn upon the map in heavy pencil, all crossing one point just down and slightly right of center.

Debby stood as her finger traced out the lines that splayed out to the left side of the map. "No, this one is too far north, government lands ... this south one, Agatha used that, but too hard for Melissa to get to without a four-wheel drive ... got to be one of these two ... this one ... got to be..."

She slid her finger along one of the lines, coming to rest at the picnic grounds.

Debby's heart pounded, and her stomach clenched. She knew they would never get there in time to stop the Rite, not if Melissa had already begun. But she had to try. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't.

Debby clutched the map to her bosom and headed out of the room.

-------

Despite having been warned to the danger by the pendant, Melissa was still startled by Diane's sudden cry. Nevertheless, she exerted her will on Diane almost at once.

Diane's cry was silenced when another intense wave of orgasmic pleasure swept over her body. She fell helpless to the ground, the last thread of reclaimed will snapping easily as she became momentarily oblivious to everything around her.

But even forewarned, having to deal with Diane was still a distraction, enough for Ned, Cassie, and Jason to burst from their hidden positions among the trees and cross half the distance to Melissa before she noticed the danger.

Yet Diane had been right. The distance from the trees to the clearing was significant.

It was significant enough to allow Melissa to turn around. Ned had intended to grab her from behind by throwing his arm around her neck in a half-nelson. He changed tactic in mid-stride and tackled her hard instead.

It threw Cassie for a loop. She had intended to swing around in front of Melissa and snatch the box from her hands. Instead, Melissa was now tumbling to the ground under Ned, and she had to drop with them to get at the box.

Jason was also momentarily nonplussed by the change. He called out Melissa's name in prelude to launching the spell, but he was drowned out by Melissa's scream.

It took Cassie a moment to realize that Ned had knocked the box from Melissa's hands. She spotted it, sitting about three feet from where Melissa fell, but on the opposite side from where she was. She rose to her feet and sprinted around them.

Diane's orgasm relented again. She lay panting, barely able to catch her breath, her body curled tightly. The fog over her mind was slow to dissipate. Her body trembled with the effort to shake off Melissa's influence so she could get up and help the others.

Ned finally clamped his hand over Melissa's mouth and silenced her scream. At the same time, Cassie's hands closed around the box. Jason stepped forward.

NO DON'T LET HIM SPEAK STOP HIM STOP HIM... 

"Melissa! Thotg'altkas orgos... !"

Melissa's body stiffened. For a brief moment, a chill settled over her mind as the power in the incantation penetrated her psyche. In that instant, the pendant lent some of its power to Melissa. Melissa channeled it and held the spell at bay long enough for her to lash out.

Cassie cried out as the box was abruptly ripped from her hands. The box sailed through the air and smacked Jason across the mouth.

The final syllable of the spell was garbled and lost. Jason's hand immediately went to his face. It came away dotted with blood from a small cut in his lower lip.

Diane managed to stand up. She tried to will herself to move towards them. Instead, she remained where she was, body trembling and cunt pulsing. Melissa still had her. She was still a prisoner. She turned her head towards the others.

Susan and Ann clutched at each other, both moaning pitifully. Heather was shaking, tears trickling down her face, her eyes downcast. None of them could break free. Melissa still had them all. Her power had not diminished in the least.

Jason tried to repeat the spell. The box flew at him again, moments before Cassie was about to grab it, forcing him to duck and stop the spell again. Cassie lunged for the box as it whizzed past her, but missed.

Ned suddenly let out a yelp. It was as if someone had grabbed both his wrists and yanked them hard to either side. His arms flew out straight, and for a moment, he swore he felt one arm start to dislocate from his shoulder. The next second, the pull was gone, and he fell to the ground, pain flaring briefly.

Cassie rushed to his side. It was only then he realized he was lying flat on the ground. "Shit," he muttered into the earth.

Melissa stood, the wooden box back in her hands. She whipped her head around as Jason started towards her.

"Don't you dare, " Melissa hissed at him, baring her teeth like a feral animal.

"I'm all right, Cassie, jeez," Ned muttered as he staggered to his feet and tested his hurt arm. When it was clear Melissa had done him no serious injury, he narrowed his eyes and frowned at the tableau. "Jason, don't listen ta the little bitch. Just say it!"

Jason looked at Melissa. He peered into eyes that held as much desperation as they did fury. "You can't stop me from saying it forever."

"If I smash something hard enough to break your jaw I can," said Melissa coldly.

Cassie gasped.

Jason was undaunted. Or at least he hoped it looked that way. Inside, he was more scared than he ever had been in his life. But he could not come this far to give up now, even if their original plan had not worked. "F-fine. Break my jaw. Cassie will say it. Or Ned."

Melissa clutched the box to her bosom. Her eyes flicked over to the others.

"You can't stop us all. You're not that powerful. Or you would've just flattened all of us at once."

Jason stepped towards her. Melissa lashed out. Jason stumbled back and fell, pushed by Melissa's telekinetic power.

Stupid girl.

Ned lunged. Melissa pushed him back as well. But now Jason was back on his feet and ran forward. She knocked him in the side, sending him sprawling into the dirt and snow. But by now Cassie tried as well. Then Ned again.

You can recite a spell just as well as they can.

Melissa held her ground, but each time they got closer. Jason and Cassie tried together and nearly got to her. She was starting to pant with the effort.

Try this one... 

Ned rushed her. Jason recovered and joined him. Cassie rose to her feet and brought up the rear.

Melissa fell back and shouted the words that the pendant had visualized in her head. "Ilkwit'sessla yirlos ron'alqua!"

As soon as he heard Melissa incant, Ned lunged the remaining distance, trying to stop her from speaking the last syllable. But Melissa sidestepped at the last moment and completed the spell just as Ned fell to the ground.

Jason slowed his advance and stopped. Cassie lowered her trembling hands from her ears. She had thought to block Melissa's voice, but only as the last syllables were being spoken. The spell had reached into her mind as well.

Ned rose to his feet. He and Jason turned and looked at Cassie.

Cassie's eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights. She took a faltering step back and shook her head. Mind and body fought conflicting imperatives. Fear made her want to back away. Desire made her want to submit.

Jason and Ned stepped towards her, their movements jerky and hesitant. Cassie's lower lip trembled, but she could not bring herself to move. She squeezed her thighs together as warmth flooded her sex.

"S-stop ... please..." Cassie begged, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I-I'm trying," Jason said, his voice husky.

"Dammit... dammit..." Ned muttered.

"Not like this ... oh God, not like this..." Cassie moaned, her voice both sultry and anguished.

Jason's hand clenched, quivered, then let go. His stiff cock pressed hard against the inside of his jeans, straining for relief. Ned was painting faintly, his own crotch bulging. "I c-can't..." Jason cried weakly as his hands reached for Cassie.

Ned opened his mouth as if to join Jason in protest, but his own resistance was rapidly fading. In his case, his own carnal urges for Cassie worked in the spell's favor. By the time his fingers were fumbling to undo the buttons of Cassie's coat, he was panting hard with raw lust.

Cassie's eyes blurred with tears. Jason reached under her coat and cupped a breast through her blouse. She moaned and lifted a hand to push him away. Instead, she caressed the crotch of his jeans.

"Interesting little spell, isn't it?" Melissa said with great relish in her voice. "If I recall correctly, you just get more horny the more you try to resist it."

Jason shuddered. He tried to pull away from Cassie. Instead, he unbuttoned Cassie's blouse. Ned bit his lip as if trying to concentrate. But his hand slid under Cassie's skirt and panties anyway, fingers seeking out her wet slit.

"N-not this way," Cassie whimpered in a barely audible voice. Her hands pulled down both Jason's and Ned's zippers and stroked their cocks through their briefs. "P-please ... not like this..."

"Too bad Richie and Melinda couldn't be here," Melissa said. "An orgy is always so much better the more you have. But this will have to do. You remember that little orgy spell, don't you, Cassie? One of the first ones you saw, wasn't it?"

Tears trickled down Cassie's face as she fell to the ground, her breasts popped free from her bra, her skirt and panties pulled down her legs.

Diane was crying softly as well, even as much as the continual sexual delight sent her into a state of blissful euphoria. She looked up at Melissa, wanting to hate this girl with every ounce of strength she had. Instead, Melissa smiled at her, and Diane moaned in a renewed paroxysm of lust.

"Feels good, doesn't it, Diane?" Melissa cooed. "Just relax. No need to concern yourself with anything anymore. Any of you. You'll just be mindless little sex toys when it's all over, and you'll never have another worry again. But for a short while..."

Melissa opened the box and recited another incantation. The box filled with poisonous, liquid green light.

" ... for a short while, you'll just be mindless..."

-------

Richie braced himself as he barreled past the "pavement ends" sign. His bike wobbled dangerously as it passed from blacktop to gravel. He held onto the handlebars with a vise-like grip that left his fingers aching as the bike alternately thumped over a badly washboarded section of road or slid precipitously on the accumulating snow.

The bike didn't handle or feel like his own. If it had been his, he would have barely felt the transition. Even the tire pressure was off. They were overinflated. He would consider himself lucky if he didn't get a blowout.

But none of that mattered. Even if he had to ride on the rims, he had to get up there. He had promised the others. Even if they had already taken care of everything for him, he had to keep his promise. He was a Harbinger, and Harbingers did not let each other down.

Richie's legs ached. His throat was raw. He likely had the police looking for him all over town. He wanted to stop and rest.

Richie gritted his teeth and pedaled harder as the road rose into the hills.

-------

James had just enjoyed some of the greatest sex he ever had since he and Kathy got married. She was a complete tiger in bed, humping him as if she were performing in a porn movie. He loved that sort of thing, if the secret horde of downloaded porn clips on his computer were any indication.

But he hadn't looked at those for some time now. He didn't need to, now that Kathy was going at it with him like a crazed slut. He was getting all he needed from her. He never asked any questions. He never expressed any doubts. He didn't want to ruin a good thing.

Which was why he was very reluctant to say anything now, even after his wife had suddenly shuddered violently, turned over on her side, and burst into hysterical tears.

Even when he did try find out what was wrong, he got nothing coherent from her. Or rather, nothing that made sense. All he could get from her was something about Melissa, and that something terrible was about to happen.



-------

Chapter 30


"Uhhn ... please stop..."

"Shhh. No need to worry, you're safe."

Melinda squirmed in her mother's lap as her pussy throbbed. "I d-don't want to be safe! I ... uhh! ... stop it ... s-stop ... uhhhn..."

"Quiet now, Melinda," Penny whispered. One hand softly stroked her daughter's wet folds. Another slowly fondled a breast. "You need to stay here with me."

"H-Heather..." Melinda gasped in the throes of her orgasm. "Mom ... Heather's i-in trouble ... you can't..."

"She'll be okay." There was a faint catch in her voice. She lightly pinched Melinda's nipple and slipped two fingers into Melinda's entrance. "She'll be home again soon."

Melinda panted and spread her trembling thighs despite herself. She could sense the Darkness working on her through her mother. She could even see tendrils of her mother's Aura now slithering around herself. As much as it filled her with horror, her body remained horny and wanting.

"She won't be Heather anymore!" Melinda wailed softly. "Please ... uhhhn ... p-please..."

"Shhh. Just enjoy it, Melinda," Penny said in a soothing voice.

Melinda whimpered. She fell limp against her mother, her resistance exhausted.

There was a faraway look in Penny's eyes. She could sense the Darkness' elation. She knew what it meant. It was finally going to happen.

I've tried to be good,  Penny thought. I've done what was asked of me. Please remember that. Please.

But she received no reply. She felt only a sense of amusement as it applied its will to her, forcing away her remaining doubts and thoughts of protection of her family. Her lips curled into a contented smile.

-------

Jason looked down at Cassie as he straddled her torso, his hands kneading the pliant flesh of her soft breasts. Behind the raw lust was a quiet desperation. It shimmered in his gaze, a tiny sign that he was still fighting the urges that had come over him.

His jeans and briefs already lay discarded carelessly to the side. His breathing was heavy, his cock hard and pulsing. The cold prickled his skin, but it did nothing to cool the heat of desire.

Cassie stared at Jason's cock, her face a mix of fear and hunger. Her lips parted, and she licked them in anticipation. She trembled as she felt her thighs parted by Ned's hands. Jason shuddered in another show of resistance before finally sliding forward

"I-I'm sorry..." Jason croaked. "I c-can't stop..."

His words dissolved into a moan as Cassie's fingers reached up and encircled his cock. "K-keep fighting ... please..." she whispered. She drew in her breath suddenly as something wet and sinuous teased her swollen clit. She let out a sultry sigh as Ned licked her folds. Her fingers tightened, and she pulled Jason towards her.

There was a flare of green light from behind Jason and a terrible, echoing scream.

"Oh no ... M-Melissa started ... she... "

Cassie's own words were cut off as Jason's cock slid into her mouth. She closed her eyes, a single tear trickling down her cheek as she sucked with enthusiasm, her fingers pumping the base of his cock at the same time. Jason fell into the same rhythm, rocking his hips and moaning softly.

Ned's face lay buried in Cassie's mound. It had taken everything he had not to simply pull down his briefs and impale her pussy. His cock strained hard with the need, and when Cassie moaned and spread her thighs further apart, it only encouraged the desire.

No, not like this,  Ned struggled to think. I don't want her first time to be like this. Keep it out of her.

Melissa giggled as she looked at them. The interior of the box now swirled with green and blue light. Ann Went stood perfectly still, her eyes utterly vacant, her body an empty shell that still breathed. "Too bad you girls can't be having as much fun as them. You know, I wonder what it does feel like to be put into a little box like this."

She turned to Susan. Susan's eyes stared in horror, a terrified whimper escaping her trembling lips.

"Ann's already in here," Melissa said, her hand caressing the side of the box lovingly. "Didn't sound like she enjoyed being pulled into it, though. Maybe you can comfort your little lezzie lover. Tophr'ulthis orgos ron'renthrala!"

Susan let out a gasp. Her body went stiff as it was suffused with a blue-white glow. Her eyes widened as the light streamed into a glowing orb above her head. All sense of self faded from her gaze. Her lips parted and her muscles relaxed as her head became starkly empty.

All that was Susan Radson hovered in a swirling mass of glowing ether. It struggled to remain in place, tendrils of itself trying to reach out and reconnect with its body.

A tentacle of acid green shot out from the box like a snake's tongue and wrapped itself around Susan's life energy. Another unearthly scream rent the icy air as it was pulled towards the box. The scream faded only once the tentacle had pulled Susan's spirit fully inside, where it churned and seethed.

Cassie whimpered at the sound even as she wrapped an arm around Jason's waist and forced him deeper into her mouth. She panted hard through her nose as Ned's tongue lashed at her clit and plunged into her tunnel.

Melissa turned to Heather. Diane clutched at her lover, tears spilling silently down her cheeks. Heather embraced Diane tightly and whispered, "Stop it, please ... don't give Melissa the satisfaction."

Melissa laughed. "Heather, you just don't get it, do you? I'm not after petty revenge anymore. There is no satisfaction you can possibly give me. This power is what matters now. You're nothing to me."

Heather looked at her fellow Harbingers. Her eyes glistened. Was this all her fault? If she and Diane had not pulled that cruel trick on Melissa, she wouldn't have had the four people she needed for the spell.

Heather turned to Melissa. "I'm sorry."

Melissa frowned. "What?"

"I said I was sorry. For what Diane and I did to you."

"And you think that's supposed to change anything now?"

Heather shook her head solemnly.

Melissa sneered. "Yeah, you're sorry, all right. You're sorry only because you're at my mercy. If none of this had happened, you wouldn't be the least bit sorry about it. You'd still be gloating over it with your fucking little lezzie lover here! Oh, what a grand little joke we played on the misfit! What a nice laugh we had at the wallflower's expense!"

Melissa's voice had risen steadily until she was screaming, her eyes blazing with fury and hatred.

It was not lost on Heather. She couldn't help but crack a small smile.

"What the FUCK do you find so funny?!" Melissa bellowed.

"You're getting kind of upset for someone that says she's not interested in revenge."

Melissa clenched her teeth and trembled with rage. She shouted the incantation.

Heather drew in her breath as a gentle warmth suffused her entire body. Everything around her blurred, like a lens going softly out of focus. She had the sensation of being lifted, not quite up or in any particular direction that she could envision. It was more a sense of detachment, like slipping into a dream in the throes of sleep.

It was pleasant. She was a feather in the breeze. Everything around her melted into dark pastels, like an abstract oil painting. It was a strangely exhilarating feeling, almost euphoric. The pastels faded to a hazy gray, like a thick fog.

And then something came at her through the fog.

It was a black void, a nothingness that was so empty and absolute as to be thoroughly terrifying. It was worse than being rent by a horrible monster. That would have required sensation, a sense of being. This was its antithesis, a total lack of feeling, a complete absence of either pleasure or pain.

And it was pulling her in.

She was in an endless fall into the void. There was no sight, no sound, no feeling. She tried to imagine herself with a body, flailing for something to pull her out of the pit into which she had fallen, but her thoughts of her corporeal form vanished like mist. She was not aware of even her own scream.

In the time it took for her spirit to be pulled into the box, Heather thought she would go insane. Then, mercifully, there was something in the horrible emptiness. It was like a very dim light on the horizon in an inky-black, moonless night. Two of them, flickering at the very edge of her perceptions.

It was Susan and Ann. She tried to reach out to them, and she sensed them reaching to her. But the gulf between them stretched into eternity.

Thoughts swirled around her spirit. Thoughts of despair. Thoughts of sorrow. Thoughts of regret. Some were her own, some were not. It was as if she, Susan, and Ann were sharing a single consciousness despite the vast gulf that appeared to separate them in the void.

Ann's thoughts were the most anguished, her mental voice the most shrill. She was one step away from insanity herself. But where their thoughts were so intimately shared, now Heather felt her own grip on sanity loosen.

A fourth dim beacon flickered in the distance. It was Diane.

Heather tried to call out to her, but that was a concept which had no meaning here. Diane's thoughts simply pooled with the others as their spirits swirled inside the void.

-------

Bill stared at the road ahead of him, his eyes slightly glazed.

"You don't believe me," Debby said flatly.

"Don't believe you? Fuck, I don't even understand it enough to know whether I should believe it or not!" Bill cried, his voice cracking. "You realize how insane it sounds? Like some crackpot conspiracy theory!"

"Don't you think I know that?!"

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?"

"Because I know how you feel about this stuff! And don't try to deny it anymore, Bill. I know perfectly well you think everything I do is just so much hogwash!"

Bill gripped the steering wheel tightly and took a deep breath. His heart pounded in worry over his daughter. His stomach flipped and churned at the thought of what had been going on between her and Debby. "Honey ... please ... tell me the truth..."

Debby gave him a perplexed look.

"You're not ... you're not just covering up something, are you?"

"What?!"

"I mean ... some of those rituals you do are pretty funky. Where you hardly wear anything. You weren't doing something with Susan that..."

"How dare you!" Debby exploded. "How dare you even suggest I would involve my daughter in some perverted sexual game! You have no idea how it felt to be forced to do these things with Susan. And she was affecting you, too, Bill. It was happening right in front of you! We both masturbated right in front of you some mornings and you never... !"

"All right! ALL RIGHT!"

Debby fell silent. Her breath caught when she saw the tears in Bill's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," he said in a choked voice. "I'm just having trouble with this ... I don't want to believe any of this could happen..."

Debby laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "I know, Bill. Just get us there, please."

"I'm going as fast as I can. I've already fishtailed twice. Fucking weather..."

"It's okay. Just keep going."

Debby took a deep breath and choked down a sob. She already felt like it was too late. She could sense a subtle change in the energies in the town. The Rite had already begun. If anyone was going to stop it now, it would have to be someone that was already there.

-------

Melissa closed the box and latched it.

It trembled in her hands. Light spilled from the gap between lid and sides, and it rattled against the tiny latch. She stepped forward and placed the box gently on the ground.

She looked up. The shells of Susan, Ann, Heather, and Diane stared at her, unseeing and unfeeling. They were little more than masses of flesh and bone that respired. Their eyes were empty, their brains quiescent, save for what little was needed to keep their bodies alive.

Melissa pointed to a spot before the roaring green flame at the other end of the clearing. "Line up there."

The four obeyed, nothing more than puppets.

"Turn."

All four turned so that they faced the flame. It flickered in their vapid eyes.

Jason shuddered as his cock erupted inside Cassie's mouth. A few drops of his cum trickled from the corner of her mouth. She tilted her head back and hastily swallowed Jason's seed, just before her mouth opened in a loud cry as her pussy throbbed.

Jason collapsed to the side, panting. With his cock satisfied, it was a little easier to resist the effects of the spell. But he could not yet bring himself to stand up.

Ned lifted his head. Cassie's orgasm had served only to fuel his own need. He pushed himself up. His cock stretched the fabric of his briefs, a small wet spot near the head. He panted with both spell-induced lust and his attempts to resist its intent.

He wanted to tell Cassie that he didn't mean it to happen like this, but he couldn't get the words out. His voice simply refused to obey him.

"S-someone stop her," Cassie sobbed as she lay helpless, her body still burning with desire. "P-please ... oh God please..."

Ned thought Cassie had said "him" instead of "her." It made him hesitate for just a moment, but it passed quickly. He yanked his briefs down his legs and kicked them off his feet. He crawled over Cassie, his eyes wild and staring.

Cassie's hands flew up as if to ward him off, only to slide around his sides in encouragement instead. "Ned ... p-please ... stop her..."

"I c-can't ... I-I..." Ned managed to choke out.

"We're t-trying," Jason moaned as he drew himself up along Cassie's side. He began playing with one of Cassie's breasts.

Cassie arched her back and whimpered as Jason's touch sent shivers of pleasure through her body. She looked up at Ned with aching desire as he positioned himself between her spreading legs.

"R-Richie ... where's Richie..." Cassie moaned. "J-Jason, he's not here yet ... m-maybe he... uhhh!"

Jason could not respond, as he had already clamped his lips around Cassie's nipple and sucked it hard into his mouth. Cassie tried to speak again, but her words dissolved into a long, low cry as Ned slid inside her.

For that moment, nothing else mattered to her. The realization suddenly hit her that she had been penetrated, that a boy's cock was inside her pussy. At first she thought she might scream. Only the spell-induced desire and her own silent mantra prevented her.

It's not rape ... I wanted to do this with him ... it's not rape... 

Ever since Cassie had learned of the Darkness and its power, this was the situation that had frightened her so badly. She had been sure she would go insane with terror no matter how rigidly controlled was her mind, or how much she liked her partner. She had not counted on her feelings for her partner progressing beyond mere infatuation.

Jason had heard Cassie's comment about Richie and understood. For a moment, the old anger and resentment towards his friend welled up inside of him. He promised he would be here. No matter what. He won't go back on that. His thought was part angry lament and part impassioned plea. If nothing else, it helped him resist the spell's effect just a bit more. Then he could...

"Tophr'altkas ron'kninetala progetha donlas ron'seltha!"

And then it didn't matter anymore. It was too late.

The green flame burst into brilliant, blinding light that surged towards the four girl-husks. Their bodies were cocooned in the stream of power, their eyes now glowing acid green, their mouths dropping open as the energy consumed every bit of space in their empty minds.

Only seconds later, the power emerged from behind the four. Now properly focused, it impaled the air like a lance. The pendant flared like a miniature nova as it received the power and channeled it into Melissa.

Melissa cried out in ecstasy. She felt the power streaming through her body and mind. She felt it unlocking abilities that she had never dreamed possible. It was everything she had wanted. It was everything she had hoped for. Soon she would be able to do anything she wanted.

-------

Richie was in a panic.

He was sure he had taken a wrong turn. At first, the faint glow from the snow-laden clouds had helped keep him on the main road. Eventually, the snow became thick enough to encase him in a hazy fog. He kept running off the side of the road into the undergrowth and rocks. He had convinced himself that he was now hopelessly lost.

But then he saw the green glow in the distance.

Richie was so astonished at the emerald light that he brought the bike to a shuddering stop. For a brief moment, he thought he had gone insane, that the cold and his horribly aching legs had brought on some sort of strange hallucination. When the realization came to him, however, it struck him like an icy fist to his gut.

"Holy fuck," he muttered. "She's started the Rite."

Richie turned the bike back onto the road. His legs screamed in protest as he pushed himself to pedal the bike just a bit further up the hill. The light was so bright that it was like a beacon to him.

Suddenly the pain in his legs meant nothing. Nor did his fear. None of it mattered. All that mattered was keeping a promise.

-------

Penny Sovert felt it.

It passed through her like a wave of blissful pleasure, her pussy convulsing in a sudden, intense paroxysm of pleasure. She moaned and shivered. She trembled, and her hands faltered, causing Melinda to whimper in need.

Sandra Gardner felt it.

She collapsed to her knees, her cunt pulsing, her breath short and heavy. She clutched at the side of the door, trying to pull herself up, but her orgasm was too strong.

Laura Bendon felt it.

For her, it was no more than a passing wave of soft, liquid warmth in her sex. As she was not a slave to the Darkness directly, she did not sense its emotions so powerfully. Normally, she rarely sensed them at all. But it was clear to her now that something very good was about to happen, something that pleased the Darkness to no end.

All of those in Haven touched by the Darkness felt it in some way or form. Everyone knew that something was about to happen.

Even Henry Conner felt it.

He had been typing at the keyboard of his computer when he simply stopped, as if frozen in a moment of time. Finally, he slowly lowered his hands and leaned back in his chair with a slow sigh.

Yes, he felt it, but in a far different way.

For him, it was a sense of impending doom. It was a visceral fear that caused his heart to palpitate and his stomach to churn. He tried not to panic. He tried to observe it critically. This was a golden opportunity, after all. There had been speculation over what might be the consequences of stolen power. Now he had a chance to observe it first hand.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow, which had broken out in a cold sweat. He realized there was one flaw in his thinking. He doubted that he would be around to tell anyone his findings if the Darkness was successful that night.

-------

Debby Radson also felt it.

A wave of dark energy flowed over her as the car passed over one of the lines of force. It stole her breath, as if she had plunged into icy water. Something powerfully evil had just crossed her path.

She clutched at her racing heart, her other hand curling hard into the edge of the seat as if holding on for dear life. The touch of the entity had sparked an instinctual terror in her so powerful that it blocked coherent thought.

When it finally abated, she saw the last of the town's street lamps fall away and the road open into darkness, save for the headlights. Snow swirled and reduced their light to diffuse uselessness as if in mockery of them.

We're too late,  Debby thought, and the despair that settled over her was almost as bad as the terror had been. It took all her willpower not to burst into tears on the spot.

-------

Cassie's mind was locked in a torment of conflict. She wanted to cry out in horror at Melissa. She wanted to cry out in pleasure at Ned's lovemaking.

Ned pumped his hips against her, his cock pounding mercilessly into her depths. The experience was more intense than anything she had ever felt. If this had been any other context, she would have willingly submitted and let herself ride the wave of pleasure. It was not just the spell's effects that kept her legs parted for him.

At the same time, some shred of resistance made her push at his chest, albeit weakly, in an attempt to spark some more resistance from Ned. But Ned's will was not as strong, and his own desires for Cassie got in the way. Instead, he was trying to finish it off quickly, to satisfy his own cravings.

Jason grew hard again. He struggled against the constant push of the spell. He trembled as he rose to his knees, intending to straddle Cassie again and slide his cock between her tits.

A burst of noise off to the side distracted him for a moment.

He turned his head in time to see a bicycle abruptly swerve to avoid hitting one of the lanterns that sat at the edge of the clearing. The front wheel slipped, and the bike tipped and crashed, depositing its rider hard to the ground.

Cassie turned her head to the side and moaned, "Richie..."

Pain lanced into Richie's cheek, and something trickled down his face. Richie scrambled to his feet as pain and swiped at it in annoyance. His fingers came away with fresh blood.

His eyes rose from his hand, and he froze. It was his campgrounds vision all over again. "Oh shit..."

"R-Richie ... the box..." a voice came weakly through the air.

Richie turned his head. "H-huh? What ... holy fuck! What are you... ?!"

"The box," Jason croaked. He pushed Cassie's hands away and straddled her torso. "G-get it... "

His words trailed off as he grabbed Cassie's tits and squeezed them around his cock.

Richie didn't understand. His eyes darted wildly. What box? What was Jason talking about?

And then his eyes fell upon it.

It shook and rattled as if alive. Light speared from it in brilliant violence. The seams of wood strained as if about to burst as the life energies inside fought with feral rage to escape from their confines.

Did Jason want him to open it? But he couldn't do that! Agatha said it could damage the souls inside it! No, he had to stop Melissa first.

He balled his hands into fists and charged at Melissa.

Suddenly, he couldn't breathe and almost grayed out. It took him a few crucial moments to realize he was sprawled out on his back. It had been as if something had socked him the gut. His diaphragm ached badly and struggled to expand his lungs properly. He felt as if he were suffocating.

Richie tried to stand, but his legs gave out from under him. He wheezed as his bruised diaphragm fought to draw in air. He was at the end of his endurance. His gaze turned to the box again. Heather and Diane were in there. If he opened it, he might hurt them. Or kill them. But he had no choice.

He crawled on his hands and knees towards the box, panting hard with the effort.

Melissa reached out with her telekinetic power and pushed him aside. He recovered and lunged at it. His hand managed to brush its side before she pushed him away again. Before he could launch himself at the box one more time, the box rose into the air and out of his reach.

Melissa laughed.

And as Richie lifted his eyes to the hovering box, its image blurred by his tears, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. His body shivered as a wave of intense icy cold swept over him.

Richie turned his head, and for a moment he was paralyzed with fright.

A great, black, swirling form had emerged from the emerald light of the flame. Unlike the one he had seen in his vision, this one was taking on a much more definite shape. The inky dark coalesced into a being, a shapely figure that inspired both visceral terror and intense desire at the same time.

It is time.

Jason heard it. He felt the same thing as Richie, but far more intensely. First a gut-wrenching fear, then a burning lust. He sensed a powerful, frightening intelligence behind it.

The figure reached out. A tendril of its darkness slithered into the glowing green energy and surged into Melissa. She let out a short, surprised cry.

You are ready to receive me. I will awaken.

Richie's lower lip trembled. He could not hear the words, but he could sense the intent. He saw Melissa stiffen and the look of triumph in her eyes turn to one of fear.

You have been an excellent pawn, Melissa. But now you need to step aside.

The entity poured itself into the energy stream. The light turned from acid green to fiery violet. When it entered Melissa, she let out a scream that turned Richie's blood cold. Her red hair turned midnight black and flowed behind her like smoke.

Richie forced himself to his feet. The box seemed impossibly far from him. He jumped and tried to snatch it from the air. He fell far short and collapsed to the ground again.

Melissa's hair streamed out behind her like tendrils of Darkness themselves. Her skin paled and glowed faintly as the entity continued to stream into her.

Richie stared at the box in fury and frustration. He was out of options. He didn't know what to do.

Until his hand fell on a large round bulge in the pocket of his jacket.

He reached in and pulled out the baseball. His fingers tightened around it. His teeth clenched in determination. He wiped at his eyes with his free hand and looked up.

He didn't stop to think, he just acted. It was not a box, it was the glove of an infielder, and Richie had make the out. The game hinged on this throw. And Richie always pulled through when the game was at stake.

He let the ball fly into the night.

The ball struck dead-on. The box exploded in a blinding concussion of light.

Streams of blue-white life energy pierced the cold night air and seared a path through the falling snow. Each unerringly sought its proper host and blasted back into its body. For a moment, the violet power of the Darkness fought against it, seeking to prevent it from completing the reunion.

Heather's spirit rejoined first. Volition flashed back into her eyes, and she let out a scream, her hands flying up as if to ward off a blow. The channel through her to the node's power was abruptly cut. Deprived of its full power, the Dark Entity lost the remaining battles in short order. Diane, Susan, and then Ann were restored.

A blood-freezing scream of rage and fury reverberated through Jason's mind. He fell off Cassie and onto his side as Melissa's spell on him shattered. Seconds after the spell's effects dissipated, Ned and Cassie burst into orgasm together.

Melissa reverted to normal and collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

The Darkness rose above them. Its energies swirled in agitation. It held out an ethereal arm and pointed a slender finger towards Jason.

I know you can hear me, Jason.

Jason trembled and curled into a ball. He moaned deeply, his cock throbbing. As terrifying as the entity was, its mental voice was like a Siren's call. His whole body pulsed with raw, unholy desire.

You are so clever, Jason. You and and your friends. So very clever. Enjoy your victory for now. You have only delayed the inevitable.

The entity turned. Its form was rapidly fading. It extended its misty hand towards Melissa.

And you. Pathetic. You had it, and you squandered it. You don't know how to use power. It was a mistake to give it to you in the first place.

There was a flash of intense, acid green light, and a sound like shattering glass. The pendant fell away from Melissa's neck in three jagged pieces.

And then the Dark Entity vanished.

Ann let out a loud, anguished wail and collapsed to the ground, tears flowing freely from her eyes. Susan dropped to her knees and wrapped her arm around Ann's shivering body. "Ann ... Ann, it's okay ... we're free ... we're finally free of her."

Heather blinked and stared at Diane. They fell into each other's arms, embracing each other tightly. "It's over ... it's over, Diane."

"Oh fuck ... Cassie, I'm so sorry!" Ned cried in a panic. "Please, I didn't want it this way! I didn't! I swear I didn't! I..."

Cassie pulled him into a fierce hug. "Shh. It's okay. I know. Stop it."

Jason groaned and rose to his feet. His jeans and briefs were thrust into his hands.

"Here, dude, you need this," Richie drawled.

Jason turned to Richie, astonished. "What happened?"

Richie smirked. "I promised I'd be here, didn't I? I took care of it for you, no prob."

It took Jason a moment to comprehend what had happened. When he did, he smiled and clutched Richie's hand. He shook it once, but it wasn't enough. He pulled Richie into an embrace.

"Hey, man, I ... uh, okay..." Richie said as he awkwardly returned the hug. When it broke off, he made a face at Jason. "Next time, uh, put your clothes back on before you do something like that with me, 'kay?"

Jason glanced down at himself and blushed. "Oh yeah, right..."

Cassie suddenly cried out in alarm and ran over to them, only half-dressed herself. "Watch it! Melissa's coming to!"

"I'll fucking knock her back out myself if I hafta," Ned growled as he yanked his jeans back on.

Cassie clutched at his arm. "No, don't! Please, don't get her more angry than she already is! She can't do the Rite again, that's what matters."

Heather and Diane rushed over to them. "I don't think she can do anything, Cassie!" Heather said. "We're all free of her!"

"I'm going to try and find our clothes, Heather," Diane said. She headed over towards the car.

Susan gasped when she saw Melissa stagger to her feet. She drew Ann protectively to her.

Melissa looked around, her face a mask of disbelief, then of slowly dawning horror. She finally turned her eyes towards Jason and screamed. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"

Jason and the others tensed and stared back at her. Ned's hands curled into fists, and he gave Melissa a murderous look.

Melissa's eyes turned slowly to surprise, then fear. "Why can't I ... why aren't you..."

"You don't have it anymore," Jason said calmly. "It took the power away from you before it left."

Melissa's eyes shimmered. She flung herself at a tree, burying her face against her arms, tears streaming down her face. "This isn't fair... it isn't fair..."

"Don't you get it, Melissa? It was using you! It was trying to possess you! That's all it cared about all along!"

"Gone..." Melissa sobbed. She slid slowly to the ground as her legs gave out. The bark scraped her arms raw as she fell, but she barely noticed. She shook with despair and anguish. "The power ... gone ... not fair... "

Ned grabbed Jason's arm. "Give it up, dude. Leave her alone. She's fuckin' pathetic anyway."

Jason shuddered. "Yeah. That's what the entity called her, too."

"Huh? You heard it?" Richie cried.

"I can hear the Darkness, remember? Yeah, I heard it. It's an intelligent being of some sort."

"Aw, fuck..."

"No, this is good, Richie. We finally know what we're up against now."

Just as Diane raced into the clearing with a bundle of clothing in her arms, light suddenly flared from the road. They all turned as a car came to a grinding halt at the edge of the clearing. Doors opened, and two figures emerged.

"SUSAN!!" screamed Debby Radson.

"Oh dear God..." Bill murmured as his gaze swept the clearing.

Debby and Susan met halfway, throwing their arms around each other.

"Oh goddess ... Susan, please tell me..." Debby whimpered.

"It's over, Mom," Susan said. "I'm free. Melissa's doesn't have it anymore. Please, look at Ann, Mom, I think she's in shock or something!"

A second car pulled up.

"Good heavens!" cried Harry as he ran from the limo. "Miss Kendall!"

"I'm all right, Harry!" Cassie cried in irritation, having just put on her jacket.

Harry was pale as a ghost as he surveyed the scene. "Good God ... Miss Kendall, please tell me you were not involved in this ... this debauchery..."

Richie couldn't help but snigger. Ned looked desperately at Cassie.

"Ned and were taking a nice walk in the forest," Cassie said loftily. "And we came back to this. Seems like a bit of a mess, doesn't it? Right, Ned?"

Ned blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, sure. Man, what a party they musta had here." He met Harry's stern gaze. "Er ... totally whacked, if ya ask me. What were their parents thinkin', huh? Glad we weren't anywheres near it when it went down. Yep. We were far away from here. Really far. Next county, pract'ly."

"I think he gets it, Ned, thank you," Cassie said quickly.

"We are not staying here another moment, Miss Kendall, and I am not taking 'no' for an answer. Come along now."

Cassie gave the others a forlorn look as she took Ned's hand. "Jason, I'm sorry, I have to go."

"It's okay, Cassie," Jason said with a relieved sigh. "I think everything will be all right now. Thanks."

Cassie smiled.

"Come along, Miss Kendall!" Harry cried.

"Yes, yes, coming, you don't have to shout," Cassie said imperiously, dragging Ned beside her. "Have a little decorum, Harry..."

Richie found his baseball. He tossed it up, snatched it out of the air in satisfaction, and stuffed it in his pocket. "So what now?"

"We come up with a story. Fast," said Jason. "I can't believe that the police are not going to notice something by now."

-------

Henry Conner put down the phone.

He wiped his face with his hands and let out an exhausted sigh. It was over for now. He had to call Audrey and let her know that Jason would be home soon, once his call to the police was acted upon. Then he would have to come up with a way to spare Jason from his wife's wrath without revealing what had really happened.

But first he had a far more important call to make.

He took out his cell phone and dialed. After three rings, there was a click as the call was answered.

"Ted Havers. This better be damn good to be calling at this hour."

"This is Henry Conner in Haven. We nearly lost it."

A long pause. "Aw, shit. How bad?"

"I said nearly. It was stopped, and that path has been closed off to it."

"You better be damn sure of that."

"I wouldn't be talking to you now if I wasn't."

Havers sighed. "How did you stop it?"

"I didn't. My son and his friends did."

"The same kids you cited in your last report? Damn. So they were useful after all."

Henry's jaw tightened. "Yes. No way we could have handled this. We've only just started here. We're in no position yet to control it ourselves. Not yet. In a way, those teens have a head start on us in understanding this thing."

"I don't like having to depend on a bunch of kids to keep this thing in check," Havers said. "I said from the start that we're seriously playing with fire here. A fire that we don't even know how hot it burns."

"Then you need to get the Haven Project moving faster. We need to know much more about its nature than we do now. But Ted, realize this: these kids may be helpful now, but eventually they're going to get in our way. We need to figure out how to deal with that when the time comes. They can't be allowed to interfere when we're finally ready to move."

"Shit, you're talking about your own son, Hank."

"I know. But this is more important. You know that."

"Yeah. I know," Havers said in obvious resignation. "All right. I'll see what I can do at this end to send more resources your way. And don't tell anyone else in the agency anything about this. The Secretary will have my head on a platter if he found out about this."

The line went dead.

Henry pocketed his cell phone and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. Things were going too fast. Something had prodded the entity before his work was even close to fruition. Now they were up against an intelligence that had its own agenda.

He stood up and fetched his coat. It was time he started home.

-------

Penny gasped softly, and her hands faltered. "What... ?"

"Uhhn..." Melinda groaned. She blinked rapidly as the dark fog slowly lifted from her mind.

Penny trembled. The Darkness had retreated from her mind as well. For that moment, she was free of it. She pushed Melinda from her lap.

Melinda stumbled, not expecting the action, her legs stiff. She turned around and looked at her mother with a mixture of confusion and anger.

Penny lifted a shaking hand to her cheek, her eyes wide. A horrible feeling of guilt crashed over her like a tidal wave. Her eyes shimmered on the verge of tears.

Melinda gave her mother an indignant look. "What's going on? Why did you... ?"

The moment passed. Penny closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She felt the Darkness slowly reassert itself. It was not as strong as before, but it was enough. "Melinda, go to your room."

"What? Why? What happened? Why did you free me?"

"S-something happened..."

Melinda gasped. "Oh shit ... Mom, what is it? Tell me!"

Penny opened her eyes. There was an irritated edge to them now. The guilt was in retreat. "I told you not to talk to me like that, Melinda. Now go to your room before I..."

"Before you what? Punish me? What do you call what you've been doing to me for the last hour?!"

"Melinda, don't shout!"

"I'll shout all I want! I'll keep shouting until you tell me what happened!"

Penny took a deep breath. The Darkness did not want her to speak. It was purely out of spite. It had little power to strike back at those that had dealt it this latest blow, so it wanted to lash out any way it could.

But Penny was able to resist its order. She would pay for it later, once it was again strong enough to reassert complete control. "Heather will be coming home soon."

Melinda stared. Her lower lip trembled. Her mother's words could have meant anything.

"I think she's okay, Melinda. Whatever was going to happen tonight, it was stopped."

Relief flooded over Melinda, but fury quickly followed on its heels. "No thanks to you!"

"Melinda, please, I could only do what..."

"What it told you to do! Yeah, right! You didn't even try to do anything! Just like when Nyssa was here! Just... don't touch me!"

Penny had reached out her hand. Now she drew it back as if burned.

Melinda shook with rage. "Just like before. You did nothing to stop it! Not a fucking thing!"

"Melinda, listen to me, I..."

"I hate you!"

Penny flinched as if struck. Melinda stormed out of the room.

-------

Richie looked bored, his head propped up on his hand.

"Your son is very fortunate, Ms. Gardner," said the officer behind the desk. "The owner of the bike has chosen not to press charges so long as the damages to the bike are paid."

"Fine, just send me the bill," Sandra said impatiently. "Is that all?"

"Well, there is the matter of his delinquency. Technically, Haven does have a curfew for anyone under sixteen, and Richie here is fifteen. And he did assault an officer."

Richie could not help but snort. The cop behind the desk frowned and shoved Richie's elbow off the desk. "You should pay attention to this and learn something, young man."

"And you should keep your fucking hands off my son before I sue this goddamn place for harassment," Sandra declared.

The police officer looked up with a tired sigh. His face said exactly what he was thinking: he was dealing with one of those types of parents that considered this nothing more than a formality.

Richie hid a grin behind his hand.

"My son pushed him, and he slipped on the snow," Sandra continued. "Yeah, some assault. I'd love to see you make a case for that before a judge. I can get a lawyer that will shred that in seconds."

The officer's lips drew to a thin line. "And there is still the question of what he was doing in that picnic area in the first place."

"Look, I'm tired of hearing about that. You've got no fucking evidence my boy was doing anything illegal up there except for the bike he stole, and he already admitted to that. So charge him with something, or let him go. Stop wasting my time."

"There is some doubt as to the story the Conner boy told about..."

"So are you gonna charge my son? Gonna make an example of him or some shit like that just to show you're worth the god-awful property taxes I pay?"

The officer took a deep breath and let it go. "No."

Sandra grabbed Richie's hand. "Then we're outta here. Richie has to get up for school in the morning. Or did it slip your mind it was a school night?"

She didn't wait for a reply. She dragged Richie out of the police station and into the parking lot.

Richie went along without protest. His mother said not a word to him. The lights from the station cast a stark, cold brilliance on everything. To Richie it looked beautiful. He allowed himself to enjoy the moment. He felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

They were in the car and away. Only a last few lazy flakes appeared in the headlight beams now. The sky had grown darker as the clouds thinned and broke up. It would be a cold night.

Richie grew curious and stared at his mother. Sandra eventually noticed and gave him an annoyed glance. "What?"

"So did it do anything?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Richie?"

"When we gave Nyssa the boot, you told me it was better. You weren't controlled as much. What about tonight?"

Sandra glared at him for a moment before riveting her attention on the snow-packed street. "Like you care."

"Huh?"

"Stop it, Richie. Don't you dare pretend like you give a shit what happens."

Richie frowned. "I'm not the one that sucked me off just to stop me from leaving!"

Sandra's teeth clenched. Her hands tightened around the wheel. Her eyes glistened.

"So what about it? Did anything happen?"

"Shut up, Richie. Just shut the fuck up about it."

They passed from main street down a side street, plunging the interior of the car into darkness. He couldn't read his mother's face anymore, except by the occasional light of a passing street lamp.

Richie thought back to his earlier vision of the past. Was his mother the one that provided the meeting place for them? Was the Darkness planning to use it to swoop in on them in revenge? He didn't want to believe that. But he had no other evidence to the contrary, not after what she had done to him that evening.

There was only one way to know for sure, but he needed something from Jason first.

-------

"So you see, it was a big mixup, Mom," Jason said, surprising himself at how steady his voice was. "Here, let me sum it up. We heard that Susan's mother was taking Susan and Ann to the forest for some kind of ritual. Remember, I said Susan's mother was Pagan and is into some of those nature rites. Anyway, Heather and Diane got interested in it and decided to go along.

"Now Cassie heard about it, but somewhere the story got changed. She got the idea that some really weird stuff was going to happen, and that Heather and Diane could get into some serious trouble over it. Cassie told me about it, and I was concerned, too, but I wasn't sure. Cassie said she would try and find out. Her family is really rich and influential, so she has lots of connections.

"Anyway, she was supposed to call me. So then that phone call came in, the one where no one was at the other end. I thought that might be Cassie, and I got really worried when she cut the call off like that. I tried to call her and got no answer. So I panicked a bit and sneaked out of the house to make sure Heather and Diane were okay.

"Now, as for Melissa, I think she had the wrong idea, too, and she sort of crashed the party. She got really upset when she found out it was innocuous. I guess she was expecting something else. The other kids say she's kind of strange, anyway."

Jason took a deep breath. "So that's the whole thing, Mom."

Audrey stood in silence, her arms folded, her face creased into a frown. Jason kept his gaze level with her. He was aware of his father hovering behind him. He knew a single word from the man could unravel his entire story.

"Given the circumstances and what the police told me, Audrey, it seems a perfectly reasonable explanation to me," said Henry.

Jason barely held in his reaction. He was utterly astonished that his father had just supported his story. All along he had been sure that his father was going to assist Melissa, or at least impede Jason's efforts.

But this made him even more suspicious. He doubted that his father's actions stemmed from any altruism.

Audrey glared at her husband. "A reasonable explanation? Then why were his actions completely unreasonable?!"

Jason said nothing. He heard his father sigh.

Audrey turned her angry gaze back to her son. "Jason, your behavior was inexcusable! I don't care how concerned you were for your friends, you do not go out at night without my permission or without telling me exactly where you are going and who you're going to be with! If you were really worried about your friends, you should have told me, and I would have called the police."

"I didn't want to get my friends into trouble if it turned out to be nothing," Jason said.

"No, now you got them into even more trouble! They said that poor Went girl was inconsolable!"

"That has nothing to do with this, Audrey," said Henry. "Please, don't make it worse by muddying the issue."

"Muddying the issue?! I'll tell you what's muddy around here! Jason's common sense, that's what! Why am I the bad guy now?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Please, don't start this now."

"Don't tell me what to do! I..."

"No, enough. It's after midnight, and Jason has to get up for school in the morning. We'll talk about this again tomorrow when everyone is in a calmer state of mind."

Jason narrowed his eyes at his father.

Audrey clenched her fists, then relented and let out a long sigh. "All right ... fine ... not like I'm going to sleep no matter when I go to bed after this."

Henry placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. Jason tensed.

"Time to go to bed, son," he said.

Jason stared at him for a long moment. Henry cast a level gaze back that was unreadable. His Aura was quiescent, writhing about him slowly, as if asleep.

Finally, Jason nodded and headed up the stairs.



-------

Chapter 31


Wednesday dawned with crystal blue skies and sunlight reflecting in dazzling brilliance from the snow. It helped lift the spirits of the Harbinger Four. Most of what they felt was relief that another sordid episode of their struggles in Haven was over.

"So there really is some sort of entity, some sort of intelligence behind everything," Jason told the others on the school bus. "I could hear it my head. There was much more of a presence than what I heard when we saw Agatha doing it."

"But where is it now?" Melinda demanded. "You and Richie said it disappeared after you stopped it. Where did it go?"

"Probably back to the node at the Li'l Missy Inn."

Heather sighed. "Which is where Mom still works," she said tonelessly.

Melinda frowned and folded her arms tightly. "So what? Not like I care anymore what the hell she does."

"The point is, this is more information than we had before," Jason continued. "I mean, there's still a lot of unanswered questions, but it may be easier now to learn more about the nature of this thing."

"Hey, man, you think you should be talkin' so much about it here?" Richie said. He jerked his head to one side. "The peanut gallery here is listening."

Jason turned his head. A couple of teens sitting just behind the Harbingers suddenly turned their attention elsewhere.

"Maybe we shouldn't worry about it anymore," Jason said. "I mean, come on, word is going to get around that something happened last night. Maybe more people should know about it."

Richie just shrugged. He had been oddly subdued all morning. It had started when Melinda and Heather had boarded the bus and thanked him profusely for what he had done the night before. Richie had grinned in response, but had looked rather uncomfortable with the praise.

Heather smiled weakly. "Yeah, Jason's right. I mean, my popularity was pretty much hosed when Melissa started messing with me. I shouldn't really care about it anymore."

The reluctance in her voice, however, suggested that she did still care, despite how much she wished for the contrary.

"Richie, you said you thought this thing looked like a woman?" Melinda asked.

Richie looked up. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess. Maybe. It was kinda dark and hard to see."

"It sounded female to me in my head," Jason said. "But take that with a grain of salt. It may be able to take on whatever form it feels is effective. Or perhaps it was only because the body it was trying to possess was female."

Jason was not trying to focus on the entity's gender too much. For the few moments it had been in his head, his whole body had spasmed in a sexual ecstasy so intense it had been almost painful. He was not keen on experiencing that again.

As if reading his thoughts, Melinda shuddered and said, "It can't come back like that again, can it?"

"I don't know," said Jason. "But its means must be limited, or it would not have gone through the trouble of arranging for this Rite to be done. And we still have the book, so..."

"What are we going to do with it?" Heather asked.

"I don't know yet. We definitely can't mess with any of the spells in it anymore."

Melinda was about to open her mouth in protest, but it was Richie that blurted, "What, none of them?"

"None of them, Richie. We already saw how they can mess with people. And we don't want to take a chance that someone else can influence us through them."

Melinda sighed in frustration. Despite the side effects of the spell that Jason had used on her, it had at least allowed them to have sex again without worry.

Richie looked like he was about to say something but subsided, looking sullen. Jason gave him an odd look, then sighed in resignation. "All right, we'll talk about it more the next time we meet."

"Not today, okay, Jason, please?" Heather said. "I need a break."

"What, we can't go there at all?" Melinda said crossly.

Heather smirked. "Now who's the one that wants to boink all the time?"

Melinda stuck her tongue out at Heather.

Richie shuffled his feet and looked out the window, squinting at the glare of sunlight.

"Hey, Jason, you ever figure out who arranged for the house to meet in?" Heather asked.

"No, I haven't. I don't think it was Melissa, but I'm still concerned that it was someone associated with the Darkness. Which is why I'm a little wary about using it again."

"Oh, stop being so paranoid, Jason!" Melinda huffed. "Nothing bad happened to us there. Well, I mean, nothing bad that had to do with the place. It was all Melissa's doing."

Jason was not sure what to do. On the one hand, the Darkness had actively attempted to break them up as a team. But on the other, he could see how giving them a place to meet would allow it to keep tabs on them. He did not want to risk reversing all their gains through one act of carelessness.

But most of all, he wished he knew what was bothering Richie so much that morning.

-------

Kathy stood at the entrance to the kitchen. Her eyes shimmered as she beheld her daughter. Melissa had not moved in the time it had taken for Kathy to shower and dress. It seemed that every strand of Melissa's horrendously disheveled hair was exactly where it was an hour before.

Kathy swallowed and crept into the room. Melissa did not seem to notice. Her eyes remained fixed and staring on her glass of water. The eggs and toast in her plate were untouched.

"Melissa?" Kathy called out tentatively.

There was no response. For a panicked moment, Kathy thought her daughter had died and somehow remained propped up in the chair. It was only when she came close enough to see the rise and fall of Melissa's breasts against the nightgown that she relaxed.

"I-Is there something wrong with your breakfast?" Kathy asked.

Again, no response.

"You're going to be late for school."

Still more silence.

Kathy's heart thudded. She had a flashback to another day like this, when Melissa had first asserted control over her. She shuddered and felt a flash of heat in her sex.

Not all of Melissa's changes were gone. Kathy still craved sex with what she felt was an unholy passion. She was already looking forward to submitting to her husband's carnal desires when he returned home that evening. At least she could control herself with other men, even if it meant masturbating to porn movies several times a day.

Kathy pulled out a chair. Her arm brushed the table as she sat down.

The water in the glass rippled. Melissa let out a tiny gasp, her eyes widening with a look of hope. It was fleeting. The next moment, her head snapped around, and she glared at her mother.

Kathy tensed. Her thighs clenched. Any moment now, she would feel the waves of unrelenting, sinful lust wash over her. She would lose herself to perversion and left to wallow in a bath of carnal urges.

Nothing happened.

"You broke my concentration," Melissa said in a flat voice.

Kathy stared in confusion. "I-I'm sorry?"

"My concentration. I almost had it. I'm sure I did."

"Had ... had what, dear?"

"The power. I'm sure I can get it back. I just have to concentrate."

"But I thought it was taken away from you."

Melissa just stared.

"Last night ... that's what you said. It was hard to understand you since you were crying so much, but..."

"I'm sure I can get it back," Melissa said. The casual tone of her voice was unnerving.

"Melissa..."

"I just have to concentrate. I almost had it. I'm sure I did."

Kathy looked stricken.

Melissa turned her eyes back to her glass of water. "Let me concentrate now. I'm sure I can get it back."

Kathy's heart lurched. "Melissa, please stop it."

Melissa stared unblinking at the glass of water, willing it to move at her bidding.

"You don't have it anymore. It's not coming back. Please..."

"Just have to concentrate. I'm sure I can get it back."

"It's gone! Stop it, Melissa!"

"I almost had it. I'm sure I did."

Kathy panicked. She fell back on the only solution she knew. "We'll ... we'll move, Melissa. That's it. We'll start somewhere fresh again. Somewhere free of ... o-of the sinful influence of this town. Yes, that's it. That's what we'll do. I-I'll start on that right now..."

Kathy rose from the table. Melissa gasped as the water once more rippled in her glass.

"I almost had it," Melissa murmured softly. "I'm sure I did. I'm sure I can get it back. I just have to concentrate."

Kathy glanced back at the broken shell that used to be her daughter. Tears trickled from her eyes as she fled the room.

-------

"Well, Melissa's a big no-show today," Ned said with a smirk. "Not that I'm real surprised, ya know?"

"I didn't think she would be in, either," said Cassie as she closed her locker. "And I was surprised to see Susan today. I thought she would need at least a day or two to recover."

"So, whaddaya s'pose will happen with Melissa, huh?"

Cassie sighed. "I really don't know. Goodness, the poor girl..."

"Whoa, wait a sec, babe. Poor girl? Are we talkin' 'bout the same one here?"

"Yes, Ned, we are. I mean, think about it. She had a tough time of it here. What Susan and Ann did to her was terrible! And I wasn't too happy with what Heather and Diane did to her over the summer, either."

"Yeah, but..."

"I'm not saying she was justified in what she did. She wasn't. But I can sympathize a little with her. She's not the only one that's ever felt left out."

Ned gave her a quizzical look, but then realization dawned on him quickly. "Oh, uh, yeah..." he murmured sheepishly.

"Now you see why those spells in the book make me nervous. It's too much power for anyone to have."

Ned's cheeks burned. "Um, about the book..."

"Yes?"

Ned tried to find the right words. Unfortunately, there simply was no such thing. Finally, he blurted, "Cassie, why the hell do ya even wanna look at me again?"

Cassie stared at him, nonplussed.

"I was real surprised ya showed up at my house this morning. And so freakin' chipper, too."

"We got this horrible mess with Melissa over with. Why wouldn't I be happy about that?"

"Cuz of what happened last night!"

Cassie again looked confused.

Ned smacked his forehead. "When Melissa made us do the fandango..."

"Oh, that!"

"Yes, that! Oh, man, Cassie, ya can't believe how guilty I felt over that. I shoulda tried to resist it more. I shoulda just ... uh ... why are you smilin' like that?"

"Because you're so funny."

Ned looked totally perplexed.

Cassie leaned close to him. "Ned, if it had been anywhere else, if everything with Melissa hadn't been going on, I would have enjoyed it." She paused. Her cheeks glowed pink. "Actually ... I did enjoy it. Despite Melissa."

Ned was speechless.

Cassie kissed him softly. "Don't get me wrong, I could have done without us being mind-controlled into doing it. But, once it got going, I wasn't really scared of it anymore."

"S-so ... does that mean we ... the two of us can ... mebbe we could..."

Cassie giggled. "I have to get to class now, but meet me after school and we'll see."

Ned stared, then broke out into a huge grin. He gave Cassie a hug.

Cassie returned it. She waved to him and continued on to class.

-------

"Um ... Jason?"

Jason tried to hide his surprise. "Oh, uh, hi, Susan."

Susan Radson smiled wanly. "Do you have a minute?"

"Um, sure. What's up?"

"I talked to Heather earlier. She told me a little of how you and the others stopped Melissa."

"Oh, that. Um..."

"I just wanted to thank you, Jason."

Before Jason could react, Susan gave him a brief hug. Jason felt his cheeks grow warm. "Uh ... s-sure, you're welcome," was all Jason could think to say.

Susan drew back, some of her smile fading. "I just wish Ann was here to thank you, too, but she wasn't in today. I think she's having a harder time of it."

"I understand. Melissa treated her pretty badly, I heard."

Susan nodded. "Her mother won't let me talk to her. I think she blames me for a lot of what happened."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Susan shrugged, but it was clear that it was upsetting her. "Anyway, my mother said she wanted to talk to you at some point."

Jason stared. "She does?"

"Could you stop by after school? She said it was important."

Jason had not had much contact with Debby Radson the night before. She had been too involved in dealing with Susan, a hysterical Ann, and a shocked husband. "She's, um, not mad at me for some reason, is she?" Jason asked tentatively.

Susan smiled softly. "No, not at all. She's very grateful, in fact. Maybe this has something to do with it, I'm not sure."

"Okay, I'll try to come over. My own mother is on the warpath after last night, so I might not be able to get away."

"Well, if you can't, please let my mother know." She took out a small slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to Jason. "This is our home phone number. Please call if you can't make it. And thank you again, Jason, for everything."

Jason smiled weakly as Susan waved and walked away.

-------

The Vice Principal had enjoyed a surprisingly quiet school day. Now he leaned back in his chair as he regarded the student before him.

"Now, let me get this straight, Mr. Weston," Seeger finally said after a long contemplative silence. "You wish me to relieve you of your burden of detention because you were not in your right mind when you harassed Miss Sovert."

"It was Melissa Hendell, Mr. Seeger!" Brad cried. "She fu ... er ... I mean she messed with my head! She made me go after her!"

"And you realize that, in making this fantastic claim, you are admitting your fault in the matter, something that you vociferously denied at the time?"

"I'm telling you, Mr. Seeger, it wasn't really me! Melissa made me do those things. I mean, yeah, I wanted Heather back, and maybe I was kinda sore at her for dumping me, but I never wanted to fu ... screw with her head!"

Seeger drew himself forward and placed his elbows on the desk. "Wait a moment, Mr. Weston. Am I given to understand by that statement that you attempted to coerce Miss Sovert into doing something she did not want to do?"

Brad looked exasperated. "It was all Melissa! She's the one that made it so I could do it. She's the one that's been fucking with ... er ... messing with half the school!"

"Are you now claiming that your harassment of Miss Sovert ... as well as what Miss Hendell supposedly did to you ... was based on mind control?"

Brad opened his mouth, then closed it again without saying a word.

"Ah. So you do indeed realize how ludicrous it sounds."

"Mr. Seeger, I don't know what to call it," Brad said in growing desperation. "I don't know how she did it. I just know she was trying to get at Heather through me. She was trying to make her do things in class, too."

Seeger recalled the day he had broken up the fight, and the strange stain on the crotch of Heather's jeans.

He recalled the incident in the cafeteria, where Heather and Diane had kissed.

He recalled the report by Terri Hollis that Heather had masturbated in class.

Heather Sovert had never been never a prize student by any means, but she knew how to stay out of trouble. This string of disciplinary problems was most unusual for her.

Then there was what Richie had said to him.

Finally, there was Laura Bendon and her odd behavior.

It was all circumstantial. They could have nothing to do with each other. Just like all the reports that had crossed his desk of other students conducting themselves in a sexually inappropriate manner over the past week. And then again a few weeks ago when that rather odd nurse had been employed briefly at the start of the semester.

Seeger had a knack for telling when a student was lying. When he looked at Brad, it appeared that the boy honestly believed what he was saying.

Or Seeger was losing his touch. It could be no more than a case of the school jock trying to get out of punishment so he could go back to sports. Seeger had seen that happen more times than he could count, but he could usually detect that sort of duplicity from the start.

Seeger leaned back in his seat. "I will consider it."

Brad brightened. "You will?? Cool! Oh, but ... what about today, do I have to... ?"

Seeger sighed. "No, Mr. Weston, you may go."

"Oh, man, thanks, Mr. Seeger! This is so cool, I'll be able to make hockey practice! See ya, Mr. Seeger!"

Brad bounded out of the office.

Seeger paused for a long moment, then rose from his chair. He made his way out of his office, down the hall, and into the chemistry lab. There he found Richie waiting patiently.

Seeger crossed the room silently and sat in the chair behind the lecturer's desk. He considered Richie for a long moment before he finally spoke. "Go home, Mr. Gardner."

Richie's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

"Go home. Your sentence has been commuted." When this was met with a blank stare, Seeger rolled his eyes. "Your detention has been canceled. Good day, Mr. Gardner."

Richie shrugged and picked up his backpack. He headed towards the door without a backwards glance.

"Wait."

Richie stopped and turned. "Yes, Mr. Seeger?"

"I had heard you were involved in some sort of incident last night. Something involving the police."

"Um ... is that gonna affect whether you keep me in detention or not, Mr. Seeger?"

"No, it will not."

"Yeah, I did get into some trouble, but my Mom straightened it out. No prob."

Seeger remained silent and stared at Richie.

"Uh ... anything else, Mr. Seeger?"

"Yes. Tell me, Mr. Gardner, do you still hold to the theory that Melissa Hendell is controlling people's minds?"

Richie grinned. "Nah, not anymore."

Seeger frowned. "Not ... anymore?"

"Yeah. Me and my friends cleaned her clock real good last night. So don't sweat it, Mr. Seeger, we took care of it."

"Indeed," Seeger said tonelessly.

"Yeah. Oh, and you may wanna let Brad out of his detention, too. Melissa was messin' with him, so it really wasn't his fault."

"I will consider it, Mr. Gardner."

"Cool. Well, see ya in the funny papers, Mr. Seeger."

Seeger watched him leave. He drew in a slow, deep breath and let it go.

Mind control. The idea was preposterous. Surely there was a saner reason for everything that was happening at that school.

And yet ... he could not help but feel comforted by Richie's claim that a threat to the school in this regard had been eliminated.

-------

"I'm not sure I believe you, Jason, not after what happened last night," Audrey said tersely.

"Then call her yourself," Jason said calmly. He presented the slip of paper to her.

Audrey appeared a bit taken aback. She snatched the paper from him, glared, and headed over to the phone without another word. Jason remained quiet as his mother spoke with Susan's mother.

"I see," Audrey said in a low, cool voice. "And why can't you just talk to him on the phone?"

Jason could hear the suspicion in his mother's voice. He had overheard his parents arguing earlier that morning, and he had learned that his mother had a deep mistrust of Susan's family now that she knew Susan's mother was Pagan.

"Just so you know, Mrs. Radson, there will be no secrets between Jason and me any longer. So don't give him anything that you would not wish me to see!" Audrey slammed the phone back on the hook and turned to Jason. "Very well, you may go. But don't you dare be late for dinner."

"No problem, Mom. I don't think this will take long."

"And in case you didn't hear me just now, you are to show me exactly whatever it is she gives you."

Jason looked at her curiously. "Gives me?"

"Mrs. Radson apparently has something she wishes to give you," Audrey said tightly. "And I will tell you now that I reserve the right to refuse to allow it into the house if I..."

The doorbell rang.

Audrey sighed and rolled her eyes. "What now?" she muttered as she marched to the front door. She peeked out the peephole. Her face turned to stone as she opened the door.

"Um, hi, Mrs. Conner," said Richie. "Is Jason home?"

"He was just about to go out," said Audrey. "You can wait here for him."

She closed the door in his face without waiting for a response.

Jason frowned. "Why did you do that to him?"

"I will not have a thief in this house. You were on your way out anyway, you can talk to him outside."

Jason sighed but decided not to push the point. He grabbed his jacket, fetched his bike from the garage, and wheeled it around to the front.

"Hey, sorry about that," Jason said. "Mom's a little sore over everything that happened."

Richie smirked and waved a hand. "Aw, don't worry about it. I don't want the nerdiness from that room of yours rubbin' off on me anyway."

Jason grinned. "I'm sorry, I can't stay long, Susan's mother wants to talk to me."

"Yeah, no prob. Listen, I kinda need something from you. Well, I need two things from you."

"Okay, shoot."

"You still have that letter? The one that told you about the house we could use?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, but it's up in my room. Why?"

"I, uh, think I got a lead on who wrote it."

Jason's eyes widened. "Really? Who?"

Richie bit his lip. "Can't say right now. You gotta trust me on this."

"Of course I trust you. I'll go inside and get it. What was the second thing you needed?"

Richie told him and explained why he needed it.

Jason looked thoughtful. "I don't know if that will work."

"Yeah, but I gotta try. I gotta set it right."

"But if it doesn't work, it might make things worse."

"Melinda's right, I think you worry too much."

Jason wanted to tell Richie how foolish he thought it was to try this, but he wondered if perhaps Richie had a point. Perhaps Jason had to stop being so cautious. More importantly, Richie was trying to do the right thing. "Okay, Richie, I'll go get that, too. I'll write it down for you."

Richie smiled faintly. "Thanks, dude. You're a real pal."

Jason clasped him on the shoulder before heading back towards the house.

-------

Jason was ushered into the same room that Debby had shared with Cassie. She did an aura reading of him as well, and smiled at the results.

"Yes, yours is very unusual as well," Debby said softly. "At least with Cassie, I could identify her power. Yours I'm having trouble with."

"You might be seeing my ability to hear the Darkness, Mrs. Radson," Jason said.

"The Darkness? Is that your name for it? For the evil forces in Haven?"

"Yes. I think it fits, considering the Auras that my friends and I can see around people."

"Yes, I know about that. I can see them sometimes, though nowhere near as well as you do. But you can hear it as well? As in actual words?"

Jason shivered. "And feelings and emotions. It's ... a little disconcerting sometimes."

Debby sighed in sympathy. "Yes, I can imagine! Hmm, yes, your aura did suggest that you have some sort of connection with the nether world. Jason, can you please tell me how you came upon this ability? I can tell that you were not born with it."

Jason hesitated. He had never let on to anyone outside his own circle of friends what had transpired at the House. But Debby had suffered so much along with her daughter, and she was of the mindset to believe and understand.

So Jason told her.

He told her about the House at the end of the street, and how the power contained within it had tempted all of them. He told her of the dangerous games they had played. He told her of Mara, the spirit of the House, that had revealed the House to be a sort of test. He explained how Mara had given them the ability to see the Darkness, and how each of them had been given an additional power beyond that.

He also told her of Elizabeth Jellison, the woman that had been Mara's friend and confidante in life, and had enabled Mara to seal her spirit away in the House. He explained how he had found her still alive in a nursing home, and how she had helped him bring together several vital clues.

Debby listened with what Jason thought was a rather remarkable degree of calm. Finally, she leaned back in her chair and let out a slow sigh.

"Jason, please, if you would," Debby said in a subdued voice. "Describe exactly where this House was located."

Jason did so. Debby nodded solemnly.

"Mara said it was located right on one of these lines of force that run under Haven," Jason said. "Another one runs up through the picnic grounds, where Melissa did the Rite. And another goes through..."

"The campgrounds," Debby said. "Where Agatha attempted the Rite."

Jason paused. "You know about them?"

"Yes. I know exactly where all of them are located."

Jason's eyes widened. "You do?? Can you tell me? Please? That would be a really valuable piece of information for us, Mrs. Radson."

Debby smiled faintly. "I have something better than that. There's something I want to give you. And after hearing your story, I realize that you and your friends are the best ones to receive it."

She stood up and turned towards one of the shelves. She withdrew the bundle of yellowing papers that formerly occupied the dresser drawer and laid them on the table before Jason.

Jason looked down at the pages, now wrapped in string again. "What is this, Mrs. Radson?"

"A journal of sorts," Debby explained. "From a mutual friend it would seem. Elizabeth Jellison."

Jason stared at her in disbelief.

"I had made friends with her in her waning years. She wanted me to have these when she passed on."

Jason felt a sense of guilt and loss come over him. He had not once thought to go back and thank Elizabeth for her help.

"Jason, if I'm figuring the date correctly of when everything happened with the House, she died on that very day that you passed Mara's test. From what I have read in her journal, I think she was living for that moment."

Jason was too awestruck to respond. He simply stared down at the pages, as if afraid to touch them.

"You can use these better than I can," Debby continued.

"Oh, but, Mrs. Radson, you're the one that's the Witch, not me! I can't..."

Debby smiled and placed her hand on his. "Jason, you and your friends already have knowledge far beyond mine. Some of the stuff in her journal is over my head. I have a feeling you might understand it better than I would. But nothing says you can't come back and talk to me about it. I've read them over and over, Jason, enough to memorize much of it. And you wanted this, anyway..."

Debby tugged at the bow and undid the string. She sifted through the papers and withdrew the map, which she lay before Jason.

"Oh wow..." Jason breathed.

"See? She cataloged all the lines under Haven." Debby's fingertip hovered over the map and followed one of the lines. "Here's the one that goes to the picnic area ... This is the one that goes through the campgrounds ... and see how the other end goes through where the House was ... and there are these two more..."

"Wait, one of these others ones also goes through the picnic area."

"The map is a little dated. They reduced the size of the picnic area when they extended the hill road. That's how I knew exactly where the Rite would be held. And it couldn't be this one..." She pointed to a fourth line, skewed such that it slashed a diagonal from northwest to southeast through the town. " ... since it goes through government lands."

But Jason wasn't listening. His eyes were still on the line that skirted the picnic area. He had followed it through the Li'l Missy Inn and out the east side of Haven. His eyes suddenly widened in alarm.

Jason stood. "Mrs. Radson, I-I have to go. I don't want my mother getting uptight about how long I'm gone."

"That's okay, Jason, I understand," said Debby. She placed the map back into the bundle and rewrapped it. "But I do want to say one more thing."

"What's that?" Jason said distractedly.

"I want to thank you profusely for what you and your friends did. You cannot imagine what this means to me. You freed Susan from something horrible. And from what you told me, you took a greater risk than I think Mara wanted you to. She only wanted you to stop others from falling to her. You went beyond that."

"I don't think Mara knew about the Rite, Mrs. Radson," Jason pointed out.

"Still, you were all very brave. Thank you." Debby drew Jason into a tight hug.

Jason smiled faintly. "Um, thank you." He took the papers, and then his smile faded. "Oh dammit ... Mom is going to insist she sees what you gave me."

Debby nodded and grinned. She turned to the shelf and came back with a small pendant in the shape of a pentacle. Jason almost recoiled from it until he saw it was very different from the one Melissa had been wearing. For one thing, the star was pointed up instead of down.

"Here, take this and show it to her," Debby said. "Your mother can take pleasure in not allowing it into her house so she feels she did her motherly duty."

Jason took the pendant from her. "Thanks, Mrs. Radson. I've got to get going."

"Of course. And please, feel free to call on me anytime. You may know more about the Darkness, but I still know something about magic. I might be able to help in your fight."

"I will, Mrs. Radson. Thanks, for everything. Oh, um, would it be okay if I used your phone? It's a local call."

"It's right in the downstairs hall off from the living room, Jason. Please feel free."

"Thanks again!"

Jason rushed through the house. He grabbed the phone and dialed a number. The first time he tried, it rang about four times before it sent him to voice mail. He sighed and tried it again. "Come on, answer it..."

Finally, just after the third ring, the line opened to a soft scrambling noise and a giggle. "Um, hello?" Cassie said, her voice a bit breathless.

"This is Jason. I'm really sorry to bother you right now but..."

"Ned, stop that!" Cassie suddenly called out in a husky voice. "That's driving me nuts ... I ... ohh!..."

Jason paused. "Cassie, you okay?"

Cassie panted into the phone. "S-sorry, Jason, but Ned is kind of distracting me right now. What ... oh my..."

"Where the heck are you?"

"In the meeting house ... i-in the ... uhhh ... in the b-bedroom..."

Jason suddenly blushed. "Oh ... look, um ... I won't keep you, but I need to talk to you. Can ... can I come over there when you're, uh, done?"

Cassie panted harder. "Ned, you are incorrigible! Uhhn ... y-yes, Jason, that's fine. Give me an hour ... ohh! ... I have to go! Bye! Oh Ned... !"

The line went dead, cutting off a moan from Cassie.

-------

Richie knocked on the door. There was a long pause before it was finally answered.

"Oh, Richie!" said Linda Davis, looking surprised. "I-I wasn't expecting you. I thought you still had detention."

"Seeger gave me a break and canceled it," Richie drawled. "So I came over to see you."

Linda slowly smiled. "I've missed you. In fact, I was just ... well..."

"Friggin' your pussy?"

Linda nodded and let out a slow, lusty sigh. "But I didn't get very far. You're just in time."

Richie grinned. "Then I better get inside, huh?"

"Oh yes, of course."

Linda stepped back. Richie entered and casually kicked the door closed behind him. "Guess we should get started."

"You want to do it out here?" Linda cooed as she glided over to him. Her hand played with his belt.

Richie felt his cock grow rock-hard. "Yeah, you'd do that if I told you to, wouldn't you?"

"Would you like me to suck your cock? Just for starters? Then you can watch me play with myself."

Richie swallowed. It was getting more difficult by the second. "You still been thinkin' about me, then?"

"I've tried not to, Richie, but it's impossible. I can't get you completely out of my mind. You ... you excite me too much." Linda's hand drifted downward and caressed the bulge in his crotch. "So I'll be your love slave, Richie. I-I've come to terms with that finally."

She started to pull down his zipper. Richie's heart pounded.

"I'm sure ... I'm p-pretty sure, anyway ... that it's what I really want now. Yes. Please, just let me..."

She slipped her fingers through the open zipper and over his briefs.

Richie grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away. When Linda gave him a confused look, Richie let go and backed up a step.

"What's the matter?" Linda asked in a worried voice.

Richie reached into his pocket. His hand trembled. "I ... I gotta say something to you first. You hafta listen, 'kay?"

Linda was confused, but nodded nevertheless.

Richie took out the second slip of paper that Jason had given him and read it. "Thotg'altkas orgos ron'indna!"

Linda gasped, her eyes wide. She let out her breath in a single, slow sigh, her eyes glazed. Her muscles relaxed as she sank deeply into trance.

Richie sighed despondently as he zipped up his pants. He didn't want to do this. He would have preferred Linda on her knees giving him a hell of a blowjob. But this was the right thing to do.

"Linda, you don't want to be my slave," Richie said.

"Don't ... d-don't want..." Linda murmured, tripping over her words as if she were fighting them.

"Listen to me!" Richie cried. "You don't wanna be my slave!"

"Don't wanna b-be your slave..."

"Yeah, that's right. You don't wanna have sex with me anymore."

"Don't ... don't ... b-but..."

"You don't want it! You don't want sex with more. That's it. No more. It's over."

Linda trembled. "Don't want ... no more ... over..."

"Yeah, now you got it. No more sex with me. Now, um ... awaken!"

Linda blinked. She swayed, then raised a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. She gave Richie a curious look.

Richie held his breath as he returned Linda's gaze, trying to look nonchalant.

Linda took a deep breath and let it go, her hand falling to her side. "I'm glad you came here today, Richie," she said in a weak voice. "I think ... I think it would be better if you didn't come around anymore. Not like this."

Richie nodded. "Yeah, no prob, Li ... um ... Miss Davis."

"I'm sorry if I led you on a bit when you first arrived. Not sure why I did that, but ... anyway, I've had a change of heart. I'm not sure I want to continue this relationship."

"Yeah, I figured. No sweat, Miss Davis, I understand. Fun while it lasted sorta thing, I guess."

Linda paused, then nodded slowly. She still had her memories of everything that had happened. She smiled faintly. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Richie."

Richie nodded and backed away. "Yeah. See ya."

He quickly let himself out.

Linda took another deep breath. Richie had been only partially successful. While he had removed most of Linda's immediate urges, she was left confused over why she had suddenly decided differently. In the back of her mind, she thought that she should still be pining for him. Why she was no longer was a mystery to her, and she had to find out why.

The only failing on Richie's part had been a lack of understanding of the dynamics of human memory and the limitations of the magic. It was the intent that counted in the end.

-------

Jason dutifully waited the hour, even though it would come close to running afoul of his mother's deadline. However, he felt uneasy about broaching the subject. Cassie was in such high spirits that she was practically glowing. And Ned had the most smug look Jason had ever seen.

But it was important for Cassie to know, and the sooner the better. He told them of what Susan's mother had given him, and he took out the map. He spread it out on the coffee table and pointed out the lines. Then he traced one particular line to where it hit the east edge of the map.

Right where it crossed the mesa.

"Oh my goodness..." Cassie breathed, one hand over her heart as she stared at the map.

"Uh, babe?" Ned ventured tentatively. "Isn't yer house at the top of that mesa?"

Cassie swallowed. She lifted her gaze and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Cassie, but I felt you had to know about this," Jason said. "If I'm reading this right, this force line passes really close to your parents' mansion."

"No, it doesn't pass close," Cassie said in a quavering voice. "It passes directly under it."

"Oh, man," Ned muttered.

"But Jason, I never once saw anything strange happen in my parents' house! Unless ... oh my ... I wonder..."

"What is it, babe?"

"Well ... I was born in that house. It wasn't where my mother wanted me to be born, you understand. This was supposed to be just a summer home. One of our summer homes, anyway. But I was about a month premature."

Jason took a guess as to where Cassie was going. "You think maybe that's how you got your Dream Gift?"

"I don't know. But it seems kind of an odd coincidence, doesn't it?"

"I didn't know ya was born here in Haven," Ned said.

Cassie smiled wanly. "I guess it just never came up. Aren't any of the others born here? Well, I know you're not, Ned."

"I'm not, either," said Jason. "Not Richie. Or Heather and Melinda. I don't know about Diane, though."

Cassie looked unsettled.

"It might not mean anything," Jason said quickly. "Like you said, nothing really happened to you the whole time you've been living there."

"But what if there is some connection between me and these force lines? Or even Haven itself?" Cassie said, shivering slightly. "Maybe that's why I can see so clearly into the lives of people in this town but nowhere else. Even when I'm abroad with my parents over the summer, my dreams are still about people in Haven."

"Wow..." Ned murmured.

"Jason, now I'm a little worried. What if it works both ways? What if it can use it to g-get at me somehow?"

Jason realized that Cassie had a point, and he was concerned about her, but he didn't want her to panic. "I don't think it can get at you directly. I mean, it needed that Rite before it could manifest itself, and when it did want you, it had to send Nyssa after you. I don't think it can do anything unless someone is helping it."

Cassie nodded slowly. "Just the same, I think I'm going to be a little more careful around the mansion from now on."

"You said you were sure your parents don't have Auras, right?"

"Positive. I don't see them as well as Melinda or you, but I'm pretty sure I'd see something if it were there. And believe me, my parents don't need extra power to try and run my life. Or make other people's lives miserable."

Jason managed a small smile. "All right. Well, just keep an eye on them and let the rest of us know if anything happens."

"Only if you promise that all of you keep an eye on me," Cassie declared. "Especially Melinda, since she's the most sensitive. Have her sound a warning the moment she sees even the least bit of anything on me."

"C'mon, don't talk like that, babe," Ned said, feeling a little uneasy.

"I'm serious, Ned! We can't afford to take chances."

"I think we all need to keep an eye on each other," Jason declared.

"Well, yeah, I kinda thought we always did that," Ned said.

"I don't just mean the Auras. I mean ... we need to watch what each other does."

"I don't follow you, Jason," said Cassie.

"I thought about this for a long while last night," Jason began in a more contrite tone of voice. "All of us in the Harbingers got a taste of power at some point. Heather, Melinda, Richie, and I more so than you or Ned. Diane is the only exception. And because we got a taste of it, it's very tempting to us."

Ned made a face. "C'mon, that's bein' paranoid now, ain't it?"

"Look, I don't mean we've turned evil, or that we're waiting to stab each other in the back. But look how much the book distracted us. Melinda wanted me to use that spell on her. I used it, and we saw what the side-effects were. But guess what? She hinted she wants me to use it again. And I want to use it."

"Jason, that might be a lingering effect from Nyssa," Cassie pointed out. "You want it because she wants it."

But Jason was shaking his head. "No, Cassie. That effect only worked when Melinda was talking to me directly. And the effect has lessened a great deal. I can resist it better. No, this is coming out of my own head. And I asked Heather and Diane point-blank about this as well. I got Heather to admit that she'd consider using some of those spells on Diane again. And Diane is willing to have Heather use them."

Cassie's eyes widened. "What?? But ... they must still be suffering from..."

Jason shook his head again. "The fact of the matter is that Heather was tempted by that power and still is tempted. She's dominating by her own nature. I mean, I'm sorry to bring it up, but for a little while after we freed you from Nyssa, you still wanted to control Richie."

Ned looked at Cassie, surprised. This was news to him. Cassie blushed and looked uncomfortable. "But that passed," she said adamantly. "I don't desire that anymore."

"I know. You had only a small exposure to that sort of power. But the rest of us had a much larger exposure. It's harder for us. So maybe we're the ones that need to be watched more."

Cassie was silent. She didn't know what to say and looked helplessly at Ned.

Ned shrugged. "Dunno what ta tell ya, babe. He kinda has a point. I mean, c'mon, it affects even me. I was the one that had ya try an' look up a spell that would make ya more willin' fer sex."

"Which we didn't need," Cassie said, her blush deepening.

"Yeah, I know. But ... well ... I kinda still think about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd never do it to ya without yer permission. I'm just makin' a point."

Cassie slowly nodded and looked at Jason. "All right, I think I understand. I just don't want to see it break down into paranoia."

"We just need to keep tabs on each other, that's all," Jason said. "It will make it a lot harder for the Darkness to take advantage of any weakness on our part."

"So do we decree that no one uses these spells anymore?"

"That's going to be really hard. But we'll talk about it this coming Monday when we meet again."

"Ah, back to the ol' dysfunctional family again," Ned said with a grin. "Warms the cockles of my heart. And believe me, ya don't want no cold cockles."

Cassie giggled. Jason even cracked a smile.

-------

Richie waited a long moment inside the door.

"Mom?"

He didn't call out the name very loudly, as if he were afraid of a response. He stepped inside, still wearing his jacket. He touched the bulge in his pocket and pulled out his prized baseball.

He used to keep it hidden. Now he refused to be parted from it. He turned it around and saw the odd char mark that had been left from its impact with the box. He swelled with pride at the sight of it. It was his proof that he had done something right. He wondered if his father would be proud of him.

He stuffed it back in his pocket and stared at the dining table. It was rarely used for meals anymore. Instead, it served as a small office for his mother. All the family finances and correspondence were handled here. He could see his mother's checkbook and account ledger. He could see the stack of bills that needed to be paid, and a smaller pile that were sealed, stamped, and ready to be mailed.

Richie stepped up to it. His hand trembled as it reached into his other pocket where he kept the letter Jason had given him. His other hand hovered near the chair. His heart thudded in his ears.

Truth. He had exclusive access to it. All of it.

There was a reason he never again used that particular part of his ability since he had first discovered it. It left nothing open to interpretation. He would know everything with a certainty that defied any attempt to refute it.

Seeing the past physically play out before him was powerful. Knowing exactly what people were thinking at the time was dangerous.

Richie swallowed. His lower lip trembled. His fingers touched the letter.

The lighting shifted subtly. It appeared to be a little earlier in the day, though he knew it had to be nearly two weeks ago. His mother appeared in the chair before him. She was bent over something. She was writing. She was...

She was shaking.

Richie leaned forward. She was writing the letter. He saw her nervous scrawl across the page. He withdrew the letter from his pocket. His eyes flicked from it to the letter his mother wrote. It was eerie to see it being created before his eyes.

But it answered only part of the question. It answered the what and the who. It didn't answer the why.

Sandra gasped softly as she finished the letter and closed her eyes. She shuddered and uttered a tiny moan. Her thighs parted.

"Good girl ... being a good girl..." she moaned. She quickly turned over the letter, hiding the words from view. "I'm a good girl ... doing what I should..."

Richie's heart sank. That was clear enough, wasn't it? She had intended it as a trap for them, but something had gone wrong. It was a setup from the start, just like Jason had suspected. But he had to know for sure. He reached out his hand towards his mother's past form.

And as his fingers touched that undefinable boundary, a layer of nonreality that nevertheless tingled against his skin, he felt a rush of thought and emotion...

I'm being a good girl ... doing what you want of me ... writing ... writing a letter ... to set up a meeting... 

Richie's stomach clenched. He started to withdraw his hand.

 ... to seduce an important man... 

Richie stopped.

Yes ... a seduction ... an important one ... he likes the romantic touch of a letter ... oh yes, I knew you would be pleased ... ohhh, thank you... 

He felt her cum in his mind, and his own cock nearly throbbed in sympathy with it. But he barely noticed it. He was too astonished. His mother had lied to the Darkness. Actually lied to it.

And succeeded.

Now his mother's inner voice changed, as subtle as the change in the light had been. Richie's heart lurched again. It was his mother as he remembered her ten years ago, before it all started.

Did it ... send this off tomorrow ... now they can meet ... now they can fight... 

"Richie!"

His mind reeled as he was abruptly pulled back to the present. His past mother vanished like smoke. His real one spun him around to face her.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Sandra said crossly. "You were standing there like a goddamn statue, like you didn't hear me."

Richie's throat closed up. Tears blurred his eyes.

Sandra gave him an odd look. "Richie, what's the matter?"

Richie suddenly threw his arms around her and drew her into a tight hug.

Sandra was so thoroughly shocked, she just stood there, unable to react. "Richie, what... ?"

"I love you, Mom."

It took Sandra a moment for the words to register. It had been so long since she had heard them that they were almost alien to her. The idea that someone could love her again, and that her own son didn't hate her, were two revelations that were almost too much to bear.

She remained silent. No words, no sound could convey her feelings. Quiet tears spilled down her cheeks as she hugged him fiercely in return.

For that fleeting moment, she was free of the Darkness' influence. Yet she felt it hovering just at the edge of her perceptions, ready to rush in and reclaim her when this moment had passed. And when that happened, it would punish her, and likely draw Richie in with that as well. She would no longer be able to protect him from it any longer.

But it didn't matter. This one moment would make it endurable, for now she had her son back.


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The End
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Posted:  2008-01-07
Last Modified: 2008-02-03 / 08:27:32 pm
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