The vision rushed forward and caught Heather's arms, pulling her back to her feet. She shook her head. "No, Heather, I'm not Mara, not really."

Heather stared, her eyes wide, her mind racing as if she had not heard a word the vision had said. "But ... Mara, we had so many ... Jason wanted to ask ... y-you warned me about my mother ... the girl we were supposed to stay away from ... th-then the danger to me and another girl ..."

Heather's face flushed pink when she realized she was babbling, but her head refused to focus on any one concept long enough for her to form a coherent sentence.

"Heather, please listen--"

"Mara, we needed you!" Heather finally blurted, her eyes blurring with tears. "We're flying blind and guessing at everything! We don't know what we're doing, Mara! We--"

"Heather!" the vision cried. She grasped Heather's shoulders and shook her until she stopped talking. "Heather, please, listen to me. I am not Mara, not like you know."

Heather wiped her eyes. "I don't understand. You were in the House, you gave us that test and told us--"

The vision of Mara sighed. "Not even that was truly Mara. Well, perhaps that's not quite true. Elizabeth had much more power than she realized. But what you see now, Heather, is not what you think."

Heather looked around her. "Then this room--"

"Exists only in your head."

Her gaze snapped back. "Then what are you? Just my own memories?"

"Not quite," said the vision. "They help give me some substance in your mind, but the rest is more like an echo."

"An echo? I don't--"

"You don't understand, I know. I don't have time to explain it all. The best I can come up with is this: when someone dies, sometimes their spirit is so strong that they can leave behind a sort of resonance. The energy lines under Haven make it possible for it to persist, even travel along them. Find someone that knows about real magic and ask them about Presence."

Heather's lips parted in shock. She yanked her arms from the vision's grip and backed away. "Y-you're a ghost?!"

The vision shook her head. "No, I'm not, and I don't have time for a longer explanation. I am using up what little energy I have left to contact you."

Heather's eyes suddenly burned. "Just tell me one thing: are you the one that's been fucking with my sex drive? You the one making me manipulate my friends into these stupid orgies?"

The vision struggled with the answer on her face. "Yes and no."

Heather threw up her arms and turned away. "You're about as useful as the real Mara was."

The vision grabbed Heather's arm and spun her around. "I don't have time for this. Think what you want about Mara, but you have to listen to me."

Heather was so taken aback by the intense look in the vision's eyes that she was speechless.

"If I did get into your head at all, it was just to weaken some mental barriers. Everything else is coming from your fellow Harbingers."

"But they didn't want--"

"But they do want to protect you and each other!" the vision declared. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, it's hard coming up with the right words. Elizabeth was so much better at explaining these things. Damn her for not leaving her own Presence behind!"

"Wait, you mean Elizabeth Jellison? Jason has her journal!"

"Well, that's a relief. If he can read it and understand it, he'll see that there is a lot more to sexual energy than just powering spells or visions. It forges a much deeper link, Heather, one that helps defend better against the Darkness. That's why the Darkness tries to subvert sex as a weapon."

Heather drew her breath in a slow, shocked gasp. "Oh my God. That was it. That's what I kept grasping, and it kept slipping away from me."

The vision stepped closer and lay a hand against Heather's cheek. "You didn't want to understand, did you?"

Heather swallowed and shook her head. She leaned into the comforting touch.

"Everything is happening for a reason. Mara, Elizabeth, all of the ones that came before and fought against it, they all vastly underestimated what they were up against."

Heather opened her eyes as the hand fell away from her cheek. "But we fought it. We defeated it twice! Jason thinks we weakened it."

"You did. But it has resources yet untapped that you have little idea about."

"Then tell me!" Heather cried. "Tell us! Don't leave us in the dark again!"

The vision sighed. "Mara didn't intentionally leave you in the dark. She simply had a much more limited understanding than she realized."

"So what are you saying, that this is hopeless?!"

"No, of course not. But you needed a new defense, and now you have it. Now you're all linked. You can sense when one of you is in danger. You can lend support and aid. The Darkness has already tried to break up your group. It will keep trying to isolate you from each other. Its attacks will grow more powerful as it learns to tap other resources."

"What other resources?" demanded Heather. "Please, don't give me just a half answer that--"

A wind blew through the room. The vision's dress floated in the air, as if trying to detach itself. The vision drew back, her body fading to transparency, then returning to shimmering solidity. "Heather, I don't have those answers and my energy is fading. Once I expend that, I'll be gone forever."

Heather's head was spinning. She wanted to ask so many questions. She wished the vision had taken on some other form. She had to resist the urge to scream at the substitute Mara for screwing up her life.

"You need to know two more things," the vision said, her voice tinny. "The first is the link. The link is forged, but it has to be maintained and improved. I think you realize this, but none of you can ignore it anymore just because it's inconvenient."

Heather started nodding halfway through the vision's words. She understood how it worked as it she had invented it herself. Somehow the knowledge had been imbued during those final moments in the House. It had lain dormant along with her precognitive power. Now that one had awakened, so had the other.

The vision raised her failing voice, her body shimmering, her outline fuzzy. "And the second thing, Heather, that none of you must forget: the Darkness is not the only danger. There are opportunists, working for their own aims. You must know which is which. I have to go, Heather! Good luck to you and the other Har--"

Another wind gusted through the House, and the vision was gone. The House dissolved, and Heather fell back through the blue-white eternity.

Ned slapped his fist into his other hand, breaking the stunned silence that had settled over the other Harbingers while Heather recounted her vision. "I knew it. Phony as a three-dollar bill."

"What are you talking about?" Melinda piped.

"I know," Richie said. "That candy-assed tool of a counselor."

"Ya got it in one, bud," said Ned.

"Wait a minute, what?" Jason said in a trembling voice as he stood. His head was still fuzzy from the intensity of their shared orgasm. "I don't follow you."

"What did Heather jus' say, dude? He's one of 'em opportunists. Come on, we already figgered out that Hollis is a red herring!"

"But that's--"

"Listen, it makes sense. He's not in it with the Darkness, so he ain't got no Aura ta give himself away."

"Ohmigod," Melinda moaned. "How are we supposed to know when--?"

"P-please, I think we're all missing the point of Heather's vision," said Cassie in a shaky voice. She took a deep breath and tried to remain still, as her pussy still throbbed faintly when she moved the wrong way. Her head floated in a lingering sexual euphoria that made it hard to think. "This link that we forged with each other, how are we going to maintain it?"

Ned opened his mouth in protest at being diverted from his topic, but he closed it without uttering a word. He seethed for a few seconds until the anger passed, and guilt followed in its wake.

Yeah, there goes the famous Nose sensitivity, he lamented.

"More of these boink-fests, I guess," Melinda said, her voice somewhere between reluctance and acceptance.

"I don't think we have to do it like this all the time," Heather said. "Just when we need a lot more energy, or we need to channel a lot to one of us. We just need to, well, fuck a lot. But it can't be just with the same partners all the time."

Richie shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Yeah, it would," Melinda sneered, though with little hostility.

"But we don't have this house after Halloween," Diane protested. "We don't even have it tomorrow, since that's Thursday."

"Then we'll jus' find someplace else," Ned said.

"There is no other place!" Melinda cried.

Ned waved a hand. "Fer cryin' out loud, we've figgered out tougher things than this."

"Oh yeah? I don't hear you giving any suggestions."

"Or you, neither."

"I had one, but Jason keeps shooting it down!"

Jason sighed and covered his face with his hands for a second. "I am not going to ask Mrs. Radson to let us have sex in her home!"

"Oh, why not, Jason?" Cassie said.

Jason's expression was beyond surprise and well into shock, so much so that he could not reply.

Cassie drew her knees to her chest and seemed oblivious to her exposed sex. She let out a slow sigh, and her words struggled past her lips. "We can't turn back. I think I knew that from the start when I agreed to do this. None of us can."

Ned again quieted his own turmoil and lay a hand on Cassie's shoulder. To his relief, she placed her hand over his and squeezed.

"Jason, she said we should ask someone that knows real magic about Presence," said Heather. From the sofa, Richie's mouth twitched. "And she said that Elizabeth's journal explains all about sex and how it can link people like this. Mrs. Radson read the journal before you. She should know about this stuff. She should understand."

Jason's jaw clenched. He hated being maneuvered into a corner, even if sent there by clear logic. "All right. I'll talk to her tomorrow after school."

Ned had glanced around the room as he waited for his chance to speak. His eyes came to rest on Jason's book-bag, its flap askew. He stared at it until a single eyebrow rose.

"But I'm not going to badger her if she says no," Jason said.

"She can't say no," Melinda declared. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

"And at Mrs. Radson's we might be better protected," Cassie said.

"Maybe she should join in," Richie drawled.

Melinda gave him a disgusted look. "Eww. You are such a pervert."

"Oh, get off it, pipsqueak."

"She's Susan's mother!"

Richie smirked. "So she's a MILF, then. Cool."

"Just because you got it on with your own--"

Richie bolted up in his seat. "Not anymore, okay? I'm done with that shit. Woulda never told you about it if I knew I could take care of it today."

"Yes, you can use your link with everyone else to resist it," Cassie spoke up before Melinda could retort.

"Yeah, but there was something else ... ah, never mind, talk about it later. Ned looks ready to spit nails if he don't talk next."

Ned jumped to his feet. "Fuck, yeah, I wanna talk." He jabbed a finger towards Jason. "Got a question for ya, old hoss."

Jason looked nonplussed for a second. "Me? What?"

Ned jerked his head to the side. "Whatcha got in there?"

Jason's eyes flitted in that direction. Others glanced in bewilderment as well. "What, the book-bag?"

"Yeah, the book-bag. No, wait, lemme jus' go look."

Jason's eyes widened as Ned strode across the room. He rushed forward. "Wait, Ned, I don't think you should--"

Diane shot up. "Ned, stop it, what are you doing?"

Ned reached the book-bag first and picked it up. Jason grabbed for it, but Ned twisted his lithe body around, and Jason grasped only air. Diane approached until stopped by Ned's narrowed gaze.

"Uh-huh," Ned said. He slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think I get it now."

"Ned, give that to Jason, he needs to keep that safe," Diane said.

Ned froze.

"He needs to keep it with him if he wants to keep it safe."

Ned blinked rapidly and frowned. "Shit. I almost believed ya. Wow. No offense, but back the fuck off right now, 'kay?"

Cassie gasped. Diane was so stunned that she stumbled back a step. Heather looked confused, then indignant.

Ned tore the flap back and pulled out the contents.

"What the f--?!" Melinda began, her comment drowned out by the slap of the Book as it fell to the sofa.

"What??" Cassie cried. "But I thought--?"

"That mister Jason it'll-be-safe-at-my-house-cuz-of-Heather's-vision Conner would leave it at home?"

"Ned, what ... what are you saying?"

"Mebbe Diane can answer that," Ned said.

All eyes shifted. Diane stood like a deer in the headlights.

"Look, I ain't blamin' no one for nothin', 'kay? But I gotta say what I've seen. I've been tryin' ta keep tabs on our friendly neighborhood counselor, an' I managed ta catch two students walking into his lounge-o-psychiatry. One was some sweet-lookin' Italian girl that I think goes by the moniker of Gina, and the other was Diane."

"But we know about that, don't we?" Cassie asked. "Doctor Mann wanted to know how she was adjusting after everyone found out about her, well, orientation."

Ned shook his head. "This was after that. She went back ta him again."

Diane looked stricken, but Heather rushed to her side. "All right, Ned, now you back off. Diane told me about that. He just wanted to ask her a few questions for some research project of his."

"Uh-huh. Right."

"It's true!" Diane cried. "He asked me some questions about my relationship with Heather, that's all. Nothing else happened!"

"Ned, put up or shut up," Heather said. "If you're going to accuse her of lying--"

Ned raised his hands. "Hey, cool it, I ain't sayin' that. I believe her. But something stinks mightily 'bout all this. Jason, why'd ya bring this with ya today?"

Jason was staring at the Book and had edged towards it when he jerked his head towards Ned. Before he could form a reply, Diane rushed in. "Look, I'll answer that, just so no one thinks I'm hiding anything," she said, her voice harsh, though her eyes glistened on the verge of tears. "I was concerned about the safety of Jason's mother. What if someone tried to break into his house to steal the Book after all? What if he did something to Jason's mother to get at it?"

Ned looked thoughtful. "Ned, that does make a certain amount of sense, doesn't it?" Cassie said.

"Why don't you let Jason talk, for cryin' out loud!" Melinda snapped.

Jason jerked his head from the Book again, hesitated, then turned the rest of him away from it. "Yes, that's what happened. Diane said she was concerned and it just seemed to make sense to me."

Ned nodded. "Yeah. Just like she did ta me for a bit."

"So, what, we just ignore Heather's visions now?" Richie called out.

"We're not!" Diane protested.

"Fuck, yeah, we are! Jason said it sounded like we gave it to him in Heather's vision. How's him carrying it all the time gonna help stop that, huh?"

Heather looked from Diane to the others. "But ... what Diane said just makes sense, like ..."

"Like havin' a fuckfest in the middle of yer class did?" Ned said.

Heather fell silent.

"Since when does our resident nerd make an about-face jus' 'cuz of one discussion? Look how long it took ta get him ta consider talkin' ta Mrs. Radson about turnin' her house inta our private love shack."

No one answered. Diane's eyes turned frantic. Heather caught it and stepped before her lover, grasping her shoulders. "Diane? Come on, don't freak out on me, okay?"

A tear trickled down Diane's cheek. "B-but ... he's saying I-I screwed up again, like I did with Melissa."

"I ain't sayin' nuthing like that," Ned said. "Truth is, I dunno what 'xactly happened. And Diane? Even if Counselor Victurd did tiptoe through yer mental tulips, no way you coulda known. Not even if ya could see Auras, since he ain't got one. So stop beatin' yerself up, cuz no one here's gonna do it."

Jason took a few deep breaths and forced himself to step away from the sofa. He started to turn his head to look back at the Book, but caught himself and drew close to Diane. "Diane, Ned's right about everything. Something did happen, but I don't think you're at fault."

Diane's lower lip quivered. She brushed away another tear and sniffled. "I just feel like I'm the weak link, that everything will unravel because I don't have any special power like the rest of you."

"Hey, don't look at me, I don't have nuthin' like that," Ned said.

"But you can see ..." Diane began, but trailed off. This time her common refrain was no longer apropos. "Jason, you said he was okay! Melinda said so, too! That's the only reason I went to him at all, because I thought he was clean."

Cassie surged forward and placed a hand on Diane's arm. "You're absolutely right, Diane. You thought it was safe."

"Yeah, she's right," Richie said. "I mean, yeah, Ned and I thought he was a tool, but we can say that about a lot of teachers."

Diane let out a quavering sigh and allowed herself to be drawn into Heather's embrace. She sniffled once more, but no new tears flowed.

"All right," Jason said. "From here on in, we work under the assumption that Victor Mann is up to something."

"He could be the guy in Heather's vision!" Melinda said.

"Huh. Yeah, that makes sense," Ned said.

"But then that means he really did do something to me," Diane said. "To make Jason bring the Book out again, if he's the one that's after it."

"The Book goes back home with me," Jason declared. "And it stays there this time."

"And I don't go back to the counselor ever again for anything. I'm not even going near his office. I'm not going to be the one to screw everything up."

"Aw, for fuck's sake, stop going apeshit over it," Richie said. "We just had this big freaking orgy so we could protect each other, right? The asshole can't touch you now."

"We're not putting that to the test," Heather snapped.

"Hey, chill out. I'm not saying we should, just that we don't hafta act like we're gonna be mowed down at any moment. I'm getting fucking sick of that. I had to put up with that shit because I was worried about what would happen to my mother."

"And you're not anymore?" Heather asked, tempering the sarcastic edge as much as she could.

Richie frowned. "Maybe I realized I didn't want to feel like a fucking coward anymore."

"Look, no one is going to ask anyone to step into danger," Jason said. "But we have to figure out something to do now. If Doctor Mann is really the one after the Book, we can't just wait for him to try and take it."

Ned slapped his fist into his hand again. "Now yer all talkin' like Harbingers again!"

Diane's eyes suddenly glazed. "Diane? What is it?" Heather asked, her voice rising.

"Oh no," Diane moaned, holding her hands against her temples. "I think he did do something to me after all. I still think Jason has to keep the Book with him all the time. He shouldn't leave it alone."

"Well, of course, Diane, I know that. It only makes sense that he should keep ... that ... no, wait, that's not ..."

Heather fell silent, her eyes widening.

Melinda recoiled. "Ohmigod. For a few seconds, I thought Diane was--"

"Oh, goodness, I felt it too, just for a moment," Cassie said.

Ned nodded. "Yeah, me too, but not as much as before. I could ignore it. Whatever it is, it's gettin' weaker."

"Yes, it is," Jason said. "I barely felt it myself. I don't think it's working on me anymore."

"But what is it?!" Diane demanded.

"Jason, you need to get this Book home now," Cassie said. "Someone should go with you. Or maybe I can get Harry to drive you if someone else can run your bike home for you."

"Ya think he's comin' fer the Book already, babe?" Ned asked.

"I don't know. Probably not. I don't think the counselor knows about what we're doing. He's probably expecting Jason to bring it to school tomorrow."

"I won't," Jason said. "Richie can check me on that tomorrow and give me hell if I bring it with me."

"Gotcha covered there, dude," Richie said.

"Um, hello? What about me?" Diane said. "Maybe all of you are resisting it, but I still think that Jason ... no, I'm not going to say it anymore, dammit!"

"Why is Diane still having trouble?" Melinda demanded. "Shouldn't she be free of whatever this is after boinking her brains out?"

"Unless it was 'cuz it happened before we did this," Ned said. "I dunno. Whatever his game is, it ain't comin' from the Darkness, and mebbe that lets him slip under our radar."

"Jason, I just realized something," Cassie said. "Ned said there was another girl that was going to the counselor. Could she be the girl that we think is getting into trouble this Halloween?"

"What, the girl Mara talked about?" Melinda asked.

"Possibly, yes. And maybe related to what Richie saw with that priest at the church."

Jason held up a hand. "This is too much at once, and if I don't get back home soon my Mom is going to kill me. We'll have to talk later about this. I'll try to call everyone later this evening if I can. Right now I have to--" He stopped and looked down. "Wow. None of us even got dressed yet?"

The others glanced about with stunned looks, everyone coming to the same realization at once: not only had they not noticed, none of them were the least embarrassed by it.

Cassie swallowed and let out a tremulous sigh. "This is going to take some getting used to ..."

Roberta stood by the sink considering her daughter. Gina kept her eyes fixed to her mother's gaze.

"Are you sure you wish to go, Gina?" Roberta asked, her tone the kind of authoritative doubt that could make a child reconsider a choice without the need for debate.

It had the intended effect on Gina's conviction, and she considered withdrawing her request. She stood on an emotional fence and temporized. "Is there something wrong with me taking a walk? It's what I always do."

In the silence that followed, Gina wondered if that last thought was to convince herself. She did not know why she struggled, or why her mother would want to stop her. It was her first moment of indecision and confusion since her life started to make sense to her. She lived for the moment when she would go off with Brad to the party Monday night and give her sexuality to him with no hesitation or doubt. Going for a walk was a trivial matter by comparison; it should not be this important to her.

"It is getting a little chilly outside, dear," said Roberta. "I understand we might have snow again by tomorrow."

Gina's lips twitched into a small smile. The road looked so pretty after a fresh snowfall. Perhaps she should wait after all.

"I promise I won't stay out too long," Gina heard herself say instead.

Roberta was silent for another few seconds. "Very well, Gina, but make good on that promise. We will be having company for dinner tonight."

"Oh? Who?"

Roberta smiled. "I'm going to leave that as a little surprise. Now, you better get going if you want to get in any time at all for your walk before I have to start dinner."

"Yes, of course, thank you."

Gina stepped past her mother and into the growing chill of the cloudy fall afternoon. Yet she had taken only a few steps towards the end of the dirt road when she stopped. A vague sense of unease crept over her, as if she were looking at something disturbing that would not register in her conscious mind.

She tried to shake it off, but stopped again at the edge of the asphalt after taking only a few more steps, a tiny chill trickling down her spine.

She questioned the wisdom of her desire for a walk. Wouldn't it be better to reflect on what Brad had taught her earlier that day, and what delights would be in store come Monday? Even the thought of it now made her pussy so warm and inviting. She could have been in her room right now, tending to her wet pussy as fantasies of Brad played in her head.

Gina started to turn away from the road. Something caught the corner of her eye and forced her to stop and look.

For a few seconds, she could both see it and not see it, a vague shape at the edge of her perception. It would not coalesce into solidity until she stared at it and forced her head to make sense of it.

"Stephanie?" Gina said, her voice too soft to carry it against the breeze. Was it Stephanie? The girl was facing away, standing with one hand on a tree by the side of the road, swaying her hips not so much in provocation as indecision.

The chill gripped Gina when she tried to take a step towards her erstwhile friend. She ignored it and rushed forward.

As Gina approached, Stephanie stepped away from the tree with tense and jerky movements. She clenched her hands into fists before taking a few shaky steps forward on her high heels. She stumbled and fell against another tree, which she clung to as if fearing she would tumble to the ground without the support.

By the time Gina grew close, she heard Stephanie's labored breathing and saw the girl's hand tremble when she lifted it from the tree. "Um, you okay?" Gina said.

Stephanie whirled around. One heeled foot wobbled and threatened to collapse under her. "Shit, you scared me!" she cried in a petulant voice.

"I'm sorry. Is something wrong?"

Stephanie glanced behind her towards the other end of the dirt road with wide and shimmering eyes. She leapt towards Gina, as if trying to run and Gina was in the way. "L-look ... this is gonna sound like a really weird request, okay, but ... but could you go on ahead and see if there's anyone there?"

Gina looked past Stephanie. "You mean down the road?"

"Down the road, in the cemetery, in front of my house, anywhere!"

"Why, what are you afraid of?"

Stephanie swallowed. "Nothing. I just ... I just don't want to run into someone right now."

"Who is it that--?"

"Gina, I let Jerry do it to me again today," Stephanie cried. "I let him have his friend fuck me at the same time he did."

"Is there something wrong with this?"

"Well ... no, I guess there isn't, but ... oh God, I don't believe I'm getting wet again!" Stephanie ran both hands through her disheveled hair. "Gina, I'm not sure of anything anymore. I don't even recognize the girl I see staring at me in the mirror."

"I don't understand," Gina said, though her own voice quavered as well.

Stephanie wrapped her arms about herself. "He wants to take me to a party tomorrow. Him and a few of his friends. A-All day, with no parents around." A slow, lusty sigh blew past her lips as her thighs quivered. "God, I just keep thinking what if he wants me to get it on with all his friends, and I'm getting horny over it! I'm afraid that I won't be able to say 'no.'"

"Why would you say 'no?'"

Stephanie stared. "Huh?"

"Weren't you going to offer yourself to them anyway?"

Stephanie's eyes widened. "What?"

"Offer yourself. That's proper, isn't it? That's what you're supposed to do."

"Well ... yes ... that's what Victor told me, but ..."

Gina smiled. "Oh, you've been to the counselor, too?"

"The what? What counselor? What are you talking about?"

"Well, you said Victor, so I thought you meant--"

"He's who I don't want to see right now!" Stephanie wailed. "He's ... he's messing with my head. That's got to be it. He's the one that tried to convince me it was all right to let Jerry and his friend fuck me. But that can't be right, can it? I'm only sixteen and I'm turning into a slut! I'm fucking guys I hardly know! That's not right! But, shit, why am I so wet over it?!"

(...trained...)

(...conditioned...)

Gina closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her temple. "Not again," she murmured. "Please, not again, not after I just got everything sorted out."

"Gina, stop it!" Stephanie cried. "We're talking about me, not you! I have to have time to think on my own. And ... a-and take care of my wet pussy."

Gina opened her eyes and looked at Stephanie. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to tell you. I guess I can walk with you if you want me to."

"Yes, please! Just so I can get home without ..." Stephanie trailed off. Her lower lip trembled. "Oh God, no, he's here, isn't he?" She looked past Gina, then whipped her head back the other way. "But he never comes from ... he must be waiting for me! Fuck, I have to get out of here!"

Stephanie twisted herself away from Gina and plunged into the trees off the side of the road.

"Stephanie, wait!" Gina cried. "Wait! There's a lot of underbrush in there. You'll just get your heels tangled in--"

Gina stopped. Stephanie had vanished.

Gina stared, believing she simply lost Stephanie among the tree trunks and had only to wait before the girl revealed herself again. Yet nothing stirred except for a few birds flitting about the tree branches over her head. The birds took wing as one and disappeared over the craggy treetops.

"Gina."

Gina spun around. Victor smiled down at her, then glanced towards the trees. "Something fascinating in the woods?"

"What? Oh, um, no, not really."

Victor scrutinized them for another few seconds. "Roberta told me I would find you out here. You take these walks often?"

"Yes, nearly every day."

"For any particular reason?"

Gina hesitated.

Victor smiled again. "Trust."

Gina's pussy flushed with pleasant, throbbing warmth. "It helps me think."

"Ah. And you've done this every afternoon this week, I imagine."

"Yes."

"Hmm." Victor gazed into the woods again. "Alone?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Do you walk alone?"

Another hesitation. "Yes. Usually."

"Usually?"

Pleasure rose in Gina's sex. "S-sometimes I see another girl that lives nearby, but that's all. Just someone from school."

"Her name?"

Gina remained silent.

"Trust me, Gina."

Gina's pussy throbbed in gentle orgasm. A tiny moan escaped her parted lips.

"Her name?" Victor repeated.

"S ... Stephanie."

Victor lay a hand against Gina's cheek, his touch soft and tender. "Now, why was that so hard?"

"I don't know."

Victor stroked Gina's cheek, letting her sex bathe in liquid sexual heat. The name was not of a Harbinger. He was still safe from them.

The significance of the name was not lost on him, but he did not see any evidence of a connection. Many girls were named Stephanie, and no Presence would be powerful enough to contest his avatar for control of Gina's psyche.

Victor withdrew his hand. "Come along, Gina, we should be getting back to your mother. She's started making dinner for us by now."

"For us?"

"Yes, Gina, I'll be joining the two of you for dinner. In fact, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. Your mother has graciously agreed to put me up in her spare room for the next few days."

Gina felt an inexplicable moment of alarm, but it passed before she could speculate as to its origins. Victor had sensed it as well, as he had her little hesitations earlier in the conversation.

"This will be a golden opportunity for us. I will be able to work with you much more closely both at school and at home. I'll be able to help you become what you're meant to be. Isn't that exciting, Gina?"

Gina's pussy strained and let go in sweet release. "Uhnng ... y-yes, of course ..."

"Jason! Jason, I'd like a word with you, please."

Jason did not react as he reached the top of the stairs, as much as he wanted to groan in despair. His mother had used the tone most dreaded by teenagers, a voice of ambiguous peevishness that could mean anything from "I've had a bad day and making you clean your room will make me feel better" to "I suspect you just did something that would make me really angry if I found out about it."

The voice had come from below, near the den where her mother did her sewing, but her footsteps already marched across the hardwood floor. He still had his book-bag with him, the Book still stuffed inside. The flap that had betrayed its presence to Ned hung loose, as one of the fasteners had broken.

Jason wanted to dump it in his room, but his mother would be in view in seconds. Seeing him continue to his room in obvious defiance would push her from Ambiguously Peeved to Hell-Bent Angry. He shrugged the strap from his shoulder and plopped it to the step behind him a scant second before his mother appeared.

He flew down the stairs to focus her attention and show his obedience. Her face was unreadable, betraying upset as vague as her voice.

"Sure thing, Mom," Jason said in what he hoped was a casual voice. "What's up?"

Audrey came to a stop and put her hands on her hips, a windy sigh passing her lips. "It seems like I don't have a family anymore, just people that happen to turn up now and then."

"I'm sorry I was a little late coming home, Mom, I just got involved in talking to some of my friends."

"It's not just today, Jason, and it's not just you."

Jason was a little surprised at this admission, but now his mother's mood made perfect sense. She was angry with his father and not him, which was an immense relief that he tried not to let show on his face.

"What I mean is, I don't think it is unreasonable of me to want to see more of my son after he gets out of school."

"No, of course not, Mom. Um, I could try to just stay home some afternoons."

Audrey paused, as if floored by his sudden accommodation. "Well, I'm glad one of you ... that is, I'm glad you're showing some sense for once, Jason."

Jason had to admit that he was a little peeved himself. His father was the one that was so absent. At least Jason was home for dinner every day and stayed in the entire night. They were lucky if they saw Henry for dinner three times during a typical week. Jason felt like he was suffering for his father's sins.

Jason felt the need to say something to assuage his mother's misdirected anger. "I just want to be fair. I mean, I don't want to give up going with my friends completely."

"And I'm not going to ask you that," Audrey said. "Or for you to stop seeing Melinda, though I do admit I still think you two need to cool things down a bit, especially considering how young you both are. Her especially."

Jason wondered if his mother suspected they were having sex. He thought it best not to reply.

Audrey folded her arms. "So can I expect you to stick around here tomorrow?"

"Um, tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow. With Henry hardly around anymore, I have several chores around the house that need to be done that I cannot do all by myself. I need to move some things into the basement from the garage and finally get the storm windows put up. The last wind we had made this place feel like an ice freezer."

Jason's mind raced. "Um ... tell you what, Mom. If you don't mind me coming home just a little bit late from school tomorrow, I'll stay home after that and help you with all that stuff."

He sensed the tension from his mother and wondered if he should have avoided the words "tell you what." It was a neon sign that he wanted to do a deal with her, something that she was very much averse to when she was upset.

"And just why do you need to be late?" Audrey asked, her tone rising.

"A friend of mine got a bad grade on a pop quiz and asked me to go over the test with him so he can know what he did wrong." Jason put some faint emphasis on the masculine pronouns.

Audrey paused for what to Jason seemed ages, then let out a sigh. "You have a half hour, Jason, no more. If it will take longer than that, you'll have to tell him you'll do it another time."

Jason smiled, trying not to show too much relief. "Thanks, Mom."

"Are you going by bike, then?"

"Yeah ... um, no."

Audrey raised an eyebrow.

Dammit, Jason thought. He forgot that he still had to take the bus, so Richie could ensure that he would not be carrying the Book to school. "I've got a ride. Richie's Mom. Um, he's the one that failed the quiz."

"Very well. A half hour, Jason. I'm going to hold you to that."

"Of course, Mom. A half hour."

Audrey nodded once. Her face softened. "So how was school today?"

"Oh, same as always. Not much changes there."

"I understand there is a party being held at the school on Halloween night. Are you going?"

Jason's eyes widened. The party had been the furthest thing from his mind the past two days. Cassie was supposed to procure costumes for all of them, but she had not asked them for their preferences yet.

And his mother was likely expecting him to say "no" since he never went to these things.

"Um, yeah, I'll be going," said Jason.

"Oh?"

"Well, Melinda wants to go."

"And just who do you expect to get a costume for you at this late a date, young man?"

"Oh, no, Mom, you don't need to do anything. I have some money saved up, so I can get one myself."

"You think you can find one this close to Halloween?"

"I have a friend at school that, uh, knows someone that works in a costume shop. I'll be able to get a good deal, too, for both Melinda and I."

Jason hated this. He was piling up lies and half-truths that he was sure he would need to remember later.

"All right," Audrey said, her tone cautious. "But I do hope that your girlfriend picks something sensible. Too many girls use something like this as an excuse to expose more of their bodies than any girl ought to at any age."

"I'm sure the school has rules for that sort of thing, Mom."

"They had better, or they'll get an earful from me at the next parent-teacher conference. If they ever have one again, that is. Now, if you need to do anything before dinner, Jason, you better get to it, since I will want your help in about twenty minutes. Your father just may grace us with his presence tonight."

"Sure thing, Mom."

Jason left before she could change her mind. At the top of the stairs, he grabbed the shoulder strap of the book-bag without breaking stride and headed into his room.

Ned stepped before Cassie and spun around, catching her before she could run into him. "Um, sorry, babe, but the parental units are home, an' I don't wantcha takin' grief from 'em if they see ya."

Cassie let herself relax in his arms. It was a relief to be close to him again without having the need to satisfy an uncontrollable lust. She glanced behind her towards the limo idling at the curb. "We're far enough anyway so that Harry won't hear us talk."

"So ... are ya okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, I think so."

"Ya sure?"

Cassie sighed. "I'm not sure what to tell you, Ned. I'm about as okay as I can be knowing that I'm going to have casual sex with everyone else in the Harbingers on a regular basis."

Ned frowned. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Cassie looked into his eyes and tilted her head. "Are you okay?"

Ned rubbed the back of his neck.

Cassie knew that gesture all too well. "Ned, don't you dare go beating yourself up again. I don't think I can take that right now."

"Not even if mebbe I mighta enjoyed myself a little?"

Cassie was silent for a few seconds, just long enough to make Ned fidget. She lay a hand against his chest. "Maybe I did, too," she said in a very soft voice. "I'd like to think I did. I thought it would turn out like some cheap adult movie, but it didn't feel that way. I think maybe I had some sort of emotional connection to the others, like when ..."

Ned took her hand and squeezed it.

Cassie trailed off and shook her head. "I better stop there. If I start mentioning names, you'll feel like I'm trying to compare them to you."

"Mebbe that's how we handle it, by not goin' inta too much detail about it afterward."

Cassie nodded. "I hate thinking there's something we can't talk about, but I just don't want to hurt your feelings." She paused to collect her thoughts. "I hope Jason got home okay. I really would have preferred to have Harry drive him home."

"Nah, this is better, babe. Won't attract too much attention. I think ya got it right. Old Victor the Wonder Shrink is prolly expectin' him ta bring it inta school tomorrow. In fact, I think he should pretend ta do it. Bring in a fake one. Some other book that's the same size."

"But why?"

"Bait. Ta see if he bites. That'll prove he's up ta something."

"But that's dangerous, Ned! I thought we weren't going to try to put this protection to the test!"

Ned sighed. "Babe, I don't wanna jus' sit around and wait fer things ta happen. If we did that with Melissa, she'd be runnin' this town as its Grand High Sorceress or something. Look, I'll jus' mention it ta him and let him decide what he wants ta do."

Cassie drew herself close and lay her head against his shoulder. "Ned, you called me the peacemaker of the group. Maybe I'm too passive. I never want to do anything risky. I can't even get myself to explore my enhanced powers."

Ned wrapped an arm around her. He wanted to say something comforting, but anything he could say would be a lie. He did want Cassie to be more adventurous. He believed she underestimated her own self control.

Cassie looked up, her eyes shimmering. She blinked a few times and nudged herself from his embrace. "I better get going. I want to talk to Jason tonight, so I should get home in time to do my homework before my parents pull me into yet another one of their fancy dinners to impress people I hardly know."

Ned smiled. "Okay, babe, sure thing. Try not ta get so bored ya nod off in the potatoes or something."

Cassie giggled. "Oh, Ned, there was something I almost forgot I wanted to ask."

"Fer you, anything."

"What's a MILF?"

Ned's smile faded. "Uh ... a wha ...?"

"Richie mentioned it when he and Melinda were talking about Mrs. Radson. Oh, does 'M' stand for 'mother?'"

"Uh, yeah."

"So what about the rest?"

Ned cleared his throat. He glanced towards the limo, where Harry eyed him through the window glass. Ned flashed him a cheesy smile, then leaned over and whispered in Cassie's ear.

Cassie's mouth dropped open. "What? A whole sub-genre of adult ... just for ... is that even popular at all?"

"Very popular, and very easy ta find on the internet," Ned said. "Uh ... so they say."

"Goodness!"

"Um, I better let ya go, before yer driver-cum-bodyguard thinks I'm corruptin' ya more than ya already are."

Cassie giggled. She gave him a peck on the lips before returning to the limo.

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