Victor studied Diane as she sat down, his smile never wavering, his demeanor never anything but pleasant. "A little nervous?"

Diane flinched. "Um, yes, a little, I suppose."

"And why is that?"

The tick of the clock asserted itself in the brief silence. She tried to ignore it. "Just wondering what was so urgent. Have I done something wrong?"

"Oh, not at all, not really." Victor leaned back in his seat and folded his hands. "But you did tell me something yesterday that concerned me after I had time to think about it. It has to do with your relationship with Heather."

"What about it?" Diane snapped, then continued in a more contrite voice, "I mean, is there something wrong with it?"

"Hopefully not, if you are in it for the right reasons."

Victor paused. The tick of the clock pounded at Diane's ears and mind. She leaned forward in anticipation of his next words.

"You mentioned that you would be Heather's slave if she would let you," said Victor.

"I'm not sure why I told you that, to be honest."

"Because you trust me, Diane."

Diane let out a breath. Some of her tension eased. She leaned back into a more relaxed posture on the sofa.

Victor noted her reaction. Like Gina, some of his conditioning had been reversed, albeit by a smaller amount. Diane's natural submissiveness likely prevented her from putting up too much resistance. Yet any decline in his influence was cause for concern.

"It's all a matter of ensuring this is what you want and not what you think Heather wants," Victor said.

Diane nodded. "Yes, I think I get it. Heather is actually a little reluctant to do it."

"Ah, I see. So she is putting the brakes on it."

Diane sensed this was the right answer, and relaxed a bit more. "Yes, that's right, she doesn't want to take it too far."

It helped that it was the truth as well. Only under Melissa's influence did Diane's enslavement ever become so complete that she had no will of her own. Heather preferred to manipulate Diane's sexuality and desires rather than exert total control.

Diane waited for Victor's response, her body tensing in anticipation of his next words. She no longer heard the clock, but its steady pulse drew her psyche into lock-step with it. Her mind -- like anyone else's -- craved patterns and rhythms. The tick of the clock satisfied the need, and let Victor pry open her mind a bit more.

"But if it were not for her mindfulness," said Victor. "If she desired you as a slave as much as you did, you would let her do it."

"I ... y-yes ... yes, I guess I would. But I don't necessarily want--"

Victor held up a hand and she fell silent at once. In that brief pause, Victor contemplated his options. Diane was more defiant today. Had the Harbingers taken exception to Jason bringing the Book with him? Victor had considered instructing Diane to tell Jason to keep it quiet from the other Harbingers, but had thought that would conflict too much with their sense of camaraderie. When influencing by proxy, it was easier to go with changes that were more likely to be accepted.

The voice of the Darkness was silent, as Victor had blocked it from his mind at the start of the session. He did not need the distraction of its acerbic comments. He could predict what it would say: the Harbingers had achieved some sort of bond between them.

"It is important for you to realize, Diane, that you have done nothing wrong," said Victor. "I only wish to understand your relationship with her."

"I'm just afraid you're going to say that it's not healthy for me or something," Diane said.

"What it comes down to is whether it would make the both of you happy."

Diane hesitated. "I guess I don't know how to answer that."

"Would you be happy to be a slave? Would Heather be happy to be your Mistress?"

Diane's head swam. She had trouble believing she was hearing this from a school counselor. She squirmed as her pussy grew warm. It was not a fair question at all.

The rhythm throbbed in her mind, and forming thoughts outside of the bounds of the conversation became more difficult. He had put a question to her, and she had to answer it. Each moment of silence was a failure on her part.

"I don't know," Diane finally replied.

"Think on that one for a bit. Let the question roll around in your head."

"I'm sorry if I'm not of much more use."

"On the contrary, you have again been a useful Diane of the Harbingers."

Diane's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Her body tensed for a split second, then let go. She released her breath as a long, low sigh. She shivered once as she slipped into a soft sea of mindless euphoria. Her eyes closed, and her head dipped forward as warm pleasure enveloped her.

The moment was so brief and faint at first that not everyone sensed it.

Heather sensed it the strongest, but not as she had expected. She had thought that the moment Victor tried to do anything to Diane, she would sense a cry for help, much like Cassie that morning or Richie the night before. Instead, she felt a sudden flash of uneasiness, a fleeting moment of panic, and then a plunge into warm, diffuse pleasure.

Melinda and Jason sensed it next. Melinda thought it was from Heather at first. Only when fleeting images of the inside of Victor's office flickered through her mind did she understand. Jason's mental picture was even more vague. All he could sense was a brief burst of emotion, like a distant camera flash seen through smoky glass.

So far, Cassie, Ned, and Richie were unaware.

Victor observed Diane for a full minute before he spoke again. "Where are you right now, Diane?"

"In my pleasant place," she said, her voice soft and dreamy. "It's so nice and warm here."

"Obey me and you can stay in that place."

A husky sigh passed her parted lips. "I will obey."

"Say it again for me, Diane."

"Uhnn ... I will obey."

"And again."

Diane panted. "I will obey."

"Obedience brings pleasure, Diane. Obedience is how you are useful."

"I will obey and be useful."

"Stand and remove your clothes."

Victor submerged himself in thought as he watched the clothing slide from Diane's lithe body. Had there been a slight hesitation before she went under? There should have been no resistance whatsoever to the trigger. Yet he sensed no resistance now. "Answer this question as you undress. Why were you nervous when you first arrived?"

Her blouse lay in a heap on the sofa as her jeans slid down her legs. "I was afraid you would make me do something I didn't want to do."

"And what did you fear I would ask you to do?"

"Make me have Jason give you the Book."

Victor's eyebrows rose. "So Jason did bring the Book with him today?"

Diane stepped out of her jeans. "Yes."

"Have you seen him with the Book?"

Diane reached behind her and unclipped her bra. "Yes." She pulled the bra cups away from her breasts.

Victor paused as Diane pulled her panties down. His gaze lingered on her damp, shaven crotch for a moment. "Have you seen the Book itself?"

Diane stepped out of her panties and nudged them to the side with her foot. Her hands fell to her sides. "Just what was sticking up out the bag he was carrying it in."

Victor glanced at Diane's pussy again, where moisture oozed. "Obedient and useful, Diane. Continue to be obedient and useful."

Diane shivered. "It feels good to obey."

"You are doing well. You will feel your pleasure spike when I tell you that."

Diane let out a lusty sigh. Her feet slid apart. Her hips writhed as her growing need felt like a rising pressure in her cunt.

"Did you actually convince Jason to bring the Book today?"

"Yes."

"Did he agree right away to bring the Book?"

"Yes. But ..."

Victor waited. Diane remained quiet.

"Obey, Diane. Obey and feel pleasure."

Diane quivered "Uhnng ... y-yes ..."

"You started to say something. What was it?"

It came to both Heather and Melinda at the same time. Heather would have picked it up sooner had she not had the momentary distraction of having to answer her instructor's question. Now when both closed their eyes, Diane's senses and thoughts were overlaid ghost-like on their consciousness.

Jason sensed it better now as well, but only part of it was coherent. He knew Diane was with the counselor and was being questioned, but he could not quite discern the questions themselves.

It came to Cassie next, her perception ranging wide over thoughts, feelings, and senses. She shivered at the eerie, robot-like cadence to Diane's psyche.

Jason drew back in his seat when something Diane said made it into his head. Make him give Victor the Book? That didn't make any sense. He wouldn't have brought the Book unless he thought it was safe.

Richie and Ned frowned at the same time in their respective classrooms. They knew something was very wrong, but not quite what. Ned realized it was Diane and the counselor first, then the idea popped into Richie's head seconds later.

Cassie swallowed hard and gripped the sides of her desk. She was having trouble separating Diane's sensations and emotions from her own. She felt Diane's growing arousal as a stream of lust inundating her mind over the link and wetting her own pussy in response.

It came into much sharper focus for Heather and Melinda. Awareness of the other Harbingers cascaded to them over the link. Melinda uttered a tiny gasp, causing several peers to give her odd looks. If Jason was hearing what was being said, wouldn't this disturb the bit of "programming" they had done on him?

Jason was soon too fascinated to concern himself with his earlier confusion. He could see the structure of Victor's influence, like a scaffolding around her psyche rather than something inside it. Seconds later he understood: a post-hypnotic suggestion, so mundane as to be amusing compared to the power they had confronted before.

When he studied it, however, he saw that a bit more than ordinary hypnosis had transpired. Some other power augmented it. It was a brilliant maneuver. By avoiding using too much of his extraordinary powers, he prevented the Harbingers from discovering it until now.

Ned sensed Cassie's distress and tried to project calm towards her. He had no idea how to do it other than to just think about it. Cassie soon regained control of the flood of sensation over the link, and her own induced arousal eased.

Heather could sense everything, as if she were some sort of hub through which all their thoughts and feelings flowed. It stopped just short of true telepathy. She felt the spike of panic from Melinda, the first to realize that Victor was getting too close to the truth. Having Victor take the fake Book from Jason was superfluous now.

Ned realized that they had to maintain the fiction. Let him think Jason has the real Book with him. Don't let him know what happened yesterday. Don't let him know they have a new defense.

But now they had to figure out how to help Diane. In the fight against Ms. Hollis, Heather had actively resisted and could draw on the energy she needed. Diane was too far under to reach out to them.

Heather took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and imagined herself being with her lover. Melinda joined her a few seconds later, then Cassie. The boys brought up the rear.

Diane panted hard, her pussy hot and wet. She finally replied, "Nothing."

Victor leaned back in his seat. "Nothing," he repeated in a neutral voice.

"Jason agreed to bring the Book as soon as I asked him."

"Did he have second thoughts at all?"

"Yes. No."

"Both answers cannot be correct, Diane."

Diane whimpered. "The ... th-the others argued about it. But Jason didn't change his mind."

Victor sensed something fighting him. He leaned forward. "Diane, listen carefully to me. Hold up your right hand."

She lifted her right arm and leveled her hand in mid-air at about the height of her bosom.

"Your right hand is disconnected from the rest of your body. You no longer sense or feel it. You no longer know what it is doing. But it will respond to my commands and my commands only. Do you understand?"

Diane's hand went limp. "Yes, I understand."

"Right hand, begin stroking her clitoris."

Diane's right hand slipped over her wet mound and eased into her folds. Diane's hips jerked, and she gasped in genuine surprise. Her hips squirmed, and she stepped to one side and the other as if trying to get away from this strange intruder.

"What's happening to you, Diane?" Victor asked, a ghost of a smile touching his lips.

"S-someone is fingering me," she whimpered.

"Do you know who it is?"

"No."

"It could be a complete stranger."

Diane pulled her hips back, but the hand followed.

"It could be a man, for all you know."

"Uhng, no ..." Diane moaned.

"Right hand, thrust your fingers into her."

"Uhhnn!" Diane cried in both lust and distress as her "disembodied" fingers pumped in and out of her slit.

"If it's a guy, he might want to put his cock there."

"Oh, G-god, no ... please ... uhnng ..."

"I'll tell you who it is if you answer me truthfully, Diane," said Victor.

"Yes," Diane panted. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

He's barely using any special power at all, Jason thought. It's mostly hypnosis. He doesn't know we're listening in!

Jason did not expect his words to transmit to the others, but he hoped the gist would come through so they would take a delicate approach with Diane. He was stunned to see such detailed patterns like those he saw in Auras. He thought that with enough time he could understand how it worked enough to counter it.

Melinda wanted to barrel into Diane's head and convince her that it was her own hand. Victor's technique revolted her more than anything else she had ever experienced since the House. But some of Jason's restraint trickled into her mind, and she remained concentrated on holding Diane back from revealing any sensitive information.

The thought came to Ned independent of Jason. We gotta play our cards close to the vest.

Cassie sensed Diane's emotions in far more detail than anything else from Diane's psyche, and now she understood why: she had the power to influence them. She could reduce Diane's arousal and make it easier for her to resist. But the same sense of caution came over her as well.

She had to try. She feared that if she didn't at least make the effort, Diane would reveal all.

All Heather could do was send as much energy to Diane as possible. C'mon, Diane, just hang in there another few minutes, just another few minutes ...

"What did you do after school yesterday, Diane?" Victor asked.

"I-I spent some time with my friends," Diane moaned.

"The Harbingers, you mean?"

"Yes."

"And what did you all do?"

"We ... h-had ... had a conversation. A meeting."

"And what did you talk about?"

Diane hesitated. Her fingers thrusted into her aching cunt with less urgency than before. When she spoke again, her voice was more steady. "About the Book. About not letting Jason carry it with him."

"And what did you do when you heard this?"

"I did what I was told. I told him he should carry it. I convinced him."

"Right hand, thrust as fast as you can," Victor said. "And the others, Diane?"

Diane gasped and fell to her knees, finger-fucking her cunt hard. "Uhng ... uhhn ... I ... oh God ..."

"That could be a cock next, Diane. Tell me. What did the others say?"

"They ... didn't agree ... wouldn't change their mind."

"But they apparently let Jason take the Book anyway."

"Yes. He's got it with him. I s-saw it. He has it today. I obeyed."

Victor leaned back and steepled his fingers. He watched Diane and listened to her desperate whimpers, his face impassive. "The hand is your own, Diane. You can sense it again. Cum."

Her fingers faltered, but her pussy throbbed hard seconds later. She collapsed to the floor, panting and moaning into the carpet, shivering hard as her climax swept over her.

Victor was still uneasy. She had resisted him harder than he would have thought possible for someone of her submissive nature, but without a full avatar in her mind, he could not probe her any further without alerting her friends.

Victor lifted the veil and let the Darkness contact him once more. He "spoke" over its petulant complaints about being shielded from his mind for so long: I have a question for you. Do you know what the Harbingers were doing yesterday?

Something happened with them, came the irritated reply. Something made Richie more resistant to me. Fucking little bastard.

What about the rest of them?

I do not know. I have been concentrating my energy on Richie. I need more power, Victor. You must get that Book from them.

Victor closed his eyes and let the Darkness see his memory of the session with Diane. It churned and seethed with violent lust.

Get it! Get the Book from Jason! Do not pass up this opportunity, Victor. Bring me the Book. Then I can overwhelm Richie's defenses. Then Penny can bring me Heather and Melinda. Then I will take Cassie, and Ned through her. Then that will leave me Jason and his infernal father.

Victor shielded his next thoughts. The Darkness was not thinking straight. So obsessed with possessing the Book, it overlooked the incongruities in Diane's responses.

Victor let out a small sigh through his nose. Diane would offer him no more insights unless he wanted to risk bringing suspicion upon himself. Yet he had one more task for her, and for that he needed to slip into her head again with his more extraordinary powers. "You have done well, Diane."

Diane shivered and moaned as pleasure washed over her once more.

"Stand."

Diane rose to her feet. Victor stood and handed her a towel. "Dry your sex and your fingers as best you can. And then listen very carefully to me as I tell you how you can be very, very useful to me one more time."

The Harbingers had almost lost it for Diane.

Teachers were starting to notice that a student of theirs was not paying attention. Richie blew it off and lost only a few seconds. Jason felt compelled to offer an explanation out of pride, since he did want to do the work. Melinda got peevish and had to apologize to avoid detention.

Ned and Cassie were fortunate. Ned had a teacher that didn't take the time to notice, and Cassie's was used to seeing her zone out. They picked up the slack. Heather never wavered, simply ignoring her teacher as if she were not there.

A growing sense of alarm spread over the link from Jason, as he was the first to notice that Victor was now applying more than just hypnosis. They had to stop pushing or they might be noticed.

Heather didn't want to stop. She wanted to keep defending Diane and push Victor out of her lover's mind, but she sensed the others easing off. She could not do it by herself.

Muttering a curse, she relented and tried not to resent it.

"You've been thinking about this, Diane," said Victor, fixing his eyes on her. "It's too dangerous for Jason to have the Book at all."

"Too dangerous, yes," Diane said.

"He should give it to someone else to carry for awhile. That just makes perfect sense to you."

"Of course, it makes perfect sense."

Victor stroked his chin. "It will make sense to him as well."

"Yes, it will make sense to Jason as well."

"You are the most logical choice, Diane. You believe very strongly that he should give it to you."

"He should give it to me."

Victor wondered if he were a bit paranoid. Now the resistance had vanished. He was applying only a fraction of his power, yet she succumbed without hesitation. It was possible that he simply "broke" her, but such minds rarely remained coherent and sane afterward. Abrupt changes in loyalty could damage the psyche.

He considered what he had heard: others around her had managed to resist his altered perception but had not deterred Jason. "You want to seek out Jason as soon as it is convenient so you may convey your thoughts to him."

Diane's mind sank into a haze as Victor's words seeped into her subconscious. "As soon as convenient," she breathed.

"When you have the Book, Diane, you will immediately need to see me," said Victor. "You will not tell anyone of your compulsion. You will not stop anywhere. You will simply come straight to me."

"Yes, I will need to see you. I will come straight to you and tell no one."

Victor nodded once. "Get dressed, Diane, and then sit down as you were when you came in."

Jason was confused.

He had managed to glimpse Victor's plan. It was what the other Harbingers had feared might happen. So why on Earth did he take the Book with him to school? Why did he still believe that Diane was right, that it was the correct thing to do?

Confusion turned to anxiety. He didn't know his own head. He wondered if something else had happened to him that morning. He could not remember arguing with the others as Ned had claimed.

And some of his memories about the phone calls he had made the night before were fuzzy as well.

And why was he so sure he had not sent any email to Diane, yet he had a vague recollection of sending one?

And where was that faint smell of shoe polish coming from?

"Three. Two. One." Victor snapped his fingers.

Diane's eyes fluttered open.

"Think on that question some more, Diane," said Victor with a small smile.

"Oh, um ... I guess I don't think that will do any good. I'm not so sure of the answer myself."

"There is no right or wrong answer, there is only what you want and what you believe."

Diane nodded in time with the ticks of the clock.

"And what you desire. And what excites you."

Diane nodded again, feeling flushed.

"The idea does excite you."

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"That's something to keep in mind. Keep thinking about it."

"I'll try."

"The period is almost over," said Victor. "You'd best get on to your next class."

Diane looked at him in confusion, then at the clock. Her eyes widened. "I didn't think we had taken that long."

Victor smiled. "Sometimes the flow of time is a matter of perception."

Diane stood. "Um, I hope I was helpful in some way?"

"Oh, quite so, Diane. And please remember that you are always welcome here."

Diane forced a tiny smile and dashed out of the office.

"What do we do now?" Melinda demanded in a shrill voice. "Should we stop Jason?"

"Diane got out of the counselor's office ten minutes before the period ended," Cassie said. "She's probably got to him already."

"But it's all messed up now! Jason probably figured out we used the spell on him to--"

"What the fuck difference does it make?" Richie said.

"She's got a point," Ned said with a small frown. "I would love ta keep the fake Book from Victor and keep him guessin' about us."

"Then why'd we do this in the first place?" Richie demanded.

"Cuz we didn't know we'd get front row seats ta seein' his shtick," Ned said with a cautious look towards Cassie. "We didn't when she was first put under."

Cassie caught Ned's eyes and tried to look less upset with him.

"See, that's what I mean!" Melinda piped. "We know he's the bad guy now. We should try to help Jason!"

"It's too late, runt, I can sense that Diane just got to him," Heather said.

Melinda's eyes widened. "I can, too! Quick, we have to help him like we did with Diane!"

"Oh, goodness, Melinda, you're just asking too much," Cassie said in a shaky voice. "I'm not sure I'm up to that again. Helping Diane was horribly draining."

"Yeah, I feel like someone squeezed my noggin out like a sponge," Ned said.

"Well, shit, then what do we do when Ms. Hollis goes after Heather later?" Melinda cried.

"Look, folks, we gotta stop gettin' hung up on this. Now that we thought it through, stoppin' Jason ain't gonna do much. Either way, our cover's gonna get blown today no matter how it goes down."

"Well, I want to at least try. I'm going to go find him."

Heather grabbed Melinda's arm. "Melinda, stop it, you knew Diane was going to have to do this if Doctor Mann--"

Melinda wrenched her arm free. "I didn't like the idea from the start, and if he doesn't have to get messed with, then I want to stop it. I'll just go by myself if I have to."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Richie grumbled. "I'll go with you."

Melinda looked stunned. "Wait, what?"

Richie came alongside her. "I gotta go that way anyway. He's my friend too, remember? Unless you still hate me or something."

"Huh? Hate you?" Melinda's hips shifted. "Um, no, of course not. I'm trying to be nicer to people, remember? Let's go."

Cassie turned to the others after they left. "Melinda was right, though, what are we going to do for Heather?"

"Mebbe we'll recharge or something during next class," Ned said. "Terrible Terri Hollis ain't until after that."

"Look, everyone, just don't freak out about it," Heather said. "I'll just deal. We better get going before Seeger shows up."

The Harbingers broke up. Cassie caught up with Ned and pulled him aside. "What is it, babe?" Ned asked. "Ya holdin' up okay?"

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," said Cassie. "I'm really getting worried that we can't handle it all. We still haven't done anything about the girl that's supposed to be in trouble on Halloween."

"Ya think that's what yer dreams were talkin' about?"

Cassie shivered. "Ned, I have to find out where those dreams are coming from. I-I just can't accept that they're coming from a girl that died twenty-one years ago."

Ned scratched his head. "Babe, mebbe ya need ta consider it. I mean, what's that bad about it?"

Cassie paled. "I can't really explain it to you, Ned, not in so many words. When I get connected to people with my normal gift, it's like I share a part of them. For a little while, I am them. To do that with someone who's dead, I have to be ... t-to be dead myself."

"Aw, I don't think it works like that, I mean--"

Cassie's eyes glistened. "And I'm a-afraid I won't come back ... I'll just s-stay dead ..."

Her throat closed up. Ned hugged her. "Aw, babe, I'm sorry."

Cassie took a deep breath and let it go as a single sob into Ned's chest. "It's stupid, I know, but I can't let go of it. I have to find out one way or the other."

Ned looked into her eyes. "Nah, it's not stupid, c'mon. All right, let's see if we can get ta the bottom of this. We'll figger out what the deal with this Stephanie Fowler was. Mebbe Jason can ask Mrs. Radson about it. We'll find out where it all leads."

"And what if it leads to a grave, Ned?"

Ned paused. "Well ... then mebbe Richie can tell us something. Let's take it a step at a time, babe."

Cassie sighed and nodded, wiping her eyes. She managed a small smile and hugged him in return. "Thank you. I'm not sure how I could cope with this if I didn't have you."

Ned grinned like a man who had just won the lottery.

Melinda doubted the wisdom of her action only a few seconds after leaving the others.

The excitement of the moment allowed her to forget her earlier prurient interest in Richie. Now those feelings surged back with a ferocity that left her unnerved. She stole glances at Richie as they headed down the corridor, having to check her step as he refused to walk any faster than his usual casual gait.

Melinda forced herself to stop looking at him, but her pussy already swam in renewed heat. The movement of her thighs and her panties against her moist slit brought her to a low burn of desire by the time she spotted Jason up ahead. She welcomed the distraction and stopped to point. "Look, that's him!"

"Thank you, Obvious Girl," Richie muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Come on, we have to ... oh no, it's too late!"

As they watched, Jason handed over the bag containing the fake Book to Diane. Diane paused as Jason said something to her. She hesitated, a moment of confusion on her face before she finally smiled and headed away.

"Oh, well," Richie said with a shrug. "See ya later, pipsqueak."

"Huh? No, wait, where are you ...?"

Melinda grabbed Richie's arm. Another tingle flitted through her pussy, her fingers tightening as her words trailed off.

"What?" Richie frowned. "And what are you starin' at, huh?"

Melinda blinked and shook her head. She clung to him for another few seconds before she finally let go. "I wasn't staring, I was just ... um, look, we have to--"

"You sure you're okay?"

The words were said in a tone that sounded enough like genuine concern that Melinda again lost her train of thought. Her pussy ached as her eyes flickered over his body.

"Oh, hey, Melinda, Richie."

Melinda whirled around and flinched. "Jason! I was just ... I mean ... I wasn't ..."

Richie raised an eyebrow at Melinda.

Melinda forced herself to take a deep breath and let it go. "Jason, I saw you giving the Book to Diane," she said just to have something to get her thoughts focused again.

"Oh, yeah. Diane said that it would be better if she carried the Book for awhile."

"Jason, look, we have to tell you what's going on, but I don't know if that will break the--"

"It just made sense that she should have it."

Melinda paused. "Um ... yeah, I know, but--"

"It will be safe with her for awhile."

Slowly, Richie nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense."

"It's too dangerous for me to carry it around all the time."

"Yes. Of course," Melinda said. "Yes, of course it is! It's better she carry it for awhile."

Richie started to nod again, then made a revolted noise and muttered something under his breath.

"I better get to class," Jason said. "See you later."

They both watched in silence as Jason left. Richie frowned. "Fuck."

"What?" Melinda demanded.

"That's totally fucked up. I almost believed that shit."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"All that crap about it being too dangerous for him to carry the Book."

"Well, it is! It makes sense that Diane should have it for awhile."

Richie paused. "Yeah. I guess ... no, wait, what the fuck, Melinda?! Now you're doing it to me, too!"

"I'm not doing anything to you. I'm just ... wait ..."

"You saw it for yourself in Diane's head. It's the fucking counselor doing it."

Melinda ran a hand through her hair. "H-how did Diane ... no, that was Jason doing it! How did he do that?!"

Richie looked over Melinda's shoulder. "Hafta find out later, Seeger's coming this way."

Melinda glanced behind her and clenched her fists in frustration. Shit, and I didn't even get a chance to ask Richie ...

Her thoughts froze, and her eyes suddenly widened.

"Now what the hell's with you?" Richie said.

Melinda swallowed. "Nothing! Just ... nothing. See you later."

She rushed off, barreling past Seeger, her hair flying out behind her. She did not hear the warning Seeger called out against running in the halls.

Diane knew Victor wanted the Book. She knew it was unwise be carrying it in his presence. None of that mattered, as she had to see Victor again. Her attempts to stop herself were feeble at best. She would question her reluctance as soon as it manifested.

When she arrived at his office, she knocked on the door and fidgeted with the handles of the bag as she waited. She had to see him. It was the most important thing she had to do, despite how her heart pounded at the idea.

She let out the breath she did not know she was holding when the door finally opened, and Victor smiled at her. "Ah, yes, Diane, what can I do for you?"

"I-I needed to see you," Diane said. "I'm not sure why, I just--"

Victor stepped aside. "Please, come in."

"I don't know why I'm here, Doc ... I mean, Victor," said Diane as she entered.

Victor closed the door behind her. "Quite all right. You are simply being a useful Diane of the Harbingers."

A gentle sigh passed her lips. Her eyes closed and her head dipped forward. Victor caught the handle of the bag as it slipped from her limp fingers.

He placed the bag on his desk. The Darkness exulted in his mind. Victor, however, raised a speculative eyebrow and peered into the bag. He removed the "Book" and placed it on the desk. He sniffed the air once, then open the cover.

Exultation turned to enmity, and a string of epithets and curses spewed forth from the Darkness in a torrent.

I will handle this, Victor replied, and then attenuated the link so the Darkness' fury would not distract him.

Victor turned back to Diane. "Diane, did he give you the real Book?"

"Yes, he handed it to me right away," Diane said.

"And you are sure it was the real one that he handed to you?"

Diane seemed confused at the question. "Yes. What other Book would there be?"

Victor was impressed. Diane was telling the truth as she knew it. Somehow, they made Jason believe he was carrying the real one, or Diane's perception of reality would have forced him to reveal what he carried was fake. They had baited him into revealing himself. He could not help but admire them for their cleverness.

He pushed himself deeper into Diane's mind, as stealth was no longer needed. He saw that the Darkness' fear had been realized, that the Harbingers had forged a psychic connection with one another.

Now he noticed something else. "Diane, did anything else happen while he handed you the Book?"

"Yes, he said something to me I didn't understand. He said 'you need the pendant to do what you really want.'"

Victor stood very still. The Darkness' anger rose in proportion.

Jason forged a link to the Book using a new pendant, the Darkness snarled. And the Book knows what you intend to do with it. You should have taken the Book earlier when you had a better chance!

Victor would offer no apologies. He had chosen what he had thought was the best course of action. If the intelligence in the Book was as he now thought, it would have realized its true fate even if he had managed to take it earlier. It would have been a struggle to control it without a proper link.

The Book is limited in what it can do on its own, Victor reminded his benefactor, using a much sharper mental tone than he had dared before. The Darkness seethed at the rebuke, but allowed Victor to continue his thought. Prompting a simple statement from him while he was already under duress is not a remarkable accomplishment.

You need to do something, Victor, the Darkness replied, now more pleading than angry. If Jason is linked to the Book, he knows it's true purpose. You must stop them.

Victor looked at Diane, and an idea formed.

Victor took the fake Book, returned it to the bag, and placed the bag at Diane's feet. He peered into her mind. Their previous efforts to help Diane resist him had exhausted their energy. They were recovering, but he had the advantage at the moment.

He did not have the time to create a fully realized avatar in Diane. He would have to take advantage of her own vulnerabilities and hidden desires and use them against her and her fellow Harbingers. They would be less likely to find his tampering that way. Subterfuge still had its place in his plans.

Thus he implanted a single directive in her subconscious, something that the simplistic, shadowy extension of his will could whisper over and over: you are a complete slave to the Harbingers and should be treated as such.

"Diane, you will awaken on the count of three and remember nothing of this conversation," said Victor. "One. Two. Three."

Diane blinked rapidly. She looked down and gasped, snatching the handle of the bag and giving Victor a frightened look.

"Are you all right, Diane?" Victor asked, his voice filled with gentle concern.

Her fingers curled about the handles of the bag until the knuckles turned white. "I-I don't know ... Like I said, I'm not sure why I came back."

"Perhaps it was to hear me reassure you again."

"Reassure me?"

"Yes. I really do believe that your approach to your relationship with Heather is quite acceptable and healthy."

Diane's eyes widened. "It is?"

"Indeed. You should be allowed to explore your desires, so long as they do not bring harm to yourself or others, and I see none in what you have told me."

"Even ... even the part about wanting to be Heather's slave?"

Victor smiled. "Yes, even that, so long as she is willing."

Diane smiled. "Thank you, Victor. I guess that's really what I came back for. I feel a little better now."

"Very good. In that case, you should head off to class. If you get in trouble for being late, please refer your instructor to me."

"Of course. Thank you." She glanced down at the bag again as she left.

Feedback

Did you like this story? Hate it? Printed it and lined the birdcage with it?

Please take a moment to send me some comments about this story. Your comments may remain anonymous if you prefer, or you can include an email address in your comments if you wish a reply.

Since this is a multi-part story, you may wait until the last chapter to send feedback about the story as a whole if you wish.