Charles shadowed the cult members as they led their new slave away to her room. He passed the chamber that held Lydia in a single long stride, forcing his eyes to remain forward. There were enough cultists -- too many, in his view -- accompanying Melinda that he only occasionally caught a glimpse of her back or a naked ass cheek. With rigid resolve, he curbed whatever urges it could engender.

He had given her a servant's quarters at the end of the hall, a small room far from any of the manor entrances, and with a window that faced only the thick woods of the greenbelt. His thoughts turned to Lydia regardless of his wishes. He was reminded of the day they brought her here after imprisoning her in her own mind. He had never felt any shame over it, only regret that it had come to pass.

The cultists led Melinda into the room. Charles remained at the threshold. The one in the lead dropped her hood, revealing herself as Kelly. Next to her, another hood dropped, and Lynn's eyes flicked down to Melinda, her lips curling into a tiny smile. Charles suppressed the urge to admonish her.

Kelly gestured to the other cultists without uttering a word. Two men stepped forward and urged Melinda to the floor on all fours. She complied in eager, quiet obedience. Their hands explored her body, sliding down her back, over her ass cheeks, and cupping her breasts. Melinda uttered soft and breathy moans.

Unease crept over Charles. One of the men knelt behind Melinda and with little ceremony grasped her hips and speared her pussy with his hard cock. The other knelt in front and presented his cock to Melinda's face. The head had only brushed Melinda's lips when she opened her mouth and took him inside with a low but wanton moan.

Lynn knelt beside Melinda and played with her breasts, squeezing them and rubbing the nipples until Melinda shivered and panted. She grasped Melinda's waist and rocked her back and forth between the two men. Her grin widened, wicked and sly. Kelly nodded once in satisfied righteousness.

Charles clenched his teeth and folded his arms.

Kelly turned to the two remaining cultists, both men. "When these two are done, you can take your turns with her next. After that, these two should be ready to go again. Keep filling her with cum. Later we'll see how much pussy she can lick."

"Kelly!" Charles snapped. "I want to see you, please. Right now."

Kelly nodded once and turned to her compatriot. "Lynn, take over for me, please." She approached the door, folding her hands before her. "Yes, Prophet Charles?"

Charles gestured and stepped aside. Kelly entered the hall, and Charles closed the door. "I want to know exactly what you're intending with Melinda."

Kelly tilted her head. "Intending? I don't understand."

"How far are you taking this?"

"The Glorious One gave sanction to use her as our slave. I am simply taking advantage of that."

"And this wouldn't have anything to do with Sarah and her broken nose?"

Kelly cast a level look at Charles. "I cannot exact retribution on her assailant."

"No, but you can take it out on Melinda."

Kelly allowed herself a small smile. "Would that not send a powerful message to the perpetrator of that horrible act of violence upon one of our brethren? To use her like a sex toy when the demons can do nothing but watch?"

"Watch? What do you mean? Is she still linked to her friends?"

"They have not relinquished her, though they are powerless to interfere at the moment."

In Charles' view, the situation was getting worse. The cult would see nothing they could not view through the lens of their quasi-religion. He was sure Victor had never referred to Melinda's friends as "demons" or described her link to them in terms of a "possession." He wondered now if indulging himself with Lydia had blinded him to the danger.

"You are most welcome to have her for yourself at any time, Prophet," said Kelly.

Charles' nether regions stirred as he envisioned Melinda riding his cock. "No."

"Very well. May I return to playing with our new slave?"

Charles wanted to find some excuse to refuse her when a maid trotted up to him from the opposite end of the hall, her face as urgent as her steps. "Prophet Charles, I must speak with you immediately."

Charles sighed. "Kelly, you have leave to return to ... to what you were doing."

Kelly bowed her head. Charles waited until she had reentered the room and closed the door behind her, averting his eyes to avoid glimpsing Melinda. "Yes, now what is it?"

"Prophet, you wanted to be informed if something happened with Lydia."

Charles felt a chill. "What happened?"

"She suddenly became quite anxious and agitated, and we cannot calm her. What are we to do?"

Victor's orders were very clear in this matter, but Charles had chosen not to inform his servant staff. He wanted to reserve the final decision for himself. "I will come take a look, and then I will decide."

After dropping off Heather, Jason realized he would be dragging the Book around for a little longer. He did not want to return home until he was sure he would not have to go out again. He had intended to see Mrs. Radson on Sunday, but he had to take his mind off Melinda. It sounded cold to him, but if he let himself dwell on what was happening to Melinda, he would only drive himself mad.

Heather scrounged up a plastic shopping bag so it would be easier to carry, as he dared not leave it unattended with his bike. At the Radson house, Debby appeared at the door flustered but not surprised at Jason's presence.

"Come in, Jason," she said, her voice subdued.

Jason stepped inside. "I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs. Radson, but--"

Debby closed the door behind him. She offered him a small smile, though it appeared forced. "I was expecting you. My readings this morning suggested that you would stop by. And I know why you're here."

"We should find someplace private to talk."

Debby gestured and led them to the sofa. "Right here is fine. Susan is out with her friends for once, and Bill is downstairs in his workshop."

Jason accepted the invitation, setting the bag with the Book between his legs and masking his unease as best he could. Debby fell into her seat, her face betraying uncertainty before she spoke again. "You want to know what I decided about your request to use this house for your friends', um, activities."

"Yes, that's part of it."

Jason did not want to look impatient, but he fidgeted with the handles of the bag when Debby did not respond for a few seconds. "This has been a very hard decision," Debby finally said. "I don't want to sound like I am blaming you, but you've put me in a very awkward position."

"I know, Mrs. Radson, I'm sorry." Jason sighed. "If the answer is 'no,' please just tell me right now and I'll leave it at that. Don't draw this out more than it needs to be."

"That's just it. I cannot conceivably refuse your request." Debby paused and shifted against the sofa cushions. "I would be a hypocrite if I did. I want to help combat the terrible Darkness that has beset this town, and denying your request would not be at all helpful in that regard."

Jason just nodded and forced himself to remain silent.

"I've talked to Bill about this," Debby said, her tone measured. "His initial response was that there was no way in hell he was going to allow something like that under this roof."

Jason said nothing despite the tremendous effort required.

Debby laced her fingers in her lap. "I then told him that if he tried to stop me from doing anything that could combat the Darkness that I reminded him once had control of our daughter, I would leave him."

Jason gasped. "Mrs. Radson, you can't--!"

"Jason, please, calm down."

Jason stood up. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Radson. I withdraw the request. I won't come between you and your husband. I better go."

Debby bolted from the sofa faster than a woman of her frame should be able to do. She grabbed Jason's arm and hauled him back. He fell hard into his seat, and the Book thumped to the floor. Debby flinched, her eyes flicking to the bag for a moment. "Jason, let me finish."

Jason tried to stand again, but Debby lay a hand against his shoulder. He relented and settled back into his seat.

"I am not leaving Bill, and Bill will not stand in the way of whatever decision I make," Debby declared. "I made him realize that these are extraordinary circumstances. I also reminded him of what happened to Anne."

Jason had not wanted to be reminded of that himself. Anne Went was Susan Radson's "partner in crime" for the humiliation they had attempted against Melissa, and for which Melissa had extracted her terrible revenge on both of them. When Melissa was defeated and her control lifted, Susan began her long and slow recovery, but Anne soon suffered a nervous breakdown and was withdrawn from school.

Debby's eyes became haunted. "Bill didn't care for me bringing that up, but it's painfully clear to him that Susan would not survive another brush with the Darkness. Then she would be lost to us as Anne."

"Anne still hasn't recovered, Mrs. Radson?" Jason said.

Debby hesitated. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Debby's eyes darted to the side for a moment, returning to Jason's face only with effort, her mouth working without a sound issuing forth. A quavering sigh finally passed her lips. "Anne is ... Anne is dead, Jason. She committed suicide a few days ago."

Jason clenched his teeth to stop himself from shouting that Debby was lying to him. "Why didn't I hear anything about it?" Jason said in a stiff voice.

"Her parents moved out of Haven two weeks ago. It's nothing more than local news where they live now. I'm sorry, I thought you might have heard about it through other channels."

Jason shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

"The point is, I will not let that happen to Susan. That is why I cannot tell you 'no.'"

"Then are you telling me 'yes,' Mrs. Radson?" Jason said, his voice rising. "Please stop stringing me along and answer me."

Debby shivered. "Jason, something is not right. Ever since you arrived, I've felt an odd presence. It can't be coming from you, I never sensed anything like that from your psychic aura. Are you sure you have not been affected by--"

Jason jerked his arm up, the sides of the bag bulging and stretched around its contents. "It's probably this. This is the Book. I had to use it earlier and have not been home yet."

Debby's eyes widened.

Jason let it fall. "I'm sorry it disturbs you, but since someone is after it, I don't feel safe leaving it alone."

Debby was still staring at the bag. "I-It's all right," she said, her voice shaky. "I just ... I've just never been this close to it before."

Jason had a thousand questions he could have asked about the Book, knowing now that she could pick up some sort of "vibe" from it. He pushed them aside and kept himself focused. "About my request, Mrs. Radson--"

"All right, Jason, yes, I am going to try to accommodate you," said Debby. "But I need to tell you my concern first."

Relief gushed in Jason's voice. "Of course, what is it?"

"The kind of sex that you and your friends would be doing is nothing like normal sex," Debby said. "Or maybe it's more accurate to say that it's more powerful than normal sex. The act of sex generates a sort of energy field. It can influence others nearby and make them in turn more interested in having sex. You'll read about that in Elizabeth's journal if you haven't already."

"Yes, I gleaned that much from it so far."

"The power your friends have amplifies that. It makes the field much stronger. I am afraid that it will draw me in, and possibly Susan as well."

Jason remained silent. He had no idea what he could say in response.

"I am not worried about Bill, as I assume this would take place in the afternoon right after school, so he would be at work. Susan tends to come right home after school, but I suppose I can try to interest her in some after-school activities, or encourage her to go out with her friends more. I am more concerned with myself."

Jason felt forced to reply in the silence that followed. "Mrs. Radson, you think this will somehow compel you want to, well, participate?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am afraid of. It's true that I am far more comfortable with my sexuality than most women my age, and maybe I'm letting myself become too influenced by 'traditional' societal rules, but I'm having trouble seeing past the inappropriate nature of having sex with underage teenagers."

Jason wondered if he should tell Debby that Diane was their slave now. He was sure she would not approve. She might even have the notion that Jason and the others needed to stop treating her that way.

For a moment, the thought set up a conflict in his mind that he could not resolve, like trying to believe that white is black or one plus one is three.

"Do you see what my problem is, Jason?" Debby prompted when Jason did not respond.

Jason blinked. "Sorry. Yes, I understand, Mrs. Radson. I don't know what to tell you other than to suggest you leave the house, too."

Debby shook her head. "As much as I trust you and your friends, I feel I should be here to supervise you."

"When we all had sex together on Wednesday, we forged a mental link," said Jason. "It lets us send energy to each other to help defend against mind control attempts. If you did participate, you might get linked with the rest of us. It could help protect you and your family better."

Debby's lips twitched into a weak smile. "Yes, I thought about that. I will admit, Jason, I am envious of you and your fellow Harbingers. All of you can tap into the supernatural far more than I ever could. If I do participate, I want to make sure that I do it for the right reason."

"Mrs. Radson, I understand that sentiment better than perhaps you can imagine."

Debby's smile widened. "You suggested you came for another reason as well?"

Jason had thought to tell her about Melinda, but he reconsidered. She would be of no help after the fact, and he saw no need to worry her. He looked down. "Mrs. Radson, how much do you know about the Book?"

Debby's smile faded, her own eyes drifting towards the Book as she leaned back in her seat. "You likely know far more than I do."

"Did you know about its dual-nature?"

Debby peered at the bag. "I don't understand."

"The other set of spells that you can see when you're linked to it."

"Linked? Jason, the old link to that Book should be weak at best. The pendant fragments I gave you should not have enough energy to accomplish much."

Jason reached under his shirt and pulled out the pentacle pendant. "I made a new link with this."

Debby recoiled. "You shouldn't have done that! If there is anything of the Darkness left in--"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Radson. The others would have said something if they saw any sort of Aura on me. No, the Darkness was confined to Melissa's old pendant, and as you had told me yourself, it's long gone. My point is, after I made the link, the Book showed me a whole new set of spells, ones that can manipulate the lines of energy."

Debby let out her breath in a strained sigh.

"This explains why the Rite of Power is so out of place in the original spell listing," Jason said. "Normally, it should not have appeared. In fact, it disappeared for awhile until I made the new link. The Darkness must have forced the Book to reveal it while a piece of it inhabited the old pendant."

Debby started nodding halfway through Jason's last statement. "Yes, this explains a few things I've wondered about, like statements from my mother that made little sense until now."

"Mrs. Radson, I doubt we can use any of them anyway, since most require questionable setups. Not as bad as the Rite, but still more than any of us want to do."

Debby frowned. "I really wish there was a way to destroy that Book. It should not be allowed to fall into anyone's hands ever again."

Jason's fingers tightened around the handles of the bag. "I think linking to the Book is for the best in that case. It makes it harder for someone to take the Book from me."

"Yes, that is why I gave you the pendant fragments. I did not want to suggest forging a new link until I was sure it was safe. You have to hand over the Book and the linking dewomer to completely transfer ownership to another. You can't be forced to do it, at least not directly."

A pained look crossed Jason's face, but he said nothing.

Debby stared. "Is something wrong?"

Jason paused, then shook his head. "Other than the fact that Victor is still after the Book."

"Goddess, yes, I know. Jason, this is serious! How did anyone ever find out about the Book? There should be no one left in this world that knows about it outside of you, your friends, and my immediate family!"

"The Darkness knows, Mrs. Radson, which means it can tell anyone it wants. I think I need to explain something to you ..."

Jason told Debby more about Victor, what the Harbingers believed he was trying to do, and what he had done in the past. He explained the nature of Victor's power and how it was independent of the Darkness. He told her what Cassie had discovered about Stephanie and how she had gained a boost to her own abilities through what was left of Stephanie's original psyche.

He held back what had happened to Melinda, but whether born out of a desire not to alarm her further or a reluctance to admit failure he could not tell.

What Jason did reveal was alarming enough. Debby paled, stood, and took a few steps from the sofa. "Great Goddess."

"We're trying to stop him from doing it again," said Jason. "Cassie was able to connect to Gina's mind. She's going to try it again tonight."

"Elizabeth thought something else was going on in Haven," Debby said in a low voice. "She always felt uncomfortable during Halloween, a time of the year that is normally a celebration for a Witch or a Pagan. She was never able to pinpoint what it was. But that was so many years ago! It couldn't be the same person behind it."

"Do you know of any sort of magic that could let someone age more slowly?" Jason asked. "I know it sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, but that's the only thing I can think of."

"Unless his power goes beyond just the mind."

Jason considered. "You mean he's ageless because he believes himself to be ageless?"

"If his power can alter reality on a more fundamental level, Jason, then yes, that could be possible. He 'convinces' his body not to age. This is all speculation on my part, but--"

"No, it makes sense." Some of Jason's guilt and frustration retreated. "It's been hard fighting him, and this could explain why. We can meet him only on the mental stage, but he has other ways to anchor his control."

Debby turned around, drawing herself up straight. "If I had been on the fence about allowing your friends the use of this house, this would have pushed me over. And as much as it still disturbs me, I will consider becoming a willing participant."

Jason smiled, though it wavered. "Thank you, Mrs. Radson, I really appreciate your support."

Lydia breathed in ragged gasps and irregular pants as she crawled across the hard stones, her body shaking, her hips writhing. Her pussy was heavy with disembodied demonic cock that impaled her with no mercy, heedless of her movements.

Lydia paused, shook, and collapsed, panting in orgasmic fury into the unfeeling stones. She closed her eyes and waited for it to pass, but her hips jerked as the member buried in her cunt refused to relent, fucking her just as hard as before. Her pleasure rose once more in her aching folds as she struggled to her hands and knees.

She reached the wall at the place where she saw the demons come and go. Her hands slapped against the unyielding stone, fingers curling and nails scraping as she tried to claw her way up. Her nails found purchase on an irregularity in the stone, and she rose on shaking legs, the unearthly phallus squeezed tighter into her cunt.

Suddenly the wall gave way, and she fell forward. Powerful arms caught her and pushed her back. She lifted her wide eyes and beheld the terrible demon that had caught her trying to escape.

She trembled even as her pussy convulsed in another orgasm. "N-no ... I wa ... nng ... I didn't ..."

The words could not survive the chaos in her mind. She did not understand that strange compulsion that had come over her, or why she needed to escape the inescapable.

The incubus forced her to the floor. She writhed and whimpered as her pussy was pounded by the disembodied phallus. Her arms strained, fighting against the taloned hands that pinned her wrists to the floor like iron bands.

Her body shuddered, and her legs flailed. She kicked at the demon's chest, the need to flee overwhelming her once more. Her face twisted in confusion as her own thoughts tried to disavow her actions. Wicked Lydia! Sinful Lydia! Redemption will never be yours! The thoughts roiled and seared her psyche, radiating out into the ethereal void.

Another creature moved to her side. She stared wide-eyed at the succubus that descended upon her. She flinched as her arm was pricked. Her muscles slid from her control as her mind became awash in gray. As the gray faded to peaceful black, a single thought liberated itself and flickered into the ethereal continuum.

Charles let go of Lydia's wrists and drew back on his knees, panting and rubbing the spot on his solar plexus where Lydia had kicked him. To his left, the maid withdrew the hypodermic needle from Lydia's arm and pressed a cotton ball to the entry point. Charles reached between Lydia's legs and turned off the vibrating dildo, then undid the straps that held it in place.

"What happened to her, Prophet?" the maid asked.

Charles withdrew the dildo. It glistened with Lydia's copious moisture. "I am not sure." He looked down. Lydia's breathing had slowed to normal, her body still. "When did this start?"

"About a half hour ago, Prophet." The maid placed a band-aid over the cotton ball. She took the dildo from Charles as she stood. "She was fine before that. That is all I know."

Charles stood. "Keep a close eye on her. But do not sedate her again unless you hear from me."

"Yes, Prophet, of course."

Charles was starting to hate the title "Prophet." He wondered if letting his staff indulge in such things for so long had contributed to the cult's fanaticism.

Charles dreaded the prospect of contacting Victor again and incurring more of his wrath. He could not recall ever seeing Victor so on edge. Yet if Lydia had been disrupting Victor's plans once more, Charles would hear about it soon enough. He was thankful for his cell phone's silence.

Halloween could not come fast enough to suit him that year.

Jason was grateful to see that the garage door was down when he returned home. It meant his father was likely done with whatever chores he had to do there. Jason took his bike inside and stashed the Book under some camping gear before entering the house.

His mother met him with little more than a glance at the clock and a glare. His father was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear muffled noises from the basement. Jason retreated to his room.

He had almost hoped that his mother would yell at him for something. He needed the distraction. When it was quiet, he could sense a trickle of emotion over the link from Melinda, like a tiny cry for help shouted across a chasm. He was grateful that his sharper senses had little to do with emotions, though it pained him to think what Cassie was sensing.

Jason heard the doorbell ring downstairs and tensed.

He stood by the door to his room and listened. He heard the front door open, then nothing. The silence was unnerving. Unless his mother was whispering, he should have heard something.

"Jason?"

His heart thumped at his mother's voice. He grasped the pendant under his shirt and closed his eyes. He still saw a dark, musty corner of the garage through the eye of the Book. He suddenly wanted to run away. The feeling faded when he let go of the pendant and cracked opened the door. "Yes, Mom?"

"There is someone at the door for you."

Jason could hear little but his own heart in his ears. His mother's voice was far more casual than it should be for an unexpected visitor on a weekend when she was so upset. "Who is it?"

"It's your school counselor, Jason. He says it's important. Come down now and talk to him while I get dinner started."

Jason entertained the notion of grabbing his bike from the garage and escaping through the back yard with the Book. Maybe Victor had taken Melinda to sap their power, and now he was going to force him to give up the Book somehow.

He cannot force you to give me up.

Jason gritted his teeth. Stop reading my thoughts!

Even if he tries, he cannot get the pendant from you like that. I am useless to him without it.

"Jason, don't make me come up there to get you!" Audrey declared.

Jason yanked open the door. "I'm coming, Mom."

Audrey watched him descend the stairs with an annoyed look on her face. She turned away and retreated into the kitchen just as Jason reached the bottom step. He turned towards the open front door, then glanced towards the basement door, wishing for the first time that his father would interfere.

Jason stepped into the frame of the front door.

Victor smiled. "Good afternoon, Jason. Would you please step outside for a moment? I believe we have something we need to discuss."

Jason considered insisting that Victor come inside, perhaps call his father in to witness the discussion, just to test how much Victor valued his precious secrecy.

Jason frowned and locked his face in that expression. He twisted the auto-lock tab and tested the outside handle before he stepped across the threshold and closed the door behind him. Victor stepped back, maintaining a polite distance between them. Jason folded his arms and said nothing.

"I believe we can make this very simple," Victor said. "There is something that I want. You already know this from your attempts to keep it from me. It was a well-played gambit on your part, but we have reached the end of this battle. Let's just end it now."

Jason remained silent out of a lack of ideas for an appropriate response rather than an act of defiance.

"Your ultimate agenda is of no consequence to me," said Victor. "I have no designs on you or anyone in the Harbingers. When I have completed my task, I will be gone. Had this artifact not been such a point of contention, I doubt our paths would have crossed, and Melinda would not be where she is now."

Jason recalled Ned's observation, and now he wondered as well: why was Victor bothering with negotiation?

His powers have limits, he heard the Book in his mind. The magic that binds your pendant to me is too strong for him to overcome.

"Melinda will be returned to you unharmed by tomorrow afternoon," said Victor.

"As opposed to what you are doing to her now?" Jason heard himself say, his voice tight.

"She is being shown what you and your friends are up against. I have no desire to take any of you as slaves, but you cannot continue disrupting my work, and you cannot continue to hold on to something that I need."

Jason was struck by Victor's polite manner. His approach was uncanny, unlike any other foe that the Harbingers had faced. "What if I did give you the Book now?"

And once again, he felt an urge to bolt.

I was right, you ARE afraid! Jason thought to the Book.

"I would also request the pendant as well," Victor said.

"Say I did that, too. What then?" This time, he felt only a vague, strained tension, like someone holding back an emotion.

"I would thank you for being so gracious and congratulate you for making the correct decision. I may consider releasing Melinda early in return for your generosity."

"And then?"

Victor spread his hands. "What else would there be? Our paths would no longer cross. It is unlikely we would ever meet again under any circumstances."

Jason believed it, as much as he knew his own name. Was it just Victor altering his perception? If he could ask, it likely was not.

Jason had little he could say. Even the smallest comment might reveal a clue as to how much the Harbingers knew of his "task." His own hope that Victor would reveal something had been dashed; Victor played his cards as close to the vest as Jason had.

"I can't decide right now," Jason said. "I'm sorry."

"Melinda will need to stay with me overnight, then."

Jason clenched his jaw and nodded.

"We will continue to use her. When she is returned, she will remember everything. She will remember how she was used like a sex toy."

Jason aborted his reply when he thought he caught just a slight tension in Victor's voice. So unusual did it seem that it stood out like a large sore.

"Or is it a case of where you doubt what is transpiring? That you doubt I would allow such things to be done to someone so young? You are waiting to have your proof tomorrow, perhaps?"

Jason's mind raced. Reply or don't reply? He was close to grasping something important.

Victor decided for him. "Very well. You will force me to keep her with us overnight. You will have your proof tomorrow, and then I hope you will reconsider. I wish you the best in consoling Melinda."

Victor turned away and marched down the walk.

The men in Melinda's room had shed their clothes and what little of their inhibitions they had. Their ages varied from late twenties to just shy of fifty. The oldest took Melinda in his arms, hugging her to his body and kissing her hard on the mouth.

As she returned the kiss, his hands reached past her waist and grasped her hips. He lifted her up until her feet left the floor. A cohort held her as he hooked his hands under her thighs and lifted her knees to his sides. Melinda drifted in a lusty haze as she was guided onto his cock. She moaned into his chest as he eased past wet folds that still ached for satisfaction.

The man smiled at her and helped her hump him as he stood. A cohort slapped Melinda's behind, eliciting tiny yelps that dissolved into deep moans, her body shivering in delight.

His hands tightened around her hips and paused her. He drew her close, burying his cock deep inside her as he side-stepped towards the bed. He sat down and grasped her around the waist, encouraging her to hump him again. Melinda did so with abandon, panting hard, squealing in pleasure.

Lynn and Kelly looked on from two chairs in the corner. Kelly fingered her pussy, just enough to keep herself wet and aroused. Lynn panted as she stroked herself hard, her moans rising as fast as her fingers moved. Kelly looked on with amusement. "You don't want to let our slave make you cum?"

"This is getting me too horny," Lynn breathed. "Watching that little twat get fucked so many times."

"Easy, Lynn."

Lynn stopped, leaving her fingers pressed to her glistening slit. She turned her head. "You're the one that wants to get back at her for--"

Kelly raised a hand and shook her head. "This is not revenge. Be mindful of what you are thinking and feeling."

Lynn sighed and nodded. "I'll try."

"Don't worry, you can have her first when they're done with her."

Lynn smiled and dipped her fingers into her pussy once more.

Jason sat down before his computer as soon as he returned to his room, but the screen was just a jumble of symbols that made little sense to him. He turned away and threw himself on the bed.

He tried to block everything out of his mind. The link was ever-present and could never be ignored; he was getting used to that. But now the Book lingered as well, a faint, pulsing thing at the edge of his perceptions. A grotesque thing, like a parasite that had latched on to him through the pendant.

He heard the telephone ring downstairs, faint through the closed door.

"Jason?"

Jason sighed. "What is it, Mom?!" he yelled, heedless of his mother's usual admonishments about such a thing.

"You have a phone call. And, young man, you have exactly five minutes on this call. One second over and you will hear it from me!"

Jason had leapt from his bed and grabbed the receiver by the time his mother concluded her short tirade. He yanked open the drawer and saw the LED glowing. "I've got it, Mom," he said into the phone.

He heard a sharp click, and the light went out.

"Jason, I'm sorry about this," said Cassie. "I don't usually call you this early and I hope I didn't get you into trouble with your parents."

"It's okay, Cassie, I need someone to talk to, even if just for a few minutes."

"But I have something I really need to ... I mean, what is it, Jason, what's wrong?"

Jason paused, almost insisted she talk first, then plunged ahead. "Victor was just here."

"Oh my goodness! Are you all right? He didn't ... the Book ..."

"It's still with me. He did what I had expected, which was to demand the Book again and imply he could do to any one of us what he's doing t-to Melinda right now." Jason cleared his throat to flush the quaver from it.

"Is he going to release her?"

"Yes. Even if I don't give him the Book now, he'll release her tomorrow."

"But don't you want her released?"

"Of course I do! What kind of question is that?"

"I didn't mean it that way! It was just from the sound of your voice, you seemed uncertain."

Jason sighed. "It's not what happened that has me confused, Cassie, it's how it happened. He was almost apologetic. He's holding all the cards, yet he's not playing his hand. And the Book ..."

Jason trailed off. The Book's presence throbbed.

"What about the Book?" Cassie asked.

Jason yanked the pendant out, cursing when it briefly snagged on his shirt. He lifted it over his head and threw it on the bed. The presence faded, protesting. "The damn Book. It's scared of Victor. Why would it be scared of anyone? I doubt it acted that way with Melissa. Why him?"

"Maybe it knows something about how Victor would use it," said Cassie.

"The Book struck me as amoral. It just wants to be used, it doesn't care by whom or for what cause. I feel like I'm on to something, but--"

"Jason, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I heard what your mother said. We don't have a lot more time on this call and I have something important to tell you."

Jason held back his initial heated reply, though his voice was still tight. "Of course, Cassie, go ahead."

"Jason, I was, well, keeping in contact with Melinda, just to make sure she's--" Cassie stopped. Jason heard a shaky, exhaled breath. "I-I'm sorry, just some of the things that are happening to her I just--"

"Can you get to the point?" Jason snapped.

"Yes, sorry. I sensed something else come over the link, like a flash of energy. I thought maybe it was one of the other Harbingers trying to give Melinda energy, and I was going to try to dissuade them since it's too little too late."

"And?"

"It wasn't them!" Cassie cried. "It was something else, like a call or a cry. Jason, I-I'm sure it was Stephanie!"

"Wait, what?"

"It was very weak. She couldn't have been far away. There was no way it could have come over the energy lines. I think Stephanie is there, too, in the same location as Melinda!"

Jason sat down on the foot of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, help me understand, what does this mean for the rest of us? Anything at all?"

"I don't know. It was like Stephanie was trying to say something. All I know right now is it has something to do with a 'prophet.'"

"Profit? As in money?"

"No, as in religion. A religious prophet."

Jason's eyebrows rose.

"Jason, I don't like what this could mean. If Victor is running his group like a religious cult, his people are going to be fanatically loyal to him. That's not--"

"Jason!" Audrey shouted.

"Cassie, I gotta go, bye!" Jason bolted from the bed and hung up the phone. "I'm off the phone, Mom!"

A heavy pause. Jason bit his lip. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes," Audrey said in a curt voice. "Do not make me come get you."

Jason sank back down on the foot of the bed and sighed, staring at the phone. "All right, Mom."

Lynn writhed in the chair, her back arching with her rising pleasure. Her breath was a sharp pant broken by short, quick sighs. She tilted her head back and let out another shrill moan, stretching her arms, hands pressed into the back of Melinda's head. She shivered and shoved Melinda's face into her aroused flesh.

"Mmmm ... uhhn ... wow ... she really does this well," Lynn cooed.

Kelly smiled. She watched Melinda's body rock to the rhythm of the cock that speared her from behind, riding him without breaking stride with Lynn.

"I know," Kelly said, her fingers slipping into her own pussy. "She was handling herself well with our male brethren."

Lynn turned her head and smirked. "No way she's only fourteen. She ... Ohhhh, yeah! Yeah, suck it, slave!"

"She is fourteen. She simply has a lot more sexual experience than her age suggests."

"And Prophet Charles was sooo worried about the innocent little girl," Lynn sneered. She looked down and grinned, spreading her legs further apart. Her fingers curled into Melinda's hair and mashed Melinda's face into her pussy. "Yeah, keep eating me out, slave ... oh yeah ... uhhngg ... yeah! ..."

Melinda gasped for air and let out little muffled whimpers as her cunt wrapped itself around the cock that had invaded it. She started to throb again, her orgasm a rolling fog of sexual bliss in her mind. She drank of Lynn's pussy as if dying of thirst, her tongue tireless as it lashed against Lynn's clit.

Lynn gasped, held her breath as she peaked, and let it go as a breathy cry. Her hips jerked, her hands holding Melinda's face pinned to her sex, until she was cumming so hard she could no longer think.

"Uhhhngg! Uhhngg! Ohhhh! S-stop ... ease off ... ohhh, wow ..."

Lynn let go of Melinda's hair. Melinda pulled back as the man behind her withdrew. She settled back on her knees and feet, looking up with a dreamy smile, her face wet and dripping.

"Satisfied?" Kelly asked with a tiny smirk.

"Oh, yeah," Lynn panted. "Are you sure we won't be able to keep her?"

"If the Glorious One wishes her released, that is His will," intoned Kelly.

"But can't we arrange something so we can, I don't know, have her now and then after that?"

Kelly spread her legs, then her labia with her fingers. She smiled at Melinda. "Another treat for you, slave." She waited until Melinda crawled towards her before looking back at Lynn. "We would need leave from the Glorious One, or his Prophet."

Lynn sighed. "Are you sure about that?"

Kelly watched Melinda settle between her legs. A slow sigh of contentment passed her lips as Melinda began to lick. "Mmmm ... Perhaps if we do a good enough job with our slave, we can request a reward."

Lynn smiled and gestured towards one of the men. He knelt behind Melinda and slid his cock inside her still oozing pussy. He grasped her hips and rocked her against his body. Lynn turned to Kelly. "Then we just need to keep filling her with as much cum as we can."

The convergent energy of the lines surged and writhed in contained fury within the hard earth beneath the Li'l Missy Inn. A whirl of controlled chaos whipped about in a frenzy, calm having finally left it for the last time, as it struggled to maintain its form. One moment the shape emerging from the coruscating energies would appear vaguely human, the next moment it would look little better than a cancerous blob.

Its form was not important in and of itself. It reached its tendrils through the lines and spidered out over Haven, touching the minds that were in its thrall, commanding then, seizing them when necessary. It required no form for that. Sometimes its formlessness and intangibility were frightening enough to those that it enchanted that it helped maintain obedience.

Yet its memories would not leave it alone: thoughts of what it once was, before surrendering it to this seething pool of power like one might strip off her clothes before diving into water. Its form would be symbolic, that it had crossed the threshold and gained enough power to have it all: past, present, and future.

It should have had the Book by now! It should have had the energies contained within! With that, it could end the interference by the Harbingers and thus remove the last obstacle from its path.

The Darkness seethed and roiled. Victor was too slow, too tentative, too caught up in his own ego and his own agenda. Only now did he think to take one of the Harbingers, and already he planned to return her, regardless of whether he obtained the Book. Stupid man!

It could not make Victor go any faster, not without attacking him. But it could keep the Harbingers off-balance. They had suffered one blow; the Darkness could push them a little further.

The Darkness had been gathering its strength through much of the day. It had reduced its presence in some minds to a tiny flicker. It nearly abandoned Terri Hollis, allowing itself just enough of a window to claim her when the crisis was over.

For once, that insufferable Principal had helped it. Even Penny had played along with its desires. She was foolish if she thought for even a second that it would not know what she was doing. The Darkness had allowed it only because Heather was a Harbinger. Now it made use of Penny for its own ends, sending her on a little "errand" while Heather was away.

It could even tolerate the fact that this would assist Laura Bendon.

It had not forgotten the other thorn in its side. It was not sure how far it could get, not when the brat finally realized what power he could draw upon from the past. Yet the memory behind it could be used against him. It readied Sandra to make the attempt.

Now the accursed teens were home and within its grasp. From within the cauldron of raw supernatural energy, the Darkness reached out its hand.

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