index


Message-ID: <57212asstr$1201072201@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:21:18 -0600
From: A Strange Geek <astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net>
User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.12 (X11/20070719)
Subject: {ASSM} Melissa's Rite 16/31 (mf mF MF ff fF fsolo teen inc oral voy mc nc toys humil magic)
Lines: 1175
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:10:01 -0500
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d




<1st attachment, "Chapter16.txt" begin>

WARNING: This is a work of erotic fiction. It contains depictions of
nudity and graphic sex.

Author: A Strange Geek
Title: Melissa's Rite
Universe: Haven
Summary: The Darkness has found a new ally in Melissa, a 15 year old
girl bent on revenge on those that have wronged her. The others must
stop her before she gains more power and takes control of them all.

Part: 16 of 31
Keywords: mf, mF, MF, ff, fF, fsolo, teen, inc, oral, voy, mc, nc,
toys, humil, magic

Copyright A Strange Geek, 2007

Feedback welcome! Please email me at astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net
( lose YOUR MIND to email me )

Or to send anonymous feedback, use the form at bottom of HTML version:

http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/A_Strange_Geek/www/novels/MRite/Chapter16.html



---------------

The limo pulled up to the curb a block away from Susan's house. Cassie,
Ned, and Diane climbed out of the back seat.

Cassie looked around as they stepped away from the car. "Okay, there's
two streets here where Melissa might approach from," she said,
pointing.

"I'll take this road," Ned said, jerking his thumb behind him.

"And I'll take the other road," Diane said.

"And I'll be in Scotland before ye."

Cassie smiled faintly at Ned. She took a deep breath. "All right. You
got the cellphones I gave you. My number is the first one on the
speed-dial list, the other phone is the second, so either of you can
alert the other after me."

Ned saluted. "Gotcha, chief."

"But don't stick around waiting for me, okay? Run if you see Melissa. I
can always have Harry pick me up right at the door and then swing
around for you two."

Diane nodded quickly. She was trying hard not to show how desperately
nervous she felt.

"All right. Well, here goes nothing."

Cassie started walking briskly towards Susan's house, forcing herself
to hold her head up high. Diane was not the only one trying to hide her
anxiety. Behind her, Ned and Diane separated, each running down a
different street and taking position near the intersection.

Cassie's heart was racing. She wasn't sure exactly what she should say.
She had been thinking about it all day and rejected countless
approaches. For all she knew, Susan's mother would just slam the door
in her face before she had the chance to gain the woman's trust. If
that was even possible in the wake of Melissa's tortures.

She didn't hesitate when she reached the front walk. She couldn't
afford to. She held her head aloft and pretended a confidence that she
did not quite have. As much as it chafed to do so, she had to rely on
techniques her mother had taught her in dealing with people.

"Act forceful and confident," her mother had told her. "Act as if you
have a right to be there, because most often you do. Act as if it is a
privilege for the other person to be in your presence, because most
often that is true as well."

Cassie marched to the front door and rang the doorbell.

There was a long pause. Cassie started to worry that no one was home,
but then there was a click, and the door finally opened.

Debby Radson stood still with the door halfway open. She peered at
Cassie oddly for a moment. Cassie braced for what she thought would be
the inevitable door slam, but Debby finally opened the door the rest of
the way, albeit slowly and cautiously.

Cassie's breath caught in her throat. The turmoil that the woman had
been through was obvious. Her eyes were dark and sad. Her free hand
visibly trembled as it roamed anxiously, as if she didn't know what to
do with it. She wore shorts that showed off her legs and a top that
bared her midriff, but she looked vaguely embarrassed to appear so
exposed.

And, of course, there was the Dark Aura. Cassie likened it to an angry
swarm of bees that left little trails in their wakes as they spun about
Debby's body.

"Yes?" said Debby, a nervous edge to her voice. "May I help you?"

"Mrs. Radson, I need to talk to you about something rather urgent,"
Cassie said, saying the first words that popped into her head. "It's
about Melissa."

Debby's eyes widened and her hand tightened around the knob. The door
swung a few inches as if she intended to close it. "Who are you?" she
demanded.

"My name is Cassie Kendall. I go to the same school as ..."

"Kendall? Not ... not the same Kendalls that live on the mesa?"

"Yes, ma'am, they're my parents," Cassie said after a brief hesitation,
a forlorn tone in her voice. "I hope you don't hold that against me."

"Oh! No, not at all. It's just ..." Debby peered hard at Cassie again.
" ... it's just ... I thought ..."

Cassie felt increasingly uncomfortable at the scrutiny. "Um, yes?"

"Oh ... nothing. Melissa is not here, Cassie, if you're looking for
her."

"No, I'm not. In fact, I'd rather she not be here. I need to talk to
you about her. About ... what she wants."

A small gasp escaped Debby's lips. The doorknob rattled as she
quivered.

"Mrs. Radson ... I-I know about the terrible things Melissa is doing to
you. I can't tell you any more out here in the open. Please let me come
in."

Debby gave Cassie a stricken look. "Melissa sent you ..."

"No, Mrs. Radson, she didn't. Please, believe me, she didn't send me
here."

That was something Cassie had never thought of, that Susan's mother
would think this was some sort of trick or setup by Melissa. Now Debby
was again scrutinizing Cassie intently. Was the woman looking for
something? If she were a Witch, could she possibly see some of the same
things the Harbingers could?

"I don't have an Aura, Mrs. Radson," Cassie blurted desperately.

Debby looked taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course you do."

Cassie's eyes widened in alarm. She glanced down at herself.

"Everyone has an aura, Cassie. But yours is rather hard for me to see."

Cassie looked up. "Oh, you mean ..." She trailed off, but relaxed. Now
she understood. Some did claim they could see a sort of aura around
others. Its layers and patterns were supposedly insights into one's
personality. "Yes, I see. You can read them?"

Debby nodded with a faint smile. "Here, come inside. Maybe I can get a
better reading from you with a little preparation."

She opened the door wide. Cassie smiled and stepped inside.



"Heather? Are you all right?" Melinda asked tentatively.

Heather was trembling in her seat. Her thighs were parted. Each time
the bus hit a bump or lurched with the changing gears, it made her
pussy rise again. She was panting lightly. "No, I'm not," she said
curtly.

"Brad's not still affecting you, is he?" Jason asked.

"She doesn't have an Aura anymore, Jason," Melinda said.

Heather stared at Melinda. "What do you mean 'anymore?'"

Melinda looked uneasy. "When Brad was messing with you in the parking
lot, you had one. A faint one. It started to fade after Richie tackled
Brad."

"But it's gone now, right?"

"Yeah. But it was really creepy, Heather. It reminded me too much of
you under Nyssa."

"It's not like that," Heather said. "And to answer Jason's question,
he's not controlling me now, but he did affect me. It's fading, but not
very fast. I'm still ... " She glanced around her. A few of the other
students were looking at her and whispering comments to each other. Her
cheeks glowed. "Well, you know."

Melinda sighed. "Just great," she piped, folding her arms.

"What's your problem, runt?"

"I know what you're going to want when we get home."

Heather swallowed and shook her head. "No, Melinda, not this time. I
wish I could."

Melinda looked at her sister in surprise. "Huh?"

The bus lurched through an intersection. Heather moaned. A girl nearby
giggled. "If I wanted you, Melinda, you'd be feeling it by now," she
said in a husky voice.

"Oh, ick, you want Brad, don't you?"

Heather swallowed. Her eyes flicked between Melinda and Jason. "Not ...
n-not him specifically. Just what he has."

Melinda stared in confusion.

Jason leaned over and whispered in her ear, "His cock, Melinda."

Melinda's eyes widened. "Ohhh ..."

"I doubt you can provide that, runt," Heather muttered.

Melinda looked from Heather to Jason and back. "Oh, not again!"

Heather said nothing and spread her legs further apart in a vain
attempt to relieve the growing pressure in her sex.

"This is so not fair ..."

"What?" Jason asked innocently. Melinda glared at him. He understood at
once. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh.' Shit, why does this always happen to me?"

"Happen to you? Give me a break, Melinda!" Heather hissed.

"Heather, there's no place for ..." Jason trailed off. He turned his
head. The others that were eavesdropping suddenly looked away.

Jason sighed. He wondered when this would start to draw the attention
of the other students. Already they were gossiping about the ones that
had suffered under Nyssa's control. It was only a matter of time before
they figured out that something was going on with his circle of
friends.

He personally didn't care what they thought of himself. He was more
concerned with it getting back to his mother, especially where she
already thought that lots of girls were interested in him.

"There's no place to do it," Jason whispered. "That's the problem."

"What about the place we did it before?" Heather asked.

"It's probably still wet and muddy from Tuesday, since it's a bit
sheltered. And it's already getting chilly again this afternoon. We're
supposed to finally have a hard freeze tonight."

"Jason, I don't care about the cold."

"What about the place where we have our meetings?" Melinda asked.

"It's Thursday," Jason said. "Remember, the letter said we can't use it
on Thursdays."

"Look, let's use the same place we did before," Heather said. "I'll go
get a towel or something to lie on. Please, Jason, I need this."

Jason said nothing, but his cock already stirred in anticipation.

"Stop it," Melinda snapped. "You're doing it again."

"Melinda, I'm a little desperate, okay? Back off."

Melinda huffed indignantly.

Heather sighed and gave her little sister a pleading look. "Remember
what I told you? What I promised about Jason?"

Melinda's expression softened. "I remember," she said in a small voice.

"I meant it. I don't want to take him from you. I just need to get this
out of my head."

Jason knew that Heather's desire was affecting him again. Ever since
she had mentioned it, he was growing more enamored of the idea despite
his misgivings. He fidgeted and shifted in his seat as his cock grew
hard.

"I'm coming with you," Melinda said.

Heather stared. "What??"

"You heard me! If you're going to get some, so am I!"

Melinda snuggled up against Jason, throwing an arm around him
possessively and sticking her tongue out at Heather. Jason shivered in
growing sexual need, his cock aching and pulsing in the confines of his
jeans.



Cassie sat at a tiny table in a small alcove that looked like it used
to be a pantry. The shelves were filled with a menagerie of arcane
artifacts: crystals, glass orbs, bags of dried herbs, candles of
varying colors, shapes, and sizes. One of those candles flickered in
the center of the table, casting a subdued, dancing light.

Now wearing her ceremonial robe, Debby Radson moved in a rough circle
about the table. Cassie watched in utter fascination. She first tossed
a small patch of dirt on the floor at one point on the compass. She
then moved to the next, and splashed some water into a cup. Next, she
bent down and blew lightly into a similar receptacle. Finally, she
dropped a piece of kindling into a ceramic bowl and tossed a lighted
match after it. The fire crackled and popped as it flared up briefly.

"This is called 'casting a circle,' Cassie," Debby said as she sat down
opposite her guest. "It's to help protect this space from outside
influences."

Cassie nodded.

Debby smiled faintly. "I know you probably don't believe in any of this
stuff."

"Oh, no, Mrs. Radson, I, um ... well ... there's a lot more I believe
in than maybe you'd think."

Debby lay her arms across the table, the candle between them. She
turned her palms up. "Cassie, if you would give me your hands? This
works better with contact."

Cassie hesitated. She watched the Darkness creep around Debby's arms.
Her heart thumped hard as she reached her hands across the table. She
tensed as their hands touched.

Cassie could see the little tendrils of black barely touching her skin,
but she couldn't feel it. The Harbingers had long since established
that the Darkness could not simply leap from one person to the other
from nonsexual contact, but it was a bit unnerving just the same.

"Now, just sit still, Cassie, and let me view you through the heat
rising from the candle flame," said Debby. "It helps me resolve it a
bit ... I ..."

Debby's eyes slowly widened, and her mouth dropped open.

Cassie shifted nervously. "Um ... i-is something wrong, Mrs. Radson?"

Debby grasped Cassie's hands very tightly, causing Cassie to utter a
tiny yelp in surprise. She had to resist the urge to pull back. "Sit
still for another moment, please," Debby breathed, staring raptly. "I
thought I saw ... great Goddess ... oh my ..."

Cassie was on pins and needles. What was Susan's mother seeing?

"Cassie ... are you a Witch?"

Cassie nearly flinched in surprise. "What?? Er, no, I'm not. Why do you
ask?"

Debby let go of Cassie's hands and withdrew her arms from the table.
She drew in a shaky breath.

"What is it?" Cassie demanded, her voice rising.

"Cassie, I have never seen an aura quite like yours. The layer that
represents your dream state is /incredibly/ strong! You might ... no,
you /must/ have a Gift."

Cassie blushed. "Oh, that ..."

Debby looked excited. "Cassie, you have it? You can see things in your
dreams?"

Cassie nodded. "Yes. That's how I knew what Melissa is doing to you and
Susan. And how my friends and I know about the book she's looking for."

Debby paled. "Your friends?"

"Yes. Mrs. Radson, there's something happening in Haven. There's
something here. Something terrible. We're trying to fight it. Or at
least prevent other people from falling to ... Mrs. Radson? Are you
okay?"

Tears were trickling down Debby's face. "Somebody else knows," she
whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "/Somebody else knows/. Thank
the Goddess!"

"Mrs. Radson, do you know about it, too? Please, we need all the
information we can get."

Debby nodded and held up a hand, sniffling. "J-just a moment ..." She
wiped at her face and tried to compose herself. "Yes, Cassie, there is
something here. Something evil. Some sort of entity."

Cassie felt a chill down her spine. "E-entity?" she asked in a tiny
voice.

"That's the only way I can think to describe it. I don't know a lot
about it. But I do know that Melissa is looking for a ritual. The Rite
of Power. Something to tap the energies at the node here."

"The node? You mean were the lines of force converge at the Inn?"

"Yes, you know about that too!" Debby said excitedly. Her expression
immediately became grave. She shivered and shook her head violently.
"The spell she is looking for ... the cost is too high. Too terrible.
No one sane would do it!"

Cassie swallowed. "I'm not sure Melissa is exactly sane, Mrs. Radson,
not if she's doing these horrible things to you."

Debby bolted from her seat, her chair falling backwards. It struck and
shattered the cup that held the water. Cassie jumped out of her own
seat in surprise. "She can't have the book! The Rite was done before.
My mother ..."

Debby paused, looking as if she were searching for words.

"What about your mother, Mrs. Radson?" Cassie prompted, trying not to
sound impatient.

It was a few moments before Debby spoke again, as if she were still
trying to chase down a thought, but it was not quite coming to her. "Um
.... my mother was there when the Rite was last performed. She ... she
didn't want anyone to do it again, not after what she saw. She hid the
book so no one would be able to perform the Rite again."

Cassie was scared. Not of Susan's mother, but of the implications of
what the woman was telling her. It sounded like the Rite had done
something it shouldn't have. Was that when the Darkness had come to
Haven? Had Mrs. Radson's mother released something terrible from the
node? But what did that mean if the Rite were performed a second time?

"Mrs. Radson, about ... a-about this entity," Cassie began in a shaky
voice. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"I wish I could, Cassie. My mother wouldn't talk about it. By the time
I sensed an evil presence in this town, she had passed on. She took
that knowledge with her. I-I started to learn more about it, but I've
only barely scratched the surface." Debby trembled. Her eyes filled
with tears again. "I-It wasn't enough to keep Melissa out of my head.
Goddess help me, I'm so close to breaking, Cassie. To telling her about
the clue. I can't keep doing this. I n-never thought sex could be used
like this ..."

Cassie had a thousand questions about the Rite, but she had to
concentrate on her task. "What clue are you talking about, Mrs.
Radson?"

"What? I ... why do you want to know about that?"

"Because my friends and I want to find the book."

Debby looked horrified.

"Not to use it! To keep it away from Melissa. We'll destroy it if we
have to."

Debby shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "You can't. My mother
tried. It won't burn. It can't be torn. Nothing. The power in its pages
is too great to ..."

"The clue, Mrs. Radson," Cassie said desperately. "What about it? What
is it?"

"It shouldn't exist!" Debby cried. "I should have destroyed it! My
mother couldn't leave well enough alone. She hid the book and pined for
it afterward. She insisted I have a means to find it, so she passed on
this clue to me, and I ..."

Cassie gasped when her cell phone warbled. She yanked it out, nearly
fumbling it to the floor in her panic. "Hello?"

"All hands, red alert!" Ned cried at the other end. "Sensors detect
enemy Melissa approaching with Susan /and/ some other chick in tow!"

"Oh /damn/ ... Ned, get away now. Call Diane. I'll get Harry." She hung
up. "I've got to go. Melissa's coming."

Cassie turned to leave, but Debby grabbed her arm. "Wait! Wait!"

"I can't! Melissa ..."

"Please! Let me give you the clue so Melissa won't get it from me!
/Please!/"

Cassie's heart raced. "A-all right, but hurry!"

Debby fled the room, Cassie on her heels. They bounded up the stairs to
the bedroom. Cassie shivered as she recognized the room from her dream
vision.

Debby ran to the dresser. She yanked the bottom drawer open and pulled
up the false bottom. A set of handwritten pages tied with a string was
shoved against the left side of the drawer. Next to it was a long, thin
wooden box that once contained the pendant Melissa now carried. Just
peeking out from the back of the drawer was a sealed, yellowed
envelope.

Debby extracted the envelope. For a moment, her gaze lingered on the
pages, and she contemplated handing them to Cassie as well. There was
nothing in that journal that could help Melissa directly, but she was
unsure whether it would help Cassie and her friends either. And there
was no time to explain what it was.

She finally disregarded them and replaced the false bottom, shoving the
drawer closed with a bang. She stood up and thrust the envelope into
Cassie's hands.

"It's in there, still sealed," said Debby. "I never thought of opening
it. Just keep it from Melissa. Don't speak about it where she can hear.
Don't let her know you have it! And if you do find the book, be very
careful with it. The Rite is not the only spell in there, and there are
some just as terrible and dangerous!"

Cassie nodded quickly, clutching the envelope to her bosom. "Thank you,
Mrs. Radson, thank you very much! Now, I have to leave ..."

"Wait, there's something else you need to know," Debby said. "Something
.... something about the ..."

"Yes, yes, what is it?" Cassie demanded, her voice going from urgent to
frenzied.

Debby blanched. "I-I ... I can't remember ... it's something important,
but I can't remember! What's wrong with ...?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have time! I have to leave!"

Cassie leapt out of the room. Debby followed. "Use the back door in the
kitchen! The alley on the other side of the fence exits onto Pine
Drive."

"Thank you!" Cassie called out without looking back. She pulled out her
cellphone and speed-dialed Harry just as she burst out the back door
and onto the rear patio.



Heather panted hard, her body writhing atop Jason's legs. Her pussy
dripped onto one of two large beach towels spread out under Jason's
body, the insides of her thighs damp. Her head bobbed up and down with
wild abandon on Jason's cock. She moaned continuously, savoring the
taste of him against her tongue.

Melinda was panting as well, her naked body straddling Jason's head.
Eager, wet sounds emanated from where Jason's face lay buried against
her mound. She barely even noticed the growing chill of the afternoon
air that she had so vociferously complained about when she had first
stripped off her clothes.

Jason lay in a haze of lust, his mind addled by their combined
influence over him. His only thought at the moment was their pleasure.
At the same time, he writhed as his own pleasure rose at Heather's
frantic ministrations.

Heather was still being driven by her own overpowering desires. She
drove him deep into her mouth as if starved. But even as this satisfied
one craving, it made the other grow stronger. She moaned and shivered
the more she imagined Jason's cock in her pussy. Yet her cunt was
already straining so close to climax that it would not take much to
send her over. She didn't want to deprive Jason of enjoyment by
satisfying only herself.

Finally, the urge became to great. With a whimper she drew her head up,
his cock popping from her mouth. Breathing hard and shaking with
desire, she fumbled for the condom and managed to slide it onto his
cock with her trembling hands. She climbed atop him and impaled herself
upon his manhood, a high-pitched moan escaping her lips.

Jason uttered a muffled groan when his cock was abruptly cocooned in
slick heat. His tongue sank deeper into Melinda's folds, bringing a
squeal of delight from her.

Heather humped madly on Jason's cock, perspiration breaking out over
her body despite the chill to the air. She closed her eyes and arched
her back as she slammed herself against him, her pleasure rocketing
upwards.

Melinda was rising precipitously as well, her moans dissolving into
strident whimpers as she hovered closer to the edge. Without even
thinking, she pushed her mound against her lover's face. She gasped
loudly as she strained hard, and cried out as she released. Her muscles
clenched as she came, her pussy throbbing hard and making her body
jerk.

Seconds later, Heather gushed, gasping for breath at the strength of
her climax. She wriggled her hips against Jason, who moaned into
Melinda's cunt as his cock spasmed and pulsed inside Heather.

"Ohmigod," Melinda moaned softly as she slowly fell forward and into a
heap on the towel, where she lay panting for breath.

Heather pulled herself from Jason and fell to her side. Jason lay limp
on the towel. None of them could speak for another minute.

"I think ... that worked ..." Heather breathed, still catching her
breath.

Melinda moaned. "Uhhh ... i-it better have."

Jason started to recover his senses, now that both girls had been
satisfied. He quietly took care of the spent condom and struggled to a
seated position. "Another lingering effect," he said, still sounding a
bit breathless himself.

Melinda stirred and sat up. "Huh? What effect?"

"Have you noticed how we orgasm in sync all the time?" he asked. "Even
after the House? I don't think that's normally possible statistically
speaking."

Heather stared at Jason for a moment, then began laughing. Melinda just
rolled her eyes.

"What?" Jason asked, bewildered.

"Jason, you are the only boy I know that would do it with two girls at
once and talk about statistics afterward," Heather said.

"You are /such/ a nerd, Jason," Melinda commented loftily.

Jason blushed, even though he knew they were just teasing him.

Still giggling, Heather stood up. "Jason, thank you. That really
helped. I ..."

She froze. Right before her line of vision, some tall grasses at the
top of the embankment rustled, then became still.

Melinda gave Heather an odd look. "What is it?"

"Shh!"

Melinda exchanged a worried look with Jason. Heather continued to stare
at the clump of grasses, the stalks dry and brown. Fluffy seed pods
fluttered in the breeze like cotton.

"I thought I saw something, but ... " Heather shook her head. "I guess
it must have been the wind."

"It better have been!" Melinda piped, scrabbling for her clothing.

Jason reached for his clothes as well. "I think this will have to be
the last time we do this here. I mean, it's supposed to be secluded,
but it's still out in the open."

"Yeah, and it's cold, too," Melinda complained as she pulled on her
jeans. "Brrr!"

"Yeah, like you even noticed that when Jason was licking your pussy,"
Heather said with a wry grin as she dressed.

"Oh shut up!"

"Um, Heather, are you going to need this every time Brad does this to
you?" Jason asked tentatively.

"Oh, you'd just love that, wouldn't you?" Melinda asked with a smirk.

"I'm really hoping Cassie comes up with something from Susan's mother,
Jason," Heather replied. "I mean, no offense, but I don't think I can
do this with you every day."

"Not to mention she's running out of condoms."

"Ha-ha, very funny, runt."

"I hope you're not going to get in trouble for this," Jason said. He
had one corner of a beach towel in his hand. Bits of mud and dirt were
stuck to the underside.

"Mom won't be looking for these until next summer," Heather said.
"We'll get them laundered before then."

Nevertheless, Jason did his best to scrape off as many of the larger
chunks as he could. He folded the towels neatly and handed them to
Heather. "I better get home in case Cassie is trying to call me. She
should be done with Susan's mother soon."

"I really hope she's okay," Melinda said. "Call us when you hear
anything, Jason?"

"He can't, runt, we're not allowed to use the phone."

"Well, shit, I don't want to wait until tomorrow to hear!"

"Look, if something really bad happened, I'll find a way to reach you,"
said Jason. "If you don't hear anything, you can assume everyone is
fine."

"But I want to know what she found out!"

"Hey, no one wants to know more than I do," Heather said. "Not when
Brad is going to pull the same thing on me tomorrow."

"How do you know that?" Jason asked.

"Because I can see it, that's why. It started coming to me not long
after we finished."

"Same thing happened after you boinked me," Melinda said. "You get off
on this or something?"

"Wow, you're a regular comedian, huh?"

"Wait, she may have something there," Jason said.

Heather looked shocked. "I do /not/ get off on this!"

"No no, I don't mean it quite that way. I meant that sex has something
to do with your ability. Like it makes it more powerful or something."

Heather stared. "You're not serious."

"Well, it's a theory, anyway. Maybe that's the real reason you're
oversexed."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Great."

"Let's go, I'm getting cold," Melinda complained, chafing her hands
against her arms.

The three of them climbed up the embankment and onto the lot where the
House once stood. They paused and looked around.

"Kinda hard to believe it was here," Heather said softly.

"Yeah, I know," agreed Jason.

Melinda shivered. "It gives me the creeps. Let's /go./"

They headed away from the lot for the last time.



Cassie frustrated the curiosity of both Ned and Diane when she insisted
on leaving the envelope sealed until she had a chance to talk to Jason.
Her first attempts to reach him failed, as he was not home yet.

"I also don't want to take any chances," she had said to them. "Just in
case something odd happens when I open this."

Once she got home, it was not until later in the evening that she
finally got away from her parents and their insufferable friends for a
private moment to call him. She speed-dialed his number on her cell
phone and pulled the envelope carefully from its hiding place under the
mattress.

"I'm sorry I couldn't call before now," Cassie said with a sigh. "I
really hate these functions my parents hold in the mansion."

"It's all right. Mom mentioned you had tried to call me, so I figured
you were all right. So what happened?"

Cassie told him.

"You didn't get a chance to ask Mrs. Radson about whether she could do
something for Heather?"

"Oh no, I never had a chance to ask her. I didn't have the time. When
Ned called and ..."

"It's all right, I'm glad you left when you did."

"How is Heather doing?" Cassie asked anxiously.

"Well, she's better now. But she had a run-in with Brad ..." Jason
proceeded to tell Cassie about the altercation in the parking lot.

"Oh, goodness ... is Heather okay?"

"Um, yeah, sorta. Had to, uh, help her take care of things again."

"Oh? Oh my!" Cassie blushed. "I'm sorry."

"Well, to be honest, Cassie, it wasn't exactly unpleasant for me."

Cassie managed a nervous giggle. Unfortunately, this only set off her
own thoughts about Ned. When her pussy started to tingle, she quickly
changed the subject. "Anyway, Jason, about this envelope she gave me
...."

"Have you opened it yet?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you first. You think it's safe?"

"At this point, if we get that paranoid, we won't be able to do
anything."

"Maybe Richie should hold it," Cassie said. "Maybe he can pick up
something from it. Then ..."

"Richie's not in the Harbingers anymore, Cassie," Jason said firmly.
"And he won't be until he takes care of something."

Cassie bit her lip but said nothing.

"Please, open the envelope."

"Okay. Hang on ..."

Cassie put the phone down and picked up a jeweled letter opener she had
borrowed just for this moment. With a sense of both trepidation and
excitement, she carefully slit open the envelope and extracted a
brittle piece of stationery, folded once. She slowly opened it. Her
eyes widened in surprise.

Cassie picked up the phone and said in bemusement, "It's a poem."

"A /what?/"

Cassie stared at the four cursive, hand-written lines, arranged in
rhyming meter. "A poem, Jason. It's short, I'll just read it: /It is
one among the masses; it lies opposite the light; see where it
ensconces; see it hidden in plain sight./"

At first there was silence, until Cassie held the phone closer to her
ear and heard faint whispering, as if Jason were talking to himself.
"Jason, do you have any idea what it means?"

"Not yet. Read it again slowly."

Cassie did so. As she did, she heard typing in the background.

"I'll have to think about this a bit," said Jason.

"Want me to bring this to school tomorrow?"

"No. In fact, I wonder if you should destroy it."

Cassie was horrified at the thought. Despite how Jason felt about
Richie, she wanted to see what he could make of it if he really did
have some sort of psychometric ability. "Jason, I don't think Melissa
knows I have this. And if she does find out, she wouldn't know that I
destroyed it and would come after me anyway. You said yourself we
shouldn't get paranoid."

"Okay, but please put it somewhere safe. I'll memorize this so I don't
have to cart around a copy of it. Is there anything else, Cassie?"

"Well ... I was going to ask ... did you look up that information for
Richie?"

There was silence at the other end for a long moment before Jason
finally spoke. "Yeah, I did. The previous owner of Richie's house was a
fellow named Doctor Frank Hovath. He was a licensed hypnotherapist. And
he had a wife named Sarah."

"Oh my goodness! Then Richie /did/ see something!" Cassie said
excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess he did. Sarah did file for divorce at one point, but a
few days later, she shot and killed him."

Cassie gasped. "What?!"

"It was apparently big news back then," continued Jason. There was
clicking in the background. "I found this article from nine years ago
in the local news archives. She was charged with murder, but she was
declared mentally unfit to stand trial. The reason was her unshakable
belief that she killed her husband in self defense when he tried to use
mind control powers on her. She went on to claim that he was just part
of some bigger conspiracy involving the whole town."

"Oh no ..."

"The official diagnosis was severe paranoid schizophrenia with
psychotic episodes. She was committed to a mental hospital in another
state. I can't find anything else about her after that. It's like she
just disappeared."

Cassie was so shocked that she could not respond.

"Well, there it is. Seems now we know what happens to someone that
tries to say anything about what's really going on in Haven."

Cassie finally found her voice, though it was rather shaky at first.
"Jason, this means Richie has something sort of amazing power! He can
see into the past! He was right, this isn't object reading, it's
something more."

Jason said nothing.

"We can't ignore it!" Cassie cried, exasperated.

"I'll tell Richie what I found out so he doesn't think he's crazy,"
said Jason in a flat voice.

"That's not what I mean."

"What else am I supposed to do? Yeah, I can see it now. Hey, Richie,
come on back. So what if you're enslaving your teacher, you have some
super-awesome power that makes up for it!"

"I didn't mean it that way, Jason!" Cassie snapped. "And he's not
enslaving her, not really. He's just taking advantage of her fantasy."

"I think that's splitting hairs."

"But ..."

"Cassie, he even so much as admitted to me that he was going over to
Miss Davis' house again this afternoon!"

"Then maybe we should help him instead of condemning him. Richie's not
evil, he just doesn't have much resistance to temptation. Miss Davis
didn't make it any easier on him from what you told me."

Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He remembered what
Richie had told him once: stop measuring him by someone else's
standards. But he could not get past Richie's betrayal to Nyssa. That
was not just giving into temptation, it was a complete failure to think
of anyone other than himself.

At the same time, he couldn't forget how Richie had come to Heather's
defense. Richie technically had no obligation to her or any of the
Harbingers. If Jason hadn't been there to witness it himself and see
the look of sheer rage on Richie's face, he would have accused Richie
of grandstanding just to get in good with the others again.

"We can't afford to lose anyone from the group," Cassie said in a small
voice. "And you told me he defended Heather. Surely that means he at
least cares about ..."

"All right. Please, enough," Jason said. "Look, I can't just open the
door for him. He has to want to do something about this himself. He
needs to make the first move."

Cassie sighed. It was less than she wanted, but more than she had
expected. "That's fine. Don't open it for him, but just don't slam it
in his face if he opens it first."

"I promise, I won't." Jason took a deep breath and let it go. "I need
to call Richie and tell him about what I found. He's already pestered
me with three emails so far in the last hour."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye."



Richie lay on his bed on his side, the computer monitor glowing against
his back in the subdued light. He heaved a deep sigh as he played with
the gold ring in his fingers.

He had cleaned it up and even polished it. When he held it up to the
light, it had a dull sheen. He rolled onto his back and flicked it into
the air, spinning it like a top with a snap of his fingers as he tossed
it. He snatched it out of the air, holding it tightly as he sat up.

He willed the scene to come back to him.

Suddenly the sun was out again, and the summer leaves blew in the
breeze outside the bay window. He pulled in his legs just moments
before Sarah planted the suitcase at the foot of a bed that was no
longer his.

He sat cross-legged and watched the scene play out for the fourth time.
He could summon them up at will, like watching a futuristic 3D movie.

But only in this room. Nowhere else in the house would it work. On the
last play-through, he had tried walking out of the room. He was
suddenly back in the present the moment he had crossed the threshold.
When he had looked back into his room, it had returned to the present
again as well, Frank and Sarah having vanished.

He sat still, barely moving or reacting, until it came to the part
where Sarah just broke free of Frank's direct control. They were
arguing over what he was really doing, just prior to her ripping off
her ring. Frank was standing within arm's reach of him.

Richie raised his hand. He slowly extended it until the tips of his
fingers just barely touched the edge of Frank's image.

/... can't leave her like this ... she must come under my control again
.... she must be a good little girl again .../

Richie gasped and yanked his hand back. Sarah threw her ring and the
room morphed back to the present.

He stared at the ring in his hand. He closed his fingers tightly. It
had been like a voice in his head, as if the man had been speaking
directly into his ear. It was as if he had somehow sensed Frank's
thoughts.

The phone rang.

Richie leapt from the bed and bolted out of the room, shoving the ring
into his pocket. "I got it, it's for me!" he shouted.

Sandra's hand had been inches from picking up the phone. She jerked her
head around when there came a tremendous thump as Richie took the last
three steps in one leap.

"You're gonna fucking break your leg doing that," Sandra muttered.

Richie ignored her and grabbed the phone. "Yeah? Hello? Jason?"

"Yeah, it's me," said Jason flatly.

Richie waited for his mother to leave the room. "So ... what's up? What
...."

"You're not crazy. Cassie and I think what you saw was real."

Richie seemed to freeze for a moment. He turned and fell back against
the wall. "I did it again, Jason," he said in a low voice that quavered
a bit. "I was able to play it again and again like a frickin' rerun."

"Cassie thinks you can see into the past. I found information on those
two you saw ..."

Richie's eyes widened as Jason relayed what he had discovered. "Holy
shit," Richie murmured.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Man ... I only saw up to when she threw the ring at the dude."

"You'll have to talk to Cassie about this ability, most likely, but you
probably have to be holding something from the scene. When Sarah lost
the ring, its connection to the past was broken. Again, that's just a
really wild guess."

"It has to be in my room, too. It don't work nowhere else."

"That makes sense too. Remember Mara and what she showed us? It was the
same location, but in the past."

"Wow, man, you think I can do the same thing she did? Fuck."

There was a long pause at Jason's end. Finally, he sighed softly and
said, "Well, anyway, that's what I found. Later."

"Jason, wait! Is Heather okay?"

Another pause. "Yeah, she's fine."

"Good. I woulda pounded that asshole if Saggy Seeger hadn't shown up."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Sure thing, man."

"So ... Anything else, Richie?"

Richie bit his lip. He briefly considered telling him about what had
happened just now, how he had sensed Frank's thoughts, and Sarah's
before that. Instead, another less disturbing subject came to mind. "Uh
.... about ... about Linda ... I mean, Miss Davis ..."

Jason's voice tensed when he spoke again, but there was also a hint of
exhaustion to it. "What about her, Richie?"

"I just wanna let you know ... she asked to come over."

Jason didn't respond.

"I swear, Jason, she did! C'mon, you gotta believe me!"

"But you went, right?"

Richie hesitated. "Yeah, I did. But ..."

"But what?" Jason said curtly, his voice rising. "What excuse do you
have now for doing this to her, huh? She wants it, so it's okay? Never
mind that she's not even sure if she wants it really or she's just
pleasing you. Never mind that her head is still so screwed up from what
you did to her when you ran off to Nyssa ..."

"/I didn't fuck her, okay?!/"

Jason paused. "What?"

"I-I didn't do her. I was gonna, but ... but I made her play with
herself with her dildos. I didn't put it in her. /I didn't./"

Jason was silent.

"It sorta satisfied her. She still wanted to do it. I still ... I might
go tomorrow and do it, but maybe leave her alone on the weekend ...
Jason, I'm trying, 'kay? I'm freakin' /trying!/"

There was a slow intake of breath from Jason's end. "All right," he
said in a less confrontational voice. "You're trying. Thank you ... Do
you need help?"

Richie blinked. "Huh?"

"Help. Do you need help?"

"Uh ... I dunno what you could do ..."

"I just thought I would offer, that's all. Well ... See you tomorrow."

"Um, yeah, sure. Oh, uh, Jason?"

"What is it?"

"Okay if I sit with you guys again? I mean, no Harbinger stuff or
nothin'."

"Sure," Jason said. There was actually relief in his voice. "Sure
thing."

Richie broke into a slow smile. "Thanks, man. You really are the best."

"I try. See you, Richie."

"Yeah, see ya, Jason."

Richie hung up the phone quietly. He headed back up the stairs and into
his room, closing the door behind him.

Richie dropped to his knees near the bed and reached under it. He
pulled out a shoebox, its top dusty, a single spider scurrying across
it. He wrinkled his nose and flicked it off with his finger.

He glanced at the door for a moment and listened for anyone coming up
the stairs. When he heard nothing, he removed the cover and put the box
on the bed.

Inside was a baseball, a leather glove sized for a five year old, and a
birthday card.

Richie picked up the card and opened it. In a quick, highly slanted
crawl were the words "To my little leaguer, love Dad."

With little emotion apparent on his face, he put the card back down and
picked up the baseball. It was slightly scuffed on one side, right
where it had struck the sidewalk after his first real hit. Other than
that, it was nearly pristine, as if it had never been used again.

He gripped the ball tightly and closed his eyes.

He always remembered when his father had given this and the glove to
him, right when he woke up that one particular Saturday morning. He
remembered how his father had spent nearly that whole week during the
summer teaching Richie the game. He remembered how it made him not
really notice his mother's absence for a little while.

That was only a month before the marriage fell apart.

But none of the memories were as strong as that first one, when his
father handed him that ball as he still lay in bed the morning of his
fifth birthday. Now, as he held it in his hand, the memories surged
into his mind so powerfully that his heart raced in anticipation that
he would open his eyes and see his father standing there in his room,
and it would be ten years ago again.

He opened his eyes. His was still alone, and his room remained as it
was before. Yet the image stuck in his head, on the cruel, tantalizing
edge of reality.

Richie muttered darkly under his breath and dropped the ball back into
the box. His face twisted in anger, but he resisted the urge to throw
the box across the room. Instead, he dropped it heavily to the floor,
stuck the top on it haphazardly, and shoved it under his bed.

"Fuck it," he muttered as he fell back onto the bed, eyes shimmering
with feelings he forbid himself to express.
<1st attachment end>


----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------
Notice: This post has been modified from its original
format.  The post was sent as an email attachment and
has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software.
----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com>|
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org>   Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}|
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+