Chapter 5

" ... and as I have a very personal interest in this case," the radiant, red-haired queen announced, her voice echoing off the pristine stone walls with regal authority, "I must dismiss myself from this chair. Instead, the Golden Goddess will sit in judgment."

Elaine stepped up; Queen and Justice exchanged a brief ceremonial kiss as Alana stepped down from the bench. Sibilius remained, however, so the Bard Geoffrey, who had also begun to rise, as he usually chaired with Elaine, quickly reseated himself.

Jolene looked much better now that she was being looked after by the queen's attendants; her bony shoulders and ribs quickly filling out from eagerly partaking of the sumptuous offerings artfully arranged in the royal dining hall. She was surprised that no one had offered their blood to her, considering the condition of her body as she viewed her image in her attendants' minds. She was even more surprised that no one had greedily tried to carve a chunk of bloody meat out of her – surprised, and oddly grateful. It was actually pleasant to feel whole when she moved; having half-healed body parts slide against each other with each movement was more upsetting than she had realized.

"You will not be harmed," Elaine's voice echoed softly in the near-empty room. "Simply relax and allow me to enter your mind. You are not on trial, here. The court simply wants to examine..." The Golden Goddess switched to mental, finding human words too cumbersome and limiting in their meaning, and to ensure her sister goddess' privacy – 'if you have been manipulated and controlled by your consort, Sanders ... No, don't object. I won't attempt to change your feelings for this human. I only seek the truth regarding the following you seem to have accumulated.'

In the next hour, Jolene switched back and forth between titillating laughter and abject, soul-rending sobs as she and Elaine, mind-linked together, explored her life and the events that had occurred since stepping foot inside New Eden for the first time, while the Praetor silently recorded the images.

When they were finished, the conclusion that Elaine had already known from right-finding Sanders was obvious to Jolene. She had been horribly used; manipulated by a scheming sadist whose primary goal was power over those in his district, as well as complete and utter control of his goddess. Elaine had even uncovered his dreams of world domination – creating his own cannibalistic empire where an immortal populace fed regularly on chained and subdued goddesses.

Of course, Sander's ambitious plan would have come to ruin the instant he stepped outside his own remote district. He knew nothing of the true mental powers regularly practiced by Jolene's sisters, and had not even imagined the existence of anyone like a Phoenix. It had never even occurred to him that his continued success had anything to do with the regular intervention of Jolene's sister goddess, Lisa.

Mind-linked, Elaine hadn't shielded her previous findings from her sister goddess and now Jolene knew as much as Elaine. 'I feel like such a fool... ' Jolene moaned telepathically into Elaine's mind. 'I never even thought... '

'There are side effects to what Sanders did to you that are part of our makeup, ' Elaine assured her sobbing sister. 'Our creator' (the goddesses no longer referred to Sibilius as their 'father') 'was much too ambitious in his desire to enhance our more sensual side. Rational thought quickly flees when our bodies are assaulted in the violent and brutal manner chosen by Sanders. He seduced you and brainwashed you in a manner I was unaware that humans could even understand, let alone accomplish. Although I have not yet subjected Lisa to right-finding, I suspect that his influence may have infected her thoughts and actions as well.'

Jolene thought about that for a moment. After all, it was Lisa who had suddenly showed up after half a century of absence to make suggestions as to how 'their old district' should be governed, as well as how and especially where they should conduct her worship services. As she remembered, Jolene had never wanted to leave her modest mansion and go out in the woods to begin with. That was pure, wild-in-the-heart Lisa wanting to cut loose without attracting unwanted attention from the more conservative residents of their domain.

Elaine, still mind-linked, nodded, then silently withdrew. In the last few years, she had noticed subtle changes in the Phoenix – odd phrases and stray thoughts of suggested eroticism that contained brutal and violent images just beyond her ability to properly view.

'Lisa has turned dark... ' Elaine realized, only now beginning to believe that Béla's true daughter was turning to her evil side. She remembered the fervent disagreements between herself and Alana after the queen had rescued Lisa's lifemate, Macario, from the wrath of Lisa's Phoenix fire. She had taken Lisa's side, explaining that the Phoenix had simply used a little too much exuberance in her avid desire to expand Macario's awareness.

Sibilius reached out to hold Elaine's arm when the Golden Goddess nearly stumbled, seating herself. She had been standing for over an hour, her surroundings ignored as she explored Jolene's mind, and Sy assumed that she was simply stiff from having not moved in that long period. But he could feel Elaine's distressed thoughts as they traveled through his body, and her emotional upset disturbed him.

A moment later, Elaine mind-linked with Sibilius and quickly brought him up to speed. She had already judged Jolene's manipulator, and it had been a simple job for the Praetor to mind-wipe Sander's memories of the last few years before he was relocated far, far away from Jolene's province. In addition, each of Jolene's 'worshippers' would require mental blocks to prevent them from thinking about eating Jolene or drinking her blood during the services that she could feel Jolene wanted to continue. And she knew just who could help...

Jolene didn't feel any animosity from her judges, and wasn't sure just how much trouble she was in. She was desperately hoping she would be allowed to return to her little domain and continue as their official justice. She also liked the worship services that Sanders had begun – at least in the beginning – except for the men drinking her blood or eating her; the sex part had been wonderful, and she hoped that somehow...

The Golden Goddess rose, followed by Sibilius a second later. Jolene braced herself for the Justices' decision.

"Jolene, you are free to return to your province. Mikhail and Marla will accompany you to give you any assistance you require to stabilize your position as Justice."

"Actually, they've begun to call me 'Governess'," Jolene happily ventured, overjoyed that the first words out of Elaine's mouth had given her back her freedom.

Elaine smiled, then continued, "All right, as 'Governess', then. The purpose of your ... guardians ... is to ensure that each human who knows the secret of our blood forgets that knowledge. You, as well as Mikhail and Marla, will be in instant contact with the Praetor whenever any of you require it."

"And my consort?"

"I'm sorry, Jolene," Elaine replied, shaking her head. "He cannot go back with you."

"But I..."

'No, darling ... he is not for you. Surely you haven't forgotten what he did to you already!'

" ... love him!"

Silence filled the hall.

'Oh, Christ! How could I probe her mind for an hour and not see that coming?'

But Elaine hadn't gone after Jolene's feelings, simply assuming that she was an unwitting pawn of a master manipulator. The misery flowing off Jolene was quite evident, now, though. Elaine simply stared at her sister goddess, her mouth hanging open in a most unattractive manner.

Abruptly coming to her senses, Elaine realized that a bit of finesse was required. She was glad there were less than a dozen people in the room to witness her actually being taken off guard. Her mouth slammed shut with an audible snap.

"You have my blessing to appeal your consort's cause to the queen," Elaine decided. "We will discuss how he might be returned to you."

'Please don't hurt him... '

Elaine turned away, indicating that this hearing was over. The mind-wipe already inflicted on Sanders had erased his knowledge of his goddess. It was much too late for Jolene to express her feelings on the matter. It was already done.

Now, she had to decide what to do with Lisa... 'No ... not with. No one can do anything to Lisa that the all-powerful Phoenix didn't permit. So ... What can we do about Lisa?'

Annalisa twisted her head up, straining her eyes to look at the ropes binding her wrists tightly together. Her gasping breath was ragged and tore at a throat already raw from screaming. Nearly exhausted, she stared forward at Frank and tried to smile, encouraging him to set the rawhide against her shredded flesh yet again.

Jake gazed at the spectacle of his sweet, petite wife dangling from the iron ring, her breasts torn and bleeding from the last few sensual strokes of Frank's sinewy bullwhip – the one he often used on Tanya. Both men were suffering from raging arousal at the orgasmic sensuality Annalisa telepathically released with every swift lash and cut of her flesh. Jake was so aroused that just the sound of her next scream would make him come in his pants.

Annalisa braced as the whip whooshed toward her again, and yelped in aroused agony as a bit of flesh disappeared from just below her ribcage on her left side. Her breasts were bleeding a bit less now as they healed. Gazing down at her wounded torso, Annalisa could see that many of the cuts and welts were nearly healed. She fervently wished she could get more sensation out of her body than this whipping was creating for her as she kicked against the wall behind her, twisting around to present her bloody but otherwise completely healed backside, hoping Frank would shred her flesh yet again.

"Need some help, Daddy?" a cheerfully caustic female voice said as Lisa popped in. "You guys are really broadcasting! Good thing it's a holiday and everyone's already fucking each other blind or you'd have guys falling off their tractors trying to masturbate and plow at the same time!"

Lisa quickly knelt down in front of Jake and teleported his shorts off. Jake's cock sprang straight out, already as hard at it could get, and fired a stringy gob right onto Lisa's breasts.

"Fuck! That was close!" Lisa grinned as she rubbed her father's cum all over her torso. "I almost missed it!"

Jake stared down at Lisa, still surprised at her sudden entrance, then grabbed his cock and pumped it twice more. Another long strand of jism fired over Lisa's head and settled in her hair like a long strand of confetti from a popgun.

Oh, God!" Jake moaned as several lesser jets spurted out to coat his daughter's face and breasts with more luscious stickiness.

"Hey!" a ragged voice weakly called out from behind Lisa. "That ... was mine!"

Lisa lay back on the floor to stare at her most recent stepmother for a few seconds, then glanced over at Frank. Frank was sporting a large, wet spot on his Khaki shorts.

"Aww," Lisa crooned to Annalisa. "It looks like the men are all done, Mommie Dearest. Would you like some help?"

Annalisa looked annoyed, but knew she shouldn't quarrel with the all-powerful Phoenix. Lisa could do – and often did – just about whatever she wanted. Her continually worsening attitude and defiance of authority had driven her own life-mate, Macario, away from her. In a fit of rage at his announced departure, she had nearly cooked him into charcoal. Béla – now Queen Alana – had managed to teleport him away and, with the help of Tabatha Hedron's mind shield, protected him and themselves until Lisa's rage had quieted.

"Your soul cries out for satiation," Lisa intoned softly, ignoring her bound stepmother's frantic thoughts. "Your physical body will never give you enough sensation. Let me teach you the ways of Phoenix Fire, my sister..."

Annalisa braced, nearly pissing herself with sudden terror as she felt her flesh heating up. She was emotionally torn between experiencing the ultimate of what Lisa offered and a deep-rooted fear the very thought of her non-continuation created in her mind. Desperately choosing, Annalisa vanished, teleporting herself to the Royal Castle. An instant later, Jake vanished as Annalisa remembered that she'd left him behind.

Lisa gazed at the empty, blood-streaked wall and shook her head sadly. She could feel Frank standing behind her, his own sexual energies relaxed in the aftermath of his orgasm as he casually coiled his bullwhip, carefully and patiently oiling each part smooth with Annalisa's blood, patiently waiting for Lisa to come to him – if that's what she wanted...

'Besides Father, Frank is the only human who doesn't fear me... ' Lisa sighed, wishing things could be otherwise.

Reaching up for the iron ring, she caused the slack ropes left behind from Annalisa's bondage to wrap themselves around her own wrists, then stretched, pulling her body taut to better display it to her old friend and lover, careful to shield his mind from the bilious churning in her stomach and her heart-rending self-loathing. She wanted him to look forward to raping her bloody body after working himself into an aroused sweat shredding her soft flesh with that magnificent bullwhip.