Chapter 8

Adrienne

“Adrienne, my fierce one, it’s time to awaken,” Hannah said to me.

I opened my eyes and looked around. Meredith and I had switched during the night. She was cuddled up to me now and was sleeping. Her skin felt so soft to the touch. I smiled a big smile this morning. I hadn’t woken up next to anyone in a very long time and I was relishing the feeling.

“I’m glad you’re content Adrienne. You’ve been alone for so long, it’s my hope that you’ll fill the void in each other’s hearts in days, weeks, and months to come.” She said to me. “You’ve served me well; I am more than happy to do what I can for you where this is concerned.”

“Thank you, Hannah, I have to admit that I did not expect to feel this content so soon,” I replied to her.

“Down to business my favored one. What do you have planned for our Meredith today?” Hannah asked.

“I’m taking her to Wal-Mart and we’re going to start with masking her magic and work our way up to incorporating that in with her changing her looks to hide in plain sight,” I told her.

I felt her surprise and disgust at the same time. “Wal-Mart? Even demons avoid that place like the plague.”

“There are large distractions and many, shall we say interesting people, that will test her concentration and awareness,” I replied.

“Don’t underestimate her intelligence or intuitiveness. She surprised me by figuring out how to take a soul without any instruction.” She told me.

“I heard you talk to her about it and will do my best not to.” I said smiling as I moved my fingers over Meredith’s arm.

“You’ve obviously given this some thought, I won’t second guess what you’re planning. I heard what you said last night about training with a knife and her physical strength. You’ve seen everything that I have. Remember that Michael was a well-trained Special Forces soldier and has shared much of his knowledge with her.” I heard her say.

“I will remember that when we start. If she is as proficient as you think she is with her hands, then it will be a short afternoon.” I replied to her.

“I told her some historical things about The Order, but I said nothing about your interests or involvement in this. I leave that to you to explain why. And now I leave you to your work. I’d wish you good luck, but you won’t need it Adrienne.” She said as she receded in my mind.

I started to hear Meredith wake up. She moved back into me a bit more and smiled. “Good morning Adi, I hope you were as warm and comfortable as I was last night.” She said to me.

“This is the best way I have woken up in a long time. I have almost forgotten what it is like to sleep next to a warm body.” I told Meredith.

“I very much enjoyed it. Maybe later you can shed some more light on what Hannah was talking about regarding us being bound to each other.” She said to me.

“I would be more than happy to do that. But there are some other things that we have to do first. I promise that I will tell you everything I know AFTER we finish what I need to teach you today, ok?” I explained to her. “We have much to do and even less time to get it finished.”

Meredith rolled over and grabbed my head with both her hands and kissed me with such passion and emotion. I felt it through our link. There was enough emotion in that one kiss that I had a small orgasm. “What a great way to start the day,” I said quietly catching mu breath.

She let go and bounced out of bed with a huge smile on her face. I watched as she sashayed into the bathroom and closed the door. “Pure seduction...” I thought to myself.

“I heard that.” Meredith said to me in my mind.

I started to giggle a little bit and got up. I went into the closet and got my clothes out for the day. It was going to be a long day, so I grabbed some shorts and a conservative top. I heard the bathroom door open and she walked into the closet and grabbed a pair of shorts and a Pink Floyd t-shirt.

After a shower and getting dressed, we went downstairs and grabbed keys and wallets and were out the door. Meredith took one look at my Mercedes convertible and said, “Nice rental, she really takes care of you, doesn’t she?”

“Ma fille, this is not a rental, this is mine. She got it for me.” I told her.

“She bought you an E450 Mercedes just for coming to teach me?” Meredith asked.

“Stop...” Hannah said in both our minds. “I told you Meredith, you will do my bidding on Earth. It’s my prerogative to see that you are suitably equipped and adequately provided for. My servants will reflect their station.”

“Yes Mistress, I am thankful for what you’ve given me so far and I will not question your motives again.” Meredith told her with feelings of gratefulness.

I was looking at the purple Charger when Meredith walked up. “Do you like it?” I heard her ask.

“I am guessing this is your father’s car?” I asked her.

“Nope.” She said as she hit the remote start on the key FOB. “It’s mine.” I heard her say as the car roared to life. “This WAS my dad’s car, but when he got his bonus 3 years ago, he bought himself a new truck and gave me his Charger.”

I have to say that I’m impressed with her car. The exhaust was definitely aftermarket. The windows were all tinted so you almost couldn’t see in. To be honest, aside from the color, you’d have never known that a woman-owned it. “I like it, the color suits you ma fille.” I said to her. We both slid into the car and closed the doors.

Meredith pressed a button on the steering wheel and the glove box unlocked. She asked me to open the glove box quickly and check its contents. When I opened it, there was a Glock pistol and 2 extra magazines in there. The mount for the gun and been custom built into the glove box. I pulled the gun out, checked it to make sure it was chambered, put it back, and closed the glove box. When I looked for a way to open it, I heard Meredith tell me that Michael had this customized for him so that no one could get into it unless you knew how.

“Ok, where are we going?” Meredith asked me as she drove out of her driveway.

“First, find someplace that has decent coffee, and then we’re going to Wal-Mart.” I told her.

“Wal-Mart ... Really?” Meredith said with disgust in her voice. “I intently dislike going to Wal-Mart.”

I just giggled as we drove down the street to get coffee. “Yes, really. Besides, you’re thinking about this the wrong way. Aside from the normal people that are shopping, there are many ways to distract you. Throw in the American rednecks and you’ve got an excellent way to ensure you’ll learn to keep your attention focused.” I explained to her.

“I bow to your logic, but only because it seems flawless.” She said to me as she took my hand and held it.

We drove on till we got to a small breakfast and brunch eatery near our destination. “This place has the best French press coffee that I’ve ever tasted. She roasts her own beans and bakes her own pastries. I’ve been coming here since I was in high school and I haven’t found any other place that can compete. It makes Starbucks taste like flavored caffeine water.” Meredith told me.

We walked in and Meredith was looking around for someone and then asked, “Louisa, etes tue ici?” Then I heard a scream and watched as an older woman ran up to Meredith and gave her a big hug.

She was asking Meredith how long she was in town. “I finished my master’s degree in May, so I’m home to stay now.” Meredith told her.

“Michael and Allison were so proud that you were finishing your graduate degree, they used to come in here on Sundays and eat brunch. We’d sit and talk for hours.” She said to Meredith. I watched as the expression on her face changed from happiness to one of sorrow. “I miss them very much. I have the picture of the four of us hanging over the register. I look at it every morning when I open.”

Meredith looked back at me, took my hand and said, “Adrienne, I’d like you to meet Louisa Marchand. She owns this place and is responsible for everything I know about coffee. Louisa, this is Adrienne LaCroix. She’s very special to me.”

I reached out and shook Louisa’s hand and said, “Enchante’ Louisa. Meredith has said you make excellent coffee,”

“Je ne suis pas sûr si son aussi bon que ce que vous avez l’habitude de boire, mais je vais faire de mon mieux,” Louisa responded with.

“Très bien Madame, je vais patiemment attendre pour votre café,” I replied to her with a smile.

Louisa smiled and looked at Meredith. “French press and croissants?” she asked.

Meredith replied, “Do you have any of the raisin and cinnamon left this morning?”

“I have a couple left yes. Also, I changed the chocolate I use in my croissants; would both of you be willing to taste them and give me your opinion?” She asked us.

“Nous serions ravis de les essayer, merci.” I replied.

Louisa smiled and went off to start on our order. so, we sat down at a table and was waiting for our food when we heard three men wearing Armani and Brooks Brothers suits start to talk about Meredith and me. They started with “Oh man, look at her tits” to “Holy crap, those shorts are painted on” to them making bets as to who could get our phone numbers and it went downhill from there. I shook my head in disgust and decided that was going to be a teaching moment for Meredith.

“Adi, I have this, be patient. I’m waiting for the right moment.” I heard her say in the back of my mind. I nodded my head and we talked some more about her growing up. A few minutes later, Louisa showed up with our drinks and food.

“Ok, S’il vous plaît dites-moi ce que vous en pensez.” Louisa said sitting down next to me.

I broke the croissant in half and gave part of it to Meredith to try. Both of us were impressed by how it tasted. “Le croissant au chocolat est excellent, quel chocolat at-tu utilisé?” I said to her.

“Hershey’s dark chocolate and 80% cocoa powder to balance out the powdered sugar that goes into the breading.” Louisa told Meredith and me.

“Worth every penny...” I said reaching for my wallet.

“Ah, ah, ah ... your money is no good here.” She said shaking her finger at me. “Meredith is like a daughter to me and now you are as well...” Louisa said kissing me on the cheek.

I watched as she stood up and walked to another booth to talk to her customers. “What is her story?” I asked Meredith.

“She met her husband, Stefan, in Germany in the 70’s. He was an engineer officer for the German Army, and she was a nurse on the base where he worked. They got married and immigrated to the US after he retired. He got into construction and did very well for himself. Both her sons work for AT&T as electricians. Her daughter Elena works at the hospital as a neo-natal nurse Stefan passed from cancer three years ago.” Meredith leaned in closer to me and smiled. “Stefan partnered with a development firm to build this complex. She owns the whole shopping complex. The café just keeps her active.”

The men at the table were snickering as they looked at us, and that’s when I felt Meredith’s power increase. She smiled and me and winked at me. After that she got up and walked over to the table with the three “gentlemen” and just sat right down. I opened up the link between us so I could hear what she was saying.

I felt her release some pheromones at their table before she started talking. I saw all three of them start to shift in their seats, as their dicks got hard.

“Gentlemen and I use that term loosely, I’ve been coming to Louisa’s for coffee since I was in High School. I really dislike...” She told them.

One of them interrupted her and started talking over her. “Look, how about you and your friend just skip the effort we’re going to make and give us your phone numbers now. It would save us time in the long run.” The other two started to quietly chuckle as Meredith just looked at them. She had a smirk on her face as they laughed. She took a sip of her coffee and as she did, she sent out a small wave of power to them and they just stopped and froze as she looked at the three of them.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I really dislike it when my morning coffee is disturbed. So right now, you’re going to finish your drinks and food. Since you can obviously afford it, you’re each going to leave a $1000 tip when you go to pay for your food. And then you’re all going to go to the parking lot and kick each other in the crotch as hard as you can ... Three times. Do you understand?” As the three of them nodded and got up to pay for their drinks, Meredith spoke to them again, “And Gentlemen ... the next time you come in here, you’re going to be courteous and respectful to everyone you talk to. There won’t be a second chance for any of you ... Leave ... Now.” She told them flipping her hand and releasing them.

After they left, Meredith came back over and sat down and smiled. “It’s a good thing we won’t gain any weight from all these sweets we’re eating.”

I was sitting there trying to contain my laughter when she came back over and sat down again. “I had planned on trying to teach you how to do that, but I see that I did exactly what she told me not to do.” I said to Meredith. She looked at me with a curious look on her face. “I said I would not underestimate you, but I did.”

And in the back of my mind I heard “I told you so.” and laughter.

Meredith

Adrienne started telling me about how she learned to mask her power. She said that the easiest way to do it is to think of the power like a cloak and that it’s freezing outside.

“You have to wrap it around you like you would if it was snowing outside. Don’t let any of the heat from under your cloak out. Think of you power like the warmth the cloak provides. The tighter you wrap yourself up in it, the warmer you’re going to be.” Adrienne said.

We sat at the coffee shop and I practiced what she was teaching. Adrienne was a very patient teacher. She told me that she knew how hard it would be to master this first thing. But everything after this would be easy.

Louisa came over and talked to us as we walked out and told us not to be strangers. Adrienne assured her that we’d be back soon. Hugs were given and we went to Wal-Mart ... Yay.

So here we are at Wal-Mart and we’re playing magical hide and seek. The first couple of times, Adi found me with little to no effort at all. She made quick work of finding me and to be honest, after yesterday’s outing with “Her” and the ease of learning what she taught, this was getting a bit frustrating. But like she said, not everything was easy, so I took it in stride.

I was walking into the automotive section and started to “wrap myself up in my cloak” when I almost walked into a gentleman looking at oil. Normally this wouldn’t be much to worry about; I’d apologize and move on. But this gentleman was daisy duke shorts, a G string that he wore high on his hips and a women’s tube top. What was even more odd was that he was wearing women’s sandals with it.

“Please excuse me, I should watch where I’m going a bit better.” I said to him. He smiled and said no problem and went back to looking. I was walking around the corner to another aisle when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I didn’t even look because I knew who it was. Also, I couldn’t stop looking at the guy I’d just past.

“I like his sandals; I wonder where he got them from?” She asked.

I turned and looked at her as she smiled and looked at him. About that time, a woman came around behind us and said, “I got them at the Mall of Georgia Macy’s, they were on sale.”

“Really? I must go see if I can find some then.” Adi said to her as she walked over to the guy.

Adi and I stood there watching as she started to berate him for leaving her side and that he was going to have to be punished for his disobedience. She went on like that for another few seconds and they walked off, her in the lead with him behind her.

“Ok, I give you an alibi for not staying hidden. That would have probably thrown me slightly off my game as well.” Adrienne said to me. “You are not pulling your magic in close enough to you. When I get close to you, I can feel you bleeding power. It is not a lot, but it’s noticeable to someone who is actively looking for it.”

“I can’t understand what I’m doing wrong. If my ‘cloak’ was any tighter around me, I’d be a freakin mummy.” I said to her frustrated.

“Just relax and we will try it again. You’re learning, it’s been harder for me to find you each time you go and hide.” Adrienne said to me. “I’m going to grab something to drink quickly, I’ll give you that time to practice some more. When I return, we’ll start again.

As she walked off, I stood looking at the wall thinking about how I was doing it wrong. That’s when I heard “Her” in the back of my mind.

“You’re thinking too hard about this Meredith.” She said to me. “You know what 90% of learning to use my power is? Its attention to detail.” And her presence receded to the back of my mind again.

“Ok, attention to detail.” I said to myself. Maybe I was going about this wrong. I made a plan just as Adrienne returned. She handed me a bottle of water and asked if I was ready.

“Yes, I think I am. I’ve got a plan and I think it’ll work this time. I said to her.

“Ok, I will be a nice instructor and give you seven minutes instead of five to hide this time,” Adrienne said to me. “Go, and I hope I do not find you. And if I do, we might need to think about doing something different to help you.”

I walked off briskly towards the electronics section. When I was in college, I used to find the most useless thing on TV and just let it run. I used it as a distraction so that I could teach myself not to lose my concentration on what I was doing.

I walked over in front of a huge flat-screen TV and stood there. I reached down and forced my power around me like a cloak and pulled it around me. I checked the area around me, but I couldn’t feel any magic. Hopefully this did it.

“May I help you find something?” Said a clerk from behind me.

“My friend and I were looking for a new ultra HDTV for my house. I’m not really sure what I’m looking for, I don’t watch a lot of television.” I said to her.

We walked down to the smaller TV’s and she started to explain about them and their features. We slowly walked back to where I was standing, and she was telling me about the one I was looking at earlier. We had spent about 15 minutes together when I felt a hand on my shoulder again ... Damn it!

“Ma fille, this would be great to watch football on Sundays in the living room.” Adi said to me.

“Indeed, it would,” I said to her.

The salesperson asked Adrienne who her team was. “I’m an AC Milan fan, but I cheer for Saint Etienne also.” She replied.

The Wal-Mart employee thought for a second and then asked Adrienne what conference they were in.

“I am sorry, I forgot that football here is a different sport. I am talking about soccer, not American football.” Adrienne said to her.

The salesperson chuckled, apologized for the confusion, and told us to grab her if we wanted a TV.

Walking away dejected, I felt Adi’s fingers interlace with my own in support. I thought I had it figured out at that time. What was I doing wrong?

“You are overthinking this Meredith. The analytical part of your brain is overpowering your creative side. Just relax and be your intuitive self. You will get the hang of it. It took me longer this time to find you than the others.” Adrienne told me.

“It’s just a bit disheartening to have this much problem seeing as I picked up everything yesterday so fast.” I told Adi. “Maybe I’m thinking about it the wrong way. I’m going to try something, come find me in five minutes.”

She squeezed my hand as she said ok and went back to talk to the salesperson about the ultra HD television I had been looking at when she found me.

Walking to the front of the store, I went to the hair salon place and sat down in the waiting area. A woman came over and asked me if I wanted my hair cut, and I told her I just needed a break from walking around the store. She smiled and said ok. I decided to think about my power like my woobie. I had been using it as a security blanket type thing since mom and dad gave it to me when I was seven. I used it during storms when I was scared. I’d cover up and pretend that my woobie was indestructible and would protect me from anything. Maybe I needed some context to get my power wrapped up around me. So that’s what I did. I wrapped my “woobie” around me as tight as I could and waited.

I looked at my watch and it had been about 20 minutes since I left Adi to hide. I was reading in a women’s health magazine about sugar intake versus losing weight when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a kiss on my cheek.

“That was much better. I actually timed the last three times that I came to find you.” She whispered in my ear. “The first time, it took me eleven minutes. The second time was fifteen minutes. This time it took me nineteen minutes to find you.”

I felt a bit better now that I was getting the hang of it. I just needed to figure out what I was doing wrong. I was thinking about my creative brain when Adrienne took my hand and we walked outside to the parking lot and to my car. She pushed me against the side and kissed me.

She kissed me like there was no tomorrow. Our tongues locked in a lover’s battle. Her lips tasted so good to me. Adrienne wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. I tried to get my arms around her, but she wouldn’t let me.

When she let go of me, she kept kissing me hard, but grabbed my hands and pulled them around behind my back. She stopped kissing me and went to my neck. She leaned in far enough to get to the spot where my shoulder and neck meet. As she bit down, I heard her in the back of my mind, “Mine!” I felt her teeth grabbing my lower lip to the point of almost breaking my skin. It was so erotic and sensual that it punched all my buttons. I was turned on to say the least.

As suddenly as she started, she stopped just as quick. She looked at me, suddenly the look in her eyes changed. They went from a look of love and adoration to a look a predator might have chasing prey.

She put her hand in the center of my chest and kept me pinned against my car. I never saw it coming, but I felt her hand slap me across my left cheek. “When I was taught this, our Mistress had to use this same approach with me, and it worked ... Very. Quickly.” I heard through the link. “I will give you five minutes like the last time, only this time I will going to hunt you the same way that other magic users have been hunted.”

“You’re going to hunt me? That means what?” I asked her as I got more pissed off by the moment.

“You have had ample chances to get this correct. Now I am going to MAKE you learn this. I am going to hunt you and if I find you, I will not be gentle letting you know it.” She told me. “Perhaps this will motivate you better.” I looked at her in anger and started to say something, but she cut me off. “Run little Meredith, your time is being wasted.” She said as she hit the timer on her stopwatch.

I sprinted across the parking lot to the service area. “Crap, I forgot about needing to get the oil in my car changed.” I thought to myself. I walked into the service waiting area and say down. I wrapped my magical woobie again and pulled it in even tighter this time. I pulled it up around my head leaned back.

After a few minutes, I rechecked my power and it was still wrapped around me as tight as I could make it. I started to look around and leaned out to see if Adrienne was nearby. About that time, I felt the same feeling that I felt when “She” and I were at the Japanese steak house yesterday. I felt Adi’s power fold around us. I also felt an arm go around my neck and a blade being pressed HARD against my throat. I didn’t move. The blade was as sharp as some of my dad’s knives. I felt her warm breath against my ear as she leaned in closer.

“You failed. Do it again.” Adrienne whispered coldly to me. She started to pull her knife away from my throat, but instead, she pressed the blade of her knife into my shoulder behind the collar bone. I started to cry out, but she put her hand over my mouth. My body told me it was a small wound, but it was deep. “A preview of what will happen if you continue to fail.” She coldly said to me.

I jumped up and put my fingers to the spot where she stabbed me. “What the fuck! Bitch you stabbed me!” I said angrily to her through our link.

“I told you that I will make you learn this one way or another. Apparently, it’s going to take a little extra motivation to get you to learn this.” Adrienne defiantly said back to me.

“We’re in Wal-Mart, this isn’t real life right now, we’re having a bit of fun...” I started saying to her.

“NO!!! THIS IS NOT A GAME!!!” She screamed back at me through our link. “This is preparation for a LIFE AND DEATH fight with people that want to kill you for being different!!! Get it through your thick skull fille stupide that they will not stop till your dead! They have numbers on their side! They can afford to make mistakes! WE CANNOT!!! You are angry about how I Am treating you? TOO BAD!!! They do not care about how you die, as long as you die!!!” I heard in my mind as she stormed off.

Standing there with my mouth open, I couldn’t believe what I had heard. The more I thought about it, the more it pissed me off. Sitting down again, I leaned forward and put my head on my hands. I have no reason to be angry with anyone but myself. I summoned “Her” to help me. She’d given me her power and made me her own. But the people I’d let down almost as much were mom and dad.

“I’ve let you down. I learned what you taught me, but I forgot your teachings about focus and objectives.” I said thinking about Michael and Allison. I reached out to “Her” and said the same thing. “I’ve let you down by losing sight of our fight and the whole reason why I summoned you.” I shook my head in thought.

“Learn from your mistake, and don’t make it again.” Was all I heard from “Her”.

I felt my wound still healing a bit, and I stopped it where it was. Walking into the lady’s room, I looked at the scar. This would be my reminder about all I’ve lost and what I where I am headed in the future. As I left the restroom, I reached out to find Adrienne. She was in the parking lot sitting on the hood of my car. I got up and walked through the service area and sprinted around to the front of the store. I felt my new power moving to my legs and I started to move faster. I actually had to stop and walk because I was moving faster than a normal human would. Looking at my feet, I started giggling a little bit. The opening to one of my dad’s favorite shows growing up came into my mind “We can rebuild her; we can make her better.”

Adrienne hadn’t been paying attention, her head was in her hands and she was crying. I quietly walked up to her and lifted her chin up to look at me. Grabbing one of her hands, I pulled her up off my car and looked at her. “That’s a three-thousand-dollar paint job, please don’t scratch it...” I said to her. She looked at me like I had a penis growing out of my forehead. I smiled and told her that I was joking and hugged her hard.

“I am sorry...” She started to say, but I put my finger on her lips to stop her from talking.

“Nothing to forgive. If the roles were reversed, I might have done the same. You are right though. I had lost myself and my focus on the reason for all of this.” I said to her. I kissed her lightly on the lips and then pulled her in close to me and held her tight. “Three minutes and then come hunt me,” I whispered in her ear as I walked off.

I ran back to the store and walked over to the pharmacy waiting area. As I sat down, I wrapped my power around me again and this time it completely surrounded me like I was hiding underneath a blanket. As I was watching the people around me, a teenager with a Crimson Tide hoodie came over and sat down. Being an Auburn graduate, I was duty-bound to say “War Eagle” to him. Before the words even came out of my mouth, it suddenly hit me what I was doing wrong in regard to hiding my magic. What is the one thing that most cloaks have? They have a hood. “There’s no way it’s that easy,” I said out loud. Imagining myself wrapped up in a cloak with a hood pulled down to where no heat would escape, I sat and waited. I picked up another magazine and pretended to read it. In truth, I was watching over the top of it to see who was walking in front of me.

A few minutes later, an older lady sat down next to me and asked if I was waiting in line. “No ma’am, I’m just resting for a few minutes,” I told her. She said that she completely understood and that sometimes this place wore her out.

We started to talk about food since she was looking at recipes on her Ipad. We talked about Allison’s family being from Sicily and her cooking. I told her about my tiramisu that mom used to make when I’d come home from college. She suggested that I put some cinnamon in it and that it would complement the coffee taste some and gives it a bit more flavor. I told her I’d consider it the next time I cooked.

I have no idea how long I sat there, but I didn’t see Adrienne anywhere. “Adrienne can’t find you, Meredith.” I heard “Her,” say in the back of my mind. “I knew you’d figure it out. Hiding your magic is about the hardest thing to learn about using my power. It will get easier as you use it.”