Chapter 2

“Let me get this straight. Three months of tracking, nearly two dozen victims, and a wrecked company car. I suppose you’re expecting congratulations that you managed to catch one untrained wilder.”

Elizabeth tried not to shrink back as High Priestess Theodora looked up from the report. The priestess was a stern, middle aged woman. Despite traces of gray in her hair, Theodora was still an attractive, albeit intimidating woman. The years left her with a mature, aristocratic beauty that conjured images of some powerful matriarch of old.

At least that was how she appeared. Since Elizabeth first met her, the priestess hadn’t visibly changed. In fact, no one in the temple could remember Theodora aging. Even more, nobody had the slightest clue how old the priestess was, and her past remained a mystery save that she was a founding member of the temple. Half whispered stories hinted at tremendous ability.

There would have to be. Aging could be delayed to a limited extent. Small tricks to slow the ravages of time just a hair. Nothing too far beyond a normal person. With skilled help, one might push that even further, but nothing like the agelessness of Theodora. That hinted at tremendous ability or powerful connections. Connections outside the temple, predating it by decades if not centuries.

That made it hard to stand her ground against Theodora’s displeasure. Elizabeth did her best anyways.

“He was,” Elizabeth tried to think of the best way to put it, “slippery.”

Theodora raised an eyebrow.

“Slippery?”

Elizabeth blushed.

“I mean, we should have caught him half a dozen times, but whenever we got close he’d change his pattern and go off the radar until the trail went cold. Frankly, we were lucky we caught him today.”

Now that Elizabeth thought about it, she was disconcerted at how defenseless he’d been once they finally got to him. Although this particular case would be a mark against her reputation, she was good at what she did. Someone able to evade her should have at least put up a decent fight.

“Very well,” said Theodora “Let’s start from the beginning. I want to know exactly how someone was able to evade one of my field agents for so long.”

Elizabeth gulped, then started talking. This was going to be a long, long day.

Lisa plopped down across the table from her mentor. They had both been grilled for hours, and she was more than ready to hit her bunk. Neither spoke while they ate. They were too worn out for conversation. The meal was tasty, of course. An organization with the temple’s particular talents had little trouble hiring a competent kitchen staff.

“At least it’s over,” Lisa said with a wan smile.

“Hmm? Yeah, I guess so,” said Elizabeth. Lisa could tell that she had something on her mind, but didn’t press.

After another minute or two of silence, Elizabeth continued.

“Accident aside, you didn’t do half bad today. Your takedown was clean, you did a good job masking your presence. Your awareness was, if not good, then at least improved.”

“Thanks,” said Lisa, “though the accident is a pretty big aside.”

Lisa still couldn’t believe she’d been distracted enough to screw up like that.

“You know,” continued Elizabeth, “it’s just another couple months until you’re ready to be on your own.”

Lisa had mixed feelings. Yeah, she was excited at the prospect of being a full agent. Yeah, Elizabeth’s confidence made her proud. Still, a couple months was such a short time, and she wasn’t close to prepared.

Elizabeth noticed her train of thought.

“Don’t worry. You’re coming along great. Trust me, when the time comes, you’ll be ready.”

Stifling a yawn, Elizabeth pushed away her plate and stretched.

“Speaking of which, you might want to get some sleep. With that business in the city taken care of, we can resume your regular training nice and early tomorrow.”

Lisa managed not to groan.

“Sir yes sir,” she said with a wry smile before the two said goodbye for the evening.

Elizabeth’s advice was good, of course, and she started towards her bunk. As a trainee, Lisa was required to live on premises. Elizabeth had no such restriction, but she was in and out so much that it made sense to take a room. Lately, it had gotten more use than her apartment in the city.

Granted, Lisa had seen her mentor’s quarters. They were a heck of a lot nicer than the austere bunks available to trainees. Of course, that wouldn’t be an issue much longer.

That was an intimidating thought. She tried to imagine being out on her own, responsible for her own little block of territory. That was hard to picture. It wouldn’t be a huge downtown like Elizabeth had to contend with. Lisa had neither the experience nor the talent to manage so many people. No, she’d get some small suburb, or maybe even one of the isolated rural villages up in the nearby hills. Even one of those was daunting, but Lisa had to trust in her experience and training.

At any rate, that assignment might not last all that long. Lisa had been giving serious thought to the “covert operations” wing. As good a teacher as Elizabeth was, Lisa knew she’d never match her observational skills. Concealment was another story. That was a direction she’d long since exceeded her mentor, to the point that she’d been allowed supplemental training early. Lisa enjoyed those moments. Although she wouldn’t trade her time with Elizabeth for anything, she was impatient for the day she’d be eligible.

Lost in thought, Lisa didn’t notice the man coming down the hall until they collided.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, moving to the side.

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” the man said.

Shocked by his tone, Lisa shot a glare at him. There was the strangest feeling of deja-vu. She didn’t recognize him at first, which itself was strange. By now, she knew just about everyone at least by appearance. At the same time, there was something terribly familiar about him. She’d seen that face before, but not in that temple uniform. Where?

Then it dawned on her. She should have realized from the start, but she’d been too tired to make the connection.

“You!”

“Shit!” he said, realizing he’d been caught.

A sharp pain hit her side, and Lisa’s whole body seized up. It broke her concentration, and her nascent attack fizzled. An intense, pulsing agony shot through her body. Her limbs gave out, dumping her to the floor. After the longest seconds in her life, she looked back up, confirming her worst fears. It was him, the guy they’d grabbed this very morning. He was standing over her with a triumphant smirk. In his hands a taser. Long wires dangled loosely from it, trailing towards her prone form.

Shaking away disorientation and nausea, Lisa tried to defend herself. As she put up shields and started to attack, his finger smashed against the trigger.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he taunted when she collapsed again. “Didn’t think my friends would let me rot in here, did you bitch? You owe me for earlier, and I mean to collect.”

Gasping on the ground, Lisa could feel him push against her defenses. He was unskilled as ever, but she was hardly in a position to fight back.

“Too bad I don’t have time to play now, but don’t worry slut. I promise we’ll have fun later.

The last thing she saw was his ugly smirk before he jabbed the trigger.

Mercifully, this time she passed out.

Lisa woke to sirens ringing throughout the base. Someone was shaking her shoulder. Lisa groaned, trying to force her eyes open.

“Get up girl, we don’t have all day.”

She managed to crack an eyelid open. Her head swam, and it was tough to focus.

“H- High Priestess?”

Theodora looked down with a fierce, yet concerned expression. The priestess reached out a hand, and Lisa took it. Regaining her feet, Lisa briefly leaned against the wall, steadying herself while the dizziness passed.

“What happened here? Where’s m-” Lisa caught herself, realizing she had almost called her captor master. Some of his programming made it into her mind after all. She felt dirty, alternating between wanting to shower and throw up at the thought of that creep inside her head. “The guy that did this, what about him?”

“They won’t be bothering anyone else,” Theodora said with implacable conviction as she gave a meaningful look towards the ground. There were a handful of bodies on the floor. Most of them wore temple guard uniforms, but off to one side lay Maste- um, that guy.

None were breathing.

“How did he get out?”

“Betrayal,” said Theodora. Looking at her face, Lisa was thankful the priestess’s ire wasn’t directed at her. Even so, the implications of her words were painful.

“Betrayed, but who would -”

“That is exactly what I intend to discover. Follow.” Theodora moved briskly down the corridor. That direction led to the secure areas, though Lisa wasn’t sure exactly what was there. Even Elizabeth didn’t have clearance for many of them, much less a trainee like Lisa. Nonetheless, she certainly didn’t intend to argue with the resolute priestess.

“We need to rally the defense,” Theodora continued as they walked. “Whoever did this, they won’t catch us by surprise twice. I don’t know their plans, but will involve more than merely carrying off some initiates.”

They soon reached another group. Lisa recognized the leader, one of the senior priests. His two chief disciples were with. She did not, however, recognize the other three men in the group.

“Prestor Thomson,” said Theodora, “it is good to see you. We must get this under control as soon as - who is that with you?”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the unknowns.

“The Brotherhood!” she practically spat the word, then turned back to the priest. “You!” her long, spindly finger pointed at him.

“You would dare bring the likes of them here?”

He flinched at her accusation, but steeled himself and faced her down.

“Did you think I would just sit back and wait forever?” he shouted at her. “I dedicated years of my life, slaving away when I could have been living like a king off in some forgotten corner of the world, and what did it get me.”

Lisa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The Brotherhood? Here? She knew about them, everyone did, but to Lisa they had been little more than a name and a story. Now the bogeyman was all too real, and it was in her home.

Theodora appeared little more pleased than Lisa.

“Traitor!” she shouted at him.

“It was never going to happen, was it,” he continued, “No matter how long I waited you would always be there. Like a spider in her web with all your plots and secrets. No more! I’m done waiting.”

“You will pay for this.”

“You aren’t invincible, you wretched woman. It’s time you learned your place.”

As their powers clashed together, Lisa saw the Brotherhood agents turn to look at one another. Here, in the midst of the temple’s defenses, their own abilities would be stunted. As one, they turned and ran.

Lisa moved to follow, but a jolt slammed into her mind. The force sent her reeling, and she stumbled against the wall. Turning, she was faced with Alicia, one of Thomson’s disciples. The other, Caroline, had joined the battle against Theodora.

Alia smiled, then the attack resumed. If Lisa had any notions of offense, they were quickly dispelled. It took everything just to maintain what defense she was capable of. Bit by bit, the outer defenses began to crumble.

“You really shouldn’t fight it, Lisa dear. I was like you once, lost and confused before the Brotherhood gave me purpose. Just let me through. You’ll thank me for it in the end, I promise.”

Lisa said nothing, she was too busy trying to protect herself. Damn, but this woman was strong. That shouldn’t have been too surprising, given Alicia’s rank, but was frustrating nonetheless. What was that she said about the Brotherhood showing her the way? They must have gotten to her, done something to her. But if so, how could she be that strong. Tampering with someone’s brain always left their powers weakened. Such a basic change should leave her barely stronger than a normal.

And yet, Lisa’s shields continued to ebb, moving inexorably towards collapse. It was no use. No matter what she tried, Lisa was powerless in the face of such ability. Maybe Alicia was right, maybe it was better to just stop fighting the inevitable and -

No!

Lisa reached into her own mind and threw off the faint touch of Alicia’s power. A trace had slipped through her shields during that last assault. Alicia smiled, a slight measure of respect in her gaze.

“So not despair then. Hmm ... I guess it will have to be something else.”

The assault kept coming. It was so hard to fight. Lisa started this fight exhausted, but now the weight of her fatigue smashed upon her. Each breath took more effort than the last, and Lisa didn’t know how she could possibly continue such a tedious effort.

This time the trickery was expected, and with a push she dislodged the foreign emotions.

Alicia tried several more combinations, each rebuffed by Lisa. It couldn’t last. Every time she fought back, her shields retracted just a tiny bit. A fraction at a time, her mind was opening up, becoming ever so slightly more vulnerable. Then it happened.

Just the barest touch. A tug against a trigger almost forgotten about before it blossomed into her mind. A face. His face.

“Master,” Lisa whispered. All too clearly, she could see the image of him this morning, that look of sneering disregard. It had repulsed her then, as it still repulsed her now. Yet at the same time, it enticed. Between her legs, Lisa felt herself grow damp, as her body ached for Master’s touch.

“Ah, there we go,” said Alicia, “you’re already on the path.”

“No,” said Lisa. The protests rang hollow in the face of her need.

“Yes,” said Alicia, as she reached up to stroke Lisa’s cheek. The touch was electric, sending shivers of need down Lisa’s skin. Her gaze was caught in Alicia’s eyes, and she couldn’t bring herself to break away. Alicia was almost in now, Lisa could feel her worming past the defenses. Somehow, there just wasn’t enough willpower left to push back.

“You want this so much, Lisa. Listen to your heart, I know you do. It will feel so good to have an owner. Just stop fighting. Let me in and I will show you the wonders of your true Masters. Can you do that for me?”

Their faces were inches apart now. Lisa could feel her warm breath as it splashed against her lips. She wanted to kiss those lips, to do whatever she was told. Anything just so long as she could be with her.

“No,” Lisa whispered, forcing herself to speak.

Alicia’s eyes twinkled.

“And by that, you meant yes, right Lisa?”

Lisa began to nod, unable to refuse her any longer. Before she could lower her defenses, Alicia’s eyes widened. Lisa caught her as she collapsed limply against her. In an instant, the pressure let up from her mind, the desire vanishing with it. Staggering under the force, she lowered Alicia to the ground.

To the side, Theodora stood triumphantly over her opponents. Lisa gasped for air, trying to get a grip on herself.

“Are they?” she asked.

“Not dead, not quite yet,” said Theodora, “He has much to answer for, and when this is over I intend to get the truth. The full truth.”

As though she hadn’t just finished a battle, Theodora continued towards their original destination. With each step, Lisa’s sodden panties were an insistent reminder of how close she had come to defeat.

“You did well,” Theodora said, as though she had sensed her thoughts. Perhaps she had, for all that Lisa felt no touch against her mind. Who knew what the old woman could do.

“Alicia was a capable fighter. For someone with your experience to hold out so long. Well, let’s just say there was no shame in your performance.”

“Alicia, she ... I mean, it sounded like they did something to her. She talked about how they made her see the light. but-”

“But how, then, would she maintain her strength?” Theodora finished. “I’m not sure, child. Alicia and Caroline both puzzle me, but there is no time for that. As I said, Thomson has much to answer for, and I will -”