Chapter 11

Principal Laura Bendon peered at the letter in her hands, pursing her lips as her eyes scanned the words one more time.

"I am sure you will find everything in order, Ms. Bendon."

Laura lifted her imperious gaze and leaned back in her seat, letting the document flutter to the desk. She steepled her fingers and crossed her ankle over her knee. "I have no doubt about that," she said, one corner of her mouth turning upwards. "Mr. Mann."

Victor smiled, his whole body radiating amiability and good humor. He had abandoned his trench-coat and dark clothing for a simple pair of jeans, a shirt of muted earth-tone plaid, and a V-neck sweater. His hair was neatly combed, with just a few stray hairs in the right place to give him a more laid-back look.

He embodied a picture of the ideal vision of a high school teacher: a bit eccentric, lacking in fashion sense, but exuding a subtle kind of hip coolness that made students like him just the same.

"Actually, that would be Doctor Mann, PhD," said Victor. "But I don't stand on formalities. Please, call me Victor, if you would."

"Isn't this just a bit odd?" said Laura.

The smile never left Victor's face. "Pardon?"

"Odd. The school gaining a new counselor right around--"

Victor raised a finger. "Ah. Guest counselor. I'll be here for only a week."

Laura smirked. "Guest counselor, then. And yes, I read the letter. Only a week. Again, very odd."

"Sorry you feel that way, Ms. Bendon. If you're concerned about my credentials or my experience and reputation, please feel free to call the central office of the Haven Counseling Group."

"Oh, yes, and I am sure that they will give a glowing report on you. And likely confirm your supposed specialty." She leaned forward and peered at the letter. "Social adjustment problems of teenage girls."

Victor looked proud. "I based my dissertation on it. It was featured in a prominent psychology journal. Would you care for the URL to it?"

Laura stood up and came around the side of the desk. She swung her hips as if attempting to attract his attention, or at least garner some other reaction. It did nothing, and he remained as much an enigma as when he arrived. "I've been doing this long enough, Doctor Mann, to know that the school board does not allow things like this without a great deal of paperwork and bureaucracy. So I get suspicious when things like this happen so suddenly and so smoothly." She paused and smiled. "And it's happened once before with ... interesting results."

"Ah, would that be in reference to the brief career of Nurse Nyssa Neris?"

Laura's smiled faded. "You know of her?"

"I make it my business to know all I can about this school, Ms. Bendon."

"And do you know what she did while she was here?"

"Yes. She failed miserably."

Laura's lips twisted into a frown, and her eyes blazed. "All right, Doctor Mann--"

"Victor."

Laura sighed and folded her arms. "Very well, Victor ... you're all but admitting that you have an agenda, and that you know I do as well. Why the song and dance?"

Victor chuckled. "Force of habit, perhaps?"

Laura was not mollified. She was reacting exactly as Victor had predicted and hoped. "Well, you can drop it. I know why you're here."

Victor raised an eyebrow, his face betraying a mild sense of amusement. "Do you?"

"Yes, and I can help. That's my directive, to help the Darkness whenever it manifests in Haven High."

An irritated rumbling in the back of Victor's mind told him what the Darkness thought of the quality of her "help" to date.

Victor smiled again. "I appreciate the offer, Ms. Bendon, but I am afraid I have already enlisted some aid here at the school."

Laura stiffened, though her face did not change. "Oh? Who?"

"One of the members of the faculty. Terri Hollis."

Laura's lips drew to a thin line. "I see."

Victor sensed the coldness of Laura's tone in just those two words. He reasoned that Laura was not used to having someone else in control. It would get under her skin and impair her judgment, just the thing that Victor needed to keep her out of the way.

And promoting a rivalry between her and Terri would further preoccupy her and serve to check Terri's ambitions.

Laura leaned against the desk, another sly smile sliding across her face. "Surely I can help in some way. I know things about this school that perhaps you don't. If you could tell me what you're planning to do, I can keep others out of your way."

Victor deliberately paused before he replied. "Sadly, I must keep my plans private. It is what our mutual benefactor here in Haven would want."

Victor witnessed Laura tense even further.

"Rest assured, Ms. Bendon, that none of my activities will disrupt this school, or any plans that you may have for it, for that matter."

"I do not have any plans," Laura snapped. "I told you, I serve the same one that you do."

She has no idea, Victor thought. "Be that as it may, I can handle my tasks alone. You need not be bothered."

Laura's eyes burned. "You're going after someone in this school. One of the female students. Or perhaps all of them."

Victor continued to smile and observe and said not a word.

Laura shook her head. "You won't get far."

"Oh?"

Laura drew close again. "Some of the students will see you for what you are."

Victor feigned concern. "Is this so?"

"They can see the Darkness. They can see it on me. They'll see it on you, as well. Nyssa thought she could neutralize it, but that didn't work in the end. Another girl thought she could disregard it because she was so powerful, but that didn't work, either. I'm sorry, Victor, but unless you enlist my help in some way, there is no way you can succeed here."

"Hmm. Is there anyone in particular I should be concerned about?"

Laura grinned. "Well, now, that depends."

"Does it?"

"On whether or not you're willing to reveal some information in return."

The Darkness became incensed. She is a self-serving fool. Nyssa should have given her directly to me. You don't need her, Victor. I can tell you exactly who they are.

As the names entered Victor's head, he let them find voice. "Jason Conner. Richie Gardner."

Laura's grin faded.

"Heather Sovert and ... Melinda Sovert." Victor had paused when he had caught a subtle reaction from Laura on that specific name. "Cassie Kendall. Ned Lussander. Diane Woodrow."

"Stop it," Laura declared. "What the hell are you up to, Victor? Why are you even bothering with me if you have all the answers already?"

"Hmm. Why, indeed." Victor let her seethe for another few seconds before he threw her a small bone. "By the time I am done and ready to move on, Ms. Bendon, I believe you will find these students ... these Harbingers ... much more tractable. I doubt you will be bothered as much by them anymore."

The Darkness agitated for a moment in his head and quickly fell silent, as if it had not been meant for Victor to sense. Victor assumed the Darkness was worried about the Harbingers more than it would admit. The true purpose of the Book lay within the Harbinger's grasp, which made his secondary task that much more urgent.

"That's a rather large promise, isn't it?" Laura said with a sour edge to her voice.

"But one I am quite capable of delivering." He paused, then offered a small smile. "Terri was good enough to volunteer to assist with Heather."

Laura's face darkened, and Victor confirmed that she had her own plans for the girl.

"The point is, Ms. Bendon, that I have things well in hand. However, perhaps I will require your assistance during the Halloween party."

Laura allowed herself a smile. "Of course. What do you want me to do?"

"I will let you know when we get closer to that day."

Laura forced herself to nod in acknowledgment. Victor was pleased. He had her stirred up, resentful of his apparent control, and wary of Terri's potential influence. Her critical thinking would suffer for it.

"If you'll excuse me, Ms. Bendon, I would like to head to my office. I feel I will have an early appointment this morning."

Laura said nothing as Victor left the office without another word or pause for her leave.

Gina's hair whipped around her face as she stepped off the school bus, her shoes crunching on the gravel. She hunched her shoulders and drew in her arms until the gust abated. Ahead of her, another girl with dark hair raced away, stumbling as the wind channeled between two buses nearly bowled her over.

She drew her fingers across her forehead and brushed her hair out of her cloudy and troubled eyes. Her gaze swept the parking lot as the other students on her bus jogged towards the school entrance, where Vice Principal Seeger stood on a wary watch.

Gina existed in obscurity at this school, something which never bothered her before. Now it felt like an ache or an itch that she could not reach. Her eyes sought some of the male students, and her dreams from the night before came back to her.

Gina could not imagine herself walking up to any of them and starting a conversation, let alone offer herself for sex. Yet her nether regions tingled at the thought, and her head filled with the vivid imagery that had plagued her since her mother had first broached the subject.

The counselor will have the answers, the thought rose from the recesses of her mind.

She wished she could be that confident, but how could a complete stranger offer her the answers?

But I can trust him.

Like the first, this thought now occupied the limbo between truth and belief.

Her eyes lit from one boy to the other, and stopped on one that had separated from the herd of students trundling towards the building. He started back towards one of the other school buses.

Gina recognized him, though the name escaped her. He was one of the school jocks, broad-shouldered, affable, and confident. Or usually confident. His shoulders slumped as he drew close to the school bus and stopped by a small group of students.

Gina recognized them as well, a motley group that had come together at the start of the semester. She picked out Heather Sovert first, as everyone knew the name of one of the more popular girls in school. The girl right next to her must be her sister. The dark-haired girl was there, standing near Heather. Diane-something. No more names would come to her.

Brad Weston, that was the boy's name. Lots of girls were interested in him. A rumor said he was getting serious with more than one at a time. He and Heather were an item once, likely having sex with each other as well.

Gina's pussy grew warm. A deep breath did nothing to quell it. The more she stared, the more she thought of Brad fucking, and the more her pussy ached.

She rushed towards the school entrance. Moisture gathered in her sex, and her panties were damp. The wind roared past her ears, distracting her and cooling her down enough so that she could collect herself by the time she passed under the raised eyebrow of Vice Principal Seeger.

Diane panted as she stumbled into the rest of the group. "Sorry I'm late, there was an accident on..." Her words were cut off as a gust whipped her hair across her mouth. She made a revolted noise at the taste of her hair on her tongue before she peeled it away. "God, the only thing I hate about living near the Rockies is the wind in the fall!"

"It's a Chinook wind downsloping off the mountains from a gradient caused by a high-pressure system to the west," said Jason after the wind had abated enough for him to talk without shouting.

"And that was the weather for today," quipped Ned. "Now we go to reporter Richie Gardner for the sports news."

Melinda and Heather smirked. Richie snorted. "Don't look at me, baseball season ain't til April."

"Speakin' of things that are late, anyone see Cassie yet?"

"I imagine the winds are worse up on the mesa," Jason said. "Her driver might be taking it slow."

"Or some idiot in an SUV got blown over like what happened on my bus route," Diane muttered.

"It's okay, Diane, I can fill you in on what's going on when we get inside," Heather said.

"So are we set, then?" Jason said.

"I think so," Melinda said. "I'll try get a look at him when I go to my second class. I have to pass by his office anyway."

"Get a look at who?" Diane asked.

"The new counselor," said Heather.

Diane sighed. "Great."

"Jason doesn't think it will be anything to worry about."

Diane nodded and did not bother to correct her lover's false assumption. Diane was lamenting that she was the only Harbinger that could not see the Auras.

"I can look at him after my homeroom class," Jason said.

"I can get a gander at 'im after third class and before lunch," Ned said.

And I'll just stand by the sidelines and remain useless as always, Diane thought.

"Jason, Cassie had asked you to look up something for her. Did you find anything?" Melinda said, shouting her last words over the roar of the wind.

Jason sighed, but it was lost in the gust. "No, I've been too busy with other stuff. I'll go look through the school records again tonight."

"You sure you're not going to get caught doing that?"

"I'm positive, Melinda. The school doesn't have a dedicated IT staff, they just slap together off-the-shelf components and call it good. Breaking into their system is the easiest--"

Ned's head turned. "Uh, ixnay on the ackinghay, dude."

Jason responded with a confused look until he saw what had caught the attention of his cohorts. Richie frowned and clenched his fists. Melinda's gaze burned, and Heather folded her arms.

"Um, hi," murmured Brad Weston, his voice almost drowned out by the rush of wind.

"What the hell do you want?" Melinda demanded.

"Melinda, quiet," Heather snapped. She leveled her eyes at Brad. Behind her, Diane backed up a half-step, her eyes shimmering. Heather remained quiet and let her cool gaze speak for her.

Jason maintained a look of equanimity. He once harbored jealousy where Brad was concerned. Before the House, when Jason had his crush on Heather, Brad had been Heather's boyfriend, and rumors abounded that they had frequent sex. Heather had never confirmed or denied it to anyone, and Brad had done nothing to dispel the rumors.

Brad looked at Richie, and his shoulders shrank towards his body. Richie stared back, tensed as if wanting to renew the fight he had picked with Brad that morning he had tried to control Heather at Melissa's bidding.

Brad's eyes flicked between the other Harbingers and shuffled his feet. "Um ... Heather, can I, uh, talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Anything you want to say to her you can say in front of us!" Melinda piped before Heather could respond.

"Yeah, and if you even look like you're pulling the same shit with her like last time..." Richie growled.

"Hey, c'mon, man, back off," Brad said, raising his hands. "I'm not here to cause trouble, okay?"

Ned peered towards the school entrance. "Guys, chill. Old Seeger is givin' us the evil eye."

"I said, I'm not here to make trouble," Brad repeated in a more contrite voice. He let off a sigh. "Look, all I wanna do is apologize."

Heather flinched. "You want to what?"

"Apologize, dammit!" Brad snapped. He took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't wanna do all that crap to you, okay? I mean ... this is gonna sound really off the wall, and you're gonna think I flipped out but ... but I think that girl Melissa was messing with my head."

Heather's mouth dropped open. Melinda's eyes widened.

Brad frowned. "Yeah, you probably think I've gone fucking nuts. Probably every girl in the school will think that by tomorrow. Never mind"

He turned away.

Heather stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Brad, no, wait."

Brad turned back around, his eyes wary.

Heather withdrew her hand. "You were kind of pissed at me for dumping you, weren't you?"

"Well, yeah, sure, but I never wanted to do that shit to you. I mean, c'mon, Heather, I'm not like that! Ask any other girl that's dum ... er ... that ... that I stopped going with."

Melinda hid a smirk behind her hand. Diane stepped closer to her lover, even as she trembled at Brad's presence and kept her wary and troubled gaze on him.

Brad's eyes shifted to her. "Oh, um ... Diane ... sorry about the other stuff I did to you, too."

After a pause, a slow smile graced Diane's face, and she nodded. "It's okay, don't worry about it, Brad."

"Yeah, it's fine, Brad," Heather said.

Brad's eyes widened. "What, you mean you believe me?"

Heather grinned. "Yeah, I guess I'm as crazy as you."

Brad looked relieved and managed to crack a smile until his gaze shifted to Richie. Now the others looked at him as well.

Richie deflated. "I woulda kicked your ass if Saggy Seeger didn't stop us," he muttered.

Brad smirked. "Yeah, maybe you would've at that. Hey, I gotta get inside. See ya around."

Brad cast a lingering, wan look at Heather before he headed towards the school. After he passed under Seeger's watchful eye, Seeger now turned his full attention to the only ones remaining in the parking lot. He folded his arms and tapped his foot.

"I think we better get inside, too," Jason said.

"Well, yeah, but what about..." Ned started just as the sound of a car engine approached from the street. "There she is, finally!"

A black limo pulled up, bumping the curve in its hurry to enter the lot. Ned raced to it ahead of the others, shielding his eyes as another gust swirled dust and loose gravel around him in a miniature vortex.

Melinda stared at Brad as he climbed the steps. "No Aura. Not a wisp."

"Thanks for the news flash," Heather said with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm just trying to protect you, that's all."

"I mean I could see for myself he didn't have an Aura, runt."

"Really? From the way you were making cow-eyes at him I wouldn't have guessed."

Diane tried to ignore them. She wished Brad had never apologized. Now she worried that he would rekindle Heather's interest in him. Diane had no false expectations that Heather would become lesbian like her, but at least when Heather was having sex with the other Harbingers, she did not feel so much like she was competing for Heather's affection.

Not much, anyway.

Gina paused by the door to her homeroom class for a second as she left. Her feet moved of their own accord, as if they wished to obey her mother's directive even if the rest of her was still hesitant.