Chapter 16

" ... my own mind!"

Cassie's eyes darted about the darkness of her room, heart pounding under her hand. She found the light from the bathroom and focused on it to hasten her return to reality. The footsteps echoed for a few seconds longer, but no longer held their power of command and fear. Her panic eased.

She dropped her face into her hands, letting out a short sigh through her fingers. When her hands fell away again, she saw that the room looked brighter than she expected. She looked at the clock, and to her surprise discovered it was already just short of five AM.

Cassie saw this as a hopeful sign. She had managed to pull the nightmare away from the midnight hour, when it seemed her Dream Gift did not work as well.

She lay back down, but sleep would not come for her any more that morning. Small consolation that she would not have time to try out her new dream powers with Ned as she had promised. He would be disappointed, but she was relieved.

She got out of bed and headed to the teapot in the bathroom. While the water heated, she returned to the bedroom and fell onto the edge of the bed.

Too many questions spun through Cassie's mind. If only she knew who the girl was! That alone might answer so many of them, or give Jason a name to research. She vowed to use whatever control she gained over her dream to discover the girl's identity.

And, she hoped, confirm that the girl existed in the land of the living.

January 5th, 1960 - Dear Goddess, it's cold! This must be the coldest I've seen it for some time. It's too cold to go out, so I took the opportunity to enchant a few protection pendants. They've been in such high demand since people started worrying about the "commies" dropping atomic bombs on us. I refrain from telling them that they won't do much good against something like that.

Jason shook his head and skimmed down to another entry.

February 10th, 1960 - Oh, I am quite pleased with myself today. Mr. Tate told me that the last salve I made for the dreadful itching on his burn scars worked really well. Now I can make more for a few others I know that have the same problem. I have to wonder just what they got into up there on the mountain when they got caught in that wildfire last year.

Jason was tempted to read more. He had discovered from previous research that a nasty wildfire had burned the side of the mountain just west of town, near the military base. The fire had spawned many strange stories and wild tales, but it had nothing to do with what he was researching now. He skipped ahead further.

March 12th, 1960 - Well, well, well, FINALLY figured out what that little "haunting" was at the Hanners. When I finally convinced them to let me do some aura readings on them, I discovered that their "poltergeist" was their fourteen year old daughter Jennifer. The poor thing is in the throes of a late-onset puberty, and her stuffy, morally uptight parents are of little use. All that pent-up sexual energy has to go somewhere!

She was channeling it into physical manifestation without realizing it. I am both proud and terribly guilty about what I did to fix it. I took Jenny aside and showed her how to masturbate (and how to do it QUIETLY). Then I did a bit of phony mumbo-jumbo in front of her parents and pronounced the spirit "exorcised." We'll see if it works. I'm betting it will.

Jason made note of the entry. This might be the start of what he was looking for. He didn't have far to go to find more.

March 27th, 1960 - I just had to find out. I went to the Hanners again. Sure enough, the parents claim that everything is as it should be, though I had to coax it out of them. At first they didn't want anyone noticing me standing on their front porch. Maybe word got around in their stuffy little community that some normally upright Christians had hired a Witch. But what really convinced me that I had done the right thing was Jenny. She was a lot less withdrawn and a lot more happy than I had remembered her. She gave me a wide smile and a little wink when she was sure her parents were not looking.

I'm going to have to keep an eye on her. The fact that a repressed sexuality could trigger telekinetic activity tells me that sexual energy could be harnessed in some manner.

Jason craned his neck and looked at the clock. He had only another five minutes before he had to leave. He wished he had had enough time the night before to read the journal, but he had been busy with all the other research projects.

He also had a new distraction: the Book.

A simple tug at the back of his mind when he came home from school ended with the Book open in his lap by evening. He would rife through the pages, expecting to see something different but not knowing why. The Book would be returned to its hiding place, only to be in his lap again an hour later.

Now the ritual wanted to begin in the morning. His eyes drifted from the journal towards the shadows under the bed.

Jason sighed. He saved his latest changes to the journal index and shut down his computer. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and pulled out the Book.

The gold inlaid eye peered at him from the leather cover. He sometimes expected it to come to life and swivel towards him, as if someone were still watching him as Melissa had done.

Or judging him.

His fingers curled into the leather and crinkled the pages. He had no worries about damaging the Book. It would repair whatever damage he did to it. But nothing was said about what damage it could be doing to him.

He dropped the Book and kicked it back under the bed. He grabbed the box containing the pendant fragments, opened it, and plucked out the piece still attached to the chain.

Jason had carried the fragment with him the day before, again without knowing why. It could not tell him if someone were stealing the Book if he did not wear it, and he had refused to do so, despite all reassurances that nothing was left of the Darkness in the pendant.

So, what am I afraid of? he thought.

He stood up, holding the fragment by its chain and letting it twirl in the morning light, the metal still shiny as if he had just polished it. He had no answer for his own question.

Jason undid the clasp and fit the chain around his neck. The fragment fell against his shirt, only two points of a fractured pentagram. He walked towards the door to put some distance between him and the Book.

Jason stiffened. For a moment, he thought he had felt ... no, heard something. He clutched the fragment and pulled until the chain dug into the back of his neck. He forced himself to relent and let it go.

No, I would know it if the Darkness was still in this pendant, Jason thought.

He received no actual sense of the Book. No presence appeared in his mind or even a feel for where it was in the room.

Jason glanced at the clock. It was about time for him to leave.

He wanted to try one more thing. Melissa had received her strongest impressions when the Harbingers were holding the Book. He fished the Book out from under the bed once more.

As he lifted it into his arms, the gold inlay caught the light, the eye flashing gold as if drawing on him like a searchlight. A tingling sensation rippled through his arms and into his body, and an eerie, ghostly afterimage followed his hands like an analog TV broadcast just out of focus.

Not yet.

"What?!"

The Book slipped from his hands and thudded to the floor. He leapt back and stared as if the Book had suddenly turned into a pack of snakes. He swallowed hard and gripped the pendant piece, drawing the chain tight once more. He stared at the eye, expecting it to glow acid green as it had when Melissa had communed with it. It remained gold, but he was sure now that it was glowing.

Not ready.

The voice was much fainter this time. The glow faded as well, and the Book became inert.

"What do you mean?" Jason demanded. "Not ready for what?"

He received only silence in return.

His hand gripped the pendant until pain needled his fingers. "Dammit, answer me," he growled through clenched teeth. "Not ready for what? And who are you? What are--?"

"Jason?"

Jason forced himself to let go of the pendant fragment. Two red welts dotted his fingers. "Um, what is it, Mom?"

"You know very well what it is, young man. You are close to being late for the bus. Again. This is not going to be a habit with you, I can tell you that. Get down here now!"

Jason had hoped that his mother would not still be upset over her father missing dinner yet again the night before. The number of late nights his father put in at the hospital had escalated since construction started on the new wing.

Jason fumbled with the clasp as he raced towards his book-bag. He kicked the Book under the bed. "Coming right now, Mom!" He stuffed the pendant fragment into his pocket, grabbed his book-bag and headed out the door in the space of a single breath.

"Victor? Victor, wait!"

Victor continued his march towards the administrative area. Rapid footsteps closed behind him, and he did not stop and turn around until he was just within sight of Marcie's desk. "Terri, I am very busy this morning. Make it short."

Terri's face betrayed a small frown of annoyance before she could mask it and flash a smile. "You might not want to talk about it here in the hall. I was hoping to catch you in your office."

Victor folded his hands behind his back. He took a step closer, such that his face filled her view. "I would appreciate it if you avoided associating with me too openly," he said in a low voice. "It is not as bad now when there are no students present, but I do not want this to become a bad habit."

"And why not?"

Victor cast a level gaze at her.

Terri shrunk, her eyes wavering. "I mean ... not that I would question your wishes, but I am curious."

"I should not need to spell it out for you. It is best others do not know we share any association outside of this school."

"Very well. But I thought you would want to speak about Heather."

Victor heard a faint sound behind him, like a scuff of a shoe on carpet. "Heather Sovert?" he said in a clear voice.

Terri smirked. "And what other girl named Heather is there?"

"What of her?"

"I thought you should know that I made rather good progress with her already. I should be able to take her much further today. I might even have her meet me after school, certainly by tomorrow if not today."

Victor folded his arms and nodded once.

She's pathetic if she thinks she can get one of the Harbingers that easily, the Darkness sneered. But she has to keep them distracted. And you have to get after that Book.

Victor responded with only a simple mental acknowledgment He had been on his way to start that endeavor when Terri had stopped him. He did not take the time to explain how he was using the encounter to his advantage.

Terri tilted her head. "Is that all? No comment?"

"Do you need one?"

Terri hesitated. "I thought you might want to--"

"I will comment when I see a need and not a moment before. I am leaving her in your hands for a reason, Terri."

Terri's lips curled into an evil smile. "Then you are considering her."

"Again, I reserve judgment for now."

Terri nodded, looking smug. "I knew I could get you to see things my way. You just wait, Victor. You won't be sorry."

She headed away. Once more came the sound of a scuffing shoe behind Victor. He turned in time to see Marcie's eyes avert from what he assumed was Laura retreating into her office. The door clicked shut a moment later as Victor strode forward.

"Miss Fuller," said Victor. "I would like a moment of Ms. Bendon's time."

Marcie smiled, her eyes hovering between dreamy and sultry as she stood. "Mmm, yes, Doctor Mann, I'll check for you."

Victor watched Marcie step out from behind the desk, her hips swaying in a subtle but sensual movement. He sensed the constant, low-level sexual arousal, which spiked when she cracked open the door and cast her eyes on her Mistress.

"Doctor Mann to see you, Ms. Bendon," she said.

"Send him in, Marcie."

Victor saw as well as sensed the shiver of pleasure that rippled through Marcie's body. "Mmm, yes, Ms. Bendon," she gushed in a breathy voice. She turned to Victor. "She'll see you now, Doctor Mann."

"Thank you."

Marcie smiled and sat down. A tiny sigh escaped her lips as her pussy throbbed in a gentle orgasm of reward.

Victor's gaze lingered on her and passed silent judgment. The method was so crude as to be revolting. A total enslavement by brute force was no better than manipulating a puppet. It gave him insight into Laura's methods and mindset.

Victor let himself in. Laura Bendon leaned forward and laced her fingers together. "Yes, Victor, what may I do for you?"

He heard the edge of sarcasm in her voice. He let her have the illusion that she had hid it from him. "It came to my attention this morning that you have a rule requiring me to seek your permission before requesting that students come see me."

"It is important that the students do not miss their normal classes if it can be avoided, as their academic achievement must be first and foremost on my mind," said Laura, her words as smooth as if she had prepared them ahead of time. "I am sure you understand."

Victor understood that she perceived a loss of control over her queendom and now intended to reclaim it. "Of course. Therefore, I am here to fulfill that requirement and request permission to call two students from their normal classes for sessions with me today."

"Two?"

"The first is Gina Caligano. In fact, I would prefer to have blanket permission for sessions each day this week. I have already seen her once."

"As I am well aware," said Laura, a chill to her voice. She leaned back in her chair. "And I hope you are aware that I do not wish to see her miss that many classes."