Chapter 38

As Victor sped towards the east edge of town, he felt something so alien that it might as well have not been his own emotion: anxiety.

Victor treated emotions as currency; calm was gold, and patience was platinum. His first big foray with his powers had taught him much about both, as well as the use of others to assist in deflecting curiosity. He had not intended for his sister to be his first slave sale, but she had meddled in his private affairs and had threatened to expose his plans.

Thus she had become part of them instead.

He had felt a sense of regret. Not remorse, and never guilt, for they were worthless in his emotional economy. He had a unique power that set him heads and shoulders above all others, and power was meant to be applied. He had sold her to someone that would treat her well.

But at no time had he ever felt anxious.

He could rationalize it as the enormity of this project. Sixteen years in the making, it conveyed the sense that failure was not an option. He had plans for others like her, but Gina was his prototype. She would tell him whether his "invention" would work.

And yet the thought of failure was not the source of his anxiety.

Victor turned down Old Fairview. The snow that had fallen the day before had succumbed to the morning sun, save for some sheltered areas under the trees or in the shade of boulders. Not enough had fallen to soak into the road and turn it to mud. His tires kicked up some dust behind him in the dry air.

He did not let himself glance at the abandoned house he passed on the way. It had stood empty since Stephanie's broken-hearted family had moved away after their daughter's tragic "death." Victor had encouraged it behind the scenes. To him, it had been a kindness to remove a reminder of their loss from their conscience.

Victor pulled over outside the moldering cemetery. His trench coat billowed like a cape behind him as he strolled around the front of the car and advanced into the cemetery. He slid his hands into the pockets, his shoes crunching and scraping as he picked his way over the fallen fence and around the detritus.

He was a few feet from Stephanie's false grave when he stopped. His gaze was drawn downward, then to the side. He turned away from the grave as his eyes traced a circuitous path about the ground.

Even here the snow was sparse, but unlike the road, its exposure to sunlight had been brief. Closer to the graves, meltwater had run into the ground, keeping the soil soft. The snow had disappeared, but the evidence had not. Someone had tramped about the cemetery within the last day.

Victor stepped along the edge of the cemetery closest to the trees. He spotted the disturbed graves, where the accumulated neglect had been removed from some of the headstones in a methodical pattern.

As if someone had been looking for something.

His eyes traced the depressions in the soil once more. It had been a search party, numbering at least two, likely three.

Victor turned towards the far corner and advanced. He stopped short of the grave and peered towards the trees. Again, the ground had been disturbed within the last day, right at the place where one would need to stand to read Stephanie's headstone.

Victor drew in a long breath and let it go, holding his gaze as hard as the silent headstones. It could be nothing. Cemeteries were often targeted by mischievous teens during the Halloween season. A dare, a hazing, morbid curiosity, boredom, or even a drunken stupor. Had he not decided to visit the grave once more, he would never have known about it.

He looked about for more evidence: a tissue or a scrap of paper dropped from a pocket; a shred of clothing caught on a craggy branch; a button popped from a sweater or jacket; an empty beer bottle left by carousers.

He found nothing.

A fine line existed between caution and paranoia, and he wondered if he risked crossing it. He had no reason to think that the Harbingers would be led here. What of it if they had? They would see the same thing anyone else would: a grave marked as Stephanie Fowler, a fact that could be contested by nothing short of exhuming the body. He spotted no such disturbance in the soil over the grave.

He knew what the Darkness knew. Richie Gardner could see the past, but it required an artifact and the right place. He would have access to neither save for this site, and at no point was the body revealed here. The dead do not speak if they do not have Presence.

And if Lydia had somehow reached out to the one with the Dream Gift and proclaimed herself to be Stephanie, the girl would still see only a grave.

Victor stepped out of the cemetery and towards his car. He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. It was time to catch up with an old friend.

"Charles, this is Victor," he said as he got into his car. "Do you have the number of -- scratch that, the home address of Walter Newland? Yes, that's right, the retired funeral home director. I assume he still lives in Haven ... Yes, I'm familiar with that area, thank you ... No, you may not ask. Goodbye." He snapped the cell phone shut and started the engine.

"I tell ya, we were this freakin' close, " Ned said, holding his thumb and forefinger a quarter inch apart. He banged his fist on the table, rattling silverware and eliciting a panicked gasp from Cassie as she grabbed her soda cup. "Another coupla seconds an' we woulda had it."

"Fuckin' right, man," Richie drawled between bites of his sandwich. "If the bitch hadn't been on to us, we would've kicked her sorry ass out of Heather's head."

"What exactly did you do?" Jason asked.

Cassie sighed and gave him a tired look. Don't encourage him, she thought, not wanting to give voice to it for fear of hurting Ned's feelings. Ned had ranted on this subject to Cassie after each period since Heather's class.

"Jus' a little ol' mental elbow grease," Ned said with a grin, hooking his fingers into imaginary suspenders.

"Which means?"

"We shoved at anything we could find that wasn't nailed down. We figgered that would cover everything that wasn't part of Heather's mind."

"A brute force attack? Did that actually work?"

"Almost. Damn." Ned slapped his hand on the table again. "Another coupla seconds, that's--"

"We get the point, Ned," Cassie declared, holding her dripping cup above her tray.

"Huh? Oh, ah, sorry, babe. Here." Ned grabbed his napkin and helped sop up the soda that had splashed over the rim of the cup.

"I didn't think such tactics would work against something like this," Jason said.

"Well, we had some help, ya know," Ned said, jerking his head towards Cassie.

"I opened something up," Cassie admitted. "I'm not sure how. It was like I was using that power that I experimented with on Ned, but now I can do it in the daytime."

Richie looked up. "Wait. You can get into people's heads when you're awake now?"

"I'm not sure, Richie. It may only work over this link. It's all too much too fast. Ever since last night it's like my dream senses have gone into overdrive. I have to wonder if Stephanie did something to me."

"Whatever ya did, it sure as hell let me and Richie do a number or two," said Ned. He lowered his voice. "Whatever happened, we gotta keep this quiet so it don't get back ta the Great White Counselor of the West. If Cassie's gonna be our secret weapon--"

"Please, Ned, don't refer to it as a weapon," said Cassie.

"Oh, sorry, babe. I didn't mean like I wanted ya ta hurt people with it."

"I know, but I can do damage from ignorance rather than malice. For awhile I couldn't tell my thoughts from Heather's. It was like we were the same person for a short while."

Ned grinned. "Heh. I was talkin' about Captain Kirk the other day. Mebbe I really shoulda meant Spock. Nice little mind-meld thing you got goin'."

Cassie smiled faintly. "I just need more time to figure out how this works."

"Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time left," Jason said. "Cassie, you think you might be able to use this later when Heather has to go to detention with Ms. Hollis?"

"I'd rather not do it if I could avoid it, but--" She paused and shook her head. "No, forget I said that. You're right. I can't shy away from this."

"Ain't you two gonna be a little busy this afternoon?" Richie said, one corner of his mouth turning upwards.

Cassie shifted in her seat. She could have done without being reminded of that.

Ned frowned. "Real smooth, dude."

"Hey, I don't dance around this shit anymore," Richie said.

Cassie tried not to look at Jason. Just sitting near him sparked a tingle in her pussy. Whenever she glanced at him, erotic thoughts pranced through her head. She feared that she still shared a weak "meld" with Heather, that she was echoing some of Heather's raw lust towards Jason.

Cassie had not seen the text of the answers on the test, but she had gathered the general content from Heather's emotions and what the others had said. Cassie had not realized how strong a sexual attraction Heather felt for Jason, and now Heather's lustful urges were becoming her own.

As if sensing Cassie's discomfort, Jason cut in. "With regards to Cassie's powers, Heather's safety -- anyone's safety -- always takes precedence. We'll have to work that out when the time comes. In the meantime, let's talk about the party coming up Monday. Cassie?"

Cassie flinched. "What? The party?"

"You mentioned to me between classes that you had something to talk to us about regarding the Halloween party? Costumes, I think."

"Oh. Oh, yes, that's right, silly of me to forget." Under the table, her legs parted to relieve the ache in her pussy. It didn't help. "I-I've made a connection with a costumer based in Randall. They're going to send someone to their Haven store tomorrow to take measurements for your costumes."

Richie frowned. "Measurements?"

"Yes, these will all be custom-fitted." Cassie smiled. "Now that I've gotten over some of my fears about Halloween, I thought I would get into the spirit of it a bit more. I don't usually like to flaunt my parents' wealth like this, but I feel it's the least I could do for all of you."

Ned grinned. "Sweet. So whaddaya got, or have ya already picked some stuff out for us?"

Richie looked askance at them. Cassie turned to him and touched his arm. "Richie, don't worry, I already know what you want. You just have to pick what team you want on the uniform."

Richie grinned. "Cool."

"What about Jason?" Ned asked.

"I talked to him briefly about it, and we pretty much decided on that," Cassie said. Jason gave them a twitching half-smile and said nothing.

"Heh, if I had ta guess, I woulda said yer gettin' him a Starfleet uniform."

Jason adjusted his glasses. "Um, well, actually ... well, you shouldn't really assume that ... um ... uh, yeah, that's pretty much it."

Richie snorted laughter. Ned tried to hold back but guffawed as well.

"Oh, now, be nice, both of you!" Cassie said.

"You know, I've hardly said a single thing about Star Trek these past two months--" Jason began.

Richie and Ned laughed harder.

"So what are you going as, Ned?" Jason said over their laughter, his cheeks flushed.

Ned snickered and pondered for a moment. "Huh, I guess I didn't really stop ta think about it. Oh, wait, I know! I'll be a pirate."

Richie stared at Ned in bewilderment. "Wait, you? A pirate?"

"Hey, yeah, why not? I can say 'arrr' with the best of 'em! Avast ye scurvy dogs and all that stuff."

"What're gonna call yourself? Blacknose?"

Jason nearly snorted his soda in laughter. Cassie rolled her eyes but hid a smile behind her hand.

Ned gave Richie a look of mock-indignation. "Oh, yer the comedian today. Anyway, this can work. I can be the pirate and Cassie can be my saucy wench."

Cassie blinked and stared at him.

"Well, a tasteful saucy wench, anyway," Ned offered.

"If it's anything like what I'm thinking, I doubt my parents would let me dress up like that."

"Jeez, babe, they'd get on yer case about a dumb costume party?"

Cassie sighed. "'Whenever you present your face to the world, you present your best at all times.' A direct quote from my mother. She's going to insist I go as a princess or a queen, I just know it."

"Mebbe ya can fool her. Get two costumes made. One fer the parental units and the other ta have fun with."

Cassie started to shake her head and stopped herself. "I'll think about it," she said in a soft voice.

"So what's Melinda going as?" Richie drawled.

"I don't know yet, I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it," Cassie said.

"Hey, mebbe if Jason's goin' all Trekkie on us, she can be his green-skinned space babe," said Ned.

Richie snorted. "Yeah, I'd love to see you try that one on her."

"I'm not sure if Melinda should go to have her measurements taken," Cassie said. "Not when Heather seems to think that something will happen to her this weekend."

"Can ya give her a lift, mebbe?" asked Ned. "She's not gonna take kindly ta sittin' out the party, not when she was forced ta stay home when the thing with Melissa went down."

"Heather thinks she may be on the verge of another vision concerning Melinda. I'm hoping that will be more clear on what the danger is." Cassie's shoulders slumped. "Assuming Heather survives whatever Ms. Hollis will do to her this afternoon."

"Today was a fluke," Jason said. "From what I saw in Heather's mind, I think Ms. Hollis got lucky that time."

"Did you see anything else, Jason?"

"I saw something from Diane."

Richie frowned. "Diane? You mean, like, from the school tool?"

"No, it wasn't Doctor Mann himself. I couldn't tell what it was. I just know that there was something coming from Diane's mind. It was a little like the energy I saw from Ms. Hollis' mind."

"So it had ta be Mann tryin' ta screw with us," Ned said.

"Except she didn't do anything to hinder us or help Ms. Hollis," said Jason. "Unless you or Richie felt something you didn't mention? Or you, Cassie?"

Cassie shook her head. Ned and Richie did as well, but Ned paused. "Well ... nah, I guess it was nothin'."

"What is it?" Jason said.

"I just thought it was cool that Diane was followin' along with us. Kinda like it was what she was s'posed ta be doin'. Like it was, I dunno, expected of her. Like she was followin' a script."

Cassie looked thoughtful, then alarmed. "Like she was obeying you?"

"Well, I didn't give her any kinda direct order. Not like ya can do that anyway with this link thingie."

"Look, she was helping us, okay?" Richie said. "What more do you want?"

"It's just that Melinda seemed to think that Diane was somehow making Heather treat her as a slave the other day," said Cassie.

"Yeah, but that's them. They always had that shit going on between them. Diane's lezzie anyway."

"Technically, that has nothing to do with it," Jason said. "We're talking control and not sex."

Richie snorted. "Like the two are different anymore?"

Cassie took a deep breath and ignored the sensations from her stiffening nipples as they brushed against her bra cups. She forced her legs together and tried to pay no attention to the squish of moisture between her thighs. "Let's j-just be careful about this, please. I really hate the idea of Diane exiling herself from us, but I don't want to see Mann trying to gain influence over us, either."

"He can't be doin' that, or he'd be havin' her try ta get the Book from us again," said Ned. "Haven't heard a peep from her 'bout it."

"Then it's another distraction, like Ms. Hollis," Jason said.

"We can't keep treating Ms. Hollis as just a distraction," Cassie said.

"We won't. We'll do our best to protect Heather this afternoon."

"But it means we'll have to wait on ... um, other things."

From the tone of her voice it was clear she wanted to do anything but wait, and her face betrayed her frustration with her own desires.

"Um, not ta be indelicate or nothin', but mebbe ya should go ahead with it," Ned said.

Both Cassie and Jason stared at him. Richie looked on with amusement as he ate.

Ned twitched. "Um, yeah, that's right. And that's her freakin' boyfriend sayin' this. Look, sex is power, right? It made us get all charged up and whatnot on Wednesday. Mebbe that's why me and Richie just missed with Heather."

Richie smirked when he thought about Melinda, but he wiped it from his face before Jason could see it.

"But we'll be, well, distracted," Cassie said.

"Yeah, but we'll be sharin' that link with Heather. Mebbe some of that power will get ta her and she can fight off Horrible Hollis better."

"Or she'll pick up on our lust and addle her mind further."

"I don't think we can project our feelings directly like that," said Jason.

"I was referring to my own abilities, Jason," Cassie said. "I was able to get into Heather's mind really easy. If that happens again when I'm, well, i-in the throes of lust--"

"Yeah, but ya said yerself you'd be distracted, so mebbe that will hold ya back," Ned said.

Cassie felt like her head was spinning. Suddenly she was the center of attention, the one that everyone was looking to for the answers. She wanted to claim she couldn't do it, but it became clear that she was down to a choice between trusting her own power and trusting the spells in the Book. And if she refused to use her power and something happened to Heather, she would never live down her cowardice.

"I wish we knew more about what exactly Victor is doing," Cassie said. "Then this would not seem so confusing."

"I hope to get some answers this evening," Jason said. "By now my computer should have, ah, retrieved all the data. If you know what I mean."

Ned grinned and tapped the side of his nose. "Nudge-nudge, wink-wink, say no more."

"If anything unusual has been happening at Haven High for the past twenty years that's following any sort of pattern, I should be able to find it."

"Hey, anything I can do, old hoss?" Ned said. "Now that I got my web surfin' fingers limbered up."

"Yes. Go look for whatever information you can scrounge up about the Haven coroner's office circa October and November of 1984."

Richie wrinkled his nose. "What for?"

"I think I know," Ned said. "You wanna see if ya can find that dude in Richie's vision."

"Right," said Jason. "If he really was involved in helping Victor in a cover-up, then he had to be associated with the coroner. I want to see if we can dig up something."

"Do you really think you can use it against him if you do?" Cassie asked.

"It's more information than Mann likely wants us to have. Richie gave me the idea earlier."

"Huh?" Richie said with a mouth full of sandwich. "I did?"

"I'm working on the theory that Doctor Mann is obsessed with secrecy. Anything we can find to jeopardize that secrecy might be useful, even if it's not something that we can make stick in any sort of legal sense."

Ned snorted. "Dude, I think jus' about everything going on here is so far beyond legal that there jus' ain't a term for it yet."

Gina stepped out of her final class and paused just past the door, causing a minor pile-up behind her. Several boys (and one girl) had waited for her to leave first so they could follow and ogle her ass. Now as they bumped into each other in their attempt to avoid colliding with the object of their desire, they pretended not to be doing what was obvious to everyone else they were doing.