Chapter 42

Gina stepped off the school bus and walked along the side of the road as if the high heels had become second nature to her. Despite the cold breeze, she gave no notice to the chill against her bare legs. A car passing the other way slowed as it approached, its driver pausing to gawk at her strutting stride before peeling away. Gina flushed with pleasure.

She approached her house and slowed as she crossed the intersection with the dirt road. Her eyes twitched, and her head made an aborted turn towards the road. She told herself that there was nothing more to see, and nothing else to think about. Victor would be home soon, and he would expect her to be properly prepared.

Gina replayed her school day in her head. She wished Victor had been around for her counseling session. It always helped ease her doubts and confusion. She had done everything Victor would have wanted of her, but her actions were riddled with tiny hesitations.

It was a full minute before Gina realized that she had come to a dead stop in the middle of the intersection. Her legs tensed but would not move her forward.

She turned her head and looked down the dirt road. The aspens stilled as the breeze died. The silence was near absolute.

Finally, Gina started towards the house again, her heels scraping the asphalt. She turned her gaze away from the road only when it was no longer visible to her.

Gina let herself into the house. Her mother emerged from the kitchen, wearing only her apron. "Victor was detained and will be a little late coming home," Roberta said.

Gina nodded. She looked towards the stairs.

"You're to prepare yourself properly anyway, but he left word that you may give yourself some sexual relief if you need it."

"All right." She headed up the stairs.

"Oh, Gina, dear! One more thing."

Gina stopped on the second step and turned.

Roberta beamed. "Victor had a very lovely costume delivered to the house for your Halloween party. It's upstairs on your bed."

"Does he want me to try it on?"

"He didn't say so directly, but I am sure he would be pleased if you did so." Roberta smiled. "I've seen it. I think you'll feel very sexy in that costume."

A tiny shiver rippled through Gina's body. "Like the clothes I wore today did?"

"Oh, even more than that. I daresay that it will be hard to stop thinking about sex while you're wearing it."

Gina glanced up the stairs again, her eyes suddenly cloudy. "But Victor always wants me naked when--"

"Gina, this is a costume Victor got for you. I am sure he meant for you to wear it, especially if it means it will help you become a fully sexual being."

Gina nodded. "Yes, of course. I understand."

She headed up the stairs. Her pussy was warm and moist again by the time she reached the top, and her eyes were riveted on the doorway of her room as she approached in mounting anticipation.

In her room, a gold-trimmed box lay in the exact center of the mattress, a bright red ribbon wrapped around it and tied into a neat bow.

Gina stepped up to the bed. Her body quivered, and a gentle, husky sigh passed her lips. Yet as she reached forward and pulled the box towards her, she looked up. Her gaze fell on the window and lingered, leaving her again frozen as she had been at the intersection.

She blinked rapidly and looked down at the box. She withdrew her hands. First things first. She had to be naked before she could think of trying anything on.

Gina stripped off her school clothes, taking longer with each piece she removed. The hot pants came off last, her fingers sliding under the waistband for half a minute before pulling them down her legs. She looked at the box, intending to lift the cover...

... only to find herself again looking towards the window.

She tore her gaze from it again. Her hands were still poised to lift the cover from the box. Her fingers suddenly felt stiff. She lifted her hands and flexed the fingers until the sensation passed.

"Is everything okay, Gina?"

Gina blinked. She was once more staring at the window.

"Gina?"

Gina finally turned towards her mother standing in the door. "I'm fine, Mom, why?"

"You've been quiet for awhile. I wanted to know if you were having any difficulty with the costume."

"I'm getting to it now."

"Only now?"

Gina looked perplexed. "I'm sorry?"

"It's been twenty minutes, Gina, I was hoping to see you in it before Victor came home."

Gina frowned and looked at the clock on her night table. It could not have been that long. It had taken her only a minute or two to undress, and then...

She tried to turn towards the window again. She stopped herself and averted her eyes from it. "I'm okay, Mom, I just ... I'll just be a few more minutes."

"Okay, but call me if there's anything wrong."

Gina nodded in response only after her mother had left the room. She turned back towards the box, hesitated, then yanked off the cover.

She saw little detail at first, as all the pieces were black. She set the cover aside and grabbed the first piece that had caught her eye, one that sported a dull sheen.

She lifted from the box something that looked similar to the hot pants she had worn to school, except these were even more skimpy and smelled of new leather. She set it down on the bed and grabbed the next piece. It was the top, also of leather, little more than two half-cups supported by thin straps.

She found the stockings next: black fishnets with hooks for garters, which she found beside them. She set both beside the other pieces.

Finally she pulled out the last item. She stared at her newest set of high heels, turning them over in her hands, her brow wrinkling. The heels were five inches. She doubted she could wear them. They seemed more appropriate for someone older than she.

Gina shook her head as she lowered the shoes. Her doubts made no sense. She was on her way to becoming a fully realized sexual being. The shoes were part of that process.

And now she was staring at the window again.

This time she assumed it just happened to be in her line of sight when she had lowered the shoes. Her eyes flicked from the window to the costume. The skin around her hips and her bosom tingled as if in anticipation of the new outfit snuggled against them. Her pussy was damp and needy just from the thought of properly presenting for Victor when he returned.

Her hand strayed towards her sex. Her mother had told her she could grant herself relief. Yet the costume would give her what she wanted: closure, a final commitment to her future. The constant little bouts of doubt and the strange voices in her head would fall silent at last.

And yet her eyes rose to the window once more.

Her hand fell away. She stepped up to the window and peered outside, but saw nothing. She had no idea what it was she thought she might see.

Gina jerked her gaze from the window when she heard the front door close. A muffled conversation followed, then heavy footfalls coming up the stairs.

She pulled herself away from the window, quelling the urge to look again. Stephanie was not there, she was not in Gina's head, and probably never existed. She stood beside the costume just as Victor walked in.

Victor's eyes slid from Gina to the costume, and then glanced at the window. He smiled. "Good afternoon, Gina. Your mother was concerned that perhaps you do not find the costume to your liking."

"I just got it out of the box," said Gina. "Do you want me to try it on now?"

Victor checked with his avatar in Gina's head and nodded once.

Gina spun around and picked up one of the stockings. She sat down on the edge of the bed and eased her foot into the tight fabric. Victor watched the black fishnet slide up Gina's graceful leg. He allowed himself to admire her beauty, even become aroused by it.

Gina paused just as she pulled it over her knee.

Victor's smile broadened. "Yes?"

Gina tugged the stocking further up her leg. The fabric felt unreal, smoother than silk, sliding over her skin as if she were covered in a fine sheen of oil. Where it wrapped itself taut against her leg, it felt more like a soft, pleasant warmth swaddling her body.

"It feels nice," Gina said, her voice growing husky. "Very nice."

She pulled the stocking into place, the upper edge a few inches short of her groin. She pulled on the other one, letting out her breath in a slow sigh as she wriggled her toes within their stretchy black second skin.

"What did your mother tell you about the costume?" Victor asked.

Gina pulled the second stocking over her thigh and rose to her feet. Her legs glided as if showing them off to an unseen audience. "It would make me feel sexy," she said in a breathless voice. "And I'd think about sex all the time."

Victor looked over the remaining pieces. "Save the bottom part for last, Gina. Put on the top next."

Gina picked it up and looked inside the cups. A button of gel-like material lay near the center of each. She put her arms through the thin straps and pulled them over her shoulders. She fit the cups over her breasts and felt them draw her nipples into the soft, yielding gel, as if sucked into place. The cups seemed to melt into her skin, becoming an extension of her own body.

As she pulled the straps tight in the back, the nipples tingled as if brushed by teasing fingertips. Every movement renewed the touch, never more than just a light caress.

"Now how do you feel?" Victor asked.

Gina turned herself one way and then the other. Each time her breasts bounced, she felt the zephyr touch on her nipples. She imagined what it would be like to have Brad's fingers there, or his tongue. Her pussy ached, like it had back at school whenever she strutted down the halls.

"Horny," Gina whispered, her breath soft and panting.

"Now the shoes."

Gina picked up the shoes and placed them on the floor. She clutched the edge of the bed as she slid her feet into them. Her feet seemed to merge with the shoes. Her legs felt warm, tingly, and wonderful. She stood up straight with no hesitation. Her balance was perfect, the downward point of her feet now the norm rather than a novelty.

She could not resist taking a step or two. Pleasure flooded from her legs and gathered in her pussy. Her nipples were hard and erect, the slide of the gel across them like the slow lick of a tongue.

"Now the last piece."

Gina turned towards the bed again, eager to please and be pleased. She picked up the bottom piece, holding it up so she could see the shine of the supple leather. Her eyes flicked to the side, towards the window.

Towards the window.

The window.

The...

"Gina."

Gina blinked a few times and turned her head towards him.

"What were you staring at just now?"

"I wasn't, I--"

"You were." Victor stepped forward and gestured for her to turn around and face him. "What was it?"

"I was ... I was just looking at the window."

"Why?"

She paused and glanced back towards it for a moment. "I thought I saw something. A bird. They light in the trees right behind my bedroom."

Victor nodded. "Put on the bottom piece of the costume."

"Yes, of course."

Gina bent down and stepped into the garment. She pulled it up her legs, letting her breath go in a rush as they slid over her stockings, leaving trails of tingly pleasure. She shimmied her hips into its tight grip. Her movements made her breasts heave and sway, nipples stroked by an unseen touch.

As she pulled the pants to her waist, it hugged her ass cheeks, molding itself to them until the surface of the leather was contoured to her own smooth curves. The crotch settled against her pussy and squeezed against her warm and wet folds.

She gyrated her hips. The material slid against her slick flesh, her pussy now achy and hot.

"Take a few steps around the room for me, Gina," said Victor.

Gina started to walk. Each step sent thrills of pleasure through her nipples and her pussy. Each tilt of her hips gave her a gentle stroke to her folds, each twist of her torso and bounce of her breasts a soft flick to her nipples. This time when she passed by the window, she afforded it no more than a brief glance.

Victor smiled as she returned to him. By the time she stood before him again, she was panting, her body shivering with desire. Even standing still, the mere pressure against her sex was enough to send little sparks of pleasure that flitted down her legs. She held herself with one leg bent before her, like a hooker flaunting herself on a street corner.

"And now what are you thinking about?" Victor asked.

"Brad," Gina moaned. "Having sex with Brad."

"Can you think of anything else at the moment?"

Gina paused and swayed. She looked up at Victor with dark, sultry eyes and nodded.

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Sex with you."

Victor smiled. "Soon." He cupped one of her breasts. She shuddered as pleasure exploded across her breast and radiated through her body. Her pussy rose as if stroked. "But for now, you'll keep this costume on."

His hand touched her crotch. Her pleasure rose once more, drowning her in sensual bliss.

"In fact, you simply cannot remove it."

Gina nodded. She had known that. It made sense as the erotic images cascaded through her head.

"Do you know why?" Victor asked. "It is not because I told you."

Gina paused. A thought coalesced in the miasma of lust. "Because ... because I need to become a fully sexual being, like Mom said."

"Very good. You're absolutely right. You're already on your way, Gina."

Gina smiled. She knew she could count on Victor to chase the demons from her head.

"Cassie, can you describe to me again that experience you had last night?" Jason said as he and Cassie came down the stairs after they had dressed. "The one where you said Stephanie talked to you."

Melinda looked up. She and Richie were also dressed and sitting in the living room. Richie lounged on the sofa, his back propped up against one end, a leg stretched out across the cushions.

"There were a lot of emotions tied up with that," said Cassie. "I'm not sure I've sorted them out yet."

"I'm more interested in the physical part of it. I want to know where you saw Stephanie each time."

"You mean where in Haven?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Well, the first one I'm not sure was in Haven. The truck driver must have been just outside of town."

"Can you remember anything else about it? Did you see anything that was nearby?"

"There was a wall along one side of the road," Cassie said. She shook her head. "No, not a wall, it looked more natural than that."

"A cliff?"

Cassie nodded. "It could be, yes."

"That sounds like Mesa Ridge Road."

"I know where that is," Melinda piped. "My parents took that road sometimes when we used to go camping years ago. It's the only real way to get to Haven from the south."

Jason nodded. "Cassie, you said the second one was in a warehouse?"

"Yes. I saw lots of stereos and televisions and such."

"It must have been the electronics store in the mall," said Jason. "It's the only place in town selling consumer electronics that's big enough to have a warehouse. And the last one, you have any idea where that house was?"

Cassie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jason, I don't. Oh, wait, I do remember seeing a light twinkling in the sky."

"A plane?"

Cassie shook her head again. "No, it didn't move, but it did blink sort of like a plane."

"It might have been a light on top of a cell phone tower," Jason said. "There's one just to the west of the city park."

"How do you remember all that shit, man?" Richie drawled.

"You tend to remember these things when you stare at maps of Haven as much as I have," Jason said. "Which is exactly what I've been doing since I got that diagram of all the lines of energy under Haven from Elizabeth's notes."

"I-I know what you're going to say," Cassie said, her eyes glistening. "I was traveling along one of those lines last night, wasn't I?"

Melinda gaped. "You what?!"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think," said Jason. "Most likely the line that passes under your mansion. I'll bet I can plot those three locations right along the line or pretty close to it."

Cassie turned towards the sofa, her gait unsteady. Richie withdrew his leg seconds before Cassie fell onto a cushion at the other end. "Hey, you okay?" Richie asked.

Cassie nodded. "Just a bit ... in a bit of shock at the revelation. I mean, I think I knew that was the only explanation, but I didn't want to think about it."

"I'm not sure I want to, either," Melinda said. "That can't be safe! Doesn't the Darkness use those things?"

"Not really, at least not physically," Jason said. "Or it would have been able to strike at us through them. Remember how it took the Rite of Power to get it to move out of the node. I think it's still pretty much trapped there right now."

Cassie looked up. "Jason, I saw it! I saw the Darkness sitting at the end of that energy line. It was after the last manifestation."

"Which would have put you at the closest point to the Inn of those three locations," Jason said. "It makes sense to me."

"Well, that makes one of us!" Melinda cried. "Cassie, please don't do that again! If that thing ever got to you while you were--"

"I don't even know how I did it the first time," said Cassie, some irritation edging her voice. "What happened was like an out-of-body experience, or an astral projection. I've never come even close to doing something like that on my own."

"Except gettin' into people's dreams," Richie said.

"No, I think that was something else. I didn't feel the sense of displacement like I did last night. Melinda, please don't panic. I really think it was Stephanie that was pulling me along. She's the one with that ability, not me."

"Some ability!" Melinda said.

"Yes, it is!" Cassie said, standing up. "Jason, projection like that is a very powerful psychic ability, and Stephanie has it. If things were different, with that kind of help..."

She trailed off, not knowing where else to go with it. Jason just nodded.

Richie glanced between the two of them and frowned. "So, why don't we try to find her?"

"We don't have a clue where she is," Jason said.

"Yeah, you do. Use your nerd-powers again. She's gotta be along the same line, right?"

"Well, yes. But where along that line?"

"She's a prisoner inside her own mind, Richie," Cassie said. "If she's anywhere, she likely doesn't even know who she is anymore. Someone is controlling her, probably--" Her eyes widened. She looked towards Jason. "Probably to keep her powers in check!"

Jason looked thoughtful.

"Think about it, Jason! If Victor's been doing this every year, and he tried to get Stephanie, and these powers of hers stopped him somehow--"

"And he's so obsessed with secrecy that he couldn't risk her exposing his scheme," Jason said.

"Okay, wait, I don't get this shit," Richie said. "What's he doing with these girls he takes every year?"

"We don't know yet that's what he's doing. I still have to get home to analyze--"

"Look, just pretend we know that, okay?" Richie snapped. "He takes some girl each year, fucks with her head and turns her into a slut, and then what?"

"I think it's pretty obvious what he's doing with them, Richie," Melinda said, wrinkling her nose.

"No, it ain't. Tell me."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "He's keeping them for his own little perverted slave harem."

"Nah, that ain't it. Think about it, huh? If that's all he's doing to them, then why all the crap with Stephanie? Look, when I had that stupid vision at the grave, that dude kept goin' on that Victor failed. So how the fuck did he fail if he's got control over her?"