Chapter 58

Gina sat at her desk in her next class, confused.

She had seen Victor standing in the hallway on her way to the classroom, in itself nothing unusual. What was odd was her aversion to him. She avoided him, as if he were not supposed to be there.

Something strange had happened around him as well. She had seen some students standing near him, but they had vanished when she had directed her gaze straight at them. She had felt as if she needed to turn her attention somewhere else, anywhere but that section of hallway.

But what confused her the most was why she was dwelling on such a trivial matter when she had her future to contemplate.

Victor had been doing something in that hallway that he had not wanted anyone to see. He was hiding something. It was another kind of lie.

Gina shook her head. She had to ignore these distractions. She needed to focus her mind on Brad and the ceremony that evening. As if to underscore the point, her pussy once more swam in moist warmth in response to these far more appropriate thoughts.

Seeger slowly closed the door and crossed his office in small, measured steps. Jason watched in a despondent and impatient silence as Seeger fell into his seat and folded his hands on the desk. He scrutinized Jason with a hard and unyielding gaze.

"Do you care to say anything about the incident in the hallway, Mr. Conner?" asked Seeger.

Jason hesitated, as he had to be sure that he had heard a real inquiry and not a statement masquerading as a question with only one right answer: an admission of the student's guilt. "I'm sorry, Mr. Seeger?"

"I cannot make my question more plain than that. I wish to know what happened between you and Dr. Mann."

"You didn't see it for yourself?"

Seeger paused. "What I saw ... is not relevant at the moment. I wish to hear your side. Dr. Mann seems to think I should drop the matter, and I ... I am inclined to agree. But..."

Jason did not respond; the air remained thick with Seeger's silence. Jason resisted prompting him. He was not making any sense out of the patterns -- or the lack thereof -- around Seeger's mind.

Seeger finally let out a rumbling sigh. "Mr. Conner, this is not about Dr. Mann, or whatever just happened between you and he. I have you here because I require clarification, as you appear to be associated with the others and may know of what I speak."

Jason gave Seeger a look of confusion tinged with impatience.

Seeger took a deep breath. "Now, Mr. Conner, understand that I have a high skeptic's threshold. I do not follow the mentality of 'lots of people say it, so it must be true.' Nor do I accept the fantastic based on only circumstantial evidence. Or, for that matter, the claims of a student that has a less than stellar reputation for honesty and decorum."

Jason frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand. You don't mean me?"

"I speak of Richard Gardner. He would have me believe something utterly lacking any credible evidence concerning the recent trouble with Melissa Hendell."

Jason remained silent and hid his frustration that Seeger would bring this up now of all times just to ridicule it.

"And there is the claim by Mr. Weston concerning his altercation with Mr. Gardner."

Jason's eyebrows rose. Brad had said something to Mr. Seeger? Or was this simply a fishing expedition so that Jason or his friends could be blamed for something concerning Melissa?

"He came to me with a most lurid claim about not being in his right mind at the time that he ... um..."

Seeger stopped. More impatience marred Jason's face.

"And more to the point, Mr. Conner," said Seeger, his voice rising. "There was Miss Heather Sovert's behavior in Ms. Hollis' class during that time. While not a stellar student by any means, Miss Sovert gave me few problems with regards to discipline, yet apparently she now requires a special detention that I am not privy to nor am I allowed to comment upon!"

Jason was taken aback by Seeger's rancor. "Sir, are you talking about Heather helping with preparations for the party?"

"Never mind that," Seeger snapped. "I should not have mentioned it. I meant it only as an example of a student that appears constantly in odd circumstances, such as her visit with Ms. Bendon during the last period, from which she emerged in a state that ... would be regarded ... well..."

He trailed off. Jason stared at him.

Seeger cleared his throat. "The point is, Mr. Conner, that I have a feeling that something untoward is going on in this school, and I have hopes that a student of your obvious intelligence would put to rest the more lurid of these ideas and thus bring the situation down to something far more earthy!"

Jason let out a harsh sigh through his nose but could bring no appropriate words to bear to Seeger's implied demand.

"Well, Mr. Conner?" Seeger prompted.

"So that's what you want me to do, Mr. Seeger?" Jason said, his voice taut. "Tell you that everything is okay? That nothing is wrong?"

Seeger hesitated, as if confused by Jason's response or its tone. "Certainly if there is a problem, I should be made aware of it. But I trust that those problems are quite mundane compared to anything Mr. Gardner told me."

"I have no clue what Richie told you," Jason lied. I can do some fishing as well.

Seeger scowled. "He would have me believe that the cause of the recent difficulties in discipline at this school stemmed from Miss Hendell having gained the ability of mind control."

"And you want me to tell you it's not true?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I want you to tell me."

"I can't do that, Mr. Seeger."

"Can't or won't, Mr. Conner?"

"Both. I cannot tell you something that's false, and I will not tell you something just to make you feel better."

Seeger was silent for a few seconds. "You cannot be suggesting--"

Jason's voice rose. "Whatever you're thinking of, the reality is likely worse. I'm sorry I could not assuage your fears. May I go now?"

Seeger frowned. "I will not be party to any more lurid tales of--"

Jason bolted to his feet. "Fine! Call it whatever the hell you want! I don't care anymore. I have two friends in danger tonight thanks to these 'lurid tales, ' I only barely have a plan that has any hope of working, and on top of that I have to worry about another girl that I barely know who will be taken tonight by your damn school counselor!"

Seeger looked aghast. "You don't mean Victor Mann? Do you realize what kind of accusation you are making?"

"Yeah, I do. You want another one? Principal Bendon. She's in on some of the things going on around here, too. Go spend about an hour around Marcie Fuller if you want to see for yourself. Pay close attention to her when she's obeying Bendon's commands to her."

Seeger sat in stark silence and rubbed his temples.

"And remember that nurse at the beginning of the year?" said Jason.

Seeger lowered his hands. "Nyssa Neris, you mean?"

"Yeah, her. She screwed with a lot of kids' heads before my friends and I managed to get rid of her."

"Miss Neris disappeared without a word! Are you actually admitting that your friends were a party to--"

"You have her to thank for what happened to Bendon," Jason said, raising his voice over Seeger's. "And, yeah, Melissa Hendell, too. She got some of that power for herself and was one step away from taking a lot more. We stopped her. Or rather, Richie stopped her."

Seeger stared in utter astonishment.

"Yeah, that's right. He came through for us when we needed him, and Melissa's gone thanks to him. And now we have to deal with Victor Mann. Don't worry, Mr. Seeger. Unless you intend to suspend or expel me, we'll take care of him, too. Or at least we'll try. If we succeed, you can go back to pretending the problem doesn't exist. That should make you very happy, so long as you don't think too much about Ms. Bendon, or look too hard at Marcie. Now, can I please go, Mr. Seeger?"

Seeger leaned back in his chair. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face. Jason's eyes widened as he only now noticed the bloodless pallor of Seeger's face.

"Sit down, Mr. Conner," Seeger said in a low, strained voice.

Stunned, Jason sat.

"I have a question for you," said Seeger. "Are you aware of two faculty members named Kelly and Lynn?"

"Faculty? No. I know of two of Victor's cohorts by those names. They were the ones in the hallway earlier."

"Cohorts? As in ... as in partners to this alleged crime he is to commit?"

"Yes, that's right. You think they're faculty? Wait, of course you do, because Victor wants you to believe that."

"This is simply incredible, Mr. Conner," Seeger said in a hollow voice. "What I am being asked to believe--"

"With all due respect, Mr. Seeger, no one is asking you to believe anything," said Jason, doing his best to keep his voice calm and level. "I ask only that you hold off on any punishment for whatever you think I did for one more day."

"And just what did you do?"

Jason remained silent.

Seeger sighed. "I will not punish you today. You have my word. I am not a man that gives such word lightly. Now, what did you do?"

Jason hesitated for a moment. "It's hard to remember, I was so angry. I think I rushed Victor and hit him. Maybe in the face. I wasn't really aiming for any part of him in particular."

"And did he do something to instigate this reaction?"

"Yes, he and his cohorts were making Heather, Cassie, and Diane take their clothes off in the hallway."

Seeger drew in a breath and let it go as a gusty sigh. He wiped his face with his hand.

Jason stared. "You did see it, didn't you?"

"For a second," said Seeger in a weak voice. "A fleeting glimpse. Then it was gone. Dear God."

"You're able to resist it. I mean, not by a lot, but some."

"As you and your friends can, apparently?"

Jason did not want to explain the intricacies of how the link worked. "Well, to a point. Victor is different than what we've encountered before. He caught us when we didn't have our defenses up, so to speak. We have, um, I guess you could say special abilities." He paused. "But that's just going to sound even more fantastic."

"Mr. Conner, at this point, I am willing to hear anything that might resolve this matter," said Seeger. "You imply that resistance is rare. Why do I have it?"

"I honestly don't know. We're learning as we go." Jason sighed. "I don't think I have time to give you the whole story before the next class. Suffice it to say that we're going to try to stop him tonight."

Seeger frowned. "At the Halloween party."

"We hope so, anyway."

"And the school will become a battleground with all the other students caught in the crossfire."

"Victor is interested only in one girl." Jason was not about to tell Seeger about the Book. That was a whole can of worms he intended to keep closed. The fewer people that knew the Book ever existed, the better. He could not trust that even Seeger would not want it once he learned what it could do. "I don't think he intends any harm to anyone else."

"And what of Ms. Bendon and Miss Sovert? Does that factor into the scheme at all? Is she -- Laura, that is -- working with Victor?"

"Ms. Bendon works only for herself," Jason said.

"And her connection to Heather Sovert?"

Before that moment, Jason had considered Seeger to be little more than the occasional unintended obstacle. Now Jason had the impression that Seeger really cared for the students. He heard genuine concern for Heather in Seeger's voice.

He had lamented the lack of allies among adults; he had to take the chance that one was presenting itself.

"Ms. Bendon is trying to make Heather her slave," Jason finally said.

Seeger's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide and liquid. "You don't ... in ... in what capacity, Mr. Conner?"

"Sex slave, Mr. Seeger."

"That ... she can't ... that would..." Seeger sputtered. Suddenly his beefy hand slapped the desk with a sound that made Jason flinch. Seeger bolted to his feet and stepped away from the chair. His hands clenched into fists. "Reprehensible. No, it is beyond that. Revolting. Disgusting."

"We'll deal with it," Jason said in a tired voice.

Seeger spun around. "But what will I do with this information?!" he thundered. "I have to do something! I cannot let the school principal commit such a heinous act of--"

"Of what, Mr. Seeger? What would you tell the board? That she's mind-controlling a student?"

Seeger swallowed. His hands slowly unclenched.

"Even if you managed to convince someone you weren't crazy, this goes beyond the school. It's the whole town. You won't get anywhere. Anyone sent to investigate will just be dealt with somehow or be made to believe everything is just fine."

Seeger took a few forced deep breaths and collapsed back into his chair, rattling the window. He cast a level gaze at Jason. "I must do something, Mr. Conner. I cannot simply stand by and let these things happen."

"Mr. Seeger, if you really want to help, just let my friends and I do what we need to do. Don't get in our way." Jason paused. "And maybe if we need something from you at the party tonight--"

"Such as what?"

Jason was as astounded as he was grateful at the eagerness in Seeger's voice. "I can't tell you all the details now, but at some point we need to confront Ms. Hollis."

Seeger's eyebrows shot up. "Terri Hollis is involved in this as well? No, of course she is. All those suppositions from Laura about Terri abusing a student--"

"Which unfortunately had a measure of truth to it," Jason said. "Anyway, we need to confront her alone. She'll be sticking with Heather and likely Ms. Bendon as well for much of the evening. We'll need to get her away from Bendon and make sure Victor doesn't know what we're doing."

"And just what are you planning to do?"

Jason hesitated. "Perhaps it would be best if I didn't mention that."

Seeger nodded. "Yes. Perhaps that is for the best." He let out a windy sigh. "What do you wish me to do?"

"I don't know yet. I'll have to see how everything shapes up when we get that far. I just want to know if I can count on your help."

"If it has any chance of resolving even a fraction of this terrible mess, I will do my best."

And to Jason's surprise, the Vice Principal stood and held out his hand.

Jason stood as well and shook it. "Thank you, Mr. Seeger," Jason said, his voice gushing relief.

Victor steepled his fingers, his eyes boring first into Kelly and then Lynn as they stood before his desk.

"Sloppy," Victor said. "Very sloppy."

Lynn's eyes glistened as she stared like a deer caught in the headlights. Kelly bowed her head, then tapped Lynn's arm. Lynn swallowed hard and did the same, a quavering sigh becoming a small sob.

"You assured me you had the whole school subdued."

"I take full responsibility, Glorious One," Kelly said, her voice shaky.

"That is not enough. I wish to know why you did not think to check the Vice Principal. Of all the people that were most important to keep quiescent, he was at the top of the list."

"I-I don't know, Glorious One. I assumed he would be easy to--"

"You assumed?"

Lynn whimpered. Kelly took a quick, deep breath. "Glorious One, we had so many students to deal with, it was more important to ensure they were accounted for."

"As I said, sloppy." Victor rubbed his jaw, a bruise blossoming just to one side of his chin. He wiped away a few remaining flecks of dried blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at them on his hand.

Kelly dared to look up, and her eyes widened. "He hurt you, Glorious One?" she said, aghast. Lynn's head jerked up, a horrified look on her face.

Victor narrowed his eyes and lowered his hand. "No."

Kelly appeared confused. Lynn looked to Kelly for guidance and found none. Her hands twitched at her sides.

"What you saw was the Book striking at me through Jason," said Victor.

"I do not understand," said Kelly.

"The Book knows my intent. It is trying everything it can to protect itself, including sacrificing its own energies."

"But those are the energies you seek to extract."

Victor stood. "Self-preservation is a most powerful and primal force. A man would willingly cut off his arm if it meant the rest of him would live. This is no different."

Kelly nodded. "Yes, Glorious One. I understand several things now."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as why you have not moved in force against him when we can affect his compatriots as easily as we did today with only a fraction of our number."

This had not been the reason he had chosen not to move with such brute force against the Harbingers, but it was a valid reason now. Victor's jaw tightened for a moment. He had wished to avoid such a blatant show of weakness, either before the Harbingers or his own cult. Now Lynn's eyes betrayed doubt as they flicked from Victor to Kelly.

Victor stepped out from behind his desk and fixed his eyes on Lynn. Lynn let out a tiny gasp and quickly lowered her eyes. Kelly retreated a step as Victor surged forward, grasping Lynn's chin and forcing her eyes to meet his. Lynn held her breath and trembled.

"I am still who I am," said Victor in a low, rumbling voice. Lynn shivered and let out a small moan. "You would do well to remember that."

"Y-yes, Glorious One!" piped Lynn.

"I am your life."

"You are my life!"

"I am your meaning."

"You are my meaning!"

"I am your pleasure."

"You are my p-ple... uhnngg!"

Victor let go of her chin. Lynn sank to the floor, moaning and gasping as her pussy throbbed. Kelly bowed her head in respect to the Holy Words spoken by every initiate when first Chosen by Victor.

"Pleasure," Lynn moaned. "Yes ... oh yes ... uhnng..."

Victor lifted Kelly's chin and beheld far more confidence and strength of will in her eyes. "Do you need a reminder as well?"

"No, Glorious One," said Kelly in a steadier voice. "I do not doubt you."

On the floor, Lynn rolled onto her back, panting hard, eyes glazed. Victor glanced at her. "She is being reeducated while in her thrall of pleasure to purge her of the sin of doubt. When she comes out of it, you will put her on lighter duty until she understands her place better."

"I will obey, Glorious One," said Kelly.

Victor frowned. "To expand on your earlier enlightenment: I cannot move against them now, not with the Book so willing to strike through Jason. As midnight approaches, we will grow in power. But that means we cannot let the battlefield be here at the school. We must get Gina to the church as early as possible. We must draw on the support of all our brethren."

Kelly bowed her head. "Yes, of course, Glorious One."

"Jason, my man, you are fucking awesome," said Richie, slapping his friend on the back.

"I gotta admit, dude," Ned drawled through a bite of lunch. "The way you decked ol' Victor warmed the cockles of my heart."

"Normally, I don't like violence," said Cassie in a subdued voice. "But it did get him to stop what he was doing to the other girls and I."

"Look, everyone, don't be so quick to praise me," Jason said with a trace of irritation in his voice. "It really wasn't me that did it."

Ned eyed him. "Now don't go tellin' me I gotta take back my praise and go away with cold cockles."