Chapter 5

Aunt Betty plucked another of the stuffed mushrooms from the platter on the coffee table with surprisingly thin and delicate fingers for someone of her size. She picked up the small plate from the end table and held it beneath her morsel, the huge, round lens of her glasses flashing as she turned her head towards her sister. "All I can say, Audrey, dear, is that it is high time you took a firmer hand with your son."

From a chair on the other side of the coffee table, Jason watched his aunt consume the mushroom in two bites. Betty was his mother's older sister, a larger and more formidable version of Audrey. She was what his mother might look like if she were overweight and endowed with one or two more cup sizes.

"It's not like I want to, Betty," Audrey said in a voice which sounded soft compared to her sister's booming tone. "I've never had this much trouble with him."

Jason bit his lip to suppress a sigh. He leaned forward and grabbed a handful of carrot sticks from the vegetable tray, not bothering to swipe them through the dip before he stuffed one in his mouth with as loud a crunch as he could manage. It had no effect, as Betty went on as if he were not there. "I predicted this, you know I did! Teenagers, Audrey, they're all alike. Secretive little sneaks that you have to watch all the time."

Jason tried not to be angry when his mother sighed and nodded, her Aura spinning around her like a vortex. He averted his eyes, his gaze trailing along the coffee table. Every tradition of Thanksgiving now seemed spoiled or tainted. He used to love sitting around the living room with the family as the turkey baked, munching on vegetables and dip and whatever new recipe his mother wanted to try. This year it was stuffed mushrooms. He had eaten only one before the conversation started and destroyed his appetite.

"That's just it, Betty, I can't watch him all the time. He has to go to school, and he has his friends--"

Betty helped herself to another mushroom, plopping it on her plate before wagging a finger at her sister. "If he's getting into mischief at that high school, then it's your business to find out just what's going on over there. You should march into the principal's office and insist she keep better tabs on him!"

Jason flinched, and his stomach clenched. The last thing he wanted was any contact between his mother and Ms. Bendon. He felt no small measure of relief when his mother countered, "I'm reasonably sure school is not the issue. His grades are still up, and he's been taking on more schoolwork lately."

"Hrmph," Betty snorted, as if annoyed at having her theory shot down. She bolted down the mushroom as if bursting to speak again. "Then maybe you should look to his friends. Teens have the attention span of a gnat. Far too easy to distract, going after the next fad like a cat chasing something shiny."

"I've already imposed a limit on how much time he can spend out of the home after school."

"I would not allow any time at all! I would insist he get home right away, where you can keep an eye on him."

Jason gave his mother a despondent look when she slowly nodded. He was baffled by this turn of events. The Darkness must have influenced his mother into inviting Betty, as normally Audrey could not stand how her sister liked to butt into her affairs. He had even overheard his father say earlier that week "Audrey, what in heaven's name possessed you to invite her?"

He had not heard the answer, and now he cursed himself for not seeing the signs. The term "possessed" should have been his clue.

But was this all the Darkness wanted? To make his mother more receptive to placing even more restrictions on him? It seemed like a lot of effort for a small gain.

"I don't want to completely isolate him from his friends," Audrey said, though her voice was tentative.

"But if you insist your son is this paragon of purity," Betty began with a sneer in her voice. "Then that leaves only one other explanation. Perhaps you can control your son, but you cannot control his friends, yet they seem to have no problem influencing him." She snatched another mushroom from the platter. "I've always said, Audrey, that you are who your friends are, and if your friends are rotten, then--"

"My friends are not rotten," Jason cried, casting a burning gaze on his aunt.

Aunt Betty raised an eyebrow as she cast a lofty and disapproving look at him. Jason's gaze swept his aunt's portly frame, but found no evidence of even a wisp of an Aura. She was just being her insufferable self. He could not decide if that was better or worse than the alternative.

"Jason, hush," Audrey whispered before she turned back to her sister. "I'm just not as much of a disciplinarian with my children as you are with yours."

"Hrmph. Yes, I know. My children did not give me this trouble because I laid down the law for them very early on. Now look at them! Two fine sons serving their country overseas!"

Probably because combat in Iraq was more tolerable than life with you, Jason thought vehemently.

"Responsibility, Audrey," Betty continued, wagging a finger before wolfing down another mushroom. "That's what it comes down to. Our parents didn't kowtow to this permissive attitude that's permeated society today. We were put to work. Good, hard work."

"I've considered having Jason find a job over the next summer."

Jason paused midway through chewing another carrot stick.

Betty shook her head. "Too little, too late. You have to get to the root of the problem now. He has to start shouldering some responsibility now."

Audrey hesitated. She had never insisted Jason find a job. If anything, she resisted the idea. She much preferred having him available for chores around the house, and she had expressed a distaste for how much she had to work when she was a child.

Her Aura slithered around her body with sinister intent. It collected between and around her legs and bosom. "I ... I don't know, Betty," she said in a weak voice. "I don't see how there's anything I can do about it now."

"Nonsense! You cannot tell me that there is no one in this town who does not need additional help during the holiday season."

Jason blanched. A job? Now? He barely had enough time as it was to continue his research of the journal and keeping his promise to Richie. As he looked as his mother, she briefly closed her eyes and uttered a soft, husky sigh, her thighs quivering under her house dress.

"A job," Audrey whispered. "Yes, I-I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right, Audrey. That will keep him busy after school and away from his troublemaker friends. And it will teach him responsibility."

Audrey nodded, letting out another soft sigh. She lay a trembling hand over her heart and took a deep breath, her nipples forming two distinct bumps on her dress. She spread her thighs apart as a very soft moan escaped her lips.

Jason looked away and wished he could leave the room. Or maybe he should try to get his mother to yell at him and break her out of this brainwashing. Instead, his head spun with questions and confusion. Where was all this leading? Jobs for teens during the winter in a small town like Haven would be practically nonexistent; about the only thing available would be volunteer work.

But the most confusing question of all was: how did the Darkness get at his mother? His only clue was that its hold was not complete. Her Aura was nowhere near as bad as what he had seen on Penny Sovert or Sandra Gardner, and now it had to bring in backup to accomplish its aims, whatever they were.

He had only one clue. While he had helped his mother prepare the potatoes for dinner and the vegetables for the platter, he had studied the energy patterns in his mother's Aura. At first his purpose had been to rule out his father's influence, but then he saw something else, a faint pattern he was sure he had seen before. He just could not quite recall where.

"There's an online community board," Audrey said in a slightly husky voice. "I see jobs posted there during the summer all the time."

"Then that's where you should start, my dear," Betty said with a face beaming in smug satisfaction. Jason came close to wishing he had the Book back so he could find a spell to wipe away that insipid expression. She plucked yet another mushroom from the platter. "I would be very surprised if no one needed some temporary labor, what with the holiday rush coming."

Jason wanted to laugh. Haven did not have a huge retail market. If there were any rush at all during the holidays, it would be a rush online to places like Amazon.

Audrey's lips curled into a soft smile. "Thank you, Betty. I'm glad I talked to you about this, it's really a load off my mind. Is there anything else you wanted to say before I get back to preparing dinner?"

"Just one more thing." Aunt Betty popped the mushroom in her mouth and consumed it with only a few cursory chews. "You simply must share this wonderful stuffed mushrooms recipe with me."

Ned had been so taken by the view that it would almost be a disappointment to make it to Cassie's mansion at the top of the mesa.

Except for where it had been tossed to the embankments by a plow, the snow lay in untouched dazzling splendor, save for the little trails created by rabbits and foxes. Delicate blankets of white crystal lay nestled in the long needles of Douglas firs or held by the drooping arms of blue spruces. He loved watching them drop to the ground in little drifts as the sun rose over the top of the mesa.

That a large, ostentatious mansion lay at the top seemed unreal in all this natural wonder. Except for his occasional glimpse of Haven through the trees, he felt more isolated the further they climbed. Only the road itself hinted at what lay ahead. The long, lazy loops of the switchback had been built to be negotiated easily by a stretch limo.

"Did yer father do all this?" Ned asked in amazement.

"Yes, Father had all of it built," Cassie replied, though she had not sounded as thrilled. "The mesa and the areas to the west and south were completely empty and uninhabited when he acquired them from the Bureau of Land Management."

Ned stared at her. "The B.L.M.? How the heck did he manage that without causin' a big stink?"

"My father has ... political friends, let's just leave it at that. He built the mansion, Mesa View Estates, and Hilltop Estates."

"Huh? Where's that last one at?"

"We're passing through it."

Ned stared out the window. He had assumed the narrow roads which forked off on either side were off-road trails or camping areas. As he caught a glimpse of a huge house past a stand of bare aspen trees, he realized they were driveways.

"Man oh man," Ned said. "What some people won't do ta get away from it all, huh? Yer family biggest of all, bein' at the tippy-top."

"To be honest, I'm not sure why Father moved us here," Cassie said. "This was supposed to be a summer home. I was born here by accident."

"So ya said. A month early."

"I'm told my mother was not at all happy about it," Cassie said in a subdued voice, her eyes clouded.

"Um, yeah." Ned tugged his tie. "But she musta liked the place after all, huh? Y'all came ta live here."

"But I never understood why. All of Father's business contacts are on the east coast. Something brought them here, but I don't know what."

"Huh. Ya don't think Haven got to 'em way back--"

"No, it's not that." She lowered her voice to a whisper long enough to add, "No one in the mansion has an Aura. But it just never felt right for us to be here. It's like..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes became wide and unfocused. Ned's eyebrows rose just before she suddenly blinked rapidly and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I-I'm just rambling now."

"Nah, it's okay. But it sounds like something 'bout this is freakin' ya out."

"No, not really. I was just ... I'm distracted by Diane."

"Huh? Diane?"

"She's one of the few I can still sense clearly over the link. Except she sort of faded out on me for awhile."

Ned frowned. "Wait, what? Did something happen to--"

Cassie waved him silent when Harry turned his head slightly for a moment. She mouthed the words "keep your voice down" before speaking again. "She's okay now, I can sense her again. But she's really shaken up. I..."

The car suddenly slowed and turned off the main road onto a smaller one heading north towards the mesa top. They passed a sign which read "PRIVATE PROPERTY -- KEEP OUT."

Cassie sighed and faced forward. She straightened up and brushed some wrinkles out of her dress. "We'll be there in another five minutes. We better stop talking about this for now."

"Um, sure thing," Ned said as he settled into his seat and straightened his tie.

Cassie sensed his concern, but she would not allow herself to look in his direction, not until they were inside the mansion where she would have other things to distract her. She did not want him to see the fear in her eyes again.

Diane was already late getting back home and knew her mother was going to ream her for it. She was also going to have to borrow money for the final taxi ride home, as the driver had refused to wait for her. She did not care, as she was too upset and could not wait for answers.

She had already thumbed the doorbell twice and was about to pound on the door when a shadow passed over the peephole, and the door was wrenched open the next moment. "Diane! What are you doing here?"

Diane hesitated in her reply, almost not recognizing Debby Radson. This was the first time she recalled seeing the woman fully clothed, wearing powder-blue slacks and a white floral-print blouse. Behind her came the murmur of conversation in another room.

"I'm sorry I have to bother you today, Mrs. Radson," Diane said. "But s-something happened to me and you have to tell me what it means!"

Debby's eyes widened and she glanced back inside. "Give me a moment. Please, wait right there and don't move."

She closed the door and disappeared into the house for what seemed the longest minute of Diane's life. She returned with her coat, which she slipped on as she stepped out of the house, closing the door behind her. "I'm sorry I can't invite you inside, Diane, but Bill was insistent that I don't stir anything up regarding the town or your friends, not while his relatives are here."

"It's okay, Mrs. Radson, but I have to talk to you."

"Normally I much prefer to cast the circle about us first, but I can tell from just glancing at your psychic aura that you're very disturbed right now."

"Disturbed is an understatement. I'm seriously freaking out about this! I ... wait, you can see my aura that easily?"

Debby sighed. "Yes, I know. My ability has been getting steadily stronger over the last day or so. Normally, I would be thrilled, but I don't--"

"Mrs. Radson, I'm sorry I have to interrupt, but my mother's already going to kill me if I don't get home soon. Please, let me tell you what happened..."

Debby looked on with shock as Diane recounted how Penny Sovert had tried to seduce and enslave her, then with stunned amazement when she recounted what she had done to escape. "Great Goddess," Debby breathed. "You poor girl. And poor Mrs. Sovert."

Diane stared. "Poor Mrs. Sovert?"

"I refuse to believe she wants to do such things to you or her own children. Without knowing how she fell to the Darkness, I will not make assumptions or accusations."

"Okay, fine, but please tell me what the hell happened! What did I do to get free? There was no way that was energy from the other Harbingers. Where did it come from? P-please don't tell me you don't know!"

"I won't profess to be one hundred percent sure, Diane, but it sounds like you were drawing energy directly from one of the lines."

Diane's eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

"It sounds similar to an experience I had when we ... well, when we used you for that spell."

Diane drew back as if having smelled something repulsive.

Debby lay her hand against Diane's cheek. "I'm sorry I had to bring that up, I know how much that experience upset you."

Diane swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself, her shivering having nothing to do with the cold. "I still have bad dreams about it," she said in a small voice. "I never want to go through that again. But now ... n-now you're telling me I will!"

"What? No, not at all!"

"But that's what happened! I was about to be enslaved, and then I could channel it. I-I thought that spell was broken. I thought I was free of it."

Diane was on the verge of tears, and Debby's eyes appeared to glisten in sympathy, which was a small comfort. "Diane, you are free of it. I see nothing at all in your psychic aura to suggest otherwise. And you used the energy to prevent yourself from being enslaved."

Diane's lower lip quivered as she stared at Debby, as if looking for some sign of duplicity. She finally let out a pained sigh and turned away. "I wish I could believe that."

"If you can come back this weekend, I would be happy to do a full reading on you."

"But something got left behind from that stupid spell, didn't it? Or this wouldn't have happened."

Debby placed a hand on Diane's shoulder. She let herself be turned around. "The spell may have awakened something in you," said Debby. "You may have the ability now to channel line energy yourself."

"Or I just made myself a target," Diane sniffled. "Again. Someone to e-enslave so they can make me channel it for them, just like the Har ... I-I mean just like Victor did to me."

Diane regretted the verbal slip at once. She wanted to place the blame where she knew it belonged, but Victor was no longer here and the Harbingers were.

"Diane, we're all targets," Debby said softly. "That's the unfortunate truth."

"I won't be used again, Mrs. Radson," Diane said, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I won't! I'll g-go insane if I am!"

Debby drew Diane into a hug and let her cry herself out. "Oh, Diane, I'm so sorry," Debby whispered.

"I w-wish I could talk to Mom about this," Diane moaned into Debby's shoulder. "I almost did. But then when she seemed so traumatized by what h-happened with Ms. Bendon..."

"Shh. Yes, I know."

Diane briefly hated herself for forcing Debby into a role she likely did not need or want, that of playing surrogate mother. Debby had own daughter to worry about without having to be concerned for a weepy-eyed coward.

Diane drew back and wiped her tear-stained face. "How do I get rid of this?"

Debby tilted her head. "I'm sorry?"

"I want to get rid of this. I don't want to be able to do anything with the line energy!" Diane braced herself for being told how wonderful the power could be if she learned to control it, which was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"I don't know if there is a way. Maybe Jason can turn up something in Elizabeth's journal. Elizabeth had dealt with line energies a lot."

Diane paused, sniffled once, then slowly nodded.

"But now I'm curious: Did you have any manifestation of this power before now? Any at all?"

Diane shook her head.

"Not even all the times you tried to channel energy to Heather?"

"Never. Not once. But ... but no one had tried to do what Mrs. Sovert did to me, either."

Diane knew she was fighting a two-front war with herself. Even her ability to see the Auras had failed to overshadow her feelings of inadequacy, and now this was going to be another struggle atop that.

"Diane, wait here for another moment. Let me get my car keys so I can take you home."

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that, Mrs. Radson. All I need is some money for a taxi. It's only like five minutes from here. I'd walk it if the sidewalks weren't so icy and I had more time."

"That's precisely why I insist on driving you home. I can get you there faster than waiting for a taxi to show up." Debby smiled slightly. "And I think you'd feel better having someone with you."

Diane let out a sigh and nodded. "Thanks, Mrs. Radson. I'm really glad you're part of our group. I don't feel like we're so lost now that we have an actual adult on our side."

Ned let out a long whistle when the top of the mansion appeared over the rise of the land as the limo took the final gentle curve around the top of the mesa.

Except it was not quite the top. As they approached the four story behemoth, Ned saw that the road took a sharp curve past the front of the mansion. It continued as a dirt road along another short switchback to the top some thirty more feet up. There the land elongated and flattened into the true mesa top, just to the east of the mansion. The mansion itself lay perched upon a ridge overlooking an old, steep trail downward which disappeared into a thicket of towering spruces.

Ned was about to ask why Cassie's father had not built the place at the highest point when he got a better look at its positioning upon the ridge. The west side of the mansion was almost flush with the ridge itself, a huge window curving smoothly with the contour of the rock below. In similar fashion, the wall around the front entrance was bowed outward as well, much like the rise of land towards the true mesa top.

Ned got the impression he was looking at what Cassie's father had meant people to think was the true top of the mesa. The mansion was an extension of the land itself, yet stealing the glory from it at the same time. Rather than sit at the top and simply crown the natural wonder, it sought to replace it in significance.

Huh, yeah. Way ta make this all that much more intimidating, Nose, he chided himself in his head.

He glanced at Cassie as Harry eased the car down a steep ramp just to the right of the main entrance. She held herself ramrod straight, her back barely touching the back of her seat, her hands folded demurely in her lap.

Ned opened his mouth to comment but snapped it shut before he could utter a word. She's givin' ya a hint, ya dumbass, he thought and turned himself forward as well. He straightened his posture to something similar to hers (which would return to its usual slump a minute later), straightened his tie, and tugged a few more times at his pant legs to remove the lingering wrinkles (and succeeded only in moving them around).

A large garage door opened, and Harry slipped the limo beside two of its identical siblings. As soon as Harry cut the engine, Ned reached for the car door handle out of habit. Cassie's hand shot out and clutched his arm, hauling him back.

"Huh? What did I ... oh..." He trailed off when he saw Harry march with military precision to Cassie's side and open the door for her. Cassie uttered a tiny, tremulous sigh as she climbed out of the car, holding her head high, her heels clicking against the concrete.

Harry marched around the back of the car and opened the door on Ned's side. "Ah ... thank you, my good man," Ned said, smiling at Harry, which faded when the man returned little more than a stoic gaze. "Um, yeah."

"Ned?" Cassie said in a sharp voice from the bottom of a wide, carpet-lined stairwell.

"Ah, right." Ned rushed around the front of the car and joined her. She linked arms with him, drawing his in so tight his fingers tingled. As she directed them up the stairs, Ned whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "So is this where ya say 'stop it, yer embarrassin' me?'"

"Of course not," Cassie hissed back. "I just don't know how much I can trust Harry not to report everything to mother. And you have to realize--"

They had just come to the landing at the top of the stairs, where a wide, gilded door suddenly swung open as if under its own force. Cassie urged them forward.

Ned nearly whistled again. He stepped into a long, elegant hallway, his shoes echoing in crisp footfalls against white tile edged with gold. Along the center of the hall was a deep scarlet carpet, running from the main entrance towards and up a curving staircase carved from white marble.

Chapter 6 »