One night, Andy and Dani were reminiscing how they wound up together. She explained how she had used the power on him without really knowing what she was doing, apologizing yet again for all the horrible things she had done to him. "I didn’t always get into having sex with a slave, y’know. It started with Brendan, then I decided that I wanted to be like Susan." Danielle rolled her eyes. "But I had to use the power for that too, so for a while, it was like, mind-control equals sex," she shrugged.
Her boyfriend admitted, "Believe me, Dani, I understand how you can find it arousing. Having that much power over somebody is—exciting."
"And where did you find this out?" Dani leaned forward to emphasize her interest. It had been agreed that he wouldn’t talk about his coven liaisons unless she asked. It helped their relationship maintain some semblance of normalcy. Andy subsequently revealed his experience with Monica. When he finished, Dani was hot and bothered. The idea of Andy being in control of someone was—thrilling. "Maybe we should have Monica over for dinner one night," she suggested. A sly smile spread across her face, then she pounced on him. It was a very exciting idea.
One evening in early March, Gina, Susan, Andy and Dani were sitting in Danielle’s living room. The coven leader and her second-in-command had dropped by to offer Dani a promotion. "Miss Gray, I would like you to be the sergeant-at-arms for the coven. Caroline would like to devote more time to her career pursuits, so she is resigning the post," Gina explained. "Since you are the most powerful of the remaining initiates, you are my first choice for the job," she concluded. "Andrew," the coven leader calmly said, "bring us some tea, then leave us for a little while. We have coven matters to discuss." Andy turned to go downstairs. As usual, she didn’t show any outward sign of her thoughts, but a sudden, momentary (and pleasurable) disorientation told him that she was aware of his indulgence.
The women discussed their business. Danielle worried about being away from Andy, and whether or not she would have to kill people: the coven had had no official executioner since Lia’s excommunication. Gina explained that while some extra time would be required, killing was not part of the job description. The coven had gotten along fine before Lia; the post of "executioner" had been self-appointed and did not normally fall to any specific member. She also told Dani that there was financial compensation involved—an extra five hundred dollars a month. Just for keeping her eyes and ears open among the coven members, and to maintain order during meetings. It didn’t sound too difficult. Danielle thought that Andy would be able to cope with her expanded role in the coven and increased absence. Still, she meekly asked, "Can I—ummm—check with Andy, your ladyship?" Dani hesitated; that didn’t sound like it came from an assertive, powerful coven member, so she added, "I mean, I know I can do what I want but—"
The coven leader laughed and smiled; she understood. "Miss Gray, don’t forget that I am in love with your boyfriend, too. It is quite all right that you ask him." While Danielle went downstairs, Susan and Gina talked quietly among themselves. "No, I do not believe that she will resign from the coven in the near future," Gina replied to Susan’s concerned question. "Danielle has not yet indicated to Andrew that she desires children, and she is now quite accustomed to having the power. She is past the point where she uses it simply because she can. You have not left us yet. She has essentially undergone the same metamorphosis you have. Miss Gray will be with us for a long time." Susan noted that implied that Andrew would also be around for a long time. "Yes, there is that," Gina acknowledged with a smile. The doorbell rang, startling the two women.
Andy appeared almost immediately, having trotted up the steps. "I’ll get it," he said. Susan whispered how impressed she was at his performance as a houseboy. Danielle came up a few seconds later, wondering aloud who it could be; she wasn’t expecting anybody. He peered out and said, "It’s somebody with a badge." He opened the door, "Hello, may I—"
"All right, nobody move here," said the plainclothes man that barged past Andy. "Which one of yas is Danielle Gray?" Dani slowly raised her hand, and the man marched over to her. "You are under arrest for the murders of Chris Malley and Darrell Lancaster," he growled, then spun to Andy, who had made a loud noise, and was now being restrained by a uniformed cop. "And you can be thrown in jail fer obstruction of justice, so shut da fuck up, punk." He turned to another plainclothes man and ordered, "Hill, read her the stuff."
Gina immediately ascertained from their thoughts that they were indeed police officers, and that they were arresting Danielle. She did not like the manner in which the officer had done it—but first she had to paralyze Andrew to keep him from getting hurt. Then she turned her regal bearing on the man who was walking around the living room inspecting everything. "Excuse me, but—"
"What’s yer business here?" The coven leader fought her every instinct to humble the arrogant asshole, and merely answered his question. "Who’s the tall dyke with yas? Yas have any identification? Yeah, you too, sweetheart," he pointed at Susan. "Find out who the guy is, Haid, and get Lincoln to run them all. Yeah. All right, all o’yas is officially under investigation for accessory to murder." He paused, certain that he had the situation under control. "I am Detective Sergeant Endicott, and I have a warrant for the search of these premises. So the two o’yas be good little girls and let me do my job," he gruffly declared. "Take the killer outside to the car," he commanded the uniformed officer who had handcuffed Danielle.
Dani was still in shock. "Andy…" she whimpered pleadingly. This was unfortunate for her boyfriend, because Endicott spun and stormed towards him. "What’s yer involvement here?" he snarled, spitting in Andy’s face. He showed his distaste, and Endicott sneered, "Don’t like that, huh?" Andy said nothing, glaring at the man. The detective looked at the officer holding Andy and said, "Subdue him if he so much as twitches, and put him in the other car. I think we found the guy that disposed of the bodies for her." An uneven, ugly grin spread across Endicott’s fat face. Gina had put a lid on Andy’s rising anger for his own protection; now she removed his ability to speak. His smartassed reply echoed loudly in her head, but she wasn’t about to let the self-important Endicott hear it. The detective went foraging through the house mumbling, "Forensics!"
The coven leader felt ripples in the metaphysical plane; Dani was about use the power to lose her handcuffs, which would be an extremely bad idea. "Danielle, please don’t—worry," Gina called. "I’ll call a lawyer for you, and we can straighten this mess out." She exhaled slowly as the shimmering effect instantly stopped, but didn’t know if that meant the scared, panicked initiate had already escaped. Endicott had heard Gina’s voice; the foul-smelling, tall, paunchy man with yellowing teeth reappeared in front of her. Her comment had apparently attracted the eternally suspicious (to the point of paranoia, as Gina scanned) Endicott’s attention. He crowded her and demanded to know what she had to do with all of this. She evenly answered his first two questions, not allowing the bullying tactics to disturb her. Then he made a comment about all four of them being a part of a homosexual communist drug ring and threatened to strip-search all of them if she didn’t cooperate. Enough is enough, Gina decided. She reached into his brain and unplugged his bladder and bowel control. The obnoxious man instantly forgot his line of questioning and flew towards the bathroom.
Granted a momentary respite, Gina took the time to scan the thoughts of the remaining officers in the room. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t been informed before this happened; the police chief and the head of detectives must have known that the police were going to do this. Her scan revealed no external influence; the men were just doing their jobs. She delicately picked through the maze of information in Detective Hill’s mind. Unfortunately, Endicott reappeared before she could find anything enlightening. He ignored Gina to consult with the officer who had taken her identification, too embarrassed to resume his earlier harassment.
"We’re gonna hafta search this place from top to bottom and get a back hoe. I think they buried the bodies in the back yard," he groused. Turning to Gina and Susan, he announced, "This place is now off-limits by order of the police. If yas got a place to go, then get there, da two o’yas. There ain’t no wants or warrants outstandin’ on yas." Gina inquired about Andrew. "Him? We’re arresting him as an accessory to murder."
Gina objected, and Endicott adopted his bullying stance again. "Look, if ya wanna be nosy, I can arrange it so you get a free night with’em fer obstructing justice, sweetheart. Why don’t you and the big bitch over there go off and do whatever it is yas do?" The coven leader wondered aloud what Carter Hamilton would think about Endicott’s conduct. "I gotta job to do, sweetheart. He’s just a fat ass sittin’ behind a desk who don’t remember what the scum out here is like. I don’t give a rat’s ass what he or you think. If you gotta problem wit’dat, we can discuss it some more at the station house," he snapped, daring her to say something else.
Gina realized that Endicott had been in a position of authority too long, and that anything she said would only further antagonize him. She didn’t even bother to ask if she could use the phone in the house; he was not going to be nice. She also started to plot her revenge on him as she headed out the door with Susan. They stopped for Gina to give Andrew some reassuring words; yes, a lawyer was going to be summoned immediately, so not to worry. The coven leader breathed a relieved sigh when she saw a dejected, frightened Danielle sitting in the back seat of the police car. "Let me say something to her," she requested of the uniformed officer standing guard. Gina simultaneously twisted his perceptions slightly with the power to ease his alert suspicion. Suitably relaxed, he nodded, and she told Danielle the same thing she had told Andrew. Gina put the officer’s suspicion back in place, then climbed into Susan’s car.
They left, stopping at the first pay phone they saw. Gina dialed her lawyer’s home phone number. "Morris, forgive me," she said, making an effort to summon as much charm as she could, "I know it’s late, but I need your services." She waited for him to finish complaining about the hour. "Yes, I know, but I need you to arrange bail for the following two people: Danielle Gray, and Andrew Davidson." The coven leader spelled all four names carefully. "They were arrested in Oak Grove… Murder and accessory, respectively—yes, I realize that…" Gina sighed and waited while the lawyer had his obligatory fit, but it appeared that this one was going to be longer than usual. "Morris," she interrupted, her patience overtaxed by the evening’s events, "you’re the bloody lawyer, you deal with it. I just have the money. Lots and lots of money." She hung up, not bothering to wait for the grudging acknowledgment.
"Do you think she did it?" Susan asked as they sped towards the castle.
"That depends, Susan," the coven leader sighed. "If it was before Andrew, then yes, she certainly could have done it. She did have a penchant for using the power constantly back then, and as you know, spontaneous feeding will happen under those circumstances." She shivered involuntarily. "If that is the case, at least she won’t be able to directly implicate the coven. Or herself, since she would have no memory of the feeding." Gina stopped to think. "What puzzles me is why I had no warning about her pending arrest. My slaves in the police force should have notified me long before now."
"Do you want me to investigate, Gina?" Susan asked.
"No… let’s first see what the normal channels can provide," she replied. "The coven is already in danger of being implicated; I’d prefer to keep our mystical involvement to a minimum for now. Someone else might get curious and start rooting about if fortuitous things seem to just—happen for Miss Gray."
The coven leader fetched a car and driver from the castle, then headed for the Oak Grove Police Station. Getting Andrew released was easy; Endicott hadn’t any real evidence of his involvement, so while Andrew may have been under suspicion, he was free pending investigation. They would not release Miss Gray, however. No one at the station would tell Gina or the lawyer why. The only thing the police would say was that Danielle was going to be sent to the main holding facility for the county first thing in the morning. Gina was puzzled; unless they had found clothing in Danielle’s possession that belonged to either of the dead men, there should have been no physical evidence to link her with the murders. She cut short the lawyer’s arguments after reading the mind of the desk sergeant and finding that he and his department were only following orders that they knew nothing more about. "Morris, let’s pursue this matter in the morning at the main jail," she sighed wearily as she pulled on his mental rein. She put Andrew to sleep next to her in the car. Instead of borrowing him, as she had wanted at the beginning of the evening, she needed to be free of his constant mental questions. Gina Mansfield was tired, and not in the mood for any frolics.
She didn’t waste any time the next morning. "Carter, what the hell is going on?" the coven leader asked the police chief after dialing his direct office line at seven-thirty. "A detective Endicott—terribly unprofessional, incidentally—arrested one of my—friends—for murder last night! I thought we had an agreement that—" The bewildered reply from the other end took all the steam out of her. "Well, if you didn’t know… who ordered it? Does Terry know? Well, find out. Unless you want me to come to your office and find out myself," she threatened. The voice on the other end promised a return call within the hour.
Andrew was still sleepy when he came into the library. He had a thousand questions, most of them the same ones Gina did. She asked him to go get some breakfast and wake up first, then they could unravel the mystery together. When he left, the coven leader dialed Angie; Gina was not sure if Andrew should see everything, especially since this affair may call for rather—nefarious tactics. There was no need to exile him, but he needed to be completely distracted. Given his current state of anger and anxiety, Angie was the one initiate who could definitely accomplish that without leaving him even more disturbed. He might feel unfairly penalized for caring so much about Danielle if he were turned into a zombie for the duration. Unfortunately, it turned out that Angie would not be able to get away from her job for a little while; it was less than Gina wanted, but the best she could get. Her frustration (and Andrew’s) increased when the police chief delivered his return call. The head of detectives knew nothing about Danielle’s arrest, either.
"Quite simply, Andrew, it means that whoever has instigated this has done so from outside of the normal channels," she sighed in explanation. This was very bad indeed. Either someone in the law enforcement arena had decided to make a play for power, or someone suspected that something wasn’t natural. Gina hoped that it was the former; the latter would mean that she would have to disband the coven and start all over—if she survived. It also meant that Danielle was doomed—the poor woman would be left hanging out to dry. Now it was all the more critical that the coven’s involvement be clandestine. She dialed the lawyer. "Yes, Morris, I know you worked late. I simply do not care. You have the connections—find out what is going on." The coven leader stopped for a few purposeful seconds, then resumed, "Or perhaps I should find another law firm to put on retainer." It was not an idle threat. "Yes… I rather thought you might say that," Gina said into the phone. "As soon as you find out, please come to the library and brief me. Thank you, Morris." She hung up and muttered, "I suppose I can only wait."
Andrew was thinking, "What about me?" Gina told him, "I think it would be best that I meet alone with the barrister." She received a momentary flash of anger from him, and then his mind was completely closed to her. The coven leader watched him stalk out of the library. "Oh, dear. You’re going to be difficult about this, I fear," she said to the departed man’s chair. She sincerely hoped that Angie would arrive by the time that the lawyer did.
Andy was in a very foul mood. He was sulking by himself in the sun room over a glass of water. Gina had no right to act as if he were some uninvolved party; this concerned his girlfriend. Well, he had eavesdropped once on the library without getting caught… Angie came in the room and greeted him with her usual cheer and dazzling smile. He sullenly replied, "H’lo," barely noticing the gorgeous initiate. She seemed to take the hint, ordering coffee, then leaving him to stew and plot in peace.
The lawyer arrived at the castle shortly after noon. Andy was—loitering—in the Grand Hall. He wanted to give Gina a chance to get engrossed in the discussion before he crept upstairs. "Hi, Drew," Angie bubbled. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t even seen her approach. He apologized for acting so distracted, but told her that he had something important on his mind.
Angie was surprised; Drew had always paid attention to her in some way, but he certainly wasn’t now. He excused himself and placed his hands gently on her arms to get around her. Gina had said that she had some business to take care of, and that Drew was not to be involved. The coven leader had assured Angie that Drew wasn’t in any sort of trouble. Now he was moving to get away from Angie… she had to do something. She stood in his way and put her hands on his chest. "I haven’t seen you in a while," she hurriedly said, but he seemed to ignore her. Angie started to run her hands around his chest. He stopped moving.
Andy blinked. He was going up-stairs. To the li-li-li-brar-y… "Drew…" Angie sang, and his gentle grip on Angie’s arms weakened. Gina… Lawyer… Meet… "Look at me," the tiny woman cooed, and he felt his gaze drawn downward. Meet… ing… "Go deeeep… Angie is loving you with her hands… look at me… Annn-gieee… Remember… Deeep as I rub… you are going into Angie’s trance," Angie purred quietly.
"I… am… going… deep… in… Angie’s… trance," Andy robotically replied.
Angie smiled. She could have used the power to command him into staying out of Gina’s hair for the afternoon but… This way, she would be able to keep herself adequately—entertained—while doing so. "Yes… you are very deep for your mistress Angie," she said. "Come with your beautiful mistress…" It would be very easy to keep Drew occupied the rest of the afternoon. His slow, blank reply made her feel all gooey inside. She turned and headed for her chambers with him close behind. Gina could now conduct her meeting in privacy.
"What do you mean there’s nothing you can do????" fumed the coven leader. "Explain this to me again. Your very reliable source says that the chief prosecutor is personally involved with this, and that he is determined to see Miss Gray hang." The lawyer nodded. "He’s not even considering plea bargaining, and you believe that it is in your best interests not to—become involved in this matter," Gina said, her voice losing its customary calm, reserved tone.
Morris Cotter watched Gina Mansfield rage; he couldn’t remember having ever seen her this angry. He just knew he was watching the single largest continuing services contract for his firm sprout wings and fly away. He had to stop it. "Your ladyship," he began, forming his argument during the pause, "I didn’t say that it was in my best interests. However, this may impair the firm’s ability to adequately represent its future clients." Morris didn’t want to piss off the probable next governor of the state, with whom he had an excellent relationship. Although they had found themselves adversaries on several cases, it had never been on any of Bob’s personal lookouts. Bob had been hinting that he was looking for defense experience in the state attorney general’s office. Morris Cotter, State Attorney General, he mused…
"Cut the crap, Morris," Gina snapped. She was irritated that the chief prosecutor and apparently Morris as well, had decided to hitch their petty ambitions for power to Danielle’s fallen star. "You’re a defense lawyer. Senior partner in Cotter, Little, et al. You are the firm," she irritably pointed out. His thoughts were easy to read; he still believed that he could talk Gina out of canceling the services contract. She made a show of fitting a cigarette into a holder; oh, I have no intentions of canceling that contract… "Morris, I wonder what Mrs. Cotter would say about… Sophie."
He jumped out of his chair. "Geeez-zus!!! How did you know?!?!!! She told you at the New Year’s party!!!" He seemed to forget about Gina as he stormed, "I’m gonna fire the little bitch and deny everything!!!"
"You will do no such thing," the coven leader icily retorted. "In fact, she’s here right now for you, Morris." He made a peep and collapsed in his chair; Gina had found his most recent tryst with Sophie in his memory and quickly filled him with the physical sensations that were associated with it. "Yes, she’s bent over the bed, hands tied… Her ass is wiggling… Begging for your big, thick, hard cock…" In reality, the man sported something closer to the pencils they give you to use at a miniature golf course, but this was his memory of the event. "Now she’s gasping… as you fit yourself in… so big… her ass is grabbing your big dick, squeezing with delicious pressure…" Gina made a loop of this from Morris’ memory, then made it repeat in his head while she described the scene in a titillating, breathy voice. The lawyer’s hips began thrusting up from the chair as she slowly amplified the residual physical feedback from his adulterous interlude. Neither Sophie nor her ass were there, but you couldn’t tell Morris or his dick that.
Gina abruptly stopped the physical feedback and the loop. She pulled another memory. "Ohhh," the coven leader pouted, "she stopped." The bulge in the lawyer’s pants moved, and he groaned aloud in frustration. "Sophie says you can start again if you’re nice to Gina," she cooed. He moaned an assent and she resumed the loop and physical feedback for about ten seconds before seductively insinuating, "You’re not being nice enough to Gina. You have to do anything Gina asks, or Sophie is going to leave." Morris groaned again. The coven leader began to repeat the cycle of alternating stimulation and quiet prompting without stimulation; before long, the lawyer was begging to do her bidding. Gina boosted the physical part of the memories as much as she could. Morris Cotter gurgled, grunted, turned extremely red and fucked mightily at the air above his seat. Then he came in his two hundred-dollar pants without any physical contact whatsoever. Gina Mansfield talked to him as he sighed happily, sinking into his seat, whispering how he would feel this way more often if he would only assemble his best defense team… to defend and free Danielle Gray… Just forget everything and listen to Gina…
Morris Cotter half-sat in his chair, too drained to hold his body upright. A beautiful voice was telling him to forget… forget… forget everything except listening to Gina’s voice and ecstasy… Gina… listen… Gina… ecstasy… Gina… obey… Gina… obey…
"Your ladyship, I will get working on the defense for Danielle Gray, and I will try to arrange bail as soon as possible." He smiled confidently at his client. "She’ll have the best team that Cotter, Lewis can field. I plan on personally handling the arguments myself. We will definitely put up the best fight possible for your friend," he declared. Morris shook Gina Mansfield’s hand. "As for that other matter, I will be happy to lend you the services of Ms. Gardner for an afternoon. Sophie is one of my best," he said, keeping a straight face even as he thought of the young woman’s talent for anal sex. Damn, I’d be a great poker player… He gave the thumbs-up sign as he departed the library.
Gina looked at her watch; it was four o’clock. Getting Morris’ pants cleaned had taken a little longer than she’d anticipated; there was no way she would be able to visit Danielle today. It was also too late to arrange a meeting with the embattled Sophie—the coven was still short a member, and Gina was positive that Sophie deserved more than being an outlet for Morris Cotter’s misplaced masculinity. She called Carter Hamilton to give him messages to deliver to the jailed initiate, including one about Andrew’s love. The coven leader felt a little guilty about having kept him out of the loop. A quick scan showed that he was still with Angie, who was having her way with him. He would survive; he might not even be angry with her—no, that wasn’t like him. She smiled in spite of her thoughts; Andrew was definitely special.
With a sigh, Gina turned her attentions back to the situation at hand. While she could force the chief prosecutor to forget everything, she remembered her failed effort to enslave him two years ago: his mind had been locked tight. Nothing could easily get in or out. Using the power to blow that lock would leave him a vegetable, and that would be far too—coincidental; somebody would start probing further. His aura had been similarly protected. No, she needed something clean, effective, and above all, untraceable. Gina picked up the phone and dialed Susan Newton.
"That scheming little ambitious hypocrite," Susan spat. Gina had just finished relaying all the information she had gained from Morris Cotter. "It was bad enough that he went on that highly publicized crusade to clean up the town, and that he’s been saying things that make you think he’s the one-hundred percent All-American Good Guy," the tall woman said. "Now he’s going after Danielle with a vengeance. You know he’s going to make it very visible." Gina shuddered and nodded; the TV and newspapers would unearth everything they could on the young woman’s personal life, which would eventually lead them to the castle. "I have enough to bury the little shit," Susan cheerily offered, then elucidated with, "He’s been a member of the Circle for several years." The coven leader pointed out that if blackmail were suspected, the prosecutor would be perceived as a martyr, and the trail would still eventually lead back to the castle. Susan got very quiet. Her head would move from time to time, as if she were considering options. After a few minutes, she calmly said, "I can arrange to tie off any loose ends. Blackmail won’t even be a consideration."
Gina began, "Well, we don’t have very long before she is officially charged, and then it will hit the press. They’ve just been holding her. Morris thinks that the prosecutor can’t quite fit all the pieces together yet. But it’s only a matter of time." The coven leader paused. "There will be a sizable bonus for this, in addition to the normal services payment. This is a difficult, delicate situation," she gravely added. "Payable in advance, if necessary, along with expenses."
The tall woman smiled. "Oh, the expense account should suffice—I’ll need round trip, first-class airfare from London. Otherwise, nothing unusual or… questionable should be involved. However, I would like you to give me all the information you have about Andrew. I’ll take that instead of a cash bonus," Susan said. The surprised curiosity that appeared on Gina’s face caused the coven second-in-command to continue, "Andrew has always faced me as an equal. No lover I’ve ever taken has been able to say that. He is now in a situation where he must willingly yield to me. He would do anything for Danielle. I want your silence about my plans, and any information about him that may be useful to me." She hesitated. "I have no intentions of making this a permanent arrangement; he will be free to go back to his girlfriend when she is released. However, I do plan on making his experience an unforgettable one."
Gina considered Susan’s request. She disliked using Andrew as a pawn, yet she was also aware that he was attracted to Susan and her mistress persona. Gina remembered a picture she once saw in his head. "All right, Susan," the coven leader acquiesced, and began to give Susan her collection of personal notes on the young man. An hour later, the tall woman strode out of the library with the phrase, "I will handle everything from here," and a perfectly placid expression. As she watched her leave, Gina wondered if Robert Wright had just shivered, wherever he was. If not, he should have.