"That would be nice, your ladyship. If you still have some, I’d like some of that fabulous Aüslese you served at the last coven dinner," Danielle replied. Gina gave her traditional regal nod and called the kitchen on the intercom. She had developed a close camaraderie with her sergeant-at-arms during the series of biweekly meetings. Details such as friendship were so much easier to work on when the coven was not in crisis. It had been quite peaceful for the past three months: membership was stable, none of the current members were showing signs of being power-drunk, and the outside world was content not to peer past the gates of Castlereagh. Yes, the coven leader silently acknowledged, this life is a good one.
Dani reviewed her notes one last time before the two women were to speak in earnest about coven members’ activities. Andy was out of town for the week on business, so she was half-inclined to go slowly, just so she could spend a pampered night at the castle. She had gained a new perspective on the coven leader over the past few months, especially since their personal discussions had lost the flavor of well-intentioned lectures from wise teacher to sassy, know-it-all student. As Danielle waited patiently for the drinks to arrive, she reflected on the path that had led her to this place. A slight smile played at her eyes when she thought of Andy’s role in all of this. If it hadn’t been for him, she wouldn’t be here now. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a nerdy-looking servant who carried the drinks into the library. "Your ladyship, Mistress Danielle," he said formally as he entered. Dani raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t like Gina to give such a high-visibility job to a guy who wasn’t physically alluring in some way.
"Thank you, Perry," the coven leader magnanimously declared, and gave him a peck on the forehead as he bowed. Danielle saw him blush. Metaphysically, his marbled aura (Kelly green, separated by white streaks) flared tremendously. Somehow, she managed not to giggle. Gina picked up her gin and tonic while Perry poured Dani’s wine from a carafe, carefully replacing it into a small ice bucket. Danielle said, "Thank you… Perry, is it?" with a gracefully feigned interest (although the "Thank you" was sincere). Abruptly, his aura flared gently again as he nodded excitedly. She could now sense his attraction to her; it had been well-hidden until she spoke to him. Before Danielle could pursue the matter any further, Gina dismissed the short guy with glasses, telling him to close the library doors securely as he left. "I suppose you’re wondering what he’s doing here," the coven leader quietly said. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"The thought had crossed my mind, your ladyship. I mean, he’s not—what I would expect from you in a coven servant." Dani felt a little uncomfortable being so candid with Gina. "But, I figure you’ve got a reason for it, so…" She shrugged.
"Yes, Miss Gray, I do indeed have a reason. I am teaching him how to treat a lady," Gina replied, the mischief still in her eyes. "And when you and I have finished here, it will be time for another… lesson."
Dani couldn’t resist. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "How is he?"
"Average. Clumsy. Fast," the coven leader casually replied. "But he’s an eager learner and he’s just so grateful that it’s charming." She smiled. "Yes, I have a soft spot for the socially inept and sexually inexperienced. He’s lost about five pounds since we’ve met," Gina wryly noted. "Well, shall we get on with it? Since you haven’t called an emergency meeting for a while, I assume that everything is still going well with the other initiates?"
Dani nodded. "First of all, there haven’t been any relationship changes as far as I can tell. Nobody’s mentioned any sudden new boyfriends or ex-boyfriends," she said. The coven leader had been very adamant about having to watch that aspect of initiate’s lives closely. Abrupt changes in relationship status were excellent indicators of someone abusing the power. Dani was living proof: it had been her penchant for a "man-of-the-night" that had caused Andrea to warn Gina about Dani’s activities well before Andy or Brendan. She glanced at her notes, then resumed.
"I think I’m going to start with… Sophie this week," Danielle began. "For some reason, she scares me. I don’t know why. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that she’s been misusing the power, or is likely to. In fact, she’s been using the power to make men disinterested in her. The only guy she shows any interest in is Andy. And no, I’m not jealous, Gina."
I think that I understand some of your unease, and I know that it isn’t related to any designs that Sophie might have on Andrew," the coven leader nodded. "First, Sophie was a prostitute. A streetwalker who eagerly devoured her pimp at initiation. Apart from the fact that he deserved it, it was a particularly vicious feeding. It bothers you that someone could take a life that easily without being in the throes of feeding frenzy. You are wondering if Sophie would do it indiscriminately."
Dani blinked. That was exactly it. "Still, she’s working on getting admitted to college next August, and her current job is going really well. I zapped her boss to check up on her, and he’s thrilled with her job performance. She’s really conscientious, and very detail-oriented. He’s going to promote her from the pool whenever a position opens up. He also thinks she’s cute, but no more so than any of the other attractive women that work there." Gina smiled to herself. This was exactly why she had promoted Danielle to sergeant-at-arms: her social skills were excellent, and she was not beyond doing careful follow-up if necessary. "I don’t know," Dani resumed. "I mean, I think you’re right about Sophie, but something tells me that she might have reason to go crazy with the power. I mean, there’s a lot of revenge motivation, I would guess. She could do a lot of damage."
"Danielle," Gina gently interrupted, "as I said, I understand your concerns. And I will say that they are not entirely unfounded." She quickly added, "Not with Sophie, but I have seen it happen in the past. I believe that you are doing the correct thing in watching her a little more carefully than the other initiates, although as time passes, it will be less and less likely that she would snap." That seemed to satisfy Danielle, so Gina gave the meeting a gentle push. "Who is next on the list?"
"Let’s see… Monica. She’s thinking about going back to school for a Master’s Degree. She rarely uses the power at all, almost like she’s afraid to. She told me that she used it last week for the first time in a while," Dani said. The coven leader asked her for more detail. "Well, Monica was going to get transferred to a different school, but she really likes the kids she’s working with, so she zapped the head administrator into blocking the move. The official reason is that he believes that she deserves the opportunity to reap the benefits of the groundwork she’s spent the last three years developing. He would rather she teach a seminar than be bounced from school to school as a trouble-shooter." As usual, Danielle didn’t mention the power that she and Andy held over the young woman. With a few words, Monica was their hypnotized slave, willing to obey any command given. The thought made her tingle a little bit and distracted her.
"… I was asking if you wanted another glass of wine, Danielle," Gina giggled. "Obviously, some stray thought of Andrew got in the way. By the way," she said, lowering her voice, "how is he?" From the change in her voice, it was clear that Gina missed Andy too.
"He’s fine. Things are a little crazy for him at work right now, and he’s out of town until Friday," Dani grumbled. Gina nodded absently. "Oh! I don’t know if you know this, but I… talked to Susan, and she told me where I could get…" Dani rummaged in her purse and took out a long black box with gold trim. She opened it, removed a six-inch black cigarette and lit it. "I call them ‘Andy Specials’," she giggled.
Gina smiled with a hint of sadness. "I know, Miss Gray. I have a carton in a humidor in my chambers. All I need," she sighed, "is Andrew."
Although it wasn’t a request, Danielle felt a twinge of guilt for having kept Andy away from Gina. She felt the difference between his company and anyone else’s just as much as the coven leader. But Andy would always come back to her; Gina had to rely on Dani’s kindness. "Your ladyship, he’s been out of town this week, and I’d really like to be with him this weekend. But I’ll ask him if he’d like to spend the next weekend at the castle with you," she gently said. "I mean, he does care for you, a lot."
Gina nodded sadly in response. "I know," she whispered, "and thank you, Danielle." The two women looked at each other for a while in silence, which was broken only by Gina ordering another gin and tonic. After Perry had delivered it and departed, the somber interlude dissipated when the coven leader declared, "Let’s get back to work. Enough of this woolgathering."
"Right. Ummm… I guess I should tell you about Jo next. She’s thinking about taking a job in another city, but she hasn’t decided if she’s even going to interview. I know she wants out of her current job, but I don’t know if it’s bad enough that she’d leave the city and the coven over it." Dani shrugged.
"It was so much easier to keep a steady membership when we women were confined to the home," Gina complained. "Child-bearing is the number-one reason women leave the coven. Job opportunities is reason number two and rising." She took a gulp of her drink. "So you really don’t have any feel for her inclinations at this time?" Danielle shook her head, replying that it was just too early to tell. "All right, then I will keep in mind that I have to start looking for another—That reminds me… Did Vicki turn down that job yet? I forgot to ask her last Friday after meeting."
"Yes, your ladyship, she did," Dani answered. "She decided that consulting wasn’t the career for her. The idea of not knowing what she was going to do after the contract ended in eight months wasn’t terribly appealing to her. Even if they were going to pay her a year-and-a-half’s worth of salary for that time."
Gina nodded. "She also would not have had the power to fall back upon on her return," she observed. "That, as much as anything, is what frightens Vicki the most. She doesn’t use the power that much, but she does like her men, and it does protect her from any type of harm." Gina sighed. "Our immunity can be a curse sometimes. It’s a curse because one can be so carefree. What happens after you separate yourself from the coven? One tends to forget the cautions that normal women have to take in this world, and wind up dead or diseased or both. Alternately, one can be paralyzed by the fear of not remembering those normal cautions. Then you wind up dead, much later, with a much more boring life. Our Vicki would fall into the latter category." She inclined her head towards the now-empty carafe of wine and gave Danielle an inquisitive look. The initiate smiled and the order was received in the kitchen. "Who is next on our list, faithful sergeant-at-arms?"
"I have Angie’s page here in front of me, fearless leader," Dani answered with a giggle. She paused. Well, Gina seemed to be in a good enough mood now. Maybe I can ask her what I’ve always wanted to know about Angie… "Your ladyship, I don’t mean to be rude, or asking about something that is none of my business, but… why is Angie a member of the coven? She is so gorgeous that I can’t even conceive that she’s ever had a problem with men." Dani quickly added, "If it’s none of my business, or if I’m being out-of-line, please forgive—"
"No, no, that’s all right, Danielle," Gina gently assured her. "I can answer your question; it’s nothing terribly secret. I can answer that question about each of the initiates." She waited until Danielle looked a little more at ease, then began. "I selected her because she reminded me of myself in a former life. I was stunningly beautiful and very petite. When I was single, I had an endless procession of men who would try to sell themselves to me. It seemed that every male I encountered was trying to convince me of his worth, either financially, sexually, or socially."
"That hasn’t changed much, Gina," Dani snickered. "They’re still the same if you’re kind of attractive."
"They never have, Miss Gray. Over seven hundred years, the one thing I have learned is that men are consistent." Both women laughed. "While being fawned over is extremely flattering, it does not do very much for meeting someone special. I wound up marrying a gorgeous man who tried to treat me horribly. If it hadn’t been for the power, I would have been the prototypical mentally and physically abused wife." She paused a moment, reflecting. "Although, given the custom of the time, it would have been swept under the rug under a man’s right to own his wife.
"Angie was in the same position of being fawned over. I met her in a bookstore; she had just received her ‘daily’ roses. A very rich young man had flowers delivered to her there every day to prove his worth. She confided to me that she wished he would just leave her alone." Danielle looked puzzled. "It had gone well past the point where it was romantic. And frankly, Angie was tired of the type of men she was meeting. She wanted to date ‘normal’ men.
"Of course, she was extremely unhappy about this, and she’s such a wonderful young lady that I offered her the chance to do exactly that. I told her I could show her how to keep men she doesn’t want to chase her from doing so. I bluntly told her that I would stop the man with the roses from bothering her any more, if she so desired. She was a little reluctant at first, but the opportunity to realize her favorite dreams won her over." Gina paused to see if Danielle had any more questions about Angie. "As for her recent activity?"
"Oh, she’s really excited about going to London for the auction. I also understand that that was your doing," Dani replied. With a wicked grin, she added, "It’s very convenient to have a coven member who works in acquisitions for a library. That really helps out your collection, doesn’t it?"
"Touché, Miss Gray." The coven leader smiled graciously at having been caught. "Her background was definitely a consideration in her being offered membership to our group. Speaking of education, Caroline’s almost finished, isn’t she?"
Danielle nodded. "She’s waiting to hear from the review committee. She’s a little worried that her recent papers weren’t—in vogue for the department. From what I understand, they were all very impressive, just not something that this particular university is known for." She paused, then answered Gina’s unspoken question. "No, she refuses to use the power. Caroline is determined to make it on her own merits. She always has been, at least since I’ve known her."
"That’s good," the coven leader said, visibly relieved. "I was just—concerned—because I know this is very important to her. I honestly can never judge what might drive a member to step over the line from use to abuse of the power." She noticed that Danielle was looking at her strangely. "I may be close to omnipotent, but I am definitely not omniscient, Miss Gray. Most of the time, those I offer membership to are only a guess as to the level of risk. I thought that Caroline, for instance, needed the confidence that the power can engender. Without confidence, her physical appearance isn’t the best. She is attractive enough, but she has to feel that way."
Dani smiled. "You should see her around Andy. She’s so quiet and unassuming. I think it’s cute the way she looks at him. And she’s so shy—what’s wrong, your ladyship?"
Gina had tried, but couldn’t hold it in. She laughed at Danielle’s assessment. "She eats men. If you think Vicki is sexually ravenous, you should see Caroline. She may be shy, but she’s—making up for lost time, as she puts it." Danielle was flabbergasted. "She is highly skilled with the power, Miss Gray. Nowhere near as powerful as you, but she is very good at using it as a precision tool. Caroline uses a touch of the power to make a man wonder about fucking her senseless. Just enough to firmly plant the seeds of the thought at the front of his mind, where they grow very quickly. She doesn’t need to give commands—she is pursued. I’ve watched her work and it’s quite impressive. She does like Andrew a great deal, but she hardly needs him, sexually speaking. Did you know that most of the time, they enjoy each other’s company and talk about romance languages and literature? They rarely wind up sexually engaged."
"Wow," Dani said in a small voice. "Guess I missed out on that one, huh?" She had always assumed that other coven members liked Andy for the unique, very special sexual experience he provided. Why was it surprising that they found other things attractive about him? After all, sex was only a part of what she liked about him. Why should her sisters be any different? She mentally scolded herself for thinking like the old Danielle.
Her sergeant-at-arms looked a little crestfallen. Gina decided to restore some of Danielle’s self-esteem. "Miss Gray, do you have any idea how many times in the past seven hundred years that I have miscalculated someone’s character??? We can start with my ‘original’ life, where I got upset with the man I was married to for philandering. I believed he was basically a good man who had been tempted. He hit me in the face when I wouldn’t let him gloss over it. According to the law at the time, he had every right to do that. However, I had the power, and I used it. Unfortunately, it turned into an extremely public execution, since I had no skill at taking life essence."
The shock was plain on Danielle’s face. "What happened?"
"I was stoned. For being a witch," the coven leader nonchalantly finished. She ordered another gin and tonic; this was going to take longer than she had originally estimated, so she needed to dismiss Perry. The poor dear would be disappointed, but she would make it up to him in the next couple of days. "I clearly remember thinking that it was a rather rotten way to end a promising life. I woke up as the daughter of a genteel farmer. That lasted long enough for him to ascertain that I was not his daughter. Of course, I had no clue back then of how to fake it. He stabbed me to death as I slept, believing—quite correctly, I might add—that I was a succubus who had stolen his daughter’s body.
"I have made more than my share of mistakes, Miss Gray. I am trying to prevent all of you from making the same ones. It took me over five hundred years to figure out exactly how powerful I was. Did you know that the coven has only existed since the nineteenth century?" The initiate shook her head, looking very surprised. "Yes, this little band of ours has not been in existence that long, relatively speaking. And do you know why?" Danielle shook her head again. "Because I did not know enough about the power. I had been a loner for a long, long time, and had only used it for myself. There was the odd altruistic deed, such as getting rid of Jack the Ripper, but never had I considered giving the power to another. I didn’t even know that I could give it to others." Gina settled back into her chair. "Every mistake that every coven member has made, I have also made at some time, Miss Gray," she somberly said. "When one is given a great deal of power, the first response is to use it indiscriminately. I was irresponsible, short-sighted, and greedy in my earliest lives. None of them lasted longer than a few months, and most were considerably shorter."
The coven leader stopped speaking and looked away vacantly, obviously searching her memory. Dani waited silently, enjoying the heart-to-heart talk that they were having. This was a side of Gina she’d never seen before. Come to think of it, she’d never really cared about Gina’s past. How did she get so rich, anyway? And how was she able to make sure that she carried everything with her across her lives?
Gina turned back to Danielle. "I have awakened to find myself a prostitute thirteen or fourteen—I can’t exactly recall—times. In most cases, it was a short, ugly life. All the power couldn’t elevate me, because I had no idea of long-term gain. I’d just reach out to the first rich man I encountered, make him my slave and have him give me lots of money. It always failed because when one deals with large sums of money, there are many people other than the principal involved, and you can’t control everybody. You might say that I learned about discretion the hard way."
"What about those times where it wasn’t, your ladyship?" Danielle moved forward in her chair and poured herself another glass of wine. "I mean, when you didn’t have a short, ugly life?"
"I assume you are familiar with Lucretia Borgia?" Dani’s jaw dropped. Gina smiled. "Sitting in front of you, in the flesh. I am rather disappointed that history has chosen to besmirch my name, rather than find the truth. I had or could easily get everything I wanted, so why would I commit those horrible crimes?" She leaned back in her chair and ordered a pitcher of water. "That’s enough of the gin and tonics. At any rate, I had gained enough control over the drawing of life essence that I could make it seem as if people were slowly wasting away. A little bit daily, and a corpse would eventually be discovered. That was how I fed then, completely unaware that using the power was not a necessity, and that if I didn’t, I didn’t need to feed very much. When I died, however, I woke up in the body of a young girl who had the plague, and all that wealth and privilege was gone." The coven leader’s face fell, and she sadly murmured, "That was also one of the few times where my reincarnation was an act of mercy."
Another question hit Danielle. "Where do the women whose bodies you wind up in go to?" She immediately realized that it was the wrong question to ask: she really didn’t want to know the answer.
"They are dead, in almost every sense of the word," Gina said remorsefully. "No soul, no ghost. Truly nothing remains, save for a few memories that assault me every once in a while. Such a burden tends to make one much more unselfish with each succeeding life." She sighed. "That is also why I am much more careful these days. I don’t want to steal any more lives than I absolutely have to." A tear appeared on her face. Danielle apologized for asking the question, but Gina waved dismissively. "No, Miss Gray. Sometimes I have to remind myself of these things. And I have had good lives."
She smiled. "One time, I was almost a mail-order bride." At Danielle’s skeptical look, she elaborated, "I was a prostitute who was saving herself from sure death by being sent to Australia as a prison bride. I wound up being saved by a very wonderful man. It was a quiet, nondescript life. He was a very good man, though. He adored me, and I him. I rarely used the power the whole time I was with him, and I believe that that was the turning point of my existence. I finally realized that there was more to a life than being rich and privileged."
"And that’s how you got the idea for the coven?" Dani asked.
"No… no… I had already discovered that I could share the power. Quite accidentally. I was again, a prostitute." Gina cocked her head. "I honestly believe that is fate’s way of keeping me humble. I’ve never been what you would call—a high-priced call girl. It’s always been your standard streetwalker. But I digress. My roommate, also a prostitute, was being badly beaten by her client while I was out on the street waiting for her to finish. I couldn’t go in, because the arsehole had insisted that I be locked out, with no key, and he had lots of money. So Cheryl and I agreed to his terms, because we needed the money. I found myself desperately wishing I could make him stop, but I knew that the power doesn’t work at a distance. At some point, I passed out, and woke up with Cheryl hovering over me.
"She was in a fairly bad way, but her client was as stiff and still as a statue. I immediately knew what was happening, and told her to tell him to give us all his money and leave, forgetting completely about the evening. He committed suicide that night, which was Cheryl’s doing, no doubt. I was too wiped out to stop her. That is one of the reasons why the ritual exists, Danielle. If I share the strain of connecting someone to the power with others, I still have a normal amount of strength afterwards, in case I’ve made a mistake. All I ever did until I learned about the ritual was sleep for two days and feel horrid."
Dani couldn’t believe what she had just heard. "Let me get this straight… You said you learned about the ritual???" All of the coven leader’s revelations to now had been interesting, but this one completely shocked the initiate. "From where??? Who taught you???"
Gina smiled. Danielle was so inquisitive. But it was getting late, and the young woman did have to go to work the next day. "I will make a deal with you, Miss Gray. Let us finish our business tonight, and then tomorrow, we’ll have dinner together here in the castle. I will resume my story and answer as many of your questions as I can." Danielle quickly accepted and went back to her notes, shuffling them furiously. It pleased Gina that Danielle had been so engrossed in the story that the initiate had lost her place in the original task.
Danielle got a triumphant look on her face. "Okay, I guess we were about to look at… Cindy. She’s been using the power quite a bit lately. The guy that hired her for his company was just trying to get into her pants. She fell for it, and now she’s madder than hell. The company is—"
"Just a dream in the eyes of a fast talker who means well," Gina finished. "Yes, I know the type, and Cindy has a habit of falling for them. She’s quite the dreamer, herself."
"Well, nothing she did to him made it sound like she was going to break any coven rules or anything, but I probably should keep an eye on her," Dani said. She was very surprised when the coven leader waved dismissively.
"She’s going to have a clean house, a well-manicured lawn and garden, free food, and fresh flowers delivered daily for a couple of weeks. Then she’ll feel much better about herself and let him go." Gina giggled. "Can you tell I’ve been through this with her before? Seriously, Danielle, I selected Cindy because she was, to use a common term, ‘trailer trash’. She had dreams, but would always wind up as the doormat of some man who would promise her great things. Her—anger—over her current situation is mostly self-directed. Cindy thinks that she should have learned by now, but old, ingrained habits are hard to break. It’ll blow over soon enough. Other than that, she’s a fine initiate, and very compassionate."
It seemed to Dani that Gina had a good handle on many of the initiates. She guessed that the coven leader felt that a sergeant-at-arms served some function, otherwise she wouldn’t be here now. Still, Gina pretty much knew the members cold. She cleared her throat. "I don’t have anything to say about Heather; she’s off somewhere in Europe with her current boyfriend." Probably getting flogged into bliss nightly, Danielle thought, and an unbidden image of her and Leslie crossed her mind.
"Miss Gray?" Gina’s gentle question snapped her back to reality. Danielle shook her head to clear it, and apologized for daydreaming. "That’s quite all right, Danielle," the coven leader lightly said. "We have been here for a while."
"Let’s see… Elizabeth. She’s OK, and she hasn’t used the power in a couple of months." Dani giggled. "The biggest worry in her life right now is when Seth is going to pop the question."
"Do you think she’d use the power to—speed up the process?" Gina frowned, genuinely worried. "They’ve been together for nearly two years."
"Nahhh. Only if she could use it on her mother." Dani rolled her eyes. "The hang-up is Elizabeth’s mom. She wants to see a traditional engagement ring. You know, two months’ salary and all that. Seth is still paying off student loans and they don’t want to start off any more in the hole than they need to." She shook her head. "Her mom is dead set against the marriage because Seth isn’t a doctor or a lawyer. She wants to him to ante up first."
Gina sighed. "The reason I invited Elizabeth to join us was that she used to be treated as a fragile little girl. She’d taken up with a boorish man who treated her like dirt. She was—rebelling against her parents and her life. You’d think her mother would be pleased with Seth by comparison." She looked away into space for a moment. "I gave her the power to keep her from having the helpless victim mentality ingrained into her personality. She’s much more self-reliant now." The coven leader sighed in exasperation. "Unfortunately, her mother has always done her best to undo that. She hasn’t succeeded but…" Gina waved her hand. "Well, who’s next?" she brightly asked.
Dani looked at her notes. "Ummm, Tricia. School is going real well for her. She’s so happy that you turned her on to healing people, and she really appreciates you getting her into the sports medicine program." There was a twinge of jealousy in her thoughts; sports medicine was the more glamorous area of physical therapy.
"She’s brave enough to attempt to make it in such a traditionally male-dominated world. They weren’t going to let her in, despite her academic qualifications. I intervened to keep her from getting upset, and perhaps doing something with the power that she shouldn’t, or worse, attempting something she could not achieve." The coven leader leveled her gaze at her sergeant-at-arms. "Of the bad things than can happen with the power, falling short of your intended effect is one of the worst. If you’re going to attempt something, you had better make sure that you succeed, or the repercussions are going to be horrendous. In this case, it was persuading the admissions committee that she deserved to get in. Tricia is one of the weaker members when it comes to using the power in the traditional way. This is balanced out by her healing ability. I don’t know why it happens that way, but it does." She shrugged. "Since I have the ability and am used to dealing with persuading more than one person at a time to do my bidding, I did it for her."
Danielle thought back to the period when she was playing at being Susan. "Ummm… your ladyship, I’ve been able to control two men at once," she said in a small voice.
"I figured as much. You are very powerful, as I have told you on many occasions. You are getting more skilled every day, as well. If you honed them to their sharpest, your abilities could allow you to completely control the men of a small town. Fortunately, I believe that your experiences have taught you that being in control isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be."
"Isn’t that the truth," Danielle sighed. It was getting late, and she had to go to work in the morning. "Well, I suppose that I should finish this up, anyway," she said. "That brings us to Susan. Susan is—Susan." That was all she could find to say about her friend and mentor, the woman who had introduced Dani to a new side of herself. "That’s really all I can say about her." The coven leader nodded with an understanding smile. "Well, then I guess that’s it—"
Gina interrupted, "Not quite, Miss Gray." The initiate looked at her quizzically. "There is one more we have to discuss." Seeing that Danielle was completely baffled, the coven leader smiled and lightly said, "We need to speak about you. Who watches the watcher and all that. Danielle, how is your life?" She could see that the question surprised the young woman.
"Ummmm… okay, I guess," Dani began, a little confused. "I mean, Andy and I are going to be setting a date next month—but the wedding is at least a year away. My folks like him, but they’re a little worried that I’m just trying to find a replacement husband—especially my mom." She paused, then giggled, "She thinks I’ve been a nun and that Andy’s the first guy I’ve been dating."
The coven leader giggled too, before turning serious again. "How are you handling the—open—aspect of your relationship with him? I’ve made him accessible to the other members; if this is causing problems, I can change that. I think that the coven is stable enough that we no longer need him as a training aid." She left her desire for him unspoken; no matter what, she would continue to reserve that privilege for herself.
Dani cocked her head, puzzled. "It’s fine. He always has the last say in the matter, and I always know that he has good companionship with people who care for him when I’m away. When it’s training, I feel like I’m giving something back to you and the coven. When it’s not training, I’m just sharing something too wonderful for me to keep all to myself, and I know that it also makes him happy. Andy and I don’t even talk about it any more."
"That’s wonderful, dear, but what about you?" Gina asked.
Danielle took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, sexually speaking, I have certain—urges—that Andy can’t fulfill. The two of us have discussed this in detail." Studying Gina’s nonplussed reaction, she continued, "There are certain things that he could be a part of, but he would hate it. I know I could make him do it, even make him enjoy it, because he feels so deeply for me. But eventually it would fall apart, so I don’t even bother. It’s not worth losing him." The depth of understanding expressed by Danielle’s explanation made Gina feel very good. The initiate had learned an enormous amount about the power, its workings, its potential, and most importantly, its limitations. Not only that, she had accepted them.
"And how did this discussion come up, Miss Gray? Did you just sit down and tell him about your desires?"
"He’s always known about them, pretty much. I don’t know what, if anything, Susan has told you. I went to her Rites of Spring party by myself and rediscovered some—pleasures that I had forgotten." Danielle waited for the coven leader’s interjection. Receiving none, she decided to elaborate. "I also renewed a very intense lesbian relationship. Not even Andy affects me as much physically." Gina nodded with understanding on her face, which gave Dani the courage to continue. "Anyway, I’ve got—a friend—who likes being hit. Especially by me. Susan’s pretty much convinced me that I’m not sick, and I can’t deny that it turns me on. I’ve made an arrangement to play with my ‘friend’ outside of Susan’s parties, and see what happens."
Smiling, Gina said, "I have also had experience at being the ‘stern British governess’ to several ‘naughty boys.’ It can be exciting, can’t it?" She laughed at Danielle’s expression. "Don’t look so shocked, dear. Sadomasochism has been around since before I existed. As I have told you before, there is nothing sexual that I have not done over the course of seven hundred years. I truly meant it."
"At this point in this life, convention appeals to me much more; that is the main reason you have not known me to engage in any—variations. I suppose I’m feeling old, relatively speaking, and I desire traditional male companionship. However, you are young, and your experimentation is a part of your overall maturation process." The coven leader stopped to look purposefully at Danielle. "I can remember when Danielle Gray would not have sat and listened this much." The young woman smiled, accepting the compliment with a blush and a graceful incline of her head. Gina finally felt at complete ease. She wondered how long such an unprecedented peace would last. It had been an interesting lifetime. Now, perhaps she could tend to her library, and to her charges with a caretaker’s attitude, rather than that of a taskmaster. The coven leader hadn’t had many opportunities to grow old gracefully; maybe this would be one. If only Andrew could be at her side for the duration… "I suppose then, that this concludes our meeting?" Danielle nodded. "Then I will see you tomorrow night for dinner, drinks and a chat?" Gina added.
"I wouldn’t miss it for the world, your ladyship," Dani replied, her eyes sparkling.
The following evening found Gina and Dani sharing coffee in the library after a sumptuous meal. "Miss Gray, before we start, may I ask where this sudden curiosity about me comes from?" Danielle explained that the coven leader seemed more—open now. "Do I really seem that distant or unapproachable?" Gina frowned.
"Well… I wouldn’t call it distant. After all, you have improved our lives by a lot, whether or not we realize how much. But with all the formalities here at the castle, sometimes you seem to be a lot less approachable than you really are," Danielle replied.
Gina silently weighed the young woman’s analysis for a minute. After a quiet sigh, she spoke. "That is always so difficult. I need to maintain a certain distance from each of you, because if I get too close, discipline becomes a problem. If I’m too distant, however, the members are afraid of me. I have had problems with that ever since I created the coven." She smiled. "Still, compared to the alternative, I welcome the dilemma. It wasn’t always like this, Danielle. I was a loner until the middle of the nineteenth century, more or less. That was when I found out that I could give the power to another woman. I didn’t quite know how I did it, but I could. I returned to my birthplace to seek an answer after one of my—creations—killed three men for their wealth. I was forced to dispose of her—something I had tried to avoid, because she was my friend, but I could not stand the thought of innocent people being dead because of me. Being able to pay for sex should be no crime—certainly not a capital one."
"There were some inscriptions on the Druid monoliths surrounding the sacrificial altar where I was created. I found that I could read them, which was surprising, since I was barely able to read English. Fascinated, I moved from stone to stone, reading in the moonlight, and then the sunlight of the next day. By the next evening, I knew how I could effect the sharing of the power at my complete, conscious control. I had also learned the reason for my existence: the men who were going to use me as a virgin sacrifice raped me before the ceremony, unable to control their lust. Instead of giving themselves more power, they created a succubus. The magic ritual specifically called for a virgin, and promised doom to those, and all like them who failed to follow the ritual. That is why the power only works on men. According to the inscriptions, had there been women in the original group, the power would work on both genders."
Dani was fascinated. "Wow. So did you go back to London and start using the power the way you do now?" She could see how that would give Gina a purpose, and allow her to become who she was.
"Oh no, Danielle!" Gina shook her head. "Actually, I never made it back to London. I was lynched the next day for being a witch. It seems that I had spent too much time around the monoliths for the local townspeople’s comfort. When they came for me, I couldn’t control thirty men at once. And the women who were with them…" She shrugged. "I came back to life as a prostitute, again. I woke up, weak, starving, and in jail." The coven leader let an ironic chuckle go. "What I thought was going to be a short, extremely forgettable life turned into one of my great loves."
"I was to be put on a prison ship sailing for Australia because the judge-advocate had no stomach for killing women. I was to be—purchased, and sent as a mail-order bride to some man in exile there. I was too weak to use the power, so I had to go along with it. One of the policemen assigned to the escort job fell head over heels for me; I had been cleaned up for the voyage, and I was very attractive. He paid for my release and took me home with the understanding that any misbehavior would get me sent away, or worse."
"He was so kind and gentle! Andrew is very much like him. At first, my mistrust of men made me behave and act in a contrary fashion. It was always met by a quiet, face-to-face discussion of what was expected and proper. He never raised a hand nor his voice to me. After a while, I began to try to do little things to please him. He was so grateful that first time I met him at the door with his slippers! It made me feel so—loved—that I did things like that more often. And my body—my body realized the depth of my affection for him before my mind did. Understand that sex was something done for King and country back then, and that it was only done in that spirit. I corrupted him in that respect: fellatio, anal sex, cunnilingus, non-missionary…" Gina’s voice trailed off while she felt the thrill of the memories surge through her body. She shivered, pleasantly. "I only used the power to feed every once in a great while. The power was not necessary to my happiness; therefore, I often forgot about it. That was the first time I realized that I didn’t have to use the power."
"Our only regret was that we had no children. I didn’t know then that I was doomed to be barren for all of my lives. He was disappointed, but not frustrated. He loved me too much. When he died, heroically, trying to save someone from a fire, I committed suicide. I had never loved so deeply, so completely, and I couldn’t bear the thought of life without him." She paused to wipe away a tear and compose herself.
"This is all really fresh in your mind, isn’t it, your ladyship?" Danielle quietly asked, receiving a nod of confirmation. She walked over to the other side of the desk, and gave Gina a caring, empathic hug. "I’m really sorry. We can stop now if you want," Dani whispered, choking back a tear herself.
"No, no… I’ll be all right, Danielle," the coven leader said. Taking a deep breath, she resumed, "I woke up as a beautiful young girl, a banker’s daughter. I was privileged and spoiled beyond belief. The only drawback was that I could not feed inconspicuously, and so remained too weak from my reincarnation to use any of the power for several years. That was before I became… marriageable. I took a little bit of essence from each suitor who would have enough of my father’s favor for us to be left alone for a minute. I was quite the prize, and had no shortage of qualified suitors. "But the Lord Mansfield, a widower, was by far the most creative, attentive, and flattering of them. I had never seen such wealth flaunted so casually! Flowers daily, red roses! A box of sweets and the most romantic prose would accompany anything he sent. He was one of my father’s richest clients, so that was no obstacle. We married, I a blushing virgin bride of seventeen, he a wiser, more mature man of thirty-eight."
"Once I was his, I quickly learned that the Lord was not all he seemed to be. He had certain desires that I was not eager to fulfill. I was so out-of-practice with the power that I was unable to stop his first sadomasochistic episode with me. The next day, I fed on a couple of servants feeling terribly guilty—it was a matter of self-preservation, however. I later found out that his previous two wives had died while serving his sexual wants. I was strong enough to defend myself the second time. My control over the Lord Mansfield scared him greatly, but he was in a delicate position: anything he would publicly say about it would make people think him insane. After all, I was a sweet, innocent, well-bred child," Gina smiled, remembering the irony of the situation. "I made him teach me about money. I made him show me how the family fortune had been made and how it was maintained. Out of fear, he complied. It became a problem when some of my female friends, other wives of station, noticed that my husband was afraid of me."
"I didn’t understand why that was a problem, and told them that they ruled their households as well, why was what I was doing any different? They explained to me how they achieved their control. They taught me about feminine wiles, which I knew absolutely nothing about. They showed me the inherent power in being a woman, despite the physical and social barriers. They made me realize that it did me little good outside of my household to rule within; but with the Lord Mansfield as my willing puppet, I could accomplish many things in the world-at-large. Shortly thereafter, I told the Lord that he could… play with me. His surprise was only surpassed by his lust and zeal. I used the power to keep him from hurting me too much, while allowing him the pleasures that he craved. The next night, he was kneeling at my feet, kissing them with devotion and begging for another session. That was when I realized that I was on my way to solving the gigantic riddle of men and women."
"My friends saw the change in the household immediately, and in exchange for their wise and wonderful counsel, I told them that I would show them how I had gained my earlier control. They could never tell a soul, but they would be greatly rewarded. Of course they agreed, and the coven was born. Our mission was to improve the lives of women, and show them their innate power. And that, Danielle, is essentially how the coven started, with four women in the basement of the Lord Mansfield’s manor home."
"That is so cool, Gina," Danielle enthused. "But why are there thirteen of us now?"
"Because that’s how many witches are in a coven, according to the dictionary." The coven leader’s eyes sparkled with amusement. "Purely arbitrary on my part. I could, with the ritual, create a thousand or more coven members. However, as the class size grows, the quality of the education declines, and discipline is much more difficult to effect. Effective discipline is also the reason why I make members resign from the coven when they move away."
"Another lesson from experience?" Dani asked.
The coven leader nodded and sighed. "It took a while for the news of an initiate’s inappropriate behavior to reach me. By the time I addressed the problem, it was almost too late. I had to spend three months in San Francisco cleaning up the mess she had made, which literally killed me. I had to use the power too much. Not coincidentally, I created the sergeant-at-arms post after that reincarnation. I wanted to keep a closer eye on everyone, and it can’t be done from a distance."
Danielle nodded. "I can see where that would be a problem. But I do have one more question… how do you manage to keep your wealth between lives? I mean, you have a different body, a different name, and absolutely no identification. I can’t imagine a bank giving money away without verifying who they’re giving it to."
Gina smiled. Yes, Danielle Gray was very sharp. Selecting the young brunette for the coven had not been a mistake. "It is a very complicated identification process, one that I designed and have refined over the years. Where men are involved, I—convince—them never to reveal the secret." Seeing the curious expression on Danielle’s face, she decided to explain just a little more. "A little bit of money and power-enhanced sex make many things possible. Remember that I have direct access to men’s brains; I can make them do and feel things that aren’t physically possible under normal conditions." The coven leader smiled impishly again. That was as much as she was going to reveal. No one needed to know the exact details of how she created a new Mansfield identity from nothing but the power, a phone call, and an airline ticket. "Do you have questions on any other subject? I think it’s very good for coven members to understand who I am and how I’ve gotten to this point, but I don’t want to do it in a lecture format. This is my existence we are discussing, not some finished, fixed piece of literature or historical event. I am still very much alive," the coven leader said.
Dani cocked her head. "Do you think that your lives are longer now because you’ve gotten a better—handle—on the power and how to use it? You haven’t been a prostitute recently, have you?"
"Actually, Miss Gray, I have, but I didn’t stay one for long. Since I had established the way to reclaim my fortune, I only needed one client to get the cash necessary to set the process in motion. Once completed, I regain my former standing, title and all, although I appear to be a completely different person." Gina stopped, waiting for another question, then resumed, "I do not know why I go into the bodies that I do when I am reborn. I stopped trying to figure that out several lifetimes ago."
Danielle nodded. "I can’t see a pattern, other than the number of times you’ve been a prostitute. Maybe it’s all one gigantic cosmic karma joke." She stood and stretched. "I’m thinking of staying at the castle tonight. Andy won’t be home until late tomorrow, and it’s really kinda weird being in the house with residual traces of him all around, but having to sleep without his aura."
The coven leader smiled. "So you can sense his historical presence." That revelation left no doubt about her metaphysical skill and the strength of her bond with Andrew. Danielle was an elite coven member now. Still, another small test wouldn’t hurt. "Why didn’t you just stay in your chambers here for the duration? You could have even summoned a servant."
"Yeah—but—I don’t want just a man—or even a hypnotized perfect lover. I want Andy. It’s not just being horny." Dani explained. "I know you, of all people, can understand that."
Test passed. Gina nodded. "Yes, dear, I can. Yes, I very much do understand." She stood. "Well, I will have your chambers readied. In the meantime, would you care to join me for some chocolate mousse in the lounge before retiring?" Danielle eagerly agreed, and gave her a happy, warm hug before they left the library. Gina Mansfield felt like a proud parent. Maybe she had found the key to longer, and less troublesome lives.