By the time the limo crunched over the gravel and snow of the school's parking lot, Cassie felt as though she were bursting at the seams. She had to hold her tongue through the ride from Ned's house so as not to allow Harry any more ammunition for her mother. As soon as the car stopped, Cassie yanked the door release.

"Please be careful, Miss Kendall, as it is rather ..." Harry trailed off when Cassie launched herself from the car and ran across the parking lot, despite how her heels tried to fly out from under her.

Her enthusiasm was dampened when she spotted an Aura walking at a brisk pace towards the school entrance and realized it was Jason. "Oh goodness, look," she said as Ned stumbled to a stop next to her.

"Yeah, we shoulda figgered that," Ned drawled, his voice breathless from running around the other end of the limo. "We gotta be real careful now, babe. I know yer excited about this but--"

"I know, Ned, I know," Cassie said, then sighed when she realized her voice had betrayed some of the annoyance she wished she was not feeling. In a more contrite voice she said, "We'll have to make sure no one around us is with the Darkness. Come on, let's tell them, they look like they could use some good news."

Cassie approached the other Harbingers, this time moving at a more sedate if still brisk pace. "There's Cassie!" Melinda piped, jogging up to her. "Cassie! It's really bad around Jason now and--"

"I know, I saw him going into the school," Cassie said, her chagrin overwhelmed by her ebullience.

"He said we should tell you that Jason ... that he might ..." Melinda's eyes glistened, and she turned away. "Someone else tell her," she said in a choked voice.

Heather stepped forward. "Cassie, Jason said today might be the last time he's ... well, safe around us."

"Oh my," Cassie said. She glanced towards the school but Jason had already gone inside.

"He said he'll probably have to go to the Inn over the weekend."

Cassie understood the problem at once and wished she lived inside the town proper. "All right, that just means we'll have to keep track of each other over the weekend and make sure he's ... h-he's not sent after anyone."

"I doubt I'll be allowed out anywhere," Melinda said in a miserable voice.

Heather took Diane's hand. "I'll keep track of Diane."

"That should be the other way around," Diane said. "You have to go back Sunday night."

"Just keep tabs on each other, then," Cassie said.

"Hey, what the hell, what about me, huh?" Richie snapped. "I was the one Jason told to keep him off your backs."

"But that was in school," Melinda said. "When we're all in the same building. You're not going to be able to watch over all of us."

"Richie, maybe you can keep track of Jason's movements," Cassie said.

"What, you want me to follow him?"

Cassie paused. "Well, no, not quite, just--"

"Whoa, wait, babe, he's onta something," Ned said. "Wouldn't it easier ta keep tabs on one person than the whole group?"

"But Jason is going to the Inn, right over where the Darkness lives," Cassie said in a quavering voice.

"But it doesn't live inside the Inn, does it?" Richie said. "It's below it, like underground."

"It's not quite the same concept."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Really getting friggin' sick of people telling me it's not what I think. Look, plain and simple: I'm not gonna fucking run into it on the street, right?"

"Well, no, but--"

"Then that settles it. I'll follow him."

"But jus' on the street," Ned said. "Don't go followin' him inside."

"Fuck, Ned, I didn't just fall off the hay truck," Richie snapped.

"I might be able to get you a cell phone to use temporarily, like I did when we were coordinating plans against Melissa," Cassie said. "Then you can call someone if you see him going somewhere you think he shouldn't."

Richie's eyebrows suddenly rose. "Wait, a cell phone?"

"Yes, I still have some unused numbers on my account."

"Haven numbers?"

Cassie paused. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I mean the numbers assigned to the phone, are they Haven numbers?"

"Oh, no, they're on a different exchange. Why do you ask?"

Richie shrugged. "Just curious."

"Seems a silly thing to be curious about," Melinda said.

"Look, I don't go criticizing all the questions that you--"

Cassie was again about to burst. "Melinda, could you please look around and make sure no one nearby has an Aura?"

Melinda stared at Cassie for a moment, then swung her gaze one way and the other, her hair flying. "No, everyone's clean. Why did you want to--?"

"Ned found something in the journal!"

Melinda's eyes widened. "What?!"

Everyone else started speaking at once.

"Are you sure?" asked Heather. "Can we use it to help Melinda?"

"Is it gonna help Jason finally kick their sorry asses at the Inn?" Richie demanded.

"Can we get Heather away from Bendon with it?" asked Diane.

"One at a time!" Cassie cried.

"Whoa, folks, settle down," Ned said. "Yeah, I found something, but I don't know what it is yet. An' I haven't had time yet ta find all of 'em."

"All of what?" Melinda demanded.

"A buncha numbers that ol' Lizzie hid in her writin'. Like I said, don't know what it means yet."

"Mrs. Radson might know!"

"Yeah, she might, but it's gonna hafta wait til we get outta school later. Meanwhile, I brought the journal with me ta--"

"Oh, Ned, you didn't tell me you had done that!" Cassie said. "Is that safe?"

"As far as the Great Dark Poobah is concerned, the journal ain't got nuthin' of worth in it. So long as it keeps thinkin' that, it won't care even if we posted the thing on the internet. Here's my theory: Lizzie got inta some sorta scrape with the Darkness an' lost. It made her rewrite part of the journal ta make it look like the potion was a farce. She pulled a fast one by includin' a code."

"And the Darkness never noticed?" Diane asked.

"It ain't got 'xactly what ya would call a details-oriented personality, even less so back then. Anyway, I brought the journal with me so I can work on it during class."

"Ned, be careful," Cassie said. "If a teacher confiscates it from you--"

"Yeah, I know, I'm takin' a chance. But the sooner I figger this out the sooner we can get Jason back among the sound of mind. Anyway, only teacher we know of that's tied ta the Darkness is Terrible Terri Hollis, and I ain't got her fer any of my classes this semester."

"Terri Hollis hasn't really been doing anything," Heather said. "She barely acknowledges I'm there anymore."

"See, that's what I mean," Ned said. "It don't think we're a threat right now. Let it keep thinkin' that."

"If a teacher does grab it from you, just send Cassie after Seeger," said Richie.

Cassie blinked. "What?"

"Jason was in good with Seeger 'cuz he was in charge of the Harbingers. Now you're in charge."

"I don't want to press my luck with that, Richie."

"Why the fuck not for chrissakes? That's what he's there for."

Cassie uttered a quick sigh and stopped herself from rolling her eyes. She did not want to explain to Richie yet again how much she hated assuming more authority than that to which she felt entitled. Down that path lay the woman whom her mother had become.

"Let's blow up that bridge when we come ta it," Ned said.

Cassie gave him an appreciative look, then glanced past the now largely empty parking lot towards Seeger, who still looked intimidating despite his supposed alliance with the Harbingers.

All the more reason not to abuse the privilege, Cassie thought as she turned back towards the others. "All right, we better get to class. Let's play it safe and not speak about this in the hallways. And definitely do not tell Jason. Please, this is very important."

Melinda suddenly frowned. "Why are you looking at me when you say that?"

Cassie had not realized she was, but it was Heather who responded, "Maybe because you tend to be the biggest blabbermouth, runt."

Melinda whirled around to face her big sister. "Okay, yeah, I'd love to be able to tell him that we might be able to do something for him, but I'm not stupid."

"I didn't mean anyone in particular," said Cassie. "Now let's get going. We can meet after school ..." She glanced at Melinda, who gave her a miserable look in return. "Um ... meet after school at Mrs. Radson's house."

She turned and rushed towards the school, thinking that Jason's return to the leadership position of the Harbingers could not come a moment too soon for her.

Cassie had passed under the watchful gaze of Seeger when she heard footsteps racing up behind her. She turned her head to see Heather jog up to her. "Cassie, wait, you have a second?"

"Yes, but at my locker, please," she said in a low voice. "I'm really not comfortable with this, Heather."

"I know, and I'm not even sure I'll understand it enough to be able to do anything with it."

"Plus I don't think he ever tried it from inside the school."

"I don't have a choice. I have zero access to internet at home since Mom took out the network card from me and Melinda's computer."

Cassie stopped at her locker. She opened her backpack, glanced around to ensure no faculty were nearby, yanked the folder out, and thrust it towards Heather. "Thanks, Cassie, I really appreciate this," said Heather as she tucked the folder under her arm.

"Just be careful, please."

Heather smiled. "Always."

Heather entered the school library, clutching several unrelated textbooks and notebooks to her bosom. She had picked them at random, their only purpose to hide the manila folder from view. Cassie had already stuck some post-it notes over the tab so the title was not evident.

She headed for the row of computers and picked the one furthest from the aisle. Her heart pounded, not so much over the fear of being caught as it was knowing that if she did indeed find an address, she was committed to finding out about her mother's past.

She performed the same search which had yielded the link and returned to the same login screen. She took a deep breath, looked around, and opened the folder in her lap.

She glanced at some of the initial entries and skimmed over the techniques listed. A lot of it went over her head. Most of the instructions assumed a level of expertise in computer programming that she did not have.

She searched through the entries, flipping pages until she came to one marked "Haven Department of the Treasury, Administrator Login." She slid her finger across the page and breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered she was at least familiar with the term mentioned in the opening sentence.

Okay, yeah, I've heard of "SQL injection" before, Heather thought. Now what the hell do I type here? Here it is ... shit, I bet I have to get each of those symbols just right.

Heather began her laborious typing task, entering one or two characters at a time before dropping her eyes back to the page. A few moments later, her typing speed picked up. Finally, actual WORDS ... let's see ... insert ... into ... loginsession ... values ...

After a few minutes, she had the entire long string of text entered into the tiny login user name field. She glanced back at the page. Says to put anything at all in the password field. Has to have something or the form validation will reject it.

She banged her fingers on the keyboard and let it spew some random characters into the password field. She grasped the mouse with a trembling hand, took a deep breath, and clicked "Login."

The page appeared to hang for a moment, and she briefly panicked that the school had somehow discovered what she was doing and had blocked her access to the site. Instead, a page came up titled "Welcome, Administrator" near the top, with the record she had wanted displayed upon the rest of the page.

Heather scrambled to open a notebook and fish a pen from her pocket. She wrote down the address as fast as she could and clicked the "Logout" button. She stared at the address she had written: 10204 North 1st Street. She consulted Google maps and verified what she had guessed, that it was located to the west of City Hall, just inside the downtown district.

She glanced around once more and cleared the browser history. She picked up her things and rushed out.

Richie hung out at the end of the short side hallway until Jason passed, then plowed through the other students and came along beside him. "Hey."

Jason glanced at him. "Hey."

"Doing okay, man?"

Jason stopped at his locker. "As well as can be expected."

"So you think they'll have you work at the Inn on the weekend, huh?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't, given that they could keep me all day."

"What time you think they're gonna have you come over?"

Jason opened his locker and peered at his friend. "I haven't been told yet. Why?"

Richie shook his head. "Can't tell you."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "In that case, maybe you've already told me too much."

"Look, just give me a call later when you know what time you're headed down there."

Jason gave him a wary look. "Richie, you and the others better not be planning to stop me from going there."

"Naw, dude, nothing like that. Just trust me, okay? You want me to keep you from fucking with everyone else, and that's what I'm doing."

Jason sighed. "I think I already know what you're planning now, but I don't see any other way you could have asked for this information and not given it away."

"I didn't say nothing, dude. You're imagining things."

"Yeah, right," Jason said in a sour voice as he grabbed some books from his locker and slammed it closed. "Okay, I'll call and tell you. Hopefully it will be the actual truth."

Richie frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "You're not exactly the best at subtlety, Richie. I've already figured out that you're going to follow me tomorrow to make sure I'm not sent after anyone."

"I never said that!"

"I was able to imply it. Realize that I may be so far gone by the end of today's session that I won't tell you the truth. So I'm not sure if knowing the time will do you any good."

Richie sighed. "Fine. Fuck it, then. I don't need to know. See ya in the funny papers."

He spun around and fled, grumbling a curse under his breath.

Maybe instead of trying not to be a total dick you should instead work on not being a total moron.

"Just shut up," Richie growled through clenched teeth.

"What??"

Richie flinched and stopped dead in the hallway, and Heather nearly ran into him. "Huh? Oh, sorry," Richie said. "Wasn't talking to you."

Heather looked around, nonplussed. "Oh, um ..."

"So what do you want?" Richie said, trying not to sound impatient.

"I just wanted to tell you that I got the address of where my mother's business used to be. And, no, it's nowhere near a cemetery."

"Okay, fine. You have to get the pendant and bring it there."

"I know, and it's pretty much certain that it's going to have to be in the evening. I don't think my mother ever takes it off during the day."

"I'll bet she takes it off at the Inn."

"Yes, but we're not going to try to get it from her in there."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not a total idiot," Richie said, though the conviction in his voice was weak. "Anyway, I'm gonna be busy this weekend tailing Jason."

"But I have to go back to Mistress on Sunday night. Dammit, I didn't want to wait another week! I guess we'll just have to play this by ear, assuming I can get my hands on the pendant in the first place."

"Yeah, that works."

Heather stepped closer. "One more thing," she said in a low voice. "Please don't tell Mrs. Radson about this. She's been getting really protective of us and I'm afraid she's going to try to stop me. Maybe I'll tell her after we find something."

Richie nodded. "No problem."

Heather smiled. "Richie, you've been a real friend. I, um ... I should do something for you in return, but getting time at Mrs. Radson's guest room seems kind of hard these days."

Richie's cock twitched even as his brain was still parsing Heather's meaning. When it finally caught up, his cock hardened in the tight confines of his jeans.

"I really should be doing it more often with you," said Heather.

Richie clenched his jaw against the urge to act on his impulses whenever he became aroused for a fellow Harbinger. The shared link could be used to influence each other in matters of sex, and no one took advantage of that more than Richie.

Despite his best efforts, he could not dismiss the image of his cock buried between Heather's big boobs. Heather shivered, and her nipples stood out against her blouse. Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Yeah, I can tell you've missed it, too. Maybe we can squeeze some time in if the meeting isn't too long."

Richie stared. Had he just affected her mind?

Still can't leave it be, huh? Maybe you still want to make everyone your slave after all. Guess you'll do well to stop Jason and eliminate the competition.

"We don't have to do it today if you don't want to," Richie said in a strained voice.

Heather tilted her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why the fuck wouldn't I be?"

"You just looked kind of tense just now, and, well, the idea of you passing up a chance for sex--"

"Maybe I just don't want to mess up things with Diane. She has those sessions with Mrs. Radson, remember?"

Heather looked embarrassed, as if she had indeed forgotten. "Right," she said in a soft voice

"We'll do the same as you and the pendant and just play it by ear, okay?" Richie said. "We'll do it whenever."

His cock remained hard, and Heather's hips still swayed at his involuntary mental prodding. Heather swallowed and nodded. "I'll see you on the bus, then," she said in a quavering voice before jogging away.

Richie thumped a fist on the nearest locker. "Fuck this shit," he muttered before following Heather.

When Cassie and Ned arrived at Debby's unannounced, Debby braced herself for the worst. Her dreams had already taken on disturbing themes, and when she sensed Jason over the link when he was not blocked by the corrupted line energies, he seemed a little more "off" every day.

When she opened the door, however, she saw from Cassie's psychic aura that she was excited about something. Even Ned -- whose aura tended to be as laid back as himself -- betrayed intense focus, similar to what she would see on her own daughter while she was cramming for finals.

"You have some news?" Debby said in a hopeful voice as she let them in.

"Yes, but I want to wait for the others to arrive first," Cassie said. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "It's good news, at least I hope it develops into that."

"I have to at least know this much: is it about the journal? Did you find something?"

"Ayep, I found somethin'," said Ned. "But don't know what it is yet."

Debby let out a deep sigh. "You cannot imagine how relieved I feel right now. Please, come sit down!" She shepherded them to the sofa. "Ever since Jason came to the apparent dead end, I felt guilty about not warning him."

"He prolly woulda figgered it out faster than me," Ned drawled.

"How is Jason? I have to admit, I'm not sure how to interpret what I'm feeling over our shared link, but it doesn't seem good."

"I know, you're feeling the same thing I am," Cassie said in a sad voice. "The taint."

"Taint? You mean ..." Debby trailed off, then gave them a horrified look. "Oh no, he hasn't--"

"He hasn't fallen completely, no." Cassie let out a tremulous sigh. "This is almost worse, watching him fall little by little each day."

"So that's what I'm sensing, the Darkness' increasing influence over him," Debby said in a hollow voice.

"Yeah, an' we really gotta put our noggins together ta figger out this code," Ned said. "If we don't want that 'taint' spreadin' ta the rest of us."

Debby's eyes widened. "A code? You found a code in the journal?"

"Mrs. Radson, I want to wait until the rest of us get here first before we go into that," said Cassie, who offered up another small smile. "Yes, I'm excited about it, too, but I wanted to ask you about what Ned just said. Do you think Jason could influence the rest of us over the link if he does fall any further?"

"I'm still learning myself how it all works," said Debby. "I have never seen a link as tangible as this one. I can almost see it as a physical presence in my mind. Yes, I think it is possible, if you're not expecting it."

"Jus' 'cuz I'm curious, how can ya be sure of that?" asked Ned.

Debby wished Ned would be more open with his feelings. While she was grateful for the polite face he put on it, she knew he had his doubts as to just how accomplished a Witch she was.

It played into her own growing doubts. She felt like she should have more of the answers. It had only been recently she had pushed herself into opening Elizabeth's Book of Shadows, which laid more guilt upon her that she was somehow soiling Elizabeth's memory. First she had failed to destroy the book as would have been proper, now she was pilfering it for knowledge that was not necessarily meant for her.

It's all in there. To her, those last words were not a clear grant of permission to keep and read the book. For all she knew, it was a plea to destroy it to prevent the information from falling into the wrong hands, especially if the potion she described was real and could be turned to evil intent with a simple re-balancing of the ingredients.

"An incident in one of my sessions with Diane," Debby said in a subdued voice. "I instructed her to build up her sexual energy and release it to me. She accidentally tapped line energy, and it came rushing into me. I was unable to block it."

Ned blinked and looked uncomfortable as if he had already worked out the logical conclusion as to what followed. "Um, yeah, but that's like a whole buttload of energy all at once. Fer Jason, we could start tryin' ta block him out now. Mebbe Diane could help with that."

"You may be right, Ned, but her control over her power will have to be far more refined than it is now. I will have to work with Diane further if she is willing to do so."

"Huh? If she's willing? Why wouldn't she--"

"She probably will be, but I want to make absolutely sure," Debby declared. "I do not want to take even the slightest chance that she will feel she is being used."

"I understand perfectly, Mrs. Radson," said Cassie. "Anything we want of her she has to do of her own free will. We'll leave it to you to talk to her about that and won't pressure her."

Debby smiled, but she could tell that Ned was not entirely mollified. Debby was grateful for the insight into his psyche that her heightened powers had given her, for she did not want to be left wondering about his intentions. It was clear he simply wanted to take action and had no lingering desire to use Diane as a tool.

As if on cue, Diane arrived. As Debby greeted her at the door, Heather appeared down the street, walking a bicycle along the sidewalk. Diane cocked her head as Heather approached. "Hey, isn't that Richie's--" she began before her gaze fell on the black limo sitting at the curb. "Oh shit," she whispered.

"Yes, this is Richie's bike," Heather called out as she passed the limo. "Since he can't come here anymore, he let me use his bike since mine needs new tires."

Debby let Diane in and said, "I'll open the garage door so you can pull it in there, Heather."

"Oh God, I'm sorry, I almost blew it!" Diane cried after the front door was closed.

"Diane, it's okay!" Cassie said as she rushed up to Diane. "It's an easy thing to forget when we're so used to all of us being together."

"Besides, Heather covered for ya brilliantly," Ned said with a grin. "Nothin' like a little disinformation to ..."

His voice faded into the background after Debby hit the garage door opener button. As the door started up, she heard a banging noise from the kitchen. She almost forgot herself as Diane had, and she came close to calling to the others to let Richie in the back door.

Heather trotted the bicycle into the garage and rushed up to Debby. "Richie's coming around the back," she whispered. "I hope I sounded convincing to Cassie's driver."

"You did just fine," Debby said with a small smile. She led Heather inside, where a disheveled Richie stood just inside the kitchen while Ned and Cassie helped him remove snow and ice from his pants.

"Oh, Goddess, what happened?" Debby asked.

"Fucking stupid dog," Richie growled. "Chased me down the fucking alley and I had to go through a goddamn snowbank to get over the fence."

Cassie sighed as she fetched some paper towels to clean up the floor. "Richie, I'm sorry, I feel like this is my fault."

Richie shrugged. "Forget it. I'm here, and that's what matters, right? Let's lay the shit going down on Mrs. Radson."

"As long as you're okay, then yes, I'm anxious to hear what Ned uncovered," said Debby.

The Harbingers scrambled to find seats in the living room, with Heather and Diane opting to sit on the floor in front of the sofa. Ned dragged his book bag into his lap and pulled out a notebook. He opened it and thrust it at Debby.

Debby took the proffered notebook and stared. "Numbers?"

"Yeah," Ned said. "Hidden in the writing. She wrote some letters ta look like backwards digits. Only on every third page."

Debby looked down the list, her heart thumping. It was a matrix of three-digit numbers, five rows by three columns. "And each row is from one page? Three sets of three digits?"

"I'm assumin' that's how I'm s'posed ta read it."

"Most definitely yes!" Debby cried. "Is this all of them?"

"Not by a long shot. Still got a big chunk of 'em ta go through. What's missin' in this li'l puzzle is what the freakin' hell the numbers mean."

Debby's eyes darted over the page, but any hope of enlightenment was fast fading. "I don't recognize them off the top of my head," she said in a cautious voice.

"It's supposed to be a code for the potion, right?" Heather asked. "The one Jason told us about."

"Yeah, mebbe," Ned said.

"Well, what else could it be?"

"I dunno, mebbe the location of where the potion is stored. An address. A combination for a lock somewhere."

Debby stared at the numbers and slowly shook her head. "No, this has to be the formula itself."

"An' how d'ya figger that?"

Debby lifted her head and gave Ned an earnest look. "Because of what I know of Elizabeth Jellison. She was not one to engage in a lot of misdirection. That she could conceive of this code in the first place is nothing short of amazing."

"And why would she do it any other way?" Cassie asked in an excited voice. "If she wanted someone to find it, she wouldn't make it too hard."

Ned slowly nodded. "An' tryin' ta point ya ta somewhere else has problems of its own. Ya can't guarantee someone wouldn't come along and find it first."

"And Elizabeth was no fool, Ned," said Debby.

"Okay, ya convinced me, it's a formula. Now how do we interpret it?"

Silence reigned until Diane said, "We need a primer."

Richie frowned. "A what?"

Diane's cheeks colored. "Um ... never mind, I just ..."

"Diane, what is it?" Cassie called out. "Please, tell us."

"Um ... it was something I saw in a movie once. It was about receiving an intelligent message from space but there was no way to decode it. The main character in the film said they needed to look for a primer, something in the message itself that helps you decode it."

"Oh, crap, yeah, I fergot 'bout that," Ned said. "That was from Contact, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's the film," Diane said in a relieved voice. "They found something in the message, something like a pattern or a mathematical expression."

"Yeah, yer right! It had like one plus one equals two and stuff like that."

"Oh come on, this isn't a fucking message from a fucking E.T.," Richie snapped. "It's a freaking recipe."

Ned took the notebook and tossed it in Richie's lap. "Okay, Einstein, tell me what the numbers mean, then."

Richie frowned and tossed it back to Ned. "How the fuck should I know? You're the one pretending to be Jason."

"Then don't put down Diane's idea so fast."

"I'm not! I'm just tired of people making things so fucking complicated it takes a nerd-brain to figure them out."

"Look, I didn't say it was gonna be a complicated primer," Ned said. "But we need something."

"But it's ultimately a recipe, right?" Heather said. "So what do you need to know for each ingredient?"

"You need to know what the ingredient is and how much," Diane said in a tentative voice.

Debby smiled. "Yes, Diane, you're absolutely right."

"But that's only two, and there are three numbers for each ingredient."

Debby needed only a moment's thought. "No, there is indeed a third thing you need. You need to know how to prepare the ingredient. Say one of the ingredients is ginger root. Does it want a fresh ginger root or does it need ginger that's been dried into powder? If it's fresh, do I chop it up or put in a piece whole? Just like when you cook something that requires onion, you can either chop up some fresh or sprinkle in dried onion salt. How you prepare ingredients is very important to a Witch, which is why she has a Book of Simples in the first place."

"Okay, lemme work on it some more," Ned said. "Soon as I get home I'm gonna put the ol' schnozz ta the grindstone and get the rest of the numbers figgered out."

"Can we meet again tomorrow?" Cassie asked.

Debby held back a sigh. She had to shove all her family activities to the weekend to give her more time to work on protective spells for her fellow Harbingers and to puzzle out Diane's difficulties. Susan was not so much the problem as Bill. Susan tended to spend time with her peers over the weekend, but Bill demanded much of her free time. "I hardly feel like I have a wife during the weekdays" was his comment to her after dinner the night before.

He had also made it clear that he was spending the entire weekend at home to catch up with home projects, which implied no meetings and absolutely no use of the guest bedroom for the Harbingers' more intimate matters.

"Unfortunately, no," Debby said. "We'll have to try for Sunday. Let me talk to Bill and see if he'll be more accommodating."

"Mrs. Radson, I don't want this costing you your family life," Cassie said.

Debby forced a small smile. "It's all right, dear. Bill just needs to be reminded of how important this is. He's been a dear to accommodate us thus far, and he needs a little more attention than perhaps I've been giving him lately."

"We better call this a meeting, then," Cassie said, standing. "And let Diane have her session with Mrs. Radson."

"Oh, um, about that," Heather said in a tentative voice. "Um, do you know how long it will be today?"

Diane exchanged a look with her, then gave Debby an inquisitive glance.

"I honestly don't know. Why? Is there something you needed to talk to me about?"

Heather looked uncertain. Cassie glanced at her for a moment, then grabbed Ned's arm and nudged him towards the door. Richie looked at Heather and frowned. Heather gave Diane an apologetic look and stepped up to Debby. "Is there anywhere else in the house that ... um, that I could use for sex?"

Richie muttered a curse. "Shit, Heather, I said you don't have to mess with this!"

Heather whirled around. "The idea got into my head before I talked to you in the hallway earlier. That's just how it works with this stupid link." She ran a hand through her hair. "And I didn't mean it to sound like that's the only reason I want to do it with you."

"Heather, I'm sorry," Debby said. "I gave my word to Bill that only that room would be used for that sort of thing."

It pained Debby to see the disappointed look on Heather's face. Debby saw that the need was very real from just one look at the sexuality band in Heather's psychic aura.

Diane stepped forward. "Heather, it's okay, I'll just skip my session with Mrs. Radson today."

"No, you can't do that," Heather declared. "You have to find out why you can't store energy anymore."

"We've already figured that out. It's because of this stupid new power I have."

"But she does have to learn to control it," Debby said. "It's very important that she learn how so she doesn't feel like it's wielding her rather than the other way around."

"Then that settles it," Heather said. She marched over to Richie. "Let me get your bike out of the garage and check that Cassie's limo is gone so you don't have to go out the back."

"Yeah, I'd like to avoid running into fucking Cujo again, thanks," Richie muttered.

Diane rushed up to her. "Heather, are you sure you--"

Heather pulled her into a hug. Debby was simply amazed. Diane showed no sign of jealousy whatsoever. Even Jason had shown occasional flickers of jealousy whenever Melinda had sex with Richie or Ned.

"It's okay," Heather said in a soft voice. "What you're doing with Mrs. Radson is more important." She broke off the hug and headed away. "I'll call you tomorrow."

Jason had no new musings this time on his way to the Inn. He had exhausted all the approaches he could take, and he looked forward to manipulating Cindy's sexual desires so much that he quickened his pace.

He did not find her at the counter, and her coworker directed Jason to Stacy's office. Jason again did not find her there, only Stacy herself sitting at her desk. She smiled and gestured to the chair. "Please, Jason, take a seat."

Jason hesitated before crossing the room and sitting down. "Is something the matter?"

Stacy leaned forward. "All eager to play with Cindy, are you?"

Jason hesitated only a second. "Yes."

"You know, she's quite upset about the whole thing."

"I'm sorry?"

"She's been a bundle of nerves all day. She acted so snappish towards the guests that I had to finally take her off the front desk."

Jason paused, thoughts colliding in his head. "But I thought ... I mean, she deserved what I did to her, but--"

"But you don't want to cause her any additional anguish. You never intended that at all, did you?"

Jason shook his head slowly, unsure of where this was going. "I wanted only to take control of her sexually to stop her from stringing along all those other guys. I was really doing it for them."

"Of course you were, Jason, and your actions were indeed justified," Stacy said. "But you've upset her to the point where she cannot do her job. I'm afraid if this keeps up, I am going to be forced to let her go."

"What? You can't do that!" Jason cried.

"Why not?"

"Because ... because she doesn't necessarily deserve that. She could still do a good job. Her oversexed personality never affected her work, did it?"

"No, not until now." Stacy paused. "Not until you gave her what she deserved."

Jason let out a quavering sigh. As much as his cock swelled in anticipation of sex with a mentally captive Cindy, he had no urges to see her punished in any other way.

Stacy leaned back in her chair. "I suppose you could just release her from your sexual control."

Jason shook his head. "No way. She'll just go back to what she was doing before."

"Very true. Perhaps an alternative solution will come to you while you deal with her today, one that will let her keep her job and not feel so upset about her situation."

Jason stared. "Alternate solution? What do you mean?"

Stacy grinned. "You are a very intelligent person, Jason, I'm sure you will think of something. Meanwhile, she's waiting for you in the same hotel room you two used yesterday."

Jason paused as if expecting Stacy to reveal some other clue as to what he was expected to do. When none was forthcoming, he rose and tugged his belt so his stiffening cock would lie in a more comfortable position.

"And please return to my office when you're done," said Stacy. "I will be most interested to hear the solution you came up with."

Jason nodded and headed out of the office. His mind would not focus on the conundrum, as he was too eager to see Cindy so wet and horny for him. Anticipation of this moment had plagued his thoughts all afternoon, disrupting his focus on class work. He would have more catchup work to do that evening.

Jason entered the hotel room and found Cindy sitting in a chair, her hips thrust forward, her hand under her shorts and panties. She moaned softly as her fingers worked her wet folds, her breath a soft pant.

"That's not going to work," Jason said.

Cindy uttered a ragged sigh and stood. She stepped over to him, her hand still thrust between her legs. "I-I know. I tried to cum earlier and I couldn't get very far," she said in a shaky, husky voice.

"Only my cock is going to work."

Cindy shuddered and gave him a look half lustful and half fearful. "Jason, this ... this is ruining my life."

Jason felt a pang of guilt but had nothing he could offer to assuage either it or her. "I'm sorry for that."

"Sorry enough to let me go?" Cindy pleaded. "As much as I adore your cock, Jason, I can barely think of anything else in the afternoon. I-I just get so horny anytime I think about your cock, and then I can't do anything about it!"

"You're going to do something about it now," Jason said in a voice of growing lust. "You're going to get naked for me."

Cindy shivered as she grasped the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up and over her head in a single smooth movement. She removed her bra, and her breasts spilled over her chest, the nipples hard and swollen. "P-please, I'm about to lose my boyfriend," she whimpered as she shimmied her hips out of her jeans and panties.

"You don't need him right now, you need only my cock," Jason said. This he understood. There was no ground to be gained by her here. He began to undress.

"But ... y-yes, I know, but can't you let me get ... let ..."

Her words trailed off as Jason's cock sprang free from his briefs. She let out another husky sigh as she stared, her pussy glistening.

"Let you get what?" Jason asked.

Cindy swallowed. "My boyfriend wanted to do it last night, but I couldn't get wet for him. Then he left, and I started thinking about you, and I wouldn't stop getting wet! I couldn't bring myself to have him come back."

"It wouldn't have mattered," Jason said. "You want only my cock anyway."

Cindy whimpered and trembled. "Yes, I want it. I want it in my mouth. I want it in my twat. But it's driving me insane, and now I might lose my job!"

The dilemma still as yet did not resolve itself in his mind. For now he could do only what would ease her need and satisfy both his own lust and his righteousness.

Jason cupped her breasts along the sides and rubbed the pad of his thumbs against her nipples. She moaned and swayed, her hips gyrating with her rising desire, her body trembling at his delightful touch. Jason knew her emotions for they were what he wanted her to feel, just as she now ground her hips against him, seeking his cock. She moaned when his shaft lay pressed to her folds, and she rubbed herself upon it until his cock was slick from her moisture.

Jason pulled her forward until the warmth of her plump breasts spread across his chest. His hands slid down her sides and over her ass. He squeezed the cheeks hard, pressing her into him, and gave her ass several quick slaps to Cindy's helpless yelps.

Jason backed up towards the bed and pulled her down atop him. His cock slipped inside as she straddled him, and she uttered a gasp at the sudden penetration. She moaned in need and spread her hands over his chest, falling into the rhythm she knew he liked as she humped his cock with hard, pounding thrusts.

Jason beckoned her, and she fell forward, planting a hand on either side of him, her breasts brushing his chest. He grasped her ass and slapped it a few more times until Cindy panted hard, her hips pounding faster.

She's so happy and content when she's fucking me.

"Oh yeah," Cindy moaned as Jason thrusted upward, matching her rhythm until flesh slapped hard and loud against flesh. "Oh yeah ... fuck me, Jason ... oh God, fuck me hard!"

I never wanted her to be miserable.

Jason's hands grasped her hips and stilled them. She lifted herself straight, keeping him buried inside her, and rocked her hips to and fro. She tossed her head back. "Uhng! ... oh yeah! ... oh God, I love your cock!"

I wish I could make her be content with this arrangement.

Cindy pressed her hands into his chest, her breath panting in time to the swing of her hips. His hands squeezed her ass cheeks hard. She moaned and shuddered, leaning forward and closing her eyes as the shaft of his cock was jammed against her clit. He sensed her pleasure rising more slowly now, her movements ever more desperate to push her towards her peak.

The only way to do that is to enslave her completely.

This time, Jason did not falter. He loved holding Cindy so close to orgasm that he could think of little else. He prompted her forward again, and she humped once more in wild abandon, gasping out her desperation for final release.

If I don't do it, she'll lose her job. She'll be miserable.

"Oh God ... more ... please more," Cindy begged, perspiration beading as her hips slammed against him in a wearying cadence, her pussy straining at the edge of climax.

She still needs me to control her sexuality, but I want her to be content. I have to do the right thing.

"Unngh ..." Jason grunted as he felt the tendrils of Dark power pressing against his mind. He only barely sensed them, as if he had been rendered numb to their touch. He could mount no defense. They were already worming their way inside, telling him how easy it would be if she were his to command in totality.

I have to do the right thing, even if it means enslaving her completely.

Cindy suddenly cried out, her back arching, her pussy squeezing his cock as it spasmed. Jason slid into Cindy's mind before the moment of his own climax. He saw her will crumble before both his push and a tidal wave of sexual ecstasy. His own orgasm triggered at that very moment, pleasure sweeping through his psyche and reinforcing the wonderful feeling of having done what was right.

He lost any cognizance of the Dark influence which curled itself tight around his subconscious, feeding its desires into his and merging them into one so there would be no question as to where he had arrived at his conclusions. He could stop doubting and questioning what he should know to be right.

"Ohhh ... oh God ..." Cindy murmured as her pussy still throbbed, his cock staying hard and deep inside her. Jason shifted his hips and gave one last gentle thrust. Cindy shuddered as her orgasm was renewed for a few more seconds, her hips jerking.

Jason panted through the vestiges of his own climax. As the haze of sexual delight lifted, he understood what he must do now while her mind was still open to him.

"That was wonderful," Cindy said in a dreamy voice. "But ... I feel kind of funny ... like I can't think straight."

Jason looked up into her glazed eyes. "You don't need to, Cindy, you only need to obey."

Cindy blinked and swayed. "Obey ..." she murmured.

"You need to obey me."

"Obey you ..."

"Do whatever I wish of you. Think what I want you to think. Feel whatever I want you to feel."

Cindy uttered a slow, ragged sigh. Her eyes slid closed. "Yes ... obey you ... do whatever you wish ..."

Jason's cock tingled despite having spent itself, and his voice grew husky. "Feel pleasure now, Cindy. Feel sexy and good."

Cindy's lips curled into a smile. Her hips gyrated against him. "Mmm ... yeah ..."

"You'll feel good all the time now because you're my slave," Jason said, his voice betraying relief. Now he had the best of both worlds. He could keep her wicked sexuality in check, and she would be content with her situation.

"Yes, I'll love being your slave," Cindy said in a breathy voice.

"Very good, Cindy. Now, let's get out of bed."

Cindy lifted herself from him and climbed out of bed. Jason followed and stood before her. She wore a dreamy smile on her face, her eyes dark and sultry. "What do you wish of me now, Master?"

"Put your clothes on and go back to doing what you normally do," Jason said.

"Oh, yes, thank you, Master, for letting me go back to my job," Cindy said as she gathered her clothes. "I was so worried about it."

"I know." Jason smiled. "You'll be fine now."

"I won't keep lusting after you all the time, Master?"

Jason noted she sounded disappointed. "You'll still want sex only with me, but you won't obsess over it."

Cindy nodded and shivered. "Mmm, yes, I do want sex with you. I want only you. You're so good to your slave, Master."

"Then be a good slave by doing your job at the Inn well."

"Yes, Master, I will." She finished dressing and looked to him. "Anything else I can do for you before I get back to work, Master?"

I should give her something to do to remind her of her status when I'm not there.

"Yes, but something for later," Jason said. "When you're about ready to go to bed tonight, you'll think about me and get really horny. It won't go away until you masturbate while thinking about my cock."

Cindy let out a husky sigh. "Oh, yes, I'll be looking forward to that."

"Do that every night. Now, go back to work."

"Yes, Master," Cindy said, and left the hotel room without another word.

As he gathered his clothes, something in the back of his mind was trying to tell him that what he had just done was wrong. He didn't understand why. He had done the right thing. She needed to be controlled so she would stop doing wrong to others, but that had not given him an excuse to be cruel. Now she would be perfectly content with the situation, and she had been stopped from using other guys as if they were simply convenient sex toys.

Jason finished dressing. He left the hotel room and walked into Stacy's office. Stacy looked up and smiled, gesturing to the chair. "So did you find an alternative?" she asked in an eager voice.

Jason sat. "Yes, I did. I made her my complete slave."

"And what was your reasoning behind it?"

"I couldn't let her be miserable all the time, but I couldn't let her go back to her old ways. This seemed like a good compromise. She's happy now and will do her job properly so you don't need to fire her."

"Excellent, Jason," said Stacy. "I knew you would find a way."

"But I don't want to do it to the Harbingers."

Jason felt his statement was delivered on automatic, as if he were expected to say it. He had not yet stopped to consider his own attitudes towards his friends in light of what had just happened.

Stacy folded her hands. "Let's leave the Harbingers out of it for the moment. In light of what you just did, would you consider complete enslavement to be a viable option to solve a problem like this?"

Jason paused. His mind was already crafting an answer, but it seemed too obvious. "Can you be more specific when you say 'a problem like this?'"

"You recognize that you need to stop someone from doing something bad to yourself or others, but applying only select areas of control causes the person too much distress. Would you always consider total enslavement as a potential option?"

"Well, yes, if I was sure I was in the right."

"Like you were with Cindy."

Jason nodded. "Yes, I was in the right with her."

"Very good. Now, let me leave you with one last exercise. Consider each of your friends. What is the very worst thing each has done that he or she has even the slightest chance of doing again? What stands out as their worst flaw, one which might be worth bringing under control?"

Jason tried to think that he would never judge his friends in that manner, and his mental censor divorced itself from the rest of his mind, leaving it free to contemplate all the faults of his fellow Harbingers.

Jason tried to tell himself that he had no right to judge them, only to be reminded of how well he held the high moral ground with Cindy, and thus this should be no different.

Jason tried to believe that it was wrong to control anyone, but since it was okay where Cindy was concerned, then this statement must obviously be false since he had already done it without any lingering guilt.

"All right," Jason said in a neutral voice.

"Now, Jason, I would like you to be back at the Inn here at nine in the morning. Do you have any questions or concerns before you leave?"

Jason thought about Richie's intent to follow him the next day. He wished Richie would think through his actions for once. He was always acting impulsively without regard to plan. The art of subtlety was lost on him.

Jason felt he should protect the knowledge of the Harbingers' intent, but why should he be responsible for covering for Richie's stupid mistakes? If Richie got into trouble for it, he deserved it for bringing it on himself. "Richie is planning on following me tomorrow."

Stacy considered. "Is that all?"

"Yes. At least that's all he revealed to me. It wasn't intentional."

"And you've seen nothing else from any of the other Harbingers which would suggest some sort of larger plan?"

Jason shook his head. "No, the other Harbingers know how to keep things quiet, unlike Richie."

Stacy slowly nodded. "Very well, Jason. I will see you tomorrow at nine."

Jason nodded and stood. He paused when he felt like he should say something defiant, something which would proclaim his intent to never betray his fellow Harbingers. Nothing came to him, and he instead turned away from the desk and headed to the lobby to await his ride home.

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