Melinda blinked awake and lifted her head, her bleary eyes barely focusing on anything past the foot of her bed. "What?" she said in a groggy voice.

"I was going to ask the same thing."

The sound of her sister's voice jolted her to full wakefulness, and she sat up in bed. "What time is it?"

"Just short of one in the morning," said Heather.

"Did you wake me--?"

She was interrupted by her own gasp as something smacked against the window like a hailstone.

"I think that woke you up," Heather said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Just like it did me a minute ago."

Melinda flinched as another blow struck, this time more wet-sounding, like packed snow. She tossed the covers aside and padded to the window, taking care to only peek between the blinds, as she was clad in only her panties.

She spotted him just before another projectile flew at her face and rattled the glass. She yelped and flinched, then opened the blind and waved at him in what she hoped would be interpreted as anger. "What the fuck, Richie?!" she whisper-shouted.

"Richie?" Heather said as she came up from behind.

Melinda looked down and waved again. Richie finally saw her and gestured.

"He wants me to come downstairs?" Melinda asked in bewilderment, turning towards Heather.

Heather shrugged. "Beats me what this is about."

Melinda sighed and waved to Richie again before stepping away from the window. "What could he possibly want at this hour?"

"Maybe we better just go and see what he wants," Heather said, fetching a robe from her closet.

Melinda dashed across the room to grab hers. "This is nuts! What if Mom wakes up?"

"Then we'll have to be quiet."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're a lot of help. Come on."

Melinda tip-toed out of the room and paused to glance down the hall towards her parents' bedroom. She heard soft snoring but couldn't tell from which parent it emanated. She headed down the stairs, taking care to avoid the ones she knew creaked.

At the bottom, she wrapped her robe more tightly around herself and shivered. "Shit, it's freezing down here."

"You're always complaining about that, runt," Heather said. "Come on, we have to let him in."

Melinda grabbed her arm. "Wait! We can't ... I mean ..."

"You just said you're cold, right? You want to step out there instead?"

Melinda frowned and pushed past her sister. She dashed to the front door and carefully unlocked it, cringing at the loud click of the bolt. As soon as she opened the door, Richie stepped inside.

"Shit, Richie, nice way to almost break my window," Melinda said as shivered again from the cold air which followed Richie inside.

Richie glanced at Heather, looking uncertain. "Well, your mother isn't exactly fucking helping by not letting anyone talk to you on the phone," he grumbled.

"Richie, what is it?" Heather said, sounding impatient. "We don't know if our parents heard the noise or not."

"I need to talk to you, Melinda," Richie said. He glanced at Heather. "Yeah, I guess you better hear this, too."

"Hear what?" Melinda said, her voice quavering. "Please don't tell me that something's really gone wrong now!"

"It's about your mother. What me and Diane found out."

Melinda frowned. "Not that shit again! You actually woke me up at one A.M. just to--"

"Look, will you listen to me?!" Richie growled.

Heather glanced up the stairs. "Guys, cool it. Any louder and we will be heard. Let's go into the den."

Melinda folded her arms and made a point of being the last one to follow. As soon as she had closed the door behind them, she whirled towards Richie. "I don't know what the hell you think you can do. I don't need you to tell me what's going on."

"You don't have the whole story," Richie said. "Everything was your fucking Aunt Jo's doing."

Melinda looked aghast. "What?!"

"Yeah, the same bitch who wants you as her freaking fuck toy. She tricked your mother into doing a deal with the Darkness."

"Ohmigod. She really ... she actually ..."

"Listen to me! She really did do it because she thought it would protect you and Heather."

"That's bullshit, Richie. No one could possibly--"

"And Victor helped Jo fuck up your mother."

Melinda was struck speechless, her thoughts simply freezing in place.

"Victor?" Heather asked in a small voice. "A-are you sure?"

"Saw it myself," said Richie. "Look, you two were born with some sort of resistance to the Darkness, and your mother has the ability to let other people see the Auras."

Melinda's head was spinning. She had no idea what to say.

"But your Mom didn't know about your resistance. Jo made sure she never found out. She fucked with your mother's head, not like mind control, but pulling dirty tricks on her, making her think you and Heather were in danger of being turned into sex slaves soon as you hit fourteen."

"Fourteen?!" Heather gasped.

"Yeah. Maybe Victor claims that's too young for him, but not for the Dark bitch, I guess."

"W-wait, this is going too fast for me!" Melinda cried in a shaky voice. "How could Aunt Jo manage all that? How many years was she doing it?"

"Yeah, I know," Richie said. "I kept thinking your mother shoulda gotten a few clues. So maybe she's not perfect, okay? But I'm serious, Melinda. I wouldn't fucking lie to you like this. Maybe I've done a lot of shit you won't ever forgive me for--"

Melinda flinched as if something had been thrown at her face.

"--but I never fucking lied to you even once. So your mother got backed into a corner. She had no fucking allies. She thought the Darkness was just about to take Heather. So she did a deal."

"I don't understand!" Melinda cried, her eyes misting. "You just said me and Heather have a resistance. Why would Mom do a deal to protect us if we were already protected?"

"I told you, your mother didn't know!" Richie cried. "Your mother is the fucking victim here, Melinda. She thought she was protecting you and Heather. Instead, the Darkness planned to use your mother to get at you two, to get around your resistance or some shit like that."

"Oh God," Heather groaned. "I never thought ... I just ..."

Melinda shook her head. "No, this is stupid." She sniffled and wiped a tear which had trickled down her cheek. "This is insane!"

"I'm telling you, it's the truth!" Richie said. "My visions don't fucking lie."

"I don't give a shit about your visions!" Melinda shrieked.

Heather grasped her sister's arm, but it was immediately wrenched from her grip. "Melinda, keep your voice down for God's sake!" Heather whisper-shouted.

"D-don't tell me what to do," Melinda cried, trembling. "None of this matters. Mom n-never did anything good for us."

"Melinda, that's not true," Heather said in a flat voice.

Melinda wiped her eyes. "So wh-what do you want of me?"

Richie stepped up to her. "You have to try to rescue your mother tomorrow."

"What?!"

"Wait, what?" Heather echoed, glancing between the two of them.

Richie narrowed his eyes at Heather for a moment. "Look, Melinda, can I talk to you in private?"

"Why?" Melinda demanded.

"I just need to, okay? Please, trust me."

Melinda glanced between Heather and Richie, never having felt so torn in her life. She wanted to believe every word Richie said. She wanted to think her mother had meant well, but she had trouble seeing past the last few weeks.

Now Heather had promised to spare her a life as a sex slave to their aunt. She didn't need to give Richie the time of day. She could end this and go back to bed, and to hell with her mother.

She uttered a weak, forlorn sigh. "Heather, let me do this. I promise I'll tell you anything that's important."

Heather gave Richie another wary glance and nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll be in the living room."

She stepped slowly out of the room, giving them one more backward glance before closing the door behind her.

Melinda frowned at Richie. "Before you go on, I want you to answer something for me."

"Anything," Richie said.

"You said you saw the whole thing. So do you have any clue how she makes Dad not see a fucking thing when he has no Aura?"

"Yeah. She has a little of Victor's power."

Melinda's eyes became saucers. "Wh-what?! She even did a deal with--?!"

"No, no!" Richie said, waving his hands. "She has it naturally. Just a little bit of it."

Melinda forced herself to take a deep breath, though she could not unclench her fists. "All right. What's so super-secret you need to talk to me in private?"

"You're not gonna like this."

"I already don't like any of this shit!"

"Your sister is planning on giving you to Ms. Bendon."

Melinda stared at him as if he had sprouted an extra head.

"Yeah, I know. But she's got these panties, the same ones she was forced to wear as punishment. She's gonna put them on you, and then only Ms. Bendon can--"

Melinda spun around and stomped towards the door.

"Melinda, wait!" Richie cried.

"I'm not hearing any more of this crap, Richie. I'm going back to bed."

She was about to reach for the door when Richie grasped her arm hard and spun her around to face him.

Reality unexpectedly shifted.

"What the fuck?!" Melinda cried as she squinted at sunlight streaming through the windows. She tried to leap back when she spotted her mother sitting at the desk, but Richie held her firm. She wrenched her arm, but he held on tighter. "Let go of me!"

"I can't, I'll lose the vision!"

"Lose the--?"

A sudden shrill shriek pierced the air, and a figure barreled through her as if she were only mist. Melinda staggered at the emotions which blared through her mind during the brief contact, and she held her head as if it were about to explode. The sensation passed as quickly as it had come, but there had been no mistaking the despair and sadness.

Her mother turned at the sound, and Melinda's eyes widened. "Mom?! She's so ... and that's ... me ..."

Melinda stared as her bawling six-year-old self was pulled into her mother's lap.

"Oh, honey, what is it?" Penny said in a tender voice.

Young Melinda wailed for another minute before her mother could calm her down enough to talk. "Th-the ... the other kidsh ... won't shtop l-laughing at me ..."

Penny uttered a forlorn sigh. "Honey, I'm so sorry."

"Why c-can't I talk like them?! Why d-do I have to have thish shtupid lishp?!"

Young Melinda went off on another bawling episode, her mother rocking her and whispering into her ear.

"I-I don't get this," Melinda said. "This can't be from my past."

"It is, it has to be." Richie held up Melinda's arm. "This triggered it. I didn't think touching people could do it but--"

"Fuck you, Richie! I never had a lisp!" Melinda cried. "I'd sure as hell remember if I did!"

Penny's eyes suddenly misted as she calmed her daughter, her face pensive. Richie suddenly yanked Melinda forward and plunged her hand into her mother's figure.

"Richie, what the fuck?! Ohmigod, it's like she's a gh--"

Her thoughts were again frozen, this time to make way for others.

... has nothing worked? Four speech therapists now. Four. And a neurologist. No one can tell me why she can't lose this lisp. Oh, God, she's so miserable. I can't remember the last time I saw her smile. I have to do something. I can't let her suffer. I ...

Melinda staggered back, overwhelmed.

Penny situated her daughter in her lap. "Now, Melinda, dry your eyes for me."

Young Melinda sniffled and wiped her eyes, casting her gaze down.

"Look up for me, please."

Reluctantly, young Melinda's head came up.

"Melinda ... you do not have a lisp."

The Melinda of the present flinched when she felt a sudden tingling all over her skin. "What ...?"

"I feel it, too," Richie said. "Holy shit."

Melinda had no words. She could only stare.

Young Melinda stared at her mother as well, her eyes slightly glazed.

A single tear trickled down Penny's face, and her lips twitched into a smile. "In fact, Melinda, you've never had a lisp. It was all a story someone made up about you."

Present-day Melinda's mouth dropped open as she suddenly recalled a memory. On her seventh birthday, her Great Aunt had asked her what had happened to her "cute little lisp." Her mother had hastily tried to explain to a bewildered Melinda that her great Aunt was getting on in years and sometimes mixed up things like that about her nephews and nieces.

Young Melinda's mouth slowly opened. "A ... a ... a story."

"Yes, a story," Penny gushed. "A silly story. Can you say that for me?"

"Silly story," young Melinda said.

"That's it, Melinda."

"Silly story, silly story!" young Melinda sang.

"There, see?"

Young Melinda looked perplexed for a moment. "Why am I saying that, Mommy?"

"Just a silly thing you wanted to do, honey," Penny said.

Young Melinda paused, then broke into a smile and laughed. Penny hugged her daughter, tears trickling down her cheeks.

Melinda blinked as dimness suddenly shrouded her, and her younger mother and self vanished into a past she had never remembered. She blinked in an attempt to repress the tears which blurred her vision before they flowed down her face.

She failed and sank to her knees, sobbing.

"Aw, fuck," Richie said in a small voice.

Like a dam bursting in her head, memories which had been suppressed for eight years drowned out her other thoughts. "Oh my God," Melinda croaked. "I-I remember now ... oh, God, I remember ... I was s-so miserable. H-Heather ... Mom must've altered her memory, too."

Melinda heard a single sniffle and a strained clearing of a throat. Richie crouched beside her, draping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and sobbed, her mind a complete jumble.

"Um ... so ... you see what I mean, right?" Richie said, his voice quavering. "Your Mom did that for you. Why would she want to do any of that bad shit from the Dark bitch unless she thought it was the right thing to do?"

Melinda shook her head and wiped her face. "I-I don't know what to think anymore, Richie! And n-now you tell me Heather's a-after me ..."

"Look, Diane's gonna take care of that. Mrs. Radson's gonna bring her over here and stop Heather from doing this, then she's gonna rescue Heather. You're gonna get your sister back."

Melinda looked at Richie, tears still trickling down her cheeks. "A-and you still expect me to save Mom."

"Well, I sure as hell hope you want to now!"

Melinda sniffled and staggered to her feet, staring at the chair where her younger mother had sat. "I-I don't know if I can do it."

"You got the potion. Of course you--"

Melinda whirled around. "You don't understand! It's not just fighting the Darkness. Wasn't there something about facing your worst fear or your worst flaw?"

"Oh, that," Richie said, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, that! I don't even know what that would be. I'm scared of the Darkness itself, isn't that fucking enough?"

"I don't know either! I'm going into this blind, too. I'm not gonna be in any better shape than you."

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Oh, that inspires confidence. Thanks. That the same thing you were thinking when you messed with everyone in the House?"

Richie frowned. "Fuck, Melinda, of all the times to bring up something like that."

"I can't help it! I keep thinking if it wasn't for that stupid House, none of this would've happened."

"No, I mean, you just never fucking let go of things. Shit, I'm gonna be hearing about that when we're both old and toothless."

Melinda wanted to explode at him and remind him of just how many times he had crossed her, and how he had barely begun to make up for them. She stopped herself when she realized she had just proven his point.

So much for maturity.

Her eyes threatened to mist again, and she wiped them while giving a single large sniff. "I'm not crying anymore," she said through clenched teeth. "I have to stop being a baby."

"If you wanna do that, go rescue your mother tomorrow," Richie said.

"Fine!" Melinda snapped. She paused and glanced at the chair again, her expression softening. "If only to repay her for what she did for me when I was six."

"There's something else I have to tell you," said Richie. "We're gonna have to coordinate all this."

"Coordinate? What the hell are you talking about?"

"We all have to do this at the same time. You rescue your mother, I rescue my Mom, Jason's father rescues--"

"Wait, what?!" Melinda cried, staring. "What does Jason's father have to do with this?"

Richie sighed. "Long story. Just listen, okay? I don't think Heather's gonna stay away much longer. Cassie's gonna call you, me, and Jason's father at the right time. She's gonna just let it ring once or twice and then hang up before anyone answers. That's the signal."

Melinda nodded. "All right, I'll try. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing, but I'll try." Richie placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him for an uncertain moment, then pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you."

Richie hugged her back. "Don't worry about it."

They had just parted when the door opened. "Guys, I heard Mom using the bathroom!" Heather whisper-shouted. "She just went back to bed. Richie, you've got to get out of here now."

"Yeah, I'm going," Richie said as he headed towards the door. Heather and Melinda followed him out, glancing up the stairs. He said not another word and bolted out the front door, down the walk, and had already disappeared down the street by the time Heather closed the door.

Melinda let out a windy sigh and sniffled. Heather tilted her head. "You've been crying."

"No, I haven't."

"Just what did he say to you in there?"

Melinda's mind raced while her heart ached. She still wanted to believe that Richie had been lying to her, but she could not muster up the fortitude. Seeing the vision from eight years ago had changed everything. She could rely on none of her own conclusions any longer.

"Just showed me some stupid vision of myself." Melinda paused to steady her voice. "Something about people making up a story about me having a lisp."

Heather's eyes widened. "Wow, I hadn't thought about that in years."

"You remember that?"

"Yeah, it was really weird. I spent a whole freaking two weeks trying to convince the other kids at school that they were nuts. No idea how the hell they had ever thought you had a lisp."

Melinda took a deep breath to stem a renewed flow of tears. "We better get back to bed."

"You sure you're okay?"

Melinda was anything but okay. She had no idea how she was going to get back to sleep. Already her heart was pounding in anticipation of what would be expected of her the next day.

She realized then it was not the Darkness which frightened her the most; it was several months of undeserved hatred which teetered over her like a leaning tower, ready to crash down and crush her.

"I'm fine," Melinda lied, turning towards the stairs. "Let's go back to bed."

Cassie realized as she arose that morning that she had a problem.

She had spent her dream time doing nothing more than what she once did, which was visit the lives and memories of random Havenites. She did not want to do anything more taxing for fear of using any of the energy she had stockpiled.

Sleep, in fact, was the problem.

It was what triggered her gifts. She had to be asleep to use them, which meant effectively taking a nap in the middle of the day. She had thought to use the excuse of having had trouble sleeping the night before but rejected this when she remembered that her parents knew something of her gifts. They might see through any such transparent attempt.

This left her with only one option, which was to feign illness, but she would first have to agree to a visit by the family physician.

She tried to set the stage by acting lethargic at breakfast and refusing to finish her portion. Only a slightly raised eyebrow from her mother was evidence that her odd behavior was noticed. Then again, it could have been in response to any number of violations of protocol which Cassie may have already committed that morning in her nervousness.

Cassie excused herself from the table and started towards the hallway which led to the garage, where Harry waited to take her to school.

"Cassandra."

Cassie stumbled forward a step before managing to stop, caught by surprise at her mother's voice. She turned around. "Yes, mother?"

Dorothy scrutinized her daughter over the rim of a cup of coffee. "Harry tells me you visited a Mr. Henry Conner yesterday."

Cassie hesitated. "Um ... yes, I did. He's Jason's father. Jason is one of my--"

"I'm well aware of who he is," said Dorothy in a crisp voice. She set down the cup with a loud rattle against the saucer and laced her fingers together. "I would wish you not seek the man's company anymore."

Cassie tilted her head. "Why not?"

Dorothy frowned, then let out a small sigh. Cassie was grateful for that small victory, that she had finally made it clear she would no longer accept "because I said so" or "because it's for your own good" as explanations.

"Your father does not trust the man," Dorothy said.

"If it helps, mother, I have no intention of seeing him again anytime soon," Cassie said. "I simply needed to talk to him about something concerning Jason."

Cassie was in no mood for a confrontation and was thus willing to concede defeat.

Dorothy sighed, and Cassie sensed relief. "Good. I am glad we can finally come to agreement on something without any grief."

"May I go now, mother? I need to get to school."

"Are you feeling all right, Cassandra? You seemed a little peaked earlier."

Cassie was glad it had been noticed for several reasons. "I am feeling a little under the weather, but having something to eat helped. I should be fine."

"Very well. I will see you this afternoon."

Cassie paused, hoping that this time it would be followed with something other kids got to hear from their mothers, such as "have a nice day at school." When nothing was forthcoming, she uttered a tiny sigh and left.

Melinda shuddered and moaned, her hips squirming as Aunt Jo played with her nipple ring-clamps. She swallowed hard and uttered a deep, husky sigh as Jo's hand slid down her side and over her hip. She panted softly in anticipation of Jo's fingers touching the wet prize between swollen labia and damp thighs.

Aunt Jo did little more than run her fingers along the insides of Melinda's trembling thighs, never coming close to where the touch was needed, where folds already ached with need. Melinda was left to squirm and twist in the sultry wind.

"This is a very special day for you, Melinda," Jo purred as she cupped Melinda's breasts.

Melinda whimpered as her breasts were fondled, her breath quickening in rising need. She had little choice but to let her enslaved self remain at the fore, or she would never have put on such a convincing act.

"You've been such a good little slut." Jo let Melinda's breasts drop from her hands and watched them bounce, the flesh rippling. She slid her hands down Melinda's sides, hips, and over white stockings.

Melinda shivered as heat steamed in her pussy, a teasing rise in pleasure making her ache for more, as if someone were holding a few fingers pressed to her clit. She wished she never had to remove her sexy white stockings. She'd wear them forever if Jo asked her to.

"You've shown everyone at school what a slut you are," Jo said, sliding her hands up and around Melinda's ass.

Jo drew Melinda closer, and Melinda moaned at the delightful presence of Jo's mature curves. She trembled as Jo's hands squeezed her ass cheeks, the skilled touch sending her pussy on another slow rise of pleasure.

"And you've even cum while at church. You're almost ready for me."

Melinda's protected half wanted to say something to the effect of "What do you mean almost?" What more could Jo possible do to her? How could she be humiliated any further? Already she could hardly look anyone but her fellow Harbingers in the face ever again. She would be forever known as the school slut no matter what happened next.

Jo removed her hands and stepped back. Melinda whimpered at the loss of contact. "I'm going to be over after work as I am every day, Melinda," Jo said with a sly smile. "But this time, when I leave, you're going to go with me."

Melinda shivered and let out another soft moan. Her protected self wanted to gag.

"You're going to be my personal slut, my sexy little fucktoy," Jo cooed. "And you're going to look forward to that, since it means you will always be around my mature body."

"Uhng ..." Melinda moaned as her pussy rose further, nipples tingling madly.

Melinda's protected self wasn't sure what to think. First she had believed Heather was going to save her, now supposedly Heather was just as big a threat, and it was Diane who would save her.

She felt like a pawn, which, in a way, was worse than being a fucktoy.

"But you need to do one more thing for me," Jo said. "One more thing to convince me of how perfectly slutty you are, and at the same time, help you make a final break with your old life. Go put your school clothes on, Melinda, and then I'll tell you."

The last thing the enslaved Melinda wanted to do was put on more clothing. She was perfect as she was, wearing only her white stockings and garters. She turned to the bed, where Jo had laid out her clothing.

Melinda picked up the skirt and was confused. It was much longer than any of the others she had worn. In fact, it was even acceptable to the Haven High dress code, as it reached at least the knees.

More mysterious still, a pair of simple white panties lay underneath. She gave Jo a quizzical look, while her protected self thought, okay, what the FUCK is she playing at now?

"Yes, that's right," Jo said. "And you'll find a bra and normal-sized blouse. Oh, and I'll need to remove these."

Jo reached forward and removed the nipple ring-clamps. Melinda gasped as the sudden release of pressure caused both nipples to ache with mild pain, but it soon faded until they throbbed with her heartbeat, each pulse sending a renewed jolt of pleasure through her.

"Go ahead, put them on," Jo said.

Melinda did as she was told. She shifted her hips and tugged her skirt, as if nothing felt like it quite fit.

"Feels unnatural now, doesn't it?" Jo said.

Melinda nodded. She tugged a bra strap.

"Of course it does. It's not slutty at all, is it?"

Melinda shook her head.

"In fact, that's going to bother you all day. It's going to get worse and worse as the day goes on. You're going to feel more and more uncomfortable in those clothes."

Oh no, Melinda's protected self thought as she figured out what Aunt Jo was going to do to her.

"Finally, you're not going to be able to stand it. Those clothes are going to have to come off. The idea is going to make you sooo wet."

Melinda shuddered and let out a quavering sigh. Already renewed heat had blossomed in her pussy.

"Sooo wet and sooo bothered. By the time your last class approaches, you're not going to be able to stand it any longer."

Melinda swallowed and panted softly.

Jo's smile became wicked. "So you're going to go to your last class naked, Melinda. You're going to strip your clothes off at your locker and strut to your next class nude. You're going to be so excited about it, you can't help but touch yourself as you go."

Melinda's enslaved self whimpered and gave Jo a forlorn look. She could manage no more resistance than that. She had stopped talking back to Aunt Jo since that morning, when she realized she could waste no more energy. She had to save it all for her mother.

Her protected self was livid. Naked was not good enough, it had to be naked and masturbating as well.

"Something wrong, Melinda?" Jo asked.

"I-I'll get suspended if I do that," Melinda said in a weak voice. "Maybe even expelled."

"Hmm. Yes. That's quite true. Would save your mother from having to come up with a cover story, wouldn't it?"

Oh, God, that bitch, Melinda's protected self thought.

Suddenly Penny's voice sounded from the door. "Jo, is that really necessary?"

Jo rolled her eyes before she turned towards Melinda's mother. "Really, I'm just saving you some grief."

"You mean more than you're causing me by threatening to take Melinda from me?"

Melinda shuddered when her eyes fell on her mother, and for a moment, the two parts of her mind resonated as one. The tower had again begun to teeter. She tried to keep in mind what she had witnessed the night before, but it was hard when her mother was dressed in only a robe which was open enough for her mother's damp sex to peek between the folds.

Jo gave her sister a smarmy smile. She tugged one half of the robe further open to better reveal the wetness in Penny's pussy. Penny snatched it from Jo's fingers and yanked her robe closed.

"It's not a threat, Penny, it's reality," said Jo. "You're not going to stop me."

"And why are you so sure of that?"

Her mother was trying to protect her. Melinda had to keep that in her head. She had to repeat it over and over until it stuck.

Yet her mother was saving Melinda from Jo just to give her to the Darkness, even if her mother didn't realize it.

"And I'm not the only one who wants me to have her," said Jo in a sly voice.

Melinda's heart pounded as she tried to pull together all the disparate bits of everything Richie had told her the night before and make sense of this conversation.

Penny looked as if she were about to protest, but a quavering sigh passed through her lips instead. She shivered and leaned against the door frame, her robe falling open.

Melinda's eyes widened. Her mother's pussy was sopping.

"So is it finally telling you now?" Jo asked with a grin. "Is it finally letting you in on the truth?"

Penny shook her head as she gripped the door frame.

"Or are you just getting sooo horny at the idea of me taking Melinda as my little fucktoy?"

Melinda steeled herself. It's the Darkness not her it's the Darkness not her it's the Darkness not--

"Yes," Penny breathed. She gasped and moaned as her hips suddenly jerked, as if she were having an orgasm.

"Perhaps it's not ready quite yet to tell you, but take that as a hint." Jo strode towards the door, and Penny stumbled back. Jo gestured without turning around, and Melinda followed behind her. "Now, I'm going to see her off to school."

Melinda trotted along beside Jo. She did not dare look up at her mother, or it would destroy the delicate balance in her mind.

"Jo," Penny called out, her voice still husky.

Melinda stopped when Jo did. Her heart thundered.

"I'm going to be home when you try to take her."

Jo turned around. "Oh, by all means, Penny, be home. Give us a good send-off. Likely the school will call you anyway to have you pick up Melinda after she's been suspended. With luck, your supposed benefactor will reveal all to you before I go, and I'll get to see the expression on your face. Come along, Melinda."

Melinda again did not dare to look, but she thought she heard a small sniffle behind her.

If she put everything she had just heard together the right way, it confirmed Richie's story. She had to believe that; it was the only thing which was going to sustain her.

Jason worked himself up into a nice, steady hard-on as he showered. He had heard the garage door go up and down just before he started, and he had a feeling he knew what awaited him when he was done.

He emerged from the bathroom with his hard cock leading him. His hopeful mother lay on his bed, her night clothes dumped to the floor. She spread her legs, her fingers slowly working her wet folds as she panted softly in anticipation. "Good morning, Jason," she said in a husky voice.

Jason stepped over to her and smiled. He sat on the edge of the bed and cupped one of her mother's breasts. "Ready for a nice morning fuck?"

"Mmm, ever since I woke up after dreaming about you," Audrey moaned. "Please, show me how good a mother I am to you, Jason."

Jason tweaked her mother's nipple, and she uttered another soft moan, her hips writhing. He swiftly climbed onto the bed, Audrey spreading her legs further in invitation, then twining them around him in need as his cock sank into her hot depths.

He did not want to waste time that morning. As much as he would have loved to draw this out, he had other things to do.

As he thrusted harder into his mother, her hips rocking against his, he finally spared Melinda a thought. He did feel guilty for neglecting her, but he had so much else on his mind.

He was not too worried about Melinda's Aunt Jo taking her, for he was sure that -- with his own power and the Harbingers backing him up -- he could easily rescue Melinda and take her for his own. Melinda was right; Jason would treat her far better than anyone else would. If he could get around his father's anticipated objections, he would have Melinda move in with him. That way she could service him properly, and he could protect her better from any future attempts to enslave her.

Audrey tilted her head back as her pleasure plateaued and her pussy strained. Jason held her back long enough for his own pleasure to catch up, and he let them cum together. He was again tempted to take his mother as a slave. He still saw the disturbed patterns in her mind, though they appeared stable for now.

Eventually, he would take her. He could not rely on this stability to continue, and he did not want to be dependent on the Darkness' good graces.

This again highlighted the remaining conflict in his mind. He was supposed to be at odds with the Darkness, and yet it was the Inn which gave him this wonderful power and showed him the proper means to use it. Why would the supposed center of the Darkness' power also be the source of his? He certainly did not feel like he had been turned into a minion. He felt no sense of loyalty to it.

Jason extricated himself from his mother's embrace and climbed off the bed. Audrey smiled and played with her pussy as he dressed. "Will you remember what you promised yesterday, Jason?" she asked in a soft, breathy voice. "Will you give your good mother some nice orgasms during the day?"

Jason smiled. "Of course. But I won't tell you ahead of time when I'll give them. I want you to be surprised."

Audrey sat up in bed and nodded. "Of course. Thank you for being so good to me."

Jason finished dressing and shared a lingering kiss on the lips, giving one of her breasts one last affectionate squeeze before gathering his backpack and heading out.

He was glad his mother had reminded him of that, for it made him realize he had another order of business along those lines.

Jason headed out on his bike. It was still a little slow going as not all the sidewalks had been cleared of snow. He calculated in his mind how long it would take Diane's bus to reach school and determined she should be on board by now. He smiled and decided to visit a bit of appreciative pleasure upon his slave.

If there had ever been a time when Diane became painfully aware at how bad she was at disguising her emotions, it had been that morning.

Her mother had tried to pry out of her what was really making her so anxious that morning. It had been obvious that Diane had not slept well. It had not helped that she had to tell her mother that Mrs. Radson was going to be picking her up after school that day. She had no choice, as she had no guarantee she could finish what she needed to do before her bus returned home. After what had happened with Jason, she was not going to make her mother worry again.

Diane gazed out the bus window and sighed, trying not to think how close she had come to failing to secure that permission. It had finally triggered her mother's "you're spending an awful lot of time with her" comment, just as it had with Heather before Diane had come out of the closet.

Diane took a few deep breaths, but they did nothing to calm her. She had little idea of how she was going to stop Heather and even less idea what to do after that. She hoped Richie had been able to get through to Melinda, at least to warn her about Heather so she could help in defending herself.

Diane uttered a husky sigh. She shifted in her seat, and her eyes widened as she felt moisture squish in her folds. Her eyelids fluttered as she parted her quivering thighs, the heat becoming to great to remain confined in her sex.

Oh dear God, Jason's not going to ...

Her thoughts trailed off as a phantom tongue began licking her helpless pussy. She bit her lower lip to suppress a whimper and tried to keep her hips still. Instead, she squirmed as her pleasure slowly rose, her legs opening wider until a knee bumped the girl sitting next to her.

The other girl gave her an annoyed look, then her eyes widened. Diane's hips slid forward, and her eyes become half-lidded, a husky sigh escaping her parted lips. The girl gave Diane a look between disgust and fear and quickly found another seat.

Diane's cheeks flushed hot, and she draped a hand over her eyes. She tried to suppress her panting and failed, and now other students were glancing at her with a combination of curiosity, lasciviousness, and anxiety.

She was sure if she let her enslaved persona loose, it would accept this as it was intended, but she could not bear the thought of the further humiliation it would bring her. At least this way she could hope to portray her reluctance.

She again felt helpless to do anything. Her pleasure soared, and her body moved with it. She resisted cupping her own breasts through her clothes, the nipples hard and throbbing with her heartbeat. She closed her eyes as her pussy strained at the edge. She tensed hard, hoping to stop herself from reacting when she crested.

While she managed to squelch the cry which would have erupted from her throat, her hips bucked with her first throbs. Her cheeks burned hotter still as she realized she had just advertised to everyone around her that she had had an orgasm.

As she came out of her climax-induced haze, she opened her eyes and looked around. She had expected to see half the bus looking at her. Instead, only a handful were still watching, but now they hastily turned away.

Diane took a deep breath and let it out as a quavering sigh. She remembered Jason talking about this once. Even those who had not been touched by the Darkness somehow sensed when something was off, like a girl suddenly having an orgasm with no evidence that she had touched herself or was wearing a vibrator.

Diane swallowed and turned her gaze to the window again. If the last ten minutes had been any indication, this was going to be the longest day of her life.

Richie contemplated the cell phone for what he believed would be the last time. He wished he knew if his father were getting his messages. He was not sure why he bothered. His father could see everything that was going on thanks to the shared mental link. Otherwise how could his father be berating him for all the stupid things he had done?

He felt the need anyway. He glanced up the street before he flipped open the phone and dialed his father's number.

For the next few seconds, all he heard was his own pounding heart before he got the voice mail again. "Hi, Dad. Well ... today's the day. Today I do it. I get Mom back. I make up for all the stupid shit I've ever done."

He paused as his throat tightened. He cleared it and continued.

"It'll make up for all of it, won't it, Dad? I really wish you'd tell me. I mean ... I know there's a lot more to do, but that's easy compared to this."

Again he had to pause. He wiped one eye as he heard the bus approaching.

"I-I'll call you when it's over, Dad," Richie said. "And let you know how it went. Or ... or maybe I'll have her call you. Would you like that? I mean, you still ..."

He could not bring himself to say it. He wanted to think that his parents still really loved each other, and that their breakup was purely a consequence of the Darkness.

He could not get the vision of his father and Penny Sovert out of his head.

"A-Anyway, if you hear this before this afternoon, wish me luck. Um ... bye, Dad."

He snapped the phone closed and shoved it in his pocket just as the bus pulled up to the curb. He took a deep breath, wiped his eyes one more time, and marched into the bus as soon as the doors had opened.

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