by JG Jerome
She cries, “Because I haven’t protected my family or my people from those Summer bitches. I failed them.”
I pull her to me and hug her, ensuring I keep a firm grip on her mind. “Failing isn’t the crime, Ariana. Not trying is. You’ve stopped trying, haven’t you?”
She shakes her head, “No! I have not!” She sobs, “I fight every day, I just can’t manage to resist.”
I kiss her cheek, “Ariana dear, that’s good to hear. If you’re still fighting, then you are worthy of love. Your people will love you again one day. Your daughters will show you love instead of fear one day. You have to keep fighting.”
She sobs, “It’s so hard! I’m losing myself!”
“I know, Ariana. I’m going to help. I can’t fix everything right now. When we next meet, I will.” I reach into her mind and pour healing energy into her brain to repair some of the damaged pathways. Sadly I can’t see what commands have been left behind. If I understand what’s going on, it appears that the paths that Lady Summer uses to access her mind scar over, for lack of a better description. I suspect she gets a little crazier each time they force their way in. I push gently in the manner of Summer and run into resistance immediately.
“Ariana, rest for a minute. Ignore everything I say until I mention your name again.”
She responds, “Yes, lord.” ‘Interesting she chooses to call me that.’
I look over to Christie, “Christie, if a lady or lord of Summer uses their influence ability on the same person over time, does it get more difficult?”
She looks horrified, “It’s not meant to be used more than once on a person. It’s damaging. If they heal from the damage, the pathway should theoretically be closed. It’s like a scar.”
“What happens if they force their way in before it closes?”
She puts her hand over her mouth. “The victim will go insane! I don’t know of anyone that would do that, but there are historical accounts hundreds of years old of experiments on humans, Sidhe, dwarves, and elves. They were all driven insane by repeated influence.”
I nod, “Apparently someone in your family doesn’t share your reticence. Her mind looks like someone drove a bulldozer through it repeatedly.”
The ladies all gasp in horror. “I’m going to make some repairs and adjust her mind, so the gateway stays open for now. I am doing this by trial-and-error, so I don’t want to do much until I can stay with her for a longer period. Myra, we need to figure out how to make that happen.” She nods to me.
I concentrate on Ariana’s mind and heal the scarred edges of the path Summer uses. I tell her mind to route traffic around those pathways and allow the trigger for the chemicals to be easily accessible. I think that’s all I can do for now.
“Ariana, listen and obey.”
“Yes, Lord,” she replies.
“You will not fight Summer when they try to access your mind. Instead, I want you to create a pocket where you can redirect them. In that pocket, you will agree to whatever they tell you, but you cannot action commands out of that pocket. When they leave your mind, you will know it, and then analyze what they told you in the pocket. Do you understand?”
She shakes her head. “Okay. Let’s keep it simple. You understand what I mean about pushing them into a pocket?”
She considers for a moment, “I think so.”
I reinforce it, “Push them in the pocket. Push them out. Nothing they do comes out of the pocket. Can you do that?”
She chews her lip as she considers the additional direction, “I think so.”
“Good girl, Ariana.” She smiles and preens. “That will be good enough for now. Any questions?”
She’s serious now, “How are you doing this, Lord?”
“I can’t tell you that right now, Ariana. I will explain everything to you when we meet again. It’s important to me that we become friends, Ariana. I want you to trust me. It will be easier for you to do that once you get to know me better. I’ll visit you as soon as Myra, Megan, and I can arrange it. Okay?”
“Yes, Lord. I would appreciate that.”
“Okay, Ariana. You will close your eyes and count to 100 slowly out loud. When you reach 100 you will believe you just arrived in this room to find your daughters and their guards preparing to leave. You will be kind to them and try to understand them even if they say something that angers you. That will become your default behavior moving forward. You will forget ever seeing me or anyone else that is not in the room when you reach 100. Is that clear?”
“Yes, lord.”
“You are worthy of love, Ariana. Remember that always.” I kiss her plump lips gently. She wraps her arms around me and opens her mouth to me as I pull away. “Another time, dear Ariana. Begin your count.”
“1...2…” she starts.
“Christie, will you and Tiffany be alright or do you need to leave with us?”
Christie replies, “It’s better if we go with you, Jack.”
“Okay. Get your goodbye kisses in the next 10 seconds ladies.” I work my way through them all and head out the door to catch Sowie and Liesl at the door for their kisses and then walk to the elevator. Krissie and Christie are right behind me. Tiffany is hugging her new sisters. She runs to catch us. I ping Ed and tell him we’re on our way with two extras.
Chapter 7 - Leaving the Box
(the box at Talking Stick Resort arena)
“...30...31...32...” Ariana continues her count.
Myra waves everyone out of the room and pulls them into a tight huddle outside the door. She ensures she has the group situated in the halo of a light and then whispers urgently to them all. “Ladies, get packed up and get ready to go. Solange, keep a two-Raven detail on the door as per SOP. When she hits 95 start telling Megan how nice it was to meet Jack, ask when can we see him again, etcetera. Corrina will acknowledge her three beats after 100 to give her obeisance just like we did the last time unless she speaks. Ready?” They all nod and return to the suite to execute the plan. Solange replaces Sowie and Liesl with Marisol and Charli on the door detail.
“...70...71...72...”
The ladies return to the bar. Megan grabs a champagne flute and fills with a very short poor. Others pick up their glass or lean on each other.
“...90...91...92..93...94...95...”
The volume in the room slowly raises as they talk to Megan. Myra has an arm wrapped around Trina and is touching Megan’s shoulder with the hand holding her flute.
“...96...97...98...99...100.” Ariana blinks, and then she appears to come aware of her surroundings. She says, “So what exactly are we celebrating, and why were we not invited?” All the Sidhe turn to face the voice and drop to a seiza, prostrate.
Megan raises her head, “Mother. Welcome. I hosted a party for my client this evening. He has just completed some major transactions through our firm and set us up to make a lot of money in the future. I may well get a partnership out of it, so I thought it worthwhile to host the party. Unfortunately, my boss is attending a party by your competitor; consequently, he was unable to attend.”
Queen Ariana asks, “So why haven’t you just taken over his mind and told him to divulge everything?”
Megan responds quickly, “Mother, you agreed that we should observe to see what they are up to rather than disrupt them. Remember?”
Ariana looks confused for a moment before responding, “Oh yes. We did, didn’t we?” Megan nods.
Ariana gives Megan a kindly smile and then looks confused. She turns to look at Myra who has returned to her feet. Myra takes the lead, “Mother are you going to leave your people laying on the floor for long? I expect they find it rather uncomfortable. As you taught me, ‘A Queen takes care of her people.’ Maybe you could coach me on how leaving them on the floor is taking care of them?”
Ariana frowns, “Rise all of you. And you, Lady Winter, what are you doing here at revels? We understood you were working on this concord to get House Schatten, House Nebel, House Ombre, the Sluagh, and th
e Goblin Kingdom to sign our Accords of Alliance. We fail to see how partying with your sister is helping accomplish that.”
Myra answers confidently, “I have the agreement of all of the primaries of each faction to sign the accords on the day of the Winter Solstice, Queen of Air and Darkness. I have a few details of logistics to iron out and a steady campaign of calls to keep them interested and involved until the day of signing. One night off to support my sister will not jeopardize your agenda, Mother.”
Queen Ariana stares at her for a moment. “Daughter Mine, apparently you think you are talking to one of your human lovers. We don’t approve of your tone. We suspect that blond slut at your side is twisting you around her finger like her mother tries to do to me!” Ariana pauses as a confused frown covers her face. Then with considerably less certainty, almost in a monotone voice, she says, “We think Katrina Laughlin has twisted your thinking long enough. We will remove her!”
Ariana seems to be staring into the middle distance as though she’s dreaming. Pushing her hands out to her sides, darkness coalesces around each hand. “Shadows! Fly to me! Take her and destroy her!” Trevor and two squads of Shadows step into the suite through the portals followed by a tiny flash of dragonfly wings.
Myra holds onto Trina with her left hand as she reaches past Trina to grab Daphne. She creates her own portal of darkness and pushes Trina and Daphne through it before closing it again. Myra yells “Ravens fly!” to Solange, Charli, and Marisol at the door as Trevor and his team pull Tasers and light up the Ravens. Solange manages to close the door before the darts arrive. She leads Charli and Marisol at a run to the lift, and it opens immediately. They get inside as two shadows emerge from the suite, but the door is already closing. One manages to shoot Solange through the closing gap in the door, but is unable to get his fingers in the door before it closes and moves down the shaft. Charli and Marisol pull the darts out of her, and each wraps an arm over their shoulders. The door opens and they hurry towards the VIP exit.
Back in the suite, Ariana looks at her two proud, unrepentant daughters. “Megan,” she says. “Be very careful you don’t learn your sister’s bad habits. If we can’t correct her behavior, you may need to take her place.”
Then Ariana looks at Myra. “Lady Winter, you are treading on thin ice. We don’t know how you managed to use abilities that only we should be able to use, but we are going to get to the bottom of this right now. We will be turning you over to the tender mercies of your elder sister for some questioning and corrective action. Hopefully your lapse doesn’t jeopardize the accords.”
Myra fires back at her, “Mother, the only thing that has ever jeopardized the accords is your behavior. For the last two years you have actively tried to prevent this from happening, all while insisting that I make it happen. We are not fulfilling our mission because we spend so much time cleaning up the messes you make intentionally! And when did you start using a royal pronoun?’ You sound like that bitch in the Summer Court!”
Ariana steps up to her and unloads a back-hand across Myra’s jaw. Myra flies backwards into a portal of darkness that appears behind her and disappears from view.
The Queen of Air and Darkness assesses her daughter as an owl might look at a mouse before eating it. “Well Megan, are you coming? Or are we going to send you to join your sisters?”
Megan gives her most professional bland look, “Lead the way, Mother.”
Ariana and Megan walk through the portals. The Shadows pick up the Ravens and follow. The small winged creature follows, but the portals close before it passes through.
“Shit!” squeaks the tiny voice of Marigold. She flies out the front of the suite to find a phone she can use to get help.
Chapter 8 - Dinner in the Sky
(VIP entrance, Talking Stick Resort arena)
Ed meets us at the VIP pickup. The security guy looks a little pissed at him, but Ed just ignores him. He sees me and hustles to open the door. Kristina guides Tiffany in first, then Christie, then she jumps in, and I slide in while rescuing the end of her train. Ed closes the door and runs around the front of the car, buckles in, and pulls smoothly onto Jefferson and then left on 7th Street northbound. Ed takes 7th all the way to the Hilton. I pull out my phone and dial the restaurant to tell them that our party has doubled in size. Then I ask Ed to raise the screen.
“Is everyone okay?”
I get a chorus of “Yes” responses back.
Christie asks, “What was all that, Jack?”
I pull Kristina on my lap so we have a little more room. I ask, “Remember when you told me to ‘become?’” She nods. “I’ve been busy doing that. Part of what I’m becoming provides me the ability to assess damage to living beings, heal it, mess with people’s minds, and probably a bunch of other stuff I haven’t discovered yet. Your sister has been raping your girlfriend’s mom psychically. The Summer method of using the influence ability is brutal. It’s like you smash a wrecking ball through the skull or psyche to introduce yourself and then flood the brain with chemicals that makes it highly susceptible to suggestion. Trina said that Summer is stronger at this ability than Winter, but that’s not true. Winter gently knocks on the door, sticks a hand in and floods the brain with chemicals. They finesse it, leaving higher levels of brain chemicals behind as the only trace. I suspect there are no tracks at all after about 30 minutes. I’m tempted to go track GC down to assess his brain to be sure. Winter’s method requires a lot more power because they control it. Summer’s is like using a shotgun slug to drive a nail.”
I shake my head in memory of the damage to Ariana’s mind. “If you study biology at all, you’re probably appalled at my descriptions. I don’t actually see the damage. I see a mental construct or abstraction in my mind that represents the mind I’m looking at. If the brain itself is injured physically, I should actually be able to see that, but the pathways of thought are more nebulous. The brain is hugely complex. I probably wouldn’t be able to follow the pathways if I could really see them. The conceptual model works.” I caress her cheek, “Myra and Megan are lucky to have a mother that can function at all at this point. I did the mental equivalent of patching her up with duct tape. I need to spend some time working on her to really fix the damage.”
Of course Kristina goes there, “So does that mean you are going to fuck her too, Jack?” I look at her for a moment. She’s not entirely kidding, the jealousy is there, easy to see without much need to look for it.
“I shouldn’t need to, Krissie. If you think I should, I’ll consider it. Otherwise, I’m thinking ‘Sidhe comfort’ at most.”
She grins at me, “No fucking, just rubbing naked bodies together.”
“I see you’re warming up to the idea,” I tell her, appreciating the irony.
She gives it back to me. “Well, if you can make the eldest sister sane, maybe you can have all four of them at once.” She cocks an eyebrow at me.
“I’m going to need to spank you harder next time.” Her eyes bug at that. I have to laugh at that point.
Christie says, “I wasn’t sure what to make of the two of you in the suite. I thought Jack was being rough with you, but you responded well to his attention.”
Kristina chuckles, and I nod, “We’re getting to know each other right now. Based on experiences so far, I’d say Krissie likes it relatively rough.” I pause for a moment. “About the same way you like it if memory serves me correctly.”
She smiles shyly at that. “I’ve only had you, and only that one weekend, Jack. I really don’t have enough experience to tell you what I like. Megan and I are usually very gentle with each other.”
“Well, we sure worked through a variety of permutations that one weekend. I can’t think of any we missed.”
She bites her lip. “You didn’t take me bent over a bar or a desk or such.” Her breathing and pulse pick up.
I lean over and kiss her while holding Kristina tightly to me. “I guess we will have to rectify that.”
Christie looks d
own and whispers, “Yes please, my Lord.”
Kristina wraps her arms around her and kisses her cheek. “I think you said you weren’t into girls. I’ll try to respect that; although, I would love to watch my man take you over a desk. Will you let me watch?” she asks hanging off the Sidhe’s neck as she squirms in my lap.
Christie looks surprised by the request. She squirms as she responds, “Maybe? I’m pretty new to all this.”
Kristina assures her, “Not to worry, Love. Take your time. Only do or agree to what you’re comfortable with. I and all the other girls will love you regardless of whether we get to sleep with you or not.” She caresses Christie’s cheek as I pull her back against my chest.
Christie smiles shyly and says, “I did enjoy the taste of you that Megan gave me.”
Ed pulls into the main entrance of the Pointe and heads to the back to reach the path to the top of the hill. He circles to stop in front of the stairs up into the restaurant. The valet opens the door as Ed jumps out to catch Tiffany’s door. I slide out from under Kristina to exit first. I scan the area and check with Ed. He nods, I lean in to offer a hand to Kristina. She slides to the door, takes my hand and stands trying to keep her train close. Tiffany walks around the back of the car, and Ed hustles around the front to take over the door, thanking the valet.
Christie looks up at me and smiles as I offer her a hand, and she slides out onto her feet.
“Thank you, my Lord,” she responds with a glorious smile. I swear, each of these women has smitten me in her own way. Given they all have beautiful faces, firm beautiful bodies, exude grace each in her own way, and they all dote on me, I suppose there’s no mystery as to how that happened. It still seems curiously suspicious, but I’m going with Grandpapa’s advice until I find something concrete I can deal with.
I pull Ed to the side. “If you see anyone male or female that looks like a fashion model, be wary. If they approach the car, text me immediately. They may be dangerous.”
