The Telepathic Clans Omnibus

by B R Kingsolver

  ~~~

  Jeremy and the protectors arrived long after the police, but managed to get Carly’s car out of the field and the police let them take it. Jeremy told them he had convinced the police the wrecker he called was taking the car to the police impound yard. Instead, it was towed to an out of the way spot where the Protectors assumed control of it.

  It was impossible to blur the minds of everyone who had seen the car in the field, but they did manage to wipe it from the minds of the police. As a result, no mention of Carly’s car appeared in the police report.

  The news that night was full of the mysterious car fire and the death of its occupants. The fire had totally consumed everything and it was impossible to identify either the car or the victims.

  ~~~

  “What in the hell is going on?” Seamus’ eyes were bright with anger.

  “Remember an operation we ran with Siobhan about eight months ago? It ended with us getting a large contract to supply the French military with socks from our Irish factories,” Collin said.

  “Yes, what of it?”

  “The loser on that bid was Lord Gordon, who is a close ally of Siegfried von Ebersberg. Rebecca wasn’t able to get much from their minds, but she thinks the guy was working for Gordon. Kallen suggested Gordon could be pissed about that operation.”

  “And he thinks these attacks on our people are a result of John Gordon getting his nose bent?”

  “It’s one theory. We really don’t have an idea otherwise. If that’s the case, then Siobhan might also be in danger.”

  “Make sure her security is alerted. Damn, I don’t need this kind of crap.”

  “I have everyone on high alert. First those men following Jared, now this. There really isn’t a good explanation why someone would attack two of our Protectors. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I can’t imagine that Gordon would get so upset over socks,” Seamus shook his head.

  “He’s suffered a number of financial setbacks lately, and in the markets we compete with him directly, in Britain and France, we’re kicking his ass,” Collin said. “If that’s not it, then I don’t have an explanation.”

  ~~~

  Brenna’s course schedule included an introductory course, an upper level course, and a graduate seminar, all taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That left the other three days for work in the lab.

  After her dinner with Cindy, she had talked to Collin about the ethics of listening to those around her. He assured her that scanning her environment and people’s surface thoughts was not considered invasive by the telepathic community.

  “If for no other reason, you need to be scanning your environment for your own safety. Especially in Baltimore, if you lock down your shields so tight that you can’t identify a mugger or a rapist, you put yourself at a disadvantage. You might as well be head blind, like a non-telepath. You have a natural advantage, use it.”

  Walking around campus, she found she enjoyed eavesdropping a little bit on those around her, especially those on whom she practiced the succubus skills Cindy assigned her to practice. Walking by a man, she kicked up her Glam to medium-low and was both flattered and amused at his reaction. Walking by another, she gave him a short puff of her pheromones and smiled to herself as he stopped and watched her. Sitting in a café, she sent a small bit of Influence at a man. He stared at her the rest of her meal.

  In her graduate seminar, most of the students were older than she. One of the men sat up straight in his chair and stared when she walked in and sat down at the head of the table. She read his thought, Holy shit. Where has she been all my life?

  She continued to pick up faint telepathic signatures, but the one time she tried to find a man she felt, he moved away from her and she eventually gave up.

  The evening of her first teaching day, Rebecca was sitting on her stoop, hands clasped around one knee.

  “Shit, all the junk mail they leave is bad enough, now what did they drop at my door?” Brenna said, smiling.

  Rebecca smiled. “How’s it going, Professor? Thought I’d come by and take you out to dinner to celebrate your first day.”

  While they were waiting for their meal, Collin called. “Hey, how was your first day?”

  “It was okay. A bit tiring, but it was fun. What’s up?”

  “I thought I might swing by and take you out for a bite.”

  “Sorry, Collin, someone already beat you to it.”

  His voice sounded tired when he responded. “Oh. I keep asking too late, don’t I?”

  “Yep, Rebecca beat you by at least two hours.”

  Life came back into his voice. “Oh, you’re out with Rebecca? I’ll have to start giving her more to do if she’s got time to poach on my girlfriend.”

  “Girlfriend? I guess that kind of fits. Hold hands, kiss occasionally, like in high school, huh?”

  “Maybe I should use a different term.”

  “Think of one and I’ll see if I like it. You never know, I might be amenable to a more adult relationship.”

  Rebecca could hear both sides of their conversation, and was quietly laughing.

  ~~~

  Thursday when she got out of her last class, she found David waiting for her at her office. “Long week?” She nodded, unlocking her door and dumping her books and lecture notes on the desk. “Open for dinner?”

  She slumped against the desk, thought about it a minute, then said, “Talked me into it.”

  They had a nice dinner, and at one point, he asked if she had started her birth control pills. “Yes, and I should be safe now.” She wasn’t surprised when he drove her to his condo afterward. She considered whether she should tell him to take her home, then decided, Screw this. I’m tired of being horny, tired of playing games. I want to get laid, and he wants me.

  Upon entering his apartment, he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. She responded, and allowed his hands to roam. Soon they were undressing each other, leaving clothes strewn across the floor on the way to the bedroom. She read his surface thoughts, and found him to be extremely aroused, comparing her favorably with his lady friend in LA.

  “David? You have condoms, don’t you?”

  “I thought you were on the pill?”

  “Yes, but I know I’m not the only woman you’re sleeping with. And I don’t know who they’re sleeping with. It’s not for birth control.”

  Silently acknowledging her assertion, he nodded, “Yes, I have condoms.”

  By reading his thoughts, she found it very easy to do things that gave him pleasure, something she had never tried with her other boyfriends.

  She was so wet she could feel the moisture on her thighs. They lay on the bed and he began to kiss her, his hands roaming over her body, caressing her breasts, her stomach, the insides of her thighs. The sweet scent of her overwhelmed him. He kissed her throat, her earlobes, setting her on fire. Trailing kisses down the curve of her breasts, he took one nipple in his mouth and sucked it, teasing it with his tongue and his teeth. She moaned, writhing and arching her back to push her breast against him. He slipped his hand between her legs. Closing her eyes, she knew there would be no stopping him tonight. She wanted him, and she wasn’t going to go away feeling empty again.

  She rode him, driving him as deeply as she could inside her. Leaning forward, holding herself up with her hands on the bed, her hair cascaded forward, curtaining them in a dark tunnel. His pleasure combined in her mind with her own, driving her higher and higher. They soared to their climax, his passion growing more intense. He took them over the crest of their desire, his hips bucking as he spilled his seed inside her, triggering her orgasm. His life energy poured into her, changing as she absorbed it. It flooded through her body and she started to Glow. That enhanced her excitement, building the orgasm, until she was nothing but mindless ecstasy, riding him and crying out. Hugging him to her, she claimed his mouth in one last deep kiss.

  She finally slowed, looking down at him. His eyes were heavy, and she heard him
whisper, “That was incredible.” Then he was gone, sleeping and snoring softly.

  “Damn. Damn, damn, damn.” she swore softly. She felt wonderful, better than she could ever remember feeling in her life, his energy pulsing through her. She wanted more. She wanted him to pleasure her again, and he was gone, drained into sleep.

  She lay there and debated with herself as to whether she should stay there or get up and go home, but she wasn’t sleepy. She felt alive and full of energy. Finally she got up, dressed and made the mile and a half trek to her home. The business suit and pumps weren’t exactly what she would have preferred for a late night walk, and she made a mental note to pack an overnight bag to throw in the car, maybe one to leave at work.

  At one point, she thought she felt one of the men who had been following Jared that night. Clamping down her shields, she moved to a better lit street. Brenna, she told herself severely, what the hell are you doing walking around alone this late? Not a good idea.

  ~~~

  Chapter 1-9

  Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves. - Gail Lumet Buckley

  Brenna slept a bit late, but bounced out of bed feeling energetic and happy. Collin was coming to drive her to West Virginia for the Labor Day weekend. She fixed breakfast, then showered and packed, enjoying the look and feel of the new clothes she’d bought. Rebecca had suggested a hike in the valley where the estate was located, so Brenna put some things she might need in her backpack.

  The doorbell rang exactly at noon, and she opened it to find Collin on her doorstep.

  “Come on in, I’ll be ready in a second.” Looking beyond him she saw his sports car. “Are we going to drive with the top down? Give me a couple of minutes to braid my hair, okay?”

  He looked at her with a strange expression on his face, and she wondered if he could see her Glow from the night before. She grabbed her brush from her pack, and sat down on a stool to begin brushing and braiding her hair.

  “Can I help?” he asked.

  She smiled at him. “Thanks, but it’s probably faster if I do it.”

  “You have beautiful hair.”

  “Thank you. It’s a pain sometimes, but I’m so used to it that I’d probably feel naked if I cut it off. I did cut it a couple of years ago, and it felt kind of strange for a while.”

  “You cut it?” he said in astonishment, staring at the black waist-length waves.

  “Yeah, it used to be down to my knees,” he felt his own knees get weak at the vision he read in her surface thoughts.

  He watched as she quickly twisted it into a braid thicker than his wrist. He longed to touch it, to feel it slide through his fingers.

  She finished and jumped up, checked the locks on the back door, and grabbed her bag and backpack. “All ready. Shall we go?”

  It was a beautiful late summer day and driving through the country kept Brenna’s good spirits high. They talked about her week and the classes she was teaching and she asked him questions about the estate and growing up in the secluded valley.

  “So the valley and the town are completely secret? How do you do that?”

  “Not completely secret. We let a few outsiders in occasionally, mainly to certify the school so our kids can get into college. But we blur their memories so they only remember what we want them to. There are two small towns, about three hundred people each, just outside the valley that are all Clan. A lot of Protectors live there, and that’s another buffer.”

  As they began their ascent into the mountains, he asked about her meeting with Cindy. She didn’t answer immediately and he shot her a glance. She was looking down at her lap with a sad expression on her face then she turned to stare out the window.

  After half an hour she turned to him. “Cindy said some succubi consider the day they found out about this Gift to be the worst day of their lives. It’s kind of like getting a terminal diagnosis, you know? It doesn’t seem real at first. When you really start to process it, to understand it, to think of what it means, it’s a life-changer, Collin. It changes my whole self-image, my dreams, the way I look at the world. I know it hasn’t really sunk in yet, but it’s already affecting me.”

  She shifted in her seat to face him. “Can you tell me why the hell you would want to take me to bed, knowing what the consequences will be? You’ve slept with a succubus before, haven’t you? Was it so damned wonderful that you’re willing to have your life energy drained?”

  He was quiet for a minute, then said, “Ever since I figured out that you probably had the Kashani Gift, I’ve been cursing myself for a fool and trying to talk myself out of continuing to date you. I know it would be smarter to just be your friend, but no one has ever accused me of being particularly brilliant.”

  He downshifted to climb a hill. “The fact is, you’re the most fascinating, incredible woman I’ve ever met. It’s not just your looks, although you’re spectacularly beautiful. You have a grace, an elegance that isn’t put on. It’s just natural, a part of who you are. I have a very high level of Empathy, and even though I don’t know you very well, there’s a kindness, a gentleness, a feeling of sympathy and empathy that you project toward everyone you interact with that makes you almost irresistible.”

  They topped the hill and the mountains stretched out before them. Brenna had never been to the Virginia mountains before, and the view in the distance took her breath away.

  “I know that I’ll never be your intellectual equal, I doubt you’ll ever find anyone who is,” Collin said. “Things may not work out between us, and you may not feel the same about me as I feel about you, but I know if I walk away from you because I’m afraid of your Gift, I’ll forever regret not giving it a chance. Does that make any sense?”

  “And how do you feel about me?” she said, watching his face closely, holding her breath.

  “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  She was quiet for several miles. “Collin, you’re a damned fool,” she finally said. Then she smiled. “But you’re really pretty, and appealing in a bad boy, I-really-shouldn’t-be-doing-this kind of way.”

  He chuckled. “I guess I haven’t finished fixing that first impression, have I?”

  She sighed. “Give me some time, okay? At the moment, I’m not sure if I want to become the biggest slut on the planet, join a convent, or try to find some kind of way to have a relationship. But I’ll let you know when I figure it out. That’s the best I can promise.”

  Later in the afternoon, they passed into West Virginia, driving past planted fields and pastures and a dairy farm. She was deeply impressed by the natural beauty. They drove through a small town, and about fifteen minutes later he turned on to an unmarked, winding blacktop road that climbed through timbered hillsides.

  “That was one of the Clan villages, the other one is about ten minutes farther down the road,” Collin told her.

  They came to a high fence and he pushed a button under the dash to open the gate. There were two low buildings and a tall guard tower sitting just inside. One of O’Donnell’s Protectors lounged in the doorway of one of the buildings and waved to them.

  They continued along the road, finally reaching a high ridge and descending into a valley. Eventually, they came out of the timber and into what seemed a large meadow. After climbing a short rise, they topped out and she saw an enormous valley laid out below them. High mountains completely ringed it. On the far side of the valley was a large house, and near it what seemed like barns and work buildings with corrals. A long, low building sat between the house and the barns. On the house’s other side was a three-story structure that looked like a modern office building.

  Farther in the distance, nestled up against the foothills on the far side of the valley was a village or small town and outside of it what looked like a large orchard. She could see animals scattered across the broad, open meadows, and although they were too far to see any detail, she thought there were hors
es, cattle and sheep.

  “My God, it’s beautiful,” she said. “This is where you grew up?”

  “Yes, in one of the houses in the village. It’s really not much of a village, just a grocery store, drug store, and a couple of warehouses. A lot of the people work here, but some commute to jobs outside and some of the people in the outside villages commute in. We have our own power plant, a dairy, church and school, and many people work either in service jobs for the big house, taking care of the animals, or maintaining the infrastructure. And of course, that building you see to the right of the house is corporate headquarters for the O’Donnell Group.”

  “I googled the O’Donnell Group, and it said the corporate headquarters is in DC.”

  “Officially, yes. Unofficially, it’s here. Seamus is Chairman of the Board and majority shareholder. Callie is President and CFO. Corporate finance and accounting are centered here, as are logistics, planning, and IT. We have major offices in DC, New York, San Francisco, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, and Capetown. There are about twelve hundred people here and three thousand in DC.”

  “How do you run such a large corporation without the employees suspecting the real owners, the people in charge, are telepaths? It seems your security would break down.”

  He chuckled. “You’re making an erroneous assumption. We don’t employ any norms. Everyone working for the company is a telepath.”

  She stared at him in astonishment. “But, it must take tens of thousands of people to run an operation that big.”

  “Only about fifteen thousand,” he answered with a smile. She gaped at him. “That’s employees of course, then there are their families. Now, there are a lot of people we might include in the Clan who don’t work for us, and some members of your family don’t work for us. There are also affiliated businesses, such as O’Donnell Development. I think that company alone has about a thousand employees, and they’re all telepaths, of course.”

  As they drove closer, the house seemed to grow. The office building was three stories tall. The house, it became apparent, would more accurately be termed a mansion, or maybe a palace, for all that it had an unassuming façade. Three stories tall, it was the largest house Brenna had ever seen.