Cabal

by David Delaney

  “Now, strip.”

  Sebastian complied. He wasn’t sure what Jessie had planned, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be killed—not yet anyway.

  He kicked off his shoes, pulled of his socks, and, after a deep breath, dropped his pants. He immediately moved his hands to cover his privates, trying to salvage some dignity. Jessie reached out and pulled his arms apart, pushing his hands to his sides. She tilted her head and assessed him from head to toe.

  “Not bad, T. Sebastian. Not bad at all.” Jessie flashed her wicked smile again and called over her shoulder. “What do you think, ladies? Not bad, right?”

  “Oh yes. He’ll do,” said Megan.

  “Most definitely,” agreed Kerri.

  Megan pulled Heidi out of the shower and began toweling the other woman down. Heidi’s head hung down, her wet hair falling in front of her face. She was completely compliant.

  Kerri raised both hands to Sebastian and waved him forward. “Come here. I’ve got a treat for you.”

  He moved slowly, the tile floor of the lab cold under his feet. Kerri swayed seductively, running her hands over her bare, water-slicked body. When Sebastian was near enough, she pulled him in close and triggered the shower. At least the water was warm. Kerri methodically washed him, moving a soapy hand slowly over his body. There was nothing he could do, his body rebelled against him, he became more and more aroused, especially when she lingered in certain areas. Even recalling images of the bodies and all the blood of their most recent victims couldn’t stop his body from reacting. Kerri chuckled as she watched his body respond to her touch.

  Kerri placed her mouth against his ear, whispering, “You will most definitely do.” She gave his butt a slap and switched the water off.

  Megan stood waiting with an open towel. “My turn.” She winked at him. Sebastian stepped out of the shower and into her arms. Megan made the drying process just as sensual as the washing had been. He kept his eyes shut and tried to calm himself with deep breaths, he wasn’t very successful.

  “Ok, ladies, enough teasing. He looks like he’s about to pop,” said Jessie. “Let’s take this party downstairs.”

  “Downstairs?” Sebastian was immediately terrified. That’s where the blood orgy kill room was located. “I thought you were going to do an experiment or something?”

  “Relax, sweetie. If we wanted you dead, you’d be dead already.” Jessie patted his cheek.

  Chapter Six

  Megan led the way downstairs. She gently pulled Heidi along behind her. Kerri walked behind Heidi, making sure she didn’t stumble on the stairs. Sebastian was behind Kerri, and Jessie brought up the rear. When they reached the ground floor, Meagan turned left. HE noticed a door to the right. The kill room maybe? Megan led the group to the end of a short hallway where another door stood open.

  “Lights,” Megan called out as she entered the dark room. The lights responded to Magan’s command and switched on, revealing a comfortable living area. Or was it a sleeping area? Sebastian didn’t see any coffins. Then again, according to Heidi, he wasn’t dealing with vampires.

  The room was cavernous, the ceiling soared two stories above their heads and was punctuated with skylights. The lighting was soft and warm, clearly designed to lessen the fact that the room was basically a warehouse. A huge sectional sofa with giant pillows and soft fuzzy blankets dominated the middle of the room. Sebastian estimated that the sofa was big enough for ten or fifteen people sitting or lying down. The concrete floor was covered in layers of plush throw rugs. It was surprisingly homey for the den of three murderous magic-vampire women.

  Three of the four walls had built-in bookcases jammed full to overflowing with books of all sizes. Some appeared very old, and others had clearly been printed in this decade. There were a few scattered tables with herbs, oils, and even a few crystals, it looked like Dumbledore’s workshop.

  And that was all.

  It was basically a big living room-library combination. It didn’t look scary, there were no torture devices, and, more importantly, no bloodstains that Sebastian could discern. There was no television or other electronics. Except for the lights, there didn’t seem to be any modern conveniences at all. There was no kitchen or bathroom. The room was obviously wired for voice activation, hence Meagan’s ability to turn on the lights by speaking.

  The lights.

  Sebastian craned his head around, looking for the source of the illumination. There was none. And yet the room glowed with a warm, rich light. HE swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

  Magic.

  He was standing in a room lit entirely by magic.

  Unreal.

  Megan led Heidi over to the couch and eased her down gently. Kerri took up a position a couple of cushions over, and Megan, having situated Heidi, laid back and rested her head in Kerri’s lap. Kerri began absently stroking her friend’s hair.

  Sebastian jumped when he felt Jessie press herself against his back. “Easy. Why don’t you go sit your pretty little self next to Heidi?”

  “O . . . Okay.” He did as directed, choosing a cushion on the opposite side of Heidi away from Megan and Kerri. He sat primly on the edge of the cushion, knees together and hands in his lap. Sebastian was very aware of his lack of clothing.

  Jessie giggled. “T. Sebastian, it’s time to relax. Why don’t you lie back, maybe snuggle up to Heidi? She won’t bite.” Megan snorted. Jessie rolled her eyes and continued, “I promise.”

  Jessie plopped herself down next to Megan and Kerri, intertwining herself in Megan’s legs. Sitting there like that, the three of them looked like some kind of renaissance sculpture—perfection carved from marble by the hands of a master.

  Heidi spoke. It was not more than a whisper. “It’s okay, Sebastian.”

  “There. You see? It’s okay,” Jessie cooed.

  Sebastian scooted back, leaning against the pillow behind him. He allowed his arm to touch Heidi’s arm. She was trembling.

  “So how much did our dear Heidi tell you about us? About what exactly we are up to here in our comfy home?” asked Jessie.

  “Uh.” Sebastian didn’t know what to say. Would they be angry that Heidi had told him about the whole magic thing?

  “Uh?” Jessie shook her head. “You know, for somebody whose livelihood is based on effective communication, you sure do say uh a lot.”

  “I told him you weren’t vampires,” Heidi offered.

  “Vampires wish they were as cool as us!” said Megan.

  Sebastian figured if Heidi was willing to admit to their earlier conversation, then he was okay to speak freely.

  “Heidi . . . she mentioned something about magic?”

  “I bet she did.” Jessie reached out and stroked Heidi’s cheek with her hand. Heidi didn’t flinch away, she just closed her eyes. “What did she tell you about magic?”

  “That you all discovered some kind of magic book and that the spells actually worked,” he said.

  “Yep. I found an old alchemy book at a garage sale, and that was the beginning of everything that has followed.”

  “How did that happen exactly? An old alchemy book to . . . to what I saw earlier?” asked Sebastian.

  “The harvest,” said Kerri.

  “Excuse me?”

  “What you witnessed the end of earlier, we call it a harvest,” offered Jessie.

  “It’s murder,” Heidi said to Jessie.

  Sebastian tensed for Jessie to lash out, but she just smiled and patted Heidi’s hand.

  “Tell me, T. Sebastian, when a rancher sends his cattle to slaughter, is it murder? Or is it just the food chain’s natural cycle?” asked Jessie.

  Sebastian didn’t have an immediate response. The fact that Jessie could casually compare the killing of people to the slaughter of cattle chilled him. The fact that he was sitting naked on a couch with four naked women, three of whom were seductively entwined, stroking, and petting each other, was no longer the least bit arousing. Maybe he was becoming desensitized to all
the skin, but more likely the reality of what these women were and what they were doing to innocent people was finally sinking in.

  “So you . . . the people . . . you eat the people or drink their blood for what . . . some kind of power? Immortality?” asked Sebastian, hoping he wasn’t overstepping his bounds.

  “The short answer is no. We are harvesting the Regulars for something specific. Unfortunately for them, this requires us to bleed them.”

  “Regulars?” Sebastian was confused.

  “She means people . . . non-magical people,” said Heidi.

  “Yes, dear, the non-magical people, who, to us, are like the cattle in the example I just gave,” said Jessie.

  Heidi laughed. It was small and cold. “The three of you are just like those people—just as non-magical.”

  The slap was lightning fast. Jessie’s hand was a blur. Heidi’s head snapped to the side, but she didn’t cry out. A small trickle of blood dripped from the side of her mouth. Heidi didn’t even raise a hand to wipe it away, she just hung her head in silence.

  Sebastian wasn’t sure if the question-and-answer period was over. Jessie glared at Heidi, as if waiting to see if more punishment would be necessary. Megan and Kerri watched with wicked smiles.

  Satisfied that Heidi was not going to say anything more, Jessie continued, “As I was explaining, the harvest is necessary. Our abilities require a very particular protein—a protein that can only be found in a small percentage of the population. The only way to locate this protein is to bleed the host.”

  “So you aren’t . . . you know . . . eating the people?”

  “Well, sometimes, yes, we are. Of course, I prefer a nice piece of grilled salmon myself, but our work requires us to go through a large number of bodies. So for efficiency’s sake, we utilize the harvest leftovers as the main ingredient in our business,” said Jessie.

  Sebastian blinked rapidly. He understood each of Jessie’s words, but his brain was having trouble with the sentence that the individual words combined to create.

  Harvest.

  Leftovers.

  Main ingredient.

  No.

  No, no, no, no.

  The room started spinning around Sebastian.

  People.

  They were using people as the meat in their wraps. The wrap he had devoured just a few hours ago. The wrap he declared the best thing he had ever eaten.

  “He’s going to blow!” shouted Kerri.

  “Don’t you dare throw up on my sofa!” yelled Jessie.

  Sebastian couldn’t focus on anything, his insides were one giant spasm. He felt himself lifted off the sofa and tossed to the floor. He gulped for air, but he couldn’t get enough oxygen. He started heaving, his stomach convulsing, but there was not much in there to expel. His body had already started digesting his lunch. The wrap Jessie had served him earlier was on its way through his digestive tract.

  People. He had eaten people.

  He dry heaved a few more times. Long strings of bile and spittle dripped from his mouth. Sebastian realized that he was sobbing, his mind finally giving into the madness of the past few hours. He collapsed onto the rug and curled into a ball, trying to wish himself away. He didn’t have any particular place in mind . . . just somewhere that was not here . . . somewhere that wasn’t inhabited by evil magic vampires who treated people like cattle . . . someplace safe where he was at least wearing pants.

  Chapter Seven

  Sebastian heard movement but kept his eyes shut tight. Someone padded across the floor toward the back of the room. He heard glass rattling and a quick whoosh-whomp sound. There was more padding across the floor, and then he was being lifted from the floor. He cracked an eyelid, Jessie looked down at him as she dropped him back on the sofa. She handed him a towel and a cold bottle of water. So there was a fridge somewhere in the back of the room. He wiped his mouth and took a swig of water, swishing a bit to get the taste of bile out of his mouth.

  Jessie stood with her hands on her hips. “Really, T. Sebastian, you’re not making a very good case for yourself.”

  He watched as she moved to the small wet spot of bile and spittle he had left on the rug. And then he witnessed their first outright use of magic. Jessie held her palms face down over the wet spot and waved them back and forth like she was a baseball umpire calling someone safe. Once, twice, three times, and then there was a small burst of light, and the wet spot was gone.

  Huh . . . magical carpet cleaning. How very boring.

  Of course, he understood that this display of power, although simple, was very effective in communicating how easily Jessie could wield her supernatural ability. Satisfied, Jessie plopped back down next to Megan and Kerri.

  “So,” Jessie continued as if no interruption had taken place. “The protein is hard to come by. And as our dear sweet Heidi stated, the three of us,” she gestured to Megan and Kerri, “don’t produce the protein ourselves. That’s why we need to harvest it. The problem is it’s not a very efficient process.”

  Sebastian was trying to follow along, harvest, protein, and magic. He raised his hand to ask a question. Megan giggled.

  “Yes?” asked Jessie.

  “This protein, it’s what . . . a kind of magic . . . catalyst?”

  “Exactly. People lucky enough to be born with a body capable of producing this protein are natural magic users. Seems unfair, doesn’t it?” Jessie looked at Sebastian, waiting for his response.

  “I guess. Yeah, totally unfair.”

  Satisfied with his answer, Jessie continued, “And to make the situation even more infuriating, most people live their entire life never knowing what they’re capable of. Of course, the magic does leak out of some of them a bit, but it manifests in ways that the world can accept. World-renowned musicians, artists, elite athletes, self-made millionaires, even the lady who always wins when she plays the slots in Las Vegas. Basically, many of the people who the world considers gifted or lucky are prime candidates to be Paragons.”

  “Paragons?”

  “Yes. The Paragon Protein . . . a silly name, I know, but others came up with it a long time ago.”

  “Others? So there are more like you guys?” Sebastian wasn’t surprised, if there were three evil magic-vampires, there had to be more.

  “Oh, I don’t think there is anyone quite like us,” Megan volunteered.

  Sebastian recalled what Lucy had said about the four musketeers. All four of these women were geniuses, gifted intellectually. But according to Jessie, they weren’t Paragons.

  Except.

  Sebastian snuck a glance at Heidi, who sat quietly, her head still bowed. Jessie, Kerri, and Megan couldn’t produce the protein naturally, but what about the fourth musketeer? He reached out and touched Heidi’s hand. His fingers brushed the silver bracelet she had said dampened her powers.

  “You produce the protein. You’re a Paragon.”

  “Ding, ding, ding! I wasn’t sure you were going to get there, T. Sebastian,” said Jessie. “And now that we’re all on the same page, we can get down to the particulars of our little science experiment. It’s the only reason your bloodless body isn’t piled with the others awaiting processing.”

  Sebastian felt Heidi tense. She was afraid, and that terrified him.

  “You should know there’s no way I’m a Paragon. My life is the antithesis of lucky,” he admitted.

  Kerri let out her laugh-snort. “We figured that out, dumb-dumb. We don’t want you for the protein. Well, at least not that specific protein.”

  Megan and Kerri both broke into belly laughs over this comment. Jessie just rolled her eyes.

  “You get the honor of becoming our in-house stud,” announced Jessie. She didn’t laugh, even though Sebastian was sure it must be a joke. He looked from her earnest face to the other two, who were still laughing.

  “What?”

  “Yep. Heidi with her oh-so-precious protein is going to be our brood mare, and you . . . well, let’s just say you’ll be donating part
of yourself to science . . . on a regular basis.” Jessie winked.

  “Jessie, please,” Heidi whispered.

  “Jessie, please,” mocked Megan, and this set her and Kerri off again.

  Sebastian sat in stunned silence. They wanted him and Heidi to make babies. Why? How would that possibly help them? How could . . .

  Oh no.

  Jessie reached out, her fingers stroked Heidi’s chin and tilted her head up. “Sweetie, we could have just bled you like the rest. But you’re our friend. We love you, and we want to keep you with us. It really is the most perfect solution. And don’t worry, we’ve worked out a really amazing piece of magic, if I do say so myself. The spell is intricate, and there may be complications, but if it works, it will speed up gestation. You will only be pregnant for two months at a time.”

  Sebastian shook his head as if the mere act of doing so would stop what Jessie and the others had planned. He had to get out of here. His eyes darted frantically around the room, but nothing had changed—there was only the one door and the only windows were the skylights up in the ceiling.

  “T. Sebastian, are you having performance anxiety?” Jessie teased.

  “This is crazy. You know this is crazy, right? I can’t just . . . you can’t be serious!” Sebastian was babbling, his mind racing for a solution.

  “A two-month gestation and then two months of rest for our girl Heidi equals three possible Paragons a year. Now of course this is all theory and may not work. You two are our guinea pigs. But if it does work, well then the sky’s the limit. We can hunt down more Paragons and create our own damn harem with a limitless supply of the protein,” explained Jessie.

  “Enough jibber-jabber,” said Megan. “Let’s get to the good stuff.”

  “I agree. I want to see some hot boy-on-girl action now!” Kerri demanded.