The Telepathic Clans (The Telepathic Clans Saga, Books 1 and 2)

by Kingsolver, BR

  Detweiler struck at her with a projection of pure mental force. She absorbed it and sent it on to Brenna. He tried again, but the projection was much weaker this time.

  Rebecca heard banging in the outer office. Not on the door to this room. She struck at his mental shields again and the outer shield covering his fore mind fell. He reeled, clutching his head. Sending another assault on his next level shield, it fell as well. The third level held out longer.

  The banging now was on the door to this room.

  Get out of the way, we’re going to blow the door, Jeremy sent her. She dived to the floor behind the couch.

  Go for it, Rebecca told him. The door blew off the hinges, flying into the room and bouncing off the air shield surrounding Detweiler.

  He screamed, fell to the floor, and lay still. Brenna and the Protectors walked into the room.

  “I have his mind. You can drop the air shield,” Brenna said, reaching down to grasp Rebecca’s hand and help her to her feet.

  “Took you guys long enough. He’s tough. I thought I’d never get through his shields,” Rebecca said, sitting on the couch. Her hands were shaking and she clasped them together.

  “He has the Kilpatrick Gift, double shielding. He also has Electro and Pyrokinesis. That air shield might have saved your life,” Brenna said. “He doesn’t have the Rivera, though. No neural disruption.”

  Jeremy hauled Detweiler to his feet. “He’s fully mature, and if he has the Kilpatrick Gift, that’s why you couldn’t get through his shields.”

  “She got through three,” Brenna said.

  Stopping in mid stride, Jeremy’s head snapped around to look at Rebecca. “Jesus, you’re going to be hell on wheels when you grow up.”

  Rebecca tried to give him a smile, but failed. “He scared the shit out of me.”

  One of the Protectors held up a syringe. “With good reason. He didn’t stick you, did he?”

  “No. I freaked out as soon as he touched me.” Rebecca started shaking again. “I remember Brenna getting drugged, and if someone could capture her with drugs, I didn’t have any doubts what it would do to me.”

  Brenna sat down beside her and hugged her close.

  Coming out of the building, they discovered the Protectors stationed outside had captured two men who evidently were responding to a mental call for help from Detweiler. They loaded all their prisoners into a van and headed for Baltimore.

  As they drove off, a woman emerged from the building and watched them drive off. She reached for her cell phone and made a call.

  ~~~

  Collin planned an operation to capture the broker in New York. Detweiler had been thoroughly interrogated. His contact for selling young women was the same contact from whom the first prostitution ring they had broken was buying young women.

  The broker was John Brockington, an Englishman tied to Lord Gordon, and listed his profession as a consultant. He was also known to Johan Karlson, the man Rebecca and Brenna captured at the UN.

  Collin ordered surveillance on him after the UN raid, but Brockington had flown to England the next day. He’d come back two weeks later, but the day they captured Detweiler, he flew to England again and did not return.

  ~~~

  Brenna always covered Rebecca with her O’Neill shields when they were out in public together. Rebecca had very strong shields due to her Kilpatrick Gift, but Brenna still worried.

  “Lydia, some of these girls had constructs for years. Is there any permanent damage from that?” Brenna asked.

  “No, not that I know of,” Lydia shook her head. “This Gift has been known for centuries. You can do harm with a construct, implant commands, but the construct itself is benign.”

  “Those girls had ninth level constructs implanted at the ninth level. Is that how they always work?”

  Lydia smiled at Rebecca, who took that as a cue to answer Brenna’s question.

  “You can implant a construct at any level. We could put a nine level construct in your first level,” Rebecca said.

  Brenna cocked her head, looking thoughtful. “So we could build a nine level construct of your mind and implant it in your first level?”

  “Yeah, but what would be the purpose?” Rebecca looked puzzled, and so did Lydia.

  “Protection. I’m trying to figure out how to build a trap for someone who doesn’t have the O’Neill Gift.”

  Lydia’s eyes widened. “That’s brilliant. Yes, I think I see what you’re getting at.”

  “But how do you simulate a soul?” Rebecca asked.

  A slow grin spread across Lydia’s face. “By constructing a thought package that looks like a soul. I’ll bet I could do it. Most people have never seen another telepath’s soul.”

  It took a week to create the construct and implant it. When they were finished, they showed Rebecca’s mind to Irina and Collin, neither of whom had the Lindstrom Gift. They didn’t detect the construct.

  ~~~

  “I’m not pleased to see you here,” the Lord said, glaring at the man who stood before him in his study. It was a pleasant room, dark paneling lined the walls and a fire burned in the fireplace. The Lord didn’t offer his visitor a chair.

  “I didn’t feel as though I had any choice,” John Brockington said, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Detweiler has been captured as have von Ebersberg’s men at the United Nations.” He took a deep breath, “If Miranda hadn’t seen them at Detweiler’s office and warned me, I might have been taken, too. The FBI has rounded up several of our customers, and it appears to be but a matter of time before they break the others. O’Donnell seems to be quite determined to stop our business venture in the States.”

  Lord Gordon thought about this news, taking a sip of his cognac and regarding the construct artist who had run his operations in the U.S. As upset as he was with Brockington, the man was correct. If he’d been taken, O’Donnell would have the full story on Gordon’s operations, not just in the U.S. but also in Ireland, England and the Continent.

  “Well,” he said after a long period of silence, “until I can figure out exactly what damage has been done, you can work with our clients in Ireland. Did Miranda come with you?”

  “Yes, I didn’t see any reason to leave her there. Detweiler knew her too well.”

  Gordon nodded. “Take her with you to Ireland,” he said, and then dismissed Brockington.

  ~~~

  Chapter 2-7

  All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is insatiable. - Malleus Maleficarum, Heinrich Kramer, Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, 1486

  The guests started flowing in through the Washington-area airports the week before Solstice. The main manor house had one hundred bedrooms and the two guest wings each had sixty more. Each bedroom was equipped with its own bath, making the O’Donnell manor house one of the most expansive private homes in the world.

  Brenna had always been impressed by the large, well-appointed kitchen, but for the holiday season they opened up another area that in itself was twice the size of the everyday kitchen. Another thirty people were brought on in the kitchen alone, and the number of Protectors on the estate tripled, half being used to expand the serving staff.

  The night Jill arrived with her boyfriend Tom, an impromptu party convened in Brenna’s suite. Two dozen young people spent the evening drinking, talking, flirting, and generally having a good time. Those who had been to previous Solstice celebrations at the estate filled in the newcomers.

  Winter Solstice, or Alban Arthan in the old Gaelic tradition, was celebrated by decorating the house with greens, especially mistletoe and holly, but also evergreen branches throughout the house as a promise that nature will be green again in springtime when life returns to the land. Traditionally, it was a festival of rebirth. In Newgrange, Ireland, a Neolithic passage tomb and temple structure is said to be over two thousand years old. The sun shining through a window the morning after Solstice symbolizes the insertion of a ray of light by the Sun God into the
womb of Mother Earth. It was believed this would bring new life to the world come spring.

  As celebrated in the O’Donnell household, the Solstice Ball, occurring on The Longest Night, is a formal ball in the nineteenth century tradition. The women dress in formal evening gowns, the men in white tie and tails. Protectors serve, circulating with drinks and food and a sumptuous buffet is set in the grand ballroom. The symbolism of the Sun God impregnating Mother Earth is a major feature of the ball.

  A section of rooms on the second floor is left empty for anyone’s usage. Although the ball itself is the height of decorum, any woman can approach any man and invite him to escort her up the grand staircase in view of the whole room to the upstairs bedrooms. This is often accompanied by applause and cheers from the onlookers.

  A featured attraction at these events had always been Cindy and Siobhan, obvious symbols of sexuality and fertility, the priestesses on earth of the Goddess. With the arrival of Callie’s old friend Antonia Federicci, there would be an unprecedented five succubi at the ball.

  Succubi are viewed as the superstars of the night, their trips up the stairs cheered by all, their beauty, glamour, and freely-given favors a symbol to release inhibitions and a benediction on the actions of the other women. Historically, the number of children born nine months after the ball exceeded the number born throughout the rest of the year. Although not everyone in the valley could attend, Seamus funded several satellite events in the village.

  ~~~

  “Brenna, come in,” Callie said. “I want you to meet Antonia Federicci, one of my oldest friends and a friend of your mother’s. Antonia and I have known each other since the late forties, when I was footloose and fancy free, traveling around Europe after I graduated from college. It’s a rare treat for me to have her visit.”

  Antonia was an eighty-five year old Italian succubus. In the period after World War II when the Clans fought for dominance, her Clan had been a loser, decimated by an alliance of fascists. She maintained her Clan ties, but now was a wealthy international lawyer and independent courtesan.

  They sat and talked for some time, and in the course of their conversation Antonia asked about her adventure in hunting Cindy’s kidnappers. During that time, Callie had contacted Antonia and found out that several succubi in Europe had also been attacked and two of them killed. Brenna recounted her ordeal.

  When she came to the part about channeling a lightning bolt, Antonia chuckled, “I’ll bet that hurt.”

  “Really hurt. I don’t think the human body was meant to have that kind of power run through it. I think I’m really lucky it didn’t fry me.”

  Callie and Antonia exchanged looks.

  “Brenna,” Antonia began, “there are some adepts who can channel the lightning. They’re sometimes called Storm Queens and Kings, and the most powerful of them are succubi. The problem is not what you did, but how young you were when you did it.”

  Brenna gaped at her in surprise.

  “Antonia was known as a Storm Queen during the war,” Callie told her. “It’s one of the reasons I wanted you to meet her. Other than you, she has more Gifts than any succubus on record, fifteen like your mother, including the O’Neill Gift.”

  “I’m sure you’re tired of hearing cautions concerning the use of your Talents,” Antonia said with a smile, “but Callie tells me that you are a, what did she call it, oh, yes, a neuroscientist. You study the brain and the nervous system, is that right? Well, what happens in the brain during the process of maturing from adolescence to adulthood?”

  “Additional layers of myelin are laid down and, oooh, I understand,” Brenna said with her eyes wide. “Myelin is the insulator for our nerves. I don’t have enough insulation yet.”

  “Exactly, and if you study our brains, you’ll find the myelin sheathing far thicker than in a norm, and thicker yet in those with certain Gifts. I know people tend to say that only succubi are physically different from norms, but that’s not true. There are many differences, subtle differences. If you had attempted to hold the power from the lightning you might have burned yourself out, but when you get older you’ll be able to.”

  Antonia reached out and touched her arm, “Brenna, I would be glad to help you understand your Gifts. There is much more to succubi than most people give us credit for. But I’m also hoping to learn from you. Callie has been telling me that you’ve discovered a way to keep from draining your lovers.”

  “Collin has agreed to help me show you, all of you, if you’re up for a sex show this evening,” Brenna said, her face growing very warm.

  Antonia’s smile was answer enough. “Tell me where and when. Should I bring popcorn?” Brenna’s blush deepened, and Antonia leaned forward, laying her hand on the girl’s face, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make light of it. You’re young and shy, and I deeply appreciate you doing this for me, for us.”

  That evening after dinner, Brenna wheeled Cindy into her and Collin’s room to join Antonia and Siobhan, sitting with a bottle of wine at the table. Collin lit a few candles, and turned out the lights. Undressing, she joined him on her bed and they began to stroke each other, becoming aroused and less conscious of their audience. He lay back on the bed and she straddled him, her hair creating a tent about them, shutting everyone out. “This is better, huh?” she whispered. He pulled her close and kissed her.

  “Yes,” he whispered back, “I can pretend they’re not even here.”

  She mounted him, and as they established a rhythm she opened her mind to the other succubi. She helped him come quickly, using her muscles to pleasure him in just the right places, and as he built to his climax she felt the anticipation build in the women around the table.

  She took him over, his energy flowing into her and triggering her, she flipped the switch that hadn’t been there even a moment before. His energy flowed into her, changing and carrying her Glow back into him. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her firm against him with just her muscles milking him. His hips bucked and he spilled into her. Her arms buckled and she fell onto his chest, lying there panting and feeling her Glow.

  When she recovered, she sat up, throwing her hair over her shoulder, and turned to the women watching them. All three were crying, tears silently running down their cheeks. Siobhan pushed out of her chair, striding to the bed and gathering both of them in her arms, kissing both their faces, her tears warring with her smile. “Thank you, oh God, thank you so much.” She let go of them and put her face in her hands and sobbed.

  “It was there, it’s been there all along, and I never noticed it, never thought to look,” Antonia whispered softly. Cindy leaned forward, her arms wrapped around her middle, her forehead resting on her knees.

  Brenna jumped up and ran to her, putting her arms around her shoulders. “Are you all right? Cindy, are you okay?”

  Cindy raised her head and opened her arms, wrapping them about Brenna’s waist. “Oh, honey, I’m so all right,” her tear streaked face held a beatific expression. “My God, Brenna, I can finally say yes to him, I don’t have to feel guilty for loving him.” She smiled, “You should be wearing a bow. This is the best Christmas present of my life.”

  Wearing a robe, Brenna wheeled Cindy back to her room, watching the other two succubi walk down the hall to the stairs. She was startled when she heard Cindy send a spear thread to Seamus, and then realized that Cindy had purposely included her. Darling, can you please come to my room? Brenna gave us our Christmas present early and I’d like to share it with you. She turned her face to Brenna, “Do you think you could help me dress a little bit?”

  Brenna found a baby doll teddy in one of Cindy’s drawers and helped her put it on. Turning down the covers, she helped her get into bed, propping her up on the pillows. She went to the bathroom and got a washcloth, cleaned the tear streaks from her face and helped her to put on some lipgloss and blush and powder. She looked beautiful, even with her hair only half an inch long.

  Brenna answered the knock on the door, stood
on her tip toes to give Seamus a kiss, then went to her own room leaving him standing in Cindy’s doorway staring at the woman sitting in the bed.

  The next morning at breakfast Seamus walked in with Cindy in his arms. Her chair materialized by his, and he lowered her into it. Both had a Glow. “Excuse me, I have an announcement to make. I have asked this beautiful young lady to be my wife, and she’s said yes.”

  Brenna gasped.

  “There’s a caveat. She wants a long engagement and won’t set the date.” He shrugged, his smile growing larger.

  The room erupted with congratulations. Brenna received almost simultaneous spear threads from them, Thank you from Cindy, Bless you, Brenna O’Donnell from Seamus.

  ~~~

  At mid-morning, Brenna was called to the front door. A pile of boxes and garment bags sat in the foyer. She sent spears to Irina, Rebecca and Callie, Clothes are here!

  Sorting through what had arrived, Brenna found the evening gown she’d ordered for Cindy. Seamus, can you bring your blushing bride to Elise’s rooms? Her solstice dress has arrived and needs a fitting. She carried Cindy’s things to Elise, who smiled and told her she would make it her first priority.

  Carrying her own things to her room took two trips with an assist from Collin. He shook his head at everything stacked on the bed, table and sideboard. “I wondered how long it would take for you to fill these closets. You’re even quicker than I thought.”

  There was a knock on the door, and turning, she found Alice standing there. “I haven’t been to one of these bacchanals in years, but I just couldn’t stay away this year, especially when Antonia came by the shop right after Thanksgiving and ordered two new dresses.”

  Collin excused himself and Alice came in and began helping Brenna unwrap and put away the clothes, smiling as she tried on various garments, exclaiming in pleasure at each one.

  Alice encouraged her to try them on and was gratified at her reaction to a simple pair of black slacks. “Oh, my, God. Alice, you’re a magician!” She squatted down, feeling only a slight tightening over her bottom, straightened, and turned looking at herself in the mirror, spinning and trying to see herself from different angles.