He had used the restroom at the airport
His buddy had declined, since he went on the plane
They had driven straight from the airport
Brant assumed the beat-up pickup truck parked in the driveway was no rental. Not that it mattered much with the posted police vehicle now gone. He'd removed the book and bottle of wine from the bar top and was chatting with the long-haired man when Katie sashayed into view with the Latino.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked him.
“Same,” he said, nodding to his partner.
“Would you like another?” She placed a hand on his arm as she asked.
Cracking the faintest grin, he replied, “Nah.”
“Are you sure?” she squeezed his bicep, obviously enjoying its musculature.
“They have business to attend to,” Brant interrupted. “Here...” He uncapped a bottle of beer and slid it to the Latino. “You can pull the truck into the garage, take the garbage out through there. I assume there will be no problem doing this during daylight hours?”
“Lancaster said you'd pay extra for day work,” Rock God said, Katie still clinging to an arm.
Brant didn't much care for the clinginess but chalked it up to coke, hormones and animal attraction.
“Yes, that's right. I'll show you what's what. Then one of you can move the truck.
Brant, taking his bottle of beer, led the men down into the basement.
There he noticed the Latino eye the symbols scrawled across the floor for past rituals and the confined horror of the demon which kept its back turned. What caught his own attention, though, was the way Katie had latched onto Rock God. They had halted when Brant had paused before entering the dungeon. Which allowed Rock God to convey the following in his expression: Is this chick for real? I'd fuck her but you're the boss and I don't want to lose an opportunity for easy money.
“Yeah,” Brant replied, mostly to himself. “That's my daughter, the little slut. You two want a room? This house has plenty.”
“No, Daddy. Sorry.” She let loose of the arm, rubbed her own nervously.
“Okay, then,” Brant said. “Let's get on with this.” He opened the door to the dungeon and the beautiful stench of death slapped his face.
The bodies were still secured to their respective torture devices, gore congealed on the floor. Fat Witch would need to clean that up after the bodies had been removed.
The two men remained stone-faced, as if about to take out the trash, until Katie sidled up to Rock God and leaned her head on his shoulder. Then he glanced up at Brant who experienced an internal flare of jealousy. He suppressed the emotion to finish conducting of business. He asked:
“You sure it isn't a problem moving shit during the day?”
“Night is better, man,” the Latino replied.
Night would be better. Brant wanted the bodies gone, no evidence remaining. He also didn't want to draw undue attention to himself or the house. With the patrol car gone – which he hadn't expected to stick around as long as it had anyway – it might pay to delay a little longer.
Then, in a snap, Katie's action prompted a decision. She hugged Rock God's arm and he met Brant's gaze questioningly.
Brant latched onto her arm and jerked her away from him. Then he slapped her brutally across the face.
“I'm sorry, Dad—”
He backhanded her as the two men watched.
Her lip had split and tears filled her eyes.
“Here's the plan,” Brant announced. “One that will appease everyone. You,” he pointed to the Latino, “you pull the truck into the garage. You,” he slapped Katie's face again, “show our friends to the guest room. You men will remove the bodies after nightfall. I'll pay the daytime rate, plus an extra grand each to repeatedly fuck this horny bitch. I'll be in the library, reading, and I want to hear her scream all afternoon. Remember, she likes it rough,” he said with yet another slap across the face. “Just don't injure the baby. Comprende?”
“Loud and clear,” Rock God said as he sipped from his bottle and leered at Katie.
“No problem, man.”
43
“I don't know about this,” Brainy said. “I mean, yeah, of course, it could work. But there's the obvious elephant in the room that must be addressed. If, you know, you actually want this to work.”
“Elephant, schmelephant. There's nothing complicated to worry about, nothing to address. Here, have more wine.”
Brainy held out her glass and Brant refilled it with a nearby bottle. It wasn't the wine bottle Suvos had given him. Of course not. That bottle was safely tucked away and had been since the day Alex Lancaster's associates arrived. Fat Witch and Goth Witch had cleaned the dungeon the next day. And the screams of tortured prisoners had been replaced in Brant's mind by Katie's screams of ecstasy and debasement, which still echoed strongly. This bottle of wine contained one of Brainy Witch's favorites. Brant knew because he'd paid attention.
Brainy, sitting on the sofa, sipped from the replenished glass. She asked, “What did you have in mind?”
“Simple, really. One of the coven finds us a new recruit. Isn't there some sort of university bulletin board where you could post a classified ad?”
“Everything is on-line nowadays, grandpa. There is no actual 'bulletin board.'”
“Okay. Use the university's student newspaper or its Craigslist equivalent. Hell, post on Craigslist itself, for that matter. Whatever you like. And I'm not a grandpa yet. Nor a parent.”
“So, we get a new recruit – from Craigslist or wherever—”
“Jenna found you at the coffee shop. There's another option.”
“So,” Brainy continued, “we get a new recruit. Then what? Initiate her into the coven so we can sacrifice her as part of a ritual and, wallah, problem solved?”
“You read the journal Suvos left. It's the next best step to take.”
“All it does is make you, this house, and the whole coven much more powerful.”
“That's exactly my point: make me more powerful. Also, clouds my whereabouts from the otherworld.”
“Hello, earth to Mr. B. Anyone home? This is your residence and Kasas has your address. If not, he'd simply look it up in the telephone book – the on-line version, grandpa. Besides, it's not like he has a spy within these walls or anything.”
“Shadow Man? Ha! What a joke. Damn entity stays busy screwing Jenna. He's of little concern. Besides, maybe he is Suvos’ spy. I say we amp up on the mojo power we have, then naturally shift to a higher gear by use of other rituals.”
“Naturally,” Brainy agreed.
“Then we move to the next step of the plan.”
“Which is?”
“I'm not quite sure,” Brant conceded. “Many options exist.”
“Many options remaining within the journal Suvos left.”
“As well as an entire library of information, not to mention the information at our fingertips from the goddamn network I built and the information included via its otherworldly interface. Have you checked it out? Good shit, I say.”
“Yes, of course. Sassy prefers the virtual world to driving here. She's tipped me off to some interesting information.”
“I bet she has. And you should see some of the stuff people have uploaded. I tell you, we've got a great thing going here. Of course I'm skeptical of much of what's uploaded anonymously. Point is, we could spend a lifetime and not learn all there is to know. Which is why—”
“Which is why the rituals specifically suggested by Suvos should be given first consideration.”
“Precisely.” Brant sipped a drink of his own. A beer, his only drink of the day, because he planned to remain sharp tonight. “I'm beginning to wish I'd faxed Suvos my resume to begin with.”
“Kasas has the kink angle working for him, though.”
“Good point.” Brant placed a hand on Brainy's leg. Then a sound behind him caught their attention.
It was Katie. She walked – no, waddled
– with a slight limp. Lancaster's boys had worked her over quite nicely. One eye remained swelled shut, remaining bruises had since changed color, faded slightly. Or perhaps concealed with makeup. Brant found it a turn-on how Katie painfully moved about. He squeezed Brainy's thigh as Katie said to herself:
“I'm really jonesing for coke.”
That's the last thing she needs, Brant thought, more cocaine up her nose.
But it wasn't cocaine she wanted. She retrieved a cold bottle of Coca-Cola from behind the bar and twisted off its cap with a low fizzing sound.
Brainy cleared her throat to draw Brant's attention. “I said Kasas has the kink angle working for him, but that's beside the point. Kasas contacted you, you sent him your resume, he offered you this networking gig, and you ran with it. You've done an amazing job in a short time, not to mention the knowledge, occult and otherwise, you've gained in the interim. Which brings us back to the original topic.”
“The kink angle for Kasas?” Brant jokingly asked.
“No. Our next step.”
Brant liked how she'd included herself in the dilemma. He also liked the kink angle and how Katie worked into it quite well.
“Come here, sweetie,” he said to his daughter, thus ignoring the conversation.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“Turn around. Show me your ass.”
Katie set the soft drink aside and lowered her sweatpants. Her buttocks were still striped from the lashing the men had inflicted on her. He swatted her ass hard and asked, “How does that feel?”
“Feels good, Daddy.”
-Snap!-
He swatted her again, harder.
“Makes me wet, Daddy.”
Wet. He enjoyed the thought, ran a hand between her thighs and up along her feminine crease, left bare and vulnerable. A hint of moisture touched his skin – he prodded a finger into her to further test her statement.
“Fuck your li'l girl slut, Daddy. Please.”
“Maybe later.” He slapped her ass again and told her to become scarce.
“You wanna fuck her instead?” Katie asked.
Brant turned to Brainy and Brainy said, “Leave me out of this.”
Brant said, “Guess there's nothing for you to watch today, little girl. Run along now. The grown-ups are talking.”
“Okay.” Katie wandered away.
“Now where were we?” Brant asked.
“You,” Brainy said, “were about to remove your hand from my thigh.”
“Really? Doesn't sound like me.”
“And I was waiting for the rest of the girls to arrive.”
“Yeah, those bitches sure take their sweet time getting here.”
“Sassy probably is having a bad hair day.”
“Quite an improvement over her bad attitude days.”
Brainy snorted. “Shut up. Stop being cute when you're such an ass to your daughter/baby mama/lover.”
Brant feigned heartbreak. “That hurts.”
“All part of my evil plan.”
“You are evil. In a sweet and endearing way.”
“Now you're just trying to butter me up.”
“I know it makes you wet.”
“Does not.”
“Does so.”
“Now who's being juvenile? I know it makes you hard. Turns me off.”
“Like hell.”
Brainy sipped wine, grabbed her phone off the end table. “Think I'll text those bitches, see what's what.”
Brant pulled from his bottle of beer as she tapped out a message. Her phone buzzed immediately.
“Nearly here,” she announced.
A moment of silence followed as Brainy tapped out more text messages and Brant thought about the few times he'd enjoyed a Brainy Witch-little girl Katie sandwich and decided, much like a wanted criminal on the lam with two strikes against him, that he'd much rather go down on his own terms than somebody else's. Namely Kasas and the Austin P.D. He could go out on top, master of his own domain, his own network. He simply needed to be prepared when the time came.
He felt prepared for this next step. And he lacked patience in executing it.
Brainy and he met the rest of the coven in the foyer upon arrival.
“Downstairs,” he said as he headed for the basement.
“Why can't we meet in the library, like always,” Sassy asked.
“Because,” Brant offered as the reason.
“Because,” Sassy mocked. “Because Daddy Warbucks says so. Couldn't you have sent an email? I have a Lit paper due tomorrow.”
“You always have a paper due,” Goth Witch pointed out.
“Just flash the prof some cleavage for an extension,” Skinny Witch suggested. “Works for me.”
“Me too,” Fat Witch added and a couple of girls chuckled.
“You have more cleavage than the rest of us put together,” Skinny Witch pointed out.
“If you'd do your homework when assigned,” Brainy said, “instead of waiting till the last minute—”
“Yeah yeah yeah. I know,” Sassy said. “You sluts can get bent. I already got an extension and I really don't think flashing the goods will get Professor Clinton, that old bitty, to extend the deadline again.”
“Are you coming or what?” Brant asked from the stairwell.
“We're coming, grandpa,” Brainy said. “Although I'm not sure why you want this conversation to take place downstairs either.”
The coven congregated in a loose circle, perhaps out of habit, as they often did when performing rituals.
“Okay,” Sassy said, “you have our attention. What's the big important thing you dragged us all out here for.”
“You see – ” Brant started, “and Brainy can back me up on this – this book here...” Brant tapped it for effect, “has been so graciously awarded us by Suvos, our benefactor, as yet another very important book to help us on our journey to supernatural power.”
“Oh, lord,” Sassy muttered, “not another pep talk.”
“Shh...” Brainy hissed.
“Okay. I'll cut to the chase. There's a spell, a fairly simple one, actually, that Suvos suggests we try. In fact, it's the first one included in the journal.” Brant tossed the book to Brainy. “It will up the ante on our superpowers. Isn't that correct?”
“Wonder Twin powers – activate,” Brainy quipped.
“What's the problem?” Goth Witch asked. “Let's do it.”
“I'm game,” Skinny added.
“Me too.”
Sassy said, “Basically you called us here for group sex, I bet. Couldn't this wait till the weekend? Sheesh. Plenty of guys want to ball me on campus. I don't need this shit, of being called here to screw a guy twice my age.”
“This is a coven thing,” Goth Witch said.
“Not a 'getting laid' thing,” Skinny Witch added.
“Hell, I balled two guys already today,” Fat Witch said, “but I wouldn't rule out another.”
“Yeah, but you're a whore,” Sassy said.
“Fuck you, bitch.”
“Or not,” Goth Witch said.
Brant smugly watched the hen fighting escalate. It continued for five, maybe ten minutes before Goth Witch asked, “So what's the catch?”
Brant nodded at Brainy to reply, meanwhile he stepped behind Fat Witch and casually massaged her shoulders.
“The slight catch is, we need to find someone to add to our coven.”
“You're a keeper,” Brant whispered to Fat Witch.
“I don't know about this,” Sassy said. “We're into some sick shit. I don't think we should add a stranger to the mix.”
“We haven't much choice,” Brainy said.
“Sure we do,” Sassy said.
“You don't understand,” said Brainy.
Brant passed behind Skinny and lovingly stroked her arm...
“Perhaps you should enlighten us,” Goth Witch said.
“I don't need to know anything,” Sassy said. “If someone else is in, I'm out. She can replace me.”
“You stupid bitch,” Goth Witch said. “You'll ruin everything.”
“Thing is,” Brainy interjected, “the spell, while it will increase our power tenfold, requires a sacrifice of one of the coven.
“So...” Brant said as he stepped behind Sassy, “do we have a volunteer?”
Before anyone could say anything, he nudged Sassy, thus making her stumble into the center of the circle.
“Way to be a team player,” he said. “I'd have never expected it from you.”
“This is bullshit,” Sassy said. “I'm not volun—”
“You heard her,” Fat Witch said. “She's out anyway, if we add another member. Fuck her.”
“Yeah, fuck her,” Goth Witch said.
“Never liked her much anyway,” Skinny added.
Brainy smirked at Brant, who merely told her, “Start the ritual.”
Fat Witch wrestled Sassy to the floor, along with help from Skinny. Latin spewed from Brainy's mouth as Goth Witch retrieved the ceremonial dagger, ironically a rare eBay find by Sassy. Soon they had gutted the sacrifice on the basement floor. Then, upon Fat Witch's urging, consecrated the rite with a blood orgy.
They rinsed blood from their bodies by pissing on each other until finally their blood lust, which Brant now realized it was, had been sated. The women showered downstairs while Brant went upstairs to play with his coked-out little girl. He made a mental note to contact Lancaster to send another clean-up crew. Only this time he'd request an entourage, because Katie deserved plenty of attention, more than he alone could offer her.
44
The bruises had faded nicely. The older ones. Newer bruises marred the skin, stripes from repeated whippings criss-crossed the back. Eyes glazed as, more often than not lately, they opened like windows to a drug-addicted soul. As if to confirm the notion a powder-smeared mirror and associated razor blade on the nightstand caught the eye. They had indulged, Katie and Jenna, and were now enjoying themselves together in bed.
A long purple sex toy, a double-ended dildo, connected the pair as their bottoms bumped together repeatedly, reminiscent of the closing scene in Requiem for a Dream. A scent of sex, urine, and stale sweat filled the air. The view from the mirror on the ceiling provided, in Brant's opinion, the best possible viewing angle. It would have been enticing (and perhaps it was), standing there in the doorway watching, except for the fact that the union between the coke whores was taking place in the master suite and Shadow Man accompanied them.
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