Pulled to the Dark (The Siriena Series)

by Julia P. Lynde

  She nodded and sat at the other end.

  I picked through the food and grabbed something and drank some of the wine. Then I sat back and closed my eyes.

  "Someone please talk."

  "War isn't a good word," Andrea said. "War implies masses of armies. Feud would be a much better word."

  "Between?"

  "Renea and Vincent Reynolds, your old boss," said Petra.

  "The asshole?"

  "The asshole," agreed Andrea.

  "He's here?" I opened my eyes. "Is the world that small?"

  "No," Petra said. "He found you first. Not everyone can travel between the worlds. There are certain traits. You had the potential. It is unclear whether he would eventually have tried to draw you over or not. But he bragged about you and didn't know I could hear him."

  "Erika and Beth both have the same traits?"

  "Maybe," said Petra. "I don't know them well enough to be sure." She paused. "We need to go visit them."

  "Oh, that's not happening."

  "Please don't decide that until you know everything," Andrea said. "Think about this. The feud is temporary. Immortality is a very long time. You'd be offering them something people have dreamed about for a thousand years. You at least owe them the opportunity to decide for themselves."

  Five minutes later, I had calmed down enough to thrust my feet into Petra's lap. She took my shoes off for me and massaged my feet. I let her do that for ten minutes, then switched end for end and had my head in her lap, lying on my side so I could still talk to Andrea as well.

  "What is the feud over?"

  "Renea was brought over by a man named Benjamin Reynolds."

  "Oh hell," I said. "Vincent Reynolds' father?"

  "Yes. Benjamin was an even less pleasant person than Vincent is."

  "Was?"

  "Seven years ago, Renea finally found a way to kill him," said Petra.

  Andrea went on. "She immediately claimed the entire castle by right of conquest, which shut down Vincent's only tie into Siriena. Without a place he could call his, he couldn't travel here."

  "But he is here now?" I asked.

  "Three years ago he made a credible threat of violence to Renea's employees," said Petra. "It was done in a fashion it couldn't be linked to him. He told her he was willing to accept a different home in Siriena and to arrange it. She traveled two weeks south of here, bought a small house, and gave it to him."

  "It took him over two years," said Andrea, "but he finally worked his way back here. He wants the castle back and all of us gone forever. Renea would be forced to return to earth and would die fairly soon afterwards. Kelly would die even sooner."

  I turned my face up and told Petra, "You're forgiven, but you have until movie time tomorrow to tell me anything else that's going to piss me off, because we're not doing this again."

  "There's one more biggie," Petra said. "Remember Jeremy?"

  "From the charity event? Lovely individual."

  "He's involved, probably belonging to Vincent."

  "Oh goodie. So I get to kick his ass again?"

  "Don't be too glib," Andrea said. "We can't prove it, but we think he was behind your apartment invasion."

  I didn't say anything for a while. I rolled over and looked at Petra again. "Is there some reason you're not touching me?"

  Then I rolled back and closed my eyes for a while, thinking about it all. Neither of them said anything further. Finally I opened my eyes. "Anything else?"

  "We have a lot to teach you," Petra said. "But no, that's everything."

  I closed my eyes again, absorbing a little more. "Petra?"

  "Yes, Felicia?"

  "When you pulled me back, what determined where I landed?"

  "You landed where I was looking," she said.

  "Really?" I rolled over and looked at her. "Have you thought about how effective that could be in a fight?"

  "No," she said, starting to smile. "I hadn't."

  I smiled back. "I will finish forgiving you after I have received two mind-blowing orgasms."

  "All right," she said. She reached down and laid her hand in my crotch over the dress.

  "Not here!" I said.

  A wave of bliss exploded through me and I screamed her name.

  When I could think again, the two of them were both smirking at me. "That is so not fair," I said. "I can't do that to you."

  "Yet," she said. Then she did it again.

  My next coherent thought took several minutes to arrive. By then, I was naked and in our bed at the apartment. Petra was sitting on the bed, watching me. "I believe that qualifies as two mind-blowing orgasms," she said.

  "How did you get me naked so easily?" I asked her.

  "When I sent you home, I didn't send your dress. Don't worry, it's hanging up in the closet."

  "You're forgiven of all past sins," I said. "I hope you aren't expecting me to pleasure you tonight. I don't think I can move."

  She laughed. "No. I can wait until morning."

  She popped out of the room and her clothes fluttered to the floor. A second later she was back in the room and crawling under the covers with me.

  * * *

  The next night was movie night. Beth and Erika were right on time. Andrea was a few minutes late, but texted she was coming. Karen arrived bringing a dessert. "Don't worry," she said. "Beth and Andrea have the same desserts. I mail ordered them for each of us."

  "Thank you!" Erika said. "It looks nummy."

  "That was very sweet, Karen," I said.

  "Erika, Beth," I said. "Do you notice anything different about my apartment?"

  I gave them a tour.

  "This isn't the same apartment you showed me before," Erika said. "It's even bigger." I took them into the closet in the bedroom.

  "Here are my clothes," I said. Then I swept the room. "And here are Petra's."

  "Holy shit!" said Beth. "A week ago you were dreaming about her, and now you've moved in with her."

  I turned the computer around and grinned. "She gives even better orgasms in person than she does in my dreams."

  "I heard that!" Petra said "And you're welcome."

  We moved into the kitchen and started cooking. Andrea showed up full of apologies, but I told her, "Don't be silly."

  "Beth," I said. "Erika. Do you two have any time off this month? Maybe a long weekend? Petra and Andrea are treating all of us. You too, Karen."

  "Really?" said Karen. "A vacation somewhere?"

  "Well, it's November," I said. "It kinda sucks to be anywhere that isn't warm. We have choices. Erika and Beth could come here and we could just have a big party, or we can all go somewhere warm. How much time can you get?"

  "I still have a week I have to use by end of year," Beth said. "I haven't bothered using it cause I can't afford anywhere fun." She paused. "Are you guys really treating?"

  Petra and Andrea looked at each other for a moment. "Yes," she said. "We are. It will have to be partly a working trip for us."

  "I could do an extended weekend," Erika said. "Leave either Wednesday or Thursday and return either Sunday or Monday. Either of the next two weekends. Then we start getting into the holidays."

  "Those work for me," said Beth. "Just tell me where to go and what to bring!"

  "Karen and I will make all the arrangements," I said. "And we'll get back to you early this week. I'm voting for this coming weekend. I know that is sudden. Is that good for everyone?"

  * * *

  Later, Petra told me, "So we're funding a vacation for everyone? You better have a good reason or your pay is going to be docked a very long time to pay for it."

  "You wanted to find out if they're possible recruits. I didn't hear you coming up with better ideas. If we're doing it, we're doing it my way."

  "Oh," she said. "You could have said something."

  I grinned. "It was more fun my way. I wasn't sure you and Andrea were going to go for it."

  "We decided to trust you."

  "Oh," I said. "Damn i
t. It makes it a lot harder to be playful when someone is trusting me."

  She laughed. "Where are we going?"

  "Hell if I know," I said. "How much money can I spend?"

  * * *

  They gave me a generous budget. Karen and I spent two hours on Monday reviewing options and picked a resort in the Bahamas. We ran it past Andrea and Petra and got the go ahead. We would all fly to Fort Lauderdale Wednesday evening and take a private charter straight to the resort Thursday morning. I called Erika and asked how long she could stay.

  "I told my boss I've been working too hard and asked for a week."

  "I'll call you back."

  I got a similar answer from Beth.

  So then I pulled Petra and Andrea into Andrea's office and asked them what they really wanted to do. "Let's go for the whole week," Petra said. "We're already going to be there, and we can work a little if we're feeling too guilty."

  I called them both back and verified they had passports. Karen and I booked it.

  That evening, I prepped my tower.

  * * *

  "This place is amazing!" said Erika. "Which room is mine?"

  The resort consisted of individual bungalows. This was one of their bigger places, but it was off season so we'd gotten it for a very good price. Petra and I shared a room. The other four each got their own room. Karen, Beth and Erika had all expressed a willingness to share a room while we were making plans, but I'd specifically looked for something with separate rooms. I didn't want to think what would happen if anyone saw others disappearing in her sleep. The bungalow was U-shaped; the open end of the U held a lovely swimming pool.

  We spent Thursday relaxing on the beach. Erika and Beth were both amazed at how I looked. I was pleased they noticed.

  I hadn't seen either of them in person in three years. It was great to be with them again. Everyone got along fabulously. Petra and Andrea were very good natured about the teasing they received. I quietly thanked Petra at one point.

  "Honey, these two are fabulous. You have the best friends. I love them already."

  "Just as long as you don't love them a little too much."

  She laughed. "I am a one-woman woman," she said.

  Dinner was at the resort restaurant. The food was fabulous.

  We cheated. Petra and Andrea begged off and went to bed early. I kept everyone else up late. With luck, they would all sleep in, especially Beth, as she'd flown in from California. I finally crawled into bed with Petra at two. Petra got up two hours later and checked on Andrea. They then both disappeared.

  I went back to sleep. If they had any luck, Petra could summon me immediately. If not, I'd check on them later.

  Several hours later, Petra woke me when she climbed back in bed with me. "No luck," she said. "But it took me three nights before I pulled you over. Maybe tonight. I felt a connection with Beth, and Andrea thought she felt one with Erika, so maybe."

  Friday we went sail boating. We chartered a sailboat all day. Petra and I sat on the front getting sprayed by the water and making out. She told me I was acting like a teenager, but she didn't turn down my kisses. We had dinner on the sailboat, then the captain dropped us off at our resort using a little boat to ferry us back to shore.

  I kept Karen, Erika and Beth up late again. Petra and Andrea went to bed early. But everyone was tired, so I was in bed shortly after midnight.

  I didn't hear Petra when she got up.

  I sure heard her when I suddenly woke up in my tower.

  * * *

  Petra and Andrea were both humming and singing. And lying on my old bed, side by side, were both my dear friends.

  "It worked!" I said. "It worked!"

  They were both awake, and clearly neither of them knew what was going on. I collected the waiting blankets and threw one over each of them. I climbed on the bed between them both and sat down.

  "Hey, guys," I said. "Don't be afraid."

  They both blinked at me.

  "I know this is a little startling. Remember those dreams I was having a few months ago? About Petra in a strange place? Well, they weren't dreams. We figure we have a few minutes before you're going to go back to your normal bodies, so I need to move quick."

  Petra and Andrea helped me, and we moved each of my friends into a couple of wheelchairs I had found at a thrift store in Minneapolis earlier in the week. Then I wheeled them to a wall, their heads lolling to the side, and I made a couple of windows for them to look out.

  "That's Siriena," I said. "A world where magic exists."

  That's when Beth disappeared.

  "Oops," I said. "Erika, I'm sorry, you'll wake up in your own body, please come to my room. Please please please don't wake Karen. I have to go before Beth makes a lot of noise. See you soon." And I popped back to my room at the resort.

  Beth was already making noise, quite a bit of noise, pounding on the door. I opened it and asked her "Please don't wake Karen," and pulled her into the room.

  "What the hell was that?" she said in a whisper.

  "Siriena," I said. "It's real."

  "You are so full of shit. Did you drug us? Is this some sort of drug orgy thing?"

  "I'll answer all your questions," I said. "Let's wait for Erika."

  Beth looked around the room. "Where's Petra?"

  "She'll be here as soon as Erika disappears."

  "Disappears?"

  "Pops back to her original body," I said.

  "This isn't happening," Beth said.

  There was a knock at the door. I let Erika in. As soon as the door closed, she said, "Was that real?"

  "Yes."

  Petra popped into the room right then, startling Beth. "What the hell?"

  There was another quiet knock and I let Andrea in.

  "Oh good, the gang is all here," I said.

  * * *

  I had them go get dressed, then Beth, Erika and I went for a walk on the beach. Eventually we sat on the sand. I told them everything. The sun rose behind us while I was explaining.

  "You guys can't tell anyone," I said. "They'll think you're crazy. You can't tell Karen, either. She doesn't know." I explained about that, too.

  I got hungry. "Let's go back, get some breakfast. You don't have to decide anything right now. I'll answer all your questions. You can ask Petra and Andrea. Then if you tell us you don't want to come back, we won't bring you back."

  I paused. "I was going to make them leave you out of it, but Andrea pointed out I had to let you make your own decisions."

  We walked back to the resort. Everyone was up drinking coffee. "Breakfast," I said. "Now."

  "So demanding," Petra said. "I'm hungry too."

  After breakfast, Petra told Karen, "I need you for a few hours this morning. They're all going shopping, and we can meet them for lunch."

  Andrea and I took Beth and Erika into town. As soon as we were somewhere private, Beth said, "Would I have to, um, you know."

  "Enter into a lesbian relationship with Petra or me?" Andrea asked.

  "Yeah, I guess."

  "No. We're both in committed relationships." She paused. "But you would end up going through what is best described as physical therapy. We have to basically connect you to your bodies there. It can take a week or two if we meet every night, and it can be somewhat intimate."

  "Somewhat intimate?" I said, scoffing.

  "Petra was seducing you," she said to me. "Your initiation was somewhat more intimate than theirs would be. And protracted, what with all the touching and kissing."

  Beth scoffed.

  "We'd be young forever?" Erika said.

  "On Siriena, yes," said Erika. "On Earth, no."

  "We'd live forever?" Erika asked.

  "You can be killed. But you don't age and don't suffer the effects of aging. No mental degradation, no withering eyesight, no arthritis. But at some point, you would have to stay there if you wanted to live. Your Earth body would die if you came back. That's a long time from now."

  "What are the downsi
des?" Beth asked.

  I explained the level of control Petra or Andrea would have. Andrea wasn't happy that I explained it, but hiding it was unfair. And I explained about the feud. I also explained that my initiation had a few bad days, but that I thought in the end it was worth it.

  "I'm in," said Erika. "On one condition. I want a job. I hate my current job. I'm a kick ass graphics artist. You must have something there I can do."

  I asked Andrea, "What did Mike and Dillan do?"

  "Mike was an account rep," she said. "Dillan is a graphics artist. And no, he hasn't been replaced yet."

  I turned to Andrea. "My girlfriend is the director of human resources and, is, if I may say so, wrapped around my little finger." I grinned.

  We all turned to Beth.

  "I like my job," Beth said. "What do I get instead?"

  "Beyond being young and beautiful forever?"

  "Well, that part isn't bad," she agreed.

  "I'll share my castle tower with you," I told her.

  She thought about it. "We can pop anywhere we want?"

  "Sort of," Andrea said. "You can pop anywhere that is yours or anywhere you have specific permission. So for instance, you could go from home to Siriena and from there to Felicia's apartment, if she invites you."

  "So if I had a cabin on a lake somewhere difficult to reach, I could go straight there without driving."

  "Yes," said Andrea.

  She looked away. I looked at her. "You're trying to figure out if you can afford that cabin you're always talking about."

  "Yeah," she said. "I am. If it's really isolated, it'll be cheaper."

  "Does it have to be on a lake?" Andrea asked. "You wouldn't like somewhere on the ocean? Maybe somewhere tropical?"

  "Well, of course I would," said Beth. "But I know I couldn't afford somewhere like that."

  Andrea began to smile. "Renea has a place she doesn't use anymore. We're in the process of transferring ownership to Petra and I. We'll give each of you bedrooms." She looked at me. "Sorry you have to share."

  I grinned.

  "Seriously?" Beth asked.

  "Oh yeah, and wait until you see it."