by P. S. Power
“I’m still kind of being set up not to trust Nick, aren’t I? Did you or dad mention that part to anyone at the meeting last night? I’m…” She rolled her eyes then. “Fuck. I mentioned it, didn’t I? So, this could be someone trying to screw me up that way, I suppose. To make sure I can’t really manage a date?”
Her mother made a soft sound then. It was almost a guttural thing, though about three octaves too high for it to be honestly intimidating.
“That… Could be. If someone else has plans for you, that might be the goal. Most young women don’t go out and have a happy date right after something like you went through last night. The… The thing there is that we can’t really know what anyone was thinking at all. We’ll probably need a full working to find out who did what.” She made a face then. “Or… Well, you could try asking Malia? See if she’ll help you out? Clearly, she’s a powerful being. If there are plans there, using her against her will, then that’s dangerous. Still, it’s worth asking about.”
Jessica had no clue how to get that kind of thing done at all. Before she could ask, the phone rang. They had a land line, even though everyone also had cell phones as well. Why that was, Jess didn’t know. Even on television, when she bothered to watch it, everyone used cells anymore.
The one-sided conversation, or at least it seemed that way, being that Jess could only hear half of it, didn’t make a lot of sense.
“She’s here, still. She has that date?” After a few moments, her mother went on. “Right. A local boy. She knew him in school. Nick. Anyway, she had an event last night… Exactly that kind of thing, of course. Did you have anything to do with that June?”
There was a pause then, and after a moment, her mother grinned.
“Likely story, isn’t it? I’m sure that everyone was far too busy to send an entity at my little girl. Except that we all know that you’re a bit jealous about me and Reid being together.”
The words got a bit of yelling, on the other side of the phone. That didn’t last long, but it was kind of clear that the other woman hung up, after a few seconds of it. Which didn’t help Jess out at all.
Megan cleared her throat, making her seem a bit older than her actual years.
“So, that’s one down. She’s the most likely culprit, if they all weren’t in on it. Though, I doubt Roxy will be. Her goals are just different than the rest of us. I mainly asked her in because she’s the best person I’ve ever heard of when it comes to defending against these creatures. If it had been a few more days, then I would… Well, one person can summon alone, but not in a few hours. Even for a group that’s hard and dangerous. Not without having something already in place. A connection to a being that you work with regularly. Plus, I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned that half the time it doesn’t work at all. You don’t have entities like this on tap. They come and go as they please. The only way around that is to have them possess someone. To use the host as a base of operations, basically. Then, as long as you keep tabs on where the physical body is, you also have the entity on tap.”
There was a look away then, as if it wasn’t obvious that she figured that as being someone’s plan for her daughter. Possibly her own, since it could also have been to hide a guilty expression.
Jessica shrugged.
“It’s probably all of you, really. I mean, what are the odds that my own parents wouldn’t be in on this kind of thing, if it were the plan? I don’t watch a lot of horror movies, but I’ve seen enough to get that it’s either you or Malia. Possibly all of you, working on some complicated plot to take over my body. I have to agree to be possessed or something for it to take, right?” She didn’t know that at all, but Mal had asked her permission, the first time. Then, as her father had mentioned, simply left, when the fight was over. A thing that made sense, given that she and the girl, the being, were friends.
Her mother shrugged then.
“It’s not me. I don’t think Reid would do it, either. I know, it’s hard to believe, but we actually love you.” She looked away again then, wiping her fingers on a paper napkin from the center of the table. “Which is exactly what I’d say if I were trying to trick you. You can’t really live that way. Trusting no one. It’s not bad advice, except that it doesn’t work in real life. Not in the long run. We… Really, we need to get a full working group together who isn’t possibly in on the latest attack and see if we can find anything out. You should get with Malia, as well. Later though. After your date.”
Her mother stood up then.
“Um, now for the awkward portion of things. You know about safe sex and not getting pregnant, how to avoid diseases and all that. We had the talk. Plus, you had that in school. It’s one of the only good things about the Elroy public education system. They make sure their girls know how not to get pregnant. There’s the other part of that too, now that you might be dating. You see, sex is fun. If you like Nick, it’s all right for you to do things with him. I know that’s counter to what we’ve always hinted at, but you’re nineteen, not ten any longer. So, if you want my advice, you should do some things with him. Don’t go too slow. Not that you should be…” She seemed flustered then. “Crud. I’d forgotten about what happened to you last night. That will probably put a crimp in things, which really might have been the plan. June might have even done it just out of spite.”
The words were a bit harsh seeming, as if the two women might not actually be friends.
Jess looked at her mother, hard enough that she got a frown in return.
“What’s the story there, anyway. I mean you mentioned her being jealous on the phone, and last night she was looking at dad like she wanted to kidnap him for nefarious purposes. It wasn’t normal seeming at all.”
Her mother shrugged then.
“It was about ten years ago, after the whole thing with Malia and our move here. June had taken a liking to your father and tried to get him into bed, oh, six or seven times. He always said no. At least that he told me about. Not because she isn’t pretty enough or even that he didn’t like her as a person. He’s always been really loyal that way. Almost to a fault. Which is a great thing to look for in a husband, let me tell you. Anyway, I think she tried to have a… Basically an obsession placed on him. We thought it was an attack at the time, so reflected it, with a working of our own, which had whatever she was trying to do to him put rather firmly on her. After that… Well, she went into acting like she does around him now. If your father was a bit less himself, she’d be his slave, I think. I can’t stand the bitch, personally, or we’d have made arrangements that way.”
Jessica nodded, not liking the implications of what was being spoken of at all. Not the part where her mother was willing to talk about capturing an unwilling sex slave, either. That was part of it, but she ignored that.
“Attacks are common this way? Here I’d figured it was just me, being so special and all that.” She hadn’t really, but her words got a simple nod in return. It was slow, as if the woman were considering things, instead of just responding to a bit of joking conversation.
After a moment, a long one, her mother smiled and shook her head.
“There are attacks. A lot of them, really. People sending beings in to kill their enemies, to harass and injure. Even to just rape or sometimes even mildly annoy other people. A being pounding on the walls all night long gets pretty old after a while, let me assure you. A week or two without sleep will mess with your head on a major scale, so it isn’t something small or innocent, even if it sounds that way. Yes, though. We have simple attacks, and even wars between different groups, on occasions. The world isn’t what it seems like all the time. Worse, not everyone who’s interested enough in magic to learn what actually works is exactly a good person. You don’t really need magic to do things that are good and healthy, do you?”
She didn’t know, but thought about it for a while, then nodded, slowly.
“I think I get that. I mean, if you want a date and the other person isn’t interested, you move on. You do
n’t have them enslaved by a demon. An entity, I mean. Though Malia kind of told on herself and her people that way, last night. If you want money, you work for it. You don’t use a creature from a different dimension to steal it for you. That kind of thing?”
There was an eyeroll, then a soft expression that seemed a bit wistful.
“Really, it is about like that. I was about to get all defensive about it, but nothing good is done using these beings. Almost nothing. Your father just got one to help him in business, without harming anyone else. That was mainly done by just giving him good advice. Letting him know how the markets would be going over the years and causing a few companies to work with him instead of his competitors. That sort of thing.”
That didn’t sound too evil, really. Then, it wouldn’t, coming from his wife, who had benefited from the deals made directly. Given that, Jessica had as well. She didn’t exactly live in a hovel and her allowance was big enough that she had cash built up in the bank already. Even buying all the clothing and makeup she wanted.
Jess closed one eye, the left one, then tilted her head to the right.
“You had something done too, right? To keep you thin and pretty?” That was a guess, but her mother didn’t deny it.
Instead she scoffed a little.
“More than just that. I can eat like a linebacker and not gain anything. I’m forty-five and still look thirty. No wrinkles or anything like that at all. I’ve given birth to a child and all the things downstairs are as tight as if I were your age.” She seemed conspiratorial then. “I could do professional porn and no one would have any complaints.”
Rolling her eyes, Jessica couldn’t help but laugh a bit. Through her nose, which made her snort like a seal.
“So, vain and selfish, but not exactly evil. I get you. Only, you just mentioned that most things done that way, using this entity magic, aren’t that healthy. You and dad are like, the super good guys then?”
There was a moment without speech then a head shake.
“Not really. We’ve done some other things over the years. Things I’m not proud of. We all have, really. Some of that was pretty sick, if you don’t know the whole plan. Kind of evil, I guess. Mainly to help the group. Being wise about what you do is important, but there are wars and fights. Battles of will and magic. A lot of them started because other people don’t think that they should have to play by any rules at all. Most of them, to be truthful on the matter. Which leads to things like what happened to you. Except, my best guess is that it really isn’t some other group. We called those four in because they’re the ones most likely to be involved in anything around you, directly.”
She still didn’t get that part, of course.
“How? I guess that June might be… you know, jealous that dad spends time on me? Not that much, but… the others I don’t get at all. I suppose that Rick or Carlos might want you, but Roxy? I don’t even go to her theater. She’s kind of mean to people, most of the time. If she ever learned to fake a smile, her profits would probably triple.”
After a moment, her mother went to the cupboard and started to get things out. It looked like her plan was to make something for dinner that involved red sauce. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Jessica saw that it was nearly six already. Meaning they’d been talking a lot longer than Jess had thought.
The very clean marble counters were soon covered with a half dozen different cans and boxes of things. Ingredients, meant for something like spaghetti. Since one of them was a literal box of noodles for that, Jess thought her guess might just be right. It was, no doubt, a sign of her natural superiority.
After a moment, her mother turned back again, seeming serious.
“You can’t trust anyone, in the world we live in, honey. Carlos is gay, but he’d turn on any of us if it benefitted him even a tiny bit. Don’t think he wouldn’t rape you, if he learned that was your worst fear, if he thought it might benefit him at all. He’d kill as well, for the same reason. The only thing keeping him on our side is that we’re willing to help him gain power. For the time being that works. That could change at any time. Rick… Well, he might just want to have sex with you himself. It’s a screwed-up way of asking, sending a rape at someone, but it isn’t unheard of. You know, you get taken that way a half dozen times, then he comes in and offers to make it stop, for a price. Possibly even claiming that he has to have sex with you for the magic to work. That isn’t true, by the way. Ever. It could work though, on a young girl who doesn’t know anything about magic. Plus, it isn’t hard to do a better job in bed than something like what you had to deal with last night, so he’d look good by comparison. That…” She stopped then and shook her head.
After a while she shrugged and went on.
“Really, he isn’t like that though. Carlos kind of is. Yes, he likes men, but anally raping a young girl… Well, that wouldn’t be a first for him. June… She might come for you, for some screwed up reason, but that one doesn’t add up. Even Carlos would probably just bring you a book on ceremonial magic and try to teach you the rules first, to get in on your good side. Even if he wanted to use you as a permanent host, he’d probably try to convince you of it normally. Roxy… Frankly, she’s not a happy person. Everyone in her family has died of a curse put on her line hundreds of years ago. Husband, parents… She never let herself have children and keeps friends to a minimum because of it. So they won’t be made targets by the beast that follows her. It’s why she seems mean, so often. That wouldn’t send her after you though. She’s sad, not a horrible monster. Honestly, she’s probably the best person in our group, morally speaking.”
None of the words were helping much at all, of course.
Jess shook her head.
“Meaning what? That you and dad suspect these four because you don’t know anyone else who could do it?”
Her mother nodded then.
“Pretty much, Honey. Except… Well, again, we need to find out who and why this is taking place. There’s even a small chance that it has nothing to do with us at all. I mean, the group. If we can’t find out… Well, you should go and have fun with Nick. Your father and I will work this out. Not that you shouldn’t work on it, too.” She started cooking then, as if to let her daughter know that, no matter how stupid the world suddenly was, she had to go on.
They still had to eat, and sleep. Both things that were going to be hard for her to pull off that day. She had no appetite at all and tired or not, sleep wouldn’t be coming easily that night. For some reason she stood up then, took a deep breath and then forced a smile. Her mother did it back. Both of them didn’t mean it at all, she had to guess.
“Well, I think you might be right. Nick probably can do a better job in bed than a three-armed butt rape entity. If not, then he’s not getting a second date. Too bad I don’t have any skills at all. I mean…” She blushed then. She was talking to her mother as if she were a friend, not her mom.
There was just no one else for her in the world to go over that kind of thing with.
Rather than blush back, her mother, back still turned, laughed a bit.
“I bet Nick will be willing to show you the ropes. Just explain it all to him first. Well, the inexperienced part. You might want to leave out the rest of it. Not great date conversation, I’d have to think.”
Jessica got that. Even without having any skills that way at all, she had to figure that talking about her anal rape of the night before might just put a guy off.
Chapter six: King’s
Nick, being a considerate person, one who probably deserved someone better, or at least saner, than Jessica, showed up promptly at six. Even at that, Jess had to think that his little silver car had been out front for a lot longer than that. At least ten, if not fifteen minutes. She’d heard him pull up. At least she thought that had happened, the thing was so quiet that she knew she might just be wrong on that score. Not being mean, she didn’t make him talk to her mother on the first date. Instead she slipped out the front door, calling out b
ehind her.
“I should be home at nine. Or… I don’t know, maybe ten or so? Tomorrow morning, I mean. For brunch. Make sure to have that ready.” She didn’t mean it, not having any plans at all that way.
Rather than tell her she needed to be at least a little more responsible than that, a thing she could work out for herself, her mother just sounded cheery. It was almost off putting. After all, it seemed wrong for her to be happy about her daughter going off to get fucked for the first time. Not that it was, now. Thanks to the night before. She nearly shut down then, but straightened instead. Power and strength weren’t always about being able to pick up heavy objects or even hitting hard.
Her mother just acted like her going out was a good thing.
“Good luck! Have fun.” That was all she said, making it sound like the night before had never happened at all. Then, to her it probably hadn’t. Not in a way that should stop real life from happening.
Jess just wasn’t as used to the idea that things, ones that were real seeming, might not be linked to reality. Even with her flashbacks, well, those events had happened. At least as far as she knew. If they hadn’t, then she was in a lot more trouble than she’d ever imagined.
As she walked down the rather nice cobble stone path, the one that led to the street, she had to wonder about that part. If there had been nothing physical the night before, there was no proof that anything had taken place at all. Not that she wasn’t pleased to not have had to go to the hospital after the whole thing had taken place. It was just that the whole situation seemed to be made worse by not having taken place. Somehow. Maybe not. That she couldn’t tell which would be worse was distracting, she had to admit.
Trying to put that out of her mind, having something better to do, for once, she waved at Nick, who, rather politely, was already out of the car, and most of the way to the door, when she came out. Pretending that he’d planned to actually go inside to get her, no doubt. That could be the case, of course. It was just then turning six, meaning that a knock on the door ten seconds later would have still been on time, depending on what his clock said.