The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

A Stroll Down Expository Drive

Doug had to start paying attention or he and Kimmy would walk past Paul’s place, but Kimmy was not making it easy. The way she walked was part locomotion, part dance—mostly dance—and as far as dances went, it was a dance intended as a precursor to wild sex. When he pointed this out, Kimmy’s response was a guilty, “Sorry!” and a less exuberant sort of steps for about half a block before falling back into the sexy stride. Still … it was very nice to watch, even though Doug was stuck with the longest-lasting erection he’d had in weeks and no relief was in sight.

“I don’t mean to,” Kimmy said when she began to overtly tease again. “Lilith. She … You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

“Uhm. Quite a bit, actually.”

“Well stop it,” she demanded and slammed to a halt. “I wasn’t teasing on purpose.”

“I’ll stop if you stop.”

“I’ve stopped already.” Her head tilted and her wrists pressed against her hips in a pose of frustration. Sexy, teasing frustration. A lock of hair fell in front of her face while she stood staring him down. Her lips pursed as she blew it out of the way, but the rogue stands of dark loveliness dropped back in the way. She blew again.

“You stop looking at me like that,” she whispered breathlessly, gazing back. Silence reigned while their eyes communicated what words couldn’t, then she ruined the moment by waving him on down the sidewalk speaking. “Go. Start walking. Why’d we park so far away anyway?”

“So I could watch you walk.” He reached out and brushed the hair out of her face, making teasingly soft contact with her skin.

Kimmy let out a half-giggle-half-sigh. “That’s not funny. No. Really.”

A kiss later, Doug gestured at the cars lining the side of the road on both sides. “There’s never any parking around Paul’s place during a fair.”

“OK. But who’s Paul?” Kimmy started walking again—a normal, sexy, but unexaggerated, walk. “I thought you wanted to talk to someone named Bonnie.”

“Paul’s my best friend, and if I’m right, he’s been dating Bonnie. That makes him the best place to start.”

“You don’t even know who your best friend is dating?”

“It’s trickier than it sounds. He’s actually dating Elaine, but Elaine’s like a mental sponge. No. Her mind is all empty, like … something like that, anyway. I can’t …. Gah! Think of it like a multiple personality. If Chari needed to stash someone for a while, Elaine would be the perfect place. On the surface, Elaine’s the most confident person I ever met, but underneath she’s a house of cards—”

“Like a house of cards,” corrected Kimmy.

“D’you have to do that?”

“Sorry,” Kimmy said meekly. She also stopped walking so that she rubbed softly against him.

“You didn’t have to stop that, you know. Anyway, Elaine’s nothing like you—it looks like she’s got …. It looks like she has a will of steel, but according to Chari, Elaine’s mind just folds up and gives in when pressed. But lately she’s been more … I dunno. Confident? She always acts confident, but lately she’s been more independent. Really confident. And she said something yesterday.”

“So Elaine’s Bonnie? How …? She’s been possessed?”

“I think so. Elaine was Chari’s link to Penny—”

“No. Sandy is.”

“Sandy’s a friend for Penny. Someone to get me and Penny introduced and friendly. Elaine’s Dad got Penny to come to the fair. He’s an event promoter and her Mom’s a singing teacher. They raised Elaine to be Penny Lane, but Elaine wasn’t up to it. They had her singing, dancing, acting, modelling—basically working—non-stop since she was three and until she burned out and gave up. ”

“Ouch. You mean she’s lived a completely manufactured life? My parents expect a lot, but at least they know when to ease off. How’d you meet her? School?”

“Paul and I work—worked—with her at McDonalds. Elaine wanted to be a normal girl for a while, so she picked working at McDonalds. That’s where Chari found she could get Elaine to do anything.”

“And Bonnie is?”

“A porn star that went to Hell. Chari found her somewhere and got her a job in the Sucubbal Archives. Basically, she was Chari’s number two, and Bonnie helped her escape. It makes sense that if Chari needed anyone else on the outside, she’d bring Bonnie, but …”

“But what?”

“I’m not sure how she got out. I didn’t do it.”

“Maybe Chari made someone do it.”

“Must have, but it has to be done of your own free will. You can be tricked into performing the rituals, though. And normally you’d need a virgin. That counts uh ….”

Doug prayed Kimmy’d miss the connection and continued. “That counts Elaine out.”

“So she got your friend Paul to do it?”

“Yeah. Probably Paul. He’s even more hopeless than me.”

“You’re not that bad, Doug. You just have to learn to show a little more backbone.” Kimmy’s softness dug into him as chaste lips glanced off his cheek. Her walk was raw sex, but the kisses ….

“Here,” he croaked. The bit of slack in his pants that had built up while they’d talked evaporated. His underwear nearly caught on fire. “Paul’s house.”

Rae Loves Red

“Hi, Rae,” said Doug, trying not to look at the smouldering redhead. Chari had definitely given Paul’s sister a once-over. For one thing, Rachel didn’t have a weight problem anymore. That had vanished along with her remaining vestiges of cuteness, leaving a tall, powerful body that would give Red Sonja a run for her money. Still, she was exceptionally hot if one was into that sort of thing. Doug wasn’t.

Had that not been the case, not looking was still time wasted. Rae had eyes only for Kimmy.

“Rae?” Doug asked, waving his hand to catch the busty near-barbarian’s attention. “Uh, is Paul home?”

“Downstairs with Elaine,” she replied, eyes not leaving Kimmy. “You probably don’t want to bother them, though. Elaine’s very … possessive.”

Oh jeeze, thought Doug. Looks like Paul got his wish. Or almost did. Maybe.

“It’s important, Rae.”

“Paul!” Rae hollered over her shoulder. “Elaaaaine! Get dressed you pervs! Company! If you want to go down, Doug, they probably won’t mind—much. I’ll entertain your friend.”

“No thank you, uh, Rae?”

Rae, Rachel, Yours. Just say the word,” the femme fatale calling herself Yours looked Kimmy over, slowly and carefully mentally stripping the younger girl. “You going to introduce us, Doug?”

Is that safe? Doug asked himself. For anyone else, the answer would be no, but … No way is Rae seducing Kimmy. I don’t think anyone is seducing Kimmy. “Rachel, meet Kimmy.”

“Today’s girlfriend? Baby,” Rae said, positively leering, “I’d give you a whole week. You can do much better than this loser. Even though he’s got really nice eyes.”

“Doug?” Paul called from the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, man. Come on down. I was just goofing around on the computer.”

“Sure you were,” sang Rae.

“Elaine’s having a shower,” protested Paul.

“And you’re not in with her? Stupid.” Doug found himself nodding in agreement with Rae while Paul motioned for Doug and Kimmy to follow.

Going Down

“That was Paul’s sister?” asked Kimmy, red all over as the two walked down to the basement.

“Yeah. Paul and I think Rae’s a bit of a lesbian.”

“No!” gasped Kimmy, sarcastically. “You think?”

“No thinking required,” said Paul, closing the door. “She’s really gone on a tear from bi-curious to full-on lesbomania. Elaine had to chase her off with a stick—really—once.”

Pausing at the door to the games room, Paul took a quick look at Kimmy. “Hi. I’m Paul. You’re not one of the cheerleaders or the redhead from the library, so you have to be …”

“Kimmy,” she supplied. “Doug and I are … working on something and need to talk to your, uh, girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” said Doug, looking around. The gaming table was gone, and in its place sat a bed. Paul’s desk was shoved up against one side, buried under a pile of books. The family computer was gone, but an elegant laptop far outside Paul’s budget lay humming on the bed. “Hey, Paul, you living down here now?”

“Not enough room upstairs for two. Plus Dad started charging rent now that I’ve graduated. ‘No school, no free ride,’ he says. If I’m paying, I’m getting a better room. Elaine pitched in and we got the whole basement.”

“Uh right.” Doug looked around again. A makeshift closet was stuffed with clothes—skirts and gowns—that Paul wouldn’t be caught dead in. “So you’re living together? Wait a sec … what about school? What happened to college?”

“Elaine and I want to do some travelling. We’re thinking about going to Europe for a year. Get things worked out between us, you know.”

“Uh, Paul? Before you get in too deep … Paul, she’s not really Elaine.”

“I know that!” retorted Paul. “You think I’m stupid or something? You think I wouldn’t notice when my girlfriend’s personality totally changes?”

“You know?”

“Of course I know. She’s Elaine and Bonnie. Apparently you already know Bonnie, but I’m not holding that against you. Elaine’s got drive, but Bonnie has goals, common sense, and … holy shit is she … words don’t describe what she can do in bed. Apparently, I don’t have to try.”

“Paul bitter? Never! OK, but she was probably Bonnie after you got to know her. How’d you tell the difference?”

Paul shrugged. “They’ve been sharing the body. It’s wild. Sometimes she’s Elaine the confused-but-wild teen and sometimes she’s,” Paul’s voice dropped low and slow, “the Mistress of the Sexual Arts. Don’t ask me which is better because I haven’t got a clue.

“Besides, she spilled the beans when I started getting suspicious. Secrets are the best way to screw up a relationship, right? They take turns, man. They’ve been working their asses off planning, trying to take Elaine’s TV career above ad-babe. Bonnie was an actress, once.”

“She was a fuckin’ porn star, Paul,” blurted Doug.

“Doug!” Kimmy gave him the elbow.

“Sorry Kimmy,” Doug said, thinking she’d taken exception to the language. She probably had, but that wasn’t the only reason. He took a look in the direction Kimmy was pointing. “Oh.”

“I also earned a degree in English lit and studied at Julliard before I met this wonderful lady who promised to make me a star,” said Elaine—Bonnie, whatever—drying her hair as she stepped into Paul and Elaine’s improvised bedroom. “I had coffee with her, traded numbers, and I promised to call her, or that’s what I thought I’d promised. The first time I realized anything different, I was up in Ontario—for the Stratford Festival—auditioning for the part of Bianca in the Taming of the Shrew. One moment I was reciting lines, and the next I was on my knees sucking off the casting director and practically begging him to screw my brains out. I got the part—big surprise—but I couldn’t keep my mind on anything but getting laid.

“Several screw-ups later, the casting director and I were fired, and I found myself in LA, newly blonde, spreading for the camera, and squealing happily. I could barely dream of doing anything else with my life, and I never, ever, faked an orgasm. Five years later, I was dead of pneumonia thanks to AIDS. Just another bimbo suckered by the devil.

“Sometimes I wish I knew some of the tricks I picked up hanging around with the Succubi back when I was alive. Nobody would have remembered Traci Lords except as an under-aged bunny; as things went, my life was wasted. No one remembers me.”

“Morons,” said Paul.

“Please,” Bonnie rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t nearly this good looking. I was just very, very willing.

“Speaking of …. Chari did a nice job on the chick you got with you, Doug. Kinda looks like Lilith, actually.”

“I know,” said Kimmy, deadpan. “We’ve met. Why does she look like me?”

“Lilith? She’s a bitch,” Bonnie explained. “Normally she does it to bug people. We humans too individualistic and sometimes people don’t want to see someone just like them. It’s like two girls at a party with the same dress. Funny though, everyone else Chari worked on follows a common template—sexually exaggerated, if you know what I mean—but you don’t. And no way would Chari ever duplicate Lilith.”

“That’s because she hasn’t touched me.” Kimmy paused and frowned. “I think. I don’t think she can. Lilith tried to kiss me and burst into flames.”

Bonnie/Elaine burst into a huge smile. “I’d have paid to see that. Bitch had it coming.”

“Wait a second,” Doug protested. “Lilith looked sort-of like Kimmy before they even met.”

“That could be my fault, but I doubt it. Chari’s been fixated on Kimmy for a while now—and I can see why. I expected a shrinking violet, not ….” Elaine shrugged.

“Not what?” Kimmy asked.

“You should see yourself. The way you’re standing. How you move. No wonder guys fawn all over Catholic virgins. Good thing for Paul that I’m not bi-hungry anymore. You are a two legged man trap, and I should know.”

“What?” shrieked Kimmy, mortified. She jerked up straight in an attempt to shake off any radiating sexiness, but only managed to make things worse.

It was Doug’s turn to shrug. “How is this possibly your fault, Bonnie? Chari did bring you here, didn’t she?”

“Yup. Chari and Paul. One minute I was in Hell waiting for another message from Chari, and in the next, I was inside the orgasming body of a hyperactively sexual teen-aged girl. Closest thing to Heaven I’ve ever felt.

“Chari wanted back-up, but Beelzebub wanted someone keeping an eye on Chari; otherwise, I’d probably still be chilling,” Bonnie snickered, “downstairs. The reports he’s gotten so far have been pretty much fabricated, but he hasn’t complained. That means he’s probably got someone watching me. That or he really doesn’t care what we’re up to.”

“You’ve been ratting us out to Satan?”

“Beelzebub. He said it was for Lucifer, but you can’t be too sure with those guys. Most demons’ll sell each other out just for the fun of it, and the higher up the chain you get, the nastier the bastards are about it.”

“So maybe Lucifer’s ignoring the reports. He’s busy right now; He’s got his hooks sunk all through Penny Lane.”

“Mother fucker!” Bonnie blurted. “It probably isn’t really him—more likely just a lieutenant—but we had plans for her. To Chari, she was a farm as good or better than the scam she pulled with the pirated songs and porn. For me and Elaine, Penny’s a stepping stone into the industry. Maybe do a little backup singing or acting in her videos and work our way up from there.

“Damn it! I told you she got to the top too fast. Elaine was working at it for a decade. Even Britney and Christina took years. Penny exploding the way she has is … is like waking up and your sister’s suddenly the town beauty queen or head cheerleader, but bigger. Elaine and I’ve been going over all of this stuff, looking for ins, niches, and angles. Anything but what her mom wanted. Elaine says that—”

“Speaking of Elaine,” said Kimmy, “doesn’t she ever say anything for herself?”

“Yes, but she’s catching up on her sleep right now.” Bonnie smirked. “Elaine kept Paul up very late last night.”

Doug cocked an eyebrow. “So what’s Paul doing up then?”

“He didn’t have a five AM shift this morning, the lucky bastard. Plus I woke him up when Elaine and I got home, didn’t I, honey?”

Paul’s eyes glazed over at the memory. “Oh yeah.”

“Succubi are sad, in a way. They don’t feel things the way we do. See,” said Bonnie as Kimmy let out a funny yelp, “they’ve never been real women before, so the best they can do is approximate and cheat with a lot of magic. Me, on the other hand, I know the ins and outs. I’ve been there. I know what works, what doesn’t and …”

Kimmy’s eyes went wide and she sucked in a series of shallow gasping breaths.

“… unlike Chari, if I wanted Kimmy, there’s just about nothing she could do to stop me, magic or no magic. I have to be cautious, since I can’t just metabolize sexual energy into magical firepower, but I know exactly what a woman’s body wants.”

“Stop it!” Kimmy said in a strangled voice, her body beginning to squirm and respond to whatever Bonnie was doing. She looked over at Doug questioningly. “Why do people keep doing this to me?”

“Relax, Kimmy,” Bonnie cooed. “You’re too tense. You ought to take Doug up on whatever he’s offered; you’ll like it. Chari does good work and Doug’s had a lot of practice.”

“Bonnnnnieee …” Doug started.

Kimmy’s face screwed up tight and then almost composed itself. “I said,” her voice broke. “I said stop it.” She took a step forward, her body no longer swaying, but her eyes still more than a little wild.

“Sorry,” said Bonnie, not entirely unapologetically. Kimmy wavered and the remaining look of horny panic slowly faded from her face.

“Don’t know why I did that.” Bonnie shugged. “Guess I’m still a bit bi-curious. Shouldn’t be—curious that is. Oh.” She rolled her eyes, nodded and then said, “Elaine’s up. She’s still a little curious.”

“Then practice on Rae, and leave Kimmy alone,” requested Doug.

“Thanks, Doug,” gasped Kimmy, still trying to recapture her breath.

“I’m not that desperate,” said Elaine. The voice was the same, but the inflections were different. “Rae scares me, but I totally missed out when Petra, Meena, and Jilly-the-pizza-girl were having that round robin. I know we agreed that Tim and Roger needed it, but I wanna have some fun too, you know…. Come on! Paul’d love to watch, wouldn’t you? Woah! Out loud Bonnie. We’ve got guests.”

“That was completely different, Elaine,” said the more mature Elaine. “Meena and Petra were fired up over Doug. All I did was change their priorities a bit.”

“And all I wanted was a piece of the Rose Princess,” Elaine snapped back at herself. “I didn’t even place against you, Kimmy. I was out in the first round. Your community service record pretty much made you the obvious winner before we even started.”

“Oh?” said Kimmy, trying to remember.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even want to enter, but my mom … you know. Besides, I’ve gotten a lot better since then. You won’t stand a chance next time.” Elaine smirked. “OK, so no more trying to seduce Kimmy. You don’t know what you’re missing through—you should see some of the girl on girl stuff Bonnie did in her old movies. I can’t wait to try it out.”

“Please don’t bring those up,” Paul and Bonnie said together.

“Hmmm. Lesbians are so hot these days, but you’re right. It’s a cheap way to get press.” Elaine winked at Doug and then got back on topic. “According to the magazines—and my dad—Penny’s supposed to be a total work-a-holic. She’s probably at the fairgrounds already. By the way, Bonnie, I think dad’s having an affair with his secretary. Think we oughta do something about that?”

“We’ll talk about it on the way over, but can we discuss it quietly? People always stare when we do this, and I can tell we’re creeping out Kimmy.”

Preparations

Sandy plopped down into her usual spot on the sofa. “I want to know what Shari’s secret was and why Kenda Bassetti was in your living room. And who were all of those other people?”

“I dunno who they were,” replied Lee, holding herself still so that Weezy had an easier time arranging the Peach Princess contestant’s hair. “But Kimmy thinks Shari’s a sorceress and she put you all under a spell to fall in love with Doug. And other stuff.” She glanced down at the wide gap where the neck of her top used to rest.

Sandy stared. Amy laughed. Weezy giggled. Tamara ran her tongue salaciously up her popsicle, then said, “So? I’m lovin’ it.”

She hopped to her feet and gave a twist that set her pigtails bouncing. With that hairstyle, and her height, she looked like a little girl until you saw the exaggerated curve of her breasts. Tamara posed and thrust out her chest to over-exaggerate the two, large differences between her and a little girl.

“Look at me,” she sang, “I’m Sandra D. Well, C-plus, maybe. Anyway, I’m not the poor, under-endowed waif anymore, so if Shari did this, I’m not complaining.”

“Tell me about it!” Amy said, nodding in agreement. “Only mine were starting to get so big that they sagged and were starting to look kinda ugly, but the other night Martin called them chest torpedoes. The guys were all over them before and now … Ooooooh gawd! Last night I was out late for some reason, and I reeled in a couple of college guys. Even better, Martin was playing with them when we were making out in the back row at the theatre, and I swear I came! They’re that sensitive!

“Anyway,” she added, “I don’t think any of us are in love with Doug. He’s just fun to be around, and is he ever good in bed! I think I’ll keep Martin for a while, though. Everywhere outside bed, Martin’s more my style.”

“And he tastes grrrrreat,” purred Tamara. “Doug that is. Haven’t tried Martin … yet.” She tossed a teasing glance at Amy and then went down on her frozen cherry snack, slurping loudly.

“Don’t get any of that on the carpet, Tamara,” Lee cautioned.

Tamara looked back up with a sarcastic grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye. “Me? Tens swallow. I’m an eleven—I never miss a drop.”

“Really knows how to treat a girl, too,” sighed Weezy. “Soft an’ gentle and then suddenly hard an’ fast, thrusting away, guiding me with my hair. Faster, hotter, harder and I can’t do anything but start screaming with joy. Then he does it all over again, but different, and keeps going until I just about pass out! He ate me out once,” she sighed again, “and I felt like I was in Heaven.”

“You were right, Lee,” Sandy added in. “All I needed to get my brain working right again was just give in and do it. I’m not getting the shivers whenever I think about showers anymore—not that I wouldn’t do it again if I got the chance. Or make chances, either. I bet he could straighten out Kimmy. She needs it worse than anybody. ’cept maybe you, Lee.”

“Yeah, Lee. We need to find you a guy,” said Weezy, suddenly all business-like. “That shouldn’t be a problem after tonight. You’ll be able to snag any—every—well-hung stud in town.”

“Right,” said Lee. “Maybe Doug’s into incest.”

The silence dragged. Sandy shuffled her feet. Amy stared. Weezy stopped braiding. Tamara looked up from her decapitated popsicle and choked for a moment before gulping.

“Hey, I was only kidding!”

“No you weren’t,” Weezy whispered into Lee’s ear as she returned to working on Lee’s hair. “Personally, I say go for it. Let me know if I can help.”

Round and Round

Through the window of the of the room being used as the Penny Lane Tour Mobile Command Center, the fairgrounds reminded her of home and all of the times she’d done small performances, talent shows, and just kicked around going on rides or hanging out with her friends. Back when she had the time for friends.

Sometimes this famous thing really sucks. I should be outside, but … but nothing. All work and no play makes Penny a dull girl. Just a quick spin on the merry-go-round’s all I need.

She flung open the door and headed out of the small town stadium the concert was being held in, winding her way through the unfamiliar, but familiar building. The corridors changed, but overall, it looked just like the one back home: Concrete hallways, buried in the depths that most people never saw stuffed full of … stuff. Parts of a float for some local parade were piled up against one wall, boxes of God knows what lined the other, all moved near the loading door for easy access at the fair or some other event in the near future.

A girl’s voice echoed down the corridor as Penny reached for the large, cargo-sized door to the outside.

“Yeah, there’s a closer door, but it’s for loading stuff and it’s locked from the outside. She’ll be down this way, somewhere. It’s the only way they’d be able to get all of the sound equipment in.”

Fans? she wondered. Should I wait or sneak off?

“Hey, Kimmy,” said a boy. “Your throne!”

“Not mine, Paul,” said another girl. “It’s for the Rose Princess’s coronation. Don’t remind me. I’ll have to sit in the silly thing again tonight when your sister gets the Peach Princess crown, Doug. I hate the Rose Princess gown. It makes me look like Snow White.”

“What? Ainsley’s what?”

The last voice sent a shiver through Penny’s spine. She promptly forgot all about the one ride rule. She forgot all about the ride. Her brain emptied and refocused.

“Hey, Doug,” said Penny, stepping out of the concealing shadows. Her face lit up with a smile until she saw who was with Doug. One almost painfully geeky guy trying to get used to a stylish haircut and decent clothes. Obviously a girl—probably one of the two girls with them—was dressing him these days. He wasn’t the smile killer, though. It was the girls.

They were almost painfully beautiful. One, an emphatically curvy blonde, stood tall and projected her devil-may-care attitude like a wall while the other could have been—should have been—Lilly’s younger sister. She even stood the same as Lilly, but she just … felt different somehow. Lilly was all intimidating and sort of frightening—and yes, Penny had to admit to herself, Lilly was sexy—but Lilly Junior projected a calmness that almost balanced off the fact that she was still too hot for a girl to feel comfortably heterosexual around.

Doug was an even bigger mess than yesterday, though. He wore different clothes but looked like he’d spent the night on the floor. Despite his appearance, Penny felt her heart banging away inside and, as XXX-rated fantasies spun through her brain, the girls were almost forgotten. Almost, but not quite as Lilly Junior joined Penny and Doug cavorting on a bed. Even the blonde had a part to play, but … Nobody should be allowed to have a face and breasts like that. It just isn’t fair.

Penny! Stop staring. You just missed their names.

“Hi,” she said cheerily, I’ll pick up the names later, but if these are the sorts of girls Doug has around him all day, I’m screwed! I’ll have to pull out all the stops. Good-bye virginity, if I want to snag him.

Hello, Penny? Losing your virginity is exactly what you had in mind anyway. What’s wrong with me? I want to rip our clothes off and fuck; screw the romance and foreplay and stuff like that, I just want sex. I hardly even know him, and I’ve had offers from much better looking guys, but I can’t stop getting totally … wet whenever I see him.

Whoops time to pay attention. “Uhm, What was that?”

“I said, stop ogling Doug and sit down for a minute,” commanded the blonde. “We have to talk.”

“I’m not … I don’t know who you are, but—”

“Sit down,” barked the blonde. “You’ve gotten yourself into a lot of trouble here, and we’re going to see if we can get you out.”

“What?” asked Penny, incredulously. Still, she dropped into the silly looking, rose-painted throne and turned to Doug. “What’s her problem?”

“Where you’re going, she’s been,” replied Doug, mysteriously. “Bonnie? Can we at least try to do this politely?”

“”Oh, we can try.” Bonnie oozed sarcasm. “I just don’t want to be here when her handler arrives. Penny, I have to know, did Lilly make you sign anything?”

Penny shrugged. “Some release and indemnification forms, why?”

“You have been reading them, haven’t you? Any odd references? Really weird stuff like souls?”

“Doug, stick to Sandy. This one’s nuts.” Sexy, but nuts. Maybe OK for a brief fling, though. What the hell is wrong with me?

“This is serious,” said Lilly’s younger twin.

“I’ve read all the contracts,” Penny almost yelled back. “My dad’s read them; my lawyers have read them. Just standard boilerplate, they said.”

The pushy blond glanced over at Doug and shrugged. “Have you entered into any oral contracts?”

Oral. I can think of some things I’d like to do there, you bet! “Uh, no. If I did, I didn’t mean to.”

“That might hold. You have to willingly surrender your soul, but it can be easier than it sounds. Trust me.”

Penny blinked. “What the hell is wrong with you people? You’re acting like I sold my soul to the devil.”

“That’s exactly what we’re worried about,” said Lilly Junior. “Lilly’s really Lilith—a biblical demon and consort of Satan.” As though the raven-haired wet-dream (Omigod. I just thought of a girl as a wet-dream. I’m going nuts.) knew how insane she sounded, she tacked on, “I’m serious!”

“Lilly is the personal assistant of Mr. Martin Mephistopheles, a Greek shipper and patron of the arts,” Penny protested, defending her friend. Even if Lilly was a creepy friend, sometimes.

Bonnie laughed. “OK. We’re dealing with the second tier here, guys. No way would Lucifer call himself something that obvious. Or that stupid.”

Contact With The Enemy

“On the contrary,” said the man of wealth and taste. “I happen to like the name for exactly those reasons.”

“Martin!” squeaked Penny, jumping and turning. “What are you doing here?”

“I was concluding some business near by and decided to fly in to see the concert.”

Beside Martin stood Lilly, her hair cropped short, but Doug couldn’t tell if her eyebrows were still missing. They could have been hair, but could also have been makeup. What he could see was Lilly staring daggers at her younger twin. The twin glared back.

“You broke Malaika’s nose, Lilly,” said the younger Lilly.

Penny looked back and forth between Martin’s assistant and Kimmy. “Relatives?”

“An aunt, in a way,” said Lilly with a shrug. “If you go back far enough. Icky deserved it. She deserves a lot more than I had time for. But how are you feeling, little sister? The world has changed for you, hasn’t it? How long can you hold out?”

“Long enough,” replied the girl. “You won’t win.”

“We’ll see. I know what is really inside you. What you hide from everyone. You’re just like everyone else. You want it; only you’re too scared to revel in it.”

Penny looked confused, her eyes flipping between the sparring girls, Martin and Doug. When she made contact with Doug, it was obvious that she was looking for answers, but didn’t even know the questions. He wasn’t sure he had all of the questions either.

Before she could ask, Martin decided things for her. “Lilly, I see potential here. I would like to talk with these children. You and Penny go look around. I’m sure there are interesting sights to be seen.”

Somewhat stiffly, dazed, confused, and possibly under direct control, Penny followed Lilith away.

“Wait a second, man—”

“Martin,” the demon interrupted.

“You can’t just—”

“I beg to differ. I can just walk off with her. I have prior claim.” He turned to Kimmy to cut off Doug. “Kimberly Anne Carter. You resisted Lilith. Very impressive. I like fire in a girl; if more were like you, I would have a much rougher time.” He bowed and, very much the gentleman, held out his hand. “I commend you.”

Smiling smugly, Kimmy took him up on the offer. Martin bowed again, raised her hand to his lips and kissed.

“You didn’t catch on fire,” said Kimmy, snatching her hand back.

“Of course not. I am the harvester of fools, not a fool.” Martin looked to Doug. “Douglas. I trust you have been enjoying yourself this summer. Take good care of Kimberly. She is worth more than you know. And you … Paul. A good Christian name. How is your sister?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Paul shot back. “Haven’t touched her.”

“Leave Paul out of this,” said Doug. “This is about Penny. You can’t have her.”

“Correction. I already have her. Gwendolyn, Penny’s mother, is having an affair that her husband will never find out about and has a body that would cause any fashion model half her age to turn green with envy. Penny was the price for the affair, since the lovely Miss Gwen had already sold her soul for lengthened youth and a rich husband.

“Such a pity the stock market crashed shortly after the wedding, but this was not my doing. Despite my press, I am not responsible for all the evil that befalls the world.”

“You are using Penny, though,” said Doug.

“Of course I am, but I don’t need another paltry soul for that. I use the girl in very much the same manner as your friend Chari intended, only better. More efficiently. I assure you; Penny will enjoy her life and, if you should join her, so will you, Douglas.”

“After hanging around angels and demons all summer you really think I’m dumb enough to trade having fun for the rest of my life for eternity in Hell?”

“Some do, even when warned in advance. I lose nothing in making the offer. But in your case, the point is moot. I already have a claim on your soul for trafficking in demons. You are already marked as mine.”

Martin transfixed Paul with a stare. “Et vous, Paul?”

“Doug’s out, I’m out. Besides, I don’t think you could offer anything that beats what I’ve already got.”

“Ah yes. Elaine. You and your mistress’s dereliction of duty has left my library a shambles. I do not approve.”

“Your library? Ohhhh damn. This … is going to really suck. I figured you were exaggerating, Doug. This isn’t a middle manager with delusions of—”

She wavered on her feet for a moment, then Elaine blinked. “Bonnie? She’s gone! Omigod! You killed Bonnie!”

It didn’t take Doug much will power to resist adding the obligatory, “You bastards!” Somehow the line just wasn’t funny when it happened to a friend.

Paul gurgled.

“She was already dead, Elaine,” said Lucifer Morningstar. “Dead and mine for nearly twenty years. Paul, now I do have something you want. Think on that. Think long and hard.”

“You bring her back,” demanded Kimmy, her hand snapping out with blinding speed to present a small cross she’d kept hidden somewhere.

“A cross? Who, little girl, do you think suggested the cross? The fish wasn’t nearly interesting enough, the star of Bethlehem … Let’s just say that even then I had special plans for the Jews and stars. The cross, though … only idiots would revere the tool used to torture their prophet. The cross is nothing but idolatry and the sign of a centralized, restrictive authority.”

Hissing every word, Lucifer drove his point home. “Everything Jesus stood against.”

“Jesus died on the cross—”

“Are you so sure? Michael Baigent would disagree with you. But I know the truth. I was there. After all, I made damn sure Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate.

“Would you like to be let in on the secret, Miss Carter? Would you like to know the truth?”

“I couldn’t believe you, no matter what you said.”

“Ah ha!” Lucifer clapped with something akin to glee. “You are a wonder, girl. It is no surprise that you have managed to resist all that you have. Alas, I don’t get much use out of succubi anymore because they tend to think entirely in terms of the carrot, whereas modern times require both the carrot and the stick. I’ll find the key to you in time. Lust. Fear. Anger. Hatred. All are my tools.”

“I could really get to like hating you,” said Kimmy, brandishing the cross again. “Let Penny go and bring Bonnie back. Now.”

Speaking slowly, Lucifer crossed in front of Doug and his friends, walking toward the Rose Princess’s throne. As he sat, it became something dark and ugly. “Some of my greatest accomplishments are the result of hatred of me. Hatred can always be twisted to my purposes. Hate me and you are mine.”

Elbows resting on the broad arms of the twisted throne, Lucifer steepled his fingers. “Fear me … and you are mine.”

“Fear leads to anger,” Doug croaked, jumping in before Kimmy could fire a retort of her own. “Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suhhhffering. Thank you Darth Satan. I know my Yoda already.”

“I am not to be taken lightly, young one. I am the firstborn of angels, the original creation. Forget what you learned in Sunday school about Jesus; I came first. I am the true son of God!”

“Bullshit! You are the shmuck who lost.”

Lucifer didn’t blink. He showed nothing. He simply spoke. “You mock me.”

“Why shouldn’t I? Why am I still here if you are so mighty? You slapped down a dead girl—Yeeha! Damn, you’re a bad-ass. You should have turned me to ash by now. Go ahead! Strike me down and complete your journey to the darkside.”

Lucifer laughed. “You put too much faith in pop mythology, boy. From the way you speak, you expect the Almighty himself to ride into town, six shooters blazing, to restore order.

“How was that line? Ah yes.” Burning eyes cut into Doug. “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.

“Let me tell you a few things about order. I am Order! God is chaos. Unchecked growth, rampant change …” Lucifer’s face screwed up with disgust as he spat every syllable with vehemence. “Evolution!

“God wastes HIS potential! What should be, could be, but, rather than ‘Let my will be done,’ he said, ‘Let them choose!’ Let the universe choose. Let the sheep choose!”

The fires in his eyes burst and his grin became magnificent. “Time and time again, they choose … me!”

Choice

“Yet you still fall behind, Lucifer,” countered Wayde. Doug spun around and stopped. His jaw dropped. Wayde was here and he hadn’t come alone. Not by a long shot.

With Wayde stood Chari, some lady who’d probably be a total babe if she didn’t look like death warmed over, and angels. Several dozen of them stretched out in a mob through the open cargo doors.

These were Wayde’s “Old Guard” Angels—his buddies from the Old Testament. Doug could tell that they weren’t new age angels because they weren’t all dressed in natty white robes. These angels came ready for a rumble. In the more organized core, swords flamed, but on the outskirts, things got less gentile. Knives, chains, and even a cricket bat burned brightly without being consumed. One hulking Angel looked like he’d just left a biker gang chapter meeting, complete with leathers; long, stringy hair; and fiery brass knuckles. More angels were drifting in by the second.

“Your victories are louder than God’s,” Wayde continued, “but the Lord still remains ahead. You’ve lost this round. None of these people belong to you.”

“He does,” roared Lucifer, pointing an oddly sharp looking finger at Doug. “Those who tamper in the Dark Forces are mine. As does Bonnie Cartwright. I gave her a film career for her soul.”

“You made her into a fucking porn star!” shouted Paul. “That’s not what she wanted! She wanted to do Shakespeare and stuff, not be a nymphomaniac!”

“I kept my bargain,” the lord of Hell calmly returned. “She didn’t read the fine print. Wayde, even your beloved Chari is mine. She owes fealty to me. Who do you have on your side? A washed up pop star with an axe to grind because she challenged me and lost. A bible thumping teenager championing a falling religion. A nerd hopelessly in love with one of my harlots. And a fool who wasted his soul summoning my librarian for a night of wild sex. You have nothing, Wayde. Nothing!”

“I have God,” said Wayde, his voice dead calm.

“Brinkmanship,” Lucifer said quickly. “Saber-rattling. God no more wants to bring the time of revelations than your flock do.”

“And you want it even less because you lose,” interrupted Doug.

“He speaks the truth.” Wayde nodded his head in Doug’s direction. “Everybody knows it—even you, whether you’ll acknowledge it or not. I was there the last time. We fought and fought, your side and mine. Fought to a standstill. Do you remember what God said to end it, Lucifer? I do. It was very succinct: ‘You lose.’

“And you did. Right then and there. You still lose. The outcomes of your great war of Revelations are written on stone tablets ten thousand miles high, and it hasn’t even happened yet. They stand there in Heaven as God’s reminder to us Angels of the stakes and to ask a question of us. Do we risk everything for a few souls? Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few … or do you fight for every last one because they’re all worth it?”

“Yes,” said Kimmy. “You fight because it’s worth it, even if you lose. If people don’t try, what are we good for?”

Wayde glanced over at Kimmy and nodded. “Remind me to apologize for using you as bait when we’re done here, Kimmy. You look after this girl, Doug. I like her.”

“Touching and naïve,” said Lucifer. “We shall dicker. Give and take. What are Doug and Bonnie worth to you, Wayde? Will Chari be enough? Or would you prefer the other way around? Chari for Doug and Bonnie?”

“Fuck you!” screamed Paul.

“That’s not his choice,” shouted Chari. “There is no way you are getting Doug or keeping Bonnie.”

Lucifer tisked. “Don’t even say it. Getting a free pass into Heaven by offering to sacrifice yourself is cliché, my dear. It’s been written about millions of times; as a librarian I would expect you to know this. Neither God, nor his minions, would fall for such a crass attempt to manipulate their system. Besides,” he hissed to rub it in, “I already have Bonnie spitted and roasting over a fire in the main hall of my library.”

To showcase his statement, flames roared up from the ground and twisted into an image. Surrounded by burning books, an emaciated, brown-haired woman slowly spun, impaled on a rotisserie and slowly charring.

Kimmy went white. Paul fell bonelessly to the floor. Doug wished he could join Paul in unconsciousness, because as horrible as the sight was, it had nothing on the screams.

Spitting out the remains of a mouthful of bile, Doug choked out, “No. Nobody deserves anything near that. What are we talking for, Wayde? You guys kicked his ass before.”

“We had an army that time. The living come first, Doug. Remember Penny.”

“No, Wayde cannot help you, can you, Wayde? You are bound by the laws of Heaven, and I am not. Tell me what I am, Wayde. Am I Terrorist … or Revolutionary?”

Lucifer pointed at Doug. “You Americans should understand the difference better than most. You revolted against the British, often committing acts of terror to cow those who supported the redcoats. You fought yourselves in a revolution, spreading chaos and carnage on both sides. You funded terrorists—sorry, freedom fighters—to battle against the Red Menace. Today, you fight what you sewed and reap terror as your harvest.

“Where do I sit on this scale? I oppose the heavens, but I don’t kill people as you do. I give them what they want. I give them what Heaven won’t, and I will take my due.”

“And you take what we need as your due.” Doug shook his head. Leave it to Satan to misrepresent history so greatly.

“Bum deal. I got mixed up with Chari because I wanted to get laid, but I’m figuring out that what I needed was friends, not sex.”

“Excuse me,” said the lady who’d come with Wayde. “You don’t kill? Maybe you didn’t pull the trigger, but grandma’s still dead.”

“Finally speaking your mind, Kenda? I’d almost forgotten you were here. I didn’t kill your Grandmother; your own kind was willing to do it for me in exchange for temporary pleasures.” The lord of darkness guffawed. “What do you have to say to that?”

“When I was a kid,” Kenda started, “really young, I saw two boys fighting in a playground, and I asked grandma why they were trying to hurt each other. She just looked at me and said, ‘Kenda, in another five minutes, they probably won’t even know themselves.’ So I asked if the devil made them do it the way my mom always said, and grandma replied, ‘Don’t need no devils. Some people are jus’ stupid. Don’t ever think some devil made you do something.’

“I really loved her, still do, and I hate you for proving her wrong.”

“I proved her right!” said Lucifer. “I provide ideas, and you are more than willing to carry them out.”

“What about the rest of the girls in the band? You did … things to them.”

“I gave gifts. After the unwanted attentions of her father, Laci wanted to have an easier time around men. I showed her a path that she took gratefully. To Tara I gifted a fabulous, sensuous body better than any nature had planned; she made use of it according to her own desires. You wanted a second chance.”

He pointed an accusing finger at Kenda. “I gave it, and you stole from me.”

“You don’t give gifts. Gifts are supposed to be one way. No charge, no fee, no expected reciprocity. Sorry, Martin, you ain’t gonna get no satisfaction from me.”

“Why are you here, Kenda? Why did Wayde bring you?”

“Resolution. And he didn’t bring me, I came myself. There is no way on God’s green earth that I’m letting you ruin anybody else’s life.”

“Their lives are already ruins. They are mine to do with as I please. Chari I’ve owned since the beginning of this world. Bonnie has been mine since before you were born. And young Douglas, look what he has done with his life.

“Played by his friends, toyed with by my Succubi, and party to the mental and physical rape of more than three score young girls. If you had not missed out on the French teacher and your sister, one would think this was a piece of trashy fiction.”

“But I didn’t mean for any of it! I just wanted …” Doug broke off.

“You wanted what you couldn’t have; just like countless millions since the dawn of your pathetic little race. You are already mine. Young fool. Only now do you understand.”

Rather than quailing, Doug grinned.

“What do you find so amusing?”

“Let’s hear it for pop mythology. That’s what the Emperor said, right before his ass got roasted.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

In front of him stood Lucifer Morningstar, Satan, the lord of Hell. Behind him stood … Angels. An army of them.

“My God,” said Wayde, awed as he looked out at the gathering. “I never knew how many of us there were.”

Interspersed among the crowd at the fair, stood a legion. And behind them stood something … else. Something … big. More a feeling than fact, it wasn’t really there, but it was.

Doug tried to stop looking for it. Whatever it was, contemplating it was building into a massive headache, but it was out there. He’d see it soon.

Lucifer surveyed the assemblage with a grimace. He started with a dismissive snort, then followed Doug’s eyes upwards and belted out a sharp laugh. “Time for discretion? So be it. I depart, Wayde, but you and your ragtag band, no matter how numerous, cannot watch over everyone.”

“We don’t have to. We just have to watch you.”

“Fat lot of good it did you this time. If not for you and your meddling band of kids, I would have …”

“All we need is the dog, man,” Doug giggled, trying to stifle his chortling.

“Doug,” said Kimmy, elbowing him fiercely. “This isn’t a good—”

“If the young man is quite finished? Good. You can do nothing, Wayde. This time I nearly made off with a young lady who would be a key figure in formulating the attitudes of a whole generation of children. I accomplished this while being watched. I have plans in motion that you can never stop, Wayde. Not you. Not Heaven.”

“That was them,” Wayde explained, pointing upwards. “Next time it’ll be us.”

“Yeah,” shouted the biker-angel. “Now it’s our turn, not the pansies upstairs. You better watch your back, geek.”

“Thanks, Bruce,” said Wayde, wincing.

“Whoa! You can’t let him just get away. What about Bonnie?”

“I invite you … to come get her.” Lucifer spread his arms and vanished into flames as bright as the morning sun.

Find A Penny, Pick It Up

“Worry about her later. The diplomats will get Bonnie out, sooner or later, Doug. Where’s Penny?”

“Uhh. Lilly took her?” Doug said sheepishly.

Wayde shook his head. “You know, once upon a time I mistook you for a smart kid.”

Doug pointed at the vacated and flaming throne. “Hey, we had fucking Satan over here. He kind-of took priority.”

“You should have waited for me to gather up the posse. You rushed in, Doug. You could have blown it. If things had been different, you’d be dead.”

“Actually, I’m surprised that I’m still alive,” Doug admitted, scanning the crowd for the mob that would be following a blonde pop star and a killer brunette. “Why didn’t he fry me?”

“You’re worth more alive,” explained Wayde, floating somewhat above the crowd for a better view. “If he can talk someone else into killing you, that’s plus one soul for him. Besides, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Not even Lucifer would get away with breaking the law that flagrantly.”

“What about Kenda’s grandmother? How does that work?”

“Pathetic as this may sound, the killers made their choice. RICO isn’t in the Ten Commandments, but ought to make it into the next revision.”

A loud squeal of metal pulled the attention of both angel and mortal to the right. Wayde spoke first.

“Oh darn.”

The Ferris Wheel ground to a halt and a figure atop it wobbled and slid, arms flailing as it tried to grab hold of a beam. Missing the beam, it managed to snag an ominously rocking seat. The other figure looked down, shrugged and raised her arms. Even at a couple hundred feet, Lilly was obviously female. Besides, Doug couldn’t imagine anyone else he knew having midnight-black wings.

So much for bat wings, thought Doug as the succubus took flight. She looks like a crow. She ought to be a buzzard.

With Lilith found, the screaming girl clutching at the shaft and desperately trying to pull herself up onto the swinging chair had to be Penny. All that her efforts managed was to make the seat sway faster and threaten to shake her off completely.

“You!” Wayde shouted at the man at the controls as he ran across the concourse, often passing through the people in his way. “Turn that thing back on and get her down here.”

“No can do,” replied the attendant staring up in wonder. “The jerk when this thing starts will shake her loose for sure.”

“Try it. She won’t fall.”

“Fuck you, Shaggy. I’m not gonna do anything stupid that’ll get me sued. Wait for the firetruck.”

“I like his attitude,” laughed Lilly, dropping behind and wrapping her arms around the confused looking operator and planting a kiss on his cheek. Poor Bart Cummings had no idea what set it off, but his cock just about exploded in his pants as raven’s feathers stroked lightly up and down the swelling shaft. “He just earned the fucking of his life, and I think I’ll let him enjoy it for a few minutes before I tear his soul out and eat it.”

She licked her lips and then continued. “But you … You can’t wait, Wayde. You wait and she dies. Emergency rescue won’t be getting here in time—I’ve made sure of that with a pile-up on the freeway—but if you or any other Angels moves, she also dies. Double or noting, Wayde: You’ll have to risk one of your precious hairless apes if you want her to live.

“Don’t cum now, Bart. It’s far too soon. I’m hungry.” She pushed Bart and away spun on Chari. “Hungry for a lot of things; Like ripping a chunk out of you, you traitorous bitch …” Long, wicked talons sprung from Lilith’s nails as she swung at Chari.

“Ye-hah!” hollered Bruce the angel as Chari bent backwards and away from the claws. “C’mon! Fight back! Tear the <hiss of amplifier static>’s shirt off, Chari. I wanna see <wail of electric guitar>ies flopping around!”

“Bruce,” yelled another angel, “Stop them!”

“What? Hit a girl? No way!”

“No! Just get Lilith off of Wayde’s girl and hold her while we get this straightened out.”

A huge grin split Bruce’s face as he reached for the enraged succubus. “Right on!”

“I’m not Wayde’s girl!” screamed Chari. “Just hold the bitch for me, and I’ll show her what Hell really feels like!”

While Lilith fought for freedom from the hulking Angel and Chari tried to pry herself out of the grip of a pair of other angels, Wayde sidled up to Doug.

“If this was a role playing game,” he asked, looking up at the screaming girl, “what would your character do?”

“Climb up and get her,” Doug sighed resignedly, seeing where this was headed.

“Exactly.”

“But I’m not a character! Look at me! Eight strength, not eighteen. What if I fall?”

“Don’t. You’ll live longer that way.”

“Yeah. Says you. You got it easy: You can fly. All I can do is splatter like a melon.”

“Doug, God helps those who help themselves. And everyone else, of course, but statistically, people who at least try to do the right thing tend to wind up ahead of the game. Take action. Stop wasting your life.”

“Real comforting.” All the same, Doug vaulted the barrier around the ride.

“Hey! He’s not going up there,” said Bart.

“Bart,” Wayde told the Ferris Wheel operator. “You have no idea how tempted I am to let Lilly have you. He needs this. He needs to prove himself. If you try to stop Doug, so help me God, I’ll pound you so long and hard that you’ll think Sodom and Gomorrah got off lucky.”

“He’s threatening me, you hear? I’ll sue! I’ll sue! I got witnesses!”

“Yup,” said a guy snapping away with a camera and ignoring the idiot pointing at nothing and threatening lawyers. “Now shut up. This should be good.”

Going up

Doug looked at the wheel. Climbing a spoke is just pain stupid. There isn’t much to grab onto, probably to keep idiots like me from doing stuff like this, but it’s only about sixty feet tall, tops. That’s only 6″ in D&D-speak. I can do this, but not directly. I’d never make it half way before I got too tired to keep going.

He climbed up onto the base. The wheel itself was built to come down onto its side easily and from there it looked like it came apart into pizza slices and folded up. Jumping up onto the inside of the outer ring, the smaller spokes gave him something to grab onto as he walked up about one third of the way before it got too steep. Then he very carefully walked up one of the larger supports, clinging to and weaving among the spokes.

“Don’t fall,” said a voice beneath him as he reached the outer ring again.

“Uh, hi,” said Doug to the girls trapped in the seat suspended beneath him. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

He didn’t know either of them, but the one on the left was certainly cute enough to be worth getting to know. So was the one on the left, but you had to draw a line somewhere—she couldn’t have been over fourteen. He met the eyes of the older girl, smiled, and watched her eyes widen as she flushed. The eye trick was fun, but there’d be time for playing around later.

Maybe. How the fuck do I get the rest of the way from here? Walk up the outside and hope I don’t slip? Still too steep. No way I can do the Tarzan and swing between the spokes.

Please tell me that Ainsley didn’t get all of the balance in our family, Doug thought, looking out over the fair and then down onto the two girls. He smiled again, stepped out, and wrapped his leg around as much of the ring as he could, crawling until the surface was flat enough to walk on.

Screw that! Doug kept crawling until he was over Penny and the chair she clung to.

6d6 damage. I doubt I have twenty one hit points—maybe two, if I’m lucky—so God better have a really crappy roll if I slip. That or he believes in fudging the rolls. That’s assuming he rolls dice; according to Einstein, he doesn’t, and Einstein probably knew more about what’d happen if I slipped up here—never was good at physics.

I gotta get into the seat without knocking Penny loose, and then pull her up without us both falling over and going splat. I wonder if I can get her on top so that if we do fall, at least she’s got something soft to land on.

As he lowered himself toward her, Penny panicked and began to rock the seat. His grip became a frantic white knuckled clawing action as he slid and thumped down on the seat.

Man, I swear she’s trying to make this harder than it is. Fucking Lilith! That’s probably exactly what she’s doing. Bitch will probably make Penny let go just before I reach her.

Trapping a leg between the retraining bar and the side of the seat, Doug let himself fall out and grabbed Penny’s arm. She twitched, trying to shake herself loose, and then let go, pulling Doug forward and making his overstressed knee pop before it started bending the wrong way.

When she let go, either Lilith’s control ended, or it was overruled by Penny’s innate sense of self preservation. Or maybe it was something else, but whatever the cause, Penny stopped fighting. His leg screaming in pain, Doug pulled Penny up and waited for the ride down.

After settling down and freeing his leg, he worked Penny down into the seat, safe behind the restraining bar. She still wasn’t home from wherever Lilith put her, but Wayde or somebody could put that right. He was squeezing himself behind the bar, trying not to move his leg, when the sky burst open and balls of fire roared past.

Trapped in the Ferris Wheel until a firetruck arrived, Doug’d missed everything.

“So they took Chari away for trial?” Doug asked, a crutch helping him limp alongside Wayde.

“Adjudication,” the angel corrected. “She’s not really guilty of anything, so they can’t try her.”

“But they can lock her up while awaiting ‘adjudication’, huh? What’s the difference? Sounds kind of Guantanamo to me.”

“She’ll get out. She broke out of Hell, so Heaven won’t be able to hold her for long.”

“Define long. Millions of years? She was in Hell for billions.”

“Hard to say. You can’t measure creation in terms of years. Time’s rather fluid, but I hope she can swing a deal in the next decade-or-so, your time. What has me worried that she may be extradited. Lucifer sent a contingent of lawyers demanding her return.”

“Fuck! Lemme guess. Hell gets the better lawyers?”

“Not really, they just seem to get more of them. The darkside of law is faster, more seductive.”

Doug snorted at the reference. “Please tell me we at least have Lilith.”

“That’s a … maybe. If she’d actually forced Penny to kill herself, she would have been in direct violation of divine law, but thankfully, she didn’t. Unfortunately, that gives the witch an out; still, if those idiots let her go again …. Engel dragged her upstairs kicking and screaming last night, but some know-nothing let her off with an era’s worth of community service so Lilith could, and I quote, ‘Learn to rehabilitate herself.’”

“She probably sucked off the judge.”

“Nah. These are the same guys who wouldn’t let me neutralize Hitler back in ’38. ‘Kristallnacht was a spontaneous, one-time event,’” said the angel in a bitter, mocking voice. “They just don’t get it these days. Sure, anyone can be redeemed, but some people need a time-out in the corner to realize that they are doing something wrong first.”

Doug couldn’t think of much to say in response to that, so he didn’t say a thing. Given time, he might have, but before he could, Penny appeared out of nowhere and threw herself into his arms, accidentally knocking the crutch out from under his shoulder and tumbling them both into the grass.

“Ow! Fuck!” yelled Doug as his leg twisted.

“Later,” the blonde moaned. “In private!”

Millions of Peaches

I lost. I missed a step in my routine and everybody saw. Doug noticed. How could he not? I was staring at him the whole time—like I was dancing for him. She giggled nervously as Karen Smith curtseyed and retreated as second Runner-up. I was dancing for Doug and getting seriously turned on doing it. It’s no fair. Why’d he have to be my brother? Why couldn’t Kimmy be stuck with him?

Kimmy, naked on a large bed, sharing Doug with her flashed before Lee’s eyes. She could almost feel his huge cock spreading her wide open while Kimmy’s tongue slid between her other lips. Hands, she didn’t care who’s, softly squeezed her heavy breasts.

Lee shivered. OK. Why can’t he be Shari’s brother?

Kimmy suddenly found herself replaced in Lee’s fantasy. God, we do look like twins, Lee thought as her memory stripped Shari naked. She wet her lips. Where is Shari, anyway? Molly has the whole gang out in force. Even Rose is down there, and she’s never liked me.

With, “Our first handmaiden, the lovely Miss Harold Marshal High, Mira Cervantes!” the announcer snapped Lee back to reality.

Omigod! Omigod! Mira’s second! She’s second! Oh please! OhpleaseOhpleaseOhplease!

Not looking nearly so sour as she had when Kimmy beat her out back in May, Mira strutted forward, bowed to the audience, accepted her flowers and turned back. On her way by, she gave Lee a knowing wink.

What did that mean? She didn’t notice me staring at Doug earlier when I was dancing, did she? Maybe it’s an invite? God knows I’ve gotten enough from the rest of the cheerleaders. I mean we all made jokes about cheerleader lesbian orgies, but …

“And this year’s Peach Princess is …” the announcer paused dramatically, “Miss Crowley Business Park, Ainsley Kerr!”

And it isn’t because of Doug this time! thought Lee after a several moments of stunned, Omigod! I won! I won! repeating through her mind.

“Presenting the coronet,” said the announcer, “will be your Rose Princess, Kimberly Carter, and our guest at the fair, the lovely Penny Lane! She was saved from certain death this afternoon by none other than our new Princess’s brother, Douglas!”

Lee almost stumbled, but years of dancing saved the day. Doug! Even when I do win, somehow he … Smile Lee. People are taking pictures.

In the front row, Amy had jumped up and was cheering loudly. Doug was hiding behind his hands, either embarrassed at Amy—and the rest of Molly’s dance troupe joining Amy’s celebratory dance—or at his name being dragged in at his sister’s moment of triumph.

She drifted forward in a daze, and remembered to curtsey—not bow to show of her boobs the way Mira had done—before Kimmy and a blonde materialized beside her.

“Wow, Ainsley,” said the blonde, Penny, as Kimmy placed the circlet on Lee’s head. “No wonder Doug’s so laid back around girls. You and Kimmy and the rest around all the time. But jeeze, it must suck to have Doug for a brother. He’s too hot!”

Tell me about it. I want to fuck him myself, half of the time, she thought, but instead she said, “He’s OK. Sort of annoying when you have to live with him, though. Just do me a favour, kay?”

“Sure,” said the bubblegum rocker. “What?”

“You two just keep it down or find a hotel tonight. I’m beat. I want to get some sleep for a change.”

Penny looked at her funny, but Kimmy glared, then gasped loudly. Oh please no. Not Kimmy, too. No way can I compete with Kimmy.

The clapping slowed to a stop. Tamara was laughing her ass off at something. She’s not the only one. What’s everyone laughing at?

Then Lee noticed how close to the audio pickup she’d been standing.

Oh God. How does he always keep doing this to me?

“Uhm, what you said earlier …,” said Penny after escaping the Dog-and-Pony show. “Doesn’t your brother have a girlfriend? I mean yesterday he was with Sandy, but today he’s got Lilly Junior—sorry, Princess Kimmy—hanging all over him.”

More like he’s all over her. She’s the last one left, but tonight, I could have had any guy in that crowd, Lee thought, her heart still racing with joy. I could have had all of them. They all wanted me. I could have Doug! How did Kimmy stay so calm after she won?

Well, she told herself, She didn’t make a complete fool of herself on the stage, for one. Maybe Sandy’s right about me being right. I need to go out of here, find a hot guy, and get laid!

“Today?” she finally said. “You might have to share him with Sandy, but I doubt she’ll mind. The girls’ve been trading Doug around all summer. Uhm … about what I said earlier? Doug’s not really a complete slut. He just … I dunno. He’s weird.”

That’s true! All the girls he’s had and left this summer, no way he’d mind a bit of incest. He couldn’t! But he’s never even hinted! How can I—

“So you don’t mind if I …?” Penny asked.

“Go ahead. We can’t help ourselves,” Lee said, finally putting her own justification in words. “Kimmy thinks it’s magic.”

“So Kimmy’s just this week’s girl, huh?” Penny grinned, bunched up her hair and stuffed it into a scrunchie. “Sorry, Veronica. Luck of the draw. Looks like Betty gets a chance, for once. Any tips on how to … You know?”

“Yeah, don’t sleep with him right away. He’s been chasing Kimmy all summer and now he’s doting on her.”

Fat chance of that, Lee read off of Penny’s face. Doug is going to get so totally fucked tonight. If not Penny, then it’ll be Kimmy again or …

Lee’s face lit up … or maybe I can do my hair up like Shari, put on one of her outfits and … and maybe, with a little make-up, Doug won’t be able to tell the difference! Just once and I’ll get it out of my system! Just like Sandy did. Shari walks all over Doug. If she came onto him, he’d never say no!

The rest of the evening, including the concert, passed in a horny daze.

Pop Star Drugged, Nearly Killed.

Roger’d heard about it on the news, but hadn’t really paid attention, but then his girlfriend shoved the paper in his face and told him to read.

“The personal assistant of rock and roll star Penny Lane (18),” he read, fighting to keep his voice from cracking. Meena did this all the time, giving him something to do then doing her best to distract him. She always succeeded, too. “Lilly King-James (28), attempted to hurl her boss from the top of an amusement ride at the small town fair Miss Lane was performing at that evening. While the motive is unknown, personal debts and jealousy are suspected. Miss King-James remains at large …

“Oh man,” moaned Roger, looking down from the newspaper.

“Keep reading,” said Meena halting her head’s bobbing motions while she talked. Her hands still worked full-time, however. “It’s a good story. Doug really looks after his girls, so you’d better live up to his example. When I’m rich and famous, I want to be rescued at least once a week.”

“Doug?” He kept reading. Then he looked at the picture. He couldn’t see the faces of the two people on the grass, but if the photographer identified the pair correctly, Doug was practically being orally raped by what had to be Penny Lane. It kind of looked like Doug. “Doug must have gotten so totally fucked last night.”

“Doug probably gets … ‘so totally fucked’ … every night. In about … a week, he deflowered half … the Cheerleading squad.”

“Please tell me you were in the other half.”

Meena smiled and made Roger forget the question.

Setting Up a Jail Break, Part 3

Paul and Elaine’s room in the basement looked like Goth party central. Candles, pentagrams, stacks of weird and ancient looking books and all manner of apparatus littered any available flat surface with one exception. Apparently they were still getting great use out of the bed.

“Paul, what the hell is all this crap?” Doug asked.

“You, of all people, ought to recognize summoning circles, Doug.”

“You’re going after Bonnie?”

“You bet your ass I’m going after Bonnie. Me an’ Elaine are going to bust her back out of Hell, or die trying.”

“Lemme know when; I’ll help. Wait a sec. Where the hell are you getting a willing virgin sacrifice from? Elaine and Bonnie took you out of contention. Kimmy’s probably the only virgin we still know, and I guarantee you she won’t be willing.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that, actually, not if it saved someone from Hell. But …” Paul paused, grinning evilly. “There is always Jerrold.”

Doug laughed. “You’re kidding. Jerrold’s, like, thirty.”

“Doesn’t matter … so long as he’s still a virgin. Besides, you got Chari out without having to get laid.”

“Yeah, but she powered that herself with all the music piracy and guys whacking off over the porn movies she put up on Kazaa. How are you roping Jerrold in?”

“Easy, dude. Like you said: he’s thirty. Besides, you seen Mira’s little sister? Holeeeey fuck! If Elaine wouldn’t kill me for trying, I’d be after that. Linny volunteered. Starts work on Monday.”

“Whoa. Not so fast, man. Lucifer knows we’re coming. We’ve got to plan this out carefully.”

“Doug, don’t worry. I can do this. Besides, Wayde put me in touch with this guy named Theopolis. He’s a bit of a freak, but he really knows this shit inside out. You’d think he’d never touched a computer before, though. We’re sort of exchanging ideas. A lot of this magic stuff’s just grunt work. We could automate most of it.”

A Whole New World

“OK,” mumbled Eddie. The guy showing Doug around the dormitory was tall, skinny, probably pushing against his mid twenties, and from the way he’d pointed out the best routes to all of the science buildings, Eddie probably wasn’t here for a history degree. He had rounded up a couple guys to haul Doug’s stuff around while Doug limped his way through the tour without prompting, so he wasn’t as lost in the clouds as Tim tended to get, though.

Decent guy, thought Doug. Wonder if he games? Somebody around here’s got to play something; otherwise, I lugged all the books for nothing.

“OK,” he repeated, more clearly this time. “So this is your room. Names on the door. You can remove it in a month, if you want to, after everyone’s settled in. I’m down at the end of the hall in room one if you have any troubles. Knock on number four and ask for Abe if you need help plugging a computer into the network …”

Eddie stopped uncomfortably and didn’t start back up again until the silence got too painful.

“Uh yeah. I think that’s it. I think,” he muttered and began to walk off.

“Hey, thanks, Eddie,” Doug called after him.

“Ed,” Eddie called clearly over his shoulder and continued on.

“Whatever.” Doug looked at the door. “C Karazvan. D Kerr.” Read the taped-on label, so no matter how garbled Eddie—Ed—was, it looked like he’d delivered Doug to the right place. The key worked, too, and the door clicked open.

“Hello?” he called and received no answer.

“Cool. I get the corner room,” he told himself, walking backwards as he dragged his bags into the chosen room.

“Hi,” oozed a voice that brutally took advantage of his heterosexuality and pulled his eyes in the direction from which it came.

“Meet your roommate!” said the cheerleader lounging on his bed and looking up out of her book and over her demure glasses. She’d positioned herself and her skirt so that anyone walking into the room would get a beautiful view right up her legs and into the inviting shadows between them. Just a little more light and …

At least she isn’t looking too much like Ainsley. “Chari? How the Hell did you pull this off?”

She shifted a little and allowed a bit more light, but still not enough for … Doug looked away and put down his suitcase.

“Well,” she chirped, “the boys upstairs are still debating whether or not to I should be allowed into Heaven, so for now, I’m working remotely on a contract to upgrade and organize their information systems. Not that they’ll let me actually work on the computers; I’ve been building a mock-up, and I’ve got more free time than I know what to do with, so I applied for an educational pass to attend school on earth to ‘modernize my world understanding.’ It was neglected horribly down in Hell, you know.”

Chari rolled her eyes in disgust, and then rolled onto her back and smoothed down her skirt, cutting off the view that had begun to suck Doug back in. Her fingers didn’t stop there though. They drifted up towards the gravity-ignoring, pointy-peaked orbs pushing through her sweater as she continued.

“There was a typo in the registrar’s office and Charley Karazvantilo, a Library Sciences major, went into the database as a guy!” Long nails played around the tips of her breasts, making her perky nipples much, much more visible through what must have been a very thin sweater. “Whoops! I could probably teach the classes I have to take, but you’re going to need an understanding roomie if we’re going to—”

“Going to do nothing! I made a promise to Kimmy. Lots of promises, actually.”

“Doooooug,” she groaned erotically, one hand sliding back down over her hard belly before disappearing under the waistband of her skirt. “Please tell me that you at least got a blowjob from Penny after all of our hard work.”

“Nope. Even spent the last weekend camping with Kimmy up at her folk’s cabin. All properly overseen by Kimmy’s parents,” Doug hastily added when Chari looked like she was going to ask about that as well. “Actually it was a bit of a waste. I didn’t hike anywhere, I limped.”

“Pity I’m on low rations right now,” Chari cooed as her hips began to undulate slowly, “or I could fix that up for you. There are a couple of girls down the hall who could get us both back in fighting trim in nothing flat.

“Anyway, Kimmy’s three hundred miles away now, so what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Chari swapped hands and paused to teasingly lick a glistening finger clean. “What happens at school stays at school, you know what I mean? We could have a couple of new girls every day for the next four or five years and not even come close to exhausting the student body here, and now that I don’t have to steal souls ….”

“Yeep!” yelped Doug. “I—” Someone knocked on the door. “You haven’t set one up already, have you?”

Chari sighed, ceasing her erotic squirming. “No, unfortunately it’ll be a while before we can start with the real fun and games, Doug. We’ve been assigned a fulltime watcher. But don’t you worry; I can work around her. Surprised she knocked, though. We might be able to use that”

“You’ve been assigned a fulltime watcher, you mean.”

“OK. I’ve been assigned a fulltime watcher. Door’s unlocked. C’mon in.”

An absolutely and utterly devastating blonde in a skin-tight, white-leather cat-suit stomped through the door—literally. Not only had she not opened the door, but the volume of her footfalls was impossibly loud. For anyone normal, the impact required to produce the volume would have snapped her heels off. For anyone normal, walking should have been nearly impossible, given the height of the heels. Promises to Kimmy or not, the blonde finished off the reaction Chari had started in Doug’s pants as his eyes swept up her legs and beyond.

But the look on her face saved Doug from any unpleasant explanations to Kimmy. The sneer rapidly wilted any and all erectile action her body had started. The bandage holding her bruised nose steady didn’t do much for her looks, either.

“He’s here already? Good. Here are the rules—”

“This would be Malaika?” asked Doug, cutting the angel off.

“Good guess, Doug. Truth, fiction … both are damn strange sometimes.” Chari looked over the angel and rolled her eyes. “Please tell me no one saw you come in dressed like that, ’Lika.”

“Don’t call me that,” the angel snapped as she twisted towards her demonic charge. Her waist-length hair rippled as it followed the turn, reminding Doug of Weezy, and resulting in his cock voicing a renewed interest in the blonde bombshell. Her skin was so pale and the suit was so tight that if you peeled the suit off of her, she’d probably still look the same. That is to say, she’d look so yummy that you could ignore the sour expression on her face for more than long enough to enjoy yourself, if she let you have that long.

Not bloody likely, Doug told himself.

“We all must get busy,” Malaika continued. “You both have full schedules and class attendance is mandatory. I will not tolerate low grades. I still have a case load I must maintain, so the sooner we get the ground rules …. What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?”

“Hello?” said Chari in an uncanny reminder of Ainsley. “Barbie-meets-Dominatrix stomping around a college coed Dorm? Dressed like that, your presence is going to inspire far more sin than you can possibly stop. If you’re going to hang out with us down here, you’ll have to fit in, Icky.”

“I’m an angel,” she hissed. “We wear white. And don’t you ever call me Icky again.”

“I’d call you ’Lee, but that would only leave Doug more confused than he is already. Take a look out the window, ’Lika, and count the number of people coated neck to ankle in any one colour. Also make a quick count of the number of people wearing clothes so tight that they may as well be naked.”

Chari spread-eagled herself on the bed, emphasizing her legs but still managing to keep whether or not she wore panties a secret. “Even I’m modestly dressed compared to you, and I’m the Ex-succubus. I have the worst feeling that Doug and I are going to spend more time looking after you than the other way around. If anyone you don’t know offers you a drink at a party, say no.”

“But that wouldn’t be polite!” the angel protested. “10123874994, why are you unpacking? Put your stuff in your own room.”

“1012 … what? This is my room. Look at the door. And learn people’s names, for Christ’s sake. Call me Doug.”

“You leave Jesus out of this,” Malaika said, shaking her head. “This won’t do. Doug, you will have to move. There will be no fraternizing on my watch!”

Chari looked incredulous. Then she burst out laughing. “Only way for you to stop that would be to move in with one of us, and Doug’s out of the question, isn’t he?”

“Living in close proximity with a member of the opposite gender is not permitted until after formal wedding vows are exchanged,” said the blonde, reading out of a mentally ingrained manual. “Besides, Doug made a vow of celibacy to 10123874995 ….” She wracked her brain for a few moments. “To Kimmy and I expect him to keep that promise; otherwise, I will get very cross.”

“That leaves me, then,” Chari sang sweetly. Then she sat up from her sexually inviting lounging pose. “You can’t be serious, ’Lika! You’d actually be my roommate? We’re gonna be the bestest of roommates, Honest!”

“This time,” Malaika said with a smirk, “I’m ready for you. I have ear plugs, so don’t you try anything.”

“I won’t need to. All I have to do is wait for some Lothario to get you drunk at a party.”

“No one would dare!” the angel stated, radiating certainty and ethical superiority.

But The More Things Change …

“Always the bride’s maid and never the bride, Chalondra … may I call you Sandy?”

“Uh, OK,” Sandy replied, confused as to why Penny Lane’s financial backer could possibly be interested in her. Kind of sexy for an old guy, and certainly well dressed. Probably good in the sack, too. Maybe even in the shower … No one could ever match Doug, but who’s to say you can’t look?

Still business-like in spite of the direction Sandy’s thoughts were turning, Mr. Mephistopheles continued. “Your work on the Penny Lane fan club is nothing less than inspired, and your short history is one of always finding and backing the winner. But, Sandy, have you ever wanted more?”

“More like what?” asked Sandy. “I’m too young to be taken seriously as an assistant, let alone a producer or anything like that, and I want to finish school first.”

“Production? Phaw! A waste! You have a unique voice, not the sort that is typically commercial, but the same can be said of Geddy Lee and Macy Gray.” He waited for her to nod. “However, like you, I can often see what other miss.”

The man of wealth and taste smiled behind his steepled fingers. “Finding people’s hidden wants and desires … is the nature of my game.”