Avatar 2
Chapter 14
Thursday morning, Ken dropped by Davyn's shop before going off to the
studio. Davyn had said that he'd provide Ken a loaner while the work was being
done on his car, and Ken thought nothing of it. Until he saw the loaner, that
is.
"You *are* kidding, right?"
Davyn grinned. "Nope."
"Ah huh. So. I'm here for you to make my car more fuel efficient, and
as a loaner, you're giving me a Hummer?" asked Ken incredulously.
"Yup," said Davyn.
Ken smelled a rat and said so.
"Ya got me," replied Davyn. "This isn't just any Humvee. I've tweaked
it just a bit. Let me show you."
'Tweaked just a bit' was a big, big understatement.
"See, I decided I wanted something that I could implement the changes
that I've come up with on, and this seemed like a good choice," said Davyn once
they were sitting inside it.
Now, Ken had never been in a Humvee before, but he was quite sure that
they didn't come with heads-up displays. Davyn began telling him about all the
electronics that had been added by him and his wife, and Ken's head started to
spin. And that was just the beginning.
Davyn had just about rebuilt the vehicle from the ground up, adding more
stabilization to the chassis, changing the body design to make it look much
sleeker (and reduce drag) and managing to add more usable space to the interior.
The engine and power train had been ripped out and replaced with something that
Davyn had created -- which, unsurprisingly, produced a hell of a lot more
horsepower than the stock engine. As in, over 500 horses. Davyn went on to
describe a dizzying array of additional features about the vehicle.
Finally, when they were back outside it, he stopped and looked at Ken.
"Notice anything about this baby?"
Notice anything? Like what? "Davyn, I wouldn't know where to start
noticing things about this vehicle."
"I'll give you a hint," said the man. "Let's say you were pulling into
the service station to fill it up. Which side of the pump would you drive up
to?"
A good thought, realized Ken. He started to look for the cover for the
fuel tank, but after a minute, he gave up.
"I have no idea," he said.
"That's because there isn't a fuel tank ... well, not for conventional
fuel anyway. It runs off a fuel cell," smiled Davyn.
There followed a long explanation of what that was all about, but Ken
didn't have the background in chemical engineering that would be needed to make
sense of it. In the end, he just looked at Davyn and asked where he was
supposed to replace the cell. Davyn showed him the very simple procedure one
used, then showed him the extra cell he'd put in the back.
"Don't, whatever you do, let someone get their hands on that cell. It
has very little in common with any type of fuel cell currently in use. I doubt
that you'll have to replace the thing, anyway. I've gotten over 500 miles out
of them, and that was off-roading."
Five hundred miles sounded like a lot of distance. An awful lot of
distance, considering the size of the cell, but he didn't want to say anything
that would make him seem even more ignorant. Finally, Davyn showed him the
gauge that measured the charge, and after a few last words of advice, Davyn sent
him on his way.
The first thing that Ken noticed was that he had to be very, very
careful driving this thing. It was lighter than a standard H1 model, but it was
still four thousand pounds, something he was very conscious of. However, it
actually handled better than his X5, which was nothing short of astonishing.
Still, navigating the wide vehicle, and especially, parking it, was not a
trivial task. The video screens that showed the rear of the vehicle certainly
helped, though. He figured it would take him a week just to find all the little
tech toys that Davyn had installed in this monster.
Once he got home, Ken saw that folks were unloading the truck. He
parked the Hummer and got out, admiring the view. Sandy, Jane, Annette, Tina
and Arianwen were helping unload the truck. Except for shoes, they were naked,
their skin shining with sweat from the hot sun. He wondered where Gary and Eric
were, but they appeared from the back of the truck carrying more boxes. Gary
saw him and set down what he was carrying.
"Hi, Gary," said Ken.
"Hey," replied the man. "We decided to take the stuff we had in storage
in the shop and put it over the garage."
"Sounds like a plan," replied Ken. "Where are you setting up the rest
of the shop?"
"In that storage area around back," said Gary.
Ken nodded. Apparently, when the area calculations for the mansion had
been done for the real estate office, they had only added up what was considered
living space. That did not include a rather large area in the back of the
mansion that wasn't finished. Other parts of the country had basements, but
that wasn't a good idea in Southern California. Instead, there was a storage
area attached to the back corner of the mansion near where the delivery area
was. It had been one of the places that Ken considered when he and Gary talked
about where to set up the new shop. The bottom floor would be perfect for the
woodworking shop. Gary hadn't thought it'd be a good idea to set up a forge
right near where he was doing woodworking, and Ken agreed. Ken planned to get a
contractor to put up a small building a short distance from the main house where
the forge could be set up. He made mental note to speak to Joan about that. He
smiled to himself, knowing that since she was spending a lot of time here now,
that would be quite easy.
+++++
Time seemed to fly by for Ken. There was a lot to do to get ready for
the upcoming induction of Genie and Annette, plus he found himself being quite
occupied by flying lessons and training at the studio. Arianwen kept quiet
about him flying, but it was clear that eventually she was going to really cause
a scene. She was convinced that he was going to die in a plane, just like her
father had, and for no other reason than to just be up in the air fucking
around. She couldn't accept that, and Ken knew that, sooner or later, they were
going to have to have a conversation about what was going on. He needed to be
armed with the information about what really happened to her father, but so far,
nothing had been forthcoming in that direction, so he decided to speak to Bill.
He wandered into the lab and saw that not only Bill, but Ari was there.
Getting Bill's attention, he managed to get him out of the lab without
disturbing Ari. Bill knew immediately what Ken wanted.
"She's on it," he smiled. "Apparently, it's a serious challenge, but
she's really thrown herself into it." He hesitated, then said, "It looks like
she's using it to distract herself from something..."
At that point, Ken cursed himself for being an idiot. He'd just assumed
that Genie had spoken to Bill about the upcoming ceremony. While Bill had
eagerly become involved in many of the discussions involving their religion,
he'd shown no inclination to join them more formally. Although, Ken _had_
noticed that, more and more, while the discussions were going on, Bill seemed
remarkably well-informed about Paganism and how they were adapting it to their
own needs. However, Ken decided he'd speak to Genie before mentioning anything
to Bill about the induction. As a result, Ken did not choose to answer Bill's
unasked question.
"That's excellent," said Ken. "When she has something solid, please let
me know."
"Sure," replied Bill, somewhat disappointed that Ken hadn't noticed his
leading statement. He wondered if he should push the issue, then decided not
to. Genie would tell him what was going on, if he asked, but he really didn't
want to ask. It was important that she tell him herself.
That evening, Ken got Genie alone to speak to her.
"So," he said, after kissing the woman deeply, "have you spoken to Bill
about the whole Priestess thing?"
"No," she said in a quiet voice. Ken remained silent, knowing that
there was more she wanted to say. "This is really tough," she continued. "I
can't imagine not having Lea in my life. But I also can't imagine not having
Bill in my life. But he's so logical! I mean, he'd never believe that the
Goddess is real!"
"Are you sure about that?" asked Ken.
"Pretty much. Why, do you know something I don't?"
Ken considered his thoughts for a moment, then said, "Have you listened
to him during the discussions at dinner? He knows an awful lot about the
Circle. He knows a lot about Wicca. And I'd be willing to bet he knows a lot
more than he isn't saying. If you're really serious about Bill, and with your
induction so close, don't you think you should talk to him?"
"Yeah," she said. "I'm just afraid that he's gonna think I'm a nut.
It's not like I can prove that She exists, you know."
As far as Ken knew, Lea showed herself to very few people who were not
in the Circle, and then only when they were ready to serve Her, and he didn't
think that Bill was in that group. Genie and Ken spoke for a little more time,
then she went inside. It was time to speak to Bill.
She found him in the computer lab, surprise, surprise.
"Honey," she purred in his ear, "are you real busy?"
Feeling himself start to get hard from the tone of her voice, Bill
turned in his chair and smiled at Genie. "Not that busy. You have something in
mind?"
She just smiled and took his hand, leading him to their bedroom. And,
by this time, it was their bedroom. She'd given up all pretense of staying in
another bedroom. She'd moved her stuff in here, and, as Ken had predicted, it
was a done deal before Bill had realized what was going on. Smart man, Ken.
Pulling him down on the bed, it took very little time for her to remove
his shorts and get his erection deep in her mouth. She, of course, was already
naked. Bill spun her so that he could get his mouth and tongue into her pussy.
He split her lower lips with his fingers and used his tongue to scoop out her
moisture. The taste was amazing -- he never seemed to be able to get enough of
it. He also loved how she smelled, but was too embarrassed to tell her that.
She shifted her hips; he knew what she wanted, and began using the point of his
tongue to push into her tight, back hole. Her moan vibrated the length of his
cock, and he knew it wouldn't be long before she'd be swallowing his seed. He
also knew that just once was never enough with this woman that he loved so much,
and he'd stay quite hard, even after he came.
He moaned into her pussy as his balls contracted, shooting his sperm
into her sucking mouth. She moaned too, her pussy actually starting to drip her
delicious, slippery lube. She pulled her mouth off of him and spun around to
sit on his cock with one stroke. She felt so hot and tight, he couldn't believe
it. After just cumming though, he wasn't afraid he'd be losing it any time
soon.
He was right, and she'd had quite a number of orgasms by the time he
finished pumping his sperm into her again, this time, deep into her ass. Each
ass cheek was quite red, since he'd been spanking her quite hard. He knew she
loved that.
Finally, they lay on the bed, relaxing in each other's arms. Bill
sensed that there was something that she wanted to talk about. He began to get
worried. Was she going to leave him? She seemed so serious!
"Bill," she said, "there's something that we need to talk about."
Uh, oh. This was it. He knew it was too good to be true! A woman like
this being interested a geek like him? No way. Not with all these other guys
in the house -- all of them way better looking than him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her dark eyes worried. "I just want to talk
about some stuff. You look upset."
He knew that his expression hadn't changed that much. It was somewhat
unnerving how she was always able to read him so well.
"Nothing. Well, nothing's wrong with me, I mean. But if I did
something to upset you or something, I'm real sorry. Just tell me what it
was..."
She laughed and smiled. "Oh no! It's nothing like that," she said
grabbing his face and kissing him deeply.
Sometimes she forgot just how shy Bill could be around women. She
clearly remembered Tina having to trick him into sleeping with her, and she knew
what Ari and Jane had done to get him into bed. But she was so comfortable with
him that she just forgot at times that he could be very shy. He really had very
little experience with women, and of course the mansion was filled with women
who were anything but typical!
"No," she said, her expression turning serious again. "It's just that,
well, there's something that I should have talked to you about earlier, but I
didn't... well, I wasn't really... ready to say anything."
"You can tell me anything," he replied, "you know that."
"Well, yeah. I mean, it's all well and good to _say_ that, but this
might seem a little weird to you," she said.
Bill said nothing, just waiting until Genie was ready to talk.
"This Thursday night, there's going to be another ritual," she said.
Sensing that there was more to it then that, Bill replied, "And...?"
"Well. I ... I'm going to be ... joining the group a little more
formally," she finished.
Bill was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay. So what does that
mean?"
"I'm going to become a Circle Priestess."
The Circle. Bill had heard it spoken of, had a good idea who was part
of it, but didn't really know what it meant and said as much. So, Genie started
explaining. Much of what she said, Bill already knew, just from listening. He
knew also, that there were people in this mansion who were ... connected, was
the only word... to each other in a way that he was not. He realized that Genie
was telling him that she was about to become one of them. It saddened him to
think that he was going to become an outsider to the woman who he loved. The
one who he hoped one day might marry him. Even though he said nothing, Genie
sensed that he was upset.
"Bill, what's wrong? It seems like this really upsets you."
"It's just that I feel a bit like an outsider here," he replied.
"What? I don't understand. Have people been shutting you out or
something?"
"No. Nothing like that. But, well, it's obvious that there is a group
of people here, you called them the Circle, and it's obvious that I'm not a part
of them. I've been kinda thinking that it's sort of like those Heinlein
extended families. I don't know what I need to do to join, but I was hoping
that, well, there's something I've been working on that I hope will help," he
sighed. "Hell, even that redhead is part of the Circle, and I almost never see
her."
Genie froze, her eyes wide as Bill looked at her in surprise. "What
redhead?" she asked.
"I don't know her name," he replied with a frown, "which is pretty odd.
But I've seen her around here. You gotta know who I'm talking about. I mean,
she's so beautiful you couldn't have missed her."
"Lea..." breathed Genie. "You've seen Lea."
+++++
Ken was 'flying' in the study when Genie came to him.
"He's seen Her!" she exclaimed.
Ken, not being privy to Genie's conversation with Bill, had no idea who
she was talking about.
"Who," he said hitting pause, "has seen who?"
"Bill," she responded, a bit impatiently. "He's seen Lea, and we didn't
even know it."
"Well, that's news," replied Ken. "Good news, I'd presume. Does he
know what She is?"
"I doubt it," replied Genie, "I think She made him kinda forget Her or
something."
"Hmph. Our Goddess is as predictable as the weather," said Ken.
"Ken please, this means so much to me. Can Bill be there? When I'm
inducted?" she asked.
"I certainly have no objection, and I doubt that Lea would either. In
fact," continued Ken, feeling the Goddess purr her approval in his mind, "I know
she won't mind."
Genie's eyes glowed with happiness, and she threw her arms around Ken,
kissing him soundly, then ran out of the room. A kiss from a Priestess,
however, was not something that one brushed off easily, and Ken certainly was
not inclined to. So, he shut down his computer and went searching for his
wives. After all, what was the use of having two wives, both of them your
slaves, if you couldn't relieve a little tension now and then.
+++++
The chaos started the day before the Lughnasad ritual, where Genie and
Annette were going to be inducted. Hiding something from a Priestess wasn't
easy, but Jane and the rest of the women were more than able to keep Annette in
the dark about what Gary had planned.
Gary, Ken knew, was both very happy and very worried about what was
coming up. He felt he was making a lot of assumptions, whereas everyone else
thought he was nuts. He shrugged, figuring that, one way or the other, he'd be
finding out soon enough. Sally, of course, was in her glory, since she was able
to plan out food for lots of people. Eric and Ken just stayed out of the way
and ran errands as required. They didn't even get a chance to see the
masterpiece that Sally was creating in the large kitchen.
The ritual was on a Thursday night, so everyone who was attending
decided to take Friday off. Even Joan, which would have shocked Ken a month
ago. No longer, of course. She was all but living at the mansion, and Ken was
beginning to suspect that Bill wasn't the only one who'd seen the Goddess.
When Ken asked Lea about it, She simply smiled at him with a very
innocent look. Ken wondered if She were taking lessons from Jane on how to look
innocent, or if it was the other way around. He had no intention of asking.
Ken was surprised that, despite all the chaos that ensued, no one that
had started training with him skipped the morning sessions. He himself had no
intention of missing his Friday class with Sensei. The man was really pushing
him, drilling him in all his old techniques, making sure they were as perfect
and flowing as Ken could make them. He was also teaching Ken new movements,
ones that Ken had never been shown and he absorbed the knowledge like a dry
sponge.
Ken, of course, had no idea how he looked to the other students. Most
of them, at this point, were wondering why he bothered with the white belt he
wore. It was obvious that he was not a white belt. His movements were already
in a state that most knew they could only hope to approach on their best days.
Only Nikki had said anything about it, though. As usual, Ken had shrugged off
her suggestion that he should at least consider testing for his next belt.
Ken's response was that he wasn't interested in that kind of test. Only in
improving his skills.
+++++
It was warm in the room, the air heavily laden with the smell of sex.
Bill ran his fingers over Genie's skin, reveling in the feel of her body. She
wiggled a little, sighing in pleasure and smiled at him. It was now, he
thought, or never. He'd prepared by making sure what he needed was in easy
reach, and so rolled over a bit to grab it. Genie, still floating from her
orgasm, didn't really notice. Bill ran his fingers over her face and she turned
toward him, sensing a change in his emotions. He'd been on edge all night, but
now he was really agitated.
"Sweetie," she said, "what's wrong?"
He smiled at her, a nervous smile, and a distant part of his mind
wondered how the hell she managed to do that. His own mother couldn't read him
like this.
"Nothing's wrong, Genie," he replied gently. "I just... I have
something to ask you."
Genie levered herself up on the pillows. Whatever he was going to ask
was evidently very serious.
After their talk the other day, Bill realized that Genie was, indeed,
going to become part of something that he was not included in. He had intended
to do this anyway, just not quite yet. But with Genie becoming part of this
Circle, becoming a Priestess, he felt he should ask her now. Perhaps it wasn't
fair, but Bill had very little experience with things like this, and so went
with his gut.
He looked at this woman, who he loved so very much, and realized what
she was probably going to say. They really hadn't known each other all that
long. Hell, he didn't even have a job and... he realized that he was stalling.
Genie was waiting, patently, for him to ...
"Will you marry me, Genie?" he asked, holding out the opened box.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the gold band with the diamond in it.
+++++
The morning of the Ritual, Annette came to Ken, who was sitting in the
Garden.
"I love this place," she said as she approached.
"Me, too," said Ken. How could he not? This was the place where Lea
had entered the world for the first time in who knew how long.
"I have something for you, Master Ken," she said.
Ken's face broke into a huge grin. "You're finished with them?" he
asked.
"Yes, Sir. Sorry it took so long, but I wanted these to be really
special," she said, holding out a small, but beautifully carved box.
"Master insisted on making the box," she said. "He claimed that there
was no way you should get these in a store-bought box."
The box was, in and of itself, a work of art. The word 'beautiful' only
cheapened the artistry that had gone into its creation.
It was hand-carved, of course, and when he looked at it, he realized
that somehow, looking at the box made him think of the Garden. In fact, he was
sure that anyone who looked at the box, then at the Garden, could not fail to
connect the two.
Flowers, stonework, vines, even a faint representation of a glowing
Circle were depicted. It wasn't like a scene showing the Garden was carved into
the box. It was like the box was somehow part of the garden -- complete with
live plants and the sense of peace that one got from sitting in it. Ken had
never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Until he opened the box.
Inside were the three pentacles that he'd requested. There were no
words to describe them. He could tell, immediately, which one was meant for
whom. They weren't fancy or overdone. But their simple beauty was unmatched by
any piece of jewelry that he'd ever seen -- even the rings that Lea had given
them.
Each necklace had small stones worked into them. Deep blue Sapphires in
Jane's. Emeralds in the one for Arianwen. For him, the stones looked clear,
perhaps like diamonds, but only at first glance. Looking more closely, he
realized that they shifted color, even without looking at them from a different
angle.
"What are the stones in mine?" he asked in wonder.
Annette shrugged. "I have no idea what they are called. I came to my
room one day, and they were sitting on my desk. In fact, all of them were
sitting there. They aren't like any stones that I've ever seen before, so I'm
sure you can guess where they came from."
Ken could indeed. Lea had supplied them. Perhaps as a wedding gift.
He wondered if the other stones were really sapphires and emeralds, because it
was damn sure that the stones in his pentacle were not diamonds.
"How come Gary didn't come down with you? I mean, this box is, well,
it's as amazing as the jewelry. I'd like to thank him."
"Sir," Annette replied, "please don't make a big deal about the box.
He's pretty embarrassed about it. I know for a fact that I've only seen a piece
like this once, and he quickly hid it from me. I found it later and looked it
it and, quite frankly, it scared me half to death."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Sir. He said he carved it when he was little. I don't know how
young he was. It was a wood carving of a small dragon. Not perfect like the
box, but something you'd expect to see from a talented teen.
"Thing is, when I found it, I almost dropped it. Even though it wasn't
perfect, I swear it looked almost alive. I didn't keep it out for long, it
unnerved me too much. He's done other carvings over the years, but other than
that, I've never seen him do anything even remotely as good as this."
Ken was overwhelmed. The combination of the box and the necklace was
almost too much. They made everything he'd ever owned -- hell, even seen --
look like cheap plastic toys. Except for the rings from Lea that they wore.
Those were the only thing that could compare.
"If you think I shouldn't make a big deal, I won't," said Ken, embracing
Annette. "But thank you for these. I don't think what I paid you is even a
millionth of what they're worth. Hell, I don't think that I could pay anyone
for something this beautiful."
She smiled as she pulled from his embrace, then kissed him deeply. "It
was our pleasure, Master," she said. "You've done at least as much for us,
especially lately."
Knowing that offering more money would be totally inappropriate, Ken
didn't bother, just opened the box to look at the contents again. Sighing, he
closed it after a short while. Soon, he'd see these gracing the necks of his
wives, and he was absolutely certain that both women would love them. In the
meantime....
"So, not to bring up a subject that is too unpleasant, but would you
care to tell me about Gitana?" he asked.
Annette looked at the ground for a moment. "Yeah. That's gonna be a
problem," she said.
"Just because she has Circle potential doesn't mean that she can be
Circle, Annette," said Ken. "I'm sure that there are many people out there that
could come to us, but only a few actually will."
"I know," said Annette. "But right now there are so few of us, that I'd
hate to turn her away. On the other hand, I can't see any way of getting her
past Gary, never mind the fact that her father could... hell, already has made
real trouble for us."
"She's going to find the mansion, eventually," replied Ken. "I really
don't want the attention focused on us."
"I understand, Sir. But she won't. Gita comes from a very wealthy and
powerful family. She's used to getting what she wants, and quite frankly, we
don't have any way of keeping her away from us. She. .. well, she's in love
with me, and Gary -- well, she might not be in love with him, but she is deeply
in lust."
"We'll think of something," said Ken. "What, I don't know, but
something."
+++++
Thursday morning went by very quickly. There was a hell of a lot of
stuff to get done, even though it was no surprise that the ritual was happening.
And, of course, something occurred that no one had counted on. Well, almost no
one.
Genie and Bill came down for breakfast -- which, for a change, included
everyone living in the mansion, plus Joan. They both almost glowed, which could
be attributed to a night of fantastic love-making. But Ken knew immediately
that wasn't it. It was Jane who mentioned it first.
"Genie," she said as the other woman was reaching, with her fingers
conspicuously displayed, for some syrup, "what is that on your finger?"
"Oh, this?" she asked casually. "It's just my engagement ring!" She
broke out into a huge smile as she finished the sentence.
Pandemonium broke out. Faster than he believed was possible, the women
were all clustered excitedly around Genie, with everyone talking at once.
Squeals of excitement, laughter and kisses were shared, and Bill was completely
ignored by them. Ken glanced at Eric, and nodded toward Bill, who had turned
beet red and was sitting there trying to eat. Eric stood, Ken stood, and both
walked to either side of the seated man.
Eric lay a large hand on Bill's shoulder and said, "It's a little noisy
in here. Why don't we go someplace a little more quiet."
Bill looked up at the huge man, wondering if this was a good or a bad
thing. With Ken standing on the other side of him, all thoughts of bolting were
gone.
The men, including Gary, retired to the other room, where Ken smiled and
pulled Bill into a hug, slapping him on the back and congratulating him. Gary
and Eric joined him, and Bill began to wonder if he'd survive the experience.
At least they weren't pissed at him.
Things died down a bit, although Sally was somewhat grumpy because she
didn't have time to prepare something special for them. Genie couldn't have
cared less, though, so kissed her and danced away.
Ken cornered Bill shortly after noon.
"Bill, I think we should have a little talk..."
End chapter 2-14
