Mandy did as she was told, locking her eyes on his. They swallowed her attention, leaving her body to tremble while Sean gradually administered an overdose of magic into her system.
“That’s it.” Sean ran his thumb under her chin. “Do not fight it. Let all your thoughts drift away.”
She swayed and groaned. Her lust was growing into an urge she clearly couldn’t control. She rubbed her hands over Sean’s suit and tore at the buttons of his shirt.
“Yes,” Sean pressed. “Your mind is unraveling. Opening up to me.”
He ran his fingers gently over her collarbone, the power of his charm dug deeper and deeper into her mind. She dug her nails into his chest and neck. A delightful moan escaped her lips.
Sean grinned. “That’s it, my angel. That’s it. Let me in.”
Her pupils dilated, signifying her mind had become completely hollow, all her memories suppressed by Sean’s power. She was ready for the taking. She clawed at his shirt and pressed herself into him, hungry for the words about to pour into her ear.
“You are perfect,” Sean whispered with delight. “Mandy Brown, your mind is completely wiped clean. You have forgotten everything. Your family. Your friends. You have even forgotten yourself. That is why you’re here, Mandy. You came to me to find your answers. You have come to give yourself to a new faith. Set is your god, and I am your hem-netjer, your high priest. You came for answers in the Temple of Set and answers you will receive. Through our teaching, you will build a new life. One serving only our god, Set. Tomorrow, you will be bound to him, and you will join our family.” He kissed her forehead. “Now awake, my child. Awake.”
Once Sean withdrew his power, Mandy was left shivering in the cold. She frantically scanned the deck, completely lost and confused.
“Calm yourself, angel,” Sean cooed. “You are safe here.”
Mandy wheeled her head around to look at him. Relaxing, a soft smile crossed her lips. Sean stroked her cheek sending her back into an oblivious fog. He then turned to Seth, who scowled at the display.
“As you can see, my son, our gift is truly the mightiest of all. Not only can we use Connection or Subjection to control our prey, our greatest power lies in Inception and Thought Reform. These give us control like no other. For Ashley, it became her doom. A seed planted that grew into her demise. And as for Mandy, well . . . there is no return for where I have sent her mind. And come tomorrow, she will be enslaved by the power of our god.”
Seth grumbled a curse at his father under his breath.
“You too can master these talents, my son, when you’ll finally realize your potential.” He released Mandy and offered her his hand. “Come, dear. I will show a place to sleep for the night.”
Mandy placed her hand into his, and he guided her through the threshold of the sliding door. He paused, glancing over his shoulder at Seth one last time.
“Oh, and do clean up the mess downstairs before you retire for the night.”
Seth’s eyes met Mandy’s when she looked at him in wonder. They were still dilated, only allowing a small ring of sky blue to appear along the rim. And they would stay that way for the rest of her life.
Seth growled and cursed, his rage boiling his blood as Mandy followed Sean into the house and disappeared with him. Even the beast inside his heart felt cheated by his father’s acts. Seth looked down at Ashley Dunwater’s body, gulped down his beer, and smashed the bottle against the deck.
The school was buzzing with soft whispers on Monday morning. Groups of huddled students in the halls were so completely immersed in their conversation they didn’t even register Natti bumping through or hear her apologies. She glanced from one group to the next, wondering what news could possibly have caused such commotion.
“Natti!” Wanda pushed through the crowd. “Oh, excuse me. Sorry about that. Natti! Natti! Did you hear?”
“Hear what?” Natti asked once her friend finally made it through the throng.
“Ashley Dunwater is dead.” Wanda waved the cover story of the Setemple Newspaper in front of Natti. “She was found dead over the weekend in the community pool.”
Natti took the paper, gazing at the face she had seen Seth with just last Friday. Oh God. “What happened?”
“According to the autopsy, she drowned. No sign of a struggle or any injuries. And since there is no other evidence suggesting otherwise, the District Attorney has ruled it an accidental death.”
“Honestly!” Natti hissed. “They’re not even planning on opening a case?”
“On what grounds?”
Natti sighed and stared at the picture. “I don’t know. It just seems a bit odd to me. Then again, a lot of things seem odd in this town.” Natti clamped her mouth, realizing she didn’t mean to say that last sentence out loud. “I mean, what was she even doing at a pool alone? Where were her friends? Where was the life guard? Did anyone see her?”
“Time of death was determined to be around midnight on Friday.”
“So what? She broke into the grounds by herself and drowned?”