In his tortured mind he was covered with an army of ants, each of them tormenting his bound skin, causing an insatiable itch to appear, an itch he was unable to scratch because of the rope that held him immobile against the stone wall.  His face was sunken, dark rings under his eyes and a damp spot of moisture resting on his cheeks from where he had cried himself to sleep, begging in silence for the torture to end.

    Good morning, Collette thought to me.

    I smiled, good morning to you too.  He looks horrible, I thought to her, indicating Nathaniel with a soft nod of my head.

    Yes.

    I looked at Collette and saw that her skin was pale.  She seemed tired, the strain of the confrontation written in the soft lines of her face.  I twisted my head, baring my throat to her.  Feed, I whispered to her.  Take what you need.  We had eaten yesterday, but we had not fed.  We needed the blood, the life giving, nurturing, coppery thickness of blood to rejuvenate.  Feed, I repeated softly.

    And she did.

    She drank deep, pulling my blood into her mouth, purring as her ravenous hunger was sated on the thick ichor that poured from my neck.  She swallowed heavily, her head twisting, savagely tearing at my throat.  I grimaced in pain, the feeling of her teeth ripping my skin burned painfully.  

    She pulled her mouth off of my throat, a line of blood trailing down her chin.  Her color was richer, healthier.  She had fed, and she had healed.  Collette extended her tongue and licked my throat, cleaning the trail of blood that still seeped from the open wound.  The puncture marks were large and ugly, bulging in quiet discomfort.  I could feel my pulse against the gash in my neck, a slow throbbing like the distant sound of a drum.

    Thank you.

    I smiled weakly, you're welcome.

    I want you to read to me some more, she thought to me.

    I held my hands up, as if expecting the diary to appear in my hands.

    She laughed, first, she thought to me, we have to take care of Brian.  She climbed out of bed and held her hand to me.  Come, she thought, pulling me from the bed.

    The candles led the way, flaring to life as we climbed the tower stairs leading to the roof where Brian awaited.  We walked up to him, his eyes glazed over at our approach.  He was watching us with eyes that couldn't see, blinded by misery.  His wrists were raw from his struggling, the rope cutting into him.  "Please," he whimpered.

    Collette shook her head.  She held her hand up and a large, black paddle materialized.  "Brian," she said to him, squatting to look into his blank face, "this will be over shortly.  It will hurt, and you will cry and scream, but remember, this is no worse than what you put your wife through."

    With that Collette probed his mind and pulled a memory from his past.  In it he was striking his wife with a closed fist, her face blackening under his destructive blows.  She was shrieking in pain and horror, her forearms held up to try to protect her face from his abuse.  "Please, stop, please," she was crying, tears pouring down her face, tears of pain and rage and humiliation and submission.  With the memory looping on itself, Brian was watching the cause of his punishment.

    Collette raised the paddle and brought the hard wood down with a resounding thud.  Brian wailed in pain, bucking against the tight ropes.  He cried in misery, pulling impotently against the ropes, crying in agony, his finger flexing as he strained to move his hands to protect his flaming ass.  The paddle fell a second time with equal force and again Brian screamed.

    Again and again the paddle fell.  Brian cried and screamed in agonizing pain, the sound echoing off of the stone towers of the castle.  Seagulls scattered at the sound, flying away noisily.  Collette paddled Brian while he watched his hand strike his wife.  

    I could see both simultaneously; I watched Collette strike Brian's red ass while seeing the blows fall at the exact moment that his fist hit his wife's face in his mind.  Collette was timing it perfectly, Brian was feeling his wife's pain; feeling the agonizing force of his fists.  He felt his skin break and blood begin to seep from his wounded ass while he watched his wife's swollen lip expand and burst under his violent beating.  "No more," he and his wife squeaked in unison.   

    But there was more.  Brian watched his wife begging for the abuse to end and he could see his enraged form ignore the pleading.  Collette raised the paddle and slammed it against Brian's sunburned ass.  He bucked as far as the ropes would allow, wallowing in misery.  He screamed in agony, his words matching the pleas of his wife.

    When Brian's form stopped the abuse against his wife, Collette ceased beating him.  His ass was bleeding, large gashes open on the bruised skin.  The blood ran down his thigh to collect in a sticky mess against the table he was bound to.  Collette bent forward and whispered in Brian's ear, "it's over."

    Brian did not hear the words, lost in his own world of suffering.  He was crying, tears streaking down his cheeks, a salty river flowing from his swollen eyes.  "Please," he was whimpering, "no more, no more, no more."  It was a litany of regret spurred by a thick throat full of phlegm.  Collette planted a thought in his mind and he watched as she walked out of his life, never to return.  The sight caused him to wail again, "no!"  And he cried himself to sleep.

    Come, Collette thought to me, it is time for you to read to me.

* * * * *

    The book was heavy in my hand.  Collette was leaning against my chest, her hair smelling of honey suckle ripe on the vine; calling bumblebees to their white depths.  Her head rested against my shoulder, the thick book, bound by years of use, rested between my open arms.  Her flowing script leapt from the pages, carrying us through time to her past.

* * * * *

    The church loomed before me, reaching towards the blackening sky as clouds of gossamer silk marched by like royalty; proud and strong.  The wind was blowing, causing my dark hair to dance behind me.  I looked up at the stone gargoyles and bade them to life.

    The creatures of the night obeyed my thoughts without question as if they knew I was their commander as surely as they knew the sun rose in the east.  Come, I thought to the stone creatures of unimaginable strength, come to me, there is much to do. Above me three stone creatures groaned and shifted, spreading their chiseled wings.  They fell to the earth as they extended their arms to float the last few feet to land on the ground before me.

    The tallest creature, his eyes glowing a pale yellow squawked loudly, "command us."  The sound was grating, like a croak of a frog mixed with the sound of chalk on slate.  The two remaining gargoyles nodded their stone heads, acknowledging their leaders request for a demand.

    "Bring him to me," I hissed to the commanded, "bring the traitor to me."

    The three gargoyles spread their stone wings and took flight, rising higher in the dark sky until they disappeared from view.  I closed my eyes and watched their flight, watching them swoop over the stone buildings, diving through the clouds towards their prey.  I watched as the flew through the open window and landed, snorting hot breath, at the feet of Friar Essex.

    He looked at the three stone creatures, steam spilling from their nostrils and grinned.  "She sent you for me?"

    The same grating sound, "yesss."

    "She fears me."  He was confident, he was speaking what he felt was the truth, not asking a question.  The gargoyles were silent, "very well, bring me to her."  He held out his hands and the three stone creatures gripped his arms and shoulders and pulled him into the night sky, flying him towards my waiting form.

    The gargoyles returned to my side, delivering the friar to her as I had commanded.  "Thank you," I whispered to her gargoyle friends, "thank you for your service."

    Flying off the leader groaned, "you're welcome."

    I turned to the priest, his brown robes hanging loosely on his thin frame.  "You betrayed a trust," I hissed at him.

    "I owe no allegiance to you.  My allegiance is to God only."

    "I trusted you with a secret and you betrayed me, revealing my identity to another like me.  He attacked me, you know.  He gathered a group of villagers, posing as their savior to attack.  It was enjoyable to watch the crowd lay upon him like vultures as I hovered above them with a mist milling at my feet.  I defeated him and now I will defeat you."

    "No," he shook his head, "you will not."  

    I raised an eyebrow, "no?"

    I watched as his nostrils flare in anger and his hissed, baring his teeth, fangs glistening in the moonlight.  "No," his voice was thick with anger, "I will kill you."

    He lunged at me, his teeth flashing in the night.  His hands pressed against my shoulders, forcing me onto my back.  He landed on me, his knee pressing against my calf.  He was heavy, lying on me, his fangs closing towards my throat.  I shook off my surprise and brought my arms up and pressed against his chest.  He was heavy, pressing against me, and I struggled to throw him off.

    "Die," he hissed.

    His teeth pressed against my throat and in a burst of rage he clamped his teeth down, sinking the hollow fangs into my throat.  I felt a burst of hot pain and exhaled painfully.  Straining, I brought my hand up and gripped his hair.  I pulled his hair and struggled to pull his mouth off of my throat.  I could feel myself growing weaker as my blood was pulled into my assailants mouth.  I screamed in rage and yanked his mouth off of my throat.  Bringing my knee up I kneed his crotch and rolled away before lurching to my feet.  

    He was not as easy as I had anticipated.  He had betrayed me, that was certain.  I had come to him seeking advice, new to this strange city.  I had not know he was a vampire at the time, of course, or I would not have revealed my identity.  He immediately told another and that vampire rallied a town against me.  I remember the confrontation, how I had risen on a cloud of mist to hover above the throng.

    The town had not know he was a vampire, indeed neither had I until he flashed his teeth at me.  He played his part well, calling out how he was going to rid the world of "my kind."  The gullible crowd was swayed by his charisma.  As I hovered above them I revealed him for what he was and the crowd had attacked him, laying on him like a carnivore over a wounded wildebeest.  

    Now my betrayer was attacking me with his fangs.  Robert had taught me well and I knew that the Friar was no match for my powers, his attack having surprised me.  I would not make that mistake again.  

    "Die, bitch," he hissed, lunging at me.

    "Freeze," my voice was ice and he became immobile.  

    He was locked still, frozen in a taut stance, looking like a tiger ready to pounce.  "I know you can hear me.  You are going to suffer for me."  I closed my eyes and smiled.  I pulled the Friar back to his church, the long trip passing silently.  I  positioned him against the stone wall just to the left of the large stained glass doors that led into the church.  "Meld," I whispered.

    The Friar's face shifted in a rictus of pain as his body was absorbed into the church.  The church pulled his body into its stone edifice, swallowing his body until he became one with the building.  I could hear his screams in my mind, he had no voice to speak them.  "Suffer for me," I whispered. 

    "Please," he begged in my mind, "I can't move.  It hurts, I am being crushed."

    And it was as he described it.  The stone of the church was weighing on his formless body, crushing his bones painfully but not breaking them.   The stone held his shape perfectly.  He was in bondage better than any that rope could provide.  He could move no part of his body.  His eyes, feet, toes, fingers, ears, arms, legs, head and neck all held perfect immobile.  The weight of the building would crush him and the stone would support him.  He would suffer.

   Walking away I whispered, "forever."

* * * * *

    How long ago was that? I thought to Collette.

    She spoke aloud, whispering the words, "centuries ago, and not long enough?"

    "What do you mean?" I asked, curious as to  her choice of words.

    She frowned thinly, "the church has been torn down.  Centuries of time had eaten the once proud structure until, inevitably, it became weak."

    "What happened to the vampire."

    She sighed, fatigue washing over her, "it freed him.  He is on his way here.  He is feeding, taking his time, growing in strength.  But he is coming.  I have not seen the outcome of the confrontation, it is hidden from me as our fight with Nathaniel had been clouded in a haze.  I do not know what will happen.  Time has honed his hatred into a talisman, leading him towards us.  He is stronger now, as I am.  His hatred, however, drives him and it will be difficult."

    "Can I help?"

    She smiled, a weak grin, "you will help.  But there is more."

    "What?"

   She looked tired, her beautiful face falling as she searched for the words.  I tried to read her thoughts but found she had shut her mind to me.  Is it time to tell him, she wondered.  She looked at me, her head tilted, her eyes looking defeated, the centuries she had spoken of washing over her face.  She shut her eyes and exhaled heavily.  Finally she whispered, "I am your Robert."

    My face fell, shock and confusion and denial dancing in my green eyes as I enveloped her words, pulling them into me.  I doubted I would ever forget the look of completion that crossed her face as she whispered her confession.  And it was a confession, she had known my destiny as Robert himself had know hers.  And she had kept the knowledge hidden, like the ancient Christians hiding their religion from their oppressors; fearing the knowledge seeing the light of day and anxiously awaiting the day it was public.

    She looked relieved that she had spoken the words, indeed she said as much, "I needed to tell you that.  The day you showed up here was the start of your destiny and I waited to be sure.  Now," she said smiling, "I know."

    I opened my mouth to speak, shut it, opened it, shut it.  I looked like a mute marionette, the hand controlling me working and the ventriloquists voice silent.  "Will I...do I...I can't."

   She understood my stammering.  "Perhaps you won't have to," she said, sounding vague.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, her confusing words echoing in my mind.

    "The friar is coming," she began, "and I can not see the outcome of the confrontation.  It could be for a number of reasons.  I couldn't see the outcome of our battle with Nathaniel as it changed three times, each different than the last.  This could be one of those things.  Or..." she let the words hang in the air.

    Or you may die, I finished her words in my thoughts.

    She smiled wanly.  "I had already begun your training, as Robert had trained me.  You did not know your destiny and you learned well.  You are stronger now than when you first arrived."  Her next words revealed so much, "I'm tired."

    It was another confession, her two words, "I'm tired."  She was not commenting that she needed to rest; she was remarking that she was ready to yield her life to the ages, she was ready to die.  I could not fathom how tiresome it had to be to live for centuries, watching your family grow old and die only to live on and watch their families wither away.  Each generation passing was a cold reminder to your immortality, each generation weakening your ties to your past.

    She had chosen me as her successor as Robert had chosen her.  She revealed the depth of her soul when she confessed that I was to replace her, that I was her Robert.  I would not deny her; indeed I could not.  It would take years for her to train me, perhaps decades.  It had taken Robert years to impart his knowledge on Collette until, finally, she had surpassed him in strength.  Was that my destiny, I wondered, to surpass Collette as she had her mentor?

    She had been searching for the words to tell me that I was her successor.  Her diary had been her catalyst.  Reading of her past, learning her ways through her written words had revealed so much.  Starting from the childlike script and each days entry beginning, "dear diary," and continuing through the mature prose of her adolescence and adulthood.  She had aged in her words and style.  She smiled at me, and took my hand.  "Come," she breathed, taking my hand.  She pulled me from the room and led me to the sunken waterbed.

    She was ravenous, pulling me onto her.  She forced my head between her widely parted thighs, clamping my face against the warm softness of her sex.  Eat me, she thought to me, the voice of her mind dripping passion.  She was dripping in anticipation, her confession an aphrodisiac, spurring her excitement.

    My tongue parted dipped into her velvety softness and she hitched in pleasure.  I ran my tongue over her sex, tasting her, probing her, tonguing her, and pleasuring her.  She watched Nathaniel hang limply against the wall, his bound form an added excitement.  She came loudly and as I climbed up from her thighs she pushed me back down, no, she though, continue.

    And I did, I kept licking her sex, bringing her heated body to completion again and again until she finally whispered, "stop."  She was breathing heavily, her body weak.  I climbed up from between her now weak thighs and lowered myself next to her.  She leaned her head into my shoulder and rapidly fell asleep.  I placed my head against hers and together we dreamt.

    * * * * *

    Far below us a river raged, the raging water racing down the curved ravine with a thunderous roar.  We were lying on soft, green grass watching the stars smile down on us from heaven above.  "What do you think death is like?" Collette asked me, her hand in mine.  My thumb was caressing her fingers, stroking her softly.

    I turned my head to look at her, "I don't know."

    Still staring up at the black sky, looking at the ages shining in the stars.  With a soulful whisper, "I am tired."  

    "Of what?" I asked.

    Collette didn't answer.  Her hand tightened on mine, squeezing me almost for reassurance that I was still there.  "They go on forever," she said, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of the raging river below, "I bet death is like that."

    She sighed heavily, fatigue evident in that heavy breath.  She looked up at the stars shining down like eyes peering at us from the heavens.  Her eyes drifted from one point of light to the next. Her questions continued, "do you think that each star could be a person savoring their afterlife?"  She emphasized the word "their" longingly.

    I looked at her profile, the darkness hiding her features in soft shadows.  "Soon?" I asked, finally understanding.  

    She shook her head, an almost imperceptible motion.  "No," she whispered, "not soon enough.  There is so much to do."  The fatigue in her voice grew as she spoke in soft tones.  "So much," she repeated and sighed again.  Her hand tightened around mine again, squeezing my hand painfully.  "I hope I am right about you."

    I looked at her, "you have your doubts?"

    Finally, "yes."

    My brow furrowed into a look of confusion, "about?"

    Still staring up at eternity, she whispered, "not yet."

    I nodded.  "I understand?"

    "Do you?"

    "Yes," I replied, my hand gripping hers, "you know it is my destiny to replace you, you have said as much when you admitted that you were my Robert.  You are not, however, sure what part I will play in the confrontation with Friar Essex, nor are you certain how your own death will come about.  You know you are dying," I choked on those words, "you just don't know how or when."

    She smiled in the darkness, "that's true," she began, "but there is more.  And," she turned her head to look at me, "I am not yet ready to share my thoughts about my future."  She turned her head back towards the dark sky, "not yet," she repeated.

    "Not yet," I smiled at her, nodding my agreement.

    She turned to look back into the darkness of the night, sighing heavily as if time was pressing on her heavily, and I supposed it was.  She had lived for centuries; had watched friends and family die, had seen lifestyles change from torch light to electric.  She had seen the advent of the car, the beginning of flight and she had finally retreated into her castle, hidden in the mist of an ocean breeze.  Her castle was more than her home, it was a safe haven.

    And that haven was threatened.  She knew Friar Essex was on his way, that his anger was leading him and his power was growing.  Her home was no longer safe and she knew her passing was at hand.  She had a lot to think about, those thoughts weighing on her heavily.  She shut her eyes and together, hand in hand, we fell asleep, listening to the wind blowing through the ravine and the racing water below.

* * * * *

    "Do you understand now?" Collette asked me.

    "Yes," I whispered.  We were lying on the sunken waterbed, fingers intertwined.  Nathaniel was unmoving, the ropes binding him to the wall.  He had finally fallen asleep, the torturous ants that were not there finally driving him into unconsciousness where he had stayed until his mind shut down and sleep overtook him.

    "You have much to learn,"  she whispered.

    I reached my arm up and pulled her to me, wrapping her in my warm arms.  "Teach me what I need to know.  Help me learn what I need to know to help you defeat Friar Essex.  I am an open slate to your guidance."

    She smiled thinly.  We had shared the dream she had controlled, another amazing facet of her power.  She had shown me what I needed to see and understand while we slept, the time that had passed not wasted in the darkness.  The sun was climbing through the open portals.  I could hear the ocean singing outside, the sound soothing.  Collette climbed out of bed and stretched, her body enticing.  We need to release Brian, she thought to me, and heal his wounds.  

    I climbed out of bed and together we walked, naked, to the roof where Brian was struggling against the ropes that held him firmly.  His ass was a bruised mass of flesh, dark and angry looking.  The sun had burned the flesh and Collette's paddling had cracked the skin, the flesh torn.  He was whimpering in pain, his eyes swollen from his tears.

    Collette untied him and together we half-carried, half-dragged him from the rooftop to the bedroom.  Collette told me to draw him a bath and I hastened to obey.  I filled the sunken tub with warm water and when the water was a foot from the top I stopped the liquid flow and helped Collette lower Brian into the cleansing water.

    Together we bathed his limp body, washing his sweaty skin.  Collette eased a clean wash cloth over his ass, cleaning the wounds.  He was whimpering behind closed eyes, not having the strength to fight or assist.  Nathaniel was watching and strained against the ropes that held him immobile to see us as we bathed Brian's weak body.  Sleep, Collette thought to Nathaniel and immediately he fell into a deep slumber.  We finished bathing Brian and together we carried him to the bed where he fell asleep almost immediately, his bruised ass pointing towards the sky.

    Collette ran her fingers along his back affectionately as I drained the tub.  I wiped the sunken bath down with a towel and carried the discarded towels to the growing pile.  Collette beckoned me to her and we left the room, the two men sleeping, their suffering abating.  They have been punished enough, Collette thought to me as she led me towards the kitchen.  We need to prepare a meal and have them eat shortly.

    I agreed and together we baked some fish that we took from one of the large freezers.  Collette made some fresh cole slaw after I shredded the cabbage using dill to season the delicious salad.  I cut potatoes and as the fish finished baking I fried the potatoes until they were golden brown.  Setting the table in the next room I set out silver ware for all six of us; Brian and Nathaniel, Keith and Linus and Collette and I.

    Collette retrieved Nathaniel and Brian, rousing both of them from their slumber and untying Nathaniel from the wall.  The stone recessed into the castle, realizing its job was finished.  She fetched Keith and Linus from other rooms in the castle where they had been relaxing.  They entered as I finished setting our meal on the table.  We ate in silence, Collette at the head of the table overlooking the rest of us as we ate.  She was comfortable with her dominance over all of us, eyeing us all with a soft smile.  

    Collette was smiling.  I tried to read her thoughts, but found her mind closed to me.  Try harder, her words drifted into my mind.  

    I concentrated on her mind as I ate, dipping the fish into a pile of tartar sauce.  I shut my eyes, trying to read her thoughts.  I could see her behind my closed eyes; watching as she turned her eyes to each of us in turn.  A thought drifted into my head, just a glimpse into her mind, feeling, Brian?

    She was thinking to Brian, asking him how he was doing.  I caught a glimpse of the conversation, a fragment, just two words.  Feeling, Brian, I had read.  In my mind I could see her turn her head to think to Keith.  I tried focusing my thoughts to read hers, but again only a glimpse of her thoughts, dinner.  Just a word this time.  

    Try harder, she thought to me.  You can do it.  Read my thoughts.  Connect to me.  

    Connect to me, were her words.  To me, not to the conversation.  I took a deep breath, smelling the strong scent of the fish as the six of us ate.  Exhaling slowly I concentrated on reading Collette and not her thoughts.  A flash of light lit brightly behind my eyes and I could see Collette as a little girl walking along with her friend.  It was Isabelle, the two of them skipping merrily from school.  

    Yes, a simple word drifted to me.

    The two girls continued to move away from the receding temple of the school until Isabelle, her dark hair blowing in the wind slowly faded away until only the young form of Collette remained.  I watched as her skipping faded and she stood still looking next to her at the empty space where Isabelle had been just moments before.  

    Connect.

    Collette grew older before my eyes as I concentrated on her as she sat majestically at the head of the table.  I watched her mature before my eyes.  The school faded and disappeared, being replaced by a large city with lanterns glowing like living eyes in open framed widows.  I watched as she approached a church, seeking sanctuary in a strange city, hunted as a vampire.  She revealed her nature with a flash of pristine teeth and Friar Essex welcomed her, his treachery yet to be revealed.

    Yes, she repeated.

    Collette stood alone on a beach, waves lapping gently at her bare feet.  Her back was to the noisy ocean and she was staring at a large expanse of empty space.  She was talking to the vacant land, "I'm home."

    In my mind I heard the land reply, "I have been waiting."  The land had a resonant voice, the words echoing; sounding like they were carried on the wind.

    Collette spoke slowly, "I need a house."

    "I shall build it for you," the land replied, "it will be your home, it will bend to your will."

    Collette turned, "do you understand?"

    And I was standing next to her on the vacant plain.  "No," I admitted.

    "Watch," she indicated the open plain.

    I stood, mouth agape, as the earth erupted.  The air was full of rumbling sounds as the earth rose from the ground.  I watched as large walls appeared, taking the shape of stone.  A large castle appeared, growing taller and more massive as it took shape.  The wind kicked up, blowing in from the ocean, whistling through the construction.  

    The castle continued to take shape.  The large wooden drawbridge was formed and locked into place.  My eyes were staring disbelieving as the turrets took shape, the walls solidified and the drawbridge lowered.  Thirty minutes had passed, it had taken just half an hour to create her home and I stared incredulous the entire time, "ho...how...how?" I stammered.

    Collette turned to look at me, "the earth is a living thing, and I have been around long enough to listen to it.  It has always spoken, but generally society is deaf to its whisperings.  When you have lived as long as I have, you learn to listen, and to respond." She took a breath and indicated the castle with a wave of her arm, "the earth has been here long before man and will be here long after.  It has seen things we can't understand, could never hope to.  It lives."

    "How could it..." my voice faded.

    She smiled, "it can manipulate itself."

    Finally, "why?" I asked.

    The castle finished materializing from the earth and it dawned on me that it could, just as easily, be swallowed once again into that earth.  I wondered with that thought if that is what happened to the castle when it disappeared.  Did it vanish in a mist or did the earth swallow it whole to hide it within the earth's strong embrace?

    She smiled at me, "because I asked."

    It was that simple, I supposed.  She had said that the earth was a living entity.  Why wouldn't it show kindness to those that would take the time to learn to speak with it.  The earth had to expend very little energy to create the castle, the size insignificant to the size of the whole, so it would not be that problematic for the earth to create the home for Collette.  It explained how the castle bent to her will, the wall opening up to secure Nathaniel to it's stone edifice, how the carpet seemed to materialize under her feet as she walked.  

    Shaking my head, "amazing."

    "Yes," she agreed, smiling a beautiful smile that lit her face.

    The world grew quiet, only the sound of the waves breaking against the shore behind me shattering the silence.  Collette walked towards the castle and I followed, the stone edifice reaching towards the clouds.  Small flags flapped noisily overhead, barely audible over the waves.  It wasn't until we were walking across the wooden drawbridge that I even heard them.

    Crossing the threshold I stopped.  Collette stopped as well and turned to look at me.  "What is it?" she inquired.

    "I'm not here," I said.  It sounded weird, but felt real.

    Collette smiled at me, she had expected my words, "no, you are not here.  We are eating fish in the castle a few centuries from now."

    "But, how?"

    "You are connecting."

* * * * *

   "You are connecting," Collette said to me as she took another bite of the fish.  

    I had dropped my fork, it was sitting in my lap and I was staring at Collette with a look of shock and delight.  "Connecting?" I asked, my voice weak. 

    Collette nodded.  Yes, her words came floating into my mind.  You have seen some of my past, the past that you have read about, and some you have not.  You controlled those visits by connecting with me in my mind.  I let you lead me there.  In time, you will be able to take me there against my will.  Use the power wisely, she cautioned.

    Wisely, she had thought to me.  The power she was hinting at overwhelmed me.  Forcing someone into the deep past of their mind against there wills.  I shook my head slowly, the thought of that power barely registering.  I glanced up at Brian, he had been punished for the power of his fist, I couldn't imagine him with the power of our minds. 

    We finished eating our meal and then Brian and Linus cleaned the dishes while Collette and I left the room, leaving Nathaniel and Keith, grandfather and grandson, alone for the first time since their arrival in Collette's home.  Collette and I turned left and entered the greenhouse.  The air was thick, smelling of fresh rain.  The sound of the fountain reached my ear and when we stopped we were standing next to the cherubic statue.  

    Collette sat on the edge of the fountain, stay streams of water landing in her dark hair.  "You have much to learn," she began.  "It is time to begin your lessons."

    I nodded.

    A small stone rose from the earth and flew towards my body.  I brought my arm up to deflect it, the pebble stinging my wrist when it collided.  

    "Use your mind," Collette directed.

    Another rock flew towards me and once again instinct took over and I blocked it with my hands.  

    "Freeze," Collette commanded and I found my body grow stiff.  I could not move my limbs, held immobile by her mind.  "Now, deflect the stones."

    I watched, my body frozen by her mind as another stone flew towards my body.  I strained to move my arms to block it, to move my body away from the rock, but was unable to move, unable to react.  The pebble hit my chest.  I felt the sting but could not react to it, my body immobile.  Collette spoke again, "stop them."

    Again a stone flew at my chest.  I envisioned the stone in my mind, reaching for it with my thoughts.  The stone hit my chest and again I winced internally.  

    "Try harder."

    Another pebble flew towards my unprotected body.  I could see it in my mind with my eyes shut.  I watched as it arced through the air.  I reached for it with invisible arms, my thoughts guiding the air towards the flying stone.  I could feel the rock in my mind as my hands gripped it.  It struck my chest with a gentle thud; I had slowed it with my mind.

    "Very good," Collette said, willing another rock at my chest.

    Another stone flew towards me and once again I slowed the path of the missile, easing the painful sting.  Collette continued willing small rocks to hurl towards my body until I was able to seize one with my mind and deflect it harmlessly away.  Collette was giddy with excitement, clapping merrily, "very good, indeed."

    Still held immobile Collette flung another stone at me with her mind.  I watched as the stone flew towards me and as I reached for it with my mind I felt another stone slam painfully against my back.  Collette smiled, "stop them all."

    The stakes were increased, now that I have stopped the first stone with my mind, she raised my challenge.  She would challenge me, train me, until I was sufficiently strong to help her with her fight with Friar Essex.  She was my trainer, my Robert, and I was her charge.  I shut my eyes and reached out with my thoughts.  The room came into my mind, blurry but visible.  I watched as three stones flew towards me, one at my back, one towards my left thigh, and the third towards my chest.  Calmly I plucked the stones from the air, shoving them towards the grown easily.  

   I was amazed at how easy this task had become.  I could still feel the stings of the earlier stones where they had struck my frozen body.  Now, with the room visible in my mind's eye I could reach out and pluck the pebbles from the air with a thought. Stone after stone flew towards me; first three, than four and finally I was able to stop seven stones as they all came rushing towards me.

    Collette clapped merrily, "wonderful.  You have done very well."

    "Thank you," I said smiling.  

    Collette released my body and once again I was able to move freely.  I twisted my neck and moaned at the loud popping sound I heard.  I stretched my arms, savoring the feeling of freedom.  "I could see the stones in my mind," I said sounding childlike in my excitement.

    "I know," and she laughed.

    Her words drifted to me in a thought, eat me, you deserve a reward.

    Indeed it was a reward, a treat to drop to my knees and dip my tongue into her sex.  Warm light fell into the room from the glass panes of the ceiling, bathing our bodies in its comforting embrace.  My knees pressed into the spongy earth, the blades of glass tickling my skin.  I brought my hands up to hold Collette's against me, my fingers digging into the soft flesh of her ass.  I held her to my face, my tongue parting the silken folds of her sex.  My tongue parted her, tasted her, and she purred.

    "Yes," she breathed, throwing her head back.

    My tongue continued probing her pussy.  I licked her sex fervently, enjoying the sounds she made; sounds of pleasure, sounds of delight and sounds of happiness.  Her fingers gripped my hair, kneading my scalp.  My fingers danced along the warm skin of her ass, gripping and pulling gently.  My tongue lapped at her sex and I slid my face higher to dart my tongue against her clit.  She was breathing heavily, panting in delight.  My tongue continued to pleasure her clit until she screamed in orgasmic bliss.  

    She pushed me away and as her breathing returned to normal she said haltingly, "let's go check on the others, and I will have you read to me some more.  There is still so much to teach you."

    And she led us from the room, the candles lighting the way.

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