Mistress A-0002

A ct like his friend. Act like his friend? Did he not know what I’d done for him? Elec would still be the shy closet-psychopath I’d found all those years ago had I not turned his personality inside-out. I gave him courage. I gave him style. Charm. Rage! Act like his friend? What the hell did he think I’d been doing all these years? It’s not like I was standing at anyone else’s side. It was him. It was always him. Act like his friend?

“Mother?”

I glanced up from my breakfast, sweeping over Jett’s bored face. Black hair fell just over his left eye, and his lips were slightly twisted with a hint of annoyance. His tone was laced in concern, but his expression didn’t mirror it.

“Yes?”

“This is the second breakfast since the auction where you haven’t said a word. I didn’t mean to make you so upset that night. I was angry. I acted like an idiot. I’m sorry.”

I placed down my fork, grabbing and taking a small sip of water.

“It’s okay. I was angry as well. We were both out of line. Let’s forget it.”

He nodded, growing quiet, but I knew from the separation of his lips and the way he kept peeking up at me that he wasn’t finished.

“I’ve been thinking.” Jett glanced around the busy restaurant, coming back to me. “And I don’t want to get you anymore upset, but I’d really like to talk about this. I’ve…I’ve been questioning my path.”

“Your path?”

“Business. I know what’s expected of me?—”

“Then why are you even broaching the subject?”

His jaw flexed, and his lips pressed together as I brought my hand up in an apology.

“Forgive me. Again. I’ve had a horrible morning, and I don’t see the day getting any better. You’re questioning your duties?”

Jett’s expression didn’t lose the tightness.

“I’m not sure I’m very good with being in a corporate role. I have traits that are compatible, and I know my duty to take over from father, but Marian pretty much already has. She wants that; I don’t. My interest lies elsewhere.”

“You’re the heir.”

“I know, but I have bigger plans.”

“Right. I think I may know where this is going. Your interests. What are those?”

At my question, he hesitated to answer.

“The mind. Over the years, I’ve learned stuff from watching you. I always hear stories about what a pioneer grandfather was. I think I can do it. I want that, but I also want to be like you and Elec.”

I laughed, and not halfheartedly. The emotion was real, and it was loud. Even appearing joyous, despite I felt far from it. The idea was absurd.

“You speak of traits. Do you believe your personality compatible with a psychiatrist? Psychologist? Psychotherapist?”

“That’s not exactly what I want to be. More…like Dr. Milsap. Like grandfather. The parts you all hide from the public. I want to experiment on the brain. I want to test the bounds of consciousness. I want to see what I can make a person do.”

“I see.” I licked my lips, resting my forearms on the table to lean closer to my son. “What you speak of is intriguing. You want to experiment like your grandfather, yet you want power over people you may not be safe to carry. Is it not enough that you have fun with the slaves?”

“No. I want to learn more.”

“You have to consider why you want to change your path to one like ours. Do you want to know what happens when the wrong person gets access to these kinds of skills? To my skills?”

Jett swallowed hard.

“They stop breathing?”

I threw him a look, staying quiet.

“What else happens, Mother?”

A smile tugged at the side of my mouth. “You cannot begin to imagine. What I did to you on auction night was nothing.”

“Will you show me?”

I lifted, resting my elbows on the table as I steepled my fingers just under my lips. Darkness covered me as I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes to slide into that space within me that basked in candy-coated chaos. To have people under my control was pointless if I didn’t occasionally use it for a bit of fun. Today, it was a lesson to my son. Power was pointless if not paired with patience. There was a right time for everything, and fate just happened to present me with a ‘special’ client during this very crucial moment. Special…was just that. Special. Expendable. A time bomb just waiting for me or Elec to pull the trigger. They were the pedophiles. The child molesters. The harmers of innocence. At least Elec and I could agree on the need for their eradication. We sure as hell couldn’t agree on June. Bitch.

Opening my eyes, I watched Jett’s gaze leave me and shoot to the table. His skin dropped a shade of color, and his fear increased the longer I focused on him. The table shook with his trembling, and I could see his breaths quickening. My arms came down, and I let my stare travel across the room until I came to stop on Clay Blessing. Master Nine-oh-two was laughing with one of his acquaintances, eating his French toast as if the crux of his core desires weren’t about to pour from his skin. He wanted the blood of children. To spill it. To defile what Elec and I wanted so desperately to build up. But his kind had no idea how deep our plans went. His perverse friends thought they were safe at the Gardens. Anything goes, after all. Well…secrets sealed the fate of sinners. Not all secrets were judged the same. It was the entire reason we allowed them in. For fun. For sport. For murder.

“Mother?”

“Do you see that man, Jett? The one at the far table, laughing and picking up his coffee?”

Jett’s head turned in my peripheral.

“Mr. Blessing? The food guy, right? He owns all those companies.”

“The food guy,” I repeated. “His name is Clay Blessing. Did you know why Clay is at the Gardens? He likes kids. Preferably tiny, little babies.”

Silence.

“Likes them? You mean…”

“That’s right, Son. The younger, the better. Men like that, they can’t be trusted with the future of our circle. Even though he’s not in it, he has access. That’s enough. We monitor him in the outside world. He gets nothing like that here, although he thinks someday soon he might. It’s a lie. He’s here for me. For Elec.” I glanced at Jett with stoic, empty eyes. “Will he be here for you to destroy too, someday? Or will you be on his side? A bad seed? A sick embarrassment?”

“Never. I’d never hurt children.”

“Children are no-tolerance. That doesn’t mean that’s the only thing that will condemn you. If you cross the wrong line, you’re no different than him. You know the rules. I expect you to follow them. Otherwise…you never know what will happen.” I pushed my glass of water over, watching the quick moving liquid run towards Jett. He jumped from his chair to stand, but his gaze didn’t leave me. He was paler. Breathing heavier. I turned back to Master Nine-oh-two, tapping my finger against the table.

Tap-tap.

Tap.

Tap-tap-tap.

Tap.

Tap-tap.

Multiple heads turned in my direction. My face dipped down and my stare stayed cut up and fixated to only one person. Clay’s eyes slowly pulled from Jett and he moved down, taking in the rhythm of my fingers. From my tapping digit to my disgusted expression, his gaze locked right on mine. My hand flipped, exposing my palm upward, lifting. Lifting. Holding. Holding. Holding. I licked my lips, evilly smiling as his dazed stare watched me so intently. Quickly, my fingers snapped into a fist.

“Control. Power.”

I turned my attention to my son as commotion broke out. Glass shattered in the direction of Clay’s table, and a blur I knew to be the monster flew up from the chair. Jett’s eyes were wide and filled with shock as he looked at me, but not because Mr. Blessing was clawing his skin from his face. He saw what I knew he would. My secret.

“Take a good look around. More than half this room is ready for whatever command I wish to give them. One look and snap, and they’ll begin tearing themselves apart any way they can. That’s just this room. You can’t imagine my numbers. To know and not act. That is where the true power lies. Today they’re safe. Mr. Blessing is not.”

More chairs scattered as the Master spun and ripped his nails into his face. Despite the writhing, his eyes never left me for long. I picked up my fork, stabbing it into a piece of sausage. The man was no different than a puppet. He picked up his own fork, stabbing it into the wide orb full of fear. I brought the sausage to my mouth, waiting as he jerked the utensil back, dislodging his eye from the socket. Shouts echoed. Masters not under my spell tried to get close to the predator. I took a bite, chewing as Clay yanked the fork down. A Mistress fell to the floor heaving, but I barely noticed as he broke through the nerves, biting into his own eyeball.

“Unbelievable. Just… amazing . Kill him, Mom. Kill him .”

“And miss all the fun in therapy? When a person doesn’t know when to stop, their reign ends. Mr. Blessing’s time will come. Sit down, Jett. You want power so badly? You want this? Even the one who holds the world in their hands must never underestimate the consequences of themselves. Power corrupts. It feeds. ”

“But he deserves it.”

I looked back at Clay, snapping my finger so that he’d break from my spell. “That is true, but he is only one man. There are hundreds here, Jett. Pigs just like him. Strategy. This isn’t a race, it’s a supply. One we will not eliminate in mass.”

“But…”

My fist drew in as I watched the predator react in panic. “You think I’m weak. I assure you that’s not the case. Only in the evanescent pleasure of the kill will a true leader know when to stop. But you see…” I turned my attention to my son. “One must never miss an opportunity either. Weigh every move with great care. When you make the wrong choice, you risk burning down the entire house. Today, all we’re doing is lighting the match.” My palm flattened again, and my stare left Jett to go two tables over to Master B-Seventeen-thirty-four, who was peering over at me like a love-sick puppy. Foster Corewell was one of my games. My projects. That was over now. I had more important things to focus on. Things like Adrian. Elec. Like Braddock . Our appointment was soon.

“I can’t tell you how fragile the human body becomes when attacked from the inside. You could hit someone with a car, and they’d be broken but survive.” I laughed under my breath. “The mind, though. Jett.” I glimpsed toward my son who had followed my stare to Master Corewell. “The mind can kill from insinuation. From a hint or implication.” I blindly reached down and picked up my biscuit. “It is with this that some deaths are better left appearing… natural . Let’s be honest.” I displayed the biscuit to Foster, spinning it slowly in my hand as I tapped against the side. “Sometimes a simple death is far scarier than one done to invoke fear. What’s real…or what’s me? We may never know.” I curled my fingers around the biscuit, feeling it crumble through my squeeze. Foster lurched forward, his jaw dropping as he grabbed to his chest to hold over his heart. Jett’s mouth parted and elation flashed as he looked between me and my old lover’s reddening face.

Chaos.

Alarm within the room once again.

I emptied my hand, turning back to my plate as Foster fell to the ground. A crowd was already surrounding him, shouting for help. I dusted off my hands, taking a drink of my orange juice as Jett scooted closer to the table.

“Mom, I want this. Teach me everything. I’ll be good . I’ll be the best son. Hell, I’ll do whatever you want. This is my path, not stupid business. I want to learn everything. Teach me like you taught Elec. Tell me what I need to do.”

I snapped in a slow cadence, clearing my hold over the room, grabbing another sausage, feeling my mood lighten to bliss. Elec, yes. I needed to see Elec. “What you can do is listen. Stop fighting me at every turn. You want to be great? You have to show me you want this. Only when you can stay out of trouble and prove yourself will I believe you. Until then, I’ll be watching. Don’t disappoint me, Jett. You really don’t want to do that.”