The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(31)

“Close your eyes,” she says. “Something will happen when I begin playing, and when it does, I want it to be clear that it’s the music causing it. I don’t want you to think the cause is somehow related to my lips moving in a certain way, or from my body movements as I hold the instrument.”

Cryptic, but hell, I’m curious. I close my eyes, even though this feels like a childhood ‘open your mouth and close your eyes’ prank.

Silence follows and my earlier excitement dissipates as worry creeps back in. I peek through my eyelashes. If she’s about to attack me, I want to know about it, but no. In the moment I was sightless, she merely raised the instrument to her mouth. I stop peeking and stand there, waiting for whatever will happen next.

When she starts playing the flute, it just sounds like a beautiful melody, but then I feel myself reacting in the strangest way. At first, I think it might be a coincidence, but it’s not.

The music is giving me an erection. No, that’s an oversimplification. The song is making me super horny. No, still too crude. I get progressively more and more aroused as the music goes on. Yes, that’s it. The whole thing is reminiscent of sex with Mira.

Thinking of Mira instantly reminds me that I should stop whatever this is, so I say, “I get the idea.”

I open my eyes and clear my throat. Trusting my voice again, I try to turn this from an intimate situation to an inquisitive opportunity by asking, “How does something like that even work?”

“Music can make us feel all sorts of things.” Victoria puts the flute down and walks up to me. “This is not the finished project, but only the start. My inspiration is the male birds that can evoke an orgasm in the minds of the female birds through their songs.”

I take a nervous step backward. “It’s truly impressive.”

“Yes.” She takes a predatory step forward, so the distance between us remains the same. “I see how impressed you are.”

Her eyes fall to my crotch.

“If you’re trying to seduce me—”

Her gaze returns to my face. “I don’t try,” she says softly. “I succeed.”

“That’s just an involuntary—”

“Hush.” She moves closer and puts a finger on my lips. “Just think. If I can do that with mere music, can you even imagine what I can do with my—”

“Seriously, we can’t. I can’t.” I take five panicky steps back. My back is almost through the doorway.

“You most certainly can.” She gives me a carnivorous smile.

“I have someone,” I say, again trying to fight off her seduction. “It wouldn’t be right.”

“Come now. We’re in the Mind Dimension. It’s all within the mind. This experience would be no different than having a fantasy. You know you’ll have fantasies about me anyway.”

She’s right. I will have fantasies about this later, or nightmares—time will tell. Though not all of my blood is in my brain, I begin piecing together clues as to her agenda. She must’ve decided to help the Elders’ cause by seducing me. She must think that sex with her will be so amazing, so addictive, that I’ll say yes to anything to do it again.

It’s disturbing, but it does seem to remove her from my list of Super Pusher suspects. I don’t think that person would want to f*ck me so literally.

“How about I show you a dance I’ve developed?” she says and takes off her shawl.

“Victoria,” I say, trying to keep my voice firm. “Thank you for the tour, but I’d like to see the rest of the Castle on my own.”

“Are you sure?” She moves her body in a way that makes her flute-playing, and every porn I’ve ever seen, look G-rated in comparison.

I don’t trust myself to stick around for a conversation. I rotate on the ball of my foot, and once I’m facing the door, I rush out, no longer worried about doing it with dignity.

Once outside, I take deep breaths, conjuring up thoughts of cold showers and baseball.

As I struggle to calm myself, I walk aimlessly through the Castle.

When I’m sure I’m not being followed, I enter a room.

It looks like a library—a huge library. The shelves seem to span for miles.

“Darren,” says a familiar voice. “What the hell are you doing here?”

It takes me a moment to fully understand whom I’m seeing.

It’s Bill, but everyone calls him William Pierce.

He’s also known as my boss.





Chapter 10





Once the gift of speech comes back to me, I say, “I think a better question is, what are you doing here?”

“I’m being vetted for an Ambassadorship.” Bill closes the book he was leafing through. “What about you?”

“I guess I am too. Only it’s complicated.”

He looks at me the way he always does at meetings when I reveal information slowly for drama. His body language is telling me, Get on with it already.

I look at him, wondering if this man I’ve known and respected for so long could be the Super Pusher. Could he be the person Mimir tried to warn me about? I find this very hard to believe. Firstly, if I am that bad at judging someone’s character, I might as well suspect every Guide close to me. Secondly, how could Mimir know Bill is here, which he would’ve had to know if Bill is the one he was warning me about? That logic points more toward the Elders—the only people rumored to be able to reach Level 2.