The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Zeb murmured for the hundredth time.

Mistress Delilah rolled her eyes. “Oh come now, Zebediah. You’re a big boy. Surely you can’t be this put out about taking a little trip out of town?”

The dark-skinned hypnotist gave her a baleful glare. “A ‘little trip’ out of town?” he repeated back blandly. “When you first contacted me, you said you needed help with a ‘simple little job’ in Vale, Oregon. And where are we right now?” he asked, gesturing around them. “We’re in San Francisco, California,” he stated, eyes heavenward, “which is actually the third destination after our little side trip to Portland, Oregon!”

Delilah merely shrugged. “So what? So we had to take the scenic route to get to the target. You have something against a little road trip?”

Zeb’s scowl deepened. “Traveling more than a thousand miles in a day is hardly a little ‘road trip’. Not to mention having to arrange last-minute flights to Portland, then to San Francisco, with no prior notice!” He growled softly pulling at the collar of his shirt. “And of course, the change in wardrobe that you arranged...”

In truth, the clothing was what bothered Zeb more than anything else. Far from his usual dark muted colors, he had been given a colorful tropical print Hawaiian shirt, white with alternating blue, grey, and orange-colored palm trees, as well as a pair of matching beige khaki shorts and white deck shoes. Completing the look, he wore a white Milan style straw knit fedora on his head, and a pair of tinted Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Add into that, he was becoming increasingly concerned about his apprentice. In the weeks since opening up to her, showing her his copy of The Art of True Hypnosis, and revealing how much room she had to grow as a hypnotist, she’d become... difficult. She spent most of her time out utilizing her hypnotic powers without him, unsupervised, experimenting, and practicing on her own. She rarely answered his calls anymore, and while she wasn’t actively avoiding him, she had blown off more than a few scheduled meetings with him. And when they were together, her attitude was arrogant and dismissive, bordering on argumentative.

It was depressing; he still thought of her as a friend and had strived to keep their relationship as Mentor and Apprentice easy and casual, but it seemed as though she was losing respect for him.

It was obvious that he would have to confront her, sooner, rather than later.

Mistress Delilah merely tsked at him, bringing him out of his dark introspection. “Now, now, Master Zeb. Lighten up! You look absolutely gorgeous and you know it. After the week you’ve had, you could do with a little relaxation time in a fun tropical setting! Besides,” she added, smirking, “the idea is to fit in. And as much as I adore your whole ‘Shadow’ motif, it would only make you stand out in the middle of a cruise ship!”

That was the other part that annoyed him. Their target, Mistress Lucy Hartwell, had gone mobile. The original idea had been to slip into her home unnoticed, snatch the valuable relic she’d brought back with her from an archeological dig in Crete, and depart with her none the wiser. And, of course, being experts in stealth and infiltration aside, having Zeb along as backup would enable them to respond to and handle any unexpected occurrences that might come up.

Unfortunately, the one unexpected occurrence Delilah hadn’t planned for was Lucy taking her newfound treasure to a friend to have it appraised. Arriving at her mansion, they found it vacant, the maid informing them that her Mistress had taken her treasure to an appraiser... in Portland, about four hundred miles away! Rather than give up, the master thief had insisted they follow, tracking down Mistress Lucy’s appraiser, only to find that they had missed her once again. After a bit of questioning, the appraiser revealed Lucy’s plan to show off her newly acquired goods at her birthday celebration taking place aboard her luxury yacht—in San Francisco.

Which brought them to their current location, exiting their rental car just outside the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor. The venue was bright and active, with loud music audible before they even pulled up. Zeb’s scowl deepened, and he pulled his hat lower over his head. He very much disliked crowds, and loud public events, and this party was turning out to be both. Which made him wish he were anywhere BUT where he was at the moment. Zeb recognized that he was very much out of his element, unlike his partner, who if anything, seemed to be basking in the joyous atmosphere. “I just hope the Dragon’s Eye is actually here,” he muttered softly as he walked over to join her. “If we’ve wasted all this time and effort, only to find that she has transferred the jewel somewhere else on her journey—”

“Relax, will you?” Delilah chided him. “It’s here. I know it. I can feel it! Besides, Mistress Lucy is just the type to want to flaunt her newest find in front of a large audience. Trust me, there’s no way she left her stash behind.”

Zeb sighed heavily, but nodded in agreement. From the file on Mistress Lucy Hartwell, that seemed like a pretty accurate assessment. Lucy was ‘old money’, a spoiled debutante from a prestigious family, who spent her time jet setting around the world, looking for thrills in any shape or form. Hair a brilliant scarlet color, Lucy was fairly tall and thin, standing at just under five foot eight, weighing one hundred and forty pounds, her body was athletic, well-toned from exercise, and very likely fight training. On top of the usual arrogant and entitled attitude of the wealthy, Lucy was also a True Hypnotist, and a rather sadistic one, taking great delight in lording over those she believed inferior to herself and punishing any who failed to show her the proper respect. Just how powerful a hypnotist she really was was unknown; Delilah’s information had been rather vague on that point, only to mention that she had lost in a preliminary match in the New York City tournament two years ago. To Mistress Ramona.

Hopefully she’s less of a handful than Mistress Ramona, Zeb thought grimly, as they approached the yacht, recalling their confrontation all too well.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked as they entered the line of people approaching the gangplank, and the two large burly men collecting tickets. “I don’t suppose you have tickets to get us on board past security?”

“Nope,” Delilah said with a shrug. “I was thinking we can just improvise, you know? I can hypnotize the guard, while you distract everyone. And when we’re on board, we just mingle, make our way through the crowd, and see if we can find Mistress Lucy. With any luck, she’ll be wearing the Dragon’s Eye. If so,” she said with a grin, “give me a few seconds alone with her and it’ll be mine.”

“And if she’s not wearing it?”

“Well, that makes things somewhat more complicated,” she admitted. “We’ll have to search around for the safe. But then again, that’s more your style anyway, right?” She gave Zeb a smirk. “I’m sure you’d rather things go down that way anyway.”

Zeb merely groaned. He liked Mistress Delilah. Despite their first meeting, they’d actually hit it off well and corresponded occasionally. She was likable enough, and a pretty benign hypnodomme, all things considered. Unfortunately, when it came to mercenary work, Delilah chose to ‘go with the flow’ more times than not, preferring to make things up as she went and adapt on the fly instead of relying on a well-thought-out plan. Being a strategist that relied on careful planning, it annoyed Zeb to no end. Several times he had been tempted to simply walk away, and leave Delilah to her own devices.

But no, he murmured to himself. We’ve already come this far. I need to see this through. He sighed inwardly. Besides... I bet Lady Casey wouldn’t back out on a job just because it got a little difficult...

Pushing aside his maudlin thoughts, he and Delilah moved forward in line. As they drew closer, however, Zeb recalled the guards collecting boarding tickets. He tapped Delilah gently, gesturing forward, and she nodded. Stepping forward, she put on her most haughty and arrogant sneer, peering up at the sentry. “Ms. Delilah Rose, and her plus one, Xavier Dubois,” she stated loudly, flipping her hair. “Honestly, I hope this little excursion is worth all the time and effort. Lucy and her parties,” she added, rolling her eyes. “It feels as if we only did this a few weeks ago—”

“Invitation, please?” the sentry asked in a bored tone.

Delilah blinked. “Didn’t you hear me before? My name is Delilah Rose. From the New England Roses?” she added, hands on her hips. “I’m a close personal friend of your employer, buddy! Now look down there and check your list again, and let us through, if you know what’s good for you—”

“Is there a problem here?” the second sentry asked, moving up next to his companion.

“The only problem here,” Delilah snapped, raising her hands, rings glittering as she gestured to both guards, “is a distinct lack of respect! Seriously! I am so sick of this! You and your friend need to learn proper respect...”

As Delilah began her diatribe, Zeb moved to distract the small crowd gathering, drawn by the disturbance. “Oh my goodness,” he said loudly, turning to the older silver-haired man behind him. “Can you believe this? All this fuss, all this hullaballoo, and all about a silly little slip of paper!” He sighed dramatically, turning to address a second passenger, a dark-haired woman with a slight greying in her temples. “Don’t you agree, Miss?” he said, taking the woman gently by the arm, turning her back towards him instead of the argument. “I mean... it’s JUST a birthday party! This level of security is a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

At which point, a pair of men in dark suits pushed him back roughly. “Sorry for the delay, Senator Lovejoy,” the first man said, handing her a small brown satchel bag. “We have your invitation, VIP badge, and a birthday gift you picked out.”

“And I have your luggage,” the second man replied, holding a large rollaway suitcase. “Your cabin reservation has been confirmed, so we can skip the wait and simply board at any time.”

“Excellent,” the Senator replied with a nod. Pushing past Zeb, she made a casual remark without glancing back. “Well, this was an interesting conversation,” she stated as she turned and headed up the ramp leading to the VIP area, “but it appears that it’s time for me to depart now. You and your friend have a good night.”

“Ah, and you as well, Senator,” Zeb replied back. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet each other again later on board the ship?”

Senator Lovejoy laughed. “I rather doubt that,” she said simply. “I don’t think our... social circles will intersect. But if you truly ARE ‘dear friends’ of Lucy, then I suppose is possible that we might see each other briefly in passing.”

Zeb nodded slowly, damping down on his temper at the obvious snub. “Yes,” he muttered, turning his attention back to the front of the line. “I suppose it is possible.”

Perfectly timed, as Delilah finished her induction, making a big dramatic show again as the sentry woke from his trance. “And there, just as I said, my name on the list!” she replied smugly as the dazed man, shook his head. “You see? All of this could have been avoided had you simply taken the time to check properly the first time!”

“Ah, er... y-yes ma’am,” he stammered, gesturing to his comrade, who backed away, allowing them access to the gangplank. “Very sorry about the confusion. You and your gentleman are free to board now. And please, have a good time!” Sniffing, Delilah flipped her hair, turning on her heel to stomp onto the ramp, glancing back at Zeb with a wink as he followed closely behind.

“Well, you certainly seem to be enjoying yourself,” he commented as they stepped aboard the huge four-level ship, glancing around as the throngs of people scattered and moved about, reminding him vaguely of ants in an anthill. “Still, you managed to get us on board. What now?”

“Well, first of all, we should go down to our cabins and change,” Delilah answered, glancing around, finding the stairs leading up to the second level. “After our little ‘talk’, that very helpful guard provided me with a key and cabin assignment,” she added, offering the small plastic keycard to Zeb. “We’re in cabin two-thirty-eight. Looks like the first floor is reserved for the crew and staff, and the second floor is for the normal passengers.”

Zeb nodded. “And I would guess the third floor is for the VIP members, and close personal friends of Mistress Hartwell,” he guessed, spotting a familiar face ascending the stairway to the third level. “So, by the process of elimination, our target’s private quarters at on the top floor. That makes things tough. Your little act may have worked on the ticket takers to get us on board, but I doubt it will get us into the VIP section, let alone up to the fourth floor.”

Delilah frowned. “First things first, let’s get settled into our cabin, where we can regroup in privacy.”

The cabin space was luxurious, nice, and roomy, with all of the amenities one would expect of a high-priced hotel room. “Hmmm. Not bad,” Zeb mused aloud, glancing about as Delilah opened her travel bag, taking out a red silk cocktail dress. “I can only wonder how much nicer the VIP rooms are compared to this.”

“Hopefully they come equipped with a second bed,” she grumbled, sitting down on the single Queen bed to dress. Zeb chuckled.

“It’s not as if we actually reserved this room ourselves,” he reminded her. “It’s a random room you stole from the sentries for the couple that actually requested it. Besides,” he added, as he began changing his clothes as well, “I don’t plan on being here long enough to spend the night.” It was well into evening now, so while still sticking with the tropical motif, Zeb switched out his brighter more colorful clothes for a darker navy blue palette, including his deck shoes. He eschewed the hat but kept the sunglasses. Finally, he held up his gold pocket watch, considering. Bringing along his favorite focus would aid him greatly if and when it became time to utilize his hypnotic abilities. And yet, the mission was, for the moment at least, still an infiltration mission. The priority was to blend in, and not attract undue attention.

Lucy Hartwell was a vain, arrogant, and self-centered woman, but she was also an intelligent and powerful hypnodomme. And while Delilah could get by with her diamond and ruby broach, and her rings, him carrying around an expensive gold pocketwatch dressed in loungewear would set off all kinds of red flags if they were searched. Sighing inwardly, he returned the watch to his travel bag, slipping a traditional wristwatch on instead.

“All right! Looks like we’re ready for phase two,” Delilah stated once they were both dressed. “We need to get as close to the top floor as possible. That means we’re going to have to obtain VIP passes from some of the other passengers.”

“Assuming they haven’t already finished boarding and made their way to the third floor already,” Zeb pointed out. “We don’t know how many VIPs there are, and if that snooty Senator was any indication, they’ll want to get up to the third floor and away from the ‘common riffraff’ as soon as possible.”

“Huh. You have a point,” Delilah conceded. “I guess we’d better split up then,” she said, walking to the door. “You take the front of the ship and I’ll search the backside—”

“Aft.”

She blinked. “What?”

“The backside of a ship is called the aft side. I’m heading forward, you’re heading aft,” he interjected.

“Whatever!” Delilah replied with a huff. “Let’s meet up in front of the third-floor stairway in the middle of the yacht in an hour. If neither of us can find a VIP pass by then, we’ll have to come up with something else.”

“Sounds good,” Zeb replied with a nod, following her to the door. “And by the way... the middle of the ship? It’s called midship.” Delilah rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Sometime later, Zeb was making his way across the deck, glancing out over the horizon at the flowing seascape. It was beautiful, but a bit troubling. While they’d been changing clothes and discussing strategy, the yacht had disembarked, leaving the harbor and heading out into deep waters. That of course complicated things significantly. Even if they were together and had the Dragon’s Eye in their possession, they had no viable way of getting back to shore. Zebediah was a pretty strong swimmer, but he’d be hard-pressed in swimming several dozens of miles back to land. And every minute they remained aboard, the ship was traveling further and further away from where they needed to go.

And, of course, I’m sure my partner didn’t take any of that into account, he grumbled silently to himself, even as he began scanning the various passengers as they walked by. It is a ship, so obviously, there are lifeboats as well... but it would be impossible to jettison one of them and depart without attracting a lot of attention from everyone on board. He frowned, considering. Wait... that map on the wall outside our cabin... the fourth floor aft section has a heliport. If the helicopter is actually on board, that could solve our problem of how to get back to the mainland. It is definitely flashier and more of an attention grabber, but once airborne, there’s not much Lucy could do to stop us from leaving.

That firmly in mind, he glanced around the deck, still searching for someone wearing the telltale VIP sash that the Senator had worn earlier. It was a bit discouraging, like searching for a proverbial needle in a haystack. Clearly, anyone holding VIP status had already relocated to the upper section of the ship. He was just considering heading back to meet up with Delilah when he spotted a familiar face. A smile slowly creased his lips as he made his way to the third-floor stairway. Just at the top, behind the gate, Senator Lovejoy stood, dressed in a silky black bikini with a white flower-covered sarong wrapped around one shoulder and down her chest to her ankles. She was speaking to her two assistants, one of whom was holding a cell phone. A bit of a plan was coming together, and Zeb tapped into his powers, suppressing his presence as he approached, rendering himself virtually invisible to those around him.

“...suspected that she would pull something like this,” Lovejoy grumbled loudly, pacing idly back and forth, her stylish silver sandals clacking loudly against the deck. “Dirty uptight repressed bitch,” she snarled, shaking her head. “Senator Augustine is just the type to try and pull a surprise call for a vote on the weekend that I’m out of town. Well, fine! So be it. She can’t cause too much chaos without the full senate in attendance anyway... and I’ll be able to undo her mischief when I return next week.” She listened for a moment, then sighed shaking her head. “No, no, I thank you for contacting me with the news. As a matter of fact,” she said with a smirk, “if the night goes well, I might just have a permanent solution to dealing with Senator Augustine. Yes... yes, well, I intend to speak to my old friend shortly, and see if she would be willing to, ahem... have a little talk with her.” She laughed darkly, the implications clear. “At any rate, keep me appraised, but leave the matter to me.” With that, she hung up the phone and turned, walking back toward the party. “Return to your posts,” she said over her shoulder, “but let me know if Jeremy calls again.” Nodding, her assistants opened the gate and headed back downstairs to the second floor.

No one noticed the young dark-skinned hypnotist slipping past them before the gate closed and locked itself again.

Taking no time to relax just yet, Zeb made his way to the third-floor cabins, picking one at random and finding it unlocked. Similar to the cabins on the second floor, the VIP lounge was well stocked and furnished, but much larger and grander, with marble instead of plaster and gold fixtures everywhere instead of brass. And there, in the corner of the room, lying atop a California King-sized bed, lay the room’s occupant: a young attractive redhead, dressed in a stylish but short powder blue sundress. Alerted by the sound of her door opening, the woman sat up, peering at Zeb with a dark scowl.

“You there! What do you think you’re doing just barging into my private room?” the redhead demanded.

“Ah, Madam,” Zeb replied smoothly, bowing slightly at the waist. “Forgive the intrusion. I was merely checking to see if you wished to receive your complimentary in-room massage at this time.”

The woman blinked. “Wait... massage?” she asked, confused.

“Yes, Madam,” Zeb replied, bowing again. “Mistress Hartwell has assigned a number of her personal masseurs to tend to her VIPs, should they require our services.” Zeb’s smile grew. “I assure you, I am very well trained in my art. And I promise you a most pleasurable experience.”

“Ah, no, no thank you,” the woman replied, wrinkling her nose. “Sorry, but you’re not my type. Besides, if I wanted a ‘happy ending’, I am more than capable of finding a bed partner of my own—”

Zeb chuckled, shaking his head. “No, no, Madam. I think perhaps you misunderstand. I am simply a massage therapist, trained in seven different disciplines. And the offer was simply for that—a massage to relax you, and not anything... untoward.” He shrugged. “However, it seems your an uncomfortable with the idea, so I shall depart, and see if any of the other passengers have need of my services...” As he turned and grabbed the doorknob, however, the woman called after him.

“Wait!” she said, sitting up. “I mean... since you’re already here, anyway,” she said with a shrug. “I have had this stupid twinge in my back for a week now that has been driving me crazy...”

At Zeb’s direction, she lay flat on her stomach, allowing him to sit atop the bed behind her. “Hmmm... I see. Quite a bit of stiffness here,” he observed aloud, running his fingertips lightly along the redhead’s smooth tanned back. “It doesn’t feel too bad. however... most likely caused by excessive tension rather than an injury. Tell me, Madam,” he asked, utilizing his hypnotic aura, pulsing gentle relaxation through his hands as he massaged, “do you face a lot of stress in your everyday life?”

The woman blinked, then blinked again, letting out a loud sigh. “Ohhhhh, wow... that feels... mmmm... amazing,” she declared, a smile showing on her face. “But... y-yeah... I’m a model. And it can be... mmm... totally stressful. All the time. Having to do... ooohhh... what the directors tell you... what your... your trainers tell you... always having to look and act a certain way... all the time... never... getting to... just relax...”

Zeb barely restrained his amusement. “Well, Madam, have no fear. I will make sure that you end up nice and relaxed... more relaxed and rested than you have felt in your entire life.”

The redhead certainly agreed, liking that idea very much. The sudden unexpected bursts of pleasure and relaxation seemed to explode from deep within the core of her being as the man rubbed and massaged her muscles certainly helped things along. Less than five minutes after he’d begun, her back was completely smooth, all of her muscles limp and relaxed, along with the rest of her. Ten minutes after he’d started, and she was barely cognizant, her entire existence embodied in the sensations that those powerful fingers were evoking, and the soft whispered tone of his voice, the only voice echoing in her increasingly empty mind.

“You’re doing very well now, Millicent,” Zeb murmured, stroking the redhead’s calves now, “nice and relaxed, your mind empty, your will gone, drained away, just like the tension and pain you had felt before, leaving behind only peace.... restful, gentle peace... relaxation... and obedience. You’re feeling VERY obedient now, aren’t you, Millicent?”

“Mmmm... yesss... very relaxed... very obedient,” the entranced model agreed.

“Very good. Then let your eyes close now... and sleep,” he commanded, working his hands gently but firmly across her tender bare soles, massaging her feet now even as he pushed her deeper and deeper into a trance. “Sleep deeply, my dear... deeper and deeper into a restful obedient trance, where there is only my voice and the delicious feeling of being completely and totally at rest.” An audible sigh escaped the girl’s lips as she went even limper, practically melting into her mattress. Satisfied, Zeb nimbly removed the small thin armband from the young woman’s right arm, placing it on his own.

Alright! Another goal crossed off the list, he thought to himself. Still, since I have this chance, I might as well do a bit of information gathering as well.

Turning back to the model, he began questioning her, asking her if she knew where Lucy Hartwell was currently. To his chagrin, she merely answered what he already knew—that she was somewhere on the fourth level of the yacht. Questions about the location of a safe or locked box were equally unhelpful. Wondering if she knew what the rest of the night would hold if there were any special events planned, Millicent filled him in on the party’s itinerary, which if nothing else, helped him plan out a timeline.

All of which it would have helped to know beforehand, he lamented silently as the cell phone in his back pocket buzzed, grabbing his attention. Checking, he found a text message from Delilah: Sorry. No luck on my end. Looks like all the VIPs are on the third floor in my section. Any luck? Chuckling, he quickly typed back a reply: Apparently my luck is still holding for the moment. Obtained my VIP pass and doing a bit of Q&A with its former owner. I will see if I can find one for you as well.

“All right, Millicent,” he said calmly, turning his attention back to the enslaved redhead. “Listen closely. In just a moment I will exit this room, closing the door behind me. As soon as it closes, you will awaken from your trance but will be overcome with a deep deep lethargy. You will feel so tired and sleepy that you will climb into bed and go to sleep, not awakening until it is morning. You will not remember being hypnotized. You will not remember having your armband stolen. And you will not remember ever seeing or meeting me this evening. All you will remember is relaxing on your bed and feeling sleepy, deciding to take a little nap. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master... I understand,” the entranced redhead answered back.

Suiting action to words, Zeb departed, closing and locking the door behind him. Narrowing his sight, he quickly scanned the hallway, finding another occupied cabin. Knocking, he convinced the occupant to let him inside, using the same cover story as before. The occupant, a somewhat heavyset brunette woman named Karen, was even easier to convince, and a few minutes later, he emerged from the room with a second VIP armband, with Karen, relaxed and rested, sleeping deeply on her bed.

Arriving back at the stairs a few minutes later, he smirked in amusement, finding Delilah having a spirited conversation with the sentry standing by the gate. “—just ridiculous!” she was saying, glancing up at his approach. “Ah! Perfect timing! Xavier, darling, will you PLEASE inform this, this... Neanderthal of who I am! That I am most assuredly a VIP!”

“Oh, but most assuredly, my dear,” Zeb replied easily, insinuating himself between the thief and the guard. “Here, as you can see clearly, is her armband,” he stated, holding it up for the guard before handing it over to Delilah. “Although, in truth, I did tell you you were in far too great a hurry to rush downstairs and speak to your old friend!” He shook his head ruefully as the sentry scanned her badge, allowing the gate to unlock. “I should have known you would take off and forget it. Luckily, I found it next to the bed, no doubt dropped down when you changed dresses.”

“Ah, um, well,” Delilah murmured, making a nice showing of appearing embarrassed. “You may be right. Forgive me for losing my temper, good sir,” she said to the sentry, sounding honestly contrite. “It’s just... honestly I don’t see why the big to-do,” she added with a shrug. “It’s just a simple birthday celebration, after all.”

“Oh, trust me,” a female voice spoke up from behind them, causing them both to turn. “When it comes to Lucy Hartwell, the word ‘simple’ does not apply.”

“Oh! Senator Lovejoy! Good to see you again,” Zeb remarked, nodding in appreciation. “Delilah, dear, this is Senator Lovejoy. We met briefly during that little ‘fiasco’ outside the boat.”

“Charmed, I’m sure,” Delilah replied, taking her hand and shaking it briskly. “But, what was it that you were saying before, about dear Lucy?”

“Only that Lucy Hartwell and ‘simple’ do not belong in the same sentence,” the Senator replied, snatching up an offered champagne flute from a passing waiter, taking a long deep drink. “But I’m sure you know all about that,” she continued after a moment, “seeing that you are both such close friends of hers, after all.” She sat down at a small unoccupied table, bidding Zeb and Delilah to join them.

“Well, truth be told,” Delilah said, leaning in close, “we’re not exactly blood sworn sisters or anything. We just... went to school together, that’s all. Old classmates, really.” Reaching out, she too grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waiting, taking a drink. “Still, it was good enough to be invited to her thirtieth birthday party!”

“Indeed,” Senator Lovejoy’s eyes narrowed. “Then I suppose it’s very lucky that you managed to straighten out that bit of confusion down by the wharf earlier, isn’t it. I guess ‘dear old Lucy’ would have just been devastated if you’d missed the boat.” Draining her own glass, she turned to stare Delilah eye to eye. “Tell me, dear... what school did you attend with Lucy anyway?”

The dark-haired thief blinked, caught off guard. “Eh? What school?”

“Yes. You said you went to school with her. Well, so did I. So obviously, you remember the name of that fine institution that we all shared our formative years together... right dear?”

Blinking again, Delilah opened her mouth, only to close it as Zeb cut in. “Oh, come now, Senator,” he chided her, scowling. “What is with the third degree? We are just three people meeting, talking, and trying to enjoy our time here at this celebration. The way you’re going on, one would think you suspected my dear Delilah Rose of lying about her relationship with Lucy! As for where she went to school, I happen to recall Delilah mentioning it on the trip here—a few dozen times, actually—how they both attended Concord Academy, up in Massachusetts, when she was a girl growing up.” He shook his head. “Not that that says anything, really—any person curious about our host could simply do some background work and dig up that simple fact.”

“W-why, yes, exactly!” Delilah agreed. “For all I know, you might be an assassin or thief, making a big show with your personal attendants and all, just so no one looks at you twice when you walk over to Lucy later on tonight!”

Amanda Lovejoy glared at the dark-haired woman for a long moment... then laughed, raising a glass in salute. “Hahahaha! Well said,” she replied, signaling to the waiter, who approached with another glass. “I suppose that is true enough. You don’t know me and have no reason to believe I am who I say that I am either.” She took another deep drink. “Well, it doesn’t really matter, anyway. It’s almost eight o’clock,” she noted briefly glancing at her watch. “The schedule says Lucy plans on making her official greeting then, before mingling with all of the VIP’s. So I guess we’ll soon see once and for all which of us are telling the truth about being her ‘close dear friends’.” Smiling devilishly, she drained her glass and then rose to her feet. “Ta ta,” she said, heading towards the promenade, “I’ll see you again soon!”

Delilah’s eyes flashed as she rose to her feet. “That’s it!” she hissed, hands clenched tightly. “I’ve had it with that snooty, arrogant, fucking bitch! I’m going to go fry her mind until she has the intelligence of a three-year-old—”

“No, you’re not!” Zeb stated calmly, grabbing her arm. “Just calm down. I get it. I found being around her to be just as grating as you. But I’ll not let you jeopardize the mission after we’ve gotten this close.” Delilah pulled her arm free, turning to glare at him now. “Remember, this is YOUR job. I’m just here to assist you. We’ve traveled to three different cities, three different states, in pursuit of this jewel you’re after. Do you really want to throw it all away and blow our cover over a temper tantrum with a bitter old woman?”

“You heard her!” Delilah shot back. “She plans to blow our cover during the meet and greet at eight o’clock!”

“Which might be a problem if we were actually going to that event,” Zeb replied. “All we need to do is stay long enough to spot Mistress Lucy and see if she’s wearing the Dragon’s Eye on her person. If so, you go into action, making some excuse to bump into her and swipe the broach. If not, then I slip away and began searching the depths of the ship for her strongbox. Either way, we won’t be sticking around long enough to have a conversation over tea and crumpets!”

Mistress Delilah growled softly but nodded. Damn him, but he’s right. The idea of letting that pompous arrogant bitch just walk around unpunished does annoy me... but we’ve come too far to risk everything now. Still... I’ll remember this. I’m sure our paths will cross again someday. Glancing over, she frowned as her partner began walking towards the buffet table. “Wait... where are you going?”

“Is it not obvious?” Zeb answered, taking a small plate, and filling it with various snippets of food, mussels, smoked eel, caviar, and sushi rolls. “I am eating. We have twenty minutes before Mistress Lucy’s Birthday Announcement. By my count, it’s been about fifteen hours since we’ve eaten, back before we arrived in Portland. And as we are very likely to be very active in the next several minutes, I thought it necessary to fuel up now while I have the opportunity.”

Delilah sighed, then shrugged, moving to join you. “I guess you have a point. Besides, I’ve had like, three of these glasses of Dom Perignon so far. I should probably get some solid food in me to help balance me out. By the way... how the hell did you know Lucy went to Concord Academy? That wasn’t in her file...”

Zeb glanced at her blandly. “Once you told me who the target was, I decided to do some background information of my own. Especially after looking over the information you’d provided me with.” Delilah sighed softly, shaking her head. The rebuke was obvious and stung, but she couldn’t deny that his obsession with planning and plotting out every detail had saved them this time...

Now this is much more my style, Zeb thought to himself as he crept silently along the empty hallways of the VIP section. Best of all, he was working solo, scoping out the area alone while Delilah explored the lower levels. The big birthday announcement given by Mistress Lucy revealed and confirmed several things, the main being that she had not worn her newest acquisition to the greeting. Tall, lean, haughty, exquisitely dressed, the aristocratic hypnodomme had arrived with her own personal assistant in tow, an equally well dressed raven-haired woman... which, thanks to his Sight, he was able to discern that she was a rather powerful witch. Again, something he wished he had known beforehand, but nothing that he couldn’t adapt to if necessary.

After realizing the jewel was stored in a safe or deposit box, the pair had split, wasting no time in heading back to the cabin areas. As Zeb had anticipated, the majority of the people on board, passenger and crew alike, were attending the party, leaving the areas below decks practically deserted. ‘Practically’ being the operative term of course, Zeb thought silently, pressing himself back into an alcove as a solitary crewman walked by. Obviously, Lucy would have a skeleton crew still running the ship and keeping secure areas secure. He smirked. No matter, it only adds to the excitement, having to dodge and avoid the guards.

Of course, with his skill of Seeing the Unseen, it wasn’t truly much of a challenge. Between being able to sense and See anyone coming long before they reached him, and rendering himself practically invisible by suppressing his aura’s presence, it was almost too easy. It was—

Hold on.

Zeb nearly cursed aloud as he turned, his senses detecting someone coming up quickly from behind, someone with power that shone brightly in his Sight. Panicking momentarily, wondering how Mistress Lucy had figured him out and found him so quickly, he forced himself to calm down, flattening himself against the wall, suppressing his presence, and readying himself to attack as soon as she drew into range.

Only to let out an aggravated growl as Delilah came stumbling into him a moment later. “Delilah?!? What the hell?” he hissed, clamping a hand over the startled hypnodomme before she could scream at his sudden appearance. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be searching the lower levels, remember?”

“I was,” she huffed, pulling out of his grasp a moment later. “But I got bored after a few minutes and decided to just ask someone instead.” Zeb blinked, gaping at her. “So, I stopped a member of the crew, hypnotized him, and asked him where the Owner stores her valuables. He said large and heavy items go into the cargo hold, but that expensive items like jewelry and money, would be in the private safe of her personal cabin on the fourth floor.” She gestured up above her head. “So, looks like we need to go up one more floor.”

Zeb nodded. “That tracks. It’s the one place we haven’t been able to explore yet, and where entry is extremely limited. I don’t suppose the crewmember you questioned happened to mention if there was an alternate way up to the fourth-floor cabin area without taking the main stairs in front of the crowd of two hundred or so people on board?”

Delilah smirked, nodding. “As a matter of fact, he did,” she replied, holding out a small solid gold keycard. “As expected from our spoiled prissy little princess, she has a private elevator leading from the crew quarters directly up to her suite, so that her servants can bring up any food or drinks she desires from below decks without having to cross the entire expanse of the ship to reach her. We just need to go back down to the first floor and use this to take the express straight up to her cabin.”

“Ah. Well, that was a good bit of detective work, Delilah,” Zeb grudgingly remarked. In truth, he would have come to that conclusion eventually and headed to the top floor, but her quick thinking had saved them time and effort, which he much appreciated. Changing course, they headed back downstairs, easily avoiding the few random crewmembers still working, arriving at the first-floor galley entrance. Confirming that the area was deserted, they made their way to the service elevator, and with the key Delilah had taken, stepped inside, heading up to their final destination.

Less than a minute later, the doors opened, and the pair stepped out into a simply massive and decadently designed living area. Indeed, if one did not know better, they might believe that had stepped out into the penthouse of a New York skyscraper instead of the inside of a ship at sea. Delilah whistled loudly, shaking her head. “Damn. What a setup,” she mused aloud, stepping further into the loft, nodding appreciatively at the feeling of the thick Persian rug underneath her feet. “And here I thought that old windbag Arthur Winston had expensive tastes when he designed the Spiral Club. I hate to admit it, but he’s got nothing on one Lucy Hartwell.”

“Thank you. One tries.”

Zeb and Delilah whirled around in shock as two figures stepped into view from the stairwell at the far end of the room, the main entrance to the floor. The redhead was dressed in a midnight black two-piece bikini with a thin scarlet wrap and sarong covering. The dark-haired woman, however, was dressed in a crimson bikini... or rather, bikini bottoms, with her impressive breasts, completely uncovered. Like her Mistress, she wore a thin translucent wrap around her shoulders, with a matching sarong around her waist, only hers was a dark grey color. Before either Zeb or Delilah could react, however, the raven-haired witch struck, hand outstretched, as she cast her spell. “Adhuc quasi lapis!”, she intoned. “Adhuc quasi lapis!”

Zeb’s eyes went wide, his jaw-dropping open with shock as he felt his entire body going stiff, becoming literally as still as stone. From his position, he could see Delilah in the exact same situation as he, her body freezing in midstep. The reality of their situation came crashing down upon him, and he began struggling, recalling his Gram Gram’s lessons, knowing that a powerful enough hypnotist could simply shrug off the effect with a concentrated and focused effort. And while his actual power was mediocre at best, he was nothing if not focused.

And yet... something felt off. Some instinct in him told him to hold back... to fully assess the situation before showing his hand. Forcing himself to calm down, he stood still, watching and listening as his captors approached their position.

“Impressive as always, Reyna,” Lucy Hartwell stated smugly, glancing over at the two invaders. “Of course, I’d expect nothing less from you.”

“Of course, Mistress Lucy,” the dark-haired witch replied with a grin. “Not that it was overly difficult. These two seem to be complete and total amateurs.” She shook her head. “Frankly, I’m surprised they managed to actually make it up to your suite.”

“Yes, I agree,” Lucy replied, walking over to stand in front of Delilah, peering closely at her. “For such an infamous thief like Delilah Van Dressen to stumble in here in such a way... frankly, I’m disappointed. Just a piece of worthless trash.” She shook her head. “You were identified the moment you first stepped foot on my yacht, you foolish cretin! Even if I hadn’t received a call from my maid at home, or my man in Portland, describing you and your assistant in glorious detail, I would have noticed you both immediately, from the commotion you constantly brought in your wake.”

Zeb gasped silently, his mind awhirl. That they had been identified from the beginning had been a shock, but in retrospect, it only brought into focus something that he had picked up on subtly during the entire time: the fact that all of the normal passengers and crew were deeply hypnotized, little more than well-functioning programmable dolls. The only people that he had interacted with that seemed fully awake and aware were the VIPs like Senator Lovejoy, and Millicent, whom he’d stolen his VIP pass from. So of course, naturally, anyone causing a huge commotion or arguing with the guards would be immediately suspicious, he thought dimly. A real VIP like Lovejoy wouldn’t have had any problems getting through security. Heh. No wonder she was so smug when we ran into her again later on the third floor. She must have known we weren’t who we were pretending to be. I bet she’s sitting out there somewhere, just waiting to see how this all pans out. Damn... now I wish I’d let Delilah go after her and fry her mind when she’d wanted to earlier...

“Y... yyooou... think... y-you’re... soooo... ssmmmaarrtt...” Delilah managed, growling, straining against the spell holding her immobile. To her consternation, Lucy and Reyna merely laughed in delight.

“Well, well, it appears someone still has a bit of fight left in them,” Lucy stated, reaching up to caress Delilah’s cheek lightly. “Perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe you’re not a completely worthless piece of trash after all.” Her smile turned sinister. “I will certainly enjoy breaking your will at my leisure and turning you into a loyal, loving, and obedient slave for my amusement.”

“Yes, you and your... partner?” Reyna hazarded, peering deep into Zeb’s motionless face. “Assistant? Thrall? Slave? Bodyguard?” She shrugged. “He’s not even carrying a knife on him. If you were looking for him to protect you, I’m afraid you chose rather poorly.”

Zeb found the paralysis to be a blessing in disguise, keeping the smile off of his face. It appeared luck was still on his side. Of course, their situation was still quite dire. They were helpless, in the hands of a sadistic and unpredictable hypnodomme, having been caught trying to sneak into her private chambers. On the positive side, however, it appeared that neither Mistress Lucy nor her assistant Reyna recognized him for what he was. Leaving behind his pocket watch, his focus, then choosing not to fight or resist the paralysis spell, and his normal habit of generally repressing and hiding his power had convinced them both that he was merely some mundane without talent, certainly no threat to either of them. And while Lucy seemed happy at the idea of playing with Delilah, she’d showed almost no interest in him at all.

This gives me an opportunity, he mused silently to himself. I just need to stay strong and endure whatever they have planned for me and hope that when the opportunity comes, I’ll be in a position to act on it.

Delilah was in a far different mindset, however, as she continued to fight and struggle against the effects of the spell holding her captive. The dark-haired thief was under no delusions about what was going to happen to her. While not as well-trained as Zeb, Delilah was more experienced, having run afoul of the occasional bitchy hypnodomme, and their minions. She redoubled her efforts to shrug off the witch’s spell, to regain her mobility while she had a chance. If Lucy decided to hypnotize her while she was still helpless, it would make things infinitely more difficult—

“Now, now,” Lucy chided her, lightly slapping her cheek again. “You should save your energy. You will most definitely be needing it shortly,” she replied venomously, as she withdrew a small diamond and ruby pendant from around her neck, holding it by its chain to dangle before Delilah’s helpless eyes. “Just relax now,” she intoned, eyes glinting as she began channeling her hypnotic powers through the gem, causing it to sway enticingly back and forth before the stunned hypnodomme’s gaze. “Relax and watch the pendant swing. You can’t look away... can’t resist. You are helpless... so very helpless... to my power, as it sweeps over you, forcing you to rest and relax deeper and deeper...”

Zeb could only grunt and watch silently as his partner was entranced, the redheaded Mistress effectively placing her under her control. A large part of him burned to do something, to break free and go to her aid, to fight back and subdue his attackers. The darkness within him surged, making its opinion known as well, but he ignored it, pushing it down. He needed to stay calm and follow through with his earlier assessment. If he revealed himself too soon and acted before he had a qualified chance for success, he would only end up in the same situation as Delilah.

“...drop now and sleep!” Lucy commanded as Delilah let out a soft sigh, the awareness fading completely from her expression. Laughing smugly, abundantly satisfied with herself, Mistress Lucy finally turned away from her newest conquest, turning her attention to the other intruder. “Now that that’s taken care of, it’s your turn,” she purred softly. “I can see you won’t be much of a challenge, compared to your Mistress, hmm?” She shrugged, raising her pendant again. “No matter. This is my ship,” she declared imperiously, as the pendant began to sway, “and everyone aboard will serve me, willingly or not...”

Zeb was swimming.

Which was strange. But fine. Zeb was a very strong swimmer.

The water was very warm... very deep and relaxing. It was nice and welcoming, the kind of calm clear waters that you could simply float around in aimlessly without effort. It was the kind of deep lazy pleasure that made you want to simply sink down deep and never leave.

But Zeb was a very good swimmer.

It was an effort to leave the warm, welcoming, soothing and relaxing waters behind. Swimming up took a lot of effort. But Zeb knew without knowing that he couldn’t simply spend his time lazying about in the depths. There was something he needed to do. Someplace he needed to be. And so, he swam up.... up, and up, and ever up.

Zeb was a very good, very strong swimmer.

A good thing that, for the further up he swam, the further behind he left the soothing warmth, the more the waters grew cold and taxing for him. His skin prickled from the loss of heat, his limbs tiring, the energy seeming to be steadily leeched from them by the cool and cold waters. His chest began to ache... and his lungs began to burn, as he became aware that he had not inhaled fresh air in quite some time. Regardless, he pressed on, moving upwards and onwards, pushing himself, to his very limits.

Luckily, Zeb was a good, strong, swimmer.

Gasping now, struggling to hold on just a bit longer, strength failing, he pushed on, reaching out for the surface, knowing it was close, that he was almost there, almost out, almost free—when he felt it. Cold. Hard. He had indeed reached the surface of the waters, only to find it had frozen over in the extreme cold. A barrier of ice held him pinned, now, holding him back inches from his goal. Enraged, he punched, he struck, battering at it with his hands and knees and elbows... to no avail. The ice cracked, creaked, splintered, and sputtered, but refused to break. With each attempt, his strength waned just a bit more.... until it was all he could do to tread water... to hold on enough to keep from sinking back down into the depths once more.

But Zeb was more than just a good, strong swimmer.

He was determined. He was committed. And even though his body was weak, his breath flagging, his strength nearly gone... even so, his mind remained strong. Twisting his body, he pointed his arms and turned, swimming downward, sending his legs up behind him... and then, at the final moment, kicked up with the last of his remaining strength. And his legs accomplished what his arms and elbows couldn’t, shattering the ice barrier, tearing free a small hole, a gap in the barrier. Exhaling, he allowed his body to float upwards, and inch, by agonizing inch, he lifted himself up through the hole, outside the barrier, and out of the water once and for all, finally, take a much-needed breath of fresh air...

Zeb gasped aloud, eyes fluttering as awareness returned.

A moment later, memory and recognition of his situation returned as well. He was standing on the third floor of the yacht amidst the crowd of onlookers, all of whom were deep in the same mindless trance he had just awakened from. It was well and truly nighttime now, and Zeb knew he had been entranced for at least a few hours. Still, he was awake and aware now, and even with the restrictive commands he could feel still embedded within his mind, he was far from helpless. Indeed, his decision to play the part of a helpless mundane had worked in his favor, as Lucy had given him no commands to neutralize or restrain his powers in any way.

Hmm... I can only hope Delilah fared half as well, he mused softly as motion on his left side caught his attention.

It soon became evident, however, that Delilah had fared much worse than he had. The dark-haired hypnotist-thief appeared, naked, crawling on all fours, her body covered lightly with various scratches, shallow cuts, and welts, particularly along her ass, thighs, and her upper chest, around and across her tits. Her face had not been spared either, sporting a swollen lip and a swollen and darkening left eye. Behind her walked Mistress Lucy Hartwell, still clad in her black bikini, now holding a small leather riding crop in her hands, a devious smile on her face. Gesturing with the crop, she bid Delilah to crawl forward, making her way through the throng of onlookers, as she ascended up to the fourth level, taking the center stage with Lucy joining her moments later. Grinning evilly, she turned and addressed her audience.

“Hello again, my lovely friends and companions,” she stated loudly. “As you know, this is the time set aside for me to show off all of my lovely birthday gifts. But I’d decided to do something a bit different. I’ve just acquired a new toy,” she smirked, lashing out with her crop, striking Delilah on her right asscheek. “And so I’d decided to share the experience with all of you, letting you witness my breaking this little slut’s mind and will.”

Panting, sweating Delilah raised her eyes, looking out through the crowd. Finding Zeb, their eyes met briefly... and she laughed, shaking her head, before glancing up at her tormentor. “Pathetic,” she managed, dropping down into a squat, even as Mistress Lucy turned to glare down at her. “Really... pathetic,” she said again, forcing a smile onto her face.

“What was that, you slut?” Lucy demanded with a scowl arms crossed.

“I said... you’re pathetic,” Delilah repeated, staring her down. “All this... bringing me out here for this, this entire trip... it’s all just to stroke your massive ego. But that’s what makes it so sad. Everyone here... they’re all your brainwashed mind-controlled slaves.” She laughed aloud, which only angered Lucy all the more. “You’re like the little girl with no friends that throws herself a birthday party, and her dolls and stuffed animals are the only ones there with her—”

“Shut up!” Lucy growled, furious. Delilah went silent. “You bitch! You FUCKING bitch! Do you know who you are talking to? Do you?!?” she demanded. Furious, she struck the helpless woman, lashing out with her riding crop, raining down blow after blow across her unprotected flesh. “You think you’re better than me? You’re nothing! NOTHING! Just a pitiful excuse for a thief and a True Hypnotist. And one that had fallen prey to your superior!”

Panting, barely holding in her pain, Delilah raised her head once more. “You’re... not my... superior,” she managed through gritted teeth. “Yeah... you got me... and my partner,” she said, risking a glance over a Zeb, “but only... because you had help. We may have been... little more than a... minor diversion to you... with your witch backing you up. By yourself... you’re pathetic. In a straight-up duel... it’d be you... kneeling... here... at my feet...”

Oh. Shit! Zeb gritted his teeth, hands clenched. He knew what Delilah was doing, exactly what he was pushing Lucy towards. But the question was... would she fall for it? More than anything, he wanted to help her, to back her up, or at the very least, heal her, recharge her batteries enough that she could stand an honest chance facing off with Lucy. Alas, even though he was awake and aware, he was still in the process of undoing the compulsions Lucy had left inside his mind, the main one’s being to stand there and watch as well as to obey her every command. He needed at least a few more minutes before he would be free to act in any way.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, Delilah’s barbs struck true. Incensed, Lucy glowered down at the helpless brunette. “Is that what you truly believe?” she asked her, dubiously. “That if I freed you here and now, and challenged you, that you could defeat me?”

Delilah’s smile was triumphant. “I don’t just believe it, I know it,” she answered. “But I guess we’ll never know, will we? You don’t have the backbone to free me and face me on equal terms.”

Lucy’s eyes narrowed. Stepping back, she tossed aside her riding crop, then kicked off her sandals, standing barefoot on the polished wooden deck. Facing Delilah, she growled, then spoke in a clear and loud voice. “Slave Delilah, consider thy shackles gone. Now then... stand and face me... if you dare!”

Delilah blinked, shuddering slightly as she felt all of the hypnotic commands within her mind vanish, falling away, leaving her back in control of herself once more. Sighing, she took a moment and closed her eyes, forcing herself into a minor trance, allowing herself to ignore the pain of her injuries, and refresh herself somewhat. Ready, she then opened her eyes, and slowly rose to her feet, flexing her fingers and toes, stretching and cracking her neck. “Mmmm... much better. I have to say, I never really considered having my slaves crawl around after me to be much of a punishment, but after having experienced it for the past few hours, I may have to reconsider my position.”

Lucy merely chuckled. “Well, that’s a pity. Once I defeat you and make you my slave again, you’ll be spending the rest of your life on your knees.”

Rather than respond, Delilah sprinted towards her, lashing out with a high arching kick. Surprised, Lucy dodged, then dodged again, throwing up her hands to block another attack. “Oh, I wouldn’t call the fight a success this soon, if I were you,” Delilah replied with a smirk of her own. “I’m just getting started.”

Scowling, Lucy stepped back, shifting her feet, and adopting a fighting stance of her own. “I see. You won’t be satisfied with having your mind broken by me in a hypnosis duel,” she scoffed arrogantly. “You want me to break your body first.” Grinning, she extended her left leg, raising it easily above her head before lowering it back down again. “Don’t think that just because I am a blue-blooded aristocrat that I don’t know how to fight!”

Delilah blinked. “Huh. Well... damn,” she said sheepishly. “I guess this is going to be a lot harder than I thought...”

Entering the posh luxurious cabin for the second time, Zeb wasted no time admiring the scenery. He needed to find Mistress Lucy’s hidden safe, and as fast as possible. Mindful of what was occurring just outside on the main stage, he was, for the first time, cursing her penchant for thinking and planning ahead for all eventualities.

“And what do we do if one of us gets captured?” he’d questioned Mistress Delilah on their flight out of Portland. “Mistress Lucy is very much an unknown quantity. The original plan to slip in and out of her mansion is shot. We have no idea who and what we’ll be running into.”

“If one of us gets captured... then, we’ll continue on with the plan,” Delilah remarked, casually, “and try and rescue the other once the treasure has been found.”

Zeb had eyed her curiously. “So you’re saying you would have no qualms about simply abandoning me if I were to somehow get caught?”

“What I’m saying,” Delilah replied back, “is that the job, the mission, comes first. We’re both professionals, right? We both know the risks of the things we do. If you get caught, I would of course come back for you after I get the jewel. And I know you’d do the same for me. But the job comes first, okay? We’re both tough enough to handle a little abuse, so long as the other manages to do what we came here for.” She sighed. “Your reputation has been pretty well established, but my own is still spreading. If you want a reputation of being the best, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. And you have to be willing to make the tough choices...”

Yes, well I only hope she still feels that way once this is over, Zeb thought grimly to himself as he searched the cabin. After breaking free of the last of Mistress Lucy’s hypnotic restraints, he had left, slipping unnoticed through the crowd to the stairway leading to Mistress Lucy’s private cabin. The idea was clear enough; she would keep Lucy occupied while he searched for her hidden safe and retrieved the Dragon’s Eye they’d been contracted to steal. Easier said than done, however, as Lucy’s cabin turned out to be massively huge, with dozens of possible hiding spots. After nearly ten minutes of searching behind every picture, portrait, mirror, and bookcase turned up nothing, he was beginning to worry. The longer it took to uncover the safe, the greater the chance of Delilah being overcome and losing her duel.

Damn! Wherever she decided to hide her safe, it’s definitely not in one of the usual places you’d find them, he mused to himself. In a room this size, I could search for an hour and still not find it! I should head back out and aid Delilah... if she beats Lucy, she can simply force her to reveal the safe herself...

The sound of a door opening caught his attention, however, and his eyes widened as Reyna stepped out from a small door on the far side of the room. The witch’s eyes went wide, then narrowed at the sight of him. Oh, shit! Zeb cursed silently again, as he saw Reyna raise her hands. Grunting, he moved, heading straight for her, crossing the distance as fast as he could.

The dark-haired witch expected such a reaction, however. Smirking, she focused her powers, targeting him with a spell. “Facti le—”

“Facti lepus!” Zeb chanted, extending a hand towards her as well.

“—pus!” Reyna finished. unleashing her spell... only to blink in surprise as the spell fizzled and failed just as she released it. Scowling, she summoned her energy once more, focusing and framing the spell within her mind, before speaking the words to give it shape and substance. “In som—” she began.

“In somno nunc!” Zeb called out.

“—no nunc!” she finished, gasping in shock as again, her spell failed. Concerned, alarmed, she refocused her energy once more, going for a more simple, basic spell. “Adhuc quasi lapis!” she shouted, just as Zeb reached her, shouting the exact same words.

“Adhuc quasi lapis!”

Reyna, panting slightly, stared in complete confusion at the dark-skinned man standing before her. “What... what the hell is this?” she asked, backing away slowly. “How the FUCK did you managed to block my spells? Are you holding some kind of... magic diffusing artifact or something?”

Zeb flashed her a smile. “Oh. nothing of the sort. Those kinds of artifacts are rather rare, and I didn’t bring one with me. As for what I did... tell me, when you were young and first learning your spells, did your mentor ever tell you why you should not practice casting with other spellcasters practicing around?”

Reyna blinked. “Well, of course. If you have two or more people casting the same spell at one time, the gathered spell energy is... dis... rupted...” she trailed off, eyes going wide. She turned to stare at Zeb in disbelief. “You... you disrupted my spells by casting them back at me!?” she demanded.

“I call it counterspelling,” Zeb replied with a smirk. “A child’s trick, really, something you could have easily negated if you had realized what I was doing.” His smile faded as his expression became serious. “Not that it matters anymore. I’ve closed the distance between us now. At this distance, you can’t cast anything before I can disrupt you physically. So,” he said, cracking his knuckles, “Any chance you’ll simply surrender to me and submit to me peacefully?”

Reyna smiled back at him. “Surrender without a fight?” she sneered. “Hah! Not a fucking chance. If you want my servitude,” she added, hands clenching into fists, “then you will have to earn it!”

“Aaaahhhhh! Fuck!” Delilah grunted, picking herself up from the ground once more. Shaking her head to clear it, she brought up her guard, taking a moment to take stock of her situation. Her body felt completely trashed. She’d been beaten and lashed for hours before the fight had even started, subjected to Lucy’s not-so-gentle ministrations. She and Lucy were surprisingly pretty evenly matched in fighting skills, and she had certainly given as well as she’d received. Between the two of them, both Lucy and Delilah were sporting a number of bruises, cracked, possibly broken ribs, and several sprains and contusions, as well as minor concussions. Unfortunately, Delilah was exhausted, and running on fumes, while Lucy seemed to still be going strong. When she stumbled back to her feet, finding Lucy holding up the ruby and diamond broach, it was almost a relief.

“I am ending this farce of a contest right here and now,” Lucy declared, wincing slightly, her jaw still ringing from the last trading of blows with her opponent. To be honest, she was more than a little concerned with how things had turned out. She’d expected a mere common peasant-like Mistress Delilah to be no match for her, yet the dark-haired thief had proven to be more obstinate and determined than she’d suspected. The longer the fight went on, the smaller her advantage over the older woman would be, so she decided to simply hypnotize her while she was dazed, and be done with it.

“Look at the stone, Delilah,” Lucy commanded, focusing her hypnotic energy on her focus. “Watch it swing, back and forth, drawing your gaze, forcing you to relax, your body tired and aching... wanting nothing more than to relax... relax... and stare at the pretty sparkling stone.”

Delilah’s hands clenched instinctively, wanting to draw her own focus stone, only to recall that she had been stripped naked even before the beginning of the conflict. Instead of panicking, she stepped forward, smirking confidently, staring Mistress Lucy down. “No, no, Lucy... you look at me... at my eyes, staring into my steel grey eyes... my powerful hypnotic eyes, letting their gaze wash over you... entrancing you... pulling you in...” she said in a clear calm monotone voice.

Lucy blinked, a slight frown creasing her lips as she found her eyes staring into Delilah’s for several seconds before she forced herself to break away. “My stone is drawing you in, moment by moment, second by second,” she continued, “draining your energy, your strength... leaving you weak... so very weak... and sleepy...”

The back and forth continued for several more moments, neither woman backing off. Alas, the long day and fight had taken its toll on Mistress Delilah, and as both women continued to fall deeper and deeper into each others’ hypnotic spell, it was evident that Delilah was falling faster and harder than her adversary. The dark-haired woman’s limbs were numb, tingling with pins and needles and her eyes were glassy and nearly glazed, her words slow and stuttering. Lucy, while equally dazed, was coherent enough to continue her induction, knowing victory was at hand.

“Keep staring at the stone,” Lucy spoke, wavering slightly in place, her vision filled with a strange grey tint, the same grey as Mistress Delilah’s eyes. “Relaxing... deeper and deeper... so tired... so very tired... and sleepy... barely able to keep your eyes open... so tired... wanting... needing... to let your eyes close... and slip into a deep... obedient... trance...”

Delilah moaned softly. eyes fluttering, wanting so badly to close. But she knew, somehow, that she needed to push on... that if she surrendered here she would lose everything. “N-no... you are... are... sleepy one...” she bantered back with everything she had left. “Y-your eyes... tired... sl... sleeepy... need to... need to... to...” she faltered, her train of thought fading.

“You need to submit,” Lucy finished for her, smirking in triumph. “Need to surrender... to close your eyes, and let yourself sleep...”

“C-close... eyes...” Delilah murmured softly, weaving in place now, eyes barely open slits. “Let... myself... sl.. sleep...?” she asked softly.

Lucy grinned. All she needed now was one final push. Before she could speak, however, she gasped in shock, glancing down at a sudden sensation on her left foot. A dark-skinned hand was clutching her by the ankle, fingers gently rubbing and caressing the top of her foot. A wave of powerful lethargy swept through her, draining away her remaining energy. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes rolled up into her head, as her mind shut down completely.

“Y-yes... sleep,” Delilah managed, shaking her head wearily, able to recover her bearings with Lucy’s constant onslaught halted. “Deep deep asleep now... asleep.. and obedient to my words...” She let out a deep sigh, shaking her head again, before glancing down and giving her partner a wry grin and a thumbs up. “Deep asleep, Lucy,” she repeated, her voice stronger and more confident now, “ and ready to listen and obey.”

“Yess... listen... and obey...” the entranced redhead replied back blankly.

“Good girl,” Delilah replied with a nod. “Then follow me back downstairs to your personal cabin. We’re going to continue this in a more... private setting...”

“And so, after I questioned Miss Reyna here,” Zeb informed Delilah several minutes later, “and she admitted that even she didn’t know what the safe was hidden, I knew the only way we were going to be able to find it was by questioning Lucy herself. So I came back to find you about to succumb to Mistress Lucy—”

“Hey, hey, now, no need to exaggerate,” Delilah protested, squirming slightly in place, the entranced Reyna working her tongue deep between the hypnodomme’s widespread legs. “I was... mmm... I was hanging in there, yanno. I still might have... have... ooohhhh... ohhhhh yessss... yeess... right there, right there, ohhh ffuuuuccckkk meeeeeeee yeeeeesss!” she screamed as Reyna brought her to orgasm. Sighing, she pushed the naked slave away, before glancing up at Zeb again. “Ummm... mmm... sorry, what was I saying again?”

Zeb rolled his eyes. “Just some fabrication about how you weren’t three seconds away from becoming Mistress Lucy’s newest brainwashed plaything,” he quipped. “At any rate, when I saw how things were going, I intervened. I moved in from behind the stage, climbed the edge, grabbed Mistress Lucy by her ankle, and used my touch induction skills to put her under.”

“Allowing me to take control and make the snooty little bitch into a perfectly tame and obedient little slave,” Delilah finished as the aforementioned redhead returned, carrying a small bronze key. As they sat watching, Lucy walked over to the entertainment system, the small raised dais in the center of the room containing the TV and the room’s electronics. Kneeling down, she inserted the key into a small hidden grove at the base, and twisted it, causing the entire dais to slowly slide back revealing a hidden alcove. “Huh... well damn,” Delilah whistled in appreciation. “Nice. I definitely would have never found that by just searching around. Bring us the lockbox, slave,” she commanded.

“As you command, Mistress,” Lucy replied blankly, lifting the small metal case from its hiding place, carrying it across the room before kneeling before the dark-haired hypnodomme, presenting it with open arms. Taking the case, she opened it, then gasped in appreciation.

“Hmmm. So, that’s the Dragon’s Eye,” Zeb mused aloud, peering into the case at the large crimson stone. “That’s what all this fuss was about, hmm? Well, I’m no jeweler, but if that’s a natural uncut stone, I’d definitely say your buyer is getting a real deal at one million dollars. I recall the most expensive ruby ring sold at auction was around six million dollars, and it’s tiny compared to this.”

“Uh-huh,” Delilah murmured, seemingly distracted. “Sounds about right.” Zeb glanced at her sidelong.

“Something else caught your eye?” he asked.

“You could say that, yes,” she answered, withdrawing an item from the box, holding it up. The artifact was old, an armband of metallic silver in the shape and style of a coiled serpent with ruby red garnet stones for eyes. Zeb winced slightly at the feeling of power radiating from the band, removed from the box it had been stored in. That it was indeed an object of power was obvious even to him. “This was an unexpected bonus,” Delilah replied, grinning, “if this is what I think it is. I have an old friend who recently came into possession of a few rare and valuable artifacts believed to have belonged to the Goddess Circe back when she was a mortal. If this is really a part of that collection... I may very well be able to retire on this job!”

Zeb chuckled ruefully. “Well, I hope it works out for you, then. As for me, I will be satisfied to simply hand over the Dragon’s Eye, and be done with this job. I’m more than ready to leave this ship and return home.”

Delilah blinked, then smiled, shaking her head. She’d half expected Zeb to insist on a cut of the profits for the armband if it turned out to be the valuable commodity that she believed it to be. Instead, he seemed content to leave it entirely in her hands. “And you have no interest in the armband or any of the rest of these trinkets?” she asked pointedly.

“Not particularly, no,” he replied back. “In truth, I would not mind if you left it behind either.” At Delilah’s look, he shrugged. “You said it yourself. That is a rare and powerful artifact. If you can find a buyer for it, then good. But something like that is bound to attract unwanted attention and trouble. Hold onto it for too long and someone will undoubtedly come looking for it... someone a bit more formidable than a simple hypnotist-thief and her partner.”

“Hmm. You have a point,” she conceded. “Still, I think I’ll take that chance,” she said, pocketing the armband and the jewel. “Now... we just have a few loose ends to take care of.”

“If you’re referring to Lucy and Reyna, then have at it,” Zeb stated. “I’ve already given Reyna the standard instructions to forget our faces and identities after we leave. I assume you plan to do the same with Mistress Lucy after you’ve had your... ahem... fun?” he asked, gesturing pointedly at the kneeling hypnodomme, worshipping Delilah’s feet. “She did quite a number on you... I can only imagine you’d like to deliver proper payback.”

To his surprise, Delilah just sighed. “Actually... I think I agree with you. I’d rather just call it even and get the hell out of dodge. It’ll be enough knowing that she got beat and not being able to remember who bested her or how to track us down.” She chuckled at that. “That said, there is ONE person I’d like to have a nice little chat with before we leave—”

“I assume you mean, me?”

Delilah stood up, gaping in shock as Senator Lovejoy and her two assistants walked in. “You! What are YOU doing here?”

The Senator raises her hands. “Hey. Easy now. I’m not here to cause you any trouble. I just wanted to have a talk with you.”

Glancing at one another, they both approached the trio. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fry your mind right now and have you naked and kneeling on the ground next to these two?” Delilah demanded, gesturing at Lucy and Reyna.

Rather than be put out, Senator Lovejoy merely shrugged. “Well, for one thing, I have been in constant contact with my personal aide back in Washington D.C. for this entire trip,” she stated, holding up her cell phone. “And I sent him pictures and descriptions of the both of you, just in case this little talk goes south. So if anything suspicious happens to me, you can rest assured that the full weight of the United States government will fall upon your heads.”

Delilah let out a soft sigh. “Covering your bases? A smart ploy. We could, of course, simply deal with you, track down your aide, and deal with him as well, along with anyone he may have confided in... but in truth, that seems like a lot more trouble than its worth.” She shrugged. “So... you wanted to talk? Talk. What do you want?”

Amanda Lovejoy grinned. “A direct question. Excellent. Basically, I came to speak to you and to acquire your services.” She glanced down at Lucy with disdain. “Unlike both of you, I actually WAS one of Lucy’s childhood friends growing up... although ‘friend’ might be too strong a word. I know her quite well... and the only reason I would attend one of her parties is to seek her out for help with a rival senator. I was going to ask Mistress Lucy to have a talk with her, and ‘convince her’ to see things my way from now on.” She smirked, shaking her head. “But seeing how you two were able to put her in her place, I thought perhaps it’s you that I should be asking instead.”

Delilah frowned, stroking her chin idly as if contemplating. “Huh. You make an interesting point. And having an ‘in’ with a U.S. Senator could be useful...” She sighed. “What do you think, partner?”

“It is up to you,” Zeb replied, appearing suddenly behind Senator Lovejoy, causing her to jump in surprise. “I already took care of her assistants while you two were talking,” he added, stepping back to reveal both of her guards entranced, deeply hypnotized, and asleep on their feet. “Whether you decide to hypnotize her and wipe her memory of everything that happened here, or if you decide to accept her job offer, I’m fine with it either way. Personally, I am done with mercenary jobs for a while once we are done here. I have a lot going on in my regular life at the moment, and I wish to focus my attentions there.”

Amanda Lovejoy swallowed painfully, more than a little nervous. She was a strong and confident woman, used to being obeyed, respected, and feared. As a US Senator, there were very few people who could intimidate her. But there, at that moment, knowing full well the kind of people around her, and what they were capable of, she was very afraid. True Hypnotists were prideful, arrogant, and extremely touchy about any perceived lack of respect. And, admittedly, she hadn’t exactly exhibited an outpouring of respect during their first two interactions. To her relief, Delilah simply nodded, gesturing for her to sit down on the sectional across from her.

“Alright Senator, you have yourself a deal,” Delilah replied, taking back her own seat as well. “I’m sure we can iron out the specifics in a moment or two, but for now... would you like a turn?” she asked, gesturing at Lucy and Reyna, both kneeling silently. “You said you have a history with Lucy here, so I can’t imagine you haven’t thought about having her serve you as a blank mindless sex slave before?” Amanda’s face lit up, a cruel sneer twisting her lips.

“My my... it’s like you read my mind,” she said, before considering. “And... after?” she asked. “She won’t remember any of this after you awaken her at the end?”

“Nope, not a bit,” Delilah replied, grinning. “After all, it wouldn’t be very beneficial for the brainless little twit to know who screwed her over and to have her devoting all her time, money, and resources to getting revenge. And not all of us are patrons of virtue and forgiveness like my partner over there,” she quipped, as Zeb merely rolled his eyes.

“I never claimed to be a saint,” he reminded her. “Just because I do not currently wish to use them both for my pleasure, doesn’t mean that I simply forgive them for everything they’ve done.” He shook his head. “You two, go ahead and have your fun. I’m going to go find the helicopter’s pilot and secure our ride back to the mainland,” he said, heading towards the door. “I trust you’ll be ready to leave by the time I return?”

“Sure, I think we can manage,” Delilah replied with a laugh as the Senator kicked off her sandals, baring her slim slender feet, and shifted her skirt, opening her legs. “Now then. slaves. Attend us. Lucy, you will eat out Senator Lovejoy, and make her cum harder than she has ever cum before. Reyna, you’ll be doing the same to me. Got it?”

“Yes, Mistress,” both women responded obediently, moving into position. Zeb just shook his head as he departed the room.

“Mmmmm... yes, that’s the stuff,” Delilah cooed, grinning as the dark-haired witch worked her magic. “What say you, Senator? Enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, my, yes,” she replied, letting out a sigh. “Mmmm. I do hope your partner takes his time. I could definitely get used to this.” She chuckled softly, relaxing in enjoyment. “I wonder how good Senator Gloria Augustine is at eating pussy...”