The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The only remnant of the house was a black pile of rubble marring the white of the surrounding snow. Dead grass stood around the wreckage where the fire had melted nearby snow, but fresh snowfall was already starting to cover everything in white again. The sky above was gray. The wind was cold. The feeling in my gut was that I had failed.

I felt miserable. My family was gone. Taken when they needed me most. Taken when I had left to find out something that ended up having nothing to do with what was happening in the house. I sat in the SUV, staring at the smudge of black in the snow that was the final impression of what I felt inside.

“Ral, don’t do this. I know you feel bad. I know you think this was your fault, but it wasn’t,” Yvonne said, stealing glances at me as she drove.

“If I hadn’t left...”

Yvonne interrupted me, “No, Ral. You needed to know what that paperwork meant. I don’t think your leaving would have changed anything except maybe delaying what happened here, unless the one responsible for this got tired of waiting and came while everyone slept.” She held out her hand to me. “Mandy still needs you. Your family needs you. You have to be strong for them and do everything you can.”

She was right. I still couldn’t feel Mandy and I still didn’t know if that meant that our bond had been broken or if it was just being blocked from me. I took Yvonne’s hand and felt better. She believed in me. She had confidence that I would find my family and put this right. I looked back at Chloe and Savannah in the back seat. Savannah was staring out her window at the remains of my house. Chloe looked back at me.

~Yvonne’s right, Master. You have to be strong. I believe in you. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. Anything.~ She smiled at that last, but there were no innuendos or raunchy thoughts to accompany it. It was just a simple smile. I felt even better.

Chloe sat up to look out the window too and her motion put my mark into view past her coat. My mark. The mark on Mom and Monique. I had to talk to Andrea.

Our procession of vehicles stopped and everyone got out. I found Officer Colburn immediately. “I think I have another clue.”

She was all ears. “What?”

“My mom and sister were marked. A small red diamond on the back of their necks. If we find anyone with the same mark we may have the Mage we’re looking for.”

“House Vaughan? But they abhor violent acts like this. They would have put this to an end very quickly.”

“Well, they obviously haven’t. Is there any kind of record regarding which Mage might have that shape and placement of their mark?”

“Each House has their own records,” she said as she pulled out her phone. “I’ve got a friend in House Vaughan. He can find out for me.”

“Good. In the meantime, we keep an eye out for it.”

After her call, Officer Colburn led me past the tape surrounding the wreckage left by the fire. The home that I had grown up in was gone. It wasn’t a matter of the lost possessions, those could be replaced, but the memories.

Memories.

~That son of a bitch!~

~Ral, what is it?~ Yvonne asked.

~He knew. Somehow he knew I had grown up here. He knew that I had been raised as I had been. The bastard knew I was here all along.~

~Maybe he got the memories from you? When you get memories, they include the emotions attached.~ Chloe suggested.

~No, he knew about something else too. He said that my family had hurt others too, but not who. Nothing he suggested stirred any memories in me.~

I looked at Officer Colburn. “Whoever this guy is. He knew I grew up here. He knew my family and their interactions with others. It was like he’s been watching this house for years. I wonder if maybe it’s someone who’s lived here for years. Somewhere nearby.”

Andrea looked around. No one else was close enough to hear. “All of the other neighbors have volunteered to help search, though, Ral. If someone had refused or not been home...”

“Was there anyone who came to you or the searchers offering to help without knowing what was going on?”

She thought about that. “Not that I know of, but someone else might.”

She turned to the crowd that was standing by. She spoke with a few people quietly and finally came back to me. “Kurt Loftin volunteered this morning. No one had called him, he just showed up and offered to help. He lives on the other side of town. He might have heard about the fire, but otherwise no one approached him.”

“Where is he?”

The officer led me through the crowd to an older man. He looked to be in his mid-forties with dark hair and cool gray eyes. His hair was grizzled and fell past his shoulders. That alone was enough to hide the back of his neck. For the search he was helping us with, he wore heavy coveralls, patterned in camouflage, like something you’d find in a sporting goods store for hunting. He also wore modern snowshoes attached to his heavy hiking boots. “Mr. Loftin? My name is Ral Setton.” I held out my hand to shake.

He handed me a pair of snowshoes like the ones he wore. His grin didn’t change, and he didn’t take my hand. “You’re gonna need these while we search, Mr. Setton.”

I took the snowshoes. “Thank you. I’m glad you’ve volunteered to help us. We’re going to be splitting up into groups soon and you’ll be with me.”

“That’ll be fine.” His smile seemed plastered on.

I nodded and looked at Andrea. I wished I could communicate with her like I did my girls. “One last word before we start.”

We went back to the wreckage. “He deliberately avoided contact with me. Even with his gloves on.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Some people just don’t like to be touched.”

“In a situation like this trust is everything and he should have taken the opportunity to build my trust in him. Besides, if he knows what I can do, he would have known I could have gotten his memories and known if he were the one we were looking for.”

“I see. Then what can we do?”

“Follow through with the plan. If that is the man we want, he may try to lead us away from my family. I also need a way to communicate with you.”

She started to reach for her belt. I held up my hand. “I have a more efficient way.”

She looked at me, trying to decide if my way was better.

“Radios, phones and other devices can be removed. Thoughts cannot.”

She nodded and I held out my hand. She took it and I focused. ~If you can hear me nod twice.~ She nodded twice. I let go of her hand. ~If you can hear me, put your hand over your mark.~ Andrea immediately put her hand over her chest.

~Excellent. This isn’t like pure telepathy. Only the thoughts or images you want me to see will be transmitted. Okay?~

~How do I...?~

~Just like that.~

We put everyone into groups of five. Some individuals had those snowmobiles that could carry an extra person. Many had actual snowshoes, but the rest were left fighting the snow and hoping not to fall into some hidden drop. I sent Chloe, Yvonne, and Savannah with different parties. Since I could communicate with them and Andrea, I would know sooner than anyone if they found anything.

To be honest, I wasn’t very hopeful regarding this search. There had been no tracks leading away from the house except those left my Monique’s SUV and the emergency vehicles. More recently others had been around but there was nothing leading from the house in any other direction. My family had very much gone up in a puff of smoke.

Mr. Loftin was quiet. He moved like his gear suggested, as a hunter. The snowshoes didn’t deter his quiet motions. He was used to walking on snow in them. The extra pair he had given me helped me keep up with him, but the other three in our group were quickly left behind.

I had played in the woods around the house for years. Well, at least whenever Mom didn’t know about it. If she found me out in the rough, she would bring me home, put me in the bath and ground me to my room for the night. Her actions didn’t deter me. I still went out when the opportunity was available. Now it was paying off. I knew these trees, moved through them as if they were trying to help me. Granted I was probably a good two feet off the ground due to the snow, but that made no difference.

I had seen a cave at the back, about half a mile from the house. Mr. Loftin was leading us right to it.

About fifty yards from the entrance he stopped and turned to see if we were still with him. I was only a few feet behind, but the others were a good hundred yards back. They could see us but not hear us.

“The cave ahead is a bear cave. Old Betsy is snoozing for the winter but if she wakes up, she won’t be happy. I’ll go in and have a quick look. If anyone happened to go in there and tripped over her... You might want to stay here Mr. Setton. Such a sight isn’t for the weak of stomach.”

I had never known of any bears that close to my house, but it wasn’t completely impossible. The cave would make for a good den. However, staying behind while Mr. Loftin checked it out wasn’t going to happen. I shook my head. “I’ll go with you. If that bear wakes up with you in there...”

“Then you’ll be no help. Bears are strong, Mr. Setton. Really strong. And fast.” He looked down at the snowshoes he had given me. “You’ll be a slow intruder to be beaten. She’ll catch you in no time.”

“What makes you safer than me?”

He put the tip of his finger to the side of his nose. “I’ve been hunting for about twenty five years. Mr. Setton. I know how to sneak up on critters.”

The others were getting closer and saw the cave in the distance. Mr. Loftin held up his hands indicating they should stop. One last look at me and he started toward the cave.

I had to admit, snowshoes or not, he could move smoothly. He could probably run pretty fast too. However, I had something up my sleeves too. Up my pants legs too, for that matter. I could move faster than any bear and I was probably stronger. I chose to follow.

Mr. Loftin got to the cave and crept inside. The rocks were still covered with snow and the cave was dark. Honestly, with sunlight there might be enough ambient light to see so far into the cave, but with the cloud coverage, it would have been difficult to get in far without bumping into the bear.

I got to the entrance and looked back. The others must have known about the bear too and understood they had less of a chance of getting away because the stayed where they were and watched.

I went in. it was darker than I had thought. I crept along the wall, the snowshoes made me take awkward steps but I thought I was doing well to not make that much noise with each step.

A strong hand grabbed my arm. I turned to see Mr. Loftin looking past me, deeper into the cave. I realized that I had been so focused on moving quietly that I had caught up to him.

Standing still, I could hear breathing. Soft, deep, long breaths. Breaths of something big. Big as a bear. She was just a dozen feet in front of us. If Mr. Loftin hadn’t stopped me, I would have walked right into her.

I looked at the grizzled man again and he nodded back toward the entrance.

Moving just as slow and with as much concentration, I got back to the opening without incident. Mr. Loftin led the way back to the others still waiting for us. I was closer to him and the wind gusted past. His hair flew off to the side and to my disappointment, there was no mark.