The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Chapter One: The Freckles Diamond

Lady Casey sauntered through the large dimly-lit warehouse located near the Boise airport, her heels making a rhythmic click on the concrete floor that echoed faintly throughout the cluttered, dusty building.

The diminutive woman looked out of place among the dusty old crates and tarp-covered equipment surrounding her.

Stunningly beautiful, Casey was dressed as if she were walking the red carpet at a celebrity-awards show rather than striding through a musty abandoned building. Her shoulder-length dark-brown hair was styled in Dutch braided pig tails, and her minimal makeup served only to enhance her clean, natural beauty and give her deep, rich brown eyes a sultry look. She was wearing a long dark purple spaghetti strap gown that complemented her fit, slender figure perfectly; it had a high slit on one side, the neckline cut to give a teasing view of the tops of her fantastic breasts. The dress was backless, with thin straps crisscrossing her flawless skin. She wore elegant diamond and amethyst chandelier-style earrings, and her customary huge diamond solitaire pendant rested on her cleavage. Around her left wrist was a gold bracelet with a small “A” charm dangling from it, and on her right middle finger was a white gold ring set with a huge amethyst surrounded by small diamonds. Her long fingernails were painted in a French manicure, the tips dark purple. Casey wore strappy silver platform sandals with a five-inch stiletto heel, which brought her height to barely five-six. Her toenails were painted a rich dark purple that matched her dress perfectly, and she wore her cold-iron and fire opal toe rings on her middle toes. A gold shamrock toe ring adorned her left smallest toe.

Casey was carrying a thick black briefcase.

The diminutive master hypnotist walked a bit further and then paused, closing her eyes and focusing.

In addition to being a hypnotist, Casey was also a powerful mentalist, and with effort she could sense the presence of other people’s minds ahead of her. Reaching out with her expanded senses, she attempted to ascertain their numbers.

She could count three that were fairly close, and an undermined number much farther back.

Casey smiled.

She was expecting them.

The woman known as Tiny Tough was unconcerned, and unafraid.

She continued her leisurely stroll deeper into the warehouse.

Casey stepped into a small relatively clear area near the center of the warehouse; there was a single light bulb hanging in a battered fixture on the ceiling providing dim illumination along with a little of the early evening sun making its way in through the boarded and broken windows.

Three men were standing calmly in the area, obviously awaiting Casey’s arrival. Two were tall, broad shouldered and serious-looking, with close-cropped dark hair and wearing dark grey suits. They stood with their hands behind their backs a few feet behind the third man, alert for potential danger.

The other man was shorter, with longer lighter colored wavy hair. Reasonably handsome, he wore a much nicer suit than the other two, black with a red tie and matching silk handkerchief protruding from the breast pocket. He was also considerably less fit than his companions, with a large waistline that spoke of a love of good food and a dislike of exercise.

“Hello Dmitri. It is good to see you again,” Casey said to him with one of her heart-stopping smiles.

“Is it? While it is always wonderful to look upon the gorgeous and infamous Tiny Tough, I have to wonder why you called me after our last…business dealings,” Dmitri replied casually with a hint of a Russian accent.

Casey laughed.

“You mean when you screwed me?” she asked sweetly.

She casually took a couple of steps toward him, the clack from her heels again echoing around the warehouse.

Neither Dmitri or his men moved as she close the distance to within five feet.

A dangerous range when facing a mentalist.

“I do not think your memory is correct in this, Tiny Tough,” Dmitri replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Come on, you fucked me over last time, I fucked you over the time before that. I don’t have any hard feelings; business is business. I called you because there are very few people who can come up with what I need. You always call me when you need a hypnotist,” Casey said with a shrug.

Dmitri laughed.

“Ah, I have missed you Tiny Tough! Beautiful, fearless, powerful. Yes, very few can come up with what you asked for. So very few of this quality in existence. I had other interested buyers, but you beat all offers by quite a margin, I must say,” he said cheerfully.

Casey smiled and opened the briefcase.

It was filled with cash, half in U.S. currency and half in Euros.

“Six million as we agreed; two per carat, one and a half million more than your next best offer,” she said.

Dmitri smiled broadly.

“Yes, you came in the highest, and to be honest even if you had not I am happy to sell to you, my beautiful young hypnotist. That is why I agreed to travel to this strange state you live in. Now, behold the Dragon Blood Red,” he said.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, very high quality black leather case, which he opened with a flourish.

Inside resting on a cushion of purple velvet was a breathtaking round-brilliant-cut red diamond. It was a full three-carat flawless stone, glittering fiercely even in the dim light.

Casey was not easily impressed, but she was awed by gemstone Dmitri held.

“It is amazing,” breathed.

“Take it,” Dmitri said.

He offered her the box; Casey closed the briefcase and set it on the floor, then took the gemstone reverently.

“I can only imagine how many men and women you will send deep into your hypnotic spell with that,” Dmitri said with a chuckle.

Casey smiled as she looked closely at the sparkling diamond.

“Only one; and it is I who am under her spell,” she said softly.

She tilted the box gently side to side, making the gemstone sparkle brilliantly.

“I see; well in any case the gem is yours. You know that someone may come after it someday. The Dragon Blood Red is one of a very few large, perfect true red diamonds. It has been in the possession of several nobles, lords, ladies and tyrants over the years. Many with egos feel they are worthy of owning it,” Dmitri said.

Casey smiled and closed the box.

“Well, they will be sorry if they ever try to take it. They may think they are worthy of the diamond, but the truth is that this stone is barely worthy of the woman who I am giving it to,” she said.

Casey slid the briefcase toward Dmitri with a sandaled foot.

He picked it up and handed it to one of his men.

“She must be an extraordinary woman; I am happy for you, Tiny Tough. Sad that you are taken, but happy for you,” Dmitri said with a nod.

“Thank you, Dmitri. I genuinely appreciate this, and I am glad we can still work together,” Casey replied.

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

Dmitri blushed.

“I am glad of that as well. But what work, eh? I give you a rock, the fancy Dragon Blood Red, you give me six million dollars. I call that more like, a good deal for me, eh?” he said with a laugh.

“I’d say it was a good deal all the way around. I would have paid more, so I appreciate you not trying to squeeze every dime out of me. Oh, and it is called ‘The Freckles Diamond’ now,” Casey replied with a wink.

Dmitri laughed again.

“Marvelous! Tiny Tough, if I were to squeeze you, it would not be for money! Besides, I owed you from our last dealing,” he said.

Casey joined him in his laughter; she had always enjoyed his humor.

“If it makes you feel better, you have my permission to jerk off over me as much as you like,” she replied with a wink.

Dmitri laughed harder.

“Oh, I didn’t realize for this I needed your permission! I have already done so this morning to get ready for seeing you again!” he roared.

Casey laughed harder as well.

She loved crude jokes, and genuinely enjoyed the idea of being the inspiration for someone’s masturbation. She felt it gave her power over them.

“Well, I expect you to do it at least twice more today after seeing me in this dress,” she replied with a wink.

Even Dmitri’s men were smiling at their exchange at this point.

“On that I do not think you need to worry!” Dmitri said with a nod, wiping his eyes.

The large man and tiny woman stood regarding each other with something akin to affection as their laughter slowly faded.

“Come, you may walk me out. How is your wife?” Casey asked, composing herself.

Dmitri smiled and nodded to his men.

She took his arm and they began to walk toward the front of the warehouse, Dmitri’s two bodyguards trailing them.

“Ah, she is a wonderful woman, perfectly compliant and respectful. She awaits me in my hotel room as we speak. You did such a marvelous job giving her, how do you say it, ‘an attitude adjustment’. I am the envy of my associates the way she submits to me, and she has not yet once balked at sucking my cock when I command it,” Dmitri replied with satisfaction.

Casey smiled. She had enjoyed breaking Dmitri’s wife; she had been an obnoxious, troublesome woman who had put her husband’s business dealings in jeopardy several times by doing things behind his back.

She had believed she knew how to do things better than her husband, so Dmitri had hired Casey to teach her differently.

“Good. She was a strong-willed woman; as you know it took some conditioning to get her so obedient and still have a personality. Call me if she needs a booster, I will do it for free,” Casey said.

“Such good service. Although I am knowing you enjoyed the…breaking… of my Maria,” Dmitri said with a chuckle.

Casey snorted.

“And I am thinking you enjoyed watching me enjoy breaking her,” she retorted.

Dmitri laughed.

“That is so very true! She looked exquisite at your lovely feet, and even better in the other positions you put her in. Now Casey, I might have an actual contract for you soon, if you are still doing such things,” he said as they walked.

“Of course, just call me when you are ready. Dmitri, the rest of your men are coming up behind us kind of fast,” Casey replied.

She could suddenly sense a half-dozen or more peoples’ minds more clearly as they approached quickly from behind them.

Dmitri stopped.

“The rest…? I only brought Boris and Vladimir, there are no others,” he said warily.

“Ah, fuck. Okay then, we are about to get ambushed,” Casey replied.

She tucked the box containing the diamond between her breasts and turned around just in time to see four black-clad men with military-style haircuts and serious expressions to emerge from the darkness, German submachine guns in their hands. Between them was a tall, sexy brunette woman in a black leather bodysuit and knee high flat black boots. Her long hair was in a bun, and she had big blue eyes. She wore a smirk, and in her hand was an antique gold pocket-watch.

“Hello Dmitri. And you must be the infamous Tiny Tough! It is nice to finally meet you! I am Mistress Zoe Rain,” the woman said as if expecting her name to mean something.

Casey smiled.

“I have never heard of you, and I don’t like guns pointed at me,” she said calmly.

Dmitri and his men all had their hands inside their jackets on the grips of their pistols, but they hadn’t been able to ready them quickly enough.

Mistress Zoe pouted.

“I find that hard to believe. I am the best hypnotic thief in the world. Now Dmitri, you and your boys remove your hands from your jackets. Slowly,” she said.

Dmitri cursed softly in Russian, then nodded. He and his men withdrew their empty hands from their jackets.

“My apologies, Tiny Tough. She is one who wants the gem. I have no idea how she found us,” he muttered, also in Russian.

“No worries, Dmitri. This is not your fault. I can handle her. Just trust me,” Casey replied, also in Russian.

“Now that is rude; English only please. Or Spanish, French or Latin. But no Russian,” Zoe admonished.

“So, are you looking for hair and makeup advice? Because you need it,” Casey retorted.

Zoe smiled.

“Ah, what a wit you have. Obviously, I am taking the Dragon Blood Red, as well as that brief case full of cash. You see, Dmitri stole that diamond from me,” she said.

“I did no such thing! You have no honor! You contracted me to acquire the gem, then attempted to hypnotize me and take it without paying what was agreed. I very nearly fell for it, but I am not so easily captured by lesser hypnotists,” Dmitri replied angrily.

Casey shook her head.

“How tacky, you tried to double-cross someone and you failed to hypnotize him? How many times have I hypnotized you, Dmitri? Three?” she asked.

“I believe it is four Lady Casey, though one of the incidents I was a willing participant. I am afraid Mistress Zoe is not in your…arena? League? Yes, League. She is not in your league,” Dmitri replied casually.

Zoe’ smile grew brittle.

“Enough banter. Hand over the gem and the briefcase and I will leave without having my boys riddle you with bullets,” she said.

Dmitri said nothing; he and his men simply stared at the leather-clad hypnodomme.

They feared neither guns nor death.

“Let me guess, you think this diamond will make you a better hypnotist?” Casey asked, taking out the box.

“Of course it will, you little cunt. You know how gemstones and hypnotism work. If you use it as a focus enough, it will absorb and tune itself to your power, amplifying it when you hypnotize. The larger and more perfect the gem, the more powerful they can get. A red diamond like that can channel and focus tremendous amounts of hypnotic power, which is why you want it. Stop playing games, and hand it over. You are beaten this time, Tiny Tough. Accept it,” Zoe said.

With her free hand she produced a small silver pistol from her waistband.

You have no idea who the fuck I am or what I want, Casey thought angrily.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, controlling her rage as Alex had been helping her learn to do.

“You are pathetic; you call yourself a hypnotist? Pocket watch in one hand and pistol in the other…ripping off a fellow hypnotist, a better hypnotist in a lame attempt to become more powerful. It isn’t the gemstone, bitch. It is the hypnotist wielding it. You’d know that if you were anything more than average. If you had any balls you would duel me. At least use hypnotism to get what you want,” Casey retorted calmly.

She held out the box.

Zoe snorted.

“Yes, I will risk everything in a duel with a recognized Master. How stupid do you think I am? I came here with enough armed men to win. You came alone, and Dmitri the trusting fool only brought two men. You and your balls just hand it over,” she replied, putting her watch in her pocket and walking toward Casey slowly.

Casey winked at Zoe, then tossed the box high into the air.

“No!” Zoe shouted, her eyes reflexively following the package.

As did everyone else’s.

Zoe held up her free hand to catch the box as it began to descend.

Casey reached out with her telekinetic mentalist ability; the box stopped moving, suspended in the air three feet out of Zoe’s reach.

The leather-clad hypnodomme screeched in frustration.

If she’d been alone, Casey would have then used her talent for mass-hypnosis on Zoe and her men.

However, these days she was rarely alone.

At the same time Casey had tossed the box, two figures had appeared on either side of her as they dropped invisibility spells. Both were female and considerably taller than Tiny Tough.

The one on her left was dressed in a long-sleeved green leather bodysuit that had sheer purple fabric panels on the sides of the legs and on the chest, her breasts visible through the material. She was barefoot, and her light brown hair was in a French braid. She had magnificent green eyes.

On Casey’s right was a sexy woman with her thick light brown hair tied up in a scarlet head-wrap. She was topless, her breasts large and round. She was barefoot as well, wearing only a floor-length red and orange tie-dyed skirt and abundant, gaudy jewelry. Her eyes were dark blue, and while she was curvy she was also very fit and moved with exceptional grace.

“Nunc ut bufonem…nunc ut bufonem,” both women chanted in loud voices.

The newcomers each pointed at a different one of Zoe’s men; they both immediately began to shrink.

The men transformed into small brown toads.

Zoe’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Witches! Shoot them!” she ordered.

Casey looked at one of the remaining goons and unleashed a stream of almost imperceptible flashes from her eyes into his before he could raise his weapon.

“Do not move,” she said firmly.

The man froze.

At the same time, the topless woman gestured at the other man.

“Usque ad satuam!” she said loudly.

He too froze.

Two more men came out of the shadows, suppressed pistols in their hands.

The woman in green’s eyes began to glow with a shimmering emerald green light.

“Just look into my eyes and relax…you cannot move or speak…just keep looking…deeper and deeper…relaxing more and more…as you sink into a trance…dropping into my power…you are completely relaxed…you are mine,” she said firmly as she stared at one of the goons.

He stopped moving, his eyes wide.

“I am yours,” he mumbled, hypnotized.

The man had gone under in a matter of seconds, and the woman in green was already moving, performing a spinning kick to knock the pistol from the hand of the second newcomer. She snapped a kick into his groin, then swept his feet from under him, dropping him to the floor. After he hit the ground she kicked him twice, in the chest and face.

Zoe lashed out at Casey with a powerful kick; the smaller hypnotist spun aside, her gymnast’s reflexes allowing her avoid the blow.

However, her concentration lapsed, and the box containing the diamond fell.

Zoe caught it, then turned and dashed into the darkness with a gleeful cackle.

Casey kicked off her heels and ran after her.

“I got her!” she said as she did a forward handspring over a stack of old boards and disappeared.

Casey literally vanished as she activated her hypnotic invisibility aura.

“You two, go help Tiny Tough!” Dmitri ordered.

He and his men had been surprised by the chaos that exploded around them, watching bewildered as it unfolded in the blink of an eye.

They had only hesitated for a few seconds and all three had their pistols in hand, but in that short time Casey’s allies had taken complete control of the situation.

“That isn’t necessary, sir. I am Domina Peggy, and this is Sybil Mariah. Casey is well looked after. If you don’t mind holding the man that I just knocked down still while we hypnotize the two paralyzed ones, we would appreciate it,” the woman in the green dress said with a smile.

Dmitri was no stranger to action or danger.

He grinned.

“Of course, Domina Peggy. Do as she says,” he ordered his men.

They nodded and moved to secure the man Peggy had knocked down. At the same time, Peggy went to the man Casey had paralyzed and raised an amethyst pendant in front of his face, swinging it as she began an induction. Mariah did the same with a green crystal pendant to the man she had magically held.

Zoe ran through the warehouse, leaping over debris and darting around old crates. She reached an old forklift which served as a landmark so she knew where she was. Zoe dashed around it to find four more of her goons waiting, a reserve force she had waiting in case things had gone badly.

Which they had.

“Time to go. Out the back. Lead the way,” Zoe commanded.

Her group’s vehicles were parked on the street behind the warehouse.

“Yes, Mistress,” the four men said in unison.

They turned and began to move toward the back of the warehouse.

Zoe followed, clutching the box and looking nervously around.

She had underestimated Tiny Tough; the diminutive hypnotist was as powerful and resourceful as the rumors said, and she had powerful allies as well.

Zoe’s goons made it about ten yards when suddenly a cobalt shadow dropped amongst them from a concealed perch atop some old pallet racks.

Zoe was shocked to see a woman with silvery hair in a ponytail, dressed in a blue and silver costume complete with a blue mask and tall dark blue boots, assaulting her men. She spun, ducked, dodged, blocked, kicked and punched with fluid grace. She knocked weapons from their hands, snapped a man’s arm, swept another’s feet and kicked one in the chest so hard he slammed into the pallet racks and slumped to the floor unconscious. Her movements were precise, graceful, yet brutal. Three of Zoe’s men were down in less than a minute, with the woman having not taken a single blow. The fourth threw a punch that the woman easily deflected with her arm. She punched him in his solar plexus, stunning him and making his gasp. The woman immediately began to flutter her fingers in front of his eyes, moving her hand gracefully side to side.

Diamonds and sapphires were affixed to the tips of her blue silk gloves, and they glittered as she moved her hand.

“Follow my fingers back and forth…back and forth…let yourself just relax…listening to my words as you follow my fingers back and forth…listening to my words…you are relaxed…sleepy…listening and obeying…so relaxed now… and, sleep!” she said, snapping the fingers of her free hand beside his head.

The man’s head nodded and his eyes closed.

“Open your eyes. You will use these on your friends on the floor here, bind their hands tight behind their backs. Then await my orders. You will obey me and only me,” she suggested firmly.

She took a handful of zip ties from a pouch on her belt.

The man opened his eyes and took them.

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

The woman turned to face Zoe, hands on her hips in a power pose.

A gold antique pocket watch hung around her neck, similar to the one Zoe carried.

Zoe slow clapped, a sardonic smile on her face.

“Nice butterfly induction. Now let me guess…Hypno-Girl?” she asked sarcastically.

The blue and silver-clad woman laughed. The chest of her costume was a sheer, transparent silvery panel, her large round breasts clearly visible through the fabric, and her boots were decorated with silver spiral patterns.

“Hypno-Girl operates in New York, I believe. And she is more a hero type. I am Bella Beguile, Super Villainess,” she declared.

“Ah, yes. I have heard of you as well. I am Mistress Zoe Rain,” Zoe replied with satisfaction.

“Never heard of you,” Bella replied.

“Zoe Rain…,” Zoe prompted.

Bella looked at her blankly.

“Sounds like a stripper or porn actress,” she said with a shrug.

“Seriously? I am the best hypnotist-thief in the world. I have hypnotized hundreds of people, I took third in a tournament at The Pocket Watch this past year. I beat Mistress Lina Maxwell in a duel and had her licking my boots in her own home before I robbed her!” Zoe fumed, genuinely irritated.

Bella laughed.

She had an opinion or two on who the best hypnotist thief might be.

Behind her, the man she had hypnotized finished zip tying the rest of Zoe’s goons’ hands.

He stood quietly in his trance, awaiting orders.

“Oh, really, third place? Out of four was it? And Mistress who?” she taunted.

Zoe scowled.

“Alright Bella, do you want to try me?” she asked.

“I would love to; do you prefer a physical confrontation, or dueling pocket-watches?” Bella asked.

She was confident she could take Zoe in either a fight or a hypnosis duel.

Zoe laughed.

“Neither,” she replied.

She smoothly drew her small silver pistol and fired at Bella.

The silver-haired hypnotist instantly registered the pistol’s appearance began to sidestep.

She knew she would be too slow.

Bella flinched at the weapon’s report as she moved, anticipating the stinging impact of the bullet and hoping it wouldn’t be a serious wound.

It never came.

Bella opened her eyes.

They popped wider as she saw the nine-millimeter projectile suspended in the air.

Inches from her shoulder.

“What? Impossible!” Zoe said, dumbfounded.

“Hey, cool! Bullet-catch! I have been working on that,” Casey said, materializing from the shadows as she dropped her invisibility aura.

She had stopped the bullet in flight with her mind.

Casey looked at Zoe, and the pistol was yanked from the brunette’s hand to clatter across the concrete floor.

“Are you okay, Bella?” Casey asked calmly.

The bullet fell from the air, making a dull thud as it hit the ground.

Bella blew a relieved sigh.

“I am, thank you Tiny Tough,” she said in a shaky voice.

She began to tremble, as the reality of what had nearly happened set in.

“My pleasure. May I handle this bitch?” Casey asked.

“Be my guest, little one,” Bella replied with a grateful nod.

“Oh, handle me, will you?” Zoe asked angrily.

She took out her pocket watch and put the diamond into a belt pouch.

“That is what I said,” Casey replied calmly.

Zoe smirked.

“I win, you let me go,” she said to Bella.

Bella nodded, looking at her friend.

Casey smiled.

“Fine with me,” she said.

She slipped off her diamond pendant and held it up so it dangled at the end of its chain.

Zoe raised her watch and started it swinging before Casey’s eyes.

Casey reached out with her mind, and her diamond began spinning.

“Just follow the watch with your eyes…back and forth…,” Zoe began in a strong, monotonous voice.

The antique timepiece reflected the dim light as it moved.

“Watch my spinning diamond Zoe…the way it sparkles is very soothing…notice how it makes it hard to think…it is so much easier to simply look at it and listen to my voice…listen, and relax…relax deeper and deeper with every work I speak…as you simply watch the diamond spin…,” Casey purred.

Her well-honed voice was like silk, wrapping itself around Zoe’s mind.

The huge diamond glittered brilliantly, even in low light of the warehouse.

It filled Zoe’s vision, distracting her almost immediately.

Casey was channeling her rage into hypnotic energy, projecting it through the gemstone and into her opponent.

Zoe could feel Casey’s power flowing into her.

“Let your eyes f-follow the watch…back and…and forth…watching it…closely, uh, and relaxing more with e-each swing…,” she stammered.

Bella smiled and shook her head.

Casey was a devastating duelist, but she had Zoe on the ropes quicker than usual.

The black-leather-clad hypnotist was simply overmatched.

“Relaxing more and more…my words filling your mind…replacing your thoughts…noticing how relaxed you feel…as you simply watch the diamond spinning…relaxing deeper as you listen to my words…dropping into trance…it will feel so good to just give in…to relax completely…letting go and sinking…all your thoughts are gone…hearing only my voice…hearing, and obeying…hearing…and obeying…you are completely relaxed now Zoe…blank, empty…you are in trance…hypnotized,” Casey said firmly.

Her hand didn’t so much as twitch, the diamond continuing to spin from the mental push she had given it.

Zoe fell silent, a dazed expression on her face. Her pocket watch slipped from her grasp and made a metallic clink on the floor.

“I am hypnotized,” she mumbled.

Casey’s face was carved from stone.

She didn’t lower her pendant, continuing to channel hypnotic energy into Zoe and taking her deeper into hypnosis.

“Keep staring at the diamond, Zoe. Keep sinking deeper into trance. Deeper. Dropping further and further down…you are mine, my slave. Deeper and deeper…dropping further into trance…I am your owner, your Mistress…sinking deeper… You must obey me, you will obey me. My words are your thoughts…,” she said, her voice soothing but menacing at the same time.

Bella shivered; she knew Casey was taking Zoe into such a deep trance it would take her a long time to regain any ability to think for herself even after she was awoken.

Most hypnotists couldn’t do what Casey was doing, and if she kept going she might turn Zoe into a vegetable.

“Obey…o-bey…” Zoe muttered softly.

She was still sinking deeper into trance, all her thoughts, her free will completely gone.

Casey continued to take her deeper.

“Casey, you are going to permanently mind-fuck her,” Bella said quietly.

Casey paused, glancing at Bella.

Then she took a deep breath and nodded with satisfaction. Her pendant stopped spinning, and she placed it back around her neck.

For an instant, she had been considering hypnotizing Zoe into killing herself.

She had decided against it when Bella had spoken, her anger quickly subsiding.

Alex would be proud of you for being calm and backing off, she told to herself.

Casey turned to Bella, rushing over to wrap her in a hug.

Zoe stood rigid, her eyes wide and bloodshot, her mouth hanging open. She was drooling slightly.

“Are you sure you are alright?” Casey asked with concern.

“Yes, I am. Thanks to you. Casey, that was incredible, you stopped a bullet with your mind!” Bella said, hugging Casey tightly.

“It was pretty cool, wasn’t it? I have always wondered if I could do that. It was tiring though,” Casey replied.

She stepped back, then swooned and nearly fell.

Bella caught her.

“Shit, Casey you are bleeding from your nose,” she said with concern.

“Oh. That happens sometimes. When I overdo it. It is nothing, just a little bit of blood,” Casey replied with a smile.

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

“Casey I am so sorry! It is my fault you had to do that. I was too slow and I didn’t even think about her shooting me. I was so stupid, I figured she would fight or duel me fair. I assumed because she was a hypnotist…,” Bella replied, visibly upset.

“She’s barely a hypnotist. Forget it, Bells. I am fine. We all back each other up. I’m okay, really. Just no more mentalism today,” Casey said, regaining her balance.

She took another couple of slow, deep breaths.

Then she smiled and nodded.

Bella took a deep breath as well, and nodded back.

“Okay. Let’s go see if the others are alright. Can you walk?” Bella asked.

Casey winked at her, then moved over to take the box containing the diamond from Zoe’s pouch. She opened it and checked to make sure the gem was okay, then smiled at Bella.

“I could skip, I am so happy,” she said.

Bella couldn’t help laughing.

Casey was chaotic, unpredictable and wonderful.

“Check it out, the Freckles Red Diamond,” Casey said triumphantly, holding out the open box.

Bella gasped upon seeing the magnificent gemstone.

“It is fantastic!” she breathed.

“Do you think Alex will like it?” Casey asked.

Bella looked at her incredulously.

“Are you serious? Are you asking if I think your girlfriend will like a six million dollar diamond?” she asked with a laugh.

“I mean, I think it will be a nice splash of color with her white outfits,” Casey said, suddenly seeming timid, almost wistful.

“Her grandmother already gave you her blessing. Casey, she is going to say ‘yes’, okay? Trust me,” Bella said.

Casey took a deep breath.

“I hope so, Bella. I need her,” she replied quietly.

Bella hugged her friend again.

And I need all of you. Especially Peggy…and I betrayed her, she thought to herself.

The costumed hypnotist was feeling guilty over some of her recent actions, and had realized how important her friends in the Fascinating Five had become to her.

I have a lot to make up for, and hopefully you won’t find out what a selfish bitch I have been lately, Bell thought after they’d embraced.

“Yes, and she needs you. Now let’s go make sure Peg and Mariah are okay,” she said.

“Right. Zoe, strip naked and get on your knees. Then do not move until I tell you,” Casey said.

“Yes…Mistress…,” Zoe agreed slowly.

Casey and Bella hurried back toward the spot Casey had left Peggy and Mariah. They had gone twenty yards when they ran into their friends, who were coming to find them.

“Casey, Bella! Are you alright? ” Peggy asked, hugging them each fiercely.

Mariah did the same.

“We heard a gunshot,” she said.

“We are fine, guys. Five by five,” Casey said, smiling.

“We are good; everything under control on your end?” Bella asked.

Mariah nodded.

“All of her goons are hypnotized and ready to have their memories erased. Dmitri and his men are fine,” she said.

“I hypnotized Zoe. We could use a hand with the rest of Zoe’s men; one is hypnotized back there, the other three Bella beat the shit out of. She was awesome,” Casey said.

“Me? You stopped a bullet with your mind!” Bella said.

“What?!” Peggy and Mariah said at the exact same time.

Casey laughed.

“No big deal. Come on, let’s go hypnotize those fucks and get out of this place; I will tell you about it over a drink. My treat,” she said.

“Sounds good. But show us the diamond first,” Peggy prompted.

Casey grinned and opened the box. Both Peggy and Mariah gasped just like Bella had.

“The jeweler at The Spiral is making a custom platinum setting for it. Think she will like it?” Casey asked.

“Are you serious?” Peggy asked incredulously.

“She will love it,” Mariah assured her, patting her arm.

Casey smiled and closed the box, and the four of them started walking back to where Zoe and her goons had been left.

“When does Alex get back from her mother’s?” Peggy asked.

“The day after tomorrow, just in time for her birthday party. I just hope the jeweler can get the ring set by then,” Casey said.

“Don’t worry, I will hypnotize him for you and make certain he gets it done,” Mariah said, putting her arm around Casey.

Casey smiled up at Mariah.

“Thank you all so much for backing me up. I know this was crazy just…I really wanted the perfect ring for Alex. I love you guys,” she said with genuine affection.

“Of course honey; we love you both,” Peggy said.

“Absolutely,” Bella agreed.

“No fucking problem,” Mariah added in her best Casey impression.

The four friends laughed.

“I can’t believe you three are walking around this place barefoot,” Bella said with a shake of her head as they made their way back toward Zoe and her goons.