Dreams and Desires (69 page)

"
Do you see what you hold, you old fool?
” she asked him, her voice dripping with venom. “
What of your dream now?
"

The shaman looked back at the woman guiltily. He was holding the long, thin filament in one hand and the marble in the other. Suddenly, it was like a light went off in his head. He threw the ceremonial robes from his body and stood. “
Seize him!
” he yelled.

For a moment, no one did anything. Jonathan stared at him perplexed. “What is going on?” he thought, panicked. “This can't be happening!"

The old man shouted again, “
Seize him!
” This time he pointed at Blackthorne. Four of the Apache men leaped onto the platform and took Jonathan by the arms.

"
No! No! You don't know what you're doing!” Jonathan yelled. “Let me go! Let me finish him!
"

The priestess pointed at Ramón. “
Free his hands!
” Two men rushed to Ramón and unfastened the cuffs that had held his hands behind him. It was hard for him to believe he was still here. He had felt himself slipping away. But there was no time to delay. He needed to act while the renegade was distracted.

He looked at the old man who was holding his devices in his hands. “Give them to me!” Ramón shouted in English. “Now! Hurry!"

The shaman handed the filament and the marble to one of the other men who rushed it over to Ramón. Ramón took them in his hands, the filament in his right hand, held upwards, its small arms extended, and the marble in the palm of his left. He closed his eyes and reached his mind out for that of his familiar. She was frightened, cowering on her knees from what she had experienced from the blond haired demon and at the force she had felt being directed at her dream man, her lover.

When Kelly felt his mind joined with hers, she rejoiced. She felt his love and affection for her, his need for her. From across the room, she experienced his yearning for the essences she had been gathering for him, the mists that had filled her every pore. All at once, she understood her purpose. All that he had done to her and with her had been in preparation for this moment. She was delirious at the prospect of serving him, of giving him everything that was hers. She was overwhelmed with love for the man who had possessed her, captivated her, made her his bondwoman. She opened her mind and let everything flow to him over the connection they had built up between their minds over these many, long weeks. Her body vibrated with pleasure as she felt the forces that had built up in her pour from her body to his.

Ramón almost swooned as he felt the woman's energies filling him transferring the essences of the Whole she had gathered and refined with her love. The forces flowed through his body and up to his right hand, causing the filament, held upwards now like a bright, silvery feather, to begin to reverberate. The device concentrated the pure, unblemished energy he sent to it and transmitted it to his other hand. The marble like orb began to glow, lightly at first, and then became brighter and brighter. Soon its light filled the room. It was like he held a miniature sun in his hand.

The shaman stared at the dark skinned man with awe. This was his dream! A feather in one hand and the sun in the other, that was what the man in the dream held! The prophesy was coming true!

Blackthorne felt the light from the pursuer's hand wash over him. His body seemed to melt from its effects. He felt himself growing weaker, his mind fading. “No!” he screamed. “No! No!” This couldn't be happening! All that he had worked for, all his dreams were slipping away. And then suddenly, like a revelation, he saw the righteousness of the Whole. All of his crimes, all of his demonic acts flowed through his mind. It was painful to see the evil he had done. It was right that he should go. His mind yearned for communion with the Whole, for its forgiveness, its acceptance. Only one thing held him back. Cathy! His mind pictured her sweet face, her loving eyes. His heart ached at the thought of leaving her. “Cathy!” he cried desperately. “Cathy! Cathy!” And then, surrendering himself to the force of the light, he fell to his knees, bent himself into a crouch, his head to the floor, and disappeared.

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The men who had been holding the blond haired white man stood back in awe as he vanished before their eyes. All that was left was the clump of ceremonial clothing he had been wearing. The crowd of people just stared in silence. One minute they had been cheering their dark leader and the next minute he was gone. What could it mean?

Ramón, weakened by his efforts, sank to his knees on the floor. The light went out from the marble in his hand and the feather-like filament ceased to quiver. He had done it. The renegade's illness had been cured by the light and he had gone back to The Whole. It was a close run thing, but all had gone according to plan.

When Ramón had gone to visit Nadine at the psychiatric hospital, it had all seemed too neat and convenient. If it had been he that was the renegade, he would have made sure the girl would never have been found. The fact that she had conveniently been identified after being arrested following the pimp's shootout with the police was too good to be true. Ramón had assumed the renegade was watching her, that she had been set out as bait for him to find. He knew that as soon as he appeared there, word would go out to the renegade that his pursuer had arrived and he would be followed back to Virginia. And so Ramón had set his own trap. He had been unhappy when the earnest and loving young woman, Lucy, had appeared. He knew she would suffer at the hands of the renegade or of his servants. But it was too late to send her away. He knew the men were outside and it might have tipped his hand.

Ramón knew the problem was really not how to find the renegade. He would be conspicuous enough. He had already developed a list of suspects from his research over the internet and he had narrowed it down to about four or five men. Jonathan Blackthorne, with his meteoric rise to wealth and his subsequent reclusiveness, had topped the list.

No, the real problem was how to confront him. He knew Jnthrn would have developed considerable strength and power over the years. He would be protected by an efficient and ruthless bodyguard. So how was he to get access to the fugitive? He couldn't just go up and ring his bell and announce himself. “Hi. Remember me, Raijamoon? I'm here to take you back.” That approach would have resulted in quick failure. And he needed to have his familiar present when he confronted him. Ramón's hunch was if he let Jnthrn capture him and his familiar, somehow he would end up in the same room with them at the same time. He hadn't worked out how he would get the opportunity to have access to his weapons, but he felt somehow he would. The intervention of the priestess was just the kind of ‘lucky’ intercession he needed.

On the night of his capture by Jnthrn's men, he had agonized at the risk he was taking. But he felt he had no other choice. If he waited too long, the renegade might discover him anyway at a time when he was more vulnerable. Also, the renegade's powers grew daily and the evil he was perpetrating was ongoing. Ramón had to act, even though he was putting his familiar in dire jeopardy. He could have been wrong about there being a kernel of decency left in the renegade. The Apaches who had come for him might just as well as killed him outright, as he knew their leader, Bob Cloud, had wanted to do.

But, all had worked out. Now, if the disappointed and still stunned Apache crowd didn't tear him to pieces for destroying their source of power, their golden goose, everything would be fine.

The priestess, Barbara Cloud, mounted the platform. She raised her arms and spoke to the bewildered people.

"
Jinthra, the Lord of Conquerors, has returned to his ghost world. His work with us was done. When he came, our people were suffering. Our children were deserting us for the white man's world, losing themselves in the evils of their culture. We were poor, powerless. Now, our children have come back to the old ways. We are a people once more. It is time for the war on the white man and the Mexicans to come to an end. Nanteeka, the Lord of Light, has come among us and will show us the way of peace and prosperity. Go to your homes. We will assemble at the ceremonial grounds in three days. At that time, Nanteeka will give us his laws and tell us how to live
."

As the dazed, confused people shuffled out of the large room, Ramón crept over to his still bound familiar. All of her energy had been drawn out of her. He took her in his arms and hugged her, suffusing her with his love. She raised her head and he slowly removed the gag that had covered her lips. He kissed her deeply, grateful for the love she had shown him, happy her times of turmoil and sacrifice were over. Tired as he was, his lust stirred as he felt her tongue intermingle with his. Recalling her bound arms, he reached around and freed them. She circled his body with them and returned his embrace.

Kelly was joyous at her liberation. She had pleased her dream man and played a vital, essential role in his defeat of the evil blond man. She understood now the reasons for her confinements, the limits on her speech, the development of her sexual energies. It had all been truly crucial to her dream man's mission. Happy that she had trusted him, still enraptured by his flesh, she brought her lips back to his, murmuring, “I love you, Ramón. I love you."

When he sensed Kelly had calmed, he turned to see what was going on in the room. Barbara Feathers was sitting on the end of the platform waiting for him. She had taken a huge wad of chewing tobacco from a pouch in the pocket of her ceremonial dress and had stuffed into her mouth. She was smiling at him, a large, wad in her cheek.

"Well, you took your sweet time getting here,” she told him.

Ramón was startled by her directness, not to mention the sight of her jaw working the tobacco in her mouth. “What?” he said.

"You were supposed to be here two years ago. What took you so long?” she asked. She spoke with a heavy country twang. She was bent over, her elbows on her spread knees like she was sitting on the stoop at a country store. All she was missing was the straw hat.

"Well,” Ramón answered her, “these things take time."

"I guess the hell they do,” Barbara replied. She looked down at Ramón's cock which had sprung to attention and laughed. “I see you've got some work to do."

Ramón, for the first time since becoming human, became self conscious at his state of arousal. There was something about the woman's frank manner and her obliviousness to his charm that was disarming. But she was right. He was weak and he needed to refresh himself with the essence of the Whole. Kelly was drained and would need to sleep. She was leaning on him, almost comatose from her exertions.

"I think this one's about to pop,” the heavy set, merry, Apache woman said. She was referring to Diane, Jonathan's former familiar, who was kneeling where she had been left at the start of the confrontation between him and the Lord of Conquerors. He could sense her pain and unhappiness. Although Blackthorne was gone, her need for him still tormented her. He would have to remove her attachment to him. At the same time, he would relieve her of the mists she had gathered.

"There's a bedroom upstairs you can use,” the priestess said. “We'll talk some more later. Mrs. Blackthorne and three of our young girls are locked up in the basement. The lock was keyed to Blackthorne's mind and so we'll need your help in opening it. They'll be okay for a while, but not too long, okay?"

Ramón nodded his assent. This was not the ending he had anticipated.

He looked over at the three women who had been Blackthorne's acolytes. They were cowering fearfully, anticipating his wrath.

The priestess spoke like she was reading his mind. “You can take care of them later. In fact, there's a whole lot of stuff for you to do. But for now, just go upstairs and enjoy yourself. You earned it."

The shaman was sitting in his ceremonial chair, dejected. This was not how he thought things would work out either. However, the person who was really upset was Bob. He had been Blackthorne's right hand man. He had been correct about throwing the black haired man out of the plane. Blackthorne, like most demented megalomaniacs, had brought about his own downfall. But, he thought to himself, maybe that wasn't a bad thing. There was something about the new ghost man that was special. The light he had emitted had seemed to change something in Bob. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but what the priestess had said to the people had made a lot of sense. They had been at war with the white world and wars weren't supposed to last forever. What happened, he wondered, to the warriors when the war was over? He had done some terrible things. What would happen to him?

After relieving the startled and still fearful Lucy and Jackie from their distress and granting them sleep, Ramón led Kelly and Denise up the broad, polished oak staircase to the second floor. When he entered the suite of rooms that had been Blackthorne's, he met the pretty, young woman named Cathy. After all the harm he had done, the minds he had stolen, Jnthrn's last thoughts had been for the love he had for the beautiful, ethereal woman. Probing her mind, he could see why. She had a pure, innocent soul. Blackthorn had suppressed all other parts of her personality but her strongest traits, her loving and giving nature. Ramón could feel her mind searching for her master, wondering who this new man was. The dream man sent her a wave of assurance and put her to sleep. He would deal with her later.

The bed in Jnthrn's private bedroom was large and sumptuous. Ramón guided the two naked women to it and laid them down. Kelly fell immediately into slumber, a smile of satisfaction and contentedness on her face. While she slept on his left, Ramón turned to the shuddering, frightened woman on his right. He could see the fear in her eyes. He probed her mind and found the ravages of her many years as the renegade's slave. In spite of her torment at his hands, or rather, from his mind, she still had a deep, insatiable need for his flesh, the feel of his cock, the effusion of his seed inside her. It would take a lot of work to restore her to sanity. Like Kelly, she had not been captured by Jnthrn in the same way as he captured other women. It had been far worse for her, her mind essentially free, but a slave to her emotional and physical need for the evil man. Ramón knew it would take time to bring her peace. He would take the time and there was no time to start like now.