Zandra

I

There was a knock at the door. Zandra tried her best to ignore it, but it was insistent. After a few more moments of the knocking she couldn't take it anymore. Even though she feared that it could be Mr. Xavier, she needed to tell whoever it was to go away. Zandra crossed her apartment and with a shaky hand, opened the door to reveal Inspector Lyndon standing out in the hall.

"I apologize for disturbing you," Inspector Lyndon said, "but I understand that you attended Lady Victoria's New Year's Eve ball."

"Uh, yes. Yes, I have."

"May I come in for a moment?"

"Please Inspector."

Inspector Lyndon smiled warmly, "so you remember me."

Inspector Lyndon stepped into Zandra's apartment and glanced around. It was dark, but most homes were during the harsher winter months in Darkwall. The place could have used a little more keeping, but from the look of the apartment, the young lady seemed to take care of herself well. He went over to one of the windows on the opposite side of the apartment from the door and looked out.

"A decent view," he said. "One can almost make out the river. I can remember the city before the factories and refineries. It seems progress comes with an unfortunate price. This is a good neighborhood as well. A fine apartment for a young lady such as yourself. Forgive me, I suppose we should get to the official business so you can get on with your day."

"If you would please."

The good inspector cleared his throat. "I am Inspector Lyndon of the Criminal Detection Agency of Darkwall and I am here on official investigation. I am interviewing everyone who was on Lady Victoria's guest list for her New Year's Eve ball as part of this investigation."

"Forgive me Inspector, but what is all of this about?"

"Ah, yes. It appears that Lady Victoria and her daughter Annabelle are missing. The last time anyone has seen either of them was on New Year's Eve. The two of them have disappeared sometime during the ball."

Zandra's legs gave away and she collapsed to the floor. The fall would have been a nasty one had not Inspector Lyndon's reflexes been so quick. He caught Zandra before her head hit the floor and helped her over to a sofa where she could sit and gather her composure.

"Are you alright Miss Zandra?"

"Yes, it's just such a shock. Lady Victoria and I were becoming so close. I cannot believe that this is happening."

"I could bring you a glass of water."

"No Inspector, I'm fine. It's just a shock is all."

"Of course, take your time."

Inspector Lyndon knelt down on the floor in front of Zandra and put his hand on hers. His touch was kind and comforting, but did little to calm Zandra's nerves. Her heart was racing and her mind was burning with the scene of Mr. Xavier ravishing Lady Victoria in the bedroom. After a few deep breaths, Zandra nodded to the inspector, letting him know she was ready to continue with his questions. He nodded back and stood up, taking out a little notepad and pencil from one of his pockets.

"You were in attendance at the ball on New Year's Eve correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you speak with Lady Victoria or her daughter during the event?"

"Lady Victoria, yes. I did not speak with Annabelle that night. As a matter of fact I don't even remember Annabelle being at the ball."

"Did you arrive at the event late?"

"Yes. I was about an hour late, perhaps a bit more."

"Interesting. So you spoke with Lady Victoria? What was her demeanor? What I mean is, was there anything unusual about her?"

"She seemed a bit nervous. Preoccupied. But I didn't think that was unusual since the ball was so grand with so many guests."

"Of course. When was the last time you saw Lady Victoria?"

Zandra froze at the question. What should she answer? Should she tell him the entire truth? About how she watched Lady Victoria drop to her knees and suck a man like a common whore? About how Mr. Xavier dehumanized her? Well then, Inspector Lyndon would ask her why she was in the closet of the bedroom in the first place. Then Zandra would have to confess everything. How she went to Mr. Xavier's home and has since been filled with lustful ambitions in indecency. She would be open to him, for him to judge and shame her. She would be humiliated. The very thought intoxicated her.

"Miss Zandra? When was the last time you saw her?"

His question snapped Zandra out of her thoughts. She couldn't lie, if Inspector Lyndon found out he would expose her just the same. Nor could she bare to tell the entire truth. An answer formed in her mind, which she carefully spoke.

"The last I saw her was leaving the ballroom down a hallway," Zandra said. "She was with Mr. Xavier as I recall."

"The same Mr. Xavier from several months ago? With the crystal ball and all of that spiritual nonsense?"

"Yes."

"What time was this approximately?"

"I couldn't say," Zandra answered. "I'm ashamed to admit that I had a little too much wine that evening."

"Ah. Well you have been most helpful Miss Zandra and I will not take up anymore of your time."

Inspector Lyndon put his little notepad and pencil away. Zandra was staring off into space, lost in thought and worry. Lyndon noticed this and decided to offer the young lady some comfort.

"It's best not to assume the worst young lady," he said. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, I'm the best man that the CDA has. I'll get to the bottom of this affair. Nothing stays hidden from me, not for long anyway. No matter how cleverly someone locks a secret away, they have a way of escaping. Like those magicians in the Vaudeville shows who escape from death traps I suppose. Smoke and mirrors is all it is. Smoke and mirrors. Thank you for your time and patience. Have a pleasant afternoon."

Zandra nodded unable to respond any further. The good inspector understood and gracefully quit the apartment to leave her to her thoughts. As he stepped out onto the street, Inspector Lyndon thought about the night he attended Mr. Xavier's exhibition. His thoughts kept going back to those blinking lights in the crystal ball. An outlandish theory began to form in his mind. He would have to speak to Mr. Xavier, but first he had to visit a young man who knew something of invention.

II

Christina's drawing room was a splendid one. Her celebrity and earnings allowed for her to buy the finest furniture and the lushest of pillows and carpets. She was obviously fond of the color pink, which was the color of the pillows and cushioning of her sofa and chairs. The wood frames of the furniture were white and the wallpaper made to look like ivy crawling down marble pillars. The room seemed like a perfect place to hold a wedding in Zandra's mind.

The drawing room was a bit stuffy, but that was certainly preferable to the miserable cold outside. Ice had covered the streets and avenues, making travel by carriage hazardous. Zandra braved the hazards of winter however, she needed to chat to Christina about a great number of things. The two had already conversed over tea about the usual town gossip. Now that the conversation had slowed down, Zandra thought it was the right time to turn it in the direction she had intended it to go all along.

"Inspector Lyndon visited me the other day," Zandra said.

"About Lady Victoria?"

"Yes."

"He was here about that too, I nearly died of shock when I heard that she had disappeared with her daughter. How terrible."

"You know the last time I saw her, she was with Mr. Xavier."

Christina's jaw dropped in astonishment. "Are you certain?" she asked.

"Absolutely certain," Zandra answered. "Didn't you tell me that you had seen Mr. Xavier snooping around near the new theater?"

"Yes!" Christina gasped. "Do you think he has something to do with her disappearance?"

"I'm certain of it. I can't really say why, but I know that he is responsible."

"Now that I think back on it, I did notice Mr. Xavier leering at Lady Victoria quite a bit during the ball, but not nearly as much as he was leering at you. Blessed be! Zandra, you could be next. You have to go to Inspector Lyndon and get him to protect you!"

"I...I don't know. Maybe. Not yet."

Zandra's words came out in a jumble of indecisiveness. Perhaps it would be wise to tell Inspector Lyndon everything, including her filthy habit of lustful thoughts. The problem though was that the label of whore or tramp was a strong one in Darkwall. If it became known that she was wanton, that her mind was twisted by sexual fantasy, she could lose all of her prospects for respectable suitors. It would ruin her. Yet something dark inside her was warping her heart, making the prospect of ruin an exciting one.

Lock those thoughts away, she thought to herself. It was becoming obvious that Mr. Xavier had done something to her as well as Lady Victoria and Annabelle. In their two encounters together, Mr. Xavier had somehow infected her mind with slutty filth. The more she fought against it, the stronger it was.

Zandra dreamed of strange men fucking her, using her, ruining her forever. She dreamed of herself swallowing their cum and begging for more. She dreamed of being bound and gagged, beaten across her her ass with a whip, punishment for daring to deny her true nature as a slut. Thoughts and dreams she never had before that first encounter with Mr. Xavier. Such things were well repressed in her by her proper upbringing. Now they were flooding out of her at once and she was lost in a labyrinth that she did not understand.

"Zandra, are you feeling ill?"

"Huh?"

"You keep rubbing your thighs together, is the sofa uncomfortable for you?"

Zandra gasped and quickly tried to mask her surprise at her actions. She straightened up and fixed up her dress. With the raise of her chin, her back straight, Zandra had resumed the proper posture for a lady at tea.

"I'm fine," she said. "The news of Lady Victoria's has been extremely stressful on me. I think the best thing to do is to find out exactly what it is that Mr. Xavier is up to."

"How exciting! I've always wanted to solve a mystery," Christina said. "We'll find whatever it is Mr. Xavier is up to and then report it to Inspector Lyndon. I'll bet he'll be so proud of us that we'll get medals."

"Yes," Zandra replied halfheartedly, "I'm sure we'll get something."

III

The entire room was littered in junk. Half broken contraptions, half built machines, half finished blueprints, they were all scattered haphazardly around the room. There was barely any room to walk let alone converse civilly. Still, Inspector Lyndon was a patient and understanding sort of man. In his mind, such careless disregard for organization or personal space was a keen insight into the mind of such a remarkable young inventor and capitalist.

Camus was busy digging through the piles of junk. The good inspector wasn't sure what it was exactly the young man was looking for. Something about a gift or some such. The youth had a good heart, if a bit of a cluttered mind. Most found Camus' eccentricity insufferable. But then, Inspector Lyndon was a patient and understanding sort of man.

"Camus, is such a thing possible?"

"Hypnosis?"

"Yes."

Camus stood up straight and looked directly at Inspector Lyndon for the first time since the good inspector arrived. "Of course it is," he said. The directness of Camus' speech and the seriousness of its delivery made Inspector Lyndon's stomach turned. The inspector had hoped that such a wild idea would be laughed at by its mere suggestion. It was not the answer that he had hoped for.

"All is possible," Camus continued. "Why, soon we'll be able to fly to the moon and create colonies there. Perhaps have a merry war with moon people. It is all possible. Probable? Likely? Now, those are trickier questions."

"So, you are saying that hypnosis is possible but not likely?"

"I said no such thing. In theory everything is easy, just strap a rocket on your back and fly to the moon. In practice, it is much more difficult, like trying to find one's socks."

"Is that what you are looking for? Socks?"

"Why would I be looking for my socks when I'm already wearing them? Aren't you supposed to be a detective?"

"I think we're getting off point here," Inspector Lyndon said. "What I need to know is if that crystal ball at Mr. Xavier's townhouse could be a sort of hypnosis machine."

"There was a very distinct pattern to the blinking colors. Do you remember what time we left Mr. Xavier's home that evening?"

"I would say around 9:30."

"What time did you get home?"

"11:00. I distinctly remember that because I was surprised by how late it was."

"And it takes you an hour and a half to get home?"

"No," Inspector Lyndon answered. "From there it would take me about thirty..."

Inspector Lyndon's voice trailed off as he realized the implications of this information. He leaned back against a pile of junk and ran his hand over his mouth.

"I see," the inspector continued. "Mr. Xavier had managed to hypnotize the entire room. You see, witnesses had established that Lady Victoria left the salon of her home willingly with Mr. Xavier. Some of the other guests noted that at times, Lady Victoria was in almost trance-like state. Others said that she was behaving erratically and witnessed the same behavior in Annabelle."

"But to what purpose?"

"That is what I aim to discover when I find Lady Victoria and Annabelle. Stay around young man, I'll need your expertise before I'm through with this."

"Wait. I just remembered where it is."

Camus rushed to another corner of the cluttered room and started digging around. After a few more moments of frantic searching, Camus pulled out a cane from behind one of the junk piles. It was a beautifully hand carved walking can with a silver handle. "A gift," Camus said when he tossed it to Inspector Lyndon.

The good inspector caught the cane and smiled. "A fine gift," he replied. He then noticed a discrepancy in the weight. Upon closer examination, Inspector Lyndon found that he could pull on the handle. He pulled the cane apart to reveal a hidden blade inside the cane, the length of a saber. Inspector Lyndon looked up at Camus and gave him a heartfelt thank you. Inspector Lyndon then closed the cane and went on with his business of finding Lady Victoria and her daughter.

IV

It was dark by the time that Zandra had arrived home from visiting Christina. The whole city seemed darker now, more threatening than ever. As she climbed out of her carriage, Zandra's eyes kept darting around to all of the dark corners of the street. Each time, she expected to see Mr. Xavier standing there, waiting for her. But the dark corners were empty, perhaps her fears were too.

The inside of the apartment building was no more comforting. A strange dread hung over Zandra as she neared the stairs. One light, hanging far over head above the stairs brought a single cone of yellow light beaming down. The rest of the building was in pitch darkness. All she could think about was men stalking in those shadows. She thought about them grabbing her, stripping her, holding her down and raping her. After they were finished, they would take her and sell her abused pussy to their friends to be abused some more.

Her legs shaking underneath her, Zandra started her climb up the stairs. Each step, creaking the wood and giving away her position. They could be waiting for her at the top of the stairs, waiting to force her down to her knees so she could suck their cocks. They would pull her by the hair, jamming their dicks down her throat until she gagged and choked. Then, they would cum on her face and in her mouth, making her swallow their filthy seed. In their final act of cruelty, they would humiliate her further by forcing her to lick any cum that spilled off the floor.

Zandra had to stop on the stairs and breathe. She could feel Mr. Xavier's wicked influence in her mind. It was as if he was in her head at that very moment, twisting her thoughts for his own sick purposes. She felt the sudden need to masturbate, right then and there. If she could only reach her floor, she could make it to her apartment. Once inside, she could finger herself until the thoughts stopped, until the nightmare passed.

Reaching her floor, Zandra stumbled and nearly fell over. She managed to balance herself with the aid of a wall. Her heart pounded in her chest, her vision blurred and her palms began to sweat. Slowly, Zandra took one labored step after another towards her door. The closer she got to the door, the worse the nightmare became. Men were right behind her, she knew it. They were going to throw her down to the floor and take turns fucking her in the ass. They would laugh and mock her tears and pleading while they fucked her.

With a desperate lunge, Zandra made it to her door. She pulled her apartment key from her purse and unlocked the latch. Opening the door, she fell into her apartment. Fear and lust swirling in her body, she slammed her door shut and quickly locked it.

Zandra managed to stand and ripped open her blouse, exposing her breasts to the air. She rushed over to her window, unlatched it and flung it open. The bitter, cold air of the winter night washed over her. Zandra let out a sigh of relief as she felt herself cool, and those terrible thoughts slowly ease from her mind. After several deep breaths, Zandra closed her eyes and smiled. She was home, the nightmare had passed once again.

"Welcome home Zandra."

Zandra's eyes shot open and her body froze in fear. She listened as a man's footsteps slowly walked up behind her. The voice was instantly recognizable. Mr. Xavier was standing behind her, in her own apartment. She felt his powerful hand wrap itself around the back of her neck. Unable to move, Zandra remained perfectly still, except for her bottom lip that was trembling.

Mr. Xavier's other hand reached around and caressed one of her ample breasts. She felt it, grip and grope as his body pushed against the back of hers. Zandra felt him stiffen. The villainous bastard was going to violate her in her own home, fuck her on her own bed and make her crawl and beg on her own floor. His breath scratched at her ear as whispered his perversions into it.

"It's time to start your training," he said.