Blood & Magic Ch. 21

As soon as the car turned off the highway, memories from Kirstin's last encounter in the woods flooded her mind, the glow from the fire illuminating the nude vampires staring up at her and the course fiber of the ropes that suspended her in the air. Neither Sakeena, nor Melissa who sat behind Kirstin spoke in the car. The only knowledge Kirstin had been aware of was what Hierophant Vercci had said to her.

"Can I ask why we have to meet in the woods?" she looked at Sakeena, who turned her head over her shoulder to look at Melissa.

With her gaze still focused on the expanding woods off the side of the road, Melissa said, "It is what the Hierophant commands and she is the head of our Covenant-well, Sakeena and I's covenant."

Sakeena glanced at Kirstin, who recalled the name when Sakeena first explained it to her, "And what is that?"

Pursing her lips, Melissa paused and then said, "You recall the Invictus? That is one covenant. Ours is the Circle of the Crone. Our belief is that our existence stemmed from goddesses and deities of different cultures. You may have heard us use the term Dark Mother. It is those deities that we refer to when we use that name." she leaned closer and smirked, "That's why you've heard Sakeena say 'oh my Goddess' so often."

Sakeena gripped tighter on the steering wheel as her face turned pink, "It's only when I am nervous....or embarrassed by someone." she flashed Kirstin a look, which drew a smile from Kirstin.

"Enough." Melissa leaned forward toward Sakeena, "That is all she needs to know for now. Hierophant Vercci was specific about her business this evening, so I expect you both to be on your best behavior, no flirting or other shenanigans like I caught you both doing in the basement.

"Yes of course." Sakeena puckered her lips while Kirstin looked outside her window at the entrance to the wildlife preserve.

Sakeena parked her car in the staff lot next to a large jeep. Although she had seen their attire for the evening, Kirstin was struck by how Melissa and Sakeena's attire didn't seem to fit for the outdoors, old tennis shoes, sweat pants, and hooded sweatshirts. The only thing Kirstin could find from the woman she robbed was a pair of tight fitting jeans and a purple long sleeve shirt.

Melissa led both women deep into the forest without the use of a flashlight. At first, they traveled along a small dirt path, with trees neatly planted on either side of it. It was when the trio stepped off the path that the terrain appeared to warp, the ground curving into steep drops, trees towering over them, their branches blocking the night sky. The sounds of wildlife flooded the woods with chatters and the occasional hiss.

After stepping off a steep hill, Kirstin saw the faint glow of a fire in the distance. From within the darkness, four tall dark outlines appeared from around the fire, the tallest standing on a rock. Each of them remained completely still, as if frozen in time. Three of the women stood naked by the fire while Hierophant Vercci was cloaked in a long black robe.

Melissa reached the bottom of the hill and turned to face Sakeena and Kirstin. "Before we start, you must disrobe."

"What?" Kirstin snickered, looking to Sakeena, who had already grabbed the bottom of her hooded sweatshirt and pulled it over her stomach.

Melissa pushed her sweat pants down, forcing them to drop to her knees. "You heard me Kirstin, strip. We honor the Dark Mother by worshipping her in our natural form."

"It's not like they haven't seen you before." Sakeena smirked as she pushed her sweatpants down, revealing that she hadn't worn any panties underneath.

Kirstin focused on Sakeena's backside, imagining her ass shaking from a hard spanking. The image helped her get comfortable as she removed her sweater. Next came the jeans as she unbuttoned the top of them. She saw Melissa and turned around.

"Do you have to stare?" Kirstin asked as she unzipped her jeans.

"Four more women will stare at you so get used to it." Melissa watched Kirstin slowly push her jeans down her legs. She rolled her eyes when she saw a series of light pink strawberries printed on the back of Kirstin's panties. "Do you ever own an adult pair of underpants Kirstin?"

Standing tall, Kirstin shielded her backside with both hands and said, "It's the only pair that the woman I stole from had besides lingerie okay?!"

"Just take them off and let's hurry. I don't want to keep them waiting."

Kirstin stepped out of her panties and tucked them into the pocket of her jeans before folding them. She set her clothes down next to Melissa and Sakeena's. The comment about her panties had Kirstin feeling self-conscious, keeping her hands over her sex as she followed Melissa to join the circle.

"Good evening Hierophant Vercci." Melissa bowed her head once she joined the circle, "Good evening." she said to the others.

"Welcome." The Hierophant spread her arms out, her robe parted and exposed the curve of her breasts. Kirstin's eyeline was level with her waist, she could see the small, inverted triangle shape of the woman's natural brown bush.

"As you may know." Vercci began, "Miss Delaney is a new member of the realm and her embrace into unlife was unique."

Eight pairs of eyes stared at Kirstin, who felt the memory of feeling cold. Although she could not feel chilly, she still hugged herself as the Circle of the Crone examined her body. Deputy Harding kept her eyes on Kirstin but was less interested in examining her than her two other sisters. The first was a Black woman who kept her arms crossed over her chest, hands tucked under each bicep. Kirstin recognized her from their first encounter. This time, her black braids hung over her shoulders, extending down to her chest. She stared at Kirstin for a few seconds before exchanging glances with Melissa.

Hunched closer to the ground was a frail, pale woman with a sunken face. Her sudden movement startled Kirstin as she leaned forward almost as if she tried sniffing her. Kirstin recognized the bald headed woman with eyes as white as the moon. Up close, her nose almost looked sunken in, adding to her skeletal appearance.

"I don't believe Miss Delaney has formally met all of you. Please introduce yourselves." Hierophant Vercci gestured to the women on either side of her.

The Black vampire nodded her head, "Tiana Hargraves, of clan Mekhet."

Next was the pale vampire whose lips spread to bare her fangs, the same yellow color as the rest of her teeth, "Natalya Ilyova, of clan Nosferatu."

Lastly, Deputy Harding smiled, flashing her teeth, "You know me as Deputy Harding Ms. Delaney. I am of the Gangrel clan, tonight however, you may call me Katya."

"Hi." Kirstin kept her hands covering her privates, giving a small dip of her chin in acknowledgment.

"As unique as her embrace." Hierophant Vercci resumed. "So too was her first Court appearance. Some of you may have seen Miss Delaney undress in the middle of Court in front of Lady Barba." Her comment drew snickers among the women around the fire, all but Melissa and Sakeena.

"It certainly made it the most interesting Court I had attended in some time." Katya said.

"Do we all remember why she may have done this?" Hierophant Vercci head turned slow from left to right as she quizzed her sisters.

"Yes." Natalya's sunken eyes looked up at the Hierophant, "When she was mortal, she made the foolish mistake of intercepting our domain. Her public humiliation was the command of yours Hierophant if she dared speak of what she saw that night."

"Correct." The Hierophant said, "The use of my will over Miss Delaney was intended to keep us hidden from mortals, yet the Dark Mother works in mysterious ways and we cannot look at what happened at Court as an accident."

Tiana moved closer to Kirstin, "What could it mean, Hierophant?"

The Hierophant moved forward, stepping down the rock and onto the ground. Katya and Melissa parted to give her space to join the circle, "To answer that question, Miss Delaney. We must reflect on your story."

"M-my story?" Kirstin's feet turned inward, she wanted to back out of the circle but instead she fidgeted with her fingers, "What's there to know? Melissa-er Priscus Watkins embraced me."

"Not that story." Hierophant Vercci smiled, her amber colored eyes illuminated under the light. Kirstin felt elated being stared at by someone so beautiful. "The beginning of your origin."

"She means how you and I first crossed paths." Melissa said, "Tell us your narrative Kirstin."

Kirstin's fixation on the Hierophant's beauty was disrupted with the memory of the night she and Melissa met. She didn't want to tell the grinning circle of women what happened. She recalled the power the Hierophant had in controlling her and was afraid of what would happen if she refused.

"A student had been murdered in his home. When I went to investigate, I saw Melissa at the scene." she watched Melissa roll her eyes, "I chased her down into another building."

"You actually caught up with Priscus Watkins?" Tiana's eyes widened, "Impressive for a mortal."

"Let her tell it uninterrupted." The Hierophant raised her hand.

"I cornered her into a spot and she...." Kirstin's eyes lowered to the ground.

"Continue please." Melissa said softly.

"She pulled my pants down and embarrassed me." The other vampires made "ooo" sounds, in unison. Kirstin's arms wrapped tighter around her body, "She held a gun at me and forced me to strip....then she....went down on me." The memory of her pussy aching at the touch of Melissa's mouth made Kirstin's body stir, she felt blood in her body flow, reanimating her flesh so she could better remember the pleasure before the pain, "Then she bit me."

"Melissa you dog." Katya said.

"I had to think on the fly...and I might have been hungry." Melissa folded her arms, "I got away didn't I?"

"Did you?" The Hierophant asked, "You got away that night, but then someone else met Kirstin." she turned to Sakeena, "Tell us how you happened to meet Kirstin and what happened after Sakeena."

"Me?" Sakeena looked to Melissa who nodded, "When Melissa got home, she told me what happened and warned me of what we might need to do if Kirstin were to come looking for us. When she called my office, we set up a plan."

"What was that plan?"

"To-" Sakeena made eye contact with Kirstin, "-embarrass her even more. To strip her, tie her up and take pictures. We were going to threaten to expose her if she tried to tell anyone."

Kirstin closed her eyes, recalling the feeling of being bound in a chair, stripped down to her bra and panties, how helpless she felt. She didn't realize that within the circle, she had her legs squeezed tight.

"Why the obsession with embarrassment Melissa?" Natalya asked.

"You know the laws of the domain when it comes to police." Melissa said, "Kirstin was law enforcement. I couldn't very well have her killed. Blackmail and humiliation was the only solution I could think of. It was working!"

"Be calm Melissa." The Hierophant raised an open palm to Melissa, "Sakeena is not done." She looked to Sakeena and asked, "Did the threat work?"

"Not really." the corners of Sakeena's mouth twitched, she fought not to smile. "Kirstin managed to find my home. We fought and...."

"Annnnnnd?" Katya's long face stretched as she grinned.

Sakeena's face blushed and she let her smile appear, "I had her by the neck and she pulled my robe open."

"She also lost balance and caught a hanging wedgie when her panties snagged on the gutter." Kirstin blurted.

Sakeena's eyes widened and she slapped Kirstin's ass, "I wasn't going to tell that part!"

Kirstin skipped as she tended to her spanked bottom. Melissa sneered at Sakeena, who mouthed the words "Sorry."

"Is that true Sakeena?" Tiana asked.

"Please say it was." Katya clapped her hands, "It tickles me imagining you dangling in the air by the back of your panties."

".....it was true" Sakeena muttered in the softest of tones. Her chin lowered to touch her chest as the vampires clapped.

"Despite your best efforts Melissa," The Hierophant said, "Even your thrall was not spared the humiliation you subjected to Kirstin."

All eyes moved from Kirstin to Melissa, who wrapped her arms tighter around her chest, her neck muscles strained as she forced herself to maintain eye contact. "She's never humiliated me."

Hierophant Vercci smiled, "She did not....but someone else did." She reached into her robe and pulled out the blue and white Wonder Woman boy briefs Melissa wore. She cackled as Melissa's mouth opened, her hands covering it so she wouldn't scream. The laughter from her sisters made her legs weak.

"I always thought you to be a Marvel fan!" Tiana managed to say before laughter overcame her.

"How long have you had those Priscus? Since childhood?" Katya extended her hand to touch Melissa's shoulder and stuck her tongue out when she recoiled.

"How did you get those?" She followed the Hierophant's gaze to Sakeena. "Sakeena how dare you?!"

Before Sakeena could apologize, the Hierophant said, "She was obeying my commands. I knew you would be hesitant to disclose your own embarrassing defeat, which was why I thought presenting this symbol of your own humiliation would give you reason to tell the truth to your sisters."

Melissa's hands balled into fists, she resisted reaching up to grab her panties from her leader. Instead, she stood up straight and faced the circle, "We were investigating the disappearances of mortals kidnapped by the Brood. When we searched a hotel, a hunter appeared. We fought." Melissa's head tilted upward.

"Annnnd?" Katya leaned toward Melissa, "What else?"

Melissa's upper lip curled back, baring her fangs, "And she cut my pants off and I felt so embarrassed I gave into my Beast. Is that what you want to hear?"

Her story drew applause from her sisters, "Yes it was!" Natalya laughed

"I still don't know why you chose to wore Wonder Woman underoos." Katya folded her arms.

"I didn't buy them, it was a gift from my partner!!!" Melissa shouted in the air, "Can I just move forward with the story please?!"

Hierophant Vercci presented Melissa's panties back to her. "You may." Her eyes widened, "But first, put them on."

Melissa's sneer at her panties faded into a blank expression. She took her panties and lifted one leg, stepping into one leg hole before lifting the other. Eyes followed Melissa's hands as she pulled her briefs up. She heard Katya whistle and she blinked her eyes before looking down. "What the fuck?!" crossed her hands over the front. "Is this really necessary for me to wear these now?"

"It is." The Hierophant smiled, "Continue Melissa."

"I heard whispers that you also received a wedgie." Natalya added.

Growling, Melissa's fists began to shake, "Yes that bitch gave me a wedgie. But then I defeated her at the hospital and embarrassed her! Twice!"

"That's not the point of this story Melissa." The Hierophant's soft voice silenced the laughter, "I know you defeated the hunter...with the help of Kirstin." she turned to Kirstin in acknowledgement, "The point of this story is about the lesson we learn from embarrassment." She then looked to the circle, "As I continue to say, the Dark Mother always sends messages to us, and it is up to us to listen."

Her words wiped the smiles off of each vampire's face. To Kirstin it reminded her of a teacher scolding her students. She saw the Hierophant point to her and she gasped, "Kirstin" The Hierophant began, "What lessons have you learned from your continued humiliation?"

Kirstin's hands pressed tighter over her pussy, the pressure evoking a strong enough pulse that made her bite her lip, "When I was a cop, I thought I could take charge of any situation because I had authority....and after being embarrassed so many times...I know that I can also lose authority.'

The Hierophant smiled and held her hands together in prayer, "Well said childe." she turned to Sakeena, "And you Sakeena, what lesson have you learned?"

Sakeena waited for Kirstin to make eye contact, smiling when they both locked eyes. She looked down to watch Kirstin's feet shuffle in reaction to the excitement she felt. Sakeena placed her hands over her belly as she felt it tickle, "That good things can come from embarrassing situations."

"Aww." Katya said

"Please!" Tiana rolled her eyes, "I'm undead and that still made me cringe."

"And what of you Melissa?" The Hierophant asked, "What lessons have you learned?"

There was silence as each woman observed the micro-movements in Melissa's face, her lips twitching from one side to the other, nose wrinkling, eyes squeezing shut until she said, "To listen to the Dark Mother more."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't believe I didn't see it before." Melissa scratched the side of her head, "You're right Hierophant, as always. These seemingly separate incidents of humiliation were actually all connected. I could see now that these were signs, messages sent to the dark Mother that i didn't see until now."

"That's the lesson you learned?" Natalya's brow furrowed. She had no eyebrows, yet Kirstin could see her right eyelid raise.

"I think you just repeated what the Hierophant said, adding fancy academic language like you often do sister." Katya sneered.

"Well then, what lesson was I supposed to learn, Deputy?" Melissa raised her voice.

"Pride." Hierophant's nostrils flared, her pupils turning thin as she leaned down, "It was a lesson about pride, Melissa, something that clearly blinds you."

The anger in the Hierophant's words forced each woman to step back, Kirstin repeated, shocked as Melissa stood at attention, her own green eyes wide with fear. Her knees shook and she ran her fingers along the waistband of her briefs, "I-I'm sorry Hierophant I-"

"-didn't realize?" Hierophant Vercci interrupted, "I know you didn't. That's why I called this meeting. Your reputation for being a practical psychologist who has insight into the minds of others clouds your own judgement in acknowledging your mistakes."

She stepped toward Melissa, her neck stretching as she looked down to tower over her, "Did you realize that ever since you crossed paths with a mortal police officer, the domain has associated your decision making with that of our covenant?" She waited for Melissa to reply and continued when she looked away, "It was one thing to get caught by Kirstin and feed on her, it was another when she became involved with Sheriff Tillman, Priscus Yemeni, and a Hunter. Then she was embraced and instead of having her destroyed, you thought it would be best to bring another Priscus into this mess."

The Hierophant turned to the circle, "Would the other Acolytes wish to share the whispers they have heard about our covenant within the past months?"

"We're sloppy." Tiana said

"We're reckless." Natalya chimed

"Dangerous." Katya tilted her head as she looked at Melissa, "And a threat to the Masquerade."

"Do you know what has happened to Acolytes that are deemed dangerous?"

"Yes." Melissa whispered, Kirstin swore she heard her voice crack.

"Were you aware that these were the words spoken of us?" The Hierophant asked. She continued when Melissa shook her head, "And why do you think that is?"

With closed eyes, Melissa lifted her head, "Because of my Pride. I-I often think I'm right and when I think I'm proven wrong, I tend to double down." she looked to her sisters and said, "I'm so sorry to you all for taking on the brunt of my mistake. I was only trying to fix things."

"You're doing it again Priscus." Natalya pointed, "You're letting pride get in the way of taking ownership."

"Seeing you fight to maintain your dignity is pathetic considering what you're wearing." Katya pulled the back of Melissa's panties and let the elastic snap.