Vox Dominus Pt. 14

This year has been chaotic enough that I completely blew past the 1 year anniversary of this story without even realizing it. What started as a lark has grown into something so much more, and I can't thank all of you enough for reading, commenting on, and supporting my writing. You've given me so much motivation and energy, which have become especially valuable commodities in 2020. So thank you again, and please stay safe and sane out there. For me <3

--Mesmerciless

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Chapter 14

Chelsea hurried into the Undergrind Café, its warm glow drawing a relieved sigh from her shivering body. She lowered her umbrella, careful not to splash herself as she shook rain droplets from its canvas. Not that it really mattered much: even with a full raincoat and umbrella, the storm outside had still managed to drench her boots and splatter on her tights. Choosing the Undergrind as the drop-off point had seemed like a fun way to tease Master at the time, but now Chelsea felt like the butt of her own joke. Only a fool would choose to walk over a mile in this downpour.

At least she knew it would be worth it.

Rain splattered on the windowpanes, transforming the outside world into a blur of grey streaks and wavering silhouettes. In some ways, it really did feel like Chelsea had entered a different reality. After the chaos of the storm, the quiet of the café felt almost surreal, its scattered clientele still and silent behind barricades of textbooks and laptops. Chelsea found herself measuring her steps as she moved past them, trying not to seem too hurried or too excited. Such a precaution probably wasn't necessary, but she couldn't help it: a giddy mixture of anxiety and desire bubbled inside her, naughty anticipation spiked with fear. It was the same feeling she felt approaching Master's dorm room for the first time, that sensation of being on a cliff's edge, unsure of what lay at the bottom, but too curious to resist jumping.

This time, though, it was different. This was her plan. On her terms. She was in control.

Even if she couldn't calm her racing heart.

She knocked on the bathroom door, then stifled a relieved sigh when no one answered. After entering and making sure to lock the door behind her, she paused, scanning the cramped space. Wondering if it would spark anything.

Nope, nothing—it seemed like a simple unisex bathroom to her. As hard as she tried, she couldn't remember Master taking her back here. Couldn't remember him pulling her into a deep, obedient trance, so complete that she would offer her very memory to him. A part of her knew it must've happened: since meeting Sophia was the only gap in her recollection of that day, Master must've entranced her while they were still in the café. If that were the case, it would stand to reason he would manipulate her into the bathroom for privacy.

Yet try as she might, standing here right now, Chelsea couldn't honestly say for certain if it had happened or not. Master's brainwashing was too thorough. Her subconscious obeyed his whims too perfectly. Both thoughts sent dreadful, wonderful shivers through her.

Now it was time to see if he was as good at following orders as she was.

Chelsea gingerly opened the back of the toilet, careful to lift the top only an inch at a time. It didn't take more than two before she saw it: a strip of scotch tape on the lip of the lid. If she hadn't been looking for it, if she had been, say, an employee opening the tank to clean it, she would've accidentally torn the tape in the process, causing what it was holding to drop into the water.

But Chelsea knew what she was looking for. She knew how to carefully slip her fingers inside, holding the hidden object in place as she lifted the lid the rest of the way, tearing the tape and the object free. An excited grin spread across her lips as she drew her hand back out. She opened her fingers, revealing a simple black flash drive cradled in her palm. To others, it might've looked like an ordinary storage device, but Chelsea knew what it really was: a crucible for the Vox. And a gateway to victory.

It was just as she had planned. She had recovered the recording of Master's power, without risking confrontation or discovery.

Now it was time to put it to good use.

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"Seriously?" Miki exclaimed, so loud Seb worried the whole thrift store could hear her. "You still don't know what you're gonna dress up as?"

"I uh, guess it kinda slipped my mind," Seb laughed uneasily, rummaging through a rack of wrinkled button-ups. In truth, if Miki hadn't invited him to go costume hunting, he probably would've forgotten about Halloween entirely. Not that he would admit such blasphemy out loud.

Tobias chuckled. "Not everyone takes it as seriously as you do, babe. Maybe Seb's just not a Halloween person."

"Impossible," Miki shook her head. "No self-respecting theater kid could be anti-Halloween."

Seb sighed. "I never said I was anti-Halloween. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Good thing I invited you then," Miki smirked. "Otherwise you would've gone as 'most boring person at the party' by default."

Seb scoffed in exaggerated offense, eliciting a snicker from his friends. In truth, he was grateful for Miki's initiative. Trawling a thrift store for costume pieces was just the kind of distraction he needed.

It had been a strange, unsettling week. After recording and hiding the Vox induction on Sunday, all Seb could do was wait and see what Chelsea's next move would be. But outside of instructional emails, the scheming blonde had gone radio silent. Worse still, she had started hiding from him in class, ducking away into other pockets of students or skipping their mutual lectures entirely. It was a marked contrast to her previous strategy of teasing, stalking, and outright groping him every chance she got. Seb told himself he should be relieved, but, in truth, her sudden absence from his life was...

Well, it made Seb anxious.

And, if he was really honest with himself...a little disappointed.

Which was why he had leapt at the chance to join Miki's annual costume caper. It was a return to normalcy and routine, a reminder that a world existed outside of his insane, psychosexual struggles. Mind control powers or no, Halloween was still two weeks away. Miki was still taking the Diepner Players' costume party too seriously. "The Monster Mash" and "Thriller" were still playing on loop over the PA. Life went on.

"Really, though," Seb cleared his throat, "thanks for bringing me along. And for inviting Sophia too. I know it means a lot to her."

Miki nodded, even as her lips curved into a thoughtful frown. "I still don't really get her deal, but she seems nice. Nicer than I expected anyway."

"What this?" Tobias exclaimed with sarcastic shock. "Miki, admitting she jumped to conclusions? It's a Halloween Miracle!"

"Very funny," Miki shoved a jean jacket against his chest. "Why don't you take a break from being a smartass and try this on? We're not calling it a day till your costume's complete."

"What are you guys going as again?" Seb asked as he watched Tobias sulk towards the changing stations.

"John and Claire from The Breakfast Club," Miki sighed, plucking a pink blouse from the rack. "Assuming I can find a top that doesn't look like I'm swimming in it. Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "We could go as a group! You could be Brian, and Sophia could be Allison! She already kinda has the hair for it."

"Uh, maybe." Seb rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think she's seen the movie though."

"That crime can be addressed later," Miki pointed a warning a finger at him. "What's important now is that we figure out your costume pronto. So start looking, alright? And no cheating this year."

"Cheating?" Seb arched an eyebrow. "How do you cheat at a Halloween costume?"

"By throwing on a random sweater and saying you're Mr. Rogers," Miki shot back. "Not gonna fly this year, Sebastian. Be better."

"Whatever you say, ma'am," Seb answered with a sardonic salute. Miki rolled her eyes in response, but couldn't hide her excited grin as she skipped off to join Tobias at the changing stations.

With a loose sense of purpose, Seb ambled through the aisles of oversized shirts and faded jackets. Nominally, he was looking for possible costume pieces, but a part of him just wanted to vanish into the mundanity of it all; to get lost in the hand-me-down fashions and boxes of VHS tapes; to be just another invisible and anonymous college kid, exactly as he was a year ago.

Then a flash of blonde caused his heart to leap and the Vox to growl.

It was a false alarm, of course: just another shopper who happened to share the hair color of his adversary. Even so, it wasn't the first time that day he had jumped at shadows, nor the first time his bubble of normalcy had been punctured, allowing the fears and feelings he had blocked to come spilling back into him.

She had called him a coward.

Or had at least implied it. Even if Chelsea hadn't use that exact term, her tirade in the forest had aptly conveyed the point. And it had stuck. Though Seb had tried to brush off her attack at first, her words lingered like poison in his veins, corroding his confidence as the week progressed.

Was he actually in the wrong here? Was enslaving Chelsea the moral choice?

No, it couldn't be. Even if she wanted to...even if he wanted to...it was still wrong. For her to lose her independence completely, possibly permanently...that wasn't a choice either of them could make. They were still 19, for Christ's sake. They were young, and confused, and still flush with adolescent hormones. Feelings this strong had to be phase, had to be a quirk of biology or psychology, something they would grow out of. They shouldn't—they couldn't be the basis for a life-changing choice.

Right?

Michael Jackson was belting over the loudspeakers again. Seb tried to refocus on the task at hand.

He shifted directions, bending his path towards the far corner of the store, where the more overtly "Halloween-y" garb was displayed: capes, witchs' hats, and all manner of cheap plastic accessories. Seb doubted he could get away with donning some toy fangs and calling himself a vampire, but he might be able to find an alternative outfit to Miki's Breakfast Club suggestion, one that wouldn't require him to spend the whole night glued to her side, lest somebody not "get" their ultra-hip reference.

Instead, he found Sophia, staring longingly at a shiny black corset.

"Oh, hey!" she squeaked, turning abruptly to face him. "S-sorry, I didn't hear you coming!"

"You don't have to apologize," Seb laughed. "Thinking of going as a dominatrix vampire this year?"

"Y-yeah right," Sophia laughed, backing away from the rack as though it might attack. "Could you imagine?"

Seb could. All of those luscious curves packed in a tight vinyl package? It was enough to make the Vox hum.

"I don't think I could pull it off even if I wanted to," Sophia continued. "That thing would probably crush me if I put it on."

"Never know until you try," Seb countered, before realizing what he was suggesting. "I-I mean, if you really want to."

To his surprise, the busty Latina hesitated, throwing one last glance at the corset. "W-well, guess there's no harm in trying right? Not that I'm gonna be a, uh, vampire domi...whatever you just said."

Seb forced a laugh. "Damn, thought I struck gold with that one. What are you going as instead?"

"Probably Velma. Y'know, from Scooby-doo?" She lifted the forbidden item off the rack. "I already have the sweater and socks for it. Just need to find a skirt, and boom: instant Halloween costume. No muss no fuss."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go as Allison?" Seb asked.

"Who?"

"From The Breakfast Club. Miki suggested you and I go as 'the Basket Case' and 'the Brain,' respectively."

"Oh. Uh..." Sophia's brow furrowed. "I mean, I don't wanna mess up Miki's plans but..."

"It's fine," Seb waved away her concern. "She mainly suggested it for me, since I don't have a costume yet."

"Ah. And I'm guessing 'stage hypnotist' is off the table?"

Seb tried to cover the hitch in his breathing with a laugh. "Ha, well, maybe as a last ditch resort."

It was then that he realized he had been following Sophia towards the dressing area. Without her asking him to. Which was...at best, a weird thing to do. At worst...well, it was too late to suddenly break away now. Maybe she wouldn't notice.

"W-well," Sophia brushed her bangs out of her eyes as they reached one of the curtained-off stations. "If you wanna team up, you could be the Shaggy to my Velma. All you'd really need is a big green t-shirt."

"Huh. That's an idea." Seb blinked. "Wait, isn't he, like, the most useless member of the team? Why is he the one I remind you of?"

"Because he's funny!" Sophia laughed. "And, no offense, but you don't really have the pecs to pull of Fred."

"Like, zoinks, man," Seb said with a sardonic smile, "That's harsh."

"Just be thankful I didn't suggest Scooby instead," Sophia shot back.

"Jinkies." Seb laughed.

Sophia laughed.

The dressing station remained impassive.

"So, um..." Sophia held the corset up, gestured vaguely towards the dressing station.

"Y-yeah, I'll just...go look for a Shaggy shirt."

"Actually..." Sophia fidgeted. "Would you mind waiting out here? I might need help, y'know, zipping up or whatever."

"Oh." Seb replied dumbly. A part of him wanted to suggest waiting for Miki, but instead his mouth said: "Sure."

"Cool. Uh, brb." Sophia uttered before ducking behind the curtain.

Seb exhaled. Being around Sophia still made him nervous, but this was going well, right? They were joking and bantering like they used to. And Sophia was gonna be trying on a corset for him. Well, maybe not for him, but still...she clearly didn't mind showing off a little. There was trust there. Maybe something more? Was Seb imaging that?

Was he running away again?

Seb's jaw clenched. Dammit, Sophia was undressing on the other side of a thin sheet, and still Chelsea's words found a way inside his head. Whatever feelings he had for Sophia, they too were entangled in this stupid game he was playing. He partly blamed Chelsea for that: she was, after all, the one using Sophia to blackmail him. But, then again, the only reason that strategy was effective was because he wasn't exactly on solid footing with her to begin with. Especially not after having to lie about the block party.

How long would that lie last? How long could any of this go on?

"Uh, S-Seb?" came a tiny voice from behind the curtain. "Could you come give me a hand?"

Seb's heart leapt, derailing his darkening thoughts. "Sure," he said, lowering his voice without knowing why.

Sophia's back was turned when he stepped through the curtain, her hands holding the shiny black garment up against her chest. Even unfastened, the corset had pressed her waist into an hourglass figure, accentuating her wide hips and ample ass, wrapped snuggly in her dark, high-wasted jeans.

Seb had to force himself not to stare as he drew closer. He was just helping her try on a costume. As a friend. Even if his hands were shaking a little as they hooked the fasteners into place. Even if he had to adjust his position to make sure his erection wouldn't brush against her backside. There was no point in getting worked up, no point in letting the Vox's dark temptations slip into his thoughts.

"So..." Sophia turned slowly to face him. "How do I look?"

For a moment, Seb was speechless.

The corset was a cheap costume piece, its surface coated in an almost plastic-y sheen. Yet that didn't stop it from radiating an odd sort of allure, an unabashed, uninhibited invitation. It grasped Sophia's body and molded it to perfection, its borders overflowing with her soft, sensual flesh. Her breasts strained the top, so tightly packed that they rippled as she shifted under his gaze. Her expression was shy, yet excited; at odds with her clothing, yet heightening its draw. She didn't know the power she wielded, but that only made it more deadly. And more desirable.

Seb wanted to capture that power. To control it. To be consumed by it. These burning impulses dried his throat, making it difficult to speak.

"W-wow." He swallowed. "It's uh, uh..." Incredible. Intoxicating. Dangerous.

"I-it's a bit much, huh?" his thrift store succubus replied, turning to face the mirror with an awkward laugh. "Like. God. It's so tight and...cheap looking. Like I just walked out of a trailer park BDSM club or something. I look ridiculous. I..."

"Stop," Seb said. His hands were on her shoulders before he could stop them. "You look great."

Their eyes met in the mirror's reflection. Hers were wide, yet unafraid. His were hungrier than he would like. But neither of them could look away. Neither of them could move. Even as the changing station shrunk around them. Even as the air burned with irrepressible heat. Seb couldn't even loosen his grip on her. She felt warm, fragile, precious. He could see the edges of her breath licking the glass, fogging the reflection of her soft, parted lips.

You know, the Vox whispered, there is an easy solution to your problem...

A knock on the station wall shattered the moment like a gunshot through glass. Seb quickly released Sophia. The distance between them reformed in an instant.

"Seb, you in there?" Miki's voice filled the tiny space. "I found a black sweater that'd be perfect for a Brian costume. Want me to bring it over?"

Seb met Sophia's eyes again, a wordless acknowledgement passing between them. Whatever just happened, it couldn't survive past the curtain. Not now. Not yet.

"Th-that's okay!" Seb called back, turning to let Sophia change unobserved. "I think I'm gonna go as Shaggy this year."

"Okay, good," came the reply, Miki's voice already receding as she marched off. "Glad you're finally taking initiative."

It was such a cruel joke Seb almost laughed.

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Darkness was advancing as the costume hunters stepped out from the thrift store's light. Sophia took a deep breath, hoping the chilly air would quell the fire inside of her.

It didn't.

Something had sparked in that changing room. She had felt it. Seb had felt it. When his eyes had found hers, when his hands had grasped her bare skin...that wasn't the casual touch of a friend, or even the awkward fumbling of a high school crush. They may have been two childhood friends standing in a thrift store changing room, but in that moment, in that outfit, Sophia had felt her old shell slip. She wasn't an awkward, chubby nerd flirting with her best friend. She was an enchantress. A seductress. A creature of the night, waiting to be tamed.

And Seb had felt it too.

Now they were standing side-by-side at the bus stop, chatting with their friends as if nothing had happened. The corset was gone, the moment had passed. But the heat lingered inside Sophia, embers that flared whenever she sensed Seb's eyes on her body, or his arm brush hers. She couldn't let those cinders die. Not now. Not again.

The bus arrived and the doors hissed open. The four students clambered up the entry steps, fanning out to find available seats. By some stroke of luck or some unholy curse, Sophia ended up next to Seb in the back, several rows away from the other couple. Out of sight, out of mind.

And, by the time the bus started moving again, she was almost out of breath.

It was a strange sensation, the way her world collapsed in the space between their bodies. Every jostle from the road, every shift and turn sent tingles of hyper-awareness through her. She became absorbed in the fleeting contact of their legs, the way her breasts bounced after a bad bump, the way Seb's hand accidentally rubbed her thigh as he reached for his phone. The incidental had become incendiary, and if Sophia didn't find release soon, she feared she would burn up from the inside.