GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (43 page)

A
frown
creased
Slater’s
brow
. “So, Diana betrayed my confidence. I
wondered if
she would.
Such a juicy story.
Yes, of course, a descendent
―
Phillip’s grandfather. He and his people saved my life.
T
he story gets better.”

Even though Lucier tried to act disinterested,
Slater’s
tease
drew him
in.

“Phillip’s great-grandfather received an allotment of land
through the Dawes Act, a noble experiment doomed to fail. Unlike many of his people, he was neither ignorant nor stupid. He took a nubile young white woman for his wife, over whom he wielded considerable power, and transferred his property
to
her name so the white man couldn’t take what was his.” Slater moved closer to Lucier, almost into his face. “The Crane magnetism goes way back, doesn’t it?”

Lucier snorted, but now he was
caught up in
the story. Hopefully,
Slater
would tell him what Jason couldn’t find out. Then he thought if he never left this
place,
knowing Crane’s background
wouldn’t much matter.

Slater continued. “That worked well when he discovered oil in 1913. You see, the white man and his
g
od would have taken everything from him, and
his father
’s
g
od allowed his
tribe
to live in the Dark Ages. So he elaborated on his Indian culture, veering from the script, and founded a new religion by transposing
god
into one of his own philosophy. Phillip’s grandfather was a child at the time, but he learned how to live in two worlds
―
the very public white world when he took over after
his father
’s
death, and the other, as a simple man who helped his people. That’s the man I knew. A man as white as me, like his mother, I presume, although he proudly claimed his Indian heritage. He was very old when I met him, but he had much to teach.”

How far back did Jason go in Crane’s history, and what would it matter if he’d discovered this? Who could
tie it
together?
“Yeah, how to use what you had left to enjoy earthly pleasures.
Sex 101: A million ways to get
your rocks off without a dick.”

Slater squinted, his eyes turning cold. Lucier braced himself for the inevitable fist
, b
ut Slater held back with the sa
me cool above-it-all arrogance.

“Actually, you’re right. That’s exactly what he did, among other things, and I embraced his god in the process.” He walked around Lucier’s chair, checking his bindings
to make
sure his prisoner wasn’t working free. “I concede you’re not as dim as I first thought. I wondered what Diana saw in such mediocrity and figured it must be something you’re hiding. Something I can’t compete with.”

Ignoring the bait, Lucier reeled in his fury to meet Slater’s composure with his own
. “Women don’t fall in love with
di
cks, Slater. They fall in love with the man.
Osiris, my ass.
You should have given yourself more credit instead of
becoming
a eunuch.”

Lucier’s comment had the desired effect
. Sl
ater’s face bloomed with color.

“Below the belt, Lieutenant,” he said through clenched teeth, “metaphorically speaking, of course. I’m afraid you’re wrong, though. That was my one white lie, or should I say black lie. Why in Satan’s name would I eliminate the one thing
to give
me sexual pleasure? Diana was right. Penetration was out of the question, but I can still pleasure a woman and, more importantly, a woman can still pleasure me. Pleasure is anything that transpires between two consenting adults.” He paused, and a smile twitched his lips.
“Even those non-consenting.
I bet Diana does an excellent job pleasuring. What do you say?”

Slater was pushing all the right buttons. Lucier knew it and couldn’t control himself. He fought harder
,
the sharp edge of the plastic cuff
cutting deeper into his skin
.
B
lood
trickled down his hand to his fingers, leaving
a telltale
stickiness
. He collapsed in fatigue, breathing hard. Sweat crawled down his back like liquid worms, soaking his shirt. He shimmied against the back of the chair to stop the slithering effect. “Dian
a wouldn’t touch you,” he said.

“Are you sure? You didn’t see her when we were together. She’s fascinated by me. I sensed it. So did you. I saw those cat’s eyes of yours turn green. Ask her.”

“I will if you
b
ring her here. Let me see she’s all right.”

“Soon.
You’ll see her soon. Like you, she may be a little groggy, but she’
ll come around.”

“If you’ve hurt her in any way, I’ll kill you.”

Slater laughed. “I admire your optimism. You see, Lieutenant,
we use special
tactics to incorporate people into our sphere.”

“You mean cult, don’t you, Slater?”

“If you choose to call it that, I have no objection. People
crave
affection. Other than Phillip, the
founding
males of our group, including Silas, pulled themselves up from dismal beginnings, some with parents who were so busy surviving they had no time for their children. The one thing th
ose men
shared was brilliance and
a
need to be loved and admired. And greed, of course.”

“But not you.
You were blessed with loving parents, belief in God. You had everything.”

“Yes, until I got sick. You know the story so I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice
to say I slipped as low as a man can go and still live. These people offered me the love and passion I’d lost. They accepted me for who I am, or who I had become.
A half-man.”

“So the medicine man taught you what?
All about Satan?”
Lucier snorted. “Give me a break.”

“
E
ver heard of love bombing?”

“No, and I don’t want to hear about it now.” Lucier wriggled in his chair. “Take off these restraints,” he demanded.

Slater ignored him.
“Too bad.
I’m afraid you’re a rapt audience. Love bombing take
s
many forms. It may be a session where the members hold hands, hug each other
,
and bond. Cults use the tactic. So do many successful organized religions, especially in fundamentalist and extreme churches. You’ve seen pictures on TV of parishioners touching and holding each other, while the preacher strokes their egos,
boosts
their pride and self-esteem.
The method
works extremely well with children from the earliest age and makes them dependent on their leader.”

“No different than brainwashing. No different than the Nazis.”

“Yes. The Germans did it well.
Turned a whole country into their way of thinking.
O
ur tactics are slightly different.
They used
hate
to bring them together; we use love.

“
You remember the polygamist groups? They use love bombing to keep their people in line
―t
o
convince
them the world is an ugly place outside their confines.
The technique does not promise
unconditional love.
In fact,
quite the contrary
.
Love bombing is highly conditional. Love is tied to membership and participation in the group. If a member doesn’t join or wants to leave, all love stops.”

“You’re justifying using young women like Nona and Brigid and turning them into baby machines to populate your so-called new order. Do you think drugging them to have sex against their will is love?”

“No one drugged Brigid or Nona,” Slater said. “They were eager and willing to do whatever Silas wanted. He’s their father, you know.
Selene’s daughters.”

Lucier
muffled his gasp, but
his shock
showed nevertheless
. He watched the
satisfaction
on Slater’s face as the man relished his surprise.

“You didn’t guess, did you? No, I can see you didn’t.” Slater pulled a chair close to Lucier but out of his reach. “Those two women love sex.
E
ach has
produced one child, but Brigid’s pregnant again. They were a little young, but they’re Selene’s daughters and very much like her. Not at all like their older sister, Anat. She’s an
untrainable
non-conformist.
Resisted our methods completely, so we were forced to resort to other techniques.
We can’t allow her to leave because she’d go to the authorities. She’s content. Not happy, but content. All this is to create a superior race.
A city wholly unto itself.
T
wo or three more generations and we’ll be there.
Then we’ll infiltrate the best of our group into society to begin the transformation on a larger scale.
T
hat will take many more generations, but it’s doable.
”

The scope of Slater’s acknowledgement sent ice through Lucier’s veins.
“This place will be found, your perversions stopped.”

“
W
ho’s going to stop us,
Lieutenant.
Certainly not you, because you’ll never leave here.
Y
our prying
awakened t
he authorities
,
so we’ve readied another place. Diana will join us there. In fact, she’ll be the high priestess. Diana, Goddess of the Moon.”

“Why the notes?
You had to know they’d start an investigation. Why?”

“
One of our members
acted alone
, thinking the warnings would scare you off. Unfortunately, they had an opposite effect
.
When we found out, we dealt with
him
.”

Slater’s explanation was so preposterous, so bizarre, that Lucier’s stomach
somersaulted
.
Could t
hese people conceivably pull this off
?
Thinking of Diana as the offering to their so-called deity triggered a
nother
losing battle against his restraints. “You’ll never tame her,” he said, panting. “She’ll never conform.”

“You wouldn’t
like to bet on that, would you?” Slater rose and went to the door, beckoning to someone outside. A young boy pushed Diana in a wheelchair, a strap tight around her chest, her arms and legs secured to the chair. “Let me reintroduce you to our new goddess. With Diana’s talents, we should be able to produce some special offspring, although genetics don’t always follow the first generation.
If not her children, maybe her grandchildren.

Lucier lifted his chair off the ground when he saw her, but his feet were bound to
its
legs, and he almost tipped over before he righted himself. Thrashing against his restraints summoned power he didn’t know
remained
. Her name left his throat like the wail of a caged animal, pleading for her to listen, but her bla
nk stare focused on nothing.

“You bastard
.
”
Lucier hissed
out the words with
as much
venom as he could muster
. He rubbed sweat off the side of his face with his shoulder
, trying hard to calm a
heart
that
pump
ed
so hard he thought it would explode inside his chest. “What have you given her?” Diana was in
the
drug’s darkest throes. A date rape drug could result in long-term hal
lucina
tions or dissociative brain damage, and he’d bet that’s what had rendered her helpless.

“
Not
so feisty now,
i
s she? Our doctor is trying different combinations and doses. I heard she fought like a wildcat when she woke from the initial dose.
S
he
rejected our
vision
for
her
future
,
and
I’m afraid he had to calm her down. Unfortunately, he gave her too much, and she lost her ability to walk. Actually, she lost all motor function and couldn’t feed herself now if she were starving and a plate of food sat in front of her. She’s so tiny
he had a hard time judging
the dosage, but
h
e’ll get it right. The wheelchair is a nice touch, don’t you think? Even if we unstrapped her, she’d be unable to move, other than to fall to the floor. The straps are for her protection. We don’t want her to hurt herself.”