Regressing Lots

Chapter 5
Regressing Lots: Chapter Five

Chapter Description: Linda debates what to do with her lover, and reflects on her choices - as well as confronts a strange new desire. Meanwhile, the architect of the mis-delivered package begins to track down the ladies.

Chapter Five

Linda had experienced better days before.

She had regained 10 years of her life and health, for a small upside, but she wasn’t sure how long that would last. As a lawyer, Linda was trained to think about multiple outcomes to a scenario, to envision unforeseen problems, and right now they were vast. But try as much as she liked, she couldn’t get rid of the bitterness currently festering in her heart. The object of her affection, or an unreasonable and lasting affection for years, was slowly being taken away from her, on the very same day she felt she was making a breakthrough. This was supremely unfair, and it made her angry. So angry she felt her hands clenching the wheel, her eyes struggling to take in everything on the road.

She could hear her father’s words, hurled in disgust an anger the day she opened up to him about her sexuality when she was 16. He was revolted. He told her she was an abomination in the face of God, a head of the hydra that Satan has unleashed upon the world to swallow more soles for the Pit. He told her that she would become a corrupter of hearts, and live life with a barren womb. Then he smacked her, and cast her out of the house. It had been a petty tirade, a tired old man trying to grasp at what few straws of power he really had, maintaining what sense of perspective he had on a world leaving his views behind. She hadn’t been shocked by what he said at all. She probably could have written his tirade for him, handed it to him and asked if he had additional notes to propose.

Several times in her life, when things were dark, and her choices felt like they were haunting her, Linda would look back at her father’s raging sermon and smile. It was far away, and the accusations were so ridiculous that it helped make her life feel more orderly by comparison. But this moment, this strange and impossible situation made her feel very uncomfortable. Because the object of her affection was now, in body, a minor, and she still wanted her, even as Heather gradually slipped out of her fingers.

‘Daughter’. Linda had been thinking about a baby, either having one or adopting, but she’d only really daydreamed about it. Let the breeders run into babies and parenthood with their animal blinders on tight, then regret it later; Linda was always planning to walk into that decision with eyes open and her mind engaged. And she certainly planned to wait until she had a loving partner to do it with. Heather was childless, and it had occurred to Linda already that they could have adopted a child, or Linda could have been inseminated to make one for the two of them, and both could have been happy together.

But now? Some bizarre supernatural force was turning Heather into a child, bit by bit, and it had just about roped Linda into the same boat. Heather was refusing to let Linda share in her fate, and had already pointed out just how insane it would be for both of them to descend into the said fate. Heather had done the adult thing, and accepted the fact that she was going to become a child, and that Linda should either woman up and take care of Heather, or run and leave her to this doom.

Linda hated it, but what choice did they have? Their only hope was getting this package to the other Banks lawyer, and seeing if the family that owned this box of occult weirdness had some answers. Maybe there was a way to reverse the regression Heather had endured, or at least prevent any more regressions from happening. At least at this age, Heather’s adult mind and teenage body would make some kind of relationship between the two of them possible. It was a faint hope.

Linda sighed. Heather echoed the sigh. Neither one of them spoke for a half hour. They drove out of the rain, and Heather broke the silence.

“The dice have bonded to me again, Linda,” she said, quietly. She sounded so young.

Linda didn’t know what to say. Good? Damnit? Let me take them, let me end up the child, not you? But try as she might, she didn’t want to end up loosing her maturity, even for Heather, and she didn’t want them to end up on the street. She wanted to find a way for them to stay together, even if that meant her sacrificing what she wanted.

Silence reigned until Linda saw the sign for a truck stop ahead. “We can pull over there and see if there are some clothes that fit you better.”

“Oh boy, the finest in truck stop fashion for the growing teen,” Heather lamented sarcastically. It was so typically teenage, Linda couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, laugh it up, you at least got to keep your wardrobe, and your body. I’ve gone down in dress sizes the one way most women would not elect!” Heather complained.

“Come on, love, it was just so teenage. Besides, if you stay this age, if we can stop it here, you only have a few years until you can pull off being an adult again. This could have been a whole lot worse,” Linda noted.

Heather crossed her arms, irritated, and Linda decided not to press the point. She doubted she would be so philosophical if the situation was reversed. Heather had repacked the dice, and they were stowed back in the glove compartment when the Jeep pulled into the truck stop parking lot. Big rigs idled in the back lot while a variety of interstate travellers had pulled off for a well needed stretch, refuel and bathroom breaks. The truck stop itself was, like so many on the interstate, situated around a large diner, with a gift and supplies shop attached to one side, and a truckers lounge on the other. Linda parked as close to the doors as possible, and the two walked inside. Linda was Heather were almost the same height, with Linda actually having the advantage now. She still couldn’t get over just how small Heather had become. One forgot just how underdeveloped teenagers were until you got to deal with one face to face, especially one you knew. The flip flops were too big for her, and Heather stumbled at least once as they made their way in.

The gift shop was, predictably, not very busy. There was a middle eastern family shopping, probably on a road trip. The mother had three children with her, one a teenage girl, the other a grade school aged boy, and a baby in arms. Linda stared at the baby, and was surprised how much she wanted one at that moment, how much she would love to have a daughter in her arms, or growing inside her. As Heather wandered into the rows of tourist t-shirts and clothes, Linda found herself looking over the selection of supplies for young children and infants. After all, one accidental roll of the dice or two and Heather might need all of this. But why was she suddenly desiring this, when only moments ago she’d been hating the fate that had left them awkwardly aged to continue their relationship?

The dice. The spirit in the dice.

Her eyes went to the Jeep, knowing in her heart where the dice were. Since the first moment she had looked at those dice, hours ago in Heather’s office, Linda had wanted to play with them, to hold them, to be in charge of them. But Heather’s observation came to mind immediately. The dice wanted to be rolled, the energy of that spirit wanted to escape, and it was using whatever power it had to try and get free. Those dice would happily let Heather be reduced to a babe in arms, powerless and depending on Linda for the essentials in life.

The very thought of it made Linda afraid, and she set her mind to making sure it didn’t happen. But her body ached for that baby, and she actually felt a hardness, a pain in her breasts. It was akin to period pains, even though that was weeks away. Her body was yearning for a baby, and now she had a means to have one, and even better, never loose the woman she loved.

For the first time since she had been a child, Linda whispered a quiet prayer to herself, and begged God to give her strength against temptation.

======================

The taxi let Michael out at the law firm. He charged the ride to his credit card, wordlessly, and taking his small messenger bag exited the taxi. The driver had tried to engage him in conversation several times on the way over to no avail. Michael didn’t feel like talking to a man so pedestrian as a driver. He had more important things to worry about, and he didn’t have the leisure or desire to waste time on a conversation with such a person. Without a pause he entered the building, and saw that there were security guards in the lobby.

With a whispered incantation Michael summoned up a spell, binding the concentration of both men to an image of a very attractive and underdressed woman who walked in at the same time as Michael. Or, at least, this is what they saw. It was simple glamour, an illusion that would keep them focused on her movements, her breasts, her face and the sway of her hips. Meanwhile, Michael walked right by them, entered the elevator and hit the button for the fifth floor. Her online profile said her office was on the fifth floor, and he hoped it was up to date. There was no time to waste, not if what he felt was true had occurred. The elevator doors closed, and some obnoxious muzac played on the way up. When the doors opened, he walked out into the hallway. The law offices of Morgan, Forman & Galway were decorated in beautiful dark woods, with classical paintings (or prints) hanging on the walls in conservative frames. A few accent tables decorated the halls. The doors were all full frame glass doors, frosted with names etched in gold upon them. It was easy to find Heather Bank’s office.

The door was locked when Michael tried it. He looked at the lock, and then breathed a few words. An old charm, but an easy one. The lock clicked, and the door shivered once with the magic. Quickly Michael put out his hand and absorbed the magic before it broke the door. As the left over magic of the unlocking spell was grounded through his own talismans, Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He had to think, had to keep his mind focused. Magic and glass had a very strange relationship, one well known as far back as the dark ages. Scrying glasses, crystal balls, even the stained glass in churches were all meant to capture and focus magic. But they could also burst under the pressure of a rogue spell, and mirrors cracking was a sure fire way to tell if someone was throwing sorcery around without proper training or safeguards.

The unlocking spell was not designed for doors made out glass, clearly. He smiled, amused momentarily at the anachronisms of the magic he knew, then entered the office. His smile vanished quickly as he did. The room reeked of magic, and of the faerie.

“I’m too late,” he said aloud.

Michael set his messenger bag down and pulled out a small crystal sphere, pulling dark leather gloves over his hands. With a few words of power he held it aloft, and slowly small motes of light and power began to appear. Carefully as to not break the threads of the divination magic, Michael held the crystal up to his left eye, and looked around the room.

When he brought the crystal down again, he was frowning with concern. The spirit was free, mostly. The two women had quite accidentally captured some of Her power, and it was changing them in a bargain to be free. It was a spirit of youth, after all, and this bargain was Her typical bargain. It was how the Bradley witches had kept young for so long, eternally beautiful and a terror to the magical shadow world. Then, off all things, a gas explosion at the Bradley mansion had wiped them out, and their influence was gone. Michael had been sent by his order to intercept what he could of the estate - some hapless relation, one of the many Bradley children born to those ancient witches (but lacking magic himself) was simply selling off what little could be salvaged from the estate. The youngest daughter, Vanessa, clearly knew there was magic to be gained from the books and had hired the lawyer to secure the books without raising attention.

Fortunately for Michael, it was easy to use a curse to make the package go astray. It was just good fortune that there was another Heather Banks, also a lawyer, for the package to be delivered to. But curses have a way of backfiring, and Michael was certain karma was working its magic on overtime right now. The faerie was gone, released, but what little part of her had been trapped in her escape could summon her back once more if he got to it in time. He would need help to find Banks and her little girlfriend, and to get to them before they delivered the package to its rightful destination.

He dared not think what a descendant of the Bradley witches might do if she figured out what happened to the two lawyer women, not if there was any part of the witches in her spirit. Enslavement, perhaps, if they were lucky. More likely was murder and drinking their blood for the power flowing through it right now.

Michael closed his eyes, and uttered five words of power. There was rumbling in the air, and from nowhere a beautiful woman appeared. She was impossibly curvy and beautiful, an unholy combination of slutty stripper and noble princess in one - and dressed in a lawyer’s power suit and six inch heels.

“Summoning a demon in a law office,” purred the succubus. “It was easier than usual to answer the call, Master.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Servant. I don’t have time for games tonight - I need you to track down two women for me, and quickly.”

The succubus, Arianna, pouted. “You are always business, Master. Oh how this body misses your noble shaft within me.”

Michael held out his hand, and said her word aloud. She shivered, and clutched at her throat as if being strangled.

“Do my bidding, demon,” he growled.

Arianna gasped for air until he released the command, and glared at him under sultry lashes. Her hair was long, trailing to just past her shapely butt, and her eyes were a brilliant shade of purple. Her skin was a lovely shade of dark cream, suggesting a vaguely Turkish complexion. Her true form was, of course, impossible to describe or comprehend. They had shared a bed once, when he was younger, and the two were bonded for life. The succubus owned his soul when he died, but until that day he commanded hers. It was a fair deal, as long as you didn’t think about the long term consequences.

Consequences he could escape forever if he could find that spirit.

“Oh Master,” she purred. “I love it when you say my name like that. It reminds me of how we really feel about each other.”

“Slave, time is wasting!” he cursed.

The succubus laughed, and then closed her eyes. She sniffed the air, and got the scent of the two women. One was practically overwhelmed with lust for the other, while the older of the two was using the younger to fill an broken heart. She licked her lips at the prospect - a little time alone with either of these two and she could likely find a more pliable soul mate. Michael was going to find a way to either break their bond or cheat their deal soon enough, of that Arianna was sure. Maybe Linda or Heather could be fooled into striking a deal - both had some powerful magic inside them at the moment.

She let her mind follow the trail, and looked to their present location on the ball of rock that these mortals called home. A truck stop on the interstate. Heather was shopping for clothes, but she was decades younger than she should be. Faerie energy was bubbling inside of her. Linda was staring at a selection of baby diapers and dreaming about making her lover into a child so she would never get away.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Arianna purred. “Master, you’re chasing the youth spirit the Bradley witches enslaved, aren’t you? Oh, clever Master.”

“Where are they?” demanded Michael.

Arianna looked at him sidelong. Helping him chase these girls down would help him break their contract, which was against her best interests. He knew it well, and he knew she could refuse to help. If she did, he might try and bind her to a body, a punishment wizards inflicted on demons - living a life stuck in a mortal body, powerless. It was just a stopgap to frustrate a demon - their souls were eternal, and when the demonic consciousness bubbled up from beneath the human mind suicide could free them sooner. But it would give him more time to search for a means to break their contract through other means, and Michael was a clever enough wizard to bind her to a baby, or someone in a coma. He was smart that way.

She would play along, for now, and see what she could do to turn this all to her advantage.

“They are at a truck stop on the interstate, on their way to Minneapolis. The senior lawyer is a teenager now. Her lover is a young woman, and being tempted by the faerie power to betray her friend. They are intent on returning the package to the other Banks lawyer, and looking for help from the Bradleys.”

Michael cursed. “As I feared.”

The succubus turned to face him, hands on her hips. “If we race after them in a car, Master, we are unlikely to catch up to them. We can not hope to arrive before they do in a plane, not at this time of night. You will have to use magic to try and slow them down.”

Michael nodded in agreement. Silently he wondered why Arianna was helping, but he guessed she was either tiring of their bond, or had some plan to use this situation to her benefit. Either way, he needed her help right now, and would continue to count on her. She was incapable of telling him a falsehood by the letter of their bond, so he didn’t worry about her lying to him. Small blessings and all.

“Can you hex their vehicle?”

Arianna smiled. “Yes Master, I can. Do you give me permission to go ahead and try and slow them down?”

Michael nodded. “You have permission. Do what you can to slow them down, but do not harm them. Understood?”

“Crystal clear, Master,” said the succubus, and vanished as suddenly as she had arrived. Michael stared at the empty space for a moment, not liking the words she had used. But he had to get a car ASAP, and get moving if he would catch up with the women before they delivered the package.