8:15. Xan had made the crowd wait long enough. She checked herself in the mirror one more time, admired how her figure filled her white suit. It was showtime.

Xan nodded to the stage manager, who involuntarily whimpered at the eye contact before cuing the music. As the upbeat music reached a crescendo, she strode confidently on stage and gave the room a brilliant smile and wave, to raucous applause. It was a full house, of course; hard to tell with the lights, but even ticket sales aside, Xan could sense the rough number of minds, feel their energy. A night in a new town meant a lot of new women, but based on her reading there was a comfortable smattering of those who had been to a lecture before. Waiting. Expectant. Needing.

“How are we doing tonight, ladies?” she asked, as the applause continued. Much of the enthusiasm came from those who had only heard of Xan by reputation, who had no idea what they were in for. But their openness brought them halfway under her spell, and she allowed herself a little taste, let her eyes flash neon green before returning to brown. If anyone noticed, they would think they were imagining things.

“You know,” she began her spiel as the applause died down, “Being a woman can be very isolating. There was a time in my life when the thought of walking onto this stage would have made me ill. A time I was afraid to even leave the house. To talk to others — especially other women. To make connections. I didn’t think I was worth it. And I know a lot of you have felt that way too.”

The opening speech was really superfluous, totally generic, and always short, but Xan always did enjoy the teeny bit of expositing, feeling the lonely minds really desperate for answers starting to bend even without the push.

“I tried self-help books. I tried therapy. I tried drugs. Nothing seemed to work. And then, one day, I thought, ‘Why not try the Dark Web?’” She paused for a smattering of laughs. 

“And believe it or not, that’s where I found the secret to claiming my own power, being the best woman I can be. Now, what worked for me is not going to be what works for you. And if you can trust me, I’m going to trust you. Because, believe it or not, I need all of you to make this work.”

The room felt quieter, a mix of those who didn’t know what to expect and those who knew and felt their need intensify.

Xan snapped her fingers, and slower music kicked on. Also totally unnecessary, but after all, it was all about what made her feel good. She took in the moment, took in a breath, and began chanting the incantation.

There were more new women in the audience than she had initially realized; the feeling of confusion, or discomfort, the murmuring of minds wondering what was going on immediately drowned out the excitement and relief of old fans. It had been awhile since she had played a house that let her reach so many new faces. This was exciting.

Xan’s eyes glowed green fully now, and even with the stage lights she could see a smattering of eyes blinking on in response, that dimmer, darker shade, like leaves in a forest. But the newbies were starting to move in their seats, have louder thoughts of confusion, murmur to one another out loud. It was time to get the whole crowd.

Xan felt the power of her longtime followers rush into her, felt the heat of their desire turn her on. Their thoughts were consistent and simple enough that she started to pick up the usual sorts of words even out of a crowd of hundreds. “Yes.” “More.” “Thank you.” “Please.”

Xan finished the brief incantation and the room, now heavy with magic, spoke again to the crowd.

“Listen to every word I say. You are very lucky to be here. You are lucky to see me, to hear me speak, to finally understand what you’ve been waiting for. You’ve been waiting for me to tell you what to do. And that really, really, really turns you on.”

More eyes turning green now, some fading on, some flickering, like a wave of fireflies pushing through the room.

“Some of you were already attracted to women, but others were not. That doesn’t matter. You all are now. You feel it. You feel the other women in this room, and want to see them naked. You want to touch them. You want to know what their breasts are like, what they have between their legs, to get them off no matter what anatomy you find. You need other women to make you come.”

The room felt heavy, with magic and sexual desire and the weight of Xan’s words. She looked out onto a sea of glowing, green eyes. She felt the words of their mind, mostly echoes of what she had just said. She felt no confusion, no resistance. It really was easier each time. She had them.

“And I am the sexiest woman you have ever seen, and as you feel this know you have a new purpose. Your purpose is to arouse me, to see me satisfied. And when you give and receive pleasure to one another here, I feed on it. I grow stronger. I can reach more and more women. And that is more important to you than anything in the world.

“You are my special sisterhood. And no matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen me in person, day and night, you are going to dream of the remote possibility of giving me sexual pleasure, of having permission to touch me.”

Xan snapped again, and at her cue her stage manager hustled out and knelt to the floor, fixing the strap-on over the Xan’s suit, then gazing up desperately. Xan grabbed her employee by the hair and pushed her onto her cock (also white, to match the suit), letting her suck for just a minute. She didn’t speak, and took in the moment, there were audible moans from the crowd, as well as inaudible ones only the guru could hear. After a moment, Xan gave her acolyte a playful slap on the cheek and sent her scurrying back offstage, then continued.

“In a few moments, I’m going to let you pleasure each other. Feel how beautiful you all are. Know that your orgasms give me more power. I’m going to be watching. And tonight, if you really turn me on, I am going to give the chance for just a few of you to join me onstage. House lights, please.”

The audience came into full view so that Xan could see her work. Some of the women were already undressing. Others were touching themselves. A handful of regulars were fondling one another. But everyone’s green eyes were fixed hungrily on the speaker.

“Very good, girls. We’re going to talk more later, but for now, I think I’ve done enough talking. Let’s begin.”