12

Mickey wasn’t impressed with my car, not in the least, but she did display a healthy curiosity concerning the gadgets I’d installed. Talking about those filled the hour’s drive to the campus so completely that we were both startled to reach it so quickly. A glance at my watch showed that it had not been quite as short a drive as we’d felt it to be.

The campus wasn’t completely deserted, but the usual hordes of people were lacking, and the few students, visitors and lecturers walking around looked almost furtive. Fetching Mickey’s suitcases from the dorm didn’t take very long. Getting a full, authorized printout of her documentation from the secretariat, on the other hand, was quite a chore. We’d talked about signing her on to an online university, but we hadn’t quite decided on which, and exactly what. To sign on with full credit for her courses, we needed the documents.

Mickey nudged me gently when I stared openly at a truly awesome redhead who clicked through the office we were waiting in, in high heels. I blinked, thanked providence that Chris or Kris weren’t with me (I’d had enough experience of their elbows and sharp kicks), and went right on staring. The divine right of males everywhere, except of course Islamic countries (unless they have a fetish for eyes and black cloth, I suppose). When she disappeared, I put my eyes back in their sockets, and smiled weakly at Mickey.

“Truly… bodacious, ah?” she smiled back engagingly.

“I’ll say. Bold and audacious says it all,” I shook my head, “and I’ll admit that she’s spectacular, if nowhere near as beautiful as you are.”

“Right,” she managed to convey a great deal of doubt with that single word.

“To me,” I clarified, “You’re a visual shock. You don’t claim to understand how guys view beauty, surely?”

“Tits and ass?” she covered most of the subject, quite succinctly. I couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping.

“Most guys, perhaps,” I smiled, “but like all stereotypes, it is both right and wrong. I think, though I’m not certain – I remember reading a couple of popular science papers – that those in fact are the things almost everyone notices first. But beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, much like tastes differ.”

“And you like redheads?” she asked.

“I like redheads just fine, and one in particular, but I actually have this yen for raven haired girls. I don’t want you to get a swelled head, my dear sorceress, but you’re about as close as I’ve ever met to my ideal of beauty.”

She stared at me open mouthed for something like a minute, almost as much in shock as in that moment she’d discovered magic.

“And yes, I actually mean it. Chris would be rather upset if she knew, so please don’t repeat it. I could look at you for hours,” I added, not really exaggerating.

“Just look?” she managed, in a tremulous voice.

“You’ll agree touching is better?” I waggled my eyebrows at her, and she managed something that resembled a smile.

After dropping that bombshell, we waited in silence, Mickey staring at me. I was starting to realize that I’d made something of an error, prior to all the wizardly business. Here and now, with my ladies, I had the wonderful freedom of being able to be absolutely open, saying exactly what I thought, without any real possibility of getting hurt. I found that I very much enjoyed their company, clothes shopping and bedroom games aside. I actually missed spending more time with Chris, after those few days when we’d been inseparable. I’d have to do something about that.

Before, I’d allowed my introverted nature to take over, looking, if not very hard, for THE girl. Overlooking GIRLS. Or people, really. Oh, I didn’t give all that much credit to the ‘blossoming wallflower’ legend, but I’d never really given anyone much of a chance, never really tried to make conversation. I didn’t think it was much of a mistake, as I couldn’t help but overhear what they considered ‘conversation’ to be, but it was likely that I’d missed a few rough diamonds, amongst the common stones. I might actually change my ways, and look more carefully.

It didn’t take all that much longer before we had the requisite documents stowed away, and I spent the ride back lecturing Mickey on how I did my trading, and just as important, why.

We took a few plates of food with us, and I taught Mickey a couple of first circle spells she could practice without doing any damage, reminding her that the more she practiced, she stronger she would get. Then we settled down for Market Analysis 101.

“I’m getting a bit hungry,” Mickey mentioned diffidently, when I stopped lecturing for a moment and went looking for a spreadsheet.

“Ah?” I looked at the time. “My goodness, but we’ve overdone it. Let’s do lunch,” I grinned and rose from the chair, stretched out a few kinks, and help her up.

I questioned her concerning the profits she anticipated from what we’d bought, and asked for an analysis of the risk. It was only when we reached the kitchen that I noticed that we were walking hand in hand.

“I forgot to ask you,” I disengaged from Mickey and walked up to Chris, massaging her shoulders, “But can you cook, Mickey?”

“Of course,” she blinked.

Of course, I’d forgotten. Mickey was raised with ‘man of the house’ ideal of (mostly) old, so naturally she could cook. I bet she could sew a mean seam, too.

“Good, we need to do some of that this evening. Better than take out, and we’re running out.”

“Good idea!” Kristen nodded enthusiastically. The culinarily challenged were always eager for kitchen slaves.

“Girls, have you spoken with your parents?”

Chris nodded, and Kristen looked guilty.

“Kris, really,” I shook my head, frowning at her, “Do you want to be yanked back home? Start thinking, girl. Talk to your parents, tell them how hard we’re making you study, but that you’re still having fun. Make them feel happy about you being here. Tell them you’ll visit them tomorrow morning. Call them now, Kris,” I said flatly, “Call them every day. Remind them that you’re still afraid, if they make noises about you coming back home.”

Lips twisted in indignation, Kris nodded, picked up her phone, and left, already dialing. Mickey and I took some time to prepare edibles, while Chris updated us on the progress of the shrine project.

We spent several hours cooking, eating, and casting spells. Mickey picked new spells up very quickly, and I managed to cast two new second circle spells, and make significant progress on completing the three common first circles.

“Kris, time to make some more headway on the shrine project. Mickey, I place the book in your hands. Study, ask questions, learn new spells, anything you can think of. Make notes, if you find anything that looks important, or anything you believe we might not have thought of. Chris, if you’ll come with me,” I stretched my hand and helped her up. Her eyes were crinkled in puzzlement, but she followed me to my room, without question. I sat on the bed, brought her down on my lap, and kissed her warmly on the mouth. After a moment’s hesitation, she kissed me back enthusiastically, and we traded tongues and almost bruised our lips before the urgent need for air made us part. Her soft, full ass ground into me as I hugged her.

“Whooo,” Chris breathed, “What was that all about? Not that I object,” she hastened to add.

“Do I need a reason to kiss you?” I asked with a wry look. “I just missed you. We haven’t spent quality time together since yesterday morning.”

“Very smooth,” she nodded admiringly. “Admit it, you just want to play with my tits again. Mickey doesn’t…”

I growled and dropped her on the bed, nuzzling her neck. Chris squeaked, slapped me on the side of the skull, and struggled to remove her shirt. We touched, and kissed, and I got to play with her tits.

“I’m going to take care of a little business,” I leaned over her, running fingers through her hair and teasing her left nipple. I kissed her nose, and then softly on the lips. “It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.”

“Was there anything else?” Chris asked, sounding strangely content. I’d have thought she’d want a bit more play.

“Well,” I chewed my lip, “it’s a bit embarrassing,” I looked into her eyes, rueful.

“I’ll try not to laugh,” her lips twisted with effort, trying not to smile.

“Humph,” I snorted. “I’m sure you remember that our little ritual, with the shrines and all, will involve us…”

“Making love? Fucking? Boffing our asses off? Engaging in intercourse?” her voice took a formal tone. “Copulating, fornicating, screw…” Chris left off and started giggling.

“You got it in, ahem, several. But the point, ahh,” I paused when she grabbed my point, “is that I need to cast the spell, activate the ritual, at the moment of climax. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?”

Chris went somber. “No, but I’ve been looking at the wizard sight spell, and it’s a real doozy. I don’t want to even think about third circle spells. And casting it at climax?” she looked extremely doubtful. “Is it humanly possible?”

“Only just, I suppose,” I tried to shrug, but lying down, what with Chris playing with my cock, that resulted in more of a shoulder gyration. “The thing is, there’s a second circle life spell, one that is also supposed to be cast at climax. It sterilizes the sperm. I’ve tried to cast it, but never even came close to making it work. I need help to, ahem, practice.” It was awfully embarrassing, having to articulate that. Doing it was wonderful, why was talking about the details so hard?! Damned acculturation.

“So you need lots of blowjobs?” Chris asked innocently.

“Any sacrifice for the advancement of the science of magic,” I replied blandly, and we held each other’s eyes, trying hard to keep from smiling. Then I reached and tickled her, and the laughter started, turning slightly hysterical.

“Ooooh,” she wiped a tear away, “You do the ‘sacrifice for science’ act so well,” another giggle escaped her. “Now let’s see how I can help,” she reached for my shorts, and I caught her hands.

I shook my head, and I’m pretty sure the cast of my face was dark. “That’s the real problem. Even the best stimulation, even you, can’t help me, not after several hours of spellcasting. Remember?”

“Oh!” she nodded slowly, “That is a problem. Every morning, after a good sleep, you can go at least twice, right? And after lunch and the usual magic session, take a nap. That’s at least another one, right? With a minimum of three a day, you should be good to go when the shrines are built and emplaced.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. For some reason, I hadn’t expected her to be so… practical. I remembered the book’s advice, exchange of bodies in lieu of homosexual relations, and decided here and now that I needed to spend time as a girl. Straight out of the assassin’s handbook, there was no better way to ‘know thine enemy’. Recalling John Varley’s Steel Beach, those ‘Sex Gate’ books, and numerous other bits of transgender fiction I’d read, which were, of course, entirely theoretical, I decided it probably wouldn’t be that bad. I mean, lots of people survive being female just fine, right? And I could always change right back. My… ego, identity, whatever the correct word was, was not really tied to my body. I had enough proof to trust that the soul was something real, not a miscegenation of rabid theologists and mummers who read tea leaves. I was decidedly non-macho, which either indicated that I did not lack self confidence (I mean, I have no idea how long my dick is. Never bothered to measure it…), or that I was more in touch with my feminine side. Bullshit aside, it would happen. It required spells from the second circle of mind, the third if the exchange was involuntary, but I’d get there eventually.

“Sounds reasonable,” I said and lowered my head, taking a nipple into my mouth and sliding her shorts off. She co-operated, raising her hips, and began to tremble with anticipation as my lips drifted down.

“Yes, please, lick me, do it, my pussy,” she panted, crying out in religious abandon when I took a small vibrator I’d stashed in a pocket and pinned it to her clit, while licking her with abandon. I played her like a lute, raising her excitement to the breaking point with lips and tongue, filling her and strumming on her sensitive spots with clever fingers, and then moving the vibrator away, letting her slide away from the peak. Before, I’d always been impatient, too enchanted with newly unveiled feminine mysteries to really do it properly, running the race to orgasm. Taking my time, this time, touching all over, pinching, biting and licking, I wanted to make her explode. Again and again I let her slide off from the edge, ignoring her pleading words, until she could not even blubber. Christine was truly beautiful, writhing in my grasp, eyes clenched closed, her face twisted in a yearning that was almost pain. Finally, I let her climb, pumping fingers, and bit hard on a nipple when she reached the apex, pressing the vibrator hard against her special place.

Her back arched, and she nearly threw me off as she convulsed, again and again. Her mouth opened, but there was no air left for screaming. Slowly, it tapered off, her shudders growing smaller. Sweat streamed off her, and I fetched a washcloth, rubbing her dry. She winced as I gently touched her crotch, absorbing some of the copious amount of moisture she’d leaked.

“And you,” her voice sounded scratchy, “said that WE would kill YOU. Oh my god, what did you do to me? I almost blacked out. Kris is better with a tongue, I think, but this…” she shook her head.

“I read that you could delay orgasm, building the sensations up higher and higher. It’s easy for me, because with wizard sight, I can see inside, know when you’re coming to a boil. Is Kristen really better at oral sex?”

“Ahem,” she blushed a bit, the flush not truly faded from her skin, still breathing rapidly, “I think so. I mean,” she added apologetically, “she’s a girl, she simply has better instincts.”

“It’s alright, I’m not offended by truth. And Chris, one thing a wizard can do is exchange bodies. If you wish, you’ll learn what being male is like, and one day, I’ll have those instincts. That’s a promise.”

She stared at me, mouth sagging open in wonder, then her eyes brightened as she began to consider further ramifications of that ability. “Whoo, that’s really scary. Wizards can possess people?”

“Yes, of course it’s subject to abuse. That is the nature of power, Chris.”

“Right. Anyway, how was Miko, no, Mickey?”

“Really, Chris, you don’t have to worry about anyone. I…” just couldn’t utter THOSE words. “Remember,” I took a different tack, “if I want anyone, you can always BE that someone. You’ll be able to look like anyone, be anyone. I’ll never grow bored with you. A thousand years from now, we’ll still be together,” I omitted the caveat, ‘if we’re still alive’.

Chris frowned, then nodded. “I suppose,” she wrinkled her nose, “we’ll just have to see. But that didn’t answer my question,” she looked at me, lashes half lowered.

“She’s more experienced. I like her a lot. Mickey also seems, well, a bit submissive. It was different. Do you like her?”

“Well, yes. I mean, the poor girl! We’re definitely the best things that ever happened to her. There are so many sad stories, we’re just so lucky. I’ll hint a bit, when I’m teaching, we’ll laugh over the toys. You really don’t know if she likes girls, do you?”

“No, but I’ll help you,” I recalled that I could shape the responses of my disciples, and this was one area I had no compunctions about interfering with. I didn’t think I was being hypocritical. If I could change my instinctive revulsion at the thought of homosexual relations, I probably would. Pleasure, to me, was pleasure, the source of it mostly irrelevant so long as no harm was done. But there was no simple way to change those prejudices that ran deep.

“Does submissive turn you on?” Chris asked cautiously.

“Yes, of course, it’s a heady sensation. It also makes me feel very protective, you know, like, she’s mine, belongs to me. A completely normal reaction, I’m sure. But likewise, everything about you turns me on,” I grimaced. “Mentally, at least. You can try submissive and see if it suits you, but don’t go there purely on my account.”

“Oh, I’ll try anything at least once,” Chris grinned, finally settling to mellowness. “I think Kris would really like being tied up and ravished. When are we going to play with her?”

“You’re quite the predator,” I grinned right back. “Sunday, if that suits you.”

“Why not tomorrow? Oh, we’re actually going to Paladin?” she was thunderstruck.

“Of course. Would you enjoy the games any less, now that you know that some of it is real?” I smiled at her.

“Ah, no, I don’t think so. It would actually give things an ironic tinge,” her smile grew slowly.

“I’m not going to let anything rush me, if I can avoid it. We’ll have to give it up in a few weeks, I’m sure, but I think your father will be happy to see you again. I don’t like to just… toss off obligations I’ve undertaken. Anyway, it’s time and past time, I need to go. Have fun teaching Mickey!”

I kissed her again, and went off to wash and dress. In black slacks and a white shirt, added a leather jacket, changed colours and grew a beard in front of the mirror in the bathroom. I told Mickey and Kris that I was off, went to the garage, and chose a different motorbike this time. I just might need speed. Dad used to ride a lot, and we still had his old Honda Fireblade. He still liked to ride it fast, every now and then. I was almost too short to use it comfortably, and I didn’t really like the loud screaming red paint, but it was much faster than the trike. I thought about changing the colour, but it wasn’t really mine, so I just changed the letters on the license plate (just in case), took the matching helmet and drove off.

I didn’t feel good about going on this hunt, deliberately murdering someone in cold blood. Sure, he deserved it, rapist that he was. On the ride over to Kristen’s home, I tried to see what made me feel that murder, here and now, was wrong. Probably my overdeveloped sense of fair play, as the bastard didn’t have any chance of survival. A sense I could not really afford. I was insanely protective of what I considered mine, and I knew better than to think that Kristen wasn’t, and that was all there was to it. When I got closer, I shrugged it off, and started looking around for him. It was early afternoon, and there was a good chance that Richard would be playing soccer. I’d walked around the area when I waited for Criss and Cross to deal with the latter’s parents, so I knew where to go.

The small soccer field, which doubled as a basketball court, was mostly empty, a few kids playing there. I walked around, taking another look, just in case, and then drove off. Richard lived in a very affluent neighbourhood, and getting to see him if he was home would not be simple. They probably had someone to answer the door, and I’d need an excuse to speak with him. Naturally, I had one. I’d prepared a couple of legal documents, supposedly for a Richard with a slightly different last name, with an address that looked superficially identical. I meant to discover my error when I saw him, as he’d be the wrong person to sign a declaration of trust concerning shares in an imaginary company.

I was somewhat disappointed to find that he was not home, and refused an offer to leave my delivery there for him, explaining that I needed a signature. The maid, a very cute girl, said that she didn’t know where he might be, but that he’d probably be back for dinner. That gave me three hours to waste, but I’d anticipated the possibility. Ellis Wright had yet to send me information about the books I’d asked for, and I’d brought the list with me. There were several bookshops I could try, and that is what I spent a few tedious hours working on. I was not entirely surprised to discover nothing whatsoever. The salespeople had mostly goggled at the list. I did remember to phone Chris, telling her I’d be late. What I needed to do next was investigate occult shops, new age stuff. Crystals, ouija boards and tarot, not exactly my kind of stuff. I decided to send the girls on that mission, next week, after they mastered wizard sight.

When I returned to his house, I noticed a light in a second story window, and cast a first circle life spell that sharpened the sight. It only worked within 50 meters, but within those bounds, it was quite effective. It was that simple. Instead of the liver, in which an internal cut might well cause a furor, I delicately sliced a number of small arteries in the brain. Death from the rupture of multiple cerebral aneurysms was unlikely to raise suspicion. I blinked and shook my head. That was all there was to it. But there was no time to dwell on the issue. I needed to be gone, and quickly. The elementals patrolled in the darkness, and they could sense magic.

I drove much faster than my wont, not daring to dismiss wizard sight. I would not allow myself to be followed home without my knowledge, however dangerous holding onto it might prove. Twice, I stopped. Not just to look around in jerky movements that told me exactly how frightened I was, but for serious amounts of takeout. A single session of magic practice and study made an incredible hole in our food supplies, with four of us in the house.

The third stop, for a few long Subways, was a quick one. I was heading back to my bike, when I heard a choked off scream, coming from behind the parking lot. Instead of getting on the Fireblade and looking the other way, the sensible thing to do, I starting running towards the noise. I couldn’t help but remember thinking of how people don’t want to notice, don’t want to get involved, after taking out the demons in the burger joint. I’m not an ardent admirer of humanity, and I didn’t want to be like ‘them’. Musing about heroes and tombstones, I slid to a stop in a dilapidated looking courtyard, where five guys were playing toss with a girl. It was dark enough that I concentrated on wizard sight, so the colours in the real world were indistinct. One day I’d get the hang of real double vision. I sighed in relief – these were ordinary people, not demons or anything supernatural.

My first instinct was to take out the baton, and go in swinging. There was enough noise that they hadn’t heard me, and with her blouse torn, a firm breast poking out, they weren’t mounting much of a lookout. I squelched the instinctive reaction, and took out my little pistol. I bit my lip, hard, and nodded to myself. Couldn’t afford any mistakes, just couldn’t. I cast the spell as carefully and precisely as I could, and could actually feel the drop in my energy levels, could see the colours of my aura dimming slightly. But I felt wonderful, impossibly graceful. I could dance on the head of a needle, could make a professional acrobat green with envy, I was as graceful and quick as a zephyr. The spell enhanced my reflexes, my speed, balance, flexibility, agility and gave me a feeling of controlled skill and coiled power that was intoxicating. I remembered the book’s tales of the cruelties of the Conclave, and could suddenly understand. This was just the first stage of enhancement, the very beginning, and only a single component of it. It was exhilarating, facing people who didn’t have a hope of touching me. No, I didn’t really think I could dodge a bullet, not even in this state, but I could be where they weren’t aiming. What would it be like to be a full wizard or archwizard, to know that ordinary people just weren’t… weren’t anything, not compared to you. I shivered in the cool air, hoping that I’d always remember to avoid taking so much as the first step in that direction, and doubting, not trusting myself. The realization that I was probably going to turn into a monster, later if not sooner, was a sudden chasm opening beneath my feet. Perhaps the girls would be able to help make it later. But first there was a girl I could help.

Extended baton in one hand, pistol with safety off in the other, feeling awfully cowboyish, I stepped forward and hit a wall with the baton, hard enough to make a very loud noise.

One of them turned quickly, reaching inside a jacket for what I could see, through the leather, was a pistol shaped object. I reacted before I could think about it, and he was falling, the small noise of the shot dissipating, before I noticed that I’d shot him. Not merely shot him, but killed him, shot right through the eye. Deadeye Logan, at your service, Ma’am. I pointed the non-smoking pistol at the remaining four, smiling hard enough to show white teeth in the darkness.

“Fucker shot Bruce!” One of them shouted, turning to look at the corpse. The others were reaching for what were doubtless instruments of mayhem.

“Gentlemen, and I use the word in the loosest sense, if you take out anything sharp or hot, I will kill you,” I announced.

“We’ll kill the bitch,” the one who was holding her snarled, tightening his grip on her slender throat.

“Did I say something about the girl?” I asked in my most amused tone of voice. “There are plenty of girls around. This one isn’t worth anything to me,” I told them the truth. She had no magical potential at all. “On the other hand, I’d vastly enjoy killing you all. I’ve only murdered two people today, thus far. But then I’d need to collect all the bullet cases, looking for them in the dark, in this malodorous locale. That would take time, and MY girls are waiting for me. So in the interest of saving time, you may run for your lives. This time.”

“What’s the A-hole saying?” Another of them asked, and I could almost taste the fear in his words.

“He’s saying go bye bye, moron, and leave the girl, and you get to keep breathing. This time. You might want to think twice about the practice of rapine and robbery in general, and take retrograde action,” I responded coldly.

“Retro…,” the beefiest of them, the one holding the girl, repeated. I shot him, once again hitting the eye, before he could finish the word, and he collapsed, dragging the girl down with him, splattering her with blood and brains. She shrieked, but it wasn’t much of a shriek as shrieks went. Chris could give her lessons on shouting. Of course, her throat probably wasn’t in the best of conditions.

“You’re wasting my time, dimbulbs. I’m counting to three, and wasting you all when the count’s done. One,” they woke up, “Two,” and they were running off.

I didn’t actually have to search very hard for the bullet cases, and had them in my pocket in a couple of seconds. I turned and began to walk back to my bike, seriously thinking about not mentioning the entire matter to anyone.

“Wait, please,” the girl had disentangled herself from the corpse, and was on her knees. She was blonde, young, and probably pretty enough in the ordinary course of things. With unidentifiable body-bits splattered all over her, tearful red eyes and smeared makeup, she looked horrible. “Please, you can’t just leave me here.”

What I wanted to do was say ‘Watch me’ and just walk away. Which is what I should have done at the very start. I really didn’t care about a blonde norm bitch stupid enough to get herself into such a position. But she was right, I couldn’t just leave her here, not and walk away with a clear conscience and without a sour taste in my mouth. Morality’s a bitch, and suddenly I didn’t care about secrecy. Not with elementals probably winging their way down here, not with me scattering corpses everywhere. I felt fey, drunk on death. I looked at the two bodies, and turned them to fine ashes with fire magic. I looked at the girl, and cleaned her up with a housekeeping spell.

I walked up to her, took her limp hand, and help her up to her feet. She was half a head taller than me, cornflower blue eyes shot with red. I closed the torn blouse over her bare breast, not bothering to look at her nakedness, and mended it with another spell.

“Come with me,” I semi-dragged her behind me, into the lighted street, in front of the Subway, next to my bike. I always carried a spare helmet.

“Do you need a ride somewhere?” I asked her in a gentle tone.

“I…,” she stared at me for a moment, eyes dilated, chalky pale, and started sobbing. I hugged her to me, because that seemed like the thing to do. I really hate weepy females. “Hush, it’s ok, they’re gone, you’re safe, hush,” I whispered into her ear as I held her close and patted her back. I was very unhappy with the situation.

“No, no,” she hiccupped, “I don’t have anywhere to go, not really. I ran away, I was hoping to reach my grandmother, but now I don’t have any money, anything, they took my purse,” she started crying again, more softly.

Everything I didn’t want to hear. There really wasn’t much of a choice. “Do you want to come with me? I can put you up for the night, you can think about what you want to do tomorrow.”

“I…,” she stiffened and tried to back off, and I let go of her. “I don’t know,” she hesitated.

“I’ve got three girls back home, and if you make a move on me, they’ll kill you,” I informed her, as matter of fact as I could.

She blinked, a tiny half smile wrinkling the corner of one lip. “Really? Shouldn’t that be, if you make a move on me, they’ll kill you?”

“Nope,” I answered flatly, “I’d never do anything of the sort.”

Blue-eyed blondes, courtesy of my sister, were something I preferred to avoid. And I really had no interest in a norm. I finally had people I could trust, and the thought of getting involved with someone who wasn’t a wizard, who wasn’t bound to me, was distasteful. I honestly didn’t believe she could seduce me, however hard she tried, and had no intention of allowing her to make an attempt.

My reply seemed to annoy her. “I’m not a slut,” she declared, back suddenly straight.

“Ah?!” I grunted at her. “What does that have to do with anything? Anyway, my girls are waiting, and I have things to do. Are you coming, or not? I can leave you enough cash for a bus ride, if you want to go, continue on your way to your grandmother,” I started reaching for my wallet.

“No, I’ll come with you,” she manage a ghost of a smile, and I managed not to groan in frustration. I thought I’d managed to get rid of her. I wasn’t completely insensitive. Normally, I’d have pulled her in for something hot, and maybe some food, in the Subway, let her calm down. But not with elemental hunters on their way.

I started to toss the spare helmet at her, and she flinched, so I took a couple of steps, and handed it to her. “Need help to put it on?”

“No, I’m alright,” she started fumbling with it.

I waited until she was ready, then helped her on, and started to drive away. The grace spell was still active. I moved like a dancer, and drove like a maniac. I could thread through traffic with impossible ease, it almost felt like a computer game. I knew where the speed traps were, and slowed down at the right places. It was exhilarating, a wonderful release of tensions, and my heart was beating rapidly. This was the real reason I drove a speed-crippled trike. It was just too much of a temptation, having a fast machine. I was something of a speed junkie.

I used the stops at the traffic lights to look around and up, making sure there was no pursuit. My eyesight was likewise still enhanced, and I was getting something of a headache from the combination of sharpened vision and wizard sight.

The gate slid aside, and I roared my way into the garage. The girl’s arms around me were starting to hurt, she was clutching my middle so hard. I pried her off and help her down, and her feet almost gave way. She managed to lean against a cabinet, avoiding a nasty fall. “You’re mad! Insane! How could you drive like that?!”

I felt her eyes burning on me, and allowed every movement, as I returned everything to its place, as I walked to the door, to show just how graceful I was. I didn’t walk, I danced, flowed across the room. At the door, I turned, changed the license plates back, and dismissed everything other than wizard sight. Pain blossomed. I bit my lip, to keep from screaming. Muscles and sinew suddenly protested at what I’d asked of them, and it hadn’t been all that much. Coming off it after doing something serious would have really hurt, I was pretty sure, and I had to wipe away leaking tears. It was my turn to NEED a massage. I made myself stand back upright, and looked at the girl. I didn’t even want to know her name, I wanted her out of my life.

She was staring at me, wonder shining on her face. I shouldn’t have tried to show off. It always ends badly. “Come on,” I managed to squeeze out, “time to meet my…,” I swallowed ‘ladies’ down, “friends.”