She’leth lets out an exasperated sigh and white smoke escapes her nose and mouth. There is no stopping the catastrophic event about to befall the planet. It will bring on an apocalypse.
The asteroid will hit within hours and wipe out most all life with potential for sentience. Some low-level life will likely survive and be able to evolve. But the dinosaurs will perish and make way for a possible different path of sentient development. With this “reset,” it will certainly take eons for anything meaningful to emerge—if it ever does. Grae’Bar and his faction will never agree that it’s the planet’s destiny—that his great dinosaur experiment has failed, and we must leave the planet’s evolution to its own devices. We are forbidden to alter the course of the asteroid and change the potential for the planet to develop an intelligent species on its own—unlike before, when he illicitly seeded it with the dinosaurs. He wants to force the dominance of dinosaurs—his pet project—onto the desolate planet.
She’leth gives the signal and the last of the dragons under her command leave the planet to return to the home world, where they will begin the process of seeking out a new planet to study. Like it or not, Grae’Bar and his subjects won’t be far behind. The Empress has ruled. We will have to wait and give whatever emerges a chance of evolving into meaningful intelligence before we return to this planet for any further study.
I grimace as I watch the rushing rapids of flood water run through the wreckage of the floor below. I cough as the acrid smoke from the burning ruins of our apartment building assaults my sinuses and lungs. I desperately clutch the collar of the small girl from across the hall with the last of my strength in my rapidly weakening fingers. I groan as I frantically hold onto her dangling body to prevent her from falling into the sweeping and surging torrents below. With the last of my strength, I heave her out of the hole and flinch as the beam above me cracks loudly and finally gives way to the fire that has mercilessly been burning its way through it. With little hope of surviving, I cover the small girl with my body the best I can. The burning beam buckles … and the building comes crashing down on top of us.
I jerk awake, drenched in sweat. I often dream of the day that changed my life. I sigh and shudder as the recurring nightmare slowly recedes from my memory. Leaving my heart still pounding in my chest. I try and settle the staccato beat into something more normal as the terror of the nightmare is slowly replaced with the reality of my bedroom. There’s no fire … no smoke choking my lungs. Only the darkness of my room and the shadows cast by the too-bright clock app on my phone. I wipe away the beads of sweat on my brow and give up on any attempt of going back to sleep. I look at the time and groan. It’s four a.m., and I know from experience that I may as well get up and face the day.
The dream is slower to fade today than normal. I shake my head and rub my bleary eyes and try to force the memory of that fateful day out of my mind ... without much success. It was two years ago but the memories are still very raw in my mind. I was barely sixteen and global climate change was just hitting its peak. That day, its effects struck our town with a vengeance. Torrential rains brought what was a year’s worth of rain a decade ago down in less than two hours. This caused flash floods deep enough to reach even the top of our hill. The water rushed into the building’s basement and quickly rose. The water swiftly reached the electrical panel and caused a short. The power went out with a huge arcing spark that quickly lit the surrounding structure on fire. Nowhere near up to code, it did not take long from that point to turn our aging apartment building into a rapidly spreading inferno.
My parents were out shopping at the time, and I was studying alone in our third-floor apartment when the disaster struck. The building actually shook from the torrents rocking its foundation at the same time the power went out. Minutes later, our floor was filling with black caustic smoke from all the burning plastics, furniture, and other toxic materials. There was no escape below because of the water. My only hope was to go up, but the fire was blocking that route. I was considering my options when I heard Sarah, our eleven-year-old neighbor, crying out for help. I covered my nose and mouth with my arm and stumbled out into the dense smoke. I hurried across the hall as quickly as I could and forced my way into their apartment to look for her. She was barely hanging on by her fingertips to the edge of a gaping hole in the floor—with water gushing past in the depths below. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. I later found out they had fallen through the hole and were swept away. I rushed over and was able to grab her hand and pull her up just as the burning ceiling above us started to cave in and more of the floor around us gave way to the floodwaters below.
I was ultimately successful in saving us both. I don’t remember our rescue from the building … only waking up in a hospital days later with no feeling in my legs and massive damage done to my back and pelvic area. The burning beam had crashed down onto my lower back and pelvis, crushing the lower portion of my body and several of my organs. A red-hot bolt was driven into my back, injecting a large inoperable molten stainless-steel mass around my spine and paralyzing me from the waist down. I also lost a kidney … and any hope of ever having children of my own.
I slap my face to pull myself away from the thoughts and finally push myself up on my strong arms and swing myself over into the wheelchair parked beside my bed. I get my useless legs situated and wheel myself over to my desk where I click on the lamp. I decide to get some studying done. I know from experience that sleeping is not an option after one of these nightmares, so I may as well prepare for my upcoming exam.
I find my book on European monarchies and open it up to the chapter on Mad King Ludwig. I still don’t get why I have to study European history for my degree in paleontology, but don’t dwell on it too much. There’s no more point in arguing required classes than there is trying to get out of taxes. I’m technically a genius and had already been accepted into college early before “the event.” I was lucky enough to still be admitted even though the accident had me out of commission for several months and classes had already started by the time I was declared fit enough to physically start courses. Now I’m in a special accelerated program and very close to graduating. I don’t do much other than studying, since I’m totally socially … awkward … and really don’t have anything better to do.
I finish the chapter and can’t help but wonder how someone like that could rule. The more I read about the monarchies of old, the more I despise them. It’s clear to me that birthright and strategic marriages are not the way to determine the fate of a country or its people.
I jerk around and look at the window as it rattles almost hard enough to shatter. I bare my teeth in a grimace at the howling winds pummeling it. I sigh. Monarchies are bad but democracy doesn’t always get it right, either. Global climate change is here to stay, in part because of choices made by our “democracy”, well republic, over the past decades. I’m not sure we’re any better than a monarchy … or a dictatorship, at this point. But at least our citizens have some say in our destiny.
Global climate change has been grossly accelerating. Not too long before I was born, it was still en vogue to “debate” its existence—at least in some dubious “scientific” circles. Over the course of my short life, arguments against it were obliterated … and its effects have multiplied exponentially. Differing administrations across the globe, ours included, have both helped or hindered efforts to mitigate it … but other countries, mostly third-world countries trying to survive, and China in its world-domination greed, ultimately pushed things over the edge and to the point of no return—leaving the planet screwed with no hope of turning it back. It became a manmade disaster without a manmade solution.
Then magic showed up.
No one knows how … or really why. Some say it’s merely a reoccurrence of ancient magic that long ago disappeared. Some say it’s something completely new. Whatever it is, it first manifested where the world’s worst offenders were causing the most damage – China, first and foremost. And in that case, it quickly became apparent that it was primarily a very dark magic. The oppressive Chinese regime seemed to foster and cultivate the darkness that this type of magic feeds on and fully embraced its power. It gave China an edge in learning to harness magic’s power ahead of the rest of the world and suddenly the rest of the world was trying to catch up with a new, very dangerous, magical world power.
When two Chinese dragon “emissaries” showed up in D.C., about six years ago, no one had a clue how to respond to or counter their magic. We’re still trying to figure it out. After our own struggles with some of our “leaders” attempting to sway us to the lure of dark magic, good ultimately prevailed and we denounced the darkness as a nation. At that point, magic started appearing here as well—Light magic. That’s not to say there isn’t still a dark faction in our country—there is. Just the same as there is a light faction in China.
Together with those from other enlightened parts of the world, individuals that have magic have slowly learned to engage it and have been able to hold off the dark advances of China, Russia, and the other black powers—those nations willing to make a deal with the evil magic that is completely devoid of light. But they’ve just barely been able to succeed. No one on our side seems to really know yet how to fully wield the white magic—nowhere near as much as the dark nations know how to wield their black magic. One major problem is that some people just seem to attract their magic and can suddenly access it, without warning or any sort of user’s manual. Overall, the scales are quickly tipping in the dark nations’ favor. It seems there may be more to these “old” powers having ancient knowledge about magic than was first thought to be true. The appearance of the dragon emissaries and their strong command of the magic, including being able to shift into human form, is just one indication of that.
Another loud bang at the window pulls me out of my reverie, and I sweep my long hair out of my eyes and behind my ears with a sigh. In the two years since “the event” that completely changed my life, not a whole lot has changed with me personally … at least not physically. Sarah and I both lost our parents that day, but we gained each other as brother and sister. “The system” let us stay together and we were placed with a single foster mother after I finally was released from the hospital. It was deemed in our mutual best interest, since our foster mother specializes in nurturing children with severe mental trauma. Sarah intensely bonded with me that day after I saved her, and it would have devastated her to break us apart. The system somehow understood that it would be cruel and that she would not survive being separated from me. I’m thankful, because I would have been hard-pressed to just let her go.
There is still no hope for my legs … or my reproductive abilities. I hadn’t yet entered any sort of noticeable puberty and any chance of that ever happening got crushed that day … literally. I’m old enough now that I could ask to be put on male hormones to compensate for my missing organs, but I haven’t pushed it, yet. To be honest, it’s just not that big a deal to me … what difference would it make other than maybe making my arms a little stronger? I’m still not going to be able to have sex—let alone children—and my arms are plenty strong enough as they are. I’m socially awkward—and that wouldn’t change with hormones. And I’m still totally confused ….
I shake my head in frustration and push my hair behind my ears again. I look very much the same as I did when the accident happened … just with much longer hair. I haven’t had it cut since that fateful day. I’m tiny, frail and almost waif-like, but I don’t care. I don’t really know what I would expect if I were to suddenly start “developing.” It’s not like I’ll ever have a chance at a real relationship, whether I take hormones, or not. Who would be interested in a pathetic wheelchair-bound cripple like me? But … if I could find someone, I honestly don’t know what I would want that relationship to even look like …. Would it be with a girl or with a boy? Both are as equally appealing prospects as they are completely foreign concepts to me.
I hiss as a sudden sharp increase in the normal background level of pain in my back makes me break out in a cold sweat. These pains have been increasing of late and are likely an indication of the foreign body shifting and pressing on nerves in a different manner. I may not be able to feel anything below my injury, but I can certainly feel everything above the inoperable molten metal “slug” in my back. The sudden pain and my gasp once again force me out of my reverie and I focus back on my book and my studies, in an attempt to ignore the pain.
I sigh as the material that originally got me mentally offtrack is brought back into focus. I mutter in frustration. “I still don’t like monarchies!”
“What was that, Alex?” Sarah comes into my room and is yawning wide. “Why are you awake again at this ungodly hour? Is your back hurting again—or was it another dream?”
“Both.” I shrug. “What are you doing up? Again?”
She stifles another yawn. “I don’t know. That weird feeling woke me up again. I still don’t know what it is, but it makes me feel … weird. I guess I must be dreaming, too … or something.”
Ever since she turned thirteen last month, she’s been having these … feelings. They seem to occur more often when I’m having a bout of episodes, too.
I pull her into my lap and into a hug. She lays her head on my shoulder and I stroke her hair. She is nearly as big as I am now. “We’re some pair, huh? But at least we have each other. We’ll figure it all out.”
She shudders and gently pushes back from my embrace but stays sitting in my lap. “Yes. I still can’t thank them enough that they let us stay together … well, and Momma Josie for taking us both in. But these … feelings … are getting stronger and it’s starting to freak me out!”
I nod. There’s not much more I can do. “I know, Sis. Could it just be puberty ramping up?” She is certainly showing her development—without question.
She screws up her face and shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s it. Momma J says this isn’t something that sounds like any ‘symptom’ of puberty that she’s aware of. It’s almost like I’m … vibrating … or tingling …. It’s hard to describe.”
I move wrong and hiss as a sharp pain shoots up my back and into my arms.
Sarah gives me a concerned look and reaches behind me to gently rub my back and help release the tension in my cramped muscles. Unfortunately, she touches the area where the slug is located, and another sharp zap-like jolt elicits another gasp from me. She looks terrified as she jerks her hands back.
I shake my head. “It’s okay, Sis. I know you didn’t mean ….”
“No!” She passionately interrupts me. “You don’t understand. I felt that, too! That … that … zap … came from me. What’s happening to me, Alex?”
I’m not sure what to say. She has to be mistaken. Except, I can feel the metal in my back … it’s like it’s burning. Like it just came out of the building fire and is radiating heat into my back muscles. It doesn’t hurt, per se. But it feels … unsettling. I clear my throat and try and pull my thoughts together. “What do you mean ‘it came from you’?”
She’s as pale as a ghost and perplexedly staring at her hands as she whispers her response. “I … I … I mean I felt myself sort of zap you and like … static electricity … or something flow from my hands into you.”
I focus on the feeling in my back and realize that the “heat” is actually making it feel better. I take a slow, deep-but-shaky breath. “I don’t know what it was, Sis. But … my back actually feels a little better. It was hurting badly before … now it’s … less.”
She gives me a terrified look. “I … I … I’m glad it helped. But what if whatever it was would have hurt you? I didn’t even mean to do it … so … how could I have controlled it? What if it happens again and I can’t … and I do hurt you … or someone else?”
I start to grab her hands and pull her into a hug, but she jumps out of my lap and pulls her arms out of my reach.
“No! don’t touch me! I … I … I don’t know what I might do to you!” She runs out of my room, tears streaming down her face.
Her door slams behind her as she storms into her room and I hear the lock click into place.
I sigh. I can’t blame her for freaking out. I would be freaked out, too. Hell! I am freaked out!
An hour later, Sis is calmed down enough that Momma J and I are able to coax her out of her room. She’s terrified to touch me, but I persuade her to braid my waist-length, jet-black hair … something that has always soothed her nerves before. It’s also usually very calming to me.
Momma J gives her an appraising look and sighs. “First off, Sarah. I want you to know that I totally believe you when you say that something is happening with you … other than puberty.” She gives her a lop-sided grin. “The thing is that I have a suspicion … one that I cannot prove on my own. So, I don’t want you to freak out, okay?”
We both eye her suspiciously, but Sis asks first. “What do you mean, Momma?”
She takes a deep breath and stares off into space. Finally, she looks back at us and shrugs. “I think you may be emitting magic.”
I wince and close my eyes. The truth is that I had come to the same conclusion, myself. I open my eyes and worriedly glance over at Sis.
She has a shocked look on her face … and is extremely pale. “Why do you think that, Momma? I mean what do you … or any of us … know about magic?” Her shocked look is rapidly turning to terror.
Momma J shakes her head. “You’re right, Hon. None of us really understand what’s going on. That doesn’t mean it’s not going on. Many scholars think it’s a reappearance of magic … something ancient. Your mother’s people … your people … certainly believe in it. Blackfoot legends are steeped in it.” She nods at me. “Alex’s Japanese ancestors also believe in it. If your mother—or Alex’s father—were here, I think there would be little debate with them on the matter. Maybe your Native American blood is allowing magic to bubble up in you? I’ve heard some rumors ….”
I grunt and give her a begrudging nod.
Sarah looks at her in disbelief. “My Blackfoot blood? Really? So … I should expect Natosi to come knocking on my door tonight? Maybe Kamorkis? Why not have the Sun God and the Moon Goddess come to celebrate my new-found magic?”
Momma J actually giggles. “Okay, okay. A little less skepticism … or is that cynicism? Certainly, a lot less scorn and sarcasm! I’m serious! We don’t know where all of this emerging magic is coming from and some of my more scholarly friends are hypothesizing that it is manifesting mostly in those with ties to its ancient roots.”
I laugh. “As long as Ryujin, the Japanese Dragon King, doesn’t come to visit me, I’m good!” I look at Sis and get serious. “All kidding aside, Sis. I think Momma J may be onto something.” I look at Momma J “Any idea how to research this hypothesis?”
To my surprise, Momma shrugs. “I … have no idea, to be honest. But I have friends … well people that know people … that do.”
Sis finishes up with my long braid and pats me on the shoulder.
I gasp as another zap jolts down my spine and the heat in my back once again intensifies. “I think you may need to hurry up and contact them then, Momma J.”
"Who is this we're going to see, Momma?" Sarah is giving Momma J a skeptical look.
"Ummm … Well … She's … ummm … Well, she's the sister of the acquaintance of a friend." Momma J looks unsure.
I grin. "So, you have no idea how this is supposed to go? Aaaaannnnnnnnnd … you have no idea whether this friend's acquaintance's sister is even legitimate?"
"Well, if you want to put it that way …." She shakes her head. "No. But I don't see anyone coming up with any better ideas!"
Sis is still totally freaked out. She hasn't touched me, or anyone else for that matter, since the last zap she gave me yesterday. My back is still radiating warm tendrils from that last contact and, overall, the pain is still a little better than normal. Which has only served to freak her out even more. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Momma? What if they think I'm crazy? It's not like I can control this … or demonstrate it on command!"
Momma J shrugs. "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Okay, Sweetie? Now … let's see … here we are." She points at the door of a small brownstone in downtown DC. We traveled here from our home in Alexandria on the Metro, in the sweltering heat of another record-breaking day, and have been going in circles for the past fifteen minutes trying to find the correct address. She leads us up the stone path and rings the doorbell before we can change our minds.
The door opens almost immediately, and a diminutive, twenty-something, pink-haired Asian girl looks at us. "Can I help you? Oh! You must be Josie Bauer. I'm Pinkie! Come in! It's scorching out here!" She scowls at my wheelchair. Not because I think she's bothered by it but is more worried about how to get me over the large stone threshold and through the door before the hundred and twenty-some-odd degree heat outside takes over the house.
Sis just smiles sweetly at her and expertly maneuvers my chair over the obstacle and inside where it's blessedly cool. At least the wind is below sixty miles an hour today and the chance of torrential rain is below forty percent, so overall it's a nice day.
Once we're inside and cooling off, Pinkie offers Momma J and Sis a seat on the sofa next to where she indicates Sis to park me. Pinkie takes a seat in a squeaky orange-velvet swivel chair that totally clashes with her hair and smiles inquisitively. "So, Ms. Bauer, I have to say I was a little surprised to be contacted by my sister to talk to someone about potential magic. Is this more a hypothetical inquiry?" She looks pointedly at Sis. "Or is it more of a concrete inquiry?" She looks at me.
I study her. She's obviously Asian … or more likely … Polynesian. Maybe a Pacific Islander? Anyway, she's doesn't look too much older than me, but she exudes a strange confidence. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like she's older than she appears. I also can't help but wonder if she thinks we're on some sort of quest to find some potential magic that will make me walk again. I almost snort at the thought.
Pinkie gives me a funny look but stays quiet. She's obviously waiting on an answer.
Momma J takes a deep breath and finally answers. "Well … a little of both, I guess. Other than the fact that we know that magic somehow exists, we don't really know anything about it."
Pinkie nods, then looks at Sis. "So, how long has your magic been sparking? I can tell you have it and assume that, like most girls, you started puberty at around age twelve, and that you turned thirteen not long ago? And now you're confused? Does that about sum it up?"
Momma J sucks in a surprised breath and Sis looks like she'd been slapped.
Pinkie supposedly had no idea why we were here. At least nothing concrete. She shakes her head. "Don't look so surprised! The reason you're here is to get answers. You need someone with magical knowledge … with magic to answer your questions. I can sense the magic in you. Mine just appeared out of nowhere when I was thirteen, and about a year after I started puberty, too. It totally freaked me out! I was one of the very first known individuals to be blessed with it. That was about six years ago, and I had no one to ask questions or to get answers from, back then."
Sis is biting her lip. "I … I … I zapped Alex! Twice! I don't how … or why … or even what I did to him!"
Pinkie nods. "I'm very sensitive to magic and can feel it emerging in you. My power is however not in divining what your core strength is, although I do have a suspicion. Anyway, I can tell it's strong in you. You have Native American blood in you, correct?" She glances at Momma J, then back at Sis. "Your genetic mother or father was full-blooded?"
"Mama was full-blooded Blackfoot. Why?" Sis looks suspicious. It's not like you can't see that she has Native American blood in her.
Pinkie shrugs. "Magic seems to be most strongly manifesting in individuals with ties to the old ways and believers in ancient magic. You likely have ancestors with strong bonds to magic. We'll have to talk to some … friends … to probe your family line." Then she looks at me and blows me away. "And when did your magic emerge?"
I disappointedly shake my head. Just when I was starting to believe her, she shows her true colors. She has no idea what she's talking about! It's all a scam. "Me? You almost had me fooled. If you think I have magic, then you're obviously a sham!"
Momma J is obviously upset with me. "Alex! That's enough! You need to apologize, right this minute!"
I shake my head again. But I know better than to infuriate Momma J. "Look. I'm sorry, but I don't have any magic."
Pinkie gives me a hard look. "There's no need to apologize. I get the skepticism. Magic is too new and there are too few of us with it for non-mages to not be suspicious. Even those of us that do have it are still feeling our way through what it even means to have it. But what I can promise you with absolute certainty is that you do have magic … strong magic. It does seem that something is blocking its full emergence but exploring that further would also require some probing by some … friends. I'm no healer, although, I suspect your sister may be. But you obviously have Asian heritage, and your mother here is obviously of Germanic descent, so you're not blood siblings."
Momma J speaks up. "Alex and Sarah are my adoptive children. I started out fostering them two years ago."
Pinkie nods. "Yes. I can tell that you have strong ancestral bonds to magic, as well, Alex. And the two of you have some other very strong magical bond … something centered in sacrifice and love …." She's quiet for a minute then quickly speaks up. "Okay! I think it's time to take you to someone with more power and experience than I have. You deserve answers that I simply cannot give you. But it's clear that you've passed the initial screening."
I sigh as I quickly roll myself off the pneumatic wheelchair lift and into the back of the windowless cargo van. Pinkie, Momma J, and Sis are already safely out of the torrential rain and seated in swiveling captain's chairs that are bolted to the soaked carpeted floor of the van. We are briefly shrouded in complete blackness as the driver closes the sliding door and I shudder. At least it blocks out the wind and driving rain, but I sigh in relief when the lights flicker on. I don't do well in dark, enclosed spaces. Not ever since … the event.
Pinkie smiles encouragingly. "I'm sorry that we had to pick you up at home like this … and I can't let you know where we're going. It will become clear why when we get there … but there are protocols. It's not far but you know how DC traffic can be … especially in this weather." She shrugs.
I barely get my wheels locked before the van splashes its way out into traffic and quickly accelerates. I hadn't slept again last night. In addition to the usual nightmares, I was plagued with weird dreams of being consumed by magic. They were totally bogus figments of my imagination, however. No matter what Pinkie says, I don't have any magic—so there's no sense dreaming about it. I shake my head and look at Sis.
She seems worried. "Are you really positive that we have magic, Pinkie? And that it might be some sort of 'healing' magic? What does that even mean?"
Pinkie nods, her eyes bright, even in the gloom of the dim incandescent bulbs illuminating the back of the van. "There's no doubt about the presence of your magic, Sarah. The type of magic will reveal itself when someone with more specificity divination than I have can test you. Think of it like a medical screening test for something like bacteria. Those tests have to be very sensitive to pick up on the presence of bacteria, but they usually aren't very specific, meaning they can't discern what kind of bacteria it is that they're picking up on. With me, I can detect very minute levels of magic, but I can't tell what kind of magic—other than whether it's dark or light … or other. Make sense?"
I find myself nodding along with Momma J and Sis. "What you're saying makes sense from a scientific perspective. But I'm sorry, your sensitivity must be off if it's picking up magic in me."
She shakes her head and gives me a knowing smile. "We'll see. There are people where we're headed that have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to definitively settle that argument, once and for all."
We ride along in silence for several minutes, the van stopping and going with the usual frequency of driving in downtown DC. Pinkie occasionally holds her hand to her ear and seems to be listening to something. It becomes obvious that she has an "earpiece" in and is listening to someone talking to her. She smiles and nods. "We made better time than usual. The rain is actually working in our favor, it seems. We just have to clear the last checkpoint and we'll be ready to meet up with our specialists."
I don't know why, but I'm suddenly nervous. We're going through a checkpoint? And what does she mean by "last" checkpoint? That implies multiple checkpoints. I don't ask Pinkie about it, however, since she's obviously listening to the voices in her ear again.
The van comes to a full stop, and she gets up and moves towards the door. "We're here." Someone opens the door from the outside and I see that we're in a parking garage … a dry parking garage … with no wind to buffet us around. Pinkie steps out and beckons for us to follow.
Sis and Momma J step out and the driver maneuvers the lift into place for me to also exit. There's still no indication of where we are. There are several parked black SUVs with limo-tinted windows and an elevator in sight. Nothing else.
The elevator doors open and four guys in dark suits step out. They're clearly security types of some sort. They almost look like Secret Service—or at least what I picture someone in the Secret Service would look like. They walk over our way but stop out of ear range where Pinkie quietly confers with them for a few minutes. When she's done, she turns back to us. "Okay. We're cleared to go in."
Without a word, one of the suits comes over and takes control of my chair, pushing me into the elevator. Pinkie follows the other three suits and leads Sis and Momma J into the elevator. It turns out to be a freight-sized elevator and easily accommodates all of us.
The door closes and one of the suits uses a key card to activate the panel. He pushes a button, and we go down two floors. The doors open up to a long, well-lit tunnel. Two of the suits lead the way, followed by Pinkie and Sis. One of the suits continues to push me but keeps me next to Momma J and behind Sis. The fourth suit brings up the rear. We follow the tunnel, and it takes several minutes to come to another elevator, which we promptly enter.
After a quick trip up, we exit the elevator in a hallway with a view of the White House … and the Rose Garden separating it us from it. Momma J gasps. "We're in the West Wing?"
Pinkie nods. "As you might surmise, magic has become a matter of national security. Dark magic is a clear and present danger to the country. My job is to screen identified mages for dark magic and their potential. Those that are cleared of any dark taint and have a certain level of potential are brought here for further evaluation." She looks at Sis and me. "Both of you qualify."
"Bull shit!" It comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. I turn bright red and feel Momma J's eyes on me. "Sorry! But I told you that I don't have any magic!"
Pinkie shrugs. "We're about to find out. Come with me, please. Josie, as their legal guardian, you're allowed in with them … for now."
She opens the door to a room and sweeps her arm toward the interior to indicate that we should enter. My suit pushes me in ahead of the others and I'm shocked at the mundaneness of the conference room. I roll my eyes at my own stupidity—I'm not sure what I expected. A conference room with four "normal"-looking people wasn't it, however. Well … "conference room" isn't quite right, either. Lounge? Library? There are couches and comfortable looking chairs around coffee tables, along with a lot of bookshelves full of colorful books.
Pinkie follows Sis and Momma J in, and my suit exits as she closes the door. "Okay, Josie, Sarah, and Alex, please meet Cat, Ginger, Rob, and Vick." She points at each of us as she says our names. "Josie, why don't you take a seat over there and Cat can start with Sarah?"
Momma J nods and sits demurely in a comfy-looking gold crushed-velvet loveseat.
Sis looks terrified as Cat, a very tall and elegant ebony-skinned beauty with perfect teeth beckons her over. "Hi Sarah, there's no need to be scared. I'm just going to give you a quick preliminary scan to decide where to go next with your evaluation. I promise it won't hurt."
I have to bite my tongue to keep from cracking a joke about "Cat scans."
Sis is obviously not in a joking mood and simply nods before walking over to the couch where Cat is sitting.
Cat gestures for her to sit beside her and gently places her hands on Sis' face once she has settled in. She gets a look of utter concentration on her face and nods resolutely after a few seconds. "Okay, Sarah. Would you please tell me a little about your magical experiences, so far?"
Sis sort of deflates and looks miserable. "Ummm … Well, I sort of … zapped Alex when I was rubbing his back the other day. Then I did it again when I was braiding his hair the next day. I have no idea how or why … or even what I did to him. Nothing like that has ever happened before that."
Cat nods and looks over at me. "Alex, can you describe what happened from your vantage point?"
I shrug. "Well, it's pretty much what she said. She zapped me twice. It was kind of like a really strong static electric shock that she gave me. It did make the area sort of glow and radiate warmth where the metal mass is embedded in my back."
She pauses and thinks about that. "When you say 'glow', do you mean with light or with heat … or both?"
"Well, I couldn't see it." I shrug. "So, I couldn't speak to whether it emanated light. But it felt a lot like the metal heated up in my back … it was eerily like when it was the original event … but it didn't hurt. I don't know … does that make any sense?"
Her left eyebrow goes up. "It does. Completely. That was a great description. Fortunately, having read your file, I know about your accident, so it makes total sense. How does it feel now?"
She's read my file? What file? I shake my head and concentrate on my back for a second. "It feels … I don't know … a little better. I normally have chronic pain above the mass … I can't feel anything below it. But that pain is somehow … better. Not gone. Not good. But … less." I throw up my hands in frustration. "It's hard to explain!"
She shakes her head. "You did fine! I obviously can't relate, but I think I get it. Do you mind if Ginger gives you a quick examination? She's a healer and this has nothing to do with your magical evaluation, but it might help us with Sarah's."
I shrug. "Uhhhh … sure?"
Ginger, like Pinkie seems to be named after her hair color. Although, I assume "Pinkie" is a nickname. Ginger is a fair-skinned, freckled beauty who has laugh lines around her mouth and worry lines around her eyes. She nods and comes over to kneel in front of me. "Don't worry, Hon. This won't hurt. I'm just going to lay my hands on your back. Can you lean forward just enough to give my hands room to get in there?"
I nod and lean forward a few inches.
She places her hands on the small of my back and is quiet for a few minutes.
It feels kind of weird … I feel a slight tingle. Nothing like the zaps I got from Sis. I focus on her face. Her eyes are closed in concentration, but my eyes are still drawn to her long eyelashes and the bluish-green makeup on her eyelids. I had noticed they were green before she shut them. I also notice her flowery perfume, since she is leaning in really close to me.
She finally leans back and takes her hands off me. She has something between a frown and a sad look on her face. "I'm so sorry, Hon. I can feel the damage and the pain. I'm a fairly strong healer, but this is beyond my ability to repair, given the extent of the injury and its age. If I had been there closer to the event … maybe …. Anyway, I can feel that something has been at work on the injury. I suspect your sister's 'zap' is the explanation of that 'something.'" She winks.
Cat nods. "Sarah, would you mind trying to recreate the effect? Let's see if we can observe whether they are healing abilities in action. Don't worry, you won't harm Alex, I promise." She looks at me. "That promise goes to you, too, Alex. We won't let any harm come to you from this evaluation."
I nod nonchalantly and Sarah looks unsure. I smile encouragingly at her and wink. "Come braid my hair, Sis!"
She rolls her eyes and sighs but comes over and hesitantly starts braiding my hair. She just finishes up and touches my shoulders with her hands when I feel a strong zap … much stronger than the ones before. I gasp as my back heats up.
Sis tries to pull her hands back, but Ginger quickly steps in and holds them in place on my shoulders.
I feel the zap turn into a … flow. The best I can describe it is like when I once accidentally touched a live electric wire and felt the hot tingle that flowed through my body. This is very similar. The flow seems to be going straight to my injury and I can feel the metal in my back getting hot. It's actually starting to hurt a little … in my legs. I gasp in surprise and Sarah violently jerks her hands away. The flow and the pain in my legs stops but the heat remains in my back.
"You promised I wouldn't hurt him!" Sis has tears flowing from her haunted eyes.
I shake my head. "You didn't hurt me, Sis. Really! But … How? I could feel minor pain in my legs! I haven't felt anything in my legs since … waking up after … the event!"
Ginger looks at Cat and nods. Cat seems to know whatever that means, and Ginger looks very seriously at Sis. "I didn't let you hurt Alex, Sarah. I was monitoring your flow while I was holding your hands and ensuring you had good contact with him. You will ultimately learn to inject your healing magic into a patient without contact, but that is more advanced magic. I can confirm a couple of things, however. One, you do have strong healing magic, which is rare and part of why we wanted to evaluate you here. And two, you have a very strong magical connection with your brother. That's something for Rob, however, to further delve into."
Sis doesn't look placated and is now giving Ginger a scathing look.
I process what she just said. So, Cat is the "specificity divination" expert that Pinkie had referred to earlier. Ginger is a healer. Rob must be some sort of … psychic? Someone that can sense bonds, or connections, or something. That leaves Vick and I wonder what his "strength" is. I also think about Ginger's statement that there's a magical bond between Sis and me. That could explain some things, but I'll hold off on drinking that Kool-Aid for a bit longer. I look at my legs and remember the short-lived pain that I had felt. There could be something to it, I guess.
Rob, a mousy-looking, short, brown-headed guy in an ill-fitting suit, speaks up for the first time. "I'll look into the connection after Cat is finished with her evaluation of both mages. It sounds like they could have bonded somehow. Maybe the accident."
I sigh. They don't get it! I'm not a "mage." I don't have any magic! It's cool that Sis does, though. Even if she's currently a little freaked out about it … and maybe a lot pissed.
Cat nods and comes over to stand by Ginger, who steps out of the way. "Okay, Alex. Do you mind if I probe you—magically, of course!" She winks.
"Go ahead." I shrug and mutter, "You're wasting your time, though." I suddenly blush as I think I finally get why she winked. I guess she must like to physically probe, too. I've heard that girls are getting into doing that to guys, now.
"Humor me." She smiles and places her hands on my face. She spends several minutes with them there and seems to intensely concentrate, which just confirms my suspicion that there's nothing to find. She can look all she wants! Finally, she pulls her hands away and has a … shocked expression on her face. No, not shocked … more concerned, maybe? "Well, Alex. You're certainly an enigma!"
Momma J looks concerned now, too. "Why? Is there something wrong with Alex? What did you find?"
I want to blurt out that she didn't find anything! There's nothing to find!
"No, there is nothing wrong with Alex." Cat shakes her head and sighs as she looks me straight in the eye. "You're correct when you think that you have no magic …."
I want to shout, "See!" I simply give her a satisfied and an "I told you so" look. I hold back on sticking out my tongue at her.
She just rolls her eyes and pats my knee. "There is no reason for you to know that you do. You have very strong magic, Alex. It's just still latent." She looks at Ginger and then back at me. "We don't understand everything about where magic comes from … or why it manifests in some individuals and not in others. Overall, it's still very rare even to have magic of any kind. There are fewer than ten thousand known mages in the U.S., and most of them manifested well before we started registering them."
Registered? That sounds ominous.
Ginger nods. "What we do know—through anecdotal evidence and other corroboration—is that for those that do manifest magic, it typically happens approximately one year after onset of puberty. We can typically sense any latent magic after puberty has started and before it manifests. We normally can't sense anything before puberty starts."
Cat sighs. "We shouldn't be able to sense anything in you, Alex. You haven't started puberty. There should be no signs of magic in you for us to detect. But here we are. This leads me to believe it has something to do with your bond to your sister. Or … maybe you're just an exception to the rules we don't understand yet. Your magic is certainly exceptionally strong, so it could have other exceptions, too." She pauses a beat. "But it is also exceedingly rare. All of that is why Pinkie wanted to bring you here—for us to confirm her initial scan."
I blink. I have no idea what to say to any of that.
Momma J looks intrigued. "Do you mean if Alex starts taking hormones to force puberty that his magic will manifest? And what kind is it, if it's so rare?"
Ginger shakes her head. "The short answer to your first question is that I have no idea. We've never encountered this situation before. My suspicion, though, is that artificially inducing puberty will not trigger whatever is necessary for the magic to manifest. That's just an educated guess, however."
Cat steps in. "As for your second question …. Alex's core strength is war magic. That's fairly uncommon, but not actually rare. Vick has war magic."
I look at Vick, a burly sort of guy with a full beard and an overall aura that somehow reminds me of a Viking. I wonder what having war magic means, but I assume his presence is for security purposes. He winks at me.
"The part that's rare is the source of Alex's magic." Cat pauses and looks around the room. "I know you don't have any background in magical theory. It's not like we have a famous school of magic in a hidden castle, or anything like that to teach this stuff." She giggles. "Anyway, there are two mainstream sources of magic. There is dark magic, which is powered by ill intent and well … evil … for lack of a better way to explain it. Then there is light magic, which is powered by benevolent intent … and good. There is however one other very rare source of magic. We call it red magic. It is why even your initial evaluation is here at the White House. As you can imagine, we wouldn't normally do first-level evaluations on-site here. Normally there would have been a much more thorough vetting before you would have been brought here for a final evaluation and placement, but in your unique case there was a specific request for you to be brought straight here."
Pinkie has her hand on her forehead, not her ear, and seems to be listening to something. "He's on his way …."
I've never had the slightest interest in a relationship of any kind—outside of with my family. I've never had a heartthrob on TV, or a singer in a band I've pined over. Friends have never been high on my agenda—and a “significant other" of any kind never even made my agenda … period, full stop. I'm an antisocial, eighteen-year-old cripple in a wheelchair, who has never entered puberty—so no big surprise there.
But when the door opens and this gorgeous Black God enters, my heart stops … then starts beating at a hard and very rapid pace. I take in a surprised deep breath at my own reaction to the sight of him and blush. I hear Momma J and Sis gasp, too. I look at them and wonder if they think he's a gorgeous hunk, too?
Momma J is looking past me at the hunk. “You're Race Cannon, President Cannon's son, right? My eyes aren't deceiving me?"
He bows with a grand flourish. “Guilty as charged!"
Sis giggles.
I look over at her and am suddenly jealous that she could have a chance with a guy like him. Not that she's old enough to, right now—but someday she will be. She'll be a beautiful young lady … and I'll still be a pathetic broken body in a wheelchair.
“Your Highness, meet Alex, Sarah, and Josie." Pinkie gestures to each of us as she introduces us.
I can't concentrate on that. All I can think about is that he's gorgeous … and what she called him. Your Highness? WTF? Gorgeous hunk or not—he's the eldest son of our second Black president … not some prince. Did I miss a major constitutional rewrite, or something?
He smiles brightly and shows off his gleaming white, perfectly straight teeth. His voice is deep and caresses my ears like a sweetly played bassoon. “It's nice to meet all of you. Alex, might I steal you away for a bit, while your sister finishes her evaluation?"
I melt in his gaze and feel myself blush as I dreamily nod. Like I'm going to say no! “Ummmm … sure. But I don't understand. This is all so … confusing!"
He gives me a smoldering look—or at least that's how I interpret it—and I dissolve even more. “I'll clear up what I can, but some things are going to take some time to explain—and some things will depend on you."
I'm not sure what to do with that cryptic response, but Momma J nods her approval. “Go with him, Hon. If you're not safe with the president's son, then you're not safe anywhere."
I'm surprised when he takes my chair's handles into his own hands, and I can smell his musky … and smoky(?) … cologne as he pushes me out the door. My heart pounds hard in my chest and a whole flock of butterflies flutters in my stomach. I don't say anything as he silently pushes me down the hall and into a well-lit corner office with a picturesque view of the Rose Garden.
He parks my chair where I have the best view—both out the window and of the chair that he sits in at a small conference table. The table is empty except for a wireless keyboard and computer mouse. I almost jump when he breaks the silence. “Would you like something to drink? Soda? Coffee? Water?"
I try and pull moisture back into my suddenly desert-dry mouth. I nod timidly and my voice squeaks and cracks a little. “I would actually die for some coffee—if it's not too weak. Otherwise, maybe a Pepsi?"
He smiles that million-dollar smile again and I would be weak in the knees if I could actually feel them. “Coffee—well espresso—it is, then! I abhor weak coffee! Do you take it black?"
I nod and try and push the strange erotic thoughts aside that are suddenly forcing their way into my mind. I have no idea why talking about strong, black coffee with this powerful, Black God is causing them. His broad shoulders are an indication that he's well-muscled in ways that I could never be. He has to be over six feet tall and he simply dwarfs me … or would, if I could stand next to him. His deep resonating voice is giving me literal shivers and is making me tingle in funny ways. “Please … and no sugar."
He smiles brighter and goes to an espresso machine in the corner, where he presses us both fresh nectar from heaven. He brings my cup over and sets it in front of me. Then he takes his and stands with his broad back to me, looking out the window in thought.
He takes a sip of his espresso and sighs, then turns back to me and gestures toward the window … or more accurately what is visible in the window. “Six years ago, my father was a newly-elected president and was giving a speech right down there. That speech was interrupted by two Dragons swooping in and announcing the rise of the Dragons and China's magical rule in the new world order. Do you happen to remember that moment?"
I reflect back to that day. We still lived in Washington State and Father still worked for Big Tech out there. None of us had been watching the speech live—I'm not even sure it was broadcast live—but we certainly saw it on the news as it broke in on regularly scheduled programming, not long after it happened … and then for days after that. Father acted really strange in the days following that event. He quit his job out west and moved us here to the national capitol region without a word of explanation … at least to me. If Mom knew why, she never said.
I jerk as I realize that he's still waiting on an answer and nod. “Yes. I remember." I take a sip of espresso to gather my wits and smile appreciatively at the strong jolt of caffeine.
He sits and nods. “I was there that day. It was a defining moment for me … I was fifteen and about a year into my late-onset puberty. My magic showed up shortly after that day. Magic that connects you and me."
I give him a perplexed look … not sure where he's headed with this. It's interesting that he has magic, though.
“Now, I understand you have war magic at your core." He gives me another brilliant smile that turns me into a gooey puddle and threatens to have me flow out of the chair and onto the floor. He suddenly gets up and goes to press us another espresso, leaving me in suspense. When he returns with my second cup, he grins and winks. “But our core magic is not what connects us. What connects us is our extremely rare red magic source."
I take a large sip of my espresso to cover my surprise and grimace as it burns my mouth. I blow on the rest and look over the edge of the cup and through the rising steam at his beautiful blue eyes. “So … I'm still not convinced that I have magic, let alone whether it's red, white, or blue. But for argument's sake … let's say I do. So, just what is red magic?"
He jumps up and returns to the window with a sigh. “I can't tell you. Not yet. We have a lot to discuss, and you have a lot to learn before I explain that." He turns back toward me, and his beautiful blue eyes focus on me, exuding sincerity. “But trust me. Red magic is real … and you have it. It's just untapped. Pinkie first felt it and Cat confirmed it. I can also sense it."
I sit there silently for several minutes and just look at him, then drain my cup before I get lost in those eyes again and grimace once more—this time because the espresso has turned slightly tepid. I take a deep breath. “Okay. I'll take your word on that … for the moment. If we can't talk about that, then what do we talk about? Why am I here?"
He sits back down and takes the small keyboard in his hands. He taps out something and blackout shades descend over the windows. A movie screen descends, and a projector pops out of the ceiling and starts warming up. “What I'm about to show you is top secret. We have vetted you and I'm confident that I can trust you. But I'm going to ask first—can I trust you? Will you keep what I'm about to divulge to yourself—even from your sister and foster mother? I need your word."
The room is now pitch black, except for the cone of light coming from the projector and shining on the white screen.
WTF? Top Secret? He's trusting me? With what? This is so weird …. “I mean sure. I guess. As long as you don't want me to cover up something illegal or immoral. I won't do that, so don't test me!"
He laughs and it gives me more shivers. Not creepy ones … but the tingly ones that start me thinking erotic thoughts again. I don't even have what it takes to be erotic—physically or hormonally—so I have no idea where they are coming from. “Deal!" He types some more, and a grainy video starts playing on the screen. He pauses it as soon as it starts and looks over at me.
My eyes have better adjusted to the darkness, and I shiver at his gaze. I push the confusing and unbidden thoughts aside. I focus on the screen and the paused picture and can't help but blurt out my surprise. “Are those Tyrannosaurus Rexes? Don't tell me … you're a budding sci-fi director and want to do a remake of Jurassic Park? I'm sorry to say that the retro-staticky grain and black-and-white picture don't do it for me. The whole Blaire Witch vibe went out a long time ago." I can't help but feel let down. But I still can't get his beautiful blue eyes out of my mind, so I dreamily focus on them as I dismiss his failed attempt at sci-fi.
He wordlessly presses “Play" and points to the screen.
I sigh and watch a very bizarre video of some sort of compound that contains multiple T. Rexes, Ankylosaurs, and Triceratopses. I know this has to be some sort of fake because they're all commingling and seemingly getting along—even though it seems to be a strained truce and they occasionally snap at each other. After a few minutes, I see a dragon fly in and all of the dinosaurs fall into line like soldiers. I shake my head. “This is a weird movie. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. I don't think you have a blockbuster here!"
He snorts. “This is satellite feed from China from three days ago. A feed that they allowed to come through."
I drop the bone china espresso cup that I had been absentmindedly playing with. It has the official White House seal on it and thankfully it doesn't shatter. “You're telling me this is real? That is … difficult to believe."
“I understand." He nods and has a dead-serious look on his face. “Like your magic, it nonetheless is real … and true." He types some more and the feed switches. Suddenly there are about three times the number of dinosaurs present—including some Velociraptors. There are also two dragons visible. “This is a live feed."
“Velociraptors? Why does this really seem like a bad remake of Jurassic Park? How do you know they aren't somehow hacking the satellite feed? This seems … too bizarre." I look at the two dragons and gasp as I think I recognize them—not that I'm a dragon expert or know how to tell them apart. But these look like them. “Are those the two dragons that showed up here that day?"
He nods and growls. “Yes. They're building an army—an illegal one—and they're flaunting it. It's no hack. What you are seeing is real."
I shake my head. An illegal army. Is there such a thing? I don't know how to respond. Finally, I laugh at the absurdity of it all. “Okay. Again … I'll take your word for it. I don't know what you would gain by trying to dupe me with this. I also don't get what this even has to do with me." I pause and try to get my brain to wrap itself around reality again.
I look up and fall into the depths of those bottomless blue eyes and grasp at straws to pull myself back to sanity. “I … I … I mean … Did I hear Pinkie right? Did she call you, 'Your Highness'? What is that about? A nickname maybe?"
He guffaws as those beautiful blues crinkle in mirth. “Something like that. I'll tell you about it, some day—as soon as I can explain red magic to you. It really is a fascinating story how I came to be called that. But one step at a time!"
The drive home is shrouded in awkward silence. None of us really want to talk openly with Pinkie in the van escorting us. Not that we don't trust her—we just want to talk in private. I groan inwardly knowing that I can't speak about anything that I learned, no matter what. I made a promise, and I will honor it—not that they would believe a word of what I would divulge, anyway. I mean, even I don't completely believe it. But I'm not looking forward to having to keep the secret, either way.
When we're in the house alone, we all sit around the kitchen table waiting for the pizza to be delivered that Momma J ordered on the ride home. Thankfully Pinkie declined the invitation to eat with us. I think she sensed we needed our privacy.
I look at Sis and can't hold back anymore. “So, what happened while I was in my meeting with Race?"
She giggles. “Wait? I have to go first? What about you?"
I sigh and hang my head. “I can't talk about my meeting. I … gave my word. It's classified …."
“Why should I talk about my stuff then?" Sis pouts petulantly.
Momma J slaps her lightly on the wrist. “Sarah! If Alex gave his word and was trusted with classified information, then we have to just let our curiosity eat us up. But we can't expect him to break his word … or a trust placed in him."
Sarah sticks out her bottom lip and sighs. “I know. But it sucks!" She smiles to let me know she's not really mad at me. “Anyway. I practiced calling on and controlling my healing magic with Ginger. Now, don't think I can really call on it on demand … or control it when it decided to be nice and show itself. But we practiced quite a bit and it left me … drained. So, something was happening."
At that moment, the doorbell rings and Momma J goes to accept the pizzas. There is a gust of hot wind that blows through the house when she opens the door, making it seem like she's taking them straight out of the oven. She comes back and places the two stacked large pizza boxes on the table. The smell makes my mouth water. I'm starving!
Sis opens the boxes as Momma J gets paper plates. She takes a piece of the pepperoni
and places it on one of the plates and then hands it to me. “At least there's no secret that you like pepperoni!" She giggles.
We dig in and just enjoy the food in silence while we eat our first piece, then Momma J doles out the next round and picks up the conversation. “Okay. So, you both are scheduled back there tomorrow morning. You're excused from school again, Sarah … and it's a good thing that you're on an asynchronous schedule, Alex. There's no telling how long they will want you to keep coming in. Anyway, Pinkie will pick you up at seven. I have to work the early shift, so you'll be on your own. I guess I can trust the White House to take care of you!" She winks. “This is all rather … unsettling, though."
I grimace. “You think?" She gives me a dark look and I blush and grin. “Sorry! I mean … duh!"
“You're a piece of work, young man!" She waves me off. “Just because you're eighteen and got a top secret briefing from the president's son doesn't mean I can't still discipline you! How does a week without coffee sound?" She giggles at my horrified face.
I know she's kidding. But I also know she's right. I need to get my mouth under control. Being anti-social is no excuse for being rude. “I'm sorry, Momma J … sometimes things just slip out. I'm working on it." I play with the new photo ID still dangling around my neck. We all got one and they will gain us access to the West Wing without an escort, should we ever need it. I lift it up and wave it around. “But you're one hundred percent correct—this is just outright weird!"
Sis talks a little more about working with Ginger, but it's hard for me to concentrate on what she's saying, since I can't relate to what she's talking about without having experienced it. At least Momma J was there to witness it. Race's eyes keep entering my thoughts … and the shivers he gave me when he laughed and talked.
After about an hour, I consolidate the leftovers into one pizza box and then place both boxes on my lap to clean up. I roll over to the refrigerator and put the full box inside and throw the empty one in the recycling. “I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm pretty beat, and it will be an early day, tomorrow. Sis, can you stop by my room before you go to bed?"
She nods and I roll over to give Momma J a hug. I may be eighteen, but I still give her one every night. “Good night, Momma J. Sleep well!"
“You too, Hon. Sweet dreams!" She hugs me back and kisses me on the cheek before I roll to my room.
I've brushed my teeth and am in bed by the time Sis comes in. She has a wary expression on her face and her lips are pursed in thought. “What's up, Bro? I know that look and I'm not sure I like it! It always means trouble—usually for me." She kind of growls at me.
I give her my best angelic look and smile. “Will you please 'zap' me? I want to see if I can feel my legs again."
“Absolutely not! Alex, I don't know what I'm doing! I still don't know what I'm doing to you!" She's vehemently shaking her head.
“Hear me out, Sis! I know you're scared of your new powers, but I can feel my … connection to you getting stronger. It's been there ever since 'the event' … always in the background, but it was there. I never understood it. I still don't get it. But after Ginger held your hands on me today, I could feel it get stronger … and somehow I just know that it won't let you hurt me." I give her a pleading look. If I could get on my knees and beg her, I would.
She's still shaking her head, but not as viciously. “I've felt the connection, too. I've never understood it, either. Cat, Ginger, and Rob want to explore it more when they can get us together long enough. I just don't want to hurt you. I don't know what I would do if I lost you, too. I could never forgive myself if I hurt you!"
I feel tears well up in my eyes and force myself to quell them. “I know, Sis. I feel the same way about you. But … if there is even the slightest chance that I could at least feel my legs again, I have to take it. Please?"
She shudders … and sighs. “I'm not going to maintain contact for long … not until I know more about what I'm doing. Okay?"
I nod. I won't get any better offer, I know. Sis can be really stubborn. I take a deep breath and relax in my bed. “Okay. I'll take what you can give me."
She shakes her head again. “I hope we don't both regret this!" She seems to withdraw into her own mind to gather her confidence … and timidly places her hands on my bare chest.
I feel the initial “zap" and her reluctance to continue – both through her initial reflex to pull back her hands … and through our strengthening link. She forces her hands to maintain contact with my skin and the “zap" quickly turns into a tingling flow—like an electric current running from her fingers to the molten mass in my back. It's like the metal is a lightning rod … attracting and absorbing the current. Then I can feel a tingle in my legs—like a really bad case of them waking up from “going to sleep." It hurts, but it feels good at the same time. I can feel them!
I can't keep this up! I don't know what I'm doing, and I can tell he's in pain!
I gasp and my eyes jerk up to Sis. It's good pain! I can feel my legs!
Her eyes go wide as she hears my thoughts—the same as I had heard hers. She jerks her hands back in surprise—just as I feel my toes curl.
“No! Keep it up! Don't stop!" The feeling is already disappearing from my legs, even if the heat is still palpable in my back. “My toes were moving!" I look at her … my eyes begging. All I can focus on is that thought.
She's panting and her brow is glistening with sweat. “I … I … I heard you in my mind! You were communicating telepathically with me! I … I …."
It settles in that I did hear her in my mind. But it doesn't matter. “Yes. Maybe! So what? You have to keep on! I could feel my toes move! That's all that matters!"
She shakes her head. “I can't, Alex!" She seems to concentrate, like she's trying to send me a thought.
I don't hear her in my head, anymore—and she doesn't seem to hear me. If she did, she would hear my frantic shouts. Please keep going!
“I can't hear you in my head anymore. That was weird. I have to think about this … talk to Ginger … I'm not saying I won't try again. We just need guidance … and I need to understand what the fuck just happened!"
That shocks me so much that I start laughing. Sis does not cuss … not at all. It brings it home to me just how freaking weird that was. “Okay. But I'm not giving up on this. Sis! My toes moved … and I could feel it!"
She hugs me—sadly without a zap. She must have learned enough to control the flow and prevent it from happening. “We'll figure it out. I promise. And we'll get more than just your toes moving." But we have to do it right!
I stiffen as I hear her voice in my head again. I push a thought toward her. I love you, Sis!
She gasps and jerks back as my message comes across to her. The mental connection breaks once again as soon as we're no longer touching each other. We're both visibly shaken as she whispers to me. “Good night, Bro. Hopefully we can get some answers, tomorrow!" She doesn't touch me again and quickly closes the door behind her as she hurries out.
I have a restless night and wild dreams when I finally fall asleep. There's still the slightest residual tingle in my legs that keeps me from fitfully sleeping—or is it just my imagination?
"Alex! Bro! Wake up!"
I blearily open my eyes and glance at the time on my phone. I think I must be still dreaming when I see it's only four o'clock. I groan.
"Good! You're finally awake! I'm going to turn on the light!"
Before I can shield my eyes, the overhead light clicks on and effectively blinds me. "Ow! Sis! What's going on? Is Momma, okay?" I blink my eyes, trying to get the spots to go away.
"She's fine. I mean I suppose she is, anyway. She has the early shift, this morning. You know that! She left an hour ago."
Momma J is a pediatric psychiatrist and works at Saint Elizabeth's hospital. It's one of the reasons she was perfect for fostering and ultimately adopting us. Then it hits me ….
"Wait! You weren't speaking just then! I was hearing you in my mind—and you're not touching me!" I focus on her once my eyes adjust to the blinding light and gasp. My thirteen-year-old sister looks at least sixteen—and it's not her makeup doing it. She doesn't have any on. What happened?
"That's a good question!" She looks freaked out again. "First, I heard your dreams—they woke me up. You really need to talk to Momma about those!" She shudders. "Then I looked in the mirror when I went to the bathroom …."
I don't know whether her shudder is from witnessing my dreams or from seeing herself in the mirror. "Give me a sec to wake up and get dressed. Then we'll try and figure this out." I quickly get into my wheelchair and roll into my bathroom. I take care of the usual morning business for anybody with my type of injuries, then I wash my face and roll back out to the kitchen.
Sis is sitting at the kitchen table, looking totally confused. She still looks at least sixteen—it wasn't just me not being awake. "I don't understand any of this, Alex! I mean … I guess the telepathy is somewhat understandable with our … connection, or whatever. But … I barely had breasts starting to bud when I went to bed." She looks down. "It feels like I have D-cups, right now … I mean I know they're not, but they feel that way. Not to mention … the rest of my … curves. It's like I added three years of development overnight!" I'm freaking the fuck out!
I grab her hand and squeeze it. "I know you are, Sis. I totally get it. Hopefully, Pinkie and Co. will have some sort of idea about what's going on."
Sis sighs and gets up to get ready while I prepare breakfast. When she comes back in, made up, I almost choke. With her makeup on, she now looks like she's as old as me—my real age, not the fourteen I look to be. She's also wearing some of Momma's yoga workout clothes, although she's filling them out much differently than Momma J does. The top is one of those with a built-in bra and it's fairly tight on her. I guess her own clothes don't fit, anymore. I think she's a couple of inches taller, on top of her … curves.
I study her makeup and decide she didn't do anything to make herself look older—not that I know anything about makeup. But I have seen her do that—and feel the wrath of Momma J. This doesn't have that feel. If anything, it looks like she played it down. You're hot! I feel another surge of jealousy as I think about how Race will react when he sees her.
She blushes. She must have read my thoughts.
I don't know how to shield them from her, so I try to think of other things while we eat. I scarf down my food but try and focus my thoughts on thoroughly chewing it. When I'm done, I push back from the table. "I'm going to get dressed. Be right back …."
What am I going to do? He's avoiding me, now. I'm a freak and this totally sucks! I hear her thoughts as I roll down the hall and my eyes well up. I know she didn't mean for me to "hear" that, either. She doesn't have any more control than I do.
We sit in the back of the van in uncomfortable silence. Pinkie is looking back and forth between us and easily picks up on the tension. She doesn't say anything, which means she either doesn't want to interfere—or she's just too chicken to open up a can of worms. More telling to me, though, is that she didn't seem at all surprised to see Sis' overnight aging … she didn't even mention it. Although, she did raise an eyebrow at Sis' clothes. Maybe she just thinks she wants to be comfortable and doesn't condone the overly casual look for where we're going.
The van finally stops and Pinkie nods as she holds her hand to her ear. "Okay. We're here. We'll all meet in the lounge and do some testing around your bond. After lunch, Alex will go to the War Room and Sarah will continue practicing her healing magic with Ginger. Any questions?"
Sis and I both shake our heads. The War Room? What is that about?
I shrug. Your guess is as good as mine. I intentionally think of anything but the satellite feed I saw yesterday. I can't afford to let her get a glimpse of that.
You dreamt about it last night, Bro. I know about the dinosaurs and the dragons … and the rest …. I won't them know that I know, though. It all seems rather far-fetched, to me.
I jerk and pale. I look at Sis and she smiles wanly. We have to get a handle on this! I love you, but I don't want you to have unfettered access to my thoughts!
No duh, Bro! Right back at ya! Her smile turns brighter and reaches her eyes as she winks.
Pinkie is looking at us curiously.
I remember that she asked whether we have any questions. I shake my head. "None for now."
She gives me a funny look and nods. The door opens and we make our way back through the tunnel to the West Wing—this time without the suited escort.
Ginger and Rob are waiting in the lounge for us. Pinkie just drops us off and waves as she leaves the room. "I'll see you at lunch!"
Rob speaks up first. "Okay! So, I really want to explore this bond between you two …."
Sis can't stand it, anymore. She just explodes. "Wait! So, no one is going to comment on the fact that I just aged by several years last night? And Alex and I can read each other's thoughts! There will be no 'exploring' until we get answers!"
I smile. I love you, Sis!
If Rob or Ginger take offense to her outburst, they hide it well. They seem to take it in total stride. It's kind of infuriating, to be honest.
"I did notice that you had your first age-spurt last night, Sarah." Ginger shrugs. "We don't usually get to see them by the time mages get here. Anyway, since you obviously are surprised … it's clear you don't know about them …. You likely put on about three years, last night. You will continue to have these spurts over the next couple of weeks, now that your magic is fully manifesting."
She takes a deep breath. "Your body will rapidly age until you're the equivalent of where you would be in your early to mid-twenties with normal aging, then it will stop. Those that got their magic at an older age actually revert to their mid-twenties. We're not sure if it's a hard stop at that point, or you just age really slowly after that. It's happened to all of us, that's why all of us here seem to be about the same age. None of us have had magic long enough to know the long-term effects."
Sis looks really shaken, now. This is just so weird! I'm being robbed of my whole teenage years!
I feel my jealousy roar back to life. Yeah. But you're a beautiful … hot … babe. I won't be able to beat the guys off you, like a big brother is supposed to. But I guess you're going to be the big sister, now. I picture her making out with Race, enraging my green-eyed monster even more.
I see a horrified look appear on her face. Ew! Bro! I was uncertain this past year, but a few years' worth of growth overnight made one thing clear to me—I'm not interested in your Race. You can have him! Now … I just need to figure out how to get Ginger to like me. She's hot!
Rob is oblivious to the conversation going on between us and picks up where Ginger left off. "As for your ability to converse telepathically … that is not unknown. But it is something we need to explore. It must be connected to your bond and Alex's red magic. As far as we know, only individuals with it … and shifters … can communicate in that manner. It's still an enigma, since Alex's magic hasn't emerged, yet—which is why I'm tying it to your internal bond, since neither of you can shift that I'm aware of. So, can we get started exploring that, now?"
This isn't their first rodeo, Sis. It's frightening to us—but "normal" to them. They need someone like Momma J to reset their sensitivities to those that are just thrown into this ….
Sis grimaces. Right after you talk to her about those dreams of yours. She looks at Rob. "Since you don't seem to have any care at all about how this is affecting us, sure. Satisfy your curiosity away. By all means!"
"We don't have the luxury of being able to coddle people." He shrugs. "We're headed toward war and have to rally the forces. You'll find out about that in due time, but for now we need to finish our evaluation. There's a lot riding on the two of you, it seems."
Ginger purses her lips. "You do have a point, Sarah. Mental health is important through this. It's not coddling." She gives Rob a dark look. "I think someone like your momma could be of immense use to the cause. Someone without inherent magic … she may be of more use to us than just as your guardian … I'll talk to … the powers that be …."
"Be that as it may." Rob rolls his eyes. "We're on the clock here, people!"
He's an ass!
Sis! You're really getting into this cussing. Don't let Momma J catch you! Just because you're physically going to be in your twenties … or whatever … won't be an excuse for her! I wink at her. "What do you have in mind, Rob? We probably should get to it—before Sis figures out how to put her healing magic in reverse and sucks the health right out of you. I would stop pissing her off, if you want us to cooperate. We want to know what's going on as much as you do, but we're not your guinea pigs to do with as you see fit."
Go, Bro!
Rob turns bright red but is smart enough to not retort.
Ginger just smirks at him, and then grins at me.
I get the feeling they may not get along the best, either. Maybe Rob just is an ass.
Ginger takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "You have to understand, Sarah. We normally don't get new mages in here until they're much later along in their magic. They are thoroughly vetted in their type and strength and have at least some training. When they come in here, it is to evaluate how to add them to the community … and to fully register them. Normally we find them—they don't find us. You and Alex are a special case, given the red magic involved. We don't usually interact much with someone as new to magic as you."
Sis and I both shake our heads. I don't know about you, but that doesn't really instill a lot of confidence in me … or make me feel a lot better.
I just nod at Sis' thought but remain otherwise quiet. There's no sense in maintaining the hostilities, at this point.
The next couple of hours go by like molasses. Rob makes us "connect" in different ways. The worst is when we have to "project" which playing card or picture we're privately looking at to the other—to "prove" we're communicating telepathically. We nail it one hundred percent of the time. But neither of us can communicate the same way with either Rob or Ginger.
Finally, Rob seems satisfied. "Okay. It's clear that you're communicating. Ginger, do you agree it's stemming from Alex's red magic core?"
Ginger nods. "I do. The source is Alex—the power is Sarah, though. With Alex not yet able to tap into his latent magic, Sarah is providing the energy. There is no doubt in my mind that their bond is the conduit that's letting it all work."
I shrug and ask the question that both Sis and I both want answered. "So, how do we turn it off?"
Rob explodes. "Turn it off? What do you mean?" His face turns crimson. "Do you realize how special this is? Most of us would kill for this ability!"
Ginger frowns. "Shut up, Rob. You don't fucking get it … at all!" She shakes her head and looks at us—ignoring Rob's bright red face. "To be honest … I'm not sure. When you're in the War Room after lunch, Alex, maybe ask His Highness. He has the power, too. I get needing to be able to shield some thoughts—to only allow those through that you want." She gives Rob a dark look. "It's like not having any filter and just blurting out any fucking thing that comes into your mind for anyone to hear if you can't."
Rob closes his eyes and hangs his head. At least he has the decency to seem embarrassed when he finally seems to "get" it.
We meet Cat and Pinkie for lunch in the Navy Mess, which is in the basement. Ginger had first carted Sis off to some unknown place to find her a nice dress and … other things that actually fit. It's a fancy restaurant run by the Navy, and I'm not dressed for it. But at least Sis is now in a gorgeous dress and should be much more comfortable. The morning has been … challenging and we didn't get any time to see if Sis could do more with my back. Now … this. I'm just not sure I'm up to the new challenge of eating in such a fancy environment. That is until Race comes in and sits down with us.
He smiles and I turn to mush. I look down to make sure I'm still in my wheelchair and not a puddle of goo on the floor.
Get a grip, Bro!
Go kiss Ginger, Sis!
You two need to learn to shield your thoughts! You couldn't do this yesterday, Alex. What changed? Why do you need to get a grip? Sarah, right? You like Ginger? Go for it – she's certainly into girls and not currently seeing anyone.
I spew out my iced tea—luckily just back into my glass—and Sis chokes on hers. Race just looks smug and smirks.
Cat gives us a concerned look and I blush. "Sorry! It's sweet tea … I should have ordered unsweet."
She nods knowingly and smiles.
She knows. Don't worry. They all know I can communicate this way. I can do it with them, too – although, they can't initiate the communication. You and Sarah were just broadcasting to me, which is unusual—somehow you initiated it. Something has changed with your red magic. Race innocently looks at his menu like nothing's going on. I wasn't expecting this so soon. Also, don't worry that Sarah unintentionally found out about our discussion, yesterday—I can read it in both your minds. She's vetted; but being thirteen complicated things—yesterday. We will work on your mind control today, however.
Sis turns green and suddenly looks like she's lost her appetite.
I don't know how to react.
"Lunch is on me, today, gang! Let's eat up—there's a lot of work to do this afternoon. Ginger, when you're done torturing poor Sarah here with your magic lessons, please bring her to the War Room. She's fully vetted and cleared…and is up to speed on the basics at this point, anyway. Now, let's enjoy our lunch, shall we?" Race smiles over the top of his menu, then simply looks back down at it with those gorgeous blue eyes crinkling in mirth.
Sis chokes on her tea, again.
"Yes, Your Highness—it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, today. And Sarah, if that sweet tea bothers you so much, I'm happy to ask for some unsweet for you." Ginger grins mischievously. "You're certainly sweet enough that you don't need the extra sugar."
It's my turn to choke. Did you say something to Ginger? Is she flirting?
No! I didn't say anything! When would I have? And … I don't know. Maybe? Dare I dream? Sis blushes profusely at the prospect.
She's most definitely flirting. She may have gotten the impression from me that Sarah is interested. Race winks at me from behind his menu. I'm pretty sure that he didn't include Sis in that piece of information, and I feel a sudden … clamp on my mind that blocks my thoughts from her. You're welcome—both for me letting something "slip" to Ginger and for putting a temporary block on your mind. Neither Sarah nor I will receive anything from you until you intentionally send it to us. I'll teach you how to do it for yourself after lunch, since it will only be in effect as long as I maintain it and you're in range of my magic.
I blush. It is a relief to know that he isn't hearing my thoughts. I mean I trust that he's being honest about that and not eavesdropping. I hope he hasn't picked up on my crush on him … or whatever it is … and that I can keep him from finding out. A hunk like him must have a hot girlfriend … and dozens waiting on the sidelines. And even if he were to be gay, the same would hold true. And I still don't understand why I'm even … so infatuated with him. I'm not gay that I know of … well, not any more than I know that I'm not, as far as that goes.
I give up trying to figure it all out and focus on my menu. I really need to decide on what I want to order.
I look around the War Room for the hundredth time. It looks just like you would imagine a War Room would look like. A big center conference table, tons of computer stations around the perimeter, and a giant wall of monitors that can be driven individually or as one huge composite screen on one wall.
I'm currently watching live feed from China, since one of the dedicated satellites is currently over the area of interest. One passes by every ten minutes and gives a three-minute window of what's going on. They're letting the feed through again and the picture is unsettling. There must be thirty dinosaurs in view, now—five each of T. Rexes, Ankylosaurs, Triceratopses, and Velociraptors. There is also a group of others that I can't make out because their view is obstructed by trees. If I had to guess, based on what I can see, they're Dromaeosaurs—a species that's very similar to the Velociraptors and just as deadly. Finally, there is at least one Stegosaurus.
"These were … are all extremely lethal types of dinosaurs. You say they're creating an army? There are others that they'll likely add, then—or at least that I would, if I wanted a badass mix. Not that any of them would stand a chance against most modern weapons. And I still don't understand where they're coming from … or how the dragons are controlling them. Sure, the raptors likely hunted in packs, but they wouldn't get along with the others." I shake my head and let out a nervous laugh. "Are you sure this isn't some kind of hoax?"
Race growls his response. "It's no hoax! Grae'Bar is behind this assault. And he's no fool. He'll provide them with some sort of protection." He takes a deep breath through his nose and lets it slowly escape out his mouth to calm himself. "What do you know about the end of the dinosaurs? You're studying them, right?"
I nod. "My major is paleontology, yes. But you know that. Anyway, the dinosaurs died around sixty-five million years ago—at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Why? And Grey Bear? Who … or what … is that?"
"More on that later." He shuts his eyes for a moment. "You're not quite ready for that lesson. Let's just start with the great Dragon experiments. Earth was one of them. The Dragons were here to study Earth and its evolution. That was over two hundred and thirty million years ago and to a great degree resulted in the dominating evolution of the dinosaurs over other lifeforms on Earth—but only because of inappropriate interventions by some of the scientists."
I look at him with clear disbelief. His beautiful blue eyes aren't getting him out of this one. "Sure. I'll put that on my final and get an 'A+'." I shake my head. "Oh, wait! I don't have a class in creative writing …."
He frowns. "Look, Alex. This is no joke. Grae'Bar was one of the original lead scientists studying the planet, along with She'leth. Grae'Bar inappropriately wanted the dinosaurs to dominate the planet, he seeded the planet and used magical interventions to give them an advantage over the other developing lifeforms. By the time She'leth found out, the dinosaurs had established a completely dominating presence and were on their way to higher sentience, or at least some species were. She informed the Empress who was very displeased. Then the asteroid struck that ultimately ended the illegal experimentation. Some think the Empress actually sent the asteroid, although she would never admit to it."
I choke and give him a scrupulous look. "So … you're trying to tell me that not only did the dragons cause the dawn of the dinosaurs two hundred and thirty million years ago—but that their creators are now there in China and … making a new army of them? To do what? Come on, Race. This is tough to swallow, you have to admit. How would you know any of that, anyway?"
"Whether you believe it yet or not, is actually beside the point." He shrugs. "You will. And only Grae'Bar and his followers are in China, not She'leth. He has decided to finish what he started, it seems. How I know this—and what his ultimate goal is—is another thing that it's not time to speak of, yet—not until I know you can control your thoughts. I have to be sure you don't indiscriminately leak them to just anyone. So, we have other lessons that you must learn, first—and we have to free your magic. That is of utmost importance!"
I shake my head. He may be gorgeous but I'm afraid he's a little loony. Hopefully that's not a hallmark of red magic—and my destiny. "Um … okay. If you say so. And … how are we going to free my magic? Isn't that dependent on me going through puberty?"
"That is one of the primary triggers, yes." He shrugs. "But there can be others …. You're already exhibiting some signs of it and that's because of your connection to your sister. We have to build on that connection … fortify it. It will take some time, but your magic should intensify with the strengthened bond. First, however, we need to teach you how to control your thought projections …."
We spend the next hour "practicing" me controlling my thoughts. The end-result is … frustrating. "I just don't get it! I can't 'feel' my magic stream like you're describing. So, I can't control it."
He takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay. I can keep a lid on your thoughts while you're around here, but I can't keep the filter in place once you leave. Until your magic stream … or the feed from your sister … is stronger, you won't be able to control it yourself. I may be able to teach Sarah to filter out your thoughts and not project to you, but you will have to rely on her … or me. That won't do when we have to go up against Grae'Bar or his team."
I blow out my air in frustration and nearly cuss. I'm saved from that embarrassment when Ginger brings Sis in.
"Hey, Bro! How's it going? Ginge here has put me through the ringer!" She smiles shyly at Ginger.
I shake my head. "Not good. Not good at all."
Ginger cocks her head to one side and looks at Race. "Is there anything I can do to help, Your Highness?"
He actually growls. He's been so patient all day. It's so cute! But his patience seems to be wearing thin. "I don't know, Ginger. I think we need to strengthen the bond between Alex and Sarah. I can feel that's what's driving Alex's limited magic—like he's parasitizing her magic … or it's maybe somehow symbiotic. I've never seen anything like it. But maybe if we increase that flow, we'll hit a magic threshold and it will trigger something in Alex." He shrugs and grins ruefully. "That's my theory, at any rate."
So, we spend the next two hours exploring ways to strengthen Sis' and my connection. I try "talking" to Sis in my head several times, but Race's "clamp" is firmly on my mind. In the end, I'm not sure what we accomplish. We didn't even get a chance for Sis to try any of her healing on me.
Finally, it's time to go home for the day. Pinkie does insist that we stop quickly at the mall on the way home and "The Company" pays for a few more outfits for Sis—ones that fit her. I guess they don't want her wearing any more yoga clothes to the West Wing. Or maybe they're just being nice, since Pinkie giggles when she's paying. "We won't go too overboard, since you're still growing and these won't fit the same next week, I promise!"
When we get home, Momma J is already in bed, since she has the early shift again and she's always beat after the brutal shift. Sis and I warm up the leftover pizza and watch some TV. We don't talk about the weird day—we just want to chill out and wallow in stupid TV shows.
After a couple hours of binging on mindless shows, I talk Sis into zapping me. She's reluctant, again, but surprises me by being easier to convince this time. "Okay, just for a little. I'm still not sure about this, but I think I'm getting better control after practicing with Ginge, today."
I smile. "So … was she flirting?"
Her blush wordlessly answers my question. "Come on! Before I change my mind …."
I look into Race’s beautiful deep-blue eyes and once again get lost in their endless depths. He smiles hungrily back at me and gently pulls off my shirt. I unbutton his and slowly pull it down off his shoulders ….
I tightly close my eyes in eager anticipation of what’s to come, and when I open them again, I’m looking back in his beautiful blue eyes … but I feel different …. With her signature long, bright coppery hair falling into my face, I realize that somehow, I’ve morphed into Ginger. He smiles lustily at me and slowly undresses me as I try and understand how I’ve become Ginger. He kisses me deeply and slowly arouses me with tender kisses and caresses—then he takes me … hard. In a matter of a couple of strokes, I scream out in ecstasy as wave after wave of a rolling orgasm take my last breath away!
I shiver and take a deep breath to try and calm my pounding heart. I’m finally able to look back into his eyes and startle as they’ve changed to a dark emerald green. His black hair has lengthened and become straight as an arrow and his skin lightened …. I want to scream as he’s morphed into Sis.
My eyes snap open and I’m drenched in sweat. I’m panting and my heart is racing in post-orgasmic bliss. I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack. I forcefully pull the spit into my mouth to dampen it and swallow hard in an attempt to calm my still-pounding heart.
I look at my phone and see it’s three o’clock in the morning. I hear Momma J’s alarm going off—that’s likely what woke me up from that very bizarre … and very real dream. It was so real that I actually reach down to feel the mangled mess between my legs and reassure myself that nothing has changed.
Momma’s alarm shuts off and I hear her stirring. My heart is just starting to settle, when I’m rattled by a shrill shriek! My heart races once again and I move to get out of bed and see what’s the matter.
I overhear Sis quietly trying to calm Momma down. “It’s just me, Momma! I … I’ve changed a bit ….”
“Oh, Hon!” Momma sounds shaken. “I don’t understand ….”
Sis sighs. “It’s the magic, from what I understand … it ages those that have it. Well, it fast-forwards them to their mid-twenties, then puts things in major slo-mo from there. I still have a few years to progress before that happens ….” She sighs again. “Which will only be a couple of weeks in real-time, I guess.”
“Oh, Hon! I’m sorry. I’m calling in ….”
I lay back in my bed since things seem to be okay and think about my dream. It was so real! Race was so … hot! And him taking me … and that orgasm! I shudder again at the memory … the fact that I was Ginger in that scenario already forgotten. I was with Race … and it was so … right!
I shake my head forcefully to clear it and push myself up in the bed into what qualifies for me as a “sitting” position. There is no way I’m going back to sleep. I pull myself over into my wheelchair and gasp as my legs tingle. It’s barely perceptible, but when you’re used to absolutely nothing … even the slightest feeling is amplified infinitely, like a whisper in absolute silence. But the feeling disappears so quickly that I’m left wondering if it was my imagination, even though I’m sure it wasn’t.
I pinch my legs and feel … nothing!
I groan and wheel myself to the kitchen.
“… nonsense! I’m coming with you today and we’re going shopping when you’re done!” Momma J is giving Sis a serious look.
Sis sighs. “But ….”
They both notice me rolling in and Momma J pales. “Hon! Are you okay?”
I take a deep breath. “I think so …. I just couldn’t sleep.”
She comes over and gives me a hug. “I’m coming with you both today. No questions … and no arguments! Now, let’s get some breakfast!”
“Earth to Alex!” Race only sounds somewhat amused.
I can’t help it. I keep remembering that dream … it was just so totally real. “Sorry! I didn’t sleep well.”
Race nods. “Let’s go take a break.” He pushes me out of the War Room and to the breakroom, which is currently empty. He gets us both a strong, black coffee without asking.
I take a deep, relaxing breath and accept the coffee … then another as I inhale the aroma of the coffee. “Thank you. I know there’s a lot going on … over there …. But I’m just so frickin’ confused about what’s going on with me … or maybe it’s what isn’t.” I take a careful sip of the piping hot coffee. “I … just don’t know what to believe, anymore.”
He gives me a strange look. “Hmmm… Girl trouble? I know that look ….”
I blush as the dream pushes its way back into the forefront of my mind. I shake my head. “As if …. Have you looked at me?” I gesture toward myself … and then pat the wheelchair with a grimace.
“So?” He shrugs. “Any girl would be lucky to have you!”
I grimace and try to push the dream of his sexual manipulations aside. “I don’t see that happening! But what about you? Do you have someone special? A nice girl … or guy? I don’t judge!”
He laughs and it sends tingles down my spine. “No current gal. Definitely no guy … I don’t judge either, but I’m as straight as they come … completely hetero, no doubts there.”
I deflate and do my best to not let anything show. I play any breaks in my façade off as general struggles. “I’m sure you have your pick of the litter. That’s not in my cards. Anyway … is there any more coffee?” What the crap are you thinking, Alex? Where are those dreams coming from and why do you have a crush on a totally straight, gorgeous God? Any guy, for that matter?
He smiles, showing off his gleaming white teeth, and presses us more coffee. “You would think. But it’s … complicated. Not just because I’m the president’s son. Anyway, how is your sister coming along with Ginger? I envision that relationship progressing just fine!” His suave charm just adds a million volts to my already overcharged tension.
I take my coffee and blush as the dream once again dominates my mind. “Ummm … yeah. I think they’re hitting it off. Or at least Sis is severely lusting after her.” Distracted, I take a large sip of the still-too-hot brew and gasp as it burns my tongue. I grimace at the rookie mistake and shrug. “I’m not sure how Ginger feels.”
Race winks. “She feels, Bro. No worries. She feels ….” I nod. If only you did the same about me. I only dare think that because I know his clamp is still tight on my thoughts. I nurse my burned tongue and sigh. I have to get him out of my head. It’s not going to happen—no matter how much I may sub-consciously dream about it. “I hope it works out for them. Sis deserves a break.”
He gives me a funny look. “And you don’t?”
“I love her with all my heart—as a brother.” I shrug. “I would save her all over again … in a heartbeat … even knowing what the outcome is for me. Sure, it’s tough to be in this chair … and only a … partial human being ….” I let the sentence drop and sigh.
He shakes his head. “You’re so much more than a partial human being, Alex! You have no idea what that act of kindness has opened up for the both of you. Come on. I think we need to get you back in there so that they can do their tests on you two. Then we need to work on your mental shield some more. I really want to get to the next phase of your initiation.”
We finish our coffee, and he pushes me back to the library where Sis and Ginger are working on her training. Healers are still rare according to Ginger. Strong healers are even rarer. Ginger is a very strong one, but she thinks Sis will be even stronger—maybe even the strongest known, to date.
Momma J is watching the two of them practice in utter concentration—they don’t even notice us come in. Momma smiles when Race pushes me in. “Hi, you two.” Sis frowns at something that Ginger wants her to do, and Momma grimaces. “I hope your day is going better than theirs.”
“Not really.” Race shrugs. “We seem to be somewhat at a standstill … and I really need Alex to get over his hump.”
Ginger looks up and smiles. “So, we can have Alex for a session? We seem to be stuck here, too. I still think we’ll make significant progress if we explore their connection. I’m sure it’s the key!”
Race nods. “I think you’re right. I just let Rob know that Alex is available for your session. I need to get back to the War Room to monitor a new development, but just let me know if you need me for anything.”
Ginger nods. “Yes, Your Highness. Thank you!”
Race leaves and I give Ginger a frustrated look. “Race won’t tell me, will you? Why do you call him, ‘Your Highness?’”
She giggles. “Because that’s who he is. You’ll find out all about that, in due time. Now, come over here and let’s get started. I want Sarah to push some of her healing energy into you before Rob gets here and we start the other tests ….”
I eagerly nod and roll over to the couch, where Ginger indicates I should lay down. I maneuver my way out of the chair onto the couch where I stretch myself out on my stomach, as best I can.
Sis gets my withered legs straightened out and places her hands on my back right over where the metal mass is. I feel the now-familiar tingle start to build in my back with its resulting heat signature in the mass. She has enough control now that there’s no initial zap, just a smooth and steady increase in the sensation.
With Race’s block still in place, we can’t communicate, and I can’t give her any private feedback on what I feel. I want her to significantly increase her input. I start to say something, but Ginger speaks up before I can. “Good job, Sarah. Slow and steady. Alex, are you feeling anything?”
I take a deep breath and nod. “A little. It’s not at the level it’s been in the past, though. I just feel the energy flowing and the heat developing in my back. There is no sensation in my legs at this level—can’t we amp it up several notches?”
“No. Sarah is doing fine.” Ginger pats my shoulder. “First, I want to closely monitor what is happening at any level that would elicit that type of result in your legs. Second, I want Sarah to focus on just pushing general health energy. Think of it kind of like giving you a dose of vitamins. She has to learn to gauge her own energy levels as she pushes, or she could wind up depleting herself while trying to save someone else.”
“It’s about time we can explore this connection!” Rob storms into the room with Cat close on his heels.
“Rob!” Ginger groans. “We’re trying to concentrate here!”
Cat giggles. “Nothing like Hurricane Rob to test your resolve!”
I feel the healing connection break as Sis sighs. “Alex, do you feel any more … energized?”
I do, but I don’t know whether it’s anything she’s done—or just the coffee kicking in. “Yeah … kind of like a good jolt of caffeine.”
“Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the interesting stuff,” Rob grumbles. “I agree with Alex, we need to push the boundaries of their connection. Sarah needs to up her game. I’ll monitor the connection, while Ginger monitors their health.”
Ginger frowns. “I don’t like this, Rob. Sarah will need to use her targeted magic—as if she were trying to heal Alex. That’s a lot more stressful on both of them than the general type she was just using. And we still don’t know enough about their connection to push it too hard.”
“And we won’t know until we do!” Rob is petulant. But I tend to agree with him, I want to push this along.
Cat sighs. “Ok…come on, guys! Let’s play nice with one another! We’re all on the same team. Sarah, how much energy do you have in reserve?”
Sis shrugs. “I have no idea.”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out!” Ginger throws up her hands in frustration. “I don’t want to push Sarah too hard—anymore than I want to push Alex off a cliff into the abyss, if this goes wrong!”
“Okay, let’s go with Rob’s plan.” Cat shakes her head and glares at him as he smirks. “But with a slight modification. I’ll monitor Sarah’s internal energy levels, as Ginger monitors how much she pushes and the effect on Alex. Rob will monitor any change in the connection. We’ll do it in incremental stages—until we get to a zone that any of us is uncomfortable with. Then we stop, no questions asked. Understood?”
Rob pouts, but nods.
Ginger smiles. “That’s a good plan, Cat. Let’s try it. Sarah? Alex? Okay?”
Sis nods and looks at me, unsure.
I sigh. “Yeah. Sounds good. Don’t expect me to tell you to back off, though, Sis.”
She shakes her head but puts her hands on my back and looks at Ginger, who nods. Cat and Rob both indicate they’re ready. Sis starts injecting healing magic into me. It’s different than before—this stings. I take a deep breath to suppress a gurgle and close my eyes as the intensity builds. The metal in my back continues to get hotter and hotter and I start to sweat. The more she pushes energy, the hotter my back gets—then I start feeling the tingle in my legs again and moan.
Sis pulls back on the intensity, and I shake my head. “Keep it up! Don’t stop! I can feel my legs tingling!”
“Sarah’s internal energy levels are higher than when she started! They’re not depleting—they’re increasing!” Cat seems confused.
Rob seems awed. “This is fascinating!”
“Keep going in small increments, Hon.” Ginger encourages Sis with a cautious tone.
I feel the intensity rise again and the tingle increases. She keeps raising the level a very small amount at a time, and suddenly I feel my toe jerk at the same time I blow through Race’s clamp on my mind. Keep it up Sis, please!
“Stop, Sarah! Now!” Ginger gives the command that I don’t want to hear.
“No!” I scream, but Sis pulls her hands off me, suddenly breaking the flow. My back is still on fire, and I can still feel a strong tingling in my legs, like they’re waking back up from a long sleep. Why did you stop?
Because I trust Ginger and you need to, as well! Why can we suddenly communicate again?
How did you break through my block? You shouldn’t be able to do that! I’ll be right there! Race breaks into our thoughts.
Ginger sighs as Race storms in a minute later. She looks concerned … no, almost terrified. “Cat, I assume you and Rob experienced the same thing I did? The connection was about to go … nuclear!”
“Yes.” Cat nods. “Sarah’s internal stores kept increasing significantly. They should be near depleted by now, but they’re at a much higher level than when she got here this morning.”
Rob looks awed. “The connection was becoming something like a wormhole—Sarah’s magic was flowing smoothly through it into Alex. But Alex was feeding her magic, in return—strengthening it. The perfect symbiosis. I don’t get why you stopped it, Ginger. It was awesome!”
I feel weird—tingly all over. My legs mostly, but I feel sort of energized all over. I try and can’t get my legs or toes to move, but it’s like the ability is right there and simply hiding—just under the surface. “I agree. We need to keep it up! I can feel that I’m close to being able to move my legs again!”
“No!” Race shuts us down. “We need to wait a while and let this settle. I could feel the power in the War Room. You shouldn’t have been able to break my block. This is significant—something has happened to your magic, Alex. We need to assess that before we move forward. Red magic is dangerous if unchecked. Not to mention, we still don’t know enough about your war magic. I agree with Ginger, you were headed toward an uncontrolled event—one that could have been devastating to the entire city, or more.”
I pale. “What do you mean?”
“An uncontrolled red magic release like you were headed toward would make a nuclear explosion, like Ginger was comparing this to, look like a firecracker—especially with your war magic core.” Race actually shivers. “On top of that, I can’t put my block back. Can you and Sarah still mentally communicate?”
Sarah? Are you okay?
I’m scared, Alex. What if we’d lost control?
We didn’t. That’s what matters. But I don’t intend to give up exploring this! I can still feel my legs tingling. We’re almost there! I nod at Race. “Yes.”
“Interesting. I couldn’t hear you, so you’ve gained control of that.” Race nods. “Try putting your own block in place—like I showed you.”
I use the technique he tried to instill in me and know I’m successful this time. I can feel the magic’s energy now … the same energy stream that I couldn’t fathom before.
“I’m cut off now!” Sis seems confused. “So, you can control it now?”
I have to work really hard to maintain the block, but at least I can. “Well, I don’t know for how long, but yes.”
Race nods slowly. “You’ll build up your stamina with practice. Just like Sarah has to practice her healing magic. You’ll both learn to just sub-consciously do what you need to.”
Momma J looks confused. “So, Alex’s magic has been released?”
Cat shakes her head. “Not fully, it seems. I can sense that it’s still firmly tied to Sarah. I think we just succeeded in strengthening the connection between them and opening the pipeline a little wider.”
“I agree.” Ginger nods. “But I think it’s a lot wider. There is a strong, very symbiotic relationship going on. Sarah is feeding off of Alex’s magic—strengthening her own. In turn, Alex is gaining access to some of his own, but with a boost from Sarah. It’s very strange.”
Rob throws up his hands. “We need to keep on! This is fascinating!”
Race glares at him. “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?”
Rob pales and moves toward the door. “I think I’ll go get a snack.” He’s gone before anyone can retort.
“Ginger, Cat—I want you to monitor these two for a couple of hours. No more experiments today.” Race has a deadly serious tone, and his face indicates there is no room for discussion. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow and decide how to precede. You won’t do anything unless I’m here, however. I need to monitor this carefully from now on. Is that clear?”
I pull Race’s shirt over his head as I gaze deeply into his beautiful blue eyes. He has eyes only for me and pulls my blouse over my head. My breasts swell and my nipples harden as he gently pushes me onto my back and suckles on them. I moan as electrically charged shocks course through my body causing it to tremble with erotic tremors.
He rolls me onto my stomach and cups the small melons on my chest from behind as he lays on top of me. He tweaks my enlarged nipples and I groan in pleasure. Then he takes me from behind and fills my soaking wet, slick void with his large, hot maleness.
I scream as wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure overtakes me.
My eyes pop open and my heart feels like it’s going to pound right out of my chest. I’m dizzy from the sustained orgasmic release—my body is tingling all over. And it hits me … that includes my legs! I shake my head as reality settles back in and my heartrate slowly settles back to a somewhat more normal level. The dream was so real! It seemed so … normal … for me to be a woman and for Race to take me.
My hands unconsciously go to my legs, and I gasp as I can feel them move along my thighs. It’s like there is a thick fuzzy blanket between my hands and my legs … but I can feel the blunted touch! My hands then wander up to my chest and I gasp again. I feel small mounds sticking out … with erect, pencil eraser-sized nipples sticking out from them. They’re begging me to play with them … like Race had. I shiver as I squeeze them … and suddenly connect with Sis.
She’s having a wet dream of her own … with Ginger. My hands subconsciously mirror hers as she fondles her own breasts and plays with her nipples. Ginger’s head is between her widespread legs and is tickling her swollen little mound with her tongue. Sis jerks as a massive orgasm courses through her and she squeezes Ginger’s head between her legs as she wraps her legs around her and arches her back upward to meet her.
I feel my own legs struggle to close … and move slightly … as I follow Sis into another orgasm. I fight to catch my breath and slow my heart again. I have to force the mental connection to close between myself and Sis to separate my own sense of being from her.
I lay there and try to distinguish dream from reality … both my own and Sis. I push myself up into a sitting position and feel the weight of the small mounds on my chest shift. My eyes widen as I feel the small downward tug on my chest. So that wasn’t a part of my dream. My hands go up to cup them and I lift them as I marvel at their size and weight ... they aren’t as big as in my dream, but they’re definitely there. How’s this possible? I feel between my legs and shake my head in wonder when nothing there has changed. I’m not sure if I’m relieved about that, or not.
I pull myself into my wheelchair and squirm as my legs feel like they’re on pins and needles. I try and move them but have no luck. I glance at my phone as I roll into the bathroom. It’s three o’clock in the morning and everyone else seems to be sleeping soundly. I cautiously open my connection to Sis and quickly shut it back down. She’s still dreaming about Ginger. I don’t want to get caught falling down that rabbit hole again. I turn on the light and inhale sharply as I look in the mirror. I look … feminine. It’s nothing hugely overt, but like the small mounds on my chest, it’s certainly a fact. I look more like a girl than a boy … no longer the indifferent androgynous in-between of a boy that’s not yet gone through puberty. I look more like Sis a few months after she started her puberty.
I wiggle in my chair as the tingling prickles in my legs intensify, then settle back down. The tingling is as much annoying as it is exhilarating. I can feel my legs … sort of. I don’t want it to stay like this, though! This would be torture to have to live with the rest of my life!
I feel a slight pressure on my thoughts and somehow know that Sis is trying to talk to me. I open the connection. Are you okay, Bro? What’s going on? I can feel your … discomfort.
“Based on your measurements, you’re an A-cup, Alex. I don’t get it!” Sis puts her tape measure down on the table and takes a sip of her steaming coffee, something she has just started drinking since her age spurt.
I shrug. “I have no more idea than you … on that or my legs … or the dreams. The only thing hotter than this coffee was the dream you were having with Ginger ….” I don’t mention mine with Race.
She blushes. “I have some vague recollection of you and Race …. Wait! Did you have a dream with him?”
“Ummm…” I grumble. “Yeah … I was a ‘full’ girl and ….”
“What’s up with you two?” Momma J yawns as she comes into the kitchen. “Why are you up at this ungodly hour?” She stops in her tracks as she comes around and gets a full view of my face. “Alex? Hon, what’s going on?”
“That’s why we’re up, Momma.” I shrug. “We’re trying to figure it out.” Neither of us mention our erotic dreams, but I catch Momma up on what little we know, so far … on the other developments.
“I guess we need to get you some bras, Hon.” She shakes her head. “I would say it’s just gynecomastia, but judging by your overall appearance, that’s not it. You’re certainly more feminine looking. If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re beginning puberty … female puberty! Development-wise, you look a lot like your sister did last week … before her … spurt.”
I sit in our usual conference room and squirm in my wheelchair. Not only are the pins and needles in my legs still causing me discomfort, but the knowledge that I'm wearing a bra is unsettling. It's not uncomfortable, per se—at least not physically—but it's blowing my mind.
I nearly refused to leave the house after Momma insisted that I wear one of Sis' old bras … from before her accelerated aging. It's a brand new one—one she never wore—and it's a perfect fit for me. I want to scream! No bra should be a perfect fit for me!
Settle down, Bro! Women deal with bras all the time. You'll get used to it!
But I'm not a woman! I don't get this!
Ginger looks at me. She had sent everyone else out but Sis and me, after she sensed my unease with something … so we could talk in private. "Now, do you want to tell me whatever it is that you clearly didn't want talk about with your momma in here?"
I look at Sis and she blushes. I check to make sure my mental block is in place and shrug. I don't want Race in on this discussion, either. "Well … I had some very erotic dreams with Race in them. Only, I was a full-on girl … and he was taking … advantage of that. Then … while I was still groggy and … trying to settle my body from the resulting wet dream … I took part, I guess is the best way to put it, in Sis' dreams … with you."
Ginger smiles. "I see. I take it those were erotic, too?" She gives Sis a devilish grin.
Red-faced, Sis bites her lower lip and shyly nods.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sarah." Ginger hugs her. "I'm flattered. Now, we just need to make those dreams a reality! I would love nothing more."
I choke a little and Sis grins widely as Ginger purrs at her.
I'm worried Sis' face is going to split.
Ginger looks back at me. "So, you dreamt you were a girl?" She looks at Sis. "Did you partake in those dreams?"
Sis nods. "I did. But not like when Alex was in on our lovemaking. He … well she orgasmed with me when you made me climax. I was more an observer in his … her interactions with Race."
"I see." Ginger is tapping her lip. "So, this seems to be somehow tied to your connection. The experiments yesterday must have triggered something. Somehow, you're going through puberty, Alex … but, since your body can't produce what it needs to drive that on its own, it seems to be pulling it somehow from Sarah and is developing accordingly … and at a rapid pace, since it's tied to magic."
"How do we stop it?" Sarah looks distraught.
"I don't think we can." Ginger is shaking her head. "We don't know how it started … much less what is stabilizing and feeding the connection. Alex, you said that you have sensation in your legs?"
I grimace and nod. "It's really bad pins and needles … very annoying. I almost wish I was back to no sensation. Can't we do something to get me past this?"
Ginger shakes her head. "Again, we don't know what really got you to this point. If we just shoot in the dark, it could exacerbate your … other condition. Maybe the puberty only advances if Sarah physically … intentionally … pushes energy into you."
"This is fascinating!" Rob is literally bouncing on his feet. "We have to have Sarah push more energy into him. Or is it 'her,' now?"
Ginger and Cat both give him a scathing look and Cat growls at him. "Are you totally daft along with being a completely insensitive jerk?"
"I'm afraid Rob is right, this time." Race looks uncomfortable and simply ignores the "her" comment. "Not for the reasons that he wants. We can't leave Alex's legs in the limbo they're in. Not only is it uncomfortable for him, it's also a huge distraction for him. He won't be able to focus correctly with that kind of constant distraction vying for his attention."
"But what if it intensifies his development?" Cat seems unsure.
Ginger sighs. "I think there's no doubt that it will. There's a chance that it won't advance if Sarah doesn't push any more actual healing energy into Alex, but there's also a chance that it will progress through their existing connection, anyway. Either way, I'm fairly certain that stressing the connection will almost certainly open up the pipeline even more … and accelerate Alex's puberty. Sarah's healing magic is somehow subconsciously sensing that he needs to go through puberty and is feeding him energy through the connection – only with it being uncontrolled, it's not properly shaped for male development. Alex's body is confused by the magic that Sarah is subconsciously feeding him, since he's never been 'programmed' to develop as a male. It's modeling his development on the magic's source signature, which is Sarah … and the result is … female."
Sarah pales and shakes her head. "No! I have to be able to stop it. Or at least fix it! What do I do?"
Ginger also shakes her head. "I don't know, Sarah. This is beyond my knowledge or magic."
"I may be able to help channel it some." Race shrugs. "I don't know. Given more time, I could connect with other more experienced entities. But we don't have the luxury of time."
"So, what you're saying is that helping Alex is dependent on Sarah's magic … and using that will continue to turn him into a girl?" Momma J looks around the room.
Ginger nods. "That about sums it up. Race may be able to slow that down … hopefully even stop it. But that is a very long shot." She frowns and shrugs. "Basically, zero chance of success."
Momma J looks at me. "Alex. I know Race says you need to do this … and I agree that having to live with constant prickling pain in your legs is probably worse than no feeling at all. I can't even imagine! But it's your decision, Hon. While I see absolutely nothing wrong with being a woman, I was born that way. You have to decide if you can live with that possible consequence."
I sit quietly taking in the whole conversation. I am distracted by the sharp tingles in my legs. I focus on the unaccustomed feeling of the bra constricting my chest. Like Sis said, women wear them all the time and they get used to them. Like any other item of clothing, they get so used to the bra that they just tune it out. Would it ever be same with my legs? Would I ever be able to just filter out the pins and needles … just ignore them? Would it be worth transforming into a girl to get my legs back … if that's even possible? Life as a pathetic pseudo "boy" cripple who is tied to a wheelchair … or life as a girl who is liberated from that tether and free to thrive? I have no idea what it means to be a girl—and I have no particular desire to be a girl—but it can't be worse than this, right? And it might give me a chance with Race ….
I take in a deep breath and blow it out. "Let's give it a try. I don't really want to be a girl, but …." I shrug.
I feel the pressure of Sis' magic as she pushes her energy into me. The mass in my back starts heating up and the tingling in my legs increases.
Ginger is once again monitoring Sis' and my overall health. Cat is observing our general energy levels. Rob is checking on our connection. Race is new in the overall group and is monitoring my red magic. I have an open mental connection to him and Sis, and he is helping guide Sis' actions to not aggravate those levels like yesterday.
Good Sarah. It seems that the mass in Alex's back is somehow reacting to his red magic. Can you focus your magic more on his spine and less on the metal?
I can try. She does something and I feel the heat in the metal lessen … and a warmth in my spine.
I can feel it more in my spine and less in the metal, Sis!
She pushes more energy into my spine and the tingling in my legs slowly diminishes. After a few minutes, the tingling is gone.
I start to let her know that she's making good progress when something happens. There's a pulse of heat from the mass in my back and Sis gasps at the same time I do. I feel her suddenly drop her healing connection to me as I hear her fly across the room when another pulse emanates from the mass and strengthens my mental connection to Race. It's his turn to gasp.
Suddenly, my desire for him is exponentially increased … and I can feel the same from him.
"What just happened, Race?" I can feel the strange pull that now exists between us … and my intense desire for him. Race?
He bites his lip and focuses on making espresso … without making eye contact with me. He also has not communicated mentally since that last pulse. After checking on Sis, to make sure she was okay and not exhibiting any ill effects from the pulse or hitting the wall, he had wordlessly picked me up, put me in my chair, and wheeled me straight to his office.
While I wait on him to answer, I try and ignore his … allure … and focus on my legs. I pinch them and let out a sharp breath. I can fully feel it!
Race quickly turns when he hears my reaction to the pinch. "Are you okay?" He has a haunted look in his beautiful blue eyes.
I nod. "I have feeling in my legs, again! But I still don't know what happened in there. What happened with Sis? And what happened with … us?"
He brings me a cup of espresso and sits down at the other side of the table from me. He's visibly shaking and won't look me in the eye. He downs the steaming hot espresso in one gulp and doesn't flinch even though it must be literally burning its way down his throat. Looking out the window, he finally breaks his silence. "Have you heard of fated mates?"
I jump at the unexpected question. "You mean … like a 'love at first sight' kind of thing?"
He shakes his head, still not looking at me. "No, it's much more than that. It means that the other person literally is your reason for living … it's a connection so strong that breaking it can kill the other person. It's a shifter thing."
I don't know what to do with that explanation. "Okay. If you mean like in Twilight … I guess. But why are asking me that … telling me this?"
He finally looks at me. "Alex, I'm a Dragon … a shifter."
I gasp. "You mean like those Chinese ones? You're …."
He vehemently shakes his head. "No! Nothing like them. They're born from dark red magic. I'm born from light red magic – like you. Everyone starts there … they have to cultivate their lightness—or turn to darkness. It's a choice."
Huh? Are you saying I'm a Dragon? I shake my head. "I think that pulse fried your brain, Race!"
He shakes his head again. "No, you don't have a Dragon in you. But your red magic would allow it. That's beside the point. I have accepted mine … and … it's complicated. But we're one … and it makes us a shifter … and now I've bonded with you. Well, we've gone through the initial phase, anyway."
I sit there, quietly. I, once again, have no idea what do with this. I can feel his strong pull and somehow know that he's telling the truth. How can that be, Race? I'm a guy … you're a guy …. Is that some weird Dragon thing? And don't even get me started asking about you being a Dragon!
He actually growls and a little white smoke escapes his nose. I don't think you're actually a guy, anymore, Alex.
After several tense minutes of silence, I can't take it anymore and leave Race in his office while I try to process what he said. The pull I feel towards Race doesn't lessen with the distance as I frantically push myself toward the library. To say the whole thing freaks me out doesn't even come close to how terrified I am. I tear my thoughts away from being magically "fate-bonded" to someone and force myself to focus on something else.
Are you okay, Sis? I concentrate on only her and push my thoughts out just to her … filtering Race out of the conversation. I don't know how I suddenly know how to do that.
Where are you? Are you okay? I'm fine. Why did Race take you away?
I'll be right there.
I push myself back into the library and Cat gasps. "It's true … You bonded! I don't understand …?"
Ginger beckons to me. "Come here, Hon. I know this is confusing to you. Please let me examine you."
Sis comes over and pushes me to Ginger. Bonded? What is Cat talking about?
I'll tell you what I know in a minute. I'm still trying to … process it, myself …. "Race said he doesn't think I'm a guy, anymore …." I look at Ginger with tears in my eyes.
Momma J comes over and holds my hand as Ginger lays her hands on me. She indicates for Sis to do the same. "Don't push anything, Sarah. Just explore."
Sis nods and lays her hands on me, too.
They're both quiet for a few minutes, then Ginger looks at Sis, who nods. "Well, Alex, Race is correct. You're not a guy, anymore – but you're not a girl, either. Not fully, anyway. But you're going through female puberty because of your connection to Sarah … and your red magic is starting to flow more freely because of it. You'll likely step through the aging process like any other girl … you'll physically develop as a woman. But you won't have the anatomy to have children."
I sit there. Stunned. Tears are streaming down my face. "It's not fair! I'm going through puberty and still won't be able to have kids. I could have just taken hormones and done that—and at least looked like a guy. But now I'm somehow fate-bonded with Race … whatever that really means … and he'll hate me, because I won't be able to be a real … mate!" I start bawling and I have no idea where the overwhelming emotions are coming from.
Sis squeezes me in a hug from behind. "I don't think Race will hate you, Alex. I have no idea what any of this mate stuff means, but there is good news, too. Your spine has begun to heal, which is why you can feel your legs without the tingles. It's not fully healed—the mass is still impinging on nerves and blocking signals. But I think I know how to keep working on it, now. Unfortunately, like Ginger said before … I'm sure it will strengthen our bond even more and just hasten your puberty. I can sense our bond now … and I think you can, too."
I nod. I can sense it … it's like this invisible pipeline of energy that is flowing between us—only now it's not truly invisible to Sis and me, anymore.
"Can you move your legs, Hon?" Momma J looks at me with the concern of the whole ordeal clearly outlined on her face.
I take a deep, shaky breath and sniffle. I try to move my legs and shake my head. "No. I can maybe get just a minor twitch of my toes, but that may just be my imagination."
"We can work on that, Alex." Ginger pats my thigh. "I think the other damage has already been done, so there is no real reason not to get you fully patched up, don't you think? But not today. You need to let your body rest from this last session … and give yourself time to process the other changes and events. You'll also need to really talk to His Highness …. I'm not a shifter and don't understand everything about them, but your budding bond is clearly evident to anyone that has even just a hint of magic. It's like a giant beacon that says, 'Back off! I'm taken!'"
Race slowly pulls my shirt over my head and unhooks my bra. He lays me back in our bed and starts sucking on my hard nipples. I squirm in ecstasy. He undoes my jeans and pulls them down my legs, then pulls down my panties. I reach down and unbutton his pants. He slides them down his legs as I tug on his underwear. He shimmies them down after his pants and I wrap my legs around his waist. His lust … and need … for me rushes through our connection—at the same time my own passion and overwhelming desire for him floods into him. He kisses my neck and I feel his manhood grow and harden.
Then he pushes me away. We can't! This is not right! I can't ….
My eyes pop open. Race? I can feel the strong connection between us. It's different than the one I have with Sis, but it's palpable—as is our mutual need for one another that courses through it.
Alex? We have to talk … tomorrow. I have to process this … figure out how to fix it ….
You don't want me? I mean …. I know I can't give you …. Of course, you don't ….
Alex! Stop! We'll talk. Tomorrow. I promise!
I don't sense him as strongly as he cuts off the communication, but he's still there … indelibly connected to me.
Then my connection to Sis flares and I feel her sexual heat as she gets close to an orgasm. She's staying with Ginger tonight and I know this is no dream. I clamp down on any mental communication, but I can't stop the empathic one. Our connection flares and I suddenly see and experience everything she does as Ginger's tongue tortures her little mound and she squirms in pleasure. She/we squirt our juices all over Ginger's face and she/we shudder with the rolling waves of orgasmic pleasure that overtake us. My eyes roll into the back of my head as my fingers dig into the sheet. My legs pull up to my body and my muscles clench in the throws of the orgasm. I feel the weight of my firm, erect breasts increase as they swell in size … and know I just went through an age spurt. I just can't care as I try and come down from the orgasmic ecstasy.
As my heart rate begins to slow, I see clearly through Sis' eyes. Ginger is so beautiful and I'm/we're fully in love with her—something that's clearly reciprocated. Then the room is filled with bright light, blinding her/us. Ginger gasps as a beautiful Blackfoot maiden appears … but Sis/I recognize her.
"Komorkis? Is it really you?"
"Yes, child. It is I, Ko'komiki'somma—your Moon Goddess. You have found your fated mate. Ginger, child, I know I am not your Goddess, but your Celtic magical heritage is strong, and you honor it well. I have communicated with your deities, and we all agree that you and Sarah belong together. Sarah's own Celtic heritage from her father's side binds you. Her Blackfoot heritage is what puts her in line for being alpha of her own pack. Your bond is what puts you in line to be her alpha mate. We will talk more, later. For now, Sarah Cloud Walker McDonald and Ginger Fae Carmody, it is time for you to accept your wolves and run with the moon as the fully-bound fated mates you are."
I feel my connection to Sis split as her bond and mate connection to Ginger solidifies. Then I feel her morph into her wolf and the connection becomes fuzzy with her confusion. I want to help her, but Kamorkis suddenly appears in my room with the same blinding white light.
"Do not fear, Alexa Hirohito. Your sister is not in any danger. She is embracing her destiny, as must you, soon. I have been in contact with Otohime, and she will appear to you in due time."
I shake my head. "Kamorkis, right? I only know that from my connection to Sis. You're the Blackfoot moon goddess? I'm Alexander, not Alexa—not that it really matters. Anyway, what happened to Sis? What is this about accepting her wolf?"
Kamorkis smiles. "You are Alexa, now. Otohime will explain. As for Sarah and Ginger, they are now the alphas of a new wolf shifter pack and will be instrumental in the war, to come. Your sister is not only alpha of her own pack, but queen of the wolf shifters on this world. She will come to lean on your bond—as much as you have already learned to do. Together, you will provide the change in Light Magic that will be needed to provide the proper balance in magic on this world. You must trust in them and your own fated mate. It is all your destinies. Good luck, Lexi!"
She disappears as quickly as she appeared—leaving me alone. My connection to Sis is as quiet as the one to Race. I feel utterly alone and totally confused.
WTF?
Race? Race, please talk to me! I sob, not knowing what to do. Sis? Are you there? It's been hours since Kamorkis left me alone and I'm still utterly confused. Dawn is starting to break and I'm frantically worried about Race, Sis, and Ginger. I know Kamorkis said it would all be okay, but since when did any mortal trust the gods in any myth, fable, or legend? Why should I start now?
I don't even think about the fact that I clearly had an age spurt. I can feel the extra weight of my enlarged "boobs" pulling on my chest and back. I haven't focused on that enough to assess what changes have actually occurred, but Kamorkis' statement that I am now "Alexa" doesn't bode well.
Race? Sis? Anyone?!?
I see flashes of green foliage and the sound of panting floods my mind. It slowly morphs into more coherent thoughts as I see her lovingly look at a large, sleek black wolf … and after a few minutes Sis is back.
Alex? I … I … I need to get back to you.
It's okay, Sis. I know about your wolf. Not only did I witness what happened, but Kamorkis visited me. Are you okay?
I'm confused. I'm thrilled. I'm … bound. Ginger is my mate. I now know your confusion—only Ginger and I seem to be more … in tune with one another than you and Race.
Race is not into guys … Ginger and you are into one another. I don't know what is supposed to happen between Race and me.
Hon! I hate to tell you this, but you're not a guy anymore. I don't know what the gods have planned for us, but … we need to trust them.
I sigh. At least she seems to be Okay.
Famous last words, Sis. Famous last words ….
Sis and I disconnect, now that I'm satisfied she seems to be okay, and I lay there frustrated. Everyone keeps saying I'm not a guy anymore. What does that mean? I'm not really a girl, either.
Race? Are you there?
I sigh as there is total radio silence … although I can feel a ton of sadness surge through our emotional connection.
Sis' eyes are continuously darting from side to side. She's constantly on guard, like a wild animal. She hugs me fiercely. "How are you holding up, Sis?"
I sigh. "Et tu, Sarah? I don't think I qualify as your sister."
She snorts. "Have you looked at yourself?"
It's true. I had my second age spurt last night, after I synchronously orgasmed with Sis. There's no way I'm fitting into the bra I was wearing just yesterday … I must be at least double that size. There is also no doubt that I look like a girl … a girl my own age … eighteen, or so. All of that said, I still have my non-functional "male" equipment down below … so, it's all just looks. Well, except, I feel like a girl. It's so maddening!
"I may look like a girl. I may oddly feel like a girl. But I still have the same mangled, non-functioning mess between my legs. So … even if I did … could … embrace being a girl, I'm still a freak. Race will never want me!" I fight the tears welling up in my eyes.
Sis hugs me tightly. "Alexa … Lexi … Sis! Like it, or not … you're as much a girl now as I am! You may not have the same equipment, but you have our spirit! Race will come around. Trust me! There's no fighting a fated mate bond. He can try. He can reject you, sure. But at what cost? I don't think that's in the cards."
I can't fathom any of that, right now … so I refocus on something equally as mind-boggling. "So, you're a wolf, now? And … Ginger and you are bonded?"
Sis smiles brightly. "Bonded … yes. We're totally in love … infatuated with one another. We're true fated mates. As for being a wolf shifter … yes, we both are. It was as invigorating as it was terrifying to shift."
"I bet." I give her a concerned look. "And you're both the alpha of your 'pack' and the queen of all wolf shifters? What does that mean? Won't you be expected to … expand the pack?"
She shrugs. "Kamorkis said she would explain more, later. But … yes. Ginger and I will be expected to do our part to enrich the pack. I'm sure that once you and Race work out you're differences, you will be expected to do the same for your thunder. I think that's what a group of dragons is …."
I sigh. "First, I'm not a dragon. Second, I'm incapable of doing that from the aspect of either sex, so that's a moot pipe dream … even if I wanted to. Third, stop deflecting!"
She giggles. "Okay! Ginger thinks we'll still have to mate with strong males to 'have pups.' So, yeah—I'm freaked out! Happy?"
I shake my head. "You know I'm not. That's freaky, Sis! But … tell me about Ginger. Was that her … the black wolf I saw when we reconnected?"
Sis radiates pride. "Yes! She's a beautiful midnight sable wolf. The funny thing is that her surname … 'Carmody' … means 'Black Dog.' It certainly seems like fate!"
"And you, Sis? What about you?" I didn't catch a glimpse of her.
Sis giggles. "It's funny. Ginge has her ginger hair … and is a black wolf. I have my black hair … and I'm a ginger wolf! I can't talk about it all, yet. Kamorkis said that Otohime will explain it all to you when you're ready. But now it's time for you to stop deflecting! You've certainly had an age spurt. We need to deal with that, Sis!"
I sigh. "Yeah. My boobs are really heavy … and my tits are huge!"
Sis giggles. "Yes, your breasts have grown, and your nipples are enlarged. Your areolae are also much larger. We need to get you measured. I would bet you're a C-cup, at least. And … it's time to see what you look like with some makeup!"
I groan. "Really?"
I look at Race. He's avoiding my eyes … and my cleavage … not that I blame him. I shouldn't have cleavage! I also shouldn't be wearing a dress … or makeup. Sis and Momma had insisted.
After Sis had measured me yesterday and determined that I am actually a D-cup … bordering on a DD, according to her … she spent an hour making me up. She explained it all to me … what she was doing at each step. But I still have no idea what all the mumbo-jumbo of the different creams, lotions, and potions is about. All I know is that it feels … and smells … really weird. And it makes me look freakishly feminine. Like … hot even.
The memory of her putting on my first makeup is surreal. I'm a guy. Guys don't wear makeup and the feel of that first layer of "foundation," followed by layer after layer of other … stuff… just seemed to strip away what little masculinity I had … more and more with each layer.
Putting on a "real" bra … not the kid's bra like before, but one with lace and substantial "cups", followed by a dress, and another full makeover before coming over to Race's office today, just added more nails to my coffin.
So, I'm pissed when he just ignores me! I'm in his office, holding a steaming cup of espresso, but its steam pales in comparison to mine. "Race! Look at me! I don't know what happened. I didn't ask for us to be 'fated mates' or to bond. I'm freaked out about it! But you can't keep ignoring me. If you want me to go, then say so. It would rip my heart out … but I would go! Not that I even understand why it would rip my heart out. I mean … I understand why you wouldn't want a 'mate' like me …."
He growls and smoke comes out his nose and mouth. "That's enough, Lexi! I'm not ignoring you because I don't want you! I'm ignoring you because I do! And I can't afford to get caught up in mating issues! We're going to war! I want you … so badly … but I can't get distracted from … saving Earth. I want nothing more than to take you to my bedroom and to think of nothing else but you!"
I squeak. "You called me 'Lexi!'"
He bows his head. "Yes. That is who you are. Kamorkis and Otohime have been talking … and Otohime communicated with my dragon. I'm bound to you, Alexa. There is no denying it! My Dragon is a direct descendent of a great dragon king, that's why they call me 'Your Highness.' You are my fated mate … and while we are bound, it's incomplete. It will happen with time that we complete the bond. But now is not that time! We have to prepare for war … and defeat Grae'Bar and his abominations. Survival of this planet … and so much more … depends on it. After that, we can concentrate on … us."
I feel the intense emotional connection between us surge as my desire for him explodes. He roars and rushes over to me and kisses me passionately. I subconsciously start unbuttoning his shirt as he caresses my breasts. I feel the heat of his smoke as it forces its way into my lungs with his passionate kiss and it turns me on to no end. I almost orgasm just from the kiss alone. Then he pushes back, and I blow out my breath in frustration! I'm not sure if the escaping smoke is his … or mine.
"What? You can't start something like that and not finish it, 'Your Highness!'"
He turns red and growls. "I have work to do! You need to report to the War Room. There are new developments on the dinosaur front. Go! Now! Before I do something I'll regret!"
I feel the tears well up in my eyes and resolutely start wheeling myself toward the door. "Sure thing, 'Your Highness!' Whatever you command, 'Your Highness!' Of course, it's all about you, 'Your Highness!'" And I slam the door behind me as I push myself away from the office, as fast as I can … bawling uncontrollably.
"Okay, so we need to start using waterproof mascara on you. Duly noted!" Sis is "fixing my face" after my flight from Race's office and before I go into the War Room. "And you're going to have to start learning to do your own makeup, Sis. I won't always be around to fix it for you."
I glare at her. "Gee! If I wanted to wear makeup, then maybe I would get right on that. Or … maybe if I was born a girl … and grew up as one, I would want to and already know how …." I shake my head. Taking out my frustrations with my "mate" on my sister isn't the answer. I shake my head at that the bizarreness of that thought. "I'm sorry, Sis. He just totally infuriates me!"
I see her permanently darting eyes flash the yellow of her wolf and she sighs. "I have faith it will all work out, Hon. Now, let's get you prettied back up and into the War Room. They're waiting on both of us." She quickly finishes working on my face and pushes me out of the little conference room and into the War Room.
All Hell has broken loose in the room. Ginger is on the other side with Momma J, watching something on the wall of monitors. Momma J is covering her mouth in horror.
Sis pushes me over and Momma takes over control of my chair as Ginger pulls Sis into a tight one-sided hug. I focus on the screen and my jaw drops as I watch the scene that is unfolding. This must be what Race was talking about.
The feed from China is showing a huge field with line after line of soldiers standing at attention—there must be a couple hundred. A man, that Ginger lets us know is one of the dragons in human form, is walking down the ranks and stopping at soldier after soldier. Each soldier then goes to one of two new forming groups at either side of the field. On the left side of the field, another man … the other dragon … is doing something to the men in that group and they transform into one of the types of dinosaurs, seemingly at random as to which types, in the growing army. The soldiers in the larger group on the right side are apparently very nervous and are milling around.
When the first dragon gets to the last of the soldiers, he sends him to the dinosaur group. The second dragon quickly finishes transforming everyone in the smaller group on the left into fidgety dinosaurs that as usual don't outright attack each other, but the carnivores in the group are clearly looking for blood. Overall, less than ten percent of the full group is in the dinosaur camp and the rest are nervously looking over at the agitated animals.
The two men shift into their dragon form and take off into the air. Suddenly, the non-carnivores stampede and surround the group of men on the right side of the field—the ones not transformed. The carnivores then jump over them into the circle and I'm suddenly very thankful that the feed is grainy and in black and white.
The dragons fly to a new field with a new group of soldiers in the middle.
Momma J is pale. "That was the third field of men that we know of. My understanding is that this has been going on for quite some time …. It takes about an hour for each of these groups, but the speed seems to be increasing ... as if they're getting more efficient at it. Those poor people! Can you imagine the terror?"
I don't know which is worse. Being transformed into a dinosaur … I assume against their will … or being devoured by one to avoid being transformed. I can't help but shudder. "So, they must have thousands of dinosaurs by now? To what end? And … are they shifters? Like the dragons?"
I feel Race's aura quickly approach the room, but he doesn't mentally connect with me. He storms in and quickly looks around but avoids my eyes as he answers my question, which he obviously heard. "No. At least not most of them. It works differently with dark magic. Those dragons are first and foremost dragons. They can just temporarily shift into a human form. Unlike Sarah or Ginger who are primarily human and can shift into a wolf."
I can't help but wonder if that means that Race is also "first and foremost" human? I've never seen him change into a dragon, even if he says he can—but I assume that's what he means. I shrug and listen to the rest of his explanation.
"Those dinosaurs are permanently transformed because it was mostly done against their will … but they did choose the transformation over death and reluctantly submitted to it. That's what leaves them vulnerable to the dragons' control and is increasing the overall level of dark magic, allowing the increasing speed at which the transformations are taking place." He sighs. "A few will welcome the change and fully accept the dark magic into themselves during their initial transformation … and will thus be able to shift into something else, potentially into human form. But their primary forms will now forevermore be the dinosaurs they currently are."
Sis purses her lips in thought. "Does that mean that they've lost all humanity? When I shifted into my wolf the first time, I struggled to keep my connection to my humanity—at least at first. After a while I was able to fully connect myself to wolf and we fully … merged. When Ginger did the same, we were able to then communicate with one another. But if our wolves were our primary forms, wouldn't that 'persona' take over as primary, as well?"
Ginger looks sick at the thought as she nods in agreement with Sis' line of reasoning.
"I'm afraid so." Race sighs. "Those poor souls have been condemned to life as a different reptilian species. Some of the species of dinosaurs are smarter than others, but the transformed humans are now only as smart as they would have been if they had been born in their new host bodies, with the brains that come with them. They are all bound to the Dragon that transformed them, Grae'bar. It is very similar to Sarah being the alpha of her pack." He smiles with a slight sparkle in his eye. "When she and Ginger get it built up to an actual pack, that is."
"But how will we do that, Your Highness?" Ginger looks distraught. "They have a huge head-start on us. And even if we could just transform humans into wolves, neither Sarah nor I would condone something like that against people's wills! And surely we're not supposed to have that big a pack?"
I choke at Ginger calling Race, "His Highness." I had also noticed how both Sis and her had bowed their heads to him when he came in the room. I open up mentally to Sis. What's the deal with Ginger calling Race, "His Highness?" Why are you treating him like royalty?
She looks over at me and I could swear she sighs. Because that's who he is, Lexi. He's our king. Somehow, I wound up as queen of the wolves, but he is king of all shifters—at least those born of Light Magic.
Then I'm glad I'm not a shifter. I don't bow down to "royalty." I grunt as I think about reading about Mad King Ludwig just a few days ago … it seems like ages ago. I look at Race and shake my head as the lust for him builds up in me again … I may be somehow fatefully bound to him as his "mate." But I will never submit to him as my "king."
He is glowering at me, and I know he can't read my thoughts. I have them securely blocked – although, I don't know how much he can get from Sis … if he really is her "king" and she has submitted to him. Is she simply relaying my thoughts, intentional, or not? He shakes his head in frustration and looks at Ginger.
"Our way of increasing our numbers is different, Ginger. We can't control who has access to magic, but the gods and goddesses have given the royal lines of shifters the power to grant deserving individuals the power to accept their animals—even those without magic." Race looks at Sis. "For example, Sarah can grant a wolf to anyone—the same as Kamorkis granted her and Ginger theirs. It is not unlimited, though. There has to be an available match. The gods and goddesses can create a new match."
I'm totally lost. Matches?
You'll understand, Sis. After Otohime explains it to you. Non-shifters aren't supposed to know how it all works.
Race sighs as he continues. "There are many animal-shifter lines, like wolves, bears, lions, panthers, and more. There are many packs currently forming around each line, each with its own alpha and resulting hierarchy. But there is only one king or queen of each line—and there is only so much they can do. We can only hope we remain in the gods and goddesses' favor, and that they continue to bolster our ranks!"
I shake my head. There is so much wrong with that statement. I still don't trust the gods and goddesses … and now I have to wonder if I can trust my own sister any more than I can trust them—or my "mate."
I lay in my bed and wiggle my toes for the hundredth time since Sis worked on me this afternoon. After she finished pushing her healing energy into my spine, I was able to move them for the first time in years. I also finally have much finer sensation returning to below my injury – it doesn't feel like things are touching me through a thick blanket, anymore … it's more like through a silk sheet. It's not perfect, but I can discern much softer caresses – and I can wiggle my toes!
Of course, the whole session was an exchange, again. No one has figured out how Sis can connect to me without tapping into our personal magical pipeline. Even though she can now connect to Ginger and will be able to connect to anyone in her pack … or any wolf, as queen … she shouldn't be able to connect to me. And our connection goes way beyond just the mental communication—it's somehow freeing my red magic to flow unhindered back into her. I know there will be consequences to that – likely in the form of me "maturing" more as a girl. I sigh. I simply don't know what to do with that.
When Sis was done with the session … and Race monitoring it to make sure that nothing bad happened with my red magic … we had come home. Well, Sis, Ginger, Momma J, and I had. Not "His Highness." Oh no! He can't be bothered with me … his mate. I wipe the tears away that well up in my eyes. At least I can control them enough to not bawl … maybe that's my "progress" for today.
I find myself wanting to talk to Sis and I try and reach out to her, although I know I won't be successful. After we got home and she helped me clean off my makeup, she and Ginger left. They are not only magically … but also legally … bound. They took full advantage of one of the perks of working where we do – easily getting official paperwork. So, Sis is now moving in with Ginger … her mate.
I know I won't be able to connect with her right now, because they are both out running as their wolves. When she is in her wolf form, our mental communication breaks down and I won't be able to connect with her until she is close to transforming back. But she did promise to come by in the morning to help with my makeup … to make up for moving out … yay rah!
I sigh and think about Race. I have no idea what to do about that situation. I can feel his never-ending tug on me constantly stoking my desires. My need for him seems to grow by the minute … as does my frustration with him! I don't get how this whole fated mate thing is supposed to work. Obviously, it doesn't have to be two individuals of the opposite sex, as Sis and Ginger have proven. But they were both self-declared lesbians before they were bonded. And … well, Kamorkis had something to do with that bonding – so, was it just an exception to the rule? And that still doesn't help explain where that leaves Race and me?
I reach out mentally to him. Race? I wait several minutes and hiss in frustration at the radio silence. I know he can hear me – I felt his heartbeat quicken through our emotional connection when I reached out. He's just ignoring me. Fine! Your High-Asshole-ness. Just keep ignoring me and see how happy your mated life is going to be! I get a glimpse of a very erotic dream he's having … with me in it. I sigh. So … he's not truly ignoring me—he's just asleep. Like I should be, since it's one o'clock in the morning.
Try as I might, I can't sleep. I lay there in frustration and ball my hands into tight little fists. I take my pillow and put it over my face, so that I can scream into it without being heard and waking Momma. Finally, I can't stop the flood of tears, and I keep the pillow over my head to muffle my sobs.
I feel a gentle, warm caress envelop my mind, and I instinctively know it's Race embracing me through our emotional connection. He's still asleep and it's an unconscious act on his part, but it makes me sob even more because it's filled with such love … love that he won't give me in a conscious form. I finally give in to the subconscious mental embrace, and he fills me with an inner glow that spreads to every corner of my body. Minutes later, my body writhes as it bursts with intense orgasmic pleasure. Thankfully, the pillow is still over my head, as I once again scream into it—this time in ecstasy—and I finally slip into an exhausted sleep ….
I wake up in a sweat and breathing hard. My heart is pounding from the dream I was having right before I woke up. Race was pleasuring me in ways that I wouldn't ever have dreamt of … well … until now. I sigh in the aftermath of the post-orgasmic glow, and smile as I feel the slight pressure of Sis "knocking" on my mental door. Good morning, Sis. How was your run with Ginger?
It was interesting. Tell me … did you and Race finally …?
What? No! He still isn't talking to me. Why?
Because … well … something triggered an event in our connection last night. I felt a surge of your red magic flow into me. It strengthened me … and my wolf turned … pink. Well … it's still ginger, but definitely a very pinkish ginger.
Memories of my dreams flood my mind before I can censor my connection and Sis giggles. I blush. Sorry. Race and I didn't really … but we're somehow connected in our dreams, where we're very active! Although, who knows how that actually works—given my lack of certain parts that are very front and center in those dreams. I've never had a desire for such parts, but I have to admit it's hard to not want them when Race plays with them the way he does in those dreams!
Her giggles flood my mind again. Mmmmhmmm …. Those parts certainly have their advantages. I'll be over in half an hour and you're getting your first makeup lesson. Be ready, Sis. No arguments! Over and out!
I frown as she goes radio silent. I look at my phone to see what time it is and am surprised to see it's nearly eight o'clock. I swing over into my chair and jerk as I feel the cold metal against my legs. I wiggle my toes for good measure and roll myself into my bathroom to take a shower and get the smell of a night of beautiful sex off me that I still have no idea how got on me, in the first place.
Thirty minutes later, I'm sitting in front of Sis' old vanity … in the room she just abandoned a day ago … only now it's covered in makeup that is meant for me. And she's giving me a serious lesson in how to put it on. I'm fighting it but losing.
Grrrrrowwwllll!
I jump and look at Sis, whose eyes are very golden-yellow and her canines are very long. Her wolf is very front and center—as her loud growl just punctuated.
"Sis! You will pay attention and you will learn to do this! I can't look out for you all the time. You're a woman now … and you will not embarrass the rest of us! You will learn to be a lady. I don't remember much of your real mother—but I do remember she was a real lady. If you won't do it for me—or Momma, then do her proud, Sis!"
Memories of Mom flood my brain in a torrent as fast and furious as the waters of "the event" that assaulted our apartment building. Sis is right. Mom was always the perfect lady … and her looks were always immaculate. If I had always been her daughter, I would either be following along voluntarily … or completely resisting in rebellion. I think I'm in the resistance park, right now … but is that how I want to honor Mom? I briefly consider what I would look like in Goth makeup and suppress a giggle.
I sigh loudly and nod. "Okay, Sis … I'll … try …. No promises, though! Mom was an impossible card to follow … and you and Momma J are no less impossible. So … ummmm … there!"
You sure showed me! Sis giggles in my mind. I had forgotten that I let her in earlier. And those memories of your mom were spot on. I always adored her poise and self-confidence. She was a true lady! And … Goth is definitely not you! "Okay. Now pay attention! This is foundation …."
The next hour goes by quicker than I expect as Sis shows me how to do my face. I pay as close attention as I can, but the whole process still seems so foreign and daunting to me that Sis winds up doing most of the work, in spite of making me try several of the steps, myself. She just huffs when I nearly poke my eye out with the mascara wand and takes over. "Don't think this is the end of our practice sessions, Sis. But we do need to get you done today, so that we can get on the road."
When she's done and I pass inspection, she insists that I put on another dress after I don the matching lingerie she brought with her for me to wear. I gasp when I feel the lacy panties tickle my inner thighs and she giggles. I blush. "I'm not used to feeling anything down there … but this is … I don't know …." I shiver a little.
"It's just one of the feminine things that girls get to enjoy. We may have to put up with bras—but we can look good underneath while we do. And only we know … it's our little secret what we have on underneath. The lace is just a constant tiny reminder." She winks. Then she helps me into the dress that she insists I wear, before adding some matching ballet flats on my feet.
I still can't move my legs … but I wiggle my toes in the shoes and smile. "Do you think that we can do a little more healing today?"
Sis shakes her head and frowns. "I promised His Highness that I wouldn't do anything to aggravate your red magic over the weekend. We'll have to wait until Monday—unless you want to go into 'the office' over the weekend. I know you want full control of your legs, Hon … but I was hoping we could have a little rest from all the magic and just relax over the weekend?"
I smack my head. I had completely forgotten that it's Saturday and we're not expected at the West Wing, unless there is some emergency development. I groan. "No. You're right. I could use some space from 'His High and Mightiness.' If only I could completely shut him out of my mind …. I really want him. It's so frustrating, because I don't want to!"
Sis pats me on the shoulder and smiles. "Well. Let's go have a girls' day out! Some retail therapy will do you good. Don't worry! I know Alex wasn't into shopping … but I'm confident that Lexi will be!"
I grumble, "Shopping? Really? I thought you said something about relaxing! Maybe we should go into 'the office,' after all!"
She just slaps my arm with a play growl that is still hair-raising. She grabs her purse and puts it in my lap, then gets another from the same bag that the dress and shoes I'm wearing came from… one that suspiciously matches my shoes … and places it next to hers. She then wordlessly starts pushing me toward the door.
Momma J drops us off at the mall on her way to work. She's picking up some weekend shifts to make up for missing her time during the week.
Sis and I are meeting Ginger for some long overdue breakfast, as is evidenced by my stomach growling louder than Sis angry wolf! She quickly wheels me through the unbearable heat and strong winds and makes a beeline straight to the outside restaurant entrance. We enter the heavenly coolness of the restaurant, and go directly to the back, where Ginger already has a table waiting for us. Their bond led Sis straight to her without us having to ask or search the restaurant. It's just like I could navigate straight to where Race is, right now … if I wanted to, which I vehemently remind myself that I don't!
Ginger smiles brightly at me. "You look lovely in that dress, Hon! Red really suits you!"
I blush about as red as the dress and shrug. "Ummm … thanks? I'm still not sure how to take being complimented for looking good in a dress!"
"You take it as the compliment it's meant to be!" She giggles. "Now, let's order. I'm starved and there's a lot of shopping to do, today … along with some other things. Did Sarah tell you that you're staying over with us tonight? Your momma's pulling a double shift and do we have plans for you!"
I groan in dismay. But before I can reply, our waitress comes over and I forget about retorting after losing myself in the menu. We order and while we're waiting on the food, I observe Sis and Ginger interacting with one another. I have already "witnessed" their very intimate comingling and still flush with heat at the memories of the ensuing feelings that I vicariously enjoyed. But it's still very different for me to watch my thirteen-year-old sister look and act like a very mature woman in her late teens … not that hot, steamy sex was to be any more expected of my little sister.
I shake my head at our new reality. The two of them are certainly now inseparable. I had noticed the diamond solitaire and wedding ring on Sis' finger when she came in to help me with my makeup, this morning. I now see the matching set on Ginger's left ring finger, which only physically punctuates what is palpable through my connection with Sis.
The thoughts of Sis' and Ginger's intimacy make my connection with Race flare up and I feel a strong tug on my heart … and an overwhelming desire for him. Thankfully, breakfast arrives, and I do my best to distract my thoughts with my omelet and fruit bowl. I can only hope that the food is better than this weak stuff they call "coffee!"
A good thirty minutes later, Sis is pushing me out into the mall and straight toward Victoria's Secret. I put my hands on my wheels and do my best to stop the train! "Wait! There's no way I'm going in there!"
Ginger giggles and Sis gives me a look. "I felt your lust for His Highness bleed through our connection at breakfast, Sis. Trust me—when we're done, today, he won't be able to ignore your bond anymore. You're a woman now—use your weapons. You supposedly have war magic—I don't really know what that is … but women always make the best warriors. Especially, when it comes to love!"
I have no idea how she became an expert, seemingly overnight, but Ginger appears to be in total agreement with her.
The next several hours are thus spent getting measured for and picking out lingerie, sleepwear, dresses, tops, and skirts. Sis won't let me get anything with legs, since she insists that when I get my strength back in them, they will fill out and things will fit differently. The same is true for shoes, although, she does insist I get two pair of casual "appropriate" women's styles to replace my usual guy's sneakers and supplement the pair of flats I'm currently wearing. After rounding it all out with "accessories," like belts, scarves, and purses, we take the whole load out to Ginger's SUV where the entire haul completely fills up the voluminous cargo area of the huge vehicle.
"I still don't see why I need all of this stuff! And you really shouldn't have paid for it all, Ginger!" I know I'm bordering on whining, but the whole thing is pretty embarrassing, to be honest.
"Oh, hush! I've always wanted a sister and now I have one. They pay me really well in my current position, as they will you, too, I'm sure. Anyway, I haven't had this much fun in years! Thank you, Sis!" She smiles genuinely at me, to let me know she really means it.
I sigh. What can I say to that?
Nothing! Other than "thank you!" Once again, Sis' newfound maturity hits me square in the gut.
I nod. "Well, then … Thank you, Sis. I'm exhausted and ready to relax, but my omelet is gone, too!"
Sis laughs. "Yeah. We have one more stop, then we'll head home and order pizza for our little party." She hands me a granola bar. "Here. This will stave off the hunger, for now! There's water in the car."
I groan, but nearly fall out of my chair when Sis … Sarah, not Ginger … gets behind the wheel. "Sis?" I choke on my bite of granola bar. "When did you start driving? You're just thirteen … well, you know what I mean!"
Ginger giggles. "Well. Hold on to your hat! She drives like a bat out of Hell! Thank the Moon Goddess for her supernatural reflexes!"
Fifteen harrowing minutes later, Sis parks in front of "Zoe's," a tattoo and piercing salon.
"Why are we stopping here?" I have a bad feeling about this and don't like the look they give each other. "Look. I gave in and went into Victoria's Secret. I even gave in and went into the women's restroom with you. But I put my foot down on this one!" I blush. "Well … if I could … but you know what I mean! I'm not getting a tattoo! I despise tattoos!"
Sis giggles. "You needed new bras, and like you were going to go into the men's room in a dress? Really? And no one said anything about you getting a tattoo. Ginger and I are. You … are getting your ears pierced. And we're all three getting our noses pierced!"
Ginger nods in full agreement, folds her arms in front of her chest, and gives me a mock glare. "No arguments, Sis! Think of how hot it will look … and I happen to know that His Highness has a weakness for girls with a hoop in their nose." She can barely contain her giggle.
Somehow, I know I'm not going to win the argument against these two. I figure I can just take out the piercings later and the holes will heal up, so I give in.
Two hours later, we exit the building with their new matching wolves tattooed on their butts, two gold hoops in each of my ear lobes, and a small gleaming black hoop in each of our noses.
Before we get in the car, Ginger faces Sis and wraps her arms around her, placing her hands on her butt cheeks—Sis mirrors the action and places hers on Ginger's. They close their eyes in a strange sort of hug for a couple of minutes, then smile at each other. After that, Ginger comes over and smiles at me, before placing her hands on my cheeks … on my face, not my butt. I feel a slight tingle as her energy flows into me. After about a minute she stops, and she removes her hands. "I may not be able to heal your back and legs, Lexi—but I can certainly heal a couple of small holes! You're good to go now, Hon! Your holes are all healed and completely permanent!"
I finally realize they had been healing each other's tattoos and piercings. I suppress a groan. So much for letting the holes heal up! "Ummm … thanks, Sis. That's very thoughtful of you."
She taps my nose and smiles knowingly as we get in the car. "Okay. Now to get you home and that hair and those nails taken care of!"
I give her a quizzical look and Sis grins at me in the rearview mirror. "Hon. Ginger was a licensed cosmetologist before she became a powerful magical healer. How else do think she gets her makeup and hair so perfect all the time? You're in for a real treat! Of course, she'll take care of those brows, too! I haven't had time to work on them, yet."
I lay in the unfamiliar bed in Ginger's … and now Sis' … guestroom. My eyebrows are still stinging from the abuse they took from Ginger's wicked tweezers. My long, oval, bright red nails feel soft on top as they run under the satin sheets … and my nipples harden as they tickle them through the satin of my candy-apple red baby doll nightie.
I think back to watching Ginger in the mirror as she finished cutting my long hair in a very feminine style. When she was done, it was still very long, but undeniably a trendy woman's cut. Pair that with the uber-girly brows that I now sport, the sexy red baby doll nightie they insisted I wear, and the long red nails, and I'm every guy's wet dream—even without makeup. But when Ginger finished my makeover after she cut my hair, I was ready for the center fold in Playboy Magazine!
I sigh and try to think of something else. But that leads me to slip and quit ignoring the incessant tug on my heart that's now persistently coming from my mate. My lust and desire for him starts to soar, so I put those new nails to good use … along with the newfound feeling in my legs … and pinch myself until I gasp. That works for a few seconds, then the overwhelming desire of the infernal tug pushes its way back into the forefront of my mind.
I try counting sheep. I get to twenty … and they just start lining up, pointing in the same direction as my incessant pull … toward Race. It's like they're some wooly compass, or something. I want to scream!
I sigh and try thinking about the dinosaurs … and how the Dragons forced innocent people to turn into one of them. Well … as far as I know they're innocent people, anyway. But in any case, they were forced to transform into one. It's a horrible plight, but is it really any different than what Kamorkis did to Sis and Ginger? Neither of them asked to be wolves. I mean, sure … they're still human. Well, sort of. But the point is, they had no real choice, either. And this whole magic thing … some people just suddenly having their lives upended when it suddenly appears in their lives, with the age spurts and all the angst and uncertainty. It's all so unfair!
I gasp as my connection to Sis suddenly sparks and I'm sucked into their ongoing love-making session next door. Ginger's tongue is slipping into Sis' wet slit, and she is licking her in a very special way … lapping up her juices and stimulating her little mound in a manner that creates more juices. Sis … and I … get hotter and hotter as the pressure in our bodies mounts.
I lose my focus on Sis as I feel my heartrate increase and my breaths get shorter and harder, turning into desperate gasps and small whimpers. My long nails run across my breasts, alternately raking the skin of my erect mounds through the satin of my nightie and tweaking my rock-hard nipples.
My hands then rub between my legs where, like Sis, I should feel the hot, warm dampness of my womanhood, but instead just feel the wreckage of my ruined loins. Undeterred, my hands return to my breasts, and my nails once again start tickling my breasts through the satiny material of my nightie.
I groan loudly and whimper as I hear a growl from next door.
Suddenly, the huge orgasm hits me—at the same time it hits Sis. We scream together—only Sis is more the howl of a wolf, while mine is more a mix of a scream and very loud moaning.
Finally, I collapse into an exhausted sleep ….
Suddenly, I'm in Race's arms as he lays me back on our bed and gently caresses my breasts …. I fully sense what he's doing to me. But I'm also still somehow connected to Sis, who is yet being pleasured by Ginger, and I sense her ecstasy, too. Race pulls my nightie over my head and kisses my nipples before starting to suck on them.
I'm still aroused from my initial connection to Sis, and he wastes no time in moving his hands to my suddenly available, very wet and desperate womanhood – just as Ginger starts pushing a dildo into Sis. Race's pulsing, hot manhood simultaneously enters me, and he starts pushing in and pulling out in the same slow rhythm as Ginger is using on Sis.
We both are moaning in a strange synchronized erotic dance and begging our lovers to keep it up—both of us frantically bucking up to meet them in tandem thrusts. We finally orgasm together, and I somehow release a huge amount of my red magic into our constant two-way magic stream. It rapidly dissipates into her body and multiplies her orgasm a thousand-fold. At the same time, Sis releases a high level of white healing magic into me, and multiple rolling orgasms explode in me as I feel her healing magic saturate my body.
I scream in a mixture of pure ecstasy, intense agony, and unmitigated terror as our magic streams swirl and mix in an unfettered flow through our now wide-open pipeline … and the world goes pitch black as the whole house shakes.
Lexi? Hon, are you there? You need to wake up, Love!
I moan. My head hurts and my body aches … I generally don't feel at all like myself. I open my eyes and grimace at the sunlight streaming through the window, blinding me with its bright white light. Sis is silhouetted against the light, at the foot of my bed, and Ginger is standing right behind her. I shade my eyes in an attempt to alleviate the pain in my head.
"How long was I out?" It had to have been several hours, since it's obviously very bright outside.
A growling comes from outside the door and Race storms in. "You were out for two days, and you're damned lucky you didn't kill all of us with that stunt. What part of not engaging in healing activities, or using your red magic over the weekend did you not understand? You created a level two earthquake!"
I bolt up into a sitting position and glower at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about 'Your High and Mightiness.'" I put air quotes around his "title." "I was simply trying to get some sleep and you hijacked me in my dreams. That's not on me!"
He snorts.
But Ginger breaks in before he can retort. "Look here, now! None of us know how it happened, but Lexi, your connection to your sister is now wide open and there is a dangerous amount of magic flowing between the two of you. Neither she nor His Highness can stem the flow. Can you? You really did create an earthquake … nothing disastrous happened, but we don't need another."
I pale, then sigh as I draw my knees up to me. I rest my forehead on my knees and concentrate on the raw flow of energy that I can now easily sense. I picture tightening down on a valve, similar to what I do when I shut off my mental link to Sis or Race. I feel the amount of energy start ebbing, and after a minute it's down to a trickle. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to fully shut it off.
Race nods seemingly satisfied.
Sis and Ginger just stare at me.
"What?" I shrug. "I can't shut it all the way off but the flow's down to where it was before … maybe even less."
Sis shakes her head. "Look at how you're sitting, Hon."
I notice for the first time that I had drawn my knees into my chest and gasp. "How? What …?"
Sis comes over and lays her hands on me, muttering more to herself than anyone else. "I'm just going to probe a little; don't worry." After a minute, she removes them and licks her lips. "Well, Sis. Your spine is completely healed. The metal is still there, kind of encasing your spine. But it's no longer impinging on the nerves. Your muscles have mostly recovered from their atrophy. There's no real reason for you not to get out of that bed and walk."
I anxiously start to move, and Ginger holds up her hands. "Hold on there, Love! You haven't walked in years! Your spine may be good, and your muscle mass may be good, but your muscle memory likely not so much. You need to take it slow. You're going to have to basically relearn how to walk. The healing magic can't fix that!"
Sis sighs. "And you should also know that whatever caused your body to heal seems to have also triggered our final age spurts … and completely transformed you into a fully functioning woman in her mid-twenties. Not only will you have to relearn the muscle function part of walking, but since it will be as a mature young woman, it will be … different than how you walked as a boy. Your weight is distributed differently, and you have different parts … or lack, thereof. So, whatever you can remember of walking won't work the same."
Race growls. "I have to get back to the office. Once you're all settled, tomorrow … or however long that takes, please come to the War Room. Things are getting worse, and we need to start strategizing on how to counter the dinosaur threat. We … I … need you, Lexi." He leaves the room without another word and before any of us can respond.
Momma J rushes in as he is leaving. "Lexi? You're awake? Oh! Thank the Goddess! I got back here as quickly as I could." She's holding a tray of coffees from the local coffee shop. "I brought a cup back for Race, but I guess he won't need it, so here you go, Love!" She hands me the steaming cup with a relieved smile.
I move my legs and Momma gasps, but I smile and take the proffered coffee. "It seems that whatever happened has left me with the use of my legs … but also a fully female body." I sigh. "And needs from Race that I can't even begin to explain." I screw up my face. "Does this mean I'll have … a period? Ewww!"
Ginger laughs. "You don't have to explain them to us, Hon! Take your time and sip on that coffee, then we'll see about getting you 'settled' on those legs, as His Highness put it. And, yes. I'm afraid you'll have to get acquainted with pads and tampons."
I groan and take a few sips of the coffee while I take inventory of my faculties. I can fully move my legs, but know that I won't be able to just get up and walk like nothing ever happened … I just don't have that level of control over them, anymore.
I surreptitiously let my left hand slide under the covers and between my legs. Sure enough, I have to stifle a gasp as I rub across my damp panties and feel my new, very eager womanhood. It's weird, since it feels like the familiar "friend" from my dreams, but I've never really possessed the working parts before to actually feel what I'm now feeling so they shouldn't be familiar to me, at all. Completely confused by my own thoughts, I take another sip of coffee to divert my attention from my sudden desire to explore more … and the need to elicit a body-shaking orgasm like in my dreams.
Oh, don't worry, Sis! I can tell His Highness is caving. You'll complete your bond, soon enough. I'm sure of it! Then you can have non-stop sex with him. She winks and smiles at the sour face I make. "Ready to try a few steps?"
I take a deep breath and explosively blow it out. "I guess. It's not like I haven't been dreaming of this moment for years, now!"
That's not all you've been dreaming about!
I give Sis a dark look and set my half-empty cup of coffee on the nightstand beside me. I slowly swing my legs out from under the covers and over the side of the bed. My feet easily touch the floor, which is another testament to the fact that I've "matured" and that my body has grown as part of that process. A couple of weeks ago, I would have been too short to reach the floor. I wiggle my toes as I look down at them and grin. I may have paid the price of turning into a woman to be able to do this, and I hope it's ultimately worth that price, but … for now … it's pretty effing awesome!
Ginger and Sis each put one of my arms over their shoulders, supporting me between them, and help me slowly stand up. There is just enough strength in my legs to stand without too much assistance, but my muscles will need a lot of work and toning to be back to fully developed. I slowly move my right leg forward and put my weight on it, trying to find my balance, then repeat with my left. We move across the room that way, at a glacial pace. But I make it! Then we move into the living room, where they help me sit on the couch. I'm drenched in sweat when we finally get there.
"Wow! That took a lot out of me." I shake my head. "I thought the magic would have left me in better shape."
Ginger scowls at me. "Lexi! Last night, your legs were withered and useless. Today, they're muscled and working. Give the magic a break! It healed your back and muscles—it's not going to replace discipline and a good series of workouts. We'll get them back in shape with exercise, yoga, and ballet … plus, I'm sure you'll be getting more than your share of battle training, now that you're back on your feet!"
Momma J gasps. "He … she just got out of that chair. Surely that can wait!"
Sis shakes her head sadly. "I'm afraid we're all going to have to step up in ways that we would rather not have to. Which reminds me, Momma. I would like to offer you a wolf, if you would accept her. I know it will be weird with me being your queen and alpha, after you took me in as your child, but our pack would certainly be very lucky and eternally grateful to have you!"
I choke. "Wait! You want to turn Momma into a shifter?" My tone turns bitter. "How is that any better than what the dragons are doing in China?"
"Listen here, little sister!" Ginger scowls at me with a low, feral growl. "The gift of a wolf is never given lightly. It's an honor and your sister would have made the offer independently of the current bind we're in with China. But your momma is in no way being forced or coerced into accepting the gift."
She's right, Sis. I know you don't get it. I wouldn't have either before Kamorkis honored me with my wolf. But it is a true honor. Do you really think I would disrespect our Momma? Look me in the eye and tell me that, if you do! Her anger and sadness clearly come across our link.
I sigh. "I'm sorry. I really am! But this whole mess with Race … being bonded against my will. The dinosaurs. Shifters, in general. It's so maddening. I just want Momma to know … to fully understand … what she would be agreeing to. Assuming that she's even considering any of it."
"I appreciate that, Hon." Momma nods. "I've seen the mess it's made of you. I've also seen the positive change it's made in your sister … both your sisters. I don't think Sarah would offer me anything that she didn't truly stand behind—or feel was in my best interest. And yes, it's very weird to think that just a few days ago you were my thirteen-year-old daughter, Sarah … and now you could be my grown-up queen. I can relate enough to the concept of 'queen' to just begin to fathom what that means. However, I have no idea whatsoever how to process what it means for you to be my 'alpha.' All of that aside … yes, I will accept your gift and do my part to strengthen your … our … pack … and hopefully also be able to help out the world, as a whole, in the process."
Sis smiles wanly in relief. "Thank you, Momma. We'll complete the ceremony tonight, then … under the full moon. Kamorkis has promised to come give you her blessing, as well."
I'm deep in thought, as I sit in my wheelchair under a large weeping willow next to the wide tranquil river. I'm in my red dress and made up to the nines after Ginger spent the afternoon making me practice putting on my makeup. I thought Sis … Sarah … was a taskmaster when it came to that. Well, she may be the queen of wolves and 'primary' alpha of her pack, but she has nothing on Ginger … my other Sis … when it comes to supervising cosmetics or hair. Anything less than absolute perfection is completely unacceptable in her eyes.
I'm in my chair, because I literally wore my legs out practicing walking, in between makeup sessions. There's not an ounce of strength left in them, but they have a satisfying burn to them … like after an intense workout. I know I will get there, soon enough.
I'm in deep thought, because my sisters, Momma, and I are here by the river, in the middle of the woods, waiting on the sun to go down and for the full moon to rise. All so that Momma can "receive her wolf." I'm still very much on the fence about how I feel about that.
I sigh as the scorching wind blows and lifts the edge of the skirt on my dress. I hold it down, but not before the hot air whips around under it and gives me a sensation that is completely foreign to me … air under my skirt, blowing on my extremely damp panties. My connection to Race, and the desires that come with it, seem to keep them perpetually … moist.
I shake my head and look at Momma talking to my sisters in the clearing by the water. The bright-red disk of the setting sun is just disappearing behind the trees and reflecting beautifully on the water. It won't be long until it's dark and the moon will rise. Then Momma won't ever be the same again.
It really is a gift, you know? I know you don't trust me … any of us Gods or Goddesses. I suppose I can't blame you, Lexi. But this is their destiny … for all three of them.
I look around. I know that voice in my head. "Kamorkis?"
I'm here child. I will show myself shortly. I need you to support your family … and your mother's choice. She will be a strong beta female for the pack … and will ultimately bond and mate with a strong beta male. She will finally be able to have pups. You're aware that she ultimately chose adoption because she has been unable to have children? It has also been her excuse to not marry. She can be happy. Can you be happy for her?
I gasp at the revelation. No. I had no idea. But she doesn't know that part, right? That she will have a fated mate, against her will or control, and will wind up hopelessly bonded with him? What if she doesn't like him?
Kamorkis laughs in my mind. It sounds like tubular bells chiming in my head. Oh, Lexi. That's not how it works. Even you and Race will eventually come to your senses. It is a very rare occurrence that fated mates reject one another. The very definition of mates that are fated to be together … is that they are soul mates.
I sigh and watch the full moon brighten in the sky. I don't know about that, Kamorkis. But I will support Momma's decision. Especially if you are not lying and it will result in her being happy. But also know, if you wind up hurting her through this, I will find a way to avenge her.
More tubular bells chime in my mind as I'm blinded by her bright white light. "Duly noted, young one! I would expect nothing less of the strongest female warrior to grace this Earth in millennia. Now, if you'll excuse me for a minute, with Frigg's blessing, your Momma is waiting for her wolf ... and another unexpected gift; her magic."
By the time the spots have finally disappeared from my eyes, after her blinding assault on them, Kamorkis has joined the others, and Momma is on her knees in front of them. Sis lays her hands on Momma's shoulders and Ginger stands off to the side. Kamorkis stands behind Momma and places her folded hands on Momma's head. There is another blinding light and Momma is gone, replaced by a bright red wolf, the color of her signature bright red hair.
I watch in fascination as Sis and Ginger transform into their wolves. What surprises me most, however, is that Sis is easily twice as big as the already huge Ginger and Momma … and she is glowing in bright hot pink. All three take off into the woods with a chilling howl and Kamorkis strolls back over to the tree where I'm sitting.
"Your momma will make a perfect beta, especially with her released magic. Her non-magical aptitude for psychological nurturing comes directly from her previously latent magic. It was stuck and simply needed a slight nudge. She'll be a very strong mental healer."
I shake my head. So, she's not only going to have her life upended by an internal wolf, but also white magic. I sigh and hold my tongue on that. "Why is Sis so much bigger than Ginger and Momma? And what's with the hot pink glow?"
"Sarah's size and glowing pink aura are thanks to you infusing her with vast amounts of red magic. It mixed with her powerful white magic to enhance her size and tint her color. She can't produce red magic, like you, but it's now a permanent part of her, thanks to your symbiotic magic stream. The same as her white magic is now a part of you. Having the direct protection of red magic is something that has never happened in any wolf line. I told you that you two were destined to be an integral part of what happens on this world."
I shake my head. "And what does having her white magic mixed with mine mean for me?"
Kamorkis grins. "That is something that I will let my dear friend Otohime explain. Farewell, for now, Princess Lexi."
She disappears in a bright flash of white light at the same time another bright flash of red light appears, creating a brilliant glowing orb of hot pink—the same color as Sis' aura.
"Good evening, Alexa. I am Otohime, daughter of Ryujin, Dragon King, and grandmother of Japan's first Emperor. I am your Dragon Goddess, the same as Kamorkis is both your sisters' and your mother's Moon Goddess. You may bow to me."
I laugh. "First, I don't do the bowing thing. Second, I don't have the energy or control to get out of this chair without help, so I couldn't bow to you even if I wanted to!"
Otohime gives me a shrewd grin. "I see that Kamorkis' assessment of you is correct. You will be a force to be reckoned with, once you come into your full power … and accept your Dragon."
"What?" I nearly explode. "No way! I don't want a dragon … or a wolf, bear, panther, lion, dinosaur, or any other non-human entity! I'm fine just being me!" I'm so furious, I rise up out of my chair on shaky legs.
"That's my girl! Use that anger and get up out of that infernal chair! You don't need it! You will work hard and get in shape. You will embrace the time-honored disciplines of Taiichi, yoga and dance to strengthen your balance. You will also embrace the martial arts to strengthen your combat skills. When you are ready, I will return and you will accept your Dragon, Princess Alexa."
I'm shaking with fury. "Why should I listen to you? And why are you calling me a princess? I may not be up to your standards, but I've never taken anything for granted."
She smiles a feral smile. "You will do as I say, because I tell you to. I am your Goddess, after all. I call you 'Princess,' not because you are soft or take things for granted, but because I am your too many 'greats' to count grandmother. You are a direct descendent of the Dragon King's line … and a true princess, in her own right. You have been chosen as the next Dragon Empress. It is why you are bound to Race Cannon, the direct descendent of a different royal Dragon line. You and the prince will merge two important lines and not only save this world, but countless others. But you yet have much to learn and accomplish before that can happen."
I shake my head. "No…"
She flicks her hand and my chair flies out from behind me and disappears into the depths of the river. She snaps her fingers and there's an intense burning on my back. Not like the metal mass in it, but like my skin is on fire. I break out in a cold sweat as I fall to my knees. "Don't argue with your elders, Lexi. You will fulfil your destiny. I will return when you are ready. Your family, including your mate, will help prepare you. Kamorkis has provided them with resources and contacts."
She disappears in another bright red flash, and I'm left alone by the river. The burning sensation in my back is gone, but it's been replaced by the strangest feeling of something crawling in my skin … like a thousand tiny ants. I reach behind me and pull the zipper down on the back of my dress. I crane my neck and look over my shoulder … and gasp. In the bright light of the full moon, a portion of a large red dragon is clearly tattooed on my back … and it's moving around, like it's alive. I shake my head … it must be some illusion created by the shadows of the moonlight shining through tress onto the river and reflecting on my back. But moving or not, I still have a fucking tattoo on my back … of a dragon!
I feel faint … and sick … but I refuse to pass out. I have no idea how long it will be before my sisters and Momma will be back, and my chair is gone. Somehow, I have to get back to the car. I manage to pull the zipper back up and shiver at the strange sensation crawling on my back. I do as Otohime had commanded … not because she commanded it, but because it's all I can do. I gather my anger at the whole situation … and use it to start walking.
I walk into the War Room and try not to react to the stunned looks. Of course, no one is expecting me to be walking. The fact that I also look like I'm ready to audition for the next centerfold Playboy Bunny, doesn't help. I focus on not tripping in the heels that Sis made me wear and not falling flat on my face. I don't get what part of just getting out of a wheelchair and having unsteady legs doesn't equate with not wearing high heels to her … even if they are just "one-inch kitty heels," as she called them. I guess I shouldn't have pushed myself last night and survived that five-mile hike through the woods to Ginger's car. It kind of took all of the wind out of my argument.
Of course, I only made it three of the five miles alone. I guess I had subconsciously called out for help when Otohime stranded me, and Race picked up on that plea. He had immediately let me know that he was on his way. Once I realized what I had done, I was already almost at the three-mile mark and, to be honest, just wanted to tell him not to bother … I didn't want him to think that I was dependent on him … or needed him in that way. But I was almost on my last leg, and wasn't really sure if I would make it, so I begrudgingly accepted his offer to help.
Before I knew it, he came swooping down in his dragon form. It was the first time I had ever seen him that way, and I was awed by his sheer size and beautiful sapphire blue color. Had I not known that he was coming, he would have scared the Bejeezus out of me. He silently landed in a large clearing, gently flapping his huge wings, and transformed back into his human form. It surprised me that he was fully clothed, but he didn't seem to be up for much conversation. He wordlessly picked me up and carried me the last two miles in his strong arms.
I struggled with my mounting needs and desires the whole rest of the way back to the car. He was cradling me, my head close to his chest … where I got a lung full of his full musky-smokey scent with every breath. I could hear his heartbeat … and feel it against my cheek. I could tell he was just as full of need as I was, and I felt my panties getting very wet.
When we arrived at the grassy clearing where the car was parked, he gently lay me down in the grass under the full moon and hungrily kissed me. I felt my nipples harden and my breasts swell in response to his passion, and I put my arms around his neck, fisting his hair, and eagerly began to explore the smoky flavor of his mouth with my tongue. And so, the first of the next two hours we spent waiting for my family crew to arrive back from their "run" was consumed by a lot of passionate kissing that neither of us could stop.
Once we got the initial kissing out of the way, we both struggled to ignore the other desperate need that we were both experiencing. My panties were beyond wet, with my juices running down my leg. Race was no better off … I could feel his rock-hard member and smell his own desire. But we knew we needed to talk.
After I explained the whole encounter with Otohime and showed Race my back, he confirmed that there is more at stake than just the dinosaurs but assured me that he doesn't really know more about the details of that than I do … only that it has something to do with magic, in general. It also turns out that Otohime was right about another thing … Race is fully committed to our bond.
He admitted that he is just as confused about it all as I am. Like, why we would have been bound, in the first place when I was a guy? Or why I would wind up as a woman? But then he explained that the fact that I'm now this hot babe is what is helping him get over his confusion and that's why he's finally ready to go the whole way and cement the bond. He didn't use the exact words "hot babe," but it was certainly implied.
That set me off. If he couldn't see that I'm totally freaked out about being a woman … hot babe, aside … then he was being an insensitive jerk. If that was all he cared about, then he could go find another princess to bond with … one with a lot more vanity and vapidness than me. And I let him know that in no uncertain terms.
Supposedly confused at my sudden "bitchiness," he transformed back into his dragon right before the others arrived and took off in a huff. I sat there and fought the tears that wanted to come. But I was so furious at him … and my whole "destiny" and "fate" … that I couldn't even break down in a good cry, which in and of itself was a strange thing for me to even think was an acceptable option, in the first place.
The "pack" arrived a few minutes later … I had been able to let Sis know where I was. They quickly all transformed back into their human forms in front of my eyes, and I was once again struck by the fact that they were fully clothed.
Momma had a new wild look in her eyes, which were also constantly darting around … the same as Sis' and Ginger's … continuously on the lookout. She also looked to be twenty years younger … no longer in her mid-forties, but in her mid-twenties, like the rest of us in the clearing. It seems that her transformation had also triggered the release of her latent and pent-up white magic source and healing core that is tied to her Norse ancestry. She could be our sister, rather than our adoptive mother.
I brought them up to speed as quickly as I could on Otohime's visit, although I didn't mention my back. Something told me it was … private … other than with Race. At least for now. Somehow, I could feel that it was another thing that connected us … which only made it seem like it was his fault that I now not only have an effing tattoo, but one that covers my whole fricking back. Not to mention that it moves … and is totally freaking me out!
The ride home after that was weird. I was emotionally drained, furious, and completely confused. My back still felt like there was something alive in my skin … Otohime's whole visit had me terrified. Momma was now a part of Sis' and Ginger's pack … her beta female. They had a new connection that I have no concept of … and could also now all telepathically communicate with one another, as a pack.
I was feeling left out of my own family … like an outsider. Race and I were now further apart than ever. My legs were killing me. And my back still felt like an army of ants was crawling under the skin, which served as a constant reminder of the whole effing night.
When we finally got home, I just rushed out of the car and to my bathroom, slamming doors the whole way. I finally broke out in tears as I turned on the shower and let the hot, steamy water run over my body … as the sobs continued to wreak it. After several long minutes, I turned it to cold to shock myself out of my despair.
Neither the hot, nor the cold water helped the strange feeling in my back. When I finally got up the nerve to look at it again, in the mirror … this time without clothes and under the bright light of the bathroom, I could only gasp at the dizzying sight. I had to hold onto the sink's vanity to keep from falling to the floor. The large red dragon was still there covering my entire back and was still moving … undulating or slithering is maybe a better description … and its tongue would occasionally slither out, like it was tasting the air. It seemed … restless … and it totally freaked me the fuck out! But I didn't say a word about it to Sis, Ginger, or Momma.
Right now, I feel like total crap. I had to use extra concealer to hide the bags under my eyes. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well, last night. And Race and I are still very awkward around one another. He tried connecting with me as I was in bed, but it ended predictably in disaster, since he was still completely unapologetic. This day is going to be so much fun … not!
"Well, good morning, Princess." He doesn't even look up at me. "I'm glad you could grace us with your presence, today. The dinosaur population in China is now at over five thousand strong. Might you have any thoughts on the situation?"
I close my eyes and ball up my fists to keep from saying something as inappropriate as his condescending "greeting." Of course, no one gets him calling me "Princess," so they'll all assume it's him making fun of me. I clamp down on my connection to him to stop anything from escalating and look around the War Room with a sigh. All eyes … except his … are on me. Unfortunately, aside from the confusion about my sudden ability to walk and my obvious femininity, they also all have an expectant … hopeful … look in them.
"I wish I did." I shrug. "I've already told 'His Highness' that this whole thing is laughable, in terms of a serious army. Conventional weapons should be fairly effective against dinosaurs, even the badass ones. I mean a tank or rocket launcher should be able to take out a T-Rex, if the proper round hits it. Bombs should be totally effective. But I have no idea how the magic comes into play in all of this. Are these … simple … dinosaurs, or do they have some sort of magical protections, like shields? I know that 'His Highness' has indicated that 'Grey Bear' will provide them with some sort of 'protection.'" I sprinkle the whole conversation with liberal air quotes.
The others ignore my facetiousness and focus on the serious parts, which sparks a debate among those present, minus him, on what the odds are of magical defenses … and what those might be. He just stares at the table, with his head down the whole time.
After an hour of fruitless "debate," I sigh. "I have to go for some physical therapy and … other training. I don't seem to be of much help here right now, so I will see you all tomorrow."
I hurry out of the room, fighting tears of anger and embarrassment, and down to the garage, where Ginger and Sis are waiting for me. "Well, that was a disaster! The jackass won't even look at me … like it's my fault that all he's interested in is my newfound 'hot' body … and what is now between my legs. Or … what's not, I guess. Anyway, I didn't ask for any of it and I'm not his play toy!"
Ginger shakes her head and Sis sighs. "I'm sorry, Hon, but you're both being idiots! We do however need to get you to your first lesson. You'll start with an hour of basic yoga to stretch and strengthen those muscles, then progress to an hour of ballet to increase your strength, grace and balance, and then end with an hour of Taiichi to pull it all together and start prepping you for martial arts moves. Kamorkis provided us with the contacts … I guess they're supposed to help prepare you in some special way. I don't know more than that."
I feel my dragon move on my back and screw up my face with a pout. "Fun … Not! Can't we just go get some coffee, instead?"
I lay back in the luxurious mounds of lavender-scented bubbles with a long, contented sigh and let the steamy-hot water soothe my sore muscles, as the scented oils soak into my skin. Now, this is one perk of womanhood I can get behind! A long, hot soak in a bubble bath is just what the doctor ordered after this disastrous day … literally. Well, it was two magical healers that ordered it, but close enough.
I let out another sigh … this time in frustration. Every time I start relaxing, I feel Race's maddening strong tug on my heart, and I really want him right here in the tub with me. If only he wasn't being such a jerk! He's being such a guy. I wasn't good enough for 'His Highness' until I had a hot woman's body. Not that I can blame him for not wanting my broken boy's body. But we're bonded … and already were before I had this body … so what would he have done, if I had healed and beefed up as a man? I mean, to be fair, I have no idea how that would have affected me, either. But that's beside the point!
I want him now. And I wanted him then. But I really want him now.
I shake my head in confusion. How much of my lust is due to my newfound female hormones betraying me and forcing me to submit to their devious sexual siren song? I mean, there's no doubt that I'm desperately … amorous. Hell. Let's be honest, I want … need … him inside me and making me scream like he does in my dreams of him. Just the thought of it intensely turns me on.
My fingers slide down my oil-slicked legs and find my new little slit. I start rubbing around the outside of it … along the folds around its edges … and shiver.
I want him in me so badly I could scream! That doesn't mean I'll give in to him and be his little play toy! But the mere thought of him in me has me breathing harder. My finger slips inside me, and I jerk as it finds my slick little mound and my long fingernail gently tickles it, eliciting another loud gasp.
No! He needs to want me for me, not my body. I mean I want him for him … not just his well-muscled and toned body and his obviously large manhood. Right? I add another finger and move them deeper into my slickened slit, pressing harder with my fingertips on my little mound … rubbing it sensually, slowly, at first … then more frantically as I start making increasing waves in the water with my gyrating hips.
I close my eyes and picture him inside me, like in that last dream … and moan loudly as a mounting orgasm consumes my body. I slip under the water and let out a loud scream.
I come up out of the water with a splash and take a deep breath, blushing as my heart begins to slow back down and my breathing returns to normal. There's water all over the floor. I'll have to mop up, but the pent-up release was definitely worth it! See! I don't need his manhood … just him!
I shudder with a sigh. Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I'll eventually even start believing it!
The rest of the week falls into a mundane sort of rhythm. Mornings are spent in the War Room trying to ignore the mounting tension between Race and me, while the group tries to strategize plans to counter the growing threat of the Chinese dinosaur army. Afternoons are spent doing yoga, ballet, and Taiichi. Evenings are spent practicing my makeup … and walking in heels. Neither is certainly my idea, but I've already lost the makeup argument and Sis and Ginger are both determined that I will be "completely at home" in five- and six-inch stiletto heels. I have no idea why.
My relationship with Race is still very strained, since it's still very clear that he just wants me for my body. My desire for him is still very real and only growing more and more against my will and better judgement, every day. The thing is that it really is more than just sexual for me … I have this deep-seated emotional need for him. I can't explain it … but it feels like it has something to do with my newly developing "feminine" side. I certainly never had these sorts of feelings … before. And they're not the sort of feelings I would have ever attributed to Dad … even though he was certainly a loving father.
The strength in my legs is slowly getting better, as is my balance. But, as with Race, I still have a long way to go to get my physical abilities back up to par … just ask my confused brain and Madame Broussard, my ballet mistress.
I focus back on my yoga session and finish up my chaturanga before smoothly moving into downward dog, my heels flat on the floor as I push back into a deep calf stretch. My arms have no problem with the pushup part of the chaturangas, but my legs still quiver when I stress them during any of the balance poses.
I'm so not looking forward to ballet and all of the plies and precision movements that I know are coming. Then again, even though Madam Broussard is worse than Tanvi, my yoga instructor, neither come close to Master Yoshi, who is teaching me Taiichi. I always thought that was supposed to be relaxing! Well, I was wrong—just ask my calves!
I do my best to quit worrying about what comes next, as I lay back into my shavasana and try and relax. My mind won't settle, though … I just can't get Race's obvious betrayal out of my mind. I didn't ask for this bond and I twice didn't ask to be a "hot babe" … or for that matter any sort of "babe," at all. I'm not onboard with any of it, not at all.
But … like it or not, I'm a woman … and we're both in this bond … and I never really questioned anything about him when I started having these sudden needs for him. I didn't care that he was a … he … that technically we both were, at the time. I didn't care that he wasn't Asian … a different race, which would have bothered many of my ancestors … as was evidenced by them supposedly opposing my Japanese father marrying my Caucasian mom. I didn't really care about anything … except that I wanted … no needed him. And all he cares about is that I am now a "hot woman."
I blink out the welling tears forming in my eyes and they run down the sides of my face and drip onto my mat. The whole … crap … had my balance poses off during the entire yoga session, and I'm sure I'll catch Hell from Madame Broussard, if I can't get my head straight and it causes me to mess up in ballet. I try and get Race out of my brain … my need for him … and the fact that he only even really started acknowledging me as his mate after I turned into a full woman with double-D breasts and the associated curves to "complement" them.
I take several deep cleansing breaths and finally start to relax … but my mind betrays me and goes back to him swooping down in his dragon form to save me in the woods. One thing about that whole scenario that is totally weird and doesn't even seem odd to me, at all, is the concept of him even being able to shift into a dragon in the first place. Getting past that, he is a frighteningly beautiful sight to behold in his winged, sapphire blue glory. I wasn't scared at all when he appeared … not like I would have been if one of the Chinese ones had showed up. I felt … safe, to be honest … and … very wet. He is my mate, and with him in that form our connection was somehow even deeper … and more intimate. It's like our red magic connected in a more … natural way. Or maybe it was just more … feral.
I sigh as Tanvi rings her chimes, signaling it's time to "wake up." I slowly get up, rolling "one vertebra at a time," and then slowly roll up my mat. When I tighten the strap around it, it sinks in that the session is over and I can only groan … knowing that I now have to go next door and suffer through an hour of Madame Broussard's special brand of torture.
I look at myself in the full wall of mirrors and still see a stranger. It's been a month since my full transformation and I look every bit the voluptuous ballerina in my black leotard, nude tights, and pink satin pointe shoes. I have more curves than the "classic" ballerina, but I certainly don't look overweight. And my shapely legs look like they go on for miles in this outfit. There is absolutely no visible sign that they were shriveled up, useless sticks that wouldn't support a sparrow, just a month ago.
I hold onto the barre and suppress a gasp. My legs are still burning from all the barre work I just completed. I think Madame Broussard made me do something like three hundred deep plies. Even after a month of these daily sessions, my legs don't seem like they're making much progress. I know they are, given that Madame Broussard signed off on me starting in pointe shoes this week, but tell them that, right now! She has me move on to floor work and I'm in the middle of a spin, en pointe and practicing my spotting, when I get bombarded by a message from my "mate." It completely distracts me, and I fall into a pitiful heap of arms and legs on the floor.
Princess. They've officially surpassed the ten thousand mark. I think I have some new information on how and why the numbers are increasing more rapidly. We need to talk.
I sigh as Madame Broussard gives me a withering look. I mouth that I'm sorry and pick myself up, irritated at my "mate."
I'm sorry, "Your Highness," but you're going to have to take a ticket. You've just gotten my ass handed to me by Madame Taskmaster. Over and out!
But ….
I cut him off. "I'm sorry, Madame Broussard. My 'mate' rudely interrupted my train of thought and broke my concentration. I'll do better."
She gives me an unexpected sympathetic look. "Ah. I sense that things are still not going well between you. Young love can be a fickle thing. Oh, to be young again."
"More like 'fated love.' I don't have a choice in the matter it seems, at least as far as the 'love' and 'mated' part goes. That doesn't mean I have to like him … or have to put up with his BS." I shake out my legs and arms. Everything considered, I'm kind of glad to get the break.
She nods. "Be that as it may, from what I understand from your sister, you are mated—'fated,' or not. Now, I don't truly know what that means, never having been in your shoes. But the two of you need to figure this out. What do you think Master Yoshi would have done if you had lost your concentration like that in his session? I know you think I'm tough, but ballet demands perfection and discipline. I've never done martial arts, but I assume it's much the same—only you wouldn't typically have to expect the unexpected in ballet. No?"
"So very true." I groan. "And we haven't even started the 'real' martial arts, yet. It's all been Taiichi. Actual 'combat' training starts next week. I can't wait to start doing 'wax on, wax off.'"
"We had better get back to it, then." She gives me small smile. "And Lexi. You are doing well for only having been doing this for a month."
I nearly fall to the floor again. Madame Broussard doesn't give praise easily. I give her an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Madame Broussard!"
"Don't let it go to your head, Lexi." She's suddenly serious again. "From the top!"
Welcome, Princess. I'm glad you've once again decided to grace us with your presence. It's not like the world isn't in danger of going to war and completely falling apart if we don't all do our part.
I literally bite my tongue hard enough to make it bleed. I feel a surge of white magic flow through my bond with Sis and the wound heals almost immediately. It's one of the continuing effects of our wide-open energy conduit. When I get hurt, I heal almost immediately through her white magic … and she, in turn, is energized by my red magic. Although, we're still not really sure what that means, other than it makes her wolf very large and glow hot pink.
You know as well as I do that I have to take my sessions seriously. Even if I were to ignore Otohime, Kamorkis, Sis, Ginger, and Momma, then you would be giving me shit about that. So, bite me, "Your Highness!"
He actually sighs. I know, Lexi. I'm just frustrated. Both about us and the dinosaurs. I'm still not sure what I did so wrong that it made you so mad at me … is it a crime to appreciate all of you? As for the dinosaurs, Grae'Bar has convinced the Empress that humans have screwed the planet up so badly that the dinosaurs should have another shot. She's not helping Grae'Bar, but she's also not directly hindering him.
He shakes his head and has a haunted look in those beautiful blue eyes of his. Basically, she is taking a hands-off approach … for now. So, Grae'Bar is free to experiment on the billion plus people available to him in China. Even at only a ten percent transformation rate and using a substantial number for … food … that is a whole lot of dinosaurs. And I have no doubt he will increase that efficiency.
I squeeze my forehead between my fingers and sigh. "Good morning, everyone. I'm sorry if I seem a little distracted. I'm not used to having the weight of the world on my shoulders." I look around at the small group in the War Room, including Sis, Ginger, and Momma. I feel another surge of healing energy push into me from Sis, but it seems to be just more "general" in nature and I feel better.
Momma looks at me with a concern etched on her face. I can tell she's communicating with the rest of the pack. "Hon, we're going to have a mental health healing session, tonight." She then looks at Race. "You are joining us, Your Highness." We both are shaking our heads, but she just lets out a fierce wolf growl as her eyes flash yellow and her canines lengthen. "I won't take 'no' for an answer. I'm pulling medical rank, which I have in this case. It's time you two work out your differences … and we will be up all night, if need be."
I can't say that I'm a huge fan of my family having these wolves … not that I've ever really witnessed what Race's dragon can do … other than look really impressive and swoop in to save the damsel in distress. I blush at the thought.
Sis smiles. "I agree with Josie." I still can't get used to her calling Momma that. But that's how it is now that she's a part of her pack and her beta. "As much as I love you, Sis … and as much as I respect you, Your Highness … you're both being complete jackasses and it needs to stop. You're bonded; you're mated; and you need to finalize both so we can all move on to … this." She gestures toward the monitors and the ever-increasing army of dinosaurs. "So, you need to get over yourselves!"
The awkward atmosphere in the room has suddenly become even more uncomfortable and the "non-family" individuals present are nervously shuffling their feet and giving the monitors around the room unnecessary scrutiny. "Fine! Whatever! Let's take the personal stuff … offline. To be continued tonight." I give Race a pointed look. They're right. We need to talk.
I wait for him to push back and am completely blown away when he looks me straight in the eye and simply nods. He pulls everyone back into the conversation. "So, I know none of you have any direct knowledge of Grae'Bar, and his evil ways, but throw out any ideas you have right now on how to start attacking this and let's start compiling them … no matter how obscure they may be."
I shake my head. I have no idea how we're going to win this, if the other side has a billion plus people in China alone, plus scores more in the other black nations. Another asteroid hitting the planet is not the solution, this time … I hope!
Never say "never," Princess. We don't want the Empress to even consider that as an option, so we need to find a better one. Race's thoughts growl in my mind … and his mental growl is a thousand times more frightening than Sis' physical one.
Duly noted, Your Highness. And, for once, I'm not being sarcastic when I say it. I feel the tattoo move around on my back and then peacefully settle down, like it was suddenly content and curled up to take a nap. I can only wonder at how strange my life has become! I shake my head at the thought of the upcoming discussion, tonight. I can't say I'm looking forward to it.
I let the steamy hot water run down my aching body and sigh as the heat soaks into my body. The more I work out and the better I get into shape, the quicker I recover … especially with the help of the energy that I get from Sis. It's like the better in shape I am, the more efficiently my muscles can use the energy for recovery. I'll have to talk to Sis and Ginger about that … after the discussion to come in an hour.
I let out a contented giggle. I already feel more at peace with myself, just knowing that a serious discussion will happen. Sure, I'm nervous, too … but knowing that there will be facilitation and hopefully soon a resolution … any resolution … helps me settle my nerves. Even my tattoo has settled. I checked on it before getting into the shower and it was exactly as it had felt … the huge dragon on my back is all curled up and looks like it's taking a peaceful nap. I'm once again hit by how strange my life has gotten and can only shake my head.
I massage my temples. At least the peace I had today, short-lived or not, helped me in all three of my sessions. I was like pliable rubber in yoga, a precision spring in ballet, and a well-rooted oak swaying in the wind in Taiichi. I can only hope it's not just the calm before the storm. Have I simply hit the eye of the hurricane and now just have to battle my way out the other side?
I reluctantly turn off the water and gently wring out my well-conditioned hair. I pat myself dry with a soft towel, then don my short, pink silk robe. It's Japanese-made and a housewarming gift from Sis and Ginger after they moved further out into the "wilds" of Virginia, with Momma in tow. I now live alone in the small house in Alexandria that Momma left to me.
I sit down at my vanity and put on my makeup without thinking. Ginger made me practice it so much that I can do a perfect job mostly from pure rote muscle memory. I barely even have to look while I'm doing it. The same thing with my hair. When I'm done, I check to make sure I didn't mess anything up … I don't want that to be an issue tonight, as well. Satisfied, that I won't be forced to strip off all of my makeup and redo it before the "intervention," I go to my closet and slip into comfortable lingerie and a short silk sundress. I sigh at the thought of considering any women's lingerie comfortable, but even the thong's string settling in between my butt cheeks as I wiggle to pull up my panties is becoming my new normal.
I pad barefoot into the kitchen, happy to not have to wear heels, and pull out the paper plates, napkins, and pint glasses. "The pack," as I've come to call my collective family is supplying the pizza. Race is bringing the beer.
I jump at a loud thump on the roof, that actually shakes the house a little.
I'm here, Princess. I'll be right down.
Race? Was that you on the roof?
Of course. Where else would I land?
I suddenly giggle as I envision him landing on the roof … a huge sapphire blue dragon with his Secret Service detail riding on his back. I forget to block the vision.
Very funny, Princess. He growls good-naturedly in my mind. Do you really think I need Secret Service protection? It would be more me protecting them than the other way around.
The doorbell rings and I open the door. I catch my breath as his unique musky-smokey scent is blown in with the howling wind and surrounds me. I beckon him in and quickly close the door behind him.
He hands me two large cartons of Yuengling beer. "You should probably put these in the fridge. Keeping things cold is not what Dragons do best."
I show him the way to the kitchen with a giggle. I can't believe how … relaxed I am around him, right now. And how much I want him. I've really been pretty stupid about the whole thing. I can't blame him for wanting a woman as his mate … and not a guy. And now that I've settled more into being a woman, I can't deny that I want him, right now. Badly! He looks really … hot.
He looks at me with equal lust in his eyes and the next thing I know we are passionately kissing … and our bond flares as it palpably strengthens between us. I put my arms around his neck and pull my legs up to wrap them around his waist. I hook my feet behind him and squeeze, not caring that my wetness is bleeding through and getting his shirt damp. We're seriously kissing when the doorbell rings again.
Go away, Sis! We don't need ….
If you think you're going to get out of talking through this, then you're wrong, Sis!
I hear a key in the door, and it blows wide open with a slam. I sigh as the hot wind blows through the house and flips the back of my dress up, flashing my butt cheeks and the red lacy band of my panties.
Sis storms into the kitchen with the wind and stops short when she sees us embracing and completely lip locked. "Oh … ummm … well … errrr…."
Her voice trails off and Ginger giggles. "We brought pizza, Hon. But it looks like the two of you already started the appetizers without us!"
"Okay." Momma laughs. "I see you two seem to have kissed and made up. Literally. I still want to do a quick mental health scan … for the records, since I officially invoked medical privilege. Then we can have some quick pizza and a beer … and leave you two, to it …."
Determined to not let them rush a good thing, I slowly finish licking out the inside of Race's mouth and playing with his tongue. Like his scent, he has a smoky taste … like that good Scotch that Momma recently introduced me to. I reluctantly break our kiss and unlock my feet from behind him while still hanging on to his neck.
I feel his large, hard manhood press on my stomach as he slowly slides me down to the floor with a sigh that lets a little smoke escape his nose and lips. "Ladies." He tips his head in greeting.
I'm still facing him and looking up into his deep blue eyes … I suddenly realize that they're the exact same color as his dragon. I feel my tattoo stir and slither around on my back.
Sis gasps. "Sis! What's that on your back? It's … moving!" Are you okay, Hon? That's totally freaky!
I sigh and smile up at Race. "I think I could use one of those beers now, Love." I turn to the pack and shrug. "Well, like I said, Sis. I think we've largely worked out our … tensions … or at least we were well on our way." The unspoken implication of them interrupting us is clear. "And the large … thing … on my back is a 'gift' from Otohime. I really have no idea what it signifies … other than it's a dragon."
I hear the hiss of an opening bottle and Race hands me an open beer. I grab a glass from the counter and slowly pour it.
He opens more beers and passes them around. "Her Highness has had it since the night that Josie accepted her wolf and Otohime visited her. The Princess has not said anything, so I have not talked about it, either. But … it's the Mark of the Empress. Princess Alexa is next in line to be the Empress of Dragons … and Queen of all Light Magical Beings on Earth."
EPILOGUE
Otohime appears before Var'Leth, the Dragon Empress, with her signature bright red flash on a planet several galaxies away from Earth.
Var'Leth bows deeply to her Goddess and Dragon Mother and sighs. "Do you have news, Mother? I'm not comfortable letting Grae'Bar have free reign to spread his malignant magic and once more wreaking havoc on that poor planet. I don't want to have to send another asteroid to clean up his mess, like my ancestor did."
Otohime smiles. "Patience, child. I know you are tired and ready for your well-deserved peace. But your successor must yet go through her challenges and progressions, the same as you had to—and all empresses before you. Humans have nearly destroyed the planet of their own accord, so Grae'Bar can't really do much more harm than they have inflicted on themselves. It is Alexa and Race's destiny to solve this problem if they are to be the promise of the Dragons' future that we all hope them to be."
Var'Leth shakes her head. It's not the answer she had hoped for.
Otohime prepares to return to Earth and set the next stage of the trials. "It has taken a million years for everything in the universe to perfectly align and create the conditions that will allow the Dragons' energy to be rejuvenated. Yet, it is up to a band of unruly humans to strike the spark and ignite the flame. If they succeed, balanced magic will flourish once again. If they don't, it will be another million years before there is another chance. I'm afraid the darkness will have won by then … and the reign of the Light Dragons will be doomed."
Var'Leth hangs her head as Otohime disappears in another flash of brilliant red light. She is so very old and tired. Fighting to keep the light magic alive has drained her. It took almost everything she had left in her to ignite the faint spark to let it once again surface on Earth. It will be up to this princess child and her mate to fan that flame enough to reignite the bright white fire throughout the universe.
To be continued in DRAGON'S FANG ….