Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his solitude on the side street. No crowd. No need for the heat. When he felt the pressure of his need lessen, then lessen more, he pulled the heat inwards again. It was easier now, but it still took so much effort to contain it. He wished he'd been able to have a release of his own as it would be over. Instead, he moaned with the effort to contain it one more time. He was shaking with exhaustion when he felt it sink deep inside once more. The shawl blew away, down the street and he didn't have the energy to chase it. Instead, he pulled out his cell and saw his messages had finally arrived. As he read the texts, his expression swung from shock to fear and he pushed himself to run up to the main street. There were no available taxis, so he crossed the road and ran a few more blocks to get beyond the crowds around the convention center. Only then was he able to finally flag down an approaching taxi. He sagged into the back seat and gave the name of

Marisa walked across the lobby to the admitting desk and smiled at the man sitting on the other side of the window. Meixiu was walking beside her, and she saw the man's eyes were jumping back and forth between them. She allowed herself a sly smile."We're here to see Patricia Evans.""Uh, visiting hours are over."Meixiu leaned forward and locked eyes with the man. His mouth slowly dropped open and the entrance door buzzed as he unlocked it. Sigrid had been waiting next to the door, so she opened it. Marisa and Meixiu joined her, and they stepped inside.The Valkyrie lean closer to the Vampire. "Meixiu, we need the camera's shut down and all recordings of the past day deleted. Can you find the security office and get them to do that?" The woman nodded. "Come up to the room when you're done as we'll need help getting them out." With another nod, she rushed away.Sigrid and Marisa continued to the elevators. "So how did Henry sound when he called?" t

He lifted his eyes from the floor to her and shook his head. He had a stricken expression. "No. No, I'm not. I've just ruined their lives! They would have been better off if they'd never met me.""Henry! Don't say that!" Marisa exclaimed."It's true! Look what I did! They're no longer human! I did that! Me and this damn magic inside me! And what fucking good is having the ability to cause spontaneous orgies?!? Maybe it's a damn good thing the humans killed off the Satyr population if all we can do is make people fuck!" His breathing was coming in gulps. "Wild Magic is just a curse on top! Twisting and warping people into random shapes!" A sob tore through him. "You know, I was so caught up in my troubles that I didn't even realize how much of a monster I've become until I stopped to watch Tish sleeping. I turned her into a Satyr! I was admiring how lovely she looked, and that's when it sank in! I only saw what I wanted! Why the hell couldn't I see that?!?"Sigrid grabbed his shoulders

The first thing they noticed was her arms. The muscles were larger and more defined. Tish had been an avid gym rat and kept fit, but this was... almost Henry's level of fitness.They both squeaked with surprise when the dropping blankets exposed her black furred lower half."She's a Satyr?!?" Sandy exclaimed.Tish stirred and stretched. A full body stretch, including her legs, right down to her... hooves."Hey," Tish said with a little smile on her lips as she looked up at her two friends. "Wow, the drugs they gave me are doing weird things to my head. You guys look funny," she said weakly."How... how are you feeling?" Sandy asked."So goooood!" she said, smiling broadly. She ran her fingers down her hard stomach muscles and, with a little frown, over her thighs. She squeezed and poked the muscles in her legs as her eyes widened."Uh, I can feel that. Guys! I can feel my legs! I CAN FEEL MY LEGS!" she cried out excitedly and sat up,

Marisa sighed. "Your new eyes are very perceptive. Henry was talking about something the Hidden Races Council has forbidden us to speak of.""Excuse me? These people can make it illegal to talk about stuff?" Sandy asked incredulously."Let's have a seat in the lounge, and I'll give you a rundown on the key players and the rules we live by."They moved into the sitting room, but Tish stopped in the doorway. "The windows aren't covered. What if someone sees in?"Henry glanced at the large windows and could see the driveway outside. "Marisa, stand in front of the window there. I'm going to go outside to see what I can see." She moved to stand where he directed as he walked outside. From the driveway directly before the sitting room windows, he couldn't see Marisa. He saw an empty room instead. He realized Walter must have added some kind of spell, enchantment, or whatever wielders called their magic, to the windows to hide the people inside. He went back ins