"I'm... not human? How?"
"Initially your exposure to the magic was due to an accident. Do you recall the night we were intimate?"
Sandy blushed and nodded.
"The next morning you woke and your hair was shiny and full, and you felt so good about it you decided not to get it cut."
Sandy's eyes widened. "But it wasn't like this!" she exclaimed.
"No, you'd only been exposed to a small sampling of the magic-infused essence." She watched Sandy's eyes. "Last night you received a much larger sample, and it linked you permanently to a realm of Wild Magic. Your hair is now fully alive."
Sandy realized she'd been stroking her hair on her lap. It was wrapped around her body hugging her as she was trembling.
"Sample... I don't understand."
Marisa smiled as she tried to explain. "You ingested something at the hospital last night? From Henry?"
Blue eyes widened. "OH! You mean Henry..."
"Yes, he's a conduit too. He's bound to a ne
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,
"Does he have proof? X-rays?" Sigrid asked.Sandy and Dayshia both shook their heads. "Tish wasn't allowing them to do anything until Henry arrived. Being vocal about it too," Sandy asserted.Henry looked back to Sigrid whose expression showed her doubt. "At a minimum, you'll have to avoid this doctor. That probably means you shouldn't return to work at that hospital. I'm sorry," she suggested.Tish seemed to be thinking about that. Then she looked up into Henry's eyes. "If you can heal me then you can heal others!" she exclaimed.He shook his head. "No. If we expose the fact that magic is real, then all of the Hidden Races are at risk. They'd be hunted down and killed or end up in a lab, dissected to find out how it works. A horrifying end." He sighed. "We can live normal-ish lives, hiding in plain sight in our disguises but we cannever, everletanyhumans know we exist. That includes family. They can't know!" He g
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
Henry turned to Dayshia. "How do you feel about spiders?"Tish chuckled seeing Sandy's immediate squeamish reaction.Dayshia saw it and smiled as well. "I'm fine; I love them! Sandy's the one frightened by bugs."He looked to Sandy. "Is it a phobia?" he asked seriously.Sandy looked embarrassed. "No! It's just a little aversion. Why?""The Hidden Ones are made up of all kinds of people. They come in different shapes and sizes, but all are disguised by glamor spells to appear human. Walter Zhao was an enormous dragon who looked like a dried up old Chinese man when he disguised himself. You need to practice not reacting to the strange beings you're going to see out there. Remember, as far as anyone needs to know, we're all just human. That's how we all survive. Like me, you have the advantage of having grown up as a human, so you know how to behave. You already fit in."The three ladies nodded at this and seemed to be comforted by the thought
As Meixiu guided the three ladies upstairs to get them towels, Sigrid joined Marisa in the kitchen at the back of the house. They could see the gazebo from there and Henry, sitting in it looking off into the woods."Maybe we should go see if he's ok or needs anything?" Marisa asked.Sigrid shook her head. "No, I think he needs a little space for the moment.""What are we going to do about Queen Mab?" Marisa asked in a worried tone.Sigrid gave her a smirk. "What are we going to do? What makes you think wecando anything?"Marisa's face fell."It's Henry's bargain to make. We'll offer him advice beforehand, but you know the Fae are holding all the cards.""Mother's not going to accept that you know."Sigrid nodded with a smile. "And I'll ask her the same question. What makes her think shecando anything?"They both sighed and watched Henry peacefully communing with nature; allowing
"Ohhhhh!" she tittered then froze as she saw the burning desire in his eyes. "Now? Here?!?"He nodded. "Send Bev home for the night and put the closed sign in the window. I saw a couch in the back room." He suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. "Can't you feel my heart racing?" He pulled the hand slowly down his chest, over the hard muscles of his stomach and stopped over his growing erection. It was a useful skill to be able to will that into being. "Can't you feel what you're doing to me?" She was gasping and trembling as her fingers squeezed. "I need to be with you! Please!"It was his begging that tipped the balance. The manager marched to the door of the back room and pushed it open. "Bev, I'm closing up early tonight so you can go home now. Quickly, dear."Moments later Bev hustled out of the back room with her purse and jacket, a surprised expression on her face. She glanced over to Nate then rushed out the door.Meredith locked up behind her and flipped t
Seeing Dayshia approaching and how she was watching Nate with a shocked expression, he remembered she saw through glamors. It was too late to warn him. He had no idea what Nate's natural state looked like, but it was completely drawing her attention."This is Dayshia, very good friend of Sandy and her co-worker as well," Henry said. "Nathan Walker. My new friend.""Enchanté," Nate said with a cheeky smile as he raised her hand to his lips. Dayshia squeaked a little.Henry leaned in closer to Nate's ear. "Dayshia's eyes see through glamors.""OH!" Nate exclaimed in surprise. He wasn't sure how to behave, and his flustered expression seemed to set Dayshia's mind at ease. She smiled timidly at him. Kesini took Dayshia's hand and gently guided her by Nate.Tish was next, and Nate's face opened up in a smile. "I've seen classic paintings of Fauns, but I never thought I would meet one in real life," he said in delight.Tish smiled at him and glanced to Henry. "I think I like the name Faun b
"What happened to Morris?" Mary asked. "Crushed under a falling dragon," Roy answered. Mary blinked at him. "Crushed by a dragon?" He nodded. "The previous owner of this mansion. There are large caverns under the house where Walter Zhao could drop his glamor and stretch out his wings. He couldn't fly down there, but he could be what he was." At Mary's incredulous stare, he continued. "There aren't a lot of dragons left." "What... what happened to this one?" Roy scowled. "Walter was a slippery one. He tried to do something I'm not at liberty to talk about, under a Hidden Races Council edict. Trust me when I say it was evil on a level that makes Hitler look like a schoolyard bully. Caught us all off guard... except for the witch-" "Ok, who is this witch you keep talking about?" Mary said in frustration. "I'll not speak her name as that might draw her attention," Roy snapped. Mary gave Roy an evaluating look. "Superstitious? "Cautious," he grumbled. "Listen, if you want more inf
They stopped at the guardhouse where a startled looking soldier stared at them, then just waved them through. They returned to the building with the auditorium. The Colonel, the General, Hugh, and the lab coats were waiting for them. Corporal Dane handed the camera back to the technician, who accepted it excitedly. He immediately reviewed the recording and made excited sounds to his colleagues.The General was trying to school his expression but wasn't too successful."How... how are you feeling, son?" he asked softly from his tight throat.The big marine saluted him with a wide smile. "I feel really good, sir! So much better than I was after the explosion and maybe better than my best day."Hugh's expression was satisfied. "I know a lot of other soldiers who might appreciate the same chance."Mick stepped forward. "Sir, what we saw today was just short of a miracle. His body rejected the conversion, and we almost lost him. The injury he sustained created a break in the flow, and he a
Gordon took in the ribbons pinned to the marine's dress uniform. He'd done some pretty impressive things in his career. He stepped forward and returned the man's salute. "I'm Colonel Gordon Crane.""Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Endale."Gordon smiled and gestured to the soldiers, who were now all smiling at him. "I suppose your security clearance has been escalated to allow you to witness this, so let me introduce you to my squad. Up until yesterday, they were a group of highly trained human soldiers. We were charged with capturing a small group of Silver People. Instead, my people got turned into Silver People themselves. They're still the same soldiers, but you can't really call them human any longer. Not that they've complained.""We can run so fast!" Yablonski gushed.The squad burst into chuckles, and the marine's eyes widened at the odd sound."Maybe discipline has been affected," Crane grumbled, and his squad snapped to attention as the argument was over and the two men returne
"I'm not at my peak either. I had to use a fair amount to deal with Carl de Bellisle. But I don't intend to fight Nuru. I don't want her job!" she exclaimed.Sigrid snorted in amusement, and the phone chirped. Camila pressed the button. "Yes?""Your 9 AM is here," Felix said."Thank you. Please send them in."Sigrid stood to face the door as Camila joined her. "Remember our visit to Walter's cavern?" the blond asked quietly, and Camila nodded as she smiled at Nuru, who strode in with her bodyguards at her sides. They shut the door.The waves of energy radiating from the leader confirmed Camila's guess that she'd been overfeeding in preparation for this meeting. She sighed, as in contrast, Camila held back on her output the best she could. She forced a smile onto her lips."Greetings, Nuru Onwudiwe," Camila began and bowed her head to the other woman."Camila Villamor, you are not presenting the excess of power you did the other night," Nuru snapped.Camila looked up and nodded. "As I
Keeping the destination drop zone in his mind, he opened the tear, and Henry fell through to drop three feet to the grass below. The back of his head landed on the small brass commemorative plate bolted to the stone next to the bushes. Xiong winced but quickly closed the tear as he saw the beam of a flashlight approaching.He hoped their friend was okay as they'd asked so much from him. He looked back to the pile of charred remains. Something shiny caught his attention. It was up where Henry's head had been. Xiong reached down and lifted the crystal ganglion from the ground. His body must have rejected it after he was healed.Xiong couldn't inform Henry that he no longer had their transplanted capacity to wield magic. He also had no idea how Henry got it out yet completed his spell.He looked to the others. "We will bury these remains in the forest glade to honor our friend, Henry."A feeling of joy and love washed through him from the others. The Glass People loved the idea, as they
He felt Xiong withdrawing, and through the magic in him, he picked up snippets of a conversation Xiong was having with all of the other Glass People. The volume was a bit overwhelming as there were so many voices, and they were upset. They seemed to be talking about making him a Glass Person because of his injuries. To save him. Xiong was trying to tell them it wouldn't work as he'd already been subjected to the same energies, and he wasn't glass now.Henry was beginning to get seriously worried. How badly was he hurt? He felt someone close by and reached out to the mind. It was one of the Silver People.It physically touched him, and he linked minds with the young female. Concepts and perceptions were flowing through their link. She was sad. She'd heard he was the hero who'd saved all of the people on this planet and many on Earth. He imagined looking through her eyes at him, and she allowed it.He saw his Human glamor, and he looked no worse for wear. That was a relief. He dropped t
Crane shrugged. "I might have gotten more information, but Palmer's team decided to make his attempt at capturing my team.""You informed your team to run. They're now on the loose," Palmer asserted."No, they've gone to ground and will contact me tomorrow. They're still my squad. They remain devoted to the mission, as do I," Gordon asserted."But they won't come in," Baines growled."Yes, they'll come in, but not if they're going to be experimented on. Fully human soldiers would behave the same way under this threat, and there's no need for it. They've already proven they'll tell us everything we need to know." He locked eyes with the General. "Having a squad of bulletproof soldiers able to move faster than we can register with our eyes gives us one hell of an advantage, wouldn't you say? And remember, we know how to make more."That got through to the man."I'd personally like to speak to one of these Silver People," said the man with the crooked smile.Crane nodded. "We saw a repor
"Status report, Mick," Crane commanded through his mic. Their radios were shielded, so they still worked.The sergeant was still a little overwhelmed by the shared emotions, but she pulled it together and answered. "Colonel. The pseudo-clouds appear to be dead. The strike zone of the last prolonged bolt is too energized for us to enter. In the center of this zone is a body. We can't get close enough to make a positive identification or to determine if the person is alive or not. It looks to be a male based on body shape and clothing. The area is sprouting new growth unnaturally fast. Grasses and flowers are actually growing before our eyes. The four Silver People we met in Tennessee were here before we arrived, and they showed us how lightning affects the plant life where it strikes."And how exactly did they do that?" Crane asked, weariness in his tone.Mick felt a little uneasy with what she was about to confess, but she pushed ahead. "Uh, it seems we can speak mind to mind if we ho
As he got closer, he could feel every hair on his body beginning to stand on end. Little sparks were jumping between the strands, and he could taste something metallic. The rain was picking up, as was the wind, and soon he was drenched. The closer Henry got, the brighter the sparks snapping across his body became. It felt like his entire body was being pricked by pins and needles. The woman suddenly looked up at him and stopped with a look of fear on her face, clutching her child to her side.Henry looked closely at her and realized her hair was as soaked as his, but hers wasn't attracting the sparks at all.He looked past the woman and saw the tiny sparks leaping through the gap between himself and the approaching storm. He was a lightning rod! FUCK! He had to get away from her and the children! He spotted two young men running by."STOP!" he roared, and they froze in fear. "Help her get her children to cover!" he ordered, and they rushed to her and got her moving, one pushing her ca
"Shit!" Crane exclaimed.Sam looked at his friends then back to the Colonel. "These things duking it out over a city would not be good. I don't know what effect the lightning would have on people, but I can't imagine it would be good." A sudden pang of guilt made him look to the new Silver People they'd made. "You should know, we get our energy from the lightning. I guess it's how we eat."Jake scowled at Sam, but he just shrugged. He wasn't about to let them starve to death.Brenda and Jeannie went back into the barn and returned with handfuls of the silver strips, handing them out to the soldiers. Brenda took the remaining strips back to the barn when they no longer melted into the soldier's skin."We have to leave," the Colonel said, looking at Sam."That's cool with us. It's up to you what happens to your people. We're just going to keep running as that's what feels best. We won't interfere with you. I'd like to ask that you do the same for us, but maybe you don't have that author