He had so much he wanted to ask her but pushing to the front of his mind was the image of his parents. It would not be denied. "I remember them. I can see their faces." "Who?" she snapped, and he remembered she detested when he wasn't clear. "My parents. The Fae who broke into my mind cleared the blockage and I remember them." "I will have to deal with this Fae," Baba growled and he could feel the rage boiling within her. "He's dead," Stanley blurted, drawing a surprised smile from the old woman. "Tell me please, my parents, what happened to them? How did... how did you get me?" Stanley begged and her smile instantly disappeared in a scowl. "You think I killed them and stole you?" she asked in a quiet, stiff voice. "My heart says no but I'm lost in this world of magic and intrigue. You're more than who I thought you were. Please!" "Don't beg! I didn't raise you to beg!" she snapped angrily. Stanley knelt in front of her. "You did raise me! You're the only parent I had growing
She returned to stand before him and her face was warming up with a blush. "This isn't how I wanted to do this but I need to be at full strength if we're going to see Walter." She began tugging at his sweat shirt. "What? Oh! Now?" he gasped. "Please, Stanley!" she begged and he thought she looked so sweet he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips. "What?" she asked with a pout. "You're so adorable!" he blurted. She was practically vibrating with need. "Stanley, you need to change, now, while I can still hold myself back." She began to pull her own clothes off rapidly. He stepped back and yanked his sweater up and over his head and pushed his pants off as he kicked his shoes off. He pushed his clothes into a pile with his foot. He held her eyes with his as he stepped back. "Stay back while I change. It's dangerous!" he said firmly. She nodded. With a quick glance around he saw he was clear so he twisted the ring. The moment he was in Satyr form Sigrid was in his
"Stanley's my neighbor. I'm Sandy Marlow. I'm just trying to confirm he's alright." Siobhan's eyebrows elevated. "Now, why wouldn't he be?" Sandy turned to look at Tish standing a few feet away with Dayshia. "Tish, do you have the video queued. Could you show it to Siobhan?" The tall brunette came over and played the video for Siobhan who squeaked in shock when Stanley was shoved into the van. "That does look like Stanley doesn't it!" she exclaimed to Sandy who just nodded with a worried look. Siobhan turned to the young woman at the counter. "Give me the phone and dial extension 3333." She held the receiver to her ear and listened. Her expression became frustrated. She looked at the woman again. "Hang up and dial 3001." She listened and heard it pick up. "Ms. Villamor's office." "Felix, this is Siobhan in the lobby. I'm looking for Marisa or Stanley but they aren't answering. Have you heard from either?" "Hi Siobhan! No, I haven't seen either and their door is closed." "Is
He shook his head with a deep frown then pushed his track pants down, stepping out of them. He studiously avoided looking at the women as he knew they were all looking at him and he didn't want to react to their interest. Once he was naked he stepped away from his clothes and twisted the ring. Reality folded."AAAAAIIIEEEE!!!" their guide shrieked and threw herself away from Stanley as she pressed her hands to her eyes. Everyone stared at the woman in shock. She was curled up in a ball on the floor at the base of the stairs, trembling."What happened?" Stanley asked Sigrid anxiously. His nerves were buzzing.Camila moved towards the servant but the petite woman quickly pushed herself to her feet. She kept her face averted from them."I am fine. My apologies for the outburst. Please- please enter the chamber when you are ready. I will be here when you return," she said quickly then rushed up the stairs and was gone.They looked at each other and turned to walk to the other end of the a
"What's it do?" Sigrid asked suspiciously. Walter snorted at her tone. "It strengthens the holder's link to the realm for a period of time. Amplifies their ability to draw on the magic." "What's to keep someone from using it constantly, to build the strength of their link to godlike powers?" Sigrid boldly asked. "The Reliquary itself. It manages the flow and closes if there is too much draw. You can certainly strengthen your power, probably to two... maybe three times your usual levels but that's it. It wears off eventually and you'll have to wait for the same period of time to use it again or risk having it have the opposite effect. As it is useless to you, you should give it to me." He decided to keep to himself the fact that the old magic was weakening. He wanted that Reliquary! It was Camila's turn to lay down the law. "Not so fast, Walter. First, you're going to help extract Stanley from this mess. Call the Fae as Stanley's legal advisor and get them to back off." He scowled
When they reached the vestibule before the front doors Camila set the clothes on a small table there. "Now Stanley. Quickly please." He blinked at her then dropped the robe and kicked it forward as he stepped back from the ladies. He twisted the ring and snapped back into his human form. Marisa stepped close with his clothes and he dressed himself as quickly as he could. "Camila..." Walter's voice was doing that omnipresent thing again but this time he didn't sound happy. "Yes Walter?" she answered cautiously towards the ceiling, now assuming there were hidden cameras. "How is it that Stanley alters his form like a Dragon?" the voice returned, slow and calm but there was an undercurrent of barely contained rage. This confirmed her suspicions about the cameras. "You would need to ask Baba Yaga that question. This was her doing. Remember, she took Stanley as an infant. She hid his true form from him his entire life. She didn't ask the Fae to give him a glamor and I believe you are
"We've been worried sick about you all day! Roger spotted a video of you being abducted online. We went to your office but you weren't there and no one could reach you or any of the executives." "Was it the Russian mob? Were they after you to get them back door access to the financial data at your office?" Roger blurted excitedly. Stanley looked at him in surprise. "Roger, shut the fuck up!" Dayshia growled. "Can't you see he's still shaken by the ordeal?" "I- I didn't really see them too well. I was drugged and woke up in an old building by a bay. It collapsed while they tort- hurt me but I managed to get away. They didn't." It was the truth or at least enough truth for him to say convincingly. "Holy fuck!" Roger blurted as the others stared at him in horror. "Oh my god, Stanley!" Sandy exclaimed and pulled him into a hug and once more he was enveloped by her hair. When she recovered from her shock she held him out at arm's length to look in his eyes as her locks settled to re
"That's what happened. The building just crumbled and I got out of the room but they fell through the floor." Stanley said. "They?" Morris seized on the detail and pressed. "The small man and two others. I didn't see their faces as it was dark and dusty from the basement falling in." "Then what happened?" Harmon asked. "I found my bag in the next room so I went upstairs and called a friend to pick me up," Stanley said and yawned widely as he was quickly fading. It had been a very long and eventful day. "Why didn't you call the police?" Harmon asked bluntly. Stanley glared at the man and let some of his exhaustion into his voice. "I just wanted to go home. My kidnappers were dead or at least badly injured. Punished enough. I didn't know who they were and at that point I didn't care." "The police have been looking for you ever since the video was released last night. Why didn't you come forward, contact us?" Morris asked. Stanley sighed. "I didn't know about the video and I just