Its face had Stanley's features but they were just a little longer. Still youthful in appearance but definitely no longer slim and slight. He now had a broad, muscular chest and powerful arms with three thick fingers and a thumb on each big hand. His clothing could not contain his new configuration and lay on him in torn shreds. Most dramatic of his changes was his lower half from his waist down. Densely furred and powerful, his legs had become those of some kind of goat right down to his large cloven hooved feet.
"What- what is he?" Paloma gasped.
"I think he's a Satyr but his horns are bigger than I was expecting. I've never seen one before. They- they're supposed to be extinct!" Sigrid said quietly. "He, or I think more likely someone else, went to a great deal of effort to keep him disguised. I've never seen that kind of glamor before. It wasn't overlaying his true self with a false image. It was actually altering reality around him so he could... be... a Human. That's magic at a level I've never seen. Magic that alters reality... that's Master Level."
She thought back to her interactions with him and she could see no guile in his behavior at all. "I'm not sure if Stanley was aware of this. He may not know what he really is." She spotted the silk ties that once bound him to the bed. They were loose on the surface of the mattress. "Paloma, you need to secure him to the bed, tight this time, he looks much stronger than he did before."
The girl nodded and rushed forward to secure his arms and legs to the bed. She was a little too good at this activity for Sigrid's comfort. Once she saw he was tightly bound Sigrid walked out to get her coat, Paloma following.
She pulled it on as she looked into the wide eyes of the young woman. "Listen, I'm going to go get your mother and bring her here. If he wakes keep him calm and secured until we get back." Pausing, she walked back into the bedroom. She pulled out her cell and took a quick picture as convincing Camila would be so much easier with it.
"Lock up behind me and don't let anyone else in!" Sigrid said as Paloma followed her to the door.
With a final stern look in the young woman's eyes she was off.
Paloma closed and locked the door. She touched the rune next to it to set the ward. If something Magic tried to enter they were in for a nasty surprise. She rushed back to the bedroom and stopped at the foot of the bed.
Shivers ran up and down her spine. A Satyr! She'd known Stanley was special the moment she saw him! It was her gift to sense potential. While her mother had a touch of it and at times used it in her business dealings, Paloma hid how strong her gift truly was from everyone, even her mother. It was one of the skills of being a Seer and she didn't want to become a tool for her mother's business dealings.
When Stanley had first entered her waiting room she'd seen an aura of wild energies around him like she'd never seen before. He was completely unaware of it. She'd picked up pretty quickly that on the surface Stanley was what he appeared to be. A young man, awkward around women, more comfortable around technology, but at his core a decent person. She smiled as she recalled how he'd calmed at her touch.
There was one more thing about Stanley that she found almost irresistible. He was a virgin! Combined with this genuine innocence it had taken all her willpower to resist the urge to tear off his clothes and feast on his essence. Of course, her mother would have demoted her to working in the cafeteria with the hags if she'd failed the most basic lesson her kind was taught the moment they reached sexual maturity.
With their risk of being exposed increasing every year due to the Human's ever more clever surveillance technology, the Hidden Races had to remain vigilant and take every precaution.
She wanted so much to relax and allow her own glamor to dissipate but she knew Stanley was going to have a hard-enough time accepting his own change. One thing at a time.
Paloma stood watching him sleep and admired his new body. He still had a sweet innocent look on his face but his torso and arms were giving her not so innocent ideas. The buttons that hadn't torn free in the alley had all popped due to his expanding proportions and the seams were torn so she reached over and spread the two sides apart to get a good look at his bare chest. For all the hair, well... fur really, on his lower half, his torso was remarkably free of hair. Even his thick arms were bare of hair. His face was baby smooth under her fingertips.
The long hair on his head was also silky smooth and so wonderfully luxurious as she ran her fingers through it. Tingles ran up and down her body and she moaned. Biting her lip she forced herself to take a few steps back from the bed.
Her breath was coming in gulps and her body ached for release. Danger signals! What was taking Sigrid so long to bring her mother?
Sigrid was trying to get past Felix to Camila but her assistant insisted his boss could not be disturbed while she was on this call to Japan. So here she sat stewing in the waiting room.
"How long do these calls normally take?" she finally sighed with exasperation.
Felix shrugged and looked over at her. "It varies."
"And there is no way you can get a message to her?" Sigrid pushed.
"I was given strictest instructions not to disturb her in any way. The Japanese official she is speaking to is very sensitive to the slightest sign of disrespect. Her cell phone is off and her office line is muted. Her entire attention is on this man." Felix explained.
Sigrid growled and sunk into the sofa a little deeper. She hoped Paloma wasn't having any trouble with Stanley.
"WHAT- WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!?!" Stanley bellowed as he looked down at his body in shock.
"Stanley, please just relax! Everything is ok." Paloma said in a calming tone and rested her palm on his chest. She could feel his heart beating strongly and rapidly under his dense muscles. More tingles shot through her body and she bit her lip.
"OK?!? IT'S NOT OK! MY BODY ISN'T MY BODY ANYMORE! AND I'M STILL TIED DOWN!" he yelled as he pulled at his bindings.
"They're for your safety! Please calm down! Take some deep breaths!" she pleaded as she placed both of her hands on the thick slabs of his chest muscles. Her self-control was beginning to crack.
Stanley tried to do as she said but he was sure he'd lost his mind. He looked to the right and saw his right arm, thick with muscle and his hand- THREE FINGERS?!? He pulled once more at the silk ties but they were too well knotted to slip free. He lifted his head which felt strangely heavy. He saw Paloma's lovely hands resting on his chest. It didn't look like his chest but he could feel her hands on him, could feel her kneading the muscles. Looking further down just increased his distress. What happened to his legs? Why were they covered in fur?
"Oh my god! I've mutated? Did that guy in the alley inject me with some weird experimental drug?" he moaned.
"Stanley, you didn't mutate! This is just your real shape, you were wearing a disguise, a glamor over your true self before. It wore off or was damaged in the explosion in the alley," she tried to explain.
His eyes snapped to hers. "You were there? Did you see what happened? Why were you there?"
"I- I followed you from work. I saw something in your potentials, your possible futures, that concerned me so I followed you. I saw them abduct you. I called for help then I watched them try to possess you with the demon." Paloma was running her hands over his torso, enjoying the feeling of the hard muscles of his stomach.
"Demon..." Stanley gasped as her touch was confusing his mind and making him feel... really good.
"Yes, a demon. I heard the man say he wanted to use you as a spy inside my mother's company. Perhaps Mother knows who he is." She gently pinched his nipples and Stanley gasped once more and writhed on the bed.
"What- what are you doing? Paloma!" he asked trying to get her attention. She looked up at him and he saw her licking her lips.
"Oh Stanley, I'm sorry to spring this on you but the world is filled with creatures like you and me. Magical, wonderful beings who stay hidden from Humans for our and their safety."
"I'm human!" he asserted.
Paloma slid her hands out along his strong arms and sighed as she brought her face down closer to his. "No Stanley. Your disguise was Human but your true self is this. I've never seen a glamor so complete that even the wearer is unaware of what they are." Her body was burning with need and he was so delicious! Her control was gone. She brushed her lips across his and pulled back teasingly.
Stanley thought he heard an odd emphasis when Paloma said 'human'. It didn't quite sound the way he said it.
"Wait! Wait! You said- you said creatures like you and me but you're obviously human!" he asserted.
"But I'm not! You're only seeing my disguise. I was going to take it slow but you've got me too excited," she cooed.
Dropping your glamor was something that was never done in public or any place that wasn't considered to be secure. But here in her bedroom... in her own private sanctuary, here she could relax her guard and allow her glamor to dissipate. She looked down at Stanley's true form. Since he was no longer hidden she could allow herself to be who, and what, she was.
Concentrating she felt the enchantment slip into its paused state. Like a falling curtain of glitter the overlay she wore to hide her true self from the world dissolved. Beneath it her skin shimmered iridescently between deep blue and black. Her hair was still the color of obsidian but it was thicker and fell to her mid-back. Horns, much smaller than Stanley's, slimmer and shorter rose from her temples and curled back. Her facial features were much the same as her glamor showed, though her eyes were a little larger and her lips were fuller and black, making her white teeth gleam. Her ears had pointed tips which aimed up and back.As his wide eyes moved down her body he froze. She was naked! Her tits were... big! Bigger than he'd seen when she showed him some cleavage. Her curves were all more exaggerated than before but he couldn't see more as she was crawling up his body. Then she rubbed herself over his torso. God! That felt so good! He was responding to her quickly.She pressed her
"A SATYR?!? Oh my god! You left a young Succubus and a young Satyr alone together?!?" Camila gasped and raced for the door. "Felix! Have my car waiting downstairs! Have Mr. Duncan meet me there! Sigrid, let's go!"Paloma was so hot! Her skin tingled with need. As she was dragged from the depths of her rest her eyes cracked open and she felt eyes on her. She felt their caress on her body and she began to squirm as the tingle began to be concentrated on the sensitive flesh between her legs. She felt herself growing wet and she began to pant. She wanted him, this watcher. She felt his hunger radiating from him in waves. His hunger was raw and untamed. Unconsciously she drew her knees together and lifted her ass up from the mattress whimpering with her own need for him to touch her, taste her, and take her.She jumped when large hands gripped her hips and yanked her closer to the end of the bed. She cried out in joy when his tongue roughly stroked across her dripping pussy lips and sucked
Stanley's initial excitement at the woman's acceptance of his idea faded as her subsequent argument sounded entirely too logical and reasonable."Let's set that aside for now. The question is, how do we help Stanley get his disguise- or alternate reality, back in place?" Camila said to calm the young man."Are you wearing an item the spell is anchored to? An enchanted ring, bracelet, or pendant? Even an earring would do," the big Security Chief suggested but Stanley just shook his head.Sigrid sat forward. "There was a strange ticking just before the conversion. The ticking sped up then... you changed.""Where was the ticking coming from?" Camila asked.The blond shook her head. "We couldn't tell. It seemed to be coming from somewhere on his body but I wasn't close enough. Paloma was closer. I barely had time to pull her away before it happened.""Paloma won't be in any condition to answer questions for a while," Camila said with a frown."I- I didn't hurt her, did I?" Stanley said he
Camila's skin was deepest ruby red and black and shimmered even in the dim light of the courtyard. Stunningly beautiful with voluptuous curves, her sensuality pulled at Stanley's body but the fear in her eyes as she watched the crone on the steps dampened his lust.Sigrid hadn't changed but he could see her wings were pinned to her back and glowed dimly. She definitely looked uncomfortable.The change for Mr. Duncan was the most dramatic. Standing upright on wide paws with obsidian claws, his hugely muscled body was covered with blood red fur. His head was that of a huge wolf complete with a muzzle full of deadly teeth. His tongue was lolling in fear and his teeth gleamed."Baba?" Stanley turned back to his grandma."What is it boy?" she said with a frustrated tone."Please, these are my friends. They saved me tonight!" he said.Her eyes snapped to his and he felt the impact of her stare. She was looking for truth. He'd suffered this from her before so he relaxed. He knew he was speak
Stanley sat behind his desk in his new office looking out the window. Morning sunlight streamed in and warmed his body. His human body! He saw his reflection in the glass smiling back at him.True to her word, the moment he woke up this morning when he spun the black ring on his finger as Baba instructed he felt the briefest moment of dizziness and found himself in his original human body. He'd never felt so relieved in his life! The ring had even magically resized to fit his much smaller human finger! To think he'd always had the ring there but just hadn't been able to see it. That confused him so he pushed the thought from his mind.He'd also discovered that he'd want to be naked each time he changed as the folding of reality had a nasty effect on any clothing he wore. The huge robe he'd had on when the change began showed rips and tears in it when he was human again. That sucked and needing two distinct and very different sets of clothing sucked too.He'd have to buy himself a hood
"I understand Sigrid is going to be taking you over to a condo building at lunch to check out an available unit. All of the units on specific floors in that building are sold to people like us. This is done in every building we share with Humans as a precautionary measure. The buildings have a mix but the floors are not intermixed. Even numbered floors are for Humans. Building management in these buildings is always run by someone from the Hidden Races and they ensure this division is maintained. There are many buildings in the city like this. If this one doesn't appeal we can try to find another. I'd like to exhaust those options before risking you staying in a non-controlled building.""I lived in the attic of an old cottage in a swamp. I think anything with actual working electrical outlets will be fine," he said with a small smile. "I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for your support and guidance. I'm completely out of my element.""Outside of ensuring you switch back to
"I just wanted to touch based to let you know I'm going to need to make some rather expensive purchases in very short order. The deadline for replacing all of the faulty and outdated equipment is extremely short. I need to know if this is going to present any issues for your department," he explained."Ms. Villamor spoke to me this morning to fill me in on the project. I have been authorized to support any and all purchase orders you submit to the department... as long as it pertains to technology and software for VRL," she finished with a coy grin.He smiled in return. "I guess I'd better cancel that beer fridge and foosball table order. I do have a more immediate requirement though. I have no computer of my own and I need to pick one up this morning. Is there a company credit card I can use for that?""Ah, yes. I can take care of that immediately." She placed her thumb against a desk drawer and there was an audible beep and click. She pulled the drawer open and looked inside to pull
Stanley signed his PC out and followed her out of his office. Siobhan smiled and gave him a wave as he left. He waved back then followed Sigrid out of the building.They took a subway and transferred to the path train to Jersey City. The building was apparently right on the Hudson and had a view of Manhattan. When they walked up to the building Stanley looked around at the neighborhood. He saw a lot of expensive looking cars and well-dressed people in them. He looked questioningly at Sigrid."What?""I might have lived in an old cottage with no electricity in a swamp but I'm not so sheltered that I can't recognize real estate which I can't afford," he said. He was puzzled why Sigrid was taking him here as she knew how much he made."Normally, that would be the case but I had a talk with Camila last night. In light of your special circumstances and nature, if you find the unit satisfactory VRL will purchase the property as an investment. You will then be able to live in it at a reasona
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