Author's note: Kudos to djkauf for betaing this for me

September rolled around and my brain was mush. Three months of intensive power training in the ways of feminine control had turned me from tomboyish sexiness to what I’d come to refer to as Lady Lara Croft chic. Sue me; I’m still a gamer at heart.

I hadn’t worn single pair of jeans since that morning where Mom laid down the law.

I was eighteen. Legally, I could have told her to bite me and then went off on my own, but that just wasn’t the kind of relationship I had with her. I loved my mom. I respected her opinion, and I always tried to make her proud of me. That was the only thing that got me through the summer.

She’d taught me, all over again, how to walk, talk, and hold myself properly at all times in order to gain the respect she thought I deserved. The amount of shopping that was done was mind numbing. Every choice she made was practical, functional, and utterly feminine.

My hair was eventually cut and styled to her liking. It was still long, because long hair attracted attention and was the basis for pulling people’s eyes to what it framed, namely my face and breasts. Gone were the days of hopping out of the shower, giving my short hair a couple of rubs with a towel, a swipe with a comb, and being on my way.

After the summer, I spent no less than an hour and a half preparing for each day before I dared set foot out of the bedroom. By the second month, if I came out looking anything less than perfect, I had to start all over again. That included makeup as well. Needless to say, I got a lot of practice during that last month.

Evelyn and Mom worked with me on body language and the power of the female face. Every look, every gesture, the slightest quirk of my lips or raise of an eyebrow was torn apart and reassembled for maximum effect. According to Mom, I should be able to confer with my face alone. Any man should know exactly what I wanted and needed to go out of his way to make sure he received whatever message I wanted sent.

As a point, she waiting until my father returned from a golfing day, still sweaty and slightly burned from the heavy sun. He hadn’t been home for more than a few seconds before he saw a look on her face. Her lips moved minutely and her eyebrow lifted the barest of millimeters. He wound up nodding and said he’d be ready to go to dinner in thirty minutes and he’d make reservations for somewhere nice.

I just sat there dumbfounded asking how in the hell she had managed that.

“Your father and I have been married for years, Chase. We know each other better than we know ourselves. I’ve trained him and he’s trained me in nuance. It’s all a matter of positive and negative reinforcement. If he makes me happy then I make him happy. If he makes me unhappy, then he doesn’t…”

I held up my hand seeing where that was going. “I don’t want to know.”

That brought a smile to her face. “You are a woman now, Chase. I expect to hear all about every aspect of your life. That includes your love life.”

Needless to say, the broken woman that arrived at the beach house was banished back to whatever corner of my mother’s mind that she kept it hidden.

Once she dubbed me decently prepared, I was let loose.

You might be wondering about my status as a new female, previously being a guy and all. That was a little tricky. It involved a married Hawaiian Senator, a young stripper, a hotel room, a proclivity for bondage, and a camera. No, I didn’t initiate any of this; I just took advantage of it.

Within two days I had a whole new life, still under the same name. Mostly it was just a matter of changing everything that read M to F, a couple of pictures, and the process for a new passport. I was assured that the passport would fly through. Even Senators can’t speed up certain bureaucracies.

Was it morally wrong? I was on the fence about that. Obviously I couldn’t go on with male ID and I had no way to prove I was who I said I was. Even Druidic magic had its limits. I couldn’t change reality. There were no wish spells. That was specifically under the purview of Wizards. So, I would have to file my actions under the heading of necessary evil, which went right along with my Chaotic Neutral personality. In case you hadn’t noticed, that had changed as well.

While I could have taken my parents and Evelyn home through a transportation spell, it was better to make sure they arrived under normal means. Ev’s parents had long since returned to L.A. and I had a chance to make sure my I.D. worked under federal scrutiny.

Our main homes made it seem like I’d walked into a time warp. I stood at the door to my room. It was just the way I’d left it. Everything was in its place and it was decidedly male.

“I had Marta set up the guest room for you,” Mom said from behind me.

Turning to her, I tweaked certain areas on my face that was supposed to tell her what I was thinking. She smiled with pride. “No, you’re not a guest, Chase. We’ll turn this into the new guest room. I didn’t want anyone touching it until you’ve had a chance to go through it.”

“Thank you, Mother. It will have to wait. After I change I’m heading to Tennessee. Zachery has been uneasy this last week. I need to find out why.”

Notice the new formal way of speaking? That was the second thing that Mom pounded into my brain. People are intimidated by others that speak better than they do. I still thought in my own voice, but I tried to speak in hers.

“Will you be back by tomorrow?”

I shook my head slightly. “Doubtful.”

She nodded. “Well, dress your best for your man, Chase.”

A touch of the old Chase slipped through. It always did when she teased me. I rolled my eyes. “Mom, he’s not my man! He’s six… seventeen.”

Mom loved to catch my slip-ups. “That will be an additional thirty minutes on elocution lessons, this evening, Chase. I trust I will not have to check up on you?”

Blanking my face so that I wouldn’t show any frustration, I said. “No Mother. I’ll do them before I go to sleep.”

“Very good, sweetie.” She reached over and patted my face then leaned in for an air kiss. “Stay safe.”

~O~

I checked myself for the fifth time in the mirror. My makeup was light but effective, hair was straight and spilled across my shoulders, the outfit I was wearing was black wool shorts that dropped about halfway down my thighs and were covered up with a top that resembled a three-quarter length coat. The boots I wore came up above the knee with a low heel. They would look a lot better with higher heels, but I still had to keep in mind my status. The part that reminded the world that I was female was the four inch patch of skin that would show between my shorts and boots when I walked. If I stood still, it looked like I was totally covered.

Why that specific look in September? It was cold in Tennessee.

At my current level, being a Druid, I could strip down to a bikini and walk around in the snow. The temperature wouldn’t bother me, but it would look supremely weird.

Kitty was lounging on my bed. Oh sorry, that’s what I wound up naming my panther that spent more time in cat form than in his original. He was going to be remaining behind for this trip since I wasn’t going to be that long.

Grabbing my staff, I stroked the entire length and spoke a Wood Shape spell, transforming it into a ball-headed walking cane. Its mass still remained as well as the color and the Druidic runes. It was simply more stylish.

Shouldering my purse, I picked up my travel bag and rolled it behind me as I made my way downstairs.

Mom had placed herself firmly by the back door where she knew I’d be exiting. A single eyebrow rose at my choice of clothes, followed by a knowing smile.

Oh brother.

“Mother, he’s not my man.”

She sipped at her tea. “Keep telling yourself that, dear. One of us might eventually believe it.”

Without another word, I left and approached a large oak. I knew Mom’s eyes were on me as I continued without thought, speaking the words to allow me passage to the closest living oak to the school where I knew Zach attended. A rush of energy crackled across my skin and the next thing I knew I was walking out of a very thick oak a few hundred yards from the front of the building.

It was just after two o’clock local time and they would be let out in thirty minutes. From my vantage point on a hill, I spotted Zach’s car and made my way through the brush carefully to make sure it gave way so it wouldn’t harm my outfit.

Within ten minutes I’d arrived in the parking lot and found Zach’s Hide-a-key under the rear bumper where I knew he hid it, popped the trunk and deposited my luggage. After returning the key, I made sure I wasn’t ruffled and moved to the front doors.

I had to hand it to the upgrades of schools across America. Security kept a watchful eye on me the entire time I was there. The front portion of the school was as far as anyone that wasn’t a student or faculty member could pass. A few parents were already there to pick up their children. I was watched briefly by everyone there.

Paying close attention to how I carried myself, I stood in the center of the room, facing the door that I knew Zach would exit through. Reaching out, I located him on the second floor close to the front. The knowledge of his exact location wasn’t available, but that wasn’t the purpose for the magic. It was simply meant to get me in the vicinity of my Acolyte. Back in the day large gatherings and high populations weren’t evident, so I suppose that a more exact spell wasn’t needed. It didn’t matter.

I could still feel his anxiety, an unpleasant tightness in my chest that seemed to increase as the minutes passed. The bell that released the students almost startled me, however I kept my composure as seconds later the doors slammed open and teenagers started emerging.

My face went stone-like daring anyone to brush me on their way past. All of the training Mom gave me paid off. Everyone that passed took one look at me and gave me a wide birth. Maybe it looked like I was someone important; maybe it was the outfit, whatever it was, I was thankful for.

Then he emerged and stopped a second after. Zach’s face lit up like it was Christmas and his birthday all at once. The tightness in my chest immediately eased, until he was pushed from behind.

“Move it, faggot.”

I shifted to the side and the crowd gave way in my wake. The guy that pushed Zach wasn’t much bigger than him which made me wonder what had been happening during his time here. As he passed me, his head was still turned around which meant he didn’t see my cane smack him in his shin. I did it as unobtrusively as possible.

Books flew and the guy took a header into the tile. Everyone within watching distance started laughing, and I moved on.

“Chase,” Zach breathed as he closed in.

I was right in my assumption that he’d grow. It already looked like he had gained two inches on me and I was grabbed up into a hug and spun to the side.

“Hi, Zach,’ I said with a smile.

“God you look gorgeous.”

He kept getting jostled by people bumping into him from behind, so I took his arm and tugged. “Come on, before we get run over.”

Zach held open the door for me and we were in the clear after a short while.

“What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I thought you weren’t coming until Christmas break.”

I squeezed his bicep lightly. “I was worried about you. Why have you been so tense in the last week?”

He slowed a little. “You can feel that?”

Checking to make sure we didn’t get run over, we stepped into the parking lot. “Remember, no secrets. That means I know when you’re happy and when you’re sad too. There haven’t been too many times that you’ve been happy as of late.”

He warily looked around. “Right, no secrets. Look, can we talk about this somewhere else?”

I gave a slight shrug. “I doubt your parents will be happy to see me. Where do you suggest?”

As we approached his car he looked thoughtful. “Hungry?”

“I could use a cup of tea.”

“Cool, there’s a Starbucks not too far from here. It’s usually not too busy.”

When we arrived at his car, I stood patiently until he figured out that he was supposed to open my door. Needless to say, Zach’s face turned a pleasant shade of red. Mom was right. Training was needed. I mentally shook my head. No, no training. He wasn’t my boyfriend or my man. There was absolutely no reason to train him.

I made myself comfortable on the passenger side as Zach slid in to the driver’s side and started up the car.

“I know you wrote that your mom was doing the girl training, but damn.”

I raised an eyebrow at his cursing, but I understood. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Sorry, yeah. You look like you’re in your twenties, all sophisticated and polished. Makeup and your nails are even done.” His face started going red as he was gushing. “Sorry. I’m just… wow.”

I gave him an appreciative grin. “Starbuck’s, Zach.”

“Right.”

It was a short trip. He opened my door for me and offered a hand out. With liquid grace I spilled out of the car and took his arm again. Giving Zach my order, made him stall. Tazo Passion Brewed Tea in a real cup not in one of those takeaway cardboard things that muted the flavor. I thought about it as I found a clean table and tried to make myself comfortable. Was I a snob already?

It had almost become second nature to be picky around my mother. Her way of looking at things was if you can’t have the things you want, the way you want, then they aren’t worth having. I used to call that being a picky snob. But if I was willing to pay for them why couldn’t I have things the way I liked them?

Meh.

Zach was next in line and I sat there watching him. It was hard to think it had only been three months since I’d seen him. His arms and chest had filled out and his butt didn’t look too bad in those overly tight jeans. I closed my eyes and tried to banish those thoughts away as quickly as they came. I still thought of myself as liking girls. I didn’t know where that put me on the whole sexuality spectrum in terms of labels. I only knew that when I looked at a guy I really didn’t think about what their body would feel like under my hands, like I did with girls.

When I opened my eyes again I saw Zach kind of pointing at me and talking to the guy behind the counter. The barista nodded took his money before preparing our drinks.

Zach moved to the end of the counter and waited patiently, occasionally throwing glances back to see if I was still there, I guessed. That’s when I noticed the design of the back pockets of his jeans. I recognized it from somewhere. There was no threading or label to indicate the manufacturer, but still. Rolling it around in my head, I sorted through all the clothing stores I’d gone through during my first couple of weeks of imposed Mom shopping. Then I figured it out.

Forever 21. They were Devine Rights of Denim Skinny Jeans. Zach was wearing girl’s jeans. I noticed the curve of his butt and how his waist nipped in at the top. They definitely worked for him.

The shirt he sported was men’s cut. There was no way he could fit in anything else. His shoes were black hiking boots that came just above his ankles. All and all it was a good look for him, much better than the baggy jeans and random-tee-shirt-with-a-saying-on-it-number-ten.

A cup was set in front of me as he set his down. “Do you want sugar or anything?”

I shook my head. “No, thank you.”

He went and retrieved several packets for himself and a couple of stir sticks to mix it up. Once he’d finished preparations, I could see Zach was stalling as long as humanly possible, so I cleared my throat and peered into his eyes.

“I’ve been getting pushed around at school.”

My jaw hardened and my eyes narrowed. A protective reflex reared its head in my chest. “Why?”

He looked out the window and licked his lips. “Mom wrote a note to the school that got me out of gym class for a few weeks, but without a doctor’s order, I can’t skip.”

“Your body hair,” I concluded.

Zach nodded.

“So the other guys think you’re gay?”

He nodded again.

That explained why the punk pushed him at the school, and I’d flattened him. That meant Zach was going to catch hell the next day.

“I’ll take care of it with the school.”

He looked back at me when I announced that. A look of mild relief showed on his face, but then the grimace returned. “It’s a little late for that. All the other guys already know.”

I sipped at my tea, letting the taste of rosehips and passion fruit spill across my tongue. It was soothing and allowed me to think better.

The front door opened and three teen boys entered, making their way to the counter.

There was no doubt in my mind about Zach’s sexuality. He seriously wanted me; that was evident on his face. I didn’t bother to ask if he was gay or bisexual. It was a non-issue. The rules of the school backed him up. If he was attacked because of his perceived sexuality then the others would be expelled and possibly be brought up on charges, but I also knew how often that actually happened. Other reasons would be substituted for the attack so it would never go that far.

“Ewellynn? You gonna introduce us to your sister?”

I saw the look on Zach’s face when he saw the three guys standing at the end of the counter leering at me. It was pure unadulterated hatred. Off in the distance I heard the sounds of storm clouds brewing. It’s not wise to mess with a Druid that feels he needs to protect something. Zach wasn’t one to worry about himself. He’d take the abuse to keep the status quo, but with me there, anything could happen.

Looking down my nose at the one that spoke, I reduced him to a cockroach in my mind and let that expression set on my face. “Zachery is not my brother, he’s my lover. I’ll be offended if you don’t remember that in the future, boy, and you don’t want me offended.”

He paused for a moment seeing the intensity of my stare, but recovered well enough to fake a laugh. “Aww, man he’s screwing his sister. I knew those L.A. fags were nasty.”

The barista spoke up at that point. “None of that crap in here, Jimmy.”

Gripping my cane I spoke low. “Vocima!”

All three of the guys looked back at me after being scolded. “What’d you say?”

I smiled evilly. “Enjoy the crabs. I know I will.”

Zach snorted. He’d known immediately that I summoned an Insect Plague of under their jeans. It was just a matter of time before they realized it. Phthirus pubis otherwise known as pubic lice or the STI crabs, are somewhat difficult to get rid of. They tend to infest anywhere there is hair on the body, but most often in the pubic region. Normally they wouldn’t notice right away, but I made sure the large strain I infected them with was vigilant in their duty.

They started squirming and my smiled turned threatening. “You’ll find shaving will be the only way to get rid of them.”

They started scratching a little here and there. “What are you talking about?”

He barely got the sentence off before they started biting with vengeance. The one speaking started to wince then made his way out of the coffee shop.

“God, I wish I had thought of that,” Zach said with a smile.

When they left, I returned to my tea. “It shouldn’t last too long, but by then they’ll have infected their beds, carpet, clothes. You’ll need to keep an eye out and make sure they keep to the ones that are causing you trouble.”

He sighed. “You’re here for like thirty seconds and solved most of my problems with one spell.”

“Most?”

His lips firmed. “Can I keep certain things to myself, at least for now?”

It seemed important to him so I agreed. Silence settled between us until I’d finished my tea.

“Are you staying around town?”

I nodded. “For a few days at least. I wanted to look up Pete and Brett. They live in Nashville.”

“Yeah, I trade emails with Brett every once in a while. He always asks about you.”

That pleased me. “How are they doing?”

“Pete’s come down with a nasty cough last week. He’s been in bed trying to fight it. I offered to come down and see if there’s anything I could do, but he’s proud and all.”

“I’ll check it out.”

He smiled with relief. “Good, thanks. Getting away from my parents is almost impossible. They keep thinking I’m going to run away.”

Reaching over, I took his hand. “They’re worried about you, Zach. Give them some time.”

Focusing on his coffee, he blurted out. “There’s a homecoming dance at the beginning of November. Would you be my date?”

I blinked. We really need to talk about a way to signal a major topic change. Zach was becoming increasingly unpredictable.

“A dance?”

He nodded, still not looking at me. “You couldn’t get in trouble here. I checked out the laws online. We’re only a year apart now and the age of consent is eighteen, but that doesn’t include a four year gap of age. So you could be twenty-one and it would still be cool.”

Letting a little smile slip out, I said, “I don’t think dancing is grounds for arrest in any state, well, at least not the homecoming kind anyway.”

Zach’s face flushed red. It was an endearing trait.

“You don’t have any girls lined up at school?”

His eyes rolled up. “Uh, no. They’re pretty much brainless. I went on one date and vowed never to pick one of them again.”

I was kind of surprised at how much it annoyed me that Zach actually went on a date. “Okay.”

When he focused on me and not on his coffee anymore I felt the full brunt of the heat he was holding back. “You’ll be my date?”

“Email me the specifics. This isn’t marriage, Zach; it’s a date.”

He quickly picked up on that and nodded. “Right.”

Checking my watch, I said, “I need to get moving if I’m going to make it to Pete’s. You wouldn’t have an address would you?”

Zach pulled out the iPhone that I sent him and emailed it to mine. “There you go. I know they have a big Douglas fir in their back yard. There’s one not too far away from here.”

“That would be good, thanks.”

~O~

When we got there, Zach checked out the area and made sure nobody was watching before giving me a hug. “You’re coming back, right?”

“I’ll be back tonight. You have my bag in your trunk.”

That statement wiped away any fear that I he thought I was leaving. “Cool. Call me when you get back and I’ll pick you up.”

Giving him a nice smile, I turned to the tree and gave the transportation incantation.

When I emerged from the fir, I heard a clang of metal against cement. Looking to my left, I saw Brett bending over a wooden planter with a stunned expression on his face. I gave him a wide grin and approached with confidant stride.

“I leave you alone for three months and now you’re gardening.”

“Chase?”

“I got your address from Zach. I hope I’m not coming at a bad time.”

He bent over and retrieved the gardening claw he dropped, tossing it in the planter. “No, come on in. Grandpa will be ecstatic to see you.”

Brett wiped his hands on a cloth and opened a sliding glass door for me. Their home smelled like cinnamon candles and was decorated like an old couple lived there, but I already knew Pete was a widower. Brett washed his hands at the kitchen sink.

“Grandpa’s not feeling too well, so he’s been in bed.”

Concern grew on my face. “Zach said something about that; it’s been over a week. He hasn’t gone to the doctor?”

With a solemn look he shook his head. “Grandma, died in a hospital. He doesn’t trust them.”

I sighed. “What are his symptoms?”

“It’s mostly in his chest. Cough, tightness, sometimes he gets a fever.”

I wanted to curse, but somehow Mom would find out. “You can drive, right?”

He nodded.

Spotting a pad and pencil on the counter, I jotted down a list of items. “Is there a health food store around here?”

“A couple of miles away.”

“Good, get everything on this list and bring it back here as quick as you can. The fewer preservatives in the ingredients, the better.”

He cringed a little. “I don’t have any money. Grandpa hasn’t been well enough to go to the bank.”

Reaching into my purse I pulled out three twenties. “Here, go.”

All I had to do was follow the sounds of the coughing to the open door. Pete was sitting up in bed, reading a book. When he saw me, he inhaled quickly which set off another round of hack-a-lung. I set my purse down on a chair beside the door and went in.

“Pete, you stubborn old man,” I scolded him.

He scowled. “Did Brett call you? I told him to leave you alone.”

Sitting on the bed I reached up and felt his brow. “You’re an idiot. The next time you don’t want to go to the doctor you better call me. I can be here in minutes. And you’re burning up.”

“Chase…”

“Shush. Listen to me and lean back. Try to slow your breathing and let me do my thing.”

Laying my hand lightly on his chest I noticed his pajamas were made of cotton. Clutching my cane in my left hand I gave the incantation of healing. It wouldn’t do any good for the infection he obviously had, but it would heal whatever damage had already been done to his lungs.

“How does that feel?”

His breathing sounded the slightest bit improved. “Better, less tight.”

“Good, I sent Brett out for some things. I’d appreciate you listening to me when he returns and not giving me any problems.” When he gave me an odd look, I explained, “Since you decided not to go to your doctor, you don’t get the shot or the pills, instead you get some really nasty drink and a something smelly to rub on your chest, oh and your room is going to reek of eucalyptus.”

He frowned. “I don’t like doctors.”

“And you’ve got reason. Brett told me about your wife.”

Pete didn’t look like he wanted to talk about that particular subject, so I changed it subtly. “Brett is getting bigger.”

“He graduates this year, and then he’s off to college.”

“Good for him. Not so good for you I take it?”

“Bah, he doesn’t need to hang around an old man all of his life.”

A sick Pete isn’t a happy one. “If you keep this attitude up, I’ll have to come around more often and bug you.”

We kept up the conversation until Brett returned at which point I excused myself and went to the kitchen. He watched me mix up the ingredients in three separate bowls, while tried covering his nose.

“That smells awful.”

I smiled. “It tastes worse. If you ever get sick, go to the doctor and I won’t have to do this for you. There.”

One of the bowls was emptied into a pitcher, the other two I left in the bowls I’d mixed them in. “He gets eight ounces of this every four hours wake him up if you have to, and make sure he drinks all of it until the pitcher is empty. I pointed to the yellow paste. This one gets smoothed out over his chest, once in the morning after breakfast, and once at night after dinner until it’s all gone. I’ll show you how thick to make it in a minute.”

Moving the last bowl of greenish liquid to the forefront, I said, “This goes into the humidifier. Two teaspoons. Run it constantly for three days.”

He looked overwhelmed. “This will make him better?”

I nodded. “It’ll make him cough up all of the crud that’s in his lungs. It’s going to sound awful, but after that he’ll be okay. The juice is to make the infection go away.”

After preparing the humidifier I grabbed it and the poultice. “Pour him a glass of the juice then put the rest in the refrigerator. It tastes better cold.”

When I returned to the bedroom Pete eyed the bowls. “What’s that?”

“Your punishment. Open your pajama top.”

I plugged in the humidifier and went to sit by the bed. That’s when Brett brought the juice in and handed it to Pete.

“Drink that, all of it.”

He looked at the contents with a dubious expression. “What is it?”

“Do you really want to know? I’m a Druid, Pete. Healing is in my blood. I wouldn’t mess you over. In three days you’ll be back to your old self if you follow the instructions I gave Brett.”

I’d never seen someone actually hold their nose and drink something before. It was pretty funny. He gasped at the end. “That’s awful.”

“Good. Maybe you’ll go to the doctor next time. Now open your shirt, I have to show Brett how to do this.”

We went through the process and Pete buttoned up his shirt after. I washed my hands and came back to smell the eucalyptus in the air.

Leaning over, I kissed Pete on the head. “I’ll be back in three days to make sure everything came out. You might want to get a small trashcan. It’s not going to be pretty.”

I could see he was already breathing better and looking sleepy from the potion.

“Get better, Pete.”

On the way out, I left a few twenties on the counter for Brett until Pete was able to make it to the bank.

~O~

Zach showed up where he dropped me off and then drove to a nice hotel where he escorted me to the room and insisting on carrying my bag. I got the eye from the desk clerk. Looking older and being with an obviously younger guy was probably enough to make the gossip circuits in the little town.

When we entered the room, he placed my bag on the dresser beside a small television, while I refreshed myself in the bathroom. It’s kind of hard getting the smell of the poultice off your skin. My hands would smell like mustard for the night, at least. I really had to invest in a box of rubber gloves or something. It seemed like a smart choice considering my new profession.

When I came back out, Zach was casually peering out the window. “Too bad Evelyn couldn’t make it.”

I shrugged and sat down to remove my boots. “She just got back home after three months. She misses her other friends. I wasn’t going to begrudge her that.”

“I know, I’m just saying.”

Looking over at him, I saw his restlessness. “What’s on your mind, Zach?”

He glanced back. “Can you take a look at something?”

After I pulled off my second boot I nodded. He started unbuttoning his shirt and I stilled my body, trying to figure out what he was doing, and hoping he wasn’t trying to move our odd relationship to the next level. It didn’t take long to figure out.

The further down he progressed, the more of his chest was revealed. The thing was, his skin was marred, or I guess I should say marked. Slowly standing up, I edged toward him and saw that there was an imprint of a small hand, the fingers spread slightly. The color was a dark green with brown highlights here and there.

“It that a tattoo?”

He shook his head. “This was there the morning after the ritual. I thought it was your mark… like you said during one of the phrases, I guess.

I lightly touched his skin and found the texture normal enough. On a whim, I spread my fingers and covered the tattoo with my hand. It was a perfect fit.

Zach inhaled, and I felt his heartbeat underneath my hand, steady, but slightly elevated. Looking at the angle, I moved behind him to check something out, but I left my hand on his chest.

“It’s how I was holding you afterward. That’s where my hand was.”

“I figured,” he said. “What I wanted to know was what the runes meant.”

Circling back around, I don’t know why, but I let my hand trail across his skin. Maybe I enjoyed the way it felt, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him or even myself at that point. I saw what he meant. Above each finger was a small symbol. They weren’t exactly runes, and I knew at that point he was still an Initiate and not technically a Druid until he reached the twelfth level. When that happened, he would know what they meant.

Druids didn’t really have an alphabet, since they never wrote down anything of note. Instead they had runic symbols that were used to indicate certain points they wanted to get across whenever other Druids visited their area. This comprised of simple phrases like: Trail Safe, Water Poison, Protected Trees, and so forth.

I pointed at the pinky symbol. “This one means Loyalty.” The ring finger was next. “This is Truth. The next is Duty.”

Stalling at the next, I looked at the one above the thumb and the main rune in the center of the palm. Separately they each meant something along the same lines, traits that are important to an Acolyte: Devoutness, Sacrifice, and Union, respectively. Like I’d said before, Druids didn’t have a formal alphabet.

Keeping that in mind, whenever certain symbols are used together they can mean different things. Think of it like this: in English three words can sound exactly the same: To, Too, and Two. Each has an entirely different meaning. The spelling is determined on the way it is used in conjunction with the words that are adjacent.

With Druids, the following symbols are consistent with the union of Master and Acolyte. However, between a man and a woman, they symbolize something else entirely.

Even the placement of the mark is important. Most Druids would have their mark on their forearm for easy identification when traveling. That mine was above his heart was significant in other ways.

“Chase?”

“Hmm?” I looked up into his eyes and saw his curiosity. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking.”

Backing up, I rubbed my fingers together, trying to rid myself of the feeling of his skin. It was becoming increasingly distracting.

“You’re right, that is my mark. It’s nothing to worry about.”

He nodded. “So it’ll go away after my service is over.”

I didn’t answer, because I wasn’t so sure.

Zach just stood there with his shirt off looking… I had to get my mind off of what I was thinking so I changed the subject.

“Have you made yourself a Grove?”

Sacred Groves are an important part of each Druid’s union with nature. It’s one of the practices that were keeping the entity on the island at bay. Magic was being introduced back into the world, a little at a time, through these places. Being a sort of holy nature shrine was their purpose. There, Druids could come and commune with nature, pray, whatever. Their practice of rites and constant use of magic awakens the grove and spreads its influence.

I made such a place in Hawaii. I was planning another in L.A. Zach was supposed to make one here in Tennessee, and then later we would travel to Europe to reawaken older, greater groves.

“I was having a little trouble with it actually.”

That was strange. “How so?”

Zach set his shirt on the bed and closed the distance between us a step or two.

Why won’t he put his shirt back on?

“I marked the area like you indicated and spent an entire day there, but nothing really happened. I’ve gone back to check it out a number of times. It seems peaceful enough, but not much else.”

Think the problem over, a came to a couple different problems. “The ground might be corrupted like someone was murdered there or the like. You have to consider the history of an area before you do these things. Even someone dying there in the Civil War might make it harder. I’ll go with you tomorrow and we’ll check it out.”

He nodded. I couldn’t be too sure, but it looked like he was almost posing for me. The tight jeans left very little to the imagination since I remembered that night on the beach not too long ago.

“Well, I better get some sleep; long day and all.” My composure was totally shot.

Zach grabbed his shirt. “Right, you just flew in, probably have some serious jet lag.”

I nodded. Any excuse was good enough if it got him out of my room and hopefully out of my head.

Before he left, I got a brief hug which stayed with me long after I showered, braided my hair and dropped off onto the unfamiliar bed.

~O~

My dreams over the last three months have been odd, to say the least. At first, I was still a guy doing guy things. Nothing had changed. I remembered times being in the jungle and before, while other times I was clearly a girl acting in traditionally female ways. It was disconcerting. My mind still hadn’t given up on certain male aspects that had been instilled since birth.

I was a realist in most ways. Life was full of things that just cannot be controlled, try as I might. A lot of those impulses were purged along with my masculinity in the jungle. My personality, which I considered Lawful Good, insisted on everything being it its place in all aspects. Since I’d become a Druid, and forced into being Chaotic Neutral, I’d been fighting my inner self.

Being a free spirit is lonely. I had no desire to head off by myself, doing whatever I wanted when I wanted. Perhaps living under one roof with Evelyn, Mom, and Dad for three months had shifted something. What I’m getting at is I didn’t know what or who I was anymore.

Since Zach revealed the mark on his chest, I’d been even more confused. The jungle entity was pushing me in one direction, my sense of what was right pushing in another, and my connection to Zach yet another.

When I awoke, the only thing I could deal with was a shower to clear my head. Considering where Zach and I were headed, I donned a one piece neoprene leotard. It pretty much was a swimsuit if it needed to be. Formfitting low-rise leather pants went on, leaving some skin exposed since the one-piece was cut pretty high. Then a matching leather jacket went on over that.

With my back pack on and my hair in a ponytail and my feet in black knee boots, I’d could swear I was complying Lara Croft. I felt ridiculous. It made me wonder if Mom was bogarting my Playstation 3 and my Tomb Raider games, or maybe she was watching one too many Angelina Jolie films. I would swear she was modeling me after her.

I did have to admit, once my makeup was finished, I looked rich, dangerous, and hot.

When I was halfway through with my complimentary breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant, I called Zach and told him to get a move on.

Sipping on my tea, I watched the other customers as they entered, overfilled their plates with food they probably wouldn’t finish, and sat down to feed at the trough. One thing I hadn’t been able to shake was the annoyance at people wasting things.

Druids, even the hard core nature lovers, didn’t begrudge people hunting or clearing areas for planting crops, except when they overdid it. Just the thought of people hunting for sport sent a rage through me. When I was a regular guy, I couldn’t care less what people did, as long as they had the proper permits.

So sitting there watching people pile twenty rashers of bacon on their plates, eating three, and then setting the plate aside put me on a slow boil.

One part of my head let me know they paid for it and they had every right to do with their food what they wanted, but the other part, wanted to go up, grab a fistful of bacon, and force feed it to them.

When I realized what was going through my head, I made a hasty exit, waiting out front, in the moderately cold weather. It was probably in the lower fifties, meaning it wasn’t freezing, but for someone that had just spent the summer in a sweltering jungle and then on a beach in Hawaii, it felt like it.

Expending a little magic, I regulated my body temperature to adjust. At that point I could take off my jacket, but that would look a little strange. Instead, I just unzipped the suit to relieve the pressure the neoprene was putting on my breasts. It wasn’t to show them off or anything, though that was a minor side effect of the action.

Zach almost ran up on the curb when he saw me. A last second course correction let him avoid it and only scratch up the sidewalls of his tires a little. After I closed the passenger door, he was still gaping.

“You look just like…”

“I know. It’s my mother’s idea of adventure-girl chic.”

He bit the inside of his lip before asking, “Did she get the fingerless gloves too?”

I pursed my lips and unzipped the pack to pull them out. “No guns though, and my sunglasses aren’t circular.”

“We could stop off at the Sunglass Hut in the mall if you want.”

The look I gave him, made Zach concentrate on pulling out of the parking lot a little more somber than when he arrived.

The drive through the wilderness, even by highway, was pleasant. The portion of Tennessee we were in had a lot of mountains, not by gargantuan proportions, but they were still pretty big. I felt much more at home there than I did in the thickness of the jungle.

We got off the highway and took a few lesser well cared for roads until they eventually ended altogether.

“How’d you find this place?” I asked.

Zach found an area to park the car where it was out of the way. “Dad took me out camping when we got back. It was some sort of bonding thing, like I was going to forget all about you and Evelyn if I was relying on him for everything.”

When he popped his seatbelt loose, I watched him grimace. “I spent most of the time telling him about everything you did, and he spent that time trying to say anyone would do the same thing given the situation.”

“By your tone,” I said. “I take it you didn’t agree.”

“No.” He huffed. “You were there, Chase. Everyone was more concerned with looking up in the air and trying to be top dog. He thought I was exaggerating or you did some sort of hoodoo on me.”

I smiled. “I did, but not the kind he thinks I did.”

Zach’s hand moved to his chest and I saw his demeanor soften. “Come on. We’ve got about an hour’s hike to the site.”

He pulled out a much bigger backpack than mine while I returned my staff to its original length and appearance, then put on my gloves. As I was tightening the wrist straps, Zach held something out for me.

“I thought you might like one.”

Dangling off of his hand was a black web belt with various items attached. A little tickle in my chest told me he was nervous, but happy. I smiled at how he was looking ahead.

“Ever since the crash,” he said in explanation. “I wanted to be prepared when I’m away from the city. It’s not much and I know you’re probably doing the same thing, but…”

I smiled and took the belt, unbuckled it, and fitted it around my hips. Off my right side dangled one of those Rambo knifes and then a few little pouches, plus a canteen. “What’s in the pockets?”

He shrugged. “Um, couple of lighters, seeds of various types, digital map of the world on a PDA. I rigged the battery to last about a month or so. Maybe when we get back I could get you some holsters with those sweet thigh straps and a couple of pistols.”

I raised an eyebrow at that, then he smiled letting me know I was being teased.

~O~

When given a little encouragement to let loose, we started Longstriding through the forest. An hour’s hike, mostly uphill, took a third of the time. Zach was barely breathing harder than normal and I was raring to go for another hour or two. It was almost disappointing to find the grove so soon.

The ground leveled off a little before stretching up the mountain. The area was strangely absent of trees, about fifty feet in diameter with grass that was the fading color of autumn green.

I frowned, barely feeling the amount of contentment I knew I should be sensing. Zach led me to each of the warding stones and I made sure all the runes had been etched correctly, which they had been.

“You see what I mean,” he said.

I nodded. “I don’t sense anything bad, just a lack of… spirituality I guess.”

“Can we recast the Hallow?”

With a shrug I nodded and moved to the center. Zach followed. What we were attempting to do was consecrate the ground with Druidic magic, making it a holy site for our small circle. It was one of the things I was supposed to do around the world to naturally nudge the Earth back to a more magical time. With enough Sacred Groves, magic would return, children would be born with talents; magical creatures would find their way back in being.

It was a good thing and bad as well. There were some seriously scary magical creatures. Druids were big believers in survival of the fittest and that everything deserved a chance to live.

Back to back we stood, each holding our staffs out before us. Reaching out through the connection we shared, I put us on the same page as far as timing went, so that we said the incantation at the same moment.

The result was much more satisfying. The rune that corresponded with the spell glowed on my staff and I felt a wave of magic spread out in all directions, encountering the warding stones and then through the small glade.

The color of the grass deepened and I felt certain things come alive. Water from under the ground was pushing its way upward and small portion of the ground gave way to be replaced with natural sweetwater that would strengthen any wildlife that drank from the spring. A protective aura shone along the edges that I knew would keep out those that would mean harm and invite those that required safety. Several bushes bloomed berries and two trees bore nuts in abundance.

The grove had awakened.

~O~

Pleased with our deed for the day — I still don’t know if it was a good one or not — we started heading back downhill toward the car. The thing was, I got lost.

Normally this wouldn’t be a really big deal. We each had our cells with us, and since the jungle madness episode of my life, I always carried the basics with me wherever I went: compass, light, knife, and sundry other items.

Still, this wasn’t the point.

Ever since we had crashed on the island, I always knew where I was. Always. No matter where I was on that island, I could always find my way back to the cave or the wreckage. Even when I entered into unknown portions of the jungle I had my mental GPS running.

Zach and I hadn’t even gone twenty feet out of the Grove when I stopped and looked around. The trees were wrong, not the wrong type, they were in the wrong place. I distinctly remembered things that weren’t in evidence.

“Uh, Chase?”

I frowned. “You noticed too?”

“Where are we?”

Turning around I was able to tell where north was easy enough; that was still with me, which made me uneasy about why I couldn’t figure out why everything was different.

“Screw this.” Reaching out, I laced my fingers with Zach’s. “I’m going to Wind Walk us above the trees and then down the hill. We’ll figure out what happened later.”

He nodded uneasily. I don’t think he liked that I didn’t know what went wrong. I may have been his idol or whatever, but I was still human. I made mistakes.

“Ventus Ingressus!”

White mist started swirling around us, from the ground up until we were fully covered then out feet left the security of the Earth. Up we shot into the air, dodging branches and a passing bird until we cleared the tops of the trees. Higher we rose into the sky, so I could get a bearing, find the road we came in on, or at the very least saw the town in the distance.

“Chase… where’s the road?” he said. I’d heard the tone of that voice before. It was in the jungle whenever we encountered something that scared the crap out of someone. I had yet to hear it from Zach; the others, yes, but never from him. “And where’s the highway. We should be able to see if from here.”

We were easily a few hundred feet in the air. The forest extended for miles in every direction. While I did see breaks, like the one below us in the Grove, the entire area, as far as I could see, was uninhabited. The mountain was the same, for the most part.

The same general shape was there, but certain portions looked to be added that weren’t there before. Outcroppings of rock were most apparent.

I fought the panic that I felt rising in my chest, mostly because I knew it was coming from Zach, but mine was there as well.

Turning to him, I saw him look down at me. His eyes were wide and confused. “Zach, look at me. Have I ever let you down?”

He shook his head, but his eyes were watering up.

“Then trust me when I say that I’ll figure this out. This is just like the jungle. If we panic then we’ve lost, and we’ve already proven that we are not losers. We kick adversity in the ass and send it packing every time, don’t we.”

He nodded.

The fear in my chest started to ease. There was still great concern, but it wasn’t debilitating anymore. I smiled up at him.

“Now, we know that way is north and the highway should be over there going northwest to southeast. It’s not. What’s the only thing that has changed since we stepped out of your car?”

“The Grove,” he said.

“Right. Let’s go back and find some answers.”

TBC...