By the time I made it back home, it was edging on four-thirty. I’d stopped by a book store and bought the basics. The rest I’d learn online until I knew exactly what I needed to know about pregnancy and what to expect.

Mom greeted me and told me to wash up and change for dinner, which I did. Since her training regimen started, I’d been required to dress for meals. I didn’t have to go overboard in formalwear but it had to be nice and feminine, meaning it had to be a dress or a skirt.

I sifted through my closet where apparently someone had been shopping for me had stored some clothes and decided on a dress that if I wasn’t mistaken, was a soft knit top with rouched shoulders that flowed into a curve-hugging banded skirt. The color was a soft black or a really really dark gray. It was vee-cut in the front and the back which showed off only a little bit of my new assets. So I wasn’t cringing in angst for having to wear it.

My main mode of dress was still pants of some type and pretty much any top. I liked to be mobile, and there are certain things that you just can’t do in a dress.

Two inch heeled sandals went with it. Yes, I could wear heels. I insisted on them being low, no matter how much mom wanted me to learn to walk in higher ones. I was still tall — five-eleven if anyone’s keeping track — and I had no desire to be taller than most of the guys that I bump into in public.

A few accessories and a touch up on the makeup and I was ready by five.

Mom gave her approval and fluffed my hair in back a little. “Very nice, Chase. I knew that would look good on you. Sometimes you are so easy to shop for, especially when it comes to outfits like this.”

It was the slacks and non-stretchy things that I had issues with. Let’s face it. Curvy women have a harder time looking for clothes, since most girls are looking for the skin and bones ideal body. Personally, I just liked girls that were fit. It didn’t really matter what shape their bodies were. Well, to a point. Humpbacked women need not apply. While I’m sure they might have wonderful personalities, or whatever, I was realistic enough to know what attracted me.

What was annoying was that my ideal seemed to be changing a little. And I’m not going into that issue at the moment, so you’ll have to deal with it.

Dinner was a polite affair. I only got corrected once on my posture and Dad complimented me on the dress. I think he liked the fact that it came down to just below my knees the most.

When we got up, Dad led the way into the living room and poured a small amount of Port for each of us. I really wasn’t a big fan of wine, much less wine mixed with brandy, but Mom wanted me to be able to drink it and not make a face if the occasion arose.

We usually took this time to catch up on each other’s day. I know we’re an odd family. I didn’t immediately run off and lock myself away in my room to chat endlessly on Facebook or play video games until ungodly hours. Dad and Mom didn’t seclude themselves to their own rooms or in front of the TV for the rest of the night.

Ever since the island, we’d really tried to be a family. This, of course gave me ample opportunity to present my situation when it came to be my turn to share for the evening.

“What did your friends have to say, Chase?” asked Mom.

I cleared my throat and tried to think of a delicate way to say, guess what, you’re going to be grandparents at thirty-eight years old!

“I only talked to Janie today.”

She didn’t seem to be pleased at that, but that was a different issue. “This was the girl that you connected with?”

I nodded. “We did more than connect, Mother.”

They both stilled at that announcement. Conclusions were thoroughly jumped at that point. It was Dad that finally broke the silence.

“Do you have something to tell us, Chase?”

I couldn’t meet their eyes except for the briefest of seconds. “You have to understand the situation, Dad. Emotions were running high and…”

He held up his hand. “I think we understand what you went through. We’ve been over it enough times.”

I turned my head and looked at a painting on the wall before focusing back on them. “Janie’s pregnant — fifteen weeks.”

Mom set her glass down, but I could see it shaking a second before she released the stem.

“She just now decided to tell you?” said Dad. It sounded slightly accusatory.

“She was scared, Dad.”

“Paul,” said Mom. He looked at her and then closed his mouth. After crossing his legs, he closed himself off from further comment, and Mom took over.

“Is she well?”

I shrugged. “She had a doctor’s appointment. That’s why she called, well one of the reasons. Janie wanted to tell me, and that gave her the opportunity.”

“What have you two decided to do?” she asked.

I didn’t understand the question. “What do you mean?”

It was obvious that she felt very uncomfortable asking the question. “Is Janie having the child?”

Oh.

“Yeah. That wasn’t even brought up. I went with her for her ultrasound, and learned a few things.”

Dad was busy rubbing his forehead, so Mom kept on. “Such as?”

“Janie is anemic and she’s working. From the looks of things she didn’t appear to have a lot of money. I’m guessing she’s on some sort of assisted thing. Her church is helping out and I’m guessing maybe Medicaid or something.”

At this point Dad was palming his face. “She didn’t know we were rich, Dad, and she isn’t grubbing for money. I volunteered, and I also want her to quit working and move in here or maybe the pool-house. She looks bad and I want to help.”

Mom distracted me. “Did you receive any ultrasound pictures, Chase?”

I nodded. “Yeah, they’re upstairs.”

“Go get them for me.”

I looked between her and Dad for a second and realized what she was asking. She wanted a few minutes alone with him.

That meant I took my time about retrieving the pictures. When I reached my room, I noted that my suitcase was unpacked and repacked with other clothes. I didn’t bother looking at them too much, only to note that there were heeled boots involved.

While I was there, I went ahead and changed out of my dress and heels then pulled out a pair of capris and a form fitting button down that matched, I think. Mom’s one concession in the denim department was if I would wear heels with the outfit. So some sandals went along with it and a light brown trench coat to top it off.

Considering Janie’s news, I wanted to be ready to answer Sylvia and Dale’s call and there was no telling where they lived.

The backpack came along with me downstairs. Mom saw what I was wearing and raised her eyebrow.

“Going somewhere?”

“I need to call the others back, but I can wait.”

Unzipping the front pocket I pulled out the pictures and handed them over. Dad was noticeably missing.

Mom’s face went soft as she looked at them.

“Fifteen weeks. I suppose they couldn’t tell the sex?”

“They’re boys,” I said as I sat down.

“Boys… as in plural?”

Oops. “Sorry, yeah, twins.”

She breathed nice and even for a few moments. “Well… one surprise after another. You don’t do anything by half-measures do you?”

I gave her a weak grin in response.

“Call your friends. If you have to leave, make sure to call tomorrow morning and invite Janie over. I want to meet the girl that is going to make me a grandmother. We’ll talk about her moving in later. Your father has had enough surprises.” She waved the pictures at me. “And now I get to break another to him.”

She paused as she stood up. “Chase, you’re an adult, now and when you were on that island. As such I expect you to be wise about your decisions and think about what would have happened if you were still in the jungle. Bringing a child into this world is an enormous responsibility. Could you have lived with yourself if something would have gone wrong… something that could have been easily corrected in civilization? How would you have felt if something happened?”

Mom saw the look on my face. Regret was plastered all over it.

“You have a lot to be responsible for, now and in the future. I’ll always be available to help you if you ask, honey, but the times that I’m not there, you need to think responsibly. There are always consequences for the things you do.”

~O~

Dane wouldn’t tell me what the problem was; just that it was probably my specialty. Considering that he lived twenty minutes down the road and wasn’t currently trapped on a deserted jungle island, I didn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about. Maybe he had gardening problems.

He didn’t have any trees in his back yard so I had to settle with the forest on the edge of his neighborhood. Since I was in heels, he volunteered to pick me up at the closest street. I should have just changed into something different. I knew better.

When I saw the antique Porsche parked on the side of the road and the familiar figure inside, I headed in his direction. The passenger door popped open and there was Dane, leaning back to the driver’s side of the car.

“Need a ride?”

He had a comfortable smile which I returned as I got in.

“You’re not pregnant are you?”

He looked at me weird. “I’ve got to say that’s a question I’ve never been asked before. And no, I’m not pregnant.”

“Good.”

He drove us two blocks over and pulled into the driveway of what I hoped was his house and killed the engine. “I’m not going to pull a lame surprise on you here. Stuart is inside.”

I raised my brows just a little. “The problem is with both of you?”

Dane shook his head. “Just him actually. I called right after because I thought you might still hold a grudge…”

“Because he tried to stab me with a homemade stake? Nah, why would I hang on to that trivial bit for fifteen weeks?”

“Fifteen weeks? You’re keeping track?”

I shook that thought off. “No, it has to do with something else. Never mind. I don’t hold a grudge. I just hadn’t gotten around to calling him back. I still have to call Sylvia too. All of you called at the same time.”

He looked to the front door. “That’s… not completely shocking to me.”

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, Dane opened his door. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

We made our way up the front walk where Dane pulled his keys out and unlocked the door before going in. I followed close behind. The house was neat, and decidedly bachelor-esque.

“I talked to him about going to the hospital, but I really don’t know…”

It was obvious that he was at a loss for words, and I was trying to figure out what it could be. All sorts of thoughts started running through my head. Some funky post-jungle fever third butt cheek growth, or something equally as weird. Instead of trying to imagine the worst horror story outcomes I just followed Dale until we reached what I guessed was one of the bedrooms.

The door was closed when he came to a stop and turned around. I thought he was going to warn me about something, since he held a finger up, but he changed his mind and shook his head.

A small knock later and he leaned into the door.

“Stuart. Chase is here.”

I heard a noise from the other side which I guess was some sort of code between the two of them since Dale opened the door.

I was right, it was a bedroom, but it looked like it doubled as an office as well, with a futon and computer desk present. Stuart was at the computer muttering to himself. The thing was, he looked bigger.

Don’t get me wrong. I think I’ve already told you about how he was the biggest person on the island after we crashed. By that I mean he probably could have played football in high school or college, well-muscled and fit. From the look of his right arm and back, it looked like he’d been doing nothing but working out since that day.

“Stuart?” I said.

He swiveled on the office chair toward me. That’s when I got to see the rest of him.

My eyes widened at the change. “Whoa.”

I didn’t think it was possible for muscles to grow that quick.

“What happened?”

He looked at Dale for a moment which got him a return nod.

“Ever since I’ve been back, I’ve been getting bigger.”

“No shit,” I said as a side comment. It was obvious that he was bigger. “Have you been taking steroids or something?”

He shook his head. “No, just my regular protein drinks before my workout, but I stopped that after the second week. I thought it was just my body catching up after the weirdness on that island.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I stopped working out soon after that.”

With a blink I said, “And you just now thought to call me?”

The look on his face turned slightly angry, but subsided quickly after and switched to embarrassment.

“Can you help?” asked Dale.

Honestly, I didn’t have a clue about what I could do. Spontaneous muscle growth isn’t really one of the things that Druids are qualified to handle. Injuries, no problem; need your garden boosted, I’m your girl. This was something out of my range of expertise.

“I really don’t know. Druids are healers among other things. This looks like something entirely different.

Instead of standing there, I went through my mental checklist of the spells I knew that might apply. I could try to heal him even though there didn’t seem to be anything technically wrong, like a chest sucking wound. I could…

“Oh, let me try something.” When I approached, Stuart pulled back a little, but I guess he saw I wasn’t wielding a weapon, just my hands. “Just relax. This shouldn’t do anything to you. It’s kind of like a diagnostic scan of a kind.”

He noticed my choice of words. “Shouldn’t do anything?”

Giving him a slight smile, I said, “With magic, I try not to make any promises until I’ve actually used a particular spell.”

“What is it?”

I understood the need to know the unknown, especially if it was going to be applied to me in particular.

“It’s a Detect Magic spell. Ordinarily it’s used to see if objects carry any magic inside them, but I guess it would work the same if magic is actively working inside a living being. Like I said, I actually hope that it doesn’t produce any effect. That way we can rule that out as a possibility and concentrate on the mundane. If that’s the case then I would suggest going to the hospital.”

He considered that for a few moments. “What if it is… magic.”

“Let me do the spell and we’ll see.”

Stuart leaned back in the chair which pushed out his massive pectorals. Holding on to my cane, I lifted it up and kept my voice low so I didn’t inadvertently freak him out.

“Deprehensio Veneficus.”

Instead of the blue glow that I was expecting, which would mean nothing was present, a lime green glow encompassed his body. Seconds after, I pulled the energy back in.

“Okay. It’s magic.”

Stuart closed his eyes and grimaced. “Great… this shit’s never-ending.”

“Can you get rid of it?” said Dale.

I shook my head. “I could dispel the presence, but I have no idea what that would do. It could stop any further growth, make it revert, or even make things much worse.”

Thinking about what Dale said on the way inside, I had another idea. “I’m going to step out and make a quick call.”

Stuart opened his eyes and looked hopeful. “There’s someone that you can call?”

“Maybe. I’ll be right back.”

When I made it out to the living room, I pulled my cell out and looked up Sylvia’s number.

“Chase? Thank the Lord you’ve called.”

“What’s happened, Sylvia?”

There was a pause that made me think she was collecting herself before she answered. “Was there something that was done to any of us on that island?”

Well, there was the common denominator.

As I was talking to her I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. On the back of the couch was a white and gray ferret making its way across the top to the table next to beside.

“Foodfoodfoodfoodfood… sparkly…sparkly…” It stopped and started batting at a miniature snow globe.

I cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m beginning to think so. I’m over at Dale’s house and Stuart is starting to do a serious Schwarzenegger impression. What’s happening with you?”

Her voice lowered to a whisper. “My patients… part of my duties is to pray for them. Chase, all of them are recovering.”

“Well, that’s good. That doesn’t mean it’s something weird or anything. It could be coincidence.”

Silence set over the phone for a few moments. “I work at a hospice.”

For those of you not in-the-know, the kind of place she was talking about was where terminally ill people go to get loaded up on morphine because they have terminal conditions: cancer, TB, AIDES, things that weren’t caught early enough and it was basically too late to do anything about it; you name it they help out. Sometimes the pain is more than they can take. It’s not a sinister as it sounds. There’s just nothing more that can be done and they go there to die as peacefully as possible.

What Sylvia just described was the use of a spell called Heal, typically used by a Cleric, one who devotes herself to a certain god and is granted powers by that god. Additionally, Heal is a pretty hardcore spell, seventh level.

“Sylvia? Look, um… it’s up to you if you want to use that ability of yours, but we need to talk before you try to do other things.”

Her voice returned to normal and it sounded nervous. “What other things?”

“Oh, like accidentally cursing people or starting fires. You have to be real careful about what you say and think until I can get there. Try to keep it pure.”

I got her information and told her I’d be there very soon. It was back in Hawaii, so I knew I could use any palm tree and get pretty close to her.

When I hung up, I rubbed my temples. “I think I’m starting to get jet lag… or is that plant lag?”

“Foodfoodfoodfoodfood…”

“Dale! Your ferret is in here starving to death.”

He came out a few seconds later. “What ferret?”

I groaned. Without even bothering to ask, I held my cane up in front of him. “Deprehensio Veneficus.”

“Hey! What the hell?”

A green glow encircled his body. “It’s happening to you too.”

He tried jumping back and brushing off the green without any success. “No no no. This can’t be happening. Do something!”

I held my hands out, helpless. “What am I supposed to do?”

Stuart was right behind him looking at the glow. “Welcome to my world.”

“Foodfoodfoodfoodfood…” the ferret kept repeating.

Dale’s eyes went wide as he looked down at the animal. “Did you hear that? It’s a talking ferret!”

I needed to get out of there. “Guys, I’m going to get Sylvia. It’s happening to her too and of all the people that might be able to help, it would be her.”

Dale was nearing a panic. “Well, hurry up.”

“I need a ride back to the forest, and you need to feed your animal companion before he starts getting crazy.”

Digging into his pocket, he tossed me the keys to the Porsche.

Sweet.

“What do I feed him?”

Looking over at it looking up at Dale, I shrugged. “Ferrets are carnivores. Try some chicken until you get the chance to go to a pet store. Oh, and insects too.”

~O~

“Holy shit!” Some guy yelled right beside me when I stepped out of the closest palm I could find near the hospice where Sylvia was working.

The bad part? It was the camera guy standing right next to him.

Luckily the camera was pointing at the ground. The quickest of scans let me know the place was swarming with news crews. The word had apparently gotten out the patients of the hospice were being miraculously cured of their terminal illnesses.

“Where did… how did…?”

In defense, I dropped a confused look on my face. “What?”

He pointed at the tree. “You came out… I saw…”

Looking at his cameraman, I gestured toward the speechless guy. “You might want to sit him down and get him some water. He seems delirious.”

The cameraman blinked and it looked like he was questioning what he may have seen out of the corner of his eye. After all, what he thought he saw had to be impossible.

“It’s probably the heat,” he said.

I fanned my face. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” While it was rather humid, it couldn’t be more than eighty degrees that night. “Well, you two take care of yourselves. Don’t get dehydrated. You can start seeing things.”

After that I made a calm but quick exit.

There was no way I would be able to go through the front door and avoid the cameras, and I would bet some serious money that anyone that entered or left would be under some intense scrutiny. I worked my way around the back thinking I could slip over a wall, but there were people there as well.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed Sylvia again.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Chase. There’s a serious madhouse out here. I can’t get in the old fashioned way.”

She sounded concerned. “We’re under a lockdown until the morning when the owners of the hospice arrive.”

I was afraid of that. “Okay. Do you have access to a private open window?”

There was a long pause. “Yes, the third floor at the back of the building. Give me a minute.”

It was more than a minute when I saw a pair of French doors open wide. The light was off inside, thankfully. She was thinking ahead and tried not to create too much attention.

“How’s that?”

“I got it. Cool. Don’t be freaked out about what’s going to happen next, okay?”

Her breath caught. “What’s going to happen?”

“You’ll see.”

I pulled away and hid in the shadows beside another building.

Taking a cleansing breath, I concentrated on something I had yet to try up until this point. There was something inherently scary about changing my body into another creature. It’s a defining ability of the Druids. At the lower levels they can change into smaller animals like birds or squirrels, and as they progress with experience they can take on large animals. What I wanted was something that could fly, was small, and very fast, so it wouldn’t be noticed.

In the span of three or four seconds the entire world increased in size by a dozen times. The surrounding area came into sharp focus, but my hearing stayed about the same. Looking around, I felt my tiny hummingbird heart pounding away before I tested my wings. This was an altogether surreal experience.

There was no learning curve involved in a Wild Shape. Once you achieve the desired animal, you instinctively knew what to do to survive, and avoiding the stray cat looking at me from a windowsill across the way was goal number one.

I took to the air and circled higher at fast speeds until I caught the sight of the open window across the street. I made a fast beeline straight to it and in a few seconds I was inside and Sylvia was standing there with her eyes wide and me hovering right in front of her.

Another three seconds and I was reformed back into my normal self.

Even though I knew everything was alright, I still patted myself down to make sure all my body parts were still there. Sylvia spent the interim, crossing herself and muttering something that I couldn’t hear.

When I looked back up I said, “Hey, long time no see.”

“How… how did you do that?” she said with a strained breath and wide eyes.

“Magic. Druid, remember?”

“I thought you were kidding, or… or trying to rationalize…”

I gave her a questioning look. “Are you serious? I spontaneously changed sexes on that island and you didn’t think that something was magical about it?”

She shook her head and walked away. “I didn’t know what to think. I tried to forget… but then…”

Sylvia’s mind was seriously blown. “Then you started to heal people with a touch and a prayer. So why did you call me?”

Finding a chair, it looked like the life dropped out of her legs when she dropped down onto it. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

I really didn’t have time for her little mental breakdown at the moment. “Look, Stuart kind of needs your help. Is there a decent sized plant around here? A live plant I mean.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to take you to him.”

She looked at me. “Why do you need a plant?”

Take a leap of faith here, I decided not to tell her and just show her instead. “Trust me. Have I let you down so far?”

She looked at the floor for a moment and then shook her head.

“Good. Now come on, show me where that plant is.”

~O~

They had a seriously nice atrium there loaded with a lot of natural plant-life. I’ll spare you the part where I had Sylvia close her eyes and keep them closed until we emerged from the forest not too far from Dale’s Porsche. It was mostly me trying to calm her down. She thought I was still in Hawaii and that for some reason Dale and Stuart were there as well.

That’s when I figured out she tended to pray in Spanish.

While she was muttering to God or whoever in a foreign language, I placed a call to Zach.

“Hey where are you? I’m at your hotel and they said you checked out already?”

I cringed a little. “Sorry, an emergency came up and I had to bolt.”

“What happened?”

“Stuart, Dale and Sylvia are, um… I don’t know, but there’s magic involved and now Sylvia is a Cleric and Dale might be a Ranger or something, maybe a Druid like us. I don’t know what Stuart is.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I know, right?”

“Whoa.”

“Anyway,” I said as I pulled up into Dale’s driveway. “I need you to contact all the other people that were on the island and find out if anything funky has been happening to them. Evelyn’s got a list of numbers if you don’t have it.”

“No, I’ve got their stuff. What am I supposed to say?”

I felt for him. He was a teenager in high school and I was laying this responsibility on his shoulders. “Just find out if anything weird is going on with them specifically and to contact you or me if it is. Make a list of what’s happening and we’ll try to figure out if we can help.”

He sounded a little nervous. “Can I come where you are?”

My heart started aching and I knew he was frightened. The only place he felt safe was with me. “What about your parents?”

“It’s the weekend, and it’s Labor Day on Tuesday. School’s out until Wednesday… I’ll make something up. Please, Chase?”

I hated lying, even second-hand lying, but I hated him feeling this way even more. “Okay. Bring your gear. I don’t know what we’ll be facing and I want to be prepared.”

I gave him the information he needed to get here. It would be a minor hike for him, but it was a good neighborhood so I didn’t feel bad about not being able to pick him up.

Sylvia gave me a minor smile after I hung up. It was kind of nauseated looking, like she was trying to deal with everything and trying to keep her lunch down at the same time.

“Come on, I’ll explain everything inside.”

~O~

Dale was arguing with the ferret. It wasn’t the sanest conversation, mainly because ferrets aren’t that intelligent to begin with. They run mostly on instinct if that wasn’t clear earlier with the foodfoodfood-shineyshiney thing. Stuart bobbed his head at us, but kept watching the byplay of his friend’s frustration.

“What’s going on?” I whispered.

“I have no idea,” Stuart replied. “But it ate an entire chicken breast and he’s been arguing with it ever since. It’s all one-sided from my end. Hey, Sylvia.”

She short-waved at him, again with the wide eyes. I think she was stunned into silence because of his size.

“Hey, uh, Dale… Dale.” I frowned because he was being distracted by his companion. “Ferret, shut up.”

The little brown creature looked at me, but closed its mouth and curled itself into a ball on the top of the couch.

Dale turned around a looked at me with disbelief. “How’d you do that?”

“I’m a Druid.”

“And I’m a Cleric?” Sylvia asked, somewhat unsure.

Instead of trying to explain everything, I pulled up the information specifically the Cleric spells that were usable and handed my phone to her.

“A Cleric is a person that is devoted to a certain god and is granted a certain amount of power to perform… uh, holy magic, I guess, would be the easiest way to explain it. They’ve got a lot more latitude with certain areas than I do.”

Stuart raised his eyebrow at me. “You mean she’s more powerful than you?”

I almost snorted, but I didn’t want to be rude. “Think of it like asking a heavy wheel diesel mechanic to work on a Prius. Sure there are going to be similarities, but for the most part, he’s out of his area of expertise.”

“I can do all of these?” Sylvia asked, pointing to the screen of my phone.

“I have no idea. But the spell you used to heal those people is sixth level. That’s pretty high up there… eleventh level Cleric if I’m not mistaken. What I want to know is how you managed it without being on the island.”

She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“How’s she supposed to help us,” asked Stuart.

There was the question. I wasn’t sure if the magic that was attached to the guys was a curse or not. I mean turning them into real life fantasy characters wasn’t exactly a bad thing per se. Most curses are just flat out evil, like rotting skin or the like. What I needed to know was if trying a Dispel Magic or a Remove Curse would make things worse or not.

Ignoring Stuart for the moment, I thought I’d try to gather a little information first. “Sylvia, would you sit on the couch please and whip out your rosary or whatever holy symbol you carry with you.”

She threw me a look of displeasure at my choice of words, but listened to me. I took my phone back and kneeled beside her.

“I want you to perform a Commune spell. It’s fifth level and should be within your range. If you think about it, you should be able to figure out how to do it. I’m going to take a wild guess and say you need to pray to your god.”

The displeased face was still hanging there. “Any particular reason?”

“Yeah, you’re going to ask him or his minions… angels, whatever, some questions.”

Her lips separated for a moment. “You’re serious.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how the spell works. You should receive an answer to yes or no questions pretty easily. Here are three questions you’ll need to ask: should we attempt to end the magic that is affecting Dale and Stuart? If that’s a yes, then ask if Remove Curse is the one we need to use, and if that’s a no then ask about Dispel Magic.”

She looked over at Dale and Stuart then back at me. “You realize this is blasphemous.”

“No, it’s not. Your god is personally bestowing power upon you. At this moment in time, you’re holier than the Pope, mainly because you are probably the first Cleric that has existed over the last two thousand years.”

Her brows rose.

“Think of this this way, Sylvia, right now, you’re God’s buddy and his voice on Earth. You need to know if you’re messing with something that he put in play or if you need to smite the magic that’s doing it, in his name.”

She seemed to get it at that point. “Okay, can you give me some time alone please?”

I nodded and gestured to the front door. “Dale, get your ferret.”

He looked at the little creature with annoyance, but picked it up and reluctantly set it on his shoulder. We stepped outside the front door and I handed his keys back to him.

“Thanks for the loan. I should have known better than to wear heels tonight.”

Stuart gave me dubious eye. “Yeah, what’s up with that? Not that they don’t look good on you, but you were a dude not too long ago.”

I shrugged. “I’m in Girl Boot Camp and my mother is the drill sergeant. One of her rules is if I want to wear something less than ladylike then I have to wear heels or some other overly girly thing to offset the whole tomboy look.”

When I looked back at Dale, I noticed he was white as a sheet. He pointed at me. “We’re not going to…? I mean…”

I frowned. “I have no idea, Dale. You could turn into a girl or an ogre for all I know, but if Stuart is anything to go by, I’d say you’re safe for now. If you notice boobs starting to come in, I’d say you need to be worried.”

It was pretty good timing, because right when I said that, the ferret dove inside his shirt, probably tweaking a nipple along the way.

“So, what’s it like?” asked Stuart.

“What’s what like?”

He shrugged. “You know… being a girl now.”

“Oh.” I looked back inside and saw Sylvia with her eye closed and her lips moving quietly. “It’s okay at times, but I really miss my dick.”

That ground the conversation to a stop momentarily.

“How’d that happen anyway?” Stuart was just a freaking chatterbox.

“Evelyn thinks is has to do with a D&D character I rolled up before the crash.”

“You made yourself a girl?” Dale didn’t seem to grasp the subtleties of the game.

“There was a percentage chance my character would be one. I lost the roll.”

“So now you’re a chick,” said Stuart.

“Yeah, Stu.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m a chick that can call a lightning strike down on your ass, so don’t piss me off.”

He held up his hands like he didn’t mean anything by the statement. “No offense. Sorry.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed at an ache in my lower abdomen. Great, on top of everything else, I’m getting my period.

I was seriously considering taking the next week off.

Another fifteen minutes went by before Sylvia called us back inside.

“So what did God have to say?” I asked.

She pointed a finger at me. “Be more respectful, Chase.”

“Uh-huh. So?”

Her eyes found the other two and I saw the corners of her lips drop. “I’m not supposed to interfere with what’s going on.”

“What?!” Stuart’s hands clenched and his muscles bulged as he nearly yelled that word out.

Holding out my cane, I pointed it at him. “You need to back off.”

It didn’t look like he was really thinking about what he was doing when he swiped at my cane, trying to knock it away, but instead of advancing any further, he turned around and growled in frustration.

“I can’t stay like this!”

Sylvia stood and ignored my hand that suggested she shouldn’t get too close.

“Stuart,” she said as she circled him to talk face to face. “I wasn’t able to find out the reason, but the world is changing and the gift you’ve been given isn’t necessarily a bad one to have.”

The anger started to seep out of him and the misery settled in. “My life is ruined.”

“Why, because you grew some muscles and got a little taller?” she smiled with playful disbelief. “I’m sure there would be a lot of guys out there that would argue with you over your situation.”

He half turned to Dale an me, frowning, but Sylvia kept right on being the person she was. “And I’m not too sure what Chase thinks, but I kind of like the new you.”

My eyes widened at the mere thought of Stuart being attractive. I mean he wasn’t ugly, but big and bulky wasn’t my thing. Zach was more my speed: firm, defined, smooth but kind of hard at the same time… if I was into guys, that is -- which I’m not. I still like women just fine. Janie was the kind of girl I like, except she’s obviously not a lesbian, dammit.

A knock came at the door and everyone looked toward it like it was more bad news.

“It’s probably, Zach. I’ll get it,” I said.

For once, I was right. With all the revelations of really odd news over the day, it was really nice to see someone that I felt comfortable with. Opening the door enough to slip outside, I closed it behind me. In a second, Zach wrapped me up in his arms with a hug. I went along with it, because truthfully, I needed one.

When he eased up, I noticed he hadn’t stepped away and instead held me there, his face mere inches away from mine.

“I thought I did something wrong when I got to your hotel room. I’m glad it’s something else.”

His breath smelled minty fresh and I could scent dark berries with a hint of vanilla on his skin. My hands were still resting around his neck and I had a sudden urge to touch him which I resisted. Instead, my hand hovered millimeters over the nape of his neck.

“I’m sorry I had to leave so quickly.”

Zach shook his head slightly. “I understand.”

When I stepped back, he released his hold, but slid his hand along, underneath my arm sending a shiver across my skin raising goosebumps in its wake.

He looked at me oddly for a moment and then down. “You’re wearing heels.”

I started to feel a little self-conscious about that choice. “They go with the outfit.”

“Yes they do, and they’re very sexy as well.”

My ears and face started to burn as I realized I was thinking about everything I was wearing. Granted the Capri’s weren’t slutty tight, they were form-fitting along with the button-down that hugged the upper portion of my body.

“We better get inside.” I had to get out of his intense stare.

Before I had a chance to say anything, Zach opened the door and then threaded his fingers through my left hand, tugging me gently along. The odd thing was I really didn’t want to pull away.

When we stepped inside, I saw that Dane was missing and Sylvia was hugging Stuart. It was a really weird sight, because she was so tiny next to him. She barely came up to his pectorals and her arms made it about a quarter of the way around his massive chest.

“Whoa,” Zach said as he came to a stop.

Sylvia had her head turned toward us when she opened her eyes. Her gaze settled on Zach and then dropped to our hands linked together, and then she smiled with something akin to satisfaction. That’s when I pulled away and tried to find something to do with my hand, like set it on my hip.

“See Stuart, with love everything will be fine,” she said.

He turned to look at us, confused. “Them two? But she used to be a guy.”

Holding up a finger to make her point she replied. “But she’s not anymore.”

I was in drastic need for a topic change. “Zach, did you contact everyone?”

The goofy grin on his face disappeared. “Uh, no. I sent out a mass email and then I thought I’d try to call when I got here.”

Dale’s head came from around the corner with a look of relief on his face. Then he frowned. “It’s my house and I’m the fifth wheel.”

I ignored him. “Well, why don’t you get on that. We need to find out if this is happening to others.”

Zach nodded and went across the room to help himself to the breakfast table as a base of operations. I followed him with my eyes and watched as he pulled out a small tablet from his backpack. He was wearing another pair of Forever 21 jeans. They hugged every inch of his butt and legs ending in something new to his wardrobe, the boots.

I recognized those immediately, because I owned the exact same pair. A set of Bullboxer Trick Pony in black. They were very unisex, but they were also exclusively women’s boots. It made me wonder what kind of socks he was wearing, or if he had knee-high hose on underneath.

My eyes rose up to his butt and I didn’t see any panty-lines, which made me wonder if he was wearing a thong and what the material was made of: mainly if he was a cotton or satin kind of guy.

“Chase?”

My eyes darted to Sylvia like I’d been caught staring at the cookie jar, plotting a heist.

Instead of teasing me, she held out her hand. “Come, we need to talk.”

My face was heating up again as she looked around for a place where we wouldn’t be overheard, I guessed. In order get it over with as soon as humanly possible, I pulled her toward the room Stuart was in earlier.

Once the door was closed, she turned on me. “I’m happy that you’ve found someone so soon, considering your situation.”

I shook my head. “Zach is my Acolyte, he’s not… we’re not…”

Apparently she ignored my protests. “It’s obvious, the way he looks at you, Chase, and the way you were looking at him when he wasn’t aware…” A grin appeared on her face.

Turning around, I went to look out of the only window in the room. “It’s not like that.”

I couldn’t exactly tell her I was looking at his wardrobe choices for the evening. That wasn’t my secret to tell.

“Then tell me, Chase, what’s it like?”

Instead of answering, I groaned.

“Honey, you’re a young woman in her prime and he’s a very attractive young man.”

“I’m not gay,” I said as I spun around.

She blinked at me and then smiled. “I never said you were, and in any case, you’re making my point for me. A relationship between a man and a woman isn’t considered gay.”

“There’s no relationship. We’re friends and Zach is my Acolyte.”

Sylvia looked a little confused. “You said that before. What does that mean, beyond the obvious?”

Concentrating on the wall that stood between us and the breakfast area where Zach was probably making his calls I explained. “I made him a Druid, and we have a kind of commitment bond that’s strictly professional.”

She raised an eyebrow at me.

“It means that I’m training him like a teacher and student thing. There’s just magic involved instead of a written contract.”

She considered my words for a moment. “Why are you resistant to the idea of there being something between you two?”

Instead of answering I threw the question back at her. “Why are you trying to hook us up?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“No it’s not, and if you don’t mind, my private business is my own.” Officially calling an end to the subject, I changed topics. “What did you learn from the Commune spell?”

Sylvia didn’t seem satisfied, but she let the subject drop. “Only that I was to use my gift to heal people and not to interfere with what was going on around you in regard to what you’ve started.”

“Me?”

“You.”

“But… but… I didn’t do anything.”

She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and looked thoughtful. “You’ve been sitting at home, not using your powers at all?”

I shrugged with a little guilt. “I’ve only been doing Druid stuff. I haven’t even been in contact with anybody from the island except for Zach and Evelyn… oh and I saw Pete and Brett, but they aren’t all magiced-up like you three.”

I cringed. “And Janie too, this morning. She was fine.” I left the part out where she was pregnant, but she definitely wasn’t showing any signs of being magically enhanced.

That’s when my phone rang. I pulled it out of my back pocket and looked at the caller ID: Adams, Sara along with an area code that I had to think about before I recalled from memory. It was in the Seattle, Washington area.

“Hello?”

“Chase?” a male voice said.

“Yes, who am I speaking to?”

“Uh… I’m Robert… just Robert. Sara got your email and…” The phone came away from his mouth, but I could still hear him in the background. “This is too much. I can’t do this.”

I heard Sara’s voice in the background. “Robert, don’t go!”

The sound of the phone dropping came over the line. It bounced around for a moment before I heard it being scooped up. “Chase! Are you still there?”

She was sobbing the whole time. “Sara, what happened?”

I covered the phone and whispered to Sylvia. “Go get Zach, hurry.”

“Sara, I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happened. Take a deep breath and try to calm down.”

Zach was in the room in seconds looking to me for direction. Covering the phone again I said, “Find Sara’s address, something’s happened. Get me a list of local trees in the area of her house if you can.”

He was fast at work on his phone.

“Sara, I’m going to come to you, okay.”

Her sobs lessened a little. “You’re in the city?”

“I can be there in minutes. Trust me. Can you tell me if there are any trees in your yard?”

It took me a minute, but I was able to talk her into telling me about an apple tree down the block. Zach retrieved her address and I hung up.

Adrenaline assisted energy ramped through me and for the first time all day I felt in control of myself, like the old Chase.

“Zach, get everyone to the beach house in Hawaii. You know where the key is. I have a feeling we’re going to need the room. I’m going to get Sara and we’ll meet you there.”

He nodded without a second thought.

“Sylvia, I need you to get the guys to go along. When you get there, get them to help you set the house up again. Zach knows where everything is.”

She looked at me with a very serious face. “You’re going alone?”

I nodded. “This might be bad and I don’t want anyone in the way. She’s really upset.”

A nod was given in receipt. “Good luck.”

~O~

I had to find an apple tree which was a lot harder than it would seem. Eventually I tracked one down and had to hop though a couple of trees to get to one, but eventually I stepped out into the darkness of Sara’s street. Once I figured out which house was which, I started running down the sidewalk, cursing myself again for wearing the damn heels.

“Never again.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out which house was hers. There was a guy in the driveway loading a couple of suitcases in his truck and the front door was wide open. He turned back and started heading inside when he saw me.

“Robert?”

His body language turned defensive. “Who are you?”

“Sara’s in trouble and you’re leaving her? You’re such an asshole.”

His jaw worked silently as I crossed the lawn and went through the open door. It only took a few seconds to figure out where the crying was coming from upstairs.

“Sara?” I called out. “It’s Chase. I’m here.”

She didn’t answer back, but I found the right room and knocked lightly on the door, before slowly opening it. What I found was something that I wasn’t expecting. On the bed sat a little girl that couldn’t be more than four or five years old. Her hair was jet black and her skin was seriously bronzed-colored.

She looked up at me. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. “Chase?”

The breath left my chest in a rush, but I recovered a quickly as I could. “Sara?”

The little girl nodded. “What’s happening to me?”

I rushed to her side and she held her arms open to me, immediately bawling her eyes out onto my shirt.

“It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll figure something out.”

I stood and lifted her with me. She wasn’t wearing anything but a t-shirt which I assumed was one of hers from when she was normal-sized. Her legs wrapped around the top of my hips, and shifted my hand underneath her butt, which kind of felt oddly fleshed out for a four year old.

“Do you want to go with me to Hawaii and be with the others?”

Sara pulled back, sniffing, but starting to get herself under control. “Everyone’s like this?”

Shaking my head briefly I said, “It’s something different for Sylvia, Stuart, Dale and Zach. Each of you is different from the others, but nobody’s going to make fun of you or abandon you there.”

She looked around the room and I saw her face turn even sadder. “I don’t have anything that’ll fit.”

Hugging her to me, I smiled. “You don’t worry about that, honey. I’ll get you something.”

In return, she hiccupped and set her head on my shoulder. There was a muffled crash downstairs and my face turned to stone. Grabbing the blanket that was on the bed, I covered Sara as best as I could and started out, making sure everything was turned off along the way. Once I was downstairs Sara was already asleep.

Setting her down as gently as I could on the leather couch in the living room, I covered her up and went to find out what was going on.

Robert was struggling with a widescreen TV trying to get it into the bed of a truck.

“I really hope that’s your stuff in there.”

He spun around and lost his grip at the same time which spelled curtains for the really big TV. Several cracks appeared across the screen. He cursed and started toward me.

“That was fifteen hundred dollars.”

My eyes narrowed. “Was it yours?”

“Half of that house is mine, and everything in it.”

That meant they were either married or living together which only made me angrier. “You need to leave now.”

The look on his face was pure contempt. “This is my house. You’re the one that needs to leave before I call the police.”

I smirked. “And tell them what? How you’re abandoning a little girl in the house? A little girl with no identity? Yeah, I’m sure the guys down in lockup will love having you around. Last chance to leave, Robert, before I get really angry.”

He pulled back his arm with an open hand like he was going to slap me, except her didn’t have a chance.

“Pestifer vultus!”

He only managed to look surprised for about half a second before he shrunk down to a little white ferret at my feet. Before Robert could gather his wits, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and held him up… or her up, rather. It was a girl ferret I changed him into. He started screeching; unfortunately I understood what she was saying.

“Help! What did you do to me? Help!”

I shook her around with my hand. “Shut up and behave! You like knocking girls around? Well, you’re going to be a nice little ferret until you learn your lesson.”

“Help!” she screamed.

It was starting to become annoying.

“Dominor bestia!”

I frowned at the now docile ferret. I didn’t like imposing my will on any creature, but until Roberta chilled out I couldn’t reason with her, so a Dominate Animal spell was needed for the short term. Once that was done, she found a place on my shoulder and settled in for the ride.

Going around the house, I made sure everything was turned off and secure, then I slipped my hand under Sara’s head and gently lifted her into my arms. She wined a little in her sleep then snuggled her face against my neck before breathing evenly again.

Gripping my cane, I decided to go with a Word of Recall spell. It was high level magic that would transport me and whatever I was touching to a very familiar place. I just couldn’t be bothered to hop around everywhere in search of a decent tree or plant to travel through.

“Beach-house!”

Yeah, there wasn’t an incantation. That spell is strictly intent driven. One moment we were at Sara’s and the next I was standing in the living room of the house in Hawaii.

“Oh, that was so awesome,” said Zach. “Word of Recall, right?”

Throughout it all, I could always count on Zach to geek out. I smiled and held up a finger to my lips. Everyone else was frozen at my appearance. Sylvia had her hand covering her mouth, but then she pointed at the girl in my arms.

“Is that Sara?” she whispered.

I nodded. “I’m going to lay her down in my bed. I’ll be right back.”

Zach followed along to try to be helpful, which he was. It took only a second for him to work his way in front of me and turn down the bed. Once I rid her of the blanket, I laid her down in the middle of the bed.

She woke up slightly and mumbled, “Chase?”

I brushed her hair back. “Shh, sweetie. I’m right here. You’re safe and in bed.”

Sylvia was behind me and reached out. “Sleep little one. Sleep.”

I felt the telltale sign of magic and Sara dropped out like a light.

“Thanks.”

~O~

Everyone had a drink of some type in their hand and we were trying to get through the latest drama. Stuart looked back at my room with anxiety on his face, but it was Sylvia that asked the question.

“What happened to her?”

“I think she’s a Halfling. Sara didn’t get any younger, she just changed into a much smaller version of herself; with virtually no breasts.”

Zach nodded. “I think she’s Athasian, or something similar. The skin and hair colors are about the same.”

Rubbing at my temples I tried to wrap my head around what to do next. “She’s going to need some clothes.”

It was Dale that asked about my new pet. “Why do you have a ferret on your shoulder?”

I looked to the side to see Roberta looking at me. “This was Sara’s boyfriend or husband, one of the two. He thought it would be fun to try to take a swipe at me. So I thought your ferret might need a girlfriend for a few days.”

That brought Stuart’s attention to me. “You turned him into a girl ferret?”

Zach smirked at the implication. “Man, that’s a low level Baleful Polymorph. You really don’t ever want to get on the bad side of a Druid. We can do all sorts of nasty things to you.”

TBC...