Morgana having been told to stand down on her investigation of the theft of the Mask is offered an opportunity to work with Sir Galohond. As if this weren't enough there have been a mysterious series of robberies in East St. Louis and the failure of her wards in a way she can’t understand. On top of all of that Morgana is starting to have an unusual feelings toward the handsome Sir Galohond.

Author note: Magic has always existed is now openly acknowledged. 10% of the population is magically sensitive and 5% can actually be taught to cast spells. Only about 1% have the ability to earn a Magic-User 3rd Class license. In a country of 300 million that means there are potentially 3 million professional practitioners. However, it takes hard work and training to develop that raw talent. There are currently in the United States about 1 million licensed practitioners. Of that about 100,000 are rated 2nd Class, with about 10,000 1st Class Magic-Users, and about 300 Masters in the entire country.

There are also ancient private schools of magic whose traditions extend hundreds of years into the past. These schools are not registered with the Guild and specialize in unique types of magic that are considered illegal. The Guild of Magic-Users actively hunts these schools yet they persist.

The multiverse is layered with world stacked upon world the only thing separating each realm of existence is the veil. The veil separates what is, from what might have been, and from what may yet come to be. It’s as thin as silk and yet unless one has the power and skill it is impenetrable. For those with the ability it can be parted and thus, Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Ogres, Orcs, and Trolls and all manner of legendary creatures now walk the earth.

The power of magic is rising how humanity reacts will chart the course of civilization of the next thousand years. An Age has come to an end and a new Age has arrived and as yet no one has noticed.

I’d just arrived home, still thinking about Sir Galohond and the possibility of working for him, when found a message on my machine from my mother. Evidently she’d been away on a business trip back east and was now home and wanted to have dinner sometime this week. I decided not to call her back right away. It was early evening and since I was feeling frustrated I decided the best thing for me would be a workout. So I grabbed my duffel bag and headed over to the 24 Hour Fitness not far from my house. As I drove I felt annoyed, it wasn’t as much fun to come here now since most of the guys I used to lift with now regarded me as a piece of ass to be ogled. How do women put up with this? Still I’d paid for the membership and needed to blow off some steam. When I got home Edgar cawed at me in aggravation over the way I’d rushed out to go to the gym and he hadn’t eaten yet. I refilled his feeder and spent a few minutes placating him. Why are males so needy, I wondered?

Mark woke up and for a moment wondered where he was, why was he sleeping in the hallway. Then his memories returned, his body kept changing and when he’d tried to go to the Guild for help the Mask had possessed him. Mark reached for the Mask but felt only the smooth skin he was now starting to associate with his face. Mark pushed himself to his feet and felt flesh move around on his chest in an unfamiliar way. He reached up and cupped a pair of breasts.

For a second the world spun and Mark had to throw out a hand to catch the wall in order to prevent himself from falling over. He stumbled to the bathroom and found that the lights were still on. When he looked into the mirror what he saw stunned him. The woman staring back had large green eyes, blonde hair now past her shoulders, and a pair of small high breasts pushing out against Mark’s now oversized shirt. The face had changed even more, it was very fine boned with a thin nose and high cheek bones there was no trace that Mark could see of his former face. Unable to resist the urge Mark stripped. He noticed that his shoulders were now thinner and much smaller than his had been. His arms, although thin, had a bit of muscle tone. His new breasts were small and perfectly formed cones, if he’d had to guess he’d have said an A or perhaps a B cup. His waist had gotten much thinner probably in the low twenty inch range and then the hips flared out creating that hour glass figure he enjoyed observing in woman. To Marks relief his cock and balls still hung between his legs. However, when he reached down feel his penis he realized there was no sensation. He could feel his cock in his hand but there was no feeling of his hand gripping his cock. Mark quickly felt his scrotum and realized it had no sensation as well. He also discovered that the sack was empty, he was missing both gonads.

Unexpectedly tears burst from Marks eyes and he slipped to the floor hugging his knees to his chest. He felt completely trapped and helpless against the power that was changing him. He was also worried about what would happen once the change was complete.

I arrived at my office early the next day, I told myself that I needed to get caught up on some work but the truth was I was anxious about my meeting with Galohond Larothta. I’d originally planned on a conservative business suit. But after several different changes I’d settled on a black skirt and matching blouse that showed some cleavage. I also added a set of three inch heels, black stockings, and took the time to style my hair and carefully apply my makeup. Now sitting in front of my computer at work I felt like a school girl waiting for her first date instead of a professional Magic-User expecting a potential client.

With nothing better to do I thought back to last night. After I’d eaten a light dinner I’d called my mother. He’d answered on the second ring. After a few minutes of polite chit-chat I told him about the case. Mother wasn’t surprised that FAD had stepped in and taken over the case. He also adamantly denied having asked the Guild Grand Master to throw some business my way. This made me a little confused, why would the Guild Grand Master want me involved with this specific case. With a mental shrug I moved on and explained to mother what I’d learned from the summoning and the morgue at this point he’d gotten very quiet.

“Alastar, you need to be very careful. Elves are not to be taken lightly and the fact that some faction is running around St. Louis with a powerful artifact is very serious. I want you to promise me that before you do anything stupid you’ll come see me.”

“I’m not a child mother, I can handle this.”

I replied feeling annoyed. That had led to an argument which hadn’t helped my mood any. Now as I sat here waiting for Galohond to arrive I wondered if I’d been stupid to snap at my mother. Almost as if thinking his name had summoned him I felt a jingle at my office wards alerting me to the arrival of a Magic-User.

I stood up smoothed my skirt, and walked around the desk to greet my visitor. When Galohond Larothta walked into the office he took my breath away. At 6’2” his athletic body hummed with masculinity. He was wearing work boots, blue jeans, and a collared shirt obviously going for a casual look. It made me feel like I’d over dressed for our meeting.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again Morgana.”

He said walking forward to take my hand and kiss my fingers again.

I shivered with pleasure and said, “the pleasure is mine Sir Larothta.”

“Please call me Galohond.”

“Would you care to sit? Can I get you a cup of coffee or tea?”

“Tea please.”

He said sweeping over to one of the couches and sitting down. I’d managed to anticipate his request for tea and already had hot water waiting. I got two cups of Earl Grey going and placed them on a service that I brought over to the coffee table. After taking a sip I decided to get down to business.

“Yesterday you said there was something that you thought I could help you with?”

As soon as I said this I regretted my choice of words. When he raised on eye brow I felt my face heat up.

“I’m sure there are several things you could help me with.”

He said flirting with me while his eyes lingering on my cleavage before looking me in the eye. I noticed that he had beautiful grey eyes.

“I’m investigating the theft of the Mask of Esarthae Haelond and I understand that you’ve done some work on this matter for the Guild.”

“I have, but I turned everything I learned over to Inspector Lee yesterday. You should be able to get a copy of my report from him.” I said feeling puzzled.

“I’ve reviewed your report and I’m impressed. Could I see the crystal with the magical signature you took? I understand that you think the thief was killed by a female elf?”

At this I nodded and got up feeling his eyes on me as I moved to my desk. I pulled the crystal out of the desk and walked back over to where we were sitting. I spoke a word and channeled a trickle of power into the crystal so that it started glowing with the color and pattern I’d copied into it. I then sat it down on the table between us.

“My I have a closer look?” Galohond asked.

When I nodded he reached forward and picked up the crystal with two fingers. He turned it over several times and with a sigh sat it back on the table.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised, but this is disturbing none the less.”

“Oh?”

“The former Lady Duchess Siofra Aldalithe is a hunted fugitive with a bounty on her head. I’m not surprised to find her here, nor am I surprised that she is responsible for killing your thief. She is wanted for greater crimes than murder back in Summer. What worries me is why she’s here? I doubt very much it’s just to get her hands on the Mask. There will be a purpose behind her desire to acquire it.”

“And you’re sure it was her?”

“Yes, I’ve fought her before and I’d recognized her magical signature anywhere. May I have your crystal? I will return it when the investigation is over but I have a meeting later today with the Guild Foreign Affairs Department and I’d like to let them see this.”

When I nodded he put the crystal into his pocket.

“I’m sorry to cut this meeting short, I’m afraid I must head over to the Guild. Perhaps we could meet later today?”

“I’d like that,” I responded without thinking.

“How does dinner sound?”

“I, . . . uhm . . . what did you have in mind?”

I could tell that I was blushing fiercely now.

“Why don’t we meet at the Franco at 7 pm? I’m particularly fond of French food. If you’ve not been there before then I think you’ll be surprised.”

When I nodded my agreement he once again scooped up my fingers for a kiss goodbye and the walked out the door. As he walked out I found my gaze lingering on his hard round athletic butt. I wondered what it would feel like to hold it with both hands as he thrust into me. Suddenly I snapped out of my day dream.

“Get a grip Morgana!” I said and walked back over to my desk.

After Galohond left I sat at my desk not really doing any work, instead I replayed the events over again in my mind. Max had stolen the Mask, a Mask which allowed female Elves to draw power while in the human realm. Siofra who was a wanted criminal and a fugitive from her home realm had killed Max and taken the Mask. She might still be in the area or she could be a thousand miles from here. Based on what I’d learned I figured she planned to use the Mask to build a power base here and to use our realm as a sanctuary to over throw the Sylvari Queen. This was obviously something that was best left to the Guild to handle it. I let out a sigh, I really needed to focus on crafting a new set of wards for Mr. Carter and I still didn’t know how his wards had been so thoroughly breached. Abruptly my thoughts were interrupted by my cellphone.

“Hello.”

“Morgana Livingstone?” asked the voice of Luck Carter.

“Yes, what can I do for you Mr. Carter?”

“You said to call you if I noticed anything unusual. Well I’m looking out of my store across the street at Dave Martin’s shop and he is being robbed!”

“Okay, take a deep breath and calm down. Did you say you’re witnessing a robbery right now? You need to call the Guild.”

“I already called the Guild but I thought of you when I saw the way the thief took down his wards.”

“What do you mean?”

“She just held out her hand and the ward net went down and then walked into the shop. Shit! Dave is out in the parking lot right now trying to stop her. This is going to get ugly.” With that the cellphone suddenly disconnected.

For a second I didn’t know what to do, these shops were in East St. Louis and I’d have to use the I-64 bridge and then it would take me 20-30 minutes to get to his shop. I looked over at Edgar sitting on his perch and suddenly knew a way. There was a spell I’d never tried before since I’d not had the power. I could use my bond with Edgar and shape shift into a crow. Just because I was in crow form I’d not be able to fly, flying was a skill that took practice. But since I was bonded to Edgar and he was a flyer I could draw on his skill.

I knew I didn’t have much time so I quickly changed from heels to boots, grabbed a pair of wands and opened the window allowing Edgar, and my soon to be transformed self, access to the sky. Edgar remained on his perch looking at me with his head cocked to one side. I started by strengthening the bond between us. Next I closed my eyes concentrating, and pulled power into my center. I drew the mental construct of a crow and spoke the words of the spell and felt my flesh and clothes transform.

Everything was huge! I looked up at Edgar in time to see him hop down from his perch with a flutter of wings. Suddenly I realized that my spell had been perfect in that it had made me a crow like Edgar, but I had accidentally made myself a female crow! Edgar was checking me out! Without thinking about it I snapped my wings down and darted into the air. I was out the window before I knew it with Edgar following in hot pursuit. For a brief moment I realized that the male pursuing the female was part of the crow mating ritual. Damn it, Edgar! I also realized that flying was as natural to me right now as it was to any crow because of the bond I’d established with Edgar. I turned east and head toward Luke Carter’s shop.

Once I was up high enough I cast a second spell this one affected the wind. It wasn’t that powerful a spell so the affect was localized but it brought up a 20 mph tail wind which helped us considerably. The next thing that helped was that I was on a direct line for the shop instead of having to follow the roads and cross the river at one of the bridges.

Even so it took several minutes before we arrived over the shopping plaza. When I spotted the parking lot next to where Luke had his shop I knew that I was too late. There were a couple of cars tipped over and a fire was going to one side. But most disturbing was the body of an elderly man lying sprawled on the sidewalk with a broken staff lying next to him. I dove for the ground and started shifting back into my human form before my talons hit the pavement.

As soon as I was fully human again I knelt next to the man and checked to see if he was breathing. He was so I checked for a pulse, which was slow but strong. Okay so he’s just out. I stood up and looked around.

I saw Luke running up from his shop with one arm extended while he used the other arm to try and keep it stable. On the hand of the extended arm he had a large ring with a ruby that was glowing red.

“It took you long enough.” He said.

“You could have helped him.”

“I’m not a Guild Special Agent or a Magic-User Master Class.”

Before I could say anything else a woman came up.

“She went that way” and pointed east out of the parking lot. “After she took down Mr. Martin she jumped into a Ford F-150 and tore off.”

I knew that this robber needed to be stopped before she hurt anyone else and that I was in the best position to pursue her. So I recast the spell that turned me into Edgars dream girl and took to the air.

Mark finally decided to get up and take a shower it had been two days since he’d first found the Mask and he’d hardly been awake long enough to eat much less get cleaned up. There was something soothing about the feeling of water cascading down his body. It would have been completely relaxing except for the differences which were impossible to ignore. The first being the feeling of water massaging his chest, God that feels good he thought. Soon he was rubbing and fondling his new chest, exploring this narrow waist and the feeling of hips that flared out. When he realized what he was doing he hurriedly turned off the water and got out of the stall leaving a puddle on the linoleum in the bathroom.

Mark wrapped a towel around his waist and rubbed the steam off the mirror. The female face that stared back was the most bizarre thing he’d ever seen. When he ran his eyes down his body he realized that it looked wrong to have the towel wrapped around his waist leaving his chest exposed. Still he stubbornly refused to shift the towel to the proper female position. As Mark stared at his reflection he felt an emotion coming from the Mask. Opening his third eye Mark was not surprised to see the Mask and the green ropes of energy flowing from the Mask around and into his body. What did startle him was that for the first time he felt a reservoir of magical energy inside of him. Like the Mask was draining magic from the world around and using it to change Mark and at the same time storing the excess inside of him. Mark concentrated on the Mask and realized that it was hungry.

Mark thought that perhaps he could satisfy the craving with food so he went into his bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He noticed that although the jeans were too big around the waist he had trouble getting them over his hips. The material of his skives bunched uncomfortably as well.

“Arghhhh”

He then went to the kitchen. When he got there he was startled to see that it was almost 11 am. He’d spent most of yesterday sleeping. Mark glanced at the message machine and saw that there were several messages. “Shit, I missed my shift!” Feeling like he’d probably lost his job Mark knew there was no way he could go to work looking like he currently did. Mark decided to forget about the message machine for the moment and focus on breakfast. He made a 4 egg omelet with toast and wolfed it down with coffee and milk. He felt full, but knew as soon as he’d finished eating all that food hadn’t satisfied the Mask.

Mark soon found himself in his truck headed toward an outdoor shopping plaza where he knew there were several magical shops. He had a little under a hundred dollars in his wallet and figured that maybe he could get a couple of magical items. It was a long shot but Mark hoped that it would be enough to satisfy the Mask for now. Mark parked his truck and walked toward one of the cheaper looking magic shops. As he approached he felt the outer wards of the shop tingle against his skin. Mark knew that these were like a door bell they’d tell the owner that someone with magical talent was about to enter the shop. Suddenly Mark felt like a passenger in his own body. His hand came up and he felt the ward dissolve. He strode quickly into the shop and looked around there weren’t any other customers at the moment. The owner was stocking some books on a shelf in the back of the shop and looked up as Mark entered. The look on his face reflected confusion.

“Can I help you?”

“I think not,” Mark’s voice sounded high, feminine, and cold.

Suddenly Mark thrust out a hand and spoke a word. A bolt of glowing green energy hit the owner before he could get a shield up and sent him sprawling into a heap. Now Mark focused on the case with magical items. Just like the last time he found a bag and filled it with all of the items he could find in the shop. As Mark was leaving he could hear a groan from the owner. This made Mark feel a little bit better since it told him that he’d not hurt the guy.

Mark darted out of the shop heading toward his truck. He’d barely gotten to the sidewalk when some sense told him to duck. A bolt of angry red energy flew over his head. Mark spun around and brought up a shield. Looking back through the light green energy field Mark saw the owner of the shop was holding a staff in one hand and extending the other which was glowing with red energy. A second later that energy slashed out at Mark. This time Mark held out a hand and caught the energy on his palm. The power from the spell was instantly absorbed by Mark. Now confident he started to walk toward the shop owner.
Again and again the guy blasted at Mark who sometimes deflected the blast and other times absorbed it. Mark stopped walking a few feet from the owner.

“Mortal do you know who I am?”

“A thief!”

“I am Esarthae Haelond and I am your death!”

With this Mark brought both arms up and pushed them out like he was shoving someone. The energy that lashed out was a sickly looking green bolt of force that made the air crackle as it rushed toward the shop owner.

He brought up his staff like he was going to use it to block the energy just before he was struck. Crack! The instant Mark’s magic missile hit the energy shield and staff, excess magical energy exploded in all directions. The force of the explosion blew the shop owner off his feet and snapped the staff in two. As the back blast surged toward Mark he felt once again the sense of absorption and the wave flowed on by.

Mark walked over to the now semi-conscious owner and knelt next to him and placed a hand over his Solar Plexus. This area was known as a Magic-Users center, or in some cultures referred to as the Manipura Chakra, it is where magical power is stored. Mark felt the Mask reach and pull power directly from the shop owner. The sensation was like a wave of pure pleasure. For a second Mark could see lines of energy connecting him to the man and then it was over. When Mark looked down at the guy he got the same feeling that he’d gotten from the objects that had been drained.

Mark felt like he was about to be sick. Still unable to control his movements he stood up picked up the bag of items he’d dropped and walked to his truck. As Mark drove back to his apartment he couldn’t help feeling the emotions coming from the Mask. Pleasure at being full and satisfaction at defeating an opponent the Mask was for the first time, since Mark had been able to sense it, happy.

Mark pulled into a parking spot by his apartment and walked into it without bothering to look around. Once inside the apartment he sat the bag of magical items on the floor and collapsed onto the couch. Suddenly Mark felt the Mask go quiet. He lifted his hand and realized that he was back in control of his body for the moment. Mark tried to stand up and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. At the same time his skin felt itchy and tingly all over. There was a sudden sharp pain in his groin that doubled him over. This was followed by a series of cramps. And then he heard the sound of his hips breaking. Agony washed over him as his very bones moved around sliding into a new configuration. When it was over Mark lay on the couch basking in the lack of sensation. Slowly he reached between his legs and felt only the smooth contour of a female groin. His penis was completely gone.

Mark stood up on wobbly legs and walked around the couch planning on heading to the bathroom when the door to his apartment burst open. Standing in the door was a beautiful brunette radiating power who's eyes blazed blue with magic.

“Please help me.”

Mark pleaded dropping to her knees and holding out her arms. The strange woman gestured and spoke a word. At that moment Mark felt the Mask stirring but it was too late. The stun spell slashed into Mark knocking her into unconsciousness.

I stood over the body of the woman I’d tracked from the shopping plaza to this tiny apartment and felt confused. From what I’d seen she had to be at least a Magic-User 2nd Class. Yet she’d offered no resistance, instead it felt like she’d wanted me to knock her out. I walked into the apartment and looked around. Lying on the floor next to the couch was a bag that held, what I assumed were, the stolen magical items. Then I noticed the pile of items on the coffee table and the floor around it. Could these all be pilfered magical items?

I opened my third eye and looked around the apartment. The items in the bag glowed with energy while the items on the coffee table and floor looked drained. But not drained like an item that had been used and needed to be recharged. These were drained to the point that they were useless. The spell matrix that had been bound into each item enchanting it had collapsed. They could never be recharged. Now I turned and looked back at the woman and felt like I was about to be sick.
The Mask on her face glowed with a sick green power. From the Mask numerous tentacles of power sprouted. These tentacles had wrapped themselves around the woman’s body burrowing in at one spot only to pop out at another. I had to take several deep breaths to prevent myself from becoming ill. Then it clicked, this woman was wearing the Mask of Esarthae Haelond it was the only artifact that I’d heard of that might have this level of power. But it was designed for an elf, the woman in front of me looked human.

I knew I should call the Guild after all they were responsible for handling magical crime in the city. But I had an uneasy feeling. Inspector Lee hadn’t appeared real happy about being pulled off the case. In fact the impression I got was that FAD existed more for political reasons than to solve actual crimes. I suppose I could get in touch with Sir Galohond Larothta the Mask fell into his lane after all. However this was a human woman who was wearing the Mask. Lastly she’d asked for help and hadn’t done anything to try and stop me from stunning her.

I made up my mind and cast a sleep spell on top of the stun spell to make sure she remained unconscious. I then pulled out my cell phone and placed a call.

“Mother? It’s Morgana. ….. I need your help. Can you send Steven to pick me up? . . . . I’ll explain everything when I get there.”

It was early evening and I was sitting on the back patio at my mother’s house. I was sipping a chilled white wine while mother took a long pull from her second stout.

“Have you ever seen anything like that?”

“I’m not really an expert on Elven magic,” mother replied. “But no. That Mask is changing and probably controlling that poor girl. We need to separate them.”

“How do we do that without killing her?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll need to do some research, and I think I’ll call my old friend, your former tutor, Susan McDonald. She’s an expert on Elven magic.”

At this mother paused to see if I agreed. When I nodded he continued.

“I think the first priority is to contain the influence of the Mask.”

I was a bit surprised. “Contain it how?”

At this mother laughed, “come now Alastar or should I call you Morgana since you seem to have forgotten how to ward.”

With a burst of insight I understood what my mom was hinting. If we couldn’t separate the mystery woman from the Mask we could or rather I could do some wards that should prevent it from controlling or changing her any further. I took another ship of my wine, savoring its light sweet flavor. When I finished my glass I glanced over at my mom.

“I suppose I should get started.”

At this he nodded, “while you’re doing that I’ll see what I can find out. When you’re done meet me in my study.”

With that he got up and headed back into the house. I noticed that he took long confident strides and that his posture was much more masculine. Perhaps mom is adopting, I thought for a second, and then reached for my purse. I found Galohond’s business card and punched his number into my cell phone.

“Hello?” His deep masculine voice made me shiver.

“Galohond this is Morgana. Something’s come up and I can’t make it tonight. I’m sorry can I geta rain check?”

“Morgana I’ve been looking forward to having you, … for dinner all day are you sure we can’t meet later?”

I felt my face burn with the innuendo and stammered.

“I’m very sorry, but no. How does tomorrow night sound?”

“It sounds great but only if you wear something sexy as payment for making me wait a whole day to see you again.”

“Fine tomorrow it is” and with that I pressed the end button.

For a second I sat there feeling appalled. Did I just agree to another date and that I’d wear something sexy?

“Crap!”

With that I got up and headed up to my room to prepare for tonight’s task.

I entered the bedroom where the woman was stretched out. She was wearing men’s jeans and a t-shirt which seemed ill fitting and mismatch on such a pretty young woman. Well if the Mask had possessed her there was no telling why it was making her dress this way. I’d stopped to pick up some paints and a couple of artists brushes and set all of these items to one side. I then took the next several minutes to remove all of her clothing, including men’s underwear, and pulled her long blonde hair back so it would be out of the way. As I looked at her I could barely see a faint line where the pale skin covered by the Mask stopped and her more natural coloration started. I knew this would take some time and that I had to be very careful as I started painting wards onto her body. I took my time and switched back and forth between magical sight and mundane vision. Containing the power of the Mask was challenging and took all of my skill as an artist and a professional warder but when, after nearly three hours, I was done I looked down on her pleased with the work. I channeled enough energy into the ward matrix to activate it and watched the results with my third eye.

Starting at her feet the wards sparkled and became active. As they did the green tentacles piercing her feet dissolved. This continued as each ward activated the next moving up her body in a chain reaction. In a matter of seconds only the Mask remained. It still glowed a sick green but I could tell its influence was contained. I shut down my magical sight and drew two more wards on the wall next to the bed. The first was a healing ward. It would pour benevolent energy into the woman’s body while she slept under it until its energy faded. I had no idea what kind of trauma she’d been put through but this could hurt. The second ward was a sleep ward. As long as it remained active the person on the bed would remain asleep. I put enough energy into both wards to keep them active for the next 10 hours. I had no idea what this woman’s story was but I didn’t want her walking around the house un-chaperoned. Time to go find mom and see if she’d come up with a way to remove the Mask. Feeling pleased with myself I headed up to the study.

When I arrived in the study mother was sitting behind his desk reading from a tome I didn’t recognize. He looked up when I entered the room.

“So how did it go?”

I couldn’t help smiling “very well I think. The Mask is contained, but I still don’t see a way to remove it. The wards I made are only a short term solution. They’ll wear off, so we really need to get that thing off her.”

“Agreed. I spoke with Susan and she’ll be by tomorrow. She had a couple of ideas on the phone but won’t really know for sure if they will work until she sees the patient.” Mother stood up and walked around the desk.

“So what do you say to a late dinner?”

Suddenly ravenous I nodded.

“I think I could eat a horse.”

“I don’t think we’ve got any horse, but pizza and beer are in the kitchen. I never realized how good those two flavors are before.”

I groaned to myself quietly. I’d found that after I’d gotten Morgana’s body I just didn’t really like greasy food. If I knew Chelsea (mothers cook) there would be a few other options. So I accompanied mom as we headed toward the kitchen.
Dinner was awkward as usual. I’d never really felt comfortable around my mother after Ambrose left him in my body. Evenings like tonight just reminded me of this fact. He tried to make light conversation with questions about clothes and if I was seeing anyone. After dinner I summoned Edgar to my shoulder and headed to my room.

One of the things I’d always liked about staying in my old room in mother’s house was that it was large and it brought back lots good memories. Tonight it felt strange. Like the memories of the boy who grew up here didn’t fit. The bed was too hard, the closet small and it only had a couple of outfits. I dug out a fresh set of panties and an oversized men’s t-shirt to sleep in and then walked into the bathroom attached to my bedroom. I looked at the shower for a moment and then decided to take a bath instead. My bathroom had a separate stall for the shower and the tub. I’d never been a big fan of baths growing up now I found myself really enjoying them. I got the water going and added some bubble bath my mother had thoughtfully provided. Returning to the sink I brushed my teeth and stripped. The reflection of the raven haired woman no longer startled me even if I still thought she was hot. I checked the temperature of the water and then climbed in. I had to go slowly since it was very hot but once immersed it felt heavenly.

The tension in my shoulders eased away as I felt my body relaxing in the hot sudsy water. I let my mind drift trying not to think about the case or the implications for the magical community of a rogue terrorist cell running around St. Louis or the reaction of the Guild when they found out I’d recovered the Mask and hadn’t handed over the person wearing it. Instead I just drifted. Strangely I found myself thinking about Galohond. There was something about him that I couldn’t identify that made me keep thinking of him. The breadth of his shoulders, his round athletes butt, the dreamy grey eyes, I felt my nipples getting hard and that achy empty feeling returned to my groin. I started to slowly rub my breasts focusing on my nipples. God that feels good I thought. As I played with my titts the ach in my groin got worse, I slipped my right hand down and started to stroke my clitoris. I felt the hot soppy water inside my vagina as I slipped a finger in. I continued to stroke my clitoris while sliding a second finger inside. As I rubbed my pussy I felt a spot inside that sent electricity shooting through my whole body. I started to moan uncontrollable. I’d never felt anything so fantastic, my moans turned into low cries of pleasure as I felt my first orgasm in this body.

I’m not sure how long I stayed in the bath but the water was cold and my fingers and toes were shriveled up by the time I got out. Why I’d waited so long to do that was a mystery to me, it had felt unbelievable. It made me wonder what real sex would feel like. Again my mind drifted to Galohond. For a second I fantasized about him on top of me thrusting into me. I had to shake my head if I kept this up I’d be masturbating all night long. I stepped into a pair panties enjoying unique female sensation of sliding my panties up until they fitting snugly against my flat crotch. Next I dug out a large men’s t-shirt put it on planning to use it as a night gown. Then I returned to my bedroom. Edgar was already asleep on his roost. So I turned out the lights and climbed into bed.

I was drawn from a deep sleep by the buzzing of my damn alarm. God I hate mornings, I thought, as I reluctantly climbed out of bed. It was early but I wanted to check on our house guest. The spell I’d used to make sure she stayed asleep would be wearing off soon and I wanted to be there when she woke up. I was assuming that she was an innocent victim based on her reaction to me yesterday although it could have all been a ruse. I decided to go for a tough look this morning. I put on a pair of tight black jeans, black shirt, and cowboy boots. I pulled my hair back and did a quick glamor on my face instead of taking the time to do make-up.

Next I swung through the kitchen, Chelsea was already there so I grabbed a cup of steaming hot coffee and a bagel and headed to our guest’s room. I opened the door and was pleased to see that the wards were just starting to run out of power. Well this should be interesting I thought and settled down in a chair in the corner. From my position I’d be able to watch her wake up and it would probably be a few minutes before she noticed me.

Max reclined back into the plush love seat as morning sun light streamed into the room. She was happy that for the moment she could think of herself as ‘Max’ since the Master’s command had said she must remember who she was but only had to think of herself as Little Slave while alone with him and Siofra while in the company of everyone else. While she was alone she could think of herself as Max. She tried not to think back to last night but her mind kept drifting back.

After she’d gotten cleaned up she’d put on a sexy black cocktail dress she’d found in Siofra’s closet, fixed her hair, and grabbed a set of three inch heels. She’d skipped stockings and underwear since she’d been told to dress sexy and Max had always found woman without underwear sexy. After she arrived at the Master’s it hadn’t taken him long to get her out of the outfit anyway. The rest of the night had a dream like feel to it in Max’s memory. They had sex of course. In fact they’d had sex for what felt like hours. The Master had used a spell to return the stiffness to his cock after each orgasm. Max lost count of the number of orgasms she’d had but by the time the night was done Max realized that something inside her had changed. Just the thought of the Master’s large pole was making her wet as she sat there. Maybe it was the magic, but Max realized that even sitting here now just basking in the sun light she craved that feeling of fullness that came from a rock hard cock thrusting into her. She shuddered.

With a sigh Max got up and walked over to a small table, God I’m sore she thought finding it difficult to walk. As she passed a mirror she saw the beautiful sexy blonde elf, wearing a peach colored teddy, even with her hair tussled from last night Max knew she looked great. On the table was a pot of tea, several pieces of fruit, and pastry’s. The Master had ordered the food before leaving. His orders to her had been stay in the house and be ready to travel by noon. Max was starved and thinking back she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. So she poured a cup of tea and filled up a small plate with as much food as it would hold and before returning to the love seat. Max tucked her feet up under her and balancing the plate on the armrest she started eating.

How much freedom do I have within the Master’s commands Max thought. She glanced at the phone next to the bed and setting the food aside and went over and picked it up. As soon as she got a dial tone she called the number to her old cell phone. It went directly to voice mail but this was enough to tell Max that she did have some free will and that the master hadn’t thought of everything. Max returned to her seat and started eating again trying to think through the situation. She’d eventually have an opportunity, at some point, and when it came she needed to be ready to take it.

The low moan was the first indication that the woman on the bed was coming around. During the night she’d become buried in a cocoon of blankets and only now started to stir. Mark’s mind still heavy with sleep couldn’t figure out where she was. Slowly memories returned, the last several days, trapped inside her body by the Mask. Abruptly Mark realized that she couldn’t feel the Mask. The last two times when she woke up there had been a sense of hunger coming from the Mask and more recently other emotions. At the moment there was nothing. Mark sat up cautiously feeling irritated by the long blonde hair that hung across her face. With an unconscious feminine gesture she swept the hair aside. The next thing Mark noticed was that she was completely naked and that her breasts were exposed. Mark unaware that she was being observed pulled the sheet up over her chest. It wasn’t a dream I’ve got breasts Mark thought. Mark now looked around the room slowly as she remembered the events of the past few days.

Mark remembered the Mask taking control of her body, forcing her to feed on stolen magical items, and then the fight at the shopping plaza. Finally Mark remembered gaining control of her body just as someone forced her door open. The Magic-User had looked very powerful and Mark had done the only thing she could think of at the time. Surrender. She vaguely remembered the Magic-User casting a spell and then nothing. No looking around the room Mark figured that even though she didn’t know where she was it couldn’t be a Guild cell since it was way too nice for a government cell.

“How are you feeling?”

The woman’s voice startled Mark and she glanced into the far corner to see a woman wearing all black watching her. Mark realized this was the same woman who’d knocked her out so she must be responsible for bringing her here. She was sitting in a leather chair with a small table next to it. Mark noticed the coffee cup sitting on the table and figured that he must have been out for quite some time.

“Where am I?”

Mark asked startled at the high sweet feminine voice.

“You are safe for the moment, I am Morgana Livingstone, and you are in the home of my mo,….er….God Mother. I’d like to ask you a few questions particularly about the Mask you’re wearing.”

Mark let out a sigh, “you’re a Magic-User aren’t you? Can you help me? I can’t get this damn thing off and it’s been making me do things and it’s been changing me.”

The words came out in a rush. Mark had wanted to talk to someone about the Mask for days and now suddenly she felt like he was free from the Mask’s compulsions.

“Why don’t you start by telling me your name and how you came to be in possession of the Mask?”

Mark tucked her legs under her and turned so he could fully face Morgana. When she did this she accidently allowed the blanket to become tangled and exposed her titts. Mark quickly adjusted the sheets feeling her face turn red even though she was sure this wasn’t the first pair of breasts the woman had seen.

There was something about the awkwardness that alerted Morgana. Like this woman wasn’t comfortable with her body. For a woman this old keeping a sheet tucked around her torsos should have been as natural as breathing.

“My name is Mark Miller and I found the Mask while driving home from work Tuesday night.”

Mark launched into the story and was surprised at how good this woman was at listening. If she’d heard the same story she wouldn’t have believed it but somehow she got the impression that the woman not only believed her but wanted to help. When Mark concluded the story she sat there quietly looking down into her lap.

“I hope that old guy is okay. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“I’ll have to make a couple of calls to find out how he’s doing” Morgana said. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. For now I’d like you to stay here. Mr. Donegal owns this house and has agreed to be your host for the next couple of days. There is an expert on Elven artifacts, Mrs. Susan McDonald, who also happens to be a friend of Mr. Donegal’s and she is on her way here. I hope she’ll know how to separate you from the Mask. Please have a look at your hands.”

Mark had noticed while Morgana had been talking that her hands and arms had been painted with a series of symbols that she recognized from her days in the army as wards. Now she held them up and inspected them closely.

“I’ve warded your body against the enchantment of the Mask but the wards will only work as long as they are clear. If you wash them off or smudge them they’ll stop working and the Mask will be able to start working its magic on you again.”

Morgana stood up and walked over to the closet. She returned with a light blue fuzzy bathrobe which she dropped on the bed.

“There are slippers in there as well. For now if you could do without them I’d prefer you stick to loose fitting clothes. Avoid anything tight that might rub or smear the wards. I’ll need to check them later today. Now if you get dressed we can head down to the kitchen and find you something to eat.”

“Uhm, that sounds good but, ah, well I need to use the restroom.” Mark stammered.

Morgana nodded in understanding.

“Turn left and you’ll find it two doors down. If you go to the end of the hallway and take the stairs down you’ll find yourself on the back side of the house. Just walk straight through the first set of doors and you’ll be in the kitchen. I’ll wait for you there.”

With that Morgana turned to leave but paused and looked back over her shoulder.

“Mark I’ll do everything I can to help you. Your safe now honey.”

Then Morgana stepped out of the room and for the first time since finding the Mask Mark felt hope.