Meagan yawned and snuggled closer to her pillow. It was big and warm. There was a pleasant scent that she couldn’t quite place. And it seemed to be moving? She opened her eyes and stared at her pillow. Only, it wasn’t a pillow. It was a breast. Bigger than her head. She looked up into the owner’s amber oval eyes.

“Could you please stop doing that,” the owner asked. “They’re sensitive.”

With a squeak of surprise, Meagan jumped up. Only to trip. Meagan looked to see what she had tipped over. It was the coils of a gigantic snake. Frantically, she followed the body looking for the head. Hopefully the snake had already eaten and wasn’t hungry for more. She was surprised when the snake’s body turned into a girl’s hips. Those hips lead to a small waist. Which in turn lead to a pair of impossibly huge but incredibly magnificent breasts.

It was the breasts that jogged her memory. They were so big and full. Despite their size, there was little sag. Meagan knew that the larger breasts grew, the more they sagged. At least, that is what her mother told her. And she only told her after Meagan admitted to being jealous of the more developed girls at school. But there was not hint of jealousy within her. There admiration and a huge desire to play with them.

“Could you stop staring at my breasts,” the owner asked again.

Blushing furiously, Meagan jerked her gaze up. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Wait a minute,” she shouted as she studied the very feminine face in front of her. “Matthew, is that you?”

A faint blush appeared on the girl’s cheeks. “Yes, Meagan,” she answered. “It’s me. My name is Mary now.”

“Oh,” Meagan said. She honestly didn’t know what else to say. She had only came here to find out his and his aunt’s opinion on last night’s announcement. She did not expect to find the emissary. Suddenly realizing that she was still leaning against Mary’s body, Meagan awkwardly pushed herself up. Once she was upright, Meagan didn’t know what to do. And, for some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off Mary’s lower body. She was finding it strangely sexy.

“Is this something I should get used to,” Mary asked. “People staring at my tail, I mean. I know there will be people staring at my breasts. But my tail as well?”

The words caused Meagan to jerk her head up. What was wrong with her, she wondered. She needed to stop staring at Mary. To distract herself, Meagan started looking around the room. She saw that she was in the Bridges’ sitting room. The two sofas and three chairs were in the same position she remembered. She was sitting in one sofa with Mat-, uh, Mary. Mary’s tail occupying most of the cushions.

A beautiful teen girl was sitting awkwardly in one of the chairs. She was wearing a peasant blouse, skirt, and shoes. Somehow, she looked uncomfortable wearing them. How that could be, she didn’t know. The clothes looked comfortable enough. She did not want to look at the darkly beautiful woman. But she had no other choice. She had looked at everything else in the room. Reluctantly she looked at the last person in the room.

She was a darkly beautiful woman. The type of woman that mothers warn their sons from. And watch their husbands around. The type of woman that you know is bad for you, but you’d still get with her anyway. The type of woman boys went crazy over. The type of woman Meagan wasn’t. She knew her boyfriend would be staring at her. But that was the problem. Her boyfriend was no longer her boyfriend. He was now a she. And not even human. How was she supposed to deal with that.

Meagan looked away from the woman. She looked upon her former boyfriend, the emissary. Again, she felt a swelling in her chest. Even knowing the love she felt was fake didn’t stop her from feeling it. As her gaze passed over Mary’s arms and tail, ideas popped into her mind. Her face turned red and she looked away.

“Are you mad at me,” Mary asked.

“No, I’m not mad at you,” Meagan said. “How can I be mad at you? You didn’t do anything.” She took one of the snake woman’s four hands. She paused when she felt how soft and smooth the skin was. “You’re the most beautiful creature in the world. How can anyone be made at you?”

Mary blushed. “I know it’s the gods making you say that,” she said.

“Doesn’t make it any less true,” Meagan countered.

Mary’s blush darkened. She looked helplessly toward the beautiful woman.

“I know what she meant to say,” the woman said. “My name is Callingenia. And what Mary meant was that you should wait until you’re no longer near her. Then see if you still love her. A relationship founded on false love will not last.”

Meagan wanted to argue. But she knew Callingenia spoke the truth. A relationship full of lies will not work. She sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I still love her, even if it’s because of the gods.” She shuddered. “That just feels weird.”

“How is your mom going to take this,” Mary suddenly asked.

Meagan’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought about that. How was her mom going to take it? She was a very devout woman. Something like this may not go well with her. She didn’t think her mom would abandon her. Especially now.

“Don’t worry,” Mary said. “I can tell her you love me because of the gods. She can’t blame you if the gods change you, right?”

Meagan blushed at Mary’s words. The sudden rush of emotions they caused made her giddy. “Thank you,” she shyly said. “But I should be okay. Mom isn’t like that.”

“Excuse me,” Ardaniahna said. “But why is she worried about what her mother thinks?”

“Human mothers are sometimes strange,” Mary said after a moment. “While most do love their children, some of them put conditions on that love. In this case, we’re afraid that Meagan’s mother may be one of them. That she won’t love Meagan if Meagan is a lover of women.” Mary looked at her tail. “Well, female.”

“Are they mad,” the mermaid asked. “How could they turn their backs on their children for such a petty reason?”

The snake girl and human girl both shrugged their shoulders. They didn’t have an answer for that.

Callingenia cleared her throat. “Humans are fickle and strange,” she said once she had their attention. “They will change their minds for the silliest of reasons. For some parents, they care more for what their child can do than they care for the child itself.”

“That’s horrible! Why doesn’t somebody stop it?”

“We’re trying,” Mary said. “Unfortunately, too many ‘leading’ members of society think like that. And they don’t want anybody interfering with how they raise their children.”

“Not to mention the politicians,” Meagan said.

“Oh, yeah,” Mary said. “Can’t forget about them.”

“Politicians,” the mermaid asked. “Who are they?”

“They’re the people who officially run this country,” Callingenia said. “In reality, they maintain the status quo and line their pockets with money. Changes are made. But they’re cosmetic. Once you get past the surface, nothing’s changed.”

Meagan and Mary stared at the succubus. “Okay,” Mary said. “Meagan and I live here. So, why are you so upset with the politicians?”

“Did you know,” Callingenia began, “that this nation is the only one still using imperial measurements? Every other nation has switched to the metric system. That includes little tin pot dictators! And that’s because the politicians don’t want to change the school systems!”

“That sounds bad,” Ardaniahna said.

“It is,” Mary said. “But change is coming. They are starting to change the school system, slowly.”

“By change, you mean standardizing,” Meagan put in. “And by standardizing, you mean removing the things they don’t like.”

“I’d argue,” Mary said. “But you’re right.”

“What do you mean by that,” Callingenia asked.

“Well,” Mary said. “In history, they didn’t mention the Tuskegee Airmen. The only all black fighter squadron ever. They’re also the most decorated fighter squadron in U.S. history. And they only squadron to not lose a plane they were escorting.”

“Don’t forget the Wind Talkers,” Meagan said. “The Navaho Indians played a key part in World War II. They provided an unbreakable code for our forces in the Pacific. The Japanese could not decipher their native language.”

“Those are just two examples of things the government forgot to teach,” Mary said. “There are others. Some good, and some bad. Either way, we need to remember them.”

Callingenia smiled. “And that’s why you’ll make a great emissary. You’ll do everything in your power to make sure all are treated fairly. Including bringing up past mistakes and triumphs.”

“I thought my job was to get humanity ready for the return of the gods,” Mary said.

“But they’re not the only ones returning,” the succubus said. “Beings like me and Ardaniahna are also returning. Some never left. They just hid from humans. The Catholic Church declared every thinking being that wasn’t human an affront unto God.”

“That can’t be right,” Meagan said. “The Church couldn’t have done that. It represents God. Doesn’t it?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Callingenia said. “While people believe it does, the Church hasn’t represented God’s words for centuries. Too many greedy men have held positions of power in the Church. Don’t get me wrong, the Catholic Church has done many great deeds. But it has done some horrific ones as well.” She studied the teen girl for a moment. “I’ll tell you those later, if you wish it. For now, let us talk of something more pleasant.”

“We’re going to have to do something about your names,” Mary said after a moment.”

The succubus and mermaid looked at each other. Then turned toward Mary. “What about our names,” Ardaniahna asked.

“I’m going to tie my tongue in knots if I keep saying them,” Mary replied.

“Our names are not that hard to say,” Callingenia said flatly. “And I don’t think your tongue is that long. Most human tongues aren’t.”

“Well, I’m not human anymore,” Mary said. “And my tongue is that long. See?” She stuck her tongue out. Eighteen inches of muscle extended from Mary’s mouth. It was flatter than a normal human tongue and the last three inches were split into a fork. Callingenia blinked at the sight. Ardaniahna just looked. Meagan had a more surprising reaction.

Meagan slammed her legs together with a squeak. Her face turned red as she stared at Mary’s tongue. Suddenly she closed her eyes and shuddered. A low moan could be heard. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at the three females staring at her. Her face became even redder. “Excuse me,” she said. “But I think I’ll be going home now.”

Meagan stood up, keeping her legs together with her hands in front of her crotch. She carefully moved so that she didn’t show her back to any of the three. “I need to tell my mom what I heard,” she said. “I’ll come back when she’s decided what to do.” As soon as she cleared the door, she turned and hurried out the house.

“What got into her,” Mary asked.

“The gods really messed her up,” Callingenia said. “You two need to sit down and talk about this. You really need to discover all that they did to you.”

“Okay,” Mary slowly said. “But why did she rush off?”

The succubus stared at the half snake girl. “You can’t be that naïve,” she said. “If you really don’t know, ask your mother. Better yet, ask Meagan. That should get you two talking.”

The team arrived in America with no problems. Nor were they expecting any. They were from the Church. No one would dare purposely inconvenience them. They gathered their bags and gear, bypassed customs and entered two black SUVs. It was a pity there wasn’t an airport closer to their target. Even so, they expected to be on their way back to Rome in 72 hours.