by Saless
Chapter 78

"So why did you call them to you?" Mike asked suspiciously, still shielding the others from her.

"I didn't! Sometimes when I'm angry or scared they just appear, I don't have any control over it!" Tiffany hastily replied.

She's telling the truth. They're designed to react to her emotions as much as her thoughts. It allows for a shorter reaction time in a crisis. It's probably just as well she doesn't have a Shadow Sword, as it does the same thing. Vash said.

"Shadow Sword? That wouldn't be a curved sword that changes to a flat black when I touch it, would it?" Tiffany asked.

Yes, it would. You must not have used it in battle yet. If you had, it would come to your hand instead of the knives when you're scared, as it is more useful for defense. What other Shadowkin artifacts did you find? Vash replied.

"Well, there's the ring, this amulet," Tiffany began, pulling a black diamond amulet out of her shirt, "the sword, four knives, bracers," she pulled her sleeves up to reveal them, "and a cloak."

Vash just stared at her for a moment before saying, That's just about every kind of Shadowkin artifact that I've ever heard of! Besides coming to your hand when needed, the Shadow Sword also guides your hand and drains the energy from your enemy when you strike them. That energy is transferred into you. You already know what the Shadow Blades do. The Knock Ring can open any lock, even a magical one. It also allows you to pass through any kind of magical barrier or shield. The bracers will protect you from physical harm. The pendant amplifies your abilities and accelerates their growth. The cloak masks any sounds that you make and also prevents you from leaving tracks. All of these objects are undetectable by most magical means.

"I guessed that last part. When Sarah was practicing that detect magic spell nothing I had glowed except for a ring I retrieved from the second wizard." Tiffany said.

Where is that ring? Vash asked.

"It's back in my apartment with the rest of my stuff." Tiffany said.

I should take a look at it before you try to use it. Vash said.

"Wait a minute, you said your ring glowed, right?" Jill said. Tiffany nodded. "But none of us saw it glow besides Sarah!"

It's part of being a Shadowkin. They can sense certain kinds of magic, like detection spells. In this case it allows her to experience the detect magic spell the same way that Sarah does. Vash explained.

Erica was getting impatient with all the magic talk, as she was more concerned with how Tiffany dealt with John. "So what happened after you found John?" she asked.

"I was angry and scared and wanted to stop him, and suddenly there was one of the throwing knives in my hand. I didn't even think about the fact I didn't have any of them with me at the time, I just threw it at him. Amazingly, it hit him right in the middle of his back. He staggered and tried to grab the knife. I felt this weird connection to it, and I pulled on that and the knife reappeared in my hand. Then he passed out on top of Sarah. I was just about to try and drag him off when Mike arrived in wolf form, so I ran away." Tiffany replied.

"Why did you run away?" Mike asked, surprised that he hadn't seen or smelled her.

Tiffany shrugged, "I was scared. I was pretty sure I'd just killed someone, after all. And I did." She said the last in a small voice, her eyes glued to the floor.

"Oh Tiffany, I'm sorry!" Sarah cried, rushing around the table to hug her startled friend.

"You're sorry? For what?!" Tiffany exclaimed.

"That's twice now you've had to kill someone to protect me! That must be horrible for you!" Sarah said with tears running down her face.

Tiffany's face was similarly wet as she asked, "You don't hate me?"

Sarah pulled far enough away to say, "Of course not!" before hugging her again. They cried on each other's shoulders for a few minutes before they separated.

"Why?" Tiffany finally said when she found her voice.

"Why what?" Sarah asked.

"Why don't you hate me?" Tiffany replied.

"Because you're my friend. Because my change really was impossible by normal means, so your curiosity was understandable. Because you saved me from John. Lots of reasons." Sarah replied.

"Not the least of which being that she doesn't know how to hate anybody!" Erica said with a smile for her fiancé. Sarah blushed and shrugged.

Now we need to talk about the man who's threatening Tiffany. How are we going to deal with him? Vash said.

Mike shrugged, "We don't know much about him, yet. We don't even know if he's a policeman, private investigator, or something else. I think we'd have to find that out before we could really make any plans."

They all looked at Tiffany at that, but she shook her head, "No, that won't work. He knows about me, and already spotted me at least once. He'd know right away if I tried to spy on him."

"That leaves Vash and Mike, then." Jill said.

"Mike? I understand why Vash could spy on him without getting caught, but why Mike?" Erica asked.

Jill glanced at Mike and he transformed into a snake. Then a mouse, squirrel, and finally back to human. "He picked up some smaller forms." Jill said unnecessarily.

I think it will have to be me, as I can delve into his mind as well as observing his actions. Vash said.

"So what do the rest of us do?" Sarah wondered.

"I don't think there's much we can do until we know more. We don't even have his name yet. And we have more important business to deal with today, anyway." Jill replied.

"Oh, that." Sarah said.

"Yes, that! We're not going to forget about that, you need to confront your parents!" Erica said.

"What about me?" Tiffany asked hesitantly.

Jill had retrieved a clean fork and was fishing the bacon out of the grease when she said, "Take a seat and eat breakfast with us!"

Tiffany glanced at the four sided table with its four chairs and wondered where she thought she was going to sit! "Sarah, your seat's right here!" Erica called out from one chair, pointing at her lap. "There, now there's room for everyone!" she said happily once Sarah had settled into her lap. Tiffany smiled at her and took a seat. Vash jumped over to her lap, as Sarah's shoulder was becoming a more awkward perch to reach the table from.

Mike helped Jill carry everything over to the table and they started eating. Tiffany was overwhelmed by how easily they were all accepting her presence there. Mike made sure she had plenty to eat, since Vash was swiping his own meal off of her plate. She just smiled down at him, as he looked so cute doing that!

They ate in silence, all thinking about their various problems. Sarah was getting quiet as she thought about her upcoming confrontation with her parents, and Erica was feeding them both.

Tiffany insisted on helping with the dishes after breakfast. She and Mike washed the dishes while the others tried to keep Sarah's spirits up. "I'm going to have to pretend that I'm still following you guys when you go to see Sarah's parents, aren't I?" Tiffany said as they worked.

"We won't have time to get the information we need and figure out how to deal with him before we have to leave, so I guess so. Do you think he'll follow us to Sarah's parents' place?" Mike said.

Tiffany shrugged, "I don't know. I've only talked to him once. If he does I won't be able to join you in the house without hiding myself."

"That might be for the best, anyway. They know all of us, but they don't know you. You and Vash can stay hidden unless you're needed. It's always nice to have backup." Mike said.

Jill popped her head in and said, "I'm going to go let Vash out so he can spy on our spy. I'll go over to the apartment and bring something back so he doesn't know why I'm really opening the door." Mike nodded and she left.

"Do you really think we can convince him to leave Sarah alone?" Tiffany asked as they were putting the last dishes away.

"We'll find a way." Mike replied confidently. He thought it was interesting that Tiffany seemed more concerned for Sarah than for herself. He considered asking her about it, but decided they had enough on their plate at the moment!