As exhausted as I was, my sleep was broken. I kept getting my wings tangled in the sheets, lying on top of one, or finding a dozen other ways in which having a nearly twelve-foot wingspan could make for an uncomfortable sleep, especially in a smallish bedroom. At some point during the night, I threw off my covers and lay on my side. In that position, with my wings spread out behind me, I finally managed to sleep until the smell of coffee and frying bacon woke me.

I sat up in bed and tried to rub the sleep from my eyes, ignoring the protests from my stomach. There was a kink in my back from my various awkward sleeping positions during the night, and I stretched in an attempt to work it out. This, of course, caused my wings to unfurl and knock the lamp from my nightstand and several items off my desk, sending them to the floor with a crash. I heard hurried movement in the guest room across the hall, and a moment later, my door was thrown open to reveal Erin, still clad in the white mini dress from the night before and wearing a look of concern on her face. “Raven, are you okay?!” she blurted out as she looked at me from the doorway.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied tiredly while trying to give her a reassuring smile. “I’m just not used to these yet and knocked over my lamp. How are you this morning?”

“I guess I’m okay. I was a little confused when I woke up in a strange room, though. I would ask if last night really happened, but I can already see the answer to that question.” She came into the room properly then and sat on the foot of my bed. “How do they feel? Are they heavy?”

I shrugged, causing the appendages in question to move again. “They’re not really heavy,” I admitted after a moment’s thought. “It’s more because I’m not used to having the weight there, and it’s throwing off my balance a bit. They feel weird, kind of like having an extra pair of arms that I have no idea how to use. They’re kinda sensitive too.”

“Could I… touch them?” she asked before looking quickly away in what appeared to be embarrassment. “Never mind, you probably don’t even want to think about them right now, let alone have people pawing at them.”

“It’s kinda hard to ignore them, and I think I’m probably going to have them for the rest of my life, so I should probably try to get used to them.” I attempted another smile as I scooched across the bed to move closer to her, took her hand, and raised it to my right wing. “You’re my best friend, Erin. It's okay if you’re curious, I know that I would be if our positions were reversed.”

As I let go of her hand, she tentatively touched the black feathers. Uncertain, she looked to me for approval, and when I nodded, the tentative touch became a soft caress as she said in awe, “They’re so soft.” I shivered at the caress, and she quickly pulled her hand away. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine; it just feels weird having someone touch them. It’s kind of like a shiver running down my spine, but it’s not my spine.”

We sat there for a moment in silence as she stared at my wings and gently moved her hands along one. Suddenly, she broke out into a fit of giggles and said, “I guess your name is more appropriate than I thought.” I stared at her in confusion, wondering what exactly had set her off. It must have shown on my face because she was quick to explain. “Sorry, Raven. Do you remember when we first met, and I told you that I was trying to see Raven in you?”

I nodded slowly. “You said that everyone sees him differently because he’s a reflection of ourselves or something, and none of our friends could see me as a mischievous and selfish lecher. I may have the wings for it now, but I don’t think anything has changed up here,” I said, tapping my forehead.

“No, I think you’re still the same girl you were before, just with a few new additions. I also said that some people saw him as a magician, creator, and transformer, and you have been transformed by magic in a way.” She sighed as she stood up, suddenly serious. “We’re in over our heads right now, Raven. We both need to learn as much as we can and soon.”

“Hopefully, those PDA people can help us with that. Maybe they can get a Shaman to teach you,” I suggested hopefully.

She shook her head sadly. “I doubt it. Grandfather told me that Shamans of different tribes are usually competitive with one another, and they don’t trust outsiders. They don’t share their secrets with anyone but their successors. Hopefully, I can learn what I need to from my grandfather’s journals.”

“Where are the journals?” I asked as I tucked in my wings as best I could, got off my bed, and walked to my closet.

“Do you remember that old chest at the foot of my bed?” she asked. When I nodded, she went on to add, “Everything that my grandfather left me when he died last year is in that chest.”

“Good, that means you can start studying as soon as they bring our stuff here. Let’s find something to wear. I didn’t leave many clothes here when I left for school; it’s mostly summer stuff, but hopefully, we can find something that works. I don’t know about you, but I never want to see these costumes again.”

We managed to find a hunter-green ankle-length skirt and a cream-colored blouse that fit Erin fairly well, while I opted for a pair of tight jeans and an aquamarine halter top that didn’t bother my wings too much. Once we were dressed, we left my room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. The house didn’t have a dining room, but the open kitchen with its sky-blue painted walls and pine cupboards was just big enough for the round wooden table and its four matching chairs to fit comfortably and not be in the way while cooking.

Lydia was setting the table for breakfast as we arrived. “You two are just in time, breakfast is ready, and the MacArthurs just phoned to let us know that Alice should be here with the van in half an hour or so. I was about to come and wake you. How did you sleep?”

“I had some bad dreams, but the bed was very comfortable, thank you,” Erin replied.

“I was too tired to dream, I think,” I put in. “It was nice not to have nightmares for once. When I finally found a position that was comfortable for my wings, I slept like a log.” I took my seat at the table and looked at the breakfast in front of me with a smile. “Thanks, Lydia, you always make a great breakfast.” Erin sat down to my right while Lydia sat across from me, and we all ate in silence for a while, except for the occasional glass of juice breaking because I had gripped it too hard.

We were cleaning up after breakfast when I could finally stay silent no longer about something that Lydia had mentioned the night before. “You said last night that Imps get uncomfortable staying in a specific form for a long time?” I asked.

The Imp nodded. “Yes, dear, we get uncomfortable staying in specific forms for lengthy periods, though most of us have a type of form we prefer over others and that we are relatively comfortable in. It’s sort of a signature form, it’s never exactly the same twice, but usually with similar age, gender, species, and other variables.”

“Is that your preferred type of form?” I pressed. When she shook her head, I frowned at her. “You don’t need to pretend to be my elderly nanny anymore if it’s uncomfortable for you; I want you to be free to be yourself at home.”

“You might find my preferred form difficult to adjust to,” she said haltingly, with a slight shake of her head.

“You do realize that is only going to make us want to see it even more, don’t you?” Erin stated between bites of toast. “So, what is it? Some kind of Demon? Alien? Talking Platypus? Don’t leave us hanging here.”

Lydia rolled her eyes but raised her hands in surrender. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” Her features became fluid, and she seemed to shrink until finally, the flesh-colored blob resolved itself into an adorable little girl in a denim romper over a white t-shirt. She was maybe six or seven years old with big blue eyes, and her blonde hair was tied up in pigtails. Prominently displayed on the front of the romper in a white circle was a red hand displaying its middle finger; it was the last thing I had expected.

Apparently, Erin felt the same way. She just stared for a moment before finally managing to utter, “I… I think that you broke my brain.”

Little girl Lydia giggled and grinned at us. “I told you so.”

I think what threw me the most was that I knew this girl, and it made a lot of things suddenly make sense. “Lilly?” I asked in stunned awe. She looked too much like my childhood playmate for it to be any sort of coincidence. “But… she moved away when I was seven, and I never saw her again.”

Lydia looked down at the table and let out a weary sigh. “You won’t remember this, Raven, but when you were seven, one of your grandfather’s lackeys almost caught you and broke your seal. We were playing and left the safety of the wards. I was afraid I was going to lose you that day, so I felt it best not to risk it again, and so Lilly ‘moved away’, and I became more protective after that. You were very upset by the incident, and Alice’s mother, Lila, used her true voice to make you forget so you could have a normal childhood without knowing about Demons until you were ready.”

The meal was quiet after that while I tried to process what I had just been told as we all returned to eating breakfast. After a while, though, Lydia explained what would be happening next. “When you leave with Alice in the delivery van, her parents and the rest of their team will follow you in another vehicle while I keep watch from the air. In case of trouble, I’ve placed cans of para-mace in your purses as a last resort.”

“Para-mace?” I asked. “And how did you manage to get our purses? We forgot them at the party last night in all the confusion. I wouldn’t have been able to get into the house last night if I hadn’t remembered where we keep the spare key.”

“When I went to pick up your car last night, I went into the party disguised as you, to get your purses and tell your roommate that you and Erin were leaving,” she explained. “I couldn’t copy you perfectly, but it was good enough to fool a bunch of drunk university students. As for para-mace, it's like pepper spray, but for use against some of the nastier Paranormals; Vampires, Demons, Gremlins, rabid Werewolves, and the like. It contains garlic, vervain, sea salt, silver nitrate, holy water, and wolfsbane, and it’s enchanted with Divine magic to give it a little extra kick. It won’t do any permanent harm, but it hurts like hell to anything aligned with Death magic.”

“I’m part Demon, Lydia,” I pointed out. “What if I’m aligned to Death magic?”

“Try not to use the mace unless you have to,” she replied with a shrug. “Hopefully, today we’ll find out more about you, and that should give the PDA a baseline to work from.”

It was then that the doorbell rang. After looking through the peephole and making sure it was Alice, I opened the door to let her in. She was dressed in black leather combat boots, torn jeans, and a T-shirt displaying a heavy metal band logo with a black leather vest over top and a matching studded choker. Between that outfit, the piercings in her ears and eyebrow, her amber eyes, and wild green hair, she had a decidedly punk look that made my heart do strange things and fueled a warmth in my belly. “That’s… umm… a good look on you,” I rasped as I took her in, my throat suddenly dry.

Alice smiled at me as she waited by the door, damn she had such a nice smile. ~When you have green hair and golden eyes, people don’t give it another thought if you’re dressed like this. It sure beats dying my hair and wearing contacts.~

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Erin agreed as she handed me my purse, snapping me out of a daze. She already had hers in hand.

I nodded in agreement as I took a cautious peek out the front door. A worn-looking beige van was backed up to the garage door, as close to the house as Alice could manage, and I could see displayed on the side in faded lettering, Werehouse Imports and Exports. I quickly checked to make sure my keys were in my purse as we headed for the door that connected the house itself to the garage. They were there, and so was an unfamiliar metal can that I assumed was the para-mace Lydia had mentioned.

Feeling about as ready as I felt I was going to be, I led us into the garage and opened the door so the three of us could head out. “Werehouse… Funny name,” Erin said with a chuckle as she passed the van on the passenger side. “I wonder if it was intentional, or if it was just a typo and they ran with it.”

~It was intentional,~ Alice supplied with a grin as she opened the rear doors of the van for me. ~The founder of the company that the PDA uses as a front was a Werewolf. He figured that if we can’t laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?~ Once Erin had determined that nobody was looking our way, I quickly jumped inside the van through the open rear doors. When I was fully inside and settled on some cushions with my wings clear of the doors, Alice closed the doors behind me, and she and Erin made their way into the front seats.

The drive to the PDA headquarters was long and uneventful. We wound our way through the streets of the south shore of False Creek, over the Cambie Street Bridge, and then through downtown Vancouver until we reached our destination on the waterfront. The large warehouse was near the docks, with an attached office building and a sign matching the faded lettering on the van. “I have to admit, this is the last place I would look for a covert government agency,” I said as Alice backed the van up to the delivery entrance.

~The warehouse itself and the first floor of the office building are exactly what they appear to be,~ Alice’s musical mind voice noted as she turned off the engine. ~It’s a fairly profitable import/export business from what I’m told. In its official capacity, this warehouse and the office employ a large number of Paranormals, as well as normies who are in the loop. Also, some of the ‘imports’ are unusual or hard-to-find items that Paranormals need to live somewhat normal lives, or equipment for the PDA itself.~

“I guess the PDA uses the upper floors for the covert stuff then?” Erin asked uncertainly.

The Mermaid shrugged as she replied, ~Yes and no. The remaining floors are for PDA business. All registration and government services are located on the second floor, the third floor is dedicated to counseling and medical services, and the fourth floor is for helping Paranormals find employment and homes suited to their needs. The fourth floor is also where they recruit specialized Paranormals for emergency work. The real covert stuff, policing Paranormals and damage control when the normies see something they shouldn’t, goes on downstairs. There is a large complex beneath the warehouse and office building that contains the policing department, as well as training facilities, and special equipment for the PDA Hunters.~

Erin and Alice opened their doors and came around to the back to open the rear doors and ushered me into the busy warehouse. The Mermaid’s parents appeared to fall into step with us and guided us through the crates, workers, and occasional forklifts to a side door that led to the attached office building. That door led out to a small empty room, with only another door leading to the rest of the first floor and an elevator. Lila pressed the button for the elevator, and we all climbed inside, where she then swiped a key card and pressed the button for the basement level one.

“Normally, we have new Paranormals go upstairs to meet with our doctors and counselors and to get registered,” Alice’s father said, “but since you’re a special case, I’ve gotten the Chief’s permission to get it all done downstairs where things are a bit more secure. Only PDA Agents with key cards, or those accompanied by them, are allowed downstairs, and there are powerful wards against any sort of magical intrusion or extra-planar travel.”

“Umm… thanks… I think,” I responded uncertainly as I felt us begin to go down.

Once we were downstairs, we were led to an office with four desks, each with a computer, and one of which had various papers strewn across it. Alice’s father continued to explain, “Almost this entire floor is offices and the crime labs. The training facilities are downstairs, and we’ll take you there later to test you for any abilities and magic potential. This is our team’s office; I thought that you both would be more comfortable discussing things here until we get to the testing.”

“Is Alice part of your team, too?” Erin asked.

The Mermaid in question shook her head. ~No, but I do want to join a Hunter team someday, so I’m sort of a trainee. Also, Mom and Dad thought you both might be more comfortable with someone your age who has been through a sudden Manifestation. I only Manifested last year when I was eighteen. Usually, Merfolk Manifest between eleven and fourteen years old, when puberty starts. I had pretty much given up on it happening and planned on going to college. Then it happened while I was swimming with some human friends at the beach one night. We had to get a PDA Psychic in to rewrite their memories about me. I couldn’t really hang around my old normie friends anymore, they were not in the loop about Paranormals, and there would be too many questions about how I lost my voice and my sudden change in style.~

“I’m sorry that it had to happen to you that way,” I offered sympathetically to the now despondent-looking Mermaid, “but it’s nice to know that we’re not alone in this.”

“Yup, misery loves company and all that,” Erin agreed, putting an arm around both me and Alice.

Erin and I both got a photo taken and then took a seat while Alice helped us with the paperwork for our PDA registration cards, which we would be issued later in the day. While we were filling those out, we discussed with the MacArthurs the cover story the PDA would use when it went to collect our belongings. The plan we finally came up with was for two agents to go in, posing as Lydia and a mover. The one posing as Lydia would be a psychic, and she would telepathically reinforce the story they would give in the minds of our friends, deal with administration, and handle any other unexpected difficulties.

The story that the one posing as Lydia would tell our friends was that I had had a nervous breakdown and decided to quit school and go somewhere to get away from it all. That probably wouldn’t be all that surprising, given my nightmares recently and how I had suddenly fled the party. Erin had suggested her family cabin in the woods on Haida Gwaii and offered to stay with me until I was feeling better, with the idea that we could both return to school next year.

After that, Lydia sent us out on the first flight she could find and hired a mover to retrieve our things from the dorms. Erin and I also wrote handwritten notes to our respective roommates to add to the believability. It was hard for us to write those notes, hell this whole plan was hard to accept, but we also knew that it was necessary if we didn’t want our friends getting accidentally dragged into all this paranormal bullshit.

Once our story was set and the agents were on their way, one of the PDA psychological team was brought in to talk with us and see how we were coping. I found myself liking Dr. Maher immediately. The short and slightly chubby man with curly brown hair and brown eyes seemed very laid back and, dressed as he was in blue jeans and a simple emerald-colored t-shirt, seemed to prefer being comfortable to wearing a suit just to look professional.

Dr. Maher had a way of putting me at ease, and there was no doubt that he cared about his patients. When I mentioned that, he told me that Empaths can’t help but care about how others feel. Overall, he thought we were both adjusting as well as could be expected under the circumstances, but he advised us that he and other counselors were available on the third floor if we ever felt that we needed somebody to talk to. He also gave us his business card with his phone number and email address, in case we felt that need.

When Dr. Maher was finished with us, the MacArthurs escorted us to the crime labs and medical area, where a slim woman with greying brown hair and glasses was apparently waiting for us. She was dressed in a medium-length black skirt and powder-blue blouse with a lab coat over top, and she looked up from her computer as we entered and smiled, her eyes settling right on me. “Ah! You must be Nick and Siv’s daughter! I’d recognize those wings anywhere!” She hopped off her stool and slithered over to enthusiastically shake my hand. I thought at first that my eyes were playing tricks on me, but there was definitely a snake’s tail under that skirt instead of legs.

Noticing the direction of my stare, the woman chuckled good-naturedly. “Forgive me, dear, I forgot that you must be new to all of this. It gets uncomfortable maintaining a human form all the time, so a lot of us here work in our natural forms if possible, unless we’re out on an assignment.” She seemed to grow taller as her tail split, brown scales fading to the natural olive color of her skin as the two halves of her tail became legs.

“I am never going to get used to that,” Erin muttered beside me.

Jake laughed at that but assured us, “You will in time, but it does take a while. Girls, I would like you to meet Dr. Sylvia Jennings. Sylvia, as you guessed, this is Raven Demarco and her friend, Erin Ross.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Jennings. Did you know my parents?” I asked as I thought over what she had said.

“As well as I’ve known any of the Hunters working here,” she replied. “I’m the one who patches up all the injuries our people get out in the field. I never had to do much with your parents, though. Siv was pretty resilient, and Nick had that Demon regeneration of his.”

I hoped that this woman could tell me at least a little about my parents. “You said that you recognized my wings. Did one of my parents have wings like this?”

“Don’t be silly, your mother’s wings were white,” the doctor answered with a casual laugh. “I recognize your wings because I was there when you were born. Let me tell you, those wings, even though they were relatively small at the time, did not make your birth easy for poor Siv. She took it like a champ, though. She had a feeling that you were Manifested in the womb, and she knew that meant there was a possibility that you had wings, but she still delivered you naturally.”

Dr. Jennings then took me to the examination room and had me undress and change into a paper gown. Once I was changed and sitting on the examining table, she came into the room with a clipboard. “I’m going to give you a brief physical, and once I’m done with you, Jake and Lila will take you downstairs for more thorough testing while I examine your friend. I usually use this room to patch up injured Hunters, but I have everything that I’ll need here to examine you.” I nodded mutely and let her get to work.

She began with all the usual stuff: reflexes, blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, and checking the eyes, ears, and mouth. After finishing the gynecological exam, she went on to ask if I had been having any troubles or if anything had felt wrong since the seal had broken, other than having wings. The only thing that I could really think of was the fact that I didn’t seem to know my own strength. I had shattered three glasses at breakfast that morning, just trying to pick them up for a drink, and considered myself very fortunate that I hadn’t cut my hand or something. I had also snapped more than a dozen pens in half while trying to fill out my PDA paperwork before Alice took over writing for me.

Finally, the Lamia finished the examination, well, most of it, and smiled at me. “Well, Raven, you seem to be in very good health. Your canines are larger and sharper than a normal human’s, but that’s not too surprising given your mixed physiology. I’m also concerned about your weight; you’re about 20 kilos heavier than you should be at your size, even taking your wings into account. Now, I’m going to try to take some blood, so we can run some tests on it. I want to make sure that you don’t have any genetic defects due to your mixed parentage.”

“I hate needles,” I muttered and closed my eyes as she moved the offending object toward my arm.

“Well, I guess that’s one question answered,” I heard the doctor mutter. I opened my eyes to see that the needle she was holding was bent. “Damn, that was one of my good tungsten needles. Just a moment, Raven, I’ll need to find one of my enchanted ones.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked as she searched through a metal cabinet.

“Your skin is too tough for the needle to penetrate,” the doctor replied as she found what she was looking for in a drawer and turned back to me. “It’s not surprising; Siv’s skin couldn’t be penetrated by much except enchanted weapons. The only times I ever saw her in here were when there was magic involved or some sort of internal injury like broken bones or a concussion.” She jabbed me with the new needle and managed to get it to pierce my skin.

When she figured she had enough blood, she pulled out the needle and carefully watched the wound. “Hmmm,” she murmured, “I need to test something else. This might sting a bit, but I’m going to use one of my enchanted scalpels to make a small incision in your upper arm. Is that alright with you? You can close your eyes if it makes it easier.” I nodded my consent and closed my eyes tightly. A moment later, I felt a sharp sting in my arm followed by a tingling sensation. When I finally opened my eyes, Dr. Jennings was wiping a little bit of blood off my arm with a disinfectant wipe. “It seems that you got something from your father other than those claws and teeth after all.”

I looked over my unmarked arm in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Most Demons have a form of high-speed regeneration, it's part of what makes them so difficult to kill, their wounds heal very quickly. Your father had it, and it seems that you do too. I don’t think that you heal quite as fast as Nick did, or full-blooded Demons do, but it’s pretty damn close. That, combined with your mother’s hard skin, is going to make you damn hard for anything to hurt or kill.”

I gaped at the older woman in shock. “Are you saying I’m indestructible?”

The question caused Dr. Jennings to laugh as she replied, “Hardly. Your parents both shared a vulnerability to magic and enchanted weapons. There are probably quite a few things that can hurt you, and I doubt, even with that regeneration, you’d live through something like decapitation. Still, you’ll be able to take quite a bit of damage if my guess is right. And as sharp and strong as Demon claws tend to be, you should be able to give as good as you get.”

“Oh,” I replied, not sure whether I was relieved or disappointed. “Are there any other tests you need to do?”

“No, I think I’ve got everything that I need from you. You can get changed while I take this blood sample to the boys in the lab for analysis. Please send Erin in on your way out and ask her to get changed into a gown.” She smiled at me as she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Once I was back in my clothes and Erin was in the room awaiting her exam, the MacArthurs led me back to the elevator, where we went down to the sub-basement. ~This may take a while,~ Lila said to her husband as we stopped at a door to the right. ~Did you want to take Alice to the shooting range for a bit? It’s a good chance for her to get some practice in.~

Jake nodded. “True, we don’t all need to be in there, and Alice and I don’t get to practice together much. We’ll come to join you once we get tired of putting holes in things. Come on, Alice; let’s see if you’ve improved any since last time.”

~Sure, Dad, that sounds like fun.~ She turned and waved as she and her father went further down the hallway. ~Good luck, Raven.~

I found myself a little disheartened that she wouldn’t be coming in there with me, probably because I felt like she could understand what I was going through, but I waved back. “See you later, Alice.” It was probably for the best anyway, since I found that my eyes kept being drawn toward the pretty Mermaid, and she might end up being a distraction while I was being tested if she did join us.

I turned my attention back to her mother instead of watching Alice walk away down the hall like I really wanted to. Lila opened the door and held it open for me with a smile as she said, ~Let’s go see what you’re made of.~