Spelled Innocents
By Shrike

This story is a sequel to Spelled Racist, it is advisable to read that story first.
It is posted on:
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/fiction/15591/spelled-racist
http://www.fictionmania.tv/stories/readhtmlstory.html?storyI...
http://storiesonline.net/s/55474

As I stood in front of the building where I was going to have my interview at the law firm of Bascomb, Hanner & Trevelyn, I thought back at how I had gotten here. After having been changed from a white racist boy into a beautiful Chinese girl, I managed to find a new life and family and finish my college with a law degree. I smiled, thinking back to my graduation day. My good friend Cassie, with her fiancée Brett had been there as well as Helen, another friend that helped me out of a jam then. I remembered everything clearly, it helps if you have a Eidetic memory. I could recall everything perfectly.

**^**

I threw my cap in the air just like all the others before I walked over to where my friends Cassie and Helen were waiting. I told Cassie, “I don’t have the money yet, but I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

Cassie responded, “No need for that Xia. It is my graduation gift to you. If you hadn’t done so well I would have asked for it back, but you performed even better than I expected.”

“But Cassie, I can’t accept this. It is too much. Please let me pay you back.”

Cassie smiled, “I don’t have to worry about my financial situation. You need the money, so just indulge me in helping a good friend.”

I hugged her, “Thank you so much Cassie, I’ll never forget this.”

**^**

A horn blaring on the street took me out of my reverie. I looked at my watch, it was nearly time for me to go in. I hadn’t taken any Catataxin, the anti magic drug, today as I felt fine, and wasn’t bothered too much with my power. Catataxin was invented to help people being bothered with magic use to get relief, but it was also to keep criminals that used magic in line and it even protected people mostly Federal Bureau of Magic officers safeguarded against magic users.

I was very confident about this job interview. Of course my precognitive power had something to do with that as well. It showed me two outcomes, but the one in which I got the job was much clearer.

I waited for several minutes on a plush seat before being admitted to Mr. Hanner himself. I hadn’t expected to be interviewed by one of the partners in person. I did know that the firm wasn’t that big. But it was highly praised and prestigious. He shook my hand and pointed to a plush seat, while he didn’t sit down himself, but went to a table behind another seat. I couldn’t see what was on it, but I thought I clearly heard, “Maybe you would like something to drink?”

I answered him, “Yes, may I have a tea please.”

He turned around and looked at me strangely, before preparing the tea behind the seat’s back. Then he put two cups on the table between us. He sat down and asked, “So, Miss Wu. I see that you just graduated from Tulane. Tell me why I should hire you?”

In my clear voice I answered, “Well, I finished top in my class and can offer a lot to the firm. I’m a hard worker and have already done an internship with a small law firm in New Orleans.”

“Yes of course, but all the law graduates that apply here have that. What sets you apart from them?”

I started talking about my accomplishments during my internship, and soon we got into a discussion. Then I thought I heard him say, “I don’t know why I should hire you. You’re a good looking girl, but the practice needs more than just a pretty face.”

I answered, “You’re right of course, you don’t only need a pretty face. And I’m not just that. I have an eidetic memory and can think quickly on my feet.”

Mr. Hanner looked strangely at me, and before he opened his mouth I thought I heard him say, “Maybe there is more to you than meets the eye.”

I nodded, “Yes Mr. Hanner. There is more to me than meets the eye. I have already proven that I’m good at what I do. It would be bad for your business if I were hired by a competitor.”

Now I knew that he did speak, “Damn it, you don’t even give me a chance to ask my question. You already know what I’m going to ask. Are you psychic or something? Are you reading my mind?”

Only now I realized what had happened. I was unconsciously using my precognitive power and knew what he was going to say before he said it. I sagged into my chair feeling so down. I even started to cry a little. Mr. Hanner got up and sat down next to me. “I’m sorry Miss Wu. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I quickly dried my tears, “I’m so sorry Mr. Hanner. I’m not reading your mind. It’s just that I have a magic power. I’m a precognitive. And I also have a weak whisper power, though it is just enough to make people feel at ease and get them to talk to me.” I smiled meekly, “It comes in handy at times.”

Mr. Hanner smiled at me, “Why didn’t you tell me before? I also don’t see it mentioned in your resume.”

“I don’t feel proud of it, and I even try to suppress it. My precog power is more like a curse mostly.”

Mr. Hanner stood up and started pacing. “Miss Wu, I am going to be frank with you. I do like your resume and how you handle yourself. But I would have appreciated more honesty. You should have told me of your magic powers.”

I looked down to the floor. ‘There went my chance of working with this firm, but my precog power still showed me a bright path that I would work here. How is that possible?’

Mr. Hanner sat down again, “But I feel that your talents and power might be an asset in the company, so I’m going to offer you the job.”

My face lit up in joy. I almost couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Then again, my power had showed me that, hadn’t it? I shouldn’t doubt it.

He continued, “But I do have some issues that I want to make perfectly clear. First of all, unless you announce it before court, you can’t use your powers in an official capacity. You may use it to help you in your cases, though I don’t want to know about it. Do you have medicine against your power just in case there are objections for you having that ability?”

I nodded, “Yes, I have a prescription for Catataxin. Sometimes my power gives me headaches or causes too much burden in showing so many outcomes of all decisions that I can’t stand it. I always have some pills with me.” With that, I showed him my medicine.

He examined it for a moment, and then gave it back to me. “Another point is punctuality. We like our people to be on time at all times. Now a third point is that we have a dress code here. You do look great and what you’re wearing now is perfect.” I looked at my business attire, which consisted of a dark gray skirt, a cream-white blouse and dark gray jacket matching the skirt.

Meanwhile he continued, “But you are expected to wear something like this all the time. Maybe a little more heel would be better.” Now I looked down at my shoes. Mine only had a 1 inch heel, but I had several shoes with higher heels.

“You can wear tasteful pants when the weather or the situation, like going to a client outdoors for instance, demands it. In all other times you are expected to dress like you’re going appear before the Supreme Court.”

I nodded, ‘Well that won’t be a problem.’ Ever since I changed and lived with my adoptive family Hsu, I wore almost exclusively skirts and dresses. It sometimes drove my adoptive sister Kathy nuts. She wanted me to wear more pants, but some part of the programming of the spell was still intact, making me dislike pants.

Mr. Hanner sort of ticked things of on a virtual list in his head I think, as he cocked his head and said, “I want to talk about something else. I hope you don’t find it too intimate or too inquisitive but I need to know what I’m getting. I need to know your personal status. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but of course it will make things harder for you to get accepted in the firm.”

I nodded to him again, I had a feeling what he wanted to know. He asked, “So, what can you tell me about your personal status?”

I thought back to what had happened a few years back.

**^**

After my change into a girl, I had been forced to like men. Papa Bob had lifted the more devious curses, but it still left me with a high sexual attraction to men. Unfortunately, I didn’t want any sexual relations due to my experiences. But as I became more frustrated, I had decided to try a relationship.

I had met a nice good looking boy named Jed Bointon on campus. On the second date we started kissing and one thing led to another. Soon we were at his place and we started to undress ourselves as we continued kissing. I had to admit that he was skilled at seducing women. He kissed my body all over and made me ready for him as I ever was. But then as he started climbing on top of me, I had a vision. ‘I saw Jed getting worked up very quickly and ejaculate inside me without satisfying me. I would yell that I hadn’t come, and he would just shrug and lay next to me.’ So just as Jed was about to put his dick inside me, I stopped him.

“Jed, this isn’t going to work. You’re going to fuck me and you won’t care if I am satisfied or not.” I saw he wanted to protest, “No, don’t try to say otherwise. I have seen it with my precognitive power.” I pushed him away and put my clothes back on. I was really disappointed, I had wanted to get laid, but my precog power was now making it impossible. ‘Damn! I hate my power sometimes, especially when it is so powerful.’ Jed was really flustered and put off. I said my goodbye, and knew that he would never bother to ask me out again.

Later I talked to Kathy about what had happened. She tried to console me, but I sulked for a several days. I did try a few more dates, but I never let them get that far again. I already saw that I would be disappointed. And I was to blame for most of them. I just didn’t want to go through such an experience again.

I took some Catataxin to deaden my power and had a nice evening out with a young man, but when we started to make out I didn’t feel the attraction or the need for having sex. It appeared that the Catataxin deadened my feelings and senses as well. We did have sex on a date later, but it wasn’t that enjoyable for me.

After that I resigned myself to limit myself to a vibrator and never to have someone special in my life. Kathy felt sorry for me and tried to hide her dating from me. She only started dating again after several years in therapy. She had gotten over the rape she had endured, and now had a steady boyfriend.

**^**

I snapped out of my reverie to answer Mr. Hanner’s question. I sighed, “I found that my power is interfering with having relationships. I guess I’ll never have someone close to me. I’ll probably always stay alone.”

Mr. Hanner smiled, “Never say never. There might be someone special for you out there. But for the moment that is good news for me.”

There was a knock on the door to his office and the secretary, whom I had seen outside, entered. She gave an envelope to Mr. Hanner with, “You were expecting this Mr. Hanner.”

He said to me, “I’m sorry Miss Wu. Do you mind if I …”

I smiled, “No, go right ahead.”

He opened the envelope forcefully and pulled out a file folder. I couldn’t see what was inside but Mr. Hanner started reading and flipping through some pages. Then I got another vision. In a flash I saw myself looking distraught at something Mr. Hanner asked me. I found it most disturbing so I asked, “Does that folder have something to do with me, Mr. Hanner?”

He looked up from the folder. “Very perceptive Miss Wu, or is this another vision that you had.”

I looked guiltily at him, “Yes it is. I saw that I will be very distraught by something you are going to ask me.”

He thought for a moment, “Right then, I’ll ask you straight. I had a background check done on you. Don’t be alarmed, we do it for all our new perspective employees and clients. But it appears that you didn’t exist until 3 years ago. Care to tell me where you were before then, are you maybe illegally in the country?”

I looked distraught, just like in my vision. The truth had caught up with me. I pursed my lips, “Mr. Hanner, since you have been so frank to me I’ll tell you. But only if you promise that it will stay between us.” I could see him frown, but he kept quiet. “I’m telling you this in confidence, since I was asked by the FBM not to divulge information on what happened. I used to be a young man going to college on a football scholarship. But I got set up for rape on a college girl. I was acquitted from the charges, but the father of the victim, in a rage of anger, hired someone to put a spell on me as revenge. In short, I got changed into the young woman that I am today. Since then I found out who the real rapist was and have been adopted by that girl’s family as compensation for what had been done to me.”

Mr. Hanner looked at me without saying anything. It lasted several minutes before he finally moved and said, “I see, that does explain a lot. You are right to keep this information secret. I do know about a few cases involving magic gender change, fortunately. I can’t go into that now, but I understand your situation. Including that you were living with the family Hsu, who paid most of your expenses. Only the tuition of your college degree was paid by someone else.”

I smiled, “Yes, during my days of hardship I met a good friend. She’s been very helpful and offered to pay me the tuition. I wanted to refuse, but she insisted.”

“That must be some good friend you have there.”

I smiled thinking of Cassandra. “The best, she’s a lawyer too, but she lives in New Orleans.”

Mr. Hanner got up from his seat, “Well, I have seen and heard enough.” He extended his hand and I shook it. He continued, “Welcome to the company. You start on Monday morning early. We always have a meeting on Monday morning 8.00. I’ll introduce you and another new employee starting here on Monday.”

I was outside the building before I knew it and was exhilarated. I had a job! Then I remembered that I still had to look for a place to live. I had marked several choices from a newspaper and made my choice with my precog power, sensing what would be the best and most affordable for me.

About an hour later I inspected the spacious room in my new boarding house. It was good and the landlady was nice. I signed the lease and since it was already furnished, I plopped down on the sofa. I called my adopted sister Kathy first with the news. “Kathy? Hi, it’s me Xia. I just wanted to let you know that I got the job and found a room.”

Kathy squealed in excitement. “I’m so happy for you. So when are you going to invite me? I’d love to see your new place.”

“Well, it is furnished, but I think it is better after next week. This way I can get some work done first.”

Kathy agreed and we chatted for a few moments more before I ended the conversation. I wanted something to eat. Of course I didn’t have any food yet, though I did have a small kitchen with a fridge. A close inspection showed that it was totally empty. But shopping would have to wait. First I wanted to call Cassie with the good news.

Cassie was thrilled as well, but said that she was too busy to come up to Baltimore in the immediate future. I teased her a little, saying, “Yeah right, busy with a certain specimen of the male species I think.” She was quiet for a moment, and I think she was glad that I couldn’t see her blush. Now being African American she doesn’t blush very visibly as well. Then she changed the subject and asked about my amorous adventures. Darn it, she knows I don’t like relationships due to my power. We chatted for several minutes but said our goodbyes quite quickly.

As it was only Friday I went out for some shopping and ate at a Chinese restaurant. The waitress didn’t seem surprised when I ordered in Chinese but when I was specific about some choices she looked at me with surprise. Later I began to acquaint myself with my surroundings. I had never been in this city before. On Saturday I slept in, then went out shopping again. I bought a few more business suits for myself, and anxiously awaited the arrival of my moving truck. They were on time, fortunately. The rest of the day, as well as Sunday I was busy hanging all my clothes, which consisted mostly of dresses and skirts with nice blouses and some coats into my closets.

I only had two pairs of pants in my collection. I knew it was another result of the spells that changed me. I liked wearing dresses and skirts. Sunday evening I made a light dinner and read in the newspaper that I had bought. The paper had several stories about some strange mishaps that were contributed to illegal magic use. The authorities didn’t know what to think of it and since the consequences hadn’t been that severe, the FBM were only now getting involved. They didn’t give any comment yet, but the author of the article speculated that someone or a small group of people were testing out newly gained powers.

Monday morning started not so good. I woke up with a headache from my precognitive power and took some Catataxin to relieve my pain and discomfort. Then I had to use an umbrella. Normally the weather is magically regulated. It was supposed to rain only at night, but somehow a big rain cloud had managed to intrude on the Baltimore sky. The morning news on the radio suggested that it was yet another use of illegal magic.

The streets were quite wet and there were puddles everywhere. I was just across the street of my new work when I had to juggle my briefcase, the umbrella and press the button to cross the street. As I was trying to do all of that, a car raced by on the street, hitting a puddle and soaking me from top to toe. I was, all at the same time, embarrassed, furious, disappointed and down. If I’d had a real power then and there, the driver would’ve been very sorry.

Out of habit I looked the way the car had been going and to my dismay the car had stopped and the driver got out. ‘Good, now I can vent my anger on him.’ The man quickly ran over to me, already saying, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice you until the last moment. Are you all right?”

I couldn’t utter a single word from shock. I was flabbergasted, shocked to the core of my being and happy all at once. I recognized him immediately. He was my younger brother, Gordon. He looked me over, “I’m so sorry to get you all wet. Please say something Miss eh…”

Automatically I answered, “Wu. Wu Xia is my name.”

He quickly said, “Miss Wu, I’m really sorry, I would like to help you, but I’m pressed for time. I have to be somewhere. Here is my card, please have everything cleaned at my expenses. It’s the least I can do.”

I still couldn’t utter anything intelligent. Here I was in my body, that of an attractive Chinese girl standing before my own brother who didn’t and couldn’t possibly recognize me. I had missed him so much and now that I had found him again I couldn’t even find anything to say to him. I couldn’t even come up with some cuss words or something stupid. ‘I can’t just blurt out “Hi little brother,” now can I?’

Before I knew it, I was standing there with his card in my dainty hand as he got back into his car and sped away at a breakneck speed. Only now did I come to my senses. ‘I just missed my chance to say hello to my brother. Well I do have his card, maybe I can call him. And say what? Hi I’m your older brother, I’ve changed a bit since you last saw me? I can’t do something like that. It was nice to see him again though.’

I got roused from my thoughts by two older ladies approaching me. One said, “Oh my dear, we watched the whole thing, why don’t you come with us to see if we can get you dry. You should’ve yelled and cursed that man for doing something like that to you, you know?”

I smiled at the ladies, “I was just too surprised, sorry.”

The other woman said, “No need to be sorry, I’m Abigail and this is Susan. Come with us to the shop please and get those wet clothes off.”

I saw that I had little choice, so I followed the two ladies to a small clothes shop. They told me to strip out of my wet clothes. They offered to clean and dry them. As I stripped out of my clothes I asked them, “How long will that take?”

Susan answered, “About an hour or an hour and a half.”

I cried, “That’s too long. I’ve got to be on time at my new job.” I looked at my watch and exclaimed, “Shoot I’m already going to be too late.”

Abigail looked at me, “I think I have something that you can wear in the meantime. We made a dress for a customer who didn’t want it anymore. She was about your size, so you could wear it till you get back here. Your clothes will be dry and waiting for you then.”

I contemplated the offer for a second. It was the best solution at the moment. “Okay then. I think I need some dry underwear too. But I’ll buy it, if I still have a job that is.”

Susan hushed me, “I’m sure that you will. Now here is some underwear. Abby, get the dress will you?”

I went into a dressing room with the packaged underwear. I quickly stripped my panties and bra and ripped the packages open. I was stunned to see the delicate French cut underwear. They were way too nice to wear for work. However I didn’t have any choice but to put them on, so I did. As I stepped out of the dressing room the women were already waiting for me with a long blue dress. Draped on Abigail’s arm it already looked nice. When I put it on it fit me like it had been made for me. I did think that it was a bit long as the hem almost touched the floor. But I wasn’t wearing shoes or anything yet. Susan said, “I know it’s a bit long, but it’s supposed to be worn with a petticoat. However I don’t think that would be practical at work, so we didn’t include it now.”

I admired myself in the mirror and I looked fantastic in the dress. I could imagine how I would look with a petticoat under the skirt. I would love to wear something like this on a party. I turned back to the women, “I can’t accept to wear this beautiful dress to work. Don’t you have something else?”

Susan smiled at me, “Sorry but this is all we have at the moment in your size. We don’t make clothing that much anymore. We can’t compete against the new shops that use magic to make clothing. We still do it the old fashion way. And we would love to have you wear it. It looks so good on you, like it was made for you.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I did look stunning in it. I capitulated, “Okay, but only today. I’ll be back as soon as I can to pick up my dry clothes.”

Abigail nodded. “Of course dear, now fix your makeup and get going. You said you were going to be late right?”

I looked at my watch again, “Yes, you’re right.” I quickly fixed my makeup, and with matching blue pumps and a borrowed coat I scooted out the door towards the office. The guard at the door held me up even longer and I was sweating bullets looking at the time. Finally I reached the floor and hung up my coat. Caleigh, the secretary, looked at me with a pained expression, then looked at the clock. I whispered, “I know, I know. Where is everyone?”

Caleigh pointed to the meeting room, “The meeting already started, maybe you can slip in.”

I opened the door very slowly and carefully. As I did I heard, “And we have two new people. I would like to introduce Benton Nevins.” Some people started clapping while I slipped through the door and saw everyone sitting at the table except for a young man who was standing looking around. ‘I guess that is Benton Nevins then.’ Then I looked at Mr. Hanner, who scowled, looking directly at me.

I got frightened. ‘He did mention that we were expected to be punctual.’ I swallowed and just tried to go to an empty seat as inconspicuously as I could.

However Mr. Hanner put a stop to that. “The other new employee is Miss Xia Wu, who just managed to join us here in the meeting.” Now all the eyes were focused on me and I felt my cheeks blush fiery red. The people started clapping again, while I just stood there like a deer caught in headlights. As quickly as I could, I sat down on an empty chair and listened as the meeting went on. They quickly discussed ongoing projects and went on with new ones. Then they assigned new projects to the various people and Mr. Hanner said, “I will assign Mr. Decker to take Mr. Nevins under his wing. I will personally guide Miss Wu in her work here.”

After that the meeting was adjourned and everyone started leaving the room. Mr. Hanner said, “Miss Wu, please stay seated.” When everyone else had left, he closed the door and sat next to me. “Miss Wu, I did tell you that I expect people to be on time. And we talked about the dress code as well. Not only were you late for the meeting, you show up in a party dress that is hardly the attire I expect from any of my staff at work.”

I really was depressed now. I already thought that I would lose my job before it even had begun. I started crying softly. Mr. Hanner gave me a hanky and asked, “Why don’t you tell me why you were late?”

I started with a wavering voice, “I was on time below on the street, when a car sped past me and hit a puddle. I was soaked after that. Some women from a nearby clothes shop loaned me this dress, so I could still get to work dressed in something dry. I’m sorry that I’m not dressed in the right attire, but my suit is soaked and won’t be dry for at least another hour.”

Mr. Hanner lifted my chin, so I had to look at him. “So that was you down there? I saw that scene and felt sorry for the woman who was so unfortunate to get splashed. From up here I didn’t recognize you.” He smiled, “I’m not going to fire you anyway. I just was a bit disappointed in your tardiness. But I can understand how you must feel. It has been a difficult morning for you, right?”

I nodded. “I really wanted to show you that I can be the best new junior associate. And then I got splashed. It really felt like everything fell apart.”

Mr. Hanner interrupted me, “Don’t worry about it anymore. Besides, you look lovely in that dress. Maybe I should change the dress code.”

I looked startled at him, “Are you serious?”

He laughed, “No, of course not. But you do look lovely in that dress. Now dry your tears and let’s get to work.”

I followed him to his chamber and soon was reading up on several cases and writing some briefs for him. After my first full working day I hurried back to the clothes shop and was greeted by both Abigail and Susan. They had laid out my own clothes which were clean and dry now. For a moment I was tempted to just put on my familiar suit and return to my apartment, but instead I said, “You said that the customer who ordered this dress canceled the order?”

Susan confirmed, “Yes, she did. She was a spoiled brat who just teased us into making a beautiful dress. Then she just canceled it without reason. She did pay the down payment, though it barely covered the costs that we made for making the dress.”

On a whim I asked, “How much does it cost?”

Abigail looked up for a moment and said, “Normally about $500, but I’ll let you have it for $100”

Susan looked at her sister, startled, “You can’t mean that.”

“Sure I can. It’s just sitting in our shop. I’d rather sell it cheap and have it worn than just hanging here. I just hope that Xia will tell people where it was made.”

I smiled. She had good ideas. “Of course I’ll praise your shop. You did make a fantastic dress.”

Then Abigail said, “But you’ve got to try it with the petticoat. Here, I’ll help you.” She pulled out the petticoat and hiked up my skirt so I could step into it. Before long I was admiring myself in the beautiful dress that came even more to its right with the petticoat underneath it. I really looked like going to a party or a ball.

“Gee, it really looks good like that. I’ll definitely buy it. Maybe you have some more clothes for me?”

Susan now piped in as well, “Not at the moment, but of course we can make lots of clothes for you. But we’ll have to measure you exactly for that.”

It meant taking off my dress, and standing before them in my new undies. It didn’t take long, fortunately, and soon I dressed myself in my business suit that was clean and dry again. Before long they promised to show me some designs soon, and I had to promise to stop by lots of times.

I returned to my apartment loaded with a big box containing the dress, my briefcase and some other bags. Fortunately a neighbor helped me get everything up to my place. I thanked him profusely, but I think he wanted to ask me for a date. I didn’t need my powers to see that. He didn’t ask me however, I think he was too shy. Maybe I should encourage him, he seemed a nice guy, but I wasn’t interested after my previous experiences.

After a light meal I relaxed on my bed and took out the card that my brother had given me. It read,
‘Gordon Wood
special investigator
Baltimore Police Department’
with the telephone numbers below it and an address which was probably the police station. I kept looking at it, pondering if I should call him or not. I really wanted to, but I felt afraid as well. I could just talk to him, as if I didn’t know him before today. But I might slip up and reveal who I had been before. I decided to postpone the decision till later and tried to get to sleep early. But hours later I was still awake, lost in thoughts about meeting my former brother.

A week went past and I was getting well underway with my work. The next Sunday I was waiting on the sofa when the bell rang and I opened the door. Immediately Kathy stepped in saying, “Má¨i má¨i!” {younger sister}

I smiled at her, “Xie xie, JiÄ› jiÄ›. Fá¹ qin, MÇ” qin.” {Thanks, older sister. Father, mother}

Kathy hugged me, “I’m so happy to see you. So this is your new apartment, nice!”

My adoptive father just grunted to me, but my adoptive mother looked all around the apartment. She checked the refrigerator to see if it was stocked, and all the cupboards for dust. ‘Whew, am I glad that I cleaned it all yesterday.’ I didn’t say anything though and soon she smiled thinly back at me. She approved of my housekeeping.

I had a great day, though it was tiring to be on guard for my adoptive parents. Being with Kathy made more than up for it though. ‘Next time I’ll just invite only her.’ It’s not that I don’t like my family, but they can be bothersome sometimes. I was glad to see them go, but sad that Kathy was going too. We hugged saying goodbye and I added softly, “I want you to come again soon, but alone next time.”

Kathy replied just as softly, “Sure Sis, I would love that.”

The weeks after that everything fell into a kind of routine, with only a visit of Cassandra & Brett as an interruption. I tried to do my work as well as I could, but every time Mr. Hanner had something to comment. I even tried to use my power to anticipate what he would comment on and do it to his specifications. But still he always made some comment on what could be done better and more efficiently. Then one day he asked me in his office and had me sit down. I tried to guess what was on his mind now, but unfortunately my power only shows potential outcomes and which one is the most likely. I can’t read minds with it. I was a bit puzzled though, that my power showed me being exhilarated and happy.

Mr. Hanner started, “I’ve been on your case a lot Xia. But I always do that with a new charge. I want them to do their best work and learn the most in as short a time as possible. Now I guess you used your power a few times to make me stop commenting, because I had to look very hard to see something with your work that could be improved.”

I perked up hearing that. ‘So he thought that I was doing a good job?’ That was good news. I had heard from other new associates that Mr. Hanner was always hard on his charges. Then Mr. Hanner continued, “I even have some good news for you. You already assisted me with a few cases. So tomorrow I will assign you a case of your own with me assisting you.”

Now I was really ecstatic. ‘I’m getting my own case already?’ “Oh wow, Mr. Hanner. I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled, “How about thank you?”

“Of course thank you. I really appreciate this. I won’t let you down Mr. Hanner.”

I prepared my very first own case with even more care. It was about an abused girl that had stabbed her own father. She claimed it was self defense, which I believed to be true. Still, the prosecutor wanted her to do time. The girl’s mother wasn’t that wealthy, but the office takes on several Pro Bono cases every year. They took even more cases than is mandatory for a law firm anyway. I was puzzled however that Mr. Hanner would be assisting me in such a minor case. Meticulously I went over the whole case, looking up the details of the policemen and professional helpers that worked the case. I failed to investigate a few of them however, one in particular. He was just a minor entry in the case, as a consultant, a policeman with the initials G.W. was asked to do some assessments.

Finally my first own case was going to trial. We already had a preliminary hearing, which revealed nothing new. Now I was waiting for the judge to come in. I was sitting next to the girl, Chiselle Bellows, and her mother, Lainie. On my other side was an inconspicuous Mr. Hanner reading a little in the case file and observing me. I was amazed at how he could blend into the background. If I didn’t look straight at him, I would forget that he was even there. It got me thinking that he might have a magic power himself, perhaps he was a Nil. I had heard of them, they are supposed to be very rare, then again so am I, being a precognitive. I didn’t have any more time as the judge arrived and the bailiff called, “All rise! Judge Croner presiding.”

The trial started quite well, my opponent was a rookie like myself, but he hadn’t prepared his case as well as I did. After about an hour I was ahead on points, but got a headache from my precog power. I thought I could do without it, so I took some Catataxin. Mr. Hanner looked at me with a questioning look. I pointed at my temple indicating that I was getting a headache. He nodded and whispered, “If you don’t feel up to it, I can take it over.”

I smiled, “I’ll be all right.” I had barely said that, when the prosecutor announced his next witness. “I call Detective Gordon Wood to the stand.”

With a jerk I turned around and saw my former brother walk down the aisle to take his place at the stand. I felt flustered, scared and elated at the same time. ‘What is he doing here? Why didn’t I see his name on the list?’ Then I remembered seeing a detective with the initials G.W. on the list. ‘An eidetic memory comes in handy, though it’s a curse as well.’ I knew that the prosecutor was grasping at straws, and hadn’t thought things through well enough. I had learned quite early that you never ask a question in court when you don’t know the answer beforehand.

My opponent asked, “Mr. Wood, would you tell me who stabbed the victim, with what and how?”

Gordon calmly looked at the prosecutor, “The girl sitting with the defense attorney’s stabbed the man with the letter opener. But…”

The prosecutor hastily interrupted, “Yes, thank you, detective that is enough. Let the records reflect that he identified the defendant as the one who stabbed the victim. I have no more questions for this witness, your honor.”

The judge looked at me, “Your witness Miss Wu.”

I just looked at Gordon. I couldn’t move nor say anything. The judge repeated his words, still I just looked. Then I came a bit to my senses and started gathering my papers, though I knew everything from memory. I was confused at what I should do or say. But Mr. Hanner came to my rescue. Fluently he got to his feet and said clearly, “Excuse me your honor, my colleague isn’t feeling well, so if you don’t mind I’ll take over.”

The judge waved to Mr. Hanner to proceed and he asked, “Mr. Wood, can you tell please the circumstances about the stabbing?”

Gordon explained that the father had been abusive before and had been drinking. Chiselle had been fearful, and after receiving a blow from her father she fell down near the letter opener that lay on the floor. She had clutched it in her hands as he came to her again. That’s when she blindly raised it to fend off her abusive father off. Mr. Hanner asked, “And how do you know all this?”

Gordon smiled, “I’m a post cognitive and have seen the whole scene played out like I just said.”

I didn’t even hear that last sentence clearly as I was still flabbergasted by my confrontation again with my former brother. After his testimony, Mr. Hanner killed the prosecutor’s case effectively and won the case. I just sat at the table keeping quiet. As he congratulated the girl and her mother, I did the same on autopilot. I just didn’t think too much about what I was doing.

As we were filing out of the courtroom, Mr. Hanner pulled me into a small conference room. There he sat me down before sitting down himself in front of me. “Okay spill it Xia. I’ve never seen you react like that. This isn’t like you. You’d better get it out of your system, I don’t have use for a lawyer that is lost every time she sees a good looking young man. What is it about that detective that got you so spooked that you couldn’t function anymore?”

I looked at Mr. Hanner, “He was the one that splashed me totally wet that first Monday.”

Mr. Hanner’s face relaxed a bit, “Is that all? Well, I don’t see why that should affect you so much. Unless you’re…”

I interrupted him with, “And he’s my former brother, though he doesn’t know it.”

Now Mr. Hanner was a loss for words. I continued, “I can’t very well tell him that I used to be his brother. But I’m afraid that if I talk to him, I might say something that will alert him to who I used to be. I’m scared, Mr. Hanner.”

Mr. Hanner hesitated, but then said, “Well, I don’t have a ready-made solution for that. I understand your dilemma. And you were doing great with the case till the incident. Maybe it also had to do something with you taking your Catataxin. I can only say that you’ll probably meet him again, so it would be best if you just had a talk with him.”

I bit my lower lip, “I’ll try, thanks Mr. Hanner.”

As we exited the room Mr. Hanner quickly disappeared, I mean one moment he was near me, the next I couldn’t even see him. I really think that he might be a nil. I walked towards the exit of the court building myself when I noticed someone waiting at the exit. He was probably waiting for me, as it was my former brother Gordon. I hesitated only for a moment, before deciding that I wasn’t going to avoid him. As he saw me coming, he came right at me. “Hi again Miss Wu, I would like to apologize again for splashing you all wet that day. Though I’m curious why you never called me or sent me the bill for cleaning your clothes.”

I didn’t know what to say to him and walked on,. He hastily walked beside me, “Did I do something wrong Miss Wu? I didn’t mean to splash you. Honestly. I saw you too late.”

I stopped walking and turned to him. With trembling voice I said, “It’s not you, or the incident. You just remind me of someone and I don’t know how to deal with it yet.”

Gordon smiled at me, “Well, I don’t really know what to say about that. But let me buy you a cup of coffee and you can tell me about it.”

“I don’t drink coffee, only tea,” I said back with a wry smile.

He wasn’t fazed, “Tea it is then, I know just the place to get something to drink.”

A little while later we were ordering tea in a small Chinese teahouse. I was surprised at my former brother. I thought he was racist like father was, and like I had been. He started talking a bit about his work with the police and how he had developed his power. Even I hadn’t known that he had a post cognitive power. Though now that I thought about it, there had been some signs in the past. We just never saw them as that.

As I was enjoying my tea, he just wrapped up his talk about work and asked, “So, Miss Wu. You said I remind you of someone. Was it a good thing or a bad thing?”

Startled I looked at him, “Well, actually it was good and bad. I mean, it’s complicated and a long story.”

He gave me a smile again, “Well, I have time. I have the rest of the day off today. I would like to hear it.”

Seeing a way out I replied, “Sorry, but I don’t have the rest of the day off. I need to get back to the office.”

Disappointment crept over his face, but then he smiled again. “Let me invite you to dinner then. Tonight or any other day whenever it is convenient for you.”

“Uhm, I don’t know. I’m busy a lot.” I tried to get out of it.

“Oh, come on. You have to eat, and you can even pick the restaurant. I just want to have a talk. There is something about you. I can’t lay my finger on it, but I feel something.” With that he put his hand on my dainty hand and closed his eyes.

At first I didn’t suspect anything, especially since my power was deadened by the Catataxin. Then I remembered his post cognitive powers. ‘Is he reading my past? What if he finds out who I really am, what should I do? Wait, the Catataxin should make it impossible for him to use magic powers on me.’

Then he opened his eyes and looked strangely at me. “For some reason my powers don’t work. I mean, I can trigger it to get a reading off almost everything. Like this table for instance, I can see who made it and where. But with you I can’t read anything. This hasn’t happened before. Are you a magic user? Do you have powers?”

Before I could catch myself, I automatically answered, “Yes, I am a pre-cognitive and have a very weak whisper power.”

Gordon smiled at me, “Cool. You know, my late brother had that same power. Maybe that’s what is attracting me to you. Say, where are you from?”

Now I had to get away from him. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to be late. Please excuse me. I have to get back to the office.”

Gordon had a sad expression on his face, “Well, at least give me your phone number so we can make an appointment for dinner.” As I hesitated, he added, “Please Wu Xia, give me a chance to make up for causing all the trouble with your clothes and in the courtroom.”

I caved, “Okay, but one dinner. Here is my card. I really have to get going now.”

I rushed out the door of the teahouse and quickly got back into the office. Mr. Hanner was going over something with a junior partner and saw me enter. He motioned to me to go into his office. With trepidation I went in and soon he joined me. “So, Xia. Did you have a talk with the detective? I saw you leave with him.”

“He offered me tea and we went to a Chinese teahouse. We did have a talk, but I haven’t said anything about who I am and such.”

Mr. Hanner looked at me with an amused look. “And why is that? Wasn’t it nice to see your lost family again?”

I sighed, “Yes, it was nice to see my brother again. But I have changed so much. He doesn’t even suspect who I am. I’m thinking I shouldn’t accept his next invitation.”

Mr. Hanner looked kind of amused and interested at me, “Next invitation? He wants to take you out to dinner?”

I looked up startled at him, “How do you know? Did you set him up to this?”

“Of course not Xia. But it would be something I would do for a beautiful young lady as yourself. Now why would you not accept it?” Mr. Hanner asked softly.

“Because he’s already so close to the truth. He even tried to read my past with his powers. Fortunately it didn’t work on me for him. Maybe it was the Catataxin.” I was close to an emotional outbreak now.

“Would it be such a bad thing if he did find out who you had been? I mean, you’re his family. I’m sure he is hurting inside for his lost brother. You could give some kind of joy back into him. Maybe even your whole family.”

Now my emotional dam broke, “No, My dad was a racist asshole. And it rubbed off on me. As a boy I was a bit of a racist. The change was also meant as a punishment against that. It did show me what a fool I had been, but my family would never accept me.” Then I fell back into the seat I had risen from during my outburst.

Mr. Hanner fell silent for a moment before saying, “I see, I still think you should give it a chance. Maybe things are not as they have been. You’ll never know till you try. What is the worst thing that can happen? You lose your family that you already lost before. Best scenario is that you regain your family.”

I interrupted, “I can’t lose my family again. I already lost them once, I don’t know if I can handle losing them again.”

“I agree that you may lose them again. However, you don’t have to be alone when that happens. You have a family, and we here will support you as well. We are like a family here, you do know that. Don’t you?”

I nodded, the people I worked with were fabulous and mostly it felt like a family here. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot. But I’m reserving the right to pull out.”

Mr. Hanner patted me on the back while escorting me out. “Quite right Miss Wu. Now get back to work on the Hansen file. I need it ASAP.”

“Yes, Mr. Hanner. I’ll get right on it.”

Two nights later I was waiting outside my apartment for Gordon to pick me up. He was going to take me to a fancy restaurant. I was dressed in a beautiful dress that I just bought from Abigail and Susan. They had made a couple of dresses for me. I didn’t have to wait long, he pulled up quite soon. It was a short drive to the restaurant and we kept quiet in the car. I didn’t feel like talking and Gordon was pre-occupied with driving. At the restaurant he helped me with my chair, very gentleman like. Then as the appetizers started coming he started talking. First about work and slowly it went to him and his powers. He said, “I always had my power, but didn’t think of it. I dismissed my visions as déjá  vu, because I already had seen it before. But about a year ago my power spiked and I did a W&K test. Then I started to accept and even train my power of post cognition. I can call up a vision from an object at will now.”

I listened, interested. So my brother had a post cognitive power as to my pre-cognitive power. I urged him to tell me more. He kept on telling about what he could do with it. He found evidence that would otherwise never had been found, and even rescued some victims of crimes with it. Suddenly he changed the subject. “Here I am doing all the talking. You must be getting deaf hearing my ramblings. How about you? You said you have a pre-cognitive power?”

I dreaded talking about it. I was so afraid I would give my secrets away. Still, he charmed me into talking, “I don’t have any control over my power. It just happens to me. Sometimes it’s nice to have a warning of something or in helping me to decide, but mostly it is a burden. I even have a prescription of Catataxin. It deadens my power. I usually take it when my power threatens to give me a bad headache.”

Gordon smiled, “My brother was like that as well. He didn’t have any control, the visions just seem to happen whether he liked it or not. Fortunately his power was pretty weak. It was just enough for him to get a football scholarship.”

I had to ask, “What happened to your brother? I mean did he have an accident or something? You talk like he’s dead or something.”

“Or something is correct.” Gordon said with a sad look and a tremor in his voice. “He was accused of raping a girl. He was acquitted, but his reputation was destroyed. He started drinking heavily and slid down into the gutter. I wish I could help him, but he didn’t accept it from any of us. We were going to move to another city again, and while we were looking at houses, he just disappeared.”

“He disappeared? How, why? Couldn’t you or someone track him with post cognitive powers?” I asked hopeful that it couldn’t be done.

Gordon grimaced, “A post cognitive is very rare. There aren’t any in New Orleans. I might get a reading on what happened, but it’s already more than 3 years ago. I doubt I can find anything. Besides I don’t see myself getting back to Louisiana. Now how about you? Where did you say you came from?”

“I didn’t, and I don’t want to talk about it now.” I got up a little and kissed Gordon on the mouth. I did it to shut him up and get him to think about something else. Instead I found myself enjoying it, till I realized I was kissing my own brother. I broke it off, but with a smile, that I hoped would disguise my feelings.

“What was that for?” asked a surprised Gordon. “I know it’s not because you drank too much alcohol. In fact, you didn’t drink any alcohol.”

I sighed, “Yes well, I can’t drink alcohol, I get sick when I drink it. Even the smallest amounts make me feel nauseous. It also means that usually I’m the designated driver.” I laughed at the small joke and Gordon laughed with me. My ploy had worked. He didn’t ask anything about me again. Instead I realized something, I hadn’t gotten any visions while kissing Gordon. But I hadn’t taken any Catataxin for a while. So his powers didn’t work on me, and mine didn’t work on him? Was this related?

My thoughts were interrupted as a waiter came up and asked us if we wanted a dessert. I didn’t want to spoil my figure, so I declined. Gordon asked for the check, so he didn’t want anything either. Strange, I never knew him to turn down a dessert before.

A short drive later he walked me to the door of my boarding house. I turned to him, “I’d invite you in for a nightcap, but the landlady isn’t keen on us having male visitors at this hour.”

Gordon gave me a hug, “That’s okay, I’ll say goodbye here then.” With that he kissed me and I kissed him back just as fiercely and passionate.

As the kiss ended I realized that I was getting carried away with my emotions. And the weird thing was that my pre-cog power was eerily silent. Shyly I turned away from Gordon and opened the door for myself. He watched me go in before leaving. I quickly went to my place and after I closed the door and took my coat off I realized what I had done. I had been flirting and kissing with my own brother. Well, technically he wasn’t my brother anymore, but still. ‘Aaarg, this situation is making me crazy. Then again, I did have a good time during the dinner with him. And I had never enjoyed a kiss so much …’

A while later I tried to get to sleep, but couldn’t get it out of my mind. ‘Why do I have such conflicting feelings about Gordon? He’s my brother, or at least used to be. But he makes me feel …’ I kept fretting over it for a very long time.

It took me most of the week to get him and my feelings about him out of my system. Work was a good help in doing that though. It was a busy time at the office and I worked long hours to get all the things done. So it happened that I was still working late on Friday evening. Mr. Hanner had already left and told me not to make it too late. I replied, “Sure Mr. Hanner, I’ll just wrap this up and go home myself.” I didn’t mention that the wrapping up would take me hours to do.

I was totally immersed in my work and didn’t notice someone approaching my desk till he stood in front of me. I looked up annoyed of being disturbed. Then I was shocked to see Gordon in front of my desk. “You? How did you get in here? What are you doing here?”

He smiled at me, “Yes, it’s me. Through the door, and I want to ask you out to dinner again.”

I looked at him with a big question mark in my eyes, before I realized that he answered all my questions. “How did you get in here, we have security.”

“It helps when you have a police badge. Now, would you like to have some dinner with me?”

I didn’t know what to answer him. On one hand I’d love to go out with him again, but on the other? I still felt scared being with him. I might slip up or go too far in my emotions. He leaned over to me and gave me a kiss, which won me over. I sighed, “Okay, let’s go to dinner before I change my mind.”

This time he took me to a small Italian restaurant with a secluded booth for the two of us. After some small talk I asked him, “Tell me something about your family, Gordon.”

His face showed a cloud of sadness before his usual smile returned, “My parents divorced right after we moved away from New Orleans.”

I couldn’t stop myself from responding, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, “No need to feel sorry. My father was a racist. He wouldn’t approve of us sitting here together. Finally my mom had enough of it and divorced him. She remarried last year.”

I was totally caught by surprise. I hadn’t expected something like that. I don’t think Gordon noticed though, as he tried to change the focus. “How about you, where did you grow up?”

“Well, I don’t know where my parents are.” Which was true, since I didn’t know where they were living now. “I have been in a foster family. But enough about that. Back to your family.”

He laughed, “Okay, well I already told you that my brother disappeared. He was my only sibling, so there isn’t much else to tell.”

I smiled at him, and let the matter drop. We continued to talk about loftier things and soon the dinner ended. As he dropped me off at my place again, he walked me to the door just like last time. He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and said, “Well, this is goodnight then, don’t want to upset your landlady, right?”

I kissed him back on his mouth with gusto, feeling so horny and enthralled by his presence. My emotions ran rampant and I just couldn’t help myself. So I said, “To hell with her, come in for a night cap.”

He didn’t need any persuasion and quickly we went into my apartment. We never got to the night cap though. We kept kissing and fondling all the time, only stopped to take off our clothes. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t had any luck with my lovers, or maybe he was very skilled. Fact is, that I never had such a good time making love as that night. Gordon made sure that I was satisfied.

After quite a long time I was laying in bed feeling lazy and happy. I was thinking, ‘Maybe I should not have made love to him. It’s almost like incest. Then again, I’ve changed so much, I don’t really have much relation to my old family anymore. I have the thoughts, but my genetic makeup is quite different now. The spells made my chromosomes a lot different. Isn’t Magic wonderful like that?’ Gordon went to the kitchen section to make some tea and commented from there, “Nice apartment you have here.”

“You think so? It’s big enough for me, but quite small, in fact.”

He came back into the bedroom and gave me a cup of hot tea. “I’ve seen worse places. It’s cozy and well cared for.” Then he got up again and went back to the living/kitchen. I enjoyed my tea, till he briskly walked back in.

“According to your diploma, you studied at Tulane?” he asked with barely contained anger in his voice.

I paled, ‘how could I have forgotten that he would know Tulane.’ Before I could explain, he continued, “According to the date on that paper you were studying there at the same time as my brother, and since he was a law major, you would have known him. Especially since he was a racist like my father. Why did you pretend not to know him?”

I was totally flabbergasted, “I… I…You see…”

“No, I don’t see, tell me Xia? Did you know my brother, yes or no?”

I looked down and answered softly, “Yes, I know your brother. But he’s not a racist, not anymore.”

Gordon looked at me with a stunned look. “What do you mean with ‘know’ and ‘anymore’? Do you know what happened to him? I asked the police and they said that they couldn’t find any trace of him. But I also know that the FBM requested a halt on inquiries. Please, Xia, what do you know? Is my brother alive and well?”

I was almost crying, with a few tears already escaping my eyes I said, “Yes, he is alive and well. He has found something to live for again. But please don’t ask me more.”

“Why not Xia? What are you hiding? How can I come into contact with him? Please tell me, my mom really wants to know and talk to him.”

Now I was crying, but Gordon didn’t soften up. Through my tears I replied, “Please, don’t ask me more. I can’t…”

He interrupted, “You can’t what? Tell me? You know what? I really liked you, even loved you. But now? Now you can go to hell for all I care. I never want to see you again.”

He hurriedly put on his clothes and got ready to get out of my apartment. I tried one last comment to change his mind which proved to be my biggest mistake. “Please, Flash. Don’t go yet.”

Gordon turned around like bitten by a snake. “What did you just say? There is only one person who ever called me that. I seriously doubt that he would tell anyone else but a very close friend about his nickname for me. So either you are or you were his girlfriend, and you just cheated on him with his brother, of all persons.”

Just then his cell phone started ringing, he looked at the display, “Fuck!” Then answered the phone, “Yes, chief?” He listened to it for a moment, then said, “I’ll be right over.” Then he said to me, “I’ve got to go. There is kidnapping case where they need my specific help. But I need to talk to you about this. I’ll be back.” Then he left quickly, leaving me in complete distress and misery.

I called my adoptive sister Kathy for advice, who told me to come clean and tell him the truth, but after I told her what we had done during the night, she said that she didn’t have any answer. She would stand by me whatever I did, but that I had to make the decision on my own.

I felt very distraught and thought about calling Cassie about it, but decided not to bother her with my problems. I know she would love to helping me, but I didn’t want her to worry about me. Instead I did some shopping to take my mind of things. Later I came home with to find a message waiting on my machine. I listened to it, already knowing with my pre-cog power that it was my brother who had called. And indeed, when I pressed the play button, “Xia, this is Gordon, I want to stop by ASAP and talk to you. You owe me an explanation. Please, call me soon.”

I sighed. I didn’t want to talk to him right now. I had almost betrayed who I had been, he might find out any second now. And why didn’t my precog power show anything while he was with me?

Monday morning provided a welcome distraction as I was asked to join Mr. Hanner for a visit to an important client. Franklin Donner. The son of the client had been questioned about the disappearance of a friend of his. Thomas Beardsley hadn’t been heard from in a couple of days. This was also the second time something like this happened. About a half year earlier, another friend, Michael Schinder, had disappeared completely. Police had found no trace of him, and weren’t even been able to determine if a crime had been committed, or if he simply vanished for some other reason.

Mr. Hanner filled me in during the drive over, so I was up to speed with what had happened and everything I needed to know about the client. We arrived at a big office building and were admitted directly into the President’s office. An older man, a bit overweight, greeted us and introduced us to his son.

“I’m Charles Donner, and this is my son Frank. He has some trouble with the police, but he says he’s completely innocent of the charges.”

Frank came towards us and shook hands with Mr. Hanner, before kissing my hand saying, “Hello, I’m Frank Donner. What is your name?”

“I’m Miss Wu, assistant to Mr. Hanner,” I answered politely.

As he was about to say something again, my pre-cognitive power screamed a warning for the whisper. I braced myself, but it really wasn’t necessary. Frank said, with the weak whisper power at his disposal, “Why don’t we sit down here on the couch?” He pointed behind him at the comfortable sofa in the office.

I smiled and used my own weak whisper power as I said, “Why don’t you go sit down there and I’ll sit over here,” pointing at a chair on the opposite side.

He was already starting to sit down as I requested, when he came to his senses and agitated, “Hey, did you just whisper me into sitting down?”

Charles Donner looked at me, as did Mr. Hanner. I replied softly, “Yes, I did. Serves you right for trying to whisper me into sitting with you.”

Charles smacked his son on the back of his head, “What did I tell you about whispering women into situations? Now let this be a lesson to you and sit down there.” He pointed at the couch where Frank had started to sit down earlier. Then he apologized to me, “I’m sorry Miss Wu, I’ve told him time and time again not to do that.”

I smiled at the older man, “It’s okay, with my precog power I was able to get ample warning what he was going to do. And I do have a weak whisper power myself. I apologize for using it on him.”

Charles interrupted, “No, no. You had every right. If he gives you any more problems, just whisper him into doing something stupid.”

“I wish I could. I’m not strong enough and now that he knows I’m a whisperer, I can’t do anything anymore.”

Charles gave me a wry smile, “Too bad. Well enough of that, let’s get down to business.”

We all sat down and Charles was about to start speaking when the door to the room opened. A secretary appeared in the opening with two cans and some cups on a tray. “Excuse me, Sir. You wanted these refreshments?”

“Yes, Janine. Thank you. If you would just put them there, and hold all my calls please.”

Janine put the tray down on a small table and left quickly and quietly. After she was gone, Charles started to talk about the interrogation that his son had to endure. Mr. Hanner asked that Frank do the talking about the incident. I got up in the middle of the conversation and went over to the small table with the refreshments.

I knew that Mr. Hanner liked his coffee black, so I poured him a cup. Charles Donner motioned to have the same. Frank said, “Tea please, I don’t drink coffee.”

As I poured the tea into a cup, my precog was buzzing me, like some kind of warning. I looked around for something harmful to me, but couldn’t see anything. I poured another cup of tea for myself and my warning buzz increased. Like I used to do at the restaurant of my foster parents, I waited on the men sitting down. They were so caught up in their conversation that they didn’t start drinking yet. I sat down myself and brought the cup to my lips. As I did my precog power went into overdrive and I saw myself convulsing on the floor with Frank doing the same.

I dropped the cup on the ground and caught everyone’s attention doing it. Frank was about to start drinking from his tea and I yelled, “NO! Don’t drink.”

Frank was shocked at my outcry and dropped his cup to the floor. Charles Donner asked in a low voice, “What the hell are you doing?”

Mr. Hanner replied before I could utter anything, “If Miss Wu says something like that, I advise you to listen to her. With her precog power, she is mostly right in everything.”

Shaken I said, “I think the tea is poisoned or spelled or something like it. My precog was already warning me earlier, but when I was about to drink, I got a real strong premonition. We should get a sensor or detector in here to ascertain what is wrong with the tea.”

Mr. Hanner asked me, “How about the coffee?”

I took his cup from him, put it to my lips and didn’t notice anything from my power. “The coffee is okay. It’s only the tea that is laced with something.”

Mr. Hanner nodded to me and took out his phone. He spoke curtly to someone and motioned to me to move to the side of the room. Both Frank and Charles Donner joined me there, clearly shaken up from the new turn of events.

It didn’t take long for some police officials to arrive. First there was a woman in a very smart looking business suit. She introduced herself as detective Plummer and asked, “This is the contaminated drink in question?”

As Mr. Hanner acknowledged, a second person entered, and to my dismay, it was my brother Gordon. He was surprised to see me as well, and for a moment I expected him to come charging at me. He behaved himself very professionally though, and went to the side of the female investigator. “Babs? What have you got?

The woman, Babs, turned to Gordon. “I detect several spells on the tea. First and foremost, there is a gender changing spell. Then there are several nasty additional spells, I think they would make the intended victim have specific behavioral changes. Without them playing out, I can’t be certain of them though. My guess is acting like a slut, being horny, easy to go along and more of that shit.”

I gasped slightly, this was coming too close to my own predicament right after I was changed. ‘Who would spike a drink like that, and why? Who was the intended victim? Frank? But he was been interrogated for the disappearance of his friend. Did a loved one from that friend do this? It certainly didn’t make any sense to target me. I was already a girl with a high libido.’

Gordon told Babs, “Let me try to get a reading!”

He touched the can of tea and closed his eyes. He concentrated for a moment and said, “Miss Wu was serving the tea. The secretary I saw outside with the name Janine Withers filled the can with the tea. I think she also made it, but there is nothing indicating it having been spiked. Either the perpetrator spiked the tea leaves before making the tea, or the water, which is highly unlikely. Or the person responsible is very good at hiding his or her actions with a complicated spell that I can’t detect trough. How long has Miss Withers been working for you?”

Charles Donner answered automatically, “She has been with us like forever it seems. I don’t really know how long. But I can tell you I never had a better assistant. She’s always on time, takes care of almost everything and has never shown any signs of animosity. Her background check was totally clean. Why do you ask? Is she a suspect?”

“Until ruled out, everyone is a suspect. Miss Janice Withers, Miss Wu Xia, even Mr. Noel Hanner isn’t out of the picture.

Babs addressed Mr. Donner. “I’d like to take the remainder of the tea with me to the FBM office. We might be able to unravel all the spells in there and maybe find out how, why and by whom this was done.”

Mr. Donner said that was fine, and excused himself. Frank Donner also excused himself, to find a toilet I think. I was shaken up a lot. Not only would I have been severely hurt by this attempt to put a spell on someone, but it was such a strong reminder of my past, that I relived most of it in my mind again. ‘Sometimes it sucks to have an eidetic memory.’

Gordon walked up to me. “Miss Wu, I’d like you to take a ride with me, if you don’t mind.”

“And if I do mind, Mr. Wood?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to insist. I just want to debrief you Miss Wu. I do want to have a talk with you about more private things, but that can wait. Work comes first.”

I sighed, “Fine then, I’ll go with you, detective Wood. By the way, I thought you worked for the Baltimore Police. But your cooperation with detective Plummer suggests that you work for the FBM.”

Gordon smiled at me, “I work for both. I’m a special investigator and though I’m on the BPD payroll, I get loaned out to the FBM regularly.”

That satisfied my curiosity and soon I was walking to the car with Gordon. He held open the door for me, which was sweet, but unnecessary to my opinion, before getting in himself. As we drove downtown, he made some small talk and I responded curtly to his questions. I was still wondering why my precog power was silent again around him. Then suddenly my precog power screamed bloody murder, giving me a headache and I cried out loudly. “Stop the car now.”

Gordon hit the brakes in a reflex, just in time as a girl figure dashed out of an alleyway into the street. The car skidded to a halt almost in time. The girl got hit slightly and fell down onto the street, but at first appearance she wasn’t too much hurt. We both got out of the car and Gordon felt for her pulse before dialing 911. He identified himself as a police officer and asked for an ambulance. Keeping watch over the girl who was dressed in only a ragged T-shirt, he said to me, “Good call, Xia. If you hadn’t alerted me, I’d have hit her with lethal results.”

I looked at the girl and saw that she wasn’t exactly a girl. “Uhm Mr. Wood? She isn’t a girl, but she is changing into one. I think she’s a victim of a gender change spell or maybe worse.”

Gordon motioned me to get back and put his hand on the girl. He concentrated and said after a few minutes, “You’re correct. It is worse. I think she’s a victim of a slaver.”

I gasped, “Why would you say that? Did you see anyone in her past?”

“Nope, but she appeared to be confused about herself even in a male body and she was changing slowly into this.”

At that moment the girl to be woke up. “Oh my head.” She was startled seeing us, but then relaxed a bit. “Hi, I’m … uhm, I don’t really know my name. What would you like my name to be?”

Gordon softly said to her, “Don’t you worry about that now. You had an accident. We’re taking you to a hospital.”

The girl smiled at him, “If that is what you want. I’d be just as happy to go with you, you handsome stud muffin.”

Gordon looked at me, “It’s worse than I thought. Her programming is already starting to influence her. He took out his phone again and fast dialed a number. He spoke quickly to someone about a slaver case. I guess he was talking to someone at the FBM. The ambulance came while he was still talking to them, but he was finished before the people were finished loading her into the ambulance.

“Miss Wu, I’d still like to talk to you, but at the moment I’ve got other work to do. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to take a taxi home?”

I smiled, “Of course not, detective Wood. I’ll be just fine. We’ll have to do our debrief later then.” ‘Not if I can help it, though.’ I thought silently. I was afraid to talk with him, but didn’t want to lose him either. What was I to do?

I took a taxi back to the office and was still shaken up trying to read a case file when Mr. Hanner arrived. He approached me, “Xia, I thought you went with the detective to the precinct?”

I looked up to him, “On the way there, we almost had an accident. A girl came running from an alley and almost got run over by our car. The only thing that saved her life was my premonition of her running in front of the car. When we looked at the girl, it turned out that she had been a boy, and was victim of a slaver.”

Mr. Hanner was shocked hearing the news. He asked me to follow him into his office. There he offered me a drink, but I had to refuse, “I’m sorry Mr. Hanner. One of the remaining spells on me makes me sick drinking any alcohol, however small the amount.”

“You could have told me this earlier, Xia. But it is good to know.”

He offered me some herbal tea instead, which I gladly accepted. Then he questioned me about the event and the girl. I couldn’t offer much help in identifying her. Since she’d lost all memory of who she had been, and her appearance wasn’t known of course. Mr. Hanner was thinking of something when I left his office a little later. But he didn’t say anything to me.

A few days later we had another meeting in one of our conference rooms with Franklin Donner. The police hadn’t made any progress on solving the mysterious disappearance of Tom Beardsley. Frank Donner was still considered a suspect, but without a body or other proof of a crime, he was not under much scrutiny. Just as we were wrapping up the meeting, there was a tap on the door. Caleigh entered in the doorway, “Excuse me Mr. Hanner, but there is a detective to see you and Mr. Donner.

Mr. Hanner motioned to show the detective in, and Gordon stepped through the door. I was immediately apprehensive , but managed to show no sign of it. Gordon started, “Good afternoon, gentlemen and Miss Wu. I’m glad to catch you all here. We’ve made some progress on several cases and I’d like to give you the rundown on them.”

Mr. Hanner said politely, “By all means, detective Wood. Please come in and have a seat.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hanner. Now first off, the spiked tea at the Donner office. We managed to unravel some of the spells. Not all, but enough. It was a very complex type of spell. Not unlike what a slaver would produce. We suspect that we may deal with an Omni or even a Reality Warping individual here. The strange thing is that some of the spells were similar to another case. That case involved Miss Wu and me.”

I gasped, “The girl from the alley.”

“That’s correct, the girl from the alley is connected to this. The gender changing spell and slaver spells were so similar that they have a 98 percent probability of coming from the same source. Now I pushed my power to the limit on this case and managed to get a fleeting image of a boy that the girl used to be. Together with a magic sketch artist, we produced this image.”

Gordon pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and straightened it out on the table. Frank Donner gasped seeing the picture. “That’s my friend Thomas.”

Gordon asked sharply, “Are you sure about that? The picture isn’t very good”

“Hell yes, I’m sure. See that scar there just before his left ear? I was there when he got it. This is Thomas Beardsley.”

Gordon picked up the paper. “Thanks for clearing that up. I already suspected it. Now this doesn’t get you totally off the hook for his disappearance, but I don’t see you as an Omni or a slaver. You would have been identified as a powerful magic user before this started if you were.”

“So I’m free to go?” asked Frank Donner.

“Yes, you are, for now. Now, I would like to debrief Miss Wu in private if I may. We didn’t get around to it the last time.”

Mr. Hanner got up and escorted Franklin Donner out of the office, “Of course, Detective Wood. You can use the conference room if you like.”

I gave Mr. Hanner a dirty look, at which he just smiled as he and Frank Donner disappeared and closed the door behind them.

“I thought that you already ascertained who the girl was and that the spells are similar to the Donner case. You also said that the laced tea was meant for Donner. Why do you still want to question me?” I asked Gordon.

He came closer to me and said softly but a bit menacing, “Because I did some more checking. The FBM put a lock on your file and any inquiries on it, but there are other ways to find out stuff. I pulled your records from Tulane. They say you transferred in from UCLA. But when I asked them, they’d never heard of you. So, you didn’t exist till you came to Tulane or you changed your name. That made me think you might be in the witness protection program. Then, I did some more checking and found out that you lived with the Hsu family. And what a coincidence, their daughter was the one who’d accused my brother of raping her. Now, I would like to hear the truth from you. Who are you, how do you know my brother, and what happened?”

I was astounded. He almost had the whole story in his hand and still didn’t get it. I hissed angrily to him, “Fine. You want to the truth? I’ll give you the truth. I hope you’ll find it satisfying and are happy with it.”

I put as much whisper into my next sentence as I could. “Now sit down and listen till I’m finished.”

Gordon sat himself down in a chair, but I think he understood that I whispered him. “The day before your family went out to search for a new house, Douglas had been drinking heavily. He got caught by a powerful wizard who made him swallow a potion. Afterward he was released and after a night in a holding cell for being drunk, which he wasn’t anymore by the way, he got home.

You had all gone out to look for a new home and left him in bed. At that moment the spells from the potion were already at work and were slowly changing him. As Doug realized what was happening, he fled the house and stayed elsewhere for the changes to finish. When it was all over he had become a wanton slut, who on seeing a male, any male, fired an attractor/whisper spell at her victim to have sex. Even worse, she got an eidetic memory and wouldn’t be able to forget anything she did, even if she wanted to. Fortunately for her, she got picked up by someone who became her friend, and with some help had some spells lifted. She then got to get a new life, found out who had really raped Kathy Hsu and who had given the order to change her.”

I was out of breath after my long talk and Gordon just looked at me with wide open eyes. Then he said softly, “Douglas?”

Sharply I uttered, “No, Douglas is gone, forever! He is only a memory now and forever more.”

Gordon gave a weird look, “Doug, why didn’t you tell me directly? I’m so happy that I found you again.”

I sighed, “I’m not Douglas. I’m Xia. I will always be Wu Xia. I’m not your brother. I may have his memories. But that is it.”

“I’m sorry, Xia. Why didn’t you just tell me? I would have understood.”

I huffed, “No you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t, and I lived it. Besides, I couldn’t just tell you: Hi little brother, look at me now.”

Gordon laughed at that, “I guess you couldn’t. But I do think you should have told me earlier.”

Now I broke down and a tear escaped my eye, “I was scared, Flash. I am still scared. I mean I loved you as a brother and now as…”

Gordon interrupted me, “Uh, about that. How could you … well you know…”

“Have sex with you?” At his nod I continued, “I … oh hell. I am thrown into this vortex of feelings. I didn’t mean to kiss you at first, but then I liked it. And my feelings ran amok inside me. It was something inside me that was stronger than my fears or my rationality. I couldn’t hold myself. If you’re worried about incest, don’t be, the spells made me a totally different person. The worst part is, you’re perfect for me. I have dated in the past, but my power always got in the way. When I took Catataxin to deaden it, it killed my passion for love as well. You’re the only person where my power doesn’t work. You make me feel alive and wanted. You’re the first and only person that I have been with that actually made true love to me. Even if you don’t want to have anything to do with me after my confession, I’ll always cherish that.”

Gordon smiled at me. “Xia, I had the same problem with my dates. I could always tell who they had been with before me. You’re the only person I didn’t have that with. And I do love you for who you are. I mean the gorgeous woman Xia. I also love the fact that I found out my brother Douglas didn’t die a horrible death somewhere in nowhereville and had been buried as a John Doe. I thank you for giving me closure on that. Can you please forgive me for pushing you to tell me the truth? I’m happy that you did though and I love you for it.”

He got out of his chair and kissed me on the mouth. I hadn’t been expecting it, and lost myself in it for a moment before I realized I was kissing my former brother again. I broke it off, “Gordon? How are we going on with this? I mean, you know the truth about me now. You must see me in a whole different perspective now.”

“Yes I do. But I still love you. Maybe even more. I don’t think I could stand losing you again. Please Xia, I would like to continue our relationship, unless you have a problem with it.”

I contemplated it, “Well, I do see several problems ahead, but I do love you and don’t want to lose you too.”

“Good, now that we settled that, I do need to get back to work. I need to confirm the identity of the girl to the FBM, so that they can try to keep her sane and out of a mental institution. Can we have dinner tonight? I’ll pick you up here at the office.”

I sighed, “Sorry, not tonight. I’ve got too much to do. Let’s make it tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night it is then. See you then, my lovely Xia.” And with that Gordon quickly disappeared from the room. I followed a bit slower and as I got to my desk, Mr. Hanner was waiting. “So, did you tell him everything this time?”

Sheepishly I answered, “Yes I did. We talked it all out now.”

“Good, now that that is out of your system let’s get back on our case load. I think we’re not done yet with the Donner case though. There still is someone out there to get him and his friends.”

I agreed with him on that, but put it on the back of my head while preparing for my next case. Later that afternoon I read up on the file on Michael Schinder. There was something not right with his disappearance. The police had interviewed his friends, Thomas Beardsley, Franklin Donner and Samson Bowers. They all claimed that after a night out, Michael had disappeared without a trace. But I had a feeling that they were hiding something. Their stories were too much in synch. The police also interviewed an ex-girlfriend of his, Sandrine Haskill. She was a nasty piece of work though. I watched a recording of her interview. She said to the investigator, “Good riddance, I hope he rots in hell.” But she said it with a hint of a smile on her lips. She then claimed not to know where he was or if he was in good health. I went through all the statements looking for clues, but didn’t find any. I hoped the next morning would give me a better insight.

“Miss Wu, you’ve got a call on line 3,” Caleigh alerted me.

“Thank you, Caleigh.” I picked up the phone and heard an all too perfect smooth voice, not quite male, but not quite female as well. “Miss Wu, I hear that you are looking for information on Mr. Schinder. I have seen this person, could you meet me at the corner of South East Avenue and Toone Street? I’ll tell you what I know of it. I do expect a tip though.” The receiver went dead as the person hung up.

I contemplated that this might be a trap. I would have asked Mr. Hanner, but he was busy with an important customer. I tried to call Gordon, but he was out of reach. Well, I’d have to do it myself then. I figured that with my pre-cog power I could avoid a trap if it was one. If I hurried, I’d be back before Gordon was at the office to pick me up for our date that evening. I took a company car that had the new Electro Magic engines. These only appeared on the market a year earlier. Cold fusion was still not done, but this Magic-electro car was the closest thing to it.

Arriving at the corner of South East Avenue and Toone Street, I looked around and paid special attention to my pre-cog sense. There wasn’t anything though. Not even a hint of my meeting with someone. Maybe that should have alerted me that something was wrong, but I failed to see it. What did alert me was a Freeze spell hitting me. I was immobilized, and cursed myself for being so stupid as to fall into a trap. The too perfect voice sounded behind me, I now understood that the person was using a spell to keep me from detecting it and another spell to mask the voice.

The voice said, “I have no real quarrel with you, Miss Xia Wu. But you are in my way. I’ll cut you some slack, but I need you out of the way. It’ll set your career back a bit I’m afraid, but at least it’ll do no permanent damage.” With that she spoke something I couldn’t hear well enough, but I understood that it was a curse.

I didn’t hear anything else anymore, but I was still frozen. It took a few minutes before I could move again. After I had total mobility again, I examined myself. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong. ‘Did he or she slip up? I thought I was cursed, but I’m not feeling anything out of the ordinary.’

As I drove back to the office I suddenly noticed something weird. I had trouble staying in my lane. I started swerving, and my reaction time was off as well. My pre-cog sense warned we about passing a police-car but I still had no control over my actions. Of course the cops pulled me over, seeing my driving style. “Please get out of the vehicle, Miss.”

I slurred, “Whazz the prozlem, offizer.”

He nodded to his partner. “Okay, please get out of the car and walk in a straight line for me.”

I got out and tried my best to walk a line that he showed me. For some reason I couldn’t. I mean the officer even had to catch me or I would have fallen on the street. They wanted to do a breath test, but I refused, saying that I didn’t need it. The policeman said to me, “You’re under arrest for DUI. Please assume the position.”

Soon after I was seated in the back of the police cruiser, and taken to a precinct. I tried to tell them I wasn’t drunk, but cursed, but I couldn’t make myself understood well enough. They didn’t listen to me either.

I got put into a holding cell, Well, I had been in one many times when I was still drunk as Douglas. So, this was no news to me. What was new that I was a woman and innocent. I waited for several hours till someone opened the door. It was Gordon, with Mr. Hanner right behind him.

“You were picked up for DUI? How can that be Xia?” asked my former brother.

My speech had improved a little by this time, so I answered, “I was cursed. I haven’t been drinking. I can’t drink alcohol. I think I’m getting too close to the person responsible for the disappearances.”

Mr. Hanner looked at me, “I know you told me before that you can’t drink alcohol. But it does look like you did. And why did you go out alone? You should have let us handle it.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I could do it myself. I was counting on my pre-cog sense to keep me out of trouble. I was blindsided by spells though.”

Mr. Hanner sighed, “Well, I already bailed you out, so, let’s go, Miss Wu.”

I followed them out and said to Gordon, “I’m sorry about our date. I don’t feel too well now. Can you drop me off at home?”

Gordon nodded, but looked with a bit of anger at me. I felt awful. I had let him and Mr. Hanner down.

A few days later I had my court appearance for my DUI charge. As the Judge called my case, I stepped forward.

“I’ll defend myself your honor, with my employer Mr. Hanner as second chair.”

“Very well, Miss Wu. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty, your honor.”

The judge looked at some papers before him, “It says here that you were swerving across the street, spoke with a slur and couldn’t walk in a straight line. The officers even had to keep you from falling down. You also refused a breath test.”

“That is quite true, your honor. However they didn’t do a blood test on me. Had they done that, they might have found that I had not been drinking, but that I was cursed, like I tried to tell them the whole time.”

The judge looked closely at me, “That is interesting, Miss Wu. You’re not the first to use this defense though.”

I smiled, “I have another interesting fact. I can’t drink alcohol. Even the tiniest bit makes me ill. If you would indulge me, I’ll prove it to you.”

Now the judge was really interested. “Go ahead, Miss Wu, but don’t waste my time.”

I got out 4 glasses and filled them with water. I put those in front of the judge. “I’d like you to put a drop of this vodka,” I put a small bottle in front of him, “into one of these glasses without me seeing which one. To eliminate any tampering from my pre-cog power, I’m taking a medication called Catataxin now, to cancel out any magic powers from me.”

I turned around, took a few pills and downed them with water. Then I turned around again and asked, “Have you put a drop into one of the glasses?”

The judge nodded, I took a sip from the first glass and detected nothing. As I nipped from the second glass I felt like I almost had to throw up. This was definitely the glass with the vodka. “This is the glass with the drop of vodka. I can sense it immediately.” For good measure I nipped at the third glass and felt like throwing up again. “You put a drop in this glass as well?”

The judge smiled, “Just to see that you weren’t a good guesser, Miss Wu.”

I nipped the last glass which contained only water. Even so I had made my case with flying colors.

“Very well, Miss Wu. You do have compelling evidence. I declare you free of all charges, Case dismissed.”

Mr. Hanner congratulated me, and Gordon gave me a fast chaste kiss on my cheek before disappearing in the crowd. I felt disappointed by his treatment. ‘Is he still mad at me? How can I make it up?’

The next days I was working hard. Mr. Hanner kept me busy with a lot of filing, writing briefs, checking depositions and facts and all that. I didn’t have time to contact Gordon, and he didn’t contact me. I felt so disappointed and was convinced that it was all my fault. I felt like I had lost Gordon again, and for good this time.

I had visited a client at the FBM building and was on my way out, when I saw Gordon enter the building. He saw me and halted his stride. “Hi Xia, how have you been?”

I walked up to him, “Missing you a lot,” before kissed him lightly.

To my dismay he didn’t return the kiss. Instead he pulled his head away. “I’m sorry Xia, but I have a lot on my mind these days. We just found Samson Bowers as he was changing into a black woman ready to walk the streets as a hooker. We’re trying to find a way to let him keep his memories and her sanity. It’ll be touch and go for a while. In the meantime I’m trying to find out who did this to him. Oh, by the way, we did manage to help the Beardsley girl keep some memories of who she used to be. Tammy, as she is now called, is recovering with her family.”

I pretended to be interested, “Oh, that is good to hear. So, now Mr. Bowers got changed. I’ve got a feeling that Frank Donner is going to be next again.”

“You’re not alone in thinking that. We got some of our best people on him. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do. See you later, okay?”

I nodded, but thought, ‘I’ve really lost him. He is not interested in me anymore.’

He disappeared into the building and I went out feeling depressed. I moped around the office and Mr. Hanner called me in. “Xia, can I see you in my office please?”

I went in quickly and asked, “Yes, Mr. Hanner. Anything I can do for you? I’ve got the Wannamaker brief almost ready. And the statements of the Peterson family is being typed out.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sure that your work is on time and exemplary. But I want to ask you why you are so depressed. I can feel it a mile away. Your moping around is affecting some of the others. Not directly, but it is happening. So, what is the problem?”

I bit my lip a bit, “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that I am afraid that Gordon isn’t interested in me after I told him everything, and especially after my trial. He is avoiding me it seems and last time I talked to him, he pretended to be busy and blew me off. I really miss him.”

Mr. Hanner responded warmly, “I’m sure he is really busy. Which is something you should be. Now, put on your usual smile and start reviewing the Pullman case.”

I smiled a fake big smile, “Yes sir, I’m on it.”

I really did do my job well the next few hours, but when it was time to head home I was depressed again. I tried to hide it as much as possible from the others. I do think that several of them noticed. Caleigh even invited me to have drinks with her and some colleagues, but I declined. I lied to her that I wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t actually a lie, though my problems were not physical, but mental.

I spent another night in sexual frustration, I was feeling horny and couldn’t stop thinking about Gordon. He was such a good lover in bed. Then I caught myself and was even more frustrated. ‘Finally I found someone that I can be with, and I even love him, but then I lost him again. I can’t even be mad at him. It is all my own damn fault.’

I had a killer headache the next morning from my power, so I took several Catataxin pills. They did stop me getting more headaches, but my head was still pounding when I got into the office. Mr. Hanner was out of the office and I found a note saying that Mr. Charles Donner wanted to see me as soon as possible. I didn’t understand why he was asking to see me, but didn’t see the harm in it either. Maybe I was still not thinking clearly because of my headache. I told Caleigh that I was on my way to see Mr. Donner and set out in my electro magic car.

Upon my arrival at the office, the front desk hadn’t been notified that I was expected. They did recognize me from previous visits, so I was permitted to go straight Mr. Donner’s office. Janine was waiting for me and asked me to go right in. She also gave me a tray with some drinks. She asked, “Could you please take this with you? He asked me for some refreshments.”

I saw only tea on the tray and thought, ‘But I thought Mr. Charles Donner liked to drink coffee?’

As I went in, I didn’t see him, but the son, Frank was waiting for me. He looked like he was a bit drunk, and waved me over. I was cautious and kept a professional demeanor towards him. “Mr. Donner! Where is your father? He did ask for me to come here didn’t he?”

Frank got to his feet and staggered over towards me. “Well, he’s not here at the moment. Why don’t you keep me some company?”

I think he tried to whisper me, but he didn’t remember that I knew he was a whisperer. Even better, my Catataxin was effectively blocking any magical influence he could use on me. Icily I told him, “No thank you. I have no intention of sitting with you or going anywhere near you.” I put the tray with tea on a table and wanted to go out again.

Frank wasn’t as intoxicated as I had hoped. He quickly ran over to the door and blocked the exit. I was getting more upset by the minute, “Where is your father? If he’s not here within 5 minutes I’m out of here.”

“Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your future boyfriend?” Frank slurred.

‘What is he talking about? He knows I don’t want anything to do with him. What is he up to? He’s only a weak whisperer, isn’t he?’ I strode to the door and as he tried to grab me, I ducked under his arm and pushed him past me onto the floor.

Just as I was about to open the door, it swung open toward me, almost hitting me on my head. Perplexed, I looked at the woman standing in the doorway. She had a light behind her, so I saw only her outline, when she said with a very strong whisper, “Sit down on the sofa next to that dolt.”

The whisper command slid past me, not having much effect since I was doused with Catataxin. So I snarled, “You go sit with him, I am leaving this place.”

She gestured towards me and I felt a strong push throw me halfway through the office. I landed hard on the floor and was knocked for a loop. It didn’t put me out too long, but enough for the woman to enter and for me to recognize her. She was hoisting Frank on the sofa and poured some of the tea into him. I had a really bad feeling about that. But recognizing the woman was even more on my mind.

“Janine?” I asked surprised.

“My name isn’t Janine. It’s Michael, or it used to be. Those idiots thought it was fun to try a curse that they read in a book. It changed me into this woman.” She gestured with disgust at her own body. “What they didn’t know was that I had a weak multi power that got so much powerful once I became a woman. Unfortunately I couldn’t handle being one on a day to day basis. That’s why I created the Janine persona. I only took control in those times that I needed to test and control my magic, and the times that I could exact my revenge on them. And now, unfortunately, it is your turn to meet a horrible fate.”

“You’ll never get away with it, they’ll find you.” I tried to get her to stop.

“I’ll make it look like you poisoned him, and then accidentally put some on yourself. You’ll be the perfect patsy. Nobody will suspect me. My plan is perfect.”

Just after she said that she used another magic push on me and I slid a few feet more to the back till my head hit a desk, which made me cringe in pain. It added to my already pounding headache, making me feel woozy. Janine, or Michael, whoever she was now, strode up to me holding another cup of tea. “Now, this will hurt you more than me,” she sneered.

I couldn’t do anything but look up at her and shiver in fear as she was about to pour the tea into my mouth. Then she twitched and froze. The teacup fell out of her hand and she keeled over onto the floor. I heard footsteps coming from the door opening. I took a quick look and saw to my excitement, Mr. Hanner, Gordon and an unknown man coming into the room. Gordon quickly scooted over to me and Janine, together with Mr. Hanner.

To my disappointment, Gordon handcuffed Janine first with special anti -magic cuffs, specially made for the FBM. I had wanted him to come to me first. Mr. Hanner crouched down next to me. “Are you hurt? Did you ingest any of the spelled drink?”

I shook my head eliciting a groan of pain. Mr. Hanner showed real worry about me. Then Gordon asked, “Is she okay, Noel?”

I answered instead, “I’m going to be fine. Better look after Frank, he ingested the tea. I’m afraid he’s going to be changed.”

The other man replied to us all, “It’s too late for that. He’s already changing into a girl. However we may be able to keep his memories intact since he has just started. At least he’ll not be a prostitute or worse.”

Janine had recovered somewhat of her freeze, gotten up on her feet and cackled like a maniac, “Too late, she’ll always be reminded what she was when she gets fucked. Haa ha ha ha.”

I got up in a hurry and still a bit wonky on my feet, slapped her hard on her cheek sending her sprawling to the floor. Gordon looked at me in surprise, but then proceeded to catch me as I fell down. I guess my headache was more serious than I thought. Gordon expressed real concern for me and asked, “Xia, honey? Are you hurt? I better take you to a hospital to be checked out. I also need to have a magic check performed on you. Who knows what that bitch put on you.”

I smiled at him, “No need for that. I’m full of Catataxin. She couldn’t have spelled me even if she wanted.” Then I lay back in his arms feeling secure and happy.

Janine screamed, “What? You are on the anti -magic drugs? How… why…”

Gordon cut her off, “That is not important right now. You’ll be charged with three counts of attempted identity murder. And you can forget about mitigating circumstances. Your three former friends didn’t have anything to do with your change into a woman. We found potions and spell-books at your ex-girlfriends. She did this to you, not them.”

Janine really lost it then. She started screaming and cursing. I think she could make a good case of being criminally insane. Some specialists of the FBM had arrived in the meantime and took care of Frank, or maybe it would be Francine now. Gordon took me downstairs with Mr. Hanner and took me to the hospital.

I was diagnosed with a mild concussion and had to stay there overnight. As I lay there alone in my hospital bed, I kept thinking, ‘Gordon was really worried about me. Does he still care about me? I really hope so. I don’t know what I’d do if he decides that he doesn’t want me anymore. I really love him.’ That’s when I realized it. I did really love him. Not for being my former brother, but him.

The next morning I woke up with the smell of fresh flowers. There was a bouquet on the table next to me. I moved closer to it to smell them as a familiar voice said softly, “Good morning, sleepy head.”

It was Gordon. I sat up so quickly that my blanket slid off exposing my immodest hospital gown. He bowed down to me, pointing at my chest, “Better cover that up before anyone else comes in.”

I grabbed his face and started kissing him. Between kisses, I responded, “I don’t care,” and resumed kissing.
He responded kissing me back for a long time and I was feeling so happy. ‘He really does love me.’

Before I was discharged from the hospital, Mr. Hanner stopped by. He gave me a few weeks off with Thanksgiving coming up, and because of everything I had been going through. He did have one request of me though. It seemed that Frank was not responding all that well to the treatment at the FBM experts. He asked if I would have a talk with him/ her.

Slowly I opened the door to the private hospital room where Frank was staying. She was sitting bundled up in a big chair facing outside. As I closed the door she said, “No use to try to get me to talk. I’m going to kill myself as soon as I get out of here.”

I sat on a chair next to her. “Hello again. Why haven’t you picked out a new name for yourself?”

She replied angrily, “I don’t need a new name. I’m Frank, and I will not go around looking like a young girl. You have no idea what I’m going through.”

“Actually I do. You see, I was transformed from a boy into a girl against my will as well. I had it even worse. When they put the spells on me, I was destined to be a sex-starved slut with powerful whisper and attractor powers at my demand to lure any male onto me. And I got a perfect memory with it as well. I would never be able to forget what I had been and what I was forced to do. They even made it so that I couldn’t even drink away my misery. I’m allergic to alcohol.”

Frank was now looking at me in wonder. “Is that true? But how come…”

“Someone special helped me remove some of the worst spells, so now I’m just a normal woman. I still know everything that ever happened to me. I can never forget what has been done to me. At least you can forget some of it. But you have to move on with your life. You’ve been given a new strange body. But if you give it a try, it won’t be so bad. You’ll learn to enjoy things again. It will be different, but that doesn’t mean it will be bad.”

Frank was crying a little now. “But I don’t want to be a girl. I was happy as a boy.”

“Ssshhh, I know all that. I didn’t want to be a girl either. I was happy as a boy too. But I have coped. So can you. First thing you need to do is find a new name. And you can choose any name you want. This time it isn’t your parents that choose for you.”

Frank smiled a little, “Well, I always liked the name Felicia.”

“Well, why don’t you try it out, Felicia?”

Felicia got up from the chair and stretched before me. I could see that she was soon going to be a knockout. She’d have to swat guys away with a bat soon enough. She did however have some boy manners. “Uhm Felicia, I think you need to pay more attention to the re-orientation lecture. You still have too many boy moves in you. I’m sure all the guys will love you doing it, but it wouldn’t be good for you.”

“Oops,” She said. “Okay, I will give it a try. Thank you Xia.” She hugged me and it felt good. There was no sexuality in it, just some genuine happiness and relief.

I didn’t stay too long at the hospital, Gordon was picking me up for a long drive. I was really mixed up in my feelings about it. I was feeling anxious, fearful, happy and longing towards our destination. Gordon wanted to take me to the family for Thanksgiving. He was going to introduce me as his girlfriend. I hoped that I would be able to fool Mom into believing I was just another girl. I really wanted to see Mom again. I had high hopes for the vacation days, but I feared that they would end in tragedy.

After a long drive we arrived at a cozy house in the middle of farmland that was already covered by some snow. The snow was early this year, and it was natures magic, no magic spells had been used. Gordon got out first, and got the bags before I got out of the car. He was almost at the door when it opened and Mom stepped out. She hugged Gordon forcefully before turning her attention to me.

Gordon turned slightly and said, “Mom, may I introduce Xia? She’s my girlfriend and I hope you like her as much as I do.” I carefully stepped up to them and waited for what would happen now. I mean I’m really Asian looking, and Mom had been married to a racist. Some of it must have rubbed off on her.

Then a little girl stepped out behind her, she was cream-chocolate colored. Next, an even darker man followed. Mom said, “Oh, I’m sorry. This is my husband Dave, and his daughter from a previous marriage, Olivia. I’m Madeline, Gordon’s mother. Please come in Xia. No need to be standing out here in the cold.”

Later when we were sitting down, enjoying a mug of hot chocolate, I whispered to Gordon, “You could have told me that Mom married a black guy.”

Gordon whispered back, “And ruin the surprise?”

“It would have eased some of my worries of coming here, you big lug.”

He just laughed at me. Mom was looking at us, probably wondering why he was laughing. I enjoyed being inside the family again. This was so nice after being alone for so long. Don’t get me wrong. I love my foster family as well, but they always seem a bit distant. Except for Kathy of course, but she really loves me as her sister.

Later at the dinner table I almost blew it as I said, “Could you pass the salt please, Mom.”

Gordon stiffened for a moment, and I could have kicked myself. I decided to try to see if I could defuse it. “You don’t mind if I call you Mom, do you, Madeline? I mean I am serious about Gordon. I hope he is as serious about me as well.”

Gordon picked it up directly, “Of course I’m serious about you, Xia. Mom? Do you mind if she calls you Mom?”

Madeline just smiled, “Sure, I’d be happy to be called Mom by you.”

After dinner I said, “You guys can watch some TV, I’ll clean the table with Mom and Olivia.”

Gordon replied, “Thanks, Honey.”

“No problem, Flash.” As I said it, I could have kicked myself again. Gordon stiffened again for just a moment, but nobody else seemed to have noticed. Especially not Mom, who just got on clearing the table and starting to load the dishwasher.

I went with Gordon in one bedroom, where we climbed into one big bed. We made love slowly and quietly. He really is a great lover. Afterwards I just snuggled up to him. He was content and soon fell asleep. I couldn’t get to sleep, so many things were going through my head. I had almost blown it twice today with Mom. I hate keeping secrets from her. It was a nice surprise to see her so happy with Dave. His daughter Olivia was a very nice girl. I already made friends with her. My stomach grumbled a bit. I hadn’t eaten that much at dinner, but now my stomach wanted a snack. Softly, so I wouldn’t wake up Gordon, I sneaked out of bed and to the kitchen. I left the light off and got a bit of yogurt from the fridge. As I sat down at the kitchen table the light snapped on and Mom was standing there. “Mom!” I blurted out.

She smiled and got herself a yogurt before sitting across from me at the table. I quietly resumed eating my yogurt avoiding looking at my Mom. Then she said softly, “You used to be Douglas, am I right?”

I was scared out of my wits, I didn’t know what to say. I was terrified, she knew! Somehow, she knew!

“What makes you say that?” I tried.

“Your mannerisms remind me of him. And of course nobody else ever called Gordon Flash. Please tell me the truth, are you Douglas?” Mom asked softly.

I was distraught, totally out of it. What should I do? Lie to her? Tell the truth? Could she handle the awful ugly truth? “I’m not Douglas,” I said pensively.

“But you were Douglas before you got changed into this, right?” asked Mom looking at me intensely.

I broke down, “Yes, I was. Please Mom, It still hurts sometimes. I mean I ‘m happy to be living as I am. And even happier that I have found Flash and you. But I’m not the same person. I’m Xia, for now and forever.” I had started crying in the middle of my confession.

“Sssshhh, it is okay,” Mom said, “I am not angry or upset. I just wanted to know. I’m glad that you didn’t wither away in misery. I can tell that you’re happy again. That makes me happy. Please let me welcome you as my daughter. I love you as I have always done, especially how you look now. Welcome back.”

I fell into her arms and we hugged for a long time.

The end